Uganda Police Raid US Project Helping Gays

Police in Uganda have raided the offices of a US-funded project which provides health advice to homosexuals.

The move came after a controversial law, condemned as draconian by the West, threatened those engaging in gay sex with life imprisonment.

The bill passed through the Ugandan parliament in December after its architects agreed to drop a death penalty clause.

The Makerere University Walter Reed Project in the capital Kampala announced it had suspended its operations after one of its Ugandan staff was briefly held by police.

In a statement it said: "We are working with police to understand the circumstances under which this person was detained.

"Until we have greater clarity as to the legal basis for the police action, the operations of the programme are temporarily suspended to ensure the safety of staff and the integrity of the programme."

Anti-gay activists in Kampala march in support of the harsh new measures

Police said they had been following the suspect after receiving reports he was involved in "gay-related activities".

Spokesman Ibn Ssekumbi said: "For some time we have been following an individual whom we learnt has been conducting promotion and training activities related to homosexuality."

A US State Department official said the health project conducts important research into Ebola, Marburg disease and HIV. One of the project's aims is to develop vaccines for these diseases.

Ugandan gay activists say many homosexuals have been forced to flee their  homes in the weeks since the law came into force, apparently to escape angry mobs.

Some are reported to have been evicted by landlords who found out they were gay.

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni says homosexuality is "criminal"

In response, the US, one of the country's biggest sources of aid and other Western donors have halted or redirected around $118m (£71m) in aid .

Despite the criticism and calls for the law to be scrapped, it is popular among many Ugandans.

President Yoweri Museveni has accused the West of seeking to impose "social imperialism" on Africa and told a rally that Uganda could live without humanitarian aid.

He said gay people deserved to be severely punished as homosexuality was "criminal" and "cruel".

Uganda now has some of the toughest anti-gay laws on a continent where 37 states ban homosexuality.

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Afghanistan Goes To The Polls In Historic Vote

By Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondent

An historic day for Afghanistan - an election to decide a new president and for the first time in the country's history there is to be a democratic transition of power.

Just how long the process will take is the key.

As polling stations opened, across the country 12 million people are eligible to vote, although in some of the most insecure areas, like Helmand, where threats from the Taliban are highest the turnout will likely be small.

One vote over 50% would put a new man in office in the first round, although many suspect it will likely go to a second round of two candidates in May.

Despite threats from the Taliban to attack anyone taking part, there have been huge numbers at rallies for the next would be leader.

Ashraf Ghani, ex-finance minister and recognised honest broker, was greeted with near hysteria as he closed his campaign in the capital.

The election takes place amid tight security in face of Taliban threats

He is part of the past for sure but he has worked hard on the youth and women vote and also, controversially, joined up with the former warlord, Abdul Rashid Dostum, to bring in crucial votes from Afghanistan's northern regions.

"This hand is clean of blood and this hand is clean of corruption," he said, symbolically raising his arms.

He added: "I do have a youth agenda as chancellor of the Kabul university, I'm the only one who has engaged with the youth, and as you've seen I've thanked them for accepting me in their ranks."

Abdullah Abdullah, former foreign minister then de-facto leader of the opposition to President Karzai, who beat him to the top job last time round, says he is confident of winning.

But as he finished his campaign in a low-key late-night press conference at his heavily guarded Kabul home, he warned of the potential for fraud and interference from the departing president.

Twelve million people are eligible to vote

He said: "There is no doubt there are those concerns and that's why I'm emphasising a lot on the institutions and on the government of Afghanistan, and also on the public to be aware of this and the importance of this.

"That will be a recipe for disaster not only for the international community but first and foremost for the people of Afghanistan."

He added that he expects to win in the first round if there is no ballot stuffing like there was in 2009.

The whole election takes place in the midst of huge security concerns.

Hundreds of thousands of police and army are on duty across the country, while tens of thousands of election monitors and party workers are watching for violence and fraud.

A big day for Afghanistan as the world watches on.

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Afghan Voters Vow To Defy Taliban Threat

By Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondent

Mirrored wrap around visors, head-to-toe body armour and machine guns held prone for fighting. Gloved hands directing cars and trucks into security search areas. No talking, no discussion. This is the street outside my hotel. This is security in Kabul.

It doesn't matter where you go in this city, you will be confronted by security at a level never seen here before.

It doesn't mean it is safe of course, the Taliban have infiltrated Kabul, by-passing the so-called "Ring of Steel", carrying out a number of deadly attacks in recent days.

But the checks and body searches go on and they are getting more intense as polling day nears.

The Taliban threats against the public wanting to take part in the presidential election are real, but joining just a few of the campaign rallies it is clear that people are not being put off.

The 'ring of steel' around Kabul

They have turned out in their thousands to listen to the would-be leaders, ignoring bomb warnings and actual attacks across much of the country.

The Afghan population wants change and voting is being seen as the way forward.

The election is hugely significant on a variety of levels but that it will be the first democratic transition of power in the country's entire history is in itself both remarkable and a sign of progress - well, sort of.

The fact that all the front runners have been involved in politics and government in one form or other for decades hardly indicates a radical change any time soon.

Election workers with a donkey carrying ballot boxes in Balkh Province

And given the terrible security threat from the Taliban and the grinding poverty that depicts normal life for the vast majority of the population, whoever wins can hardly promise a new life overnight or probably over years.

Hunched over a gas flame, Ghandi Gul heats water to make tea for her five children in the one room where they live.

Her husband died in a rocket attack so she makes a living washing clothes for her neighbours while her children sell street rubbish as scrap.

In good times the six of them live on £17 a week. They want more money for sure, but above all they want more security.

"The only thing we can expect from the election from whoever wins is security," she told me.

"We know that poverty will not change. The only thing we are concerned with is security."

It will be the first democratic transition of power in Afghanistan history

That is an overriding sentiment here. Basically if there is better security then prosperity will rise as there will be more work.

As one man told me as he stopped to ask why we were filming: "You can't look for work if you get blown up waiting at the factory gate."

President Hamid Karzai's days are over, but will the years ahead see major changes, better security, more prosperity?

In truth nobody knows and many doubt it. But they have an opportunity to vote in a new government.

For Afghanistan that is a new luxury and there aren't many luxuries here.

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MH370: Search For Flight Black Box Underway

The head of the Australian search agency has said the underwater hunt for the black box from missing flight MH370 begins later today.

Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston told a news conference: "The Australian Navy and the Royal Navy have today commenced a sub-surface search for emissions from the black box pinger from Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

"Using the towed pinger from the US Navy on Australian defence vessel Ocean Shield and a similar capability on HMS Echo, the two ships will search a single 240km track converging on each other."

It comes after Malaysia's opposition leader accused the government of deliberately concealing information about missing flight MH370.

Mr Razak met with Mr Abbott at an Australian base near Perth

Anwar Ibrahim, who personally knew the pilot of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, called for an international committee to take over the Malaysian-led operation, saying "the integrity of the whole nation is at stake".

He indicated it was even possible that there was "complicity by authorities on the ground" in what happened to the plane and the 239 people on board.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, he said it was "not only unacceptable but not possible, not feasible" that the plane had not been sighted by the Marconi radar system immediately after it changed course.

He claimed the radar would have instantly detected the jet as it travelled east to west across "at least four" Malaysian provinces.

Mr Anwar told the newspaper it was "baffling" that the country's air force had "remained silent", and suggested that it "should take three minutes under SOP (standard operating procedure) for the air force planes to go. And there was no response".

Mr Anwar's comments follow a pledge made by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and his Australia counterpart Tony Abbott that no effort would be spared to give the families of those on board the answers they need.

The two countries are heading multinational efforts in the Indian Ocean in the hunt for debris to solve the mystery of the jet.

Mr Razak, whose government has been harshly criticised by some victims' families for giving sometimes conflicting information about the flight and for the slow pace of the investigation, described the search as a "gargantuan task".

The investigation remains the responsibility of Malaysia

But he insisted there would be no let up for the sake of the victims' families.

He said: "We owe it to the grieving families to ... give them comfort and closure to this rather tragic event and the world expects us to do our level best.

"We want to find answers. We want to provide comfort to the families and we will not rest until answers are indeed found."

Mr Abbott said Australia was "throwing everything at it" to find the plane, which disappeared on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8.

No trace of the jet has been found almost four weeks after it vanished.

Relatives of the victims are still trying to get answers

Ten planes and nine ships were involved in search operations Thursday, scouring the ocean far off Australia's southwest corner where investigators believe the plane may have ended up after unknown events occurred on board.

More resources will be committed to the wreckage hunt today, with 14 planes and nine ships to search a 84,000 sq mile (217,000sq km) expanse 1,100 miles (1,700km) northwest of Perth, the Joint Agency Coordination Centre overseeing the search said.

Although Australia is co-ordinating the ocean search, the investigation into the tragedy ultimately remains Malaysia's responsibility.

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Malaysia Plane Probe Focuses On Crew And Pilots

Full Transcript Of Last Contact With MH370

Updated: 12:36pm UK, Tuesday 01 April 2014

A transcript of the final conversations between the control tower and Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has been released.

MAS 370 (Kuala Lumpur to Beijing)

PILOT-ATC RADIOTELEPHONY TRANSCRIPT

Departure from KLIA: 8 March 2014

ATC DELIVERY

12:25:53 MAS 370 Delivery MAS 370 Good Morning

12:26:02 ATC MAS 370 Standby and Malaysia Six is cleared to Frankfurt via AGOSA Alpha Departure six thousand feet squawk two one zero six

12:26:19 ATC ... MAS 370 request level

12:26:21 MAS 370 MAS 370 we are ready requesting flight level three five zero to Beijing

12:26:39 ATC MAS 370 is cleared to Beijing via PIBOS A Departure Six Thousand Feet squawk two one five seven

12:26:45 MAS 370 Beijing PIBOS A Six Thousand Squawk two one five seven, MAS 370 Thank You

12:26:53 ATC MAS 370 Welcome over to ground

12:26:55 MAS 370 Good Day

LUMPUR GROUND

12:27:27 MAS 370 Ground MAS370 Good morning Charlie One Requesting push and start

12:27:34 ATC MAS370 Lumpur Ground Morning Push back and start approved Runway 32 Right Exit via Sierra 4.

12:27:40 MAS 370 Push back and start approved 32 Right Exit via Sierra 4 POB 239 Mike Romeo Oscar

12:27:45 ATC Copied

12:32:13 MAS 370 MAS377 request taxi.

12:32:26 ATC MAS37..... (garbled) ... standard route. Hold short Bravo

12:32:30 MAS 370 Ground, MAS370. You are unreadable. Say again.

12:32:38 ATC MAS370 taxi to holding point Alfa 11 Runway 32 Right via standard route. Hold short of Bravo.

12:32:42 MAS 370 Alfa 11 Standard route Hold short Bravo MAS370.

12:35:53 ATC MAS 370 Tower

12:36:19 ATC (garbled) ... Tower ... (garbled)

MAS 370 1188 MAS370 Thank you

LUMPUR TOWER

12:36:30 MAS 370 Tower MAS370 Morning

12:36:38 ATC MAS370 good morning. Lumpur Tower. Holding point..[garbled]..10 32 Right

12:36:50 MAS 370 Alfa 10 MAS370

12:38:43 ATC 370 line up 32 Right Alfa 10. MAS 370 Line up 32 Right Alfa 10 MAS370.

12:40:38 ATC 370 32 Right Cleared for take-off. Good night.

MAS 370 32 Right Cleared for take-off MAS370. Thank you Bye.

LUMPUR APPROACH

12:42:05 MAS 370 Departure Malaysian Three Seven Zero

12:42:10 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero selamat pagi identified. Climb flight level one eight zero cancel SID turn right direct to IGARI

12:42:48 MAS 370 Okay level one eight zero direct IGARI Malaysian one err Three Seven Zero

12:42:52 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero contact Lumpur Radar One Three Two Six good night MAS 370 Night One Three Two Six Malaysian Three Seven Zero

LUMPUR RADAR (AREA)

12:46:51 MAS 370 Lumpur Control Malaysian Three Seven Zero

12:46:51 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero Lumpur radar Good Morning climb flight level two five zero

12:46:54 MAS370 Morning level two five zero Malaysian Three Seven Zero

12:50:06 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero climb flight level three five zero

12:50:09 MAS370 Flight level three five zero Malaysian Three Seven Zero

01:01:14 MAS370 Malaysian Three Seven Zero maintaining level three five zero

01:01:19 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero

01:07:55 MAS370 Malaysian...Three Seven Zero maintaining level three five zero

01:08:00 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero

01:19:24 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero contact Ho Chi Minh 120 decimal 9 Good Night

01:19:29 MAS370 Good Night Malaysian Three Seven Zero

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Fort Hood: Soldier Opens Fire On Colleagues

Four people are dead after a US soldier opened fire at Fort Hood in Texas - five years after a shooter killed 13 people at the same military base.

The soldier, who was being treated for psychiatric problems including depression and anxiety, is among the dead after shooting himself in the head.

Sixteen others have been injured, Lieutenant General Mark Milley told a press conference.

All those hit by the soldier's recently purchased 45-calibre semi-automatic weapon were in the military. The gun had not been registered at the base.

Lieutenant General Mark Milley at Fort Hood

"At approximately 4pm a soldier fired shots at individuals," said Lt Gen Milley, the base's commanding officer.

"Within 15 minutes first responders for the military police and emergency services responded to the scene.

"It is believed he walked into one of the unit buildings, opened fire, got into a vehicle, fired from the vehicle, got out of the vehicle and opened fire again in another building.

"A military police officer responded. He was approaching her at about 20 feet. He put his hands up, then reached under his jacket. He pulled out his gun, she pulled out her weapon, she then engaged and he put the weapon to his head."

The soldier, who served four months in Iraq in 2011, was under review for possible post-traumatic stress disorder.

Fort Hood is home to 45,000 soldiers and 9,000 civilians

"There are reports that he self-reported a traumatic brain injury coming back from the Iraq tour," said Lt Gen Milley.

The soldier was married and had a family.

"We do not know a motive," Lt Gen Milley added.

"There are some initial reports there may have been an argument in one of the unit areas.

"At this time there is no indication this incident is related to terrorism, although we are not ruling anything out."

A Twitter alert posted by Fort Hood to implement a lockdown

The gunman's identity will not be released until his next-of-kin have been informed.

The soldier arrived at Fort Hood in February.

President Barack Obama said he was "heartbroken" that the base - where 13 people died in a shooting in 2009 - had suffered again.

"I want to assure everyone we are going to get to the bottom of what happened," said Mr Obama.

"Any shooting is troubling. Obviously this reopens the pain of what happened at Fort Hood five years ago. We know these families; we know their incredible service to this country and the sacrifices they make.

Poilce arrive at the scene

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire community and we're going to do everything we can to make sure the community at Fort Hood has what it needs to deal with the current situation and any potential aftermath.

"We're heartbroken that something like this might have happened again."

The condition of those wounded in the attack ranges from "stable to quite critical".

All-clear sirens have now sounded at Fort Hood after several hours of lockdown. Personnel had been told to take shelter and stay away from doors and windows.

Sky's Amanda Walker said: "It's a huge military base. Around 45,000 soldiers are based there and 9,000 civilians.

Patients have been flown to hospital

"We don't know how the gunman got into the base.

"It is absolutely astonishing this has happened again at a secure military base that has had a terrible history with the previous shooting."

Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel called the shootings a "terrible tragedy".

The base endured a shooting five years ago, which left 13 people dead and 30 injured.

Asked whether security improvements made since the tragedy have been adequate, Mr Hagel said: "Obviously when we have these kinds of tragedies on our bases, something's not working."

Major Nidal Hasan faces the death sentence following the 2009 shooting

Army psychiatrist Major Nidal Hasan faces the death penalty for the 2009 killing spree.

In statements to the judge the American-born Muslim suggested he believed the attack was justified as a jihad against the US military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The base is the biggest in the US, covering 340 square miles.

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Missing Plane: Pilots' Conversations Revealed

Full Transcript Of Last Contact With MH370

Updated: 12:36pm UK, Tuesday 01 April 2014

A transcript of the final conversations between the control tower and Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has been released.

MAS 370 (Kuala Lumpur to Beijing)

PILOT-ATC RADIOTELEPHONY TRANSCRIPT

Departure from KLIA: 8 March 2014

ATC DELIVERY

12:25:53 MAS 370 Delivery MAS 370 Good Morning

12:26:02 ATC MAS 370 Standby and Malaysia Six is cleared to Frankfurt via AGOSA Alpha Departure six thousand feet squawk two one zero six

12:26:19 ATC ... MAS 370 request level

12:26:21 MAS 370 MAS 370 we are ready requesting flight level three five zero to Beijing

12:26:39 ATC MAS 370 is cleared to Beijing via PIBOS A Departure Six Thousand Feet squawk two one five seven

12:26:45 MAS 370 Beijing PIBOS A Six Thousand Squawk two one five seven, MAS 370 Thank You

12:26:53 ATC MAS 370 Welcome over to ground

12:26:55 MAS 370 Good Day

LUMPUR GROUND

12:27:27 MAS 370 Ground MAS370 Good morning Charlie One Requesting push and start

12:27:34 ATC MAS370 Lumpur Ground Morning Push back and start approved Runway 32 Right Exit via Sierra 4.

12:27:40 MAS 370 Push back and start approved 32 Right Exit via Sierra 4 POB 239 Mike Romeo Oscar

12:27:45 ATC Copied

12:32:13 MAS 370 MAS377 request taxi.

12:32:26 ATC MAS37..... (garbled) ... standard route. Hold short Bravo

12:32:30 MAS 370 Ground, MAS370. You are unreadable. Say again.

12:32:38 ATC MAS370 taxi to holding point Alfa 11 Runway 32 Right via standard route. Hold short of Bravo.

12:32:42 MAS 370 Alfa 11 Standard route Hold short Bravo MAS370.

12:35:53 ATC MAS 370 Tower

12:36:19 ATC (garbled) ... Tower ... (garbled)

MAS 370 1188 MAS370 Thank you

LUMPUR TOWER

12:36:30 MAS 370 Tower MAS370 Morning

12:36:38 ATC MAS370 good morning. Lumpur Tower. Holding point..[garbled]..10 32 Right

12:36:50 MAS 370 Alfa 10 MAS370

12:38:43 ATC 370 line up 32 Right Alfa 10. MAS 370 Line up 32 Right Alfa 10 MAS370.

12:40:38 ATC 370 32 Right Cleared for take-off. Good night.

MAS 370 32 Right Cleared for take-off MAS370. Thank you Bye.

LUMPUR APPROACH

12:42:05 MAS 370 Departure Malaysian Three Seven Zero

12:42:10 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero selamat pagi identified. Climb flight level one eight zero cancel SID turn right direct to IGARI

12:42:48 MAS 370 Okay level one eight zero direct IGARI Malaysian one err Three Seven Zero

12:42:52 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero contact Lumpur Radar One Three Two Six good night MAS 370 Night One Three Two Six Malaysian Three Seven Zero

LUMPUR RADAR (AREA)

12:46:51 MAS 370 Lumpur Control Malaysian Three Seven Zero

12:46:51 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero Lumpur radar Good Morning climb flight level two five zero

12:46:54 MAS370 Morning level two five zero Malaysian Three Seven Zero

12:50:06 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero climb flight level three five zero

12:50:09 MAS370 Flight level three five zero Malaysian Three Seven Zero

01:01:14 MAS370 Malaysian Three Seven Zero maintaining level three five zero

01:01:19 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero

01:07:55 MAS370 Malaysian...Three Seven Zero maintaining level three five zero

01:08:00 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero

01:19:24 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero contact Ho Chi Minh 120 decimal 9 Good Night

01:19:29 MAS370 Good Night Malaysian Three Seven Zero

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Tsunami Sparked After Huge Chile Earthquake

A tsunami has been triggered after a magnitude-8.2 earthquake struck off the coast of Chile, with five people reported dead.

The Chilean navy says some areas in the north of the country were hit by waves 45 minutes after the quake was felt at 6.46pm (10.46pm BST) on Tuesday.

Waves measuring up to seven feet have been reported and a mass evacuation is under way as Chile's president Michelle Bachelet declared northern parts of the country a disaster area.

The tsunami alert will remain in place for Chile and Peru until at least 9.30am BST, officials have said.

Chile's Interior Minister Rodrigo Penailillo said four men and one woman had died either from heart attacks or being crushed. At least three others are seriously injured.

Politicians in Chile have ordered the "preventative evacuation" of hundreds of thousands of people from coastal areas, but this is being hampered by landslides which have blocked roads.

Fires have broken out in Iquique

Chilean journalist Jorge Garreton told Sky News: "Northern Chile has been expecting an earthquake. There were a number of exercises in the recent past. People know where they have to go to the safety zones.

"The northern cities are low-lying so they have to go up to the mountains. They have been advised not to take vehicles but to walk."

The huge tremor occurred 62 miles (99km) northwest of the mining town of Iquique.

Several fires have broken out in Iquique, while 300 inmates have escaped from a women's prison amid the chaos.

Thousands of homes have lost power and the government is sending in troops to prevent looting.

Chilean TV shows geological data from the magnitude-8.2 tremor

Mr Penailillo added: "We have taken action to ensure public order in the case of Iquique, where we've had a massive escape of more than 300 female prisoners from the Iquique jail, so that the armed forces and police can coordinate and provide tranquillity and security to the residents."

The tsunami warning initially placed the entire Pacific Coast of Latin America on alert but has now been downgraded to just Chile and Peru.

"An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines near the epicenter within minutes and more distant coastlines within hours," the US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) said.

Residents of Chile's northern coastline evacuating

The quake happened just 12.5 miles (20.1 km) below the seabed - making it feel even more powerful.

The tremor shook buildings in parts of the nearby nations of Bolivia and Peru.

At least eight strong aftershocks followed in the first few hours, including a 6.2 tremor.

More aftershocks and even a larger quake could not be ruled out, according to seismologist Mario Pardo at the University of Chile.

The area has been rocked by several quakes in the last two weeks. A magnitude-6.7 quake on March 16 prompted more than 100,000 people to briefly evacuate low-lying areas.

Residents prepare to evacuate to higher ground

US officials say there is no imminent threat of a tsunami along the coasts of Hawaii, Alaska, California, Oregon or Washington.

A 8.8-magnitude quake caused a tsunami that killed more than 500 people in Chile in February 2010.

Sky News's Greg Milam said: "They learnt a lot of lessons from the quake in 2010 about the need not only of getting the warnings out but also about giving people somewhere to go.

"They won't have supplies sitting in the shelters day by day but they will have capabilities to get those supplies there.

"There was an evacuation a couple of weeks ago. There was no tsunami on that occasion but that would have been a wake-up call, as the earthquakes here over the past few weeks have been a wake-up call about the need to be prepared."

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Ukraine: Putin Orders 'Partial Withdrawal'

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a "partial withdrawal" of troops from Ukraine's eastern border in an attempt to de-escalate tensions in the region.

Mr Putin told German Chancellor Angela Merkel about his move in a phone call on Monday afternoon.

The pair also discussed "further possible steps to stabilise the situation in Ukraine and Transdniestria (a breakaway Russian-speaking region of Moldova)," said Mrs Merkel's spokesman.

Russia's annexation of Crimea in southern Ukraine has sparked the biggest crisis in relations between the East and West since the end of the Cold War.

Ukrainian National Guard forces take part in military exercises near Kiev

Moscow has what Western leaders estimate are tens of thousands of troops massed near Ukraine's eastern border.

The Russian defence ministry said it was pulling back a battalion from the 15th motorised infantry brigade, but it was not clear if this was linked to a wider troop withdrawal.

There are fears Russia may try to seize more ex-Soviet states, and that Transdniestria may become the next Crimea.

On Sunday, the US announced it was giving Moldova $10m (£6.1m) to strengthen security on its border with Ukraine and Transdniestria.

US Assistant Secretary of State meets Moldova's President Nicolae Timofti

Moscow claims Moldova's capital Chisinau and Ukraine's new government have blockaded Transdniestria.

A Kremlin spokesman said: "The Russian leader spoke of the need to take effective measures aimed at removing the de facto external blockade of this region and at searching for a fair and comprehensive solution to the Transdniestria issue."

Meanwhile, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has announced plans to turn Crimea into a special economic zone, during a visit to the region where he chaired a government meeting.

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Guinea Facing 'Unprecedented Ebola Epidemic'

Doctors Without Borders has said an Ebola outbreak in Guinea has become an "unprecedented epidemic", as neighbouring Liberia confirms its first cases.

In a statement, the charity, also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said the geographic scale of the epidemic was unmatched.

MSF coordinator Mariano Lugli said: "We are facing an epidemic of a magnitude never before seen in terms of the distribution of cases in the country."

Mr Lugli said previous outbreaks handled by MSF were "much more geographically contained and involved more remote locations."

Macenta was one of the first towns in Guinea to report the virus

He added: "This geographical spread is worrisome because it will greatly complicate the tasks of the organisations working to control the epidemic."

Guinea's health ministry has reported 122 suspected cases, with at least 78 deaths linked to the virus. Of those there are 22 laboratory confirmed cases.

Liberia also confirmed its first cases overnight on Sunday.

One of two women who tested positive for the virus has died, while the other, her sister, has been isolated in a medical centre outside the capital Monrovia.

Sierra Leone is investigating five suspected cases, although none have yet been confirmed.

Aid workers are transporting tons of medical equipment to affected areas

The flesh-eating virus was initially focused on Guinea's remote south-east. However, it took authorities six weeks to identify suspected cases, giving it time to spread to the country's heavily-populated capital and beyond. 

There is no known treatment or vaccine for Ebola which, depending on the strain, has a fatality rate of up to 90%.

The outbreak has spread panic among other countries in the region. 

Senegal has closed its border with Guinea and suspended weekly markets near the border to prevent the virus travelling further.

Sierra Leone has introduced a screening process on its border with Guinea, while regional airline Gambia Bird has delayed the launch of services to Guinea's capital. 

MSF has sent dozens of aid workers into Guinea in an attempt to prevent a further spread.

It said a total of 60 people, experienced in working on haemorrhagic fever, will be in the country by the end of the week.

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North And South Korea Exchange Live Fire

South Korea says it has fired shells into North Korean waters in response to live-fire drills carried out by Pyongyang.

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Missing Plane: 'No Time Limit' To Search

The "extraordinarily difficult" search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane will go on for as long as possible, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said.

He said the best brains in the world were trying to solve the mystery of what happened to flight MH370, which vanished more than three weeks ago with 239 people on board.

Ten aircraft and 10 ships are now searching the ocean 1,200 miles (2,000km) off the western coast of Australia for debris from the Boeing 777, which was travelling from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia to the Chinese capital Beijing.

Speaking at Pearce Airbase in Perth, which is home for the search teams scouring the southern Indian Ocean, Mr Abbott said crews were "well, well short" of any point where they would scale back their efforts.

Mr Abbott pledged: "If this mystery is solvable, we will solve it."

People light candles during a vigil to remember passengers of flight MH370

He told journalists at a news conference: "I'm certainly not putting a time limit on it. We can keep searching for quite some time to come and we will keep searching for quite some time to come."

"The intensity of our search and the magnitude of operations is increasing, not decreasing."

Mr Abbott rejected suggestions his Malaysian counterpart had been too quick to say the plane had crashed into the ocean.

"No, the accumulation of evidence is that the aircraft has been lost and it has been lost somewhere in the south of the Indian Ocean," he said.

Najib Razak said last week that based on satellite evidence the plane had crashed in the southern Indian Ocean. Malaysian authorities believe the flight was deliberately diverted off course.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott on his visit to the base

The majority of the passengers on board were Chinese, and Beijing has been critical of Malaysia's handling of the investigation.

But the official China Daily newspaper said in an editorial today that it was understandable that not all sensitive information could be made public.

It comes as Chinese relatives of passengers fly to Malaysia to demand an apology, accusing officials there of "delays and deception".

"Although the Malaysian government's handling of the crisis has been quite clumsy, we need to understand that this is perhaps the most bizarre incident in Asian civil aviation history," the editorial said.

Monday's search involves 10 aircraft and 10 ships

"Public opinion should not blame the Malaysian authorities for deliberately covering up information in the absence of hard evidence."

The search area is close to an area of the Indian Ocean where the currents drag rubbish and flotsam.

A number of objects have been spotted, but none of those retrieved so far has been from the plane.

One of the vessels due to join the search in the coming days is an Australian defence force ship that has been fitted with a US black box locator and underwater drone.

12.14 | 0 komentar | Read More

Missing Plane: Chinese Families Fly To Malaysia

Learning Lessons From Missing Flight MH370

Updated: 9:23am UK, Saturday 29 March 2014

By Ian Woods, Senior Correspondent

The small consolation that should come with every airline crash is that the knowledge gained from the tragedy should help prevent it happening again.

But if that were true, we might already know more about what happened to flight MH370.

After the Air France accident of 2009, in which 228 people died when their flight from Brazil plunged into the Atlantic, 120 representatives of the international aviation industry got together to recommend ways to make it easier to find aircraft which crash into the sea. 

None has been implemented.

They suggested that the flight data recorders - the black boxes - should have larger batteries so they would carry on transmitting a beacon for 90 rather than 30 days. 

But bigger batteries mean extra weight and extra cost for the airlines to install them.

They also suggested the recorders should be designed to break away and float to the surface, rather than sink to the sea floor along with the rest of the fuselage.

And that the frequency of the transmission should be altered to boost how far away it can be heard, beyond its current 2,000 metre maximum.

Salvage expert David Mearns, from Blue Water Recoveries, told Sky News: "If you reduce that frequency, the lower the frequency, the greater the range. 

"You go from 37.5khz , to say, 8.8khz as recommended, I think that would increase the range to over 10,000 metres.

"So that's a five times increase in your detectable range and that would help the teams out there now looking for these black boxes."

As for why the recommendations weren't acted upon? 

"It's a very big industry. It's an international industry," said Mr Mears.

"It takes a lot of time for these things to work themselves through the regulations; how they would operate, how the pilots would be trained to use them; they have to be implemented on the aircraft, so it takes years for these things to be done."

In an age when we can all track most passenger aircraft on our smartphones and computers, how can a plane still go missing? 

Most, but not all, areas of the world are now covered by the Acars ADS-B system, allowing them to be constantly tracked. Although smaller, older aircraft are not equipped.

There are new regulations being introduced around the world compelling airlines to fit them in all passenger aircraft. 

But in some places the deadline is 2020.  

Mikael Robertsson, the founder of Flightradar24.com, told Sky: "Maybe authorities in these countries don't want to rush or I guess it costs quite a lot of money for airlines to upgrade their equipment on board."

In any case, it appears the system on MH370 was switched off. 

One current 777 pilot told Sky he could not think of a good reason why he would do such a thing. 

And with so many flights criss-crossing vast expanses of water, knowing the plane's last position is crucial to a swift recovery. 

Mr Robertsson said: "I think this is something that should be discussed: How much pilots should be able to turn off, and how easy it should be to turn some systems off?"

The backgrounds of the pilots have been scrutinised to assess the likelihood of criminal or suicidal behaviour. 

Professor Robert Bor is a clinical psychologist who has studied those who fly, and was specifically asked to review an incident involving an American Jet Blue pilot who had a psychotic episode while flying from New York to Las Vegas.

Captain Clayton Osbon left the cockpit and screamed at passengers before being subdued by some of those on board. 

His co-pilot landed the plane safely in Texas. 

Prof Bor and others concluded there were no warning signs beforehand which could have prevented the incident.     

"Every year an airline pilot will have at least two formal medical checks which address not just their physical health but their mental health. Every time they are doing the job they are scrutinised by people."

Pilot suicide is not unheard of, and is considered the most likely explanation for the crash of an Indonesian SilkAir flight in 1997. 

The pilot was heavily in debt - 104 passengers and crew were killed.

Airlines may also be studying how Malaysia Airlines has handled the disaster from a public relations perspective. 

The families of the passengers have gone from grieving to protesting, angry at being kept waiting for news, furious about misinformation, and the final indignity - some of them were told the plane had crashed by text message. 

Crisis management expert Raine Marcus told Sky News: "The communications with the families didn't inspire trust from the beginning.

"If you don't build up trust and goodwill right from the beginning, that has a direct impact afterwards on communications with the families and also directly on your business."

In the months and years ahead, as details emerge of what happened to MH370, there will undoubtedly be calls for lessons to be learned.

And in the meantime millions of us will continue to fly, hoping that our flight will not be one of the very rare ones, which does not have a safe landing.

12.15 | 0 komentar | Read More

Missing Plane: Busiest Day Yet In MH370 Search

Learning Lessons From Missing Flight MH370

Updated: 9:23am UK, Saturday 29 March 2014

By Ian Woods, Senior Correspondent

The small consolation that should come with every airline crash is that the knowledge gained from the tragedy should help prevent it happening again.

But if that were true, we might already know more about what happened to flight MH370.

After the Air France accident of 2009, in which 228 people died when their flight from Brazil plunged into the Atlantic, 120 representatives of the international aviation industry got together to recommend ways to make it easier to find aircraft which crash into the sea. 

None has been implemented.

They suggested that the flight data recorders - the black boxes - should have larger batteries so they would carry on transmitting a beacon for 90 rather than 30 days. 

But bigger batteries mean extra weight and extra cost for the airlines to install them.

They also suggested the recorders should be designed to break away and float to the surface, rather than sink to the sea floor along with the rest of the fuselage.

And that the frequency of the transmission should be altered to boost how far away it can be heard, beyond its current 2,000 metre maximum.

Salvage expert David Mearns, from Blue Water Recoveries, told Sky News: "If you reduce that frequency, the lower the frequency, the greater the range. 

"You go from 37.5khz , to say, 8.8khz as recommended, I think that would increase the range to over 10,000 metres.

"So that's a five times increase in your detectable range and that would help the teams out there now looking for these black boxes."

As for why the recommendations weren't acted upon? 

"It's a very big industry. It's an international industry," said Mr Mears.

"It takes a lot of time for these things to work themselves through the regulations; how they would operate, how the pilots would be trained to use them; they have to be implemented on the aircraft, so it takes years for these things to be done."

In an age when we can all track most passenger aircraft on our smartphones and computers, how can a plane still go missing? 

Most, but not all, areas of the world are now covered by the Acars ADS-B system, allowing them to be constantly tracked. Although smaller, older aircraft are not equipped.

There are new regulations being introduced around the world compelling airlines to fit them in all passenger aircraft. 

But in some places the deadline is 2020.  

Mikael Robertsson, the founder of Flightradar24.com, told Sky: "Maybe authorities in these countries don't want to rush or I guess it costs quite a lot of money for airlines to upgrade their equipment on board."

In any case, it appears the system on MH370 was switched off. 

One current 777 pilot told Sky he could not think of a good reason why he would do such a thing. 

And with so many flights criss-crossing vast expanses of water, knowing the plane's last position is crucial to a swift recovery. 

Mr Robertsson said: "I think this is something that should be discussed: How much pilots should be able to turn off, and how easy it should be to turn some systems off?"

The backgrounds of the pilots have been scrutinised to assess the likelihood of criminal or suicidal behaviour. 

Professor Robert Bor is a clinical psychologist who has studied those who fly, and was specifically asked to review an incident involving an American Jet Blue pilot who had a psychotic episode while flying from New York to Las Vegas.

Captain Clayton Osbon left the cockpit and screamed at passengers before being subdued by some of those on board. 

His co-pilot landed the plane safely in Texas. 

Prof Bor and others concluded there were no warning signs beforehand which could have prevented the incident.     

"Every year an airline pilot will have at least two formal medical checks which address not just their physical health but their mental health. Every time they are doing the job they are scrutinised by people."

Pilot suicide is not unheard of, and is considered the most likely explanation for the crash of an Indonesian SilkAir flight in 1997. 

The pilot was heavily in debt - 104 passengers and crew were killed.

Airlines may also be studying how Malaysia Airlines has handled the disaster from a public relations perspective. 

The families of the passengers have gone from grieving to protesting, angry at being kept waiting for news, furious about misinformation, and the final indignity - some of them were told the plane had crashed by text message. 

Crisis management expert Raine Marcus told Sky News: "The communications with the families didn't inspire trust from the beginning.

"If you don't build up trust and goodwill right from the beginning, that has a direct impact afterwards on communications with the families and also directly on your business."

In the months and years ahead, as details emerge of what happened to MH370, there will undoubtedly be calls for lessons to be learned.

And in the meantime millions of us will continue to fly, hoping that our flight will not be one of the very rare ones, which does not have a safe landing.

12.15 | 0 komentar | Read More