Malaysia Plane: 'Criminal Act' Behind Mystery

Missing Plane Probe 'May Provide No Answers'

Updated: 5:10pm UK, Thursday 20 March 2014

By Greg Milam, US Correspondent

One of the world's top air crash investigators has said finding a possible human cause for the disappearance of flight MH370 may be the only way of solving the mystery.

Thomas Anthony, a former security chief with the Federal Aviation Administration, told Sky News finding the aircraft, which disappeared nearly a fortnight ago with 239 people on board, is vital to solving many of the unanswered questions.

It comes after an American scientist who found the wreckage of an Air France plane, which crashed in 2009, claimed investigators may "never find out what happened".

"If the aircraft breaks, the technical investigation will likely disclose the causes," Mr Anthony said.

But he warned: "If the human breaks, the technical investigation may actually provide no answers to what caused the accident, incident or crash."

His comments come as the FBI is brought in to help analyse files deleted from a flight simulator belonging to Malaysia Airlines pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah.

Records of simulations were deleted on February 3, although investigators insist Mr Zaharie is innocent until proven guilty.

Mr Anthony, director of the world renowned Aviation Security and Safety Programme at the University of Southern California (USC), criticised officials for failing to speak with a "single investigative voice".

He also said he believes Malaysian authorities failed to prepare for a major air disaster.

As news of a possible sighting of debris was announced, the US also offered to help in any way it can.

Officials from both the FAA and National Transportation Safety Board are in Malaysia to assist with the investigation.

Most air accident investigators will at some point turn to the USC's crash lab.

Sky News was given access to its vast warehouse in eastern Los Angeles, where the wreckage of numerous aircraft is stored.

Project specialist Daniel Scalese said: "The answers are all here. It does look like a bunch of twisted wreckage but the answers are all here if you know where to look and what to look for."

The USC team said aviation has benefited from the public attention on air disasters as safety continues to improve.

They point to figures showing only 0.4 of every one million flights result in a crash.

Generally, they claim, a chain of five or six factors lead to an accident and discovering just one of those can lead to huge advances.

Mr Anthony said: "We don't have to wait for the final analysis to learn some lessons."

The investigation into the disappearance of flight MH370 is looking at a number of theories, including hijacking, sabotage and terrorism, as well as a fault with the plane, such as a fire in the cockpit.

Authorities believe someone on board intentionally switched off two vital pieces of communication equipment and deliberately diverted the aircraft.

Satellite data suggests the plane flew for at least seven hours after it was turned back across Malaysia towards the Strait of Malacca.

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Missing Plane: China Spots Large Object In Sea

The Chinese government has said it has located a large object in the sea after viewing satellite imagery.

During a news conference in Kualu Lumpur on Saturday, Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein was handed a piece of paper containing details of the apparent discovery.

The object is thought to be 42ft long (13m) and 74ft wide (22.5m) and was spotted somewhere in the southern search corridor in the Indian Ocean.

The China image was taken two days after two, below, captured by Australia

China said the object was captured by its high-definition earth observation satellite "Gaofen-1", and ships have been dispatched to the area.

The search operation of the ocean south west of Perth in western Australia involving six aircraft on Saturday failed to locate any sign of debris spotted by a satellite last week.

And bad weather could affect the operation after a cyclone warning was declared for Tropical Cyclone Gillian, which is forecast to move into the southern search corridor.

Mr Hussein said: "A cyclone warning has been declared for Tropical Cyclone Gillian, which is located in the southern corridor. Very strong winds and rough seas are expected there today.

"In the area where possible objects were identified by Australian authorities, there are strong currents and rough seas. Generally, conditions in the southern corridor are very challenging."

Relatives react angrily during a meeting with Malaysian officials in Beijng

It comes after angry scenes at a meeting in Beijing when Malaysian officials attempted to leave without answering questions on the search operation from relatives of the missing passengers.

One shouted: "You can't go. You can't leave here. We are here waiting for you 14 days. We want to know what happened, what the reality is."

Tropical Cyclone Gillian is expected to hit the Indian Ocean on Saturday

Another said: "We don't even know if our family members are alive or dead. We should never let them treat us like this!"

On Saturday, India said it had found no evidence the missing jet flew through its airspace after checking its radar records.

US First Lady Michelle Obama, speaking at Peking University during a week-long visit to China, said the US was committed to offering as many resources to the search as possible.

She said: "Please know that we are keeping all of the families and loved ones of those on this flight in our thoughts and in our prayers at this very difficult time."

The plane disappeared on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing two weeks ago with 239 people on board, the majority of them from China.

Authorities face a race against time to locate the plane's black box voice and data recorder, which only transmits an electronic signal for 30 days before running out of battery.

After that it will be much harder to locate the piece of equipment that is likely to hold the key to solving the mystery of what happened to the plane.

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Missing Plane: Cockpit Conversations Revealed

A transcript of the final conversations between the crew of flight MH370 and air traffic control has been revealed two weeks after the aircraft vanished from radar.

The transcript, between the co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid and the control tower, includes conversations as the aircraft was taxiing at Kuala Lumpur airport up until the final exchange with Malaysian air traffic control at 1.19am.

It also includes a repeated message about the aircraft's altitude at the same time as the plane's Acars signalling technology sent its last transmission before it was apparently disabled.

Excerpts from the cockpit conversations

At 1.01am it reads: "MH370 remaining in flight altitude 350 (35,000ft)."

Six minutes later, the co-pilot said: "MH370 remaining in flight altitude 350."

The final conversation in the documents, published in The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mirror, was at 1.19am as the plane left Malaysian airspace, and reads: "All right, good night."

But former pilot Alastair Rosenschein told Sky News too much could be read into the repetition of the plane's altitude.

He said: "You make a radio call confirming your altitude and then a few minutes later you think 'gosh did I make that call?', you don't know, the easiest thing is to make it again.

"So no it's not suspicious, at least I don't see it as suspicious.

Relatives of missing passengers shout for answers in Beijing on Saturday

"If he wanted to hijack the aircraft then this was an ideal spot because it lies between Malay air space and Vietnamese air space. So you've got that handover - the Malaysians are no longer interested in the aircraft because it's left them, they've handed it over, and the Vietnamese don't yet expect a call.

"Quite frankly if you wanted to take an aircraft and didn't want anyone to know, you wouldn't have done it on a Beijing flight - you're covered by radar the whole way.

"You would have done it on a flight from Kuala Lumpur say to London where you've got plenty of fuel."

Peter Marosszeky, an aviation expert at the University of New South Wales in Australia, added: "I've sat through many thousands of flights myself and it's not something that would really strike me as unusual.

"Without being able to hear the inflection in the pilots' voices, it's very difficult to determine whether anything said is truly noteworthy.

"I'd love to hear the actual voice level of communication to see if there's any level of anxiety that might have been driving the pilot to say what he did."

It comes after the search for debris spotted on satellite in the south Indian Ocean resumed on Saturday for a third day.

Six aircraft took off from Perth to search seas around 1,550 miles southwest of the city after two large objects were spotted earlier this week.

More aircraft and shipping is expected to join the operation over the next few days.

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Missing Malaysian Jet: Debris 'May Have Sunk'

The search for two large objects that may be from the missing Malaysia Airlines jet has resumed in the southern Indian Ocean.

Friday's operation involves five aircraft, including three RAAF Orions, and a US Navy P8 Poseidon which are scouring a remote area of 8,800 sq miles (23,000 sq km).

An Australian P3 Orion search plane has arrived back at base in Perth after failing to find any evidence of debris from the missing aircraft.

HMS Echo is heading towards the region

On his return to Perth, flight lieutenant Russell Adams told waiting reporters that conditions were perfect but there was no sign of any wreckage.

"We had really good weather compared to yesterday, better than 10km visibility and there was no rain in the area," he said.

"Unfortunately the conditions back here precluded us from staying on station as long as we'd like, however there are other aircraft out there still searching.

"We've got a lot of hope. Hopefully we'll find something soon."

RAAF AP-3C Orion pilot Adams speaks to the press in Perth upon his return

But Australian deputy prime minister Warren Truss said the objects spotted on satellite images in the remote southern Indian Ocean may have sunk.

"Something that was floating on the sea that long ago may no longer be floating," he told reporters in Perth.

"It may have slipped to the bottom."

The Malaysian authorities said they are using every possible search and rescue asset in the world to help them find the missing aircraft.

Britain's HMS Success will arrive in the area tomorrow and HMS Echo is also on its way.

Malaysia's Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein at today's briefing

David Cameron told his Malaysian counterpart that Britain stands ready to help with whatever specialist support they can offer.

"The UK has remained in close touch with Malaysian authorities since the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 on 8th March," said a government spokesman.

"The PM called PM Najib on Tuesday to offer any additional support to the AAIB assistance already in place.

"Following that, we have been in close contact with the Malaysians and have offered an additional package of support.

"We are also in close contact with the Australians and today we have confirmed that HMS Echo is already heading towards the southern Indian Ocean."

At a news conference in Kualar Lumpur it was also revealed the plane could have been carrying lithium-ion batteries in the cargo hold.

The flammable batteries can pose a safety concern and are required to undergo stricter testing than other types of battery.

In Boeing's 787 Dreamliner's first year of service, some four aircraft experienced problems stemming from its lithium-ion batteries.

Muslims perform a prayer for passengers at a mosque in Putrajaya, Malaysia

But Malaysia Airline's chief executive, Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, told Sky's Kay Burley the batteries were an approved item and were not classed as dangerous goods.

"We carry some lithium ion batteries but they are approved and not declared as dangerous goods," he said.

"Airlines do this all the time; these goods have been flown many times."

Meanwhile, Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the country was doing everything it could to find the suspected debris and to keep the families of the passengers informed of the progress.

"We owe it to the families, the friends and the loved ones of the nearly 240 people on board flight MH370 to do everything we can to resolve what is as yet an extraordinary riddle," he told a news conference.

A message board of support at a shopping centre in Damansara, Malaysia

"Because of the understandable state of anxiety they're in, we also owe it to them to give them information as soon as we get it to hand.

"We have five aircraft searching the area. We're looking for a visual that was picked up on satellite imagery and as soon as we have additional information we'll make it available."

A Norwegian merchant ship - the first vessel to reach the vicinity - has been using searchlights through the night to try to locate the objects.

They were spotted by a satellite last Sunday and could potentially be debris from flight MH370, one of which is thought to be 24 metres in length and the other about five metres.

Relatives of those on board wait for news at a hotel in Beijing

The sightings have been deemed "credible" and a "potentially important development" by authorities - as the search for the passenger plane enters its 14th day.

Australian naval vessel HMAS Success, which is capable of retrieving debris, is also en route to the search area but is some days away.

There has been no trace of the aircraft since it vanished from radar a short distance into a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8.

Wider searches, including of a northern corridor from northern Thailand to Kazakhstan, are set to continue until investigators are certain they have located the plane. Some 18 ships and 29 aircraft are taking part.

Satellite images show objects which may be debris from the plane

Those areas were targeted after faint electronic "pings" picked up by one commercial satellite suggested flight MH370 flew on for at least six hours after it disappeared from air traffic control screens.

Willie Walsh, chief executive of the International Airlines Group, said he was baffled by the disappearance of the aircraft.

"My deepest sympathies to everybody associated with this, it must be truly awful for the families and friends of the passengers and crew," he told Sky's Jeff Randall Live.

"I'm baffled; I must have heard twenty, thirty, maybe even forty theories on what has happened and quite honestly, we just don't know.

"I've been in this industry 35 years and I've never seen anything like this. I'm confident that with the technology today and the fact accident investigation has progressed significantly, we will ultimately find out."

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Putin Mocks Sanctions For Russians Over Crimea

Faces Caught In The Middle Of US-Russia Spat

Updated: 8:45pm UK, Thursday 20 March 2014

The fresh wave of US sanctions against Russia include banning some of the country's richest and most influential businessmen - and President Vladimir Putin's closest friends - from entering America.

Among the individuals targeted with and travel bans and freezing of US assets are billionaire brothers Arkady and Boris Rotenberg.

The co-owners of SMP Bank and SGM Group, a major supplier of construction services to Russian gas giant Gazprom, were judo sparring partners with Mr Putin.

The pair - friends of Mr Putin since childhood - also made billions in Sochi Olympics-related contracts.

Financier Yuri Kovalchuk, the largest shareholder of Bank Rossiya, is a personal banker for senior Russian officials - including, reportedly, Mr Putin. He is another close friend - and a neighbour - of the president.

They have known each other since the early 1990s when Mr Kovalchuk was deputy mayor of St Petersburg.

The bank - also on the hit list - serves some of the country's wealthiest officials and controls two big insurance firms - Sogas and SK Transneft.

High-level Kremlin officials including Mr Putin's chief of staff Sergei Ivanov and deputy chief of staff Alexei Gromov are also targeted, as well as Vladimir Yakunin, chairman of the board of the Russian state-owned company Russian Railways and a close confidant of the president.

Gennady Timchenko, a prominent businessman and owner of the private investment group, Volga Group, which specialises in investments in energy, transport and infrastructure assets is also named by the US.

President Putin's spokesman said some of the names on the list caused "nothing but extreme bewilderment" - and Russia immediately responded with its own list of sanctions on American officials.

These included Obama aides Caroline Atkinson (deputy assistant and deputy national security adviser for international economics), Daniel Pfeiffer (senior adviser and assistant ), and Benjamin Rhodes (assistant and deputy national security adviser for strategic communications and speechwriting), as well as senators Mary Landrieu, John McCain and Daniel Coats.

Mr McCain, the former Republican presidential candidate, and Mr Putin have long been engaged in a bitter personal feud.

During their last war of words in September 2013, the US senator accused Mr Putin of corruption, repression and self-serving rule in an opinion piece for a Russian website in response to a letter Mr Putin wrote in The New York Times, urging America not to use military force in Syria.

In an opinion piece headlined "Russians Deserve Better Than Putin", Mr McCain also accused the president of being "a friend to tyrants and an enemy to the oppressed" for siding with Syria's President Bashar al Assad.

Back in December 2011, Mr Putin let his views be known on Mr McCain after the US politician tweeted "Dear Vlad, The #ArabSpring is coming to a neighbourhood near you" at a time of huge protests across Moscow.

When pressed about the tweet during a televised phone-in, the Russian president hit back, calling the senator "nuts".

"Mr McCain fought in Vietnam. I think he has enough blood of peaceful citizens on his hands. It must be impossible for him to live without these disgusting scenes anymore," he said.

Mr Putin added: "Mr McCain was captured and they kept him not just in prison, but in a pit for several years. Anyone [in his place] would go nuts."

Earlier this month, Speaker of the House John Boehner, also on the Russian list, called Mr Putin a "thug" over its actions in Crimea, according to The Enquirer.

The Republican told the Cincinnati newspaper it was "time to stand up to Putin", adding: "At what point do you say enough is enough? We are at that point."

He, and Senators Landrieu, McCain and Coats hailed their inclusion on the Russian list as a "badge of honour", while the White House refused to comment.

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Flight MH370: Latest Developments At A Glance

The search for possible debris of missing flight MH370 has entered its second day.

This is what we know:

:: Australian Maritime Safety Authority search operation concludes for the day without any sightings.

:: Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said objects spotted on satellite images in Indian Ocean may now have "sunk to the bottom". 

:: Malaysia Airlines chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya confirms lithium ion batteries were in hold of missing plane, but insists they are "approved" and not "dangerous goods".

:: Hishammuddin Hussein, acting minister of transport, said UK has offered list of assets to aid in search.

:: Three-hour meeting held with relatives of passengers on Thursday.

:: Five aircraft in total involved in search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

:: Three Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) P3 Orions, a civil Gulfstream jet and a US Navy P8 Poseidon aircraft are being used.

:: Due to the distance to and from the target area, the aircraft involved have approximately two hours of search time.

:: One merchant vessel is currently in the search area.

:: A second merchant vessel is due to arrive tonight.

:: At least seven Chinese ships are heading to the region but could take days to arrive.

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Ukraine: Pro-Russia Forces 'Storm' Navy HQ

Pro-Moscow forces have stormed the Ukrainian navy's headquarters in the Black Sea port of Sevastopol and raised the Russian flag in an apparently peaceful takeover.

Witnesses said several hundred members of Crimea's self-defence militia and armed men, thought to be Russian troops, forced their way on to the base and raised three Russian flags over the building.

There were conflicting reports about the level of violence involved in the incident, with Interfax reporting that Ukrainian troops were injured after the gates were rammed as the assault began.

But a Ukrainian naval spokesman told Reuters there had been no violence and several men in plain clothes - believed to be from the "self-defence" forces - were in talks with servicemen on the base.

Armed troops - believed to be Russian servicemen - guard the naval base

"This morning they stormed the compound. They cut the gates open, but I heard no shooting," said Oleksander Balanyuk, a captain in the navy.

A Reuters witness saw around a dozen Ukrainian servicemen, unarmed and in civilian clothes, walk out of the base unarmed some 90 minutes after the pro-Russia forces entered.

Interfax Ukraine said the commander of the Ukrainian navy, Admiral Sergei Haiduk, was among those who left and was driven away by officers from Russia's FSB intelligence service.

Russia's Itar-Tass news agency reported that Alexander Vitko, commander of Russia's Black Sea Fleet which is also based in Sevastopol, had been involved in talks at the headquarters.

Ukrainians leaving the base were cheered by people waving Russian flags

Ukraine's interim prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has ordered the first deputy prime minister and acting defence minister to fly to Crimea "resolve the situation" a day after Vladimir Putin signed a treaty making it part of Russia.

Vitaly Yarema and Ihor Tenyukh - who has already vowed that Ukrainian troops will not withdraw from the peninsula - are to be tasked with "ensuring the conflict does not become military in nature".

But Crimea's prime minister Sergei Aksyonov said Ukrainian ministers would not be allowed to enter his territory.

Sky News Foreign Affairs Editor Sam Kiley said: "This is an example of the sort of incident that could trigger something much more dangerous."

A Ukrainian naval officer leaves his base in Sevastopol

Tensions rose as US guided-missile destroyer the USS Truxtun started a one-day military exercise in the Black Sea with the Bulgarian and Romanian navy and the Russian military launched large-scale aviation exercises in western regions.

And Germany's foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said he had urged his Russian counterpart in a phone call that an OSCE mission to Ukraine - which has previously been barred from entering Crimea - must be mandated within 24 hours.

Russia's Foreign Ministry hit back at criticism over its actions in Crimea, accusing western states of violating a 1994 agreement to respect Ukraine's sovereignty by "indulging a coup d'etat" that ousted President Viktor Yanukovych.

Sergei Lavrov has said sanctions - including asset freezes and travel bans - imposed on key officials over its intervention are "unacceptable and will not remain without consequences".

His response came after Russian President Vladimir Putin defended a referendum in which Crimeans voted overwhelmingly to join Moscow, insisting the poll was legal.

He said he did not want to "carve up" Ukraine but warned the West had "crossed a line" over the former Soviet country.

There was a peaceful night in Crimea after troops stormed an army base in Simferopol, killing one soldier.

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Missing Plane Mystery 'May Never Be Solved'

By Dominic Waghorn, US Correspondent

An American scientist who led the search for wreckage after the Air France crash in 2009 has said time is running out to find the missing Malaysia Airlines plane.

Colleen Keller, who helped scour the Atlantic Ocean for flight AF447 after it disappeared en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris, said identifying the search area was a major challenge.

She fears the chances of doing the same for the Malaysian airliner are now dwindling.

"We're going to need some significant leads to find it," said Ms Keller, who worked as an analyst for Metron, a scientific consultancy for the US Navy.

It took two years to find the Air France plane's black box recorders

"I think the search area is so big. I'm certainly hoping the criminal investigation will yield some motives that will steer us in the right direction."

The breakthrough in the Air France investigation came when US underwater drones discovered the wreckage of the aircraft off the coast of Brazil.

Based at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Cape Cod, the unmanned yellow submarines can spend hours underwater scanning the ocean floor.

Working in pairs, the drones dive as low as 6,000 metres below the surface.

The plane disappeared mid-way through a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing

The vessels cruise above the ocean floor using a lawnmower-style pattern, moving 10 miles one way and 10 miles back on routes pre-programmed before they are dropped into the sea.

A picture then emerges of the seabed and what is lying on top of it.

It took months of searching in 2010 and 2011, but the drones' eventual discovery allowed divers to salvage the plane's wreckage and, crucially, its black box recorders.

The Air France plane issued emergency signals as it went down and left debris on the surface of the ocean, giving a starting point for the search.

An extensive land and sea search has so far found no trace of the plane

Even so, it took two years before the plane was found.

Oceanographical engineer Mike Purcell, based at Woods Hole, told Sky News the complete lack of information was dampening hopes of discovering answers about the fate of flight MH370.

"It's possible we'll never find out what happened," he said. "I think there are just so many unknowns right now."

The Remus 6000 subs could be the best chance of solving the mystery.

For now, they lie on harnesses in port, as operators wait for crucial clues about where to begin their search.

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Missing Malaysia Jet: Chaos At News Conference

A news conference on the missing Malaysia Airlines plane has descended into chaos after two relatives of passengers attempted to stage a protest.

The pair were forcibly removed from Malaysian authorities' daily briefing to journalists when they tried to unfurl a banner.

Both women, thought to be related to Chinese passengers, were led away and shut in another room before being taken out of the hotel, with one being knocked over in the confusion.

While being escorted out of the hotel near Kuala Lumpur Airport, one of the women said: "We don't know how long we'll be waiting.

"It's been 12 days, my loved one... I don't know where my loved one is... it's been 12 days, where is my son? Why are you not giving me any answers?"

Family members are led away by authorities

The other woman, who was wearing a face mask, said: "They have followed us, taken care of us very well.

"However, we don't need to be looked after, we need to know the truth. We need to know where the plane is, we don't need someone to look after us everyday."

Sky News present Kay Burley was caught up in the melee as the two women were taken away.

She said: "People were being pushed, shoved, physically forced out of the way. The women were taken up an escalator and into another room."

The woman told reporters 'we need to know where the plane is'

In the news conference, Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said authorities had received more radar data, but that they were not permitted to reveal other countries' information.

He said reports from the Maldives that a "low-flying jumbo jet" had been spotted on the day the plane went missing had turned out to be false.

But he revealed that analysis of the flight simulator belonging to pilot Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah had shown some data had been deleted. 

He said investigations into the 239 people on board the plane continued, but stressed that they were all innocent until proven otherwise.

"We have received passengers' background checks from all countries apart from Ukraine and Russia," Mr Hishammuddin said.

Authorities did not say why they would not allow the women to speak

"So far no information of significance on any passengers has been found."

It comes after Thailand's military revealed its radar may have picked up flight MH370 heading back towards Kuala Lumpur just eight minutes after it lost contact with air traffic controllers.

They say they tracked the signal as the missing jet turned towards Butterworth and the Strait of Malacca, before it disappeared from their screens.

It took off from Kuala Lumpur at 12:40am on March 8 and its transponder, which allows air traffic controllers to identify and track it, ceased communicating at 1:20am.

The plane slipped off Malaysian civilian radar screens at 1:30am but continued to appear on its military radars until 2:15am before disappearing entirely.

Frustration is growing among relatives of the 239 people on board the plane at the lack of progress in the search.

Thailand's failure to quickly pass on possible information about the plane raises questions about the degree to which some countries are sharing their defence data.

When asked why it took so long to release the information, a spokesman said it raised no alarms because the signal was not heading toward Thailand and never entered Thai airspace.

Investigators will check Malaysian military radar data against the Thai data to see if they can narrow the search area.

Security agencies in countries with passengers on board have been asked to carry out background checks, but there have been no suspicious findings announced publicly so far.

China said investigations into the 154 Chinese citizens on board turned up no links to terrorism.

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Putin Says Crimea Vote 'Quite Convincing'

Russian President Vladimir Putin has told a joint session of parliament in Moscow that Crimea's breakaway vote was "quite convincing".

To a clapping crowd, he pointed out that 82% of Crimea residents turned out for Sunday's referendum, and more than 96% of them voted to join Russia.

His speech coincided with a concert and mass rally, celebrating ties between Russia and Crimea, in the city's Red Square.

Western leaders said Crimea's vote was illegal and have refused to recognise its new status.

The EU and US have imposed travel bans and asset freezes on senior Moscow officials, and British Prime Minister David Cameron said "there will be further consequences" if Russia takes further action to destabilise Ukraine.

As tensions continue to grow, one of Ukraine's top politicians told Sky News his country is ready to fight if Russian soldiers cross the border from Crimea into mainland Ukraine.

Serhiy Taruta, governor of the eastern city of Donetsk, warned: "We're going to have a war. Our people will take up arms and they will protect our country."

Earlier, Mr Putin approved a draft bill for Crimea's annexation.

Under the decree, which could be finalised as early as Friday, Crimea will ditch Ukraine's currency, the Hryvnia, and adopt the Russian Rouble within a month.

It is also due to move time zones - adopting Moscow time, which is two hours ahead of Kiev - on March 30.

The peninsular is also offering Crimean soldiers the chance to join the Russian army.

Ukraine has already called up 20,000 reserve troops and a further 20,000 from its newly-formed National Guard to protect the mainland against any Russian movement across its eastern border.

Huge tank traps have been placed at checkpoints and a 60-mile trench has been dug along the border as defensive preparations gather pace.

More follows...

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EuroMillions: Neil Trotter Wins £107.9m Prize

The Top 20 National Lottery Rich List

Updated: 10:33am UK, Tuesday 18 March 2014

The latest lottery winner has scooped almost £108m, putting him fourth on the rich list. The others are:

  1.      12 July       2011     £161,653,000.00                 Colin & Chris Weir

  2.      10 August  2012     £148,656,000                      Gillian & Adrian Bayford  

  3.        8 October 2010    £113,019,926.00                  No publicity  

  4.       14 March   2014    £107,932,603.20  

  5.        7 October 2011    £101,203,600.70                  Dave & Angela Dawes      

  6.      14 May 2010          £84,451,320.60                    No publicity  

  7.      28 May 2013          £81,381,673.30                    No publicity 

  8.      12 Feb 2010          £56,008,113.20                    Nigel Page   

  9.     24 Feb 2012           £46,432,285.20                    No publicity      

10.       6 Nov 2009           £45,570,835.50                    Les & Sam Scadding

            6 Nov 2009           £45,570,835.50 x 7              Lucky Seven syndicate 

11.       7 Feb 2012           £45,160,170.50                   Cassey Carrington  & Matt Topham

12.      20 Jan 2012          £40,627,241                        Gareth & Catherine Bull  

13.       6 Mar 2010           £39,754,555.00                  No publicity   

14.     16 March 2012       £38,034,639.70 x 12           Corby Stars  

15.       7 Sept 2012         £37,827,314.60                   No publicity  

16.      10 Aug 2007         £35,425,411.80                   Angela Kelly 

17.        9 July 2013         £28,847,237                        No publicity 

18.       26 Nov 2013        £26,863,588.20                   No publicity  

19.       31 Aug 2007        £26,533,767.50                   No publicity 

20.       15 Jan 2010         £26,151,124.20 x 4             Sturt Family  

All jackpot wins are on EuroMillions except where otherwise specified

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Missing Plane: More Satellites Scan For MH370

Satellite and radar surveillance are being stepped up in the hunt for flight MH370 as the search for the missing plane enters its 11th day.

At a news conference Malaysia's Transport Minister said the air and surface search area was being expanded and that other countries had been asked to examine radar data to help them target their search.

China has begun using satellites to scan for the missing plane after signals sent from the plane suggested its last position could be anywhere along two arcs stretching from Central Asia to the southern reaches of the Indian Ocean. 

Malaysian Defense Minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, revealed that the search area in these areas totals nearly three million square miles (7.7 million square kilometers) and area equivalent to the size of Australia.

Messages of support for family members at Kualar Lumpur airport

Twenty-six countries are now involved in the search. Mr Hussein said two more of its ships had been deployed to the south corridor.

Deep-ocean surveillance capabilities are also being deployed which could locate the aircraft's black box flight recorder assuming it had crashed into the sea.

Some families of passengers have threatened to go on a hunger strike, as their desperate wait for news continues.

The threat from relatives waiting in Beijing came as it emerged two-thirds of those on flight MH370 have been cleared of any links to terrorism, according to officials.

Some 239 passengers were on board flight MH370 when it vanished

"Relatives are very unsatisfied. So you hear them saying 'hunger strike'," Wen Wancheng, whose son was aboard the missing flight, told reporters at the Beijing hotel where families are gathered.

During today's news conference a representative of Malaysia Airlines said they were doing all they could to look after family members and that care assistants had been provided.

Background checks on all 154 Chinese passengers have not uncovered any evidence suggesting a plot to hijack or bring down the aircraft, Huang Huikang, the Chinese ambassador to Malaysia, said.

It appears to discount one theory that Uighur separatists - the group blamed for an attack in Beijing's Tiananmen Square last October and the massacre at Kunming railway station earlier this month - might have been involved in the plane's disappearance.

Mr Hamid and Mr Zaharie were at the controls of the Boeing 777

There has been no trace of the Boeing 777 since it disappeared less than one hour into its flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.

The aircraft's tracking devices were deliberately switched off, allowing it to travel almost undetected.

Satellite data suggests the plane flew for at least seven hours and could have ended up anywhere from central Asia to the southern reaches of the Indian Ocean.

It has prompted an unprecedented search involving teams from some 26 countries, who are scouring huge swathes of land and ocean for any sign of the aircraft.

Mr Huang said searches are now under way in China - part of which crosses a northern corridor across which the plane may have flown.

Meanwhile, investigators continue to probe the background of pilots Zaharie Ahmad Shah and Fariq Abdul Hamid, as well as ground engineers who worked on the aircraft before it took off.

The homes of both pilots have been searched and a flight simulator belonging to Mr Zaharie seized.

It is believed Mr Hamid made the last communication from the aircraft, calmly telling air traffic controllers as the plane passed into Vietnamese air space: "All right, good night."

Malaysian Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, who is expected to provide an update on the search at a news conference later, said: "The fact that there was no distress signal, no ransom notes, no parties claiming responsibility, there is always hope."

Malaysia's former transport minister Ong Tee Keat told Sky News the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) - a UN body - should take on the investigation to ensure there are no cover-ups or withholding of information.

He said he was not alleging a cover-up, but said transparency is needed.

He also said better coordination is needed among Malaysian government agencies and between countries to help find the plane.

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