Pope Tells Mafia: Repent Or Prepare For Hell

Pope Francis has warned members of the mafia that they will go to hell if they do not repent and renounce evil.

Speaking at a prayer vigil for relatives of victims of organised crime, the Pontiff said: "The power, the money, that you have now coming from so many dirty businesses, so many Mafiosi crimes, it's blood-stained money, blood-stained power, you can't bring it with you to your next life. Repent.

"There's still time to not end up in hell, which is what awaits you if you continue on this path."

His appearance marked the first time a pope has attended the annual event - now in its 19th year - which is held on the first day of spring.

At the vigil held in Rome's San Gregorio church, Francis met around 900 relatives of people murdered by the mafia.

After expressing his solidarity with the family members, he said that he could not leave the service without speaking to those not present: the "protagonists" of mafia violence.

The Pope shakes hands with victims' families as he leaves the church

"I feel that I cannot finish without addressing those who are greatly absent today, the protagonists who are not here, the men and women who are part of the mafia. Please, change your lifestyle, convert, stop doing evil," he said.

"Convert, you still have time not to end up in hell, that is what awaits you if you continue on this path. You too had a father and a mother, think of them, cry a little and convert."

The brutality of Italy's gangsters was highlighted this week following the death of Domenico Petruzzelli, a two-year-old killed along with his mother and her companion in a suspected mob hit in the southern city of Taranto in which assailants opened fire on their car. 

In January, after the charred body of a three-year-old boy was found in a burned car alongside his grandfather and another woman, Francis urged the suspected mafia killers to "repent and convert to the Lord".

The Pope has spoken out frequently about the evils of corruption, and wrote a short booklet on corruption and sin in 2005 when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires.

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Crimea Annexed As Monitoring Mission Agreed

Russia has consented to the deployment of scores of civilian observers to monitor the political and security situation in Ukraine.

The 57 member countries of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) have agreed for an initial deployment of 100 monitors to regions in the east, south and west.

Up to 400 more could be added "as necessary and according to the situation", diplomats said.

Western countries have been pushing hard for an observer mission as a way of preventing an escalation of tensions in Ukraine following Russia's annexation of the Crimean peninsula.

Russia had blocked the plan on previous occasions.

OSCE vice-chairperson Thomas Greminger welcomed the decision as a "very meaningful contribution to de-escalate the situation in Ukraine".

While US ambassador Daniel Baer remained optimistic that the mission would have access throughout Ukraine, including Crimea, Russia maintained the observers would not be welcome in the Black Sea peninsula.

Pro-Russia supporters celebrate the annexation in Simferopol, Crimea

Russian Federation ambassador Andrei Kelin said observers have "no mandate over there ... Crimea is a part of the Russian Federation".

Mr Baer said OSCE teams would start deploying within 24 hours.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's foreign affairs minister said that a political association agreement signed between the European Union and Ukraine was the choice of the Ukrainian people.

Speaking in Brussels, Andrii Deshchytsia said the agreement had been on the table for years.

The highly symbolic piece of paper is part of the same EU deal that sparked Ukraine's political crisis when then-President Viktor Yanukovych rejected it in November and chose a bailout from Russia instead.

At the Kremlin on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed parliamentary legislation incorporating Crimea into Russia, hailing it as a "remarkable event".

Moscow celebrates the annexation of Crimea with a fireworks display

Prime Minister David Cameron and other EU leaders imposed sanctions on 12 more people to punish Moscow for its takeover of the Ukrainian territory.

The EU also agreed to step up moves to reduce the bloc's reliance on Russian energy. Mr Cameron said EU members needed to do more to develop their own reserves, as well as their ability to use gas from overseas producers, including the US.

The Prime Minister said: "Our message to Russia is clear: choose the path to diplomacy and de-escalation or face increasing isolation and tighter and tighter sanctions."

Mr Cameron also refused to rule out further sanctions against several oligarchs, including Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.

The White House announced US President Barack Obama would be embarking on a six-day trip to Europe on Monday, including The Hague for a nuclear security summit and a meeting of the G7, then to Brussels for a summit of European leaders and a meeting with the Nato secretary general.

He will also be going to Rome and the Vatican to meet Pope Francis, before leaving the continent to head to Saudi Arabia.

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Malaysia Airlines Plane Debris Search Resumes

The hunt for objects that could be from the missing Malaysia Airlines plane has entered a third day in the southern Indian Ocean.

Today's search will involve six aircraft and cover 13,900 square miles (36,000 square kilometres) of ocean south west of Perth in western Australia.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said: "It's about the most inaccessible spot that you could imagine on the face of the Earth, but if there is anything down there, we will find it.

A plane embarks on Saturday's search

"We owe it to the families and the friends and the loved ones of the almost 240 people on Flight MH370 to do everything we can to try to resolve what is as yet an extraordinary riddle."

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.

Three Royal Australian Air Force P3 Orion aircraft, a New Zealand P3 RAAF Orion aircraft and two ultra long-range commercial jets with 10 volunteer observers on board make up the latest search team scouring an area 1,200 miles (2,000km) from the Australian mainland.

The jets and the P3 Orion left Perth at 9am local time (10pm UK time) and took four hours to reach the search area.

The vast distance only allows the Orions two hours of search time before they must head back to Perth. The jets will be able to stay for five hours.

The two objects that could be debris from the missing plane

Two merchant ships are currently in the area, and are due to be joined by the Royal Australian Navy ship HMAS Success later on Saturday afternoon.

Two Chinese aircraft are expected to arrive in Perth today, followed by two Japanese planes on Sunday. A flotilla of Chinese ships is making its way to the southern Indian Ocean, although it is still several days away.

Potential pieces of debris from the Boeing 777 were spotted by satellite last Sunday, but were only revealed on Thursday after analysis.

One object is thought to be 24 metres (72 feet) in length and the other about five metres.

The sightings have been deemed the most credible lead in the search to date, but some experts have warned the larger of the two objects could be a shipping container.

Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss has also admitted the objects could have sunk by now.

The search is in the southern Indian Ocean

Poor weather hampered the first day of the search on Thursday, but conditions are expected to be good today.

The planes are expected to fly low under cloud cover rather than rely on radar, a repeat of the procedure followed on Friday.

The US is considering a request from Malaysia for underwater surveillance equipment to help in the search.

The Pentagon says it has spent $2.5m (£1.5m) providing ships and aircraft for the hunt, and has budgeted for a further $1.5m (£900,000).

Despite the focus of the search shifting south, authorities are renewing their search of the Andaman Sea between India and Thailand.

Malaysia's Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the country welcomed "all assistance to continue to follow all credible leads" in what was a "long haul" operation.

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US-Russia Spat: Faces At The Heart Of The Feud

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.

Russian businessman Gennady Timchenko

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.

White House staff Daniel Pfeiffer and Caroline Atkinson

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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Ukraine Crisis: EU Sanctions For More Russians

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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Missing Malaysian Jet: Search For Debris Resumes

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

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said Friday's operation would involve five aircraft, including three RAAF Orions, and a US Navy P8 Poseidon.

The planes are scouring a remote area of 8,800 sq miles (23,000 sq km).

Flight Lt Conan Brett pilots a RAAF Hercules aircraft during the search

Australian 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 said at a news conference.

"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.

The area where the search will concentrate on today

"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 is thought to be 24 metres in length and the other about five metres.

Thursday search was hampered by strong winds, cloud and rain.

HMS Echo is heading towards the region

The sightings have been deemed "credible" and a "potentially important development" by authorities - as the search for the passenger plane enters its 13th 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.

A British naval survey ship, HMS Echo, is also heading to the region.

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.

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.

Satellite images show the possible plane debris

"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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Crimea: US Urges Russia To Show Restraint

US Warship In Black Sea Amid Ukraine Crisis

Updated: 7:53pm UK, Friday 07 March 2014

Turkey scrambled fighters jets after a Russian surveillance plane flew along Turkey's Black Sea Coast, shortly after a US destroyer sailed through the area.

The report comes amid heightened tension over the crisis in Ukraine.

The USS Truxtun passed the Dardanelles strait on its way to the Black Sea, amid reports that Russia has now 30,000 troops in Crimea.

The US Navy said in a statement that the Truxtun would conduct training with Romanian and Bulgarian naval forces.

"While in the Black Sea, the ship will conduct a port visit and routine, previously planned exercises with allies and partners in the region," it said.

Crimea is home to Russia's Black Sea military base in Sevastopol.

The Obama administration has taken steps to support the defences of US allies in Europe.

The Pentagon also sent six US F-15 fighter jets in Lithuania to bolster air patrols over the Baltics.

The fighter jets and 60 US military personnel landed at Siauliai Air Base in Lithuania, adding to the four F-15s and 150 troops already there to do the air patrol mission.

The warship, which has a crew of about 300 sailors, is part of an aircraft carrier strike group that deployed from the US in mid-February.

"This type of ship is one of the mainstays of the US Navy, pretty advanced, relatively recent," said defence analyst Francis Tusa.

Mr Tusa said that while military training exercises are routine, on this occasion the US appeared to make sure "people were aware that this was happening" to raise its profile.

"It's almost perfect," he told Sky News.

"You can both make the Russians aware the ship is going into the Black Sea - but it's a pre-planned deployment, so you're not flooding the area with a fleet.

"It's best of both worlds."

The straits has seen increased naval traffic amid the escalating tension between Ukraine and Russia.   

One Ukrainian ship and two Russian ships were seen passing through the Bosphorus strait on Tuesday.

President Barack Obama has already ordered sanctions on people responsible for Moscow's military intervention in the Crimean peninsula, including travel bans and freezing of their US assets.

He also said a referendum by the region to join Russia would violate international law.

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Russian Expats Eye Future Of Crimea From US

Ukrainians In Their Own Words

Updated: 3:20am UK, Sunday 09 March 2014

Three citizens of Ukraine write for Sky News about the sense of dread gripping ordinary people as their country slides towards conflict with its powerful neighbour.

:: Marina's story

"The course of life is the same in the capital of Ukraine. People go to work, visit cafes, cinemas and shopping centres. Public transport operates as normal. No special precautions need to be taken while on the streets.

"But there is a growing feeling that something is going to happen. Politics has become a part of daily life in Ukraine.  People discuss the latest news everywhere - in the streets, on public transport, in cafes, at home and at work. 

"Having lived through these past months, people have hardly had any time to realise what changes had taken place in the country. Hardly any time to mourn over people who perished on streets of Kiev.   

"At present we check news hourly. Everyone shares news, reposts important messages on social platforms, and leaves comments on news sites.

"Ukrainian men of all ages in Kiev and other cities and towns of their own free will are registering at military enlistment offices. The number is more than enough.

"We are facing an information war. The amount of misinformation, misinterpretation of events and barefaced lies from the Russian mass media is staggering and detrimental as the result.

"The news is presented in the most twisted way. It is so unbelievable that it becomes a farce. Ukrainians speak to their family and friends in Russia to try to explain what is really going on in Ukraine.

"Some months ago we thought that our worst enemy on the way to better life and a more prosperous country was the corrupted and vicious president and his environment - but it turned out to be just the tip of the iceberg.

"It has been about two weeks since it became known that Russian troops stepped on Crimean soil right after the transitional Ukrainian government was formed.

"It was almost impossible to get rid of the corrupt government, but such a great unity of people, speaking both Russian and Ukrainian from different regions of Ukraine got together and did it.

"It is obvious that Russia has its own interest in Ukraine with Crimea being the pretext. The goal is to destabilise our country, bring chaos and civil unrest and eventually prove to the world that Ukraine is incapable to hold its sovereignty."

:: Nastya's story

"I come from the eastern part of Ukraine, from a city called Sumy, which is 60km from the border with Russia.

"I speak both Russian and Ukrainian, and consider them both my native languages. Never in my life was I humiliated or abused because of speaking Russian. 

"We are used to being bilingual and 99% of the people I personally know support European values, no matter which language they speak.

"The issue of languages and nationalities is just a thing to manipulate us with during the election campaign and sadly now, to draw us into a terrible war which no one needs.

"Both of my grandfathers took part in the Second World War, fighting against German fascists. 

"They are probably turning in their graves because the people they were fighting with shoulder to shoulder against fascists, are now invading our beautiful land and calling us fascists for simply loving our country.

"It's like a bad divorce, when you don't recognise the person you've been living with all you life.

"This situation seems surreal. Germany is trying to convince Russia not to attack Ukraine. It's like a bad dream.

"It's like a bug in the system which prevents it from functioning correctly. It is beyond our understanding and our system of values.

"We are all very scared, too. For our children, our families, our future. We are praying to God to save Ukraine and our people. To make the people who make horrible decisions to come to their senses.

"We are asking the world to help us, because if the evil isn't stopped now, it will be next to impossible to stop it from spreading all over the world."

:: Ivan's story

"Right now the situation in Kiev has certainly cooled off and the main focus is on Crimea.

"During Maidan protests we were advised to avoid Maidan (Independence Square) and the centre of Kiev. Particularly the areas around the centre were very dangerous.

"There were a lot of reports of people just disappearing or being beaten up by 'Berkut' special forces. Former government forces showed their true attitude towards citizens.

"Thugs hired by the former government, people dressed in sports wear that were noticeably well-trained. We call them 'titushki'. Their purpose was to frighten, bully, or simply beat up the peaceful population of the city.

"They walked through police barriers without even a single question asked, while members of the public were not permitted in and did not get any answers as to why that was even allowed.

"As to the pro-Russian mood in the east of the country, people are very proud over there and do not like to be told what to do.

"Through lies and by playing on their feelings (many have families and relatives in Russia) they were duped into believing that Maidan protestors are fascist thugs who will take away their right to speak Russian, which is complete and utter rubbish.

"True, there are people who support partnership with Russia, but what they certainly do not support is Russia's military intervention. They hate the fact that Putin decided that we aren't capable of solving our own problems.

"The majority of people have changed their mindset and want our country to embrace other values, different to the values of a post Soviet bloc country.

"And that makes Putin go mad. He lost his grip on us - his puppet is no longer our president and, believe me, no one in southeast Ukraine or in Crimea is crying crocodile tears over him.

"I can assure you that people from both sides agree that Yanukovich is corrupt, incompetent and, frankly speaking, stupid."

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Malaysia Plane's 'Four Suspect' Passengers

Officials are investigating the identity of four passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines plane - but have not determined if the plane was downed in a terror attack.

Malaysia's defence and transport minister Hishamuddin Hussein told a news conference in Kuala Lumpur: "All the four names are with me."

He confirmed Malaysian investigators have met counterparts from the FBI, and said the operation is focusing on "the entire passenger manifest".

It emerged on Saturday that two people boarded the Boeing 777-200 using stolen European passports.

"On the issue of the passports, I'm in touch with the international intelligence agencies," he said.

A relative of a passenger on the flight waits for news in Beijing

"At the same time our own intelligence has been activated, and of course, the counter-terrorism units...from all the relevant countries have been informed."

Asked whether he believes the plane was hijacked, he would only say: "We are looking at all possibilities."

Flight MH370, carrying 239 passengers and crew, was travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing when it vanished around two hours into the flight.

The two oil slicks seen off Vietnam

The plane disappeared from radar at 1.30am (5.30pm UK time) on Friday, about 85 miles (135km) north of the Malaysian city of Kuala Terengganu.

A huge search involving 22 aircraft and 40 ships is continuing in the vast waters of the Gulf of Thailand, between Vietnam and Malaysia.

It has concentrated around the Vietnamese island resort of Phu Quoc after Vietnamese air force jets spotted two huge oil slicks in the area.

The parallel slicks - both between 10 miles (16km) and 12 miles (19km) long and 500 metres apart - were consistent with the kind of spills caused by fuel from a crashed airliner, a Vietnamese government statement said.

A photo of the missing plane - seen taking off in Paris in 2011

The search has now widened to Malacca, on the west coast of Malaysia, after radar data indicated the plane may have turned back from its scheduled route to Beijing before disappearing.

US federal safety officials have said a team of experts are heading to Asia to help in the investigation.

The team includes accident investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board, as well as technical experts from the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing.

Earlier today, Malaysia's Civil Aviation chief Azaharudin Abdul Rahman said so far search teams have not found any debris from the plane.

"So far there is no report of any sightings," he said. "We have extended our area of operations which includes the west side of Malaysia."

The jet is reported to have crashed in the ocean off southern Vietnam

Mr Rahman said no other aircraft in the Malaysia Airlines fleet would be grounded and indicated there were "no abnormalities" in the data received from the flight.

Two-thirds of the jet's passengers were from China. The rest were from elsewhere in Asia, North America and Europe.

The plane's disappearance is especially mysterious because it apparently happened when the plane was at cruising altitude, not during the more dangerous phases of take-off or landing.

Officials say they are examining CCTV footage of passengers boarding the plane after it emerged two passengers had been travelling on stolen passports.

The airline listed one of the passengers on the plane as a 37-year-old Italian called Luigi Maraldi.

Family members have complained of a lack of information

However, Mr Maraldi has contacted his parents to say he was not on the airliner.

He had his passport stolen in Thailand several months ago, leaving questions over who used his passport to board the plane and whether that has anything to do with the airliner's disappearance.

Another passenger was using a passport belonging to Austrian citizen Christan Kozel. He is listed as one of the passengers although he has been confirmed as safe and well by authorities.

His passport was stolen in Thailand two years ago.

Relatives are still waiting anxiously at Beijing airport for news of people on board the plane.

Distraught relatives and friends wait at Beijing International Airport

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Obama Hails West's 'Unified' Stance On Crimea

Putin Loses An Ally But Gains A Territory

Updated: 2:19pm UK, Friday 07 March 2014

By Ian Woods, Senior News Correspondent

Vladimir Putin can sit back and enjoy the show in Sochi after a very satisfactory week.

In between the Winter Olympics and Paralympics, he has lost an ally but gained a territory, and he has no plans to give it back no matter how loudly other world leaders protest.

The Russian President is in a strong position and he knows it. 

On March 16, there will be a referendum in Crimea which will almost certainly produce an overwhelming vote in favour of a union in Russia. 

It will give a semblance of legitimacy to a land grab orchestrated by the Kremlin, but carried out by a military force that the Russians claim they don't control. 

The territory, which was gifted to Ukraine in 1954 by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, will be returned to Moscow rule. 

Crimea continued to be governed by Moscow until 1991 when the Soviet Union broke apart, and has always retained a strong ethnic Russian identity.

The interim Ukrainian government protests that the referendum is unconstitutional and that any secession has to be approved by the country as a whole. 

But Mr Putin points out that the crisis began with an "unconstitutional coup d'etat" which removed the elected Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, so those in Kiev are hardly playing by the rulebook. 

Mr Putin is still giving his former neighbour Mr Yanukovych refuge, but knows that he is a spent political force.

Another lengthy telephone conversation between Mr Putin and President Obama merely demonstrated the gulf between them.

The US may have gone further than the EU in coming up with a package of economic sanctions, but it does not appear to have had any impact on Mr Putin. 

On the contrary, he is already trying to move on. 

The Kremlin's version of the conversation quoted President Putin stressing the "paramount importance of Russian-US relations for ensuring stability and security in the world".

"These relations should not be sacrificed due to disagreements on individual international issues even if they are very significant," he is also quoted as saying.

In other words, let's agree to differ on Ukraine, with no hard feelings.

The West fears that if it accepts what appears to be a fait accompli in Crimea, it could encourage the Kremlin to encourage a similar breakaway in other Russian-dominated areas of Eastern Ukraine such as Donetsk. 

Crimea could prove to be a slippery slope. 

As he watches the Winter Paralympic Games in Sochi, Mr Putin can award himself a gold medal for boldness - and for keeping a straight face as he told the world that the military forces in Crimea had nothing to do with him.

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