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Cyclone warning for coastal and island NT

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 15 Maret 2014 | 17.52

A WARNING continues for north-eastern parts of the Northern Territory over concerns ex-cyclone Gillian may re-intensify.

The Bureau of Meteorology extended the cyclone warning to coastal and island communities from Elcho Island to Cape Shield, including Nhulunbuy, on Saturday afternoon.

The bureau reports that, while ex-tropical cyclone Gillian had weakened below cyclone intensity, it is now expected to move west, passing to the north of Nhulunbuy on Sunday.

It is expected to then move west off the north coast of the Top End.

There is a risk it may re-intensify into a cyclone, the bureau said.

Gales with gusty winds to 110km/h may develop at Cape Shield and Elcho Island.

Communities under watch have been advised to begin home shelter preparations.


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Jet disappeared 'deliberately': Malaysia

Some experts theorise one of the pilots or someone else hijacked the missing Malaysia Airlines jet. Source: AAP

THE missing Malaysian airliner was apparently deliberately diverted and flown for hours after vanishing from radar, said Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, stopping short of confirming a hijack as the "excruciating" jet drama moved into uncharted new territory.

Najib said on Saturday that investigators believed "with a high degree of certainty" that Malaysia Airlines flight 370's communications systems were manually switched off, and that the plane veered westward in a fashion "consistent with deliberate action" after dropping off primary radar.

But he told a highly-anticipated press conference watched around the world that he could not confirm rising suspicions that the plane had been forcibly taken over.

"Despite media reports that the plane was hijacked, I wish to be very clear: we are still investigating all possibilities as to what caused MH370 to deviate from its original flight path," he said.

The investigation data appeared to cast aside a host of theories attempting to explain the plane's disappearance, which has transfixed the world and left the families of the 239 passengers and crew distraught, enraged and baying for information that authorities have not been able to provide.

These include the notion of a sudden mid-air explosion or a catastrophic equipment or structural failure, or a crash into the South China Sea.

At the same time, it opened a whole new avenue of possible speculation, including an attempted 9/11-style attack, enhancing the twist-and-turn mystery surrounding one of the biggest enigmas in modern aviation history.

Final satellite communication with the Boeing 777 flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing came more than six-and-a-half hours after it vanished from civilian radar at 1.30am on March 8, Najib said.

He said investigators had concluded the plane was indeed diverted to the west from its original flight path, and as a result search operations in the South China Sea were being called off.

But the remaining area remained dauntingly large. Najib said the plane could be anywhere from "Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to northern Thailand, or a southern corridor stretching approximately from Indonesia to the southern Indian Ocean".

Earlier, a senior Malaysian military official said investigators now believe the plane was commandeered by a "skilled, competent and current pilot," but stopped short of specifying whether a hijacker or member of the crew was suspected.

"He knew how to avoid the civilian radar. He appears to have studied how to avoid it," the official said.

As the search for the plane continues, the focus in the gripping saga will shift to who would have diverted the plane and why.

Malaysian security officials were already embarrassed by revelations earlier in the week that two Iranian men had managed to board the plane using stolen European passports.

It could also bring new attention on Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, and his First Officer Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27.

An Australian television report broadcast an interview with a young South African woman who alleged Fariq and another pilot colleague invited them into the cockpit of a flight he co-piloted in 2011 - a breach of post-9/11 security rules.

The Boeing 777 vanished over waters between Malaysia and southern Vietnam. The night was clear and no distress signal was received.

Even with attention now firmly on the Indian Ocean, the search parameters pose enormous logistical challenges.

The vast Indian Ocean has an average depth of nearly 3,900 metres and any debris would have been widely dispersed by currents after a week.

"Wind and sea conditions are definitely going to play a very big part if there is wreckage, and if it happens to be in the Indian Ocean. It is an immense area," said Greg Waldron, Asia managing editor for aviation industry magazine FlightGlobal.

The plane has one of the best safety records of any jet, and the airline also has a solid record.


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Liberals win majority government in Tassie

Over 360,000 Tasmanians will vote in 305 polling places from Hobart to King Island in Bass Strait. Source: AAP

TASMANIA'S Liberals is set for a crushing election victory and a return to office in the island state for the first time in 16 years.

Will Hodgman has led the party to victory at his second attempt and will become the first Liberal premier of the state since Tony Rundle.

Polls had predicted a bloodbath for Labor, who shared power with the Greens for the past four years, and experts were calling the result with barely 10 per cent of the vote counted.

Labor was hard hit in the north and the Greens had also lost electoral support.

Under Tasmania's unique Hare-Clark electoral system, where five members are elected in each seat, the Liberals needed to pick up three for a majority in the 25-seat lower house.

They looked set to win 14, while Labor had won five, the Greens two with four still in doubt.

But in the popular vote it was a landslide, the Liberals claiming at least 53 per cent, a swing of 14, and Mr Hodgman the highest personal tally of any candidate.

The 44-year-old father of three young children comes from a long line of Hodgmans involved in Tasmanian politics, but will be the family's first premier.

His late father Michael was a popular Fraser government minister and state politician.

His grandfather Bill Hodgman and uncle Peter were also members of the state parliament.

Also in Mr Hodgman's electorate of Franklin, Labor premier Lara Giddings looked likely to hold her seat but leadership hopeful David O'Byrne was under threat.

Greens leader Nick McKim also looked safe.

Polls taken in the final weeks of the campaign had the Liberals flying.

A Newspoll had the party at 53 per cent to the ALP's 23 and the Greens' 16.

Mr Hodgman was trumpeted as "Mr 54.6 per cent" by Hobart newspaper The Mercury.

The Liberals have promised boosts to health and education as well as the axing of 500 public service positions and budget savings of $500 million.

But they confront unemployment of 7.3 per cent, the nation's highest, and a budget blowout of $450 million over the forwards estimates.

Earlier, Ms Giddings appeared resigned to a loss.

"Of course it's going to be a difficult day, a tough day for Labor, but one where we won't give up until the very last," she told reporters as she voted in Hobart.

The ALP reportedly mounted a last-ditch campaign blitz with early morning text messages on Saturday morning.

Mr Hodgman questioned their use of robo-calls during the campaign.

"The Labor party have used my voice in their robo-calls," he said.

"I think that's unfortunate but it's part and parcel of campaigning."


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SA election still too close to call

About one million people are set to cast their ballots to decide the next state government of SA. Source: AAP

THE South Australian election is neck and neck with almost a quarter of the vote counted, as swings varied widely across the state.

The early results had both Labor and Liberals winning 19 seats each in the 47-seat parliament with two others also likely to remain in the hands of independents.

That left seven in doubt with opposition leading in several of those but Labor looking set to win the inner suburban seat of Adelaide from the Liberals.

On the primary statewide vote the swing to the opposition was three per cent with the swing away from Labor 1.6 per cent.

Going into the election the Liberals needed to pick up six seats to govern in their own right or at least three to have any chance of forming a minority government.

Labor held six of its seats on a margin of 2.7 per cent or less.

Despite the result remaining in doubt, Labor looks set to lose a number of ministers even if they can hang onto government.

Transport Services Minister Chloe Fox in Bright and Employment Minister Grace Portolesi in Hartley were both in trouble while Manufacturing Minister Tom Kenyon was behind early but could hang on.

Labor was also trailing in a number of other seats including the seat of Ashford, but was leading in Elder where the Liberals accused the government of a racist slur against their candidate Carolyn Habib by distributing a pamphlet which just featured her surname on the cover.

Earlier today Premier Jay Weatherill said he expected the result to be close with the election to be decided in a number of key seats.

"Obviously there are a range of seats that are going to be battleground seats. A large number of them this time," he said.

With the count so close a hung parliament also remained on the cards.

Mr Weatherill said he was focussed on winning a majority of seats, while Liberal leader Steven Marshall said the opposition had not ruled out forming a minority government.

"I've never ruled that out but I do say that it would be great for a government to govern in their own right here in South Australia," Mr Marshall said.

Just over 1.1 million South Australians were enrolled to vote.

About 70,000 of those cast their ballots early at voting centres across the state with about 86,000 people also expected to lodge postal votes.

Those votes could ultimately prove crucial.


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Stormy weather moves through Vic

STORMS have swept through Victoria, bringing down trees and causing damage to homes.

The Bureau of Meteorology issued a severe thunderstorm alert on Saturday, warning that damaging winds, heavy rainfall and large hailstones were likely to affect parts of the state.

The State Emergency Service said so far 80 calls for assistance had been received, mainly from greater metropolitan Melbourne, and coastal areas such as Chelsea and Frankston.

Residents in state's northeast and northwest have also contacted emergency services.

Many of the calls relate to fallen trees and roof tiles coming away from residential properties, causing minor leaks and flood damage to homes, the SES said.

Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster Stephen King said Saturday evening's storm activity would extend up from the metropolitan area up through central Victoria towards Bendigo and Echuca.

The bureau's severe thunderstorm warning currently applies to Northern Country, North Central, North East, West and South Gippsland and parts of the Central and East Gippsland.

An earlier severe thunderstorm warning for Melbourne has now been cancelled as the immediate threat has passed.


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Life sentence for Daniel’s killer

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 14 Maret 2014 | 17.52

Years before Brett Cowan abducted Daniel Morcombe he appeared in this interview from Front Up in 1999. Courtesy: SBS

Daniel Morcombe was abducted and murdered by Brett Cowan. Source: News Corp Australia

THE serial pedophile found guilty of murdering Queensland schoolboy Daniel Morcombe has been sentenced to life in prison, with the judge saying he is "beyond rehabilitation".

Brett Peter Cowan, 44, will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars.

In an emotional address, Supreme Court Justice Roslyn Atkinson set a minimum non-parole period of 20 years, but added he should never be released.

Cowan showed no emotion as sentence was passed.

Justice Atkinson was required to sentence Cowan to a non-parole period of at least 15 years, but said she felt Cowan's crimes warranted a harsher penalty.

"Everything about what you did to that child was horrific and disgraceful,'' she told Cowan in the Brisbane courtroom.

"This is not just a murder, but a terrible murder. It has had widespread and shocking impacts.''

She said it was important to also make it clear the community denounced the conduct in which he was involved and to protect the Queensland community from him.

"For the offence of murder the only sentence available is life imprisonment and yours is a case where that sentence is certainly appropriate,'' she said.

"For the reasons set out by the learned prosecutor in his addres I am able to set a parole eligibility date later than 15 years, which is the statutory minimum.''

She said in view of his criminal history and ``enormity'' of the crimes he had committed it was appropriate to set parole eligibility after 20 years served in jail.

"They should take into account that you are a plausible and opportunistic liar before they consider any view you might have about whether or not you have been rehabilitated,'' she said.

She said on count two, the charge of indecently dealing with a child, she sentenced Cowan to 3.5 years in jail to be served concurrently with the life sentence.

Justice Atkinson said she sentenced him to misconduct with a corpse at the maximum available penalty, two years in jail to be served concurrently.

She took into account 945 days Cowan had served in pre-sentence custody.

Jurors on Thursday found the 44-year-old father of three guilty of indecently dealing with 13-year-old Daniel, murdering him and interfering with his corpse after luring him from a Sunshine Coast bus stop on December 7, 2003.

The Morcombes did not wish to be present for sentencing. They were instead at a fundraising event for the Daniel Morcombe Foundation at Carbrook Golf Club.

A clearly emotional Justice Roslyn Atkinson addressed Cowan before passing sentence.

She said Cowan saw an opportunity on the day he took Daniel Morcombe.

"You were, in your own words an opportunistic offender, you were waiting for an opportunity,'' she said.

Supreme Court Judge Roslyn Atkinson made an emotional closing statement before sentencing Cowan. Source: News Limited

She said Cowan offered the boy a lift, a plausible story and told him you were waiting for a friend.

"You didn't look like a monster, you didn't look like a paedophile you looked like an ordinary persona and you persuaded him that would be a safe thing for him to do,'' she said.

Justice Atkinson said Cowan took Daniel to an isolated area off Kings Rd.

"He didn't know what your intentions were. When you got him inside, you indecently dealt with him, you attempted to pull down his pants, he was obviously horrified, he resisted and tried to run away,'' she said.

"You knew that if he ran away he would be able to identify you, your car, the place where you'd taken him, your registration number, you knew if he ran away you'd be caught so you killed him.

"Killed him because you didn't want to get caught. Killed him intending to kill him.''

MORE NEWS:

WHAT THE JURY WASN'T TOLD ABOUT BRETT COWAN

'DANIEL'S KILLER RAPED ME TOO'

SPECIAL FEATURE: CATCHING THE DEVIL

Justice has been served for the family of Daniel Morcombe, with Brett Peter Cowan found guilty of his murder

Justice Atkinson said it would have taken more than ``a few seconds'' to kill him.

"You put his body in the back of a car, drove to the old sandmining site…,'' she said.

"You covered him with branches and left him. When you returned a week later his body was for the most part gone, no doubt disturbed and torn apart by wild animals.''

She said everything about what Cowan had done to the boy was ``horrific and disgraceful''.

"This is not just a murder but a terrible murder. It has had widespread and shocking impacts of course and primarily, on his family, his parents and of course his two brothers, particularly his twin brothers.

"But you gave no thought to them and its not apparent to me that you've ever given any thought to that or to them.

"I've seen no evidence in the months you've been in this court … that you ever felt any remorse for what you did apart from feeling sorry for yourself that you might get caught.''

She said the abduction of a child in broad daylight by a stranger was very unusual and for that "we can all be extremely grateful''.

"The fear of the stranger drives fear into the hearts of everyone in the community that vulnerable children might be taken by a predator like you and dealt with in this way,'' she said.

"These are chilling and disgraceful crimes.''

Media swarm the prison van carrying Brett Cowan to jail after his sentencing Source: News Corp Australia

She said Cowan was now aged 44, but was 34 when he killed Daniel Morcombe.

Justice Atkinson said he had committed terrible crimes throughout his life, escalating in offending.

"When I talk about your upbringing of course it reminds me of other victims of these crimes: your family, your parents, siblings and most terribly your own children who will forever be associated with you and your name,'' she said.

She said Cowan's criminal history commenced when he was 17 and convicted for break and enter and unlawful use of a motor vehicle.

Justice Atkinson said Cowan was convicted in the District Court in Brisbane with indecent dealing with a boy under 14 on September 8, 1989, a crime committed on December 5, 1987.

She said the boy was seven-years-old and Cowan was acquitted of the offence of sodomy.

"You were sentenced to two years imprisonment,'' she said.

She said Cowan continued to offend in minor ways, but most importantly went to the Northern Territory and committed a ``horrific'' series of offences against a small boy who was only six.

"Again you just took advantage of an opportunity to commit acts of sexual violence against this child,'' she said.

Justice Atkinson said Cowan was convicted of an aggravated act of gross indecency, deprivation of liberty and another offence in relation to the offence.

She said Cowan was sentenced to seven years and ``pretended to be keen to be rehabilitated''.

"You are a convincing, plausible and adaptive liar and you are prepared to lie to advance your own interests,'' she said.

Killer Brett Peter Cowan. He is responsible for sex attacks on up to 30 children and was previously jailed for nearly killing a young boy in a brutal frenzy. Source: Supplied

"None of the Morcombe family wish to be present for the sentencing proceedings, for reasons that are personal to them,'' Crown prosecutor Michael Byrne QC said.

He said the family had asked him to pass on their gratitude to the court.

Detectives who worked the case sat in the seats at the front of the public gallery that Bruce and Denise Morcombe had filled since the commencement of the trial on February 10.

Cowan, also known as Shaddo N-unyah Hunter, stood in the prisoner's dock wearing the same grey suit jacket he has been dressed in over the past five weeks.

Justice Atkinson had words to those who called for longer or harsher sentences against sex offenders.

"People who call for longer or harsher sentences against sex offenders need to consider the evidence in this case that Mr Cowan killed Daniel Morcombe to avoid detection and if the sentence for a sex offence is the same as a sentence for murder, my concern is that would act as a perverse incentive to offenders to kill victims,'' she said.

"Killing a victim is worse than sexual offending against a victim and this case is an example of that.

"I just want to ensure that I have said that, so that those who call for greater sentencing of sex offenders have to be aware that this is not an area where there are simple solutions.

``That is not to suggest the courts should or do go easy on sex offenders whose behaviour is of course, entirely abhorrent.''

Justice Atkinson first heard then rejected an application from The Courier Mail and other media to broadcast the sentencing.

The crown prosecution had argued that Cowan should be jailed without parole for longer than the mandatory minimum 15 years.

Jurors on Thursday found the 44-year-old father of three guilty of indecently dealing with 13-year-old Daniel, murdering him and interfering with his corpse after luring him from a Sunshine Coast bus stop on December 7, 2003.

Decades before the disappearance of schoolboy Daniel Morcombe, his killer, Brett Peter Cowan was abducting and molesting children.

After deliberating for almost eight hours, the jury was discharged on Thursday after reaching a unanimous verdict.

The Courier Mail is now able to reveal Cowan's perverted sexual past, which includes horrific sex attacks on boys in Brisbane and Darwin in 1987 and 1993, for which he served nine years in jail.

During sentencing submissions before Supreme Court justice Rosyln Atkinson, crown prosecutor Michael Byrne QC argued Cowan deserved a longer sentence.

He cited Cowan's previous convictions, which the jury was not told about, including the rape of boys aged six and seven.

But Cowan's defence lawyer, Angus Edwards, argued his client deserved a more lenient sentence because he didn't intentionally kill Daniel.

Daniel's parents Bruce and Denise have tendered victim impact statements describing the anguish of losing their son at the hands of a child molester.

With Cowan present in the courtroom, Denise Morcombe described him as a ``perverted soul'' who underestimated the Morcombe family's drive to catch Daniel's killer.

"That was your mistake, you evil, evil, unhuman thing,'' she wrote.

Cowan isn't listed with the Supreme Court for Friday but a Department of Justice spokesman said the judge would be delivering a sentence.


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SA driver over seven times alcohol limit

AN Adelaide woman has been caught drink driving, recording a staggering blood alcohol reading of more than seven times the legal limit.

Police were called to the suburb of Ingle Farm at 5.30pm after a motorist reported concerns about the woman's driving.

The 47-year-old woman from Para Hills, returned a blood alcohol reading of 0.370.

Police said she will be reported for drink driving and her licence disqualified for 12 months.

The woman's vehicle has been impounded for 28 days.

At a later date, she will be summonsed to appear in court.


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Vic MP recovering after surgery

A VICTORIAN MP who underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumour is now on the road to recovery.

The member for Carrum, Donna Bauer, had surgery last Saturday to remove a large growth that was discovered during a routine medical check.

Doctors are confident that the tumour, which turned out to be an aggressive localised cancer, has been contained and successfully removed.

As a safeguard, Mrs Bauer will undergo a six-month course of chemotherapy.

The MP has assured constituents that her office remains open for business and she has thanked the community for their support.


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Indigenous concerned about Cape York plan

TRADITIONAL owners on Queensland's Cape York say they need more time to consider the government's 20-year plan for the peninsula.

About 10 indigenous groups say they want the March 25 deadline for submissions on the Cape York regional plan extended because of the significance of the plan.

The draft, released in November, outlines future land use for the region - mapping areas where development may be considered and areas of high environmental value.

Laura traditional owner Desmond Tayley says indigenous land owners, who will be affected most by the land use changes, weren't consulted before the draft was drawn up.

"This could be one of the biggest plans that affects how we do business on Cape York," he told AAP on Friday.

"The cultural heritage aspects are not really recognised in this plan ... the traditional owners and land owners have never really been consulted."

Mr Tayley says although the government spoke with Cape York councils, this didn't necessarily mean traditional owners were consulted.

He also wants similar protections offered to the Steve Irwin Wildlife Reserve, where mining has been banned, extended to include rock art sites in and around Laura.

Traditional owners from Western Yalanji, Mapoon, Pormpuraaw, Archer Point, Olkola, Lockhardt River, Chuula, Batavia Downs and the Wenlock Catchment Group have also expressed concern.

Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney says the draft plan was developed in close consultation with traditional owners and discussions will extend beyond the official March 25 deadline.

"The Queensland government is prepared to take as long as is necessary to get this plan right," he said in a statement.

"I can reassure communities on the Cape that all their submissions and comments will be considered in finalisation of the plan."

The 28 members of the Cape York Regional Planning Committee includes MPs, mayors, green groups and resource sector representatives.

The government has said the plan encourages economic growth, while green groups say it opens up vast areas of the cape to mining.


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Gorgon could be delayed until 2016

AUSTRALIA'S largest gas project Gorgon could be delayed until at least 2016 as joint venture partners Chevron and Shell differ on the expected start-up date.

It follows a series of delays and cost blowouts to the massive $US54 billion ($A60.02 billion) liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in north Western Australia.

Shell chief executive Ben Van Beurden presented a table to analysts overnight showing the estimated start-up date for the massive 450 million ton project had been pushed back to between 2016 to 2018.

Shell's presentation in London contradicts lead partner's Chevron's assurances that the project is on track to begin in mid-2015.

Chevron this week reiterated its start-up date for first gas next year.

In December last year, Chevron pushed back the time-frame from the first quarter of 2015 and announced the cost of the project had blown out by $US2 billion to $US54 billion.

A spokeswoman for Royal Dutch Shell, which has a 25 per cent stake in Gorgon, referred questions about the start-up time to Chevron.

The original budgeted cost of Gorgon was $US37 billion when it was given the green light in 2009.

Earlier this week, Chevron said Gorgon was almost 80 per cent complete, with two thirds of the gas already committed to buyers.

Offshore pipelaying was now complete and 65 per cent of the LNG from Gorgon had been committed under long-term contracts.

Mr Beurden also reaffirmed the company's $US15 billion target for asset sales over 2014-15 but made no mention of whether it would include a sell down of its stake in Perth-based Woodside Petroleum.

Royal Dutch Shell, a joint venture partner in Woodside's Browse project in Western Australia, has previously indicated it will begin an asset sales program.

Analysts predict Shell could reap $US6.95 ($A7.82) billion by selling its 23.1 per cent interest in Woodside.

Mr Beurden said the company had already announced more than $US4.5 billion of asset sales, including equity in the Wheatstone LNG stake and downstream businesses in Australia.

"There are more divestments to come reaching an expected $US15 billion for 2014 and 2015 combined," Mr Beurden told analysts.

Shell also said start-up for its 110 million ton Prelude floating LNG project would be between 2016 2018.


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Hey Dad! star not well liked on set: court

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 13 Maret 2014 | 17.52

Hey Dad! star Robert Hughes wasn't liked on set, former female crew have told a court. Source: AAP

FORMER female crew members of the popular television series Hey Dad! have told a court that its star Robert Hughes made them feel uncomfortable by sleeping naked on set.

Hughes, 65, has pleaded not guilty to 11 sexual and indecent assault charges stemming from allegations he abused five girls in the 1980s and 1990s.

During his trial on Thursday, crown witness and former costume designer Lauryn Jackson told Sydney's District Court that Hughes would often sleep between filming.

She said he asked her to come into his dressing room and "shake him" awake.

On occasions, Ms Jackson said he would be naked except for a sheet that was draped over his private parts.

At other times he would just be naked, she said.

Feeling uncomfortable, she said she eventually took to just knocking on his dressing room door and flinging it open.

When Hughes' lawyer Greg Walsh asked her if, as a costume designer, it wasn't routine to see actors and actresses undress, Ms Jackson replied that she had never seen anyone "totally naked".

"They have always given me the courtesy of having their underwear on."

"It looked like he was waiting for someone to walk in on him and see him naked. To me he did not appear to be asleep," Ms Jackson added later.

Charmaine Stubbs, who worked in wardrobe, told the court that in one instance Hughes looked at her and then "dropped his pants", exposing his penis.

When she asked "What are you doing?", Ms Stubbs said he looked at her, pulled his pants up and then walked away without saying anything.

Victoria Richards, who also worked in wardrobe, said she also walked in on a sleeping Hughes while he was naked.

"He wasn't very much liked on set?" Mr Walsh asked Ms Richards.

"Unfortunately no," she said, adding: "I found that over the years that I was there, by the end, definitely that was the case".

"It's not that I didn't warm to him, I just felt uncomfortable around him," she said.

The trial continues.


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Perth man not guilty of insider trading

Perth businessman John Kizon has been found not guilty of insider trading over an online sex shop. Source: AAP

PERTH businessman John Kizon and his associate Nigel Mansfield have been found not guilty of insider trading related to an online sex shop.

The pair had been on trial in the Perth District Court for six weeks before a jury returned the not guilty verdict on Thursday.

They were accused of using information not publicly available to buy shares in the Adult Shop in 2002, but did not make any profit.


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Man guilty of Serco employee killing

MATEJ Vanko has been found guilty by a Supreme Court jury of holding his Serco immigration detention centre supervisor hostage and executing her brother and his two dogs.

The jury deliberated for just over two hours before returning guilty verdicts on all five counts.

There was no love lost between Vanko, 37, and Noelene Stevens. They had had numerous conflicts at work and he felt she was blocking his desire for a promotion, the court had heard.

He had already cased her property a few weeks before he took a sick day on Monday April 23, 2012, hired a car and drove to the Howard Springs home she shared with her brother Donald.

He executed Donald with a Japanese ceremonial knife by stabbing him to the back of the head, shot and stabbed his blue heeler and Maltese terrier, then waited for Ms Stevens to return home.

He handcuffed her and tied her to the bed, demanded her bank account details and told her to get him a promotion.

He had her call in to work and say she would not be returning for two weeks.

But when he left the property Ms Stevens fled and called the police.

Her whole world had collapsed, she told the court in a victim impact statement read by Crown prosecutor David Morters.

"Where once I was confident, now I am a quivering wreck," it read.

She suffers from post-traumatic stress and left Darwin and the home she loved after her ordeal.

"I was certain Vanko would make every effort to finish what he started... I'm still fearful of his reach, even from behind bars."

She had twice attempted suicide in 2012 after her brother's murder, she said.

"(Vanko) wanted to kill me that day, and he succeeded - he killed the woman I was," her statement read.

"My brother and I were living in a dream... we had never been happier or closer before the nightmare (he) brought into our lives."

She asked the judge to hand down the maximum sentence and said Vanko had shown no remorse.

"His coldness is deeply disturbing," her statement read.

Vanko said he wasn't at the house that day, but out with a friend.

But prosecutors said he conspired with a fellow prison inmate to have his sister pose as Vanko's alibi.

She did not give evidence in the trial.

The defence alleged that Ms Stevens had fabricated her story, but Vanko's DNA was found on the curtains in her bedroom and on the tea towel strips used to bind her.

Outside court, Ms Stevens told reporters she was grateful the jury had been able to separate the truth from the lies.

Discrediting her was all the defence had to go on, she said.

"It was personally very distressing... but really, now, who cares? It's over, thank God."

The Crown said Mr Stevens had been unfortunate enough to get in Vanko's way.

"He had lived through some terrible experiences and made the decision on his own to change his life for the better, and found peace up here ... only to end up being disposed of so despicably by someone who wasn't even fit to tie his shoelaces," Ms Stevens said.

Vanko will reappear in court next week for sentencing submissions.

Under mandatory sentencing for murder in the Northern Territory, he faces a 25-year non-parole period.


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Palmer loses in Abbot Point decision

CLIVE Palmer's attempt to have a stand alone coal terminal at Abbot Point declared a significant project has failed in the Supreme Court in Brisbane.

Queensland's Co-ordinator-General refused to give Waratah Coal's proposal the status in August 2012 and Mr Palmer, who is renowned for being highly litigious, launched legal action.

The project was found not to fit government policy to create multi-user terminals and incrementally build port capacity.

The status could have streamlined approval of the project, which included a new rail spur, coal stockyard, conveyers, jetty, and ship loaders.

Waratah originally planned to develop the China First Project with various Chinese state-owned enterprises, to export coal from the Galilee basin through Abbot Point, in north Queensland, court papers read.

It intended to use terminals 4 to 9 at the proposed port expansion and was granted a "significant project" by the Co-ordinator-General in 2008.

But when learning in 2011 that terminal 4 - 9 may not proceed, Waratah began planning its own stand alone jetty and applied for "significant project" status in January 2012.

In contesting the rejection in the Supreme Court, Waratah argued the Co-ordinator-General erred by relying on ministerial statements to enact government policy rather than using the State Development and Public Works Organisation Act.

But Justice Peter Applegarth on Thursday sided the Co-ordinator-General to dismiss the action taken by Waratah and ordered it to pay all costs.

"Waratah has failed to establish the grounds upon which it seeks a declaration that the decision ... was not a valid exercise of power," he wrote.

Mr Palmer, now federal MP for Fairfax, was contacted by AAP and asked whether he'd still proceed with the project without a "significant project" status.

He hadn't seen the judgment and declined to comment.

When offered a copy via email Mr Palmer replied: "I haven't got time, I'm too busy on the Tasmanian elections, I'm not in business anymore, okey doke".

The loss is Mr Palmer's second in the Supreme Court following an unsuccessful action taken against the Queensland Treasurer and the North Queensland Bulk Ports Corporation in August last year, protesting the decision to downsize the Abbot Point expansion, acting Premier and state development minister Jeff Seeney said.

He said Thursday's loss again exposed Mr Palmer's total lack of credibility.

"For too long Mr Palmer has made unsubstantiated allegations suggesting he hasn't been given a fair go by the Queensland government, but the Supreme Court has found no evidence to support those claims," he said.


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Tiger triplets' births filmed in UK

Hidden cameras have captured the birth of three rare Sumatran tiger cubs at London Zoo. Source: AAP

HIDDEN cameras have captured the birth of three tiger cubs at London Zoo.

Three of the world's rarest tigers were born to five-year-old Sumatran tigress Melati on February 3 after a 106-day pregnancy.

The cubs arrived in the early hours, and all were born within an hour.

The entire birth process was monitored using remote camera technology. The zoo has yet to establish the sex of the cubs.

Mother Melati and her cubs remain together inside special "cubbing dens" with Melati only occasionally venturing away from her babies for food.

Their birth will be a welcome addition to the zoo, as it comes less than six months after the death of the zoo's first Sumatran tiger cub in 17 years.

Keepers at the zoo were left "very distraught" after the cub was found drowned on the edge of the pool inside the tigers' enclosure, two weeks after its birth in October.

The cub had been the grandchild of the zoo's last tiger cub, Hari, the father of Melati.

"We couldn't be more delighted with our new arrivals, and with how Melati is responding to her three cubs," zookeeper Teague Stubbington said.

"We've been observing them 24/7, and one of us is always on duty to keep an eye on the little ones throughout the night. We've even been able to observe key milestones like their eyes opening and their tentative first steps.

"While we still don't know whether they're boys or girls, we're starting to see their personalities develop.

"We've nicknamed one Trouble, as it's much bolder than the others - it was the first to start exploring its den, and we've spotted it waking up its siblings when they fall asleep."

In the 1970s, there were 1000 Sumatran tigers in the wild, but today there are believed to be 300 individuals.

If numbers continue to decline at that rate, they face a very real threat of extinction within the next decade.

Therefore the cubs represent a great achievement for the zoo and the global breeding program for the critically endangered species.


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Talks before new resources policy: Shorten

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 12 Maret 2014 | 17.52

Bill Shorten says Labor will consult the mining sector before revising its resources policies. Source: AAP

FEDERAL Labor stands firmly behind the minerals resource rent tax (MRRT) but has promised to consult the sector before formulating future mining policy.

Party leader Bill Shorten insists Labor will oppose in the Senate coalition moves to repeal the MRRT.

"The principle of the resources-based rent tax is a good principle and one which Labor supports," Mr Shorten told Sky News on Wednesday from Perth.

The opposition leader is in Western Australia - where Labor's MRRT policy has proven widely unpopular - on the campaign trail ahead of the state's April 5 Senate election re-run.

"In terms of what we do in our policies affecting the resources sector for the next election, we will engage in a dialogue with the resources sector," Mr Shorten added.

Labor acknowledges there is more work to be done with the sector over coming years in the lead up to the 2016 federal election, a spokesman for Mr Shorten told AAP.

Labor and the Australian Greens have the numbers in the upper house to block the coalition's proposed repeal but from July a new-look Senate could approve the tax scrap.


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Police search for missing north Qld man

DETECTIVES are appealing for information to help find a northwest Queensland man missing for over a fortnight.

Richard Mutimbe, 59, was last seen at Mount Isa Mines on February 28 and was reported missing last Thursday by his boss at the mining firm.

A police spokesman told AAP teams are searching a Mount Isa caravan park where Mr Mutimbe lives on his own and nearby bushland.

Mr Mutimbe is 180cm tall, solid, with black hair, brown eyes and a dark complexion.

Anyone with information about his disappearance is asked to contact police.


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Gillard offered Wilkie seat, MP says

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie revealed Julia Gillard asked him to be the ALP candidate for Denison. Source: AAP

FORMER prime minister Julia Gillard asked Andrew Wilkie to be the Labor candidate for his Tasmanian seat, the independent MP says.

Mr Wilkie says Ms Gillard offered him a chance to stand for the ALP in Denison, as well as the possibility of no Labor candidate running against him.

He says the topic came up "out of the blue" at a regular meeting as he was considering his support for the government over poker machine reform.

"Gillard effectively offered me Denison for keeps in mid-2011," Mr Wilkie writes in an essay for Island magazine.

"She said I needed to think about my future and, in particular, whether I wanted to be the ALP Denison candidate at the next federal election or wanted Labor to not even run a candidate there at all.

"The alternative, clearly, was business as usual - and by implication a tough Labor campaign directed at me come election time."

Mr Wilkie rejected the suggestions.

He pulled his support for the government the following January.

The suggestions were "surprising" but not improper, Mr Wilkie has told ABC television.


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India asked to join hunt for missing plane

MALAYSIA has asked India to join the expanding search for the missing Boeing 777 near the Andaman Sea - far to the northwest of its last reported position and a further sign that authorities have no idea where the plane might be more than four days after it vanished.

The mystery over the plane's whereabouts has been confounded by confusing and occasionally conflicting statements by Malaysian officials, adding to the anguish of relatives of the 239 people on board the Malaysia Airlines flight.

"There's too much information and confusion right now. It is very hard for us to decide whether a given piece of information is accurate," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters in Beijing. "We will not give it up as long as there's still a shred of hope."

The mother of passenger Zou Jingsheng, who would only give her name as Zou, wept and spoke haltingly about her missing son while staying at a hotel near the Beijing airport. She expressed frustration with the airline and the Malaysian government over their handling of the case.

"I want to talk more, but all this is very stressful, and after all it is my son's life that I am concerned about. I just want to know where he is, and wish he is safe and alive," she said.

Malaysia Airlines flight 370 took off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing early Saturday morning and last made contact with ground control officials about 35,000 feet above the Gulf of Thailand between Malaysia and southern Vietnam before vanishing.

Dozens of planes and ships from at least eight nations are scouring waters on both sides of peninsular Malaysia but have found no trace of the jet.

Citing military radar, Malaysian authorities have said the plane may have turned back from its last known position, possibly making it as far as the Strait of Malacca, a busy shipping lane west of the narrow nation some 400 kilometres from the plane's last known coordinates.

Authorities have not ruled out any possible cause, including mechanical failure, pilot error, sabotage or terrorism. Both the Boeing 777 and Malaysia Airlines have excellent safety records. Until wreckage or debris is found and examined, it will be very hard to say what happened.


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Murdoch among TV Hall of Fame inductees

RUPERT Murdoch has been inducted into the US Television Academy Hall of Fame in a ceremony in California.

Murdoch noted that the ceremony fell on his 83rd birthday, which he called an annoyance: "As you well know, I'm not fond of looking back," he said.

The chairman of News Corporation and 21st Century Fox did offer reflections on his career, which he said has focused on providing consumers with more choices and taking the risks needed to do so - such as starting the Fox network in 1986 to compete with the big three broadcasters.

Murdoch, whose media empire was recently shaken by a phone hacking scandal, also created the Fox News network which has taken over from rivals CNN and MSNBC as the highest-rating news network.

It often stirs controversy for its staunch opinion-driven journalism.

Also being inducted into the Hall of Fame was Jay Leno, the recently retired host of one of America's longest-running TV institutions, The Tonight Show.

Leno was inducted by fellow comic and TV host Bill Maher, who offered a spirited attack on what he called Leno's undeserved "bad publicity".

Maher said Leno's behaviour never warranted the brickbats tossed at him over Conan O'Brien's short-lived tenure as Tonight Show host in late 2009 and early 2010.

"Jay Leno reminds me a little bit of Israel," Maher said. "He's not perfect, but he's held to a standard nobody is expected to live up to but him."

He said the media helped fan the myth that Leno "stole Conan's dream" when NBC brought Leno back to host The Tonight Show after the show's ratings dropped with O'Brien at the helm.

In his acceptance speech, Leno, 63, said it was the right time to turn The Tonight Show over to the younger Jimmy Fallon, who is 39.

Leno said he watches Fallon's show, and the two talk a couple of times a week.

"He's terrific. He brings a new energy," Leno said before the ceremony. "I think he was smart to take it to New York, get a different vibe or different feel."

The other inductees included Seinfeld star Julia Louis-Dreyfus and prolific writer-producer David E Kelley, the creator of Boston Legal, The Practice and Ally McBeal.

Louis-Dreyfus, the Emmy-winning star of Seinfeld, The New Adventures of Old Christine and Veep, was saluted by friend Amy Poehler as "the best one on Seinfeld and always the funniest in a room."

Louis-Dreyfus shared advice she learned from her physics high school teacher: "Have fun at all costs," she said.


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Man with stolen passport was asylum seeker

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 11 Maret 2014 | 17.52

A MAN travelling with a stolen passport on a missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner was an Iranian teenager trying to migrate to Germany, and is not believed to have any terrorist links, police say.

The announcement is likely to dampen, at least for now, speculation that the disappearance of the Boeing 777 was linked to terrorism. Police said a second passenger also travelling with a stolen passport has not been identified. Both bought their tickets in Thailand and entered Malaysia together.

No debris from the plane has been found. On Tuesday, baffled authorities expanded their search to the opposite side of Malaysia from where it disappeared more than three days ago with 239 people on board.

The airline says the pilots did not send any distress signals, suggesting a sudden and possibly catastrophic incident. Speculation has ranged widely about possible causes, including pilot error, plane malfunction, hijacking and terrorism.

News that two of the passengers were travelling with stolen passports immediately fuelled speculation of foul play. However, Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu Bakar told a news conference Tuesday that investigators had determined one was a 19-year-old Iranian, Pouria Nourmohammadi Mehrdad, who was planning to enter Germany to seek asylum.

"We believe he is not likely to be a member of any terrorist group," Khalid said.

He said the young man's mother was waiting for him in Frankfurt and had been in contact with police. He said she contacted Malaysian authorities to inform them of her concern when her son didn't get in touch with her.

He also said there was no truth to a statement by at least one other government official that five passengers had checked in for the flight but never boarded the aeroplane.

The plane took off from Kuala Lumpur, on the western coast of Malaysia, early Saturday en route to Beijing. It flew across Malaysia into the Gulf of Thailand at 11,000 metres and then disappeared from radar screens.

Authorities have said the plane may have attempted to turn back toward Kuala Lumpur.

The hunt began on Saturday near the plane's last known location. But with no debris found there, the search has been systematically expanded to include areas the plane could have reached with the fuel it had on board. That is a vast area in which to locate something as small as a piece of an aircraft.

Malaysia Airlines said search and rescue teams have expanded the scope beyond the flight path to the Straits of Malacca between Malaysia's western coast and Indonesia's Sumatra island - the opposite side of Malaysia from its last known location.

An earlier statement said the western coast of Malaysia was "now the focus," but the airline subsequently said that phrase was an oversight.


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Charges laid over fatal tanker crash

THE truckie at the centre of a fiery fatal crash on Sydney's northern beaches last year has been charged with dangerous driving.

Two people were killed and five injured in October when the Cootes Transport fuel tanker allegedly lost control on Mona Vale Road and hit four oncoming vehicles including a Subaru.

The tanker exploded, sending towering flames and billowing black smoke into the air.

The man behind the wheel of the Subaru, a 73-year-old from Turramurra, and his passenger, a 71-year-old man from Western Australia, both died at the scene.

Police from the Metropolitan Crash Investigation Unit on Tuesday charged the truck driver, a 47-year-old Wagga Wagga man, with two counts of dangerous driving occasioning death.

He has also been charged with dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm, negligent driving occasioning death, disobey trucks and buses low gear sign, and failing to give particulars to police.

The man is due to appear before Manly Local Court on May 28.

The October crash brought Cootes under intense and sustained scrutiny.

Its fleet underwent mandatory vehicle inspections and, last week, Roads Minister Duncan Gay said the company had 14 days to convince the government not to suspend or ban its trucks from NSW roads.


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Bishop grilled on 'inhumane' asylum policy

FOREIGN Minister Julie Bishop has faced accusations that Australia's treatment of asylum seekers is "inhumane and uncivilised" during a hostile BBC interview in London.

Ms Bishop is in the United Kingdom for the annual AUKMIN meeting with her British counterpart William Hague and the defence ministers of both countries.

But on Tuesday morning, BBC Radio 4's John Humphrys questioned her about Canberra's "inhumane" detention centres on Nauru and Papua New Guinea.

The presenter noted they'd been described as having the look and feel of concentration camps and suggested Australia was "effectively operating a sort of Guantanamo Bay ... only in some ways even worse".

Ms Bishop defended Australia's policy, stating the federal government had taken a "tough line" to deter people making the journey by sea with consequent drownings.

"Our aim is to dismantle the people smuggling trade that flourished in South East Asia," the foreign minister told BBC radio.

"We've done this before and it worked."

Ms Bishop said people in detention centres were treated with respect and dignity and given healthcare and schooling.

On Manus Island the standard of accommodation and support people received "in many instances is better than that received by the people of Papua New Guinea," the foreign minister said.

A Senate inquiry has been established into the violence on Manus Island that led to the death of Iranian asylum seeker Reza Berati in mid-February.

Humphrys on Tuesday asked Ms Bishop: "Why can't you have these detention centres in Australia?"

"That's not a very civilised way of going about it," the presenter said of offshore camps before questioning Ms Bishop about the recent death on Manus Island.

"Yes well 1200 people have died on boats trying to get to (Australia)," Ms Bishop replied before the radio host interrupted to ask if that justified the PNG death.

"No I didn't say it justified it at all, I just said we are trying to stop people coming by boat," Ms Bishop said.

"This is what happens in unruly behaviour when violence occurs - and it's tragic."

Immigration is a hot issue in the UK with anti-immigration party UKIP gaining popularity on the back of concerns about a potential influx of Bulgarian and Romanian nationals.

The ruling Conservative Party has also increasingly appealed to voters' perceived prejudices on immigration since Australian strategist Lynton Crosby was put in charge of the Tory election campaign.


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We'll keep Union Jack, Bishop tells Brits

FOREIGN Minister Julie Bishop has reassured the British that Australia isn't about to ditch the Union Jack from the national flag.

Ms Bishop on Tuesday was quizzed about the push by New Zealand prime minister John Key to change their flag to a black one with a silver fern.

"Believe it or not it (the flag) is not an issue that actually draws much attention in Australia," Ms Bishop told BBC radio.

"I believe we will stick with the flag. There's no great demand to change it and many Australians have fought and died under that flag, sadly.

"We have competed in Olympic Games under that flag and there's a sense of pride in it."

Ms Bishop is in the United Kingdom for the annual Australia-UK Ministerial (AUKMIN) meeting with her British counterpart William Hague and the defence ministers of both countries.

The foreign minister noted the Australian flag contained the Southern Cross which was "very Australian".

She concluded Australia would keep the current flag and Queen "for the time being most certainly". Ms Bishop met with her Majesty on Monday night.


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Boat briefing travel cost over $15,000

The travel bill for Operation Sovereign Borders media briefings has come in at more than $15,000. Source: AAP

THE Abbott government spent more than $15,000 flying Operation Sovereign Borders commander Angus Campbell and other officials to Sydney for weekly media briefings before abandoning the practice.

The travel costs for 11 press conferences during an 11-week period in 2013 have been revealed under Freedom of Information.

Between September 23 and December 20, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison staged 14 briefings with Lieutenant-General Campbell and Defence Force vice-chief Mark Binskin before abandoning the practice.

The costs of sending customs officials from Canberra to the Sydney briefings, including chief executive Michael Pezzullo, was $8243.13 for 11 weeks. This included accommodation and meals for an unnamed official for two nights.

General Campbell's travel bill was $5552.31 for airfares and car hire in Sydney.

Cab charges and airport parking costs totalled $1450.

The travel itinerary receipts do not say whether airfares were business class.

Travel costs for the three briefings in December were not released.

Mr Morrison, who is based in Sydney, has discontinued his weekly briefings and opted to issue written statements and hold press conferences when needed.


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Malaysia launches terror probe over plane

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 09 Maret 2014 | 17.52

Vietnamese planes have spotted two large oil slicks in the sea near where a Malaysian jet vanished. Source: AAP

MALAYSIA has launched a terror probe into the disappearance of a passenger jet carrying 239 people and the United States has sent the FBI to investigate, as anguished relatives beg for news of their loved ones.

Six Australians and two New Zealanders are among the missing passengers.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished from radar early on Saturday somewhere at sea between Malaysia's east coast and southern Vietnam. Search teams were still hunting for the plane, and the airline said it was "fearing the worst".

Concern over a possible security breach grew as Malaysia's government said it was investigating four people who were on the Boeing 777 plane.

At least two passengers boarded using stolen European passports, officials and reports have said.

"At the same time our own intelligence have been activated, and of course, the counter-terrorism units ... from all the relevant countries have been informed," Malaysia's acting transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein told reporters.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is sending agents and technical experts to assist the probe, US media reported.

US officials told The Los Angeles Times that they were trying to determine whether there was any terror link to the flight's disappearance, but stressed there was no evidence to support that yet.

"Just because they (the passports) were stolen doesn't mean the travellers were terrorists," a Department of Homeland Security official told the paper.

"They could have been nothing more than thieves. Or they could have simply bought the passports on the black market."

Asked to confirm the reports, an FBI spokesman said: "We are ready to assist if needed."

The flight went missing about an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur, bound for Beijing. A total of 153 Chinese nationals were on board, and relatives camped out at the main international airport in China's capital bemoaned the lack of news on Sunday.

"The airline company didn't contact me, it was a friend," a middle-aged woman surnamed Nan told reporters, holding back tears, after finding out her brother-in-law was on the flight.

"I can't understand the airline company. They should have contacted the families first thing," she said.

Vietnamese boats reached the scene of two large oil slicks detected overnight but found no sign of the plane, army deputy chief of staff Vo Van Tuan said early on Sunday, adding search aircraft were deployed at first light to scour the area.

The search area had been expanded to 10,000 square kilometres, Vietnam's Civil Aviation Department said.

However, Azharuddin Abdul Rahman of Malaysia's Department of Civil Aviation said he "could not confirm" the existence of the oil slicks.

"We have not been able to locate or see anything," he told a news conference on Sunday.

Asked about the stolen passports, he said "we are investigating this at the moment" but declined to give further details.

An Austrian reportedly named Christian Kozel had his passport stolen in Thailand in 2012, while Italian Luigi Maraldi lost his to theft last year, also in Thailand.

Despite their names being on the passenger manifest, neither man was on the plane to Beijing, European officials said.

In Washington, a US administration official said authorities were aware of the passports issue.

"We have not determined a nexus to terrorism yet, although it's still very early and that's by no means definitive. We're still tracking the situation," the official said.

Earlier, when asked whether terrorism could have been a factor, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said: "We are looking at all possibilities but it is too soon to speculate."

Flight MH370 had relayed no distress signal, indications of rough weather, or other signs of trouble. Both Malaysia's national carrier and the Boeing 777-200 model used on the route are known for their solid safety records.

The flight was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew. A US company based in Texas said 20 of its employees were among the missing passengers - a dozen from Malaysia and eight from China.

Thirty-eight Malaysians and seven Indonesians were aboard, as well as a range of other nationalities including Australian, Indian, American, Dutch, and French.


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China to tighten rules against pollution

China says it will tighten environmental legislation and force polluters to pay compensation. Source: AAP

CHINA says it will tighten environmental legislation and force polluters to pay compensation following renewed blasts of toxic air.

The speaker of the ceremonial parliament Zhang Dejiang said in a report on Sunday that businesses were responsible for the environmental damage they caused and must be held to account. He said legal revisions were being prepared, but offered no specifics.

January saw air pollution density readings of PM 2.5 particles exceeding 500 micrograms per cubic meter, about 20 times as high as considered safe by the World Health Organisation.

China has repeatedly emphasised the need to control pollution, but has been reluctant to enforce even those paltry measures already announced, largely out of a fear of social disruption and increasing the burden on an already slowing economy.


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Hopes fade for missing jet passengers

Two Brisbane couples and another two Australians are among 239 people missing on a Malaysia Airlines flight.

Missing plane ... Malaysia Airlines flight 370 was bound for Beijing and has vanished. Source: Supplied

  • Beijing-bound flight from Kuala Lumpur
  • 239 passengers missing, including six Australians
  • DFAT hotline: 1300 555 135 or 02 6261 3305
  • See full passenger manifest
  • Two passengers 'boarded on stolen passports'

239 ARE feared dead, with Australians among the missing passengers on Malaysian Airlines MH370.

With the FBI joining the international search for answers to what downed missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, security experts say China may have been the intented target.

It has emerged that two of the four travellers being investigated for travelling with stolen passports were travelling together and had booked through China Southern Airlines.

Although there were 14 nationalities aboard the Boeing 777, the vast majority were Chinese and the plane was flying to Beijing as a code share with China Southern Airlines.

Another pilot who was flying ahead of the missing Malaysia Airlines plane has revealed he made contact with aircraft minutes after he was asked to do so by Vietnamese air traffic control.

The captain, who requested to remain anonymous, told Malaysian media outlets his plane, which was bound for Narita, Japan, was in Vietnamese airspace when he was asked to contact the pilot flying the missing plane.

In using his plane's emergency frequency, he was asked to try and establish its position after authorities failed to make contact.

"We managed to establish contact with MH370 just after 1.30am and asked them if they have transferred into Vietnamese airspace," he told the New Straits Times.

"The voice on the other side could have been either Captain Zaharie or Fariq, but I was sure it was the co-pilot.

"There were a lot of interference... static... but I heard mumbling from the other end.

"That was the last time we heard from them, as we lost the connection," he said."

First officer Fariq ab Hamid ... who was on the missing aircraft. Source: Facebook

He said those on the same frequency at the time would have heard him, including vessels on the waters below.

He said he thought nothing of losing contact at first, as it was was normal, until the plane never landed in Beijing.

"If the plane was in trouble, we would have heard the pilot making the Mayday distress call. But I am sure that, like me, no one else up there heard it.

"Following the silence, a repeat request was made by the Vietnamese authorities to try establishing contact with them."

The new details come as the lcation of the plane remains a mystery.

Oil slicks were spotted today, which could possibly lead officials to where it landed.

As family and friends wait for news, a Malaysian aviation authority official told the media this morning their search had been unsuccessful so far.

"We have not been able to locate anything, see anything," he said.

Today, the Department of Civil Aviation will extend the search and rescue operation to the Straits of Malacca, as Malaysian authorities are now awaiting the latest satellite imagery for any signs of wreckage from flight MH370.

The airline also said one of its teams has already arrived in Beijing to meet with familes of the passengers. It will also set up a command center at Kota Bharu, Malaysia or Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam as soon as the location of the aircraft is established and "make the necessary arrangements".

Members of a special assistance team ... from Malaysia arrive at a hotel room prepared for relatives or friends of passengers. Picture: Andy Wong Source: AP

The FBI is also deploying agents and technical experts to assist and help review video from the Kuala Lumpur airport for images of departing passengers that can be checked in the bureau's vast counter-terrorism database.

At least three US citizens, and an infant who could be a US citizen, were on board the plane.

"This gives us entree'' to the case, the official said, speaking confidentially because the FBI investigation is just beginning. "But so far what happened is a mystery.''

US officials said they are looking at whether this could be terrorism, as they would with any plane crash until proved otherwise.

As Malaysian Airlines released more information about passengers on board the plane, it emerged that two passengers were travelling on stolen passports.

Luigi Maraldi, 27, was listed as the sole Italian national aboard the missing flight, but according to his father, was not on the plane.

"Luigi called us early this morning to reassure us he was fine, but we didn't know about the accident," Walter Maraldi told NBC News. "Thank God he heard about it before us."

The name of an Austrian citizen, Christian Kozel, 30, also appeared on the passenger manifest, but the European nation's foreign ministry stated that the man was safe back home, and that his passport had been stolen.

Officials from Italy and Austria confirmed that the travel documents of both men were reported stolen in Thailand.

EXPERTS EXAMINE: HOW COULD THIS PLANE DISAPPEAR?

AUSTRALIANS ON BOARD FLIGHT MH370

Six Australians including two couples from Queensland and one couple from New South Wales are missing and feared dead.

They are among the 239 people on board the Malaysia Airlines flight that has not been found yet.

Brisbane couples Rodney and Mary Burrows, and Catherine and Robert Lawton of Springfield Lakes are believed to be friends travelling together.

"Dad phoned this morning and said 'Bobby's plane's missing','' said Robert Lawton's brother David.

"I couldn't believe it. I still can't believe it.

"We just want to know where it is, where the plane's come down, if there's anything left."

Cathy and Bob Lawton are kindly neighbours, doting grandparents and adventurous spirits who have long roamed the world, according to friends and family of the Brisbane couple.

Family who had gathered at a Burrows family home yesterday waiting for news saidthey were too upset to speak.

The Burrows lived in the quiet Brisbane suburb of Middle Park, where neighbours last night described the tragic loss of two soul mates who always put family first.

"They are lovely people," said Don Stokes.

"They were excited about the trip.

Fellow neighbour Mandy Watt added: "They were all about the kids. The kids had moved on... they're all successful, all happy. This was their time."

The couple from Sydney have been identified as Li Yuan and Gu Naijun. Their last known address is a peaceful townhouse in a complex on the northern tip of the Sutherland Shire, where Boeings and Airbuses criss-cross in the skies above. Mr Li is believed to own the Metro petrol station in Miranda.

Perth-based father-of-two Paul Weeks, originally from New Zealand, was also among the 239 passengers and crew feared dead.

Perth-based father Paul Weeks, originally from New Zealand, is also missing. Source: Supplied

Mary and Rodney Burrows ... who were also on the Malaysia Airlines plane. Source: Supplied

The 39-year-old, who lives in Perth's north-eastern suburbs with his young family, was on his way to do his first shift as part of a fly in-fly out job in Mongolia.

It was meant to be the start of a dream job for the mechanical engineer.

Last night his wife Danica spoke to The Sunday Times from their home and said she was trying to come to grips with the tragic news.

The couple have a three-year-old son named Lincoln and a 10-month-old called Jack.

Mr Weeks is originally from New Zealand and moved to WA in 2011 to work in the mining industry.

According to his online job resume, he had been working with MTU Detroit Diesel Australia in WA.

He had previously worked for the New Zealand army for about six years.

Mr Weeks was listed as one of two New Zealand passengers despite his ties to Australia. The Sunday Times also understands the brother of a Perth woman was on the flight.

On board the flight ... Catherine and Robert Lawton of Springfield Lakes. Picture: Facebook Source: Facebook

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman said it was looking grim.

"But let's hold out hope for some sort of miracle," he said. "Our hearts and thoughts are with the families of all nationalities, but of course our Queensland friends.

"It doesn't look good."

Prime Minister Tony Abbott also said he would consider how we could assist with the search and rescue mission underway but would not speculate on the plane's disappearance.

Mr Abbott described the tragedy as a "horrible, horrible business''.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the passengers and their families on that ill-fated aircraft, particularly to the six Australian passengers and their families, that have now been confirmed to be on board,'' he told reporters in Adelaide.

"We're looking at ways in which we can help with the search and recovery operation.''

Opposition leader Bill Shorten echoed Mr Abbott's comments.

"I believe the Australian nation's thoughts go out to the families of those Australians and New Zealanders that are on this plane, and indeed the families of everyone,'' he said.

A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the government "fears the worst" for those aboard the flight, and that they had so far confirmed the names of six Australians on the flight's passenger manifest.

"Our sympathies are with the families and friends of these Australians. We also extend our condolences to the families of the other passengers and to the governments of all those countries affected, in particular China, Indonesia and Malaysia who had significant numbers of nationals on this flight.

"Australian consular officials are in urgent and ongoing contact with Malaysia Airlines. Malaysia Airlines has advised that it is contacting relatives of the passengers on the flight."

The airline has established a call centre – phone +60 37884 1234 – for those seeking more information.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's 24 hour Consular Emergency Centre is contactable on 1300 555 135, or +61 2 6261 3305 (if calling from overseas).

MORE: TIMELINE OF HOW THE PLANE VANISHED

WHO ELSE WAS ON BOARD AS PLANE LOST CONTACT

The Beijing-bound Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, a Boeing 777-200 aircraft, lost contact with Subang Air Traffic Control at 5.40am (AEST).

"The flight was carrying 227 passengers (including two infants), 12 crew members," the airline said in a statement.

Malaysia Airlines said the passengers were from 14 different countries and has released the full passenger list with the names, nationalities and ages of those on board.

A total of 153 passengers were Chinese nationals. The airline also reported 38 passengers from Malaysia, 12 from Indonesia, three from France, two from New Zealand, four from the USA, two from Ukraine, two Canadians, two Russians, one Italian, one from Taiwan, one from the Netherlands and one from Austria.

However two passengers on the plane appear to have used stolen Austrian and Italian passports to board.

Waiting for news ... Chrisman Siregar, right, shows a portrait of his son Firman who was one of the passengers on board the Malaysia Airlines plane. Picture: AP Source: AP

Today, a Texas-based semiconductor firm said that 20 of its employees were confirmed passengers on board.

A total of 12 people from Malaysia and another eight from China were on the flight, Freescale Semiconductor president and CEO Gregg Lowe said.

"At present, we are solely focused on our employees and their families," he added in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by this tragic event.

"The entire Freescale Semiconductor community is deeply saddened by this news. The company is continuing to monitor the situation and will provide more information as it becomes available," the Austin, Texas-based firm said.

After being unable to locate the plane for more than 24 hours, Malaysia Airlines has released a statement saying: "Immediate families of passengers are advised to gather at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Travel arrangements and expenses will be borne by Malaysia Airlines. Once, the whereabouts of the aircraft is determined, Malaysia Airlines will fly members of the family to the location.

"Our sole priority now is to provide all assistance to the families of the passengers and our staff.

"We are also working closely with the concerned authorities in the search and rescue operation.

"The families may contact +603 7884 1234."

OIL SLICKS DETECTED PROVIDE POSSIBLE CLUE

Vietnamese air force planes have spotted two large oil slicks that authorities suspect are from the missing Malaysian jetliner.

The slicks were spotted off the southern tip of Vietnam, a government statement says.

The slicks were each between 10km and 15km long.

The statement says the slicks are consistent with the kinds that would be left by fuel from a crashed jetliner.

Hours after Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared from radar screens en route to Beijing, the rumour mill was swirling.

Officials were forced to deny reports that the plane had landed in southern China, saying they were simply untrue.

The Vietnamese air force have spotted two large oil slicks that authorities suspect are from a missing jet.

PLANE CRASH THEORIES CONTINUE

They also said reports that the plane had crashed of the South Vietnamese coast had not been confirmed, nor could they rule out a terrorist attack or a complete loss of fuel.

The Vietnamese Navy claimed its military radar had recorded the plane crashing into the sea about 250km south of Phu Quoc Island, a popular Vietnamese tourist resort near Cambodia. That, too, remained unconfirmed.

Another report claimed the plane had suddenly plunged 200m and changed course shortly before all contact was lost. Aviation experts say this could have been due to a catastrophic engine failure, the pilots taking evasive action to avoid another aircraft, or an explosion.

But late into the night airline officials were still saying they simply did not know what had happened.

Raw ... in Beijing, a woman in tears is helped by airport workers to a bus waiting for relatives of the missing passengers. Picture: Han Guan Ng Source: AP

What is known is that three hours and 40 minutes afte takeoff the flight ceased all contact with air traffic control near Ca Mau province in southern Vietnam.

Since then, no emergency message nor distress beacon has been heard.

"Normally, with a situation on a flight, they have time to check systems, activate emergency beacons, talk to other aircraft nearby and air traffic control," Adam Susz from the the Australian and International Pilots Association said.

"The thing about this type of incident is it seems to happen instantly.

"That's probably the last thing we want to hear is that it is a very sudden and unexpected sign."

Mr Susz said aircrafts were normally in constant communication with air traffic control, typically every 30 to 60 minutes, either by satellite or VHF.

Chinese and Thai authorities said the Boeing 777-200 did not enter their airspace.

The world waits ... A spokesperson, right, from the Malaysia Airlines speaks to the media at a hotel in Beijing. Picture: Andy Wong Source: AP

FRIENDS, RELATIVES LASH OUT AT AIRLINE

Tearful and angry, the friends and relatives of passengers on board missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 have lashed out at the company as journalists besieged them in a Beijing hotel.

Many were taken there by the airline after going to the Chinese capital's airport to meet the flight, scheduled to land at around 6.30am.

A press conference was expected at the same location, and when others arrived later, they had to run the gauntlet of scores of Chinese and international reporters shoving microphones and cameras in their faces.

"They should have told us something before now," said one visibly distressed man in his 30s, from the Chinese city of Tianjin.

A man in his 20s struggled to help a grieving older woman, possibly his mother, into a quiet room as journalists shouted questions at her.

Some Chinese relatives of the passengers on board a Malaysian Airlines flight that went missing off of Vietnam are angry over what they say was the airline's initial lack of response. Mana Rabiee reports.

"They are useless," he said of the airline. "I don't know why they haven't released any information. We waited for four hours and all they told us was the very few details they released at the media conference."

Fighting back tears, a 20-year-old woman who had gone to the airport to meet a college friend said the passenger's family still had not been told by the airline she was on board.

Scores of family members spoke to airline officials in small groups in a room on the hotel's second floor.

Security at times struggled to hold back the huge throng of reporters crowding outside the door and making it difficult for relatives to enter or exit.

One woman in her twenties entered the room frantically crying, ignoring questions from the horde.

A man in his 60s wiped tears from his eyes with a handkerchief as he entered the room.

He hit a cameraman in the face who tried to film him as he walked by, as a security guard shouted "Don't you all have families?"

Grim news ... Malaysian Airlines Group CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya addresses the media near Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Picture: Manan Vatsyayana Source: AFP

Pham Hien, a Vietnamese search and rescue official, said the last signal detected from the plane was 120 nautical miles (225 kilometers) southwest of Vietnam's southernmost Ca Mau province, which is close to where the South China Sea meets the Gulf of Thailand.

Lai Xuan Thanh, director of Vietnam's civil aviation authority, said air traffic officials in the country never made contact with the plane.

The plane "lost all contact and radar signal one minute before it entered Vietnam's air traffic control,'' Lt. Gen. Vo Van Tuan, deputy chief of staff of the Vietnamese army, said in a statement issued by the government.

THE SEARCH AND RESCUE MISSION FOR MH370

As darkness fell and a major search and rescue operation was still under way off the Vietnamese coast.

An airline spokesman said: "We are still trying to locate the current location of the flight based on the last known position of the aircraft.

"We are working with the International search and rescue teams in trying to locate the aircraft.

"So far, we have not received any emergency signals or distress messages from MH370.

"We are working with authorities and assure that all sources are deployed to assist with the search and rescue mission."

Malaysia and Vietnam have launched searches for a missing Malaysia Airlines jet.

 

The South China Sea is a tense region with competing territorial claims that have led to several low-level conflicts, particularly between China and the Philippines. That antipathy briefly faded as nations of the region rushed to aid in the search, with China dispatching two maritime rescue ships and the Philippines deploying three air force planes and three navy patrol ships to help.

"In times of emergencies like this, we have to show unity of efforts that transcends boundaries and issues,'' said Lt. Gen. Roy Deveraturda, commander of the Philippine military's Western Command.

The ministry launched a rescue effort to find the plane, working in coordination with Malaysian and Chinese officials, the statement added.

Malaysian authorities dispatched a plane, two helicopters and four vessels to search seas off its east coast in the South China Sea, said Faridah Shuib, a spokeswoman for the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency. 

The Philippines said it was sending three navy patrol boats and a surveillance plane to help efforts.

Yahoo News quoted local newspaper reports that the Vietnamese Navy said the plane went down into the sea about 153 miles south of Phu Quoc Island, just off the coast of the Vietnamese / Cambodian border.

Other media outlets reported that the Chinese Navy had deployed two vessels to the South China Sea to search for the missing plane.

The Pentagon has dispatched a naval destroyer and a surveillance plane to aid in the search for a Malaysia Airlines jet that has disappeared in waters off Vietnam.

US military officials said in a statement that the destroyer, the USS Pinckney, is currently en route to the southern coast of Vietnam to help search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

The vessel carries two helicopters which can be equipped for search and rescue, the Pentagon said.

The Pinckney already was conducting training and maritime security operations in international waters of the South China Sea.

It said the vessel could arrive in the area near where the missing aircraft is thought to have gone down within about 24 hours.

The US military statement said a P-3C Orion reconnaissance plane also will depart shortly from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan aiding the effort with additional long-range search, radar and communications capabilities.

Whatever happened to the flight, Indonesia-based independent aviation analyst Gerry Soejatman said the clock was ticking on a "24-hour golden window'' for search and rescue efforts.

"You can't assume that there are no survivors, and if there are any, it is absolutely crucial that they are picked up within a day, or the chances of survival drops significantly,'' he said.

Search and rescue under way ... a map of the Malaysia Airlines flight's approximate flight path to Beijing. Source: Supplied

China's state news agency reported that the Malaysia Airlines aircraft lost contact over Vietnam while an unconfirmed report on a flight tracking website said the aircraft had plunged 200m and changed course shortly before all contact was lost.

The route would have taken the plane across the Malaysian mainland in a north easterly direction and then across the Gulf of Thailand.

Grief ... A possible relative cries at the Beijing Airport. Picture: Mark Ralston Source: AFP

Chinese news agency Xinhua quoted Chinese aviation authorities saying the plane did not enter China's air traffic control sphere.

China's foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in a statement: "We are very concerned learning this news."

"We are contacting relevant authorities and are trying to confirm relevant information.''

The vice president of Malaysia Airlines told CNN that the missing plane had enough fuel for seven hours.

Mr Yahya said in a statement: "We deeply regret that we have lost all contacts with flight MH370 which departed Kuala Lumpur at 12.41am earlier this morning bound for Beijing."

MORE: PLANE CRASHES THAT CHANGED AVIATION HISTORY

MORE: MAJOR AIR DISASTERS SINCE 2009

In shock ... A woman, center, surrounded by media covers her mouth on her arrival at a hotel which is prepared for relatives or friends of passengers aboard the missing plane, in Beijing. Picture: Andy Wong Source: AP

Recording the grief ... media hover over a possible relative of a passenger on the Malaysia Airlines flight. Picture: Mark Ralston Source: AFP

THE PILOT WHO WAS FLYING MH370

The pilot was 53 year old captain Zahari Ahmad Shah, who joined the airline in 1981 and had over 18,000 flying hours.

"Malaysia Airlines is currently working with the authorities who have activated their Search and Rescue team to locate the aircraft," Mr Yahya said..

"Focus of the airline is to work with the emergency responders and authorities and mobilise its full support.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected passengers and crew and their family members."

Fearing the worst ... Chinese police stand beside the arrival board showing the flight MH370 (top red) at Beijing Airport. Picture: Mark Ralston Source: AFP

Follow Malaysia Airlines on the incident on Facebook

Fuad Sharuji, Malaysian Airlines' vice president of operations control, told CNN that the plane was flying at an altitude of 10,670 metres and that the pilots had reported no problem with the aircraft.

Finding planes that disappear over the ocean can be very difficult. Aeroplane "black boxes'' - the flight data and cockpit voice recorders - are equipped with "pingers'' that emit ultrasonic signals that can be detected underwater.

Under good conditions, the signals can be detected from several hundred kilometres away, said John Goglia, a former member of the US National Transportation Safety Board. If the boxes are trapped inside the wreckage, the sound may not travel as far, he said. If the boxes are at the bottom of an underwater trench, that also hinders how far the sound can travel. The signals also weaken over time.

Air France Flight 447, with 228 people on board, disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean en route from Rio de Janiero to Paris on June 1, 2009. Some wreckage and bodies were recovered over the next two weeks, but it took nearly two years for the main wreckage of the Airbus 330 and its black boxes to be located and recovered.

The Malaysia Airlines plane, registration 9M MRO, is thought to have been a regular on routes to Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Auckland.

A flight tracking website shows images of the plane descending at Kingsford-Smith airport in Sydney in 2010.

Showing the strain ... a Malaysian policeman stands guard outside a reception centre for family and friends at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Picture: Manan Vatsyayana Source: AFP

THE MISSING MALAYSIA AIRLINES AIRCRAFT

Malaysia Airlines is the national carrier of Malaysia and one of Asia's largest, flying nearly 37,000 passengers daily to some 80 destinations worldwide.

Malaysia Airlines has 15 777 planes in the fleet and is an experienced operator of this type of aircraft.

Aviation Week reported that the missing plane was a 777-2H6ER with tail number 9M-MRO and serial number 28420. It had been built in 2002 and had been used by Malaysian Airlines since that time.

Fearing bad news ... a woman talks on the phone at a reception centre for families and friends of passengers at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Picture: Manan Vatsyayana. Source: AFP

The last major crash of Malaysia Airlines flight was in 1995, when a Fokker 50 (9M-MGH) crashed during approach in Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia, killing 34 people.

In 1977, a Malaysia Airlines flight was hijacked and crashed in Tanjung Kupang, Johor, Malaysia, killing all 100 people aboard.

The crash represents one of the biggest passenger losses in recent time and the second fatal accident involving a Boeing 777 in less than a year after an almost spotless record.

Last year, an Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 crash landed in San Francisco, killing three passengers with 200 people taken to hospital.

In 2005, during a flight from Perth to Kuala Lumpur the crew received a "stall warning" forcing the pilot to turn back.

Boeing said it was "monitoring" the situation.

Other accidents involving Malaysia Airlines planes include a fatal crash last October in Borneo Island, which claimed the lives of a copilot and passenger.

In 1977, a jet crashed in southern Malaysia, killing all 93 passengers and seven crew.

Commercial flight missing ... The image from @flightaware shows the last known track of flight MH370 over southern Asia. Picture: Flightaware.com Source: Supplied


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Happy leads singles chart for ninth week

Pharrell Williams' hit Happy holds the top spot in both the ARIA singles and albums charts. Source: AAP

IT didn't win the Oscar but Pharrell Williams' hit Happy still holds the top spot on the ARIA singles chart.

Williams' single, which features in the animated film Despicable Me 2, lost the Best Original Song Academy Award to Let It Go, from the movie Frozen, last Sunday, but Happy is in its ninth week at No.1.

Close behind the catchy tune is Clean Bandit and Jess Glynne's Rather Be, which remains in second place.

Sara Bareilles continued her rise on the charts, with her song Brave climbing three places to No.3, while David Guetta's Shot Me Down made its top 10 debut at No.4.

The French DJ's track, which features American singer-songwriter Skylar Grey, jumped up a whopping 23 places.

Say Something by A Great Big World and Undressed by Kim Cesarion each fell down a place to No.5 and No.6 respectively.

Sydney pop-punk quartet 5 Seconds of Summer's hit She Looks So Perfect also moved down the charts, falling four places to seventh place.

Cash Cash's Take Me Home remains in eighth place, while Swing by Melburnian Joel Fletcher fell two spots to No.9.

John Legend's All of Me slipped a place to round out the top 10.

On the ARIA albums chart, Aussie rockers INXS remain at No.1 for the fourth consecutive week with their collection The Very Best.

Pharrell Williams' new album G I R L, which the American rapper said was inspired by and is dedicated to women, made its top 10 debut at No.2, while Prism by Katy Perry, who was in Australia earlier in March, jumped up six places to No.3.

The pop singer was in town to promote her Prismatic World Tour, which kicks off in Australia on November 7 in Perth.

The Frozen soundtrack remains in fourth place, while Unorthodox Jukebox by Bruno Mars, who is currently touring the country, jumped up 19 places to No.5.

Also making significant leaps up the chart are Rudimental's Home, which climbed five places to seventh place, and Avicii's True, which rose eight places to No.8.

Robbie Williams' Swing Both Ways fell four places to No.6, while Australian church group Hillsong United made its top 10 debut with its new The White Album at No.9.

Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP2 fell three places to round out the top 10 on the albums chart.


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Thoughts with those on Malaysia flight: PM

PM Tony Abbott says Australians' thoughts are with the families of those on a missing Malaysia jet. Source: AAP

PRIME Minister Tony Abbott says Australians' thoughts are with the passengers and families of those on a missing China-bound Malaysia Airlines jet.

Queensland couples Catherine and Robert Lawton and Mary and Rodney Burrows, and Sydneysiders Li Yuan and Gu Naijun, are among 239 people on board flight MH370, which disappeared between Malaysia's east coast and southern Vietnam.

Mr Abbott on Sunday described the tragedy as a "horrible, horrible business".

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the passengers and their families on that ill-fated aircraft, particularly to the six Australian passengers and their families, that have now been confirmed to be on board," he told reporters in Adelaide.

"We're looking at ways in which we can help with the search and recovery operation."

Opposition leader Bill Shorten echoed Mr Abbott's comments.

"I believe the Australian nation's thoughts go out to the families of those Australians and New Zealanders that are on this plane, and indeed the families of everyone," he told reporters in Melbourne.


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