Missing Plane: Could A Fire Explain Mystery?

Both pilots on the missing Malaysia Airlines plane may have been incapacitated by a fire in the cabin, an expert has told Sky News.

The theory, which has been gathering pace within the aviation industry over recent days, suggests the tracking equipment was disabled to prevent a fire getting worse.

Experts say it would mean the pair had changed course in a bid to find an airport where they could land stricken the aircraft - but were overcome by smoke.

While officials investigating the mystery have not commented on the theory, if true, it would make the two men in control of flight MH370 heroes rather than the suspects they have become.

Pilot Fikri Zambi told Sky News: "Let's say you have an electrical problem inside the wiring and you have smoke in the cabin.

"If it is anything to do with the wiring from the transponder or ACARS that's causing the smoke, then we have to pull out the circuit breakers to make it stop."

Pilots Fariq Abdul Hamid and Zaharie Ahmad Shah may be heroes not suspects

He said the next thing the pilots would do is attempt to get the plane to the nearest airport, which would mean turning left and back to the peninsula.

Experts say the jet could have kept heading southwest because the crew were rendered unconscious by the smoke.

Under such circumstances, if the plane remained in auto-pilot mode, it would continue flying south over the vast Indian Ocean until it ran out of fuel or was overcome by the flames.

Another pilot, Chris Goodfellow, a Canadian with 20 years' flying experience, also put forward the theory of a cabin fire in a piece he posted online. 

He suggested Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah was a "smart pilot" who "just didn't have the time" to land at an airport within a reasonable distance before he was overcome by smoke from the fire.

A contributor to the Professional Pilots Rumour Network forum, under the username Aerobat77, wrote: "For me, (either this) or a similar event happened. No James Bond secret landing on a desert strip."

Others on the forum said suggestions the flight inexplicably climbed to 45,000ft - 10,000ft above its cruising altitude - could also be consistent with attempts to put out a fire.

The search operation covers massive swathes of land and sea

A number of other theories have also been put forward since flight MH370 vanished.

Hijack

Among the more common theories in circulation is the idea that the aircraft was hijacked, either by a member of the crew or one of the passengers.

This gained weight when authorities revealed tracking and communications devices had been turned off deliberately.

However, the lack of any contact or demands from supposed hijackers indicates otherwise and experts say it would be almost impossible to land on an airstrip undetected.

Theft

Similar arguments are made in response to the theory that the Boeing 777 has been stolen by persons unknown, who would use it for a terror attack or simply sell the parts.

Experts also say serial numbers on all the aircrafts components would make it very difficult to sell any.

It is also pointed out that it would be much easier for terrorists to steal one of the thousands of business jets and cargo planes that take to the skies every day and which would attract far less attention.

Flight MH370 hid below another plane

Keith Ledgerwood, who describes himself as a "hobby pilot and aviation enthusiast" said the plane may have flown "in the shadow" of Singapore Airlines flight 68 to avoid detection on its way over India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Experts say such a manoeuvre would have roused suspicion from the Singapore Airlines pilots and that the theory does not explain how MH370 eventually peeled off and landed without anyone noticing.

Pilot suicide

Despite previous air crash investigations concluding they were the result of pilot suicide, this possibility has received relatively little coverage in this case,

The efforts to disable tracking and communication systems would appear unnecessary under such circumstances and no notes have been found during searches of the pilots' home.

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Abu Ghaith Trial: 9/11 'Mastermind' Won't Testify

The self-described mastermind of the September 11 terrorist attacks has been barred from testifying at the New York trial of Osama bin Laden's son-in-law.

A federal judge rejected a request by defence lawyers to call Khalid Sheikh Mohammed as a witness at the terrorism trial of Sulaiman Abu Ghaith.

Abu Ghaith is charged with conspiring to kill Americans and aiding al Qaeda as the terror group's spokesman after 9/11. He has pleaded not guilty.

His defence team asked to use Mohammed as a witness after reviewing a 14-page statement he provided in response to questions posed by Abu Ghaith's lawyers.

Mohammed won't be allowed to testify from Guantanamo Bay

Mohammed wrote that Abu Ghaith did not play any military role in al Qaeda - a statement supporting defence arguments.

He said bin Laden put Abu Ghaith in charge for a time of al Qaeda's media operations, where workers did not know about specific terrorist plots.

Mohammed, however, seemed to support the government's argument that Abu Ghaith played a key role in al Qaeda, saying fighting one of the world's superpowers meant "we would have to resort to a long war of attrition to which the military and media alike contribute".

Security stands outside the federal courthouse in Manhattan

Prosecutors say Abu Ghaith used his oratory skills to recruit and inspire attacks on the United States.

They say he spoke to al Qaeda trainees at camps in Afghanistan in the weeks and months before the terrorist attacks on the US, and also appeared in widely distributed videos after the attacks.

The 48-year-old one-time imam at a Kuwaiti mosque was brought to New York from Turkey last year.

His trial in Manhattan - just blocks from the site of the World Trade Center - continues.

He faces life in prison if convicted.

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UK Woman Jailed For Life In Pakistan Over Drugs

A British mother-of-three has been jailed by a Pakistan court for attempting to smuggle 139lbs of heroin out of the country.

Khadija Shah, from Birmingham, was arrested at Islamabad airport in May 2012 when the drugs were found in her luggage.

She was convicted and sentenced at a special narcotics court in Rawalpindi. Shah was also fined 300,000 rupees (£1,800).

The 26-year-old, who was six months' pregnant when she was arrested, denied the allegations.

She gave birth to daughter Malaika in September 2012 while in custody on the drugs charges.

Her other children, a five-year-old boy and a four-year-old daughter, have returned to Britain.

Lawyer Shehzad Akbar said Shah had no idea there were drugs in her luggage and said they would appeal the sentence.

Legal charity Reprieve has urged the British Government to help.

Maya Foa, of Reprieve, said: "This is a terrible outcome for Khadija and her baby Malaika.

"As happens in hundreds of cases, she was used as a drugs mule without her knowledge, and yet is facing life in a Pakistani prison."

A spokesman for the British High Commission in Islamabad said they were providing consular support to Shah and her family.

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Zotob Virus Creator Farid Essebar Captured

Police have arrested an infamous computer hacker on suspicion of hacking into bank computer systems in Europe.

Farid Essebar was detained in Bangkok, Thailand, at the request of Swiss police.

An international arrest warrant had been issued for the 27-year-old, of dual Moroccan-Russian nationality.

Police Colonel Songsak Raksaksakul, of the Department of Special Investigation - Thailand's equivalent of the FBI - said he was wanted for "deception and hacking the IT systems of financial institutions".

A Thai court will decide whether to extradite the suspect to Switzerland.

A Moroccan court sentenced him to two years in prison in 2006.

He was accused of having corrupted the computer systems of leading banks, technology companies and media organisations worldwide with the Zotob worm, which exploited a flaw in Windows 2000 in 2005.

It allowed its creators to control infected computers and prevented their owners from accessing anti-virus websites.

It disrupted operations at a number of organisations including Microsoft, San Francisco International Airport, television channels CNN International and ABC News, as well as the New York Times newspaper.

Meanwhile, Thai authorities are continuing to search for two further suspects from the same gang, both Russian, who are also believed to be in the country.

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Seattle News Helicopter Crash: Two Killed

A news helicopter has crashed onto a busy street near Seattle's famous Space Needle, killing two people on board and critically injuring a motorist.

The chopper belonging to KOMO-TV had apparently been attempting to take off from the station's rooftop when it went down.

Three vehicles were struck when the helicopter crashed onto Broad Street, between the station and Seattle's iconic landmark.

Emergency crews found two people dead at the scene. Pic: @meelataruc

The Seattle Fire Department said two people - both of whom had been on board the chopper - were found dead in the wreckage.

A third person who managed to free himself from his car was taken to hospital in a critical condition.

A hospital spokesperson said the man had burns on up to 20% of his body and would probably require surgery.

One person in a car suffered serious burns

KOMO-TV identified the pilot of the helicopter as Gary Pfitzner.

The other man killed was Bill Strothman, a former KOMO photographer who was working for the helicopter leasing company.

One witness said it appeared that the helicopter nose-dived onto the street.

"It looked like the helicopter was trying to take off, and it just was trying to stabilise and it looked odd ... and it just took a nose dive right down there on the street," the witness told KOMO-TV.

Three vehicles were damaged in the crash

Chris McOlgan told the station he was in a car just behind the crash.

He said: "It just blew up instantly. Nothing could have been done."

Only the tail of the helicopter could be identified among the burned metal after fire crews put out the blaze.

An hour after the crash, firefighters were cleaning up spilled fuel, which left a strong smell in the area.

Only the chopper's tail section was identifiable afterward

In addition to being near the Space Needle in Seattle Center, the crash site is by the EMP Museum, the music and culture museum founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.

Seattle Center is popular with tourists and locals, and is the site of many music and cultural festivals and sporting activities.

Other cities have experienced helicopter crashes as TV stations rush to cover the news from above major cities.

Two news helicopters collided in Phoenix in 2007 as the aircraft covered a police chase. All four people on board were killed in the crash, which sent fiery wreckage plummeting onto a park.

The helicopter involved in Tuesday's crash was used in a joint partnership between KOMO-TV and KING-TV.

Seattle Fire Department spokesman Kyle Moore said the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration would be investigating the crash.

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Child Exploitation Ring Busted: 14 Arrests

Authorities have arrested 14 men in connection with a child abuse images website that involved 251 children, mostly boys, in the US and other countries.

The victims ranged in age from three to 17, officials from the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement said.

The vast majority of the children came from across the US, while 23 were identified in Britain, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and Belgium.

The organisation is "one of the largest known online child exploitation operations in history", Department of Homeland Security chief Jeh Johnson told reporters.

The suspects were charged with conspiracy to operate a child exploitation enterprise.

Some of the men assumed female online personas to connect with the children on popular social networks and lure them into providing sexually explicit material.

By the time it was dismantled, the illegal website contained more than 2,000 shared webcam-captured videos of mostly juvenile boys.

The website had more than 27,000 subscribers, according to officials.

Some of the subscribers have been arrested on lesser charges, though authorities did not give a figure.

But they said that at least 300 people in the US and abroad are under investigation.

The website shared videos of boys enticed into providing sexually explicit material through Tor, which allows online anonymity by routing internet traffic in a way that conceals a user's location, authorities said.

Among those arrested is the website's suspected main administrator, Jonathan Johnson, a 27-year-old from Louisiana.

If convicted, he faces 20 years to life in prison.

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China's Smog 'Deters Top Foreign Executives'

China's chronic air pollution is now a major reason why foreign executives do not want to work in the country, a survey has found.

A boost in car usage is partially behind the smog problem

According to the American Chamber of Commerce in Beijing (ACC), thick smog that affects many areas is making it difficult for companies to recruit top executives willing to move to Asia.

It said 48% of 365 foreign firms in its annual survey, covering businesses in China's northern cities, said air quality concerns were thwarting the lure of overseas postings senior executives.

The ACC said pollution is "a difficulty in recruiting and retaining senior executive talent".

Chinese parents also fear for the health of their children

It added that the 2014 figure is a leap from the 19% of firms citing smog as a problem in 2010.

But it added China's slowing economy remained the top risk for companies.

Foreign executives and diplomats have voiced increasing concerns about China's pollution.

Off-the-scale smog forces some people to stay indoors

They fear its effects both for themselves and their dependent families.

Almost all Chinese cities monitored for pollution in 2013 failed to meet health standards.

The US embassy in Beijing even has its own monitoring app, which invariably shows higher pollution rates than those issued by the government.

Pilots are to learn how to land through thick smog

Northern China suffers significantly, as it is the industrial base for much of the country's cement and steel production.

Its colder climate also exacerbates the problem, as coal is used for heating.

Beijing is also regularly hit by smog from cars and industry from surrounding areas.

Meanwhile, China's commercial capital Shanghai, in the south, suffers less as a result of air pollution.

The capital Beijing is surrounded by industrial provinces

The ACC's Shanghai branch did not see pollution as a major problem.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang "declared war" on pollution at the opening of the annual session of parliament earlier this month.

China has also pledged to make 60% of its cities meet national pollution standards by 2020.

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Missing Malaysia Jet: Chaos At News Conference

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

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

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

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

Family members are led away by authorities

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

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

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

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

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

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

Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein later ordered an inquiry into the incident.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A huge search operation, involving more than 20 countries, continues

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Pistorius Trial: 'Reeva Tried To Protect Herself'

A police ballistics expert has revealed how Reeva Steenkamp covered her head to protect herself in a toilet cubicle as her boyfriend Oscar Pistorius opened fire.

Captain Christian Mangena was giving evidence on day 13 of the Paralympian's murder trial, which has now been adjourned until next week.

The initial bullet was the first of four fired by the double-amputee athlete.

Capt Mangena told the court in Pretoria that Ms Steenkamp fell back onto a magazine holder in the toilet after being hit by the first bullet.

The second bullet that was fired through the wooden door missed, he said, before ricocheting off a wall and bruising her back.

Pistorius awaits the start of day 13

However, Ms Steenkamp, 29, was hit by the third and fourth bullets - in the arm and the head.

Capt Mangena said she was crossing both hands over her head to protect herself when the third and fourth bullets struck.

One of those bullets went through Ms Steenkamp's left hand before penetrating her skull.

The policeman said he couldn't determine the order of the last two shots but revealed they left Ms Steenkamp slumped with her head on the toilet seat.

"She ended up with her head on top of the toilet seat, and the lower part of her body on the rack," Capt Mangena said.

The ballistics expert also concluded that Pistorius was "likely" to have been on his stumps when he fired the shots and was "firing from a distance greater than 60 centimetres" but no more than three metres.

Capt Mangena claimed the type of bullets in Pistorius' gun were designed to cause maximum damage and were often used for self-defence.

"It hits the target, it opens up, it creates six talons, and these talons are sharp," he said. "It cuts through the organs of a human being."

The victim's mother, June Steenkamp, was once again in court hearing the evidence relating to her daughter's death.

Captain Christian Mangena giving evidence

In response to Capt Mangena's evidence, defence lawyer Barry Roux argued that the state was coming up with versions to "constitute premeditated murder".

Mr Roux said the defence's own ballistics experts would challenge evidence regarding the sequence of shots.

He also revealed how defence experts recovered a bullet and fragments from the toilet bowl that police missed.

The court then heard from Colonel Ian Van Der Nest, a blood spatter expert from the Forensic Science Laboratory in Pretoria.

He said Ms Steenkamp's long hair and short pants were soaked in blood.

Pistorius stands beside his sister Aimee during court proceedings

Col Van Der Nest told the court there was no evidence of "blunt force" inflicted by hitting or beating.

Pistorius, who won two gold medals at the Paralympics in London in 2012, is charged with premeditated murder.

He is also accused of illegally possessing ammunition, as well as two further counts related to shooting a gun in public in two separate incidents before the killing.

The athlete denies the charges and says he shot Ms Steenkamp in error after mistaking her for an intruder.

The trial has now been adjourned until Monday, when the state will begin calling its final four or five witnesses.

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Pro-Russian Forces Seize Ukrainian Navy HQ

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

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

Despite initial conflicting reports, the takeover appeared to be tense but peaceful.

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

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

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

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

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

Joe Biden's mission to Eastern Europe aimed to reassure US allies

Tensions in the region remained high after troops stormed an army base in Simferopol on Tuesday, killing one soldier.

It comes days after Crimea voted in a referendum to break away from Ukraine and join Russia.

President Vladimir Putin signed a treaty to annex the peninsula to Russia, and other states in the region looked warily at the escalating crisis.

Issuing a warning to Moscow, US Vice President Joe Biden said, during a trip to Lithuania, that the US will respond to any aggression against its Nato allies.

"Russia cannot escape the fact that the world is changing and rejecting outright their behaviour," Mr Biden said, after meeting the leaders of Lithuania and Latvia.

The Baltic states, unlike Ukraine, are Nato members.

Ukraine's interim prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has ordered the first deputy prime minister and acting defence minister to fly to Crimea "resolve the situation".

But Crimea's prime minister Sergei Aksyonov has barred the Ukrainian ministers from entering his territory.

Ukrainians leaving the base were cheered by people waving Russian flags

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

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

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

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