Malaysia Airlines MH370 Debris Hunt: Australian Jets Find Number of Small Objects with Naked Eye

Flight Lieutenant Jason Nichols aboard a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) AP-3C Orion, writes notes as they search for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 over the southern Indian OceanReuters

Volunteer observers aboard Australian jets deployed in the hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 have sighted a number of small objects, possibly aircraft debris, with the naked eye.

The Australian aircraft, including commercial jets, have been scouring the remote southern Indian Ocean for the wreckage and this will be the first-ever visual confirmation of the plane, if it is known for certain that the latest sightings are related to the vanished Malaysian jetliner.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said in an early morning statement: "During Saturday's search actives a civil aircraft tasted by AMSA reported sighting a number of small objects with the naked eye, including a wooden pallet, within a radius of five kilometres."

"A Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) P3 Orion aircraft with special electro-optic observation equipment was diverted to the location, arriving after the first aircraft left but only reported sighting clumps of seaweed. The RNZAF Orion dropped a datum marker buoy to track the movement of the material. A merchant ship in the area has been tasked to relocate and seek to identify the material."

Australian satellites had sighted floating objects in a stormy remote stretch of the southern Indian Ocean, thousands of kilometres off Perth, which was followed by sightings by Chinese satellites as well.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said there is "increasing hope" that the search activities in the Indian Ocean will be fruitful but warned the objects might be unrelated to the Malaysian airliner.

Michelle Obama Speaks Out on Human Rights During China Visit

First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama speaks at Peking University during her trip to China.Reuters

Michelle Obama, the First Lady of the United States, has spoken out on human rights concerns during a visit to China.

Obama briefly set aside her policy of "soft diplomacy" to give a speech advocating freedom of expression and open access to information, but stopped short of levelling any criticism at Beijing itself.

She told an audience of 200 students at Beijing's prestigious Peking University that human rights and a free press should be universal. The Chinese Government heavily censors local media and controls the use of the internet in the country.

"When it comes to expressing yourself freely, and worshipping as you choose, and having open access to information - we believe those are universal rights that are the birth right of every person on this planet," Obama said.

"It is so important for information and ideas to flow freely over the internet and through the media.

"My husband and I are on the receiving end of plenty of questioning and criticism from our media and our fellow citizens, and it's not always easy... but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world."

Obama did not call on China directly to acknowledge its citizens' human rights, and has avoided political issues during her visit to improve relations between the two countries and build goodwill with the Chinese Government.

Obama also met her Chinese counterpart on Friday, a long-anticipated encounter during her week-long trip. Obama arrived in Beijing on Thursday, accompanied by her two daughters and her mother.

Their trip has already taken them to Beijing's Summer Palace and China's historic Forbidden City. A visit to the northern city of Xi'an, home to the famed Terra Cotta Warriors Museum, and to a panda breeding facility outside Chengdu in southwestern China are also on the agenda.

Iran Builds Fake US Aircraft Carrier for 'Propaganda Attack'

The USS Abraham Lincoln on maneuvers in the Persian Gulf in 2012.

Iran has built a mock-up of a US Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, which experts believe could be blown up in a staged propaganda exercise.

Newly released commercial satellite images show the model under construction in a shipyard near Bandar Abbas on the Persian Gulf.

"They got this barge and threw some wood on top of it to make it look like the USS Nimitz. That's all we know for sure,' a US defence official told AFP.

Obama administration officials said that they did not know what the craft was for, and was not operational, but an attack on it could be staged for propaganda value.

The wooden craft was first spotted on the coast of the Persian Gulf last summer.

It is the same shape as US Navy Nimitz class aircraft carriers such as the USS Abraham Lincoln and the USS Carl Vinson, and has the same 68 painted in white just below the bow. However it is about as third of their 1,100 feet long.

Pictures also show fake aircraft parked on its deck.

The New York Times reports that the Iranian military has used fake boats for televised military exercises in the past, and if talks between the US and Iran on the Middle Eastern state's nuclear programme, could be towed out to sea and blown up in televised wargames.

Analysts do not believe that Iran has the capacity to build its own aircraft carrier.

"It is not surprising that Iranian naval forces might use a variety of tactics -- including military deception tactics -- to communicate and possibly demonstrate their resolve in the region," said another US official.

Tensions between the US and Iran have decreased recently, after Iran agreed partly to suspend its nuclear programme in exchange for a partial lifting of sanctions.

Pakistan Coach Passengers Burnt Alive After Head-On Crash

Road accidents are common in PakistanYoutube

At least 35 people, including women and children, were burned alive when their coaches were involved in a multiple collision on a coastal route in Pakistan.

It is thought the initial crash was a head-on collision between a coach heading for Karachi and a truck. Both vehicles were then hit by the second coach and another truck.

Akber Haripal, a local senior administration official, told AFP: "The bus and the tanker had a head-on collision and the oil tanker turned over, but the situation got worse when a second passenger bus coming from behind rammed into the first bus as it skidded on the oil spilled on the road."

Both passenger buses are thought to have been carrying illegally smuggled Iranian gasoline as well as canisters of diesel, which caught fire. Passengers were then unable to escape the inferno.

Amir Sultan, another local administration official, said: "These passenger buses travelling between Baluchistan and Karachi have automatic hydraulic doors and their windows are sealed because the buses are air conditioned, so most of the passengers were trapped inside."

“Most of the passengers were trapped inside”

Official Amir Sultan

25 people died at the scene and another 10 on their way to hospital. Sultan said some of the bodies were burned "beyond recognition". As there is no hospital in the vicinity another 20 people had to be taken to Karachi, where they are being treated for burns. It is thought the death toll may rise due to the seriousness of the injuries sustained.

The accident took place near Gadani, 600km south of Quetta in the southern province of Baluchistan. Mohammad Hasan Lehri, a driver who works on the Quetta-Karachi route, said thousands of people are involved in the illegal trade and that even the police get their share of the profits: "It is routine, we are compelled to do this even though it is illegal and dangerous."

Every year thousands of people die in accidents on Pakistan's badly maintained roads.

Rio 2016 Olympics Threatened by Sewage and Crocodiles

Pollution in Fundao beach in the Guanabara Bay in Rio de JaneiroReuters

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has raised concerns about high levels of pollution in Rio de Janeiro in the run-up to the next summer Olympic Games in 2016.

The IOC's Coordination Commission, led by former Moroccan Olympic athlete Nawal El Moutawakel, visited Rio to check on the city's progress in building venues, improving infrastructure and making sure the Games will be environmentally sustainable.

Rio's preparations for the Games have been dogged by significant delays and bureaucratic disputes among the three levels of government in the city.

Pollution in Fundao beach in the Guanabara Bay in Rio de JaneiroReuters

Scientists and Olympic sailors, including British Olympic sailor Ian Barker, have complained about high levels of fecal pollution in Guanabara Bay — the Olympic sailing venue — with recent pictures showing the bay littered with debris, refuse and dead fish. Last year Barker described the condition of the Bay as "like a sewer".

The bay overlooks the city's iconic Sugar Loaf Mountain but is heavily polluted, since sewage from part of the city is pumped directly into its waters. There are concerns that cleanup work may not be ready in time for an Olympic sailing test event planned for August.

There has also been criticism in recent years over the high levels of pollution in the Marina da Glória as well as in the Copacabana Bay, which will host open water swimming and triathlon, and the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, where rowing and flatwater canoeing events will be held.

Pollution in Fundao beach in the Guanabara Bay in Rio de JaneiroReuters

Pollution in a lagoon in a Rio de Janeiro suburb has caused a rise in water temperature, which in turn has attracted thousands of caiman crocodiles, according to worried Brazilian conservationists. The swamp is in an area where Olympics officials plan to locate the athletes' village.

The Brazilian Federal Government has pledged to spend 9 billion Brazilian reals (£2.4bn) on restoration programmes for two bays close to Rio, which will result in more than 80% of overall sewage in the area being collected and treated by 2016.

El Moutawakel said the IOC had been "given assurances and confirmation that the Guanabara Bay will be clean for the athletes' safety and security."

Environmental authorities in Rio have already installed 16 monitoring stations in locations where Olympic competitions are to be held, so air pollution can be recorded.

Pollution in Fundao beach in Guanabara Bay, Rio de JaneiroReuters

To promote healthier lifestyles, government authorities have also begun improving mobility for Rio residents by implementing more direct routes for their bus system to reduce carbon emissions and develop optimal green space within the Olympic site. They are also planting 24 million trees throughout the State of Rio to help air flow throughout the city.

El Moutawakel said progress was being made towards the city's environmental goals but "each decision that is being made and each subsequent delay will have a negative impact on delivery."

The IOC said the organisers of Rio 2016 needed to make "a number of important decisions" to avoid "further significant delays in the delivery of the project. Total focus and dedication are therefore required."

The IOC said it was sending a clear message to Rio "that every second counts".

Crude Futures Mixed Amid Ukraine Crisis and US Rates Outlook

A worker checks the valve gears of pipes linked to oil tanks at Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, run by state-owned BOTAS, some 70 kms from Adana.Reuters

Crude oil futures inched up on 21 March, and witnessed mixed trade for the week as a whole, amid speculation over the consequences of the Ukraine crisis and concerns about the possibility of higher US interest rates.

May US crude contract added 56 cents, or 0.6%, to finish at $99.46 a barrel on 21 March.

Futures inched up some 0.6% for the week.

May Brent contract added 47 cents, or 0.4%, to finish at $106.92 a barrel on 21 March.

The European benchmark shed 1.2% for the week.

"It is remarkable to watch real assets such as oil fluctuate on myriad news from around the world," said Jonathan Citrin, founder and executive chairman at CitrinGroup.

"Certainly those trading oil are focused on [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, sanctions, and the circumstances in Crimea. Demand concerns, Federal Reserve Chairwoman [Janet] Yellen's comments, and an oil spill in...Ohio...added to the inquiry of speculators," Citrin told MarketWatch.

Commerzbank Corporates & Markets said in a 21 March note to clients: "... We see little scope for rising prices on the oil market in the short term - after all, the Crimean crisis is increasingly disappearing from the headlines, and the geopolitical risk premium - which in any case had only risen slightly - is likely to continue to decline in view of the plentiful supply on the market..."

Ukraine Crisis

Ratings agency Fitch has cut its credit rating outlook for Russia to negative, after the US announced fresh sanctions against wealthy Russian individuals, amid the ongoing Ukraine stalemate.

The 20 March Fitch downgrade came after Standard and Poor's revised its outlook for Russia to negative from stable, citing the economic and financial end result that US and EU sanctions could have on the federation's creditworthiness.

US President Barack Obama has announced additional sanctions against 20 Russians, including some of President Vladimir Putin's closest allies, punishing them for Moscow's takeover of Crimea.

Among those targeted are Putin's chief of staff Sergey Ivanov, banker Yuri Kovalchuk and lifetime friends.

Meanwhile, the European Union has announced an asset freeze and travel ban on 12 more Russians and Ukrainians.

US Rates

Earlier, on 19 March, when asked how long the US Federal Reserve would wait after asset purchases end before it begins to hike interest rates, Fed chair Janet Yellen said: "Around six months."

Higher interest rates tend to boost the US dollar, weighing on dollar-denominated oil prices.

Gold Prices To Drop on US Fed Reserve Stimulus Taper

Gold prices are set to drop next week.Reuters

Gold prices are set to drop next week with several analysts expecting the precious metal to log a little more weakness, following a further $10bn reduction in US stimulus, before it bounces back.

As many as eight of 18 analysts polled in a Kitco Gold Survey said they expected gold prices to drop next week, while six predicted that prices would rise and four forecast prices to remain unchanged.

Daniel Pavilonis, senior commodities broker, RJO Futures, said: "What we've seen in the past after FOMC tapering is the market [would] sell off, then stabilize a bit. I'm going to watch to see if that happens again."

Charles Nedoss, senior market strategist at LaSalle Futures Group, said: "I think we have a little more downside to this. We're holding just under the key support levels. Last week we went up to $1,400, [nearly] hit it on [16 March] and spent the rest of the week selling off. For next week we need to get above $1,346.50, which is the 20-day moving average. The 20-day and the 10-day are flatting out, so that could be a ceiling. If we can't close above $1,346.50, then we could come to test the 200-day and the 50-day, which are now sitting at $1,302.60 and $1,299.10,".

However, Ken Morrison, editor of online newsletter Morrison on the Markets, forecast bullion could end higher next week.

"It was a rough week for those of us who were bullish gold a week ago... the trifecta of bearish news. [Russian President Vladimir] Putin didn't advance his aggression beyond Crimea, [Federal Reserve Chair Janet] Yellen made one hint of a more hawkish-than-Bernanke view strengthening the dollar, and the WSJ [Wall Street Journal] story the European Union is 'considering' relaxing the 400-metric-ton-a-year selling limit on EU central bank gold reserves," Morrison said.

"Despite all that, gold has held the secondary support levels (around) $1,325 and we expect the next stage will be an intervening rally that carries gold back toward the $1,360-75 level. We look for gold to close higher in the week ahead," he added.

Gold Ends Lower

US gold futures finished $5.50, or 0.4%, higher at $1,336.00 an ounce on 21 March.

Futures lost 3.4% for the week as a whole.

Spot Gold added 0.5% to $1,335 on 21 March.

India Eases Import Curbs

India's central bank has allowed five private sector banks to import gold, in a move that marks a major step towards easing the nation's tough bullion import restrictions, imposed last year in a bid to cut the country's trade deficit.

The central bank decision could boost gold supplies, curb smuggling, and bring down premiums for the yellow metal in India, the world's second-largest bullion consumer.

Gold prices struck six-month highs on 17 March as the possibility of western sanctions against Moscow, relating to the Russia-Crimea referendum, boosted the metal's safe haven status.

Turkey Tightens Twitter Ban as Google Refuses to Wipe YouTube 'Corruption' Videos

Protesters hold up placards ridiculing prime minister Recep Erdogan's Twitter ban in Ankara, Turkey on Friday, March 21.

Google has refused to remove audio recordings from its video sharing website YouTube which allegedly feature Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan discussing a corrupt deal with his son.

The videos contain a voice recording in which a male said to be Erdogan can be heard telling another male to hide money from criminal investigators.

Erdogan claims the videos, which have been viewed millions of times on the website in Turkey, have been faked as part of a plan to topple his government.

But Google has refused a request from the Turkish government to take down the videos:

"We support a free and open Internet throughout the world and are concerned whenever and wherever it comes under threat," a Google spokesman said.

YouTube, Twitter and Facebook have all been used to distribute the recording.

Millions of Turks have taken to Twitter to express their defiance of a government attempt to ban the site on Thursday.

A Google source told the Wall Street Journal that the Turkish government might attempt to block access to YouTube in the country, but for now it remains online.

In the 13 hours after Twitter was taken down at about 23:00 on Thursday, 20 March, more than 6 million Turks used the site, up from 4.5 million over the same period the previous day.

Repeated government attempts to ban website access mean many Turks have become adept at changing their Domain Name System (DNS) or connecting via a Virtual Private Network (VPN) on their smartphones to side-step restrictions.

Yesterday there were hopes that the Twitter block would be removed, after a lawyer from the San Francisco company met with representatives from the Turkish government.

However one of the most popular means of circumventing the ban, by using the Google DNS 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4, was blocked by the government on Saturday.

The DNS address had previously been graffitied on to walls by protesters publicising ways to defy the government.

The Turkish government claims that Twitter was taken down after "hundreds of court orders" and a prosecutor's decision requesting that the San Francisco-based company take down material.

Three Twitter users, "Sons of Thieves", "Crime Minister", and "Fuat Avni" have been revealed to be behind the leaked recordings, which allegedly prove deep corruption in Erdogan's government.

Istanbul's chief prosecutor said yesterday that there had been no request from the prosecutor's office, and the ban had been the result of an executive order.

Listen to the alleged Erdogan recording on YouTube, below.

BREAKING NEWS: Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370: Chinese Have 'New Images' of Debris

Australia Reports Possible Debris from Flight MH370

The Chinese government claims to have new images of debris that may be part of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, it has just been announced by Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.

According to the Minister, the new images are different to those that have sparked a massive search of the Indian Ocean and which is still gathering pace. However, intriguingly they are thought to be in the same approximate area.

Hussein said: "The Chinese ambassador received satellite image of floating objects in the southern corridor. This object is 22m long and 30 metres wide."

The latest images – taken by a Chinese satellite - are being investigated and it is believed the Chinese will release more details later today.

Hussein added: "The news that I just received is that the Chinese ambassador received satellite image of floating objects in the southern corridor and they will be sending ships to verify."

MORE FOLLOWS

Sri Lanka Government Hand Seen in Violence against Tamils

Protesters seek reconciliation and accountability in Sri Lanka's civil society.Reuters

Sri Lankan authorities have been found to have permitted horrific war crimes, including sexual violence, against Tamils after the separatist movement was crushed in 2009, according to the UK Bar Human Rights Committee and International Truth & Justice Project.

Tamils were victims of abduction, rape and water tortures, according to testimonies given by 40 people who were detained by the government. The Tamils also said they were beaten with pipes and burnt with cigarettes.

The report comes a week before a UN Human Rights Council debate on a possible resolution calling for an international probe into the alleged ethnic violence in the aftermath of the suppression of the Tamil separatist movement.

The US-led resolution is also expected to call for an international probe into alleged war crimes on the island.

AFP quoted Yasmin Sooka, a top South African human rights lawyer and UN adviser, as saying that the "widespread and systematic violations by the Sri Lankan security forces occur in a manner that indicates a coordinated, systematic plan approved by the highest levels of government".

He has compiled a report titled "An Unfinished War: Torture and Sexual Violence in Sri Lanka 2009-2014", which documents medical and psychiatric examinations of Tamils who tried to migrate to Britain after facing abuse in Sri Lanka.

"Their credible accounts, documented by nine independent lawyers from Western and Asian countries, establish a prima facie case to answer for post-war crimes against humanity involving torture, rape and sexual violence by the Sri Lankan military," Sooka said.

About 100,000 people died in Sri Lanka's 37-year-long civil war between Tamil separatists and Lankan forces, according to UN data.

Government forces killed about 40,000 people towards the end of the uprising in 2009, various rights groups have alleged.

Recently, Sri Lanka arrested two human rights activists on charges of abetting terrorist activities.

Human rights adviser Ruki Fernando and a Roman-Catholic Pastor Praveen Mahesahn were arrested using an anti-terrorism law that was instrumental in crushing the separatist movement.

However, they have been released but continue to face harassment by the Sri Lankan government, according to a Reuters report.

The US has drawn attention to human rights issues in Sri Lanka and urged the government not to persecute activists trying to uncover abuses.

"It is disturbing that the government of Sri Lanka has taken punitive measures against its own brave citizens who have devoted their careers and lives to investigating alleged human rights abuses by both sides during Sri Lanka's long and brutal civil conflict," Jen Psaki US State Department spokeswoman said in a statement.

"These detentions and the continued harassment of those who support the quest for reconciliation and accountability send a chilling effect across Sri Lanka's vibrant civil society, and undermine Sri Lanka's proud democratic traditions."

Malaysia Airlines MH370 Debris Hunt: Australian Aircraft Scour Indian Ocean as Search Enters Third Week

Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Loadmasters, Sergeant Adam Roberts (L) and Flight Sergeant John Mancey, launch a 'Self Locating Data Marker Buoy' from a C-130J Hercules aircraft in the southern Indian Ocean during the search for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370.Reuters

The search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has entered the third week with six Australian aircraft, including two commercial jets, resuming operations in a remote and stormy area of the Indian Ocean.

The chartered commercial aircraft, carrying volunteer observers, have been pressed into service because they can fly for long hours.

The P3 Orion aircraft involved in the search can fly only for about two hours while the ultra range commercial jets can be in the air for up to five hours.

"The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has tasked six aircraft to be involved in today's search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. A Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) P3 Orion departed for the search area at around 9 am (local time). Two ultra long rage commercial jets departed for the search area at around 9.15 am," said a press statement.

It added: "Two merchant vessels are currently in the search area. The Royal Australian Navy HMAS Success is also en route to the search area and is due in the area late this afternoon. Four self locating datum marker buoys (SLDMB) dropped in the search area earlier this week continue to report water movement data back to AMSA."

The search area in the southern Indian Ocean is one of the remotest places on earth with a depth of 14,000 ft. Efforts have now shifted to a visual hunt from radar scans in the hopes of a potential breakthrough.

"Although this search area is much smaller than what we started with, it nonetheless is a big area when you're looking out the window and trying to see something by eye. We may have to do this a few times to be confident about the coverage of this search area," said John Young, general manager of emergency response at the AMSA.