'Burger King Baby' Seeks Mum On Facebook

A woman who was abandoned in a Burger King in Pennsylvania as a baby has turned to Facebook to find her biological mother.

Katheryn Deprill posted a photo of herself holding a sign asking for help.

"Looking for my birth mother. She gave birth to me September 15th 1986. She abandoned me in the Burger King bathroom only hours old, Allentown PA.

The sign Katheryn Deprill holds up in the Facebook image. Pic: Facebook

"Please help me find her by sharing my post. Maybe she will see this. Thank you."

The image has been shared more than 28,000 times on Facebook.

Ms Deprill was just hours old when she was abandoned, wrapped in a red sweater, in the bathroom of the fast-food restaurant in 1986.

She was raised by adoptive parents.

Now 27, she is a married mother of three - and says she has questions for her biological mother.

"Number one is, I would really like to say, 'Thank you for not throwing me away, thank you for giving me the gift of life, and look what I've become,'" she told the AP news agency.

"What made her do it? Why did she feel that she shouldn't leave me at a hospital? Was she going through a horrible time?"

For all the encouragements Ms Deprill is getting on Facebook, there has been no sign yet of her biological mother.

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Missing Malaysia Jet 'May Have Turned Round'

What Has Happened To Malaysia Airlines Plane?

Updated: 7:50am UK, Tuesday 11 March 2014

The missing Malaysia Airlines flight may be proving so hard to find because it could have vanished in an aviation "black spot", an expert has told Sky News.

Former Boeing 777 instructor and United Airlines captain Ross Aimer said it was "disturbing" that there had been no distress call from flight MH370's cockpit and that the plane's emergency locator transmitters had not sent any signals.

He said: "These are very sophisticated equipment that should have been working under any condition - in the water, in the jungle, after a fire, after an explosion - and none of them have talked to the outside world yet.

"There are spots in the world, however, that are called blind spots, where you can not communicate for some reason.

"Unfortunately, that area near Vietnam, over the Gulf of Thailand, those are some of the black spots, so perhaps at that time there was no data transmission between the aircraft and the airline."

Flight MH370 vanished from radar screens early on Saturday about one hour into a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.

When it last made contact, the Malaysia Airlines jet was at cruising altitude, 11km (35,000 feet) above sea level, largely considered the safest part of a flight.

While there is still no confirmation that the Boeing 777-200 crashed, aviation experts have put forward possible causes of its disappearance including a terrorist attack, extreme turbulence, human error or even suicide.

The failure of the pilots to send a distress signal has given rise to speculation there was a sudden catastrophe - possibly caused by a mechanical failure or an explosion.

Former Navy pilot Dr Simon Mitchell has told Sky News that despite flying becoming safer over the years, mistakes are still made.

"We've expended billions of dollars on developing very sophisticated aids to make the life of the pilot safer and more straightforward, but there are still opportunities whereby mistakes can be made," he said.

Investigations into Air France flight 447 that plunged into the Atlantic Ocean in 2009, killing 228 people, eventually concluded that both technical and human error were to blame for the disaster.

Closer to the area where MH370 vanished, Adam Air flight 574 with 102 people on board disappeared in January 2007, also at its cruise phase, during a domestic flight in Indonesia.

Authorities found the pilots lost control after becoming preoccupied with malfunctioning navigational equipment.

The lack of wreckage from MH370 also suggests a high-altitude disaster which spread debris across an area too wide to be easily detected.

Aviation experts say the size of the debris field will be one of the first indicators of what happened.

A smaller field would indicate the plane probably fell intact, breaking up upon impact with the water.

A large, widespread field would signal the plane probably broke apart at a high elevation, perhaps because of a bomb or a massive airframe failure.

But sudden, accidental structural failures are considered extremely unlikely in today's passenger aircraft.

This is especially so with the Boeing 777-200, which has one of the best safety records of any jet.

Authorities have not ruled out terrorism or hijacking, though, with suspicions over two of the passengers found to be travelling on stolen passports.

"There are two categories of people who use these (stolen passports) - criminals and terrorists," Rohan Gunaratna, a terrorism expert at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, said.

In the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, there was substantial wreckage despite it being a mid-air explosion, and claims of responsibility came soon after the disaster.

But no-one has come forward to claim the Malaysia incident as their attack.

Whatever caused the apparent crash, there would be some debris - but it could take a while to find.

It took two years to find the main wreckage of the Air France plane plunged into the Atlantic Ocean in 2009, killing 228 people.

An Indonesian navy ship detected metal on the ocean floor a week after the Adam Air flight disappeared in 2007.

It was a further two weeks before the US Navy picked up signals from the flight data and cockpit recorders, and seven months for the recorder to be recovered.

The Malaysian jet could have made a U-turn shortly before it vanished, officials say, adding one more level of uncertainty to the effort to find it.

It is thought the plane could be hundreds of miles from where it was last detected, and the search has been widened in the hope of finding the plane.

Just about every major jet to disappear in the modern era has eventually been found. The rare exceptions did not involve passengers.

In September 1990, a Boeing 727 owned by the Peruvian Faucett Airlines ditched into the North Atlantic after running out of fuel on its way to Miami.

The accident was attributed to poor pilot planning and the wreck was never recovered.

More mysterious was the disappearance of another Boeing 727 being used to transport diesel fuel to diamond mines in Africa.

The owners had numerous financial problems and the plane took off without clearance and with its transponder turned off. It is believed to have crashed in the Atlantic Ocean.

One theory, never proven, is that it was stolen so the owner could collect insurance.

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Ukraine: Yanukovych Says He Remains President

Ukraine: 'Intimidation' Ahead Of Crimea Vote

Updated: 9:25am UK, Tuesday 11 March 2014

By Nick Martin, Sky News Correspondent, in Simferopol

Men dressed in police uniforms are said to have snatched and torn passports belonging to pro-Ukrainians amid allegations of voter intimidation in Crimea.

The Mayor of the Crimean capital, Simferopol, has told Sky News gangs of men have reportedly demanded documents from anyone suspected of intending to vote against Crimea becoming part of Russia in a referendum on March 16.

One man, who did not want to be named, said he was approached by policemen who demanded to see his passport.

He told Sky News: "On the way to work, I was stopped by two policemen.

"They asked see my documents. I showed them a copy of my passport and they wanted me to go to the police station. I refused. They don't want us to vote in this referendum.

"In my district, I saw groups of men, some dressed in uniforms, going from house to house checking passports. Some were torn up."

Anyone wanting to vote in the referendum will have to show their passports as proof of identification and any attempt to sway the outcome will be seen by both sides as hugely controversial.

Hundreds of people called the local administrative offices in Simferopol complaining of harassment, said Deputy Mayor Glazkov i'Lya.

"The situation is that some people approached our citizens.

"They were asked to show their documents, then they just took them and ran away. Some passports were torn. Some people said the men were wearing police uniforms.

"This is provocation. It's not a joke. They think they can stop the referendum then they're wrong. The referendum will go ahead."

The Crimean Tatar leader Refat Chubarov said he would be pushing to boycott Sunday's referendum, claiming the Kremlin will "rig the vote".

"The result has already been decided by Moscow."

The allegations come on a day of continued tensions in Crimea.

Armed men moved into a Ukrainian naval post in Backchisaray and fired shots into the air, according to a Ukrainian defence minister.

Vladislav Seleznyov said on Facebook that 10 "unidentified armed men" drove into the compound in two minibuses and demanded 10 trucks from Ukrainian personnel.

Thirty-six volunteer soldiers in the region swore an oath of allegiance in front of Crimea's pro-Russian Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov, pledging to "defend the people of Crimea".

UDAR party leader Vitaly Klitschko was pelted with eggs and apples by Pro-Russia demonstrators at a rally in Kharkiv.

Pro-Russian forces have taken over military installations across Crimea in under a week, although Moscow has denied the uniformed units are theirs - a claim ridiculed by Ukraine and the West.

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Oscar Pistorius 'Had A Big Love For Weapons'

Pistorius Trial: Evidence Summary

Updated: 2:18pm UK, Tuesday 11 March 2014

A summary of the evidence heard in the first two days of the Oscar Pistorius murder trial.

Day 7

Friend Darren Fresco told the court Oscar Pistorius "laughed" after firing his gun through the sunroof of a car.

Mr Fresco said he asked Pistorius if he was "******* mad". "He just laughed about what had happened. It felt as if my ear was bleeding," he said, referring to the episode in late 2012.

The court was told the athlete had a "big love for weapons" and Mr Fresco also recalled an occasion when Pistorius asked him to pass him his gun at Tasha's restaurant in Johannesburg on January 13 last year.

He said he warned Pistorius his Glock pistol was "one-up" - meaning it had a bullet in the chamber - and that he thought he saw the runner remove it.

The gun went off under the table, followed by a "deafening hush" - and Pistorius "instantly" passed the weapon back to him and asked him to "take the rap for it" because there was "too much media hype" around him, Mr Fresco said.

Pathologist Gert Saymaan, who conducted a post-mortem examination on Reeva Steenkamp, also finished giving his evidence as a court ban on tweeting during his evidence was lifted by Judge Thokozile Masipa.

The court heard the amount of urine in Ms Steenkamp's bladder at the time of her death amounted to the rough equivalent of a teaspoon - and that the model's last meal was consumed no more than two hours before her death.

Ms Steenkamp was shot after 3am, which means she must have eaten after 1am. Pistorius had said the couple were in the bedroom by 10pm.

Prof Saayman admitted he was not "an expert in this field" but his conclusions were based on scientific probability.

Day 6

Oscar Pistorius threw up in court as details of the post-mortem examination of Reeva Steenkamp were read out.

A live video feed of the trial was cut while a pathologist gave "graphic" evidence of his examination.

Professor Gert Saayman said Ms Steenkamp had bullet wounds to her head, right hip and right arm.

He said the Ranger branded bullets used were designed to "expand and mushroom" and cause substantial damage.

Prof Saayman said the head wound would have been incapacitating but added Ms Steenkamp may not have died straight away.

 Earlier in the day a security guard finished giving his evidence.

Chief security guard Pieter Baba says Pistorius told him all was fine when he called after receiving reports from other residents that they had heard gunshots.

 But Mr Roux insisted to him that it was Pistorius who phoned the security guard, rather than the other way round.

Mr Baba denied this.

Day Five

Prosecution witness Samantha Taylor, ex-girlfriend of Oscar Pistorius, broke down in court as she told how the athlete cheated on her with Reeva Steenkamp.

Miss Taylor also told the court how Pistorius once fired a gun out of the sunroof of a car after being stopped by police.

The star's ex-lover described how Pistorius would sometimes "scream at her" and often carried a gun with him.

The court was told how Pistorius once woke Ms Taylor fearing there was an intruder in the house and got up to investigate with his gun.

Security guard Pieter Baba described the moment he saw a distressed Pistorius carrying Reeva down the stairs.

The guard said that Pistorius assured him everything "is fine" after shots were reported. 

More evidence from Ms Taylor suggested that Pistorius once feared he was being followed and waved his gun at the suspect car until it drove off near his home.

Day Four

Prosecution witness Dr Johan Stipp told the court how he went to Oscar Pistorius' residence after hearing shots fired on the night Reeva Steenkamp was killed.

He said he saw Ms Steenkamp lying on her back and Pistorius by her side, frantically trying to resuscitate her.

It was clear Ms Steenkamp was mortally wounded, he said, and Pistorius was crying and praying that she'd survive. During his evidence, Pistorius broke down in the dock, sobbing as he held his head in his hands.

Earlier, Pistorius' defence team said it would have been "impossible" for neighbours to hear screams on the night Ms Steenkamp died.

Lawyer Barry Roux said neighbour Charl Peter Johnson's claim that he heard gunshots followed by a woman screaming was incorrect.

"You cannot hear it inside your house," he said. "At any distance, she was in a locked bathroom."

Mr Johnson also claimed to have heard five or six shots on the night of the killing. But Mr Roux pointed out that in his initial notes he wrote that he "did not count the number of shots fired".

Day Three

Mr Johnson's evidence continued, and he was repeatedly challenged by Mr Roux who at one point said: "You are saying all the evidence that your wife gave us yesterday."

Mr Johnson replied that it was not unusual for two people to use the same words when describing an incident.

He mentioned some notes that he'd taken after the shooting, which are on his laptop and iPad. He was asked to end his evidence for the day and come back the next day, so the defence team had the opportunity to view his notes.

Pistorius' friend Kevin Lerena was then called, who described an incident in January last year in which Pistorius allegedly discharged a firearm by mistake while eating with friends in a restaurant.

He said the athlete then asked his friend Darren Fresco to take the blame.

The owner of the restaurant, Jason Loupis, and his wife Maria, later confirmed the incident after taking the stand.

Mrs Loupis said there was a child nearby when Pistorius' gun went off in the restaurant.

Day Two

The evidence of Ms Burger continued.

Defence lawyer Barry Roux said her evidence had been influenced by media coverage of the shooting, but she denied this.

Mr Roux said that evidence later in the trial would show that Ms Steenkamp would not have been able to scream after the final shot hit her in the head.

Ms Burger stood by her initial statement that she heard Ms Steenkamp after the final shot.

Another neighbour then took the stand for a short time, before Ms Burger's husband gave his evidence.

He told how he thought Pistorius and Ms Steenkamp were being held up in their house and said he looked at additional security measures for his own home the next day.

He backed up his wife's evidence, saying he heard screams after the final shot.

Day One

The first witness, university lecturer Michelle Burger, took the stand.

She says she woke on the night of the killing to the sound of gunshots and a woman screaming.

She described hearing "bloodcurdling screams" and four shots.

She is a key witness for the prosecution, as her evidence would appear to contradict Pistorius' claims that he thought he was shooting at an intruder.

The defence argued she is unreliable due to alleged discrepancies between her police statement and court testimony.

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Ukraine: 'Intimidation' Ahead Of Crimea Vote

By Nick Martin, Sky News Correspondent, in Simferopol

Men dressed in police uniforms are said to have snatched and torn passports belonging to pro-Ukrainians amid allegations of voter intimidation in Crimea.

The Mayor of the Crimean capital, Simferopol, has told Sky News gangs of men have reportedly demanded documents from anyone suspected of intending to vote against Crimea becoming part of Russia in a referendum on March 16.

One man, who did not want to be named, said he was approached by policemen who demanded to see his passport.

He told Sky News: "On the way to work, I was stopped by two policemen.

"They asked see my documents. I showed them a copy of my passport and they wanted me to go to the police station. I refused. They don't want us to vote in this referendum.

"In my district, I saw groups of men, some dressed in uniforms, going from house to house checking passports. Some were torn up."

Deputy Mayor Glazkov i'Lya

Anyone wanting to vote in the referendum will have to show their passports as proof of identification and any attempt to sway the outcome will be seen by both sides as hugely controversial.

Hundreds of people called the local administrative offices in Simferopol complaining of harassment, said Deputy Mayor Glazkov i'Lya.

"The situation is that some people approached our citizens.

"They were asked to show their documents, then they just took them and ran away. Some passports were torn. Some people said the men were wearing police uniforms.

"This is provocation. It's not a joke. They think they can stop the referendum then they're wrong. The referendum will go ahead."

The Crimean Tatar leader Refat Chubarov said he would be pushing to boycott Sunday's referendum, claiming the Kremlin will "rig the vote".

"The result has already been decided by Moscow."

Military installations have been taken over by pro-Russian forces

The allegations come on a day of continued tensions in Crimea.

Armed men moved into a Ukrainian naval post in Backchisaray and fired shots into the air, according to a Ukrainian defence minister.

Vladislav Seleznyov said on Facebook that 10 "unidentified armed men" drove into the compound in two minibuses and demanded 10 trucks from Ukrainian personnel.

Thirty-six volunteer soldiers in the region swore an oath of allegiance in front of Crimea's pro-Russian Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov, pledging to "defend the people of Crimea".

UDAR party leader Vitaly Klitschko was pelted with eggs and apples by Pro-Russia demonstrators at a rally in Kharkiv.

Pro-Russian forces have taken over military installations across Crimea in under a week, although Moscow has denied the uniformed units are theirs - a claim ridiculed by Ukraine and the West.

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Colorado Collects $2m In Marijuana Taxes

Colorado made roughly $2m (£1.2m) in marijuana taxes in January, the first month retail sales of the drug were allowed.

The figures, in line with expectations, indicate the state's recreational pot stores did about $14m (£8.4m) in gross sales for the month.

Colorado legalised cannabis in 2012, but commercial sales did not begin until January with the opening of two dozen recreational pot shops.

The tax figures intensified lobbying over how Colorado should spend the money

Governor John Hickenlooper, who opposed the legalisation of recreational cannabis, would like to see the bulk of state revenue derived from both recreational and medical pot sales to go toward addiction treatment and programmes to prevent youths from using the drug.

He wants, for example, more advertising discouraging driving while high.

Under federal law, cannabis is still illegal, but the US government has indicated it will not act against states that have legalised it.

Washington state sales begin in coming months.

Other countries also are watching Colorado, which has the world's first fully regulated recreational marijuana market.

The Netherlands has legal sales of pot but does not allow growing or distribution. Uruguay's marijuana programme is still under development.

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Laser-Pointing Case Leads To 14-Year Sentence

A man convicted of pointing a high-powered laser at a police helicopter has been sentenced to 14 years in prison.

It is believed to be one of the longest sentences for such a crime.

Sergio Rodriguez, 26, of Clovis, California, was accused of pointing a green laser 13 times more powerful than typical devices at a Fresno Police Department helicopter in 2012.

The helicopter had been called to an apartment building where an emergency helicopter for a children's hospital had also reported being targeted by a laser.

Laser strikes can dazzle pilots and lead to crashes. Picture: CBS/FAA

Prosecutors said Rodriguez aimed his laser at police on purpose, and in December he was found guilty of attempting to interfere with the safe operation of an aircraft and aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft.

US District Judge Lawrence O'Neill described Rodriguez as a "walking crime spree".

In handing down the sentence, the judge said Rodriguez had carried out an act with deadly potential.

According to his lawyers, Rodriguez meant no harm while he played with his young family, aiming the inexpensive store-bought laser towards the sky.

Rodriguez, who has a long criminal record, was tried alongside his 23-year-old girlfriend, Jennifer Lorraine Coleman, who was found guilty on one count of aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft.

She is scheduled to be sentenced in May and faces up to five years in prison.

Authorities say laser devices can dazzle pilots and lead to crashes.

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Syria 'Trapped' Children Need Help, Says UN

Up to a million children are trapped in areas under siege in Syria, more than twice as many as 12 months ago, according to a Unicef report.

A boy holding empty bullet casings

The charity is highlighting the huge damage caused to the more than five million children now affected by the conflict and calls for an immediate end to the violence and increased support for.

The report - called Under Siege, the devastating impact on children of three years of conflict in Syria - tells the story of children whose lives have been devastated by the three-year-old war.

One of these children is four-year old Adnan, who suffered facial scarring when his home was bombed and fled with his family to Lebanon - he still suffers from emotional distress.

"He cries all night," his mother is quoted as saying. "He is scared of everything and is afraid when we leave him, even for a second."

Unicef estimates there are two million children like Adnan in need of psychological support or treatment.

Khadija, aged 10, is attending catch-up classes in Lebanon

"For Syria's children, the past three years have been the longest of their lives. Must they endure another year of suffering?" said Unicef executive director Anthony Lake.

The report warns that the future of those children inside Syria and living as refugees in neighbouring countries hangs in the balance as violence, the collapse of health and education services, severe psychological distress and the worsening economic impact on families take their toll.

Hana, whose sister died, says she feels lucky to go to school

The charity is calling on the global community to find a way to end the violence so that immediate access can be gained to the trapped children and they can be given help to overcome the trauma they have suffered and help them to rebuild their lives.

"This war has to end so that children can return to their homes to rebuild their lives in safety with their family and friends. This third devastating year for Syrian children must be the last," said Mr Lake.

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Obama Appears On Galifianakis' Online Show

Barack Obama has appeared on a parody talk show with comedian Zach Galifianakis to promote his health care plan.

During the spoof interview posted on the website Funny Or Die, Mr Obama jokingly traded barbs with Galifianakis.

Asked by the comedian whether he would want a third term, were it not barred by the constitution, the president replied: "If I ran again it would be sort of like doing a third Hangover movie.

"It didn't really work out very well, did it?"

Galifianakis asked him about how it felt to be "the last black president" and about the false notion that he was born in Kenya. He also suggested the president was a "nerd".

But Mr Obama's purpose during the six-and-a-half-minute Between Two Ferns interview was to pitch sign-ups for health care by the March 31 deadline.

By appearing on a show that has gained a bit of cult following on the Internet, Mr Obama sought to reach out to young Americans who he said often feel "invincible".

The White House has been trying to make a final push to bring up the numbers after the disastrous roll-out of the website that was supposed to be the main marketplace for insurance.

Galifianakis' fellow Hangover star Bradley Cooper, Justin Bieber and Ben Stiller are among other celebrities who have appeared on Between Two Ferns.

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Flight MH370: 13 Things You Need To Know

As the search for Flight MH370 continues, we answer 13 questions about the disappearance and what could have happened.

When did the plane disappear?

Flight MH370 vanished from radars early on Saturday, an hour into a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. When it last made contact, the jet was cruising at 35,000 feet over the South China Sea. There are reports that the plane tried to turn around but this would give rise to the question: why didn't the pilot communicate this decision to air traffic control? Meanwhile, at an undisclosed time a relative reportedly managed to call one of the passengers. Investigators have repeatedly tried to call the same number without success.

:: Sky News will be showing a 12-minute special report on the story so far of the missing flight MH370 at 4.30pm, 6.30pm, and 8.30pm.

The route the plane took

Who was on board?

The plane's manifest contained 12 crew from Malaysia and 227 passengers from 14 different countries: 153 Chinese, 38 Malaysians, seven Indonesians, six Australians, five Indians, four French, three Americans, two each from Iran (both travelling on fake passports), New Zealand, Ukraine and Canada, and 1 each from Russia, Taiwan and Netherlands. Among the passengers was a 19-strong group of prominent artists returning from an exhibition in Malaysia. It is also known that five children - aged two to four - were on board. The oldest person on the plane was 79.

What are the main theories?

Mechanical error remains the most likely explanation. Poor conditions and strong turbulence always have to be considered, but weather conditions were good in this instance. Four areas of investigation are focused on the possibility of human involvement: hijacking, sabotage, psychological problems or personal problems with passengers or crew.

Could there have been a mechanical error?

Inquiries into Air France flight 447 that dived into the Atlantic Ocean in 2009 en route from Brazil to Paris, killing 228 people, blamed both technical and human error. However, in the event of engine failure, a plane such as the Boeing 777-200 could glide for 80-90 miles (128-145km), giving the pilot time to issue a distress signal. The descent would also have been traced by radars. The lack of any Mayday makes an explosion is a possibility.

Could the plane have broken up in the air?

The apparent lack of wreckage from MH370 does point to a high-altitude disaster. In such an event the debris would be spread far and wide, making it difficult to find. A smaller field would indicate the plane probably fell intact, breaking up on impact with the water. In the event of a sudden loss of pressure due to a window blowing out the crew would dive the plane in order to lose altitude - but this would not cause the plane to disintegrate.

The Boeing 777-200 has an excellent safety record

The plane's safety record?

Sudden, accidental, structural failures are considered extremely unlikely in today's passenger aircraft. This is especially so with the Boeing 777-200, which has one of the best safety records of any jet. One of the missing plane's wingtips was clipped in an incident while taxiing in 2012 but it was repaired and certified as safe.

Could it have been a terrorist attack or hijacking?

In the event of a hijacker trying to enter the cockpit, a pilot can send a secret distress code - something that wasn't done on Flight MH370. The profiles of all 239 passengers are being checked against databases worldwide but the terrorism theory was weakened on Tuesday when Malaysian police confirmed it had identified the two passengers who were travelling on fake passports. Both were said to be seeking asylum in Europe. In the 1988 Lockerbie bombing, claims of responsibility came soon after the disaster - but no one has come forward to claim the Malaysia incident as their attack.

The two men who boarded the plane with fake passports

Human error?

The 53-year-old pilot was very experienced, having amassed more than 18,000 flying hours since being employed by the airline in 1981. However, in Indonesia in 2007, Adam Air flight 574 disappeared with 102 passengers during a domestic flight, where the authorities found the pilots lost control after becoming preoccupied with malfunctioning navigational equipment. Former Navy pilot Dr Simon Mitchell told Sky News: "We've expended billions of dollars on developing very sophisticated aids to make the life of the pilot safer and more straightforward, but there are still opportunities whereby mistakes can be made."

Why was there no distress signal?

One explanation is that the plane fell into a communications black spot. Former Boeing 777 instructor and United Airlines captain Ross Aimer explained: "These are very sophisticated (items of) equipment that should have been working under any conditions - in the water, in the jungle, after a fire, after an explosion - and none of them have talked to the outside world yet. There are spots in the world, however, that are called blind spots, where you cannot communicate for some reason. Unfortunately, that area near Vietnam, over the Gulf of Thailand, those are some of the black spots."

The search area on either side of the Ca Mau peninsula

Where is the search taking place?

Nine aircraft and 24 ships are currently taking part in the search in the seas off Vietnam and Malaysia. Search teams from Australia, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, Philippines, New Zealand and the US are assisting. Officials said on Tuesday that the search was being conducted on both sides of Vietnam's Ca Mau peninsula. The search area has been expanded from 50 nautical miles from where the plane disappeared - over waters between Malaysia and Vietnam - to 100 nautical miles (115 miles; 185km). This expansion was a result of a new report from the Malaysian military, who say they tracked the plane in the Strait of Malacca - a long distance from where it last made contact - in the hours following its disappearance.

Why has no wreckage been found?

Whatever caused the apparent crash, there would be some debris - but it could take a while to find. It took two years to find the main wreckage of Air France flight 447 in 2009.  In 2007, in the case of the Adam Air flight, it was a week before an Indonesian naval vessel detected metal on the ocean floor. It was a further two weeks before the US Navy picked up signals from the flight data and cockpit recorders and seven months for the recorder to be recovered. If the plane had crashed on land, chances are the wreckage would have been found by now. At sea, much of the plane would have sunk, but some debris should remain on the surface. Worryingly, the longer the search takes the harder it becomes as the wind and tide spread any debris further from the initial crash zone.

Search teams are looking for the 'black box'

Could the 'black box' provide answers?

As well as wreckage, search teams are looking for the aircraft's emergency locator transmitter (ELT) - though these do not always work if a plane hits water. However, attached to the plane's black box is a device known as a pinger. This can emit radio signals deep under water for up to 30 days - or 40 days in warm water.

Has a plane ever simply vanished?

Since the start of the jet age in the 1950s, nearly every major aircraft that disappeared was found - eventually - and the rare exceptions did not involve passengers. In September 1990, a Boeing 727 plunged into the North Atlantic after running out of fuel. The accident was attributed to poor pilot planning and the wreck was never recovered. Another Boeing 727 transporting diesel to diamond mines in Africa took off without clearance and with its transponder turned off. It is believed to have crashed in the Atlantic Ocean.

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