BALTIMORE, Maryland March 7, 2014 8:23 pm EST- A Malaysia Airline Flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing has lost contact with air controllers, and search and rescue teams have been dispatched. Some 239 people, including two infants and the flight crew, are aboard the jet. The Malaysia Airline statement, released via Twitter on Friday night, EST, said as follows: "MEDIA STATEMENT released at 7.24am/8 Mar 2014 MH370 Incident
Sepang, 8 March 2014: Malaysia Airlines confirms that flight MH370 has lost contact with Subang Air Traffic Control at 2.40am, today (8 March 2014).
Flight MH370, operated on the B777-200 aircraft, departed Kuala Lumpur at 12.41am on 8 March 2014. MH370 was expected to land in Beijing at 6.30am the same day. The flight was carrying a total number of 227 passengers (including 2 infants), 12 crew members.
Malaysia Airlines is currently working with the authorities who have activated their Search and Rescue team to locate the aircraft.
The airline will provide regular updates on the situation. Meanwhile, the public may contact +603 7884 1234 for further info."
Reuters reports since the announcement that the plane lost contact while in Vietnamese air space. In Vietnam, the on-line news source Thanhnien.com said Saturday afternoon, local time, The plane lost contact in Ca Mau province airspace before it had entered contact with Ho Chi Minh City air traffic control," China has said there is no report of a plane crashing in Chinese air space. Lana Lam of the South China Post newspaper said there are reports that the plane had seven hours of flight fuel, meaning that the plane was out of the air by 8 pm EST unless it refueled. A revised statement by the airline said there are 13 different nationalities reported to have been aboard. Fox said at 9 pm that Malaysia Airlines was holding a press conference at that hour. The network was not carrying it because it was not in English. The plane, a Boeing product, has one of the best mechanical records of any plane, and Fox said that there have been no fatalities on any previous flight.
One of the most harrowing facts of the incident, so far, is that the flight lost contact some two hours into the flight. According to reports, no mayday call was received from the airliner. The aviation blog, Crikey, said early this morning, EST, that there were conflicting reports coming out of Asia as to whether authorities have detected a flight beacon. Said the blog, "Aviation Herald is reporting an emergency beacon locator signal from the missing Malaysia Airlines 7777 has been detected 20nm south of the coast of Ca Mau in Vietnam. However government sources have denied this is the case.
The flight MH370, went missing between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing with 239 people on board early this morning some two hours after departing from the Malaysia capital’s international airport.
The airline this afternoon confirmed that there were seven Australians and two New Zealanders on the passenger manifest." Another late report said there were four Americans on the plane, and that one of the four is an infant.
The on-line publication, Aviation Herald, provided the following information early this morning: "In a press conference the airline stated, the last contact with the aircraft had been about 160nm northeast of Kota Bharu (Malaysia), over the Gulf of Thailand. The aircraft was piloted by an experienced captain (53, 18,365 hours total) and a first officer (27, 2,763 hours total). The aircraft carried 153 Chinese citizens, 38 Malaysians, 12 Indonesians, 7 Australians, 3 French, 4 citizens of USA, 2 New Zealanders, 2 Ukrainians, 2 Canadians, 1 Russian, 1 Italian, 1 Taiwanese, 1 Dutch and 1 Austrian.
Search missions have been launched along the estimated flight track of the aircraft from Gulf of Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos to China (South China Sea).
The News Service "Al Arabiya" reported Friday night that Russian strongman Vladimir Putin has reacted strongly to France's threat to impose a second round of sanctions for Russia's Ukrainian Invasion, if the first round doesn't convince Russia to leave Crimea.
The French Foreign Minister made the suggestion Friday, Al Arabiya reported. “If there are not very swift results, there will be new measures aimed at those responsible and Russian businesses,” Reuters quoted Laurent Fabius as telling France Info radio. As this was occurring, tensions in Crimea continued to move toward a possible breaking point. Numerous times in recent days gunfire has been avoided by the narrowest of margins. But the increased activity of pro-Russian Militias at Ukrainian military installations has upped the ante. In one of the closest calls - reported on by many media outlets - Russian military units barged through the front gate of a Ukrainian installation near Sevastopol and immediately threatened to open fire. Journalists were forcibly kept from the scene and one cameraman who was already there was beaten. Then, when a militia group sympathetic to Russian Strongman Vladimir Putin arrived, the regular Russian Army entourage left. This, even though the militia units appear to be far more trigger-happy than the Regular Russian Army Units.
The French have been among the strongest and most direct EU nations in their reactions to the Ukrainian Invasion by Russia. Other EU leaders, including Great Britain and Germany, have been more circumspect when it came to imposing sanctions, prefering instead to use tough language against Putin and Russia. “It could be freezing assets, it could be cancellations, it could be refusing visas,” Fabius added, without elaborating.
Fabius called the situation in Ukraine “a serious crisis, maybe one of the most serious since the Cold War.”
In the middle of it all, Putin tells Obama that the Ukraine Crisis Should Not Define the Relationship Between Russia and the United States
On Friday, the Kremlin reported the Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying that Moscow and Washington should not sacrifice relations over the current crisis in Ukraine, despite the two having different ideas on how to deal with the situation.
According to the Web Site "The Voice of Russia," Putin “stressed the paramount importance of Russian-American relations to ensure stability and security in the world. These relations should not be sacrificed for individual differences, albeit very important ones, over international problems,” the Kremlin quoted Putin as telling U.S. President Barack Obama in a one-hour telephone call.
Saudi Arabia has officially placed the "Terrorist" label on the Muslim Brotherhood. The Salem Radio Network, quoting Reuters, said that the designation was hardly a surprise. Instead, it was made to increase pressure on the government of Qatar, which is openly working with the Muslim Brotherhood, angering Saudi Arabia and other gulf states, including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. In particular, Qatar has provided sanctuary for noted cleric and pro-terrorist activist Yusuf Qaradawi. Qaradawi has openly criticized the Saudi government, and, what's worse in the eyes of the Saudi Ruling Family, Qaradawi has been given regular airtime on Qatar's Al Jazeera satellite network, heavily watched in Saudi Arabia. The Muslim Brotherhood is a flashpoint all across the Middle East. In Egypt, the ruling Military Leaders have outlawed the group and jailed Former Egyptian Leader Mohammed Morsi, an admitted Muslim Brotherhood member. Saudi Arabia has its hands full dealing with its policy on the MB is the Syrian Civil War. The Ruling Family is particularly sensitive to its younger citizens going to Syria to fight against the Assad regime, then coming home and using the same arguments against Saudi's rulers. It has made participation in the Civil War illegal, even though it funds some of the groups that are fighting there.
Sports: No. 2 Florida State busts open late tie, beats Maryland, 15-3 in ACC opener; FIFA Rankings of National Teams
Jose Cuas hit a two-run home run and knocked in a third Maryland run with a double, but No. 2 Florida State exploded for 13 total runs in the seventh and eighth innings tonight to beat Maryland, 15-3. The Seminoles broke on top against Maryland starter and loser Jake Stinnet (2-2) with a single run in the third inning. But Maryland rallied into the lead in the top of the fifth when Jose Cuas smashed a two-run homer. The lead didn't last because Florida State pushed across a run of its own in the bottom of the fifth. The score remained tied until the bottom of the seventh when the Seminoles chased Stinnet and scored six times. Then, in the eighth, Florida State scored seven more times. Cuas ripped a two-out double in the ninth for Maryland's third run. Stinnet was in command until the seventh inning. Through six innings he had surrendered only one earned run on four hits. He walked only two in his six-plus innings of work. But in the fateful seventh, the Seminoles' first two batters reached on singles, and then Stinnet hit the inning's third hitter. That loaded the bases and caused Maryland Coach John Szefc to go to his bullpen. The bullpen had a terrible night, to say the least. First in was Ben Brewster, a 6' 3", 219 lb. Senior from Baltimore's Park School. Brewster hit the first hitter he faced - the second straight Seminole batter to be hit - forcing in a run and putting Florida State ahead to stay. Brewster only retired one hitter and allowed all of Stinnet's runners to score plus two of his own. Bobby Ruse was next in, and he did manage to get out of the inning, surrendering a hit and one more earned run. In the eighth inning, Sophmore Robert Galligan from Syosset, New York came on to start the inning. He surrendered four more runs on two hits. Game two in the series is tomorrow - Saturday - at 2 pm. Look for Frsshman Mike Shawaryn (3-0, 0.54 ERA) to start for the Terps.
The current FIFA world ranking of national teams. These rankings will be valid until the next version is released on March 13.
1. Spain, 2. Germany, 3. Argentina, 4. Portugal, 5. Colombia, 6. Switzerland, 7. Uruguay, 8. Italy, 9. Brazil, 10. Netherlands, 11. Belgium, 12. Greece, 13. United States, 14. Chile, 15. England, 16. Croatia, 17. Bosnia and Herzogovina, 18. (tie) Ukraine and France, 20. Denmark, 21. Mexico, 22. Russia, 23. Cote d'Ivoire, 24. Ecuador, 25. Sweden, 26. Algeria, 27. (tie) Slovenia and Cape Verde Islands, 29. Serbia, 30. Armenia, 31. Czech Republic, 32. Panama, 33. Romania, 34. Scotland, 35. Costa Rica and Venezuela, 37. Ghana, 38. Egypt, 39. Iran, 40. Honduras, 41. Peru, 42. Turkey, 43. Austria, 44. Hungary, 45. Tunisia, 46. Cameroon, 47. Nigeria, 48. Iceland, 49. Paraguay, 50. Japan, 51. Wales, 52. Montenegro, 53. Austrailia, 54. Slovakia, 55. Albania, 56. Israel, 57. Uzbekistan, 58. United Aram Emirates, 59. Mali, 60. Norway, 61. South Korea, 62. (tie) Burkina Faso and Guinea, 64. South Africa, 65. Finland, 66. Senegal, 67. Ireland, 68. Libya, 69. Jordan, 70. (tie) Poland and Bolivia, 72. Bulgaria, 73. Sierra Leone, 74. Morocco, 75. (tie) Zambia and Saudi Arabia, 77. Trinidad and Tobago, 78. El Salvador, 79. Haiti, 80. (tie) Oman and Jamaica, 82. Belarus, 83. Macedonia, 84. Uganda, 85. Northern Ireland, 86. Congo, 87. Gabon, 88. China, 89. New Zealand, 90. Togo, 91. (tie) Congo DR and Estonia, 93. Azerbaijan, 94. Botswana, 95. Angola, 96. Liberia, 97. Benin, 98. Cuba, 99. Qatar, 100. Zimbabwe; 101. Ethiopia, 102. Lithuania, 103. Georgia, 104. Niger, 105. Central African Republic, 106. Bahrain, 107. Moldova, 108. Kenya, 109. Kuwait, 110. Tajikistan, 111. (tie) Latvia and Dominican Republic, 113. Canada, 114. Iraq, 115. Malawi, 116. Tanzania, 117. New Caledonia, 118. (tie) Mozambique and Equatorial Guinea, 120. Luxembourg, 121. Lebanon, 122. Cyprus, 123. Sudan, 124. (tie) Namibia and Burundi, 126. Guatemala, 127. Philippines, 128. Kazakhstan, 129. Turkmenistan, 130. Myanmar, 131. Malta, 132. Suriname, 133. Syria, 134. Rwanda, 135. Grenada, 136. North Korea, 137. Gambia, 138. Afghanistan, 139. Lesotho, 140. Tahiti, 141. St. Vincent and the Grenadines, 142. Belize, 143. Vietnam, 144. (tie) Hong Kong and Palestine, 146. Antigua and Barbuda, 147. Thailand, 148. (tie) St. Lucia and Kyrgyzstan, 150. (tie) Singapore, Malaysia and Liechtenstein, 153. St. Kitts and Nevis, 154. (tie) India and Guyana, 156. Laos, 157. Puerto Rico, 158. Indonesia, 159. Mauritania, 160. Guam, 161. São Tomé e Príncipe, 162. Chad, 163. Maldives, 164. Bangladesh 165. Pakistan, 166. Dominica, 167. Nicaragua, 168. Barbados, 169. Nepal, 170. Chinese Taipei, 171. Sri Lanka, 172. (tie) Aruba and Faroe Islands, 174. Solomon Islands, 175. Bermuda, 176. Seychelles, 177. Mauritius, 178. Curaçao, 179. Vanuatu, 180. Mongolia, 181. Fiji, 182. Samoa, 183. Guinea-Bissau, 184. (tie) Swaziland and Bahamas, 186. Yemen, 187. (tie) Madagascar and Montserrat, 189. Cambodia, 190. (tie) Brunei Darussalam, Timor-Leste and Tonga, 193. U.S. Virgin Islands, 194. Cayman Islands and Papua New Guinea, 196. (tie) British Virgin Islands and American Samoa, 198. (tie) Comoros and Andorra, 200. (tie) Eritrea and Macau, 202. South Sudan, 203. Somalia, 204. Djibouti, 205. Cook Islands, 206. Anguilla, 207. (tie) Bhutan, San Marino and Turks and Caicos Islands
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