Australian PM widens seabed search for MH370 debris

Canberra: Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Monday the hunt for the missing flight MH370 entered a new phase with seabed search to be expanded to a much larger area.

'If necessary, of the entire probable impact zone which is roughly 700 km by 80 km,' Xinhua quoted Abbott as saying at a press conference after US submarine drone Bluefin-21 completed a sea floor search of a focused area in the Indian Ocean and found no contacts of interest.

The focused area was defined as a circle of 10 km radius around the spot where the second suspicious signal of aircraft black boxes was heard April 8.

Abbott said the new phase of search would be focused on the seabed of the expanded area, which would involve commercial contractors specialised in deep ocean search and may take six to eight months if weather conditions permit.

Contractual equipments could be deployed in weeks and the Bluefin-21 would continue its mission in adjacent areas, he added.

Acknowledging that it is possible to never find the ill-fated plane, Abbott vowed to continue the search as thoroughly as 'humanly possible'.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished mysteriously about an hour after taking off for Beijing from Kuala Lumpur shortly after midnight March 8.

The Boeing 777-200ER was scheduled to land in Beijing the same morning. The 227 passengers on board included five Indians, 154 Chinese and 38 Malaysians.

IANS

Australian PM widens seabed search for MH370 debris

Canberra: Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Monday the hunt for the missing flight MH370 entered a new phase with seabed search to be expanded to a much larger area.

'If necessary, of the entire probable impact zone which is roughly 700 km by 80 km,' Xinhua quoted Abbott as saying at a press conference after US submarine drone Bluefin-21 completed a sea floor search of a focused area in the Indian Ocean and found no contacts of interest.

The focused area was defined as a circle of 10 km radius around the spot where the second suspicious signal of aircraft black boxes was heard April 8.

Abbott said the new phase of search would be focused on the seabed of the expanded area, which would involve commercial contractors specialised in deep ocean search and may take six to eight months if weather conditions permit.

Contractual equipments could be deployed in weeks and the Bluefin-21 would continue its mission in adjacent areas, he added.

Acknowledging that it is possible to never find the ill-fated plane, Abbott vowed to continue the search as thoroughly as 'humanly possible'.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished mysteriously about an hour after taking off for Beijing from Kuala Lumpur shortly after midnight March 8.

The Boeing 777-200ER was scheduled to land in Beijing the same morning. The 227 passengers on board included five Indians, 154 Chinese and 38 Malaysians.

IANS

Sarita to give statement against Abdullakutty on May 5

Thiruvananthapuram : Solar scam accused Sarita S Nair told mediapersons here on Monday that she would give a statement against A P Abdullakutty before the Magistrate court on May 5. Though she had reached the court today to submit her statement, the Magistrate was on leave.

Sarita said she stands firm in all her revelations against Abdullakutty and had evidence of mobile phone conversations and the SMSs to be submitted to the court.

Sarita also flayed allegations raised by Shanimol Usman against her. She said Shanimol is not civilised. She is ready to submit all evidences relating to the solar case before the solar commission.

Sarita to give statement against Abdullakutty on May 5

Thiruvananthapuram : Solar scam accused Sarita S Nair told mediapersons here on Monday that she would give a statement against A P Abdullakutty before the Magistrate court on May 5. Though she had reached the court today to submit her statement, the Magistrate was on leave.

Sarita said she stands firm in all her revelations against Abdullakutty and had evidence of mobile phone conversations and the SMSs to be submitted to the court.

Sarita also flayed allegations raised by Shanimol Usman against her. She said Shanimol is not civilised. She is ready to submit all evidences relating to the solar case before the solar commission.

Akhilesh Yadav, wife have narrow escape as bird hits chopper

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had a narrow escape on Sunday when his chopper was hit by a bird, officials said.

Yadav was accompanied by his wife Dimple Yadav, the MP from Kannauj, and Public Works Department Minister Shivpal Singh Yadav. He was returning from Saifai after attending the funeral of his uncle Ratan Singh Yadav when the incident took place.

Officials said an eagle hit the front window pane of the private chopper at an altitude of 3,000 feet, 12 km away from the Lucknow airport.

The pilots of the helicopter, however, managed to safely land the chopper at the airport.

Several ambulances, fire tenders and officials were rushed to the airport, officials told IANS.

Last week, former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati too had a narrow escape at the Lucknow airport when the rear wheel of the private plane she was travelling in got stuck during landing. IANS

Akhilesh Yadav, wife have narrow escape as bird hits chopper

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had a narrow escape on Sunday when his chopper was hit by a bird, officials said.

Yadav was accompanied by his wife Dimple Yadav, the MP from Kannauj, and Public Works Department Minister Shivpal Singh Yadav. He was returning from Saifai after attending the funeral of his uncle Ratan Singh Yadav when the incident took place.

Officials said an eagle hit the front window pane of the private chopper at an altitude of 3,000 feet, 12 km away from the Lucknow airport.

The pilots of the helicopter, however, managed to safely land the chopper at the airport.

Several ambulances, fire tenders and officials were rushed to the airport, officials told IANS.

Last week, former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati too had a narrow escape at the Lucknow airport when the rear wheel of the private plane she was travelling in got stuck during landing. IANS

Australia to buy 58 US F-35s for $11.6bn

SYDNEY: Australia will purchase 58 more F-35 Joint Strike Fighters at a cost of Aus$12.4 billion ($11.6 billion, the government said.

The new aircraft will bring Australia´s total JSF force to 72 aircraft, with the first due to arrive in Australia in 2018 and enter service in 2020.

"The F-35 will provide a major boost to the Australian Defence Force´s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities," Prime Minister Tony Abbott said in a statement released late Tuesday.

The deal is in addition to 14 F-35s Australia already approved in 2009."The acquisition of F-35 aircraft will bring significant economic benefits to Australia, including regional areas and local defence industry," Abbott added.

The government, which was to make a formal announcement on the deal later Wednesday, will also consider an option to buy another squadron of F-35s to replace the air force´s fleet of F/A-18 Super Hornets.

The JSF has been touted as a technological wonder but has suffered setback after setback with a budget blown out to US$390 billion and seven years behind schedule, making it the costliest weapons programme in US history. (AFP)

Australia to buy 58 US F-35s for $11.6bn

SYDNEY: Australia will purchase 58 more F-35 Joint Strike Fighters at a cost of Aus$12.4 billion ($11.6 billion, the government said.

The new aircraft will bring Australia´s total JSF force to 72 aircraft, with the first due to arrive in Australia in 2018 and enter service in 2020.

"The F-35 will provide a major boost to the Australian Defence Force´s intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities," Prime Minister Tony Abbott said in a statement released late Tuesday.

The deal is in addition to 14 F-35s Australia already approved in 2009."The acquisition of F-35 aircraft will bring significant economic benefits to Australia, including regional areas and local defence industry," Abbott added.

The government, which was to make a formal announcement on the deal later Wednesday, will also consider an option to buy another squadron of F-35s to replace the air force´s fleet of F/A-18 Super Hornets.

The JSF has been touted as a technological wonder but has suffered setback after setback with a budget blown out to US$390 billion and seven years behind schedule, making it the costliest weapons programme in US history. (AFP)

Dollar holds steady, eyes on Obama Asia tour

TOKYO: The dollar held steady against the yen in Asia on Wednesday, with traders looking for developments in US-Japan free trade talks as President Barack Obama starts an Asian tour.

In Tokyo midday trade, the greenback changed hands at 102.57, a touch down from 102.60 yen in New York Tuesday afternoon, while the euro bought $1.3809 and 141.66 yen, against $1.3804 and 141.65 yen.

Akira Moroga, manager of forex product group of Aozora Bank, said with Obama due in Tokyo later Wednesday investors will be keeping an eye on signs of progress in the vast Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact.

Work on the deal has stalled recently, with Washington and Tokyo at loggerheads over tariffs on Japanese agricultural products. Any signs of progress could help boost the Nikkei and stoke yen selling, Moroga said.

Also on Wednesday, Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda repeated his view that there was no imminent need to expand its stimulus programme to reach an inflation target of 2.0 percent next year.

"At this point, there is nothing more to say than we will continue the quantitative and qualitative easing programme in its current form until we achieve our goal to generate stable 2.0 percent inflation," Kuroda told a parliamentary session.

The Australian dollar fell to 93.14 US cents from 93.75 cents after data showed Australian inflation was lower than expected in the first three months of the year. The figures raise the possibility the country´s central bank will lower interest rates to boost the faltering economy.

Also on investors´ radars is the crisis in Ukraine, which on Tuesday relaunched military operations against pro-Kremlin separatists, hours after US Vice President Joe Biden ended a two-day Kiev visit in which he warned Russia over its actions in the former Soviet republic.

 

 

Dollar holds steady, eyes on Obama Asia tour

TOKYO: The dollar held steady against the yen in Asia on Wednesday, with traders looking for developments in US-Japan free trade talks as President Barack Obama starts an Asian tour.

In Tokyo midday trade, the greenback changed hands at 102.57, a touch down from 102.60 yen in New York Tuesday afternoon, while the euro bought $1.3809 and 141.66 yen, against $1.3804 and 141.65 yen.

Akira Moroga, manager of forex product group of Aozora Bank, said with Obama due in Tokyo later Wednesday investors will be keeping an eye on signs of progress in the vast Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade pact.

Work on the deal has stalled recently, with Washington and Tokyo at loggerheads over tariffs on Japanese agricultural products. Any signs of progress could help boost the Nikkei and stoke yen selling, Moroga said.

Also on Wednesday, Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda repeated his view that there was no imminent need to expand its stimulus programme to reach an inflation target of 2.0 percent next year.

"At this point, there is nothing more to say than we will continue the quantitative and qualitative easing programme in its current form until we achieve our goal to generate stable 2.0 percent inflation," Kuroda told a parliamentary session.

The Australian dollar fell to 93.14 US cents from 93.75 cents after data showed Australian inflation was lower than expected in the first three months of the year. The figures raise the possibility the country´s central bank will lower interest rates to boost the faltering economy.

Also on investors´ radars is the crisis in Ukraine, which on Tuesday relaunched military operations against pro-Kremlin separatists, hours after US Vice President Joe Biden ended a two-day Kiev visit in which he warned Russia over its actions in the former Soviet republic.