W O R L D

Missing Flight MH370
New leads reported, but weather frustrates hunt
Perth, March 27
High winds and icy weather halted the air search on Thursday for a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet presumed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, just as new satellite images emerged showing what could be a large debris field from the plane.

Severe turbulence: Excess fuel is dumped from a nozzle protruding from the left wing of a Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion aircraft before landing on Thursday. It was part of the mission searching for flight MH370 over the southern Indian Ocean. Reuters

musharraf case
Chief judge walks out, later clarifies he’s not quitting
The chief judge in Pervez Musharraf's treason trial today dramatically stormed out of the courtroom after repeatedly being accused of bias against the former Pakistani military dictator but later clarified that he was not recusing himself from the high-profile case.

South Korean army personnel fire 155 mm howitzers in a live fire drill during the annual exercise in Inje, near the border with North Korea, on Thursday. AP/PTI

IMF agrees to $14-18 bn bailout for Ukraine
Kiev, March 27
The International Monetary Fund has agreed a $14-18 billion two-year bailout for Ukraine, a deal to help it recover from months of turmoil that will also unlock further credits making a total of $27 billion.

Egypt’s army chief quits to run for presidency
Cairo, March 27
Nine months after toppling Egypt's first democratically-elected president, powerful army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has quit the military to contest a presidential election he is expected to win easily.

US arms supply to Pakistan rising
Washington, March 27
US arms supply and fresh military aid to Pakistan has quietly gained momentum in the last one year, Congressional sources have said. The Pentagon, according to publicly available documents, reports total Foreign Military Sales (FMS) agreements with Pakistan worth about $5.2 billion for FY2002-FY2012.

UNGA adopts resolution backing Ukraine’s territorial integrity
United Nations, March 27
The UN General Assembly today adopted a resolution reaffirming Ukraine's territorial integrity and calling as illegal the referendum that led to Russia's annexation of Crimea in a vote from which India abstained.

Missing Flight MH370
New leads reported, but weather frustrates hunt
Thai & Japanese satellites capture sightings of possible wreckage

Perth, March 27
High winds and icy weather halted the air search on Thursday for a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet presumed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, just as new satellite images emerged showing what could be a large debris field from the plane.

The latest possible sightings of wreckage from Flight MH370, which went missing 19 days ago, were captured by Thai and Japanese satellites in roughly the same remote expanse of sea as earlier images reported by France, Australia and China.

"We detected floating objects, perhaps more than 300," Anond Snidvongs, the head of Thailand's space technology development agency, told Reuters. "We have never said that the pieces are part of MH370 but have so far identified them only as floating objects."

A Japanese satellite also captured images of 10 objects which could be part of the plane, Kyodo news agency quoted the government as saying on Thursday. An international search team of 11 military and civilian aircraft and five ships had been heading for an area where more than 100 objects that could be from the Boeing 777 had been identified by French satellite pictures earlier this week, but severe weather forced the planes to turn back.

"The forecast in the area was calling for severe icing, severe turbulence and near-zero visibility," said Lieutenant Commander Adam Schantz, the officer in charge of the U.S. Navy Poseidon P8 maritime surveillance aircraft detachment. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which is coordinating the effort, confirmed flights had been called off but said ships continued to search despite battering waves.

"It's the nature of search and rescue. It's a fickle beast," Flying Officer Peter Moore, the captain of an Australian AP-3C Orion, told Reuters aboard the plane after it turned around 600 miles from the search zone. "This is incredibly important to us. The reality is we have 239 people whose families want some information and closure."

New images

The Malaysian airliner, on a routine flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, is thought to have crashed with the loss of all 239 persons aboard after flying thousands of miles off course. The objects spotted by the Thai satellite were between 2 metres and 16 metres in size and were in an area around 2,700 km southwest of Perth, Snidvongs said.

The pictures were taken on Monday, a day after a satellite operated by France-based Airbus Defence & Space spotted 122 potential objects in a 400 sq km (155 sq mile) area of ocean around 2,500 km southwest of the Western Australian city. The pictures by the Japanese satellite were taken on Wednesday of debris about 2,500 km southwest of Perth, the biggest measuring 4 by 8 metres, a government official said. — Reuters

Crash scare off Spanish coast

musharraf case
Chief judge walks out, later clarifies he’s not quitting
Afzal Khan in Islamabad

The chief judge in Pervez Musharraf's treason trial today dramatically stormed out of the courtroom after repeatedly being accused of bias against the former Pakistani military dictator but later clarified that he was not recusing himself from the high-profile case.

It was widely reported that Justice Faisal Arab, the chief of the three-member bench conducting the treason trial against 70-year-old Musharraf, had recused himself from the hearing following an exchange of arguments with the former President's counsel Anwar Mansoor.

However, the judge later clarified that he had only walked out of today's proceedings and was not dissociating himself from the case completely.

Earlier, Musharraf's lawyer Ahmed Raza Kasuri told reporters outside the special court conducting the trial that the judge had disassociated himself from the case.

"Better late than never. I am glad that his (Justice Arab) conscience has finally risen," Kasuri said, adding, "Faisal Arab said he was distancing himself from the case.

There is no shortage of judges in the country." Taking a step further, Kasuri had said the non-bailable arrest warrant against Musharraf did not stand any longer. "The warrant does not stand. The court which issued the warrant no longer exists," Kasuri said.

However, adjourning the case to March 31, the special court ruled in the afternoon that its earlier order for the government to arrest and produce Musharraf if he refused to appear before it on the said date remained intact.

During today's hearing, Musharraf's lawyers said prosecutor Akram Sheikh should not be allowed to speak on the case until the court announces its decision regarding his appointment.

Justice Arab said the prosecutor will be allowed to speak in court. Musharraf's advocates then said they were not happy with the court bench and that it was not neutral.

"The Special Court had already issued an order that this bench will try Musharraf and that decision should be respected," Arab said.

He walked out of the courtroom after making the statements and was followed by the other members of the bench, Express News reported.

(With inputs from PTI)

IMF agrees to $14-18 bn bailout for Ukraine

Kiev, March 27
The International Monetary Fund has agreed a $14-18 billion two-year bailout for Ukraine, a deal to help it recover from months of turmoil that will also unlock further credits making a total of $27 billion.

The agreement, announced on Thursday, is intended to help the heavily-indebted ex-Soviet republic stabilise its economy after anti-government protests which resulted in the overthrow of President Viktor Yanukovich and a standoff with Moscow in which Russia annexed the Crimea region.

But the programme of reforms that accompanies the support and which the IMF says is necessary to get economy back on track and avoid a debt default may be painful for the population and the new government at a time of crisis and uncertainty.

"The mission has reached a staff-level agreement with the authorities of Ukraine on an economic reform programme," the IMF said in a statement. "The financial support from the broader international community that the programme will unlock amounts to $27 billion over the next two years. Of this, assistance from the IMF will range between $14-18 billion, with the precise amount to be determined once all bilateral and multilateral support is accounted for."

Ukraine's debt insurance costs fell sharply after the deal was announced, hitting two month lows in the five-year credit default swap market.

Helping hand

The agreement, announced on Thursday, is intended to help the heavily-indebted ex-Soviet republic stabilise its economy after anti-government protests which resulted in the overthrow of President Viktor Yanukovich and a standoff with Moscow in which Russia annexed the Crimea region.

Egypt’s army chief quits to run for presidency

Cairo, March 27
Nine months after toppling Egypt's first democratically-elected president, powerful army chief Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has quit the military to contest a presidential election he is expected to win easily.

Field Marshal Sisi, 59, who also resigned as defence minister last night, tendered his resignation to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAP). He had led the military coup that overthrew President Mohammed Morsi last July.

In a televised statement, Sisi said he had resigned from the army and intends to run for the country's presidency. Analysts say Sisi is likely to win the presidency, given his popularity and the lack of any serious rivals.

"Today is the last time you'll see me wearing this (military) uniform. I was honoured to wear it to defend the nation and today I am also leaving it behind to defend the nation. I will continue to fight every day for an Egypt free of terrorism," said Sisi, stressing that he has been a member of the armed forces for over 45 years. The last few years in Egypt have proved "that no one could be president without the people's will," he said.

"My determination to run in the election does not bar others from their right to run. I will be happy if whoever the people choose succeeds," he said, adding that he hopes for "a nation for all without exclusion". — PTI

US arms supply to Pakistan rising

Washington, March 27
US arms supply and fresh military aid to Pakistan has quietly gained momentum in the last one year, Congressional sources have said. The Pentagon, according to publicly available documents, reports total Foreign Military Sales (FMS) agreements with Pakistan worth about $5.2 billion for FY2002-FY2012.

The resumption of US military aid to Pakistan is seen as a sign of normalisation of military-to-military ties between the US and Pakistan that had hit rock bottom after the killing of Osama bin Laden by US forces in Abbottabad in May 2011.

Sources said the notable developments over the past one year include delivery of 150 additional radio sets, completed upgrades on 35 Pak F-16s, and imminent delivery of 374 M113 armored personnel carriers as Excess Defense Articles in April 2014. Sales of F-16 combat aircraft and related equipment account for about half of this.

Congress has appropriated more than $3 billion in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) for Pakistan since 2001, more than $2 billion of which has been disbursed. These funds are used to purchase US military equipment for longer-term modernisation efforts. — PTI

UNGA adopts resolution backing Ukraine’s territorial integrity

United Nations, March 27
The UN General Assembly today adopted a resolution reaffirming Ukraine's territorial integrity and calling as illegal the referendum that led to Russia's annexation of Crimea in a vote from which India abstained.

The draft resolution, titled 'Territorial integrity of Ukraine' was co-sponsored by Canada, Costa Rica, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine and the US.

It was passed in the 193-member General Assembly after 100 nations voted in favour while 11 against. India was among the 58 nations that abstained from voting. 
The passage of the resolution highlighted the isolation of Russia which has been condemned for its military intervention and takeover of the Ukrainian province of Crimea.

The resolution noted that the referendum held in Crimea and the city of Sevastopol on March 16 was "not authorised" by Ukraine. It affirmed its commitment to the "sovereignty, political independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders."

The resolution called on all member states to "desist and refrain" from actions aimed at the "partial or total disruption" of the national unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine, including any attempts to "modify" Ukraine's borders through threat, use of force or other unlawful means.

Unlike resolutions passed in the powerful UN Security Council, resolutions in the General Assembly cannot be vetoed and are also not legally binding. — PTI

India abstains

It was passed in the 193-member General Assembly after 100 nations voted in favour while 11 against. India was among the 58 nations that abstained from voting. India did not make an explanation of vote after the resolution was passed.