VOA NEWS

March 14, 2014

From Washington, this is VOA news. A U.S. official says a missing Malaysian airliner may have flown for hours after disappearing from radar, and Israeli aircraft hit more Palestinian militant targets in the Gaza Strip. I'm Michael Lipin reporting from Washington.



A U.S. official involved in the search for a missing Malaysian passenger plane says the jet may have been flying for four hours after it disappeared from radar screens.

The official said the jet was sending out a pinging signal -- a sign that it was trying to communicate with a satellite. He said the plane may have flown another 4,000 kilometers after controllers reported it missing.

The United States is expanding its search for the plane into the Indian Ocean, far west of the aircraft's intended flight path.

Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 disappeared early Saturday during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Two hundred and thirty-nine people were on board.



Ukraine's interim prime minister has gone to the United Nations to seek help in preventing Russia from annexing his nation's Crimean peninsula.

In a dramatic confrontation at the U.N. Security Council on Thursday, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk turned toward Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin and bluntly asked whether "Russians want war."

Churkin replied that neither his government nor his people want war.

But the Russian government also said it has deployed thousands more troops and military hardware to areas bordering Ukraine.

Earlier this month, Russia sent thousands of troops into Ukraine's Crimean region, which has a major ethnic Russian population.

Moscow also is supporting a plan by its allies in Crimea to hold a referendum on Sunday to decide on whether Crimea should join the Russian federation.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry reiterated Washington's opposition to that referendum on Thursday.

"There is no justification, no legality to this referendum that is taking place. It violates international law, violates the U.N. Charter, violates the constitution of Ukraine. And I don't think anybody can believe that a hastily put together, rushed referendum taking place under the imprint of 20,000-plus troops and all that has happened without debate, without opportunity is a genuine referendum."



Israeli warplanes have carried out more airstrike on Palestinian militant targets in the Gaza Strip after militants fired more rockets into Israel despite one group's pledge to stop the rocket fire.

Israeli officials said the warplanes carried out the strikes late Thursday. Early on the day, the Islamic Jihad militant group said it had started observing an Egyptian-brokered truce with Israel.

But Israeli officials said at least ten rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel after that announcement.

It was not immediately clear who is behind the rocket attacks, which did not cause any casualties.



Syria's civil war entered its fourth year this week. The international mediator trying to resolve it, Lakhdar Brahimi, says stalled peace talks between the Syrian government and rebels could be in jeopardy if a presidential election is held in the coming months.

VOA's Margaret Besheer explains from the United Nations.

Joint special representative Lakhdar Brahimi told reporters after a private meeting with Security Council members Thursday, that while there has been no official announcement in Damascus that the presidential election is on -- it was scheduled to happen by July -- there are a lot of activities indicating it will take place.

"If there is an election, my suspicion is that the opposition, all the oppositions, will probably not be interested in talking to the government."

Speaking privately, Western diplomats have shared this concern, saying that if President Bashar al-Assad goes ahead with the vote, which they believe would likely be rigged, and is seen to be headed for a third seven-year term, then there would be no incentive for opposition leaders to return to negotiations.

The peace talks, known in diplomatic shorthand as Geneva 2, ended in late January without progress and with no resumption date.

Margaret Besheer, VOA news, the United Nations.



Ugandan officials say the United States has suspended some aid to their Health Ministry because of the country's tough new anti-gay law.

The officials say cooperation between Ugandan Health Ministry's AIDS program and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control is on hold while the United States reviews relations with Uganda.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed the anti-gay law last month. It calls for those found to be engaging in gay sex to face life in prison.



I'm Michael Lipin reporting for VOA from Washington.