Malaysia approves a new search for MH370 more than a decade after the plane disappeared
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysia 's government has given final approval for a Texas -based marine robotics company to renew the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean more than a decade ago.
Cabinet ministers agreed to terms and conditions for a 'no-find, no-fee' contract with Texas-based Ocean Infinity to resume the seabed search operation at a new 5,800-square-mile site in the ocean, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said in a statement Wednesday. Ocean Infinity will be paid $70 million only if wreckage is discovered.
The Boeing 777 plane vanished from radar shortly after taking off on March 8, 2014, carrying 239 people, mostly Chinese nationals, on a flight from Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur, to Beijing. Satellite data showed the plane turned from its flight path and headed south to the far-southern Indian Ocean, where it is believed to have crashed.
An expensive multinational search failed to turn up any clues to its location, although debris washed ashore on the east African coast and Indian Ocean islands. A private search in 2018 by Ocean Infinity also found nothing.
The final approval for a new search came three months after Malaysia gave the nod in principle to plans for a fresh search.
Ocean Infinity CEO Oliver Punkett earlier this year reportedly said the company had improved its technology since 2018. He has said the firm is working with many experts to analyze data and had narrowed the search area to the most likely site.
Loke said his ministry will ink a contract with Ocean Infinity soon but did not provide details on the terms. The firm has reportedly sent a search vessel to the site and indicated that January-April is the best period for the search.
'The government is committed to continuing the search operation and providing closure for the families of the passengers of Flight MH370,' he said in a statement.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Glasgow Times
2 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Glasgow Italian artwork collection to go on tour in China
Paintings, ceramics and sculptures which are expected to give a 'culturally-rich' view of the visual arts in Italy from 1400 to 1800 will be loaned out later this year. It is hoped the 'Prosperous Symphony – Italian Treasures from Glasgow Museums' exhibition will boost tourism and trade links with China. Glasgow councillors backed the tour, which is set to start in Shenzhen in September before visiting 'five or six' other cities, at a meeting last week. Items will return to Glasgow in 2028 and could then be displayed in Kelvingrove museum. Following the meeting, a spokesperson for Glasgow Life, the council's culture and leisure arm, which runs the city's museums, said: 'As the first standalone touring exhibition of Italian artwork from Glasgow's museums to museums in China, it represents an exciting opportunity to build on the city's international strategy. 'China is a key overseas market, and this prestigious exchange will strengthen business, academic and civic relationships. It will also position Glasgow in cities across China as a culturally rich, must-visit destination, encouraging inward tourism. 'We are currently finalising which works will travel as part of the tour and will provide an update in due course. Glasgow Life will receive £30,000 from each venue hosting Prosperous Symphony – Italian Treasures from Glasgow Museums.' A council report stated that alongside 33 paintings, the collection includes examples of ceramics, glass, marble sculpture, textile, arms and armour. An exhibition of the city's Italian art went on tour to the United States in 2013 and all but one of the paintings and objects have been in storage since. Glasgow Life will be working with NOMAD Exhibitions on the tour, which has estimated around 100,000 visitors per venue. The council report added: 'With a new international strategy, regular trade missions, links between the city's universities, businesses and China and the targeting of a direct air route into the city, the timing to use an exhibition as cultural exchange and the backdrop for other initiatives is now.' It stated Glasgow Airport is targeting a direct China to Glasgow air route to complement two direct flights per week — four in summer — between Edinburgh and Beijing. Ideas to promote the tour include using the University of Glasgow's networks, as it has 9,000 Chinese students as well as alumni who now work in China. Connections through Glasgow's chamber of commerce, which aims to attract inward investment from businesses in Beijing and Shanghai, will also be explored.
Daily Record
8 hours ago
- Daily Record
Anas Sarwar pledges to back local businesses as First Minister as bus firm set to leave Scotland
SUNDAY MAIL EXCLUSIVE: The Scottish Labour leader will join mayors of some of the UK's biggest cities to try and create a contracts pipeline for domestic firms. ANAS Sarwar has pledged to prioritise local companies if he becomes First Minister in the wake of the collapse of a Scottish bus firm. The Scottish Labour leader is planning a major transport summit with some of the UK's mayoral heavyweights to discuss how to protect domestic manufacturers. It comes after Larbert bus firm Alexander Dennis announced last week it was putting 400 jobs at risk and is preparing to move its operations to one site in England. Sarwar accused the Scottish Government of failing to invest in Scottish firms and opting instead to buy from overseas companies in places like China, Turkey and Poland. This summer he is planning a major meeting with Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, Liverpool mayor Steve Rotherham and the mayors of West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and North East England to discuss how to give firms like Alexander Dennis greater stability. The First Minister will also be invited. Sarwar said: 'I won't sit back while jobs are under threat at Alexander Dennis in Larbert. 'I've called this summit to look at how we secure more work for domestic manufacturers but I also want to learn from Mayors like Andy Burnham who has already ensured that contracts go to Scottish and British firms. 'It's frankly a scandal that the Mayor of Greater Manchester has managed to buy almost four times as many buses from Scotland as the SNP Scottish Government. 'A future Scottish Labour Government will make sure that Scottish workers are put first. 'While the SNP fail Scottish manufacturing, Scottish Labour will stand up for workers and businesses here.' Alexander Dennis previously said it was considering moving manufacturing to a site in Scarborough and stop work at its Falkirk site. Operations at its second Scottish base in Larbert would also be closed after current contracts are finished. Paul Davies, the company's president, said the firm was facing strong competition from Chinese electric bus makers and said current UK policies didn't incentivise firms to provide local jobs. A consultation is now being launched which puts up to 400 jobs at risk of redundancy - 22 per cent of the company's 1850-strong workforce. Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said he had invested in 160 buses from the firm for his city's Bee Network public transport system - almost four times the number of vehicles bought by the Scottish Government, according to Alexander Dennis. He said: 'I'm proud that Greater Manchester has invested in Scottish and British manufacturing as we've built the Bee Network. 'The workforce at Alexander Dennis in Larbert are outstanding and the buses they've built for our city-region are the core of the Bee Network. 'Following the Chancellor's Spending Review, we now have an opportunity, as mayors, to maximise the funding we've secured and create a pipeline of work for companies here. 'This summit convened by Anas Sarwar is a key opportunity for mayors and Scottish Labour to work together, looking at how we can all provide greater certainty for our domestic manufacturers and workers like those at Alexander Dennis.' Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Liverpool mayor Steve Rotherham recently ordered 58 electric vehicles from Alexander Dennis while South Yorkshire's Mayor, Oliver Coppard, Mayor of North East England, Kim McGuinness and West Yorkshire Mayor, Tracy Brabin are set to buy hundreds of buses in the coming years after a cash boost from the Treasury. Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced £15.6bn of transport funding for mayoral authorities in last week's Spending Review, with around £1.5bn expected for the Scottish Government. Sarwar hopes the funds can be used to benefit domestic firms and the UK economy by creating a coordinated stream of contracts from some of the biggest cities rather than having contracts go overseas. North East Mayor Kim McGuinness said: 'I have pledged to make the North East bus fleet fully electric as soon as possible as part of my plans to bring buses back under public control. 'I would love to buy buses from Scottish and UK-based manufacturers. It makes no sense to have to go abroad for green technology when we already have the skills and capacity just over the border in Scotland.' Rotherham said Sarwar's summit was 'the kind of united, people-powered leadership needed to safeguard jobs at Alexander Dennis'. He said: 'This gives us the chance to pool our buying power, create a clear pipeline of work for an outstanding Scottish workforce and their supply chains, and underpin greener, more affordable transport networks that communities can rely on.'
Daily Record
8 hours ago
- Daily Record
Green light for Flamingo Land resort in Loch Lomond 'would make locals leave in droves'
Community activists told the Sunday Mail of their relief after SNP ministers dramatically recalled the controversial £43.5million plans. Locals would leave in droves if 'nightmare' Flamingo Land holiday resort in Loch Lomond ever got the green light, campaigners have warned. Community activists told the Sunday Mail of their relief after SNP ministers dramatically recalled the controversial £43.5million plans for a waterpark, monorail, hotels, 104 chalets and more in Balloch on Tuesday. The Scottish Government had faced widespread condemnation over an initial decision by its Reporter – a civil servant who reviews planning appeals – to back the mega resort. That would have reversed a unanimous rejection of the bid by the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority in September. The Nationalist government's subsequent U-turn came on the eve of a potentially embarrassing Holyrood vote on the issue tabled by Labour's Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie – which ministers would have almost certainly lost. Balloch and Haldane community councillor Lynne Somerville said of the decision: 'I think there was a collective sigh of relief. 'There's a real fear here. People are talking about selling their homes and moving [if the development goes ahead. 'That's the people who are in a position to be able to do that. There's lots of us that aren't in that position. 'It's just going to make this place hell on Earth for the locals, so there's a real dread hanging over the community.' When she heard SNP minister Ivan McKee was 'calling in' the appeal for further consideration, Lynne says she was in a spin class. She said: 'My phone started pinging then I was punching in the air, screaming in delight and then I burst out crying.' The Lomond Banks development from Yorkshire-based theme park operator Flamingo Land would see a water park, a monorail, micro-brewery, two hotels, restaurants, shops and more than 100 woodland lodges built across the sprawling site. But critics say it would scar the iconic landscape of Loch Lomond, while adding to problems on the already congested A82, an accident hotspot. Independent councillor Jim Bollan, who opposes the Flamingo Land bid, said he was still wary SNP chiefs could green-light the resort despite more than 155,000 people signing a Scottish Greens petition against the plans. The Leven councillor said: 'The fortunate thing is we've got the Scottish Parliament elections coming up in May next year. I'm sure that'll be weighing heavy on the government. 'This has been going on for 10 years now and it has been a rollercoaster, back and forward. I think we're at the last hurdle and I genuinely hope they'll make the right decision. 'If the SNP government doesn't listen to 155,000 people who objected to this, they will suffer dearly at the ballot box.' He also criticised the Scottish Government Reporter's 'absolutely incredible' initial judgment to back Flamingo Land's appeal, claiming the civil servant had ignored key arguments against on conservation grounds and on flood risk, which was flagged by watchdog SEPA. Jim added: 'It's so undemocratic the way the system is laid out to allow one individual to overturn a unanimous decision by the planning authority.' Both campaigners – who sit on the board of the new Loch Lomond South Community Trust which wants to buy the land back for the community – separately raised the issues on the A82. Lynne said: 'That road is often like being in a car park. When you see the A82 blocked up and you see ambulances trying to get through, you get concerned and hope whoever is in that ambulance doesn't need serious emergency treatment that can't be dealt with in the ambulance.' Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Jim said: 'It would take millions to make sure the A82 was in such a condition it could take the extra 250 vehicles every hour expected at peak times. 'And sadly, there isn't a week that goes by without a fatality on that road.' The Scottish Government said because the planning appeal is live, it couldn't comment on specifics of the case. SNP Public Finance Minister Ivan McKee said: 'I have decided to recall the Lomond Banks appeal as the proposed development raises issues of national significance in view of its potential impact on Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.' Flamingo Land's developers Lomond Banks were approached for comment.
