Malaysia Airlines jet have sent text messages to the families of passengers aboard the missing jet telling them that the plane has been “lost”.
“We have to assume beyond reasonable doubt that MH370 has been lost and that none of those on board have survived,” the message said.
“We must now accept all evidence suggests the plane went down in the southern Indian Ocean.”
Chinese families received the text message from Malaysia Airlines on Monday.
Malaysia’s PM Najib Razak has announced on the basis of new analysis it must be concluded that missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.
Najib Razak said: “It is with deep sadness and regret, that according to this new data, flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.”
The prime minister said Malaysia Airlines had informed the families of the 239 passengers and crew.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 went missing after taking off from Kuala Lumpur on March 8.
The announcement came as the search effort in the southern Indian Ocean completed a fifth day of operations.
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Based on the Veronica Roth books, the sci-fi thriller took $56 million over the weekend, studio estimates said.
Divergent is the third franchise based on young-adult best-sellers from Lionsgate after Twilight and The Hunger Games.
The movie made less than anticipated but Richie Fay president of domestic distribution for Lionsgate called it “a great beginning”.
Twilight opened with $69.6 million and The Hunger Games with $152.5 million.
Shailene Woodley and Theo James star in Divergent, which also features Kate Winslet and is set in a dystopian Chicago where society is divided into five factions and one of them, the Divergents, are targeted to be destroyed.
The Muppet sequel Muppets Most Wanted, starring Ricky Gervais did not do as well as expected, taking just $16.5 million over the weekend.
The original Disney Muppet movie reboot opened with $29.2 million in 2011.
Dave Hollis, head of distribution for Disney, admitted it was disappointing, especially as advance tracking had suggested the sequel would do much better.
In its third week of release, Mr. Peabody and Sherman continued to do well – it took $11.7 million putting it in third place.
The biggest surprise was the film God’s Not Dead, which made $8.6 million, despite playing on just 780 screens.
The independently released faith film is about a college student who battles his philosophy professor, as he refuses to sign his declaration that God is Dead in order to pass his course.
Meanwhile the film version of the TV show Veronica Mars made just $144,000 in its second week.
Veronica Mars, which was funded by fans via Kickstarter, has made a total of $2.9 million for Warner Bros.
North American box office Top 5:
1. Divergent – $56 million
2. Muppets Most Wanted – $16.5 million
3. Mr. Peabody and Sherman – $11.7 million
4. 300: Rise of an Empire – $8.7 million
5. God’s Not Dead – $8.6 million
Source: Rentrak
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The objects could be picked up in the southern Indian Ocean in a few hours, Malaysia’s transport minister said.
One object was circular and grey or green, and the other rectangular and orange, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said.
Tony Abbott said it was not known whether the objects were from flight MH370, and could be flotsam.
The two objects were different, the prime minister said, from several white, square-shaped objects spotted earlier by Chinese military planes.
“The Australian Maritime Safety Authority [AMSA] has advised that objects have been located by a Royal Australian Air Force P3 Orion. And I can advise the House that HMAS Success is on scene and is attempting to locate and recover these objects,” Tony Abbott told the Australian parliament.
Investigators could be closer to resolving “one of the great mysteries of our time”, the prime minister added.
Speaking at a daily news briefing in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein confirmed the missing airliner had been carrying wooden pallets, but said there was no connection yet to a reported Australian sighting of pallets floating in the search zone.
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Ukraine’s decision was taken because of Russian threats to the lives of military staff and their families, Oleksandr Turchynov announced.
Russian troops have seized most of Ukraine’s bases in Crimea, including the naval base at Feodosia.
Earlier this month, Russia annexed Crimea after a referendum which Ukraine and the West considered illegal.
The G7 group of industrialized countries is to consider a collective response to the crisis during talks in The Hague.
G7 leaders are meeting on the sidelines of a long-planned summit on global threats to nuclear security.
“The national security and defense council has reached a decision, under instructions from the defense ministry, to conduct a redeployment of military units stationed in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea,” Oleksandr Turchynov said.
“The cabinet of ministers has instructions to resettle the families of soldiers as well as everyone else who today is forced to leave their homes under the pressure and aggression of the Russian army’s occupying forces.”
The announcement came shortly after Russian troops captured the naval base at Feodosia, the third such takeover in 48 hours.
Defense spokesman Vladislav Seleznyov said the Russians had attacked the base from two directions using armored personnel carriers and stun grenades.
Feodosia was one of the last remaining bases under Kiev’s control, but had been surrounded by Russian forces for some time.
Two other military bases were stormed and seized on Friday.
Russian defense officials said earlier that the tricolor of Russia had been hoisted at 189 Ukrainian military units and facilities in Crimea.
James Rebhorn died at his home in South Orange, New Jersey, his agent Dianne Busch said.
The actor’s career spanned five decades and saw him appear in TV shows including The Good Wife and 30 Rock and films such as Meet the Parents, My Cousin Vinny, Carlito’s Way and Basic Instinct.
Diagnosed with melanoma in 1992, James Rebhorn continued working until last month.
James Rebhorn’s agent told The Hollywood Reporter: “He fought it all this time.
“He died [on] Friday afternoon at his home in New Jersey, where he had been receiving hospice care for a week and a half.”
James Rebhorn had more than 100 screen credits, one of the most recent being for Homeland, in which he played Frank Mathison, the father of Claire Danes’ CIA officer Carrie Mathison.
His films included The Talented Mr. Ripley, in which he played a shipping magnate.
James Rebhorn is survived by his wife Rebecca Linn and two daughters.
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Muslim Brotherhood members were convicted of charges including murdering a policeman and attacks on people and property.
The group is among over 1,200 supporters of Mohamed Morsi on trial, including senior Muslim Brotherhood members.
Authorities have cracked down harshly on Islamists since Mohamed Morsi was removed by the military in July. Hundreds have been killed and thousands arrested.
They are expected to appeal.
The verdict now goes to Egypt’s supreme religious authority, the Grand Mufti, for approval or rejection.
Campaigners say that while death sentences are often handed down in Egypt, few have been carried out in recent years.
The final trial session will not be held until April 28, so there is some time left before the sentence is confirmed and there will be time to appeal in that period.
The court in Minya, south of Cairo, issued its ruling after only two sessions in which the defendants’ lawyers complained they had no chance to present their case.
Lawyers have accused the presiding judge of “veering away from all legal norms” and denying justice to the accused, our correspondent adds.
They were convicted, among other charges, of the murder of the deputy commander of the Matay district police station in Minya.
More than 150 suspects were in court for the trial – the others were convicted in absentia, reports say.
The court also acquitted 16 other defendants.
The attacks took place in August after security forces broke up two camps of pro-Morsi supporters in Cairo, killing hundreds of people.
Mohamed Morsi was ousted by the military in July 2013 following mass street protests against his government.
A second group of 700 Mohamed Morsi supporters is due to go on trial on Tuesday.
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Searchers saw two “relatively big” objects with “many white smaller ones scattered within a radius of several kilometres”, Xinhua news agency said.
Australia said it had been informed and would try to locate the objects.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared on March 8 while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, with 239 people on board.
Ten planes were scheduled to scour the southern Indian Ocean area on Monday for possible debris picked up earlier by radar echoes and satellite imagery.
Two Chinese military planes flew out to the search area, around 1,550 miles south-west of Australian city Perth, on Monday morning, while two Japanese P-3 Orion aircraft set off later in the day.
They joined six other planes, including US and Australian military planes, in searching a 26,000 sq miles area in the ocean.
An Australian navy ship is already in the area, while several Chinese ships are also on their way.
“When two of our IL-76 planes were searching the relevant suspected sea area, one of the planes photographed white, square floating objects,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told reporters at a regular press briefing.
“At present we are unable to confirm whether the floating objects are related to the missing passenger jet,” he said, adding that China was currently analyzing the photographs.
The IL-76 crew has given co-ordinates of the objects to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), as well as China’s ice-breaker Xue Long, which is heading to the area, Xinhua news agency says.
AMSA, which is co-ordinating search efforts, said in a statement it “was advised about the reported objects sighted by a Chinese aircraft.
“The reported objects are within today’s search area and attempts will be made to relocate them.”
However, the US Navy P8 Poseidon plane tasked with investigating the reported sightings was unable to relocate the objects, AMSA said later on its Twitter feed.
Earlier, the authority had warned that weather conditions in the search area were expected to deteriorate.
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The National Front is in first place in some other towns it is targeting, according to projections.
President Francois Hollande’s Socialists have lost ground overall and may lose control of some major towns.
The vote is seen as a key test for the Socialists, deeply unpopular after nearly two years in power.
The Socialists were also hit by the low turnout in the first round of the elections – exit polls suggest up to 35% of voters stayed at home.
The vote is to choose councilors and mayors in more than 36,000 villages, towns and cities.
The anti-immigration National Front (FN) took 50.26% of the vote in the northern town of Henin-Beaumont, which has historically voted for the left.
Elsewhere, in Avignon and Perpignan in the south, the party’s candidates for mayor had the biggest number of votes.
In some 200 places FN candidates have won through to the second round next weekend.
Marine Le Pen, National Front leader since 2011, hailed the results, saying her party had “arrived as a major independent force – a political force at both national and local level”.
In most cases, these candidates have little chance of gaining control of the town halls as they will be beaten in round two.
However, it is a big advance for the far right and an expression of the growing popular exasperation with the establishment parties of the right and the left.
Many people who voted for President Francois Hollande two years ago chose to abstain, which has meant losses for the Socialists and in many important towns they will struggle in the second round to hold off challenges from the main centre-right UMP opposition party.
Earlier, pollsters identified half a dozen towns that could see National Front rule as a result of the elections, giving it the chance to show it can be trusted with power after attempts to run four towns in the late 1990s revealed its lack of competence, Reuters news agency said.
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Police used water cannon and dragged out students one by one, clearing the building by dawn on Monday.
Close to 60 people were arrested and more than 100 hurt, reports said.
The protesters say the agreement with China would hurt Taiwan’s economy and leave it vulnerable to pressure from Beijing.
Another group of students and activists have occupied Taiwan’s parliament since early last week.
The students wants more scrutiny over all future dealings with China, including any trade agreements.
They also want the current deal – which would allow the two sides to invest more freely in each other’s services markets – to be scrapped.
The governing Kuomintang party says it is determined to ratify the deal with Beijing, which it says will boost the economy and create jobs.
China formally regards Taiwan as a part of its territory, despite the island governing itself for six decades.
The protests began early last week after ruling party’s lawmakers said a joint committee had completed its review of the pact, which was signed in June 2013 but has not yet been ratified by lawmakers.
Students broke into the legislature late on Tuesday and have since defied police efforts to evict them, using barricades made of furniture.
On Friday thousands of people rallied to support the students, and the opposition Democratic Progressive Party has also backed them.
On Sunday, President Ma Ying-jeou said that the occupation of parliament broke the law, adding: “I must say that [the pact] is completely for the sake of Taiwan’s economic future.”
Late on Sunday, some protesters pushed past riot police to storm the government headquarters, pulling down barbed wire and using ladders to access second-floor offices.
Violent clashes erupted as police moved to restore order.
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Shinzo Abe said he made the visit “to encourage peace in the entire international community”.
A suspect is in custody for vandalizing the books, but his motive is not known.
Shinzo Abe was lambasted by Seoul and Beijing last December for visiting a Tokyo shrine to dead Japanese soldiers, including convicted WW2 criminals.
Anne Frank’s diary was written during World War Two, while the teenager hid from the Nazis in occupied Amsterdam.
The book made her a symbol of the suffering of Jews during the war.
Shinzo Abe’s grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, was minister of industry for much of the war.
Nobusuke Kishi was arrested after Japan’s surrender but was never charged and went on to serve as prime minister.
Speaking at the Amsterdam museum, Shinzo Abe noted the “deep connection” between Japan and the Anne Frank diary, and the fact that many Japanese visit the museum.
“Looking ahead to the many years of the 21st Century I would like to ensure that we will never see the same things happening, and I share the responsibility of realizing this goal,” he said.
Shinzo Abe is in the Netherlands for a Nuclear Security Summit and a G7 meeting on the crisis in Ukraine.
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Justin Bieber paid homage to James Dean on his Instagram account, posing in a white T-shirt with a cigarette dangling from his mouth.
“This is James Dean inspired. Don’t ask me if I smoke ciggys cuz I don’t,” Justin Bieber captioned the photo on Instagram.
Earlier this month, Justin Bieber posted a dance routine on Instagram with ex-girlfriend Selena Gomez, 21, before quickly taking it down.
This came after he serenaded Selena Gomez at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas.
Alyssa Milano is pregnant with her second child, Us Weekly has reported.
Alyssa Milano, 41, and her husband David Bugliari, 33, are already parents to 2-year-old son Milo.
A source told Us Weekly: “Alyssa is so excited to be pregnant again!”
“She just recently started showing and has wanted to expand her family with David for a while.”
Last month, Alyssa Milano, who married CAA agent David Bugliari in 2009, admitted that she and her husband were trying to conceive.
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Kate Bush has announced she is to play 15 concerts in the UK later this year.
An announcement on Kate Bush’s official website said she will play 15 shows at London’s Hammersmith Apollo in August and September.
The title for the show is Before the Dawn and the first date will be August 26.
Kate Bush, whose hits include Wuthering Heights and Hounds of Love, last toured in 1979.
“I am delighted to announce that we will be performing some live shows this coming August and September,” she said.
“I hope you will be able to join us and I look forward to seeing you there.”
Tickets go on sale 09:30 GMT Friday, March 28.
Kate Bush’s first ever tour in 1979 featured mime, magic and poetry alongside her music, but it reportedly took its toll on the singer, then just 20.
The six-week tour, which travelled around Britain and mainland Europe, ended at the Hammersmith Odeon – now the Hammersmith Apollo – the venue she has chosen to return to for the new shows.
Kate Bush, whose other hits include Running Up That Hill and Babooshka, has won both Brit and Ivor Novello awards.
In 2013, Queen Elizabeth II honored Kate Bush with a CBE for services to music.
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The South African Paralympic champion trial in Pretoria has already overrun its initial timeframe with the prosecution not yet completing its case.
Oscar Pistorius, 27, denies intentionally shooting his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day in 2013, saying he mistook her for an intruder.
Last week the athlete said he would sell his home to fund legal costs.
The court in Guateng province said that the trial would continue until 4 April, then adjourn for one week before resuming until May 16.
The trial will enter its fourth week on Monday, with five more witnesses expected to be called by the prosecution.
The court had been adjourned to allow the defense team to finish preparing its case.
The trial was initially estimated to have taken three weeks in total, but so far that deadline has passed with only 18 witnesses out of a possible 107 have been heard.
There has been intense media interest in the case in South Africa and beyond because of Oscar Pistorius’ status as a national sporting hero.
Double amputee Oscar Pistorius holds six Paralympic medals and also competed in the 2012 Olympic Games.
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Adolfo Suarez guided Spain through the turbulent years following the death of fascist dictator Francisco Franco.
The former prime minister was taken to hospital on Monday suffering from a respiratory infection.
King Juan Carlos turned to Adolfo Suarez upon General Francisco Franco’s death in 1975 to try to unite Spain’s disparate political factions.
Adolfo Suarez served as prime minister until 1981 and became one of the country’s most respected politicians.
He had been suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for about a decade, and died on Sunday afternoon at Madrid’s Centro Clinic hospital.
King Juan Carlos has paid tribute, calling Adolfo Suarez an exceptional colleague and a true friend.
In a televised message, King Juan Carlos said Adolfo Suarez had been “guided at every turn by his loyalty to the crown and all that it represents, the defense of democracy, the rule of law, unity and the diversity of Spain”.
Adolfo Suarez’s son, Adolfo Suarez Illana, praised both his father’s and the king’s role in the post-Franco period.
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PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan says its armed forces have shot down a Syrian military jet which had violated its airspace.
He warned such action by Syria merited a “heavy response”.
But Syria accused Turkey of “blatant aggression”, saying the plane had been over Syrian territory at the time.
The incident reportedly occurred in an area where Syrian rebels and government forces have been fighting for control of a border crossing.
Turkey and Syria – once allies – have more than 500 miles of common border.
The two countries have been on opposing sides in Syria’s war since October 2011 and the two sides have been involved in occasional skirmishes and confrontations
However neither side is interested in a direct, sustained, open war or conflict between the two countries.
Speaking at a rally of supporters, Recep Tayyip Erdogan congratulated his air force on its actions on Sunday.
“A Syrian plane violated our airspace. Our F-16s took off and hit this plane. Why? because if you violate my airspace, our slap after this will be hard,” he said.
A Syrian military source, quoted by state television, said Turkish air defenses had shot down a Syrian jet as it attacked rebels on Syrian territory – an act of “blatant aggression”.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said initial reports from the area suggested the plane came down on the Syrian side of the border.
“Turkish air defenses targeted a Syrian fighter bomber as it struck areas of the northern province of Latakia. The plane caught fire and crashed in Syrian territory,” the Observatory said.
According to one report, the plane’s pilot was able to eject.
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US Air Force General Philip Breedlove said NATO was in particular concerned about the threat to Moldova’s Trans-Dniester region.
Russia said its forces east of Ukraine complied with international agreements.
The build-up has been allied with Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, following the removal of Ukraine’s pro-Moscow president.
Moscow formally annexed Crimea after the predominantly ethnic-Russian region held a referendum which backed joining the Russian Federation.
Kiev and the West have condemned the vote as “illegal”.
Russian flags have now been hoisted at 189 Ukrainian military units and facilities in Crimea, the Interfax news agency reports.
On Sunday, Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council chief Andriy Parubiy told a big rally in Kiev: “The aim of [President Vladimir] Putin is not Crimea, but all of Ukraine… His troops massed at the border are ready to attack at any moment.”
The comments by Gen. Philip Breedlove came at an event held by the German Marshall Fund think-tank in Brussels.
He said: “The [Russian] force that is at the Ukrainian border now to the east is very, very sizeable and very, very ready.”
He added: “There is absolutely sufficient force postured on the eastern border of Ukraine to run to Trans-Dniester if the decision was made to do that and that is very worrisome.
“Russia is acting much more like an adversary than a partner.”
Trans-Dniester is a narrow strip of land between Dniester River and Ukraine’s south-western border and it proclaimed independence from Moldova in 1990.
The international community has not recognized its self-declared statehood.
As Crimea was annexed, the Trans-Dniester Supreme Soviet sent a request asking to join the Russian Federation.
On Sunday, Russia’s Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov told the Itar-Tass agency: “The Russian Defense Ministry is in compliance with all international agreements limiting the number of troops in the border areas with Ukraine.”
Russia’s ambassador to the EU warned the US against sending troops or military aid to Ukraine, saying it would be a “grave mistake”.
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Radar echoes had picked up several objects about 1,430 miles from Perth, a statement added.
It is the third possible sighting in the area off western Australia that has become the focus of the search effort.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared on March 8 while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, with 239 people on board.
Malaysian officials believe the plane was deliberately taken off course.
Based on information received from a satellite, the search has been in two distinct corridors – one stretching to the north-west of the last known location in the Malacca Straits and one to the south-west.
However, none of the countries on the northern corridor have reported any radar contact, and the satellite images of possible debris in the south Indian Ocean have concentrated the search there.
On Sunday, a statement published on the Malaysian ministry of transport’s Facebook page said: “This morning, Malaysia received new satellite images from the French authorities showing potential objects in the vicinity of the southern corridor.
“Malaysia immediately relayed these images to the Australian rescue co-ordination centre.”
An unnamed Malaysian official told the Associated Press that the new satellite image was taken on Friday, and that one of the potential objects was estimated to be about the same size as one spotted by a Chinese satellite that appeared to be 72ft by 13m 43ft.
The possible debris was located about 575 miles north of where the objects reported by China and Australia over the past week, the official added.
A French foreign ministry statement said the objects were about 1,437 miles from Perth, but did not give a direction or say when the discovery was made.
It also clarified that the French authorities had passed on data in the form of “satellite-generated radar echoes” rather than images. Radar works by sending out radio waves or microwaves and listening for echoes that bounce back.
“France has decided to mobilize complementary satellite means to continue the search in the identified zone,” the ministry statement added.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) subsequently announced that that the search operation in the southern Indian Ocean had concluded for the day.
“There were no sightings of significance,” a statement said.
“The search area experienced early sea fog particularly in the western areas, however conditions improved during the day.”
AMSA said the four military and four civilian aircraft involved in Sunday’s search effort had covered a total of 22, 780 sq miles south-west of Perth. Chinese military Ilyushin IL-76 aircraft and Japanese P-3C Orion aircraft would join the search on Monday, it added.
HMAS Success, an Australian navy supply ship, also took part in Sunday’s operation.
A key focus on Sunday was the sighting on Saturday of a wooden cargo pallet, along with belts or straps.
Mike Barton, operations co-ordinator at AMSA, said: “Part of the description was a wooden pallet and a number of other items which were nondescript around it and some belts of some different colours around it as well, strapping belts of different lengths.”
He added: “We tried to re-find that yesterday, one of the New Zealand aircraft, and unfortunately they didn’t find it. That’s the nature of it – you only have to be off by a few hundred metres in a fast-travelling aircraft.”
Pallets are used for shipping as well as plane cargo and Mike Barton urged caution, saying the sighting “could be anything”.
Earlier, Australian PM Tony Abbott said the sightings of objects were encouraging signs.
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Hillary Clinton fielded a question from Vrinda Agrawal, a student at the University of California, Berkeley who asked: “If you don’t represent women in politics in America as a future president, who will?”
More than 1,000 students roared with approval and applauded while former President Bill Clinton smiled, whispered into TV host Jimmy Kimmel’s ear and clapped along.
The former first lady said she appreciated the sentiment but was still deciding.
“I am very much concerned about the direction of our country and it’s not just who runs for office but what they do when they get there and how we bring people together and particularly empower young people so we can tackle these hard decisions,” Hillary Clinton said.
Jimmy Kimmel playfully interjected: “She wants an answer!”
Hillary Clinton smiled and asked the woman to “give me your name and number.”
The woman responded: “I will proudly run your campaign!”
Hillary Clinton said she was “obviously thinking about all kinds of decisions”.
The exchange came during a wide-ranging interview of the Clintons and their 34-year-old daughter, Chelsea. The host of Jimmy Kimmel Live jokingly asked Hillary Clinton: “If you do run for president, will you reuse the old Clinton campaign lawn signs?”
The interview covered light topics like how the Clintons met at Yale Law School, the family’s favorite TV shows – former President Bill Clinton said they enjoyed PBS’s Antiques Roadshow – along with their upbringing and policy issues.
Diving into the thorny issue of climate change, Hillary Clinton said young people understand the significant threat of global warming and that she hoped there would be a mass movement that demands political change.
Hillary Clinton said the generation of college students and young people are much more committed to doing something to address climate change and it wasn’t “just some ancillary issue” but will determine the quality of life for countries around the globe.
“I’m hoping there will be this mass movement that demands political change, that makes what public officials do on dealing with carbon emissions … a voting issue,” Hillary Clinton said.
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Michelle Obama hosted the discussion about education on the third day of her visit to China aimed at promoting educational exchanges between the two countries.
“Education is an important focus for me. It’s personal, because I wouldn’t be where I am today without my parents investing and pushing me to get a good education,” she.
“My parents were not educated themselves, but one of the things they understood was that my brother and I needed that foundation.”
Michelle Obama said she and her husband, President Barack Obama, wanted as many young people as possible in the US and the world to have access to education.
She hosted a roundtable with a handful of Chinese professors, students and parents at an event at the US Embassy in Beijing that was attended by new US Ambassador to China Max Baucus and closed to media.
Michelle Obama plans to visit the Great Wall later Sunday and have lunch with her mother and daughters at a restaurant in a former school near a section of the wall.
On Saturday, Michelle gave a 15-minute speech at China’s prestigious Peking University in which she promoted the free flow of information and freedom of speech, the only time during her trip that she has brought up a contentious issue. China routinely filters out information deemed offensive by the government and silences dissenting voices.
Those remarks by Michelle Obama were absent from China’s state media but were circulating in social media, where they were widely praised.
Michelle Obama’s trip, the first time a US president’s wife has independently visited China, also has given her an opportunity to engage with President Xi Jinping’s wife, Peng Liyuan.
Michelle Obama will visit Xi’an and Chengdu cities before returning to Washington on Wednesday.
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The aircraft is believed to be carrying five people and authorities say they don’t think anyone survived.
The single-engine Socata TBM700 was flying from Bartlesville, Oklahoma, to Montrose, Colorado, about 180 miles southwest of Denver, when it went down Saturday, Ouray County spokeswoman Marti Whitmore said.
Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor said the crash occurred just before 2 p.m., but he didn’t yet know its cause.
The aircraft went down in Ridgway Reservoir, about 25 miles south of Montrose.
Rescue efforts started in the afternoon and were suspected shortly after sundown until Sunday morning, Marti Whitmore said.
Marti Whitmore said no one is believed to have survived, but no victims have been recovered.
She said the aircraft crashed about 90 ft from shore in 60 to 90 ft of water.
The identities of the occupants were being withheld until relatives could be notified.
The plane is registered to an Alabama corporation.
Marti Whitmore said recovery work will continue Sunday. The Ouray County sheriff’s office said a dive team and additional resources were expected to take part.
Colorado State Parks has closed a nearby campground and day facilities, pending completion of the recovery efforts.
The 17th Century painting L’enfant a la bulle de savon (Child with soap bubble), valued at 3.2 million euros ($4.3 million), was taken from a museum in the southern city of Draguignan in 1999.
Two men were arrested in Nice on Tuesday, according to the AFP news agency.
Police said they received information that a transaction was due to take place in a hotel the following day.
The men, aged 46 and 53, one of whom was described as a former insurer, appeared in court in Nice on Thursday, AFP said.
They were reported to be known to police for previous petty crimes. Police are still looking for other suspects.
The painting was stolen from Draguignan’s Musee Municipal d’art et d’histoire during the city’s Bastille Day celebrations in July 1999.
At the time, police said the thieves entered through a back door and escaped before officers responded to the alarm.
The undated painting, which portrays a teenage boy with long dark brown locks, wearing a golden necklace and holding a soap bubble, was said to be in a good condition.
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Eight planes were sent out on Sunday over a wider search area after China released new images of possible debris.
Australia is leading the search and said it was investigating sightings of a wooden pallet and other items.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared on March 8 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, with 239 people on board.
Malaysian officials believe the plane was deliberately taken off course.
Based on information received from a satellite, the search has been in two distinct corridors – one stretching to the north-west of the last known location in the Malacca Straits and one to the south-west.
However, none of the countries on the northern corridor have reported any radar contact, and two sets of satellite images of possible debris in the south Indian Ocean have concentrated the search there.
The search is being co-ordinated by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) from Perth in western Australia.
Eight search planes were involved in the search on Sunday, including four civil aircraft and a US P8 Poseidon.
Two Chinese IL-76 search planes have arrived in Perth but have not yet been deployed. Japan is sending two P3 Orions.
The Australian navy’s HMAS Success is the only ship in the area, though others, including from the US, UK and China are on the way.
A key focus on Sunday was the sighting on Saturday of a wooden cargo pallet, along with belts or straps.
Mike Barton, operations coordinator at AMSA, said: “Part of the description was a wooden pallet and a number of other items which were nondescript around it and some belts of some different colors around it as well, strapping belts of different lengths.”
He added: “We tried to re-find that yesterday, one of the New Zealand aircraft, and unfortunately they didn’t find it. That’s the nature of it – you only have to be off by a few hundred metres in a fast-travelling aircraft.”
Pallets are used for shipping as well as plane cargo and Mike Barton cautioned the sighting “could be anything”.
AMSA released a statement on Sunday’s search, detailing the aircraft involved and saying the area would cover about 22,800 square miles.
Mike Barton said the sun and haze at a low altitude made the task for searchers tough.
The weather on Sunday was initially cloudy but it was hoped it might clear later.
Earlier, Australian PM Tony Abbott said the sightings of objects were encouraging signs.
“Obviously we have now had a number of very credible leads and there is increasing hope – no more than hope, no more than hope – that we might be on the road to discovering what did happen to this ill-fated aircraft,” he said.
China on Saturday released a satellite image showing an object floating in the southern Indian Ocean near to the area already being searched, some 1,550 miles south-west of Perth.
The grainy image was released by China’s State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense.
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Analysts say the launches are Pyongyang’s way of protesting against joint military drills between the US and South Korea.
Some 16 rockets were fired into the sea early on Sunday, following the launch of 30 on Saturday.
North Korea claims its rocket tests are routine, self-defense exercises.
Pyongyang has bitterly criticized the annual war drills by Washington and Seoul, labeling them invasion preparations.
The isolated state often makes a show of force at the same time as the drills.
But this year there have been an unusually high number of rockets launched.
Experts say some 70 missiles have been fired so far this month, including the 46 from this weekend.
The South Korean military says that the North appears to be firing Frog rockets, which are unguided Soviet-developed devices that Pyongyang has had in its armory since the 1960s.
Both South Korea and the US have criticized North Korea’s missile tests.
Under UN resolutions, North Korea is required to abandon its ballistic missiles programs.
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