'Argument' clue to Fort Hood attack

4 April 2014 Last updated at 07:46

The US Army says there is a "strong possibility" a gunman who killed three people at a base in Texas was involved in an argument before the shooting.

Lt Gen Mark Milley formally identified the attacker as Specialist Ivan Lopez, 34, who later shot himself.

He told reporters there was "very strong evidence" that Lopez, originally from Puerto Rico, had an unstable psychological condition.

Sixteen others were wounded in the attack.

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The communities around Fort Hood have been flying flags at half-mast, as Nick Bryant reports

Officials have said that Lopez had served in Iraq and was being assessed for post-traumatic stress disorder.

"There may have been a verbal altercation with another soldier or soldiers," Gen Milley said.

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With almost every flag flying at half-mast, the community surrounding Fort Hood, Texas, is undertaking the rituals of mourning that people here hoped they'd never have to repeat.

It was less than five years ago that a gun rampage on the base left 13 soldiers dead. To absorb what happened on Wednesday is to revisit that awful past.

What makes this especially troubling is that American bases are supposed to offer the military a safe haven away from death and conflict.

Fort Hood, perhaps more so than any other base in America, has paid a heavy price for almost 13 years of continuous conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is not just measured in blood spilt but damaged minds.

The shooter, 34-year-old Ivan Lopez, had not been involved in combat in Iraq, but he was being assessed for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

According to the department of veteran affairs, up to 20% of military personnel who served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have suffered from PTSD.

"And there's a strong possibility that that in fact immediately preceded the shooting, but we do not have that definitively at this point, but we do have strong indications of that."

Gen Milley also told reporters: "We have very strong evidence that he had a medical history that indicates an unstable psychiatric or psychological condition… we believe that to be a fundamental, underlying causal factor."

He also confirmed that the pistol used in the attack was bought from the same store, Guns Galore in nearby Killeen, where the soldier behind the 2009 gun rampage at Fort Hood purchased his.

'Tragic'

Wednesday's shooting took place at two buildings on the base at about 16:00 local time (21:00 GMT).

The gunman walked into one of the buildings and opened fire with a .45-calibre semi-automatic pistol.

He then got into a vehicle and continued firing before entering another building and opening fire again.

It was here that Lopez was eventually stopped by military police, shooting himself in the head when confronted by a female officer in the car park.

The shooting incident lasted between 15 and 20 minutes.

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Lt Gen Mark Milley said investigators were trying to establish whether there had been a "trigger event" ahead of the attack

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'This is the second time the Fort Hood community has been affected'

Nine of those injured are being treated in hospital. Three of them were initially in a critical condition but that has since been changed to "serious".

The shooting has shocked America's political and military community.

President Barack Obama said: "To see this unspeakable, senseless violence happen in a place where they're supposed to feel safe - home base - is tragic."

Fort Hood was the scene of a gun rampage in 2009 that left 13 soldiers dead and 32 wounded.

Maj Nidal Hasan was sentenced to death last September for that attack.

It was the deadliest attack on a domestic military installation in US history.

Hasan said he opened fire to protect Taliban insurgents from US troops who were about to deploy to Afghanistan.

The building where the attack took place has only recently been demolished to make way for a place of remembrance.

Another US soldier, Naser Jason Abdo, was jailed for life for plotting to blow up a restaurant full of troops near Fort Hood in 2011.

The Texas native and Muslim convert said he had been inspired by Hasan.

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Underwater search begins for MH370

4 April 2014 Last updated at 09:18

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Richard Westcott reports on the use of a pinger locator to find a black box

Search teams have begun using a towed pinger locator to hunt for the black box of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

Two ships with locator capabilities are searching a 240km (150 mile) underwater path, in the hope of recovering the plane's data recorder.

Up to 14 planes and nine ships were due to take part in Friday's search.

The plane disappeared on 8 March en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. It was carrying 239 people.

It is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, although no confirmed debris has been found from the plane.

The search is being co-ordinated from the city of Perth in Western Australia.

The battery-powered pingers on the plane's black box stop transmitting about 30 days after a crash, giving the searchers now perhaps only a few days to locate it.

'Highest probability'

Angus Houston, head of the Joint Agencies Coordination Centre (JACC) leading the search, said that two ships had "commenced the sub-surface search for emissions from [the] black box pinger".

Australia naval vessel Ocean Shield was using a towed pinger locator from the US Navy, while HMS Echo, which had similar capabilities, was also searching.

"The two ships will search a single 240km track converging on each other," Air Chief Marshal Houston, who is retired, said.

ACM Houston said that the area had been picked on the basis of analysis of the satellite data.

Continue reading the main story

• 8 March: Malaysia Airlines Kuala Lumpur-Beijing flight carrying 239 people disappears
• Plane's transponder, which communicates with ground radar, was switched off as it left Malaysian airspace
• Satellite 'pings' indicate plane was still flying seven hours after satellite contact was lost
• 24 March: Based on new calculations, Malaysian PM says "beyond reasonable doubt" that plane crashed in southern Indian Ocean with no survivors

It was based on work regarding "how the aircraft might have performed and how it might have been flown", to choose the "area of highest probability as to where it might have entered the water".

He pointed out that this data was continuing to be refined, but the current search was based on the "best data that is available".

Given the progress in data evaluation and calculation, "there is some hope we will find the aircraft in the area we are searching", he added.

The two ships will be moving at reduced speeds, of around three knots, in their attempt to detect any signal from the pinger.

Commodore Peter Leavy, Commander of Joint Task Force 658, said that search operations generally preferred to use "physical evidence" and "drift modelling" to locate a plane.

However, "no hard evidence has been found to date so we have made the decision to search a sub-surface area on which the analysis has predicted MH370 is likely to have flown," he said.

In a statement, JACC said up to 10 military planes, four civilian planes and nine ships would be deployed in Friday's search efforts.

The focus is on a search area of about 217,000 sq km (84,000 sq miles), 1,700 km (1,000 miles) north west of Perth.

Fair weather was forecast for Friday, with visibility of around 10km (six miles), JACC said.

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Malaysia Airlines ex-steward Patrick Chow says the cabin crew he knew could not be responsible for the plane's disappearance

Meeting staff involved in the search on Friday, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said: "It is probably the most difficult search that's ever been mounted."

"A large aircraft seems like something that would be easy enough to locate - but a large aircraft that all but disappeared and disappeared into inaccessible oceans is an extraordinary, extraordinary challenge that you're faced with."

ACM Houston said there was still a "great possibility of finding something on the surface [of the ocean]".

"There's lots of things in aircraft that float," he said, citing previous searches where life jackets from planes were found.

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Schumacher has 'conscious moments'

4 April 2014 Last updated at 11:57

F1 champion Michael Schumacher is showing "moments of consciousness" after months in a coma, his agent has said.

Sabine Kehm said in a statement to the media that he was "making progress", adding that they remain "confident".

Doctors in France have been working to bring the seven-time champion out of a medically induced coma.

The 45-year-old German suffered a severe head injury in a skiing accident in the French Alps on 29 December.

"We are on his side during his long and difficult fight, together with the team of the hospital in Grenoble," Ms Kehm said in the statement.

Continue reading the main story

• Can be induced by powerful anaesthetics and is broadly similar to the sedation and artificial ventilation used during surgery
• Used to shut down many brain functions, lowering blood flow and pressure
• Taking a patient out of an induced coma is a delicate process, especially after a prolonged period of sedation
• Doctors and relatives are looking for any signs of returning consciousness and recovery

"We would like to thank you all for the continuous sympathies. At the same time we again ask for understanding that we do not intend to disclose details."

Last month Schumacher's relatives said in a statement that he had been showing "small, encouraging signs".

Investigators probing the accident said Schumacher had been going at the speed of "a very good skier" at the time of his crash in the resort of Meribel.

He had been skiing off-piste when he fell and hit a rock, investigators said.

Experts reconstructed events leading up to the crash after examining Schumacher's skiing equipment and viewing footage filmed on a camera attached to his helmet.

Schumacher retired from racing in 2012 after a 19-year career.

He won two titles with Benetton, in 1994 and 1995, before switching to Ferrari in 1996 and going on to win five straight titles from 2000.

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Afghan poll: Foreign reporters shot

4 April 2014 Last updated at 12:14

Two female journalists working for the Associated Press news agency have been shot by a police officer in eastern Afghanistan, officials say.

One of the women, Anja Niedringhaus, died in the attack. Her colleague, Kathy Gannon, is reported to be stable.

The attack took place in the town of Khost near the border with Pakistan.

It comes as Afghanistan intensifies security ahead of presidential elections on Saturday, in response to threats of violence by the Taliban.

Continue reading the main story

Two AP reporters

• Anja Niedringhaus, 48, was a German photojournalist
• She was part of the team that won a Pulitzer Price for coverage of Iraq
• She worked in Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, the Gaza Strip, Israel, Kuwait and Turkey
• Canadian-born Kathy Gannon, 60, is Associated Press special correspondent for Pakistan and Afghanistan
• Gannon wrote the 2006 book I is for Infidel

The new president will succeed Hamid Karzai, who has been in power since the 2001 fall of the Taliban but is constitutionally barred from seeking a third consecutive term.

The BBC's Lyse Doucet in Kabul says the run-up to this historic poll has already been the bloodiest, and fears of electoral fraud are pronounced.

Security presence

Photojournalist Niedringhaus, 48, was killed instantly in the attack, the news agency confirmed.

Veteran reporter Gannon, 60, was said to be receiving medical treatment after she was wounded in the attack.

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Video of the scene of the attack shows bullet holes in the doors of the car

They had been travelling with election workers delivering ballots in the Tanay district of Khost province.

An eyewitness said a police unit commander had opened fire on the journalists as they were waiting for their convoy to move inside a security compound.

The police officer behind the attack was taken into custody after surrendering to other police.

Continue reading the main story

Twitter tributes

John-Thor Dahlburg, AP editor in Brussels, says: "Terrible day for AP and journalism overall"

Edward Wong, New York Times correspondent in China, describes the attack as "horrific". "Both brave journalists," he tweets.

Jon Williams, ABC foreign editor, says: "Devastated to learn of Khost attacks on two of best journalists covering #Afghanistan. Both at top of game. Thoughts with friends in Kabul."

A spokesperson for the interior ministry told the BBC there would be a full investigation into the incident.

Sidiq Siddiq suggested it could have been a case of mistaken identity or a miscalculation on the part of the police officer responsible for security in the area.

He said the police had not been aware of the journalists' movements in the area.

The district lies on the border with Pakistan's Waziristan region, with the Pakistan-based Haqqani network strong and influential in the area.

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Interior ministry spokesman Sidiq Siddiqi says it may have been a case of mistaken identity

A senior policeman told the BBC the road from the capital to the district was a dangerous one with the risk of roadside bombs and Haqqani network fighters.

The Taliban have stepped up their attacks in recent weeks, in a bid to disrupt preparations for the election

• A senior AFP reporter, Sardar Ahmad, was killed alongside eight other people when Taliban gunmen attacked a hotel popular with foreigners in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on 21 March

• A journalist with Swedish and British nationality, Nils Horner, was shot dead in Kabul by gunmen on 11 March

The BBC's Afghanistan correspondent, David Loyn, says the election is being protected by the biggest military operation since the fall of the Taliban.

Continue reading the main story

Key questions ahead of the vote

• What are the main issues? A final security agreement with the USA is the most pressing issue. All other matters, from trying to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table to fighting corruption and the drugs trade, depend on this
• Will the vote be free and fair? There is widespread concern about ballot stuffing and ghost polling stations - the kind of cheating that has marked every election since 2004
• Is security a major logistical problem? Yes. The Taliban have vowed to disrupt the vote and there were a string of attacks leading up to it. But security at this election will be tighter than in previous votes
• What happens if no-one wins in April? If no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, the two top contenders will go to a run-off on 28 May. As there is no clear front-runner, in contrast to 2009, a run-off is likely, with final results for the first round not expected until mid-May

Nearly 200,000 troops have been deployed across the country to prevent attacks.

Rings of security have been set up around each polling centre, with the police at the centre and hundreds of troops on the outside.

Reporting restrictions are in place, limiting what can be broadcast about the candidates.

If nobody wins more than 50% of the vote, a run-off election will be necessary.

There are eight candidates for president, including former foreign ministers Abdullah Abdullah and Zalmai Rassoul, and former Finance Minister Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai.

Correspondents say the election may give the US a new chance to repair relations with Kabul, which are moribund after more than 12 years of war and repeated rows between the White House and President Karzai.

Relations between the president and Washington plunged to new lows late last year when the Afghan leader refused to sign a bilateral security agreement that would allow up to 10,000 troops to stay in his country after the Nato combat mission ends this year.

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Second large quake strikes Chile

3 April 2014 Last updated at 06:07

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The BBC's Ignacio De Los Reyes said 7.6 tremor was one of "100 aftershocks" to hit the region since Tuesday

A powerful 7.6 magnitude earthquake has rocked northern Chile, just over 24 hours after an 8.2 tremor killed six people, destroyed 2,600 houses and led to mass evacuations.

A tsunami alert in Chile and Peru was again issued, but was later lifted after waves of 2.4ft (0.7 meters) hit coastal areas.

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet was among those evacuated on Thursday.

The quake is the strongest of several aftershocks following Tuesday's tremor.

There have been no reports of damage from the latest quake.

The aftershock caused buildings to wobble and people to run into the streets in the port of Iquique, which was one of the cities hit by Tuesday night's quake.

The latest quake was centred 23km (14 miles) south of Iquique.

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President Michelle Bachelet was visiting the northern city of Arica to assess damage, when a second quake struck

The US Geological Survey said the aftershock had a depth of 20km (12 miles) and was felt across the border in southern Peru, where people in the cities of Tacna and Arequipa also fled buildings.

'Tremendous example'

President Bachelet had earlier praised the "calm behaviour" of residents following Tuesday evening's quake.

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Chile is one of those countries that expects to experience large quakes. It's only four years since the 8.8 event at Maule much further to the south.

The drivers are the same. Chile runs the boundary between the Nazca and South American tectonic plates. These are vast slabs of the Earth's surface that grind past each other at a rate of about 80mm per year. The Nazca plate, which makes up the Pacific Ocean floor in this region, is being pulled down and under the South American coast. It makes the region one of the most seismically active on the globe.

This particular event occurred in what seismologists refer to as the Iquique seismic gap - a segment of the plate boundary that has been relatively quiet in recent times. The last big event here was the magnitude 8.8 tremor of 1877, just to the south, which claimed more than 2,000 lives.

Nearly a million people were evacuated across the country after the authorities issued a tsunami warning.

"I think you have shown us all a tremendous example," Ms Bachelet said during a visit to the worst affected areas.

Ms Bachelet declared two northern provinces - Arica and Parinacota, and Tarapaca - disaster areas.

Tuesday's quake struck at 20:46 local time (23:46 GMT) about 86km (52 miles) north-west of the city of Iquique, a mining area,

"We are here to recognise the calm behaviour of the people of Iquique, who showed great civic responsibility, as did those of Arica," said Ms Bachelet.

Fires destroyed some businesses in the area and fishermen found their boats sunken and damaged in Iquique harbour.

Ms Bachelet called on residents to "work together now" to repair the damage caused by the quake.

Waves of up to 2.1m (about 6ft) hit some areas.

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A woman tries to protect a child as the 8.2 magnitude quake strikes a restaurant in Arica

Some 40,000 people in Tarapaca remain without power, said Ricardo Toro of Chile's National Emergency Office (Onemi).

Jail escape

Hours after the first major earthquake, Chile's army was deployed to Iquique after some 293 inmates escaped from a women's jail.

Mr Toro said that 131 had now returned voluntarily.

Chile is one of the most seismically active countries in the world.

Central and southern areas of the country were hit by a powerful earthquake of magnitude 8.8 followed by a tsunami that devastated scores of towns in February 2010. More than 700 people were killed.

In 1960 an area of Chile south of Concepcion was hit by a 9.5 magnitude which caused about 1,655 deaths and a tsunami in Hawaii and Japan.

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'Million Syria refugees' in Lebanon

3 April 2014 Last updated at 09:04

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Syrian refugee in Lebanon: "I would live anywhere but here"

The number of refugees who have fled Syria and registered in Lebanon has surpassed the "devastating milestone" of one million, the UN says.

Lebanon now has "the highest per capita concentration of refugees worldwide", said the head of the UN refugee agency.

"For Lebanon, a small nation beset by internal difficulties, the impact is staggering," he added.

About 9.5 million people, almost half of Syria's population, have fled their homes since the start of the conflict.

More than 2.5 million have fled the country, with large numbers being taken in by Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt and others.

However Lebanon is bearing the biggest burden of all - the number of Syrian refugees there now amount to a quarter of the local population.

Continue reading the main story

Everybody knows that the real number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon is already well past the million mark, but the fact that that many have now been officially registered is yet another grim milestone as the conflict grinds on.

Lebanon's the smallest and most vulnerable of Syria's neighbours, yet it's taken in by far the largest number of refugees - one for every four of the country's own people.

That's a huge strain - the foreign minister said last month that it threatened Lebanon's very existence, and it's growing all the time, with about 2,500 new refugees being registered every day.

The UN has only received 14% of the funding it's asked for. That means that relief has to be cut back and carefully targeted to the most needy.

Sectarian tensions

The BBC's Jim Muir in Beirut says this is a huge strain for Lebanon, the smallest and most vulnerable of Syria's neighbours.

Last month the Lebanese foreign minister said the crisis was "threatening the existence" of his country.

"The Lebanese people have shown striking generosity, but are struggling to cope," Mr Guterres said.

The UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, notes that the influx of refugees is accelerating.

"Every day, UNHCR in Lebanon registers 2,500 new refugees: more than one person a minute," the agency said in a statement.

International aid agencies are finding it increasingly difficult to cope with the flow of refugees.

UNHCR has only received 14% of the $6.5bn (£4bn; 4.7bn euros) funding it has asked for.

The hardships many refugees are facing was dramatically highlighted last week when a mother with a sick husband and four children set fire to herself in protest at not receiving help. She was critically injured.

The civil war in Syria between Sunni-led rebels and the government of Bashar al-Assad has also fuelled sectarian tensions in Lebanon, which has a large Sunni and Shia Muslim population.

Hundreds of people in Beirut and other parts of the country have been killed in violence between opponents and supporters of President Assad.

Are you in Lebanon? What are your thoughts on the number of Syrian refugees in the country? Email us at haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk using the subject line "Lebanon".

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Soldier kills three at US army base

3 April 2014 Last updated at 09:14

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Lt Gen Mark Milley describes the final moments before the gunman shot himself

A soldier shot dead three colleagues and injured 16 others at the US Army's Fort Hood base in Texas before killing himself, the military says.

US media named the suspect as Ivan Lopez, 34, although his identity has not been officially confirmed.

The gunman had served in Iraq and had mental health problems, officials said.

President Barack Obama said he was "heartbroken" over the attack. A gun rampage at the same base in 2009 left 13 soldiers dead and 32 wounded.

Maj Nidal Hasan was sentenced to death for that attack.

'Sacrifice'

US military spokesman Lt Gen Mark Milley told reporters that there was so far no indication that Wednesday's shootings were related to terrorism.

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Barack Obama said he was "heartbroken" when he heard the news

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Killeen Mayor Daniel Corbin says the community 'feels helpless'

He said the suspect had not been injured when he served in Iraq in 2011, but was being assessed to see if he had post-traumatic stress disorder.

The gunman was being treated for depression and anxiety, Gen Milley added.

The general said that it was not clear if the attack was premeditated and those wounded and killed were all members of the military.

The soldier drove to two buildings on the base and opened fire before he was stopped by military police, in an incident that lasted between 15 and 20 minutes.

Continue reading the main story

• Created in 1942 out of 108,000 acres of Texas farming land and initially known as Camp Hood
• Home to almost 95,000 troops at height of World War Two
• Eight years after officially opened, Camp Hood became permanent military installation and was renamed Fort Hood
• One of the largest military installations in the world, with nearly 65,000 soldiers
• Divided into three sections: the main cantonment, West Fort Hood, and North Fort Hood.
• Units from the base have been deployed to Afghanistan, Iraq and US hurricane relief operations

He then shot himself in the head with a .45-calibre semi-automatic pistol, Gen Milley said.

Officials say the weapon had been bought in a local store. Firearms are largely banned at US Army bases, with few soldiers besides military police allowed to carry them.

Mr Obama told reporters in Chicago: "I want to just assure all of us we are going to get to the bottom of exactly what happened."

Mr Obama said Ford Hood had sacrificed so much for freedom.

"We know these families. We know their incredible service to our country and the sacrifices that they make. Obviously our thoughts and prayers... are with the entire community," he said.

Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel called the shooting a "terrible tragedy".

Daniel Corbin, mayor of nearby Killeen in Texas, told the BBC he felt nearly "indescribable" grief for those involved.

"We pray for them when they are deployed. We try to take care of their families and we're really close as a community to Fort Hood," he said. "You wish you could, you know, give some immediate help, but you can't."

Maj Hasan was sentenced to death last September over the 2009 rampage.

He claimed he opened fire at the army base to protect Taliban insurgents from US troops who were about to deploy to Afghanistan.

It was the deadliest attack on a domestic military installation in US history.

Are you in the area? Have you been affected? You can email us at havyoursay@bbc.co.uk using the subject line "Fort Hood".

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.

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Police snipers 'shot Kiev activists'

3 April 2014 Last updated at 12:05

Ukraine's special police shot dead dozens of anti-government protesters in Kiev in February, an initial government inquiry has found.

Interior Minister Arsen Avakov told reporters 12 members of the Berkut police had been identified as snipers, and three of them had been arrested.

The inquiry looked into the shootings on Instytutska street in Kiev, where 76 people were killed on 18-20 February.

Months of mass protests led to the ousting of President Viktor Yanukovych.

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A special squad from the riot Berkut police, wearing yellow armbands, opened fire at the protesters. Much of this fire was targeted"

End Quote Arsen Avakov Ukrainian Interior Minister

More than 100 people are now known to have died in Ukraine since the unrest began in November over Mr Yanukovych's last-minute rejection of a landmark deal with the EU in favour with closer Russian ties.

Ukraine's new authorities have since signed the political part of the association agreement with the EU.

Meanwhile, Russia - which backed Mr Yanukovych - last month annexed Crimea in southern Ukraine following a controversial referendum branded illegal by Kiev and the West.

'Uniforms burnt'

At a news conference in Kiev, Mr Avakov presented the initial findings of the investigation into the mass shootings that shocked Ukraine and the world.

Most of the demonstrators were killed on Instytutska street near the main protest camp on Independence Square, widely known as the Maidan.

Mr Avakov gave details of one particular episode where he said the inquiry had established that eight of those killed were hit by bullets from the same machine-gun.

He identified Maj Dmytro Sadovnyk as commander of a unit suspected of shooting dead at least 17 protesters.

"From the side of the the Zhovtnevy Palace, a special squad from the riot Berkut police, wearing yellow armbands, opened fire at the protesters. Much of this fire was targeted. We are carrying out ballistics tests on the weapons," Mr Avakov said.

The interior minister also showed a number of slides and photos illustrating where he said police snipers were firing from. He named two buildings on Khreshchatyk and Kostyolna streets, saying other spots were still being investigated.

And he added that the previous authorities had tried to make the inquiry impossible by burning uniforms, dumping weapons and destroying documents.

'Direct leadership'

Ukrainian Security Service chief Valentyn Nalyvaychenko said that Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) operatives had been involved in planning operations against the protesters.

He added that the FSB had sent "tonnes" of explosives and weapons by plane to Ukraine.

The Ukrainian authorities also said that the killings of the protesters took place "under the direct leadership" of Mr Yanukovych.

They said arrest warrants had been issued for the ex-president and Oleksandr Yakymenko, Ukraine's former security service chief.

Mr Yanukovych - who is now in Russia - has repeatedly denied the allegations.

In a TV interview on Wednesday, he claimed the shooting in February was from buildings held by protesters.

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Malaysia mystery ‘may not be solved’

2 April 2014 Last updated at 07:36

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Theories abound about what may have happened to flight MH370

Malaysia has warned that the reasons for the Malaysia Airlines plane's disappearance may never be known, as Prime Minister Najib Razak heads to Australia for talks on the search.

Malaysia's police chief said that their investigation could "go on and on".

Ten planes and nine ships will search the southern Indian Ocean on Tuesday. A UK submarine has also joined the hunt.

Flight MH370 disappeared on 8 March as it was travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. It was carrying 239 people.

Mr Najib will arrive in Perth, western Australia, on Wednesday evening. He will visit the new Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC), where the southern Indian Ocean search is being led.

He will meet Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott, and retired air chief marshal Angus Houston, who is leading the JACC.

'Isolated thunderstorms'

Meanwhile, Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said the criminal investigation could "go on and on and on. We have to clear every little thing."

"At the end of the investigations, we may not even know the real cause. We may not even know the reason for this incident," he said.

He added that police had "cleared" all the passengers of the four key areas being investigated: hijacking, sabotage, and psychological and personal problems, Malaysia's Bernama news agency reported.

Khalid Abu Bakar added that more than 170 interviews had been conducted with family members of the pilots and crew members, and that even cargo and food served on the plane were being investigated in case of sabotage.

Wednesday's search area is around 221,000 sq km (85,300 sq miles), but cloudy conditions, "sea fog and isolated thunderstorms" will reduce visibility for search planes, JACC said in a statement.

The British submarine HMS Tireless has also arrived in the southern Indian Ocean. It will soon be joined by Royal Navy ship HMS Echo.

The private jet of film director Peter Jackson has also joined the search.

On Tuesday, ACM Houston said it was the most challenging operation he had ever seen, and warned that search efforts "could drag on for a long time".

"The last known position [of the plane] was a long, long way from where the aircraft appears to have gone," complicating the task, he said.

Several floating objects have been found in recent days, but none is believed to belong to the missing plane.

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"Good Night Malaysian Three Seven Zero"

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PDF download Full cockpit-tower communication_[60K]

Most computers will open PDF documents automatically, but you may need Adobe Reader

Also on Tuesday, Malaysian authorities released the full transcript of communications between flight MH370 and Kuala Lumpur's air traffic control.

They said there was no indication of anything abnormal in the transcript, although the last words received by ground controllers are different from those previously stated.

Officials say that based on satellite data they have concluded that flight MH370 crashed into the southern Indian Ocean, but many relatives of those on board have demanded proof and expressed anger at what they perceive as a lack of information.

A closed-door briefing is being held in Kuala Lumpur for families of those on the flight.

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Disaster declared after Chile quake

2 April 2014 Last updated at 11:26

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CCTV from inside a supermarket when the tremors struck has been released

Chile has declared two northern regions hit by a 8.2 magnitude earthquake to be disaster areas.

At least six people are known to have died and tens of thousands of people have been evacuated.

The quake struck at 20:46 local time (23:46 GMT) about 86km (52 miles) north-west of the mining area of Iquique, the US Geological Survey said.

Waves of up to 2.1m (6ft) have hit some areas and there have been power cuts, fires and landslides.

Tens of aftershocks have been reported throughout the night, including a 6.2 tremor.

The government said the declaration of a disaster in the regions of Tarapaca, Arica and Parinacota was aimed at "avoiding instances of looting and disorder".

President Michelle Bachelet said the country had "faced the emergency well" and called on those in affected regions "to keep calm and follow instructions from the authorities".

She is due to visit the affected areas later on Wednesday.

Prison break

Chilean TV broadcast pictures of traffic jams as people tried to head for safer areas.

Officials said the dead included people who were crushed by collapsing walls or died of heart attacks.

The interior minister also told Chilean TV that some 300 women inmates had escaped from a prison in Iquique.

Officials later said that 26 of them had been recaptured.

Authorities say they have re-established electricity supply in 50% of the affected areas.

Iquique Governor Gonzalo Prieto told local media that in addition to those killed, several people had been seriously injured.

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Chile is one of those countries that expects to experience large quakes. It's only four years since the 8.8 event at Maule much further to the south.

The drivers are the same. Chile runs the boundary between the Nazca and South American tectonic plates. These are vast slabs of the Earth's surface that grind past each other at a rate of about 80mm per year. The Nazca plate, which makes up the Pacific Ocean floor in this region, is being pulled down and under the South American coast. It makes the region one of the most seismically active on the globe.

This particular event occurred in what seismologists refer to as the Iquique seismic gap - a segment of the plate boundary that has been relatively quiet in recent times. The last big event here was the magnitude 8.8 tremor of 1877, just to the south, which claimed more than 2,000 lives.

While the government said it had no reports of significant damage to coastal areas, a number of homes were reported destroyed in Arica.

Further damage may not be known until dawn.

The quake shook modern buildings in Peru and in Bolivia's high altitude capital of La Paz - more than 470km (290 miles) from Iquique.

The Chilean interior ministry told the BBC that one of the main roads outside Iquique was cut off because of hillside debris.

Partial landslides have also taken place between the towns of Putre and General Lagos.

The authorities are reported to have deployed a planeload of special forces to guard against looting.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (TWC) issued an initial warning for Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Panama.

However, all warnings, watches and alerts were later lifted except for Chile and Peru.

Tsunami watches - in which the danger of large waves is deemed to be less serious - had been in place for Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras.

"We have asked citizens to evacuate the entire coast," Chilean home office minister Mahmud Aleuy said.

Evacuations were also ordered in Peru, where waves 2m (6.5ft) above normal forced about 200 people to leave the seaside town of Boca del Rio near the Chilean border, police said.

'Ghost town'

A British expatriate near the northern Chilean city of Antofagasta told the BBC that there had been several tremors since the last quarter of last year.

"But this earthquake, even with the increased distance, seemed to last a lot longer," Patrick Moore said.

"I knew it was bad so I immediately went online to see what had happened and saw a tsunami warning that's been put in place which confirmed my fears that it was a big one."

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President Michelle Bachelet urged people to "do all they need to ensure they and their families stay safe"

Kurt Hertrampf, a hostel owner in Arica, told the BBC there was a big blackout in the town after the quake and he was surprised the telephone line was still working. He added: "Downtown looks like a ghost town."

The area close to the epicentre is mineral rich, but none of the major copper companies reported any break in production.

Chile is one of the most seismically active countries in the world.

Central and southern areas of the country were hit by a powerful earthquake of 8.8 magnitude followed by a tsunami that devastated scores of towns in February 2010. More than 700 people were killed.

In 1960 an area of Chile south of Concepcion was hit by a 9.5 magnitude which caused about 1,655 deaths and a tsunami in Hawaii and Japan.

The 9.0 magnitude quake that struck Japan on 11 March 2011 caused a devastating tsunami and left more than 15,000 people dead, with more than 3,200 missing.

Are you affected by the earthquake? Are you in the region where a tsunami warning has been put in place? Please email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with 'Chile' in the subject.

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