Page 10 - ARUBA TODAY

A10 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 20 February 2020
Abbott says top Malaysian leaders suspected pilot of MH370

PERTH, Australia (AP) — For- The Australian-led search
mer Australian Prime Min- scoured 120,000 square
ister Tony Abbott has said kilometers (46,000 square
the "top levels" of the Ma- miles) of the southern In-
laysian government long dian Ocean and cost 200
suspected that the disap- million Australian dollars
pearance of Malaysia Air- ($150 million). A private
lines Flight 370 almost six hunt by Texas-based com-
years ago was a mass mur- pany Ocean Infinity later
der-suicide by the pilot. searched more than 96,000
Abbott was prime minister square kilometers (37,000
when the plane carrying square miles) of sea.
239 people vanished on Debris that washed
March 8, 2014, while flying ashore in the western In-
from Kuala Lumpur to Bei- dian Ocean has been con-
jing. firmed as coming from the
Australia, working on Ma- missing Boeing 777 and in-
laysia's behalf, coordinat- dicated a broad expanse
ed what became the larg- of the ocean where the
est search in aviation his- plane likely crashed after
tory, but it failed to find the running out of fuel.
plane before being ended Australia, Malaysia and
in 2017. China agreed in 2016 that
Speaking in a Sky News In this Sept. 19, 2014, file photo, former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott speaks during a press an official search would
documentary to air on conference, in Sydney. only resume if the three
Wednesday and Thursday, Associated Press countries had credible
Abbott said high-ranking evidence that identified
Malaysian officials be- suicide. clusive answer to why the jib, whose party had ruled a specific location for the
lieved veteran pilot Zaharie Former Prime Minister Najib plane vanished. Malaysia since its indepen- wreckage. Most of the pas-
Ahmad Shah deliberately Razak told the Free Ma- A Malaysian-led inde- dence in 1957. sengers were Chinese.
downed the jet. laysia Today online news pendent investigation re- The pilot's family has long Abbott believed a new in-
"My very clear understand- portal that a possible pilot port released in 2018 said denied he was suicidal. The vestigation was warranted.
ing, from the very top lev- suicide was never ruled out the plane's course was 2018 investigative report "Let's assume that it was
els of the Malaysian gov- but it would be "unfair and changed manually but did said there was no evidence murder-suicide by the pi-
ernment, is that from very, legally irresponsible" to pin not name a suspect and of abnormal behavior or lot and if there is any part
very early on, they thought the blame on Zaharie as raised the possibility of "in- stress in the two pilots and of that ocean that could
it was murder-suicide by the black boxes had not tervention by a third party." none of the passengers have been reached on
the pilot," said Abbott, who been found. Investigators, however, said had pilot training. that basis that has not yet
was Australia's prime min- Malaysian police chief Ab- the cause of the disap- Abbott said he did not be- been explored, let's get out
ster from 2013 to 2015. dul Hamid Bador, who was pearance couldn't be de- lieve conspiracy theories and explore it," he said.
"I'm not going to say who one of the investigators, termined until the wreck- centered on the Malaysian Abbott's comments re-
said what to whom, but told local media that there age and the plane's black government, which owns opened old wounds for
let me reiterate, I want to was no evidence of Zaha- boxes are found. Malaysia Airlines. some families.
be absolutely crystal clear, rie's involvement and that Malaysia's Ministry of Trans- "I've read all these stories Jacquita Gomes, whose
it was understood at the the plane's disappearance port didn't immediately that the Malaysians alleg- husband Patrick was a
highest levels that this was was still a mystery. Former respond to Abbott's com- edly didn't want the mur- flight attendant on the
almost certainly murder- Malaysian Transport Minis- ments. Malaysia has had der-suicide theory pursued plane, said it was frustrating
suicide by the pilot." ter Hishammuddin Hussein a change of government because they were embar- that Abbott revealed this
In response, Malaysia's for- said in a statement that in- since the plane's disap- rassed about one of their six years late.
mer prime minister and po- vestigators had "explored pearance, with current pilots doing this. I have no "Why now? If it's true, for six
lice chief said there was no every single lead and pos- Prime Minister Mahathir reason to accept that," he years, we have been living
conclusive proof of pilot sibility" but found no con- Mohamad ousting Na- said. a lie," she said.q

U.S. woman who hid baby arrested

in Philippines for kidnapping

MANILA, Philippines (AP) to reporters in Manila on Talbot had planned to
— An American woman Wednesday by officials board a Delta Air Lines
charged with human traf- from the National Bureau flight to the United States
ficking for allegedly at- of Investigation, a govern- with the baby on Sept. 4,
tempting to smuggle a ment anti-crime investiga- according to prosecutors.
6-day-old baby out of the tive agency. Talbot wore After discovering the baby,
Philippines inside a sling an orange shirt and had a airline staff called immigra-
bag was arrested on an mask on, with her left arm tion personnel, who arrest-
additional count of kidnap- in a sling. ed Talbot at the airport. The
ping, authorities said. She pulled down her mask baby was turned over to
Jennifer Talbot stands between two agents of the National Bu- Jennifer Talbot from Utah, and said, "I object to this government welfare per-
reau of Investigation Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020 in Manila, Philip- who was out on bail while press conference without sonnel. An initial hearing on
pines. facing the human traffick- my attorney and the em- the kidnapping charge is
Associated Press
ing charge, was presented bassy present." scheduled on March 12.q