>> >> an anxious wait for relatives at bachelor of medicining air -- beijing airport after a malaysian aircraft is reported to have crashed into the south china sea. >> hello, this is al jazeera, live from doha. also ahead - a warm welcome for crimean officials in russia. moscow insists the region has the right to breakaway from kiev. >> homeless in india - how the moment vulnerable are being forced off their land. >> is this the mystery man

behind the most virtual popular currency? >> search and rescue operation is under way for a missing malaysian airline plane which is reported to have crashed into the sea off vietnam. the aircraft lost radio contact some two hours after taking off. >> relatives have been waiting at beijing airport where it was due to land. it was carrying 232 passengers and 12 crew. the boeing left kuala lumpur at 12.41am. it was expected to arrive in beijing at around 6:30am, around 9.5 hours ago. the vietnamese state media report that the plane could have gone down near the south china sea, near vietnam's sworn coast. the acting transport minister gave this update.

>> we have been working closely with our neighbours, especially with china, vietnam, philippines and indonesia, where we have requested assistance. first on information or whereabouts the plane may be, and secondly there is a need for search and rescue which we cannot - i've been told that cooperation from the military side is very forthcoming. we are doing everything we can to ensure that every possible angle in this situation is addressed. the second point i wanted to raise is to avoid speculation. there's two issues that have been raised. the first is not true, and the second is that they found wreckage on an island on the south side of vietnam. d.c. a and our foreign office

have said that is not true. since the report mentioned the vietnamese navy, i'm getting confirmation through the military on that. we should be able to get an answer regarding that piece of information in a couple of hours. >> live now to beijing international airport. rob mcbride is there. what is the latest? >> well, the waiting continues, waiting to get confirmation of this reported crash in the south china sea. these reports have been running for the past couple hours, mainly on reuters, quoting the state media, who interviewed a senior navy official from the vietnamese navy. they said that the aircraft crashed. until the malaysian airlines gets confirmation of that, until there is confirmation of wreckage and so on, it is

difficult for them to give any kind of confirmation. the official line is that the aircraft are missing, and we don't know what happened to it. that's still the official position. we understand the various agencies are trying to get in touch with authorities in vietnam, trying to follow up and we are trying to find out how do we know the aircraft crashed. one assumes if it has crashed, it probably has done so. until we get confirmation it's difficult. it's agonising for the relatives. there was 150 to 160 chinese nationals on board the aircraft. an agonising weight. >> what are the authorities doing to assist the people, waiting for loved ones, the agonising wait. >> several hundred relatives, friends, are being looked after at a hotel near to here, wened.

at the same time that is where malaysian airline officials have been giving news briefings. relatives have been kept away from media while they wait for any news they can get. >> one of the people from - one of the relatives, a woman in her 30, a chinese woman whose mother was on the aircraft came out to talk to the media complaining about the conditions. she said there are several hundred in a haul or meeting room and they are given little in the way of information, complaining that they are not given as much information as they could be by airline officials. it has to be said from the airline's point of view, this is an awful predicament to be in. on the one hand they have to continue saying it's an aircraft that has been missing, and it's difficult to confirm otherwise. at some point they'll have to

prepare, one would have thought the relatives to prepare for the worst. >> for the moment, many thanks. let's tap into the expertise of andrew heardman, the director-general of asia pacific airlines, joining us from kooum pure. no may day call received at the time. what do you make of it? >> it's difficult to say. it's a mystery. contact was lost, there was no distress call, no indications of any particular problem. and then disappearing from radar. until such time as we find evidence of wreckage or other clues, it's difficult to speculate. it puts the airline and the relatives of the passengers and the crew on board in a difficult

anxious weight for more information. >> how does an airline deal with a situation such as this? presumably there must be plans in place for something luke this? >> well, flying is - you know, extraordinarily safe and accidents are rare. every airline has to plan for every eventuality and every airline needs a response plan. mair line is -- malaysia airlines is a reputable airline. they'll have a plan. the key focus is safe and rescue, providing support for relatives and family and friends for everyone on board. >> how many information does an airline have about the whereabouts of the aircraft at any moment in the world. >> well, it's tracked by air

traffic control, because all aircraft are guided, and modern aircraft are fitted with transponders, so you know where it is, and you know a lot about what altitude is flying and the equipment on board, including the engines and so on. there's a stream of data available for the air traffic control network and back to the air line. it appears that communication was lost, and all the data feeds were lost at the same time. when it comes to the investigation, trying to peace together the information available from those data fees is important, as and when wreckage is found, that will contain a lot more. i assume that something kata trophic must have happened to the aircraft, for all communication to have been lost at once.

>> indeed. it's highly unusual. and it makes it very, very difficult to speculate what could have been the nature of that catastrophe to cut off communications without warning. >> okay. good to talk to you. andrew hurtman the director general of asia pacific airlines. >> now to the rest of the day's news - russia warns the united states against imposing sanctions over the crisis in ukraine. any action the white house takes will backfire. president obama ordered sanctions including asset freezes on those responsible. as peter sharp reports from moscow. russia declared its support for the breakaway movement in crimea. >> a standing ovation for the crimean deputies arriving at the russian parliament. their overwhelming vote to join the russian federation on thursday was applauded, seen almost as a declaration of

independence, their message from their russian brothers welcome home and a promise. >> translation: everything is clear from this side of moscow. if we see you are ready to make this decision, i assure you our total support. everyone is just excited about this, because this is a festive occasion. >> festivities extending to red square, when the bill speeding up integration goes toward the doouma. crimea could become the first territory to join russia since the break-up of the soviet union since 1981. the significance of that not lost among these people. among political observers, concern at the pace of change your and the direction that vladimir putin appears to be leaving russia as this crisis

unravels hour by hour. >> this is a father of nation, staying several heads ahead of the general public. and he brings his country enormous success. >> talk to experts here in moscow, and they'll tell you there are powerful reasons why vladimir putin is taking a hard line over the crisis. there's no doubt that vladimir putin regards ukraine's westward drift as a grave threat to the security of russia. >> is there more to it than that. kremlin watchers in moscow believe the successful uprising, popular uprising against an authoritarian government in ukraine sets a dangerous precedent for vladimir putin's presidency. >> and vladimir putin himself was in sochi friday night to preside over the opening of the paralympic games. the day dominated by the will

they, won't they debate on whether the ukraine team will take part. hours before the start they agreed not to boycott the games, but warned they'd quit sochi onmass if the security situation in ukraine worsened. >> 27 countries expressed concern over egypt's use of violence. it calls on the cairo government to be held accountable. seven were killed on friday in anti-demonstration protests. demonstrators took to the streets in three cities. the trial of three al jazeera journalists detained in egypt is scheduled to resume on march 24th hth. mohamed fadel fahmy, mohammed badr and peter greste sent 70 days in prison. and spreading false news. al jazeera rejects the charges.

>> saudi arabia joined egypt in banning the muslim brotherhood and labelling it a terrorist organization. members of the group included the deposed president mohamed morsi. along with other leaders of the muslim brotherhood are currently behind bars. saudi arabia says those that joined the group could be gaoled for 30 years. a former military chief in italy has been freed from prison. he was given a life sentence or plotting to overthrow the government. the decision to release him was after turkey adds highest court ruled his legal rights were not found. >> for those in prison, they'll be set free eventually. all we want is justice. for that i'll continue to fight for my struggle like i did when i was on duty and in gaol for

two years until the last of the prisons will be set free. >> still to come - for columbians voting - blank ballots shows their disappoint. >> and an arrest warrant for this man.

hello again. the top stories on al jazeera. a search and rescue operation is under way for a missing malaysia airlines plane reported to have crashed into the sea off vietnam.

the acting malaysian transport minister says its country is cooperating with its neighbours to find the missing craft. relatives of people on the flight are waiting for news at bachelor of medicine international airport. 239 people were on board. >> russia declared its support for the breakaway movement in crimea. the russian parliament welcomed a crimean delegation and backed its vote to separate from ukraine. >> sound is election day. the country is known for low voter turn out. as explained, there may be fewer ballots to counselled. >> this is the most familiar face of a very unique political campaign. he's volunteering to play a part in the movement. it's growing in columbia and asks voters to mark the ballot

paper as none of the above. >> the blank vote is an instrument that exists in the constitution, and through which we columbians resist the class. we tell all parties that we are fed up. it's an electoral punishment. mostly complaining online and to a flash mob, attracting unprecedented support. 32 million columbians will vote. many expect a number of protest votes. for may's elections the blank votes are leading the polls. 20% above the current president. >> the columbian society showed a level of inconformity. among latin american companies we had the lower turn out

levels. people are seeing the blank vote is a way to address the corruption. this is a rather big ballot paper. as you can see, there's a list of regular parties. down here the option to cast a blank vote. the majority will have to be a re-run of the election. the surge follows country-wide prospects. corruption scandals and a lack of urgent reforms. skeptics say the blank vote will crumble once campaigning for presidential elections begin innerbest. they are underestimating people's anger with those that govern. >> a diplomatic dispute between panama and venezuela

intensified. venezuelans president cut ties with panama on wednesday, accusing the country of conspiring with the u.s., and meddling in affairs. the president had this to say. >> translation: i'm not going to respond to him in the vulgar language that the president used to talk about panama. someone who does this is an immature person who expresses himself in this way when all that panama wants is peace and harmony. >> in venezuela's capital caracas a candle lit vigil has been hold to remember those killed in the worst unrest in a decade. fighting began between anti-government protesters and security forces. 21 people have been killed since the demonstrations began in february. >> south africa has expelled three rwandan documents that

says are listened to an attack at a home of a general. a group of armed men broke into the south african home of a former rwandan army chief. >> this is an exiled critic of the president and survived a previous assassination attempt four years ago. rwandan retailiated by ordering out the diplomats. no muslims are left in the capital of the south african republic. the u.n. high commissioner for refugees says there has been a cleansing of the muslim population. now the majority have fled. 100,000 muslims lived in bankie. that number is now as lop as 900. it's been a week since anti-government protesters in bangkok removed roadblocks. the campaign to unseat the government is far from over.

and as scott heidler reports, a butist monk says he's in it for the long haul. >> although the majority of protesters have retreated to a city park or back home, a few dedicated troops took to the streets of bangkok. one is headed by this man, a monk named budda hasara. >> translation: in 82 years of democracy in thailand made it possible for politicians to be greedy and corrupt and hurt the people. >> a controversial figure. buddha's followers block streets near the capital. they have been there for nearly two months. he says he beats regularly with anti-government protest leaders. >> translation: i do not take orders from anyone. we operate separately and work

towards the same goal. >> there's an arrest warrant out for buddha hasar and his role in a protest that turned violent. >> translation: i'm proud the tyrants issued an arrest warrant on me. if the good people issued an arrest warrant, i would be sorry. >> buddha established this monastery 25 years ago. he's a prominent figure in the community, two hours outside of bangkok. there's some within the buddhist hierarchy who want him disrobed and removed from the monk hood. one feels his actions are against the religions foundations. >> i think he's guilty of creating disharmony. people need to live not for fighting and killing. >> buddhist leaders have serious issues with a monk taking money

for his movement. he has not been back to his monastery or a temple. it's difficult for any religious fighting to take action against the monk. >> every day we enjoy learning. nothing is to big. there are challenges waiting for us >> as thailand works on its challenge, the buddhist leadership facing a challenge, keeping its monks in a role they see as property. >> syrian forces are continuing their assault on one of the last rebel strong holds near the border with lebanon. abood is north of the capital. forces loyal to bashar al-assad are said to be carrying out an aerial bombardment of the reenon. small cracks have been discovered on the wings of dream liner jets in production. 40 are affected and it could delay delivers to airlines.

the problem arose after a change your in the manufacturing process that could take up to two weeks to fix each plane. >> india has bun of the world's largest number of homeless people. the last sensis recorded 78 million people living without proper shelter, equating to nearly the entire population of germany. we report from new delhi. >> this man and his puppets may not be here for much longer. families purchase like this for generations. his ancestors were homeless nomads settling in the forest. the government let them stay here, until now. >> translation: we built the community out of waste land. travel performers joined us, making this their home. we were from all parts of india and performed a special community. >> over 25,000 people live here.

now, a private developer brought the land and wants them to move. >> if our homes are taken away, i become homeless. where do i go. >> homelessness is a big problem in india. many migrate to the areas to find work, or even a place to live. in the last official sensis, it's estimated 78 million, the entire population of germany are homeless. al jazeera visited homeless shelters like this. they look after as many as 140 adults and children. there are 240 places like this. charities say while the government provide the land, they provide food, access to health care and education. the weather is always of concern. >> winter is hard. fl water is not there, they need

protections, and they can be provided. water, sanitation and medical help is provided too, if possible. >> the homeless number is 56,000, and over 200 died on the streets last year, it's estimated. back in this neighbourhood, "we are not moving", is the feeling among the community. they say they will not become homeless again. no one here is being evicted. others have little choice but to call the pavements and roads of india home. >> thousands of event are being held on saturday to mark international women's day. the aim is to raise awareness of the challenges and struggles faced. equal rights, in pakistan, are a dream. some work 12-16 hours a day with no extra pay. it's a male-dominated society.

however, there has been progress in some parts of the world, places like somali land, a self-declared region in the north of somalia. they are helping to reduce the number of female genital abuse victims. a u.s. news magazine says it's identified the inventor of bitcoin. it has been criticised as an easy tool for criminals to trade guns and drugs. the man identified by news week says they have it wrong. >> a gang of reporters descended on the modest los angeles home of dorian nakamoto after "news week" magazine claimed he has the founder of crypto currency

bitcoin. he denied that he invented bitcoin. a near farrsical scene ensued. he said he would talk to a reporter in exchange for a free lunch. he spoke to the associated press. the main reason i'm here is to clear my name, that i have nothing to do with bitcoin. nothing to do with developing. i was an engineer doing something else. and if you look at the time span, 2001, when it was supposed to be devolved, i wasn't there. i was working for the government through contracting company. >> "newsweek "s cover story produce u.s. evidence not not conclusive proof that he was the founder. bitcoin knew that the designer went by his name. but most assumed it was a made-up name, not a real person.

"newsweek" says it sands by the story. this ended with sushi, served courtesy of associate press. presumably lunch was paid for with real money. market that can be cruel to baby boomers. and charter schools with the most powerful educatio players n education today. this is "real money." >> this is real money.