>> here's the latest on the search for the missing malaysian airliner. the "new york times" is citing u.s. officials who say the plane's flight path was changed by a few key strokes on a cockpit computer. it's not clear if that happened before or after takeoff investigators are looking to see if any passengers on board had flight training. a 29-year-old aviation engineer who was a passenger and the two pilots are under heavy scrutiny. crews from from 26 countries are searching a very broad area. it covers 11 countries and vast areas of the indian ocean. so still with very little to go on when it comes to locating the missing plane, susan malvo has a look at the airplane's last moments of contact before disappearing. >> reporter: saturday march 8 at 12:41 a.m. local time malaysia flight 370 takes off from kuala lumpur headed to beijing, china. the boeing 777 is carrying 227

passengers and 12 crew on board. 26 minutes into the flight, at 1:07 a.m., one of the plane's critical communications sends its final transmission. the on board computer is called the aircraft communications addressing and reporting system, or acars. it measures thousands of data points about the plane and pilots' performance and sends the information via satellite. it is due to transmit again at 1:37 a.m., but never does. 1:19 a.m., someone inside the cockpit -- believed to be the co-pilot -- provides the last verbal communication with air traffic controllers. his last words "all right. good night." it's a common good-bye to controllers after being handed off. at 1:21 a.m., the transponder which identifies the plane to civilian radar, goes off. critical information like the plane's flight number, height, speed, and heading are all cut

off. this happens at the same time the plane is supposed to check in with air traffic control in vietnam. 1:30 a.m., authorities say all civilian radars lose contact with the plane all together. then it appears to go through erratic altitude changes, perhaps as high as 45,000 feet -- above the approvaled altitude. 2:15 a.m., malaysian military radar last detect it is plane off malaysia's west coast, hundreds of miles off course. but it went unnoticed by radar operators until the following day. 6:30 a.m., flight 370 is due to land in beijing. a commercial satellite orbiting more than 22,000 miles above earth makes electronic connections with the plane known as hand shakes. at 8:11 a.m., more than seven hours after takeoff, the last connection. using the angle of the satellite, investigators are able to draw two big arcs where

they believe the plane could travel. one of those paths spans from indonesia to the indian ocean. the second stretches across central asia to northern thailand. this brings us to the current massive search under way. by land and by sea involving 26 countries looking for the missing flight suzanne malveaux, cnn, washington. a modern commercial airliner has never been missing for this long before so for the families of those on board flight 370, the frustration and the anguish mounts with each passing day. we're live in beijing where many angsts loved ones have been staying for many days. how are the relatives coping not with just all these new developments but contradictory statements which are then some retracted and some no longer confirmed. there doesn't seem to be any certainty here. >> family members are just

frankly very stunned at the way this investigation has been going. they are dumbfounded, they're shocked, they're disappointed, they're very, very frustrated and you can see that and sense that when you go to the hotel where most of them are staying and gettings information at briefings from the airline representatives from malaysia airlines. and earlier today there was a lot of emotion at the morning meeting, especially from one mother in particular. >> translator: we only have one child, we are respectful chinese people. it's hard to control your emotions when you might have lost your loved ones. we just need the truth. don't use them as political pawns. >> okay, unfortunately we have

lost pauline who was reporting live in there from beijing but she was reporting on the very emotional situation for so many families and friends who are waiting for any news and, of course, china had the most number of nationals on board that plane. they have been waiting with each day to try and find out what has been happening. and one of the passengers on board that flight is phil wood, a 50-year-old ibm executive is one of three americans who were on board. david mckenzie spoke with wood's partner, she is in beijing and she told david she's still clipging to hope that the plane may have been hijacked and that wood and his fellow passengers might be alive. >> the entire u.s. population is reliving things like 9/11 in this experience. if an unthinkable thing can happen even after we've taken all of these precautions, what could happen next? this is a planned activity. somebody wanted to do something and make a message out of it and it would serve them no good to

be seen as callus and brutal and just start killing people unnecessarily because then they won't have as much bargaining power. i think. i think. i mean, i don't -- i can't imagine to put my -- myself into the mind-set of somebody who would even possibly contemplate this. but i've got to believe that the hostages are valuable to them and as the only adult american on the flight phillip would be a valuable asset to them and it happens to be that he's also very calm and very put together and he would know to step back and not cause conflict so he wouldn't be somebody that they would want to get out of the way as a trouble causer. if there's anybody who can survive a situation like that it's him. he's very level headed and i think he is the kind of person who would help to calm a really chaotic situation. of course i have to prepare for the worst because no matter what

i still have to go forward and no matter what his family still has to go forward so we need to know where the fork in the road is going to go and we're not ready to take either branch but we have to know what's coming because otherwise when it comes you won't be prepared and that's when you get into trouble, i think. >> reporter: you need to be prepared for whatever the news is. >> my bag is packed and ready to go. it has been since saturday morning. >> reporter: ready to go where? >> wherever he is. my son even helped me pick out which clothes to bring for him so i have an outfit for him in the -- in my backpack. because he wouldn't want to wear his dirty old stuff anymore, i'm sure, and he probably wouldn't want to wear a hospital gown if that's the case so, yup, it's all ready.

>> each of the 239 passengers on board flight 370 has their own story. among them, mothers, fathers, children, friends as well as co-workers. you can find their stories at cnn.com/international along with all the developments including word that chinese officials have now started their own search on chinese territories to try to find any trace of this missing plane. well, lawmakers in crimea did not waste any time to act following sunday's referendum on secession. straight ahead, we'll find out why they're in such a hurry in simferopol. plus, oscar pistorius arrives in court and how monday's testimony might affect his defense. oscar pistorius porz

russian president vladimir putin has signed a decree recognizing crimea's

independence from ukraine and he has started the legal procedure for russia to take in a new region. this after crimeans voting overwhelmingly sunday to join the russian federation. on friday, russian lawmakers are expected to consider crimea's request and we are expecting mr. putin to discuss crimea when he addresses russia's parliament in a few hours from now. one kremlin figure, meantime, said it was an honor to be a target of western sanctions over crimea. the u.s. and europe announced those moves on monday and in this volatile region itself, officials hope crimea will be absorbed into russia quickly. we have the latest from simferopol. >> reporter: the sanctions announced in washington and brussels have had very little impact in what we're seeing here, fast-paced choreography bringing crimea into the russian federation. the defacto parliament here first thing on monday announced a vote in which they agreed that crimea would be an independent

state and asked the russian federation to formally bring it into its territory here. they also said they'd take on the russian ruble as a currency and move to moscow's time zone, nationalizing also oil and gas assets here. a delegation of crimean officials going to moscow to talk about the practicalities of becoming part of russia, some issues involving utilities, water, etc., how will you supply them to crimea if the ukrainian mainland plays tough and cuts them off. but this list of officials who will be sanctioned by the e.u. in the united states many many ways not particularly powerful figures in them, the e.u. list certainly concentrating on minor russian military officials involved in the crimean campaign here. one key official on the u.s. list, the chief ideologue of the putin era almost mocked being on the list, saying he had no assets in the u.s. to freeze and considered it an honor, a sign of his service to the motherland, the only things he liked out of the u.s. were the

artist jackson pollock, the poet alan ginsburg and the rap you are tour tupac shakur and she didn't need a visa to enjoy those. so we're waiting to see if vladimir putin on monday having recognized the independence of crimea will go further. will he bring it into the russian federation or will he stop where he is right now? very little sign given. how fast things are moving on the ground here in the crimean administrative capital simferopol will do more than grab their p challenge too be in russia. >> the sanctions are the most comprehensive the west have imposed since the cold war. even so they're considered to be lacking much bite. >> reporter: less than a day after the crimean referendum denounced by the west as having no validity european foreign ministers unanimously voted to sanction eight top crimean

officials, 10 people from russia including members of the parliament and three military personnel who they say are directly involved in moscow's attempt to divide crimea from the ukraine. for the e.u.'s foreign policy head, a clear message has been sent. >> i really hope that what we will see is a deescalation. i really do hope that what we will see is the chance for ukraine to be a countally has territorial integrity. >> reporter: others were talking a harder line, warning tougher steps could lie ahead if russia completes plans to annex the ukraine. a french expert on russia said another sanctions list of more than 100 additional individuals has been circulating among the europeans. >> the russian power is structured around the oligarchs. in the next stage if you start hitting, for instance, the bosses of the big energy companies in russia, gosprom, et cetera, there you're getting into a serious problem.

>> reporter: the europeans will have a chance to rash chet up their sanctions during a meeting of european leaders later this week but for now the intention seems to be to send a message but keep the diplomatic channels open. one reason could be is that getting involved in the ukrainian situation is not very popular among voters here. a poll released over the weekend indicates that nearly two-thirds of the french and more than half of the germans are not even interested in sending economic aid to the ukraine. jim bittermann, cnn, paris. >> ukraine's new government has announced a partial mobilization of the country's armed forces. the prime minister gave a dire warning about russia's intentions and he spoke with ivan watson in kiev. are you afraid of the possibility of a russian military invasion? >> there is a strong possibility of russian military invasion. and this is the duty of every citizen to protect and to defend

its country i still believe that there is only one solution of this crisis -- a peaceful one. but we offered peace and russia offers war. >> and so fears of invasion on the rise. our chief international correspondent christiane amanpour asked nato chief anders rasmussen about where this may lead. >> how do you see this deescalating, seriously. >> actually, to be very honest about it, i don't see any deescalation. on the contrary, i see russian military buildup and this is a matter of concern. >> and christiane amanpour's entire interview with the native's secretary general is on our web site. you can have a look at that at

ammanpour.com. barack obama met the palestinian leader two weeks after sharing similar thoughts with benjamin netanyahu. the u.s. hopes to achieve aframework agreement in april for further peace talks later this year. oscar pistorius has arrived at court in pretoria for his trial. police crime scene photos are expected to be the focus of testimony today. the prosecution is continuing to look at the gun pistorius used to kill reeva steenkamp. on monday they tried to use the olympian's only in of gun laws to show her death was no accident. we take a look at what happened. >> reporter: the matter of reeva steenkamp back in court for the first time since the start of the oscar pistorius murder trial. greeting by the olympian's sister resumed for week three but she didn't stay long.

steenkamp left the courtroom as a police photographer walked through hundreds of photos from the crime scene. the one too difficult for the mother to hand? a picture of a bloody pistorius just hours after he shot and killed steenkamp's daughter. earlier in the day, a certified gun dealer took to the stand saying he had given pistorius a safety questionnaire before selling him several firearms. the prosecution used pistorius's own answers against him as they aimed to show the olympian had a thorough understanding of gun laws. to fire legally, pistorius answered correctly. >> the attack must be against you, it must be unlawful and it must be against a person. >> reporter: the gun dealer also revealing the order was cancelled just a month after that fatal valentine's day. cnn, pretoria, south africa. >> just ahead here on cnn newsroom, a castaway keeps his promise. the fisherman lost at sea for more than a year brings a message to the grieving mother of his companion who didn't make

it home. closures of federal

government we've had closures of federal governments, schools across portions of washington, d.c. 800 flights were cancelled. look at the scenes out of areas

around atlantic city and new jersey where we know over the u.s., 800 flights were cancelled, 6,000 flights were delayed and the video out of new jersey showing you the snow continues to come down. the latest models going into the latter portion of the week suggesting this could be the next week when the baseball season begins across the u.s., it could be colder than super bowl sunday was. so a remarkable trend when it comes to the weather pattern over that portion of the world. but not over europe. high pressure has weakened a bit and dropped to the south o so the jet stream pushing in towards portions of the uk where we know the wind will pick up in magnitude over the next couple days. it could certainly slow travel down around portions of northwest europe but you see clouds rolling on in here. that hasn't been the trend in recent days because we've had mild weather in place. the dry conditions. we've willed problems across portions of paris. compare what is a typical day around paris when you have clear conditions compared to the hazy conditions we had this weekend across that region we had for the first time since 1997 in paris restrictions put in place

based on the license plate numbers on your car. if you had an even number on your license plate and you drove on monday you would be ticketed and guess what? by 10:00 a.m., 3,000 people were ticketed across this portion of paris so a lot of mess going on there. but we know the air condition is finally improving around areas of paris with the restrictions in place. but restrictions finally coming to an end as we head towards tuesday, but john levy with video out of los angeles where we have a 4.4 earthquake. >> we've having an earthquake! >> drop, cover, and hold, that's what they teach you in california. a lot of studio lights right above you, john. so if anything like that were to happen, those are hot lights, you don't want them to be shaking back and forth. >> i appreciate the tip. we just don't get a lot of earthquakes in atlanta but you never know. there could be a prelude to the big one, i guess. we'll keep watching. >> that's what people are saying, yeah. after reportedly surviving more than a year at sea, this

salvadoran castaway has returned to mexico for an emotional meeting with the family of his shipmate who did not make it home. >> reporter: it was the promise he made to a dying man. to go visit his mother and tell her this person how his friend had died and share with her his last words. still walking slowly but now speaking fluently, jose salvador flew from san salvador to mexico where he was to meet his friend's family in the coastal town of el fortin. "it's a promise that we both had made and now i'm here to fulfill it" he said after landing in mexico city. the 37-year-old fisherman appeared in the marshall islands in late january and told authorities there he had drifted on a small fishing boat for 13 months all the way from mexico, more than 6,000 miles away.

23-year-old aziqil cordoba, his companion, died four weeks into the ordeal because he couldn't manage to drink turtle blood and eat raw fish. >> translator: for me it would have been sadder if both had died because i would have never known what happened to my son. so i'm very happy to see him again. >> reporter: he says cordoba would often talk about his mother. >> translator: he told me a lot about her, that she was a very good person with everybody and that she was very loving. >> reporter: he also told cordoba's mother how to two fishermen spent the time drifting in the open sea. cordoba, a christian, told the salvadoran fisherman about his faith. they would pray and sing together, he says, as they both clung to the hope of being found alive and rescued in the middle of the pacific ocean. >> translator: he taught me how to pray. he taught me how to sing. i would ask him if he went to church and hi said yes. since he was a little boy he would go with his mother and stepfather. >> reporter: tse says there are things cordoba told him that

only the dead fisherman's mother must know. to reveal them publicly, he said, would be to betray his memory. cnn. >> that does it for this hour of cnn news room. stay with us, the news continues after a short break. .

breaking news overnight, the search for the missing airliner is refocused, scouring the shores off australia, this as we receive new clues from the cockpit, new information that the pilots or someone could have reprogrammed the flight computers to take that plane off course. we have live, team coverage tracking all the latest developments. breaking news this morning, crisis in ukraine, crimea declaring its independence, russia defying the world, recognizing what many are calling an illegitimate vote and now facing serious sanctions. president vladimir putin prepares to address the world