Rapper Executed For Murdering Studio Owner

Texas has executed a 33-year-old hip hop musician convicted of stabbing to death and robbing a music studio owner.

Ray Jasper was injected with a lethal dose of pentobarbital at its death chamber in Huntsville and died at 6.31pm (11.31pm UK time).

"To my family, we are one. To my beautiful daughter, the best thing that ever happened to me. I love you endlessly," Jasper wrote in his last words.

"I am you and you are me forever."

Jasper was convicted of the 1998 killing of David Alejandro, 33, who owned and operated a studio in San Antonio where musicians could be professionally recorded for a fee.

The aspiring rapper had acknowledged slitting Mr Alejandro's throat to steal equipment from the studio. But he insisted a partner was responsible for the man's fatal stab wounds.

Jasper's execution was the third this year in Texas, which puts more people to death than any other state in the US.

Texas has obtained a new batch of the drugs it uses for executions, allowing the state to continue carrying out death sentences once its existing supply expires at the end of the month, according to the AP news agency.

Major pharmaceutical companies, many based in Europe, have stopped selling pentobarbital and other substances used in lethal injections to US corrections agencies because they oppose the death penalty.

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Missing Plane: Could A Fire Explain Mystery?

Both pilots on the missing Malaysia Airlines plane may have been incapacitated by a fire in the cabin, an expert has told Sky News.

The theory, which has been gathering pace within the aviation industry over recent days, suggests the tracking equipment was disabled to prevent a fire getting worse.

Experts say it would mean the pair had changed course in a bid to find an airport where they could land the stricken aircraft - but were overcome by smoke.

While officials investigating the mystery have not commented on the theory, if true, it would make the two men in control of flight MH370 heroes rather than the suspects they have become.

Pilot Fikri Zambi told Sky News: "Let's say you have an electrical problem inside the wiring and you have smoke in the cabin.

"If it is anything to do with the wiring from the transponder or ACARS that's causing the smoke, then we have to pull out the circuit breakers to make it stop."

Pilots Fariq Abdul Hamid and Zaharie Ahmad Shah may be heroes not suspects

He said the next thing the pilots would do is attempt to get the plane to the nearest airport, which would mean turning left and back to the peninsula.

Experts say the jet could have kept heading southwest because the crew were rendered unconscious by the smoke.

Under such circumstances, if the plane remained in auto-pilot mode, it would continue flying south over the vast Indian Ocean until it ran out of fuel or was overcome by the flames.

Another pilot, Chris Goodfellow, a Canadian with 20 years' flying experience, also put forward the theory of a cabin fire in a piece he posted online. 

He suggested Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah was a "smart pilot" who "just didn't have the time" to land at an airport within a reasonable distance before he was overcome by smoke from the fire.

A contributor to the Professional Pilots Rumour Network forum, under the username Aerobat77, wrote: "For me, (either this) or a similar event happened. No James Bond secret landing on a desert strip."

Others on the forum said suggestions the flight inexplicably climbed to 45,000ft - 10,000ft above its cruising altitude - could also be consistent with attempts to put out a fire.

The search operation covers massive swathes of land and sea

A number of other theories have also been put forward since flight MH370 vanished.

Hijack

Among the more common theories in circulation is the idea that the aircraft was hijacked, either by a member of the crew or one of the passengers.

This gained weight when authorities revealed tracking and communications devices had been turned off deliberately.

However, the lack of any contact or demands from supposed hijackers indicates otherwise and experts say it would be almost impossible to land on an airstrip undetected.

Theft

Similar arguments are made in response to the theory that the Boeing 777 has been stolen by persons unknown, who would use it for a terror attack or simply sell the parts.

Experts also say serial numbers on all the aircrafts components would make it very difficult to sell any.

It is also pointed out that it would be much easier for terrorists to steal one of the thousands of business jets and cargo planes that take to the skies every day and which would attract far less attention.

Flight MH370 hid below another plane

Keith Ledgerwood, who describes himself as a "hobby pilot and aviation enthusiast" said the plane may have flown "in the shadow" of Singapore Airlines flight 68 to avoid detection on its way over India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Experts say such a manoeuvre would have roused suspicion from the Singapore Airlines pilots and that the theory does not explain how MH370 eventually peeled off and landed without anyone noticing.

Pilot suicide

Despite previous air crash investigations concluding they were the result of pilot suicide, this possibility has received relatively little coverage in this case,

The efforts to disable tracking and communication systems would appear unnecessary under such circumstances and no notes have been found during searches of the pilots' home.

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Pistorius Trial: 'Reeva Tried To Protect Herself'

A police ballistics expert has revealed how Reeva Steenkamp covered her head to protect herself in a toilet cubicle as her boyfriend Oscar Pistorius opened fire.

Captain Christian Mangena was giving evidence on day 13 of the Paralympian's murder trial, which has now been adjourned until next week.

The initial bullet was the first of four fired by the double-amputee athlete.

Capt Mangena told the court in Pretoria that Ms Steenkamp fell back onto a magazine holder in the toilet after being hit by the first bullet.

The second bullet that was fired through the wooden door missed, he said, before ricocheting off a wall and bruising her back.

Pistorius awaits the start of day 13

However, Ms Steenkamp, 29, was hit by the third and fourth bullets - in the arm and the head.

Capt Mangena said she was crossing both hands over her head to protect herself when the third and fourth bullets struck.

One of those bullets went through Ms Steenkamp's left hand before penetrating her skull.

The policeman said he couldn't determine the order of the last two shots but revealed they left Ms Steenkamp slumped with her head on the toilet seat.

"She ended up with her head on top of the toilet seat, and the lower part of her body on the rack," Capt Mangena said.

The ballistics expert also concluded that Pistorius was "likely" to have been on his stumps when he fired the shots and was "firing from a distance greater than 60 centimetres" but no more than three metres.

Capt Mangena claimed the type of bullets in Pistorius' gun were designed to cause maximum damage and were often used for self-defence.

"It hits the target, it opens up, it creates six talons, and these talons are sharp," he said. "It cuts through the organs of a human being."

The victim's mother, June Steenkamp, was once again in court hearing the evidence relating to her daughter's death.

Captain Christian Mangena giving evidence

In response to Capt Mangena's evidence, defence lawyer Barry Roux argued that the state was coming up with versions to "constitute premeditated murder".

Mr Roux said the defence's own ballistics experts would challenge evidence regarding the sequence of shots.

He also revealed how defence experts recovered a bullet and fragments from the toilet bowl that police missed.

The court then heard from Colonel Ian Van Der Nest, a blood spatter expert from the Forensic Science Laboratory in Pretoria.

He said Ms Steenkamp's long hair and short pants were soaked in blood.

Pistorius stands beside his sister Aimee during court proceedings

Col Van Der Nest told the court there was no evidence of "blunt force" inflicted by hitting or beating.

Pistorius, who won two gold medals at the Paralympics in London in 2012, is charged with premeditated murder.

He is also accused of illegally possessing ammunition, as well as two further counts related to shooting a gun in public in two separate incidents before the killing.

The athlete denies the charges and says he shot Ms Steenkamp in error after mistaking her for an intruder.

The trial has now been adjourned until Monday, when the state will begin calling its final four or five witnesses.

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Dreamliner 787 Aircraft 'Soundly Designed'

Boeing's 787 Dreamliner has been deemed soundly designed and safe to fly, according to a joint review by the aircraft maker and the Federal Aviation Administration.

The yearlong review into the overall safety of the cutting-edge jetliner follows a spate of problems encountered by the aircraft since its rollout in 2011.

FAA administrator Michael Huerta asked for the review in January 2013 after a lithium-ion battery caught fire on a 787 parked at Logan International Airport in Boston.

A battery aboard another 787 failed less than two weeks later, prompting airlines around the world temporarily ground their Dreamliner fleets.

Wednesday's report was not intended to address the batteries, which have since been redesigned, but rather the overall safety of Boeing's design and manufacture of the plane and the adequacy of FAA's oversight.

A battery fire on board a 787 in Boston led to the review

Boeing Commercial Airplanes president and CEO Ray Conner said: "The findings validate our confidence in both the design of the airplane and the disciplined process used to identify and correct in-service issues as they arise"

The report makes several recommendations for improvement by Boeing and FAA.

It calls for the FAA to make changes to its oversight of the safety certification of new planes to take into account "new aircraft manufacturing business models".

The report also says Boeing should require suppliers to follow industry standards for personnel performing Boeing-required inspections.

Boeing extensively outsourced the manufacture of many elements of the 787 to overseas suppliers. Suppliers sometimes then outsourced portions of their work to other companies.

Earlier this month, Boeing said it had discovered hairline cracks in the wings of 787s under construction. The company said issue did not exist in its active fleet, and would take up to two weeks to resolve.

Last month, an Air India Dreamliner, flying nonstop from Sydney to Delhi, with 215 people on board, landed in Kuala Lumpur under emergency conditions after its cockpit panels suffered a software malfunction.

There was a third battery incident in Japan in January, but Boeing officials said the problem appeared to have been contained by a new battery design.

The National Transportation Safety Board investigation into the battery fire in Boston is still ongoing.

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Over 100 'Human Trafficking' Victims Rescued

More than 100 people, suspected of being victims of a human trafficking gang, have been rescued from a house in Houston, Texas.

When officers opened the door to the property they found "a large, large group of people, some sitting on top of one another, in very confined spaces".

A spokesman for the Houston Police Department said dozens of the victims were dressed only in underwear and were sitting in filthy conditions surrounded by bin bags full of old clothes.

They had been kept in a number of small rooms with access to just one toilet and no hot water.

Police made the discovery during a search for a 24-year-old woman and her two children who had been reported missing by relatives.

The spokesman added: "They yell out the woman's name to see if she is in there, and she emerges with the two children. They're OK."

Investigators found 94 men, 15 women and the mother with her two children.

Many of the women said they had been in the house for up to four days. One told police she had been there for more than two weeks.

A spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it had been five years since officials uncovered a house in Houston with this many people inside - in 2012 a house with 86 people was discovered.

The victims, who have been taken into custody and are being questioned, are mainly from Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras and El Salvador.

Five men have been arrested in connection with the discovery.

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Michelle's China Trip: Pandas But No Politics

First Lady Michelle Obama has arrived in Beijing on a hotly anticipated trip that will promote education and avoid politics.

Mrs Obama, travelling without the US president, is accompanied with her two daughters and her mother.

Her schedule includes a meeting with China's First Lady, Peng Liyuan, a popular folk singer and the wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Michelle Obama (L) and Peng Liyuan are style icons in their countries

Chinese media have compared the dress styles of the two women with side-by-side photos.

The newspaper China Daily devoted a full page on Thursday to their fashion choices.

Mrs Obama will also give a speech to Chinese and American students at Peking University.

She intends to avoid contentious issues such as human rights, trade and cyber-security, according to White House officials preparing the trip.

In Beijing, the First Lady and her family are to visit the imperial palace and Great Wall.

While in Xi'an, she plans to visit ancient city walls and the Terra Cotta Warriors Museum.

In Chendgu, she is set to visit a panda conservation centre.

Some observers believe her visit will help soften US-China relations through her soft power.

Others have criticised the use of public money, saying the week-long trip amounts to a family holiday.

The US has not said how much the trip will cost.

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Pistorius To Sell House To Cover Legal Fees

Oscar Pistorius is to sell his home - where he shot dead girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp - to cover the legal fees for his murder trial.

"It has become necessary to sell Mr Pistorius's home in the Silver Woods Country Estate in Pretoria in order for him to raise the necessary funds to cover his increasing legal costs," the 27-year-old's lawyer Brian Webber said in a statement.

"This is due to the unexpected extension of the trial beyond the initial three-week period for which it was originally set down."

The Paralympic athlete has been paying his own legal fees since he shot and killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on February 14 last year in the Pretoria property still for sale.

Pistorius' trial costs are rising

The costs of the trial - reportedly as high as £5,500 a day - are said to include at least three full-time lawyers in court, ballistics and forensics experts, and a US crime scene reconstruction company.

Since the shooting, Pistorius has been living at his uncle's house in Pretoria.

Authorities turned the runner's home in the gated community back over to him more than a year ago and he had planned to keep it sealed until the trial finished.

The property is in an expensive part of Pretoria

"He has been forced to revisit this decision," according to Mr Webber, who said the statement was meant to pre-empt media speculation about the sale.

Prosecutors have charged the double-amputee sprinter with intentionally killing Ms Steenkamp, 29, and are expected to wrap up their case early next week.

Pistorius insists he shot the model through a toilet door after mistaking her for an intruder.

The trial resumes on Monday.

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Plane Search: Objects May Be Flight 370 Debris

A major search has taken place in the southern Indian Ocean for two large objects that may be from the missing Malaysia Airlines jet.

Four long-range surveillance planes scoured a remote area of 8,800 sq miles (23,000 sq km) in an operation hampered by bad weather.

It lasted until last light and is set to resume on Friday morning.

The objects were spotted by a satellite last Sunday and could potentially be debris from flight MH370.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said they were a "reasonable size", with one around 24 metres in length and the other about five metres.

:: Live Updates: Search For Possible Debris

Two Australian Orion surveillance planes have been looking for the objects

But rain and cloud limited the visibility for the search crews, which were unable to locate the objects.

The country's prime minister Tony Abbott described the satellite sighting, around 1,550 miles (2,500km) southwest of Perth, or four hours by plane - as "credible" and a "potentially important development".

Malaysia's transport minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, called it a "credible lead".

Satellite images of the two objects

The objects were spotted in the far south of the southern air corridor that investigators have been scouring over the last few days, along with an arc further north.

Satellite images, which show the two objects floating on or just under the surface, were taken on March 16 but it has taken time to analyse the pictures, and the objects would have moved since then.

However, more satellites are being redirected in the hope of getting higher resolution pictures.

Australian pilots are briefed on the search

Two Royal Australian Air Force Orion aircraft, a New Zealand Orion and a US Navy Poseidon aircraft have been involved in the search.

"The task of locating these objects will be extremely difficult and it may turn out they are not related to the search for MH370," Mr Abbott warned.

A Norwegian merchant ship has arrived in the vicinity, and the Australian naval vessel HMAS Success, which is capable of retrieving debris, is some days away.

Mr Abbott tells MPs about the sighting of two potential objects from MH370

A British naval survey ship, HMS Echo, is also heading to the region.

The wider searches, including a northern corridor from northern Thailand to Kazakhstan, will go on until investigators are certain they have located the plane. Some 18 ships and 29 aircraft are taking part.

Those areas were targeted after faint electronic "pings" picked up by one commercial satellite suggested flight MH370 flew on for at least six hours after it disappeared from air traffic control screens.

John Young, from the AMSA, cautioned the objects could be seaborne debris along a shipping route where containers can fall off cargo vessels, but the larger object is longer than a container.

A US Navy Poseidon is also involved in the search

The depth of the ocean in the latest search area is around 3,500-4,000 metres.

This is a similar level to where the Air France plane wreckage was found after the jet crashed in the Atlantic in 2009.

The search for the missing Boeing 777, which had 239 people on board, has been focused on the two corridors, one of which extends towards the southern reaches of the Indian Ocean.

Military planes from Australia, the US and New Zealand have been scouring the vast area, which was halved in size to 118,000 sq miles (305,000 sq km) on Wednesday.

There has been no trace of the aircraft since it vanished from radar a short distance into a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing 12 days ago.

In Beijing, relatives of many of the 154 Chinese passengers waited anxiously for more news.

Sky's Jonathan Samuels, who is with the families, said: "They look exhausted. Most have slowly returned to their rooms to await developments from Australia."

HMAS Success is heading to the area but is some days away

Investigators believe two vital pieces of communication equipment were intentionally switched off and the aircraft deliberately diverted, potentially taking it thousands of miles off course.

Satellite data suggests the plane flew for at least seven hours after it was diverted west across Malaysia towards the Strait of Malacca.

Investigators are considering a number of theories about what happened to the aircraft, including hijacking, sabotage and terrorism.

However, background checks on all foreign passengers apart from three from Ukraine and Russia have yielded "no information of significance", Mr Hishammuddin said.

One theory that has gathered pace among aviation experts in recent days is that a fire in the cabin of flight MH370 may explain the mystery.

Pilot Fikri Zambi said the crew may have disabled tracking devices in response to a blaze and turned back towards the nearest airport, before being incapacitated by smoke.

The aircraft would then continue flying in auto-pilot mode, until it succumbed to the flames or ran out of fuel.

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Missing Plane Mystery: Debris Sheds New Light

If two large objects photographed in the Indian Ocean are confirmed to come from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight, they will shed new light on the theories of what happened to Flight MH370.

Electrical fire, structural damage, plane malfunction, hijacking, pilot murder-suicide and theft are among the numerous ideas circulating on forums and social media.

More outlandish claims include landing the plane somewhere to be used later in a 9/11-style attack, or it being involved in a collision with a military aircraft.

The plane carrying 239 people disappeared 12 days ago some 40 minutes into its flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

The Boeing 777-200's communication equipment was turned off and it was intentionally diverted west and could have flown on either a northern or southern arc from its last known position.

Seven "pings" were picked up from the plane six hours after military radar last detected it over the Strait of Malacca.

Two objects were spotted 1,500 miles west of Australia

Former British Airways pilot Alastair Rosenschein said if the two pieces of debris, found 1,500 miles off the coast of Western Australia, are from the plane, it is most likely to point to pilot incapacitation through structural failure.

One possibility is the pilots' oxygen tanks exploded, blowing a hole in the cockpit, and causing the communication equipment to fail at the same time.

Another is the pilots may have been rendered unconscious by a fire in the cabin, and the tracking equipment was disabled to prevent the blaze getting worse.

If the pilots had fallen unconscious, the plane would have carried on along its diverted route for up to 3,500 miles before the fuel ran out.

It would then have glided and crashed somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean.

Mr Rosenschein said this would take it into the region where the possible debris was found, especially given that sea currents could have moved the wreckage more than 1,000 miles from the crash site.

Satellite images of the possible debris

"It's no surprise they might find it there," he told Sky News.

He suspects the plane was picked up by Indonesian radar as it flew near Sumatra and this is why investigators have been searching near Australia.

He said if the debris is found to be from the plane, it is still possible the cause was hijacking or pilot suicide.

But he said these were much less likely given the location of the crash, as neither scenario would require the plane to be flown so far and for so long.

However, David Gleave, chief investigator at Aviation Safety Investigations, said authorities needed to be "very, very cautious" about assuming the debris is wreckage from the plane.

One piece is 24 metres long and if it is the front fuselage it would have filled with water and sunk to the bottom of the sea, he said.

Search for the missing plane continues

If it is a wing, it might have floated, he said, but this is unlikely.

If the debris is from the plane, he believes it would point to an "insurance job".

"What other possible motive could there be for dumping a plane in the middle of the Indian Ocean," he told Sky News.

Paul Edwards, former Chief of Staff for Army Aviation, said the debris is "the first credible lead" in the investigation.

But he stressed it needed first to be located and then identified, and should not detract from searches in the northern arc.

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Russia Bans Politicians In Obama Retaliation

US President Barack Obama has announced a series of fresh sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine - prompting an immediate retaliation from Moscow.

In a speech on the White House lawn, Mr Obama said individuals linked to the Russian government would be targeted for increased sanctions. A bank supporting those individuals will also be hit.

And the US is working with the European Union on a series of more stringent measures should the Kremlin continue in what Mr Obama described as an "illegitimate" incursion into the Crimean peninsula.

"We've been working closely with our European partners to develop more severe actions that could be taken if Russia continues to escalate the situation," said Mr Obama.

"I signed a new executive order today that gives us the authority to impose sanctions not just on individuals but on key sectors of the Russian economy."

Russia's Foreign Ministry has responded by announcing retaliatory sanctions which it says will "hit the United States like a boomerang".

"There should be no doubt: each hostile attack will be met in an adequate manner," the ministry said.

Mr Obama speaks about the situation in Ukraine on the White House lawn

Nine US officials and politicians have been banned from Russia.

A list released by the Foreign Ministry included Deputy National Security Adviser Benjamin Rhodes and senators John McCain, Harry Reid, Daniel Coats and Mary Landrieu.

House of Representatives speaker John Boehner and the Head of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee Robert Menendez are also barred alongside aides of Mr Obama, Caroline Atkinson and Daniel Pfeiffer.

A spokesman for Mr Boehner said he was pleased to be on the list.

"The Speaker is proud to be included on a list of those willing to stand against Putin's aggression," said Michael Steel.

Mr Obama has ruled out military action but his statement comes as EU leaders meet in Brussels to discuss an expansion of its own sanctions.

Further bank account freezes and travel bans on all those linked to the crisis is on the EU's agenda, and wider trade and financial restrictions are now under consideration.

Russian troops surround a Ukrainian base in Perevalnoe, Crimea

The G8 - a group of leading industrial nations, including Russia - has been suspended until the crisis is resolved.

"The EU summit today and tomorrow will make clear that we are ready at any time to introduce phase-three measures if there is a worsening of the situation," German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"As long as there is no political climate for an important format such as the G8, as is the case at the moment, the G8 no longer exists. Neither does the summit nor the format as such."

Europe's dependency on Russian gas will also be discussed by EU leaders.

Arriving at the summit, Prime Minister David Cameron revealed Ukraine would be offered closer links with the EU.

He said: "One of the things we must do at this council is sign a new agreement with Ukraine offering them a prosperous future, access to our markets and real political support."

Despite the increasing threat of economic sanctions, the Kremlin has cranked up its attempt to absorb Crimea into Russia.

The Russian coat of arms is put up at a Ukrainian navy base

Troops have seized military bases on the peninsula and on Thursday Russia's deputy defence minister Yuri Borisov said their military presence in Crimea would be bolstered to protect against "all possible encroachments" and to make it "a worthy representative of the Russian Federation".

This came as Russia's lower house of parliament overwhelmingly approved a treaty to annex Crimea from Ukraine.

There is now just one legal obstacle before Crimea is absorbed by Moscow - ratification from Russia's upper house. Little opposition is expected there.

Ukrainian troops in Crimea are currently being redeployed to the mainland by the Kiev government.

Ukrainian navy commander Serhiy Haiduk and several other hostages were detained by Crimean authorities on Wednesday but have now been released.

Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon travelled to Russia to meet Mr Putin on Thursday.

As talks started, Mr Ban said he was "deeply concerned" at the current situation.

The UN chief will fly to Kiev for talks with Ukraine's acting president and prime minister on Friday.

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