Malaysia Airlines MH370 -- News Updates March 18, 2014

Revealed: 'Fanatical' Pilot Is RELATED To Jailed Malaysian Opposition Leader As Families Of Lost Relatives Threaten Hunger Strike If They Don’t Get Answers -- Daily Mail

* Anwar Ibrahim admitted he is related to pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah
* Mr Ibrahim has previously said he did not recognise the pilot's name
* Relatives are threatening a strike if they do not get more information
* Background of 154 Chinese passengers uncovered no links to terrorism
* Rather than manually operating the plane's controls, whoever altered Flight 370's path typed seven or eight keystrokes into a computer on plane
* North and south corridors split into seven quadrants in the search
* Malaysia: 'This is a complex issue...25 countries with different systems'
* US, Australia, Korea, Japan, UAE and China are taking part in search
* No pilots on board missing MH370 had pilot training, says Malaysia

The 'fanatical’ pilot aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines plane is related to Malaysia's jailed opposition leader, it was revealed today.

After previously denying he recognised the pliot's name, opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim admitted that Malaysia Airlines MH370 Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah is related to his son-in-law.

'I am not denying that he (Zaharie) is related to one of my in-laws and that I have met him on several occasions,' he said.

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Malaysia Airlines MH370 -- News Updates March 18, 2014

MH370: Malaysia defends search after hunger strike threat – live -- The Guardian
Latest information on search for Malaysian plane -- AP
Search for Malaysian Plane Now Covers 4 Million Square Kilometers -- Voice of America
Malaysia Plane Search Is Race Against Time as Black Box Ticks Down -- ABC News
Plane search spans Asia, but investigation shows little progress -- Reuters
China deploys 21 satellites in separate search for Malaysia jet -- Washington Times
Malaysia passenger checks raised no red flags -- Al Jazeera
Thailand gives radar data 10 days after plane lost -- AP
Thai military radar data bolsters belief that Flight 370 changed its path -- CNN
Disappeared Malaysia Airlines flight path altered by plane’s computer – report -- RT
Hagel: Search for jetliner is unprecedented -- The Hill
As search for Malaysian plane continues, Pentagon showcases presence in the Pacific -- Washington Post
MH370: Australia admits Indian Ocean search for missing plane may take weeks -- The Guardian
Australia Scours Area Larger Than California for Missing Jet -- Washington Post
As U.S. Looks for Terror Links in Plane Case, Malaysia Rejects Extensive Help -- New York Times
Malaysia rejects criticism of lack of cooperation in plane search -- Reuters
Malaysian authorities cede search control -- Washington Post
Investigators Not Ruling Out Structural, System Problems on Missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 -- WSJ
Angry Chinese families threaten hunger strike over missing plane -- Reuters
Malaysia missing plane: Relatives threaten hunger strike -- BBC
Search for lost jet tests China, US capabilities -- AP
Could Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 have slipped by radar? -- Catherine E. Shoichet and Michael Pearson, CNN
Could a small BOMB have been hidden inside one of the crates of fruit stacked in the cargo hold on MH370? A new theory being investigated -- Daily Mail
Malaysian Jet's Disappearance Joins Longest in Modern Aviation -- Bloomberg Buisnessweek
Missing Malaysia plane: 10 theories examined -- BBC
Did terrorists take control of Flight 370? -- Peter Bergen, CNN National Security Analyst