More on the missing plane

The BBC has an article on the missing Malaysia Airlines plane:

Malaysia says it has received new satellite images from France showing potential debris from missing Flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean. This is the third set of images in a week of possible debris in the area. Australia is co-ordinating the search, and said earlier it was investigating sightings of a pallet and other items.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared on 8 March 2014, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, China with 239 people on board.
Malaysian officials believe the plane was deliberately taken off course. Based on information received from a satellite, the search has been in two distinct corridors; one stretching to the north-west of the last known location in the Malacca Straits and one to the south-west. However, none of the countries on the northern corridor have reported any radar contact, and the satellite images of possible debris in the south Indian Ocean have concentrated the search there.
A statement published on the Malaysian Ministry of Transport's Facebook page said: "This morning, Malaysia received new satellite images from the French authorities showing potential objects in the vicinity of the southern corridor. Malaysia immediately relayed these images to the Australian rescue co-ordination centre."
There has been no official clarification but The Associated Press quoted one Malaysian official as saying the French image was taken on Friday. The official said the object appeared to be of a similar size to earlier satellite images, but was about 575 miles north of those.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), which is overseeing the search, said eight planes were sent out from Perth in western Australia on Sunday over a wider search area. Australia PM Tony Abbott said: "There is increasing hope that we might be on the road to discovering what did happen to this ill-fated aircraft" They included four civil aircraft and a US P8 Poseidon. Two Chinese IL-76 search planes have arrived in Perth, Australia, but have not yet been deployed. Japan is sending two P3 Orions.
The Australian navy's HMAS Success is the only ship in the area, though others, including from the US, UK, and China, are on the way.
A key focus on Sunday was the sighting on Saturday of a wooden cargo pallet, along with belts or straps. Mike Barton, operations co-ordinator at AMSA, said: "Part of the description was a wooden pallet and a number of other items which were nondescript around it, and some belts of some different colors around it as well, strapping belts of different lengths." He added: "We tried to re-find that yesterday, one of the New Zealand aircraft, and unfortunately they didn't find it. That's the nature of it; you only have to be off by a few hundred meters in a fast-traveling aircraft."
Pallets are used for shipping as well as plane cargo and Barton urged caution, saying the sighting "could be anything".
AMSA released a statemenr, detailing the aircraft involved and saying the area would cover about 22,800 square miles. The weather in the area is not ideal. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology said on Sunday: "Drizzle and associated low cloud and reduction in visibility will continue through the weekend. Another cold front forecast to pass through the area today will bring rain, low cloud and associated poor visibility."
'I miss my son'
Earlier, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the sightings of objects were encouraging signs. "Obviously we have now had a number of very credible leads and there is increasing hope— no more than hope, no more than hope— that we might be on the road to discovering what did happen to this ill-fated aircraft," he said.
The Indian Ocean search was sparked by a satellite image taken on 16 March 2014 of an object twenty-four meters in size. On Saturday, China released a satellite image showing an object floating in the southern Indian Ocean near to the area already being searched, some 1,550 miles south-west of Perth, Australia.
The grainy image was released by China's State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense. The Xinhua state news agency said the image was taken at about 04:00 GMT on 18 March 2014 and showed objects "south by west" from the site of possible debris shown in another satellite image from 16 March 2014.
Malaysian Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein put a message on his Twitter account on Sunday urging a "prayer please" for the passengers and crew on Flight MH370.
Relatives and friends are still waiting anxiously for news in hotels in Beijing and Malaysia.
In the Everly Hotel in Putrajaya, Malaysia, Kamariah Sharif, the mother of missing passenger Mohamad Razahan Zamani, told Reuters: "Allah give me strength and guidance, I can't tell you how much I miss my son. This has gone on so long. I pray that he is safe." In Beijing, Wang Zheng, whose father and mother were on the plane, told The Associated Press: "I can't eat, I can't sleep. I've been dreaming of my parents every day."

Rico says this must be agony for those missing relatives...