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Connect the World
Ukrainian Ambassador To UK: Western Sanctions Not Enough; Crimea Votes To Join Russia; The Art of Robotic Movement; L'Wren Scott Found Dead; Jose Alvarenga Visits Mother Of Shipmate
Aired March 17, 2014 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BECKY ANDERSON, HOST: And tonight, Russia wastes no time formally recognizing Crimea as an independent nation, despite strong words and sanctions from Washington and the EU. That as the international community all bark, no bite. Tonight, the Ukrainian ambassador to the United Kingdom tells me their actions don't go far enough.
Also this hour...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As soon as these aircraft got perhaps 250 miles west of Indonesia, there's no radar.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: I get inside a flight simulator to address some of the many unanswered questions surrounding the missing Malaysian Airlines flight.
Plus, more on the sudden death of L'Wren Scott, Mick Jagger's girlfriend found dead in a New York apartment.
ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN London, this is Connect the World with Becky Anderson.
ANDERSON: All right, we will have the very latest on the crisis in Ukraine in a moment. First, though, an update on that search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. It's been 11 days and still no sign of the plane. Search crews from 26 nations are scouring 11 countries and deep oceans for any trace of the airliner, but so far have turned up nothing.
Well, Malaysian newspaper reports that the plane may have been flying low, 5,000 feet or below, to evade radar detection. And while the pilots remain a focus of the investigation, a Malaysian aviation engineer among the passengers has also drawn investigators' interests.
Well, much more on that story later in the show.
Let's get you, though, to developments in Ukraine. Just one day after the country's Crimean peninsula voted overwhelmingly to join Russia, the United States and the European Union have imposed sanctions on what are a number of individuals from Russia and Ukraine. Now these include asset freezes and travel bans.
Crimea's Russian-backed leaders say 96.7 percent of Crimeans voted to secede from Ukraine.
The U.S. and EU have condemned Sunday's hastily called referendum. They called it illegal. U.S. President Barack Obama said Russia can still choose a diplomatic solution.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We'll continue to make clear to Russia that further provocations will achieve nothing except to further isolate Russia and diminish its place in the world. The international community will continue to stand together to oppose any violations of Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity. And continued Russian military intervention in Ukraine will only deepen Russia's diplomatic isolation and exact a greater toll on the Russian economy.
Going forward, we can calibrate our response based on whether Russia chooses to escalate or to deescalate the situation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Right.
Well, we will be joined in a moment by senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh who is in Simferapol tonight.
First, though, let's get to CNN's Phil Black who is in Moscow. In the last hour, Phil, the Russian President Vladimir Putin signing a decree formally recognizing Crimea as an independent state. No surprise there, correct?
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a very sudden move in a sense, Becky, keeping in mind that this does just come hours after the west, Europe, the United States announced sanctions that are supposedly designed to discourage Russia from supporting Crimea's break from Ukraine. President Putin has signed this decree, which as you say, recognizes the independence and sovereignty of Crimea based upon the will of the people expressed in Sunday's referendum.
Now, that referendum, we know, was a vote in favor of Crimea joining the Russian Federation. This decree does not formalize that. It simply says that in the eyes of Russia, Crimea is now independent, it is no longer part of Ukraine.
The question of Crimea being absorbed by the Russian Federation is still to be considered by the Russian parliament in the coming days. But based upon everything that we're seeing on the ground in Crimea, all the very clear signals from Moscow, of which you would have to think this decree is won, Crimea's secession to the Russian Federation would really appear to be a fact in waiting.
And the sanctions that have been announced today by Europe and the United States would appear to have little chance of preventing that from happening, Becky.
ANDERSON: And what about not just the sanctions, but the rhetoric coming out of Washington, for example, the words from Obama today, step back or this will hurt, Russia.
How is that sort of rhetoric going down in Moscow?
BLACK: Well, I think that if you balance the rhetoric versus the sanctions that were announced today, Moscow at the moment would seem to have little reason to fear that rhetoric. The sanctions, in particular those that were announced by the United States, target some reasonably influential members of the Russia's political system. They are the influential. They are not the powerful. They are people that have a prominent, high profile -- these are people that certainly influence policy to some degree, but these were not core decision makers in many important areas of Russian political life and certainly not, it would seem, when it comes to Ukraine and Crimea.
More than that, the reaction from these individuals has been essentially to paraphrase, so what. They're a little bit -- some of them have expressed surprise, some of them have mocked the decision. Some of them have said it's a great honor.
The general reaction is we don't have any assets, property or that sort of thing in the United States that is potentially vulnerable to these sorts of sanctions, which raises a real question about the effectiveness of this sort of move and what chance, if any, it has of pressuring Russia and changing the behavior in the way that the United States and Europe says that want to achieve -- Becky.
ANDERSON: And that is a question we put to the UK ambassador for Ukraine. We will get his answer shortly. For now, Phil, from you, thank you.
Nick Paton Walsh tonight.
Authorities in Crimea certainly haven't wasted any time today. They've already of course approved a resolution to join Russia.
Why the hurry? Why are they in such a hurry?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I think perhaps people want to see this, which is considered a done deal, really irreversible as quickly as possible. There could be some complications ahead for the Crimea, if the Ukrainian mainland plays tough -- if it cuts off water, electricity, for example, that could cause people here to pause for thought.
There's been a very passionate embrace by a lot of people here of the referendum's result, particularly at the well orchestrated and funded celebrations we saw last night. And of course there are pockets of population here who aren't happy, who are thinking about leaving, who are pro-Ukrainian and the ethnic Tatar minority who say they're deeply troubled about their fate here and boycotted the vote.
There could be tricky times ahead. And we have to weigh what exactly is going to happen to the Ukrainian troops here who are still on their base, who are still loyal to Kiev, dwindling in number it's fair to say, despite the fact as we heard speaking to our Ivan Watson in Kiev, talk from the Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, that he believes the country is girding itself up to defend itself if that becomes necessary. Here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARSENIY YATSENYUK, INTERIM UKRAINIAN PRIME MINISTER: 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 offer peace, and Russia offers war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALSH: There are some residual potential moments where you could see bloodshed in the days ahead, but I have to say it's calm on the streets. The Russian army is less visible in some of the key areas around the capital here, certainly in the population centers. We're waiting to see how that progresses, but all eyes really to see does Vladimir Putin accept Crimea into the Russian Federation in his speech on Tuesday, or will he surprise the world and stop it at independence? That could happen. Unlikely, though, he probably doesn't want to leave the faithful, so to speak here in Crimea hanging, Becky.
ANDERSON: Sure. All right. Nick Paton Walsh for you this evening. And Phil Black in Moscow.
Well, the diplomatic tensions between the west and Russia already starting to have economic consequences, as we've been reporting.
Let's take a look at the ties between Russia and the European Union and what the costs might be if relations between the two countries sour.
Russia does stand to lose more when it comes to exports in the event that trade is affected. And while exports to Russia from the European Union count for just 1 percent of EU GDP, exports to the EU from Russia are worth nearly 50 percent of Russian income.
The Russian economy already being hit by the crisis in Ukraine. Investors have pulled $33 billion out of the country in recent months and that figure could go as high as $55 billion by the end of March.
Europe may stand to suffer consequences as well, it's absolutely clear. Germany, Hungary and Austria depend on Russia, as you can see here, between 40 and 80 percent of their gas supply. Finland, Czech Republic, Bulgaria get more than 80 percent of their fuel from Gazprom.
Well, while Crimea pushes ahead with independence and the west takes action against Russian and Crimean officials, where does Ukraine's government stand? Well, you heard from the interim prime minister there a short time ago. I spoke with the Ukrainian ambassador to the United Kingdom and we began by asking -- well, I certainly began by asking him whether the actions taken by the U.S. and the EU today go far enough.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VOLODYMYR KHANDOGIY, UKRAINIAN AMBASSSADOR TO THE UNITED KINGDOM: There are other economic measures that be used against Russia to really make some pain to Russian Federation.
I think all sanctions that are being contemplated, first of all they have to be effective. And second of all, they have to be painful to Russians.
ANDERSON: You want to see more. Are you talking about activity on the ground, protection on the ground, boots on the ground from the international community that would protect Ukraine from potentially Russia going forward?
KHANDOGIY: If you said yes -- if I understand correctly, you suggest some, you know, military activity that might prevent Russia from doing this. I don't think at this point in time anyone is contemplating anything like that, but of course we will be happy to see if military technical assistance from our partners -- and this is precisely what was the subject of talks today between the foreign minister of Ukraine and the secretary general of NATO.
ANDERSON: What's the Ukrainian government's plane to quell unrest and prevent other regions, for example, calling referendums at this point?
KHANDOGIY: I think that whatever arguments are there, or whatever positions there are between different political forces there, they can be resolved peacefully by a Ukrainian authorities and simply because of this interference from outside these activities are sometimes take the shape of violence.
ANDERSON: President Vladimir Putin is said to address Russia's parliament on the Crimea issue tomorrow, Tuesday. He has seen his approval ratings soar in Russia over his handling of Ukraine. In your view, what are his motivations?
KHANDOGIY: Could be a number of speculations around his motivations.
But one I think which is important and I think this is something that has to be taken into account is his, you know, I think perception which is popular amongst some Russian politicians that Ukraine does not deserve to be an independent state.
ANDERSON: Well, the Ukrainian ambassador to Britain speaking to me just before the show. Crimea, a region that looms large in the imagination of both eastern and western Europe. For more on the peninsula, use the blog -- you can find a report in Crimea's place in history, literature and art, for example, at CNN.com/Connect.
Well, still to come tonight, imagine your pride, your only child, the pride and joy of your family suddenly goes missing. Well, one Malaysian man shares his heartbreaking story as he waits for news about his son, one of the passengers of Flight 370.
The return of Morning Glory, U.S. Navy SEALs help Libya take back their stolen oil tanker. But what does that episode mean for rising instability in what is a post-Gadhafi Libya?
And fashion Designer and Mick Jagger's long-time girlfriend L'Wren Scott is found dead in her apartment in New York Monday. We'll have the latest developments on that. Much more coming up. This is CNN and Connect the World.
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ANDERSON: Well, a car bomb at an army barracks in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi has left at least 10 people dead. The attack reportedly targeted people leaving a graduation ceremony for officers. Benghazi has experienced increased instability since the fall of the former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.
Well, staying in Libya, and a raid by U.S. Navy SEALs have finally put an end to what is a standoff over control of an oil tanker. The Morning Glory had been seized by Libyan rebels. It was carrying oil owned by Libya's national oil company when it set sail from the rebel held port of Al Sidra (ph) last week.
Earlier on Monday, U.S. forces managed to take over the vessel off the coast of Cyprus.
I want to get your to Jomana Karadsheh in the capital Tripoli.
As the government, Jomana, and rebels battle over what is the country's oil wealth, just how significant is this involvement of the United States?
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Very significant, Becky.
Now this incident over the past week has been a real embarrassment for the Libyan government, that tanker coming in, loading oil and leaving. They sent a force to try and stop it and the government came out and admitted that they had failed at stopping it. They blamed it on the capabilities and the lack of capabilities of the Libyan military. And they did ask for help. They asked for help from neighboring countries, countries in the Mediterranean to help and intercept this vessel.
So this is really a very significant step here that we are seeing, support being provided to Libya outside Libyan territory.
And it was pointed out to earlier today to me, Becky, three years ago on this day the UN security council passed a resolution allowing for international intervention in the Libyan revolution. And threes years on Libya remains a country in chaos, a country that is really struggling, you know, the government is struggling to create a security force, to stand on its feet, to impose its security in (inaudible).
So they still do need that support from the international community and also worth pointing out, Becky, international oil companies, including U.S. companies, do have a stake in Libya's oil, including that oil that was smuggled on board the Morning Glory, some of it belonging also to U.S. companies operating here with the Libyan national oil company.
ANDERSON: Fascinating. Jomana, thank you.
Well, U.S. President Barack Obama has called on his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas to make tough decisions to reach a peace deal with Israel.
Now the two leaders met nearly two weeks since the U.S. leader sat with with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Washington hoping to get the two sides to agree to what is a framework for a peace deal by the end of next month.
(BEGIN VDIEO CLIP)
MAHMOUD ABBAS, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY PRESIDENT (through translator): We don't have any time to waste. Time is not on our side, especially given the very difficult situation that (inaudible) take very seriously. And entire region is facing. We hope that we would able to seize opportunity to achieve a lasting peace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, the Oscar Pistorius murder trial has now entered its third week and on Monday a gun dealer testified about the Olympic athlete's knowledge of gun safety rules. Robyn Curnow has more from Pretoria, including a rare appearance among the spectators.
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ROBYN CURNOW, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORREPSONDENT: The mother of Reeva Steenkamp back in court for the first time since the start of the Oscar Pistorius murder trial. June Steenkamp, greeted by the Olympian's sister Amy Pistorius (ph) before court resumed for week three. But she didn't stay long. Steenkamp left the courtroom as a police photographer worked through hundreds of photos from the crime scene. The one too difficult for the mother to handle? 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 that 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.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The attack must be against you, the -- it must be unlawful, and it must be against a person.
CURNOW: The gun dealer also revealing the order was canceled just a month after that fatal Valentine's Day.
Robyn Curnow, CNN, Pretoria, South Africa.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, he reportedly survived more than a year at sea. Now Salvadorean castaway Jose Salvador Alvarenga has returned to Mexico for an emotional meeting with the family of his shipmate who did not make it. Rafael Romo reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was the promise he made to a dying man to go visit his mother and tell her in person how his friend had died and share with her his last words.
Still walking slowly, but now speaking fluently, Jose Salvador Alvarenga flew from San Salvador to Mexico where he was to meet his friend's family in the coastal town of El Fortin (ph).
"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 Ezequiel Cordova, his companion, had died four weeks into the ordeal, Alvarenga said, because he couldn't manage to drink turtle blood and eat raw fish.
ROSALIA DIAZ, EZEQUIEL CORDOVA'S MOTHER (through 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.
ROMO: Alvarenga says Cordova would often talk about his mother.
JOSE SALVADOR ALVARENGA, SALVADORAN CASTAWAY (through translator): He told me a lot about her, that she was a very good person with everybody and that she was very loving.
ROMO: Alvarenga also told Cordova's mother how the two fishermen spent the time while drifting in the open sea. Cordova, an evangelical Christian, told the Salvadoran fisherman about his faith. They would pray and sing together, Alvarenga says, as they both clinged to the hope of being found alive and rescued in the middle of the Pacific ocean.
ALVARENGA (through translator): He taught me how to pray. He taught me how to sing. I would ask him if he went to church, and he said yes. Since he was a little boy he would go with his mother and step father.
ROMO: Alvarenga says there are things Cordova told him that only the dead fisherman's mother must know. To reveal them publicly, he said, would be to betray his memory.
Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, live from London, this is Connect the World. You're watching CNN. Coming up, a model famed fashion designer and girlfriend to one of the world's most famous rockers, the tragic death of L'Wren Scott.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: You're watching Connect the World live from London. I'm Becky Anderson. It's 24 minutes past 8:00 here.
The long-time girlfriend of rock legend Mick Jagger and fashion designer L'Wren Scott has been found dead in her New York City apartment. Police are treating it as a suicide, but there is still no official cause of death. And well, let's cross to CNN's Alexandra Field.
What are the details as we know them at this point?
ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, right now law enforcement officials are telling us that L'Wren Scott, 49-years-old, was found in her own New York City apartment by her assistant this morning. We're told that she was found hanging by a scarf that had been tied around her neck.
That same law enforcement source also tells us that Scott had texted an assistant earlier this morning at around 8:30 asking the assistant to stop by the apartment. When the assistant arrived around 10:00 in the morning, the assistant found Scott's body and phoned police.
Now just a short while ago, Scott's body was taken away from the apartment after the medical examiner was called.
Again, Scott is the long-time girlfriend of Mick Jagger. His camp has put out a brief statement this morning saying that Mick Jagger is completely shocked and devastated by the news. Again, police are investigating this as an apparent suicide. They say that there were no signs of foul play, but there were also no signs of a suicide note.
Now L'Wren Scott is also known very in her own right in all facets, really, of the fashion world where she was highly regarded. She started her career in fashion at the young age of just about 17. That's when she traveled to Paris to become a model. After her modeling career, she returned to Los Angeles where she became a celebrity stylist and also a costume designer for a number of different Hollywood movies. She then launched her own successful line, L'Wren Scott back in 2006.
So just so much grief for a talent lost now, Becky.
ANDERSON: This is a story that certainly has resonated not just in the New York and the States, but around the world via social media, of course.
FIELD: Absolutely. Again, she dressed so many celebrities -- well known her work was very well known on the red carpet. So today, throughout the Twitterverse, we're seeing a lot of those celebrities sort of express this outpouring of affection for L'Wren Scott, expressing their condolences.
We're also seeing a tweet from Bianca Jagger, Mick Jagger's ex-wife. She writes, "heartbroken to learn of the loss of the lovely and talent L'Wren Scott. My thoughts and prayers are with her family. May she rest in peace."
Of course that sentiment being echoed widely by so many today, Becky.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Thank you.
The latest world news headlines are just ahead.
Plus, alcohol not so anonymous. The public boycott by an Irish beer against the St. Patrick's Day parade.
And...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Coming up later in the show, I'm in a flight simulator trying to address some of the still unanswered questions about what happened to Malaysia flight MH370.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Just hours after Crimea's parliament formally applied to join the Russian Federation, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree recognizing the peninsula's independence. These are your headlines. The US and European Union say any attempt to annex Crimea would be against international law.
Crews from 26 nations have now joined the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, scouring land and sea for any trace of the plane. The search area has expanded yet again to the north and south and now includes 11 countries.
A push to keep Middle East peace talks moving continues on Monday with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas meeting with US president Barack Obama at the White House. Obama told Abbas that now is the time for, quote, "tough political decisions" and risks by both Israel and the Palestinians.
Fashion designer L'Wren Scott has been found dead in her New York City apartment. She was the longtime girlfriend of Mick Jagger. Police say it may have been a suicide, but there is still no official cause of death. A spokesman for Mick Jagger says he is completely shocked and devastated by the news.
Let's return to the mystery of Flight 370 for a moment. The search for the missing plane is entering its 11th day, and while we've heard numerous theories, we still have no clear answers. In fact, the waters may have even got a little muddier today when the Malaysia Airlines CEO said that officials are now unsure of a timeline given earlier.
Well, Suzanne Malveaux walks us through what we do know about key moments in the plane's disappearance.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Saturday, March 8th, at 12:41 AM local time, Malaysia Flight 370 takes off from Kuala Lumpur headed to Beijing, China. The Boeing 777 is carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew onboard.
Twenty-six minutes into the flight, at 1:07 AM, one of the plane's critical communications sends its final transmission. The onboard computer is called the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System, or ACARS. It measures thousands of data points about the plane and pilot's performance, and sends the information via satellite. It is due to transmit again at 1:37 AM, but never does.
1:19 AM, someone inside the cockpit, believed to be the copilot, 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 AM, 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 AM, authorities say all civilian radars lose contact with the plane altogether. Then it appears to go through erratic altitude changes, perhaps as high as 45,000 feet, above the approved altitude.
2:15 AM, Malaysian military radar last detects the plane off Malaysia's west coast, hundreds of miles off course.
6:30 AM, Flight 370 is due to land in Beijing.
8:11 AM, more than seven hours after takeoff, a commercial satellite orbiting more than 22,000 miles above Earth makes its last electronic connection with the plane, known as a handshake.
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 stretch is across central Asia to northern Thailand.
This brings us to the current massive search underway, by land and by sea, involving 26 countries, looking for the missing flight.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, that was Suzanne Malveaux reporting. One specialist in aviation radar systems says satellite information could reveal key information about that plane's disappearance. I paid a visit to David Stupples to get him to explain.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: I'm here at City University in London in what is an Airbus A320 flight simulator with Professor David Stupples, who is an electrical engineer and specialist in radar systems, who I hope can address some of the still unanswered questions. And Professor, the first is simply, how does this satellite handshake, as it were, work?
DAVID STUPPLES, PROFESSOR, CITY UNIVERSITY LONDON: I think you can think of it like a mobile telephone, is that the mobile telephone, even though you're not using it to make a call, is registering continuously with its base stations to say "I am here."
ANDERSON: OK.
STUPPLES: And that's exactly what the aircraft is doing with the satellite.
ANDERSON: That I understand. What I don't get is why this arc, this handshake arc, which straddles the equator, is so large.
STUPPLES: Well, it's two things there. One is that the satellite itself is at 23,000 miles up in the sky, in outer space, and is geostationary. Secondly, the arc is being drawn because that's the range they think -- the maximum range the aircraft could have flown with the fuel load it had on from the time it went missing.
So, what they've done is they put a bit of string on there, if you like, and drawn a really large circle around there and said the aircraft is somewhere in there.
ANDERSON: Professor, let's assume that the crew inflight disabled the communications from this cockpit. Show me how.
STUPPLES: Right. This is -- here is the secondary radar system. I can turn this either to standby or turn it off. So, that would then stop me being interrogated from the ground. I could then turn off my VHF radio systems here, and that will stop any communication from the ground.
Now, this aircraft doesn't have ACARS on because it's an A320, but the system will sending its conditioning information back -- that will send it back every 30 minutes from the 777, and that could be switched off. That would be about back here, and that could be turned off as well.
ANDERSON: Is there anything that can't be disabled by a crew or, for example, another person in flight?
STUPPLES: If I really wanted to turn the whole system off so it can't be used very quickly, is I'd go onto panels, which will be here, circuit breaker panels, or over that side, and then turn the circuit breakers off.
ANDERSON: There are reports that only an external crew member could fully disable the communications on this flight. Do you buy that?
STUPPLES: No. A pilot that's very technically able would be able to -- he would have the engineering manuals, he'd just look them up and find out where the circuit breakers are.
ANDERSON: We are left in this situation whereby we know military radar in Malaysia picked this flight up but didn't continue to monitor it, and some -- what? -- seven or eight hours later, this flight is still being picked up by a satellite. How do we explain that?
STUPPLES: If the pilot or the person flying the airplane at that time knew roughly where all the ranges of the radar were, he could probably steer a way around the radar coverage. Certainly if he was low enough.
What he then would do is to hide himself inside one of the commercial flight corridors because if you come out of those, then people immediately will say, hey, you're an unidentified aircraft.
If he went north, shall we say, through one of these flight corridors over the various countries involved, including Thailand, Burma, they would -- they may turn around and say ah, this is an airplane, perhaps his secondary radar is not working, but he's in a flight corridor, he's at the right height, et cetera.
If he went south down one of the flight corridors there, he would fly down the Andaman Sea into the Indian Ocean and then past Indonesia. As soon as his aircraft got perhaps 250 miles west of Indonesia, there's no radar.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Yes, trying to get some answers, as I say, to some of the questions that are still unanswered, continuing to follow the search efforts.
We also want to keep our focus on the 239 people onboard that flight, their families desperate for information, as you can imagine, struggling to hold on to hope that their loved ones still might be alive. Our Atika Shubert spoke to one Malaysian man whose only child is now one of the missing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, as the search now expands to separate corridors to the north and the south, police are now investigating both of the men who were in the cockpit, the captain and his copilot. They went to both of their homes, searched inside, and also spoke to relatives.
And in the case of the captain, Zaharie Ahman Shah, actually removed a homemade flight simulator that he had made himself, looking for clues to see if there is any indication of why this change in flight path may have been taken.
Now, we did have some more details about the pilots and the rest of the passengers onboard that investigators are now looking at. Take a listen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yesterday, officers from the Royal Malaysian Police visited the home of the pilot. They spoke to family members of the pilot, and experts are examining the pilot's flight simulator.
The police also visited the home of the copilot. According to Malaysian Airlines, the pilot and copilot did not ask to fly together on MH370.
SHUBERT: Meanwhile, Indian vessels that were searching near the Andaman Islands have suspended their search for now, and that is because Malaysia, which is coordinating this effort, is now reconsidering how to best use those resources.
Remember that the area here has expanded dramatically. It used to be 14 countries involved in this effort. Now it's more than 20. And Malaysia is asking all the countries involved to provide a satellite information or any radar data they might have to pinpoint the exact location of vanished flight 370.
Atika Shubert, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Well, I promised you a report from Atika, and believe me, it is in the system, on one man's heartbreaking story of his only son being onboard that flight. I'm pretty sure that's already online. If it isn't yet, it will be. That's cnn -- of course -- .com/international.
And keep an eye on that site. You can -- awful lot of information there, you can make some sense of just what is going on and what may happen next.
All right. Let's take a short break, shall we? Live from London, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson on CNN. Coming up, almost human. Robots that can one day rival the real thing.
And as thousands celebrated St. Patrick's Day around the world, I'm going to tell you why this parade in New York has sparked some controversy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: We have seen major advances in the field of robotics in recent years. But will robots ever rival the human-like autonomous machines depicted in Hollywood films? Well, CNN's Nick Glass went to what is is a groundbreaking lab to find out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK GLASS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a lab in Florida, a manmade machine prepares to rise to the occasion, to climb some steps. This machine, with arms, legs, and a brain of sorts, is called Atlas, and rather than carrying the world on his shoulders, he's just finding his place in it, step by tentative step.
MATT JOHNSON, FLORIDA INSTITUTE FOR HUMAN AND MACHINE COGNITION: I believe the public gets most of their information from Hollywood. They picture these fully autonomous systems that are running around the world doing crazy things and will eventually take over. That's very far from what actually is going on.
GLASS: The simple things we do, like walking or opening doors, remain serious challenges for any robot. These are tasks that require precise programming and careful attention to the critical issue of balance.
JERRY PRATT, FLORIDA INSTITUTE FOR HUMAN AND MACHINE COGNITION: Just getting a humanoid robot to walk, even on flat ground, is pretty challenging because you're -- in order for a robot to be useful in human environments, you need to be skinny and tall.
As soon as you're skinny and tall, that means you have to actively balance. You have a small footprint and you have a high center of mass, so the robot's going to fall over. So it's that challenge, just being able to balance walk without falling down.
GLASS: Atlas is still very much attached to his human parent, linked to a computer that controls his every move. His eyes are four cameras backed up by a rotating sensor that emits a laser beam. When sent to the computer, this data builds up a 3D map of the immediate environment.
PRATT: The operator will -- in the user interface will put some footsteps on the ground, kind of click, I want to walk over to that door. And a bunch of footsteps will show up. And that's where Atlas will take its steps to once the operators says that looks good. And then from there, Atlas takes over and the operator isn't really involved anymore.
JOHNSON: Everything we do in robotics is sort of planned out and step-by-step process. That's not really how human beings move for the most part. Creative movement is how we get a lot of things done.
If you put a kid in a jungle gym, he's going to find his way through there really easy by creative movement of his body. Those aren't movements that he's done before, he's just inventing it as he goes forward. You throw a robot in the same situation, he's going to have a really hard time navigating through complex things.
GLASS: But Atlas won't be required to be inventive. His value is in doing what he's told and being able to boldly go where humans fear to tread. He may eventually be able to work in danger zones, diffusing landmines, for example, or entering contaminated nuclear plants. The idea of a robot working independently of human control is still the stuff of science fiction.
PRATT: For a robot to be truly, truly autonomous, you pretty much have to figure out cognition. You have to make the artificial brain. And once that happens, the world -- everything in the world will change, right?
So the big question is when is that going to happen or is it going to happen? And everybody likes to put a date on it, and most people -- a lot of futurists will say it's about 70 years from now. I would say about 300 to 500 years it's going to happen.
GLASS: But will we ever build a machine that can run like Usain Bolt or dance like Michael Jackson? We are slowly but surely feeling our way, propelled by an historical human impulse. We simply like to build machines like us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: The Art of Movement for you. And coming up after what is a very short break here on CNN, why the world's most recognized Irish beer has boycotted what is the world's largest St. Patrick's Day parade in New York.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Today is St. Patrick's Day, a time when people toast their Irish heritage, even if they have no Irish heritage, in fact. From Dublin to Hong Kong, thousands of green-clad revelers are marching in parades and hoisting a few pints.
But across the Atlantic in the United States, the day was marked in a more sobering way. The Guinness brewery joined with rival Heineken to boycott New York's parade. Sounds odd, right? Well, one of the world's most well-known Irish beermakers boycotting the world's biggest St. Patrick's Day parade.
Well, they are protesting against the city's ban on gay and lesbian groups participating in the parade. Beermaker Samuel Adams boycotting Boston's parade for the same reason. Ed Payne explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED PAYNE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Big Apple turns green for St. Patrick's Day, but some big names are refusing to join in because gay and lesbian groups aren't allowed to march openly.
Sunday, beermaker Guinness announced it was dropping its sponsorship of the parade, an announcement that came just days after Heineken said it, too, was pulling its support. And the beermakers aren't the only high- profile absences.
Last month, Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York's City Council said they would boycott the parade. According to "The New York Times," de Blasio is the first mayor to skip the parade in more than two decades.
Gay rights groups are applauding, but some of New York's religious leaders have expressed outrage over the mayoral snub.
BILL DONOHUE, CATHOLIC LEAGUE: We have a new kind of fascistic movement here on the part of the left trying to shove the gay agenda down our throats with the help of people like de Blasio.
PAYNE: The changing tide on gay rights was evident at St. Patrick's Day festivities in another major city this weekend. In Boston, Mayor Marty Walsh boycotted his city's annual parade Sunday after negotiations to allow a pro-gay group to march fell through.
MARTY WALSH, MAYOR OF BOSTON: One person wouldn't budge on a banner, so I'm not marching in the parade if people can't express who they are.
PAYNE: A sentiment heard more and more from public officials and cities throughout the US.
I'm Ed Payne reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: To find out what sparked this controversy, I am now joined by Sarah Kate Ellis from Los Angeles. She is the president of GLAAD, an LGBT rights advocacy group that was instrumental in putting pressure on St. Patrick's day sponsors to pull out. So you must be pretty delighted if not completely satisfied with what happened, correct?
SARAH KATE ELLIS, PRESIDENT, GLAAD: It's a step in the right direction, for sure, to have corporations start to stand on the side of LGBT people, especially around the St. Patrick's Day parade.
ANDERSON: You as a youngster used to walk in the parade down 5th Avenue with your mum, I know, and you're incredibly proud of your Irish heritage. And you wrote about this to, I think it was, "The New York Daily," am I correct in saying that? "New York Daily News." And that's sort of part and parcel of this whole advocacy push. Can you just explain to our viewers or talk to that story, if you will?
ELLIS: Sure. St. Patrick's Day in my house has been always a huge celebration. And when they started to not include LGBT people in the parade, I -- my mother and I stopped marching. My mother is a Hibernian.
I have two small children with my wife, now, who are five years old, and St. Patrick's Day is still a huge day in our house. But I can't take them to a parade that doesn't value our family.
ANDERSON: Can you see New York City changing its rules?
ELLIS: I can. I absolutely can. I'm a huge optimist. I believe that people evolve and that when you understand that it's just harming people, this is harmful, it's keeping young people in the closet, it's telling young children that they don't matter, and I don't think that New York City or the St. Patrick's Day parade wants to do that.
ANDERSON: How does New York City explain away its rules on a day like today?
ELLIS: I think a lot of it falls to religion and politics, and I don't think that's the issue here. I think this is a human issue. This is about including people who are diverse, who are proud of their Irish heritage.
ANDERSON: You've certainly suggested that the cardinal for New York, whose money partly -- whose diocese money partly pays for the St. Paddy's Day parade, could be part and parcel of this exclusion of LGBT people. Are you still convinced that that's the case?
ELLIS: I think oftentimes you do have to follow the money trail and figure out what is funding these types of moments that are excluding people, and that might be the case. We're still investigating that. But I think more so, it's about including people to be able to be part of the St. Patrick's Day parade.
ANDERSON: So, you weren't in New York City, you were in LA. Did you get to -- or are you going to a parade today, because of course, you're eight hours behind us or so. Are you actively getting ready with the kids to get out there today?
ELLIS: I am -- I've had my corned beef and cabbage for lunch.
(LAUGHTER)
ELLIS: And I'm hoping to have a Guinness later on today.
ANDERSON: Excellent. And you're quite happy --
ELLIS: Proudly.
ANDERSON: -- to drink a Guinness, or a Heineken, indeed, or a Sam Adams tonight, are you?
ELLIS: Absolutely.
ANDERSON: And you've been well supported. Thank you very much.
ELLIS: All of the above.
(LAUGHTER)
ANDERSON: Good. Out of Los Angeles for you, Sarah Kate this evening. Well, despite the controversy over the New York parade, revelers across the world are getting into the St. Patrick's Day spirit.
In Malta, CNN iReporter Alan Falzon took these photos as the island, well, it just went green. The Irish Maltese Circle organized this parade down the main street in Valletta. He says lots of different nationalities dressed up in green and they joined in the fun.
These photos come from another iReporter, this is Raymond Angeles in Berlin. He says since the first St. Patrick's Day parade there four years ago, it's gone from strength to strength. And in Alexanderplatz, the famous TV Tower was painted with a green light.
The Chicago River also on a makeover, a tradition stretching back more than 50 years, this from iReporter Piero Chin -- Chirinos, apologies Piero.
Much closer to home here, the Guinness is flowing at the Irish pub just outside our studio, O'Neill's for you on Carnaby Street.
Are you out celebrating? If you are, I can't imagine why you'd be watching CNN, but if you were or are about to go out tonight or, indeed, if you're going to boycott the parade, the team at CONNECT THE WORLD wants to hear from you, as long as you're sober, facebook.com/CNNconnect, have your say.
And you can tweet me, as ever, @BeckyCNN, @BeckyCNN. And do enjoy yourself if you are going out tonight.
I'm Becky Anderson, that was CONNECT THE WORLD, thank you for watching.
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