Missing Malaysia Jet Search Area Narrowed

The search area for missing flight MH370 has been narrowed by officials, as Malaysian Airlines defended its treatment of grief-stricken relatives.

The international operation to find the Malaysia Airlines plane will now focus on the southern tip of the southern flight corridor the plane is thought to have followed.

Officials say the search - which involves some 26 countries - has been called off in the northern corridor of the Indian Ocean.

Malaysia's acting transport minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, gave an update today on the search in a news conference at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

He said the search operation will concentrate on 469,407 square miles inside the southern part of the southern corridor.

Protests have been taking place outside China's Malaysian embassy

It comes amid criticism from the relatives of those on board the flight and protests at the Malaysian embassy in Beijing.

China has demanded Malaysia turn over the satellite data used to conclude that the plane crashed into the ocean, killing all 239 people on board.

Dozens of angry relatives of Chinese passengers clashed with police in Beijing after Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak confirmed that the plane had crashed.

The protesters shouted slogans including "the Malaysian government are murderers" and "return our relatives".

Scuffles broke out as uniformed security personnel attempted to block some of the relatives from reaching reporters, who were being kept in a designated area.

Sky's Jonathan Samuels in Beijing said there were distressing scenes as relatives accused authorities of lying to them.

"What's extraordinary about this is that these sorts of demonstrations don't usually happen in China," he said.

"The families may have made a point of sorts, but they still believe the Malaysian authorities are lying to them."

A high-level delegation will return to Beijing today to meet with frustrated relatives.

Malaysia Airlines is under mounting pressure over its handling of the search.

Chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya has said it is "not correct" to say the airline abandoned relatives.

Bad weather off the western coast of Australia is hampering the search

He also defended the airline's decision to send text messages to relatives of passengers informing them the plane had been lost.

"Our sole and only motivation last night was to ensure that in the incredibly short amount of time available to us, the families heard the tragic news before the world did," he said.

"We know that while there have been an increasing number of apparent leads, definitive identification of any piece of debris is still missing. It is impossible to predict how long this will take.

"But after 17 days, the announcement made last night and shared with the families is the reality which we must now accept."

He said he will decide later on whether he will resign over the handling of the search operation, saying it was a "personal decision" for later.

Grieving relatives have expressed their anger in Beijing

He has insisted the airline is doing its best to treat relatives with care and dignity.

"My heart breaks to think of the unimaginable pain suffered by all the families. There are no words which can ease that pain.

"Everyone in the Malaysia Airlines family is praying for the 239 souls on MH370 and for their loved ones on this dark day. We extend our prayers and sincere condolences."

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) earlier called off the hunt for wreckage from MH370 for the day due to gale force winds, rain and big waves.

"AMSA has undertaken a risk assessment and determined that the current weather conditions would make any air and sea search activities hazardous and pose a risk to crew," it said.

"Therefore, AMSA has suspended all sea and air search operations for today due to these weather conditions."

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World Trade Center Jump Leads To Four Arrests

New York police have arrested four men in connection with a jump stunt from One World Trade Center tower.

Those held are three extreme-skydiving enthusiasts who jumped from the uncompleted tower last autumn, and another man accused of being an accomplice.

They all face charges including burglary, reckless endangerment and misdemeanour jumping from a structure.

One of the accused jumpers, Andrew Rossig, described the September 30 experience as "very exhilarating".

"It's a fair amount of free-fall time," he said of the jump from the 1,776-ft-tall tower, America's tallest skyscraper.

One World Trade Center tower is the country's tallest building

"You really get to enjoy the view of the city and see it from a different perspective," said Rossig, an avid BASE jumper. The acronym stands for "building, antenna, span, earth".

His co-defendants are James Brady, an ironworker who formerly worked at the site in Lower Manhattan; skydiving instructor Marko Markovich; and Kyle Hartwell, accused of being their cohort on the ground.

A five-minute video of their stunt was posted online. 

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the site, has condemned the stunt as a "lawless and selfish act that clearly endangered the public".

The incident has raised questions over security at a site that is supposed to be one of the most tightly protected in the country.

In March, a teen slipped through a gap in a fence, eluded an inattentive security guard and spent about two hours atop the tower.

A Defence lawyer for Rossig, Timothy Parlatore, said pulling off the stunt was easy.

"One of the first things my client said to me was that how surprised he was at how there was no security whatsoever, how easy it was to just walk right up in something that the mayor has just recently described as the No 1 terrorist target in the world," he said.

One World Trade Center is expected to open later this year, and will include a $40m (£24.2m) security system.

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Ukraine: West Looks To Tighten Screw On Russia

The West is expected to further ramp up pressure on Russia, after leaders of the G7 united to exclude Moscow from planned G8 talks.

The Cold War-style showdown dominated international talks in The Hague for a second day, as Western leaders seek to isolate Russia over its actions in Ukraine.

During a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, British Prime Minister David Cameron warned that Russia faced further diplomatic and political isolation if it intervened in eastern Ukraine.

Speaking on the sidelines of an international nuclear security summit, Mr Cameron said: "What I think we need to do is just send the clearest possible message about the eastern Ukraine and the steps that we don't want to see (Russian President Vladimir) Putin take.

"We need to send a very clear message that would lead to significant sanctions."

Mr Cameron said the international community must respond with "vigour"

His comments came a day after the G7 - the US, UK, France, Germany, Canada, Italy and Japan -  agreed to pull out of a scheduled G8 meeting in Russia and hold its own meeting in Brussels.

The move effectively suspended two decades of cooperation with Moscow in the G8 "until Russia changes course".

In a joint statement, the G7 leaders said: "This group came together because of shared beliefs and shared responsibilities. Russia's actions in recent weeks are not consistent with them."

British Foreign Secretary William Hague described the move as a "huge blow" for the G8. 

He also indicated that the West was considering tougher sanctions against Russia.

The US and European Union have already targeted some Russian individuals, but are yet to impose broader economic sanctions.

Western leaders are working to put forward a united front on the crisis

Mr Hague acknowledged that measures targeting Russia's economy could carry a negative impact in Europe, but said "we have to be prepared to do that."

"Every country would have to do what is necessary if more far-reaching sanctions were applied, accepting that that would affect different economies in different ways," he said.

"The United Kingdom is fully prepared to play its full part."

Russian representatives, also in the Hague, largely shrugged off the G7's comments.

Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, said the G8 had been useful to discuss issues such as the nuclear tensions with Iran and the civil war in Syria, but that it was not a vital tool.

Sergei Lavrov meets with Ukraine's Andriy Deshchystsya. Pic: @mfa_russia

Mr Lavrov said: "If our Western partners believe the format has exhausted itself, we don't cling to this format.

"We don't believe it will be a big problem if it doesn't convene."

Mr Lavrov held his own meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Andriy Deshchytsia on the sidelines of the nuclear talks. 

It was the first time the pair had met since Ukrainian President and Kremlin ally Viktor Yanukovych was ousted last month following mass protests in Kiev.

Speaking ahead of the talks, Mr Deshchytsia warned that Ukraine would never give up Crimea.

He also warned Russia against making further attempts to seize Ukrainian territory, amid reports that Russian troops are assembling along its borders.

Ukrainian troops have been withdrawn from Crimea

Mr Deshchytsia told reporters: "Our military and civilians living in Eastern Ukraine, Ukrainians, Russians, other nationalities, they are ready to defend their homeland."

Earlier in the day, Ukraine announced it was pulling all its forces from Crimea, after losing another military base to Russian troops in the early hours of the morning. 

Russian forces have gradually seized control of the region, since voters in Crimea agreed to join the Russian Federation in a swiftly-arranged referendum following Mr Yanukovych's removal.

Since then, Nato's top commander in Europe, General Philip Breedlove, has warned that Russia's military force massing on Ukraine's border was "very, very sizeable and very, very ready".

He said he was worried the Russian military could make a move for Moldova's breakaway Transdniestria region.

Transdniestria, a narrow strip of land to Ukraine's southwest, already has a Russian military presence and most people there favour a union with the country.

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Nuclear Terror War Game Test For World Leaders

World leaders attending a summit in the Netherlands have taken part in a war game to see how they would respond to a nuclear terror attack.

Prime Minister David Cameron, US President Barack Obama, and other heads of government attending the meeting faced the  "fictitious but realistic scenario" of a weapon of mass destruction falling into the hands of terrorists.

During a series of tests in The Hague they were asked to respond to a variety of events using a touch screen to record their answers.

The event has been compared with the 1980s movie WarGames, which starred Matthew Broderick as a hacker who accesses a US military supercomputer, almost triggering a nuclear war.

The organisers of the Nuclear Security Summit (NSS) said: "This is the first time that an interactive approach of this nature has been taken at such an extensive summit."

Ban Ki-moon talks to Mr Obama during the summit in the Netherlands

NSS spokesman Frank Wassenaar said they preferred to call it a "scenario-based policy discussion" rather than a war game.

The leaders were shown a video setting out the scenario, followed by a discussion on how best to respond.

This was followed by two more video updates, designed to reflect the fast-moving nature of the situation.

Mr Wassenaar said: "We had an enthusiastic reaction. It was quite innovative and not the convention in a summit like this. Usually the leaders of delegations just make a statement.

"The leaders debated freely. Of course, there is no good solution or bad solution."

The summit is aimed at preventing the kind of situation portrayed in the war game test.

Some 35 countries taking part in the summit, including the UK, agreed to allow teams of international experts to examine the effectiveness of their nuclear security measures.

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Pistorius Trial Hears Messages From 'Baba'

Only four out of more than 1,700 messages exchanged between Oscar Pistorius and his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp were of them arguing, the athlete's murder trial has heard.

Texts and WhatsApp messages have been extracted from their phones and were pored over in court for a second day.

Defence lawyer Barry Roux said in spite of their arguments, the couple were exchanging "crosses, baby, things like that". In one message, the runner referred to her as "Baba", while she called him "Ozzy".

In another, Ms Steenkamp said to her boyfriend: "You are a very special person. You deserve to be looked after."

A picture Ms Steenkamp sent to Oscar Pistorius

Pistorius had tears running down his cheeks while the messages were read out. Ms Steenkamp's mother June also sobbed.

Emotional exchanges between the pair were read out on Monday. In one of them Ms Steenkamp texted Pistorius to say "I am sometimes scared of you". This was sent just weeks before she died.

Sky's Special Correspondent Alex Crawford said of Tuesday's proceedings: "Roux is working very hard at painting this picture of South Africa's Romeo and Juliet, the star-crossed lovers in a WhatsApp age."

Texts exchanged between the pair

Under questioning from chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel, police IT expert Captain Francois Moller said there were no long, loving messages. This was a contrast Mr Nel tried to make with the texts of them arguing.

The court also heard communications data extracted from Pistorius' phone showed he was online an hour before Ms Steenkamp was shot. In his bail application, Pistorius said the pair had gone to sleep around 10pm.

There was activity on Ms Steenkamp's phone 11 hours after she died, records showed.

But the hearing was told incoming emails, updates or open websites could all give the impression of internet activity.

One of the messages between the lovers shown in court on Monday

Phone records also showed Pistorius made a flurry of calls after the shooting. The first was to estate manager Johan Stander at 3.19am, followed by the ambulance service a minute later. He then rang security.

The court heard there were five calls between Pistorius and Ms Steenkamp on the afternoon before she died - February 13. All of the conversations lasted less than five minutes.

Forensic expert Colonel Johannes Vermeulen returned to face more questions, and stood by his claim Pistorius was on his stumps when he knocked down a locked toilet door to reach Ms Steenkamp.

Pistorius said he put his prosthetic legs on, and his lawyer Mr Roux said he would present evidence that there was a third mark on the door consistent with this.

June Steenkamp (left) at a previous hearing

The trial has been adjourned until Friday so the athlete's defence team can consult with unused prosecution witnesses they might want to call.

Speaking outside afterwards, Pistorius said: "It's a tough time. We've still got a lot of stuff ahead of us."

Pistorius is accused of the premeditated murder of Ms Steenkamp, but says he shot her by mistake after mistaking her for an intruder.

He is also accused of illegally possessing ammunition and two further counts related to shooting a gun in public in two separate incidents before the killing. He denies all of the charges.

The trial is expected to last until the middle of May.

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Relatives Scream As They Are Told News By Text

Relatives of the 239 people on the doomed Malaysia Airlines plane screamed in anguish as they were told the jet had crashed - by text message.

Sky's Jonathan Samuels, in Beijing, said there were "very, very distressing" scenes as Malaysia Airlines sent them the text.

"Some people were in tears, others are helping those struggling and a woman is screaming in absolute anguish. It's very tough to watch," he said.

Relatives had to be helped away after watching the news conference

The text message said: "Malaysia Airlines deeply regrets that we have to assume beyond any reasonable doubt that MH370 has been lost and that none of those on board survived.

"As you will hear in the next hour from Malaysia's Prime Minister, we must now accept all evidence suggests the plane went down in the Southern Indian Ocean."

Malaysia Airlines stressed they did not only inform relatives by text message but informed them "via all channels".

TV pictures showed distressed families being helped away amid chaotic scenes in the Lido Hotel in Beijing.

Families had gathered at the Lido Hotel In Beijing to learn the jet's fate

Paramedics treated some people who were overcome by grief.

Relatives were told the jet's fate around 30 minutes before Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak told a news conference the plane had crashed.

UK satellite data confirmed flight MH370 crashed into the southern Indian Ocean.

The flight vanished from civilian radar screens less than an hour after take-off from Kuala Lumpur on March 8.

No confirmed sighting of the plane has been made, but debris found in remote waters off Australia might be from the missing plane.

More follows...

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Obama: US And Europe United Behind Ukraine

Barack Obama has said Europe and America are united in their support of the Ukrainian government and its people.

The US president spoke shortly after he arrived in Europe on a trip that will be dominated by efforts by Western leaders to forge a common response to Russia's annexation of Crimea.

"We're united in imposing a cost on Russia for its actions so far," Mr Obama said after meeting with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

Mr Obama and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte at the Rijksmuseum

In an interview with Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant, he added: "The United States does not view Europe as a battleground between East and West, nor do we see the situation in Ukraine as a zero-sum game.

"That's the kind of thinking that should have ended with the Cold War."

Washington has imposed sanctions on 31 people in a campaign carefully crafted to target Russian officials with links to President Vladimir Putin without creating a backlash against US businesses.

Defying Western sanctions, Vladimir Putin signs the annexation of Crimea

It has threatened to take further action if Russia does not de-escalate the crisis.

During his meetings in Europe, Mr Obama will seek to isolate Russia while gauging how far the still economically shaky European Union is willing to go in punishing Russia, one of its largest trading partners.

Russia has defied Western sanctions, consolidating its grip of Crimea as Ukrainian forces in the peninsula were ordered to pull out.

Russia's troop movements have raised fears of further incursions into Ukraine.

Russian troops massing along the Ukrainian border

The US president also held bilateral talks with with Chinese President Xi Jinpin, in another tricky front in US international relations.

The week-long trip will take Mr Obama to four countries.

In the Netherlands, he will join world leaders at the Nuclear Security Summit and head a hastily arranged meeting of the G7 - the US, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.

Mr Obama's focus on Ukraine will continue in Brussels, the headquarters for the EU and NATO.

The nuclear summit in The Hague is held under tight security

A Rome stop will feature a highly anticipated meeting with Pope Francis.

Then the president will travel to Saudi Arabia for a fence-mending visit with the important Gulf ally.

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Malaysia Plane 'Crashed Into Indian Ocean'

Satellite data has confirmed that Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 crashed into the southern Indian Ocean.

The Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak held a news conference today confirming that all those on the flight have been lost.

He said satellite data provided by a UK company, Inmarsat, showed the plane's last recorded position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean, west of Perth.

"This is a remote location, far from any possible landing sites," Mr Razak said.

"It is therefore with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you that, according to this new data, flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean."

Sky's Jonathan Samuels in Beijing said there were "very, very distressing" scenes as relatives were told the news.

"Some people were in tears, others are helping those struggling and a woman is screaming in absolute anguish. It's very tough to watch," he said.

Malaysia Airlines told relatives they should "assume beyond any reasonable doubt" that all those on the plane have been lost.

The text message sent to relatives by Malaysia Airlines

"Malaysia Airlines deeply regrets that we have to assume beyond any reasonable doubt that MH370 has been lost and that none of those on board survived," the airline said in a text message to relatives.

"As you will hear in the next hour from Malaysia's Prime Minister, we must now accept all evidence suggests the plane went down in the Southern Indian Ocean."

The flight vanished from civilian radar screens less than an hour after take-off from Kuala Lumpur on March 8 with 239 people on board.

No confirmed sighting of the plane has been made since, but debris has been found in remote waters off Australia which might be part of the missing plane.

The confirmation came after Sky sources said families of those on-board will be taken from Beijing to Australia.

An Australian navy ship is close to finding possible debris from the plane after a number of sightings of floating objects some 1550 miles west of Perth.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said the entire crew of HMAS Success is keeping a lookout for the objects.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott told parliament: "I caution ... that we don't know whether any of these objects are from MH370, they could be flotsam.

A Japanese search aircraft prepares to take off in Perth

"Nevertheless, we are hopeful that we can recover these objects soon and they will take us a step closer to resolving this tragic mystery."

The objects are separate from several "suspicious" floating objects sighted by a Chinese search plane earlier today.

The crew of the military Ilyushin-76 aircraft saw "white and square" objects dispersed over several miles in the southern Indian Ocean.

They included two "relatively big" objects and several smaller ones.

The objects cited by the Chinese were seen near an area identified by satellite imagery as containing possible debris from the missing airliner.

The US Navy has also announced it is sending one of its high-tech black box detectors to the southern Indian Ocean.

More follows...

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Ukraine: 'No G8 Summit In Russia' Over Crisis

David Cameron has said a G8 summit planned in Russia for June cannot go ahead as the EU and US attempt to isolate Moscow over its actions in Ukraine.

Speaking in The Hague ahead of a meeting of G7 leaders he said it was "absolutely clear" the summit could not take place.

He said: "We should be clear there's not going to be a G8 summit this year in Russia. That's absolutely clear."

The meeting is expected to discuss possible responses to Russian actions in Ukraine as well as concerns that Moscow could be looking to extend its control beyond Crimea.

Preparations for the summit in Sochi had already been suspended as a result of Russia's actions in Ukraine.

On Monday, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry was told to pull all its forces from Crime as Russian troops extended their control over the disputed territory.

Monday's seizure came two days after Russian troops stormed the Belbek base

Speaking in parliament, acting president Oleksander Turchinov said the decision was taken in the face of "threats to the lives and health of our service personnel".

He said: "The National Defence and Security Council has instructed the Defence Ministry to carry out a re-deployment of military units in Crimea and carry out the evacuation of their families."

Russian troops, backed by helicopters and armoured personnel carriers, forced their way into the base in Feodosia in the early hours of Monday morning.

Ukrainian defence ministry spokesman Vladislav Seleznyov said: "The invading troops were using stun grenades and also firing automatic weapons... The interior of the compound is full of Russian troops."

In a statement on his Facebook page, Mr Seleznyov added that paratroopers descended into the base from four helicopters hovering above.

He said three Russian vehicles were then seen leaving the base with Ukrainian marines whose hands had been tied up.

President Obama will hold crisis talks with G7 leaders later on Monday

Ukrainian army officer, First Lieutenant Anatoly Mozgovoy, confirmed shots were fired at unarmed Ukrainian soldiers during the seizure, however there are currently no reports of any injuries.

The Feodosia base had been one of the last few military facilities still flying Ukrainian flags after Russia's annexation of Crimea. Those flags have now reportedly been removed.

Speaking in Amsterdam on Monday US President Barack Obama said Europe and the United States are united in their support for the Ukrainian interim government.

He said both the EU and US were prepared to "impose a cost" on Russia for its actions so far.

Nato's top commander in Europe, General Philip Breedlove, has warned that Russia's military force massing on Ukraine's border was "very, very sizeable and very, very ready".

He said he was worried the Russian military could make a move for Moldova's breakaway Transdniestria region.

General Breedlove is concerned about the size of Russia's troop build-up

Transdniestria, a narrow strip of land to Ukraine's southwest, already has a Russian military presence and most people there favour a union with the country.

Russian President Vladimir Putin last week signed papers making Crimea part of Russia, saying it was complying with international agreements and had no plans to invade.

It has also called the soldiers who took over Ukrainian bases in Crimea "self-defence forces".

On Monday ex-Chief of the General Staff Lord Dannatt said Western "weakness" had allowed Putin to "become bold on his own fringes" and seize the region.

He called for heightened military spending in the UK and as well as tougher sanctions against Russia.

The US and European Union have already targeted some of Mr Putin's closest political and business allies with personal sanctions and have threatened broader economic sanctions if his forces encroach on other parts of Ukraine with large Russian-speaking populations.

There are fears Russian forces are eyeing Ukraine's Transdniestria region

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Reeva Text To Pistorius: 'I'm Scared Of You'

Reeva Steenkamp texted Oscar Pistorius to say "I am sometimes scared of you" just weeks before she died, the athlete's trial has heard.

An emotional message from Ms Steenkamp on January 27 last year accuses Pistorius of picking on her "incessantly" and denies flirting with her friend's husband at an engagement party.

It also accuses the athlete of being "nasty" and throwing tantrums in front of people.

"I'm scared of you sometimes and how you snap at me and how you act to me," says Ms Steenkamp.

She tells Pistorius the pair have a "double standard relationship" where he is "quick to act, cold and off-ish when you are unhappy".

Pistorius apologises for his behaviour in one message

Police IT expert Captain Francois Moller told the trial he had extracted text and WhatsApp messages from the phones of both Ms Steenkamp and Oscar Pistorius.

In a message displayed on court monitors, Pistorius admits he is "tired and sick" but says it is not an excuse for his jealous behaviour.

He accuses Ms Steenkamp of ignoring him while she spoke to another man and touched his arm.

Ms Steenkamp also complained Pistorius got upset if she ever mentions something about an ex-boyfriend, while "every five seconds I hear how you dated another chick".

This February 8 message says Pistorius does not treat her like a lady

"I just want to be loved and to love. Maybe we cannot do that for each other," she says.

A separate message from Pistorius also mentions Ms Steenkamp smoking "weed" and refers to her as "Angel", while she calls him "Baba".

Captain Moller told the trial in Pretoria he had "jailbroken" the mobile phones to access pages of messages between the pair.

He said there were also many normal and "loving conversations" between the couple.

More messages are expected to be revealed when the trial continues on Tuesday.

Earlier, the court heard from Pistorius' neighbour Annette Stipp, who said she woke at around 3am on Valentine's Day last year, the day Ms Steenkamp was killed.

She said she heard three sounds which sounded like gunshots and moments later heard a woman's "terrified, terrified screaming".

She then heard a man and woman screaming at the same time, before a second set of shots, and then silence.

Reeva Steenkamp was 29 when she was shot dead last year

Mrs Stipp recalled telling her husband: "It sounds like a family murder. Why else would a woman scream like that?"

The lights in Pistorius' bathroom were on from the moment she first woke up, Mrs Stipp told the court.

She said the screams did not sound muffled or like they were coming from an enclosed space.

The defence tried to discredit Mrs Stipp's evidence when, under tough questioning, she admitted an inaccuracy in her signed police statement.

She told the court she had not seen a male figure walking in Pistorius' bathroom, despite initially saying she had.

"This is not first time that it appears her memory has failed her," said defence lawyer Kenny Oldwadge.

The scene in court at the start of the trial's fourth week

He also suggested the second set of gunshots Mrs Stipp described was in fact the sound of a cricket bat as Pistorius smashed down the bathroom door.

Paralympic star Pistorius is accused of the premeditated murder of his girlfriend but says he shot her by mistake because he thought she was an intruder.

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

He denies all the charges.

The prosecution's case is expected to finish this week and Pistorius is likely to be the first witness for the defence.

Originally expected to last for three weeks or so, the trial has now been extended until the middle of May.

Both sides agreed to an extension after just 18 of 107 possible witnesses were heard in the first three weeks,

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