'Obamacare' deadline sparks surge in insurance sign-ups

People joined long queues at hospitals and clinics where counsellors were helping people to enrol

Hundreds of thousands of Americans have signed up for insurance under Barack Obama's healthcare programme, in a frantic bid to beat a key deadline.

Officials believe they have reached their target of seven million sign-ups.

Monday was the last day for most Americans to register for coverage and avoid a penalty next year.

Mr Obama's allies say the Affordable Care Act will bring healthcare to those who need it most, but Republicans say it is a massive waste of money.

The initial launch of the system last autumn was dogged by website crashes and technical problems.

But analysts say White House officials will have been delighted with the last day of enrolment.

"What I think is important, because I know there's been a lot of focus on glitches, is that there has been a remarkable story since the dark days of October and November," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.

The law has proved deeply unpopular among many voters, and Republicans are expected to tap into that discontent in November's mid-term elections.

The elections will determine the shape of Congress for Mr Obama's last two years in office.

'Software bug'
 
Despite Mr Carney's upbeat message, the federally-run health insurance marketplace website healthcare.gov was briefly out of service for several hours twice on Monday.

Visitors were initially advised the site was down for maintenance or directed to a virtual waiting room.

Spokesman Aaron Albright blamed a "technical problem".

Meanwhile, long queues were reported at hospitals and clinics, where counsellors were helping people sign up for insurance.

Officials believe they have reached their target of seven million sign-ups

The programme is designed to help 48 million Americans who do not currently have health insurance

At a Houston community centre, immigrants from Ethiopia, Nepal, Eritrea, Somalia, Iraq, Iran and other countries were trying to enrol after having failed to register previously.

Many were waiting for interpreters to help them through the process.

Although 31 March was officially the last day people could sign up, millions could be eligible for extensions.

This includes people who had begun enrolling but did not finish before the deadline as a result of errors or website glitches.

Extensions may also be available to those prevented from enrolling because of a natural disaster, for example, or because they were subjected to domestic abuse.

The 2010 law, known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, is intended to extend health insurance to the roughly 48 million Americans who do not receive it through their employers, the government, or a privately purchased plan.

The law also aims to slow the growth in the cost of healthcare through various measures and requires private plans to meet a certain level of coverage.

Tax penalty ahead
 
The health law has been vigorously opposed by the Republican Party and by conservatives in the private sector, who see it as an inappropriate government intrusion into the massive healthcare industry and an affront to personal liberty.

What do Americans think of Obamacare today?

The law also remains controversial among the American public, as some people have seen their insurance costs rise or their old plans cancelled, and others object to having to purchase insurance at all.

Healthcare.gov and similar marketplace websites run by some states are a key element of the Affordable Care Act, providing a clearing-house for people to purchase health insurance for themselves and their families, often with generous subsidies.

Those who are not covered by private insurance or government programmes by the end of Monday will face a tax penalty, although the Obama administration has extended a grace period for those who can prove they have had technical issues with the site.

Total enrolment through the federal and state-run websites has jumped since the beginning of March, from 4.2 million to six million on Friday.

Source: BBC world News

MH370: Missing plane search 'most challenging ever'

Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston described the search operation as "very complex, very demanding"

 The search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is the "most challenging" ever seen, the man responsible for co-ordinating the search from Australia says.

Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston also said that the search for the plane could take weeks.

The plane disappeared on 8 March as it was travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. It was carrying 239 people.

Search teams are scouring the southern Indian Ocean for signs of the plane.

Speaking on Tuesday, ACM Houston, who is heading a new Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) managing the search, said the task was "very complex" because the teams had no hard information to work from.

Search efforts would take time, he said. "It's not something that will necessarily be resolved in the next two weeks, for example."

The BBC's Jon Donnison in Perth explains how a "towed pinger locator" is used

Ten military aircraft and nine ships were scheduled to examine Tuesday's search zone, while an Australia defence vessel with a towed pinger was en route to the area, he added.

ACM Houston explained that they had no information on how high the plane had flown once it disappeared off radar, the BBC's Jonah Fisher in Perth reports.

A relatively small change in altitude could affect both the plane's speed and fuel consumption - and over the course of seven hours dramatically alter the location of any crash site, our correspondent adds.

Mistrust
 
It is now more than three weeks since flight MH370 disappeared. Malaysian authorities say that based on satellite data they have concluded that it crashed into the southern Indian Ocean.

However, many relatives of the passengers on board have demanded proof that the plane has crashed, and expressed anger at what they perceive as a lack of information from the Malaysian authorities.

Dozens of relatives of some of the 153 missing Chinese passengers have travelled to Kuala Lumpur in their search for answers.

Late on Monday, Malaysian officials issued a new version of the last communication between air traffic control and the plane's cockpit.

In a statement, authorities said the last words received by ground controllers were "good night Malaysian three seven zero".

They had previously said that the last words from the plane were "all right, good night".

It is not clear why the official account has changed.

Correspondents say many family members of those on board have already been accusing officials of mishandling the search, and the latest change may add to their mistrust of the Malaysian authorities.

 Source: BBC News World

Ukraine crisis: Nato meeting to step up pressure on Russia

Russia has reportedly withdrawn some troops, but the exact number is unclear

Nato foreign ministers are due to discuss ways to help Ukraine and reassure allies in Eastern Europe, at a meeting in Brussels.

It is the first time ministers from the 28 member states have convened since Russia's takeover of Crimea caused a diplomatic crisis.

Nato has bolstered annual air drills being held over Baltic countries later.

On Monday, Russia ordered a partial withdrawal of its troops from the border with Ukraine.
It is believed to have massed a force of several thousand soldiers there in recent days.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told German Chancellor Angela Merkel he had ordered the pullback, according to the German government.

Thousands of Russian soldiers are still said to be deployed along the eastern border of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Russian energy firm Gazprom is increasing the price it charges Ukraine for gas from Tuesday.

Gazprom's chief executive Alexei Miller says the price of Russian gas for Ukraine has gone up to $385.5 (£231) per 1,000 cubic metres in the second quarter of 2014 from the previous rate of $268.5.

The decision ends a discount agreed before the political crisis between Ukraine and Russia.
Mr Miller added Ukraine's unpaid gas bills to Russia stood at $1.7bn.

Tensions between Russia and the West rose after the overthrow of pro-Kremlin Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych in February, following months of street protests.

Russia's subsequent decision to annex Crimea triggered a crisis in relations.

The US and EU have imposed sanctions on members of President Putin's inner circle and other officials. Russia has retaliated with its own sanctions on US politicians.

Nato foreign ministers are expected to discuss the formal suspension of co-operation with Moscow at the Brussels meeting.

In a statement, the alliance said ministers would speak to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Deshchytsia about ways to support Ukraine with its defence reforms.

They are also expected to look at options including situating permanent military bases in the Baltic states to reassure members in Eastern Europe.

Russia's actions in Ukraine have rattled nerves in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which were part of the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Russia has said the troops deployed along its border with Ukraine are taking part in military exercises

Ukrainian forces have been leaving Crimea after Russia's military takeover of the peninsula

Nato jets will take part in air patrols in the region later in a routine exercise that analysts say has taken on added significance due to the crisis.

Several Nato countries, including the UK, US and France, have offered additional warplanes.

'Crude violation'
 
Earlier, Ukraine condemned a visit to Crimea by Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and a delegation of government ministers.

A foreign ministry spokesman in Kiev said the highest-level trip to the Black Sea peninsula by officials from Moscow since its annexation by Russia was a "crude violation" of international rules.

Crimeans voted to leave Ukraine for Russia on 16 March, in a referendum condemned as illegal by the UN General Assembly.

Mr Medvedev announced that he would make Crimea a special economic zone, with tax breaks and reduced bureaucracy to attract investors.

He also vowed to quickly boost salaries and pensions, and to improve education, healthcare and local infrastructure.

Source: BBC World News