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opened the first visit by a U.S. president in nearly half a century to Malaysia, the third stop on Obama's weeklong goodwill trip through Asia.
• Stepping off his plane and onto a red carpet at an air base near Kuala Lumpur, Obama was met by an honor guard in crisp white uniforms. Malaysia's foreign minister and top envoys to the U.S. were on hand to greet Obama before he boarded his limousine for the drive to Kuala Lumpur's Parliament Square.
• During the two-day state visit, Obama will meet with Prime Minister Najib Razak and be honored at a state dinner at the National Palace. He also plans to hold a town hall-style forum with young people.
• Obama's long-awaited visit to Malaysia had been scheduled for last fall, but was postponed because of a U.S. government shutdown. His rescheduled visit comes as Malaysia has attracted international attention over the March 8 disappearance of a commercial airliner with 239 people on board.
• Officials were preparing to widen the search area in a remote part of the ocean as Obama was arriving in Malaysia. The air base where Air Force One landed has been used as a staging ground for some of the recovery operations for the missing jet.
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NATO troops killed in helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan
• KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- The NATO-led military coalition in Afghanistan says five of its troops have been killed in a helicopter crash in the country's south.
• The coalition said it was investigating the circumstances of the crash but gave no other information. The nationalities of those killed were not released.
• The U.S.-led NATO force is preparing to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan at the end of this year.
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SKorean prosecutor: 4 more of sunken ferry crew detained; all involved in navigation now held
• SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- All 15 people involved in navigating the South Korean ferry that sank and left more than 300 people dead or missing are now in custody after authorities on Saturday detained four more crew members, a prosecutor said.
• Yang Jung-jin of the joint investigation team said two helmsmen and two members of the steering crew were taken in on preliminary arrest warrants issued late (Continued on page 25)
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