【今日头条】

Trilateral meeting on missing MH370 set for next week Chinese, Malaysian and Australian officials are preparing to meet early next week in Canberra to discuss the next steps in the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. Malaysia's acting transport minister and the head of the Joint Coordiation Center have met this Friday ahead of the Australian meeting. Both are warning the deep water search could take anywhere from 8 to 12-months. However, both say they're confident they will discover the wreckage of the airliner. Angus Houston, Australian head of the search operation. "I still am hopeful that the Bluefin work that we do between now and the end of May might still find something. But I must say the chances of finding it, I think the probability is lower than it was when we started the search." The meeting comes following the release of a preliminary report on the disappearance of the missing flight, which is suggesting the plane intentionally avoided flying over Malaysian airspace to avoid detection. This is adding to the evidence that authorities believe one or more members of the crew had something to do with the disappearance of the plane. The release of the report isn't sitting well among some in Malaysia. "We don't know what really happened and yes, the Prime Minister said the plane ended in the Indian Ocean but we still cannot find wreckage from the plane. If I were a relative of a passenger, I would not be satisfied because of the lack of information." For more on the preliminary report, here is CRI's Jordan Lee. Reporter: Three possible flight-path maps have been released along with the recording of conversations between the flight and the Kuala Lumpur control tower. "MH370: DELIVERY MAS 370 GOOD MORNING. ATC: MAS 370 STANDBY AND MALAYSIA SIX IS CLEARED TO FRANKFURT VIA AGOSA ALPHA DEPARTURE SIX THOUSAND FEET SQUAWK TWO ONE ZERO SIX." The audio shows communication prior to take off and MH370 signing off Malaysia's airspace, ending with the words, "Good night Malaysian 370". The preliminary report confirms that military radar tracked a plane after takeoff in early March as it turned in a westerly direction across the Malaysian peninsula. But the military took no further action because the plane was deemed "friendly". The report does not explain why the flight was regarded as friendly even though its transponder was switched off by the time it turned back. It also recommends that the U.N. body overseeing global aviation considers introducing a system for tracking commercial aircraft in real time. The release of the report comes as Malaysia Airlines says that the continuing search and investigation will be a prolonged process. The Airline also says it will compensate next-of-kin who are entitled to claim compensation. Meanwhile, the Chinese Foreign Ministry says China will actively participate in the follow-up search operation. The Ministry says China is ready to cooperate with Malaysia and Australia in the search effort and provide services to relatives of the passengers to protect their lawful interests. Australia now plans to contract commercial companies to undertake a sonar search of the seabed northwest of the Australian city of Perth. The process could take eight months or more. Up to 26 countries have been involved in the search. The Malaysian ailine flight mysteriously disappeared while headed to Beijing. Some 239 people were onboard the plane, among them are some 150 Chinese passengers. For CRI, I am Jordan Lee.