Malaysian Leader: Missing Flight's Disappearance 'Deliberate'

This story was updated on March 15 at 4:20 a.m. ET.

The plane that disappeared over the waters of the Gulf of Thailand was the result of a "deliberate" act, the Malaysian prime minister told reporters late Friday night.

The Associated Press reports that the leader, Prime Minister Najib Razak, said communications on the missing jetliner were "deliberately disabled" and that the last signal received from the plane came more than seven hours after takeoff — meaning the plane could have ended up anywhere from the southern Indian Ocean to Central Asia

"Clearly the search for MH370 has entered a new phase," Najib said. "We hope this new information brings us one step closer to finding the plane." Read more...