By CHRIS BRUMMITT and EILEEN NG
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian authorities defended their handling of the hunt for the missing Boeing 777 on Wednesday even as they acknowledging they were unsure which direction the plane was headed when it disappeared, highlighting the massive task facing an international search mission now in its fifth day.
The mystery over the plane’s whereabouts has been confounded by confusing and occasionally conflicting statements by Malaysian officials, adding to the anguish of relatives of the 239 people on board the flight — two thirds of them Chinese.
“There’s too much information and confusion right now. It is very hard for us to decide whether a given piece of information is accurate,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters in Beijing. “We will not give it up as long as there’s still a shred of hope.” Continue reading on The Associated Press…