Qatar Airways said it will go ahead with plans to buy a stake in American Airlines even though the US carrier is ending their code-share agreement. American announced on Wednesday that it was cancelling code-share agreements with Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways as "an extension of our stance against the illegal subsidies that these carriers receive from their governments." Both Middle East airlines deny they are state subsidized. American's decision to end the agreements which allow airlines to book passengers on each other's flights, ramps up an acrimonious dispute between US carriers and Gulf competitors over competitive advantages. Qatar Airways CE Akbar al-Baker said on Thursday he was disappointed by the decision, but it would not affect the Middle East carrier's plans to buy up to a 10% stake in American, announced last month. "Our stock purchase request and filing is going ahead as normal. We had to clarify certain questions of the regulator, which we compiled with," al-Baker said. Qatar Airways sent a revised antitrust filing to US regulators on Wednesday seeking clearance to buy up to a 10% stake in the carrier, according to the filing. Al-Baker said American's decision to end the code-share agreement was "not in the spirit of the one world alliance" and that Qatar Airways had other partners in the United States "who want to work with us." American said on Wednesday that cancelling code-sharing agreements with Qatar Airways and Etihad would not have a material financial impact for the US carrier.<br/>
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Malaysia held a memorial service Thursday to mark the anniversary of the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine in July 2014, which killed all 298 people aboard. More than 90 family members attended the memorial, which was followed by an official briefing on the ongoing investigation. Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said after the event, which was closed to the media, that the investigation was "very detailed and we are quite convinced that we will be able to find the culprits." Investigations had determined the plane was shot down by a Russian BUK missile system that was fired from a field controlled by pro-Russian separatists. Russia has denied any involvement and denounced the conclusions as politically biased. "What we're told inside was that they (investigators) have all the information that they need," said Mohamad Salim Sarmo, who lost his son Mohamad Ali on the flight. Cousins Nur Sabrina and Anwar Zafran said they can only pray that the culprits will be brought to justice. Their 19-year-old cousin, Mohamad Afif Tambi, and his entire family perished onboard Flight 17. "We can't really grasp or accept everything, but we do know that Malaysia Airlines and all the governments are doing their best to get the ones who shot MH17. So we just wait and pray, that's all," Anwar said. <br/>
Seychelles reported Thursday the discovery of two pieces of debris that seemed to be from an aircraft and said it had notified Malaysia, whose Flight MH370 vanished in 2014 with 239 people aboard. The Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) said scientists researching birds and turtles had found the debris washed up on Farqhar, one of the islands that make up the tropical Indian Ocean nation. "The direction of flow of the sea currents make it likely that the (debris) came from the general direction where other parts (of MH370) have been found in Indian Ocean countries," a senior SCAA official said. Michael Payet, a spokesman for the state agency that manages all Seychelles islands, said the largest of the two bits of debris was about 120 cm long and 30 cm wide and appeared to be made of aluminum and carbon fiber. "It could be part of an engine cover," he said. The SCAA was in contact with Malaysian authorities, "who have shown an interest, and with whom we expect to work closely", the aviation authority said. <br/>