Q: Are there any updates on the airliner that disappeared at the beginning of March?
—Robert Walker, Villa Rica
A: The Australian Transport Safety Bureau contracted with Fugro, a Dutch firm, to continue the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which is believed to have disappeared with 239 passengers in the Indian Ocean on March 8. The search has shifted to a 23,200-square-mile area west of Australia, about 600 miles south of the previous zone.
A surface search of this area was conducted in March and April, but the new search will include ships equipped with towed sonar devices and could take nine or 10 months, Time reported. “The complexities surrounding the search cannot be understated. It involves vast areas of the Indian Ocean with only limited known data and aircraft flight information,” the safety bureau states on its website.
Q: ISIS is persecuting the Yazidi people. What is the cultural, religious and ethnic background of the Yazidis?
—Ursula Cox, Canton
A: The Yazidis live mostly in northern Iraq and are predominantly Kurdish. They're named for their religion, which takes its beliefs from Zoroastrianism (an ancient pre-Islamic Persian faith), Christianity and Islam, but doesn't have a written text.
The group is headed by a hereditary prince and they worship seven angels, including one called the Peacock Angel. He fell from heaven, but repented and his tears “doused the flames of hell,” the New York Times reported. The Ottoman Empire, Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida are among those who have persecuted the Yazidis throughout history.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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