Inside the mind of sport’s most delusional man

In 2008, Academy Award® winning filmmaker Alex Gibney set out to make a documentary about Lance Armstrong's comeback to the world of competitive cycling. But after Armstrong's confession to using performance enhancing drugs in early 2013, the film instead emerges as a riveting insider's view, chronicling the collapse of one of the greatest sporting legends of our time.

Director Alex Gibney. Source: Supplied

COULD Lance Armstrong be any more delusional?

The world's most famous drug cheat still thinks people should remember him as a seven-time Tour de France champion instead of a sporting disgrace.

"I don't know what people in 20, 30, 40 years will think," Armstrong says. "I mean, is the record book still going to be blank for seven years? I guess it will be, I don't know. Or will people look at this thing in the context that it is and say, 'Yeah, he won the Tour de France seven times?'"

Get that? Armstrong reckons if you look at those years and years and years of systematic doping and vicious bullying "in context", you'll decide his "victories" should actually count.

Seriously, what has this guy been on? Oh ... right. Testosterone, EPO, cortisone, human growth hormone ... you get the idea.

"What do you mean the win doesn't count? I'm wearing the helmet and everything." Source: Supplied

Armstrong's latest comments come courtesy of a documentary called The Armstrong Lie , which will be released in select Australian cinemas on Thursday.

The man behind the film, Academy Award-winner Alex Gibney, has made blockbuster documentaries on WikiLeaks and Enron in the past. The Armstrong Lie was originally supposed to chronicle its subject's glorious return to cycling in 2009, but after Armstrong's confession to Oprah Winfrey last year, the film had to be rewritten.

The final product is a brutally comprehensive summary of the Lance Armstrong saga, with a few exclusive interviews thrown in as well.

Armstrong with director Alex Gibney and director of photography Maryse Alberti. Source: Supplied

"This is not a story about doping, it's a story about power," author Daniel Coyle tells the camera. "And the story became hanging onto that power."

Coyle recalls Armstrong's speech on the podium in Paris after winning his seventh Tour de France in 2005.

"The last thing I'll say to the people who don't believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics — I'm sorry for you," Armstrong said back then. "I'm sorry that you can't dream big. I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles."

Coyle asks: "Why couldn't he have just said thank you? That wasn't enough. He had to dominate."

Armstrong on the podium with his three children in 2005. Source: AFP

That's the recurring motif of Armstrong's career. It's the reason he doped, and it's the reason he returned to cycling in 2009. He needed to dominate one last time, to spite his doubters.

"He wanted to come back, prove a point, send a message," says George Hincapie, Armstrong's former teammate. Armstrong himself made it even plainer in an interview with Gibney before the 2009 Tour de France. He wanted to shut up the critics who had accused him of doping.

"If I win again they can't say that," he said. "They cannot."

Armstrong didn't win again, although he did sneak on to the podium in third place. In his mind, that was good enough.

"I came in here and wanted to win. I can stand on the third step and still say I won," he told Gibney at the time. Then he added this gem, without a hint of irony or self-awareness.

"I think I've answered a lot of questions about my past."

Armstrong speaks to the media ... without much honesty. Source: Supplied

The only thing more brazen than Armstrong's belief in his own greatness was the brutal manner in which he attacked anyone who threatened to expose the lie. Nobody is more familiar with that brutality than Frankie and Betsy Andreu, who testified against Armstrong under oath in 2006, saying they'd overheard him describing his doping regime for a doctor. The bigshot cyclist attacked the couple for years afterwards, effectively ostracising them from the sport.

"If you crossed him, you were doomed," Frankie tells Gibney.

"Lance wanted to humiliate Frankie, and he wanted to get back at me," says Betsy. "The doping is bad, but Lance's abuse of power was worse."

How on Earth did Armstrong rationalise that behaviour?

"I'm a fighter. I grew up a fighter," he tells Gibney. "I like to win, but more than anything I can't stand the thought of losing because to me that equals death.

"The denials became more defiant and the arguments became more heated.

"I was prepared to say anything ... I certainly was very confident that I would never be caught."

Armstrong shown on a screen during the 2009 Tour de France. Source: Supplied

If he'd stayed away from cycling in 2009, Armstrong may never have been caught. But the man's near-pathological need to dominate dragged him back, and four years later he was confessing to Oprah. Kind of.

In typically stubborn, vindictive fashion, Armstrong didn't confess to everything. He still refused to acknowledge that Frankie and Betsy Andreu were telling the truth in 2006. That would mean losing completely, which is something Lance Armstrong has never been able to do.

"I know what I know," he tells Gibney. "I know what it took to win those Tours.

"I didn't live a lot of lies. But I lived one big one," he says. "The only person that can actually start to let people understand what the true narrative is, is me."

Armstrong can delude himself for as long as he likes, but when we check the record book in 40 years, those seven spaces will still be blank.

The Armstrong Lie opens on Thursday, March 13.

At least the focused look was always genuine. Source: Supplied

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Malaysia jet mystery deepens

Family members of missing Malaysia Airlines passengers on board MH370 vent their frustration at officials at Beijing Airport. Courtesy: The Straits Times.

The mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 baffles experts. Courtesy: FOX News

Hoping ... A girl next to a sign for the missing flight at Kuala Lumpur airport. Pic: Daniel Chan. Source: AP

• Fingerprints from mystery passengers being analysed
• Search area widened as still no sign of missing aircraft
• CCTV footage of mystery passengers to be released

MALAYSIAN authorities are now investigating several reports of locals claiming to have seen the lights of a low-flying aircraft in an area off the Malaysian coast, just below the Malay-Thai border.

It is this area which is now included in the widened search area for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.

DID FLIGHT MH370 STALL BEFORE CRASHING?

A fisherman who was in his boat at sea, says that at about 1.30am he saw the lights of a low-flying aircraft in the area of Kuala Besar.

Azid Ibrahim told The Star newspaper in Malaysia that the plane was flying so low that the lights were "as big as coconuts".

And another man, about 30km south of Kota Bharu, is reported to have seen "bright white lights" from what he thought was a fast-descending aircraft at about 1.45am on Saturday morning.

He has since reported what he saw to authorities after seeing the lights from his home that evening.

THE CONSPIRACY THEORIES OF MISSING FLIGHT MH370

DESPERATE SEARCH FOR MALAYSIA AIRLINES FLIGHT MH370

Malaysia Airlines said in a statement that the search and rescue teams (SAR) have expanded the scope beyond the flight path to the West Peninsular of Malaysia at the Straits of Malacca. The authorities are looking at a possibility of an attempt made by MH370 to turn back to Subang.

The search sphere now includes land on the Malaysian peninsula itself, the waters off its west coast and an area to the north of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, an area far removed from flight MH370's schedulked route.

The news of the search being widened comes as Hong Kong's Civil Aviation Department said it had received a report from the crew of a Cathay Pacific plane flying from Hong Kong to Kuala Lumpur at about 3pm Saturday that more debris was spotted near Vung Tau, off southeast Vietnam, The South China Morning Post reports.

It is not known if the debris is from the missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft.

Prayer ... Students in East China pray for the passengers from the missing Malaysia Airlines plane. Picture: Twitter Source: Supplied

As the search for the missing Boeing 777 continues into its fourth day, it also emerged that the aeroplane underwent maintenance on February 23, 12 days before it went missing bound for Beijing, China.

"The maintenance was conducted at the KLIA hangar and there were no issues on the health of the aircraft," Malaysia Airlines said. Its next check was due on June 19.

In limbo ... Sarah Nor, 55, the mother of 34-year-old Norliakmar Hamid, a passenger on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. Source: AFP

In other news, fingerprints from the mystery passengers travelling on missing Flight MH370 with stolen passports are being analysed by the FBI as it emerged they were reportedly Iranians looking for a new life in Europe.

The men are believed to have bought the fake travel documents because they were "looking for a place to settle" and it is thought their plane tickets were purchased in Thailand by an Iranian middleman known as "Mr Ali".

The news came as officials reacted with scepticism to a claim of responsibility for the plane's disappearance from a previously unheard of Chinese terror group.

READ MORE: SHADOWY GROUP CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY

With authorities still scratching their heads about exactly what has happened to the Malaysia Airlines flight and conflicting information deepening the anguish of relatives, much of the focus of the investigation has fallen on those on board.

Director-general of Malaysia's Department of Civil Aviation, Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, revealed late last night that the two men travelling on stolen passports were not Asian-looking as had been earlier speculated.

He said they had passed through all "security protocols" before boarding the flight, which disappeared with 239 passengers on board, including six Australians, in the early hours of Saturday en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

Under pressure ... an official in Malaysia is besieged by journalists. Source: AP

"We have looked at the footage of the video and the photographs and it is confirmed now that they are not Asian-looking men," Mr Rahman told a press briefing in Kuala Lumpur.

"They have gone through screening, their baggage has been screened, their cabin baggage has been screened and they complied fully with the protocols of immigration security."

READ MORE: TEARS FLOW FOR MISSING AUSSIES

The CCTV footage in question has reportedly been given to international security agencies and is expected to be released publicly at some stage.

He said authorities were now investigating the possibility of a stolen passport syndicate but he would not be drawn on what the mystery men looked like.

Initial reports that Mr Rahman had implied the men looked like African-Italian soccer star Mario Balotelli were clarified by Malaysia this afternoon.

Officials pointed out that Mr Rahman was actually saying a person's appearance is not necessarily a reliable indicator of their nationality, using the footballer as an example.

Balotelli is Italian, having been born in Italy to Ghanaian parents.

Unwitting example ... AC Milan footballer Mario Balotelli. Source: AFP

Two European names were on the passenger list for the missing flight but neither Christian Kozel, an Austrian, nor Luigi Maraldi from Italy, ever boarded the plane — instead two passengers used their passports, which had been stolen from the men in separate incidents in Thailand.

LOOKING FOR A NEW LIFE

A man who says he is a friend of the two unidentified passengers has now told how they were Iranian nationals who travelled to Kuala Lumpur from Tehran several days ago.

According to London's Daily Telegraph, the unnamed friend told BBC Persia that the pair bought the stolen passports in the Malaysian capital as well as tickets to Amsterdam via Beijing.

The BBC's Bahman Kalbasi Source: Supplied

One of the men wanted to eventually end up in Frankfurt, where his mother lives, while the other wanted to travel to Denmark.

BBC Persia's UN correspondent Bahman Kalbasi said he was told the pair were "looking for a place to settle".

READ MORE: RELATIVES CALL MOBILES OF PASSENGERS

Malaysia and neighbouring Thailand, where the passports were originally stolen, host large and established Iranian communities.

Earlier, the Financial Times reported that the duo's tickets had been arranged for by an Iranian known only as "Mr Ali". According to Thai police, his full name is Kazem Ali.

A travel agent in Thailand told the newspaper that Mr Ali first asked her to book cheap tickets to Europe for the pair on March 1.

The tickets expired before Mr Ali called her again last Thursday to rebook them on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight. A friend of Mr Ali's paid cash for the tickets.

Benjaporn Krutnait, owner of the Grand Horizon travel agency in Thailand, said she had known the Iranian for about three years and he had booked tickets through her agency before.

There is no evidence Mr Ali knew the two men were travelling on stolen passports and, according to NBC News, he has come forward to authorities after learning they were under suspicion.

He is currently believed to be in Iran.

Authorities have made no comment on these reports but Thai police are thought to have visited two Pattaya travel agencies on Monday, who are believed to be involved in selling the tickets.

ANALYSING THE INTELLIGENCE

Malaysian authorities have released thumbprints of the pair that were taken at the airport check-in at Kuala Lumpur to intelligence and law enforcement agencies around the world.

"They will compare that to what we have in our terrorist databases. These are lists of people on no-fly lists, people with possible terrorist connections, people we have reasons to be suspicious of," US lawmaker Peter King told CNN.

"We have these listings, and those names and those biometrics will be compared to those."

Images of the men has also been shared.

READ MORE: WHY THE BLACK BOX WON'T HELP

There has been no further update on the five passengers who checked in for flight MH370 but didn't board the plane. They had their luggage removed from the hold.

Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said they were being investigated but he didn't say whether this was suspicious.

Aviation industry figures said five passengers failing to board an international flight was not unusual.

Searching ... Indonesian Navy pilots looking for the missing plane. Source: AP

"To have that many people — five to 10 — as no-shows is relatively common, particularly if they are connecting from elsewhere," they said.

They said a passenger's failure to board can simply be the result of a late connecting flight, a missed connection or simply changing their mind. If anything, they said it was an increasing problem due to the popularity of online check-in, which allows a passenger to register their intention to board the flight up to several days ahead.

While there has been a claim of responsibility of some kind for the disappearance of the flight by a shadowy group called the Chinese Martyrs' Brigade, officials are sceptical and have said it could be a hoax.

The group — unheard of before now — on Sunday sent an email to journalists across China that read: "You kill one of our clan, we will kill 100 of you as payback," but the message provided no other details.

Prayers ... candles are lit in Kuala Lumpur to send a message of hope. Source: AP

CRIMINAL HUB FOCUS

Thailand's role as a hub for criminal networks using false documents is now in the spotlight after the stolen passports sparked fears of a terror attack.

The revelation has triggered a probe by Malaysian authorities, who are working with other intelligence agencies including the FBI.

READ MORE: DAUGHTER'S TWEETS TO MISSING FATHER

"Thailand has been used by some international terrorist groups as a zone of operation, to raise funds or to plan attacks,'' said Rommel Banlaoi, an analyst on terrorism in South-East Asia.

In 2010, two Pakistanis and a Thai woman were arrested in Thailand on suspicion of making false passports for al Qaeda-linked groups, as part of an international operation linked to the 2008 attacks in Mumbai and the Madrid train bombings in 2004.

In shock ... relatives of passengers from the missing flight in Beijing. Source: AFP

But Banlaoi stressed that the false passports used on the Malaysia flight "could also be linked to other criminal activities, like illegal immigration''.

"Thailand is a destination for international crime organisations who use it to secure travel documents, financial documents,'' a Thai intelligence source said.

READ MORE: STOLEN PASSPORTS REVEAL SECURITY LOOPHOLE

"It's not just linked to terrorism but to other crimes. It's a complex network, connected to other networks.''

TRACKING STOLEN PASSPORTS TRAIL

The intricate web of clues surrounding the stolen passports includes Thais and foreigners, passport thieves, counterfeiters, intermediaries and clients, Banlaoi said.

Thai police have announced an investigation into a possible passport racket on the resort island of Phuket — Maraldi's passport was stolen there in 2013 and Kozel's on a flight from Phuket to Bangkok, according to authorities in Vienna.

Message of hope ... a poster carrying words of support for the passengers. Source: AFP

Flight information seen by the AFP news agency shows that two tickets in Kozel and Maraldi's names were issued in Pattaya, a beach resort south of Bangkok, on March 6, 2014, and were paid for in Thai baht.

READ MORE: PASSENGER LIST A RICH HUMAN TAPESTRY

Geographically well-placed and with a major international airport, Thailand is best known for being a hub for drug and wildlife trafficking, including elephant ivory from Africa.

But it also supplies documents to illegal immigrants moving within or passing through the region.

The route of the two unknown MH370 passengers — from Kuala Lumpur via Beijing then on to Europe — was "a typical path'' for illegal immigrants, one diplomatic source said, adding that a large proportion of passports stolen from tourists in Thailand were then used for illegal immigration.

"They (the passports) are genuine, so they find someone who looks like the owner, or they falsify the first page,'' the source said.

The ease with which police officials can be paid off also helped the industry to thrive.

"The police can turn a blind eye if you have the money,'' he added.

New scope ... Mr Rahman briefs the media with the latest. Source: Getty Images

SEARCH PROVES FRUITLESS

The search effort for the missing plane, involving at least 34 aircraft and 40 ships from several countries, has been widened to a 100-nautical mile (185-kilometre) radius from the point the plane vanished from radar screens between Malaysia and Vietnam early Saturday with no distress signal.

READ MORE: THE CONSPIRACY THEORIES

Despite their best efforts, search teams have so far failed to find any trace of actual debris.

Laboratory analysis of oil samples from slicks spotted in the days after the disappearance showed they were not from the Malaysia Airlines jet but were a type of fuel used by ships, the Maritime Enforcement Agency said in Kuala Lumpur.

The area became a focus for frantic international search efforts for the Boeing 777 after large tongues of oil were found in the water on Saturday, hours after the plane dropped off the radar.

In a day of conflicting information which deepened relatives' anguish, initial reports of debris off southern Vietnam were ruled out, before an aircraft spotted another object which appeared to be a life raft.

Malaysia said it was sending ships to investigate the raft sighting, but a Vietnamese vessel that got there first found only flotsam in the busy shipping lane.

Vigil ... people in Kuala Lumpur are praying for a miracle. Source: AFP

"When we reached the site we recovered only a mouldy cable reel cover,'' Vietnamese army deputy chief of staff Vo Vo Tuan said.

"I think there was only one suspect floating object there,'' he said, conceding the amount of rubbish floating in the sea made it hard to be "100 per cent sure'' the ship had reached the location of the reported raft.

Boeing has joined an official US team investigating the disappearance, saying it would act as technical adviser to the US National Transportation Safety Board team already in South-East Asia to offer assistance.

A satellite imaging company from the US has even asked for public help in analysing high-resolution images for any sign of the missing airliner.

Passport fears ... a passenger checks in at a Malaysia Airlines counter in Beijing. Source: AP

'BERMUDA TRIANGLE STUFF'

Central Queensland University aviation expert Ron Bishop said the continuing lack of debris from the jet pointed towards the aircraft hitting the water intact.

He said that if the aircraft broke up at a cruising altitude, he would expect evidence of items from the plane floating over a 15-20km expanse of ocean.

"If it exploded midair, all the seat cushions would float, paper, magazines, anything made out of paper or wood would float," he said.

"If it impacted the water in one piece, it possibly impacted at a high speed that drove everything into the water and meant that nothing floated out. And if it did, it would just be small stuff."

"It could be like the Titanic and drill right into the water."

He said this might have trapped any remaining oil within the aircraft. However, if it did leak out, it could easily be carried away on the current, leaving little trace of the aircraft.

"It's pretty spooky when this happens and is particularly upsetting for the families who just want to know what occurred," he said.

"It becomes like Bermuda Triangle stuff."

While suggesting it was very unlikely the Boeing 777 crashed on land, Mr Bishop said it was possible.

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Facebook’s illegal organ trade exposed

Facebook has become the medium of choice for illegal organ donors. Source: Supplied

IT SEEMS that some people in Britain are so desperate for some extra cash that they're turning to Facebook to sell their kidneys.

A British newspaper reporter first discovered a Facebook page for buying and selling organs and proceeded to pretend to be the brother of a woman who desperately needed a transplant. Within a week he had 11 offers.

One offer came from a 22-year-old who wanted £20,000 ($AUD37,000) for his kidney to pay for him to move back to his homeland of Hungary with his pregnant fiancee.

Another came from a desperate father of three who wanted £30,000 ($AUD55,000) for his kidney and immediately began to make arrangements for the deal to take place in person.

Aside from those British locals, other offers came from around the world, including Tanzania and Mexico. After organising the deal, most donors travel abroad to undergo black market operations — often to a southern Asian country — and are typically paid £20,000 ($AUD37,000).

Selling your organs is illegal in both Britain and Australia, with a penalty of up to three years in prison in the UK or up to six months in prison in Australia. On top of those penalties, sellers also risk death or health problems by entering surgery in the dodgy world of black market surgery, an industry controlled throughout the world by criminal gangs.

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‘He is the one who killed Daniel’

The trial of the man accused of murdering schoolboy Daniel Morcombe is expected to conclude this week.

The man on trial for murdering Queensland schoolboy Daniel Morcombe has chosen not to testify.

IT is the 17th day of the trial of Brett Peter Cowan, 44, who stands accused of murdering Sunshine Coast teenager Daniel Morcombe.

Cowan, who changed his name to Shaddo N-unyah Hunter, has pleaded not guilty before Brisbane Supreme Court Justice Roslyn Atkinson to murder, indecent treatment and misconduct with a corpse on December 7, 2003

At 3.30pm, Crown Prosecutor Michael Byrne QC told the jury Cowan's confessions to undercover police were reliable and true.

"We say they are so compelling they'll overcome any lingering doubt you may have with respect to the evidence,'' he said.

But Barrister Angus Edwards, for Cowan, told the jury that unless the Crown had proven there was no possibility another man, Douglas Brian Jackway, or a blue sedan was involved in Daniel Morcombe's abduction and murder, it should find Brett Peter Cowan not guilty.

"You know very well there is no forensic evidence … linking Brett Cowan to the abduction of Daniel Morcombe,'' he said.

"You know every detail of Brett Cowan's confession was out in the public arena except for the location of the bones and the clothes.''

Mr Edwards detailed Jackway's offences against a nine-year-old boy in 1995 in painstaking detail to the jury, insisting it was an abduction in broad daylight where he attempted to rape the boy.

For more, continue reading at The Courier-Mail.

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Officials investigate four passengers

Two Brisbane couples and another two Australians are among 239 people missing on a Malaysia Airlines flight.

A Chinese relative of passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines plane waits for information in Beijing. Source: AP

MALAYSIA'S aviation chief says investigators are examining airport CCTV footage of two passengers with stolen passports who boarded the missing Malaysia Airlines plane.

The development came as Malaysia's air force chief raised the possibility that the missing plane may have turned back.

"There are only two passengers on record with false passports,'' department of civil aviation director general Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said.

"We have CCTV recordings of the two passengers. The recordings in the CCTV are now being investigated.''

"There is no four people, only two.''

FAMILIES SHATTERED BY PLANE MYSTERY

TIMELINE: HOW FLIGHT MH370 VANISHED

It was earlier reported that four passengers were under investigation.

Rescue teams searching for the missing flight have widened their search area, Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said.

Investigators are checking the entire passenger list and counter-terrorism units have been activated.

"At the same time our own intelligence have been activated, and of course, the counter-terrorism units ... from all the relevant countries have been informed,'' the Transport Minister said.

Malaysia's air force chief told the joint media conference that radar indicated the missing Boeing 777 may have turned back, but declined to give further details on how far the plane may have veered off course.

Rodzali Daud said there "is a possible indication that the aircraft made a turnback," adding that authorities were "trying to make sense of that.

Malaysia Airlines Chief Executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said the pilot is supposed to inform the airline and traffic control authorities if he does return, but that officials had received no such distress call.

The FBI is sending specialists to Kuala Lumpur to assist with the investigation.

Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said Malaysian security agencies were investigating after it was discovered that two passengers may have boarded missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 using stolen passports, raising fears of potential terrorism.

Another pilot who was flying ahead of the missing Malaysia Airlines plane revealed he made contact with the missing aircraft minutes after he was asked to do so by Vietnamese air traffic control.

He said he heard mumbling and static from the cockpit of flight MH370.

The US team includes accident investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board, as well as technical experts from the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing.

Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein says counter-terrorism units have been activated. Source: AP

The Boeing 777-200 went missing on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on Saturday.

It reportedly went off the radar south of Vietnam.

Reports of oil slicks being found in the South China sea by the Vietnamese Army today have not been confirmed.

Six Australians including two couples from Queensland and one couple from New South Wales are among the 239 people on board who are missing and feared dead.

First officer Fariq ab Hamid was on the missing aircraft. Source: Facebook

Brisbane couples Rodney and Mary Burrows, and Catherine and Robert Lawton of Springfield Lakes are believed to be friends travelling together.

Perth-based father-of-two Paul Weeks, originally from New Zealand, is also among the passengers and crew feared dead.

The Japanese pilot who made contact with the plane told Malaysian media outlets his plane, which was bound for Narita, Japan, was in Vietnamese airspace when he was asked to contact the pilot flying the missing plane.

In using his plane's emergency frequency, he was asked to try and establish its position after authorities failed to make contact.

"We managed to establish contact with MH370 just after 1.30am and asked them if they have transferred into Vietnamese airspace," he told the New Straits Times.

"The voice on the other side could have been either Captain Zaharie or Fariq, but I was sure it was the co-pilot.

"There were a lot of interference... static... but I heard mumbling from the other end.

"That was the last time we heard from them, as we lost the connection," he said."

He said those on the same frequency at the time would have heard him, including vessels on the waters below.

Brisbane couple Rodney and Mary Burrows are among the passengers on the missing plane. Source: Supplied

As Malaysian Airlines released more information about passengers on board the plane, it emerged that two passengers were travelling on stolen passports.

Luigi Maraldi, 27, was listed as the sole Italian national aboard the missing flight, but according to his father, was not on the plane.

"Luigi called us early this morning to reassure us he was fine, but we didn't know about the accident," Walter Maraldi told NBC News. "Thank God he heard about it before us."

The name of an Austrian citizen, Christian Kozel, 30, also appeared on the passenger manifest, but the European nation's foreign ministry stated that the man was safe back home, and that his passport had been stolen.

Officials from Italy and Austria confirmed that the travel documents of both men were reported stolen in Thailand.

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Missing plane may have turned back

The search for Malaysian Airlines jet continues as six Australian passengers were named by DFAT. Courtesy Channel Ten

A Chinese relative of passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines plane waits for information in Beijing. Source: AP

MALAYSIA'S aviation chief says investigators are examining airport CCTV footage of two passengers with stolen passports who boarded the missing Malaysia Airlines plane.

The development came as Malaysia's air force chief raised the possibility that the missing plane may have turned back.

"There are only two passengers on record with false passports,'' department of civil aviation director general Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said.

"We have CCTV recordings of the two passengers. The recordings in the CCTV are now being investigated.''

"There is no four people, only two.''

FAMILIES SHATTERED BY PLANE MYSTERY

TIMELINE: HOW FLIGHT MH370 VANISHED

VIEW THE FULL PASSENGER AND CREW LIST

It was earlier reported that four passengers were under investigation.

Two European names - Austrian Christian Kozel and Luigi Maraldi of Italy - were listed on the passenger manifest but neither man boarded the plane to Beijing, officials said. Both had their passports stolen in Thailand over the past two years.

Rescue teams searching for the missing flight have widened their search area, Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said.

Malaysian authorities expanded their search for wreckage to the country's west coast, and asked for help from Indonesia. Searches so far had concentrated on waters to the country's east, in the South China Sea.

A total of 40 ships and 22 aircraft from an array of countries including China and the US are now involved in the hunt across the two areas, officials said.

Investigators are checking the entire passenger list and counter-terrorism units have been activated.

"At the same time our own intelligence have been activated, and of course, the counter-terrorism units ... from all the relevant countries have been informed,'' the Transport Minister said.

Malaysia's air force chief told the joint media conference that radar indicated the missing Boeing 777 may have turned back, but declined to give further details on how far the plane may have veered off course.

Rodzali Daud said there "is a possible indication that the aircraft made a turnback," adding that authorities were "trying to make sense of that.

Malaysia Airlines Chief Executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said the pilot is supposed to inform the airline and traffic control authorities if he does return, but that officials had received no such distress call.

The FBI is sending specialists to Kuala Lumpur to assist with the investigation.

Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said Malaysian security agencies were investigating after it was discovered that two passengers may have boarded missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 using stolen passports, raising fears of potential terrorism.

Another pilot who was flying ahead of the missing Malaysia Airlines plane revealed he made contact with the missing aircraft minutes after he was asked to do so by Vietnamese air traffic control.

He said he heard mumbling and static from the cockpit of flight MH370.

The US team includes accident investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board, as well as technical experts from the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing.

Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein says counter-terrorism units have been activated. Source: AP

The Boeing 777-200 went missing on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on Saturday.

It reportedly went off the radar south of Vietnam.

Oil slicks found in the South China sea by the Vietnamese Army are being investigated but no debris or wreckage has been found.

EXPERTS SHARE THEORIES ON HOW PLANE DISAPPEARED

Six Australians including two couples from Queensland and one couple from New South Wales are among the 239 people on board who are missing and feared dead.

First officer Fariq ab Hamid was on the missing aircraft. Source: Facebook

Brisbane couples Rodney and Mary Burrows, and Catherine and Robert Lawton of Springfield Lakes are believed to be friends travelling together.

Sydney couple Niajun Gu and Yuan Li, from the Sutherland Shire, were also travelling to China for a long-planned holiday.

Perth-based father-of-two Paul Weeks, originally from New Zealand, is also among the passengers and crew feared dead.

The Japanese pilot who made contact with the plane told Malaysian media outlets his plane, which was bound for Narita, Japan, was in Vietnamese airspace when he was asked to contact the pilot flying the missing plane.

In using his plane's emergency frequency, he was asked to try and establish its position after authorities failed to make contact.

"We managed to establish contact with MH370 just after 1.30am and asked them if they have transferred into Vietnamese airspace," he told the New Straits Times.

"The voice on the other side could have been either Captain Zaharie or Fariq, but I was sure it was the co-pilot.

"There were a lot of interference... static... but I heard mumbling from the other end.

"That was the last time we heard from them, as we lost the connection," he said."

He said those on the same frequency at the time would have heard him, including vessels on the waters below.

Brisbane couple Rodney and Mary Burrows are among the passengers on the missing plane. Source: Supplied

As Malaysian Airlines released more information about passengers on board the plane, it emerged that two passengers were travelling on stolen passports.

Luigi Maraldi, 27, was listed as the sole Italian national aboard the missing flight, but according to his father, was not on the plane.

"Luigi called us early this morning to reassure us he was fine, but we didn't know about the accident," Walter Maraldi told NBC News. "Thank God he heard about it before us."

The name of an Austrian citizen, Christian Kozel, 30, also appeared on the passenger manifest, but the European nation's foreign ministry stated that the man was safe back home, and that his passport had been stolen.

Officials from Italy and Austria confirmed that the travel documents of both men were reported stolen in Thailand.

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Truth about out-of-body experiences

A woman who claims she can have an on demand out-of-body experience is helping scientists unlock the mystery behind the strange phenomenon. Source: ThinkStock

A CANADIAN woman who claims she can have an out-of-body experience at will is helping shed light on the phenomenon to answer whether it's a spiritual spectacle or all in the mind.

Many would dismiss this as hocus pocus but in an article by the Daily Mail the 24-year-old woman claims she is able to drift outside her body whenever she wants, watching herself as she moves freely around in the space above. A skill she thought everybody could do.

This out-of-body happening is known as an 'extra-corporeal experience' (ECE) and is believed to result from areas of the brain associated with kinaesthetic imagery, which handles the sensation of moving. But this is only usually something reported to have occurred in those with brain abnormalities.

Scientists at the University of Ottawa in Canada are using the woman with the very ordinary brain and her extraordinary claims to see what's going on. After several tests and scans scientists revealed that she could be the first person studied to be able to have ECE on demand.

It was found that when she had her out-of-body experience it involved a "strong deactivation of the visual cortex" and left areas of her brain were high in activity.

This scan reveals the brain activity on the left side during an out-of-body experience Source: Supplied

When she describes her experience she explains:

"I feel myself moving, or, more accurately, can make myself feel as if I am moving."

"I know perfectly well that I am not actually moving. There is no duality of body and mind when this happens, not really. In fact, I am hyper-sensitive to my body at that point, because I am concentrating so hard on the sensation of moving. If I "spin" for long enough, I get dizzy."

"I do not see myself above my body. Rather, my whole body has moved up. I feel it as being above where I know it actually is. I usually also picture myself as moving up in my mind's eye, but the mind is not substantive. It does not move unless the body does," she said.

The participant described her experience as one she began performing as a child when bored with "sleep time" at preschool. She discovered she could elicit the experience of moving above her body and used this as a distraction during the time kids were asked to nap. She continued to perform this experience as she grew up assuming, as mentioned, that "everyone could do it." -

Sceptics are likely to remain just that, but scientists are linking these out-of-body reports to brain activity and now have evidence that such phenomena are all in the mind.

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Australians on board missing plane

A search and rescue mission is underway for a Malaysia Airlines flight, which has lost contact with air traffic control.

Flight with 227 passengers and 12 crew on board missing ... Malaysia Airlines service bound for Beijing lost. Source: Supplied

• Beijing-bound flight loses contact at 5.40am AEDT
• 239 passengers missing
• Six Australians on board
• DFAT hotline: 1300 555 135 or 02 6261 3305

TWO Queensland couples are among six Australians missing and feared dead in a Malaysia Airlines crash in the waters off Vietnam.

Brisbane couple Rodney and Mary Burrows and Catherine and Robert Lawton of Springfield Lakes were believed to have been friends travelling together.

Neighbours of the Lawtons described them as a lovely couple.

Caroline Daintith, who had lived across the road from the Lawtons for years, said travel was a big part of the couples' lives.

It is understood a couple from Sydney were also on board the flight.

On board the flight ... Catherine and Robert Lawton of Springfield Lakes. Picture: Facebook Source: Facebook

They are among the 239 people on board a Malaysia Airlines flight that lost contact with air traffic control and may have gone down in the Gulf of Thailand.

The Beijing-bound Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, a Boeing 777-200 aircraft, lost contact with Subang Air Traffic Control at 5.40am (AEST).

"The flight was carrying 227 passengers (including two infants), 12 crew members," the airline said in a statement.

Malaysia Airlines said the passengers were from 14 different nationalities. Initial reports stated seven passengers were Australians but a subsequent statement from the airline put the number at six. Two were from New Zealand.

Raw ... in Beijing, a woman in tears is helped by airport workers to a bus waiting for relatives of the missing passengers. Picture: Han Guan Ng Source: AP

A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the government "fears the worst" for those aboard the flight, and that they had so far confirmed the names of six Australians on the flight's passenger manifest.

"Australian consular officials are in contact with family members living in Australia of those believed to be on the flight and will continue to provide the families with all possible consular assistance," the spokesperson said.

"Australian consular officials are in urgent and ongoing contact with Malaysia Airlines. Malaysia Airlines has advised that it is contacting relatives of the passengers on the flight."

The airline has established a call centre – phone +60 37884 1234 – for those seeking more information.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's 24 hour Consular Emergency Centre is contactable on 1 300 555 135, or +61 2 6261 3305 (if calling from overseas).

A total of 153 passengers were Chinese nationals.

There were also 38 from Malaysia, 12 from Indonesia, three from France, two from New Zealand, four from the USA, two from Ukraine, two Canadians, two Russians, one Italian, one from Taiwan, one from The Netherlands and one from Austria.

Grim news ... Malaysian Airlines Group CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya addresses the media near Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Picture: Manan Vatsyayana Source: AFP

Reports on Twitter appeared to show a full list of names of passengers on board the flight, but its veracity had not been confirmed.

Pham Hien, a Vietnamese search and rescue official, said the last signal detected from the plane was 120 nautical miles (225 kilometers) southwest of Vietnam's southernmost Ca Mau province, which is close to where the South China Sea meets the Gulf of Thailand.

Lai Xuan Thanh, director of Vietnam's civil aviation authority, said air traffic officials in the country never made contact with the plane.

The plane "lost all contact and radar signal one minute before it entered Vietnam's air traffic control,'' Lt. Gen. Vo Van Tuan, deputy chief of staff of the Vietnamese army, said in a statement issued by the government.

The South China Sea is a tense region with competing territorial claims that have led to several low-level conflicts, particularly between China and the Philippines. That antipathy briefly faded as nations of the region rushed to aid in the search, with China dispatching two maritime rescue ships and the Philippines deploying three air force planes and three navy patrol ships to help.

"In times of emergencies like this, we have to show unity of efforts that transcends boundaries and issues,'' said Lt. Gen. Roy Deveraturda, commander of the Philippine military's Western Command.

The ministry launched a rescue effort to find the plane, working in coordination with Malaysian and Chinese officials, the statement added.

Malaysian authorities dispatched a plane, two helicopters and four vessels to search seas off its east coast in the South China Sea, said Faridah Shuib, a spokeswoman for the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency.

The Philippines said it was sending three navy patrol boats and a surveillance plane to help efforts.

Yahoo News quoted local newspaper reports that the Vietnamese Navy said the plane went down into the sea about 153 miles south of Phu Quoc Island, just off the coast of the Vietnamese / Cambodian border.

Other media outlets reported that the Chinese Navy had deployed two vessels to the South China Sea to search for the missing plane.

"Malaysia Airlines is currently working with the authorities who have activated their search and rescue team to locate the aircraft," Malaysia Airlines said.

Search and rescue under way ... a map of the Malaysia Airlines flight's approximate flight path to Beijing. Source: Supplied

China's state news agency reported that the Malaysia Airlines aircraft lost contact over Vietnam while an unconfirmed report on a flight tracking website said the aircraft had plunged 200m and changed course shortly before all contact was lost.

The route would have taken the plane across the Malaysian mainland in a north easterly direction and then across the Gulf of Thailand.

Grief ... A possible relative cries at the Beijing Airport. Picture: Mark Ralston Source: AFP

Chinese news agency Xinhua quoted Chinese aviation authorities saying the plane did not enter China's air traffic control sphere.

China's foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in a statement: "We are very concerned learning this news."

"We are contacting relevant authorities and are trying to confirm relevant information.''

The vice president of Malaysia Airlines told CNN that the missing plane had enough fuel for seven hours.

In shock ... A woman, center, surrounded by media covers her mouth on her arrival at a hotel which is prepared for relatives or friends of passengers aboard the missing plane, in Beijing. Picture: Andy Wong Source: AP

Malaysia Airlines' Chief Executive Officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said in a statement: "We deeply regret that we have lost all contacts with flight MH370 which departed Kuala Lumpur at 12.41am earlier this morning bound for Beijing."

MORE: PLANE CRASHES THAT CHANGED AVIATION HISTORY

MORE: MAJOR AIR DISASTERS SINCE 2009

Seven Australians have been confirmed to be on board a Malaysian Airlines flight which has gone missing.

"The aircraft was scheduled to land at Beijing International Airport at 6.30am local Beijing time (9.30am AEST).

"Subang Air Traffic Control reported that it lost contact at 2.40am (local Malaysia time) today.

"Flight MH370 was operated on a Boeing B777-200 aircraft," he said.

"The flight was carrying a total number of 239 passengers and crew — comprising 227 passengers (including 2 infants), 12 crew members. The passengers were of 13 different nationalities."

Recording the grief ... media hover over a possible relative of a passenger on the Malaysia Airlines flight. Picture: Mark Ralston Source: AFP

The pilot was 53 year old captain Zahari Ahmad Shah, who joined the airline in 1981 and had over 18,000 flying hours.

"Malaysia Airlines is currently working with the authorities who have activated their Search and Rescue team to locate the aircraft," Mr Yahya said..

"We deeply regret that we have lost all contacts with flight MH370 which departed Kuala Lumpur at 12.41am earlier this morning bound for Beijing.

"Our team is currently calling the next-of-kin of passengers and crew.

"Focus of the airline is to work with the emergency responders and authorities and mobilise its full support.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected passengers and crew and their family members."

Fearing the worst ... Chinese police stand beside the arrival board showing the flight MH370 (top red) at Beijing Airport. Picture: Mark Ralston Source: AFP

Follow Malaysia Airlines on the incident on Facebook

Fuad Sharuji, Malaysian Airlines' vice president of operations control, told CNN that the plane was flying at an altitude of 35,000 feet (10,670 meters) and that the pilots had reported no problem with the aircraft.

Finding planes that disappear over the ocean can be very difficult. Aeroplane "black boxes'' - the flight data and cockpit voice recorders - are equipped with "pingers'' that emit ultrasonic signals that can be detected underwater.

Under good conditions, the signals can be detected from several hundred miles away, said John Goglia, a former member of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. If the boxes are trapped inside the wreckage, the sound may not travel as far, he said. If the boxes are at the bottom of an underwater trench, that also hinders how far the sound can travel. The signals also weaken over time.

Air France Flight 447, with 228 people on board, disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean en route from Rio de Janiero to Paris on June 1, 2009. Some wreckage and bodies were recovered over the next two weeks, but it took nearly two years for the main wreckage of the Airbus 330 and its black boxes to be located and recovered.

The Malaysia Airlines plane, registration 9M MRO, is thought to have been a regular on routes and some reports indicate it had previously flown to Melbourne, Sydney, Perth and Auckland.

A flight tracking website shows images of the plane descending at Kingsford-Smith airport in Sydney in 2010.

Showing the strain ... a Malaysian policeman stands guard outside a reception centre for family and friends at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Picture: Manan Vatsyayana Source: AFP

Malaysia Airlines is the national carrier of Malaysia and one of Asia's largest, flying nearly 37,000 passengers daily to some 80 destinations worldwide.

Malaysia Airlines has 15 777 planes in the fleet and is an experienced operator of this type of aircraft.

Aviation Week reported that the missing plane was a 777-2H6ER with tail number 9M-MRO and serial number 28420. It had been built in 2002 and had been used by Malaysian Airlines since that time.

The last major crash of Malaysia Airlines flight was in 1995, when a Fokker 50 (9M-MGH) crashed during approach in Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia, killing 34 people.

In 1977, a Malaysia Airlines flight was hijacked and crashed in Tanjung Kupang, Johor, Malaysia, killing all 100 people aboard.

Anyone wanting more information on the flight should call the airline on +60-378841234.

If you have any information that is relevant to this story, please email paul.tatnell@news.com.au.

Commercial flight missing ... The image from @flightaware shows the last known track of flight MH370 over southern Asia. Picture: Flightaware.com Source: Supplied

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Woman wins $2m with simple trick

A great-grandmother has used the numbers in a fortune cookie to win $2 million. Source: Supplied

IT REALLY was a fortune cookie.

Bronx great-grandmother Emma Duvoll, 75, won a $2 million Powerball prize after going for Chinese takeout — and then playing the numbers printed on the magic slip of paper in her desert.

"I don't play often, and I used to pick numbers of all kinds, birthdays, anniversaries," the elated but publicity-shy Duvoll told The Post after claiming her prize money Thursday.

"You try anything once. And this time it worked."

Duvoll ordered Chinese at Sammy's Noodle Shop & Grill in Greenwich Village with one of her two sons, en route to a family visit in upstate Pine Bush. They ate on the way, and Duvoll kept the fortune cookie slip, deciding to play the numbers at a Pine Bush grocery store pharmacy.

She was aware that fortune cookie numbers had paid off for other lottery winners in the past.

"I heard about it once, a long time ago," said Duvoll, who has eight grandkids and one great grandchild.

The numbers used helped her win $2 million in the lottery. Source: AP

"I was surprised, but pleased," Duvoll said of her February 1 win, which New York State Lottery officials said she opted to take in one lump-sum payment of $1,246,085 after taxes.

Duvoll came to New York years ago from her native Switzerland because, she laughed, "I was young, and New York was very exciting at the time."

She and her husband Dwight, 86, settled in the Bronx, where they owned a delicatessen and raised their two boys in an apartment in the Fordham section.

The Duvolls were watching at home when the Powerball numbers were picked on television last month — and Emma realised she'd won.

"You check the numbers and check again, just to make sure," she recalled. "You don't believe it in the beginning."

"We didn't tell anybody," Duvoll said. "I put it [the winning ticket] in a safe place."

She doesn't expect the windfall to change her lifestyle.

"We're very content they way we are," Duvoll said. "It will probably go into savings and investments."

The couple plan to use their money to visit Switzerland. Source: AP

Duvoll has siblings still living in Switzerland and tries to make an annual visit. "We will probably go this year," she laughed.

In 2005, 110 people from across the US all hit the same Powerball numbers after using the numbers from fortune cookies. The payout was about $100,000 per winner. Lottery officials investigated and learned the cookies had all come from Wonton Food in Long Island City.

The cookie that held Duvoll's fortune came from super K. Fortune Cookie Kari-Out Co, according to workers at Sammy's Noodle Shop.

"Right now we believe in fortune cookies," Sammy's cashier Grace Lee cracked after hearing about Duvoll's stroke of luck.

"We decided now to play fortune cookie numbers every day," said hostess Carmen Kong. "I'm happy for her."

This article originally appeared on The New York Post.

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Six ways to spy on your partner

Actual surveillance images of a man cheating on his girlfriend on the My Spy Private Investigators site. Source: Supplied

LET'S be honest: There's absolutely no reason to justify spying on your significant other. Not only because relationships are built on 'trust' and 'mutual respect' and 'honesty', but because nine times out of 10, you'll probably be caught red-handed. If the ethical implications aren't enough to dissuade you, then the prospect of being spotted crouched over their phone, red-faced and frantically swiping through their texts while muttering expletives to yourself, certainly should.

But what if you don't care about getting caught? What if you don't care about 'trust' or 'mutual respect' or 'being a decent person'? What if you're 100 per cent convinced? Then you can purchase one of these helpful apps to track them down and corner them like the rats they are.

Don't blame us when everything goes wrong. Source: ThinkStock

Did we forget to mention that spying on your partner is a bad idea? Well, it's a really, really bad idea. But if you're absolutely, 100 per cent sure you want to do it, here's how.

1. ThaiSpy

For our spurned readers in the southeast Asian market, here's ThaiSpy, a spying app that allows "close boyfriends or distant sugar daddies of women ... to know they are being honoured and appreciated." What, exactly, does this entail? For $29.99 a month, you can track your partner's social media activity, address book contacts, Skype calls, and text messages remotely, without having to jailbreak your partner's phone or install it directly on their device. The software also includes a Thai-to-English translation option for $2 USD per message, as it appears to be targeted at English-speaking businessmen who want to keep an eye on their Thai paramours from overseas.

Screengrab via ThaiSpy Source: Supplied

Is ThaiSpy legal? We'll let them answer for themselves, on the FAQ section of their website: "The use of monitoring technology is legal in many situations. For example, If it's your own phone, or the phone of an employee, if they have been advised about company policy or for the guardian of a child or where the user of the device is aware of the application perhaps as way to back up data. ThaiSpy do not offer any advice on this, and you purchase it on the basis that you will not use it for any illegal activity."

So, basically ... no, probably not. But hey, serving hard time for illegal surveillance is a small price to pay for the warm fuzzy feeling of knowing your partner isn't boinking someone else, amirite?

2. Couple Tracker

Available on the Google Play store, Couple Tracker is like equal opportunity spying. Both partners must agree to allow their digital activity to be monitored, so you guys can check each other's calls, texts, Facebook activity, and GPS location from afar.

Couple Tracker is an app to keep track of your partner's digital activity. Courtesy: Better Tomorrow Apps

Screengtab via Couple Tracker/Google Play Source: Supplied

There's one catch, though: You and your partner only have access to the first 30 characters of each other's texts, and you can only track your GPS locations within a 30-minute interval. That might seem like a pretty minor caveat, but people who want to cheat tend to figure out a way to do it regardless of the obstacles, so don't be surprised if you see your wife sends out a message like, "Hey Alex can you grab the McAllister file I think I left it at my desk before ... OH GOOD THAT'S MORE THAN 30 CHARACTERS NOW TAKE ME, TAKE ME RAMON YOU ARE COLUMBUS AND I AM AMERICA DISCOVER ME, RAMON, DISCOVER ME!!"

4. Find My Kids — Footprints

"But I don't have kids," you say. "Why would I use an app called Find My Kids to track down my wayward lover?" Good question, Imaginary Rhetorical Device Person, but Find My Kids comes equipped with a real-time, automatic tracking and sharing function. So if your partner has it on his/her phone, you can find out where they are at any given time, unlike other apps that merely show you their last known location.

Screengrab via Find My Kids-Footprints/Apple Store Source: Supplied

Because the app is targeted at anxious parents who want to make sure their kids are still in school, there's a geofencing feature that notifies you if your target (ahem, sorry, we meant "loved one") strays outside of a certain area. Plus, the app has a handy-dandy speeding notification, which is great for those who care about their partners' vehicular safety way more than they care about respecting their privacy.

5. Camster

With its screenshots of Pebble Beach and Shamu at Sea World, the profile for the live network cam app Camster, which lets you access live feeds from network cameras around the world, makes it seem like it's not intended for personal surveillance purposes.

But if you pay extra to add your own camera, you can watch a live webcam feed of your home, business, or any other location remotely 24/7, so if you're away on business you can keep an eye out for any visitors or suspicious cars in your driveway.

Screengrab via Camster/Apple Store Source: Supplied

It all sounds very sexy and Ocean's Eleven-y, but the app has terrible reviews on the iTunes store. Which, honestly, is probably for the best: If you have enough time on your hands that you're glued to a webcam 24 hours a day, you're probably not stable enough to be in a relationship to begin with.

6. The rest of the internet.

You wouldn't necessarily associate sites like Facebook and Instagram with cyberstalking (jeez, it was hard to even type that clause without snickering), but it turns out their utility for tracking love interests goes beyond clicking through your ex-boyfriend's vacation photos and snarking about how much weight he's gained since your breakup.

Mock up photo of a Private investigator. Source: News Corp Australia

On mobile, Facebook users' posts usually include a time stamp as well as a location, so if your partner posts a status update or likes a post while on the go, it's a pretty safe bet you can gauge his or her location, without having to shell out $40/month for a questionable legal surveillance device, you adorable psycho, you. Same goes for Instagram: the "upload location" feature tells you exactly where a photo was taken regardless of when/where it's actually uploaded, so if your partner was knocking back shots at a strip joint instead of working late at the office like he/she said, and someone happens to snap photo documentation of it, you'll know. Oh, yes, you'll know.

7. mSpy

The software mSpy is basically the granddaddy of surveillance apps: For $40 a month, you can access a loved one's contacts, call logs, text messages, phone recordings, Skype calls, locations, photos and videos, WhatsApp activity, and browser history. If you're a micromanager on top of a snoopy SOB, and your partner has a nasty porn or gambling or takeout habit, you can even remotely block access to his/her favourite sites using the software. On top of that, Mspy just announced that they plan to start selling bundled packages, so you can theoretically give someone a cell phone with the software preloaded onto it.

Screengrabs via Mspy Source: Supplied

The legality of mSpy and other surveillance apps is up for debate. MSpy founders Andrei Shimanovich and Alex Herz say it is, as long as the person under surveillance consents to it beforehand. But there's clearly no way to ensure that all of mSpy's users are adhering to those guidelines, and the fact that the website's demo is of a father tracking his wife and son indicates that most people probably use the software for less-than-totally-legitimate purposes.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Dot.

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