By Eveline Danubrata and Nguyen Phuong Linh KUALA LUMPUR/PHU QUOC ISLAND, Vietnam (Reuters) - A missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner may have turned back from its scheduled route before vanishing from radar screens, military officers said on Sunday, deepening the mystery surrounding the fate of the plane and the 239 people aboard. More than 36 hours after the last contact with Flight MH370, officials said they were widening the search to cover vast swathes of sea around Malaysia and off Vietnam, and were investigating at least two passengers who may have been using false identity documents. Despite dozens of military and civilians vessels and aircraft criss-crossing waters to the east and west of Malaysia, no wreckage has been found, although oil slicks have been reported in the sea south of Vietnam. "What we have done is actually look into the recording on the radar that we have and we realized there is a possibility the aircraft did make a turnback," Rodzali Daud, the Royal Malaysian Air Force chief, told reporters at a news conference.

By Peter Graff and Andrew Osborn KIEV/SEVASTOPOL, Ukraine (Reuters) - Shots were fired in Crimea to warn off an unarmed international team of monitors and at a Ukrainian observation plane, as the standoff between occupying Russian forces and besieged Ukrainian troops intensified. Russia's seizure of the Black Sea peninsula, which began 10 days ago, has so far been bloodless, but its forces have become increasingly aggressive towards Ukrainian troops, who are trapped in bases and have offered no resistance. President Vladimir Putin declared a week ago that Russia had the right to invade Ukraine to protect Russian citizens, and his parliament has voted to change the law to make it easier to annex territory inhabited by Russian speakers. Tempers have grown hotter in the last two days, since the region's pro-Moscow leadership declared it part of Russia and announced a March 16 referendum to confirm it.

By Sui-Lee Wee and Li Hui BEIJING (Reuters) - China has curtailed the power of the ruling Communist Party's Political and Legal Committee, a secretive body overseeing the security services, to interfere in most legal cases, scholars with knowledge of the situation said - a significant reform at a time of public discontent over miscarriages of justice. Part of a package of legal reforms, the move signals a willingness by Xi's government to reform its court system as long as it doesn't threaten the party's overall control. China's highest court, the Supreme People's Court, will delivers its work report to parliament on Monday, which could detail some of these reforms. NO CONFERRING Chen Guangzhong, who took part in discussions with officials on reforming the criminal law system after the 18th Party Congress in November 2012, said he has seen an internal document saying "there can be no coordination allowed on cases".

By Chris Witkowsky NEW YORK, March 8 (Reuters-peHUB) - The auction of JP Morgan Chase's private equity business, One Equity Partners, in the market since at least November, has hit an impasse, according to three people with knowledge of the situation. A spokesperson for JP Morgan Chase declined to comment. The bank announced last July it was spinning off One Equity, its last remaining private equity operation, because the unit was not core. JP Morgan Chase was not under regulatory pressure to sell: One Equity would not be affected by the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, which restricts the ability of bank holding companies to own and operate private equity groups, sister news service Reuters reported last year.

China's consumer prices rose at their slowest rate in 13 months in February as pork prices fell by their most in over a year, a sign that slowing growth rather than rising prices poses a bigger risk to the world's second-biggest economy. The consumer price index rose 2 percent in February from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Sunday, exactly in line with market expectations. And in an indication that China's wobbly economy is fighting substantial slack, producer prices fell for the 24th consecutive month by dropping 2 percent, slightly above forecasts for a 1.9 percent drop. The tepid price data could fuel investor worries about the health of China's economy, which drew new concerns this week after figures showed export growth slumped by nearly a fifth last month.

That bet has helped equities shrug off bearish data and geopolitical uncertainties in Ukraine, taking the S&P 500 to a series of record highs. "We're hoping the payroll report means we're on a stronger footing going ahead and that we can get more robust growth going forward," said Michael Mullaney, chief investment officer of Fiduciary Trust Co in Boston.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The producer of early Grammy and National Football League telecasts has died.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Family members say the former president of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has died in Oceanside, Calif.

CAIRO (AP) — The signal of a Saudi-based television network was deliberately jammed while airing the show of Egypt's top satirist, the broadcaster's spokesman said Saturday, the latest disruption to hit the popular program.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Frustrated in his big fight against Floyd Mayweather Jr., Canelo Alvarez found a much easier target in Alfredo Angulo.

DORAL, Fla. (AP) — In only his second year on the PGA Tour, Patrick Reed already is used to playing in the final group on Sunday — and winning.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — With strands of net behind their ears, Florida seniors Casey Prather, Scottie Wilbekin, Will Yeguete and Patric Young stopped at midcourt and kissed the floor.

By Sharon Bernstein LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California Attorney General Kamala Harris sought to engage and energize fellow Democrats on Saturday and warned them not to become complacent with their domination of state politics. A rising star widely expected to seek higher office, Harris, 49, urged Democrats to "stay awake" at her party's annual convention in Los Angeles, drawing a standing ovation as she urged attention to civil rights issues and consumer protection. Let's stay awake," she warned Democrats, whose party holds about two-thirds of seats in the state legislature as well as the posts of governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and attorney general. Harris, who served as district attorney of San Francisco before being elected attorney general in 2010, is heading into her re-election bid with a $3 million war chest and little opposition.

Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky came out the favorite for the second straight year among Republican conservative activists voting for the candidate they would like to see in the White House next. Paul, a potential 2016 White House contender, won 31 percent in the annual straw poll taken at the Conservative Political Action Conference. His closest competitors were Texas Senator Ted Cruz, with 11 percent, and conservative neurosurgeon Ben Carson with 9 percent.

By Sharon Bernstein LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - California Democrats on Saturday vowed to restore their two-thirds majority in the legislature and push their statewide success eastward in an effort to retake a majority in Congress. The pledge at the state's annual Democratic convention came a week after Democrats effectively lost their prized two-thirds majority in the legislature as two state senators were forced to go on leave under criminal indictments or convictions. The convention, which effectively kicks off election season, showcased Democratic stars such as California Governor Jerry Brown and the state's Attorney General Kamala Harris as well as featured former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whom party leaders are hoping may be able to return to her old job. Brown, who is running for an unprecedented fourth term in November, said California had been written off for dead and called a failed state, but now it is recovering faster than the rest of the nation.