MH370: Hunt Resumes For Plane's Black Box

The hunt for missing flight MH370 has resumed as authorities race to identify further signals which could point to the location of the plane's black box recorder.

The search operation is seeking to determine the black box's exact resting place in the southern Indian Ocean before the device's beacons fade.

The Australian defence vessel Ocean Shield will today carry out "focused sweeps" of the search area with a towed pinger locator in an attempt to pick up more signals.

Today's operation covers an area of 15,982 square miles, some 1,450 miles northwest of Perth.

A message for family members seen in Kuala Lumpur

Nine military aircraft, one civil plane and 14 ships will assist in the search, according to the Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC).

"Today, Australian defence vessel Ocean Shield continues more focused sweeps with the towed pinger locator to try and locate further signals related to the aircraft's black boxes," JACC said.

"This work continues in an effort to narrow the underwater search area for when the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle is deployed."

Ocean Shield has already picked up four signals linked to aircraft black boxes, with the first two revealed to be consistent with signals from aircraft flight recorders.

The beacons on the plane's flight data and cockpit voice recorders only have a normal battery lifespan of around 30 days.

The renewed search comes after Australia's prime minister said searchers were "very confident" that signals detected in the Indian Ocean are from the plane's black box.

A relative beside a banner dedicated to passengers at Lido Hotel in Beijing

Tony Abbott told reporters during a visit to China that authorities have "very much narrowed down the search area".

"We are very confident that the signals that we are detecting are from the black box," he said.

"Nevertheless, we're getting into the stage where the signal from what we are very confident is the black box is starting to fade.

"We are hoping to get as much information as we can before the signal finally expires."

The Malaysia Airlines plane went missing on March 8 with 239 people on board.

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Interrogation Pokes Holes In Pistorius Defence

By Emma Hurd, Sky Correspondent, in Pretoria

After a weekend of respite, Oscar Pistorius will return to the witness box on Monday to face more questions under cross-examination in his murder trial.

His account of the shooting that left his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp dead has already been challenged in three days of tough interrogation.

This has exposed some of the weaknesses in his defence and posed questions that could prove crucial to judge Thokozile Masipa's eventual verdict.

:: Where was Reeva?

The crucial issue of why the athlete failed to realise his girlfriend was not in the bed when he went with his gun to investigate a noise coming from the bathroom was the focus of many of prosecutor Gerrie Nel's questions.

Oscar Pistorius said he had spoken to Reeva Steenkamp in the bedroom and asked her to call the police when he heard what he thought was an intruder.

Gerrie Nel has appeared incredulous at some of Pistorius' evidence

He said he was "fixated on the noise" and did not think it was strange that she had not replied.

Mr Nel insisted that it was "unreasonable" to believe that, given that Ms Steenkamp was in the toilet, she would not have shouted out to the runner who had been screaming "at intruders" just metres away.

The prosecution also pressed the athlete on whether he had heard Ms Steenkamp screaming when he fired shots into the toilet door.

The runner said he was sure she had not screamed but was forced to admit that he might not have heard her because of the sound of the shots.

:: Did he intend to shoot?

The issue of intent is vital in a murder trial and the prosecution has attempted to show Oscar Pistorius shot to kill that night - whoever he thought he was firing at.

The athlete insisted he "fired out of fear" after hearing a noise from the toilet. His said he did not have time to think and that it was "a mistake".

The prosecution repeatedly stressed that Pistorius approached the toilet with his gun held out and the safety catch off ready to shoot, even "wanting to shoot".

He knew someone might be in the small, enclosed space of the toilet, Mr Nel claimed, and the shooting was a deliberate act.

:: Why did he go towards the threat?

Another difficult moment for Oscar Pistorius came when Gerrie Nel asked him why he went towards the danger of the noise in the bathroom.

The athlete could not explain why - if he thought there was an intruder - he had not taken Reeva Steenkamp and escaped out into the safety of the rest of the house through the bedroom door.

Pistorius admitted he had to walk right past the exit from the bedroom to get to the bathroom.

"It is my personality not to run away," he insisted, while re-iterating that he wanted to protect Ms Steenkamp.

The prosecution has declared his whole defence "a lie".

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Falklands 'Show Of Force' Angers Argentina

Britain has been accused of planning a "show of force" in the Falkland Islands as it prepares for military exercises next week.

The diplomatic clash has seen the British ambassador in Buenos Aires summoned by Argentina's Deputy Foreign Minister Eduardo Zuain in protest.

The exercises are due to take place between April 14 and April 27.

A spokesman for the Embassy of Argentina in London said: "This action falls within a pattern already denounced by President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner on 2 April, consisting of provocations and hostile acts towards Argentina from an extra-continental nuclear power.

"Deputy Foreign Minister Eduardo Zuain has summoned the British ambassador in Buenos Aires to hand him a letter of protest in view of this new show of military force in the South Atlantic, a zone of peace.

"This action is a new example of UK's disregard for United Nations resolutions, which call on both parties to resume negotiations over sovereignty and refrain from introducing unilateral modifications in the situation as long as the dispute persists."

The military exercises are the latest in a series of diplomatic disputes since President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner took power in Argentina.

In December, Britain accused Argentina of "bullying tactics" over its threat to punish oil firms operating off the Falklands Islands with heavy fines and other penalties.

In a referendum last year, Islanders voted by 1,513 votes to three in favour of remaining British.

Prime Minister David Cameron said at the time that the referendum result "could not have sent a clearer message".

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'Everyone Remains A Suspect' On Flight MH370

By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent, Kuala Lumpur

MI6, the CIA and Chinese intelligence officials are still trying to find out what happened to missing flight MH370, Sky News has been told.

Hishammuddin Hussein, Malaysia's defence minister and acting transport minister, admitted that mistakes had been made in the way relatives had sometimes been treated.

But, during a lengthy interview, he defended his country's handling of what he described as an "unprecedented situation without benchmark".

Talking to Sky News in a Kuala Lumpur city centre hotel, he said the criminal investigation remains live.

"Everyone on board remains under suspicion as it stands," he said.

"As we look into the black box, we look into new facts. It isn't just MI6 involved in the investigation, it is Chinese intelligence, it's also the FBI.

Everyone on board, including the two pilots, remains under suspicion

"I've asked them to re-intensify their investigations, just as we did with the radar data."

On what work MI6 has helped with, he explained: "The whole passenger manifest, the FBI looked at the simulator, that will all come out later.

"I find it difficult to say more without jeopardising the investigation. The truth will prevail."

The Malaysian government has been criticised by the media and international onlookers over the last five weeks.

It has certainly been an event the likes of which the country has never experienced before. Mr Hussein admitted lessons had been learned.

"I'm not saying MAS (Malaysia Airlines) handled it perfectly," he said.

"We have to deal with family members who are trying to grapple with it. And sometimes people are not sensitive, including the Malaysian government, including MAS."

The investigations continue alongside the search for the black box

He insisted the Chinese relatives who demonstrated outside the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing, and then later in Kuala Lumpur, did not represent all the family members:

"I know there are families who are really not happy with how things are going and we try to manage it," he said.

"But at the same time there is also the other side of the coin where other people have been dealing with their grief in a different way."

"I can only do my best. I can only tell you what I know. But the problem with the families is that the one question they want to know I don't have the answers to just yet, which is: Where are their loved ones? Where is the plane?"

It remains unclear who will take possession of the black box once it is found.

It could be the Malaysian government, the American National Transportation Board, British Air Accident Investigations Branch, or perhaps a multi-national group.

But the belief is that the Australians have found the location of the missing plane, although they are yet to retrieve any wreckage.

"I think it is the black box and I hope it is the black box, but if not I will still not give up," Mr Hussein said.

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Pistorius Faces Fifth Day On Witness Stand

Oscar Pistorius has been accused of "tailoring his evidence" at his murder trial, where he denies murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel repeatedly challenged the Paralympian's account of events while questioning him about whether the alarm in his home was activated on the night he shot Ms Steenkamp.

The confrontation led Pistorius to admit he could be giving inconsistent answers because he was tired - prompting the judge to ask if he was able to continue with his evidence.

Mr Nel also claimed the athlete was lying about an incident when he claims he was shot at while driving on a highway in 2008 or 2009, because he could not remember who he had called for help that night.

Mr Nel said: "It is so improbable that you can not remember - the only reason you can not remember is that it didn't happen."

The athlete was asked about security measures at his house, as the lawyer known as the "Pit Bull" sought to undermine his claims that he was concerned about crime.

Pistorius told the court he had never been a victim of crime at his Silver Woods home, apart from an occasion when he said police stole his watches.

Pistorius has faced a gruelling week of questions in the Pretoria court

He said security measures in the area had been upgraded several times, but he had never attended meetings of a home owners association where those issues were raised.

Mr Nel again suggested the athlete was a selfish person, raising his previous statements that Ms Steenkamp had often prayed for him and his training.

Mr Nel has sought to dismantle the Paralympian's heroic life story and portray him as self-centred, short-tempered, gun-obsessed and eager to shirk responsibility for his actions.

Speaking outside court, Sky's Crime Correspondent Martin Brunt said: "He clearly wants to put him under enough pressure to admit what the prosecution say really happened that night - that Pistorius woke up, they had an argument, she ran away to the bathroom screaming and he chased her and shot her dead."

Pistorius denies premeditated murder and illegally possessing ammunition in relation to Ms Steenkamp's death.

He also denies two further counts related to shooting a gun in public in separate incidents prior to the killing.

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MH370: 'Confidence' Over Black Box Search

Searchers are "very confident" that signals detected in the hunt for missing flight MH370 are from the plane's black box, Australia's prime minister says.

Tony Abbott told reporters during a visit to China that authorities have "very much narrowed down the search area" in the southern Indian Ocean.

"We are very confident that the signals that we are detecting are from the black box," Mr Abbott said.

"Nevertheless, we're getting into the stage where the signal from what we are very confident is the black box is starting to fade.

"We are hoping to get as much information as we can before the signal finally expires."

The search is currently focused on an 18,000 square mile search area after a fifth ping was detected around 1,400 miles off Perth, in western Australia.

The signal was captured on Thursday by an Australian Air Force P-3C Orion surveillance plane, which has been dropping sonar buoys into the ocean.

Zhang Zhiliang looks at photos of his fiancee, who was on board the flight

However, Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) chief Angus Houston says an initial assessment of the latest signal indicates it is not related to an aircraft's black box.

Speaking from Perth, Sky's Nick Martin said there were "mixed messages" from Australia this morning as the hunt for the plane continued.

Mr Abbott was first quoted as saying he was confident the black box had been found, and then later said he was confident signals picked up by search teams were from a black box.

"Either he's been misquoted or he has slightly jumped the gun," said Martin.

Twelve military aircraft, three civil planes and 13 ships have joined the search today. The Royal Navy vessel HMS Echo is also part of the operation.

Joint Agency Coordination Centre chief Angus Houston

Authorities have been racing to locate the plane's data and cockpit recorders, as the ping-emitting beacons are expected to fade.

No floating debris from the Malaysia Airlines aircraft has yet been found, despite the major multinational air and sea operation.

The renewed search operation comes as Malaysia's acting transport minister admitted that mistakes were made in how authorities treated the victims' families.

Hishammuddin Hussein said the missing plane had posed an "unprecedented situation without benchmark".

The Malaysia Airlines plane went missing on March 8 with 239 people on board.

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Child Dies After Orlando Day Care Car Crash

One child has been killed and least 11 injured after a car crashed into a Florida day care centre.

The highway patrol reported that some of the victims were in a "very, very serious" condition after the crash at the KinderCare building in Orlando.

Police said a silver or greyish Dodge Durango hit another vehicle that then crashed into the building. The Durango left the scene but was found shortly afterwards some distance away.

Police named 26-year-old Robert Corchado as a person of interest they were searching for following the collision and warned he might be attempting to fly out of the state.

The Orlando Sentinel reported a witness as saying the car disappeared inside the day care centre before the driver emerged, apparently unhurt but visibly shaken.

Small children and infants in cots were evacuated outside into the playground after the crash, while several of those injured were taken out on stretchers.

Victims were seen being taken away on stretchers

Parents could be seen waiting to pick up their children and then clutching them in their arms as they were taken to their vehicles by authorities.

Thirteen people have been taken to hospital, while two others were treated at the scene.

Jeezy Jenkins, who was repairing the roof of the petrol station next door, said he saw several small children lying, seriously injured, on the ground inside the building.

"The ones that I did see, I seen blood come out of their mouths, their mouths hit something or whenever because they were bleeding out of their mouths and there was other ones that weren't moving at all, and the teachers were giving them CPR and stuff like that," Click Orlando reported him as saying.

Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs called the crash an "absolute tragedy and disaster".

The day care centre's website says the centre provides childcare and learning opportunities for children aged six weeks to 12 years old.

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Missing Plane: Search Narrowed In MH370 Hunt

Why Is MH370 Search Chief So Optimistic?

Updated: 8:05am UK, Thursday 10 April 2014

Retired Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston is a military man, and military men deal in certainties.

He won't commit himself to say they have found the plane. Not yet. Not until he sees some wreckage for his own eyes.

"How confident are you?" he was asked by an Australian reporter. "50%, 70%, 90%?"

He laughed it off. He wouldn't be drawn. Of course he wouldn't. He's a military man. Certainties, certainties, certainties, remember?

There's no "we think we've found it". In his way of thinking, you've either found it or you haven't.

But they have found it, and he knows it.

You only need to read his demeanour and body posture in the press conferences, and how he has relaxed in recent days.

And he's absolutely right not to commit himself. Because he wouldn't just be making a judgement without the full facts, he would be sealing the fate of the 239 people who were on that plane, and he would be telling the families that any remaining hope was now lost.

He will have to do that at some point, in the coming days I suspect, but only when he is ready, only when he is sure.

And that's right.

I think his media management has been top notch.

He has answered all the many detailed questions the media have asked, and built trust.

But there is one thing that has me wondering...

"We're being transparent, we're hiding nothing," he said as he left the podium at the end of a recent press conference.

Well, I don't quite believe him. There was something that led them to that spot in the Indian Ocean, some clue, some intelligence, something that meant Ocean Shield heard the first pings on the very day the black box batteries were due to start weakening.

Sure, Inmarsat has been recalculating its data and narrowing down the search area, but that alone can't be enough.

They have found the plane's black box, potentially 14,700 ft (4,500m) below the Ocean in the middle of nowhere, and not a single piece of wreckage has been picked up to guide them.

Something told them to look there...

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Pistorius: Court Hears Reeva Was 'Scared'

Oscar Pistorius has been questioned over "scared" text messages sent to his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp during their four-month relationship.

The court in Pretoria heard a series of text messages between the couple which involved arguments over Miss Steenkamp talking to other men or the couple leaving events early.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel read from one message which said: "I've been upset with you for two days now... I'm scared of you sometimes."

He added: "Why would she be scared of you?"

Pistorius replied: "I think she's scared of the feelings that she had for me, she says 'I'm scared of you sometimes and how you snap at me and how you will react to me'.

"I never shouted or screamed at her. It hurt her feelings about the way I would react."

Mr Nel accused the athlete of "picking on" Miss Steenkamp, including an argument after he moved away from her when she began touching his neck in public and where he told her not to chew gum because "it doesn't look good on camera".

He said the phrase "I love you" never appeared in either of their phone messages to each other.

But the 27-year-old insisted his relationship was open and trusting with Miss Steenkamp and said he did not write text messages showing his feelings because he preferred to talk to her.

He said: "I think I was a bit more sensitive and perhaps she was more open to discuss her feelings, my lady."

Mr Nel claimed Pistorius "did not care enough" to tell Miss Steenkamp he loved her after she sent a text message expressing her feelings and insisted his relationship was focused on "me, Oscar".

Pistorius replied: "I would never want to say those words on a message, I prefer to talk to her."

The athlete also told the court in Pretoria he was "terribly sorry" he had taken his girlfriend's life after he was asked why he had not apologised in person to her family.

He said: "I am terribly sorry that I took the life of their daughter."

Mr Nel also questioned him over an incident in a restaurant where a gun went off while in his possession.

Pistorius has insisted he did have the handgun went it discharged but denied having his finger on the trigger.

He said: "The firearm was in my possession but I did not pull the trigger. I did not have my finger on the trigger but the firearm was discharged."

He then told the court he accepted responsibility for the weapon going off and offered to pay for any damages caused to the restaurant.

Mr Nel said: "So the whole table cannot remember you taking the blame. It is amazing that you are the only one that can remember that."

Pistorius denies premeditated murder and illegally possessing ammunition and two further counts related to shooting a gun in public in separate incidents prior to the killing.

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MH370 Search Chief 'Optimistic' Of Finding Jet

A navy ship has picked up two further signals from what could be the black boxes of missing Flight MH370.

The "reacquiring" of sounds on two more occasions by search teams is being described as "encouraging".

Australia's Ocean Shield navy ship first detected the sounds late on Saturday and early Sunday before losing them.

Map shows where signals were picked up

Search coordinator Angus Houston said the ship relocated the signals on Tuesday afternoon and then later that night.

An analysis of the earlier signals found they were stable, distinct, and clear sounds that had a consistent pulse, indicating they were from a plane's black box.

"They (the analysts) believe the signals to be consistent with the specification and description of a flight data recorder," he added.

Mr Houston went on: "It's nothing natural. It comes from a man-made device."

A map showing the location of the four pings detected so far

The new signals may allow the search to be concentrated on a much smaller area of the southern Indian Ocean, and open the way for the use of an unmanned submarine to look for wreckage.

Mr Houston said: "Now hopefully with lots of transmissions we'll have a tight, small area and hopefully in a matter of days we will be able to find something on the bottom.

"I'm now optimistic that we will find the aircraft, or what is left of the aircraft, in the not too distant future - but we haven't found it yet, because this is a very challenging business."

Search area for today shown on a map

Earlier, it was feared the audio signal from the plane's black boxes may have died.

And Mr Houston acknowledged time was running out, noting the signals picked up on Tuesday were weaker and briefer than those heard over the weekend.

"So we need to, as we say in Australia, 'make hay while the sun shines'," said Mr Houston.

The data recorders could provide critical information about what happened to the aircraft, which disappeared on March 8 with 239 people on board.

Angus Houston, head of the search operation, during his news conference

It is thought the airliner crashed into the Indian Ocean after veering thousands of miles off course.

The authorities say evidence indicates the plane was deliberately diverted by someone, but have not ruled out mechanical problems.

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Toyota In Global Recall Of 6 Million Vehicles

Toyota has issued a global recall of millions of vehicles because of safety issues.

The Japanese company said the announcement covers three issues affecting RAV4, Hilux, Yaris and Urban Cruiser models.

A total of 35,124 UK-registered vehicles are affected by the recall.

The carmaker said: "Worldwide, there have been no reports of any accidents or injuries relating to these issues.

"Toyota is conducting the recalls according to Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) code of practice."

The firm said it would provide a "prompt inspection and repair programme" without charge to owners.

Customers can check if their vehicle is affected by using a registration number look-up function on its website.

It said a spiral cable assembly issue had been identified on airbag modules of some RAV4 and Hilux vehicles.

There is a risk that when the steering wheel is turned damage may occur to the circuitry.

"If connectivity is lost, the airbag warning light will illuminate on the instrument panel and the driver's airbag may be deactivated," Toyota said.

The RAV4 and Hilux vehicles were manufactured between June 2004 and December 2010.

The world's largest carmaker also found a fault in the seat adjustment rail for Yaris and Urban Cruisers could fail after repeated usage.

Toyota's Prius Hybrids were recalled last February

It said: "Should the spring break, the seat may not lock into its adjusted position, and could move in the event of a crash."

The affected Yaris and Urban Cruiser models were built between January 2005 and August 2010, covering 10,339 UK-registered cars.

Toyota said there was a potential fault in the tilt or telescopic steering column of some second generation Yaris and Urban Cruisers.

It said: "Toyota is aware that the weld which connects the steering column bracket to the instrument panel on some Yaris and Urban Cruiser models might break when the steering wheel is repeatedly turned with full force.

"The driver may hear an abnormal noise from the bracket area and if the vehicle continues to be driven, it is possible that the bracket will fail, causing the steering column to tilt out of position. However, the driver will not lose steering control."

The potential steering issue affected 1,293 UK cars built between September 2005 and February 2009.

The company said: "Vehicle owners will be contacted by Toyota within the coming weeks by post or telephone and asked to make an appointment to bring their car to their nearest Toyota Centre, in accordance with DVSA guidelines."

Tokyo-listed shares for the company were down more than 3% on the Nikkei after the news was announced on Wednesday.

Some of the affected vehicles were made in France, with the majority built in Japan.

Toyota was once renowned for impeccable build quality but that reputation has been hit in recent years.

In 2012, it recalled more than 3 million vehicles over safety issues and last February 1.9 million Prius Hybrids were recalled.

The Toyota announcement is the latest in a series of high-profile recalls to hit the sector.

General Motors recently recalled more than 2.4 million North American vehicles over ignition switch issues - with its CEO grilled by politicians in Washington DC - while the world's second biggest carmaker, Volkswagen, recalled 2.6m vehicles late last year.

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Oscar Pistorius: Reeva Died In My Arms

Oscar Pistorius has described the moment Reeva Steenkamp died in his arms after he frantically tried to stop her bleeding.

Pistorius described desperately carrying the model down the stairs of his home and to an ambulance, with his fingers in her mouth and hand on a wound on her hip. 

Asked by his barrister whether he intended to kill his girlfriend, Pistorius responded: "I did not intend to kill Reeva or anyone else for that matter." 

The denial came minutes before prosecuting barrister Gerrie Nel began cross examination - immediately going for the jugular.

June Steenkamp, Reeva's mother, watches today's proceedings

Mr Nel, known as the "pit bull", asked Pistorius about shooting his girlfriend dead.

"Won't you take responsibility, take responsibility, say 'I shot and killed Reeva Steenkamp'," he said.

Pistorius replied: "I did. I made a terrible mistake."

A legal battle then blew up about whether the prosecution would be allowed to show a Sky News video featuring Oscar Pistorius at a gun range - something the defence called "an ambush".

Earlier, speaking of the seconds after discovering her body in the toilet, Pistorius said he initially thought she did not have a pulse - but then felt her breathing.  

He told the court today: "She was sitting with her weight on top of the toilet bowl. I checked to see if she was breathing and she wasn't.

"I pulled her weight on to me and I sat there crying for some time. I felt her head on my shoulder and I could feel the blood running down me. 

"I thought I felt her breathing. I could see her arm was broken.

"I was trying to pick Reeva up. I could see she was still breathing. She was struggling to breathe." 

Pistorius said that he rang 911 and also security - but did not remember either call clearly.

"After I got off the phone with 911, I ran downstairs to open the front door. I could barely pick Reeva up. I opened the front door.

"I ran back up to my room. I went back to the bathroom and tried to pick up Reeva.

Oscar Pistorius said Reeva died in his arms

"I got to the second flight of stairs. I was shouting and screaming for help in getting her to the hospital."

Pistorius said he was told to put Reeva down as neighbours told him that an ambulance was on its way.

"I just sat there and waited for the ambulance to arrive. I had my fingers in her mouth to help her breathe. I had my hand on her hip to try and stop the bleeding.

"Reeva had already died when I was holding her so I knew there was nothing the ambulance could do.

"Then the paramedic came to me and said she would like to inform me that Reeva had passed.

"The paramedic asked me if there was some form of id. I went to get Reeva's handbag."

Pistorius said that police officers then arrived and checked the house to see if anyone else was there.

Pistorius has broken down several times since the start of the trial

"I asked the policeman if I could wash my hands because the smell of the blood was making me throw up. I washed my hands and face."

The athlete was later taken to the police station and arrested over the death. Afterwards he was taken to hospital where doctors conducted tests on him.

In dramatic scenes, Pistorius then demonstrated in court how he tried to break down the toilet door with a cricket bat "using his entire body".

Swinging the bat, he said: "I hit the door with all my might."

Yesterday, Pistorius wept uncontrollably in the dock as he described shooting dead his girlfriend, claiming he though she was an intruder.

The court case was halted for the day because the 27-year-old Paralympian was unable to continue giving evidence, wailing in court: "She was everything."

Today, if time allows, he faces cross-examination from prosecuting barrister Gerrie Nel - who is known as the "pit bull" in South Africa.

Mr Nel is famed for securing the conviction, for corruption, of the country's former police commissioner, Jackie Selebi.

Selebi's defence crumbled during a marathon eight days of cross examination.

This morning, Pistorius continued being questioned by his defence barrister, Barry Roux .

In emotional scenes yesterday afternoon, Pistorius collapsed into tears and was consoled by his sister Aimee and one of his lawyers who rushed through the courtroom to his side.

The athlete's emotional breakdown failed to move June Steenkamp, Reeva's mother, who stared, stony-faced at the defendant, as he was consoled by family and friends.

Pistorius recounted the events of the evening in fine detail as he sought to persuade the judge that Reeva's death was a terrible mistake.

He denies premeditated murder and illegally possessing ammunition and two further counts related to shooting a gun in public in separate incidents prior to the killing.

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China Trying To Scoop Malaysia In MH370 Race

MH370 Search Teams Face 'Underwater Alps'

Updated: 3:25pm UK, Monday 07 April 2014

Confirmation that the Ocean Shield vessel has picked up pings consistent with a plane's black box flight recorders has sparked hope of a breathrough in the hunt for MH370.

But while Malaysia's transport minister spoke of his hope of progress "in days, if not hours" the retired Australian defence chief in charge of the operation has warned that "we are talking about a long operation here".

Sky News experts, maritime explorer Jock Wishart and radar specialist Professor David Stupples, from City University, have been looking at what comes next for searchers working on "the most difficult search in human history".

Which set of signals detected is more likely to be MH370?

Search teams will be keen to investigate the pings detected by the Ocean Shield, but if they are to be thorough, they can not ignore the signals picked up 300 nautical miles away by Chinese ship, the Haixun 01.

They will be hoping to confirm that the 37.5kHz frequency transmissions do lead them to an aircraft's flight recorders.

Prof Stupples said the most recent discovery appeared to be most credible as it had been detected by the more advanced pinger locator on board the Ocean Shield.

He said: "The Chinese were using handheld devices which they would put over the side of a RIB and they received just two or three pings and with the sensitivity of those pieces of equipment it could be that they were just picking up some noise.

"It could be the signal - I'm not dismissing that. But it's probably noise.

The Australian ship was picking up a much more sustained collection of pings, but it was only a few over a two hour period, which means that if it is the black box they were picking up, it is quite some way away.

The Next Steps

Mr Wishart said it would be "incredible" if search teams have managed to track down the black boxes in a search area of some 90,000 square miles of the Indian Ocean.

Royal Australian Air Force aircraft which can drop sonobuoy listening devices have been sent to the area, where the Royal Navy's HMS Echo will also be key.

He said: "Luckily we've got HMS Echo down there, which is a very sophisticated bit of kit and she will do that. I would guess then, if that proves to be not valid, then they will want to move Echo back up North.

"Echo carries items on board which are much more helpful in terms of helping to locate any wreckage there may be, so that would be my next move."

Prof Stupples said: "What they will need to do is get a few more triangulations on these pingers to get the search down to the haystack itself. They've got to get it down to a much smaller area.

"Then they'll send down something like Bluefin - a device controlled from the ship above that will navigate along the sea bed.

"It has sideways-looking sonar, so it will be looking out for wreckage."

Little has been said about the nuclear-powered submarine HMS Tireless but it is understood to have been operating in the search area.

While it can not dive to the same depth as the Bluefin-21 autonomous underwater vehicle, it has incredibly sophisticated sonar equipment which can help with the search for wreckage.

How Long To Recover The Black Boxes?

Mr Wishart said robotic underwater craft could be used to help recover the black boxes if they are confirmed to be at the current search location - which could be 4,500m below the surface.

He said any search could be hampered by sea conditions, which could be treacherous as winter in the southern hemisphere approaches.

The jagged terrain and pressure deep under the surface will also be a challenge for searchers.

Mr Wishart said: "It's the underwater Pennines - maybe even the underwater Alps in terms of some of the stuff you've got down there."

However the search is conducted, he said: "We're not looking at days."

Will The Black Box Recorders Solve The MH370 Mystery?

The flight data recorder should hold up to 15 hours of information from the flight. That would cover the crucial period after contact was lost with air traffic control 38 minutes into the flight and the plane appeared to change course.

But the plane's voice recorder may hold only as little as two hours of information, which could mean that any conversations at that time are lost.

Prof Stupples said: "Everything the plane was doing will be recorded on those data recorders.

"The voice recorder will only have two hours or maybe three and if nothing was being said, nothing will be on that tape.

Are There Lessons For Future Air Travel?

Both Sky News experts agree that the aviation industry needs to look at automatic tracking devices for planes.

Mr Wishart said: "In a world where you can put automatic trackers on cars, it's nonsense that we don't have automatic trackers on planes - something that is completely free of human interference and linked by satellite.

"If that had been the case here, this mystery could have been solved in hours."

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Pistorius: 'I Was Making Plans With Reeva'

Oscar Pistorius has told how he was "besotted" with Reeva Steenkamp and that the pair were making serious plans for the future.

The 27-year-old sounded close to tears again as he gave evidence for the second day at his murder trial in Pretoria, South Africa.

During the morning Pistorius described the start of their relationship and read out a series of instant messaging texts.

Oscar Pistorius wept in court yesterday before giving evidence

In one of the texts Reeva denies being a "flirt" and in another she denies being a "stripper and a hoe".

Reeva also sent Pistorius a message saying: "I'm scared of you sometimes and how you snap at me and how you will act towards me."

In a reply to Reeva, Pistorius admitted to feeling "jealous and insecure".

Describing a fight at an engagement party he told the court: "I just think it was a bad hour in our relationship."

Reeva's mother June attended the hearing along with Reeva's friend Gina Myers, who was wearing tags that bore a black-and-white print of the model.

The athlete's voice faltered as he read a series of loving messages where they traded affectionate pet names for each other, such as "amazballs", "baba", "boo", "angel" and "babycakes".

One text from Reeva to Pistorius read: "I only have eyes for you." In another she wrote: "I want to kiss you and feel your arms around my neck."

He also described buying Reeva flowers and chocolates.

Describing the start of their relationship Pistorius told the court how they began dating at a sports award ceremony.

June Steenkamp sat stony-faced through the evidence yesterday

He said: "I really didn't think that she would go with me (...) I phoned her and she said she would go with me. 

"After the evening we sat speaking until 2 or 3 in the morning. She was a fantastic date."

Pistorius said he believed that he was "more into" Reeva than she was into him.

Pistorius said meeting Reeva Steenkamp was a 'blessing'

 "I was very keen on Reeva. I was besotted with her," he said.

Pistorius also explained how Reeva was subjected to a "hate campaign" after she began dating him, including people who set up fake social media accounts.

"She had her own stress, on top of what I had to deal with," Pistorius told the court.

Pistorius is expected to field questions all day and describe events relating to the death of his girlfriend.

Pistorius shot Ms Steenkamp, 29, dead in the bathroom of his home but denies murder, claiming that he thought the model was an intruder.  

He also denies illegally possessing ammunition and two further counts related to shooting a gun in public in separate incidents prior to the killing.

Yesterday, Pistorius slumped on the floor of the dock after testifying for most of the day, unable to continue because he was too exhausted.

He wept and trembled his way through his first day of defence evidence, describing how panic attacks had left him hiding in cupboards since the shooting.

He  told the court he woke "smelling blood", was unable to sleep and was on anti-depressants and sedatives.  

And in dramatic scenes in Pretoria, the day ended early with Pistorius sitting on the floor of the dock with his psychologist wiping away tears and stroking his face.

The athlete's family formed a protective shield around him as he composed himself before eventually leaving the building.

Moments earlier, the court hearing had been adjourned for the day after Judge Thokozile Masipa agreed that Pistorius was "exhausted", having not slept.

Yesterday morning, Pistorius cried as he turned towards Reeva's mother June and apologised for all the hurt he had caused her.

His voice cracking, he said: "I would like to take this opportunity to apologise to Reeva's family, to those of you who knew her who are here today, to her friends.

"There hasn't been a moment since this tragedy happened that I haven't thought about your family."

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Hunt For MH370 'Pings' Delays Sub Launch

China Trying To Scoop Malaysia In MH370 Search

Updated: 3:31pm UK, Monday 07 April 2014

By Alistair Bunkall, Sky News Defence Correspondent

The authorities are, quite rightly, not publicly concluding that they've found the plane; but reading between the lines, there are clear signs that they believe this is it.

Tony Abbott, the Australian PM, phoned his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak this morning to tell him what ADV Ocean Shield had heard overnight.

That is a sign of how significant this development is. The two leaders wouldn't speak in person were it being treated as a routine update.

And the wheels are now fully in motion to fly the relatives to Perth, maybe in the coming days. The Malaysians are compiling a list of the next of kin. Again, a demonstration of how seriously this news is being treated.

No-one has mentioned the Chinese. At least not voluntarily. It was a tweet from Chinese state-run media that got everyone's hopes up on Saturday evening. Much was made of their find. Pictures from Chinese journalists on board showed Chinese sailors listening to a signal with the correct frequency.

The news took all of us by surprise.

The head of the search operation Angus Houston kept his nerve. By rights China's news should have been relayed to the world by him or the Malaysians. That would have been the protocol.

A mea culpa: I accused the Australians of losing control of the media strategy.

In some respects I was right, this was not how they wanted the news to break.  The Chinese had gone rogue.

But I should have given Angus Houston the benefit of the doubt. He has been extremely impressive since taking control of the situation and I think he knew exactly what he was going on over the weekend.

Behind the scenes he was learning about Ocean Shield's discovery.

On Sunday morning, in between a flurry of questions about the Chinese discovery, he mentioned that Ocean Shield had had an "acoustic event" but details were sketchy. Few of us gave it much thought: all eyes were on the Chinese discovery and HMS Echo steaming towards the area. That was the real discovery. Or so we thought.

Clearly, even to me, the two didn't match up. Either one of them had heard the black box, or neither of them. Given their distance from each other, it couldn't be both of them.

Patiently, Houston waited until Ocean Shield was sure about what it had heard, and only then was it announced as a major development.

In their respective press conferences today, Australia and Malaysia have declined to criticise the Chinese but the way they've answered questions about them, short and to the point, says much.

China has shown frustration with the Malaysians in particular throughout this past month. They first questioned and then demanded the Inmarsat data be handed over. They allowed their nationals to protest outside the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing. Things like don't happen without the state turning a blind eye at the very least.

And the breakthroughs were being made by companies in other countries: the British firm Inmarsat, the French company Airbus, Boeing from the US.

But I think they've also been frustrated with their own inability to find the plane. This was a chance to demonstrate the ability of their technology to the world. A chance to reassure their own people that China is superior.

A chance to say, "don't worry, we've got it; if anyone is going to solve this global mystery, we will".

They haven't managed to.

There were 154 Chinese nationals on board MH370 and clearly Beijing has a right to play a major role in the search, but more than once by various senior people I have been told how they are not operating as team players. There are clearly two separate search operations going on and that isn't helpful.

It might be a race to find the black box but it isn't a competition.

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'Russian Soldier Kills Ukrainian Officer'

A Ukrainian naval officer in Crimea has been killed by a Russian soldier, according to the Ukrainian Defence Ministry.

The victim is reported to have been unarmed and the Russian is said to be under arrest and being detained in Sevastopol.

It comes as tension continue to rise between the two countries following a weekend of unrest involving pro-Russian protesters in several eastern cities.

Russia annexed Crimea three weeks ago after a referendum in the peninsula in which the vast majority of residents voted to leave Ukraine.

Since then, Ukrainian soldiers have been ejected from their bases in the area by soldiers who are thought to be backed by Russia.

On Sunday, demonstrators in Donetsk and Luhansk demanded a referendum similar to that held in Crimea.

Ukrainian prime minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk accused Russia of being behind a series of seizures of regional government buildings by protesters on Sunday.

He claimed that Moscow was trying to 'dismember' his country.

Mr Yatsenyuk said: "There is a plan to destabilise the situation, a plan for foreign forces to cross the border and seize the territory of the country, which we will not allow.

"This scenario is written by the Russian Federation and it's only purpose is to dismember Ukraine."

He said Russian troops were within 30km (19 mile) of the Ukrainian border.

The dead soldier was apparently killed late on Sunday in the Crimean town of Novofyodorovka, about 30 miles west of Simferopol.

Meanwhile, American pop stars Miley Cyrus and Justin Timberlake can go ahead with shows in Finland despite US sanctions against the Helsinki venue's Russian owners, the concerts' promoter said on Monday.

The concerts were at risk last week as the Hartwall Arena venue is owned by Gennady Timchenko and Boris and Arkady
Rotenberg, all of whom feature on a list of visa bans and asset freezes imposed by the United States.

More follows...

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Pistorius Plugs Ears And Cries Over Evidence

The defence case in the Oscar Pistorius murder trial has started in South Africa - as the athlete prepares to take the stand himself.

Pistorius wept in court before his defence team opened their case with the first witness, pathologist Professor Jan Botha.

Professor Botha was allowed to testify first, and ahead of Pistorius, in an agreement with prosecutors because of a family illness.

Pistorius wept in court before the evidence opened today

Pistorius is expected to testify after Professor Botha and explain his version of events.

The paralympian bent down in the dock, plugging his ears with his fingers, as Professor Botha gave testimony about Ms Steenkamp's cause of death. 

Contradicting the state's account, Professor Botha said Ms Steenkamp was first shot in the hip, then in the arm.

Oscar Pistorius arrives at court today

The third bullet hit her hand and the fourth hit her head, he said.

The state said Ms Steenkamp was first shot in the hip, that the second bullet missed, the third bullet hit her arm, and the fourth went through her hand and head.

Later, Pistorius is expected to tell the court he shot and killed his girlfriend by mistake on Valentine's Day last year, thinking she was an intruder in his home. 

When Pistorius takes the stand, it will be the first time he speaks publicly about what happened that night.

His testimony may take several days and he can expect a gruelling cross-examination from state prosecutor Gerrie Nel.

The prosecution has wrapped up its case and both sides have agreed to an extension of the trial until mid-May.

Just 18 of 107 possible witnesses were heard during the first three weeks of the trial, which is being held in Pretoria.

Ms Steenkamp was shot dead on Valentine's Day last year

During the prosecution's case, the court heard about text messages Ms Steenkamp sent to Pistorius, in which she wrote: "I am sometimes scared of you."

An emotional message from Ms Steenkamp sent on January 27 last year accused Pistorius of picking on her "incessantly".

The Paralympian is accused of the premeditated murder of Ms Steenkamp, but says he mistook her for an intruder and shot her by mistake.

The court has heard the couple had a difficult relationship

He is also accused of illegally possessing ammunition and two further counts related to shooting a gun in public in separate incidents prior to the killing.

The 27-year-old denies all the charges against him.

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Missing Plane: MH370 Team Detect Two Signals

Teams searching for missing flight MH370 believe they may have detected the plane's black box flight recorders after a ship picked up signals in the southern Indian Ocean.

The Australian defence vessel Ocean Shield picked up signals twice, around 370 miles north of where two signals were detected by a Chinese ship on Saturday.

Crucially, there were two distinct pinger returns - suggesting transmissions from a flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder on a Boeing 777 jet.

Angus Houston, the former Australian defence chief heading the search, said the information was "the most promising lead" in the search so far.

But he warned it could be days before authorities confirm if the signals are from the Malaysia Airlines flight, which vanished on March 8 with 239 people on board.

Search teams are involved in a race against time as the batteries on the plane's flight recorders could run out at any moment, meaning the signals would no longer be emitted.

Mr Houston said the Ocean Shield detected the sounds on two occasions over a period totalling more than two-and-a-half hours.

He said: "Clearly this is a most promising lead, and probably in the search so far, it's the probably the best information that we have had.

"This would be consistent with transmissions from both the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder."

Stressing the need for further confirmation, he said: "I am much more optimistic than I was a week ago."

But he added: "We are talking about a long operation here and we have yet to find the aircraft."

Search co-ordinators stressed the signals were picked up in very deep water - 4,500 metres - which is at the limit of underwater search equipment being used.

The position of the sound needed to be further pinpointed, and then an underwater drone could be sent down to investigate, Mr Houston said.

He went on: "It could take some days before the information is available to establish whether these detections can be confirmed as being from MH370.

"In very deep oceanic water, nothing happens fast.

"I would want more confirmation before we say this is it. Without wreckage, we can't say it's definitely here. We've got to go down and have a look and hopefully we'll find it somewhere in the area that we narrowed to."

A map shows where signals were picked up in recent days by search ships

The latest development in the search effort came as the British navy ship HMS Echo joined the hunt. The vessel carries sophisticated sound-locating equipment.

No wreckage from the plane has been found during the month-long search, despite a number of debris sightings.

Malaysian officials concluded - based on satellite data from several countries - that the aircraft crashed into the southern Indian Ocean to the west of Perth.

Investigators have not established why the plane lost contact with air traffic controllers and appeared to divert so far from its intended route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

The backgrounds of passengers, crew and both pilots have been investigated, while terrorism and hijack have also been considered as possible explanations for the plane's disappearance.

The families of those on board have been frustrated by the huge international search operation, accusing the Malaysian authorities of mismanagement and holding back information. 

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MH370: Has China Cracked 'Mission Impossible'?

Experts say Chinese search crews will have overcome an "impossible situation" if they recover the black box from the missing Malaysia Airlines plane.

Chinese state media claims a signal has been discovered by the country's Haixun 01 vessel 1,000 miles northwest of Perth.

The signal is said to have a frequency of 37.5kHz per second - the same as that emitted by black-box devices.

Oceanographer Dr Simon Boxall, from Southampton University, told Sky News it would be a remarkable achievement.

"If it proves this is potentially from the pinger on the black box then we've gone from pretty much an impossible situation to locate this flight and the wreckage on the seabed to a situation where it's very feasible," he said.

"It would mean we've gone from an area of 85,000 square miles down to an area of 10 square miles.

"Because the signal is so weak on this locator, it can't be more than two or three miles away.

"Even if the seabed is fairly mountainous or there are issues on the sea floor, it's within the capability of 21st century technology to recover this black box if the signal proves to be from the aircraft.

"The search area would be doable but it could take months."

Dr Boxall says the next step is to confirm the signal is from MH370.

This would be done using a combination of side scan sonar and camera equipment attached to an ROV (remotely operated underwater vehicle).

If they confirm the presence of a black box, the operation will enter its recovery phase.

This could be hampered by weather, with relatively calm seas required for a whole day to allow the ROV to reach the seabed.

"You shouldn't underestimate the size of this task - it's not easy," said Dr Boxall.

The location of objects spotted in the southern corridor

"But you go to something that will happen, rather than something that may never happen.

"Possibly when they do that some of the mysteries of what happened to MH370 might be answered."

Another question is which country will lead any verification and recovery, as the signal has been found in international waters.

But Dr Boxall warns there is a long way to go before this becomes an issue.

"Without showing scepticism, it's interesting that this has happened four weeks after the event and it's happened at the point when people are saying, incorrectly, that the black box is going to run out in two hours," he said.

"The black box has a design transition of about 30 days. It could go on for longer, it could have been damaged in the crash itself.

"The ocean is full of noise. Both equipment we use as scientists or natural noises.

"The argument is that there's nothing else out there that will transit at 37.5kHz but we also know the signal was very intermittent, which we would sort of expect - but how intermittent?

"Because this is all second-hand information, then until this data has been looked at by the Australians, I'm afraid to say my scepticism will remain."

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Afghan Election: Obama Hails 'Critical' Vote

The Front Runners In Afghanistan's Elections

Updated: 1:29pm UK, Saturday 05 April 2014

Here is a guide to the leading contenders in the Afghan elections.

Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai

Known in Afghanistan as Doctor Ashraf Ghani, the American-trained anthropologist returned to his home country after the Taliban were ousted.

He had previously spent more than 25 years abroad during the turbulent years when Afghanistan came under Soviet control, descended into civil war and then was taken over by the Taliban.

During that period he worked for the United Nations and World Bank in the US, Denmark and in south and east Asia.

On his return he held various government posts, including finance minister.

He went on to take part in the disputed 2009 presidential election campaign when he won 4% of the vote, but was beaten by Hamid Karzai.

Mr Ghani is among the strongest backers of a disputed security deal which will keep US troops in Afghanistan beyond 2014.

But he has provoked controversy by picking ethnic Uzbek former warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum as a running mate.

Zalmai Rassoul

A relative of Afghanistan's former royal family, Zalmai Rassoul is seen as an establishment figure.

Although originally a doctor, he became involved in politics when representing the deposed king in 1998 on a body that played a key role in the future transition of the country after the end of the Soviet period.

He held roles in national security before being made Hamid Karzai's foreign minister, often accompanying the president on trips abroad.

Critics say that, if elected, Mr Rassoul would lack the strength and independence to make a break from the old administration, which many have accused of corruption.

But a number of foreign correspondents have said that despite serving for more than a decade in government, he remains untainted by the allegations that have dogged Mr Karzai's tenure in power.

He is comfortable dealing with those at home and abroad, speaking Dari, Pashto, English, French and Italian, among other languages.

He is also the only leading candidate with a woman as one of his vice-presidential running mates. 

Abdullah Abdullah

A former ophthalmologist-turned-fighter against Soviet forces in the 1980s, Mr Abdullah dropped out of a run-off against Mr Karzai in the 2009 election, saying he was concerned about electoral fraud.

He rose to take roles in government in the post-Taliban period having previously been an adviser to Ahmad Shah Masood, a leader in the Northern Alliance.

But he was abruptly dismissed from his role as Afghanistan's foreign minister in 2006 - a role he had previously held in the Northern Alliance when it fought alongside the American-led invasion of the country following the 9/11 attacks.

Mr Abdullah's base of support is the ethnic Tajik community whose rights and cause, although he is half-Pashtun, he has championed.

He spent some of the period during the Soviet-backed regime in Pakistan.

He took part in the 2009 election after registering as an independent candidate.

Other candidates are:

Abdul Rasul Sayyaf: A former warlord with ties to al Qaeda. An MP in the new parliament.

Mohammad Daud Sultanzoy: A former pilot and talk show host who is known for encouraging women to vote.

Qutbuddin Hilal: Former deputy prime minister with links to controversial mujahideen figure Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.

Gul Agha Sherzai: Another former mujahideen member but later governor of two Afghan provinces during Mr Karzai's time.

Hedayat Amin Arsala: A prominent economist and politician who has held several high-ranking government posts.

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Missing Plane: Three Acoustic Signals Detected

Chinese and Australian ships searching for missing flight MH370 have picked up separate acoustic signals in different parts of the southern Indian Ocean and are trying to verify if one could be from the plane's black box recorders.

Retired Australian Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, head of the international search, earlier said Chinese patrol vessel Haixun 01 picked up two "acoustic events" some 1,000 miles (1,600km) northwest of Perth.

The first was a faint signal. The second was picked up around 1.2 miles (2km) away and lasted for 90 seconds, he said.

They had a "ping" of 37.5kHz frequency - the same emitted by black box flight recorders.

The location where the signal was detected

More planes and ships were sent to assist in that area, but in the meantime Australia's HMAS Ocean Shield had reported a separate "acoustic event" some 345 miles (555km) away.

The Ocean Shield is carrying sophisticated US Navy equipment designed to pick up signals sent from the black boxes.

HMS Echo, which is also equipped with black box locators, is also on its way to the search area.

A Chinese air force plane has also spotted a number of white floating objects in the area, said Chinese state news agency Xinhua.

But Mr Houston stressed that investigators are still a "long way" from concluding the signals are from the Boeing 777 carrying 239 people.

The Malaysia Airlines plane vanished on March 8

He said they are "an important and encouraging lead" and show "some promise and require a full investigation".

Earlier, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott told reporters in Tokyo: "This is the most difficult search in human history.

"We are searching for an aircraft which is at the bottom of a very deep ocean and it is a very, very wide search area.

"We need to be very careful about coming to hard and fast conclusions too soon."

Hishammuddin Hussein at a news conference in Malaysia on Saturday

Anish Patel, president of Dukane Seacom, the company that made the black box locator, told Reuters: "The 37.5kHz is the specific frequency that these locator pingers operate on.

"It's a very unique frequency, typically not found in background ocean noise," such as whales or other marine mammals, he added.

A dozen planes and 13 ships are scouring three areas about 1,240 miles (2,000 km) northwest of Perth.

Malaysia said on Saturday it had launched a formal investigation into the plane's disappearance that would include experts from Britain, Australia, the US, China and France.

The country's acting transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein said it would be made up of three groups.

The first would examine maintenance records, structures and systems.

The second would study flight recorders, operations and meteorology.

The third, a "medical and human factors" group, would look into psychology, pathology and survival.

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