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 Mr 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.

Mr 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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Scotland 'Should Determine Its Own Future'

By Niall Paterson, Scotland Correspondent

"Put Scotland's future in Scotland's hands." That is the message Alex Salmond will deliver to delegates today at the SNP's Spring Conference.

As the nationalist party committed to fulfilling an 80-year pledge to gain Scotland its independence from the United Kingdom continues to reduce the gap in the polls ahead of September's referendum, he is expected to maintain that the vote is not about him.

"This referendum is not about this party, or this First Minister, or even the wider Yes campaign," he will say.

"It's about putting Scotland's future in Scotland's hands.

"Our party is hugely popular, and we are currently five, 10 and 15 points ahead in polls for Westminster, Europe and Holyrood respectively.

"But a Yes vote in September is not a vote for me, or for an SNP government in 2016.

"It's a vote for a government in Scotland that the people of Scotland choose, pursuing policies the people of Scotland support."

The speech, much like the campaign, will make much of the fact that Scots have voted in a way at significant variance with the overall result of recent general elections.

He will say: "I tell you what (the government of an independent Scotland) won't be. It won't be a government led by a party with just a single MP in Scotland.

"A government dismantling our welfare state. Determined to privatise public services.

"In an independent Scotland we can give this guarantee: The era of unelected Tory governments handing out punishment to the poor and the disabled will be gone and gone for good."

Mr Salmond says a Yes vote is a vote for the future of Scotland

Results vary, but the Yes campaign is still significantly behind the No vote in all major polls, although the margin has narrowed in recent months.

And despite the fact the Yes campaign has yet even to come close to a majority in said polls, the SNP leader in Westminster remains upbeat, with five months of campaigning to go.

"When people are able to contrast the Yes case with the No case and understand the momentum is going in the direction of the Yes case, I'm confident we will get a Yes result," Angus Robertson MP told Sky News.

"It might surprise some people in the bunkers of Whitehall and Westminster when it does, but when they wake up they will realise this is about Scotland governing itself like so many other places have decided to do over recent decades.

"We will have excellent relations with our friends on these islands.

"But we will always have a government that we actually elect making better decisions for people who life here - regardless of where they are from."

Given their lead in the polls it's unsurprising that the Better Together camp remains positive, despite considerable media and public opinion branding their campaign negative.

Asked whether it was easier for people to enthuse about independence rather than maintaining the status quo, Lewis Macdonald, a Labour member of the Scottish Parliament, told Sky News: "It's important to say there's a lot to be enthusiastic about.

"The union has worked very, very well for many generations and it's delivered us many benefits. But this isn't about change versus the status quo. This is about devolution, the kind of change that people in Scotland have wanted for a long time.

"It's a referendum that will be decided by the judgement people make at the end of the day. I think many people have made up their minds, some still have to choose.

"My expectation is that those people who still have to make up their mind will come to the same conclusion as those who have already made up their mind.

"At the moment, and for as long as I can remember the split has basically been two to one for remaining in the UK. I expect that the undecideds will come down in much the same kind of split.

"But only time will tell."

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British Nuclear Sub Joins Missing Plane Hunt

The nuclear-powered submarine HMS Tireless is on its way to the area where possible signals from the black box recorder of the missing flight MH370 have been detected, Sky sources say.

The ship HMS Echo arrived in the search zone in the Indian Ocean a few hours ago and will help the Australian naval ship Ocean Shield, which detected four previous pings, and Haixun 01, a Chinese ship.

After dropping sound-locating buoys into the ocean, an Australian Navy P-3 Orion aircraft detected another potential signal on Thursday afternoon in the same area pings were heard on Saturday.

A map showing the two of the search areas

Angus Houston, who is in charge of the operation, confirmed the surveillance plane had picked up the "possible signal".

"The acoustic data will require further analysis overnight but shows potential of being from a made-made source," he said.

If confirmed, it will be the fifth signal to have been recorded by search teams, following on from detections on Tuesday and Saturday that have allowed search teams to narrow down the area they are looking in.

The first four pings were heard in the smaller zone being searched

They are searching an area of the southern Indian Ocean 1,670km (1,040 miles) from Perth after the plane went missing en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8.

The Haixun 01 vessel initially reported some acoustic signals south of where the Ocean Shield sounds were detected on Saturday.

But the signals heard by the Chinese ship were not believed to have occurred again.

Search aircraft, like the Orion, undertook at least 30 flights on Thursday

The Australian Navy has been dropping the buoys in a pattern across the area where the Ocean Shield heard the pings.

Attached to each is a hydrophone listening device which dangles about 300m (1,000ft) below the surface.

Australian Navy Commodore Peter Leavy said the hope was that the buoys would be able to pinpoint the source of the signals.

But experts say time is running out as pingers on black boxes are designed to emit signals for no more than 30 days.

Australian officials co-ordinate the search operation in Canberra

Hopes that they may be tracked down in time rose on Thursday after an Australian government document circulated among agencies involved in the search said the pingers could continue for up to 10 more days.

Mr Houston on Wednesday expressed "optimism" about the ongoing search operation.

"I'm now optimistic that we will find the aircraft, or what is left of the aircraft, in the not too distant future," he said.

"But we haven't found it yet, because this is a very challenging business."

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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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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.

More follows...

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Missing Plane: Search Narrowed In MH370 Hunt

Search Chief's Manner Says MH370 Found

Updated: 2:10pm UK, Wednesday 09 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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Oscar Pistorius Describes Night Of Shooting

Oscar Pistorius broke down in court today as he described shooting dead his girlfriend thinking she was an intruder.

In dramatic scenes, Pistorius described finding his girlfriend's body in the toilet of his home - wailing in court: "She was everything."

His sister Aimee and one of his lawyers then rushed through the courtroom to his side - before the judge was forced to halt proceedings.

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.

Sky's Alex Crawford, who was at the court, described the wailing as "like animal sounds" coming from the athlete.   

"He was consoled by his sister, but he continued making these loud wailing noises - it was very emotional," Crawford said.

Earlier, the athlete took his prosthetic legs off in court to to relive the moments leading to, during and after the shooting on Valentine's Day last year. 

Arnold Pistorius, Oscar's uncle, wipes away tears during today's evidence

He described how he begged Reeva to call the police and grabbed his gun in the darkness after thinking he had heard an intruder in the bathroom of his home.

He told the court that just hours before he shot Reeva dead she had been doing yoga at the foot of his bed, stopping from time to time to kiss him affectionately.

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 began by explaining how Reeva had cooked him dinner and the pair ate about 7pm.

After dinner they sat at the dining room table and "chatted about our days".

"Just before 8pm I came into my room and I opened the balcony doors - it was very humid," he told the court.

"I drew the curtains around the fans. They were blackout curtains.

"At that point Reeva came into the room and I took my drink and I put it down on the bedside table.

"I locked the bedroom door and I put the cricket bat about 2cm from the door. I put the cricket bat on the floor so the door would be blocked by the cricket bat.

"I took my prosthetic legs off, so they could air. I put them as close to the door as I could. I climbed onto the bed.

"Reeva jumped on the bed and we were chatting. I was texting my cousin - Reeva was on a social media application. She was showing me pictures of cars and things that she liked."

Pistorius then called his cousin and Reeva got out of bed and started doing yoga at the foot of the bed. 

"Every now and then, Reeva would get up and give me a kiss. Reeva then walked to the bathroom," Pistorius said.

"She called me to come and brush my teeth. She went back to the bedroom. When I came back she was lying in the middle of the bed."

Pistorius said that he fell asleep between 9 and 10pm.

His voice quaking, Pistorius continued: "I woke up in the early hours of February 14.

June Steenkamp sits stony-faced through today's evidence

"It was extremely warm. I sat up in bed. I noticed that the fans were still running and the door was still open. Reeva was still awake. She rolled over to me and said 'Can't you sleep my baba?'.

"I said 'no I can't, not tonight'."

Pistorius said he then locked the sliding doors of the room.

"I came into the room. The only bit of light was a little LED light. I could see a pair of jeans on the floor. I picked them up and was going to place them over the lights.

"At this point I heard a window open in the bathroom.

"My lady, that's the moment everything changed. I thought there was a burglar gaining entry into my home.

"I think initially I just froze. I heard a noise and I interpreted it as someone climbing into the bathroom.

Aimee Pistorius, Oscar's sister breaks down in court

"I immediately thought someone could be there any moment and the first thing that ran through my mind was that I needed to arm myself, to protect Reeva and I - that I needed to get my gun."

Pistorius continued: "I ran and grabbed my firearm. When I got before the passage wall, I was scared that the person could have been in a closet space.

"I had my firearm extended in front of me. I whispered to Reeva to get down and phone the police.

"I was overcome by fear. I screamed at the person to get out. I screamed at Reeva. I was constantly aware this person could come at me at any time. I did not have my legs on. Just before I got to the bathroom, I stopped shouting."

He went on: "I heard the toilet door slam. It confirmed there was someone inside the bathroom at that time.

"I thought the intruders were going to come out, or were in the bathroom. I was not screaming or shouting at that time.

"I approached this entrance to the bathroom. I was walking with my left hand to the closets. I had my pistol in my right hand. I peered into the bathroom. 

"I was not able to walk with as much mobility on the tiled surfaces. I had my pistol raised to my eye.

A bucket was placed in the dock in case Pistorius was sick again

"There were no lights in the bathroom. As I slowly peered into the bathroom I could see the window was open.

"I had my back against the wall, using my hand as balance, scuffling along the left hand side wall.

"I wasn't sure if the people were in the toilets or on a ladder they had used to gain access or around the corner at that point.

"I saw there was no-one around the corner waiting to attack me. At this point I started screaming for Reeva to call the police. I stood there for some time - I'm not sure for how long.

"I wasn't sure if someone was going to come out of the toilet to shoot me, or off the ladder and attack me.

"Then I heard a noise from inside the toilet which I perceived to be someone coming out of the toilet and before I knew it I had fired four shots at the door. My ears were ringing. I could not hear anything.

"I kept on screaming for Reeva to call police. I shouted for Reeva. At some point I decided to walk back to the room. 

Oscar Pistorius arrives at court today

"At this point it had not occurred to me that it could be Reeva. I was talking to Reeva but no-one was talking to me." 

Pistorius began sobbing as he said: "I got on the bed and put my hand down. I could not feel anything. At that point I thought maybe she had got down on the floor like I had told her to.

"It was at that point it dawned on me it could be Reeva. I made way back up the passage. I was mixed with emotions.

"I did not want to believe it could be Reeva inside the toilet. I was panicked. I was screaming and shouting the whole time and crying out.

"I have never screamed or cried like this before. I was crying out for Reeva. I was crying for the Lord to help me.

"I ran back to the bathroom door. I hit it with the cricket bat. At that point I wanted to just look inside and see if it was Reeva.

"I tried to open the door from the inside. I flung the door open and I sat over Reeva and I cried. I don't know how long I was there for."

Oscar Pistorius wept in court yesterday before giving evidence

Pistorius then began crying uncontrollably as he wailed: "She was everything." 

Earlier in his evidence, Pistorius said he had bought Reeva a bracelet from a designer that she liked for Valentine's Day, which he planned to give her.

He said that Reeva had wrapped a present for him on the evening of the shooting but he was told he was only allowed to open it the following day.

"On August 8 last year, on Reeva's birthday, I opened it, it was a photo frame, with four photos of her and I and the card that she wrote....," he sobbed.

Pistorius was too upset to continue with the description.   

Aimee Pistorius consoled the athlete after he broke down

Earlier, the 27-year-old was "dripping with tears" as he described the start of their relationship and read out a series of instant messaging texts. 

In one of the texts read out in court by Pistorius, Reeva denies being a "flirt" and in another she denies being a "stripper and a ho".

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."

The athlete's voice faltered as he read a series of loving messages where they traded affectionate pet names.

The pet names included "amazballs", "baba", "boo", "angel" and "babycakes".

Pistorius said meeting Reeva Steenkamp was a 'blessing'

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 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.

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.  

The court is sitting for its 18th day in the trial

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

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Conservative MPs Refuse To Back Maria Miller

By Jon Craig, Chief Political Correspondent

Conservative MPs in key marginal seats have failed to give their backing to beleaguered culture secretary Maria Miller.

When Sky News asked should Mr Cameron sack Maria Miller, two out of 39 MPs contacted said yes and only one said no. The rest of the 16 who responded declined to comment.

The chairmen of the respective local Conservative Party branches were also contacted, with six, three times the number of MPs saying she should be fired, two saying she should keep her job and seven refusing to comment.

Prime Minister David Cameron has given his support to the embattled culture secretary, but is is likely to come under attack at the last Prime Minister's Questions before Easter and could be confronted directly by her critics when he appears before the backbench MPs' 1922 Committee.

One of the MPs contacted by Sky News, who did not want to be named, said: "It's affecting us (politicians) and gives the impression of MPs being arrogant and out of touch and all of us are trying our best to rebuild that trust.

"It's not just the party it's affecting, it's politics giving the impression that MPs are out of touch again. Constituents say constantly: 'If I had done this, I would be in prison'.

"On a personal level I like her. She's very competent and personable but unfortunately it's about protection. In the eyes of the public, politicians are about as low as they can get."

Cameron could face pressure at PMQs and from the 1922 committee

Opinion polls make bleak reading for the culture secretary and the Prime Minister. A poll by YouGov suggests 63% of supporters from all parties thinks Miller should resign with only 9% believing she should stay.

And when Tory supporters were asked, 61% wanted her to go and only 13% said she should stay.

In her own constituency, Basingstoke, we found hostility towards the MP despite an apology in the local paper in which she admitted she had let her constituents down.

"The last 16 months have been difficult," she wrote in her weekly column. "As you know, I have been working hard for Basingstoke and also doing my job as a Cabinet minister.

"During this time, I have been subject to an intense Parliamentary inquiry looking at extensive personal details of my family life, as a result of allegations made by a Labour MP."

She added: "I have unreservedly apologised for the way I handled and approached the inquiry. And I am pleased that the committee has fully dismissed all of the allegations made against me.

"Separately, I have already apologised and repaid an over-claim of my expenses, having myself drawn the committee's attention to the matter immediately I was aware of it.

"I have always sought to do the best job that I can in representing the people of Basingstoke in Westminster.  I am devastated that this has happened, and that I have let you down. I can only hope that over time the focus will once again by on Basingstoke."

At Westminster, a bid to win support for her among Tory MPs launched by her Parliamentary Private Secretary appeared to backfire.

Maria Miller made an apology in her column for her local paper

Mary MacLeod texted colleagues asking them to speak up in her boss's favour, before touring broadcast studios, but the text was leaked and ridiculed by critics.

Asked by Sky News whether she believed newspapers were focusing on Ms Miller because of her involvement in the response to the public inquiry into the practices of the British press, Ms Macleod said: "I think it's Leveson and probably equal marriage as well.

"In some of the newspapers it has been like a witch hunt where they don't like the work that Maria has done on Leveson and gay marriage," she told Sky News.

"Therefore what they are trying to do is to find a way to get her out of the job."

Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith expressed surprise that Mrs Miller was still in her job.

"It would be the Prime Minister's decision who he surrounds himself with. I am surprised that Maria Miller hasn't stepped down," he said.

"This is a decision for her to make or it is a decision for David Cameron to make."

While Fellow Tory MP Philip Davies said the continuing row over Mrs Miller was"extremely damaging" for the Conservative Party and needed to be resolved as soon as possible.

"Whether she resigns is a matter for her but obviously the whole thing is extremely damaging for the Conservative Party, it's damaging for Parliament as a whole and politicians - we all get tarnished by the same brush," he said.

"It's damaging for the Government, for the Prime Minister. The sooner the matter is resolved, the better."

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Peaches Geldof: 'Rest In Peace Gorgeous Girl'

Lily Allen is among a host of celebrities to pay tribute following the sudden and tragic death of Peaches Geldof at the age of 25.

The singer said: "My thoughts are with Peaches' family at this awful time. I hope they get to grieve in peace. Peaches, rest in peace gorgeous girl."

The death of the mother-of-two, who had worked as a DJ, model and television personality, is being treated as unexplained, but not suspicious.

The singer Lily Allen was among the stars to pay tribute

Police were called to her house in the small village of Wrotham, Kent, at 1.35pm on Monday after receiving a report of concern for the welfare of a woman.

She had previously admitted drug use as a teenager but said in 2009 that she was "sober now".

A post-mortem is expected to take place in the next few days.

In her last message on Twitter, she posted a picture of her as a child with her mother, who died of a heroin overdose in 2000 when Peaches was 11.

As news of her death emerged, Kelly Osborne, a childhood friend of Peaches, tweeted: "Words seem inadequate 2 express the sadness I feel about @peaches_g death We are here 2 support U @pixiegeldof1 stay strong my little Pepsi!"

TV and radio presenter Dermot O'Leary said: "Met Peaches several times. Really sweet girl. So so sad for the Geldof family. Thoughts and prayers..."

The Hollywood actress Susan Sarandon said: "No words can express any comfort at the loss of a child and mother as beautiful as Peaches Geldof. God bless."

Coleen Rooney, wife of England footballer Wayne, tweeted: "Can't believe what I have just heard. RIP Peaches Geldof, such sad news."

X-Factor creator Simon Cowell tweeted: "So sad to hear about Peaches. Rest in peace."

He said later: "The few times I met Peaches she was a sweet, funny warm person. Much love to her family she has left behind."

A private ambulance drives away the body of Peaches Geldof

Sharon Osborne wrote: "Devastated about @peaches--g. Sending condolences & respect to the Geldof family. It's unimaginable what they must be going through right now."

Presenter Myleene Klass tweeted: "The news of beautiful Peaches is utterly devastating, God bless her babies. RIP mama xxx"

This Morning host Phillip Schofield, who appeared with Ms Geldof on the ITV show, wrote: "Utterly stunned at the terrible news of the death of Peaches Geldof! The dreadful loss of a really lovely woman."

His co-host Holly Willoughby said: "Just heard about Peaches, so unbelievably tragic. So shocked and sad. Sending my thoughts and love to her family".

Coronation Street star Antony Cotton said: "May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest".

Police at the address where the 25-year-old was found dead

In a post on Twitter, rapper Professor Green said: "never knew Peaches but the loss of a life so young is a horrible thing, especially leaving behind two children".

Singer Ellie Goulding said: "Even if you think you've got it all figured out, some things still can't be explained or understood. Two beautiful children. RIP Peaches".

Her friend the model Daisy Lowe posted a picture of a broken heart on Twitter.

Author Irvine Welsh said: "Very sad to hear of the tragic, untimely death of Peaches Geldof. Thoughts with Bob G and the family."

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Underwater 'Drone' Used In Hunt For MH370

An unmanned deep-water submarine will be used for the first time in the hunt for flight MH370.

It comes after faint sounds were detected by equipment on board an Australian ship that could be from the missing Malaysia Airlines plane's black boxes.

Warren Truss, Australia's acting prime minister, said the crew on board the Ocean Shield will launch the underwater vehicle, the Bluefin 21 autonomous sub, later.

Angus Houston, who is heading the search, said: "Today is another critical day as we try and reconnect with the signals that perhaps have been emanating from the black box flight recorder of the MH370.

"The connections two days ago were obviously a time of great hope that there had been a significant breakthrough and it was disappointing that we were unable to repeat that experience yesterday."

Mr Truss said the sub can create a sonar map of the area to chart any debris on the sea floor.

If it maps out a debris field, the crew will replace the sonar system with a camera unit to photograph any wreckage.

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MH370: Pings 'Must Be From A Plane Black Box'

Signals detected by teams scouring the Indian Ocean for wreckage from flight MH370 have to be from a plane, an expert has told Sky News.

Chris Bellamy, Professor of Maritime Security at the University of Greenwich, has said it is "very difficult" to think what else the pings picked up by a Chinese ship could be.

"That is the frequency of an aircraft black box. Ships have black boxes, but that's at 400kHz-15kHz, so quite a different range of frequencies. It's very difficult to think what else this could be," he said.

The vessel Haixun 01 picked up two "acoustic events" around 1,000 miles (1,600km) northwest of Perth. 

The two pings detected by the Chinese search team had a frequency of 37.5kHz, which Professor Bellamy said had been deliberately chosen for black boxes to stand out.

A Chinese search team in the Indian Ocean

"The ping has to be some sort of deliberate black box or some artificial source of energy," he said.

"I don't think it could be a natural phenomenon, but it could well be an echo," he added.

Australia's HMAS Ocean Shield has also reported a separate "acoustic event" some 345 miles (555km) away.

But marine salvage expert Captain John Noble said the pings detected by the Australian vessel were not likely linked to the Chinese detection.

"It's almost certain it cannot be the same source. They will be testing the reliability of the signals from the Australian ship and the Chinese ship," he said.

Despite what could be the breakthrough in the search for the Malaysia Airlines jet, Professor Bellamy stressed pinpointing the black box and wreckage from the Boeing 777 could still take some time as the ocean floor is "mountainous".

"The black box could be in a ravine or something like that which might cause refraction of the sound," he said.

If the pings detected are an echo, the source could be located further away then what they think.

"Things rebound, echoes happen under the water as they do in the air," Professor Bellamy said.

Progress is likely to be slow, as vessels must move slow to improve on these initial readings.

A device showing a reading of 37.5kHz - the same as from a black box

Australian Commodore Peter Leavy said: "The search using sub-surface equipment needs to be methodical and carefully executed in order to effectively detect the faint signal of the pinger."

Captain Noble sounded an optimistic note.

Discussing the basic nature of the equipment being used by the Chinese, he said: "If there is a signal and the microphone is out of interference it's actually quite encouraging. 

"If that sort of equipment is picking up the signal then the more sophisticated equipment that's on its way can help with the triangulation process."

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Missing Plane: HMS Echo Joins Black Box Hunt

A British navy ship with sophisticated sound-locating equipment has joined a refocussed search effort to find out if signals picked up in the southern Indian Ocean are from MH370's black boxes.

The Joint Agency Co-ordination Centre, at the centre of the search mission, announced at around 2am UK time that HMS Echo had arrived in the southern section of the search area to "assist" in the mission.

Sky's Alistair Bunkall said HMS Echo would begin its search after carrying out preliminary environmental tests.

"Before she starts listening for the black box, HMS Echo must basically work out what other sounds are out there to calibrate her systems," he said.

Hopes of finding the plane were boosted after Chinese ship Haixun 01 said it picked up a faint electronic pulsing signal on Friday, around 1,000 miles (1,600 km) northwest of Perth.

The location of the three signals detected in the southern Indian Ocean

A second signal was picked up by the vessel on Saturday, around 1.2 miles (2 km) away, lasting for around 90 seconds.

Both signals had a "ping" of 37.5kHz frequency - the same emitted by the missing jet's black box recorders.

On Sunday, Australian navy ship Ocean Shield detected a third signal in another area about 353 miles (555 km) away.

Officials, however, have urged caution while they verify where the "pings" have come from.

Searchers are anticipating good weather today, with 12 planes and a total of 14 ships expected to scour three locations totalling around 234,000 sq km.

HMS Echo is now involved in the search

Once Ocean Shield has finished investigating the acoustic sound it picked up on Sunday, it will head to the area where HMS Echo is helping in the search, Australian authorities said.

The focus of today's search will be the southern section of the current search zone rather than the northern part, the authorities added.

Time is running out to locate the black boxes, which are likely to hold the key to the mystery of the jet, which left Malaysia for China on March 8, carrying 239 people on board.

The boxes have a battery life of 30 days, although Retired Australian Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, head of the international search, said they can continue transmitting for "several days beyond that".

But there are questions about whether any of the sounds are the breakthrough that searchers are desperately seeking or just another dead end in a hunt seemingly full of them.

People take part in a special prayer for passengers

Experts have expressed doubt that the equipment aboard the Chinese ship was capable of picking up signals from the black boxes.

"This is an important and encouraging lead, but one which I urge you to treat carefully," said Mr Houston.

He warned that the sounds were "fleeting, fleeting acoustic events," not the more extended transmissions that would be expected.

"We are dealing with very deep water. We are dealing with an environment where sometimes you can get false indications," he added.

"There are lots of noises in the ocean, and sometimes the acoustic equipment can rebound, echo if you like."

More to follow...

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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).

The location of objects spotted in the southern corridor

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.

"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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Missing Plane Searchers 'Hopeful' On Ship Signal

Searchers are "hopeful but by no means certain" that a pulse signal detected in the southern Indian Ocean is from flight MH370, says Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

The Boeing 777 carrying 239 people vanished from radar more than four weeks ago while travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

Still no trace of the Malaysia Airlines jet has been found despite a massive air and sea search involving experts from around the world.

Hopes of a breakthrough came on Saturday when a Chinese patrol vessel reportedly picked up a "ping" of 37.5kHz frequency - the same emitted by black box flight recorders.

The location where the signal was detected

A Chinese air force plane also spotted a number of white floating objects in the area, around 1,000 miles (1,600km) northwest of Perth, said Chinese state news agency Xinhua.

Australian authorities are sending air force crews to investigate, but stressed there was no conclusive evidence linking it to the doomed airliner.

Mr 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.

The Malaysia Airlines plane vanished on March 8

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

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.

Hishammuddin Hussein at a news conference in Malaysia on Saturday

The country's acting defence 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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