Madeleine Police Arrive In Portugal For Digs

Madeleine: Key Events Timeline

Updated: 12:46pm UK, Tuesday 06 May 2014

Here is a timeline of the key events since Madeleine McCann's disappearance.

2007

:: May 3 - Kate and Gerry McCann leave their three children asleep in their holiday apartment in Praia da Luz while they dine with friends at a nearby tapas restaurant.

Jane Tanner, one of the friends eating with the McCanns, later reports seeing a man carrying a child away earlier that night.

:: May 5 - Portuguese police reveal they believe Madeleine was abducted but is still alive and in Portugal, and say they have a sketch of a suspect.

:: May 14 - Detectives take Anglo-Portuguese man Robert Murat in for questioning and make him an "arguido", or official suspect.

:: May 25 - Detectives release a description of the man reported by Jane Tanner three weeks earlier after pressure from the McCanns, their legal team and the British Government.

:: May 30 - Mr and Mrs McCann meet the Pope in Rome in the first of a series of trips around Europe and beyond to highlight the search for their daughter.

:: August 6 - A Portuguese newspaper reports that British sniffer dogs have found traces of blood on a wall in the McCanns' holiday apartment.

:: August 11 - Exactly 100 days after Madeleine disappeared, investigating officers publicly acknowledge for the first time that she could be dead.

:: September 7 - During further questioning of Mr and Mrs McCann, detectives make them both "arguidos" in their daughter's disappearance.

:: September 9 - The McCanns fly back to England with their two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie.

:: October 2 - Goncalo Amaral, the detective in charge of the inquiry, is removed from the case after criticising the British police in a Portuguese newspaper interview.

:: October 25 - The McCanns release a new artist's impression drawn by an FBI-trained expert showing the man described by Jane Tanner.

2008

:: March 19 - Mr and Mrs McCann accept £550,000 libel damages and front-page apologies from Express Newspapers over allegations they were responsible for Madeleine's death.

:: April 7 - Three Portuguese detectives, led by Paulo Rebelo, fly to Britain to re-interview the seven friends on holiday with the McCanns when Madeleine vanished.

:: July 17 - Mr Murat receives £600,000 in libel damages from four newspaper groups over "seriously defamatory" articles connecting him with the child's disappearance.

:: July 21 - The Portuguese authorities shelve their investigation and lift the "arguido" status of the McCanns and Mr Murat.

:: August 4 - Thousands of pages of evidence from the Portuguese police files in the exhaustive investigation into Madeleine's disappearance are made public.

2009

:: January 13 - Mr McCann returns to Portugal for the first time since coming back to the UK without his daughter.

:: March 24 - The McCanns launch a localised new appeal for information focused on the area in the Algarve where Madeleine disappeared.

:: April 4 - Mr McCann goes back to Portugal to help film a reconstruction of the events on the night his daughter vanished.

:: April 22 - The McCanns fly to the US to record an interview with chat show host Oprah Winfrey to mark two years since Madeleine's disappearance.

:: June 14 - Dying paedophile Raymond Hewlett says he was in the Algarve when Madeleine disappeared and has an alibi - but has no plans to reveal it.

:: August 6 - Detectives say they are hunting a "Victoria Beckham lookalike" with an Australian or New Zealand accent, reportedly seen in Barcelona three days after the little girl went missing.

2010

:: Feb 18 -  Kate and Gerry McCann say they are "pleased and relieved" at a judge's decision to uphold a ban on a book by former detective Goncalo Amaral.

:: Mar 3 -  A newly-released file from Portugese police on possible sightings is called "gold dust" and could lead to a breakthrough, says a spokesman for the McCanns.

:: May 1 - Kate McCann reveals she had thoughts about being "wiped out" in a motorway crash to end the pain of losing Madeleine - but vows never to give up.

:: November 10 - Madeleine's parents launch an online petition to help force a UK and Portuguese joint review of all evidence in the case.

:: November 15 -  The McCanns sign a deal to write a book about their daughter's disappearance.

2011

:: May 13 - The Prime Minister David Cameron asks London's Metropolitan Police to help investigate the case.

:: November 23 - Kate and Gerry McCann appear at the Leveson Inquiry into media ethics.

They tell how media pressure affected their family life and accuse newspaper editors of hampering the search for their missing daughter.

Kate McCann says she felt "violated" when her diary was published without her permission.

:: December 5 - Scotland Yard detectives spend time in Barcelona as part of their re-examination of the case.

2012

:: March 9 - Portuguese police in Oporto launch a review of the original investigation.

:: April 26 - Scotland Yard says Madeleine McCann may still be alive and release an artist's impression of what she may look like as a nine-year-old.

:: July 6 - British detectives examine a claim that the little girl's body is buried near the apartment from where she vanished. It comes after a self-styled investigator sends police radar scans he claims show a burial site.

2013

:: February 11 - Gerry McCann calls for politicians to implement the conclusions of the Leveson Inquiry in full, backed by legislation.

:: February 13 - Police say the results of DNA tests on a girl in New Zealand who was mistaken for Madeleine reveal that she is not the missing British girl.

:: February 21 - Retired solicitor Tony Bennett who published claims that Madeleine McCann's parents caused her death is given a suspended jail sentence.

:: May 2 - Madeleine McCann's parents tell Sky News a police review into their daughter's disappearance is making "excellent progress" as they mark the sixth anniversary since she went missing.

:: May 17 - Scotland Yard say they have identified a number of "people of interest" they want to speak to. It believes it has found enough evidence to reopen the case but the Portuguese authorities are still resistant. 

:: June 15 - The Home Office agrees to fund a full-scale investigation by the Metropolitan Police.

:: October 13 - UK detectives reviewing the case say key details in the timeline of her disappearance have "significantly changed".

:: October 14 - A fresh appeal is launched in a bid to find a suspect detectives say is of "vital importance", with two new separate e-fits - thought to be of the same man seen on the night Madeleine went missing - released by police.

:: October 17 - Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, who is leading the Scotland Yard team, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, and Mr and Mrs McCann meet officers in Lisbon to be briefed on the Portuguese case.

:: October 23 - Britain's most senior police officer Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe defends the way the Portuguese dealt with the initial investigation into Madeleine's disappearance, saying it would have been "very difficult" to immediately know if they were dealing with a serious crime.

:: October 24 - Detectives in Portugal reopen the investigation into Madeleine McCann's disappearance after an internal review uncovers new lines of inquiry and witnesses who were never questioned during the original Portuguese investigation.

2014

:: January 3 - A family source says Kate and Gerry McCann have been denied permission to give evidence at a Portuguese libel trial over a book about the case by former local police chief Goncalo Amaral.

:: January 13 - British police investigate three burglars who were in the area when Madeleine disappeared, and whose phones were apparently "red hot" after she went missing. A letter is sent to Portuguese police asking for help to track them down.

:: January 29 - Scotland Yard officers, including the detective leading the case, fly to Portugal to meet police there and discuss the latest developments.

:: March 19 - Officers from Operation Grange launch a search for a man who sexually assaulted five British girls in the Algarve between 2004 and 2006.

:: April 23 - Detectives identify five new cases where a lone intruder abused young British girls in holiday apartments in the Algarve.

:: May 1 - Kate and Gerry McCann give an interview to Sky News where they are desperate to find out what happened to Madeleine, even if it is the "worst case scenario" as they back calls for a Child Rescue Alert service similar to the Amber Alert system in the US.

:: May 6 - Scotland Yard plans to dig for evidence in three locations in Praia da Luz are approved, with officers set to use ground penetrating radar.

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Thousands Of Cars Stolen Using Hi-Tech Gadgets

By Thomas Cheshire, Technology Correspondent

Tens of thousands of cars are being stolen or broken into every year by thieves using electronic hacking equipment, a Sky News investigation has found.

Last year half of all car thefts and vehicle break-ins in London alone were carried out without the use of force, according to the Metropolitan Police.

Instead criminals are believed to have used hi-tech devices originally designed for locksmiths to gain access to vehicles.

Commonly, the thieves use easily obtainable equipment that can intercept the signals from key fobs to get into cars or that plug into a car's on-board computers remotely.

Modern cars contain about 50 low-powered computers which criminals have learnt to take advantage of to steal vehicles in as little as 10 seconds without causing any damage.

Sky News has established that the devices can be bought cheaply online, from websites based mainly in Bulgaria. Video tutorials posted online can teach criminals how to gain access to popular models.

One of the sophisticated car-hacking devices

The problem was first exposed several years ago in certain models. But now police are warning that all modern makes are potentially vulnerable.

And for the first time, the Met has disclosed the growing nature of the threat. About 21,000 cars were stolen in the capital last year, according to the latest figures. A further 68,000 were broken into.

"Recent analysis of crime data suggests that almost half the total number of vehicles stolen in London are taken using this method, which can affect all manufacturers," the force said in a statement to Sky News.

"High-end vehicles are becoming more and more sophisticated. In turn so are criminals.

"Some organised criminals have access to technology that avoids the need to (physically break in). Vehicles are becoming more technologically advanced and the criminals are becoming more savvy towards that technology and they will develop."

The Met said it was working with manufacturers to protect drivers from having their cars stolen or broken into.

Car crime has fallen in recent years as manufacturers create even more secure vehicles.

But in countries closer to Bulgaria, like Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands, the crime rate has started to rise after years of decrease.

Hacking has led to increases in car crime on the continent

"We have every reason to believe that other European countries will be following suit this year and next," Mike Parris, head of the secure car division at SBD security, told Sky News.

"It is getting worse," he added. "The tools are becoming much more readily available. The price of them is falling. And they're operating much more quickly - you can re-program a key in a matter of seconds.

"All vehicle manufacturers are aware of the problem. It's fair to say some are doing more than others.

"Car manufacturers are acutely aware of the need to constantly make their vehicles more secure because they know criminals will adapt and develop."

The Met advises car owners to leave their cars in well-lit areas, to consider using steering, gear shift and pedal locks, as well as tracking devices.

One website found to be selling the devices did not respond to a request to comment from Sky News. Its homepage says: "All devices are sold for official use only!!! If you use them for any illegal purposes, this is your own responsibility!!!"

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Celebrities Sing Song For Dementia Campaign

By Rhiannon Mills, Sky News Reporter

A host of famous faces have joined up to sing a classic Beatles song to raise awareness of the isolation felt by those living with Alzheimer's.

The Dementia Friends campaign features Lily Allen, Chris Martin, Eamonn Holmes, Simon Pegg, Paul O'Grady, Sir Terry Pratchett, and many more all singing the track With A Little Help From My Friends.

The short music video, put together by Alzheimer's Society and Public Health England, encourages viewers to become a Dementia Friend - finding out about the challenges faced by people with dementia and learning a few useful tips to help make life better for those living with the condition.

There are 800,000 people with dementia in the UK, and it is estimated there will be over a million people living with the condition by 2021.

It comes as new research from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) highlights the amount of time many spend caring for those with Alzheimer's, with carers on average looking after someone for 28 hours a week.

Simon Pegg and Ray Winstone have also added their voices

Some 51% of carers are also working, and the hours taken up by this care cost English businesses £1.6bn a year.

It is estimated 50,000 carers may have to quit their jobs in 2014.

Jeremy Hughes, chief executive of Alzheimer's Society, said: "We're all beginning to talk about dementia, however, society is not yet fully supportive of people with dementia, either in the workplace or in everyday life.

"I'd love to see everyone become Dementia Friends, and make life that little bit easier for people with dementia."

Nick Stratford Williams, who was diagnosed with Alzhemier's two years ago when he was 58, told Sky not everyone is always that understanding of his condition.

He said: "It might sound nasty, but it eats you away and you think what have I done?

"I haven't done anything. Don't just push us away, that's what hurts the people like me and others.

"We're still people. We haven't gone anywhere and we're not going anywhere."

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Obama: We'll Do Everything To Find Nigeria Girls

Nigerian Kidnaps: What Can Really Be Done?

Updated: 2:46pm UK, Tuesday 06 May 2014

By Sam Kiley, Foreign Affairs Editor

The temptation to "do something" is almost overwhelming. Some 270 school girls abducted, many already raped, dragged into the bush and now threatened with being sold into slavery.

Of course the "do something" instinct comes to the fore.

In fact it's only really become an international cry since the leader of Boko Haram, which means Western education is sinful, delivered a 57-minute diatribe in Hausa, Arabic and English, threatening the girls with slavery this week.

Inside Nigeria, the government has been under growing pressure to "do something".

Dr Sakyimah Akilu, a presidential adviser and spokeswoman on national security, told Sky News that it was true that there was a general impression that the Nigerian government had failed to react to the mass abductions.

"The truth is that we are pursuing every lead we have had. But you have to understand that they have been taken into the Sambisa forest and perhaps into the mountains in Cameroon - there are many places to hide," she said.

This fatalism may explain why the Nigerian administration of Goodluck Jonathan appears to have been flat footed in hunting down the radical Islamist group which is now threatening the girls with a most un-Islamic torment.

William Hague said: "Using girls as the spoils of war and the spoils of terrorism is disgusting and immoral. It should show everybody across the world that they should not give any support for such a vile organisation …

"Britain is offering assistance, but of course the primary responsibility will rest with the Nigerians, and I hope they will do what is necessary to reunite these girls with their families."

The British Foreign Secretary is vague on what that "assistance" could be.

In all likelihood, it would take the form of Special Force advice on how to track the girls. Perhaps some help, too, with surveillance.

But both would be limited. More of a gesture than anything else.

Special Forces from South Africa, Britain, the United States and other Western nations have been on the trail of the similarly horrible Lord's Resistance Army in the Central African Republic for decades.

Their analysis has been that while they could probably kill the leadership of the LRA, a capture operation would be almost impossible.

A similar military analysis would emerge on Boko Haram - finding and saving the missing girls would be almost impossible - slaughtering elements of Boko Haram would not.

But killing won't solve the problem.

The sad truth is that Nigeria's missing children are likely to stay that way.

Efforts to negotiate a peace deal with Boko Haram's leader Abdulbakar Shekau over the last four years - while 4,000 Nigerians died - have come to nought.

Now he has the attention of the whole world, he won't want to give up on the limelight the missing girls have given him.

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Patients Dying After 'Horrifying' Asthma Care

By Thomas Moore, Health and Science Correspondent

Most asthma deaths could be prevented if patients received better care, according to a hard-hitting report by medical experts.

Analysis by the Royal College of Physicians of 179 patients who died from an asthma attack revealed "major" avoidable factors in 65% of cases.

Medical records showed there were prescribing errors in almost half of the cases.

And fewer than a quarter of patients had a treatment action plan that detailed what they should do if symptoms worsened.

Asthma UK described the findings as "horrifying".

According to the first National Review of Asthma Deaths, half the cases examined were being treated for mild or moderate disease, suggesting patients and doctors underestimated how serious their condition was.

Yet the review found there were warning signs that could have been acted on.

More than a fifth of the patients had been treated in A&E in the year before their fatal attack, indicating their disease was being poorly managed.

And 39% of the patients were being prescribed more than one reliever inhaler every month - another red flag for poor care, the report said.

Report author Dr Mark Levy told Sky News: "We need to end the complacency that asthma is solved. Very few people should be dying from asthma.

Dr Levy said any patient needing to use their blue reliever inhaler more than two or three times a week may have asthma that is out of control.

Regular steroid preventer inhalers should be used by the majority of patients, he said.

Kay Boycott, chief executive of Asthma UK, said: "This confidential inquiry has identified prescribing errors of a frankly horrifying scale and is a damning indictment of current routine practice.

"In many of these cases the warning signs were ignored.

"Past attacks are a clear risk factor for future attacks, but more than two thirds of the people hospitalised in the month before they died didn't get properly checked up afterwards."

The UK has one of the highest asthma death rates in Europe. More than three people are killed by an asthma attack every day.

Malcolm Sinclair, 10, died after suddenly suffering breathing problems in the middle of the night. He had been well, with no wheezing, the day before.

His mother Claire O'Beirne said: "I suppose I was dimly aware that people could die of asthma, but I assumed they would be very severely affected.

"I certainly didn't think children could die of asthma, particularly children who appeared to be relatively mildly affected and where things were relatively well controlled.

"Malcolm did not miss much school. He wasn't a sickly child at all."

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Officers 'Helped Criminals And Searched For Porn'

Police Data Breaches And Penalties

Updated: 2:27am UK, Tuesday 06 May 2014

Some examples of the 300 data breaches by Met officers and staff - and the outcomes:

:: PC, formal action, 2009 - Officer used internal email for dating purposes

:: Community support officer, formal action, 2009 - Asked a police officer to run an unauthorised / false PNC check on a relative who had a link to a rape case

:: Other police staff, formal action, 2009 - Searched details of a cab driver he had refused to pay a few nights before

:: Police officer, formal action, 2009 - Discreditable conduct: Sent an email with the answers to paper one of the IRV driving exam

:: Other police staff, retired / resigned, 2009 - Arrested for leaking intelligence of a significant level to a prominent criminal with links to firearms

:: Other police staff, formal action, 2010 - Used police terminal to download pirate movies from an illegal website and watched them during work time

:: Police officer, formal action, 2010 - Inappropriate sexual comments about children on a website

:: Police officer, formal action, 2010 - Alleged to have harassed a female colleague by showing her an indecent photograph. Also made indecent sexual suggestions and approached her from behind making sexual noises

:: Police officer, formal action, 2010 - Officer sent a spoof image of a caravan adorned with various Nazi references to an external address

:: Police officer, formal action, 2010 - Joined the Facebook of Sex website and has been posting photos of himself, some in uniform and some of a sexual nature

:: Police officer, management action, 2010 - Officer made comments on Facebook that she had "topped 112mph" on her motorbike and comments about being at court

:: Other police staff, retired/resigned, 2011 - Subject arrested for leaking intelligence regarding drugs

:: Police officer, management action, 2011 - Sent inappropriate material showing police in public order dress holding shields in front of Parliament with the words 'Merry Christmas... Keep calm and f*** off'

:: Police officer, formal action, 2011 - Numerous browsing the internet or playing games when he should be working. Using iPhone to access porn.

:: Special constable, formal action, 2011 - Believed to have made racist comments on Facebook. Commented on a picture of two fighting men with the phrase "damn n*****s"

:: Other police officer, formal action, 2011 - Searching gay porn on work computer

:: Other police officer, formal action, 2012 - Disclosed information not in the public domain via Twitter regarding an assault of a WPC at Notting Hill Carnival

:: Community support officer, retired / resigned, 2013 - Computer misuse, checks on her boyfriend

:: Police officer, formal action, 2013 - Supplied a journalist with confidential information

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Gerry Adams Declares Innocence After Release

Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams has again stressed he was not involved in a notorious IRA murder as he was released from custody after four days of questioning.

He was freed without charge after being quizzed for 96 hours by police investigating the murder of mother-of-10 Jean McConville, who was snatched from her home in front of her children in 1972.

Mr Adams, 65, told a news conference in west Belfast: "I rejected all of the allegations made against me."

He said he did not eat during the first two days of his detention and was "concerned about the timing" of his arrest which came before local and European elections.

"Let me very clear - I am innocent of any involvement in any conspiracy to abduct, kill or bury Mrs McConville," he said.

"I have worked hard with others to have this injustice redressed and for the return of the bodies of others killed during the conflict and secretly buried by the IRA, and I will continue to do so."

Armoured Land Rovers could not leave the police station

Earlier, Loyalists blocked roads outside Antrim police station in Northern Ireland in an attempt to stop officers freeing him.

Dozens of protesters holding flags and placards stood outside the high-security building bearing messages such as "Justice for Victims".

Armoured Land Rovers, one thought to contain Mr Adams, were prevented from leaving the front gate as Loyalists sat in the road chanting "we shall not be moved".

Police in riot gear stood guard as the sit-down demonstration continued.

While that was going on, Mr Adams left the police station by the back gate in an another armoured police vehicle.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland said a file will be sent to the Public Prosecution Service, which will decide whether to charge Mr Adams.

Protesters started to gather as news broke that Mr Adams was being freed

The decision would normally rest with the region's Director of Public Prosecutions Barra McGrory QC.

But he is to delegate the case to another senior official, as he has previously acted as Mr Adams' lawyer.

Mrs McConville's son Michael called for an independent body to investigate the allegations made against Mr Adams "so there is no political pressure on the police".

Mr Adams' arrest has led to a growing political row, with Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson accusing Sinn Fein of attempting to blackmail police.

The party had warned it would review its support for policing if Mr Adams was charged.

Mr Robinson said: "The PSNI must not be the subject of republican bully boy tactics."

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Elena Baltacha Dies After Cancer Battle

The former British tennis number one has died of liver cancer at the age of 30, her family has announced.

She died peacefully at her home early on Sunday morning, her family said.

Baltacha was diagnosed with the illness in January, just two months after retiring from tennis and only weeks after she married her coach Nino Severino.

"We are heartbroken beyond words at the loss of our beautiful, talented and determined Bally," Severino said in a statement released by her family.

"She was an amazing person and she touched so many people with her inspirational spirit, her warmth and her kindness."

Husband Nino Severino says he is heartbroken

Kiev-born Baltacha retired from professional tennis last November after struggling to overcome a series of injuries.

The daughter of former Ipswich, St Mirren and Inverness footballer Sergei, she reached a career-high world ranking of 49 in 2010, and beat the likes of Li Na and Francesca Schiavone.

Baltacha was British number one from December 2009 to June 2012 - 132 weeks - and she won 11 International Tennis Federation titles.

She played 39 times for Britain in the Fed Cup from 2003 to 2012 and was also part of Team GB at the London 2012 Olympics.

She was diagnosed at the age of 19 with primary sclerosing cholangitis, a chronic liver condition which compromises the immune system.

Her agent and friend Eleanor Preston told Sky News that Baltacha was a "fighter on and off court" and for that reason her "spirit and memory will live on".

The Lawn Tennis Association says she was a 'shining light'

"She was somebody who achieved an awful lot despite having a very serious liver condition which she struggled with since she was 19," she said.

"For that reason she should be held up as a real role model for everybody, for the way she overcame those obstacles and went on to achieve great things, and throughout it all without having the slightest ounce of pity or ego about it."

The Lawn Tennis Association's head of women's tennis Iain Bates said in a statement: "Today we have lost a shining light from the heart of British tennis - a true role model, a great competitor and a wonderful friend.

"We have so many special memories to cherish, but this leaves a gaping hole for everybody in both British and women's tennis, and words simply cannot express how saddened we are by this news.

"All our thoughts are with Nino and the rest of Elena's family. We will miss you Bal."

Baltacha's friend Andy Murray is to play in a fundraiser in her memory

In 2010, Baltacha launched the Elena Baltacha Academy of Tennis, which helps children from all backgrounds to learn and play tennis.

All those involved in running the Academy have pledged to carry on the work that she started, the family statement said.

The previously announced 'Rally for Bally' - a fundraiser due to be played in June - will still go ahead, now in her memory.

Her childhood friend Andy Murray had committed to play in the event along with Martina Navratilova and Tim Henman.

The money raised will be split between the Elena Baltacha Academy of Tennis and the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.

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Mombasa Hit By Bus And Beach Resort Blasts

At least three people have been killed and several others injured in twin bomb blasts in Mombasa, Kenya, officials say.

One blast happened at a busy bus station in Mwembe Tayari, near the city centre, when a grenade was thrown into a crowded minibus killing at least three people, and wounding more than 20.

At the bus terminus, victims were sprawled in a pool of blood and the road was littered with shattered glass from a bus.

"I didn't see who threw the object, but I heard a loud explosion before I fell to the ground. I then felt my legs go numb," Halima Sidi, 26, who works at a local supermarket, told Reuters at a hospital as nurses bandaged her wounded legs.

Mombasa county commissioner Nelson Marwa said: "What happened is a grenade was thrown at passengers.

The bombings happened at a bus station and the Reef Hotel

"The attackers were riding on a motorbike, and lobbed the grenade at the crowd of people at the bus terminus."

Another explosion occurred at a well-known beach resort hotel, the Reef Hotel, in the Nyali area of the city, although no casualties have been reported.

An unattended bag had been found on the beach, which was abandoned at the gate of the hotel after it was found to contain what turned out to be an explosive device, which subsequently went off.

One of the bombing victims is put on a stretcher. Pic: Daily Nation

Hotelier Mohammed Hersi told Sky News there had been no injuries and all the guests were safe.

A police official said: "We had two incidents. One at the bus station where three people have lost their lives. In the second incident that occurred near a hotel in Nyali there were no casualties."

While no one has immediately claimed responsibility for the blasts, Kenya has been targeted in the past by gun and grenade attacks in Mombasa and central Nairobi, which the government has blamed on the al Qaeda-linked Somali group al Shabaab.

Blood stains are visible on the side of a bus at one of the blast sites

Last year, a terrorist attack on a shopping mall in Nairobi left at least 67 people dead.

Sky's Foreign Affairs Editor Sam Kiley said the bombings bore the hallmarks of an attack by Islamic militants.

He said: "This could be seen as a counter-attack by radical al Qaeda-related groups against the body politic and the economy of Kenya by targeting an environment where tourists are likely to be."

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Man Charged Over 'Malicious' Teacher Message

One man has been charged and another arrested in connection with what police describe as "malicious communications" following the murder of teacher Ann Maguire in Leeds.

Mrs Maguire, 61, was stabbed to death in front of her students at Corpus Christi Catholic College last Monday, where she had taught for more than 40 years.

West Yorkshire Police said Jake Newsome, 21, from Leeds, has been released on bail after being charged and is due to appear in court on Wednesday.

They added a 42-year-old man, from Port Talbot, South Wales, has also been arrested. He remains in custody.

Today, prayers will be said at dozens of churches across West Yorkshire for the family of the dedicated Spanish teacher and mother of two.

The Catholic Diocese of Leeds has written to around 90 churches urging them to pray for Mrs Maguire, was due to retire in September.

Mrs Maguire was stabbed during a lesson at Corpus Christi Catholic College

A spokesman for the diocese said: "We are asking everybody to remember Ann Maguire in their prayers, and to remember her family who will be under pressure and stress at this time.

"She was amazingly well known in the local community for what she had done for young people.

"Everybody is so hurt by what has happened and taking time to recover.

"This is a time to remember her. We are talking about three generations of people - children, parents and grandparents - whose lives she has touched.

"She made a major difference to a lot of people's lives through the care she gave them and her teaching.

"Part of her philosophy was to make sure that students achieved their best, and this is a chance to remember her."

A book of condolence has also been opened at the cathedral in Leeds for those who want to express their sympathies.

A 15 year-old boy is in custody charged with Mrs Maguire's murder.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared via video-link at Leeds Crown Court on Friday. There was no application for bail.

The case was adjourned until July 11 for a plea and case management hearing.

A date for the start of the murder trial was set for November 3.

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