Cameron: Meriam Death Sentence Is 'Barbaric'

David Cameron says the death sentence handed down to Meriam Ibrahim is "barbaric" and has called on Sudanese authorities to intervene.

The Prime Minister joined international condemnation of the 27-year-old mother's plight, saying he is "absolutely appalled" by the case.

"The way she is being treated is barbaric and has no place in today's world," he told The Times.

"I urge the government of Sudan to overturn the sentence and immediately provide appropriate support and medical care for her and her children.

"The UK will continue to press the government of Sudan to act."

Ms Ibrahim was found guilty by a Sudanese court of apostasy in renouncing Islam and adultery for marrying a Christian, Daniel Wani.

Husband Daniel Wani with his newborn baby in prison

She was sentenced to 100 lashes and death by hanging earlier this month.

Her death sentence has been suspended for two years so she can nurse her daughter Maya, who was born in prison on Wednesday.

Ms Ibrahim was forced to give birth to the child while shackled to a prison floor after guards at Omdurman Women's Prison refused to release her.

Both the UK and US governments have summoned the Sudan's charge d'affaires to discuss the case.

The US State Department has described Ms Ibrahim's incarceration as "horrific" and continues to press Sudanese officials to intervene.

US embassy officials have been attending Ms Ibrahim's public hearings and are monitoring the appeals process in Khartoum.

Mr Cameron's comments follow condemnation from former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and British politicians including Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg.

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Kenyan Farmers Threaten Violence Over Khat Ban

By Hind Hassan, Sky News Reporter

Kenyan khat farmers have threatened violent action against the British government following its decision to ban the stimulant.

FG Machuma, who says he represents the Miraa tribe, told Sky News the decision to make the plant a class C drug was a "declaration of war".

He added: "If they don't listen to us ... they have a military base in Nanyuki ... and they will have to leave.

"If they don't leave peacefully then we will take arms and deal with them in Kenya."

Men chew khat and drink coffee in London

In the UK, khat is popular among some members of Somali and Yemeni communities.

The latest figures from 2011-2012 put the plant's UK value at £13.8m.

Users chew the leaves then swallow the juice, which contains an ingredient similar to amphetamine.

After a few hours, users become talkative and experience feelings of alertness, euphoria and excitement.

But symptoms can include depression, lack of concentration and psychosis.

The majority of British trade comes from the town of Meru in Kenya.

A farmer plucking khat shoots off a tree on a plantation in Kenya

It provides a source of income for around 500,000 farmers belonging to the Miraa tribe, who say the ban threatens their livelihood.

Home Secretary Theresa May defied the Government's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs to push through the ban, which was approved by the House of Lords on May 12.

A Home Office spokesperson said: "Drug misuse has a serious impact on society and the ban on khat will help protect vulnerable members of our community.

"It will also prevent the UK from becoming a single regional hub for criminals trying to make a profit, as countries across Europe have already implemented the same ban.

"Parliament has now approved the government's decision and khat will become a class C drug on June 24, 2014."

Users of the plant claim they are being unfairly targeted.

A van transporting khat meant for export to Nairobi

Mahamud Ahmed Mohamad - who owns the UK's largest khat warehouse in west London - insists that chewing khat is a Somali tradition.

He told Sky News: "It's like closing a pub ... will you feel happy if you close British pubs?

"Why don't you close alcohol which is affecting a lot of people? Why is it only khat that is a major issue?"

He currently employs around 40 workers and says they will be made redundant once the ban is implemented.

Mr Mohamad is challenging the ban in the Court of Appeal.

Farmer James Ntonyi chews khat leaves at his father's farm in Meru

Abukar Awale, a former user, insists the substance is addictive and psychologically damaging.

The anti-khat activist blames his former habit for a violent confrontation during which he was stabbed.

"Availability of khat and the legality of khat was attracting more young people," he said. "By banning it we are preventing young people from failing in society."

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'Real Action' Needed In Hunt For Missing Briton

The brother of a British man who disappeared while trekking on a paradise island off Malaysia has urged the Government to appeal to local authorities to step up search efforts.

Gareth David Huntley disappeared four days ago after attempting to find a waterfall in the jungles of Tioman Island, off the peninsula's east coast.

He told friends at a charity project he had been working with he would return by 2pm that day but he has not been seen since.

A group of volunteers and local people have been into the jungle to search for the 34-year-old but have not found him.

Mr Huntley had been volunteering at a Turtle sanctuary

Mark Huntley said "real action" is needed to find his brother.

He said: "We need real boots on the ground in Malaysia. We need real pressure from William Hague at the Foreign Office. So far we haven't heard a word from him or David Cameron.

"Gareth's been missing now for five days and he's alone in the jungle. This was a man working out there as a wildlife volunteer - he deserves our assistance.

"This situation of delayed searches is all too familiar. We call on David Cameron to make just one phone call to the Malaysian authorities and kindly request they step up the search."

Mr Huntley's mother earlier demanded authorities step up the search for her son, who was on an extended holiday.

Janet Southwell said: "I'm extremely concerned and anxious about my son.

"He's been missing for four days now and as yet I've had no contact from any official agency advising me as to the progress of the search.

"At this stage I feel it's essential that the search be intensified as time is running out for Gareth, so I'd really appreciate the support of the Malaysian authorities and the UK Government with this."

A file picture of a beach on Tioman Island

Twenty Malaysian police officers and a search dog are now involved in the search.

Mr Huntley's family and girlfriend are also due to fly out to the region this weekend.

One of his friends who is in the area and doing what he can to help is Kyle Neo Kai Fu.

He told Sky News Sunrise he is certain his friend is alive.

Kyle Neo Kai Fu and Gareth Huntley

"He knows a lot of things about self-sustainability. I think he's a survivor."

According to one of the accountant's close friends, Malaysian authorities have so far failed to conduct a thorough search.

Sophie Wilson told Sky News: "Nothing has come from the authorities. As far as we're aware, the police were informed and haven't been doing anything. They've been incredibly lethargic.

"They've said they're performing a search but all evidence on the ground suggests they're just not taking this seriously."

Mr Huntley, from east London, had been working as a volunteer at the Juara Turtle Project, a conservation charity on Tioman Island.

One of the other volunteers, Charles Fisher, said police were informed the day after he went missing but did not actively begin searching.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman said the local embassy was aware Mr Huntley was missing and was offering support.

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Pakistan Stoning: Widower 'Killed First Wife'

The husband of a pregnant Pakistani woman who was stoned to death by her family has reportedly admitted to strangling his first wife.

Mohammad Iqbal, 45, told news agency AFP he murdered his first wife so he could marry 25-year-old Farzana Iqbal, who was bludgeoned to death outside a courthouse for her choice of husband.

"I was in love with Farzana and killed my first wife because of this love," he said.

Iqbal said he had been spared prison after his son forgave him for the killing - under the same controversial "blood money" laws that could see Farzana's killers ultimately go unpunished.

According to AFP, Mr Iqbal then switched off his phone and has not responded to subsequent calls. 

However a senior police officer investigating Farzana Iqbal's killing has verified his claims.

"Iqbal was a notorious character and he had murdered his first wife six years ago," Zulfiqar Hameed said.

Mrs Iqbal's father is accused of taking part in the killing

"He was arrested and later released after a compromise with his family."

He said a report detailing Mr Iqbal's past would be handed to the government.

Mr Iqbal has made several public appeals for justice since his three months pregnant second wife's murder on Tuesday.

He alleges that several members of her family hit her in the head with bricks outside Lahore High Court while police stood by and watched.

"I begged them to help us but they said, 'this is not our duty',"  he told Reuters. "I took off my shirt (to be humble) and begged them to save her."

Her family was reportedly angered by her decision to marry Mr Iqbal rather than a cousin who was selected for her.

Human rights activists protested against the killing in Pakistan's capital

According to police her father, brother and former fiance all took part in the attack.

The couple were due to testify in court that their marriage was genuine after her family alleged she had been abducted.

The brazen nature of the killing, which took place on one of the busiest roads of Pakistan's second biggest city has shocked the country.

There are fears that the alleged killers could walk free due to a provision in Pakistani law which allows perpetrators to be let off if they are forgiven by the victim's relatives or if the relatives accept so-called "blood money" over the crime.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has described the killing as "totally unacceptable" and demanded to know why nearby police did not intervene.

Pakistan's prime minister has called for immediate action over the killing

However Lahore police chief Shafiq Ahmad has denied that police witnessed the killing.

He said: "By the time police reached the scene, the lady had been murdered."

He added that the victim's father was arrested after the incident.

The remaining suspects have not been found.

According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan 869 women died in so-called honour killings last year alone.

British Foreign Secretary William has called on Pakistan to take immediate action to prevent further killings.

He said: "I am shocked and appalled by the death of Farzana Parveen - both for the appalling manner of her death, and the unspeakable cruelty and injustice of murdering a woman for exercising her basic right to choose who to love and marry.

"There is absolutely no honour in honour killings and I urge the government of Pakistan to do all in its power to eradicate this barbaric practice."

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Charlize Theron: Press Intrusion 'Like Rape'

By Richard Suchet, Arts And Entertainment Correspondent

Charlize Theron says press coverage of her private life is so intrusive that it is comparable to rape.

The South African-born actress told Sky News that "every aspect" of her life has become "fodder" for a brand of journalism that exists "in a dark room".

She said: "I don't (Google myself) - that's my saving grace.

"When you start living in that world, and doing that, you start feeling raped."

Theron and actor Sean Penn at the film's premiere in California

Asked whether she meant to express the sentiment as strongly as that, she replied: "Well, when it comes to your son and your private life. Maybe it's just me.

"Some people might relish in all that stuff but there are certain things in my life that I think of as very sacred and I am very protective over them.

"I don't always win that war but as long as I don't have to see that stuff or read that stuff or hear that stuff then I can live with my head in a clear space, which is probably a lot healthier than living in that dark room."

She is not the first person to draw parallels between media intrusion and rape.

In 2010 the actress Kristen Stewart was forced to issue an apology after claiming that seeing photographs of herself was like "looking at someone being raped".

Kate McCann, the mother of missing child Madeleine McCann, told the Leveson Inquiry into press ethics that she felt "mentally raped" when a tabloid newspaper published her private diary, in which she expressed her thoughts and feelings about the disappearance of her daughter.

Theron, who won an Oscar for her role in 2003 movie Monster, is in London to promote her new film A Million Ways To Die In The West, in which she stars opposite Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane.

On the morning of our interview, she was pictured in the British press with her young son and partner Sean Penn.

The photographs showed them leaving Claridge's hotel in a taxi the night before.

She said: "I can't be concerned about what some idiot is going to write online about my short skirt, I can only take responsibility for myself.

"There is a part of my job that is incredibly lovely - to fly first class to London, to be able to do that with my son and my family and I am definitely not jaded by any of that.

"My job has made my life incredibly blessed and good and I am very grateful for that, but it does not mean that every aspect of my life all of a sudden becomes fodder for an article.

"I try to protect against that as much as I can."

Theron with Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane

Showbiz journalist Sophie Heawood said: "Charlize Theron has actually done some rape campaigning so I'm sure she's very aware of what she said.

"I imagine she's talking about a very different kind of violation obviously and it might be hard for us to sympathise because it seems like a very gilded celebrity life.

"But when it's constant every single day, every time you leave the house, every time anybody mentions you in public, any time your child gets in a car. That does feel very violating."

A Million Ways To Die In The West opens in UK cinemas today.

The raunchy comedy Western also stars Liam Neeson, Amanda Seyfried and Sarah Silverman.

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India: Second Gang Rape In Days Investigated

Another teenage girl has reportedly been gang-raped in northern India as police have launched an investigation into an alleged attack on the mother of another rape victim.

Police said four men attacked a 17-year-old girl in a field in Sarai Meer, Uttar Pradesh, on Wednesday.

One man has been arrested and a manhunt was underway for the other three alleged attackers, according to The Free Press Journal.

In a separate case, three men have been arrested in Uttar Pradesh for reportedly attacking the mother of an alleged rape victim after she refused to withdraw a police complaint.

Superintendent Dinesh Kumar said the men, allegedly including the father of a man accused of the rape on May 11, followed the woman into a field and beat her.

She was in a critical condition in a hospital in Etawah.

The two cases follow the gang rape and murder of teenage sisters whose bodies were discovered hanging from a mango tree in the state.

The gang-rapes have renewed outrage over sexual violence in India

Villagers in Katra found the bodies of the girls, aged 14 and 15, who disappeared from fields they had been using because their homes had no toilet.

Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the girls' rape and murder, and another is being hunted by police. Two police officers have also been arrested over failing to investigate their disappearance.

The case has renewed public outrage over sexual violence in India.

On Friday, Amnesty International called for the impartial investigation of gang rapes, murder and violence against young women of the Dalit caste in India.

Divya Iyer, senior researcher at Amnesty International India, said: "Despite the existence of constitutional safeguards and special laws, Dalits across India - and Dalit women in particular - face multiple levels of discrimination and violence.

"Members of dominant castes are known to use sexual violence against Dalit women and girls as a political tool for punishment, humiliation and assertion of power."

Crimes against Dalit people are often not properly registered or investigated and conviction rates are low, the organisation said.

Amnesty International added that the lack of adequate sanitation facilities across India posed a serious threat to the safety of women and girls.

India tightened its rape laws last year - introducing the death penalty for gang rape - following the fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old woman on a moving bus in New Delhi.

The case sparked nationwide protests.

Indian society is grouped into castes, known as Jati. These include Bhramin, Kshatryia, Viasya, Sudra and a lower caste known as "untouchables" which includes Dalit people.

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Japan Oil Tanker Explosion Leaves Four Hurt

One person is missing and four people have been seriously hurt after an oil tanker exploded off the coast of Japan.

The blast and subsequent fire aboard the 998-tonne vessel Shoko-Maru sent towers of billowing acrid smoke into the sky near Himeji port, around 280 miles west of Tokyo.

The vessel's owner says the tanker was "virtually empty" when it blew up

Coastguard ships battled the blaze on the Hiroshima-based tanker, which has extensive damage to its central section and was listing heavily.

Of the eight people aboard the 260ft vessel, seven have been rescued, four of whom suffered severe burns.

The missing crew member is believed to be the captain.

The cause of the explosion is unclear, a spokesman for the coastguard said.

The tanker had unloaded its cargo of crude oil and was "virtually empty" when the blast happened, according to an official from Syoho Shipping, the company that owns the vessel.

Akihiro Komura said: "I heard a crew member was using a grinder to remove paint and that seems to have triggered the blast, which we believe could have occurred when the remnants of the oil caught fire.

"All the crew members are Japanese nationals. We have confirmed seven out of the eight are alive and one, believed to be the captain, is still missing."

News of the accident caused Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to interrupt a debate in parliament.

"In waters off Hyogo (prefecture), a tanker has exploded and is currently in flames," he said.

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US Tells Snowden 'Man Up And Come Home'

US Secretary of State John Kerry has challenged Edward Snowden to "man up and come back to the United States", after the whistleblower admitted he wanted to return home.

Mr Kerry's comments follow the former National Security Agency contractor's interview with NBC, his first for US media since he fled the country after leaking a huge volume of classified documents.

Now living in Russia on a temporary grant of asylum, Mr Snowden told the network he took action in the belief that he was serving his country in exposing the surveillance programs of the NSA.

"I don't think there's ever been any question that I'd like to go home," Snowden said in a segment of the interview.

"Now, whether amnesty or clemency ever becomes a possibility is not for me to say. That's a debate for the public and the government to decide. But, if I could go anywhere in the world, that place would be home."

And Mr Kerry, speaking before NBC aired that portion of the interview, said: "If Mr Snowden wants to come back to the United States, we'll have him on a flight today. A patriot would not run away.

Susan Rice has denied Mr Snowden's recent claims

"He should man up and come back to the United States. If he has a complaint about what's the matter with American surveillance, (he should) come back here and stand in our system of justice and make his case.

"If he cares so much about America and he believes in America, he should trust the American system of justice."

Mr Snowden had also said in an earlier part of his interview that he worked undercover and overseas for the CIA and the NSA. He claimed he had a far more important role in US intelligence than the government has acknowledged.

"I was trained as a spy in sort of the traditional sense of the word, in that I lived and worked undercover overseas," he said.

National security adviser Susan Rice insisted in a CNN interview that Mr Snowden never worked undercover.

Mr Snowden said he never intended to end up in Russia but was forced to go there because Washington decided to "revoke my passport."

In response, Mr Kerry said: "Well, for a supposedly smart guy, that's a pretty dumb answer, after all.

"I think he's confused. I think it's very sad. But this is a man who has done great damage to his country."

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Missing Plane: 'Search Boat May Have Made Pings'

A US Navy official has claimed underwater signals detected in the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane came from a search boat or the ping detector itself.

Families of passengers on board the missing flight say they have been left feeling "helpless" after a US Navy spokesperson said there is international agreement the sounds came from a source unrelated to flight MH370.

Steve Wang, whose 57-year-old mother was on board the fated flight said: "We all feel quite helpless; we don't know who to turn to now."

Relative Steven Wang has asked for more technical data to be released

"When (Australian Prime Minister) Tony Abbott told the world about the conclusion of the location of the search operation, he was really certain. Now it's not the case at all. 

"What evidence brought him to this conclusion is the question we've been asking all along. What has Boeing done to support this initial conclusion in associate with the detection of the pulse signal? Was it Boeing's conclusion or Australia's?"

Mr Wang, who still has his mother's final voice message she left him just before she boarded the plane, told Sky News that more flight data should be released so it can be independently analysed.

Ocean Shield has now left the search area of 850 sq km (340 sq miles)

"We ask them to release all the evidence so it can be analysed by more people, not just by Inmarsat or the expert team from Malaysia."

Michael Dean, the US Navy's deputy director of ocean engineering said that if the pings came from the plane's black box or voice recorders they would have been found by now.

"Our best theory at this point is that (the pings were) likely some sound produced by the ship... or within the electronics of the towed pinger locator," he told CNN.

"Always your fear any time you put electronic equipment in the water is that if any water gets in and grounds or shorts something out, that you could start producing sound."

The Bluefin-21 submersible which could have emitted the pings

The pinger locator was towed by the Australian ship Ocean Shield to listen for underwater signals in the southern Indian Ocean in an area where satellite data indicated the plane went down.

A series of signals it picked up prompted Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott to say he was "very confident" they were from the black box of the plane that vanished en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur with 239 people on board.

But Australia's Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has confirmed that Ocean Shield has now left an area of 850 sq km (340 sq miles) that was being scoured for the passenger jet that disappeared without trace on March 8.

Satellite data of the plane's last known movements was recently released

A statement released by Australia's Joint Agency Coordination Centre said: "The ATSB has advised that the search in the vicinity of the acoustic detections can now be considered complete and in its professional judgement, the area can now be discounted as the final resting place of MH370."

The news will add to the agony of the families of the 239 people who were on the flight and who have campaigned tirelessly for authorities not to give up the search.

Sarah Bajc's boyfriend Philip Wood was one of the passengers on board the missing plane. She told Sky News: "We are no further along than we are of March 8. Every single, solitary lead has proven to be false. 

"There is no evidence, not a shred of wreckage, nothing. From a logic perspective we must come to the conclusion that there has got to be another answer.

"From the beginning the Malaysian authorities chose to take on this investigation themselves. Whether we're at where we are becuase they're grossly incompetent or because they're part of some intentional set of actions to lead people astray to cover up what really happened, I don't know.

"But it has to be one of the two. There is no other alternative."

Some 47 pages of raw satellite data tracking the last known movements of MH370 were released a few days ago following calls from the families for the information to be made public so it could be verified by independent experts.

Despite today's statement, a US Navy spokesman said Mr Dean's comments were "speculative and premature".

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Alzheimer's Patient Arrested As 21 Die In Fire

A patient suffering from Alzheimer's has been arrested after 21 people died in a fire at a hospital in South Korea.

Seven people were injured in the blaze, which broke out at the hospice in Jangseong county about 190 miles (300km) south of Seoul.

Most of the patients who died at Hyosarang Hospital were in their seventies and eighties.

Seven people were injured in the blaze

A police official said an 81-year-old man had been taken into custody after CCTV footage appeared to show him setting the fire in a storage room on the upper floor of the two-storey building.

Although the blaze was brought under control within 30 minutes, many on the upper floor were unable to escape.

One nurse was on duty at the time and was among the dead.

The fire was brought under control within half an hour

Lee Hyung-Seok, chief administrator of the Jangseong hospice, said: "I'm sorry. I apologise for this terrible thing."

It was South Korea's second deadly blaze in two days. Seven people were killed and 41 injured in a fire at a bus terminal near Seoul on Monday.

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Obama To Defend 'Passive' Foreign Policy Vision

By Hannah Thomas-Peter, New York Correspondent

Barack Obama is expected to defend his vision for US foreign policy later, which has been criticised by many as being too passive.

The US President, speaking at the Military Academy in West Point, New York, will argue successful, modern foreign policy is rooted in diplomacy rather than intervention.

It comes a day after he announced the US will seek to keep 9,800 troops in Afghanistan after the war there formally ends later this year.

Mr Obama said America plans a full withdrawal from Afghanistan by the end of 2016, just as his second and final term comes to a close.

The draw-down is dependent on Afghan leadership agreeing to a bilateral security agreement with the US.

Outgoing president Hamid Karzai has refused to do so, but US officials expect his successor will.

Speaking from the Rose Garden in the White House, Mr Obama said "the bottom line is it's time to turn the page" on over a decade of conflict in the region.

"We have to recognise that Afghanistan will not be a perfect place and it is not America's responsibility to make it one."

The West Point address is the first in a series of speeches designed to explain how the President views the future of US foreign policy in the aftermath of conflicts in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Critics have said America has lost face and influence in its dealings with Syria's leader Bashar al Assad, who remains in power despite crossing Mr Obama's self-proclaimed "red line" and using chemical weapons on his own people.

Opponents are also unhappy about Russian intervention in Ukraine, and China's threats to its neighbours in the South China Sea.

Republicans in particular, feel that under Mr Obama's stewardship America is becoming increasingly disengaged and is losing the capacity to influence global events.

Briefing reporters over the weekend, a White House official said: "You will hear the President discuss how the United States will use all the tools in our arsenal without over-reaching.

"He will lay out why the right policy is one that is both interventionist and internationalist, but not isolationist or unilateral."

The official said Mr Obama will argue in favour of "an international system that is sustainable and enduring, and that can address challenges from traditional ones, like maritime and trade issues, to emerging ones, like climate change".

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German World Cup Players In Car Accident

Two German footballers set to play in the World Cup were involved in a crash in northern Italy which left two people in hospital.

The scene of a crash involving two German footballers

Julian Draxler and Benedikt Hoewedes were passengers in separate cars during a Mercedes event at the team's pre-tournament training camp. 

One of the vehicles was being driven by Formula One racer Nico Rosberg, but it was the other, with touring car driver Pascal Wehrlein behind the wheel, that struck two men near the team hotel.

Julian Draxler (L) and Benedikt Hoewedes

One, a 63-year-old German tourist, was seriously hurt according to local media reports. The other victim is thought to be a circuit marshal.

The footballers were uninjured and have resumed training in the South Tyrol area of Italy.

Two people were taken to hospital following the crash

Rosberg, currently leading the F1 championship, tweeted: "My thoughts are with the two people who were injured and I wish them a fast recovery."

The road had been closed to the public for the promotional event.

Formula One star Nico Rosberg was also driving at the scene

Mercedes-Benz Motorsport said in a statement: "An accident occurred during a visit to the training camp of the German National Football Team: while driving on a closed circuit, DTM driver Pascal Wehrlein injured two people whom he unexpectedly encountered walking on the closed course.

"We cannot offer any statement concerning the severity of injuries, as both injured parties are currently undergoing medical treatment. Pascal Wehrlein was uninjured in the accident.

Neither of the footballers was hurt

"We deeply regret this accident and send wishes of quick recovery to the injured. We will work in full cooperation with the authorities in determining the exact circumstances of the accident."

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Tech Boss Quits Over Elliot Rodger Comments

#YesAllWomen: Twitter Reaction To Killing Spree

Updated: 5:18pm UK, Monday 26 May 2014

Twitter users are sharing their thoughts on misogyny in response to the California killing spree carried out by a gunman who expressed rage against women who he said had refused him.

The YesAllWomen hashtag started trending on Twitter shortly after Friday's rampage, which left seven people dead, including the 22-year-old killer Elliot Rodger.

In his disturbing manifesto and YouTube videos, Rodger had vented his rage at the women who he believed had spurned him.

A day before the attack, he posted a video online promising to slaughter "spoilt, stuck-up blonde" women who he said had rebuffed him.

His comments sparked a strong reaction on Twitter, with stories of violence against women and sexism being shared under the hashtag YesAllWomen.

Some told of how they do not feel safe, others lamented sexism in the workplace.

Many lashed out against a culture they said judged women for how they dress rather than what they think or say.

"#yesallwomen because I can't walk down the street without being harassed (stared at, cat called) every day, all day," wrote one user, @davisnevis.

"#YesAllWomen Because many think it's more important to teach their daughters safety than it is to teach their sons respect," said @emilyPuccio.

"#yesallwomen because we are taught from a very young age that to be truly happy we need a husband," wrote ‏@EmmaPerkinton.

"My body, my clothes, nor my dance moves grant any sort of permission. Unless I tell you 'Yes,' you must assume 'No.' #YesAllWomen," @CheltzzzMB said.

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Missing Flight MH370 Satellite Data Released

Missing Plane: Timeline Of Events

Updated: 1:18pm UK, Thursday 10 April 2014

A summary of developments surrounding the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 and search for the plane.

Wednesday, April 9

:: Search team leader Angus Houston announces that Australia's Ocean Shield has picked up two further signals in the Indian Ocean. He says they were relocated on Tuesday after a brief period of going undetected.

Monday, April 7

:: Mr Houston declares the "most promising lead" so far, after the Ocean Shield detects two signals - suggesting the presence of a flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder. They are located in a separate location to those previously found by a Chinese vessel.

Saturday, April 5

:: Chinese vessel Haixun 01 reports picking up a pulse signal with a frequency of 37.5kHz in the Indian Ocean, which could be a plane's black box. Other vessels are diverted to the area to follow up the lead.

Friday, April 4

:: Australian authorities launch a new underwater phase of the search. British vessel HMS Echo and nuclear submarine HMS Tireless are in the area to help with the search for MH370.

Monday, March 31

:: An Australian pilot spots a cluster of orange objects, which turns out to be fishing equipment.

Friday and Saturday, March 28/29

:: The search continues in a new location, further north in the Indian Ocean, with a Chinese plane spotting three multi-coloured objects

Thursday, March 27

:: Thailand reports the discovery of 300 floating objects but none are found to be from MH370.

Sunday, March 23

:: French satellites pick up 122 objects 1,500 miles west of Australia but search crews are again unable to find anything of significance.

Saturday, March 22

:: Chinese satellites spot a large object further south in the Indian Ocean, but aircraft flying over the site find only clumps of seaweed and a wooden pallet.

Thursday, March 20

:: Australian satellite images released show two objects around 1,550miles west of Perth in the southern Indian Ocean but surveillance aircraft are unable to locate them.

Saturday, March 15

:: The search area is expanded to two air corridors - a northern one stretching as far as Turkmenistan and Thailand - and one which goes through Indonesia and into the southern Indian Ocean.

Wednesday, March 12

:: Evidence from military radar possibly picking up the flight saw the search area expanded westwards to the Malacca Strait and Andaman Sea.

Sunday, March 9

:: Vietnamese aircraft reports seeing a door off the south-west coast of Vietnam, but it was found to be unrelated to flight MH370.

Saturday, March 8

:: Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 leaves Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing at 00.41am local time with 239 passengers and crew on board.

:: The plane makes its last verbal contact with Malaysian air traffic control at 1.19am.

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Ukraine: '50 Insurgents Killed In Donetsk'

Ukrainian forces claim to have retaken the airport in the eastern city of Donetsk amid fierce fighting which rebels say left more than 50 of their fighters dead.

Plumes of black smoke could be seen rising from Sergei Prokofiev International Airport after Ukraine fighter jets and helicopter gunships unleashed air strikes on insurgents who took control of an airport terminal.

Members of the public were urged to stay indoors following reports the fighting had spread to residential areas of the city.

A Ukrainian helicopter Mi-24 gunship fires at rebels at Donetsk airport

The road to the airport bore signs of the heavy fighting, strewn with blood-spattered and bullet-riddled trucks of the kind used by the separatist rebels.

And heavy machinegun fire could still be heard on Tuesday morning amid signs of continuing resistance.

Fighting has also been reported in Mariupol, Biryukovo, and Slovyansk.

Pro-Russian insurgents took control of the city's airport terminal

Speaking in the capital Kiev, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said: "The airport is completely under control. The adversary suffered heavy losses. We have no losses."

First Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Yarema said: "We'll continue the anti-terrorist operation until not a single terrorist remains on the territory of Ukraine."

The prime minister of the rebels' self-styled Donetsk People's Republic (DNR), Alexander Borodai, is reported as saying: "We have lost more than 50 volunteers."

The government assault, considered the most forceful action so far taken by Kiev against pro-Russian rebels, came just hours after Ukrainian billionaire Petro Poroshenko claimed victory in the country's presidential elections.

Firefighters extinguish a fire at the Druzhba sports arena in Donetsk

Mr Poroshenko has rejected any talks with "terrorists" and promised a robust campaign to end the pro-Russian insurgency in the east, which has seen rebels seize government offices and clash with Ukrainian troops.

"The anti-terrorist operation cannot and should not last two or three months," he said. "It should and will last hours."

It is too early to say if the military crackdown will defeat the rebellion in Donetsk, where a hockey stadium was set on fire on Tuesday.

Sky News Foreign Affairs Editor Sam Kiley said the military action was a significant increase in the level of violence being applied by the Ukraine government.

He said: "Clearly, Kiev has decided to exercise its prerogative in trying to stamp out this insurgency which has been growing rapidly in the last two weeks.

"The issue will be whether the Kremlin will order Russian troops across the border. All the signs are the Russians will not do that. They're stepping back to try and talk to the Kiev government."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for a halt to Ukraine's military operation, and urged peace talks between Kiev and rebel leaders.

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What Next For EU's 'Self-Hating Parliament'?

A paralysing financial crisis which saw rich European countries bailing out the poor meant that these elections were always going to be ugly for the mainstream parties.

And so it transpired in Greece (Syriza 27%), Denmark (Danish Peoples Party 23%), UK (UKIP - more than 30%) and most spectacularly in France (Front National 25%).

In these countries, EU-critical voices from the populist right and anti-austerity left have taken the lion's share of seats in their respective national delegations.

There are plenty of other results to worry the centre-right (EPP) and centre-left (S&D) groups which have traditionally passed laws in the parliament, with a little help from the ALDE Liberal group.

Take the success of Italy's anti-politician, anti-journalist, (anti pretty-much-everything) Five Star group. The election of a pirate and a neo-nazi MEP from Germany will also cause shudders.

But, take a deep breath. The centre ground still rules the roost, with two thirds of the MEPs in the parliament, albeit a drop of 10%.

Also many of these EU-critical parties have little in common: Mr Farage gave us a terse 'not interested' when the Netherland's anti-Muslim PVV sounded him out again to join an anti-EU alliance.

Marine Le Pen of France's National Front has led a European earthquake

Greece's Golden Dawn may support the anti-immigration stance of Denmark's People's Party, but they differ wildly on abortion and gay rights.

To wield any real influence the 'antis' will need to form a political group before the constitutive session of the eighth parliament. Each faction needs at least 25 MEPs drawn from seven countries.

That will involve horse trading and compromise, which may play badly with party supporters back home.

However things will certainly be stickier for the ruling mainstream groups: the 'anti' MEPs may join forces to reject the entire batch of commissioners, and hold up laws and trade deals.

But this parliament is more likely to be a speed bump than a roadblock to this EU institution.

Its most significant impact may be back in the member states, if these parties manage to pull mainstream parties - and therefore governments - in a more Eurosceptic direction.

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Far-Right National Front Win In France

By Robert Nisbet, Europe Correspondent

Voters have dramatically altered the make-up of the European Parliament by doubling the number of MEPs from the populist, eurosceptic Right and the anti-austerity Left.

Marine Le Pen's far-Right National Front scored its first victory in European Parliament elections in France.

Without waiting for the final result, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls went on television to call the result "an earthquake" for France and Europe.

The National Front (FN) won around 25% of the vote in France, according to exit polls, easily beating the centre-Right UMP on 20%.

Exit polls say far-right and hard-left parties have gained ground in many countries, including in Greece where the extreme-right Golden Dawn are thought to have won nearly 10% of the vote.

By the half way stage, the centre-right parties were expected to be the biggest group, with 212 out of 751 seats.

The Socialists were expected to gain 185 seats, the Liberals third with 71, the Greens fourth with 55 and the far-left next with 45.

Eurosceptic parties were expected to win about 143 seats.

Marine Le Pen celebrates winning France's Euro election

The winners in Greece, the anti-austerity movement Syriza, are thought to have topped the polls with more than 27% of the vote.

In Germany, the EU's biggest member state with the largest number of seats, the pro-European centre ground held firm, according to the polls.

Ms Le Pen, whose party beat President Francois Hollande's ruling Socialists into third place, told supporters: "The people have spoken loud and clear ... they no longer want to be led by those outside our borders, by EU commissioners and technocrats who are unelected.

"They want to be protected from globalisation and take back the reins of their destiny."

Eurosceptic Conservative MPs in the UK were quick to point out they had predicted the rise of the Right.

Harwich and Essex MP Bernard Jenkin wrote on Twitter: "Some of us who opposed Maastricht 20 years ago predicted it would lead to the rise of the Right in the EU: and here we are."

Douglas Carswell, the Clacton MP, said: "So maybe those of us who sometimes banged on about Europe were on to something?"

Foreign Secretary William Hague said: "I think we should be concerned about some of these developments across the rest of Europe and that is why it is so important that the next European Commission, the European Council, the next European Parliament do get the message that there is rising discontent and tensions of many kinds in Europe."

In Denmark the Right wing Danish People's Party topped the polls, although its leaders have ruled out an alliance with the National Front.

Spain's two main political parties, the ruling conservative Popular Party in power since 2011 and the Socialist Party, lost major ground to smaller parties, mainly on the Left. The Catalan independence party also performed well.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's centre-left Democratic Party (PD) came in ahead of the anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S) in his country's exit polls.

In Belgium, the controversial Flemish separatists secured four of  21 EU parliamentary seats available in the country, more than any other party. 

Turnout in Eastern Europe was predicted to be low, with estimates of around 20% expected. 

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Australian Ex-Detective Charged With Murder

By Jonathan Samuels, Sky News Australia Correspondent

A former Australian detective has been charged with the murder of a missing university student as a body wrapped in tarpaulin was found floating off a Sydney beach.

It is thought the body could be that of Jamie Gao, a 20-year-old Sydney university student who went missing in mysterious circumstances last Tuesday.

Former police detective Glen McNamara, 55, was charged over the alleged murder of Mr Gao as the process of identifying the body continues. McNamara was also charged with supplying illegal drugs.

Mr Gao disappeared after getting into a car with two young men

Mr Gao disappeared after reportedly getting into a car with two young men. Police said he had been excited about a "secret meeting" with the men in the days beforehand.

"It's possible Mr Gao was getting himself into some kind of trouble and indeed may have been getting himself in over his head," Detective Superintendent Luke Moore told reporters in Sydney.

"We don't know exactly who he was meeting or the exact purpose of the meeting but the nature of why he was going there - and in fact it was quite secretive - leads us to believe he may have been getting himself into some kind of trouble."

Police said they were certain the Sydney University of Technology student had been abducted and believed he was dead. It is believed Mr Gao had become involved in a drug-related incident which went wrong.

Mr Gao's Nissan Sylvia sedan was found abandoned near the spot where he was last seen. His mobile phone, keys and wallet were found nearby. The phone has since been examined for evidence.

There has been no ransom note or contact between the family and the people who abducted Mr Gao, who was an only child.

Police are also trying to contact disgraced former police detective Roger Rogerson in connection with the case.

Rogerson was once one of New South Wales' most decorated police officers, collecting more than a dozen bravery awards.

However, he became known as Australia's most notorious ex-cop in the 1980s for his alleged crimes and underworld connections.

He was dismissed by NSW Police in 1986.

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Thai Police Clash With Protesters In Bangkok

More than 1,000 protesters marching against the military coup in Thailand have been involved in a tense stand-off with police.

The demonstrators are marching in defiance of limits on public gatherings imposed since the army took control this week.

As the protesters marched from a shopping centre in the city centre they were met by a line of riot police, backed by heavily-armed soldiers.

A soldier in tears as crowds berate him (pic: Mark Stone)

Sky News Asia Correspondent Mark Stone, who is at the scene of the confrontation, said it had been "bloodless, but incredibly tense".

"This is very tense because one of the key conditions the general now in charge of this country made was that he did not want any political gatherings of more than five people," he said.

He added that the situation on the ground in Bangkok could change "very quickly".

"Right now, they (riot police) seem to have got the situation under control, but you can see they are heavily armed.

"A little bit earlier on, right here in this position, we filmed some clashes which were the most tense we've seen since this coup took hold.

"We saw as the protesters pushed the army back, the army managed to regain control relatively quickly, but it's just a sign of how things could turn very, very quickly."

The demonstrators marched in defiance of orders to disperse

At one point the protesters chased away a group of soldiers in the Ratchaprasong shopping district.

Soldiers have blocked off elevated walkways linking shopping centres and trains to the area have been suspended.

Former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra was in a "safe place" on Saturday, an aide said, after being held by the army following the coup.

Soldiers have blocked walkways linking shopping centres in Bangkok

The army moved on Thursday after failing to forge a compromise in a power struggle between Ms Yingluck's populist government and the royalist establishment, which brought months of unrest to Bangkok's streets.

The military detained Ms Yingluck on Friday when she and scores of other people, most of them her political allies, were summoned to an army facility in Bangkok.

Thailand has been locked in political crisis since a 2006 military coup that deposed Ms Yingluck's elder brother Thaksin Shinawatra, a billionaire tycoon who clashed with the royalist establishment.

Lines of riot police and soldiers confronted the protesters

His Red Shirt supporters had warned that any military overthrow of the government could trigger civil war and all eyes are now on how his movement will respond.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said there was "no justification" for the military takeover.

He said it would have "negative implications" for US relations, and demanded early elections.

Soldiers descended from a truck as the situation became more tense

British ambassador to Thailand Mark Kent said British citizens should "exercise extreme caution" and follow travel advice and media updates."

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Pope's Plea For Peace During Bethlehem Visit

Pope Francis has made a plea for peace between Israel and the Palestinians during a visit to Bethlehem on the second leg of this three-day Middle East tour.

The Pontiff held a mass in the West Bank city and called for renewed peace negotiations, saying the prolonged conflict had become unacceptable.

Francis delighted his hosts by referring to the "state of Palestine," and said the time had come for "everyone to find the courage to be generous and creative" to end the conflict.

"For the good of all, there is a need to intensify efforts and initiatives aimed at creating the conditions for a stable peace based on justice," he said.

Pope Francis meets Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem

Francis made an unscheduled stop at the concrete wall erected 10 years ago by Israel, which separates Bethlehem from Jerusalem.

The Pope spent several minutes praying in the shadow of an Israeli watchtower.

Francis travelled to Bethlehem by helicopter, becoming the first Pontiff to travel directly to the West Bank instead of entering via Israel.

After six hours in the city, he was due to travel to Israel for a series of meetings before returning to the Vatican on Monday.

A Bedouin honour guard for the pope in Amman, Jordan

Israeli police say they have arrested 26 people who took part in a protest early on Sunday by Jewish nationalists at the Cenacle in Jerusalem, the traditional site of Jesus's Last Supper.

Francis is due to hold a mass at the site on Monday.

The protesters say authorities are preparing to hand the Church the site, where some Jews believe King David is buried.

The Vatican says the Pope's Middle East tour is aimed at raising awareness of the exodus of Christians from the region in the face of increasing persecution.

The Pope prays at the edge of the Jordan River

It is also intended to highlight the need for greater unity between the Catholic and Orthodox churches.

In an effort to promote inter-religious dialogue, the Pope is being accompanied by a Rabbi and an Imam, both close friends from his home city of Buenos Aires in Argentina.

The final day of the visit will see Francis visit the grounds of the Al Aqsa Mosque, as well as the Western Wall, the most holy site in Judaism.

He will also travel to the Holocaust memorial at Yad Vashem, before a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The visit will conclude with a mass at the Cenacle in Jerusalem, the site at which the last supper is thought to have taken place.

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Italian Journalist Killed In Eastern Ukraine

An Italian journalist has been killed in a mortar attack in eastern Ukraine, as voting for a new president begins.

Photojournalist Andrea Rocchelli, 30, died on Saturday, along with a Russian national reported to be an interpreter, during shelling close to Slavyansk.

"Unfortunately, all of the information points to the fact that he has died," a foreign ministry spokeswoman in Rome said. His family are due to arrive in Kiev later today.

News of the deaths comes as pro-Russia insurgents in the region were reported as trying to block voting by snatching ballot boxes and patrolling polling stations.

There are early signs of a high turnout for the vote, billed as the most important since the former Soviet republic won independence from Moscow 23 years ago.

The main candidates, including front-runner Petro Poroshenko, a confectionery magnate, are promising closer ties with the West in defiance of Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

But the absence of over 15% of the electorate Crimea, now annexed by Russia, and two eastern regions where fighting with pro-Moscow rebels continued on Saturday, may mar any result.

It could leave the Kremlin questioning the victor's legitimacy, despite Mr Putin's new pledge to respect the will of the people.

Voting began in most of Ukraine at 8am local time and will end 12 hours later. Exit polls will indicate the result ahead of the official outcome on Monday.

Only about 20% of the polling stations in the heavily industrialised, Russian-speaking Donetsk region, which has 3.3 million registered voters, were working by 9.30am local time, authorities said.

None were open in the city of Donetsk.

European election monitors have largely pulled out of the Donetsk region for their own safety, claiming a campaign of "terror" by pro-Russian separatists against Ukrainian electoral officials.

Others also complained of being prevented from voting, in some cases because ballot papers had not been delivered because of security concerns after at least 20 people were killed in the region during fighting over recent days.

Polls make Mr Poroshenko, known as the "chocolate king" because of his confectionery empire, overwhelming favourite to win the election.

The biggest question is whether he can take over 50% to win outright. If not, a run-off vote will be held on June 15.

His closest rival is former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko who remains a divisive figure to many, more closely linked than Poroshenko with the economic failures that have blighted post-Soviet Ukraine.

"It is time to hold a referendum on joining Nato to restore peace in Ukraine," said Ms Tymoshenko after voting in her native city of Dnipropetrovsk in central Ukraine.

As ousted president Viktor Yanukovich's fiercest rival, Ms Tymoshenko may benefit from the fact that few of the five million voters in his eastern power base regions of Donetsk and Luhansk may be able to cast ballots for any of the 21 candidates.

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