Ireland And Britain Have A 'Fresh Canvas'

Ireland's President has hailed progress in relations with Britain, telling members of both Houses of Parliament the two countries have a "fresh canvas to sketch out our shared hopes" after centuries of fraught ties.

The Queen wore sky blue cashmere and green feather flowers in her hat

Michael D Higgins - a veteran left-wing politician, poet and human rights activist - said it was impossible to "wipe the slate clean" about the past, but relations between the two countries were good.

His address at Westminster - which comes before a state banquet on Tuesday evening - is a first for an Irish head of state.

In a wide-ranging address, Mr Higgins hailed the transformation of relations between Britain and Ireland, from doubt to trust and mutual respect.

Ties were now "strong and resolute", he said, adding: "Formidable flows of trade and investment across the Irish Sea confer mutual benefit on our two countries.

"In tourism, sport and culture, our people to people connections have never been as close or abundant."

The two nations should take "immense pride" in the peace that has been built in Northern Ireland, he said.

"There is of course still a road to be travelled - the road of a lasting and creative reconciliation - and our two governments have a shared responsibility to encourage and support those who need to complete the journey of making peace permanent and constructive."

Earlier President Higgins and his wife Sabina met the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh at Windsor Castle.

The couple travelled to Windsor with Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall who had greeted the visitors at the Irish Embassy in London.

Watched over by Queen Victoria, the Irish tricolour and the Union flag

The two heads of state have already met informally but President Higgins' official welcome includes all the traditional pomp and circumstance.

He took part in a ceremonial carriage procession through the streets of Windsor which were decked out in Union flags and Irish tricolours.

After the guests were honoured with two separate gun salutes, the Queen and president entered the castle in the Australian State Coach, before Mr Higgins and Prince Philip inspected troops.

Major Andrew Seddon, captain of the Queen's Company Grenadier Guards, invited Mr Higgins to inspect the guard of honour, speaking to him in Irish.

The Irish Guards was represented by the regimental band as the troops are currently on peacekeeping duties in Cyprus.

The Queen and Prince Philip escort their visitors from Ireland

Mr Higgins presented a new ceremonial red coat to its regimental mascot, an Irish wolfhound called Domhnall of Shantamon.

The guest list for the banquet includes the British and Irish Prime Ministers and the First and Deputy First Ministers of Northern Ireland.

It will be the second time Her Majesty has shaken hands with Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness, a former IRA leader.

The historic visit comes three years after the Queen became the first British monarch to visit the Republic of Ireland.

Irish Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore said: "It is becoming a model relationship between two neighbouring countries.

"We are very close, respectful neighbours and I think the relationship we are building and working on is one that, given our very complex history, many people throughout the world will be able to draw some inspiration from."

The Queen spoke in Irish and commemorated those who had fought for freedom during her ground-breaking tour.

President Higgins will reciprocate by honouring Britain's war dead at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey.

The head of state, a former arts and culture minister, will attend an Irish concert in the Royal Albert Hall.

Professor Deirdre Heenan, who serves on the president's Council of State, said: "It's about promoting good relations but it's also about saying to the world that we're actually more interested in our commonality, our common love of culture, politics and our common economic interests rather than the focus which would generally have been what divides us."

Michael D Higgins is Ireland's ninth president, having succeeded President Mary McAleese when she left office in November 2011.

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Hunt For MH370 'Pings' Delays Sub Launch

China Trying To Scoop Malaysia In MH370 Search

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

By Alistair Bunkall, Sky News Defence Correspondent

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

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

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

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

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

The news took all of us by surprise.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

They haven't managed to.

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

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

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White House: No Ban On Selfies With President

The White House is not banning selfies, despite fears of a crackdown after a photo featuring Red Sox player David Ortiz and the President was used in an advertisement.

However, the White House did ask America's Olympic athletes to keep their cell phones in their pockets last week when they visited the White House and met with Barack Obama.

The White House said it was a longstanding practice because taking individual photos with hundreds of people would not be practical.

But it insisted there was no outright prohibition of selfies.

"There's no discussion of a ban," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.

Last week Ortiz, the Boston Red Sox slugger, took a selfie with the president during his team's visit to the White House, and tweeted it.

Samsung, the maker of the phone Ortiz used, used the picture in an advertisement, and many criticised that snapshot as a marketing ploy.

Mr Obama, David Cameron and Danish PM Helle Thorning-Schmidt take a selfie

Ortiz denied taking the picture with the knowledge it would be part of a promotion.

The White House expressed irritation, with Mr Carney pointing out that the White House objects any time the President's image is used for commercial purposes.

On Sunday, White House Senior Advisor Dan Pfeiffer said the White House had expressed its concerns to Samsung about the ad.

"Maybe this will be the end of all selfies," he joked, raising speculation a ban was being planned.

Mr Obama was embroiled in another selfie controversy in December, when he, David Cameron and Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt took a selfie during the memorial service for Nelson Mandela.

Photos of the three leaders squeezing in for the shot quickly went viral on the internet and some Twitter users suggested it was inappropriate behaviour given the circumstances.

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Webcam Murder: Student's Killer Jailed

A man has been convicted of murder and jailed for life for killing a Chinese student whose ex-boyfriend witnessed the attack via a webcam.

Qian Liu, 23, was killed by Brian Dickson, a neighbour in her Toronto apartment block.

She was found dead in April 2011, a few hours after her former boyfriend in China, Xian Meng, watched as she tried to fend off an attacker who appeared at her door.

The jury deliberated for four hours before delivering its verdict against Dickson, 32. Justice Anne Molloy imposed a life sentence with a chance of parole after 25 years.

Mr Meng told police he saw Ms Liu struggling with a man before her computer was shut off.

He testified that Dickson forced his way inside the apartment while Ms Liu was pushing at his chest and saying "no".

Mr Meng said Dickson pushed Liu out of sight of the camera and after the sound of two muffled bangs, he heard no more sounds from Ms Liu.

After a period of silence, Mr Meng said he heard Dickson breathing heavily, and moments later he appeared naked in front of the webcam and turned off the computer.

The Toronto apartment block where Qian Lui was killed by Brian Dickson

The jury saw video and photographs of Ms Liu's body, lying face down next to her bed, with her nightgown and sweater pulled up to her shoulders.

Blood could be seen on the floor around her face. The prosecutor said semen found on Ms Liu's abdomen and groin area matched DNA evidence collected from Dickson.

A post-mortem did not establish definitively how Ms Liu died, but a pathologist gave evidence that it was probable that death resulted from "compression applied to her neck".

Police said Ms Liu's laptop computer, webcam and mobile phone were taken from the apartment the night of the attack. The online chat was on a live streaming camera and was not recorded.

The dead woman's parents travelled from China for the trial. Her father wiped away tears as the verdict was read.

"We are still very sad," Jian Hui Liu said after hearing the verdict through a translator. His wife clutched a picture of their daughter and cried silently.

Dickson had offered to plead guilty to manslaughter, but the prosecution rejected the lesser charge.

His lawyer, Robert Nuttall, said his client has been "absolutely remorseful for a very long time".

"He didn't say anything. He just accepted the verdict," Mr Nuttall said.

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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."

Pistorius leaves the court after the evidence today

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. 

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.

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

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."

At this point, the court was adjourned for five minutes for Pistorius to remove his prosthetic legs and demonstrate the difficulty he had moving without them.

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. 

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

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

"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.

Oscar Pistorius arrives at court today

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

"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.

Oscar Pistorius wept in court yesterday before giving evidence

"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."

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.

Aimee Pistorius consoled the athlete after he broke down

Pistorius was too upset to continue with the description.   

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.

Pistorius said meeting Reeva Steenkamp was a 'blessing'

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

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

He 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.

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

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

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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Light On Mars: What Lies Behind The Spark?

A scientist has dashed hopes that an unexplained light on Mars may be proof of life.

Images picked up last week by Nasa's Curiosity rover appeared to suggest an artificial light coming from the red planet.

A bright speck was caught on camera and the pictures were then sent back to Earth.

Space enthusiasts were quick to suggest the images might be proof of intelligent life on Mars.

The light is probably not evidence of Martians, says one expert

Now, however, Doug Ellison from JPL, Nasa's robotic exploration wing, has said the light source is probably easily explainable and does not represent proof of Martians.

The light source was probably a "cosmic ray hit", Mr Ellison told NBC news, a result of high energy particles hitting the surface of the planet.

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Nasdaq 'Tech Wreck' Cuts Web Giants' Value

Is Tech Stock Slide A New Dot Com Bubble?

Updated: 1:37pm UK, Tuesday 08 April 2014

By Tom Cheshire, Technology Correspondent

Ouch: Tech stocks are taking a beating.

Let me bombard you with some bad figures.

Companies including Twitter, Amazon, Facebook, LinkedIn and Netflix have lost at least 20% of their value from their 2014 high.

Between them, Facebook and Google have lost £28.5bn in their market capitalisation.

The recent stock market flotation of King.com - the makers of Candy Crush - was the worst IPO debut this year.

On the other side of the world, Samsung cut its January to March profit forecast by 4.3%, and dropped the price of its new flagship S5 phone.

Meanwhile, Chinese internet giant Tencent has lost a fifth of its value.

Is this a new technology bubble - and is it bursting?

Technology stocks are still well below the valuations at the height of the first bubble in 2000.

The internet has become part of everyone's lives, rather than an early adopter's toy: 479 million people were online in June 2001; today, around three billion are.

The companies going to IPO are not offering vague promises, but solid profits: King.com had pure profit of $568m (£340m) in 2014.

And sure, Twitter might not make a profit yet - but neither did Facebook and Google when they had their IPOs.

Now both companies earn more money than they know what to do with.

That may have pushed prices higher.

The supermarket sweeps of Facebook and Google - spending billions on companies like Whatsapp, Oculus Rift and Nest - certainly drove up prices, but both Silicon Valley giants could easily afford the cost.

Investors have to be more circumspect.

What we're seeing is a re-adjustment - one which has been due for a while.

King.com is an extremely well-run gaming company, but probably did not warrant a $7bn (£4.2bn) valuation.

Investors in stocks like Amazon and Netflix were waiting and hoping on higher earnings reports: when these were published in February and March, they've been shifting their money to less expensively valued companies.

But this is good news. Investors are treating tech like proper stocks, rather than the magic beans they did back in 2000.

Technology analysts Oppenheimer & Co actually say that, as a result, the sector is now an opportunity.

This is a bump, rather than a bubble.

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US Worker Jailed In Cuba Goes On Hunger Strike

An American man who has been jailed in Cuba for more than four years is on a hunger strike.

Alan Gross, 64, has appealed to President Barack Obama to get personally involved in his case.

He said he began fasting on Thursday to protest against his treatment by the governments of both Cuba and the US.

Gross made the announcement in a statement released by his lawyer.

"I am fasting to object to mistruths, deceptions, and inaction by both governments, not only regarding their shared responsibility for my arbitrary detention, but also because of the lack of any reasonable or valid effort to resolve this shameful ordeal," it said.

"Once again, I am calling on President Obama to get personally involved in ending this standoff so that I can return home to my wife and daughters."

His wife, Judy Gross, said she was "worried sick" about her husband's health and that she did not think "he can survive much more of this".

Mr Gross was arrested in Cuba in December 2009 while working to set up internet access for the Communist-run country's small Jewish community.

At the time, Mr Gross was working as a subcontractor for the US Agency for International Development, a government agency that works to promote democracy on the island.

Cuban authorities see USAID's programmes as illegal attempts by Washington to undermine its government.

Alan Gross has been in jail since December 2009

Gross was tried and sentenced to 15 years in prison.

The case has become a sticking point in improving ties between the two countries, which have not had formal diplomatic relations since 1961.

Revelations last week that USAID secretly created a 'Cuban Twitter' communications network built to stir unrest on the island have added to the tension.

USAID's top official, Rajiv Shah, is scheduled to answer questions over the network today before a Senate subcommittee.

Gross' lawyer, Scott Gilbert, said his client was aware of the story.

"Once Alan was arrested, it is shocking that USAID would imperil his safety even further by running a covert operation in Cuba," Mr Gilbert said.

Mr Gilbert said his client has lost more than 110 pounds (50kg)  since his arrest  in December 2009 and is kept in a small cell with two other inmates for 23 hours a day, the Washington Post reported.

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Ukraine: Pro-Russian Activists 'Take Hostages'

Pro-Russian separatists have planted explosives in a Ukrainian government building and are holding about 60 people, officials say.

Ukraine's state security service (the SBU) said the activists were using "terrorist measures" to hold dozens of people in an SBU building in the eastern city of Luhansk.

In a statement the organisation said: "The anti-terror group of the security services of Ukraine ... has established that the criminals have mined the building ... and are holding around 60 people, threatening them with weapons and explosives.

"These actions are extremely dangerous and endanger the lives of people both inside and outside of the building." 

The pro-Russian separatists have been in control of the building since Sunday, resisting police efforts to remove them.

It was among a number of administration buildings to be stormed by protesters across eastern Ukraine over the weekend. 

Offices in Donetsk and Kharkiv were also seized, however police say they have driven activists from the regional government headquarters in Kharkiv as part on an "anti-terror" operation. 

Ukraine's acting President Oleksandr Turchynov said 70 people were arrested. 

Pro-Russian protesters in the east are hoping to follow in the footsteps of Crimea and hold a referendum on joining Russia. 

In Donetsk, protesters inside the regional authority building have also declared a separatist republic.

Western leaders have accused Russia of being behind the recent unrest. 

On Tuesday US Secretary of State John Kerry said: "It is clear that Russian special forces and agents have been the catalyst behind the chaos of the last 24 hours."

He added that this "could potentially be a contrived pretext for military intervention just as we saw in Crimea."

Russian forces gradually seized control of Ukrainian military bases in Crimea following the ouster of the Kremlin-backed President Viktor Yanukovych in February. 

The region then voted to join the Russian Federation with an overwhelming majority.

President Vladimir Putin has vowed to protect the ethnic Russian population in eastern Ukraine.

However he has denied that Russia plans to expand its military presence beyond Crimea.

More follows...

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Costa Murder: Briton's Ex-Girlfriend Arrested

The former girlfriend of a British businessman murdered on the Costa del Sol has been arrested, Spanish officials say.

More follows...

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