Missing Plane Search: The Race Against Time

The search for flight MH370 has intensified again today in a bid to find the plane's black box recorders before their batteries run out.

Up to 10 military planes, three civilian jets and 11 ships are scouring more than 1,000 square miles of sea off the west coast of Australia.

Today's hunt will take in three large patches of the southern Indian Ocean, some 2,000km, 2,300km and 1,800km northwest of Perth.

Green shows areas to be searched today, grey is areas already searched

Dozens of flights by a multi-national taskforce have so far failed to turn up any trace of the plane, which was carrying 239 people when it vanished from radar on March 8.

Experts say the underwater phase of the hunt has reached a "desperate" stage with limited chance of success.

Marine salvage and radar experts laid out the scale of the challenge facing search teams, after Australian Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston announced plans to use black box pinger locators deep in the southern Indian Ocean.

Speaking on Sky News, radar expert Professor David Stupples said the pinger locators would be able to cover just 150 square miles a day, in an overall search area of around 87,000 square miles.

Marine salvage expert John Noble told Sky's Ian Woods the latest phase suggested authorities were getting "desperate" in their search for the plane.

He said: "It's a desperate last-minute move because they know the pinger is going to run out within the next few days and if they don't give it a go now they'll never find it using these techniques."

As the extensive search wears on, Malaysia's opposition leader has accused the government of deliberately concealing information about the missing plane.

In an interview with Sky News, Anwar Ibrahim, who personally knew the pilot of the missing plane, cast doubt on official accounts coming from Malaysian authorities.

A pinger locator can detect signals from the flight recorder

The hunt for wreckage is relying on the plane's black box recorders emitting pings that can be detected by equipment on board the ships.

But the battery-powered recorders stop transmitting about 30 days after a crash.

With the clock ticking down since MH370 went missing more than four weeks ago, Mr Houston acknowledged time is running out for search crews.

He said: "The locater beacon will last about a month before it ceases its transmissions - so we're now getting pretty close to the time when it might expire."  

Locating the data recorders and wreckage after the devices stop working is possible, but incredibly difficult.

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Afghanistan Goes To The Polls In Historic Vote

By Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondent

An historic day for Afghanistan - an election to decide a new president and for the first time in the country's history there is to be a democratic transition of power.

Just how long the process will take is the key.

As polling stations opened, across the country 12 million people are eligible to vote, although in some of the most insecure areas, like Helmand, where threats from the Taliban are highest the turnout will likely be small.

One vote over 50% would put a new man in office in the first round, although many suspect it will likely go to a second round of two candidates in May.

Despite threats from the Taliban to attack anyone taking part, there have been huge numbers at rallies for the next would be leader.

Ashraf Ghani, ex-finance minister and recognised honest broker, was greeted with near hysteria as he closed his campaign in the capital.

The election takes place amid tight security in face of Taliban threats

He is part of the past for sure but he has worked hard on the youth and women vote and also, controversially, joined up with the former warlord, Abdul Rashid Dostum, to bring in crucial votes from Afghanistan's northern regions.

"This hand is clean of blood and this hand is clean of corruption," he said, symbolically raising his arms.

He added: "I do have a youth agenda as chancellor of the Kabul university, I'm the only one who has engaged with the youth, and as you've seen I've thanked them for accepting me in their ranks."

Abdullah Abdullah, former foreign minister then de-facto leader of the opposition to President Karzai, who beat him to the top job last time round, says he is confident of winning.

But as he finished his campaign in a low-key late-night press conference at his heavily guarded Kabul home, he warned of the potential for fraud and interference from the departing president.

Twelve million people are eligible to vote

He said: "There is no doubt there are those concerns and that's why I'm emphasising a lot on the institutions and on the government of Afghanistan, and also on the public to be aware of this and the importance of this.

"That will be a recipe for disaster not only for the international community but first and foremost for the people of Afghanistan."

He added that he expects to win in the first round if there is no ballot stuffing like there was in 2009.

The whole election takes place in the midst of huge security concerns.

Hundreds of thousands of police and army are on duty across the country, while tens of thousands of election monitors and party workers are watching for violence and fraud.

A big day for Afghanistan as the world watches on.

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Do Not Get Sick, Top Doctor Warns Patients

One of Britain's most senior doctors has warned that lives are being put at risk because hospital medics are under constant "strain and stress".

The President of the Royal College of Physicians, Sir Richard Thompson, attacked ministers over NHS budget cuts that he says are threatening the standard of care because doctors are "missing symptoms".

He claimed some doctors are facing caseloads during one shift of up to 70 patients - far more than the maximum 20 regarded as necessary for proper care.

And he said worrying numbers of hospitals, especially smaller ones, face "serious" gaps in their medical rotas.

In an interview with the Guardian, Sir Richard said: "You try standing on your feet for seven hours trying to be on the ball, thinking of the various complications, being nice to patients, for seven hours. It's absolutely destructive.

"Not everyone has 70, but most people are looking after well over 20.

"If you've got over 20 it becomes impossible. The care gets thinner and thinner. It means the consultant can't see the patient as much or indeed as early as they should do, so obviously the standard of care is going to fall."

Sir Richard claims doctors are missing patients' vital signs

Sir Richard accused the coalition of cutting the NHS budget despite repeated pledges, including from David Cameron, to protect it from the austerity programme.

"In spite of what weasly words people at the top say, money's been taken out of the NHS," he said, citing the £2.8bn that has been given to social care in the past three years.

As a result, he claimed: "The NHS is under-doctored, under-nursed, under-bedded and under-funded. There are too few doctors to do the increasingly large job to a high standard, and safely, and compassionately."

A Department of Health spokesman responded by saying: "Patient safety and care is a priority for the Government and it is right that we have high expectations for our NHS.

"While the NHS is one of the safest, most efficient healthcare systems in the world we should never shy away from trying to improve standards for patients."

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Missing Plane: Race To Find MH370 Black Box

Australian authorities have said they are launching the underwater hunt for the black box from missing flight MH370.

Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston told a news conference: "The Australian Navy and the Royal Navy have today commenced a sub-surface search for emissions from the black box pinger from Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

"Using the towed pinger from the US Navy on Australian defence vessel Ocean Shield and a similar capability on HMS Echo, the two ships will search a single 240km (149 miles) track converging on each other."

A pinger locator can detect signals from the flight recorder

As the extensive search wears on, Malaysia's opposition leader has accused the government of deliberately concealing information about the missing plane.

Anwar Ibrahim, who personally knew the pilot of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, called for an international committee to take over the Malaysian-led operation, saying "the integrity of the whole nation is at stake".

The hunt for wreckage in the southern Indian Ocean is relying on the plane's black box recorders emitting pings that can be detected by equipment on board the ships.

A pinger locator being towed by Australia's Ocean Shield vessel

But the battery-powered recorders stop transmitting about 30 days after a crash.

With the clock ticking down since MH370 went missing on March 8,  Mr Houston acknowledged time is running out for search crews.

He said: "The locater beacon will last about a month before it ceases its transmissions - so we're now getting pretty close to the time when it might expire."  

Locating the data recorders and wreckage after the devices stop working is possible, but incredibly difficult.

The area the ships are searching was chosen based on hourly satellite pings the aircraft gave off after it vanished from radar on its route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.

That information, combined with data on the estimated speed and performance of the aircraft, had led them to that specific part of the ocean, Mr Houston said.

Because the US Navy's pinger locator can pick up black box signals up to a depth of 6,100m (20,000ft), it should be able to hear the devices even if they are lying in the deepest part of the search zone - about 5,800m (19,000 ft) below the surface - if it gets within range of the black boxes.

But the task for search teams is hampered by the size of the search area and the fact the pinger locator must be dragged slowly through the water at just one to five knots, or one to six miles per hour.

Speaking on Sky News, radar expert Professor David Stupples said the pinger locator would be able to cover just 150 square miles a day, in a search area of around 87,000 square miles.

Ships with helicopters on board have been helping with the search

Marine salvage expert John Noble told Sky's Ian Woods the latest phase of the search suggested authorities were getting "desperate" in their search for the plane.

He said: "It's a desperate last-minute move because they know the pinger is going to run out within the next few days and if they don't give it a go now they'll never find it using these techniques."

Finding floating wreckage is key to narrowing the search area, as officials can then use data on ocean currents to try and backtrack to the spot where the Boeing 777 entered the water - and where the data recorders may be.

Despite weeks of fruitless searching, Mr Houston said he hadn't given up hope something would be found.

"I think there's still a great possibility of finding something on the surface," he said. "There's lots of things in aircraft that float."

For relatives of passengers on flight MH370, the agonising wait goes on

The search area has shifted each day, as the investigative team continues to analyse available radar and satellite data while factoring in where any debris may have drifted due to ocean currents and weather.

Mr Houston said: "I think we've probably got to the end of the process of analysis. And my expectation is that we're into a situation where the data we've got is the data we've got and we'll proceed on the basis of that."

He said it was unlikely that any additional pinger locators would join the search any time soon as they are in limited supply.

Although Australia is coordinating the ocean search, the investigation into the plane's disappearance ultimately remains Malaysia's responsibility.

Australia, the US, Britain and China have all agreed to be "accredited representatives" of the investigation.

Four Australian investigators are in Kuala Lumpur to help with the investigation and ensure that information on the aircraft's likely flight path is fed back to search crews. 

The two countries are still working out who will be in charge of the analysis of any wreckage and flight recorders that may be found, Mr Houston said.

On Thursday, the HMS Echo reported one alert as it searched for sonic transmissions from the missing plane's flight data recorder, but it was quickly discounted as a false alarm, the search coordination centre said.

False alerts can come from animals such as whales, or interference from shipping noise.

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Missing Plane: Malaysia 'Concealing Information'

Malaysia Plane Mystery 'May Never Be Solved'

Updated: 2:01pm UK, Wednesday 02 April 2014

A Royal Navy submarine has joined the search for flight MH370 in the Indian Ocean - as Malaysia's police chief said the investigation was focusing on the pilots and cabin crew.

Khalid Abu Bakar said criminal investigations were continuing to focus on four possibilities: hijacking, sabotage and personal or psychological problems of those on board.

He said all 227 passengers had been "cleared" of any possible involvement.

Though authorities had not ruled out the possibility the jet may have suffered mechanical problems, the evidence suggested the aircraft was deliberately diverted from its planned flight path, he said.

Mr Bakar also warned the cause of the tragedy may never come to light.

"We have to clear every little thing," he said.

"At the end of the investigations, we may not even know the real cause. We may not even know the reason for this incident."

The cargo and the food served on the plane are also being looked at to eliminate possible sabotage, he added.

As the clock counts down on the battery life of the black box's locator beacon, the search has been bolstered by British submarine HMS Tireless, which has now arrived in the Indian Ocean.

The Trafalgar Class submarine is expected to try to detect the all-important device, which could hold the key to unravelling the mystery.

Royal Navy survey ship HMS Echo is also due to join the international search operation later. Nine planes and nine other ships are also still involved in the hunt 930 miles west of Perth, Western Australia.

A defence source said: "A Royal Navy Trafalgar Class submarine has recently arrived in the area and is conducting search operations for the flight recorders.

"HMS Tireless holds advanced search capabilities, but the task in hand remains a tall order and the search area is immense."

Flight MH370 went missing on March 8 with 239 people on board. The aircraft took off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, bound for Beijing.

The three-week search operation has repeatedly shifted its focus as experts analyse radar and satellite data on the plane's movements.

Relatives of the passengers were meeting airline and Malaysian government representatives at a closed-doors meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.

Family members have repeatedly accused the authorities of lying to them and holding back information.

Multiple sightings of possible debris have so far failed to turn up any sign of the aircraft, which investigators say - beyond reasonable doubt - went down in the Indian Ocean.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott called the disappearance "one of the great mysteries of our time" and again promised to continue the hunt for as long as needed.

The Australian premier is also set to meet Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in Perth later.

"We owe it to the world, we owe it to those families to do whatever we reasonably can get to the bottom of this," Mr Abbot said.

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Dawlish: Damaged Railway Reopens After Repair

David Cameron has paid tribute to workmen after they completed a £35m repair project on the badly damaged rail line at Dawlish.

The Prime Minister was in Dawlish to deliver on his pledge made in February that he would do "everything I could" to get the line back in action.

He said: "This is a great day for the hard-working people of Dawlish, and for businesses and commuters across the South West whose lives have been turned upside down by the devastating loss of their train line."

Storms caused a 100m breach in the sea wall at Dawlish

Mr Cameron added: "Back in February when I visited the town to see the damage for myself, I promised to do everything I could to get to this vital artery back up and running as quickly as possible.

Half of Dawlish train station has been rebuilt after the storms

"I am delighted to say that promise has been delivered today. A promise which says that the South West is well and truly open for business."

The rail line became a symbol of politicians' failure to adequately respond to the chaos caused by widespread flooding during a months of storms.

The coast-hugging line bore the brunt of the severe weather

A 300-strong team has spent weeks repairing the line, which was badly damaged on February 4 when the sea wall was breached during storms.

The line which links Exeter, Plymouth and Penzance was forced to close after part of the wall collapsed.

A team of 300 workers spent weeks fixing the line

Shipping containers were put into place in Dawlish to act as a temporary sea wall, but they suffered damage after further storms in February and engineers also discovered a cliff face just south of the village in Teignmouth had sheared away above the track.

As part of the repair work, half of Dawlish station has also been rebuilt, new cabling has been installed and the sea wall breach has been fortified with more than 6,000 tonnes of concrete.

National Rail chief executive Mark Carne said: "Our army of engineers has done an amazing job of putting back together a railway that was ravaged by the elements.

"They have overcome every obstacle thrown at them, winning many battles along the way to restore this critical piece of the network, ahead of schedule, and in time for the Easter holidays."

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Air Pollution: 10 Things You Need To Know

By Martin Jefferies, Sky News Online

People with lung and heart problems have been warned to avoid strenuous activity as air quality falls to its lowest possible level across parts of the country. We look at what is behind the increase in air pollution and ask just how serious the problem is.

:: What is causing air quality to drop?

The poor air quality levels sweeping across much of England and Wales are caused by a combination of dust blown in from the Sahara desert and harmful emissions from both the UK and Europe.

Light winds have allowed this cocktail of natural and man-made pollutants to linger in the skies above the country.

:: What is in the air?

As well as dust and sand particles from the Sahara desert, traffic pollutants such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matter - combined with the ozone created when sunlight reacts with NO2 and VOCs - cause air quality to worsen.

Vehicles and industry are the biggest contributors to air pollution

Although these pollutants can cause air pollution close to where they are emitted, they can also travel long distances, with emissions from mainland Europe adding to the current problems in southeast England.

The dust falls to the ground when it rains, leaving a fine residue on car windscreens and other outdoor surfaces. 

:: What are the health implications?

Air pollution can cause runny eyes and noses, as well as coughs and sore throats, but the effects can be more serious among the very young, the elderly and those with existing lung or heart problems.

Dr Keith Prowse, former chairman of the British Lung Foundation and an honorary medical adviser, told Sky News: "People with asthma or COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) should make sure they have their reliever inhalers with them, and those who use preventer inhalers may have been told to double their dose.

"The best advice is not to go out when pollution levels are high and not to take part in strenuous exercise."

Face masks are a common sight in many parts of the world

:: Will people need to start wearing face masks?

Worsening air pollution in places like China has made face masks a must-have accessory for many people.

However, Dr Carol Cooper, a London GP, said: "A good piece of advice is not to bother. They're not generally very effective and wearing one can actually make breathing more difficult.

"Wearing a face mask in somewhere like southeast Asia is more of a cultural thing than a medical one."

Dust from thousands of miles away in Africa is adding to the problems

:: How does sand from the Sahara end up in the UK?

"There are currently strong dust storms across the Sahara and because the winds in the upper atmosphere are blowing in a southerly direction, this is sending the dust and sand particles over western Europe and into the atmosphere over England and Wales," Sky News weather presenter Nazaneen Ghaffar said.

"The reason we've seen the orange deposits is because of recent rainfall. Any rain clears the dust from the upper atmosphere, bringing it down to lower levels, and as the water evaporates it leaves behind the orange dust.

Airports are not expecting the Saharan dust to cause significant problems

:: Is the dust likely to cause any disruption to flights?

Many air passengers will remember the chaos caused by the volcanic ash cloud generated by the eruption of Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull in 2010.

Flights were grounded across the UK and Europe amid fears dust could cause engine damage.

However, a spokesman for Nats, the British air traffic control service, said it was "not aware" of any likely disruption to flights, while a British Airways official added: "We are not expecting our customers to be affected in any way."

London and the South East are among the areas worst affected

:: How is air pollution measured?

The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) measures air quality on a scale of one to 10, with each number given a different colour to visualise the extent of pollution on a map of the country.

London and the South East, including East Anglia, Essex and Kent, were currently coloured purple on Wednesday, indicating "very high" levels of air pollution.

By contrast, the North, Scotland and Northern Ireland appeared green, suggesting levels were much lower.

Beijing, in China, has battled with smog for many years

:: How does air pollution in London compare to other countries?

London appears way down a World Health Organisation (WHO) list of the most-polluted cities in the world, with similar pollution levels to other major cities such as Budapest and Dusseldorf.

The capital is around 13 times less polluted than the city with the worst air quality - Ahwan in southwestern Iran - and has air seven times cleaner than that of Delhi, although it lags behind places such as Munich, Tokyo and Canberra.

Pollution is measured by the average number of tiny particles in the air per cubic metre.

Smog descends on Christmas shoppers in London's Regent Street in 1962

:: Has air quality not been improving in the UK?

There has been a marked improvement in urban air quality over the last two decades.

In 1993, air pollution was at moderate or higher levels for roughly one day in every six. Using the same methodology, that figure is now around one in every 36.

There has been a huge drop in the amount of carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide in the air, but although pollution at the roadside has shown signs of long-term improvement, it has remained relatively stable since 1998.

In February, the European Commission launched legal proceedings against the UK over claims it is years late reaching agreed EU standards.

It says levels of toxic gas nitrogen dioxide remain "excessive" and are contributing to respiratory problems and premature deaths.

Smog hangs over many of central London's most famous landmarks

:: How long is this latest bout of air pollution likely to last?

Air quality is expected to return to higher levels by the weekend, helped by outbreaks of rain in the West that will effectively wash away dust and other contaminants from the atmosphere.

Ghaffar added: "Rain is only a brief relief from the dust in the atmosphere. A change in wind direction is needed to stop the flow of particles blowing through and from Thursday, that is what we can expect."

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Fort Hood Army Base Shooting Leaves Four Dead

An Iraq war veteran being treated for psychiatric problems has killed three fellow soldiers at Fort Hood before shooting himself in the head.

Sixteen others were injured in Wednesday afternoon's attack, the bases' commanding officer, Lieutenant General Mark Milley, told a news conference.

In 2009, a shooting rampage at the same Army base left 13 people dead.

Lt Gen Milley said there was no indication of terrorism in the latest attack, but added: "We're not ruling anything out."

The gunman, identified as Army Specialist Ivan Lopez, served in Iraq for four months in 2011.

Lieutenant General Mark Milley addresses the media at Fort Hood

He had sought help for depression, anxiety and other problems, and had been undergoing an assessment to determine whether he had post-traumatic stress disorder, Lt Gen Milley said.

The commanding officer described how the shooter "walked into one of the unit buildings, opened fire, got into a vehicle, fired from the vehicle, got out of the vehicle and opened fire again in another building".

"A military police officer responded. He was approaching her at about 20 feet. He put his hands up, then reached under his jacket. 

"He pulled out his gun, she pulled out her weapon, she then engaged and he put the weapon to his head" killing himself.

Lt Gen Milley said the motive was unclear. He said initial reports suggested "there may have been an argument in one of the unit areas".

Fort Hood is home to 45,000 soldiers and 9,000 civilians

All those hit by the soldier's recently purchased 45-calibre semi-automatic weapon were in the military. The gun had not been registered at the base.

Lopez arrived at Fort Hood in February. He was married and had a family.

President Barack Obama said he was "heartbroken" that the base had suffered again after the 2009 rampage.

"I want to assure everyone we are going to get to the bottom of what happened," said Mr Obama.

"Any shooting is troubling. Obviously this reopens the pain of what happened at Fort Hood five years ago. We know these families; we know their incredible service to this country and the sacrifices they make.

A Twitter alert posted by Fort Hood to implement a lockdown

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the entire community and we're going to do everything we can to make sure the community at Fort Hood has what it needs to deal with the current situation and any potential aftermath.

"We're heartbroken that something like this might have happened again."

The condition of those wounded in the attack ranges from "stable to quite critical".

All-clear sirens have now sounded at Fort Hood after several hours of lockdown. Personnel had been told to take shelter and stay away from doors and windows.

Sky's Amanda Walker said: "It's a huge military base. Around 45,000 soldiers are based there and 9,000 civilians.

Patients have been flown to hospital

"We don't know how the gunman got into the base.

"It is absolutely astonishing this has happened again at a secure military base that has had a terrible history with the previous shooting."

Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel called the shooting a "terrible tragedy".

Asked whether security improvements made since the 2009 tragedy have been adequate, Mr Hagel said: "Obviously when we have these kinds of tragedies on our bases, something's not working."

Major Nidal Hasan faces the death sentence following the 2009 shooting

Army psychiatrist Major Nidal Hasan faces the death penalty for the 2009 killing spree, which also injured 30 people.

In statements to the judge, Hasan, an American-born Muslim, suggested he believed the attack was justified as a jihad against the US military campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The base is the biggest in the US, covering 340 square miles (880 sq km).

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Smog Creeps Over UK As Pollution Hits Level 10

Air pollution has reached the highest possible level in some parts of the country, with "very high" readings reported in London and Kent.

High levels of smog are also forecast for East Anglia, the Midlands, Lincolnshire, the Wirral and the north coast of Wales and a health warning remains in force for millions of vulnerable people.

The elderly, people with asthma and those with lung and heart conditions are being told to take precautions, with forecasters warning the smog will not clear until Friday.

Sky News Correspondent Lisa Dowd, at the Acute Medical Unit in Solihull, near Birmingham, said the clinic had seen a "slight increase" in the number of people coming in with respiratory problems possibly linked to the poor air quality.

Forecast for April 2, 3, 4. Dark red, purple are highest levels. Pic: Defra

Karen, who was among the patients admitted, said: "The breathing problems I suffer with have been getting worse.

"It's been getting to harder to get about. Normally I'd be able to walk to the shops but yesterday I had to catch a taxi instead."

Parts of England are experiencing the highest level of air pollution ever recorded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), in part due to dust from the Sahara.

Level 10 readings were reported at monitoring sites in Harrow, northwest London, and Rochester, Kent.

A view of London's Canary Wharf on Wednesday

The plummeting air quality - caused by a cocktail of dust from the Sahara desert, domestic pollution and European emissions, coupled with low southeasterly winds - has led a number of charities and health bodies to warn of possible health risks.

Sotiris Vardoulakis, of Public Health England, said: "On occasions where levels are high, adults and children with lung problems, as well as adults with heart problems, should reduce strenuous physical exertion, particularly outdoors, and particularly if they experience symptoms.

"Anyone experiencing discomfort such as sore eyes, coughing or sore throat should consider reducing activity."

The UK's 3.6 million asthmatics are being advised to use their blue reliever inhalers more often.

Some commuters have taken to wearing face masks

Kay Boycott, chief executive of Asthma UK, said: "The two-thirds of people with asthma who find that air pollution makes their asthma worse will be at an increased risk of an attack following the alarming Defra warning of high pollution levels around the country."

Saharan dust gets blown over to Britain several times a year, with the latest episode caused by a large wind storm in North Africa.

Cars in some areas of the country have been covered with speckles of the dust.

The World Health Organisation estimates seven million premature deaths annually are linked to air pollution.

The UK is not the only place to be hit by increased smog levels.

Last month, Paris imposed a day-long driving ban after pollution particles in the air exceeded safe levels for five straight days.

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Air Pollution Levels Soar In England And Wales

Air quality is expected to plummet to its lowest possible level in parts of the UK today, as the country continues to feel the effects of desert sandstorms.

The elderly, people with lung problems and adults with heart conditions have been told to avoid strenuous physical activity, as plumes of dust blown in from the Sahara and deposited by rain send air pollution soaring.

London and the South East, including parts of East Anglia, Kent and Essex, are expected to be worst hit.

However, high pollution levels are expected to spread across much of England and Wales during the course of the day.

The bright red colour shows the dust heading towards the UK

A spokesman for the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the effects will be felt anywhere south of a line stretching from Merseyside to The Wash.

It will be the second day in a row the country has been hit by heightened smog levels.

On Tuesday, Defra recorded "high" to "very high" air pollution levels across East Anglia, parts of southeast England and around the Humber.

The agency spokesman told Sky News: "The high level of air pollution this week is due to a combination of local emissions, light winds, pollution from the continent and dust blown over from the Sahara."

Speckles of 'Sahara dust' on a car windscreen in London

Many in the country have woken up over the last few days to see a thin level of red sand coating cars and streets.

However, unlike the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud of 2010, which caused airports across Europe to shut down amid fears dust could cause engine damage, air traffic controllers said they were "not aware" of any likely disruption to flights.

A spokesman for the Met Office said: "A large amount of sand and dust was swept up by storm winds in the desert, around 2,000 miles away in northwest Africa.

"The airborne particles were blown north to the UK, where they combined with our warm air and were deposited during showers."

Forecaster Paul Hutcheon added: "We usually see this happen several times a year when big dust storms in the Sahara coincide with southerly winds to bring that dust here.

"More dust rain is possible during showers expected later this week."

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), air pollution is the world's most serious environmental health risk.

It found pollution, ranging from cooking fires to car fumes, was linked to seven million deaths in 2012 - roughly one in eight.

Rising smog levels are linked to dust blown from the Sahara

The biggest pollution-related killers were heart disease, stroke, pulmonary disease and lung cancer, the WHO said.

England is not the only place to be hit by increased smog levels recently.

Last month, Paris imposed a day-long driving ban after pollution particles in the air exceeded safe levels for five straight days.

Air quality is expected to return to higher levels by the weekend.

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Missing Malaysia Jet Mystery May Never Be Solved

Full Transcript Of Last Contact With MH370

Updated: 12:36pm UK, Tuesday 01 April 2014

A transcript of the final conversations between the control tower and Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has been released.

MAS 370 (Kuala Lumpur to Beijing)

PILOT-ATC RADIOTELEPHONY TRANSCRIPT

Departure from KLIA: 8 March 2014

ATC DELIVERY

12:25:53 MAS 370 Delivery MAS 370 Good Morning

12:26:02 ATC MAS 370 Standby and Malaysia Six is cleared to Frankfurt via AGOSA Alpha Departure six thousand feet squawk two one zero six

12:26:19 ATC ... MAS 370 request level

12:26:21 MAS 370 MAS 370 we are ready requesting flight level three five zero to Beijing

12:26:39 ATC MAS 370 is cleared to Beijing via PIBOS A Departure Six Thousand Feet squawk two one five seven

12:26:45 MAS 370 Beijing PIBOS A Six Thousand Squawk two one five seven, MAS 370 Thank You

12:26:53 ATC MAS 370 Welcome over to ground

12:26:55 MAS 370 Good Day

LUMPUR GROUND

12:27:27 MAS 370 Ground MAS370 Good morning Charlie One Requesting push and start

12:27:34 ATC MAS370 Lumpur Ground Morning Push back and start approved Runway 32 Right Exit via Sierra 4.

12:27:40 MAS 370 Push back and start approved 32 Right Exit via Sierra 4 POB 239 Mike Romeo Oscar

12:27:45 ATC Copied

12:32:13 MAS 370 MAS377 request taxi.

12:32:26 ATC MAS37..... (garbled) ... standard route. Hold short Bravo

12:32:30 MAS 370 Ground, MAS370. You are unreadable. Say again.

12:32:38 ATC MAS370 taxi to holding point Alfa 11 Runway 32 Right via standard route. Hold short of Bravo.

12:32:42 MAS 370 Alfa 11 Standard route Hold short Bravo MAS370.

12:35:53 ATC MAS 370 Tower

12:36:19 ATC (garbled) ... Tower ... (garbled)

MAS 370 1188 MAS370 Thank you

LUMPUR TOWER

12:36:30 MAS 370 Tower MAS370 Morning

12:36:38 ATC MAS370 good morning. Lumpur Tower. Holding point..[garbled]..10 32 Right

12:36:50 MAS 370 Alfa 10 MAS370

12:38:43 ATC 370 line up 32 Right Alfa 10. MAS 370 Line up 32 Right Alfa 10 MAS370.

12:40:38 ATC 370 32 Right Cleared for take-off. Good night.

MAS 370 32 Right Cleared for take-off MAS370. Thank you Bye.

LUMPUR APPROACH

12:42:05 MAS 370 Departure Malaysian Three Seven Zero

12:42:10 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero selamat pagi identified. Climb flight level one eight zero cancel SID turn right direct to IGARI

12:42:48 MAS 370 Okay level one eight zero direct IGARI Malaysian one err Three Seven Zero

12:42:52 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero contact Lumpur Radar One Three Two Six good night MAS 370 Night One Three Two Six Malaysian Three Seven Zero

LUMPUR RADAR (AREA)

12:46:51 MAS 370 Lumpur Control Malaysian Three Seven Zero

12:46:51 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero Lumpur radar Good Morning climb flight level two five zero

12:46:54 MAS370 Morning level two five zero Malaysian Three Seven Zero

12:50:06 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero climb flight level three five zero

12:50:09 MAS370 Flight level three five zero Malaysian Three Seven Zero

01:01:14 MAS370 Malaysian Three Seven Zero maintaining level three five zero

01:01:19 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero

01:07:55 MAS370 Malaysian...Three Seven Zero maintaining level three five zero

01:08:00 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero

01:19:24 ATC Malaysian Three Seven Zero contact Ho Chi Minh 120 decimal 9 Good Night

01:19:29 MAS370 Good Night Malaysian Three Seven Zero

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Chile Earthquake Triggers Tsunami: Five Dead

A tsunami has been triggered after a powerful 8.2 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Chile, with five people reported dead.

The Chilean navy says some areas in the north of the country were hit by waves 45 minutes after the quake was felt at 6.46pm (10.46pm BST) on Tuesday.

Waves measuring up to seven feet have been reported and a mass evacuation is under way as Chile's president Michelle Bachelet declared a state of emergency and northern parts of the country disaster zones.

Fires have broken out in Iquique

The tsunami alert will remain in place for Chile and Peru for several hours, officials have said.

Chile's Interior Minister Rodrigo Penailillo said four men and one woman had died either from heart attacks or being crushed. Several others have been seriously injured.

Politicians in Chile have ordered the "preventative evacuation" of hundreds of thousands of people from coastal areas, but this is being hampered by landslides which have blocked roads.

Terrified residents have flooded the streets desperate to reach higher ground, while schools are being used as shelters.

The quake occured 62 miles (99km) northwest of Iquique

Chilean journalist Jorge Garreton told Sky News: "Northern Chile has been expecting an earthquake. There were a number of exercises in the recent past. People know where they have to go to the safety zones.

"The northern cities are low-lying so they have to go up to the mountains. They have been advised not to take vehicles but to walk."

The huge tremor occurred 62 miles (99km) northwest of the mining town of Iquique, near the Peruvian border.

Several fires have broken out in Iquique, while 300 inmates escaped from a women's prison amid the chaos, dozens of whom have been recaptured.

Chilean TV shows geological data from the magnitude-8.2 tremor

Thousands of homes have lost power and the government is sending in troops to prevent looting.

Mr Penailillo added: "We have taken action to ensure public order in the case of Iquique, where we've had a massive escape of more than 300 female prisoners from the Iquique jail, so that the armed forces and police can coordinate and provide tranquillity and security to the residents."

The tsunami warning initially placed the entire Pacific Coast of Latin America on alert but has now been downgraded to just Chile and Peru.

"An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami that can strike coastlines near the epicentre within minutes and more distant coastlines within hours," the US Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) said.

Residents of Chile's northern coastline evacuating

The quake happened just 12.5 miles (20.1 km) below the seabed - making it feel even more powerful.

The tremor shook buildings in parts of the nearby nations of Bolivia and Peru.

At least eight strong aftershocks followed in the first few hours, including a 6.2 tremor.

More aftershocks and even a larger quake cannot be ruled out, according to seismologist Mario Pardo at the University of Chile.

The area has been rocked by several quakes in the last two weeks. A 6.7 magnitude quake on March 16 prompted more than 100,000 people to briefly evacuate low-lying areas.

Residents prepare to evacuate to higher ground

US officials say there is no imminent threat of a tsunami along the coasts of Hawaii, Alaska, California, Oregon or Washington.

However, Indonesia says a small tsunami "will possibly affect several areas" and has warned people to steer clear of beaches.

An 8.8 magnitude quake caused a tsunami that killed more than 500 people in Chile in February 2010.

Sky News's Greg Milam said: "They learnt a lot of lessons from the quake in 2010 about the need not only of getting the warnings out but also about giving people somewhere to go.

"They won't have supplies sitting in the shelters day by day but they will have capabilities to get those supplies there.

"There was an evacuation a couple of weeks ago. There was no tsunami on that occasion but that would have been a wake-up call, as the earthquakes here over the past few weeks have been a wake-up call about the need to be prepared."

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MH370: Malaysia Meets US Over 'Deep-Sea Kit'

Two hundred aircrew are continuing to scour the sea for missing flight MH370, as Malaysian and US officials hold a meeting about using specialised deep-sea search and recovery equipment.

Time is running out to find the aircraft's black box, which is likely to lose power approximately 30 days after any crash.

Ten planes and nine ships are involved in Tuesday's search and Australian Defence Minister David Johnston said 200 aviators were looking for debris from the Malaysia Airlines flight.

Australian ship Ocean Shield joined the hunt on Monday night, equipped with a sophisticated US black box locator and an underwater drone.

A New Zealand air crew discuss the search mission

Tuesday's search is covering 64,975 square kilometres (25,087 square miles) in the Indian Ocean west of Perth.

However, weather conditions in the area are expected to be poor, with areas of low visibility.

Malaysia's acting transport minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, will not hold a news conference on Tuesday, but is heading to Hawaii to discuss getting access to "more specific military assets".

Mr Hussein said: "I shall be discussing with the United States, and our other friends and allies, how best we can acquire the assets needed for possible deep-sea search and recovery."

Malaysia's transport minister is heading to Hawaii for talks with the US

He did not elaborate on what equipment might be used.

A number of objects have been spotted by search teams since the Malaysia Airlines plane vanished with 239 people on board three weeks ago, but none of those retrieved so far has been from flight MH370.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will travel to Perth on Wednesday to see the search operation first hand.

On Monday, Malaysia's Department of Civil Aviation confirmed the last words from the cockpit were a standard "Good night Malaysian three seven zero" - not "All right, good night" as had been previously stated.

The pinger locator is loaded on to ADV Ocean Shield

An investigation is ongoing as to whether these words were spoken by the pilot or co-pilot - again, contrary to previous information released by the Malaysians which attributed the final words to the co-pilot.

Minutes after the communications were cut off on March 8, the plane turned back across Malaysia and headed toward the Indian Ocean carrying 227 passengers - most of them from China.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has rejected any suggestion the search would wind down soon.

Mr Abbott said crews were "well, well short" of any point where they would scale back their efforts.

"If this mystery is solvable, we will solve it," he said.

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Royal Mail Sell-Off 'Cost Taxpayer Millions'

Taxpayers lost out on more than £1bn due to the Government's low valuation of Royal Mail shares during its privatisation, the National Audit Office has found.

The public spending watchdog concluded ministers showed "deep caution" when pricing the shares last year.

As a result, on the first day of trading alone, Royal Mail's new shareholders benefited to the tune of £750m - money which could have gone to the public purse.

Royal Mail shares, which were sold at 330p each, are now trading more than two-thirds higher than the price at which they were sold by the Government. Today they were trading at 565p.

The Royal Mail share price since flotation last year

The NAO report concluded the Business department should not have relied so heavily on their City advisers, while the Public Accounts Committee chairwoman Margaret Hodge accused Vince Cable's department of being "clueless".

The Government sold £2bn of shares in October, amounting to 60% of the company, and favoured priority investors such as Standard Life, Fidelity and BlackRock hoping they would be long-term investors.

In the event, the 12 priority investors sold all or some of their holdings, making a significant profit, within the first few weeks of trading.

Vince Cable has defended the sale

Amyas Morse, head of the NAO, said: "The department was very keen to achieve its objective of selling Royal Mail and was successful in getting the company listed on the FTSE 100. Its approach, however, was marked by deep caution, the price of which was borne by the taxpayer.

"The Government retained 30% of the company. It could have retained even more and allowed the taxpayer to participate further in the rapidly increasing share price and thus limit the cost to the taxpayer."

The report does, however, say the Business Secretary was right to reject bankers' gold-plated valuations of Royal Mail of more than £9bn.

Defending the sell-off, Mr Cable said: "Achieving the highest price possible at any cost and whatever the risk was never the aim of the sale.

How the sale broke down

"The report concludes there was a real risk of a failed sale attached to pushing the price too high, and a failed sale would have been the worst outcome for taxpayers and jeopardised the operation of Royal Mail going forward.

"The report also comprehensively demolishes the argument that the Government should have relied on the price valuations of some banks who were pitching for the contract to sell Royal Mail.

"The NAO confirms we have protected taxpayers from the risk of needing to offer ongoing support to the company as well as safeguarding the vital six-day-a-week service that customers and businesses around the country rely on."

Critics of the sale have seized on the axing of 1,300 jobs and a hike in stamp prices in recent days as evidence of the folly of privatisation.

Royal Mail employees received 10% of the business

Unite national officer Brian Scott said: "This report is startling proof that the Government sold off the country's family silver on the cheap.

"The privatisation of Royal Mail was wrong in every way. The loser is the UK taxpayer and the tragedy is that money that should be flowing into the Treasury for schools and hospitals is going into the pockets of private investors."

Some 10% of Royal Mail was handed free to employees during the privatisation.

Taxpayers were left with a 30% stake that is now worth around £1.6bn.

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Missing Plane: Pilots' Conversations Revealed

Malaysia authorities have released the transcript of conversations between the pilots of missing flight MH370 and ground control.

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Climate Change: 'We're All Sitting Ducks'

Flooding, droughts, heatwaves and wildfires will pose a massive threat to humans in the future as climate change worsens, a major United Nations report has warned.

The report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said the impact of global warming was already being felt and would increase with every additional degree that temperatures rose.

The world is in "an era of man-made climate change" and has already seen impacts of global warming on every continent and across the oceans, the report said.

IPCC chair Rajendra Pachauri said: "Nobody on this planet is going to be untouched by the impacts of climate change."

Air pollution in Beijing

Experts are warning that in many cases, people are ill-prepared to cope with the risks of a changing climate.

The document, unveiled in Yokohama in Japan after a five-day meeting, gives the starkest warning yet by the IPCC of extreme consequences from climate change, and delves into greater detail than ever before into the impact at regional level.

The White House said it is taking the report as a call for action, with Secretary of State John Kerry saying: "Waiting is truly unaffordable. The costs of inaction are catastrophic."

Climate change could massively impact on world food production. Source: WRI

Food security will be hit by reduced yields in wheat, rice and maize crops, while climate change will also exacerbate existing health problems, and lead to more heatwave-related deaths, malnutrition and disease, the report said.

Increasing numbers of people are set to be displaced by extreme weather events, and the impacts of rising temperatures could contribute to a greater risk of violent conflicts by worsening problems such as poverty.

The report's publication has renewed calls from scientists and campaigners for action to cut greenhouse gases and to help vulnerable people adapt to "already-unavoidable impacts of climate change".

Risk of coastal and inland flooding in UK 'is set to increase'

Vicente Barros, co-chair of the IPCC study, from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, said: "We live in an era of man-made climate change.

"In many cases, we are not prepared for the climate-related risks that we already face. Investments in better preparation can pay dividends both for the present and for the future."

Princeton University professor Michael Oppenheimer, one of the main authors of the 32-volume report, warned: "We're all sitting ducks."

Sao Paolo, Brazil, was recently hit by a drought

Professor Sam Fankhauser, of the London School of Economics, who is a contributing author to the report, said: "In the UK and the rest of northern Europe, we will need to cope with increasing risks from coastal and inland flooding, heatwaves and droughts.

"The UK and all rich countries must also provide significant support to help poor countries, which are particularly vulnerable, to cope with the impacts of climate change."

The report is the second chapter of the fifth assessment by the IPCC, set up in 1988 to provide neutral, science-based guidance to governments.

Wildfires are projected to be an even bigger threat

The last overview, published in 2007, unleashed a wave of political action that strived but failed to forge a worldwide treaty on climate change in Copenhagen in 2009.

The latest report builds on previous IPCC forecasts that global temperatures will rise 0.3-4.8C (0.5-8.6F) this century, on top of roughly 0.7C since the Industrial Revolution.

Seas will rise by 26-82cm (10-32in) by 2100, it is predicted.

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