Tribute To Gareth Huntley Killed In Malaysia

A body found on Malaysia's Tioman Island is that of missing British backpacker Gareth Huntley, police have confirmed.

The 34-year-old, from Hackney, east London, disappeared on May 27 after going on a jungle trek.

His body was found less than 100m from the sea turtle conservation camp where he worked as a volunteer.

Mr Huntley's family said "no words can describe the void he will leave".

Mr Huntley with his mother Janet Southwell

And they thanked "everyone who came together in the last week to do everything in their power to help find Gareth".

Search personnel reportedly discovered the body in a pond close to a kayak storage unit at around 12pm local time on Wednesday.

Zakaria Ahmad, head of crime investigation in the eastern state of Pahang, said DNA tests confirmed the body was that of the Briton.

His girlfriend Kit Natariga also helped with the search

The cause of death has not yet been established.

Mr Huntley disappeared after trying to find a waterfall nearly four miles away from the camp in the jungles of the paradise island.

The backpacker had been volunteering in a turtle sanctuary on the island

He told friends at the turtle project he would be back by 2pm but failed to return.

His mother, Janet Southwell, and girlfriend, Kit Natariga, had travelled to the island off Malaysia's east coast to help with the search effort.

The family statement added: "There are no words that can capture the devastation we feel right now.

"No words that can capture the kindness, warmth and spirit that Gareth exuded; no words that can describe the void he will leave in all of the lives he touched.

"Gareth lived every minute of his life as fully as he could; never without a smile and always with others in his heart. You will never leave our hearts Gareth."

Search teams were backed by paramilitary commandos, multiple helicopters, speedboats and sniffer dogs in the latter days of the hunt following initial criticism of the Malaysian authorities' response.

Prime Minister David Cameron reportedly spoke to Malaysia's prime minister Najib Razak after receiving an open letter from Mrs Southwell in which she urged him to seek more resources for the search.

Mr Huntley, who was originally from West Yorkshire, was on a sabbatical from his job in the City.

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Parents To Be Punished For Kids' Bad Behaviour

Parents have been warned by Education Secretary Michael Gove they will face punishments for failing to ensure their children arrive at school "ready to learn and showing respect for their teacher".

Mr Gove has vowed to raise school standards "higher than ever before" as he set out an uncompromising vision to get rid of what he believes is a culture of low expectations.

In a speech to the Policy Exchange think tank, Mr Gove insisted mothers and fathers have to take responsibility for their children's behaviour or face sanctions.

He also hit out at teachers who "set children up to fail" by refusing to think they might be intellectually curious or capable of greatness.

Mr Gove said: "We need to ensure that those parents who don't play their part in ensuring their children attend school, ready to learn and showing respect for their teacher, face up to their responsibilities.

"We will, later this year, be outlining detailed proposals to ensure parents play their full part in guaranteeing good behaviour and outlining stronger sanctions for those who don't."

Mr Gove wants to eradicate what he thinks is a culture of low expectations

Sky's Darren McCaffrey said: "One idea Michael Gove is considering is deducting money from child benefit payments from parents who repeatedly refuse to pay fines imposed through persistent truancy.

"Although initially resisted by the Liberal Democrats, the Education Secretary wants to strengthen sanctions on parents to 'tackle the root causes of truancy and misbehaviour'."

The Education Secretary's approach has seen him clash numerous times with teaching unions, which have accused him of a "personal ideological crusade".

But Mr Gove rejected suggestions his reforms are too demanding, and added his reforming zeal would not diminish.

"I believe we have to embrace reform, lean in to the future, set standards higher than ever before," he said.

Mr Gove said he knew what "real barriers to success look like".

"I spent the first four months of my life in care," he said.

"Both my parents had to leave school at 15.

"My sister spent all her school career set apart from other children who were just as bright as her in a school for children with special needs.

"And I know what setting children up to fail looks like."

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Madeleine Police Identify New Search Area

By Tom Parmenter, Sky News Correspondent

The renewed search for clues into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann is to move to a new area outside of Praia Da Luz, Sky News has learned.

Portuguese police have told Sky News a new dig will begin on land somewhere between Praia Da Luz and the town of Lagos on Wednesday.

The development comes as search teams appear to have discounted parts of the site in Praia Da Luz where digging has been taking place all week.

Several areas of scrubland have been filled in

Officers used shovels and wheelie bins to fill in some of the holes they dug on scrubland as the search entered its sixth day on Saturday.

Some of the small yellow flags that were placed on areas of interest within the site earlier this week were removed.

Sniffer dogs from South Wales Police are again on site with their handlers working in different sections of the scrubland.

The search, not far from the holiday complex where the McCanns were staying in 2007, will continue throughout the weekend.

The search resumed in Praia da Luz on Saturday

Meanwhile, the family of missing Ben Needham have told Sky News their "thoughts and prayers" are with the McCanns as the investigation steps up in Portugal.

Some of the experts involved in the renewed search were also deployed to the island of Kos in Greece in 2012 when South Yorkshire Police led a review into Ben's disappearance.

Ben vanished in 1991 when he was 21 months old, after his mother and grandparents moved there from Sheffield.

Speaking to Sky News, the Needham family said: "Our thoughts are with the McCanns in this search for Madeleine.

Ben Needham (left) and Madeleine McCann (right)

"We ourselves know that this sort of investigation will be a very difficult time for the family.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with them."

Officers have been allowed to continue their work through the weekend in Praia da Luz after the Portuguese authorities granted them extra time.

The resort of Praia da Luz in Portugal

Forensic archaeologists, anthropologists, dog search teams and various specialist police officers from several UK forces have been working on the site.

The Metropolitan Police has not revealed why it has chosen to search the area of scrubland or any details of what it has found so far.

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Comedian Tracy Morgan Critical After Car Crash

US actor and comedian Tracy Morgan has been left in a critical condition after the limousine he was travelling overturned during a multi-vehicle pileup.

Police said the limousine crashed into five other vehicles on the New Jersey Turnpike at around 1am local time.

The 45-year-old 30 Rock star is being treated at the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Centre in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Sgt Gregory Williams told Sky News that one other passenger in the limousine was killed. 

CCTV footage of emergency vehicles attending the scene (Pic: NBC)

He said their next of kin had been notified.

The condition of the vehicle's five other passengers is currently unknown. 

There is no word on what caused the accident, which also involved two tractor-trailers, a SUV and two cars.

Tracy Morgan found fame on the sketch-comedy show Saturday Night Live in 1996. 

He went on to play Tracy Jordan, a caricature of himself, on the hit show 30 Rock.

It was created by his Saturday Night Live co-star Tina Fey. 

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Seattle Campus Shooter Caught By Student

Police say a student pepper-sprayed and disarmed the Seattle campus attacker after he shot four people, one of them fatally.

The attacker, armed with shotgun and a knife, opened fire on students at Seattle Pacific University.

The gunman shot four students in the foyer of Otto Miller Hall before he was disarmed by a student security guard.

Police said the student, named in local media as 22-year-old Jon Meis, used pepper spray as the gunman paused to reload.

A police officer stands at the scene of the shooting

Other students then helped subdue the attacker until police arrived.

The man detained by police has been named as 26-year-old Aaron Ybarra.

Several students were rushed to the hospital with gunshot wounds.

Aid workers stand by

One, a 19-year-old man, died a short time later.

A 20-year-old woman who was seriously wounded is still in a critical condition after five hours of surgery.

Another man is in a "satisfactory" condition, while a fourth person has been released from hospital.

Police had initially reported that they were searching for a second suspect, but later said no one else was involved. 

Students have been left traumatised by the attack

As so often after US mass shootings, the motive is unclear.

A former janitor at a gym, Ybarra had recently landed a new job at a store, packing bags and cleaning, a friend told the Seattle Times.

"It makes no sense at all," Zack McKinley told the newspaper. "He's super happy and friendly. He's an awesome guy, someone who would never let you down."

Local pastor Tim Gaydos, left, prays with former student Chris Holt

The shooting came a week before the end of the academic year.

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray said: "Today should have been a day of celebration at the end of the school year. Instead it's a day of tragedy and of loss.

"Once again, the epidemic of gun violence has come to Seattle, the epidemic of gun violence that's haunting this nation."

A bouquet of flowers rests near the scene

People packed into the First Free Methodist Church on campus for a service in the aftermath of the shooting.

Dozens who could not get into the packed church gathered on a lawn nearby and formed their own groups as the sun set.

One student told a local television channel, KIRO 7 TV, that he heard a loud bang from a nearby classroom which his teacher initially thought was a science experiment.

Students pray together outside the campus church

The student, identified as Blake, said someone went out and came back and said: "I think someone's been shot."

"I was scared for about a minute," he said, adding he heard shouting and someone running past the door.

Then "cops come in through another classroom which was connected to ours and they escorted us out".

Classes at the university have been cancelled for Friday

He added: "I just saw piles of blood on the ground, just scattered throughout the lobby.

"And I actually stepped in a puddle ... I saw someone was on the ground. Someone was on top of them, their hands behind their head."

Another student, Jillian Smith, was taking a maths test when a lockdown was ordered.

After being locked in the classroom for around 45 minutes, police officers came to lead them out of the building.

Ms Smith said that on the way out she saw bullet casings and what appeared to be blood on the lobby carpet.

"Seeing blood made it real," she said.

Around 4,000 students attend the Christian university, which is about 10 minutes from downtown Seattle.

Friday's classes and other activities have been cancelled.

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IMF Sees Housing Market Threat To Recovery

Osborne Should Heed IMF House Market Warning

Updated: 11:57am UK, Friday 06 June 2014

By Ed Conway, Economics Editor

What would you like first: the good news or the bad?

Well, if you're George Osborne, the good news is that the long battle with the International Monetary Fund - the one that began last year when chief economist Olivier Blanchard told Sky News the Chancellor was "playing with fire" on economic policy - is over.

We knew as much in Washington earlier this spring, when Blanchard acknowledged that the Fund's forecasts for Britain had been overly pessimistic.

But today the saga has come to its end, with the Fund also giving the Chancellor's fiscal plans (those precise plans Blanchard had criticised) a ringing endorsement.

"The planned fiscal adjustment this year is appropriate," the IMF says in its annual survey of the UK economy - the so-called Article IV report.

This is a shift from last year, when the Article IV recommended that the Chancellor bring forward spending plans to try to boost the economy. So cause for celebration at the Treasury?

Not altogether, for there is also some bad news. The criticisms of the Treasury's tax-and-spend plans may have dissolved away, but they have been replaced with concerns of another variety: about the housing market.

Such concerns are hardly new: the European Commission already recommended earlier this week that the Government take action to prevent a housing bubble.

However, the Fund is a touch more authoritative - and more specific. Its suggestions are as follows: The Bank of England should leave interest rates on hold for the time being; it should impose limits on how much mortgage companies can lend homebuyers in relation to their incomes; it should also consider outright caps on loan-to-income levels and loan-to-value ratios.

On top of this, the Government should "consider whether [Help to Buy] should be modified or even remains necessary for the full three years of the policy. And as the volume of high-LTV transactions rises, the FPC will need to evaluate if the program is contributing to financial risks."

Like the Commission (and, well, every economist out there), it suggests that Britain needs to build more homes. However, there are no silver bullets in this enterprise, and it acknowledges that all of the above "can only be temporary palliatives to an underlying problem."

The best it can suggest is that the Government reconsider "unnecessary constraints on brownfield and greenfield developments; tax policies that discourage the most economically-efficient use of property; and underdeveloped rental markets with relatively short lease terms."

Some might see the final point as a note of support for the rental reforms recently suggested by Ed Miliband. The problem for politicians of every stripe is that the housing market's structural problems are no secret: but mending them will take many years.

Reforms to the planning system have been desperately needed for decades, but only now are they being implemented; changes to green belt regulations are an economist's dream but a local politician's nightmare – so are unlikely to be implemented before the election, if at all.

However, it is clear that the Chancellor would be foolhardy to ignore the tone of the IMF's report. For there is a growing risk of a housing bubble, and with it the political risk that George Osborne could be remembered not as the austerity Chancellor who got it right, but the man who generated yet another housing market bust.

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Ukraine And Russia Meet At D-Day Event

Ukraine's President-elect Petro Poroshenko has met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for informal talks on the sidelines of the D-Day commemorations in France.

In their eagerly anticipated contact, they discussed how Russia could recognise the Ukrainian elections, and a possible ceasefire, according to an official at French President Francois Hollande's office.

The brief interaction, which some reports said was as short as one minute while others said lasted 15 minutes, took place after world leaders gathered for a group photograph.

After the photo, Petro Poroshenko, Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel remained outside as they talked.

The two men spoke for up to 15 minutes, according to some observers

No plans have been announced for a formal meeting between the two men despite a week of intense diplomacy aimed at resolving the crisis in Ukraine.

The talk is the first meeting between the two leaders since Mr Poroshenko was elected.

Mr Putin has held meetings with Prime Minister David Cameron, Mrs Merkel and French president Francois Hollande this week to discuss sanctions imposed on Russia after it annexed the Crimean peninsula.

It comes after 15 pro-Russian rebels were killed at a border crossing on Thursday.

Anton Herashchenko, an aide to the Ukrainian interior minister, said guards clashed with armed men who approached the border in trucks from the Russian side of the border close to the village of Marynivka.

Five Ukrainian soldiers were also injured during the clashes. Parts of the border in eastern Ukraine were closed after the incident.

Officials have claimed more than 200 people have died in fighting between Ukraine government troops and pro-Russian rebels in recent weeks.

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D-Day: World Leaders Join Commemorations

David Cameron has said world leaders should set aside their differences on the "incredibly moving" 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

As veterans, politicians and members of the Royal Family gathered in Normandy, the Prime Minister told Sky News that amid ongoing tensions with Russia, the events of June 6, 1944, "show the importance of standing up together ... for freedom and security".

Mr Cameron and Russian President Vladimir Putin have both travelled to northern France to remember an event that changed the course of the Second World War.

Soldiers landing on Juno Beach in Bernieres-sur-Mer on June 6, 1944

They are joining the Queen and a host of other world leaders for a service at Sword Beach in Ouistreham, where the moment 150,000 Allied troops came ashore will be re-enacted in front of around 1,000 Normandy veterans.

Mr Cameron said: "Yes, we have our disagreements with Russia but we should never forget the Soviet Union was an ally of the forces that liberated this continent from the tyranny of Nazism and enabled generations to come to live in democracy, freedom and prosperity," he said.

"Today is all about the magnificent feat of arms that saw young men ... do incredibly brave things to liberate this continent and to give us a chance of peace and democracy. We did that together."

Normandy veteran Ken Scott, 98, remembers his fallen comrades War veterans arrive for the service at Bayeux Cathedral

Described by wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill as "undoubtedly the most complicated and difficult (operation) that has ever taken place", D-Day proved to be a pivotal moment of the Second World War.

It marked the start of an 80-day campaign to liberate Normandy, a daunting task that involved three million troops and cost some 250,000 lives.

Services marking their sacrifice are being held at beaches and war cemeteries across the region.

The Queen joined world leaders to mark the 70th anniversary Mr Obama applauds US veterans during the ceremony in Colleville-sur-Mer

In Colleville-sur-Mer, Barack Obama joined his French counterpart Francois Hollande for a service at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, where more than 9,000 soldiers are buried.

"These men waged war so that we might know peace, they sacrificed so that we may be free, they fought in hope of a day that we would no longer need to fight and we are grateful to them," the US President said.

In nearby Bayeux, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh visited the Commonwealth War Graves cemetery, where 4,144 soldiers, 338 of them unidentified, are buried.

Vintage US military vehicles are driven along Gold Beach

An earlier service at the town's cathedral heard from Right Reverend Nigel McCulloch, the national chaplain of the Royal British Legion, who told the congregation: "We come to remember those who, from the air, in the water and on the beaches, made the supreme sacrifice."

Further along the coast in Arromanches, the Normandy Veterans' Association has organised a day of events.

This anniversary will be the group's last as it plans to disband later this year.

Cemeteries along the French coast are a focal point for the commemorations

Commemorations began at midnight when Mr Cameron attended a memorial at Pegasus Bridge, the first strategic landmark to be captured.

At the exact time the first gliders landed, a champagne toast was raised at Cafe Gondree, the restaurant next to the bridge, which became the first house to be liberated in France.

American veterans gathered at dawn on Omaha Beach, where a statue of two soldiers was unveiled.

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Taliban Releases Video Of Hostage Handover

The Taliban have released a video showing American hostage Sgt Bowe Bergdahl being handed over to US forces in Afghanistan.

Sgt Bergdahl, clean shaven, and dressed in white Afghan clothing with a shaved head, is seen waiting in a white pickup truck close to the Afghan border with Pakistan as Taliban militants outside lean in to talk to him.

He is blinking frequently in the bright light as he looks at and listens to his captors. He appears to struggle to speak English.

The 17 minutes of footage shows armed gunmen dotting the hills around the valley, as US Black Hawk helicopters overhead draw closer to the meeting point.

The Taliban reporter speaking over the clip explains: "We told them there are 18 armed fighters and the Americans said that's all right."

The Taliban's message to the Americans and Sgt Bergdahl

As one of the helicopters lands, throwing up a cloud of dust, Sgt Bergdahl is led to his rescuers by two men, one leading him by the hand, and another waving a white cloth tied to a wooden stick.

Most of the Taliban have their faces covered with scarves, while Sgt Bergdahl wears his over his shoulders.

After a brief exchange of handshakes between insurgents and US forces, Bergdahl moves unsteadily towards the helicopter.

Before boarding the helicopter the freed man is patted down to check he is not carrying any weapons.

The aircraft takes off and the message in English flashes up: "Don' come back to afghanistan"(sic).

Heaviliy armed Taliban fighters dotted the hillside around the exchange

The Taliban video, entitled Ceremony Of The American Soldier Exchange is laced with religious music and chants of "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest).

At one point the voiceover said: "I congratulate all the mujahiedeen for this victory."

Sky's Diplomatic Editor Tim Marshall said: "The meaning of the pictures is that we see visual evidence that the Taliban are negotiating with the Americans on almost an equal basis.

"It is a propaganda coup for the Taliban."

US defence officials have said dozens of US special forces troops backed up by helicopters were sent for the handover.

Five years after he was captured by Afghan militants, Sgt Bergdahl was freed at the weekend in exchange for five militants held at Guantanamo Bay.

Sgt Bergdahl awaits the handover in a Taliban vehicle

He was the only US soldier held by the Taliban after being captured in Afghanistan.

His release has lead to sharp criticism of the Obama administration, with some US politicians fearing it poses a threat to Americans abroad.

There is also a suggestion that Sgt Bergdahl may be disciplined over claims from members of his unit that he was captured in 2009 after abandoning his post.

The 28-year-old is now in a military hospital in Germany, undergoing physical and mental assessments.

Related Stories 

Sgt Bergdahl: Army 'May Pursue' Desertion Probe

Bowe Bergdahl Release Backfires On White House

Soldier's Motives Are The 'Unknown Unknown'

Bowe Bergdahl: Obama Defends Taliban Exchange

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Queen's Speech: 16 Things You Need To Know

Amid cries of a "zombie Government", the coalition has laid out what it claims are "bold measures" in the Queen's Speech.

Sky News looks at the some of the key points from the annual address:

Pensioners can buy a Lamborghini with their savings if they choose

1) Pensioners can buy Lamborghinis - pensioners will no longer be forced to buy an annuity but will be able to spend their retirement savings as they wish. They will get free financial advice. Pensions minister Steve Webb came under fire for saying they should be free to buy Lamborghinis if they wanted to.

2) Change the EU - Britain will fight for reform in Europe and a "stronger role for member states".

3) Benefits cap - a limit on the amounts the Government can pay out in benefits is another of the key measures.

The Government's Help to Buy housing scheme will continue

4) Housing bubble? What housing bubble? - despite warnings Help to Buy could be potentially damaging to the housing market, there is a commitment for ministers to continue to promote the scheme.

5) Sack your MP - voters will be given the power to effectively sack their MPs if they are found to have broken the rules.

6) More academies and free schools - Education Secretary Michael Gove's drive for more state-funded schools that operate independently of the local authority will continue.

England will follow the rest of the UK's lead in charging for plastic bags

7) 5p plastic bags - charges on supermarket carrier bags will be introduced from October 2015.

8) Free school meals - every infant will get free school meals under Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg's long-championed scheme.

9) Modern slavery - people traffickers will be given tougher sentences under moves championed by Home Secretary Theresa May.

A tax-free childcare scheme will be worth up to £2,000 per child

10) Childcare changes - working parents will get up to £2,000 of tax-free childcare vouchers. An extension of free nursery hours for more disadvantaged two-year-olds has also been outlined.

11) "Cinderella law" - parents could be jailed for up to 10 years for subjecting their children to emotional cruelty, including withholding affection.

12) Acts of heroism - do-gooders who step in to help others in trouble will be offered protection from prosecution.

Fracking projects have sparked protests in some parts of the country

13) Frack away - shale gas firms will be able to drill under private property without permission.

14) Forces complaints - a new ombudsman will be created to oversee complaints in the Armed Forces.

15) Workers' rights - measures to combat unfairness of zero hours contracts, higher penalties for those who fail to pay the minimum wage and moves to tackle employment tribunal delays are all included.

16) Golden goodbyes in the public sector - excessive redundancy payouts of public sector workers who then take up other posts within the public sector will be limited.

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Madeleine McCann: Radar Used In Ground Search

Madeleine: Key Events Timeline

Updated: 10:22am UK, Monday 02 June 2014

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

2007

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2008

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

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

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

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

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

2009

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

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

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

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

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

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

2010

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

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

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

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

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

2011

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

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

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

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

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

2012

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

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

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

2013

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2014

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

:: May 8 - British Officers reportedly use a military helicopter to photograph potential excavation sites and hold a four-hour meeting with Portuguese colleagues to agree a timetable for new searches.

:: May 22 - Met Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley says the investigation will enter a "substantial phase of operational activity" in Portugal in the coming weeks. 

:: June 2 - Portuguese police seal off an area of scrubland to the west of Praia da Luz as they prepare to examine the potential excavation site.

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Queen's Speech: Government's Agenda Set Out

A house building drive, pensions reform and a commitment to reform the EU have all been put on the agenda for the coalition in its last year.

The speech put the economic recovery at its centre, opening with a pledge to continue bringing down the deficit and cutting taxes "to increase people's financial security".

With the threat that the Bank of England will increase the base rate before the General Election, there is also a pledge to keep mortgage and interest rates low.

Despite warnings that the Help to Buy scheme is causing a potentially damaging housing bubble, there is a pledge to continue to promote it.

David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband

David Cameron had suggested he could amend the scheme after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney warned in an interview with Sky News that rising house prices were the biggest threat to economic recovery in the UK.

In an attempt to tackle the housing shortage, the Government also announced plans to boost home building.

This includes giving developers powers to push through applications without council approval and allowing the Government to sell off unused land for development.

Black Rod

A new garden city will be built in the Thames estuary at Ebbsfleet in Kent to tackle the housing shortage.

The Prime Minister and his Deputy Nick Clegg claimed the measures laid out in the Queen's Speech were "unashamedly pro-work, pro-business and pro-aspiration".

Just 11 new bills were introduced by the Queen at the State Opening of Parliament, which will bolster Labour's claims the coalition is now a "zombie government" which has run out of steam. In last year's speech there were 19 new bills.

The much-heralded pension reforms set out in George Osborne's Budget were also included in the speech. New legislation will mean pensioners will no longer be forced to buy annunities with their savings but can spend them as they like.

However, they will be given advice, which may include death estimates, to help them decide how best to invest that money.

The Queen delivers her speech

Pensions minister Steve Webb sparked controversy after saying pensioners should be free to buy Lamborghinis if they wanted to following criticism people could fritter their money away on retirement.

Another key measure is the Recall Bill, a 2010 coalition manifesto pledge championed by the Liberal Democrats, which will see voters given the power to sack MPs guilty of "serious misconduct".

In the wake of disastrous results in the European elections for the two parties,  the coalition pledged to continue to fight for reform of the EU and a better deal for member states.

Other measures include:

:: 5p charge for plastic bags

:: powers to allow fracking firms to dig under private property without asking

:: parents to face jail for emotional cruelty to children in new Cinderella Law

:: pledge to fight to keep Scotland in the union

:: limit to excessive redundancy payouts for public sector workers

:: tougher sentences for people traffickers

:: free school meals for infants

:: fines for employers who don't pay the minimum wage

:: £2,000 childcare vouchers for working parents

Labour leader Ed Miliband said: "We need action, we need answers, we need a programme for government equal to the scale of the challenge our country faces.

"We would have a Queen's Speech with legislation which would make work pay, reform our banks, freeze energy bills and build homes again in Britain. A Queen's Speech which signals a new direction for Britain, not one which offers more of the same."

As she delivered her speech, one of the page boys fainted close to the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. The boy was carried from the chamber but recovered soon after.

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Madeleine McCann: Police Bring In Sniffer Dogs

Madeleine: Key Events Timeline

Updated: 10:22am UK, Monday 02 June 2014

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

2007

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2008

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

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

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

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

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

2009

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

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

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

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

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

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

2010

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

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

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

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

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

2011

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

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

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

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

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

2012

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

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

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

2013

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2014

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

:: May 8 - British Officers reportedly use a military helicopter to photograph potential excavation sites and hold a four-hour meeting with Portuguese colleagues to agree a timetable for new searches.

:: May 22 - Met Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley says the investigation will enter a "substantial phase of operational activity" in Portugal in the coming weeks. 

:: June 2 - Portuguese police seal off an area of scrubland to the west of Praia da Luz as they prepare to examine the potential excavation site.

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Cyber Attack 'To Hit In Next Two Weeks'

Computer users are being urged to protect their machines from malware which allows hackers to steal financial data.

British investigators have been working with the FBI to trace the hackers behind ongoing attacks, and the botnet system used by the targets has been temporarily disrupted.

But the UK's National Crime Agency says people have just two weeks before the system could be functioning again, and urged people to protect their computers from an expected "powerful computer attack".

Bogachev is said to use the online monikers 'lucky12345' and 'slavik'

Between 500,000 and one million machines have so far been infected worldwide, according to court documents.

US officials have accused a Russian hacker of masterminding the scam - and prosecutors say those involved have already raked in more than $100m (£60m).

The NCA is urging people to back up important files and make sure their security software and operating system are up to date.

Two pieces of malware software known as GOZeuS and CryptoLocker are responsible for the alert.

They typically infect a computer via attachments or links in emails.

If a user clicks on GOZeuS, it silently monitors activity and tries to capture information such as bank details.

"(The links or attachments) may look like they have been sent by genuine contacts and may purport to carry invoices, voicemail messages, or any file made to look innocuous," the NCA warned.

"These emails are generated by other victims' computers, who do not realise they are infected, and are used to send mass emails creating more victims."

The Cryptolocker malware is activated if the first attack is not profitable enough.

It locks a user from their files and threatens to delete them unless a "ransom" of several hundred pounds is paid.

Some 234,000 machines were hit by Cryptolocker - bringing in $27m (£16m) in payments - in its first two months, the US Justice Department said.

Computers running Windows software are said to be most vulnerable

More than 15,500 computers in the UK are infected and "many more" are at risk, according to the NCA.

Stewart Garrick, a senior investigator with the NCA, told Sky News the threat was mainly against individuals or businesses running Windows-based computers.

Thirty-year-old Russian Evgeniy Bogachev is the alleged leader of the gang behind the attacks, FBI executive assistant director Robert Anderson told a news conference in Washington DC.

US and other agents seized servers around the world this weekend and freed 300,000 computers from the infection.

"They (the FBI) have disrupted the network and taken control of it," said Sky's Tom Cheshire.

"So when the hackers try to speak to the computer that's affected, that line of communication has been cut off.

"You now have a chance to clean up. The first thing you should do is update your operating system - especially if you're on Windows, then look to scan your computer for viruses and it should be able to find it."

For more information visit www.getsafeonline.org/nca.

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FBI Chases 'Ringleader' Behind Cyber Threat

How Serious Is 'Ominous' Global Cyber Threat?

Updated: 12:41pm UK, Tuesday 03 June 2014

By Tom Cheshire, Technology Correspondent

It's a dramatic countdown: you have just two weeks to protect yourself against a "powerful computer attack", the National Crime Agency has warned.

All very ominous, but how serious is the threat?

Around 15,500 computers are already infected in the UK. To put that in context, there are at least 21 million computers in the country, before secondary devices like laptops, tablets and phones are counted. That's less than a 0.1% infection rate.

And although Game Over Zeus - one of the pieces of malware involved - has caused some serious financial harm to individuals, authorities estimate it is responsible for hundreds of millions of pound of fraud.

To put that in context, cybercrime worldwide costs around £60bn annually, according to one estimate.

So why the stark warning?

First, the botnet, the network of infected computers controlled by criminals, is pretty resilient.

It works on a peer-to-peer mechanism, and uses a lot of encryption. Compared to other botnets, which can sprawl into the millions, this one was tightly controlled, by gangs from Russia and Ukraine.

That's who the NCA, FBI and US Department of Justice have moved against, and that's unusual.

The authorities rarely seize or disrupt a botnet. They can do so for only two weeks, as it's an expensive operation.

At the same time, they're aiming to arrest the gang's ringleaders through more traditional, legal means.

But it's a new line in the sand, showing that international forces are willing and able to collaborate on cybercrime.

Pity, then, that the UK government's Get Safe Online site wasn't quite so joined up: it crashed under the weight of concerned internet users.

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Bowe Bergdahl: Obama Defends Taliban Exchange

There are growing calls for an investigation into how a US soldier came to be held captive by the Taliban for five years and then freed in a prisoner swap deal.

It emerged over the weekend that Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl had been exchanged for five Afghans who had been held by the US.

President Barack Obama, who faced criticism from Republicans at home, defended the prisoner swap deal during a news conference after arriving in Poland on a visit.

Mr Obama said his administration has consulted with Congress "for some time" about a possible prisoner exchange for the release of Sgt Bergdahl.

The petition on the White House site needs 100,000 to generate a response

He said that he saw an opportunity for a swift deal and had taken the opportunity as he had a "sacred" obligation to try to free captured US servicemen and women.

Questions over how Sgt Bergdahl's release should be handled have been raised by Greg Leatherman, the non-commissioned officer in charge of his unit when he "crawled away".

Mr Leatherman said: "His welcoming as a hero is not something that sits well with me. I'm glad he is home and healthy, but there needs to be an investigation and the truth needs to be told."

It follows a petition posted on the White House website which called for the 28-year-old to be punished over allegations that he deserted his post in Afghanistan when Taliban forces captured him in 2009.

It accuses Sgt Bergdahl of "walking off base with intent to not support the War On Terror", and says he was "directly responsible" for the death of "several military members" who attempted to locate him.

The motion, which needs to attract 100,000 signatures by June 30 to elicit a response from the Obama administration, had generated more than 8,700 signatures by early June 3.

Five Afghan detainees were released to secure Sgt Bergdahl's freedom

On Monday, the mayor from Sgt Bergdahl's hometown of Hailey, Idaho, had urged Americans not to rush to judgment.

A story published by Rolling Stone magazine in 2012 quoted emails Sgt Bergdahl is said to have sent to his parents that suggested he was considering desertion.

Lawmakers in Washington voiced concerns over the Obama administration's decision to hand over five Afghan Taliban commanders to the Qatar government in exchange for securing Sgt Bergdahl's release.

Under US law, such a deal requires that Congress be notified 30 days in advance.

The move to release the detainees angered several lawmakers who accused the Obama administration of setting a dangerous precedent.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz said: "Have we just put a price on other US soldiers?" while Senator John McCain also questioned the release of "hardened terrorists who have the blood of Americans and countless Afghans on their hands".

Sgt Bergdahl remains at a US military hospital in Germany in a "stable condition". It is not immediately clear when he will be flown back to the US to be reunited with his family.

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