The mobile phones of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were switched off for four hours on the day they were poisoned, it has been reported.

It may suggest that the pair were trying to meet someone "off the record" before they were attacked with the nerve agent Novichok in Salisbury earlier this month.

But now it is being reported that their phones were switched off for a crucial period on March 4 - the day of the incident.

The devices’ GPS signals, which help identify where someone is, were not in operation for several hours, The Sun on Sunday reports.

A source told the paper: “The most credible explanation is their phones were switched off during the morning of the day they were targeted.

"The most likely reason would be if they were going to meet someone and wanted to remain off the radar.”

Skripal was jailed in Russia in 2006, but was pardoned and freed four years later as part of a spy-swap.

He sought refuge in the UK and had lived here ever since. His daughter Yulia lived in Moscow.

The bench the Skripals were sitting on when they were found unconscious was removed by a team of forensic investigators in protective suits on Friday.

It comes just days after a judge warned that Sergei and Yulia may never recover from the attack.

Blood tests indicated that the nerve agent Novichok or a related agent was found in the Skripal's blood samples taken and analysed by the UK's Porton Down military labs.

An unidentified consultant who is treating the Skripals told the Court of Protection they were both heavily sedated, unable to communicate and that it was not possible to say when or to what extent either may regain mental capacity.

They were both in a but physically stable condition and were being treated "on the basis they would wish to be kept alive", the consultant said.

Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey who also fell in the attack was released from hospital but said his "life will never be the same again".

The British Government, the EU and United States of America have all said it is "highly likely" that Russia was behind the attack on the Skripals.

Britain expelled 23 diplomats after Moscow failed to answer questions about the attack - in response 23 British officials were expelled from Russia.

The EU has withdrawn its ambassador to the country but the Kremlin deny any involvement in the attack.</s>Get the biggest daily news stories by email Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email

The mobile phones of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were switched off for four hours on the day they were poisoned, it has been reported.

It may suggest that the pair were trying to meet someone "off the record" before they were attacked with the nerve agent Novichok in Salisbury earlier this month.

But now it is being reported that their phones were switched off for a crucial period on March 4 - the day of the incident.

The devices’ GPS signals, which help identify where someone is, were not in operation for several hours, The Sun on Sunday reports.

(Image: Daily Mirror)

(Image: AFP)

(Image: AFP)

A source told the paper: “The most credible explanation is their phones were switched off during the morning of the day they were targeted.

"The most likely reason would be if they were going to meet someone and wanted to remain off the radar.”

Skripal was jailed in Russia in 2006, but was pardoned and freed four years later as part of a spy-swap.

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He sought refuge in the UK and had lived here ever since. His daughter Yulia lived in Moscow.

The bench the Skripals were sitting on when they were found unconscious was removed by a team of forensic investigators in protective suits on Friday.

It comes just days after a judge warned that Sergei and Yulia may never recover from the attack.

Blood tests indicated that the nerve agent Novichok or a related agent was found in the Skripal's blood samples taken and analysed by the UK's Porton Down military labs.

(Image: Getty Images Europe)

(Image: Getty Images Europe)

An unidentified consultant who is treating the Skripals told the Court of Protection they were both heavily sedated, unable to communicate and that it was not possible to say when or to what extent either may regain mental capacity.

They were both in a but physically stable condition and were being treated "on the basis they would wish to be kept alive", the consultant said.

Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey who also fell in the attack was released from hospital but said his "life will never be the same again".

(Image: PA)

The British Government, the EU and United States of America have all said it is "highly likely" that Russia was behind the attack on the Skripals.

Britain expelled 23 diplomats after Moscow failed to answer questions about the attack - in response 23 British officials were expelled from Russia.

The EU has withdrawn its ambassador to the country but the Kremlin deny any involvement in the attack.</s>The mobile phones of ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were switched off for four hours on the day they were poisoned, it has been reported.

It may suggest that the pair were trying to meet someone "off the record" before they were attacked with the nerve agent Novichok in Salisbury earlier this month.

But now it is being reported that their phones were switched off for a crucial period on March 4 - the day of the incident.

The devices’ GPS signals, which help identify where someone is, were not in operation for several hours, The Sun on Sunday reports.

A source told the paper: “The most credible explanation is their phones were switched off during the morning of the day they were targeted.

"The most likely reason would be if they were going to meet someone and wanted to remain off the radar.”

Skripal was jailed in Russia in 2006, but was pardoned and freed four years later as part of a spy-swap.

He sought refuge in the UK and had lived here ever since. His daughter Yulia lived in Moscow.

The bench the Skripals were sitting on when they were found unconscious was removed by a team of forensic investigators in protective suits on Friday.

It comes just days after a judge warned that Sergei and Yulia may never recover from the attack.

Blood tests indicated that the nerve agent Novichok or a related agent was found in the Skripal's blood samples taken and analysed by the UK's Porton Down military labs.

An unidentified consultant who is treating the Skripals told the Court of Protection they were both heavily sedated, unable to communicate and that it was not possible to say when or to what extent either may regain mental capacity.

They were both in a but physically stable condition and were being treated "on the basis they would wish to be kept alive", the consultant said.

Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey who also fell in the attack was released from hospital but said his "life will never be the same again".

The British Government, the EU and United States of America have all said it is "highly likely" that Russia was behind the attack on the Skripals.

Britain expelled 23 diplomats after Moscow failed to answer questions about the attack - in response 23 British officials were expelled from Russia.

The EU has withdrawn its ambassador to the country but the Kremlin deny any involvement in the attack.</s>SINGAPORE - A 20-year-old man has been arrested for his suspected involvement in a series of mobile phone contract scams, the police said on Friday (March 23).

The police had received multiple reports from people in the first three months of the year saying that they were cheated by a man who offered monetary returns in exchange for mobile phone subscriptions.

Officers from Ang Mo Kio Police Division identified the suspect through extensive ground inquiries and follow-up investigations.

He was arrested in Bedok North Street 2 on Thursday.

He had persuaded his victims to sign up for mobile phone lines, in exchange for returns of between $300 and $500.

The suspect assured his victims that the mobile phone contracts would be terminated subsequently, with no charges incurred.

However, after taking the phones from the victims, the suspect sold them for a profit and became uncontactable.

He also did not terminate the phone lines, and the victims became saddled with phone bills.

He will be charged in court with the offence of cheating, which is punishable with a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine.</s>Mobile use has become very common among people of every age. It connects people from different corners of the world with a text message or a call. Nobody can deny the acknowledgement given to the mobile phone in present era. But a picture has always two sides i.e. both good and bad. Excess use of everything makes it worst. People, especially teens and youth can be seen using mobile phones from dawn to dusk. They can be seen on social media online every time or at least playing games or watching movies on mobile phones.

 A risky habit that people have now developed is that they keep on using mobile phones even when it is being charged. They can be seen making calls while the phone is charging. Many cases regarding mobile’s battery bursting are reported where the people have lost their lives or some have gone through serious injuries. When these cases were studied, it was concluded that it is because they were using their phones during charging which heated up the battery and subsequently exploded. We must avoid such behaviours because human life is more valuable than worldly things.

 SHEHLA INAM

 Wah Cantt</s>The leader of Wiltshire Council faced calls to quit last night after it emerged she has been working in her £300-a-day role as a peer despite claiming she was 'too ill' to visit worried Salisbury residents following the nerve agent attack.

Jane Scott did not visit the stricken cathedral city until Friday – 19 days after the attack on March 4.

In the days after the poisoning, residents had demanded to know why their council leader had not visited the city to offer reassurance.

Her deputy, John Thompson, told a local newspaper that the Tory peer had been 'extremely ill' with a fever that she had picked up during a recent trip to visit hospitals in South Africa.

But it later emerged she had been working in the House of Lords, where she is entitled to a £300 daily allowance.

Last night Baroness Scott confirmed to The Mail on Sunday that she intends to claim the money.

The peer said she had been meeting Ministers about the attack but she refused to name those she had met.

She confirmed that she had been in the Lords for the three days following the attack, and a further two days last week.

The peer, 70, told The Mail on Sunday she became ill 'with a nasty bug' towards the end of the first week after the poisoning.

But this contradicts what she told the Salisbury Journal last week, when she said that she had 'probably gone home very ill' on Tuesday, March 6.

Amid growing questions about her whereabouts, Mr Thompson told the local newspaper on March 13 that she had not been able to visit the city because she had picked up a 'rather unpleasant disease' while on a working visit to South Africa.

But neither Mr Thompson nor Baroness Scott informed the public at the time that she had been working in the Lords.

Baroness Scott, a horse breeder and wife of a banker, last night denied misleading her constituents and said she still intended to pocket her Lords allowances.

She said she had been working 'solely in the interests of Salisbury' and that 'even when I was really ill I was still in full control'.

But there is anger at her lack on clarity on when exactly she fell ill and last night she was even facing resignation calls from fellow Tories.

One senior councillor, who asked not to be named, said: 'I think she has to go over this. Her story is all over the place.

'One minute she was ill on the Tuesday, the next it's at the end of the week.

'She can't properly account for why she didn't go to Salisbury until almost three weeks after the attack but she could still travel 100 miles to London.'

Baroness Scott also faced calls to quit from dozens of residents commenting on the Salisbury Journal website. One post read: 'She needs to resign and fast.'

Another said: 'She is so out of touch to her job and what we need for such role. We need to call for her resignation.'</s>BAD drivers on demerit-point “death row” are hanging on to their licences by convincing magistrates to give them ­alternative penalties for using a mobile phone while driving.

Crime statistics obtained by The Sunday Telegraph show the number of people who manage to walk out of a courthouse still clutching their licence has more than doubled since 2014.

But lawyers warn the attitude the ­judiciary holds towards motorists caught using their phone behind the wheel is changing given recent cases involving people seriously injured or killed by ­distracted drivers.

The offence of using a mobile phone while driving attracts a $330 fine and loss of four demerit points.

People can choose to have the fine heard before a magistrate, either to plead not guilty, or argue their case for another penalty.

That action attracts a court fee of about $160 but can cost a stubborn driver a lot more if they hire a lawyer.

This is a common path for drivers who are at threat of losing their licence because of dwindling demerit points.

MORE: Drivers still can’t keep hands off mobile phones

MORE: Young men on mobiles the bulk of serious accidents

MORE: Current mobile phone driving laws not working, says surgeon

Alternative penalties include a bond without conviction or no conviction ­recorded, both of which avoid a fine and demerit-point loss. Last year alone, 442 people escaped coughing up the fine and losing points in court-ordered penalties.

USE IT, LOSE IT

TOUCH the phone, lose your licence: that is the only message that will get through.

This accident must be the final straw — a young cop nearly died and is now permanently disabled because a young man allegedly couldn’t keep his hand off his phone.

The present $330 fine and four-demerit point penalty is not enough.

Sometimes answering a call or sending a text feels momentously important but nothing is as important as a human life.

The Sunday Telegraph has launched the Use It, Lose It campaign to have drivers caught using mobile phones stripped of their licence.</s>MY brother in law who’s visiting India after quite some years was amazed at the change in the country, “It’s like a revolution’s taken place,” he said, shaking his head in admiration.

 “The roads, bridges and flyovers? Or the buildings and airport?” “The mobile!” he said simply, “you chaps have really started using the cell phone in innovative ways, and I swear Bob I’ve seen some guys carrying two, even three phones like a necklace round their necks!” “Yes,” I said proudly, “India’s gone mobile!”

 “I was at the market the other day,” he said, “helping my wife with some shopping, “when I saw this real poor woman begging, holding a little baby in her lap, “I was reaching for my wallet, when I heard a phone ring!” “Yours?” I asked. “Hers!” he said, “she didn’t look up at the money I’d taken out, she was already reaching into the folds of her skirt, searching for the instrument, she then pulled it out and started a conversation, ignoring me and do you know what?” “What?” I asked.

 “She looked across the road and I followed her glance, she was talking to another beggar on the other side. Can you believe it? That fellow had enough money to make a call to her and continue a conversation which went on for minutes, instead of walking across!” “Walking across would have meant losing business,” I laughed. “And then on another occasion, “I saw a chap talking very animatedly into his phone!”

 “Oh all of us do that,” I said, “we are a very dramatic people!” “Till,” continued, my brother in law, “the phone the man was talking into suddenly rang! You should have seen the shock on the fellows face as he looked around to see who had seen him talking the whole while to nobody in particular!”

 “Maybe we’ve reached a stage when we’ve started talking to our phones!” I said and found my brother in law giving me a strange look, “Yes Bob, you’ve got a point, I think I saw you do that yesterday, when you didn’t want to talk to me and continued nodding into your cell!”

 “No,” I said. “Yes,” he said, “That was my cell you picked up and used!” We walked along, silent, till he suddenly burst out laughing and pointed to a father and his little son on a bike down the road, “Look,” he said and I laughed along with him. The son who was sitting pillion was holding the phone from behind onto his father’s ear, but every time they hit a bump the phone moved away from ear and mouth and much of the conversation we suspected was unheard, “Must be his wife,” I said. We met the little fellow at a shop standing near the bike while his father shopped, “we saw you,” I said, “who was it, your mother?”

 The little fellow had a wicked smile on his face, “Nobody called!” he grinned, “Dad started lecturing me on how he always came first in class, and I bluffed him there was a call! I enjoyed the ride..!” “You guys have learnt more uses for the mobile phone than the rest of the world!” said my brother in law shaking his head in admiration.</s>WidSets has launched a Jaiku microblog widget for your mobile phone.

 

 Enabling users to post thoughts (Jaikus) on what they're doing, how they're feeling, or where they're going right now, Jaiku community members can also interact in real-time by responding to individual posts, share "lifestream" information like photos and personal blog entries.

 

 "Our Jaiku widget brings the microblogging experience straight to the mobile phone, enabling community members to stay connected 24/7", said Ulla Särkikangas, director, consumer internet services, Nokia emerging business unit.

 

 "Jaiku was made for mobile users and we're delighted that WidSets is enabling a living, growing conversation among people around the world through the use of the Jaiku widget", added Jyri Engeström, Jaiku co-founder.

 

 WidSets widgets work across most mobile phone brands and are compatible with more than 300 mobile devices.

 

 Find out more via the link below.</s>Microsoft has finally begun the rollout of Windows 10 Mobile to select Windows Phone 8.1 devices.

You can download an app to see if the upgrade is available for you device, which we discuss below. Microsoft said the first phones getting the upgrade include a "limited set of Windows Phone 8.1 devices and does not include some devices that are currently running Windows 10 Mobile in the Windows 10 Mobile Insider program." It also said many older devices can't upgrade.

To help you figure out if your phone is eligible to upgrade, as well as which app you can download to check for the update, we've detailed all you need to know. Also, be sure to check out Pocket-lint's review of the mobile operating system, where we described the software as something of a mixed result. It's a more rich platform than Windows Phone 8.1, with new options in the mix.

There's more integration, such as Skype, and better handling with Outlook and individual Office apps, for a smartphone experience that feels more mature. But we were not taken with the design.

Windows 10 Mobile: What is it?

Windows 10 Mobile is Microsoft's new mobile operating system. It's a successor to Windows Phone 8.1 but is an edition of Windows 10, Microsoft's operating system for personal computers. The idea is that Windows 10 will unify Microsoft's platforms into a single, converged operating system.

Windows 10 Mobile: Which phones get the update first?

According to Microsoft, the following phones and devices can upgrade to Windows 10 Mobile: Lumia 1520, Lumia 930, Lumia 640, Lumia 640XL, Lumia 730, Lumia 735, Lumia 830, Lumia 532, Lumia 535, Lumia 540, Lumia 635 (1GB), Lumia 636 (1GB), Lumia 638 (1GB), Lumia 430, Lumia 435, BLU Win HD w510u, BLU Win HD LTE x150q, and MCJ Madosma Q501.

However, according to The Verge, Microsoft is initially supporting the following phones: Lumia 430, Lumia 435, Lumia 532, Lumia 535, Lumia 540, Lumia 635 (1GB), Lumia 640, Lumia 640 XL, Lumia 735, Lumia 830, and Lumia 930.

Windows 10 Mobile: How do you update your phone?

To get Windows 10 Mobile, you need to manually initiate the update.

Microsoft has created an Upgrade Advisor app that will let you know if the Windows 10 Mobile update is ready for your phone. You can download the app from the Windows Store. Although this is how the rollout is kicking off, Venture Beat claimed Microsoft will one day actively push the update to eligible devices. The rollout of course depends on when carriers make the update available.

Windows 10 Mobile: Want to know more?

Go to Pocket-lint's Windows 10 Mobile hub for related news, reviews, and analysis, or you can read Microsoft's announcement.
Investigators discover the Skripals switched off their mobile phones for four hours shortly before falling ill, and begin examining mobile phone data from everyone in Salisbury the day of the crime in a bid to link a phone to the poisoner.