It is now Day 26 in the search for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, and yet there is still no sign of the aircraft apart from strong yet vague clues provided by an analysis of satellite communications.

The Australian vessel ADV Ocean Shield has left Perth for the search area on Monday, carrying with it two pieces of equipment that are vital to the search effort.

This includes a US Navy towed pinger locator that can detect signals from the aircraft's black box from 1.5kilometres away.

However, aircraft black box pingers that emit this sound signal are only certified to last some 30 days before its batteries run out, meaning that there is about four days left before the search becomes considerably more difficult.

It remains to be seen if Ocean Shield can make it in time, although acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussien has repeatedly pledged to continue the search even after the pinger expires.

Skali tries lays down the facts, sort of

11pm - E-business firm Skali Group has come up with a one-stop website - www.thefactsmh370.com - for news regarding the search for MH370.

According to the company's CEO Tengku Farith Rithauddeen, the website contains for segments: "facts, being verified, false and the unusual".

"From facts news based on the information issued by the authorised, being verified refers to news that are credible but yet to be confirmed by the authorities.

"Another two segments are false news basically those not released or made up by others while the unusual refers to interesting facts or side stories pertaining to the aircraft," he says, according to Bernama .

At the time of writing, www.thefactsmh370.com is, in fact, unaccessible.

Khazanah offers help

9.03pm: Khazanah Nasional Berhad, the major share holder in Malaysia Airlines (MAS), have always cooperated with the government to do all it can to assist in the case of the missing MAS flight MH370, Bernama reports.

Khazanah Nasional managing director Azman Mokhtar ( left ) says the government-linked company would do everything possible in its capacity to assist.

"From the day the flight went missing, we have been working closely with government and MAS. In the event of a tragedy like this, everybody need to work together and move forward.

"If there are weaknesses we must be brave enough to face and rectify them. We must take such experiences as a lesson. I certainly do," he is quoted as saying.

Comprehensive caring programme

8.12pm: A more comprehensive caring programme for the families and relatives of passengers of the missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH370 needs to be formulated, says Chew Mei Fun.

Chew ( right ), who has been appointed as a special officer to represent Malaysia in China to meet with family members of MH370 passengers, sys the comprehensive caring programme was to ensure that the families were taken care of.

In her statement today, she says this was the outcome of the meetings she had recently with several parties including the Chinese authorities and the Family Members Committee (FMC) in China.

Families in recovery phase

8.03pm: The Malaysian Crisis Intervention Team (MCIT) is now focusing on the fourth counseling phase for families of passengers and crew of flight MH370, reports Bernama .

Its deputy chairperson Dr Abdul Jalil Hassan says the team would conduct regular home visits to provide counseling to the affected families who were beginning to recover from the impact of the trauma.

"The incident has now entered the 26th day. Their emotional state is very good, compared to more than a week ago when they found it difficult to accept the tragic news announced by the prime minister.

"They are accepting reality, are calm and have returned to their daily routine," he tells the national news agency.

'No effort and no expense spared'

7.20pm: DCA director general Azharuddin Abdul Rahman in his opening statement to families of Chinese passengers at a briefing today, continues to assure then that Malaysia is doing all that it can.

"Throughout the process, I want to assure you that we have done everything in our power to locate MH370. We have spared no effort and expense," he is quoted as saying in a statement released by the government in lieu of a press conference today.

'Develop tech for better transmission of plane data'

6.28pm: Communications and Multimedia Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek says the government believes data from aircraft, including from the black box, can be continuously transmitted and stored in data centres on the ground.

Hence he says International Telecommunication Union (ITU) must develop cutting edge technology to facilitate transmission of flight data in real time, Bernama reports.

"I believe that this simple change may have brought a different outcome today... I cannot help but note that whilst communications technologies have evolved drastically in the past five years, the story of the black box remains unchanged for more than 30 years," he is quoted saying.

MCA to hold mass MH370 prayer

6pm: MCA will be holding a mass prayer on Sunday for the crew, passengers of missing Flight MH370 and their loved ones.

According to party secretary-general Ong Ka Chuan, the prayer will be held at Dewan San Choon, Wisma MCA at 10am.

He says the prayer will be led by Buddhist organisations, among which are the Buddhist Maha Vihara, Buddhist Missionary Society, Young Buddhist Association of Malaysia and Fo Guang Shan Malaysia.

"This event is to let the world, especially the families and relatives of the crew and passengers, know that we Malaysians do care deeply about them... We hope there is a chance of a miracle and we pray for their survival," Ong says in a statement.

M'sia-China ties still good

5.52pm: Chinese ambassador to Malaysia Huang Huikang says anger in China over the Malaysia’s government will not stop its plan to send to two pandas over.

He says the animals are to arrive at KLIA on April 15, via MAS Cargo.

The ambassador also blamed Western media over its coverage of the MH370 tragedy, which fanned the emotions of families of Chinese nationals on board, causing their dissatisfaction against the Malaysian government.

Blogger questions Scorpene's SAR absence

5.25pm: A blogger and MP Mohd Ariff Sabri Abd Aziz ( right ) is demanding to know why Malaysia has not sent its two Scorpene submarines to assist the search and recovery operations for Flight MH370.

Mohd Arif also questions what the country has to show after its defence spending shot up from RM13.8 million in 2011 to RM16.1 billion in 2014.

Read full story here .

'Accidents do happen'

5pm: Bernama reports that the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has credited MAS for being "very responsive" to investigations into the disappearance of Flight MH370.

Quoting ICAO air navigation bureau director Nancy Graham, the news agency states, however, that the organisation would have to wait for the outcome of the probe into the plane’s disappearance before considering any possible corrective action to be taken.

"Despite all our good intentions and wonderful safety initiatives, accidents do happen," she is quoted saying from the sidelines of the International Air Transport Association Ops Conference 2014 in Kuala Lumpur.

New cockpit security

4.40pm: Following the MH370 incident, MAS has updated its procedures to boost its cockpit security, reports CNN .

Quoting two unnamed sources, the report claims that the pilot or co-pilot will no longer be allowed to sit alone in the cockpit.

“If one or the other leaves the cockpit, a senior cabin steward must remain inside the cockpit until the pilot or first officer returns,” the report claims, with one source describing it as a positive development.

Checks with a MAS staff, who has requested anonymity, confirms the measures being introduced.

According to Singapore’s Straits Times, The Star had previously reported that Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) is also tightening security, requiring international travellers to remove their shoes, belt, jackets and any electronic devices such as cellphones and laptop computers for separate scanning.

France pledges support

3pm: France assures Malaysia of its continued support and assistant in the form of expertise as the search for missing Fligt MH370 continues, Bernama reports.

It states this was expressed by French Ambassador to Malaysia Martine Dorance when she called on Dewan Rakyat Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia at his office at Parliament House.

Dorance also expressed her understanding of the feelings of Malaysian leaders as France was in a similar predicament during the 2009 Air France 447 tragedy.

Visibility 'favouring' SAR

2.05pm: The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (Amsa) says that the sea conditions are moderating and visibility is favourable for the search effort.

Oceanograpger explains methods

1.50pm: An oceanographer helping to find MH370 explains the methods used in the search in an interview with Chinese state news agency Xinhua .

The Australian government’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Marine and Atmosphere Research (CMAR) centre scientist David Griffin says instead looking all along probable flight path, searchers are taking advantage of the Indian Ocean’s tendency to swirl and form eddies.

“It’s a matter of working along that line a segment at a time and then going with a hypothesis - if it was at this point along that line, what area of ocean needs to be searched?

“By looking at where the eddies are and what we know about their impact on aggregation, we hope to actually find regions within the larger region that are higher priority for searching because of the possibility of aggregation,” he is quoted saying.

However, as time go by, he warns it will be increasingly difficult to trace any wreckage found back to its source - the likely crash site.

Report on Malaysia's mistakes

12.50pm: CNN lists six mistakes Malaysian authorities have made in the course of its handling of the MH370 crisis since the plane went missing. These are:

MH370 diversion from its original flight path went unnoticed on military radar until it was long gone, and only saw it when the recording was reviewed.

Early briefings were chaotic with no clarity as to who was in charge.

Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) director-general Azharuddin Abdul Rahman ( right ) initially describes two passengers that boarded the flight with stolen passports as black but turned out to be Iranian asylum seekers.

MAS initially tells the next-of-kin on those onboard MH370 that there were no survivors, but acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein later says he has not given up hope following backlash from the families.

Authorities initially claim co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid made MH370’s last communication, “Alright, good night,” but this is later revised to “Good night, Malaysian 3-7-0”, while the identity of who made this transmission is still being confirmed .

Search in the south Indian Ocean was in the wrong area for three days, according to Wall Street Journal quoting anonymous sources, due to poor coordination between groups of investigators.

Search efforts to contend with fog, thunderstorms

11.25am: Perth-based Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) says 10 planes and nine ships have been deployed for today's search, spanning 221,000 square kilometres.

"The weather forecast for today's search is for marginal conditions, with areas of broken cloud, sea fog and isolated thunderstorms, reducing visibility," it says in a statement.

LOTR director's jet used in SAR

11.05am - A personal jet belonging to Oscar-winning movie director Peter Jackson ( right ) has been used to facilitate communications between searchers looking for MH370, his spokesperson confirms.

A report in The New Zealand Herald today says the Gulfstream G650 jet's operator had received a charter offer, which it accepted with Jackson's permission.

However, spokesperson Matt Dravitzki refuses to disclose the remuneration and adds the 'Lord of the Rings' director would like to avoid seeking publicity for this.

Many of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority's (Amsa) previous statements had mentioned the jet playing the role of a 'communications relay' but did not mention its owner.

170 questioned, with more to go

10.55am: Inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar says the investigation into MH370 disappearance is now classified as a criminal investigation, according to the Wall Street Journal .

Quoting Malaysia’s police chief, the Wall Street Journal reports that 170 statements have been recorded so far with still more people to be interviewed.

However, Khalid ( left ) says he will not reveal the findings now as it may affect any prosecution process later.

As for MH370 Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah's flight simulator, he is reported saying he is still waiting for experts' report, but findings are thus far inconclusive.