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Teen Dies After Being Sucked Into Drainpipe

Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 23 Februari 2013 | 16.15

A teenage boy has reportedly died after being sucked down a drainpipe while he was collecting golf balls in floodwaters.

The body of Luke O'Neill, 17, was found by his friend while he was scouring reeds near the exit of the drain at the Kew Country Club in New South Wales, Australia, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

Police said Luke was in waist-deep water scooping golf balls with some friends when he was suddenly dragged into the large drainpipe by the force of the water.

Drainpipe The area has been hit by heavy rain

A 16-year-old, who has not been named, was also pulled into the pipe as he tried to find Luke at the drainpipe entrance.

He travelled under water for the length of the 100m pipe but ended up in a dam at the other end where he was able to escape.

Inspector Kim Fehon, from the Mid North Coast local area command, said: "They were just looking for the golf balls, it was a regular thing they did."

Luke, who was a member of the Camden Haven Bombers AFL club, was described by a member as a very gifted and "wonderful boy".

Committee member Chris Wright said: "He was the type of kid who could turn his hand to anything."

Torrential rain and gales have battered the Mid North Coast region for the second time in a month.


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Microsoft Becomes Latest Victim Of Hackers

Microsoft has become the latest victim of computer hacking following US technology giants Facebook and Apple.

In a blog posting, Microsoft said it had found no evidence that any customer data had been stolen in the cyber attack, which saw malicious software planted on a small number of its computers.

General manager Matt Thomlinson said: "As reported by Facebook and Apple, Microsoft can confirm that we also recently experienced a similar security intrusion.

"During our investigation, we found a small number of computers, including some in our Mac business unit, that were infected by malicious software using techniques similar to those documented by other organisations."

Microsoft  gave few other details about the break-in, except to say that was it similar to a hacking attack that online social networking leader Facebook disclosed last week.

Facebook said malware that infected some of its machines came from a mobile developer website that had been booby-trapped.

A "small number" of computer systems at Apple were infected but they were isolated from the main network and there was no evidence that any data left Apple, the company said.

Online messaging service Twitter also recently disclosed that hackers may have stolen information about 250,000 of its users.


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Pentagon Grounds Fleet Of F-35 Fighter Jets

The Pentagon has grounded the US military's entire fleet of F-35 fighter jets after discovering a cracked engine turbine blade in one plane.

The problem was discovered during what the Pentagon called a routine inspection of an F-35A Lightning II, the US Air Force's version of the new plane.

The US Navy and the US Marine Corps are buying other versions of the F-35, which is intended to replace older fighter jets like the Air Force's F-16 and the Navy and Marine Corps' F/A-18.

All versions - a total of 51 planes - were grounded on Friday pending an investigation.

The Pentagon said it was too early to know the full impact of the newly discovered problem.

It said: "On February 19, 2013, a routine engine inspection revealed a crack on a low pressure turbine blade of an F135 engine installed in a CTOL test aircraft at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

"Engineering teams are shipping the turbine blade to Pratt & Whitney's Engine Facility in Middletown, CT, to conduct a thorough evaluation and root cause analysis.

"It is too early to know the fleet-wide impact of this finding, however as a precautionary measure, all F-35 flight operations have been suspended until the investigation is complete and the cause of the blade crack is fully understood.

"The F-35 Joint Program Office is working closely with Pratt & Whitney and Lockheed Martin at all F-35 locations to assess the integrity of the engine, and to return the fleet safely to flight as soon as possible."

The F-35 is the Pentagon's most expensive weapons programme, with a total estimated cost of nearly $400bn (£262bn).

The Pentagon has planned to buy more than 2,400 F-35s, but some members of Congress are hesitant due to the hefty price tag.

The UK has ordered 48 F-35s to fly off the Royal Navy's new Queen Elizabeth carrier once it is built in 2018. Britain has also invested in the development of the jet.


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Carl Blue Executed: Killer Gets Lethal Injection

Written By Unknown on Jumat, 22 Februari 2013 | 16.15

A man convicted of killing his ex-girlfriend by dousing her with gasoline and setting her on fire has been executed in Texas.

Carl Blue, 48, was convicted of the September 1994 death of Carmen Richards-Sanders, 38, at her apartment in Bryan, about 100 miles northwest of Houston.

Blue also tossed gasoline on a man in the apartment, but he survived and testified against Blue, who claimed the attack was a prank gone wrong.

In his final statements, he greeted the victim's daughter, Terrella Richards, as she entered the death chamber viewing area by telling her he loved her.

"I never meant to hurt your mama," Blue said while strapped to a gurney in the state's death chamber.

"If I could change that, I would. ... I forgive you. I hope you can forgive me."

He also told his parents, watching through another window, that he loved them.

"I did something wrong, and now I'm paying the ultimate justice," he said. "It may be crooked justice but I forgive those people."

"Hang on," he told them. "Cowboy up. I'm fixin' to ride and Jesus is my vehicle."

He took about a dozen breaths as the lethal drug began taking effect, said he could "feel it," then slipped into unconsciousness.

Blue was pronounced dead at 6:56 p.m.

Blue's death was the first execution this year in the nation's most active death penalty state.

Prosecutors said Blue walked seven miles from his home to a convenience store and had been drinking malt liquor and smoking crack.

He bought 50 cents' worth of gasoline which he put in a "Big Gulp" cup.

Court records said he waited outside Richards-Sanders' apartment, then rushed in when she opened the door, telling her: "I told you I was going to get you."

He doused Richards-Sanders and ignited her.

She was trying to start her life over after the couple broke up months earlier," and Carl wasn't part of that, and that was a problem for Carl," Shane Phelps, a prosecutor at Blue's punishment trial, said before the execution.

When Blue discovered Larence Williams at the apartment, he threw what was left of the gasoline on Williams, setting him on fire.

"He had only one true love in his life ... and here she was with another guy," recalled John Quinn, the lead defence attorney at Blue's 1995 trial.

Hours later, Blue turned himself in to police.

"When I went to knock, she snatched the door open and had a cigarette," Blue told police in a tape-recorded statement played at his trial.

"I wasted gas on both of them. And she caught on fire, and he caught on fire, and I took off running ... I was scared, man."

Five years after his conviction, his death sentence was among about a half-dozen in Texas overturned by a federal judge who ruled it was improper for a former state prison psychologist to testify that the black man's race could indicate a propensity for violence.

Blue again was sentenced to die at a second punishment trial in 2001.

At least 11 other prisoners are scheduled for lethal injection in the coming months in Texas, which executed 15 inmates last year.


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Oscar Pistorius: Prosecution's Closing Speech

A judge is today expected to decide on whether to grant bail to Oscar Pistorius, the athlete accused of shooting his girlfriend dead in South Africa.

Prosecutors have argued he is a cold-blooded killer and should be kept locked up, while his own lawyers say that he is far too famous to flee prosecution.

The bail hearing, which began last Friday, resumed this morning.

In a closing statement, the prosecution said Pistorius' version of events was "improbable" and that the level of violence used was "horrific".

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel added that the athlete - who has often cried during proceedings - was feeling sorry for himself, and feared that his career was over.

He also said that Pistorius had decided not to be "tested" by court questioning and chose to submit a written affidavit instead.

Oscar Pistorius Oscar Pistorius claims the death was a tragic mistake

Earlier, his coach Ampie Louw said that if the athlete is granted bail, he will start training again next week.

On Thursday, police were forced to pull their lead detective off the athlete's case after it emerged he himself faces attempted murder charges for shooting at a minibus.

Defence lawyers for Pistorius say the athlete shot dead his girlfriend by a terrible mistake, and deserves bail to prepare for his case.

They say the case has been marred by a bungled police investigation.

The 'blade runner', whose lower legs were amputated in infancy, is said to have killed model Reeva Steenkamp, 29, in the early hours of St Valentine's Day at his home.

Prosecutors have told the court it was a premeditated murder, with Pistorius firing four shots through a locked toilet door at Ms Steenkamp on the other side.

She was hit in the head, arm and hip.

Witnesses said they heard gunshots and screams from the home in a gated community surrounded by three-metre-high stone walls and an electric fence.

Pistorius contends he was acting in self-defence.

He says he mistook Ms Steenkamp for an intruder and felt vulnerable because he was unable to attach his prosthetic limbs in time to confront the threat.

The 26-year-old said he grabbed a 9-mm pistol from under his bed and went into the bathroom.

Pistorius described how he fired into the locked toilet door in a blind panic in the mistaken belief that the intruder was lurking inside.

Bail hearings in South Africa allow for prosecutors and defence lawyers to lay out their basic arguments, based on preliminary evidence.

The arrest of Pistorius stunned millions who watched in awe last year as the Olympic and Paralympic sprinter reached the semi-final of the 400m in the London Olympics.

The impact has been greatest in sports-mad South Africa, where Pistorius was seen as a rare hero who commanded respect from both blacks and whites, transcending the racial divides that persist 19 years after the end of apartheid.


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Oscar Pistorius Arrives For Bail Verdict

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 21 Februari 2013 | 16.15

Pistorius: Prosecution vs Defence

Updated: 2:01pm UK, Tuesday 19 February 2013

Two very different versions of what happened in the moments before Reeva Steenkamp's death have been heard at a bail hearing for Oscar Pistorius.

The athlete has been charged with the premeditated murder of his girlfriend in the early hours of Valentine's Day. He denies murder.

Below are the key arguments from the prosecution, along with Pistorius' account of events as read from his statement in court.

:: The Prosecution

Pistorius fired his gun four times into the door of a bathroom, knowing that Ms Steenkamp was inside after an argument.

She had locked herself in the room after fleeing down a seven-metre passage from the bedroom following the row at Pistorius' luxury home in Pretoria, South Africa.

Pistorius followed her with his 9mm pistol, first putting on his prosthetic legs.

He shot his gun four times through the door, killing an "unarmed and defenceless" woman. The door was then broken open from the outside.

There was "no possible explanation" to support Pistorius' claim of mistaken identity - that he believed the person inside the bathroom was a burglar.

If that were the case, prosecutor Gerrie Nel argued, why wasn't Pistorius' first thought to the whereabouts of his girlfriend?

Mr Nel argued there was a motive for the killing.

:: The Defence

Pistorius had "no intention" of killing his "beloved" Ms Steenkamp and he is "absolutely mortified" by her death.

In the early hours he heard a noise and thought an intruder had come through a bathroom window and was hiding there. He felt vulnerable and shouted for the intruder to get out and for Ms Steenkamp to call police.

It was dark and Pistorius thought Ms Steenkamp was lying on her bed, not that she was in the bathroom. He wanted to protect her.

Pistorius hobbled to the bathroom on his stumps and fired his gun, a 9mm pistol he kept under his bed because he had received death threats.

After the shooting, he returned to his bed and saw that Ms Steenkamp was not there.

He shouted for help, broke open a door with a cricket bat and found her still alive. He carried her downstairs.

He had got up to fetch a fan from the balcony when he heard the noise in the toilet earlier, which is why he did not notice Ms Steenkamp was not on the bed.


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Spurs Fans Attacked By Gang In Lyon Bar

Three Tottenham fans are reported to have been taken to hospital after a group of up to 50 masked thugs attacked a bar on the eve of Spurs' game in Lyon.

Eyewitnesses said the attackers smashed doors and threw cast iron chairs, wooden objects and a flare in to the Smoking Dog pub in Lyon.

Up to 150 Spurs fans were drinking in the bar, popular among ex-pats in the French city, ahead of tonight's Europa League match.

It is the second time that Tottenham fans have been targeted in apparent anti-Semitic attacks in the last three months.

In November, fans of the club, which has a traditionally strong Jewish following, were ambushed inside a pub in Rome on the eve of their game against Lazio.

Inside Smoking Dog Pub In Lyon Damaged caused inside the Smoking Dog pub

Eyewitnesses inside the Smoking Dog said the thugs attacked the bar at 10.18pm on Wednesday night and then returned shortly after to launch another assault on the pub, which was damaged extensively as a result.

The pub's landlord, Dave Eales from Retford, said: "At 10.18 the pub was rammed with Tottenham fans watching the Champions League on the television.

"The front of the pub, which is made up of reinforced glass, was attacked by 20-25 people.

"They threw projectiles through the windows. There was a stand off. They didn't get in to the bar. Then it calmed down. Then they came back a second time and it all started again.

"There were three injured Tottenham fans taken away by ambulance. One of them had a head injury. I'm not sure how bad it was."

Far-right thugs were blamed for the knife attack on Tottenham's supporters in Rome and two eye-witnesses claimed the attack could have had an anti-Semitic motive.

A pub damaged in fight between football fans Scene of the attack on Spurs fans in Rome in November

One, who did not want to be named, said: "There were 50 who attacked in the first wave and 25 in the second.

"It's a pretty scary thing when you're confronted by people doing Nazi salutes."

Spurs fan Christian Radnege, who was in the bar at the time of the attack, said: "They came in making Nazi salutes. It was frightening."

Mr Eales, 42, said he had anticipated trouble may occur and that he had told the Lyon police as much earlier this week.

He added: "The most disappointing thing is that I spoke to the police a couple of days ago about the potential for trouble because of what people associate Tottenham being."

A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: "We are aware of reports of an attack on British nationals in France and are offering consular assistance."

Tottenham said they were aware of reports of the attack.


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Pistorius Cop Faces Attempted Murder Charges

The police officer leading the Oscar Pistorius has been charged with seven counts of attempted murder from 2011.

Hilton Botha and two other officers reportedly opened fire on seven passengers in a taxi mini-bus in an attempt to stop it. It is alleged that the officers, who were on duty at the time, were drunk.

They were arrested after the event in October 2011 and charges were initially dropped but were reinstated by the state prosecutor in the days before the shooting of Reeva Steenkamp.

Prosecutors are understood to be in discussions with police about whether to drop Botha from the investigation, however, police are insisting that no decision has been made.

An earlier report from Eyewitness News had quoted a National Prosecuting Authority spokesman as saying that Botha "cannot continue with this case".

Hilton Botha Hilton Botha arrives at court to give evidence at Pistorius' bail hearing

Botha only discovered the charges against him had been reinstated yesterday. He is set to appear in court in May to face the charges, but police plan to keep him on the Pistorius murder case despite them.

The South African Police Service has confirmed the charges against the detective and launched an investigation which may see Botha suspended.

Spokesman Neville Malila said: "We were only informed yesterday that attempted murders charges against Hilton Botha have been reinstated."

He said that Botha remained on the Pistorius case and that the charges would not hamper Botha's investigation into the circumstances of the Valentine's Day shooting at Pistorius' Silver Lakes home.

It is unclear why the charges against Botha were reinstated. He denies being drunk and  has told a South African news channel that he was chasing suspects.

Pistorius stands in the dock during a break in court proceedings at the Pretoria Magistrates court Oscar Pistorius is due to find out whether he will be granted bail

Medupe Simasiku, the spokesman for National Prosecution Agency, said: "The (Pistorius) prosecutors were not aware of those charges (against Botha)."

Under cross-examination during Pistorius' bail hearing, Botha was accused of contaminating the crime scene in the paralympic star's home and backtracked on key details, including the distance of witnesses from the house.

In his often confused testimony, Botha, who was described as a 24-year police veteran with 16 years as a detective, conceded that police had left a 9 mm slug from the shots that killed Miss Steenkamp inside a toilet at the scene.

Police also lost track of illegal ammunition found inside the house, Botha said, and the detective himself walked through the crime scene without wearing protective shoe covers, potentially contaminating the area.

He also claimed in court that police found boxes of testosterone and needles in multiple Paralympic champion Pistorius' bedroom following the Valentine's Day shooting last week, but then said later he wasn't sure what the exact name of the substance was.

The lead defence counsel Barry Roux accused the police of oversights and mistakes on their initial investigation.


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Oscar Pistorius: Prosecution Outlines Case

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 20 Februari 2013 | 16.15

Pistorius: Prosecution vs Defence

Updated: 2:01pm UK, Tuesday 19 February 2013

Two very different versions of what happened in the moments before Reeva Steenkamp's death have been heard at a bail hearing for Oscar Pistorius.

The athlete has been charged with the premeditated murder of his girlfriend in the early hours of Valentine's Day. He denies murder.

Below are the key arguments from the prosecution, along with Pistorius' account of events as read from his statement in court.

:: The Prosecution

Pistorius fired his gun four times into the door of a bathroom, knowing that Ms Steenkamp was inside after an argument.

She had locked herself in the room after fleeing down a seven-metre passage from the bedroom following the row at Pistorius' luxury home in Pretoria, South Africa.

Pistorius followed her with his 9mm pistol, first putting on his prosthetic legs.

He shot his gun four times through the door, killing an "unarmed and defenceless" woman. The door was then broken open from the outside.

There was "no possible explanation" to support Pistorius' claim of mistaken identity - that he believed the person inside the bathroom was a burglar.

If that were the case, prosecutor Gerrie Nel argued, why wasn't Pistorius' first thought to the whereabouts of his girlfriend?

Mr Nel argued there was a motive for the killing.

:: The Defence

Pistorius had "no intention" of killing his "beloved" Ms Steenkamp and he is "absolutely mortified" by her death.

In the early hours he heard a noise and thought an intruder had come through a bathroom window and was hiding there. He felt vulnerable and shouted for the intruder to get out and for Ms Steenkamp to call police.

It was dark and Pistorius thought Ms Steenkamp was lying on her bed, not that she was in the bathroom. He wanted to protect her.

Pistorius hobbled to the bathroom on his stumps and fired his gun, a 9mm pistol he kept under his bed because he had received death threats.

After the shooting, he returned to his bed and saw that Ms Steenkamp was not there.

He shouted for help, broke open a door with a cricket bat and found her still alive. He carried her downstairs.

He had got up to fetch a fan from the balcony when he heard the noise in the toilet earlier, which is why he did not notice Ms Steenkamp was not on the bed.


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Sony PlayStation 4 Launch To 'Reveal Future'

The hotly-anticipated PlayStation 4 is expected to be unveiled later.

Sony is holding an event in New York, during which it has promised to reveal "the future".

But the console manufacturer has refused to confirm widespread rumours that the latest version of its PlayStation will be launched.

However previous events have been used to premiere new hardware like the current PlayStation and the Vita hand-held console.

Recent photographs leaked online appear to show a prototype controller with a touchpad alongside the classic DualShock-style controls.

The unveiling will excite millions of video game fans across the world and add fuel to the on-going battle between Sony, Xbox 360 manufacturers Microsoft and Nintendo, the makers of the Wii system.

Since the first PlayStation console launched in December 1994, Sony has sold more than 310 million home consoles worldwide and 2.9 billion games.

Microsoft is also tipped to reveal details of its next generation console in the coming months.

Larry Hryb, Xbox's director of programming, recently fuelled speculation by posting a countdown to June's E3 games show on his blog.

Today's event in New York is being seen by many as an attempt by Sony to steal a march on its fierce competitor.

Last time around it was beaten to the market by Microsoft, with the Xbox 360 coming out in November 2005 - a year before the PlayStation 3.

Console sales in the UK were down by a third last year, but games industry body UKIE has suggested the dip may be partly due to shoppers saving their money for next generation machines.


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Bulgarian Government Resigns Amid Protests

The Bulgarian premier and his whole government is resigning from office after nationwide protests against austerity.

Prime Minister Boiko Borisov had tried to calm protests against high electricity prices by sacking his finance minister, pledging to cut power prices and punish foreign-owned companies but the measures failed to defuse discontent.

Twenty-five people were taken to hospital after protesters clashed with police in the capital Sofia late on Tuesday while tens of thousands hit the streets over the weekend.

Many Bulgarians are also unhappy over power monopolies, low living standards and corruption in the European Union's poorest country.

"I will not participate in a government under which police are beating people," said Mr Borisov who will hand in his resignation after a regular Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

"We have dignity and honour. It is the people who put us in power and we give it back to them today," the prime minister told parliament, adding that he would not participate in an interim government.

The premier did not say if a parliamentary election scheduled for July would now be brought forward.


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Oscar Pistorius: Grief of Girlfriend's Mother

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 19 Februari 2013 | 16.15

The mother of Reeva Steenkamp, who was allegedly murdered by boyfriend Oscar Pistorius, has asked: "Why my little girl?"

Speaking out for the first time about the death of her 29-year-old daughter, June Steenkamp told the Times of South Africa: "She had so much of herself to give and now all that is gone - just like that, she is gone.

"In the blink of an eye and a single breath, the most beautiful person who ever lived is no longer here.

"All we have is this horrendous death to deal with ... to get to grips with.

"All we want are answers ... answers as to why this had to happen, why our beautiful daughter had to die like this."

She said: "Why my little girl? Why did this happen? Why did he do this?"

Gold medal-winning Paralympian Pistorius was arrested and charged last Thursday with the premeditated murder of Miss Steenkamp, a model who he had been dating since November.

The Feather Awards Oscar Pistorius had been dating Reeva Steenkamp since November

Miss Steenkamp's father Barry said on Sunday he did not hate Pistorius following his arrest.

More than 100 people are expected to attend an hour-long memorial service for the law graduate on Tuesday.

She will be cremated in her home town of Port Elizabeth, in a private ceremony for family and friends.

Well-wishers have already begun placing bouquets of flowers outside the family home.

Thousands of people saw her appear in a TV programme on Saturday night after her family said they wanted the broadcast to go ahead.

There had been controversy over the airing of Tropika Island of Treasure as Miss Steenkamp talked about how making the right 'exit' was important.

The broadcast went ahead after the programme makers said they had been told that the family wanted it to be shown.

Her uncle Mike Steenkamp said the family had been overwhelmed with offers of help.

Police have said Miss Steenkamp was shot four times in the early hours of Thursday by a pistol owned by Pistorius and died of her wounds at the scene.

His family has insisted that the evidence will refute "any possibility of a premeditated murder or indeed any murder at all".

Pistorius, 26, who broke down sobbing in his first court appearance on Friday, has built up a powerful team of lawyers, medical specialists and public relations experts for his defence.

Stuart Higgins, a former editor of The Sun newspaper, whose lengthy list of clients includes British Airways, Chelsea FC and Manchester United football club, will be handling Pistorius' public relations.


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South Africa: Shooting At Anglo American Mine

At least 13 workers have been wounded by machetes and rubber bullets in the latest wave of violence to hit a South African mine.

Police said the attacks at the Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) site in Rustenburg were provoked by a dispute between two rival unions.

The news agency Reuters said around 1,000 members of the Association for Mineworkers and Construction Union gathered at the mine, about 70 miles northwest of Johannesburg, after four people believed to belong to the National Union of Mineworkers tried to occupy an office.

Security guards at the mine used rubber bullets to disperse the rival groups.

Crowd of miners wave machetes Machetes were seen during separate disputes in the country in 2012

A police spokesman said the 13 injured workers were admitted to hospital.

Anglo American, which owns the mine and is listed on the London Stock Exchange, saw a 2.75% fall in its share price on the FTSE 100 when news of the trouble emerged.

The violence follows a two-month illegal strike at the same site last autumn, when police fired rubber bullets, tear gas and stun grenades to separate groups of workers.

The continuing dispute is related to anger over Amplats' plans to lay off an additional 14,000 workers amid poor company results which showed a loss of $225m (£143m) for 2012.

It is among several mining companies in South Africa grappling with higher expenses amid the worst industrial action the country has seen for decades.


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Oscar Pistorius 'Put On Legs To Kill Partner'

Prosecutors claim Oscar Pistorius put on his prosthetic legs and walked seven metres before firing through a bathroom door.

During the bail hearing, prosecutor Gerrie Nel argued he fired four shots at unarmed Reeva Steenkamp through a locked door, showing it was a premeditated murder. He added there was "a motive to kill".

The 29-year-old died from "three shots" last Thursday at Pistorius' home in South Africa. Hundreds are expected to attend her funeral in Port Elizabeth this morning.

Meanwhile the athlete's defence lawyer said there was no evidence of premeditation, insisting he did not know it was Ms Steenkamp in the bathroom. He said her death was "not murder".

Pistorius broke down in tears during the hearing which will determine whether he should get bail.

Sky's Alex Crawford said his "face was creased in pain" and he was "weeping" as he was formally charged with murder.

The prosecutor said he "killed an innocent woman".

For the first time, Pistorius is expected to explain how his girlfriend died during the hearing.

Crawford said his defence team will detail why he should be given bail, arguing that he is not a danger to society or himself and is not going to abscond.

More follows...


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British Worker Feared Kidnapped In Nigeria

Written By Unknown on Senin, 18 Februari 2013 | 16.15

Gunmen in northern Nigeria have kidnapped a group of foreign workers including one Briton, according to local authorities there.

The group attacked a construction company camp, killing a guard and then abducting seven foreigners, police said.

"From the report we have received, the hostages are seven in all. They include four Lebanese, an Italian, a Briton and a Greek," Bauchi state police spokesman Hassan Auyo said.

This would make it the biggest kidnapping yet in a region that is under attack from Islamic extremists.

Greece, Lebanon and Italy have all said their citizens are involved. However, Britain's Foreign Office has not confirmed if a Briton is among them.

The kidnapping on Saturday night happened in Jama'are, a town in a rural portion of Bauchi state.

The gunmen attacked a local prison first, burning two police trucks, another Bauchi state police spokesman, Hassan Muhammed told the Associated Press.

Then they targeted a workers' camp for a construction company called Setraco, which is in the area building a road, Mr Muhammed said.

The gunmen shot dead a guard at the camp before kidnapping the foreign workers, he added.

A spokesman for the Foreign Office in Britain said: "We are aware of the reports and are making inquiries with local authorities."

Nigeria's predominantly Muslim north has been under attack by the radical Islamic sect known as Boko Haram in the last year and a half.

The country's weak central government has been unable to stop the group's bloody guerrilla campaign of shootings and bombings.

The sect is blamed for killing at least 729 people in 2012 alone, according to an AP count.

Foreigners have been frequently abducted by militant groups and criminal gangs for ransom in Nigeria's oil-rich southern delta and have become increasingly targeted in Nigeria's north as the violence has grown.

Sky News Special Correspondent Alex Crawford said: "Nigeria, particularly the north of Nigeria, has got a big problem. It's the scourge of the country and has been for many years now.

"Local Islamist groups called Boko Haram have been largely responsible for carrying out the kidnappings.

"This is one of the militant groups who have operating inside Mali. They are one of five extremist groups who are believed to have been running operations inside Mali and around the Sahel."

Gunmen who authorities say have links to Boko Haram also kidnapped an Italian and a British man last year in northern Kebbi State.

They were later killed during a rescue operation by Nigerian soldiers backed up by British special forces. The sect later denied taking part in that abduction.

Chinese construction workers have also been killed by gunmen around Maiduguri, the northeastern city in Nigeria where Boko Haram first began.

Setraco Nigeria, a construction and civil engineering company, is a subsidiary of Setraco International Holding group.

The Nigerian company, which was established in 1977, is currently working on expanding a major road in the north of the country.


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Breastfeeding Could Save 95 Babies Every Hour

The lives of 95 babies could be saved every hour if mothers started breastfeeding their newborns in the hour after their birth, a charity has said.

Receiving a mother's first milk within an hour will kickstart the child's immune system, making a newborn three times more likely to survive, according to a report by Save the Children.

If the mother continues feeding for the next six months, then a child growing up in the developing world is up to 15 times less likely to die from killer diseases such as pneumonia and diarrhoea, the report said.

According to the charity, there has been enormous progress in reducing child mortality, but more could be done if mothers were encouraged to breastfeed.

"Despite the benefits of breastfeeding being widely known in the developed world, and it being a free, natural way to protect a newborn baby, too little attention is being paid to help mums breastfeed in poorer countries," said Justin Forsyth, Save the Children's chief executive.

"If every baby was fed during the first hour of life – what we call the 'power hour' - we estimate that up to 830,000 newborn deaths could be prevented every year - that's 95 babies every hour."

Breastfeeding rates are declining across East Asia and in some of Africa's most populous countries such as Ethiopia and Nigeria, according to the report, called Superfood For Babies.

Isla Fisher Australian actress Isla Fisher is an ambassador for Save the Children

The charity cites as factors a lack of empowerment and education for women, severe shortages of midwives and health workers in the developing world, and lack of adequate maternity legislation.

It also cites "inappropriate" marketing techniques by some baby milk substitute companies leading mothers to believe formula is the best way to feed their babies.

Save the Children's new ambassador, actress Isla Fisher, recently visited Brazil as part of the organisation's campaign.

The charity is calling on the UK Government to use its G8 presidency to fund nutrition work with breastfeeding and on other donor countries to step up their funding.

"This year's G8 - with the UK in the driving seat - is a once in a lifetime opportunity to focus effort on a final push to end hunger," said Mr Forsyth.


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Mindy McCready Dies In Apparent Suicide

Mindy McCready, who hit the top of the country charts before personal problems sidetracked her career, has died in an apparent suicide.

The 37-year-old was found dead on the front porch of her home in Heber Springs, Arkansas, on Sunday from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot to the head, authorities said.

McCready's longtime boyfriend David Wilson, the father of one of her two sons, died last month. 

He was believed to have shot himself on the same porch of their home, and his death was also investigated as a suicide.

McCready, whose list of problems only continued to grow in 2013, had attempted suicide in the past.

The singer entered court-ordered rehab earlier this month after her father told a judge she was no longer taking care of herself or her children and was abusing drugs and alcohol.

Her sons were put in foster care at the time, but it was not clear where Zander, 6, and 10-month-old Zayne were when McCready died.

The death of Wilson, a record producer, had hit  McCready hard.  

Mindy McCready McCready had her first hit in 1996

In interviews, she called him her soul mate and a caregiver to her sons, saying she had never gone through anything as painful as his death.

"I just keep telling myself that the more suffering that I go through, the greater character I'll have," she said in interview with NBC.

News of McCready's death spread quickly on Twitter, with major country stars paying their respects to the onetime Nashville darling.

"Too much tragedy to overcome. R.I.P Mindy McCready," wrote Natalie Maines of The Dixie Chicks.

Melinda Gayle McCready arrived in Nashville in 1994 still in her teens with tapes of her karaoke vocals and earned a recording contract with BNA Records.

In 1996, her Guys Do It All the Time hit No 1 and its dig at male chauvinism endeared her to females.

Her other hits included Ten Thousand Angels, also in 1996, and her album by that title sold 2m copies.

She spent the next 15 years chasing another hit as personal problems began plaguing her.

Her problems included a custody battle with her mother over one of her sons, an overdose and discord in her love life.

McCready took her older son, Zander, from her mother and the boy's legal guardian, Gayle Inge, in late 2011.

She fled to Arkansas without permission over what she called child abuse fears.

Authorities eventually found McCready hiding in a residence without permission and took the boy into custody.

She and Wilson had a son, Zayne, in April 2012. The older son's father is McCready's former boyfriend Billy McKnight.

Actor Dean Cain and Mindy McCready The singer once dated actor Dean Cain

In May 2010, she was put in hospital briefly after police responded to an overdose call at a home in North Fort Myers, Florida, owned by her mother.

This followed a stint on Celebrity Rehab With Dr Drew, where she declared herself to be clean from drugs. She is the fifth celebrity appearing on that show to have died.

But her troubles began earlier. In 2004, she was charged with obtaining the painkiller Oxycontin fraudulently at a pharmacy. She pleaded guilty and was placed on three years' probation.

She violated the probation with a drunken driving arrest in May 2005.

A few days after that arrest, she had a physical fight with McKnight and he was charged with attempted criminal homicide.

The charge was later downgraded to misdemeanour assault after McCready changed her story and he spent 30 days in jail.

Then she attempted suicide in July 2005, overdosed in September 2005 - while pregnant with Zander - and slit her wrists in December 2008.

Also that year, McCready was charged in Arizona with hindering prosecution and unlawful use of transportation.

Those charges stemmed from an alleged attempt in June 2005 to purchase two high performance boats, but she claimed she was trying to stop a con man.

In July 2007, she was arrested in her home town of Fort Myers, Florida, on misdemeanour charges of scratching her mother on the face during a scuffle and resisting sheriff's deputies.

In June 2008, McCready was arrested and charged with violating her probation by falsifying her community service records relating to the 2004 drug charge.

A month later, she entered an extended care facility for undisclosed treatment, and followed that with a 60-day jail sentence.

In early 2010 she hoped to get her career restarted, write a book about her experiences and begin production on a reality show. She felt she'd finally gained some control over her life.

"It is a giant whirlwind of chaos all the time," she said.

"I call my life a beautiful mess and organised chaos.

"It's just always been like that. My entire life things have been attracted to me and vice versa that turn into chaotic nightmares or I create the chaos myself.

"I think that's really the life of a celebrity, of a big, huge, giant personality."


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Pakistan: Dozens Killed In Market Bomb Blast

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 17 Februari 2013 | 16.15

A bomb blast has ripped through a crowded market in southern Pakistan, killing at least 64 people and wounding 180 others.

The blast left many victims buried under rubble. Police said many of those wounded in the explosion in Quetta remain in critical condition.

Senior police officer Wazir Khan Nasir said the bomb, set off in a residential suburb, was detonated by remote control.

Another officer, Samiullah Khan, said police were investigating whether the bomb was planted in a rickshaw parked in the crowded vegetable market.

He said the device was detonated while dozens of women and children were shopping.

Local residents rushed the victims to three different area hospitals.

The attack was the deadliest since bomb blasts in the same city killed 86 people in January and led to protests that eventually toppled the local government.

Shiites, a minority in the Sunni Muslim-dominated country, have been increasingly attacked by militant groups who view them as heretics and non-Muslims.

Most of the Shiites in the area are Hazaras, an ethnic group who migrated from Afghanistan over 100 years ago.

In recent years the Shiites have come under renewed attack, mostly at the hands of Laskher-e-Jhangvi, a Sunni militant group.

"This evil force is operating with the patronage of certain elements in the province," said Qayum Changezi, the chairman of a local Hazara organization.

After days of protests following the January attack, Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf flew to the city to meet with protesters and sacked the chief minister and his cabinet.


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Brit Backpacker: I Feel Lucky To Be Alive

A British backpacker missing in the scorching Australian outback for three days has told of how he did everything he could to survive - including drink his own urine and contact lens solution.

Sam Woodhead, 18, became lost after he set out for a jog from the remote Queensland cattle station where he had worked for less than two weeks.

But the chance discovery of packets of lenses in his rucksack - put there by his father, Peter - helped to keep him going for 72 hours in blistering temperatures of around 40C (104F).

Sam Woodhead was a keen long distance runner

The former Brighton College student, from Richmond upon Thames, London, also used his rugby shorts and other items of clothing to create an SOS sign that led to his rescue.

He was found about three miles away from the ranch by rescuers in a helicopter. He had lost two stones in weight and was just hours from death.

He told Sky News: "I feel very fortunate to be alive and to be standing here.

"I know that so many people helped out ... and I genuinely believe that if it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here today.

"It was a really amazing feeling to be actually picked up and realise that I was actually going to make it through ... and it wasn't going to be the end."

His mother, Claire Derry, has visited him in hospital in Longreach, about 50 miles away from where he was discovered. She said he had lost weight and his kidneys were not working properly due to dehydration.

Sam Woodhead Mr Woodhead with his mother and sister Rebacca before the ordeal

She said: "His birth was one of the best moments of my life, and this is pretty close to it, getting him back again, because I was pretty convinced it was touch and go. I did an awful lot of praying during that flight.

"He looks fantastic, he's suntanned, his mouth isn't blistered, he looks great, he's thinner and questionably a lot thinner than when I last saw him.

"The only concern is that his kidneys are not quite functioning normally and his blood's not normal. But that, the doctor says, is completely typical of somebody who's been completely dehydrated."

Ms Derry added: "He  tried to drink his own urine. He said he'd run out of the contact lens fluid and the contact lens capsules said they were 69% water. But they'd all gone so the urine had become very, very concentrated.

"So he said he couldn't stomach it, so he had nothing, he had nothing to keep him going, by the time the helicopter crew got to him."

She told Sky News: "Sam is an amazingly cool guy and he said 'hi mum' and I said 'Sam I didn't think I would be holding you in my arms again frankly'.

British backpacker Sam Woodhead Mr Woodhead is helped by medical personnel after his helicopter rescue

"But he didn't cry and didn't show very much emotion at all. He just said I'm really happy to see you."

Mr Woodhead, who is set on joining the Armed Forces and is a keen long distance runner, is expected to leave hospital on Sunday.

Mike Curtin from Queensland State Police said: "He was quite disorientated but, you know, his body seemed to bounce back fairly quickly once he knew that obviously he was located and so forth and he was quite happy of the fact that someone had found him."

Mr Curtin warned of the harsh Australian climate and called on young people to be careful when travelling or working in the remote Australian Outback.

He said: "It's one of those things and I think there's a lesson to be learned here from any of these young fellows who do take, or young boys and girls, who take jobs in areas like this isolated part of the state, to be careful, to be safe, and prepare.

"And never take the harshest Australian environment and our climatic conditions here for granted."


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Syria: The Growing Power Of Jihadist Groups

By Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondent

The number of Jihadist groups flooding into Syria two years after the start of the uprising is threatening to eclipse the power of mainstream opposition groups as well as the authority of the Free Syrian Army.

One of the increasingly influential groups, Jabah al Haq (The Front for Justice), told Sky News that Jihad is spreading across North Africa and the Middle East and will not stop at Syria but will include Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and even Israel.

The frontline in the Battle for Aleppo is constantly changing. You know when you are there; the people disappear.

In these parts of the city only fighters are on the streets, in battered buildings and destroyed alleyways.

There is nothing left anymore. It is a frightening kill-zone. The sounds of rockets crunching into buildings, the whistle of high velocity rounds passing a few feet above your head, the scream of men shot by snipers never stops, or if it does, it is not for long.

The fighters on the rebel side are made up of a mish-mash of defected soldiers, the Free Syrian Army and a growing number of Jihadists; some are from Syria many are from abroad.

Jabah al Haq men took us to their front weaving their truck passed blown up cars, and homes; passed streets with huge tarpaulin sheets strung across to give protection from government snipers.

Jabah al Haq jihadist fighters Jabah al Haq jihadist fighters insist Jihad will not stop at Syria

They were worried about us filming their positions and arguments caused by our presence rumbled on for the whole time we were there.

Abu Obaeda, a former soldier with a sniper rifle hung over his back, described the front as 'cold' with little real fighting. But even as he spoke machine gun fire drowned him out. A man was hit and his comrades were organising a truck to speed him away while attacking the government forces.

When I asked how far away they were he laughed.

"In which direction?" he said. "They are 25 metres in front and 20 metres on either side. We can only go back; but we wont," he added.

They wouldn't say how many men they had but said they were fighting 200 government soldiers supported by as many government militia, the Shabiha.

The chaos of the front lines is now reflected in the make up of the groups doing the fighting.

Sheik Abu al Homan. Sheik al Homan: 'The West should learn their lesson and not fight Muslims'

Jabah al Haq is led by a charismatic young cleric called Sheik Abu al Homan.

I was taken to a secret location where a school was being used as a court to adjudicate on the many problems caused by the war raging across the city.

It is a strict Sharia court and he is advised by clerics and lawyers. That said, his word is law.

He was quiet and pleasant and his organisation is doing what every Jihad organisation from the Taliban to Hamas and al Qaeda has done: they are providing law and order and they are feeding and providing medicine for the people.

It works every time.

Locals tell us that the Free Syrian Army, who largely live amongst the populace, are becoming a problem. They lack discipline, they take things and of course they attract government fire.

Jihad groups live together. They are religious and they fight hard against the government not the people.

There is a takeover happening as every commander I have met in covering all of this revolution from the start has always predicted.

Jabah al Haq jihadist fighters Abu Obaeda and his men refuse to retreat from the front line

If the Syrian revolution were not ended quickly then it would become a Jihadist nightmare for the whole region. It has.

Sheik Homan is not just fighting for Aleppo, or Syria but predicts a greater Jihad is underway from North Africa to the Middle East.

"I am very surprised at France's reaction in Mali. They have seen what happened to the US in Afghanistan and Iraq," he told me.

"The West should learn their lesson and not fight Muslims. The war in Afghanistan and Iraq has led to an increase in resistance to the west.

"So you see all the Jihadists waiting to come here because of its value to Muslims," he said.

Indeed the foreigners are coming. I have seen a steady increase from Libya, Egypt, Yemen and Algeria. Even the Free Syrian Army accepts that like it or not the Jihadists will play a future role in the make up of post-Assad Syria.

"The Jihadists arrived after we were let down by the UN Security Council," Hajji Marea, the FSA's leader in Aleppo, told me in an underground bunker.

He shrugs his shoulders.

"The UN let the government kill innocent people. It is a disgrace. The Jihadists saw what was happening and came and now they are here."


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