Oscar Pistorius: Prosecution Outlines Case

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.  

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.

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

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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