Pretoria – Oscar Pistorius wants a court to allow him to drink alcohol if he wants and maybe even visit the sunny shores of Mozambique before his trial starts.

The Olympic and Paralympic star is charged with his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp’s murder.

Less than a month after he paid R1 million bail money and was allowed to go home, Pistorius now wants more freedom.

Since his release Oscar, 26, has stayed behind closed doors at his uncle Arnold Pistorius’ home in Pretoria.

He had to hand over all his firearms and agree to not leave the country or drink any alcohol.

Speaking through his personal assistant, Arnold said being stuck at home is one of the first bail conditions Oscar wants changed.

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Johannesburg – Little Nonhlanhla’s fingertips fell off her small hand one by one. It started with the thumb, then the ring finger, followed by the middle finger. The pinky and the index fingertips fell off last.

The girl’s mother, Precious Mjikwa, recalls how, a week after she took her newborn twins home, she felt a fingertip fall into her jacket and onto her chest.

“I was holding her, and when I looked down, my chest had some blood on it. I pulled it out and saw it was one of Nonhlanhla’s fingers. A fingertip would fall off every other day,” she said.

Mjikwa keeps her baby’s five charred-looking fingertips in a brown paper bag and cries every time she looks at them.

For more details go to http://www.iol.co.za

A rampant start to the second half gave Banyana Banyana their first victory at the Cyprus Cup as they beat Northern Ireland 2-1 at the Tasos Markou stadium in Paralimni on Monday afternoon.

After a slow start and a rather dull first half, it was the two second half substitutions made by coach Joseph Mkhonza that livened things up. The two sides came into the match having not scored nor registered a point in their opening two Group C encounters in the tournament but that was to change.

Shortly after resumption, Mkhonza brought in Gloria Thato and Robyn Moodaly to operate on the wings, and it was their superb work on the flanks that made the telling changes, resulting in strikers Jermaine Seoposenwe and Andisiwe Mgcoyi manufacture the much-needed victory for the African silver medallists. Moodaly and Seoposenwe, the two talented youngsters promoted from Basetsana, scored the two goals within a space of five minutes.

First, Thato linked well with Mgcoyi on the left wing and the tall striker controlled the ball with her right foot and whipped in a delightful cross which was brilliantly volleyed into the back of the net by Moodaly.

Shortly after that opener, Banyana got the second goal. Thato’s neat interchange with Nothando Vilakazi saw the later cross from the left wing for Seoposenwe to easily slot the ball home at the near post to make it 2-0 for Banyana.

As was the case with their defeat to Republic of Ireland last Friday, Banyana Banyana again dominated the contest for most parts of the match and should have added a couple more goals had the outstanding destroyer Refiloe Jane and debutant Shiwe Nogwaya been more accurate in front of goals towards the end of the match.

“We may have won but it was not an easy outing. The substitutions made us change our system, which completely caught the opponents off guard. But overall, we are thrilled with the result and being able to finally find the target in Cyprus,” said Jane, Banyana Banyana’s vice captain after the match.

The central defensive pair of Lebogang Mabatle and Janine van Wyk defended with aplomb but despite their heroics, they could not prevent Northern Ireland’s Lynda Sheperd from scoring the consolation goal. The striker flicked the ball home from a free kick to make the final score 2-1.

The 2012 African Women championship runners up will play Northern Ireland again on Wednesday morning (11h00) to determine places for the 11th and 12th spot.

Ninehealth facilities across the province have been equipped with Gene Xpert machines, new technology that helps with quick diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB).

The nine hospitals are Mahikeng, Ganyesa, Tshepong, Job Shimankane Tabane, Nic Bodenstein, Taung, Joe Morolong and Potchefstroom.

The Gene Xpert machine is a new technology used to test for TB and it can detect if a person is infected with the disease within two hours.

It can also detect if the TB bacterium of the person has resistance to one of the common TB drugs and is expected to go a long way in fighting the disease in the province.

Provincial health department spokesperson, Tebogo Lekgethwane, said the Gene Xpert had already been tested in facilities in the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in 2010.

“This is a great development in the fight against TB as the technological development now makes it possible for quick results turnaround, meaning patients who come out positive can be immediately put on treatment.

“With the use of new technology more people are now being diagnosed with TB,” he said.

Between 2009 and 2011, North West province recorded 300 to 380 cases of Extreme Drug Resistance (XDR) TB, a strain of the disease that is most difficult to cure.

Lekgethwane said the new cases far exceeded bed capacity of 76 beds at Klerksdorp Tshepong Hospital Complex’s multi-drug resistant (MDR) TB Unit but the new technology would help mitigate on this challenge.

“The department readies itself to roll-out the implementation of the Gene Xpert in all hospitals.

“There are also efforts to decentralise the MDR TB treatment to other hospitals. Taung, Gelukspan and Koster hospitals were identified to offer MDR TB services and Taung has already registered noteworthy achievements after two patients were certified to have been completely cured from MDR TB,” Lekgethwane said.

He added that the province had about 96 MDR in-patients with 20 being attended to at the Taung hospital.

“MDR cure rate in the province currently stands at 55%. Three primary healthcare facilities have been identified in Moretele, Madibeng and Maquassi Hills sub districts in Bojanala and Dr Kenneth Kaunda districts respectively for community MDR decentralisation.

For more details go to http://www.thenewage.co.za

The murder trial of a 16-year-old boy accused of killing a Griquatown family was scheduled to continue in the Northern Cape High Court on Tuesday.

The youth is accused of murdering Deon Steenkamp, 44, his wife Christelle, 43, and daughter Marthella, 14.

On Monday, the boy pleaded not guilty to all three murder charges.

He also pleaded not guilty to a charge of rape and another of defeating the ends of justice.

Also on Monday, the court was shown images of the victims for the first time.

One photo showed a man lying on his stomach, wearing a blue shirt with the words “South Africa” on the back. There was a blood smear on the floor next to him.

Another photo showed a woman in a neon green top and blue shorts lying on her side. It was not clear whether it was the mother or her daughter.

Magazines were also seen scattered across the floor beside a small coffee table.

The images were shown as part of crime scene expert Colonel Sietze Alberts’ testimony. – Sapa

Johannesburg – The bail application of nine police officers accused of killing Daveyton taxi driver Mido Macia is expected to continue in the Benoni Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.

The officers face charges of murder for allegedly handcuffing Macia to the back of a police van and dragging him along the street in Daveyton last month.

On Monday, prosecutor December Mthimunye said an autopsy found Macia had extensive internal and external injuries, and had died as a result of hypoxia.

The autopsy revealed Macia had extensive haemorrhaging in his right lung and in the tissue surrounding his heart.

Macia was found dead in the local police station’s holding cells several hours later.

The State claims it has a “watertight case” against the officers.

Magistrate Sam Makamu said proceedings would resume at 8.30am on Tuesday. – Sapa