Johannesburg – The murder trial of Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius adjourned in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Thursday.

Judge Thokozile Masipa granted the request by prosecutor Gerrie Nel to allow him time to consult a State psychiatrist.

Nel had not concluded his cross-examination of sports and exercise medicine professor at the University of Cape Town, Wayne Derman.

Nel accused Derman of bias and adapting his facts to fit what happened on the night of 14 February 2013, when Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in his home.

Derman was asked about what Pistorius did after hearing the initial sound which startled him and alerted him to potential fear in his bedroom.

Pistorius has claimed he was woken in the early hours of 14 February by the sound of his bathroom window sliding open.

“Walking down the passage, even in fight mode, with gun in hand his intention was to shoot. You agree?” Nel asked.

“That is correct,” Derman said.

“The clear intention was to shoot if he came across someone,” Nel said.

“I suppose if he came across someone he would shoot,” Derman said.

Derman was asked what effect the second noise, of the toilet door closing, had on the athlete.

“He had a second startle. I cannot recall what that led him to do. I think he turned towards the door, but I cannot recall. I would have to read the record… He was looking between the window and the door,” Derman said.

Nel again accused him of wanting to fit certain facts into the recorded version of what happened that night.

“Isn’t it, sir, that you are trying to fit the facts you can remember into the startles? You want to fit the facts into your version,” Nel said.

Derman said a third noise, which stimulated the third startle response, culminated in the shooting.

Nel put it to Derman that Pistorius wanted to kill the person who made that sound inside the toilet.

“He fired at the sound, I’m sure it was to nullify the threat,” he told the court.

Pistorius faces a murder charge. He claims he shot Steenkamp by accident through the locked door of his toilet in his Pretoria home, thinking she was an intruder about to emerge and attack him.

The State argues he killed her during an argument.

SAPA

Johannesburg – The murder trial of Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius adjourned in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Thursday.

Judge Thokozile Masipa granted the request by prosecutor Gerrie Nel to allow him time to consult a State psychiatrist.

Nel had not concluded his cross-examination of sports and exercise medicine professor at the University of Cape Town, Wayne Derman.

Nel accused Derman of bias and adapting his facts to fit what happened on the night of 14 February 2013, when Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in his home.

Derman was asked about what Pistorius did after hearing the initial sound which startled him and alerted him to potential fear in his bedroom.

Pistorius has claimed he was woken in the early hours of 14 February by the sound of his bathroom window sliding open.

“Walking down the passage, even in fight mode, with gun in hand his intention was to shoot. You agree?” Nel asked.

“That is correct,” Derman said.

“The clear intention was to shoot if he came across someone,” Nel said.

“I suppose if he came across someone he would shoot,” Derman said.

Derman was asked what effect the second noise, of the toilet door closing, had on the athlete.

“He had a second startle. I cannot recall what that led him to do. I think he turned towards the door, but I cannot recall. I would have to read the record… He was looking between the window and the door,” Derman said.

Nel again accused him of wanting to fit certain facts into the recorded version of what happened that night.

“Isn’t it, sir, that you are trying to fit the facts you can remember into the startles? You want to fit the facts into your version,” Nel said.

Derman said a third noise, which stimulated the third startle response, culminated in the shooting.

Nel put it to Derman that Pistorius wanted to kill the person who made that sound inside the toilet.

“He fired at the sound, I’m sure it was to nullify the threat,” he told the court.

Pistorius faces a murder charge. He claims he shot Steenkamp by accident through the locked door of his toilet in his Pretoria home, thinking she was an intruder about to emerge and attack him.

The State argues he killed her during an argument.

SAPA

Johannesburg – Government has not budgeted enough money to deal with the expected number of new land claims, the Alliance for Rural Democracy (ARD) said on Thursday.

The organisation was concerned that if land claims continued to be settled at the current rate, it would take 121 years to settle them.

“The budget for land restitution over the next year… R2.6bn, is lower now than it has been since 2009/10 in nominal terms, and since 2004/5 [adjusted for inflation],” it said in a statement.

According to the ARD, government had a backlog of at least 30 000 claims from the 1994 to 1998 lodgement period.

“This is in the context of government estimating that 379 000 new claims will be lodged over the next five years. There are still no assurances that enough money has been budgeted for this mushrooming of claims expected to occur from July [2014].”

The ARD called on government to prioritise unresolved claims before taking on new ones.

President Jacob Zuma signed the Restitution of Land Rights Amendment Bill into law on Monday.

The legislation re-opened the restitution claims process that closed at the end of 1998 and gave claimants five years, to 30 June 2019, to lodge land claims.

Only about 80 000 land restitution claims were lodged by the 1998 deadline.

It was estimated there were up to five times as many valid cases that could have been brought by victims of apartheid-era forced removals.

The legislation also regulates the appointment and service conditions of Land Claims Court judges.

SAPA

Johannesburg – Twenty-three initiates have died since the start of the winter initiation season because of botched circumcisions and 104 others have been admitted to hospitals for related injuries, Deputy Traditional Affairs Minister Obed Bapela said on Thursday.

“It is saddening to report the increased number of initiates who have lost their lives to 23,” he said in a statement.

“This is despite all the efforts we have made.”

Nineteen of the deceased were from the Eastern Cape, three from Mpumalanga, and one from the Western Cape.

Bapela said the 104 others were admitted for dehydration, septic circumcision, gangrene, and other related injuries.

He sent his condolences to the affected families and said government condemned illegal circumcision schools.

“The rite of passage is not a licence for abuse of the initiates but a process that is ushering these young men to adulthood and a cultural practice that needs to be respected,” said Bapela.

“The ministry of co-operative governance and traditional affairs continues to call on all members of the community to report any illegal initiation schools to the police.”

SAPA

Johannesburg – Twenty-three initiates have died since the start of the winter initiation season because of botched circumcisions and 104 others have been admitted to hospitals for related injuries, Deputy Traditional Affairs Minister Obed Bapela said on Thursday.

“It is saddening to report the increased number of initiates who have lost their lives to 23,” he said in a statement.

“This is despite all the efforts we have made.”

Nineteen of the deceased were from the Eastern Cape, three from Mpumalanga, and one from the Western Cape.

Bapela said the 104 others were admitted for dehydration, septic circumcision, gangrene, and other related injuries.

He sent his condolences to the affected families and said government condemned illegal circumcision schools.

“The rite of passage is not a licence for abuse of the initiates but a process that is ushering these young men to adulthood and a cultural practice that needs to be respected,” said Bapela.

“The ministry of co-operative governance and traditional affairs continues to call on all members of the community to report any illegal initiation schools to the police.”

SAPA

Johannesburg – A Bellville, Cape Town, police station officer has been arrested for allegedly raping two 14-year-old boys, the IPID said on Thursday.

Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) spokesperson Grace Langa said the 40-year-old man allegedly abused the boys for four years.

He was arrested at his home on Wednesday.

“The IPID became aware of the matter on 20 June 2014… [we] hastened to arrest the policeman on 2 July 2014 following allegations that he had also made death threats to fellow SAPS members,” Langa said in a statement.

After his arrest the man was taken to the Kraaifontein station, where he slit his wrists in an attempt to commit suicide.

“He was rushed to a local clinic for treatment after which he was transferred back to Kraaifontein.”

The man allegedly raped the boys in the toilets of the police station where he worked.

“There are also allegations that the suspect made the two minors watch pornographic videos at his house. He apparently gave the victims between R50 to R200 afterwards.”

He was expected to appear in the Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court on Friday.

SAPA

Johannesburg – Residents of Orlando East, Soweto allegedly damaged 22 cars at Eskom’s Soweto depot, police said on Thursday.

Warrant Officer Kay Makhubela said 15 were set alight and seven damaged on Wednesday night. No arrests were made but investigations were under way.

“It is suspected that residents from the nearby Nancefield hostel did this overnight. They say they don’t have electricity,” Makhubela said.

A large crowd gathered near the depot on Thursday morning demanding the power utility provide electricity in the area.

“The crowd is quite big and so far the protest is peaceful,” he said.

Earlier in the morning, protesters blocked the Sofasonke and Klipspruit Valley intersection with rocks and tyres, disrupting traffic.

Makhubela said the roads had since been cleared but police were monitoring the situation.

SAPA

Pretoria – Sports medicine physician Prof Wayne Derman has testified that he suggested that paralympian Arnu Fourie move from the room he shared with Oscar Pistorius at the 2012 London Paralympics.

This was because Fourie showed signs of becoming ill, Derman told the court during Pistorius’s murder trial at the North Gauteng High Court on Thursday.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel first posed questions about the matter on Tuesday, and suggested the request was due to Pistorius shouting at people on his phone.

Fourie statement

Fourie on Tuesday night posted a statement on social networking site Twitter. In the statement Fourie said he approached his doctor at the 2012 Paralympic Games to find out if the “isolation room was available two nights before our 100m final”.

“It was one of the most important races of my life and I wanted to rest and recover well on my own time in preparation for the race. I cherish all the moments we shared at the London Games,” Fourie said in the statement.

Fourie and Pistorius were teammates in the 400m relay at the games.

On Thursday Derman, sports and exercise medicine professor at the University of Cape Town, and the team doctor, said he noticed Fourie had the beginnings of an upper respiratory tract infection.

“It was my recommendation that he take the isolation room. The last thing you want is two athletes contaminated.”

Pistorius is charged with murdering his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on 14 February 2013.

SAPA

Johannesburg – Police fired rubber bullets to disperse striking construction workers blocking the entrance to the site of Eskom’s Medupi power station in Limpopo on Thursday, a police spokesperson said.

More than 220 000 metal and engineering workers led by Numsa downed tools on Tuesday, demanding higher wages.

“A few hundred workers were blocking one of the entrances to Medupi power plant and we had to use rubber bullets to disperse them,” said spokesperson Ronel Otto.

Reuters

Johannesburg – SAA intends to investigate circumstances that led to one of its pilots almost exposing himself at a Harare airport before deciding on a course of action.
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