Oscar Pistorius shares 'sorrow' over Reeva Steenkamp shooting!

South African athlete Oscar Pistorius has spoken of his sorrow over the fatal shooting of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp exactly a year ago.

In a statement on his website, he said: "The loss of Reeva and the complete trauma of that day, I will carry with me for the rest of my life."

Mr Pistorius is due to go on trial for her murder in Pretoria in March.

He claims he mistook her for an intruder when he shot her through the toilet door on Valentine's Day 2013.

But state prosecutors allege the killing was premeditated following a fight between the couple. He could face life imprisonment if found guilty of the charge.

In a rare statement by the Paralympic sprint star was dated 14 February 2014 and read:

"No words can adequately capture my feelings about the devastating accident that has caused such heartache for everyone who truly loved - and continues to love - Reeva.

"The pain and sadness - especially for Reeva's parents, family and friends consumes me with sorrow.

"The loss of Reeva and the complete trauma of that day, I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Oscar."

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Deadly winter storm pounds Washington D.C!

The Washington, D.C area awoke to its heaviest snowfall of the winter, resulting in the closure of the federal government, along with school districts in the area.




The deadly and intensifying winter storm packed heavy snow, sleet and rain pelted a huge swath of the U.S. East Coast on Thursday, grounding flights and shuttering schools and government offices.

Winter storm warnings and advisories were in place from Georgia up to Maine, and the powerful system could blanket the Atlantic Coast over the next two days with 12 to 18 inches (30 to 46 cms) of snow, said Jared Guyer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Washington’s bus service was equally suspended, and residents were advised to stay home if possible rather than risk a commute through snow accumulations of as much as a foot throughout the area.

All runways at the city’s Dulles and Reagan National airports were closed, as well as schools in Philadelphia, Baltimore and New York.

About 4,470 domestic and international flights were canceled and another roughly 290 were delayed early on Thursday morning, according to flight-tracking website FlightAware.com.

“It’s a very messy scenario,” Guyer said. “Roads remain treacherous.”

Gun Killings in England, Wales Drop to Lowest Since 1980!

The number of killings involving shooting in England and Wales reportedly dropped to the lowest since 1980 over the most recent 12-month period ending March 2013, as part of a recent trend toward fewer homicides.

According to a data published on it's website by the Office for National Statistics in London twenty-nine victims died from gunfire in 2012-13, down 11 from the previous 12 months,  The 1980 total was 19. The most common method of killing continued to be a sharp instrument, such as a knife or broken bottle, accounting for about a third of the total.

The number of homicides in 2012-13 was 551, up from 530 the year before. Those are the lowest totals since 1989. The term homicide covers murder, manslaughter and infanticide.

“The latest increase should be seen in the context of a generally downward trend since 2002-03,” the ONS said.

2013's increase reflected a higher number of killings of those under 16 - 67 from 47 the previous year. 

The majority were killed by a parent or step-parent. 

As in previous years, more than two-thirds of all victims were male.

Russia Tightens Anti-Gay Adoption Law!

Russia has banned adoptions by single people from countries where same-sex marriage is legal, regardless of the prospective parent's sexual orientation. 

The new measure comes into law in the middle of a Winter Olympics already steeped in controversy over the country's attitude toward gays.

The decree, signed by Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and posted on the government's website Thursday, also reiterates a ban on adoptions by same-sex couples who are in unions "recognized as marriages and registered in accordance with the law of a country where such marriages are permitted."

Nine soldiers feared dead in fresh Boko Haram ambush!

Barely 24 hours after dozens of Boko Haram fighters sped in military colour painted trucks and armed with automatic weapons and explosives stormed Konduga local government area in Borno state at around 4 p.m. on Tuesday, burning houses and shooting fleeing villagers, and also reportedly taking 20 young girls from a local college hostage, no fewer than 9 soldiers were feared killed in a deadly ambush by gunmen suspected to be members of the dreaded Boko Haram sect, in the border areas of Izhe in Madagali Local Government of Adamawa state.

Confirming the incident, chairman of Madagali, Mr Maina Ularamu, who  could not ascertain the number of casualty said that the soldiers were on a mission to repel an attack.

”The soldiers were going to repel a planned attack at Izhe border village when they were ambushed by the heavily armed insurgents.

”As I am talking to you, most villagers at the border areas have since fled to Madagali the administrative headquarters for fear of possible attacks.

” We are calling on the government to station  more troops with armoured tanks. These Boko Haram insurgents have more sophisticated weapons than the soldiers,” said,Ularamu the council chairman.

According to Ularamu, the insurgents were well armed with anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons mounted on their vehicles.

It was learnt that the troops battled the heavily armed insurgents, who attacked from different directions.

it was alleged that efforts to get the Brigade  Commander of the 23rd Armourd Brigade,Yola, Brigadier General Rogers Nicholas  proved abortive as he was said to have gone on a special assignment.

Man shot for stabbing and beating his 11 year old son to death!

The Australian Police shot and killed an man for stabbing and and beating his 11 year old son, a sixth grade pupil at Flinders Christian Community College, to death on Wednesday evening at Tyabb Cricket Ground, in Victoria - Australia.

Describing the moments leading up to her son's death, Ms Batty, who is originally from Lincoln in England said:

'Luke came to me and said, 'Could I have a few more minutes with my dad?' because he doesn't see him very often and I said, 'Sure, OK.'

'It was just a little cricket practice, there were people there, I believed he was safe,' said Mrs Batty, 52.

'I looked for help, and I ran towards help and screaming, 'Get an ambulance, get an ambulance, this is bad, this is really, really bad,' she said.

'From what I could see, Luke had been injured. I thought it was an accident, I had no reason to think otherwise.' 

'What triggered this was a case of his dad having mental health issues,' 

'He was in a homelessness situation for many years, his life was failing, everything was becoming worse in his life and Luke was the only bright light in his life.

'No one loved Luke more than his father. No one loved Luke more than me — we both loved him.'

Recounting the horrific incident, she added: 'It was just a normal cricket practice and most of the kids and their parents had gone.

Luke came to me and said could I have a few more minutes with my dad because he doesn’t see him very often and I said yes, sure, that’s OK.

'There’s no reason for me to be concerned, there was no reason to be concerned, I thought it was in an open environment - that’s something I have to understand.'

It was gathered that the Police shot Luke Batt's father Greg in an attempt to halt the frenzied attack, unfortunately the young boy was pronounced dead at the scene and his father died later in hospital. 

Horrified parents and children who were gathered at the ground for evening cricket training watched the Greg attack his son with a knife and cricket bat 

Witnesses revealed that the Greg turned on them with the knife, forcing one of the officers to shoot him in the chest.

Paramedics tried to save the boy, but he died at the scene from severe head injuries.

The horrific attack unfolded at around 6.30pm in an outer suburb of Melbourne on the picturesque Mornington Peninsula in Victoria.

Catholics mark a year since Pope Benedict XVI resignation!

The Catholic Church on Tuesday marked one year since Benedict XVI became the first pope since the Middle Ages to resign, with Vatican insiders defending his troubled eight-year papacy.

“Today I ask you to join me in prayer for His Holiness Benedict XVI, a man of great courage and humility,” his successor, Pope Francis, said in a message on Twitter.

The Vatican’s spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, joined in the tributes to Benedict, saying that the February 11, 2013 resignation had been “a great act of government that affected the life of the Church”.