Pistorius Family: 'Law Must Run Its Course'

South African Olympian Oscar Pistorius is spending time his family today after the athlete was freed on $113,000 bail Friday.

"We realise that the law must run its course, and we would not have it any other way," the Olympian's uncle, Arnold Pistorius said in a statement on Saturday.

The Pistorius family expressed their gratitude that the former Olympian was allowed out of jail before the trial.

"This constitutes a moment of relief under these otherwise very grave circumstances" said Arnold Pistorius."We are extremely thankful that Oscar is now home."

Pistorius, 26, is charged with premeditated murder in the Valentine's Day shooting of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

While the prosecution argued that the world-renowned athlete was a flight risk and had a history of violence, South African Magistrate Desmond Nair, who presided over the case, disagreed.

FULL COVERAGE: Oscar Pistorius

"He regards South Africa as his permanent place of abode, he has no intention to relocate to any other country" Nair said during his two hour ruling, before concluding with, "the accused has made the case to be released on bail."

'Blade Runner' Murder Charges: Oscar Pistorius Out on Bail Watch Video

Oscar Pistorius Granted Bail in Murder Case Watch Video

Pistoriuis will have to adhere to strict conditions to stay out of jail before the trial. He must give up all his guns, he cannot drink alcohol or return to the home where the shooting occurred, and he must check in with a police department twice a week.

Oscar Pistorius is believed to be staying at an uncle's house as he awaits trial.

RELATED: Oscar Pistorius Case: Key Elements to the Murder Investigation

During the hearing, the prosecution argued that Pistorius shot Steenkamp after an argument, while the defense laid out an alternate version of events saying Pistorius mistook his girlfriend for an intruder.

Nair took issue with the head detective originally in charge of the case, who he said "blundered" in gathering evidence and was removed from the case after it was revealed he is facing attempted murder charges.

RELATED: Oscar Pistorius Case: Lead Det. Hilton Botha to Be Booted From Investigation Team

After the magistrate's decision, cheers erupted in the courtroom from the Pistorius camp. Pistorius' trial is expected to start in six to eight months, with his next pre-trial court date in June.

Reeva Steenkamp Family Reaction

Steenkamp's father, Barry Steenkamp told the South African Beeld newspaper that the 26-year-old athlete will "suffer" if he is lying about accidentally shooting 29-year-old model.

PHOTOS: Oscar Pistorius Charged with Murder

Barry Steenkamp went on to say that the Pistorius will have to "live with his conscience" if he intentionally shot Reeva.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Iran announces uranium finds, days before nuclear talks

DUBAI (Reuters) - Days before resuming talks over its disputed atomic program, Iran said on Saturday it had found significant new deposits of raw uranium and identified sites for 16 more nuclear power stations.

State news agency IRNA quoted a report by the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) which said the reserves were discovered in northern and southern coastal areas and had trebled the amount outlined in previous estimates.

There was no independent confirmation. With few uranium mines of its own, Western experts had previously thought that Iran might be close to exhausting its supply of raw uranium.

"We have discovered new sources of uranium in the country and we will put them to use in the near future," Fereydoun Abbasi-Davani, head of the AEOI, was quoted as saying at Iran's annual nuclear industry conference.

The timing of the announcement suggested Iran, by talking up its reserves and nuclear ambitions, may hope to strengthen its negotiating hand at talks in Kazakhstan on Tuesday with the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany.

Diplomats say the six powers, known as the P5+1, are set to offer Iran some relief from international sanctions if it agrees to curb its production of higher-grade enriched uranium.

The West says Iran's enrichment of uranium to a fissile purity of 20 percent demonstrates its intent to develop a nuclear weapons capability, an allegation the Islamic republic denies.

FROM MINE TO CENTRIFUGE

The enriched uranium required for use in nuclear reactors or weapons is produced in centrifuges that spin uranium hexafluoride gas (UF6) at high speeds. The UF6 is derived from yellow cake, a concentrate from uranium ore discovered in mines.

Iran's reserves of raw uranium now stood at around 4,400 tonnes, taking into account discoveries over the past 18 months, IRNA quoted the report as saying.

In another sign that Iran is intent on pushing forward with its nuclear ambitions, the report also said 16 sites had been identified for the construction of nuclear power stations.

It did not specify the exact locations but said they included coastal areas of the Gulf, Sea of Oman, Khuzestan province and the Caspian Sea.

Iranian authorities have long announced their desire to build more nuclear power plants for electricity production. Only one currently exists, in the southern city of Bushehr, and that has suffered several shutdowns in recent months.

The announcements could further complicate the search for a breakthrough in Kazakhstan, after three unsuccessful rounds of talks between the two sides in 2012.

"We are meeting all of our obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and we should be able to benefit from our rights. We don't accept more responsibilities and less rights," Saeed Jalili, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, was quoted as telling Saturday's conference.

In what Washington has called a provocative move, Iran is also installing new-generation centrifuges, capable of producing enriched uranium much faster, at a site in Natanz in the centre of the country.

Western diplomats say the P5+1 will reiterate demands for the suspension of uranium enrichment to a purity of 20 percent, the closure of Iran's Fordow enrichment plant, increased access for International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors and agreement to address concerns on existing uranium stockpiles.

In return, the latest embargoes on gold and metals trading with Iran would be lifted. Iran has criticized the offer and says its rights need to be fully recognized.

"If the P5+1 group wants to start constructive talks with Tehran it needs to present a valid proposal," said Jalili. "It needs to put its past errors to one side ... to win the trust of the Iranian nation."

In a statement issued before the Iranian announcement, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said the six-power group wanted to enter a 'substantial negotiation process' over Tehran's nuclear program.

"The talks in Almaty are a chance which I hope Iran takes," he said.

(Additional reporting by Alexandra Hudson in Berlin; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)

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Football: Berbatov's magic moment sinks Stoke

LONDON: Fulham forward Dimitar Berbatov produced a moment of magic to end his side's poor run with a 1-0 win over Stoke at Craven Cottage on Saturday.

Berbatov marked his 200th Premier League appearance with his 85th goal in the English top-flight and it was one of the former Manchester United star's best as he netted a superb volley just before half-time.

Martin Jol's team still needed a second half penalty save from Mark Schwarzer, who kept out Jon Walters' effort, to clinch just their fourth win in 19 Premier League games.

Berbatov and Schwarzer's heroics lifted Fulham to 11th, nine points clear of the relegation zone, and continued the away-day misery for Stoke, who have won just one in their last 23 leagues games on their travels.

Fulham's first sight of goal fell to Berbatov after Sascha Riether's cross picked out the Bulgarian forward for a close-range volley that looped just over.

Bryan Ruiz had the ball in the net moments later but Fulham's celebrations were cut short as referee Lee Probert correctly ruled that the Costa Rican forward had used his hand to score.

Steven Nzonzi needed treatment after a collision with Berbatov left the Stoke midfielder with blood dripping from the bridge of his nose.

Nzonzi still seemed miffed following that incident and he was fortunate to escape with a booking after cuffing Ruiz around the head in an off-the-ball incident.

A ferocious free-kick from Fulham's Greek midfielder Giorgos Karagounis brought the best save of the half from Asmir Begovic.

Stoke sent on American midfielder Brek Shea for his debut when Matthew Etherington hobbled off with a back injury.

Jol's team pushed on and finally broke the deadlock in first half stoppage-time when a cross was only half cleared to Berbatov, who showed superb technique to lash a brilliant volley into the top corner of Begovic's goal.

Fulham defender Philippe Senderos almost gifted Stoke an equaliser immediately after the interval when his attempt to shepherd the ball back to Schwarzer allowed Peter Crouch to nip ahead of him and flick a shot that the Australian saved well.

Schwarzer came to Fulham's rescue again in the 54th minute after Dejagah conceded a penalty when he blocked Shea's cross with his raised arms.

Walters stepped up to take the spot-kick, but the Stoke striker has a poor record with penalties this season and his luck was out again as Schwarzer dived to his right to save.

- AFP/fa

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Randi Zuckerberg on what it means to be "Dot Complicated" (Q&A)

Randi Zuckerberg knows a thing or two about complications caused by the Internet.

The sister of Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has seen her fair share of controversial choices or awkward missteps become fodder for attacks from those who view her as the ultimate benefactor of nepotism.

After serving as Facebook's marketing director for six years, Zuckerberg struck out on her own with Zuckerberg Media, a media and production company that fashioned her an executive producer of the oft-panned Bravo reality television flop "Startups: Silicon Valley." She's also the lead singer for a cover band called Feedbomb, which is comprised of past and present Facebookers.

Come fall 2013, we'll all get to read more about her online and offline adventures, as the other Zuckerberg is turning her overexposed existence into a lifestyle book entitled "Dot Complicated" for HarperCollins. She's also penning a companion picture book for children that will also be released this fall.

CNET went to Zuckerberg to get the scoop on the pending publications, and we couldn't help but ask about how her brother feels about her putting their private lives on display. Our questions and her answers are included in their entirety below.

Q:What does the title, "Dot Complicated," mean to you and why do you feel it best describes your story?
Zuckerberg: Technology has changed virtually every part of our lives. We live in a world of such rapid innovation - as the tools change, so do the social norms and etiquette that go with them. While many things have gotten easier and more efficient, many aspects of our day-to-day lives and managing our personal relationships have become a lot more complicated. That's why I'm so excited to be writing Dot Complicated, because I am passionate about helping people untangle their modern, wired lives.

Personally, along with being part of the team that built Facebook from early on, I also grew up on social media. These tools have affected how I raise my son, how I balance my career, and how I interact with friends and family, to name a few. I've seen firsthand how this new digital era can be both wonderful, and utterly complicated, at the same time. I can only imagine how confusing things must feel for millions of people who use these tools, every single day, and don't live right in the heart of all the action. If I can use my own experiences, knowledge, and lessons learned to help other people navigate their modern, digital lives (while having some fun along the way,) I would consider the book a huge success.

Who do you see as the primary audience for the book and why do you feel the need to publish your story now?
Zuckerberg: There's a lot of great content out there about "technology" or about "lifestyle" -- but I saw a gap missing at the intersection of the two. How technology is changing the way we interact with the people around us, how it affects our love lives, our personal lives, our work lives. My hope is that the book will be interesting and useful to a broad audience, whether you are a lightweight consumer of these tools, a parent who wants to stay up-to-date with the latest trends "the kids are using," a student who wants a competitive advantage in the job market, or a business who wants to better understand the modern consumer's habits and social issues.

The reason for publishing the story now is that I just launched my newsletter, also named Dot Complicated a few weeks ago. The newsletter has already received such positive early traction and feedback, that I felt the timing was right to expand it into a book as well, especially since the book process requires a lengthier timeline. I plan to discuss many of the topics we cover in my Dot Complicated newsletter -- complexities of the modern, digital world we live in -- including issues around etiquette, privacy, social, identity, career, love, family, and more. I will also discuss where social media is heading and how it will continue to influence every facet of our modern world -- from our personal relationships and professional careers to the bigger picture of global initiatives and politics.

It's also a great time for me personally to be publishing this book, as I'm navigating how to balance my career and new motherhood and how to raise my son the right way in this digital age. I've engaged with a lot of people online who are grappling with similar challenges and questions and I feel strongly that right now is the time for that approachable voice of technology. I didn't want to limit the audience, which is why I'm working on both an adult nonfiction book, as well as a children's book, with HarperCollins. In this digital world we live in, it's important for children to be tech-savvy and to understand the benefits and risks of technology from early on. Which means speaking to them directly.

Is there anything that will surprise readers? Can you provide a few examples?
Zuckerberg: I think what has surprised me the most in my research and conversations, is that no matter where in the world you go, no matter if you're speaking to someone in Silicon Valley or Nebraska, Dubai or Delhi, we're all grappling with the same issues related to technology and our lives. I did a lot of public speaking last year, and no matter where I went, people always asked the same questions: how can I better understand what my children are doing online? How can I ask my significant other not to immediately reach for their
tablet in bed? How can I make sure I don't lose my job to someone who is younger and more tech-savvy? I plan to address many of these topics in the book -- some of the topics may surprise readers, or feel slightly uncomfortably familiar/intimate at first, but when you break past the news about the latest gadgets, devices, updates, and software, you realize that technology is nothing without the humans on the other side of it. These are issues that affect all of us in our own lives and need to be openly discussed as a society.

Can you share one of the funnier anecdotes you plan to include in the book?
Zuckerberg: There are too many to choose from. Because tech and pop culture are coming together more closely every day, I've had the opportunity to check things off my bucket list I never dreamed I'd be able to do, like walking the red carpet for The Golden Globes, getting a personal phone call from The White House, and hosting a live video chat with United Nations Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon and rock band Linkin Park ... together. I can't give away all my good stories just yet, but suffice it to say that I think readers will be thoroughly entertained, as well as educated.

The Bravo show "Startups: Silicon Valley" rubbed many people working in the technology industry the wrong way. Will you discuss the show, the cast, the ratings, and address the critics in the book?
Zuckerberg: Of course I'll talk about the show in the book. It will just be a small part of the book, as I have so much content to cover, and this was just one experience I am lucky to have been part of, but I've done a lot of reflecting over the past few months on what I think the future of media/television looks like in the digital age -- and I've purposefully remained quiet about everything, so I can write about it for the first time in the book. I hope that readers will be pleasantly surprised by and interested in the learnings I have to share, based on my recent experiences working with Bravo and other media partners.

Do you expect Dot Complicated to incite a strong negative reaction among Valley types?
Zuckerberg: You know, it seems that these days, everything that anyone does incites a strong negative reaction, doesn't it? It's so easy to hide behind our online handles and criticize others. I'm just focused on doing the best work I can, and through this project, helping people navigate their complicated, wired lives. Of course not everyone will agree with every single thing I have to say -- and I wouldn't want them to! Would you honestly want to read a book that didn't have anything provocative, controversial, or thought-provoking in it?

The tone of Dot Complicated will be friendly, informative, and a little bit sassy -- just like our newsletter. I'm thankful for all of the great feedback we've been receiving on the newsletter, which in turn is helping me shape the book so that it reaches readers at a raw, human, and relatable level.

Has your brother expressed any concern about a nonfiction book that relates stories from your personal life, stories that will surely include details about his own private life?
Zuckerberg: The book will draw from some of my own personal experiences, in order to tell a broader story about the complexities of our wired world. Some media outlets have called this book a "memoir," which makes me laugh, because that couldn't possibly be further from the truth of what this book is. Who writes a memoir at age 30?! My goal with this book is to spark dialogue and inspire people of all ages to embrace technology and the new sets of norms that come with sharing content online -- something my family has always been supportive of.

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White House to give senators Benghazi documents

WASHINGTON The White House has agreed to give the Senate Intelligence Committee documents related to the attack on a U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, a congressional aide told The Associated Press Friday.

Republicans had demanded the documents as a condition of voting on the nomination of John Brennan to be CIA director.

The documents include emails between top national security officials showing the debate within the administration over how to describe the attack and other documents the committee had been asking for, the aide said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

The White House has said it has already turned over more than 10,000 pages of Benghazi-related documents, along with witness interviews, staff briefings and hours of testimony.

Tommy Vietor, spokesman for the National Security Council, said the administration was talking with members of Congress about their requests regarding both the Benghazi attacks and the use of drone strikes, but he declined to say whether those requests had been granted.

"That being said, the confirmation process should be about the nominees and their ability to do the jobs they're nominated for," Vietor said.

The attack on the Benghazi compound last Sept. 11 killed U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other Americans. The Obama administration sent conflicting signals about whether the assault was a terrorist attack or an incident touched off by protests over an anti-Muslim video.

Republicans accused the administration of an election-year cover-up of an act of terrorism and repeatedly pressed for more information about the attack. An independent review that faulted the State Department and led to four employees being relieved of their duties failed to placate GOP lawmakers. They demanded testimony from former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who spent more than five hours before two congressional panels, and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey about the military's response to the attack.

Republicans also pressed the administration for emails, communiques and videos, and threatened to hold up the nominations of members of President Barack Obama's second-term national security team, including the choice of Chuck Hagel for the Pentagon and Brennan for CIA director.

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Oscar Pistorius Granted Bail in Murder Case

Oscar Pistorius was granted bail today in a South African court, meaning he can be released from jail for the six to eight months before his trial for the allegedly premeditated killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Magistrate Desmond Nair, in reading his lengthy decision, said, "The issue before me is whether this accused, being who is and the assets he has [here], would seek to duck and dive all over the world."
His conclusion:
"I cannot find that he is a flight risk."

Nair said, "The accused has made a case to be released on bail."

PHOTOS: Paralympics Champion Charged in Killing

The judge also said he had to weigh whether Pistorius would be a danger to others. He noted that Pistorius has been accused of using foul language against people in arguments and once threatened to break someone's legs, but he said that was different from someone with an arrest record of violence.

"I appreciate that a person is dead, but I don't think that is enough," he said.

Nair also said he could not be influenced by the public's "shock and outrage" if Pistorius is released.

A member of Pistorius' defense team told ABC News, "he is going to be released today."

Despite the ruling, prosecutors displayed confidence, with one of them emerging from the courthouse today to say, "We still believe we have the evidence to convict Oscar Pistorius."

The court set bail at about $113,000 (1 million rand) and June 4 as the date for Pistorius' next court appearance.

The other bail conditions are: Pistorius cannot leave the country; he must hand over his passports; he cannot return to his home as long as it's an active crime scene; he needs permission to leave the Pretoria area; he must visit a police station on a daily basis and be available to a probation officer at all times via cellphone; he is not allowed any communication with prosecution witnesses; he cannot drink alcohol; and he must relinquish his firearms.

"Do you understand?" the magistrate asked him.

"Yes, sir," Pistorius replied.

Alexander Joe/AFP/Getty Images

'Blade Runner' Shocker: Lead Detective Replaced Watch Video

Speaking for the family, Arnold Pistorius, the Olympian's uncle, said, "Although we are obviously relieved that Oscar has been granted bail, this is still a very sad time for the family of Reeva and for us.

"We are grateful that the Magistrate recognized the validity and strength of our application. As the family, we are convinced that Oscar's version of what happened on that terrible night will prove to be true."

The judge's ruling came on the fourth and final day of the bail hearing for Pistorius, the Olympian accused of murdering his girlfriend on Valentine's Day.

Pistorius, who gained global acclaim for racing at the 2012 London Olympics, shot his model-girlfriend through a closed bathroom. He says he killed Reeva Steenkamp accidentally, but prosecutors alleged that he took a moment to put on his prosthetic legs, indicating that he thought out and planned to kill Steenkamp when he shot her three times through the bathroom door.

Pistorius sobbed today in court. Barry Roux, his defense attorney, said the prosecution misinterpreted the assigning of intent, meaning that the runner's intent to shoot at a supposed intruder in his home cannot be transferred to someone else who was shot -- in this case, Steenkamp.

"He did not want to kill Reeva," Roux told the court.

FULL COVERAGE: Oscar Pistorius Case

When Magistrate Nair, who overheard the bail hearing, asked Roux what the charges should be if Pistorius intended to kill an intruder, the defense attorney responded that he should be charged with culpable homicide.

Culpable homicide is defined in South Africa as "the unlawful negligent killing of a human being."

Roux also made light of the prosecution's argument that Pistorius is a flight risk, saying that every time the double-amputee goes through airport security, it causes a commotion. He said that Pistorius' legs need constant maintenance and he needs medical attention for his stumps.

The prosecution argued today that the onus was on Pistorius to provide his version of events, and his version was improbable.

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel also spoke of Pistorius' fame and his disability, even relating him to Wikipedia founder Julian Assange, who is now confined to Ecuador's London Embassy, where he has been granted political asylum.
"[Assange's] facial features are as well known as Mr. Pistorius' prostheses," Nel said.

Nel argued that Pistorius' prostheses do not set him apart, stating that it's no different to any other feature, and the court cannot be seen to treat people with disabilities accused of a crime, or famous people accused of crime, any differently.

Pistorius has said that in the early hours of Feb. 14 he was closing his balcony doors when he heard a noise from the bathroom. Fearing an intruder, and without his prosthetic legs on, he grabbed a gun from under his bed and fired through the closed bathroom door, he told the court.

But prosecutors say that's implausible, that the gun's holster was found under the side of the bed where Steenkamp slept, and that Pistorius would have seen she wasn't there. Prosecutors also say the angle at which the shots were fired shows Pistorius was already wearing his prosthetics when he fired.

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Pistorius wins release on $113,000 bail

PRETORIA (Reuters) - A South African court granted bail on Friday to Oscar Pistorius, charged with the murder of his girlfriend on Valentine's Day, after his lawyers argued the "Blade Runner" was too famous to flee justice.

The decision by Magistrate Desmond Nair drew cheers from the Paralympics star's family and supporters. Pistorius himself was unmoved, in marked contrast to the rest of the week-long hearing when he repeatedly broke down in tears.

Nair set bail at 1 million rand ($113,000) and postponed the case until June 4. Pistorius would be released only when the court receives 100,000 rand in cash, he added.

Less than an hour later, a silver Land Rover believed to be carrying Pistorius left the court compound and sped off through the capital, pursued by members of the media on motorcycles.

Pistorius, 26, was also ordered to hand over firearms and his two South African passports, avoid his home and all witnesses in the case, report to a police station twice a week and to abstain from drinking alcohol.

The decision followed a week of dramatic testimony about how the athlete shot dead model and law graduate Reeva Steenkamp at his luxury home near Pretoria in the early hours of February 14.

Prosecutors said Pistorius committed premeditated murder when he fired four shots into a locked toilet door, hitting his girlfriend cowering on the other side. Steenkamp, 29, suffered gunshot wounds to her head, hip and arm.

Pistorius said the killing was a tragic mistake, saying he had mistaken Steenkamp for an intruder - a possibility in crime-ridden South Africa - and opened fire in a blind panic.

However, in delivering his nearly two-hour bail ruling, Nair said there were a number of "improbabilities" in Pistorius's version of events, read out to the court in an affidavit by his lawyer, Barry Roux.

"I have difficulty in appreciating why the accused would not seek to ascertain who exactly was in the toilet," Nair said. "I also have difficulty in appreciating why the deceased would not have screamed back from the toilet."

By local standards, the bail conditions are onerous but it remains to be seen if they appease opposition to the decision from groups campaigning against the violence against women that is endemic in South Africa.

"We are saddened because women are being killed in this country," said Jacqui Mofokeng, a spokeswoman for the ruling African National Congress' Women's League, whose members stood outside the court this week with banners saying "Rot in jail".

TO FAMOUS TO RUN

However, Nair said he was ultimately making his decision in the "interests of justice" and that the prosecution, who suffered a setback when the lead investigator withered under cross-examination by Roux, had failed to show Pistorius was either a flight risk or a threat to the public.

Roux stressed that the Olympic and Paralympic runner's global fame made it impossible for him to evade justice by skipping bail and leaving the country.

"He can never go anywhere unnoticed," Roux told the court.

Pistorius, whose lower legs were amputated in infancy forcing him to race on carbon fiber "blades", faces life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder.

Prosecutors had portrayed him as a cold-blooded killer and said they were confident that their case, which will have to rely heavily on forensics, would stand up to scrutiny at a full trial.

"We are going to make sure that we get enough evidence to get through this case during trial time," a spokesman for the National Prosecuting Authority told reporters.

In court, lead prosecutor Gerrie Nel was scornful of Pistorius's inability to contain his emotions. "I shoot and I think my career is over and I cry. I come to court and I cry because I feel sorry for myself," Nel said.

"DEEPLY IN LOVE"

In his affidavit, Pistorius said he was "deeply in love" with Steenkamp, and Roux said his client had no motive for the killing.

Pistorius contends he reached for a 9-mm pistol under his bed because he felt particularly vulnerable without his prosthetic limbs.

According to police, witnesses heard gunshots and screams from the athlete's home. The community is surrounded by 3-m- (yard-) high stone walls and topped with an electric fence.

In a magazine interview a week before her death, published on Friday, Steenkamp spoke about her three-month-old relationship with Pistorius.

"I absolutely adore Oscar. I respect and admire him so much," she told celebrity gossip magazine Heat. "I don't want anything to come in the way of his career."

Police pulled their lead detective off the case on Thursday after it was revealed he himself faces attempted murder charges for shooting at a minibus. He has been replaced by South Africa's top detective.

The arrest of Pistorius last week shocked those who had watched in awe last year as he reached the semi-final of the 400 meters race in the London Olympics.

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

(Writing by Ed Cropley; Editing by Michael Roddy)

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WTO may not be ideal platform to deal with currency issue

BEIJING: The World Trade Organisation (WTO) may not be the ideal platform to deal with the issue of currency manipulation, according to Costa Rica's Foreign Trade Minister Anabel Gonzalez, who is in the running to be WTO Director-General.

She was in Beijing to meet Chinese authorities to garner their support.

As the global economy slows and countries scramble to boost exports, trade friction is likely to escalate.

That's particularly the case with the world's largest exporter and second largest trading nation -- China.

Competitors often point to China as unfairly subsidizing its exports via the undervalued yuan.

But Costa Rica's candidate for the top job at the WTO said the trade organization might not be equipped with the tools to tackle the issue.

Anabel Gonzalez said: "I would be cautious in terms of looking at it in the context of the WTO.

"This issue of exchange rates is normally associated with monetary policies, fiscal policies, financial policies, and in that regard I think there may be other venues that are better suited to deal with these issues, be it, meetings of central bankers, ministers of finance, the IMF, the G20."

In Beijing to gain support for her candidacy, Ms Gonzalez said China has achieved a huge transformation over the past decade.

However, trade reform is a long-term process. A recent report on China by the WTO noted a decrease in the number of state-owned enterprises. But still, a significant number of them remain, particularly in sectors regarded as vital to the national economy.

As China's goals change, placing priority on moving up the industrial value chain, liberalizing the market may take a backseat. For instance, state supported financing and cheap land may be seen as unfairly giving home-grown companies a leg up.

Costa Rica's foreign trade minister said: "Each country can, of course, decide what are the best actions and policy measures to continue to promote growth and development in its own country.

"From the perspective of WTO system, the important part is that this is done in a way that respects the rules and disciplines of the organization."

The Costa Rican is among nine candidates vying to succeed Pascal Lamy when he steps down as head of the WTO at the end of August.

- CNA/al

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Statistics wizard Nate Silver gives his Oscar predictions

Nate Silver at work. (Credit: CBS News)

With great precision FiveThirtyEight's Nate Silver predicted which states President Obama would win in his second-term election. Now he is applying his statistical-analysis methods to predicting who will take home the Oscars on Sunday.

Silver has made Oscar predictions in the past, but with only 75 percent accuracy. By comparison, he picked all 50 state winners in the 2012 presidential election. Silver refined his Oscar prediction models this year by assigning weights to the glut of movie awards that precede the Oscars, similar to how he weighted the various polls in calculating his election predictions. Silver explained:

These patterns aren't random: instead, the main reason that some awards perform better is because some of them are voted on by people who will also vote for the Oscars. For instance, many members of the Screen Actors Guild will vote both for the SAG Awards and for the Oscars. In contrast to these "insider" awards are those like the Golden Globes, which are voted upon by "outsiders" like journalists or critics; these tend to be less reliable.

Silver is giving the best-picture edge to "Argo," best actor to Daniel Day-Lewis, and best supporting actress to Anne Hathaway by wide margins. His results are in line with what the movie critics have been predicting. The competitions for best actress, best director, and best supporting actor, however, will be closer races, according to his calculations. Those awards will be the true test of Silver's Oscar prediction prowess.

(Credit: Nate Silver/New York Times)

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Georgia executes man lawyers claimed was mentally ill

JACKSON, Ga. A 38-year-old inmate convicted of killing two college students in 1995 was executed in Georgia on Thursday, apologizing to the families of both victims before being injected at a state prison.

Andrew Allen Cook was pronounced dead at 11:22 p.m., about 14 minutes after he was injected with the sedative pentobarbital. He was the first inmate to be executed since the state changed its procedure in July from a three-drug combination to a single dose.

With his last words, he apologized to the families of Mercer University students Grant Patrick Hendrickson, 22, and Michele Lee Cartagena, 19, who were shot several times as they sat in a car at Lake Juliette, which is about 75 miles south of Atlanta. He said what he did was senseless.

"I'm sorry," Cook said as he was strapped to a gurney. "I'm not going to ask you to forgive me. I can't even do it myself."

He also thanked his family for "their support, for being with me and I'm sorry I took so much from you all."

The Georgia Appeals Court on Wednesday temporarily stayed Cook's execution to consider a challenge to the state's lethal injection procedure. But the Georgia Supreme Court lifted the stay Thursday and all other appeals were exhausted.

Cook's lawyers have argued at various stages in their appeals of his death sentence that he suffered from mental illness and was being treated for depression up to the time of his death.

Mary Hendrickson, the mother of one of the victims, recently told television station WMAZ-TV in Macon she's been waiting 18 years for justice.

"I think that's what it was: the devil's work," she said. "When all that is going on, I was just thinking to myself, 'Well, the devil is not going to win. He's not going to win over my heart. He is not going to win."'

The single-drug injection began at about 11:08 p.m. Cook blinked his eyes a few times, and his eyes soon got heavy. His chest was heaving for about two or three minutes as his eyes closed. Not too long after, two doctors examined him and nodded and Carl Humphrey, warden of the state prison in Jackson, pronounced him dead.

Corrections officials said Thursday evening that Cook had received visits from family earlier in the day and ate the last meal he had requested -- steak, a baked potato, potato wedges, fried shrimp, lemon meringue pie and soda.

A jury sentenced Cook to death after he was convicted in the January 2, 1995 slayings at Lake Juliette. Cook wasn't charged until more than two years later. He confessed to his father, a Macon FBI agent who ended up testifying at his son's trial.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation reached out to John Cook in December 1995 because they were interested in speaking to his son. When he called his then-22-year-old son to tell him the GBI wanted to talk to him, he had no idea the younger man was considered a suspect.

"I said, 'Andy, the GBI is looking for you concerning the Lake Juliette homicide. Do you know anything about it?"' John Cook testified at his son's trial in March 1998. "He said, 'Daddy, I can't tell you. You're one of them. ... You're a cop."'

Eventually, Andrew Cook told his father that he knew about the slayings, that he was there and that he knew who shot the couple, John Cook recalled.

"I just felt like the world was crashing in on me. But I felt maybe he was there and just saw what happened," he said. "I then asked, 'Did you shoot them?'

"After a pause on the phone, he said, 'Yes."'

As a law enforcement officer, John Cook said he was forced to call his supervisor and contacted the Monroe County sheriff.

At the trial, as he walked away from the stand, the distraught father mouthed "I'm sorry" to the victims' families who were sitting on the front row of the courtroom. Several members of both families acknowledged his apology.

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3 Dead in Rolling Gun Battle on Vegas Strip

A drive-by shooting on the Las Vegas strip early this morning by the occupants of a Range Rover SUV, who shot at the occupants of a Maserati, caused a multi-car accident and car explosion that left three dead.

Police said that they believe a group of men riding in a black Range Rover Sport SUV pulled up alongside a Maserati around 4:20 a.m. today and fired shots into the car, striking the driver and passenger, according to Officer Jose Hernandez of the Las Vegas Metropolitan police department.

The Maserati then swerved through an intersection, hitting at least four other cars. One car that was struck, a taxi with a driver and passenger in it, caught on fire and burst into flames, trapping both occupants, Hernandez said.

Raw Video: Las Vegas Shooting Caught on Tape Watch Video

The SUV then fled the scene, according to cops.

The driver of the Maserati died from his gunshot wounds at University Medical Center shortly after the shooting, according to Sgt. John Sheahan.

The driver and passenger of the taxi both died in the car fire.

At least three individuals, including the passenger of the Maserati, were injured during the shooting and car crashes and are being treated at UMC hospital.

Police are scouring surveillance video from the area, including from the strip's major casinos, to try and identify the Range Rover and its occupants, according to police.

They do not yet know why the Range Rovers' occupants fired shots at the Maserati or whether the cars had local plates or were from out of state.

No bystanders were hit by gunfire, Hernandez said.

"We're currently looking for a black Range Rover Sport, with large black rims and some sort of dealership advertising or advertisement plates," Hernandez said. "This is an armed and dangerous vehicle."

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority had no immediate comment about the safety of tourists in the wake of the shooting today.

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Nigerian troops surround French family's kidnappers: source

YAOUNDE/MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (Reuters) - Nigerian security forces surrounded the kidnappers of a French family in northeast Borno state on Thursday in an operation to rescue the hostages, a Nigerian military source said.

French, Nigerian and Cameroonian officials earlier denied French media reports that the family, who were seized in Cameroon and taken over the border, had been freed.

The Nigerian military located the hostages and kidnappers between Dikwa and Ngala in the far northeast, the military source in Borno said, asking not to be identified.

Dikwa is less than 80 km (50 miles) from the border with Cameroon where the three adults and four children were taken hostage on Tuesday.

A senior Cameroonian military official declined to comment saying the matter was too sensitive.

Citing a Cameroon army officer, French media reported earlier on Thursday that the hostages had been found alive in a house in northern Nigeria.

"This is a crazy rumor that we cannot confirm. We do not know where is it coming from," Cameroon Communications Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary told Reuters by telephone from the capital Yaounde.

"What is certain is that the French tourists who were abducted are no longer on our territory. However, we are in touch with the Government of Nigeria to intensify measures to continue the search for them along our common border," he said.

French gendarmes backed by special forces arrived in northern Cameroon on Wednesday to help locate the family, a local governor and French defense ministry official said.

Nigerian military spokesman Sagir Musa earlier also said the report on France's BFM television of the hostages being released was "not true," while Didier Le Bret, the head of the French foreign ministry's crisis center, said the information was "baseless."

The abduction was the first case of foreigners being seized in the mostly Muslim north of Cameroon, a former French colony.

But the region - like others in West and North Africa with porous borders - is considered within the operational sphere of Boko Haram and fellow Nigerian Islamist militants Ansaru.

On Sunday, seven foreigners were snatched from the compound of Lebanese construction company Setraco in northern Nigeria's Bauchi state, and Ansaru took responsibility.

Northern Nigeria is increasingly afflicted by attacks and kidnappings by Islamist militants. Ansaru, which rose to prominence only in recent months, has claimed the abduction in December of a French national who is still missing.

Three foreigners were killed in two failed rescue attempts last year after being kidnapped in northern Nigeria and Ansaru, blamed for those kidnaps, warned this could happen again.

The threat to French nationals in the region has grown since France deployed thousands of troops to Mali to oust al Qaeda-linked Islamists who controlled the country's north.

The kidnapping in Cameroon brought to 15 the number of French citizens being held in West Africa.

(Reporting By Emile Picy and Nicholas Vinocur in Paris; Additional reporting by Joe Brock in Abuja and Bate Felix and John Irish in Dakar; Writing by Bate Felix and John Irish; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

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Three killed in Las Vegas 'rolling shootout'

LOS ANGELES: At least three people were killed and three others injured in a "rolling shootout" and multiple car crash on the renowned Las Vegas strip early Thursday, city police said.

Two speeding cars, including a Maserati, were involved in a shootout in the neon-lit casino and hotel zone around Las Vegas Boulevard near Flamingo Road, Metro Las Vegas Police Sergeant John Sheahan told local broadcast news.

"Before 4:30am this morning, there was apparently a rolling gun-battle on the strip," Sheahan told the local ABC and CBS TV news affiliates.

The Maserati driver, who was struck by gunfire, lost control of the vehicle and struck several cars, including a taxi that burst into flames. The Maserati driver and two people aboard the taxi were killed.

The other vehicle fled the scene and police will investigate surveillance footage to identify it, Sheahan said. Local television news citing police sources said officers were hunting for a black Range Rover.

The passenger aboard the Maserati and at least two other people were injured and take to hospital. Three other vehicles were struck and at least two more people were at the hospital being treated for other injuries, Sheahan said.

Police do not yet know the identity nor motive of the shooters. "This is still very, very early in this investigation," Sheahan said.

- AFP/fa

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Microsoft is cooler than it used to be, say half of those polled

Microsoft's Surface Pro tablet.

(Credit:
Best Buy)

Is Microsoft a cooler company than it was in the past? Some people certainly think so.

Among 853 people between the ages of 18 and 29 questioned in a Reuters/Ipsos poll, half believe the software giant is cooler than it was a year or two ago. Though 50 percent may not be a resounding endorsement, it topped the coolness factor for a couple of other tech players.

Twitter was deemed cooler than in the past by 47 percent of the young adults polled, while Facebook got the same response from just 42 percent.

Microsoft's score is a promising sign. The company is often seen as having lost its cool factor years ago, thwarted by more innovative competitors. Even chairman and co-founder Bill Gates said this week that he was not satisfied with the company's lack of innovation in certain areas.

But Reuters believes some of the new Microsoft products may be changing that perception.

In particular, the report pointed to Microsoft's savvy marketing push for its Surface
tablets as well as the
Xbox 360 and Kinect combo, which has proven popular among younger gamers.

So, which high-tech brand name was the coolest?

Google's
Android took top honors, considered cooler than it used to be by a full 70 percent of those 18 to 29. Apple followed, getting the nod from 60 percent of the young adults questioned.

Still, coolness doesn't necessarily mean higher sales.

The poll "definitely shows that Microsoft's efforts are paying off, but we'll have to see how cool translates into customers," Gartner analyst Michael Gartenberg told Reuters. "It's also hard to compare 'cool' factor as a quantitative measure against Apple, a company, and Android, a platform."

Conducted between February 5 and 19, the poll was designed to gauge the perception and use of different technology brands and received responses from 4,798 people in total.

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Winter storm brings heavy snow to Midwest

Updated at 8:47 a.m. ET

ST. LOUIS Parts of the nation's heartland awoke Thursday to more than half a foot of snow, as a large storm made its way eastward out of the Rockies, snarling traffic for morning commuters and allowing an army of children to trade pen and paper for shovel and sled, at least for a day.

Winter storm warnings were issued from Colorado through Illinois, and many school districts cancelled classes ahead of time, in anticipation of the more than a foot of snow expected to fall in some places.

CBS News weather consultant David Bernard reported on "CBS This Morning" Thursday that very heavy snow squalls were moving across Wichita, Kan., and further north into Kansas City, Mo., where it looks like it's going to snow hard for about the entire day.

Forecast models show the snowstorm pivoting from the southwest to the northeast throughout the morning and afternoon hours, so Wichita would see improvement late Thursday, but northeastern Kansas and most of Missouri would be looking at heavy snowfall until at least Thursday night, Bernard reports.

Kelly Sugden, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Dodge City, Kan., said early Thursday that the storm that had already dumped heavy snow on Colorado.

"It's very active," Sugden said, noting the snowfall was mixed with lightning and sleet showers.

Kansas' capital, Topeka, had little more than a dusting of snow after dawn, but in the town of Rozel, roughly 210 miles west, 6 1/2 inches had already been reported fallen.

Sugden said that while forecasters weren't expecting blizzard conditions to develop in Kansas, the Interstate 70 corridor could get as much as 13 inches of snow, and large drifts would make driving very dangerous.

In Oklahoma on Wednesday, roads were covered with a slushy mix of snow and ice that officials said caused a crash that killed an 18-year-old driver, Cody Alexander.

Alexander, of Alex, Okla., skidded in his pickup truck into oncoming traffic on State Highway 19 and was hit by a truck and killed, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said. The other driver wasn't seriously injured.

In northern Arkansas, a school bus crashed Wednesday on a steep, snowy country road, leaving three students and the driver with minor injuries. Pope County Sheriff Aaron Duval said the bus slid off a road on Crow Mountain, nearly flipping before it was stopped by trees at the roadside.

The weather service warned that freezing rain could lead to a half-inch or more of ice accumulating Thursday in central and northern Arkansas, making travelling particularly dangerous.

Officials said the storm could be the Midwest's worst since a two-day storm that began Feb. 1, 2011. That storm was blamed for about two dozen deaths and left hundreds of thousands without power, some for several days. At its peak, the storm created white-out conditions so intense that Interstate 70 was shut down across the entire state of Missouri.

Tim Chojnacki, spokesman for the Missouri Department of Transportation, said it planned to have salt trucks on the roads before the storm arrived in the Show-Me State in hopes that the precipitation would largely melt upon impact.

Much of Kansas was expected to get up to a foot of snow, which many rural residents welcomed after nearly a year of drought.

Jerry and Diane McReynolds spent part of Wednesday putting out more hay and straw for newborn calves at their farm near Woodston in north central Kansas. The storm made extra work, but Diane McReynolds said it would help their winter wheat, pastures and dried-up ponds.

"In the city you hear they don't want the snow and that sort of thing, and I am thinking, 'Yes, we do,' and they don't realize that we need it," she said. "We have to have it or their food cost in the grocery store is going to go very high. We have to have this. We pray a lot for it."

Meanwhile, a separate snow storm caught many drivers by surprise in California, leaving hundreds stranded on mountain highways. A 35-mile stretch of Highway 58 between Mojave and Bakersfield was closed Wednesday, and several school districts closed. No injuries were reported.

Schools also were closed in northern Arizona and Colorado with snow there. Mindy Crane, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Department of Transportation, said hundreds of plows had been deployed for what was expected to be one of the most significant snow storms of the season.

Just the threat of snow led to a series of shutdowns in the middle of the country. Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback closed state government from Thursday morning through Friday morning and urged residents to stay off the roads.

Lawmakers in Nebraska and Iowa cancelled committee meetings and hearings, and the Arkansas Senate voted to recess until Monday so lawmakers could make it home before the worst of the storm hit. University of Nebraska officials moved a Big Ten men's basketball game against Iowa from Thursday to Saturday.

National Weather Service meteorologist Jayson Gosselin said precipitation is generally expected to drop off as the storm makes its way east. Chicago and parts of Indiana, he said, could get about 2 inches of snow and some sleet.

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Pistorius Shots Said to Come From High Angle

At the second day of a bail hearing for Olympian Oscar Pistorius, a South African investigator who arrived at the scene of the Feb. 14 fatal shooting said that Reeva Steenkamp was shot from a high angle, which prosecutors say contradicts the runner's account that he was not wearing his prosthetics when he shot his girlfriend to death.

Pistorius, a double-amputee who runs on carbon-fiber blades, appeared in court for the second day in a row after his arrest in the death of girlfriend Steenkamp at his gated home in Pretoria, South Africa.

Read Oscar Pistorius' Full Statement to the Court

PHOTOS: Paralympic Champion Charged in Killing

Arresting officer Hilton Botha told the court today that the 26-year-old was standing in the master bathroom when he shot the supermodel, who was crouched in a defensive position behind a locked door in a smaller powder room. He also said that the bullets that were fired had been fired from high up, and the bullets seemed to be coming in a downward direction.

"[The angle] seems to me down. Fired down," Botha told the court.

Pistorius said Tuesday that he went to the bathroom and fired through the door before putting on his prosthetic legs.

Oscar Pistorius: Defense Presents New Evidence Watch Video

'Blade Runner' Appears in Court to Hear Murder Charges Watch Video

He said he mistakenly shot his girlfriend, thinking she was an intruder.

Prosecutors also said that they found two boxes of testosterone in the bedroom, although the defense disputes that, saying it's just herbal supplements.

The court also heard that a witness, someone about 2,000 feet away from Pistorius' home, heard nonstop fighting the morning of the shooting.

"We have a witness who says she heard non-stop shouting and fighting between 2 and 3 a.m.," said prosecutor Gerrie Nel, who added that another witness saw lights on at the time of the gunshots.

Pistorius says he spent a quiet night with Steenkamp before the shooting.

Nel said that Pistorius' actions and phone calls on the night indicate pre-planning, and that there was a "deliberate aiming of shots at the toilet from about 1.5 meters [about 5 feet]."

He says Steenkamp was shot on the right side of her body.

Officer Botha also said Pistorius should be considered a flight risk because investigators discovered that he has offshore bank accounts and a house in Italy.

"I think it would be hard to get him back," Botha told the court. "This is a very serious crime, shooting an unarmed woman behind closed door."

Prosecutors also say they may file more charges for unlicensed ammunition, after a special-caliber .38 round was found in a safe in Pistorius' home.

Botha told the court today that he arrived at Pistorius' home at 4:15 a.m. Valentine's Day to find Steenkamp already dead, dressed in a white shorts and a black vest, and covered in towels. The only thing that Pistorius said was, 'I thought it was a burglar,'" according to Botha.

The 26-year-old sprinter Tuesday denied that he willfully killed Steenkamp, telling the court that he shot the woman through his bathroom door because he believed she was an intruder.

Botha said today that he attended Steenkamp's postmortem, and that she had three entrance wounds: one on the head, one in the elbow and one in the hip.

Describing the scene to the court, Botha said that the shots fired into the bathroom were aimed at the toilet bowl.

The shooter "would have to walk into the bathroom and turn directly at the door to shoot at the toilet the way the bullets went," he said.

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Bulgarian government resigns amid growing protests

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria's government resigned on Wednesday after mass protests against high power prices and falling living standards, joining a long list of European administrations felled by austerity during four years of debt crisis.

Prime Minister Boiko Borisov, an ex-bodyguard who took power in 2009 on pledges to root out graft and raise incomes in the European Union's poorest member, faces a tough task of propping up eroding support ahead of an expected early election.

Wage and pension freezes and tax hikes have bitten deep in a country where earnings are less than half the EU average and tens of thousands of Bulgarians have rallied in protests that have turned violent, chanting "Mafia" and "Resign".

Moves by Borisov on Tuesday to blame foreign utility companies for the rise in the cost of heating homes was to no avail and an eleventh day of marches saw 15 people hospitalized and 25 arrested in clashes with police.

"My decision to resign will not be changed under any circumstances. I do not build roads so that blood is shed on them," said Borisov, who began his career guarding the Black Sea state's communist dictator Todor Zhivkov.

A karate black belt, Borisov has cultivated a Putin-like "can-do" image since he entered politics as Sofia mayor in 2005 and would connect with voters by showing up on the capital's rutted streets to oversee the repair of pot-holes.

But critics say he has often skirted due process, sometimes to the benefit of those close to him, and his swift policy U-turns have wounded the public's trust.

The spark for the protests was high electricity bills, after the government raised prices by 13 percent last July. But it quickly spilled over into wider frustration with Borisov and political elites with perceived links to shadowy businesses.

"He made my day," said student Borislav Hadzhiev in central Sofia, commenting on Borisov's resignation. "The truth is that we're living in an extremely poor country."

POLLS, PRICES

The prime minister's final desperate moves on Tuesday included cutting power prices and risking a diplomatic row with the Czech Republic by punishing companies including CEZ, moves which conflicted with EU norms on protection of investors and due process.

CEZ officials were hopeful on Wednesday that it would be able to avoid losing its distribution license after all and officials from the Bulgarian regulator said the company would not be punished if it dealt with breaches of procedure.

But shares in what is central Europe's largest publicly-listed company fell another 1 percent on Wednesday.

If pushed through, the fines for CEZ and two other foreign-owned firms will not encourage other investors in Bulgaria, who already have to navigate complicated bureaucracy and widespread corruption and organized crime to take advantage of Bulgaria's 10-percent flat tax rate.

Financial markets reacted negatively to the turbulence on Wednesday. The cost of insuring Bulgaria's debt rose to a three-month high and debt yields rose some 15 basis points, though the country's low deficit of 0.5 percent of gross domestic product means there is little risk to the lev currency's peg against the euro.

Borisov's interior minister indicated that elections originally planned for July would probably be pulled forward by saying that his rightist GERB party would not take part in talks to form a new government.

MILLIONS GONE

GERB's woes have echoes in another ex-communist EU member, Slovenia, where demonstrators have taken to the streets and added pressure to a crumbling conservative government.

A small crowd gathered in support of Borisov outside Sofia's parliament, which is expected to approve his resignation on Thursday, while bigger demonstrations against the premier were expected in the evening.

Unemployment in the country of 7.3 million is far from the highs hit in the decade after the end of communism but remains at 11.9 percent. Average salaries are stuck at around 800 levs ($550) a month and millions have emigrated, leaving swathes of the country depopulated and little hope for those who remain.

GERB's popularity has held up well and it still led in the latest polls before protests grew in size last weekend, but analysts say the opposition Socialists should draw strength from the demonstrations.

The leftists, successors to Bulgaria's communist party, have proposed tax cuts and wage hikes and are likely to raise questions about public finances if elected.

(Additional reporting by Angel Krasimirov; editing by Patrick Graham)

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British economy moves closer to new stimulus injection

LONDON: Britain's economy, at risk of a third recession in five years despite record employment, could see a fresh injection of cash stimulus, according to minutes of a Bank of England meeting published on Wednesday.

Bank of England (BoE) governor Mervyn King has called for more quantitative easing, minutes from the central bank's February meeting showed.

This helped push the pound to a near 16-month low point against the euro and London's FTSE 100 shares index to a five-year high in trading on Wednesday.

"2013 just goes from bad to worse for the pound as this morning's ... minutes came out with a surprisingly bearish vote of 6-3 against further asset purchases after 8-1 last time around," said Investec bank economist Victoria Clarke.

"This continues the snowball of gloominess which has been gathering pace against sterling with the downside risk now getting more worrying for the friendless pound."

Sterling has been hit in recent days also by market rumours that Standard & Poor's rating agency was preparing to cut its top AAA long-term credit rating for Britain. S&P has however declined to comment on the speculation.

Traders were meanwhile mulling over mixed British employment data.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), employment in Britain has hit another record high point, with 29.73 million people in work at the end of December.

Despite this, the unemployment rate edged higher to 7.8 percent over the same period from 7.7 percent in the three months to November, the ONS added.

Recent data meanwhile showed that British gross domestic product shrank by 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared with the previous three months.

Another contraction in the current first quarter of 2013 would place Britain in a so-called "triple-dip" recession.

Against such a backdrop, the BoE's nine-member Monetary Policy Committee voted 6-3 to keep its QE cash stimulus amount at £375 billion ($574 billion, 429 billion euros), according to minutes from their February 6-7 gathering.

However, outgoing chief King was joined by fellow MPC members David Miles and Paul Fisher in calling for another £25 billion in QE.

The British pound struck multi-month lows on Wednesday as the minutes stoked fresh concern over inflation and the economic outlook, dealers said.

Sterling slumped to 87.64 pence per euro -- which was the lowest level since late October 2011. It also dived to a seven-month nadir of $1.5282.

And on the stock market, London's FTSE 100 index of leading companies surged past 6,400 points for the first time in more than five years.

Under quantitative easing, the Bank of England creates cash that is used to purchase assets such as government and corporate bonds with the aim of boosting lending and in turn economic activity.

At the same time, QE can stoke inflation as it is tantamount to printing money.

British 12-month inflation stood at 2.7 percent in January for a record fourth month in a row -- above the government-set target of 2.0 percent.

"February's MPC minutes provided another clear demonstration of the Committee's increasingly flexible approach to inflation targeting," said Samuel Tombs, economist at the Capital Economics research group.

"We continue to think that more QE is only a few months away."

Wednesday's minutes added that BoE policymakers were unanimous earlier this month in freezing the bank's key interest rate at a record-low 0.50 percent -- where it has stood since March 2009, or almost four years.

-AFP/ac

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Apple chairman Levinson: I still 'miss Steve'

Apple chairman Arthur Levinson.

(Credit:
Genentech)

Arthur Levinson, Apple's chairman of the board, still misses Steve Jobs.

"I'm still not to the point where I walk into that board room and don't miss Steve," Levinson told Fortune in an interview published today. He went on to say that being Apple chairman, a position he took in 2011 after Steve Jobs' death, still feels "weird."

Levinson is one of the more respected figures in the biotechnology industry. Until 2009, he was CEO of Genentech, a company that many believe, kicked off the entire biotechnology industry. He currently serves as chairman of that company, in addition to Apple.

As with other prominent Apple figures, Levinson was tight-lipped on the company's plans and shared little about its process, saying only that the board will see upcoming Apple products between 6 months and 18 months before their launch. In some cases, the board can chime in and suggest changes, though he acknowledged that it's not in place to "define product specs."

"And ultimately, the board is there to hire and fire the CEO," Levinson said.

For now, it appears his CEO, Tim Cook, won't be fired. He pointed to Apple's fourth-quarter performance, in which the company generated a $13.1 billion profit, as "phenomenal." He also told Fortune that while Apple's stock price is plummeting -- it's down 32 percent in the last six months -- he's confident in its ability to stay strong, saying that he won't worry about how many iPhones the company sold in any quarter.

Levinson's confidence in Apple comes as its co-founder Steve Wozniak sounded off on his views towards the iPhone maker. In an interview with Bloomberg published today, Wozniak said that Apple is in danger of losing its standing as the coolest company in the technology industry.

"We used to have these ads, 'I'm a
Mac and I'm a PC,' and the Mac was always the cool guy," Wozniak said. "And ouch, it's painful, because we kind of are losing that."

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McCain gets an earful on immigration in Arizona

PHOENIX Arizona took center stage in the national immigration debate Tuesday as Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano toured the state's border with Mexico and Sen. John McCain defended his proposed immigration overhaul to an angry crowd in suburban Phoenix.

The presence of the top officials is the latest sign that Arizona will play a prominent role in the immigration debate as President Obama looks to make it a signature issue of his second term.

Napolitano toured the border near Nogales with the highest-ranking official at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the incoming chairman of the Senate's homeland security committee and an Arizona congressman. Napolitano, Arizona's former governor, said afterward that comprehensive immigration reform will strengthen the nation's border against criminals and other threats.

Also Tuesday, McCain hosted two town hall meetings in Arizona, during which he defended his immigration plan to upset residents concerned about border security. A bipartisan group of senators — including Arizona Republicans McCain and Jeff Flake — want assurances on border security as Congress weighs what could be the biggest changes to immigration law in nearly 30 years. Arizona is the only state with both of its senators working on immigration reform in Congress, a sign of the state's widely debated border security issues.

Immigration activists and elected officials say it's only natural for Arizona to continue to take the forefront in the national conversation on immigration after years of internal debate on the topic.

"No state in this country has had more experience with enforcement-only immigration laws than Arizona," said Todd Landfried, executive director of Arizona Employers for Immigration Reform, which opposes the state's tough immigration laws.

During a heated town hall gathering in the Phoenix suburb of Sun Lakes, McCain said the border near Yuma is largely secure, but he said smugglers are using the border near Tucson to pump drugs into Phoenix. He said immigration reform should be contingent on better border security that must rely largely on technology able to detect border crossings.

McCain said a tamper-proof Social Security card would help combat identity fraud, and noted any path to citizenship must require immigrants to learn English, cover back taxes and pay fines for breaking immigration laws.

"There are 11 million people living here illegally," he said. "We are not going to get enough buses to deport them."

Some audience members shouted out their disapproval.

One man yelled that only guns would discourage illegal immigration. Another man complained that illegal immigrants should never be able to become citizens or vote. A third man said illegal immigrants were illiterate invaders who wanted free government benefits.

McCain urged compassion. "We are a Judeo-Christian nation," he said. McCain's other town hall meeting took place in Green Valley, south of Tucson.

Arizona gained international recognition as an epicenter of the U.S. immigration debate when it passed its tough anti-immigrant law in 2010. A handful of other states — including Georgia, Indiana, South Carolina and Utah — have since adopted variations of Arizona's law.

Arizona has the nation's eighth-highest population of illegal immigrants, according to the Pew Research Hispanic Center. In 2010, illegal immigrants represented roughly 6 percent of the state's population.

Activists said Arizona's anti-immigrant laws inspired many illegal immigrants to demand more rights. Last week, some college students rallied outside Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's office for driver's licenses for illegal immigrants.

"They no longer are afraid to come and say, 'I am not able to vote, but I can make my voice heard, and they have to listen to me,"' said community organizer Abril Gallardo.

A report released in January showed the U.S. Border Patrol's Tucson sector remains the busiest along the U.S.-Mexico border. The Tucson sector accounted for 38 percent of all drug seizures and 37 percent of all apprehensions along the border.

Brewer said last week the border cannot be declared safe until the people living near it feel secure from drug and human trafficking.

But Democratic Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona told Latino and black community leaders at a Phoenix luncheon Tuesday that Arizonans need to spread the word on how much more secure the border has become.

"There are lots of folks who don't live in Arizona who have no idea what the border is like," Sinema said.

Napolitano toured the border Tuesday afternoon with U.S. Customs and Border Protection Deputy Commissioner David Aguilar, Democratic Rep. Ron Barber of Arizona and Democratic Sen. Tom Carper of Delaware. Carper is the incoming chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.

She said in a statement after the tour that border crossings are down 50 percent since 2008 and 78 percent since their peak in 2000.

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Oscar Pistorius Describes 'Sense of Terror'

Olympian Oscar Pistorius today denied that he willfully killed his girlfriend, telling a South African court that he shot the woman through his bathroom door because he believed she was an intruder.

Pistorius, 26 and a double-amputee Olympian, was charged today with premeditated murder, or a Schedule 6 offense, which under South African law limits his chances for parole if convicted.

"I fail to understand how I could be charged with murder, let alone premeditated murder because I had no intention to kill my girlfriend," Pistorius said in a statement, read by his lawyer.

"I deny the accusation," he said. "Nothing can be further from the truth that I planned the murder of my girlfriend."

PHOTOS: Paralympic Champion Charged in Killing

Pistorius, who gained worldwide fame for running on carbon-fiber blades and competing against able-bodied runners at the Olympics, is accused of shooting his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, at his gated home in Pretoria, South Africa, Feb. 14.

In a statement read by his lawyer, the runner said he and Steenkamp went to bed together before he was awoken by a noise he thought was an intruder coming from the bathroom.

Filled with a "sense of terror," he removed the 9-mm pistol he kept hidden under his bed and, without putting on his prosthetic legs, began shooting through the bathroom door, according to his statement.

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"I was scared and didn't switch on the light," he said. "I got my gun and moved towards the bathroom. I screamed at the intruder because I did not have my legs on. I felt vulnerable. I fired shots through the bathroom door and told Reeva to call police.

"I walked back to the bed and realized Reeva was not in bed. It's then it dawned on me it could be her in there," he said.

That's when he realized Steenkamp was not in bed, he said in the statement. Fearing she was inside the bathroom, he says, he broke down the door using a cricket bat and carried the woman outside, where he called for help, and she soon died.

Excerpts of Prosecutor's Case Against Pistorius

Pistorius appeared in court today for the first time since his Valentine's Day arrest, as prosecutors laid out their case, insisting that the runner could not have mistaken his girlfriend for an intruder.

"[Pistorius] shot and killed an innocent woman," Gerrie Nel, the senior state prosecutor, said in court, adding that there is "no possible explanation to support" the notion that Pistorius thought Steenkamp was an intruder.

Police responding to neighbors' calls about shouting and gunshots at Pistorius' home in the guarded and gated complex in the South African capital discovered Steenkamp's body. A 9-mm pistol was recovered at the home.

Prosecutors said Steenkamp had arrived at the house with the expectation of spending the night with Pistorius. They said that Steenkamp was shot while in the bathroom, which is about 21 feet from the main bedroom, and that the two rooms are linked by a passage. The door to the toilet was broken down from the outside, prosecutors said, implying that the bathroom door had been locked.

Prosecutors believe it's a case of premeditated murder because, they say, Pistorius had to stop, put on his prosthetic legs, grab a gun and then walk 21 feet to a bathroom.

The premeditated murder charge means that he would likely be sentenced to life in prison if convicted, and that he is likely to be denied bail, which is expected to be decided later today.

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Venezuela's Maduro would win vote if Chavez goes: poll

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan Vice President Nicolas Maduro would win a presidential vote should his boss Hugo Chavez's cancer force him out, according to the first survey this year on such a scenario in the South American OPEC nation.

Local pollster Hinterlaces gave Maduro 50 percent of potential votes, compared to 36 percent for opposition leader Henrique Capriles.

Chavez made a surprise return to Venezuela on Monday, more than two months after cancer surgery in Cuba, to continue treatment at home for the disease that is jeopardizing his 14-year socialist rule.

He has named Maduro, 50, a former bus driver and union activist, as his preferred successor.

Capriles, 40, a center-left state governor who lost to Chavez in a presidential vote last year, likely would run again.

Chavez still has not spoken in public since his December 11 operation in Cuba. Venezuelans were debating on Tuesday the various possible scenarios after his homecoming - from full recovery to resignation or even death from the cancer.

There was widespread expectation Chavez would soon be formally sworn in for his new six-year term at the Caracas military hospital where officials said he was staying. The January 10 ceremony was postponed while he was in Cuba.

"The president's timeline is strictly linked to his medical evolution and recovery," said Rodrigo Cabezas, a senior member of Chavez's ruling Socialist Party who, like other officials, would not comment on when he might be sworn in.

CAPRILES ANGRY

Should Chavez be forced out, Venezuela's constitution stipulates an election must be held within 30 days, giving Capriles and the opposition Democratic Unity coalition another chance to end the socialists' lengthy grip on power.

Capriles, who crossed swords with Hinterlaces at various points during the presidential election, again accused its director, Oscar Schemel, of bias in the latest survey.

"That man is not a pollster, he's on the government's payroll," Capriles told local TV.

"He said in December I would lose the Miranda governorship," he added, referring to his defeat of government heavyweight Elias Jaua, now foreign minister, in that local race.

Opinion surveys are notoriously controversial and divergent in Venezuela, with both sides routinely accusing pollsters of being in the pocket of the other. But Hinterlaces successfully forecast Chavez's win with 55 percent of the vote in October.

Its latest poll was of 1,230 people between January 30-February 9.

Polls last year showed Capriles - an energetic basketball-playing lawyer who admires Brazil's centrist mix of free-market economics with strong social welfare policies - as more popular than any of Chavez's senior allies.

But Chavez's personal blessing of Maduro, on the eve of his last cancer surgery, has transformed his status and made him the heir apparent for many of the president's supporters.

As de facto leader since mid-December, Maduro also has built up a stronger public profile, copying the president's techniques of endless live TV appearances, especially to inaugurate new public works or promote popular policies like subsidized food.

He lacks Chavez's charisma, however, and opponents have slammed him as a "poor imitation" and incompetent.

EMOTION

Local analyst Luis Vicente Leon said that should Chavez die, Maduro would benefit from the emotion unleashed among his millions of passionate supporters in Venezuela.

"The funeral wake for Chavez would merge into the election campaign," he told a local newspaper, noting how Argentine President Cristina Fernandez's popularity surged when her husband and predecessor Nestor Kirchner died in 2010.

Maduro already has implemented an unpopular devaluation of the local currency and said more economic measures are coming this week in what local economists view as austerity measures after blowout spending prior to last year's election.

In Caracas, the streets were quieter after tumultuous celebrations of Chavez's homecoming by supporters on Monday. A few journalists stood outside the military hospital.

Prayer vigils were planned in various parts of Venezuela.

"We hope Chavez will stay governing because he is a strong man," supporter Cristina Salcedo, 50, said in Caracas.

Student demonstrators who had chained themselves near the Cuban Embassy last week, demanding more information on Chavez's condition, called off their protest after his return.

Until photos were published of him on Friday, the president had not been seen by the public since his six-hour December 11 operation, the fourth since cancer was detected in mid-2011.

The government has said Chavez is breathing through a tracheal tube and struggling to speak.

Bolivian President Evo Morales arrived in Caracas on Tuesday in the hope of visiting his friend and fellow leftist.

(Additional reporting by Deisy Buitrago, Mario Naranjo, Girish Gupta in Caracas, Carlos Quiroga in La Paz; Editing by Bill Trott)

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Medini wellness projects expected to boost Malaysia's medical tourism sector

JOHOR BAHRU: Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak unveiled two projects at Medini Iskandar Malaysia on Tuesday.

The gross development value of the projects are estimated to be about RM3 billion ringgit.

The Afiniti Medini urban wellness project has a total gross floor area of some 700,000 square feet and it will be completed in 2015.

It is developed by Pulau Indah Ventures - a 50:50 joint venture project between Khazanah Nasional and Temasek Holdings.

Among the key offerings are wellness, hospitality, retail and corporate training facilities.

For example, CIMB will base its Leadership Academy, while Parkway Pantai is building a health and wellness centre.

Meanwhile, Capitaland's Ascott group will be setting up a 310-unit serviced residences, as well as a strata-titled condominium development.

Ascott says there will be 147 units with sizes ranging between 500 and 1,100 square feet

Mr Tan Boon Khai, Regional General Manager of Singapore & Malaysia, Ascott, said: "We are currently monitoring the market trends, based on the surrounding launches. Currently the going rate at least for those on sale now, it ranges between 700 to 800 ringgit psf. Our development when we launched, certainly the price is going to be very competitive."

Ascott adds that it expects to hire Malaysians as they have the local knowledge.

Mr Tan said Ascott is likely to hire over 100 local staff to run its serviced apartments operations.

Meanwhile, the second resort wellness project Avira, jointly developed by PIV and Eastern & Oriental, is expected to be ready in 2018.

About 458 terrace houses will be launched for sale in the middle of this year.

The developers said the size of each unit is about 2,200 square feet at a price tag of 420 ringgit per square foot.

The wellness component of the two projects is expected to boost Malaysia's medical tourism sector.

Mr Syed Anwar Jamalullail, Chairman of Pulau Indah Ventures, said: "Definitely it will boost medical tourism. We are hoping to get it from ASEAN region. Parkway Pantai is part of IHH, which is the second largest operator of hospitals in the world in terms of beds. So we do expect a lot of inflows from IHH, referrals."

The two wellness projects will target corporate professionals and families looking for a break from their busy lifestyle.

Including the two projects unveiled on Tuesday, Medini Iskandar Malaysia has attracted a total investment of over RM412 million ringgit.

Iskandar Investment Berhad expects those investments to generate a total gross development value of nearly 11 billion ringgit.

- CNA/de

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Apple granted 36 patents, including for proximity detection

Apple was granted a patent for proximity detection.

(Credit:
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office)

Apple was granted 36 patents today, including one for a proximity sensor for the iPhone and iPad and another for haptic feedback to create a sort of virtual keyboard.

The patents, approved by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, cover a wide range of technologies, as earlier reported by Patently Apple. The proximity sensor patent, first filed in 2005, covers technology related to detecting one or more touches and differentiating whether the touches are light or hard, among other capabilities.

Another patent relates to electronic media devices and future active packaging that allows power and data to be supplied to one or more electronic devices housed within the packaging. And Apple also was granted a patent for a mounted shock sensor that allows an Apple Store Genius or technician to figure out whether a damaged device was dropped. The other patents largely cover components and functions like automatic image cropping, reconstruction of lists in a document, and providing information to a caller based on a called mobile terminal's temporary directory number.

In the world of mobile, patents have become a key focus area and battleground. Apple, Samsung, and others have sued each other repeatedly, accusing each other of ripping off designs and other elements. Apple won a big battle against Samsung in August, with a jury finding Samsung infringed on Apple patents and ordering it to pay Apple $1 billion. Among the victories in that case, the jury found Samsung infringed on design patents for some products, and it upheld certain Apple utility and design patents.

Apple continues to build its patent arsenal. Today's awards follow several dozen the company has won in the past several months.

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