Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/111022
6A Daily News – Friday, February 22, 2013 WORLD BRIEFING Pistorius murder case gets new top detective PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — Ahead of a judge's decision on whether to release Oscar Pistorius on bail, South African police on Thursday appointed a new chief detective in the murder case, replacing a veteran policeman who was himself charged with attempted murder. The sensational twist in the state's troubled investigation fueled growing public fascination with the case against the double-amputee Olympian, who is charged with premeditated murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in the early hours of Valentine's Day. Pistorius, a sporting icon and source of inspiration to millions until the shooting a week ago, is backed by a high-powered team of lawyers and publicists. The abruptness of his fall, and its gruesome circumstances, have gripped a global audience and put South Africa's police and judicial system under the spotlight. The man at the center of the storm sat in the dock during his bail hearing, mostly keeping his composure in contrast to slumpedover outbursts of weeping and sobbing on previous days in court. In front of Pistorius, defense lawyer Barry Roux pounced on the apparent disarray in the state's case, laying out arguments that amounted to a test run for the full trial yet to come. Roux pointed to what he called the ''poor quality'' of the state's investigation and raised the matter of intent, saying Pistorius and Steenkamp had a ''loving relationship'' and the Olympian therefore had no motive to plan her killing. Pistorius, 26, said he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder when he shot her through a locked door in a bathroom in his home. Prosecutors believe the shooting happened after the couple got into an argument, and prosecutor Gerrie Nel painted a picture of a man he said was ''willing and ready to fire and kill.'' Much of the drama Thursday, however, happened outside the courtroom as South African police scrambled to get their investigation on track. In a news conference at a training academy, National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega said a senior detective would gather a team of ''highly skilled and experienced'' officers to investigate the killing of 29-yearold Steenkamp, a model and budding reality TV contestant. The decision to put police Lt. Gen. Vinesh Moonoo in charge came soon after word emerged that the initial chief investigator, Hilton Botha, is facing attempted murder charges, and a day after he offered testimony damaging to the prosecution. Botha acknowledged Wednesday in court that nothing in Pistorius' version of the fatal shooting of Steenkamp contradicted what police had discovered, even though there have been some discrepancies. Botha also said that police had left a 9 mm slug in the toilet and had lost track of allegedly illegal ammunition found in Pistorius' home. ''This matter shall receive attention at the national level,'' Phiyega told reporters soon after the end of proceedings in the third day of Pistorius' bail hearing. Bulewa Makeke, spokeswoman for South Africa's National Prosecuting Authority, said the attempted murder charges had been reinstated against Botha on Feb. 4. Police say they found out about it after Botha testified in Pistorius' bail hearing Wednesday. Botha and two other police officers had seven counts of attempted murder reinstated against them in relation to a 2011 shooting incident. Botha and his two colleagues allegedly fired shots at a minibus they were trying to stop. Makeke indicated the charges were reinstated against Botha because more evidence had been gathered. She said the charge against Botha was initially dropped ''because there was not enough evidence at the time.'' Car bomb kills 53 in Syrian capital DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — A car bomb exploded Thursday near Syria's ruling party headquarters in Damascus, killing at least 53 people and scattering mangled bodies among the blazing wreckage in one of the bloodiest days in the capital since the uprising began almost two years ago. Elsewhere in the city, two other bombs struck intelligence offices, killing 22, and mortar rounds hit the army's central command, activists said. Recent rebel advances in the Damascus suburbs, combined with the bombings and three straight days of mortar attacks, mark the most sustained challenge of the civil war for control of the seat of President Bashar Assad's power. Syrian state media said the car bombing near the Baath Party headquarters and the Russian Embassy was a suicide attack that killed 53 civilians and wounded more than 200, with children among the casualties. Anti-regime activists put the death toll at 61, which would make it the deadliest Damascus bombing of the revolt. The violence has shattered the sense of normalcy that the Syrian regime has desperately tried to maintain in Damascus, a city that has largely been insulated from the bloodshed and destruction that has left other urban centers in ruins. parts of the state buried under 14 inches of powdery snow, but winter storm warnings stretched from eastern Colorado through Illinois. Freezing rain and sleet were forecast for southern Missouri, southern Illinois and Arkansas. St. Louis received all of the above — a treacherous mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain. Several accidents were blamed on icy and slushy roadways, including two fatal accidents. Most schools in Kansas and Missouri, and many in neighboring states, were closed. Legislatures shut down in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Nebraska and Iowa. ''Thundersnow'' rumbled through Kansas and Missouri earlier Thursday. National Weather Service meteorologist Scott Truett said that's the result of an unstable air mass, much like a thunderstorm. ''Instead of pouring rain, it's pouring snow,'' Truett said. Winter storm rumbles across Plains In Mali, alQaida kept Boy, trying to Xeroxed tipsheet with avoid bed, 22 suggestions calls 911 Mass. BROCKTON, (AP) — Police in Massaon how to chusetts say a 10-year-old because avoid drones boy called 911go to bed. he didn't want to ST. LOUIS (AP) — Blinding snow, at times accompanied by thunder and lightning, bombarded much of the nation's midsection Thursday, causing whiteout conditions, shutting down large swaths of interstate highways and forcing schools, businesses and even state legislatures to close. Kansas was the epicenter of the winter storm, with TIMBUKTU, Mali (AP) — One of the last things the bearded fighters did before leaving this city was to drive to the market where traders lay their carpets out in the 7 DAYS LEFT TO VOTE! sand. The al-Qaida extremists bypassed the brightly colored, high-end synthetic floor coverings and stopped their pickup truck in front of a man selling more modest mats woven from desert grass, priced at $1.40 apiece. There they bought two bales of 25 mats each, and asked him to bundle them on top of the car, along with a stack of sticks. ''It's the first time someone has bought such a large amount,'' said the mat seller, Leitny Cisse al-Djoumat. ''They didn't explain why they wanted so many.'' Military officials can tell why: The fighters are stretching the mats across the tops of their cars on poles to form natural carports, so that drones cannot detect them from the air. The instruction to camouflage cars is one of 22 tips on how to avoid drones, listed on a document left behind by the Islamic extremists as they fled northern Mali from a French military intervention last month. Brockton police say the boy made the emergency call just after 8 p.m. Wednesday and told the dispatcher he was calling to report his mother because he did not want to go to bed. There was no emergency. The Enterprise (http://bit.ly/YoKmJZ ) reports that according to the police log, an officer went to the boy's home and explained to him when it's appropriate — and when it's not — to call 911. No one was charged. Mobile Pet Vaccinations LOW COST RAIN OR SHINE Vote for your favorite Tehama County Businesses! Online Ballots Only at www.redbluffdailynews.com Five Lucky Voters will be selected at random from all eligible ballots on March 1. Each will receive a $100 Shopping Spree at the Tehama County business of their choice! 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