Oscar Pistorius Jailed For Shooting Reeva Dead

Oscar Pistorius has been jailed for five years for killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine's Day last year.

His defence team said he would spend a sixth of the term in prison - 10 months - before being placed under house arrest for the remainder of his sentence.

But Nathi Mncube, a spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority, said he was likely to serve one third of the sentence behind bars, before adding "it's not for the NPA to decide".

"This is not what we were hoping to achieve at the end of this trial ... but it is not entirely up to us," he told Sky News.

Video: Pistorius Sentencing Highlights

The 27-year-old, who was found guilty of culpable homicide last month, appeared to wipe his eyes as the sentence was handed down.

Judge Thokozile Masipa had ruled the Olympic and Paralympic athlete did not intend to kill his girlfriend when he fired through the bathroom door at his home in Pretoria.

"Having regard to the circumstances in the matter, I am of the view that a non-custodial sentence would send the wrong message to the community," she said.

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1. Gallery: Sentencing Day For Pistorius

   South African Olympic and Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius arrives at the court in Pretoria for sentencing over the killing of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp

2. He was convicted last month of "culpable homicide" - South Africa's equivalent of manslaughter. Continue through the gallery for more pictures from the day on which he was jailed for five years

5. Pistorius walks into the courtroom

6. Pistorius hugs his father Henke Pistorius ahead of his sentencing

8. Carl Pistorius, brother of Oscar Pistorius, attends the sentencing hearing

10. Pistorius stands in the dock as his sentence is delivered

11. Judge Thokozile Masipa sentences Pistorius to prison for the killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp

12. Pistorius is led to holding cells

13. Pistorius holds the hands of family members after being sentenced

17. His defence team said he would spend a sixth of the term in prison - 10 months - before being placed under house arrest for the remainder of his sentence

18. Reeva's mother June agrees justice had been served as she reacts to the jailing of Oscar Pistorius over her daughter's killing

19. Friends of Reeva Steenkamp, Gina and Kim Myers

20. Pistorius (C) enters a police van after his sentencing

23. A general view of Pretoria Central Prison

"On the other hand, a long sentence would also not be appropriate either, as it would lack the element of mercy.

"What may appear to be justice to the general public may not be justice. Society cannot always get what they want."

She said Pistorius' skill using a gun was an aggravating factor but that she also recognised his remorse.

Video: Defence Expects Ten Months In Jail

She said he "fired not one shot but four shots into the door" of a small cubicle "with no room for escape".

He was also handed a suspended three-year prison sentence for the discharging of a firearm, over an incident in which a gun accidentally went off in a restaurant.

Pistorius is expected to spend his jail time in the hospital wing of Pretoria's prison.

Video: Sentence Disappoints Prosecutors

Ms Steenkamp's father, Barry, said he was "satisfied" with the outcome.

Her mother, June Steenkamp, said the sentence brought a sort of closure, but that full closure was not possible "unless you can magic her back".

Sentencing options available to the judge in the culpable homicide case included up to 15 years in jail, a suspended sentence, a correctional supervision or fine. 

Video: Friends 'Felt Reeva's Light Today'

It brings to a close a seven-month trial, which attracted worldwide attention.

After one of the most sensational court cases in the country's history, the sentence is expected to fuel further controversy about race and money in its justice system.

Pistorius' legal team argued during the trial that he mistook Ms Steenkamp for an intruder and believed they were both in danger.

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1. Gallery: Reeva Steenkamp's Life In Pictures

   Reeva Steenkamp, 29, was born in Cape Town and grew up in Port Elizabeth. She went to a convent school and studied law. She was a keen horse rider until she broke her back

2. She moved to Johannesburg from Cape Town to model for Avon cosmetics. In 2012, Reeva was voted number 45 in the South African FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World poll

3. She featured as a celebrity contestant on BBC Lifestyle show Baking Made Easy in 2012

4. The model was a keen Twitter user, and had more than 34,000 followers. She used the site to promote women's rights and empowerment

5. Her former fashion editor, Barbara Robertson, described the model as being "sweet and down to earth" with the "it factor". She likened her to an "early Kate Moss"

6. Reeva Steenkamp on the set of reality TV show Tropika Island Of Treasure (Pic: Stimulii)

His lawyer Barry Roux said the athlete had "lost everything" after the 29-year-old law graduate and model's death, and argued he should not go to prison.

He also said the Pistorius, whose lower legs were amputated as a baby, would face particular difficulties in jail.

But state prosecutor Gerrie Nel had argued that only 10 years' imprisonment would satisfy the public.

Video: Pistorius Leaves Court For Prison

He said that any lesser sentence could result in a widespread loss of faith in the justice system.

Known as Blade Runner because of his carbon-fibre prosthetics, Pistorius achieved global recognition at the London 2012 Olympics when he reached the semi-finals of the 400m against able-bodied athletes. 

:: Watch a round-up of the day's events on Sky News at 9.30pm - Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 132 and Freesat channel 202.

Video: Pistorius Led Down To The Cells

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1. Gallery: Pistorius: A Sporting Pioneer

   Pistorius was born in Johannesburg on November 22, 1986. A congenital condition meant he had no bones in his lower legs.

2. He had both legs amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old, and now runs on carbon fibre prosthetic blades.

3. Pistorius won the 200m final in a record time at the 2004 Athens Paralympics. In 2006 he finished sixth in the able-bodied event in South Africa.

4. Ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled his blades did not give him an unfair advantage. But he failed to qualify for the men's 400m.

5. He won gold in all three of his events at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics - the 100m, 200m and 400m. He set a world record in the 400m (sport class T44).

6. He won the 400m in 47.28s and the 100m in 11.04s at the 2011 Paralympic World Cup. The athlete later ran the 400m in 45.07s - within the Olympic qualifying time.

7. The Blade Runner won the 400m silver medal in 45.52s at the 2012 African Championships. He just missed the 45.30s he needed to qualify for the Olympics.

8. Pistorius was selected by the South African Olympic Committee to run the 4x400m relay and 400m at the 2012 London Olympics. He said it was "one of the happiest days of my life".

9. He had been dating the model Reeva Steenkamp since late 2012. She was found dead at his home on February 14, 2013.

10. After a lengthy trail, Pistorius is cleared of murder but found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to five years in prison.

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Hammer Attacker Guilty Of Attempted Murder

A burglar who bludgeoned three sisters in a "sustained and vicious" attack as they slept in a luxury hotel has been found guilty of attempted murder.

Philip Spence has been told to expect a "very substantial sentence" after using a claw hammer to beat the wealthy tourists, leaving all three women with life-changing injuries.

The 32-year-old walked into London's four-star Cumberland Hotel in the early hours of April 6, 2014, and travelled up to the victims' room, where the door was unlocked.

The claw hammer used in the attack was on the seventh floor of the hotel

One of the women, Ohoud al-Najjar, was repeatedly bludgeoned with such force that her skull splintered, as her nine-year-old nephew hid beside her underneath the bedsheets.

The traveller, who was visiting the capital from the United Arab Emirates, survived the hammer attack, but now has just 5% brain function, is unable to speak, and has lost an eye.

Spence ran away from the scene with a case packed with iPads, expensive jewellery and smartphones, leaving the women for dead. 

The drug addict left the blood-stained weapon on the seventh floor of the hotel, which was soon traced to his accomplice, Thomas Efremi.

Although Spence, from Harlesden, north-west London, admitted the attack, he denied three counts of attempted murder, as well as conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary.

Simon Mayo QC had told Southwark crown court: "The intention of their attacker, say the prosecution, was to kill them.

"The scene that met the eyes of the police and emergency services as they arrived in the aftermath was, in the words of one of those attending, 'horrific'."

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IS Claims Video Shows Intercepted US Arms Drops

By Sky News US Team

The Islamic State has released footage purporting to show weapons from a US airdrop to Kurdish forces that have been intercepted by the militants.

The footage was allegedly shot in Kobani, the northern Syrian city that is being defended against a sustained IS offensive by Kurdish fighters.

It shows IS fighters opening boxes seemingly containing grenades and other weapons.

Sky News could not verify the video's authenticity.

The US military on Sunday began airdropping weapons, ammunition and medical supplies to Kurdish forces defending Kobani against Islamic State militants.

The video allegedly shows weapons dropped for the Kurds near Kobani

The airdrops were the first of their kind and followed weeks of US and coalition airstrikes in and near Kobani, near the Turkish border.

Sky News Defence Correspondent Alistair Bunkall said: "That is not supposed to happen at all, but it is a danger - it  has always been a danger - when the West has tried to arm moderate Syrian opposition in the country."

Video: Travelling Through Syria

"One way or the other it (the aid) tends to end up in the wrong hands - either directly like this, because you drop it in the wrong place, or because it is sold on the black market."

C-130 cargo planes made multiple drops of arms and supplies provided by Kurdish authorities in Iraq, the US Central Command said.

The airdrops are intended to enable continued resistance to Islamic State efforts to take full control of Kobani, a strategically important town.

Kurdish forces on the ground reportedly withstood a fierce attack by IS on Tuesday, as they waited for reinforcements to arrive after Turkey sad it would help fighters reach the area from Iraq.

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1. Gallery: Syrian Kurds Battle IS To Retain Control Of Kobani

   Turkish soldiers clean mortars as they take up positions by the Turkish-Syrian border opposite the Syrian town of Kobani

2. Smoke rises above buildings after Islamic State militants hit the Syrian town with mortar fire

3. A man surveys the town from a point near the Mursitpinar border crossing, on the Turkish-Syrian border

4. A fighter jet flies above Kobani

5. An explosion rocks the town during an airstrike by the US-led coalition

6. Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) fighters in a street in Kobani

7. Turkish soldiers take up positions

8. A man watches Kobani through a sniper rifle binocular from near the Mursitpinar crossing

9. Turkish army tanks take up positions by the border opposite the town

10. A Turkish soldier covers an armoured vehicle

11. Kurds watch Kobani - also known as Ain al-Arab - from the southeastern village of Mursitpinar. Continue through for more pictures

Meanwhile, Britain said Royal Air Force drones will fly intelligence-gathering missions over Syria, in a broadening of UK operations against IS beyond Iraq.

And the UK's most senior police officer has claimed at least five Britons are travelling to Iraq and Syria to join IS every week.

"Five a week doesn't sound much but when you realise there are 50 weeks in a year, 250 more would be 50% more than we think have gone already," Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said.

"There may be many more who set out to travel to another country and meandered over to Syria and Iraq in a way that is not always possible to spot when you have failed states and leaky borders."

Video: Kobani Refugees Face More Hardship

Another video posted on the internet purportedly showed a woman being stoned to death for alleged adultery, with her elderly father taking part in the stoning.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the execution took place in August or September in an IS-controlled rural area in the east of the central province of Hama.

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Mockery Of Justice System Or A Fair Sentence?

By Robert Nisbet, in Pretoria

At first there was bemusement and quizzical looks as people tried to compute what Judge Thokozile Masipa had delivered.

Dozens of bystanders had gathered around TV monitors and satellite trucks to hear the summary, delivered quietly and methodically by the 67-year-old judge.

Gradually it sank in that Oscar Pistorius had been sentenced to jail, and would be serving a maximum of five years behind bars for culpable homicide.

Overwhelmingly the reaction on the streets was negative.

One man grabbed the barrel of our camera to have his say: "It's too light. He took the soul of another person. How can that be right? He's a murderer."

Video: Steenkamps' Relief At Trial's End

This was a view replicated across Madiba Street which separates the North Gauteng High Court from the Palace of Justice where this drama has played out.

One ex-offender who now works for prison reform stood outside the gates, dressed symbolically in chains and an orange jumpsuit.

"It makes a mockery of the justice system," he told me.

Video: Friends 'Felt Reeva's Light Today'

"I was sentenced to five and a half years in jail for robbery and yet the rich man, the famous man gets less than that for killing a totally innocent woman."

Two people told us that they thought it was a fair sentence given his disability, but they were shouted down by others.

But the most supportive message was scrawled on a bus stop.

Video: Defence Expects Ten Months In Jail

It said: "We will always honour UR talent. Prison is not the end."

Video: Pistorius Sentence Public Reaction

Video: Pistorius Led Down To The Cells

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Man Held Over Girl Who Disappeared In 1977

Police investigating Ireland's longest missing person case have arrested a man.

The 64-year-old is being held for the alleged kidnapping of Mary Boyle, who was six when she disappeared in March 1977.

He is being held at Mullingar police station in County Westmeath and can be detained for up to 24 hours.

An undated age progression photo of Mary Boyle released by police

Mary went missing from near her grandparents' home in Cashelard, Ballyshannon, in County Donegal, on 18 March.

She and her siblings had been on a family trip with their parents to visit their grandparents.

A police spokesman said: "We are appealing for anyone with any information on the circumstances around Mary's disappearance to contact us.

"Even something that people may have thought was insignificant at the time could help us advance the continuing investigation."

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Briton Found Dead With Throat Slit In Bali

By Mark White, Home Affairs Correspondent

A British man has been found dead with his throat slit and wrapped in a plastic bag on Indonesian holiday island Bali.

Locals discovered 60-year-old Robert Ellis' body in the island's Bangdun region.

A forensics doctor at Bali's Sanglah Hospital, Ida Bagus Putu Alit, confirmed reports the victim had several cuts to his throat, including one that severed a main artery.

Local police had thought Mr Ellis was an Australian citizen, because he had previously lived in Australia.

He had been living in a luxury apartment complex in the Balinese seaside district of Sanur with his Indonesian wife.

Police say the his arms and legs were tied up when a farmer discovered the body inside a plastic bag.

It is understood his body showed signs of bruising. Police believe he died early on Monday.

A spokesman at the Foreign Office told Sky News: "We were notified about the death of a British national on Bali on October 21. The Foreign Office stands ready to give consular assistance".

The spokesman added that Foreign Office officials were liaising with local police in Bali.

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Attack On Canadian Soldiers Sparks Terror Fear

One of two Canadian soldiers hit by a car in an apparent terrorist attack has died of his injuries.

Officials said the soldier, whose name has not been released, died early on Tuesday. 

The suspected attacker, who officials said had become influenced by radical Islam, has been shot and killed.

The attack in Quebec was the first such incident in Canada since the country joined the fight against Islamic State militants.

The attack took place in a small Quebec town

Royal Canadian Mounted Police spokesman David Falls said the suspect "was known to Federal authorities" and "authorities were concerned that he had become radicalised".

The suspect has been identified as Martin Couture Rouleau, 25, of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, a small town about 26 miles (42km) southeast of Montreal.

One neighbour said Rouleau had stopped wearing jeans and started wearing a tunic. The neighbour also said that he had changed over the last year and was alone a lot.

Another neighbour said Rouleau converted to Islam a little over a year ago.

The man hit the two soldiers and fled the scene in his vehicle, triggering a police chase that ended with the man losing control and his car rolling over several times before ending up in a ditch.

Police shot the man, Quebec provincial police Lieutenant Michel Brunet said.

Lt Brunet said they found a knife on the ground but he could not say if the suspect had it in his hand when police fired their weapons.

Television footage showed a large knife in the grass near the flipped over car.

The other soldier was not believed to be in a serious condition.

The case is similar to the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby in London last year, in which two men ran him over with a car before hacking the off-duty soldier to death.

Images of Michael Adebolajo, 29, holding a butcher knife and cleaver with bloodied hands in the moments after the May 2013 killing shocked people around the world and sparked fears of Islamist terrorism in Britain.

Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale were convicted of murdering Fusilier Rigby, who was 25.

Canada is sending six fighter jets to take part in the US-led campaign against Islamic State militants in Iraq.

IS has urged supporters to carry out attacks against Western countries that are participating in the campaign.

It was not known whether the suspect in the Quebec attack had any ties to Islamic militant groups.

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Woman Killed By Falling Tree In High Winds

A woman has died after being hit by a falling tree in London during high winds caused by the remnants of Hurricane Gonzalo.

The London Ambulance Service said the woman died at the scene in Knightsbridge, west London.

A spokeswoman said: "We were called at 11.40am to reports of a tree fallen on a person on Kensington Road.

The tail end of Gonzalo hits Perth, Scotland. Pic: Ashleigh Jolly

"We sent an ambulance crew, a responder by car, an advanced paramedic, a medical team from London's Air Ambulance by car and a duty officer to the scene.

"Sadly, despite our attempts to resuscitate the patient, a woman died at the scene."

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1. Gallery: Remnants Of Gonzalo Blow Across UK

   Waves crash into the shoreline at Blackpool

2. A train braves the coastal route near Whitehaven in Cumbria, as the remnants of Hurricane Gonzalo blew into Britain, causing rush-hour misery for road, rail and air travellers

3. Some areas were subjected to gusts of wind up to 65mph, but forecasters predicted that the worst of the weather will be over after Tuesday

5. Rough seas near Whitehaven

6. A woman struggles to hold her umbrella during windy weather on London Bridge

7. People take photographs of heavy seas in front of New Brighton lighthouse near Liverpool

8. People are covered by a breaking wave as they walk along the promenade at New Brighton

9. Looking across the River Mersey at New Brighton

10. A ship close to the seafront in roughs seas at Crosby on Merseyside

11. Large waves hit the seafront at Blackpool

12. Waves crash into the shoreline at Blackpool

13. Visitors have to contend with gale force winds on the sea front at Blackpool

14. A coastguard vehicle drives along the promenade as waves crash into the shoreline at Blackpool

15. Foam from large waves and whipped up by gale force winds cover the coast road at Cleveleys near Blackpool

16. Large waves hit the seafront at Cleveleys near Blackpool

17. Waves hit the seafront at Blackpool, with the famous Blackpool Tower in the background

22. A runner on the Crosby seafront

23. A photographer on the seafront

25. A ranger vehicle on the seafront at Crosby

26. Passengers queue to check in at Heathrow Terminal 2 after some flights were cancelled

27. The departures board in Terminal 2 showing cancelled flights

28. The sea off Portland Bill in Dorset

Meanwhile, three women - one of them believed to be a wheelchair user - have been injured by a falling tree in West Sussex.

They were taken to hospital after the incident at the Southwick Recreation Ground just before 10am on Tuesday morning.

Hurricane Gonzalo - which at its peak sustained winds of 110mph - caused severe damage and a power blackout when it hit Bermuda at the end of last week.

A yellow weather warning is in place across most of the UK as the storm concludes its journey across the Atlantic.

Video: Latest Sky News UK Weather Update

A spokesman for Heathrow Airport said 10% of flights with its biggest 20 carriers would be cancelled due to high winds, and more than 100 journeys have been axed so far.

"We do not know exactly how many passengers or flights that will have an impact on, although the cancellations are only expected for Tuesday," the spokesman said.

Sky News weather presenter Nazaneen Ghaffar said: "Although it will be sunny for most places, it will also feel chilly, mainly due to the winds that will be gusting up to 50mph for most places, and up to 70mph across exposed parts of the North and West.

"However, later this afternoon the winds will tend to ease from the South West and it should dry up across the Republic of Ireland and southern England later."

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Ebola: US Restricts Air Travel From Africa

By Sky News US Team

Passengers travelling to the US from three ebola-stricken countries in West Africa must enter the country through one of five airports, the government has said.

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Steenkamps Welcome Pistorius' Five-Year Term

Barry and June Steenkamp reacted positively to the five-year sentence handed to Oscar Pistorius for the killing of their daughter.

Speaking outside Pretoria High Court, Mrs Steenkamp expressed relief at the end of the trial, which lasted seven months.

Defence counsel had suggested that Pistorius could be moved out of prison into house arrest after serving 10 months of his sentence.

Reeva Steenkamp was shot dead on Valentine's Day 2013

When asked whether she was happy with this, Mrs Steenkamp said: "Doesn't matter, he's going to pay something. I'm just glad it's over."

Reeva Steenkamp's father Barry, who has suffered health problems since the death of his daughter, added: "We are satisfied."

Video: Pistorius Jailed For Five Years

Sky's Special Correspondent Alex Crawford spoke to both inside the courtroom.

She added that Mrs Steenkamp had said: "There's no closure without Reeva unless you can magic her back."

Dup De Bruyn, the lawyer acting for the Steenkamps, said the judge had given "the right sentence" and added: "Justice was served."

Video: Behind The Scenes Of Media At Court

Arnold Pistorius, the athlete's uncle, criticised the prosecution in the case and called for his family to be allowed to move forward.

He said: "We accept the judgment. Oscar will embrace this opportunity to pay back to society."

Judge Thokozile Masipa had ruled a custodial sentence was unavoidable for the Paralympic and Olympic athlete, and criticised defence witness Annette Vergeer, who had suggested he would have been vulnerable in jail.

Video: Pistorius Leaves Court For Prison

Pistorius offered little visible reaction as his sentence was read out. He stood and stared straight ahead, and then sat staring at the floor as legal submissions were made.

Mrs Steenkamp looked directly at him as the sentence was given, but otherwise did not visibly react in the packed courtroom.

A spokesperson for defence lawyer Barry Roux said there would be no appeal. She added that Pistorius will serve a sixth of his sentence - around 10 months - before being moved to house arrest.

Video: Sentence Disappoints Prosecutors

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel, who had argued the double amputee should be jailed for 10 years for killing Ms Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year, said: "The court has done what the court should do."

The prosecution has not yet decided if it will appeal against the sentence, spokesman Nathi Mncube said.

The prosecution has disputed the defence claim that Pistorius - known as the Blade Runner - could be out of prison after 10 months.

Video: Defence Expects Ten Months In Jail

:: Watch a round-up of the day's events on Sky News at 9.30pm - Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 132 and Freesat channel 202.

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