Oscar Pistorius, the Olympic athlete who shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in February 2014, has been charged with murder, after an Appeals court overturned the earlier manslaughter verdict. Pistorius was under house arrest after serving one year of his five year sentence in custody, but must now return to court for re-sentencing. He faces a minimum of 15 years in prison. Pistorius fired four shots through a locked toilet door, fatally wounding Steenkamp, although he has always maintained he believed it was an intruder. The judge has now stated the identity of the person is ‘irrelevant to his guilt’ and ‘the possibility of the death of the person behind the door was clearly an obvious result.’

Jessica Murray

 

Police Investigate Reports of Fat-Shaming Cards on London Tube The Police have launched an investigation into the distribution of cards on the London Underground by a group of people who “hate and resent fat people” and who name themselves ‘Overweight Haters Ltd’. The group have been specifically targeting individuals on the tubes and handing them cards which explain their reasons for ‘hating’ them, arguing that due to their weight, they are “fat, ugly humans”. When asked to comment, Stephen Burton, director of enforcement and on-street operations said: “this sad and unpleasant form of antisocial behaviour will not be tolerated”. Transport for London have said that they are appealing to people who have seen the cards being distributed to contact station staff and police.

Becky Ward

 

For the first time since Moscow launched air strikes against the opponents of President Bashar al-Assad in September, a Russian aircraft has been downed in Syria. The Russian Su-24 was shot down by Turkish F-16s in the Turkey-Syria border on the 24th November. The plane crashed in the Syrian province of Latakia. There is a dispute between Russian and Turkish authorities regarding whether the aircraft, which was unidentified at the time of being shot, was over Turkish or Syrian airspace. This is the first time any NATO state has shot down a Russian or Soviet Plane since the 1950s. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that “the actions were fully in line with Turkey’s rules of engagement”.

James Hicks

Yorkshire Ripper declared no longer mentally ill
The Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe, is set to be returned to prison after being declared no longer mentally ill by psychiatrists. Doctors have recommended the 69-year-old, who was given twenty life sentences for the murder of thirteen women and attempted murder of three more in 1981, be taken out of Broadmoor Hospital, a high security psychiatric unit, and moved to a specialist prison. Richard McCann, son of Wilma McCann who was Sutcliffe’s first victim, has said, ‘None of this will bring my mum back and where he is locked up does not really change anything.’ The final decision is to be made by the justice secretary, Michal Gove.

Alice Handy

(Image: Reuters)