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Gran called 321 times/hour for help

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 30 April 2014 | 23.26

"Will you help me?" ... secret footage revealed Yvonne Grant, 98, cried out for help 321 times in an hour but was ignored by her nursing home carers. Picture: BBC Source: Supplied

NURSING home carers ignored the desperate cries of a 98-year-old bedridden woman despite her calling for help more than 300 times in an hour.

Damning secret footage filmed inside Oban House, London showed great-grandmother Yvonne Grant begging to be taken to the toilet for more than two hours as her carers apparently sat outside her room.

The suffering woman can be heard pleading, "Will someone help me please?"

Suspecting something was wrong, Grant's granddaughter Vanessa Evans planted the hidden camera which captured a carer helping the elderly woman out of bed and ordered to walk to the toilet on her own.

The secret video was included in a shocking BBC Panorama investigation into abuse at care homes.

Since Grant's death in January last year, two members of staff have been convicted of common assault over their treatment of the mother-of-four.

The troubling footage also showed a carer ordering the woman to use an incontinence pad, which she had never used before, and throwing her roughly on the bed.

"When I saw the video I was devastated and fuming. But I can't say I was shocked," granddaughter Vanessa Evans said.

"I was expecting to find something but I didn't think it would be this extreme. Her calls were definitely ignored because the nurse's station is right outside the room."

The BBC Panorama investigation revealed widespread abuse at some of Britain's largest elderly care facilities, including the Old Deanery in Essex.

Troubling ... footage captured patient Joan Maddison being slapped and taunted by a carer at the Old Deanery in Essex. Picture: BBC Source: Supplied

The undercover reporter secretly captured staff taunting patients, turning off their call-bells and leaving them to sit in their own mess.

One staff member was caught verbally abusing and slapping a partially paralysed woman who suffers from dementia.

The disturbing footage has led to the suspension of seven care home workers, and the dismissal of one.

In November, health care watchdogs had declared the home safe after concerns were raised by whistleblowers in 2012.

However the BBC documentary has called into question the effectiveness of "special measures" introduced at the home to manage staff.

The home said it was "shocked and saddened by the allegations".


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‘Luckily I was able to subdue him’

A driver of silver ute involved in dramatic chase tried to grab policemans gun as he was being arrested. Courtesy: Channel 7

IT WAS the terrifying moment a man reached for a police officer's gun following a high-speed car chase west of Brisbane.

Sergeant Tony Harm has been praised as a hero for bravely wrestling with the man, who was just centimetres from grabbing his holstered pistol.

How the drama unfolded yesterday

Sgt Harm was dragged through a barbed-wire fence during the struggle but continued his pursuit until he apprehended the man.

"He's obviously a very committed officer and very brave," Gatton police officer-in-charge Senior Sergeant Tom Missingham said.

The fugitive appears to reach for Sgt Tony Harms' revolver as the pair scuffle on the ground following a high-speed car chase. Pic: Channel 7

Sgt Harm resorted to pumping pepper spray into the man's face and eventually used his Taser to stop him in his tracks.

The 32-year-old man is suspected of having been involved in a break-in at a Twin Waters home at 5.45am yesterday. The home's 68-year-old resident had been out on a walk and returned home to find a man who knocked him to the ground.

Just after 10am, police went to a home at Forest Hill in relation to a motorbike theft.

There were reports of gun shots before a silver Commodore ute sped off towards Gatton with a motorbike sliding around in the tray.

Sgt Tony Harms attempts to detain the fugitive following a high-speed police chase. Pic: Channel 7

For more than an hour, police hunted the man through a network of rural roads as he occasionally veered to the wrong side of the road, following him from above in helicopters.

Steve Kenglick tried to drive in front of the man's speeding car to end the chase. Officers on the ground tried to puncture the car's tyres with stinger spikes.

When the ute finally came to a halt on Woodlands Rd in Gatton more than 30 minutes later, the driver fled on foot into nearby bush.

Sgt Harm chased and tackled the man and fought off his repeated attempts to grab his weapon. The man complained continuously as he was led to a police car.

Sgt Tony Harms tries to subdue the fugitive with pepper spray, but later must resort to a stun gun. Pic: Channel 9

"He went for my service firearm there a couple of times,'' he told Channel 9. "I deployed some OC (capsicum) spray and then a Taser thereafter and was luckily able to subdue him. It was a bit of a worry, but you sort of judge the risks and go from there.

"We got him off the streets and he was a bit of a dangerous sort of character to be carrying on like that, racing around at those speeds, so it's certainly good to get him in custody."

Police have a safety lock on their holster to prevent offenders removing their firearm during a struggle.

The man was arrested in relation to multiple traffic and property offences and taken to hospital for treatment of injuries.

Sgt Tony Harms speaks to the media after his ordeal. Pic: Channel 9


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Sinkhole closes major highway

A giant sinkhole has opened up and engulfed a car traveling down a street in Toledo, Ohio. Credit: Fox News

A SINKHOLE that opened up south of Bowen forced the closure of the Bruce Highway last night.

The Queensland Police Service Facebook page labelled the hole a "sinkhole", but photographs published on social media sparked debate about whether it was indeed a sinkhole or just a large pothole.

Bruce Highway in world's top 25 most dangerous roads

Either way, the large hole caused the closure of both lanes of the highway from Bowen to Proserpine about 8.30pm.

Authorities were hoping to reopen the major arterial this morning.

A Queensland police spokeswoman said the hole was reported about 7.15pm, with police initially closing just one northbound lane.

But all north and southbound lanes were closed for safety reasons by the Department of Main Roads about 8.30pm, with the highway closed from the Barrier Reef Roadhouse at Bowen in the north to just north of Proserpine.

Police diverted traffic through Collinsville last night, while truckies to the north of the closure were taking the inland highway around the sinkhole.

The 2m-wide hole was reported to be growing last night, with engineers and geologists expected to inspect the site today.

The sinkhole in the Bruce Highway south of Bowen.

Bowen Palms Caravan Park manager Bev Hartz said police told her that the sinkhole had opened up near the bridge over Kangaroo Creek, about 20km south of Bowen.

"We did get a lot of flooding from Cyclone Ita so maybe it's something to do with that," she said.

"After Ita, the highway was closed in a few places and the rail line was wiped out at some stage."

Other local residents were in the dark about the disruption.

Truckies told the Townsville Bulletin that the sinkhole opened near the bridge with traffic initially allowed through until a decision was made to fully close the highway.

They described it, in true truckie fashion, as just a "big bloody hole".

Sinkholes, which are relatively rare, generally occur when water eats away at the earth or bedrock, such as limestone, below the surface causing the ground to collapse.

Potholes are far more common along the Bruce Highway.

A massive sinkhole in western Kentucky opened up below the National Corvette Museum, swallowing eight rare and historic Chevrolet Corvettes that were on display.


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Ukraine on ‘full combat mode’

Pro-Russia activists storm several official buildings in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk and fire on police headquarters. Sarah Toms reports.

Combat mode ... An armed pro-Russian activist stands guard at a checkpoint near the south eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk. Source: AFP

UKRAINE'S armed forces are on "full combat alert" against a possible Russian invasion, Kiev says, as pro-Kremlin insurgents tightened their grip on the increasingly chaotic east of the country.

Rebels stormed the regional police building and town hall in the eastern Ukrainian city of Gorlivka, local officials said, bringing to more than a dozen the number of locations under their control.

The new seizure followed clashes in nearby Lugansk late on Tuesday, as hundreds of pro-Russia protesters, spearheaded by a heavily armed mob, took control of the police station.

Ready for action ... Unknown ultranationalists activists march towards the Independence Square to commemorate "Maidan heroes" in Kiev. Source: AFP

Ukraine's interim president, Oleksandr Turchynov, told his cabinet the nation's armed forces were on "full combat alert" as fears grew in Kiev that Russia could mount an armed invasion of the former Soviet republic.

"The threat of a Russia starting a war against mainland Ukraine is real," he said.

Turchynov urged "Ukrainian patriots" to bolster the beleaguered police force, which he has criticised for "inaction and in some cases treachery".

Roads manned ... A pro Russian masked armed militant inspects a car near Slovyansk, eastern Ukraine. Source: AP

The West has accused Russia of fomenting the crisis and backing the rebels, and has imposed sanctions to try to get Moscow to back down.

The United States and European Union members see the insurgency as a bid to destabilise Ukraine before presidential elections slated for May 25, but Moscow denies it has a hand in the rebellion.

President Vladimir Putin insisted to reporters late on Tuesday that there were "neither Russian instructors, nor special units, nor troops" operating in Ukraine.

Buildings taken over ... Pro-Russian gunmen guard inside an administration building they seized in Luhansk, one of the largest cities in eastern, Ukraine. Source: AP

Opening another front in the war of words between Washington and Moscow, Putin warned the sanctions against his country could harm Western interests in Russia's lucrative energy sector.

At a regional summit in Minsk, Putin said: "If this continues, we will of course have to think about how (foreign companies) work in the Russian Federation, including in key sectors of the Russian economy such as energy."

His comments threaten the operations of some of the world's biggest energy companies in the resource-rich country. Among those targeted by the US sanctions is the president of Rosneft, Russia's top petroleum company and one of the world's largest publicly traded oil companies.

Laying in wait ... A pro Russian masked armed militant guards barricades near Slovyansk, eastern Ukraine. Source: AP

The EU said talks with Russia and Ukraine would take place in Warsaw on Friday to try to resolve a $US3.5 billion ($A3.79 billion) gas bill Gazprom calculates Kiev owes. Putin has threatened to cut off the gas flow to Ukraine if it is not quickly paid.

The tensions are already having an impact on the Russian economy, as the International Monetary Fund announced on Wednesday the country was already "experiencing recession".

The IMF also drastically slashed its 2014 growth forecast for Russia to 0.2 per cent from 1.3 per cent, amid massive capital outflows over the Ukraine crisis.


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How much sleep successful people get

Sleep is rejuvenating for the body. And you just might wake up to a handsome prince. Source: Supplied

THERE'S a reason why study after study (after study) has shown that getting a good night's sleep is one of the absolute best things you can do for your mind and your body.

"You have an opportunity to immediately improve your health, creativity, productivity and sense of wellbeing by getting just 30 minutes more sleep tonight than you got last night," HuffPost president and editor-in-chief Arianna Huffington explained at The Huffington Post's Thrive conference last week.

Given that sleep and success so often go hand-in-hand, we asked several of the seriously accomplished speakers at the Thrive event to let us in on their bedtime habits. Most, it turns out, prioritise getting plenty of high-quality sleep a night, though a few copped to scrimping. (Good thing that adding just 30 minutes per night can make such a big difference, eh?)

Here's how many hours these nine leaders clock at night:

Dr. Mark Hyman, M.D., authority in functional medicine; founder, The UltraWellness Center:

I am kind of fanatical about trying to get at least seven or eight — mostly eight. Last night, I got seven-and-a-half, so I was on the edge.

Katie Couric, award-winning journalist, TV personality and NY Times best-selling author:

Seven.

Seven hours of sleep every night for Katie Couric. Source: Getty Images

Dr. David Agus, M.D., professor, USC Keck School of Medicine and Viterbi School of Engineering; CBS news contributor:

I get probably five to six hours a night. The key to me is not just how much sleep I get, but when I sleep. I try to go to bed the same time and get up the same time every day. It makes an enormous impact on your mind.

Randi Zuckerberg, founder and chief executive, Zuckerberg Media; editor-in-chief, Dot Complicated:

I try and get seven hours every night. I've found that since I had my son, I actually do that more often. Taking him through his bedtime routine around 7pm relaxes me, so I feel like I'm able to go to bed earlier. Before, I would've procrastinated and found things to do until 2am.

Mark Zuckerberg's sister, Randi, needs more sleep than her brother who famously gets by on very little. Source: Getty Images

Kenneth Cole, chairman and chief executive, Kenneth Cole:

Four to five. It's more than three or four, and I'm much more functional when I get five, than four. But I don't usually use an alarm clock to get up. It's this inner clock that gets me up out of bed in the morning.

Designer Kenneth Cole normally gets three or four hours every night. Source: Getty Images

Andy Puddicombe, Headspace co-founder:

Through choice, I get around six to seven. If I get too many, I actually don't feel great. I purposely set the alarm to wake up after six or seven hours.

Laurie David, author and producer:

I sleep about seven hours — eight would be better. But I wake up, no matter where I am, at 6 or 6:30am.

Lucy Danziger, former editor-in-chief, Self Magazine; wellbeing lifestyle expert

Last night I got about five-and-a-half, but that is not a good enough amount. I always say, "Invest in tomorrow by going to bed earlier tonight." You can stay up and watch re-runs of "Friends," or do stupid things on your computer, but tomorrow you're going to be wiped out. Seven hours is good for me.

An extra 30 minutes every night can make all the difference to your waking life. Source: ThinkStock

Panache Desai, spiritual teacher:

Eight hours, 10 hours. I love sleep, it's one of my favourite activities. I attribute sleep to my success.

These interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity and length.

This article originally appeared on The Huffington Post and was reprinted with permission.


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Let’s be honest, Blues can’t win

NSW coach Laurie Daley joins The Back Page panel to discuss his frontrunners for the Blues' no. 6 position.

Deja vu? Mitchell Pearce breaks down after game three last year. Source: News Limited

OPINION: IT'S officially panic stations for Laurie Daley and the NSW Blues.

Less than a month until game one on May 28, and nine players are currently out with injury.

Count them. Trent Merrin (thumb), Josh Dugan (ankle), Glenn Stewart (ankle), James Maloney (shoulder), Jarryd Hayne (shoulder), Todd Carney (hamstring), Luke Lewis (shoulder), Robbie Farah (dislocated elbow) and Michael Jennings (ankle) are all in doubt.

With that and the fact two of the three games are at Suncorp this year, we might as well just say it now: Queensland will make it nine series wins in a row.

What does Daley do? Stick to his guns and keep the likes of the much maligned Mitchell Pearce at No.7, or start experimenting?

It's time to give Adam Reynolds a shot in the No. 7. Source: News Corp Australia

Yes, NSW has fallen into this trap before. Too fickle. Changes from game to game, while the core of the Queensland side has remained the same for years.

But this is different. It's desperate. And the Blues need to do something drastic.

One thing we know Daley will do right is pick a specialist No.6, rather than throwing key man Greg Bird in there out of position.

"Greg (Bird) is established now in the backrow," Daley said.

"I don't want to weaken one position to strengthen another.

"We've got the right player or players to play in the six jersey. We'll get a good indication over the next couple of weeks of who really wants to play there."

Both Maloney and the likely back-up Carney are longshots to take the field, so Josh Reynolds leads the next line of contenders, followed by Jarrod Mullen.

But what about the seven? Pearce has played in 12 Origin games now. It's proven that he is not the answer.

Why not give Adam Reynolds his chance?

And guys like Aiden Tolman and Shaun Fensom - not "fashionable" forwards, but effective.

Aiden Tolman is not a "fashionable" forward, but he's effective. Source: News Corp Australia

For anyone who thinks that's too risky, just remember there is talk of bringing Tony Williams back into the mix. That's a risk.

Matty Johns was adamant last week, saying the Blues would definitely break Queensland's streak this year.

"It's been a long time coming but NSW will win this year's Origin series. There's no doubt about it," Johns said on Triple M.

"All we've got to do is win that first game in Queensland. Go up there and catch them cold in that first game and history has shown we can do that.

"Then we return to NSW to wrap up the series."

It won't be quite that simple.

Should the Blues bite the bullet and experiment with new blood, or stick to their guns? Send your tweets to @cam_tomarchio or continue the discussion in the comments below


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Couple kill man, jump to deaths

Apparent murder-suicide ... police said couple Nickie Hunt Circelli and Gary Crockett jumped to their death from a bridge after killing a man they'd lived with. Picture: Facebook Source: Supplied

A COUPLE who leapt to their deaths from the George Washington Bridge were suspected of strangling a man in their home in New York, before they drove south and took the fatal plunge, sources said.

Nickie Hunt Circelli, 40, and Gary Crockett, 41, were being sought by Suffern police for robbing and murdering Hunt Circel­li's uncle just hours before they jumped from the bridge on Monday, law-enforcement sources told The New York Post.

Neighbours said the couple hopped into a Chevy Malibu and bolted from the area early on Monday after a ­violent ruckus in the home.

"I heard a loud boom and that was it," said Josefina Rodriguez, who lives upstairs in the apartment building.

"Those two went running. They never said a thing."

Rodriguez later learned that a man in the apartment had been killed.

"[Hunt Circelli's brother] came upstairs to me and told me that his uncle was dead," the woman ­recalled.

The couple allegedly robbed the uncle, 70-year-old Vincent Valenti, of money and an AR-15 assault rifle before killing him.

On the run ... Nickie Hunt Circelli and Gary Crockett were being hunted by police for allegedly robbing and murdering Hunt Circel­li's uncle. Picture: Facebook Source: Supplied

The Rockland County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the death a homicide, sources said.

It was determined that the victim had a broken vertebra, which was consistent with him being choked to death.

After allegedly killing the man, the duo drove to the bridge, where they held hands and leapt off together around 11am Monday (1am Tuesday AEST).

Authorities said the couple had no wallets or identification on them when they jumped.

They were pulled out of the Hudson River barely alive and rushed to St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital, where they died.

Investigators were able to identify them after Suffern cops called Port Authority police to say the bridge jumpers might have been involved in the slaying, a source said. Relatives then identified the two bodies.

Hunt Circelli had been previously arrested on burglary charges, a source said.

Neighbours said both Hunt Circelli and Crockett had drug ­addictions and were oddballs.

"I always thought there was something wrong with them," said Rodriguez.

"Maybe it was a bad energy about them. They just looked weird. Sometimes you can just tell there is something off about them."


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Debris washes up near WA beach

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 23 April 2014 | 23.26

All the news you need to know.

DEBRIS washed up on a West Australian beach is being examined and photographed in a bid to find out if it has anything to do with missing Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370.

The debris was found washed ashore on a beach, 10km east of Augusta, and was reported to police.

Authorities say it is now at Bussellton police station where it has been photographed.

An Augusta man who claims to know the mystery local responsible for finding wreckage said an item 2m x 2m was found on the beach.

Mystery jet ... A shadow of a Royal New Zealand air force P-3 Orion aircraft involved in the search for the missing plane. Picture: Rob Griffith

The man told his neighbours who are fellow farmers before reporting it to police.

The images have been sent to Malaysian officials and to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.

The Australian-lead Joint Agency Coordination Centre said the photos were being examined "to determine whether further physical analysis is required and if there is any relevance to the search of missing flight MH370".

But the JACC would not comment further and the head of Malaysia's Civil Aviation Department, Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, told a press briefing in Kuala Lumpur the possible debris was not confirmed to be related to the plane.

Speaking alongside the country's Defence and acting Transport Minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, both men initially appeared puzzled by suggestions any part of the plane could possibly have been found on a WA beach.

Later Mr Rahman said: "That's not been verified yet as a part of the aircraft, we have not received any verification, any information that is related to MH370."

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is also investigating the debris which was found this afternoon.

The debris will be given to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority later tonight.

Investigators are urging people to be cautious of the debris and its origin, saying the more they look at it, the "less excited" they are.

Another report claimed aircraft debris had been found in the Scott River in the south-west of WA.

Nine News reports three objects have washed up, one is believed to be the length of a car with "distinct rivets".

WA INVESTIGATION: Is it MH370 plane debris? Follow the updates.

The news comes as Prime Minister Tony Abbott has declared Australia won't be abandoning the search for MH370, even if no wreckage is located during the underwater search.

Is it MH370? ... Debris has been found near the coast off Western Australia. Source: News Corp Australia

The air search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane has been suspended for the second day in a row due to poor weather.

Officials say heavy seas and poor visibility are making the air search ineffective and potentially hazardous.

The Prime Minister said he had "no advice whatsoever" to suggest there is any truth in claims the plane may have landed somewhere.

"Our expert advice is that the aircraft went down somewhere in the Indian Ocean, we have identified a probable impact zone, which is about 700km long, about 80km wide," Mr Abbott told reporters in Canberra.

Waiting for news ... Chinese relatives of passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 rest during a meeting at the Metro Park Hotel in Beijing. Source: AFP

Despite not finding any trace of the plane yet, the search isn't finished, he said.

"Australia will not rest until we have done everything we humanely can to get to the bottom of this mystery," Mr Abbott insisted.

"We are not going to abandon the families of the six Australian citizens that were on the plane. We are not going to let down the families of the 239 people on that plane by lightly surrendering while there is reasonable hope of finding something."

He said even if at the end of scouring the underwater search area crews locate nothing, it won't be abandoned.

"We may well rethink the search but we will not rest until we have done everything we can to solve this mystery.

"We owe it to the families of the 239 people on board, we owe it to the hundreds of millions, indeed billions of people who travel by air, to try to get to the bottom of this.

"The only way we can get to the bottom of this is to keep searching the probable impact zone until we find something or until we have searched it as thoroughly as human ingenuity allows at this time."

Malaysian authorities last night announced that an international investigations team, comprising experts from all around the world, will be set up to investigate the unprecedented missing plane.

Mr Hussein said the team would look at three aspects — operational, human and medical — but would not address criminal aspects which are being handled by the Malaysian police.

Members of the team will be announced next week. Mr Hussein said the team would work under terms of reference to be drafted by the Ministry of Transport.

And Mr Hussein also vowed that the search for the plane would continue.

He said that after the current search area, which has now been 80 per cent completed, was finished assets, including more undersea vessels, would be added to the search.

The New Straits Times quoted sources close to the investigation saying that the failure to turn up any debris at the current southern Indian Ocean search site was causing a rethink among investigators.

Sombre ... A man stands in front of a billboard in support of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 as Chinese relatives of passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 have a meeting at the Metro Park Hotel in Beijing. Source: AFP

The latest report comes as authorities prepare to send the robotic vehicle underwater today for mission number 10.

After being suspended yesterday, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority has planned a visual search today about 855 kilometres north west of Perth.

But again the weather may affect the effort, with heavy rain, widespread low cloud and south easterly winds predicted.

Visibility is expected to be limited to one kilometre.

Sources told the New Straits Times that they were considering revisiting the scenario that the plane had landed at an unknown location.

"The thought of it landing somewhere else is not impossible, as we have not found a single debris that could be linked to MH370. However, the possibility of a specific country hiding the plane when more than 20 nations are searching for it, seems absurd," the sources said.

The sources told the paper that another possibility was that the plane had crash landed in a remote spot.

Anguish ... Relatives of the missing MH370 passengers at the Metro Park Hotel in Beijing. Picture: Wang Zhao Source: AFP

MH370 went missing March 8 on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing along with its crew and 227 passengers, most of them Chinese.

The hunt for the jet has focused on a search area about 1500km north west of Perth after pings believed to be from the plane's black boxes were detected there.

The air search has been suspended due to bad weather as a result of Tropical Cyclone Jack.

"It has been determined that the current weather conditions are resulting in heavy seas and poor visibility, and would make any air search activities ineffective and potentially hazardous," the Joint Agency Coordination Centre said in a statement.

Up to 10 military aircraft were part of the visual search. The 10 ships involved in the search will be able to continue their planned activities.

The unmanned submersible Bluefin-21 is still scouring the ocean depths on its ninth mission trying to locate wreckage from MH370.

So far it has searched about two thirds of the underwater area, with no contacts of interest found to date.

Unhappy with investigation ... Sarah Bajc with her boyfriend Philip Wood, a passenger on MH370. Picture: Facebook Source: Supplied

Meantime, family members of passengers lost on the missing flight have criticised the Malaysian government for an investigation they say has been mismanaged.

Appearing on US morning television, Sarah Bajc, the girlfriend of MH370 American passenger Philip Wood, told Today host Matt Lauer passengers' loved ones all just "wanted to go back to square one".

"We just don't believe they're using proper evaluative techniques to check the data," she said. "It's day 45 and we're basically on the same position we were on the first day."

Ongoing search ... The unmanned submersible Bluefin-21 is still scouring the ocean depths. Source: Getty Images


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Newlywed killed wife for $1m

Married four days ... A jury has found that Michel Escoto killed his wife Wendy Trapaga with a tyre iron to collect her $1 million life insurance policy. Source: Supplied

TWELVE years after his wife of four days was beaten to death with a tyre iron, a jury has found Michel Escoto guilty of killing her so he could collect her $US1 million life insurance policy.

Escoto, 42, who reportedly tried to drug and then drown his 21-year-old bride, Wendy Trapaga, in a Miami hot tub in 2002, showed no emotion as the jury handed down its verdict.

The prosecution successfully put the case that Escoto took his bride to Miami's warehouse district after she did not die in the hot tub where he strangled and then bludgeoned her with a tyre iron.

Guilty ... Michel Escoto, seen here during his trial. Source: Supplied

Escoto had taken out the life insurance policy on Trapaga just days before her murder.

The jury had heard from Escoto's ex girlfriend, Yolanda Cerillo, who testified in exchange for immunity from prosecution that she was at the crime scene where Trapaga was killed and helped plot her murder.

"I hated what she stood for. I didn't know who she was. I hated the whole situation. I hated that you left. I hated that she was pregnant, then she wasn't pregnant..." she said in court.

Escoto had represented himself during the trial. During the trial, Escoto was sentenced to 30 days in jail for threatening Jorge Borron, the civil attorney representing the family of Trapaga.

"All of those guys in the white, it's gonna take all of them and some more," Escoto told Borron, pointing to the deputies in the courtroom.

The judge then called for a break, sent the jurors out of the room and told Escoto he "crossed the line."

Truth triumphs ... Myriam Benitez has welcomed the jury's verdict to find Michel Escoto guilty of murdering his wife. Source: Supplied

Trapaga's mother, Myriam Benitez, said "truth triumphed over lies."

"God accompanied us throughout this whole process. May my daughter rest in peace."

Assistant state attorney Gail Levine said she was "very, very pleased" with the jury's decision to find Escoto guilty.

"We're happy for Wendy today," she said. "He took her life, boldly, brazenly, for money."

He will face a judge on May 7th for his sentencing hearing, but with his verdict faces an automatic sentence of life without parole.


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MKR’s final four teams revealed

My Kitchen Rules contestants Helena and Vikki Moursellas are in the final four. Source: News Corp Australia

IT'S been a long haul, but MKR's grand final week teams have finally been revealed.

Victorian twins Helena and Vikki, SA mums Bree and Jessica, WA besties Chloe and Kelly and QLD surfer dads Paul and Blair are your top four teams for 2014.

The very last team to cook in last night's ultimate instant restaurant round, Helena and Vikki, were trailing top scorers Paul and Blair, sitting comfortably on the top of the leaderboard with 70 points.

While the twins' overall score of 65 couldn't trump the dads, it was enough to signal elimination for Tassie girls Thalia and Bianca.

Sent home: Thalia and Bianca were eliminated during Wednesday night's episode. Source: News Corp Australia

"We came with a love of food, but we are leaving with a true passion and we know that this is what we want to do with the rest of our lives," Bianca said of her time on the show.

Thalia added: "I got to cook alongside my best friend. I'm so glad we got to do this together."

Sticking to a mostly Greek menu, the twins went in fairly confident tonight. An early hiccup with the octopus entree saw Helena rattled and forced to head back to the shop to buy more seafood.

Tassie bestiest Thalia and Bianca have been eliminated from the show while Helena and Vikki remain in the competition. Courtesy: My Kitchen Rules.

But the girls regained their composure and were given a near perfect score from the judges for their first dishes of the night. Pete said his kataifi wrapped prawns with zucchini salad were"a celebration of all of produce the ladies used."

Their mains - lemon and oregano lamb with Greek beans and Piri Piri quail with saffron rice - were less of a hit but Manu said the quail was cooked to perfection.

Helena and Vikki's desserts, a hazelnut mousse cake and galaktoboureko with ice cream and grilled figs, also failed to find favour with the judges. Pete said his mousse cake was his least favourite dish of the night and that the use of macadamia nuts on top puzzled him.

The girls scored 24 out of 40 from their guests, with Chloe and Kelly unsurprisingly awarding them just five out of 10.

Chloe James and Kelly Ramsay have scored a spot in MKR's top four. Source: News Limited

The battle for MKR's $250,000 prize money begins on Sunday night, with Paul and Blair facing off against Chloe and Kelly in the first semi-final. The winning team will head straight to Tuesday night's grand final.

Monday night's second semi-final pits mums Bree and Jessica against twins Helena and Vikki to determine the second grand final team.


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The royal effect: We’ll reap millions

Fans in Adelaide show their excitement for the arrival of Prince William and Kate during the Australian Royal Tour. Courtesy: Channel Ten

THE young royal family's picture postcard tour Down Under is set to inject tens of millions into the coffers of Australian tourism operators.

Recent high profile visits by US TV stars Oprah and Ellen led to a record number of Americans visiting Australia last year, and the tourism industry says it expects a similar pay-off from the 10-day visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George.

Analysts predict it could lead to an additional $50-60 million in tourist spending driven by a boost in visitors from Britain, with even more from other countries.

ROYAL DIARY: Kate and Wills in Adelaide

The visit has taken in some of the country's best-known tourist attractions such as the Opera House, Taronga Zoo, the Blue Mountains and Uluru, as well as some lesser-known highlights.

The royals take in Uluru in a photo opportunity captured by the world's media. Picture: Getty Source: Getty Images

One of the stars of the royal tour has been Taronga Zoo's bilby named George. Picture: Getty Source: Getty Images

Blue Mountains Lithgow & Oberon Tourism chief executive Randall Walker said the impact of the royals' visit to the Blue Mountains last Thursday was "priceless", with the images of the couple at Echo Point and The Three Sisters beamed to potential visitors across the globe.

"It's really about the awareness that the royal couple bring from their visit and through helping to communicate an experience," he said.

"It has a priceless impact on consumer behaviour."

According to search data from booking website trivago.com.au, Australian destinations visited by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George have already seen a 41 per cent increase in interest, with Adelaide witnessing a whopping 213 per cent growth in searches.

THEN AND NOW: Royals' Uluru visits compared

And the luxury Uluru resort where the couple stayed Tuesday night, Longitude 131°, has reported a massive spike in web traffic.

Lodge operator Baillie Lodges said hits on the Longitude 131° website had been recorded at up to 250 per second during the royal visit, at times challenging the server's capacity.

THE ROYAL TENT: What it's like at Longitude 131

The visit also comes at a good time for tourism from the UK, with an increase in British visitors driven by the Ashes and last year's visit by the British Lions in June and July.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show the number of UK arrivals jumped 6.8 per cent in 2013 to 634,100.

Destinations including the bushfire-affected Blue Mountains are set to benefit from the tour. Picture: Getty Source: Getty Images

The latest International Visitor Survey also shows Britain is Australia's most valuable international leisure market in terms of total spend — contributing 15 per cent, or $2.4 billion, of the total for all inbound leisure visitors to Australia.

Tourism Australia managing director John O'Sullivan said he was confident the visit was already paying dividends.

"Some of our country's most famous tourism attractions have provided perfect backdrops for images beamed around the world — the Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains, Sydney Harbour and the Opera House, the Sydney Show, Taronga Zoo, the nippers' demo on Manly Beach and, of course, the spectacular footage at one of our country's greatest icons, Uluru," he said.

Duchess of Cambridge greets surf life savers at Manly Beach. Picture: Getty Source: Getty Images

Oprah Winfrey's visit brought a wave of US tourists. Picture: Getty Source: Getty Images

"These images are 'tourism gold' — the kind of international exposure that is difficult to put a price on and which will undoubtedly inspire many onlookers around the world to follow in their footsteps by booking a holiday of their own Down Under."

High profile visits by US TV stars Oprah Winfrey in 2010 and Ellen DeGeneres last year have contributed to a surge in Americans visiting Australia, demonstrating the impact of celebrity visits in driving tourist arrivals.

The other royal effect - Prince Frederik and Princess Mary in Sydney. Picture: Cameron Richardson Source: News Limited

Last year, a total of 508,700 Americans visited Australia — up 6.2 per cent for the year.

Princess Mary's marriage to Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark in 2004 has also been credited with increasing Danish tourism to Australia, demonstrating that royalty also maintains its pulling power.

With estimates the royal tour will cost Australian taxpayers more than $2 million, tourism expert Dr David Beirman from the University of Technology Sydney said it may take several months for a boost in interest to translate into bookings.

However, he said the visit had "provided a lot of good promotion of Australia" and predicted it "would more than pay itself off".

"Ten days of exposure of a royal visit will certainly have some impact," he said.

"Australia already rates very highly from an aspirational point of view in the UK."

Royal tour highlights


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Teen hid loaded pistol in vagina

Surprise find... Dallas Archer was being booked into jail when the gun was discovered. Picture: Tennessee Source: Supplied

A TEENAGE girl arrested by police was found to be carrying a loaded pistol in the last place anyone would think to look… her vagina.

The discovery was reportedly made after 19-year-old Dallas Archer was booked into Kingsport jail in Tennessee on Monday on charges of driving with a suspended license.

A female corrections officer searching Archer found an "unidentified item" hidden in her crotch.

On further investigation the item was found to be a North American Arms 22 LR loaded revolver.

The four-inch-long pistol was reported stolen last year from 70-year-old John Souther.

According to The Smoking Gun website Souther said that the gun was taken from his 1994 Mustang.

On being told where it was being kept in the meantime Souther remarked "Oh, gosh," and said he wanted the gun back but that it would first require "a bath in bleach."

Archer was charged with gun possession and released on bail.


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Lupita named Most Beautiful Person

Fairest of them all ... Lupita Nyong'o has been named People magazine's Most Beautiful Person of 2014. Source: AP

LUPITA Nyong'o has shown she has talent and beauty after being named People magazine's Most Beautiful Person for 2014 a month after nabbing an Oscar.

The 12 Years a Slave actress, 31, joins the likes of Julia Roberts, Michelle Pfeiffer, Beyonce Knowles, Drew Barrymore and Jennifer Lopez in receiving the honour.

We love Lupita ... People magazine shows the cover of its special "World's Most Beautiful" issue, featuring Lupita Nyong'o. Source: AP

Nyong'o said she was thrilled by the award but admits that she has not always felt like "the most beautiful person in the world."

"I remember a time when I too felt unbeautiful. I put on the TV and only saw pale skin, I got teased and taunted about my night-shaded skin. And my one prayer to God, the miracle worker, was that I would wake up lighter-skinned," she said in February. "I hope that my presence on your screens and in the magazines may lead you, young girl, on a similar journey. That you will feel the validation of your external beauty but also get to the deeper business of being beautiful inside. There is no shade to that beauty."

Beauty and talent ... Lupita Nyong'o's beauty and talent have made her very popular in Hollywood. Pictured here with Jared Leto. Source: Getty Images

Nyong'o won an Oscar for her role as the slave Patsey in Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave and recently landed a contract with Lancome Paris.

People editorial director Jess Cagle said Nyong'o was an obvious choice to grace the cover.

"She is fantastic. There really was no contest this year," Cagle said. "The way she carries herself with such grace and humility, it put her over the top. I just love her."

In the 25 years that People have been awarding the title, only three men have graced the cover: Mel Gibson, Tom Cruise and Leonardo DiCaprio in 1996, 1997 and 1998 respectively.

Her man ... Lupita Nyong'o celebrating with her Oscar after winning the Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role award for 12 Years a Slave. Source: AFP


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Rethink that ��murder’ tatt. Stat!

Tatts not a good idea ... Jeffrey Chapman, charged with first-degree murder, is afraid his tattooed mirror-image letters spelling out the word "murder" across his neck might prejudice a jury, so he is asking for a professional tattoo artist to remove or cover it up. Source: AP

A KANSAS man charged with first-degree murder is afraid the tattooed mirror-image letters spelling out the word "murder" across his neck might prejudice a jury, so he is asking for a professional tattoo artist to remove or cover it up.

Prosecutors say they aren't opposed to Jeffrey Chapman covering his tattoo, but Barton County's sheriff says he's against transporting Chapman to a licensed tattoo facility — the only places tattoo artists are allowed to practice under Kansas law.

The Great Bend Tribune reports Chapman's trial is scheduled to start Monday in the November 2011 killing of Damon Galliart, whose body was found by hunters in a roadside ditch southwest of Great Bend.

Chalie O'Hara, Wichita defence attorney, said a tattoo doesn't have say "murder" for it to cause a problem in the trial.

"Whenever you try a jury trial the appearance of the defendant makes a lot difference," O'Hara said.

Chapman's attorney says in a motion the tattoo would be extremely prejudicial if seen by a jury.


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Do you actually eat spiders when you sleep?

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 16 April 2014 | 23.26

Friendly looking fellow. Source: Supplied

SOMEWHERE in history, some guy went around telling everyone that you eat eight spiders a year while you sleep. For some reason, a lot of people believed him and started telling everyone they knew.

Fear no more! That 'fact' isn't even close to being true. Spiders don't have any reason to get in bed with you, unless you're in fact not human and a giant bed bug.

Bill Shear, the former president of the American Arachnological Society told Scientific American that spiders have absolutely zero interest in humans and "regard us much like they'd regard a big rock... We're so large that we're really just part of the landscape."

But wouldn't that mean they could crawl all over us at will?

Well, no. Let's forget that we're giant rocks for a second and consider that spiders use vibrations to warn them of danger, vibrations that most certainly would be caused by all the random and unflattering noises we make while we sleep including snoring, drooling, farting and chortling.

So, while it's entirely possible to swallow a spider in your sleep, professor Shear says "it would be a strictly random event".

If that doesn't assail your fears though, we suggest sleeping with the window closed ... or at the very least, your mouth.


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Expert witness not such an expert

The prosecutor in the murder trial of Oscar Pistorius ends his five-day cross-examination of the South African double amputee track athlete. Mana Rabiee reports.

Alleged murder ... South Africa's Olympic sprint star Oscar Pistorius allegedly shot dead his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. Source: AFP

THE prosecution derided a forensic expert hired by Oscar Pistorius, accusing him of being unqualified to testify and rubbishing his account of the circumstances in which Reeva Steenkamp died.

State prosecutor Gerrie Nel sought to prove that forensic geologist Roger Dixon was out of his depth in testifying about the lighting, sound and physical evidence inside Pistorius's home.

Dixon, a university professor, told the court about the sound made by Pistorius's cricket bat hitting his toilet door, visibility in the star sprinter's bedroom and blood splatter.

MURDER TRIAL: Oscar Pistorius accused of fake tears

VALENTINE'S DAY CARD: Reeva Steenkamp wrote she loved Oscar Pistorius

Denies murder ... Oscar Pistorius listens to evidence in the Pretoria High Court on April 15, 2014. Source: Getty Images

Pistorius's defence team has argued that neighbours who testified to hearing "bloodcurdling screams" followed by gunshots were mistaken.

If proven correct, the neighbours' account could punch a hole through Pistorius's claim he did not know Steenkamp was in the toilet.

Pistorius's defence team has tried to show that the noises were in fact Pistorius bashing a cricket bat against his toilet door after realising he mistakenly killed the model.

"Are you a sound expert, sir?" asked Nel. "Have you received training in decibels and sound?" Not specifically, said Dixon.

He also testified that Pistorius's bedroom was so dark the athlete could not have seen whether Steenkamp was in bed.

When Nel asked the geologist about how he analysed the visibility in Pistorius's bedroom room at night, Dixon said: "My lady, the instruments I used there were my eyes." "Are you a blood splatter expert?" said Nel. "I have received no training in blood splatter analysis," said Dixon, a former employee of the South African Police Service.

Pistorius's lawyer Barry Roux is expected to call up to 17 witnesses to bolster the athlete's story that he shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp by mistake, believing she was an intruder breaking into his up-market home in a gated Pretoria community.

The Paralympic gold medallist has pleaded not guilty to intentionally killing the 29-year-old model and law graduate.

He has also pleaded not guilty to three other charges connected with the reckless discharge of a firearm and the illegal possession of ammunition.

He stepped down from the witness stand on Tuesday, after a gruelling cross-examination at the hands of Nel.

Legal experts said Pistorius, who was evasive and argumentative on the stand, did himself more harm than good.

"I think it's a desperate man," said William Booth, a criminal lawyer based in Cape Town. "The more questions you ask somebody like Oscar, it could actually get worse."

Model Reeva Steenkamp in bikini on cover of magazine FHM. Source: Supplied

South African model Reeva Steenkamp was shot dead on February 14, 2013. Source: News Limited

Earlier, the judge in the murder trial ruled that proceedings will adjourn for more than two weeks after tomorrow's proceedings and resume again on May 5.

Judge Thokozile Masipa said that she was responding to a request for a break from the chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel and which was supported by the defence.

Pistorius' trial started on March 3 and Masipa said the case had lasted longer than expected. She said she granted the break because a member for the prosecution team has to attend to another case.

Masipa also noted that the court record for the Pistorius trial is now almost 2000 pages long. The trial was initially scheduled to last just three weeks.

"At the time, it was not envisioned that this trial would run this long," Masipa said.

Masipa also noted that much of the evidence is "technical" and given by expert witnesses.

Roux indicated the defence may finish calling its witnesses by mid-May.


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Why Frozen is turning parents crazy

American mothers are going to extreme lengths to find sold-out Frozen merchandise for their children. Source: Supplied

LAST Friday, the Disney Store in Times Square, NYC was the saddest place on Earth.

Kids streamed in, one after the other, talking excitedly to their parents about Elsa and Anna, the stars of Disney's hit Frozen, the top-grossing animated film of all time, with more than $1 billion in worldwide box-office receipts.

But their smiles quickly melted.

"We're all sold out of Frozen, " a Disney sales associate said for the 200th time that day. "Except for this," she added, pointing — weakly — to a paltry stand decorated with five pairs of Anna boots, a handful of floral frocks emblazoned with a Frozen logo and four Frozen-themed ballet flats large enough to house Dennis Rodman's feet.

"I can't believe in a great big store, this is all they have," lamented Pauline McDougal, who was visiting from Scotland. Her daughters, 11-year-old Lauren and 8-year-old Megan, had their hearts set, respectively, on the Elsa dress and Elsa doll.

"You'd expect more in New York," McDougal added.

It's official. Frozen fever has swept the world. The only problem is, the merchandise is sold out everywhere.

Since the movie's release on DVD in March, Frozen merchandise has been selling so fast, Disney had to institute a two-item limit on all goods last Wednesday (not that there's anything to buy).

The Elsa, Anna and Kristoff dolls. Source: Supplied

Maternity-wear designer Rosie Pope says her pal — who works at Disney, no less — recently shelled out $1,200 for an Elsa doll on eBay after she promised her daughter one for her Frozen-themed birthday party.

"By this point, she didn't care about the price," says Pope. "She didn't want to disappoint her daughter."

It's a buy-or-die mentality. And one that mum Shannon Russo-Pollack admits to adopting. While at Walt Disney World last month, Russo-Pollack trekked to more than 42 stores in search of the elusive Elsa dress for her 6 ½-year-old daughter, Summer.

"They were totally sold out," says Russo-Pollack, who owns Dasha Wellness and Spa in NYC.

That's when Russo-Pollack's husband, Dr. Darren Pollack, plopped down $480 on Amazon to preorder two dresses (he didn't know which size to buy), in addition to more than $350 on other Frozen paraphernalia.

"I said, 'What are you, crazy? Keep looking!' He said, 'I promised her. How many more stores can we go into?'" recalls Russo-Pollack. "It was crazy, but totally worth it. My daughter's eyes lit up when she saw the dress." (Russo-Pollack will be donating the extra size 6 dress to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.)

Experts liken the frenzy to the 1980s Cabbage Patch Kids craze.

"We're now at the stage where the demand is almost being driven by the scarcity because of the social status attached to being able to find it," says Sean McGowan, a toy industry analyst at Needham & Co. in NYC.

"Being someone who had a Cabbage Patch [Kid] meant you were loved more than the others. It was social status and elite achievement that came with finding this rare gem."

According to Times Square's Disney Store employees, every other customer who walks into the flagship is on the hunt for Frozen gems.

The insanely popular Elsa doll. Source: Supplied

Needless to say, "sold out" doesn't always sit too well.

"People have gotten into physical fights in the morning," says one Disney Store employee, who asked not to be named.

"The kids cry, but the parents are the problem. They try to guilt us, say their daughters are sick. They have no shame. But I can't make it magically appear!"

Disney message boards are rife with angry mothers lambasting the company for being ill-prepared; some are even accusing the company of orchestrating the shortage to ramp up interest. But McGowan says the latter is nonsense: "There's no chance Disney doesn't want to be selling more."

Retailers just made the mistake of playing it too safe after being burned by an excess of inventory from lacklustre movies including Tangled, Brave and The Princess and the Frog, according to McGowan.

Frozen is the highest grossing animation film of all time. Source: Supplied

"We knew this movie was a winner," says Erin Barrier, a Disney Store spokesman, "but it overperformed so significantly that now we're doing what we can to get in more product as soon as we can." (Barrier says the Elsa dress should be back in "limited quantities" by early May and "back fully in stock in July and August.")

But most mums aren't willing to wait.

Lyss Stern, founder of Divalysscious Moms, a luxury lifestyle company, is already stocking up for her 6 ½-year-old son's Frozen-themed birthday party — in July — because "I know I'm not going to be able to find anything," she says.

Leslie Venokur's friend was in such a bind for her daughter's Frozen birthday bash last Sunday that the pal shelled out $150 on a homemade Elsa costume for her child from the crafts site Etsy.

"It didn't even look like Elsa," bemoans Venokur, co-founder of the Big City Moms site.

In an attempt to override the price-gougers, mothers have set up Facebook groups, such as "Unfrozen Trading Friends," in which approved members can exchange tips on where to score Frozen merchandise and sell their toys, at cost, to one another.

When one group member posted that Disney cancelled her Elsa doll order, D.M., a lawyer who lives in New Canaan, Conn., FedEx'ed the distraught mother a spare Elsa doll she owned.

"She was so upset because her daughter is chronically ill and going through chemo," says D.M., who asked that only her initials be used for professional reasons.

Elsa in Frozen. Source: Supplied

The biggest Frozen fanatics admit, though, that it might be time to just let it go.

"You want your kids to be happy, but at the same time, what are you willing to do, what are you willing to pay?" asks 31-year-old Nicole Ross, who has a 3-year-old daughter, Sydney, and another child on the way.

"It's really dumb. We should probably just learn to say 'no' more often. But it's so difficult when they are so obsessed with the current movie."

"The sad thing is, when all this stuff gets restocked, they'll be on to the next thing," admits Venokur, who still hasn't managed to get her daughter the Elsa dress.

"Until Frozen 2 comes out."

This article originally appeared in The New York Post .

Have you had trouble tracking down Frozen merchandise? Email us your story at news@news.com.au


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How to sleep better on a plane

Sleeping on a plane can be uncomfortable ... Picture: Thy Mighty Tim Inconnu Source: Flickr

SLEEPING on a plane often requires more effort than it does relaxation, but it's absolutely worth it.

Late night flights are called "red eyes" for a reason, and no matter how energetic or fit you may be, muscling through your day on minimal sleep is never a good idea.

That said, late-night flights are also an extremely practical way to get more bang for your holiday buck. The key is to have a system for getting some shut-eye between runways.

Here are a few tips that can make nodding off considerably easier.

Choose your itinerary wisely

When overnight travel is inevitable, nothing is more important than choosing the right itinerary. Pick the non-stop every time and, if one isn't available, choose the itinerary with the longest single leg. You'll have more uninterrupted time to nap, wake up and try to doze off again. Late departures are especially helpful unless you plan to work during the trip.

Next, consider the seat type and location. Use the rest room before you board and pick a window seat. It provides more space to lean against the window and no one will climb over you. Seats near the front of the cabin tend to be quieter, but avoid anything near a lavatory or galley.

Save frequent flyer miles for long-haul international flights that have lie-flat seats in first or business class.

Carriers known for exceptionally high standards — including Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Emirates — have extra-wide seats similar to a real bed. Others pack in business class passengers like sardines or use seats that recline at an angle. Use SeatGuru or Routehappy to learn more about the options on your flight.

Everyone has their own tricks in the battle to sleep on planes. Picture: Jonathan Tellier Source: Flickr

Prepare your body

Some people swear by prescription sleep aids, but always consult a physician before attempting to use medication to get better sleep. You'll want to avoid alcohol, which, coupled with the dry air, may cause dehydration and make waking up a nightmare. Stay hydrated during the day so you can avoid eating or drinking anything during the flight and bathroom breaks. The most dedicated travellers will gradually adjust their alarm clocks up to three hours earlier than normal. You're not getting quality sleep so there is some virtue in at least getting a jump on handling jet lag — especially if you're headed west.

Finally, bring some high-quality earplugs and a face mask to keep out unwanted sound and light. Don't rely on the cheap freebies provided, which are scratchy at best. Loose clothing will help avoid the stuffy feeling that comes from recirculated air. Untuck your shirt before you shut your eyes.

Recover from the ordeal

A problem with most red-eye flights is that you arrive exhausted in the morning. In order to wake up, head to the lounge or your hotel and submerge your face in the nearest sink. Your body's reflex is to lower your heart rate when your head is submerged. You'll feel calmer and, a cup of coffee later, ready to face the day.

Next, find food. Some protein and fibre will provide more lasting energy than the sugar rush from a doughnut. Snacks, like showers, can be found at many airport lounges, so either buy a day pass or purchase a membership if you regularly take overnight flights. Nuts are a good call. Eat more of them than you were offered on the plane.

Eat some nuts. Source: News Limited

More from Men's Journal:

10 best ways to beat jet lag

12 travel mistakes to avoid

How to fly like a VIP without elite status

The story was republished with permission from Huffington Post and Men's Journal.


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Girl makes history as mum at 12

Britain's youngest mum ... a girl has given birth to a baby at age 12. Picture: Thinkstock Source: ThinkStock

A SCHOOLGIRL and her 13-year-old boyfriend have become the youngest parents in the UK, after they brought a baby girl into the world.

The girl, who is 12-years-old, recently gave birth to the newborn girl weighing 3.1 kilograms.

UK media reports she first fell pregnant at age 11, while she was still at primary school.

She is now in Year 7 in high school. Her boyfriend is currently in Year 9.

She struck up a relationship with her boyfriend who lives near her in north London.

The parents, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, have the lowest combined age of any parents in UK history.

A source close to the family said the young parents were "totally in love" and plan to bring up their newborn daughter together.

A source told The Sun: "Both sets of grandparents are incredibly supportive. It's a very difficult situation because the parents are both so young — but their families are right behind them."

"They're very into each other, totally in love. She is obsessed with him. She sees this as true love. They want to get married."

The young mother, who lives with her mother, hopes to return to school in September.


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Four dead, hundreds missing

South Korea has dispatched coastguard vessels to rescue 450 passengers mostly high-school students on a ferry sinking off the southern coast. Courtesy: Sky News

GRAVE fears are held for almost 300 passengers after a ferry carrying mostly high school students sank en route to a holiday island in South Korea.

South Korean rescue teams, as well as elite navy SEAL divers, were on Wednesday night working frantically under floodlights to find 291 people "unaccounted for" after the ferry sank with 459 people on board.

Authorities said 164 people had been rescued, with four confirmed deaths including a female crew member and a student. The death toll, however, was expected to rise.

Search and rescue ... The South Korea Coast guard look for survivors after a ferry capsized en route to Jeju Island. Picture: Yonhap Source: AFP

Dramatic television footage showed terrified passengers wearing life jackets clambering into inflatable boats as water lapped over the rails of the vessel as it sank 20 kilometres off the southern island of Byungpoong.

Some could be seen sliding down the steeply inclined side of the ferry and into the water, as rescuers, including the crew of what appeared to be a small fishing boat, pulled them to safety.

Saving lives ... South Korea Coast Guard members rescuing some of the passengers and crew aboard a South Korean ferry sinking on its way to Jeju island from Incheon. Source: AFP

The 6825-tonne Sewol had listed violently, before it capsised and finally sank - all within two hours of sending a distress signal at 9am (10am AEST).

"I'm afraid there's little chance for those trapped inside still to be alive," one senior rescue team official, Cho Yang-Bok, told YTN television as teams of divers struggled to access the submerged, multi-storey ferry.

Taken to safety ... a rescued girl being brought onto land in Jindo. Picture: Yonhap Source: AFP

As night fell the coastguard said the rescue operation was continuing using floodlights and underwater flares.

Several rescued passengers said they had initially been ordered to stay in their seats, but then the ferry suddenly listed to one side, triggering panic.

Survivors ... passengers wrapped in blankets are brought onto land in Jindo after a South Korean ferry capsized on its way to Jeju island from Incheon. Picture: AFP PHOTO/YONHAP Source: AFP

"The crew kept telling us not to move," one male survivor told the YTN news channel.

"Then it suddenly shifted over and people slid to one side and it became very difficult to get out," he added.

Taking on water ... the ferry capsized about 20km off the island of Byungpoong in Jindo. Picture: Yonhap Source: AFP

Of the 429 passengers on board the ferry bound for the popular southern resort island of Jeju, more than 300 were students travelling with 14 teachers from a high school in Ansan just south of Seoul.

Among those confirmed as rescued, 78 were students.

Grim search ... the ferry was carrying 477 people when it capsized. Picture: Yonhap Source: AFP

"I feel so pained to see students on a school trip ... face such a tragic accident. I want you to pour all your energy into this mission," President Park Geun-Hye said on a visit to the main disaster agency situation room in Seoul.

Many of the survivors were plucked from the water by fishing and other commercial vessels who were first on the scene before a flotilla of coastguard and navy ships arrived, backed by more than a dozen helicopters.

Help on its way ... helicopters heading to aid passengers and crew aboard a South Korean ferry sinking. Picture: Yonhap Source: AFP

Lee said 178 divers, including a team of South Korean navy SEALS, were working at the site, but low visibility and strong currents were hampering their efforts.

The US 7th Fleet sent an amphibious assault ship on patrol in the area to help.

Frantic rescue ... South Korean coast guard officers rescue passengers from a sinking ferry off the southern coast near Jindo, south of Seoul, South Korea. Source: AP

The cause of the accident was not immediately clear, although rescued passengers reported the ferry coming to a sudden, shuddering halt - indicating it may have run aground.

The weather was described as fine with moderate winds and sea swell.

Moving to safety ... passengers wrapped in blankets being brought onto land in Jindo. Picture: Yonhap Source: AFP

Rescue underway ... a helicopter rescuing some of the passengers and crew aboard a South Korean ferry sinking. Source: AFP

There are faster ways to get to Jeju, but some people take the ferry from Incheon because it is cheaper than flying. Many South Korean high schools organise trips for students in their first or second years. The students on the ferry were in their second year, which would make most of them 16 or 17.

At the high school, students were sent home and parents gathered for news about the ferry.

Park Ji-hee, a first-year student, said she saw about a dozen parents crying at the school entrance and many cars and taxis gathered at the gate as she left in the morning.

She said some students in her classroom began to cry as they saw the news on their handsets. Teachers tried to soothe them, saying that the students on the ferry would be fine.

The Maritime Ministry said the two previous deadliest ferry disasters were in 1970 when 323 people drowned and in 1993 when 292 people died.

Clinging to the side hoping to be rescued ... South Korea Coast Guard members in helicopters trying to rescue some of the 477 passengers and crew aboard a South Korean ferry that capsized on its way to Jeju island from Incheon. Source: AFP


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Alleged kidnapper ‘cared’ for girl, 3,

A 45-year-old man has been charged over the abduction of a three-year-old girl in central Queensland.

THE man who allegedly kidnapped a three-year-old girl had felt sorry for her and cared for her in his home for two days, a court has heard.

South Isis man Eden James Kane, 45, is charged with the Childers girl's abduction last week.

A fingerprint at the girl's house linked Kane to the crime and he later admitted to police: "I took (her) and brought her back", Bundaberg Magistrates Court heard yesterday.

Police said Kane appeared to be trying to leave Queensland when he was picked up by Maryborough police responding to a break and enter at a Bauple tennis club at 12.40am on Tuesday.

It was yesterday revealed that the alleged child abductor was not known to the girl's family and the kidnapping wasn't related to a threat against her father.

Police told court the offence appeared to have been random.

It's alleged Kane entered through a window at the girl's house some time after 2am last Thursday, and took her to his rural property about 3km away.

Eden James Kane, 45, is charged with the Childers girl's abduction last week.

He allegedly told police he cared for her at his house "for a day or two" where he washed her and shampooed her hair.

Almost two days later, following an extensive air and land search, he dropped her back at the Childers showgrounds, leaving her on a blanket.

The court heard Kane had admitted to police that "I took (her) and brought her back".

The facts were read out as police prosecutor Sergeant Donna Sperling opposed bail, even though the accused, who tried to shield his face while in the dock, had not formally applied.

Kane was apprehended by Maryborough police just after ­midnight on Tuesday morning.

At the time of his arrest, he was driving a car full of his own possessions and allegedly told police: "I had to get out of Childers because of all the heat".

Police search Kane's house after his arrest. Pic: Glenn Barnes

Police said when questioned, he stated: "Because of the missing girl" and also admitted he was moving to Ballina in NSW.

A search of his house at Rainbows Rd, in the rural South Isis district, uncovered "items linked to (the girl)" as well as evidence of a fire in which a camera and hard drive had been burnt.

Kane is expected to formally apply for bail today, represented by the duty lawyer Thomas Bray.

However police have indicated they will oppose bail for reasons including the possibility Kane could attempt suicide.

Sgt Sperling told the court the accused had already expressed his willingness to die, telling police he did not intend to kill himself but "is prepared to die".

Kane's small brick house has been declared a crime scene.

Detective inspector Bruce McNab said police would continue the investigation as they could not rule out the involvement of others.

He said the girl had not, and would not, be asked to identify the man.


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Shock winners of Nine’s The Block

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 09 April 2014 | 23.26

Rookie renovators Steve and Chantelle have won the 2014 Block fans v faves with a massive auction result

Underdogs ... Steve O'Donnell and Chantelle Ford with host Scott Cam after their shock auction win on Tuesday night. Picture: Ian Currie. Source: News Corp Australia

THIS is a result nobody saw coming.

Steve O'Donnell and Chantelle Ford have shocked TV viewers by hammering their more experienced rivals to win The Block: Fans v Faves.

The Victorian couple silenced the doubters when their Albert Park Dux apartment sold for a whopping $2.47 million — $636,000 above reserve.

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THE BLOCK: Show's co-creator in war of words with Steve O'Donnell

The pair pocketed an extra $100,000 for their win on a night when the four teams netted a combined total of $2.4265 million — believed to be an all-time record for an Australian TV show.

Steve, 35, a chimney sweep, and Chantelle, 31, a sales and marketing business owner, have been dating for two years.

"We'd just hope the apartment would sell," Chantelle says. "We didn't dare dream about what we'd do (if we won). The first thing we're going to do is have a party with our tradies."

Steve and Chantelle's relationship has come under the microscope in recent times but the couple say they still very much together.

"We're closer than ever really," Chantelle says. "Every relationship has arguments and disagreements and people caught some of those on camera.

"People say if you can survive The Block you can survive anything and we have come out the other end together.

"We get to have this memory with each other forever which is so cool."

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THE BLOCK: TV show's judges name their favourite unit

Upset win ... Brad, Sophie and Dale congratulate a shocked Steve O'Donnell and Chantelle Ford. Picture: Ian Currie Source: News Corp Australia

Brad and Dale's Apartment 4 was first up for auction and there was fierce bidding between two parties.

The pair's reserve was set at $1,802,750 but it wasn't long before bids crossed the $2 million threshold. The apartment sold for $2.31 million — $507,250 above reserve.

That set the tone for the rest of the auctions where bids came thick and fast and punched through $2 million within seconds.

Kyal and Kara, the viewers' favourites to win, were in a state of shock after their Apartment 2 was sold for $2.44 million — $567,250 above their reserve of $1,872,750.

"This is truly life changing," were the only words Kyal could utter after the result.

Alisa and Lysandra were reduced to tears when their Apartment 3 sold for $2.375 million — a massive $616,000 above the reserve of $1.759 million.

Last year, the pair netted $395,000 when they won The Block: Sky High.

"That was insane," the twins said after the auction. "We have now won over $1 million on The Block."

The best came last. Steve and Chantelle had struggled right throughout the 12 weeks of renovation and were given no chance by punters to win.

Some viewers even doubted the couple would make reserve for Apartment 1.

COMMENT BELOW: Are you pleased Steve and Chantelle won The Block?

How wrong they were. The final auction was frenzied as bidders who had missed out on the previous three apartments took no prisoners.

Given little chance ... A bleary-eyed Steve O'Donnell and Chantelle Ford celebrate their win on The Block: Fans v Faves. Picture: David Caird. Source: News Corp Australia

The pair's reserve of $1.834 million was smashed straight up and by the time the hammer came down, they had beaten Alisa and Lysandra by $20,000.

"When Steve and I applied for The Block we didn't realise we'd be up against previous winners who had done it all before," Chantelle says.

"We did feel out of our depth (at first). We took it week by week and our confidence did grow."

The Block: Fans v Faves has been a ratings stunner for Nine, averaging upwards of 1.8 million viewers nationally on Sunday nights.

The new series of The Block has just started filming in Prahran in inner city Melbourne and will screen later in the year. The new teams will have a hard time beating the monster figures achieved tonight.

"This is a great result for the couples who have worked so hard for every dollar they have earned in profit at the auctions," Nine's director of television, Michael Healy, says. "This project required real entrepreneurial spirit and hard work. I'm really happy for all concerned."

Host and Gold Logie nominee Scott Cam was so overcome by the auction results that he did a fully clothed 'bomb' into the Fans v Faves swimming pool.

Contestants have now won a total of $8,131,501 across eight series of The Block..

Taste of victory ... Steve O'Donnell and Chantelle Ford enjoy a spot of champers before breakfast today. Picture: David Caird Source: News Corp Australia

THE BLOCK: THE MATCH REPORT

Just incase you missed The Block final, here are all the auction results and the winners for 2014, Steve and Chantelle. Courtesy: The Block/Nine Network

Apartment 4 — Brad and Dale

Reserve: $1,802,750

Sold: $2,310,000

Profit: $507,250

Apartment 2 — Kyal and Kara

Reserve: $1,872,750

Sold: $2,440,000

Profit: $567,250

Apartment 3 — Alisa and Lysandra

Reserve: $1,759,000

Sold: $2,375,000

Profit: $616,000

Apartment 1 — Steve and Chantelle

Reserve: $1,834,000

Sold: 2,470,000

Profit: $636,000

Plus $100,000 prize money

TOTAL: $736,000

TOTAL MONEY EARNED BY ALL CONTESTANTS THIS SERIES $2,426,500

Stealing the limelight ... The Block host Scott Cam finishes the show with a fully clothed leap into the ground floor pool. Picture: Ian Currie Source: News Corp Australia


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Drug tests needed on Peaches

The spotlight was never far away during the short life of Peaches Geldof.

Death remains a mystery ... Forensic police at Peaches Geldof's home where her body was found. Source: Getty Images

THE autopsy on Peaches Geldof, who died suddenly aged 25, proved inconclusive, police said, as they awaited the results of toxicology tests.

Peaches, the daughter of musician Bob Geldof, was found dead at her countryside home in Wrotham in Kent, on Monday.

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Toxicology tests needed to determine how she died ... Peaches Geldof died suddenly aged 25 after posting a picture of herself as a baby with her late mother, Paula Yates. Source: AFP

Kent Police said her death remained "a non-suspicious, unexplained sudden death".

"A post-mortem examination held on Wednesday following the death of Peaches Geldof has proved inconclusive pending the result of toxicology analysis," police said in a statement.

"Officers continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death in order to compile a report for the coroner.

"The result of a toxicology report can take several weeks."

Toxicology tests are for a variety of toxins, including natural toxins, such as those associated with poisonous plants or animals, chemicals found in the environment, alcohol and drugs — both prescription and illicit.

It has been revealed today that Peaches had complained to her husband that she was "bored and exhausted" by having to look after their two young children and had a fragile self-image.

PEACHES GELDOF The demons that haunted her

PEACHES GELDOF: In Pictures

Peaches commented on her life incessantly on social media sites as she appeared to crave the approval of strangers in the online world to bolster a fragile self-image.

Throughout the day, even several times an hour, she would tweet a picture or a short video clip shot on her phone.

"It was all a way of her crying: 'Love me, love me, love me!'" Gerry Agar, a close family friend, said.

"Peaches had such terrible self-esteem issues, just as her mum did, and you could see that in the social media"

The day before she was found dead Peaches posted a photograph on Twitter of herself with her late mother, the TV presenter Paula Yates.

Many of Peaches's posts on her Instagram website were about her struggle to get her sons to sleep and her own exhaustion.

Peaches also complained to her husband, Tom Cohen, a singer in a punk band, that she was bored.

Cohen and their sons were believed to be staying with his parents in New Eltham, London, when her body was found after a relative had called police with a "concern for the welfare" of Peaches.

Peaches, who was on her second marriage, recently wrote that reading books on the past lives of children had made her "believe in reincarnation".

In December last year she posted an image on her Instagram website of herself with her eldest son, Astala, which she believed included a "ghost" hand. She said it was linked to a previous occupant of the house who drowned herself after suffering a miscarriage.

In a message to her husband she wrote: "Please come see me, I am scared."


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‘We’re more optimistic it’s MH370’

Authorities say submarines searching for MH370 will only be deployed when another signal is detected.

Searching ... Able Seaman Boatswain's Mate Cameron Grant directing the boat coxswain on a Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat (RHIB) of HMAS Perth while searching for debris from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. Source: AFP

MALAYSIA'S Prime Minister calls on the world to unite in prayer, saying he is "more optimistic" that MH370 can be found amid the discovery of two new signals.

Najib Razak tweeted that the update from Joint Agency Coordination Centre head and retired Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston had provided hope.

"Let's all pray," he wrote. "Through Angus Houston JACC informed us of d 2 new signals ... We are cautiously more optimistic."

Air Chief Marshal Houston said the number of transmissions detected by Ocean Shield now stood at four.

"(The) signals will assist in better defining a reduced and much more manageable search area on the ocean floor," he said. "The better Ocean Shield can define the area, the easier it will be for the autonomous underwater vehicle to subsequently search for aircraft wreckage."

"I believe we are searching in the right area, but we need to visually identify aircraft wreckage before we can confirm with certainty that this is the final resting place of MH370," Air Chief Marshal Houston said.

SEARCH FOR MH370: WHAT LIES BENEATH THE SOUTHERN INDIAN OCEAN

Optimistic ... Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott (R) bids farewell to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak after his visit to Perth. Source: AFP

The news was warmly received by Malaysia's Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein who tweeted that Air Chief Marshal Houston was "very professional" and "seems (like) a good man."

Air Chief Marshal Houston said data analysis of the first two detections found they were consistent with "the specification and description" of a flight data recorder.

Two signals ... The chief co-ordinator of the Joint Agency Coordination Center Retired Australian Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston. Source: AP

According to work conducted by the Australian Joint Acoustic Analysis Centre at HMAS Albatross in Nowra NSW, it was not of natural origin and was "likely sourced" from specific electronic equipment.

Defence Minister David Johnston said he was confident that there is life in the black box despite the days that have passed.

"May I say the battery life in the black box transponder has a long way to go in our opinion, certainly several days into the future," Senator Johnston said.

A Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion flying past Australian Defence Vessel Ocean Shield on a mission to drop sonar buoys to assist in the acoustic search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. Source: AFP


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Pistorius ill as fatal wound shown

On trial, Oscar Pistorius was asked if he intended to kill Reeva Steenkamp. Courtesy: CNN

Became physically ill ... Oscar Pistorius arrives at the high court in Pretoria. Source: AP

JUNE Steenkamp, mother of the late Reeva Steenkamp, approached prosecutor Gerrie Nel after he compared her late daughter's head to a watermelon and showed a shocking and graphic image of her fatal wound to the court during the Oscar Pistorius murder trial.

Live television coverage of the trial was blocked and the proceedings adjourned after a photograph, clearly showing Reeva Steenkamp's face in profile and the head wound, was shown on courtroom monitors.

Seconds earlier, after an initial objection from the defence, Nel had shown the court a video of Pistorius firing a pistol at a watermelon at a shooting range.

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Shocking and graphic image ... June Steenkamp, Reeva's mother, is comforted by family lawyer Dup de Bruyn, as they listen to cross questioning of Oscar Pistorius. Source: AP

The hollow-point ammunition being used by Pistorius caused the watermelon to explode. A voice, which Pistorius acknowledged was his, can be heard saying, "It's a lot softer than brain, but it is like a zombie-stopper".

Nel put it to Pistorius that the effect that the bullet had on the watermelon was the same as that which struck Steenkamp in the head.

"Have a look," he said. "It's about time you did. It's time you took responsibility for what you did."

"I don't have to look at it," Pistorius said, sobbing. "I remember. I was there."

The image then appeared on the monitors and, for several seconds before being blocked by broadcasters, was shown on the live television feed.

When Pistorius became distressed and physically ill, the trial was adjourned.

During the break June Steenkamp, who has remained composed throughout proceedings, left her seat to speak to Nel. Pistorius's brother Carl and sister Aimee, visibly upset, conferred with the defence team.

When the court resumed 15 minutes later Nel, who had attacked Pistorius aggressively from the first question of his cross-examination, was markedly softer in his approach.

Fatal attraction ... Oscar Pistorius and girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, who he is accused of murdering. Source: AP

Nel began his cross-examination by saying: "You killed Reeva Steenkamp, that is what you did." "I made a mistake," Pistorius replied.

"People look up to you as a sport hero," the prosecutor said. "I know a lot of people's opinions of me have changed," Pistorius answered.

Asked by Nel whether he lived according to "strictly Christian principles," the athlete said: "I try to. The Lord said he came down to this world for people who have sins. I am human. I am here to tell the truth."

Earlier, Pistorius told the court Miss Steenkamp was still alive for a short time after being shot.

On his third day of giving evidence the double-amputee Olympian said Miss Steenkamp, his girlfriend of four months, was "struggling to breathe" after he had shot her through a locked toilet door on Valentine's Day last year.

His evidence was contrary to that delivered earlier in the trial by expert witnesses for the prosecution who asserted that death would have been instantaneous after one of four shots fired through the door struck Miss Steenkamp in the head.

Pistorius is charged with the premeditated murder of the 29 year-old law graduate and model. The prosecution case is that he deliberately shot Miss Steenkamp in a fit of rage. Pistorius has told the court he fired believing he was about be attacked by an intruder.

In his final direct evidence before being cross-examined by prosecutor Nel, Pistorius told how he used a cricket bat to gain entrance to the locked toilet and saw Miss Steenkamp lying bleeding on the floor.

He sat down and pulled her towards him.

"I had Reeva's head on my left shoulder," he said. "I could feel the blood running down. I tried to pick Reeva up. I didn't know what to do. I could see she was breathing … struggling to breathe."

Pistorius said after calling an ambulance he carried Miss Steenkamp downstairs to the ground floor of his home.

She died in his arms.

"I just sat with her waiting for the ambulance to arrive. I felt helpless. I wanted to take her to the hospital. I had my fingers in her mouth to help her to breathe. I had my left hand on her hip trying to stop the bleeding but Reeva had already died when I was holding her before the ambulance arrived so I knew there was nothing I could do for her."

When paramedics arrived one asked Pistorius to produce some identification for Miss Steenkamp. After he had handed over her handbag, the paramedic officially informed him of Miss Steenkamp's death.

With Miss Steenkamp's body still lying in the sitting room Pistorius sat on the kitchen floor, leaning against a serving counter and crying.

"Every time I looked up there were more people in the house, more policemen," he said. "I asked a policeman if I could wash my hands because the smell of blood was making me throw up.

"I stayed in the kitchen. I couldn't look around the corner because every time I saw Reeva I got sick."

The final question asked of Pistorius by his defence attorney Barry Roux before handing over to Nel was: "Did you ever intend to kill Reeva Steenkamp?"

His answer: "I did not intend to kill Reeva or anyone else, my Lady."

Third day of giving evidence ... Oscar Pistorius at the high court in Pretoria. Source: AP


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