15/02/2013 BBC World News

Our top story, Oscar Pistorius breaks down in tears in court as he

is charged with murdering his girlfriend.

On the trail of Europe's food chain scandal, European experts seek a

way to test thousands of meat products for traces of horsemeat.

Spectacular images, but hundreds are heard as this meteor hit the

skies above western Russia. Also, a lack of food, overflowing

toilets and a stench on board. Five days of misery for passengers on a

disabled cruise ship finally comes to an end. Premeditated murder,

that is the charge that prosecutors in South Africa say they will be

pursuing against Oscar Pistorius. The world's most famous Paralympic

athlete broke down in tears when he was dashed when he appeared at a

magistrates' courts in a Pretoria. The murder charge comes after his

girlfriend, a well-known model, was found dead at his home. She had

been shot. It was agreed that Mr Pistorius would stay in the custody

of the police for the time being it would not be held in prison. We

have been waiting for his departure outside the courthouse. There has

been a lot of media, cameras, waiting for him to depart. We have

seen that gate open and shut a few times in the course of the last

hour so. Presumably at some moment soon Oscar Pistorius will be

heading off to be held in local police custody. Rather than being

detained in a Pretoria prison. Richard Galpin has this rapport it.

Hiding his face from the cameras, Oscar Pistorius is led to a police

van to be taken to court in Pretoria. The global sporting

legend facing a day of reckoning after his girlfriend was shot dead.

The court was packed with people waiting to see Oscar Pistorius

appear before magistrates. When he arrived, he was formally charged

with murder. He broke down in tears. The decision on whether to grant

him bail was delayed until next week. The shooting took place at

Pistorius' home in this closely- guarded housing estate in the early

hours of Thursday morning. The woman he is accused of murdering

was his girlfriend, the model Reeva Steenkamp. They had been together

since last November. They were the ultimate celebrity couple in South

Africa. She was a really vibrant personality and she had a wicked

sense of humour. The fact that she was so beautiful was there, but

that was not the main thing. She was a great person and fun to hang

out with. Oscar Pistorius had a tragic start to life. He was born

without fibula bones in his lower legs, which were both agitated when

he was one year-old. But this tragedy was turned around with the

development of high-tech prosthetic limbs. By the age of 17, he had

become a legendary Paralympic athlete, winning gold at the Athens

Games. This summer in London, he went one step further, competing

against able-bodied athletes in the Olympics. Some friends say that

this global success changed him. Personally, I think he did change.

From the guy he was 12 years ago to the guy he is now, I think he

became a different person. Now, the superstar athlete faces a trial for

murder. Prosecutors allege that it was premeditated. He could face

life in prison if found guilty. A short while ago I spoke to Africa

correspondent in Pretoria. -- hour Africa correspondent.

It was very sad to watch this a global superstar walk into a packed

court, very hot, very intense. He seemed very alone. He stood their

grim face until he heard the prosecutor mention the phrase

"Premeditated murder". At that point, he broke down. His hands

went to his fate -- to his face and the magistrate said "Would you like

to sit down?" he sat down on the bench, a lonely figure. For the

next 45 minutes, he looked very sad. His muscles were twitching in his

neck. You could feel the tension emanating from him. His lawyers and

the prosecution lawyers argue its first about whether live cameras

should be allowed. That magistrate ruled that they should not be. Then

there was a discussion about whether or not to postpone the

hearing to give everyone more time to prepare cases and that was

agreed. There was another debate about whether or not Oscar

Pistorius needed to go, like most people in his position, to the

local prison. It was argued by the defence that he should be housed at

a local police station, which is where he spent last night. The

magistrate said that, warned that be unfair, are we not singling him

out for a favourable treatment? But in the end he agreed there would be

OK. A bad. A couple of relatives leant forward and touched Oscar

Pistorius on his shoulder to comfort him. He stood up and walked

out of court. A do we have pictures from outside

the court. -- all we have pictures from outside the court. You tweeted

earlier on during the procedures and that his defence lawyer

described him as being in an extremely traumatised state of mind.

I guess anything less than that would be odd. But what is the

situation now? We did not get the full affidavits

today from the decide. Those will be heard on Tuesday. Each side will

prevent their case in more detail about why they think that he should

or should not be granted bail. All we got today was a few hints,

Firstly, this charge of premeditated murder but the

prosecution are planning to bring, and then a couple of references

from the defence magistrate about his traumatised state. And about

how they're going to argue that this was an accident, a terrible

accident that involved him shooting dead his girlfriend.

A senior manager at the French food processing firm, Spanghero, has

apologised to consumers saying the company did not knowingly

distributed horsemeat labelled as beef. The statement comes as food

experts meet in Brussels to drop plans to test for at the presence

of horsemeat in the beef products across the Continent.

This company finds itself very much at heart of the horsemeat scandal.

The French government says that this company was responsible for

sending out horse meat labelled as beef do suppliers and chains around

Europe. The French government has withdrawn its licensed to treat

meat, which means that 360 employees here do not know if they

have jobs to go back to or not. All morning, they have been coming to

the factory here to try and find out more. Inspectors will be

returning to his factory to look at the labels and try to understand

how long this company has been selling horse meat, pretending it

was beef. The company has said since the beginning that it has

always believed that what it was selling was beef and not horsemeat.

It says that it has no idea that it was ever selling, or exporting

horsemeat. The state say that they knew what they were doing and were

looking for a quick profit. Christian Fraser is in Brussels.

That is where the meeting is taking place. You have seen enough of it

for yourself to know that this is a fiendishly difficult trail to get

to the bottom of. Does the answer lie in the DNA testing?

It is a fiendishly difficult, convoluted supply chain. In reality,

it should not be difficult to get to the bottom of this because each

shipment of horsemeat is accompanied by a sticker on the

palate and buy it documentation it for export. I have travelled a

around Europe following this this week and we have seen the export

documents from Romania for horsemeat. We have been to Holland

to see the paper work leaving cold storage there. And we know from

invoice is published in a Parisian newspaper yesterday that they have

been dealing with a man whose business was 80% course. The

invoice they had received, one of three for January, had a code which

corresponded to horse training. When you put the paper work

together, you can see clearly where the chain is disrupted. On that is

why the French government has taken the action they are taking with

Spanghero. The sense of urgency has been building since Wednesday. Am I

were -- they understood that the consumers were running out of

patience. Spanghero has been suspended of trading immediately.

The pressure on supermarkets is telling. Tesco ought have released

a statement this afternoon, saying that they're going to review their

approach, but there will be more visibility and transparency and

they will have a website for consumers to check where they are.

They're going to open up the supply chain so consumers know where their

meat has come from. Downing Street expressing their

gratitude and approval of that statement from Tesco. I suppose the

unpalatable truth is that whether it is the meeting behind you taking

place or political decisions or whatever supermarkets do, this is

going to take a long time to draw to a close.

The well, they hope not because they're trying to develop a picture

of how widespread the problem is through random sampling. What they

are deciding at what they will probably agreed by the end of play

today, is a new regime of testing to go alongside that testing

programme already in place. From 1st March, they will randomly tests

in all the member states. They will also test horsemeat illegitimately

in the -- horse meat that is a legitimate late in the food chain

that for the tranquilliser known as bute. But the end of this, we, the

consumer will know how many of us have beaten horse meat and whether

the reassurances we had been given about that is correct. -- have

eaten horsemeat. Anglo-American, the mining giant,

reports mining results -- results in just a few hours' time. -- Anglo

American. Times are getting harder for mining companies. Demand for

coal, copper and precious metals is a at a ten-year low. The biggest

worry for Anglo American is at the plant and an industry in South

Africa. Pulling Platinum into profit has

become a struggle for Anglo American. Today's annual results

are overshadowed by the continuing protests over the mothballing of

two South African mines. Job losses could reach 14,000. The company

says it has lost over 305,000 ounces of refined part none since

last summer. With 80 % of the world's proven reserves, so that

burka has borne the brunt of the downturn. Talks with workers and

the National Congress have fails to quell the resistance. Unions in at

the Rustenburg region are preparing for what they describe as the

mother of all strikes. Wildcat action has already put the company

into the red. It is a grim reminder of the mining violence in the

region that killed 50 last year. And all this, say analysts, while

producers struggle to put costs and supply into demand with the law

demands. Mining is too costly. The prices have not been responding.

The way it has been worded is that there would be new jobs for these

people to do outside of the actual mining but that has yet to be

arranged with the ministry in South Africa to see how we would go about

doing that. As to the pattern of future demands, one common usage

for her platinum is in catalytic converters. This leaves producers

exposed to the prices in Europe, hoping that prices will continue to

recover in rise with any global A visit to the tourist destination

with one of the highest murder rates in Europe. It is the darker

President Obama has said the US will take firm action against the

government in Pyongyang. His comments come as the UN Security

Council debates its response to North Korea's third nuclear test,

which was carried out earlier in the week. Our correspondent looks

at what the nuclear programme means to those inside North Korea, one of

the world's most isolated states. How do you respond to a nuclear

bomb? With North Korea's main foes and allies all-seated in the UN

Security Council getting agreement on sanctions is never easy. And

North Korea is choked by sanctions already. These pictures, smuggled

out of the country last week, show a very different face to the high-

tech nuclear programme. Sandwiched between two of Asia's economic

stars, here black-market trade in firewood. Without enough to eat,

who here cares about having a nuclear bomb? Kim used to live next

to North Korea's nuclear test site. He doesn't want us to show his face

because his family still lives there. He felt the ground beneath

him shake when the country last tested a nuclear device, four years

ago. TRANSLATION: North Korea does these

tests to stand up to the US, but also to create solidarity amongst

its people and stiffen their resolve. As a North Korean, I was

really surprised that we had such a high level of technology. I was

proud that we could match the United States. This man risked his

life to escape you to the south for freedom, he says. But even among

defectors like him, pride in Pyongyang's nuclear achievement

still lingers. That sense of solidarity may not last. South

Korea's pop culture is trickling into the North, breaking the

state's monopoly on information about the outside world.

Pyongyang's nuclear tests will probably always unite its enemies,

but they may not always have the same effect at home. Australia's

customs services is tightening up its own internal security,

following the arrest of four officers allegedly involved in drug

smuggling at Sydney airport. They were among 17 people arrested over

an alleged plan to smuggle around 40 kilos of pseudo ephedrine from

Vietnam. Officers will face stricter background checks and

mandatory testing for drug and South African Paralympic champion

Oscar Pistorius breaks down in tears as he is charged with the

murder of his girlfriend. Prosecutors say they will pursue a

charge of premeditated murder. Certainly made for some spectacular

images, didn't it, but around 400 to 500 people have been heard, most

of them lightly come when this meteor hit the skies above western

Russia. Hundreds of people being hurt after that blazing meteor

Raven -- reigned across towns in central and western Russia. It

damaged buildings, smashed windows and created a fair degree of panic.

At one point, phone networks simply crashed. The first thing people

noticed was what looked like a bright fire ball flying through the

clear morning sky. Dozens of video cameras captured the same event.

What seems to have been a meteorite burning up in the atmosphere.

Leaving behind it a white trail. Then a couple of minutes later,

The shockwave from the blast knocked over walls and blew out

windows. This factory in Chelyabinsk offered -- suffered

extensive damage. People who rushed to look out of the windows to see

what was flying overhead were injured by glass when the windows

smashed. Hundreds have to be treated for cuts to their heads and

hands. At one point mackerel the mobile phone network stop working

because of the number of people trying to call friends and

relatives. At this stage it appears the eye witnesses also the same

meteorite, but that not -- but that's not been confirmed. It's not

yet clear if there are any remains left in the wilds of the mountains,

of the extraordinary object that Amazing pictures. It has been

called the cruise from hell. Something like 3000 passengers on

board the Carnival Triumph have at least disembarked now in Alabama.

The ship itself had to be pulled into the port and Mobile by a

flotilla of tugboats. This is because at the weekend, in the Gulf

of Mexico, there was a problem on board. An engine room fire which

knocked out pyre and the plumbing. Holidaymakers have described an

overpowering stench on board with The end of a journey that many on

board described as a nightmare. Dryland at last. For passengers who

spent the past four days cast adrift in what some called and

sanitary conditions. These photographs taken on board show

people sleeping on the Deghelt side. Many cabins were reportedly

uninhabitable because of leaks of raw sewage. Carnival Cruise Lines

say their employees did all they could to keep the ship clean in

difficult conditions. Yes, the worst conditions were probably

there toilets. Having to go in the shower and in the red bags. It was

really filthy, really smelly. It was really bad. The smell was bad,

it got worse the longer it went. It wasn't a vacation any more, it was

St al-Ahmar, eat when you can, it was awful. The ship made painfully

slow progress towards sure all day, where anxious relatives were

waiting. She said it was awful. No water. They have to defecate in

bags and set it outside the door. Very little food. Very hot, very

uncomfortable. This is a public relations disaster for the cruise

company. Last year its Costa Concordia ship ran aground off the

coast of Italy, killing 32 people. I know what has been very trying

for our guests, but I can tell you that our crew worked tirelessly to

try and make it as good of an experience as they possibly could.

I want to thank them very much. company had announced that

passengers will get a refund plus compensation, as well as discounts

on future cruises. Let's get you some other stories. In a surprise

decision, the High Court in Kenya says it's got no authority to bar

presidential candidates from running in next month's election.

The court said it didn't have the jurisdiction to decide whether the

presidential candidate, Kenyatta, and William Reato, can run for

office. Both men are facing charges of crimes against humanity at the

International Criminal Court in The Hague. Those allegations arising

from the violence that followed the disputed elections back in 2007.

Both men deny the charges. A forest fire in Chile has destroyed at

least 70 homes. It has forced more than 500 families to get out while

they can. Absolutely roaring flames. A red alert issued as a result.

This is about 120 kilometres north- east of Santiago. Very strong winds

for, very high temperatures, or feeding the flames at the peak of

the summer holiday season. One of Kenya's most successful runners,

Moses kip and a week, has said doping is widespread among the

countries of it. He was three-times world champion in the 3000 metres

steeplechase, and he accused the authorities of turning a blind eye

to the problem. He said many young athletes or the use of performance-

enhancing drugs as a short cut to success and the wealth that comes

with it. There are a good number of athletes using drugs in Kenya.

Those who have been suspended, they have come to us and say they are

not the only ones. There are still of many of them using the same

drugs. They have to get this money in a short time. There are

loopholes. We have to put those rules in use. If I say Corsica to

you, how do you respond? Probably holiday. Jewel of the Mediterranean.

The French island is best known as a tourist spot, but it also has a

history of violence and assassinations. So much so that it

now has the highest murder rate per capita in the whole of Europe. Most

of those murders remain unsolved. Corsica's coastline is a luring. In

summer, its beaches are packed with holidaymakers. But there's another

side of this island that the tourists don't always see. At this

petrol station in the capital last October, one of the customers was

assassinated before his very eyes. I heard the shots, he says. I

looked out and saw the assassins on motorbikes. The murder victim was

Corsica's top lawyer. An unusually high-profile target and now one of

250 people to have been killed or injured in a wave of organised

crime in the last eight years. The victim's daughter, Anna Maria, is

fearful the assassins may never be found.

TRANSLATION: In Corsica there is a real culture of impunity. Assassins

killed in broad daylight at a petrol station and the security

cameras. It makes you wonder if sometimes they aren't given some

kind of help. Corsica has long been a violent place. In the 1970s

onwards, it became notorious for militant separatist movements

seeking greater autonomy from France. The nationalist problem has

subsided. Corsica's economy has rebounded. Holiday homes are big

business. But real estate has in turn fed organised crime.

Everywhere you look there are new holiday homes being built, as

developers capitalise on a 25 % rise in property prices in the

north of the island last year. But all too often campaigners fear that

the money involved ends up in the pockets of criminals. It's a big

concern for the French government. Today we see that those terrorist

acts are also linked to organised crime. It is always illegal

business, racketeering. Today the priority is to fight against both.