A New Yorker won $10 million lottery jackpot following a convenience store clerk’s mistake.
Jerry Kajfasz of Lancaster won a $10 million jackpot from a $20 scratch-off ticket he purchased last month at a suburban Buffalo store.
He tells local media outlets he bought seven scratch-off tickets but the clerk nearly handed him an eighth one costing $20. Jerry Kajfasz, 53, caught the mistake and handed it back.
Jerry Kajfasz of Lancaster won a $10 million jackpot from a $20 scratch-off ticket he purchased last month at a suburban Buffalo store
After winning a total of $25 from the tickets, Jerry Kajfasz went back inside the store and used the winnings to buy the same $20 scratch-off ticket the clerk had almost given to him by mistake.
That Win for Life Spectacular ticket wound up being a winner with a guaranteed minimum jackpot of $10 million.
Justin Bieber’s driver will not be charged with any crimes after a photographer said his camera was stolen during a confrontation with the singer’s entourage, Sandy Springs police say.
Police said Wednesday morning in a statement that detectives won’t charge 49-year-old Terrance Johnson. They say he was driving one of three Cadillac Escalades that brought Justin Bieber and his associates to the Sandy Springs Funhouse family entertainment complex Tuesday.
Justin Bieber’s driver will not be charged with any crimes after a photographer said his camera was stolen during a confrontation with the singer’s entourage in Sandy Springs
A bodyguard for Justin Bieber faces a court date on a felony charge of entering the photographer’s automobile. Fulton County sheriff’s spokeswoman Tracy Flanagan says 32-year-old Hugo Hesny of Davie, Florida, is scheduled to make his first appearance at 11 a.m. Thursday in Atlanta.
Police on Tuesday said they had taken Hugo Hesny and Terrance Johnson into custody on felony theft charges.
Courtney Love has been sued by her former psychiatrist over skipping outstanding fees dating back to 2010.
Just weeks after winning a defamation battle with her former lawyer for a 2010 post on Twitter, Courtney Love is back in the headlines for allegedly skipping payments to Dr. Edward Ratush.
Courtney Love has been sued by her former psychiatrist over skipping outstanding fees dating back to 2010
Dr. Edward Ratush has filed papers in New York County Supreme Court, claiming Courtney Love owes him $48,250 for work he reportedly carried out four years ago.
The psychiatrist is suing Courtney Love for breach of contract and unjust enrichment, among other charges.
General Motors has decided to recall 748,024 more cars in the US that may have faulty ignition switches that can shut the engine off while driving.
In a statement, GM said it found eight additional crashes related to the ignition switch problem for a total of 31 accidents and 13 deaths.
A total of 1.37 million General Motors cars are affected in the US and about 1.62 million worldwide
A total of 1.37 million General Motors cars are affected in the US and about 1.62 million worldwide.
Two weeks ago, GM recalled nearly 780,000 2005-2007 Chevrolet Cobalt and 2007 Pontiac G5 sedans and coupes, including 619,122 in the US.
The additional cars include the 2003-2007 Saturn Ion coupe, 2006-2007 Chevrolet HHR compact SUV and 2006-2007 Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky 2-seat roadsters.
Ukraine’s elite Berkut police unit – blamed for the deaths of protesters – has been disbanded, acting interior minister Arsen Avakov has said.
It is unclear what will happen to Berkut officers, but Arsen Avakov said more details would be given in a briefing on Wednesday.
Berkut unit had 4,000-5,000 members stationed across Ukraine.
Meanwhile, a new cabinet is expected to be presented to protesters in Kiev on Wednesday afternoon.
Also on Wednesday, Oleksandr Turchynov announced that he had assumed the duties of the head of the armed forces.
Ousted President Viktor Yanukovych fled Kiev at the weekend and his whereabouts are still unknown.
Interim authorities have issued a warrant for his arrest, and on Tuesday parliament voted in favor of trying him at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
Elite Berkut police unit is blamed for the deaths of protesters in Ukraine
Fugitive Viktor Yanukovych is accused of being behind the deaths of more than 100 protesters at the hands of riot police.
The much-despised Berkut are just one part of the security and law enforcement agencies, which have long been accused by human rights groups and local citizens of human rights abuses.
Also on Wednesday Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called on other countries to condemn “nationalist and neo-fascist” sentiment in western Ukraine.
Sergei Lavrov called on the OSCE to condemn “calls to ban the Russian language, to turn the Russian-speaking population into <<non-citizens>> and to restrict freedom of expression”.
Russia has portrayed the ousting of Viktor Yanukovych as a violent seizure of power by the opposition, and has expressed concern about the role of far-right parties in the protests against him.
The US and EU countries have broadly backed the takeover of power by the opposition.
Many Russian-speaking residents in the south and east of Ukraine have protested against the actions of the interim authorities.
Tensions are rising in Crimea, where two big rival protests are being staged.
Crimean Tatars and local activists supporting the demonstrators in Kiev have gathered in front of the autonomous republic’s parliament in Simferopol.
John McTiernan has been released from prison in South Dakota after being convicted of lying to the FBI.
The 63-year-old Die Hard director spent 328 days behind bars after pleading guilty to making false statements during investigations into celebrity private detective Anthony Pellicano.
John McTiernan’s wife Gail said he had returned to his home in Wyoming, where he is under house arrest until April 3.
He plans to appeal his conviction.
A spokeswoman for John McTiernan said he was filing a complaint with the Justice Department Office of Professional Responsibility to have his conviction reversed and erased, saying the director believes he was treated unfairly.
John McTiernan has been released from prison in South Dakota after being convicted of lying to the FBI
His lawyer Hank Hockeimer said his client had been in prison “not only for a crime he did not commit, but for conduct that simply is not a crime”.
“McTiernan, though incarcerated, has never been given proof of any evidence the government alleged to have against him.”
John McTiernan pleaded guilty in 2006 to hiring Anthony Pellicano to wiretap film producer Charles Roven after they worked on the 2002 movie Rollerball, and then lying to FBI agents about it.
Shortly after, John McTiernan sought to reverse the plea, claiming he was drunk and jetlagged, but he was sentenced to four months in jail and fined $100,000.
In 2008, an appeals court allowed his not guilty plea and quashed the fine, however he was charged on federal offences a year later.
John McTiernan was convicted and sentenced to one year in prison in October 2010, but stayed free until last year pending appeals in the case.
Anthony Pellicano was convicted of 78 crimes at two separate trials in 2008 for obtaining the private records of a number of Hollywood stars including Sylvester Stallone. He is currently serving a 15-year prison sentence for racketeering, conspiracy and wiretapping.
A Philip Seymour Hoffman playwriting prize will be funded by a libel settlement from The National Enquirer.
The $45,000 bursary was suggested by Philip Seymour Hoffman’s friend David Katz, who sued The National Enquirer over an article about their friendship.
The story was printed just days after Philip Seymour Hoffman’s death earlier this month and subsequently retracted.
David Katz’s lawyer said the prize would be funded “for years to come”.
David Burnstein told the New York Times that David Katz, who is a playwright, wanted the undisclosed settlement to be used positively, and had set up the American Playwriting Foundation as a result.
He said he had spoken often with Philip Seymour Hoffman about how “it’s a tragedy playwrights can’t survive being playwrights – about how nice it would be if you could make your rent and still have an occasional steak”.
Philip Seymour Hoffman playwriting prize will be funded by libel settlement from National Enquirer
The annual prize will be known as the Relentless Award, in a nod to Philip Seymour Hoffman’s pursuit of artistic truth and integrity.
A panel of four theatre writers, including David Katz, will form a selection committee to choose the recipient of the bursary, whose work must be previously unproduced.
The National Enquirer published a story making allegations about the relationship between Philip Seymour Hoffman and David Katz, asserting that the two men took drugs together.
David Katz said Philip Seymour Hoffman never took drugs in his presence and that he had never spoken to the publication.
The National Enquirer removed the story and contended they had been given their information by another David Katz, who claimed that he was the playwright.
As well as the libel settlement, the magazine is due to publish a full-page apology in the New York Times.
David Burnstein said the man claiming to be David Katz would also face a legal challenge.
Philip Seymour Hoffman died at the age of 46 following a drugs overdose at his New York apartment on February 2.
Flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia has died aged 66 in Mexico, reportedly of a heart attack while playing with his children on a beach.
Paco de Lucia’s death was announced by the mayor’s office in Algeciras in southern Spain, where he was born.
The world-renowned is said to have died in the Mexican resort of Cancun.
Famous for a series of flamenco albums in the 1970s, Paco de Lucia also crossed over into classical and jazz guitar.
He also worked on films by Spanish director Carlos Saura, notably appearing in his 1983 version of Carmen, which won a UK BAFTA award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1985.
Paco de Lucia has died of a heart attack while playing with his children on a beach
Algeciras is to hold two days of official mourning. Its mayor, Jose Ignacio Landaluce, called the musician’s death an “irreparable loss for the world of culture and for Andalusia”.
Paco de Lucia had lived both in Mexico and in Spain in recent years.
He was born Francisco Sanchez Gomez on December 21, 1947, the son of flamenco guitarist Antonio Sanchez, who was of Gypsy origin. His stage name he took in honor of his mother, Lucia Gomes.
It is believed Paco de Lucia had played the guitar from the age of five.
At the age of 18 he recorded his first album in Madrid.
One of the great musical partnerships of Paco de Lucia’s life was with the singer Camaron de la Isla, who died in 1992. The two men recorded albums in the 1970s which inspired a New Flamenco movement.
In 2004, Paco de Lucia was awarded Spain’s prestigious Asturias Prize for Art as the “most universal of flamenco artists”.
Repsol has agreed a $5 billion settlement with Argentina over the seizure of its assets there.
Argentina nationalized Repsol’s stake in the country’s biggest oil firm, YPF, in 2012, stripping the Spanish oil company of nearly half its annual output.
Repsol had been demanding $10.5 billion in compensation.
Although the amount agreed is half that figure, Repsol said it was a positive move as it would end legal uncertainty and give the firm a financial boost.
“I think to finally reach a friendly agreement on this contentious issue that has taken two years is extremely positive,” said Antonio Brufau, Repsol’s chairman.
“As far as we are concerned, from a financial point of view, we have started a new chapter where we are stronger.”
Repsol has agreed a $5 billion settlement with Argentina over the seizure of its assets there
Argentina will pay Repsol using US dollar-denominated government bonds, which the Spanish firm can sell at any time.
The move is also expected to help Argentina attract foreign investment in its shale oil and gas reserves, which are among the world’s largest.
YPF produces about a third of Argentina’s oil and a quarter of its gas.
Argentina has been keen to develop the Vaca Muerta shale formation – a key YPF asset – but has so far struggled to attract investors, not least due to the uncertainty over the legal proceedings with Repsol.
As part of the settlement, Repsol has agreed to drop its lawsuits against Argentina.
The whale graveyard found beside the Pan-American Highway in Chile is one of the most astonishing fossil discoveries of recent years.
Now scientists think they can explain how so many of the animals came to be preserved in one location more than five million years ago.
It was the result of not one but four separate mass strandings, they report in a Royal Society journal.
The evidence strongly suggests the whales all ingested toxic algae.
The dead and dying mammals were then washed into an estuary and on to flat sands where they became buried over time.
It was well known that this area in Chile’s Atacama Desert preserved whale fossils.
Their bones could be seen sticking out of rock faces, and the spot acquired the name Cerro Ballena (“whale hill”) as a result.
But it was only when a cutting was made to widen the Pan-American Highway that US and Chilean researchers got an opportunity to fully study the fossil beds.
They were given just two weeks to complete their field work before the heavy plant returned to complete construction of the new road.
The team set about recording as much detail as possible, including making 3D digital models of the skeletal remains in situ and then removing bones for further study in the lab.
Identified in the beds were over 40 individual rorquals – the type of large cetacean that includes the modern blue, fin and minke whales.
Among them were other important marine predators and grazers.
The whale graveyard found beside the Pan-American Highway in Chile is one of the most astonishing fossil discoveries of recent years
“We found extinct creatures such as walrus whales – dolphins that evolved a walrus-like face. And then there were these bizarre aquatic sloths,” recalls Nicholas Pyenson, a palaeontologist at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.
The team immediately noticed that the skeletons were nearly all complete, and that their death poses had clear commonalities. Many had come to rest facing in the same direction and upside down, for example.
This all pointed to the creatures succumbing to the same, sudden catastrophe; only, the different fossils levels indicated it was not one event but four separate episodes spread over a period of several thousand years.
The best explanation is that these animals were all poisoned by the toxins that can be generated in some algal blooms.
Such blooms are one of the prevalent causes for repeated mass strandings seen in today’s marine animals.
If large quantities of contaminated prey are consumed, or the algae are simply inhaled – death can be rapid.
“All the creatures we found – whether whales, seals or billfishes – fed high up in marine food webs and that would have made them very susceptible to harmful algal blooms,” said Dr. Nicholas Pyenson.
The researchers believe the then configuration of the coastline at Cerro Ballena in the late Miocene Epoch worked to funnel carcases into a restricted area where they were lifted on to sand flats just above high tide, perhaps by storm waves.
This would have put the bodies beyond marine scavengers. And, being a desert region, there would have been very few land creatures about to steal bones either.
A lot of the fossils at Cerro Ballena are perfect but for a few nicks inflicted by foraging crabs.
The researchers are not in a position to say for sure that harmful algal blooms were responsible for the mass strandings. There were no distinct algal cell fragments in the sediments; such a presence could have amounted to a “smoking gun”. What the team did find, however, were multiple grains encrusted in iron oxides that could hint at past algal activity.
Cerro Ballena is now regarded as one of the densest fossil sites in the world – certainly for whales and other extinct marine mammals. The scientists calculate there could be hundreds of specimens in the area still waiting to be unearthed and investigated.
The University of Chile in Santiago is currently working to establish a research station to carry this into effect.
The Smithsonian has put much of its digital data, including 3D scans and maps, online at cerroballena.si.edu.
A US congressional committee report found that Credit Suisse “helped its US customers conceal their Swiss accounts” and avoid billions of dollars in American taxes.
The report claims the bank opened Swiss accounts for more than 22,000 US customers, with assets totaling $12 billion at their peak.
It alleges bankers helped clients create offshore shell entities and design transactions to avoid arousing suspicion.
“From at least 2001 to 2008, Credit Suisse employed banking practices that facilitated tax evasion by US customers,” the report said.
It said the practices included “opening undeclared Swiss accounts” or accounts to “mask their US ownership”, as well as sending Swiss bankers to the US to recruit new customers and “service existing Swiss accounts without creating paper trails”.
US prosecutors are chasing 14 Swiss banks for allegedly helping wealthy Americans dodge US taxes.
Credit Suisse’s private banking and wealth management division has already put aside 175 million Swiss francs to fight a US investigation into hidden offshore accounts in Switzerland.
A US congressional committee report found that Credit Suisse “helped its US customers conceal their Swiss accounts” and avoid billions of dollars in American taxes
The bank has said it was “working towards a resolution” with US authorities but has not given a time-frame of when that resolution might be reached.
The report has also published details of the way, it alleges, the bank worked to keep the accounts concealed from the US authorities.
It said some bankers even applied for US visa waivers, claiming they planned to visit the country for “tourism” instead of “business” purposes.
The report listed one incident where a client was handed bank statements hidden in a Sports Illustrated magazine.
It said the bank also used sponsored events, including the annual “Swiss Ball” in New York and golf tournaments in Florida, to recruit more customers.
The committee has called upon US regulators to take strict action against banks that help US customers avoid taxes.
“For too long, international financial institutions like Credit Suisse have profited from their offshore tax haven schemes while depriving the US economy of billions of dollars in tax revenues by facilitating US tax evasion,” said Senator John McCain, a member of the subcommittee.
“As federal regulators begin to crack down on these banks’ illicit practices, it is imperative that they use every legal tool at their disposal to hold these banks fully accountable for willfully deceiving the US government and seek penalties that will deter similar misconduct in the future.”
The US Justice Department issued a statement saying it was investigating various Swiss banks over the issue.
Veteran rock band Kiss has pulled out of their performance at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in a disagreement over their line-up.
Kiss failed to decide which members would be on stage for the concert on April 10.
They said on their website the “memory of those times” would not be served by a reunion of the original line-up.
Other inductees who will be honored in New York include Nirvana, Peter Gabriel and Linda Ronstadt.
Musical acts are eligible to be elevated to the Hall of Fame 25 years after their first release.
Kiss, famous for their elaborate stage make-up and costumes, first formed in 1973, including current band members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley.
Kiss has pulled out of their performance at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in a disagreement over their line-up
Originals Ace Frehley and Peter Criss subsequently quit the group, which continued with different musicians.
Their statement continued: “To bring this to a quick end, we have decided not to play in any line-up, and we will focus our attention on celebrating our induction into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.
“This is understandably an emotional situation where there is no way to please everyone.”
Ace Frehley claimed Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley had rejected a reunion with their original bandmates.
“It’s very frustrating. It’s what the fans wanted, it’s what the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame wanted, and it’s not gonna happen,” he told DJ Eddie Trunk.
The band’s statement denied that they had ever scotched a reunion with Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. This would have marked the original quartet’s first performance together in more than 13 years, at the end of a reunion which lasted from 1996-2000.
Ace Frehley and Peter Criss have not confirmed if they will attend the ceremony.
Barack Obama has warned Afghan President Hamid Karzai that the US may pull all of its troops out of his country by the year’s end.
President Obama conveyed the message in a phone call to Hamid Karzai, who has refused to sign a security agreement.
The US insists this agreement must be in place before it commits to leaving some troops behind for counter-insurgent operations and training.
The US has had troops in Afghanistan since 2001 when it toppled the Taliban.
Its forces went into the country following the 9/11 attacks on the US. With Afghan and Western allies, they quickly overthrew the Taliban authorities, but have faced insurgent attacks since then.
Correspondents say the disagreement over the bilateral security agreement (BSA) is the latest step in the long and deteriorating relationship between Washington and Hamid Karzai, who was once seen as a key US ally.
Barack Obama has warned Afghan President Hamid Karzai that the US may pull all of its troops out of his country by the year’s end
The BSA, which offers legal protection for US troops and defines a post-2014 NATO training and anti-insurgent mission, was agreed by the two countries last year after months of negotiation.
It was endorsed at a national gathering (Loya Jirga) of Afghan elders in Kabul in November.
But Hamid Karzai has refused to sign the deal until a peace process is under way with the Taliban, adding that if he were to sign it, he would become responsible if Afghans were killed by US bombs.
“President Obama told President Karzai that because he has demonstrated that it is unlikely that he will sign the BSA [Bilateral Security Agreement], the United States is moving forward with additional contingency planning,” the White House said in a statement.
“Specifically, President Obama has asked the Pentagon to ensure that it has adequate plans in place to accomplish an orderly withdrawal by the end of the year should the United States not keep any troops in Afghanistan after 2014.
“Furthermore, the longer we go without a BSA, the more likely it will be that any post-2014 US mission will be smaller in scale and ambition.”
While Hamid Karzai has refused to sign the BSA, some candidates in April’s Afghan presidential elections have indicated they would.
Hamid Karzai, who has served two terms as Afghanistan’s first and only president since the Taliban were ousted from power in 2001, is obliged by law to stand down after the next election.
Analysts say the US statement clearly implies that Hamid Karzai’s stance will harm Afghanistan’s security long after he leaves office.
Duck Commander, the company behind Duck Dynasty reality show, is reportedly set to purchase the rights to the Independence Bowl, or AdvoCare V100 Bowl as it has been known in recent years.
The deal will reportedly run through 2019, and this news comes shortly after it was announced that Duck Commander would sponsor NASCAR’s spring Sprint Cup 500 race, now known as the “Duck Commander 500”.
Duck Commander is set to purchase the rights to the Independence Bowl
The Independence Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I college football bowl game that is played annually at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana.
It was known as the Independence Bowl prior to 2013, and was so named because it was inaugurated in the US bicentennial year, 1976.
Lena Dunham will make her Saturday Night Live hosting debut on March 8 with musical guest The National.
The appearance will also mark The National’s their first time on the SNL. The National’s most recent album, Trouble Will Find Me, received a 2014 Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Album and their documentary Mistaken For Strangers hits theaters during last week of March.
Lena Dunham will make her Saturday Night Live hosting debut on March 8 with musical guest The National
Saturday Night Live returns on March 1st with host Jim Parsons and musical guest Beck. With the departure of Seth Meyers’ for NBC’s Late Night, next Saturday’s SNL will also mark the debut of head writer Colin Jost as new Weekend Update co-anchor.
Colin Jost will join Cecily Strong – who worked the popular fake news segment with Seth Meyers this season – behind the desk.
Oprah Winfrey shared her first selfie with fans from the 45th Annual NAACP Image Awards.
“My first selfie,” Oprah Winfrey, 60, tweeted.
“Love @idriselba! #imageawards.”
Oprah Winfrey is flanked in the picture by Idris Elba, who inches into the frame from behind, and gives the camera a cool stare-down.
Oprah Winfrey shared her first selfie with fans from the 45th Annual NAACP Image Awards
“Did I just photo bomb Oprah???” Idris Elba, 41, tweeted along with Oprah Winfrey’s original picture.
An eyewitness at the event told Us Weekly that photographers erupted into a state of frenzy once the media mogul arrived on the red carpet.
Although Oprah Winfrey ultimately lost in the Best Supporting Actress category at the Pasadena, California awards show to Lupita Nyong’o, the 12 Years a Slave breakout star credited Winfrey for impacting her career.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has angrily condemned as fabricated an audio recording that appears to show him talking to his son about hiding large sums of money.
The Turkish prime minister said the recording, allegedly tapped and posted on social media, was a “treacherous attack”.
It appears to reveal Recep Tayyip Erdogan asking his son Bilal to dispose of millions of euros in cash from a house.
The opposition has called for the prime minister’s resignation.
The recordings, which could not be independently verified, were said to be of four conversations dating back to December 17, when the sons of three ministers and business allies of the prime minister were detained in a high-level corruption investigation.
Correspondents say that the inquiry has presented a major challenge to Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s 11 years in power ahead of key local elections in March.
However, neither the prime minister nor his party’s spokespeople have denied that the voices on the recording belong to Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his son.
Their statement so far is that their voices were “montaged” to implicate them.
During the conversation, a voice can be heard discussing how to reduce the funds to “zero” by distributing them among several businessmen.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has angrily condemned as fabricated an audio recording that appears to show him talking to his son about hiding large sums of money
At one point, the second voice says some 30 million euros ($40 million) remains to be disposed of.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s office issued a statement late on Monday night saying the release of the recordings was part of a sustained campaign to unseat him.
“Those who created this dirty conspiracy targeting the prime minister of the Republic of Turkey will be brought to account within the law,” it said.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan had a late-night meeting with the head of intelligence and then spoke out publicly on Tuesday, telling lawmakers from his AK Party the recording was a “shameless montage” and an attack on him personally.
“We will bring legal action against these [wire-tapping] activities. If we let it go on, there will be no privacy for families, nor for the state in this country,” he said.
By late Tuesday morning, the recording had received more than 1.5 million hits on YouTube in less than 24 hours.
The previous day, Turkish government officials said thousands of people, including senior politicians and other leading figures, had had their telephones illegally tapped over three years with the aim to blackmail and fabricate criminal cases.
Two pro-government newspapers, Yeni Safak and Star, alleged that the taps were ordered by prosecutors said to be loyal to US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. The prosecutors have denied the accusations.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Fethullah Gulen, his former ally, of orchestrating December’s corruption investigation against key AKP figures and of trying to form “a parallel state” in Turkey.
One of the prosecutors named in the stories, Adem Ozcan, denied the allegations.
Oscar Pistorius trial in South Africa can be partially televised, a Pretoria court has ruled today.
Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius shot his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, more than a year ago, and his murder trial begins on March 3.
State prosecutors allege the killing was premeditated, but Oscar Pistorius claims he mistook her for an intruder.
It will be the first time parts of a trial in South Africa are televised live.
Judge Dunstan Mlambo at the court in Pretoria was asked to decide how much, if any, of the proceedings could be filmed and broadcast live.
The application was brought by media groups MultiChoice, eNCA and Eyewitness News, reported Sapa news agency.
Justice Dunstan Mlambo said the entire audio of the trial could be broadcast live, and sections of the trial could be filmed and televised live.
Oscar Pistorius shot dead girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp and his murder trial begins on March 3
These included opening arguments, evidence of experts, police witnesses and closing arguments.
The testimony of the accused and his witnesses were exempt, the judge said.
Three cameras could be set up to be operated remotely – and no close-ups or recordings of private conversations were allowed, he said.
Witnesses could apply in writing if they did not want to be on camera – and allowances could be made to have faces obscured or filmed from the back, he added.
MultiChoice is planning 24-hour coverage of the trial on its own dedicated channel – the Oscar Pistorius Trial channel – which is due to begin broadcasting on Sunday.
Defense lawyers had said it would prejudice proceedings.
Justice Dunstan Mlambo said the broadcast of a “celebrity” trial might go a long way to address misconceptions about justice system.
However, he warned against a trial by media and said the court could be the only place where Oscar Pistorius was tried.
Reeva Steenkamp, 29, was shot three times through the toilet door of Oscar Pistorius’ Pretoria home in the early hours of Valentine’s Day in 2013.
Oscar Pistorius, 27, said he thought she was a burglar and denies prosecution claims that they had an argument in the hours before the shooting.
Much of the case will depend on ballistic evidence from the scene of the shooting, correspondents say.
Oleksandr Turchynov – Ukraine’s interim president – has warned of the dangers of separatism following the ousting of President Viktor Yanukovych.
Many in Ukraine’s Russian-speaking regions oppose his overthrow and the installation of a more European-leaning interim administration.
Russia is also angry at the changes, but Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said Moscow will not intervene.
The formation of a unity government has been delayed until Thursday.
Addressing parliament, Oleksandr Turchynov said he would meet law enforcement agencies to discuss the risk of separatism in regions with large ethnic Russian populations.
Separatism was a “serious threat”, he said.
Ukraine’s interim President Olexander Turchynov has warned of the dangers of separatism following the ousting of President Viktor Yanukovych
Crimea and some pro-Russian areas in the east have seen protests against the overthrow of Viktor Yanukovych, sparking fears of secession.
The delay in announcing a unity government was to allow further consultations, Oleksandr Turchynov said, adding that “a coalition of national faith must be elected”.
Russia has been vehemently opposed to the changes in Ukraine, with PM Dmitry Medvedev saying on Monday that those behind the new administration had conducted an “armed mutiny”.
At a news conference in Moscow on Tuesday, Sergei Lavrov warned other states against seeking “unilateral advantages” in Ukraine, but said Russia’s “policy of non-intervention” would continue.
“It is dangerous and counter-productive to try to force on Ukraine a choice according to the principle of either being with us or against us,” he said.
Sergei Lavrov added that “it is in our interest for Ukraine to be part of the broad European family” but against Russia’s interest to “allow the radicals and nationalists who are clearly trying to take centre stage to prevail.”
It is still unclear where Viktor Yanukovych is, but an arrest warrant has been issued. He was last reportedly seen on Sunday in Balaklava on the Crimean peninsula.
Acting Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said a criminal case had been opened against the ousted president and other officials over “mass murder of peaceful citizens”.
Tuesday’s temperatures remain up to 30 degrees below average in Midwest and Northeast, forecasters announced.
“This is going to be another cold week,” Kevin Roth from the Weather Channel said.
“Tuesday will see temperatures drop between 10 to 30 degrees below average for much of the Midwest and Northeast, so most areas will be freezing or colder.”
Temperatures remain up to 30 degrees below average in Midwest and Northeast
The coldest air will be reserved for the northern Plains to the Great Lakes, where highs will be in the single digits and teens, according to the National Weather Service.
Overnight and into Wednesday, cities from Washington, D.C., to New York could see one or two inches of snow, Kevin Roth added.
Meanwhile, a couple of heavy storms will hit California this week.
In his debut at Late Night, former Saturday Night Live head writer Seth Meyers began with a quick tribute to Jimmy Fallon, his former castmate, by imitating his “Thank You Notes” segment.
Seth Meyers thanked Jimmy Fallon for moving on to The Tonight Show so that he could take his job. Then he self-deprecatingly promised to use the show only for “completely original comedy pieces” – as soon as the current one was over.
After a frenetic opening written by Fred Armisen, another SNL alum, Seth Meyers walked out to deliver his writing team’s unflashy but exceptionally well-made jokes.
Almost half were about politics, including this one about a 101-year-old candidate: “He has a good chance of appealing to younger viewers, since that’s all there is.”
Seth Meyers doesn’t seem prone to dumbing his humor down: His first bit was about Venn diagrams. But he could also be breezily likeable, as when he told a story about a man in a diner changing the tire of his and his wife’s car, while Seth Meyers held their small, shivering greyhound.
Seth Meyers began his first episode of Late Night with a quick tribute to Jimmy Fallon
On his first night, Seth Meyers felt almost like a pre-David Letterman talk show host, going for straightforward jokes over irony and stunts. Even his set is low-key, almost soothing, full of metallic blues.
His first guest was Amy Poehler – yet another SNL colleague, and one of his best friends. The second guest was Vice President Joe Biden, who had an easy rapport with Amy Poehler after guesting on her show, Parks & Recreation.
Joe Biden, a likely 2016 presidential contender, joked that he was “planning a major announcement tonight – but I decided tonight was your night”.
Seth Meyers then asked Amy Poehler about her 2016 plans.
“I’m running for president,” she said.
Amy Poehler did have a real announcement: Broad City, the Comedy Central show she executive produces, will return for a second season. She also talked about hosting a Golden Globe party, where Joaquin Phoenix was an exceptionally hard-to-read first guest.
According to a new study, cooking meat produces chemicals which may increase the risk of developing dementia.
Advanced glycation end products (AGES) have been linked to diseases such as type-2 diabetes.
Mice fed a high-AGES diet had a build-up of dangerous proteins in the brain and impaired cognitive function.
Experts said the results were “compelling” but did not provide “definitive answers”.
AGES are formed when proteins or fats react with sugar. This can happen naturally and during the cooking process.
Cooking meat produces chemicals which may increase the risk of developing dementia
Researchers at the Icahn school of medicine at Mount Sinai, in New York, tested the effect of AGES on mice and people.
The animal experiments, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed that a diet rich in AGES affects the chemistry of the brain.
It leads to a build-up of defective beta amyloid protein – a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. The mice eating a low-AGES diet were able to prevent the production of damaged amyloid.
The mice performed less well in physical and thinking tasks after their AGES-rich diet.
A short-term analysis of people over 60 suggested a link between high levels of AGES in the blood and cognitive decline.
The study concluded: “We report that age-related dementia may be causally linked to high levels of food advanced glycation end products.
“Importantly, reduction of food-derived AGES is feasible and may provide an effective treatment strategy.”
Turkish pro-government media have claimed a group of anti-government prosecutors have illegally wiretapped thousands of prominent figures.
Targets reportedly included government ministers and business leaders.
The prosecutors, who are said to be loyal to US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, have denied the accusations.
Fethullah Gulen has been accused of running a “parallel state” in Turkey, controlling groups of police, lawyers and politicians. He denies the claims.
The latest allegations came in two pro-government newspapers, Yeni Safak and Star.
Fethullah Gulen has been accused of running a “parallel state” in Turkey, controlling groups of police, lawyers and politicians
The Star reported that “Gulenists” had wiretapped more than 7,000 people since 2011 on the pretext of trying to uncover terrorism plots.
One of the prosecutors named in the stories, Adem Ozcan, denied the allegations.
“There was definitely no monitoring or phone-tapping of thousands of politicians, writers, NGO representatives and businessmen in the framework of this dossier in the way that the newspaper stories say,” he said in a statement.
Fethullah Gulen has denied using his influence to start investigations into allegations of government corruption.
PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Fethullah Gulen, a one-time ally who lives in self-imposed exile in the US, of trying to attack the government.
Four ministers have resigned in the aftermath of the corruption inquiries.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pledged to fight on, in what is seen as the biggest challenge to his government in his 11 years in office.
