STITCHED UP: Blind weightlifting champ portrayed as 'drunk' by the ABC

CHAMPION weightlifter Malek Chamoun who is legally blind and walks with a cane has slammed the ABC for portraying him as a binge drinker during a Four Corners' 'Punch Drunk' special. VISION: ABC TV/ Four Corners

Blind weightlifter Malek Chamoun, pictured here in an ABC Four Corners special on drunken violence. Picture: ABC Source: Supplied

• Blind weightlifter shown as drunk by ABC TV 
• Malek Chamoun featured in Four Corners footage
• "It's disgraceful. He is a great kid." 

A CHAMPION weightlifter who is legally blind has slammed the ABC for portraying him as a binge drinker.

Malek Chamoun, 24, was walking with a cane and guided by a friend during a rare night out in the city when he was caught on camera.

The footage later appeared in "Punch Drunk," a Four Corners episode exploring "crisis levels" of binge drinking and serious assaults in Australia through the eyes of police and paramedics that went to air on Monday night.

"Check me out on 4 Corners, the episode about alchahol & violonce in the city. (I pop up at 10:38) Pfftt i wasn't drunk, i'm blind...," Chamoun posted on his Facebook.

"I was even holding my cane, but the idiots cut it off in the vid. The media has to watch out, this could impact my reputation with my weightlifting carreer," he wrote.

Footage of Chamoun stumbling appears following a quote from NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Nick Kaldas about the impact of alcohol-related violence on emergency services.

"An enormous amount of effort and anguish is expended on people who have simply got themselves in such a drunken state that emergency services have to become involved to look after them or patch up the mess that they leave," Mr Kaldas said.

"It's disgraceful. I can vouch that the kid is a great kid, a fantastic athlete and a great son. They should have shown the cane so people would have known," he said. Source: Supplied

In a statement today Four Corners said: "Having been made aware of his concerns, Four Corners has now spoken to Malek Chamoun.

"The program has said they are sorry he was portrayed in this light, but explained the footage was filmed in a public place.

"While the program did not suggest all those featured were drunk, it was shown in the context of people out and having a good time. Four Corners has agreed to remove the footage of Chamoun from the online version of the program, and any televised repeats."

"No one at Four Corners knew that the man filmed was blind. If we did, we would not have used this shot."

Chamoun was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative eye disease at age seven and declared legally blind at 15.

Despite this, he competes fulltime in the sport and narrowly missed selection for the London 2012 Olympics.

He is coached by father George, also a former national champ, in their Sydney home on the official weightlifting platform used in the Sydney 2000 games.

Weightlifting NSW Honorary CEO Luke Borreggine said he has known Chamoun since he was a "puppy" and it was a shame footage of the "totally innocent" athlete had been used in the wrong context.

"It's disgraceful. I can vouch that the kid is a great kid, a fantastic athlete and a great son. They should have shown the cane so people would have known," he said.

Malek, 24, is legally blind. Pic: Gregg Porteous Source: Supplied

Viewers expressed their disapproval on Four Corners' Facebook page.

Dean Vasil: "Malek Chamoun is shown in this video at 10:38 seconds, this is a program about being drunk and highly intoxicated in public.. all of us who know malek.. He is visually blind and was being helped down the stairs by his caring cousin.. You people at abc film whoever you want and stick a title of whatever you want on people to help portray the stupidity of your program.. Regardless of people's circumstances.. This poor kid has been made to look like he was HIGHLY intoxicated.. When in reality he was being helped down the stairs because he can not see.. He has been portrayed as a drunk on live television and he didn't even know he was being filmed.. Well done abc, GREAT WORK!!"

Will Vasil: "That's not nice they just showed someone in this video that was not drunk, I thought it was about drunk people not a BLIND man walking down the stairs being helped by his cousin (10:38). I think the video man himself was intoxicated, he couldn't tell the difference between a blind man holding his cane or a drunk loser."

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Ashlee and Sophia: They said whaaaat?

My Kitchen Rules Ashlee and Sophia execute a cracking main dish which really impresses the judges.

Best friends Ashlee and Sophia have to put their money where their mouth is as they step into the kitchen, as seen on Seven.

Ashlee and Sophia put to the test in the MKR kitchen. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied

WHILE some viewers have been enamoured by their inane banter, others have described it more as a waste of their "ear space".

But love them or hate them, Ashlee and Sophia have been responsible for some of the best one-liners in My Kitchen Rules history.

Perhaps that's because Sophia delivers each one syllable by syllable, pro-noun-cing ev-er-y sin-gle word pain-full-y slow-ly, so that they're impossible to miss - or perhaps it's just because they're exactly the opposite of whatever a "buzz kill" is?

Either way, you can't deny that the NSW duo 'give good quote'.

So here, we pay "homage" to the villainous gatecrashers, because babes, when it comes to the crunch, all you can do is laugh.

Top 12 Ashlee and Sophia quotes:

1.  "In a dog fight, there's usually a pack of bitches coming at the strongest dog, and at the moment it's Ashlee and I." - Sophia reveals the pair's confidence early on.
    
2. "She could put fish to sleep... she's just a buzz kill" - Sophia on fellow contestant Lisa.
    
3. "It was like eating a slug ... even a child would hate it" - describing Lisa and Stefano's semifreddo they served up for dessert.
    
4. "Their one looks like a piñata threw up" - Sophia on the décor of Lisa and Stefano's instant restaurant, Carnavale 2.0.
    
5. "He's a man-baby" - Ashlee's first impression of Stefano.
    
6. "The first thing I'm thinking is 'vom' ... My dogs eat better than this" - the girls on Dan and Steph's Duck Sausage entrée and Pork Knuckle main.
    
7. "If we get a good score tonight I'm going to get my local council to name a park after me" - Sophia while preparing for her guests last night.
    
8. "If I burn my face then I'll NEVER get a boyfriend" - Sophia while wielding a monster blowtorch around. 
    
9. "OK, let's have a quick prayer: We pray for a good instant restaurant, let's pray for no time delays, and let's pray for good hair and make-up. Ok, love you biatch".
    
10. "We're just gonna go work on your entrees, so we're gonna bounce" - after seating their guests at their own instant restaurant.
     
11. "What about an umbrella on a banana split? You don't see anybody eating the umbrella, do you?" - The hilarious logic behind serving an inedible flower with their lime crème brûlée.
     
12. "Omg babes, BABES! Babes its not gonna be tender, babes, BABES what do you want me to do, babe?" 

Did we miss any priceless one-liners? Add them below. 

@Ali_Stephenson_

@lottiewillis

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Reeva 'wanted fame and marriage'

Reeva Steenkamp and best friend Sam Greyvenstein were inseparable. Picture: Sam Greyvenstein, via Twitter Source: Supplied

• Friends still in shock at Reeva's death
• 'All she wanted was to be famous' says one
• She 'would have married Oscar'

SHE was young, carefree and in love - with a sporting legend, and with life itself.

New photos have emerged showing Reeva Steenkamp living it up with her best friends, who are at a loss to explain the 29-year-old model's death.

Oscar Pistorius, South Africa's 26-year-old double-amputee sprint champion, has been charged with her murder.

A day after Pistorius held a private memorial for his girlfriend, who was shot dead as she sat in the bathroom of the Olympic athlete's Pretoria home in the early hours of Valentine's Day, a clearer picture continues to emerge of the blonde model's whirlwind romance with the man dubbed the Blade Runner.

Pistorius is out on bail awaiting trial.

The prosecution says he shot her in a jealous rage. Pistorius claims he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder. The trial is set down for June.

Reeva Steenkamp out on the town with best friend Sam Greyvenstein. Picture: Sam Greyvenstein, via Twitter

Reeva's best friend and fellow FHM model Sam Greyvenstein is still at a loss to understand why it happened.

"I can't get my head around it," Greyvenstei told Grazia magazine.

"Reeva was happy with Oscar. Everyone will say the same thing. I know him well – we all travel in the same circles. And nobody suspected that anything was out of order."

Greyvenstein and Gina Myers, who together formed part of Reeva's substitute "family" where she lived in Johannesburg, enjoyed an active social life, posting numerous photos on social media and regularly gathering at Steenkamp's favourite salon and home-from-home, Pulse.

Pulse owner Annie Philippeos said that the irony of her friend's fame is almost too much to take.

"All she wanted was to be famous," she said.

Salon owner and good friend of Reeva Steenkamp, Annie Philippeos. Picture: Annie Philippeos, via Twitter.

"And her career was just about to explode.

"Now, I turn on the BBC, I turn on Sky News and I see her face. The irony is that now, she's famous all over the world. Her dream was realised overnight – but in a truly unthinkable way."

She said that Steenkamp seemed excited and in love.

"She adored him," Philippeos told Grazia. "He adored her. It's the craziest thing. They were really happy.

"He (Oscar) would come in to say hi, and when he walked out she would tell all the stylists how mad she was about him. She was so happy – it's bizarre."

Reeva Steenkamp with best friend Sam Greyvenstein (right) and Julie Carello. Picture: Sam Greyvenstein, via Twitter

Pistorius and Steenkamp met in November and their relationship was going so well that marriage appeared a certainty - at least to friends of the duo.

In a statement read out to the court during Pistorius's bail hearing last week, Greyvenstein said that Steenkamp, "would have married Oscar if he'd asked her".

"She said he was intense but she loved him," Greyvenstein said, adding that he treated her "like gold".

It was backed up in another statement, from Pistorius's friend Justin Divaris, whom the athlete called after the shooting.

"I introduced Oscar and Reeva. It was obvious that they were immediately attracted to each other," Divaris said.

Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp. The Olympic sprinter has been charged with her murder.

"Oscar said Reeva was a fantastic person who really understood him. He told me she could be the one he'd marry."

Meanwhile, Steenkamp's family has been forced to categorically deny that she was pregnant when she died.

The National Enquirer reported that Steenkamp told Pistorius that she was pregnant to placate him after he accused her of cheating on him. The report was then picked up other websites and social media.

Overnight, family spokesman Mike Steenkamp denied the reports were true and said the cover girl's mother June would have known.

Reeva Steenkamp with best friend Sam Greyvenstein at a motor race. Picture: Sam Greyvenstein, via Twitter

"The post mortem would have revealed if Reeva was pregnant and it did not reveal anything like this. Maybe it comes from the other side, to garner and build up some sort of support for Oscar,' Mr Steenkamp told Times Live.

The pregnancy rumour is just one of several outrageous claims that have surfaced since Steenkamp was shot.

Among the more bizarre was the claim from an outspoken South African pastor that Pistorius had been "cursed" for supporting homosexuals. Pistorius was recently dropped from the "It gets better South Africa" campaign against homophobic bullying.

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Reeva's last text: Tired, I'll stay here

Reeva Steenkamp sent her defacto family a text message hours before she died saying she was too tired to drive hom from Oscar Pistorius's house and would stay the night. Source: AP

• Reeva was too tired to drive home the night she was shot
• Her 'Joburg dad', Cecil Myers, had to identify body
• 'Can you imagine how terrified she was?'
• Oscar's private memorial for Reeva

REEVA Steenkamp never intended to stay the night at Oscar Pistorius's house the night she was shot dead but changed her mind because it was too late to drive home safely.

In her final text message, she told the man who thought of her as his own daughter: "Hi guys, I'm too tired. It's too far to drive. I'm sleeping at Oscar's tonight. See you tomorrow."

Five hours later she was dead, shot three times as she sat in the bathroom of Pistorius's Pretoria home.

The Olympic sprinter is out on bail awaiting trial for Steenkamp's murder.

The prosecution says he shot her in a jealous rage. Pistorius claims he mistook the 29-year-old model for an intruder.

Cecil Myers is the father of one of Reeva's best friends, Gina. He was Reeva's "Joburg dad" while she was living in the city - she had been staying with the family since September - and had known her for more than six years.

In his first interview, Mr Myers told South Africa's City Press newspaper he was one of the last people to communicate with Reeva the night she died.

A relative of Reeva Steenkamp holds the order of service for her funeral in Port Elizabeth. The model is being farewelled as Oscar Pistorius, who has been charged with her murder, faces a bail hearing.

It was late on Wednesday night, just hours before her death.

"I've got this thing with all three (Reeva, and his daughters, Kim and Gina), if they don't come home at night, they must text me. Then Reeva sent the (SMS) message: 'Hi guys, I'm too tired. It's too far to drive. I'm sleeping at Oscar's tonight. See you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow never dawned for her ... I have nightmares at night thinking how frightened she must have been. Can you imagine how terrified she was?

"That was the last SMS from her phone, probably about ten, ten thirty – the time they usually SMS."

Early in the morning they got the news. "Gina was hysterical. She started screaming in her room: 'Reeva is dead!'"

Haunting: the last image of Reeva Steenkamp, shown on CCTV arriving at Oscar Pistorius's house the night she died. Photo: Carte Blanche

Reeva's parents live 1100km away in Port Elizabeth. It was Mr Myers who identified Reeva's body.

"Luckily my son was there for me, because I broke down. The way she looked ... that will remain with me forever," he told the paper.

"It was terrible, I couldn't drive myself back home."

Mr Myers said he met Reeva's father Barry, a horse trainer, for the first time at her funeral in Port Elizabeth last Tuesday.

"Her father introduced me to friends as 'Reeva's Joburg father'," Mr Myers said. "He kept thanking me for being so kind to his daughter in Johannesburg, for looking after her.

"But how well did I look after her? She was shot."

Oscar Pistorius posing last month with girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, whom he is accused of shooting dead at his home. Picture: AFP

Prosecutors are keen to track Steenkamp's final moments using her mobile phone.

They hope her phone records, as well as the location tracker, will shed some light onto her movements on Valentine's Day night.

The information though could take some time to be released, as it has to be approved by a magistrate or high court judge.

Earlier Mr Myers' daughter Gina described a ''perfect day'' she spent with her friend last week and praised the model's sense of humour and love of life.

"Last week, Reeva and I took a blanket into our garden. Lay there for the day and decided it was something we'd do all the time. It was a perfect day,'' said Ms Myers.

Ms Myers said she had a nickname for her friend, 'Alfi', so-called because of the little pieces of hair that would stick up by her forehead.

Meanwhile, Reeva's mother has told of the moment police came to tell her of her daughter's death.

June Steenkamp told South African TV show Carte Blanche: "I had a phone call about half past seven that morning and the man said to me: 'What's your name?' And I said: 'It's June'.

"He said: 'Do you have a daughter?' And I said: 'Yes'.

"He said: 'Reeva? 'And I said: 'Yes'.

"He said: 'There's been an accident and she's been shot'.

"I said: 'All I want to know is if she is alive or if she's dead'.

"The man said: 'I'm sorry to have to tell you, but I don't want you to go up and read in the paper, that she's dead'."

Barry Steenkamp said Pistorius will suffer for any lies he has told about the shooting.

"There are only two people who really know what happened and it's Oscar Pistorius and the Lord," he told Afrikaans-language newspaper Beeld in his first extended interview.

"It does not matter how much money he has and how good his legal team is, he must live with his conscience if he allows his legal team to lie on his behalf.

"But if he speaks the truth, I can perhaps some day forgive him.

"If it did not happen as he has told it, he must suffer.

"And he will suffer ... only he knows."
 

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10 mind-boggling Wall Street interview questions

How many tennis balls are there in New South Wales was a question an investment banking candidate was asked. Picture: File Source: news.com.au

• Investment bankers subjected to bizarre interview questions
• Makes you think creatively, show personality
• See 10 mind-boggling questions below
• Follow sarah_ocarroll on Twitter

IF you were shrunk to the size of a pencil and trapped in a blender, how would you get out?

Could you weigh an elephant without using a scale, guess the number of tennis balls there are in New South Wales, or bricks on residential buildings in Shanghai?

If so, you may have what it takes to be an investment banker.

These are some of interview questions potential investment bankers are asked - they are tough, very tough, and some even border on the ridiculous.

But there's method to the madness.

According to investment banking recruiter Jason Hutchins from Anton Murray Consulting investment banks are looking to determine three things about candidates:

1.    Are you smart enough
2.    Can you handle the work

3.    Do they like you

He said that while interviewers will of course focus on candidates technical ability, commercial awareness and previous experience they will also gauge their response to one or two more obscure questions.

"For example an associate interviewing with UBS was recently asked how many tennis balls there were in New South Wales," said Mr Hutchins.

"Whilst you can't be expected to know the exact figure, interviewers want to see what approach you'll take to answering the question, and what steps you'd take to reach this number."

A similar question asked in an interview with British bank Rothschild was: Why do you think only a small portion of the population makes over $200k per year?

"Not only does this test your economic understanding and thought process but could be an opportunity to gauge political views and dare I say it, any exaggerated self-opinions," he said.

"Whilst these may seem a little left field, they are in fact vital to understanding how you'll consider the different variances involved in complex valuations," he said.

Then of course there are the banking interviews questions that sound simply ridiculous.

US giant Goldman Sachs asked the question: If you were shrunk to the size of a pencil and trapped in a blender, how would you get out?

"Bankers like these types of questions, as it makes you think creatively and shows them your personality, will you just be dismissive to the question or use it as a chance to show you're not just a number cruncher and have the sense of humour and quick thinking to fit in to the team," said Mr Hutchins.

Here are 10 mind-boggling questions investment bankers have been asked:

1.    If you had five red balls that contained four red balls and those red balls contained the original five red balls, then how many sets of sets of balls would I take to have a double set of red balls of varying sizes inside each next largest red ball?
2.    How many tennis balls are there in New South Wales
3.    Why do you think only a small portion of the population makes over $200k per year?
4.    If you were shrunk to the size of a pencil and trapped in a blender, how would you get out?
5.    You have 2 buckets. One full of white marbles and the other full of black marbles. How do you allocate the marbles into buckets in a way that maximizes your probability of picking 2 white ones when you pick 1 marble from each bucket?
6.    Explain to me what has happened in this country during the last 10 years.
7.    How many bricks are there in Shanghai? Consider only residential buildings
8.    How do you weigh an elephant without using a scale?
9.    Using a scale of 1 to 10, rate yourself on how weird you are?
10.    And finally: You are given two eggs. You have access to a 100-story building. Eggs can be very hard or very fragile means it may break if dropped from the first floor or may not even break if dropped from 100th floor. Both eggs are identical. You need to figure out the highest floor of a 100-story building an egg can be dropped without breaking. The question is how many drops you need to make. You are allowed to break 2 eggs in the process.

Have you been asked a crazy interview question? Tell us below or @sarah_ocarroll on Twitter

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Red Alert as Rusty batters WA coast

Dramatic video footage emerges from WA as tropical cyclone Rusty nears landfall on the Pilbara coast.

TROPICAL Cyclone Rusty is now battering WA's Pilbara coast after being upgraded to a category four storm.

A red alert has been issued for people in Pilbara region towns between Pardoo and Whim Creek, including Port Hedland and South Hedland.

These residents are being told to go to shelter immediately.

Dramatic video footage is emerging from Western Australia as tropical cyclone Rusty approaches the Pilbara coast.

The slow-moving monster storm was still over the sea this morning but the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) says it's likely to cross the northwest corner of WA later in the day.

Conditions at Port Hedland are likely to get worse during the day. Picture: AAP

Rusty is expected to track south, weakening as it moves over land.

"Wind gusts to 120 kilometres per hour have already been experienced in Port Hedland and conditions there are likely to get slowly worse during the day," the bureau said.

Dramatic footage of some of the winds is being posted on social media sites.

Gallery: Cyclone Rusty - as you see it.

Jordan Cantelo of severeweatherphotography.com.au posted a short video of winds battering Port Hedland, where many people have already evacuated their homes.

Tropical Cyclone Rusty has been upgraded to a category four with the storm battering WA's Pilbara coast.

His footage shows trees being bent over in the wind and roof tarpaulins flapping in gusts of up to 120km/h.

Another user, Swanss05, shot a short video while driving along the coast.

Rain can be heard pummelling the car's roof as the wind bends palm trees at 45-degree angles.

Meanwhile, WA residents have taken to Twitter to describe what's happening to them.

"Cyclone Rusty, it'd be really great if you didn't kill me, also...stop making my roof make scary noises," one user wrote.

Port Hedland is being battered by high winds as Cyclone Rusty approaches. Picture: AAP

Another added: "Cyclone Rusty please brake or better go to hell."

The slow-travelling cyclone barely moved overnight but wind gusts have strengthened to 230km/h near its centre.

The Bureau of Meteorology predicts the cyclone will begin moving south today.

Port Hedland has already had wind gusts up 120km/h, with conditions set to worsen throughout the day, the bureau says.

Destructive wind gusts of more than 165km/h are predicted in the area as the cyclone approaches the coast.

At 5am (WST) on Wednesday, the storm was believed to be 130km north-northeast of Port Hedland and 290km northeast of Karratha.

People in communities between Wallal and Pardoo, extending inland to Marble Bar, are on yellow alert, with a warning to take action and prepare to shelter.

Rusty's massive size and slow movement is set to unleash torrential rain and cause major flooding in the De Grey catchment and significant flooding in the Fortescue catchment and Pilbara coastal streams.

The deputy mayor of Port Hedland shire, George Daccache, a resident of 40 years, expects the cyclone to be one of the worst the town has seen.

"This one's a bit of a beauty," Mr Daccache said.

"It's going to be a pain waiting for two to three days for this to come and go.

Port Hedland councillor Bill Dziombak says there's been persistent rain in the area, and he expects it will become more intense.

"This is a very long, drawn-out slow nightmare," Mr Dziombak said early this morning.

"Over the last 48 hours we've had gradually increasing gales, gusty winds and heavy, heavy rain."

The rain had softened vegetation, raising fears of falling trees and damage to infrastructure, Mr Dziombak said.

Rising tides could also cause storm surges and flooding.

Mr Daccache said most of the town's residents were at home or in shelters waiting for the cyclone to hit.

"It's in Mother Nature's hands now, nothing we can do about it," Mr Daccache said.

FIVE FACTS ABOUT CYCLONES

• Tropical cyclones form over the ocean in the area around the equator, between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. The water must be warm, at least 26C.
• Once cyclones arrive over land, their strength weakens. This is due to the lack of moisture and heat compared to the ocean over which it was formed.
• In Australia, cyclone season is between November and April but they can still occur right up until May.
• Cyclones range in strength between categories one and five. Category one cyclones generally have winds no stronger than 125km/h. Category five cyclones have winds of 280km/h and above.
• Cyclone names are taken from a list of 104. The next one after Rusty will be called Sandra.

Sources: Federal Attorney General's department.

Even for those used to living in WA's 'cyclone alley', Rusty is becoming a storm they will long remember.

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Why Oscars darling may 'save lives'

Jennifer Lawrence dazzled critics with her role opposite Bradley Cooper in David O. Russell drama, Silver Linings Playbook. Source: AP

• Jennifer Lawrence speaks out on mental illness 
• Oscar winner wants to "get rid of stigma" 
• BeyondBlue: Lawrence's comments "will save lives" 

JENNIFER Lawrence's comments about mental illness at the Academy Awards "will save lives", one of Australia's top advocates has said.

Lawrence, the new darling of the film industry after she won the Best Actress gong at the Oscars, said she was on a campaign to change the public perception of mental illness after accepting her award.

She was recognised for her role in the David O. Russell drama, Silver Linings Playbook, about two troubled people who find connection and stability with one another.

She used her moment in front of the cameras to address the issue with authority.

"I don't think we're going to stop until we get rid of the stigma for mental illness," she said. "I know [director] David O. Russell won't, and I hope that this helps.

"It's just so bizarre how in this world if you have asthma, you take asthma medication. If you have diabetes, you take diabetes medication.

"But as soon as you have to take medicine for your mind, it's such a stigma behind it."

BeyondBlue CEO Kate Carnell says Lawrence's comments were incredibly poignant, with one in four Australians still believing that people with serious mental illnesses should simply "suck it up".

"It's just fantastic that somebody as high-profile as Jennifer is, at a time when she's winning an Oscar, takes time to address mental health," she told news.com.au.

"It will help, it will save lives.

"Stigma is still a very real problem. It's something that's incredibly detrimental to people who have depression and anxiety and can lead to suicide."

Lawrence isn't the first famous face to address serious issues and help drag them into the public discourse.

Elizabeth Taylor and Princess Di were two of the greatest campaigners of AIDS awareness in the 1980s. Likewise, Bob Geldof gave a spotlight to third-world poverty through Live Aid in that decade.

Despite his recent drug confessions, Lance Armstrong's LiveStrong foundation managed to give cancer a global fundraising platform, and a strong brand to drive it.

And Matt Damon has toiled to bring Africa's sanitation and water supply crisis into the mainstream view.

Sometimes it takes a glamorous public figure like Lawrence to give a traditionally unglamorous issue like mental health its time in the sun.

"We'd like more people in high places, or people who have influence, to talk about the issue of mental health," Ms Carnell added.

"It helps that Jennifer made the point that mental illness is just the same as physical illness."

Lifeline agrees it is "definitely positive" to have a celebrity talk to the issue of mental illness.

"We have always leveraged off people with high profiles. If it's done in a constructive way, like in this case, it's definitely a positive," Lifeline spokesman John Mendel said.

"Our view is that it's very healthy to have a conversation around mental illness and suicide because that's the best way to overcome the stigma and taboo.

"It serves as a bit of a gateway for people to seek help for themselves, or to encourage others to seek help."

If you or someone you know may be at risk of suicide contact Lifeline 13 11 14, beyondblue 1300 22 46 36, or Salvo Care Line 1300 36 36 22.

Read more about mental illness with news.com.au's Lifeline series here.

Follow @christoforpaine on Twitter

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Toilet door key to Oscar defence

Reeva Steenkamp was sitting on this toilet when she was shot, according to police. Source: Getty Images

AS Oscar Pistorius waits to be tried for murder, investigators in the killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp are focusing on a crucial piece of evidence - the toilet door through which she was shot.

Its role in the inquiry was revealed by a top forensic expert hired by the runner's defence team.

Durban crime scene investigator Reggie Perumal, who spoke out in a newspaper interview, also warned that careless crime scene investigations were the cause of many miscarriages of justice in South Africa.

Four bullets were fired through the toilet door in the early hours of Valentine's Day. Steenkamp - who was in the toilet - was hit three times and died of her wounds.

Pistorius - the double amputee Olympic sprinter known as the Blade Runner - has been charged with her murder.  He faces life imprisonment if convicted.

A police officer holds a gun allegedly used in the shooting of Reeva Steenkamp.

Prosecutors say the pair had an argument before Steenkamp, 29, was killed. Pistorius, 26, says he mistook her for an intruder and shot her accidentally.

The toilet door was removed by police before Pistorius's defence team had the chance to examine the crime scene.

"It is critical that we examine this door so that we can see the trajectory of the bullets and establish exactly where she was in the toilet when she was shot," Mr Perumal told the Cape Times newspaper.

In his affidavit at his bail hearing, Pistorius said he did not have his prosthetic legs on when he fired the shots. The angle of trajectory is thus a key issue of the case.

"Next to the post mortem results, this is the most crucial information needed," Mr Perumal said.

Mr Perumal also assessed the crime scene. It was he who, after seeing a mark on the toilet wall, realised that a spent bullet was in the toilet bowl and suggested it be retrieved.

"A lot of injustices are done in criminal cases because of improper crime scene investigation," he said.

Mr Perumal also told how blood markings in the house supported Pistorius's story of where he picked her body up and carried it downstairs.

The police investigation of the scene at came under fire during the Pistorius's bail hearing last week.

Chief investigator Hilton Botha made a series of blunders during his evidence,  as he misjudged distances and said testosterone - banned for professional athletes in some cases - was found at the scene, only to be later contradicted by the prosecutor's office.

Police, Botha acknowledged, left a 9 mm slug from the barrage inside a toilet and lost track of illegal ammunition found inside the house.

Botha was removed from the case after it was revealed he was he is facing seven attempted murder charges over a 2010 incident when shots were fired at a minibus.

Oscar Pistorius during his bail hearing. He was released after four days of arguments in court.

Pistorius has been bailed until his next scheduled court appearance in June.

As he waits, there have been conflicting reports about the Olympic sprinter wanting to resume athletic training while on bail.

A government official said the Olympian had told his probation officer he wanted to get back on the track.

A spokeswoman for the Olympic runner, however, denied that he was making immediate plans to return to running while awaiting trial.

"Absolutely not,'' said spokeswoman Janine Hills. "He is currently in mourning and his focus is not on his sports.''

The double-amputee Paralympian discussed bail terms with his probation officer and a correctional official at the Pretoria Magistrate's Court in the capital, according to correctional officials.

"It's his wish to continue to practice,'' James Smalberger, chief deputy commissioner of the department of correctional services, said.

Reeva Steenkamp poses on set during the shooting of the reality show Tropika Island of Treasure which premieres on state television Saturday, Feb 16, 2013. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Stimulii)

Smalberger said the issue came up because authorities need to know his movements whenever he leaves the home where he is staying.

The timing of any resumption of training was uncertain.

Pistorius's longtime coach, Ampie Louw, declined to comment on any training plans for the runner, referring questions to a spokeswoman for the athlete's family.

Louw had said when the runner was in detention that he wanted to put him back into training in the event that he was granted bail. But he had also said Pistorius could be "heartbroken'' and unwilling to immediately run again.

Pistorius, who was released on bail Friday, is staying at the house of his uncle, Arnold, in the affluent suburb of Waterkloof in Pretoria.

Pistorius is charged with premeditated murder in the killing of Steenkamp, in the early hours of Valentine's Day.

Smalberger said officials will visit Pistorius at his uncle's home at least four times a month, and that the runner indicated his interest in training again. More planning must occur before the start of any training.

"We want a training program from his coach so that we have backup for his movements,'' Smalberger said.

"He's not under house arrest, but his movements need to be known to us so that we don't pitch there and he's not there,'' he said. ``We agree on 'free time' normally during the course of the day, and in the evening we expect him to be home.''

Pistorius's 2013 season had been geared towards the August 10-18 World Championships in Moscow, where the South African 4x400 relay team will be trying for another medal to add to the silver it won at the 2011 edition.

Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair had set bail at 1 million rand ($113,000). The track star was also ordered to hand over his passports, turn in any guns he owns and keep away from his upscale home in a gated community in Pretoria, the scene of the crime.

He cannot leave the district of Pretoria without his probation officer's permission and is not allowed to consume drugs or alcohol, the magistrate said.

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RED ALERT: Rusty a Category Three with 195km/h winds

WESTERN Australia's Pilbara coast is on red alert as category three Cyclone Rusty intensifies, packing winds of nearly 200km/h and threatening to wreak havoc.

Residents between Pardoo and Whim Creek on WA's North West coast, including Port Hedland, are bracing for the worst as the destructive tropical cyclone bears down on the remote Pilbara communities.

Emergency services telling people in low-lying areas of Port Hedland to relocate immediately as the large, slow-moving storm, upgraded to a category three system last night, closes in.

The Bureau of Meteorology predicts the system to intensify to a Category 4 system in the next 24 hours before the eye of the storm crosses the coast tomorrow.

NASA's Terra satellite has taken images from space of Rusty as it approaches the coast, with satellite data reporting the storm developing an eye 20 nautical miles wide.

At 2pm today, Cyclone Rusty was 135km north-northeast of Port Hedland and 290km northeast of Karratha and
moving south-southwest at 5km/h towards the coast.

However because of the size of the storm, gales are already occurring between the Sandfire Roadhouse and Whim Creek, while destructive winds extend from Port Hedland to Wallal.

Catch up with Channel 9's Sally Ayhan for local weather and a sneak peek into what to expect over the next 24 hours.

The Bureau of Meteorology warns very destructive winds with gusts of more than 165km/h are likely to develop on the coast between Whim Creek and Pardoo tomorrow as Rusty approaches the coast.

Bedout Island, north-east of Hedland, has received a maximum gust of 126km/h today.

PILBARA BATTENS DOWN

While Port Hedland and South Hedland residents have been urged to leave their homes immediately, the shire's deputy mayor, George Daccache, is bunkering down in his security screen-clad home.

A Port Hedland resident of 40 years, Mr Daccache has seen his fair share of wet season wild weather, but expects this cyclone will be one of the worst the town has ever seen.

"If something hits you at 150km/h, you're going to feel it," he said.

RED ALERT: Tropical Cyclone Rusty has intensified to a category three storm with 195km/h winds at its centre and is bearing down on the Pilbara coast. Picture: Geoff Pritchard

"This one's a bit of a beauty.''

With residents heeding warnings to stay safe, the streets are empty, as are supermarket shelves after a rush to prepare for Rusty's arrival.

"It's going to be a pain waiting for two to three days for this to come and go,'' Mr Daccache said.

"We've just to hang in there hour by hour, and batten down the hatches.''

Mr Daccache said he was most concerned about an expected storm tide, which threatens to inundate the lower-lying western part of the town.

Many homes had lost power, but most residents were staying at emergency shelters.

MONSTER: Tropical Cyclone Rusty has intensified to a category three storm with 195km/h winds at its centre.

EMERGENCY MEASURES

The Andrew McLaughlin Community Centre in Keesing Street in Port Hedland has been opened for people who are forced from their homes.

In Port Hedland, shops were being sandbagged as water and tinned food flew off the shelves.

Bottleshops were reporting big queues as locals prepared for Rusty's arrival. Port Hedland's airport was shut at 9pm yesterday, with all commercial flights cancelled.

The port has also shut down for at least the rest of the week.

Mining giant Rio Tinto said it had prepared for the storm by closing the Port Walcott port at Cape Lambert and was finishing up ship-loading at its Dampier ports.

RED ALERT: Tropical Cyclone Rusty has intensified to a category three storm with 195km/h winds at its centre and is bearing down on the Pilbara coast.

Virgin cancelled flights from Perth to Broome today, and local businesses reported people were dashing to buy water and tinned food as the storm approached.

FLOOD WARNINGS

The BOM says TC Rusty's slow movement is likely to result in rainfall that is heavier than that associated with a typical tropical cyclone. 

Widespread very heavy rainfall tonight and tomorrow is likely to lead to major flooding in the De Grey catchment, while flooding is also likely in the Fortescue catchment and in Pilbara coastal streams.

TC Rusty's intensity, size and slow movement is also likely to lead to a dangerous storm tide as the cyclone centre nears the coast, which could include damaging waves and dangerous coastal inundation.

WIDESPREAD DOWNPOURS

RED ALERT: Tropical Cyclone Rusty has intensified to a category three storm with 195km/h winds at its centre and is bearing down on the Pilbara coast. Picture: Geoff Pritchard

Pardoo Roadhouse, about 140km east of Port Hedland, has recorded a massive 200mm in 24 hours to 9am today and has also been buffeted by strong winds.

Bidyadanga, north-east of Broome, had 137mm to 9am this morning and stations throughout the Kimberley have recorded in excess of 200mm in recent days.

Pardoo Roadhouse manager Ian Badger told ABC radio it had been raining steadlily since yesterday. He said there had already been minor flooding and about six trees had been blown down.

"Everything is pretty wet, the whole yard is covered with water, it is like a lake everywhere. There is a little bit of water coming in (the roadhouse) and half a dozen trees have already come down,'' he said.

"It is not going to be good, this one.'' 

CYCLONE WARNING DETAILS

RED ALERT: Tropical Cyclone Rusty has intensified to a category three storm with 195km/h winds at its centre and is bearing down on the Pilbara coast. Picture: Geoff Pritchard

A Cyclone WARNING is current for coastal areas from Bidyadanga to Mardie, and adjacent inland areas of the Pilbara, including Marble Bar, Nullagine and Millstream.
A Cyclone WATCH is current for adjacent inland areas of the Pilbara including Tom Price, Newman and Telfer.

At 2pm WST Severe Tropical Cyclone Rusty, Category 3 was estimated to be:
- 135 kilometres north northeast of Port Hedland and
- 290 kilometres northeast of Karratha and
- moving south southwest at 5 kilometres per hour towards the coast.

DFES State Emergency Service advises of the following community alerts:
RED ALERT: People in or near communities between Pardoo and Whim Creek, including Port Hedland and South Hedland need to go to shelter immediately.
YELLOW ALERT: People in communities between Wallal and Pardoo, need to take action and get ready to shelter from a cyclone.
BLUE ALERT: People in communities between Bidyadanga and Wallal and between Whim Creek and Mardie, including Karratha and extending to adjacent inland areas including Marble Bar, Nullagine and Millstream, need to prepare for cyclonic weather and organise an emergency kit including first aid kit, torch, portable radio, spare batteries, food and water.
NOTE: The State Emergency Service advises that Marble Bar is expected to go to Yellow Alert at 1800 WST.

Details of Severe Tropical Cyclone Rusty at 2pm WST:
Centre located near...... 19.2 degrees South 119.1 degrees East
Location accuracy........ within 35 kilometres
Recent movement.......... towards the south southwest at 5 kilometres per hour
Wind gusts near centre... 195 kilometres per hour and INTENSIFYING
Severity category........ 3
Central pressure......... 957 hectoPascals

SECOND STORM BREWS

Meanwhile, a second potential cyclone was developing to the southeast of the Cocos Islands this morning. It will be named Sandra if it becomes a cyclone, however it is unlikely to affect the Cocos Islands.

Channel 9's Sally Ayhan on what Perth can expect from Cyclone Rusty

More than 830mm of rain has been dumped on the Cocos Islands in the past three days - eclipsing the amount that fell in metropolitan Perth in 2012 by more than 200mm.

The massive tropical cyclone has also dumped huge rainfall on parts of the Kimberley and Cocos Island, which has received more than 800mm of rain in three days - including 416mm in the past 24 hours.

Cyclone Rusty is moving slowly southwards as it threatens to blast the Pilbara coast as it gathers strength.

Cocos Islands has received 830mm of rain in three days, thanks to the combination of Cyclone Rusty and a monsoonal trough.

SCHOOL CLOSURES

Several schools will remain closed for the rest of the week, including:

• Hedland Senior High School
• Port Hedland Primary School
• Port Hedland School of the Air
• Cassia Primary School
• Cassia Education Support Centre
• Baler Primary School
• South Hedland Primary School
• Pilbara Behaviour Centre.
 
Three other schools have also been closed due to the risk of flooding:
• Yandeyarra Remote Community School (in the Shire of Port Hedland)
• Marble Bar Primary School (in the Shire of East Pilbara)
• Nullagine Primary School (in the Shire of East Pilbara).

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'Waiting for a mate' goes viral

Viral footage from Channel 7's Highway Patrol of Clinton telling Victoria Police he's 'waiting for a mate'

Senior Constable Ash Bowden speaks with Clinton in the Channel 7 program Highway Patrol. Source: Herald Sun

FOOTAGE of a man at the wheel of a crashed car telling a Victorian policeman he was "just waiting for a mate" has gone viral.

The footage, from Channel 7's Highway Patrol, has amassed more than 250,000 YouTube views and its own Facebook page with more than 45,000 likes after it was uploaded in recent days.

The video shows Senior Constable Ash Bowden responding to reports of a car doing burnouts in Carrum Downs, 34km southeast of Melbourne's CBD.

Do you know this man? Contact our news desk on (03) 9292 1226

What seems like a routine hunt for hoon drivers takes a turn for the bizarre, when he finds a car crashed on a curb and the driver, named in the video as Clinton, sitting inside.

When asked what happened, Clinton nonchalantly explains: "I'm just waiting for a mate."

Seemingly unaware of the extensive damage to his car, Clinton continues the charade and repeats the "waiting for a mate" line four times over the next few minutes.

The exchange starts:

Sen-Constable Bowden: How did you get down here?

Clinton: Does it matter?

Sen-Constable Bowden: Yeah, it kind of does mate, because you've just been involved in an accident.

Clinton: No I haven't.

Sen-Constable Bowden: Yes you have.

Clinton: Have I?

Sen-Constable Bowden: Yeah.

Clinton: What kind of accident?

Sen-Constable Bowden: One with a curb mate. Your whole car's smashed up.

Sen-Constable Bowden shows the patience of a kindergarten teacher when saying he wants to conduct a breath test, with this exchange:

Clinton: I'll do this for you.

Sen-Constable Bowden: Yep, that'd be great.

Clinton: I trust you.

Sen-Constable Bowden: Yep.

The quarrelsome Clinton continues to give the policeman a headache when asked to go to the police station, insisting that a higher authority was required to rein in his drink-driving.

Clinton: I'm not sure that you're a federal officer of the law.

Sen-Constable Bowden: I'm not a federal officer.

Clinton: Aren't ya? Well, I'll move on then.

Sen-Constable Bowden: I'm a Victoria Police officer mate.

Clinton: Well that's not good enough.

Clinton eventually agrees to go to the police station, but not before testing the officer's saint-like demeanour with one last argument, this time over linguistics.

Sen-Constable Bowden: I need you to make a definitive decision.

Clinton: Definitive - can you define that?

According to the TV show, Clinton was fined $600, sentenced to four months' community service and disqualified from driving for three years.

The footage, believed to have first aired in Australia several years ago but recently re-run in New Zealand, has sparked a fast growing internet meme.

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Argo takes best picture at the Oscars

Ben Affleck accepts the Best Picture award for Argo onstage along with members of the cast and crew during the Oscars. Picture: AP Source: AP

BEN Affleck's Argo, a film about a fake movie, has earned a very real prize: best picture at the Academy Awards.

It's the first best picture winner not to be nominated for best director since 1989's Driving Miss Daisy.

From the White House,First Lady Michelle Obama joined Jack Nicholson to help present the final prize.

''There are eight great films that have every right, as much a right to be up here as we do,'' Affleck said of the other best-picture nominees.

Michelle Obama presents the Oscar for Best Picture.

In share-the-wealth mode, Oscar voters spread Oscar honors among a range of films, with Argo winning three trophies but Life of Pi leading with four.

Hugh Jackman has missed out on the best actor Oscar to Daniel Day-Lewis.

Day-Lewis joined a select group of recipients with his third Oscar, taking the best-actor trophy for his monumental performance as Abraham Lincoln in the Civil War saga Lincoln.

John Goodman, left, Alan Arkin, center, and actor-director Ben Affleck in a scene from "Argo." Picture: AP

Bookmakers had Jackman, for his performance in Les Miserables, as the second favourite for Academy Award.

The other best actor nominees were Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook), Denzel Washington (Flight) and Joaquin Phoenix (The Master).

Naomi Watts failed to do the impossible and win the best actress Oscar.

The Australian was a long-shot with bookmakers for her role as a tsunami survivor in The Impossible, and that proved to be correct, with Jennifer Lawrence, for Silver Linings Playbook, taking the gold statuette.

It is the second time Watts has come up empty-handed at the Academy Awards, missing out at the 2004 ceremony when she was nominated for 21 Grams.

The other best actress nominees at the 85th Academy Awards were Emmanuelle Riva (Amour), Quvenzhane Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild) and Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty).

Daniel Day-Lewis accepts the award for best actor in a leading role for "Lincoln". Picture: AP

Les Miserables' Anne Hathaway has lived up to the hype and won the best supporting actress Oscar ahead of Australian veteran Jacki Weaver.

Weaver was nominated for Silver Linings Playbook, her second nomination in two years after her Hollywood breakthrough performance in Australian crime drama Animal Kingdom.

Adding to the Aussie Oscar woes, Hobbit nominees visual effects wizard Dave Clayton and make-up-hairstylist Rick Findlater also missed out.

Meryl Streep, left, presents the award for best actor in a leading role to Daniel Day-Lewis for "Lincoln". Picture: AP

Ang Lee pulled off a huge upset as best director for Life of Pi.

Christoph Waltz won his second supporting-actor Oscar for a Tarantino film, this time as a genteel bounty hunter in the slave-revenge saga Django Unchained.

Tarantino also won his second Oscar, for original screenplay for Django.

Best Actress winner Jennifer Lawrence takes a fall in her stride on her way to receiving her Oscar and manages a joke while keeping her dignity.

Ang Lee pulled off a major upset, won best director for the shipwreck story Life of Pi, taking the prize over Steven Spielberg, who had been favored for Lincoln.

Lawrence took a fall on her way to the stage, tripping on the steps.

''You guys are just standing up because you feel bad that I fell,'' Lawrence joked as the crowd gave her a standing ovation.

At 22, Lawrence is the second-youngest woman to win best actress, behind Marlee Matlin, who was 21 when she won for Children of a Lesser God.

Lawrence also is the third-youngest best-actress contender ever, earning her first nomination at age 20 two years ago for her breakout role in Winter's Bone, the film that took her from virtual unknown to one of Hollywood's most-versatile and sought-after performers.

With a monumental performance as Abraham Lincoln, Day-Lewis became the only performer to win three best-actor Oscars, adding to the honors he earned for My Left Foot and There Will Be Blood.

Jennifer Lawrence accepts the award for best actress in a leading role for "Silver Linings Playbook" during the Oscars. Picture: AP

He's just the sixth actor to earn three or more Oscars, tied with Meryl Streep, Jack Nicholson, Ingrid Bergman and Walter Brennan with three each, and just behind Katharine Hepburn, who won four.

Hathaway, whose perkiness helped carry her and the listless Franco through an ill-starred stint as Oscar hosts two years ago, is the third performer in a musical to win supporting actress during the genre's resurgence in the last decade.

''It came true,'' said Hathaway, who joins 2002 supporting-actress winner Catherine Zeta-Jones for Chicago and 2006 recipient Jennifer Hudson for Dreamgirls.

Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway, from the cast of "Les Miserables," perform during the Oscars. Picture: AP

Hathaway had warm thanks for Les Miz co-star Hugh Jackman, with whom she once sang a duet at the Oscars when he was the show's host.

Hathaway's Oscar came for her role as noble but fallen Fantine in the big-screen adaptation of the Broadway smash that was based on Victor Hugo's epic novel of revolution, romance and redemption in 19th century France.

Life of Pi also won for Mychael Danna's multicultural musical score that blends Indian and Western instruments and influences, plus cinematography and visual effects.

Host Seth MacFarlane sings 'We saw your boobs' at the Oscars. Courtesy Nine. Watch the Oscars Special on Nine 9.30 pm AEST

''I really want to thank you for believing this story and sharing this incredible journey with me,'' Lee said to all who worked on the film, a surprise blockbuster about a youth trapped on a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger.

A veteran performer in Germany and his native Austria, Waltz had been a virtual unknown in Hollywood when Tarantino cast him as a gleefully evil Nazi in 2009's Inglourious Basterds, which won him his first Oscar.

''I have to cast the right people to make those characters come alive,'' said Tarantino, who won previously for Pulp Fiction.

Seth MacFarlane has lived up to his risky reputation as Oscars host. Watch the Oscars Special on Nine 9.30 pm AEST

''And boy, this time, did I do it. Thank you so much, guys.''

Waltz has since done a handful of other Hollywood movies, but it's Tarantino who has given him his two choicest roles. Backstage, Waltz had a simple explanation for why the collaboration works.

''Quentin writes poetry, and I like poetry,'' Waltz said.

Oscar host Seth MacFarlane opened with a mildly edgy monologue that offered the usual polite jabs at the academy, the stars and the industry.

He took a poke at academy voters over the snub of Ben Affleck, who missed out on a directing nomination for best-picture favorite Argo, a thriller about the CIA's plot to rescue six Americans during the Iranian hostage crisis.

''The story was so top secret that the film's director is unknown to the academy,'' MacFarlane said.

Host Seth MacFarlane speaks onstage during the Oscars. Picture: AP

''They know they screwed up. Ben, it's not your fault.''

Argo also claimed the Oscar for adapted screenplay for Chris Terrio, who worked with Affleck to create a liberally embellished story based on an article about the rescue and part of CIA operative Tony Mendez's memoir.

Terrio dedicated the award to Mendez, saying ''33 years ago, Tony, using nothing but his creativity and his intelligence, Tony got six people out of a bad situation.''

The foreign-language prize went to Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke's old-age love story Amour, which had been a major surprise with five nominations, including picture, director and original screenplay for Haneke and best actress for Emmanuelle Riva, who turned 86 on Oscar night and would be the oldest acting winner ever.

The top prize winner at last year's Cannes Film Festival, Amour follows the agonizing story of an elderly man (Jean-Louis Trintignant) tending his wife (Riva) as she declines from age and illness.

Haneke thanked his own wife for supporting him in his work for 30 years.

''You are the center of my life,'' Haneke said.

The Scottish adventure Brave, from Disney's Pixar Animation unit, was named best animated feature.

Pixar films have won seven of the 12 Oscars since the category was added.

''I just happen to be wearing the kilt,'' said Brave co-director Mark Andrews, who took the stage in his trademark Scottish garment.

The upbeat musical portrait Searching for Sugar Man took the documentary feature prize.

The film follows the quest of two South African fans to discover the fate of acclaimed but obscure singer-songwriter Sixto Rodriguez, who dropped out of sight after two albums in the 1970s and was rumored to have died a bitter death.

''Thanks to one of the greatest singers ever, Rodriguez,'' said Sugar Man director Malik Bendjelloul.

There was a rare tie in one category, with the Osama bin Laden thriller Zero Dark Thirty' and the James Bond tale Skyfall each winning for sound editing.

William Shatner made a guest appearance as his Star Trek character Capt. James Kirk, appearing on a giant screen above the stage during MacFarlane's monologue, saying he came back in time to stop the host from ruining the Oscars.

''Your jokes are tasteless and inappropriate, and everyone ends up hating you,'' said Shatner, who revealed a headline supposedly from the next day's newspaper that read, ''Seth MacFarlane worst Oscar host ever.''

The performance-heavy Oscars also included an opening number featuring Charlize Theron and Channing Tatum, who did a classy dance while MacFarlane crooned The Way You Look Tonight.

Daniel Radcliffe and Joseph Gordon-Levitt then joined MacFarlane for an elegant musical rendition of High Hopes.

Halle Berry introduced a tribute to the Bond franchise, in which she has co-starred, as the British super-spy celebrated his 50th anniversary on the big-screen last year with the latest adventure Skyfall.

Shirley Bassey sang her theme song to the 1960s Bond tale Goldfinger.

Later, pop star Adele performed her theme tune from Skyfall, which won the best-song Oscar.

Barbra Streisand injected some musical sentiment into the show's segment memorializing Hollywood figures who died in the past year as she sang The Way We Were, the Oscar-winning song she did in the film of the same name.

A salute to the resurgence of movie musicals in the last decade included Oscar winners Zeta-Jones singing All That Jazz from Chicago and Hudson doing And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going from Dreamgirls.

Hathaway and Jackman joined cast mates of best-picture contender Les Miserables to sing songs from their musical.

Academy officials said all performances were sung live.

Fans had pondered how far MacFarlane the impudent creator of Family Guy, might push the normally prim and proper Oscars.

MacFarlane was generally polite and respectful, showcasing his charm, wit and vocal gifts.

MacFarlane did press his luck a bit on an Abraham Lincoln joke, noting that Raymond Massey preceded Lincoln star Daniel Day-Lewis as an Oscar nominee for 1940's Abe Lincoln in Illinois.

''I would argue that the actor who really got inside Lincoln's head was John Wilkes Booth,'' MacFarlane wisecracked, earning some groans from the crowd.

''A hundred and 50 years later, and it's still too soon?''

 THE WINNERS

Best Picture - Argo

Best Actor - Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln

Best Actress - Jennifer Lawrence for Silver Linings Playbook

Achievement in Directing - Ang Lee for Life of Pi

Original Screenplay - Quentin Tarantino for Django Unchained

Adapted Screenplay - Chris Terrio for Argo

Original Song - Skyfall by Adele Adkins and Paul Epworth for Skyfall

Original Score - Pi's Lullaby by Mychael Danna for Life of Pi

Production Design - Lincoln

Film Editing - William Goldenberg for Argo

Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Anna Hathaway for Les Miserables

Sound Editing - Zero Dark Thirty and SkyFall

Sound Mixing  - Les Miserables

Foreign Language Film -  Michael Haneke for Amour

Best Documentary Feature - Searching for Sugar Man

Documentary Short Subject - Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine for Innocents

Best Live Action Short Film - Shawn Christensen for Curfew

Make-Up and Hairstyling - Les Miserables

Costume Design - Jacqueline Durran for Anna Karenina

Cinematography - Claudio Miranda for Life of Pi

Visual Effects - Life of Pi

Animated Short Film - John Connors for Paperman

Animated Feature - Brave

Best Supporting Actor - Christoph Waltz for Django Unchained

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Breast Supporting Actress gets Twitter account

Host Seth MacFarlane sings 'We saw your boobs' at the Oscars. Courtesy Nine. Watch the Oscars Special on Nine 9.30 pm AEST

Sock puppets get the Seth MacFarlane treatment during Oscar opening ceremony. Courtesy Nine. Watch the Oscars Special on Nine 9.30 pm AEST

Anne Hathaway's nipples have inspired their own Twitter account. Picture: AFP Source: news.com.au

Anne Hathaway's nipples have tried to steal the show from Angelina Jolie's right leg at last year's Oscars. Picture: Getty Source: news.com.au

ALL eyes were on what Best Supporting Actress winner Anne Hathaway was going to wear to this year's Oscars, but shortly after she stepped out in her pink Prada gown, all eyes were clearly on something else.

A Twitter account called @HathawayNipples, run by "AnneHathawayNipples" popped up within minutes of her Oscars red carpet debut.

Looking to quickly become the new @AngiesRightLeg - which amassed tens of thousands of followers during last year's Oscars - almost 2,000 people were following the account within an hour of it going live.

FULL GALLERY: Oscars 2013 Red Carpet

Fashion critics were quick to suggest that Hathaway's gown left little to the imagination, with the braless ensemble making her nipples completely visible through the sheer satin material.

But what exactly did AnneHathawayNipples have to say about their red carpet moment and inclusion on the "Breast Dressed List".

"Anyone else feeling a little chilly? #Oscars," they tweeted.

Anne Hathaway's nipples have inspired their own Twitter account. Picture: AFP Source: news.com.au

Before adding: "#LesNipplerables" and "Well this is awkward. #WeSawYourBoobs #Oscars" in reference to host Seth McFarlane's opening musical number about all the actresses' boobs that had been seen in movies.

"Anne Hathaway we saw your boobs in Brokeback Mountain, Halle Berry we saw them in Monster's Ball. Nicole Kidman in Eyes Wide Shut, Marisa Tomei in The Wrestler but we haven't seen Jennifer Lawrence's boobs at all," he sang. Watch the above video to see how it went down.

PICTURES: Beards of the Oscars - Men put their best fuzz forward

Angelina Jolie's Leg wasn't happy about the Twitter imposter and quickly had something to say about the new account.

"Just say no to @hathawaynipples SHE is NO ME!", it tweeted to its 41,000 followers.

But according to E!'s red carpet coverage, Anne's nipples almost didn't have their fifteen minutes of Oscars fame.

Just three hours before the red carpet Valentino was convinced she was wearing one of their gowns, only for her to switch to the pink Prada "underwelmer" at the eleventh hour.

The reason for the switch is not yet known.

It's not the first time Hathaway has suffered an embarrassing red carpet wardrobe malfunction.

The star was mortified in mid-December when cameras caught her stepping out of a car with no underwear on at the Les Miserables premiere in New York.

@ali_stephenson_

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NZ mates build world's longest waterslide

New Zealand organizers have built a waterslide with the aim to raise money for people with depression. Credit LiveMoreAwesome

ARMED with two shovels, and with the help of an excavator, two New Zealand men have dug the world's longest, and possibly muddiest, waterslide.

Mates Jimi Hunt and Dan Drupstee dug the 650m slippery slide on a property at Helensville, northwest of Auckland and opened it this weekend as part of a festival to help combat depression.

Almost 1000 people, some of them naked, slid down the three slides - with 60m and 90m versions available - to help raise money for the Live More Awesome Charity.

A man prepares for a muddy splash at the bottom of the world's longest waterslide, dug into the side of a hill in Auckland, New Zealand. Picture: Phil Walter/Getty Images

"It was a kids playground for adults," Drupstee told the New Zealand Herald.

"Being a non-alcoholic event we wanted to take people back in time to their younger days when there were no worries and life was fun and easy. I think we achieved that."

Only 2000 people will have the honour of riding the water slide, built by New Zealanders Jimi Hunt and Dan Drupstee, of the "Live more Awesome" charity. Picture: Phil Walter/Getty Images

The 650m monsters featured a luge-style trench cut through a cow paddock, complete with a tunnel where the slide goes under a fence.

In a video posted online, Drupstee said of the project: "We're a couple of Kiwi guys who like so many others have really suffered at hands of depression.

The slide was built to help raise money for and awareness of people suffering depression. Picture: Phil Walter/Getty Images

"It was really tough, but having come out the other side we decided the best way for us to keep depression at bay was to 'Live More Awesome'."

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Fan 'critical' after horror smash

A massive crash at a NASCAR warm-up event at Daytona injures 15 spectators.

Kyle Larson (32) goes airborne into the catch fence in a multi-car crash including Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88), Parker Kligerman (77), Justin Allgaier (31) and Brian Scott (2) during the final lap of the NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race at Daytona. Source: AP

A multi-car smash on the final corner of a race at Daytona resulted in fans getting injured by flying debris

AN airborne race car smashed into a fence, injuring spectators, during a horrific multi-car smash in the final moments of a NASCAR race in the US.

The frightening, fiery crash that sent Kyle Larson's car airborne and debris spinning into the stands injured dozens of race fans at the NASCAR stock car Nationwide Series season-opener at Daytona.

Joie Chitwood, president of Daytona International Speedway, said 14 injured fans had been transported from the circuit for treatment at local hospitals and 14 more were treated at the track's medical facility.

Pictures: Horror NASCAR crash

He said he could not confirm reports that at least two people were seriously hurt and that one was taken immediately for surgery.

"It's not appropriate for me to comment on that,'' Chitwood said in a press conference held at the circuit some three hours after the wreck.

Various media reports put the number of injured at more than 30, with ESPN reporting that one adult had life-threatening head trauma and a 14-year-old was in critical but not life-threatening condition in hospital.

The wreck, which occurred almost as Tony Stewart was taking the chequered flag for victory, began when race leader Regan Smith turned sideways and a dozen cars bunched behind him.

"My fault,'' admitted Smith. "I threw a block.''

Kyle Larson (32) is airborne after a multi-car crash, including Parker Kligerman (77), Justin Allgaier (31) and Brian Scott (2) during the final lap of the NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race at Daytona. Source: AP

Larson, a Japanese-American driver who was making his first start in NASCAR's second-tier series, was launched into the catch-fencing.

"I was getting pushed from behind, and by the time my spotter said, 'Lift,'' it was too late,'' said Larson, who was able to climb out of what remained of his vehicle.

"I had some flames come in the cockpit. I was all right and could get out of the car quickly. It was definitely a big hit.''

Larson's car tore a hole in the fence separating the track from the stands. His engine sheared off with at least one tire and other debris flying into the grandstand.

"I looked in the mirror and that's the worst image I've ever seen in a race in my life,'' Stewart said.

Kyle Larson's car is on fire as he slides down the track with Regan Smith after being involved in a crash at the conclusion of the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Daytona. Source: AP

A fan who identified himself as "Tyler Andersen'' sent amateur video to ESPN and spoke with the sports network about the scary scene.

"I saw a tire about 10 feet from me, just a row above me with a man under it and people yelling for help,'' he said in a telephone interview.

"Our prayers and thoughts are with everybody they are working on,'' NASCAR President Mike Helton said of those being treated by medical personnel.

None of the drivers involved in the crash was injured, but driver Michael Annett was brought to hospital with chest bruising after hitting a safety barrier in an earlier crash in the race.

"We've always known since racing started this is a dangerous sport,'' a subdued Stewart said. "As much as we want to celebrate, I'm more concerned about the fans and the drivers right now.''

Kyle Larson climbs out of his car after being involved in a crash at the conclusion of the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Daytona. Source: AP

Chitwood said speedway and NASCAR officials responded appropriately and according to their safety protocols, with emergency personnel in place and able to begin work promptly.

Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR's senior vice president for racing operations, said the entire incident would be reviewed to see what, if any, changes could be made to improve safety.

Until then he declined to speculate on what went wrong or right.

"We need to take the time to really study it and see what we can improve on,'' O'Donnell said.

The race came on the eve of the season-opening event in NASCAR's top-flight Sprint Cup series, the Daytona 500.

Medical personnel assist fans sitting close to the wall following an incident at the finish of a NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Daytona. Source: Getty Images

Both O'Donnell and Chitwood said they expected Sunday's race to start on schedule.

"We expect to go racing tomorrow with no changes,'' Chitwood said.

Danica Patrick will start the Daytona 500 from pole position after becoming the first woman to top qualifying for a NASCAR race.

Patrick had also picked up a ride for Saturday's race, driving for Turner Scott Motorsports. She suffered engine failure early on and wasn't involved in the late-race chaos.

Pictures: Horror NASCAR crash

A multi-car smash on the final corner of a race at Daytona resulted in fans getting injured by flying debris

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Pistorius's brother on death charge

Aimee, Carl and Henke Pistorius have taken the same seats each day during the dramatic and emotional bail hearing for Oscar Pistorius, charged with the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. AFP Source: AFP

THE brother of accused murderer Oscar Pistorius is himself facing a charge of culpable homicide, it has been revealed on a day in which reports also said that police found a herbal sexual stimulant in the star athlete's home.

Carl Pistorius was charged over the death of a woman who died when her motorbike collided with his car outside Johannesburg in 2008, his lawyer Kenny Oldwage said.

Oscar Pistorius, who has been charged with the Valentine's Day shooting of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, was granted bail on Friday.

Mr Oldwage said in a statement that Carl had been involved in a car accident "in which a woman motorcyclist sadly lost her life". He said that "there is no doubt that Carl is innocent and the charge will be challenged in court".

The elder brother of athlete Oscar Pistorius was supposed to have gone on trial for culpable homicide on Thursday - the day before the Olympian got bail, according to South African media reports.

Carl Pistorius and lawyer Kenny Oldwage pictured outside Brooklyn police station, where Oscar Pistorius was being held, last week.

Mr Oldwage said that "Carl deeply regrets the accident" and that a blood test showed he was not drunk at the time. "It was a tragic road accident after the deceased collided with Carl's car."

He said the charges had initially been dropped, only to be reinstated later.

Oscar Pistorius and his brother Carl were seen driving into the home of their uncle Arnold today in Waterkloof, a wealthy suburb of Pretoria, the nation's capital, where Oscar is now staying.

'Sex stimulant, not steroids, found in home'

Meanwhile, a South African newspaper reported that a substance found in Oscar Pistorius's home during a search by police investigating the killing of his girlfriend is a herbal sexual stimulant, a South African newspaper reported.

The prosecution said during Pistorius' bail hearing last week that police had found two boxes of "testosterone" and needles in his Pretoria home, but the defence countered that it was a legal herbal remedy known as testocompasutium coenzyme.

The City Press newspaper said the remedy was a combination of vitamins and herbal cures partly derived from animal organs.

Sports physician Jon Patricios told the paper the product is used to boost sexual energy, but that athletes are not advised to use it since it may increase their testosterone levels.

"This is not an anabolic steroid and it is unlikely it will lead to irrational anger," he said.

The National Prosecuting Authority has said it was awaiting the results of forensic tests to determine what the product is.

Charges against Carl compound problems

The problems surrounding his older brother Carl, 28, are the latest twist in a case that has transfixed South Africa and much of the world. The revelation of the culpable homicide charge immediately created a stir.

"It's also doubly sad because it's involved with Oscar and his brother and all the family - so they have double sort of trouble. So, not good," said Johannesburg resident Jim Plester.

Carl Pistorius's trial was pushed back a month, but the specific date is not known. The Pistorius family has yet to react to the accusations that Carl is facing.

The latest developments comes just days after Hilton Botha, the lead detective investigating the Oscar Pistorius murder case, was dropped after it emerged he was facing seven attempted murder charges over a shooting incident in 2011.

Along with his sister Aimee and father Henke, Carl Pistorius has been a strong source of comfort and support to his Paralympian brother, attending last week's bail hearings.

Carl Pistorius's Twitter account was taken down this weekend after a hacker sent a tweet thanking everyone for supporting the families of Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp.

"Carl did not tweet this afternoon, out of respect to Oscar and Reeva," family spokesman Janine Hills said in a statement. "We are busy cancelling all the social media sites for both Oscar's brother and his sister."

Questions raised over Oscar Pistorius's character

The character of Oscar Pistorius also continued to take centre stage. For many, it mirrors his public appearances as an articulate, well-spoken advocate for Paralympic athletes facing hardship. Witness statements backing up Oscar Pistorius as a down-to-earth guy were presented at the hearing.

Others have described him as a reckless risk taker who has been in trouble before, such as a boat accident in 2009 which put him into the hospital.

Today, a South African man who said Steenkamp had stayed at his home since September, described Pistorius as moody and impatient. Cecil Myers, whose daughter was a close friend of Steenkamp's, said in an interview published in the City Press, that Pistorius will have the killing of Steenkamp on his conscience. "I hope he gets a long sentence. Gets what he deserves," said Mr Myers.

"Very nice and charming to us when they started dating," said Mr Myers. Mr Myers said Pistorius initially used to come into the house but later just dropped Steenkamp off and picked her up when they began to date steadily, and he described the change as a lack of respect.

Mr Myers recalled their first date and told the newspaper: "After that he wouldn't leave her alone. He kept pestering her, phoning and phoning and phoning her."

According to Mr Myers, Steenkamp "told me he pushed her a bit into a corner. She felt caged in."

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Oscar Pistorius freed on bail

A South African court granted Oscar Pistorius bail ahead of his trial after his lawyers successfully argued the "Blade Runner" was too famous too flee. Deborah Gembara reports.

OSCAR Pistorius has been granted bail and freed from custody pending his trial in the Valentine's Day shooting death of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Chief Magistrate Desmond Nair said the prosecution not been established that Pistorius was a flight risk, nor had it been established the accused would be violent again.

Judge Nair made the ruling after four days of arguments from prosecution and defence in Pistorius' bail hearing, and after spending about one hour and 45 minutes announcing his decision.

Family flocks to see freed Pistorius

"I come to the conclusion that the accused has made a case to be released on bail," Judge Nair said to cries of "yes!" from Pistorius's family and supporters.

"The issue is not guilt, but where the interests of justice lie," Judge Nair said.

Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius and his sister Aimee are driven to a relative's home in Pretoria after his release on bail. The judge banned Pistorius from returning to the home where he fatally shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Radio stations and a TV news network in South Africa broadcast the audio of the decision live, and even international channels like the BBC and CNN went live with it, underscoring the huge global interest in the case.

Judge Nair banned cameras from Friday's dramatic bail hearing and complained about cameras constantly "flashing" in Pistorius' face the previous three days of hearings, saying the spectacle made the athlete look like "some kind of species the world has never seen before."

Judge Nair set the bail at 1 million rand ($109,000), with $11,300 in cash up front and proof that the rest is available. The magistrate said Pistorius must hand over his passports and also turn in any other guns that he owns.

Oscar Pistorius has been freed on $109,000  bail and released ahead of his murder trial, after the judge determined the athlete was not a flight risk.

Pistorius also cannot leave the district of Pretoria, South Africa's capital, without the permission of his probation officer, Judge Nair said, nor can he take drugs or drink alcohol.

The double-amputee Olympian's next court appearance was set for June 4. He left the courthouse in a silver Land Rover, sitting in the rear, just over an hour after the magistrate imposed the bail conditions.

The magistrate ruled that Pistorius could not return to his upscale home in a gated community in the eastern suburbs of Pretoria, where the killing of Reeva Steenkamp took place.

Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius, silhoetted in front vehicle, centre, arrives at a relative's home in Pretoria, South Africa after being released from custody.

Pistorius' uncle, Arnold Pistorius said: "We are relieved at the fact that Oscar got bail today but at the same time we are in mourning for the death of Reeva with her family. As a family, we know Oscar's version of what happened on that tragic night and we know that that is the truth and that will prevail in the coming court case."

Pistorius' senior defence lawyer Barry Roux told reporters the defence is satisfied with the bail.

Judge Nair made the ruling after four days of arguments from prosecution and defense in Pistorius' bail hearing.

During the long session overnight in Pretoria Magistrate's Court, Pistorius alternately wept and appeared solemn and more composed, especially toward the end as Judge Nair criticised police procedures in the case and as a judgment in Pistorius' favour appeared imminent.

Oscar Pistorius arrives in court for the fourth day of his bail hearing. After a marathon 1 hour and 45 minute ruling, the judge released the athlete under strict conditions.

Judge Nair said Pistorius' sworn statement, in which he gave his version of the events of the shooting during the predawn hours of Feb. 14 in a sworn statement, had helped his application for bail.

"I come to the conclusion that the accused has made a case to be released on bail," Judge Nair said.

Pistorius said in the sworn statement that he shot his girlfriend - a model and budding reality TV contestant - accidentally, believing she was an intruder in his house.

Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius' father Henke Pistorius, right, with Oscar's brother Carl and sister Aimee watch as Oscar Pistorius enters court for his bail hearing overnight.

Prosecutors say he intended to kill Steenkamp and charged him with premeditated murder, saying the shooting followed a loud argument between the two.

Sharon Steenkamp, Reeva's cousin, had said earlier that the family wouldn't be watching the bail decision and hadn't been following the hearing in Pretoria.

"It doesn't make any difference to the fact that we are without Reeva," she told The Associated Press.

Despite the bail decision, prosecution spokesman Medupe Simasiku said: "We're still confident in our case," outside court.

Arthur Pistorius, the uncle of South African Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius told the media the family is relieved at the bail decision and believes the shooting was a tragic accident.

Pistorius faced the sternest bail requirements in South Africa because of the seriousness of the charge, and his defence lawyers had to prove that he would not flee the country, would not interfere with witnesses or the case, and his release would not cause public unrest.

Judge Nair questioned whether Pistorius would be a flight risk and be prepared to go "ducking and diving" around the world when he stood to lose a fortune in cash, cars, property and other assets.

Judge Nair also said that while it had been shown that Pistorius had aggressive tendencies, he did not have a prior record of offenses for violent acts.

He criticised Hilton Botha, the previous lead investigator in the case, for not doing more to uncover evidence that the Olympian had violent tendencies. WO Botha was removed from the case after it was revealed he is facing murder charges.

"There is ample room and ample time to do that by looking at the background of the accused," he said.

But while Judge Nair leveled harsh criticism at former lead investigator WO Botha for "errors" and "blunders," he said one man does not represent the state's case and that the state could not be expected to put all the pieces of its puzzle together in such a short time.

Anticipating the shape of the state's case at trial, he said he had serious questions about Pistorius' account: Why he didn't try to locate his girlfriend on fearing an intruder was in the house, why he didn't try to determine who was in the toilet and why he would venture into perceived "danger" - the bathroom area - when he could have taken other steps to ensure his safety.

"There are improbabilities which need to be explored," Judge Nair said, adding that Pistorius could clarify these matters by testifying under oath at trial.

Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius' coach Ampie Louw speaks to the media during the bail hearing at the magistrates court in Pretoria, South Africa.

"I come to the conclusion that the accused has made a case to be released on bail," Judge Nair said.

Pistorius said in the sworn statement that he shot his girlfriend accidentally, believing she was an intruder in his house.

Experts said the case would now be fast-tracked through the courts.

"This is probably going to get priority and will probably take about six months to go to trial," said Stephen Tuson, a criminal law professor at the University of Witwatersrand.

Aimee, Carl and Henke Pistorius have taken the same seats each day during the dramatic and emotional bail hearing for Oscar Pistorius, charged with the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. AFP

"It's a high profile matter."

EARLIER: The prosecution case wrapped up, prosecutor Gerrie Nel focusing on Pistorius's affidavit testimony as to what happened the night Reeva Steenkamp was killed. He said the accused athlete should take the stand to testify personally.

He says every angle of the athlete's story is "improbable".

"It's always easy to give a version, especially if there's only one person there," he said.

The police station in Pretoria where Oscar Pistorius has been spending his nights in a holding cell with no bed.

His version: The Pistorius affidavit

On the accusation that the alleged murder was premeditated, the prosecutor said: "I'm not saying the murder of Reeva Steenkamp was planned days in advance, or weeks in advance". But he says Pistorius "wanted to kill".

He also repeated the prosecution stance that Pistorius should not get bail because he is a flight risk and has likened the case to that of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is wanted for questioning over alleged sexual assaults but has claimed political asylum at an embassy in London. Mr Nel said Assange has skipped bail.

"He is a well-known person, he is as well known as Mr Pistorius," he said, explaining that fame should not be a reason to consider an accused person would not flee. He also said the double-amputee's disability should not be given special consideration.

Carl Pistorius (right) accompanies his brother Oscar as the athlete is led from the Boschkop police station east of Pretoria, en route to court for his first appearance on February 15.

"If somebody with disability commits a crime, we have to treat him differently? Courts cannot be seen to treat famous people differently."

"He (Pistorius) hasn't said so, but he must think that conviction is likely,'' Mr Nel said.

"He must realise that a long term of imprisonment is almost guaranteed. If you're looking at life imprisonment as a possibility, it's not easy to stay if you have means to leave.''

Mr Nel said Pistorius "has the international status to be accommodated elsewhere''.

But Magistrate Desmond Nair seemed sceptical over the argument that Pistorius would be a flight risk: Would he be "ducking and diving every day? On those prostheses?" he asks.

The defence has also raised this issue, lawyer Barry Roux saying Pistorius's disability meant he could never go through an airport without being noticed.

"If Pistorius goes through airport security, there's always a commotion, the system reacts. That shows you how difficult it is."

One feature of the hearing has been the silent presence of Pistorius's family.

Grim-faced and occasionally wiping away tears, his father Henke, older brother Carl and younger sister Aimee have occupied the same three seats in the front row of the court house each day. Oscar's mother Sheila - who the Olympian credits as the driving force behind his success - died when he was 15.

Carl Pistorius (@carlpistorius) has been tweeting regularly since Oscar' Pistorius's arrest a week ago.

During Thursday's hearing he accused prosecutors of lying "with a straight face" as judge Desmond Nair complained about the poor quality of evidence from investigating officers.

Carl Pistorius took the unusual step of tweeting from inside the courtroom to condemn prosecutors.

His tweet followed claims by Mr Nel, for the prosecution, that Oscar Pistorius remains a flight risk. He said that the athlete had said that he needed his passport to compete internationally, and that he had not said he would not go anywhere.

Moments afterwards, Carl, who was sitting behind his brother, tweeted: "How does the prosecution lie with a straight face. Passport was tendered to IO [investigating officer]! I went to collect in Johannesburg upon the IO's request."

Earlier, as Mr Nel summed up the prosecution's case opposing bail, Oscar Pistorius began to weep in the crowded courtroom, leading Carl to reach out and touch his back.

During breaks in the proceedings Carl walks through the gallery shaking hands with supporters. He regularly has his arm was wrapped protectively around Aimee while his other shoulder, is pressed tightly against his father's.

But later, after the dramas involving Hilton Botha and problems with the prosecution's evidence, Carl told reporters outside court: "I feel like the court proceedings went well today. We trust that everyone has more clarity about this tragic incident."

Oscar' Pistorius's official website  has been turned over for updates on the case.

In the latest update, his uncle, Arnold Pistorius, said on behalf of the family: "We believe that this is an appropriate way to deal with the expressions of support we have received as well as keeping the media informed about any key developments in the case.

With wires

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