JOHANNESBURG — Oscar Pistorius again faces the possibility of a murder conviction after a South African judge ruled today that prosecutors can appeal against the double-amputee Olympian's conviction on the lesser charge of culpable homicide.

The sensational case will go to the Supreme Court of Appeal, which will review the murder trial of Pistorius, who fatally shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp through the closed door of a toilet cubicle last year.

Judge Thokozile Masipa, who convicted Pistorius and sentenced him to five years in jail, acknowledged that chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel had raised legitimate “questions of law” that should be studied by the appeals court.

“This might have a practical effect” on the conviction, Masipa said.

PARIS — A ban on wood-burning fires in Paris has provoked such a backlash that even the French environment minister calls it “absurd.”Regional authorities decreed as of Jan. 1, no home in Paris or the surrounding region will be allowed to cozy up to a fireplace around blazing logs. Their argument: One French study showed nearly a quarter of the capital's air pollution comes from wood-burning fires.The city's hundreds of chimney sweeps are questioning the data. Meriadec Aulaunier of the GCCP chimney sweep union argues that while chimneys dot the city's skyline, Parisians only use their fireplaces a few times a year — especially around the holidays.Environment Minister Segolene Royal said on France-2 television that she wants to change the decision — calling it “excessive” and “ridiculous.”

NEW YORK — Time magazine says Ebola fighters have won its 2014 Person of the Year award.The winner was announced today. Pope Francis was last year's winner.In an article on the Time website, editor Nancy Gibbs praises Ebola fighters from around the world who worked side by side with local doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers and burial teams.She cites their “tireless acts of courage and mercy.”She says, “The rest of the world can sleep at night because a group of men and women are willing to stand and fight.”