WORLD
PRETORIA, South Africa — A South African judge today found Oscar Pistorius guilty of culpable homicide in the shooting death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp and declared him not guilty of murder. Prosecutors said they were disappointed by the ruling but would decide on whether to appeal only after sentencing.
Judge Thokozile Masipa said there was not enough evidence to support the contention that Pistorius knew Steenkamp was behind a locked toilet door in his home when he shot through the door in the predawn hours of Valentine's Day last year. Masipa said prosecutors had not proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Pistorius intended to kill Steenkamp.
Free again after the judge extended his bail on the same terms, the double-amputee Olympian left the courtroom surrounded by police officers. He must return on Oct. 13 when his sentencing hearing will start, Judge Masipa said.
BRUSSELS — New European Union sanctions against Russia announced today toughen financial penalties on the country's banks, arms makers and its biggest oil company to punish Moscow for what the West sees as efforts to destabilize Ukraine.The EU measures, details of which were released today after a preliminary agreement Thursday, broaden the scope of previous penalties. The United States was also expected to announce more sanctions.The EU measures include:• Further limits to some Russian companies' ability to raise money in EU markets. The restrictions now apply not only to banks but also to major oil company Rosneft, defense companies, pipeline operator Transneft, the oil subsidiary of energy giant Gazprom and others.• Broader limits on the export of high-technology EU goods that could also be used for military purposes.• Travel bans and asset freezes for another 24 officials. They include four deputy Parliament speakers and leaders of the separatists in eastern Ukraine. Also hit is businessman Sergei Chemezov, who is one of President Vladimir Putin's “close associates,” according to the EU.• Bans for EU companies on new contracts in oil drilling, exploration and related services in Russia's Arctic, deep sea and shale oil projects. Russia's Rosneft oil company is majority-owned by the state, but Britain's BP holds a 19.75 percent stake in it.Conspicuously absent from the list was Russia's gas industry, because many EU nations depend on Russian gas imports.
