Nathan Cirillo Made 'The Ultimate Sacrifice'

Hundreds of messages have been posted on a tribute site to the soldier who was killed in the shooting at a war memorial near parliament in Ottawa.

Corporal Nathan Cirillo, of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, was guarding the National War Memorial in the Canadian capital when he was attacked.

He was treated at the scene, but later died of his injuries.

One message on the Facebook tribute page, from Bob Rodkin, read: "RIP Nathan. Thank you for your service and the ultimate sacrifice.

"So tragic, so unnecessary. My prayers go out for you and to your family, friends and colleagues."

Video: Canadian PM: The Full Statement

Olivia Mancini wrote: "He not only was a great father, son, and brother, but a close friend of mine. RIP Nathan Cirillo. I will love and miss you forever. Not only did you protect our country, but you were such a loving, caring, and funny person to everyone around you."

Another message, from Olivia Marie, said: "RIP Nathan! Thank you for defending our country, your son is so proud of you. I miss you."

Megan Underwood posted a picture of Cpl Cirillo posing with a friend in front of the war memorial taken on Sunday.

Video: The Face Of Canada's Terror Fight

The message said: "On Sunday, we asked a very handsome guard for a picture with my friend visiting from Cali - RIP Nathan Cirillo."

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1. Gallery: Ottawa In Lockdown After Attacks

   At around 10am on Wednesday, 32-year-old petty criminal Michael Zehaf-Bibeau killed a soldier standing guard at Ottawa's war memorial

2. He then ran into the nearby Canadian Parliament building where he was shot to death by the ceremonial Sergeant-at-Arms

3. Conservative and Liberal MPs were holding their weekly caucus meetings at the time

4. Cabinet minister Tony Clement tweeted that at least 30 shots were heard inside Parliament

5. In a national TV statement, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said: "We will not be intimidated. Canada will never be intimidated"

6. It was the second deadly attack in three days against members of the Canadian military

7. On Monday, a man Harper described as an "ISIL-inspired terrorist" ran over two soldiers in Quebec, killing one and injuring another before being shot to death by police

8. Witnesses said the soldier killed in the latest attack, Cpl Nathan Cirillo, was gunned down at point-blank range by a man carrying a rifle and dressed all in black, his face half-covered with a scarf

9. One said: "The honour guard dropped to the ground, and the shooter kind of raised his arms in triumph holding the rifle"

10. At least three people were treated for minor injuries

11. Some people fled the complex by scrambling down scaffolding erected for renovations

12. Others took cover inside as police with rifles and body armour took up positions outside and cordoned off streets

13. The two attacks have raised fears Canada is being targeted for reprisals for joining the air campaign against Islamic State extremists in Iraq and Syria

14. The National War Memorial contains an arched granite cenotaph, or tomb, with bronze sculptures commemorating World War I

15. The gunman had convictions for assault, robbery, drug and weapons offences, and other crimes. Swipe through for more images of the attack and its aftermath

Video: Witness & Reporter Peter Henderson

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Canada Killer Believed 'Devil Was After Him'

The gunman who killed a soldier in Ottawa and stormed Canada's parliament had been put on a terror watch list, it has emerged.

The attacker, identified as Michael Zehaf-Bibeau by Canadian media, was considered "high risk" and had seen his passport confiscated to stop him travelling abroad to join Islamic State terrorists in Iraq or Syria.

But the 32-year-old was able to strike at the heart of his home country's capital, shooting dead Corporal Nathan Cirillo before he was himself gunned down by Sergeant-At-Arms Kevin Vickers as he launched his assault on parliament.

US sources said the killer was a convert to Islam from Quebec who grew up in Laval and Montreal and was called Michael Joseph Hall before he changed his name.

Cpl Nathan Cirillo at his post in Ottawa moments before he was killed

Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper reported that he was the son of Susan Bibeau, a senior civil servant with Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board, while his stepfather or adoptive father was Bulgasem Zehaf, a Libyan businessman who once owned Montreal's Cafe Tripoli.

Former neighbour Janice Purnell told CTV Zehaf-Bibeau was privately-educated and a typical teenager. She said she once called the police because he was playing loud music.

Video: How The Ottawa Attack Unfolded

Evidence has been emerging that suggests he fitted the common jihadist profile of a troubled young man who had turned to radical Islam. 

Canadian network CTV reported he had been jailed for two years for robbery and weapons possession in 2003, four years after his mother and Mr Zehaf had divorced.

Quebec court records also show that he pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to comply with a judge's order and several drug offences, including marijuana possession.

He reportedly stood trial for robbery in Vancouver in 2011 after a psychiatric assessment ruled he was fit for the judicial process.

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1. Gallery: Tributes Paid To Canadian Soldier

   Nathan Cirillo was a member of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders

2. Hundreds of messages have been posted on a Facebook tribute page

3. Click through for more images of Cpl Cirillo

Family friend Dave Bathurst told the CBC Zehaf-Bibeau did not appear to have extremist views, but had at times shown a disturbing side.

He said: "We were having a conversation in a kitchen, and I don't know how he worded it - he said the devil is after him."

Mr Bathurst said his friend frequently talked about the presence of Shaytan in the world - an Arabic term for devils and demons, adding: "I think he must have been mentally ill."

Bathurst last saw Zehaf-Bibeau praying in a Vancouver-area mosque six weeks ago and said that he spoke of wanting to go to the Middle East soon - although he claimed he only wanted to study Islam and Arabic.

Video: The Face Of Canada's Terror Fight

His case has parallels with that of Martin Couture-Rouleau, a 25-year-old convert who rammed his car into two soldiers in the Montreal suburb of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu on Monday - killing one of them before he was shot dead.

Rouleau also had his passport confiscated in July after he was arrested at an airport on his way to Turkey.

He was among 90 people being tracked by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on suspicion of taking part in militant activities or planning to do so.

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US-Led Airstrikes Against IS In Syria Kill 553

US-led airstrikes have killed 553 Islamist militants and 32 civilians in Syria during a month-long campaign, a monitoring group has said.

Most of those killed - 464 - were Islamic State fighters, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Fifty-seven were from al Qaeda-linked al Nusra Front.

Six children and five women were among the civilians killed, said the Observatory, which relies on a network of activists around Syria.

Smoke rises after a US-led strike in Kobani

US Central Command spokesman Colonel Patrick Ryder earlier said Washington takes "reports of civilian casualties or damage to civilian facilities seriously and we have a process to investigate each allegation".

The coalition strikes have bombed the Syrian provinces of Aleppo, Deir al Zor, Idlib, Raqqa and al Hassakah, the Observatory said.

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1. Gallery: Syrian Kurds Battle IS To Retain Control Of Kobani

   Turkish soldiers clean mortars as they take up positions by the Turkish-Syrian border opposite the Syrian town of Kobani

2. Smoke rises above buildings after Islamic State militants hit the Syrian town with mortar fire

3. A man surveys the town from a point near the Mursitpinar border crossing, on the Turkish-Syrian border

4. A fighter jet flies above Kobani

5. An explosion rocks the town during an airstrike by the US-led coalition

6. Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) fighters in a street in Kobani

7. Turkish soldiers take up positions

8. A man watches Kobani through a sniper rifle binocular from near the Mursitpinar crossing

9. Turkish army tanks take up positions by the border opposite the town

10. A Turkish soldier covers an armoured vehicle

11. Kurds watch Kobani - also known as Ain al-Arab - from the southeastern village of Mursitpinar. Continue through for more pictures

In the Aleppo district, the town of Kobani, on the Turkish border, has become a crucial battleground in the IS fight.

Kurdish forces have been defending the besieged town against the militants, who have been making significant gains despite the US-led forces hitting their positions.

But the Kurds have managed to halt the IS advance and held most of the key town, the US military has said.

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1. Gallery: Human Cost Of Battle For Kobani

   A Syrian Kurdish woman and her children at a refugee camp at Suruc, Turkey. These images have emerged as Islamic State (IS) continues to fight for control of the border town of Kobani in Syria

2. Turkey dropped its refusal to allow Kurdish fighters over the border to defend besieged Kobani, saying it was now helping Iraqi peshmerga to cross the frontier in a major policy shift

3. A woman boils a kettle of tea as her children gather around in Suruc

4. Children try to get warm around the fire

5. Children look out from their tent

6. A Kurdish refugee child from the Syrian town of Kobani sits on a makeshift swing

7. A woman boils a pot of tea in front of her tent

8. The centre of Kobani is seen from near the Mursitpinar border crossing

9. A US-led coalition aircraft flies over Kobani

10. Smoke rises as bullets with tracers fly through the air after an explosion in Kobani during a reported suicide car bomb attack by IS militants

The Kurdish fighters have been boosted by Iraqi Kurdish politicians agreeing to send much-needed reinforcements and US weapons airdrops.

But two of the arms bundles intended for the Kurds went astray earlier this week, the Pentagon said. One was destroyed in a strike and the other fell into the hands of IS fighters.

IS released a video online, allegedly shot in Kobani, showing its fighters going through boxes containing hand grenades and rocket-propelled grenades.

Video: US Airdrops Allegedly Intercepted

Islamic State has already grabbed large parts of Syria and neighbouring Iraq. With the help of Arab allies, the US has been carrying out airstrikes in Iraq against IS since July and in Syria since September.

The UK and France have also struck IS targets in Iraq.

Earlier this week, Britain's Defence Secretary Michael Fallon announced RAF Reaper drones would be flying surveillance missions over Syria to gather intelligence on IS.

Video: Travelling Through Syria

But the use of weapons has not been authorised and the British Government has insisted that strike missions in the country would only be carried out with parliamentary approval.

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Sergeant-At-Arms Given Standing Ovation

Kevin Vickers, who shot dead a gunman after he opened fire in the Canadian parliament, has been given a standing ovation by colleagues.

At the start of a special sitting of the parliament, a day after Michael Zehaf-Bibeau shot dead a soldier at a war memorial before attempting to storm the building, politicians applauded as Mr Vickers walked into the chamber.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper gave a speech on the attack, before shaking hands with Mr Vickers as MPs stood to applaud again.

Cpl Nathan Cirillo at his post in Ottawa moments before he was killed

The former Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officer engaged the gunman as he began firing inside the parliament building, and is believed to have shot him dead.

MPs said a prayer, sang the Canadian national anthem and held a moment of silence after two soldiers have been killed in attacks this week.

Video: Footage Emerges Of Shooting Hero

Mr Harper said the government would give more powers of detention and surveillance to security agencies in the wake of the attack.

He said: "The objective of these attacks was to instil fear and panic in our country and to interrupt the business of government.

"Well, members as I said yesterday, Canadians will not be intimidated.

Video: Man Arrested At Ottawa War Memorial

"We will be vigilant but we will not run scared. We will be prudent but we will not panic and as for the business of government, well, here we are, in our seats, in our chamber in the very heart of our democracy and our work."

He also said plans to bolster Canadian laws and police powers in surveillance, detention and arrest would be sped up.

Video footage has emerged of Mr Vickers patrolling through the corridors in the building after the shooting.

Video: Shots Fired In Canada Parliament

MPs and members of the public were quick to thank him after his intervention on Wednesday.

Veterans affairs minister Julian Fantino said: "All the details are not in, but the Sergeant-at-Arms, a former Mountie, is the one that engaged the gunman... and stopped this."

Craig Scott, an NDP MP for Toronto-Danforth, said: "MPs and Hill staff owe their safety, even lives, to Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers who shot attacker just outside the MPs' caucus rooms."

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1. Gallery: Tributes Paid To Canadian Soldier

   Nathan Cirillo was a member of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders

2. Hundreds of messages have been posted on a Facebook tribute page

3. Click through for more images of Cpl Cirillo

Justice minister Peter MacKay tweeted: "Thank God for Sgt at Arms Kevin Vickers & our Cdn security forces. True heroes."

Video: 'Planet Descending Into Savagery'

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Latest White House Fence Jumper 'Disturbed'

By Sky News US Team

A man who jumped over the fence surrounding the White House is "mentally disturbed", his father has said.

Dominic Adesanya, a 23-year-old from Bel Air, Maryland, was swiftly tackled on the North Lawn by Secret Service agents and their dogs in Wednesday night's intrusion.

Barack Obama was at the White House

His father told ABC's Baltimore affiliate WMAR that his son had previously gone to the White House in an attempt to talk to President Barack Obama, but had been stopped at the gate.

"He'd done it before," his father, who declined to be named or shown on camera, told the television station. "He didn't get that close."

Video: White House: Secret Service Grilled

The security scare happened just over a month after another man, armed with a knife, sprinted across the same lawn, ran past agents and entered the mansion. He was apprehended in the East Room.

Secret Service spokesman Brian Leary said Adesanya, who was unarmed, climbed the north fence line at about 7.15pm and kicked one of the dogs that attacked him.

The accused has been charged with two felony counts of assault on a K-9 police officer, one felony count of making threats and four misdemeanour counts of resisting and unlawful entry.

He was taken into custody by uniformed agents who patrol the grounds constantly.

Two Secret Service dogs - Hurricane and Jordan - were treated for minor bruises by a veterinarian and cleared for duty.

Video: Secret Service Chief Testifies

President Obama was at the White House at the time of the incident, but the intruder never made it close to the building.

However, the presidential mansion was put on lockdown for about 90 minutes.

Last month's security breach involved an Iraq veteran, Omar Gonzalez, who was reportedly suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

It embarrassed the Secret Service and ultimately led to Julia Pierson's resignation as director of the agency after 18 months on the job.

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Pistorius Trial: Judge's Key Comments

Key comments from Judge Thokozile Masipa in the sentencing of Oscar Pistorius.

:: On claims from probation officer Annette Vergeer that prison would not be suitable for Pistorius.

"I was not impressed at all by Mrs Vergeer as a witness. Though an expert in this matter, her evidence did not inspire any confidence in this court.

"Her method of investigation in respect of prison conditions and her use of outdated information concerning prisons in particular was slapdash, disappointing and had a negative impact on her credibility as a witness.

"I found her evidence perfunctory and unhelpful, something quite disturbing from someone with 28 years of experience."

:: On Zach Modise, acting National Correctional Services Commissioner, who has worked in the prison service for more than 30 years:

"He came across as a candid and willing witness who wanted to assist this court.

"He testified that prisons in this country were not perfect but were progressive and professional. I have no hesitation in accepting his evidence as true and reliable."

:: On prisons in South Africa:

"I have no doubt that if prisons in this country were below the required standards, the ever-vigilant human rights bodies in this country would not hesitate to take the necessary steps to remedy the situation."

:: On sending a disabled person to prison:.

"If the accused in this matter were to be given a custodial sentence, it would not be the first time that the Correctional Services Department with an inmate with disabilities.

"Just by way of example, it cannot be disputed that a pregnant woman belongs to one of the most vulnerable groups of people.

"Although pregnancy cannot be termed a disability, it cannot be denied that it does compromise one's freedom and ability physically to do as one wills.

"Yet a pregnant woman will be sentenced to jail if the sentence is warranted.

"I might add that it would be a sad day for this country if an impression were to be created that there was one law for the poor and disadvantaged and another for the rich and famous."

:: On Pistorius' vulnerabilty:

"There was, however, a feeling of unease on my part as I listened to one witness after another placing what I thought was an overemphasis on the accused's vulnerabilty.

"Yes, the accused is vulnerable, but he also has excellent coping skills.

"Thanks to his mother, he rarely saw himself as disabled and excelled as a top athlete, respected worldwide against big odds, going on to compete against able-bodied persons.

"For some reason, that picture remains obscured in the background. In my judgment, to get to the real picture, the correct approach would be to balance the two."

:: On Pistorius' contribution to society:

"There is no doubt that the accused's contribution to society has been enormous as he gave his time and money to various charities and institutions.

"He also helped change the general public's perceptions of disabled people and inspired disabled young people in particular as he grew and excelled in his career.

"This impact on others worldwide cannot be ignored but it ought to be put into perspective.

"As state counsel pointed out to Mr Van Zyl (Pistorius' manager), if a sportsman was approached for assistance, it would not be clever not to be involved as such involvement enhances one's career."

:: On the seriousness of the offences:

"On his own version, the accused knew that there was someone behind the door. He had heard the window slide open. He had heard the toilet door slam shut. He had heard a noise coming from the inside of the toilet.

"It would have been different if he had just heard a noise and assumed that something - maybe a stray animal - was in the toilet.

"In this instance, the evidence shows that he thought an intruder was behind the door. Using a lethal weapon, a loaded firearm, the accused fired not one but four shots into the toilet door.

"It is so that, in his evidence, he said he would have fired higher if his intention was to kill and this court accepted that.

"However, that does not change the fact that he knew the facts above and that the toilet was a small cubicle and that there was no room for escape for the person behind the door.

"What is also significant is that the accused had been trained in the use of, and in the handling of, firearms. In my view, all that is very aggravating."

:: Watch a round-up of the day's events on Sky News at 9.30pm - Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 132 and Freesat channel 202.

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Briton Found Dead With Throat Slit In Bali

By Mark White, Home Affairs Correspondent

A British man has been found dead with his throat slit and wrapped in a plastic bag on Indonesian holiday island Bali.

Locals discovered 60-year-old Robert Ellis' body in the island's Bangdun region.

A forensics doctor at Bali's Sanglah Hospital, Ida Bagus Putu Alit, confirmed reports the victim had several cuts to his throat, including one that severed a main artery.

Local police had thought Mr Ellis was an Australian citizen, because he had previously lived in Australia.

He had been living in a luxury apartment complex in the Balinese seaside district of Sanur with his Indonesian wife.

Police say the his arms and legs were tied up when a farmer discovered the body inside a plastic bag.

It is understood his body showed signs of bruising. Police believe he died early on Monday.

A spokesman at the Foreign Office told Sky News: "We were notified about the death of a British national on Bali on October 21. The Foreign Office stands ready to give consular assistance".

The spokesman added that Foreign Office officials were liaising with local police in Bali.

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Pistorius: From Global Icon To A Prison Cell

In his saintly prime, it was hard not to be beguiled by Oscar Pistorius.

From the waist up, the smiling South African with sparkling eyes was the very image of a world-class athlete. From the knees down he seemed almost miraculous, a model of strength over adversity on carbon-fibre blades.

Pistorius's was a remarkable story when his ambition was confined to becoming the greatest disability sportsman of his time.

Among the legion of remarkable athletes who make up the Paralympic movement however, a double amputation did not make him unusual, even if performances were unprecedented.

It was his determination to compete against able-bodied opponents that took him into a category of one. It elevated him to genuine worldwide celebrity, and allowed the Paralympic movement to follow in his slipstream.

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1. Gallery: Pistorius: A Sporting Pioneer

   Pistorius was born in Johannesburg on November 22, 1986. A congenital condition meant he had no bones in his lower legs.

2. He had both legs amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old, and now runs on carbon fibre prosthetic blades.

3. Pistorius won the 200m final in a record time at the 2004 Athens Paralympics. In 2006 he finished sixth in the able-bodied event in South Africa.

4. Ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled his blades did not give him an unfair advantage. But he failed to qualify for the men's 400m.

5. He won gold in all three of his events at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics - the 100m, 200m and 400m. He set a world record in the 400m (sport class T44).

6. He won the 400m in 47.28s and the 100m in 11.04s at the 2011 Paralympic World Cup. The athlete later ran the 400m in 45.07s - within the Olympic qualifying time.

7. The Blade Runner won the 400m silver medal in 45.52s at the 2012 African Championships. He just missed the 45.30s he needed to qualify for the Olympics.

8. Pistorius was selected by the South African Olympic Committee to run the 4x400m relay and 400m at the 2012 London Olympics. He said it was "one of the happiest days of my life".

9. He had been dating the model Reeva Steenkamp since late 2012. She was found dead at his home on February 14, 2013.

10. After a lengthy trail, Pistorius is cleared of murder but found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to five years in prison.

It was not a straightforward journey, and along the way he demonstrated that the single-mindedness required to overcome disability extended well beyond the track.

Pistorius repeatedly challenged the sporting authorities to allow him to run despite misgivings that his blades were not comparable, and may even confer an advantage in the gruelling late stages of a 400m race.

He was initially banned from competing but following appeals, and under significant pressure, the International Association of Athletics Federations admitted him to run first at the World Championships in 2011, and a year later at London 2012.

Video: What Would Oscar Have Seen?

That decision opened the door not just to sporting history but to a hugely lucrative career. Paralympians, by and large, do not make a good living, if they make a living at all.

As a Paralympian in Olympic sport Pistorius earned around £1.5m a year in endorsements. Track and field is a sport struggling to maintain its position, and the South African was better known than any of the men he was to compete against.

This commercial imperative meant it was often possible to detect a cynical edge to the Pistorius promotion machine. His status attracted major sponsors, British Telecom among them, and he was a model client.

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1. Gallery: Pistorius: Death, Despair And Drama

   Hooded and head down, Paralympic and Olympic athlete Oscar Pistorius leaves a police station in Pretoria hours after he shot dead his model girlfriend in the bathroom of his home

2. Before Valentine's Day 2013, this is how the couple were known - handsome, glamorous and seemingly happy

3. A day after shooting Reeva, he was taken to court for a lengthy bail hearing during which he denied murdering his girlfriend. He was eventually granted conditional bail

4. Reeva's Valentine's card to Oscar was later shown in court. She had left it out for him on the night of her death, along with some pictures of the couple and one of her she'd had taken specially as a gift

5. Five days after her death, Reeva's funeral was held in her home town of Port Elizabeth

6. Reeva's family and friends comforted each other after her coffin was carried into a crematorium. After the ceremony, her brother Adam said: "There's a space missing inside all the people that she knew that can't be filled again. We will miss her."

7. Judge Thokozile Masipa presided over the trial. It should have run for three weeks, but lasted at least five months

8. Reeva's mother June Steenkamp was in court throughout proceedings, sat just feet away from the man who killed her daughter and in the same row as members of his family. Within weeks of Reeva's killing, Mrs Steenkamp said: "I don't hate Oscar. I've forgiven him. I have to, that's my religion. But I am determined to face him and reclaim my daughter."

9. Gerrie Nel, a seasoned prosecutor, is known in South African legal circles as "the pitbull". He led the prosecution against Pistorius, claiming the defence was inconsistent

10. The prosecution tried to prove the couple had problems - that Pistorius was an angry and controlling boyfriend. This email was among the evidence they used to make their point, along with a series of texts. The defence said it simply showed they were a normal couple, with normal ups and downs in their relationship

11. Barry Roux defended Pistorius. He made his presence felt at the very start of proceedings by totally dismissing a senior police officer's case, leaving the man offering an embarrassing admission that his case was weak. "I don't have any facts," said Hilton Botha. Mr Roux has since said his performance was "nothing special".

12. Sky News uncovered this CCTV image of the couple just a few days before the shooting. They were in a shop in Pretoria, kissing and laughing

13. The CCTV was among the final images taken of Reeva

14. The world gasped at pictures of the scene of the shooting obtained by Sky's Alex Crawford

15. At one point in the trial, as lawyers flicked through a series of pictures on a large screen in court, they accidentally showed a picture of Reeva's body without warning. Friends of Reeva ran from the courtroom in tears at the violent image

16. On another occasion, the prosecution taunted Pistorius, telling him to look at the image and take responsibility. Pistorius sobbed back: "As I picked Reeva up, my fingers touched her head. I don't have to look at a picture. I remember. I was there."

17. Much of the case centered on whether Pistorius was wearing his prosthetic legs at the time of the shooting. Did the bullet holes in the bathroom door prove that he was wearing them, and therefore able to move faster and with more ease? Or was he on his stumps, at a lower height and possibly feeling more threatened?

18. Sitting almost within touching distance throughout the trial, Reeva's mother and Pistorius' sister Aimee had been seen speaking to each other at times

19. The defendant retched and vomited more than once. At one point, Pistorius collapsed in the dock and his psychologist was seen trying to calm him by stroking his face

20. The trial was adjourned for a psychiatric evaluation of Pistorius. Around this time the defendant had a night out and got involved in an altercation, making headlines again

21. Following the row, Pistorius tweeted some cryptic messages. This was one

22. Lawyers went step-by-step through how Pistorius would have got out of bed in the night, walked or run down the corridor shouting at whoever was locked in the toilet, shot through the door and then, on realising it was Reeva inside, bashed down the door using a cricket bat

23. After the shooting, the door was removed from Pistorius' house and was stored in a police HQ office instead of a contamination-free zone

24. Footage emerged of Pistorius recreating the fateful night in a private attempt to make his case clear. Australia's Channel 7 got hold of the video, which described events in graphic detail, and released it while the trial was ongoing

25. Friends and family of Reeva gave various interviews to the media, talking about how the model with a law degree was also someone who cared deeply about others and wanted to help people. "She was more than just a pretty face," one said

26. The world's focus once again closed in on the court in Pretoria when the time came for Judge Thokozile Masipa to give her verdict

27. The runner's brother made it to court for the verdicts, coming out of hospital in a wheelchair. He is recovering from a head-on car crash that happened on 1 August

28. As the judge read her findings to the court on the first day of her verdict delivery, Pistorius sat in the dock and sobbed, gulping back air as he struggled not to cry out loud

29. Reeva's father Barry Steenkamp did not attend the first few weeks of the trial, but he sat through the end and closely watched the man who killed his daughter as the verdict was read out

30. He was found not guilty of premeditated murder on Thursday, 11 September 11, 2014. And the weight of the case took so long for the judge to get through that it was not until the next morning that he was told to stand to hear the verdict on culpable homicide. He stood silently, breathing deeply

31. At the end of it all, Oscar Pistorius, world-famous athlete, was found guilty of culpable homicide. A similar charge to manslaughter, it means he did shoot at someone, but the judge said he might not have known it was Reeva behind the toilet door - and she has now sentenced him to five years in prison for the killing

His press conferences in the summer of 2012 were an object lesson in how to keep media and sponsor happy. At both Olympics and Paralympics he sat for hours, answering questions he'd faced a thousand times before but betraying not a trace of impatience.

It struck me at the time that only a man of extreme faith or rare focus could have managed it. Pistorius was clearly possessed of both.

Cynicism had little answer to the climax of his career in London, when reached the semi-finals of the Olympic 400m, a bigger draw than the eventual champion Kirani James, who said it was a "privilege" to compete against him.

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1. Gallery: Oscar Pistorius At Gun Range

   Sky News has obtained images of Oscar Pistorius at a shooting range, including one which shows him firing the pistol he used when he shot his girlfriend.

2. The pictures were taken months before Reeva Steenkamp's death on February 14, 2013.

3. Pistorius, who is awaiting trial, denies murdering Ms Steenkamp and says he shot her after mistaking her for a burglar.

4. In one of the pictures from the gun range, the athlete is seen firing at a water melon.

5. The fruit explodes as Pistorius hits it right in the centre. Click through for more pictures.

The tragedy of what followed at Pistorius' home on Valentine's Day 2013 bears heaviest on the Steenkamp family, robbed of their daughter.

After the five year jail sentence handed down for that crime Pistorius is unlikely to make another podium, and has forfeited his place on a pedestal for ever.

:: Watch a round-up of the day's events on Sky News at 9.30pm - Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 132 and Freesat channel 202.

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Oscar Pistorius Jailed For Shooting Reeva Dead

Oscar Pistorius has been jailed for five years for killing his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, on Valentine's Day last year.

His defence team said he would spend a sixth of the term in prison - 10 months - before being placed under house arrest for the remainder of his sentence.

But Nathi Mncube, a spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority, said he was likely to serve one third of the sentence behind bars, before adding "it's not for the NPA to decide".

"This is not what we were hoping to achieve at the end of this trial ... but it is not entirely up to us," he told Sky News.

Video: Pistorius Sentencing Highlights

The 27-year-old, who was found guilty of culpable homicide last month, appeared to wipe his eyes as the sentence was handed down.

Judge Thokozile Masipa had ruled the Olympic and Paralympic athlete did not intend to kill his girlfriend when he fired through the bathroom door at his home in Pretoria.

"Having regard to the circumstances in the matter, I am of the view that a non-custodial sentence would send the wrong message to the community," she said.

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1. Gallery: Sentencing Day For Pistorius

   South African Olympic and Paralympic athlete Oscar Pistorius arrives at the court in Pretoria for sentencing over the killing of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp

2. He was convicted last month of "culpable homicide" - South Africa's equivalent of manslaughter. Continue through the gallery for more pictures from the day on which he was jailed for five years

5. Pistorius walks into the courtroom

6. Pistorius hugs his father Henke Pistorius ahead of his sentencing

8. Carl Pistorius, brother of Oscar Pistorius, attends the sentencing hearing

10. Pistorius stands in the dock as his sentence is delivered

11. Judge Thokozile Masipa sentences Pistorius to prison for the killing of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp

12. Pistorius is led to holding cells

13. Pistorius holds the hands of family members after being sentenced

17. His defence team said he would spend a sixth of the term in prison - 10 months - before being placed under house arrest for the remainder of his sentence

18. Reeva's mother June agrees justice had been served as she reacts to the jailing of Oscar Pistorius over her daughter's killing

19. Friends of Reeva Steenkamp, Gina and Kim Myers

20. Pistorius (C) enters a police van after his sentencing

23. A general view of Pretoria Central Prison

"On the other hand, a long sentence would also not be appropriate either, as it would lack the element of mercy.

"What may appear to be justice to the general public may not be justice. Society cannot always get what they want."

She said Pistorius' skill using a gun was an aggravating factor but that she also recognised his remorse.

Video: Defence Expects Ten Months In Jail

She said he "fired not one shot but four shots into the door" of a small cubicle "with no room for escape".

He was also handed a suspended three-year prison sentence for the discharging of a firearm, over an incident in which a gun accidentally went off in a restaurant.

Pistorius is expected to spend his jail time in the hospital wing of Pretoria's prison.

Video: Sentence Disappoints Prosecutors

Ms Steenkamp's father, Barry, said he was "satisfied" with the outcome.

Her mother, June Steenkamp, said the sentence brought a sort of closure, but that full closure was not possible "unless you can magic her back".

Sentencing options available to the judge in the culpable homicide case included up to 15 years in jail, a suspended sentence, a correctional supervision or fine. 

Video: Friends 'Felt Reeva's Light Today'

It brings to a close a seven-month trial, which attracted worldwide attention.

After one of the most sensational court cases in the country's history, the sentence is expected to fuel further controversy about race and money in its justice system.

Pistorius' legal team argued during the trial that he mistook Ms Steenkamp for an intruder and believed they were both in danger.

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1. Gallery: Reeva Steenkamp's Life In Pictures

   Reeva Steenkamp, 29, was born in Cape Town and grew up in Port Elizabeth. She went to a convent school and studied law. She was a keen horse rider until she broke her back

2. She moved to Johannesburg from Cape Town to model for Avon cosmetics. In 2012, Reeva was voted number 45 in the South African FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World poll

3. She featured as a celebrity contestant on BBC Lifestyle show Baking Made Easy in 2012

4. The model was a keen Twitter user, and had more than 34,000 followers. She used the site to promote women's rights and empowerment

5. Her former fashion editor, Barbara Robertson, described the model as being "sweet and down to earth" with the "it factor". She likened her to an "early Kate Moss"

6. Reeva Steenkamp on the set of reality TV show Tropika Island Of Treasure (Pic: Stimulii)

His lawyer Barry Roux said the athlete had "lost everything" after the 29-year-old law graduate and model's death, and argued he should not go to prison.

He also said the Pistorius, whose lower legs were amputated as a baby, would face particular difficulties in jail.

But state prosecutor Gerrie Nel had argued that only 10 years' imprisonment would satisfy the public.

Video: Pistorius Leaves Court For Prison

He said that any lesser sentence could result in a widespread loss of faith in the justice system.

Known as Blade Runner because of his carbon-fibre prosthetics, Pistorius achieved global recognition at the London 2012 Olympics when he reached the semi-finals of the 400m against able-bodied athletes. 

:: Watch a round-up of the day's events on Sky News at 9.30pm - Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 132 and Freesat channel 202.

Video: Pistorius Led Down To The Cells

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1. Gallery: Pistorius: A Sporting Pioneer

   Pistorius was born in Johannesburg on November 22, 1986. A congenital condition meant he had no bones in his lower legs.

2. He had both legs amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old, and now runs on carbon fibre prosthetic blades.

3. Pistorius won the 200m final in a record time at the 2004 Athens Paralympics. In 2006 he finished sixth in the able-bodied event in South Africa.

4. Ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled his blades did not give him an unfair advantage. But he failed to qualify for the men's 400m.

5. He won gold in all three of his events at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics - the 100m, 200m and 400m. He set a world record in the 400m (sport class T44).

6. He won the 400m in 47.28s and the 100m in 11.04s at the 2011 Paralympic World Cup. The athlete later ran the 400m in 45.07s - within the Olympic qualifying time.

7. The Blade Runner won the 400m silver medal in 45.52s at the 2012 African Championships. He just missed the 45.30s he needed to qualify for the Olympics.

8. Pistorius was selected by the South African Olympic Committee to run the 4x400m relay and 400m at the 2012 London Olympics. He said it was "one of the happiest days of my life".

9. He had been dating the model Reeva Steenkamp since late 2012. She was found dead at his home on February 14, 2013.

10. After a lengthy trail, Pistorius is cleared of murder but found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to five years in prison.

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Steenkamps Welcome Pistorius' Five-Year Term

Barry and June Steenkamp reacted positively to the five-year sentence handed to Oscar Pistorius for the killing of their daughter.

Speaking outside Pretoria High Court, Mrs Steenkamp expressed relief at the end of the trial, which lasted seven months.

Defence counsel had suggested that Pistorius could be moved out of prison into house arrest after serving 10 months of his sentence.

Reeva Steenkamp was shot dead on Valentine's Day 2013

When asked whether she was happy with this, Mrs Steenkamp said: "Doesn't matter, he's going to pay something. I'm just glad it's over."

Reeva Steenkamp's father Barry, who has suffered health problems since the death of his daughter, added: "We are satisfied."

Video: Pistorius Jailed For Five Years

Sky's Special Correspondent Alex Crawford spoke to both inside the courtroom.

She added that Mrs Steenkamp had said: "There's no closure without Reeva unless you can magic her back."

Dup De Bruyn, the lawyer acting for the Steenkamps, said the judge had given "the right sentence" and added: "Justice was served."

Video: Pistorius Led Down To The Cells

Arnold Pistorius, the athlete's uncle, criticised the prosecution in the case and called for his family to be allowed to move forward.

He said: "We accept the judgment. Oscar will embrace this opportunity to pay back to society."

Judge Thokozile Masipa had ruled a custodial sentence was unavoidable for the Paralympic and Olympic athlete, and criticised defence witness Annette Vergeer, who had suggested he would have been vulnerable in jail.

Video: Pistorius Leaves Court For Prison

Pistorius offered little visible reaction as his sentence was read out. He stood and stared straight ahead, and then sat staring at the floor as legal submissions were made.

Mrs Steenkamp looked directly at him as the sentence was given, but otherwise did not visibly react in the packed courtroom.

A spokesperson for defence lawyer Barry Roux said there would be no appeal. She added that Pistorius will serve a sixth of his sentence - around 10 months - before being moved to house arrest.

Video: Sentence Disappoints Prosecutors

Prosecutor Gerrie Nel, who had argued the double amputee should be jailed for 10 years for killing Ms Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year, said: "The court has done what the court should do."

The prosecution has not yet decided if it will appeal against the sentence, spokesman Nathi Mncube said.

The prosecution has disputed the defence claim that Pistorius - known as the Blade Runner - could be out of prison after 10 months.

Video: Defence Expects Ten Months In Jail

:: Watch a round-up of the day's events on Sky News at 9.30pm - Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 132 and Freesat channel 202.

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Mystery Hero Rescues Man From Blazing Home

By Sky News US Team

A man has been called a hero for rescuing an elderly father from a house engulfed by fire in Fresno, California.

The scene was caught on camera by a passer-by, Beth Lederach, who called 911, the Fresno Bee reported.

Ms Lederach said a woman started screaming that her father was trapped inside the house.

Moments later, a man emerged from the burning house carrying the older man on his shoulders.

"He just calmly walked right in there and then came walking right back out with this guy," Ms Lederach told the Fresno Bee.

She added the rescuer, whose identity remains unknown, seemed to have "come out of nowhere". 

The older man was treated for smoke inhalation.

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How Kurds The World Forgot Are Holding Off IS

By Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondent, in Sari Kani, Syria

Right now in Syria a desperate fight is under way against Islamic State (IS) forces that control so much of the north of the country.

In the east that fight is being carried out virtually unseen to the rest of the world by People's Protection Units (YPG) fighters, Syrian Kurds, who are doing so with almost no assistance.

They have been fighting IS for longer than any other group.

With home-made weapons and armoured cars and some old heavy guns, they fight in dusty villages, the countryside and larger towns to try and force IS back to the west of Syria.

Kurdish fighters have been retaking ground from IS militants on the border

Kobani has been surrounded for weeks by IS but there are many other towns that are under siege. From Sari Kani 100 miles or so east of Kobani the YPG have been taking back ground from IS.

They would dearly love to reach their colleagues in Kobani but, with no assistance, even they accept it will be an almost impossible mission.

Video: Travelling Through Syria

Always moving and repositioning themselves, the front line is a confused and confusing battle of attrition.

The men of the YPG and the women fighters of the Women's Protection Unit (YPJ) work together. There is no battlefield difference between the sexes. They all throw themselves into the fight. They are protecting their homeland and say to us that they can die at the front or at home, but either way they are prepared to die.

Against the odds and the better equipped IS forces, they have made ground and captured weapons. In a rear position they work on tanks captured from IS and they showed us the bodies of 20 IS jihadists they killed in a night operation.

We travelled from Iraq through Syria. The birthplace of IS is one of the most dangerous places on earth today. The YPG grip is tenuous and the vast open spaces are difficult to protect from IS incursions.

Video: Passports Reveal Turkey Link

These Syrian Kurds are hemmed in. The Turkish border lies to the north and its military considers the YPG a terrorist organisation.

To the south, east and west IS controls all the land leading to Iraq and across its border.

On the newest YPG front lines we came across a seemingly rag-tag group of fighters. But while they may look so they are in fact well trained and utterly determined.

A hill-top cemetery has become a fort. They watch across the plains and the villages that IS control. They are so close they can hear the foreign languages of the IS fighters on their walkie-talkies.

Video: Kurds Face Future Without A Home

But nobody here seems in any way frightened of IS. They laugh and joke and prepare to fight. Day in, day out.

The YPG are very canny. Their front-line positions are never static for long. Their numbers are small so they move positions and manoeuvre around the battlefield looking for signs of IS weakness. Then they attack. Both sides are doing this but one gets the sense that the Kurds are more determined.

While IS have many foreign fighters the YPG also have a small contingent. Chechens, Europeans and Americans who have decided to help fight IS.

Brian Wilson is from Ohio. A divorcee with two children, this veteran of the first Gulf War and 16 years a police sheriff in the United States decided to come here a month ago and join the fight. He was shocked that the West was doing nothing to help here.

Video: Desperate Help Needed In Kobani

"They have been holding out against DASH (IS) in this area for going on two, two and a half years," he told me on the front line.

"They are outgunned. They are brave fighters. They just need more help. If they had better technology, better weapons, they could finish IS on their own. More airstrikes would be very helpful to clear out some areas."

The YPG are fighting multiple fronts on a constant basis. Sometimes they are in cities and towns, sometimes in open countryside. But they are holding on and sometimes doing better than that.

And, as they say, they will do that to the death if necessary.

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Pic Of Mystery 'Foreign Vessel' As Search Goes On

The search for a mystery "foreign vessel" off the coast of Stockholm is continuing after Sweden's military presented photographic evidence of the unidentified craft.

Around 200 troops, several stealth ships, minesweepers and helicopters have been scouring the sea around islands about 30 miles east of the country's capital

Triggered by a tip-off to armed forces about a "man-made object", military spokesman Dag Enander said the search was continuing "unabated".

"We continue the search during the night, the only difference is that it is bright now," he told Dagens Nyheter.

Rear Admiral Anders Grenstad said a grainy photo taken on Sunday morning by a "source" was the third such sighting.

"This is not ours, it's a foreign vessel," he said.

"He saw something that was on the surface and after he took the picture it disappeared again."

He said it was not possible to determine the nationality of the vessel due to the poor quality of the photo,  which shows a far-off dark object jutting out of the sea.

An image featuring what is claimed to be a man in the water. Pic: Expressen

Another photograph is thought to show a man dressed in black wading in the water near Stockholm.

Mr Grenstad said the sightings followed a pattern built up over several years but rejected media speculation that the armed forces were "submarine hunting".

He stressed that the mobilisation - one of the biggest since the Cold War - was an intelligence operation.

"This is not a submarine hunt, using weapons to combat an opponent," he said.

Swedish corvette HMS Visby patrols the waters around Stockholm

"It's about collecting intelligence to establish that there is foreign underwater activity," said Grenstad, adding that an area east of the Swedish capital appeared "to be of interest to a foreign power."                 

He added: "Later there can be a situation where it becomes a submarine hunt. We're not there now."

And he dismissed a report from Swedish media suggesting that a Russian emergency transmission had been intercepted, indicating that a Russian submarine was in trouble in the area.

"From the information we have, we cannot draw the same conclusion as the media that there is a damaged U-boat," he said.

A minesweeper in Stockholm's archipelago, which has thousands of islands

"We have no information about an emergency signal or the use of an emergency channel.

"We've not singled out Russia, but said it is foreign underwater activity ... It can be a U-boat, a mini U-boat or divers in a moped-like underwater vehicle."

During the 1980s and early '90s the then-neutral - and now non-aligned - Nordic country was regularly on alert following Russian submarine sightings.

In one notable case in 1981, a Soviet sub ran aground several miles from one of Sweden's largest naval bases. 

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US Drops Weapons For Kurds Battling IS

The US has airdropped weapons and supplies for Kurdish forces fighting Islamic State (IS) in the town of Kobani in Syria.

A statement from US Central Command said Air Force C-130 planes "delivered weapons, ammunition and medical supplies that were provided by Kurdish authorities in Iraq and intended to enable continued resistance against ISIL's (IS) attempts to overtake Kobani".

Multiple airdrops were completed near the town, which is close to the border with Turkey and would be seen as a strategic coup for IS if it is captured.

Kurdish forces said they had received a "large quantity of ammunition" from the US airdrop.

Spokesman Redur Xelil told the Reuters news agency: "It will have a positive impact on the course of military operations and certainly we are still hoping for more support."

Video: Stuart Ramsay With 'Rag Tag' Army

The US statement said 135 airstrikes near Kobani - combined with continued resistance on the ground - had slowed IS advances and killed hundreds of its fighters.

"However, the security situation in Kobani remains fragile as ISIL continues to threaten the city and Kurdish forces continue to resist," the statement added.

The Kurds have been under IS assault for more than a month - and US Commander General Lloyd Austin has warned that the city could fall.

However, airdrops are likely to anger key ally Turkey, which has said it would oppose the US helping to arm Kurdish rebels.

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1. Gallery: The Kurdish Refugees Of Kobani

   A Kurdish refugee woman and her child from the Syrian town of Kobani rest in front of their family tent in a camp in the southeastern town of Suruc, Turkey

2. The United States is bombing targets in Kobani to relieve the defenders of the Syrian town and give them time to organise against Islamic State militants, a senior US official said

3. A Kurdish refugee from the Syrian town of Kobani sweeps a passage in the camp

4. A child looks out of a tent

5. Kurdish people watch smoke billowing from Kobani as they gather on a hill overlooking the Syrian town of Kobani

6. A child walks through the camp in Suruc

7. A Turkish aid worker distributes food to Kurdish refugees

8. Kurdish refugees from the Syrian town of Kobani queue to get food

9. Smoke rises from the Syrian town of Kobani

10. Kurdish people shout slogans while standing upon a hill opposite the Syrian town of Kobani

11. The graves of Kurdish people killed fighting alongside People's Protection Units (YPG) against IS jihadists in Kobani

Ankara views the main Kurdish group in Syria as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), an organisation that has waged a 30-year insurgency in Turkey.

The PKK is designated a terror group by the US and NATO.

Turkey has resisted pressure from the West to take a more direct role in fighting IS in Kobani.

However, in an earlier call with Barack Obama, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to "strengthen cooperation".

Video: New Video Of The Battle For Kobani

An unnamed official said that while the results of the airdrop mission were still being assessed, it appeared "the vast majority" of the 27 bundles reached the intended Kurdish fighters.

Another official suggested "you might see more" drops in the days ahead.

:: Sky's Stuart Ramsay joined the forgotten Kurds who have held off IS for more than two years with homemade weapons and armoured cars.

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Hannah Graham Search: Skull And Bones Found

By Sky News US Team

Remains police say might belong to missing University of Virginia student Hannah Graham have been found in a dried-up creek at an abandoned property.

A skull and bones were discovered in a heavily wooded area five weeks after the 18-year-old was last seen in the university town of Charlottesville.

The Albemarle County area, which is home to horse farms, is about 12 miles (20km) from the campus.

Residents said they noticed a foul smell days ago.

Chesterfield Sheriff's Department Sergeant Dale Terry, who led the search, said he believes God wanted his team to find what they found.

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1. Gallery: Hannah Graham Search In Rural Area

   Police are scouring the area where remains that might belong to missing University of Virginia student Hannah Graham were found

2. The Albemarle County area is home to horse farms

3. Officers sifted through autumn leaves in the heavily wooded area looking for clues

4. Police have blocked off roads

5. Forensic experts must examine the remains

6. Ms Graham, who is British-born, was last seen on 13 September

7. Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr, 32, has been charged with abduction

"I don't know how else to explain it," he told local station WTVR.

"Something inside me just told me to continue to look."

The last person seen with Graham, 32-year-old Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr, has been charged with abduction with intent to defile Graham.

Video: Parents Plea Over Missing Student

He is being held in the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail.

The remains were discovered roughly six miles (10km) from where the body of 20-year-old Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington was found after she vanished in 2009.

Police have said forensic evidence connects Matthew to Ms Harrington's killing, which in turn is linked by DNA to a 2005 sexual assault in northern Virginia.

Video: Graham Suspect Innocent, Dad Says

Matthew has not been charged in those cases.

Ms Graham, who is British-born, was last seen on 13 September after a night out with friends.

In surveillance footage, she can be seen walking unsteadily and even running at times, past a pub and a service station and then on to a seven-block strip of bars, restaurants and shops.

Video: CCTV Shows Missing Teen Running

It is not clear how long it will take authorities to identify the remains.

Police have blocked off roads, sifted through leaves and scoured the area for evidence.

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Hong Kong Protests: 20 Hurt In Street Battles

At least 20 people have been injured in a second night of clashes between Hong Kong riot police and pro-democracy campaigners.

Some demonstrators were carried away on stretchers after baton-wielding officers moved into a crowd in the Mong Kok district.

Police claimed they used "minimum force" as protesters "suddenly attempted to charge" their cordon lines.

Riot police advance towards protesters in Mong Kok

However, activists say they were repeatedly hit with batons and did nothing to provoke the violence, as a senior politician said weeks of rallies had reached a "critical moment".

One protester, called Jackie, who was sitting with his head bandaged, said: "They hit us without any reason when we were standing behind the roadblock.

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1. Gallery: Hong Kong Clashes As Protesters Retake Streets

   Pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong won back parts of a key protest zone in the early hours of Saturday. Dozens of people, including police, were injured in the scuffles

2. Barricades were knocked over as several thousand activists faced off against officers. At least 33 people were reportedly arrested

3. Police used pepper spray and batons to control the crowd, including on this man - reported to be a journalist

4. The man is doused in water to wash away the chemical

5. Many protesters wore masks and carried umbrellas, which have become a symbol of the protests and also a makeshift barrier against pepper spray

6. The activists, most of them young people, are protesting against China's plan to restrict elections for Hong Kong's leader to approved Communist loyalists

7. The demonstrations began several weeks ago and have been described as the biggest challenge to China's authority since Tiananmen Square

8. Police carry a banner warning protesters to stay calm. Continue through for more pictures

"I was hit by a police stick four or five times. I protected myself with my hands and they hit my body.

"Some people behind me opened out their umbrellas and then the police started hitting people. There was no aggressive action on our side."

Demonstrators first took to the streets on 26 September after China announced it would screen candidates running in Hong Kong's elections in 2017.

Talks aimed at stopping the violence are to take place between the Hong Kong government and student leaders on Tuesday.

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1. Gallery: Police Break Up Hong Kong Protests

   A policeman runs towards protesters who were attempting to regroup after being forcibly cleared from the the area they were occupying in the Mong Kok district of Hong Kong

2. Police advance as they try to disperse the crowd after removing barricades

3. Scores of Hong Kong police removed barricades early on Friday erected by pro-democracy protesters around the bustling area of Mong Kok, across the harbour from the main demonstration area next to government offices

4. Pro-democracy protesters confront police after they were forcibly cleared from the area they were occupying in the Mong Kok district

5. The raid came while many protesters were asleep in their tents or on the street. Continue through for more images

The city's deputy leader Carrie Lam said the talks would be focused on constitutional reform, with both sides allowed to bring five members to the meeting.

But Beijing is unlikely to yield to protesters' core demands - the resignation of Hong Kong's leader CY Leung and free leadership elections for the territory in 2017.

The city's finance secretary, John Tsang, urged demonstrators to retreat.

"I was young before and I have taken part in various student movements," he wrote on his blog on Sunday.

Video: Tiananmen Square Anniversary

"Retreating is not an easy decision. It takes a lot of bravery. I still believe that you can take the courage to make right decisions at this critical moment."

The UK handed back Hong Kong to China in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" deal that guarantees freedoms not seen on the mainland.

But fears are growing that liberties are being eroded, and the rallies are one of the biggest challenges to Beijing's rule since the Tiananmen massacre in 1989, when several hundred civilians were shot dead by the Chinese army.

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Siding Spring Comet To Skim Mars At 120,000mph

A comet the size of a small mountain will skim past Mars later, but NASA hopes its spacecraft will be able to photograph the once-in-a-million-years encounter.

The comet, known as Siding Spring (C/2013 A1), is set to hurtle past Mars at a distance of about 88,000 miles (141,600 km) - less than half the distance between Earth and our moon.

The closest pass is expected to happen Sunday at 7.27pm (6.27pm GMT).

Astronomers do not expect it will come any where near colliding with Mars, but they do hope it will be close enough to reveal clues about the origins of the solar system.

This NASA graphic shows the comet's expected tragectory

The comet is believed to have originated billions of years ago in the Oort Cloud, a distant region of space at the outskirts of the solar system.

Dan Brown from Nottingham Trent University told AFP: "Comets such as C/2013 A1 are essentially dirty, icy snowballs with rocks and dust embedded in frozen gasses.

Video: NASA Experts Detail Plan For Comet

"It is on its first run towards the centre of our solar system and its material is virtually unchanged by the rays of the sun and can give us an insight to the material composition of our early solar system 4.6 billion years ago."

The comet - which is around a mile wide - is flying through space at a speed of around 122,400mph.

NASA has manoeuvered its Mars orbiters to the far side of the planet so they won't be damaged by the comet's high-speed debris.

Even as the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mars Odyssey and MAVEN have been repositioned to avoid hazardous dust, scientists hope they will be able to capture a trove of data about the flyby.

NASA's two rovers - Curiosity and Opportunity - will turn their cameras skyward and send back pictures of the comet's pass in the coming days, weeks and months, the US space agency said.

StarDate editor Rebecca Johnson said: "The orbiters will keep a close eye on the show.

"They'll study the comet itself, which is a small chunk of ice and rock. They'll also study the cloud of gas and dust around the comet, as well as its long tail," she said.

"And they'll measure how the gas and dust interact with the Martian atmosphere."

The comet has travelled more than one million years to make its first pass by Mars, and will not return for another million years, after it completes its next long loop around the sun.

It was discovered at Australia's Siding Spring Observatory in January 2013.

Its close encounter with Mars is not likely to be visible to sky watchers on Earth.

But the near miss is of great interest to scientists, particularly since there are so many spacecraft on and around Mars to record it.

"As it zips toward the sun, it gives scientists a chance to see a relic from the distant past - a snowball that preserves the same ingredients that gave birth to our own world," said Johnson.

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MH17 Parents Plead For End To 'Pointless War'

By Jonathan Samuels, Australia Corespondent

The parents of three children killed in the MH17 tragedy have issued a heartbreaking statement, calling for the Ukraine war to end.

The bodies of the Maslin children, Mo, 12, Evie, 10, and Otis, 8, were returned to Australian soil on Thursday.

They died along with their grandfather, Nick Norris, after a missile shot the Malaysia Airlines jet out of the sky on 17 July, killing 298 people.

Anthony Maslin and Marite Norris said: "Our lives are an ongoing hell.

The plane was shot down in eastern Ukraine, killing 298 people

"The pain we are enduring is unfathomable, and we grieve alongside families in the Ukraine, the Netherlands, Russia, Malaysia, Australia and elsewhere.

"Please respect our children's memory, and stop this pointless war.

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1. Gallery: Images Of Flight MH17 Wreckage

   The crash site of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in Ukraine

5. A pro-Russian separatist holds up a stuffed toy found at the crash site

6. Some 298 people were killed when flight MH17, flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was brought down near Grabovo, Donetsk, where Ukrainian forces have been battling separatists

7. Pro-Russian rebels have been accused of stopping investigators accessing the site

8. International pressure is growing on Russia to aid the investigation and apply pressure on the rebels

9. Body parts are now being removed by Ukraine emergency ministry staff. Continue for more images from the crash site

"No hate in the world is as strong as the love we have for our children, for Mo, for Evie, for Otis.

"No hate in the world is as strong as the love we have for Grandad Nick.

"No hate in the world is as strong as the love we have for each other."

The couple paid moving tributes to their three children, who were among 38 Australians killed in the crash.

"We honour Mo - his wisdom, his compassionate heart, and his total selflessness. Mo is peaceful and inclusive," they said.

"We honour Evie and her boundless, unlimited love. She is empathetic, beautiful, funny, artistic and creative.

Video: MH17 'Split Into Pieces' In Flight

"We honour Otis and his complete and humbling fascination with all things outdoors, big and small, near and far.

"Oti provides all of us with carefree joy and laughter - perhaps the most powerful gift of all."

The Boeing 777 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was shot down over rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine.

The Maslin children had been travelling home to Perth with their grandfather while their parents stayed on in the Netherlands to enjoy a few extra days of holiday.

The couple go on to say they have been two of the "luckiest and happiest people on the planet" and their love for their children will never weaken.

"Our children were taken from us by a war in which we, and our country had no part. It is impossible to understand the reason they were blown out of the sky," they said.

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1. Gallery: Impact Marks On MH17 Fuselage

   These stills were released by the Dutch Safety Board on September 9, 2014

2. They show clearly visible puncture marks scattered across the fuselage of MH17

3. On July 17, the Malaysia Airlines flight lost all 298 passengers and crew

4. The plane was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur

5. The disaster occurred over an area of Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian separatists

6. Crash investigators say it was probably downed by "a large number of high-energy objects"

7. The Dutch Safety Board has ruled out technical fault or human error

Australia wants investigation teams to re-examine the crash site.

Australia's foreign minister, Julie Bishop, recently held a "detailed discussion" with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

She said she received assurances from Mr Putin that he would help get access to the site, but could not give details of when that might happen.

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Texas Hospital Apologises For Ebola Failings

The Dallas hospital at the heart of three US ebola cases has taken out a full-page newspaper advert to apologise for its failings.

Barclay Berdan, the CEO of Texas Health Presbyterian, said that "mistakes were made in handling a very difficult challenge" after two nurses contracted the deadly virus from Thomas Eric Duncan.

The 42-year-old, from Liberia, was the first person to be diagnosed with ebola outside West Africa.

Thomas Eric Duncan died at the Texas Presbyterian Hospital. Pic: Facebook

But in an open letter, published in the Dallas Morning News, the hospital admitted it "did not correctly diagnose his symptoms as those of ebola – and for this, we are deeply sorry".

Mr Berdan added: "In short, despite our best intentions and skilled medical teams, we did not live up to the high standards that are the heart of our hospital's history, mission and commitment."

Video: Obama: I've Hugged Ebola Nurses

The executive used the advert to reject accusations that his hospital fell short of CDC guidelines on treating ebola, amid criticism over how two of its nurses, Nina Pham and Amber Vinson, contracted the disease from Mr Duncan.

"Many of the theories and allegations being presented in the media do not align with facts stated in the medical record and the accounts of caregivers present on the scene," Mr Berdan wrote.

Texas Presbyterian, which said it is "praying these US-based cases of ebola will also be the last", has seen its patient numbers plummet since becoming one of the first hospitals in the States to deal with ebola.

Some people in desperate need of emergency treatment have asked paramedics to take them to other hospitals further away, while hundreds of others have cancelled their appointments.

Video: No UK Checks On African Passengers

"It feels like a ghost town. No one is even walking around the hospital," one worker told local television.

The plummeting confidence among prospective patients in Dallas came as President Obama urged Americans not to "give in to hysteria or fear" over the ebola virus.

Elsewhere in Texas, a cruise ship carrying a quarantined Presbyterian worker has docked in Galveston after it was refused entry into some foreign harbours.

Described as a "floating petri dish" by one traveller, the Carnival Magic ship arrived on Sunday afternoon and a lab technician on-board was allowed to leave after showing no ebola symptoms.

Video: Ebola In UK - What Would You Do?

There were fears the medic may have come into contact with bodily fluids from Mr Duncan that had been submitted for tests.

Meanwhile, Rwandan's foreign minister has told Sky News it will take more than international money to beat the outbreak in Africa.

Louise Mushikiwabo said containment at source and "continued innovation" were vital to stop ebola spreading.

Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea are worst hit by the disease but Nigeria's containment efforts have seen it avoid the outbreak.

Video: U.S. President Appeals For Calm

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