Pistorius 'In Love' With Reeva: Exclusive

Reeva Steenkamp: The Girl Behind The Name

Updated: 2:00pm UK, Friday 28 February 2014

Reeva Steenkamp was born in the South African city of Cape Town in August 1983, to horse trainer Barry Steenkamp and his second wife, June.

The family later moved to Port Elizabeth where she and her siblings grew up.

She attended St Dominic's Priory High School and, at the age of 15, entered a beauty competition organised through her local newspaper where she was spotted by the paper's then beauty editor, Barbara Robertson

"She was 15, and a young 15," Ms Robertson told Sky News.

"There was nothing sophisticated about her. She was sweet, down to earth, earthy ... just one of those girls who had the 'it' factor ... a little bit (of an) early Kate Moss."

While friends speak of an ultimate desire to marry and have a family, the young woman always expected to enjoy a career of her own.

She took a law degree in case her modelling career did not work out.

But the modelling side took off and the gauche, unsophisticated girl from Port Elizabeth moved on to Johannesburg to seek her success.

Originally a brunette, Steenkamp dyed her hair blonde and soon after broke into the glossy world of magazine modelling.

She made the cover of FHM but, said Ms Robertson, the model remained true to herself.

"The front pages made out she was this brazen blonde with boobs hanging out," she said in an interview with The Guardian.

"She was more than a model. She was Reeva. She had studied law at university. I don't think she was seeking bright lights and fame and fortune.

"She was spreading her wings. If she got noticed, what's wrong with that? It doesn't make her a celeb-seducer."

While she continued modelling and was popular on South Africa's A-list circuit, Steenkamp's legal ambitions appeared to resurface.

The future looked bright as she applied to the Bar in 2011, hoping to qualify as a legal advocate by 2013.

Her TV career also looked promising, with a part in a reality TV show Tropika Island of Treasure that looked likely to lead to further opportunities in her professional life.

In November 2012, she began going out with Oscar Pistorius and the couple were said to be deeply in love.

Three months later, Reeva Steenkamp was dead.

:: Sky News will have live coverage of the trial from Monday, with a special highlights programme at 9.30pm.

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Moazzam Begg Denies Syria Terror Charges

Ex-Guantanamo detainee Moazzam Begg has denied charges of providing terrorist training and funding terrorism overseas.

The 45-year-old British citizen, from Hall Green, Birmingham, was one of four people arrested earlier this week on suspicion of terrorism offences linked to the Syria conflict.

He appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court today alongside a woman, Gerrie Tahari, 44, of Sparkbrook, Birmingham, who also denied funding terrorism overseas.

Begg was remanded in custody and will next appear at the Old Bailey on March 14.

Both were arrested on Tuesday with two other men held on suspicion of facilitating terrorism overseas.

Begg was released from Guantanamo Bay in January 2005

The pair - a 36-year-old man from Shirley, Solihull, and a 20-year-old man from Sparkhill, Birmingham, who is the son of Tahari - remain in police custody.

Begg was held by the US government at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba for nearly three years after being arrested in Pakistan in February 2002.

He was detained on suspicion of being a member of al Qaeda before being released without charge in January 2005.

He was allowed to return to the UK where he was arrested by police before being released without charge.

Begg is a director of Cage - which campaigns "against the War on Terror" - and has always maintained that he has never been involved in any kind of terrorist activity.

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Ukraine Says Russia Has Sent In 6,000 Troops

Ukraine's Defence Minister says Moscow has sent 6,000 troops into the country, as it was confirmed Russian soldiers are on the streets in the southeastern region of Crimea.

The country's military are on high alert amid the deepening crisis, with reports Russian forces are trying to seize control of an anti-aircraft missile base.

The pro-Moscow Prime Minister of Crimea Sergei Aksenov, who appealed to Russia for help in keeping the peace there, has confirmed service personnel from the Black Sea Fleet, which is based in the Crimean city of Sevastopol, were guarding key buildings.

And in an apparent orchestrated move, a referendum on whether residents in Crimea want greater independence from Ukraine has been brought forward by two months to March 30.

Russia's Foreign Ministry has also claimed there had been an overnight attempt by "unidentified gunmen sent from Kiev" to seize the offices of Crimea's interior ministry.

It said in a statement: "As a result of the treacherous provocation, there are wounded.

"With decisive actions by self-defence groups, the attempt to seize the interior ministry building was averted.

"This confirms the desire of prominent political circles in Kiev to destabilise the peninsula."

After unrest in Kiev, tensions have shifted to the Crimea region

Russia's Lower House of Parliament has called on President Vladimir Putin "to take measures to stabilise the situation in Crimea".

US President Barack Obama has warned Moscow that any military intervention in Ukraine would be "deeply destabilising".

It came after armed men, suspected of being Russian soldiers, took control of key airports and other sites in Crimea.

Russian helicopter gunships have also been seen in Ukrainian airspace.

Ukraine's Prime Minister said his country would not be drawn into a military conflict by Russian "provocations", and appealed to Moscow to halt military movements in the region.

Arseny Yatseniuk said: "It is unacceptable when armoured Russian military vehicles are out in the centre of Ukrainian towns."

Mr Obama has called on Russia to respect the independence and territory of Ukraine.

"Any violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity would be deeply destabilising," he said.

"The United States will stand with the international community in affirming that there will be costs for any military intervention in Ukraine."

British Foreign Secretary William Hague will visit the country on Sunday and hold talks with Ukraine's new leaders.

Crimea has become a flashpoint for tensions between Russia and Ukraine after the overthrow of President Viktor Yanukovych, a Moscow ally, following months of protests which escalated into deadly violence.

Ukraine's population is divided in loyalties between Russia and the West, with much of western Ukraine advocating closer ties with the European Union while eastern and southern regions look to Russia for support.

Crimea has 2.3 million inhabitants, most of whom identify themselves as ethnic Russians and speak Russian.

More follows...

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Clegg: 'We Don't Want Full-Blown NI Crisis'

Nick Clegg has told Sky News the Government is urgently looking at a judicial inquiry into amnesties on IRA terrorists.

The Deputy Prime Minister said the Government wanted to avoid a "full-blown crisis" in Northern Ireland in the wake of the furore over the collapse of the trial of the Hyde Park bombing suspect John Downey.

Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson on Wednesday threatened to resign unless the Government agreed to hold a public inquiry into the secret amnesty letters given to 187 Republican paramilitaries.

The Democratic Unionist Party leader set the deadline for the end of the day on Thursday.

He has requested the recall of the devolved Assembly to discuss the row and has claimed that the government deal that saw IRA terror suspects assured they would not be prosecuted also involved the granting of royal pardons.

Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers is to hold urgent talks with with Deputy First Minister, Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness in an attempt to try to prevent the collapse of the Stormont coalition between his party and the dominant Democratic Unionist Party. The two will meet at Stormont Castle.

Mr Clegg, who said he was aware of the letters "some months" ago, said: "It's a very serious issue. We are looking urgently at what Mr Robinson has said and demanded. We are obviously doing a very quick review of all the other letters in existence.

"We are urgently considering his view that there should be a sort of full inquiry. We don't want this to escalate into a full-blown political crisis in Northern Ireland however much we totally understand the strength of feeling around this and that is why during the course of the day we will of course seek to respond to a lot of the very strongly-held views expressed by Peter Robinson and others."

The case of Mr Downey, who is suspected of involvement in the 1982 Hyde Park bombing which killed four members of the Household Cavalry and seven of their horses, collapsed on Tuesday.

Mr Downey was told he would not be prosecuted because of a letter he had been sent by Northern Ireland police in 2007 despite an outstanding arrest warrant. 

Some 187 letters have been sent out as part of the peace process - 38 have been sent since the coalition came to power in 2010, although the applications were received before then, and the last was in December 2012.

Mr Robinson claims he had no knowledge of the letters, brokered in an apparently secret deal between Labour and Sinn Fein, sent to "On-The-Runs" and has called for them all to be rescinded.

When asked whether he thought it was strange that Mr Robinson did not know about the letter Mr Clegg said that it would have been better had there been "open discussions" about it.

Speaking on Wednesday, Mr Robinson said: "I have to say quite frankly that I am not prepared to be the First Minister of a government that is kept in the dark on matters that are relevant to what we are doing."

In an interview with Sky News the DUP leader also raised Royal Pardons, which he said had been used to grant IRA terror suspects an effective amnesty for offences.

He said: "It appears that we are not just dealing with on-the-runs who received letters, but we are also dealing with people who received the Royal Prerogative of Mercy – that indicates there were offences involved.

"So we are not talking just about people who it is believed that the police did not have sufficient evidence to make a prosecution stick – that makes it a very serious matter."

Sinn Fein has said that if the letters are rescinded then it will threaten the whole peace process leading to the Good Friday Agreement.

Defence Minister Anna Soubry, a former barrister, has warned there was no chance of a judicial review.

"You can't judicially review the decision," she said. "You can appeal it, the prosecution can appeal it. The Crown Prosecution Service has taken the view that these are not the right circumstances to appeal it."

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Rigby's Mum 'Collapsed' After Killers Brawl

Lee Rigby's mother collapsed and needed medical treatment after the dramatic sentencing hearing that saw her son's raging killers bundled out of court by guards.

Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale exploded with anger after judge Mr Justice Sweeney said they had betrayed Islam when they hacked the soldier to death near Woolwich barracks.

The pair were taken to their cells where they continued screaming, and the judge sentenced them in their absence.

Afterwards, Mrs Rigby said her legs "went from underneath me", and an ambulance was called.

Paramedics checked her blood pressure, before deciding she was well enough to return home.

The 47-year-old told The Sun newspaper: "This was the final insult to Lee. It was like they were jumping all over his grave.

"As they started fighting all I could think was that was how it must have been as they hacked and killed my son. I tried to block out the noises and shouting by covering my ears.

"There was so much banging and chaos. I felt so ill I thought I was going to die. I screamed out and the police rushed to protect me and my family.

"I was terrified the glass screen around the dock was going to smash and I couldn't even breathe properly.

"Even when they were dragged downstairs I could still hear them screaming.

"I don't think I have ever felt so frightened. But I was determined to see it through to the end for Lee."

Adebolajo, 29, was given a whole-life term, and Adebowale, 22, was jailed for at least 45 years.

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Ukraine: Russia Puts Fighter Jets On Alert

Fighter jets have been put on combat alert by Russia along its border with Ukraine as it pledged to defend the rights of its "compatriots" in the strife-torn country.

It came amid escalating tensions after armed men seized the parliament building and the regional government headquarters in the southern Ukrainian region of Crimea, and hoisted Russian flags.

It is also being reported that deposed Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has been spotted in a luxury five-star hotel outside Moscow.

Police outside the parliament building after it was stormed by armed men

Insisting he is still president, Mr Yanukovych is said to be seeking a guarantee for his safety from the actions of "extremists".

The dawn raid in the Crimean capital of Simferopol saw up to 50 gunmen in combat fatigues storm the official buildings, erect barricades, and put up signs saying 'Crimea is Russian'.

They are also reported to be wearing black and orange ribbons, a Russian symbol of victory in World War Two.

Ukraine's acting president Oleksandr Turchinov has appealed for calm, and branded the armed raiders as "criminals in military fatigues".

The parliament building has been seized in Simferopol

He also urged Russian forces not to leave their base in southern Crimea, warning that it "would be considered a military aggression".

Ukraine's interim interior minister Arsen Avakov said security forces had been put on alert  in Simferopol and the buildings cordoned off "to prevent bloodshed".

Crimea is an autonomous republic in the south of Ukraine, around 500 miles from the capital Kiev.

There are mounting signs of separatism in the region which has strong ties to Moscow, and where the majority of the population are Russian speakers.

A Russian flag is flying over the Crimean parliament

On Wednesday there was a confrontation between pro-Russia separatists and ethnic Tatars, who support Ukraine's new leaders, outside the parliament building.

Russia has questioned the legitimacy of the new Ukrainian authorities, and has pledged to defend the rights of its "compatriots".

It would react "uncompromisingly" if these were violated, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

President Vladimir Putin has put the military on alert for major exercises, and announced measures to tighten security at the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea Fleet in Crimea.

Barricades have been erected by the gunmen

The move prompted a rebuke from US Secretary of State John Kerry, who warned Russia against any military intervention in Ukraine.

Stressing the Ukraine crisis should not be seen in a Cold War context, he said: "I want to underscore to everybody that this is not Rocky 4. It is not a zero-sum game."

Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has also said he was concerned about developments in Ukraine's Crimea, and urged Russia not to do anything that would "escalate tension or create misunderstanding".

It came as Russia confirmed it will take part in talks on an International Monetary Fund (IMF) financial package for Ukraine, where the economic situation continues to worsen after months of unrest.

Debt-hit Ukraine has said it needs $35bn (£21bn) over the next two years to avoid bankruptcy.

The European Commission says Russia should be included in efforts to provide financial assistance.

Ukraine has also seen continuous devaluation of its currency amid the political upheaval, which led to Mr Yanukovych being toppled.

He is now a fugitive, wanted in connection with the deaths of around 100 people during the recent violence.

Ukraine's new government is expected to be formally approved by parliament on Thursday, and faces the hugely complex task of restoring stability in the country.

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Flood Spending Claim Contradicted By Watchdog

PM Pledges Help On Visit To 'Biblical' Floods

Updated: 2:24am UK, Saturday 08 February 2014

David Cameron has told residents of flood-hit Somerset that mistakes were made in the past which have contributed to the crisis.

Speaking following widespread criticism of the Government's response to the crisis, the Prime Minister said it was "wrong" to stop dredging in the Levels in the 1990s, adding: "We need to get dredging again."

His first visit to the region since the floods began late last year came after that of Environment Agency chairman Lord Smith, who insisted he was very proud of the body's work.

"Clearly people here faced a tough time and continue to face a tough time and that's why we've got to do everything we can to help," Mr Cameron said as he visited a flooded farm in Fordgate.

"Everything that can be done, will be done and I'll make sure that happens. There are always lessons to learn and I'll make sure they are learned.

"I've said that when the water-levels are down and it's safe to dredge, to make sure that these rivers and these ditches can carry a better capacity of water."

Mr Cameron wore wellington boots as he walked round Tony Davy's farm and met fire service workers pumping from the property.

He described the scene at the frarm, where the water was knee-high, as "biblical".

The Prime Minister then visited evacuated residents at a private meeting in nearby Bridgwater.

Royal Marines were earlier drafted in to help people in Moorlands to safety after flood defences broke on Thursday night.

Lord Smith attempted to brush of criticism of the handling of the flooding, telling reporters: "I have no intention of resigning. I'm very proud of the work of the Environment Agency and its staff in the face of the most extreme weather."

"Local people have made very clear the distress they've experienced and the difficulties they've been facing."

He also said an extra £130m pledged by the Government would make a significant difference and that dredging would begin as soon as flood waters recede.

But local Conservative MP Ian Liddell-Grainger called the Environment Agency boss a "coward" and said he had not been given any details of the visit.

"I will tell him what I bloody well think of him - he should go, he should walk," he said.

"I'm livid. This little git has never even been on the telephone to me. When I find out where he is, I will give it to him."

Meanwhile, England's southern coastline looks likely to suffer more flooding as forecasters warn of large waves and strong winds.

Devon and Dorset coasts have already suffered major damage after being pummelled by the week's storms.

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RBS Reaches Deal To Award £550m Bonus Pot

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is to pay approximately £550m in staff bonuses for 2013 after securing the agreement of the Treasury agency that is its biggest shareholder.

Sky News has learnt that the taxpayer-backed bank will disclose the sum - which is higher than previous reports had suggested - alongside its annual results on Thursday.

The bonus pot for 2013 is certain to reignite a row over pay at RBS because it will also announce a loss for the year estimated at £8bn, the biggest since its bail-out by the Government in 2008.

UK Financial Investments (UKFI), the body which manages taxpayers' stake in the bank, is understood to have signed off on the payments in recent days.

The sum of around £550m will represent a fall on the 2012 bonus pot of £679m of just under 20%, which Chancellor George Osborne is expected to cite as evidence that RBS is exhibiting restraint on bonus payments.

Last year's figure was further reduced by £72m to £607m because of the clawback of previous years' deferred bonuses, undertaken as a consequence of RBS's £390m fine for its role in the Libor-rigging scandal.

RBS is expected to have reduced the 2013 bonus pool by at least £25m under a commitment it gave 12 months ago to reduce bonuses in subsequent years.

It is unclear whether RBS will also announce a plan on Thursday to seek shareholder approval at its annual general meeting in May to allow it to pay bonuses worth double the value of senior employees' basic salaries.

Other UK banks are planning to do so, but RBS found itself at the centre of another political row last month when Labour leader Ed Miliband urged David Cameron to use the Government's stake to block any such request.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Mr Cameron told Sky News: "With our particular responsibility for RBS, I can tell you that I don't only want to see the level of pay and bonuses come down overall, I want to see it come down per-person, per-capita as well."

The Prime Minister said last month that new European rules on bankers' pay, which the Government is challenging, could exacerbate the riskiness of banks.

He said: "This European directive... in some ways might make things worse, because you could see rates of pay go up.

"You can claw back a bonus, the taxpayer can get the money back. You can't claw back [basic] pay."

Thursday's bonus announcement will come as Ross McEwan, RBS's new chief executive, unveils a plan that will mean the bank's 120,000-strong workforce shrinking to barely two-thirds of that number following the sale and closure of several business units.

RBS and UKFI declined to comment.

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Russia Says Ukraine 'Fascism' Must Be Condemned

The "nationalist and neo-fascist" sentiment in western Ukraine must be "decisively condemned", Russia's foreign minister has said.

Sergei Lavrov's warning came as Ukraine's acting interior minister said he had disbanded the elite Berkut riot police that protesters blamed for scores of deaths in last week's clashes.

Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov

Mr Lavrov made his call to democracy watchdog the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which he also said should condemn attempts by nationalists to ban the Russian language in Ukraine.

"Lavrov called on the OSCE to decisively condemn the rise of nationalist and neo-fascist sentiment in the west of the country, (to condemn) calls to ban the Russian language, to turn the Russian-speaking population into 'non-citizens' and to restrict freedom of expression," his ministry said in a statement.

References to fascism are evocative of the Cold War period, when authorities in the East routinely described the West as fascist.

It came as Ukraine's acting interior minister, Arsen Avakov, announced the end of the riot police unit involved in violence that left almost 100 people dead last week.

"The Berkut is no more," he wrote on his Facebook account.

"I have signed Decree No 144, dated February 25, 2014 on the dissolution of the Berkut special police units of civil defence."

Members of Ukraine's Berkut riot police unit

Britain and the US had earlier sought to ease tensions, saying Ukraine should not be a battleground between East and West.

Foreign Secretary William Hague, after talks with his American counterpart John Kerry, backed Ukraine's territorial integrity amid fears that the nation could be torn apart following the protests that ousted pro-Moscow president Viktor Yanukovych.

"This is a country that needs financial assistance from many sources, including from Russia," Mr Hague said.              

"It's not about pulling them away from Russia. It's about enabling them to make their own choices."

Mr Kerry said: "This is not a zero-sum game, it is not a West versus East.

Those who died in the Kiev clashes are being mourned

"This is about the people of Ukraine and Ukrainians making their choice about their future."

His comments echoed those previously made by Mr Lavrov, who had said: "We confirmed our principled position of non-intervention in Ukraine's internal affairs.

"We are interested in Ukraine being part of the European family, in all senses of the word. It is dangerous and counterproductive to force Ukraine into a choice."

Meanwhile, former president Mr Yanukovych has been missing since Friday when he fled Kiev. He is wanted by police in the country on charges of mass murder.

Hundreds of mourners have been gathering in the centre of Kiev where flowers and other tributes have been left in honour of those who died.

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