pistorius arrived at the pretoria courthouse a short time ago. pictures from a little earlier. he's expected to face another grueling day of cross-examination from prosecutor gerry nel. we've seen that over the past two days. it has been relentless. he's been accused of being a liar, accused of being over emotional and pretending to not be able to remember questions he's been asked. has been relentless, the back and forth. we expect much more of the same today. >> we'll bring in our legal analyst, kelly phelps, outside the courthouse in pretoria. we saw yesterday as nel was again aggressive, he was able to get pistorius to admit that he had no reason to shoot into the dark in the bathroom. what else was accomplished yesterday? >> reporter: that admission from a legal perspective was actually ironically not particularly significant. the reason for that is if we look at the colloquial terminology being used and trace that back to the legal rule that was being suggested, when he said "objectively speaking," he started by saying "objectively speaking

we are live in pretoria. >> we had students running about, trying to get out of the area. a lot of evidence of blood on the floors in the hallway. >> another american school wracked by violence. a 16-year-old allegedly wields knives on his fellow students leaving a community asking "why?" plus take you live to perth, australia for the latest on the multinational search for flight 370. >>> hello, everyone. you are watching cnn newsroom. i am rosemary church. >> a big welcome to viewers in the u.s. and around the world. thank you for joining us. did oscar pistorius shoot and kill his girlfriend reeva by mistake or is there something more to the story? >> the question is central to the olympic athlete's murder trial set to resume shortly. prosecutors will be cross-examining pistorius for a second straight day in 30 minutes. we will of course bring you that live. >> the prosecution questioned pistorius aggressively on wednesday. they showed a video of the accused shooting watermelons at a gun range followed by a graphic picture of his girlfriend's wounded head. again, pistoriu

karin thanks very much live in pretor pretoria. >>> the u.s. navy says a remote control satellite has found no sign of mh 370. it exceeded the operating limit and cut short. phil was told the aborted mission is not a major setback. >> there was no material problem, no failure of the seas system. it was just an oversite in the programming. something we weren't expecting with the water depth. we have adapted. we'll relaunch the system as soon as the weather clears. >> we have analyze had the material, that side scan sew so nar results. be the bottom is filthy. there are rocks. in the area we recovered there was no evidence of aircraft at that site. we have about 70% of that first assigned search area to go look at. once we relaunch the system it will go do. >> what extend are you confident otherwise the wreckage will be found using this underwater technology? >> it could definitely result we don't have evidence of the aircraft and need to step back, reassess the search plan and figure out how to conduct the more strategic long duration, longer ex

we'll hear from our legal analyst in pretoria. and of course we'll bring you today's cross-examination as soon as it gets underway. >>> for our viewers in the u.s., "early start" and "new day" will also have special coverage of the trial throughout the morning. >>> the white house says brim and vladimir putin had a frank and direct conversation on monday. >> yeah. the u.s. and russian leader spoke by phone about the crisis in ukraine. mr. obama urge police department putin to press pro--- urged putin m to help prevent the use of force. but as pro-russia unrest spread, the acting president called for u.n. peacekeepers in eastern ukraine. europe is blaming russia for the crisis and is threatening more sanctions against moscow. >>> russia insists it is not interfering with events in ukraine. and as jim sciutto reports, the u.s. and others say that's simply not true. [ crowd noise ] >> reporter: in one eastern ukrainian town after another, pro-russian militant storming government buildings and seizing them at gunpoint. as ukrainian fo

our legal analyst kelly phelps is outside of the courthouse in pretoria. we are going to crossover to mist pistorius' testimony as soon as it begins. as we wait, explain how emotional yesterday was and why you expect today to be more so. >> reporter: well, it was very emotional when he was giving his apology to the steenkamp family. as he began his testimony in chief, he calmed down and found some composure again. it has always been since the beginning of the trial when the discussion has turned to the actual events of the night in question that he has found the most difficult emotionally to deal with that and maintain his composure. we expect today that is what his testimony will largely focus on. he still needs to address the gun charges. other than that, all that is left -- >> we are going to jump in. we understand that oscar pistorius has begun his testimony. let's listen in to what he says. >> that afternoon i went back to my friend's place and i was getting ready for sports awards, african sports awards function and i said to him that i completely fo

that's the scene in pretoria as the court adjourns for lunch. we're expecting more cross-examination, more very tough, very aggressive cross-examination from gerrie nel when the court resumes after lunch, tim. >> karin giannone in pretoria. thank you very much, indeed. >>> in a dramatic escalation of tension in ukraine, the country's interior minister has said that the crisis in eastern ukraine will be resolved within 48 hours either through negotiations or by force. pro-russian protesters are still occupying some government buildings in donetsk and luhansk which they took over on sunday. meanwhile president putin is meeting officials in moscow to discuss russia's economic ties with ukraine, focusing on energy and gas. let's go to david stern who joins us live from kiev. these comments by the interior minister, david, have these talks begun? >> reporter: well, no. they have the authorities outside of the security services building in lia gans k. that's where the activists have taken over. they allegedly have hostages and are wired for explosives

of the socket on sportsnet about which you can thank the forty pm beijing time we brought to the pretoriafor us through our show we back with the ladies on the stories cross examination is the truth about today the classroom. the it should the thompson and what ensued after ten. the park in the administration has done no big plans to reintroduce the same oblong don't which was a driving force behind korea's economic growth in the nineteen seventies and now it's spreading throughout the world. on today's after ten were joined by e g how president of the same on globalization foundation to

>>> you're watching special coverage from pretoria where pistorius is examined by the cross examiner.e's been attacking his character, painting a picture of a man that bullied his girl friend. >>> bbc world news. the main headlines. oscar pistorius asked about his relationship with reeva steenkamp. the cross-examination has been attacking his character. he says he was insin sooer in his apology. >>> the third day of polg in india's staggering lerks. more than 100 million vote in 14 states including deli and pradesh. >>> the search for the flight is narrowing. investigators are scouring the smallest area to date after four aft acoustic signals were heard this week. >>> governments including britain's stock pile of the drug tamiflu amid concerns over the spread of bird flu. >>> so we can now go back to pretoria where oscar pistorius is questioned about the chief prosecutor. we saw him a moment ago. >> i don't remember even now where the place was where i met mr. bear. >> do you criticize her for not knowing but you don't know? >> the question was put to me from mrs. taylor knowing mr. b

. >>> let's go live now to pretoria. that is the site of government buildings, and tonya paige is there, outside union building. tonya, we understand that president zuma is about to speak. >> yes, exactly. he is going to speak in the next few minutes or so. we have heard a little election earring at the main event marking freedom day. i think we'll hear a little more from him. he's sure to highlight the achievements, building nearly 3 million homes, and thousands of schools well. this, of course, is a day where hundreds gathered in celebration of a moment us aigs. people remembered voting for the first time. one is with me now. you voted for the first time nearly 20 years ago. what do you remember of that day? how were you feeling? >> very, very much good. i'm so happy. because for the first time when i started i was expected, because all the time we couldn't vote in south africa. you couldn't vote. we didn't have any speech. but that day it was a wonderful day. i felt it very much happy. >> how different is life in the

we've been watching from outside the courtroom in pretoria. awkward moment there. >> reporter: yes, geeta. there were gasps inside the court. gasps outside here. it was extremely distressing. gerrie nel went on to making a direct comparison about shooting a watermelon, his comparison that it was softer than brain to, look, here's a picture of reeva steenkamp dead on the floor and this is what you did to her brains. on to saying the same thing here. at that point the court was shown that picture of oscar pistorius's girlfriend dead with a terrible head wound. apologies for that going on air and causing distress certainly of our viewers. but oscar pistorius was told by gerrie nel to look at that picture and he replied in tears i don't want to look at that picture. i don't want to be tormented. i was there. i touched reeva steenkamp's head. i know what i did. i do not need to be tormented with this. at that point he became inconsolable and the court said after a few moments was adjourned again. a very, very dramatic last few minutes in court, gee

next, the cross-examination of oscar pistorius is underway in pretoria.sday he broke down uncontrollably while talking about how he found the body of his girlfriend on the floor of his home. he says he shot her through the door after mistaking her for an intruder. today the chief prosecutor hit hard from the start in the cross-examination, demanding the athlete openly say he killed his girlfriend. sportsman known throughout the world. >> i think i was, my lady. i made a terrible mistake. >> you made a mistake? you kill the person, that's what you did. >> i mean -- i made a mistake. >> you killed reeva steenkamp, that is what you did. >> i made a mistake. >> what was your mistake? >> that i took her life. >> you shot and killed her. you killed her. or you take responsibility for that eschenbach say yes. say that i shot and killed reeva steenkamp. >> that trial has adjourned for lunch. we will be bringing you the latest on what is happening there as we get it here. a bombher world news -- in pakistan has left at least 20 dead, the worst attack in several ye

thank you, kelly, in pretoria. >>> breaking news overnight.severe storms tearing down homes in the south and the danger does not stop there. indra petersons is here to track the latest. that's coming up next. >>> boston and the nation pause today to mark a solemn anniversary, one year since the bomb attack on the boston marathon, an attack that left 3 dead and more than 260 people injured. a memorial ceremony is set for this afternoon, bringing together the survivors, those who helped them and their families, and there will be a moment of silence to mark the exact time when the first bomb went off. and still, the city seems more focused on moving forward than looking back. look at this. boston strong banners hang everywhere, and the marathon will go on as scheduled next week. a lot of the runners taking to the course say that they are doing this to honor those who were impacted by the bombing. >>> all right, it could be another dangerous weather day from the south to the northeast. severe storms marching their way east. take a look at these pi

on valentine's day he fired four bullets into the bathroom in his pretoria home, killing her instantlyhe judge suspending proceedings apparently to give pistorius the opportunity to compose himself. but his howls intensified. pistorius would come back into the court but wouldn't say another word. >> i cannot responsibly ask the court to carry on today. >> reporter: oscar pistorius walking out of court after crumpling on the witness stand. in court we watched as he started to sob and then wail. the question in the courtroom and around the country were the agonized howls helping or hurting his case. the man known as the blade runner, ascended olympic heights. for the past month. sitting in the front bench in the packed pra tore yal courtroom. for days on end, testimony about the body or blood spatter that had pistorius doubled over, wretching and heaving. often seen wrapping his hand around his head. plugging his ears with his thumbs. today it was the blade runner's turn to describe the scene that night. >> i thought that there was an intruder into my home. the first thing that ran throu

cnn, pretoria. >> we are moments away from oscar pistorius' continued testimony in pretoria. >> afterhe break we will be there with live coverage. do stay with us. she didn't tell him that her college expenses were going up. or that she maxed out her card during spring break. when the satellite provider checked his credit, he found out his daughter didn't pay her bills. but he's not worried. now he checks his credit report and score at experian.com, allowing him to keep track of his credit and take a break of his own. experian. live credit confident.

>> you're watching bbc news special coverage from pretoria of the oscar pistorius trial. we're watching cross-examination by prosecutor gerrie nel. >> you're thinking every step of the way. you're thinking about holding your gun, covering yourself. now you want to tell the court on this i didn't think? is that what you're saying? >> it's correct my lady. >> isn't your defense that you thought that you were in danger and wanted to shoot the person that put you in danger? is is that your defense? >> no, my lady. >> you're saying no? >> is that two questions? >> i'll do it again. is it your defense that you fired at the attacker? >> no, my lady. >> i'll put it different. did you fire at the deceased attacker? >> i fired at the door my lady. >> but listen to my question mr. pistorius. i'm not going to let this one go. is it your defense you fired at the attacker? >> no, that's not right. >> then what is your defense? >> i defense is that i said my lady, i heard a noise and didn't have time to interpret and fired my firearm out of fear my lady. >> then out of fear, by accident

kelly phelps in pretoria.hanks, kelly. >>> also breaking news in the search for missing malaysia flight 370. crews detected new signals in the indian ocean. new audio signals that could be from the black boxes. now, account wreckage be found before the batteries run out? and could we finally learn why this plane vanished midair without a trace? investigators have a very good hope that they're narrowing in on this jet. we're live next. he conversation. she didn't tell him that her college expenses were going up. or that she maxed out her card during spring break. when the satellite provider checked his credit, he found out his daughter didn't pay her bills. but he's not worried. now he checks his credit report and score at experian.com, allowing him to keep track of his credit and take a break of his own. experian. live credit confident. female announcer: it's sleep train's interest free for 3 event. get three years interest-free financing on beautyrest black, stearns & foster, serta icomfort; even tempur-pedic

the cross-examination of oscar pistorius is again under way today in pretoria.he south african track stars under investigation for the murder of his girlfriend last year. he said he shot her dead by mistake, thinking she was an intruder. we are now in the second week of the witness stand. the prosecutor was once again very aggressive in his grilling. to tell us more, let's bring in james flanigan. it has been another emotional day there. the court is adjourned a few times due to him crying again. >> yes, it has. we have been back and forth in the way that we were poor the start of the trial. oscar was very emotional. he has held it together the last few days. today, it was a bad day. i think because harry nell is turning the screws. he is winding up to the end of cross-examination and things are getting very tough for oscar pistorius. he has said i do not believe your crying and breaking down. you are crying and breaking down because you are making mistakes. whatnconsistencies between he says from one day to the next, even from one minute the next, are so obviou

pretoria. kelly, obviously, the goal here of the prosecutor is to poke holes in pistorius's story, that this is all an accident. has it been effective? >> reporter: well, we'll only know how effective it's been at the end of pistorius's time on the stand. after all, after cross examination, his defense lawyer, barry roux, still has the opportunity to re-examine the witness in order to assert key points in their version of events, and perhaps, address some inconsistencies that have come up through cross examination. >> kelly, what about the emotion? i know that several days of this, six days of testimony, the judge here has had to call off testimony for the day. has that tapered off at all? >> reporter: well, it tends to come in sort of ebs. so, right now we're seeing a more calmer period of cross examination, but this is actually a strategy that nel is quite well known for, so we do expect that, again, a crucial period, his aggression and emotion is likely to amp up again. >> and that could, i

the latest from pretoria. >>> hello, everyone. good to have you with us on this thursday. you're watching "cnn newsroom." i'm john vause. >> and i'm rosemary church. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and all around the world. south korea's rescue operations are about to get slammed by heavy weather. >> for now the search does go on. divers looking for nearly 300 people still missing since the ferry capsized. >> the death toll stands at nine but could rise sharply. already grief-stricken relatives are bracing for the worst. >> and just a short time ago the ship's captain apologized. that comes after a similar message from the ship's operator. >> among the passengers were more than 300 high school students on a field trip to the resort island of jeju. many of those rescued are giving disturbing accounts of what happened as the ship quickly sank. >> translator: there was an announcement telling us to sit still on the ferry. but the ferry was already sinking. some of the students were not able to escape. the ferry started to list. so we asked if we should esc

she joins us now live from outside the courthouse in pretoria.bly the worst day in the stand for oscar pistorius. how damning was this? >> reporter: it's not so much that it was necessarily his worst day in the stand because he'll be taking many different things into account in terms of gauging how he's done. and he won't necessarily even be aware of the legal discourse that's happening constantly between the lines when he is speaking in a colloquial manner. it was certainly the state's strongest day in terms of establishing the legal basis of their case. up until now they've spent a lot of time, the states, talking around more peripheral issues, more background issues, things like his character which really will only have limited persuasive value on the judge. finally yesterday, they spent the bulk of the court day speaking about the heart of the legal issues. so for example, establishing testimony from him to go toward establishing legal intention that they need to establish to meet their burden of proof for a murder charge. and also trying to

the oscar pistorius murder trial in pretoria. today, the athlete faced tough questioning about his version of the events on the night he killed his girlfriend reeva steenkamp. he insists he mistook her for an intruder when he fired four shots, but the prosecutor continued to press him. our correspondent, andrew harding, reports. >> for today's, he has been a remorseful, fragile and you're in court. the prosecution decided it was time to remind people who the real victim is. days, he hasr two been a remorseful, rigel -- fragile figure in court. >> i made a mistake. >> you killed her. you shot and killed her. won't you take responsibility for that? say it -- "i shot and killed reeva steenkamp." >> i killed my lady. >> that was just the start. next up, amateur video footage of pistorius with friends. and to reinforce the point, a photo of her head wound, too graphic to show here, came up on the screens in court. relatives were distraught. reeva steenkamp's mother simply bowed her head. pistorius refused to look. >> no, i will not lo

she was thinking of staying the night again at my house in pretoria. then i decided i was too tired and didn't want to stay in johannesburg and go to dinner with justin and our mutual friend that i would rather return home. in the process reeva asked if i'd like her to cook us dinner. she then from the telephone c e correspondence messaged my friend and said she wasn't going to come back to johannesburg. she left and went to go get dinner. she left to get food for dinner. i arrived home shortly after 6:00. i parked my car in the driveway and walked to the front door. i got to the front door. it was locked and the dogs were running around the house. i knocked on the door and -- >> slow down. you're rushing too much. >> i'm sorry my lady. >> i arrived home and reeva was preparing dinner in the kitchen. i chatted with her for a short time. i went upstairs. i wanted to get out of the clothes i had been the in for the day. i went upstairs and got changed and showered. i changed into my pajamas. then i think around 7:00 i went downstairs. >> before we get th

. >> cnn legal analyst kelly phelps is at the courthouse in pretoria.elly, talk a little bit about what pretorius said. despite all the consistencies, his story about handling reeva's body seems to match what he said earlier. what do you make of it? >> reporter: absolutely. and in fact, the state tried to use that to the advantage of the strategy they've been employing. so, we saw nel questioning him for far shorter period over that portion of the evening's events and then put to the court and to mr. pistorius that the reason they don't disagree on any of this is because this is the part of the story that both sides say the same thing. but with regard to the crucial part of the story, that being the moments that he shot her and what he was thinking in those moments, the reason now so many discrepancies there, and therefore, cause for cross examination, is because mr. nel asserts he is not telling the truth. so, clearly, he was trying to tie up this very long process of cross examination by emphasizing the core contention that he has been maintaining the

nbc's mike taibbi has been watching it all from inside the courtroom in pretoria. >> reporter: oscarrius ended his thayer thon tumaratho stand. he repeated his main defense to his own lawyer. >> did you consciously pull the trigger or not? >> i didn't think about pulling the trigger. >> reporter: he stumbled after five days of cross-examination by the prosecutor. the prosecutor seemed conwith us of pistorius' claim that it was self-defense. >> say it then. say yes. i killed, i shot and killed reeva steenkamp. >> i did. >> reporter: he was relentless driving pistorius to emotional meltdowns that stopped the proceedings. >> i did not fire at reeva. >> reporter: the prosecutor nicknamed the pit bull tore holes in his story getting him to admit some key elements had changed. all but calling him a liar. >> i say you've got a concocted version. >> that's because you never said it. >> i think you're trying to cover up for lies. >> reporter: at one point he shocked the court by showing a graphic photo of reeva steenkamp's body. >> it's time you have to look at it. >> i don't have to look at

let's go to pretoria and join my colleague there. we're getting a picture of a volatile but loving, according to him, relationship with his girlfriend. >> reporter: yes, we spent the morning hearing a succession of texts and messages, largely affectionate. a couple of incidents where the couple disa agreed, one that the prosecution used in which reeva steenkamp told oscar sometimes i'm scared of you. the defense tried to put this in a context of a normal relationship where a couple disagrees, getting to know each other. there are episodes of jealousy and then carrying on with affection and kisses, affectionate names used for one another. after the morning tea break, things moved on. oscar pistorius began to get closer and closer to the night describing what happened after they went to bed after supper and sequence of events that led to her fatal shooting. the court adjourned for five minutes. oscar took off his prosthetic limbs and took a walk in the courtroom on his stumps to show the court and judge his height, how he is able to wa

we'll bring you evidence outside the court in pretoria. >>> a u.s. navy underwater drone searching for missings malaysian airliner has to cut short the first dive after reaching the maximum operating death. aaron joins us now. >> indeed. the giant has brought a solar company drone to bring the web to all corners of the world. is this reality or fantasy? google glass go on sale today one day. the price tag, $1,500 u.s. >>> it's midday here in london, 1:00 in the afternoon pretoria and 2:00 eastern ukraine where according to the interim president an operation against pro russian separatists is underway. the operation in the donetsk region would take place in stages he says which would be cautious. we get a look at tanks on the move and increased helicopter opportunities. there are at least nine cities in the east. >> reporter: waiting and wondering, pro russian protestors look entrenched in the buildings of eastern cities of donetsk. in this high stake standoff, who will make the next move. >> translator: an antiterrorist operation began in the region.

oscar pistorius is expected to arrive at the courthouse in pretoria, south africa anytime now for moretestimony in his murder trial. you're actually looking at a live picture there as we await his arrival. the olympic runner broke down on the witness stand tuesday. as he talked about the night he shot and killed his girlfriend, reeva steenkamp. her parents there in the courtroom. today will be the third day of testimony for pri store yus. we'll bring you live coverage of the court proceedings, which will get under way in a little less than an hour from now. pistorius broke down in tears on the witness stand tuesday, he was so overcome with emotion, the judge had to stop the proceedings for the day because of that. and new patricia wu asks paul call fn he thought tuesday's testimony helped pistorius or hurt him? >> i would say both. they're going to help him, i think, get acquitted on the intentional murder count. the premeditated murder count, but i think it's going to lead to his conviction on the next count down, which is culpable homicide. and that's a form of a reckless killing of

and she joins us live from the courthouse in pretoria.et's look at what we can expect out of court proceedings today. >> reporter: well, we can certainly expect gerrie nel to continue with his aggressive strategy to try to trip oscar pistorius up. and essentially, what he's doing with the strategy is trying to set up a track record that impugns pistorius' credibility. the burden he needs to meet is very high. so he needs to set up a scenario with the only reasonable inference that the judge can draw. because with the whole track record with inconsistencies and omissions is that pistorius cannot be telling the truth. >> so when you look at what the prosecutor is trying to do, tell us how successful he has been so far. >> reporter: well, it's very difficult to tell at this stage, because of judge takes all of the evidence in the balance of the whole trial when she makes her determination. he certainly has managed to point out some key arias of improbability. so for example -- >>> i believe kelly phelps there for a moment. court is now in se

i'm matt gutman for "nightline" in pretoria, south africa. >> of course the key will be how does he hold up on cross-examination? thanks, matt. >>> next, from kesha to mindy kaling, body acceptance is having a hollywood moment. but not everybody thinks that's a good thing. why moms are taking sides in the body wars. coming up next. this is jim. a man who doesn't stand still. but jim has afib, atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat not caused by a heart valve problem. that puts jim at a greater risk of stroke. for years, jim's medicine tied him to a monthly trip to the clinic to get his blood tested. but now, with once-a-day xarelto jim's on the move. jim's doctor recommended xarelto. like warfarin, xarelto is proven effective to reduce afib-related stroke risk. but xarelto is the first and only once-a-day prescription blood thinner for patients with afib not caused by a heart valve problem that doesn't require routine blood monitoring. so jim's not tied to that monitoring routine. [ gps ] proceed to the designated route. not today. [ male announcer ] for patients currently well mana

and of course, you're looking here, a live shot outside the courthouse in pretoria. a little later in the show, we will have live coverage of the pistorius' arrival at court and hear from one expert who says gun ownership in south africa is something that is deeply rooted in the country's history. remember to stay with cnn for live coverage of today's testimony. day three for oscar pistorius. for viewers in the u.s., early start and new day we'll have special coverage of the trial throughout the morning. >> and now to other stories we're following for you. russia's former ministry is warning that any crackdown on pro russian demonstrators in ukraine could plunge the country into civil war. scenes like this played out across ukraine. protesters clashing with police. this happened in a number of eastern ukrainian cities on tuesday. and cnn received conflicting reporters over whether demonstrators who seized control of a government building took hostages. and protesters called for a referendum to secede from ukraine. take a look at this dramatic video. a fight breaking

. >> kelly phelps joins us live from pretoria, south africa.th these text messages, because the prosecution is using them in a very interesting way. he's asking pistorius to explain what reeva steenkamp meant in some of these messages, why she was scared, why she felt teased, why she was disgruntled. >> reporter: he's clearly trying -- well, he was clearly trying to back pistorius against a wall and essentially force him to blame the victim for the fight. this is never a good position for an accused person to be in, and i think he was fairly successful at doing that. but it is important to place this evidence in its legal context. in south africa, character evidence is generally not admissible, and it's only been admissible in this case because the accused himself raised evidence of his good character. so, the judge will be very keenly aware of that and the limited persuasive value that character evidence can have in terms of her overall determination. >> state of mind. they're trying to establish what his state of mind might have been before,

robin curnow, cnn, pretoria. >> contentious.'s cross-examination in the oscar pistorius murder trial is set to start just a short time from now. we'll bring you a live report from pretoria next hour. >> of course, as we've done each day, we'll bring you the cross-examination as soon as it begins, as well. >>> tourists and residents are evacuating cities and towns along the northeastern coast of australia. others are preparing for the arrival of a powerful cyclone. the storm has been upgraded to a category 5, that's the maximum, with wind gusts of up to 285 kilometers per hour. the cyclone's expected to make landfall tonight, local time north of cannes. the torrential rains could cause widespread flag. we have our meteorologist, samantha mohr, from the weather center. how damaging could it be? >> it is tremendously damaging and it is huge. as you see, the diameter of the system, tropical storm-force winds cover some 185,000 square kilometers. and this storm has been around for a while, since last weekend, we were talking about it

>> thanks very much outside the court in pretoria. >>> let's pick up on the situation in ukraine once again. eastern ukraine in particular. we can speak now to the secretary of the committee of foreign affairs in ukraine's parliament. she joins on the line from the area close to the city of donetsk. thanks for joining us. given what they have seen now, it is clear isn't it, that the deadline for getting pro russian activists out of government buildings has passed? there's no real suggestion they want to do that. does that make military action inevitable? >> hello everyone. the thing we've seen show us the inability of the military operation which should be considered as the resource to keep civilians safe on the ground as we are now reporting about the casualty. >> right the acting president has spoken about being at war with moscow. what is the evidence to suggest that any of these activists are supported by or coming from russia? >> we have different separatists. those who organize and control and so called special services from russia. those who actually operate on the ground and e

en pretoria, el presidente presidiÓ el aniversario sin nelson mandela, el hÉroe mundial de la lucha contrale de minis papas. varios pequeÑos se vistieron con tÚnicas blancas que imitan la vestimenta del papa mientras abordaban un papamÓvil pequeÑo utilizado por juan pablo ii muy parecido durante su visita en filipinas en 1995. asÍ, en olor de santidad nos despedimos por hoy. le deseamos una muy feliz noche. @

. >> we want to go live to pretoria's high court where oscar pistorius is resuming his testimony. let's listen. >> thank you. mr. pistorius, yesterday the last part of your evidence was with you entering the toilet. can you start there? if it's possible to speak up, mr. pistorius, and maybe lean a bit forward. >> my lady, after i entered the toilet, i leaned over reeva. she was sitting -- with her weight on top of the toilet b l bowl. i checked to see if she was breathing, and she wasn't. i put my arms underneath her shoulders, and i pulled her weight on to me. i sat there crying for some t e time. i had her head on my left shoulder, and i could feel the blood was running down on me. at some point, i heard her breathing. so i immediately put her weight on top of me, and i swivelled around. i sat back with my -- with my bum against the floor and my back up against the wall where the door is on the left-hand side of door, and i pulled her weight on me and turned so i could get her to the -- to the door of the toilet so that i could pick her up. i could see that her arm was -- i coul

in pretoria. 8:30 in london. the courtroom. >>> coming up, search crews for flight 370 are getting ready to look underwater. and we will tell you how the weather may affect the operation. (dad) well, we've been thinking about it and we're just not sure. (agent) i understand. (dad) we've never sold a house before. (agent) i'll walk you guys through every step. (dad) so if we sell, do you think we can swing it? (agent) i have the numbers right here and based on the comps that i've found, the timing is perfect. ...there's a lot of buyers for a house like yours. (dad) that's good to know. (mom) i'm so excited. and his new boss told him two things -- cook what you love, and save your money. joe doesn't know it yet, but he'll work his way up from busser to waiter to chef before opening a restaurant specializing in fish and game from the great northwest. he'll start investing early, he'll find some good people to help guide him, and he'll set money aside from his first day of work to his last, which isn't rocket science

cnn legal analyst kelly phelps is live at the courthouse in pretoria.us through what's happening in the court right now. the prosecutor seems to be doing all he can to go after this defense witness. >> reporter: absolutely. it's unsurprising that the prosecutor is paying so much attention to tearing into this particular witness, because the evidence that this witness is covering is really crucial to the state's case. so, for example, he's been covering and has spent a lot of time today in particular covering the entry points of the bullet wounds and what story that tells about where she would have been standing, in what position, how she would have fallen. and the importance of that to the state's case is that his evidence suggests, or rather, supports the theory that the bullets were fired in quick succession. the state have always used the argument that, in fact, the bullets were fired more slowly, that there was a pause in the firing of the bullets to support their inference of intention, that he knew who he was killing and he meant to kill her. so,

cnn legal analyst kelly phelps at the courthouse in pretoria.etting slight the heart of the situation right now. so many people saying that common sense would dictate, if you believe oscar pistorius, he says he thought there was an intruder. he says that he whispered or spoke in a low voice to his girlfriend to get away, but it defies common sense, a lot of people say, that he didn't wait to hear if there was a response, didn't check more closely to see if she was okay. this seems to be some of the crucial part of the testimony right now. >> reporter: yes, it's absolutely crucial. and of course, the judge doesn't have the liberty to just rely on common sense. she can only base her decision of the official evidence and testimony that's enter ad as a matter of the court record, and that's why nel is spending a lot of time trying to get pistorius to speak around these crucial moments so that he can place on that record testimony that he can then argue in his closing argument, suggest that the only reasonable inference is that it is so improbable th

cnn legal analyst kelly phelps outside the courthouse in pretoria for us. yet. tlrd looks like prosecutors really trying to shake things, shake pistorius up. what's the latest? >> yes, we always expected that the prosecutor was going to come after pistorius in cross-examination. incredibly aggressively. much of their case rests around how effectively they managed to shake pistorius during cross-examination. but another interesting feature that we've seen very early on in cross-examination is essentially the side battle that we expect to see going on between barry roux on one hand. they are both essentially titans of their profession here. they've met each other on a number of occasions. barry roux will know what to expect from harry in cross-examination and he'll constantly be waiting to step up and try and mitigate some of that aggression that kerry nell will be trying to throw at pistorius and try to unsettle him. >> that testimony continues, that cross-examination continuing now. >> what a morning. dramatic testimony in south africa. the discovery of new

we are live in pretoria. >> we had students running about, trying to get out of the area. of evidence of blood on the floors in the hallway. >> another american school wracked by violence. a 16-year-old allegedly wields knives on his fellow students leaving a community asking "why?" plus take you live to perth, australia for the latest on

the bbc is in pretoria. i asked about developments so far in court today. >> reporter: well, mr.xon is still continuing with that testimony, talking specifically about those bullet holes and the trajectories. and also the marks that were made on the door by that cricket bat. that continues. also, more importantly, the judge has also started today's proceedings by giving the performance asked by the state for a -- until the 5th of may to the 17th. but she has also urged the council to take with them the court records with them when they go on holiday to go through them. she says that time cannot be wasted. in terms of how far it has been going. she says the court's time cannot be wasted any longer. >> what about the evidence from the forensic expert? >> reporter: well, the forensic expert is trying to basically undo the damage that has been done by the -- the state, the state's case. so what we've heard is also what he's basically challenging the information that we've heard from the state ballistic expert about the number of shots that hit reeva steenkamp and how they may have do

. >> cnn legal analyst kelly phelps is at the courthouse in pretoria. what do you make of what's happening, what pistorius is saying right now? >> reporter: sorry, can you repeat the question? >> what do you make of what's happening there in the courtroom right now? >> reporter: well, it's a natural continuation of the strategy that nel started yesterday, and we know that this is always going to be his main strategy in cross examination, which is to set up a number of inconsistencies within pistorius's version of events or otherwise improbabilities in terms of the claims that pistorius is making, in order to set up the foundation for the judge to be able to determine at the end of this trial that there is such a track record of lies and inconsistencies that the only reasonable deduction that the judge can make is that he would only lie so much if he were guilty. so, that's the strategy he's employing. and in order to do that, he needs to take quite a predantic approach and put a number of small details on the record so he can bolt towards this track rec

. >> cnn legal analyst kelly phelps is outside the courthouse in pretoria. it's just sad and emotional. yesterday, the judge had to sort of adjourn for the day, he was so emotional on the stand. does it surprise you at all just how emotional he is in recounting this horrific scene? >> reporter: no, it doesn't surprise me, really. i think it's very common when a person's been involved in a very gruesome and traumatic event that they would have certain elements of post traumaic stress, be very emotional about it. you do see that in cases that involve particularly gory details. i think it's important to remember, though, that that doesn't tell us anything about his potential guilt or innocence. because the only thing that it shows is that he's been traumatized by the events of that evening. it doesn't speak to what his state of mind was when he actually fired the shots. >> the late reeva steenkamp, that's one thing, people say this is such a -- he's getting emotional support from people who say he's been broken up from this. but only one person walked away from

. >> cnn legal analyst kelly phelps live for us this morning at the courthouse in pretoria.elly, this prosecutor really hammering oscar pistorius. has he been effective so far, do you think, in poking holes in oscar pistorius's defense, that this was all along an accident? >> reporter: well, he's certainly been effective in terms of pointing out some key inconsistencies in his version of events and also omissions in terms of pieces of information, for example, that the l.e.d. light was blue, that he hasn't mentioned the bail that he's now mentioned in cross examination. but of course, one has to remember that the burden of proof that the prosecutor has to meet in terms of what he's trying to achieve with these inconsistencies is very high indeed, and that's why he is spending so much time and so many days, in fact, on cross examining pistorius in this manner, because he will be keenly aware that just a few inconsistencies is not going to meet the bar for the judge of beyond a reasonable doubt, because pistorius doesn't have to prove his version of events. the state has to pr

tonya paige reports from pretoria. south africans at the official freedom day enjoyed pomp and party. it's 20 years since the end of apartheid when people of all races voted for the first time. mary took part in the historic 1994 election. >> what i remember, i was very, very excited. i was very happy to vote, to put muck on a pit. >> it was a day promising a new era and hope that everything would be better. in the 20 years that the african national congress has been in power, basic services, housing and health care has improved. there was a wealthy elite. millions are struggling to feed their families. >> they are struggling with basic services. toilet, drinking water, we are struggling a lot. people have to build their own toilets to collect money. the government is not providing any. >> president zuma's african national congress is facing a tough challenge at the may 7th election. there's a rising sense of discontent that the party of the nelson mandela has not done enough in the last 20 years. voters are angry abou

. >> oscar pistorius has tape to the witness stand at his murder trial in pretoria in south africa. the paralympic champion killed his girlfriend in february last year. he said he mistook her for an intruder, beginning his test moan which request an emotion -- testimony with an apology to her family. >> police are investigating reports of gunshots. >> 30,000 in rio de janeiro are on strike as part of a general strike in the construction industry. the workers are calling for better pay and in some cases better working conditions. 2,000 of these striking construction workers are working on the olympic park project. that's a project that is incredibly important, and it's on hold because of this strike. this is the main venue for the 2016 olympics, and it's an important and very expensive projects costing over a 750 million. the project was very much in its early stages, and olympics are not for a couple of years. there's still a lot of time. still, the strike is directly affecting that. but maybe more importantly in the immediate term, part of the strike is affecting the 2014 world cup

cnn legal analyst kelly phelps live outside the courthouse for us in pretoria this morning.at do you make of these messages? i mean, on the one hand, you know, he's reading reeva steenkamp's words, saying she was afraid of him, she was scared of him. on the other hand, there are a lot of other messages that are quite loving and show that they had, you know, gotten over these tiffs. >> reporter: absolutely, and i think that's what the state is clearly trying to achieve through this testimony this morning. they're saying that, yes, those fights happened, i acknowledge that, i take responsibility for that, but one needs to put them in the context of the normal ups and downs of any relationship. and if we put on the record all of the positive relationships, they so far outweigh the negative ones, which had been resolved and moved on from, that they can barely be considered relevant as to what he was or wasn't thinking on that night in question. >> hear his voice cracking. i mean, obviously, this is difficult for him, you know. he isn't on camera, though, while testifying. we can

. >> cnn legal analyst kelly phelps is live in pretoria in south africa for us. kelly, some very compelling questions, very compelling testimony this morning. the prosecution really going into oscar pistorius, asking him very specific questions, justifications for many of these text messages that went back and forth between oscar pistorius and reeva steenkamp. what's he trying to establish with the nature of their relationship? >> reporter: well, i mean, absolutely. he's essentially going for the jugular with character assassination this whole court session so far. and what he's trying to do is build on the narrative that he's been implying throughout the trial, that nel has been implying throughout the trial, that oscar pistorius is a hot-headed and self-obsessed, violent temperament who was prone, who had a likelihood towards behavior that would lead to the murder of his girlfriend. so, it's an inference that he's essentially setting up for the judge to draw. but it's therefore very important to remember the legal rules around evidence in south africa, because