CLICK TO ENLARGEHONG KONG -- A chartered boat packed with revelers during a holiday weekend collided with a ferry and sank Monday night off Hong Kong, killing at least eight people were killed and injuring dozens more, authorities said.<!--more-->
The boat was carrying about 120 people when the accident happened near Lamma Island, off the southwestern coast of Hong Kong Island, the a government statement said.
The hired vessel was headed to Hong Kong's famed Victoria Harbour to watch a fireworks display on a long holiday weekend to celebrate China's National Day and mid-autumn festival.
[caption id="attachment_217493" align="alignnone" width="940"]<img src="http://wpmedia.news.nationalpost.com/2012/10/hong-kong-ferry-collision01.jpg" alt="" title="Hong Kong ferry collision01" width="940" height="618" class="size-full wp-image-217493" /> AP Photo/Vincent Yu[/caption]
The government said 101 people were rescued and the Hospital Authority said 53 people, including the eight dead, were taken to four hospitals.
Television channels showed the boat half submerged with the bow pointing straight up.
The government initially said a ferry collided with a tugboat.
However, local news reports said the vessel that sank had been rented by the Hong Kong Electric utility company for a staff outing when it was hit by a larger boat operated by the Hong Kong and Kowloon Ferry company on a regularly scheduled service.
Lamma is the third-biggest island in Hong Kong and near one of the city's busiest shipping lanes.
[caption id="attachment_217497" align="alignnone" width="940"]<img src="http://wpmedia.news.nationalpost.com/2012/10/hong-kong-ferry-collision05.jpg" alt="" title="A rescuer checks a partially submerged boat after collision in Hong Kong" width="940" height="1179" class="size-full wp-image-217497" /> REUTERS/Tyrone Siu[/caption]
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="http://nationalpost.com/photos">View more photo galleries</a> — <a href="http://twitter.com/NP_Photos">Follow NP Photos on Twitter</a></p>
[caption id="attachment_217496" align="alignnone" width="940"]<img src="http://wpmedia.news.nationalpost.com/2012/10/hong-kong-ferry-collision04.jpg" alt="" title="Hong Kong Ferry Collision" width="940" height="624" class="size-full wp-image-217496" /> AP Photo/Kin Cheung[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_217494" align="alignnone" width="940"]<img src="http://wpmedia.news.nationalpost.com/2012/10/hong-kong-ferry-collision02.jpg" alt="" title="Rescuers approach a partially-submerged boat after two vessels collided in Hong Kong" width="940" height="627" class="size-full wp-image-217494" /> REUTERS/Tyrone Siu[/caption]
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — Prosecutors and lawyers for Oscar Pistorius have one last chance to convince a South African judge when they present closing arguments this week in the murder trial of the once-celebrated athlete who fatally shot his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, through a toilet cubicle door in his home.
On Thursday and Friday, both sides will summarize their versions of the shooting to Thokozile Masipa, the red-robed judge who will determine the fate of the double-amputee Olympic runner.
Masipa has sat impassively through most proceedings since the globally televised trial began four months ago in a Pretoria courthouse, but legal experts say she may now, in this final stage, reveal insights into her thinking about the sensational case.
“The judge will show where her allegiance lies once she starts asking questions,” said Marius du Toit, a former prosecutor and now defence lawyer who is not involved in the trial. “The party that gets hammered by the judge when arguing is the party that’s got the short end of the stick when it comes to the ruling.”
Masipa can interrogate prosecutor Gerrie Nel and chief defence lawyer Barry Roux on their explanations for the killing and evidence in the court record, which amounts to thousands of pages. The prosecution says Pistorius, 27, intentionally shot 29-year-old Steenkamp multiple times before dawn on Feb. 14, 2013 in a fit of anger after a fight. The defence counters that he fired by mistake, fearing for his life after thinking an intruder was in the toilet cubicle and Steenkamp was in the bedroom.
Masipa has maintained an air of neutrality while overlooking the courtroom from her chair on a dais through weeks of testimony by dozens of witnesses.
“Now the judge’s true colours will in fact be shown,” said John Welch, a former high-ranking lawyer with South Africa’s national prosecutors’ office. “Many judges like to ask questions … things that have bugged them or bothered them during the trial.”
Rose & Sons takes the place of People's Foods, Hawthorne wows, Notion gets a little sexy<strong><a href="http://wpmedia.news.nationalpost.com/2012/12/rose.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-243609" alt="Rose" src="http://wpmedia.news.nationalpost.com/2012/12/rose.jpg?w=300" width="300" height="225" /></a>EAT</strong> Just as all good things must come to an end, those ends often birth new beginnings. And so it is that People’s Foods — a long-time mainstay of the Dupont Strip, known for its enormous, down-home diner menu (liver and onions and the rest) — has been replaced with Rose & Sons, a decidedly more upscale take on comfort food. The resto, co-owned by erstwhile Drake Hotel chef Anthony Rose, seats few — about 25, and that’s pushing it — and boasts a brunch and lunch menu with elegant dishes such as duck confit and grits with green sauce and a poached egg, grilled romaine and the patty melt, which is sort of a grilled cheese-burger hybrid that could soon take its place in the pantheon of great Toronto sandwiches. The resto recently opened for dinner, too — expect to be wowed by the food and the service, which sees Rose and his staff visiting the table to share information, answer questions and generally glow about their new digs. Deservedly, too! <em>R.T.</em> <em>176 Dupont St., 647-748-3287, roseandsons.ca </em>
<strong><a href="http://wpmedia.news.nationalpost.com/2012/12/hawthorne.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-243611" alt="Hawthorne" src="http://wpmedia.news.nationalpost.com/2012/12/hawthorne.jpg?w=300" width="300" height="216" /></a>DRINK</strong> At the recently opened Hawthorne Food and Drink in downtown Toronto, they take “house-made” and “from scratch” pretty seriously, even doing all their butchering and pastry-making on premises. In keeping with that overall philosophy, restaurant manager Elle Boutilier has designed a soda program featuring old fashioned, homemade colas, ginger ale and strawberry cream, made with all organic ingredients, including natural cane sugar. Patrons, apparently are being “blown away” by the opportunity to taste recreations of original soda fountain flavours that are more complex and far less sweet than the commercial varieties available. But Pop Tate’s never carried some of the more creative varieties Boutilier has come up with, such as lemon-lime-mint; pear-cardamom and fig-banana-creme soda made with milk for a creamy Italian flavour. As Hawthorne works up towards dinner service (currently only open for lunch), it’s looking ahead to cocktails but, for now, offers a tangy and refreshing G&T made with Victoria gin and house-made tonic water. <em>C.S.</em> <em>Hawthorne, 60 Richmond St. E. 647-338-5795 </em>
<strong><a href="http://wpmedia.news.nationalpost.com/2012/12/notion.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-243614" alt="Notion" src="http://wpmedia.news.nationalpost.com/2012/12/notion.jpg?w=300" width="300" height="223" /></a>SHOP</strong> As our thoughts fantasize beyond holiday shopping to New Year’s Eve attire, we’re thinking peekaboo lace, silk and velvet. Something pretty, sexy and made locally. Earlier this fall, Toronto painter and fashion designer Bisa Bennett opened Notion Style, a petite boutique in Yonge Lawrence Village that carries not only Bennett’s own creations but under-the-radar pieces from Italy (like Paolo Casalini, no dress more than $200) and France (René Derhy). They’ve started small and keep the clothes beautiful, simple and affordable (dresses $100-$200). To elevate the humble space, the decor is high Hollywood Regency: black and white chandelier-print fitting room drapes, oversized mirrors and painted antique furniture, with vanity dressers and crystal sconces. Daughter Tijana also does double-duty — she runs the store and is the house line’s muse. To ring in 2013, we suggest Notion’s holiday showpiece: a black French lace maxi-dress with a velvet sash, worn over a short black slip — or, for fun, a colourful one ($280). <em>N.A. Notion Style, 3333 Yonge St., 416-486-3584, notionstyle.com</em>
Because South Africa has no trial by jury, Masipa will decide with the help of two legal assistants if Pistorius committed murder, is guilty of a negligent killing, or if he made a tragic error and should be acquitted. The runner faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder, and also would be sent to prison for years if guilty of murder without premeditation or culpable homicide. He faces three separate firearm charges, and pleaded not guilty to all four counts.
The prosecution has accused Pistorius of being a hot-headed egotist who carried a gun everywhere he went, and alleges he twice shot a firearm in public before the Valentine’s Day killing. Pistorius’ defence has portrayed him as mentally fragile, a disabled man who lived in fear of crime and who was terrified when he stood on just his stumps in the dark and fired four shots into the toilet cubicle door.
Before he killed Steenkamp, Pistorius was praised worldwide as a symbol of the triumph of determination over adversity, and he made history by running on his carbon-fiber running blades at the Olympics in 2012.
Trial witnesses included Pistorius’ neighbours, friends, an ex-girlfriend, his agent and his physician, as well as a long list of forensic and ballistic specialists. At times, Pistorius vomited, wailed and sobbed in the courtroom, and a psychiatrist testified he was suffering from an anxiety disorder when he shot Steenkamp. The trial was postponed for a month while Pistorius was examined at a state mental facility.
Masipa will adjourn the trial after arguments to consider her judgment, a delay that could be a week or over a month, according to various analysts. They say the burden is on the prosecution to leave no reasonable doubt in Masipa’s mind that Pistorius was intent on killing when he opened fire.
Nel and Roux will have to summarize weeks of sometimes complex testimony into a convincing final explanation lasting just a few hours, according to former prosecutor Welch.
He said: “A true lawyer is measured during the arguments because this is now when we get to the nitty-gritty of the matter.”