Oscar Pistorius freed from Prison?

A South African parole board said on Thursday that Oscar Pistorius, an Olympic and Paralympics athlete, jailed for killing his girlfriend, is to be freed from prison and moved to house arrest next Tuesday.

The Athlete had in 2014 bagged a five years sentence after being found guilty of culpable homicide, or manslaughter. He shot Reeva Steenkamp through a locked bathroom door but said he thought she was an intruder.

The prosecution has appealed, saying he should instead be convicted of murder. That case is expected to be heard on 3 November.

Pistorius has spent 12 months in jail and will now spend the rest of his sentence under what is termed in South Africa "correctional supervision", the parole board said.

Report says that an earlier decision to release him in August was blocked by South Africa's Justice Minister Michael Masutha, who said it had been made "prematurely".