Parts of Pistorius trial can be broadcast

PARTS of Oscar Pistorius' murder trial can be broadcast live by three remote-controlled cameras set up in court, a judge has ruled, but the testimony given by the double-amputee Olympian himself can't be shown.

Pistorius' defence lawyers failed in their bid to stop any part of the trial being broadcast as a judge in the North Gauteng High Court on Tuesday ruled mostly in favour of the South African TV and radio applicants.

Judge Dunstan Mlambo's ruling now opens up much of the blockbuster trial to the scrutiny of millions of fascinated followers in South Africa and around the world.

Mlambo granted permission to the South African media houses to install the unmanned television cameras in "unobtrusive" locations at least 72 hours before the trial opens on Monday.

A live audio feed can also be broadcast, while still photographs can be taken in court by two other mounted cameras operated by photographers.

TV footage or photographs however cannot show "extreme" close up images of anyone in the court and witnesses who object can stop their testimony from being broadcast, Mlambo said.

Pistorius' defence lawyers had argued that broadcasting the trial in any way would harm his chances of receiving a fair trial.

Brian Webber, the lawyer representing Pistorius in this hearing, declined to initially comment on the ruling saying he had yet to study it.

Pistorius was charged with murder a year ago over the shooting death of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp at his upscale house in Pretoria.

He faces a possible sentence of 25 years in prison if he is convicted on the main charge of premeditated murder, which he denies.

Mlambo said his decision on Tuesday was a careful "balancing act" between guaranteeing Pistorius a fair trial and also respecting the freedom of the media.

South Africa's justice system is "still perceived as treating the rich and famous with kid gloves whilst being harsh on the poor and vulnerable," he said.

"Enabling a larger South African society to follow firsthand the criminal proceedings which involve a celebrity so to speak, will go a long way into dispelling these negative and unfounded perceptions about the justice system".

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George Lucas donates $US25m to US school

FILMMAKER George Lucas and his wife Mellody Hobson are donating $US25 million ($A27.7 million) to a prestigious private school on Chicago's South Side.

The University of Chicago said on Tuesday that the grant from The George Lucas Family Foundation will pay for a new arts hall at the university's Laboratory Schools.

The 86,000-square-foot building will open in 2015 and will be named after Gordon Parks, a photographer, musician and social justice advocate.

Hobson is president of Chicago-based Ariel Investments.

She married the Star Wars filmmaker in 2013.

Lucas says in a statement that art can "transform lives and communities" and says he hopes Parks' legacy will inspire future generations.

The Hyde Park school has about 1800 students in nursery school through 12th grade.

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Macy's fourth quarter profit up 11%

MACY'S is reporting an 11 per cent increase in fourth-quarter profit, but its results missed Wall Street expectations as a string of winter storms chilled sales in January.

The department store chain, which operates Macy's and Bloomingdale's, says that it earned $US811 million ($A900 million), or $US2.16 per share, in the three months that ended February 1. That compares with $US730 million, or $US1.83 per share, a year earlier.

Revenue slipped 1.6 per cent to $US9.2 billion.

Analysts were expecting $US2.17 per share on revenue of $US9.28 billion, according to FactSet.

Revenue at stores open at least a year rose 1.4 per cent, below the 2.5 per cent increase that Wall Street analysts expected.

The Cincinnati-based retailer has been a standout among its peers throughout the economic recovery.

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Kiwis rally for rights in Australia

NEW Zealanders will rally together in cities around Australia to protest what they call unjust and discriminative immigration laws.

The rallies on Wednesday, organised by the Iwi n Aus Foundation, will take place in Queensland, South Australia, New South Wales, Western Australia and Victoria.

About 300,000 New Zealanders live across the Tasman on special category visas. This means they pay taxes but don't get access to benefits of permanent residency such as disability care, welfare and social housing.

The restrictions were brought in under a joint agreement between Australia's Liberal government and Helen Clark's Labour government in 2001.

Iwi n Aus, run by a group of mothers, says the discriminative laws are affecting not only their children but their Australian-born grandchildren.

Founder Erina Anderson says Kiwis often cross the Tasman with no concept of how bad it can get for them in Australia.

"If Prime Minister John Key wanted to stop New Zealanders from coming to Australia, there's one simple way thing he could do - tell people what they can expect," she told AAP.

"Nobody would willingly pick up their family and move across if they knew their children weren't going to be afforded equal rights."

She says through her work she sees many New Zealanders suffering from mental illness and extreme financial stress after falling on hard times in Australia.

Many Kiwis can't get permanent residency because their occupations aren't on Australia's wanted-skills list, and therefore also can't get citizenship, she says.

Families in Australia also have children with different rights, depending on when and where they were born.

"How do you say to your children who are going through high school, the ones of you who are citizens or permanent residents can go to university because you can get a student loan, but sorry darling you can't because you were born in Auckland?"

Kiwi mothers and fathers are not entitled to single parent payments, so even if their children are born in Australia, the death of their Aussie spouse or a separation could leave them without the means to support their children.

Her Australian foster kids have been disadvantaged by her New Zealand status, missing out on carers' payments for their special needs, Ms Anderson says.

"If I knew what I know, I would not have come," Ms Anderson said.

"No way would I have brought five kids across the Tasman and many of us feel bad that we have."

But it's not as simple as just packing up and going home, she says.

"Does that mean my sons who are fathers to Australian children, should they leave?"

"Should they abandon their partners to go back to where they came from?"

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said he expected New Zealanders to be "lifters not leaners".

But Ms Anderson says it's not about Kiwis mooching off unemployment benefits.

"I wouldn't be wasting my time lobbying for the dole, I've got better things to do with my time."

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