Shaun Botterill / Getty

Sochi, Russia - host city of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games

SOCHI, Russia - While Moscow digs itself out of a huge snow storm that hit the Russian capital in the last few days, organizers of the Winter Olympics are worried a lack of white powder could become a problem next February.

Unseasonably warm temperatures this winter in Sochi have forced local organizers to store some 450,000 cubic meters of snow in the nearby Caucasus Mountains that surround this sub-tropical Black Sea resort.

"We've prepared seven separate areas for snow storage high up in the mountains," Sergei Bachin, general director of Roza Khutor, a ski resort in Krasnaya Polyana that will host Alpine skiing, snowboarding and freestyle Olympic competition, told Reuters.

"I want to assure all the competitors that there won't be any shortage of snow next February even if we encounter even warmer temperatures next year," he said.

"We're storing such huge amounts of snow just in case."

The snow will be covered with a "special thermo seal", to protect it from melting during the summer, Bachin said.

"We expect that about 140,000 (cubic meters) will melt away but we'll still have more than 300,000 cubic meters of snow available for next year," he predicted, saying the storage will cost his company an extra $11 million.

Nevertheless, Sochi 2014 chief Dmitry Chernyshenko has stated on several occasions that the weather has become a bigger problem for the organizers, who are frantically trying to finish all the construction projects on time, than security or the infrastructure.

Slideshow: Sochi 2014

Mikhail Mordasov / AFP - Getty Images

The Winter Olympics arrive in Sochi on Feb. 7, 2014. A look at how the Russian city is shaping up for its moment in the spotlight.

Launch slideshow

Bachin, however, assured that Krasnaya Polyana, once a sleepy mountain village, about 70 kilometers from central Sochi, would be ready to host all the outdoor Olympic events next February rain or shine.

"Of the 76 Olympic test events scheduled in Krasnaya Polyana this winter a great majority had been completed and only a handful have been called off because of bad weather," he said.

"I think we've passed the test as the last major event of the season was held this weekend in nearby Laura complex."

Usually, Krasnaya Polyana has the opposite problem - too much snow and the risk of avalanches, Bachin said.

"This was a very odd winter. Even locals don't remember when was the last time they had such warm days in the mountains. It's highly unlikely we'll see the same kind of weather next year," he added.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Related: 

'Exploitative, abusive': Activists slam conditions for workers at Olympic site

How do you say 'volunteer' in Russian? Sochi 2014 Olympics introduces a new concept

More Sochi coverage from NBC Olympics

Mikhail Mordasov / AFP - Getty Images

Workers cordon off a leaning building in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi on Monday. The three-story apartment building under construction began leaning yesterday after a tunnel being built for the 2014 Winter Olympics collapsed nearby, local media said. There were no casualties reported. With the Olympics less than a year away, construction is transforming Sochi.

Mikhail Mordasov / AFP - Getty Images

 Previously on PhotoBlog:

Grave interruption: Building around a tomb in China
China tears down house in middle of highway after owner agrees to demolition

Slideshow: Sochi 2014

Mikhail Mordasov / AFP - Getty Images

The Winter Olympics arrive in Sochi on Feb. 7, 2014. A look at how the Russian city is shaping up for its moment in the spotlight.

Launch slideshow

Follow @NBCNewsPictures

Lucky Nxumalo/City Press via AP

Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp at an awards ceremony in Johannesburg in Nov. 4, 2012.

Oscar Pistorius was to hold a private memorial service Tuesday for the girlfriend he was charged with murdering.

Slain model Reeva Steenkamp was cremated and mourned at a family service last week while Pistorius was in custody during a weeklong hearing on whether he should be released on bail.

Now that the South African athlete is free on $112,000 bond, he "specifically requested the memorial service as he continues to grieve and remains in deep mourning for the loss of his partner," a statement from his representatives said.

Mike Sheehan /EPA file

Barry Steenkamp, father of Reeva Steenkamp, is embraced after her memorial service at the Victoria Park Crematorium in Port Elizabeth, South Africa on Feb. 19.

"Since it is such a sensitive issue," the statement said, "Oscar has asked for a private service with people who share his loss, including his family members who knew and loved Reeva as one of their own."

The service was to be held at the hilltop Pretoria home of his uncle, Arnold Pistorius, where he has been staying.

The sprinter known as "Blade Runner," who inspired millions when he became the first double-amputee to compete in the Olympics, has admitted he fatally shot Steenkamp, 29, his girlfriend of four months.

He said in a court statement that he heard what he thought was a prowler, grabbed his gun, rushed to the bathroom on his stumps and fired through a closed door.

Prosecutors contend that he knew Steenkamp was in the bathroom and that he meant to kill her after a Valentine's Day argument. They charged him with premeditated murder, which carries a sentence of 25 years to life.

Steenkamp's family did not attend the emotionally charged bail hearing, where Pistorius, 26, sobbed numerous times as prosecutors leveled accusations against him.

Her mother has said she wanted answers about what happened the night of the shooting. Her father said last week that if Pistorius was telling the truth, he might one day forgive him, but that if he was lying, "he will suffer."

Meanwhile, the judge who presided at the bail hearing confirmed Tuesday he was dealing with a personal tragedy: his first cousin is suspected of poisoning her 12-year-old and 17-year-old boys and then killing herself in Johannesburg over the weekend, the Associated Press reported.

The revelation was one of several twists in the Pistorius case. Last week, the chief investigator was tossed from the inquiry because attempted murder charges stemming from a police-involved shooting in 2011 had been reinstated. And Pistorius' brother is also facing a homicide charge in connection with a 2008 car accident that left a woman dead.

Cheryll Simpson of NBC News contributed to this report

Enrique Calvo / Reuters

Duke of Palma de Mallorca Inaki Urdangarin, son-in-law of Spain's King Juan Carlos, arrives at court to testify before a judge in a case of suspected fraud embezzlement in Palma de Mallorca Saturday.

PALMA DE MALLORCA, Spain -- The Spanish king's son-in-law appeared before a judge on the island of Mallorca on Saturday to respond to charges of tax fraud in a $7.9 million embezzlement case that has eroded public support for the once-popular royal family.

The scandal and other corruption cases in which politicians are accused of taking millions of euros in bribes have enraged Spaniards at a time when unemployment has soared to 26 percent in a deep recession.

Inaki Urdangarin, a former Olympics handball player who is married to the king's daughter, the Infanta Cristina, is accused of using his powerful connections to win public contracts to put on events on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca and elsewhere in Spain.

His Noos Foundation is suspected of overcharging for organizing conferences about the business of sports and hiding the proceeds abroad.

Dozens of police officials guarded the courthouse in Palma as Urdangarin got out of a car and walked down an access ramp into the building for the closed-door hearing where he will be questioned by Examining Magistrate Jose Castro.

Near the courthouse, a few hundred protesters chanted and held up signs reading "down with the monarchy" and "they call this a democracy but it isn't." More than 100 journalists were also on hand.

What did king's daughter know?
In Spain's legal system, lengthy pre-trial investigations are carried out by an examining magistrate, or judge. Urdangarin, 45, is charged with fraud, forgery, embezzlement and corruption. If convicted, he could face a prison sentence and fines.

Urdangarin was first charged and called in for questioning in 2011, but a trial could still be months or years away as the judge continues his probe and adds or dismisses charges.

Judge Castro was expected to question Urdangarin for most of the day on Saturday and perhaps into the early hours of Sunday.

Urdangarin is fighting an order that he and a former business partner in the Noos Foundation post bail of about $10.8 million. His assets could be seized if he does not meet bail.

The judge will also question on Saturday Carlos Garcia Revenga, former treasurer for the Noos Foundation and also private secretary to Urdangarin's wife, Cristina, 47.

Judge Castro is trying to find out how much the Infanta Cristina knew about the business of the foundation.

A criminal indictment of the king's daughter would be an unprecedented accusation against a royal in Spain.

Cristina is the only one of five directors of the Noos Foundation that has not been charged with a crime.

Lay-offs, evictions
The royal family has taken efforts to distance itself from Urdangarin, whose official title is Duke of Palma. Photos of him have been wiped off the royal website. He has also been banned from royal family events for over a year.

In Spain's severe economic downturn, more companies announce lay-offs each week. Tens of thousands of homeowners have defaulted on their mortgages and been evicted from their homes. The government has cut public salaries and spending on health and education.

In Palma, where a number of corruption cases have surfaced, Urdangarin has become a despised figure.

The local government held a news event earlier this month and in front of television crews ceremoniously removed a street sign "Boulevard of the Duke and Duchess of Palma" and renamed the street.

"It's a disgrace for our islands that have been so supportive of the royal family," said Esperanza Ruiz, a resident of Palma, as she shopped in a supermarket near the courthouse.

King Juan Carlos, who took the throne in 1975, was the most popular public figure in Spain in the late 1970s because of his role in supporting the transition to democracy after the long Francisco Franco dictatorship.

But for the first time, politicians have openly called for him to abdicate and hand the throne to his son, Prince Felipe.

Related:

Spain, Portugal hit with anti-austerity protests

Spain's economic crisis turns middle-class families into illegal squatters

Spanish king 'very sorry' for elephant-hunting vacation

Oscar Pistorius' uncle says the Olympic sprinter is in "extreme shock" -- barely eating and spending his time reading the Bible -- but will "bounce back and be greater than ever" when his murder case is over.

In an interview that aired Wednesday night on the South African television network eNCA, Arnold Pistorius called his nephew a "soft person" and said he's certain he is not guilty of charges he intentionally killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

"Oscar will survive. He will have a tough time going forward, but he is a survivor," the uncle said.

"Nobody can be the same ever again if such a tragedy comes over your life but he will bounce back and be greater than ever.”

His prediction came after the athlete's lawyers and prosecutors faced off in a South African courtroom for the second day of a hearing that will determine if the 26-year-old runner gets bail or sent to prison until a trial. The hearing continues Thursday.

Pistorius, the first double amputee to compete in the Olympics, has been in custody since the Valentine's Day shooting at his Pretoria home.

"He spent a lot of time reading, especially reading his Bible...His mother was extremely religious," Arnold Pistorius said, adding that his nephew had only started eating again Tuesday night.

Pistorius, who claims he thought a prowler was in his house when he shot through a locked bathroom door and killed his model girlfriend, has sobbed through some of the court proceedings.

"He's grieving. He is in extreme shock. I don't expect it to get over it even soon," the uncle said, but added that the Olympian's life and career are far from over.

"I can tell you that Oscar, with his character, is able to work through this," he said. "He will bounce back and be greater than ever."

During Wednesday's hearing, Pistorius' lawyer subjected a police official to a tough cross examination in which he admitted a witness who heard an hour of screaming before the shooting was a thousand feet away from the apartment.

Warrant Officer Hilton Botha disputed Pistorius's version of the shooting, in which he claimed to have opened fire after rushing to the bathroom on his stumps in a panic.

He said the downward trajectory of the shots suggested Pistorius had on the artificial legs that gave him the nickname Blade Runner and aimed at someone on the toilet.

"I believe he knew she was in the bathroom," Botha testified.

Related:

Oscar Pistorius in court: Defense exposes cracks in police evidence

Pistorius: I felt 'sense of terror' on night I mistakenly shot girlfriend

Sportscaster: Pistorius was 'jumpy' about safety

Stephane De Sakutin / AFP - Getty Images

South African Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius appears at the Magistrate Court in Pretoria on Feb. 19. His bail hearing continues Wednesday.

A South African judge will hear more arguments Wednesday before deciding whether Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius should be denied bail and sent to a prison where other inmates have complained about ghastly conditions.

A day after prosecutors and the defense presented clashing accounts of how and why Pistorius fatally shot girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day, the two sides will spar over where he should spend the months before a trial.

Pistorius arrived in court Wednesday wearing a black suit and blue tie. Prosecutors alleged that a witness heard a "non-stop" argument coming from the Paralympian's home before the shooting.

South African legal experts say that after hearing from witnesses, the magistrate will be asked to evaluate the strength of the prosecution's case and consider whether the double-amputee is a flight risk, a danger to anyone, or likely to intimidate witnesses or destroy evidence.

"Personally, my view is he should get bail because he's got a fixed permanent residence, has no previous convictions, and owns assets in the jurisdiction of the court. He's disabled and easily recognizable," said Steve Tuson, a law professor at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.

But bail could be a tough sell since the judge provisionally entered a charge of premeditated murder after Tuesday's hearing — where Pistorius claimed he fired into his bathroom in a panic over a possible prowler, while prosecutors alleged he calmly put on his artificial legs before he stalked Steenkamp to the bathroom to kill her.

Unless the magistrate, Desmond Nair, downgrades the charge after Wednesday's hearing, or the defense convinces him there are extraordinary reasons Pistorius should remain free, the trail-blazing runner is headed to lockup.

Since his arrest, Pistorius, 26, has been held at a local police station, but that's unusual and it's expected he would be transferred to Pretoria's central prison to await further proceedings, experts said.

"It's not too pleasant," Marius du Toit, a South African defense lawyer who has also been a prosecutor and magistrate, said of the central prison.

"I've represented people from overseas who were incarcerated in our prisons. One lost 20 kilos because the food and conditions are so bad. He said, 'I've been in prisons all over Europe and I've never seen anything like this.'"

Two weeks before Pistorius' arrest, six inmates from the Pretoria prison petitioned the High Court to improve conditions, painting a grim picture of daily life behind its walls.

Their complaints included up to three inmates in single-person cells, dirty mattresses with no bedding, sweltering heat and poor ventilation, no time outside, rampant drug dealing and violent threats from fellow prisoners, according to the Pretoria News.

The court has not ruled on the application, which the government planned to oppose, the newspaper said.

Du Toit said that Pistorius' high profile and disability could be grounds for some kind of accommodation if he is sent to prison, but added that officials will be loathe to give him special treatment because the decision to hold him at the police station before the bail hearing was questioned.

If he does wind up behind bars, he could be there for months before a trial and verdict -- which is delivered by a judge since jury trial were done away with in 1969.

Prosecutors and the defense team will be given time to marshal evidence before a trial date is set in stone, Tuson said.

Before the constitutional changes that accompanied the end of the apartheid era in South Africa, prosecutors could keep most of their case under wraps until trial. Now, they have to share all their evidence, Tuson said.

While U.S. trials are often delayed by endless haggling over what evidence is admissible at trial, in South Africa those decisions are made by the judge during the trial.

Tuson said the timeline from charge to verdict normally depends on the complexity of the case, the number of witnesses and how crowded the court docket is. Because the country's judicial system is so clogged, run-of-the-mill cases can face "horrible delays," he said.

Pistorius, however, could be fast-tracked due to the high-profile nature of the case. Tuson predicted the whole thing will be over in six months.

"Because of the media coverage, the state will push for this cases to be held as quickly as possible," du Toit said.

This story was originally published on Tue Feb 19, 2013 5:12 PM EST

“Blade Runner” Oscar Pistorius said Tuesday that he had heard a noise in the bathroom and felt “a sense of terror” on the night he fatally shot his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, insisting he thought someone had broken into his South Africa home.

In a statement read to a court hearing, the double-amputee Olympic and Paralympic star wrote that he loved Steenkamp "deeply." He also said he had received death threats in the past and kept a firearm beside his bed.

Earlier Tuesday, Prosecutor Gerrie Nel insisted there was nothing to support Pistorius’ claim that he feared there was an intruder in the house when he killed Steenkamp. She was shot dead through the door of a small bathroom in Pistorius’ home in a suburb of Pretoria early on Valentine’s Day.

Nel said she had "nowhere" to go and her death must have been "horrific," insisting Pistorius was guilty of premeditated murder.

The claims were made at a bail hearing -- described as a “little trial” by one expert -- that is being held to determine whether Pistorius should be freed pending trial.

Magistrate Desmond Nair ruled that Pistorius would face a charge of premeditated murder, but the hearing was adjourned until Wednesday morning.

As the defense and prosecution lawyers argued, the family and friends of the slain model and law-school graduate Steenkamp held a tearful funeral in her hometown.

As his statement was read to the court, Pistorius sobbed uncontrollably at times, prompting Nair to say, "I know it's difficult. ... I'm going to find it difficult to concentrate. ... Maintain your composure."

'She died in my arms'
The statement denied "in the strongest terms" that Pistorius had deliberately killed Steenkamp, adding that the athlete was "deeply in love'' with her, according to Reuters.

"I had no intention to kill my girlfriend," the statement said.

According to Pistorius' account, he and Steenkamp had decided to "have a quiet dinner together at home" and by about 10 p.m. they had retired to his bedroom, where she was doing yoga as he was lying down and watching television. After finishing her yoga, she got into bed with him and the two fell asleep, Pistorius' statement said.

During the early morning hours, it said, Pistorius woke up and went to his bedroom balcony to bring a fan inside and close the sliding glass doors and blinds.

"I heard a noise in my bathroom. ... I felt a sense of terror. ... I believed that someone had entered my house. ... I grabbed my 9mm pistol," it said.

Pistorius' statement said contractors had been working at his house and had left ladders outside, and there were no security bars on the bathroom window. The bathroom contained a separate toilet area with its own door.

“As I did not have my prosthetic legs on I felt extremely vulnerable. I had to protect Reeva and myself. ... I felt trapped as my bedroom door was locked and I have limited mobility on my stumps,” it said.

The statement then described Pistorius hearing movement inside the bathroom. "I fired shots at the toilet door and shouted at Reeva to phone the police," it said. "She did not respond and I moved backwards out of the bathroom, keeping my eyes on the bathroom entrance. Everything was pitch dark in the bedroom and I was still too scared to switch on a light. Reeva was not responding.

"When I reached the bed, I realized that Reeva was not in bed. That is when it dawned on me that it could have been Reeva who was in the toilet."

The statement also described Pistorius trying to open the locked bathroom door but failing, then grabbing a cricket bat to smash open the door. "Reeva was slumped over but alive. I battled to get her out of the toilet and pulled her into the bathroom."

Pistorius’ statement said that moments after the shooting he “picked Reeva up as I'd been told not to wait for the paramedics. ... She died in my arms.”

Earlier in the hearing, Nel said Steenkamp had arrived in Pistorius' home sometime between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. on the night before she died.

There was "no possible explanation to support" Pistorius' claim that he thought Steenkamp was an intruder, Nel said.

And he added that even if Steenkamp had been an intruder, the shooting would still have been the murder of a burglar.

Nel said Pistorius had armed himself, put on his prosthetic legs, walked to the bathroom and shot Steenkamp several times through the locked door as she sat on the toilet. "She locked that door for a purpose," Nel said.

"If I arm myself, walk a distance and murder a person, that is premeditated," he said, according to Reuters. "The door is closed. There is no doubt. I walk seven meters (just over 22 feet) and I kill."

"The motive is 'I want to kill.' That's it," he added. "This deceased was in a 1.4- (4.5 feet) by 1.14-meter little room. She could go nowhere. It must have been horrific."

The prosecutor also asked why a burglar would have locked himself inside the bathroom.

After the shooting, Pistorius carried Steenkamp downstairs, where he met a security guard and a friend, according to the prosecution, and told them that he had thought she had been an intruder.

Pistorius' defense argued the sports star was not guilty of murder for that reason.

The defense lawyer claimed other husbands had shot their wives thinking they were intruders and asked, "Where's the premeditation?"

Following the defense's statements, Nel said he was now "more convinced" about what happened.

Karyn Maughan, legal correspondent for South Africa news channel ENCA, told NBC's TODAY that if a premeditated murder charge stands, there would be dire consequences for Pistorius.

“If he can’t prove that her death was unintentional, then it is unlikely he will get bail and he also faces a life sentence in jail,” she said. “He must try to convince the court he shot her in confusion, thinking she was an intruder."

Pistorius has hired his own high-profile forensic expert to analyze the police reports and post-mortem exam, ENCA reported. His defense team includes lawyer Kenny Oldwage, who previously won an acquittal for a driver accused of killing Nelson Mandela's great-grandchild in a 2010 accident.

'Why my little girl?'
Model and law-school graduate Steenkamp's relatives are hoping for answers.

"Why my little girl?" her mother, June Steenkamp, said in an interview with The Times of Johannesburg, calling her bubbly, blond daughter "the most beautiful person who ever lived."

"All we have is this horrendous death to deal with ... to get to grips with," she said. "All we want are answers ... answers as to why this had to happen, why our beautiful daughter had to die like this."

Steenkamp's family and friends gathered at a 90-seat chapel in Port Elizabeth, where Steenkamp grew up, for her funeral.

"She's my little sister and she's gone," her brother, Adam, told ENCA. "There is a big hole there that cannot be filled by anything else."

Steenkamp and Pistorius had been dating for about three months, and she tweeted a Valentine's Day message hours before her death.

The track star, who captivated the world when he became the first double-amputee to run in the Olympics at last summer's London Games, was a gun enthusiast who once took a reporter writing a profile of him to a firing range.

A South African newspaper reported Monday that he nearly shot a friend by accident while handling another friend's gun at a Johannesburg restaurant.

"I had quite a fright because the bullet hit the ground centimeters from my foot," boxer Kevin Lerena told the Beeld newspaper, according to Agence France-Presse.

"For some reason it got caught on his trousers, flipped the safety pin and a shot went off. I wouldn't say he was negligent. Days afterwards he was still apologizing."

NBC News Staff Writers Ian Johnston and John Newland and Reuters contributed to this report.

Related:

Mother of Pistorius' slain girlfriend: 'Why my little girl?'

Agent: Sponsors sticking by Oscar Pistorius

Oscar Pistorius' agent cancels races

This story was originally published on Tue Feb 19, 2013 2:01 AM EST

A reality island TV show featuring the deceased girlfriend of Paralympian Oscar Pistorius aired Saturday in South Africa, just days after the model and budding television personality's death.

Reeva Steenkamp, a 29-year-old law school graduate who died of multiple gunshot wounds inside Pistorius’ Pretoria home on Valentine’s Day, appeared in an episode of Tropika Island of Treasure on Saturday.

Steenkamp and Pistorius, a double-amputee athlete who ran in the London Olympics, had been dating for several months and reportedly “seemed happy” prior to her death early Thursday. Prosecutors accused Pistorius Friday of having committed “premeditated” murder in the shooting.

On Saturday, Pistorius’ uncle said that the runner was “numb with shock” in the family’s first on-camera statement since the incident. Pistorius, 26, and Steenkamp “had plans together and Oscar was happier in his private life than he had been for a long time,” uncle Arnold Pistorius said in a statement.

Steenkamp’s family was not consulted about the decision to air the pre-taped show, cousin Sharon Steenkamp told the Associated Press, but they were not upset by the decision.

Prosecutor: 'Blade Runner' Pistorius committed 'premeditated' murder of girlfriend

“Her last words to us personally was that she wants us to watch it,” Sharon Steenkamp told the AP.

The show's makers defended their decision.

“They want it on,” Samantha Moon, the show’s executive producer, told the AP. “This is how they want to remember her. This is what she would have wanted.”

“Definitely the SABC is going ahead with the airing of the program today,” SABC spokeswoman Kaizer Kganyago said in advance of the broadcast.

Blade Runner's uncle: Pistorius 'numb with shock'

“We are deeply saddened and extend our condolences to Reeva’s family and friends,” read a message on the show’s website. The reality program, which was filmed in Jamaica last year, is set to run for 10 episodes, with the eventual winner taking home the equivalent of just over $113,000. Saturday’s episode featuring Steenkamp was the premier of the fifth season of the reality show, which pits seven celebrities against seven other contests in a battle for the cash prize.

SABC said the show would be a tribute to the late model.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Olympic and Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius was charged with murder Thursday after his girlfriend was shot dead at his South African home.

South African Police spokeswoman Denise Beukes said that Pistorius, 26, and the victim were the only people present when the shooting took place. The woman had been shot at least twice, police said.

Pistorius will appear for a court hearing on Friday at 9am local time, the South African prosecutor’s office confirmed.

Numerous media outlets reported that the sprinter -- who is nicknamed "Blade Runner" because he races wearing carbon fiber prosthetic blades -- may have mistaken the woman for an intruder. 

Beukes would not confirm the victim's identity, but said investigators were "very surprised" to hear media reports that the shooting was possibly a case of mistaken identity. 

A publicist for Reeva Steenkamp, a model whom Pistorius was dating, confirmed to NBC's TODAY that her client was dead. She described the incident as a "huge loss for everyone and too shocking for words."

© Lucky Nxumalo / City Press - Gallo Images via Getty Images, file

Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp attend an award ceremony in Johannesburg, South Africa, on November 4.

Beukes said there were no signs of forced entry to the home and said that police would oppose any application Pistorius might make to be released on bail. 

Beukes said there had been reports about previous problems at Pistorius' home that were "allegations of a domestic nature." When a reporter asked if she meant domestic violence, she nodded and said yes.

"There are witnesses and we have interviewed them," she added. "We're talking about neighbors and people who heard things earlier in the evening and when the shooting took place."

The Associated Press reported that a 9mm handgun had been found at his home in the luxurious Silver Woods gated community.

More on this story from NBC Sports

Sarit Tomlinson, who is Steenkamp's publicist, told Britains' Sky News that the the pair had been together for a couple months.

"She was a rising star ... a very bright young girl," Tomlinson said. She noted that "no one knows what happened" but said "we are in communication with the people on the scene."

The Silver Woods Country Estate released a statement on its website early Thursday: "We are deeply saddened by the tragic cir­cum­stances that occurred today at Sil­ver Woods. Our sincere con­do­lences, thoughts and prayers go out to Reeva Steenkamp’s fam­ily and friends."

Steenkamp, a 30-year-old law school graduate, gushed about Valentine's Day on Twitter Wednesday, posting "What do you have up your sleeve for your love tomorrow???" and "It should be a day of love for everyone."

Pistorius was born without a fibula in both legs and battled for years to be allowed to compete against able-bodied athletes. 

'National hero'
He was the first double amputee to run in the Olympics. He qualified for the 400-meter semi-finals and 4 x 400-meter final at the London 2012 Summer Games. 

His website highlighted that Pistorius ran in 11 races during the London 2012 Olympics and Paralymics and returned home with "two Paralympic gold medals, Paralympic silver, two world records, a Paralympic record, an Olympic individual semi-final and an Olympic final."

He earned headlines after qualifying for the 2011 world championships in Daegu, South Korea, and is widely considered the world's most famous disabled athelete.

Speaking to Sky News, South African journalist Kribani Pillay described Pistorius as a "national hero and national icon."

Violent crime is major issue in South Africa, and many homeowners own guns.

In a January 2012 New York Times article, Pistorius described his reaction to a security alarm going off in his home:

He mentioned that a security alarm in the house had gone off the previous night, and he had grabbed his gun and tiptoed downstairs. (It turned out to be nothing.)

I asked what kind of gun he owned ...  He fetched his 9-millimeter handgun and two boxes of ammunition. We got back in the car and drove to a nearby firing range, where he instructed me on proper technique. Pistorius was a good coach. ... I asked him how often he came to the range. “Just sometimes when I can’t sleep,” he said.

The U.S. State Department Bureau of Diplomatic Security warns of the danger of Pretoria and other South African cities: "On a rating scale of low, medium, high, and critical, Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town are rated 'critical' for crime."

Citing South African Police Service 2011 crime statistics, the agency pointed out home invasion as a particularly violent crime that occurs "at an alarmingly high rate."

In Gauteng Province, which includes Pretoria and Johannesburg, there were 7,039 home invasions reported in 2011, according South African police statistics.

Artist Melinda Bam of Pretoria, who was Miss South Africa 2011, expressed her sadness on Twitter and mentioned "how unsafe most South Africans feel because of crime."

South Africa's Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee declined to discuss the shooting. 

"SASCOC ... knows no more than what is in the public domain, which is there has been an alleged fatal shooting on the basis of a mistaken identity and an apparent assumption of a burglary," it said. "The organization is in no position to comment on the incident other than to say our deepest sympathy and condolences have been expressed to the families of all concerned." 

NBC News' Matthew DeLuca and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Related:

Reeva Steenkamp was model, budding TV star

Pistorius sorry for timing of outburst at Paralympics -- but is brand destroyed?

'Meet the Superhumans': Paralympians burst onto world stage

Full coverage of London 2012

This story was originally published on Thu Feb 14, 2013 10:38 AM EST

News analysis

SOCHI, Russia -- Let's get one thing straight: The town that will host the 2014 Winter Olympics is a summer resort.

At 1 p.m. on Thursday -- one year to the day from the Opening Ceremony -- the temperature was 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Miami-style high-rise condos dot rich green groves of palm and cypress trees. This is Sochi, better known as the "Black Sea Pearl."

That's a testament to two things: The kind of clout Russian President Valdimir Putin has, at least with those eminent International Olympic Committee members; and the laser-like determination he's shown to make his dream come true -- to transform Sochi from a long-in-the-tooth former Soviet spa resort into an all-season, international sports playground.

Putin even flew to the 2007 IOC summit in Guatemala to explain – amazingly, in both English and French, languages he doesn't actually speak – what Sochi had to offer.

Not just vast expanses of balmy beaches, but only 30 miles to the east, majestic, untapped mountain ranges called The Caucasus.

Mikhail Klimentyev / Presidential Press Service - Ria Novosti via AFP - Getty Images, file

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, speaks with regional Governor Alexander Tkachev during a visit to a mountain resort near 2014 Olympic host Sochi this week.

And to top it off, he offered to put up $12 billion to build his Olympic Wonderland – including a high-speed train system that would get thousands of spectators from the ice palaces below to the alpine resorts above in just 25 minutes. Blue sea meets snow-white mountains. Done deal.

But it soon became apparent that Putin's dream wasn't just about hosting the Olympic Games. He also wanted to showcase a new, modern Russia – no matter how questionable that image may be - led by a man who demanded the world's attention.

"He needed some bold proof that he can do something very important for Russia," said Fyodor Lukyanov, managing editor of Russia in Global Affairs. "The Olympic Games in this regard is a good opportunity to turn attention away from the lack of development in Russia to a big international success.''

The dream began to look like the genie out of the bottle. Even $12 billion – more than twice the total cost of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games – did not even cover the bills for the two Olympic parks, the skate and ski venues, and the road and rail lines linking the two.

Remember, Sochi had only one main road and no winter resort. About 85 percent of Putin's dream needed to be built from scratch.

One year from the start of the Games, the total cost has hit $51 billion, a new Olympic record. Half of that total is coming from the state's coffers, and the rest from Putin's rich oligarch friends.

Gazprom, the state-owned corporation Putin runs like a CEO, has even built many of the ski venues. One can see Gazprom's logo everywhere in the Olympic space in Sochi.

Billboards for Putin's other "pillar," the state-owned oil giant Rosneft, are spread around the Olympic parks and a luxurious mountain resort built entirely by Interros, the holding company owned by Putin's close oligarch friend, Vladimir Potanin.

Ivan Sekretarev / Pool via Reuters

Russia's President Vladimir Putin, second left, listens to Interros president Vladimir Potanin, left, during a tour of Olympic sites near Sochi on Wednesday.

'Golden opportunity'
Both Putin and the Sochi 2014 corporate sponsors have all denied enriching themselves by way of the games. Putin's eloquent press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, says there's nothing wrong with using corporate capitalism – and the excuse of the Olympic Games – to better the lives of all Russians.

"We have a golden opportunity to ensure that we have a boost for the whole development of the economy, not only the regional economy but the economy of the whole country," he said.

But how many ordinary Russians will benefit from this $50 billion spectacle?

People like Artyom and Mikael – both retired Russian middle-class neighbors – certainly haven't. They live in Mirni, a village cradled in the shadow of the new Olympic Stadium.

A couple of years ago the two bought into the "dream" and started to build an extension to Artyom's house, but ran out of funds, their pensions barely covering their food bills.

They have no gas, no plumbing, and suffer regular power outages, which cut off their heating. Outside, the road is permanently flooded and cratered, and their small Russian car can't take the ride to the market.

Almost everyone in Mirni – population 1500 - lives like this, but the world, they say, won't see what the real Russian life is like, as it will be hidden by Olympic barricades and banners.

"There's no place here to feel like a human," said Mikael, who, like Artyom, declined to give his last name. "Gazprom has built everything here for their needs but there's no place for simple people. Their security teams cast people away like barking dogs."

There's little doubt that "Putin's Dream" will come true. Sochi 2014 has all the ingredients to be a grand success.

Putin is already starting to stockpile vast amounts of snow for next winter, just in case. And he's bought an arsenal of snow guns, primed and ready to fire.

But terrorism is also a real threat here. With the troubled Caucasus republics nearby - like Chechnya, Dagestan and Abkhazia - it's likely that many spectators will actually be armed, plainclothes cops.

It would appear that Putin has thought of everything – including installing massive gas pipelines to fuel even more massive power stations, all brand new – to produce the world's best Olympic Games and return Russia to the glory of the days when Joseph Stalin spent his summers in his Sochi dacha, watching American cowboy movies.

But will these "Putin Games" boost the current Russian strongman's tarnished image in the West and beyond?

Lukyanov – and many other Russian analysts – don't think so. 

"He is not seen as a guy who is able to deliver a change, to deliver development, and I don't believe that the Olympic Games will be able to change Russia's image worldwide as a big, important but basically stagnating country.''

Let the Games - and the dream – begin.

Jim Maceda is an NBC News foreign correspondent based in London, currently on assignment in Sochi. He's covered Russia and the former Soviet Union for the past three decades.

Slideshow: Sochi 2014

Mikhail Mordasov / AFP - Getty Images

The Winter Olympics arrive in Sochi on Feb. 7, 2014. A look at how the Russian city is shaping up for its moment in the spotlight.

Launch slideshow

Related:

'Exploitative, abusive': Activists slam conditions for workers on Olympic site

How do you say 'volunteer' in Russian? Sochi 2014 introduces new concept

More Sochi 2014 coverage from NBC Olympics

Mikhail Mordasov / AFP - Getty Images, file

Construction workers, many of them migrants, go for lunch in April 2011 at the ski resort that is part of the Sochi Olympic venue. Some workers are now complaining of having no, or few, breaks and of going unpaid.

Published at 11:10 a.m. ET: Months without pay, 12-hour shifts, few days off, fined for being sick, cramped accommodations filled with the “overwhelming smell of sweat” -- and deported for complaining.

A report by Human Rights Watch published Wednesday paints a grim picture of life for some foreign workers building the Olympic venues for the Sochi 2014 Games in Russia -- set to be the most expensive Olympics in history at a cost of $51 billion.

Based on interviews with 66 workers over three years at what has been described as the world’s biggest construction site, the report catalogs a litany of complaints about conditions.

“Athletes, journalists, and Olympic ticket holders in Sochi will watch the 2014 Winter Games in iconic modern sports venues, broadcast centers, and hotels,” the author of the report, Jane Buchanan, said in a statement.

Dmitry Lovetsky / AP

A hotel is shown under construction Monday at the mountain Olympic cluster east of Sochi. Much of the heavy work is being conducted by thousands of migrant workers, and conditions have caught the eye of Human Rights Watch.

“But many migrant workers have toiled in exploitative, abusive conditions to build these shimmering façades and luxurious interiors,” she added.

The report said most of the workers were carpenters, welders, steel fitters or people doing odd-jobs, typically earning $1.80 to $2.60 an hour. They came from countries such as Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

“Some workers worked for up to six months without pay, hoping to be paid and reluctant to leave, thereby forfeiting several months’ salary,” the report said. “Workers in these most egregious situations ultimately did leave these abusive employers, concluding that they might never be paid.”

Cigarette money
Omurbek, 30, from Uzbekistan, told the researchers that he “worked for almost three months, others worked for five months, for nothing.”

“Nothing but promises, promises from them,” he added. Occasionally, however, he would be given small amounts of money for cigarette and phone calls.

And Radmilo Petrovic, 52, from Serbia, lost more than just unpaid wages, according to the report.

After eight months of work for "a little bit [of money] here or there," he returned home penniless. His wife accused him of squandering or hiding the money and promptly left him.

Ruziboi Aliev, 48, a father of four from Tajikistan, worked on the Main Media Center site. He told Human Rights Watch that he worked 12-hour shifts and had five days off over a four-month period. A 23-year-old worker from Uzbekistan said he had one day off in six months.

“The work is really very difficult. There isn’t any rest. It’s really hard. The pay is miserly, but what can you do? ... They don’t even give you a minute to have a cigarette, or rest for a minute,” Salimjon, 22, from Uzbekistan said.

Isamiddin, 43, from Kyrgyzstan, said he was fined $32 a day for two days when he didn’t show up for work. “I was sick both times,” he said, complaining the fine was unfair as he earned $19 to $22 a day.

Workers described 150 to 200 people living in houses designed for one family.

One, from Uzbekistan, said he slept on a bunk bed in a room containing 8 to 12 people. “In the summer, it’s hot and stuffy, totally unbearable. In the winter, it’s not as bad; it’s tolerable, though you get really tired of the overwhelming smell of sweat,” he said.

The report said workers were sometimes not given a contract, meaning their employment status and therefore their right to live in Russia was “irregular.”

Slideshow: Sochi 2014

Mikhail Mordasov / AFP - Getty Images

The Winter Olympics arrive in Sochi on Feb. 7, 2014. A look at how the Russian city is shaping up for its moment in the spotlight.

Launch slideshow

Human Rights Watch said that in October 2010, 50 workers staged a public demonstration about non-payment of wages. Their company then contacted state migration officials to check their documents “after which dozens of workers who had complained or demonstrated were deported.”

The claims, many of which were made anonymously for fear of retaliation, come after similar concerns were raised about foreign workers who helped build the venues and infrastructure for the 2008 Beijing Games.

In an e-mailed statement, state corporation Olympstroy, which oversees the construction work by a number of firms, said protection of workers’ rights was being strictly enforced. “Any worker, who has concerns about violations of his rights, is being encouraged … to report the problem,” it said.

Olympstroy added that it had received only five complaints from workers about “violations of their rights” during the past two years. “All violations have been properly addressed and dealt with as per the Russian law,” it added.

'It is never easy'
The International Olympic Committee issued a statement Wednesday saying “it is never easy dealing with anonymous allegations.”

“We would continue to urge HRW to furnish us with the details of cases that allow us to deal with them on a case-by-case basis and to push for action when necessary,” the IOC added.

Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, who was with President Vladimir Putin in Sochi, Wednesday, dismissed the suggestion that there was a significant problem.

“There have not been enough complaints to deserve an international report,” he told reporters, according to Reuters.

Asked about Kozak’s response, Buchanan said it was “inappropriate to diminish this.”

“What the Russian government should be doing is investigating these types of allegation and making sure they don’t take place,” she said.

Buchanan said workers from different companies and different Olympic sites had “consistently” reported similar complaints and stressed they were given no incentive to speak to Human Rights Watch.

She said the contractors involved had generally given responses -- detailed in the report -- that were “vague” generalizations, denying there was a problem.

Asked about what athletes and others thinking of going to Sochi should do in light of the report, Buchanan said that Human Rights Watch was “not against the Olympics.”

“The Olympics is a tremendous opportunity for Russia to present itself to the world,” she said. “We just want people to know that this is going on and to have higher expectations for future games -- that these types of abuses shouldn’t take place.”

Reuters contributed to this report.

Related:

How do you say 'volunteer' in Russian? Sochi 2014 Olympics introduces a new concept

More Sochi coverage from NBC Olympics

Full Russia coverage from NBC News