Oscar Pistorius returns to court after mental evaluation

After a six-week break, the murder trial that has gripped South Africa and the world resumed on Monday when Paralympian Oscar Pistorius returned to the dock after a month of psychiatric tests.

The star sprinter has tried to argue that a "generalized anxiety disorder" contributed to him shooting dead his 29-year-old model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day last year.

He admits shooting Steenkamp with a 9mm pistol through a locked toilet door, but says it was a mistake as he thought she was an intruder coming to attack him in the dead of night.

The prosecution argues it was cold-blooded murder following a row between the young couple, and has gathered evidence of a tempestuous relationship.

Judge Thokozile Masipa last month ordered Pistorius to spend 30 days under psychiatric observation to determine if he should be held criminally responsible for the killing.

By Ruchi Singh