WORLD

The spate of violent attacks on women and children in South Africa represents a “crisis”, President Jacob Zuma has said, as he visited the family of a three-year old girl who was raped and killed. Mr Zuma said that 19 children had been murdered so far this year in Western Cape, one of South Africa’s nine provinces. “We as the ...

One person is dead and 19 others injured after a car drove on to a pavement in New York City’s Times Square, the fire department says. The driver is in custody and the area has been sealed off, according to the New York Police Department. The vehicle reportedly jumped the kerb at 7th Avenue and 45th St near the city’s ...

A former FBI boss has been named special counsel to oversee an inquiry into Russia’s alleged meddling in the election and any Trump campaign ties. In naming Robert Mueller, the deputy attorney general said it was in the public interest to have an outsider. The appointment was widely endorsed by politicians from both sides. In a tweet President Donald Trump ...

The ex-chairman and founder of Fox News Roger Ailes has died aged 77, his family says. A statement from his wife Elizabeth said she was “profoundly sad and heartbroken”, calling him a “patriot”. Mr Ailes ran Fox News for two decades and is credited with transforming it into arguably the most powerful voice in conservative media. But he stepped down ...

A member of Japan’s royal family, Princess Mako, is to surrender her royal status by marrying a commoner. The 25-year-old eldest granddaughter of Emperor Akihito will become engaged to law firm worker Kei Komuro, also 25, whom she met while studying together. Japan’s imperial law requires a princess to leave the royal family after marrying a commoner. The move is ...

Long queues have been forming in parts of Uganda’s capital Kampala today ahead of tomorrow’s deadline to verify mobile Sim cards. Hundreds are gathered at the Kololo Independence ground and Nakawa Urban Council headquarters, where ID registration has been ongoing. In April, the Uganda Police and the Communications Commission issued a 7-day ultimatum for Ugandans to verify their Sim cards ...

Edson Chidziya, the former head of Zimbabwe’s National Parks, has been charged with criminal abuse of office over a missing consignment of rhino horns. Mr Chidziya is accused of mismanagement that led to a security breach and the theft from a strongroom of rhino horns worth $3m (£2.3m). They disappeared between 2012 and 2015 and were never recovered. Mr Chidziya ...

Harare – Will any top Zimbabwe officials actually send their children to the new Robert Mugabe university that’s being set up in honour of the 93-year-old president? That’s what Zimbabweans have been asking after the official Chronicle newspaper reported this week that the authorities had begun the process of “setting up” the new institution, which is being billed as a ...

Abuja – Nigeria’s government on Thursday retracted its announcement that another Chibok girl was free, saying she was not one of the 219 whose kidnapping more than three years ago caused global outrage. The presidency said on Wednesday evening that the teenager was picked up by the military after fleeing from Boko Haram jihadists. But Laolu Akande, spokesperson for Vice ...

Vladimir Putin has waded into the growing row surrounding US President Donald Trump and his links to Russia. US media say Mr Trump passed on classified information to Russian officials last week, but Mr Putin says this is not the case. He said he would release a record of the meeting to the US Congress if they requested it. The ...