Top Stories

New Zealand declares state of emergency in Wellington as floods hit
Footage online show vehicles submerged, trees uprooted and houses hit by landslides.

Row over classical music being ‘weaponised’ to disperse youths
Musicians are furious that the use of classical music to disperse groups is playing to stereotypes.

Johann Rupert has a R38 billion problem
Remgro, founded and chaired by billionaire Johann Rupert, has seen its trading discount increase from 6.5% to 45.9% over the past decade.

Challenges keeping King’s path fully open in south
Natural England says it will be challenging to keep King Charles’s coastal path fully open in parts of the south.

Reform pledges to review all asylum claims since 2021 if it wins power
The current Labour government has already announced major crackdowns on immigration, including disrupting gangs.

Spat at, threatened and kidnapped: British Jews tell of rising antisemitism
British Jews have described to BBC Panorama how they are experiencing a rise in antisemitism.

Morena believes Downs will get over the line this time
Masandawana will face AS Far in the two-legged decider with the first leg to take place in Pretoria on May 15 and the return leg on May 24 in Rabat, Morocco.
Germany’s Merz says industrial AI needs less stringent EU regulation
HANOVER, Germany, April 19 (Reuters) – Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Sunday that artificial intelligence for industrial use will require more regulatory freedom in the European Union than other AI areas such as consumer use to boost productivity.
World weighs fate of Mideast ceasefire after US seizes Iranian cargo ship
WASHINGTON/CAIRO, April 20 (Reuters) – Concerns grew on Monday that the ceasefire between the United States and Iran might not hold after the U.S. said it had seized an Iranian cargo ship that tried to run its blockade and Iran vowed to retaliate.
AGE OF ACCOUNTABILITY: Matshela Koko challenges R2.5bn ‘immunity’ deal with Kusile contractor ABB as corruption charges loom
Former acting Eskom CEO Matshela Koko wants an agreement between the National Prosecuting Authority and Swedish-Swiss technology company ABB declared unlawful in a continuing court battle to clear his name. The NPA has hit back at Koko, saying that by challenging the agreement, he hopes to get off ‘scot-free’.

Newspaper review: ‘Commons showdown’ and ‘Starmer fights for future’
Many of today’s papers preivew Starmer’s statement about the Mandelson vetting scandal in parliament today.

Five questions awaiting Starmer as he faces Commons over Mandelson scandal
The prime minister said he was “staggered” to find out last week that civil servants in the Foreign Office withheld information from him.

Frustration, apathy and hope: Birmingham divided as extraordinary election looms
Is the UK’s second city about to see the biggest political shake-up in more than a decade?

India has splurged billions on metro trains. But where are the commuters?
Without better last-mile connectivity and affordable fares, metro use is unlikely to improve quickly, say experts.

‘They told me he was dead’: Children born near army base learn truth about UK soldier dads
A DNA and legal project has identified the fathers of 20 children born near a military base in Kenya.

New university free speech complaints system to come into force this year
Universities could face fines of £500,000 or 2% of their income if they are found to have failed to protect free speech.

Why your recycled clothes could end up in this South American desert
Old garments from around the world are being discarded in the South American country.

The insider trading suspicions looming over Trump’s presidency
The BBC has found a pattern of spikes in trades ahead of public announcements by the US president.

Our dream family home is beside a dead animal dumping ground
Further incidents of animal carcass waste dumping have been uncovered in rural parts of County Tyrone.

Health visitors call for limits on ‘impossible’ 1,000-family caseloads
BBC analysis shows the number of health visitors in England has almost halved in the last 10 years.