INTERNATIONAL

The death toll from Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas will be “staggering”, the country’s government has warned as aid efforts are being stepped up. The official death toll stands at 30, but is expected to rise further. Officials are sending morticians and 200 body bags to the Abaco Islands, the worst-hit part of the archipelago. Dorian – which devastated the ...

Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s first post-independence leader, has died aged 95. His family confirmed his death to the BBC. Mr Mugabe had been receiving treatment in a hospital in Singapore since April. Mr Mugabe was ousted in a military coup in 2017 after 37 years in power. Mr Mugabe’s early years were praised for broadening access to health and education for ...

South Africa has temporarily closed its diplomatic missions in Nigeria following reprisal attacks by Nigerians triggered by xenophobic violence in South Africa. Since Sunday, mobs have looted and destroyed shops, many of them foreign-owned, in South Africa’s commercial hub Johannesburg, . Nigeria’s government has been outspoken in its condemnation of the violence. South Africa’s foreign minister called it an embarrassment ...

The PM will accuse Jeremy Corbyn of “a cowardly insult to democracy” later for not backing a general election. Boris Johnson – who sources say regards this as the first day of an election campaign – will argue the Labour leader is denying people their say on the progress of Brexit. On Wednesday, MPs blocked Mr Johnson’s plan for an ...

Africans have come out to boycott South Africa after days of looting and violence targeting foreigners in which five people died. Nigerian singers and Zambia’s football team are among those in the boycott. South Africa’s social development minister told the BBC the rioters feared losing their jobs to foreigners. The country has become a magnet for migrants from other parts ...

Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has said she will withdraw the highly controversial extradition bill which has triggered months of protests. The proposal, introduced in April, would have allowed criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China. The bill was suspended in June but Ms Lam stopped short of scrapping it. Full withdrawal was one of five key demands of ...

Twenty-five bodies have been found on the ocean floor after a boat was destroyed by fire off the coast of California, the US Coast Guard says. Nine people are still missing. Five crew members had escaped earlier. The fire started in the early hours of Monday. The boat was anchored just metres off Santa Cruz Island, about 90 miles (145km) ...

The most powerful storm to hit the Bahamas since records began has torn off roofs and caused severe flooding. The slow-moving, category five Dorian – the second-strongest Atlantic hurricane on record – is now packing sustained winds of up to 165mph (270km/h) and may cause a storm surge of up to 23ft (7m). There is no official word on casualties ...

The personal assistant to US President Donald Trump has been forced to resign from the White House after leaking intimate information about his family. Madeleine Westerhout, 29, was abruptly removed on Thursday after Mr Trump learned she had shared the details at a dinner with reporters early this month. She was drinking and bragging about her access to Mr Trump ...

Media captionDavid Cameron answers Boris Johnson point on EU during statement The PM has warned MPs they are damaging his chances of getting a deal with the EU by trying to block a no-deal Brexit. Boris Johnson said the UK would leave the bloc “do or die” on 31 October – prompting some MPs to act to stop the UK ...