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A "naked" choir performance by a group of South African schoolgirls has led to calls for investigation by the country's education minister. Angie Motshekga said she was "extremely disappointed" after seeing footage of the Xhosa girls performing wearing only a small apron, known as an "inkciyo". The basic education minister said it was an "indignity [which] goes against the values of our cultures". But the choirmaster has defended the choice - saying he was proud. According to  South Africa's Daily Dispatch website , the unnamed teacher said: "We are proud of our Xhosa tradition. We are proud of 'inkciyo'. We are proud of Xhosa women and girls." The Xhosa are South Africa's second-largest ethnic group. Footage of the performance at a competition in Mthatha, in the Eastern Cape, emerged earlier this week, showing the girls dancing on stage, their breasts and buttocks exposed. The video was taken dur

Denmark has passed a ban on full-face veils. It becomes the latest in a number of EU countries to pass such a ban, which mainly affects Muslim women wearing a niqab or burka. The law was passed by 75 votes to 30 in parliament on Thursday and will come into force on 1 August. Those violating the ban will be forced to pay 1,000 kroner (£118; $157), with fines ten times higher for repeat offenders. The wording of the new legislation does not specifically mention Muslim women but says that "anyone who wears a garment that hides the face in public will be punished with a fine". Speaking about the law, Denmark's Justice Minister Søren Pape Poulsen said: "In terms of value, I see a discussion of what kind of society we should have with the roots and culture we have, that we don't cover our face and eyes, we must be able to see each other and we must also be able to see each other's facial expressions, it's a value in Denmark." Amnesty Intern

The family of a small boy dramatically rescued after dangling from a balcony in Paris, France have expressed their thanks to the Malian man who saved him. "He's truly a hero," the boy's grandmother said of migrant Mamoudou Gassama, who scaled four floors to pluck the child from danger. The four-year-old's father, who had left him in their flat and gone shopping, faces charges of failing to look after his child, reports say. Mr Gassama will be given citizenship. French President Emmanuel Macron personally thanked him, gave him a medal for courage and said he would also be offered a role in the fire service. More details have begun to emerge of the circumstances surrounding the incident. Why was the boy on the balcony? The boy left Réunion, where his mother and grandmother live, about three weeks ago and moved to Paris to join his father, who works in the city. His mother and the couple's second child were due to join them in June. The fathe

A man has shot dead two female police officers and a civilian in the eastern Belgian city of Liège. The gunman also took a female cleaner hostage at a school before being killed by police. Four other police officers were also injured. The man's motive is not yet clear but the incident is being treated as terrorism. Police sources quoted in local media said the man was heard shouting "Allahu Akbar" ("God is greatest" in Arabic). Belgian broadcaster RTBF said the gunman was let out from prison on temporary release on Monday where he had been serving time on drug offences. It said that he may have been radicalised while in jail. Liège mayor Willy Demeyer confirmed the deaths of the two female officers during a press conference and said that "physical and psychological support" would be provided to the families of the victims. Mr Demeyer added that "all flags on municipal buildings" were to be flown at half-mast, a book of condo

Hurricane Maria killed more than 4,600 people in Puerto Rico, 70 times the official toll, according to estimates in a Harvard University study. A third of deaths after September's hurricane were due to interruptions in medical care caused by power cuts and broken road links, researchers say. The Puerto Rico government said it "always expected the number to be higher than what was previously reported". The official death toll stands at 64. But experts say an accurate count was complicated by the widespread devastation wreaked by the storm. Carlos Mercader from Puerto Rico's Federal Affairs Administration said he welcomed the Harvard survey. "The magnitude of this tragic disaster caused by Hurricane Maria resulted in many fatalities," he said. He added that the island's authorities had also commissioned George Washington University to study the number of deaths and these findings would be released soon. "Both studies will help us b

Defending champion Jelena Ostapenko and seven-time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams went out of the French Open in the first round on Sunday. Latvian fifth seed Ostapenko was stunned by Ukrainian Kateryna Kozlova, who came through 7-5 6-3. American ninth seed Williams, a finalist at Roland Garros in 2002, was beaten 6-4 7-5 by world number 91 Wang Qiang of China. Meanwhile, fourth seed  Elina Svitolina  beat Ajla Tomljanovic 7-5 6-3. It is the first time in 78 Grand Slam appearances stretching back to 1997 that Williams has lost successive first-round matches at a major. "Nobody plans on this," said the 37-year-old, who also went out in the first round at the Australian Open in January. "There are no perfect days in tennis." Last year, at the age of 19, the then unseeded Ostapenko pulled off a massive coup by beating current world number one Simona Halep to take the title in Paris. But this time around, she was beaten in 95 minutes on Philippe Chat

A US team is holding talks with North Korean officials to prepare a possible meeting between President Donald Trump and the North's leader Kim Jong-un. The talks in the village of Panmunjom, in the demilitarised zone between the two Koreas, is the latest sign that the summit could take place after all. On Thursday Mr Trump called off the meeting - due in Singapore next month - citing the North's "hostility". But both sides have since been working to get it back on track. On Saturday Mr Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in held an unannounced meeting. Mr Moon said the North's leader had "again made clear his commitment to a complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula". Mr Kim Jong-un later spoke of his "fixed will" that the summit should go ahead. Mr Trump said things were "moving along very nicely". The visit by the US delegation was first reported by the Washington Post later on Sunday. The team was led by

Former finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has revealed the blackmail and arm twisting that characterised budget passing by the National Assembly during the Goodluck Jonathan Administration. She cited an instance in 2015 when the National Assembly leadership forced the executive arm to part with N17 billion for the federal lawmakers to pass that year’s budget. That, she said, was at a time crude price had gone down drastically. The N17 billion alleged bribe, according to Okonjo-Iweala in her book  Fighting Corruption is Dangerous:The Story Behind the Headlines , was besides the NASS N150 billion annual ‘standard’ budget. She described federal legislators as a tough political group to deal with. Her words: “The legislature was concerned largely about three things—the size of its own budget; the nature and the size of the capital budget, particularly investment projects; and the number and geographical location of the projects. “Senators and Representatives felt that their

A coat of arms created for the Duchess of Sussex that reflects her Californian background has been unveiled. It includes a shield containing the colour blue, representing the Pacific Ocean, and rays, symbolising sunshine. The duchess worked closely with the College of Arms in London to create the design, Kensington Palace said. The lion supporting the shield relates to her husband, the Duke of Sussex, and dates back to the House of Stuart's ascent to the throne in 1603. The songbird supporting the shield on the right relates to the Duchess of Sussex. Traditionally wives of members of the Royal Family have two - one of their husband's supporters on the shield and one relating to themselves. Beneath the shield is California's state flower - the golden poppy - and Wintersweet, a flower that grows at Kensington Palace and was also depicted on the duchess' wedding veil. The three quills illustrate the power of words and communication. The duchess has also

Former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein has been charged in New York with rape and several counts of sexual abuse stemming from two separate accusers. Mr Weinstein turned himself in to police in the city earlier in the day. Dozens of women have made allegations against the 66-year-old, including rape and sexual assault, and giving rise to the #MeToo movement. Mr Weinstein has denied committing any non-consensual sex acts. He is now out on bail, wearing a monitoring device. A statement from the New York Police Department said Mr Weinstein "was arrested, processed and charged with rape, criminal sex act, sex abuse and sexual misconduct for incidents involving two separate women". He arrived at the police station in lower Manhattan at 07:30 (12:30 BST) on Friday, carrying three books. After having his mugshot and fingerprints taken, he was led out in handcuffs and taken to court. During a brief court appearance, during which Mr Weinstein did not speak, prosecut

A New York couple have won their legal battle to evict their 30-year-old son from home after he refused to leave. During a hearing at the state's highest court in Syracuse, a judge praised Michael Rotondo's legal research, but ordered him to leave the house anyway. Justice Donald Greenwood told the son his bid to remain in his parents' home another six months was "outrageous". But Mr Rotondo, who legally represented himself, said it was the eviction notice that was outrageous. "I don't see why they can't just, you know, wait a little bit for me to leave the house," Mr Rotondo argued, as his parents looked on, sitting with their lawyer. He said six months was "a reasonable amount of time for someone who has been depending on persons for support". The smiling judge urged him to speak to his parents, and to voluntarily leave the house, but Mr Rotondo refused. "I want you out of that household," Judge Greenwood

Unai Emery said he wants Arsenal to be among Europe's elite once more when he appeared at his first news conference since being appointed as Arsene Wenger's successor. The 46-year-old was  officially appointed on Wednesday  before he, along with chief executive Ivan Gazidis, addressed a packed media room. He said: "Success next season would be developing, but how? By battling for every title. "It's very important for the club, after two years outside the Champions League, to work to be the  best team in the Premier League and also in the world Arsenal manager Unai Emery "That's in Arsenal's and my history." Arsenal failed to qualify for the Champions League in 2017 and won't feature in the 2018-19 competition having previously been in every year since 1998. Gazidis revealed that the Spaniard was on an eight-man shortlist for the job, but was the club's main target. "All eight took part in e

The Abuja Division of the Federal High Court on Wednesday said former spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh, stage-managed his fall in the court room on Monday to stall his trial. The court then ruled for continuation of the trial on Thursday. Mr Metuh is facing a  seven-count charge  before the court for alleged diversion of N400 million from the office of the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki. The former PDP spokesperson, who was diagnosed of having spinal cord injuries,  fell while walking towards the dock  on Monday. On Tuesday when the case resumed, Mr Metuh did not appear in court. His lawyers linked his absence to his health condition and applied for an indefinite adjournment of the trial. But the prosecution objected to the application, following which the court adjourned until Wednesday to rule on it. When the court resumed on Wednesday, the trial judge, Okon Abang, gave the ruling that the trial should continue, saying th

An Australian court has found a Catholic archbishop guilty of concealing child sexual abuse in the 1970s. Philip Wilson, the archbishop of Adelaide, becomes the most senior Catholic in the world to be charged and convicted of the offence. He was found to have covered up the abuse of altar boys by a paedophile priest colleague in New South Wales. During his trial he denied being told about the abuse by some of the victims. In a statement issued by the church on Wednesday, Wilson said he was "obviously disappointed" with the verdict and would consider his legal options. 'Wanted to protect the church' Last month, Wilson told the Newcastle Local Court he had no knowledge of priest James Fletcher's actions, which took place when he was an assistant priest in Maitland, 130km (80 miles) north of Sydney. Fletcher was later convicted of nine child sexual abuse charges in 2004, and died in jail in 2006. One of his victims, former altar boy Peter Creigh, t

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has condemned the US for promising to impose the "strongest sanctions in history" on his country. Measures outlined by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, he said, showed the US was a prisoner of its "failed policies" and it would suffer the consequences. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini also criticised the US. She said Mr Pompeo had failed to show how dropping the 2015 nuclear deal would make the Middle East safer. There was, she said, "no alternative" to the agreement, which US President Donald Trump vowed earlier this month to abandon, and she said the EU would stick by it if Iran met its commitments. Despite the EU's official position, some of Europe's biggest firms who rushed to do business with Iran after the nuclear deal now find themselves forced to choose between investing there or trading with the US. What did Pompeo announce? US sanctions lifted after the 2015 deal would be re

Janet Jackson made her stance on the #MeToo movement clear as she won the Icon prize at the Billboard awards. "I believe that, for all of our challenges, we live at a glorious moment in history," she said. "At long last, women have made it clear that we will no longer be controlled, manipulated, or abused. "I stand with those women and with those men equally outraged by discrimination, who support us in heart and mind." The singer, whose 1986 breakthrough album Control, dealt with themes of feminism and taking charge of her own identity, has previously sung about domestic abuse on songs like  What About  and  Lessons Learned . The 52-year-old was the first black woman to receive the Icon Prize, as Bruno Mars pointed out while welcoming her to the stage. "The name Jackson represents artistic genius and iconic performance," said Mars. "The Jacksons are music royalty and the first family of entertainment. She is an activist. She&

A remote Brazilian island with a ban on childbirth is nonetheless celebrating the first baby born there in 12 years. Fernando de Noronha island, 370km (230 miles) from the city of Natal, has about 3,000 residents but no maternity wards. Expectant mothers are requested to travel to the mainland. A woman who does not want to be named had a baby girl on Saturday on the island - she says she was unaware she was pregnant and is "dumbstruck". Surprise birth The woman is believed to be aged 22. "On Friday night I had pains and when I went to the bathroom I saw something coming down between my legs," she was quoted as saying by O Globo website. "That's when the child's father came and picked it up. It was a baby, a girl. I was dumbstruck." The baby was later taken to the local hospital. In a statement, the local administration confirmed the birth. "The mother, who does not wish to be identified, went into labour at her home,"

BBC