The bodies of a journalist and his partner have been found in South Africa in an advanced stage of decomposition, more than two months after they went missing, local media groups have said.

Police said they had found human remains, but DNA tests still needed to be conducted to confirm they were those of radio journalist Sibusiso Aserie Ndlovu and his partner Zodwa Precious Mdhluli.

In a joint statement, two media groups said that police had achieved a breakthrough after arresting five suspects.

The couple were murdered and their bodies dumped in a bush in northern Limpopo province, the media groups said, adding that the deaths had left them in shock and disbelief.

The suspects had reportedly been arrested with stolen furniture, appliances and the parts of a car belonging to the couple who had been missing since 18 February.

Ndlovu was the founder of a local radio station, Capital Live, in South Africa's capital Pretoria.

The African Media and Communicators Forum (AMCF) and the National Press Club (NPC) said that a forensic team had already identified the remains as those of the couple.

"I am terribly sad. We held out hope that despite the number of days that the couple had gone missing, they would still be found alive. Our deepest condolences go out to the families of our brother and sister," said AMCF chairperson Elijah Mhlanga.

South Africa has one of the highest crime rates in the world, with many people living in fear.

Official data showed that 26,232 murders took place in 2024, an average of 72 per day.

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The US has announced that it is cutting $50m (£37m) in aid to Zambia's health sector, due to the country's failure to address the "systematic theft" of donated drugs and medical supplies.

This "difficult" decision was taken after repeated warnings to the Zambian government to safeguard vital drugs meant for the country's most vulnerable patients, said US ambassador to Zambia Michael Gonzales.

"We are no longer willing to underwrite the personal enrichment of fraudsters or the corrupt when patients go without or have to buy life-saving medications that we have provided for free," he added.

The Zambian government is yet to comment.

The cuts are separate to the sweeping foreign aid freeze announced by President Donald Trump in January.

The Zambian health sector is heavily funded by foreign donors, but there have been previous reports of widespread misappropriation and corruption involving senior health officials.

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The US accounts for about a third of public health spending in Zambia according to a statement from the US embassy in the country.

But US officials said they had discovered the "country-wide theft" of medical products that were intended to be distributed for free to the public but were now being sold by private pharmacies.

More than 2,000 pharmacies across Zambia were found selling donated drugs and medical supplies in a year-long investigation conducted by the US embassy.

"Shockingly, across these visits, 95 percent of the pharmacies that were selling the kinds of products that the United States provides, were also selling stolen goods," the statement said.

Nearly half of the pharmacies visited were found selling medication and supplies donated by the US government, it said.

Other pharmacies were also found selling stolen medical stocks purchased by the Zambian government, the Global Fund, and Zambia's other donor partners, it added.

The US embassy said it had presented its findings and offered experts for action to stop further theft and to bring the culprits to justice in April last year but no action was taken.

"I regret that to date, the government's actions have fallen drastically short of demonstrating a commitment to safeguarding US assistance and the lives we aim to save," the embassy said.

Zambia's law enforcement operations have focused on "low-level actors" and have led to the arrest of "only a few mid-level officials" instead of investigating supply sources and pursuing the masterminds behind the theft of medicines, according to the US embassy.

Gonzales said the US "can no longer justify to the American taxpayer continuing to provide such massive levels of assistance."

He said the cuts would affect drugs to treat malaria, HIV and TB.

"This is not a decision we have taken lightly," Gonzales said, shedding tears as he explained how the measure would affect Zambian patients.

The aid cuts will take effect January next year to give the Zambian government time to develop alternative arrangements but he said "the decision had been made".

Since the Trump administration took office, it has cut billions of dollars in global health programmes, hitting African countries including Zambia, where HIV remains a major threat especially for adolescents and young adults.

Trump announced the aid freeze on his first day in office in January in line with his "America First" foreign policy.

The aid cuts have affected health programmes across Africa, including shipments of critical medical supplies, including HIV drugs.

The majority of the US Agency for International Development's (USAID) programmes, which provided health and humanitarian assistance to vulnerable nations, have since been terminated.

In March, Zambia's President Hakainde Hichilema said Trump had "slapped us on both cheeks", saying it was time for his country to strengthen its treasury to procure its own medicines.

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Interest rates are widely expected to be cut on Thursday, with further falls predicted for later in the year.

Analysts say a cut to 4.25% from 4.5% by the Bank of England is highly likely, although no change or a bigger reduction remain possibilities.

Such a move would make borrowing money by businesses and individuals less expensive, but there are likely to be lower returns for savers.

The announcement will come at 12:02 BST, following a two-minute silence to mark VE Day.

If a cut is confirmed, it would be the fourth rate reduction from last year's peak of 5.25%, and the second this year.

Balancing act

Members of the Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will be paying close attention to the rate of price rises in the UK, as measured by inflation.

Interest rates are the Bank's primary tool in ensuring the annual rate of inflation remains at, or close to, the target of 2%.

The latest data shows an inflation rate of 2.6% in the 12 months to March, although a series of bill increases at the start of April - including domestic energy prices - mean the rate is expected to climb, perhaps only temporarily.

The committee will also be alert to wider global economic uncertainty. President Trump's tariff policy in the US was unveiled after the MPC's last meeting in March.

Many analysts say inconsistency and uncertainty regarding the policy may push down growth and inflation, leading to expectations of the MPC responding with more interest rate cuts this year.

How a cut would affect you

The likelihood of an immediate cut, with more to come, has been reflected in the markets and, in turn, on mortgage pricing.

Eight in 10 homeowners with a mortgage have a fixed-rate deal and will pay close attention to the interest on new deals when they first buy or when they shop around ahead of a current deal expiring.

Lenders have been cutting the mortgage rates on these new fixed deals in recent weeks, although not down to the levels seen during most of the 2010s. Given that lenders have already "priced in" a cut in interest rates, further falls in mortgage rates are not guaranteed.

The average two-year fixed mortgage rate is 5.15%, according to financial information company Moneyfacts, and a five-year deal is 5.08%.

Samren Reddy, a medical student at the University of Liverpool who got in touch with Your Voice, Your BBC News, is saving to buy a first home.

"I don't think a small decrease will be a game changer. We're saving for the initial upfront deposit," the 21-year-old said.

"If I'm trying to save for a home, alongside my day-to-day living, even if I may be paying less on a loan and could get a cheaper mortgage, it's swallowed up by the pressures of living."

A fall in interest rates are also likely have an impact on the returns people like Samren receive on their savings.

Base rate cuts generally lead to reductions in the interest provided by savings providers, particularly on instant-access accounts.

Anna Bowes, savings expert at financial advice firm The Private Office, said it was "encouraging" that fixed savings rates were still competitive, with relatively high interest paid.

However, she said that required people being willing to lock their savings into an account and to leave them untouched for the term of the deal, generally between one and five years.

A rate cut would guarantee some mortgage-holders lower monthly repayments.

Nearly 600,000 homeowners have a mortgage that "tracks" the Bank of England's rate, so a base rate change would have an immediate impact.

A typical tracker mortgage-holder is likely to see about £29 knocked off their monthly repayments if the Bank rate is reduced by 0.25 percentage points, according to calculations by banking trade body UK Finance.

Homeowner Vanda, who has a tracker, told the BBC: "I had a really good rate, then all of a sudden it changed and I got caught out.

"A drop would help because I've just been made redundant, so that would help a wee bit. I don't think it will ever go back to the way it was, though."

Those on standard variable rate mortgages will need to wait for the lender to decide on any changes to the home loan rate if the Bank's base rate changes.

A woman accused of having an illegal abortion has been cleared by a jury.

Nicola Packer, 45, cried as she was acquitted of "unlawfully administering to herself a poison or other noxious thing" with the "intent to procure a miscarriage".

Isleworth Crown Court heard she took abortion medicine at home during the coronavirus lockdown, in November 2020, when she was about 26 weeks pregnant. Ms Packer then delivered the foetus and took it to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in a backpack.

The legal limit for taking medication at home to terminate a pregnancy is 10 weeks, while the outer limit for any abortion in England, Scotland and Wales is 24 weeks, apart from in certain circumstances.

Ms Packer, who was 41 at the time, took the medications mifepristone and misoprostol, which were prescribed over the phone due to Covid restrictions.

Prosecutors alleged that Ms Packer knew she had been pregnant for more than 10 weeks, which she denied.

Giving evidence during her trial, Ms Packer spoke of her "shock" and "surprise" at being pregnant.

She told the jury: "If I had known I was that far along I wouldn't have done it."

She added: "I wouldn't have put the baby or myself through it."

Jurors heard Ms Packer spent the night of 7 November in hospital and was arrested by police the next day.

Ms Packer was supported by friends in the public gallery, who hugged one another as the verdict was delivered.

Jurors deliberated for more than six hours to reach the unanimous verdict.

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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is facing a growing rebellion by Labour MPs over planned welfare cuts some have warned are "impossible to support" without a "change of direction".

In a letter to The Guardian, 42 MPs said proposed welfare savings worth £5bn a year by 2030 had "caused a huge amount of anxiety and concern among disabled people and their families".

The MPs urged ministers to delay any decisions until assessments of the potential impact of the cuts on employment and health had been published.

The government has been approached for comment.

The letter comes before MPs are expected to vote on a new law that would bring the benefits cuts into effect next month.

On Wednesday, nine Labour MPs spoke during a debate to say they would vote against the changes to a key disability benefit called personal independence payment (Pip) and universal credit (UC).

In Labour's ranks of MPs there has been growing disquiet over the welfare reforms since the party suffered heavy losses in last week's local elections.

In the letter, the 42 MPs said the planned cuts "represent the biggest attack on the welfare state since George Osborne ushered in the years of austerity and over three million of our poorest and most disadvantaged will be affected".

It continued: "Whilst the government may have correctly diagnosed the problem of a broken benefits system and a lack of job opportunities for those who are able to work, they have come up with the wrong medicine. Cuts don't create jobs, they just cause more hardship."

The letter said the benefits system does need reform to tackle "the barriers that disabled people face when trying to find and maintain employment".

"Without a change in direction, the green paper will be impossible to support," it added.

Letters to PM

In March, the government released a green paper to spell out the details of its proposed shake-up of the benefits system.

Overall, the government spends £65bn a year on health and disability-related benefits. Before the government announced the Pip and UC changes, this was projected to increase to £100bn by 2029.

The government estimated that 3.2 million families could be worse off as a result of the reforms, while 3.8 million families will be better off by 2030.

MPs will get a chance to vote on the plans because the government needs to pass primary legislation to make the changes to welfare payments.

The legislation is due to be published this month before making its way through Parliament in June.

The BBC understands some of the signatories are also writing to the prime minister to press for a delay in the vote until the full impact assessment on health and employment is published.

Alongside the welfare cuts, the government has put forward proposals to encourage more people receiving benefits to find work.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) was unable to say how effective those employment measures would be when it published its assessment of the green paper, citing a lack of detail from the government.

Instead, the OBR plans to include an assessment of this element of the welfare changes in its autumn forecast.

On Wednesday, Disability Minister Sir Stephen Timms defended the proposals, saying it was not sustainable for welfare spending to rise at the current rate.

"The current system produces poor employment outcomes, high economic inactivity, low living standards, high costs to the taxpayer. It needs to change," he said.

"We want a more proactive, pro-work system that supports people better and supports the economy as well."

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About 1.2m people in the UK were affected by banking outages that happened on what was pay day for many earlier this year.

The details have emerged in letters from Lloyds, TSB, Nationwide and HSBC to Dame Meg Hillier, the chair of the Commons Treasury Committee, which is looking into the incident that occurred on Friday, 28 February.

HSBC also revealed that customers had to wait two hours on average that day to reach its online customer service team. Its standard target wait time is five minutes.

In their correspondence, the banks said they had paid compensation to affected customers and also outlined what they were doing to try to prevent similar problems in the future.

Pay day problems

Lloyds Banking Group customers faced the biggest impact from the February outages.

Ron van Kemenade, the bank's group chief operating officer, said around 700,000 people who are customers of Lloyds, Halifax, Bank of Scotland and MBNA were affected as they couldn't log into their accounts on a first attempt.

However Mr van Kemenade argued it did not amount to an outage, as there were five million successful logins during the period of disruption.

Nonetheless, the bank said it was improving its log-in infrastructure and monitoring systems following the incident.

The letters from the banks revealed about 250,000 TSB customers, 196,255 from Nationwide and 60,000 from HSBC also faced disruption on that morning.

The banks have paid out over £114,000 in compensation to customers so far, with Nationwide (£84,341) paying the most.

All the banks said there was no evidence of an increase in fraudulent activity during the disruption, and said there was also no indication that outages were more prevalent at some times - such as pay days - than at other periods.

Fine and failing infrastructure

The pay day outage was far from the only IT problem the banking sector has experienced.

In March, it emerged that nine major banks and building societies operating in the UK accumulated at least 803 hours - the equivalent of 33 days - of tech outages in the past two years.

The Treasury Committee - which has been investigating the impact of banking IT failures - compelled Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Nationwide, Santander, NatWest, Danske Bank, Bank of Ireland and Allied Irish Bank to provide the data.

The report also said Barclays could now face compensation payments of £12.5m following an outage there that affected customers on pay day in January.

Experts including Patrick Burgess of BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, and Shilpa Doreswamy, a director with GFT, a company committed to the digital transformation of the financial sector, have stated that the recent outages reveal the problems banks have with ageing infrastructure and failing IT systems.

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Microsoft founder Bill Gates said he intends to give away 99% of his vast fortune over the next 20 years.

Gates said he would accelerate his giving via his foundation, with plans to end its operations in 2045.

"People will say a lot of things about me when I die, but I am determined that 'he died rich' will not be one of them," he wrote in a blog post Thursday.

Mr Gates, 69, said his eponymous foundation has already given $100bn (£75bn) towards health and development projects, and that he expects it will spend another $200bn, depending on markets and inflation, over the next two decades.

In his blog post, Mr Gates cited a 1889 essay by tycoon Andrew Carnegie called The Gospel of Wealth, which argues that wealthy people have a duty to return their fortunes to society.

Mr Gates quoted Mr Carnegie, who wrote: "the man who dies thus rich dies disgraced."

His latest pledge represents an acceleration in charitable giving. Initially he and his ex-wife Melinda had planned for the Gates Foundation to continue working for several decades after their deaths.

Giving away 99% of his fortune could still leave Mr Gates a billionaire – according to Bloomberg, the Microsoft founder is the fifth-richest person in the world.

In the post, he shared a timeline of his wealth that showed his current net worth at $108bn and a large hand-drawn arrow going down to close to zero in 2045.

Mr Gates also said the foundation would draw from its endowment to give away $200 bn.

Along with Paul Allen, Mr Gates founded Microsoft in 1975, and the company became a dominant force in computer software and other tech industries. Mr Gates has gradually stepped back from the company this century, resigning as chief executive in 2000 and as chairman in 2014.

Mr Gates said he has been inspired to give away money by investor Warren Buffett and other philanthropists, however critics of his foundation say Mr Gates uses its charitable status to avoid tax and that it has undue influence over the global health system.

In his blog post, he outlined three main goals for his foundation: eliminating preventable diseases which kill mothers and children; eliminating infectious diseases including malaria and measles; and eliminating poverty for hundreds of millions of people.

Mr Gates criticised the US, UK and France for cutting their foreign aid budgets.

"It's unclear whether the world's richest countries will continue to stand up for its poorest people," he wrote. "But the one thing we can guarantee is that, in all of our work, the Gates Foundation will support efforts to help people and countries pull themselves out of poverty."

He was more pointed in an interview with the Financial Times, accusing Tesla CEO and Department of Government Efficiency boss Elon Musk of being personally responsible for the deaths of children through his cuts to the US aid budget, including the dismantling of the US Agency for International Development.

"The picture of the world's richest man killing the world's poorest children is not a pretty one," Mr Gates said.

Mr Gates raised the issue of cancelled grants to a hospital in Gaza Province, Mozambique, which Donald Trump erroneously claimed was funding condoms "for Hamas" in the Gaza Strip. Mr Musk later acknowledged the claim was wrong and said "we will make mistakes", however the cost-cutting continued.

"I'd love for [Musk] to go in and meet the children that have now been infected with HIV because he cut that money," Mr Gates told the FT.

The BBC contacted Mr Musk for comment.

The Gates Foundation is a donor to BBC Media Action, the BBC's charitable arm which is separate from the Corporation's news operations.