​  ​South African opposition figure Malema sentenced to five years in prisonJust nowReutersSouth African opposition politician Julius Malema has been sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of the illegal possession of a gun and firing it in public.Malema’s lawyer said he would be appealing against the decision to prevent the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters from being taken away to prison. The length of the sentence could see him being disqualified as an MP.Standing in court in a dark suit and red tie, Malema showed little emotion as the magistrate read out the sentence.Last year, he was convicted of five offences, including the unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, discharging it in a public space and reckless endangerment.The charges related to an incident in 2018 when a video emerged showing Malema using a semi-automatic rifle to fire several shots in the air during his party’s fifth anniversary celebrations held in the country’s Eastern Cape province.In his defence, Malema told the court the firearm was not his and that he had fired the shots to rouse the crowd, South African news site SowetanLIVE reported at the time.After being found guilty last October, Malema told his supporters outside the court in East London that “going to prison or death is a badge of honour”.”We cannot be scared of prison [or] to die for the revolution. Whatever they want to do, they must know we will never retreat.”He also vowed to take a challenge to the judgment up to South Africa’s highest court, the Constitutional Court.Getty Images/BBCGo to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent.Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafricaThis breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.BBC Africa podcastsFocus on AfricaThis Is AfricaJulius MalemaSouth AfricaAfrica  

​  ​Turkish police order 83 arrests over online praise for school shootings6 minutes agoElla KiplingandOrla Guerin,Kahramanmaras, TurkeyGetty ImagesTurkish police have ordered the arrests of 83 people accused of posting controversial content online about two deadly school shootings which took place this week.They were “found to have engaged in posts and activities praising crime and criminals and negatively affecting public order”, police said. It added that access to 940 social media accounts have been blocked and 93 Telegram groups have been shut down.At least nine people were killed in a shooting at a school in southern Turkey on Wednesday, a day after another attack injured 16 people at a high school in the country’s southeast.Getty ImagesAt least eight students and one teacher were killed in the school shooting in the Kahramanmaras area of southern Turkey. Turkish officials said 13 others were wounded, with six in critical condition.A 14-year-old attacker was also killed during the incident at Ayser Calik Secondary School.The local prosecutor’s office in the Kahramanmaras province said in a statement that the suspect had planned for the attack in advance.It said: “During the examination of digital materials, a document dated April 11, 2026, was found on the suspect’s computer indicating that he intended to carry out a major operation in the near future.”The suspect had referenced US mass killer Elliot Rodger in a photo on his WhatsApp profile, according to police. Rodger, a 22-year-old American, murdered six people before taking his own life in California in 2014.Turkish media reported that the attacker, believed to be a student, entered two classrooms and had five guns and seven magazines with him. The aunt of a victim told the BBC she had learned that her 10-year-old niece had been killed when her name was read out on the news.Funeral prayers for four of the victims are being held on Thursday in the city’s main mosque. Three Turkish government ministers are expected to attend, the BBC understands. The shooting was the second to take place in the country this week. On Tuesday, 16 people were injured after an ex-student opened fire at the Ahmet Koyuncu Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School in Siverek district. The attacker, who was in his late teens, fired “indiscriminately with a shotgun” before killing himself with the weapon, local governor Hasan Şildak said.Nine killed in second Turkish school shooting in two daysSixteen injured after ex-student opens fire at high school in TurkeyEuropeTurkey  

​  ​Satellite images reveal scale of Israeli demolitions as Lebanese villages destroyed1 hour agoEmma Pengelly,Merlyn ThomasandBarbara Metzler,BBC VerifyTowns and villages in southern Lebanon are being levelled by Israeli demolitions, satellite images and videos obtained by BBC Verify reveal.BBC Verify analysis found more than 1,400 buildings had been destroyed since 2 March based on verified visual evidence.This is just a snapshot of the overall damage caused by Israeli air strikes and demolitions, because of limited access on the ground and available satellite imagery. The true scale is likely to be much higher.Israel’s levelling of these structures comes after Defence Minister Israel Katz’s order on 22 March to “accelerate the destruction of Lebanese homes” near the Israeli border based on the “model in Gaza” as part of its campaign against Hezbollah.The systematic demolition of these towns and villages may amount to a war crime, international law experts told BBC Verify.The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that it operates in accordance with the Law of Armed Conflict and does not allow the destruction of property unless there is an imperative military necessity.It added, without providing evidence, that Hezbollah has embedded military infrastructure within civilian areas in the region. On 2 March the Iranian-backed armed group Hezbollah launched rockets and drones into Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader at the start of the war with Israel and the US.The IDF responded with a wave of strikes across Lebanon, targeting what it said was Hezbollah infrastructure, and launched a ground invasion of southern Lebanon.An IDF spokesperson first ordered Lebanese civilians living close to the border to leave on 2 March. Days later the evacuation order was expanded to those living south of the Litani river about 30km (20 miles) from the border, and it was then later widened further to those living south of the Zahrani river 40km from the border.On 16 March, the IDF said its troops had begun a ground operation against Hezbollah – a Shia Muslim political and military group – in south Lebanon.More than 1.2 million people are estimated to have been displaced across Lebanon, including 820,000 from the south, according to figures by the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). It said the war in Lebanon has forced many to flee to areas further north or cross into Syria.The Lebanese health ministry says more than 2,000 people have been killed since the war began. Israeli authorities said 13 soldiers and two civilians have been killed by Hezbollah over the past six weeks.Lebanese hilltop border towns and villages are now hard to recognise. Once characterised by their winding streets lined with stone buildings overlooking sweeping valleys, verified videos now show how they have turned grey from dust and debris of explosions.Katz’s plan for an Israeli-controlled “security zone” extending from the border to the Litani riv  

​  ​Meghan says she was ‘most trolled person in the world’1 hour agoSimon Atkinson,Melbourne,Lana LamandClaire KeenanThe Duchess of Sussex has said that for 10 years she was the “most trolled person in the entire world” online.Speaking in Melbourne about the harms of social media, alongside the Duke of Sussex, Meghan said she was “bullied” every day for a decade and that tech companies were “not incentivised to stop” their platforms being misused.The couple are in Australia on a four-day tour as non-working royals and used a meeting on Thursday with representatives of a mental health programme to voice their support for the country’s under-16 social media ban.On the same day, Prince Harry gave a keynote speech at a workplace culture summit, with tickets costing up to A$2,400 (£1,260) per person.The event that Meghan and Prince Harry took part in was at Melbourne’s Swinburne University of Technology.During the sit-down chat, Meghan told the group: “When I think of all of you and what you’re experiencing, I think so much of that is having to realise that you know that industry, that billion-dollar industry, that is completely anchored and predicated on cruelty to get clicks – that’s not going to change.”So you have to be stronger than that.”Her husband added that he thought Australia’s social media ban for children was “epic” from a “responsibility and leadership standpoint”.Prince Harry said “so many countries have now followed suit” – but that “it should have never, ever got to a ban”.Australia has banned social media for kids under 16. How does it work?Echoing some of his wife’s criticism of tech companies who own the platforms, he said they “have to be accountable, and there’s no way that young people should be punished by being banned from something that should be safe to use, no matter what”.Speaking later at the InterEdge Summit, also in Melbourne, the prince spoke about a number of things – including the death of his mother, Princess Diana.”In my experience, loss is disorienting at any age,” he told the event. “Grief does not disappear because we ignore it. Experiencing that as a kid while in a goldfish bowl under constant surveillance, yes, that will have its challenges. And without purpose, it can break you.”He also said he had felt “lost, betrayed, or completely powerless” at various points in his life.Prince Harry was not paid a fee for the speech, PA news agency reports. Locals meet couple on walking tourAlso on the third day of the tour, the couple joined an Aboriginal walking tour called the Scar Tree Walk, an important cultural heritage site experience in the city.Led by local Indigenous guides, the couple walked along the Birrarung, which is the traditional name for Melbourne’s Yarra river.The former royals also saw an art installation, and learned how the river and surrounding lands were used for fishing and hunting by traditional owners.This part of the tour was about the couple being able to see what actually lies under the city, T  

​  ​China’s economy grows faster than expected despite Iran war3 hours agoOsmond ChiaBusiness reporterGetty ImagesChina’s economy grew faster than expected in the first three months of the year, even as countries around the world feel the impact of the US-Israel war with Iran.Gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 5% in the period, compared to a year earlier, according to official data. Economists had expected the figure to come in at around 4.8%.That came despite the conflict in the Middle East, which started on 28 February, severely disrupting global energy supplies, with Asian countries hit particularly hard. It also marks the first release of official GDP figures since Beijing cut its annual economic growth target last month to a range of 4.5%-5%, its lowest expansion goal since 1991.The rebound from a weaker expansion of 4.5% in the previous quarter was driven by manufacturing, while the world’s second largest economy continues to be weighed down by falling property investment.Cars and other exports were a “major bright spot” in the data, said Kyle Chan, an analyst from the Brookings Institution.The Iran war’s full effects are yet to be seen, Chan said, adding that next quarter’s GDP figure is likely to be weaker due to trade disruptions caused by the conflict.China’s latest GDP target and economic objectives were announced in March under its latest Five Year Plan. Beijing also pledged to invest heavily in innovation, high-tech industries and efforts to boost domestic spending.The ruling Communist Party is trying to reshape the country’s economy, which has been struggling with a number of issues including weak consumption, a shrinking population and a prolonged property crisis.From abroad, China also faces an energy crunch due to the Iran war and global trade tensions, including US President Donald Trump tariffs policies.China currently faces a 10% US tariff for most of its goods. However, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Tuesday that the levies may be restored by the beginning of July to the levels in place before the Supreme Court struck down many of the import taxes.Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to meet in China in May.’Investing in people’: Can China’s new push to boost spending revive the economy?A year on: Four ways Trump’s tariffs have changed the global economyOn Tuesday, China published monthly export numbers for March, which showed a sharp slowdown in growth as the conflict pushed up inflation and curbed consumer spending.China’s export growth slowed sharply to 2.5% last month compared to the same time last year, according to data released on Tuesday by the General Administration of Customs.It marks a six-month low and comes after the combined exports for January and February jumped by more than 20% compared to a year before. That figure was boosted by strong demand for electronics and manufactured goods.China combines the trade data for the first two months of each year to account for fluctuations around