Reuters By Pumza Fihlani BBC News, Johannesburg South African authorities are concerned there could be a second explosion in Johannesburg’s business district, after one person died and 48 were injured in a large blast on Wednesday. Videos show a main road split wide open from the force of the explosion, with several vehicles blown onto…

Joaquin Sarmiento/Getty Images By Esme Stallard & Justin Rowlatt BBC News Climate and Science A leading British climate scientist has told the BBC he believes the target to limit global warming to 1.5C will be missed. Professor Sir Bob Watson, former head of the UN climate body, told the BBC’s Today programme he was “pessimistic”.…

Getty Images By Sharanya Hrishikesh & Zoya Mateen BBC News, Delhi The emergence of a horrific video that shows two naked women being paraded and molested by a mob in the violence-hit Indian state of Manipur has highlighted who often pays the highest price during conflict. Warning: This article contains details some readers may find…

Reuters By Kelly Ng & Jean Mackenzie in Singapore and Seoul North Korea is not responding to attempts to negotiate the release of a US soldier who fled over its heavily-armed border, Washington says. Private Travis King crossed the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) dividing North and South Korea on Tuesday. The Pentagon had contacted North Korea,…

Reuters By Antoinette Radford BBC News Police are searching for a wild animal in the south-western outskirts of Berlin after a big cat, believed to be a lioness, was spotted in the area. A video posted on Twitter on Wednesday morning appears to show a lioness in a forest in the Kleinmachnow area. Residents are…

Reuters By Tessa Wong Asia Digital Reporter, BBC News Chinese president Xi Jinping has met former top diplomat Henry Kissinger, as the US pursues warmer ties with China. Mr Kissinger’s surprise trip to the Chinese capital comes amid a flurry of visits by top US officials. The former secretary of state, who is 100 years…

EPA By Derek Cai and Fan Wang BBC News, Singapore New Zealand police have named the gunman in the Auckland shooting that killed two and injured at least 10. Police say Matu Tangi Matua Reid, 24, was under house arrest and has a history of domestic violence. The incident – in a country where gun…

Underwater footage captured the moment divers freed five whale sharks in waters off Indonesia. Whale sharks are thought to be the largest species of fish but their numbers are decreasing, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Hundreds of people have stormed Sweden’s embassy in Iraq, scaling the walls of the complex and torching the building. They were protesting the second planned burning of the Quran in Sweden in under a month. Swedish officials condemned the attack and confirmed that all Baghdad embassy staff were safe. Sweden’s police denied several applications earlier…

Supplied By Hannah Ritchie BBC News, Sydney An Australian police officer charged with tasering a 95-year-old care home resident acted in a “grossly disproportionate” way, prosecutors in the case say. Clare Nowland died in May, a week after the incident which was prompted when she was found holding two knives. New court documents allege Kristian…