BBC News

A Ugandan man has been sentenced to 30 years in jail for murdering the country's leading gay rights activist David Kato in January. Sidney Nsubunga Enoch admitted he bludgeoned Mr Kato to death with a hammer, but alleged this was because of

sexual advances

. The murder took place as the Ugandan parliament was debating the death penalty for gay sex.

Police in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil say they have arrested the city's most wanted drug gang leader. The capture of Antonio Bonfim Lopes, known as Nem, came as police prepared to take control of Rocinha, Rio's biggest slum district. James Read of our America's desk reports.

Rio's most wanted drug suspect was found in the boot of a car that was stopped at a police checkpoint as it was leaving Rocinha. The driver reportedly claimed to be the Congolese honorary consul and then offered officers a huge bribe before his human cargo was discovered. Antonio Bonfim Lopes is alleged to be the leader of the drugs gang that controls Rocinha, Rio's biggest shantytown. It appears he was trying to escape the area before police moved in. The planned operation is the latest stage in a programme to reduce violent crime in Rio before the football World Cup in 2014.

The governor of Texas Rick Perry has pledged to continue his campaign to win the Republican Party nomination for presidential candidate despite a lapse of memory during a candidates debate. In a televised discussion with his rivals in Michigan on Wednesday, he vowed to shut down three cabinet departments if elected but could name only two of them. His