BBC News with Jerry Smit.

President Trump has used the swear-in ceremony for the new attorney-general, Jeff Sessions, to announce a series of executive orders aimed at reducing crime. Mr. Trump said the U.S. faced the dual threats of rising crime and deadly terror attacks, and his administration would address this right now.

White House says one of the Mr. Trump's closest aides, Kellyanne Conway, has been reprimanded after she endorsed the clothing range named after his daughter, Ivanka. Ms. Conway told an interview on Breakfast Television “Go buy Ivanka's stuff. I'm gonna get some myself today.” The Chairman of the House Oversight Committee said the comments were unacceptable.

Police have fired stun grenades outside the South African Parliament to break up clashes between opposition and government supporters. Inside, punches were thrown as opposition politicians shouted down President Jacob Zuma's State of the Nation address.

The commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan says he needs several thousand more troops to break what he called the stalemate in Kabul's war against the Taliban. General John Nicholson also suggested that Washington's ties with Pakistan should be reviewed.

The Brazilian government has turned security in the State of Espirito Santo over to the army to tackle the wave of violence sparked by a strike by police officers. There've been more than 100 deaths since they stopped patrolling last week.

A new alliance of Syrian jihadi rebel factions says it intends to escalate attacks on the government's forces. The coalition, called Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, was formed last month. It includes the group formerly known as al-Nusra.

Professor Sir Peter Mansfield, the British scientist who helped invent a revolutionary alternative to X-rays, has died at the age of 83. Together with the American chemist, Paul Lauterbur, Sir Peter developed whole-body, or MRI scanners.

BBC News.