A Czech general who fought with the Allies in France, Britain and the Soviet Union during the Second World War II and who later resisted the communist regimes in his own country has died.

Senator Edward Kennedy was taken to hospital in the US today after suffering a seizure at his home, his spokeswoman said.

PW Botha, the apartheid-era president who led South Africa through its worst racial violence and deepest international isolation, died peacefully in his sleep. He was 90.