A senior white South African judge is at the centre of a fresh racism furore over comments she made that black South African men regarded rape as a cultural right.

The first democratically-elected president of the Maldives has resigned and been replaced by his vice president after the police and army clashed in the streets amid protests over the arrest of a top judge.

Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed has resigned following weeks of public protests over his controversial order to arrest a senior judge.