Man kills his three children with axe

A man killed three of his children with an axe and wounded two others in what Zimbabwean police today described as the country's most brutal crime in recent years.

The Sunday Mail newspaper quoted police as saying Elmon Mupombwa, 41, also torched his home in eastern Zimbabwe on Thursday and killed his livestock – five cattle, 20 goats and 17 chickens – before hanging himself.