North Korea confirmed Monday that the powerful uncle of young leader Kim Jong-Un has been purged, with state TV airing humiliating images of Jang Song-Thaek being dragged away by uniformed officers. The official news agency KCNA accused the man once seen as the power behind the throne of being a corrupt, drug-taking womaniser bent on building his own faction in the ruling party. KCNA said Jang, once seen as his nephew's mentor, had been stripped of all his posts and of party membership for committing criminal acts and leading a "counter-revolutionary faction". Analysts said Jang's main role had been to ensure a smooth transition after the inexperienced Kim Jong-Un came to power following the death of his father Kim Jong-Il in December 2011.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea announced Monday it had sacked leader Kim Jong Un's uncle, long considered the country's No. 2 power, saying corruption, drug use, gambling, womanizing and generally leading a "dissolute and depraved life" had caused Pyongyang's highest-profile fall from grace since Kim took power two years ago.

Presidents past and present, global figures and A-list celebrities made their way to South Africa on Monday to pay the world's respects at a memorial service and state funeral for freedom icon Nelson Mandela. More than 80,000 people will attend an impassioned, emotional tribute Tuesday to the country's inspirational first black president at the FNB stadium in Soweto, where he made his last major public appearance for the 2010 World Cup final. The service is seen as a final chance for grieving South Africans to unite in a mass celebration of Mandela's life ahead of the more formal state funeral. Although Mandela had been critically ill for months, the announcement of his death on Thursday night was still a body blow for a country that had looked to his unassailable moral authority as a comforting constant in a time of uncertain social and economic change.