A man suspected of killing his wife and two daughters in Bedfordshire has been in court in South Africa after UK authorities submitted an application to extradite him.

Nothabo Zandile Tshuma, 42, and her daughters Natalie, 15, and Nala, five, were found dead by police in a house in Great Denham, near Bedford, on 6 July.

The Crown Prosecution Service has authorised three murder charges against Ndodana Mkhanyisi Tshuma, 45, who is a British citizen of Zimbabwean heritage.

He has appeared before magistrates in Johannesburg where he confirmed his name and was told a further court hearing would take place on 22 July.

During the hearing he indicated he would be speaking in English.

His mother and sister were seated in the court’s public gallery, and Tshuma waved to his family as he was taken down to the holding cells at the end of Monday’s hearing.

South African police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe explained that the court proceedings concern the extradition request and a charge of illegal possession of firearms.

She said: “We can confirm that South Africa has received a provisional extradition request from Interpol Manchester through to Interpol Pretoria.

“We will be awaiting a full extradition request within 40 days, which will include the case docket as well as supporting evidence.

“However, we can confirm that, for now, we do have the warrant of arrest from UK authorities.”

Police added that he travelled from Heathrow Airport in London to South Africa, via Dubai, and he briefly went to Zimbabwe before returning to Johannesburg.

He was arrested in the Kensington suburb of the city on Friday.

In a tribute, family members said “words cannot begin to express the depth of our emptiness and sorrow in the fact of this tragic and senseless loss of life”.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has defended his country’s defence budget against renewed criticism from U.S. President Donald Trump as NATO leaders are due to gather in Ankara for a two-day summit on Tuesday.

“We’re looking at the numbers, and they are pointing up,” Wadephul told Germany’s Deutschlandfunk radio.

Responding to demands from Trump, who has repeatedly complained about unfair burden-sharing within the defence alliance, NATO allies committed last year to raise core defence spending from two to 3.

Wadephul said Germany was on track to reach the 3.

“We are spending more than many of our partners. What Germany is doing is also being noticed in Washington,” he stressed.

Trump has continued to pressure allies, branding their defence spending as “ridiculous” just days before the summit, singling out Germany in particular.

The United Nations and partners are expanding relief operations following Venezuela’s devastating earthquakes, while supporting the Government’s response to the humanitarian crisis.

UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric confirmed the update during a news conference at UN headquarters in New York on Monday.

“We and our partners are continuing to scale up assistance to impacted people by the earthquakes, in coordination with the Government,” Dujarric said.

Two earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude, struck north-central Venezuela on June 24, only 39 seconds apart, causing widespread devastation.

A preliminary assessment by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction estimated direct physical damage to housing and infrastructure at approximately $37 billion.

The estimate includes about $24 billion in damage to homes, businesses, schools, hospitals and other public facilities.

A further $13 billion covers damage to infrastructure, with telecommunications suffering losses of about $5 billion, ahead of energy facilities and road networks.

The assessment relies on risk modelling rather than field inspections and excludes wider economic losses, disrupted services, emergency costs and future reconstruction expenses.

UN officials warned that the overall economic impact was therefore expected to increase significantly.

The UN Children’s Fund estimated that about 650,000 people, including 234,000 children, require urgent humanitarian assistance.

Around one-third of schools across the Capital District, including Caracas, sustained damage, disrupting education for thousands of pupils.

UNICEF has deployed emergency teams and delivered 68 tonnes of relief supplies, including medical materials, water, sanitation equipment and essential household items.

The agency has appealed for $52 million to expand healthcare, nutrition, safe water, child protection and education services for affected families.

Meanwhile, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said search and rescue operations continued across the worst-hit communities.

Medical personnel, engineers and other specialist teams are arriving, while a humanitarian needs assessment is nearing completion.

The assessment will guide an updated response plan and determine additional funding requirements for relief operations.

Government figures showed more than 3,340 people have died, over 16,740 were injured and approximately 17,000 residents remain homeless.

“The authorities in Caracas are leading the response, focusing on supporting displaced people and addressing urgent humanitarian needs,” Dujarric said.

At least 79 temporary camps have been established in stadiums and sports centres to shelter displaced residents and distribute humanitarian assistance.

UN agencies are already operating in three camps while assessing additional locations requiring humanitarian support.

Health partners are providing primary healthcare, mental health support, psychosocial care, and sexual and reproductive health services where necessary.

Humanitarian officials said access to safe water and sanitation continued improving through hygiene kit distributions and expanded sanitation facilities at temporary shelters.

The Humanitarian Response Plan for Venezuela has received $274 million, alongside more than $32 million from private sector donors and additional in-kind contributions