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An investigation is under way after a US foreign service officer was found dead in Madagascar, the US state department says.

The unnamed officer was found at their residence overnight on Friday, a statement said.

A suspect is in custody and both US and Madagascan officials are investigating, it added.

A man was caught trying to jump over the fence while fleeing the house, a Malagasy police spokesman told AFP.

The island nation, off the south-east coast of Africa, has experienced repeated political instability and is one of the poorest countries in the world.

Those who are most distrustful of the news media, and those with more extreme political views, tend to be the most biased readers, research shows.

Attorneys for Christine Blasey Ford, the woman who says Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when both were teenagers, have sent four sworn declarations to the Senate from people who say Ford told them of her allegations before Kavanaugh was nominated to the Supreme Court.

The declarations — from Ford’s husband and three friends — do not provide direct corroboration of the alleged attack but suggest Ford shared details about her recollection in the years prior to Kavanaugh’s nomination by President Trump on July 9.

Only one account, from Russell Ford, the husband of the California professor, has been previously reported.

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Nikki Haley says the laughter Trump got at the U.N. was because world leaders "loved his honesty."

On Wednesday, Michael Avenatti released a declaration from his client, Julie Swetnick. This is an allegation against Brett Kavanaugh, not a proven fact and NBC News has not vetted Swetnick's allegation.