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POLICE in Zimbabwe have arrested 41 election monitors for allegedly trying to disrupt the voting process. Those being held, from civil society groups, were allegedly co-ordinating the release of results from Wednesday’s general election, police say. They are being charged with breaking electoral law, their lawyers say. Civil society groups have tried to do their own vote count to compare results with the official tally in light of disputes over past election results. The 41 are being accused of attempting to announce results before the state elections body – who by law are the only ones who can declare a…

SOMALIA’s ban on TikTok, which is set to take effect on Friday evening, has outraged many users who make a living off the app. The self-proclaimed “president of Somali TikTokers” is nervous about his financial future. Bilaal Bulshaawi, one of the prominent faces on Somali social media, says the app has totally transformed his life. “Before, there were many times when I couldn’t afford to pay for a tuk-tuk ride but now I drive a car and enjoy my luxury lifestyle. I travel to different Somali regions for tourism,” Bilaal told the BBC. He started using the platform when he…

DEFENDING world titleholder Tobi Amusan, on Wednesday, qualified for the final of the 100m hurdles event at the ongoing World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Running in lane seven, Amusan won the second semi-final despite having a slow start. She is now looking all fired up for Thursday’s final race and defend the title she won last year in Oregon. Amusan was only cleared to run last week over an alleged breaking of the anti-doping rules but the Nigerian came through as a semi-final winner in 12.56sec. She was pushed all the way by young Jamaican Ackera Nugent, who enjoyed an…

CHELSEA, Inter Milan and Monaco have all enquired about signing Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun. Arsenal’s valuation of the 22-year-old, believed to be in the region of £50m, has meant that Chelsea have not made an offer as things stand. French side Monaco have reportedly had a bid rejected by Arsenal, with Serie A club Inter also interested. The American enjoyed an excellent campaign on loan at Ligue 1 side Reims last season, scoring 22 goals. Arsenal would be willing to let Balogun leave if a suitable offer was made, with the forward seemingly not a part of manager Mikel Arteta’s…

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday said he was “not surprised” at news that Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary group, may have died in a plane crash in Russia. “I don’t know for a fact what happened, but I’m not surprised,” Biden said. “There’s not much that happens in Russia that (President Vladimir) Putin is not behind,” Biden told reporters after taking an exercise class with his family near Lake Tahoe. “But I don’t know enough to know the answer” of what may have happened to the powerful former Putin henchman, he said. Prigozhin’s name was on the…

AT least 26 people have been killed and more are feared missing after a railway bridge under construction collapsed in north-eastern India, officials said. The incident occurred near the town of Sairang, in the state of Mizoram. Up to 40 workers were at the site when part of the bridge collapsed, according to local media reports. The cause of the incident is not yet clear and the railway authority has opened an investigation. Three people have so far been rescued. That includes an injured worker who had to be brought down from the top of one of the bridge’s 100m-high…

HEAVY clashes continue around a strategic army base in the Sudanese capital Khartoum as the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fight amid raging conflict. The army said in a statement posted on its Facebook page on Tuesday night that it repelled yet another attack by RSF fighters on the Armoured Corps military base in the Al-Shajara area, south of Khartoum, and inflicted heavy losses on the paramilitary force. For its part, the RSF claimed to have taken control of parts of the base and captured large quantities of weaponry, in a statement it shared…

THE European Union has launched a new air bridge carrying humanitarian supplies to the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), where millions of people are facing hunger. The bloc said almost 200 tonnes of food, medicine and other supplies were being flown to the regional capital, Goma. A similar operation took place earlier this year. Almost six million people have been displaced in the eastern DR Congo, where fighting between government forces and rebel groups has intensified. Aid workers have warned they’re close to being unable to provide humanitarian support because of a lack of funding, accusing…

WAGNER boss Yevgeny Prigozhin was on the passenger list of a plane which crashed in Russia, killing all 10 on board. He was believed to be on board the plane. Earlier, a Wagner-linked Telegram channel Grey Zone reported that the jet was shot down by air defences in Tver region, north of Moscow. Prigozhin led a failed mutiny against the Russian armed forces in June. Prigozhin is the head of the Wagner mercenary group, which he established in 2014. A wealthy businessman with a criminal record, he was known as “Putin’s chef” because he provided catering for the Kremlin. In…

SERENA Williams has given birth to her second daughter, her husband announced Tuesday, adding that both were “happy & healthy” after the difficult birth of the tennis star’s first child left her fighting for her life. “I’m grateful to report that our house is teaming with love: a happy & healthy newborn girl and happy & healthy mama,” her husband, Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, posted on Instagram alongside a photograph of himself with a beaming Williams hugging both her daughters. Addressing his 41-year-old wife, he told her she had “given me another incomparable gift — you’re the GMOAT,” a new…

A POPULAR airport in France will be renamed in honour of Queen Elizabeth II after receiving permission from the King, officials in the town have said. Le Touquet, in northern France, received the blessing from the King on Monday, its town hall said. Touquet-Paris-Plage airport will be Elizabeth II Le Touquet-Paris-Plage International Airport. The town hall said the tribute to the “Great Queen” would also recognise the “most British of French resorts”. A date for the inauguration has not been set. It comes after the original proposal was made to the British Crown six days after the death of the…

A BUS transporting mostly Venezuelan migrants crashed in central Mexico on Tuesday, leaving at least 15 people dead and 36 injured, authorities said. The vehicle collided with a trailer on a highway connecting the states of Puebla and Oaxaca, the Puebla government said on social media platform X, formerly called Twitter. “Unfortunately 15 people lost their lives and 36 more were injured,” it said. Oaxaca Governor Salomon Jara said that he had instructed authorities in the southern state to provide support to the injured. “We send a hug and our condolences to the families of the deceased,” he wrote on…

ZIMBABWEANS are going to the polls in presidential and parliamentary elections after a campaign dominated by the country’s soaring inflation. The day has been declared a public holiday to allow the 6.62 million registered voters a chance to vote. President Emmerson Mnangagwa faces 10 challengers, including Nelson Chamisa of the main opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC). A presidential candidate needs more than 50% of the vote to win. If there is no outright victor, a presidential run-off will be held in six weeks on 2 October. It is first election since the death of Robert Mugabe, the man who…

A QURAN – neatly handwritten more than 200 years ago by an Indonesian imam who had been banished to the southern tip of Africa by Dutch colonisers – is the pride of Cape Town Muslims who jealously guard it at a mosque in the city’s historic Bo Kaap district. Builders found it in a paper bag in the Auwal Mosque’s attic, while they were breaking it down as part of renovations in the mid-1980s. Researchers believe that Imam Abdullah ibn Qadi Abdus Salaam, affectionately known as Tuan Guru, or Master Teacher, wrote the Quran from memory at some point after…

GARY Neville says Manchester United’s handling of the Mason Greenwood investigation has been “pretty horrible” and lacked strong leadership. Greenwood, 21, will leave the club by mutual agreement after a six-month internal investigation. It came after charges against the player, including attempted rape and assault, were dropped in February. “It was clear from day one that he wouldn’t play for Manchester United again,” said former defender Neville. Speaking on Sky Sports Monday Night Football, Neville, 48, who made 602 appearances for United, added: “The process in getting there has been pretty horrible. When you have significant situations, and difficult situations…

FORMER prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has returned to Thailand after 15 years in exile, hours ahead of a vote that determines who will be the country’s next leader. Thailand’s most successful elected leader has long been feared by conservative royalists, who have backed military coups and contentious court cases to weaken him. But now the brash, politically-ambitious telecoms tycoon is back, presumably after striking a quiet deal with the same men who unseated his party in a 2014 coup to keep him out of prison. He has sentences of up to 10 years outstanding from criminal cases he says were…

BRITAIN’s most prolific child killer of modern times on Monday began the rest of her life behind bars for murdering seven newborn babies and attempting to kill six others in her care. A judge in Manchester, northwest England, handed nurse Lucy Letby a rare whole-life order — the most severe punishment available and reserved only for those who commit the most heinous crimes — meaning she will never be released. “The order of the court is a whole-life order on each and every offence and you will spend the rest of your life in prison,” said judge James Goss. But…

EMMERSON Mnangagwa became Zimbabwe’s second president after outmanoeuvring long-time ruler Robert Mugabe with a military-backed coup in 2017 — and at 80 shows no signs of wanting to retire. Nicknamed “The Crocodile” because of his ruthlessness, Mnangagwa, who analysts judge more autocratic than his predecessor and lacking Mugabe’s intellectual flair and ideological vision, is seeking to cement his leadership in an election few expect to be free and fair. Having presided over a collapsing economy marked by hyperinflation, unemployment, and corruption allegations, critics say he has moved to silence dissent and clamp down on the opposition. “He is a very…

THE Egyptian authorities arrested then released a journalist who published articles accusing officials of involvement in smuggling cash, weapons and gold to Zambia. The allegations by Karim Asaad followed the seizure by Zambian officials of a chartered aircraft at Lusaka airport. It was said to be carrying more than $5m (£3.9m) in cash as well as pistols, ammunition and over 100kg of suspected gold. Documents – purportedly from a Zambian investigation – had allegedly named several Egyptian army and police officers as suspects. Egypt’s national press union says Mr Asaad was the 24th journalist to be detained in the country.…

IN a call to action, President Bola Tinubu has urged the recently appointed ministers to collaborate with him and each other to fulfill the aspirations of the Nigerian people through their work in government. News Point Nigeria reports that, he gave the charge during the inauguration of the 45 confirmed ministers-designate on Monday held at the Conference Centre of the State House, Abuja. “We are in this boat, even if it is a vehicle and I am the driver, the entire Nigerians are behind sitting and watching as you and I navigate this vehicle. We must hold each other responsible,…