Zambia has resumed vote counting after a nationwide suspension over election-related violence, with the Electoral Commission saying security threats have been contained. The first presidential results are expected at 10:00 p.m. local time, or 2000 GMT.

Officials have maintained that the military deployment is intended to support—not replace—long-term policing efforts, but lawmakers say urgent changes are needed if the operation is to have any meaningful impact.

Grieving families gathered at a mortuary in Kariba on Thursday as the death toll from Tuesday’s ferry disaster on Lake Kariba rose to 46, while survivors described the desperate struggle to escape the sinking vessel.

The exercises reflect growing defense ties between Beijing and Cairo as both countries expand military cooperation through joint training and strategic exchanges.

Just hours after Zambia’s electoral commission suspended vote counting nationwide, opposition presidential candidate Brian Mundubile raised “grave concern,” calling for full transparency amid reports of violence.

A major wildfire near Omiš, around 25 kilometres south-east of Split, forced about 1,200 residents and tourists to evacuate overnight on Thursday and into Friday as strong winds drove the flames towards the coastal town.

Official presidential results are expected on Monday, with authorities appealing for calm as election officials work to resolve the disruptions and resume the counting process.

Worries over the death of elephants are mounting in southern Kenya, where at least 19 animals have died since June from an unexplained condition. With symptoms including partial paralysis, conservationists and communities are demanding urgent investigations into what is killing the elephants.

At least one person was killed and 17 injured in a Russian airstrike on Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine overnight, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service.

Rome’s Colosseum is opening late four nights a week this summer, offering fully booked evening tours as a cooler, more magical way to visit.

Senior FAO official for Africa Meshack Malo described artificial intelligence as a powerful tool for farmers, stressing the need for Africa datasets, language models, research capacity and agritech firms, to enable the continent to be not only the consumer but the driver of the technology.

Emmy-nominated director Alexandria Stapleton is hoping the trial of a man accused of orchestrating Tupac Shakur’s 1996 killing will bring answers and “some sort of closure” to the rapper’s family, friends and fans.

The presidency has not provided further details on the reasons behind the pardon, and it remains unclear whether the move could open the door to renewed political dialogue between the government and the opposition.

Three homes in the village of Qusra in the occupied West Bank have been under an almost week-long siege by Israeli settlers.

On the occasion of its 20th anniversary, AGRA looks back on a transformation that starts with a seed, but goes far beyond it.

In quake-hit Cali, residents find comfort at a “hugs here” station, as Andres Solomon and volunteers share solidarity while rescuers clear rubble.

The trilateral deal signed last week stipulates that an attack on any of the three states will be treated as an attack on all.

More than 50 Muslim and Christian leaders have signed a new peace accord in Nigeria, aiming to ease religious tensions and promote harmony.

The Attorney General said three prominent figures were to go on trial to answer to charges of murder, aggravated destruction of property, and complicity in murder.

Unprecedented rainfall battered Japan on Thursday, leaving at least four people dead and flooding parts of Chiba prefecture, east of Tokyo. Authorities issued the region’s highest-level rain warning for the first time, while landslide alerts and power cuts affected thousands of residents.

The World Health Organization says it on track to surpass the deadliest in history, which killed over 11,000 people a decade ago.

France evacuated about 500 people from the village of Luglon on Thursday, 13 August, as a fast-moving wildfire swept through drought-hit pine forest in the Landes.

Croatia is battling a wildfire that swept through vegetation and homes in Lokva Rogoznica on Thursday, 13 August, forcing about 1,000 residents and tourists to evacuate.

Cubans are facing food and water shortages, and chronic power cuts, exacerbated by a US oil embargo, with some asking whether his successors are up to the job.

Vote counting is underway after Zambians cast ballots Thursday in a presidential election testing incumbent Hakainde Hichilema’s economic record against widespread frustration over the cost of living. About 8 million voters were registered, with results expected Monday.

Hundreds gathered for a memorial service in northern Zimbabwe on Thursday to honour victims of the Lake Kariba ferry disaster, which killed at least 44 people. Survivors recalled a desperate struggle for life as the vessel capsized in rough waters.

Mali says 82 soldiers held captive since deadly attacks in April have been freed by armed groups, in a rare breakthrough as the country battles jihadist and rebel insurgencies. The junta also pardoned a French embassy official accused of spying and ordered his expulsion.

The war, which began in April 2023, has killed at least 59,000 people, displaced around 13 million, and pushed large parts of Sudan into famine.

The Netherlands is investigating an explosion at the port of Rotterdam that killed one person and injured several others on Thursday, 13 August. The blast happened at about 11:30 a.m. at an oil facility in the Europoort industrial section of Europe’s largest port.

Jérémy Doku has signed a new five-year contract with Manchester City, keeping the Belgium winger at the Etihad until 2031. The 24-year-old has become a key part of the squad since joining from Rennes in 2023.

Brussels has transformed its historic Grand Place into a giant floral version of Japan’s Great Wave off Kanagawa, using around 500,000 dahlias laid out over 1,300 square metres of cobblestones.

Zambians began voting Thursday in a presidential election testing President Hakainde Hichilema’s economic record amid widespread frustration over the cost of living. Millions are also choosing lawmakers and local councillors in a one-day vote expected to produce results on Monday.

The case comes at a sensitive time for French diplomacy. Paris has been working to restore ties with the Central African Republic after relations deteriorated in recent years as Russia expanded its influence in the country through the Wagner paramilitary group

The Strait of Hormuz remains blocked and Iran says it will stay that way until its conditions are accepted.

South African law enforcement officials said last week they would intensify operations targeting illegal migration and related offenses.

Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, say they have taken full control of Geissan, in the Blue Nile region, near the Ethiopian border.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin observed naval exercises off Sakhalin Island on Thursday before travelling to the disputed Kuril Islands, prompting a strong protest from Japan.

A Russian Shahed drone struck a passenger train in Ukraine’s Odesa region on 13 August 2026, killing the driver and his assistant and forcing the evacuation of 340 passengers, including 67 children, in the Berezivka district.

Soaring gold prices are reshaping the investment landscape across West Africa. In the first quarter of 2026, global demand reached 1,231 tonnes, representing a record $193 billion market up 74% year-on-year.

Fifty-seven residents of Woro, rescued earlier this month, are being treated at a hospital in Ilorin, with most of the suffering notably from malnutrition.