WORLD

The exact circumstances of the death of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin remained unclear Thursday, although most experts believe it marks President Vladimir Putin's vengeance for his short-lived rebellion in June.

Zimbabweans queued at polling stations on Thursday as general elections stretched into an unprecedented second day, sparked by delays that fuelled opposition accusations of vote-rigging.

Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates will join the BRICS economic bloc in January 2024.

"We hope that this evening you will experience South Africa's story, one that interweaves our many different cultures, traditions, and languages as the foundation of an inclusive nation," President Cyril Ramaphosa said.

The head of the Wagner mercenary group, which in June attempted to topple Russia's military leadership, was on board a plane that crashed on Wednesday, with all passengers killed, Russian officials said.

North Korea said its second attempt to put a spy satellite into orbit failed on Thursday, three months after the first one crashed into the ocean shortly after launch.

The head of the Wagner mercenary group, which in June attempted to topple Russia's military leadership, was on board a plane that crashed on Wednesday, with all passengers killed, Russian officials said.

Tearful Ukrainian families mourned their loved ones killed by a Russian strike on the northern city of Chernihiv, with many venting anger at the organisers of a drone conference inside a theatre that was hit.

Zimbabwe's opposition leader on Wednesday accused the ruling ZANU-PF government of plunging the country into crisis by "rigging" a tense election marred by long delays and reports of voter intimidation.

"Energy cooperation with China is a recent development that we look to deepen, particularly in line with our respective commitments to low-carbon, climate-resilient development," President Ramaphosa said.

The head of Russia's aerospace force General Sergei Surovikin has been sacked, state media said Wednesday, after he disappeared from public view following a failed mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group in June.

"There is volatility in the financial, energy, and other markets, and that state and private debts are rising," President Vladimir Putin noted while offering free grain to Africa.

Rusted Russian tanks, which the Kremlin had hoped would parade victorious through Kyiv days after it invaded Ukraine, have instead been lined up as war trophies ahead of Ukraine's independence day.

After hiding at home for weeks, Sudanese refugees evaded militias in Darfur and fled on foot to neighbouring Chad with children on their backs and safety their destination.

A Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow damaged a building in a central business district, authorities said on Wednesday, in the sixth straight night of aerial attacks on Russia's capital region.

Straddling the frontier between Lebanon and the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, the picturesque village of Ghajar has become a lightning rod for tensions between the hostile forces on either side.

Zimbabweans go to the polls on Wednesday in closely-watched presidential and legislative elections, after a campaign tainted by a crackdown on dissent, fears of vote rigging and public anger at the economic crisis.

The United States said Tuesday it was imposing visa sanctions on Chinese officials pursuing "forced assimilation" of children in Tibet, where UN experts say one million children have been separated from their families.

Kenya's Faith Kipyegon won a historic third world 1500m gold on Tuesday and although Qatari high jumper Mutaz Essa Barshim missed out on a fourth crown, he became the first man to win five medals in the event.

From Quebec to British Columbia to Hawaii, North America is facing an extraordinary wildfire season -- and regions both near and far have found themselves increasingly blighted by smoke exposure.

Ethiopia said Tuesday it would launch a joint investigation with Saudi Arabia into a Human Rights Watch report accusing the kingdom's border guards of killing hundreds of Ethiopian migrants.

Former OPEC president Diezani Alison-Madueke has been charged with bribery offences relating to her time as Nigeria's oil minister, the UK National Crime Agency said on Tuesday.

Former OPEC president Diezani Alison-Madueke has been charged with bribery offences relating to her time as Nigeria's oil minister, the UK National Crime Agency said on Tuesday.

The African Union said Tuesday that it had suspended Niger's membership in the wake of a military coup, but responded cautiously to a threatened military operation to restore its ousted president, as Nigerien TV said 12 soldiers were killed in a new attack by suspected jihadists.

The African Union said Tuesday it had suspended Niger until civilian rule in the country is restored and would assess the implications of any armed intervention in the troubled Sahel nation.

Moscow said Tuesday it had destroyed a Ukrainian military "reconnaissance boat" near Russian gas infrastructure in the Black Sea, in the latest clash in the waterway since Moscow's withdrawal from a major grain export deal.

North Korea is planning to launch another satellite just three months after its first attempt to put a military eye in the sky failed, prompting condemnation from Tokyo and Seoul on Tuesday and demands to call it off.

With a historic three-way summit with Japan and South Korea, President Joe Biden has further deepened the web of US partnerships in a determined signal to adversaries despite question marks on the political climate at home.

Thailand's divisive ex-leader Thaksin Shinawatra returned to the kingdom Tuesday, after 15 years in exile and hours before parliament votes to install his party's candidate as the new prime minister.