A Russian private military company with links to Russia's Defense Ministry is withdrawing from Burkina Faso due to Ukraine's incursion into Kursk Oblast, French newspaper Le Monde reported on Aug. 29.

According to Le Monde, the 100-strong unit known as the Bears Brigade arrived in the West African nation of Burkina Faso in May to support the junta of Captain Ibrahim Traore, who came to power in a coup in September 2022.

Traore visited Russia in July 2023 for a Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg, where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and attended Russian Navy Day celebrations.

Around 300 Russian troops are estimated to be deployed in Burkina Faso, Le Monde said.

Le Monde contacted the commander of the Bears Brigade, Viktor Yermolaev, via Telegram, on Aug. 22, after Ukraine launched its incursion into Kursk Oblast on Aug. 10.

"When the enemy arrives on our Russian territory, all Russian soldiers forget about internal problems and unite against a common enemy," Yermolaev told Le Monde.

SAO PAULO (AP) — Venezuela’s opposition was dealt a blow Thursday when countries that had been pressuring President Nicolás Maduro to release vote tallies backing his claim to victory in last month’s presidential election began suggesting a repeat of the contest instead.

The proposal from the leftist governments of Brazil and Colombia, both Maduro allies, came less than three weeks after the results of the highly anticipated election came into question when the main opposition coalition revealed it has proof that its candidate defeated the president by a more than 2-to-1 margin.

The opposition categorically rejected any plan to redo the election.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, during a virtual news conference with Argentine media, said that repeating the July 28 presidential election would be “an insult” to the people, and she asked if a second election were held and Maduro still didn’t accept the results, “do we go for a third one?”

In Washington, U.S. President Joe Biden expressed support for new elections in comments to reporters that the White House later appeared to back away from.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that Kyiv troops have full control of the Russian town of Sudzha in the Kursk region in their incursion into Russian territory.

The town, the largest that Ukraine has reportedly seized so far, had a prewar population of around 5,000 people. Natural gas flows from West Siberian gas fields through pipes that pass through Sudzha and cross the Ukrainian border into Ukraine’s system.

Zelenskyy said a Ukrainian military commander’s office is being set up in Sudzha. He didn’t elaborate on the details or the functions of the office.

The claims couldn’t be independently verified.

The Ministry of Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine has opened a 24/7 hotline for the residents of Russia’s Kursk Oblast who need humanitarian aid or want to evacuate to Ukraine.

Source: Iryna Vereshchuk, Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine

Quote: "Due to the possible deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the adjacent territories of Kursk Oblast of the Russian Federation, Ukraine should be prepared to accept Russian refugees.

Therefore, Ukraine’s Ministry of Reintegration opened a 24/7 hotline for the residents of Kursk Oblast who need humanitarian aid or want to evacuate to Ukraine.

Ukraine adheres to all the norms of international law. We will provide the civilians of Kursk Oblast with necessary protection and humanitarian support."

Scientists have discovered a reservoir of liquid water on Mars - deep in the rocky outer crust of the planet.

The findings come from a new analysis of data from Nasa’s Mars Insight Lander, which touched down on the planet back in 2018.

The lander carried a seismometer, which recorded four years' of vibrations - Mars quakes - from deep inside the Red Planet.

Analysing those quakes - and exactly how the planet moves - revealed "seismic signals" of liquid water.

TUNIS, Aug 10 (Reuters) - Tunisia's electoral commission said on Saturday it had preliminarily accepted only three presidential candidates, including incumbent Kais Saied, amid widespread criticism of what the opposition says are moves to exclude serious contenders.

The commission said it had accepted the candidacies of Saied and Zouhair Magzhaoui, who is seen as close to Saied, and Ayachi Zammel for the Oct. 6 election, while rejecting 14 others.

Zammel is the head of the Azimoun party, and has not previously been regarded as a influential politician.

Prominent politicians, including Mondher Znaidi, Imed Daimi, Abdel Latif Mekki, Karim Gharbi, Safi Said, Kamel Akrout and Nizar Chaari, said the interior ministry refused to provide them with the criminal record details required by the commission as a new condition to run.

They accused the authorities of seeking to return Tunisia to the years of dictatorship and sham elections that were the norm before a revolution in 2011.

FREETOWN, Aug 10 (Reuters) - A military court in Sierra Leone has sentenced 24 soldiers to lengthy prison terms for their roles in a failed attempt to overthrow the government of President Julius Maada Bio last November.

CAIRO, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Sudan's consultations with the U.S. concluded without reaching an agreement on whether a delegation representing the army or the government will participate in peace talks in Geneva on Aug. 14, the head of Sudan's delegation said on Sunday.

KIGALI, Aug 11 (Reuters) - Rwanda's President Paul Kagame was sworn into office on Sunday for a five-year term, after a landslide win in last month's election extended his near quarter century in office.

The 66-year-old former rebel leader won the July poll with 99.18% of the vote, after eight other candidates including his most vocal critics were barred by the electoral commission.

KAMPALA, Aug 11 (Reuters) - The death toll from a landslide at a vast garbage dump in Uganda's capital Kampala has risen to 21, police said on Sunday, as rescue workers continued to dig for survivors.

After torrential rain in recent weeks, a huge mound of garbage at the city's only landfill site collapsed late on Friday, crushing and burying homes on the edge of the site as residents slept.

President Yoweri Museveni said in a statement he had directed the prime minister to coordinate the removal of all those living near the garbage dump.

Changes to the curriculum could mean schoolchildren analyse articles in English lessons to weed out fabricated stories, learn how to identify fake news in computer classes and analyse statistics in maths.

Bridget Phillipson said she is launching a review of the curriculum in both primary and secondary schools to embed critical thinking across multiple subjects and arm children against "putrid conspiracy theories".

It means schoolchildren may analyse articles in English lessons to help learn how to them weed out fabricated clickbait from accurate reporting.

Computer lessons could teach them how to spot fake news sites and maths lessons could include analysing statistics in context.

• Moscow forces fight Kyiv's troops in Kursk for sixth day
  • At least 13 injured in Kursk from downed missile
  • Russian authorities rush to evacuate residents

KYIV, Aug 11 (Reuters) - President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine had launched an incursion into Russian territory to "restore justice" and pressure Moscow's forces, in his first acknowledgement of Kyiv's surprise offensive into the western Kursk region.

Moscow's forces on Sunday were in their sixth day of intense battle against Kyiv's largest incursion into Russian territory since the start of the war, which left southwestern parts of Russia vulnerable before reinforcement started arriving.

Russian authorities rushed to evacuate residents and imposed a sweeping security regime in three border regions on Saturday, while Belarus, a staunch ally of Moscow, sent more troops to its border with Ukraine, accusing Kyiv of violating its air space.

In his nightly video address, Zelenskiy said he had discussed the operation with top Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrskyi, vowing to respond in kind after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of its neighbour in February 2022.