Days before the upcoming presidential elections taking place in Zambia on Thursday, incumbent leader Edgar Lungu inaugurated a new terminal at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport. The sprawling new Chinese-funded and built expansion is a centerpiece to Lungu’s re-election bid, which pits him against veteran Hakainde Hichilema, who is running for a sixth time. With the same two candidates running as in 2016, it's likely to be a close race.
Also in this edition, a kidnapped girl from the northeastern Nigerian town of Chibok was freed after seven years in captivity. Handing herself in to the military along with the man she married, she has reunited with her family who are overjoyed of her return. In 2014, 300 schoolgirls aged between 12 and 17 were abducted by Boko Haram. 82 were free in 2017 following government negotiations, but 100 are believed to still be held by the terrorist group.
Finally, Burkina Faso’s first-ever Olympic medalist Hugues Fabrice Zango was greeted by hundreds of fans as he arrived in Ouagadougou over the weekend. Coming in third place for triple jump, Zango said his win was “only a start, and I know that myself and future generations can achieve even more”.
