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Author: BBC News

  • King remembers late Queen with newly-released portrait

    King remembers late Queen with newly-released portrait

    King Charles III has recorded a message and released a favourite photograph of Elizabeth II to mark the first anniversary of his mother’s death.

    In the message, the King said he recalled the late queen’s “devoted service and all she meant to so many of us”.

    The photograph chosen by the King shows a young queen, then 42, at an official portrait sitting in 1968.

    Elizabeth II died aged 96 at Balmoral Castle on 8 September last year.

    It came just months after her Platinum Jubilee marking 70 years on the throne.

    In his short tribute, which will be released on Friday, the King thanked the nation for the “love and support” shown to him and Queen Camilla during his first year as monarch.

    “In marking the first anniversary of Her late Majesty’s death and my accession, we recall with great affection her long life, devoted service and all she meant to so many of us,” the King said.

    “I am deeply grateful, too, for the love and support that has been shown to my wife and myself during this year as we do our utmost to be of service to you all.”

    His written message, which accompanies the audio recording, is signed Charles R.

    The formal colour photograph was taken by Cecil Beaton on 16 October 1968 and has not been released until now.

    It shows the late queen standing sideways and smiling in her Garter robes, wearing the Grand Duchess Vladimir’s Tiara, made of 15 interlaced diamond circles.

    The King has spent the summer at his Birkhall residence and Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire.

    On Friday morning he and Queen Camilla will attend the nearby Crathie Kirk church for private memorial prayers.

    The Prince and Princess of Wales, who are visiting west Wales, will commemorate the life of the late queen with a small private service at St Davids Cathedral.

    In his own message, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the scale of the late queen’s service “only seems greater” a year after her death.

    “Her devotion to the nations of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth only seems deeper,” he said.

    “And our gratitude for such an extraordinary life of duty and dedication only continues to grow.”

    Mr Sunak said he treasured his memories of meeting the late queen in which he was struck by her “wisdom, her incredible warmth and grace”, as well as her “sharp wit”.

    “People across the UK – whether they had the good fortune to meet Her late Majesty or not – will be reflecting today on what she meant to them and the example she set for us all,” he added.

    Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the queues to see the late queen lying in state showed she had “always enjoyed a special bond with her people”.

    “It was a relationship built from her understanding that service of this great nation is the thread that unites sovereign and subject,” he said.

    “So, as we reflect on her legacy again today, let us embrace that spirit of public service as our guide towards a better future.”

    To mark the anniversary of King Charles’s accession to the throne, gun salutes will be fired at midday on Friday in Hyde Park and at the Tower of London.

    Bells will also be rung at Westminster Abbey at 13:00 BST to mark the occasion.

    The Duke of Sussex has separately been paying his own tribute to the late queen, saying she “is looking down on all of us”.

    In a speech at the WellChild Awards ceremony in London on Thursday, he recalled how he had been forced to miss last year’s event as he flew to Balmoral after his grandmother became ill.

  • Actor Danny Masterson sentenced to 30 years to life for two rapes

    Actor Danny Masterson sentenced to 30 years to life for two rapes

    US actor Danny Masterson has been sentenced to serve 30 years to life in prison for raping two women.

    Masterson starred on That ’70s Show, a TV series that was airing at the time of his crimes in the early 2000s.

    Prosecutors argued Masterson, 47, had relied on his status as a prominent Scientologist to avoid accountability.

    Judge Charlaine Olmedo allowed the victims of his crimes to read impact statements in court ahead of his sentencing.

    Prominent former Scientologist and actress Leah Remini attended Thursday’s hearing and comforted the women before and after they delivered their statements.

    “I wished I had reported him earlier to the police,” one of the women said, according to US media.

    Another woman told Masterson: “I forgive you. Your sickness is no longer mine to bear,” according to Reuters.

    Masterson remained silent throughout the hearing.

    As the judge read his sentence – the maximum penalty allowed – his wife, Bijou Phillips, was seen in court breaking down in tears.

    Masterson was found guilty in May at a re-trial after the first jury was unable to reach a verdict in 2022. Following his conviction, Masterson was deemed a flight risk and was taken into prison custody.

    The actor was convicted after three women testified that he had sexually assaulted them at his Hollywood home from 2001-03 – during the height of his television fame.

    The jury heard testimony that he had given them drugs before he assaulted them.

    He was found guilty of rape against two of his three accusers. The charges brought by the third accuser were declared a mistrial and prosecutors said they do not plan to retry the case.

    Alison Anderson, a lawyer representing two of the victims, said in a statement sent to BBC News that the women “have displayed tremendous strength and bravery, by coming forward to law enforcement and participating directly in two gruelling criminal trials”.

    “Despite persistent harassment, obstruction and intimidation, these courageous women helped hold a ruthless sexual predator accountable today,” she said.

    Throughout the trial, prosecutors argued that the Church of Scientology had helped cover up the assaults – an allegation the organisation has categorically denied.

    At the time of the attacks, Masterson and all three of his accusers were Scientologists. Several of the women said it took them years to come forward because Church of Scientology officials discouraged them from reporting the rape to police.

    Scientology officials told one survivor she would lose her membership of the community unless she signed a non-disclosure agreement and accepted a payment of $400,000 (KSh.58.4M), according to prosecutors.

    During the trial, Judge Olmedo allowed both sides to discuss the dogma and practices of Scientology, angering the organisation.

    In its statement after the verdict in May, the Church of Scientology said there was “not a scintilla of evidence supporting the scandalous allegations that the Church harassed the accusers”.

    In court on Thursday, one woman described being shunned by her mother, who is still a practising Scientologist.

    “She texted me and told me to never contact her again,” she said, reported the LA Times.

    “She had warned me ahead of time she wanted to see Danny Masterson locked away for what he’d done to me, but not at the expense of her religion.”

    Another woman said she had been victimised by the Church of Scientology ever since she spoke out.

    “Since the week I came forward to police I have been terrorised, harassed and had my privacy invaded daily by the cult of Scientology for almost seven years now,” she said, adding: “But I don’t regret it.”

    Masterson was first accused of rape in 2017 during the height of the #MeToo movement. He denied the accusations and said each of the encounters was consensual.

    Charges came after a three-year investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department. Prosecutors did not file charges in two other cases because of insufficient evidence and the statute of limitations expiring.

    Thursday’s sentencing was also attended by Jessica Barth, who founded Voices in Action in the wake of the #MeToo movement.

    Ms Barth was one of the women to publicly accuse disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of abuse. Her non-profit works to encourage others to come forward and report abuse.

    Before the hearing, a motion for a new trial by Masterson’s defense team was denied by the judge, according to an Los Angeles court official.

  • Kourtney Kardashian says foetal surgery saved unborn baby

    Kourtney Kardashian says foetal surgery saved unborn baby

    Kourtney Kardashian has thanked doctors for “saving my baby’s life” by performing surgery on her unborn child.

    The reality TV star, 44, said she was rushed into “urgent foetal surgery”, in which surgeons operate on babies while they are still in the womb.

    “As someone who has had three really easy pregnancies in the past, I wasn’t prepared for the fear,” she said.

    Last week, her husband Travis Barker flew home from his band Blink-182’s tour due to an “urgent family matter”.

    He did not give details at the time, but has now posted: “I flew home for a life-threatening emergency surgery for our baby that I’m so grateful went well. I want to say thank you for all the support.”

    The couple have not revealed the nature of the surgery on the baby boy.

    Truest blessing

    In her message on Instagram, Kourtney wrote: “I will be forever grateful to my incredible doctors for saving our baby’s life.

    “I am eternally grateful to my husband who rushed to my side from tour to be with me in the hospital and take care of me afterwards, my rock.

    “And to my mom, thank you for holding my hand through this.”

    She added: “I don’t think anyone who hasn’t been through a similar situation can begin to understand that feeling of fear.

    “I have a whole new understanding and respect for the mamas who have had to fight for their babies while pregnant.

    “Praise be to God. Walking out of the hospital with my baby boy in my tummy and safe was the truest blessing.”

    The star has three children aged eight, 11 and 13 with Scott Disick.

    She has previously spoken about her struggles to conceive with Barker, 47.

    But in June she posted an Instagram video showing her holding up a sign at a Blink-182 concert saying: “Travis I’m pregnant.”

  • Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner say their divorce is amicable

    Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner say their divorce is amicable

    Singer Joe Jonas and actress Sophie Turner have said their divorce after four years of marriage is “amicable”.

    The 34-year-old Jonas Brothers singer filed to end the marriage in Florida’s Miami-Dade County Court on Tuesday.

    In a joint statement posted online, the pair said: “After four wonderful years of marriage we have mutually decided to amicably end our marriage.

    “There are many speculative narratives as to why but, truly this is a united decision.”

    Jonas and Turner added that they “sincerely hope everyone can respect our wishes for privacy for us and our children”.

    The divorce filing said “the marriage between the parties is irretrievably broken”, according to papers obtained by the Associated Press news agency.

    However, Jonas had continued to post pictures wearing his wedding ring on his social media accounts.

    The Jonas Brothers are currently on tour and played a show in Austin, Texas on Sunday. Following the gig, Jonas posted a picture on Instagram of himself with his ring clearly visible.

    Turner, 27, and Jonas married in a secretive ceremony in Las Vegas on 1 May 2019, after that year’s Billboard Music Awards.

    They had a second ceremony a month later at Chateau de Tourreau in the south of France, with their friends and family.

    The first of the couple’s two daughters, Willa, was born in 2020. Their second daughter was born last year but they have not publicly released her name.

    Jonas is seeking joint custody of the girls, according to the divorce documents. The couple had a prenuptial agreement that Jonas expects will be enforced, according to the filing.

    The pair began dating in late 2016 and announced their engagement in October 2017.

    Turner, who is from Northampton in England, is best known for her role as Sansa Stark in Game of Thrones, and has also appeared in drama series The Staircase and the X-Men film franchise.

    As a solo artist, Jonas released singles such as “Just In Love” and “This is Me”, a duet with Demi Lovato.

    But his best-known songs are with his brothers Nick and Kevin Jonas. As a group, the Jonas Brothers previously starred in their own Disney Channel series and scored hits with “SOS”, “Burnin’ Up”, “Sucker” and “Waffle House”.

    They recently released “Year 3000”, a collaboration with Busted, the British band who originally released the song in 2002.

  • Diddy returns lucrative music rights to Bad Boy Records artists

    Diddy returns lucrative music rights to Bad Boy Records artists

    In a rare move, Sean “Diddy” Combs has returned some music rights to artists and songwriters who were signed to his label, instead of cashing in on them.

    Bad Boy Records was one of the biggest rap labels of the 1990s, home to artists like Ma$e, Faith Evans, 112, The Lox and Notorious B.I.G.

    Those acts have now been given back control of their songwriting rights.

    A source with knowledge of the deal said Combs had previously been offered millions of dollars to sell the rights.

    The value of music publishing rights has increased dramatically in recent years, with artists like Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Debbie Harry, Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Nicks and Shakira foregoing future royalties in exchange for nine-figure sums.

    Combs declined those offers in favour of “giving back to the people who helped build his company”, the BBC has been told. 

    The star, who scored his own hits with tracks like “I’ll Be Missing You”, “Can’t Nobody Hold Me Down” and “Bad Boy For Life”, made the move on the 30th anniversary of his label.

    However, the process of reaching out to the artists and writers began in May 2021. While most of the parties have agreed to the deal and signed contracts, others are still being tracked down.

    Established in 1993 as a joint venture between Combs and Arista Records, Bad Boy was responsible for iconic hip-tracks including “Juice” and “Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems”, both by Notorious B.I.G.; “Flava In Ya Ear” by Craig Mack; and “Feel So Good” by Ma$e.

    At the time, it was not uncommon for labels to secure a percentage of an artist’s publishing rights when they signed deals – but the practice has been a bone of contention for many.

    When Combs used a speech at a 2020 Pre-Grammy Gala to say that hip-hop and black music had “never been respected by the Grammys”, Ma$e took his former label boss to task, saying he was equally guilty.

    In a since-deleted Instagram post, the rapper said he had offered Combs $2m (Ksh. 291.9M) to buy back his publishing rights but the offer was turned down.

    “Your past business practices knowingly has continued purposely starved your artist,” he alleged in the post. “For example, u still got my publishing from 24 years ago in which u gave me $20k. Which makes me never want to work [with you], as any artist wouldn’t… This is not Black excellence at all.” (sic).

    Combs later claimed Ma$e actually owed him $3m (£2.4m) for an album he had failed to deliver, an allegation that the rapper vigorously denied.

    However, it was Ma$e’s longtime friend and collaborator, Cam’ron, who first leaked the news of Combs’ decision to return publishing rights to his artists.

    In an Instagram post about his forthcoming mixtape The Lost Files, he explained that Ma$e had had to “sit this one out” because he’d been hammering out the deal.

    “He just got his publishing back from Puff. Just finished the paperwork for that yesterday. Congrats @rsvpmase.”

    Combs reportedly sees the move as “part of a larger conversation” about furthering “the economic empowerment of black artists and culture” in the hope that other labels will follow suit.

    The rapper, producer and music mogul also has new music on the horizon. The L.O.V.E. Album: Off the Grid is due out next week, with guest appearances from Justin Bieber, Burna Boy, The Weeknd, Mary J Blige, Busta Rhymes, Tayana Taylor and H.E.R.

    Combs will also receive the Global Icon Award at next week’s MTV Awards in New Jersey, where he is due to perform live.

    Recent Bad Boy Records releases have included Machine Gun Kelly’s Mainstream “Sellout” and Janelle Monae’s “The Age of Pleasure.”

  • Akon knew Afrobeats was the future even as industry bosses dismissed him

    Akon knew Afrobeats was the future even as industry bosses dismissed him

    RnB star Akon has been in the music business for almost 20 years. And the Senagalese-American singer says he’s finally able to start making music for himself.

    Born in the USA, Akon spent his childhood moving between New Jersey and the African country.

    He learned to play several Western and African instruments, but when he started to pursue a musical career in the early 2000s, he says producers were only interested in one side of his heritage.

    “One of the biggest things that I had to actually distance myself from at the time when I did come out, was the fact that I was African,” he tells BBC Newsbeat.

    “That wasn’t really something that they could market or promote in that kind of arena that I was actually playing in.”

    Commercially, Akon was a massive success, finding huge popularity with pop and RnB songs such as Lonely and Locked Up.

    But he says the financial demands of the music business, and the need to make money, had an effect on his output.

    “Everything had to be so calculated,” he says. “It becomes stressful and starts to feel like work.”

    Akon

    Since those early successes, the “Smack That star” has developed his own record label, and launched business ventures such as the Konvict Clothing line.

    Some of his projects – like building a “real-life Wakanda” in Senegal with its own cryptocurrency – haven’t panned out as planned.

    But he says enough has worked out to get him to a position where he no longer relies on others to back him.

    Making music at 50 years old is more about “the passion and love for music”, he says, and he’s able to include “more of an African influence” in his work because there is less pressure on him to make money.

    “Music is not my first revenue stream now, it has dropped down to maybe the tenth,” he says.

    He says the financial freedom means he can “add more culture” to his songs, and says the tracks on his new Afro Freaks EP are a “huge evolution” from Lonely and Locked Up.

    “I can enjoy doing it without dealing with politics, and the music business that comes with it,” he says.

    Akon’s new EP draws heavily from Afrobeats – a genre that’s become a global phenomenon thanks to artists like Davido, Wizkid and Burna Boy.

    He says he’s been trying to boost the style of music, which mixes African and Western influences, for years, and even signed Wizkid to his own label in 2008.

    But Akon recalls a time when Afrobeats would be dismissed by US industry bosses.

    “I remember back in the early 2000s when I was trying to market and get Afrobeats in America signed, they thought it was Reggae music,” he says.

    “It was one of the things that was so frustrating, trying to get them to understand the African population was so big, and this music will be the future.

    “Unfortunately, I got a lot of pushback.”

    It would be another 10 years before Afrobeats fully broke through, with huge artists like Drake and Beyonce collaborating with some of its biggest stars.

    And when Wizkid took home a Grammy Award in 2021, Akon says it was “one of those ‘I told you’ so moments”.

    He puts the rise of Afrobeats down to the younger generation “being more inquisitive about the new music surrounding them”.

    “And I think social media had a huge role to play in expanding the sound of different genres, because we didn’t really have any platforms,” he says.

    European success of acts like Davido “changed the dynamics” for Afrobeats artists, Akon says, and meant there was a better understanding of helping them to navigate Western markets.

    He says that huge support from fellow Africans helped to “put the word out”, leading social media platforms “grabbing all of those posts” and “exposing Afrobeats” in a certain light.

    Akon says: “Everybody’s really doing their part, to try to get the world to see what that was. And then once they saw it became very infectious, you know?

    “That’s what changed everything.”

    And he thinks the future of the genre is bright.

    “Afrobeats is going to be around a long time, because it’s been around a long time [already],” he says.

    “The role that I really played was just kind of helping to expose it, putting it out there, and using every opportunity that I had, and every relationship that I had, every resource that I had, to introduce it and hope that people will gravitate.”

    And, Akon believes that it will drive curiosity about his home continent, and new artists won’t have to distance themselves from their roots like he did.

    “It’s shined the light globally, and will now open up the door for people to learn a lot about Africa, through the music of Afrobeats,” he says.

  • Trump pleads not guilty in Georgia election fraud case

    Trump pleads not guilty in Georgia election fraud case

    Former US President Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty in his Georgia election fraud case, waiving the right to appear in court next week.

    Mr Trump is among 19 people charged with a conspiracy to overturn the US state’s 2020 vote results.

    He turned himself in at Fulton County Jail in Atlanta last week, where he had his mugshot taken.

    Mr Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, describing the case as politically motivated.

    In total, Mr Trump faces 13 felony counts – including racketeering – for allegedly pressuring Georgia officials to reverse the results of the 2020 presidential election in that state.

    In a court document filed on Thursday, Mr Trump said he “fully understands” the nature of the allegations and his right to appear in court.

    “Understanding my rights, I do hereby freely and voluntarily waive my right to be present at my arraignment on the indictment and my right to have it read to me in open court,” the signed document says.

    Mr Trump, the current frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has appeared at each of his three previous arraignments.

    He was required to do so for the cases he is facing in New York and Florida, and opted not to request a virtual appearance for a separate case in Washington DC.

    In all three cases, there was tight security as Trump supporters and counter-protesters gathered near the courthouses.

    Mr Trump surrendered and was arraigned simultaneously in his federal court cases, which led to his high-profile courtroom appearances. However, in Georgia state court, a defendant’s surrender and arraignment usually happen separately.

    Brian Tevis, an Atlanta attorney who represents one of Mr Trump’s co-accused, Rudy Giuliani, told CBS, the BBC’s US partner, that “99% of the time” defendants who are given the option choose to waive their arraignment.

    Clark Cunningham, a law professor at Georgia State University, said that decision is “usually non-controversial”.

    “Mr Trump fully knows the charges against him,” he said. “That’s the main purpose of the arraignment, to read the charges to the accused, and [to enter] the person’s plea. So he doesn’t need to be there, he knows what they are.”

    Earlier this week, three other co-defendants in the case entered not guilty pleas, including former Trump attorneys Ray Stallings Smith and Sidney Powell, as well as former celebrity publicist Trevian Kutti.

    Mr Trump was originally due to be arraigned on 6 September, followed by the other defendants in 15-minute intervals.

    All 19 defendants in the case – including Mr Trump – are charged with violating Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act, commonly known as the Rico act.

    Across the US and at the federal level, Rico laws are used to help prosecutors connect underlings who broke the law with those who gave orders or organised the crime.

    Fulton County’s District Attorney, Fani Willis, a Democrat, has increasingly come under fire from some Republicans and Trump allies for her decision to indict Mr Trump in the case.

    Earlier in August, State Senator Colton Moore sent a letter to Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, a fellow Republican, calling for a special session to impeach Ms Willis.

    At a Thursday news conference, Mr Kemp said he had yet to see evidence that such a move would be justified.

    “As long as I am governor, we’re going to follow the law and the Constitution, regardless of who it helps or harms politically,” the governor said.

  • Gabon coup leaders name new leader

    Gabon coup leaders name new leader

    Army officers who seized power in a coup in Gabon on Wednesday have named Gen Brice Oligui Nguema as the country’s transitional leader.

    Gen Nguema was earlier carried triumphally through the streets of the capital Libreville by his troops.

    The deposed President, Ali Bongo, has appeared in a video at his home, calling on his “friends all over the world” to “make noise” on his behalf.

    The former French colony is one of Africa’s major oil producers.

    In another development, the African Union has suspended Gabon’s participation in all of its activities following Wednesday’s military takeover, which it strongly condemned.

    Mr Bongo’s overthrow ended his family’s 55-year hold on power in the Central African state.

    Army officers appeared on TV in the early hours of Wednesday to say they had taken power.

    They said they had annulled the results of Saturday’s election in which Mr Bongo was declared the winner but which the opposition said was fraudulent.

    The officers also said they had arrested one of Mr Bongo’s sons for treason.

    Within hours, generals met to discuss who would lead the transition and agreed by a unanimous vote to appoint Gen Nguema, former head of the presidential guard.

    Gen Nguema told France’s Le Monde newspaper that Gabonese people had had enough of Ali Bongo’s rule, and that he should not have run for a third term.

    “Everyone talks about this but no one takes responsibility,” he said. “So the army decided to turn the page.”

    Crowds in Libreville and elsewhere celebrated the army’s declaration.

    But the coup was condemned by the UN, the African Union and France, which had close ties to the Bongo family.

    The US state department urged Gabon’s military to “preserve civilian rule” and urged “those responsible to release and ensure the safety of members of government”. The UK condemned the “unconstitutional military takeover” of power.

    There has long been simmering resentment of the Bongo family – it ruled Gabon for almost 56 years – and there has been public discontent over broader issues such as the cost of living.

    “At first I was scared, but then I felt joy,” a resident of Libreville, who requested anonymity, told the BBC. “I was scared because of the realisation that I am living through a coup, but the joy is because we’ve been waiting for so long for this regime to be overthrown.”

  • Eminem sends cease and desist letter to Republican presidential aspirant

    Eminem sends cease and desist letter to Republican presidential aspirant

    Lawyers for Eminem have sent a letter to aspiring Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy asking that he stop rapping to his songs.

    This comes more than a week after the biotech entrepreneur delivered an impromptu performance of “Lose Yourself” at the Iowa State Fair.

    The letter, dated 23 August, was sent by Eminem’s record company, BMI.

    Mr Ramaswamy is vying to unseat Donald Trump as the presumed 2024 Republican nominee.

    A spokeswoman for Mr Ramaswamy said he will comply with the request by Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III.

    Referring to an Eminem lyric, campaign spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to US media: “Vivek just got on the stage and cut loose.”

    “To the American people’s chagrin, we will have to leave the rapping to the real slim shady.”

    Mr Ramaswamy posted on X, formally known as Twitter, to make light of the situation.

    “Will The REAL Slim Shady Please Stand Up? He didn’t just say what I think he did, did he?” he wrote, referring to more of Eminem’s lyrics.

    The 38-year-old political newcomer is seen as a rising star in the campaign following a strong performance at last week’s Republican debate.

    He has positioned himself as an outsider willing to develop former President Trump’s “America First” agenda.

    Politicians being sent cease and desist letters over their campaign song choices has become something of a tradition in American politics.

    Mr Trump received dozens of letters from record stars – including the Rolling Stones, Queen, Adele and Pharrell Williams – informing him he lacked permission to use their music at campaign and presidential events.

    In 2008, the Foo Fighters spoke out against Republican John McCain for using their tune My Hero during his presidential run and Jackson Browne filed suit against the campaign to force it stop using the song “Running on Empty”.

  • Zimbabwe’s President Mnangagwa wins second term

    Zimbabwe’s President Mnangagwa wins second term

    Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been elected to a second term with 52.6% of the vote, the electoral commission says.

    But the opposition also claimed to have won, saying there was widespread vote-rigging, and observers said the vote fell short of democratic standards.

    Mr Mnangagwa is only Zimbabwe’s third president. A 2017 coup against veteran ruler Robert Mugabe put him in charge.

    Zimbabweans still face high inflation, poverty and a climate of fear.

    When he first became president, Mr Mnangagwa – known as “The Crocodile” for his ruthlessness – promised a new start for his country’s people.

    But Zimbabwe had one of the highest inflation rates in the world last month – prices in July had rocketed by 101.3% since the previous year. Unemployment also remains rife, with only 25% of Zimbabweans holding formal jobs.

    Mr Mnangagwa’s vow to guarantee human rights also appears hollow, with little changing in this regard since Mr Mugabe’s departure.

    Critics say the 80-year-old silenced dissent and clamped down on the opposition in the run-up to the vote, which he had been widely-expected to win.

    The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) said Mr Mnangagwa’s main challenger, Citizens’ Coalition for Change (CCC) candidate Nelson Chamisa, secured 44% of the vote.

    Mr Mnangagwa received more than 2.3m votes, while Mr Chamisa took 1.9m, according to the ZEC. Voter turnout in the country of almost 16m was 69%, the electoral body said.

    But Mr Chamisa said that the opposition had the “real results” and that there had been many irregularities.

    “We have won this election. We are the leaders. We are even surprised why Mnangagwa has been declared a leader,” he told journalists in Harare.

    Despite the opposition claims, the constitutional court has upheld the result.

    A spokesperson for the CCC posted on X – formerly known as Twitter – that the party rejected “any result hastily assembled without proper verification”.

    Observer missions from the EU, Commonwealth and 16-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) said they had a number of concerns with the vote, including the banning of opposition rallies, issues with the electoral register, biased state media coverage and voter intimidation.

    “The elections were fraught with irregularities and aggrieved the people of Zimbabwe,” political analyst Rejoice Ngwenya told AFP.

    The run-up to the election was largely free of violence, but CCC members were convicted on what they describe as fabricated charges aimed at weakening the party. The party says the police have banned several of its meetings since July, and nearly 100 gatherings since it was formed in January last year.

    Earlier this month, 40 CCC members, including a parliamentary candidate, were arrested while campaigning in the capital Harare.

    The recent killing of a CCC backer, allegedly by supporters of Mr Mnangagwa’s Zanu-PF party, further raised concerns about rights.

    Critics continue to be arrested and taken to court for insulting the president – an offence punishable by one year in jail or a fine or both. A man in Harare was charged in April after allegedly being overheard by a police officer saying that Mr Mnangagwa would lose the next election.

    “The Crocodile”, as he is known, has a fearsome reputation that was cemented after independence during the civil war that broke out in the 1980s between Mr Mugabe’s Zanu party and the Zapu party of Joshua Nkomo.

    As national security minister, Mr Mnangagwa was in charge of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO), which worked hand in glove with the army to suppress Zapu.

    Thousands of civilians – mainly ethnic Ndebeles, seen as Zapu supporters – were killed in a campaign known as Gukurahundi, before the two parties merged to form Zanu-PF.

    Mr Mnangagwa has denied any role in the massacres. As president he has tried to broach reconciliation. Some have felt his comments glib given the deep wounds in Matabeleland, but an initiative to allow exhumations and reburials has been agreed.

    Voting in the presidential and parliamentary elections was meant to take place on Wednesday, but was extended into Thursday in some areas due to the late distribution of ballot papers.

    Mr Mnangagwa’s election means Zanu-PF has ruled Zimbabwe for 43 years, since the country gained independence from British rule in 1980.

    The party was also declared the winner in the parliamentary race, securing 136 of 210 seats, with the CCC taking 73. A further 60 seats are reserved for women and are appointed through proportional representation.