Zambia suspends election campaigning over violence

Political campaigning in Zambia's capital Lusaka has been suspended for 10 days because of violent clashes ahead of next month's national elections, the electoral commission announced at the weekend.
The ban comes less than three weeks after Zambia's biggest independent newspaper, The Post, was shut down by the authorities over a tax dispute - a move seen as an attempt to silence it before the August 11 vote. The run-up to the election has been marred by skirmishes between supporters of the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) of President Edgar Lungu and the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) led by Hakainde Hichilema.