Guinea elections Episode 1: Campaigning turns festive ahead of Sunday’s poll

This week in Africa, elite soldiers over throw the government of Guinea's President Alpha Conde. The Islamist party which ruled Morocco for ten years suffers a crushing defeat in elections. South Africa's ex-president wins an early release from prison on health grounds, and farmers in central Nigeria flee conflict, with disastrous consequences for crops and food prices.

Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Thursday. Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Thursday. ⁣

The world's richest man sold about 900,000 shares of his company Tesla after asking Twitter followers whether he should sell 10% of his stocks. But documents showed the sale was put in motion much before the poll.

The Geneva-based Swiss newspaper Le Temps has issued a denial via one of its editors on Twitter, saying that a poll conducted in its name was not in reality ordered by the paper at all. The results of the bogus poll on the French presidential election showed that Emmanuel Macron would not make it into the second round and that far-right candidate Eric Zemmour would comfortably defeat far-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon in the run-off. All other polls show Macron being narrowly re-elected. We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.

The Geneva-based Swiss newspaper Le Temps has issued a denial via one of its editors on Twitter, saying that a poll conducted in its name was not in reality ordered by the paper at all. The results of the bogus poll on the French presidential election showed that Emmanuel Macron would not make it into the second round and that far-right candidate Eric Zemmour would comfortably defeat far-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon in the run-off. All other polls show Macron being narrowly re-elected. We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.

QOTMII is an app that detects online buzz through an AI system using millions of calculations scanning online media and social media. In the past, it has accurately assessed the outcome of presidential elections in France and the US. French far-right candidate Eric Zemmour used data assembled by QOTMII indicating that he could reach the second round of France's presidential election and presented it to supporters as a favourable poll. We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.

On May 15, parliamentary elections will take place nationwide in Lebanon. The Lebanese diaspora, estimated to be double the size of the domestic population, already cast their ballots last week. Around 60 percent of people across 58 countries turned out, slightly more than in 2018. We bring you a special edition of Middle East Matters on Lebanon's first elections since the mass protests of 2019.

Strong inflation headwinds could deny Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro a second term, with the incumbent also facing a new corruption scandal. Lula says citizens want to "get rid" of the current government.

The number of registered voters aged 18-34 for Kenya's election on August 9 has fallen, despite population growth, with some saying promises made to them are not fulfilled.

Kenya's veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga will challenge the results of this month's presidential election in the Supreme Court on Monday (August 22), his legal team said, the latest twist in a political clash that has gripped East Africa's powerhouse.

Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Wednesday.⁣

We look at a new report by non-profit Forbidden Stories about the work and 2007 murder of Indian journalist Gauri Lankesh. And, the fallout continues from a toxic chemical spill in East Palestine, Ohio as residents grapple with water, air and soil pollution.