S.Africans weigh in on vote ahead of Wednesday’s election

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

Tunde Onakoya, the Nigerian Chess expert who smashed the previous Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon has returned to Nigeria. The founder of Chess In Slums Africa broke a new record of 60 hours of playtime in New York’s Times Square last Saturday, which is still receiving confirmation from GWR.

Israel's economy suffered a major contraction in the final quarter of 2023, following the terrorist attacks. Its economy shrank by 5.2% compared with the previous quarter. Much was related to the labor force disruption which resulted when around 300,000 reservists were called up to the country's armed forces.

The German government revised its economic growth forecast for 2024 marginally from 0.2% to 0.3%, Economy Minister Robert Habeck confirmed on Wednesday afternoon.

The central Mexican city of Celaya has become the scene of a brutal turf war between rival drug cartels. These criminal groups have taken advantage of its strategic position at the crossroads for transporting drugs into the United States. Kidnappings, shootouts with police and drive-by killings now occur on an almost daily basis in broad daylight. Nearly 500 people were killed in Celaya last year. The city's police officers (pictured) risk their lives every day and are forced to travel in armoured vehicles. Our France 2 colleagues report, with FRANCE 24's Lauren Bain.

We look at the US papers, who react to Ukraine being granted a $61 billion aid package. Also, five migrants die attempting to cross the Channel, just hours after the controversial Rwanda asylum bill is passed by the UK parliament.