VOTE COUNTING BEGINS IN MALAWI

Polls have closed in Malawi's hotly contested presidential vote, the second time in just over a year, after incumbent President Peter Mutharika's re-election was annulled by the courts over irregularities. Some 6.8 million people were eligible to vote in Tuesday's rerun, practically a two-horse race between Mutharika and opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera. A third candidate, Peter Kuwani,