NIGERIA: Usman Buda was stoned to death on Sunday after being accused of blasphemy, authorities said, sparking outrage from rights groups today worried about what they say are growing threats to religious freedom in the region.

Mr Buda was lynched by a mob in Sokoto state’s Gwandu district after he “allegedly blasphemed the Holy Prophet Muhammad” during an argument with another trader in a marketplace, police spokesman Ahmad Rufa’i said in a statement on Sunday night.

LEBANON: Lebanon’s militant Hezbollah group said its fighters shot down an Israeli drone today that was flying near the border and over southern Lebanon.

The group gave no further details about the type of the drone that it claimed was downed near the village of Zibqine just north of the border with Israel. 

There was no immediate comment from Israel.

GERMANY: Far-right party, Alternative for Germany, which has come under scrutiny from security services over its ties to extremists, won a run-off election Sunday in Sonneberg county, about 112 miles east of Frankfurt.

A spokesman for Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Steffen Hebestreit, said that it was important to take people’s concerns seriously and engage in “civilised discussions.”

“Our country is shaped by values such as fairness, tolerance, decency and respect,” he told reporters. 

SIERRA LEONE: Official results are yet to be announced following Sierra Leone’s general election on Saturday, but President Julius Maada Bio and his main rival Samura Kamara are both claiming victory in a tense campaign marred by violence.

Mr Kamara says live ammunition was fired into his party’s headquarters as he held a news conference on Sunday.