CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — The United Nations human rights chief said Wednesday he is concerned over the arrest of opposition officials in connection with last week's troubled election in Zambia.
Zambian law enforcement agents raided a property on election night last Thursday where the country's main opposition leader was present and there was an exchange of gunfire, according to the government.
It said "high-grade military weapons" were found there, and 11 opposition officials were arrested for posing a threat to state security.
Main opposition leader Brian Mundubile denied the allegations and said the opposition officials were unarmed and shot at. He said he is currently “under protection” due to safety concerns, without giving more details on his whereabouts.
President Hakainde Hichilema on Tuesday was declared the winner of the election for a second five-year term. Mundubile won around 38% of the vote, according to official results, but he has rejected the results while claiming irregularities and said his opposition alliance will challenge them in court.
U.N. rights chief Volker Turk urged Zambian authorities to stop arresting people arbitrarily and bring anyone detained to court promptly to answer any charges. All arrests “must be fully consistent with international human rights standards, as well as Zambian domestic law,” Turk said in a statement.
The Zambian government has not said where the arrested officials are being held or what charges they will face. Mundubile also alleged that another opposition figure who is a former minister was shot during the raid and is now missing.
The election period was unusually tense in the copper-rich southern African nation, which has held largely peaceful votes since returning to multiparty democracy in 1991.
Vote counting was suspended for hours on Friday, the day after the vote, with the electoral commission citing violence against officials at some polling stations and the theft of ballot papers. The commission didn't say who was responsible.
AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
Ballot papers are seen at a polling station during a presidential election in Lusaka, Zambia, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Anita Reed)
Zambia's President Hakainde Hichilema casts his vote at a polling station in Lusaka, Zambia, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Anita Reed)
A police vehicle is parked on a sidewalk, on the outskirts of Lusaka, Zambia, Friday, Aug. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Alfonso Nqunjana)
NEW YORK (AP) — Target reported its second straight quarter of comparable sales gains on Wednesday, saying that a merchandising overhaul under the retailer's new CEO is attracting more customers and boosting sales throughout its stores.
The retailer also benefited from a tariff refund of $994 million after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled this year that the Trump administration had overstepped its authority when the tariffs were implemented.
There is a lot of interest in how tariff refunds from the U.S. government will impact retailers and whether those refunds will be used to lower prices for customers.
Chief Financial Officer Jim Lee, when asked about tariff refunds this week, said the company continues to invest in lowering prices. Target reduced the prices of more than 10,000 items over the past year and “there’s more to come even as we’re facing headwinds overall,” Lee said.
Comparable sales, those coming from stores and digital channels operating for at least 12 months, rose 3.8% in the second quarter. The company also upgraded its annual profit and sales outlook, citing the solid performance during the first half of the year.
Target is emerging from more than a year of weak comparable sales. A 5.6% jump in the first quarter offset a 3.8% decline in 2025. The second-quarter gain followed a 1.9% drop a year ago.
Target CEO Michael Fiddelke, a 20-year company veteran who became chief executive in February, said the latest quarter was “an important step forward in the plan we laid out earlier this year to open a new chapter of growth for Target.”
Target also reported an increase in the number of customers going to its stores and shopping on its website from May through July.
“We’re encouraged by the progress made so far, and we’re also clear-eyed about the important work still ahead,” Fiddelke said.
In March, Fiddelke unveiled a $6 billion plan to reverse Target’s sales slump and to reclaim the retailer’s reputation as a place to go for affordable yet stylish apparel and home goods.
More than half of Target’s back-to-school merchandise is new, the company said.
That includes a limited-time collection of teen and tween clothes, school supplies and accessories in pastel colors and floral prints from the women’s lifestyle brand LoveShack Fancy. Target also collaborated with Hollister on a dorm decor collection.
Target recruited fashion designer and TV personality Isaac Mizrahi this summer to fill the newly created role of creative director at large. Mizrahi has been brought in to mentor Target designers, advise on product design and innovation, and forge new partnerships.
It is Mizrahi's second partnership with Target. He became the first major fashion designer to collaborate with the retailer in 2002 for a successful run.
Fiddelke is also remodeling Target stores and improving staffing. The company has more than 100 full-scale remodels underway, with a goal of reaching 130 this year, Fiddelke said Tuesday.
During the second quarter, comparable store sales — sales from established physical stores — increased 2.7%, while increased same-day deliveries pushed digital comparable sales up 8.7%.
Target is one of the first big retailers to report second-quarter financial results, which could give industry analysts and economists another read on whether ongoing price pressures from the conflict in Iran impacted consumer behavior.
The Commerce Department released a report Friday showing weak retail sales in July. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index, also released Friday, showed greater pessimism about the economy this month, likely driven by stubbornly high prices.
Target's overall sales increased in all six of its main merchandising categories, led by double-digit growth in what the company calls Fun 101 — a division that includes consumer electronics, toys, trading cards, sports paraphernalia, books and gaming items.
Target's beauty and food and beverage sales were also standouts. Target plans to roll out a new Target Beauty Studio concept next month in more than 600 locations. The new area, which will offer upscale beauty products and enhanced product expertise from staff, will partly replace its shops with Ulta, which is ending its partnership with the retailer in August, the company said.
On the other side, business in clothing and home goods hardly grew. Target executives said the work to improve these areas is ongoing.
Net income was $1.87 billion, or $4.11 per share, for the three months ended Aug. 1, easily beating the $2.34 per share that Wall Street had expected, according to a survey by FactSet. It also outpaced last year's $935 million, or $2.05 per share. Yet this year also included millions from tariff refunds, which amounted to $1.65 in earnings per share, Target said.
Net sales rose 5.3% to $26.54 billion for the period.
Target now expects sales to increase 5%, up from its earlier predictions for a 4% gain. It also expects earnings per share for the full year to be in the range of $9.90 to $10.90. Analysts expect $8.52 per share for the year, according to FactSet.
In May, Target reiterated its guidance from March for earnings per share to be near the high end of $7.50 to $8.50.
The cereal aisle is seen at a Target store, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Woodbury, Minn. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)
An employee passes the back-to-school section at a Target store, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Woodbury, Minn. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)
Children's clothing including uniforms are on display in a Target store, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Woodbury, Minn. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)
A shopper enters a Target store, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, in Woodbury, Minn. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)
