Tirana, Albania | AFP |  Albania will on Sunday hold bitterly disputed municipal polls that have snowballed into a democratic crisis, with the opposition boycotting the vote and refusing to recognise its results. The tense election run-up has seen bouts of violence as opposition supporters attacked polling stations around the country …

Ol Pejeta, Kenya | AFP |  Every morning, at the far perimeter of the wildlife reserve capped by Mount Kenya, a khaki-clad ranger meticulously sweeps the earth of animal footprints, covering their tracks from any poachers. It’s an antiquated approach to outsmarting would-be hunters, but this ranger is not alone. …

Harare, Zimbabwe | AFP |  Zimbabwe’s worsening electricity shortages mean power is often only available for a few hours in the middle of the night — forcing furniture maker Richard Benhura to start work at 11:00 pm. It is just one aspect of the country’s dire economic difficulties as official inflation …

Belo Horizonte, Brazil | AFP |  For the last dozen years, Argentina has been waiting for global superstar Lionel Messi to lead their football team to a major international trophy. But when the the country needed the five-time Ballon d’Or winner most, Messi failed to emulate the feats of Diego Maradona …

Hong Kong, China | AFP |  Once dubbed “Asia’s Finest”, Hong Kong’s police are fighting allegations of using excessive violence against protesters, their headquarters besieged twice in the last week as calls for an independent inquiry into their tactics swell. Pro-democracy lawmaker Wu Chi-wai was aghast as thick clouds of …

London, United Kingdom | AFP |  Ashleigh Barty goes into Wimbledon buoyed, unlike her predecessor Naomi Osaka, by being world number one and with several of her major rivals struggling. The engaging 23-year-old Australian — who emulated compatriot Evonne Goolagong Cawley by becoming number one last weekend — has yet …

Lampedusa, Italy | AFP |  The Sea-Watch 3 charity ship carrying dozens of migrants rescued off Libya forced its way into the Italian port of Lampedusa on Friday night after a lengthy standoff, the charity said. Sea-Watch spokesman Ruben Neugebauer told AFP the boat’s German captain Carola Rackete, 31, was arrested …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | London’s iconic Tower Bridge celebrates its 125th anniversary on Sunday by showing off the weird and wacky alternative designs that were nearly built instead. The globally-recognised landmark which opens and closes for large boats plying the River Thames, has become one of the symbols of …

Carpentras, France | AFP |  Temperatures in France surpassed 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) Friday for the first time on record as Europe sweltered in an early summer heatwave that has caused several deaths. With France, Spain, Italy and parts of central Europe hard hit by the record-breaking temperatures, officials …

Khartoum, Sudan | AFP |  Driven from power after months of nationwide protests, Sudan’s former strongman Omar al-Bashir has been held in the capital’s grim Kober prison on a series of charges filed by prosecutors. Those charges range from corruption to killing protesters, and on June 16 Bashir appeared before a …