Harare, ZIMBABWE | AFP | Zimbabwe’s former president Robert Mugabe celebrated his 94th birthday on Saturday with a private black-tie party hosted by his family, three months after he was ousted from power. Mugabe’s birthday was previously a major public event in Zimbabwe, marked by an outpouring of fawning congratulations …

Cairo, EGYPT | AFP | Campaigning began in Egypt’s presidential election on Saturday with incumbent Abdel Fattah al-Sisi likely to romp to victory in the absence of a serious challenger in the two-candidate race. The former army chief will face the head of the liberal Ghad party, Mussa Mustapha Mussa, …

Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | A protest march by opponents of DR Congo President Joseph Kabila looked set to go ahead Sunday after authorities and organisers failed to agree an official route, after two similar rallies were brutally put down last month. Kinshasa governor Andre Kimbuta on Saturday invited …

Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA | AFP | Ethiopia’s ruling coalition will meet to choose a new prime minister next week, a party official said on Saturday. Hailemariam Desalegn resigned as prime minister last week after ordering a mass prisoner amnesty and days of protest in Africa’s second most-populous country. A state …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | Seven suspects accused of killing five South African policemen were shot dead by officers late on Friday in a bloody gunfight outside a church, according to investigators. The shoot-out erupted when police hunted down the armed gang that is alleged to have stormed a …

Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | Two car bombings killed 38 people in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Friday, the city’s main ambulance service told AFP on Saturday. “We have seen at least 38 people dead,” said Abdukadir Abdurahman Aden of the Aamin Ambulance of the bombings that targeted the presidential …

Los Angeles, United States | AFP | The murders of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls not only robbed hip-hop of two defining artists but also uncovered allegations of conspiracy, bloody rivalries and police corruption — shining a light on rap’s criminal underworld. More than two decades later, with the killers …

Manila, Philippines | AFP | Around 2,000 Roman Catholic Filipinos protested in Manila on Saturday against a push to legalise divorce, with church groups also using the “Walk for Life” march to slam President Rodrigo Duterte’s deadly drugs war. The pre-dawn protest was organised by church groups worried about the …

Caracas, Venezuela | AFP | Despite unpopularity and a deepening economic crisis, Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro seems such a certainty for reelection in April that only an evangelical pastor has found the faith to run against him. “I am the light in the darkness,” said little-known pastor Javier Bertucci, without …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP | A recent spate of violent attacks in Tanzania threaten the country’s democracy, the European Union has said. “We note with concern the recent developments which threaten democratic values and the rights of Tanzanians,” the EU said in a statement Friday. The EU said it was …