Africa

By Agencies

Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's president and Africa's oldest leader, has celebrated his 88th birthday, denying reports he has cancer.

Read more: Mugabe scoffs at calls to retire

By Agencies

Ethiopian and Somali troops have captured the strategic Somali city of Baidoa from al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab fighters, who vowed to avenge the loss.

Read more: Key town recaptured from Somalia's al-Shabab

By Agencies

Nigeria's military said it killed eight suspected radical Islamists who attacked a market in the northeastern city of Maiduguri, denying reports that dozens of civilians had been killed in the attack.

Read more: 'Many killed' in attack on Nigerian market

By Agencies

Senegalese are continuing their protests against incumbent president Abdoulaye Wade's decision to seek a third term in office, erecting barricades and pelting police with rocks just days before a presidential election.

Read more: Election anger mounts in Senegal

By Agencies

Rebels in Sudan's Darfur region claim they have detained 49 international peacekeepers and three suspected Sudanese intelligence agents for "investigation" after they entered a rebel-held area.

Read more: Darfur rebels 'seize UNAMID peacekeepers'

By Agencies

Senegalese have police fired tear gas on stone-throwing demonstrators after prayers at a mosque in the Senegalese capital in a fifrth day of protest against the candidacy of incumbent President Abdoulaye Wade in the February 26 presidential poll.

Read more: Clashes in Senegal ahead of presidential poll

By Agencies

At least five people have been wounded in a bomb explosion near a church in the Nigerian town of Suleja, on the edge of the capital Abuja, authorities and witnesses said.

Read more: Bomb explodes near Nigeria church

By Agencies

Riot police in Senegal have fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters, after the country's opposition defied a government ban to go ahead with a demonstration calling for President Abdoulaye Wade to stand down.

Read more: Senegalese opposition rally turns violent

By Agencies

At least two police officers have been wounded in the Somali capital Mogadishu after a car bomb exploded next to a police department building in an attack claimed by the insurgent al-Shabab group.

Read more: Al-Shabab claim Mogadishu car bombing

By Agencies

Sudanese police have raided student dormitories at the main university in the capital Khartoum, arresting and beating hundreds of students, activists say.

Read more: Reports: Sudan university students assaulted