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Zimbabweans go to the polls today, in the first vote since former president Robert Mugabe was ousted in November of last year. The poll is expected to be a close contest between current president Emmerson Mnangagwa of the Zanu PF party and Nelson Chamisa, leader of the Movement for Democratic Change. In a surprise press conference last night, ex-president Mugabe said he would not support his successor Mnangagwa, instead wishing Chamisa well in the vote. For the latest on the ground we turn to the Â鶹ԼÅÄ’s Nomsa Maseko in Harare, and then Judith Tyson of the Overseas Development Institute tells us what Zimbabwe needs to get its economy back on track.

US President Donald Trump is reportedly considering tapping the country’s emergency Strategic Petroleum Reserve as a way to get rising gas prices under control, ahead of November’s mid-term elections. Energy market analyst Phil Flynn explains why it might not be as effective a technique as it seems.

President Trump will also meet Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte at the White House today. The two unconventional leaders’ interests appear to align in some key areas, and former chief economist of the Italian treasury Lorenzo Codogno describes what might be on the agenda.

And finally The Beano, Britain’s longest-circulated children’s cartoon magazine, celebrates its 80th birthday tomorrow. John Hendrick of Big Bang Comics in Dublin discusses the significance of the series, and how the comics industry has changed over that time.

(Photo description: Election posters for Emmerson Mnangagwa and Nelson Chamisa. Credit: Alex MCBride/AFP/Getty Images)