While the French offensive to flush out Islamists in northern Mali dominated media coverage this week, news from other African nations certainly hasn't stopped.

Here are five other stories you might have missed:

'State funeral' for hundreds of Kenyan lawmakers

Throngs of Kenyans wearing black marched down the streets, coffins perched on their shoulders, crooning altered dirges in a mock funeral for lawmakers.

When the march came to a halt outside parliament offices in downtown Nairobi, hundreds of caskets lay charred, a defiant message against a recent hefty retirement package lawmakers passed for themselves.

The Kenyan president rejected the package, which included a bonus of $110,000 each and a state funeral for lawmakers, an honor reserved for presidents and high achievers.

The mock caskets were a spoof on the state funerals.

Major newspapers in the nation heaped praises on the president and criticized the lawmakers, who had attempted to pass another retirement package in October.

"Africa's big men behaving badly," an editorial in the Daily Nation newspaper screamed.

"Drama as civil society members bury greedy MPs," a story in the Standard read.

Good news for Mubarak

Former President Hosni Mubarak, once a powerful figure in Egyptian politics, will get a new trial after an appeals court tossed out his life sentence.

A judge overturned his conviction for failing to stop the killing of hundreds during the uprising in 2011. He will remain in prison as he awaits his next court date, likely in April.

Compared to the defiant riots that erupted during his trial in June, Egyptians appeared to welcome the news Sunday with shrugged shoulders. During the trial, both sides lunged at one another in court as fiery supporters and foes clashed outside.

The nation has spent the last year mired in protests, prompting the Economist to describe it as a "Dilemocracy."

20 years and over $1B later, U.S. recognizes Somalia

After pouring more than $1 billion in aid to Somalia, the United States officially recognized the nation's government for the first time in more than two decades.

American officials have not recognized it since warlords toppled dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. Clan warlords and militants battled for control, sparking a civil war and mayhem nationwide.

Two years later, militants shot down Black Hawk helicopters and killed American forces attempting to raid a warlord in the capital of Mogadishu.

U.S. applauded Somalia's progress, citing its first democratically-elected government and its successful efforts to push out al Qaeda-linked militants.