Egyptian teacher is tried for student’s death. The Egyptian teacher who allegedly beat a student to death for not doing his homework, recently appeared in court to face charges, reports the BBC. The 23-year-old teacher, Haitham Nabeel Abdelhamid, allegedly took the 11-year-old boy outside of the classroom and hit him hard in the stomach. The boy, Islam Amr Badr (shown above), died at the hospital later after suffering heart failure as result of the injury to his stomach that dropped his blood pressure, according to testimony from the medical staff who examined him. He also had two broken ribs. The court also heard from classmates, who said Badr was hit as punishment for not doing his math homework. The teacher says he didn’t mean to hurt his student and that he only wanted to discipline him. The incident, at Alexandria’s Saad Othman Primary School happened back in October and shined a spotlight on the nation’s struggling state education system. The nation’s education minister will be called to the stand. And Islam’s father, Amr Badr Ibrahim, feels the whole system should be held accountable for his son’s death. “The minister of education should be the first person to be accused – how can he agree to let such a young man teach children?” he asked. “The problem is the teaching and the teachers because they cannot find good teachers,” he said. Young and inexperienced teachers in the state education system have a hard time in the classroom, many often trying to get control of 60 to100 students, reports the BBC. The government says it’s introducing reforms such as new teacher tests and banning corporal punishment.

Trinidad’s Prime Minister is doing well after surgery. Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Patrick Manning reportedly is doing well after his cancer surgery at the Cimeq hospital in Havana, reports Caribbean Net. Manning underwent the surgery last Wednesday to remove a malignant tumor from his kidney. He called his office Friday, telling employees that he was doing well and was supposed to be removed from the Intensive Care Unit soon, reports the Trinidad Express. He also told his secretary that he was up and walking a day after his surgery. Manning will stay in the hospital for at least one more week for care.

Truck crash in Jamaica leaves 14 dead. A truck crash this weekend killed 14 people in Portland, Jamaica, reports the Jamaican Gleaner. The truck, which was transporting merchants, along with produce, to Kingston’s Coronation market, overturned and fell into a precipice, trapping several who were on board under the heavy vehicle. A 10-year-old boy is among the deceased. The truck reportedly had been trying to back up on a narrow round to let a car pass. Rescue teams from the police, Ministry of Health, Port Antonio Hospital, Pihl Construction Company and some residents worked together for 15 hours to remove bodies from the wreckage. Seven of the truck’s passengers were rescued. Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding flew to the accident scene by helicopter along with a local Portland official. “This is a major catastrophe,” Golding said. “My condolence goes out to the bereaved families, and I have to thank the brave citizens who used bottle torches so as to see access to the pathway down to the precipice to render assistance to their fellow men,” he continued. The government will make arrangements to help the families of the deceased. Police are still looking for the truck’s driver.

Bus crash in Burkino Faso kills over 60 people. A passenger bus and a goods truck collided in the west African nation of Burkino Faso recently killing at least 66 people, reports the BBC. After the pre-dawn crash, the vehicles caught on fire, leaving many in the bus trapped. “We lament 96 victims, of whom 66 have died. Of the 66, 55 bodies were completely charred. There are 30 injured admitted in [the] hospital,” Gilbert Noel Ouedraogo, the nation’s Transport Minister, said. The bus was carrying over 80 people, according to the driver who survived, and many times trucks in the nation also have passengers aboard. The bus was headed to the Ivory Coast and citizens from that country were also among the victims of the tragedy.  A lot of Burkinabes also travel to the Ivory Coast to work. A court prosecutor described the shocking scene. “The scene is gruesome. The bus is completely askew. There are bodies on the road; some are in the wreckage. There are charred bodies which we are still removing. It’s really horrible,” Maiza Compaore told Agence France Presse. Accidents happen frequently in the nation due to the poor road conditions. 

Nigerian man who married 86 wives is released. The Nigerian man who made headlines a few months ago for having 86 wives has been released from jail, reports the BBC. Mohammed Bello Abubakar, 84, had been in police custody for 59 days for ignoring an order from an Islamic court to divorce all but four of his wives. It is not against the law to marry more than one wife in Nigeria and polygamy is not uncommon. However, Abubakar’s huge number of wives got the attention of authorities. But he insists there is nothing wrong with it. In fact, he argues that the prophet Muhammad commanded him to have as many wives as he was able to, and that the Koran doesn’t state a punishment for having more than four. Many Muslim scholars agree that, providing he treats them all equally, men are allowed to have up to four wives in Islam. Abubakar had been charged with “insulting religious creed” and “unlawful marriages” (although the unlawful marriage charge has since been dropped). Before he was arrested he did obtain an order for the High Court that was supposed to protect him from being detained. In December, a judge will rule on whether or not that order was violated.