World News: Zimbabwe Leaders Reportedly Reach Power-Sharing Agreement; Obama’s Kenyan Grandma Is Targeted In Burglary; Many Tanzanian Students Faint During Finals
September 12th, 2008Zimbabwe leaders reportedly reach a power-sharing agreement. After a violent voting season and two disputed elections, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai have agreed on a power-sharing deal, according to reports. The two parties will sign the agreement on Monday, said South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki who mediated talks between the two, reports CNN. He did not, however, release any specifics about the deal. Earlier this week, Tsvangirai said he would only sign a deal if Mugabe, who has led Zimbabwe since 1980, would agree to relinquish some power as leader and have his presidency reduced to a ceremonial position. The opposition leader won the majority of votes in the first round of elections in March but, according to the official figures, he didn’t get the more than 50 percent needed to secure a victory. The weeks before June’s runoff election were so violent, Tsvangirai decided to drop out of the race out of fear for his safety and the safety of his supporters. Mugabe, whose name was the only one on the ballot, won the runoff, which many in the international community dismissed as a “sham” election. Under intense scrutiny, both inside and outside of Zimbabwe, Mugabe agreed to sit down with the opposition to discuss a power-sharing deal. The county has sunk to financial run in recent years, with an inflation rate at an astounding 11.2 million percent, which is the highest in the world.
Obama’s Kenyan grandma is targeted in burglary. People attempted to break into the home of Sen. Barack Obama’s grandmother in Kenya, reports CNN. They were not able to get into Sarah Obama’s house, though, despite using a ladder to get on the roof after they noticed all the doors were locked, according to Obama’s uncle, Said. “I just spoke to Sarah, and she’s OK. The police have been there since yesterday, and we’re not worried. Everything is fine,” he said in an interview with The Associated Press. The family is mum on what type of security, if any, they are given. No word on how many people were involved in the break-in or if the police caught them yet. Barack Obama, whose late father was Kenyan, is very popular in the nation.
Many Tanzanian students faint during finals. Were they sick or just trying to buy some study time? While taking final exams, 20 girls at a Tanzanian school fell out and fainted, reports the BBC. More than 140 students at Ali Hassan Mwinyi School in Tabora, a co-ed junior school, were taking the test when the incident happened. Officials aren’t positive why they all fainted at about the same time, but they have their speculations. “I’m not a specialist, but I imagine this was a case of mass hysteria that does happen in some of the schools,” the educational officer of Tabora told the news service. “There was chaos, crying, screaming, running after that first paper.” What makes this even more bizarre is that the mass fainting spells have become a common occurrence at the school within the last month or so; and in all incidents only girls were involved. After the girls were revived, they were permitted to finish their exams.
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