Glum Findings on Africa’s Gay Male HIV Rate
In some African nations, the HIV rate among gay men is 10 times higher than their heterosexual counterparts, according to a report. Discrimination and prejudice against gays in these nations are behind the problem, the research, which was published in the medical journal The Lancet said. There is “profound stigma and social hostility at every level of society concerning either same-sex behaviors amongst me or homosexuality,” Adrian Smith, one of the lead researchers, told the BBC. The prejudice makes gays “extremely hard to reach.” To make matters worse, a lot of the HIV-positive gay men have female sex partners who are also becoming infected. The men often “hide their sexual orientation” so they can get married and are unaware of the risks of unprotected sex. “Most of them know that you can contract HIV/AIDS or any infection when you are making sex with women, but not when you are having sex with another man,” George Kanuma, a Burundi gay rights activist told the BBC. More HIV education and prevention resources are needed on the continent, the report says.

 Guyana Authorities Probe Suspicious Fire
The early morning fire, which burned down Guyana’s Minstry of Health Friday, is still being investigated by authorities in the Caribbean nation, reports the BBC. It took only minutes for the wooden building to go up in flames, according to eyewitnesses. Police are not giving many details, but they say there were fire-starting tools taken from the scene, and at least one government official is suspecting foul play. “It appears to me from all that I’m hearing is that it is a clear case of arson,” the nation’s Health Minister Leslie Ransammy told the BBC.

Erykah Badu Gives Birth
Erykah Badu, who has a brand-new baby girl, said that she and the baby are “doing fine.” The Universal Motown Records Group artist, whose baby was born Sunday, said she had a home birth that lasted about five hours and that she didn’t use painkillers. Rapper Jay Electronica is the baby’s father. Badu, whose real name is Erica Wright, has a son and a daughter from previous relationships.

Atlanta DJ Tied to Blaze?
Authorities in Atlanta are searching for a well-known radio personality in connection with a “suspicious” fire that consumed a townhouse and left one woman injured, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Through interviews with the injured woman, who suffered from a second-degree burn to her arm, and neighbors, investigators “learned that two people were there at the scene that left the scene, that we need to talk with.” The duo reportedly was Tony Matthews, who lived in the town home, and Porsche Foxx, formerly a popular afternoon DJ with V-103 in Atlanta. She reportedly was visiting the home when the fire broke out early Tuesday, according to Fulton County Fire Marshall Keith Padgett. “These are not suspects, they’re just people we would like to speak with,” Padgett said. Foxx, whose real name is Stephanie Calhoun, was fired from V-103 after a 2004 DUI arrest but was re-hired by V-103 in 2007. She was fired again last November. According to the Journal-Constitution, Foxx’s home in the upscale Regency neighborhood in south Fulton was destroyed by a fire three years ago. Investigators later determined that the blaze could have been caused by an unattended candle.

Kenyan explosion kills more than 100.

A petrol tanker in Kenya turned over while traveling on the road and exploded about an hour later killing more than 100 people and wounding several others, reports CNN. The explosion happened near the town of Molo, about 80 miles from the nation’s capital, Nairobi. Not long after the tanker turned over on the highway, hundreds of people surrounded the vehicle trying to scoop up gas. “People were lining up trying to get the fuel. They were siphoning off petrol for over an hour. Some people had drilled holes in the tanker and were charging a fee for the assembled crowd,” said a member of the country’s Red Cross, Titus Mung’ou. The explosion apparently happened when one of the people lit up a cigarette or somehow started a fire another way near the site of the accident, he said. There were 117 people wounded in the explosion, and the numbers are expected to rise. This is the second large fatality incident to occur in the nation in the past few days. Last week, there was a fire in a Nairobi supermarket that killed at least 27 people and 57 are still missing.

Jamaican workers agree to 20 percent pay cut.

In an effort to save their jobs, people who work at Jamaica’s Berger Paints have opted to take a 20 percent pay cut, effective as of Monday, reports Caribbean Net. The global economic crisis hit several companies in the nation hard, causing them to make cuts in spending including staff layoffs. Hundreds of Jamaicans have been laid off and just the past two months. Two worker unions (the National Workers Union and the Clerical Administration and Supervisory Employees Union) inked the deal with the Berger Paints management. The pay cut would save the company $70 million in six months, according to a spokesman.

13 Die in Kenyan Blaze. At least 13 bodies were discovered in burned-down supermarket in Nairobi, Kenya on Friday. At least 47 people are missing after the horrific blaze, officials report. A rumor that security guards locked people inside the burning structure was being investigated today, authorities add. Cops used tear gas and horses to deter the large crowds of worried family members and friends who lingered around the site in hopes of finding their loved ones safe. The Nakamutt store provided the surrounding community with a wide variety of supplies. The fire’s cause was being investigated.

The Philadelphia mother whose three children died in a raging three-story fire Friday night took time Sunday morning to warn others about the importance of outfitting their homes with smoke detectors. As cries of mourning rose from the pews of Christ International Baptist Church, Michelle Dosso held up pictures of her deceased children, Philly.com reports. “This is Zyhire. He was 1 year old,” Dosso said. “This is Ramere, he was 8. … This is my baby girl, Mariam. She would have been 7 on the 27th. I promised her a party and … she’s going to get it. Don’t let them die in vain. Get smoke detectors. Get it done.” In addition to Dosso’s three children, four adults lost their lives amid the choking smoke of the blaze, even though the fire was brought under control within a half-hour. “Six people were found huddled together at one end of the room; a seventh was found near the basement’s only exit to the outside. Investigators said the interior basement stairs had been removed,” The Associated Press reports. Ironically, fire officials said, there were no alarms in the house, but they probably still would not have prevented the tragedy. A survivor Harris Murphy, 54, told authorities that the fires started when a kerosene heater exploded as it was being refilled with fuel. On Sunday, Murphy told members that he told his friend to have everyone run through the flames, but his friend replied, “The firefighters will come and get us.” The victims died from smoke inhalation before the firefighters reached them.

50 Cent discusses fire that claimed his crib

Days after it was reported that he hadn’t made himself available to investigators, 50 Cent reportedly has discussed the fire that claimed his home. Lawyers for the rapper’s ex, Shaniqua Tompkins, recently put out word that Tompkins had been questioned about the spring blaze on multiple occasions, but that Fiddy wasn’t talking. Tompkins, who lived with their son at the home the rapper owned, suggested that 50 was behind the fire. The house was the subject of a heated legal dispute between the rapper and his son’s mom. No charges have been issued in connection with the blaze, but investigators called it suspicious.

Rapper attacked before annual “Summer Jamz” concert.

It’s been a heck of a year for Yung Berg. After suffering the apparent fan backlash from his public dis of dark-skinned women – for which he apologized – Berg was recently charged with threatening his limo driver, and now is the rumored victim of an assault. Detroit rapper Trick Trick is alleged to have jumped Berg while the performer was in Michigan for a Radio One station’s annual “Summer Jamz” concert. Trick Trick is developing quite the reputation for his temper after jumping Miami rapper Trick Daddy in Detroit a few years ago. Maybe they got a little territorial about that “trick” thing.

Privately owned LPs, CDs slated for non-profit archive. The man whose private music collection of 3 million records and 300,000 CDs includes hip hop and all forms of American music wants to sell. Paul Mawhinney’s 60-year-old treasure trove houses everything from Jay-Z to Enelmedio and plenty of other artists you’ve never heard of. It’s appraised at $50 million, but Mawhinney hopes to donate the collection to a museum or similar non-profit that can archive it efficiently. He’s offering a bargain price of $3 million.