Prison protest ends in Ivory Coast. Police in the Ivory Coast have shut down a huge protest in the nation’s main prison, according to prison authorities. The ruckus began when prisoners in two blocks decided to revolt, prompting officials to call police. About 100 police officers fired guns into the air in an effort to break up the crowds of inmates, some of whom were throwing rocks at security guards. The prisoners protesting were some of the facility’s most dangerous inmates, according to the prison’s director. Police restored calm in the area around the prison after several hours. Six prisoners were injured as a result. The reason for the protest is in dispute. Officials say it was because the inmates were angry about a change in visiting hours implemented to prevent escapes. But rights groups say they were protesting overcrowding and poor conditions, reports the BBC. “You know that this place is overpopulated. The prison is around three or four times the maximum capacity, so the conditions for the prison guards and the prisoners themselves are quite difficult,” Drissa Traore, who heads the Ivorian Movement for Human Rights, told the news service. And, according to the BBC, 2,000 out of the 5,200 inmates in the prison have not been tried for the crimes for which they are incarcerated. Some have waited 10 years to be tried.

Somalia’s president axes prime minister. Somalia’s President Abdullahi Yusuf says he fired the country’s prime minister because he didn’t do his job, reports CNN. But the former prime minister, Hassan Hussein, says he has no right to fire him without the approval of Parliament. Hussein, who has just been on the job for 13 months, has reportedly butted heads with Yusuf over a proposed reconciliation agreement with the Islamic opposition. According to the nation’s constitution, the president would need the Parliament’s no-confidence vote to get rid of Hussein. Fighting in the nation between Islamic militias and government forces (with the support of Ethiopian troops) has forced more than 1 million Somalis from their homes. The waters aren’t safe either, with international ships continuously being hijacked by Somali pirates. Since Ethiopian forces pushed Islamist forces out of the nation’s capital, Mogadishu, in 2006, the country has been operating under a U.N.-sponsored transitional government.

Oprah’s California mansion is safe. Firefighters are finally getting a handle on wildfires, which destroyed hundreds of homes in Santa Barbara hills where a number of celebrities live and threatened the mansion of Oprah Winfrey. Fire came close to Oprah Winfrey’s mansion, but managed to miss the sprawling structure and the homes of many of the talk show host’s friends, whom she called on Friday to see whether they were ok after wind-driven fires forced them to flee with little more than their pets. Winfrey told her TV audience that had her estate actually caught fire, her main concern would have been her dogs, since she didn’t have any children. Wild fires spread to the northern edge of Los Angeles, cutting power to a hospital, which was force to operate on backup power Monday. They also forced firefighters to evacuate 5,000 people from the town of Sylmar just north of Los Angeles. Officials say the wind-blown blazes scorched more than 20,000 acres over the past four days and destroyed nearly 1,000 homes, including 500 homes in a trailer park. But no injuries have been reported. Winds eased by Monday morning, allowing firefighters to put in firebreaks and lift evacuation orders for about 25,000 people.

South Africa suffers over 100 weekend bush fires. Over the weekend, over 100 bush fires sparked across South Africa, leaving at least 20 people dead, reports the BBC.  Fourteen of the deceased died in fires in the KwaZulu-Natal province and three others died when their shack caught on fire in the Eastern Cape, say police. Three people in the Mpumalanga province also perished in the blazes. The fires, which started in the bush, spread and were made worse by strong winds, leaving dozens of people homeless in Cape Town. And a local forecaster is not optimistic about them ending soon. “There are still fires burning on the eastern Highveld, in Swaziland and northern KwaZulu-Natal and there are isolated fires over Limpopo,” said the forecaster. The fires, which have already burned 125,000 acres of land, are unprecedented in the nation. “This particular situation has never been experienced before. Reports are coming in from all over the country,” a spokesman from Johannesburg’s Emergency Services told the BBC.

Plane crashes in Congo. A plane, carrying charity workers, crashed in the Democratic Republic of Congo, reports the BBC. Fifteen people and two crew members were aboard the plane when it crashed. The aircraft lost contact Monday night with ground control after leaving Kisangani, and 10 minutes before reaching the city Bukavu. The plane crashed in pouring rain. A rescue helicopter was not able to land near the crash, so it is unknown whether there are any survivors. Because the country has a bad air safety history, many humanitarian agencies coordinate their own air travel. They used Air Serv, a non-profit.