Truce Called in a Violent Nigerian Region Rebels in an oil-rich region of Nigeria, a place that has often been the scene of violent clashes, have decided to declare a 60-day ceasefire, the BBC reports. The group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), declared the ceasefire after one its leaders was released from a Nigerian jail. MEND militants have been fighting government forces in the region for a fair share of the area’s oil wealth by allegedly kidnapping oil workers and stealing oil. Government officials see the period as an opportunity to bring peace to the troubled region. “That’s a good time for us to work with them [MEND], chat with them and come out with some conclusions,” minister for the delta region, Ufot Ekaette told the BBC. But, not too long after the ceasefire was declared, members of MEND accused government forces of moving towards one of their camps. “Barely 12 hours into our ceasefire, the military Joint Task Force (JTF) has dispatched seven gunboats with heavily armed troops from Warri and are headed towards one of our camps…If this information from a very reliable source within the JTF happens to be true, the ceasefire will be called off with immediate effect,” a statement from the group said. Government officials deny MEND’s claim, but did say that the military will continue to escort oil workers in the region, reports the BBC.

Somali Gunmen Kidnap French Advisers Somali gunmen kidnapped two French advisers from a Mogadishu hotel earlier this week, reports CNN. The two advisers were in the country assisting Somalia’s government with security, the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement. About 10 gunmen pushed their way into the Sahafi hotel Tuesday morning – a hotel that serves many international visitors – and walked the two hostages (who were blindfolded and bound) from the hotel to an insurgent stronghold, CNN reports. The east African nation has been without a stable government since the early 1990s. Islamist insurgency has been rampant in the nation and clashes between insurgents and pro-government forces have led to many Somalis fleeing the capital, Mogadishu.

Rwandans trade in French for English. Rwanda has chosen to switch the language of all instruction in schools from French to English, reports The Washington Post. In addition, all of the nation’s government employees must learn English. French, a language introduced to the nation by colonizers from Belgian, is quickly losing popularity. Many in the nation question its usefulness. “When you look at the French-speaking countries – it’s really just France, and a small part of Belgium and a small part of Switzerland,” said Rwanda’s state minister for education [in English]. “Most countries worldwide, they speak English. Even in China, they speak English. Even Belgium, if you go to the Flemish areas, they speak English, not French.” Officials say they made the decision to switch just for economic reasons and not because of the nation’s strained relationship with France. Rwanda accuses France of helping to arm fighters as they were committing genocide in the mid-’90s; the violence resulted in the death of approximately 800,000 people. But “this is not about France. This is about us. Introducing English is just being realistic. English is the language of business,” Aloisa Inyumba, a Rwandan senator told the paper. Investors from English-speaking nations are now coming to Rwanda. And although only 5 percent of the population speaks English now, that is set to change soon. “For English classes, we might have 50 students. For French, there are very few, perhaps five,” said a school teacher.

A Somali woman is stoned to death. After an Islamic court found her guilty of adultery, a Somali woman was stoned to death. She was stoned after she was buried up to the neck then was hit with stones by a group of men in front of a large crowd of thousands of people. According to a local leader, the woman pleaded guilty to adultery. “She was asked several times to review her confession, but she stressed that she wanted Sharia Law and the deserved punishment to apply,” said Sheikh Hayakallah. This is the first time an execution of this sort has been carried out in the town since it was captured by Islamist insurgents in August. It was the first such execution in the southern port city since Islamist insurgents captured it from government-allied forces in August.

World Lens: Animated anti-Mugabe protests erupt in London; West Indies cricket players celebrate; and French models show off next year’s hottest threads. Go  to World Lens to see this week’s photos.