Long-serving African Leader Reportedly Dies
The president of Gabon, 73-year-old Omar Bongo, has reportedly died. According to French media reports, Bongo, who has been president of the African nation since 1967, died Sunday after being treated for cancer in Spain, reports the BBC.  Bongo reportedly put off his official presidential activities last month. Though his death is being reported by French media sources (including AFP and a French news Web site) who quoted sources close to Bongo, the nation’s Prime Minister said he’s “very surprised” about the reports. “If such a situation comes about, I would think that the president’s family would naturally get in touch with me,” Prime Minister Jean Eveghe Ndong told a Gabonese television station. Gabon was formerly a French colony, and before his reported death he was being investigated by French officials for embezzling money. Bongo denied the allegations.

Grenada to Receive IMF Money
After a review of the Caribbean nation’s economy, Grenada will receive $6.8 million in U.S. dollars from the International Monetary Fund, reports the BBC. The money will help the nation recover from the negative effects it has suffered due to the global recession. Grenada has been hit hard by a decline in tourism and foreign investment. Officials project a shortfall in the nation’s revenue this year. The money for the aid comes from the group’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility.

Bodies of migrants wash ashore in Gabon
The bodies of 12 migrant workers washed up on the shore of the west African nation of Gabon , reports the BBC. A small wooden boat, officials believe the workers (all adult males) were using to travel to the country, was found nearby. Officials believe the workers were trying to reach Gabon from other West African countries, reports the news service. The country’s population rests at less that 1.5 million, but that does not include the many illegal immigrants who number in the hundreds of thousands, according to Gabon ’s interior minister. The nation’s relative wealth from oil sales has made the nation a popular choice among migrant workers. And because of the high demand, many traffickers herd would-be migrant workers onto old poor quality boats that are prone to accidents.

Jamaican leader disses the idea of a Patois Bible
Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding came out strongly against a plan to translate the Bible from English into Patois, the Jamaican dialect commonly heard in reggae music, reports the Jamaica Gleaner. The Bible Society of the West Indies planned the project which is expected to cost a whopping $60 million over 12 years, leaving many wondering if it’s worth it or even appropriate. “To me what this signifies is an admission to failure. We have failed to impart our accepted language, English, and so we have given up,” Golding said of the plan in a speech front of high school graduates. “I am still waiting for somebody who is participating in this debate to explain to me how Patois is going to help our students to learn and understand history.”