Ivory Coast Stampede Kills 22
A stampede during a World Cup qualifying match killed at least 22 people in the Ivory Coast Sunday, reports the BBC. More than 130 were hurt. The stadium, Houphouet-Boigny arena, was packed with 36,000 fans on hand to see the home nation take on Malawi. The problems started when thousands attempted to squeeze into the venue. “Lots of fans showed up. They started pushing to get in because the match was about to start and each and every one of them wanted to get in,” Ivorian Interior Minister Desire Tagro told local media. The weight caused a wall to collapse, reports say. This sent fans into a frenzy. Stadium authorities attempted to calm the crowd; police reportedly even sprayed the fans with tear gas. The incident happened before the match, but the game was allowed to continue and Ivory Coast ended up beating Malawi 5-0. Even though the stadium recently had been renovated, the massive crush of people overwhelmed its infrastructure. 

Train Crash Kills 15 in Tanzania
A train crash in Tanzania Sunday left at least 15 people dead. The tragedy occurred in the nation’s Dodoma region when a passenger train ran into a stationary cargo train, reports the BBC. The bodies of more victims might still be trapped in the wreckage, leading some, like Dodoma’s regional commissioner William Lukuvi, to worry that the death count could go up. “We are investigating the cause of the accident, which has already claimed at least 15 lives. Cranes have been ordered to help separate the crumpled wreckage and retrieve bodies,” Lukuvi told The Associated Press. The African nation saw its worst train accident back in 2002 when a train crashed into a passenger train, killing 200.

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.

Twelve are tried for poisoning in the Ivory Coast. Twelve people are being tried for dumping tons of toxic chemical waste in the Ivory Coast that allegedly resulted in the deaths of 17 people. The incident happened two years ago when a shocking 500 tons of waste from the oil industry was dumped in the nation’s largest city, Abidjan. Locals complained of breathing difficulties and rashes soon after. The head of a local company that entered an agreement with Dutch company Trafigura, to treat the waste, along with port and customs authorities face charges that include poisoning and complicity to poison, reports the BBC. While the victims’ family members are excited to see the trial begin, some are upset that no one from the Dutch company is charged. Some are also wondering why more of the higher-ranking government and port officials, who they accuse of ignoring the crime, aren’t in court either. But the Dutch company refuses to take responsibility for the poisoning since, they say, they trusted the local company they had the agreement with to dispose the waste safely. They did, however, pay the Ivorian government $200 million out of “sympathy.” Even now, two years later, the waste has not been removed and residents still claim to be suffering sickness and children born with defects due to it.

Charity will cut back on food aid to HIV positive. The World Food Program will have to cut back on aid to HIV-positive people in Uganda because funds are decreasing, reports The Monitor. The cuts are expected to hit 1.5 million people, not including the children currently receiving food from the school-feeding program. The organization will keep providing aid to people in the nation who are HIV-positive, but they should be in certain categories (like new moms and their babies, and some homeless people). Stanlake Samkange, the charity’s Ugandan representative, said if more money came their way they would be “happy to help” those who needed it. But he doesn’t want the group to promise aid when it isn’t sure it can provide it. A spokesman for the government’s AIDS Commission also stated that aid received from the program was never meant to be permanent anyway and that a replacement would need to be found soon so the needy won’t suffer. AIDS activists, of course, are not happy with the program’s announcement. One advocate said the patients are especially vulnerable. “They are not strong enough to engage in agriculture to feed themselves,” he said.