Egyptian teacher is tried for student’s death. The Egyptian teacher who allegedly beat a student to death for not doing his homework, recently appeared in court to face charges, reports the BBC. The 23-year-old teacher, Haitham Nabeel Abdelhamid, allegedly took the 11-year-old boy outside of the classroom and hit him hard in the stomach. The boy, Islam Amr Badr (shown above), died at the hospital later after suffering heart failure as result of the injury to his stomach that dropped his blood pressure, according to testimony from the medical staff who examined him. He also had two broken ribs. The court also heard from classmates, who said Badr was hit as punishment for not doing his math homework. The teacher says he didn’t mean to hurt his student and that he only wanted to discipline him. The incident, at Alexandria’s Saad Othman Primary School happened back in October and shined a spotlight on the nation’s struggling state education system. The nation’s education minister will be called to the stand. And Islam’s father, Amr Badr Ibrahim, feels the whole system should be held accountable for his son’s death. “The minister of education should be the first person to be accused – how can he agree to let such a young man teach children?” he asked. “The problem is the teaching and the teachers because they cannot find good teachers,” he said. Young and inexperienced teachers in the state education system have a hard time in the classroom, many often trying to get control of 60 to100 students, reports the BBC. The government says it’s introducing reforms such as new teacher tests and banning corporal punishment.

Trinidad’s Prime Minister is doing well after surgery. Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Patrick Manning reportedly is doing well after his cancer surgery at the Cimeq hospital in Havana, reports Caribbean Net. Manning underwent the surgery last Wednesday to remove a malignant tumor from his kidney. He called his office Friday, telling employees that he was doing well and was supposed to be removed from the Intensive Care Unit soon, reports the Trinidad Express. He also told his secretary that he was up and walking a day after his surgery. Manning will stay in the hospital for at least one more week for care.

Truck crash in Jamaica leaves 14 dead. A truck crash this weekend killed 14 people in Portland, Jamaica, reports the Jamaican Gleaner. The truck, which was transporting merchants, along with produce, to Kingston’s Coronation market, overturned and fell into a precipice, trapping several who were on board under the heavy vehicle. A 10-year-old boy is among the deceased. The truck reportedly had been trying to back up on a narrow round to let a car pass. Rescue teams from the police, Ministry of Health, Port Antonio Hospital, Pihl Construction Company and some residents worked together for 15 hours to remove bodies from the wreckage. Seven of the truck’s passengers were rescued. Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding flew to the accident scene by helicopter along with a local Portland official. “This is a major catastrophe,” Golding said. “My condolence goes out to the bereaved families, and I have to thank the brave citizens who used bottle torches so as to see access to the pathway down to the precipice to render assistance to their fellow men,” he continued. The government will make arrangements to help the families of the deceased. Police are still looking for the truck’s driver.

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.

South African president calls it quits. South African President Thabo Mbeki officially announced his resignation Sunday during a televised speech.  He did not reveal the actual date he would leave office, saying that the nation’s powerful political party, the African National Congress, will decide when, reports CNN. “I would like certainly to thank the nation and the ANC for this opportunity to serve first as deputy president and then president,” Mbeki said in his address. “I depart this office knowing that many men and women in South Africa have worked to achieve better lives for all.” Mbeki, who succeeded Nelson Mandela, led the nation for almost 10 years. While he was in office, South Africa saw its longest period of economic growth ever, Mbeki said. The ANC asked Mbeki to resign after corruption charges against his political rival and current ANC president, Jacob Zuma, were recently thrown out. The judge accused the government of interfering in the case and some said Mbeki was the one pushing it forward. Mbeki agreed to resign after he was asked. According to Gwede Mantashe, the ANC’s secretary-general, the party wanted Mbeki to resign “for the citizens of South Africa, so there could be stability within the country” and so the movement would stay “stable and unified.” Mbeki’s term in office would have been up in the spring, and he would have been unable to run for another term, under the country’s constitution. Zuma, who is quite popular in the country, is considered a favorite by many to win the office next year. Jamaican opposition leader wins another term. Former Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller won another term as president of the People’s National Party (PNP), reports the BBC. Simpson-Miller, who was the nation’s first woman prime minister (she lost re-election last year to current Prime Minister Bruce Golding), called her most recent win a form of breaking through Jamaica’s political “glass ceiling.” She beat out party vice president Dr. Peter Phillips, who also served as national security minister before Golding took office. Bringing the party together after this tough fight for leadership could prove to be a major challenge for Simpson-Miller. Phillips, though, congratulated her on the win Saturday.