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.

Caribbean nations need to do more to fight HIV/AIDS, says official.

Countries across the Caribbean need to boost their HIV/AIDS care, treatment, education and prevention programs, says a United Nations official. Speaking recently in front of the United States Chiefs of Mission Conference of HIV/AIDS, Karen Sealy, head of the UNAIDS Caribbean office said that 38 people in the region die every day due to AIDS-related causes, reports the Caribbean Media Corporation.  There are 55 new cases of HIV in the Caribbean daily, she said, and prostitutes, along with men who have sexual relations with other men, are among the high-risk groups. Drug users are also contracting HIV/AIDS in higher numbers. “We know that the spread of HIV in the Caribbean is in fact being fueled by serious gaps in gender equality. …All the countries of the Americas which have homosexuality as a crime are now located in the Caribbean region,” Sealy said. Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Patrick Manning touted his nation’s work to reduce spread HIV/AIDS, including providing free antiretroviral drugs to pregnant women at government clinics, but admitted more needs to be done. The Caribbean region is behind only sub-Saharan Africa in its HIV/AIDS rate, reports the Caribbean Media Corporation. About 230,000 people in the region are living with HIV/AIDS and 14,000 people died from AIDS last year, according to Kaiser.
 
Somalia’s government and militia will observe ceasefire.
There might soon be some relief in Somalia. The government and the one of the nation’s main opposition groups have agreed to abide by a ceasefire that actually was negotiated back in June during U.N.-sponsored talks. The ceasefire will be implemented as troops from Ethiopia, who’ve been in Somalia trying to stabilize the nation’s interim government, start withdrawing troops next month, reports the BBC. The government and the Alliance for the Re-liberation of Somalia will come together to create a unified government, they say. As a part of the agreement, when Ethiopian troops (a popular target for rebel attacks) leave they will be replaced by African Union troops from Uganda and Burundi at first, then eventually a joint “police force,” reports the BBC. But the other militias who are also fighting the government are not included in the agreement at all. Some diplomats say Somalia’s problems will not totally improve until they are included.

Female circumcision is banned in Ugandan community. Female circumcision (also referred to as female genital mutilation, FGM) has been banned in a Ugandan community, reports the BBC. The practice, which entails cutting of a girl’s clitoris, is “outmoded” and “not useful” for women in the community, said Kapchorwa district chairman Nelson Chelimo. “The community decided that it was not useful, that women were not getting anything out of it, so the district council decided to establish an ordinance banning it,” he continued. He also said that the council had also sent legislation to Uganda’s parliament to make the ban nationwide. Some believe that women who get married without being circumcised would fall ill, Chelimo said.  Where FGM is practiced, many see it as a way to make sure a woman stays a virgin until she is married. According to the U.N. three million African girls are at risk of FGM. But the agency has called for the practice to be drastically reduced by 2015, arguing it causes bleeding, infections and increases the likelihood of infant mortality. The only group that practices FGM in Uganda are the Sabiny people.
 

World Lens: More peace troops head into Somalia, Rapper Jay-Z catches a game in London and Reggaeton star Daddy Yankee gets political. See pictures.

African leadership is getting better, survey says. The leadership in most of sub-Saharan Africa has gotten better, according to a governance survey. Out of the 48 countries that were looked at, Mauritius was ranked first as being the best governed, while Somalia (which has recently been plagued by insurgent attacks) was ranked as being the worst run, reports CNN. Liberia, which jumped a few spots in rank (from 43^rd last year to 38^th this year) showed the most improvement.  The survey is conducted annually by the Ibrahim Index of African Governance. “Africa is making progress,” said Mo Ibrahim, a billionaire born in Sudan who started the survey last year. He also said that 31 of the countries improved from last year. Most of the countries in the Horn of Africa (Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea) have gone down in ranking from last year, though. Djibouti is the only country in the Horn that improved. The survey is based on several points including security, crime, corruption, women’s rights, inflation, health and education - using information from 2006 (which is the latest available). International and local researchers gather and analyze the information. Ibrahim presents a great African leader with a prize of $5 million each year, which would be given to him or her after leaving office.

Blast in Somalia kills charity’s driver. A blast in Somalia wounded an Italian and Somali aid worker and killed their driver, reports CNN. They apparently came in contact with a remote-controlled land mine in southern Somalia. The aid workers worked for the United Nations, said the doctor who treated them. They are not in critical condition, but the driver died in route to the hospital. Twelve charity workers have been killed this year in Somalia. On Monday a group of organizations asked Somali fighters to let workers into the country.

World Lens: Flooding continues to devastate the Caribbean, African immigrants protest killing in Europe and Japanese get crazy on the runway. See these pics and more here.

Rape cartoon featuring African leader causes outrage

 South African officials are not too happy about a cartoon depicting African leader Jacob Zuma unzipping his pants to rape “justice.” Both the cartoonist and the paper where it ran are refusing to apologize, reports Agence France-Presse. The cartoon, which appeared in The Sunday Times, features Zuma, the leader of the African National Congress who is currently facing a corruption case. It shows him opening his pants while men representing the ANC, the South African Communist Party, the ANC Youth League and COSATU hold down a blindfolded woman labeled “justice.” One of them tells Zuma, “Go for it, boss.” The groups immediately slammed the paper. “The cartoon rubbishes the collective integrity of the alliance and constitutes yet another continued violation of the rights and dignity of the ANC president,” they said in a joint statement. In 2006, Zuma was found not guilty of rape and some thought the cartoon was trying to insinuate he was a rapist. The paper denies the claim, though, saying the cartoon was only referring to his corruption case. And the cartoonist, Zapiro, stands strongly behind his work. “I am angry at them, I am outraged … at what Jacob Zuma is trying to do to the justice system and constitutional principles along with his team of lawyers and his political allies,” he said in an interview with a South African radio station. “The central message is that Zuma is about to, poised to, trying to rape [the] justice system. …”

Nine die in Somalia fighting. At least nine people died Wednesday when Ethiopia-backed government troops clashed with rebel forces in the Somali capital of Mogadishu The Associated Press reports. The two sides have fought fiercely throughout the year, but the insurgents, who are Muslim, promised to increase attacks during the holy month of Ramadan. About 100 of them shouted “God is great” as they fired at a military base for both Ethiopian and Somali-government troops. They exchanged fire in a heated battle, leaving at least four civilians killed, the news service reports. Ethiopian troops are in the country to help stabilize the nation’s government; political violence has existed there for more than 15 years. The government succeeded in driving rebels out of the capital in 2006, but attacks in the area have spiked this year.

Death toll in Somali minibus attack rises fThe death toll in Friday’s attack on two Somali minibuses by Ethiopian troops has risen to 60 after people in the neighborhood discovered 16 more bodies, reports the BBC. The attack happened near Mogadishu when Ethiopian forces were hit by a roadside bomb and retaliated by shooting, according to witnesses. “Ethiopian convoys opened fire into different areas where thousands of displaced people were living; they killed everyone on the road,” Sahra Nor Osma, a witness, told The Associated Press. Ethiopia is in the country supporting Somalia’s transitional government, and trying to rid the country of insurgents. But Mogadishu has been prone to attacks. On the same day of this attack, insurgents fired on President Abdullah Yusuf’s convoy while it was leaving the country for Ethiopia for ceasefire talks. Government troops then fired back, killing five civilians.

Still no Zimbabwe power-sharing deal after summit

This weekend’s Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit came to a close Sunday without a power-sharing deal between Zimbabwe’s president and opposition leader, reports the BBC. South Africa’s President Thabo Mbeki hosted the summit (which includes 14 member nations) and is also the lead mediator of the talks between longtime Zimbabwe leader Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai. “It’s clearly not possible to say when negotiations will be concluded. It’s a matter of negotiating parties reconvening,” he told reporters following the summit. Other leaders at the summit were optimistic that there is a base for a deal, though. Hundreds of protesters, upset that Mugabe was even invited to the summit, protested outside of the meeting Saturday. They, along with Botswana’s President Ian Khama, who actually boycotted the meeting, don’t think Mugabe should be recognized as president of Zimbabwe after June’s runoff election, which many in the international community called a sham. Days before the runoff, Tsvangirai dropped out of the race because of violence against his supporters.

ANC leader fights corruption charges.

Lawyers for Jacob Zuma, president of the African National Congress, urged judges Monday to declare Zuma’s prosecution on corruption charges unlawful. Zuma contends the case against him is about politics, not actual crimes. He says it’s aimed at harming his chances to become his party’s presidential nominee next spring. Zuma could spend at least 15 years in jail if found guilty of accepting bribes from a company that won a contract for a multi-billion-dollar arms deal.

At least 133 people die in Indian stampede. At least 133 people were killed in a stampede Sunday as panicked worshippers tried to flee a crowded mountaintop Hindu temple in northern India, officials said. The stampede, which occurred on the second day of a nine-day religious festival at the Naina Devi Temple in Himachal Pradesh state, was triggered by a rumor of a landslide on the hill above the crowd, according to Deputy Police Commissioner C.P. Verma. Along with the deaths, 40 people were injured, Punjab Health Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla and police told CNN’s India affiliate IBN. The dead were taken to a hospital in neighboring Punjab state for autopsies, authorities said. While some victims were crushed to death, others fell to their deaths when a railing along the narrow path to the temple broke under the weight of the throng of panicked worshippers, Verma said.

Somalia fighting claims 27. More than 27 people were killed in Somalia’s capital of Mogadishu on Sunday, including at least 20 women who died when a hidden landmine exploded, Radio Garowe reported. Another 42 women were wounded in Mogadishu’s Waberi district after the blast tore through a location where dozens of women were helping clean city streets, AllAfrica.com reports, Medina Hospital director Mohamud Yusuf Hassan said. “Some of the victims have grave injuries, and we are doing our best,” Mohamud told reporters, adding that four of the victims died at the hospital. Mohamed Dheere, Mogadishu’s embattled mayor, quickly blamed al Shabaab insurgents for the deadly explosion, but an Islamist spokesman rejected the accusations. Speaking to reporters at Medina Hospital, the mayor sent his condolences to the families of the deceased while strongly condemning the attackers. Somali insurgents readily claimed responsibility for a deadly battle along Industry Road today, where at least seven people were reported dead. The fighting, which erupted in Yaaqshiid district, pitted allied Somali-Ethiopian government forces against insurgents and led to the country’s rebel Islamic Courts movement.

U.N. will remove staff from Darfur
The UN-African Union mission (UNAMID) announced it will be removing staff from the Sudan, reports the BBC. There are 9,600 uniformed peacekeepers and around 1,300 civilians involved with the mission in Darfur. No word yet on how many will be removed; however a UNAMID commander said that despite the withdrawal, the peacekeepers would still be looking to keep up their presence in the region. “We will continue to protect the U.N. personnel and U.N. facilities that are here, and we will continue to help the humanitarian organizations to continue to do their job of rendering humanitarian services to the people in Darfur,” Gen. Martin Luther Agwai said. The process will begin today, according to a Sudanese official, who added, “This is a unilateral decision which the Sudanese government was not involved in.” This announcement comes not too long after an International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor announced he was looking to arrest Sudan’s president on war crimes charges. The U.N. officially has nothing to do with the ICC, but with the troop withdrawal, it may be preparing itself for a potential increase in problems within the region, reports the BBC. Earlier this month, an attack on UNAMID peacekeepers by a militia in Darfur left seven dead and 22 injured.

Drug plane with a fake Red Cross logo seized in Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone police seized a plane loaded with an estimated $54 million worth of cocaine at an airport not far from the capital Sunday. The small white plane, which reportedly had a fake Red Cross symbol on it, landed in Freetown’s Lungi airport, without being authorized, a police spokesman told BBC. “When police searched the aircraft, some 600kg (1,320 lbs.) of cocaine was discovered along with gallons of fuel and several AK47 and AK48 rifles … with 339 rounds of cartridges,” the spokesman told Agence France-Presse. Eight foreigners have been arrested in connection with the incident. The pilots of the plane fled in a vehicle that drove up to the fence by the runway, and airport security did not try to stop them, reports the BBC. After setting up roadblocks, though, the police later arrested seven foreigners – three Colombians, two Mexicans a Venezuelan and a U.S. citizen, not too far from the airport. On Monday, another suspect, a Cuban-American, was arrested. Sierra Leone citizens also have been questioned by police. “It’s drawn attention to the fact that we have to do more. There must be many more flights like this. It’s something that governments can lose control over,” said Michael Schulenburg, who heads the U.N. mission in Sierra Leone. The group warned last month that smugglers are seeking new ways of getting drugs from South America to Europe.

International court seeks to arrest Sudan’s president
In a move that would be the first of its kind against an acting president, the International Criminal Court is seeking to arrest Sudan’s leader Omar al-Bashir for alleged war crimes in his country, reports the BBC. ICC prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who is leading the effort, wants Bashir arrested for alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. Since rebels began fighting the government in 2003, about 300,000 people died and more than 2 million people have been displaced, according to United Nation’s. estimates. Some have accused the government of supporting the notorious Arab Janjaweed militia, which allegedly are responsible for many of the atrocities and genocide against Black Africans. The Sudanese government denies involvement. After at least six weeks, the ICC judges will decide whether or not Moreno-Ocampo has a legit case. The Sudanese government actually does not recognize the ICC and, in fact, calls Moreno-Ocampo a criminal. Thousands of Sudanese (many of whom were government workers or connected to the government in some way) chanted “Down, Down, USA!” as they gathered in the capital city in support of their president Sunday, reports Reuters. In a statement, the protesters said, “The ICC does just what the European Union, the United States of America and Israel tell it to do.” A protester told Reuters, “The Sudanese people are all rejecting this – this is America targeting Sudan. We will not send Bashir. We would die first.” There are fears that the move by the ICC would cause more problems in a nation that is already unstable. In fact, UNAMID, which has 9,000 peacekeepers currently in Darfur, has increased its security alert to “level four” – a move that relocates some foreign staff, reports the BBC.

Charity workers are killed in Somalia
In Somalia, three charity workers were shot and killed in just a few days, reports CNN. Mohamad Mohamud Qeyre, deputy director of Daryeel Bulasho Guud (a German funded charity connected to Bread for the World), was shot and killed outside of an aid distribution facility in Mogadishu. Reports say that it looked like he was targeted by gunmen who might have waited for him to leave the facility. The charity will stop operating in Somalia for now, said the head of the group. Ali Baashi, who was a part of a nongovernmental organization aiding Somalia, was also killed in what appeared to be a targeted attack. World Food Program truck diver, Ahmed Saalim, was killed last week when convoy escorts and militia members exchanged fire at a checkpoint. Saalim is the fourth World Food Program driver to be killed in the nation this year. With the multiple scourges of drought, violence and high food and fuel prices, many Somalis depend on aid.

Zimbabwean president gets luke-warm welcome
Robert Mugabe, fresh from being declared the winner in Zimbabwe’s controversial presidential runoff election, received a mixed welcome Monday as he faced other African leaders at a meeting in Egypt. The elections in Zimbabwe were widely criticized because of widespread violence ahead of the runoff, accusations of voter intimidation and several arrests of opposition party candidates. At the African Union (AU) meeting in Egypt, Mugabe reportedly received a warm welcome from some, reports CNN. “He was hugging everyone, pretty much everyone he could get close to,” one of the delegates told to the AP. But he also faced sharp criticism from AU elders. The elections “occurred under the cloud of targeted political violence, precipitating the withdrawal of one of the two candidates. The African election observers left no doubt: The elections were neither free nor fair,” the Elders said in a statement. The leaders, as a whole, are divided on how to deal with the situation. Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga (himself involved in an election controversy before reaching a power sharing deal) has openly blasted Mugabe, saying the ruler of 28 years shouldn’t be recognized as Zimbabwe’s official leader. Mugabe responded to criticism by saying that some leaders should be weary of throwing stones. “Some African countries have done worse things,” he said. The president of neighboring South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, believes Mugabe and opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirai should come together and form a coalition government. And the longtime Zimbabwe leader recently announced he’d be open to talking to the opposition. “It is my hope that sooner rather than later we shall, as diverse political parties, hold consultations towards such serious dialogue [that] will minimize our differences and enhance the areas of unity and cooperation between us,” he said. Tsvangirai is optimistic for a solution because he feels Mugabe has no other option. “As far as we are concerned, we are nearer a solution than we have ever been because where does he go from here? He cannot solve the economic problem, he cannot solve the 8 million-percent inflation by continuing to be in this intransigent mood,” Tsvangirai said.

Kidnapped aid workers are released in Somalia
The two aid workers kidnapped this weekend in Somalia were released hours after being captured, reports CNN. The two workers, one Swedish, the other Danish, were taken by militants from the Islamist Courts Union. The members of the Swedish Rescue Services Agency (SRSA) were not physically harmed, according to a spokeswoman from their organization. “They are all right physically. They are a bit shocked,” she said. The charity group was in Somalia teaching citizens about the risks of landmines as requested by the United Nations, said their director of international operations, Kiell Larson. They, along with others on their team, will leave the nation, says the SRSA spokeswoman.