Opposition Continues to Protest in Antigua The opposition Antigua Labor Party (ALP) is continued its protest against the government’s current administration with a large rally on Thursday. The group was protesting the nation’s increasing unemployment, the high fuel prices and the Antiguan government’s decision to reach out to the International Monetary Fund for help, the BBC reports. But the ruling party has said ALP is just attempting to promote “a campaign of intimidation.” The group will keep protesting until their demands are listened to, the ALP said.

A large suicide car bombing left Somalia’s security minister, Omar Hashi Adan, Thursday. “The explosion caused by the suicide bomber was so huge and could be heard in all corners in the city,” a local journalist told CNN.  In addition, at least 11 other people, including the nation’s former ambassador to Ethiopia, were killed and eight people were seriously wounded. The blast occurred near a hotel in the city of Beledweyn, where Adan had been staying. In a news conference following the bombing, President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed said “international terrorists” who have come into Somalia, were responsible for the attack. With Somalia’s vast struggles against militants, the loss of Adan, could prove to be costly. On Wednesday, fighting between militants and government security forces in capital city Mogadishu killed at least 40 and wounded 130 people.

South Africa Sees its First Swine Flu Case

South Africa has seen its very first swine flu case, reports the BBC. On Thursday, tests found that a 12-year-old boy, who had recently flew in from the United States, had the illness. “The patient was kept in isolation and discharged after a few days in hospital,” Fidel Hadebe, the nation’s health ministry spokesman, said in a statement. “He is well and recovering in isolation at home.” Swine flu has put the world on high alert and there have been about 30 cases of the flu in Egypt and several in Morocco, the BBC reports. This, however, is the first known case in sub-Saharan Africa. Officials believe that could change, though, because nations in the southern hemisphere are now going into winter. Since the virus surfaced in April, it has infected about 40,000 globally and has killed 167, according to the World Health Organization.

Kofi Annan Tells African Presidents to Do Better

Former United Nations leader Kofi Annan told African leaders to get it together at the launch of a report on the African economy, reports the BBC. While those who promise aid to the continent need to follow through, African leaders determine the fate of their respective countries, the former U.N. secretary-general said.  “We need a new development model that provides security, stability, and addresses people’s needs. Everyone needs to contribute,” Annan said at the launch. “Business has a key role, as do Africa’s trading and donor partners. But the primary responsibility to make it happen rests with Africa’s political leaders. According to the Africa Progress report, corruption costs African $150 billion each year. The report was put together by 11 current or former world leaders including the UK’s former Prime Minister Tony Blair and Nelson Mandela’s wife, Graca Machel.

Former Sudan President Passes
Sudan’s former leader, Jaafar Nimeiri, passed away Saturday. He was 79. Nimeiri, who is credited with bringing Islamic law to the nation, died from an undisclosed illness. “He was too ill to be taken out of the country for treatment,” his secretary, Makkawi Ahmed, said, reports Reuters. His funeral was held Sunday in Khartoum, according to officials. Nimeiri came to power in 1969 and, during his time in office, gradually became an ally of the United States. Many say that a conflict between the north and south regions Sudan was started when he brought Islamic Sharia law to the country in 1983. He was ousted as leader in 1985 and spent the next 14 years exiled in Cairo, Egypt, before coming back to Sudan in 1999.

Peacekeeper Murdered in Darfur Attack
An African Union-United Nations Mission peacekeeper was shot and killed in Darfur late last week while being carjacked, reports CNN. The man, who served as a military observer, was shot by gunmen as he was opening the gate to his Darfur home and died soon after going to receive medical attention. Officials from the group are condemning the attack on one of their members, calling it “deplorable.” The mission is “here to assist the people of Darfur, and any attack on them is totally unacceptable …I would like to express my deepest condolences to the family of the peacekeeper who lost his life” Rodolphe Adada, a special representative, said in a statement. The group, along with Sudan’s government, is investigating the murder. The peacekeeper is the 15th killed since the mission was deployed in the nation last year, reports CNN.

Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), no stranger to passive resistance, was arrested Monday as part of a protest against the Sudanese government’s humanitarian policies in that nation’s Darfur region. Arrested along with Lewis during a rally staged by the Save Darfur Coalition were Reps. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Donna Edwards (D-Md.), Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) and Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.). They were taken into custody after crossing a police line and refusing to leave the area in front of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington. Read the rest.

Rabies Outbreak Kills More Than 80 Angolan Kid
An outbreak of rabies in the African nation of Angola has killed at least 83 children in three months, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Some say the number could be much higher.  “The children were brought to our hospital and are the only ones we know of, so the number could be higher,” Dr. David Bernardino, who works at Hospital Pediatrico, told CNN. Some children were brought in too late to be saved by doctors, and some could not be saved because the hospital had run out of vaccines to treat the illness. “It is a sad moment for us. I think it was probably that no one was prepared for such a high case load,” he said. Stray dogs in the slums of the country’s capital, Luanda, could be behind the tragic epidemic.  “We have had some sporadic cases in other provincial capitals in the country; we think the virus was brought into Luanda and then spread through the dogs – Angolans love dogs,” the doctor told CNN. Recently, though, the nation has seen a drop in cases; perhaps due to the fact that the infected pack of dogs have died, according to one expert. More than 95 percent of rabies deaths are in Asia or Africa, according to stats from WHO. The illness, transmitted through saliva, can be treated after exposure, but the disease is deadly once symptoms start showing. Francois Meslin, a rabies expert from WHO, told CNN that costs might prevent some poor families from getting treatment. “One dose of vaccine costs about $10 and five of those have to be administered, which makes the total cost of treatment $50, which is more than a month’s salary for families in most developing countries,” he said. 

Martinique to end strike soon.
Unions and employers in the French Caribbean island of Martinique are due to sign an agreement that will end a monthlong strike, reports the BBC. Similar to the recently ended strikes in nearby Guadeloupe, the two sides were in conflict over workers’ salaries. Details of pay increases are still being hammered out, but the deal is set to be signed Saturday. The strike temporarily shut down many of the island’s businesses, but many were back to normal once union leaders announced a deal between them and employers was in the works.