African singer is sent behind bars for riots.

 A Cameroon court has sentenced popular singer Lapiro de Mbanga to jail for allegedly participating in riots, reports the BBC. Lapiro was ordered to serve three years over riots against the West African nation’s government that took place in February that killed at least 40 people. He was also ordered to pay $640,000 (280m CFA francs) for the destruction the riots caused. While he recently penned a song speaking out against a change to the constitution that would let longtime leader President Paul Biya run for the office again in 2011, his wife says Lapiro was trying to promote peace and didn’t participate in any rioting. In actuality, he “calmed people down so that they wouldn’t set fire to the city hall,” she said in an interview with AFP. And supporters of the 51-year-old singer say he is often a target of the government for his political songs.  Back in February the high cost of living and government policy prompted riots in the town of Mbanga and several other towns in the nation. Lapiro, a member of the opposition party Social Democratic Front, stood accused of devising it.

South Africa officially elects new president.

Just a few days after Thabo Mbeki announced he was stepping down as South Africa’s president after 10 years, the parliament chose Kgalema Motlanthe as interim president, reports CNN. He was sworn in Thursday and will stay in office until elections next year. Motlanthe is currently the deputy president of the African National Congress. Mbeki resigned under pressure from the ANC, after a judge ruled he may have interfered in a corruption investigation of another ANC leader. Since his resignation, about ten of his cabinet members stepped down as well. During the nation’s apartheid era Motlanthe served 10 years incarcerated at Robben Island.

School shooting in Finland kills 10. An armed 22-year-old wearing a ski mask entered a college and fired multiple shots in a classroom, killing 10 people, including himself, reports CNN. The rampage lasted about 90 minutes with the shooter, Matthi Juhani Saari, also firing a few shots at police. “I heard several dozen rounds of shots,” one witness said. “In other words, it was an automatic pistol. I saw some female students who were wailing and moaning, and one managed to escape out the back door.” Since this is the nation’s second school shooting in less than a year, some officials are pushing for tighter gun laws. “We should consider whether to allow these small arms for private citizens at home. They belong on firing ranges,” Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen told a Finnish television station. Saari was actually questioned by police before the shooting, because of the violent videos he posted on YouTube, showing him shooting in a firing range. He also created a video tribute to Columbine massacre shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. But since Saari had not threatened anyone directly, the police decided to let him go. Saari was given a temporary gun license last month; it was his first one, reports CNN.

Several S.A. cabinet members will quit with president. When South African President Thabo Mbeki officially leaves office Thursday, 10 of his cabinet members will follow, reports CNN. Despite the fact Mbeki asked the ministers not to resign, several, including Finance Minister Trevor Manuel and Defense Minister Mosiuoa Lekota, went against his wishes. They won’t completely cut ties with the government though. “All the ministers have expressed their availability to assist the incoming administration in the hand-over process and any other assistance that might be sought from them,” said a government statement. Mbeki, who has been president of the nation for 10 years, announced his resignation in a televised address Sunday. Officials from his party, the African National Congress, asked him to step down following a judges ruling that he interfered in the corruption trial of popular ANC leader Jacob Zuma. Mbeki denied it but agreed to resign. The ANC announced that the Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe will take over until elections are held in the spring (which Mbeki would not have been eligible to participate in anyway since his term would have been up). Zuma is favored to win the presidency.