Two foreign-trained lawyers were on the ballot for Ghana’s presidential election Sunday, hoping to lead Ghana into prosperity, Reuters reported.
The voting was generally peaceful with violence isolated to a few locations.
A total of eight candidates are on the ballot but “many expect a runoff election between Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party and John Atta Mills of the National Democratic Congress,� Reuters reported.
Results are expected during the week.
A gang fight on Saturday resulted in seven murdered inmates, some of whom were beheaded, Reuters reported.
Prisoners were transferred Friday to Pavoncito prison from Guatemala. Rival gangs were the reasoning behind the riot and murders.
Five inmates were mutilated and decapitated, one was put on a stick that could be seen from outside the prison, Reuters reported.
"This is a dispute between prisoners belonging to different gangs, who bring their conflicts with them when they are locked up," Rudy Esquivel, the prison spokesman told Reuters.
Barack Obama, the United State’s first African American president was greeted with much approval from around the world on Nov. 4.
New York Times reporters captured election moments and reactions from people around the world to get a sense of what they think of the new American president, most were optimistic.
Those interviewed in Germany believed that Obama will fulfill the American dream that anything is possible, and continue the works of Martin Luther King Jr. and the like.
In China, mock election stations were set up to educate the Chinese on democracy and educate them on the American election process. Obama had a high turn out in the fake Chinese elections and got much praise from the Chinese people.
Iraqi’s who were interviewed believed that Obama will bring change to the United States government and better the lives of the Iraqi people. The majority of those interviewed believed it is a new beginning for Iraqi and American relations.
The overall reaction to the American president elect was hope. A hope for change, a hope for better, and a hope for a brighter future.
One of the United States most sought after drug traffickers was arrested in Tijuana the Mexican government said Sunday, reported Reuters.
Arellano Felix led police on a car chase to a three-story home in Tijuana where police opened fire, peppering the home with bullet holes. Mexican police took no chances and more than 100 police officers and soldiers were used to capture Felix.
Felix was indicted in 2003 for drug-smuggling in the U.S. and a $5 million reward was set.
The Felix family is largely responsible for the cocaine and marijuana trafficking into the U.S. in the 1990s and “was feared for its ruthless elimination of enemies,� Reuters reported.
The Felix family has only one remaining family member still at large, Enedina, Arellano’s sister.
A Somali Unicef worker was shot Sunday as he was walking in a small southern town.
“Three men armed with pistols and assault rifles ambushed the Unicef employee as he was walking in the southern town of Hudur, shooting him several times in the head, witnesses said,� reported Reuters.
Another United Nations employee was killed two days prior to the shooting as he left a mosque in the town of Merka.
Fighting has increased in Somalia and many local foreign aid workers have been the victims.
*The article was found on New York Times website.
Observers at Catalina Sky Survey in Tucson successfully identified the arrival time of an oncoming asteroid that hit the Earth’s atmosphere early Tuesday.
Sudan got an early morning light show when a 6 to 15 foot asteroid burned in the atmosphere above them but causing no harm to the people below, reported the LA Times.
The asteroid was first identified in Tucson early Monday and reported to the Near-Earth Object Program Office in La Canada Flintridge. The information was then sent to space observers around the world, reported the LA Times.
“We did an impact analysis and saw that it would indeed hit� the Earth, or at least its upper atmosphere, Don Yeomans, director of the office in charge of space rubble monitoring said.
This prediction lets scientists know that future predictions are possible, and if serious dangers are imminent they will be able to inform the world.
Hookworm has affected a quarter to a third of pregnant women in sub-Saharan Africa, almost seven million.
Hookworm, a parasite that lives in the intestines, can cause anemia leading to smaller births or deaths during pregnancy. Anemia in pregnant women in common in Africa due to poor nutrition, malaria, and genetics, the New York Times reported.
Health officials are reluctant to prescribe anti-worming drugs for fear of harming the unborn child.
“Because heavy hookworm loads are associated with low hemoglobin levels in pregnant women, the authors, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the Sabin Vaccine Institute and the World Bank, believe such drugs will do more good than harm. They argue for further studies with drugs,� the New York Times reported.
A 22-year-old gunman opened fire on a vocational school in western Finland Tuesday, killing 10 people and then himself.
Police identified the shooter as Matt Juhani Saari, a 22-year-old student at Kauhajoki School of Hospitality in Finland.
Eight women and two men were killed in the shooting, making it the second school massacre in a year for Finland. All of the victims were students of the school except for one of the males who was a teacher, reported USA Today.
“I heard several dozen round of shots; in other words, it was an automatic pistol,� Jukka Forsber, the school janitor, told the Finnish broadcasting company YLE. “I saw some female students who were wailing and moaning, and one managed to escape out the back door.�
YouTube postings of Saari firing a handgun led police to him a day earlier, but they could find no legal reason to keep him in custody and he was released, The New York Times reported.
“The attacker walked into the school armed with a .22-calibur pistol and carrying explosives. He killed 10 people, burning some of them beyond recognition,� Police spokeswoman Jari Neulaniem said, reported USA Today.
Three babies are dead and more than six-thousand are left sick after ingesting Sanlu baby formula containing Melamine, a product used to make plastics and fertilizers.
This toxic formula can cause kidney stones and even kidney failure to infants who drink the formula for a sustained amount of time, reported The New York Times.
Water is often added to dilute milk and increase supplies for many companies. Melamine is then added to increase the protein levels diluted from the water.
The Sanlu Group, one of China’s largest dairy companies, was thought to be the sole distributor of the tainted product, but investigators have traced the toxic formula to 21 other dairy companies, including China’s largest, reported The New York Times.
“While most of the suspect dairy products are only sold domestically, two of the companies involved exported baby formula to five countries in Asia and Africa. Other products such as milk, yogurt and ice cream went to Hong Kong,� reported USA Today.
“My concern is whether or not people will be held accountable and whether they will be put in jail. They might simply buy their way out,� said Zhang Gaofeng, father of a 22-month-old victim in Beijing.
North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-il was not present on Tuesday for the country’s 60th anniversary parade, leading to speculation he was seriously ill.
Kim could have partial paralysis on one side of his body due to a stroke that occurred last month reported the Star Tribune. Doctors possibly from China and France were said to have performed the brain surgery. Conditions have improved after Kim’s operation and he is showing no signs of slurred speech, which is a common side effect.
Officials said the episode prompted analysts to consider the chaos that would ensue if Kim does not recover enough to resume power. If the “Dear Leader� was incapacitated, it could have serious implications in North Korea's nuclear disarmament negotiations, reported the Star Tribune.
“A leader from the current political elite with strong ties to the military would take over,� Peter Hayes, director at the Nautilus Institute, told the New York Times.
None of Kim’s three known sons or his daughter has been selected to take over the dynasty, but analysts said on Wednesday, the most likely situation would be the stakeholders in Pyongyang forming a collective leadership, the New York Times reported.