PRISON BOUND: Former Madagascar President Marc Ravalomanana sentenced to life

HARD LABOR

Madagascar

Former President Marc Ravalomanana was sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labor for his role in the deaths of 30 protesters in 2009. The court in Antanarivo, the nation's capital, also sentenced two others with the same penalty. The incident took place shortly before Ravalomanana was overthrown in a coup by current President Andry Rajeolina. Ravalomana is currently in exile in South Africa.

LOCUST PLAGUE

Madagascar

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization said in a report that it feared Madagascar faced an "imminent and severe threat from the increasing number of swarms of migratory locusts." The warning came during an Emergency Assistance to Locust Control meeting on September 8 in the nation's capital Antananarivo.

MEALS FOR KIDS

 Cape Verde

Cape Verde took a big step forward on September 7 when it took full ownership of its free meals program for schoolchildren. The landmark achievement comes after three decades of collaboration with the World Food Program. The program, which began in 1979, has provided meals for nearly 80,000 Cape Verdean schoolchildren. The nation becomes the first country in West Africa to assume full national ownership of the program, which runs in 60 countries and provides meals for 22 million pupils.

CLEVER CHIMPS

Guinea

Researchers have discovered that a few clever chimpanzees in Guinea are outsmarting snare traps laid by human hunters. The traps are laid throughout Africa to catch bushmeat. Injuries to chimps caught in the snares are often reported across East and West Africa, sometimes resulting in death. But hardly any snare injuries have been reported among chimps in the rainforests of Bossou, Guinea. According to a BBC report, primatologists observing the chimpanzees in Bossou watched a group of five males break and dismantle the traps.

ELECTION FUNDS

Niger

Niger announced on September 8 that it had raised $41 million in foreign aid to finance its elections. The news is considered a boost to chances of a peaceful return to civilian rule after the military deposed former President Mamadou Tandja in a coup last February. Junta leader Salou Djibo has vowed to install a civilian government by April next year.