March 4, 2013:
In Kenya, vote counting has begun. So far, Uhuru Kenyatta has a lead over Prime Minister Raila Odinga, though that may change as the counting continues. There have been accounts of some violence, but nothing to the scale of the previous elections. According to election officials, voter turnout was approximately 70 percent, which is higher than the previous election year. Read more at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21662302
American doctors have cured a baby girl born in Mississippi of HIV. When presenting the findings at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Atlanta, Dr. Deborah Persaud from Johns Hopkins University stated that curing the baby girl is proof that infants have the potential to be cured of HIV. The baby is the second human being to have been cured of HIV, thanks to a wide mixture of drugs known as antiretroviral therapy. Read more at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-21651225
A shooting in northern Iraq led to the death of 40 Syrian soldiers. The Syrians were being driven back to the border in Anbar province by an escort of Israeli soldiers when they were attacked. Unknown gunmen are believed to be behind the attack. Read more at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21658859
March 5, 2013:
So far, Uhuru Kenyatta has a 53 percent lead against the 42 percent for Raila Odinga. This is not a complete count, and more votes are still being counted. The election chairman has also announced that spoiled ballots would also count in the overall total vote, which means that there is an increased chance of a run-off between the top two candidates, in this case Odinga Kenyatta. There have been calls for patience from voters so as to ensure that there will be no repeat of the devastation that occurred in 2007. Read more at:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21665108
After Syrian warplanes bombed the northern city of Raqqa, 20 rebels and one civilian are believed to have died. The rebels have captured the provincial governor after routing out regime forces in Raqqa. The city’s fall would mark a significant victory for the rebels. Read more at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21666917
March 6, 2013:
Hugo Chavez died, aged 58, on Tuesday after a long fight with cancer. His coffin was marched in a procession through Caracas, the Venezuelan capital. His body is to be laid in state in the Military Academy until his burial on Friday. Chavez, a critic of American imperialism, had been too ill to be sworn into office after his re-election in October. Read more at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-21682247
After North Korea stated that it would end the peace truce due to paranoia inspired by the UN sanctions and military exercises going on in South Korea. South and North Korea are perpetually at war, since they have never singed an official peace treaty. South Korea has responded that any provocation from North Korea would be met by “resolute retaliations,” according to army general Kim Yong-hyun. Read more at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-21681522
March 7, 2013:
A computer virus is believed to be behind the crashing of the electronic voting system. Vote-tallying will restart and will be done by hand. Uhuru Kenyatta continues to have the lead over Raila Odinga by approximately 0.7 million votes. Kenyatta’s trial with the International Criminal Court has been postponed to July 9, 2013. Read more at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21707152
After 21 UN observers were believed to have been seized in the Golan Heights by Syrian rebels, the rebels have posted that the observers were safe and being well-treated. The rebels have stated that they would release the observers if Syrian troops withdrew from the area. They are expected to be released today. Read more at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21704866