5 more Swine flu deaths in Morocco Five people have died of the H1N1 virus in Morocco bringing to 12 the number of deaths from swine flu since November 16, said an assessment made on Monday by the Moroccan authorities. On June 10, it was announced that Moroccans from abroad were affected. The virus has since the end of October reached a pandemic proportion boosting the number of affected people from nearly 200 to 2,178 cases, the Moroccan health ministry said. In schools, 896 students are among the registered cases, dozens of schools have already closed their doors to avoid the spread. Three nationals died of swine flu abroad during childbirth. Two were in Spain and the third one in Canada. $150 million has been allocated to the response plan. Algeria destroying colonial-era landmines Algerian troops destroyed more than 5,700 colonial-era landmines in November, almost half a century after the country gained independence from France, the state news agency APS said Tuesday. The mines, mainly antipersonnel ones buried by the French army, were recovered and destroyed in a campaign that is still under way, 47 years after Algeria's independence which came after a fiercely fought independence war. The total number of mines destroyed up to November 30 was 426,599, of which 358,515 were antipersonnel mines. Tunisia celebrates national solidarity day On December 8, Tunisia celebrated the National Solidarity Day, during which Tunisians from all walks of life were invited to contribute to the National Solidarity Fund, also known as “26-26†from its bank account number. The Fund, which collects voluntary donations from public and private institutions and individuals, was created by President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on December 8, 1992. The number of Tunisian donators has exceeded 5 millions in 2008. So far the Fund has benefited 1829 areas; in addition some 1,340 million inhabitants have benefited from the Fund. UN rights chief urges Libya to release Swiss businessmen The top United Nations human rights official called on Tuesday for Libya to release two Swiss businessmen saying their “unfair” detention since July 2008 seemed linked to a diplomatic row. The two men, sentenced last week to 16 months in prison in Libya for immigration offenses, appear to be “victims of a state-level dispute” between Libya and Switzerland, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said. Rachid Hamdani, a Swiss construction company employee and Max Goeldi, Libya head of Swiss-Swedish electrical engineering group ABB, were denied permission to leave Libya days after the arrest in Geneva of a son of leader Muammar Gaddafi on charges later dropped of mistreating two domestic employees. US calls for Sudan restraint The United States on Tuesday condemned political violence and arrests in Sudan in the wake of unrest in the troubled African country, and urged Khartoum to “allow freedom of expression and peaceful demonstrations. “I am deeply concerned about these developments and urge all parties to exercise restraint,” said US special envoy to the country Scott Gration. “Negotiations on issues of urgent importance to all of the Sudanese people cannot proceed in an atmosphere of intimidation,” he said. Sudanese police detained three senior opposition figures and dozens of demonstrators from the south's ruling party on Monday as part of a wide crackdown against a planned protest. Iran sees 2nd day of violent protests Iran’s broadest and most violent protest in months spilled over into a second day on Tuesday, as bloody clashes broke out on university campuses between students chanting antigovernment slogans and the police. On Tuesday, the opposition leader Mir Hussein Moussavi — who was prevented from attending Monday’s demonstrations — had a tense standoff with angry security men who had surrounded his office, according to opposition Web sites.nd Basij militia members. As the scale of Monday’s demonstrations became clearer, Tehran’s police chief announced that 204 people had been arrested in the capital, the semiofficial Mehr news agency reported. The clashes took place on campuses in cities across the country, as students and opposition members took advantage of National Student Day to vent their rage despite a lengthy and wide-ranging government effort to forestall them. BM
