Long-serving African Leader Reportedly Dies; Grenada to Receive IMF Money

By BET.com published on Monday, June 8, 2009 and is filed under Nation. You can follow responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Long-serving African Leader Reportedly Dies
The president of Gabon, 73-year-old Omar Bongo, has reportedly died. According to French media reports, Bongo, who has been president of the African nation since 1967, died Sunday after being treated for cancer in Spain, reports the BBC. Bongo reportedly put off his official presidential activities last month. Though his death is being reported by French media sources (including AFP and a French news Web site) who quoted sources close to Bongo, the nation’s Prime Minister said he’s “very surprised” about the reports. “If such a situation comes about, I would think that the president’s family would naturally get in touch with me,” Prime Minister Jean Eveghe Ndong told a Gabonese television station. Gabon was formerly a French colony, and before his reported death he was being investigated by French officials for embezzling money. Bongo denied the allegations.

Grenada to Receive IMF Money
After a review of the Caribbean nation’s economy, Grenada will receive $6.8 million in U.S. dollars from the International Monetary Fund, reports the BBC. The money will help the nation recover from the negative effects it has suffered due to the global recession. Grenada has been hit hard by a decline in tourism and foreign investment. Officials project a shortfall in the nation’s revenue this year. The money for the aid comes from the group’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility.

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