OTTAWA, Canada, December 3, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird today issued the following statement after terrorists targeted non-Muslim workers at a quarry in northeast Kenya:“Canada strongly condemns the cowardly attack that took place in the middle of the night and claimed the lives of at least 36 innocent workers in northeast Kenya.“On behalf of all Canadians, I offer my sincere condolences to the families and friends of those affected by this heinous act.“Canada stands in solidarity with the Kenyan people and will continue to work with Kenya and the international community in the fight against…
Author: apofeed
NEW YORK, December 3, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Secretary-General strongly condemns the horrific attack on civilian workers in Mandera today, which reportedly killed at least thirty-six people. He expresses his deep condolences to the families of the deceased and to the people and the Government of Kenya. The Secretary-General hopes that those responsible will be brought swiftly to justice. He reaffirms the full support of the United Nations to Kenya’s efforts to fight terrorism and to provide security to the population consistent with international law and Kenya’s human rights obligations.
WASHINGTON, December 3, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The United States strongly condemns yesterday’s attacks in Wajir and Mandera counties in Kenya as well other recent attacks by the terrorist group al-Shabaab targeting innocent civilians. We extend our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the at least 38 individuals killed yesterday. The United States will continue to support Kenya and our regional partners in combating terrorism and violent extremism and protecting human rights.
BRUSSELS, Kingdom of Belgium, December 3, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Didier Reynders strongly condemns the terrorist attacks of the past days in Kenya. He extends his condolences to the family and friends of the many victims.Didier Reynders reaffirms the support of Belgium, together with the European Union, to Kenya in its fight against terrorism and in its efforts for a stabilization in Somalia.
ACCRA, Ghana, December 2, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Residence of France, AccraThree Ghanaian key actors signed Grant Agreements with the Embassy of France to implement the France-Ghana cooperation’s project called “Strengthening the accountability of Ghana’s central and local government”. The project amounts 800 000 €, for 30 months. The signature took place at the Residence of France.The Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) is in charge of implementing the actions for accountability at the central level, mainly in the health, education and governance sectors. The Institute of Local Governance Studies (ILGS) is in charge of strengthening the…
NAIROBI, Kenya, December 2, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The team of Special Envoys to the Great Lakes region of Africa is outraged and deeply concerned by a spate of civilian massacres that has taken place in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), particularly around the town of Beni, in North Kivu province. The latest of these gruesome attacks were carried out last week. Some 100 civilians, mostly women and children, were killed on 20 November, bringing the number of victims to more than 200 since mid-October.The Special Envoys strongly condemn these massacres which have been attributed to the…
GENEVA, Switzerland, December 2, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — On 1st December, IOM Tanzania, in collaboration with the government, launched a voluntary migrant registration operation in Kigoma, Western Tanzania. The registration, which will initially last three weeks, is aimed at irregular Burundian, Rwandan and Ugandan migrants, who wish to regularize their status in Tanzania. Immigration officers have been trained by IOM to use IOM’s e-registration application, which captures the biographic and biometric data of migrants to support their applications for resident status in Tanzania. Two tents have been set up in Kigoma stadium, equipped with 15 registration units.Each unit is…
GENEVA, Switzerland, December 2, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — IOM has repatriated 253 Ethiopian irregular migrants released from detention in Tanzania. The operation, in close collaboration with the Tanzanian Immigration Department and the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was funded by the Government of Japan. The migrants, who were intercepted by the Tanzanian authorities at the country’s borders en route to South Africa, had spent up to a year incarcerated in three prisons – Ruanda, Ubena and Kigongoni – located in Mbeya and Pwani regions. Tanzania is a major transit country for migrants from the Horn of Africa seeking jobs…
NEW YORK, December 1, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Committee to Protect Journalists will release a special report on press freedom conditions in Rwanda 20 years after the genocide that claimed more than 800,000 lives. The report examines the government’s control of the media, self-censorship, patterns of harassment and threats, as well as a lack of investment in the media and appropriate regulation. The report will be released online in English and French, and presented at an event in Brussels.WHAT: Legacy of Rwanda genocide includes media restrictions, self-censorship – A special report of the Committee to Protect Journalists by…
DAKAR, Senegal, November 29, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Initiated by Senegalese President S.E. Macky Sall and organised by APIX and Richard Attias & Associates, the first Francophonie Economic Forum (http://www.forum-economique-francophonie.com) will bring together over 1000 political and economic decision-makers from five continents at the Dakar International Conference Centre (DICC) in Senegal on the heels of the 15th Summit of Heads of State of the Francophonie.Logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/fef.pngThe forum aims to promote trade and interconnections in territories in the Francophonie. It will bring together economic players in the Francophonie and, in turn, transform this linguistic solidarity into economic opportunities and joint…
GENEVA, Switzerland, November 28, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Beginning today, 52 children under the age of 17 will be rejoining relatives after being separated from them for several months. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and volunteers from the Red Cross Society of the Democratic Republic of the Congo had to go to great lengths and undertake extensive research to find the children’s families, who were scattered throughout the country. “The children – 22 boys and 30 girls – have been living without their parents for many months because of the conflicts in certain parts of the…
GENEVA, Switzerland, November 28, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Libyan Red Crescent are deeply concerned about the civilians caught up in the fighting in Benghazi, and urge all parties to respect and protect them. Every aspect of civilian life in Benghazi has been adversely affected by the ongoing conflict. Services at the main hospitals in the city have been seriously disrupted by the precarious security conditions, foreign health workers have left, and there is an acute shortage of medical supplies: as a result, there is little or no access to…
GENEVA, Switzerland, November 28, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Uganda’s borders are porous and the country is vulnerable to illegal cross border activities, including human trafficking and migrant smuggling. Between 2008 and 2013, 72 Ugandans identified as victims of trafficking abroad were helped to return home by IOM. In order to improve the country’s capacity to combat migrant smuggling and other cross-border crimes, IOM this week organized a five-day INTERPOL training: “Smuggling Training and Operation Program (STOP)” in Entebbe. It was the first such training held in Uganda.Stop is a multi-faceted response to criminal activities in the field of people…
GENEVA, Switzerland, November 28, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Some 200 households (1,200 people) from communities displaced by communal conflict in Kenya’s Moyale town are set to benefit from new shelters built by IOM.Inter-communal fighting over resources and political differences – which lasted from August 2013 to January this year – displaced over 30,000 people in Moyale, a town close to the Ethiopian border in Marsabit County. Many people lost everything.The construction of shelters, which is being funded by Japan through the Japan Supplementary Fund, started in October. A total of 153 shelters now have been completed by IOM with…
GENEVA, Switzerland, November 28, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Seychelles this week launched a media campaign to combat human trafficking as part of a project supported by the government and funded by the IOM Development Fund. The campaign aims to help the general public and local NGOs better understand human trafficking and identify actual or potential victims. As part of the project, IOM also trained local media in the sensitive reporting of trafficking stories and the protection of victims. “Seychelles has made progress in the past year in combating this heinous crime,” said Yitna Getachew of IOM’s Southern Africa…
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, November 28, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The government of United Republic of Tanzania has never had any plan to evict the Maasai people from their ancestral land as falsely reported by the media in recent days. The information circulated through the media outlets globally was misleading, malicious and meant to tarnish the image of our country and her international standing.Logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/tanztour.png Photo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=1586 The Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism (http://www.mnrt.go.tz), Hon. Lazaro Nyalandu said that the claims that 40,000 Maasai were being evicted are false unfounded and baseless. The argument that the land in…
JUBA, South Sudan, November 27, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The UN Mission in South sudan (UNMISS) wishes to correct erroneous media reports claiming that the Mission has sought the consent of the Government of the Republic of South sudan (GRSS) to use the Mission’! s aircraft to transport delegates of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army In Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) from locations inside the country to a consultative conference in Pagak, South Sudan.UNMISS received a written request dated 17 November 2014 from the Office of the Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Special Envoys for South Sudan to provide air transportation to…
DAR ES SALAAM, Tanzania, November 27, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Tigo (http://www.tigo.co.tz) announced today the first of its regular quarterly payments worth 3bn/- (US $ 1.8 million) to Tigo Pesa users. Logo Tigo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/tigo-1.jpgPhoto: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=1065 (Tigo Tanzania General Manager, Diego Gutierrez)This payment comes three months after the company paid a staggering profit of TZS 14.25 billion (US $ 8.64 million) accumulated in the Tigo Pesa Trust Account to become the first mobile money service in the world to pay profit to its users. Tigo Pesa has a subscriber base of 3.6 million customers. Tigo General Manager Diego Gutierrez said…
GABORONE, Botswana, November 27, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — At the end of a 13-day official visit to Botswana, the UN Special Rapporteur on cultural rights Farida Shaheed called on the country to embark on a “second phase of nation building that reflects, builds on and celebrates the rich cultural diversity of the country.” Shaheed shared her observations on cultural rights issues ranging from the recognition of tribes, to language rights, to land rights, to the need to involve and engage with communities affected by Government policies. Shaheed identified a number of good practices and potential obstacles relating to the…
MASERU, Lesotho, November 26, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — A technical team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) led by Ms. Natalia Koliadina visited the Kingdom of Lesotho from November 17‒26, 2014. The team assisted the authorities with updating the near-term economic outlook and projections for the medium term.At the end of the staff visit, Ms. Koliadina issued the following statement:“Lesotho’s economic growth has slowed, partly because of the current political and security situation. Real gross domestic product is expected to grow by just over 2 percent in 2014/15, against 3½ percent a year ago. Construction in particular has been…