WASHINGTON, August 6, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Vice President Biden met with President Jacob Zuma of South Africa today, on the sidelines of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. The Vice President and the President spoke about the significance of the Summit and the importance of U.S. engagement with African countries. In support of economic growth, the two spoke about the need to increase U.S. trade and investment opportunities in South Africa, and about the Administration’s commitment to work with Congress on the renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The two also discussed African peacekeeping capabilities, including support…
Author: apofeed
WASHINGTON, August 6, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Vice President Biden welcomed President Goodluck Jonathan of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the White House today on the margins of the historic U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. Vice President Biden and President Jonathan agreed that Nigeria and the United States would work together to urgently contain the outbreak of the Ebola virus. The Vice President welcomed the Government of Nigeria’s work to improve its business climate, which continues to attract U.S. investors. The President and Vice President agreed on the importance of deepening trade and investment, and the critical role that access…
WASHINGTON, August 6, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — RemarksJohn KerrySecretary of StateTreaty RoomWashington, DCAugust 5, 2014MS. HYDE: Good afternoon. Mr. President and Secretary Kerry, Mr. Minister, and friends of Ghana: I am delighted to welcome you here for the signing of Ghana’s $498 million compact with the U.S. Government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation. This agreement represents a major milestone in the U.S.-Ghanaian partnership, and I want to thank both teams, from Ghana and from MCC, who worked tirelessly to develop this investment aimed at overcoming one of Ghana’s key constraints to growth.The compact we sign today takes a system-wide approach to…
WASHINGTON, August 5, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — RemarksJohn KerrySecretary of StateTreaty RoomWashington, DCAugust 4, 2014SECRETARY KERRY: Good afternoon, everybody. It’s my great pleasure to welcome President Nkurunziza of Burundi, and I’m delighted to be able to have a chance to share some thoughts with him today.We – the United States engages with our Burundi partners on a number of different fronts. First, we are working with them to augment their capacity with respect to law enforcement, the judiciary and military, to develop the institutions and the procedures that will protect citizens and establish a foundation for long-term national and…
LONDON, United-Kingdom, August 5, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Minister for Africa summoned Ethiopian Chargé d’Affaires to raise concerns about arrest of a BritonThe Chargé d’Affaires at the Ethiopian Embassy in the UK, Mr Demeke Atnafu, was summoned to the Foreign Office this afternoon to meet the UK’s Minister for Africa, Mark Simmonds MP. Mr Simmonds expressed deep concern that the Ethiopian authorities had not allowed consular access to Mr Andargachew Tsege, a British national who has now been detained in Ethiopia for six weeks after being removed from Yemen. Mr Simmonds asked the Chargé to urge his government to…
WASHINGTON, August 5, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — RemarksJohn KerrySecretary of StateTreaty RoomWashington, DCAugust 4, 2014SECRETARY KERRY: Good afternoon, everybody. My pleasure to welcome the president of Burkina Faso, President Campaore. And I’m very happy to welcome him here, but I must do so first by expressing our condolences to him and to the families of the 28 Burkinabe citizens who were among the 116 passengers on the Air Algeire flight that crashed just the other day on July 24th. So Mr. President, we extend to you and your people our condolences, and obviously, we hope that those families can…
JUBA, South Sudan, August 5, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The UN Mission in South sudan (UNMISS) condemns in the strongest possible terms the killing by the so-called! Mabanese Defence Forces of at least five South Sudanese employees of humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) earlier today in and around Bunj, Maban County, in Upper Nile State. Two of the victims were murdered in Bunj Town, a third aid worker is reported as missing but presumed dead. Another three died in an ambush as they were attempting to return to the town. The militia group is reportedly targeting civilians of Nuer origin…
GENEVA, Switzerland, August 5, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Thousands of people displaced by violence in Bambari, in the east-central part of the Central African Republic, continue to live in conditions of great hardship. To help relieve the strain, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Central African Red Cross Society distributed household essentials to more than 2,000 displaced people in Bambari from 30 July to 4 August. Bambari was hard hit by violence at the beginning of July. “The humanitarian situation in the city is still critical,” said Samuel Cadassou, an ICRC delegate in Bambari. “Many…
GENEVA, Switzerland, August 5, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ –Local authorities in Kabo, Central African Republic (CAR) conducted a land distribution ceremony on 2nd August to grant 193 household plots to internally displaced persons (IDPs) and their families who fled the PK12 neighborhood in Bangui earlier this year.Community leaders drew numbers to randomly assign the 25 x 25 meter plots to PK12 households in need of land on which to build new homes.Kabo Mayor Abdel Atif named the area “The Peace Village” and formally welcomed the PK12 community to make Kabo their new home.“This land distribution cements the inclusion of the…
WASHINGTON, August 5, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — RemarksJohn KerrySecretary of StateTreaty RoomWashington, DCAugust 4, 2014SECRETARY KERRY: Good afternoon. Very happy to welcome my friend, the foreign minister of Tunisia, Foreign Minister Hamdi. He and I have had long discussions already, and we agreed earlier in my visit to Tunisia and in our previous conversations to launch a U.S.-Tunisia security dialogue in advance of our interests with respect to a secure and stable and prosperous Tunisia and stability in the region.The foreign minister has just talked to me about the dangers of what is happening in Libya, and he is…
WASHINGTON, August 5, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — RemarksJohn KerrySecretary of StateTreaty RoomWashington, DCAugust 4, 2014SECRETARY KERRY: Good morning. I’m very pleased to welcome the Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni here in Washington.This is a very critical time in Libya. We are very much encouraging all Libyans to respect the recent election of the Council of Representatives and to support the work of the constitutional defining assembly and to reject the use of violence.Libya’s challenges can really only be solved by Libyans themselves, but we are committed to stand by them as they engage in the difficult work of doing…
WASHINGTON, August 5, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — RemarksJohn KerrySecretary of StateTreaty RoomWashington, DCAugust 4, 2014SECRETARY KERRY: Well, good morning. Again, it’s my distinct pleasure to welcome Vice President Vicente here to Washington and to tell him how much I appreciated my welcome when I was in Angola. We had a wonderful visit with President Dos Santos, with the foreign minister, and much of his delegation who are here today.I want to thank him and the Government of Angola for their tremendous cooperation and their leadership with respect to the Kimberley Process and the Great Lakes Process, with respect to…
WASHINGTON, August 5, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — RemarksJohn KerrySecretary of StateTreaty RoomWashington, DCAugust 4, 2014SECRETARY KERRY: I don’t think we need these big, formal podiums, but let me – it’s my great pleasure to welcome President Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo to Washington. I’m very, very happy he’s here. He received me in May on my trip to the D.R.C. We then talked about the efforts that he is making with respect to strengthening democracy in the Democratic Republic of Congo.And we’re very grateful to him for the efforts that he has made, the leadership that they’ve…
JUBA, South Sudan, August 4, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — UNMISS is deeply concerned about the deteriorating security situation in Bunj, Maban County, Upper Nile State, where, since yesterday, there have been clashes between a community-based self defence militia calling itself the Mabanese Defence Forces and! deserting SPLA soldiers. Since last night, elements of this militia have been moving around the town, approaching offices of humanitarian organizations and asking if they have any Nuer employees. This morning, members of the militia shot and killed a staff member of a humanitarian non-governmental organisation. UNMISS strongly condemns the targeted killing of civilians…
JUBA, South Sudan, August 4, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Delegation of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) and its Secretariat led by Prof.Julia Sloth-Nielsen, arrived in the afternoon, at the Juba Airport to conduct an advocacy mission on the situation of children affected by the conflict. The Mission is undertaken following the concerns of the Committee on the humanitarian challenges hindering the protection and well-being of children expressed in its Resolution adopted during its 23rd Ordinary Session (09-16 April, 2014) in Addis Ababa.The one-week advocacy mission aims to “advocate for…
PARIS, France, August 4, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Sage (http://www.sage.com), a leading global vendor of business management software, announces that it has won three court cases against pirate companies in Maghreb and in Francophone Africa. In addition to damages and/or fines totalling several thousand euros, prison terms were handed down.Logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/sage.pngPhoto: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=1272 (Fabien Poggi, Manager of Sage’s Export division)Court decision in CameroonBy judgment dated 6 March 2014, the District Court of Douala Bonanjo, correctional section, found Mrs MONKAM, Managing Director of the company MOZALE SARL, guilty of software copyright infringement. She was ordered to pay CFAF 2,031,000 in damages…
GENEVA, Switzerland, August 4, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Concern is growing at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Libyan Red Crescent over the plight of thousands of people affected by intense fighting in Tripoli and Benghazi. Both organizations have renewed their efforts to assist the wounded and the displaced. “Our volunteers are striving to respond to the most acute needs of people in areas where fighting is in progress,” said Omar Jaouda, Secretary-General of the Libyan Red Crescent. “They have been working very hard to transport wounded people, remove dead bodies, and assist civilians. I…
Plano, TX, August 3, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — DreamTrips™ Vacation Club (https://www.dreamtrips.com), one of the world’s leading travel and vacation club membership organizations, was voted “Europe’s Leading Travel Club” for 2014 as part of the World Travel Awards. The World Travel Awards Europe Gala Ceremony was held at Divani Appolon Palace & Thalasso in Athens, Greece on Saturday, August 2, with hundreds of hospitality industry leaders.Logo WorldVentures: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/worldventure.pngLogo Europe’s Leading Travel Club: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/140813.jpg This award recognizes the commitment to excellence that DreamTrips has demonstrated in Europe within the last year. The award, voted on by travel and tourism professionals…
NEW YORK, August 2, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:The Secretary-General welcomes the decision by the Constitutional Court of Uganda to annul the country’s Anti-Homosexuality Act as a victory for the rule of law.He pays tribute to all those who contributed to this step forward, particularly the human rights defenders in Uganda who spoke out, at times incurring great personal risk.The Secretary-General calls for further efforts to decriminalize same-sex relationships and address the stigma and discrimination that persist in Uganda against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons.The…
MOGADISHU, Somalia, August 1, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia (SRSG), Nicholas Kay, has condemned the murder today of Sheikh Aden Madeer, a Member of the Somali Federal Parliament, and expressed his concern over the continued attacks on MPs.Mr. Madeer was killed in Mogadishu. He served as Chairperson of the Finance Committee of the Federal Parliament of Somalia. Mr. Madeer is the fifth MP to be assassinated in 2014. “The assassination of Sheikh Aden Madeer is an appalling act,” SRSG Kay said. “The murder of MPs is an attempt to intimidate and…