WASHINGTON, July 25, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Press StatementJohn KerrySecretary of StateWashington, DCJuly 25, 2014Around the world, supporters of religious freedom celebrate the arrival of Meriam Ishag and her family in Rome. I am grateful to the Government of Italy for its role in working with the Government of sudan to enable Ms. Ishag and her family to depart Sudan.I want to acknowledge the many individuals in the United States and the international community who expressed their concern at Ms. Ishag’s plight. Their concerns were our cause. I am especially proud that our diplomatic efforts through the U.S. Embassy…
Author: apofeed
LONDON, United-Kingdom, July 25, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — It is with deep regret that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office confirms the death of a British man onboard Air Algerie flight AH 5107.We are providing consular support to his family at this tragic time, and we ask that the media respect the privacy of those grieving.
BRAZZAVILLE, Republic of the Congo, July 25, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Mr. Abdoulaye Bathily and Lt-General (rtd) Babacar Gaye, Special Representatives of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, respectively for the Central African Region and for the Central African Republic, participated in the Forum on the inter-Central African National Reconciliation held in Brazzaville between 21 and 23 July. They both welcomed the signing, today, by the Central African parties of the Agreement on the cessation of hostilities and violence. This agreement comes a few weeks before the deployment of the UN Peacekeeping Force in the Car. The United Nations…
GENEVA, Switzerland, July 25, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Thousands of Chadian migrants fleeing violence in the Central African Republic (CAR) have been stranded in Cameroon since the beginning of 2014.This week, IOM Cameroon and Chad completed the return by road of almost 500 Chadian migrants from the town of Garoua Boulai, Cameroon, to the newly established temporary site in the village of Djako located 40 km from the town of Moundou in Chad.Two more IOM convoys will bring home an estimated 2,000 Chadian migrants still stranded on the Cameroon-Car border in the coming weeks.The operation was carried out at…
COTONOU, Benin, July 25, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — African Union Commission Chairperson H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma has arrived in Cotonou, Benin at the invitation of the President Yayi Boni for an official visit from 24-27 July 2014, as well as to deliver a statement at a Ministerial Conference of Least Developed Countries on Monday 28 July.The AUC Chairperson will meet with President Yayi Boni at State House during which they will discuss regional and continental issues ranging from agriculture and food security, infrastructure, regional integration projects, peace, security and development, particularly, but not limited to issues emanating from…
GENEVA, Switzerland, July 25, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — In August 2014 IOM Ghana will roll out a series of community-based child protection and counter-trafficking training sessions as part of a UNICEF-backed project.The project, entitled “Technical Support to the Government of Ghana to Address Child Trafficking and Other Child Protection Abuses: Phase II” will focus on the Ketu South Municipality, and North and South Tongu Districts of the Volta Region.These community awareness sessions follow the recent training of 16 community volunteers and three district representatives on the “Free To Be Me” Child Protection Toolkit developed in Phase I of the…
OTTAWA, Canada, July 25, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Today, on behalf of the Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie, Ted Opitz, Member of Parliament for Etobicoke Centre, announced new humanitarian assistance funding to Save the Children Canada for a project in Somalia that is contributing to the improved health and well-being of up to 137,000 Somalis displaced by conflict and drought.“After years of conflict and chronic drought, Somalia has one of the highest rates of child malnutrition and infant mortality in the world,” said MP Opitz. “For many years, Canada has provided significant support for…
DAKAR, Sénégal, July 24, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for West Africa and High Representative of the UN Secretary-General to Nigeria, Mr. Said Djinnit, strongly condemns the killing of civilians perpetrated over the week-end and yesterday reportedly by the Boko Haram group in the town of Damboa, in Borno State, and in Kaduna, in Kaduna State. Mr. Djinnit expresses his profound outrage at the attacks, which resulted, according to initial reports, in the death of more than 130 people and forced a score number of about 15000 people to move to the Borno…
WASHINGTON, July 24, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Press StatementMarie HarfDeputy Department Spokesperson, Office of the SpokespersonWashington, DCJuly 23, 2014The United States deplores today’s twin bombings in Kaduna, Nigeria, which targeted Shaykh Dahiru Usman Bauchi, one of the country’s most respected Muslim scholars, during the month of Ramadan. We are also concerned by reports that these blasts may have also targeted former head of state General Muhammadu Buhari. We extend our sympathies to the loved ones of the more than 80 victims killed in these blasts.We call on Nigerian authorities to fully investigate these attacks, and we urge all Nigerians…
TOKYO, Japan, July 25, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — 1. On July 19, Parliamentary Senior Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Nobuo Kishi visited Egypt and paid a courtesy call on H.E. Mr. Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and held discussions with H.E. Mr. Sameh Shoukry, Minister of Foreign Affairs.2. During his courtesy call on H.E. President Al Sisi, Mr. Kishi delivered him a letter from Japanese Prime Minister Abe, and conveyed to him following messages:(1) Japan expects that, under the leadership of President Al Sisi, Egypt will achieve its stability and prosperity through political and…
WASHINGTON, July 25, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The United States is delighted that Meriam Yahya Ibrahim Ishag is now safe and free and will soon be traveling to the United States. For months, Americans of all faiths kept Ms. Ishag in their thoughts and prayers as Sudanese authorities sentenced her to death for the alleged crime of apostasy. Today, she and her family have left sudan on their journey to freedom. Her departure with her immediate family—including her infant daughter, born in custody—is a testament to her unyielding faith and the support she received from friends and allies, including…
EL FASHER (DARFUR), Sudan, July 25, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — A staff member with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Mr. Felix Ngoma, who was abducted in Nyala, South Darfur, on 6 July 2014, was freed today after 20 days in captivity. Mr. Ngoma, a Zambian national, appears to be unharmed and in good condition. He will soon be flown back to his home country via Khartoum. The African Union-United Nations Joint Special Representative for Darfur, Mr. Mohamed Ibn Chambas, and the Officer-in-Charge of IOM in Sudan, Ms. Maysaa Alghribawy, have expressed their appreciation to the Government of Sudan,…
VATICAN, Holy See, July 25, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Yesterday afternoon, at the Domus Sanctae Marthae, the Holy Father Francis received in audience Ms. Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, the Sudanese Christian woman imprisoned and condemned to death for apostasy, and subsequently freed with the intervention of the international community.Meriam was accompanied by her husband Daniel Wani and their two small children, Martin (aged one and a half) and Maya, born in prison two months ago. The family was accompanied by the Italian deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lapo Pistelli, who completed negotiations in sudan yesterday and accompanied Meriam and…
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, July 25, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — African Union Commission Chairperson, H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, is most saddened by news of the Air Algerie crash flying from Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso to Algiers, in Algeria. With 116 passengers and crew members from Africa and other nationalities on board, the plane was reported missing in the early hours of 24 July 2014.Dr. Dlamini Zuma expresses her heartfelt condolences to the families, relatives and friends of the bereaved. In the wake of recent tragic air-travel related accidents, the AUC Chairpersons calls on the concerned authorities to do more in…
GENEVA, Switzerland, July 25, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — IOM, as part of the Sudan’s National Flood Taskforce, which coordinates emergency response operations throughout the country, has been asked by the country’s Federal Ministry of Health to contribute to the country’s malaria prevention programme ahead of the upcoming wet season.IOM, with funding from the UN Common Humanitarian Fund, has responded with a contribution of six tons of permethrin EC 25%, an insecticide with low toxicity to humans which prevents the spread of malaria and dengue. The insecticide, which is biodegradable and lasts between 3 and 8 months, is sprayed over…
GENEVA, Switzerland, July 25, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Migrants at a school serving as a reception centre in Sicily yesterday told IOM of a nightmare voyage from Libya that ended with 29 of their number suffocating to death from choking fumes in the hold of an over-crowded vessel, where they had been driven at knife-point.Some 569 survivors rescued by the Italian navy on Saturday reported that as many as 750 people had been crammed into ship when it sailed from Libya, raising the spectre that as many as 180 may have perished. Many had been thrown overboard.“Once you have…
JUBA, South Sudan, July 25, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) cordially invites members of the media in South Sudan to attend a press briefing to update on UN Police’s (UNPOL) role under the new mission’s mandate; UN contributing Force Protection Unit efforts in managing IDPs in the protection of civilians site, and progress made by the South Sudan National Police Service with support of UNPOL. The briefing will be given by: Fred Yiga, United Nations Commissioner of Police for South Sudan Joseph Contreras, UNMISS Acting Spokesperson Date: Tuesday, 29 July 2014 Time:…
NEW YORK, July 25, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced today the appointment of Diane Corner of the United Kingdom as his Deputy Special Representative and Deputy Head of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA), established by Security Council resolution 2149 (2014) of 10 April.Ms. Corner succeeds Lawrence Wohlers of the United States of America, who will complete his planned short-term assignment. The Secretary-General is grateful to Mr. Wohlers for his dedicated service and political engagement during a critical time of transition and start-up of the peacekeeping operation.Ms.…
STOCKHOLM, Sweden, July 24, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Government today adopted a new development cooperation strategy for Uganda for 2014-2018. Sweden’s total support is estimated at SEK 1.35 billion (approx. 200 MUSD). The aim is to improve child and maternal health, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, sustainable growth and employment. The Government also wants to help strengthen respect for human rights.Swedish development cooperation with Uganda will change. The focus will continue to be on reducing poverty, reducing infant mortality and improving maternal health. But by broadening our cooperation, especially with civil society and the private sector,…
KIGALI, Rwanda, July 24, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Rwanda (http://www.cmu.edu) is proud to announce that its first class in Africa graduated on 24 July, 2014. The ceremony, which took place at the Serena Hotel in Kigali, Rwanda, awarded 22 students with master’s degrees in information technology (IT).Photo 1: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=1264Photo 2: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=1263Photo 3: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=1265Watch the video: http://youtu.be/l2Xwt_oKyBoLogo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/cmurwanda.pngThe graduation underscores Carnegie Mellon University and the Government of Rwanda’s commitment to educating engineers and entrepreneurs who are striving to make an economic impact in East Africa. Many of the students have ambitions to be the next…