JUBA, South Sudan, November 21, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — UN Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Kyung-wha Kang, concluded her three-day mission to South sudan today, calling on all parties to the conflict to respect their ceasefire commitments and urging the international community to continue providing support to enable humanitarians to scale up and expand critical aid operations. The year-long conflict has been brutal. Civilians have been killed, raped and beaten; homes torched; lives ruined. Fighting has destroyed communities and separated families. More than 1.9 million people have fled their homes. Over 100,000 people have sought refuge in UN bases.…
Author: apofeed
PARIS, France, November 20, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — France welcomes the decision by the UN Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee to impose sanctions on the Libyan terrorist entities Ansar al-Shariah Benghazi and Ansar al-Shariah Derna. Laurent Fabius called for these sanctions at the ministerial meeting on Libya on September 25 in New York. We call on all states to immediately implement this decision against terrorist groups which cannot be regarded as interlocutors. We also call on all Libyans to refrain from providing them with any direct or indirect support. France would like all parties in Libya to engage without delay…
VICTORIA, Seychelles, November 20, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — SkyVision Global Networks Ltd. (http://www.skyvision.net), a leading global communications provider, today announced the commencement of its managed IP Trunking and Private Network solutions to Cable & Wireless Seychelles (CWS), part of the Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) group of companies operating in 38 markets worldwide. The project, managed by SkyVision, consists of providing IP Trunking to the main island of Seychelles (Mahe), and a private VSAT network for its surrounding islands. Logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/skyvision.jpgPhoto: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=1571 (Dror Limor, SkyVision VP Sales)Established in 1893, Cable & Wireless Seychelles (CWS) is the leading telecommunications company…
LILONGWE, Malawi, November 20, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — This is the first Senior NCO Academy in sub-Saharan Africa and the Malawian Defense Forces (MDF) plans to make this a regional course of excellence. The Senior NCO Academy was paid for through the African Military Education Program (AMEP). The initial course was conducted in 2013. This is the second U.S.-sponsored course held in Malawi as part of the effort to building African military capabilities.
JOHANNESBURG, South-Africa, November 20, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Gross gambling and casino revenues showed subdued growth in 2013 in the wake of a faltering economy. Gross gambling increased only 4.3%. The slowdown in gross gambling revenue was centred on casinos, the largest category at 76% of the market or R16.5 billion.Logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/pwc.pngPhoto: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/photos/1406197.jpg (Nikki Forster, PwC Hospitality and Gambling Industry Leader for South Africa)Some casino operators in certain regions believe the slowdown in 2013 was due in part to growing competition from electronic bingo terminals, limited payout machines (LPMs) and sports betting shops, which are becoming more prevalent in…
LONDON, United-Kingdom, November 19, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Foreign Secretary urges Somalia’s leadership to resolve political differences and focus on security and stability.Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond spoke at an international meeting in Copenhagen today to push for faster implementation of Somalia’s New Deal Compact. He also met Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Foreign Ministers from the region. Following the meeting, the Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said: “The UK has demonstrated its commitment to Somalia. We co-hosted conferences in London in February 2012 and May 2013 to galvanise the international community into action. Since then, Somalia has taken important…
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, November 19, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Ahead of the start of a High-Level Partnership Forum (HLPF) in Copenhagen on 19 November, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG) for Somalia, Nicholas Kay, has urged the Federal Government of Somalia and its international partners to remain focused on delivering the tangible benefits of the New Deal to the Somali people. “The New Deal is about the people, for the people and with the people of Somalia,” said SRSG Nicholas Kay. “It is the process of ensuring that after more than two decades of conflict and instability, the…
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, November 18, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU), at its 468th meeting held on 18 November 2014, adopted the following decision on the situation in Burkina Faso:Council,1. Takes note of the briefing by the Special Envoy of the Chairperson of the Commission for Burkina Faso and the additional information provided by the Commission, as well as of the statement made by the representative of Burkina Faso. Council also takes note of the Memorandum on the situation in Burkina Faso submitted by the President of the Commission of the…
GENEVA, Switzerland, November 18, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — An IOM assessment of displacement sites around the city of Goma in North Kivu, Eastern DRC has shown a total of 16,406 internally displaced people (IDPs), well down from previous estimates of over 100,000 (104, 813).The verification exercise, conducted over the past year, is designed to allow IOM and its partners to better assess the needs of displaced families and to identify durable solutions for them.The exercise was conducted in the sites at night, with IOM staff going from hut to hut counting and registering households.This minimized the risk of over-counting…
GENEVA, Switzerland, November 18, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Police in the Democratic Republic of Congo summarily killed at least 51 youth and forcibly disappeared 33 others during an anti-crime campaign that began a year ago, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. “Operation Likofi,” which lasted from November 2013 to February 2014, targeted alleged gang members in Congo’s capital, Kinshasa.The 57-page report, “Operation Likofi: Police Killings and Enforced Disappearances in Kinshasa,” details how uniformed police, often wearing masks, dragged kuluna, or suspected gang members, from their homes at night and executed them. The police shot and killed…