PARIS, France, June 17, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — During an aerial attack on a Sudanese village, Sudan’s air force bombed and partially destroyed a hospital run by the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in the war-torn South Kordofan region Monday, depriving civilians of critical medical care, the organization said today. As bombs struck the village of Farandalla on June 16, two hit the MSF hospital there. Five people were wounded in the village and one MSF staff member was injured at the hospital. MSF medical teams treated the wounded and organized the transfer of…
Author: apofeed
BERLIN, Germany, June 17, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — On 18 and 19 June 2014, with the support of the Gerda Henkel Foundation the Federal Foreign Office is hosting an International Strategy Conference dedicated to the preservation of approximately 285,000 Islamic manuscripts from Timbuktu (Mali). Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier will open the conference at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, 18 June 2014, together with Mountaga Tall, Mali’s Education and Science Minister, and Ndiaye Diallo Ramatoulaye, the Malian Culture Minister.The manuscripts, considered to be a world heritage by UNESCO, are testament to a rich literary tradition and reflect the Arab world’s great…
WASHINGTON, June 17, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Media NoteOffice of the SpokespersonWashington, DCJune 16, 2014Deputy Secretary of State Heather Higginbottom will travel to Senegal, Kenya, and Liberia from June 16 to June 20.While in Dakar, Senegal, Deputy Secretary Higginbottom will meet with senior Senegalese officials, including Prime Minister Aminata Touré and the Minister of Economy & Finance Amadou Ba. The Deputy Secretary will also meet with prominent business leaders and American companies, visit U.S. Government-supported health and food security projects, and participate in a reception with Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) candidates, young entrepreneurs, and alumni of U.S.-funded exchange…
LONDON, United-Kingdom, June 16, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Mark Simmonds condemns attacks in Kenya, and offers his condolences to those affected.Following the attack in Mpeketoni, Kenya, which led to the deaths of dozens of civilians, the Foreign Office Minister for Africa, Mark Simmonds, said:“I condemn in the strongest terms the attacks that took place on 15 June in the Kenyan coastal town of Mpeketoni. I offer my deepest condolences to the families that have lost loved ones and to those injured in the attacks. “There can be no place for appalling acts of violence such as this in any…
NAIROBI, Kenya, June 16, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Equator Initiative for Sustainable Land Management in Sub Saharan Africa Award CeremonyWHAT: Equator Initiative for Sustainable Land Management in Sub Saharan Africa Award CeremonyWHEN: Tuesday 17th June 2014 at 10.30am. WHERE: Safari Park HotelThe Equator Prize for Sustainable Land Management (SLM) in Sub-Saharan Africa recognizes and celebrates local grassroots organizations that are improving the livelihoods of rural communities in dryland ecosystems in Sub-Saharan Africa through sustainable land management. The Equator Prize for SLM Award Ceremony will be held Tuesday 17th June 2014 at Safari Park Hotel, Ivory room from 5.30pm to…
PARIS, France, June 16, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Orange (http://www.orange.com) and the BNP Paribas group offer retail banking customers in Africa direct access between their BNP Paribas account and their Orange Money account through their mobile phones. This new service is available starting today in Côte d’Ivoire and will be extended to other countries in which BNP Paribas and Orange Money(1) are present, particularly Senegal.Logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/orange-logo.jpgThe service allows customers of the BNP Paribas group (BICICI in Côte d’Ivoire) to carry out real-time banking operations without going to their banks, simply by using their Orange Money account.Customers can transfer money…
TOKYO, Japan, June 16, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — 1. On June 13, the Government of Japan, upon requests by UN organizations and the Government of Nigeria, decided to extend emergency grant aid of 855,000 US dollars (approximately 83 million Japanese yen), to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and other organizations.2. This emergency grant aid is expected to contribute to providing support for the psychological and physical care of communities of Chibok LGA (Local Government Area) in Borno State, which is suffering direct and indirect harm as a…
ROME, Italy, June 16, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Chile, China and Morocco today won recognition from FAO for outstanding progress in fighting hunger, an achievement that sees them join a growing group of countries to have reached international targets ahead of an end-of-2015 deadline. During a ceremony at FAO headquarters, the Organization’s Director-General, José Graziano da Silva, awarded diplomas to China and Morocco for obtaining the Millennium Development Goal 1 (MDG-1). Chile, which had already reached its MDG-1 target, received the diploma for achieving the 1996 World Food Summit (WFS) target. The MDG-1 hunger target requires countries to halve…
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, June 16, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Peace and Security Council of the African Union, at its 440th meeting held in Addis Ababa, on 12 June 2014, adopted the following decision on the situation in South Sudan: Council: 1. Takes note of the statement made by the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security and the briefing provided by Ambassador Seyoum Mesfin, the Chair of the Team of Special Envoys of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD). Council also takes note of the statement made by the representative of the Government of the Republic of South Sudan,…
BANGUI, Central African Republic, June 16, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) is dismayed at the high level of organized violence against civilians by armed groups in the Grimari and Bambari provinces of the Ouaka region in the Central African Republic (CAR). “During the last six weeks our teams on the ground have witnessed the systematic use of retaliatory violence against entire villages, resulting in killings and ongoing displacement of thousands,” says MSF’s Project coordinator, Luigi Pandolfi. The most recent attack happened on June 10 in Liwa, just 10 kilometers away from the International Military…
GENEVA, Switzerland, June 16, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Some 23,000 people affected by severe flooding in Kismayo, in southern Somalia, have received emergency assistance from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Somali Red Crescent Society (SRCS) this week. This included providing cash grants, essential household items and health care and restoring clean water supplies. The port city of Kismayo and other coastal areas of the Lower Juba region were inundated as a result of exceptionally heavy rains between 24 May and 6 June. “Due to its low-lying coastal location, drainage is particularly poor in this…
GENEVA, Switzerland, June 15, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — More than 13,000 people living in villages between the towns of Bouar and Bohong, in the west of the Central African Republic, have received seed and farming equipment in the past few days. This region has been the scene of clashes between armed groups in recent months, with serious consequences for the local people. Fleeing for their lives after their houses were vandalized, ransacked and burned down, thousands of people sought refuge in the surrounding bush or in other parts of the country. “The villagers have returned home to find their…
JUBA; South Sudan, June 15, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Aid agencies in South sudan today released a new plan to assist 3.8 million people hit by hunger, violence and disease by the end of the year.Six months into the conflict, around 1.5 million people have been uprooted from their homes and over seven million people are at risk of hunger and disease. Unless fighting ends and people can return to their homes and resume their livelihoods, the situation will continue to worsen. “Now that the rains have set in, conditions in South sudan are deteriorating by the day: people…
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, June 13, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Some African Heads of State and Government, and high level private sector leaders are meeting in Dakar, Senegal from 14 to15 June 2014 in what has been dubbed the “Dakar Financing Summit.”The summit is aimed at accelerating the implementation of priority regional infrastructural development projects.Meeting under the aegis of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the summit is being hosted and officially presided over by H.E. Macky Sall, President of the Republic of Senegal and Chairperson of the NEPAD Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee (HSGOC).President MackySallwill be…
NEW YORK, June 13, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:The Secretary-General continues to follow closely the situation in Libya and stresses the importance of the peaceful and timely holding of elections on 25 June. The Secretary-General reaffirms the important role of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) in providing technical assistance in support of building and reforming State institutions. He also commends UNSMIL’s work in the areas of good offices and facilitation of dialogue, which it carries out with impartiality and openness to all national…
DUBLIN, Ireland, June 13, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Minister for Trade and Development, Joe Costello TD, has announced that ireland is dispatching tents, blankets, and other vital supplies to assist refugees in Cameroon who have fled the violence in the Central African Republic. The stocks will be distributed by Plan Ireland.The airlift, worth almost €200,000, is being sent from the UN Humanitarian Response Depot in Accra, Ghana, where Irish Aid pre-positions supplies for use in global emergencies. The supplies are in addition to more than €3 million in funding so far in 2014 to support UN agencies and NGO…
DAKAR, Sénégal, June 13, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for West Africa, Mr. Said Djinnit, attended the ministerial meeting on security in Nigeria convened today by the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary, Mr. William Hague. Mr. Djinnit deplored that while efforts are made to seek the safe release of the abducted school girls from Chibok, more innocent civilians are being killed and many more others are being displaced as a result of Boko Haram acts.He stressed that while urging the Nigerian Government to redouble efforts for the safe release of these…
BUJUMBURA, Burundi, June 13, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — A mission from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), led by Mr. Oral Williams, visited Bujumbura from June 2–13, 2014 for discussions under the IMF’s Article IV consultations and the fifth review of the government’s economic and financial program supported by the IMF under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF).The mission met with the Second Vice-President, Gervais Rufyikiri; the President of the Senate, Gabriel Ntisezerana; the Minister of Finance, Tabu Abdallah Manirakiza; the Governor of the Central Bank, Jean Ciza; and other senior government officials. The mission also had constructive discussions with members…
WASHINGTON, June 13, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — RemarksWendy R. ShermanUnder Secretary for Political Affairs United States Institute of PeaceWashington, DCJune 3, 2014UNDER SECRETARY SHERMAN: Well, it’s really wonderful to be here, and I must say it’s great to see Kristin Lord who’s acting as president – she acts at it quite well. But it’s also a real pleasure for me to be here with three of my Africa mentors – Ambassador George Moose, Ambassador Princeton Lyman, and Ambassador Johnnie Carson, and my current mentor, Assistant Secretary Linda Thomas-Greenfield. I am really privileged to have worked with all of these…
GENEVA, Switzerland, June 13, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The United Nations Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in the Sudan, Mashood Adebayo Baderin, will visit the sudan from 15 to 24 June 2014 to follow-up on his previous recommendations*, and identify areas of technical assistance and capacity building which will help the country fulfil its human rights obligations. “Since my last visit in February 2014, there have been some notable human rights issues in the country that have attracted considerable international concerns,” Mr. Baderin said, announcing his fifth mission to sudan. “I will use the opportunity of…