ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, April 10, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Members of the African Ombudsmen and Mediators Association(AOMA) will henceforth join various African Union peacemaking and preventive diplomacy initiatives and missions. The AU Commission Chairperson, H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma affirmed this engagement during an audience she granted a delegation of the AOMA, led by the Association President, Dr. Paulo Tjipilca. They met at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 9 April 2014.The delegation paid a courtesy visit to the AUC Chairperson as well as to present the letter of credence to the Union, of its new Permanent…
Author: apofeed
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, April 10, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Department of Political Affairs of the African Union Commission in collaboration with the Embassy of the Republic of Rwanda in Addis Ababa will jointly organize the Commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of the Rwanda Genocide. The event will take place at the African Union Nelson Mandela Hall on 11April 2014 from 9:00am to 1:00pm, New Conference Center of the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The event will be organized under the theme: “Remember, Unite, and Renew”.The event is expected to be attended by over 300 participants from the…
GENEVA, Switzerland, April 10, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Community acceptance, provision of impartial treatment and psychosocial support for medical staff working under stress can all play key roles in making health-care facilities more secure amid armed conflict or other emergencies. These are some of the recommendations that emerged from a workshop that took place in Pretoria, South Africa, this week as part of the “Health Care in Danger” project on the dangers facing health-care services. The last in a series of consultations with experts, the event was co-hosted by the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO)…
PRETORIA, South-Africa, April 10, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — During a two-day consultation, HIV surveillance experts in South Africa agreed that the large scale AIDS response in South Africa has resulted in significant gains. The country made remarkable progress in expanding access to antiretroviral treatment that increased life expectancy amongst people living with HIV and massive declines in the rate of mother-to-child HIV transmission. However, the experts agreed on the need to further expand and intensify current efforts to reduce the impact of AIDS. Acknowledging the complex nature of the HIV epidemic in South Africa, participants noted the need to…
OTTAWA, Canada, April 10, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie, confirmed today that, following a successful democratic transition by means of Presidential and legislative elections, Canada will resume direct bilateral assistance to the government of the Republic of mali. Canada’s bilateral assistance to mali will contribute to the country’s development, to the improvement of the condition of women and children, and will support the government’s efforts to reinforce democracy and security.”Our government supports a concerted international approach to the ongoing challenges in the Sahel region,” said Minister Paradis. “Canada’s long-term…
CONAKRY, Guinea, April 10, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The efforts to control the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in Guinean capital Conakry are being intensified. More resources were mobilised and WHO and partners are streamlining their coordination of different components of the response.To strengthen contact tracing in Conakry, the World Health Organization (WHO) organized an intensive training today for a first group of 70 trainees. They will go into the communities to follow up on specific persons who had close contacts with patients with a confirmed Ebola infection.Training for health workers on infection control has started yesterday in…
WASHINGTON, April 10, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Press StatementJen PsakiDepartment SpokespersonWashington, DCApril 9, 2014The upcoming elections in Guinea-Bissau are an important step toward building a more stable, prosperous, democratic future for the Bissau-Guinean people. As the people of Guinea-Bissau go to the polls on April 13, we call on Bissau-Guinean authorities to create an environment that allows its citizens to express their will in peaceful, credible elections. At the same time, we encourage voters to participate fully in the democratic process and to make their voices heard peacefully. The United States remains a long-standing friend of the Bissau-Guinean people.…
PARIS, France, April 10, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Tens of thousands of refugees who have fled violence and deprivation in South sudan and sought refuge in camps in Ethiopia’s Gambella region are faced with a lack of water, food, and sanitation and are suffering from a range of emergency medical conditions, including highly infectious measles, the international medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said today. An estimated 80,000 refugees who escaped violence, persecution and food shortages in Jonglei, Upper Nile, and Unity States in South sudan have arrived in Ethiopia over recent months. Within weeks, the combined refugees’…
ROME, Italy, April 10, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Farmers and herders in sudan need urgent support to help prevent the food security situation in the country from deteriorating further, FAO warned today. Some 3.3 million people are currently suffering from food insecurity with numbers likely to rise to 4 million in the coming months due to a combination of increased conflict and displacement in Darfur, refugee movement from neighbouring South Sudan, poor harvest and spiralling food prices. In some areas of Sudan, existing crisis levels of food insecurity are expected to deteriorate to emergency levels in the coming few…
KINSHASA, Dem. Rep. of Congo (DRC) April 10, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Rape and sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) remain very serious concerns, with thousands of victims, in particular in the east of the country, over the past four years, according to a UN report released Wednesday. The report also indicates that, while some progress has been made in the fight against impunity for sexual violence, much more needs to be done to hold perpetrators of sexual violence accountable. “There is no excuse for sexual violence, and its widespread impunity creates even more injustice.…
WASHINGTON, April 10, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Media NoteOffice of the SpokespersonWashington, DCApril 9, 2014On Tuesday, April 8, U.S. Special Envoy to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Rashad Hussain traveled to the Central African Republic (C.A.R.) with an interreligious delegation of leaders from the United States representing several faiths to demonstrate solidarity between religious communities in the U.S. and the people of the C.A.R.The group met with C.A.R. religious leaders Archbishop Dieudonne Nzapalainga, Imam Omar Kobine Layama, and Reverend Nicolas Guerekoyame Gbangou, who have actively come together in interfaith cooperation to promote religious tolerance and reconciliation in C.A.R.Together, the…
ABUJA, Nigeria, April 9, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (http://www.fmf.gov.ng) yesterday, April 8th, has been honoured with the prestigious David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award alongside Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever and Simao Jatene, Governor of the State of Para, Brazil in New York.Photo 1: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=981 (Governor of the State of Para, Brazil Simaol Jatene, Peggy Rockefeller Dulany, Chair of Synergos, Minister for the Economy Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and CEO of Unilever, Paul Polman)Photo 2: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=983Photo 3: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=982Photo 4: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=984Logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/nigeria-1.pngOkonjo-Iweala was joined by a list of high profile…
NAIROBI, Kenya, April 9, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — In a shocking display of indifference, senior United Nations Mission in South sudan (UNMISS) officials have refused to improve living conditions for 21,000 displaced people sheltering in a flood-prone part of a UN base, exposed to waterborne diseases and potential epidemics. Despite repeated requests from humanitarian organisations, UNMISS is taking no actions in the camp to improve their chances of survival. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) today questions the UN’s commitment to meeting the needs of the war-torn country’s most vulnerable groups and calls for immediate action to save lives in Tomping…
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, April 9, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, welcomes the formal commencement of the sudan National Consultative Dialogue through the convening of a National Political Parties Summit, which was chaired by President Omar Hassan al Bashir, on 6 April 2014. The Chairperson of the Commission acknowledges that this first meeting is an important step aimed at transitioning sudan into a new political dispensation where the issues of democracy, constitutional reform, economic stability, peaceful resolution of conflicts and diversity are effectively addressed. She recognizes the need…
NAIROBI, Kenya, April 9, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Police in the semi-autonomous republic of Somaliland on Thursday raided the Hargeisa offices of the independent Somali-language paper Haatuf and its sister English-language weekly, Somaliland Times, and suspended them indefinitely, according to local journalists and news reports.The police cited a court order that said the papers should be shut down for publishing false news and insulting officials, according to the same sources. Haatuf publishes six days a week. Local journalists and news reports suggested the closure was linked to a series of critical reports in the publicationsthat alleged government corruption and…
BRUSSELS, Kingdom of Belgium, April 8, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The spokesperson of Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs andSecurity Policy and Vice President of the Commission, issued the following statement today:”The High Representative extends her condolences to the family of former President Kumba Yalá and to the people of Guinea Bissau.On 13 April, Guinea-Bissau will hold a general election. The High Representative calls on allBissau-Guineans to pursue the electoral process peacefully in conformity with the electoral code and in respect of democracy and rule of law and to accept the election results. Only appropriate…
JOHANNESBURG, South-Africa, April 8, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Infobip (http://www.infobip.com), a global provider of mobile messaging and payments, announced today that it has launched the first ever end-to-end business messaging solution in South Africa. This makes Infobip the only provider to enable companies – banks, brands, OTTs, social networks, aggregators and others – a direct SMS messaging communication with their end-users, with no intermediary system at any point in the interaction chain. Logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/infobip.pngPhoto: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=974 (Silvio Kutic, CEO of Infobip)The robust solution consists of locally deployed, redundant messaging infrastructure: Internal Processing (IP) Core, and a proprietary A2P SMSC with…
MOGADISHU, Somalia, April 8, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) is outrageous by the closure of the Haatuf Newspaper offices in Hargeysa by the Somaliland police and urges the authorities to re-open the publication.Somaliland police stormed the offices of Haatuf newspaper in Hargeysa on Monday 07 April, 2014, following the orders of the regional court – accusing the newspaper for publishing false news – prompting the journalists on duty to flee, according to media reports.The National Union of Somali Journalists is outrageous by the raid of the newspaper offices and condemns the act in…
LAGOS, Nigeria, April 8, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The power sector in Nigeria is undergoing positive reform, paving the way for significant economic growth in all industries. The success of the power sector will need robust companies with the financial capability and the technical support of global technical partners in order to develop high performance power solutions. Logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/jmg.pngPhotos: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?searchterms=JMG&level=search JMG Limited (http://www.jmglimited.com) has always been a leader in Nigeria’s power generator industry. In order to leverage on the dynamic changes in the country’s power sector, it has signed a partnership agreement with Mitsubishi Turbocharger and Engine Europe B.V.…
NEW YORK, April 8, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:The Secretary-General condemns in the strongest terms today’s cold-blooded killing of two colleagues working for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) at Galkayo Airport in Puntland, Somalia. He expresses his deepest condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of the victims.The Secretary-General urges the relevant authorities to fully investigate this outrageous crime and to bring the perpetrators to justice without delay. He expresses his appreciation to all United Nations staff in Somalia for their continued…