NEW YORK, March 7, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Members Hear from Heads of Peacekeeping, Humanitarian, Refugee Agency as African, Country Representatives Offer Regional, National PerspectivesDespite significant and progressive gains made by African Union and French troops in the Central African Republic, the situation in the strife-torn country remained extremely grave, senior officials told the Security Council today, urging immediate action to prevent further bloodshed. Briefing on the latest security and humanitarian developments were Hervé Ladsous, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations; Valerie Amos, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator; António Guterres, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; and Téte…
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BANGUI, Central African Republic, March 7, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The escalation of violence in Central African Republic (CAR), mainly in the north of the country, is undermining vital humanitarian assistance for people who are already suffering due to limited access to aid, the international medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warned today. The presence of fugitive armed groups and increased chaos across the country, including the capital Bangui, have led to an escalation of insecurity, which has left communities vulnerable to extreme violence. International humanitarian organisations have also been subjected to robbery and looting. MSF teams in…
LONDON, United-Kingdom, March 6, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Minister for Africa, Mark Simmonds, calls for unhindered access for UN and humanitarian agencies following escalation of violence in Darfur.Commenting on recent reports of increasing violence in Darfur, the Minster for Africa Mark Simmonds said:“I am deeply concerned to hear reports of an escalation of violence across Darfur, which has led to the displacement of over 40,000 people from their homes, particularly in South Darfur. I condemn the deplorable tactics used against civilians, including the destruction and burning of villages. “The Government of sudan has primary responsibility for protecting civilians. It…
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, March 6, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, welcomes the conclusion of Phase II of the South sudan Peace Process, after two weeks of substantive consultations on a Declaration of Principle and a Framework for Political Dialogue towards National Reconciliation and Healing. She commends the IGAD Special Envoys, including its Chair, Ambassador Seyoum Mesfin, for their relentless efforts towards the resumption of the political negotiations and the progress they have achieved thus far.The Chairperson of the Commission welcomes, in particular, the progress made in finalizing…
MOGADISHU, Somalia, March 6, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — For the first time, Somali farmers are turning themselves into suppliers of high-quality food assistance for their fellow Somali people. A new initiative backed by the European Union (EU), the government of Austria and two United Nations food security agencies has helped Somali farmers achieve this major agricultural breakthrough in a region of the country that was gripped by famine less than three years ago. With the support of the EU and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), small-scale farmers have boosted the yields and quality of their maize grains,…
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, March 6, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — INVITATION TO THE MEDIAThe Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H.E. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, will, on Friday, 07 March 2014 at 11:30 to 12:00 hold a press briefing for the representatives of international and local media. The press briefing will be held in Briefing Room1 at the new AU Conference Center, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
BEIJING, China, March 6, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — From February 27 to March 2, 2014, Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Ming paid a visit to Madagascar. He met with President Hery Rajaonarimampianina of Madagascar and held talks with Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs Victor Manantsoa.Zhang Ming congratulated Hery Rajaonarimampianina on his assumption of office as the new President of Madagascar and Madagascar’s completion of political transition process. He said that China and Madagascar enjoy a time-honored friendship. Since the establishment of the diplomatic relationship in 1972, the bilateral relations have enjoyed smooth development, with fruitful cooperative results yielding in various…
MOGADISHU, Somalia, March 6, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) today called on the authorities in Puntland and Galmudug to guarantee the safety of journalists named on a hit list that was found on an Al-Shabaab fighter. Galmudug security forces recently arrested an Al-shabaab fighter by the name Abdihakim Hassan Hamud after he killed and wounded civilian people in northern Galkayo and found on him a list of Mudug region officials, journalists and business people he was supposed to assassinate. Galmugud handed Hamud to Puntland. Hamud, who claimed to be from Eelbuur town in…
GENEVA, Switzerland, March 6, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Authorities in Somaliland must re-open the offices of an independent newspaper in Hargeisa, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said today. According to IFJ affiliate, the National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), the Hubaal newspaper in Hargeisa, Somaliland, has been closed since 13 December, 2013, following a raid by the police rapid reinforcement unit (RRU). Police continue to occupy the newspaper’s headquarters. “We are deeply disturbed by the actions of Somaliland authorities to shut down Hubaal newspaper and forcefully occupy its offices,” said Gabriel Baglo, IFJ Africa Director. “Authorities in Hargeisa…
HARARE, Zimbabwe, March 6, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The European Union (EU), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Government of Zimbabwe have launched a major programme to assist poor smallholder farmers to boost production, productivity and engage in commercial agriculture through integrated farming approaches. The 4-year US$19 million (13.78 Million Euro) programme will be managed by FAO and will focus on smallholder irrigation and livestock production support activities. FAO’s Subregional Coordinator for Southern Africa and Country Representative in Zimbabwe, David Phiri, said, “This partnership between the Government of Zimbabwe, the EU and FAO…
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, March 6, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The U.S. government and African partners met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for a dialogue on strategic approaches to countering violent extremist messaging in the greater Horn of Africa region. The Feb. 23–28 workshop was co-hosted by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS) and attended by approximately 60 professionals.The communication abilities of extremist groups were on display during the September 2013 terrorist attack on Westgate Mall, in Nairobi, Kenya, by the Somalia-based Al Shabaab group. During the four-day siege, the attackers orchestrated a sequenced social media messaging campaign explaining why…
DJIBOUTI, Djibouti, March 4, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — U.S. military, U.S. Embassy-Djibouti and key Djiboutian personnel in Eastern Africa traveled to Sankal, Djibouti, and participated in opening ceremonies for a new health clinic Feb. 13, 2014.Rear Adm. Alexander Krongard, Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) deputy commander, received a warm welcome from the Sankal residents and said he was very pleased with the end result of the clinic.“Today is the culmination of over two years of hard work and collaboration between the Ministry of Health, USAID, and the U.S. military engineers from the Combined Joint Task-Horn of Africa;…
LAGOS, Nigeria, March 4, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Investors in the Nigerian Capital Market are in for good times as The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) (http://www.nse.com.ng) has commenced the reduction of the cost of its Trade Alert service by about Naira 1.24 billion from March 2014 via the scrapping of the current charge of 0.06% of every trade on The Exchange and an introduction of an enhanced notification system, X-Alert which will be charged at a flat fee of N4 per transaction.Logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/nse-1.jpg Speaking on the development, Mr Ade Bajomo, Executive Director of Market Operations and Technology at The…
DAKAR, Senegal, March 4, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for West Africa and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa (UNOWA), Mr. Said Djinnit, strongly condemns the renewal of killings perpetrated over the week end by unidentified armed groups in the localities of Maiduguri, Mainok and Mafa in Borno State. Mr. Djinnit is concerned about the escalation of acts of terrorism in the north eastern Nigeria, including along the border with Cameroon.The recent attacks which resulted in the death of more than 80 people are further unspeakable violence against innocent civilians…
KHARTOUM, Sudan, March 5, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in sudan a.i., Mr Adnan Khan, has expressed his deep concern at reports of thousands of people having to flee their homes due to fresh fighting between armed movements and the Sudanese Armed Forces and its allied paramilitary groups in the Um Gunya area of South Darfur. “The latest fighting in the Um Gunya area has displaced over 15,000 people from their homes, possibly many more,” said Mr Khan. “The majority of those fleeing the fighting have gone to Al Salam and Kalma camps…
WASHINGTON, March 5, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Funding Opportunity AnnouncementBureau of Population, Refugees, and MigrationMarch 4, 2014Funding Opportunity Number: PRM-PRMOAPAF-14-008Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number: 19.517 – Overseas Refugee Assistance Programs for AfricaAnnouncement issuance date: Tuesday, March 4, 2014Proposal submission deadline: Thursday, April 3, 2014 at 12:00 p.m. noon EDT. Proposals submitted after this deadline will not be considered.**ADVISORY: All applicants must submit proposals through the website Grants.gov. PRM strongly recommends submitting your proposal early to allow time to address any difficulties that may arise.** Please refer to PRM’s General NGO Guidelines “New to PRM Funding” section for…
WASHINGTON, March 5, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — TestimonyAmbassador Donald BoothSpecial Envoy to sudan and South sudan Before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Human Rights, and International OrganizationsWashington, DCFebruary 26, 2014Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Bass, and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify before you today.This hearing comes at a tumultuous time for both Sudan and South Sudan. South Sudan continues to be mired in a devastating internal conflict that, while relatively recent in its emergence, has already caused widespread death and destruction, and threatens to unravel the social fabric of this…
WASHINGTON, March 5, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Media NoteOffice of the SpokespersonWashington, DCMarch 4, 2014Special Envoy for the Great Lakes Region of Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (D.R.C.) Russell D. Feingold will travel to London and The Hague this week to meet with donor partners, including with the Great Lakes Contact Group. He intends to discuss next steps in supporting the Peace, Security, and Cooperation Framework peace process, including Angola’s facilitation of a regional dialogue during its chairmanship of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, implementation of the Nairobi Declarations, and Uganda’s alarming Anti-Homosexuality…
BANGUI, Central African Republic, March 5, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General a.i. of the United Nations, Georg Charpentier, arrived in the Car on March 1, and has immediately assumed duty. Mr. Charpentier will also serve as the Resident Coordinator and Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the Central African Republic at the level of Assistant Secretary General (ASG). “It is an honor and a pleasure to contribute to the UN efforts in the Central African Republic at an important moment in its history,” Mr. Carpenter said after his…
BRUSSELS, Kingdom of Belgium, March 4, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — European Commissioner for Development, Andris Piebalgs, will announce €620 million of new EU support to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and €460 million for Rwanda for the period 2014-2020, during a visit to the Great Lakes region in Central Africa together with the Belgian Minister for International Cooperation, Jean-Pascal Labille. The amounts represent a significant increase of funding compared to recent years. Overall, governments and regional organisations in Central Africa, which comprises ten countries, will receive close to €3 billion of EU support over the period 2014-2020.Ahead of…