Africa

• 18 December 2007
  AFRICA/IVORY COAST - Demobilisation of Ivory Coast combatants to start on 22 December Abidjan (Agenzia Fides)- The long awaited process of disarmament, demobilisation and social reintegration of combatants in Ivory Coast will begin on 22 December. This was announced by General Philippe Mangou, Ivory Coast ...
• 18 December 2007
  AFRICA/SOMALIA - “Without an immediate intervention on the part of the international community Somalia risks a humanitarian catastrophe” says UN special envoy Mogadishu (Agenzia Fides)- More than 720,000 people have been forced to leave Mogadishu over the past few months because of Ethiopian soldiers and Transition government troops fighting militia groups linked with the Isla ...
• 14 December 2007
  AFRICA/ALGERIA - “These people deserve all the fraternal solidarity our little local Church can offer, however modest our means” said the Catholic Bishop of Laghouat after visiting Saharawi refugees in camps Algiers (Agenzia Fides) - “I have desired to visit these camps since the day I was appointed Bishop” Bishop Claude Rault of the diocese of Laghouat, in the Sahara region of Algeria writes in a letter to Fides after h ...
• 14 December 2007
  AFRICA/DJIBOUTI - “We are trying to solve the matter and obtain Fr Sandro's release” says Catholic Bishop of Djibout commenting the priest's detention Djibouti (Agenzia Fides)-“We are trying to solve the matter and obtain Fr Sandro's release” said Bishop Giorgio Bertin of Djibout diocese whose vicar general Rev Sandro De Pretis has been in prison since 28 October ...
• 13 December 2007
  AFRICA/CONGO RD - Nkunda militia advance in northern Kivu. “The leader of the rebels wants to negotiate from a stronghold obtain a pass for his crimes ” a missionary told Fides Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides)- Ever more critical the humanitarian situation in north Kivu in the east of Democratic Congo where, after forcing the regular army to withdraw, the rebels led by Laurent Nkunda took control of th ...
• 13 December 2007
  AFRICA/SOUTH AFRICA - “As Christians is it our duty to welcome Zimbabwean refugees ” says President of Southern African Bishops Pretoria (Agenzia Fides)- The Southern African Bishops have denounced the discriminate treatment given to emigrant citizens of Zimbabwe in South Africa due to the serious political and economic crisis in their country. I ...
• 12 December 2007
  AFRICA/ALGERIA - “The target was the United Nations and its work for peace” spokesperson for UN High Commission for Refugees tells Fides Algiers (Agenzia Fides)- “We are under the impression that the target was the United Nations and what it represents: working for peace and assistance for victims of violence” said Laura Boldrini, spokesperson for the ...
• 11 December 2007
  AFRICA/NIGERIA - Bishops' Conferences of West Africa form New Association at last: first president Cardinal Turkson, Archbishop of Cape Coast Abuja (Agenzia Fides)- Cardinal Peter Turkson, Archbishop of Cape Coast, in Ghana, is the first president of the Association of Bishops' Conferences of West Africa, a fusion of the new Association which is an amalgamatio ...
• 11 December 2007
  AFRICA/D.R. CONGO - “Formation is the key to democratic stability in Congo” head of Bukavu diocesan Justice and Peace Commission tells Fides Bukavu (Agenzia Fides)- “Our democracy is still young and fragile, but rich in opportunities for growth. Do not discourage us if we make mistakes, rather, at critical moments help us ” says Fr Justin Nkunzi, head of ...
• 10 December 2007
  AFRICA - "We urgently call on you to address the evils of these new forms of slavery in our times”: Catholic Bishops of Africa and Europe appeal to African and European political leaders meeting in a Lisbon Lisbon (Agenzia Fides)- “Slavery still persists today, and in more subtle ways, such as in the treatment of migrants and migrant workers, child labour, women and child trafficking, etc. The vast majority of African mi ...
• 6 December 2007
  AFRICA - Africa's skies call increasing numbers of passengers, but local airlines suffer from foreign competition Nairobi (Agenzia Fides)- African airspace is ever busier but local airlines are in danger of losing considerable market quota to foreign competitors. This was said by African experts Nairobi, Kenya, at an African Airline ...
• 6 December 2007
  AFRICA/D. R. CONGO - "With regard to the Great Lakes crisis the international community appears to have changed its course” a missionary told Fides after the Addis Ababa summit Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides)- “Government troops returned to Goma chanting victory, but we know they suffered heavy losses” said missionary sources in the east of Democratic Congo where the regular army has launched an o ...
• 5 December 2007
  AFRICA/D. R. CONGO - Great Lakes Summit; Congolese press sees US in front line in the quest for peace Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides)- “American Pax ”, “Nkunda challenges Bush: total war in north Kivu” are some of the titles of newspaper in Congo which are giving ample space to the Summit in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia, dedic ...
• 5 December 2007
  AFRICA - Two optical fibre cable projects will connect Africa with the rest of the world by 2010, the year of the World Football Championship in South Africa Nairobi (Agenzia Fides) - This month the East African Submarine Cable System (EASSy, see Fides 30/10/2007), will work on the construction an optical fibre cable destined to become the supporting axis of telecommunication ...
• 4 December 2007
  AFRICA/MALAWI - Subsidies for farmers end famine: even the New York Times praises the small African country for its “interventist” policies Lilongwe (Agenzia Fides)- Malawi has worked two miracles: it has managed to become a food exporter, although until 2005 its people were starving, and it has convinced an important international media to question the val ...