Africa

• 14 June 2005
  AFRICA/SOMALIA - The weight of the clan still makes itself felt: Somali President barred from landing in Somalia’s “temporary” capital Mogadishu (Fides Service)- The president of Somalia Abdullahi Yusuf who left Nairobi capital of Kenya yesterday directed to Qatar and other Persian Gulf countries for a pan-Arab consultation has yet to return to his coun ...
• 13 June 2005
  AFRICA/CÔTE D'IVOIRE - St. Thérèse Salesian mission makes another pressing appeal: urgent aid needed in the Duékoué area for over 15,000 civilians who have lost everything Duekoue (Fides Service) - Since the beginning of June in the area of Duekoue, diocese of Man, there have been clashes between Dioula and Guere people in which at least 69 people have been killed and thousands forced to a ...
• 13 June 2005
  AFRICA - “The G8 decision to cancel debts of the poorest countries is excellent news”: Fides hears from the voice of the Church in Africa Rome (Fides Service)- Local Catholics and missionaries in Africa expressed satisfaction tempered with prudence as to the application of debt reduction after a decision by the G8 to cancel the debts of 18 countries in Afr ...
• 13 June 2005
  AFRICA/DEMOCRATIC CONGO - UN High Commission for Refugees organises repatriation of Angolan refugees from Democratic Congo Kinshasa (Fides Service)- As part of its voluntary-repatriation programme for Angolan refugees in the next two weeks the United Nations High Commission for Refugees UNHCR is planning an airlift to help 303 Angolans retur ...
• 11 June 2005
  AFRICA/LESOTHO - “The Catholic Church is the country’s first institution for education” Bishops from Lesotho on ad limina visit to Rome told Fides Rome (Fides Service)- “Catholic schools are the most numerous” a group of Catholic Bishops from Lesotho told Fides in an interview on June 10 in the Vatican. Bishop Bitsoane Evaristus Thatho Bitsoane of Qacha’s Nek ...
• 11 June 2005
  AFRICA/LESOTHO - Info: Rome (Fides Service) - Lesotho is a constitutional parliamentary monarchy styled after the British system. It has an area of 30,355 sq. km and a population of 2,100,000: 32.50% Catholic; 35% Anglican and Lutheran; 29.77% ...
• 10 June 2005
  AFRICA/NAMIBIA - “The local Church contributes towards national development in Namibia, oasis of stability in southern Africa” Catholic Bishops tell Fides Rome (Fides Service)- “Namibia is an example of stability for the whole of Africa” a group of Namibian Catholic Bishops told Fides yesterday in an interview in the Vatican. Archbishop Liborius Ndumbukuti Nashenda of ...
• 7 June 2005
  AFRICA/CÔTE D' IVOIRE - Dramatic telephone call from Duékoué: “How long can the miracle last? More than 15,000 people now sheltering at our mission” Duekoue (Fides Service)- The number of refugees being sheltered at the Salesian mission in the western Côte d'Ivoire town of Duékoué has risen to 15,000 (see Fides 2 and 3 June 2005), a Salesian priest told Fides ov ...
• 7 June 2005
  AFRICA/BURKINA FASO - National Mission Office of the Italian Bishops’ Conference meets Italian Missionaries operating in Burkina Faso Ouagadougou (Fides Service) - On June 3 at the St Camillo Centre in Ouagadougou run by the Camillians there was a meeting between the National Mission Office of the Italian Bishops’ Conference and Italian missionaries ...
• 7 June 2005
  AFRICA/MADAGASCAR - The tragic situation in Madagascar prisons. Trinitarian Father Angelo Buccarello former prison chaplain in Antananarivo Rome (Fides Service)-“This is a story which is not new and which keeps on repeating itself” said Trinitarian Father Angelo Buccarello former prison chaplain in Antananarivo capital of Madagascar, with regard to worse ...
• 6 June 2005
  AFRICA/SOUTH AFRICA - “We are still a young democracy which must give more attention to moral values and social justice”: Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier Archbishop of Durban told Fides Rome (Fides Service)- “South Africa is still a young democracy which must learn to find rapid solutions to urgent problems such as how to achieve greater social justice and give more attention to moral values” Cardi ...
• 6 June 2005
  AFRICA/TOGO - Increasing number of Togolese seek safety in other countries, says UN High Commission for Refugees Rome (Fides Service)- The number of people fleeing from Togo to Benin continues to rise. Over 1,000 new arrivals were registered last week the United Nations High Commission UNHCR for refugees said in a report sent to Fi ...
• 6 June 2005
  AFRICA/CHAD - Chadians called to the polls to amend the country's Constitution N’Djamena (Fides Service)- Not many people are expected to vote in the constitutional referendum today 6 June, in Chad in which citizens are called to approve amendments to the constitution which if passed will allow P ...
• 3 June 2005
  AFRICA/CÔTE D' IVOIRE - Land dispute sets fire to west Côte d'Ivoire. Christian forgiveness is the only path to peace Abidjan (Fides Service)- “This is a tribal conflict triggered by land claims” said a local source in Côte d'Ivoire where the death toll resulting from violence in the western region of Duékoué, continues to rise ( ...
• 3 June 2005
  AFRICA/BURUNDI - Local elections: “An important test for the future of our democracy”. Tension, shooting and possible intimidation, hand grenade explosion kills voter at polling station Bujumbura (Fides Service)- “These local elections are a fundamental test for the electoral process which will culminate with presidential elections at the end of the Summer” a local source told Fides with regard to ...