Africa

• 3 July 2009
  AFRICA/GUINEA BISSAU - Presidential elections: second round 2 August between Kumba Yala and Malam Bacai Sanha Bissau (Agenzia Fides)- Guinea Bissau will vote in a second round of presidential elections. This was announced by the independent electoral Commission which made public the results of the first round held on 28 June (s ...
• 2 July 2009
  AFRICA/GUINEA - Alarm for consumption of heavy drugs; growing numbers of young people, many of them girls, seduced by heroine and cocaine Conakry (Agenzia Fides)- The Republic of Guinea (also known as Guinea Conakry) is no longer only a transit point for drugs (principally cocaine) on its way to Europe, it is a now a new market for drug traffickers. A war ...
• 2 July 2009
  AFRICA/LIBYA - Boost continental agriculture and address Africa's many crisis, focus for African Union Summit Sirte (Agenzia Fides)- Civil war in Somalia and piracy along its coasts, political crises in Zimbabwe and in Madagascar, civil war in the Darfur region of Sudan, how to boost Africa's economy, starting with agriculture. ...
• 1 July 2009
  AFRICA/SIERRA LEONE - Mgr Melchior de Marion Brésillac, whose sacrifice started Apostolic succession in Sierra Leone commemorated 150 years after his death Freetown (Agenzia Fides)- “The creation of the “ Apostolic Vicariate of Sierra Leone” by Pius IX, on 13 April 1858, marked a new start for Catholic missions in this part of West Africa which had been abandoned for ...
• 1 July 2009
  AFRICA/CAMEROON - “No to the legalisation of abortion” say the Bishops of Cameroon, where Parliament approves a law to ratify the Protocol of Maputo Yaounde (Agenzia Fides)- Yes, to the protection of African women from all kinds of violence and discrimination; No, to the legalisation of abortion. This was state by the Catholic Bishops of Caermoon in a statement sent ...
• 30 June 2009
  AFRICA/MOZAMBIQUE - “A time to reflect on the beauty of the priestly ministry and the evils which tarnish it ”: Bishops of Mozambique issue Pastoral Letter for the opening of the Year of the Priesthood Maputo (Agenzia Fides)- “We, the Bishops of Mozambique, intend neither to undervalue nor be indifferent to this moment of grace, which we consider an opportune occasion for collaboration with our priests, with our cons ...
• 30 June 2009
  AFRICA/KENYA - “This is the year to rediscover our priestly vocation ” Cardinal Njue says on the occasion of the opening of the Year of the Priesthood Nairobi (Agenzia Fides)- “My dear priests this is our year! Each of us is called to enter the chamber of his heart and rediscover the great honour God has conferred on him for the good of his people. I pray that each o ...
• 26 June 2009
  AFRICA /GUINEA BISSAU - calm reigns on election vigil, people heed religious leaders' joint appeals Bissau (Agenzia Fides)- On the eve of 28 June presidential elections, the situation in Guinea Bissau appears calm, Fides learned from local Catholic sources in the capital Bissau. “The electoral campaign is peacefully ...
• 26 June 2009
  AFRICA/EGYPT - The Catholic Church in Egypt prepares to celebrate the conclusion of the Year of St Paul Cairo (Agenzia Fides) - Most Catholic Eparchies and parishes in Egypt will celebrate in the next few days, the closing of the Year of St Paul. The event has been followed carefully by the faithful and offered them an opp ...
• 25 June 2009
  AFRICA/MADAGASCAR - On the eve of Independence Day gendarmes arrest suspected authors of dynamite attacks Antananarivo (Agenzia Fides)- On the eve of Madagascar's Independence Day, tomorrow 26 June, the gendarmes have arrested a group of persons, at least 8 according to some sources, suspected of belonging to a network of at ...
• 25 June 2009
  AFRICA - Falling demand for traditional drugs, but rising consumption of synthetic drugs in developing countries, according to a UN Report on drugs in the world Vienna (Agenzia Fides)- “ As long as demand for drugs persists, weak countries will always be targeted by traffickers. If Europe really wants to help Africa, it should curb its appetite for cocaine”, said Antonio Mar ...
• 24 June 2009
  AFRICA/SUDAN - Concerned for the situation in Southern Sudan, the international community meets in Washington to save the 2005 peace agreement Khartoum (Agenzia Fides)- Representatives of 32 different countries and international organisations met yesterday, 23 June in Washington to save the Southern Sudan peace agreement. The signing of the Comprehensive Peace ...
• 24 June 2009
  AFRICA/MALAWI - Backed by an unprecedented majority in parliament, Head of State prepares settles down to govern for another five years; Fides asks the opinion of a missionary Lilongwe (Agenzia Fides)- One month has passed since political and presidential elections in Malawi gave a second mandate to outgoing President Bingu wa Mutharika (see Fides 22/5/2009). Italian Monfort missionary, Fr Pie ...
• 23 June 2009
  AFRICA/SIERRA LEONE - “I am in my diocese. Shall I not share the plight of my children?”. The Catholic Church in Sierra Leone commemorates the first Vicar Apostolic on the 150th anniversary of his death Freetown (Agenzia Fides)- Catholics in Sierra Leone are commemorating Bishop Melchior de Marion de Brésillac, the country's Vicar Apostolic, who died 150 years ago. On the occasion of the anniversary Italian Xaverian mi ...
• 23 June 2009
  AFRICA/MADAGASCAR - Madagascar amidst hopes and uncertainties prepares to celebrate annual National Holiday, while the south continues to suffer hunger and thirst Antananarivo (Agenzia Fides)- While Madagascar waits anxiously for national dialogue to begin, the country is preparing to celebrate the annual National Holiday on 26 June. “The situation is calm, although both the pol ...