Africa

• 23 January 2009
  AFRICA/CONGO DR - General Nkunda, one of the main perpetrators in the war in North Kivu, arrested in Rwanda. One missionary tells Fides: “We are worried about the underhanded activity of the military operations.” Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) – Congolese rebel General Laurent Nkunda was arrested yesterday (January 22) evening in Rwanda in a joint operation carried out by Rwandan and Congolese armed forces. Nkunda, who is accused of ...
• 22 January 2009
  AFRICA/SUDAN - More signs of war on the horizon in Darfur, as the UN-African Union peacekeeping forces await reinforcements Khartoum (Agenzia Fides) – The rebels of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) have threatened to respond with a bloodbath if government troops attack their posts in southern Darfur. The JEM is one of the main guerri ...
• 21 January 2009
  AFRICA/ZIMBABWE - The “factory for poverty” exporting diamonds Harare (Agenzia Fides) - “Zimbabwe has become a factory for poverty,” says a local newspaper. Over 75 percent of the people in crisis-riddled Zimbabwe are living in desperate poverty, with children bearing the brunt. ...
• 19 January 2009
  AFRICA/KENYA - Funeral for Fr. Giuseppe Bertaina, Consolata missionary killed in a Nairobi mugging, to be held on Friday, January 23 Nairobi (Agenzia Fides) – The funeral for Fr. Giuseppe Bertaina, the Consolata missionary killed on January 16 in his office in Langata of the Philosophical Institute of the Consolata Missionaries in Nairobi, the capit ...
• 19 January 2009
  AFRICA/CONGO DR - The century-old tradition of catechetical training in the Archdiocese of Kananga Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) – In order to extend their pastoral services to all the inhabitants of the often large territories in their care, African priests and missionaries must rely on assistance from lay catechists, w ...
• 16 January 2009
  AFRICA/KENYA - “Fr. Giuseppe dedicated his entire life to education; for forty years he carried out his mission in Kenya”: the religious brother of a missionary killed today in Nairobi present his testimony to Fides Nairobi (Agenzia Fides) - “Father Giuseppe was a good, generous person who dedicated his entire life to education,” Agenzia Fides was told by Fr. Giuseppe Ettorri of the General House of the Consolata Missionaries, i ...
• 16 January 2009
  AFRICA/CAMEROON - Bishops of Cameroon invite the faithful to pray and make acts of charity in preparation for Pope Benedict XVI's visit in March Yaounde (Agenzia Fides) - “We give thanks to the Lord for allowing the Pontiff, the Universal Pastor, to chose to visit Cameroon, a missionary land consecrated for over a century to Mary, Queen of Apostles, by the Pall ...
• 15 January 2009
  AFRICA/DR CONGO - Attack on the Salesian community in Goma, eastern Congo, in the heart of the civil war, result of “the atmosphere of instability and insecurity that persists in the city of Goma,” Fr. Lacedonio of ANS tells Fides Goma (Agenzia Fides) - During the night between 14 and 15 January, the Salesian community at the Industrial Technical Institute in Goma (capital of North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo) suffered a violent attac ...
• 15 January 2009
  AFRICA/SUDAN - Former ideologist of the regime, who encouraged President to hand himself in to the International Crime Court for crimes in Darfur, is arrested Khartoum (Agenzia Fides) – The disputed former ideologist of the Sudanese regime, Hassan al-Turabi, was arrested in Khartoum by security forces, two days after having said in an interview that the President of Sudan, O ...
• 14 January 2009
  AFRICA - Franciscan “Africa Project” celebrates 25 years Nairobi (Agenzia Fides) – In 1983, then General Minister of the Friars Minor, Fr. John Vaughn, launched the “Africa Project” in Madagascar and the Maurice Islands. The initiative implied the participation of Franci ...
• 14 January 2009
  AFRICA - Ugandan guerrillas terrorizing the populations of East Congo and South Sudan Kampala (Agenzia Fides) – The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), the Ugandan guerrilla group that has spread terror and death through northern Uganda since 1986, continues attacking civilian populations in the northeastern ...
• 14 January 2009
  AFRICA/SOMALIA - Concerns for the fate of Somalia following the retreat of Ethiopian troops Mogadishu (Agenzia Fides) – The Ethiopian troops are in their final stages of retreat from Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, and have handed over security responsibilities to the weak troops of the Transitional Nation ...
• 13 January 2009
  AFRICA/NIGERIA - World economic crisis taking its toll on Jesuit activity: “We will have to tighten our belts, living in simplicity and in solidarity with the works and houses that are having the most difficulties in making ends meet.” Abuja (Agenzia Fides) – The world economic crisis is also taking its toll on the Society of Jesus. With this in mind, Fr. George W. Quickley, Provincial Superior of the North-West African Province, has written a letter ...
• 13 January 2009
  AFRICA/KENYA - The price of food remains too high, in spite of government aid; 10 million Kenyans at risk for hunger Nairobi (Agenzia Fides) – The food emergency continues in Kenya, where one third of the population, 10 million people, is at risk for going hungry. Among these, 1.5 million are children and 2.5 million are people suffe ...
• 13 January 2009
  AFRICA/NIGERIA - Inflation, loss of employment, government spending-cuts: the financial crisis is taking its toll on Nigeria Lagos (Agenzia Fides) – The global financial crisis and the drop in the cost of fuel are seriously threatening the economy in Nigeria. According to economic experts, interviewed by the loval press, the depreciation of ...