Africa

• 10 November 2008
  AFRICA/DR CONGO - 1,100 women and children have been taken in by a VIS (International Volunteer Program for Development) camp in downtown Goma. The Salesian NGO's Press Office Director shares her testimony with Fides. Goma (Agenzia Fides) - “The humanitarian crisis is of drastic proportions, as the fighting brings more and more people into Goma,” Fides was informed by Giulia Pigliucci, of the Press Office of the NGO “VIS” (Int ...
• 10 November 2008
  AFRICA/CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC - "There is a need to recover the elements of African tradition that are compatible with the Catholic faith, in order to promote a new evangelization,” PMS National Director tells Agenzia Fides Rome (Agenzia Fides) – “Our country is very large (with a surface area of 622,984 km²) and has a fairly small population (3,600,000 inhabitants), located in the center of Africa. This is one of the main reasons behi ...
• 7 November 2008
  AFRICA/DR CONGO - Fides learns of dramatic testimonies from the humanitarian crisis in Kivu Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - “The humanitarian situation in North Kivu is one of catastrophic proportions,” Fr. Sylvestre, Director of the Radio Maria “Queen of Peace” in Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu. “We ar ...
• 7 November 2008
  AFRICA/DR CONGO - Summit in Nairobi opens in search of a solution to the North Kivu crisis, as conflict continues Nairobi (Agenzia Fides) – Today in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, the Summit of the Great Lakes Countries will begin. The participants will discuss the war taking place in North Kivu, in northeastern Congo. The Summit ...
• 6 November 2008
  AFRICA/DR CONGO - North Kivu: the Universal Church takes measures to help the peoples affected by the conflict Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) – The Catholic Church is taking measures to help the people of the war-torn area of North Kivu. “Is history repeating itself? Are we up against another episode of genocide? The images are not ...
• 6 November 2008
  AFRICA/DR CONGO - “There are 1,600,000 people in North Kivu at risk for starvation in the coming months,” says a missionary in Bukavu Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - “The humanitarian tragedy in North Kivu will last even longer. The rainy season has come and the fields that should be tilled and sown are abandoned. There are 1,600,000 people who rely on in ...
• 5 November 2008
  AFRICA/DR CONGO - Amidst war and propaganda, Kivu continues to suffer; Kinshasa sends in the Mai Mai militia to fight rebels Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) – Nkunda's rebels have taken over Rutshuru (in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo), where they are trying to give an impression of normality, allowing humanitarian aid to reach the local peop ...
• 4 November 2008
  AFRICA/ERITREA - Capuchin Poor Clares are working closely alongside the people of Eritrea, in concrete aid and prayer Asmara (Agenzia Fides) – In 1973, the Capuchin Fathers who had been present in Eritrea for some time, with a flourishing province, made a petition asking that a contemplative monastery of Capuchin Poor Clares be establ ...
• 3 November 2008
  AFRICA/DR CONGO - Kivu: ceasefire maintained, however the humanitarian crisis continues; local press reports on the interests behind those in favor of a new war Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) – Taking advantage of the ceasefire, a UN humanitarian aid convoy reached Rutshuru, North Kivu (eastern Democratic Republic of Congo), an area currently in the hands of Laurent Nkunda and his r ...
• 3 November 2008
  AFRICA/ZAMBIA - New President Rupiah Banda takes office, under the same flag as his predecessor, who died in August Lusaka (Agenzia Fides) – On November 2, in a ceremony that took place just hours following the announcement of the election results from October 30, the new President of Zambia, Rupiah Banda, took office. The new ...
• 31 October 2008
  AFRICA/DR CONGO - Thousands of civilians are fleeing: “The drama of North Kivu affects the international community,” says the President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Cardinal Martino Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) – Thousands of people are in flight (40,000 according to UN sources) from North Kivu (in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo), moving towards Rwanda and Uganda, while rebel leader Laurent Nkun ...
• 31 October 2008
  AFRICA/DR CONGO - Kivu: the war in “the Switzerland of central Africa” - Analysis Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) – Kivu is a region of 256,000 km sq. in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (former Zaire, Belgian Congo), which gets its name from Lake Kivu which, with an area of 270,000 km ...
• 29 October 2008
  AFRICA/DR CONGO - “Goma has become a starvation camp,” missionaries reveal in a statement denouncing human rights violations in East Congo Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) – “The war that has already claimed 5 million lives has recommenced. The Congolese Bishops are describing it as a ‘cover-up’ war, used to distract attention from the exploitation of the n ...
• 29 October 2008
  AFRICA/SOMALIA - Five terrorist attacks in Somaliland and Puntland, including a UN headquarters building Mogadishu (Agenzia Fides) – There have been a series of attacks reported in Somaliland and Puntland, two regions in the north and northeastern regions of Somalia, generally considered safer than the central region wher ...
• 28 October 2008
  AFRICA/ANGOLA - “The visit of His Holiness Benedict XVI is an inspiration to continue evangelizing the country,” the Apostolic Nuncio of Angola tells Fides Luanda (Agenzia Fides) - “The news of the Holy Father's visit has been received with joy and surprise by the Church and the entire population here,” Archbishop Giovanni Angelo Becciu, Apostolic Nuncio of Angola, told ...