Africa

• 19 May 2005
  AFRICA/RWANDA - “The Church in Rwanda is a lively reality” Chairman of Bishops’ Conference tells Fides Rome (Fides Service)- “Our young people are the future of the Church in Rwanda. We must start with them it we want to heal the wounds of the past” Bishop Alexis Habiyambere S.J. of Nyundo chairman of the Catholic Bis ...
• 18 May 2005
  AFRICA/GUINEA BISSAU - Most people in Guinea want the elections, but supporters of former President Kumba Yala need help to overcome fear and diffidence Bissau (Fides Service) - Calm has returned to Bissau, capital of Guinea Bissau where yesterday, 17 May there were clashes between the police and participants in a demonstration in favour of former President Kumba Yala ( ...
• 18 May 2005
  AFRICA/TOGO - “Let us not be discouraged! Let us continue to pray and pray and pray for our country”: Christian leaders in Togo address the people Lome (Fides Service)- Let us not be discouraged. We must pray and pray and pray for our country Togo, day and night, always and everywhere!. Let us build a chain of prayer until the country is out of the crisis”. With ...
• 18 May 2005
  AFRICA/ETHIOPIA - While waiting for official election results, government and opposition both claim victory in parliamentary elections on 15 May Addis Ababa (Fides Service)- In Ethiopia a growing number of Opposition members are claiming victory after parliamentary elections held on Sunday 15 May. According to the Opposition 92 seats went to the main group CUD, ...
• 17 May 2005
  AFRICA/CHAD - Violence in refugee camps in Chad: UN High Commission for Refugees seriously concerned N’Djamena (Fides Service) - UN High Commission for Refugees UNHCR is seriously concerned about violence in recent weeks in refugee camps in eastern Chad in which four people were killed. The situation in the camps at ...
• 17 May 2005
  AFRICA/GUINEA BISSAU - Uncertainty and concern in Guinea Bissau after declarations by former President Kumba Yala Bissau (Fides Service)- “The situation is complicated from the juridical point of view but the main concern is on the political level” said Fr Davide Sciocco, PIME missionary with long experience in Guinea Bissau wh ...
• 17 May 2005
  AFRICA/DEMOCRATIC CONGO - Next year presidential elections. Democratic Congo adopts new constitution Kinshasa (Fides Service)- “I have promised to lead the people to elections and my promise will be kept” said President Joseph Kabila during a solemn ceremony yesterday 16 May in Kinshasa for the adoption of a new Con ...
• 16 May 2005
  AFRICA/ETHIOPIA - Good turn out for parliamentary elections: “this is a positive sign for the country’s democracy” Addis Ababa (Fides Service)- “The first results show the turnout was far higher than expected. This is a positive sign which confirms the progress of democracy in our country ” say local sources in Addis Ababa, capit ...
• 14 May 2005
  AFRICA/ETIOPIA - Tomorrow Young Ethiopian democracy goes to the polls to elect a new national parliament and eight regional parliaments Addis Ababa (Fides Service)- “This is a democratic process which must be encouraged: Ethiopia’s elections cannot be read with Western spectacles. Ethiopia has only known democracy for 12 years” said local sources i ...
• 13 May 2005
  AFRICA/TUNISIA - Migration and human trafficking: 16 national Caritas from countries in the Middle East, Horn of Africa and North Africa meet in Tunis Tunis (Fides Service)- Migration and human trafficking was the topic discussed at a Caritas MONA meeting in Tunis which opened Monday 11 May. Caritas MONA which comprises 16 countries of the Middle East, Horn of Africa a ...
• 13 May 2005
  AFRICA/SUDAN - Representatives of two armed opposition movements in Darfur promise to resume talks with the Sudanese government Rome (Fides Service)- A solemn promise “to resume as soon as possible talks in Abuja under the aegis of the African Union without pre-conditions” was made by the representatives of the two armed Opposition movements ...
• 13 May 2005
  AFRICA/DEMOCRATIC CONGO - UN peacekeeper killed and 6 wounded in Ituri: local militia group suspected. “But the regular army troops also attack civilians” Bunia (Fides Service)- “We are waiting to see how the UN Mission in Congo MONUC reacts to the attack on UN peacekeepers from Bangladesh in which one was killed and 6 others were wounded” said local forces in Bunia, ...
• 12 May 2005
  AFRICA/ANGOLA - Arms: south-south agreement. Angola will purchase weapons for 100 million dollars from Brazil Luanda (Fides Service) - A south-south agreement, sale and purchase of 100 million dollars worth of arms is being arranged between Brazil and Angola after a visit to Brasilia in early May by Angolan President José Eduar ...
• 12 May 2005
  AFRICA/NIGERIA - Ibadan Serra Club visits seminaries in the Archdiocese to supportand encourage vocations Ibadan (Fides)- A delegation of Ibadan Serra Club in Nigeria recently paid its annual visit to St. Theresa’s Minor Seminary and to the Saints Peter and Paul Major Seminary in the archdiocese of Ibadan. The delegatio ...
• 12 May 2005
  AFRICA/TOGO - Violence, intimidation and fraud during 24 April elections says statement by Justice and Peace Commission of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference Lome (Fides Service)- Number of seats “variable” (between 5,311 and 5,320 according to various sources also official), incomplete electoral lists, voters found in possession of more than one voting paper, intimidatio ...