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[MAP] Rabat -- The security and stability challenges facing Africa, and which manifest themselves in the multiplication of conflicts and crises, require a synergy of efforts and a concerted and united response from all, underlined, Sunday in Rabat, Minister Delegate to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Abroad, Mohcine Jazouli.
The president also stressed the importance of keeping the economy open after months of stifling movement restrictions.
He urged citizens not to drop their guard and continue adhering to the health rules, such as wearing face masks and respecting curfew times.
South Africa has recorded just over 800,000 coronavirus infections - more than a third of the cases reported across the African continent - and over 20,000 deaths.
AFP
The federal government also said wearing face masks in public places is compulsory, going by the COVID-19 regulations signed by President Muhammadu Buhari, pursuant to Quarantine Act.
In addition, the government has opened talks with Canada on the evacuation of Nigerians just as the Federal Ministry of Health has started implementing some measures to contain the health challenges posed by the virus based on the preliminary findings of the exploratory teams sent to investigate the unexplained deaths in Kano, Jigawa, Katsina, Sokoto, Bauchi and Borno States.
FG Urges Govs Not to Deviate from Presidential Guidelines
Ehanire's counterpart in the Ministry of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, advised governors not to jeopardise efforts at combating the spread of the virus by undermining the guidelines rolled out by the federal government.
FG Holds Talks with Canada on Evacuation of Nigerians
In his speech, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Godfrey Onyeama, said the federal government was engaging Canada on its refusal to give landing right to a Nigerian carrier that was detailed to evacuate Nigerians from the country.
Preliminary Reports Identifies Manpower Gap in Kano
On the situation in Kano and other northern states, Ehanire said although the final report from the Kano investigation was not ready, his ministry had identified manpower gap in the state and had started acting on the preliminary findings of the exploratory teams sent to investigate the unexplained deaths in Kano, Jigawa, Katsina, Sokoto, Bauchi and Borno States.
Dr Euloge Yiagnigni Mfopou on June 12, 2020 in Yaounde received the award from the International Committee of Excellence.
Dr Euloge Yiagnigni Mfopou, a Cameroonian cardiologist and Director General of the Good Health Promoters' Clinic located in the CRADAT neighbourhood of Yaounde was on Friday, June 12, 2020, awarded the Sub-regional Prize For Best Medical Practices in Central Africa.
In his citation, Alain Y. Fofie, the Chair of the Jury who presented the award, said Mfopou was rewarded \"as encouragement and recognition of his spirit of excellence and innovation in the care of patients.\"
The Jury Chair lauded Dr Mfopou for his clinic's warm welcome, compassion and care of patients, technical platform, dynamism and personal talent.
Testifying of the professional qualities of Dr Mfopou, Minister Mbarga Mboa said he had a health challenge in the past and the cardiologist prepared his medical file which he took to Europe.
MOSCOW, Russia (AP) — Polls opened in Russia yesterday for a week-long vote on constitutional changes that would allow President Vladimir Putin to stay in power until 2036.
The vote on a slew of constitutional amendments, proposed by Putin in January, was initially scheduled for April 22, but was postponed because of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The proposed amendments include a change in the constitution that would allow the 67-year-old Putin, who has ruled Russia for over two decades, to run for two more six-year terms after his current one expires in 2024.
The changes have already been approved by both Houses of Parliament, the country's Constitutional Court and were signed into law by Putin.
He insisted that they be put to a vote, even though it is not legally required, in what many see as an effort to put a veneer of democracy on the controversial changes.
Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister, Gedu Andargachew has rejected Egypt’s call to refer the dispute over Addis Ababa’s construction of the giant Nile dam to the United Nations Security Council.
The $4.6 billion project, on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia, would create the most powerful hydroelectric dam in Africa.
“The issue with the dam can be solved right here instead of taking it to the UN Security Council.
Truth be told, if they are thinking like that their issue is not with Blue Nile (dam), it is with a country called Ethiopia.
Unless this is a longing for war, the dam in fact encourages development, brotherhood, and creating ties”, the Ethiopian foreign minister added.
Khartoum — The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Asma Mohamed Abdalla, pointed out that Ethiopia have the right to build dams within its territories and to benefit from the water resource, noting that this must be in accordance with international charters and conventions and the basic principles that were signed by Sudan and Egypt Ethiopia.
Interviewed by Sudan TV on Saturday evening, Asma stressed that Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt shall sit for negotiation on the Renaissance Dam, indicating that Sudan has always been calling for negotiation as the only way to resolve such differences.
Asma has praised the role of the American mediator represented in the US Treasury and the World Bank in narrowing the differences and bringing together the views of the three countries, noting that the American mediator was closely following the file and showing great concern for reaching agreement in the Renaissance Dam file.
She called on the American mediator to continue his efforts aimed at bringing this crisis to satisfactory ends for the three parties.
The minister expressed her hope that the delegations of the three countries will engage soon in negotiations as for achieving solutions that are satisfactory for the three countries and meeting to their aspiration to benefit from the Nile water.
U.S. Department of State Background Note
Angola is located on the South Atlantic Coast of West Africa between Namibia and the Republic of the Congo. It also is bordered by the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north and east and Zambia to the east. The country is divided into an arid coastal strip stretching from Namibia to Luanda; a wet, interior highland; a dry savanna in the interior south and southeast; and rain forest in the north and in Cabinda. The upper reaches of the Zambezi River pass through Angola, and several tributaries of the Congo River have their sources in Angola. The coastal strip is tempered by the cool Benguela current, resulting in a climate similar to coastal Baja California. There is a short rainy season lasting from February to April. Summers are hot and dry, while winters are mild. The interior highlands have a mild climate with a rainy season from November through April followed by a cool dry season from May to October when overnight temperatures can fall to freezing. Elevations generally range from 3,000 to 6,000 feet. The far north and Cabinda enjoy rain throughout much of the year.
Estimates of Angolas population vary widely, as there has been no census since 1970, but it is estimated at no less than 15.5 million. Angola has three main ethnic groups, each speaking a Bantu language: Ovimbundu 37%, Kimbundu 25%, and Bakongo 13%. Other groups include Chokwe, Lunda, Ganguela, Nhaneca-Humbe, Ambo, Herero, and Xindunga. In addition, mixed racial (European and African) people amount to about 2%, with a small (1%) population of whites, mainly ethnically Portuguese. Portuguese make up the largest non-Angolan population, with at least 30,000 (though many native-born Angolans can claim Portuguese nationality under Portuguese law). Portuguese is both the official and predominant language.
In 1482, when the Portuguese first landed in what is now northern Angola, they encountered the Kingdom of the Congo, which stretched from modern Gabon in the north to the Kwanza River in the south.
Local Government and Rural Development Minister Desmond McKenzie is to table a motion in the House of Representatives today seeking to make Portmore the country's 15th parish.
From Kenya's perspective, it seemed like they already had it in the bag: In a secret ballot in February, the member states of the African Union (AU) nominated Kenya to take one of three African seats on the United Nations (UN) Security Council, which will become vacant in January 2021.
The importance of having three African, non-permanent members of the UN Security Council should not be undervalued, emphasizes Oloo: \"China wants to keep this group, which is known as A3.\"
So, what role could African countries like Kenya or Djibouti play in the Security Council?
However, South Africa joined the Security Council at a difficult time: The elections in DR Congo left little room for other issues and since 2020, the work of the South African diplomats have been significantly limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
I think it is time to have an African country as a permanent UN Security Council member, as the world becomes more and more interdependent.\"
An investigation into the Beitbridge border fence project has found that the government paid R17 million more than the market-related cost for a controversial fencing project that has been mired in controversy.
The rivers of Guinea and the islands of Cape Verde were among the first areas in Africa explored by the Portuguese in the 15th century. Portugal claimed Portuguese Guinea in 1446, but few trading posts were established before 1600. In 1630, a captaincy-general of Portuguese Guinea was established to administer the territory. With the cooperation of some local tribes, the Portuguese entered the slave trade and exported large numbers of Africans to the Western Hemisphere via the Cape Verde Islands. Cacheu became one of the major slave centers, and a small fort still stands in the town. The slave trade declined in the 19th century, and Bissau, originally founded as a military and slave-trading center in 1765, grew to become the major commercial center.
Portuguese conquest and consolidation of the interior did not begin until the latter half of the 19th century. Portugal lost part of Guinea to French West Africa, including the center of earlier Portuguese commercial interest, the Casamance River region. A dispute with Great Britain over the island of Bolama was settled in Portugals favor with the involvement of U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant.
Before World War I, Portuguese forces, with some assistance from the Muslim population, subdued animist tribes and eventually established the territorys borders. The interior of Portuguese Guinea was brought under control after more than 30 years of fighting; final subjugation of the Bijagos Islands did not occur until 1936. The administrative capital was moved from Bolama to Bissau in 1941, and in 1952, by constitutional amendment, the colony of Portuguese Guinea became an overseas province of Portugal.
In 1956, Amilcar Cabral and Raphael Barbosa organized the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) clandestinely. The PAIGC moved its headquarters to Conakry, Guinea, in 1960 and started an armed rebellion against the Portuguese in 1961. Despite the presence of Portuguese troops, which grew to more than
[Cameroon Tribune] Minister Felix Mbayu presided the tribute ceremony on July 14, 2020 on behalf of the Minister of External Relations.
The UN Security Council on Wednesday unanimously adopted two resolutions to create a mission in Sudan to support the country's political transition and extend the mandate of peacekeepers in Darfur, diplomats said.
The resolution on the new United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS) was drafted by Britain and Germany.
The mission was established \"for an initial period of 12 months,\" according to the text of the resolution, seen by AFP.
Britain and Germany also drafted the resolution on renewing the mandate of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) through December 31.
Civilians 'on attack frontlines'
In a joint report in March, the UN and the African Union however had recommended that the UNAMID be replaced by a political mission in late October, and called for the peacekeepers to be gradually withdrawn by that time.
PROFILE
OFFICIAL NAME:
Republic of Zimbabwe
Geography
Area: 390,580 sq. km. (150,760 sq. mi.), slightly larger than Montana.
Cities: Capital--Harare (pronounced Ha-RAR-e), pop. 1.5 million. Other towns--Bulawayo, Chitungwiza, Mutare, Gweru, Kwekwe, Masvingo, Marondera.
Terrain: Desert and savanna.
Climate: Mostly subtropical.
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Zimbabwean (sing.), Zimbabweans (pl.).
Population (2003 est.): 12.5 million.
Annual growth rate (2003 est.): 0.83%. (Note: the population growth rate is depressed by an HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate estimated to be 18% and a high level of net emigration.)
Ethnic groups: Shona 71%, Ndebele 16%, other African 11%, white 1%, mixed and Asian 1%.
Religions: Christianity 75%, offshoot Christian sects, animist, and Muslim.
Languages: English (official), Shona, Sindebele.
Education: Attendance--mandatory for primary level. Adult literacy--90.5% (2004 est.).
Health: Infant mortality rate--51.7/1,000 (2006 est.). Life expectancy--men 37 (2006), women 34 (2006).
Work force (2006 est.): 900,000 in formal sector.
Government
Type: Parliamentary.
Constitution: December 21, 1979.
Independence: April 18, 1980.
Branches: Executive--President (chief of state and head of government), Cabinet. Legislative--In the 150-seat House of Assembly, 120 seats are popularly elected and 30 are directly appointed by the president or selected through a process strongly influenced by him. In the 66 seat Senate, 50 seats are popularly elected, 6 are directly appointed by the president, 8 chiefs are elected from the 8 rural provinces (excluding the metropolitan provinces), and 2 are the president and vice president of the Council of Chiefs. Judicial--High Court, Court of Appeal, local and customary courts.
Administrative subdivisions: Town Councils and District Councils.
Main political parties: Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF); Movement for Democratic Change (MDC); United Peoples Party (UPP).
Economy
GDP (2006
Grant Reynolds was a civic leader, civil rights activist, World War II chaplain, attorney, and educator. He was best known as a leading force in ending segregation in the United States Armed Forces…
The UN Security Council called on Thursday for \"sustained efforts\" in preventing the illegal trade of natural resources from the Democratic Republic of Congo, as gold in particular fuels conflict between armed groups in the region.
The UN experts who monitor implementation of the sanctions detailed multiple cases of trafficking in a recent report, stating that gold from the country was flowing into Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, the United Arab Emirates and Tanzania.
The document specified that the United Arab Emirates promised to tighten controls on the source of gold arriving in the country.
\"The group traced Congolese gold to regional refineries and other international destinations and found that some refineries acted as brokers, used cash payments, undertook refiner-to-refiner trading and used corporate networks to obscure ownership, thereby inhibiting supply chain accountability,\" the report said.
The experts added that \"in terms of natural resources, the Congolese gold sector remained vulnerable to exploitation by armed groups and criminal networks and to unregulated trading.\"
Three top Somalia leaders--Prime Minister Hassan Ali Kheyre, Somalia's ambassador to the UN Abubakar Dahir Osman and the Speaker of the Senate, Abdi Hashi Abdullahi--have promised that the country will hold its first universal suffrage elections since 1969, despite current challenges suggesting the contrary.
Parliament was set to meet on June 6 to review the election timetable.
The seventh session of parliament was scheduled to open in April, to hear the report of the National Independent Electoral Commission on the mode of election.
Mr Osman, on May 30 while addressing a UN Security Council in a discussion of the African Union Mission in Somalia (Amisom), said the country is determined to conduct a one-man one-vote election.
Mr Abdullahi said that both the presidential and parliamentary elections will be held on time despite the country facing several challenges.
The new Malawi Electoral Commission, MEC, chief Chifundo Kachale also urged the public to observe necessary legal processes in dealing with electoral grievances.
June 23: Malawians vote in crucial presidential poll rerun despite virus
\tVoters in Malawi have already started casting their ballots today in crucial presidential election rerun pitting incumbent Peter Mutharika and opposition coalition leader Lazarus Chakwera.
Malawi joins a number of African countries that went ahead with elections despite the virus .
Confirmed cases = 749
\t\tActive cases = 480
\t\tRecoveries = 258
\t\tNumber of deaths = 11
\t
John Hopkins Uni stats valid as of June 22, 2020
\tU.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on “all political actors and stakeholders to renew their commitment to credible and peaceful elections, while observing all preventive measures against the spread of COVID-19,” the U.N. spokesman said.
VIDEO
\tA number of local and international organizations will observe the new elections, in an effort to make sure that they are free and fair, the newly-elected chairman of the Malawi Electoral Commission Chifundo Kachale said.
It has been a promising beginning for the new Minister of Sport, Charles Ramson Jnr. Though only days on the job, the minister has begun his term like the
The Alliance For Change tonight released its list 9 MPs for the new Parliament.
The article AFC releases list of nine MPs appeared first on Stabroek News.
The UN Security Council has extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
In a resolution seen by The East African, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the Council renewed the mandate up to March 15, 2021.
“The Council…requested me to report on the implementation of the mission’s mandate every 90 days.
“It covers political and security developments between 16th February 2020 and 31st May 2021, the humanitarian and human rights situation, and progress of the mission’s mandate,” he said.
The Council praised the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) for supporting South Sudan’s government, especially in the formation of a unity government.
Addis Abeba — The 15 member states of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) are set to take a vote this afternoon on whether to hold an open virtual meeting on matters concerning the Great Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), Addis Standard has learnt.
However, it's unlikely that member states reach at a consensus since elected members South Africa and Niger from Africa as well as St. Vincent and Grenadines of Southern Caribbean nation have opposed the idea of a meeting, which leaves the Council divided.
A foreign diplomat who is observing the matter and who spoke to Addis Standard expressed his concerns at Washington's insistence - by siding with Egypt - to force the Council into what amounts to a \"procedural vote,\" which he said in the COVID-19 era was \"unprecedented.\"
The UN Security Council hasn't taken any 'procedural vote', a rare mechanism through which the Council resolves differences, to break a deadlock among its 15 members since at least mid-March 2020.
The UNSC member states agreed to do away with 'procedural vote' since they no longer meet in the Chamber because of COVID-19 restrictions.
The African Union has reiterated endorsing Kenya for the upcoming vote for the UN Security Council seat in what could strengthen Kenya's chances ahead of the election due June 17.
\"The Mission has the honour to remind that the African Union endorsed the Republic of Kenya for a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council for the term 2021-2022,\" the Mission headed by Ms Fatima Kyari Mohammed, said in the note on June 9.
The move by the AU came after the Africa Group, the association of African members at the UN which routinely work together to push policies for the continent at the UN, indicating Kenya had received due endorsement at the African Union last year in August.
Botswana's Permanent Representative to the UN Collen Vixen Kelapile, the current chair of the group, then asked the AU Mission to clarify the status of African candidature to the UN Security Council.
Djibouti have argued they should be the sole African candidate this year based on the rotation policy and given the fact that Kenya has been at the UN Security Council more times.
[Monitor] The government is proposing to test all teachers for Covid-19 ahead of school reopening.
In August 2012, Prime Minister Zenawi died at age 57 after a long illness. Zenawi had been in power since 1995. He is credited with lifting the country out of famine to the point that Ethiopia began exporting food, reducing poverty, increasing economic growth, and improving infrastructure. However, Zenawi was repressive and dictatorial, arresting and imprisoning activists, journalists, and members of the opposition. Relations between the U.S. and Ethiopia improved under Zenawi, with Ethiopia helping the U.S. combat Muslim militants in Africa. The U.S. gives Ethiopia some $800 million in aid annually. Hailemariam Desalegn, the minister of foreign affairs, succeeded Zenawi.
On October 7, 2013, Mulatu Teshome Wirtu became the fourth president of Ethiopia. He previously served as Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Cooperation, Minister of Agriculture, and Speaker of the House of Federation. He also served as the countrys Ambassador to China, Japan and Turkey. He was elected president by Parliament. The vote was unanimous. Mulatu Teshome replaces Girma Wolde-Giorgis who could not seek re-election due to term limits.
By Henry Mhara The shiny limousines and ramshackle taxis that share Zimbabwe’s roads have one thing in common — both sets are among thousands of vehicles that are smuggled into the country annually, prejudicing the treasury millions of dollars in taxes. With the local car assembly industry hardly operating, Zimbabweans have been forced to import cars, and figures from the government statistics office ZimStats shows that more than US$5 billion has been spent on vehicle imports since 2009. But some of the cars are brought into the southern African illegally by corrupt importers who undervalue their cars in connivance with clearing agents, law enforcement agents and government officials, according to recent court records. An expert in the sector says Zimbabwe is losing about US$5 million dollars every year to smuggling, under-invoicing of car imports, money which could be used to procure national essentials such as drugs. “We are struggling economically and in these desperate times, we could be using this money for COVID-19,” said the official from the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra), who declined to be named. Zimbabwe is battling to finance its already ailing health sector to deal with coronavirus as local cases continue to rise. In a letter written in June to the World Bank, IMF and the African Development Bank, Finance minister Mthuli Ncube said Zimbabwe needed at least US$200 million to fight the pandemic. Official statistics show that, on average, 4 000 new and pre-owned vehicles imported from countries such as Japan, Britain and South Africa are cleared for entry through Zimbabwe’s Beitbridge border post every month with Zimra collecting at least US$8,5 million dollars in taxes. Zimra is currently charging up to 96% duty for used car imports so on average, a modest vehicle attracts import duty of between $2 500 and $5 000. Beitbridge on Zimbabwe’s border with South Africa, is southern Africa’s biggest inland port. While Zimra officials were available to discuss details of vehicle smuggling, recent high profile court cases involving a top government official and a businessman give as insight into the magnitude of the problem. Former Principal Director for State Residences in the Office of the President and Cabinet Douglas Tapfuma was sentenced to four years in prison in June after being convicted on three counts of criminal abuse of office for importing duty-free eight vehicles through the use of forged documents. Wealthy businessman Genius “Ginimbi” Kadungure, who has a collection of top-of-the-range sports cars, was recently convicted of under-declaring the price of a Bentley Continental GT that he bought in South Africa last year, and paying US$81 000 in import duty instead of nearly $140 000. This scam was a classic case of trade under-invoicing, which is responsible for a substantial proportion of illicit financial flows around the world. According to US based Global Financial Integrity (GFI), trade misinvoicing cost Zimbabwe US$1 billion over a ten-year period indicating the in adequate detecting systems i
