Africa

• 9 June 2014
  AFRICA/CONGO DR - Appeal for the release of 900 hostages, including three Assumptionist fathers kidnapped in 2012 Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - "For the people, priority is the fight against the Ugandan ADF-NALU rebels who have kidnapped at least 894 people, of whom there has been no news", said a representative of civil society in Nor ...
• 6 June 2014
  AFRICA/SOMALIA - Children under 5 years of age malnourished and at risk of infectious diseases Mogadishu (Agenzia Fides) - About 857 000 Somalis are in need of immediate aid, while more than 2 million are facing food insecurity due to drought, poor harvests and ongoing armed conflicts in the Country. Children are ...
• 6 June 2014
  AFRICA/NIGERIA - "Boko Haram threatens the unity of the army", says Cardinal Onaiyekan to Fides Abuja (Agenzia Fides) - "The problem of Boko Haram threatens to undermine the unity of the Nigerian armed forces, especially if one gets to the point of interpreting what is happening in northern Nigeria as a religious c ...
• 6 June 2014
  AFRICA/NIGERIA - The Bishops announce six months of prayer for peace in Nigeria Abuja (Agenzia Fides) - The Bishops of Nigeria are proposing an initiative of national prayer, from July to December, to restore peace in the Country, put to the test because of the violence of Boko Haram. According to a ...
• 5 June 2014
  AFRICA/ZIMBABWE - "Let’s help the people to help each other", says the President of the Episcopal Conference Rome (Agenzia Fides) - "The Church is close to the people especially helping them to help each other, creating networks of solidarity. Our action is addressed especially to the family. We make sure that groups of familie ...
• 5 June 2014
  AFRICA/GUINEA - Ebola outbreak in West Africa Conakry (Agenzia Fides) - Ebola outbreak that had already hit Guinea in April (see Fides 01/04/2014) is now spreading in Sierra Leone. The number of confirmed cases in Guinea in recent weeks has increased. On May 30, acc ...
• 4 June 2014
  AFRICA/CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC - New attacks against medical facilities and teams who work in Ndélé Bangui (Agenzia Fides) - "We are appalled by the aggression that our teams are being subjected to", reads a statement of the medical humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders (MSF), sent to Fides Agency, after ne ...
• 4 June 2014
  AFRICA/CONGO DR - Congolese expelled from Brazzaville: the two governments form a committee to verify human rights violations Kinshasa (Agenzia Fides) - The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, the capital Kinshasa) and the Republic of the Congo (capital Brazzaville) have formed a joint commission to investigate human rights violations commit ...
• 2 June 2014
  AFRICA/CAMEROON - Missionaries released: "A grace of God and a time of joy for the Church", said Cardinal Filoni who met them Yaounde (Agenzia Fides ) - "We thank God for this moment of joy he has given the Church of Cameroon", says Cardinal Fernando Filoni, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, in a statement released ...
• 2 June 2014
  AFRICA/SUDAN - "The condemnation of Mariam Yehya Ibrahim is a direct persecution of Christians " say the Sudanese Christian Churches Khartoum (Agenzia Fides) - The death sentence of Mariam Yehya Ibrahim, a Christian woman accused of apostasy, is a "clear and direct persecution of Christians in Sudan". This was denounced by the Christian churches in Su ...
• 31 May 2014
  AFRICA/MOROCCO – Healthcare for women and children improves Rabat (Agenzia Fides) – In Morocco in recent decades good progress has been made in the field of healthcare for women and children. Nevertheless the rate of mother-child mortality remains concerning, especially when t ...
• 31 May 2014
  AFRICA/SUDAN – Women in refugee camps beaten and tortured Gireida (Agenzia Fides) – Atrocities and violence continue in camps for refugees. Some 19 women in a camp for displaced persons in Gireida, are reported to have been beaten and tortured by armed men. The local Radio Da ...
• 31 May 2014
  VATICAN - Priorities for the Bishops of Equatorial Guinea: evangelisation ad gentes, family pastoral, ongoing formation for clergy and laity Mongomo (Agenzia Fides) – “Situated in the heart of central west Africa, the Church in Equatorial Guinea is one of the oldest in the sub-Sahara region. Our faithful here are the heirs of great missionary work undert ...
• 31 May 2014
  VATICAN – Like Mary “called to announce the joy of the Gospel”: Cardinal Filoni concludes the Marian month of May in Equatorial Guinea Mongomo (Agenzia Fides) – “Just as Mary feels called to visit her cousin Elizabeth to see how she is in her state of advanced pregnancy and to assist her, I like to think that I too, as a co-worker of the Holy Father ...
• 31 May 2014
  AFRICA/MALAWI - Malawi has a new President Lilongwe (Agenzia Fides)- Malawi has a new president. He is Peter Arthur Mutharika, 74 year old brother of Bingu wa Mutharika, President who died in 2012 while in office, succeeded by Joyce Banda who has led the country ...