Author: Database of Press Releases related to Africa

EL FASHER (DARFUR), Sudan, April 24, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — All media are invited to the opening ceremony of the Eighth meeting of the Implementation Follow–up Commission (IFC), established by the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD), which will take place on Monday 28 April 2014, at 09:30 hours, at UNAMID Headquarters in El Fasher, North Darfur.

The Chairperson of the IFC, His Excellency Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud, the Deputy Prime Minister of Qatar, and the African Union-United Nations Joint Special Representative and Joint Chief Mediator for Darfur, Mohammed Ibn Chambas, will brief the press on the outcome of meeting after its conclusion at approximately 12:30 hours.

The Commission, chaired by the State of Qatar, is the major mechanism for monitoring implementation of the DDPD. Commission membership includes the Government of the Sudan, the Liberation and Justice Movement, the Justice and Equality Movement-Sudan, representatives of Burkina Faso, Canada, Chad, China, Egypt, France, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America, the African Union, the European Union, the League of Arab States, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and UNAMID, which is also facilitating the meeting.

For further details on the DDPD and on previous IFC meetings, please visit:

http://unamid.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=11060&language=en-US

DUBAI, UAE, April 24, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Thuraya Telecommunications Company, a leading Mobile Satellite Services operator and The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) (http://www.westernunion.com), a leader in global payment services, today announced their agreement to offer top-up services for Thuraya prepaid SIMs for voice and data services using the Western Union® Quick PaySM service. The service is available at participating Western Union agent locations in the majority of the 200+ countries and territories in which the company provides services. This new and convenient method of payment enables Thuraya customers to recharge their pre-paid SIMS with no fee.

Logo Western Union: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/wu_logo.jpg

Michel Foricher, Vice President, Service Delivery, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe & CIS, Western Union said, “We are very pleased to collaborate with Thuraya. The Western Union QuickPay service will provide Thuraya customers the convenience of topping up their prepaid SIM cards at participating Western Union agent locations in our network, a quick and convenient facility for Thuraya customers, particularly those who may be in remote locations.”

“Our agreement with Western Union marks the first time in the world that a satellite telecoms operator is providing such a service. The service is a great convenience for customers who may be located in remote areas such as Sub-Saharan Africa. Thuraya customers can now top up their prepaid SIM cards easily and efficiently through Western Union’s global network of agent locations that offer the Western Union Quick Pay service. This is yet another example of Thuraya’s commitment to developing innovative solutions and enhancing our services for our growing customer base in emerging markets, with special focus of this deployment in Sub-Saharan Africa and CIS countries,” said Bilal El Hamoui, Vice President of Distribution at Thuraya.

The Western Union Quick Pay service further enhances and complements Thuraya’s existing distribution channel by offering an easy way for Thuraya customers to recharge their pre-paid SIMs. To top-up a Thuraya prepaid SIM card, a customer can simply visit a participating Western Union agent location, provide identification and their Thuraya phone number and re-load their prepaid SIM card with a cash payment. In addition, family, friends and colleagues can add pre-paid credit on behalf of a Thuraya user traveling abroad.

Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of the Western Union Company.

For further information please contact:

Shereen Hanafi

Director of Communications,

Thuraya

Tel: + 971-4-4488-888

Email: corporatecomms@thuraya.com

Rania Chidiac

Director of Corporate Communications,

Western Union

Tel: +971-4-4373642

Email: rania.chidiac@westernunion.com

About Western Union

The Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) (http://www.westernunion.com) is a leader in global payment services. Together with its Vigo, Orlandi Valuta, Pago Facil and Western Union Business Solutions branded payment services, Western Union provides consumers and businesses with fast, reliable and convenient ways to send and receive money around the world, to send payments and to purchase money orders. As of December 31, 2013, the Western Union, Vigo and Orlandi Valuta branded services were offered through a combined network of over 500,000 agent locations in 200 countries and territories and over 100,000 ATMs. In 2013, the Western Union Company completed 242 million consumer-to-consumer transactions worldwide, moving $82 billion of principal between consumers, and 459 million business payments. For more information, visit http://www.westernunion.com.

About Thuraya Telecommunications Company

Thuraya Telecommunications Company is an industry leading MSS operator and a global telecommunication provider offering innovative communications solutions to a variety of sectors including energy, broadcast media, maritime, military and humanitarian NGO. Thuraya’s superior network enables clear communications and uninterrupted coverage across two thirds of the globe by satellite and across the whole planet through its unique GSM roaming capabilities. The company’s diverse range of technologically superior and highly reliable mobile satellite handsets and broadband devices provide ease of use, value, quality and efficiency. Thuraya remains committed to serving humanity through delivering the essential tools for optimal connectivity, never leaving anyone out of reach. Visit: www.thuraya.com

BERLIN, Germany, April 23, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Foreign Minister Steinmeier issued the following statement in Berlin today (23 April) before departing with France’s Foreign Minister Fabius on a joint trip to Moldova, Georgia, Tuni…

GENEVA, Switzerland, April 23, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — FIFA would like to reiterate that contrary to some reports about the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ coverage in the Middle East and Northern Africa, including statements attributed to ZDF, FIFA’s broadcast partner in Germany, ZDF will not be broadcasting matches unencrypted on the Eutelsat Hot Bird satellite platform during the 2014 FIFA World Cup™. ZDF/ARD are media rights licensees for the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ for the German territory only. As such, their broadcasts will be available in the German language and restricted to Germany. beIN Sports is the exclusive Media Rights Licensee for the Middle East and Northern Africa.

Any broadcast of the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ by any FIFA Media Rights Licensee is intended for the territory or territories as listed in its agreement with FIFA. For a list of all Media Rights Licensees and their respective territories, please see the TV section on FIFA.com or use the direct link below.

ROME, Italy, April 23, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Countries need to shift to more sustainable food systems, stepping up action to mitigate and adapt to the effects of climate change, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva told participants at the seventh Forum on Agriculture in the Kingdom of Morocco.

“Everything we do needs to take climate change into consideration,” he stressed. “And the time is now. We cannot afford to wait.”

“Climate change has the potential to reconfigure the planet’s food production scenario,” Graziano da Silva said, adding that it reintroduced “an element of uncertainty” after decades in which hunger was caused more by a lack of access to the means to produce or purchase food, rather than insufficient supplies globally.

“The world’s poorest are particularly vulnerable,” he said. “Not only do they have fewer means to react, but they also tend to live in already marginal production areas,” where the impact of climate change in agricultural production is felt to an even greater extent.

He pointed to the recent findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which reflected these concerns and called for urgent action.

The Director-General also spoke about family farming as a tool for rural development and stability, pointing out that the United Nations had declared 2014 the International Year of Family Farming.

The high-level event included Alpha Conde, President of the Republic of Guinea; Ibrahim Keita, President of Mali; Aziz Akhannouch, Minister for Agriculture and Marine Fisheries of Morocco; and, agriculture ministers from a dozen other countries.

Cross-cutting issue

In his address, Graziano da Silva pointed out that climate change was a challenge that both large, modernized family farms and small-scale family farmers would need to face.

Climate change is an issue that cuts across a broad range of development priorities, including ending hunger, supporting sustainable production, reducing rural poverty, improving food markets and building resilience, Graziano da Silva said.

He noted that some 500 million family farms account for about 80 percent of the world’s holdings, yet also include many of the most vulnerable families globally.

Family farmers make up an estimated 70 percent of all food insecure households in rural areas of developing countries.

“By providing adequate support to family farming we can combat food insecurity by reaching out to a group that is in itself vulnerable, and by increasing food supply where we need it the most,” Graziano da Silva said. He added that linking productive support to social protection would help to jumpstart local and inclusive sustainable development.

Graziano da Silva lauded Morocco’s government for its Plan Maroc Vert, or Green Morocco Plan, for agricultural development, which he said recognized the distinct needs of both small-scale farmers and larger family farms.

He also credited Morocco with reducing undernourishment among its population to under 5 percent, in keeping with specific targets set by UN Millennium Development Goal 1 to reduce hunger and poverty by the year 2015.

“We cannot underestimate the importance that agriculture and small-scale production have in creating jobs and generating income,” said the Director-General. This would be crucial in Africa, he said, where half the population is under 25.

South-South Cooperation

The Director-General and the Moroccan Ministers of Agriculture and Marine Fisheries and of the Economy and Finance signed an agreement to support food security projects elsewhere in Africa through the FAO South-South Cooperation (SSC) programme. The innovative agreement is the first under FAO’s SSC initiative to combine government and private sector funds in this way.

JOHANNESBURG, South-Africa, April 23, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Today the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) (http://www.jse.co.za) revealed its new brand which demonstrates the bourse’s identity as a modern African marketplace that connects investors to growth opportunities globally.

New logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/jse-1.png

Photo JSE: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=1011

Photo 1: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=1013 (eona Jacobs, Director of Issuer and Investor Relations at the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE)

Photo 2: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/index.php?level=picture&id=1014 (Jeremy Sampson, Group Executive Chairman of Interbrand Sampson de Villiers)

The JSE’s logo and colour palette moves to a bold black, white and green combination while the typography takes on a clean, digital feel.

The revitalised brand follows on from an extensive brand audit where clients, employees and other stakeholders discussed their perception of the exchange and where the exchange needed to focus its energies.

“At the JSE we’ve been doing some serious thinking about our positioning in South Africa and the world. Our visual identity needed to represent our position as a leading African exchange which is driven for stakeholder growth and showcase the strong technology component of the business. It also needed to be more accessible to investors,” says Zeona Jacobs, Director of Issuer and Investor Relations at the JSE.

The JSE partnered with Interbrand de Villiers on the rebranding project. “Partnering with the JSE on a project as complex and high profile as this was a huge challenge and privilege’, says Jeremy Sampson, Group Executive Chairman of Interbrand Sampson de Villiers. ‘All organisations need to work very hard to stay relevant, be totally in tune with all stakeholders, plan for the future, ensure they look good at all times whilst continuously coordinating all touch points. To survive and prosper building and maintaining a strong brand is not an option, rather a business imperative.’

From the outset the JSE wanted the new brand to have meaning rather than just being a superficial make-over. The choice of black gives the brand a bold identity while the green symbolises growth and prosperity. The stacked lines or links in both the logo and other elements of the visual identity illustrate the JSE’s role as a secure platform for growth. “When you strip everything away, the role of an exchange is to act as a link. A link between listed companies, investors, global markets and between human solutions and digital technology,” adds Jacobs.

The rebranding project, due to the extensive consultation, employee involvement and a complete website redesign, took just over a year to complete. “A large component of the JSE’s marketing strategy is digitally focused and our website, as a key part of this, needed a complete make-over. The new website fits well with our desire to become more accessible. We want the website to be a rich source of content for existing and potential investors regardless of their level of knowledge as the being the ideal listing destination for companies to list,” continues Jacobs.

Along with the change to the exchange’s visual identity, brand names such as the Bond Exchange of South Africa (BESA) and the South African Futures Exchange (SAFEX) will fall away. “The JSE acquired SAFEX in 2001 and BESA in 2009 and we believe that these services have now been fully integrated into the exchange’s business. This also allows us to promote one cohesive brand rather than a cluster of related brands,” concludes Jacobs. The JSE’s derivatives clearing house Safcom will now be known as JSE Clear. The JSE’s hedge fund platform management business Nautilus, as a differentiated business within the JSE’s group of companies, will not change its name.

While the brand is officially launching today, all elements will be implemented in a phased approach until December 2014.

Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).

ABOUT JSE

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (http://www.jse.co.za) is based in South Africa where it has operated as a market place for the trading of financial products for 125 years. It connects buyers and sellers in equity, derivative and debt markets. The JSE is oneof the top 20 exchanges in the world in terms of market capitalisation and is a member of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE). The JSE offers a fully electronic, efficient, secure market with world class regulation, trading and clearing systems, settlement assurance and risk management. http://www.jse.co.za

Issued by:

Mari Blumenthal

H+K Strategies South Africa

Tel: +27 11 463 2198

Email: mari.blumenthal@hkstrategies.co.za

JSE contact:

Zeona Jacobs

Director: Issuer and Investor Relations

JSE Limited

NAIROBI, Kenya, April 23, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Following the tragic death of a 13-year old Kenyan girl who underwent female genital mutilation (FGM) last Monday, an organization that helps FGM victims obtain restorative surgery to reverse FGM effects, is urging Kenyan Health Secretary James Macharia to open Kenya’s first clitoral repair hospital.

Logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/clitoraid-1.png

Photo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/photos/nadine-gary.jpg (Clitoraid Communications Director Nadine Gary)

“FGM reversal surgery, which restores clitoral functioning, is a powerful deterrent to the barbaric, cruel and dangerous practice of female genital mutilation,” said Clitoraid (http://www.clitoraid.org) Communications Director Nadine Gary. “Why do something so unpleasant and painful when the results can easily be undone?”

[See “before and after” pictures of clitoral reversal surgery, courtesy of Clitoraid’s volunteer head surgeon, Dr. Marci Bowers, at: http://marcibowers.com/our-services/fgm/ ]

Clitoraid, which is in the final stages of opening a state-of-the-art clitoral repair clinic in Burkina Faso, also organized a humanitarian mission in Bobo Dioulasso last month in which 38 FGM patients recovered clitoral function.

“Four American volunteer doctors traveled to Burkina Faso to do those surgeries, and thanks to them, those 38 patients will now enjoy their lives as complete women,” Gary said. “The same humanitarian mission must be organized in Kenya without delay. Countless FGM victims have written to us from Kenya, and they’re begging us to provide the service in Kenya. They need our help to regain their sense of dignity and their capacity for physical pleasure.”

Gary said her organization has written to James Macharia offering to come and train a Kenyan surgeon to do the clitoral repair procedure free of charge if he or she is willing to learn the technique.

Noting that a pan-African FGM conference organized by Burkina Faso’s First Lady, Chantal Compaore, will be held April 24-26 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, Gary said Clitoraid is looking forward to the event.

“We’re looking forward to presenting our humanitarian project for Kenya at that gathering,” she said. “No time should be wasted, since we must act at once to save lives!”

Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of Clitoraid.

Media contact:

Abibata Sanon

avfe@clitoraid.org

+226-78886092

About Clitoraid:

Clitoraid (http://www.clitoraid.org) is an international non-profit organization offering clitoral repair surgery to FGM victims.

PARIS, France, April 23, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — CANAL+ AFRIQUE (http://www.canalplus-afrique.com) is pleased to announce the acquisition of broadcasting rights for the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ to be held from 12 June to 13 July 2014 in Brazil.

Logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/canal_afrique.jpg

CANAL+ AFRIQUE will broadcast the entire competition, on its CANAL+ channels, with every single match being aired live. CANAL+ FOOT will be fully dedicated to the competition for one month.

Throughout this major sporting event, CANAL+ subscribers on the African continent will benefit from exceptional broadcasting thanks to a team of well-known journalists and pundits, a daily highlights show and special shows as the competition advances.

“This exceptional commitment is illustrative of the desire of CANAL+ AFRIQUE to offer the very best quality of broadcasting to African television viewers, particularly for those countries whose teams have qualified”, explains David Mignot, Managing Director of CANAL+ AFRIQUE.

Broadcasting of the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ will further consolidate the unique football offering of CANAL+ in AFRICA which includes French Ligue 1, the Barclays English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish La Liga, the two largest European club competitions – the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League – and, lastly, the Africa Cup of Nations in 2015.

Distributed by APO (African Press Organization) on behalf of CANAL+ AFRIQUE.

PRESS CONTACT:

Françoise Le Guennou-Remarck

fleguennou.remarck@canal-plus.com

About CANAL+ AFRIQUE

A subsidiary of CANAL+ OVERSEAS, responsible for CANAL+ Group activities abroad and in French overseas departments, CANAL+ AFRIQUE (http://www.canalplus-afrique.com) has been the leading satellite pay-TV operator in Africa for over 20 years.

Responsible for programming and marketing CANAL+ channels, CANAL+ AFRIQUE is also operator of the CANALSAT package which comprises over 145 channels, radio stations and services in over 30 countries in Central and Western Africa.

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, April 23, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The African Union-led Regional Task Force (AU-RTF) troops in the Central African Republic (CAR), on 21 April 2014, captured a commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), Lt….

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, April 23, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, is deeply concerned at the continued deterioration of the security and humanitarian situ…