Category: APO-OPA

GENEVA, Switzerland, May 29, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Ebola virus disease, West Africa (Situation as of 27 May 2014)

Guinea

From 23 May 2014 to 27 May 2014, four (4) new districts reported 14 new EVD clinical cases and 5 deaths as follows: Boffa (5 cases and 1 death), Télimélé (7 cases and 4 deaths), Boke (1 case and 0 death) and Dubreka (1 case and 1 death). Community and nosocomial transmission are still occurring in Guéckédou, Macenta and Conakry.

As at 18:00, 27 May 2014, the total cumulative number of cases due to EVD is 281 and 186 deaths. The classification of these cases and deaths are as follows: confirmed (163 cases and 103 deaths); probable (66 cases and 56 deaths) and suspected (44 cases and 23 deaths). The geographical distribution of the cases is as follows: Conakry (48 cases, and 26 deaths), Guéckédou (176 cases and 126 deaths), Macenta (31 cases and 19 deaths), Kissidougou (7 cases and 5 deaths), Dabola (4 cases and 4 deaths), Djinguiraye (1 case and 1 death) in addition to the cases and deaths in the newly affected areas. The total number of cases in isolation is 16 (10 in Guéckédou, 3 in Télimélé and 3 in Boffa). The number of contacts under follow-up is 427 (250 in Conakry, 213 in Guéckédou, 126 in Macenta, and 88 in Télimélé).

Sierra Leone

In Sierra Leone, 16 cases, (7 laboratory-confirmed, 9 suspected) and 5 community deaths have been reported from Kailahun district. The district is located in the eastern region of Sierra Leone sharing borders with Guéckédou in Guinea and also with Liberia.

Liberia

In Liberia there have been no new cases since 9 April 2014. Social mobilization and surveillance have been enhanced in border districts.

The number of cases remains subject to change due to reclassification, retrospective investigation, consolidation of cases and laboratory data, enhanced surveillance.

WHO response

In response to the confirmation of EVD outbreak in Sierra Leone, WHO held multi-level teleconference to review the situation and propose key actions to be taken. These include, establishment of Emergency Response Team at WHO Country Office, deployment of experts, logistics and supplies and provision of catalytic funds.

WHO is facilitating the active participation of national authorities and community leaders to address community resistance and hiding of cases in some communities in both Guinea and Sierra Leone.

In Guinea, Ministry of Health and partners have mounted a response including outbreak investigation, risks assessment, case management, infection control in the newly affected districts and social mobilization targeting the resistant communities in Guéckédou and Conakry.

WHO does not recommend that any travel or trade restrictions be applied to Guinea or Sierra Leone based on the current information available for this event.

Cholera Outbreak, South Sudan (Situation as of 27 May 2014)

On 15 May 2014, the Ministry of Health of South Sudan declared a cholera outbreak. The index case was retrospectively identified with onset of illness on 23 April 2014. Four cases have been laboratory confirmed following tests conducted by the African Medical Research Foundation laboratory in Nairobi, Kenya.

As at 25 May 2014, a cumulative total of 586 cholera cases, including 22 deaths (13 in hospital and 9 community deaths) have been reported. The majority of the deaths reported in hospital died on arrival. Cases have been reported from eight of 15 Payams (sub-counties) in Juba County with the most affected payam being Muniki, accounting for 25% of the reported cases.

Given the on-going conflict and crisis situation in the country, the poor prevailing sanitary conditions, the beginning of the rainy season, and the history of cholera outbreaks in the country, the Ministry of Health of South Sudan continues to monitor the situation in Juba and surrounding areas.

In response to the cholera outbreak, the Ministry of Health developed a cholera response plan and established a Cholera Response Task force which coordinates both health and Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) activities. Plans to establish a Cholera Command and Control Centre (C4) in Juba are in final stages. The C4 will strengthen the coordination of the outbreak response and support the emergency response task forces in all 10 States.

WHO and partners are supporting the Ministry of Health to coordinate the cholera outbreak response activities; conduct rapid assessments, alert and outbreak investigations and confirmation; establish Cholera Treatment Centres and infection prevention and control; engage in active surveillance as well as supervising safe burial of the deceased. The Task Force is also coordinating regular meetings and public health education and awareness activities at all levels and producing situational reports and other outbreak documents. The WASH cluster is promoting hand washing and proper disposal of solid and liquid waste, as well as household water chlorination.

The Ministry of Health, with the support of WHO, UNICEF, MSF, IOM, and Medair, conducted oral cholera vaccination campaigns in February 2014 in Mingkaman, Malakal, Bor, Tomping and Juba III IDP camps targeting over 160,000,000 internally displace persons and achieved more than 80% vaccine coverage in an effort to prevent a possible cholera outbreak in IDP camps.

WHO response

WHO has deployed experts, including epidemiologists, logisticians, public health officers, et al., medical materials and other resources to support the response to the cholera outbreak. WHO is also deploying experts to conduct a risk assessment as well as to provide technical support to the WASH cluster.

Based on current information available for this event, WHO does not recommend that any travel or trade restrictions be applied to South Sudan.

GENEVA, Switzerland, May 28, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Greater Horn of Africa Climate Outlook Forum has issued its seasonal outlook for the forthcoming June to August rainy season, factoring in the likely development of an El Niño event which may have significant climatic impacts over parts of Eastern Africa.

June to August constitutes an important rainfall season over the northern sector and the western parts of the equatorial sector of the Greater Horn of Africa (GHA) region. The regional consensus climate outlook indicates increased likelihood of near normal to below normal rainfall over most parts of the northern and equatorial sectors except for parts of north western Ethiopia; south-eastern Uganda and much of South Sudan which have increased likelihood of receiving near normal to above normal rainfall. The rest of the region is expected to remain dry as usual at this time of year.

Factors influencing the climate include sea surface temperatures over western Indian Ocean, together with the atmospheric and oceanic conditions collectively

associated with El Niño. Most models indicate that El Niño – neutral conditions will persist through part of the remainder of the Northern Hemisphere spring 2014 season (March-May) and most likely transitioning to El Niño during June-August months. WMO is monitoring the situation.

“Past records show depressed rainfall in Northern sector of GHA during strong El Nino years. It should be noted that many parts of the eastern sectors of the GHA received low rainfall during March to May 2014 season. Drought occurrence during the months of June-August would have far reaching consequences,” said the climate outlook.

The climate outlook was issued at the end of the 37th session of the Forum organized by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC),25-26 May 2014 in Khartoum, Sudan. It brought together national, regional and international climate experts as well as users of climate early warning advisories from sectors such as food security, health and water resources and for disaster risk reduction.

WMO has been supporting Regional Climate Outlook Forums around the world, ever since the inception of the first forum in Southern Africa in 1997. Regional Climate Outlook Forums presently serve more than half the world’s population. WMO is working to ensure that the climate outlook information is reliable and accessible to the user community as part of the Global Framework for Climate Services.

ISTANBUL, Turkey, May 28, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — As competition increases among government stakeholders vying for investment into power sector projects across Africa, the most competitive countries will gather in Istanbul to promote stability and bankability. The need for countries to compete was highlighted at the World Economic Forum in Nigeria earlier this month, when questions were asked about the ability of some countries to attract foreign private sector investment.

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In terms of investment generation for Africa, the power sector has traditionally been less attractive than elsewhere in the world. With large swathes of poor and crippling infrastructure, the market severely lacked bankability.

However, government representatives from South Africa, Mozambique, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Cameroon, Namibia, Ghana and Zambia are confirmed to showcase the transformations in investment policies and regulation with specific focus on FDI at the Africa Energy Forum (http://www.africa-energy-forum.com). It is clear that for these nations, the credibility is there and that capturing investment is of paramount importance.

The 16th annual Africa Energy Forum, hosted with the support of the Ministry for Energy, Turkey, will take place in Istanbul on 18 – 20 June 2014. The meeting will also host energy ministers from Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia, Cameron, with a final confirmation pending from the Nigerian Minister of Finance and the Minister of Mines & Energy, Cote d’Ivoire.

The Forum in remains a relevant and an important meeting for Africa, despite being held outside of the continent – it’s where the industry gathers to promote investment.

The event is organised by EnergyNet and is part of a global portfolio of investment meetings, conferences and infrastructure events focused specifically on power and industrial sectors across Africa. For more information visit http://www.energynet.co.uk

Event dates:

Conference & Exhibition: 18-20 June 2014

Location: Hilton Istanbul Bomonti Hotel & Conference Center

Website: http://www.africa-energy-forum.com

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

For more information:

Senior Marketing Manager: Mimi Oyelana

Tel: +44 (0)20 7384 8018

Email: mimi.oyelana@energynet.co.uk

GENEVA, Switzerland, May 28, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — People in Kidal and those who had to flee the city to escape clashes between the Malian armed forces and armed groups are facing a number of serious problems. The ICRC and the Mali…

BERLIN, Germany, May 28, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Christoph Strässer, Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid and Member of the German Bundestag, issued the following statement today (27 May 2014) on the sentencing to death of the Sudanese woman Meriam Yehya Ibrahim:

I am very concerned about the death sentence imposed on Meriam Yehya Ibrahim and am personally committed to working to save Ms Ibrahim’s life. The Federal Republic of Germany has already appealed to the Sudanese Government in Khartoum together with the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States and has urged it to strictly observe the Sudan’s international commitments to comply with human rights, particularly the right to freedom of religion or belief and the right to life. The Federal Foreign Office in Berlin has also urgently appealed to the Sudanese Embassy for the Sudan to observe human rights in the case of Ms Ibrahim.

The Federal Government condemns all forms of torture and inhuman treatment. The Sudan is obliged under international law to defend and promote religious freedom. The Sudanese Government has now acknowledged that the sentence may be flawed. The case has already been referred to a higher court, and I sincerely hope that a new verdict will be passed which complies with rule of law principles and reverses the death sentence. I call upon the Sudan to refrain from either imposing the death penalty or carrying it out.

Background information:

In mid May 2014 a Sudanese court of first instance in Khartoum condemned Meriam Yehya Ibrahim Ishag to death for abandoning her Muslim faith. The proceedings are still ongoing. Under Sudanese law all death sentences must be confirmed by the Supreme Court. In the Sudan, Islam is the state religion, but the Sudanese constitution also provides for the observance of various other religions and the free practice of faith.

PARIS, France, May 28, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ —

– Following the extremely successful launch by Orange of the original ALCATEL ONETOUCH PIXI which sold nearly 250,000 in 6 months, Orange is bringing the one of the most affordable smartphones available to customers across Africa & Middle East

– With advanced 3G and 4G networks, localised services, and affordable smartphones – Orange continues to accelerate mobile internet connections and usage across Africa & Middle East

– The smartphone, which retails from $60 with data, voice and SMS offers , makes a feature-rich Android Jelly Bean smartphone experience accessible to even more Orange customers

Orange (http://www.orange.com) today is announcing the launch of the ALCATEL ONETOUCH PIXI 2 smartphone – an affordable, feature-packed smartphone that will rapidly bring the benefits of the mobile internet to consumers across Africa and the Middle East.

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This launch follows the successful launch by Orange of the original ALCATEL ONETOUCH PIXI, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, which sold nearly 250,000 units across 6 months, rapidly becoming the most popular smartphone in Orange shops in African and the Middle East. One out of every five smartphones sold by Orange across Africa and the Middle East is now an Alcatel smartphone.

“The smartphone landscape is rapidly changing – with high quality smartphones becoming increasingly affordable and accessible,” said Yves Maitre, Executive Vice President, Connected Objects and Partnerships at Orange. “At Orange we continue to make the internet more accessible to our customers in Africa and the Middle East by providing the best phones and tablets, on the best networks, with localised content and services at a price that is accessible for even more of our customers.”

With the ALCATEL ONETOUCH PIXI 2, Orange offers customers a full featured 3G Android Jellybean 4.2 smartphone with a 3.5”HVGA screen, dual-core 1.0 GHz processor, 2GB of memory and 512 MB of RAM. The sleek smartphone weighs in at 100g and is only 10.5mm thick.

The ALCATEL ONETOUCH PIXI 2 comes pre-loaded with the top social networks and other popular applications, and Orange customers will have access to a range of great benefits, including:

• Orange Football Fan Club: Easily follow the news about their favourite teams and gain access to international football news. Personalise the app in order to follow your favourite teams. In-app gaming also allows you to play and bet on matches and to win prizes.

• Orange Updates: This application brings relevant and local applications directly to customers. Orange Updates offers the possibility to access the Orange apps catalogue which has been created together with local and international partners, and allows customers to download a variety of Orange apps at no additional cost.

• “My personal hotspot”: Access sharing across multiple screens with only one internet connection, and simply manage connections from all devices. Through ‘my personal hotspot’, in just one click the smartphone is transformed into a Wi-Fi hotspot.

• Lookout Mobile Security: Installed on every ALCATEL ONETOUCH PIXI 2 , this app provides anti-virus protection, monitors and saves data, encrypts your confidential information, and tracks the smartphone when it is either lost or stolen.

• My Orange: With ‘My Orange’, customers can stay in touch with their Orange account, following the rate of voice, SMS, & data consumption, and recharge their account.

• Control My Data : Allows customers to monitor their data consumption on the mobile network, Wi-Fi network and also when roaming. Control My Data notifies customers when they reach a data limit that they choose, and allows customers to block data usage by application.

“ALCATEL ONETOUCH is proud to be launching the ALCATEL ONETOUCH PIXI 2 with Orange, bringing the benefits of mobile internet available to even more consumers around the world.” said Dr. George Guo, CEO of TCL Communication Technology, creators of the ALCATEL ONETOUCH PIXI 2. “With our strategic partner Orange, we are committed to help everyone to explore and to create more in their daily lives.”

The ALCATEL ONETOUCH PIXI 2 is available today or will be launching soon with Orange in 21 countries across Africa, the Middle East and select countries in Europe and Asia.(1)

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

Press Contacts

Jeff Sharpe: +44 7887 620 901 – jeff.sharpe@orange.com

Tom Wright: +33 1 44 44 93 93 – tom.wright@orange.com

(1) The Alcatel Pixi 2 from Orange is available today in Kenya, Madagascar, Jordan, Cameroon, Egypt, Senegal and will be available in 15 other countries across AMEA in the coming weeks including Botswana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Niger, Republic of Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Vanuatu and Tunisia. Outside of AMEA, Orange will also be selling the Pixi 2 in Armenia and the Caribbean. Other countries may be added in the future.

Specification list:

• Standby Time: 3,5 hours working time

• Screen size: 3,5 inches HVGA

• Weight: 100g

• Thickness: 10.5mm

• Chipset: MT6572M, Dual Core 1.2 GHz CPU

• Camera Features: 2 mega pixel

• Connectivity: WiFi, 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 + A2DP, GPS/A-GPS, HSPA+ (HSDPA/HSUPA)

• Memory: RAM: 512MB; EMMC: 2GB, MicroSD (up to 32GB)

• Operating System: Android Jelly Bean (4.2)

• Sensor: Gravity sensor

• User interface: Micro USB, 3.5mm stereo audio jack headset, build-in MIC,

• Battery: 1300mAh

about Orange

Orange (http://www.orange.com) is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators with sales of 41 billion euros in 2013 and has 164,000 employees worldwide at 31 March 2014, including 101,000 employees in France. Present in 30 countries, the Group has a total customer base of more than 239 million customers at 31 March 2014, including 182 million mobile customers and 16 million fixed broadband customers worldwide. Orange is also a leading provider of global IT and telecommunication services to multinational companies, under the brand Orange Business Services.

Orange is listed on the NYSE Euronext Paris (symbol ORA) and on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol ORAN).

For more information on the internet and on your mobile: www.orange.com, www.orange-business.com, www.livetv.orange.com or to follow us on Twitter: @orangegrouppr.

Orange and any other Orange product or service names included in this material are trade marks of Orange or Orange Brand Services Limited.

GENEVA, Switzerland, May 28, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — An urgent call for protection of human rights, peace and security in the Middle East and South Sudan was recently issued by the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA (NCCUSA) at its first Christian Unity Gathering from 18 to 20 May in Washington, D.C.

While the NCCUSA, which represents member churches of the World Council of Churches (WCC), expressed solidarity with all communities affected by violence, it said, “We are particularly saddened when this violence impacts our sisters and brothers in Christian communities around the world.”

Conveying concern over conflicts in the Middle East region, the NCCUSA said, “While the qualitative presence of the Christian communities is robust, as they fulfil their ministry, offer social programs, foster interfaith relations, and support peace-making efforts, they are nonetheless impacted by such conflict.”

“We therefore remain steadfast in our solidarity,” the NCCUSA affirmed.

Making a special reference to Israel and Palestine, the NCCUSA called upon “relevant parties both inside and outside Israel and Palestine to seriously engage, despite ever-present setbacks, in the search for a peace agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians.”

Speaking about Syria and Egypt, the NCCUSA urged the relevant parties to end conflicts and encouraged the churches to continue to “pray, advocate and work for peace.”

In another statement, the NCCUSA said that South Sudan is among places where crimes against humanity, mass atrocities and warning signs of genocide are occurring.

“In moments of crisis such as the one now facing South Sudan, the collective voice of the communions that comprise the NCC have been clear and strong in calling for policies and actions to prevent violence, to cease hostilities when they occur, and to foster reconciliation as a means of transforming conflict and injustice into justice and peace,” read the statement.

In its efforts to advocate for peace, the NCCUSA, along with its members, affirmed solidarity with its partner organizations, including the WCC, the Church World Service, the South Sudan Council of Churches, the Baptist World Alliance and United to End Genocide.

NEW YORK, May 28, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Secretary-General welcomes the adoption by the Security Council today of Resolution 2155 (2014) on South Sudan, which reprioritises the mandate of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) t…

MAPUTO, Mozambique, May 28, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Government of Mozambique will host a high-level conference on Africa Rising: Building to the Future in Maputo, Mozambique, on May 29-30 that will bring together policymakers, the private sector, and civil society from sub-Saharan Africa and beyond to discuss the challenges facing the region as it builds upon the strong economic gains made since the 2008 global economic crisis.

“The gains of the last decade, during which many countries in sub-Saharan Africa saw sustained high rates of economic growth and an impressive reduction in poverty, have been nothing short of remarkable,” said IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde. “However, there is still a long way ahead to meet the aspirations of the continent: extreme poverty is still too prevalent and there are new challenges posed by the global economy. Now is the time to look at the policies that will take the region to the next phase of its economic development.”

The IMF’s latest “Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa” from April projected economic growth in Sub-Saharan Africa to pick up to about 5.4 percent this year and 5.5 percent in 2015 from 4.9 percent in 2013. Excluding South Africa, growth is expected to reach 6.5 percent in 2014 and 2015. This acceleration reflects improved prospects in a large number of countries in the region, including most oil exporters and several low-income countries and fragile states. Economic activity in the region continues to be underpinned by large investments in infrastructure and mining, and maturing investments. However, African countries need to adjust to slower growth in emerging market countries that have helped boost regional growth in recent years, and tighter global credit conditions.

The Africa Rising Conference will bring together more than 300 participants, including finance ministers and central bank governors from throughout the region. Speakers will also represent development partners, including countries such as Australia, Brazil and China, the private sector and civil society. Among the issues they will discuss will be inclusive growth, structural transformation, natural resources management, and how the IMF can continue to support African countries’ economic growth.

WASHINGTON, May 28, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Press Statement
Jen Psaki
Department Spokesperson
Washington, DC
May 27, 2014

In light of Madagascar’s successful 2013 elections, and the installation of a new government earlier this yea…