Category: APO-OPA

LONDON, United-Kingdom, January 9, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The acquittal of two Cameroonian men jailed for “looking gay” because they wore women’s clothes exposes the systematic discrimination against perceived homosexuals in the country, Amnesty International said today as the pair’s convictions were overturned by an appeals court.

Jonas Kimie and Franky Ndome have spent more than a year in prison following their arrest outside a nightclub in the capital Yaoundé in July 2011. They are among numerous people in Cameroon who have faced persecution for their perceived homosexuality.

The two men are awaiting release from jail after Yaoundé’s Court of Appeal yesterday declared them innocent of homosexuality.

“Jonas Kimie and Franky Ndome must now be released without delay,” said Godfrey Byaruhanga.,central Africa researcher at Amnesty International.

“The appeal court’s ruling is a positive step, but the Cameroon authorities must do more to end discrimination of people accused of same-sex relations.”

Jonas Kimie and Franky Ndome were wearing women’s clothing at the time of their arrest. They deny the police’s claim that they were having oral sex in a taxi they were travelling in.

“We have been imprisoned for dressing differently,” Franky Ndome told Amnesty International last month.

Ndome and Kimie said they been subjected to violence and prejudice from prison authorities and other inmates while in jail.

Ndome told Amnesty International that in June 2012 he was beaten by prison guards for refusing to plait a female guard’s hair.

Violence, arbitrary arrests and other human rights violations targeting individuals because of their real or perceived sexual orientation are commonplace in Cameroon, and have been on the increase since the mid-2000s.

Jean-Claude Roger Mbede was arrested in March 2011 after sending a text to a man saying that he was in love with him.

He suffered from malnutrition and regular beatings in jail, and his three-year prison sentence was upheld in December.

Victims of abuse are often too scared to seek protection from the police, who often participate in the abuse with complete impunity.

Amnesty International’s upcoming report on human rights concerns in Cameroon, due to be published later this month, documents cases of harassment of perceived Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersexual (LGBTI) people in the country.

“The Cameroon authorities routinely ignore violence and discrimination against LGBTI people and this must be addressed,” said Byaruhanga.

LONDON, United-Kingdom, January 9, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Exset B.V. (http://www.exset.com), pioneers of TV ecosystems for emerging markets, has announced two key international appointments. This reflects a highly successful 2012 and continued expansion into 2013, particularly for its Digital Monetisation System (DMS) and its vital ability to counteract the digital divide in emerging markets and empower populations via the TV screen.

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Hema Suri joins the company as Director of Business Development for Strategic Markets, concentrating on Africa and the CIS countries. Suri’s most recent role has been with BBC Worldwide Channels as Regional Manager for North India, including Pakistan and Nepal. Based in Dubai, Suri has a Masters in Mass Communication from the University of Leicester (UK) and a Specialisation in International Business from IMM Calcutta.

Rahul Agarwal has joined Exset as a Product Manager for set-top boxes (STB) and is focusing on both Asian and African markets. He brings with him vast experience of working with some of the major broadcast giants including BSkyB and Channel 4 in the UK. He has headed major STB projects and is working to deliver the best technical solution cost-effectively for emerging markets. Agarwal is based in the UK office.

Alex Borland, CEO, Exset, said, “We are pleased to welcome both of these key talents to Exset as the company continues to expand its business in emerging markets. Their experience is invaluable, helping Exset’s customers to take advantage of digitisation and to be able to monetise pay-TV networks where previously impossible.

Gary Ellis, Exset CTO, added, “The skillsets that these two possess will assist Exset in driving our cutting edge technologies into the pay-TV domain, allowing operators to secure and monetise their networks and also to make them future proof.”

DMS – an award-winning solution – bridges the gap between technology and value-added services. It allows digital television platforms to be created that can then be monetised where previously impossible. The result allows populations to benefit from new information and entertainment services, while partnering with governments to achieve digital switchover and bringing social transformation.

Exset is also a leading global supplier of conditional access technologies.

Distributed by the African Press Organization on behalf of Exset.

About Exset:

Exset (http://www.exset.com) is a broadcast technology and solutions company founded in 2011. It is based in The Netherlands with offices in the UK, Estonia and India. Exset provides complete solutions to the television industry focusing on emerging markets where localisation, social and economic factors require a fresh approach to traditional technology supply. Exset works collaboratively to provide a unique service, understanding developing markets and working with TV operators in to monetise platform deployments.

Exset contact:

Andrew Pons

Director of Marketing

+44 (0) 7595 002 542

Email: andrew.pons@exset.com

PR Contact:

Joss Armitage

Jump PR

Email: joss@jumppr.tv

Tel: +44 (0)207 737 4238

Mob: +44 (0)7979 908547

NEW YORK, January 9, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — An appeals court in Burundi today dropped terrorism charges against jailed journalist Hassan Ruvakuki and reduced his sentence from life to three years in prison, according to local journa…

ABIDJAN, Côte d’Ivoire, January 9, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Ms. Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), issued the following statement in Abidjan today at the conclusion of her visit to Côte d’Ivoire:

“It has been a pleasure to be in Côte d’Ivoire on my first visit to this warm and hospitable country as IMF Managing Director. I wish to thank President Alassane Ouattara, Prime Minister and Finance Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan, as well as Ms. Nialé Kaba, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office in charge of Economy and Finance, for their hospitality and for the fruitful discussions. I also had the honor to address National Assembly, during an extraordinary session, chaired by Speaker Guillaume Soro. I also met with civil society, business, and women. I also visited the Filtisac textile plant and the School of Statistics and Applied Economics (ENSEA). It was with great pleasure and deep emotion that I visited the Villages d’Enfants SOS with First Lady Dominique Ouattara.

“I complimented the authorities on the country’s strong economic recovery, which the IMF is supporting through a three-year US$615.9-million Extended Credit Facility (about CFA 300 billion) at zero interest rate. I welcomed their ambitious National Development Plan for 2012–15, which should stimulate public investment, boost growth performance, and create job opportunities. Private investment will also be key, which will require a significant improvement in the business climate. Progress in the implementation of structural reforms is also encouraging, and, in this regard, the completion of the cocoa sector reform is a key achievement that should help reduce rural poverty.

“Achieving sustained and inclusive growth will be crucial to return the country to a path of sustained peace and poverty reduction. During our discussions, we agreed that the steadfast implementation of strong macroeconomic policies and a deepening of structural reforms will be essential to maintaining progress toward the second Ivoirian economic miracle.

“My visits to Côte d’Ivoire and Malawi this week have been a unique opportunity to discuss broader issues. Despite the global headwinds, Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the fastest growing regions of the world. Still, growth needs to be more inclusive to respond to the needs of the people, especially women and youth.

“The IMF is playing its part. We have stepped up our assistance to the region. We now have four regional technical assistance centers (AFRITACs), including the one reopened here in

Abidjan yesterday; a fifth will open in 2013 in Ghana. The IMF Executive Board recently decided to keep at zero interest rate all concessional for two years. Earlier this year, the Board decided to allocate the remaining windfall profits from gold sales to the IMF resources earmarked for low-income countries. We are committed to support our poorest members and will continue to work with our partners to achieve this goal.”

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, January 9, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — As a follow-up to the recommendations of the consultative meeting on the operationalization of the security arrangements agreed to in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC…

ACCRA, Ghana, January 8, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The European Union has congratulated His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, on the occasion of his swearing-in as President of the Republic of Ghana on January 7, 2013. Dr. Nicholas West…

ACCRA, Ghana, January 8, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The European Union (EU) in Ghana has disbursed close to EUR 16 million to the Government of Ghana. This disbursement comprises of 10M € Sector Budget Support for the Ministry of Health and 5.65 M € General Budget Support under Ghana’s Multi-Donor Budget Support (MDBS ) framework.

In the framework of the European Union’s existing Financing Agreement with Ghana, the amount of 10M€ equivalent to 25,000,000 GHS released to the treasury for onward transmission to the Ministry of Health will support the implementation of the MDG Accelerated Framework and Country Action Plan developed to combat maternal mortality.

It constitutes the first tranche (three more instalments to follow for the years 2013-2015) of a program amounting to a total of 52M€ or 130,000,000 GHS. The funds will support improvements in skilled birth attendance, emergency obstetric and newborn care as well as family planning measures. It is expected that with this additional funding, Ghana will be able to reduce the unacceptable high burden of mothers dying while giving birth and arrive at 185 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2015 (MDG5 Goal).

The funding for maternal health comes in addition to the roughly 400 M€ the European Union is providing to Ghana over the period 2007-2013. It was mobilised as additional funding for those countries which were most off-track in achieving some of the MDGs.

As part of earlier commitments under its MDG-Contract since 2009, the European Union has been providing General Budget Support to the Government of Ghana in the framework of the Multi Donor Budget Support with the aim of contributing to sustainable growth and poverty reduction in Ghana, including the achievement of the MDGs.

In this regard the European Union is pleased to have effected another disbursement of 5.65 M€ equivalent to 14,000,000 GHS to complement Government’s own domestically generated revenues and to facilitate the implementation of the national budget and its associated public expenditure plans to sustainably reduce poverty. In July 2012, the EU already released 24 M€ from the MDG-Contract to the Government’s Treasury account, in accordance with MDBS procedures.

BRUSSELS, Kingdom of Belgium, January 8, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The spokesperson of Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice President of the Commission, issued the following statement today:

“The High Representative notes with concern the recent closure of four leading Sudanese civil society organisations, namely the Khatim Adlan Centre, the Sudan Studies Centre, the Arry organisation for human rights and the Hela Help Organisation. The High Representative is also disturbed to hear that the “ational Human Rights Commission has been prevented from receiving a petition against the closures from a delegation of civil society representatives that were blocked by the security forces when attempting to deliver it. These actions seem contradictory to the recent invitation by the President of Sudan to all political forces and civil society organisations to take part in the process of drafting a new constitution that will strengthen national unity and consensus.

The High Representative calls on the Government of Sudan to reverse its decision to withdraw registration of these organisations, and to promote an environment where independent civil society organisations can operate freely and contribute to an inclusive national dialogue that meets the needs and aspirations of all Sudanese citizens within an open, democratic and peaceful framework.”

GENEVA, Switzerland, January 8, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — IOM and The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) yesterday signed a two-year community stabilization project to support the livelihoods of the Chadian migrants who have returned from Libya and are currently living in three northern regions bordering Libya, Niger and Sudan.

The US$ 2.9 m Swiss contribution will support the socioeconomic reintegration of Chadian returnees from Libya. It will also strengthen social cohesion and dialogue between returnees and host communities and support the rehabilitation of existing infrastructures, including schools, medical facilities and cultural centres, community warehouses and cereal storage areas. Some 125,000 community members, including returnees, will directly benefit from this programme.

An IOM assessment carried out in March 2012 in 14 regions of Chad with the highest number of returnees found that most are in urgent need of socio-economic reintegration support to help them cope with the loss of income and the adaptation to a different lifestyle.

The assessment found that the majority were unable to meet their basic needs of food, housing, health and education and were struggling financially to provide for their families.

The three target regions in the remote northern Chad are particularly vulnerable as no international humanitarian agencies apart from IOM are currently present in the area. The regions are separated from the economic centres of Chad by the Sahel belt, which has been experiencing severe droughts since 2011.

In addition, the area is difficult to reach due to landmines which were left behind during the long civil wars.

In the first phase of the project, IOM will work in partnership with the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) to ensure access roads are clear of mines.

More than 130,000 Chadians are estimated to have returned to their country from Libya during and after the Libyan crisis in 2011. The majority had lived in Libya for many years and had little or no connections to their places of origin.

The SDC contribution is the first of its kind to fund a project which uses community infrastructure projects to facilitate a reintegration process.

“IOM is grateful to the Swiss government for the funds, which will go a long way towards providing much needed help to the returnees. Their plight did not end with their return and most still face numerous challenges,” says Qasim Sufi, IOM’s Chief of Mission in Chad.

PARIS, France, January 8, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — For the Orange Africa Cup of Nations held in South Africa in 2013, StarAfrica.com (http://www.StarAfrica.com) has pulled out all the stops to make sure all internet users enjoy the competition.

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– a team of sports journalists based in South Africa to bring you live and exclusive coverage of the events, and recapture the atmosphere in the host cities;

– videos made on location featuring the day’s events;

– a news feed including the latest items available on Twitter and Facebook;

– all matches with live text commentary, introducing the teams and their players, with live commentary of the matches, statistics and analysis after the game, along with interviews with the players and coaches;

– a photo gallery to relive the action and feel the atmosphere;

– a team of sports reporters and supporters in various African countries, providing articles and analysis of the competition;

– supporters, get ready for our Orange AFCON 2013 fan kit, with games to support your team, a supporter wallpaper for download, and the online Mexican wave.

– vote for your “favourite player” throughout the competition,

Who will win the 2013 Orange Africa Cup of Nations? Will the Zambians hold onto their title? Or will it be the Ivorian Elephants? Perhaps the host country – the Bafana Bafana? Or another team of champions?

With three teams of journalists based in Africa, StarAfrica.com provides exclusive articles throughout the year, making it a benchmark website on African football.

StarAfrica.com covers all the major sports events across Africa (most notably the competitions of the African Football Confederation) and follows more than 20 national African championships. And to appeal to as wide an audience as possible, StarAfrica.com is available in English, French and Arabic.

Distributed by the African Press Organization on behalf of France Télécom-Orange.

Press officer:

Mylene Blin

mylene.blin@orange.com

About StarAfrica.com

StarAfrica.com (http://www.StarAfrica.com) is Orange’s entertainment website providing content for all African countries. StarAfrica.com is the ‘the’ website for young people in Africa, with its two flagship channels, football and education. In all StarAfrica.com provides 7 channels, on news, football, more sports, music, education, jobs and the shop.

Visit our website here: http://www.StarAfrica.com

Facebook and Twitter: Star_Africa