Salem-News.com Africa articles

President Obama (Please) Support African Civil Society in Visit to Sub-Saharan Africa

A plea to the President to affirm solidarity for African pro-democracy and human rights activists

(LONDON) - Dear Mr. President:

I am William Nicholas Gomes, Human rights defender and Freelance journalist. I welcome your decision to visit sub-Saharan Africa once again, and we applaud your support for African human rights defenders through your Stand with Civil Society initiative.

The U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit held last year demonstrated your commitment to engage constructively with leaders on a number of key economic, political and security issues.

West Africa`s Ebola Epidemic Becomes International Health Crisis

The declaration of an international emergency will have the effect of raising the level of vigilance on the virus.

(LONDON) - West Africa's Ebola epidemic is an "extraordinary event" and now constitutes an international health risk, the World Health Organization said on Friday.

The Geneva-based U.N. health agency said the possible consequences of a further international spread of the outbreak, which has killed almost 1,000 people in four West African countries, were "particularly serious" in view of the virulence of the virus.

West African Ebola Outbreak Death Toll Climbs over 900

WHO experts began a two-day crisis meeting in Geneva to discuss whether the epidemic constitutes a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern".

(MONROVIA) - Health workers in West Africa appealed on Wednesday for urgent help in controlling the world's worst Ebola outbreak as the death toll climbed to 932 and Liberia declared a state of emergency.

The World Health Organization said it would ask medical ethics experts to explore emergency use of experimental treatments to tackle the highly contagious disease after a trial drug was given to two U.S. charity workers infected in Liberia.

Nigerian Bomb Blast at State College Kills 7

Amnesty International estimates that more than 1,500 people were killed in northeast Nigeria in the first three months of this year.

(KANO Nigeria) - An explosion tore through a state college in the northern Nigerian city of Kano on Monday, killing at least seven people, a security source said.

The blast in the north's biggest city hit the Kano State School of Hygiene, the source said.

The Death of a Hero, Captain Mbaye Diagne

"A terrible loss" is an understatement for the people of Rwanda.

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - Amadou Deme, Former Captain and Military Intelligence Officer of UNAMIR Force under Commander General Romeo Dallaire in Rwanda1994 before and during the genocide wrote a moving tribute to his friend and colleague, Captain Mbaye Diagne.

Captain Diagne is remembered as a hero during the Rwanda Genocide in 1994 for his selfless act in order to save hundreds of Tutsi who would certainly have met certain death.

Submitted by: Jennifer Fierberg
Written by: Amadou Deme

``The Dead Can Play a Powerful Political Role Only if the Living Allow Them to Speak``

Dr. Alison Des Forges was the world's leading expert on the 1994 Rwanda genocide and its aftermath.

(WASHINGTON DC) - Dr. Alison Des Forges, born in Schenectady, New York, in 1942, began studying Rwanda as a student and dedicated her life and work to understanding the country as well as exposing the serial abuses suffered by its people with the goal of helping to bring about change in the country. Tragically, she died in the crash of Flight 3407 from Newark to Buffalo on February 12, 2009 and the age of 66.

Des Forges was a senior adviser to Human Rights Watch's Africa division for almost two decades and she dedicated her life to working on Rwanda.

The Commemoration of 20th of the 1994 Genocide of Tutsi in Rwanda

I am proud to note that Rwanda as a nation and a people have shown positivity in how they rose after the 1994 fall. Thank you. God bless you all.

(LONDON) - Fellow Rwandan and Friends of Rwanda,

Today is 7th April. On this day, we join millions of Rwandan and Friends of Rwanda at home and beyond, to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the genocide against the Tutsi, perpetrated by the former genocidal regime of the late Habyarimana, the ex-FAR and its allied Interahamwe militias. We especially salute the survivors of this genocide, accepted as one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century.

Small Oil Companies Eye Huge Prize in Ghana

Bigger companies continue to make significant headway in with Ghana's oil, despite a few setbacks, including delays to the country's gas infrastructure, which means that associated gas is being lost to flaring or has to be re-injected into wells.

(LONDON) - Since the first discovery of the massive Jubilee oilfield in Ghana by a start-up company, the West African playing field has begun to change, and so too have investor sentiments, disappointed most recently by the low fourth-quarter 2013 results of major integrated oil companies like Exxon, Shell, Chevron and BP.

But while the supermajors are struggling with soaring project costs and poor balance sheets, innovative juniors and start-ups are increasingly swooping in...

Rwanda: President Kagame Imprisoning Students

Open Letter addressed to President Paul Kagame demanding immediate release of Jean Baptiste Icyitonderwa and stop terrorist acts against leaders of Rwandan students.

(WASHINGTON, DC) - Jean Baptiste Icyitonderwa is one of the four who are still detained by the police and whose head has been seriously injured by the beating according to sources in Kigali.

With his colleague Emmanuel Ntakirutimana, they are in a very critical condition.

Kigali Working Hard to Divide and Confuse the Opposition

“In a time of Universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act”-Orwell

(WASHINGTON, DC) - The murder of Patrick Karegyea of the Rwandan National Congress (RNC) has left the political opposition as well as Rwandans in the diaspora who support them raw yet determined.

His murder continues to be investigated by the South African Police who have refused to comment on an open investigation. Back in Rwanda President Kagame and his political leaders have had a lot to say about the death of Karegeya both in the press and on social media outlets.