Agrégateur de flux

Euloge R. GANDAHO/LE GRAND MATIN

Longtemps considérées comme simplement des réservoirs d'électeurs où viennent puiser des suffrages, les politiciens ou candidats opportunistes et démagogues, les communes ou municipalités du Bénin, parfois mal gérées ou minées par des conflits politiques, n'ont pas pu bénéficier des investissements nécessaires ou manquent d'initiatives pouvant concrétiser leur développement. On a souvent déploré, le manque de dialogue, les conflits de personnes et d'intérêts et l'absence de relations saines devant exister entre le pouvoir central et les autorités municipales et communales, toutes choses qui devraient faciliter le développement à la base. Les attentes sont donc loin d'être comblées. Les populations ne cessent de se plaindre ou d'exprimer leur déception, malgré les espoirs suscités par l'avènement de la décentralisation. Il y a lieu que les principaux acteurs et surtout ceux qui ont le pouvoir de prendre des décisions, se concertent, réfléchissent et engagent dans la cohésion, de nouvelles actions pour mieux gérer les communes et assurer leur développement.
C'est cette volonté et certainement le souci de surmonter ces difficultés et de trouver une solution aux divergences qui retardent ou empêchent le développement des communes, qui justifient la démarche du gouvernement et les échanges que le Président Talon a eus le week-end dernier avec les 05 maires de Cotonou, Porto-Novo, Abomey-Calavi, Ouidah et Sémè-Podji et les membres de leurs conseils communaux. Au centre des discussions, l'aménagement, le pavage des voies, la modernisation du système de gestion des déchets solides ménagers, la mise en œuvre du plan directeur d'assainissement de la ville de Cotonou, la construction et la réhabilitation des marchés urbains, les rues et l'assainissement de Cotonou, l'extension et la réhabilitation du réseau des voiries. S'il est vrai que la réalisation et l'aboutissement de tous ces projets du gouvernement seront bénéfiques à ces différentes communes et contribueront à l'amélioration des conditions de vie des populations, il est aussi vrai que ce défi ne peut être relevé sans l'implication des autorités municipales et communales. Il s'agit, pour le pouvoir central et les autorités communales et municipales, d'engager désormais de manière concertée et dans la cohésion, toutes actions devant contribuer au développement à la base.
La démarche a été saluée par les participants à ladite rencontre et le Chef de l'Etat a annoncé qu'un contrat sera signé entre le gouvernement et toutes les autorités concernées pour la conduite et la concrétisation de tous ces projets au niveau des communes. On peut simplement espérer que de telles concertations permettront de régler les différends qu'il y a souvent entre le pouvoir central et les autorités communales au sujet de la gestion de leurs territoires. Mais c'est encore plus heureux pour les populations à la base de savoir que leurs autorités se mettent ensemble et travaillent pour leur mieux-être que de ne lutter que pour leurs intérêts personnels en rivalisant à l'occasion des élections pour se faire élire, conseiller, maire ou député dans leur commune ou municipalité respective. Cette concertation entre le Président de la République et ces différents maires et leurs Conseillers, est donc opportune et utile et il reste que chacun donne, dans les mois à venir, la preuve du respect de ses engagements et des efforts consentis pour un développement harmonieux des communes du Bénin.

Voicing concern over lack of humanitarian access &#8211 particularly for medicine and medical supplies &#8211 in war-torn Yemen, a senior United Nations relief official has called on all parties to the conflict to ensure urgent and unrestricted access to people in need across the country.

Depuis janvier, les CFF testent un abonnement offrant train, voiture et vélo. L’un des 150 cobayes raconte.

May 7, 2017 (NAIROBI) - More than one million children have so far fled South Sudan where escalating violence continues, the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) and the U.N Refugee Agency (UNHCR) announced Sunday.

Children walk through a camp for internally displaced persons at the United Nations Mission to South Sudan (UNMISS) base in the capital, Juba, on 9 January 2014 (AFP)

“The horrifying fact that nearly one in five children in South Sudan has been forced to flee their home illustrates how devastating this conflict has been for the country's most vulnerable,” said Leila Pakkala, UNICEF's Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa.

“Add this to the more than one million children who are also displaced within South Sudan, and the future of a generation is truly on the brink," she added.

Children, U.N figures show, make 62 per cent of more than 1.8 million refugees from South Sudan, with majority seeking refuge in Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Sudan.

“No refugee crisis today worries me more than South Sudan,” said Valentin Tapsoba, UNHCR's Africa Bureau Director, adding “That refugee children are becoming the defining face of this emergency is incredibly troubling. We, all in the humanitarian community, need most urgent, committed and sustainable support to be able to save their lives.”

According to the world body, more than one thousand children have been killed or injured since the conflict first erupted in 2013, while an estimated 1.14 million children have been internally displaced within the war-torn East African nation.

Figures from the U.N also show that nearly three quarters of the country's children are out of school, the highest proportion of out-of-school children in the world.

"The trauma, physical upheaval, fear and stress experienced by so many children account for just part of toll the crisis is exacting ," the two U.N agencies stated.

"Children remain at risk of recruitment by armed forces and groups and, with traditional social structures damaged, they are also increasingly vulnerable to violence, sexual abuse and exploitation," their joint statement further observed.

Over 75,000 refugee children in Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have reportedly crossed South Sudan's borders either unaccompanied or separated from their families.

Meanwhile, UNICEF's says its appeal for South Sudan and its refugees in the region, which calls for $181 million to address the acute needs of refugees until end of the year has only been 52% funded. On the other hand, UNHCR's funding appeal for South Sudan of $781.8 million is reportedly only 11% funded.

(ST)

May 7, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) Saturday said it has freed the French national who has been kidnapped in Chad and taken to Darfur pointing the operation was carried out in close coordination with Paris and N'Djamena.

Late last March, Chad's Security Minister Ahmat Mahamat Bachir disclosed that a French national was abducted in Chad near the border with Sudan's Darfur region and has been taken into Sudan.

Bachir pointed the French civilian, an employee of a French mining company operating in Chad was kidnapped south of Abeche, a mining area about 800 km (500 miles) east of the capital N'Djamena and 150 km from the border with Sudan.

In a press release on Saturday night, the director of information department at the NISS Mohamed Tabidi said the authorities managed to free Thierry Frezier following “a complex rescue operation” in the outskirts of Kutum, some 100 kilometres west of El-Fasher the capital of North Darfur state.

He pointed that the five kidnappers had been arrested by the NISS during the rescue operation.

For his part, the governor of North Darfur Abdel-Wahid Youssif said in a press conference Sunday the government received intelligence that the French national was being held in an area close to Kutum, saying they dispatched a joint force from the army, police, NISS and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to the area and he was rescued without losses.

He confirmed the government didn't pay any ransom, saying the kidnappers were arrested and will be brought to trial.

In a press release Sunday, the French president's office said he felt “great pleasure” at the release.

Meanwhile, the director of the NISS in North Darfur Awad al-Karim Khalid said the rescue operation was carried out in coordination with Chand and France, saying the abductors would be brought to trial under the Sudanese law.

He added the operation underscored the importance of coordination and exchange of information among security organs, pointing to the regional and international cooperation in the fight against terrorist and negative groups and organised and cross-border crime.

Khalid said: “Frezier was kidnapped in eastern Chad by outlaws from the remnants of the rebellion who sneaked him into the country and moved him between several Darfur states”.

It is noteworthy that Frezier has arrived in Khartoum on Sunday afternoon and was handed over to the French embassy in prelude to transfer him to his country.

On November 22, 2009, two French aid workers were kidnapped at Birao town in the Central African Republic (CAR) and had been taken to Darfur where they were freed three months later.

Also, in 2009 a Frenchman working for the International Committee of the Red Cross was abducted by a shadowy armed group called the Freedom Eagles of Africa, based in Darfur.

Chad is one of France's key African allies in the counter-terror fight, with its capital N'Djamena serving as headquarters for France's Operation Barkhane anti-Jihadist force which includes 4,000 troops.

Set up in 2014, the French force operates in five Sahel countries including Chad, Mali, Niger, Mauritania and Burkina Faso to crush terror groups active in the region.

(ST)

May 7, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - The Egyptian government has lodged an objection with the United Nations against the maritime baselines declared by Sudan last March saying it wouldn't recognise any action taken by Khartoum or any international agreement that affects its sovereignty over Halayeb region.

The objection, which was deposited on 4 May and seen by Sudan Tribune Saturday, rejects Sudan's description of Egypt's presence in Halayeb triangle as “military occupation”. It also refuses the coordinates of the baselines provided by Sudan including Halayeb as part of its territory.

“The Arab Republic of Egypt declares its rejection and non-recognition of any action – whatever its nature - issued or may be issued in the future by the Sudan as well as any international agreement concluded by the Sudan or may be concluded in the future with any other party that would prejudice Egypt's sovereignty over its land or sea territory north of latitude 22° north,” read the objection.

It stressed Cairo's objection to what has been contained in Sudan's declaration deposited on 3 March, saying that Egypt's continued sovereignty over all lands north of latitude 22° north has been historically and legally established since the 1899 Anglo-Egyptian agreement.

“In its first article, the agreement clearly and unambiguously stated that (the term Sudan is used in this concord for all lands located south of the 22°) and this is the border inherited by Sudan in 1956,” it added.

The objection stressed that Egypt hasn't ceased to exercise its sovereignty over the Halayeb and Shalateen area since the signing of the agreement of 1899 until today.

“It is established that the maritime areas subject to sovereignty and state jurisdiction are determined according to their land territory. The Presidential Decree No. 27 of 9 January 1990 concerning the baselines from which the maritime areas of the Arab Republic of Egypt are measured has determined the base points and the straight baselines on the Egyptian coasts including the Red Sea coast which extends south of the latitude 22° north and has been circulated in the Law of the Sea bulletin No. 16 of December 1990,” it further said.

The Egyptian objection underlined that “Sudan's claims are baseless and contrary to the legal status established by the 1899 agreement and the permanent nature of the international borders it has established”, saying what has been stated in the Sudanese declaration about Egypt's “military occupation” of Halayeb and Shalateen is “incorrect and unacceptable”.

The Halayeb triangle, which is a 20,580 km area on the Red Sea, has been a contentious issue between Egypt and Sudan since 1958, shortly after Sudan gained its independence from the British-Egyptian rule in January 1956.

The area has been under Cairo's full military control since the mid-1990's following a Sudanese-backed attempt to kill the former Egyptian President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak.

On 2 March, President Omer al-Bashir issued a decree including the baselines from which the maritime areas of the Republic of Sudan are measured.

By virtue of its membership in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, Sudan is required to notify the UN Secretary-General of any development affecting the geography of its maritime boundary.

In conjunction with the notification, the Sudanese foreign ministry deposited with the UN its reservation on a similar decree issued by former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in 1990, in which he laid the baselines for the Egyptian maritime areas.

“The Republic of the Sudan declares its rejection and refusal to recognize the provisions of the declaration issued by the Arab Republic of Egypt on 9 January 1990, entitled Presidential Decree No. 27, which touches on the Sudanese maritime border, North of Line 22, which was included within the maritime coordinates announced by Egypt within its maritime borders on the Red Sea in paragraphs 56-60,” read Sudan's declaration seen by Sudan Tribune.

“The above points (in Mubarak's decree of 1990) are located within the maritime boundaries of Sudan's Halayeb triangle which falls under Egyptian military occupation since1995 to date, and thus are part of the Sudanese maritime border on the Red Sea” added the declaration.

Last April, Cairo refused a demand by the Sudanese government to hold direct talks on Halayeb and Shalateen or to accept the referral of the dispute to the International Court of Arbitration.

Egypt has used to reject Sudan's repeated calls for referring the dispute to international arbitration.

The international law provides that the agreement of the two parties is needed to arbitrate a dispute by the tribunal.

(ST)

May 7, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - A seventh humanitarian assistance caravan including 1,752 metric tonnes of sorghum Sunday has been dispatched from the capital of Sudan's North Kordofan state, El-Obeid to the needy population in South Sudan.

Three United Nations agencies declared an outbreak of famine in the young nation in February, saying an additional 1 million people were are the brink of starvation.

On 30 June, the World Food Programme (WFP) began providing food assistance to South Sudan using a new corridor opened by Sudan. The new route enables transport of food items overland from El Obeid in central Sudan to Bentiu in South Sudan's Unity state.

The Humanitarian aid commissioner Ahmed Babiker al-Hassan has told the official news agency SUNA that the sixth batch included 1,068 metric tonnes of sorghum, pointing to ongoing arrangements to open a new humanitarian corridor from El-Obeid to Awil town in South Sudan via Al-Muglad.

He said the new corridor would contribute significantly to the delivery of the assistance, pointing they developed a plan to transport 2,000 metric tonnes weekly to South Sudan.

In July 2014, Juba and Khartoum signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to open a humanitarian corridor to deliver food assistance to vulnerable South Sudanese through the River Nile or by road. Last January, the agreement was extended for a six month period.

Last month, Sudan said it doesn't rule out to open an Airbridge to deliver food assistance to South Sudan during the rainy season revealing a proposal to open a third road corridor to transport aid to the needy population in the war-torn nation.

South Sudan became the world's newest nation after declaring independence from Sudan in 2011. However, in 2013 the country was plunged into civil war,
However, in 2013 the country was plunged into civil war killing tens of thousands of people and displacing millions.

(St)

May 7, 2017 (JUBA) - South Sudan President Salva Kiir got into a heated exchange with Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth over a communal fight, in which military commanders from a section of ethnic Dinka Bor, used state assets to attack neighbouring Murle community, sparking national outcry and condemnations.

The circumstances under which the president and his minister fell out remain speculative.

There have not been formal statements clarifying what transpired. Multiple cabinet ministers privy to how it occurred told Sudan Tribune during a series of interviews that President Kiir had received security reports indicating that military commanders with the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) from Bor community have sided with their community members in the attack against ethnic Murle.

The objective of the attack was to recover allegedly stolen cows and abducted children by members of ethnic Murle.

Long-standing tribal conflicts in Jonglei between the two tribal groups over cattle raids have escalated into more organised attacks on villages of both sides.

The continuation of the armed clashes between the two groups proves the failure of the different campaigns to collect weapons, analysts agree in Juba.

“The President was asking Michael Makuei Lueth in his capacity as the leader of Bor community about security reports which he received that the government soldiers using military assets and disguised as Dinka Bor Youths launched the attack on Murle area. These reports show that individual commanding officers from Bor in the SPLA's 8th division have ordered troops to take a side in the communal conflict. The commanders have instructed soldiers to go and support the Dinka Bor Youths. This was what the president has heard and wanted clarifications from Makuei but he reacted negatively, a cabinet minister told Sudan Tribune on Sunday.

"It was in a completely disrespectful manner, disdainful way," he added.

Minister Makuei, according to another cabinet source, supported the decision of his Bor youth and government soldiers, suggesting they should, in fact, be provided with more weapons to disarm Murle.

“The youth of Bor, like any other youth in the Republic of South Sudan, have taken the law into their hands. They have refused to listen to the leaders just like what is going on between Apuk and Aguok. This is the situation, and to address it requires the disarmament of the Murle tribe,” Makuei reportedly told President Kiir in response to the question asking what was happening in the area.

The minister further told the president youths were not using the government weapons but acquired their own weapons just like any youth in the country and have refused to hand them to anybody.

This, the source added, angered the president and when Makuei realised the president was annoyed, he decided to leave the cabinet meeting hall. These exchanges forced minister Makuei to call for a community meeting in Juba on Saturday, the result of which remains speculative. No formal release was made after the meeting.

Some community members have reportedly asked the minister to go meet the President in person and apologise to him. Others have rejected the idea and asked Makuei to resign.

This is not the first time Minister Makuei and President Kiir have fallen out.

In 2015, Makuei walked out of an official function at which the president was due to sign the peace agreement, saying the deal should not be signed if the reservations held by the government on the agreement were not addressed.

(ST)

Liechtenstein vernichtet 1980 aus Protest gegen die Sowjets Sonderbriefmarken zu Olympia in Moskau. Doch das geht schief: Händler verdienen nun Unsummen mit den raren Stücken.

Après un second renvoi, le procès de Blaise Compaoré et de 31 membres de son dernier gouvernement reprend ce lundi 8 mai devant la Haute Cour de justice. L'ex-président, qui est jugé en tant qu'ancien ministre de la Défense et qui a pris la nationalité ivoirienne, sera jugé par contumace. Les anciens ministres sont jugés pour leur rôle dans la répression d'insurrection populaire d'octobre 2014 qui avait conduit à la chute du régime.

Du Maroc au Sénégal, en passant par le Mali, la Guinée, le Niger, les messages de félicitation à Emmanuel Macron, le nouveau président français, se sont succédés. Emmanuel Macron est peu connu des Africains qui en attendent beaucoup. Candidat jeune, atypique, qui a gagné sans le soutien d'un parti traditionnel, il est le symbole d'un renouveau de la politique.

En Afrique du Sud, la course à la présidence de l'ANC ne s'ouvrira qu'en juin, avec le dépôt officiel des candidatures. Mais la campagne bat déjà son plein. Ce week-end, le vice-président Cyril Ramaphosa est revenu sur la tragédie de Marikana, dans laquelle beaucoup lui reprochent d'avoir joué un rôle alors qu'il était l'un des membres du Conseil d'administration de la compagnie minière Lonmin qui employait les mineurs grévistes.

L'Afrique s'est invitée dans le débat de la présidentielle française grâce à Marine Le Pen. Le mercredi 22 mars, la candidate est reçue par Idriss Déby à Ndjaména: elle étrille la Françafrique, le CFA, visite la force française Barkhane. Aujourd'hui Emmanuel Macron préside la France. Quelles intentions avaient affichées le candidat d'En marche ! ? Quelle sera la politique africaine d'Emmanuel Macron ? Avec qui va-t-il la mener ? Eléments de réponse.

pics and caption via FuckYeahSpaceShips Tumblr Page. caption... “Don’t fuck up, Shepard.” 56 years ago today, Alan Shepard became the first American in space during a 15-minute, 28-second...

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via Sputnik "These bases present a threat to humanity. American imperialism has promoted them. Right now, the US has more than 800 military bases on all continents. The Trump administration does not...

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La vulgarisation du Programme d'Actions du gouvernement était l'objectif de la visite du ministre d'Etat chargé du plan et du développement dans le septentrion. Après avoir fait bilan de la première année de gestion du gouvernement Talon, le ministre Abdoulaye Bio Tchané, accompagné de plusieurs personnalités politiques, notamment des députés, a sillonné plusieurs départements. Au cours de son périple dans les différentes communes visitées, le ministre d'Etat a informé les populations des actions que projette le gouvernement pour répondre à leurs préoccupations ou à leurs attentes. Le ministre d'Etat est largement revenu sur le nouveau format de l'assurance universelle, dénommé ARCH (Assurance pour le Renforcement du Capital Humain). Certains élus du peuple et dont en majorité des maires et des députés convaincus de la pertinence du PAG et tout ce qu'il peut apporter de bien aux populations ont affirmé leur engagement à travailler au côté du Chef de l'Etat et ont exhorté les ressortissants des localités visitées à massivement soutenir comme eux, le pouvoir en place. C'est le cas du député Kassa Barthélémy qui réitère son soutien indéfectible au PAG et qualifie le Président Talon de médecin dont on doit attendre des soins pour la guérison des maux dont souffrent les populations dans leur commune. Il a dénoncé, l'ancien régime avec qui il a collaboré et exprimé sa déception au sujet des infrastructures routières non réalisées dans le septentrion et bien d'autres promesses non tenues. D'autres députés comme Rachidi Gbadamassi, Robert Gbian, Nassirou Bako Arifari, qui ont accompagné aussi le ministre d'Etat lors de cette tournée de vulgarisation, ont tous invité les populations à œuvrer pour la réussite du PAG.

Serge V. LANTEFO/LE GRAND MATIN

The pic you see above was captured from a power point discussing the next ship to shore connector.  The power point is located here. Strock gets his fair share of complaints but I think he's...

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La maison du peuple de Wologuèdè n'existe plus. Le bâtiment situé à côté du Ciné Okpé Oluwa, à Cotonou,a été démoli, il y quelques jours, par un bulldozer. Le constat sur le terrain montre que tout est réduit en gravats, en dehors de la clôture qui est épargnée pour le moment. Selon les informations, le site sera réaménagé par le groupe Bolloré dans le cadre d'un contrat de partenariat avec la mairie de Cotonou. Il est prévu la construction d'une salle de cinéma, d'une salle de spectacle et d'autres infrastructures.
La maison du peuple jouxtant l'hôtel de ville de Cotonou a été construite dans les années 70, sous le règne du président Mathieu Kérékou.
Le site a servi de cadre pendant longtemps à des meetings, des spectacles et des cultes. Il a aussi servi de lieu d'accueil pour les réfugiés.
Le bâtiment construit depuis une quarantaine d'années était tombé dans état de décrépitude avancé faute d'entretien.
N. S.

Le Maire de la ville de Cotonou Léhady Vinangnon Soglo, était l'un des invités du Président de la République son excellence Patrice Talon le vendredi 05 Mai 2017 au palais de la Marina. C'était l'occasion pour les deux autorités d'échanger sur les questions brûlantes de l'actualité et sur le développement de la ville de Cotonou, vitrine du Bénin. Le président Patrice Talon qui se met depuis peu en costume de rassembleur et de père de la nation, s'est exprimé devant les cinq maires reçus ce jour-là pour leur soumettre ses projets à savoir la modernisation des marchés publics, l'assainissement des villes et la modernisation des villes et surtout des marchés. Le Président de la République a promis associer les maires pour la réalisation de ses objectifs. Pour le Chef de l'Etat, un réel développement ne peut se faire sans la base. De sa sortie, le maire de la ville de Cotonou s'est dit satisfait de la rencontre. Il rassure aussi les citoyens de sa collaboration franche avec l'exécutif dans le souci du développement de la ville de Cotonou. Le Maire de Cotonou n'a pas manqué d'évoquer les tensions entre le Conseil Municipal de Cotonou et l'autorité de tutelle, le préfet du département du Littoral. Il souhaite que le Chef de l'Etat intervienne personnellement pour rétablir l'ordre au sein du département du Littoral pour débloquer en urgence les dossiers de la municipalité qui traînent à la préfecture. Entre autres, le Maire Léhady Vinangnon Soglo s'est aussi exprimé sur la chaine de Radio Soleil Fm hier 07 Mai 2017. Il était question au Maire de s'exprimer sur l'actualité politique dans notre pays. Sans langue de bois, le Maire de Cotonou a tenu à fustiger les récents agissements au sein de la majorité présidentielle et a tenu à rappeler au Chef de l'Etat qu'il n'est pas aisé « de boire de l'eau au dépend de ceux qui vous ont aidé à creuser le puits ».

Charles S.M.B AGOSSA/LE GRAND MATIN

Réformer l'Union africaine pour la rendre plus efficace, moins bureaucratique et financièrement indépendante des bailleurs internationaux, c'est la lourde tâche qu'a été confiée en juillet 2016 au président rwandais Paul Kagame. Ce dernier a rendu son rapport en janvier dernier à Addis-Abeba lors du dernier sommet de l'institution panafricaine. Le principe de ces réformes a été formellement adopté par ses homologues africains. Désormais, il s'agit de discuter des modalités de la mise en œuvre de ces réformes. Cela a été l'objet d'une réunion qui s'est tenue à Kigali dimanche 7 mai en présence du président rwandais et des représentants des pays de l'Union africaine.