Africa

The United Nations Security Council on Tuesday called for an end to the recurring cycles of violence and instability in Africa’s Great Lakes region, as a senior UN official reported that some armed groups are continuing attacks on civilians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Amid a resurgence of yellow fever outbreaks, the United Nations together with partners, has begun an ambitious campaign to vaccinate close to one billion people against the deadly disease across 27 high-risk African countries.

The government wants to tackle Tanzania's deadliest cancer in women by inoculating girls aged nine to 14.

Arsenal win their appeal against midfielder Mohamed Elneny's red card in Sunday's 3-2 victory over Southampton.

Barcelona forward Munir El Haddadi is challenging Fifa rules which stop players switching national allegiances.

Egypt's Abdallah El Said joins Finland's Kuopion Palloseura (KuPS) on loan from Al Ahly in a bid to be fit for the World Cup after deciding against a move to Zamalek.

South Africa's Caster Semenya strides to Commonwealth 1500m gold as Wales' Melissa Courtney claims a superb bronze medal.

The healer charged for herbs that made women's stomachs swell, telling them not to see a doctor.

French boxer and author Aya Cissoko is encouraging other women to take a stand.

The boat is the second of a pair that has been buried for more than 5,000 years.

Joseph Warungu reflects on the plight of Kenyan opposition supporters after their leader reconciled with his political nemesis.

Joseph Warungu reflects on the plight of Kenyan opposition supporters after their leader reconciled with his political nemesis.

April 8, 2018 (KHARTOUM) Sudan's Defence Minister Awad Ibn Ouf has received an invitation from Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to attend the closing ceremony of the joint military exercise “Gulf Shield-1”.

Sudan is among 23 countries taking part in the military drills that began on March 18, 2018.

Ibu Ouf on Sunday received the Saudi Ambassador to Khartoum Ali Hassan Ja'afar who handed him over a written letter from the Crown Prince inviting him to attend the closing ceremony of the military exercise on 16 April.

The two sides discussed the evolving relations between the two countries, particularly in the military field.

According to the official news agency SUNA, the Saudi envoy praised the great sacrifices of the Sudanese army within the Saudi-led military alliance in Yemen.

It is noteworthy that the military exercise coincides with the Arab League summit which will be held in Riyadh next week.

For years, Khartoum's regime maintained close relations with Riyadh's arch-rivals in Tehran.

However, in January 2016, Sudan severed ties with Iran after an attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran amid a row over the execution of a Shiite Muslim cleric.

Sudanese troops are deployed in Yemen since October 2014 within a Saudi-led Arab coalition against the Shiite Houthi militants.

In February 2016, the Sudanese army participated in a regional military exercise including Saudi and Gulf armies, Egypt, Jordanian, Pakistani, and Sudanese armies.

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April 8, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - The secretary general of the Popular Congress Party (PCP) Ali al-Haj Mohamed has expected the Sudanese government and the rebel movements to reach a peace agreement soon.

The Sudanese government and two armed groups from Darfur region (Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and Sudan Liberation Movement Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM) will meet in Berlin on 16 and 17 April to negotiate a pre-negotiation agreement.

If the parties strike a deal, it would pave the way for talks on a cessation of hostilities and then they will join the negotiations table to discuss political issues in Doha.

Commenting on these developments, al-Haj who met Darfur groups last December told the semi-official Sudan Media Center (SMC) that the armed movements have expressed desire to end the war and achieve peace in the country.

He pointed out that his meeting with the SRF in Berlin was based on the outcome of the national dialogue, saying the PCP met with the rebel umbrella within the framework of its participation in the National Consensus Government.

Al-Haj added the PCP seeks to bring the views of the various parties closer through its work in the Supreme Council for Peace which was formed by the Sudanese presidency recently.

The PCP, which historically was opposed to foreign initiatives to end the war in Sudan, launched several months ago an initiative to bridge the gaps between the National Congress Party-led government and the opposition groups that boycott the National Dialogue process.

It is noteworthy that the state security prosecution last week filed criminal charges against the leader of the opposition National Umma Party (NUP) Sadiq al-Mahdi for dealing and coordinating with the armed movements that seek to topple the regime.

Following a heated internal debate over participation in the National Consensus Government which was formed in May 2017, the PCP took part in the executive and legislative branches of the post-dialogue government.

The Islamist party had earlier threatened to not participate in the government after the parliament passed constitutional amendments retaining powers of the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS).

The PCP, founded by the late Islamic leader Hassan al-Turabi, splinted from the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) since 1999 and joined the opposition ranks since that time but it supported the national dialogue process declared by al-Bashir in 2014 and participated in all its forums.

The opposition groups boycotted the process because the government and the armed groups failed to sign a humanitarian truce and also due to Khartoum refusal to implement a number of confidence-building measures aiming to create a conducive environment in the country before to hold the inclusive dialogue.

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Morocco will play friendly internationals against Ukraine, Slovakia and Estonia as part of their preparation for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Tunisia forward Youssef Msakni will miss the World Cup in Russia after being ruled out for six months with a knee injury.

April 7, 2018 (YAMBIO) – The South Sudan 2018 agriculture and seed fair campaigned was officially launched on Wednesday in Yambio.

The map of Western Equatoria in red

The country's national minister for agriculture, Onyoti Adigo led the high level delegation, which comprised of officials from United Nations agencies and agricultural stakeholders, to Gbudue state.

Adigo said Gbudue state was chosen as one of the areas for food production to help reduce hunger in the war-torn country.

“Despite the numerous challenges the country is facing, agriculture is a key priority of the government to sensitize the farmers to provide seeds to them to produce more food,” said the agriculture minister.

“Our country has a lot of problems and those problems can be solved through agriculture,” he added.

Government, according to the minister, lacks agricultural land and that all state governors are to avail 250,000 fedan for agriculture.

The deputy country representative of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Pierre Vauthier said the hunger situation may worsen in South Sudan if food production does not improve.

“In 2018, the hunger situation has worsened more than before according to a recent report and the people of Gbudue state have potential to double efforts to produce more food,” said Vauthier.

He said FAO will embark on training of farmers in Western Equatoria region on how to produce surplus food for consumption and sale.

The training shall include storage and provision of seed on time, he said.

In 2017, World Food Program and partners reportedly supported over 3000 households to improve production and create community assets worth $648,000, which were spent over a six month period.

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April 7, 2018 (KHARTOUM) A visiting delegation from the UK House of Lords will visit South Kordofan State on Tuesday, said Sudan's official news agency SUNA

The British delegation is headed by Lord Mohammed Altaf-Khan and it includes Baroness Jenny Tonge and Baroness Doreen Lawrence.

According to the agency, the visit aims to check on the peace situation and the disarmament campaign as well as the human rights situation.

The delegation would meet with the government officials and the native administration and will visit some parts of the state to examine the social coexistence experience.

It is noteworthy that the delegation would be accompanied by a group of Sudanese MPs headed by the Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly Sub-Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Mutwakil al-Tigani along with some members of the Sudanese-British Friendship Council.

The Sudanese army has been fighting the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/North (SPLM-N) in the South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, also known as the Two Areas since 2011.

In March 2016, Sudan and the UK held the first strategic consultations meetings between the two countries in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. The meeting was considered the first talks of its kind at the ministerial level in 25 years.

The two countries agreed to exchange visits at the level of senior officials from the two countries along with increasing cooperation in the fields of economy, investment and culture.

Last December, a group of British MPs signed a letter to the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson ahead of a Sudanese-British economic forum warning the government against pursuing investment in a country rife with corruption and where the president is wanted for human rights violations.

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April 7, 2018 (JUBA) – The three different factions of South Sudan's ruling party (SPLM) are due to hold a reunification meeting in the capital, Juba on 19 April, a senior coalition government official said on Thursday.

South Sudan's vice-president, James Wani Igga (Photo: Larco Lomayat)

James Wani Igga, the country's vice president, said the Juba meeting will bring together the fractured factions of South Sudan's ruling party.

Igga, also the deputy chairperson of the SPLM faction led by President Salva Kiir, said the SPLM-In-Opposition leader, Riek Machar and former SPLM Secretary General, Pagan Amum, who is now a member of the country's former political detainees were all invited.

Sudan Tribune was unable to confirm if rebel leader Machar, who is currently detained in South Africa, will attend the 19 April meeting in Juba.

In January 2015, delegates from three factions of the SPLM party signed a 12-page agreement in Arusha, Tanzania, laying out key steps toward reunifying the party.

Those who signed include the party loyal to President Salva Kiir, the SPLM-in-Opposition and which is led by former vice president Riek Machar, and a third made up of party officials who were detained when the conflict began in December 2013.

The SPLM, South Sudan's ruling party, was initially founded as the political wing of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). The party, in the aftermath of the civil war that broke out in the country in mid-December 2013, split into the SPLM-Juba faction headed by Kiir, SPLM-IO led by Machar and that of the ex-political detainees.

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April 7, 2018 (JUBA) — South Sudan government again warned that elections would be held this year if no deal is reached with the opposition groups.

The IGAD Council of Minister decided that the High-Level Revitalization Forum (HLRF) for peace in South Sudan will resume its meetings on 26 April 2018 for six days.

However, the parties are seemingly not ready to make the needed concessions for an inclusive agreement as they continue to maintain their previous positions on the transitional government and political reforms.

The IGAD mediators are drafting an agreement that the parties have to discuss during the last week of April.

the government information minister Michael Makuei said his government is prepared for the upcoming talks but threatened the opposition groups again that elections would be held even before the implementation of the constitutional reforms or the end of the war in the country.

"We talk of going for elections when we see that the opposition is not serious and they are dragging their feet with a plan that there will be a vacuum that will lead to the illegitimacy of the government," Makuei said.

The minister recently accused the opposition of seeking to foil the peace process and calling for a regime change pointing that Kiir government has no legitimacy.

South Sudan had to hold general elections in July 2015 but the parliament extended Kiir mandate for three years until July 2018. But, the August 2015 peace agreement provides that general elections had to be held in February 2018.

Already on 30 March 2018, Makuei threatened to hold elections if no deal is concluded with the opposition groups.

At the same time, he said the leader of the SPLM In Opposition Riek Machar cannot return to the country to participate in the elections unless he denounces violence.

(ST)