(Human Rights Watch 07/09/13)
As South Sudan prepares to celebrate its second year of independence on 9 July 2013, we would like to take this opportunity to call on you in your powers as the President of the Republic of South Sudan to refrain from confirming any death sentences, and to instead commute all existing death sentences in South Sudan on this occasion.Furthermore, we commend your government for South Sudan's vote in favour of the fourth UN General Assembly resolution on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty on 20 December 2012. We now urge you to take the next steps in establishing an official moratorium on executions in South Sudan with a view to abolishing the death penalty, in line with...
(Sudan Tribune 07/09/13)
(KHARTOUM) - The executive director of the East Reconstruction and Development Fund (ERDF), Abu Obieda Mohamed Duj, has criticized lawmakers who objected to the Kuwaiti loan which will be uses to fund the electricity project in eastern Sudan. Late last month, Sudan’s national assembly narrowly approved a loan from Kuwait after a heated debate on the issue of violating Islamic Shar’ia law which prohibits borrowing money that has interest terms attached. 52 MP’s voted in favor of the loan with 46 against and 9 abstentions. Earlier this year, Kuwait and Sudan signed the $85 million loan agreement that aims at expanding electricity in East Sudan and make it available to 660,000 people. The loan was offered at a 2% annual...
(Human Rights Watch 07/09/13)
(Nairobi ) – New amendments to Sudan’s Armed Forces Act that allow prosecution of civilians in military courts are contrary to international human rights standards, Human Rights Watch and the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) said today. President Omar al-Bashir should not sign the amendments into law but instead should return the measure to parliament to revise consistent with Sudan’s international legal obligations. “Sudan needs to bolster its civilian justice system to improve respect for human rights,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “Giving more judicial powers over civilians to the military will take Sudan in exactly the wrong direction.” The amendments, passed by parliament on July 2, 2013, allow the government to prosecute...
(AL Jazeera 07/09/13)
Juba, South Sudan - "Toward effective nation building and prosperity for all", encourage the billboards across this city. As South Sudan's capital prepares to celebrate its second independence day on July 9, mixed feelings linger about the progress the youngest nation in the world has made since independence. "We are free now, but life hasn't gotten better," said Ruth, who works for a local grassroots organisation. "Crime in Juba has increased, and education and health services have become more expensive," A group of students at Juba University reflected on the past two years. "To find a job is very hard, you need someone to get your back," Santo explained. Johnson, a first year student, added: "You can see some improvements...
(Usa Today 07/09/13)
Apparently skirting U.S. sanctions, Iran and Sudan are using Silicon Valley-made Internet-monitoring devices on government and commercial networks, The Washington Post reported Monday. It's not known exactly how the tools, from Blue Coat Systems in Sunnyvale, Calif., are being used. Citing computer experts, the Post writes that the products "could empower repressive governments to spy on opponents." The company specializes in Web surveillance, security, virus detection and content filtering, which are subject to certain export controls. In 2011, hacktivists discovered Blue Coat's filtering tools by the Syrian government, which experts said had used the technology to censor websites and spy on activists and journalists. The Commerce Department fined a distributor in Dubai nearly $3 million for export violations. New research...
(Zambia Daily mail 07/09/13)
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Addressing the delagates at the TICAD V session on Somalia.THE fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD-V) was held in Yokohama, Japan from June 1-3, 2013 and 41 African presidents including President Sata, along with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, attended. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe opened the conference by announcing a five-year US$32 billion package to support infrastructure development and boost economic growth in Africa. However, most African leaders had their own share of challenges that were highlighted at the summit. Our staffer NKOLE CHITALA who attended the conference now reports. AFRICAN countries including Zambia have made considerable progress in addressing various economic problems...
(Ghana Business News 07/09/13)
African airlines enjoyed nearly a 10% rise in traffic in May 2013 as global passenger growth trend continues, according to an industry report. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) says African airlines’ traffic climbed 9.8% in May which was the second highest among the regions. The report notes that African carriers are benefiting from a sustained increase in trade through developing links to Asia and the Middle East, as well as strong GDP growth in local economies, particularly in Western Africa. “Capacity rose 7.4% in May, raising load factor 1.4 percentage points to 66.2%,” said IATA’s passenger traffic report. In terms of air freight, African carriers grew just 0.2% in May, but growth trend, according to the airline association, was...
(Sudan Tribune 07/08/13)
Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki said that a broader scope and an all-embracing strategic solution is crucial to attain a durable deal in resolving outstanding CPA issues between Sudan and South Sudan. Afwerki made the comments while conferring with visiting EU Special Representative for Sudan and South Sudan, Rosalind Marsden at the presidential palace in Asmara last Thursday 4 July. Despite South Sudan’s peaceful secession from Sudan in July 2011, post-split key issues remain unresolved. In September last year, Presidents of Sudan and South Sudan signed a series of agreements in Addis Ababa including security arrangements, oil and on the rights of citizens in the two countries. However the agreements remain far from implementation due distrust and lack of political commitment...
(Sudan Tribune 07/08/13)
(KHARTOUM) - The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement –North (SPLM-N) called on the Sudanese opposition forces to unite their efforts to overthrow the regime of president Omer Al-Bashir, stressing it is time to bybass those who are undecided over this strategy. In January of this year the rebel coalition, Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF), launched the ’New Dawn’ charter which calls to topple the regime by military and peaceful means, saying it was approved by the opposition political parties operating inside the country. But the largest opposition Umma National Party (UNP) of Sadiq Al-Mahdi, Popular Congress Party of Hassan Al-Turabi and the Communist Party distanced themselves from the charter and called to privilege peaceful means. Yasir Arman, SPLM-N secretary general, said in...
(Sudan Tribune 07/08/13)
The Sudanese vice president, Al-Haj Adam Youssef, has categorically rejected the idea of secession for any part of Sudan and said that it will take place only "over our dead bodies", predicting that the rainy season will witness the end of the armed rebellion in Sudan. "The necks of those who call for cessation of South Kordofan will be chopped prior to cutting South Kordofan from Sudan territory", said the vice president. Adam, who was addressing a rally organized by the women of South Kordofan state in Khartoum yesterday, called upon the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement/North (SPLM-N) leader, Abd Al-Aziz al-Hilu, and other arms bearers to learn the lesson from their predecessors and lay down arms and join peace. He...
(Sudan Tribune 07/08/13)
A group of Sudanese activists have demonstrated in front of the Ministry of Justice in Khartoum to protest the slow pace of the trial of those involved in the killing of 4 protesters in Kajbar area in north Sudan in 2007. On June 13, 2007, security forces used excessive force to disperse a peaceful demonstration by residents protesting the construction of a dam at Third Cataract by Kajbar village. The security forces used tear gas and live ammunition killing 4 people and wounding many others. The protesters held banners saying "Justice is a meaning, not a building" in reference to the Ministry of Justice's multi-billion high rise building in down town Khartoum. The protesters handed over an urgent memo to...
(Sudan Tribune 07/08/13)
Sudan's former finance minister Abdel-Rahim Hamdi has called upon the Sudanese expatriates to take advantage of investment opportunities in the real estate sector through collective mechanisms and investment funds. Hamdi, who was addressing the conference of the heads of Sudanese communities abroad on Thursday, expressed willingness to conduct feasibility studies on establishing a bank that would specialize in financing expatriates' projects. According to Sudanese economist, the bank could end up being listed in the stock market and play a significant role in providing hard currency as well as becoming a repository for economic activity. He pointed to government efforts aimed at providing services in residential complexes as part of its plan for solving the economic and social problems, underscoring the...
(Ventures-Africa 07/08/13)
VENTURES AFRICA – Ideas rule the world and in this age, innovation is key. Businesses thrive on Eureka! moments, as innovation has become the benchmark for excellence. For most businesses/entrepreneurs the effective application of ideas determines whether a startup progresses to a multi-billion dollar company, a la Google, Facebook, Apple, or goes bust! African entrepreneurs have also tapped into the endless stream of Eureka! moments and have turned ideas to million-dollar businesses - ask iROKOtv, Justin Stanford or Kamal Budhabatti to name a few. On Africa’s Most Innovative Companies today, we feature Rasello, a company which helps you “manage, understand and communicate better to the people that matter most to your business.” There is no major reason behind the name...
(Sudan Tribune 07/05/13)
(KHARTOUM) - The local government of South Darfur imposed a curfew in the state capital of Nyala that starts from 7:30 pm to 7:00 am after deadly clashes erupted between members of security apparatus and a tribal militia which led to the death of First Lieutenant Ammar Anwar al-Haj security and police assistant Mohammed Abdullah Sharara who is nicknamed ‘Dekrom’ and also hails from the powerful Rezeigat tribe. Al-Omda Abdullah Mustafa Abu-Nouba, one of the Rezeigat leaders, said the outbreak of the violence occurred after a patrol from the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) opened fire on Dekrom inside NISS headquarters in Nyala after summoning him earlier. He was then rushed to Nyala hospital but doctors failed to revive...
(Reuters (Eng) 07/05/13)
(KHARTOUM) - Sudanese opposition parties gave mixed reactions to the ouster of Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi after mass protests against him that prompted the army to intervene and force him out. The leader of the People’s Congress Party (PCP) Hassan al-Turabi blasted Morsi’s ouster describing it as a "military coup against the constitution". He also accused the head of the Constitutional Court Adli Mansour, who was sown n today as interim president, of betraying the constitution entrusted to protect the legitimacy. Egypt’s military chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced Morsi’s overthrow on Wednesday night, citing his inability to end a deepening political crisis, as dozens of armoured personnel carriers streamed onto Cairo’s streets. The dramatic exit of Morsi was greeted...
(Reuters (Eng) 07/05/13)
JUBA, July 5 (Reuters) - South Sudan accused Sudan's army on Friday of launching two separate attacks with planes and land troops on areas near their disputed border, in a new sign of friction between the former civil war foes. Relations between the African neighbours hit a low when Sudan threatened last month to halt South Sudanese oil exports passing through the north unless Juba cut ties with rebels operating across the shared border. South Sudan denies any such links. Both sides had agreed in March to set up a border buffer zone and resume cross-border oil flows in a bid to end hostilities after coming close to war in April 2012, in the worst violence since the South seceded...
(In2 East Africa 07/05/13)
Mr Sambi, who visited the 37th Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair (DITF) in the city also urged Africans to work together and exchange experiences in technology to hasten the continent’s development process. He said such exchanging and sharing of technology experiences will help the continent advance in various sectors, especially agriculture. Speaking at the Vocational Education Training Authority (VETA) pavilion, Mr Sambi promised to link Tanzanian business people with their counterparts in Comoro. “This is the time for Africans to stop feeling marginalised; from what I have seen here today (yesterday), this shows we have made major advancement in technology something that we should be proud of,” Mr Sambi noted. He said the DITF had impressed him so much...
(The Guardian 07/05/13)
Batul Javil's story is familiar, but terrifying all the same. She had taken her children to visit her parents in a neighbouring village in Sudan's southern Blue Nile state beyond which, after an international border was created in July 2011, Khartoum's rule ends and newly independent South Sudan begins. It was a day, she says, like any other. Then without warning, all hell broke loose. "All of a sudden, the war came," Javil says. A plane darkened the sky, dropping bombs indiscriminately on the village and its inhabitants. All they could do was run, she says, try to find cover, simply get away. The family could not go back to their village, could not stay where they were, so they...
(Gurtong Net 07/05/13)
YAMBIO, 05 July 2013 [Gurtong] - Hussein Enoka Bakama, a member of the State Legislative Assembly representing Ri-Rangu Constituency no. 19 Yambio County raised the motion of the students on the floor of parliament on Thursday. He told the parliament that the students are in desperate need of help from their people at home especially the state government of WES. He said the students are facing numerous challenges ranging from tuition fees, accommodations, transport, saying even the embassy of South Sudan in Khartoum made empty promises. According to Hon. Hussein, students were admitted into the Sudanese universities through the state intake as it used to happen before the independence of South Sudan but students could not return with their parents...
(Sudan Tribune 07/05/13)
July 4,2013 (JUBA)- South Sudan on Wednesday announced it had entered into talks with rebel leader, David Yauyau to find remedies of ending the conflict in its largest state of Jonglei. The move comes just days after the country’s leader, Salva Kiir instructed elders from the Murle tribe to establish contacts with the rebel leader and persuade the latter to respond to amnesty. President Kiir has vowed to pardon rebel leaders and their followers fighting against his government, should they respond to an amnesty issued in April, this year. The amnesty, South Sudanese information said, establishes a legal framework for peace under which rebel leaders can officially be forgiven for crimes they may have committed while fighting against the Juba...