YOLA, NIGERIA— The United Nations refugee agency expressed concern that Niger is forcing Nigerians away from Lake Chad and their livelihoods in the wake of a deadly battle with the Boko Haram extremist group.
Thursday, May 7, 2015
LooK on Woonderful PHOTOS!!!!
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Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and ruler of Dubai (C) takes part in a ceremony to unveil UAE's Mars Mission in Dubai.
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
READ:....US Facing Dilemmas in Supporting Fragmented Syrian Opposition
From the outside, the Syrian opposition group Harakat Hazm seemed like the perfect candidate for the CIA’s covert program to train and arm moderate rebels.
The group, whose name means “Movement of Steadfastness” was secular, well-organized and dedicated to bringing down the government of Bashar al-Assad to “restore the freedom and dignity of the Syrian people.”
DAY IN PHOTOS!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Pedestrians pass before Storm Troopers at a toy shop in Tokyo. May 4th is called the "Star Wars Day" among Star Wars fans as the famous phrase "May the Force be with you" in the movie sounds like "May the 4th be with you."
Day in photo!!!
Kerry to Discuss Yemen Crisis With Saudis
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he will discuss a proposed "humanitarian pause" for war-ravaged Yemen when he travels to Saudi Arabia later Wednesday.
For more than a month, Saudi Arabia has conducted airstrikes against Houthi rebels trying to overthrow the Yemeni government. Attempts by international relief groups to deliver humanitarian aid, including fuel and other commercial goods, has been severely hampered by the fighting.
“The harsh restrictions on importations imposed by the coalition for the past six weeks, added to the extreme fuel shortages, have made the daily lives of Yemenis unbearable, and their suffering immense,” Cedric Schweizer, who heads the International Committee of the Red Cross in Yemen, said in a statement Monday.
VOA's Pam Dockins, who is traveling with Kerry, said the secretary of state also announced $68 million in new U.S. aid to Yemen during a stop in the East African nation of Djibouti Wednesday.
The State Department said the funds will support agencies providing food, water, shelter and other assistance to 16 million Yemenis in need.
Djibouti meeting
In Djibouti, Kerry met with President Ismail Omar Guelleh and Foreign Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, and thanked them for their assistance to hundreds of Americans who sought refuge from the violence in Yemen, which is located just across the Gulf of Aden from Djibouti.
A day after becoming the first secretary of state to visit Somalia, Kerry is also the first to go to Djibouti.
Kerry was set to meet later Wednesday with U.S. officials at the U.S. military base Camp Lemmonier. The U.S. military installment in Djibouti, a former French colony, has become an important part of the U.S. military presence in the Middle East and eastern Africa.
The secretary of state heads to Saudi Arabia later Wednesday. Later in the week, he travels to France for talks on regional security and ceremonies marking the end of World War Two in Europe.
For more than a month, Saudi Arabia has conducted airstrikes against Houthi rebels trying to overthrow the Yemeni government. Attempts by international relief groups to deliver humanitarian aid, including fuel and other commercial goods, has been severely hampered by the fighting.
“The harsh restrictions on importations imposed by the coalition for the past six weeks, added to the extreme fuel shortages, have made the daily lives of Yemenis unbearable, and their suffering immense,” Cedric Schweizer, who heads the International Committee of the Red Cross in Yemen, said in a statement Monday.
VOA's Pam Dockins, who is traveling with Kerry, said the secretary of state also announced $68 million in new U.S. aid to Yemen during a stop in the East African nation of Djibouti Wednesday.
The State Department said the funds will support agencies providing food, water, shelter and other assistance to 16 million Yemenis in need.
Djibouti meeting
In Djibouti, Kerry met with President Ismail Omar Guelleh and Foreign Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, and thanked them for their assistance to hundreds of Americans who sought refuge from the violence in Yemen, which is located just across the Gulf of Aden from Djibouti.
A day after becoming the first secretary of state to visit Somalia, Kerry is also the first to go to Djibouti.
Kerry was set to meet later Wednesday with U.S. officials at the U.S. military base Camp Lemmonier. The U.S. military installment in Djibouti, a former French colony, has become an important part of the U.S. military presence in the Middle East and eastern Africa.
The secretary of state heads to Saudi Arabia later Wednesday. Later in the week, he travels to France for talks on regional security and ceremonies marking the end of World War Two in Europe.
Monday, May 4, 2015
Tanzania Delays Referendum on Constitution
DAR ES SALAAM— Tanzania has postponed a referendum on a new constitution after delays in registering voters, the electoral body said Thursday.
The postponement heightened tensions over the charter, which the main opposition parties have rejected. The delay also could complicate presidential and parliamentary elections due to be held in October.
The new constitution would replace one passed in 1977, when the state was under one-party rule. The opposition said it was approved last year without a quorum by an assembly dominated by President Jakaya Kikwete's Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, which has been in power since Tanzania's independence from Britain in 1961.
The electoral commission said it had not received enough biometric voter registration kits to enable the vote on the constitution to take place as planned on April 30.
"The previously announced referendum ... has been postponed until the National Electoral Commission announces a new date," it said in a statement. "Since the registration of voters has not been completed, the electoral commission will not be able to proceed with the referendum on the new constitution."
Before quitting the constitutional assembly last April, opposition parties and civil society groups had sought limits on presidential powers and a federal system of government.
A group of bishops has urged Christian worshippers to vote against the proposed constitution, saying it was not written by an inclusive assembly. Kikwete, a moderate Muslim, warned clerics not to meddle in politics and said tensions between Muslims and Christians threatened peace.
Attacks on Christian and Muslim leaders over the past few years have raised concerns of an escalation of sectarian violence in relatively stable and secular Tanzania, east Africa's second-largest economy.
Tanzania's population of 45 million is roughly evenly split between Muslims and Christians.
The postponement heightened tensions over the charter, which the main opposition parties have rejected. The delay also could complicate presidential and parliamentary elections due to be held in October.
The new constitution would replace one passed in 1977, when the state was under one-party rule. The opposition said it was approved last year without a quorum by an assembly dominated by President Jakaya Kikwete's Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, which has been in power since Tanzania's independence from Britain in 1961.
The electoral commission said it had not received enough biometric voter registration kits to enable the vote on the constitution to take place as planned on April 30.
"The previously announced referendum ... has been postponed until the National Electoral Commission announces a new date," it said in a statement. "Since the registration of voters has not been completed, the electoral commission will not be able to proceed with the referendum on the new constitution."
Before quitting the constitutional assembly last April, opposition parties and civil society groups had sought limits on presidential powers and a federal system of government.
A group of bishops has urged Christian worshippers to vote against the proposed constitution, saying it was not written by an inclusive assembly. Kikwete, a moderate Muslim, warned clerics not to meddle in politics and said tensions between Muslims and Christians threatened peace.
Attacks on Christian and Muslim leaders over the past few years have raised concerns of an escalation of sectarian violence in relatively stable and secular Tanzania, east Africa's second-largest economy.
Tanzania's population of 45 million is roughly evenly split between Muslims and Christians.
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