Latest News
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Hope for a Unified Somalia
In early June of 2006, Islamic militants stormed Somalia’s capital city of Mogadishu–site of the 1993 killings of 18 American marines, captured in the movie Black Hawk Down–and wrested control from several allied warlord militias. The U.S. government, meanwhile, was found to be funneling military support to the warlords in a bid to prevent the…
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Congo Action Plan
Democratic Republic of the Congo is roughly the size of Western Europe. It’s establishment of a peaceful future is critical for the stability of the entire region. It’s difficult past leaves nothing but the hope for better days for Congolese people. To be an effective partner of the Congo, the United States has a critical…
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HIV/AIDS Policy to Protect Life
AFJN works with faith-based and other organizations to bring a comprehensive understanding of the devastation of HIV/AIDS in impoverished countries in Africa. U.S. leaders need to be encouraged to address all aspects of the problem and implement policy to effectively alleviate the burden of the disease on an already vulnerable population. As a Catholic organization,…
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Promote Reunification and Stability in Côte d’Ivoire
Since 2002, Côte d’Ivoire has been paralyzed by a divide between the rebel-held North and the army-controlled South. The instability began in 1999 when General Robert Guei organized a coup to overthrow the then President Henri Bedie. Guei also instilled religious discord by refusing to allow a Muslim northerner to take part in Presidential elections….
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Day of the African Child
On June 16th, the world celebrated The Day of the African Child to commemorate student uprisings in Soweto, South Africa in 1976. Demanding a better quality of education, thousands of black school children took to the streets in protest. Hundreds of children were shot and more than 100 people were killed. This day honors the memory of those killed and…
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End Human Rights Abuses in Zimbabwe
Since President Robert Mugabe began seizing white-owned farms in 1999, the country has been plunged into a state of severe economic and political decline. Though whites in Zimbabwe made up only 1% of the population, they controlled approximately 70% of the commercially arable land in the country. When that land was allocated to political supporters…
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“Americans Urge Bush Over LRA”
“Americans Urge Bush Over LRA” Ugandan New Vision article about AFJN petition on northern Uganda
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Election Date Set for DRC
DRC: Elections to be held on 30 July, polls body says (IRIN) Independent Electoral Commission Chairman Apollinaire Muholongo Malumalu announced on Sunday that Presidential and parliamentary elections will be held on July 30th. The first elections to be held in the nearly 40 years since independence in the Democratic Republic of Congo will include 33 candidates. Prominent opposition leader, Etienne…
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Fear of HIV/AIDS Explosion in War Affected Southern Sudan
(IRIN News) Health experts are concerned that southern Sudan, emerging from more than two decades of civil war, may experience a major HIV epidemic due to high numbers of refugees returning to the area. Difficulties in raising awareness and widespread education on HIV/AIDS have many worried. More than 4.5 million people fled during the civil…
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Thousands of HIV-positive Babies Born Daily
The World Health Organization issued a report saying about 2,000 children of HIV-positive mothers in the developing world are born with the disease on a daily basis because the mothers were not given antiretrovirals during their pregnancy. The lack of progress came in the face of a threefold increase in access to the drugs, the…
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Sudan vice president not opposed to U.N. in Darfur
KHARTOUM, March 27 (Reuters) – U.N. forces can enter Darfur if their mandate is clearly defined, to relieve underfunded African troops monitoring a shaky truce in the western region, Sudan’s first vice president said on Monday. Sudan is under intense international pressure to allow U.N. troops to take over from a 7,000-strong African Union force…
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DRC: Thousands Displaced by Fighting Arrive at Lake Albert
BUNIA,(IRINwww.irinnews.org) – Thousands of Congolese civilians in the northeastern district of Ituri arrived on Thursday at the port town of Kasenyi on Lake Albert, on the border with Uganda, after they fled fighting between the national army and militia groups, a local official said. However, many of the displaced who had arrived at Kasenyi have…
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UN Mission in Sudan Extended
The Security Council on Friday extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Sudan until 24 September, with the intention to renew it for further periods. The Council is also investigating how best to support efforts by States in the region to put an end to the activities of illegal armed groups, including proposals on how United Nations…
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Annan in DRC: Democracy Around Corner
The Democratic Republic of Congo must arrange its upcoming election itself, although the international community will help keep the peace during the polls, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Tuesday during a visit to the central African country. The DRC has “an extraordinary opportunity” to get on the right path toward democracy, Annan said of…
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DR Congo Election Protest March
BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa Thousands of opposition supporters have been demonstrating in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s capital, Kinshasa. Followers of veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi are demanding a repeat of voter registration for elections scheduled in June. Visiting UN head Kofi Annan has said the polls pose “major logistical challenges, if not nightmares”. The first free…
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UN Not Welcome in Sudan
Envoy Says Sudan Doesn’t Want U.N. Force in Darfur – 3/01/2006, New York Times Sudan has withdrawn its support for a United Nations peacekeeping force to replace African Union troops now in the conflicted Darfur region and is lobbying other countries to help discourage the substitution, Jan Pronk, the United Nations envoy for Sudan, said…
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AFJN Members Approve Five Resolutions at Annual Conference
AFJN members in their annual meeting discussed and approved five resolutions treating important issues concerning the people of Africa. Members were encouraged to distribute and publicize the resolutions in their local newspapers, parishes, schools and other venues as well as using them when speaking with their elected representatives on all levels. The first of the…
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Find Out More About Conflict in DRC
To learn more about the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, please visit the following websites/organizations:
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HIV/AIDS and Africa: The Scourge of Our Generation
Today, all churches are living with and affected by HIV/AIDS. As God’s grace holds inclusive love for all humanity, we are compelled to work together to stop the spread of the deadly virus.
