Africa

Chad’s economy is losing 575.8 billion CFA francs ($1.2 billion) per year, or 9.5 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP), to the effects of childhood undernutrition and resultant increased healthcare costs, additional burdens on the education system and lower productivity by the workforce, a new United Nations-backed study has revealed.

The teenage activist who fights against the Malawi custom of sending girls to camps to learn how to please a man sexually.

With a growing appetite for chicken in Africa, the BBC's Kim Chakanetsa investigates why the continent does not produce enough birds to feed itself.

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said today that it is &#8220extremely concerned&#8221 over increased reports of violence and armed conflict in various parts of the country in the last few weeks, including heavy artillery and gunfire exchanges between Government and opposition forces in Leer town.

Welcoming the start of an inclusive dialogue among political leaders, civil society and religious communities of Guinea-Bissau today, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon encouraged all the parties to engage in constructive discussions and “seize this opportunity for a favourable outcome” in the interest of the country’s people.”

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Maina Kiai, warned today about growing restrictions on civil society in Egypt, with human rights defenders and organizations in particular being targeted.

More than 41 million children are expected to get vaccinations against polio as part of a major new health campaign by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in the Lake Chad basin, aimed at the recent outbreak of polio in north-east Nigeria.

Warning of an extremely fragile political situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where “actors on all sides appear more and more willing to resort to violence to achieve their ends,” the top United Nations official in the country called today on the Security Council to urge the parties to return to dialogue, guarantee the right to peaceful opposition and to end impunity for violence.

On a day promoting the rights of the 1.1 billion girls around the world, #womenaretrash is trending in South Africa on International Day of the Girl Child.

New Cardiff City boss Neil Warnock makes ex-Leeds United defender Sol Bamba his latest signing in the Championship.

Ethiopian troops withdraw from a key military base in central Somalia, opening the way for militant Islamists to capture territory, witnesses say.

A major report by Save the Children has found that one girl under the age of 15 is married every seven seconds.

A new report by Save the Children says one girl under the age of 15 is married every seven seconds.

Burundi bans three UN investigators after they published a report accusing the government of gross human rights violations.

Recent unrest in the Central African Republic (CAR) demonstrates that the situation there remains fragile, and “spoilers are still active, on both sides,” the United Nations peacekeeping chief said today, telling the Security Council that the international community must stand firm and support the Government’s efforts to ensure lasting peace.

Thanks to growing implementation of a law passed last year, child marriage may soon be a relic of Malawi’s past, and on the eve of the International Day of the Girl Child, UN Women Goodwill Ambassador Emma Watson visited the country to celebrate the achievements of UN Women, the Malawian Government, local chiefs and girls who have returned to school after having their marriages annulled.

Urging Ethiopian authorities to end their violent crackdown on peaceful protests, which has reportedly led to the death of over 600 people since November 2015, two United Nations human rights experts today further called on the Government to allow an international commission of inquiry to investigate the protests and the violence used against peaceful demonstrators.

Noting the socio-economic progress made by African countries and their centrality in major sustainable development discourses, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called for continued support to the continent, particularly for strengthening good governance and for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

October 10, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the estimates from Sudan's Commission of Refugees (COR) indicate the country has received 100,000 Syrian refugees since 2011.

In its latest weekly bulletin, OCHA pointed out that only 5,515 Syrian refugees have been jointly registered by the COR and UN High Commissioner for by the end of August 2016.

According to OCHA, “UNHCR provides registered Syrian refugees with access to the same services and assistance as other registered refugees living in Khartoum, including targeted financial assistance issued through ATM cards for those who are identified as extremely vulnerable”.

It pointed that main concerns of Syrian refugees pertain to “economic hardship, including accommodation and living costs, lack of access to income-generating opportunities, and lack of access to psychosocial support particularly for children”.
Unofficial estimates say the number of the Syrians in Sudan has exceeded 250,000 refugees.

The current policy of the Sudanese government is to receive all Syrian nationals coming to the country with no visa required for entry. Syrians are granted access to state health and education services.

The majority of refuegees have settled in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum and have become integrated into urban host communities, including an older pre-existing Syrian community.

Last May, the UNHCR provided $ 10 million to the government of Sudan in support to the Syrian refugees.

October 10, 2016 (JUBA) - A South Sudanese journalist abducted on Friday was severely tortured and dumped near a graveyard, colleagues and relatives said Monday.

State journalists tour Yambio FM, as part of their training (ST)

The incident is the latest attack on the media, following an incident in which a veteran journalist was found dead after being kidnaped by unknown gunmen.

Malek Bol, a journalist with Al-Muogif newspaper, went missing on Friday and was found after being tortured by unidentified group.

He was found at a graveyard in a Juba suburb on Monday morning.

It was not immediately clear as to what prompted government agents to target him.

Colleagues and family members attributed the cause to a critical article he wrote and posted on social media about the performance of the government under President Salva Kiir. The article focused on the economic crisis and corruption in the country.

According to medical reports, the journalist had broken ribs that resulted from severe beatings.

Similar incident also happened earlier this year when two journalists were tortured and dumped on two different graveyards in Juba town.

“It is very unfortunate indeed. We found him in a bad condition, beaten and burned," one of his colleagues at the newspaper told Sudan Tribune on Monday by phone.

The journalist further added that the paper is operating in a difficult situation and was no longer able to balance their stories, only being forced to write and publish a version that suit the interest of the government and allied opposition and views targeting non alliance opposition to the government.

“It is very hard to maintain any level of professional standards these days,” said a reporter who preferred anonymity.

“You know that what happens these days is that security personnel who are deployed to the newspapers ensure that they read all that is going to be published the next day. When they find something which is not in favour of the government, they remove it if they respect you", he added.

(ST)