VOXAFRICA Video - RDC : L'opposition dénonce des fraudes

VOXAFRICA Video - RDC : L'opposition dénonce des fraudes

Pour revenir sur les élections en RDC, nous avons recu Theo Ngombo, le représentant de l’opposant Etienne Tshisekedi en Grande-Bretagne.

Voici un extrait de notre entretien:

VOXAFRICA Video - RDC : L'opposition dénonce des fraudes

VOXAFRICA Video - Voxnews: 18h30 - 25/11/2011

VOXAFRICA Video - Voxnews: 18h30 - 25/11/2011

Our English news bulletins:

VOXAFRICA Video - Voxnews: 18h30 - 25/11/2011

And the main headlines:

1. Moroccans head to polls
Moroccans were going to the polls this Friday for parliamentary elections. But opposition activists have called for the vote to be boycotted... They say it will only produce a "corrupt assembly".

2. IGAD encourages Kenya's action in Somalia
In East Africa, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development - IGAD - has formally endorsed Kenya’s military incursion into Somalia against Al Shabaab militia. In a meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the organisation recognised the move as a positive one.

3. Egypt: Kamal Ganzouri to head a national salvation government
In Egypt, the ruling army council named Kamal Ganzouri to head a national salvation government. The man is a Former Prime Minster of Hosni Mubarak. His nomination has generated mixed reactions in Cairo.

VOXAFRICA Video - Voxnews: 18h30 - 25/11/2011

VOXAFRICA Video - Voxnews: 18h - 22/11/2011

VOXAFRICA Video - Voxnews: 18h - 22/11/2011

Notre journal de ce mardi soir sur Vox Africa...

A la une de l'actualité africaine:
VOXAFRICA Video - Voxnews: 18h - 22/11/2011


1. En Egypte : Deuil après les affrontements meurtriers

 Depuis quatre jours, des milliers de personnes manifestent contre le pouvoir de l'armée sur la place Tahrir, au Caire. Les enterrements des victimes ont commencé ce mardi.

2. Libye : Le procureur de la CPI évoque un éventuel jugement dans le pays pour Seif al-Islam

 Luis Moreno Ocampo est arrivé à Tripoli ce mardi 22 novembre 2011 et pourrait répondre favorablement à la demande du CNT de juger le fils ainé de Kadhafi sur le sol libyen.

3. RDC : Six jours avant les élections
L'opposition congolaise prépare plus que jamais les présidentielles et législatives du 28 novembre, face au président sortant, Joseph Kabila. Mais elle peine toujours à trouver un candidat unique.

Le journal en intégralité ici:

VOXAFRICA Video - Voxnews: 18h - 22/11/2011

VOXAFRICA Video - Voxnews: 18h - 18/11/2011

VOXAFRICA Video - Voxnews: 18h - 18/11/2011

H1 - Sénégal : Le M23 contre la candidature de Wade
Le M23, le Mouvement des Forces de la société civile sénégalaise et de l'opposition a signé hier jeudi, une résolution contre la candidature du président Abdoulaye Wade à la prochaine élection.

H2 - RDC : J-10 avant les élections
En RDC, la campagne électorale se poursuit, a 10 jours des élections législatives et présidentielles. Notre correspondant Alex Kathy Katayi a suivi la campagne de deux candidats à la députation nationale.

H3 - Zambie : Les vélos de la chance
En Zambie, un projet permet à des enfants d'acquérir des vélos pour se rendre plus facilement à l'école. Les détails avec Thandiwe Cattier.

VOXAFRICA Video - Voxnews: 18h - 18/11/2011

Autumn - Primrose Hill

London is having its warmest and driest Autumn in decades...

This gives the best weekend days to wonder around the city and admire its colours and lights.

I spent some of this lovely time in Primrose Hill this week, for its quietness and its simple beauty.

Here is to share a little...

Luxe, calme et volupté...

On the road!

VOXAFRICA Video - RDC : J-10 avant les élections

VOXAFRICA Video - RDC : J-10 avant les élections

En RDC, la campagne électorale se poursuit, a 10 jours des élections législatives et présidentielles.

Notre correspondant Alex Kathy Katayi a suivi la campagne de deux candidats à la députation nationale.

VOXAFRICA Video - RDC : J-10 avant les élections

VOXAFRICA Video - Somalie / Kenya : L'UA réagit

VOXAFRICA Video - Somalie / Kenya : L'UA réagit

Somalie / Kenya : L'UA réagit

L'Union africaine étudie ce jeudi un renforcement de sa force en Somalie et une meilleure coordination avec les troupes kényanes.Celles-ci sont entrées dans le pays le mois dernier, pour combattre les insurgés islamistes shebab.


VOXAFRICA Video - Somalie / Kenya : L'UA réagit

VOXAFRICA Video - Voxnews: 18h - 16/11/2011

VOXAFRICA Video - Voxnews: 18h - 16/11/2011

Notre journal de la soirée du mercredi 16 novembre 2011, le plus long de Vox Africa a ce jour...
Avec en fin de journal la chronique 'Mode' d'Olafemi Bela.

VOXAFRICA Video - Voxnews: 18h - 16/11/2011

Au Togo, Ouattara parle réconciliation à Lomé

Le président ivoirien Alassane Ouattara effectue une visite de quarante-huit heures au Togo. le but est de renforcer les relations diplomatiques entre les deux pays. Ouattara a également rencontré des réfugiés de son pays...

RDC : J-12 avec les élections

En RDC, la CENI a insisté hier mardi pour rejeter toute éventualité de report des élections. Nous y revenons dans notre journal de la campagne depuis Kinshasa.

Chronique spéciale mode : Semaine de la Mode Swahili

La mode swahili a célébré le cinquantenaire de l'indépendance de la Tanzanie en réunissant 50 stylistes de Tanzanie, des pays voisins et du monde. Pour en parler, Olafemi Bela, styliste et spécialiste de mode.

VOXAFRICA Video - Voxnews: 18h - 16/11/2011

VOXAFRICA Video - Voxnews: 12h - 15/11/2011

VOXAFRICA Video - Voxnews: 12h - 15/11/2011

Notre journal de 15 min de ce mardi apres-midi sur VoxAfrica:

VOXAFRICA Video - Voxnews: 12h - 15/11/2011

VOXAFRICA Video - France : Premier procès de pirates somaliens présumés

VOXAFRICA Video - France : Premier procès de pirates somaliens présumés

En France, le premier procès de pirates somaliens présumés s'est ouvert ce mardi matin à Paris. Il s'agit de la comparution de six hommes accusés d'avoir pris en otage en septembre 2008 un couple de Français à bord du voilier le Carré-d'As. Ils sont poursuivis pour enlèvement et séquestration en bande organisée et vol avec arme. Des faits passibles de la réclusion criminelle à perpétuité...

VOXAFRICA Video - France : Premier procès de pirates somaliens présumés

Fear and Loathing… in London Town

I'm back in London Town.

Halloween's gone already, the brightly dark most Americanish holiday of the year has passed and we're moving towards winter...

Some Londoners have tried to catch up with this fun spirit of fake fear to get over the real freaky times that made our summer seriously plummet.

Since the beginning of August, London has gone through a wave of downfalls and uprisings, at the same time, and in an almost good way, I would add.

Maybe the city has only followed many other parts of the world, which in 2011 literally metamorphosed. 

Just a striking example: some rioters took the streets of Tottenham, Croydon and Hackney in August. A first since the Thatcher years.

And later this fall, peaceful protesters -  nicknamed “Les Indignés” - took the doorstep of Saint-Paul’s cathedral and other locations around the City, in October, in order to be part of the Occupy the London Stock Exchange movement.

The movement has obviously been inspired by the Occupy Wall Street one launched in New York, USA, late September. 

Adding to those uprisings, Londoners have also got involved in repetitive strikes and demonstrations. Anyone knowing the city very well can notice, it’s been a first in a long time. And for the first time in history, competent authorities have decided to close Saint-Paul Cathedral, one of London’s most visited monuments, because of a settlement of protesters….

Now with the autumn settling deeply and moving towards the winter, it seems nontheless the city is ready to move back into its regular costume. 

It’s end-of-year holiday time. Families have worked on their best Halloween decorations and most are now getting ready for a Christmas mood. Shoppers are back in our streets and peace and togetherness have overcome the uprising mood. Indeed, it even impressed me to see how quickly London has changed its face back into its regular habits. The city with two faces will never stop fascinating me.

After those months of turmoil and energy, we can see that Londoners are now delighted to have a little time to rest, to wrap up, and to warm their home and celebrate - despite the economic crisis, the European depression and all the global and local discontent expressed in this recent British anger. 

And they are probably the same Londoners, some of them at least - they must be - who were protesting and rioting some weeks ago and who these days are looking at shop windows. London has a universal talent for reconciliation and rebirth…

But I guess, now, no one forgets that behind every shopping-loving Londoner a revolutionary citizen might be hiding. And it may be a good thing, even in times of reconciliation and merry winter holidays, as long as Londoners stand together. 

Leaving Addis

 Here I am, back in Europe. Despite the fact that Addis Ababa Bole airport is one of the most painful travel locationS I've ever been to, Ethiopian Airlines remain very confortable and efficient, and I now find myself in Paris, my hometown for a couple of days.

The last day of the African Union's workshop on Peace, Security and Journalism proved itself way more efficient than the two previous ones. Journalists were way more involved in the reflexion!

I found myself bouding with highly interesting fellow reporters from Djibouti, Libya, Muaritania, Kenya, and beyond!

I was also elected as a representative of the Diaspora inside NetPeace, the new African Union's network on Peace and Security, though I can't explain how that happened!

Here are more details if you're interested.

AFRICAN UNION
DIRECTORATE OF COMMUNICATION AND INFORMATION

PRESSE RELEASE Nº142 /2011

LAUNCH OF THE NETWORK OF JOURNALISTS FOR PEACE AND SECURITY IN AFRICA (NETPEACE)

Addis Ababa, November 4^th, 2011 –The Journalists’ Network for Peace and Security (NetPeace) was officially launched on 4^th November during the High Level Media workshop on the African Peace and Security Architecture(APSA), organized by the Directorate of Information and Communication (DIC) and the Peace and Security Department (DPS) of the African Union in partnership with the Francophone Research Network on Peace Operations (ROP) of the University of Montreal, at the AU headquarters, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,  from November 2^nd to November 4^th, under the theme “Promoting a Culture of Peace through the Media”.

The workshop ended with the adoption of a declaration (see below). The sixty participants who came from the 15 Member states of the African Union Peace and Security Council, communication experts and representatives of the AU organs and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) reiterated through this declaration their “collective commitment to work for the entrenchment of a culture of peace in Africa and urge all media to contribute thereto”. While welcoming the creation of NetPeace, they committed to promote the flow of information between the African Union and the media, particularly in the area of peace and security” and to “promote the network’s activities as well as synergies with existing media network for peace and security on the continent”.

This network is composed of journalists specialized on peace and security issues and aims at promoting and entrenching a culture of peace through the daily work of journalists. Through an electoral process, twelve coordinators including a Chair, a Deputy Chair and a Secretary coming from the 5 regions of the continent and the diaspora were elected. Ms Uduak Amimo, media expert from the Eastern region was elected President. Mr Vincent Nkeshimana, Director of Radio Isanganiro in Burundi, and Mr Nicolas Abena, editor-in-chief of I-Magazine, were respectively elected vice-president and secretary of NetPeace.

The following journalists were elected as regional coordinators: Mr Jedna Deida (Mauritania) and Mr Ahmed Khalifa (Lybia) for the Northern region, M. El Hadj M. Hameye Cissé (Mali) and Mr Malcom Joseph (Liberia) for the Western region, Mr Kadar Ali Diraneh (Djibouti) and Ms Uduak Amino (Kenya) for the Eastern region, Mr Vincent Nkeshimana (Burundi) and Mr Bernardino Ndze Biyoa (Equatorial Guinea) for the Central region, Mr Wisdom Mdzungairi (Zimbabwe) and Mr Lungi Daweti (South Africa) for the Southern region. Representatives of the diaspora, which account for the sixth region of Africa, are Nicolas Abena from I-Magazine and Melissa Chemam from Vox Africa TV.

Talking about Peace in Africa...

Libya, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Sudan and South Sudan, Somalia...

Conflicts have been rising strongly during the past 12 months on the continent and the African Union is trying to learn a lesson from its own mistakes and weaknesses dealing with those situations.

This is the reason why the AU has invited around 50 journalists for this workshop about Peace, Security and the media.

So far, many guests have mainly explained how and why the AU's Peace and Security Committee and all its other bodies dedicated to diplomacy have been successful in the past five years.

A journalist from Libya disagrees... But there's not so much time for discussion.

Is the task to big? Ensuring the respect of peace when you're a young, fragile and weak organisation?

We'll have to bring a conclusion tomorrow...

Back to Ethiopia: First visit at the African Union Headquarter in Addis Ababa

 I didn't have time to write it here, but I was invited to participate at an African Union's Workshop, as a representative for Vox Africa, on Peace, Security and the media.

Arriving in Addis Ababa with a video camera was not easy but after hours of waiting and a written authorisation, we managed.

I am not a big fan of official meetings organised by huge international bodies, but as usual it is a good occasion to meet interesting journalists from all over the continent and actors of the African diplomacy.

First day is summarised in this press release if you're interested...

PRESS RELEASE   Nº141/2011

THE STORY OF AFRICA SHOULD FIND THE SPACE THAT IT DESERVES IN THE MEDIA – AUC CHAIRPERSON

Addis Ababa, 2 November 2011 –    A high level media workshop on the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) started at the African Union Commission (AUC) in Addis Ababa, with the aim of improving communication on the issue of peace and security in Africa and to see the creation of a journalists’ network for peace.

“I wish to see the story of African events finding the space that it deserves in the international media. Stories that give hope and esteem to African citizens”, said the Chairperson of the AU Commission Dr Jean Ping, in an address delivered on his behalf by the Commissioner of Rural Economy and Agriculture Mrs Rhoda Peace Tumusiime at the official opening ceremony of the workshop today.

Mr Ping’s message highlighted the crucial importance of the media in “preaching the virtues of peace and warning on the dangers of war”. “Indeed the media occupy a key position in the transmission of information to Africans and to the outside world”, he said.

The media and the AU Commission, he added, despite their different scopes, have the same mission i.e. to bring the voice of Africa to the fore and to express African positions. “African media are the voice of Africa”.

The Chairperson also took the opportunity to reiterate the AU Commission’s commitment to freedom of expression and the right to information. These rights are guaranteed in the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights which states that: “everyone has the right to information” and that “everyone has the right to express and disseminate his opinions within the law”. The Chairperson’s statements in this regard are complementary to the work being done by the Commission’s Directorate of Information and Communication, which is working hand in hand with communication and media specialists across the continent to ensure freedom of expression and the right to information as guided by the AU instruments. The Directorate also promotes interaction between the AU and the media fraternity.

The workshop will enable participants to discuss with the relevant authorities on how the African Peace and Security Architecture functions. Presentations will be made on the various activities and interventions in the area of peace and security. It will allow the AU Commission to improve its understanding of the media, which it views as partners in the promotion of peace and security.

The workshop is also expected to lead to the creation of a network of journalists for peace and security in Africa (NetPeace). In this regard it will elect an executive board and reach agreement on a calendar of meetings. The network will be closely linked to existing networks.

Dr Ping also announced the imminent establishment of a program of learning and information (AID) on APSA, with the aim to allow all African citizens to have easy access to knowledge of the continental instruments for the promotion and maintenance of peace.

The workshop’s opening ceremony was also addressed by the Director of Information and Communication at the AU Commission Mrs Habiba Mejri Cheikh who highlighted that, in its constant search for better information flow, the Directorate has organised a number of meetings for journalists from the five regions of the continent. She said the workshop is opportune, coming as it is in the immediate aftermath of significant events on the continent, such as the Arab Spring, the events in Cote D’Ivoire and the drought in Horn of Africa. Acknowledging that the AU position and intervention was not clearly portrayed to the world in all cases, she said “we have realised this and we are re doubling our efforts with the media so that we can understand the reasons why. We want to see how we can redress the situation”.

Also speaking at the workshop’s opening ceremony was Mr Christopher Hall, Counsellor and Advisor at the Embassy of Canada, which is supporting the DIC and the Department of Peace and Security to improve continental awareness and understanding of the AU’s involvement in peace and security issues. Mr Hall is also the representative of the Francophone Research Network on Peace Operations (ROP).  

The workshop is being attended by high level personalities in the African media. The Chief of Staff in the Burequ of the Chairperson of the AUC also attended the opening ceremony. It was organised by the Directorate of Information and Communication and the Department of Peace and Security in partnership with the Francophone Research Network on Peace Operations (ROP).

WZM/