The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today began distributing food to over 135,000 people displaced by fighting in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which has forced an estimated 250,000 people to flee their homes in recent months.

The distributions are aimed at internally displaced persons (IDPs) in six camps around Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu, which has been the scene of deadly fighting between Government forces (FARDC) and the rebel National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP), led by renegade general Laurent Nkunda.

While clashes are continuing in some parts of North Kivu, a recent ceasefire is reportedly stillWFP is responding as quickly as possible to deliver food to people who’ve been brutalised too many times over many years holding in Goma, which has a swelling population of between 700,000 and 1 million.

“WFP is responding as quickly as possible to deliver food to people who’ve been brutalised too many times over many years,” said Mustapha Darboe, WFP Regional Director for Southern, Eastern and Central Africa.

“Now they are suffering again. Tens of thousands have been uprooted in North Kivu and we are doing everything we can to find them and help them.”

The 10-day rations will be distributed in all camps at the same time to avoid any disturbances, as well as to ease the pressure on food supplies in Goma since the violence temporarily cut off many delivery routes.

The agency is moving food stocks to Goma from its office in Bukavu in South Kivu, and bringing in supplies from Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania.

Assisting WFP with the relief effort is the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which will handle distributions to the estimated 65,000 IDPs who are now gathered at Kibati camp, 15 kilometres north of Goma.

The agency reported that a UN assessment mission to the Rutshuru area - the scene of much of the recent fighting - was forced to cut short its work on Tuesday when it found itself in close proximity to new clashes around Kiwanja, north of Rutshuru town.

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has confirmed that three IDP camps in the area were destroyed and emptied, and is trying along with WFP and other agencies to determine what happened to the inhabitants.

“This is a dangerous and unstable environment and it’s going to be challenging to deliver food to where it is needed most. We need proper security in place to ensure everyone involved is safe and that we reach the most vulnerable,” Mr. Darboe said.

http://www.skytowercasino.com

 Email This Post |

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

Alessandro Del Piero, capitán del Juventus italiano, aseguró tras marcar los dos goles de la victoria de su equipo sobre el Real Madrid y recibir una cerrada ovación de la afición madridista, que “el Bernabéu me ha regalado unas emociones únicas”. “Ha sido fantástico, algo que llevaré siempre conmigo. Unas sensaciones únicas y no solamente por los dos goles o la victoria, sino por ver como un público como el del Bernabéu me despidió de esa forma. Me ha regalado unas emociones únicas”, afirmó.

Sobre el partido, Del Piero destacó las claves del triunfo de su equipo. “Hemos sabido poner sobre el campo nuestras cualidades y hemos sabido que hacer para frenar al Real Madrid”. Por último, bromeó con la suerte que dio la presencia del nuevo seleccionador argentino, Diego Armando Maradona, en el palco. “Si que nos vea Maradona provoca esto, que venga a vernos todos los partidos. Le deseo lo mejor en la selección argentina”, dijo.

Manniger: “Hicimos caso a Ranieri”

Coincidió con su capitán el portero Manninger en su análisis del encuentro. “Hemos estado perfectos trasladando al campo justo lo que nos ha explicado nuestro técnico. Lo que nos dijo en el vestuario para frenar al Real Madrid nos sirvió para hacerlo antes de que lo hiciesen”. 

http://www.skytowercasino.com

 Email This Post |

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

Tico leaders from across the political spectrum cheered Barack Obama’s victory yesterday as he became the first black elected president of the United States .

Winning large majorities of Latino voters, the Democrat captured 349 electoral votes, compared to 162 for Republican candidate John McCain, as of this morning.

“This was one of the most emotional events of my political life,” said Epsy Campbell, president of the left-leaning Citizen Action Party (PAC), whose ancestors migrated from southern Africa to Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast. “I thought about all our black ancestors who fought for the rights of our people. Barack Obama embodies (that) fight.”

Health Minister María Luisa Avila, from the governing National Liberation Party (PLN), watched returns from Brazil, where she is attending a conference on dengue.

“It means progress in the area of human rights … overall in the (fight) against racism,” she said.

Ana Helena Chacón, a lawmaker for the Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC), was rooting for Obama, even though her party has historically aligned itself with the Republicans.

“I hope relations with Latin America improve,” she said. “There have been few efforts at cooperation, except in the field of security.”

The five PUSC lawmakers plan to discuss the implications of an Obama presidency today, Chacón said.

The Foreign Ministry released a statement this morning congratulating Obama and celebrating his status as the nation’s first African-American president.

Even Otto Guevara, leader of the Libertarian Movement (ML) party and a McCain supporter, saw a silver lining.

“McCain’s speech was extraordinary,” he said. “He put himself at the service of the new president and (promised) to work together for the good of the United States.”

www.skytowercasino.com

 Email This Post |

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

Actores, actrices, músicos, directores de cine y conductores de televisión celebraron a lo grande el triunfo de Barack Obama en diferentes ciudades estadounidenses.

El cantautor Sean Diddy Combs y la actriz Jessica Alba acudieron a un bar en Nueva York para contagiarse del ambiente festivo que se vivió en las céntricas y congestionadas calles de la Gran Manzana, según imágenes de la cadena CNN y del diario británico Daily Mail.

Este mismo rotativo dio amplio destaque a la “Obamanía” que contagió en esa ciudad a los actores Sarah Jessica Parker y su esposo Matthew Broderick, quienes vistieron ropa de color azul (del Partido Demócrata), pines y broches.

El canal E! informó que la actriz Courtney Cox (otrora estrella de la serie Friends ) organizó una fiesta de la “victoria” en su mansión en Beverly Hills, California, la noche del martes. A la cita acudió su amiga, la actriz Jennifer Aniston.

Las imágenes de televisión dieron cuenta de la alegría y euforia del actor Brad Pitt y la conductora Oprah Winfrey, quienes ayer se perdieron entre la multitud que ovacionó al presidente electo, en el Grant Park de Chicago.

Otros actores que semanas atrás anunciaron públicamente su apoyo a Obama son Steven Spielberg, Ben Affleck, Justin Timberlake, Ryan Philippe, Lindsay Lohan, Beyoncé, Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Susan Sarandon, Samuel L. Jackson, Morgan Freeman, Robert De Niro y Edward Norton.

www.skytowercasino.com

 Email This Post |

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...