South Sudan In Focus - VOA Africa

South Sudan’s media authority lifts the ban on foreign journalists who were denied permission to enter South Sudan; farmers in Bor County expect improved harvests this season, despite an increase in food insecurity; and the U.N. Secretary-General appeals to the international community to increase funding for South Sudanese refugees living in Uganda.

Some foreign envoys in South Sudan say they will fund the national dialogue if the government ends the ongoing conflict; Famine has been eased in parts of South Sudan, but food insecurity persist; and some lawmakers in Imatong State say the timing is right to set up a commission for truth, reconciliation and healing.

A new report says food insecurity in South Sudan has worsened, with half of the country's population struggling to find food; an Amnesty International report accuses government soldiers of burning homes and displacing tens of thousands of South Sudanese civilians; and Pope Frances pledges to give more than 500 thousand dollars in aid to South Sudan.

The trial of South Sudanese soldiers charged in last year's Terrain hotel attack resumes in Juba following a two week delay; the Chancellor of Germany calls for more foreign investment and aid to Africa; and on World Refugee Day, South Sudanese talk about living as refugees in Ugandan settlement camps.

A Sudanese medical doctor is gunned down by unknown gunmen in Yambio Town; South Sudanese women call on the government to punish sex offenders, and encourage women to report cases of sexual violence to police; and aid agencies face difficulties in providing life-saving assistance for South Sudanese in living in Uganda.

The national dialogue steering committee calls for the participation of former Vice-President Riek Macher, while a new opinion poll shows most South Sudanese do not believe the national dialogue will be a success; police in Uganda’s northern district of Koboko arrest armed soldiers trying to sneak across the border; and school children in South Sudan say the ongoing conflict prevents them from attending school and having a normal childhood.

Yei County authorities discover the bodies of six civilians who were abducted more than two weeks ago in Gimunu Village; the international community works to reverse the effects of famine across Africa and South Sudan; and Torit Civil Hospital opens a blood bank to store life-saving blood for hundreds of patients.

More than forty people are reportedly killed in fighting between government and SPLA-IO forces near Torit; members of the opposition say the IGAD communique has failed to resolve the worsening crisis in South Sudan; and South Sudanese religious leaders praise IGAD’s call for a development forum to revitalize the 2015 peace agreement.

Political parties and activists react to IGAD's call for a ceasefire in South Sudan and President Kiir's absence from the summit in Addis Ababa; health officials in Imatong State try new methods to reduce the rate of maternal deaths; and South Sudanese refugees express their gratitude for the services provided by humanitarian agencies and the Ugandan government.

The IGAD heads of states meet in Addis Ababa to discuss the humanitarian crisis in South Sudan without President Salva Kiir in attendance; members of the South Sudan steering committee find difficulty agreeing on an agenda for the national dialogue; and South Sudanese students worry about their safety along the Juba-Nimule road.