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    July 08, 2011

Jubilation Spreads in South Sudan Ahead of Independence

   VOA News
   Southern Sudanese security forces watch over an independence rehearsal
   procession in Juba, South Sudan, July 7, 2011
   Photo: AP
   Southern Sudanese security forces watch over an independence rehearsal
   procession in Juba, South Sudan, July 7, 2011

   The celebrations have yet to start in South Sudan, set to declare its
   independence in just hours, but already the soon-to-be nation can
   rejoice.
   Sudan officially recognized South Sudan's independence Friday in a
   statement by Minister for Presidential Affairs Bakri Hassan Saleh
   carried on state television

                                                   South Sudan At A Glance
     * Total Population is 8.26 million
     * Total Area is 644,329 sq. km
     * More than 51% of the population is under age 18
     * 72% of the population is under age 30
     * 83% of the population is rural
     * 27% of the adult population is literate
     * 51% of the population lives in poverty
     * 78% of households depend on crop or livestock farming for income
     * 55% of the population has access to safe drinking water
                                                                          
   South Sudan will become the world's newest country on Saturday with a
   ceremony in the soon-to-be capital of Juba. Some 30 African heads of
   state are expected to attend Saturday's independence ceremony,
   including Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.
   U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will also be in attendance. To help
   ease a peaceful transition, the United Nations Security Council is
   expected to vote Friday on a resolution to create a peacekeeping
   mission for the south. It would call for 7,000 military personnel as
   well as 900 international police.

   Preparations for the south's independence day continued Friday with
   performers dancing through the streets of Juba while workers cleaned
   the area around the venue. But the festivities belie (run counter to/or
   contradict) the challenges the new nation will soon face.
   Director of the Sudanese Survey Authority Prof. Ahmad Al-Sadiq displays
   a new map of the country of Sudan, announced by the Sudanese Ministry
   of Information in Khartoum, July 4, 2011

AP

   Director of the Sudanese Survey Authority Prof. Ahmad Al-Sadiq displays
   a new map of the country of Sudan, announced by the Sudanese Ministry
   of Information in Khartoum, July 4, 2011

   South Sudan is still trying to disentangle itself from north Sudan and
   the two sides have yet to resolve issues on borders and oil revenue.
   The north's army is currently fighting pro-southern elements in the
   northern-controlled state of Southern Kordofan.
   On Thursday, the army of north Sudan demobilized 15,000 troops
   considered to be southerners at a ceremony in Khartoum.
   North and south Sudan fought a 21-year civil war that ended in 2005.
   Southern Sudan voted overwhelmingly to split from the north in a
   January referendum.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

   IFRAME:
   [1]http://www.dipity.com/voamultilingual/Republic-of-South-Sudan-Worlds
   -Newest-Country/?mode=embed&ct=Jul 7, 2011&z=0#tl

   [2]Republic of South Sudan, World's Newest Country on Dipity.

References

   Visible links
   1. http://www.dipity.com/voamultilingual/Republic-of-South-Sudan-Worlds-Newest-Country/?mode=embed&ct=Jul%207,%202011&z=0#tl
   2. http://www.dipity.com/voamultilingual/Republic-of-South-Sudan-Worlds-Newest-Country/

   Hidden links:
   3. http://www.dipity.com/

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