Monthly Archives: October 2016

French National Front Party leader says EU, US responsible for the crisis in Syria

6, October 2016

French National Front Party leader says EU, US responsible for the crisis in Syria 0

French National Front Party Leader Marine Le Pen says the EU is responsible for the crisis in Syria, because it has been trying to bring down the government instead of battling terrorism. “You’ve done everything to bring down the government of Syria, throwing the country into a terrible civil war, while accusing Russia which is actually fighting Daesh,” she said while addressing the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday.

Russian air force fighters have been striking armed terrorists, including the Daesh and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham terror groups, across Syria at the official request of the government of President Bashar al-Assad since September 2015.

She stressed that the EU and US policies had directly contributed to Syria’s current crisis, which has claimed the lives of some 400,000 people since March 2011. “You cannot hide your responsibility […] for plunging this part of the world into an absolutely monstrous chaos,” noted Le Pen, who intends to run for president next year.

Le Pen also censured the EU’s “irresponsible” approach towards the refugee crisis in Europe.

A general view shows destroyed buildings in a government-held neighborhood of the western Syrian city of Homs on September 19, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

“No real measures are taken to curb the crisis. Your irresponsible policy, on the contrary, brings us more and more economic migrants,” she said.

Europe is facing an unprecedented influx of refugees, who are fleeing conflict-ridden zones in North Africa and the Middle East, particularly Syria.

Presstv

Paris: All went well with Rigobert Song

6, October 2016

Paris: All went well with Rigobert Song 0

Medical sources at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris have revealed that everything went well with our Rigo. The former Cameroon international was evacuated on Tuesday to France and we understand the three aneurysms, including haemorrhagic were successfully repaired and Captain Rigobert Song still remains under observation.

Hospitalized in Yaoundé, after suffering from a stroke, Rigobert Song left his homeland for the French capital Paris.  Public Health Minister, Andre Mama Fouda, attempted to politicize Song’s health situation by claiming that President Biya was directly responsible for all that happened at the Emergency Centre in Yaounde.

Before taking the air ambulance, “Rigo” was able to breathe without using oxygen assistance and cerebral bleeding was controlled. Cameroon does not have adequate technical facilities for this type of care so only those close to the corrupt regime in Yaounde are accorded a kind of government support to facilitate treatment in a European country.

By Chi Prudence Asong

UN: Former Portuguese Prime Minister to succeed Ban Ki-moon as Secretary General

5, October 2016

UN: Former Portuguese Prime Minister to succeed Ban Ki-moon as Secretary General 0

Antonio Guterres will be the next Secretary-General of the United Nations, following a vote by the Security Council to choose the organisation’s new leader.

Mr Guterres, 66, former prime minister of Portugal and head of the UN refugee agency, will take over from Ban Ki-moon in January. Ban has led the UN for the past 10 years. The decision was made in a straw poll, held in New York on Wednesday morning.

Mr Guterres’s candidacy was not vetoed by any of the permanent five members of the Security Council. It will now be formally approved by the General Assembly. The Portuguese politician said he was “honoured and happy.”

Culled from The Telegraph

Cameroon: CONAC Chairman calls for improve partnership with the Business Coalition against Corruption

5, October 2016

Cameroon: CONAC Chairman calls for improve partnership with the Business Coalition against Corruption 0

The Chairman of Cameroon’s anti-corruption body, CONAC, Dieudonne Massi Gams has hailed the work of the Business Coalition against Corruption (BCAC) in Cameroon. Speaking during a kind of CPDM cocktail at the residence of the British High Commissioner in Yaounde on the 4th of October 2016, Dieudonne Massi Gams thanked BCAC for training over 400 “good governance managers” in Cameroon and advocated for greater cooperation.

The Business Coalition against Corruption seeks to reinforce the respect of ethics in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises which have a key role in Africa’s economic advancement. Some members of BCAC who made the trip to Cameroon with Neil Wigan, British Foreign and Commonwealth Office Director for Africa highlighted the importance of developing a culture of integrity and good governance in Cameroon’s business sector.

CRTV

Belgium: Stabbing attack on 2 police officers

5, October 2016

Belgium: Stabbing attack on 2 police officers 0

Belgian police have reported a stabbing attack on two officers as counter-terror investigators begin a probe into the incident, which could spark fresh public fears over terrorism in the country.

Prosecutors said a man wielding a knife stabbed the two police officers in Schaerbeek area in the north of Brussels on Wednesday before being shot in the leg.

Eric Van Der Sypt, a spokesman for the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office, said suspicions were high that the attacker had terrorist motives.

“We have elements to believe that the incident was a terrorist attack,” said Van Der Sypt, adding that the suspect was in police custody.

Other police officials said the officers, who were wearing plain clothes, were not seriously injured. They said another police officer was also injured as he tried to stop the attacker, who attempted to escape the scene.

Presstv

Road to Russia 2018: Indomitable Lions held to a draw by Olympique Marseille

5, October 2016

Road to Russia 2018: Indomitable Lions held to a draw by Olympique Marseille 0

The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon were on Wednesday, October 5, 2016 at the Commanderie, the training camp of Olympique Marseille held to a draw by the French Ligue 1 club. Cameroon Info.net reported that the match fell short of national and international standard. Lassana Diarra was the man of the match who signed his return after two months of absence.

The Cameroonians have moved to a camp in Mallemort, a town about sixty kilometers from Marseille and the Indomitable Lions are expected to leave for Algeria on Friday, October 7, 2016 to clash with the Desert Warriors on Sunday, October 9- the first match of the final round of qualifying for the world Cup Russia 2018.

By Chi Prudence Asong with files from CIN

US internet giant Yahoo scanned hundreds of millions of users’ emails in 2015 at the request of US intelligence agencies

5, October 2016

US internet giant Yahoo scanned hundreds of millions of users’ emails in 2015 at the request of US intelligence agencies 0

A report says the US Internet giant Yahoo scanned hundreds of millions of users’ emails in 2015 at the request of US intelligence agencies. According to the report published by Reuters on Tuesday, the company secretly built a custom software program last year to search all users’ incoming emails for specific information requested by US intelligence officials.

Several former employees of the Internet company said the scanning of Yahoo Mail accounts was at the behest of the National Security Agency (NSA) or the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). “The request to search Yahoo Mail accounts came in the form of a classified edict sent to the company’s legal team,” they noted. The company did not reject the report and without providing any further details, said, “Yahoo is a law abiding company, and complies with the laws of the United States.”

Some experts said the move represents the first case in which a US Internet company agrees to a spy agency’s demand to search all arriving messages. “It is deeply disappointing that Yahoo declined to challenge this sweeping surveillance order, because customers are counting on technology companies to stand up to novel spying demands in court,” Patrick Toomey, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement.

In a separate incident last month, Yahoo said “state-sponsored” hackers had gained access to 500 million customer accounts in 2014. On several occasions, Internet companies have complained that the US government tried to force them to give away their users’ information. Yahoo reported earlier this year that some 200 million accounts may have been accessed and that hacked data was being offered for sale online.

The users of Yahoo’s online services were urged to review accounts for suspicious activity. They were also asked to change passwords. The NSA has previously come under fire for spying on Americans’ phone calls and Internet communications.  Countless leaks by American whistleblower Edward Snowden have detailed the highly sophisticated tools used by the NSA to collect data in bulk from unsuspecting people, including American citizens.

Presstv

The Rigobert Song Hospital Photos: Should Yaounde Prosecutors investigate the incident?

5, October 2016

The Rigobert Song Hospital Photos: Should Yaounde Prosecutors investigate the incident? 2

Cameroonians have demonstrated some questionable judgments before, but many around the world now think the recent publication of photos of Rigobert Song, former skipper of the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon by Cameroonians on social media as he was being resuscitated in a Yaounde hospital outdid the integrity of our hospitals, its staff and our nation.

In an apparent attempt to connect with his fans all over the world, some Cameroonians released intimate photos of the African football legend as he laid in a coma on his sick bed in Yaounde. Some of Rigobert Song’s fans requested prayers via those photos, but some also screamed, concerned that our hospital authorities should not have allowed anyone including family members to take photos of a patient in such pathetic condition.

The incident has been roundly condemned all over the world but no apologies or statement has so far been issued by the Emergency Centre in Yaounde. Cameroonians publish regularly photos of even dead relatives taken inside mortuaries on Face Book. The AGBAW-EBAI DEBATE thinks, this on Rigobert Song was alarmingly irresponsible behaviour and pretty careless to say the least. Journalism has rules!! So too is the social media.

In this edition of the AGBAW-EBAI DEBATE, we are asking our readers if Yaounde prosecutors should investigate the incident.

New report reveals incidences of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea decreasing but waters off West Africa remain dangerous

5, October 2016

New report reveals incidences of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea decreasing but waters off West Africa remain dangerous 0

Incidences of Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and Horn of Africa have been decreasing but waters off West Africa remain dangerous and criminal gangs in East Africa are still a lingering threat, according to a new report. These were some of the conclusions from a recent Oceans Beyond Piracy (OBP) meeting that convened 35 maritime experts to discuss the current state of maritime piracy off the east and west coasts of Africa in the runup to the upcoming African Union Maritime Summit in Lomé, Togo, later this month.

The OBP working group meeting noted that the upturn in kidnapping for ransom incidents in the Gulf of Guinea in the last quarter of 2015 and the first quarter of 2016 appears to have been reduced through a combination of increased patrols by the Nigerian Navy, increased use of contracted security and a refocus of attacks away from piracy at sea and more towards inland infrastructure.

“While the waters in the Gulf of Guinea remain dangerous, regional nations are increasingly able to respond to piracy attacks through operational coordination across the zones developed through the Yaoundé process. Recent examples of these successes include the Nigerian Navy’s armed response to pirate attacks on the MT Maximus in February and the Vectus Osprey in August of this year. International actors are supporting the regional states by coordinating Maritime Situational Awareness for merchant vessels through the Maritime Domain Awareness for Trade – Gulf of Guinea (MDAT – GoG) framework,” Oceans Beyond Piracy said.

Regarding the rule of law, Oceans Beyond Piracy said there is considerable frustration that regional justice systems are still not able or willing to hold pirates accountable. “As evidenced off the Horn of Africa, the commitment to arrest, prosecute and incarcerate pirates was essential in building trust between the shipping industry and regional states as well as sending a signal of regional resolve to address the issue based on the rule of law.”

 

For the Horn of Africa region, Oceans Beyond Piracy said it has recorded a decline in international counter-piracy spending from $7 Billion in 2010 down to $1.3 Billion in 2015, noting that an effective deterrence has been maintained due to more cost-effective counter-piracy measures and the overall decline in pirate activity. “However, participants agreed that piracy gangs are still organized and retain the capability and intent to attack international shipping. These criminal networks are currently focused on other criminal activity, but are watching to see if conditions at sea become favourable again for piracy attacks.”

In spite of emerging maritime crises elsewhere, Oceans Beyond Piracy said international forces remain committed to support countries in the Horn of Africa/Western Indian Ocean region to deal with piracy. “It is hoped that support for operational issues can be increasingly provided by regional partners and so-called ‘independent deployers.’ It was also stressed that capacity building plans for regional forces are still many years from effectively suppressing piracy on their own.”

The international fight against piracy has seen the apprehension, prosecution, conviction and incarceration of more than 1 000 pirates. Nevertheless, Oceans Beyond Piracy has urged shipping organisations not to become complacent and to sustain deterrence.

“As commercial shipping patterns return to pre-crisis norms, there is concern that a growing number of vulnerable vessels are not following recommended procedures such as transiting through the Internationally Recognized Transit Corridor in the Gulf of Aden. There are also clear indications that the use of armed guards is decreasing in all areas of the High Risk Area (HRA). These developments may risk creating opportunities for pirates to reassert piracy business models,” OBP said. “Shipping organizations still implore their members to remain vigilant and follow BMP4 recommendations while the HRA remains in effect.”

Culled from Defenceweb

Yaounde: Visiting British diplomat meets Prime Minister Philemon Yang

4, October 2016

Yaounde: Visiting British diplomat meets Prime Minister Philemon Yang 0

The Prime Minister and Head of Government, Philemon Yang has received the visiting British Foreign and Commonwealth Office Director for Africa, Neil Wigan.

Philemon Yang and his British guest reviewed relations between Cameroon and the Commonwealth. Neil Wigan reportedly reassured Cameroon of Britain’s support to the country, in spite of her exit from the European Union.

The British diplomat who is on a working visit to Cameroon is expected to launch the expansion of the business coalition against corruption. Neil Wigan had served as British ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia.

CRTV

 

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