Monthly Archives: March 2018

14, March 2018

UK to expel 23 Russian diplomats over alleged nerve agent attack ⁰

The UK plans to expel 23 Russian diplomats after an alleged nerveagent attack on a Russian former double spy in southern England, the biggest single expulsion in over 30 years.

British Prime Minister Theresa May told the House of Commons in Parliament on Wednesday that Russia has expressed “disdain” for Britain’s wish for an explanation into the attempted murder of former double agent his daughter.

May announced a range of economic and diplomatic measures, including a decision to cancel all high-level bilateral contacts with Moscow. She also said no ministers or members of the royal family will attend the football World Cup in Russia.

The UK premier said that the Russian diplomats have a week to leave Britain.

“We will freeze Russian state assets wherever we have the evidence that they may be used to threaten the life or property of UK nationals or residents,” May said.

Former double agent Sergei Skripal, 66, and his 33-year-old daughter, Yulia, have been hospitalized since they were found unconscious on a bench outside a shopping center in the city of Salisbury on Sunday.

Both Skripal and his daughter remain unconscious in a critical but stable condition.

British police attributed the critical illness of the two to a nerve agent that British media claim only governments could have possessed.

British media and politicians previously speculated that Russia might be behind the incident. Moscow has strongly denied the allegations and expressed its readiness to help with the investigation.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has repeatedly denied any involvement in the poisoning of the double spy in Britain. Peskov said the fact that the attack took place in England proves Russia had no role in the incident.

“The Russian citizen you mention… worked for one of Britain’s special services, the incident took place on British territory, and it is in no way an issue for Russia, let alone for the Russian leadership,” Peskov told journalists on Monday.

May said the expulsion of the 23 diplomats, identified as undeclared intelligence officers, was the biggest single expulsion for over 30 years and would degrade Russian intelligence capabilities in Britain for years to come.

Russian foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Britain was “acting out political drama” rather than investigating the matter seriously.

“Russia could not have had any motives” for the attack, he said, “but those who would like to continue a Russophobic campaign in absolutely all areas of human activities” could have had such motives.

Source: Presstv

14, March 2018

Group threatens to sue Nigeria government over girls’ abduction ⁰

A rights group in Nigeria has threatened to take legal action against the government for its “criminal negligence” allegedly resulting in the kidnapping of hundreds of schoolgirls.

In its stronghold in northeastern Nigeria, the Takfiri Boko Haram terrorist group has abducted hundreds of schoolsgirls, causing public outcry.

Recently, more than 100 girls were kidnapped from the Government Girls Science and Technical College in Dapchi, reviving memories of the mass abduction of 276 girls from another boarding school in Chibok in April 2014.

The #BringBackOurGirls movement has served the Federal Government a seven-day notice to rescue the abductees or face legal action for the “criminal negligence which enabled the abduction of Dapchi girls,” Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) lawyer Femi Falana said at a press conference on Tuesday.

A picture taken on February 28, 2018 at the deserted students boarding of Government Girls Technical College at Dapchi Town in northern Nigeria shows the abandoned students’ dormitory after Boko Haram militants kidnapped 110 schoolgirls. (By AFP)

The group’s lawyer added that his clients not only demanded the rescue of the abducted girls but also punishment for the local security officials who had failed to guarantee the students’ safety.

“We are not just going to court to demand the rescue of the girls; we are also going to demand sanctions because once you do not punish impunity, you are going to have criminality happen all over the place,” he said.

President Muhammadu Buhari has said his government is determined to ensure the release of all girls abducted by Boko Haram through negotiation.

Buhari has also reportedly ordered the country’s security forces to guarantee the safety of schools and students.

Source: Presstv

14, March 2018

Pilot-less, electric, vertical takeoff taxis debut in New Zealand ⁰

Pilot-less flying taxis are being tested in New Zealand as part of a project backed by Google co-founder Larry Page that supporters say will revolutionize personal transport.

New Zealand regulators late Tuesday approved plans for Zephyr Airworks, a subsidiary of Page’s company Kitty Hawk, to develop and test the futuristic air taxis.

A video grab shows a pilot-less taxi during takeoff.

Known as Cora, the electric aircraft has a dozen small lift rotors on its wings, making it capable of vertical take-off and landing like a helicopter.

But developers say it is much quieter, meaning it could transport passengers in urban areas using rooftops and car parks as landing pads.

“We are offering a pollution free, emission free vehicle that flies dependably, we think this is the logical next step in the evolution of transportation,” Zephyr chief executive Fred Reid said.

The Cora prototype being tested in New Zealand’s South Island uses three on-board computers to calculate its flight path and is capable of carrying two passengers.

The computers operate independently as a safety measure and the aircraft can deploy a parachute if anything goes wrong.

The aircraft, previously known as Zee.Aero, has a range of 100 kilometers, reaching speeds of 150 kmh and an altitude of up to 900 meters.

The Cora project envisages they will become so common that “air travel will be woven into our daily lives.”
Zephyr said using them would be a simple experience for passengers.

“You wouldn’t have to know anything about flying a plane. Cora could fly for you,” it said in a promotional video. “And it would be all-electric, helping to build a sustainable world.”

Page’s company is also developing a prototype personal aircraft called the Kitty Hawk Flyer and unveiled an early model in the United States last year.

However, it looked more like a recreational plaything than a flying car, suitable only for flying above water and seating the pilot in an open top cabin exposed to the elements.

Cora appears far more robust and is designed more like a traditional aircraft, featuring an 11-meter wingspan, tail and a closed canopy for passengers.

In this handout picture, received on March 13, 2018 from New Zealand-based aviation company Zephyr Airworks, a “Cora” electric-powered air taxi is seen in flight. (Via AFP)

The aircraft will not be offered for sale, instead the public must book trips like they would with an airline or taxi service.

Zephyr said it would operate in a similar fashion to a car ride-share — with Uber the best known example — and is reportedly working on an app so customers could hail the air taxis on their mobile phones.

‘They could have laughed us out of the room’

It said Cora took eight years to design but then developers needed a suitable environment to safely test the new technology.

They settled on New Zealand because of its uncongested airspace and rigorous regulatory environment, with Reid saying local officials had embraced the idea.

“We had no idea what to expect,” he said. “They could have laughed us out of the room. We were pitching something that sounded like science fiction.”

Cora has been given an experimental airworthiness certificate from the New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority.

Trialling the flying taxi service will reportedly take six years, with operations based around the city of Christchurch.

“This aircraft represents the evolution of the transport eco system to one that responds to a global challenge around traffic and congestion, and is kinder to the planet,” Christchurch mayor Lianne Dalziel said.

Page and Sergey Brin founded Google in 1998, starting out in a Silicon Valley garage and transforming into one of the world’s largest companies.

He remains chief executive of Google’s parent Alphabet but the Kitty Hawk and Cora projects are a personal pursuit, not part of the tech giant’s operations.

(Source: AFP)

14, March 2018

Sierra Leone: Presidential runoff: SLPP’s Maada Bio vs. APC’s Samura Kamara ⁰

March 27, 2018 has been set as a runoff date to elect Sierra Leone’s next president. The National Electoral Commission (NEC) announced on March 13 that former foreign affairs minister, Samura Kamara will face Julius Maada Bio, a former military head of state.

Kamara who leads the ruling All Peoples Congress (APC) came in second after final results of the March 7 polls were declared. Maada Bio of the Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) won the first round with close to 1.1 million votes representing 43%.

A run-off presidential election between the first and second placed candidates is held two weeks after the certification of the results, unless a candidate wins 55% in the first round.

As part of our running coverage of the process, we present profiles of the two men aiming to succeed outgoing Ernest Bai Koroma as president.

Samura Mathew Wilson Kamara of ruling APC

Born April 30, 1951, the former central bank governor turned politician is aiming to continue with the APC government’s work even as Bai Koroma steps down. He will become the second APC candidate to occupy the presidency.

Kamara held the post of Central Bank governor between 2007 – 2009. He subsequently joined the APC and served in two top cabinet positions. Minister of Finance and Economic Development (2009 – 2012) and Foreign Affairs portfolio between 2012 and 2017.

He stepped down from his diplomatic responsibilities after the party elected him in October 2017 to lead their charge for a third straight term in office. This is his first shot at the presidency, he is credited with spearheading blueprint for Koroma’s first term in office.

He is a trained economist who holds a Bachelors Degree in Economics from the country’s famed Fourah Bay College. He also holds a PhD in Development Economics (1986) from the Bangor University in Wales, United Kingdom.

Samura is also celebrated as the lead technocrat who oversaw the country’s debt cancellation in 2007. The economy boomed under his tenure whiles Sierra Leone’s international relations soared during his tenure as chief government diplomat.

He is a Roman Catholic despite growing in a Muslim environment, most members of his family are Muslims. He is married to Elizabeth Massah Kamara. The vice presidential candidate of the APC is Bah Chernor Ramadan Maju.

Rtd. Brig. Julius Maada Bio – main opposition Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP)

Julius Maada Bio, 53, has tasted the presidency before having served a military Head of State for about three months. He led the National Provisional Ruling Council (NPRC) military junta government that lasted from January 16 to March 29 1996.

He has also tasted how it feels to be on the ballot paper, he was the Sierra Leone Peoples Party’s candidate for the last elections. He lost to outgoing Ernest Bai Koroma who beat him in the first round of voting.

As a military ruler, he toppled his boss in the NPRC junta Captain Valentine Strasser in January 1996 but handed over to democratically elected Ahmed Tejan Kabbah of the SLPP after the 1996 presidential elections.

He later retired from active service that year and moved to the United States to further his studies. He earned a Masters Degree in International Affairs from the American University in Washington DC.

He was born on May 12, 1964 and graduated from military academy in October 1987 aged 23. He has played part in peacekeeping ops by the United Nations famously in Liberia. He played a role in the 1992 coup and led the 1996 one before handing over after elections.

He returned from the U.S. to join the SLPP in 2005. Contested to lead the party but lost the bid. He was picked as party’s presidential candidate in 2012 polls and garnered 37% of votes to place second.

He is a Roman Ctholic married to Fatima Bio a practicing Muslim and a Gambian national. They got married in an interfaith ceremony in London in 2013. The couple have a child but Maada Bio has three other children from a previous marriage. The vice presidential candidate of the SLPP is Jalloh Mohamed Juldeh.

Culled from Africa News

14, March 2018

Ambazonia Crisis: 3 gendarmerie officers among dead in Nguti attack ⁰

The bodies of three gendarmerie officers including the newly appointed Commander of the Nguti Gendarmerie Brigade, Guy Robert Lontsi have been identified at the Manyemen hospital by family members. The three were reportedly killed on Tuesday morning in clashes between security forces loyal to the Biya regime in Yaoundé and Ambazonian militants.

The suspected secessionists’ militants who recently declared their allegiance to the Interim Government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia clashed in Nguti some few kilometers from Manyemen. Cameroon Concord News sources in the locality hinted that the Brigade Commander Guy Robert Berlin Lontsi was killed during the attack while two other gendarmes who sustained serious injuries later gave up at the Manyemen hospital.

A Cameroon government administrative official contacted by Camcordnews said a student gendarme was also injured during the deadly clashes. The government agent who sued for anonymity also added that Security forces neutralized three attackers and recovered firearms.

We understand the restoration forces targeted the Nguti Gendarmerie Brigade forcing most of the Nguti inhabitants to flee their ancestral homeland. There are also reports that the new brigade commander provoked the situation when he ordered the arrest of many young people and was demanding families to pay colossal amount of money to the gendarmerie for their children to gain their freedom.

By Sama Ernest

14, March 2018

Biya regime bans ex minister from leaving country ⁰

The passport of French Cameroun CPDM baron who also moonlighted as Minister of Water and Energy, Basile Atangana Kouna has been confiscated by security agents in Yaoundé. Cameroon Intelligence Report understands the former cabinet minister has also been barred from leaving the country.

The decision to keep Basile Atangana Kouna under surveillance was made public via an order signed by the Delegate General for National Security on March the 8^th. The National Police boss hinted in the press release that it was the responsibility of all heads of border posts, airports and the ten Regional Delegates for National Security to ensure that Mr. Basile Atangana remains in Cameroon pending an investigation.

Things are falling apart deep within the ruling CPDM crime syndicate. We understand the former Secretary of State at the Ministry of Public Works, in charge of roads, Louis Max Ohandja Ayina has also been given a travel ban by the Biya regime.

Basile Atangana Kouna’s travel documents were withdrawn a day after he was relieved of his duties as Minister of Water and Energy. Local media reported that the former minister tried to leave the country on March 7, aboard a Turkish airlines flight when he was restricted by security forces. Recently, a sea of CPDM personality were barred from leaving the country including the General Manager of the Cameroon Telecommunications Company, Camtel, David Nkotto Emane and some of his collaborators.

Pretending to fight corruption and establishing the so-called Special Criminal Court was President Biya’s way of saving himself the embarrassment of being humiliated during his perennial trips abroad as the President of the most corrupt country in the world. This ranking of the country as the most corrupt or one of the most corrupt countries had a potential to hamper President Biya’s personal pecuniary interests far from the borders of Cameroon. There was therefore a personal interest need to establish the court. Another personal interest need was to avail himself of a legal tool under his direct control to consolidate absolute power, blackmail potential rebels and competitors within the system and to stifle any form of institutional opposition. Biya has eventually perceived the anti corruption drive as a tool with which to whitewash his more than thirty years of corrupt governance and the rape of the economy.

By Rita Akana with contributions from Soter Agbaw-Ebai

13, March 2018

UN says 100,000 Venezuelans claimed refugee status since 2017 ⁰

Nearly 100,000 people who fled Venezuela have claimed refugee status since the start of 2017, the UN said Tuesday, as it ramped up response plans for a displacement crisis likely to worsen.

The UN refugee agency said the number of Venezuelans who have sought asylum has shot up 2,000 percent since 2014, but the most dramatic increases have occurred over the last 14 months.

With the country’s economic and political crisis intensifying, UNHCR has drawn up a “regional response plan that covers eight (surrounding) countries”, spokesperson Aikatarina Kitidi said.

“In view of the situation in Venezuela, it is crucial that people are not deported or forcibly returned there,” she added.

Asked if the UN had received reports of deportations or forced returns, Kitidi did not answer directly, saying only the agency was calling for “solidarity” among nations in the region in responding to Venezuelans in need.

An influx of Venezuelans has reportedly stirred tensions in Brazil, notably in the city of Boa Vista which has received 40,000 people, raising its population by more than 10 percent.

Hundreds of Venezuelans there have been sleeping on the ground for months, while using restrooms in gas or bus stations.

A Venezuelan elder refugee waits for his turn to take a shower at a shelter in the city of Boa Vista, Roraima, Brazil, on February 24, 2018. (Photo by AFP)

UNHCR warned that an increasing number of Venezuelans, especially those living abroad without legal protection, are “vulnerable to exploitation, trafficking, violence, sexual abuse, discrimination and xenophobia”.

The UN agency does not have a precise figure for those who have fled the crisis in Venezuela.

Regarding only those who have filed refugee claims, UNHCR said the figure stood at 145,000 since 2014 — but 94 percent of those claims have been recorded since the start of 2017.

(Source: AFP)

13, March 2018

Cameroonians shocked after seeing images of Late President Ahidjo’s residence ⁰

Cameroonians were shocked on Tuesday after seeing the dilapidated house of their first and late President, Ahmadou Ahidjo, who was known as the father of the nation.

Why it matters: Mr. Ahidjo was in power for 24 years, 8 months and 17 days between 18 February 1958, and November 4, 1982, when he resigned and handed over power to Paul Biya who was then Prime Minister. He was known as the man who built and united Cameroon at a time of political instability.

Mr. Biya remains in power 36 years after and he’s running for another term of seven years this year.

Mr. Ahidjo had been in charge before independence from France as interim head of State and Prime Minister between February 18, 1958 and January 1, 1960, when the French finally handed over after a brutal dictatorship. They also signed business deals that kept them in charge of the economy long after they officially left.

The pictures of the residence of the first Cameroonian President were published by Guibai Gatama, a journalist and activist who publishes L’Oeil Du Sahel newspaper. He said the residence of the former head of state in the Mayo-Oulo department in northern Cameroon had become a ghost of itself.

“It used to be a powerful place at the time,” Mr. Gatama, also from northern Cameroon wrote.

Source: Today News Africa

13, March 2018

Southern Cameroons Struggle: Militants kill police officer in Ashong ⁰

A police officer was killed over the weekend in Ashong, in the Northern Zone of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia in the midst of fighting between Southern Cameroons separatists and troops loyal to the Biya regime in Yaoundé.

Cameroon Concord News gathered that the gendarmerie brigade was attacked around 10 am GMT by armed men who reportedly came from Batibo, not far from Ashong. Three gendarmes who were providing surveillance were shot. One was killed by bullets and two others were wounded.

A well-placed security source revealed that three other gendarmes who were inside the brigade were wounded during the exchange of fire. The Ambazonian fighters made away with weapons and ammunition.

Recently, the so-called new Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji directed the French Cameroun governors in Southern Cameroons to ban the circulation of motorcycle taxi in the districts of Batibo and Widikum in the Momo County and in Mundemba, Muyuka, Kumba, Mbonge and Konye in the Southern Zone.

By Sama Ernest

13, March 2018

38 students dead in Ethiopia bus crash ⁰

Ethiopia’s state-affiliated broadcaster says that a bus plunged into a ditch, killing 38 people in Ethiopia’s northern Amhara region.

Fana Broadcasting Corporation reported on Tuesday that the bus veered off the road and went into the trench.

It said an additional 10 people were injured.

The broadcaster reported that most of the victims were university students. It said the accident happened in the south Wollo area.

Ethiopia is upgrading its road system but dilapidated roads, inadequate driving skills and poor conditions of vehicles contribute to road traffic deaths.

According to a report in Ethiopia last year, traffic accidents claimed the lives of more than 16,000 people in the country between 2014 and 2017.

(Source: AP)