Monthly Archives: September 2018

11, September 2018

Nigeria: Gas tanker explosion kills at least 35 ⁰

At least 35 people were killed on Monday and hundreds injured when a gas tanker exploded in northern Nigerian state of Nasarawa and started a blaze, the state emergency agency said.

Footage from Nigerian Television Authority NTA shows fire, smoke rising and injured people being carried on stretchers.

The State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) official said the accident happened at a petrol station along the Lafia-Makurdi road linking the capital city of Abuja with northern and southern Nigeria.

Usman Ahmed, acting director at SEMA, said the truck exploded at the point of discharging the gas, citing a witness account. The agency was investigating the incident, he said.

11, September 2018

Ghana receives Kofi Annan’s remains ahead of funeral ⁰

The Ghana government officially received the mortal remains of Kofi Annan, the former United Nations Secretary-General who died on August 18 in Bern, Switzerland; aged 80.

Annan’s mortal remains left Geneva aboard a private plane with his coffin draped in the flag of the body he served for decades. Some members of the Annan family including his wife arrived with the body.

The plane arrived at the Kotoka International Airport, KIA, at 16: 00 GMT and was received by Ghana’s president Nana Akufo-Addo at a brief military ceremony. The UN flag was taken off and replaced with the Ghana flag upon arrival.

The former global diplomat is due to be given a full state burial that will span for three days. Between his arrival and burial at a military cemetery on September 13, a number of events have been planned to celebrate his life.

Body of Kofi Atta Annan arrives on Monday 10 September 2018 at 1600 hours.
Laying in state for paying of respect by public on Tuesday 11 September 2018
Laying in state for paying of respect by dignitaries on Wednesday 12 September 2018
Both events at the foyer of the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC) from 1000 to 1600 hours daily.
Funeral service at the Auditorium of AICC on Thursday 13 September 2018 at 0900 hours.
This will be preceded by filing past and paying of last respect by VVIPs only from 0730 to 0830 hours.
Burial is slated for the military cemetery located in the capital, Accra.

It is expected that Heads of State, high ranking United Nations Officials including the Secretary General and other high profile international personalities will attend the funeral ceremony.

Source: Africa News

11, September 2018

Cameroon No Longer Under President Biya’s Control, CPDM baron Says ⁰

A senior member of the Yaoundé Francophone regime has told Cameroon Intelligence Report that the country is no longer under the control of President Biya and his forces. The French Cameroun political elite who hail from the South region also said the Ambazonian Restoration Forces stand a better chance of taking control of more territory deep inside French Cameroun.

The CPDM MP and Central Committee member who sued for anonymity further pointed out that the mismanagement of the crisis in Southern Cameroons and Biya regime’s excessive use of force against innocent Ambazonian civilian population has made the situation more intractable.

An indefinite dusk to dawn curfew has been imposed on Southern Cameroon’s Northern Zone after the Minister of Territorial administration, Paul Atanga Nji and his gang reportedly staged armed attacks on buses in Bamenda late on Saturday and blamed it on the Ambazonian Restoration Forces.

Cameroon Intelligence Report understands the Francophone Northwest governor Adolphe Lele Lafrique said the curfew between 6pm and 6am from Sunday will remain effective till further notice. The attack on buses is also apparently the reason that the Francophone army retreated from the Southern Cameroons suburbs to the main motorways linking French Cameroun to Southern Cameroons.

Cameroon government sources have also reported that the 85 year-old President Biya has for the 9^th time decided to split the responsibilities of his top military officers, taking away from non Beti Ewondo army generals the sole mandate for dealing with the crisis that has gripped La Republique du Cameroun in the Far North, the East and presently in Southern Cameroons.

The mandate in Buea, the chief city in the Southern Zone was recently passed partly to a Francophone colonel after General Melingui was sacked and ever since he took over control, the colonel has been responsible for military operations and repression including arrest of Southern Cameroons resistance forces. Cameroon Intelligence Report also gathered that President Biya’s relatives in the army and in the gendarmerie are now imposing a blockade on families of the Cameroon political establishment, in order to prevent them from leaving the country.

If these intelligence that were handed over to our senior political correspondent in Yaoundé are correct, they point to a very heavy pressure on Biya and his French backers, and indicate fear bordering on hysteria as to what is happening in the nation’s capital.

Despite troubling signs of a major crack within the army and the police, the highest ranks of the military billionaires are still loyal to the CPDM regime. Many junior officers who were recently deployed to Southern Cameroons simply defected and escaped to the Ivory Coast via Nigeria. It is not clear whether the Ivorian government is aware of the presence of many French speaking Cameroonian soldiers on its territory.

Violence continued over the week end as the Ambazonian Interim Government reported that several Southern Cameroons civilians were killed by Cameroon government forces in restive areas on the outskirts of Buea, Bamenda, Manyu and Wum Counties.

The deaths in the Wum and Mamfe areas included 27 teenagers and two women. The African Union and the UN Security Council are not seeking military action to end the bloodshed in Southern Cameroons.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

10, September 2018

Tennis world divided after Serena Williams’ US Open outburst ⁰

Voices in the tennis world have spoken out both in support and condemnation of US tennis champion Serena Williams after the angry outburst that cost her a game, and possibly the match, during her US Open final on Saturday.

Williams’ behaviour divided the tennis world after she called the chair umpire a “liar” and a “thief” and said he treated her differently than male players during her loss to Naomi Osaka of Japan.

Rallying in support of the 23-time Grand Slam champion, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) on Monday called for the equal treatment of all tennis players, male or female.

“The WTA believes that there should be no difference in the standards of tolerance provided to the emotions expressed by men vs. women and is committed to working with the sport to ensure that all players are treated the same. We do not believe that this was done last night,” CEO Steve Simon said in a statement.

Williams, who was seeking a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title on Saturday, was given three code violations by chair umpire Carlos Ramos in her 6-2, 6-4 loss to Osaka. The six-time US Open champion was handed a warning for a coaching violation before being deducted a point for smashing her racquet. She then had a heated argument with Ramos, which cost her a game.

Williams, who has since been fined $17,000 by the United States Tennis Association for the violations, vigorously disputed each of them during the match.

Support and condemnation

In the wake of Osaka’s first Grand Slam triumph, there were messages of support for Williams as well as those condemning her behaviour and agreeing with the umpire’s calls.

Tennis great Billy Jean King wrote on Twitter: “When a woman is emotional, she’s ‘hysterical’ and she’s penalized for it. When a man does the same, he’s ‘outspoken’ and there are no repercussions. Thank you, @serenawilliams, for calling out this double standard. More voices are needed to do the same.”

Yet Australian Margaret Court, whose tally of Grand Slam singles titles is being chased by Williams, had little sympathy for the 36-year-old American former world number one.

“We always had to go by the rules,” Court, who dominated tennis during the 1960s and early 1970s, said according to a report in The Australian.

“It’s sad for the sport when a player tries to become bigger than the rules. “Because the young player outplayed her in the first set, I think pressure got her more than anything.”

Racquet smash

The drama started when Ramos handed Williams a coaching violation early in the second set because of hand gestures made from the stands by her coach Patrick Mouratoglou. He later admitted the offence, which is not allowed in the sport but is rarely punished.

When the violation was announced Williams approached Ramos to insist she never takes coaching and would rather lose than “cheat to win”.

Things seemed to settle down as Williams went on to break Osaka for a 3-1 lead, but she gave the break right back in the next game with a pair of double faults, prompting the former champion to smash her racquet on the court.

That resulted in a second violation, meaning Osaka was awarded the first point of the sixth game. Williams, who was under the impression the first violation had been rescinded, returned to Ramos to seek an apology for saying she had received coaching earlier.

During a changeover, Williams resumed her argument with the umpire, this time saying he was attacking her character and was a “thief”. That triggered a third violation, which resulted in a game penalty that gave Osaka a 5-3 lead.

From there, Williams summoned the tournament referee to the court and said male tennis players are not punished for similar offences.

‘Williams was wrong’

Tennis great John McEnroe, one of the game’s most tempestuous characters in his playing days, said the sport must find a way to allow players to express feelings and inject their personality into the game while adhering to certain rules.

According to McEnroe, Ramos should not have given Williams a violation for breaking her racquet and should have warned her early on about what would happen if she did not move on.

“I’ve said far worse,” McEnroe, a seven-times Grand Slam singles winner, said on ESPN. “She’s right about the guys being held to a different standard, there’s no question.”

Yet Richard Ings, a former professional chair umpire who also used to be the ATP Tour Executive Vice-President, Rules and Competition, felt it was Williams who needed to apologise.

Ings once issued a warning, point penalty and a game penalty against McEnroe at the 1987 US Open for obscenities directed at the umpire.

“We should not let her record, as glowing as it is, overshadow the fact that on this day, in this match Williams was wrong,” Ings wrote in The Sydney Morning Herald.

“The decisions made by Ramos had nothing to do with sexism or racism. They had everything to do with observing clear breaches of the grand slam code of conduct and then having the courage to call them without fear or favour.”

(FRANCE24 with Reuters and AP)

10, September 2018

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Northern Zone hit by French Cameroun dawn-to-dusk curfew ⁰

An indefinite dusk to dawn curfew has been imposed on the English-speaking Northwest Cameroon after armed separatists attacked buses and blocked access into the regional capital, Bamenda late on Saturday.

Northwest governor Adolphe Lele Lafrique said the curfew between 6pm and 6am from Sunday will remain effective till further notice.

“During the said period, movements of vehicles, persons and goods shall be strictly forbidden. All off licences, snack bars and night clubs shall remain closed….and night travel suspended,” the governor’s order reads.

The restriction that exempts administrative authorities, law and order agencies, persons and vehicles in possession of special authorisations and ambulances, came a day after armed separatists attacked buses and passengers and obstructed movement into and out of Bamenda.

Partially damaged

Over 20 70-seat passenger buses were blocked at Akum on the outskirts of Bamenda Sunday morning, with some partially damaged.

A trader, Mr Gideon Fai, who was traveling to Douala, recounted on phone that gunmen stopped and ordered them out of their bus, then forced them to tear off the Cameroon flag from their national identity cards.

The men had dug a trench across the road with the help of an excavator from a road construction company. They later set the excavator ablaze.

Separatist groups claimed responsibility for the attack on social media, saying it was part of a plan to stop military reinforcement from other regions and also to disrupt the presidential election scheduled for October 7.

The anglophone separatist activists who have been clamouring for secession and the creation of the Republic of Ambazonia, have warned that they would not allow any election organised by the Yaoundé regime to take place in “their country”.
They have also warned that no buses would be allowed into or out of the English-speaking northwest and southwest regions after September 15.

Strikes and protests

The almost two-year long violence that has gripped the English-speaking regions started as an industrial strike by lawyers and teachers, but escalated into an internal armed conflict with fears the Central African country could slide into a civil war if the violence persists.

Violence and unrest escalated in late 2016 after a series of strikes and protests against what teachers, lawyers and students viewed as further discrimination against Anglophones. Between September 22 and October 1, 2017, large-scale protests were organised across the Anglophone regions to symbolically proclaim the independence of a new state of Ambazonia, but the government responded with violent repression.

Recurrent confrontations between armed separatists and government troops have led to the killing of dozens of people, hundreds others imprisoned while thousands have been forced out of their homes.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) estimates that some 160,000 people have fled their homes in the strife-hit regions into the bushes, while more than 21,000 have crossed to next door Nigeria as refugees.

Source: The East African

10, September 2018

Race for the White House: Former Vice President returns to Instagram and draws 1 million followers ⁰

Former US Vice President Joe Biden has returned to the popular social media platform Instagram amid speculation that he might be planning to run for president in 2020.

On Friday, Biden posted two photographs of himself and his wife, Jill, participating in a walk for injured veterans in New York. He has gathered more than 1 million followers since then.

According to different polls, Biden leads Trump by several points in a potential 2020 matchup. His blue-collar appeal has put him at the center of talk for months about whether he’ll run against.

According to the Associated Press, Biden will make a decision on the race by early next year. Biden is a strong critic of Trump and his leadership style. He has accused his administration of misunderstanding and misrepresenting the American values.

He has called Trump a “charlatan,” and accused the Republican head of state of taking advantage of frustrated middle class voters.

It seems Biden is remorseful about his decision not to run in the last presidential election, and has claimed that he could have easily defeated Trump.

Biden, a favorite for the 2016 Democratic nomination, announced his decision to not run for the White House in October 2015, cementing former secretary of state Hillary Clinton’s standing as the front-runner.

The popular vice president, who lost his son Beau to cancer in May 2015, said back then that he was not emotionally prepared to take on the battle and that it was too late for him to enter the race. Trump proceeded to pull off a historic victory against Clinton.

Source: Presstv

10, September 2018

Car bomb hits Somali capital, leaves unknown casualties ⁰

An explosive-laden car has rammed into a local government building in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, leaving an unknown number of casualties.

The Monday bombing attack was followed by gunfire, according to a Reuters eyewitness, who said huge clouds of smoke were rising above the city.

Other witnesses told the news agency that the government office had been destroyed in the blast.

“A suicide car bomb rammed into the office of Hodan district of Mogadishu. There are casualties but so far we do not have a figure,” said Major Mohamed Nur of the area’s police department.

One witness said he saw at least five people being taken away by ambulances.

No other details were reported. And there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Last week, a car bomb attack destroyed another district office in Mogadishu.

The al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab terrorist group frequently carries out bombings and gun attacks in Mogadishu and other parts of Somalia.

The terrorists were forced out of Mogadishu by African Union forces in 2011. However, they still control parts of the countryside and carry out attacks against government, military, and civilian targets in the capital as well as regional towns every now and then.

Source: Presstv

10, September 2018

Sudan’s Bashir dissolves government amid economic crisis ⁰

Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir has dissolved the government and appointed a new prime minister in a move aimed at fixing the country’s ailing economy.

President Bashir on Sunday appointed Moataz Moussa — who had been serving as minister of water resources, irrigation, and electricity — as Sudan’s new prime minister, replacing Bakri Hassan Saleh.

Saleh, who was serving as both prime minister and vice president, had been appointed in 2017. He will retain his vice presidential post.

Moussa’s government is expected to have 21 ministers rather than the 31 ministerial posts of the now-dissolved administration, a move intended to cut spending.

A statement released by the presidency said the latest measures were necessary to solve “the state of distress and frustration faced by the country.”

In recent months, people in Sudan have been suffering from shortages of bread, fuel, and hard currency.

The US dollar exchange rate has recently risen from an official rate of about 30 Sudanese pounds to about 47 Sudanese pounds on the black market.

Sudan’s economy reportedly began deteriorating after South Sudan seceded from it in 2011, taking with it three-quarters of the country’s original oil output and a huge part of foreign currency.

The lifting of a 20-year-old US trade sanction on Sudan last year was expected to improve the economy; however, the economic situation worsened as the black market for the US dollar has in effect replaced the formal banking system.

10, September 2018

Southern Cameroons War: Restoration Forces Attack Buses in the Northern Zone ⁰

Cameroon says it has deployed additional troops to Bamenda several hours after armed separatists blocked access into and out of the northwestern English-speaking town, attacking buses and passengers.

At least 20 passenger buses are still lined up at Akum, a village 10 Kilometers from Bamenda, the capital of the Cameroon’s English speaking northwest region.

Some of the buses that were traveling to the French-speaking cities of Yaounde and Douala have been burned and others damaged. The Cameroon military has accompanied some travelers who were chased from the buses to help them identify and collect their luggage.

A bus burned by separatists in Akum, Cameroon, Sept. 9, 2018.

University student Philip Njie was traveling to Yaounde when at least 100 gunmen ordered passengers out of the buses late Saturday.

“There were so many of them. So many of them holding their hands at the trigger, ready to shoot at anyone who disrespected them so we were very scared,” said Njie.

At least 1,000 people traveling into and out of Bamenda were stopped by the gunmen.

Seized road construction equipment used to block roads and destroy buses in Akum, Cameroon, Sept. 9, 2018.

The government troop commander in northwestern Cameroon, General Agha Robinson, calls the gunmen “terrorists.”

“There is an operation to dislodge these terrorists to make sure weapons are seized, and therefore, we go down to the field and then we shut down these areas where these guys produce these weapons. We have been searching some areas where we deem necessary and in our check points too, we have our eyes on the bags which people are carrying,” said the general.

A damaged bus in Akum, Cameroon, Sept. 9, 2018.

Separatists groups claimed responsibility for the attack on social media. They have warned that no buses would be allowed to travel into or out of the English-speaking northwest and southwest regions of Cameroon after September 16.

The separatists say it is part of their plan to disrupt Cameroon’s October 7 presidential election, which they say can not take place in their territory because they are an independent state called Ambazonia.

Unrest began in Cameroon in November 2016 when teachers and lawyers in the English-speaking northwest and southwest began calling for reforms and greater autonomy.

The United Nations reports 300 people, including 130 policemen and the military, have been killed and hundreds of thousands have fled, including 20,000 who crossed into Nigeria.

Reported by VOA

9, September 2018

Seedorf makes shaky start with Indomitable Lions ⁰

Cameroon coach Clarence Seedorf made a shaky start to his tenure as Indomitable Lions coach as his team rescue a draw against Comoros Island in their African Cup of Nations qualifier yesterday. Stephane Bahoken netted an 80th-minute equaliser to save Cameroon from a humiliating defeat. The reigning African champions, who are currently set to host next year’s Africa Cup of Nations, fell behind in the 15th minute when El-Fardou Ben Mohamed opened the scoring.

The Red Star Belgrade forward put the hosts into an unlikely lead following some excellent work out wide from Lorient’s Faiz Selemani, who evaded his marker with some fine footwork before swinging in a cross for Ben Mohamed to slam a left-footed effort past Andre Onana at his near post. On a synthetic pitch, in front of a buoyant home support at the Stade Said Mohamed Cheikh in Mitsamiouli, Cameroon laboured for an equaliser against opponents ranked 149th in the world.

However, Angers striker Bahoken netted an equaliser 10 minutes from time after Comoran captain Nadjim Abdou misjudged his clearing header, allowing the 26-year-old to net his first international goal from close range. The win leaves Cameroon, who have automatically qualified for the AFCON but still compete in qualifying Group B, atop the pool with four points from their opening two fixtures. Ex-AC Milan and Deportivo La Coruna coach Seedorf was appointed as Hugo Broos’s long-term successor on August 6. Since winning the AFCON title in February 2017, Cameroon struggled at the Confederations Cup and then failed to reach the 2018 World Cup.

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