Breaking News

25, December 2016

Search for French aid worker begins in Mali ⁰

French and Mali authorities have started search operations for a French aid worker abducted by militants in the West African country. France’s Foreign Ministry confirmed on Sunday that Sophie Petronin, a Frenchwoman who runs an organization for malnourished children in Mali, had been kidnapped in Mali’s restive north a day earlier, adding that a joint search operation had been launched to find the aid worker.

The ministry said that French and Malian authorities were working together “to find and free our compatriot as quickly as possible.” It added that the family of Petronin has been contacted by the ministry. Other sources said French military forces were also contributing to the search operation. “French soldiers of the Barkhane force (in Mali) are actively taking part in the search alongside the Malians,” a military source said in France without elaborating.

As the director of a non-governmental organization in the Malian city of Gao, Petronin has been helping children suffering from malnutrition in Mali for a long time. The women, who is believed to be in her sixties, has a specialty in nutrition and tropical diseases. Petronin had escaped a kidnapping by militants in Gao in 2012.

Reports from Mali on Saturday had suggested that a woman with dual French and Swiss nationality had been abducted Gao. The Swiss Foreign Ministry, however, later said that it found no evidence showing that Petronin had Swiss citizenship.

Violence erupted in Mali’s volatile north after groups linked to al-Qaeda seized areas in the territory beginning from March 2012. The government, groups backing it and ethnic Tuareg rebels managed to reach a peace pact last year following some lengthy negotiations but clashes continue unabated.

Presstv

25, December 2016

Fako Chiefs reject 5,000,000 FCFA offer to buy support for La Republique ²

Fako Chiefs have reportedly rejected the sum of five million francs (5000’000 frs) offered to each traditional ruler to denounce the struggle for freedom from Francophone slavery.

Cameroon Concord News was reliably informed that of the fifty four (54) members who were present in the town hall meeting, thirty four (34) of them walked out rejecting the offer while twenty signaled their intention to receive the money. The chiefs have declared their unflinching support for change and the new Anglophone nationalism.

Our informant is keeping a close watch over this issue and we will publish the names and full addresses of the chiefs who will eventually accept the payments.

By Rita Akana

25, December 2016

Christians have celebrated the birth anniversary of Jesus Christ ⁰

Christians around the world have celebrated the birth anniversary of Jesus Christ, with a solemn mood presiding over many ceremonies, as war, terror and discord continue to plague many nations across the globe. Thousands of pilgrims and tourists converged on the city of Bethlehemin the Israeli-occupied territory of the West Bank for the occasion.

Crowds of worshipers gathered in the Church of Nativity, the biblical birthplace of Jesus in Bethlehem, where a midnight mass was led by the Latin Patriarch of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa. The ceremony was attended by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah as well as other dignitaries.

In his homily, Archbishop Pizzaballa expressed his sympathy for asylum seekers and pleaded for measures to stop the spiral of violence in the Middle East which has destroyed many countries across the region and taken the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians, especially children.

“Closed doors, defended borders before personal and political choices are a metaphor for the fear that inevitably breeds the violent dynamics of the present time,” he warned.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas congratulates Archbishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa (R), the apostolic administrator of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, during the Christmas Midnight Mass in Saint Catherine’s Church in Bethlehem December 25, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Meanwhile in Vatican City, head of the Roman Catholic Church Pope Francis marked the birth of Jesus Christ. During his address, he called on the world to open their eyes to the plight of those in need, including Middle Eastern refugees, especially those from Syria and Iraq who fled to Europe, as well as those who are in war-torn countries.

In his Christmas message delivered at Saint Peter’s Basilica, the pontiff urged all worshipers to ponder on the situation of children “hiding underground to escape bombardment.” In Europe, people are celebrating Christmas amid fears of the repeat of the terror attacks they have witnessed in recent months, especially the latest truck attack which took place in the German capital Berlin on Monday.

Security has been tight in various parts of Europe as the holiday season reaches its peak. In Germany, authorities have worked through the Christmas to ensure public safety especially in Berlin where Tunisian national and Daesh sympathizer, Anis Amri, killed 12 people after crashing a truck into a crowded Christmas market. Many locals have visited the market, lit candles and laid flowers for the victims.

Also in Italy, security remains tight. Milan’s Cathedral has been highly secured by Italian police with concrete barricades set around the historic Piazza del Duomo. Also, in the Vatican people were on high alert following the shooting dead of the man believed to be behind the Berlin market attack.

Not far from Italy, France has deployed around 100,000 police forces and soldiers to guard public spaces including churches and markets.

Police carry out searches on visitors as they access a security perimeter in front of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in central Paris, December 24, 2016, ahead of Christmas Eve Midnight Mass. (Photo by AFP)

Christmas has also been observed elsewhere in the world including in Muslim countries.

In Iran, Christians have gathered in churches to celebrate the occasion.

Iranian Christians sing during Christmas Eve Mass at the St Joseph Armenian Catholic Church in Tehran on December 24, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Also, Christians in Iraq held a Christmas Eve service in the town of Bartella, near Mosul for the first time since it was captured from Daesh terrorists in 2014. Iraqi forces were deployed there to provide maximum security.

Volunteers prepared the church for the service which had been destroyed and set ablaze by the terrorists. Meanwhile, in Syria’s northwestern city of Aleppo, Christian residents prepared for celebrations just days after the army liberated the city from the clutch of militants. The celebrations in Syria’s second largest city came amid army operations against the terrorists in the suburbs of Aleppo.

Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All East John X Yazigi leads prayers during Christmas Mass at the Elias Orthodox Church in Aleppo on December 24, 2016. (Photo By AFP)

Culled from Presstv

25, December 2016

As pressure mounts on Biya: Over two dozens of Anglophones arrested in Bamenda released ⁰

Over two dozens of youths arrested in Bamenda, North West region during two separate strike actions staged on November 21, 2016 and December 8 have gained freedom. A former detainee who wanted to be called only by his surname, Elvis reveals that over 25 of them incarcerated at the Bamenda Central prison were released on bail Friday December 23, 2016 .

He said they were presented before state council and that their case was defended by some lawyers and Human rights activists. According to information independently gathered those who are still in prison are unable to bail themselves or pay for charges levied against them. The 25 were among others arrested during the uprising in Bamenda when a strike action initiated by Common law Lawyers and Anglophone Teachers turned violent and the Bamenda population joined in to denounce among others poor road networks and limited water supply.

The youths also staged a strike action and prevented the CPDM party from holding a unity meeting on December 8, 2016 but they met with police brutality as live bullets, tear gas and water cannons were used on them. Over half a dozen died but government sources counted just two deaths. However the fate of other youths over 50 transported to Yaoundé on helicopter is still to be determined. Common Law Lawyers and Allophone Teachers have set their release as a pre condition for dialogue with the government, without which dialogue will end on deadlock.

What has left untold about the Bamenda twin strike action on November 21 and December 8 this year leaves much to be desired. Most of those arrested were never part of the strike; in fact they were just unfortunate passer bys. Elvis who was released Friday sells plantains in Bamenda. That fateful December 8, he was returning from his site of sale and was intercepted by police forces who asked to see his palms, immediately they saw that they were dirty, they arrested him with pretext that he too was involved in burning tires and throwing stones. Like Elvis, several other youths were randomly arrested and detained, some brutalized.

Some of the youths who died were taken to their early grave by stray bullets. At City Chemist roundabout a youth went to fetch water but died on the spot after a stray bullet got him. Another youth went outside their home to eat his Pawpaw but a bullet came from nowhere and struck her mouth denying him the Pawpaw and squeezing life out of him.

Contrary to a situational report from North West Governor Adolphe LELE L’Afrique to Communication Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary, which indicated that only two persons died, there have been more than six corpse removals from the Bamenda hospital mortuary, an indication that over half a dozen persons died. There are still some youths who were critically injured in hospitals as fear heightens they might give up the ghost.

Culled from Cameroun Info. Net

24, December 2016

Congo-Kinshasa: Opposition parties near deal on power transition ⁰

Political parties in the Democratic Republic of Congo have stopped negotiations before finalizing a power transition agreement, under which President Joseph Kabila will leave office next year. Participants in the negotiations said the talks between the opposition and the government in the DR Congo, which lasted for 12 hours, came to an end at about 5:30 a.m. local time (0430 GMT) on Saturday.

The negotiations were set to resume at 11 a.m. local time. “At that time … it will be possible to propose a final document that can be signed this afternoon,” opposition delegate Francois Mwamba said. Mwamba noted that the negotiating parties had failed to agree on some points of the deal, which was recently brokered by the country’s Catholic Church. The deal would allow President Joseph Kabila to remain in office for an additional year but the constitution could not be changed to let him run for a third term.

Under the agreement, presidential elections would also be held in 2017. The unexpected accord came after dozens of people were killed in anti-government protests this week. The United Nations put the death toll at some 40. Opposition leaders Martin Fayulu and Jose Endundo said a prime minister would be chosen from the main opposition bloc and veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi would supervise the implementation of the agreement.

Kabila has not immediately commented on the news. President Kabila’s second term in office expired on Tuesday. According to the constitution, a new president must be elected now. However, Kabila has remained in office as a presidential election scheduled for last month was postponed because of what the government said were delays in registering voters.

Kabila has been accused of trying to cling on to power. His supporters, however, say that he is committed to the constitution but stepping down from power would possibly spark a power struggle that could put his life in danger. His father, former president Laurent Kabila, was assassinated in 2001 in the country, which has never witnessed a peaceful transition of power. He took office just ten days after the assassination of his father.

Presstv

24, December 2016

Perpetrator of Berlin attack shot dead in Italy ⁰

A man believed to be the perpetrator of a Monday terrorist attack in the German city of Berlin has been killed in Italy. Italy’s interior minister confirmed that Anis Amri, wanted in the Berlin attack, was killed in a shootout with police in the northern Italian city of Milan on Friday. Minister Marco Minniti said that all the necessary checks were conducted after the shootout and that “the person killed, without a shadow of a doubt, is Anis Amri, the suspect of the [Berlin] terrorist attack.”Minniti said, however, that investigations were still in progress and that there could be “future developments.” A short video posted on the website of Italian magazine Panorama suggested that the shooting happened before dawn, with police gathered around a cordoned-off area in the dark.

Amri was the main suspect in an attack on a busy Berlin Christmas market on Monday. He allegedly ran a 40-ton truck into a crowd, killing 12 people and injuring 48 others. Shortly before the shootout in Italy, police in Denmark had said that a man matching his description had been seen in Aalborg in northern Denmark. Danish police said people had to keep away from the area as a security operation had been launched there.

German investigators had said they believed Amri was still laying low in Berlin because he was probably wounded, Der Tagesspiegel reported citing security sources. In the early hours of Friday, German special forces also arrested two men suspected of planning an attack on a shopping mall in the city of OberhausenIn in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, police said in a statement. A police spokesman said there was no connection between the Duisburg arrests and the Amri case.

Presstv

24, December 2016

Cameroon’s Human Rights Commission approves a draft budget of 1.7 billion FCFA ⁰

Officials of the National Commission for Human Rights and Freedoms have agreed on a program for 2017. This was during the commission’s 21st Ordinary Session chaired by the institution’s Chairman, Dr Divine Chemuta Banda.

During the meeting, members approved a draft budget of 1.7 billion CFAF for 2017. Apart from the budget, members scrutinized the 2016 report on the state of human rights in Cameroon that is expected to be published.

In this regard, there was a zoom on cases of the violation of human rights during the strike actions in the South West and North West Regions. Dr Divine Chemuta Banda said the commission shall continue to encourage dialogue as the best way to maintain peace. Also during the session, commission members had the opportunity to take stock of the successes in 2016.

CRTV

24, December 2016

Yaounde: First Lady visits Center for Applied Research ⁰

First Lady, Chantal Biya was on Wednesday 21st December 2016 at the Centre for Applied Research, Endoscopic Surgery and Human Reproduction CHRACERH. Her arrival at the Centre which she inaugurated on 6th May 2016 was followed by a welcome address by the Minister of Public Health Andre Mama Fouda. Thereafter, she was treated to a guided tour to the different wards of the Centre where close to 20 in-vitro babies and their mothers have been waiting.

The First Lady Chantal Biya on each case extended a warm hand of fellowship before distributing the gifts she was carrying along. The mothers and their babies were visibly elated for this mark of generosity and special interest the First Lady has been expressing towards the Centre. The Centre uses advance technology in the endoscopic surgery for women that have problems of pro-creation.

Since its creation on 13th October 2011 CHRACERH has produced close to 25 test-tube babies under the direct supervision of its Director General Professor Jean Marie Kasia. On each stop the First Lady was accompanied by the Director General of the Centre Professor Jean Marie kasia, Public Health Minister Andre Mama Fouda and a host of Cabinet Ministers, dignitaries, special guests and CERAC members.

Culled from CRTV

23, December 2016

CEMAC leaders reject second devaluation of the common currency ²

The extraordinary summit of the CEMAC region has ended in Yaounde this Friday with 21 resolutions adopted to resolve the economic and financial crisis which has rocked the countries in the region.

Cameroon Concord News understands that the leaders also set up a committee to monitor the implementation of the 21 resolutions. Paul Biya and his counterparts gave a vehement “no” to the devaluation of the common currency.

The Heads of state opted for the austerity measures prescribed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which provides for drastic adjustments.

Some of the resolutions included the Implementation of an infrastructure policy to promote sustainable development for the benefit of the population,the commitment to community solidarity in the face of current and future economic and security shocks and above all, a monetary policy which involves freezing the ceilings of statutory advances of BEAC to the level set in 2014.

In his closing remarks, Mr Biya reminded his counterparts that “bilateral and multilateral partners should be given” flexibility”

By Kingsley Ebong

23, December 2016

Yaounde: CEMAC leaders discussing a second devaluation of the FCFA ⁰

Presidents Sassou Nguesso of Congo, Ali Bongo of Gabon, Faustin Touadera of the Central African Republic, Idriss Deby of Chad, and Theodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea are in Yaoundé. The leaders together with their Cameroonian counterpart, Paul Biya are holding an extraordinary summit of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) this Friday, December 23, 2016.

The topics on the agenda of this extraordinary summit have still not been revealed to the media. However, speculations are high that the leaders are discussing a second devaluation of the Franc CFA because of the financial crisis in the Central African Sub region.

Cameroon Concord News was reliably informed that this summit focusing on the ability of the CEMAC economy to cope with the current financial crisis. Finance ministers have revealed that CEMAC trade balance is in deficit and countries of the sub region are now facing a drastic decline in their reserves in terms of the French treasury operating account. So it is obvious that there is a risk of a second devaluation.

The leaders are also expected to examine the subject on the negotiations between CEMAC and the European Union for the signing of the Economic Partnership Agreements.

By Rita Akana