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13, October 2016

Female Africa Cup of Nations: General mood in Cameroon moves from pessimism to optimism ¹

When Cameroon won the bid to host the 2016 women AFCON, there was a general feeling of pessimism about the country’s ability to host the tournament. The fears were entertained by the slow pace of executing of construction work on the sports infrastructure to host the showpiece. However, with the appointment of a new Minister of Sports and Physical Education, things sped up as government minister as well as the Governor of the South West Region multiplied field visits to mount pressure on the contractors. Even when it was clear Cameroon was going to be ready for the competition on time, skeptics still entertained the view the country was not going to be ready and that the hosting right was going to be withdrawn from Cameroon after the CAF inspection mission.

However, the skeptics were silenced when the head of the CAF inspection mission to Cameroon, Leodega Tenga declared at the end of their visit that Cameroon was ready. “Cameroon is ready to host the 2016 AFCON”, he said. “There are good quality hotels. No doubt about the training grounds. The Limbe stadium is one of the best on the continent. The pitches are ready for play even if the tournament was to take place today. We are extremely satisfied with what we saw and I think it is going to be an exceptional tournament in Cameroon”, Leodega Tenga added.

Despite the satisfaction of CAF, the Minister of sports and Physical Education, Bidoung Mkpatt declared that the government and entire citizens of Cameroon were mobilized towards organizing the competition with panache. To match words with action, the minister of Communication declared that though CAF recommends outside broadcasting vans with eight cameras, the country had ordered for two O.B. vans with twenty cameras for the TV production of the tourney. The litmus test on Cameroon’s ability to host the tournament was the draws ceremony on September 18, which Cameroon passed in flying colours as the event was of an unprecedented magnitude as testified by the president of CAF, Issa Hayatou who said it was the first time he was taking part in a draws ceremony in a football competition other than the men’s AFCON.

With about a month to go to the kick off of the competition on November 19, the momentum generated by the draws ceremony continues gathering steam raising great expectations. It is said the draws ceremony was just the tip of the iceberg as compared to what the opening and closing ceremonies of the tourney will be as it has been conferred in the hands of experts from Europe.

Culled from Cameroon Tribune

13, October 2016

Camair-Co crisis deepens as Transport Minister snubs Board Chair Mefiro Oumarou ⁰

Transport Minister, Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo’o, and his new corporate executive staffs of Camair-Co met on Wednesday, October 12, 2016 in Yaounde with officials of the Audit Consulting firm Boeing. Amid tension with the new board chair of the airline company, Mefiro Oumarou, the transport minister reportedly told the Americans that President Biya has chosen Boeing and that the plan developed by Boeing has already been validated and stressed that the new Camair- Co leaders should rally behind Boeing as soon as possible and move towards the implementation phase.

Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo’o did announce the release of part of the funding needed to redress the airline company. Said the minister, “I am able to tell you that FCFA 30 billion is already available for Boeing to accompany Camair-Co in the implementation of this plan.”

The hard-line position adopted by Minister Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo’o has openly contradicted statements released by the President of the Board of Camair-Co, Mefiro Oumarou. Mefiro recently opined that there was need to put aside the recovery plan submitted to the President of the Republic by Boeing Consulting.

The Boeing plan hinted our informant in Yaounde will allow Camair-Co to fly to 27 destinations: 9 domestic, 13 regional and 5 intercontinental. There is a proposal to acquire new aircrafts over a period of five years by 2020. Boeing also requested the Cameroonian government to inject 60 billion FCFA in the computerization of the company and building sheds.

Culled from Cameroon Intelligence Report

12, October 2016

New dress code for Yaounde University II students ⁰

The Rector of the University of Yaounde II, Soa, Ibrahima Adamou has prescribed a new dress code for students in the university. The prescription is contained in a communiqué signed in September 2016.

Accordingly, the Rector prohibits indecent dressing, unnecessary piercings, excessive adorning with jewellery and extravagant hairdos. Both boys and girls on campus are exhorted to abide by these prescriptions which require that student tone down their general external looks.

In this light, short dresses above knee level, tight-fitting clothes, sleeveless tops, irregular hair colours and styles, extra-high shoes, slippers, earrings (for boys), caps and anklets, amongst others are prohibited on campus. The Rector of the University argues that the decision is intended uphold decency, virtuous behaviour and the respect of ethics in the University.

If the Rector’s instructions are heeded to, the University of Yaounde II, Soa will measure up with most professional schools where the administration has succeeded in keeping a keen eye on decency.

12, October 2016

As tension mounts in Congo-Kinshasa: President Denis Sassou Nguesso envoy in Yaounde for talks ⁰

Cameroon’s Minister Secretary General at the Presidency of the Republic, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh has reportedly met with Jean-Claude Gakosso, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Republic of Congo. Cameroon Concord News was reliably informed that both men had the audience inside the Unity Palace on the 11^th of October 2016.

With political tension and violence increasing at catastrophic rapidity in neighbouring Congo-Kinshasa, the Congolese Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation was bearer of a sealed envelope from President Denis Sassou Nguesso to President Paul Biya.

The Congolese envoy in a chat with journalists of the state radio and television blatantly refused to disclose the content of the letter. He however observed that the letter was a message appealing to President Biya to focus on consolidating peace in the region.

Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh and the special envoy of President Denis Sassou Nguesso took the opportunity to revisit the bilateral cooperation between Cameroon and Congo Brazzaville. Jean-Claude Gakosso was accompanied to state house by the ambassador of the Republic of Congo, Gisele Bouanga Kalou.

By Chi Prudence Asong

12, October 2016

Maiduguri: Bomb attack kills 8 ⁰

At least eight people have been killed in a bomb attack in Nigeria’s violence-plagued northeastern state of Borno. The bomb blast was carried out on Wednesday, when a female assailant detonated her explosives in a taxi in Maiduguri, the militancy-riddled capital of the northeastern Nigerian state. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) said, “About eight persons lost their lives, [and] 15 injured persons were evacuated to specialist and teaching hospitals.”

There has been no claim of responsibility for the bomb attack. Nigerian officials, however, often blame such acts of terror on the Boko Haram Takfiri militant group, which has been active since 2009. Boko Haram started its campaign with the aim of toppling the Nigerian government. The Takfiri terrorist group later expanded its activities to the neighboring countries of Cameroon, Chad and Niger.

On September 30, Toby Lanzer, the UN assistant secretary general, urged more donations to satisfy the humanitarian needs of people affected by Boko Haram militancy, warning that the world’s worst humanitarian crisis awaited the Lake Chad Basin if enough was not done. The UN official said over nine million people in the region were in “desperate” need of aid, warning that 65,000 people were living in “famine-like conditions.”

In this photo taken on September 15, 2016, women and children queue to enter one of the nutrition clinics of UNICEF in Muna informal settlement. (Photo by AFP)

According to the United Nations, about 80,000 children could starve to death if they did not get food aid within the next year.

Boko Haram terrorists have so far killed more than 20,000 people and forced over 2.7 million others from their homes. The group has pledged allegiance to the Daesh Takfiri terrorists operating mainly in Syria and Iraq.

Presstv

12, October 2016

Kaduna: Nigerian troops open fire at Shia mourners killing 9 ⁰

Nigerian forces open fire at Shia mourners taking part in Ashura processions, killing at least nine people in the cities of Kaduna and Funtua, Press TV correspondent from the capital Abuja reports.

The killings on Wednesday came as mourners defied a state ban, holding processions in several cities to mark the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (Peace Be Upon Him), the third Shia Imam.

Tensions were already running high between the regime and Nigeria’s Shia Muslims who have been demanding the release of prominent cleric Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky from prison.

People carry pictures of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky as they rally in Kaduna, Oct. 12, 2016.

Heavily-armed troops in a convoy of 18 armored vehicles surrounded a gathering of mourners in Kaduna as an ambulance waited nearby, UK-based Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC) said in a statement.

A local newspaper said the standoff was at the residence of senior Shia leader Muhtar Sahabi. It said armed soldiers and mobile police officers surrounded the compound and were waiting for those gathered inside to leave.

According to the Press TV correspondent, troops fired tear gas and live bullets at mourners in Funtua and Kaduna.

A protester is seen standing as Nigerian troops fire tear gas in Funtua, Oct. 12, 2016.

The confrontations follow a spate of arrests over recent days of members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), the mainstream Shia group led by Sheikh Zakzaky.

The government has imposed a ban to prevent the movement’s supporters from attending ceremonies commemorating the month of Muharram during which Imam Hussein (PBUH) and his 72 companions were martyred 14 centuries ago.

The killings on Wednesday revive the memory of the run-up to the massacre last December of hundreds of IMN supporters by the army and the arrest of Sheikh Zakzaky.

Presstv

12, October 2016

Chantal Biya International Cycling Tour gets into action ⁰

The 2016 edition of the Chantal Biya, Cameroon’s first lady international cycling tour has officially gotten into action today. Contrary to the previous year where the race began with a prologue, this time around, day one of the race will be used for the presentation of the participating teams.

There will be a total of four stages with all around the Centre and South regions of the country. Nine teams will be part of the race and they include; 3 Africans (Morocco, Rwanda and Côte d’Ivoire), 4 European teams (2 from France, Slovakia and Switzerland) and 2 Cameroonian teams (SNH and Team Cameroon).

The different stages of the competition have been earmarked as follows:

Stage 1: Yaoundé-Bafia

Stage 2: Yaoundé-Ebolowa 155km

Stage 3: Zoe Etele-Meyomesala 143km

Stage 4: Sangmelima-Yaounde 148km.

The 2016 edition of the Chantal Biya International Cycling Tour officially starts on Thursday October 13 and finishes on October 16, 2016.

By Cham Victor Bama

12, October 2016

FIFA World Cup 2018: Algeria fires coach after poor display against Cameroon ¹

The Algerian FA has sacked head coach Milovan Rajevac following a draw the Serbian technician recorded against the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon on Sunday the 9^th of October 2016.The Serbian coach is unemployed again, just three months after his appointment as head of the technical staff of the Algeria football national team.

The decision to get rid of Milovan Rajevac was made public by the Algerian Football Federation on its website. The statement did not however provide any reason for the sacking. But local media reports in Algiers say the poor performance of the Algerians in the match against the Lions of Cameroon hosted at the Mustapha Tchaker stadium in the city of Blida for the first day of the final round of qualification for the World Cup Russia 2018 heralded his dismissal.

The Algerian FA announced that Mr. Milovan Rajevac resigned on Tuesday, October 11, 2016 as national coach of the Algeria team. Milovan Rajevac who led the Black Stars of Ghana to the quarterfinals of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa has also prematurely left Algeria with a record of a win and a draw in two matches played.

He is the second coach to have been sacked after Javier Clemente of Libya earlier this week following a (4-0) thrashing by the Democratic Republic of Congo.

By Ebong Kingsley with files from Cameroon Info.net

12, October 2016

X-Maleya to tour the USA in October ⁰

X-Maleya has announced a series of concerts to mark the group’s ten years of existence. Cameroon Concord News learned that the trio: Roger, Auguste and Haïs, popularly known as X-Maleya will be touring the United States of America in what has been dubbed “USA Dream Tour”.

X-Maleya recorded huge success in Europe including their victory tour of Germany and Olympia-Paris in 2014. The US X-Maleya tour is expected to last for a month. The “boy band” will float the Cameroonian flag in Uncle Sam and their first stop is scheduled for October 16 at Fillmore Silver Spring, in the State of Maryland. After Silver Spring, the group will jet to Preston Bradley Centre in Chicago on 22 October.

A spokesman for the group recently observed that the conquest of the United States is a new challenge and preparations have taken a serious dimension as regards to synchronization of choreography and development of the directory.

The main ten years ritual will be performed in Cameroon in December although the date has not been disclosed. For the record, X-Maleya came to the lime light in 2006 through the Exile album. Since then, they have not disappeared from the music scene. The small group has made a name in Africa, Europe and are now heading to the US. They have five albums to their credit.

By Rita Akana with files from Cameroon Tribune

12, October 2016

Chadian Prime Minister in Yaounde ⁰

Prime Minister, Philemon Yang has received in audience the Prime Minister of Chad, Albert Pahimi Padake. Both heads of government met on October the 11^th, 2016 in the Star Building in Yaounde. The Chadian Head of Government reportedly handed over a sealed message from Chadian President, Idriss Deby to his Cameroonian counterpart, President Paul Biya.

Yang and his guest reviewed relations between Cameroon and Chad in various fields. The Chadian official indicated that the Cameroon – Chad railway line is advancing, hitch-free. Development in the energy sector between both countries was also discussed as well as security issues related to the Nigerian Islamic sect, Boko Haram.

We understand Chad is lobbying for Cameroon’s support, as one of its nationals is vying for the post of Chairperson of the African Union Commission.

CRTV