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Breaking: Horror in Mora as Boko Haram strikes again

21, August 2016

Breaking: Horror in Mora as Boko Haram strikes again 0

Boko Haram militants have struck Cameroon again. The suicide attack took place today Sunday, August 21, 2016, in the town of Mora, capital of Mayo-Sava Division, located just over 80 km from Maroua, the chief city in the Far North region.

Our chief correspondent in the Far North say at least 5 people including the bomber have been pronounced dead. We also gathered that 25 people have life threatening injuries from the blast and a dozen more were seriously affected.

The death toll is expected to rise in the coming hours as first aid did not arrive on time. The kamikaze attack took place not far from the entrance of the main market of the city, where traders had gathered to buy cargoes of onions. The suicide bomber detonated his device near a group of traders.

The attack comes at a time when the Cameroon army recently announced the weakening of Boko Haram, which has pledged allegiance to the organization of the Islamic state and is now called Islamic state in Africa.

By Soter Agbaw-Ebai with files from Sama Ernest

Former US navy officer who published book on the killing of Osama Bin Laden forced to give up all profits

21, August 2016

Former US navy officer who published book on the killing of Osama Bin Laden forced to give up all profits 1

A former Navy Seal who penned a bestselling book about his role in the killing of Osama Bin Laden has to pay $7m to the US government. Matt Bissonette violated a non-disclosure agreement by failing to get clearance from the Pentagon for his book No Day Easy, which was published in 2012. Mr Bissonette has now agreed to give up all profits and royalties as well as any film rights or speaking fees.

The government has agreed to dismiss other liability claims as part of the agreement, in which he has to pay the equivalent of £5m. Bin Laden – the leader of terror group al-Qaeda – was killed in a raid on his compound in Pakistan in 2011 and buried at sea.

The school wine built: Boozing Brits help children in Argentina through Fairtrade range Navy Seals traditionally abide by a code of silence and do not speak publicly about their actions. Mr Bissonette accepted he had failed to enter his book for review by the Pentagon at a district court in the state of Virginia.

In a statement, he apologised and said he had been acting on the incorrect advice of his lawyer. “It was a serious error that I urge others not to repeat,” he said. “Although I never intended to endanger my former colleagues, I now recognise that failing to seek pre-publication review could place them and their families at greater risk, for which I especially apologise.” The Mirror

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Race for the White House: New Poll shows 8-percentage point lead by Clinton over Trump

20, August 2016

Race for the White House: New Poll shows 8-percentage point lead by Clinton over Trump 0

US Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has taken an 8-percentage point lead over her Republican rival, Donald Trump, in the run-up to the 2016 US presidential race, according to a new poll. The Reuters/Ipsos poll, released on Friday evening, shows the former secretary of state has 42 percent of the votes as compared to the New York billionaire having only a 34-percent support. Another 23 percent wouldn’t pick either candidate.

However, Clinton’s lead over Trump slimmed slightly in a four-way match-up that included Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson and Green Party nominee Jill Stein. She received 41 percent to his 34 percent. In that scenario, Johnson earned 7 percent, while Stein bagged 2 percent. The poll was conducted from August 14 to 18 among a national sample of 1,118 of adults and 1,119 likely voters. The margin of error for both samples is 3 points. Reuters noted that at this point of the race four years ago, President Barack Obama was leading his Republican challenger Mitt Romney by less than 2 points.

According to Pew Research Center poll, released on Thursday, a majority of Americans hold an unfavorable view of Trump, with 55 percent saying he would make a poor or terrible president, while 45 percent saying the same about Clinton. Thirty-one percent say Clinton would make a good or great president, while 27 percent say the same of Trump. Those who back Trump say, 81 percent to 11 percent, that life is worse now for US citizens than it was 50 years ago. However, Clinton supporters — 59 percent — say life is better than five decades ago and 19 percent say it is worse.

Presstv

Maroua: Fire consumes Red Cross ware house

20, August 2016

Maroua: Fire consumes Red Cross ware house 0

A fire has consumed the Maroua Red Cross ware house. All the medical stocks of the international Red Cross society in a warehouse situated in the Kosseyel beiy neighborhood in Maroua have been reduced to ashes by fire.

The rest of the humanitarian support items estimated at tens of thousands of tons would have also gone on flames were it not for the intervention of the Maroua rescue and firefighting brigade.

CRTV

Cameroon holds send-off ceremony for troops assigned to the Central African Republic

20, August 2016

Cameroon holds send-off ceremony for troops assigned to the Central African Republic 0

The national flag was handed over to the deputy commander of the troops projected on a peacekeeping mission to the Central African Republic. The Cameroonian contingent is part of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission to the Central African Republic, MINUSCA.

The ceremony at the Military Headquarters was the first of its kind for Cameroonian soldiers going on an international assignment. The Minister Delegate at the Presidency, Joseph Beti Assomo said the tradition has been instituted by the Commander in Chief of the Defence Forces; a farewell and a welcome ceremony will, henceforth, be organised for soldiers before departure and upon return from international missions.

Joseph Beti Assomo indicated that the innovation was among other measures taken by the Head of State to render the soldiers more efficient and effective in preserving and promoting Cameroon’s diplomacy of peace. Prior to the send-off ceremony, the soldiers of the peacekeeping force and gendarmes of the Formed Police Units took part in pre-deployment refresher courses in Douala and Yaoundé on the notion of peacekeeping. They also signed individual contracts and their mission bonuses had an increment of two hundred thousand CFA Francs per month per person.

The Minister insisted on the respect of military discipline within the ranks expressing outrage at the strike action staged by some previous MINUSCA contingent. He added that their mission should reflect Cameroon’s foreign policy of peace and her efforts to provide sustainable peace and security in neighboring Central African Republic.  In a bid to reinforce discipline, a senior officer in charge of discipline will be deployed and the military security unit will be beefed up, security and health units will also be reinforced.

The soldiers are expected to remain professional and respect UN procedures in the execution of their mission in the Central African Republic during their one year stay in the CAR. A military parade with stamina, courage and enthusiasm reminiscent of Cameroon’s military prowess marked the end of the first part of the ceremony. The soldiers and their close relatives later wined and dined with the Minister Delegate at the presidency in charge of Defence before their take off.

 

CRTV

The decline of the ANC: Opposition Councillor elected mayor of Pretoria

19, August 2016

The decline of the ANC: Opposition Councillor elected mayor of Pretoria 0

South Africa’s ruling party, African National Congress (ANC), has been dealt a major blow as an opposition politician is named as the mayor of the capital Pretoria for the first time since the end of Apartheid two decades ago. Opposition councilor Solly Msimanga, 36, of the liberal center-right Democratic Alliance (DA), was elected Pretoria mayor on Friday.

“The people decided which way they want the city to go, and it was not the direction that it has been taking in the last… years,” Msimanga said in his inaugural speech to the city council. People are “tired of corruption, they are tired of nepotism, they are tired of cronyism… they are tired of work only given to members of certain families and their friends,” he said.

Msimanga vowed to end the patronage that he said had left the capital in the red. “This city is technically bankrupt right now because of greediness and because of people who decided to put themselves first,” he said. “No more will our people suffer under the hands of the ANC.”  The ANC councilors heckled Msimanga during his speech.

It is the first time since the end of white-minority rule in 1994 that Pretoria, also known as Tshwane, is not headed by a mayor from the ANC. The loss for the ANC and victory for the DA follows nationwide municipal elections earlier this month. The ANC lost control of three major cities, namely, Pretoria, Johannesburg and Cape Town.

Nationwide, as well, the party suffered its worst results in 22 years in the municipal vote, gaining less than 54 percent of ballots cast, an eight percentage point drop from the last local elections in 2011. The ANC was once viewed as the South African party upholding the ideas and tenets of anti-Apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, and the DA as the party serving rich white South Africans.

Presstv

Baghdad based US military spokesman says Iran-backed forces in Iraq have grown to 100,000

19, August 2016

Baghdad based US military spokesman says Iran-backed forces in Iraq have grown to 100,000 0

Iran-backed Shia forces in Iraq have grown to 100,000 in the war against Daesh Takfiri militants, says Baghdad-based US military spokesman, Colonel Chris Garver. In an email to Fox News, Garver said that since the rise of Daesh terrorists inside Iraq more than two years ago, Shia forces have grown to 100,000 fighters.

Garver added that the fighters have been able to grow inside the Popular Mobilization Units.  Iraqi government forces, backed by fighters from allied Popular Mobilization Units, have been pushing the militants out of the country’s territory.

Fox News reported that this is an alarmingly high number and is the first time such a figure has been estimated. The American news channel also reported concerns that the Shia fighters represent an “anti-American force” that would take over once Daesh are defeated.

Many have been critical of the US’ role in Iraq. Last month, an Iraqi parliamentary panel opposed the role of US troops in the liberation of Mosul, in light of the news that the US was planning to send hundreds of additional troops there. Iraq’s MP Nayef al-Shammari said that “Iraqis have already retaken Tikrit, Fallujah and… Ramadi.”

When asked about Shia fighters’ involvement in the liberation of Mosul, Garver said, “the government of Iraq is in charge of this war. We’re here to support them. So, who they [want in] the campaign is really their decision.” However, he strongly stressed that there is no coordination between the US and Iranians “in any way.”

Iraq is preparing for an offensive into Mosul, the country’s second largest city, which fell into the hands of Daesh in the summer of 2014. The city is the last remaining bastion of Daesh in Iraq as the military and allies have managed to retake key towns and villages from the militants over the past months.

Iraqis managed to recapture the city of Fallujah, west of the capital Baghdad, in late June. The city was a main hub of Daesh militancy in Iraq and its liberation boosted hope for Iraq’s final push toward Mosul. Defense Minister Khaled al-Obaidi has said that less than 10 percent of the Iraqi territory remains in the hands of Daesh.

 

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Rebuilding the Bakassi Peninsula: The lies as told by CPDM Beltha Ndoh Bakata

19, August 2016

Rebuilding the Bakassi Peninsula: The lies as told by CPDM Beltha Ndoh Bakata 3

The 19th Session of the Bakassi Projects Follow-Up Committee held in the Prime Minister’s Office on August 18, 2016 reported Cameroon Tribune.

Three years after the establishment of Cameroon’s total sovereignty over the Bakassi Peninsula following the June 12, 2006 Green Tree Accord, barons of the ruling CPDM crime syndicate are reportedly expressing a kind of satisfaction in government circles for what they claim is the effective implementation of social, economic, security and administrative projects in the zone handed over by the Federal Republic of Nigeria after the October 10, 2002 International Court of Justice ruling.

The Biya regime and its propaganda machinery revealed in 2015 that over FCFA 30 billion had been invested in the area since 2008. They added that more investments worth over FCFA 722 million have since been added in 2016. However, this photo attached to this report as recorded for us by Cameroon Tribune does not showcase a constituency that has received huge amount of government funding.

While chairing the 19th Session of the Coordination and Follow-up Committee for the Implementation of Priority Projects in the Bakassi Zone, on August 18, 2016, the committee’s Chairperson and Special Adviser to the Prime Minister, Bertha Ndoh Bakata, said that much indeed had been accomplished through the yearly Public Investment Budget and the FCFA 5.6 billion Special Mini Development Programme.

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Bertha Ndoh Bakata who has the luxury of living in the capital city of Yaounde gave a run-down of the projects executed citing the construction of rest houses, classrooms, youth centres, fishermen’s houses, health structures, customs posts, roads and community halls, among others, in localities such as Isangele, Akwa, Idabato, Mbengmong, New Beach and Kombo-Abedimo.

She hinted that Prime Minister Philemon Yang authorised a trip of a team of five to the area in April 2016 to identify emergency projects which a Douala-based company and some Canadian investors were interested in executing.  But the images emerging from Bakassi indicates Bertha Ndoh Bakata and her mentor, Minister and Chief Dion Ngute are simply playing the CPDM game.

CPDM Beltha Ndoh Bakata betrayed herself at the tail end of her submission during the August 18 meeting by urging participants to address persistent problems such as insufficient potable water, electricity, telecommunication and roads. If 30 billion already invested in this area cannot tackle Beltha Ndoh Bakata “persistent problems” who now is fooling who here?

CPDM Beltha Ndoh Bakata called for more commitment by ministries in the implementation of the projects and the early disbursement of earmarked funds, especially as the long rainy season acts as a major impediment.

By Sama Ernest with files from Cameroon Tribune

Turkey under attack by Kurdistan militants

18, August 2016

Turkey under attack by Kurdistan militants 0

A new bomb attack claimed by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and clashes with the militants have killed at least four members of Turkish security forces east of the country.

Local media said Thursday that the bomb attack was carried out in Hizan district of the province of Bitlis about noon local time, when militants detonated a hand-made explosive device placed on a road near Gayda village while a military vehicle was passing.

Reports said three soldiers were killed and six others were wounded in the attack. The Dogan news agency said a village guard was also killed and another soldier was wounded when clashes erupted in the rural areas of Nazar village in the same area.

 

Presstv

Biya gives the green light for a criminal investigation on the GM of the Electricity Development Corporation

18, August 2016

Biya gives the green light for a criminal investigation on the GM of the Electricity Development Corporation 0

The President of the Republic has reportedly given his approval for a criminal investigation to be carried out on Theodore Nsangou, the general manager of the Electricity Development Corporation (EDC). Information has filtered to Cameroon Concord News that prosecutors of the Special Criminal Court have presented the court with a list of people charged with the embezzlement of funds from the company between 2008 and 2009.

The ruling CPDM gang that ran the corporation will have to respond to alleged misuse of public funds estimated at 19 billion FCFA and another 880 million FCFA which the GM, Theodore Nsangou with some of his collaborators swindled.

Our Yaounde city reporter covering this scandal observed that the name Theodore Nsangou was already among the many suspects identified by the general prosecutor of the Special Criminal Court.  He however revealed that because of the position held by the current GM, the judge has split the procedure into two, thus returning to trial Celestin Ndonga and his co-defendants, until the President of the Republic gives his approval for the opening of  the GM’s file making a mockery of the independence of Special Criminal Court.

There are unconfirmed reports that on February 25, 2015, Emille Zéphrin Nsoga, the former prosecutor at the Special Criminal Court, sent the investigating judge an introductory submission in which he stated the involvement of the general manager in corruption practices in the alleged misappropriation of funds at the expense of the company.

By Chi Prudence Asong

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