Headline News

17, April 2017

Europe cautions Turkey after referendum ⁰

Top European officials have reacted to the recent referendum in Turkey by calling on Ankara to choose its next steps carefully and seek broader consensus in implementing constitutional reforms. Turkey held a referendum on a package of constitutional changes on Sunday. Later in the day, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had campaigned heavily for a “Yes” vote, declared victory.

The reforms will change Turkey’s parliamentary system into a presidential one; the office of the prime minister will be abolished; the president will appoint the cabinet and an undefined number of vice-presidents, and will be able to select and remove senior civil servants without parliamentary approval.

The changes would also potentially keep Erdogan in power until 2029. He has already been there since 2003. Erdogan said after the voting that 51.5 percent of the voters — 25 million people — had supported the reforms. Yet, almost as many people were opposed to them, meaning that an all-encompassing alteration in Turkish politics would proceed to take effect in spite of opposition from almost half of the electorate.

Pointing to that aspect of the vote, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini in a joint statement called “on the Turkish authorities to seek the broadest possible national consensus” in the implementation of the reforms. The Council of Europe, of which Turkey is a member, also issued a statement on Sunday, saying that, “In view of the close result, the Turkish leadership should consider the next steps carefully.”

“It is of utmost importance to secure the independence of the judiciary in line with the principle of rule of law enshrined in the European Convention on Human Rights,” said the Council’s Secretary General Thorbjorn Jagland. He said the Council “stands ready to support the country [Turkey] in this process.”

The European Parliament’s rapporteur on Turkey, Kati Piri, also described the reforms as “a major shift away from European values.” “Erdogan’s autocratic behavior has deeply polarized Turkish society and harmed the economy,” she said. The final results of the referendum will be announced in about 10 days after objections have been considered. The Turkish opposition has already challenged the results, saying it would want some 60 percent of the ballots recounted.

Erdogan has called the referendum results “very significant” because, according to him, it was the first time change was being brought about peacefully and not through military coups, a regular feature of decades of Turkish politics. But a population almost evenly divided over the constitutional changes could prove difficult to govern, which would in turn provide a basis for political violence.

Three people were killed in a gunfight between two groups at a school that was being used as polling station in the southeastern province of Diyarbaki on Sunday. The shootout erupted after the two groups of relatives started arguing over political disagreements during the voting, reports said. Erdogan himself survived a coup in July last year. He has since been overseeing a crackdown on putschists and their sympathizers. Some 47,000 people have been detained and 120,000 fired or suspended from their jobs in the purge. Turkey has been under a state of emergency since that coup attempt.

Source: Presstv

17, April 2017

Easter Sunday crash: 4 killed on the Yaounde-Douala Highway ⁰

An Easter Sunday accident at Ebombé, located some 25 km from Edéa on the Douala-Yaoundé highway has claimed the lives of 4 people including the wife of Lieutenant-Colonel Dieudonne Ndonfack.. A small Toyota car collided with a large VIP coach from the United Express travel agency.

A spokesperson for the police department has said that the cause of the accident shall be made public soonest. The wife of Lieutenant-Colonel Dieudonne Ndonfack of the national Gendarmerie and three occupants of the Toyota car died instantly. Colonel Ndonfack was rushed to the regional hospital in Edéa and he is under intensive care.

By Fru James

16, April 2017

CAR Defense Minister in Yaounde ⁰

Joseph Yakété, Central African Republic Minister for Defense is on a working visit to La Republique du Cameroun beginning today Sunday 16 to Wednesday 19 April 2017. Cameroon Concord News was reliably informed that he is bearer of a special message from President Faustin Archange Touadéra to his Cameroonian counterpart Paul Biya.

The Central African official will have a working session with Joseph Béti Assomo, Cameroon’s Minister Delegate at the Presidency of the Republic in charge of Defense. The visiting CAR Minister will discuss Cameroon’s participation in the UN peacekeeping mission (MINUSCA), the UN Stabilization Mission of the Central African Republic.

By Sonne Peter

16, April 2017

Dr. Boniface Forbin: Exit of a journalistic Icon ⁰

Dr. Boniface Forbin has met his end in his home in Yaoundé. The circumstances surrounding his death have not been made public by his family. The publisher-editor’s death may not be separated from The Herald Newspaper. Former newsmen and women including the Herald People have observed that at the inception of multiparty politics in Cameroon, relations between the Herald and the Biya administration took a nose-drive and the Herald Group took an unfriendly view of the regime (e. g, Biya’s fictitious anti-corruption campaign). Such became the unfolding of fishing in trouble waters…

Forbin resigned from the defunct Cameroon Airlines and started The Herald Newspaper. He understood that media freedom was better in Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and North Korea than in Cameroon. He successfully taught Anglophone journalists the difficulty of being a reporter in Francophone dominated Cameroon.

Forbin and his kinsman Asong Ndifor invested time in training young correspondents on the challenge for Journalism in Cameroon. Forbin had the support of Napoleon Viban and men like Dr. Joachim Arrey, the late Kum Set Ewin, Peter Ngea Mbeng, Tabe Paul Blondo, Ekinneh Agbaw-Ebai, Gerald Ndikum and the Herald Newspaper told the world that the story of the press in Cameroon was that of persecution and perseverance and closure of newspapers, often without an enabling law.

Forbin declared his unflinching support for the Publisher of the Cameroon Post Group, Paddy Mbawa over the Epey Mandengue Affair. Paddy Mbawa had been flogged, head shaved with broken glass and photos published by some sister Anglophone newspapers for 30 pieces of silver. Forbin stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the wives of journalists who suffered persecution. He was in a Douala hospital to see the wife of the late Pius Njawe who lost her baby after her husband was forced out of their home and taken to the New Bell prison.

He told this reporter when he joined the Herald from the Weekly Post that “When you really want to expose human rights abuses in Cameroon… it becomes more dangerous.” Rest in peace Doc

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

16, April 2017

3,000 refugees and asylum seekers have reportedly been rescued off the Libyan coast ⁰

Some 3,000 refugees and asylum seekers have reportedly been rescued from unseaworthy boats off the Libyan coast during a second day of operations in the Mediterranean Sea. The Italian coastguard made the announcement on Saturday, saying that the refugees had been pulled to safety during 35 rescue operations launched in the day. It said another 15 operations would be underway before nightfall.

An official with the German NGO Jugend Rettet, which participated in the operations, said a further 1,000 people remained to be rescued from inflatable dinghies as rescue ships had reached capacity. She added that the number of incoming refugees was expected to rise owing to the fine spring weather. Reports said most of the refugees were from sub-Saharan Africa, fleeing poverty and starvation there.

A day earlier, the Italian coastguard had carried out 19 rescue operations aided by NGOs, including the medical charity Doctors without Borders. A total of 2,074 refugees aboard 16 rubber rafts and three small wooden boats were taken to safety in those operations. Libya remains a major gateway for asylum seekers attempting to reach Europe via the Mediterranean Sea, with more than 450,000 people having made the crossing over the past three years.

Culled from Presstv

16, April 2017

Minister of External Relations celebrates 40 years of marriage amid cabinet boycott ⁰

Lejeune Mbella Mbella the Francophone Minister of External Relations and his wife Marguerite have celebrated 40 years of marriage in a ceremony that held on Saturday the 15 of April 2017 at Eboné, located in the Department of Moungo in the Littoral region. Many highly placed Cameroon government officials were conspicuously absent from the celebrations.

A Biya acolyte who traveled to Ebone worried aloud about the absence of many cabinet colleagues of Minister Mbella. Cameroon Concord News gathered that a majority of those serving in the Biya Francophone regime including the Head of State himself are in their second, third or fourth marriages and as a consequence are not in a strong moral position to be in such symbolic occasion.

Chief V.E.Mukete presented an under aged girl at the Presbyterian Church in Bastos Yaounde as his new wife last year. Prime Minister Philemon Yang returned home from Canada and got married to a teenage university student. Laurent Esso has been changing from Manyu to Sawa on a regular basis. The so-called CPDM gentleman, Peter Mafany Musonge rushed for a replacement immediately his wife passed away without any period of mourning or remembrance. No one knows the exact number of wives that Senator Achidi had during his time as Prime Minister. Amadou Ali has a harem of women. And of course the big man himself has First Lady Chantal Biya as his second.

Lejeune Mbella Mbella was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of La Republique du Cameroun since October 2, 2015. He was also Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Cameroon in France with residence in Paris. On 9 July 2007, Lejeune Mbella Mbella was again appointed ambassador to UNESCO, in addition to his duties as ambassador of Cameroon in France, where he replaced Pascal Biloa Tang in October 2006.

His entering into the cabinet crowns a career that started in 1979 at the Embassy of Cameroon in Canada. He is a seasoned diplomat who knows Asia perfectly well as an ambassador for Japan and South Korea from 2002 to 2006. He also knows North America as he has been second and first secretary at the Embassy of Cameroon, in Ottawa, Canada, in the early 1980s. In 1997, he was recalled to Cameroon to take over the leadership of La Francophonie for five years.

With a doctorate in international relations, Lejeune is, deeply, a believer who never misses Sunday services of worship. He was made Knight, then Officer of the Order of Valor and later on Commander of the Order of the Pleiades (Francophonie), and Grand Officer of the Order of Valor.

By Rita Akana

15, April 2017

Ronaldo paid $375,000 to silence his rape victim ⁰

A report claims that Real Madrid football star Cristiano Ronaldo paid $375,000 in hush money to a woman who accused him of raping her in Las Vegas some eight years ago. German weekly news magazine Der Spiegel said in a Friday report that it had obtained documents, through Football Leaks, that the world-known Portuguese football player, now 32, agreed to give the large sum of money to the unnamed woman after she alleged that Ronaldo raped her at a luxury hotel in Las Vegas in June 2009, when she was in her 20s.

The report, citing the secured documents, added that the woman and Ronaldo, through his lawyer Carlos Osório de Castro, had reached the out-of-court settlement on January 12, 2010 in front of a Nevada mediator. The magazine further said that de Castro declined to comment on the controversial case but added that it was contacted by a second German lawyer, Johannes Keiler, who dismissed the claims against his client and urged the weekly to drop the report.

“The accusations implied by your questions are to be rejected in the strongest possible terms,” he said, warning that his client would “act against every untrue claim and the injury of his personal rights.” Back in October 2005, Ronaldo, then a Manchester United winger, made news after a woman claimed he had sexually assaulted her in a penthouse suite in London’s Sanderson Hotel earlier that month. Ronaldo categorically rejected the charges then and a month later Scotland Yard officially announced that the charges had to be dropped due to inadequate evidence.

Culled from Presstv

15, April 2017

North Korea vows due response if US attacks ⁰

Pyongyang has showcased its submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) for the first time during a massive military parade, with a senior North Korean official vowing due response to any attack against the East Asian nation. On Saturday, state TV showed images of the Pukkuksong-2 SLBMs and several KN-08 and KN-14 missiles on trucks along with tanks and other heavy military hardware being paraded on Kim Il Sung Square in the capital, Pyongyang.

Leader Kim Jong-un oversaw the parade which was celebrating the 105th birthday of state founder Kim Il Sung, his grandfather. He also addressed thousands of soldiers and people taking part in the celebrations. The event also paraded what appeared to be a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

It is the first time North Korea publicly displays the ballistic missiles, which have a range of over 1,000 km (600 miles), at a military parade. The parade comes as tensions have been simmering between North Korea and the US in recent weeks, raising fears of a potential military confrontation between the two sides. Washington has voiced concerns over Pyongyang’s nuclear tests, but the North says such launches are an act as deterrence against a potential invasion by the US or South Korea.

A man watches a live television program showing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during a massive parade marking the 105th birthday of national founder Kim Il Sung, at the Seoul train station in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, April 15, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Prior to the parade, Kim’s close aide Choe Ryong-hae also addressed the participants, voicing the country’s readiness to respond in kind to any attack by enemies. “We’re prepared to respond to an all-out war with an all-out war and we are ready to hit back with nuclear attacks of our own style against any nuclear attacks,” Choe said.

Choe, who is believed to be the second-most powerful official in North Korea, further stated that the new US government under Donald Trump was “creating a war situation” on the Korean Peninsula by dispatching strategic military assets to the region.

People walk past a television screen broadcasting live footage of a parade to mark the 105th anniversary of the birth of North Korea’s founder Kim Il-Sung, at a railway station in Seoul on April 15, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Pyongyang also warned Washington on Saturday to end its “military hysteria” or face retaliation as a US aircraft carrier strike group headed towards the region. “All the brigandish provocative moves of the US in the political, economic and military fields pursuant to its hostile policy toward the DPRK will thoroughly be foiled through the toughest counteraction of the army and people of the DPRK,” the KCNA state news agency said, citing a spokesman for the General Staff of the Korean People’s Army.

DPRK stands for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the official name of the East Asian state. “Our toughest counteraction against the US and its vassal forces will be taken in such a merciless manner as not to allow the aggressors to survive,” it added. The development comes days after the US dispatched what Trump referred to as an “armada” of warships in a show of force into waters off the Korean peninsula amid concerns that Pyongyang was preparing another round of nuclear or missile tests.

Fears have grown since the US Navy fired Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian airfield last week in a unilateral decision claiming ‘retaliation’ for an alleged chemical attack in the Arab country. The move triggered questions about Trump’s plans for North Korea, which has conducted several missile and nuclear tests. Moreover, Washington has warned that a policy of “strategic patience” with North Korea is over as US Vice President Mike Pence travels to South Korea on Sunday on a 10-day tour of Asia. This is while political analysts have played down Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric on different topics, including North Korea, saying he makes tough statements on an issue before understanding its complexity.

Source: Presstv

15, April 2017

Southern Cameroons: Fon Chaffah Isaac comes under attack from villagers ⁰

The people of Bangolan village situated in Babessi Sub division,Ngoketundjia in the North West region have stormed the village square demanding the departure of their Fon Chaffah Isaac XI.

Men, women including the youth say the Fon Chaffah is no longer permitted to enter and reside in the chiefdom. The Bangolans also observed that Fon Chaffah is no longer their traditional ruler. Fridays protest comes one year since the people of Bangolan staged a fierce demonstration which led to many deaths and several persons injured.

On March 19, 2016, the Bangolan palace came under attack when angry villagers besieged the palace demanding the Fon to leave. The Fon’s son was allegedly shot before palace guards retaliated by shooting and wounding some villagers.

The alternate Senator who opted for reconciliation in February last year has ever since not known peace in his village. His subjects accused him of defiling the tradition by publicly denouncing traditional practices by attending a crusade with Apostle John CHI. Salim, a man selected by the villagers as their new chief died last year under mysterious circumstances.

Source: Cameroun Info.Net

14, April 2017

Nigeria marks 3 years since schoolgirls’ mass abduction ⁰

Nigerians on Friday marked three years since the mass abduction of nearly 300 schoolgirls by Boko Haram extremists amid anger that government efforts to negotiate their freedom appear to have stalled. Activists were expected to rally in the capital, Abuja, and commercial hub Lagos to urge President Muhammadu Buhari’s government to do more to free the nearly 200 schoolgirls who remain captive.

Nigeria in October announced the release of 21 of the Chibok schoolgirls after negotiations with the extremist group, and it said another group of 83 girls would be released “very soon.” No one has been freed since then. The government this week said negotiations have “gone quite far” but face challenges. It refused to give details, citing security reasons. The failure of Nigeria’s former government to free the girls sparked a global Bring Back Our Girls movement and was a factor in Buhari’s 2015 election win over former President Goodluck Jonathan.

The schoolgirls from Chibok village are among thousands of people abducted by the Nigeria-based Boko Haram as it continues to threaten parts of the northeast and has spread into neighboring countries. The Chibok abduction is not even the largest. Nigerian officials refuse to acknowledge the abduction of more than 500 children from the northeastern town of Damasak in November 2014, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said last month. Nigerian officials have not responded to requests by The Associated Press for information.

Buhari late last year announced that Boko Haram had been “crushed,” but it continues to carry out deadly suicide bombings, often strapping them to young women. Children have been used to carry out 27 attacks in the first three months of this year, already nearing last year’s total of 30, the UN children’s agency said this week.

On Wednesday, Nigerian security officials said they had thwarted plans by Daesh-linked Boko Haram members to attack the embassies of the United States and Britain, along with “other Western interests” in the capital. One faction of Boko Haram is allied with Daesh.

Nigeria’s military in the past year has rescued thousands of Boko Haram captives while liberating towns and villages from the group’s control, but many have been detained as possible Boko Haram suspects. Boko Haram’s seven-year uprising has killed more than 20,000 people and driven 2.6 million from their homes, with millions facing starvation because of the disruption in markets and agriculture.

Source Presstv