Headline News

22, November 2016

Mali twin attacks blamed on militants ⁰

Twin attacks blamed on militants during weekend municipal elections in Mali have claimed the lives of at least five soldiers and one civilian, security sources say. In the first incident, security sources said on Monday that five Malian troops were killed after being ambushed while transporting ballot boxes in the restive north. “After the voting on Sunday, an army convoy taking the ballot boxes for counting was attacked in the north by jihadists. Five Malian soldiers were killed,” AFP quoted a source as saying

Separately, a group of militants nabbed several vehicles and killed a civilian in the town of Dilli in southwestern Mali overnight Sunday to Monday. “They arrived early Monday in Dilli. They attacked a council building. The jihadists then took off with two ambulances and a vehicle, after which they killed a civilian and made off for the Mauritanian border,” a local official said. This comes as Malians have voted in long-overdue local elections, which were tainted by a spate of violent attacks and opposition boycotts.

On Sunday, people in Mali cast their ballots in the first elections since 2013 to elect 12,000 municipal councilors across the troubled West African country. The elections, held with a two-year delay, were boycotted by a number of opposition parties and some armed groups, including the Tuareg rebel group, formerly known as the Coordination of Azawad Movements (CMA).

Malians gather outside a polling station in Gao during municipal elections on November 20, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

Reports by residents and officials said that voting was cancelled in some districts of the northern Mali region of Timbuktu after ballot boxes were burned by unidentified armed men. In 2012, Tuareg rebel groups seized control of northern Mali, which they call Azawad. However, al-Qaeda-linked militants took control shortly afterward. Then, the French military intervened in Mali, its former colony.

Since the al-Qaeda’s move, the impoverished West African country has been in turmoil. The UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali was deployed in July 2013 to bring calm. A year later, Tuareg rebels agreed to a ceasefire deal with the government.

Presstv

21, November 2016

Cameroon host forum on tourism ⁰

The Cameroon government is taking advantage of the women’s Africa Cup of Nations currently going on in the country to market its poorly developed sector. The Ministry of Tourism and Leisure, organized today Monday, a very popular ceremony in Yaoundé, the nation’s capital. Chaired by the Prime Minister and Head of Government, the event was attended by Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (WTO), under the theme “Women, Sport and Tourism: Women’s sporting events and promotion of African destinations “.

Identified in Cameroon as a sector of growth and job creation, tourism, has been set up by the CPDM led government of Cameroon as an important lever for achieving the Sustainable Development Objectives noted Bello Bouba Maïgari, the Minister of Tourism and Leisure.

However, the Cameroon tourism sector is a complete mess and continues to record a sharp decline in the number of tourists in the country since 2013. The situation has become even more pathetic with the emergence of the Nigerian Islamic sect, Boko Haram. It is in an attempt to reverse the trend that the authorities have chosen the pretext of female Africa Cup of Nations to promote tourism in a country that avails itself of a rich cultural diversity.

By Rita Akana

21, November 2016

CPDM government presents recessionary budget to parliament ⁰

The government has presented a draft budget for the 2017 fiscal year. It is 4,373.8 billion FCFA. The bill was tabled at the National Assembly today the 21^st of November 2016 during a plenary sitting of the House which was chaired by the Senior Deputy Speaker of the, Hilarion Eton.

The 2017 draft budget recorded an increase of over 139.1 billion FCFA compared to that of 2016. The bill was presented alongside that which authorizes the President of the Republic to ratify the agreement between Canada and the Republic of Cameroon on the promotion and protection of investments.

CRTV

21, November 2016

Bamenda population protest against Government Delegate, Chinese contractors ¹

Some 2000 inhabitants of the city of Bamenda have staged a massive demonstration against the deplorable state of roads in the metropolis. The protesters also chanted anti-government slogans condemning the regime for the criminal neglect of the North West region. The Monday November 21st protest also clamoured for the departure of the Chinese contractors working with the Bamenda Urban Council government delegate.

The strike action that was led by a journalist took the city by storm and gained the support of the population that voiced appeals for a return to the Southern Cameroons state. State radio and television painted the strike action as a minor incident orchestrated by a group of young men armed with sticks who threatened to beat shop owners in the Bamenda main market.

The mammoth crowd blocked access points at Ngeng junction, Nkwen market and Cow Street. Police used teargas against the peaceful demonstrators but no casualty has been reported so far. The North West governor has not commented on the happenings. At press time, the police were clearing off the materials used in blocking the roads including burnt tyres. It is important to include in this report that the government delegate to the Bamenda urban council has come under serious attacks ever since he was appointed some 7 years ago.

By Cham Victor Bama in Bamenda

21, November 2016

Minister Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo’o and the Colonel Ghislain Joël Mboutou affair opens today in Yaounde ⁰

Investigations have opened today in Yaoundé, against Lieutenant Colonel Ghislain Joël Mboutou, military attaché at the Cameroon embassy in Morocco, for alleged money laundering in France, misappropriation and corruption which Cameroon Concord News sources say could pave the way for a case against Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo’o, former Minister of Defense and current boss of the Ministry of Transport.

According to our informant, the military hierarchy, set up and dispatched to Morocco, a commission which brought back to Cameroon, Ghislain Joël Mboutou. Colonel Mboutou was picked up at the Yaounde Nsimalen international airport and rushed to the national gendarmerie headquarters to be auditioned today. The defense attaché at the Cameroonian representation in Morocco was arrested by French intelligence agents as he was trying to finalize a real estate transaction in Paris.

The senior officer was arrested in possession of 700,000 Euros in cash (more than 455 million FCFA) and a search of his home in Paris, raised the amount to 1.3 million Euros. He reportedly told French intelligence officers that the money was intended for the acquisition of real estate. He was released on bail mindful of the diplomatic passport in his keeping.

We recently spoke to someone in Minister Alain Mebe Ngo’o’s entourage who hinted that the affair was mounted from scratch and was only manipulation and storytelling. However, a journalist with a sister publication, Cameroon Intelligence Report revealed that Colonel Mboutou Ghislain Joël, worked for 7 years as deputy head of the military secretariat when Minister Mebe Ngo’o was the powerful Minister of Defense.

Minister Mebe Ngo’o has been regularly presented as a nephew of the President of the Republic. The Transport Minister’s political future now depends on statements that Colonel Mboutou will make today. The Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime for 34 years has been rocked by multiples of scandals in a country where more than 20 million people live below UN poverty line.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files from Rita Akana

21, November 2016

France: Former President Sarkozy defeated in first round of presidential primary ⁰

France’s former President Nicolas Sarkozy has bid farewell to politics after conceding defeat in the first round of the country’s right-wing presidential primary.

“I did not manage to convince the voters,” said Sarkozy during a speech to his supporters given late on Sunday after partial votes showed his loss.

His former prime minister Francois Fillon took the lead in the two-round primary, which is widely expected to decide the country’s next president.

French politician Francois Fillon, member of the conservative Les Republicains political party, delivers a speech at his campaign headquarters after partial results in the first round of the French center-right presidential primary election vote in Paris, France, November 20, 2016.

Fillon took over 43 percent of the votes while former prime minister Alain Juppe had over 26 and Sarkozy 23 percent. Sarkozy also said that he would be voting for Fillon in next Sunday’s second round, in which only two candidates progress. “I have no bitterness, I have no sadness, and I wish the best for my country,” he added.

French politician Alain Juppe, current mayor of Bordeaux, and member of the conservative Les Republicains political party, reacts after partial results in the first round of the French center-right presidential primary election vote at his campaign headquarters in Paris, France, November 20, 2016.

France’s center-right Republican Party kicked off its nominating contest earlier in the day to determine the party’s presidential candidate in the next year’s election.

With the French left remaining divided until now, the next French president will possibly either be the Republican nominee or the far-right leader Marine Le Pen.

Presstv

21, November 2016

Fear of TAC, CATTU: Biya regime deploys troops to North West and South West regions ¹

The strike action announced by the Anglophone teachers’ trade unions is holding as planned. In a show of blind bravado and naive brutal force, the CPDM regime’s ill trained soldiers, Gendarmes and police have been deployed to the towns of Bamenda, Kumbo, Nkambe, Kumba, Muyuka, Limbe, Mutengene, Buea and Tiko. A spokesman for the teachers was quoted as saying that “this excessive show of force belittles the state of Cameroon because it has never dialogue with those who are complainants and have never solved the issues raised.”

The marginalization of English speaking Cameroonians have been complete and total in all the facets of life ranging from job opportunities, job creation, and educational facilities as well as the issue of attempting to gang up and rape all the cherished Anglo-Saxon values. Today the teachers have joined the already striking Common Law lawyers and other stake holders to continue denouncing this act of grave violation of the Constitution. The Biya Francophone Beti-Ewondo regime has always wanted to completely delete the Anglophone values. Francophones are now teaching in Anglophone High Schools as well as in our Anglo-Saxon institutions of learning like Universities and Polytechnics.

The government has drafted thousands of troops to Bamenda, Kumba, Victoria, Buea and Tiko. These are meant to foment trouble today Monday the 21^st of November 2016 and blame it on the unions. The unions have not called for street protests and have issued a strongly worded statement urging teachers to stay at home and also informing parents to keep their children home and watch over them closely.

The teacher’s statement signed by Tassang Wilfred of CATTU observed that when street protest shall become necessary, the unions shall do that and shall assume responsibility. Cameroon Concord News gathered the unions were not in the Yaoundé meeting and have stated they want SOLUTIONS not Resolutions.

By Bernard Ngouche Ndim

20, November 2016

Peru: Obama and Putin meet for 4 minutes ⁰

US President Barack Obama has held a brief meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to talk about the situation in Syria and Ukraine.

Sunday’s short talk on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru, was the first one the two world leaders had since Donald Trump won the US presidency and believed to be the last one to be held in person.

The US president called on Russia to be committed to the Minsk deal, aimed at controlling the crisis in eastern Ukraine, while stressing the need for continuation of talks on Syria, according to the White House.

“The president urged President Putin to uphold Russia’s commitments under the Minsk agreements, underscoring the US and our partners’ commitment to Ukraine’s sovereignty,” AFP quoted a White House official as saying.

Obama also “noted the need for Secretary (John) Kerry and Foreign Minister (Sergei) Lavrov to continue pursuing initiatives, together with the broader international community, to diminish the violence and alleviate the suffering of the Syrian people.”

The four-minute meeting was held during Obama’s last foreign trip as the president. In the run-up to the 2016 presidential election held on November 8, Trump, the GOP nominee, called for a “very, very good relationship” with Putin, saying he is a better leader than Obama.

As Obama prepares to leave the White House, ties between Moscow and Washington remain at the lowest point since the Cold War, most notably over the situation in Syria and Ukraine.

Presstv

20, November 2016

Women’s Africa Cup of Nations: The giants of Africa to clash with Mali today in Limbe ⁰

Nigeria, the reigning African champion will be entering the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations hosted in Cameroon today Sunday, November 20, 2016 at the Limbe Omnisports. The Super Falcons will face the Malian selection which was recalled to replace Equatorial Guinea sanctioned by the Confederation of African Football.

The captain, Rita Chikwelu and her teammates have displayed too much confidence ever since they landed in the South West region. To be sure, they got off the bus singing and were seen in such a hurry to get back to the locker rooms that they nearly got the wrath of the men in charge of security. The meeting Nigeria-Mali starts at 16:00.

Culled from Cameroun Info.Net

20, November 2016

France: Republican Party holds presidential primary ⁰

France’s center-right Republican Party has kicked off its nominating contest to determine the party’s presidential candidate in next year’s election. Seven candidates are competing on Sunday to represent the Republican Party. The candidates include Jean-Francois Cope, 52, ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy, 61, ex-prime minister Alain Juppe, 71, ex-prime minister Francois Fillon, 62, Bruno Le Maire, 47, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, 43, and Jean-Frederic Poisson, 53, with the forerunners being Sarkozy, Juppe and Fillon. The three leading candidates have similar programs, underpinned by pledges to reinforce security, reduce immigration and cut taxes; however, they differ in style.

Sarkozy displays a tougher attitude, arguing that such a stance makes him a better choice than the mild-mannered Juppe to handle Donald Trump, the unpredictable US president-elect. Fillon, who is popular in the business world, has promised “radical” economic measures but is the most conservative of the three on social issues. A final televised debate of the seven candidates on Thursday produced no clear winner, although viewers polled afterwards said Fillon put in the strongest performance.

“We were expecting a duel but in the end a three-way contest has emerged,” political scientist Jerome Jaffre wrote in Le Figaro newspaper on Thursday. A voter survey on Friday gave Fillon 30 percent popularity while both Sarkozy and Juppe each separately wielded 29 percent support. With the French left remaining divided until now, the next French president will possibly either be the Republican nominee or the far-right leader Marine Le Pen.

Presstv