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Morocco has made an official request to join the African Union

24, September 2016

Morocco has made an official request to join the African Union 0

Morocco has made an official request to join the African Union (AU) again more than four decades after leaving the pan-African bloc in protest at Western Sahara’s membership.

In a statement released on Friday, the AU said that it had received Rabat’s bid to rejoin the 54-member body. “The Kingdom of Morocco has officially submitted a request to accede to the African Union Constitutive Act, and therefore, become a Member of the Union,” the statement read.

Morocco’s membership request must be approved by a vote of the AU Commission in order to be accepted. Meanwhile, AU Commission Chairwoman Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said member states will be informed and the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI will be notified of the outcome.

This file photo released by China’s Xinhua news agency shows an African Union summit at the headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. (Via AP)

Morocco withdrew from the AU in 1984, when the mineral-rich and sparsely populated Saharan Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) – commonly known as Western Sahara – was accepted as a member. Morocco annexed Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, in 1975. Morocco maintains that Western Sahara is an integral part of the kingdom, but the international community has not recognized the annexation.

Western Sahara is home to the Algerian-backed Polisario Front, a Sahrawi rebel national liberation movement aiming to end Moroccan presence in the territory.  In 1991, Moroccan forces and Sahrawi rebels agreed on a UN-brokered truce and a referendum to settle the status of Western Sahara. However, the vote has never taken place.

Rabat first announced its decision to return to the AU in July, with the king saying that his country wanted to “take up its natural place within its institutional family.” However, he stressed that rejoining of the body did not mean an change in Morocco’s stance on Western Sahara.

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Egypt refugee boat tragedy: 160 bodies pulled out from the Mediterranean sea

23, September 2016

Egypt refugee boat tragedy: 160 bodies pulled out from the Mediterranean sea 0

Egyptian rescue workers have pulled out from the Mediterranean Sea the bodies of more than a hundred refugees whose boat recently capsized near the coast of Egypt.

A senior Egyptian official said on Friday that a total of 162 bodies had been pulled out from Egyptian waters. The vessel capsized on Wednesday.

Rescue and recovery operations were still underway, while the military said it had rescued 163 survivors, who are said to be mostly Egyptians, but also include a Syrian, as well as Sudanese, Eritreans, and an Ethiopian asylum seeker.

The survivors said about 450 refugees had been on board the overcrowded fishing boat that was heading toward Italy when it sank about 12 kilometers off the coast. In this regard, authorities have arrested four suspected human traffickers.

Egyptian policemen and medics stand over a body of a refugee along the shore in the Egyptian port city of Rosetta on September 21, 2016, during a search operation after a boat carrying asylum seekers capsized in the Mediterranean. (Photo by AFP)

Since 2014, according to the United Nations, more than 10,000 asylum seekers have lost their lives attempting to cross the Mediterranean into Europe in substandard vessels overloaded with desperate refugees.

The current year has been described by the United Nations as “the deadliest year on record in the Mediterranean Sea.”The perilous sea route across the Mediterranean Sea from Egypt to Italy, which often takes more than 10 days, is just one of several routes used by asylum seekers.

A young Egyptian lies in bed in a hospital in the port city of Rosetta, northern Egypt, on September 21, 2016, after a boat transporting asylum seekers capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Egypt. (Photo by AFP)

After Balkan countries closed the popular overland route in March and the European Union reached a deal with Turkey to halt departures, asylum seekers from conflict zones in the Middle East and North Africa have turned to new paths to reach Europe.

Frontex, an EU agency for the management of operational cooperation at the external borders, said in June that crossing from Egypt to Italy was becoming increasingly popular.

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Maroua host interreligious service in honour of soldiers killed in the war on terror

23, September 2016

Maroua host interreligious service in honour of soldiers killed in the war on terror 0

Some military families and a cross section of the population of the Far North region have paid homage to soldiers of the Rapid Intervention Battalion who died defending the nation in the war against Boko Haram. The families came together during an interreligious service that took place at the command post of “Operation Alpha Unit” in Maroua.

President Paul Biya reportedly extended his condolences to the bereaved families through the Governor of the Far North region, Midjiyawa Bakari. Biya also appealed to the civilian population, the members of the Vigilante committee, traditional and religious rulers to continue supporting the soldiers in the fight against Boko Haram terrorism.

Brigadier General Jacob Kodji Commander of the 4th Military Legion said the ceremony was organized to boost the morale of everyone especially the soldiers and those intending to join the military corps. Spiritual leaders from the Orthodox, Protestant, Catholic and Islam denominations in their prayers extended words of encouragement and comfort to the bereaved families.

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Biya meets US Under-Secretary for African Affairs

23, September 2016

Biya meets US Under-Secretary for African Affairs 0

The President of the Republic His Excellency Paul BIYA granted audience to Madam Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the United States Under-Secretary of State for African Affairs, at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York on Thursday 22 September 2016. At the end of their discussions, the American Under-Secretary of State told the press that the audience with the Cameroonian Head of State was focused on the fight against the terrorist group Boko Haram, the handling of refugees and economic cooperation between the United States and Cameroon.

Madam Linda Thomas-Greenfield lauded the total commitment of Cameroon in the fight against Boko Haram which has yielded serious blows to this terrorist group. She reiterated the support of the United States of America to all the countries fighting terrorism. The American Under-Secretary of State appreciated the harbouring of hundreds of thousands of refugees by Cameroon and all the measures the Government has taken to give them good living conditions. Cameroon currently hosts over 350 000 refugees of different nationalities, but mainly Nigerians and people from the Central African Republic.

Madam Linda Thomas-Greenfield affirmed that Cameroon and the USA have very solid bilateral economic relations. She also indicated that the second US-Africa Business Forum which held on the 21 September 2016 in New York, with the participation of Cameroon, was an excellent occasion to examine the ways and means to increase commercial links between Cameroon and the United States.

The Diplomat and the Head of State also discussed the participation of Cameroon at the 71st Session of the UN General Assembly. It should be recalled that Madam Linda Thomas-Greenfield was granted audience by the President of the Republic at the Unity Palace in Yaounde on 6 September 2014. President Paul BIYA had an audience with the Secretary-General of the United Nations BAN KI-MOON yesterday evening. The face-to-face meeting held on the side-lines of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

The warm and friendly audience took place at Mr BAN KI-MOON’s office in New York. Both personalities have recorded a cordial relationship. Mr BAN KI-MOON is a great friend to Cameroon. He established this friendship during his official visit to Cameroon on 9 to 10 June 2010. The UN Secretary General was accompanied by his wife, Mrs BAN SOON-TAEK. It is during this visit that Mr BAN KI-MOON told the press that President Paul Biya is a long-time friend and “a respected leader in the world.” In return, the Cameroonian Head of State affirmed that the relationship between Cameroon and the United Nations is “a long history of trust and friendship.” President Paul Biya and Mr. BAN KI-MOON equally met on 25 September 2010 during the 65th Session of the UN General Assembly.

Both personalities probably made an overview of relations between Cameroon and the United Nations, and activities of the ongoing 71st session of the UN General Assembly in New York. Mr BAN KI-MOON’s second and final term as head of the UN Secretariat ends in January 2017. Elected on 13 October 2006, he took office on 1 January 2007 and was re-elected on 21 June 2011. His mandates were marked by numerous initiatives and reforms to strengthen the organisation. These include: the promotion of sustainable development, women’s empowerment, assistance to countries in crisis or instability, a new impetus to disarmament, arms control, and the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

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US internet giant Yahoo says state-sponsored hackers stole information of half a billion users

23, September 2016

US internet giant Yahoo says state-sponsored hackers stole information of half a billion users 0

The US internet giant Yahoo says seemingly state-sponsored hackers stole the information of half a billion of its users back in 2014, in what appears to be the largest publicly disclosed cyber-breach in history. Yahoo said in a statement on Thursday that “based on the ongoing investigation, Yahoo believes that information associated with at least 500 million user accounts was stolen.”

The internet company added that the attack came from “what it believes is a state-sponsored actor.” The company said the stolen information probably included names, email addresses, birth dates, passwords and security questions and answers. The internet giant has assured that looted data did not include unprotected passwords or information associated with payments or bank accounts. Yahoo officials said they were working closely with law enforcement regarding the issue. Analysts say the stolen data may also be used to access people’s information on other websites.

This is probably the largest breach of information from a company. On several occasions, internet companies have complained that the US government tried to force them to give away their users’ information. Yahoo’s confirmation of the major cyber breach came after a report earlier this year quoting a security researcher saying some 200 million accounts may have been accessed and that hacked data was being offered for sale online.

The users of Yahoo’s online services were urged to review accounts for suspicious activity. They were also asked to change passwords. “Online intrusions and thefts by state-sponsored actors have become increasingly common across the technology industry,” Yahoo said in the statement, adding, “Yahoo and other companies have launched programs to detect and notify users when a company strongly suspects that a state-sponsored actor has targeted an account.”

The developments come two months after Yahoo sealed a deal to sell its core internet business to telecom giant Verizon for 4.8 billion dollars, ending a two-decade run as an independent company. It was not immediately clear if the data breach could impact the price agreed to by Verizon.

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British Foreign Secretary says London plans to begin Brexit process early next year

23, September 2016

British Foreign Secretary says London plans to begin Brexit process early next year 0

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has said London plans to begin the formal process for leaving the European Union (EU) early next year following the Brexit vote in June. Speaking from New York on Thursday, Johnson told Sky News that Britain will trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty under which London can leave the EU after a two-year negotiations period.

“By the early part of next year, you will see an Article 50 letter which we will invoke and, in that letter, I am sure we will be setting out some parameters for how we propose to take this forward. You invoke Article 50 in the early part of next year (and) you have two years to pull it off. I don’t actually think you need to spend the full two years, but let’s see how we go,” he said.

“We are going to benefit from fantastic opportunities for free trade with our friends in the EU,” he said. “It’s overwhelmingly in their interests…They’re not going to put that at risk.” But the British foreign secretary said he does not think the full two years would need to be completed.

Earlier, British Prime Minister Theresa May held talks with President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz in London. Schulz has urged Britain to start Brexit process as soon as possible. Last week, European Council President Donald Tusk said that Prime Minister May had told him the UK could be ready to begin talks by February.

President of the European Council Donald Tusk attends the 71st session of the General Assembly at the United Nations in New York September 20, 2016. (Photo by AFP)

“She declared it is almost impossible to trigger Article 50 this year. But she said it is quite likely they will be ready in maybe January or maybe February next year,” Tusk said on September 16 after an informal EU summit in the Slovakian capital of Bratislava.

Tusk said the rest of the EU was ready to start negotiations tomorrow. “We are well prepared for negotiations and could even start tomorrow” but “our British colleagues need more time to prepare themselves.” On June 23, some 52 percent (17.4 million) of British people voted to leave the EU after 43 years of membership.

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UN General Assembly: President Biya calls for collective action

22, September 2016

UN General Assembly: President Biya calls for collective action 1

President Paul Biya has addressed the 71st General Assembly of the UN in New York. Cameroon state radio and television reported that his speech was based on the 17 point Sustainable Development Goals, (SDGs) which is currently guarding deliberation at the present session. The Cameroonian chief executive revealed that countries have not fully respected their engagements.

In a strongly worded message he stated that “now is not time for promises, the time to act is now” Biya specifically mentioned the 16th objective of the SDGs that deals with security and terrorism stating that in the past three years Cameroon has been fighting the Nigerian Islamic sect, Boko Haram.

He proposed the creation of an international institution to fight terrorism and insecurity especially in developing countries. He ended on a very positive note by indicating the SDGs is a universal dynamism to transform the world and if world leaders decide here and now to make available resources, the present world of turbulence shall be transformed to a world of peace.

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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says US airstrikes on Syrian troops were intentional and lasted nearly one hour

22, September 2016

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says US airstrikes on Syrian troops were intentional and lasted nearly one hour 0

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has said that US airstrikes on Syrian troops on Saturday were “intentional” and lasted for nearly one hour. In an interview with the Associated Press conducted Wednesday, Assad said the attack targeted a “huge” area constituting of many hills, “so it was definitely intentional, not unintentional as they claimed.”

The US Central Command has said it may have unintentionally struck the Syrian airbase in Dayr al-Zawr while carrying out a raid against Daesh and that the strikes were stopped in less than five minutes when Russia called the US to halt it.

Daesh militants briefly overran government positions in the area until they were beaten back. “How could they (Daesh) know that the Americans are going to attack that position in order to gather their militants to attack right away and to capture it one hour after the strike?” Assad asked.

“It wasn’t an accident by one airplane… It was four airplanes that kept attacking the position of the Syrian troops for nearly one hour, or a little bit more than one hour,” he said.  “You don’t commit a mistake for more than one hour,” Assad said in the interview.

US behind collapse of ceasefire 

Assad also blamed the US for the collapse of a ceasefire deal brokered with Russia. The strikes contributed to the collapse of the truce and cast serious doubt on chances for implementing an unprecedented US-Russian agreement to jointly target Daesh.

Assad said Washington “doesn’t have the will” to join the fight against Daesh, which the US, Turkey and their allies have cited as the reason for their military intervention in Syria.

Syrians who fled the country could return within a few months if the US, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar stopped backing militants, he added.

Assad said the war, now in its sixth year, is likely to “drag on” because of what he said was continued external support for Takfiri terrorists and numerous militant groups.

“When you talk about it as part of a global conflict and a regional conflict, when you have many external factors that you don’t control, it’s going to drag on.”

‘US lies’ about aid convoy attack

Assad also rejected accusations that Syrian or Russian planes struck an aid convoy in Aleppo and denied that his troops were preventing food from entering the militant-held part of the city.

“If there’s really a siege around the city of Aleppo, people would have been dead by now,” Assad said, asking how militants were able to smuggle in arms but apparently not food or medicine.

The attack on the aid convoy outside Aleppo took place Monday night, hitting a warehouse as aid workers unloaded cargo and triggering huge explosions.

US officials have oscillated between blaming the Syrian government and the Russian military for the attack. At one point, they have described a sustained barrage that included barrel bombs.

One Thursday, however, the AP quoted an unnamed “senior US administration official” who claimed a Russian-piloted aircraft carried out the strike. Assad dismissed the claims, saying whatever American officials say “has no credibility” and is “just lies.”

Russia has called for an independent investigation into the attack and has published a footage from a drone which apparently shows a militant vehicle towing a mortar alongside the aid convoy.

On Wednesday, Russia’s Defense Ministry said an armed US drone was in the vicinity of the humanitarian aid convoy that was hit by the airstrike.

War ‘savage’

Assad also brushed aside what is often described as eyewitness accounts to accuse the Syrian army, while acknowledging the war had been “savage”.

“Those witnesses only appear when there’s an accusation against the Syrian army or the Russian (army), but when the terrorists commit a crime or massacre or anything, you don’t see any witnesses.”

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Yaounde: Police neutralize gang of taxi robbers

22, September 2016

Yaounde: Police neutralize gang of taxi robbers 0

Three man aged between 20 and 34 years were presented to the press as a gang of taxi robbers who have dispossessed some 30 women of their handbags using a taxi in Yaoundé. The alleged gang leader, Tsala Andre Jules who also goes by the name Boulli Jean alias Pa Ye is an ex-convict. He is said to have created the gang after he left prison about a year ago for similar offences. He is the driver of the taxi used in the robbery. He told the police that they operate about three times a week generally around 8:00pm to 6:30am.

He was arrested in Essos after he attempted to escape. Enyengue Andre Loic, a member of the gang fakes the role of a passenger in the front seat of the taxi they use in their operations while Mekongo Augustin plays the same role on the back sit. Both men were arrested in Mimboman neighbourhood. They have denied any involvement.

According Senior Police Superintendent Babanguida Ahmadou, service head for Interventions and Investigations at the Judicial Police Department in Yaoundé, investigations that led to the arrest of the gang began after a victim deposited a complaint.

The victim noted the matriculation number of the taxi in which she was robbed of her hand bad containing her tablet, smart phone and a medical; kit Bio Disque. The victim told the police that she boarded the taxi at about 9:30pm at the Multi Sports Complex to Elig Edzoa. During the journey the drive change the direction and drove to a dark area. The passenger on the back seat pull out a dagger placed on her throat and threatened to kill her if she resisted. The accomplice on the front seat then ceased all her belongings.

A huge number of handsets including smart, phones, tablets and laptops including other devices and daggers where presented to the press as objects recovered from the suspects who are expected to face the law courts.

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Yaounde: Inter-ministerial committee evaluating French Cameroun railway infrastructures

22, September 2016

Yaounde: Inter-ministerial committee evaluating French Cameroun railway infrastructures 0

Members of the Inter-ministerial committee on railway infrastructure have met to evaluate the first five year plan to renew part of the French Cameroon’s railways secure level crossing and acquire new wagons and Locomotives. During the 25th session, chaired by the Minister of Transport, Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo’o, it was revealed that 4 cranes and 8 scanners have been acquired and are already in use in Douala, Yaounde, Belabo, and Ngaoundere. Nothing was mentioned about the Kumba-Mbanga lines or prospects of linking the North West region to the West with rails.

It was also disclosed that 150km of railway between Batchenga and Sa’a, have been renovated. The 5 year plan also targets the rehabilitation of the Yaounde North, Yaounde South and Douala entry ways. These projects to modernize French speaking Cameroon’s railways will enable the sector play a crucial role during the upcoming major international sports events, the 2016 and 2019 Africa cup of Nations.

The International Committee on Railway Infrastructure has as mission to follow-up investment programs renovations and development of railway infrastructure.

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