Headline News

27, August 2016

Cameroon arrest Gendarmerie Captain leading a criminal gang in the Far North region ⁰

Captain Hamadjam Hamadjam, commander of the gendarmerie company post in the Mayo-Tsanaga division was relieved of his duties and arrested late on Wednesday the 25^th of August in an operation staged by the military high command of the Far North legion.

Captain Hamadjam is currently being held at the Maroua Central Prison. A journalist with a sister publication Cameroon Intelligence Report observed that the military officer is suspected to be the leader of a criminal gang to which is attributed several armed robberies including assassinations in the Far North region.

Cameroon Concord News understands six other security officers arrested by elements of the Rapid Intervention Battalion are right now on trial. They are all believed to be part of the Captain Hamadjam gang.

By Rita Akana

26, August 2016

Bolivia: Interior Minister beaten to death ⁰

Bolivian Interior Minister Rodolfo Illanes has been beaten to death by striking mine workers after being kidnapped, the government says. Interior Minister Carlos Romero told a press conference that his 56-year-old deputy was abducted after he went to talk to the protesting miners in Panduro, around 160 km from the administrative capital, La Paz.

Senior government officials, including the interior and defense ministers, have labeled the killing as an “unprecedented criminal act” and a brutal murder. “All signs indicate that our deputy minister, Rodolfo Illanes, has been cowardly and brutally murdered,” Romero said Romero also called on Bolivia’s justice system to “clear up the murder and establish responsibility.”

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Reymi Ferreira said on private television station Red Uno that President Evo Morales was “deeply shaken” upon receiving the news. The deputy minister “was harassed, tortured… he was beaten to death according to the information we have,” Ferreira said before breaking down in tears.

He said that authorities were attempting to recover the body. The ringleaders who killed Illanes had been identified, Ferreira said, adding that the act “cannot go unpunished, and must be taken to court.” Moises Flores, director of a mining radio station, earlier confirmed the death of Illanes, who has served as deputy interior minister since March. “We saw the lifeless body of Deputy Minister Illanes.”

Presstv

26, August 2016

Hillary Clinton has maintained a strong lead over Trump ⁰

US Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton has maintained a double-digit lead over her Republican rival, Donald Trump, in the run-up to the November election in a new national poll.The Quinnipiac University poll, released on Thursday, shows the former secretary of state has 51 percent of the votes as compared to the New York billionaire having only a 41percent support. Clinton has led Trump throughout most of the 2016 presidential campaign. But her lead in recent polls represents a stronger level of support than polls showed in recent editions of the poll.

In the previous polls, the former First Lady’s lead over the real estate tycoon ranged between 3 and 9. One poll — McClatchy/Marist survey – conducted early August, however, found Clinton 15 points ahead of Trump. Clinton’s lead over Trump slimmed in the Quinnipiac University poll in a four-way match-up that included Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson and Green Party nominee Jill Stein. She received 45 percent to his 38 percent. In that scenario, Johnson earned 10 percent, while Stein bagged 4 percent.

The poll shows the billionaire with 29 percent support among millennials between the ages of 18 and 34, and 15 percent support among nonwhite voters. Trump leads Clinton among white male voters, 59 percent to 32 percent, and voters who are 50 years of age and older.

Meanwhile, the former First Lady leads by 24 percentage points among female voters, 60 percent to 36 percent, and those younger than 50 years of age. A majority of Americans hold a “strongly unfavorable” view of Trump, with 53 percent, while 46 percent saying the same about Clinton, showed the survey, which was conducted from August 18 to 24 among a national sample 1,498 likely voters. The poll has a 2.5 percentage point margin of error.

Presstv

25, August 2016

Cameroon in Sydney 2000: CPDM in Rio 2016 ⁰

Following the poor performance of Team Cameroon in the Rio Olympic Games 2016, Jeune Afrique International magazine recently invoked the memories of the Olympic Games in Sydney 2000 which saw Cameroon winning an Olympic Gold Medal in football. While Cameroon went unnoticed in Rio, Jeune Afrique successfully traced the 16 Cameroon football legends of Sydney 2000 revealing their activities after departing from the beautiful game.

The attackers

Samuel Eto’o: He still plays football in Turkey Antalyasport, after going through Majorca, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Anzhi, Chelsea, Everton and Genoa … Eto’o owns many football schools and heads a foundation that cares for disadvantaged, including refugees in northern Cameroon, in partnership with UNHCR and Oxfam.

Patrick Mboma: Retired since 2005, after scoring 33 goals in 56 caps for the Lions, is a consultant for Canal + Africa. He also football FIFA agent and at some point was involved in the activities of the Cameroon Football Federation, FECAFOOT. He also launched a business venture via the Hope Finance Company. The adventure nevertheless ended in court, and the company was declared bankrupt.

Patrick Suffo: He played his football in France, Spain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Norway, Israel and England, where he finished his career. After working as a sports agent (he notably negotiated the loan of his compatriot Jean Makoun to Olympiakos in Greece in 2011), he turned into a businessman and today is an economic operator Cameroon in the oil sector. He had previously worked as a public relations officer for an oil company in Norway.

Albert Meyong: He is still active and currently plays in southern Portugal for club Vitória Setúbal. He also had a two-year transition in Angola, Kabuscorp. He played for the Indomitable Lions until 2009.

Midfielders

Lauren Mayer Etamé: After five seasons in Spain, in 2000 he moved to the Premiership and joined Arsenal, where he remained until December 2006. He had a spell with Portsmouth until June 2009. Lauren signed for Córdoba CF 2010 a Spanish second division for half a season before retiring. He then worked with ITV4, British television for Sky Sports and for Spain as a consultant. He lives in Seville, Spain with his family.

Geremi Njitap: His brilliant career took him to Turkey, Spain and England. After Real Madrid, Chelsea and Newcastle United, he played in Turkey and then again in Greece until 2011. He has now become a businessman in Cameroon, particularly in the property sector.

Nicolas Alnoudji: He played in Turkey, France, Belgium, Portugal and Malta. He returned to play in Cameroon in 2014 and is still in football business with Bamboutos club of Mbouda.

Serge Mimpo: He was in Greece in 2000 with the club Ethnikos Asteras where he had three great seasons. He then moved to France and played for Paris FC from 2003 to 2009, then to National CFA, FCM Aubervilliers (2011-2012) and then to USA Clichy. He now coaches the reserve team.

Modeste M’Bami: A former player with Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Marseille, he travelled to Spain, China, Saudi Arabia and Colombia before joining the French club Le Havre. He is still evolving in Ligue 2 as a midfielder. He played in the national team until 2009.

Clement Beaud: He played in Poland, Lithuania, China and Portugal. He was part of the workforce Club Semache in the Portuguese fourth division until 2013. He still lives in Portugal.

Daniel Ngom Kome: His career came to an abrupt end because of a right knee osteoarthritis, which earned him three operations of the meniscus. Father of two children (seven and eight years old), he lives in Douala and is now the representative of the Spanish Mahou beer and co-manager of Future EM Sarl (official sponsor of the Cameroon Football Federation).

The defenders

Pierre Wome: He played in Italy with Inter Milan and Bologna and moved to England, then Spain and finally to Germany, after a brief return to Italy. In 2010, he engaged with a Gabonese club before returning to Cameroon, playing in Garoua and Yaoundé. In 2014, Pierre Wome he was in France, where he joined FC Chambly, Country Club and in 2015 with the US Roye-Noyon, where he is still evolving. He was involved Hope Finance Company scandal and had a legal battle with one time teammate Patrick Mboma.

Patrice Abanda: He was in Greece and the Czech Republic (Sparta Prague, Teplice). During a medical visit to Dynamo Kiev, a liver problem (hepatitis) was diagnosed and that put an end to his career in December 2005. He returned to Cameroon and now works for the National Social Insurance Fund.

Aaron Nguimbat: He left Canon Yaoundé, for Latvia- Skonto Riga. He was three times champion of Latvia and participated in the 2005-2006 Champions League before returning to Cameroon to Unisport Bafang. From 2007 to 2009, he was in Indonesia and signed with Sriwijaya FC and finally returned home where he lives and runs a small business.

Serge Branco: After spells in Germany, England and Russia, where it has had problems of racism, he engaged with Duisburg, Germany, and QPR, England. He then headed to Oman where he won the championship and the cup in 2014. He works and lives in Frankfurt, Germany.

Joël Epalle: After Sydney, he palyed in Greece and Germany. He remains the greatest player ever signed by FC Bochum in Germany. Former Cameroon international is now a coach. He took the reins of Val in Europe early in the 2015 season. The club plays in regional division.

The goalkeepers

Carlos Kameni: He is the only player still active in the Cameroon national team. He is still under contract with the Malaga in Spain and had the luxury of stopping a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo in February.

Daniel Bekono: He evolved with Canon Yaoundé until 2002, then in Baham. He flew to Bulgaria, where he played until 2010, including FK CSKA Sofia, with whom he was champion in 2010. Daniel Bekono was dismissed for disciplinary problems in 2010 after missing several training sessions. He still lives in Bulgaria.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

25, August 2016

Biya spends billions of FCFA hiring VIP aircrafts ¹

President Paul Biya for several years has traveled on hired planes paid by the Cameroonian tax payer. He left Yaounde on Wednesday for a “short stay” in Europe using a lease transaction VIP aircraft that reportedly cost a fortune.

The state of Cameroon has paid a whopping sum for the hiring of air crafts for President Biya and his family. The exorbitant cost charged reflects the VIP airplanes required by the Cameroonian chief executive.

Biya who is fond of Airbus, especially the Boeing 777-200, 767-200 and 757-200, which are among the largest commercial aircraft in the world, with special facilities including a main bedroom, suite bathroom, a presidential office, a dining / meeting room, seats in business class (50 to 60 seats), a communications center, a rest area for the crew as well as ice cream, spends billions of FCFA every year for his unproductive numerous journeys to Europe.

If we add the cost of regularly leasing of an Airbus aircraft to the subsistence cost of the presidential delegation at the Continental Hotel in Swiss- presented as the customary destination for Mr. Biya during his private visits to Europe, the expenditure for each presidential trip does not only call for anger but also hatred for the presidential couple.

By Sama Ernest with files from Cameroon-info.net

25, August 2016

UNICEF says 49,000 Nigerian children may die to malnutrition ⁰

The UN children’s fund (UNICEF) says some 49,000 Nigerian children could die of malnutrition in the country’s troubled northeast this year if they are not provided with humanitarian aid.

According to a report published by UNICEF on Thursday, some 475,000 children around the Lake of Chad face “sever acute malnutrition” due to drought and the seven-year militancy by the Daesh-affiliated Boko Haram terror group in northeastern Nigeria.

The shallow Lake Chad, which is located on the southern edge of Sahara, borders Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria.

The report added that out of the nearly half a million children at risk, the Nigerian children, who live in the embattled Borno State, Boko Haram’s heartland, would lose their lives by the end of the year if they do not receive treatment and food.

It also appealed for $308 million to tackle the crisis, adding that, to date, it only received some $41 million, 13 percent of what it needed to help those affected in the four countries.

A handout photo released by UNICEF shows Nigerian refugees receiving food aid at the Minawao refugee camp in Northern Cameroon, on April 5, 2016. ©AFP

In the terror-torn Borno “towns and villages are in ruins and communities have no access to basic services,” UNICEF further said in the report, adding that nearly two thirds of hospitals and medical centers had been partially or totally destroyed. Three-quarters of water and facilities responsible for maintaining sanitation also needed rehabilitation, it added.

According to the report, some 2.2 million people are still trapped in the areas under the control of Boko Haram, despite counter-terror assaults against it. An estimated 20,000 people have been killed and more than 2.6 million others made homeless since the beginning of the Boko Haram bloody militancy in Nigeria in 2009.

The terror group has pledged allegiance to Daesh Takfiri terrorists, who are mainly wreaking havoc in Syria and Iraq. Boko Haram has spread its attacks from northeastern Nigeria, its traditional stronghold, to the neighboring countries of Chad, Niger and Cameroon. Regional countries have created a joint military force in helping Nigeria fight the terrorist group.

Presstv

25, August 2016

Italy: Death toll from powerful earthquake reached 247 ⁰

The death toll from a powerful earthquake that devastated parts of central Italy has reached 247 as rescue and search operations are underway to find possible survivors. On Thursday, Italy’s civil protection agency said a tally by local officials showed that 190 people were killed Rieti Province and 57 in the province of Ascoli Piceno.

According to local media, Italian emergency crews are vigorously searching search through the debris of collapsed houses in the affected areas to find more than 100 people missing a day after the quake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale flattened scores of towns and villages in the central parts.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said many people were still trapped under the rubble, and vowed that “no family, no city, no hamlet will be left behind.” Officials in Italy’s civil protection agency also said there have been more than 300 aftershocks following the tremor, which was also felt in Rome, adding that searching for survivors is the top priority. The 2,000-population town of Amatrice, one of the areas hardest hit by the Wednesday quake, is now in ruins with only a few buildings left standing.

Presstv

25, August 2016

Biya appoints new general manager for the Port of Douala ⁰

Paul Biya has signed a decree appointing Ngo’o Cyrus as Managing Director of the Port of Douala. The Biya decree was made public on August 24, 2016, some few hours before the Cameroonian dictator left for an unknown destination in Europe.

Cameroon Concord News understands Ngo’o Cyrus was presented and immediately installed on the same Wednesday evening during a session of the Board of the Port of Douala which held in the economic capital under the direct supervision of the Minister of Transport, Alain Edgar Mebe Ngo’o.

Ngo’o Cyrus replaces Emmanuel Etoundi Oyono who died in Paris in France last month of an illness. Before his appointment, he was responsible for missions at the Prime Minister Office in Yaoundé. To be sure, he was appointed to the Prime Minister Office only on July the 4^th 2016. So this is the second presidential decree in the space of a month enjoyed by Mr Ngo’o Cyrus.

Sama Ernest with files from Cameroon-info.net

24, August 2016

Venezuelan ambassador to Cameroon meets Prime Minister Philemon Yang in the Star Building ⁰

The Ambassador of Venezuela to Cameroon, Daniel Cartaya Laya has qualified the Nigerian Islamic sect, Boko Haram as a dire enemy to the truth.

He was speaking on Tuesday 23rd August 2016 after an audience with Prime Minister Philemon Yang. The Diplomat who is resident in Malabo also handed a sealed message from President Nicolas Maduro to be forwarded to President Paul Biya.

Ambassador Daniel Cartaya observed that the relationship between Venezuela and Cameroon is excellent and historic. Even with a failed economy and high rate of unemployment, he promised his country’s support to Cameroon in the fight against terrorism.

Ambassador Daniel Cartaya Laya who is currently serving four countries in the Sub-region including Cameroon earlier presented his letter of accreditation to the Minister of External Relations Lejeune Mbella Mbella.

Venezuela is a South American country with a population of 31 million people. It has the highest petroleum reserve in the world worth 297 billion barrels.

CRTV

24, August 2016

Indomitable Lions: 4 home based players among the 7 new comers ⁰

Indomitable Lions head coach Hugo Bross has named a 23 man revolutionary squad that will play two international matches in September 2016 at the Omnisport stadium in Limbe. In the list published on Monday 22nd August 2016, some of the team’s kingpins had been side-lined while seven new players have joined the national selection.

Four home based players were among the seven new comers to the national selection. They include, Pouaty Moise, Mbimbe Aaron, Mbaizo Olivier and Boya Franc. The Indomitable Lions are expected to play on September 3rd in a match counting for day 6 of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nation’s qualifiers against Gambia.

The team is also expected to play an international friendly against Gabon three days after their AFCON qualifier encounter. The coach said his main objective is to win both matches and improve Cameroon’s position on the FIFA ranking.

CRTV