News

4, August 2017

Southern Cameroons-Bakassi crisis: Biya sends moderate Anglophone minister as envoy to Abuja ⁰

Cameroon has denied reports of the killing of 97 Nigerian fishermen by its gendarmes in Bakassi peninsula and maltreating Nigerian refugees in that country. A three-man delegation dispatched by Cameroonian President Paul Biya stated this in Abuja on Thursday at a joint briefing at the end of a meeting with the Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama. The leader of the delegation, Cameroonian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Joseph Dion Ngute, said the delegation was in Nigeria to discuss issues of mutual benefits to both countries.

Ngute said there was no iota of truth in all the reports, saying Cameroon is a law abiding country and no such thing would ever happen. On the reported killing of over 97 Nigerians, the minister said nobody was killed, noting that it was a fabrication which appeared in the media, which nobody knew its purpose.

“We are here to inform the government of Nigeria that a month ago, we had reports in the media concerning massacre of people in the Bakassi area. “We sent our administrators and we asked Nigerian Counsel in Buea to accompany them. They went there and realized that not a single person was touched and nobody was injured or killed,” he said.
The minister said that the team came to discuss the situation that afflicted North Western part of Cameroon and North-Eastern part of Nigeria concerning the fight against Boko Haram. Ngute said that the two countries had been working perfectly in trying to clip the Boko Haram terrorists group and make sure that the evil group was completely alienated.

He also denied the report that his country maltreated Nigerian refugees, saying that they had protested to UN human right commission on the issue. “You know being a refugee is a very difficult condition. We in Cameroon are very sensitive to the issue. “If you visit our camp where we have about 60,000 refugees, they are being given the most humane treatment that we in Cameroon can give and can afford along with the UNHCR.

“We were a bit surprised by that report and we take exception to it. We drew the attention of the UNHCR that in Cameroon we have been abiding by the law,” he said. Ngute also briefed Nigeria on other issues of interest, especially the Southern Cameroons revolution and the stance of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium including resolving the industrial action by the Anglophone teachers and lawyers trade unions in the area.

Onyeama in his remarks said there was no distrust between the two countries. “On the contrary both countries are extremely close, working together very closely and I think sending this delegation by the president himself shows the importance he attaches to that relationship.

“We are also keen that this should trickle down to average Nigerian and Cameroonian. And I think by and large, it does. “However, we also have to be careful of social media where you can have a very small minority of people generating a narrative that is not in any way reflective of the reality,” he said.

Onyeama noted with pleasure the recent cooperation between both countries in the fight to reclaim territories under Boko Haram in the North East. He said that Cameroon had been fighting shoulder to shoulder with Nigerian soldiers against Boko Haram. The minister said that Cameroonian intervention in the fight had been very important and decisive.

Source: Vanguard

4, August 2017

Trump says ‘I am the world’s greatest person’ ⁰

US President Donald Trump had tense exchanges during phone calls with the leaders of Mexico and Australia in January, just days after his inauguration, according to leaked transcripts of his calls. Transcripts of the two conversations Trump had with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull were obtained by The Washington Post, which posted them online on Thursday.

The transcripts were assembled from the notes of White House aides listening to the calls, the newspaper said. The transcripts confirm previous news reports of tension during the conversations with Peña Nieto on January 27 and with Turnbull the next day, just a week after Trump’s inauguration.

When the Post published an account of the conversations in early February, Trump tweeted that it had been a “very civil conversation that FAKE NEWS media lied about.” The publication is the latest of sign that established norms are breaking down inside the White House and reflect the vicious infighting inside the White House between rival factions, despite the appointment of the new chief of staff John Kelly.

The transcripts of his conversations “show the president to be no more coherent in private than he is public: ill-informed – even about a major attack on US soil – and narcissistic to the point of absurdity,” The Guardian said.

Trump told Turnbull during their call on January 28 that “I am the world’s greatest person” and “you are worse than I am.” The exchange was so sharp that Trump said talking to President Vladimir Putin of Russia was more pleasant.
The conversation became combative after Trump said he would not honor a bilateral agreement between Australia and the administration of former President Barack Obama concerning refugees landing in the US.

“I am the world’s greatest person that does not want to let people into the country,” Trump said. “It makes me look so bad and I have only been here a week.” “Somebody told me yesterday that close to 2,000 people are coming who are really troublesome,” he complained to Turnbull.

Turnbull explained that it was important for the United States to live up to the agreement and the deal required the US to accept up to 1,250 refugees, not 2,000, and each of them would be subject to vetting and could be rejected. “That is a good idea,” Trump said. “We should do that too. You are worse than I am.” “Putin was a pleasant call. This is ridiculous,” Trump said shortly before ending the call abruptly.

During his conversation with Mexico’s Peña Nieto, Trump repeatedly threatened to impose a stiff border tax to keep out Mexican products and complained about “pretty tough hombres” who were bringing so many drugs over the border. The biggest point of contention came as Trump insisted that Peña Nieto stop saying publicly that he would not pay for the border wall that the US president had promised to build on the US-Mexico border.

“If you are going to say that Mexico is not going to pay for the wall, then I do not want to meet with you guys anymore because I cannot live with that,” Trump said. “We find this completely unacceptable for Mexicans to pay for the wall that you are thinking of building,” Peña Nieto told Trump. “My position has been and will continue to be very firm, saying that Mexico cannot pay for that wall.”

Culled from Presstv

4, August 2017

Southern Cameroons: Security forces arrest members of heavily armed gang in Mbengwi ⁰

The Francophone Governor of the Bamenda County in Southern Cameroons, Adolphe LELE L’Afrique has been holding series of security meetings regarding the arrest of a group of seven heavily armed persons in Mbengwi, the chief town in Momo Division.

Local media report says the 6 unidentified men and a woman were neutralized in the Mbengwi County by elements of the Francophone dominated elite force known as the Rapid Intervention Battalion, BIR.

Nothing has so far filtered from police interrogation. However, reliable sources deep within the Mbengwi colonial administration hinted that their intention was to wreck havoc with explosives they carried on them.

The 7 reportedly dressed themselves up as United Nations personnel wearing cloths inscribed with the UN Logo. It is still not clear whether they are workers with the United Nations or impostors.

The arrest was made at about 4 a.m on Thursday and it has caused general panic in the entire Southern Cameroons territory.

Culled from Cameroon Info.Net

3, August 2017

US issues ban on traveling to North Korea ⁰

The United States has issued a ban prohibiting its citizens traveling to North Korea, following the death of an American national who was imprisoned in the Asian country over espionage charges.

The measure was introduced on Wednesday after American officials said the risk of arrest by North Korean officials presented an “imminent danger to the physical safety” of US citizens. The ban will come into effect on September 1.

“All United States passports are declared invalid for travel to, in, or through the DPRK [Democratic People’s Republic of Korea] unless specially validated for such travel,” read the restriction in the US government’s Federal Register.

Strict warnings against traveling to North Korea were already in place before the ban was first revealed last month following the death of university student Otto Frederick Warmbier who died after falling into a coma in a North Korean prison.

Warmbier, 22, spent 17 months in a North Korean jail over spying charges and was released to his family back in the US after falling into a coma due to a “severe neurological injury.” He died on June 19.

The casket carrying the remains of Otto Warmbier is carried out of Wyoming High School in Wyoming, Ohio on June 22, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

North Korea has detained at least 17 American citizens over the past decade and three of them remain imprisoned there, according to official reports.

The US says it is concerned by the North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests. Pyongyang, in response, accuses Washington of plotting with regional allies to topple its government.

North Korea has so far conducted a total of five nuclear tests, in 2006, 2009, 2013 and twice in 2016, and numerous missile test-launches.

Pyongyang has defied sanctions and international pressure, saying it will continue to strengthen its military capability to protect itself from the threat posed by the presence of US forces in the region.

North Korea says it will not give up on its nuclear deterrence unless Washington ends its hostile policy toward Pyongyang and dissolves the US-led UN command in South Korea.

Source: Presstv

3, August 2017

Motor officer killed during Bishop Bala funeral procession ⁰

The funeral procession carrying the body of the late Bishop Jean Marie Benoit Bala of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bafia, to the eponymous city was involved in a serious road accident.

According to information provided by concordant community and security sources, a motorcyclist charged with securing the convoy of transporting the remains to Bafia violently hit a Toyota Corolla vehicle that approached the procession from Efok.

The injured in the vehicle were taken to the emergency ward of the Obala hospital while the rider of the motorcycle who was seriously injured, was driven urgently to the general hospital in Yaoundé from where he was pronounced dead.

By Sama Ernest
Cameroon Concord News Group

3, August 2017

Southern Cameroons Revolution: Ministers Laurent Esso, Lejuene Mbella Mbella en route to Brussels ⁰

To counter the Southern Cameroons resistance movement that is gaining more and more grounds at home and abroad, the French Cameroun dictator Paul Biya has launched a major offensive in the countries that are hosting powerful international organizations.

The Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime has decided to send a ministerial delegation to Belgium, precisely in Brussels, the capital of the European Union (EU), to meet on Saturday 05 August 2017 from 3pm in the ACP Secretariat room At 451 Avenue Georges Henri, 1200 Brussels, the Cameroonian Community residing in Belgium.

According to a press release published by the Embassy of the Republic of Cameroon in Brussels, to provide the Cameroonian community with clarifications on the situation in Southern Cameroons, a delegation will leave Yaoundé and is made up of three personalities namely Tanyitiku Enoh Achuo, attaché in the services of the Prime Minister, Lejeune Mbella Mbella Minister of External Relations and Laurent Esso the Minister of Justice who has also been appointed as head of the mission.

This delegation is the second that the Biya regime, in power for more than three decades has sent out of the country for the same mission. The first, headed by a pro Biya comedian, Paul Mingo Ghogomu, is scheduled to meet today Thursday, August 03 in New York, USA at the headquarters of the United Nations (UN).

For a week in Uncle Sam’s country, this delegation will try to present the Francophone government’s version of the Southern Cameroons revolution and the measures taken by the CPDM authorities to put an end to the demands of their Anglophone compatriots.

By Chi Prudence Asong
Cameroon Concord News Group

1, August 2017

Madagascar: Bus crash kills at least 34 ⁰

At least 34 people died when a bus carrying young Christian worshippers plunged down a steep ravine in central Madagascar, police and hospital officials said Tuesday.

Police said 12 badly burned bodies were counted at the site, 70 kilometers (45 miles) north of the capital Antananarivo. Hospitals said that 22 other deaths had been confirmed after the late-night crash.

“The bus struggled to climb a road on a hill and fell down a ravine about 20 meters deep,” police spokesman Herilalatiana Andrianarisaona told AFP. “It caught fire after rolling several times.”

The main hospital in the capital Antananarivo said it had accounted for 18 dead, while a hospital in the town of Ankazobe bear the crash scene reported four dead. Passengers on the packed bus were travelling from the central town of Soavinandriana to a church meeting in the north-western coastal port city of Mahajanga when the accident occurred.

(Source: AFP)

1, August 2017

Biya sends special team to help fight Southern Cameroons at the UN ⁰

Following the visit of the interim leader of Southern Cameroons to the Republic of South Africa and the successful briefing of the UN by Southern Cameroons human rights activists, a French Cameroun delegation is expected in New York this month to counter the offensive. Confirming the decision made by President Biya, the Prime Minister’s office made public a press release that was sent to the Cameroon embassy in the US detailing the mission of the French Cameroun team.

The delegation is composed of Professor Ghogomu Paul Mingo, Minister without portfolio attached to the prime minister’s office, Prof. Elvis Ngolle Ngolle, former Minister and head of the so-called ruling CPDM academic think tank and Prof. Fabien Nkot, Technical Adviser to Prime Minister Philemon Yang. The communique also stated that the men will stay from the 3rd of August to the 9th 2017 in New York.

In a bid to cover up the war crimes committed against the people of Southern Cameroons ever since the revolution started, the Francophone delegation comprised two prominent Anglophones who are serving the regime and have all their investments in Yaoundé. During the mission, the Cameroon government officials will play a similar role like those of the KNDP 1961 delegation and will prospect and strengthen links with the UN as a one and indivisible Cameroon.

The mission is led by Ghogomu Paul Mingo who is wanted in Southern Cameroons on charges of rapes, extra judicial killings and arrests orchestrated by the Francophone dominated army in West Cameroon main counties including Buea, Kumba, Bamenda, Jakiri, Kumbo and Wum. While in the US, the delegation from La Republique is also expected to meet with the CPDM Section executive for North America to reactivate their party there against an increasing backdrop of an upsurge in the numbers of Anglophones joining the secessionist movement.

In his latest address to Southern Cameroonians, the interim leader of the Southern Cameroons Ambazonia Governing Council, Sisiku Ayuk Tabe noted that the journey to the restoration of the independence of our nation is in full gear. The leader said “We have heard your voices from Australia, China, Europe, Americas and Africa. We are very encouraged by the enormous show of support and solidarity from our people back home. We want you all to be reassured that we are in this journey together until we get to Buea, in a country that we will call our own.”

By Chi Prudence Asong
Cameroon Concord News

1, August 2017

The looting of Cameroon: Catastrophic revelations puts GM of CNPS in jeopardy ⁰

A French Cameroun newspaper La Tribune de l’Est Economie that recently reported on the salary situation of the current general manager of the National Social Insurance Fund CNPS, Noel Alain Olivier Mekulu Mvondo Akame has again made public disturbing revelations on the matter.

After threats against the publisher, Chantal Roger Tuile that reportedly came from the management of the CNPS, the newspaper does not seem intimidated. With additional new information on the monthly earnings of the boss of the National Social Insurance Fund, the paper opined in its lead story released on Monday, July 31, 2017 that “Biya’s nephews are running the country dry.”

The weekly in the first stanza of the report published a quote attributed to the general manager of CNPS. “I am the nephew of the Head of State. My name is Mekulu Mvondo, and everyone knows that the head of state’s father was called Mvondo. I’ll have Tuilé and all his acolytes shut up. My friends in the National Communications Council will dissolve La Tribune de l’Est Economie as they did with the other newspapers that were bothering us. People don’t mess around with me … Who are these Tuilés even? Are they stronger than the Roman Catholic bishops? His days on earth are numbered.”

The paper which announced earlier that the general manager of CNPS had a monthly salary of 11 million CFA francs has now revealed that instead of 11 million, the GM of CNPS has a monthly salary of 23 million. The newspaper also added that 200,000 francs have been allocated for the GMs water bills, 400,000 frs for electricity, 400,000 for the “telephone-Internet-Cable” section, and 900,000 for fuel.

The housing allowance amounts to CFAF 1,125,000 and the cost of sovereignty amounts to 16,700,000. La Tribune de l’Est Economie stated that “it is necessary to add to all this, the sum of 35 thousand for the “Health insurance, home management about 3 million, the mansion 7 million two hundred thousand, GM home furnishings and equipment, 40 million, two vehicles 100 million, installation premium 8 million.”

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files from Cameroon Info.Net

1, August 2017

North Korea can hit most of US ⁰

North Korea’s missiles are capable of hitting targets across most of the United States, American intelligence officials claim, citing evidence from Pyongyang’s latest missile test. North Korea test-launched a Hwasong-14 ballistic missile on Saturday, calling it a “stern warning” to the US that it would not be safe if it resorts to military action.

The consensus in Washington is that the Hwasong-14 in many ways resembled an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and proved the North’s ability to hit targets on American soil, Reuters reported Monday, citing two US intelligence officials.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the officials said the missile’s 47-minute flight time was indicative of a greater range compared to another missile that was tested on July 4^th, which flew 39 minutes.

This picture taken on July 4, 2017 and released by North Korea shows an intercontinental ballistic missile reportedly capable of reaching the US. (Photo by AFP)

The Hwasong-14 also made use of force stabilizing engines that gave it greater height, range and power by deflecting the effects of winds and other forces that could knock it off course while ascending. The Pentagon says the missile’s trajectory, although not direct enough to reach the US, showed that it had the potential.

In a press briefing, Pentagon spokesman Navy Captain Jeff Davis refused to reveal the US military’s assessment but confirmed that the missile could fly at least 5,500 km (3,420 miles), the minimum range for what the Pentagon classifies as an ICBM.

“You could have the debate back and forth of whether the capability is proven or not, the fact of the matter is we take it seriously and we are prepared to defend against (it),” he noted. Last month, the United Nations Security Council imposed a fresh array of sanctions on Pyongyang in response to a number of missile tests carried out this year.

Source: Presstv