News

10, May 2017

Obama says no country ‘immune’ from climate change ⁰

Former US President Barack Obama has voiced alarm about climate change, warning that no country would be safe. No country, “large or small, rich or poor, will be immune from the impacts of climate change,” Obama warned on Tuesday at a food summit in Milan, Italy. Speaking at the Seeds & Chips Global Food Innovation Summit he said, “Our changing climate is already making it more difficult to produce food”.

Obama’s warning comes amid speculations that President Donald Trump, who is a skeptic of climate change, could pull the US out of the landmark Paris Agreement, reached at the end of 2015. Under that agreement, world leaders agreed to make sure global warming stayed “well below” 2 degrees Celsius and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Climate change is a hoax “created by and for the Chinese in order to make US manufacturing non-competitive,” Trump said during his election campaign.

However, the former US president insisted on Tuesday that both the US and China were responsible to lead the way in the fight against climate change. “It’s important that big countries that are big emitters like the US and China… lead the way,” and others follow suit, Obama told the summit. “The current [Trump] administration has differences with my administration in terms of environmental policy,” he said. “Because of the debates taking place in the current administration the steps may be taken more slowly than they would have been done, but I’m confident,” he added.

“The good news is the private sector has already made a determination that the future is clean energy. Those things are locked in now, into the energy sector,” Obama added During his election campaign last year, Trump had vowed to pull out of the landmark 2015 Paris climate deal, if elected.

Source: Presstv

9, May 2017

Battle for Southern Cameroons: Consortium launches “Operation NO 20th May and NO GCE Examinations” in West Cameroon ⁰

The Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium has announced a massive operation aimed at achieving total and complete independence from La Republique du Cameroun. The Consortium, recognized by all Southern Cameroonians as the body with legitimate authority says celebrations to mark the so-called National Day will not hold in Southern Cameroon territory this year. The leaders have also called for a boycott of the 2017 session of the General Certificate of Education Examination. Below is a recent statement made public by the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium:

Fellow Southern Cameroonians, the great day of battle is here and the war cry has been sounded. That day on which we were turned into slaves is here- 20th May!! The battle line is drawn, there is no standing on the fence; No Southern Cameroonian should be seen anywhere near any ceremonial ground going to help Biya destroy, kill & maim us the more. Everyone must choose their side: You are either for Southern Cameroons or against us, there is no midway.

No political party shall be seen doing anything on that day; the ghost town of that day has to be one that sends a clear and unambiguous message to everyone across the world that we want freedom, that we are tired of slavery and servitude, that annexation and colonialism in the 21st century are crimes against humanity. No exceptions shall be accepted and we shall all go out there and spread this message.

Also, the Francophone government is now calling for “juju” power to protect some centers for them to destroy the education of the very children we are fighting to safeguard by writing examinations when there were no classes for months; rest assured that will not happen on our territory. Beware of treachery; do not be found at the wrong place at the wrong time- tell others!!

By Rita Akana and Tina Nene Nganda

9, May 2017

International Criminal Court wants to investigate refugee-related crimes in Libya ⁰

The International Criminal Court (ICC) says it is weighing an investigation into human trafficking and refugee-related crimes in Libya, where the UN says they are being traded in so-called slave markets. Thousands of asylum seekers, including women and children, are being held in detention centers across Libya where “crimes, including killings, rapes and torture, are alleged to be commonplace,” Fatou Bensouda, ICC’s chief prosecutor revealed Monday.

She said that her office was gathering evidence of crimes allegedly committed against the refugees attempting to transit through Libya. I was “dismayed by credible accounts that Libya has become a marketplace for the trafficking of human beings,” Bensouda added.

The Gambian lawyer also said the ICC prosecution is examining the possibility of opening an investigation into refugee-related crimes in Libya provided that they fall under the court’s jurisdiction. Refugees commonly use the western coast of Libya to embark on a risky journey through the Mediterranean Sea toward Europe.

In April, the UN raised alarm over a climbing number of refugees passing through Libya. Refugees are typically traded for as little as $200 to $500, and are held for an average of two to three months and subject to malnutrition and sexual abuses, said the head of the UN migration agency’s Libya mission, Othman Belbeisi.

Source: Presstv

9, May 2017

Biya family’s Greek gift to Bamenda Food Market Traders ⁰

The Presidential couple has made available an envelope of FCFA 73 million to victims of the 14th March 2017 fire incident at the Bamenda Food Market. The package was handed over to the victims on 5th May 2017 by the Governor of the North West Region,Adolphe Lele Lafrique.

During the CPDM ceremony, the sum of FCFA 73,000,700 was distributed to 91 victims’ owners of 111 open sheds that were consumed by fire. Six of the victims whose shops were closed and 12 owners of tables with food stuffs received FCFA 20 million.

Shop owners were each entitled to FCFA 495,000 and FCFA 100,000 per burnt table. The Governor said the offer is an eloquent proof of the presidential couple’s resolve to stand against sinister Cameroonians. The March 14, fire incident left most of the victims very desperate reason why the assistance from the President and wife was saluted and considered a great relief.

Culled from CRTV

9, May 2017

Buea: Francophone Governor makes a mockery of South West Chiefs ⁰

The Francophone governor of the Buea province of Southern Cameroons, Bernard Okalia Bilai has attacked the traditional institutions of the South West people. The Biya appointee during a meeting with the visiting Francophone Minister of Secondary Education in Buea observed that traditional rulers in the region are fond of intimidating administrators with masquerades from sacred society groups but cannot use them to fight against insecurity prevailing in the region.

Governor Bernard Okalia and the the Minster of Secondary education reportedly embarked on a working visit in the region to evaluate what the Yaounde regime painted as the level of preparedness of the Cameroon GCE Board to organize the 2017 session of the examinations. Jean Ernest Massena Ngale Bibehe began his mission in the South west region and is expected to brave the bad roads to Bamenda.

The minister held a scantily attended meeting at the Mountain Hotel in Buea in which each principal of the different secondary schools gave a comprehensive report on school effectiveness. The Principal of Bilingual Grammar School, BGS Molyko, Hannah Mbua Etonde was frank, candid and thoughtful when she told the Minister that most students have not been coming to school.

However ghost town welcomed Minister Ngale Bibehe in Buea with several shops remaining permanently closed in Molyko, Mile 17 and other areas. The Biya Francophone regime has insisted that the GCE practical examinations will begin next Monday May 15, 2017 while the written part shall commence on June 5, 2017.

By Rita Akana with files from Cameroun Info.Net

8, May 2017

UN says 4,600 people flee homes in DR Congo daily ⁰

An average of 4,600 people flee their homes every day in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the UN says, warning of a dramatically deteriorating humanitarian situation in the country. A full 3.7 million people were displaced within DR Congo by the end of March – more than double the 1.6 million at the start of 2016, the United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA said. “This is a massive, massive deterioration,” Rein Paulsen, who heads OCHA’s country office in DR Congo, told reporters in Geneva.

The situation is particularly dire in the central Kasai region, where spiraling violence between government troops and tribal militias has forced 1.27 million people from their homes since last September, he said. “That’s an increase of 100,000 in the last week,” Paulsen said, describing the numbers as “shocking and dramatic.”

The fighting in Kasai erupted after government troops last August killed tribal chief Jean Pierre Mpandi, also known as Kamwina Nsapu, who had launched an uprising against President Joseph Kabila. Violence in the region has left at least 400 people dead since September. The UN has meanwhile reported finding 40 mass graves, while two UN researchers – Michael Sharp, an American, and Zaida Catalan, a dual Swedish-Chilean national – investigating the violence were abducted and shot dead. One of the victims was also beheaded.

Source: AFP

8, May 2017

Yaounde: Son-in-law to the Speaker of National Assembly in police drag net ⁰

Oumate Goygoy, son-in-law of National Assembly Speaker, Cavaye Yeguie Djibril was arrested on the 5^th of May by elements of the gendarmerie brigade at Efoulan district in Yaoundé. In addition to being the son-in-law of the President of the National Assembly, Oumate Goygoy is a Chief of Service in the National Assembly.

Cameroon Concord News gathered that he was arrested in possession of a large quantity of cocaine. Security sources say apart from trading in the illicit drug, the highly placed Francophone official also consumes it.

Cavaye Yeguie Djibril who is presently in Paris was informed of the current situation and it is said he instructed his director of cabinet, Mr. Boukar, and his secretary Mr. Sani to do everything to stifle the scandal while waiting for his return to Cameroon scheduled for today Monday, May 8, 2017.

Correspondingly, Boukar and Sani reportedly mobilized the sum of 3 million FCFA to secure the release of Oumate Goygoy. However, the son-in-law of the National Assembly Speaker is still in detention in the gendarmerie brigade.

By Sonne Peter

8, May 2017

Nigerian aviation college takes delivery of Diamond DA-42 trainers ⁰

The Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) has taken delivery of the first of 20 new Diamond trainer aircraft ordered from Austrian aircraft manufacturer Diamond Aircraft in 2013 to replace an obsolete fleet. The deal, estimated at $20 million in 2013, was secured through local company Interjet Nigerian Limited, the official West African business representative for Diamond Aircraft.

The first DA-42NG was handed over to Nigerian Minister of State for Aviation Senator Hadi Serika by Interjet Nigeria Limited manager Seun Peters on 24 April. Serika said the government decided to replace the ageing 29 trainer aircraft operated by the NCAT Zaria campus because the majority were obsolete, while the airworthy few were too expensive to maintain.

NACT Rector Abdulsalam Mohammed said the new trainer aircraft would reduce operating costs. “Today, we are taking delivery of the first DA-42 twin-engine aircraft. NCAT is acquiring a total of 20 of these aircraft, specifically five twin-engine DA-42 and 15 single-engine DA-40 trainers. The new aircraft will significantly improve our cost efficiency.

“Besides, they are also equipped with a glass cockpit and Garmin 1000 system, which will make it easier for our graduate pilots to transition to various types of new-generation commercial aircraft,” Mohammed said. The DA 42 is powered by two Austro Engine AE300 diesel engines, which produce 168 hp each to propel the aircraft to a maximum cruise speed of 328 km/h. Delivery has been delayed by more than a year due to bureaucratic delays in releasing the funds. According to the procurement contract signed between Interjet and the Nigerian government in 2013, five aircraft were supposed to be delivered every five months.

Due to the Nigerian government’s failure to pay, Diamond Aircraft has been forced to sell at least seven aircraft that were initially manufactured for the Nigerian contract to other buyers to offset maintenance and storage costs. NCAT operates 29 trainer aircraft including ageing Socata Trinidad TB-20GT and Beech Baron 58s which were purchased as second hand equipment more than 15 years ago. Meanwhile, Peters said Diamond Aircraft and Interjet Nigeria have agreed to set up the first DA-series Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) centre in Abuja.

“In partnership with Diamond Aircraft of Austria, we are working towards building a state-of-the-art maintenance facility in Abuja to service Nigeria and aircraft operators in other West African countries.” The MRO will service the growing number of West African operators of Diamond aircraft. These include the air forces of Ghana, Niger and Nigeria, which together operate between 7 and 12 DA-42 MPP (Multi-Purpose Platform)’Guardian’ maritime surveillance aircraft.

Culled from Defenseweb

7, May 2017

Philemon Yang in Bamenda like a thief in the night ⁰

The so-called May 20th National Day has never been so threatened as this year following the Anglophone uprising. Correspondingly, Prime Minister Philemon Yang reportedly fighting for his political identity and survival is in the Bamenda province of Southern Cameroons. The Head of Government of La Republique du Cameroun traveled to Bamenda like a thief in the night and has been working tirelessly to counter the announced boycott of the national day celebration.

Our senior political commentator opined that this is going to be Philemon Yang’s last journey to Southern Cameroons. The boycott action was launched by the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium backed by a majority of Southern Cameroonians who have denounced for seven months, the marginalization of West Cameroon by the Francophone political elites headed by the 84 year old dictator, Paul Biya.

Philemon Yang has been dishing out hush money to the leadership of the ruling CPDM crime syndicate to massively participate during 20 May 2017 celebrations. During a meeting with local leaders of the ruling party from the seven divisions in the Bamenda province, Yang accompanied by MPs, mayors, North West cabinet ministers and traditional authorities admitted that the goal of this mobilization was to make every effort to ensure the success of the national day.

The Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium has stressed that ghost town operations will continue tomorrow Monday the 8^th of May 2017. The Consortium has also called on Southern Cameroonians to completely boycott the 20^th May festivities.

By Sama Ernest

Cameroon Concord News

7, May 2017

Dozens of Chibok girls abducted by Boko Haram released ⁰

Dozens of Nigerian schoolgirls who were abducted by the Boko Haram Takfiri terror group from the northeastern town of Chibok in 2014 have been released. “I can confirm they have been released,” said a government minister on condition of anonymity on Saturday, adding that an official statement would be released shortly.

“The girls were released through negotiations with the government,” said another official. Several sources put the number of released girls at around 80 while others claim some 60 were freed by the terrorists. “The girls are now lodged in the military barracks and will be flown to (the Borno state capital) Maiduguri tomorrow (Sunday),” a military source was quoted as saying.

More than 20 girls were freed last October in a deal negotiated by the International Committee of the Red Cross. Since then, several others have managed to escape or been rescued, but 195 were thought to be still in the hands of the terrorists.

The militants abducted 276 girls from their secondary school in the northeastern town in April 2014. Fifty-seven of the girls managed to escape, but nearly 220 others are still missing and international efforts to spot and rescue them have so far failed.

In August, Boko Haram released a video purportedly showing some of the girls and demanding the release of comrades in exchange for the freedom of the abductees. A masked member of the group speaking in the footage claimed some of the girls were still alive, and that the others had been killed in airstrikes carried out by the Nigerian air force on the Boko Haram hideout.