News

16, November 2016

East region: 20 die after consuming “Odontol” ⁰

Twenty people from several villages in the east region of the country died between Monday and Tuesday, after consuming an adulterated whiskey. Cameroon Concord News learnt that the 20 came from seven 7 different villages in the Mindourou Sub Division and perished after consuming a local drink known as “Odontol” a product containing a high dose of methanol.

Health officials in the East region say some people who consumed the adulterated whiskey have started to lose their sight due to poisoning caused by the consumption and others have begun to develop hallucinations. Our chief correspondent in Bertoua reported that several other victims were rushed to hospitals. Local authorities have begun to raise awareness in communities about the consumption of this adulterated whiskey, sold cheaper and much appreciated by low-income populations.

By Sama Ernest

15, November 2016

President Putin initiates a phone conversation with Trump ⁰

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President-elect Donald Trump have discussed the importance of “normalizing” ties between Moscow and Washington. According to a statement released by the Kremlin on Monday, the two held their first-ever talk during a phone conversation initiated by Putin, who had contacted Trump to “offer his congratulations on winning a historic election.”

The statement noted that the two had also agreed on making provisions for a “personal meeting,” and to keep in touch by phone. Both Putin and Trump had acknowledged “the extremely unsatisfactory state of Russian-US relations at present” and “declared the need for active joint work to normalize them.” During the conversation, the Russian president also voiced his preparedness to “create a dialogue of partnership with the new administration on the basis of equality, mutual respect and non-intervention in each other’s domestic affairs.”

They also “agreed on the need to unite efforts in the struggle with the enemy number one: international terrorism and extremism,” said the statement, noting that ending the conflict in Syria was also discussed. During Trump’s election campaign, Putin had referred to Trump as “a very outstanding person, talented without doubt.”

Hillary Clinton repeatedly claimed in her campaign that Russia was trying to rig the November election in favor of Trump. in their last presidential debate, Clinton accused Trump of having secret ties with Moscow, saying that Putin would love to see a “puppet” in the White House.

Presstv

15, November 2016

The sinister intentions on the delay of the 2016 financial bill ⁰

Following a 2 months delay, the CPDM led government has reportedly handed over the financial bill to the National Assembly. Cameroon Concord News was reliably informed that the bill was tabled on the 11^th of November 2016 and it will be examined by the Committee on Finance and Budget.

However, information has filtered that the text has so many irregularities attached to it relating to the execution of the 2015 budget. The Presidency of the Republic and the services attached to it stand prominent among the departments with short-comings in the implementation rates of their projects in 2015. This is also true with the National Assembly, Elections Cameroon (ELECAM), the National Commission for Human Rights and Freedoms, the Senate, Pensions, External and Domestic Public Debt, Grants and Contributions etc

These government departments and institutions have deliberately retained data on the implementation of their programs. The bill also revealed that the Ministry for the Advancement of Women and the Family has no rate of performance for its programs in 2015. We gathered that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MINREX) conducted four programs, one of which recorded a 0% achievement rate.

The MINREX zero achievement rate program was designed for the management of Cameroonians abroad and to improve the contribution of the Diaspora to the political, social and economic life of the country. Bello Bouba Maïgari, the Minister of Tourism, led two of the three budgeted programs in his ministerial department with the tourism and leisure showing a 0% execution rate- a program that should improve the quality of tourism and leisure facilities in the country.

During the year 2015, the Ministry of Water and Energy posted rates ranging from 0 to 55%. In energy supply, the meter has remained at zero according to the information sent to the Ministry of Finance (MINFI).

By Rita Akana with files from CIN

15, November 2016

Cameroon embassy in Brussels vandalized by armed men ⁰

There are reports that the Cameroon embassy in Brussels, the Belgian capital was vandalized by unknown gunmen. Local media reports say the discovery was made by the Cameroon Ambassador to the Kingdom of Belgium, Daniel Evina Abe.

Cameroon Concord News is yet to confirm the correctness of this developing story, but a sister publication Cameroun-info.net recently reported on the incident and cited Cameroon diplomatic sources in Yaoundé.

We gathered that several embassy vehicles including very important documents were carried away. Some reports have suggested that a Cameroonian opposition group may be behind the action. Moreover, an open inquiry announced by the Belgium police has not yet revealed its findings.

By Chi Prudence Asong

14, November 2016

Nigeria: Troops open fire at Shia Muslims holding a demonstration ⁰

Nigerian forces have opened fire at a group of Shia Muslims holding a demonstration in preparation for the upcoming Arba’een mourning rituals, which mark 40 days after the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein, the third Shia Imam.

Soldiers blocked the road and fired live rounds and tear gas to disperse hundreds of people, including women and children, marching in the northern city of Kano on Sunday. The Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) said that one person was killed and several others were injured during the incident. According to the IMN, the peaceful demonstration is still underway despite the government’s attempts to stop it.

Followers of the IMN have been under a heavy-handed crackdown since last year when the army attacked a religious ceremony in their stronghold of Zaria in the north. Hundreds of people were killed and more, including the movement’s leader Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky, were thrown behind bars.

Last week, the movement said it had received information that the Nigerian army was planning to attack Arba’een processions scheduled for November 20. Meanwhile, the London-based Islamic Human Rights Commission has called on Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure the safety of mourners taking part in the processions.

This picture taken on November 26, 2015 shows members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) taking part in the symbolic procession commemorating Arba’een.

Last month, at least 20 people were killed and several others injured when Nigerian forces opened fire at Shia mourners commemorating Ashura, the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (Peace be upon him). In December 2015, Nigerian forces raided the house of the IMN’s leader Sheikh Zakzaky and arrested him after killing those attempting to protect him, including one of the movement’s senior leaders and its spokesman.

The Sheikh himself was shot seven times during the attacks and blinded in one eye and still remains in custody of the army. The raid occurred a day after Nigerian soldiers attacked Shia Muslims attending a ceremony at a religious center in the city of Zaria, accusing them of blocking the convoy of the army’s chief of staff and attempting to assassinate him. On August 1, the Islamic Human Rights Commission released a report, saying the Nigerian army killed 348 Shia Muslims during the attack on the religious ceremony.

Presstv

14, November 2016

US: FBI ran over 20 child porn websites ⁰

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been allowed to run child pornography websites as an attempt to track their users, court documents reveal. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has obtained an affidavit that states the bureau has run at least 23 websites in its operations to hunt down pedophiles and promoters of child abuse, the New York Daily News reported Sunday.

The new revelation means that the extent of FBI’s secret sting was beyond the initial assessments. It was revealed last year that FBI agents had operated a child porn site for 13 days and used it in an international operation. The websites were all located in the so-called dark web, meaning that special software were needed to access them. The FBI oversaw the sites via its “network investigative technique” (NIT), the document noted.

Interestingly, all of the websites were operating from a “government facility,” so that NIT could collect the users’ “request data” more easily, the affidavit added. FBI spokesman Christopher Allen told tech news website Ars Technica that it is “patently not true” to assume that the bureau is commonly running child porn websites. However, he did not deny the existence of FBI-run websites either.

The report came less than a week after a former official with the US Defense Intelligence Agency was sentenced to 20 years in prison for producing child pornography. Army Lieutenant Colonel Steven Frederiksen, 42, received the term on November 8, after admitting to luring six girls, aged between 14 and 17, into producing indecent photos and videos through social media. He used his government laptop for the purpose.

According to the Crimes Against Children Research Center, child pornography is one of the fastest growing underground business online, with an estimated revenue of $3 billion. The Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection (ASACP) states that the US has the largest share of commercialized child pornography websites, hosting nearly half of world’s child porn sites.

Presstv

13, November 2016

France marks 1st anniversary of Paris attacks that left 130 people dead ⁰

France has marked the first anniversary of the terrorist attack that left at least 130 people dead and hundreds more injured in the country’s capital of Paris last year.

Ceremonies on Sunday gathered scores of people, including the families of the deceased and injured victims, at seven sites in the capital that had been targeted by the Takfiri Daesh terrorist elements on November 13, 2015.

The French national stadium, five bars and restaurants in eastern Paris, and a concert hall came under attack that day. French President Francois Hollande and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo attended memorial ceremonies, unveiling plaques that commemorate those killed in the multiple terror attacks.

French President Francois Hollande and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo unveil a commemorative plaque next to a bar and restaurant attacked by Daesh last year, in Paris, France, November 13, 2016. (Photo by Reuters)

Speaking on the occasion of the first anniversary of the attacks, Prime Minister Manuel Valls also announced the likelihood of extending a state of emergency imposed in the country after the raids. He said the measure was needed to “protect our democracy.”

Valls had also warned in a speech this weekend that “terrorism will strike us again,” contending, however, that, “We have all the resources to resist and all the strength to win.” Besides the November 2015 attacks, France has been targeted in other terrorist raids as well.

Terror attacks in France: A timeline

March 22, 2012: Mohammed Merah, an al-Qaeda-inspired gunman, takes the lives of seven people in the city of Toulouse in a 12-day killing spree.

January 7, 2015: Two Takfiri militants attack Charlie Hebdo magazine offices, killing 12 people, including top editorial staff.

November 13, 2015: Daesh launches a series of violent attacks targeting cafes and a concert hall in Paris and massacring a total of 130 people. On the same day, three terrorists blow themselves up and kill a bystander in a stadium in Saint-Denis.

Police and rescuers gather in front of a fast-food drive-thru restaurant outside the Stade de France stadium in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, November 13, 2015. (Photo by AFP)

July 14, 2016: A truck driver deliberately plows through a Bastille Day crowd in Nice, killing 84 people and wounding 200 others. An 85th victim of the attack dies later in hospital. Daesh later claims responsibility.

July 26, 2016: Two knife-wielding men professing allegiance to Daesh take a number of people hostage at a church in Normandy. The attackers kill an 85-year-old Roman Catholic priest before police shoots them dead.

Presstv

12, November 2016

Boko Haram militants have surrendered to Chadian troops ⁰

A large group of militants belonging to the Boko Haram Takfiri terrorist group along with their families have surrendered themselves to the army troops in Chad since September. “They surrendered to our troops on the front line in Lake Chad,” said Colonel Mohammad Dole, the Chief Military Public Information Officer for the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) headquartered in Chad’s capital N’Djamena, on Saturday.

Dole further said all these militants, some 240, mostly Chadian nationals, had been held in two detention centers along with their families in the remote town of Baga Solo. “The surrenders are taking place because of the firepower of our operations. The groups, many of them armed, have been arriving since September and their number keeps increasing,” he added.

The MNJTF is a joint force consisting of troops from Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, Chad and Benin, tasked with ending the Boko Haram militancy in the Lake Chad region. It launched a regional operation in July against the group, which has pledged allegiance to the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group. Boko Haram seeks to overthrow the government and seize power in northern Nigeria. The group has killed some 20,000 people and displaced more than 2.6 million since 2009, when it started its campaign.

The terrorist group, however, did not confine itself to the northern parts of Nigeria and has widened its attacks into neighboring countries, notably Cameroon and Chad. They have forcibly recruited young men in Chad. The terrorists have kidnapped hundreds of men, women and children in their six-year campaign. The kidnapping of over 200 schoolgirls from Nigeria’s northeastern town of Chibok in April 2014 unleashed a wave of international outrage.

Presstv

12, November 2016

Biya grants audience to the Vice President of Havas Group ⁰

President Biya has granted audience to Stephane Fouks, Vice President of the Havas Group (a multinational advertising and public relations company) on Friday, the 11^th of November 2016. Biya and his guest evaluated the impact of the International Economic Conference, which was organized recently in Yaounde. In an exchange with journalists after the audience, Stephane Fouks said his host focused on the exploration of new channels to attract international investors to Cameroon.

The media mogul revealed that the Head of State insisted on the need to effectively implement the resolutions of the economic conference. Mr. Fouks shared President Paul Biya’s optimism that these measures shall greatly improve Cameroon’s perception internationally. “Despite its challenges, Cameroon continues to march towards development when compared to other countries in the region,” he said.

It should be noted that Cameroon hosted, in May 2016, an international investors’ conference, under the theme: “Investing in Cameroon, Land of Attractiveness”. The objective was to secure international investments in the industrialization of agricultural products, the exploitation of raw materials and the development of information and communications technologies (ICTs).

However, foreign investors are not responding due to the political situation in the country. With an 83 year old leader and a senate and house of assembly packed with men and women above 70 years of age, the issue of succession is disturbing to some economists.

CRTV

12, November 2016

2 Nigerians arrested at Istanbul airport in possession of drugs concealed in their stomachs ⁰

Two Nigerians were arrested on Friday at Istanbul airport in possession of nearly 3 kg of drugs carefully concealed in their stomachs. The two Nigerian nationals were intercepted at Istanbul’s Atatürk airport. The Nigerian traffickers, aged 22 and 47, went so far as to swallow about 3 kilos of cocaine and heroin concealed in condoms.

According to the Dogan news agency, police officers from the drug trafficking brigade did not find anything during the initial search and decided to accompany the two men to a hospital for submission to an X-ray and that was where the Turkish police made their big catch.

One of them had swallowed 1,290 kg of liquid cocaine and the second, 700 grams of heroin, according to Dogan. All buried meticulously in condoms inserted in their digestive tract.

By Chi Prudence Asong