Over 1,000 people were forced to leave their homes and business premises after floods in several areas in Yaoundé. The flooding was caused by heavy rain that began on the 26^th February, 2018.

The Avenue Kennedy district is the worst hit area. The Francophone dominated National Disaster Management Agency reported that relief centers have been set up in some districts, accommodating displaced people. Cameroon Intelligence Report understands that several schools were closed in the affected areas.

Yaoundé city council sources hinted that 115 people have evacuated their homes in Carrefour Obili and are staying with extended families.  Schools were also closed in the Bastos district according to local media.

Heavy rain has also affected parts of Omnisport, where some people are currently displaced. Nothing has been said so far about students in boarding schools. The Biya regime warned of further heavy rain and strong winds.

Source: www.cameroonintelligencereport.com

The majority of voters believe media treats US President Donald Trump fairly despite his incessant complaints about fake news, a new poll shows.

Fifty- four percent of the voters said that the president is portrayed fairly on media, according to the poll released Monday.

Most of the Republican voters, however, thought otherwise, with 80 saying the media is unfair to him.

Meanwhile, 84 percent of Democrats and 55 percent of independents said he does get a fair share from the media and the press.

The voters were also asked to say if the president, for his part, trats media fairly, to which the 59 percent said “No,” including 62 percent of independents.

“At 54/46, the public is divided on whether the media is fair to President Trump, as these numbers mirror his job approval,” said Harvard CAPS-Harris co-director Mark Penn. “But Trump’s unorthodox blasts at the media prompt most to say he is unfair to them.”

Since the 2016 campaign, Trump has repeatedly used the term “fake news” largely for any coverage criticizing him or his allies.

Still, the voters said they believe there is “a lot” of fake news in the mainstream media while 84 percent said they have a hard time knowing what news to believe.

Thirty percent said Fox News is where they mostly get the news, followed by local news and CNN at 26 percent each. NBC News came in at 21 percent, followed by ABC at 20, CBS at 18 and The New York Times at 10 percent. MSNBC, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal and NPR all polled in the single-digits.

“People have become siloed in their news watching and although Fox is number one, the combined strength of the other media outweighs Fox in media consumption,” Penn said.

Outgoing UN human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein has said that UNSC veto-wielding members are second only to criminals.

Ra’ad al-Hussein accused the council’s permanent members, particularly Russia, China, and the United States, of being responsible for the continuation of suffering of innocents and misusing their veto powers.

He made the remarks during his last speech before his four-year term expires at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.

“So long as the veto is used by them to block any unity of action when it is needed the most, when it could reduce the extreme sufferings of innocent people, then it is they – the permanent members – who must answer before the victims,” he added.

The UN human rights chief further slammed the international community for failing to control what he referred to as brutal conflicts around the globe.

“Second to those who are criminally responsible – those who kill and maim – the responsibility for the continuation of so much pain lies with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council,” he added.

Source: Presstv

Animbom Aron Yong, the Regional Delegate for Social Affairs for the North West was reportedly abducted on Saturday by unidentified individuals presented by the Biya regime as Ambazonia secessionist fighters.

The kidnapping occurred while the administrative cadre had gone to Nyen, a village in the North West constituency in the Federal Republic of Ambazonia. The Francophone governor of the region, Adolphe Lele Lafrique confirmed the disappearance of the regional delegate, whose abduction occurred some 13 days after that of the sub-prefect of Batibo.

Our senior correspondent in Yaounde has also confirmed the death of a gendarme, Larrissa Souzock Mvondo during violent clashes between suspected Ambazonian militants and the Biya regime security forces.  Concordant community sources have also indicated that violent clashes between Southern Cameroons defense groups and French Cameroun military troops occurred on Saturday.

We understand that several Southern Cameroons civilians have been killed and three soldiers were also wounded during the fighting. This new drama brings to 27 (Issa Tchiroma stats) the number of soldiers killed in attacks attributed to the crisis in Southern Cameroons.

By Rita Akana and Kingsley Betek

US gun manufacturers have produced over 70 million firearms since 2008, quickly escalating the production of rifles and the types of semiautomatic weapons used in recent mass shootings, according to data from the US government and gun industry.

In 2016, the latest year for which data is available, firearms companies sharply increased production, building 11.5 million guns, in part due to a belief that the Democratic Party would win the presidential election that year and curtail access to semiautomatic weapons such as the AR-15 rifle.

American companies have produced more than 150 million firearms since 1986, according to the “Annual Firearms Manufacturing and Export Report” published each year by the US Justice Department.

The vast majority of all US-produced firearms were sold domestically, the Justice Department said.

The data also shows periodic spikes of production and firearm sales when there’s the possibility of new federal gun-control policies.

Remington Arms Company, one of America’s largest gun manufacturers, reported sales of firearms reached $437.8 million in 2016, up 16.7 percent from the year before.

The company said sales of “modern sporting rifles,” which includes firearms like the AR-15, increased $34.2 million that year, though it didn’t provide aggregate sales figures for this style.

The two biggest years for gun production in recent history took place in 2013 and 2016, when intense debates about whether Democrats would be able to curb access to firearms.

“Gun lovers have been convinced that their right to buy guns in general, or particular types of guns, would be taken away by the politicians and they better hurry up and get whatever guns they have considered obtaining,” said Philip Cook, professor emeritus of public policy studies at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

Gun sales dropped sharply in early 2017, after US President Donald Trump and the Republican Party — which oppose to gun control — took full control of government, according to sales figures from several large gun manufacturers.

To deal with last year’s falling demand, many gun companies and retailers offered steep discounts and rebates on firearms to lure more buyers.

The report comes as the National Rifle Association (NRA), a powerful gun lobby in the US, comes under increasing pressure following the mass shooting at a high school in Florida earlier this month.

Nikolas Cruz, an ex-student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, opened fire on February 14, with an AR-15-style assault rifle, killing 17 people and injuring 14 more in his former school.

It was also the 18th school shooting since January 1 in the United States, which loses around 33,000 people to gun violence every year.

Source: Presstv

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has shelved a plan to visit the United States following a phone conversation with US President Donald Trump, in which the US president reportedly lost his temper.

The Washington Post first reported the development on Saturday, citing US and Mexican officials.

It said Pena Nieto was planning to visit Washington in February or March, but “shelved” his plan after a “testy” phone call with Trump on Tuesday.

The 50-minute phone call between the Mexican president and his US counterpart reached an impasse over Trump’s campaign promise of building a wall on the US’s border with Mexico and making Mexico City pay for it.

The report said the two leaders “devoted a considerable portion” of the phone conversation to discussing the border wall. Pena Nieto reportedly asked Trump to publicly affirm Mexico’s position that it will not pay for the wall. The US president refused.

According to the Mexican account of the conversation, Trump at some point “lost his temper.” According to the American version, he was frustrated by Pena Nieto’s demand.

The Mexican president had canceled an earlier trip after Trump threatened to impose a tax on Mexican imports to pay for the border wall.

During his campaign for presidency, Trump had hinted that illegal Mexican immigrants to the US were “murderers” and “rapists.” That enraged the Mexican government and people. Once the US president promised to build the wall and make Mexico pay for it, Mexico City made it clear that it was not going to.

Meanwhile, an upcoming presidential election in Mexico scheduled for July is a determining factor and any compromise by Pena Nieto may risk damaging his public image and reducing his chances for re-election.

Some experts say that a trip to the US by the Mexican president any time before the election would be a risk.

Source: Presstv

French Cameroun army strikes against suspected Southern Cameroons fighters in the Federal Republic of Ambazonia have continued after the British Minister left the territory, with intense fighting occurring in the South West Muyenge community, where French Cameroun rockets have reportedly landed on houses.  There are reports of massive killings going on in Ngolo, Melima and Bakundu and more than a thousand have escaped into the forest.

Thousands of families have also been displaced and the Christians churches are warning that the situation in Southern Cameroons is critical. The fighting in Muyenge pits French Cameroun government forces and their allies from Chad against local Ambazonian defense groups.

In a speech recently, the acting President of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, Dr. Samuel Sako Ikome endorsed the legitimate right of Ambazonians to self defense.

By Sama Ernest

Haiti has suspended Oxfam Great Britain’s operations in the Caribbean country following allegations of sexual misconduct by some of the charity organization’s staff.

Oxfam entered Haiti after a devastating earthquake hit the island nation in 2010. There have been allegations of sexual misconduct against those sent to help the victims of the earthquake, which killed tens of thousands. Oxfam has formally apologized, expressing “shame” for the behavior of its staff.

Haiti’s Planning and External Cooperation Minister Aviol Fleurant said on Thursday that Oxfam’s suspension was ordered due to “serious failings” by Oxfam Great Britain between 2010 and 2011, and that a definitive decision on its ability to operate in Haiti would be made in two months following a review of the evidence.

“If during the two month-long investigation, I find out there is a link between the aid funds that Oxfam received on behalf of Haiti and the crime that has been committed, we will… declare Oxfam Great Britain persona non grata in the country,” Fleurant said.

In a separate statement, Fleurant accused Oxfam staff of committing acts of “sexual abuse” and exploitation.

Fleurant said the suspension of the charity’s right to operate was limited to Oxfam Great Britain and did not apply to Oxfam Canada.

Oxfam is a confederation of 19 independent charitable organizations with nearly 10,000 staff working in over 90 countries that use the name Oxfam and are led by UK-based Oxfam International, which is one of the UK’s biggest charities.

The charity, which receives hundreds of millions of dollars from government and private sources, aims to work for greater impact on the international stage to reduce poverty and injustice.

It said it had lost 7,000 regular donors since it was revealed that its staff sexually exploited vulnerable women in Haiti, according to British daily The Guardian on Tuesday.

Britain and the European Union are reviewing their funding of Oxfam amid the allegations in Haiti.

Meanwhile, Winnie Byanyima, the executive director of Oxfam International, has promised to appoint an independent commission to investigate the allegations of sexual abuse by the staff of the charity.

Byanyima described the majority of the rank and file working at the charity organization as people of values.

Source: Presstv

US President Donald trump is considering arming teachers in the country in the backdrop of a deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

Trump met Wednesday with some of the survivors of the recent attack in the State Dining Room of the White House.

On February 14, 17 students and school staff were killed and 16 more were injured at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

The 19-year-old shooter, identified as Nikolas Cruz, fired some 100 shots by his AR-15 rifle.

The tragic event revived the ongoing gun control issue in the country, leading to protests spearheaded by students themselves.

As the president was being censured for his great relations with the National Rifle Association (NRA) in the demonstrations, he called for arming the teachers as a way protect students.

“If you had a teacher … who was adept at firearms, it could very well end the attack very quickly,” Trump said.

The president’s “listening session” with the students and teachers, who survived the shooting rampage, was part of an effort to calm the situation.

“Some of your suggestions, I’ve heard some of them. We’re going to do something about this horrible situation that’s going on,” Trump said. “I want to listen. And then after I listen, we’re going to get things done.”

The idea of arming teachers was brought up by one parent, which Trump described as “a point we will discuss.”

“We’re going to be looking at that very strongly. And I think a lot of people are going to be opposed to it. I think a lot of people are going to like it,” he said.

Following the mass shooting, Trump expressed some narrow support for measures to tackle the country’s gun issue.

“We’re going to be very strong on background checks,” he said. “There are many ideas I have, there are many ideas that other people have, and we’re going to pick out the strongest ideas, the most important ideas.”

He further suggested that he intends to take concrete action against gun violence.

“It’s not going to be talk like it has been in the past,” Trump said.

Source: Presstv

Two French soldiers have been killed and another hurt when their armored vehicle struck a mine in Mali, the French presidency says.

Around 4,000 French troops are deployed in Mali and neighboring countries to fight extremist groups that have staged a string of attacks and kidnappings, some targeting Western nationals.

The two soldiers were from a cavalry regiment based in Valence, a city in southeastern France, President Emmanuel Macron’s office said on Wednesday in a statement, which did not say where the attack took place.

Macron sent condolences to the soldiers’ families and said the regional counter-terrorism operation had dealt “severe blows” to the enemy, the presidency added.

The deaths bring to 12 the number of French troops killed since the start of Operation Barkhane, which was launched more than three years ago to try to vanquish extremist groups that overran northern Mali in 2012.

France intervened at Mali’s request in early 2013 to drive the extremists back into the desert, but attacks have continued unabated since then.

(Source: AFP)