Politics

7, June 2016

Donald Trump clearly a racist ⁰

Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson says Donald Trump is “clearly” a racist. Trump said in a CNN interview last week that US District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, the son of Mexican immigrants, was biased against him in lawsuits involving fraud allegations against Trump University, the billionaire’s real estate training school.

Trump claimed that the judge’s Mexican heritage had influenced his opinion because of the presumptive Republican nominee’s plan to build a wall on the US-Mexico border after winning the presidential elections. Speaking in an interview with The Hill newspaper on Monday, Johnson lashed out at Trump for making another controversial statement.

“The latest comments on the Hispanic judge — nothing short of racist,” said Johnson, who served two terms as governor of New Mexico. When asked if he believes Trump is racist, Johnson responded, “Clearly. Clearly. These are incendiary comments to me as a former governor of a state that’s one of the four majority-minority states in the country.” The Libertarian politician said he’s “absolutely” fearful over the idea of Trump winning the White House.

Presstv

7, June 2016

Burkina Faso’s General Zida and President Kabore: No longer at ease? ⁰

Burkina Faso’s transition Prime Minister, General Yacouba Isaac Zida risks being sanctioned when he returns to the country from Canada where he has been for some months, RFI reported. President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, who also holds the position of Defence Minister has summoned Isaac Zida back to the country several times in vain.

Without giving Zida an ultimatum, President Kaboré is threatening to consider him as a soldier who has deserted the army in times of peace. The President is likely to take up his responsibilities and implement the regulations in force with regard to indiscipline in the army.

Isaac Zida on the contrary is requesting to be considered as being in health evacuation. The President has refused to accept the plea as a medical file has not been presented to him. RFI cited Mr Kaboré as saying that evacuation abroad for health reasons is done within the framework of the law.

The current stay of Isaac Zida has further complicated issues for him. RFI reported that the ongoing audit of the stewardship as transition presidency and Prime Minister’s Office indicate that there were some financial mismanagement. The authorities want some clarity in the situation. Reports say, the transition Prime Minister besides military sanctions for abandoning his duties may also face justice to answer charges of mismanagement during the transition period.

Cameroon Tribune

6, June 2016

Obama to endorse Clinton ⁰

US President Barack Obama is set to endorse Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for the 2016 election. Various US media outlets made the announcement Tuesday, citing American officials and other sources. White House officials were determining about when and how Obama, along with Vice President Joe Biden should announce their formal endorsement.

The signal from the White House came on a day that Obama’s former secretary of state was close to securing enough delegates to become the presumptive Democratic nominee. “He has indicated he wants to spend a lot of time on the campaign trail, so when it’s time to do that, we’ll go out guns ablazing,” White House Communications Director Jennifer Psaki told the New York Times in an interview. “We are actively thinking through how to use the president on the campaign trail — what works for the nominee, what works for him, and how to utilize his strengths and his appeal.”

Hillary, meanwhile, was hoping to be endorsed by the president, according to her communications director, Jennifer Palmieri. “We are actively thinking through how to use the president on the campaign trail,” Palmieri said.

Presstv

6, June 2016

1,850 refugees evacuated from Paris ⁰

Authorities in France have evacuated 1,850 refugees from a makeshift camp in the north of the country’s capital, Paris. Local officials said on Monday that the refugees and asylum-seekers were living in tent camps put up at Jardin d’Eole Park, which had also been evacuated a month ago. Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of the French capital city, said there had been 1,300 people at the camp on Sunday, but the numbers surged as word spread that they would be re-accommodated.

The refugees – mostly Afghans, Sudanese and Eritreans – were taken by bus to about 60 different reception centers in the Paris region, Hidalgo said, adding that it was the 23rd operation of its kind in the capital since June last year. France has struggled to cope with the high number of refugees and asylum-seekers arriving in the country in the last two years, with hundreds sleeping in camps that spring up before being closed by the police. The European country accepted to take in 400 refugees a month from Greece as part of a European Union relocation deal it signed in September last year.

Presstv

6, June 2016

Nigeria: International Crisis Group sounds a note of caution on military reform ⁰

Nigeria’s military is in distress. Once among Africa’s strongest and a mainstay of regional peacekeeping, it has become a flawed force. The initially slow, heavy-handed response to the Islamist Boko Haram insurgency raised serious concerns, and its human rights record underscores a grave disconnect with civilians. President Muhammadu Buhari has taken some steps to reverse the decline and has recorded significant gains against Boko Haram, but ongoing prosecution of former chiefs for graft have further deepened the military’s reputation as poorly governed and corrupt. The government and military chiefs, working with the National Assembly, civil society and international partners, need to do much more: implement comprehensive defence sector reform, including clear identification of security challenges; a new defence and security policy and structure to address them; and drastic improvement in leadership, oversight, administration and accountability across the sector.

The decline began during 33 years of military dictatorship that took a serious toll on professionalism, operational effectiveness and accountability. Return to democratic rule in 1999 raised hopes the institution could be restored, but successive civilian governments’ pledges of much-needed reforms proved largely rhetorical. Presidents, defence ministry and parliament lacked the commitment and expertise to implement significant changes. They left the military badly governed, under-resourced and virtually adrift. Administration and accountability deteriorated throughout the sector. Poor, indeed lacking senior leadership has been compounded by equally poor legislative oversight and defence headquarters coordination and planning.

Until recently, the military was under-resourced, with comparatively low budgets, disbursed irregularly and unpredictably. From 2000 to 2008, its budget was less than 3 per cent of overall government expenditure. From 2009 to 2014, it increased to an average of 7.2 per cent of government spending ($5-$6 billion); but, as in the past, this was still allocated disproportionately to recurrent expenditures, leaving very little for crucial capital investment.

Corruption is system-wide. Legislators often manipulate the appropriation process at the National Assembly to serve private business interests rather than benefit the armed forces. Dubious procurement practices, fraudulently bloated payrolls, poor financial management and weak auditing systems at the national security adviser’s office, the defence ministry and armed services headquarters often mean funds are diverted to private or non-military purposes; arms, ammunition and other equipment are sometimes substandard and not always delivered. Inadequate funding, corrupt procurement and poor maintenance result in serious equipment and logistics deficits.

For a country of over 170 million people, facing several security challenges – from an Islamist insurgency in the north east to a resource-based conflict in the Niger Delta – a military numbering less than 120,000 personnel (all services) is clearly inadequate. Under-staffing reflects poor planning and a dubious recruitment system, but also is further aggravated by over-stretch induced by deployments in over two dozen internal security operations. Training institutions are short of facilities and instructors, lack training modules, and because they are largely focused on conventional operations, somewhat outdated. Personnel are under-motivated due to low pay, poor welfare services and bleak post-service prospects.

The military’s poor human rights record has had a debilitating impact on effectiveness. Serious abuse of civilian communities, from the Ogoni (in the mid-1990s) to Odi (1999) and Zaki Biam (2001), and more recent extrajudicial killings, mostly in the context of countering militant and separatist groups from Boko Haram and the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) to the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), have alienated citizens, whose cooperation is crucial for successful internal security operations.

The cumulative effect is a military deeply challenged in its primary function of defending the country and its citizens. It has been able to reverse Boko Haram’s advance since early 2015 only with help from the forces of Nigeria’s poorer neighbours and support from foreign technicians and mercenaries.

Since assuming office in May 2015, President Buhari has appointed new and more competent service chiefs, relocated the military command centre dedicated to the fight against Boko Haram to the north east and probed past weapons procurement. These actions have had salutary effects, but the benefits will be short-lived unless they are followed by formulation and implementation of a comprehensive reform program that encompasses the entire defence management spectrum, including leadership, oversight and administration. Failure to implement such reforms would leave the military distressed and Nigerians vulnerable to the current and future security challenges.

International Crisis Group

6, June 2016

Raila Odinga destabilizing Kenya again!!!!! ⁰

At least two people have lost their lives and six others sustained injuries during clashes between Kenya’s police and protesters demanding the dissolution of the country’s electoral commission prior to next year’s presidential election. The casualties occurred on Monday in the western Kenyan city of Kisumu as police opened fire to disperse protesters during the latest in a series of rallies by opposition groups and their supporters demanding that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) be scrapped for allegedly being biased.

Carrying banners, the protesters who are all Raila Odinga loyalists blocked the roads with burning tires and stones in both Kisumu and the country’s capital of Nairobi, and chanted the slogan “IEBC must go.” “We have confirmed two people shot dead. We are yet to establish the circumstances,” said Dennis Onyango, a spokesman for Kenya’s main opposition group, the Coalitions for Reforms and Democracy (CORD). The Red Cross in the East African country said six protesters suffering from gunshot wounds had been taken to hospital.

Presstv/CIR

6, June 2016

Sanders attacks Trump, Clinton ⁰

US Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders has attacked both his Democratic and Republican rivals, following the latest primary victory by fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton. Sanders on Sunday called on Americans to refrain from voting for either Republican presidential contender Donald Trump or Clinton in November’s election. Addressing supporters in San Diego, California, Sanders blasted Trump for “insulting” women, minorities and veterans in the US while taking a swipe at Clinton for using “Wall Street” money for campaign.

The comments come after Clinton won the Democratic primary in Puerto Rico. The Democratic frontrunner grabbed more than 64 percent of the vote against her rival Sanders. The former secretary of state has now bagged all 60 delegates at stake in the island territory. The victory gives Clinton a significant boost in the long-fought battle for the party’s presidential nomination. It comes ahead of Tuesday’s culminating round in the states of California, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Dakota and Montana. Meanwhile, Clinton once again slammed her leading Republican challenger over some of his comments, saying she would lead a contentious campaign against Trump.

Clinton added that she would use every opportunity to point out why she believes Trump should never get near the White House. She made the remarks in an event in Sacramento. Since Trump became the presumptive Republican nominee in early May, Clinton has directly challenged his ability to handle foreign policy issues and has taken to labeling him a “loose cannon” who will make it more difficult for Washington to operate on the global stage. Recently, Trump slammed Clinton for her foreign policy ‘debacles,’ calling for her to be put behind bars over her “bad judgments.” This year’s US presidential race has been specially marred by countless instances of scandals, mudslinging and onstage vulgarity, where rivals have time and again seized opportunities to blacken their opponents and push them down the gutter.

Presstv

5, June 2016

US:Clinton leading Trump with a double-digit gap ⁰

US Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton has managed to widen her lead over presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, opening up a double-digit gap after weeks of declining support, a new poll shows. The Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 46 percent of registered voters support a Clinton presidency, giving here an 11-point edge over Trump who was trailing Clinton by 35 percent. The surprising shift in support comes after Trump virtually tied Clinton in various polls conducted in mid-May, raising expectations for a tight race between the two likely contenders in November’s presidential election.

The rise in Clinton’s support is attributed by analysts to her escalation of attacks against the real estate mogul’s policies. In a fiery foreign policy speech in San Diego, California, on Thursday, the former secretary of state unleashed a blistering criticism of Trump, calling him an unstable person who is too “dangerous” and “unfit” to be president. “Donald Trump’s ideas aren’t just different — they are dangerously incoherent,” Clinton said. “They’re not even really ideas — just a series of bizarre rants, personal feuds, and outright lies.”

Presstv

5, June 2016

Cameroon: ELECAM celebrates its 6 millionth voter ⁰

ELECAM, the body responsible for the organization, supervision of elections and referendums in Cameroon has revealed that over 6 million voters have been registered throughout the country.

The milestone of 6 million Cameroonians on the voters list was reached during the first four months of the year. The six millionth registered citizen was recorded in Bakassi in the SouthWest region of the country. Cameroon Intelligence Report gathered that the total number of registered voters will be made public by ELECAM after the 31st of August.

According to the constitution, registration on the electoral roll spreads from January 1 to August 31 at midnight each year. ELECAM is one of the vital tools used by the ruling CPDM crime syndicate to guarantee President Biya’s continued stay in power.

5, June 2016

Sanders showing no signs of surrender ⁰

US Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has predicted that the Democratic presidential election process would lead to a contested summer convention against party frontrunner Hillary Clinton. Speaking to reporters on Saturday in Los Angeles, California, Sanders showed few signs of surrender, vowing to fight until the 2016 Democratic National Convention in July in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Nearing the end of the primary season, a defiant Sanders is pushing back against the likelihood that Clinton will soon declare victory as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Sanders told reporters neither candidate would have enough pledged delegates by the end of the primaries on June 14 to declare victory and would be dependent upon superdelegates to win the nomination. “In other words, the Democratic National Convention will be a contested convention,” he said.

He urged news organizations to hold off on declaring Clinton a victor as the presumptive nominee following Tuesday’s primary election in California and five other states.Clinton, a former senator and secretary of state, is poised to unofficially clinch the presidential nomination following the close of the primary election polls on Tuesday.

“It is extremely unlikely that Secretary Clinton will have the requisite number of pledged delegates to claim victory on Tuesday night,” Sanders said.

Presstv