25, September 2018
Trump and Macron seek to smooth over differences ahead of UN General Assembly 0
Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump sought common ground on points of contention when they met Monday evening in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, France’s Elysée Palace said.
Meeting for almost an hour, the French and US presidents discussed a range of topics including Syria, Iran and disagreements over trade.
Trump said before the conversation that the two men have had “some very good experiences” but acknowledged, “On occasion not so good, but 99 percent very good.”
With US Vice President Mike Pence and the countries’ respective diplomacy chiefs looking on, the French and American leaders shook hands twice before the cameras, the gestures noticeably less effusive on this occasion than they have been during past encounters between the two presidents.
“We are here to obtain results,” said Macron, citing areas including security, the fight against terrorism and the Middle East.
A source close to the French presidency told Agence France-Presse that there are “differing points of view” between Washington and Paris on certain issues “but more on the approach and the method than on the objectives”. The source noted that “there are no new issues of confrontation” compared to last year’s annual United Nations gathering.
Trump is expected to visit France in November to commemorate the centenary of the end of World War I. Macron and Trump will each address the UN General Assembly on Tuesday morning in New York.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP)
25, September 2018
Buea: Civilians killed in French Cameroun army attack 0
Three teenagers, including 6 women, were killed in a Cameroon government attack on Fako County in Southern Cameroons, witnesses told Cameroon Concord News on Monday. A council worker at the local mortuary in Buea reported seeing 14 dead bodies, including the three young boys and six women.
Several Southern Cameroonians were injured in the attack as forces loyal to the Biya regime in Yaounde continued to massacre innocent Ambazonian civilians. The Fako County is under siege from the Cameroon government forces blamed for thousands of civilian deaths over the past 2 years.
The Francophone dominated army surprise attack happened in the streets of Buea. The three teenagers were killed while traveling from their car wash. According to several witness accounts, the attack started when the ruling CPDM crime syndicate announced that the 85 year-old President Biya will kick off his campaign in Buea. Heavy and light caliber gunfire was heard for several hours.
The French Cameroun military targeted areas near the University of Buea and Mile 17 in Muea that is the trading settlement of several hundred Southern Cameroons inhabitants.
By Asu Vera Eyere and Sama Ernest