Breaking News

31, August 2016

Indomitable Lions: Hugo Broos says there are no big guns in the squad ⁰

The coach of the Indomitable Lions, Hugo Broos has said there are no big guns in the squad meaning there are no players who should be called up every time. He made the declaration in a press conference at the CAF Excellence Centre in Mbankomo where the Lions are currently training in view of the upcoming encounters against The Gambia and Gabon on September 3^rd and 6^th respectively. “I am counting on a nucleus of 30 players to grow together,” he said asserting that performance is the only criteria for selection.

He said he is trying to inject fresh blood into the squad due to the fact that most of the players of the national team are above thirty years. “For the 2017 AFCON there is no problem but for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, some of the players will be too old and might not even still be with us, hence the need to rejuvenate the squad”, he added. He said the matches against the Gambia and Gabon will enable him to determine the real mettle of the players especially the local ones as the poor pitches on which they play do not enable to show the full measure of their talents.

Commenting on the absences in the squad, the coach said Choupo Moting sustained an injury and will not be available for the two games while Clinton Njie was still suffering from indecision owing to his transfer saga. Allan Nyom also declared his forfeiture pending clarifications as to what club he would play for. Tony Tchani had a problem with the passport but will be coming today.

Also present at the press conference were Benjamin Moukandjo and the newcomer, Ndip Tambe. Moukandjo said he was happy defending the national colours after a long absence due to injury. Meanwhile Tambe said is coming to the national selection was a like a dream come true and that he was going to work harder so as to cement his place in the team. The press conference was preceded by a training session during which the Lions worked essentially on the offensive tactics.

Cameroon Tribune

31, August 2016

Cameroon: Finance Minister happy with debt situation and a political budget ⁰

Cameroon at the end of July this year had a debt situation of 4,754 billion FCFA, representing 27.3 per cent Gross Domestic Product, far below the 70 per cent ceiling set by the Central African Economic and Monetary Community, CEMAC, sub-region. This satisfactory situation will be maintained in the long-run if stakeholders continue to upgrade skills on mobilizing resources for the State properly and in a more disciplined manner.

The Minister of Finance, Alamine Ousmane Mey, however says there is need to remain cautious when analyzing the figures, given the implementation of projects for transforming the country into a middle income economy by 2035 as planned by the Head of State. The Minister made the disclosure in Yaounde yesterday August 30, at a ceremony to present the texts, missions and working procedures of the National Committee in charge of Public Debt, (NCPD). It was set up in 2008 by the Prime Minister to coordinate and follow-up the implementation of the national public indebtedness and public debt management policy with focus on developing objectives for State financial resources.

The Minister, who is also NCPD Chairperson, said government was committed to righting the wrongs of the past with the Heavily Indebted Poor Country Initiative (HIPC) of the early 2000 that led to the freezing of the country’s debts by partners. Making sure that the country was on the right path to “borrowing cautiously and spending wisely,” with focus on enabling future generations to repay debts normally, was primordial, Finance Minister stated. “We have to be careful in the conception, evaluation and mobilisation of resources to develop the country”, he said, stressing that NCPD members must know the position of the country’s debt policy where; “If we are not watchful enough while looking for resources to finance our development projects, we may end up in a situation where sustainability is not ensured.” Public debt concerns countries all over the world because of the risks involved. The one-day dialogue was part of efforts to maintain Cameroon’s possibility of mobilizing resources for development. Cameroon therefore needs to maintain the quality of its signature in the financial market as well as with its donors so as to mobilize enough resources for development.

Cameroon Tribune

30, August 2016

Douala: 5 armed robbers in police drag net ⁰

Elements of the national gendarmerie from the Douala 2 brigade have intercepted and arrested five men of the underworld suspected to be one of the gangs instilling fear through underground operations in the city. The group was dismantled on Saturday 27 August 2016 thanks to a mission led by the commanding officer and some elements of the Rapid Intervention Battalion, BIR.

Reports indicated that the notorious gang was uncovered at a club at the Akwa neighbourhood feasting after one its fruitful missions. Accordingly, their location was disclosed to the forces of law and order by a young girl believed to be one of the many victims to these wrongdoers. The girl immediately alerted the gendarmerie unit after discovering a clandestine transport car used by the five for their operations.

With this information at hand, elements of the Mobile intervention unit (GMI) in Douala 2 were immediately deployed leading to the subsequent arrest of the suspects. The members of the gang are presently behind bars at the Littoral Judicial Police Unit.

CRTV

30, August 2016

Cameroon: United Nations Development Program boss is in Yaounde ⁰

The visiting Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Helen Clark has re-pledged her organisation’s support to Cameroon in its youth empowerment programmes and moves at attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Helen Clark reaffirmed this on Monday 29th August 2016 as she began a two-day working visit in Cameroon.

The UNDP boss arrived Yaounde from Nairobi, Kenya and was received by Cameroon’s Minister of External Relations, Lejeune Mbella Mbella. Other officials of the UNDP branch in Cameroon were also on hand to welcome her like the UNDP Country Representative, Najat Rochdi.

During an audience with Minister Lejeune Mbella Mbella, Helen Clark expressed her organisation’s solidarity with the internally displaced persons and refugees following the Boko Haram attacks. The tete-a-tete was also forum for both diplomats to evaluate cooperation ties between Cameroon and the UNDP.

At the end of the UNDP scribe promised to continue supporting development efforts in the country. Over at the Prime Minister’s Office in an audience with Head of Government, Philemon Yang, Helen Clark not only pledged to support the empowerment of the youth but also recommended a holistic approach to economic growth, while encouraging inclusive growth in the country.

This 30th August 2016, the UNDP Administrator left Yaounde for Maroua in the Far North Region, to meet with the internally displaced persons and visit UNDP projects in the region.

Culled from CRTV

30, August 2016

“Donald Trump has serious health issues” ⁰

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump may not be mentally fit to serve as the president of the United States, suggests Mika Brzezinski, an American author, journalist and television host.

Brzezinski said on Monday’s “Morning Joe” on MSNBC that “it’s time to hear from somebody in the mental health community, to look at this person who has been on television for months and give us a sense of what we have going on here.” “Let’s stop pretending we’re dealing with someone who we can completely understand,” she said. “When you see someone who you think has problems, you know it. And there’s not anybody at this table who doesn’t think he has some sort of problem. Let’s ask the questions.”

The guests on the show included Eddie Glaude Jr., a professor of Religion and African-American Studies at Princeton University, and former Ted Cruz spokesman Rick Tyler. Brzezinski said that she and Joe Scarborough, the co-host of the program, have been asked multiple times about Trump’s mental health by people. Brzezinski is the daughter of Zbigniew Brzezinski, the national security adviser for former US President Jimmy Carter.

Scarborough argued that psychiatrists cannot appear on the show on and diagnose Trump, but Brzezinski pointed out they could look at character traits that “we are seeing repetitively here.” On Sunday, Trump called on his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, to release “detailed medical records,” adding he would have “no problem” issuing his own medical report. But his only public medical record — a letter written by his physician that was released in December — has recently been under scrutiny.

The New York billionaire’s doctor, Harold Bornstein, wrote in December that Trump’s medical examination “showed only positive results.” “If elected, Mr. Trump, I can state unequivocally, will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency,” Bornstein wrote in the letter dated December 4. Doesn’t a positive result mean a negative outcome in medical examinations? Trump’s opponents have asked.

Presstv

30, August 2016

Governance for security: Amnesty International and the Yaounde CPDM regime at war ⁰

Amnesty International has once again indexed Cameroon in its practices in the context of countering terrorism. Indeed, on the occasion of the International Day of the Disappeared, celebrated Tuesday, August 30, 2016, the NGO again challenged the ruling CPDM government about 130 detainees missing since their arrest in December 2014.

The world body insisted that the Cameroonian authorities must reveal the whereabouts of the 130 men and boys still reported missing 20 months after their arrest during a crackdown against suspected members of Boko Haram.

Cameroon government spokesman and Minister of Communication, Issa Tchiroma Bakary had since claimed that only 70 were arrested 70 and 25 died the same night and 45 were transferred to the Maroua prison. The fact that Cameroon government officials continue to refrain from revealing their location is insulting to the families who have been waiting a long time to find out what happened to their loved ones.

Cameroon has reportedly used the fight against the Nigerian Islamic sect, Boko Harm as an argument to justify gross human rights violations. Cameroon Concord News is aware that Amnesty International submitted the list of names of the missing Cameroonians to the Ministers of Defence and Justice, as well as head of military operations in the north. The authorities announced that an internal investigation had been opened at the Ministry of Defence to shed light on events.

By Sama Ernest

29, August 2016

Cameroon finally grants accreditation to the Pan African Institute for Development ⁰

Representatives from the Pan African Institute for Development in Buea have finally gotten accreditation from the Cameroon government. The request was made on the 21st August 2016 after a press release issued by the Minister of Higher Education on the 19th August 2016, depicting the Pan African Institute as a non-accredited Institution of Learning.

Minister Jaque Fame Ndongo granted the request during a meeting presided over by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Higher Education. The decision was made reached after very productive discussions involving some directors of the Ministry of Higher Education and a delegation of four persons from the Pan African Institute of Higher Learning.

Another meeting in line with this latest development has been scheduled for Thursday the 1st September 2016 after which an inspection team will be dispatched by the Minister of Higher Education to the Campuses of the Pan African Institute for Development in Cameroon.

CRTV

29, August 2016

US: Video released showing police officers pepper spraying 84-year-old black woman ⁰

Disturbing video has been released showing police officers pepper spraying an 84-year-old black woman inside her home in the US state of Oklahoma. The footage, taken on August 7, shows Muskogee police officers kicking in Geneva Smith’s front door apparently in pursuit of her son, Arthur Paul Blackmon, Fox 23 News reported. Blackmon, 56, had allegedly run a stop sign and refused to pull over when ordered by police. Officers followed Blackmon to his mother’s home and demanded he come outside. They applied a Taser on him when he refused to comply even though he had his hands up in the air.

A female officer then turned towards the elderly woman, yelling at her to turn around or she would spray. The footage then goes on to show Smith being sprayed in the face. She falls to the floor and her hands are secured behind her back. “I just came out and asked what was going on and they just pepper sprayed me,” she later told the media. Smith, who suffered a panic attack while in police custody, has accused the officers of using excessive force. She said she was getting a lawyer and planning to take legal action against police.

Muskogee police chief Rex Eskridge has not apologized and stopped short of condemning the officers’ conduct. “Videos can’t give a full sense of what happened, but at the same time, they do either validate or expose any warts that you may have,” Eskridge told Fox 23.

Scott Wood, the city’s attorney, defended the officer’s decision to use pepper spray as understandable “given the totality of the circumstances.” The use of unnecessary force by police against African Americans has sparked nationwide protests in the past two years, giving birth to the anti-racism Black Lives Matter movement.

Presstv

29, August 2016

UN: Security Council holding secret ballots to choose a candidate to replace Ban Ki-moon ⁰

The UN Security Council is holding secret ballots on Monday to choose a candidate to replace Ban Ki-moon who has to leave after serving two five-year terms as the United Nations Secretary General. The 15-member Security Council will cast a ballot for each of the 10 candidates, with the choices being encourage, discourage or no opinion.

The candidate chosen unanimously by the Security Council will be recommended for appointment by the UN General Assembly as the new secretary general who starts work in January 2017. Ban, who had been initially selected for the post by the Security Council in October 2006, steps down on December 31. He was the first Asian head of the organization in 35 years.

Based on the UN’s unofficial regional rotation scheme, many analysts believe there is a good chance that the next UN chief will hail from Eastern Europe, which has not produced a secretary-general as of yet. However, current tensions between Russia and Western permanent members over the conflict in Ukraine could potentially lead to a deadlock over an Eastern European nominee. In that case, one of the remaining candidates from non-Eastern European regions will assume the job.

The selection of the secretary-general is subject to the veto of any of the five permanent members of the Security Council including China, Russia, Britain, the United States and France. The nominees for the position include five women, namely UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova of Bulgaria; former Croatian FM Vesna Pusic; Moldova’s former FM Natalia Gherman; former New Zealand PM Helen Clark, who heads the UN Development Program; Argentinian FM Susana Malcorra and former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres of Costa Rica.

There are also five male candidates. They are Montenegro FM Igor Luksic; former Slovenian president Danilo Turk; former UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres, who is also a former Portuguese prime minister; former Serbian FM Vuk Jeremic; former Macedonian FM Srgjan Kerim and Slovak FM Miroslav Lajcak.

This photo shows a view of the United Nations General Assembly. (AFP photo)

The UN’s first official secretary-general was Trygve Lie from Norway who was appointed in February 1946 and stayed in the job until November 1952. Lie was preceded by Gladwyn Jebb from the United Kingdom who served as the acting United Nations secretary-general from October 1945 to February 1946. The second secretary-general was Sweden’s Dag Hammarskjold who stayed in office for eight years. He was followed by Asia’s U Thant from Burma who served for 10 years after his appointment in 1961 as the third secretary-general.

Kurt Waldheim from Austria took the office from 1972 to 1981. Javier Pérez de Cuéllar from Peru came after him, from 1982 to 1991. Egypt’s Boutros Boutros-Ghali served from 1992 to 1996. And, Kofi Annan from the African country of Ghana served from 1997 to 2006, before South Korea’s Ban was appointed as the secretary-general of the world body.

Presstv

29, August 2016

Douala: African Union and Cameroon military experts holding talks ⁰

African Union military experts charged with the operationalization of the African Standby Force (ASF) are currently in Douala to finalize arrangement issues related to the creation of the logistics base of the African Union Force.

Cameroon Concord News Littoral correspondent who contributed to this report revealed that the experts are expected to measure the capacity of the Douala airport runways and to be reassured that these tracks are ready for certain types of devices and will be able support the military manoeuvres that will be staged regularly in Douala.

Cameroon and the African Union recently signed in Yaounde an agreement for the construction of the African continental logistics base in Douala to facilitate the deployment of troops serving with the AU. Under the leadership of the Peace and Security Council, FAA’s mission is to maintain peace on the continent.

The infrastructure which will be based in Douala will support rapid deployment in specific areas in times of crisis. The force will have between 25,000 and 30,000 personnel from the five regions of the continent.