Headline News

17, August 2017

Nigerian FA Chairman says without God’s blessings, nothing will work against the Lions ⁰

President of the Nigeria Football Federation, Amaju Pinnick has declared in Lagos that the football house is ready for the double-header FIFA 2018 World Cup qualifier against Cameroon. Pinnick Pinnick who was special guest at the Nigeria Women Football League Super 4 draw held at the Protea Hotel Ikeja yesterday said, “everything on the wish list has been provided for. What we require now for the team to excel is prayer.”

He defended his call for prayers as he said, “on our part we are ready, and I believe the players too are ready for Cameroon. Without God’s blessing, nothing will work. We have to pray against injury and other unforeseen mishaps.” The NFF supremo disclosed that the meeting he had with the Executive Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Udom Emmanuel was fruitful as the state government was determined to ensure the Super Eagles qualify for the Mundial.

He praised the government and people of Akwa Ibom State for their steadfastness and commitment to Nigeria’s world Cup and Africa Cup of Nations campaigns. “The governor was impressed and promised that he would do anything to see Nigeria qualifies for the World Cup,” Pinnick said.

Source: Vanguard

16, August 2017

Yaounde: 27 soldiers in Kondengui over mutiny in Far North region ⁰

27 soldiers combating the Nigerian Islamic sect, Boko Haram in the Far North region of La Republique du Cameroun have been detained at the Kondengui central prison in Yaoundé. The Biya Francophone regime says the troops expressed their dissatisfaction against the government by blocking a major road in Far-North with barricades in protest against the non-payment of their premiums and deployment allowance.

Cameroon Concord News learned that the incident had displeased the military authorities who ordered the arrest of the 27 soldiers that were involved and taken to Yaoundé. The ministry of defense attempted an explanation and stressed that the Yaoundé regime will not tolerate indiscipline in the ranks, especially in the far north, a region currently facing too many Boko Haram incursions.

Sanctions were imposed on the soldiers concerned, in accordance with instructions from the head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces noted the Minister of Defense, Joseph Beti Assomo.

By Sama Ernest
Cameroon Concord News

16, August 2017

EU demands Kenya post election results online ⁰

European Union observers in Kenya have called on the election commission to publish all remaining forms showing vote tallies on its website to ensure the transparency and accuracy of the process.

“The timing of such information being made public is critical given that petitions relating to the presidential race must be filed within seven days of the results announcement,” the mission said in a statement on Wednesday.

Andrew Limo, an election commission spokesman, said about 2,900 of the 41,000 forms showing results at individual polling stations were not yet online.

President Uhuru Kenyatta was re-elected in the Aug. 8 vote but opposition leader Raila Odinga has rejected results, saying they were rigged.

(Source: Reuters)

16, August 2017

Douala Reunification Stadium: La Republique’s Nations Cup of Shame ⁰

The reunification stadium in Douala is in its final stage of dilapidation. Cameroon Info.Net has reported that the situation of sports infrastructure in Cameroon is deplorable. No sports discipline can boast of a standard playground, not even football which has propelled Cameroon to international glory. This begs the question: What kind of human beings are Francophones?

The French Cameroun media and the Francophone political elites have launched a vicious attack on the new president of CAF, Ahmad Ahmad after he observed recently that Cameroon was not even ready to host 4 football delegations. The reality is that any visitor to Cameroon would be shocked at the state of the football facilities in the country.

Correspondingly, Cameroon still holds the rights of hosting the 2019 African cup of nations, despite controversies of its unpreparedness in terms of infrastructures and many other pitfalls. The photos attached here were made public by a sister publication, Cameroon Info.Net of the Douala reunification stadium which is expected to host a huge part of the games.

Interestingly, the Douala Reunification stadium is operational full swing. Gate fees are paid to watch matches. There is a CPDM director of stadium, who of course siphons the resources made from this stadium and that provided by the regime but never thinks for once that the stadium should be renovated.

Douala Stadium, August 2017

16, August 2017

Douala: Wife of famous Makossa star Guy Lobe dies ⁰

Patience Lobe Ondoua, wife of the late Makossa star Guy Lobe is no more. The late singer’s wife died on Tuesday August 15, 2017 at the General Hospital in Douala.

Reacting to news of her sudden disappearance, Makossa legend, Sam Mbende said he was very touched by the death of Patience Lobe Ondoua, a well-known woman in the world of show bizz and wife of the late Guy Lobe. We understand, Sam Mbende is very close to the Guy Lobe family.

Patience Ondoua was reportedly ill in November 2016 and was admitted at the General Hospital in Douala. She is originally from the Lekie Division in the Central Region. Her husband, the famous Guy Lobe, died on March 16, 2015 at the Yaoundé General Hospital following an illness.

By Rita Akana with files from CIN

16, August 2017

Age rage of Borussia Dortmund’s latest Cameroonian star ⁰

Borussia Dortmund looks to have discovered another superstar of the future in Youssoufa Moukoko.

The Cameroon-born 12-year-old has so impressed bosses at the Bundesliga outfit that he was quickly promoted from their Under-15s side — where he scored 33 goals in just 21 appearances — to the Under-17s.

The youngster took little time in repaying the club’s faith as he bagged a brace in a 3-0 victory over rivals SG Unterrath.

Some, however, have questioned whether Moukoko is really such a tender age. His father Joseph is not having any of it, saying: ‘The boy can’t be older because his mum, Marie, is only 28.’

Source: Metro

15, August 2017

Three CEOs quit Trump’s business advisory panel in 24 hours ⁰

Two more senior executives quit US President Donald Trump’s business advisory panel, after Trump failed to immediately denounce white supremacists over a violent rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. In a strong rebuke to Trump, first the leader of one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies and then the CEO of an athletic gear company and finally the chief executive of a $170 billion tech giant resigned from a business panel led by the president.

“America’s leaders must honor our fundamental values by clearly rejecting expressions of hatred, bigotry and group supremacy, which runs counter to the American ideal that all people are created equal,” tweeted Merck & Co Inc CEO Kenneth Frazier on Monday. Trump in response swiftly tweeted that at least Frazier will now “have more time to LOWER RIPOFF DRUG PRICES!”

According to the Executive Leadership Council, Frazier is a highly respected executive and one of only four African Americans to head a Fortune 500 company. Within hours, Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank resigned from the same panel, saying his company “engages in innovation and sports, not politics.” Although Plank did not specifically mention Trump or Charlottesville, he said his company will focus on promoting “unity, diversity and inclusion” through sports.

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich however urged leaders to condemn “white supremacists and their ilk,” saying many in Washington “seem more concerned with attacking anyone who disagrees with them.” Under heavy bipartisan pressure, Trump finally declared that “racism is evil” and singled out white supremacists and Ku Klux Klan for a violent rally in Charlottesville.

“Racism is evil and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including the KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists and other hate groups that are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans,” Trump said Monday from the White House. The three CEOs are not the first executives to resign from advisory councils serving Trump.

In June, Tesla CEO Elon Musk resigned from the manufacturing council and after US withdrew from the Paris climate agreement, Walt Disney Co. Chairman and CEO Bob Iger resigned for the same reason from the president’s Strategic and Policy Forum. William Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said he could not “think of a parallel example” of any president responding as viciously as Trump to a CEO departing an advisory council.

“Usually, certain niceties are observed to smooth over a rupture,” said Galston, who served as a domestic policy aide in the Clinton administration. “We’ve learned that as president, Mr. Trump is behaving exactly as he did as a candidate,” Galston said. “He knows only one mode: When attacked, hit back harder.”

On Saturday, thousands of white supremacists, KKK members and neo-Nazis descended on Charlottesville for a “Unite the Right” rally. The march soon turned violent when a 20-year-old man plowed a vehicle into a group of anti-hate demonstrators protesting against the white supremacist rally, killing a woman and injuring 19 others.

Trump came under fire for initially blaming the violence on “many sides.” Democrats and Republicans alike called on the president to “call the evil by its name.” In his remarks on Saturday, Trump had failed to mention white nationalists, neo-Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan or any other groups that participated in the rally.

Source; Presstv

15, August 2017

Saudi Arabia can shoot down trespassing Qatari planes ⁰

Saudi Arabia’s state television says the kingdom could shoot down the Qatari airliners potentially violating its airspace. Al Arabiya recently broadcast a short animation showing a missile strike by a Saudi warplane against a Qatari airliner.

Citing “international law,” a voiceover accompanying the production said, “A state that bans flights from entering its airspace has the right to deal with the violating plane in any way it wishes.” “The options in this case either take the form of deploying a fighter jet that forces the plane to land whereby the flight crew are then tried on several charges,” it said. “International law also allows states to shoot down any flight that violates a state’s airspace, classing it as a legitimate target, especially over military areas.”

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates cut their diplomatic ties and transport links with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of sponsoring terrorism. Doha rejects the claim. The boycotting countries also closed their airspace to flag carrier Qatar Airways. The airline has stopped using the airspace of those countries ever since, rerouting flights and using alternative paths, including through Iranian skies. The Saudi-led embargo has had an economic impact on Qatar. Trying to make up for lost revenue, Doha has said it would allow the citizens of 80 countries to travel to the country visa free.

Interior ministry official Mohamed Rashed al-Mazroui said the 80 countries had been selected on the basis of security and economic considerations, including for the buying power of their nationals. Doha says it would press the sanctioning countries to compensate for the economic damages arising from the embargo, but has also said it has enough financial resources at its disposal to weather the bans.

Source: Presstv

15, August 2017

La Republique: Suspense building as CPDM barons await reshuffle ⁰

With just 2 weeks or so to go, there will be many frayed nerves in the CPDM ranks. Some are fearing the chop, others are hopeful of promotion. French Cameroun politics is a cruel business and hopeful aspirants know that, should they miss out this time around, they will have to visit TB Joshua or wait until 2018 presidential elections before another chance comes their way. That is if Biya and the CPDM are still in Government at that stage or Cameroon is till one and indivisible.

Cameroon Concord News gathered from a well-placed source in Yaoundé, that the possible government reshuffle will send away members of government who have served well over 10 years in their position. There are a sea of senior Cameroon government officials including 7 ministers, 4 deputy ministers and 3 Secretaries of State, who have already spent at least 10 years in the same post.

Apart from the Southern Cameroonian, Chief Dr. Dion Ngute, Minister Delegate at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in charge of the Commonwealth, the CPDM crime syndicate has kept André Mama Fouda, Minister of Public Health, Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, Minister of Commerce, Madeleine Tchuinte, Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation.
Laurent Serge Etoundi Ngoa, Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises, Social Economy and Crafts, Jacques Fame Ndongo, Minister of Higher Education, Zacharie Perevet, Minister of Employment and Vocational Training, and Pierre Hele, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Sustainable Development.

Below is a list of the French Cameroun 14 cabinet ministers who have overstayed their time in the same portfolio:

André Mama Fouda, Minister of Public Health (11 years)
Luc Magloire Mbarga Atangana, Minister of Commerce (13 years)
Dr. Madeleine Tchuinte, Minister of Scientific Research and Innovation (13 years)
Pr Laurent Serge Etoundi Ngoa, Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises, Social Economy and Crafts (11 years)
Jacques Fame Ndongo, Minister of Higher Education (13 years)
Zacharie Perevet, Minister of Employment and Vocational Training (13 years)
Pierre Hele, Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Sustainable Development (13 years)

Deputy Ministers
Adoum Gargoum, Minister Delegate to the Minister of External Relations, in charge of the Islamic world (20 years)
Dion Nguté, Minister Delegate to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, in charge of the Commonwealth (20 years)
Yaouba Abdoulaye, Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Economy, Planning and Town and Country Planning (10 years)
Nana Aboubakar Djalloh, Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Sustainable Development (13 years)

Secretaries of State
Jean Baptiste Bokam, Secretary of State for Defense (11 years)
Alim Hayatou, Secretary of State in the Ministry of Public Health (20 years)
Fuh Galixtus, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Mines, Industry and Technology Development (11 years).

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai
Cameroon Concord News Desk

14, August 2017

Sierra Leone: At least 312 people killed in mudslides ⁰

At least 312 people have been killed and more than 2,000 left homeless when a mudslide and heavy flooding hit Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, leaving hospitals struggling to cope. Red Cross spokesman Patrick Massaquoi told AFP the toll could rise further as his team continued to survey disaster areas in Freetown, where heavy rains have caused homes to disappear under water and triggered a mudslide.

An AFP journalist at the scene on Monday saw bodies being carried away and houses submerged in two areas of the city, where roads were turned into churning rivers of mud and corpses washed up on the streets. Bodies were spread out on the floor of a morgue, Sinneh Kamara, a coroner technician at the Connaught Hospital mortuary, told the national broadcaster.

“The capacity at the mortuary is too small for the corpses,” he told the Sierra Leone National Broadcasting Corp. Kamara urged the health department to deploy more ambulances, saying his mortuary only has four.

Sierra Leone’s national television broadcaster interrupted its regular programming to show scenes of people trying to retrieve their loved ones’ bodies. Others were seen carting relatives’ remains in rice sacks to the morgue. Military personnel have been deployed to help in the rescue operation currently ongoing, officials said.
“It is likely that hundreds are lying dead underneath the rubble,” Vice President Victor Foh told Reuters at the scene of the mudslide in the mountain town of Regent, adding that a number of illegal buildings had been erected in the area.

“The disaster is so serious that I myself feel broken,” he added. “We’re trying to cordon (off) the area (and) evacuate the people.” People cried as they looked at the damage under steady rain, gesturing toward a muddy hillside where dozens of houses used to stand, a Reuters witness said. Mudslides and floods are fairly common during the rainy season in West Africa, where deforestation and poor town planning put residents at risk.

(Source: Agencies)