Headline News

19, July 2022

Washington: High-Powered Cameroon business delegation meets Ambassador Etoundi Essomba ⁰

A Cameroonian business delegation headed by Professor Kenneth Ojong called on Ambassador Henri Etoundi Essomba on Friday July 15, Cameroon Concord News US Bureau reported.

During the meeting, the delegation and the head of Cameroon diplomatic mission in the US examined the difficulties encountered by importers at the port in Douala, the prolonged strike action by clearing agents, hike in import duty, and harassment by custom officials in the port.

Ambassador Etoundi Essomba assured to support the US based Cameroonian businesses on a priority basis and promised to raise the issues with the authorities concerned to facilitate imports from the US by pushing for the creation of a section at the Douala port that will be responsible for evaluating containers from the United States.

The Cameroonian top diplomat said he was grateful to the business delegation for their keen interest in accelerating their investment in Cameroon.

Ambassador Essomba with the business delegation

Speaking after the meeting, Professor Kenneth Ojong said the delegation requested the ambassador to invite the Minister of Finance and the Director of Customs to the United States to meet with over 300 businessmen and women who do business with Cameroon in a bid to encourage others to make investments.

Kenneth Ojong also revealed that Cameroonian business community in the US want a review of the CEMAC taxation policy which does not favour Cameroon and has been reducing the potential of Cameroon becoming an economic hub.

By Enowtaku Ebanghatabi Christelle in Washington

19, July 2022

Putin, Erdogan meet Iranian leaders in Tehran ⁰

Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold talks Tuesday with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran amid hopes for progress on negotiations to unblock the passage of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Iran starting Tuesday is intended to deepen ties with regional heavyweights as part of Moscow’s challenge to the United States and Europe amid its grinding campaign in Ukraine.

In only his second trip abroad since Russian tanks rolled into its neighbor in February, Putin is scheduled to hold talks with Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the pressing issues facing the region, including the conflict in Syria and a U.N.-backed proposal to resume exports of Ukrainian grain to ease the global food crisis.

As the West heaps sanctions on Russia and the costly campaign drags on, Putin is seeking to bolster ties with Tehran, a fellow target of severe U.S. sanctions and a potential military and trade partner. In recent weeks, Russian officials visited an airfield in central Iran at least twice to review Tehran’s weapons-capable drones for possible use in Ukraine, the White House has alleged.

But perhaps most crucially, Tehran offers Putin a chance for a high-stakes meeting with Erdogan, who has sought to help broker talks on a peaceful settlement of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as well as help negotiations to unblock Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea.

Source: France 24

18, July 2022

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Francophone soldiers kill 2 civilians in Bafut ⁰

French speaking army soldiers deployed to Mezam Division have shot and killed two armless Southern Cameroons civilians and burned down homes in Bafut.

The Francophone dominated army said the two were separatist fighters arrested in Bafut on June 22, 2022 and identified as ‘General’ A4 and Mama G.

The two civilians were found dead on Saturday, July 16, 2022, in Bafut.

According to local sources, the two have never been members of any armed Ambazonia group.

Five other people are reportedly missing ever since the Cameroon government military raided Bafut.

By Fon Lawrence

18, July 2022

Yaoundé: Dion Ngute braces for bad news ⁰

Dark clouds are gathering over Dion Ngute, the country’s prime minister, who is on his way out of the Star Building in Yaoundé. Dion Ngute was elevated to the rank of Prime Minister because the Unity Palace felt he could help disconnect the Southwest region from the Northwest, thus reducing the crisis which is tearing the two English-speaking regions of the country apart.

But three years after taking the reins of power, Dion Ngute is still struggling. The Southwest is still a hotspot and there is no end in sight. Dion Ngute has tried to bribe General Two-Kobo to keep it low in Ndian Division, but his own right-hand man, Kenneth Nanji, the former Mayor of Ekondo-Titi, saw the agreement between Dion Ngute and General Two-Kobo as a possibility for him to enrich himself, but that only resulted in a plot by Dion Ngute which cost him his life.

Cutting out the Southwest region from the Northwest will require cutting Manyu Division completely off, but this is not possible without massive sacrifices and arrangements. Noted for their volatile and mercurial temperament, it will take a long time for the people of Manyu Division to walk away from the struggle, especially as Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe is still in the Yaoundé Maximum Security Prison.

It will take another well-respected and trusted Manyu son who can talk Sisiku into walking away from secession to disconnect the Southwest from the Northwest. And there are a few South-westerners who have been very influential when it comes to the crisis which has made the two English-speaking regions ungovernable.

Two have been identified and they are both working for international organizations. The candidate at the World Bank has a likeable character, simple and peace-loving, but he has no leverage over separatists and might not deliver the peace the government is looking forward to.

According to a Cameroon Concord News source at the Presidency of the Republic, the right candidate will be someone who can talk to all the factions and has the trust of his people.

According to the source, the country needs someone with a very strict personality who is open to new ideas and can bring separatists to the fold. We do not need to split our country. If Ndian and Manyu Divisions can be stabilized, then the fighting will be concentrated in the Northwest region and this will make it easy to focus on the pockets of resistance in the Northwest region, the source said.

“We are still hearing that there is someone in Abidjan who can help with this mess in Cameroon. Many people hold him in high esteem. I hear that this person is not interested in money and has a high sense of political awareness. A friend of mine in the intelligence community says they have been attending fundraisers for Internally Displaced Persons in Washington DC with separatists, though they believe in federalism,” the source, which elected anonymity, said.

“I hear there are a few sticking points which are making it hard for the government to come up with an acceptable cabinet. My sources at the Presidency have said that the Abidjan candidate has underscored the need to free Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe and others arrested during the conflict. He stressed that some gestures would be necessary to demonstrate that the government is a reliable peace broker, but his advice seems to be falling on deaf ears and this is only making things worse. The killings are still going on and the spirit of revenge is clearly visible. The killing of Field Marshal will not go unpunished. Many soldiers and civilians will be caught in the crossfire,” our source said

“The government is yet to come to terms with the fact that a military victory will not be possible and some Yaounde hawks are still of the opinion that their failed decentralization policy is still the right policy to pursue. I have heard that the Abidjan candidate has been arguing that the decentralization policy has failed, and it will not deliver any meaningful results and that if the government really needs to walk away from the quagmire it has created for itself, then it must bend over backwards,” the source said.

“Of course, the government must meet the separatists halfway and we need someone who can bring everybody with him to Yaoundé, at least mentally. We thought Dion Ngute would deliver the golden egg, but he has failed woefully. The Unity Palace is now aware of his failed dealings with some unpopular fighters in his native Ndian. Those dealings have not really changed much in terms of violence. Ndian Division like Manyu Division is still a no-go area, and it will take a lot of convincing for things to be better and Dion, who is a man of few words, is not the person who will do such heavy-lifting,” he said.

“Biya is holding his cards so close to his chest, but we are also hearing that the French President’s visit to Cameroon in the coming days might change a lot of things and the news will not be good for Dion Ngute. He has failed and he must go for someone else to try. He has never spoken to any separatist and is not in a rush to solve this problem which is tearing the country apart. Many people hold that he is a likeable character. He has a good smile, but others hold that behind the prettiest smiles hide some dark secrets and the killing of Kenneth Nanji is one secret the Prime Minister is hiding,” our source pointed out.

“Dion should be bracing for bad news. The country needs to go in a different direction and Dion cannot lead the country down that route. Let us give younger people a chance. They may not have the magic wand, but they might do what their predecessors were unable to achieve. Time is of the essence! We can break the spiral of killings by using young people to do what has been a near-impossibility. I am personally waiting. Our country must stop bleeding. We have the men who can change things for us,” our source concluded.

At the Star Building, not much is happening. The mood is somber, and the Prime Minister seems to be fully aware of the decision taken at the Unity Palace after months of secret meetings and interviews with potential replacements. In three years, the Prime Minister has not succeeded to talk to any influential separatist.

He has not achieved anything, and he has been serving as an errand boy for the President and his Secretary General. That is not the job of a respectable Prime Minister. Even the Secretary General at the Presidency, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, disrespects Dion Ngute openly. We need a Prime Minister with a character, a Prime Minister who will point the country in the right direction, a Prime Minister who will inspire hope.

By Rita Akana with editing by Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

18, July 2022

OIC secretary-general visits Yaoundé ⁰

Secretary-General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Hussein Ibrahim Taha met Cameroon Prime Minister Dr. Joseph Ngute and Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Legeune Mbela Mbela during a visit to the republic.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed issues of common interest. Taha thanked Cameroon for its constant support for the activities of the organization.

He called on member states to show solidarity in the face of the challenges facing the countries of the Sahel and the Chad Basin, and to support the economic development of the two regions.

The Cameroonian leaders congratulated the secretary-general on assuming the leadership of OIC and called on the organization to give priority to road infrastructure and electrical network interconnection projects among member states. Other areas of cooperation that were highlighted included the production of medicines and vaccines, and the promotion of science and technology.

The organization aims to strengthen ties between countries in the Muslim world.

Recently, the organization welcomed a $1 million donation from Nigeria for Afghanistan. Taha said the donation added “new momentum” to the organization’s efforts to help ease the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan and to meet the needs of millions of Afghans.

The organization has appealed to all member states, stakeholders and partners to make contributions to the humanitarian trust fund for Afghanistan through the bank account reserved for the fund at the Islamic Development Bank.

Source: Arabnews

18, July 2022

Diageo to sell Guinness Cameroon to Castel Group for £389m ⁰

Beverage company Diageo DGE.L has agreed to sell its Guinness Cameroon brewery to France’s Castel Group for £389 million, the company has said in a statement.

Details

Castel will take over the production and nationwide distribution of Guinness in Cameroon under a licence and royalty agreement, it said.

“Under this new agreement, the brand will have both expanded brewing capacity and distribution. It will remain part of the global Guinness family through direct marketing oversight,” Dayalan Nayager, president of Diageo Africa, said in the statement.

The deal is expected to be completed in the first half of fiscal 2023, subject to regulatory clearances. When completed, the transaction will result in an exceptional gain on disposal of approximately £250 million after tax, Diageo said.

Source: Hospitality Ireland

18, July 2022

French Cameroun: Two civilians killed in Boko Haram attack ⁰

At least two civilians were killed in an attack by the Boko Haram militants in Cameroon’s Far North region, according to security and local sources.

Boko Haram militants raided Gouzoudou locality of the region Friday night, killing two civilians. The military repelled the attack and killed one of the militants as they were struggling to escape, an official of the Cameroon army familiar with the attack told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

“Our troops continued to pursue the terrorists this morning (Saturday). We are stepping up security to protect civilians who have been regularly targeted in the region,” the official said.

Source: Xinhuanet

18, July 2022

Iran capable of building nuclear bomb ⁰

Iran is technically capable of making a nuclear bomb but has not decided whether to build one, a senior adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Qatar’s al Jazeera TV on Sunday.

Kamal Kharrazi spoke a day after U.S. President Joe Biden ended his four-day trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia, vowing to stop Iran from “acquiring a nuclear weapon.”

Kharrazi’s comments were a rare suggestion that Iran might have an interest in nuclear weapons, which it has long denied seeking.

“In a few days we were able to enrich uranium up to 60% and we can easily produce 90% enriched uranium … Iran has the technical means to produce a nuclear bomb but there has been no decision by Iran to build one,” Kharrazi said.

Iran is already enriching to up to 60%, far above a cap of 3.67% under Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Uranium enriched to 90% is suitable for a nuclear bomb.

In 2018, former U.S. President Donald Trump ditched the nuclear pact, under which Iran curbed its uranium enrichment work, a potential pathway to nuclear weapons, in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.

In reaction to Washington’s withdrawal and its reimposition of harsh sanctions, Tehran started violating the pact’s nuclear restrictions.

Last year, Iran’s intelligence minister said Western pressure could push Tehran to seek nuclear weapons, the development of which Khamenei banned in a fatwa, or religious decree, in the early 2000s.

Iran says it is refining uranium only for civilian energy uses, and has said its breaches of the international deal are reversible if the United States lifts sanctions and rejoins the agreement.

The broad outline of a revived deal was essentially agreed in March after 11 months of indirect talks between Tehran and Biden’s administration in Vienna.

But talks then broke down over obstacles including Tehran’s demand that Washington should give guarantees that no U.S. president will abandon the deal, the same way Trump did.

Biden cannot promise this because the nuclear deal is a non-binding political understanding, not a legally-binding treaty.

“The United States has not provided guarantees on preserving the nuclear deal and this ruins the possibility of any agreement,” Kharrazi said.

Israel, which Iran does not recognise, has threatened to attack Iranian nuclear sites if diplomacy fails to contain Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

Kharrazi said Iran would never negotiate its balistic missile programme and regional policy, as demanded by the West and its allies in the Middle East.

“Any targeting of our security from neighbouring countries will be met with direct response to these countries and Israel.”

Source: REUTERS

18, July 2022

Battle for Ukraine: President Zelensky sacks top prosecutor, security head ⁰

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday sacked his chief prosecutor and the head of the country’s security agency in the largest government shakeup since the start of Russia’s invasion nearly five months ago.

Zelensky said he was firing Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova and security chief Ivan Bakanov amid a high number of cases of suspected treason by Ukrainian law enforcement officials.

“Today, I made the decision of relieving of their duties the prosecutor general and the head of Ukraine’s security service,” Zelensky said in his daily address to the nation.

Zelensky said over 650 cases of suspected treason and aiding and abetting Russia by Ukrainian security officials are currently being investigated, including 60 cases of officials who have remained in territories occupied by Russia and are working against Ukraine.

“Such a great number of crimes against the foundations of national security and the connections established between Ukrainian law enforcement officials and Russian special services pose very serious questions to the relevant leaders,” Zelensky said. “Each such question will be answered.”

Source: France 24

18, July 2022

European heatwave turns deadly as wildfires rage from Spain to Greece ⁰

Firefighters battled to contain wildfires sweeping across southwest Europe on Sunday as a heatwave showed no sign of abating, with Britain poised to set new temperature records this coming week.

Blazes raging in France, Greece, Portugal and Spain have destroyed thousands of hectares of land and forced thousands of residents and holidaymakers to flee.

It is the second heatwave to engulf parts of southwest Europe in weeks. Scientists blame climate change and predict more frequent and intense episodes of extreme weather such as heatwaves and drought.

Spanish authorities reported around 20 wildfires still raging out of control in different parts of the country from the south to Galicia in the far northwest, where blazes have destroyed around 4,500 hectares of land.

The fires have already killed several emergency personnel since last week, most recently a fireman who died late on Sunday while battling a blaze in northwestern Spain.

In France, the situation deteriorated in the southwestern Gironde region where firefighters were fighting to control forest blazes that have devoured nearly 11,000 hectares (27,000 acres) since Tuesday.

‘A heat apocalypse’

The wildfires in France forced more than 16,000 people—residents and tourists combined—to decamp. Seven emergency shelters have been set up for evacuees.

France’s interior ministry announced it would send an extra three firefighting planes, 200 firefighters and more trucks.

Meteo France forecast temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of southern France on Sunday, with new heat records expected on Monday.

“In some southwestern areas, it will be a heat apocalypse,” meteorologist Francois Gourand told AFP.

France placed 15 departments, mainly down its western seaboard, on red alert—the highest on the scale—on Sunday while 51 were on orange high alert.

The chapel of a historic hospital in the southeastern city of Lyon, Grand Hotel Dieu, offered refuge to tourists on Sunday including Jean-Marc, 51, who was visiting from Alsace.

“We came back to admire the place, but we can’t leave, it’s too hot outside. We say a prayer before the fire!” he quipped.

French cyclist Mikael Cherel, taking part in the Tour de France’s 15th stage between Rodez and Carcassonne in southern France on Sunday, described “very, very difficult conditions”.

“I’ve never known such a hot day on a bike. It really was no picnic.”

Deaths

In Spain, firefighters managed to stabilise a wildfire that ravaged 2,000 hectares of woods and bushes in the southern region of Andalusia, regional leader Juan Manuel Moreno said.

The blaze started on Friday in the Mijas mountain range inland from the southern coastal city of Malaga and it spurred the evacuation of about 3,000 people.

Around 2,000 people had since returned home and now that the blaze has stabilised, Moreno said the remaining evacuees may do the same.

A fireman died from burns on Sunday while battling a blaze in Spain’s northwestern province of Zamora, the regional government said.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez expressed his “condolences and affection” to the man’s family and colleagues.

“There are no words to express thanks to those who fight fires without rest for their immense work. RIP,” he added in a tweet.

Sanchez is due to visit the hard-hit eastern region of Extremadura on Monday where various fires have been raging for days.

The fireman’s death comes after a pilot was killed last week when his plane crashed in northern Portugal, and two crew members died in Greece when their helicopter fell into the sea.

The extreme heat also claimed the lives of two men in Spain over the weekend.

A 50-year-old man in Torrejon de Ardoz just outside of Madrid died on Sunday after suffering heat stroke while out for a walk, local emergency services said.

And on Saturday, a 60-year-old street cleaner in Madrid died after suffering heat stroke while working the previous day.

‘Risk to life’ in UK

In Portugal, almost the entire country remained on high alert for wildfires despite a slight drop in temperatures, after hitting 47C—a record for the month of July—on Thursday.

Only one major fire was burning on Sunday in the north.

The fires have killed two, injured around 60 and destroyed between 12,000 and 15,000 hectares of land in Portugal.

In the United Kingdom, the weather office issued a first-ever “red” warning for extreme heat, cautioning there was a “risk to life”.

The Met Office said temperatures in southern England could exceed 40C on Monday or Tuesday for the first time, leading some schools to say they would stay closed next week.

Organisers of a four-day march in the Netherlands cancelled the first day of the mass event due to start on Tuesday because of extreme heat.

The mercury is set to reach 38C in parts of the Netherlands on Tuesday.

Source: AFP