News

9, March 2022

Cameroon Women Rally to Demand More Political Representation ⁰

In Cameroon, thousands of women protested on International Women’s Day Tuesday demanding more political power and government jobs. Women make up more than half of Cameroon’s population, but there is not a single female among the country’s 10 regional governors or council presidents.

Thousands of women turned out at the 20 Boulevard in Cameroon’s capital singing that they do not want to be treated as inferior to men any longer.

The Cameroon government said it expected between ten thousand and fifteen thousand women for International Women’s Day celebrations on Tuesday. But Cameroon’s Ministry of Women’s Empowerment said more than 20,000 came out in Yaounde to protest.

Similar protests took place in towns and villages across Cameroon, in both French- and English-speaking areas.

Nicoline Nwenushi Wazeh, founder of the NGO Pathways for Women’s Empowerment and Development, PaWED, says Cameroon’s government is not doing much for women to gain more political power or reach representation goals set by the United Nations and African Union.

“All four ministers of state are men. Out of the 39 ministers we only have six women. All ten governors of the regions are men. Of the 58 divisional officers we have only two women. The lack of political will has made it that Cameroon government neither respects the universal quota of 30% nor the African Union quota of 50-50,” she said.

Nwenushi said there are only 61 women in the 180-member the lower house of parliament and the Senate has 26 women against 74 men.

Mumah Bih Yvonne of the Cameroon Women’s Peace Movement’s says both President Paul Biya and Cameroon’s electoral laws make it difficult for women to climb to leadership positions.

“The electoral code does not clearly spell out what quota is reserved for women. It just mentions that gender should be taken into consideration. Women need to be pushed by political will so I think this government can do better by appointing women who are very apt in different positions,” Bih said.

Marie-Therese Abena Ondou is Cameroon’s Minister of Women’s Empowerment and the Family. She says the ministry she leads has been educating men to consider women as equals. She says she also educates women to contest for elected positions and not to be scared of intimidating men.

“Many men feel threatened when we talk about equality and we want to reassure them (men) that it is not that they [men] will be pushed aside, it is working together. Men and women are born equal and we should try to remember that both have the same potential if given the same opportunities,” Ondou said.

The U.N. marks International Women’s Day on March 8 to bring attention to women’s contributions to development and stop inequities. This year’s theme was “Gender Equality today for a sustainable tomorrow.

Source: VOA

9, March 2022

Russian tanks are getting close to the Ukrainian capital ⁰

At a deserted service station on the motorway northeast of Kyiv, a Ukrainian officer warns: “Don’t go any further. The Russians are over there.”

Over the last five days, the Russians have advanced more than 80 kilometres (62 miles) on the northeastern front and are getting close to the Ukrainian capital.

The Ukrainian officer in camouflage points towards the north, where the motorway stretches empty to the horizon between snow-covered fields.

“The Russian tanks are just over there, two kilometres away,” he said, ordering a civilian vehicle to turn round and go back, due to the danger from Russian forces.

“Drive in a zig-zag to avoid their shots,” he advises the driver.

Then he returns to his watch, in charge of around a dozen soldiers whose task it is to pass on information on Russian tanks so that the Ukrainian army can bomb them as soon as they move to break through the lines.

The Russian tanks are stationed just a few kilometres away from Kyiv’s city limits.

Last Saturday, the Russians were about 80 kilometres further up this road, on a level with the city of Chernihiv.

This advance along the motorway from the north brings Russian tanks just to the east of Kyiv, heightening fears that they could soon encircle the capital.

Russian tanks are also just a few kilometres from the city to its northwest.

In the surrounding villages, there are few cars on the road and they drive with utmost caution in what is now frontline territory.

Source: AFP

9, March 2022

Plane carrying former US President Donald Trump makes emergency landing ⁰

A plane carrying former US President Donald Trump made an emergency landing in New Orleans on Saturday evening after experiencing engine failure over the Gulf of Mexico, a source familiar with the matter confirmed on Wednesday.

The plane, a Dassault Falcon 900, had gone about 75 miles from a New Orleans airport before turning back to the city, the person said. Other passengers included Secret Service agents, support staff and some of Trump’s advisers.

A Trump representative did not immediately return a request for comment on the incident.

The plane was returning Trump to his home in Palm Beach, Florida, from a New Orleans hotel where he was speaking to Republican Party donors at a private event, the person said.

The plane belonged to a donor who loaned it to the former president for the evening, the source said, and Trump advisers secured another donor’s plane to take him back to Florida.

The incident was first reported on Wednesday by Politico and the Washington Post.

(Source: Reuters)

9, March 2022

Ukraine, Russia agree to day-long ceasefire to allow evacuation of civilians ⁰

Russia and Ukraine on Wednesday agreed on a day-long ceasefire around a series of evacuation corridors to allow civilians to escape the fighting. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Moscow vowed to respect the truce from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm around six areas, including regions near Kyiv, in Zaporizhzhia in the south, and some parts of Ukraine’s northeast.

The Chernobyl nuclear power plant is no longer transmitting data to the UN’s atomic watchdog, the agency said Tuesday. More than 200 technical staff and guards remain trapped at the site, working 13 days straight since the Russian takeover.

US President Joe Biden announced a ban on US imports of oil from Russia in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The UK also said they would phase out Russian oil imports by the end of the year.

The UN said the number of refugees fleeing Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24 surged past 2 million.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed to “fight to the end” in a virtual speech to UK lawmakers that earned him a standing ovation. “We will not give up and we will not lose,” he said.

Source: France 24

9, March 2022

Ukraine leader vows: ‘We will fight to the end’, in virtual speech to UK lawmakers ⁰

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, invoking the wartime defiance of British prime minister Winston Churchill, vowed Tuesday (March 8) to “fight to the end” in a historic virtual speech to UK lawmakers.

“We will not give up and we will not lose. We will fight to the end, at sea, in the air. We will continue fighting for our land, whatever the cost, in the forests, in the fields, on the shores, in the streets,” he said.

8, March 2022

South Africa: Cameroonians arrested in Joburg for possession of R3 million stash of stolen Transnet and Prasa copper ⁰

Two Cameroonian nationals are set to appear in court today after they were arrested by the Joburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) undercover officers for possession of stolen copper in Bramley, north of Joburg.

JMPD spokesperson, Xolani Fihla said the two men were nabbed on Saturday, for possession of the stolen copper with an estimated value of R3 million.

“Working on information received, officers proceeded to corner 11th Road and 3rd Avenue in Bramley, where they observed the suspected property,” Fihla said.

“An unknown male opened the gate of the premises, officers approached him, identified themselves as police and proceeded to search inside the premises.”

While searching, they found another man inside the premises and discovered huge quantities of copper cut up into pieces.

“When questioned, the two males failed to give a valid explanation on how they acquired the copper and were immediately arrested. Upon arrest, the suspects attempted to bribe officers with R10 000 cash,” Fihla said.

City of Joburg’s power utility City Power and officials from state-owned enterprise, the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) were called to the scene, to identify the recovered stash of copper.

“It was discovered that the copper belongs to Transnet and Prasa, and it cost an estimated value of R3 million worth of damage to infrastructure,” Fihla said.

The suspects were detained at Bramley SAPS and charged with damage to infrastructure, possession of stolen copper and bribery.

Source: IOL

8, March 2022

Iran says puts new military satellite in orbit ⁰

Iran announced Tuesday it had successfully placed a military satellite in orbit, as talks on reviving a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and major powers reach a critical stage.

“Iran’s second military satellite — named Nour-2 — has been launched into space by the Qassed rocket of the aerospace wing of the Revolutionary Guards and successfully placed in orbit 500 kilometres (310 miles) above the Earth,” the official IRNA news agency reported.

The Revolutionary Guards described the Nour-2 as a “reconnaissance satellite” in a statement on their Sepah News website.

Iran successfully put its first military satellite into orbit in April 2020, drawing a sharp rebuke from Washington.

Sepah News said Tuesday that the Nour-1 was “still fully operational and transmitting data”.

The United States has repeatedly voiced concern that such launches could boost Iran’s ballistic missile technology.

But Iran insists it is not seeking nuclear weapons and that its satellite and rocket launches are for civil or defensive purposes only.

At the end of December, Iran announced it had failed to put in orbit “three research cargos” carried by Simorgh (Phoenix) satellite carrier as the rocket was unable to reach the required speed.

In January, Iran tested a solid-fuel rocket for its satellite programme, state media reported.

Major powers involved in talks on bringing Washington back into the Iran nuclear deal after then president Donald Trump’s 2018 withdrawal have said that an agreement is close.

Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog said Saturday they had agreed an approach for resolving key outstanding issues but new Russian demands stemming from the Ukraine conflict may delay a deal.

Source: AFP

8, March 2022

Russia’s war in Ukraine: Latest developments ⁰

Here are the latest developments in Russia’s war in Ukraine:

Evacuations begin

Ukraine begins evacuating civilians from the northeastern city of Sumy under a deal with Moscow to set up humanitarian corridors out of cities besieged by Russian forces.

Dozens of buses ferry the evacuees to the city of Lokhvytsya, around 150 kilometres to the southwest in Ukrainian-held territory.

Kyiv had rejected a previous proposal to evacuate Ukrainians to Russia as a publicity stunt.

Ceasefire

Moscow announces a ceasefire in the five cities worst-hit by the fighting: Chernihiv, Mariupol, Kharkiv, Kyiv and Sumy.

Previous such cessations of fire collapsed at the weekend, with both sides trading blame.

21 killed in Sumy

At least 21 people, including two children, were killed in air strikes on Sumy on Monday night, hours before the evacuations began.

Thousands attempt to board packed trains out of Odessa, Ukraine’s main port which is also bracing for attack.

People to rush to board trains out of the Ukrainian port of Odessa, which is bracing for attack

People to rush to board trains out of the Ukrainian port of Odessa, which is bracing for attack BULENT KILIC AFP

Two million refugees

The UN says the number of people fleeing the war now tops two million.

Poland alone has received 1.2 million people.

Zelensky slams unkept ‘promises’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky denounces what he calls unkept “promises” by the West to help protect Ukraine.

“It’s been 13 days we’ve been hearing promises, 13 days we’ve been told we’ll be helped in the air, that there will be planes, that they will be delivered to us,” he complains.

China’s Xi urges restraint

Chinese President Xi Jinping urges “maximum restraint” over Ukraine but stops short of condemning the Russian invasion in a video summit with the leaders of France and Germany.

‘Call Russia’

A group of Lithuanians launch a bid to get Russians abroad to call 40 million of their compatriots and tell them what is happening in Ukraine.

Russia has severely restricted reporting of the war on its territory.

Shell quits Russia

Energy giant Shell says it will stop purchasing Russian crude oil and shut down its operations in the country.

Russian designer cancelled

Russian designer Valentin Yudashkin, who designed the Russian army’s uniforms, has his show at Paris Fashion Week cancelled for his failure to condemn the war.

World Bank cash for Ukraine

The World Bank approves an additional $489-million package for Ukraine, to be made available immediately.

Foreign footballers can leave Russia

Foreign footballers and coaches working in Russia and Ukraine will be allowed to temporarily suspend their contracts and move elsewhere, FIFA announces.

Source: AFP

7, March 2022

Russia announces opening of several humanitarian corridors in Ukraine ⁰

The Russian army announced Monday that it would open several humanitarian corridors in Ukraine. Russian forces pummelled Ukrainian cities from the air, land and sea, with warnings they were preparing for an assault on the capital Kyiv, as terrified civilians failed for a second day to escape besieged Mariupol.

A civilian disaster is growing in Ukraine as attempts to evacuate residents of besieged port city Mariupol failed for a second consecutive day.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Sunday that Russian forces are preparing to bombard Odessa, the historic port city on the Black Sea coast.

More than a million refugees have crossed the border from Ukraine into Poland since Russian troops invaded on February 24, Polish border guards said on Sunday. The UN said earlier on Sunday that more than 1.5 million people have fled Ukraine into neighbouring countries since the Russian invasion.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan urged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Sunday to declare a ceasefire in Ukraine, open humanitarian corridors and sign a peace agreement, his office said.

The United States is considering sending planes to Poland if Warsaw decided to send fighter jets to Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

Zelensky said on Sunday he spoke by phone with his US counterpart Joe Biden to discuss financial support and sanctions against Russia.

Delegations from Kyiv and Moscow are set to hold a third round of negotiations on Monday.

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting Monday on the humanitarian crisis triggered in Ukraine by the Russian invasion and discuss a possible draft resolution.

Washington has seen “very credible reports” that Russia has committed war crimes during its invasion of Ukraine, particularly in attacking civilians, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday.

Reported by France 24

6, March 2022

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Francophone governor urges civilians not to flee after Amba bomb Kills 7 ⁰

Cameroon has sent military and senior civilian officials to ask residents not to flee from Ekondo Titi, an English-speaking western town where anglophone separatists this week killed seven people, including the most senior administrative official, the mayor and traditional ruler. The government says hundreds of civilians are fleeing to safer locations.

In a video, armed men identifying themselves as Ndian warriors brandish assault rifles and pledge total allegiance to what they say is their fight for the independence of Cameroon’s English-speaking western regions.

In the video, widely circulated on social media platforms including Facebook and WhatsApp, they display two assault rifles, an undisclosed amount of money and Cameroonian military uniforms.

They say the rifles, money and uniforms belonged to Cameroonian military and government officials they killed Wednesday in Ekondo Titi — a district in Ndian, an administrative unit in Cameroon’s English-speaking South-West region.

The main speaker in the video claims to be field marshal of anglophone separatists. He says fighters are developing a new modus operandi in their battle to achieve independence for Cameroon’s English-speaking western regions.

He says besides eliminating government troops, fighters have decided to target and kill all civilian workers representing Cameroon’s central government in the English-speaking western regions. He says those posted by the central government in Yaoundé should resign or refuse to work in English-speaking towns and villages.

Cameroon’s military said the video is that of fighters who killed seven people and government troops in Ekondo Titi this week.

A government release read Friday on Cameroon state radio, CRTV, said Paul Timothee Aboloa, highest government official and representative of President Paul Biya in Ekondo Titi, was among the officials killed by fighters.

The release said Nanji Kenneth, mayor of Ekondo Titi, and Ebeku William, the Ekondo Titi president of Cameroon’s ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement party, also died.

The Cameroon government Friday said hundreds of civilians, especially government workers, have escaped from Ekondo Titi since Wednesday’s separatist bomb attack.

Bernard Okallia Bilai is the governor of the South-West region, where Ekondo Titi is located. He said he was sent to Ekondo Titi on Friday to ask frightened residents to stop fleeing. Bilai spoke via a messaging app.

He said he is at the head of a delegation of top government and military officials, politicians and clerics sent to Ekondo Titi by Biya. He said the delegation is telling people of Ekondo Titi who are going through terrifying moments that Biya and government troops will crush separatists who do not surrender.

Bilai said civilians should be vigilant and report suspects and strange people in the towns and villages to government troops or administrative officials.

Officials reported in November that a separatist attack on a school in Ekondo Titi killed four students and a teacher. Hundreds of teachers and students stopped going to school.

Timothe Abolo, before he died in Wednesday’s attack, said enough security measures had been taken to protect schools, teachers, students and government workers from further attack.

Source: VOA