News

19, September 2016

France commemorates all victims of recent terror attacks ⁰

France has commemorated all victims of the recent terror attacks that shook the country to its core. A memorial service has been held in the capital Paris to honor the memory of all those people who unjustly lost their lives to vicious acts of terror and violence.

Hundreds of victims’ families and people who sustained injuries in the attacks attended Monday’s ceremony. President Francois Hollande and former president Nicolas Sarkozy also took part in the event during which the names of all victims of attacks carried out by Takfiri terrorists in Paris last year and in Nice in July this year were read out. “Our country had never been attacked to this extent, with such destructive rage, with such barbarian cruelty. That’s why it was so important for names, all names to be evoked,” Hollande said.

The ceremony also commemorated those killed in terror attacks in Brussels, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Mali. Hollande also hailed the courage of the survivors present at the event, stressing the need for helping and supporting them and their families. “You’ve been through a tragedy, yet you want to live, you’re fighting for it, and you will stand up again. Your energy is an example,” Hollande said.

France terror attacks: A timeline

March 22, 2012: French police move in to kill Mohammed Merah, a self-styled al-Qaeda-inspired gunman, after he takes the lives of seven people in the city of Toulouse in a 12-day killing spree. Merah, a Frenchman of Algerian origin, killed three soldiers, three Jewish children and a rabbi before he was shot dead following a 30-hour standoff with security forces.

A woman speaks with a police officer near a building where the chief suspect in an al-Qaeda-linked killing spree is holed up in an apartment in Toulouse, southern France, on March 22, 2012. (Photo by AP)

January 7, 2015: Two Takfiri militants attack Charlie Hebdo magazine, killing 12 people, including top editorial staff. The attack is largely believed to have been launched over the weekly’s insulting cartoons of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). A day after the magazine attack, another militant kills a policewoman. On January 9, he also takes people hostage at the HyperCacher supermarket and kills four of them before being shot dead by police. On the same day, the escaped Charlie Hebdo gunmen are killed in a printing plant in Dammartin-en-Goele north of Paris.

A man walks past flowers laid near the headquarters of Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris on Feb. 6, 2015. (Photo by AP)

November 13, 2015: Daesh launches a series of violent attacks, targeting cafes and a concert hall in Paris, and massacring a total of 130 people. On the same day, three bombers explode themselves and kill a bystander in a stadium in Saint-Denis.

Police and rescuers gather in front of a fast-food drive-thru restaurant outside the Stade de France stadium in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on November 13, 2015. (Photo by AFP)

July 14, 2016: A truck driver deliberately plows through a Bastille Day crowd in Nice, killing 84 people and wounding 200 others. An 85th victim of the attack, claimed by Daesh, dies later in hospital.

Local authorities and people observe a minute of silence in front of the high commission in Papeete, the capital of the French Polynesian island of Tahiti, on July 18, 2016, in tribute to the victims of the deadly Nice attack on Bastille Day. (Photo by AFP)

July 26, 2016: Two knife-wielding men loyal to Daesh take a number of people hostage at a church in Normandy. The attackers kill a 85-year-old Roman Catholic priest. Police later shoots dead the two assailants.

A man stands in front of French flags and messages displayed at the place de la Republique’s monument in Paris, on July 26, 2016 after a priest was killed in the Normandy city of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray. (Photo by AFP)

France is still under a state of emergency.

Presstv

19, September 2016

Paris: Massive rally in support of Gabonese President Ali Bongo ⁰

Gabonese citizens resident in France have held a massive demo in support of the president elect, Ali Bongo. The rally that took place at the Place du Trocadero Square of Human Rights, Paris on Sunday, September 18, 2016, called on foreign powers to respect the decision of the Gabonese people including their sovereignty.

The demonstrators started the event with a minute of silence in tribute to victims of post-election violence that rocked the Gabonese nation. All speakers at the rally upheld that Ali Bongo Ondimba was rightfully declared the winner on August 31, 2016, by the CENAP (Autonomous National Electoral Commission) with 49.80% of votes against 48.23% for Jean Ping.

The organizers sounded a note of caution to the French media and some French politicians not to meddle in Gabon’s internal affairs. They noted that the strategy of Jean Ping, throughout the campaign was based on denigration, insults, violence and falsehood. The demonstrators also revealed that they were calm and confident that the Constitutional Court will validate Ali Bongo as winner.

By Chi Prudence Asong

19, September 2016

Hillary Clinton censures three terrorist attacks carried out in the US ⁰

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton censures three terrorist attacks carried out in the US states of New Jersey, New York and Minnesota earlier. Responsibility for at least one of the recent attacks – the one in Minnesota—was claimed by the Daesh Takfiri terror group.

The former secretary of state took the chance on Sunday to highlight the US alleged war on ISIL. “ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack in Minnesota, and this should steel our resolve to protect our country and defeat ISIS and other terrorist groups. I have laid out a comprehensive plan to do that,” Clinton said. She further elaborated on her plan to stop the group from carrying out similar attacks on the US soil.

This image from video provided by KSTP 5 television in Minneapolis, Minnesota, shows police activity at the scene of a stabbing at the Crossroads Center mall in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

“This includes launching an intelligence surge to help identify and thwart attacks before they can be carried out, and to spot lone wolf attackers. We also need to work with Silicon Valley to counter propaganda and recruitment efforts online. Americans have faced threats before, and our resilience in the face of them only makes us stronger. I am confident we will once again choose resolve over fear.”

No injuries were reported after a pipe bomb went off in Seaside Park, New Jersey, late on Saturday. The explosion was followed by another one in New York City, leaving 29 people wounded. Nine people were also stabbed by a Daesh affiliate at a mall in St. Cloud, Minnesota, Saturday night. Meanwhile, an investigation was launched by the FBI in order to assess whether the stabbing was a terror attack.

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19, September 2016

2016 AFCON: Cameroon only knows how to party ⁰

Cameroon announced to the world that she was indeed “Africa in miniature” at the draw for the 2016 Africa Women Cup of Nations on the 18th of September 2016. During the ceremony at the Multipurpose Sports Complex in Yaounde, the rich heritage was displayed through traditional dances from the four cultural zones of Cameroon: the Fang Beti, Sahel, Sawa and Grassfield. Each individual in the hall cited with one of the cultural zones.

The climax of the event came when the representatives from other African countries were able to identify a Cameroonian dance similar to theirs. Apart from representing Cameroon, the dance groups went the extra mile to present the traditional dances of the seven other countries participating in 2016 AFCON.

It was a total blend of colour and culture as flags were waved during the performances as an expression of joy, communicating Cameroon’s readiness to host the 2016 AFCON. A projection of some remarkable parts of Cameroon was made available to help the visitors catch a glimpse of what Cameroon is like while saying a warm Cameroonian, “Welcome/Bienvenue”!

CRTV

18, September 2016

Bangui: Militant raid leaves 26 villagers dead in the worst instance of bloodshed in recent months ⁰

A militant raid on a village in the Central African Republic (CAR) has left 26 villagers dead in the worst instance of bloodshed in recent months, an official says. Militants from the Seleka group attacked the village of Ndomete, near the town of Kaga-Bandoro, about 350 km (220 miles) north of the capital, Bangui, on Friday. Reports of the attack, however, emerged on Saturday.

“There were 26 victims… the village chief was among the victims,” Albert Mokpeme, a spokesman for the presidency, said on Saturday. “It was a massacre,” he emphasized. Officials are concerned that the incident could revitalize the dormant acts of vendetta between the mainly Muslim Seleka militants and rival Christian anti-Balaka militias. In early 2013, Seleka toppled the then-President Francois Bozize, who was replaced by Michel Am-Nondokro Djotodia, the first Muslim to hold the presidency in the CAR.

Christian militias reacted by engaging in large-scale attacks against the minority Muslims. A fifth of the population was forced to flee to safer regions as the impoverished nation was plunged into violence along ethnic and religious fault lines. Thousands of people were killed and hundreds of thousands displaced in the resource-rich country, as it suffered its biggest crisis in its half-century of independence during the period of violence in 2013 and 2014.

This file photo, taken on January 2, 2016, shows United Nations peacekeepers patrolling outside a vote-counting center for the presidential and parliamentary elections in Bangui. (By AFP)

In 2014, some 11,000 peacekeepers were deployed by the United Nations (UN) to the country as part of the established United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic (MINUSCA).

“MINUSCA regrets the loss of human life and the wounded that were recorded and also denounces attacks against the humanitarian community and United Nations personnel,” the UN said following the Friday bloodshed.

On July 23, 2014, Seleka and anti-Balaka representatives signed a ceasefire agreement in the Congolese capital, Brazzaville, but the country has not yet emerged from its bloody past.

Presstv

17, September 2016

Ouagadougou: Former Burkinabe Prime Minister arrested ⁰

Former Burkinabe Prime Minister, Luc-Adolphe Tiao was arrested on Friday and detained at a prison in Ouagadougou. Luc-Adolphe Tiao who served as the last Prime Minister to ousted dictator, Blaise Compaore is accused of having signed a requisition order, authorizing the use of weapons during the repression of the popular uprising of the 30th and 31^st of October 2014.

Mr. Tiao returned to Burkina Faso after more than a year in exile in the Ivory Coast and was arrested after a very intensive interrogation by the gendarmerie in Ouagadougou. He is accused, along with all the 32 ministers of the last Compaore government of assault, murder and complicity following attempts by the Cabinet via a bill to amend the Constitution which would have allowed Blaise Compaore, to stay in power.

Ten other former cabinet ministers of the ancien regime have already been questioned by the police, but all went Scot-free after their hearings.

By Chi Prudence Asong

17, September 2016

Trump admits President Obama was born American citizen ⁰

US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has finally acknowledged that President Barack Obama was born in the United States, as he sought to end his longstanding attempt to discredit the nation’s first African-American president.

“President Barack Obama was born in the United States, period,” Trump said on Friday at a campaign event in Washington, DC. Trump also falsely accused his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton of starting the so-called birther controversy in 2008. There is no evidence to link Clinton to the birthers. “Hillary Clinton and her campaign of 2008 started the birther controversy. I finished it. I finished it,” Trump said.

Trump did not apologize to Obama for his leading role in the birther movement and didn’t explain what caused him to change his view. The celebrity businessman has sought to improve his negative image among minority voters and moderate Republicans in recent months, many of whom see birtherism as racially motivated and an insult to Obama.

Analysts say that although the birther issue has not been a major one in this campaign, it continues to irritate black voters, who see it as an attempt to challenge the legitimacy of the country’s first African American president.

In a speech in Washington just ahead of Trump’s, Clinton said Trump had led the birther movement for five years and had founded his campaign on “this outrageous lie”. “There is no erasing it,” she said. “Imagine a person in the Oval Office who traffics in conspiracy theories – who distorts the truth to fit a very narrow view of the world,” she added.

Some reports suggest the birther issue was circulated in 2008 by loyal supporters of Clinton as it became clear that she was not going to win the Democratic nomination against Obama. However there is no evidence that Clinton or her then campaign was directly linked to it.

According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Friday, Clinton held a 4-point lead over the New York businessman, 42 percent to 38 percent. However, one out of every five likely voters said they do not support Clinton or Trump for president, the poll found.

Presstv

16, September 2016

President Biya en route to New York ⁰

The Head of State, Paul Biya and First Lady, Chantal Biya have left the country for New York in the United States to attend the 71st regular session of the UN General Assembly. The solemn opening of the 71st session was held on Tuesday, September 13, 2016.

The UN General Assembly offers every year to the member states the opportunity to express their views on major international issues.

The theme of the general debate of the 71st session will be sustainable development goals: universal force of transformation of the world, as proposed by the new President of the Assembly, Peter Thomson (Fiji), after his election 13 June 2016.

By Rita Akana

16, September 2016

German Chancellor Merkel says European Union is in a critical situation ⁰

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has acknowledged that the European Union (EU) is in a “critical situation,” as it is struggling to find a way forward without the United Kingdom. Upon her arrival for a summit in the Slovakian capital of Bratislavato on Friday, Merkel said the EU has been facing so many problems that cannot be resolved at one meeting.

“The point is not to simply expect a solution to Europe’s problems from one summit — we are in a critical situation — but rather it is about showing through actions that we can be better,” she told reporters. The leaders of the union, minus those of Britain, have gathered in Bratislavato to discuss the EU’s post-Brexit future.

“I hope that today we can show that we can work together in the EU and that we can solve problems,” Merkel said. “Protecting Europe’s outside borders will also be discussed, but this will all be decided in the coming months, we can then also take concrete steps,” she added.

EU leaders attend a summit in the Slovakian capital of Bratislava, September 16, 2016. (Photo by Reuters)

Merkel further said that European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker “showed in his speech that the European Commission has similar plans.” Juncker earlier warned that the union faces an “existential crisis.”

On the eve of the summit, European Council President Donald Tusk also warned that the remaining 27-member states should not “let this crisis go to waste.” “After the vote in the UK the only thing that makes sense is to have a sober and brutally honest assessment of the situation,” Tusk said in Bratislava.

The leaders, however, are not expected to discuss Britain’s departure from the bloc in any detail in Bratislavato. Tusk formerly called on British Premier Theresa May to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty– the step required to officially begin the withdrawal.May, however, said her government will not begin the negotiation this year. Starting the negotiations would begin a two-year countdown for the UK to separate itself from Brussels.

Presstv

15, September 2016

Hillary Clinton returns to the campaign trail ⁰

US Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has returned to the campaign trail as polls show she is locked in a tight contest against Republican rival Donald Trump. Clinton took the stage in Greensboro, North Carolina, on Thursday, four days after she almost fainted during a ceremony marking the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York. Clinton described her being off of the campaign fray as a moment that reminded her why she’s running for the White House.

“I certainly feel lucky — when I am under the weather, I can afford to take a few days off. Millions of Americans can’t. They either go to work sick or they lose a paycheck,” she said. Clinton said her break from the campaign trail helped her to ponder and “reconnect with what this whole campaign is about.” “I have met so many people living on a razor’s edge, one illness away from losing their job, one paycheck away from losing their job,” she said. “That goes against everything we stand for as Americans, because some things should not come down to luck.”

The 68-year-old former First Lady was forced to abruptly leave a 9/11 memorial in New York on Sunday due to a medical episode, stirring speculations about her well-being. The candidate’s physician, Dr. Lisa Bardack, released a statement via the campaign and said she had pneumonia.

On Thursday, she acknowledged to the Greensboro, North Carolina, crowd that she was forced to stay at home following her pneumonia diagnosis. “As you may know, I recently had a cough that turned out to be pneumonia. I tried to power through it but even I had to admit that maybe a few days of rest would do me good,” she said.

Meanwhile, according to a new poll, Trump and Clinton are tied among likely voters in a four-way race for the White House. The CBS News/New York Times poll, released on Thursday, shows both Trump and Clinton have support of 42 percent. Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson has 8 percent and Green Party candidate Jill Stein has 4 percent.

Among registered voters in that scenario, Clinton has a 2 points lead over Trump, 41 to 39 percent, with Johnson earning 22 percent and Stein only 5 percent. In a two-way race, Clinton also leads Trump among likely voters by 2 points, 46 to 44 percent. She has a 5-point lead over Trump among registered voters, 46 to 41 percent. The poll was conducted from September 9 to 13 among a national sample of 1,433 registered voters. The margin of error is 3 percentage points.

Recent polls have shown that the race between Clinton and Trump is tightening at both the state and national levels before the November election. Clinton’s growing unpopularity follows renewed focus on her use of a private email server while she served as secretary of state, as well as alleged conflicts of interest over her connections to the Clinton Foundation fundraising. She is also facing criticism over the delayed release of her pneumonia diagnosis.

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