Politics

8, June 2016

CPDM Senate approves Paris Climate Change Agreement ⁰

The bill to authorize the President of the Republic to ratify the Paris Agreement on Climate Change was yesterday, June 7, 2016 declared admissible for scrutiny by the Chairmen’s Conference of the Senate chaired by Senate President, Marcel Niat Njifenji. The bill was submitted by government, represented by the Minister Delegate to the Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation in charge of Regional and Local Authorities, Jules Doret Ndongo.

The Paris Climate Agreement was adopted during the 21^st session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 21) that held in the French capital from November 30 to December 13, 2015. The agreement, which was later signed in New York on April 22, 2016, aims at strengthening global riposte to threats posed by climate change within a context of sustainable development and the fight against poverty.

According to government, the ratification of the agreement by Cameroon is the expression of its will to synergize with the international community to fight climate change and could enable the country benefit from financial opportunities offered by its partners for the implementation of decisions taken at COP 21.

Cameroon Tribune

7, June 2016

Nigeria: Niger Delta Governors tell Buhari “drop corruption cases in the region” ⁰

Governors representing Niger Delta states have made a shock demand. The majority of the politicians are demanding that corruption cases in the region should be dropped. They believe President Buhari’s anti-corruption drive is fueling the Niger Delta Avengers insurgency campaign Governors of the South-South region who met with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the State House today called for the majority of corruption cases in the region to be dropped by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Sahara Reporters has reported.

The meeting was attended by the governors of Edo, Ondo, Delta, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa and Abia states, as well as the deputy governor of Cross River state. Our source said only the Governor of Edo state Adams Oshiomhole and the deputy Governor of Cross River opposed the others the iniative, who singled out the federal government’s anti-corruption initiative as the reason why Niger Delta Avengers are blowing up pipelines in the region.

Naija.com

7, June 2016

Nigeria: Ordinary ear infection takes Buhari to a London hospital ⁰

President Buhari reportedly has “a terrible cough that has persisted longer than the ear infection” – He may likely extend his 10-day trip to London to treat an ear infection because he also needs attention for the cough – A source said the president is expected to remain in outpatient care in the days following his medical visit. The Buhari administration is using the judiciary to prevent former government officials from traveling abroad for medicare.

There are indications that President Muhammadu Buhari may extend his 10-day vacation to London to treat an ear infection. Sahara Reporters reports that the president also has a terrible cough that has persisted longer than the ear infection and also needs to be examined for that.

Naija.com/CIR

7, June 2016

Malawi: Attacks on albinos unprecedented ⁰

Amnesty International has warned that the number of attacks on people with albinism has risen in Malawi, calling on authorities to bring those responsible for the crimes to justice. “The unprecedented wave of brutal attacks against people with albinism has created a climate of terror for this vulnerable group and their families,” Deprose Muchena, Amnesty International’s director for southern Africa, said on Tuesday.

The body parts of albinos, who lack pigments in their skin, hair and eyes, are sold for witchcraft in North Africa. Their body parts are believed to bring wealth and good luck and are prized in witchcraft for use in charms and magical potions. The report condemned the Malawian authorities for “leaving this population group at the mercy of criminal gangs who hunt them down for their body parts.”

Amnesty said campaigners, police authorities, families and community leaders have all said that the number of attacks have increased recently. According to the report, April was the bloodiest month for such attacks in Malawi, with at least four people murdered, including a child aged under two. The parents of the child have been arrested as suspects. Simeon Mawanza, the lead researcher of the Amnesty report, said children with albinism have been sold by their parents.

Presstv

7, June 2016

Goodluck Jonathan says he is being investigated by Buhari ⁰

Ex-president Goodluck Jonathan has disclosed today, June 6, that he is being investigated for corruption by the Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government. Jonathan said this in an exclusive interview with Bloomberg Tv, in London.

“I cannot say the country from the beginning of our independence, that there was no corruption, yes there has been corruption. “I did very well also, to curtail corruption. “My approach to corruption, was ‘don’t make money available for anyone to touch.

Vanguard

7, June 2016

Genocide Vote: Turkey threatens Germany ⁰

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says Turkey cannot remain silent toward the German parliament’s recognition of the Armenian killing as genocide. Speaking in an interview with state-run TRT Haber news television network on Tuesday, Cavusoglu said Turkey will take measures against the German resolution, without specifying those steps. “The German government has to say its official stance does not overlap with the German parliament resolution,” he said.

The Bundestag voted last week to recognize the 1915-1916 killings by the Ottoman Empire of the Armenians as “genocide.” Armenians claim that up to 1.5 million Armenian Christians were systematically slaughtered in eastern Turkey during World War I and the breakup of the Ottoman Empire. Ankara rejects the term “genocide” and says 300,000 to 500,000 Armenians, and at least as many Turks perished between 1915 and 1917.

Presstv

7, June 2016

Donald Trump clearly a racist ⁰

Libertarian Party presidential nominee Gary Johnson says Donald Trump is “clearly” a racist. Trump said in a CNN interview last week that US District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, the son of Mexican immigrants, was biased against him in lawsuits involving fraud allegations against Trump University, the billionaire’s real estate training school.

Trump claimed that the judge’s Mexican heritage had influenced his opinion because of the presumptive Republican nominee’s plan to build a wall on the US-Mexico border after winning the presidential elections. Speaking in an interview with The Hill newspaper on Monday, Johnson lashed out at Trump for making another controversial statement.

“The latest comments on the Hispanic judge — nothing short of racist,” said Johnson, who served two terms as governor of New Mexico. When asked if he believes Trump is racist, Johnson responded, “Clearly. Clearly. These are incendiary comments to me as a former governor of a state that’s one of the four majority-minority states in the country.” The Libertarian politician said he’s “absolutely” fearful over the idea of Trump winning the White House.

Presstv

7, June 2016

Burkina Faso’s General Zida and President Kabore: No longer at ease? ⁰

Burkina Faso’s transition Prime Minister, General Yacouba Isaac Zida risks being sanctioned when he returns to the country from Canada where he has been for some months, RFI reported. President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, who also holds the position of Defence Minister has summoned Isaac Zida back to the country several times in vain.

Without giving Zida an ultimatum, President Kaboré is threatening to consider him as a soldier who has deserted the army in times of peace. The President is likely to take up his responsibilities and implement the regulations in force with regard to indiscipline in the army.

Isaac Zida on the contrary is requesting to be considered as being in health evacuation. The President has refused to accept the plea as a medical file has not been presented to him. RFI cited Mr Kaboré as saying that evacuation abroad for health reasons is done within the framework of the law.

The current stay of Isaac Zida has further complicated issues for him. RFI reported that the ongoing audit of the stewardship as transition presidency and Prime Minister’s Office indicate that there were some financial mismanagement. The authorities want some clarity in the situation. Reports say, the transition Prime Minister besides military sanctions for abandoning his duties may also face justice to answer charges of mismanagement during the transition period.

Cameroon Tribune

6, June 2016

Obama to endorse Clinton ⁰

US President Barack Obama is set to endorse Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton for the 2016 election. Various US media outlets made the announcement Tuesday, citing American officials and other sources. White House officials were determining about when and how Obama, along with Vice President Joe Biden should announce their formal endorsement.

The signal from the White House came on a day that Obama’s former secretary of state was close to securing enough delegates to become the presumptive Democratic nominee. “He has indicated he wants to spend a lot of time on the campaign trail, so when it’s time to do that, we’ll go out guns ablazing,” White House Communications Director Jennifer Psaki told the New York Times in an interview. “We are actively thinking through how to use the president on the campaign trail — what works for the nominee, what works for him, and how to utilize his strengths and his appeal.”

Hillary, meanwhile, was hoping to be endorsed by the president, according to her communications director, Jennifer Palmieri. “We are actively thinking through how to use the president on the campaign trail,” Palmieri said.

Presstv

6, June 2016

1,850 refugees evacuated from Paris ⁰

Authorities in France have evacuated 1,850 refugees from a makeshift camp in the north of the country’s capital, Paris. Local officials said on Monday that the refugees and asylum-seekers were living in tent camps put up at Jardin d’Eole Park, which had also been evacuated a month ago. Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of the French capital city, said there had been 1,300 people at the camp on Sunday, but the numbers surged as word spread that they would be re-accommodated.

The refugees – mostly Afghans, Sudanese and Eritreans – were taken by bus to about 60 different reception centers in the Paris region, Hidalgo said, adding that it was the 23rd operation of its kind in the capital since June last year. France has struggled to cope with the high number of refugees and asylum-seekers arriving in the country in the last two years, with hundreds sleeping in camps that spring up before being closed by the police. The European country accepted to take in 400 refugees a month from Greece as part of a European Union relocation deal it signed in September last year.

Presstv