US: Trump says Kim Jong Un ‘small weapons’ do not disturb me

26, May 2019

US: Trump says Kim Jong Un ‘small weapons’ do not disturb me 0

US President Donald Trump has downplayed North Korea’s missile tests amid negotiations with Washington, asserting that he is not disturbed by the “small weapons” fired by Kim Jong Un.

The US commander in chief took to Twitter on Sunday to express his “confidence” in Kim while on a visit to Japan.

“North Korea fired off some small weapons, which disturbed some of my people, and others, but not me,” Trump wrote on Twitter, apparently referring to weapons tests in early May.

PressTV-Trump vows N Korea deal, 'great' Russia ties

The country fired two short-range missiles on May 9 after an earlier drill on May 4 — the first in 18 months.

Trump’s remarks ran counter to US National Security Adviser John Bolton’s comment on Saturday that Pyongyang’s  recent missile launches violated a UN Security Council resolution.

The US president further speculated that Kim was sending him a “signal” though the country’s state media, releasing a commentary on former Vice President Joe Biden, set to take on Trump in the 2020 presidential election.

PressTV-North Korea fires several projectiles eastward: South

 “I have confidence that Chairman Kim will keep his promise to me, & also smiled when he called Swampman Joe Bidan [sic] a low IQ individual, & worse. Perhaps that’s sending me a signal?”

The US president has so far held two historic summits with Kim in Singapore and Vietnam respectively but to no avail.

Trump is on a state visit to Japan, where he is scheduled to discuss North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

Source: Presstv

Bayern Munich’s Neuer Says Onana deserved to be in Champions League final with Ajax

26, May 2019

Bayern Munich’s Neuer Says Onana deserved to be in Champions League final with Ajax 0

The German goalkeeper has commended the Cameroon international for his fine displays for the Sons of Gods this term

Bayern Munich goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has praised Ajax’s Andre Onana for his impressive displays between the sticks this season.

Onana helped Erik ten Hag’s side complete a domestic double of the Dutch Cup and Eredivisie triumph this campaign.

Unfortunately, the Cameroonian goalkeeper was unable to save the Sons of Gods from a disappointing 3-2 loss to Tottenham Hotspur in the return leg of the Uefa Champions League semi-final fixture.

Ajax bowed out of the tournament based on the away goals rule after settling for a 3-3 aggregate score.

“Hey Onana, it is Neuer from Munich. I’m your biggest fan, of course, you played a very good season for Ajax,” Neuer said in a Twitter video.

“You and your guys deserved to be in the finals so don’t be too sad maybe you will get any chance in the future to come back to the semi-final final and have a better result than the last one.

“Take care and enjoy the celebration with Ajax for the Cup and for the championship in your league. You did a great a job and all the best in the future, my friend.”

Source: Goal.com

Southern Cameroons War: French Cameroun army kills 12 in Menchum County

26, May 2019

Southern Cameroons War: French Cameroun army kills 12 in Menchum County 0

12 Southern Cameroonians were reportedly killed and several shops and business premises destroyed by troops loyal to the Biya Francophone regime in Esu-a locality in the Menchum County on Thursday May 23rd 2019.

The Cameroon government army said its action targeted Ambazonian fighters operating in the area. However, a local trader who spoke to our undercover reporter hinted that the killings and destruction was part of a French Cameroun government policy to bring down Southern Cameroonians.

The 12 people were mostly civilians who had escaped the army onslaught in Wum and were hiding in Esu. The Francophone soldiers also fired shots at the Esu Health Centre shattering the building and health equipment.

Scores of people have fled the area into the bushes abandoning the old and the sick behind.

By Sama Ernest

Nigeria: At least 20 people killed by bandits

25, May 2019

Nigeria: At least 20 people killed by bandits 0

At least 20 people have been killed by bandit gunmen in separate attacks in the restive region of Katsina in northwestern Nigeria, police say.

Katsina state police spokesman Gambo Isah said gunmen on motorcycles stormed into the village of Yargamji in Batsari district, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the state capital Katsina, on Tuesday, and opened fire at the residents.

“They killed 18,” he said.

A gunfight broke out in the forest after a self-defense militia from another village chased the thieves.

Police said two militia members were shot dead during the gun battle, but residents said the fight claimed the lives of more people.

“We lost 11 people who went to fight the bandits in the bush,” resident Sada Iro said.

Iro noted that five residents were also killed in other attacks in the nearby village of Mara Zamfarawa.

Katsina state has seen a string of violent attacks in recent months that claimed the lives of hundreds of people.

The gunmen have repeatedly conducted raids on villages, stealing cattle and food, setting homes ablaze and kidnapping for ransom, prompting rural communities to take up arms to defend themselves.

Nigeria also suffers from attacks conducted by Boko Haram Takfiri terrorist group, which began its activities in northeastern Nigeria in 2009. It has spread them into the neighboring countries of Niger, Chad, and Cameroon.

France: Bomb attack injures 13 in Lyon

25, May 2019

France: Bomb attack injures 13 in Lyon 0

A bomb attack has wounded at least 13 people in France’s southeastern city of Lyon.

The attack took place on a pedestrian street in the heart of Lyon around 5:30 pm local time on Friday, French officials said.

French Interior Ministry officials initially said eight people had been wounded, but police sources later put the number of the casualties at 13. None of the injured people were in a life-threatening condition.

French President Emmanuel Macron was starting a live address as news of the blast broke. “My thoughts are with the injured,” he said.

Police sources and local Mayor Denis Broliquier said police forces were looking for a suspected suitcase bomber.

The partially masked suspect was captured on security video arriving at the scene by bicycle before leaving a case in front of a bakery shortly before the blast took place.

The Paris anti-terrorism prosecutor launched an investigation into the incident, with police treating the blast as attempted homicide, according to law-enforcement officials.

France experienced its worst terrorist attack on November 13, 2015, when seven sites in and around the French capital of Paris were targeted. A total of 130 people were killed and hundreds more were injured in shootings and bombings.

Also in July 2016, a man deliberately plowed his truck through a Bastille Day crowd in the French city of Nice, killing 84 people and wounding 200 others. An 85th victim died later in hospital.

Source: Presstv

UK: Corbyn calls for ‘immediate general election’ after PM steps down

25, May 2019

UK: Corbyn calls for ‘immediate general election’ after PM steps down 0

Britain’s opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn has called for an “immediate general election” after British Prime Minister Theresa May announced her resignation in the aftermath a deadlock with parliament over her negotiated Brexit deal with the European Union.

Corbyn said in a tweet on Friday that May was “right to resign” as prime minister and whoever replaced her as leader of the Conservative Party had to call an election.

“Theresa May is right to resign. She’s now accepted what the country’s known for months: she can’t govern, and nor can her divided and disintegrating party,” Corbyn said. “Whoever becomes the new Tory leader must let the people decide our country’s future, through an immediate General Election.”

In an emotional statement outside Downing Street on Friday, the British premier confirmed her resignation on June 7, following a cabinet revolt over her Brexit plan and the repeated delay of the EU Withdrawal Agreement Bill (WAB).

PressTV-British PM May steps down amid Brexit turmoil

In an online statement, Corbyn also gave a scathing account of the current state of affairs in Britain and stressed the need for a snap general election.

 “The Conservative Party has utterly failed the country over Brexit and is unable to improve people’s lives or deal with their most pressing needs. Parliament is deadlocked and the Conservatives offer no solutions to the other major challenges facing our country,” the opposition Labour Party leader said.

“Whoever becomes the new Conservative leader must let the people decide our country’s future, through an immediate General Election,” he added

“The last thing the country needs is weeks of more Conservative infighting followed by yet another unelected Prime Minister,” Corbyn concluded.

May’s resignation comes as Britain’s looming departure from the 28-member bloc looks even more difficult, with some suggesting a hard or “no-deal” Brexit is now almost inevitable.

The leading contenders to succeed the British premier all favor a tougher divorce deal although the EU has ruled out the renegotiation of the WAB, which was sealed in November.

Key reactions to May’s resignation

The European Union said the resignation failed to change the bloc’s position on the Brexit withdrawal deal agreed with Britain.

EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker noted May’s decision “without personal joy,” a spokeswoman said, adding that the council of EU leaders has “set out its position” on the Brexit deal.

The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said in a tweet that he “would like to express my full respect for @theresa_may and for her determination, as Prime Minister, in working towards the #UK’s orderly withdrawal from the EU.”

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar warned that May’s resignation is fraught with dangers for Ireland because her successor could take Britain out of the EU without a deal.

“British politics is consumed by Brexit and will be consumed by Brexit for a very long time. It means that we now enter a new phase when it comes to Brexit, and a phase that may be a very dangerous one for Ireland,” Varadkar said.

French President Emmanuel Macron hailed May for her “courageous work” in seeking to implement Brexit in the interests of her country while showing respect for Britain’s European partners.

But the Elysee said in a statement that “the principles of the EU will continue to apply, with the priority on the smooth functioning of the EU, and this requires a rapid clarification. At a time of an important choice, votes of rejection that do not offer an alternative project will lead to an impasse.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel noted May’s decision “with respect,” and said they shared a “good and trusting” working relationship.

Pledging to keep working with May in the same spirit as long as she is in office, Merkel noted Berlin “wishes to maintain close cooperation and a close relationship with the British government.”

Declining to comment on how the resignation could affect Brexit, Merkel said “the development depends essentially on domestic political developments in Britain.”

US President Donald Trump speaks to the press before departing the White House in Washington, DC, on May 24, 2019. (Photo by AFP)

US President Donald Trump, who had repeatedly criticized May in recent months for her handling of Brexit, said he felt sorry for the British prime minister after three years of turmoil surrounding her country’s “Brexit” from the European Union.

“I feel badly for Theresa. I like her very much. She is a good woman,” Trump told reporters on the White House lawn as he prepared to set off on a trip to Japan. “She’s a good woman. She worked very hard. She’s very strong.”

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the EU would never reopen negotiations on the Brexit divorce deal, regardless of who succeeds May.

“The withdrawal agreement is not up for renegotiation,” Rutte told a news conference.

Madrid warned that a no-deal Brexit appeared almost inevitable.

“Under these circumstances, a hard Brexit appears to be a reality that is near impossible to stop,” Spanish government spokeswoman Isabel Celaa told reporters, adding that the British government and parliament would be “solely responsible for a no-deal exit (from the EU) and its consequences”.

Source: Presstv

UK: Prime Minister Theresa May announces resignation, sparking leadership race

24, May 2019

UK: Prime Minister Theresa May announces resignation, sparking leadership race 0

British Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday said she would quit, triggering a contest that will bring a new leader to power who is likely to push for a more decisive Brexit divorce deal. May set out a timetable for her departure: She will resign as Conservative Party leader on June 7 with a leadership contest in the following week.

“I will resign as leader of the Conservative and Unionist party on Friday, 7 June so that a successor can be chosen,” May said outside 10 Downing Street. With her voice breaking up with emotion, May, who endured crises and humiliation in her effort to find a compromise Brexit deal that parliament could ratify, said she bore no ill will. “I will shortly leave the job that has been the honour of my life to hold,” May said. “The second female prime minister, but certainly not the last.” Who will succeed Theresa May? “I do so with no ill will but with enormous and enduring gratitude to have had the opportunity to serve the country I love,” May said.

May, once a reluctant supporter of EU membership, who won the top job in the turmoil that followed the 2016 Brexit vote, steps down with her central pledges — to lead the United Kingdom out of the bloc and heal its divisions — unfulfilled. May bequeaths a deeply divided country and a political elite that is deadlocked over how, when or whether to leave the EU.

She said her successor would need to find a consensus in parliament on Brexit. May’s departure will deepen the Brexit crisis as a new leader is likely to want a more decisive split, raising the chances of a confrontation with the European Union and a snap parliamentary election. The leading contenders to succeed May all want a tougher divorce deal, although the EU has said it will not renegotiate the Withdrawal Treaty it sealed in November. Sterling reversed initial gains it made on May’s resignation. (REUTERS)

US charges WikiLeaks founder Assange with espionage

24, May 2019

US charges WikiLeaks founder Assange with espionage 0

The US Justice Department has charged WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange with espionage by publishing hundreds of thousands of secret military and diplomatic files about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Justice Department said Thursday that Assange had violated the US Espionage Act by conspiring with and assisting ex-Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning in obtaining access to classified information.

Assange faces a maximum sentence of 175 years in prison in the US if convicted of all the charges against him.

“These unprecedented charges demonstrate the gravity of the threat the criminal prosecution of Julian Assange poses to all journalists in their endeavor to inform the public about actions that have been taken by the US government,” said Barry Pollack, an American attorney for Assange.

The Justice Department said Assange aided and encouraged Manning with the theft of classified materials.

Manning was arrested in May 2010 and convicted by court martial in 2013 of espionage in connection with the 2010 Wikileaks disclosures.

The US President Barack Obama reduced Manning’s sentence to 7 years from 35 years, but she is now in jail after repeatedly refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating Assange.

PressTV-Assange’s belongings handed over to US

Assange is now fighting extradition to the United States, after Ecuador in April revoked his seven-year asylum in the country’s embassy in London.

He was arrested on April 11 by British police as he left the embassy.

He is now serving a 50-week sentence in a London jail for skipping bail when he fled to the Ecuadorean embassy in 2012.

Under extradition rules, the United States had only a 60-day window from the date of Assange’s arrest in London to add more charges. After that, foreign governments do not generally accept superseding charges.

Legal experts say the decision to charge Assange with espionage crimes is unusual since most cases involving the theft of classified information have targeted government employees, like Manning, and not the people who publish the information itself.

Following Assange’s arrest, prosecutors in Sweden re-opened a criminal investigation into allegations that Assange sexually assaulted a woman during a visit to Stockholm. Swedish authorities recently sent British authorities a fresh request for Assange’s extradition.

The decision regarding which country should have its chance to prosecute him first is now in the hands of UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid.

Source: Presstv

Cameroonian scientist champions African-led research

24, May 2019

Cameroonian scientist champions African-led research 0

For Professor Torimiro, her research journey started years ago in the rainforests of Cameroon where she observed how hunter-gatherers live in close proximity to animals. At the time, she was among the first Cameroonian scientists to study zoonoses — disease or infections that are transmissible from animals to humans.

After years of study and postdoctoral research in clinical biochemistry and applied molecular biology in Nigeria, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, she returned to her country Cameroon, to support the national health system, teach and train health workers, and research infectious diseases that pose a risk to women and children.

From an assistant researcher to senior scientist

Since her return home in the 1990s, Professor Torimiro has helped create four health research institutions in Cameroon.

As Chair of the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Yaoundé I, she is a key figure in building academic capacities in molecular biology in her country and shaping Cameroon’s next generation of scientists. The research carried out by her students cuts across the use of molecular techniques to identify disease-associated genes to AIDS, hepatitis B, cancer, diabetes, fibroids and cardiovascular diseases. 

“Research output drives health policy and therefore patient management and care. In other words, responsible conduct in research yields reliable and accurate data that could be used for policy change,” she explains.

Professor Torimiro says that Cameroonian scientists are increasingly able to conduct research to international standards, thanks to better access to tools, facilities and training.

“Since I returned to Cameroon in 2005, I have done all my laboratory work in Cameroon without having to take a single specimen to Europe or the USA. This is a giant step in terms of capacity-building and retaining talents in Africa.”

Research that responds to health challenges

Professor Torimiro is driven by an interest in operational research because “research output, especially in low- and middle-income countries, is only useful and meaningful if it responds to the health challenges of the population,” she says.

While HIV diagnosis is routinely performed in health facilities in her country, early diagnosis and quality control remain a challenge. That is why she supports system-wide improvements. 

She is proud to have participated in a multi-disciplinary research group dealing with early infant diagnosis of HIV infection of children born to HIV-positive mothers and was instrumental to the creation of the national programme on this work, a key component of the National AIDS Treatment Programme. She later built capacities among health workers through international seminars on good clinical laboratory practice in the management of HIV/AIDS and co-infection of AIDS and hepatitis B patients.

“I wanted to transfer technical know-how, skills and competencies in research to gather evidence from populations in Cameroon that would make policy change possible in the diagnosis and treatment of HIV/AIDS.” 

Professor Torimiro also leads a group of physicians, biologists, public health experts, career scientists and policymakers (including from Cameroon, Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom) to research hepatitis B in pregnant and breastfeeding women and its impact on mother and child health. The aim is to improve cost-effective early diagnosis of hepatitis B infection among infants born to hepatitis B-infected mothers.

Women supporting women

Ever since her very first grant back in 1994, Professor Torimiro has dedicated herself to addressing the problems of AIDS, cancers and hepatitis among poor women in rural areas of Cameroon. 

For her outstanding achievements in maternal health, she received in 1999 the Award for Women’s Health from the Commonwealth. 

“I personally sponsored many screening campaigns for cervical and breast cancer, as well as free screening for HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C,” she says.

This initiative was supported by national authorities and in particular the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and the Family, and involves various women’s associations in Cameroon. She also trains and mentors junior female scientists in health research.

“I was and still am motivated to study how viruses move from a pregnant woman to her fetus and the differential clinical outcomes for the infant,” she says, confirming that her work aims to help women suffering from sexually transmitted diseases (syphilis, gonorrhea, HIV and hepatitis B).

Professor Torimiro says she has seen a big change in the success of treating sexually transmitted diseases among rural women in her country. More women are assertive in addressing sexually transmitted infections and are committed to engage in addressing them.

What more needs to be done? Integrate early diagnosis of other bloodborne pathogens (such as hepatitis B virus that can be transmitted from mother-to-child) among pregnant women into routine antenatal care services, and for free.

Source: WHO

Cameroonian Envoy Says First Russia-Africa Summit May Reignite Business Interest In Continent

24, May 2019

Cameroonian Envoy Says First Russia-Africa Summit May Reignite Business Interest In Continent 0

The first Russia-Africa summit this fall will hopefully increase Russian business presence on the continent, the Cameroonian ambassador to Russia, Mahamat Paba Sale, said on Thursday. “We count on this enterprise because, thanks to this event, Russian enterprises that are already present on our continent will further deepen their presence. They will be more interested in the African continent,” he said at a reception at the Russian Foreign Ministry dedicated to Africa Day.

The summit will be held in the Russian resort of Sochi in October. The diplomat said he expected it to be widely covered in Russian media, which will bring African countries back into spotlight.

Russia and Cameroon share a 55-year history of diplomatic ties. As part of their cooperation program, Russia gave free university education to 35 Cameroonians in 2017-2018.

“Students in other countries cannot receive such serious training in such favorable conditions. Therefore, we would like to thank Russia in particular for this,” the ambassador said.

Russia and Cameroon will hold a high-level inter-parliamentary meeting in 2019. The diplomat said there would be time to discuss a wide range of issues at this year’s events.

Source: Urdupoint

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