News

Pan African conference on pensions opens in Yaounde

30/07/2016

Experts from 15 African countries are taking part in a Pan African Zone Conference on Social Insurance in Yaounde. Prime Minister Philemon Yang participated in the opening ceremony of the conference.

During the three-day conclave, the forum will be discussing ways of reforming pension schemes. The Permanent Secretary of the organization, Noel Alain Mekulu Mvondo, said the meeting will seek ways of changing the conception of retirement as a dreaded period.

Noel Alain Mekulu hinted that the exchanges will also include ways of providing retirees with psychological and physical forms of support.

CRTV

Another former GM of CRTV arrested in Yaounde

30/07/2016

Amadou Vamoulké, the former general manager of CRTV has been was arrested by plain cloth police officers at his home in Yaoundé, Cameroon Intelligence Report has learned. Sacked on June the 29th after spending 11 years at the head of CRTV, Amadou Vamoulké has been detained at the Kondengui Central prison in Yaounde. The former GM has now joined Gervais Mendo Ze his predecessor who has been in Kondengui prison ever since November 2014, on charges of embezzlement.

Prosecutors at the Special Criminal Court have accused the former GM of CRTV of embezzlement of slightly more than 2.8 billion CFA francs, corresponding to the cash deficit upon his arrival at the head of the state owned cooperation. He has always denied the charges.

Sama Ernest (Cameroon Intelligence Report)

Biya abandoning presidential villas inherited from late President Ahidjo

29/07/2016

All presidential resorts belonging to the Head of State President Biya located in the Adamawa Region have been abandoned. The villas were built by Mr Biya’s predecessor, the late Ahmadou Ahidjo and inaugurated in 1974. In the first villa located in the administrative district, in Ngaoundere, the courtyard of the presidential residence has been covered with grass for ages. The walls are cracked; the white color of the paint gone and several glass doors and windows shattered. The sheets of the roof are flying away and the apartment is empty.

The condition of the second villa is very disturbing and falls under emergence 2035. It is almost swallowed up by grass and some nearby trees and has no roof. The spiders that live there have carefully woven their webs. All the window protectors are missing and behind is a rusty satellite dish surrounded by herbs that apparently protect it. The third villa located opposite the headquarters of the regional station of the Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV) Adamawa is also fading away with no care and maintenance.

Chi Prudence Asong with files from Cameroon-info.net

Cameroon-Egypt Joint Committee to hold in Cairo soonest

29/07/2016

Cooperation ties between Cameroon and Egypt will in the coming days witness a bolster as both nations prepare the seventh session of the Cameroon-Egypt Joint Committee which will hold in Cairo, Egypt. Sherif Salah Eldin Elleithy, the Ambassador of Egypt to Cameroon made the declaration during celebrations marking the 64^th anniversary of the July 23, 1992 Revolution in Egypt which also serves as the country’s National Day. Senior Cameroonian government, the business community, some representatives of the diplomatic corps and Egyptians resident in Cameroon all converged on the Ambassadors, Bastos-Yaounde residence on July 27, 2016 to celebrate the National Day.

Ambassador Sherif Salah Eldin Elleithy used the occasion to declare the readiness of his country to further consolidate and enhance cooperation ties in all domains. He cited the already prospering domains of cooperation to include offering scholarships to Cameroonians on religious and scientific studies. The Ambassador also mentioned the intensification of economic and technical cooperation, lauding the trust given the Egyptian company Arab Constructors that has been carrying out some infrastructure projects in Cameroon.

Egypt, he said has been helping Cameroon handle the ever-increasing influx of refugees. He condemned all forms of terrorism, encouraged and supported Cameroon in the fight against the terrorist sect Boko Haram. He also congratulated Cameroon for its role in peacekeeping and security operations in the Central African Sub-region.

Cameroon Tribune

Foreign Minister Zarif says current visit to West Africa will open new chapter

28/07/2016

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says his current visit to West Africa will open a new chapter in cooperation between the Islamic Republic and the African nations. He made the remarks during a meeting with Guinea Prime Minister Mamady Youla in the capital Conakry where he visited Wednesday as part of a four-nation tour along with a trade delegation. Zarif described relations between Tehran and Conakry as “excellent,” saying the visit will help “open a new chapter in the two countries’ ties, particularly in the fields of economy and trade.” Iran and Guinea enjoy “good and extensive” economic cooperation in tandem with bilateral political ties, he said.

Youla, for his part, said his country seeks enhanced relations with the Islamic Republic in all areas. Zarif also met with Guinea President Alpha Conde and Foreign Minister Makale Traore. Zarif, in Guinea on the third leg of the Africa tour after visiting Nigeria and Ghana, left Conakry for Mali on Thursday. The Iranian foreign minister has already paid two official visits to Africa. He visited Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, and Tanzania in February 2015. Zarif also visited North African countries of Tunisia and Algeria in August 2015.

Iran has a significant presence in agricultural and economic projects in some African countries and has been a major contributor to humanitarian missions in the continent. The country is willing to engage deeper both politically and economically in Africa and bolster its footprints in the continent’s development following the removal of sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Presstv

Catalan lawmakers approved resolution outlining steps to form a state

28/07/2016

In direct defiance of Spain’s Constitutional Court, Catalan lawmakers have approved a resolution outlining the steps required for forming a separate state without the approval of Madrid. On Wednesday, 72 members of Catalonia’s 135-seat regional parliament approved the resolution to begin succession from Spain.

It stresses that the “only way” for Catalans to utilize their right to decide on their future is to disconnect from the rest of Spain. Following the vote, Madrid announced that it would be filing an appeal over the matter with the Constitutional Court on Friday. The resource-rich region provides at least one-fifth of Spain’s gross domestic product (GDP) and many of its residents believe they are disproportionately taxed by the government in Madrid.

Last week, Spain’s Constitutional Court ruled that the approval of such a text would be illegal. The Spanish government has repeatedly ruled out the possibility of independence for Catalonia. The Catalan pro-independence parties adopted a similar resolution on the separation process in November 2015 after winning a majority in the parliament two months earlier. Madrid declared the move unconstitutional.

In November 2014, then Catalan President Artur Mas staged a symbolic independence referendum after the government in Madrid blocked his bid to hold an official referendum. Nearly 80 percent of the 2.2 million people who took part in the vote backed secession, though the turnout was slightly more than 40 percent. Spain’s Constitutional Court immediately ruled the poll illegal.

Presstv

Nigeria: Doctors Without Borders says Northeastern region close to famine

27/07/2016

Doctors Without Borders says the violence-wracked northeastern region of Nigeria is “close” to famine and must be declared a “top emergency” by the United Nations. The charity group, also known as the MSF by its French acronym, on Wednesday urged the UN to set up emergency food transports to the area, where up to 800,000 civilians have been cut off for over a year due to the ongoing violence by the Boko Haram Takfiri militants. The MSF said a UN “top emergency” designation would immediately mobilize more resources to a crisis that has not received nearly enough attention.

Bruno Jochum, director of MSF Switzerland, told a news briefing in Geneva that a humanitarian disaster is unfolding across the region. “The situation is a large-scale humanitarian disaster…. There is a vital need to have a food pipeline in place to save the population that can be saved,” Jochum said, adding, “We are talking at least about pockets of what is close to a famine.”

MSF emergency program manager Hugues Robert also said some cities in the northeast had gone up to 18 months without any humanitarian deliveries before aid agencies and the UN arrived in June. “What was extremely shocking was the level of severe acute malnutrition,” he told reporters in Geneva after returning from Borno state, the epicenter of the Boko Haram militancy. He also said communities faced “close to a famine situation” in the troubled region.

Presstv

35 per cent of Air France cabin crew to join week-long strike action amid numerous terror attacks

27/07/2016

Flight crews at Air France were to launch a week-long strike from Wednesday after marathon talks failed on renewing a labor accord on rules, pay and promotions. The carrier said because of the stoppage, it will have to scrap 30 percent of domestic and medium-haul flights and some 10 percent of long-haul flights at the height of the busy holiday period.

Some 35 percent of Air France cabin crew, which accounts for 13,600 out of 50,000-strong workforce, is expected to join the action that is planned to continue to August 2. The company said flights to destinations in Europe, North Africa and Israel will be affected, as well as some routes in Asia and Africa.

Unions, which represent around half of the strikers, said the strike would go ahead as planned after lengthy negotiations failed to extend the labor accord which expires in October. Air France wants to limit the extension of the agreement to 17 months, whereas unions insist on extending the accord between three and five years. The carrier has been on loggerheads with unions for the past few weeks over cutting costs to better compete against lower-cost rivals.

On June 11, about a quarter of pilots in Air France went on a four-day strike, demanding that the government scrap the contentious labor reforms and guarantee better working conditions. The strike cost the airline some $44 million. Three major pilot unions called another four-day stoppage on June 24 after the airline’s management made “very vague promises” in negotiations during the previous industrial action.

The planned work stoppage by unions on Wednesday is the latest strike to hit France that has been witnessing violent protests and strikes over the Socialist government’s contentious changes to the labor law in recent months. The actions have affected rail services, power stations, oil refineries, ports and waste treatment plans. Paris says the proposed labor reforms focus on maximum working hours, holidays and breaks, and are aimed at curbing the unemployment rate.

Demonstrators and trade unions, however, say the government wants to make it easier and less costly for employers to lay off workers. The draft labor bill was forced through the lower house of parliament, but it must be debated in the Senate for final approval. French officials have rejected calls to withdraw the labor reforms and vowed to stand firm on the unpopular measures.

Presstv

Cameroon military kills 7 suspected kidnappers at Touboro

26/07/2016

The Cameroonian army have neutralized seven suspected kidnappers at Touboro. Cameroon Intelligence Report was reliably informed that the operation was led by General Frederick Djonkep to clear the motorway of bandits and kidnappers that were rampant in Touboro and Madingring, Mayo-Rey Division in the North region.

Hundreds of weapons and ammunition were also seized during the same operation. The military operation is in response to numerous cases of abductions of men, reported in recent months in the locality and attributed to unidentified armed men, sometimes presented as misguided elements of the Central African rebel groups operating near the Cameroon border.

Sama Ernest (Cameroon Intelligence Report)

First ever Nigeria-South Africa Defense seminar holds in Abuja

25/07/2016

A South African delegation led by Secretary for Defence Sam Gulube has participated in the inaugural Nigeria-South Africa Defence Industry Seminar (NIGSA) in Abuja, Nigeria. Seventeen South African companies took part in the seminar between 18 and 19 July at the National Defence College in Abuja, Nigeria, according to the Aerospace Maritime Defence Industries Association (AMD) of South Africa, which said the event showed defence cooperation is taken seriously by both nations.

“This seminar – the first of its kind for these two powerful African nations – focussed on establishing strategic partnerships with defence companies in Nigeria. South Africa looks at Nigeria as a key partner in Africa and we hope this event will increase future collaborations,” said Simphiwe Hamilton, executive director of AMD.

Besides AMD and Armscor, South African companies attending the seminar included DCD Protected Mobility, Denel Group, Turbomeca Africa, SAAB Grintek Defence, Paramount Group, Reutech Communications, CSIR, Floida Engineering Services, Integrated Convoy Protection – (REVA), Megaray Limited, Rippel Effect Systems, Twiga Services and Logistics, Thorax and Weatherhaven Africa.

“NIGSA is coming at a time when Africa was faced with serious challenges such terrorism, drug smuggling and human trafficking,” said Ambassador Danjuma Nanpon Sheni, Permanent Secretary, Nigerian Ministry of Defence. “The vital and historic seminar will examine our respective strengths, and articulate potentials between the two countries to enhance the performance and fruitful reserves to boost relations between our nations. This will ensure modernisation of defence industries in our countries and across Africa.”

In his address, South Africa’s Secretary for Defence, Dr Sam Gulube, echoed his Nigerian counterpart’s sentiments. “The defence community was of critical importance to counter global threats and to ensure peace and security for socio-economic development to flourish,” he said. “Defence plays a key role in advanced research and technologies, which broaden economic development away from a reliance on raw materials. We need to build exchange programmes and share information, as well as training and research and development,” Dr Gulube said.

The seminar stems from the first official visit of Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, in March this year to South Africa and President Jacob Zuma’s visit to Nigeria shortly thereafter, at the invitation of Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari.

At the time it was agreed that Nigeria would host the defence industry seminar, tagged Nigeria-South Africa (NIGSA) Inaugural Defence Industry Seminar, to be followed by a defence committee meeting. The meeting would focus on military technical corporation; defence exchange programmes and joint military exercises, training and research and development

Defenseweb

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