Monthly Archives: September 2017
US: 8 killed, 2 injured in Texas shooting
Police in the US state of Texas have shot dead a man after he opened fire on people at a party, killing seven. The shooting took place in Plano, a suburb north of Dallas on Sunday night, when the victims held a football watching party. Neighbors on the block told local media that they had heard 30 gunshots.
David Tilley, a spokesman for the Plano Police Department, said the shooter was killed by the first responding officer after an exchange of gunfire. The officer was not injured.
“After he heard the gunshots, he made entry and that’s when he observed several victims inside and then engaged the suspect,” he told a local paper.
Seven people were found dead in the Plano home. Two additional shooting victims were taken to a local hospital. Their condition was unknown.
“We’re trying to put all the puzzle pieces together,” Tilley said. There was no information yet on the relationship between the suspect and the victims. Local media reports that the shooting occurred at a Dallas Cowboys viewing party could not be confirmed either.
It is estimated that there are between 270 million and 300 million guns in the US, about one per person. According to Gun Violence Archive, over 10,000 people have been killed and more than 21,500 more injured in more than 43,000 gun-related incidents across the US this year.
Source: Presstv
FECAFOOT: Barrister Happi takes command
Barrister Happi Yamdje Dieudonne is the one heading the new Normalisation Committee of FECAFOOT for the next six months.
The 66-year old was designated on Friday the 8th of September 2017 by a four man joint CAF/FIFA delegates. The renowned Barrister-at-Law was designated after a three day CAF/FIFA mission to Cameroon following a decision by FIFA on the 23rd August 2017 to create a Normalisation Committee.
He was installed alongside Barrister Marcelle Denise Ambono, the Vice President.
Other members of the Committee are;
Maurice Bellet Edimo
Dr.Abdou Oumerou
Njomo Kelvin.
Their assignment includes; Running the daily affairs of FECAFOOT.
Drafting a new statutes in consultation with stakeholders and in compliance with FIFA’s Statutes and; in conformity with national law.
Review the statutes of the regional and departmental leagues and ensure their alignment with the FECAFOOT statutes;
Identity the delegates of the FECAFOOT general assembly, the regional and departmental leagues.
Organise and conduct elections of a new FECAFOOT executive committee. The five man team has been put in place to lay to rest the continuous problems plaguing football in Cameroon.
Source: CRTV
Trump’s long-time bodyguard, confidant to leave White House
US President Donald Trump’s long-time bodyguard and confidant Keith Schiller will leave the White House after working for Trump for nearly two decades.
Schiller, the Director of Oval Office Operations, announced his departure on Friday, saying, “Today is not my last day.”
“It will be great to look back on in 10-15 years” he told AFP, noting that although “it’s historic,” government work was maybe “not for me.”
Schiller said that he would return to Florida where he would rejoin the private security industry.
According to the New York Times and CNN, Schiller, a gangly former New York Police Department detective, made the decision, in part, for financial reasons.
Schiller joined the Trump Organization in the late 1990s. In 2004, he started working as the head of security at Trump Tower in Manhattan and has been Trump’s bodyguard ever since.
Trump has had a close relationship with Schiller who has been one of the only aides whom the president trusts completely outside of his family members.
His departure would be the latest in a series of White House staff changes. In August, chief strategist Steve Bannon was fired by Trump and adviser Sebastian Gorka resigned from his post.
Gorka resigned following the president’s inflammatory remarks about a violent incident in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this month.
On August 12, a man linked to white supremacist groups ran over a group of counter-protesters during a gathering of white nationalists in Charlottesville, killing one woman and injuring some 20 others.
Trump stirred a firestorm by refusing to blame the violence on white supremacists and saying that both sides were at fault.
His flip-flopping on Charlottesville prompted a wave of resignations on two high-profile White House advisory boards, leading Trump to officially disband both.
Every member of the White House arts committee also resigned over the issue.
Amnesty says Central African Republic has faced ‘horrific surge’ in violence
Amnesty International says the Central African Republic (CAR) has witnessed a “horrific surge” in violence that is now clearly along sectarian lines.
Rebels in a volatile region of the country are raping women and killing their male relatives, Amnesty said in a report on Friday.
The report cited accounts by survivors in the eastern prefecture of Basse-Kotto, where a rebel group known as the UPC, an offshoot of the mainly Muslim Seleka rebel alliance, has been responsible for a series attacks.
Joanne Mariner, the senior crisis response adviser at Amnesty, said civilians “are direct targets” in the conflict, condemning the performance of the UN peacekeeping force in protecting them. “If the UN’s mandate in the Central African Republic is to mean anything, civilians must be better protected,” she said.
The Central African Republic has been the scene of deadly violence due to political instability since March 2003, when General Francois Bozize overthrew former President Ange-Felix Patasse in a coup. The bloodshed deteriorated when the Seleka alliance overthrew Bozize from power.
Bozize’s ouster caused deadly reprisal attacks between the Seleka rebels and the Christian militia known as anti-Balaka.
The United Nations has 12,350 troops and police on the ground to help protect civilians and support the government of President Faustin-Archange Touadera, whose election last year helped significantly contain the inter-communal violence.
International observers warn that the country is now approaching the levels of violence seen at the height of the conflict in 2014. The latest violence has engulfed parts of the country that were largely calm during the worst time of the earlier conflict.
Trump says US military strike would be ‘a very sad day for North Korea’
A US military strike against North Korea would be “a very sad day for North Korea,” President Donald Trump has said.
Speaking at a news conference in the White House in Washington, DC, on Thursday, Trump said a military action against Pyongyang is still on the table while said that “nothing’s inevitable.”
“Military action would certainly be an option. Is it inevitable? Nothing’s inevitable. It would be great if something else could be worked out,” he said.
Trump added that if the United States has to a military action against Pyongyang, “It will be a very sad day for North Korea.”
“I would prefer not going the route of the military, but it’s something certainly that could happen. Our military has never been stronger,” he added.
Trump stated since his inauguration he has increased military spending, saying that “each day, new equipment is delivered, new and beautiful equipment, the best in the world, the best anywhere in the world by far. Hopefully, we’re not going to have to use it on North Korea.”
Trump told Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Sunday that the US is ready to use the “full range” of capabilities, including nuclear arsenal, at its disposal in dealing with North Korea, after the country conducted a test of a hydrogen bomb that could be placed on an intercontinental ballistic missile.
In his earlier remarks, Trump warned that North Korea would face “fire and fury” should it continue to threaten the United States.
North Korea on Sunday announced it had conducted a “successful” hydrogen bomb test, hours after two tremors were detected in the country.
“The hydrogen bomb test was a perfect success,” North Korean state television said, adding that the device was capable of being loaded onto long-range missiles.
The North Korean broadcaster said the nuclear test had an “unprecedentedly large power,” and that it “marked a very significant occasion in attaining the final goal of completing the state nuclear force.”
“We are still assessing that test,” a senior Trump administration official said while speaking on condition of anonymity. “So far there is nothing inconsistent with the North Korean claim that this was a hydrogen bomb, but we don’t have a conclusive view on it yet.”
North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un has ordered the production of more rocket warheads and engines, shortly after the United States suggested that its threats of military action and sanctions were having an impact on Pyongyang’s behavior.
Source: Presstv
Togo has shut down the internet to counter anti-government protests
Togo is the latest African nation to shut down access to the internet after protests against president Faure Gnassingbé were scheduled to take place this week. Internet users and demonstrators in the West African country have reported access to the internet had slowed down or been blocked by the government. This was confirmed by Koffi Inoussa Ayibo, president of the Togolese branch of Internet Without Borders, who said the NGO found internet connectivity had been cut off on WhatsApp, Facebook, and, later, all mobile internet services after conducing a series of tests.
On Twitter, some activists said they were headed to the Ghanaian border to use the country’s internet and voice their criticism of Gnassingbé, whose family has ruled the west African nation for 50 years.
Over the last three weeks, demonstrations have swept through Togo as the opposition party, Le Parti National Panafricain (PNP), called for the return of the 1992 constitution which guarantees multi-party elections and a two-term limit for the head of state. The terms of the constitution were changed by the president’s father, Eyadéma Gnassingbé, to allow him to run for a third term in 2002, three years before his death.
On Aug. 19, the minister of security said two people were killed and 13 injured after security forces unleashed teargas and gunshots on a group of demonstrators in Sokode, about three and a half hours outside the capital Lomé. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), chaired by Gnassingbé, has yet to release a statement on the protests.
In the last few years, African countries have used internet shutdowns and curfews to stifle dissent and enforce law and order. One of the big concerns is the use of social media tools to organize anti-government protests.
Last year, as many as 11 African countries shut down internet access ahead of elections and anti-government protests. In Gabon and the Gambia, internet was shut down during and after elections while, Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo closed off internet access ahead of anti-government demonstrations.
This year, Cameroon imposed a 93-day internet blackout on the country’s Anglophone regions which spoke out their marginalization by the French-speaking government. The blackout lasted for 93 days, despite international criticism.
Source: Quartz media
La Republique: Divisional Officers allowed high-powered guns
The Biya Francophone regime has made available handguns to some fifty administrative authorities in the East region. The divisional officers received the French made weapons on the 24th of August during a ceremony organised by the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation.
The MINAT boss revealed that President Biya decided to provide the heads of administrative units with a means of defending themselves in an environment marked by the rise of insecurity and great banditry. Automatic pistols were dished out to all the 33 sub-prefects, some few trusted CPDM district assistants, the four Senior Divisional Officers of Boumba and Ngoko, Haut Nyong, Kadey, and Lom-et-Djerem and above all, the governor of the East Region.
The civil administrators were summoned to a firing centre in Mandjou on August 24 to familiarise themselves with the handling of the weapons. Under the supervision of Colonel Ongolo Jean Joachim, Commander of the Bertoua Military Sector No. 8, the instructors gave the authorities concerned theoretical and practical advice on the use of the pistol.
From now on, these administrative authorities will be able to face, if necessary, armed groups operating in the East region especially in Bertoua, the capital.
By Sonne Peter
Cameroon Intelligence Report
Dublin: Swords Centre stir emotions at African Chaplaincy 10th anniversary celebrations
The African Chaplaincy in the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin has celebrated its 10th anniversary in an event that made the city of Dublin to become the nucleus of a thriving Roman Catholic festival energized by the indefatigable choral group from Swords Centre. A great Eucharistic celebration led by the Most Rev. Diarmuid Martin, the Archbishop of Dublin provided part of the 10th anniversary’s focus that preceded a rich choral nite.
Highlights of the historic evening witnessed the return of regular performers from St Peter’s Phibsboro, Blanchardstown Centre, Balbriggan Centre, Tallaght Centre and Lucan/Clondalkin. But it was the angelic voices from Swords Center and the African Chaplaincy Choir that stole the show.
Under their conductor Comfort Chima, the Swords Centre Choir has become one of the leading collegiate choirs deep within the African Chaplaincy with a growing pedigree of performance that include an emphasis on African gospel music.
“What makes these young choral scholars in Swords Centre so special is not just the diversity of their repertoire but the quality of their singing, and with only about 12 voices they are able to sound twice that number,” noted the Chairman of the Swords Centre, Sir Paul Uzo.
Quality and diversity were both heard in abundance during the various presentations in front of the mammoth crowd that turned out at Westmanstown Hotel under the direct supervision of Fr. Cornelius Nwaogwugwu, the spiritual leader and chaplain.
Protocol officers African Chaplaincy
But the Choir from Swords Centre made light of the low Cs, the multi-layered vocal lines, micro-tones and glissandi and, much to their credit, competed brilliantly with all that came from the other centers’. Added to this feat they sang in a typical Roman Catholic tradition. The theme of Christ Our Joy concluded the long evening and the near-capacity audience responded with enthusiasm.
To the glory of God, the African Chaplaincy has continued to grow from strength to strength and in the words of the Most Rev.Diarmuid Martin, the Archbishop of Dublin “Has recorded great improvements in the celebration of spiritual events aimed at bringing the African Community to worship together and deepen their faith.”
Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai
Cameroon Intelligence Report
Dublin, Ireland
Angola: Ailing Eduardo dos Santos taking steps to smooth transition of power
The former minister of defense, José Lourenço is now the new leader of Angola, succeeding President José Eduardo dos Santos after a controversial victory of the ruling Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) in the parliamentary elections.
On Wednesday, the Angolan National Electoral Commission (CNE) confirmed the overwhelming victory obtained by the MPLA credited with 61.07% of the vote in the August 23 elections. According to the final results proclaimed by the president of the CNE, the party obtained an absolute majority of 150 of the 220 parliamentary seats.
The country’s two main parties, the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (Unita) and Casa-CE, receive 26.67% and 9.54% of the votes with 51 and 16 deputies respectively. The SFN and the FNLA share the last 3 seats of the new Parliament.
According to the constitution, former Defense Minister Joao Lourenço, 63, becomes the new President of Angola, succeeding Eduardo Dos Santos as Angola’s president for thirty-eight years. His inauguration will take place on September 25th. After ten years of oil boom, Angola has suffered for three years a serious crisis, due to the drop in the prices of black gold, its main source.
By Chi Prudence Asong
Cameroon Intelligence Report