More and more people in the north of Cameroon are being displaced by unending floods. The number of people displaced has risen to over 30,000 as torrential rains continue to submerge riverbeds and surrounding settlements in a part of the country noted for its aridity. - The floods have affected over 90,000 people and at least 30 have been declared dead since September. Thousands of houses have been completely wiped out across the North and far North regions of Cameroon. The number of victims in the Far North grew quickly over the past several days from 10,000 at the weekend to more than 31,000. Kousseri on the border with Chad is the hardest hit with more than 9,000 people left homeless b…

Nigerian business mogul, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has maintained his position for the second year running as Africa's richest man as he tops Forbes Magazine's 2012 edition of Africa's 40 richest list. - He is also the 76th on the list of billionaires in the world, with a net worth of $12 billion from $10.1 billion in November 2011. According to Forbes, most of Alhaji Dangote’s net worth lies in publicly-traded Dangote Cement, which operates in 14 African countries. Nicky Oppenheimer of South Africa, again, emerged the second richest, with a $6.4 billion fortune, down $100 million from the previous year. The coveted Forbes list features 12 Nigerian business moguls, …

Four environmental activists have been arrested and detained in Cameroon. Nasako Besingi, the director of Struggle to Economise Future Environment (SEFE), was detained without charge on November 14, 2012 with three of his colleagues in the town of Mundemba in the South West region of Cameroon. - In a press release, Greenpeace International and Greenpeace Africa have expressed disgust over the arrest of environmental activists and called for their immediate release. They have also called on the Cameroonian authorities to respect the rule of law and individuals’ human rights. Besingi, it would be noted, has been a vocal and peaceful critic of the plans and working practices of US-ba…

Ndamukong Suh, who plays for Detroit Lions in the National Football League (NFL) in the United States of America, has been named Africa’s highest-paid athlete by Forbes magazine. This is contained in the magazine’s recently published ranking of world’s highest-paid athletes. - Forbes magazine names 25-year-old Suh as the 14th highest-paid athlete in the world with total earnings of $36 million including salaries/winnings of $35.5 million and $500,000 from endorsements. Ndamukong Suh is the son of Michael and Bernadette Suh. His father moved to the USA from Cameroon where he met and got married to his mother Bernadette, who equally found her way to America fro…

The publisher of one of Cameroon's private newspapers, Anecdote, Pierre Amougou Belinga, has been sued by a university don, Professor Jean Emmanuel Pondi, over a report in the newspaper alleging that the university lecturer is a homosexual. The plaintiff is suing for defamation after the newspaper carried an article describing Jean Emmanuel Pondi as a homosexual. - The case was called up at the Ekounou Court of First Instance in the Cameroonian capital, Yaounde, recently. During the second session, lawyers of the defence were questioning the rejection of two preliminary objections raised at the start of hearing. Professor Jean Emmanuel Pondi has vowed to re-establish his reputation,…

The Nigerian Islamic sect, Boko Haram, which has been wrecking havoc in West African country, is reported to have infiltrated northern Cameroon. The militants are said to have taken refuge in northern Cameroon as the Nigerian government has intensified its clampdown on them especially following their bombing of churches on Christmas Day that led to the death of over 50 persons. - Reports say members of the extremist group are more and more present in Lagdo, a cosmopolitan town in the North Region. Sources say they are easily identifiable by their bizarre dressing, long beads and red or black headscarves. According to reports, for several months, Lagdo residents have testified that the st…

The body charged with the organisation of elections in Cameroon, Elections Cameroon, ELECAM, has made public the list of 21 candidates qualified to run for the presidential election set for October 9, 2011. The board chairman of ELECAM, Dr Fonkam Samuel Azu'u made known the qualified candidates for the October presidential election during a press briefing in Yaoundé on Friday 9 September 2011. - The board during its session of last week scrutinised the nomination files of the 52 candidates and rejected 30 of them. Dr Fonkam Azu’u explained that, “30 out of the 52 candidates’ nomination files were rejected for a number of reasons such as the applications duly signed …

Two men who are currently being tried for alleged homosexuality in Yaounde were recently denied bail. Police said the men - aged 19 and 20 - were caught having oral sex in a car after visiting a nightclub in the capital, Yaounde. Their bail application was refused and they are to remain in custody at the Kondengui maximum security prison in Yaounde until the case is over. - However, human rights groups have called for the charges to be dropped. Their lawyer, Barrister Alice Nkom, disputes these charges, saying they were arrested because they looked feminine. “They were arrested because their hair was dressed like that of women. This is a crime of fashion, not homosexuality. I don…

A former Rwandan administrator, Dominique Ntawukulilyayo, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison by a United Nations war crimes court for his role in the country's 1994 genocide. Ntawukulilyayo was arrested in France in 2007 and later transferred to the U.N. detention facility in Arusha to face charges. - Prosecutors of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, based in Tanzania are quoted by VOA as saying Ntawukulilyayo, who was deputy administrator of Rwanda's southern Gisagara district, transported soldiers to an area where thousands of Tutsis had taken refuge, leaving the soldiers to carry out a mass slaughter. Hutu extremists killed an estimated 800,000 ethnic Tutsi…

Two separate highway accidents have killed 13 people over the weekend in Cameroon. Ten people slept lifeless on the highway linking the economic capital, Douala and political capital, Yaounde on Sunday when their bus crashed into a stationary truck at Sikoum near Edea. - The accident occurred at about 9:00pm on Sunday night when an unregistered bus heading towards Yaounde collided with a stationary truck loaded with timber. The impact of the shock was so immersed that eight people died on the spot while two others died on their way to the Edea District Hospital. The bus driver was said to be on top speed and did not notice the truck had been parked by the roadside until he ran into it.…

Floods that followed persistent rains have killed eight people in the locality of Pouss in Maga in the Far North Region of Cameroon. The floods also left several people wounded and homeless. The disaster occurred last Thursday while residents were asleep and swept away mud houses and trees. - The injured were hurried to two health centres in Pouss for emergency treatment and others taken to the Maga District Hospital while the very serious cases were evacuated to the Maroua District Hospital. Some of the victims died while in hospital. The heaviest material damages are reported to have been recorded in Bagassaré neighbourhood where almost all the houses were swept away by the water curren…

Cameroon's Interpol has arrested 22 Internet scammers in less than a month after the its parliament voted for a bill to set up a cyber police force to fight alarming cyber crime. The report revealed that the youth use social networks such as Facebook, Hi5 to rip-off their victims with false profiles. - The Internet fraudsters, the report said, are based in Cameroonian towns such as Bamenda, Yaounde, Limbe, Buea and Douala while in the Diaspora in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Ussuriysk in Ukraine, London in the United Kingdom, Berlin in Germany, Ivory Coast and Nigeria. Most of the scammers, who use pseudonyms, get into the profile of victims either on Facebook, Skype and other chat forums…

About eight people are reported to have been killed near Jos in northern Nigeria. Unknown attackers descended on a village on the outskirts of Jos, burning about 10 houses, early on Saturday, according to the media. Reports say the dead include the family of a priest. - Witnesses are quoted as saying the men attacked the family of Rev. Nuhu Dawat in the village of Mazah, 12km (7 miles) from the state capital of Jos, killing his wife, two children and a grandson. According to Reuters, the priest ran for his life, and later said: "I leave everything to God to judge." Plateau State Police Commissioner Gregory Anyating told Reuters the authorities were trying to find out "th…

Liberia will benefit from a US$15 million grant from the United States Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) after it recently signed an agreement with the corporation. The grant is aimed at promoting equitable access to land, improve girls' primary education enrollment and retention, and trade policy and practices. - VOA quotes Cassandra Butts, senior advisor to the CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, as saying the MCC views Liberia as a model of progress. “It means that we have determined that Liberia is now positioned to be a partner with the Millennium Challenge Corporation and the Threshold Programme. And, the Threshold Programme focuses on countries that don…

A man, Etienne Ngwa, suspected to have murdered a British gorilla expert, Dr. Warren Ymke has been arrested and incarcerated in the South West of Cameroon. According to police sources, the 30-year-old, is helping with investigations while in detention. - Dr. Warren was murdered recently at her residence in Limbe. She was attacked at about 7.30am that fateful morning after her partner Aaron Nicolas another British had left for work, It is believed the murderer, thought to be Cameroonian, hid himself in the couple’s ceiling the previous evening. When Dr Warren confronted him, he lashed out with a machete according to a domestic servant who witnessed the attack. Nicholas returned…

There are fears of an imminent and unprecedented hunger and reduced farmers' income in most parts of Cameroon particularly in the North West and South West regions as a cocoyam is spreading. The yet to be identified disease attacks colocacia leaves turning them into brownish and/or reddish colour. - This makes the process of photosynthesis in the plant impossible and therefore the manufacture of its food. The colocacia plant is an important staple food and income-earner not only for many grassroots ethnic peoples in the South West and North West regions but also for many other regions in Cameroon. The population of the Kupe-Muanenguba and Lebialem Divisions in the South West regio…

Victims of last week's fuel tanker explosion in the Democratic Republic of Congo have reportedly been buried in mass graves. At least 230 people were killed after the truck overturned and later burst into flames in the remote village of Sange, near the DRC's border with Burundi. - A local official, Jean-Claude Kibala Nkolde, is quoted as saying authorities chose mass graves because most of the bodies were burnt beyond recognition, and to keep the bodies from decomposing in the heat. Many of those killed had been trying to siphon fuel leaking from the truck, while others were gathered at nearby television halls to watch the World Cup. The Red Cross is also quoted as saying at …

The Ugandan police have arrested a pastor accused of organizing mass killings in Rwanda's 1994 genocide. Officials say Jean-Bosco Uwinkindi, who is on a UN wanted list, was detained on Wednesday 30 June 2010 after entering Uganda from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). - Uwinkindi was one of 11 suspects wanted by the U.N.'s International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, which has been prosecuting organizers of the Rwandan genocide in Arusha, Tanzania. Uwinkindi would be transferred to the tribunal soon. The international court's indictment of Uwinkindi relates a chilling sequence of alleged crimes by the pastor. Near the start of Rwanda's 1994 genocide, Uwinkin…

Angola's capital city Luanda has replaced Tokyo as the most expensive city in the world for US expatriates according to the latest Cost of Living Survey from Mercer. Tokyo is in second position, while Ndjamena (Chad) is now in third place. The survey's table of the world's 50 most expensive cities includes 10 from Africa. - After Luanda there are Tokyo, Japan; N’Djamena, Chad; Moscow, Russia; Geneva, Switzerland; Osaka, Japan; Libreville, Gabon, Hong Kong together tied with Zurich in Switzerland and Copenhagen, Denmark. It is worth noting that for the first time three of the top 10 most expensive cities, according to the survey, are found in Africa. The Mercer sur…

A study carried out by a coalition of over 20 civil society organisations known in French as "Coalition Protegions nos enfants" has revealed that over 4000 children between the ages of 9-13 years in Cameroon are victims of child trafficking for sexual gains. - The report of the study presented to the press in a public show in Yaoundé on 1 June 2010 revealed that these 4000 girls are victims exploited by 336 people in a network which pays about FCFA 12 million ($22,049) a day. It paints the picture of one of the most distressing societal ills and human rights abuses in the country and brings to glare the extent to which abject poverty can push parents to blight the lives of their…

Some 150 dead bodies abandoned at the Lanquintinie Hospital in the economic capital of Cameroon - Douala - would be given mass burial if relatives do not come for them, hospital authorities threaten. The general public has until 30 October 2009 to identify and claim their family members. - The Director of the hospital Dr Jeremie Solle said the corpses have been with the hospital for months and years. He served notice that after the deadline they would be handed over to the Douala City Council for mass burial. Dr Solle said the move is to help ease congestion at the hospital mortuary because most of the corpses have been there since 2007. Hospital sources told AfricaNews that most of t…

Several Central African countries will benefit from a $215 million World Bank backbone programme to bring reliable, high-speed, low-cost internet access to the region for the first time. It said recently that Cameroon, Chad and the Central African Republic will take part in the initial $26.2 million phase. - Meanwhile, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, and Sudan can also participate in the programme. The 10-year programme is being supported through a partnership between the World Bank Group and the African Development Bank. The Director of Global Information and Communications Technologies, Mohsen Khali…

Eleven people are feared dead in Cameroon after a boat coming in from Nigeria capsized at sea on the coast of Cameroon. The boat is said to have had 16 people on board. Five people were rescued after a distress call by fishermen who witnessed the incident. This leaves at least 11 people missing or dead. - The boat is said to have left Nigeria Saturday but was caught up in a storm and the huge waves pushed the vessel towards a stone on which it crashed. The four survivors are said to be taking refuge in Debunscha, in South West Cameroon. The local folks said they hope to see some corpse washed ashore in the coming days.

Bishops in Cameroon have expressed disdain against the imminent legalization of abortion and homosexuality following the country's ratification of the Maputo Protocol permitting States to legalize homosexuals and abortion. They are calling on the general public to protest against the move. - In a declaration at the end of their 34th Plenary Assembly in Yaounde, the Bishops disagreed vehemently with Cameroon's ratification of the law, calling on Cameroonians to categorically say no to it. Christian Cardinal Tumi told the press that the Bishops will in the days ahead organize a protest march throughout the national territory to show their indignation and disillusionment with the …

Jean-Pierre Bemba, the former vice president of the DR Congo, is to face war-crimes charges in front of the International Criminal Court for alleged atrocities committed from October 2002 to March 2003, the court ruled on Monday. He faces three counts of war crimes and two against humanity. - According to the ICC the charges relate to the actions of his troops in neighboring Central African Republic. The troops have been accused of rape, murder and pillaging. However, Bemba has refuted the charges. He claimed the troops were not under his command after they had crossed the border. Bemba led a rebel movement during DR Congo's long civil war but became vice-president under a peace dea…

The Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT) together with the Minister of Sports and Physical Education, Augustin Edjoa, has appointed Thomas Nkono as interim head coach of that country's national soccer team, the Indomitable Lions. His appointment comes few days after the resignation of Otto Pfister. - The 54-year-old former Indomitable Lions goalkeeper is expected to lead the college of coaches appointed last month to lead the Indomitable Lions through the 2010 World Cup and African Cup of Nations competitions. Nkono is perceived as the greatest goalkeeper the Indomitable Lions have ever had. He played three matches at the World Cup in 1982 and five at the World Cup in 1990. Thomas…

Eight hundred civil servants in Cameroon have been sacked for using fake certificates to secure their jobs. The revelation follows orders from President Paul Biya a month ago to the head of civil service to probe all certificates being used by civil servants. Most Cameroonians welcomed the news. - President Biya ordered the investigations after 102 pupil gendarmes were dismissed for using fake certificates to sit an entrance examination into the national gendarmerie. According to Cameroon’s Minister of Public Service and Administrative Reform, Emmanuel Bonde, the ongoing recruitment of former part time workers is plagued with irregularities. Out of the 17,558 applicants for recruitm…

The African Development Bank has offered a loan of FCFA 156 billion (USD 321,233,555) to Cameroon for the development of road infrastructure and potable water in the country. The first ADB loan worth FCFA 128 billion is destined for a Cameroon/ Nigeria highway project which has been in the pipeline. - The loan shall finance, among other projects, the construction and develop of a 90km stretch from Enugu in Nigeria to Batchia and Bamenda in Cameroon. The second loan agreement signed between the ADB and Cameroon worth FCFA 28 billion (USD 57,634,913) shall finance the provision of potable water in some rural areas in the country. The loan was signed on the sidelines of the African Develo…

Democratic Republic of Congo's TP Mazembe beat Morocco's Al Ittihad 1-0 in the third round first leg of the African Champions League on Sunday in Lubumbashi, DR Congo. On the 28th minute of the match, striker Mputu Mabi was brought down in the box resulting in a penalty which was scored by Dioko Kaluyituka. - But the visitors protested the decision which resulted in play being stopped for more than five minutes. Meanwhile, reigning champions Al Ahly of Egypt were held to a 1-1 draw by Nigeria's Kano Pillars in Kaduna on Saturday. Pillars, who drafted in a Slovenian coach in the run up to the game, opened the scoring on the half-hour through Victor Namo. They maintaine…

The trial of former Congolese renegade army General Laurent Nkunda has begun on Friday in the Rwanda border town of Gisenyi near the DRC. However, political pundits have questioned the rationale behind Kigali's decision to prosecute the former rebel leader whose insurgency was mainly within the DRC. - Nkunda was captured early this year after he crossed the border into Rwanda while trying to escape after a joint Rwanda-Congolese military storm the area of his operation. The Rwandan government has so far refused DRC’s request to extradite Nkunda so that he may stand trial in the DRC. The renegade General’s trial raises a lot of controversy and observers are worry as t…

Cameroon's Barcelona goal getter, Samuel Eto'o Fils, and Ivory Coast's Chelsea striker, Didier Drogba, will clash for supremacy when their clubs lock horns in one of the semi-final games of this year's European Champions League. - The two European giants eased their way to the last four after recording respective draws in pulsating return leg quarterfinal games. Barcelona, the La Liga leaders, pulled a 1-1 draw with Bayern Munich in Germany to sail through on a 5-1 aggregate following their 4-0 first leg home win while Chelsea begged a 4-4 home draw with Liverpool to progress on a 7-5 aggregate. They had earlier beaten Liverpool 3-1 in the first leg game a week earlie…

At least 20 people are reported to have been killed in the capital of the Central African Republic after fighting erupted between farmers and traders at a cattle market. Reports say several others were also injured after arguments as to who owned some livestock on sale in the capital, Bangui. - The country’s Social Affairs Minister, Bernadette Sayo, is quoted by Reuters news agency as saying: “Cracked heads, slit throats, bodies with arrows in them, others riddled with bullets, hacked by machetes. I've never seen anything like it in my life." The cattle are reported to have been brought to the market to return to the owners after they were recovered from bandits who …

A delegation from the European Parliamentary Forum, EPF, has called on the government of Cameroon to ensure transparency, good governance and judicious use of funds donated for the fight against malaria if Cameroon continuously needs funding. The EDF members were on a study tour to that country. - The call was made recently during a press conference, marking the end of a follow-up study tour of Cameroon by some six Members of Parliament from Belgium, Spain, Finland, Romania, France, and Spain, journalists and the authorities of Cameroon Coalition Against Malaria (CCAM) at the CCAM headquarters in Bastos, Yaounde. Talking to pressmen, Katia Della Faille, the MP of the Liberal Party in the …

Togo has beaten Cameroon in the final round of qualifiers for the World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations in 2010. The lone goal of the match came at the 11th minute through popular striker Emmanuel Adebayor. - Togo now leads Group A of the qualifiers. Adebayor was a late inclusion in the team and was making his return to action after some time out with injury. The win gives Togo hope of emulating their achievement of qualifying for the World Cup in 2006, but defeat for Cameroon leaves the Indomitable Lions with much ground to make up. Ghana later plays the Squirrels of Benin on Sunday afternoon.

A Nigerian national, Jackson Ekoule, had been nabbed in Douala by Cameroonian police with a bag containing bones suspected to be from humans. The arrest followed several reports and weeks of grave looting in the nights at the Moungo division. Residents say even tombs in private homes have been dug up. - “We have been receiving information indicating that many tombs have been desecrated in this part of the country. We laid an ambush and caught Jackson Ekoule red-handed,” Col. Nguete said. He said Ekoule would be sent to the Nkongsamba prison to await trial. Attendant sources said the bags contained skulls, rib bones and a femur. Police said identification papers found on the ma…

The government of the DR Congo has accepted to grant amnesty to rebels of the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP). This follows an agreement signed between the government and the rebels. It is expected to pave the way for the rebel group to transform itself into a political party. - The agreement also stipulates the release of former members of the rebel group captured by government forces and integrate them into various state security agencies. Desire Kamanzi chairman of the CNDP rebels and a signatory of the agreement is quoted as saying the rebels were demanding the release of all political prisoners during their insurgency. "In fact, you know there are priso…

Cameroon is set to host this year's annual cycling tournament dubbed 'Tour de Cameroon,' and six Rwandan cyclists are gearing up to participate. The race billed to start on Tuesday 17 February, 2009 in Yaoundé, Cameroon is expected to attract various professional teams from Africa, USA and Europe. - The Rwandan team is comprised of Abraham Ruhumuriza, Obed Ruvogera, Nyandwi Uwase, Jean de Dieu Rafiki, Daniel Nyendahayo and Nicodem Hayibambere. Meanwhile, reports say Rwanda will also send six athletes to take part in this year’s Mountain Cameroon race billed for 21 February. According to Cameroon’s Athletics Federation, the nine-man delegation will include th…

Close to 10,500 refugees who fled fighting in the Central African Republic (CAR) and sought safety in a remote area of south-eastern Chad are reportedly in dire need of emergency relief. The UN refugee agency said on Tuesday that it was responding to the situation. - Meanwhile, reports say refugees from CAR continue to flock into Chad as fighting between government forces and rebels intensified. The UN refugee spokesman, Ron Redmond, said the situation has continued to deteriorate, causing thousands more to flee. He quoted local Chadian authorities estimating between 4,000 and 5,000 new refugees arriving. “Most of the new arrivals are women and children. They fled ongoing fighti…

The Black Satellites of Ghana and the Junior Lions of Cameroon are set for a showdown in the finals of the 16th African Junior Nations Cup in Kigali, Rwanda on Sunday. - The Lions beat Nigeria by a 2-0 margin while their Ghanaian counterparts narrowly escaped defeat in a 4:3 game against South Africa. Cameroon’s under-20 football team and the Satellites have all qualified for the World Youth Championship billed for Egypt next September. The Black Satellites of Ghana had earlier in the day beaten South Africa 4:3 through goals from Dominic Adiyiah, Ransford Osei (2) and skipper Andre Dede Ayew. Ghana and Cameroon, from Group A, earlier played a pulsating one-all game during th…

President of Equatorial Guinea, Theodore Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, is reported to have been robbed of FCFA 4 billion an equivalent of USD$8,000,000 in cash from his home. According to French news agency, AFP, some jewels and other high-priced items were stolen from the home of the president recently. - Prime suspects in the theft include an unnamed Paraguayan couple, the report said. The expatriates, who are reported to have worked at the president’s clinic and private residence in Malabo, took advantage of his absence to steal. They are reported to have won the confidence of the presidential couple as well as that of his entourage. From long years of apparently loyal service, they ha…

The UNs Children's Fund has warned against rise in the recruitment of child soldiers as the conflict in the DRC escalates. The UN agency said the escalation of the conflict has led to human rights violations. UNICEF Representative in the DRC is quoted as saying the body is very concerned of the situation. - According to UNICEF some children as young as nine are being recruited by all armed groups - the government and rebel forces alike. UNICEF said over the past few years it has succeeded in getting armed groups in North Kivu to release about 10,000 child soldiers. Nonetheless, according to Vu Thi, many of the children who have been reintegrated into their communities are again bein…

Congolese Tutsi rebel leader General Laurent Nkunda threatened war on Saturday unless Congo's government entered a new round of talks with him. Nkunda, whose forces have captured the North Kivu province in the east of DR Congo since launching a new offensive in August, has repeatedly demanded negotiations. - Nkunda said he had been told by the U.N. special envoy, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, that Kinshasa had accepted the principle of talks. Reuters news agency said "If there is no negotiation, let us say then there is war," Nkunda told reporters after meeting Obasanjo in the rebel commander's native village, Jomba. "I know that (the government) ha…

40% of Cameroonians are poor according to a recent investigation by the National Institute of Statistics on households in Cameroon. The report identified corruption and bad governance as the causes of unproductive investments, increase in the cost of goods and services. - It said these have deteriorated the living standards of Cameroonians. According to the report, the three Northern regions, the East and the North West are amongst the poorest regions in the country. The report states that poverty is rife in the rural areas with many more people unable to afford FCFA 22,000 per month.

Some 35 vehicles allegedly stolen from Belgium, France, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Poland and Cameroon have been recovered. This is the result of a special operation organized by the police forces in Yaounde and Douala. The exercise dubbed Operation Gbana II was organised with assistance from Interpol. - Some 10 000 vehicles have already been checked in a bid to track down stolen vehicles that are in circulation. The control team checking the vehicles is made up of a mixed contingent of the Police, the Gendarmerie, Customs officials and officials of the Ministry of Transport. Speaking over the week end, the Delegate General for National Security, Elgard Alain Mebe Ngo’o said the opera…

French colonies in Africa met in Yaoundé to map out appropriate strategies to avoid the current financial crisis which has rocked the United States of America and the world in general. The meeting attracted France's Secretary of State for External Commerce, Anne-Marie Idac and top financial gurus. - Beside the 14 Finance Ministers and their immediate collaborators of the Franc zone, many other top personalities also took part in the two-day workshop. They include Secretary of State in charge of French Co-operation, Governor of the Bank of Central African States (BEAC), Philibert Andzembe, Governor of the Central Bank of West Africa, Henri Dacoury Tabey among a host of other representati…

Namibia has been ranked the best in Africa on the World Press Freedom Index at the 25th position worldwide. She was followed by Ghana at 29th and South Africa at 43rd. Cameron has performed poorly again on the Index ranking 111 out of 169 countries classified. - Cameroon falls behind several African countries such as Togo, Mali, Benin, Kenya, Niger, Cote d’Ivoire, Uganda, Botswana, Tanzania, Madagascar, Zambia, and Senegal among others. Eritrea replaced North Korea in the last place. Of the 20 countries at the bottom of the index, seven are Asian (Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Laos, Vietnam, China, Burma, and North Korea), five are African (Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Somalia and Eri…

Emergency aid has finally reached crisis-stricken eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the UN refugee agency - UNHCR - disclosed. The agency is getting ready for a major distribution to the many thousands of displaced people. Spokesperson David Nthengwe said supplies include personal effects. - Speaking in Goma in the eastern DRC, he said the supplies include blankets, plastic sheeting, jerry cans and kitchen sets. He said the distribution will be coordinated between UNHCR and other agencies in Goma. However, aid agencies are reportedly having a hard time learning the number and status of displaced people in Rutshuru and Kanyabayonga, north of Goma, where much of the recent fighting has…

Cameroon continues to top African football according to the recent FIFA rankings but have slipped down the global table. The Indomitable Lions have dropped four places to 14 overall, four behind England, who are back in the top ten. - Egypt and Nigeria are Africa's next best-ranked teams, at 21 and 22 respectively, the BBC reported on its website. The former went up one place whilst Nigeria climbed five because of their perfect record in the latest stage of qualifying for the World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations in 2010. Ghana is fourth on the continental table, but drops back a single place in the world table to 26. Africa's biggest climbers are Uganda and Namibia, who both jum…

Leaders of Africa's Great Lakes region have called for an immediate ceasefire and the creation of aid corridors in the eastern DRC. At the summit in Kenya, DRC's president, Kabila, met with his Rwandan counterpart, Kagame. UN's Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon urged them to continue to dialogue. - The two leaders have traded accusations over the recent fighting. Congo’s government accuses Rwanda of backing the ethnic Tutsi rebels. Rwanda has said Congo’s army does nothing to disarm extremist Hutus who were responsible for Rwanda’s 1994 genocide and are now based in eastern Congo. A new rebel offensive started last month, causing tens of thousands of civilians…

FC Barcelona has expressed delight with Cameroonian star Samuel Eto'o's form. The team's Chief Txiki Begiristain said this is due to the player's early season performance. Eto'o was on the verge of being released by coach Pep Guardiola at the start of the season because of the unrest in the dressing room last season. - Eto’o, who has helped the Spanish side to win several titles, has turned around his season by scoring several goals so far this season. “We must not forget that when we won the two leagues, Eto’o was crucial,” Begiristain said. “Although during the last two seasons there have been events such as injury or participa…

Several Cameroonians have been detained by immigration officials in Libreville, Gabon. Immigration officials explained that the detainees did not have regular residence papers. They were reportedly hired by a building firm from Cameroon, to work as bricklayers on a building site in that country. - Relations between Cameroon and its neighbours in the south, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, have not been the best for many years now. Cameroonians living in both countries have been exposed to hostilities, harassment and expulsion by immigration authorities and some xenophobic citizens. This is not the first time such an incident is taking place in either Gabon or Equatorial Guinea. Reports say th…

The World Bank has been attacked for withdrawing from the Chad, Cameroon pipeline project. A coalition of human rights and environmental Non-Governmental Organisations have accused it of bad faith by its recent withdrawal from the 4 billion dollars oil pipeline project that runs from Chad to Cameroon. - The coalition is made up of U.S.-based Environmental Defense Fund, the Chadian Association for Human Rights (ATPDH) and two Cameroon civil society groups, the Centre for Environment and Development (CED) and Network to Fight against Hunger (RELUFA). "The project's outcome is disastrous. In the name of fighting poverty, it has rather contributed to impoverishing Chad's people…

Cameroon is considering exploring oil in that country. Feasibility study for this prospect is to start soon. A Swiss Oil Exploration Company, Glencore is preparing to explore oil in Cameroon precisely in the Limbe III council area of Bimbia in the South West province. - The Mayor of Limbe III council, Samuel Mokate, revealed during a familiarisation and sensitisation meeting with local authorities of the area by Glencore. Representatives of government and National Hydrocarbons Corporation were with him. Samuel Mokate pointed out that sustainable development and the emancipation of any community is only possible if the people cease from living in the past and concentrate on building a soli…

Things will never be the same again for Cameroon and Nigeria as president Paul Biya in an address to the nation on national television and radio broadcast on the occasion of the withdrawal of the Nigerian administration and police force from the Bakassi Peninsula recently. - He announced the dawn of a new era void of the spectre of suspicion and wariness between both countries would hence take a turn for the better. President Paul Biya paid tribute to the Nigerian government for honouring its engagements, sovereign responsibilities and international obligations. He also paid glowing tribute to all those who in one way or another contributed to the Green Tree and final handing over success…

Former Chadian President, Hissen Habre was on Friday 15 August 2008 sentenced to death by a Chadian court. He was accused of trying to overthrow the government. Reports say the court sentenced him in absentia along with 11 other rebel leaders - They were also accused of crimes against the state security. Thirty-one other rebels were convicted in absentia and sentenced to life with hard labour. Habre's lawyer, El Hadji Diouf, reacted angrily to news of the death sentence, saying he had heard nothing of a trial in Chad. It should be noted that Habre has been living in Senegal since fleeing Chad in 1990 after his government was toppled by present president, Idriss Derby. Meanwhi…

The 15-year dispute about the Bakassi Peninsula has been brought to an end with the official handover of Bakassi by Nigeria to Cameroon. The handing over between delegations from the two countries took place in Calabar, Nigeria on Thursday and was accompanied a solemn ceremony. - The solemn ceremony was observed by delegates from the countries concerned, the international community and witness states. The Cameroonian delegation which signed the document of transfer of authority was led by the Minister Delegate in the Ministry of Justice, Maurice Kamto. Other members of the delegation included the Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals, Ahmadou Ali, and External…

Cameroon has blocked all exportation of foodstuff to Equatorial Guinea and closed all its borders with neighbours following a directive by the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, Marafa Hamidou Yaya. Security officials say it's a security measure. - Sources close to the Delegation of National Security disclosed to Africanews.com. that the instruction was issued shortly after the Summit of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central African States, CEMAC, that held in Yaoundé a fortnight ago. The sources said it was believed within government circles that President Paul Biya has taken the decision whose immediate consequence was to stop the export of foodst…

The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon coach Otto Pfister has revealed that Arsenal and Chelsea are chasing Barcelona's want-away striker Samuel Eto'o. Eto'o has been told he is surplus to requirements at Spanish side FC Barcelona. Etoo has not yet commented. - But Pfister says Premier League sides are keen on signing the former African Footballer of the Year. Pfister said Eto'o's goals against Tanzania in a World Cup qualifier were in a class of their own. “I do not know why Barca want to let him go. It’s incomprehensible!” Pfister Siad “He is the best striker in the world and can choose between Chelsea, Arsenal and Inter. Inciden…

Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o is still undecided over his future in FC Barcelona although he is a subject of intense transfer speculation after the club's new coach Pep Guardiola told him to look for another employer. Eto'o does not rule out staying in the Spanish club. - Even though top Italian sides AC Milan and rivals Inter as well as English giants Chelsea and Arsenal have all been linked to the striker, Eto'o is undecided about his future. Guardiola was unimpressed about Eto'o's sketchy form last season but the striker vigorously defended his last term's record. "I have spent four years with Barcelona. The first two years we won everything w…

Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o moved a step closer to the Camp Nou exit after the new Barcelona coach, Pep Guardiola, revealed he is surplus to requirements. The 27-year-old was told he is not part of the club's plans for next season along with his Brazil-born team-mate Ronaldinho and Portugal's Deco. - The statement by Guardiola has alerted English sides Arsenal and Tottenham as well as Italian giants AC Milan about the availability of Eto'o. All three players were below their best last season and missed large chunks of the campaign due to injuries. Their commitment has also been questioned amid reports of dressing-room disharmony under the previous coach, Frank Rij…

The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon were Saturday 14 June 2008 held to a 0-0 draw by Tanzania in a match for the ongoing joint qualifiers for the World Cup and African Nations Cup. The draw stops the Indomitable Lions' winning spree since the start of the qualifiers. - However, the Indomitable Lions still lead group 1 with seven points from three games and Tanzania remain in third place. But the result was a riposte from Tanzania coach, Marcio Maximo, who has been under strong pressure from fans and the media. Meanwhile African champions Egypt suffered a shock set-back in their bid to qualify for the 2010 World and Nations Cups, when they were beaten by Malawi. Hassan Shehata…

The DRC scored 6 away goals to romp past minnows Djibouti on Friday and win a second successive World Cup qualifier. Belgian-based Dieumerci Mbokani and Zola Matumona both scored twice and Shabani Nonda added another as the Congolese joined Egypt at the head of the standings. - Tresor Mputu added the sixth goal as Djibouti tally of goals conceded in the qualifiers stretched to 18 goals. Congo now has 6 points from 3 games while Egypt play their third game on Saturday at Malawi. Meanwhile Burkina Faso kept up their winning run with a difficult 3-2 triumph over hosts Seychelles in Victoria on Saturday. Dagano opened the scoring for Burkina Faso and got two more in the second half a…

A new corporation to take care of the copyright of Cameroonian musicians has been formed.The structure known as Société Civil Camerounaise d'Art Musical, SOCAM, was created last weekend following the dissolution of the former body, Cameroon Music Corporation, CMC. - This dissolution of CMC by the Minister of Culture, Ama Tutu Muna came on the heels of wangling within the corporation when musician, Sam Mbende, organised a controversial general assembly during which he was re-elected. The Minister cancelled the election and dissolved CMC. Meanwhile, female pastor and gospel singer, Odile Ngaska was elected over the weekend to head the new copyright corporation. She defeated major ch…

Yellow fever is reportedly sweeping through the thousands of Congolese recently expelled from neighbouring Angola. The Mayor of Lutembo in South West Democratic Republic of Congo said at least ten people have already died of the disease. - Reports say the town's hospital, which is chronically short of medicines, is struggling to cope. More than 20,000 Congolese diamond miners have been expelled from Angola in recent weeks. The UN, reports say, is trying to reach the remote region by helicopter. Previous mass expulsions in the area were halted by an agreement between the two countries but with Angola preparing for elections later this year, correspondents say the authorities are …

A long standing rivalry between local and Chinese fishermen along the coast of Limbe in Cameroon recently took a dangerous turn when the locals beat some of the Chinese, seriously injuring two. The local fishermen accused the Chinese of using twin trawlers to fish thereby reducing the catch of the locals. - The incident occurred recently in Kange Fishing Port, along the Limbe- Tiko creeks. Security sources say six unidentified boats, allegedly owned by local fishermen attacked the Chinese in their twin trawler at sea, subjected them to torture, severely wounded two and carted away about 300 bags of fish, estimated to be five tons in scientific terms The radio communication equipment, mo…