Politics

Jeb Bush’s endorsement of Texas Senator Ted Cruz will not “go anywhere” as the former Florida governor is “no longer taken seriously,” says a political analyst. The former presidential candidate who suspended his own campaign last month, announced endorsement for Cruz’s White House bid Wednesday. 

“Jeb Bush has lost popularity and credibility. His endorsement of Cruz isn’t really going to go anywhere because he’s no longer taken seriously as a candidate or politician,” Costantino Rozzo, a candidate for the US House of Representatives said. Cruz, for his part, said he was “very grateful” for the endorsement, calling Bush “a good man.”

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Presstv

24.Mar.2016

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Kuwaiti Members of Parliament led by Saud Nashmi A.M Alhuraiji are in Cameroon. The MPs were received on arrival at the Nsimalen airport by the Senior Vice Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Hilarion Etong in the company of other members of the Cameroon-Kuwait Parliamentary Group, the Secretary General of the National Assembly, Victor Yene Ossomba and the Kuwaiti Ambassador to Cameroon with residence in Abuja (Nigeria), Abdulaziz Al-Sharrah. 

After welcoming the Kuwaiti MPs with a bouquet of flower, both delegations moved to the VIP Lounge of the Nsimalen International Airport where they held a brief discussion before the convoy drove to the Hilton Hotel in down town Yaounde. Speaking to reporters in a brief interview at the airport, the leader of the Kuwaiti Parliamentary delegation, Saud Nashmi A.M Alhuraiji, said their official visit is within the framework of reinforcing friendly and cooperation ties between the Republic of Cameroon and the Republic of Kuwait. Kuwait Members of Parliament, he stated, are representative of the people of Kuwait and as such ensure that the relations between the two countries are strengthened in addition to its constitutional role of legislating and ensuring that laws are respected. “As a Member of the Kuwaiti National Assembly, I am leading a delegation of three parliamentarians with an objective to consolidate and strengthen the existing relations between our two countries”, he stated.

Asked whether the ill treatment meted on Cameroonian female emigrants to Kuwait would be discussed during their official visit, Saud Nashmi Alhuraiji who is also Chairman of the First Friendship Group Committee of the Kuwait National Assembly stated briefly that his country attaches a lot of importance and respect for human rights. He said the United Nations considers Kuwait as a nation that respects human rights particularly those of women. The five-day official visit will be marked by a series of audiences and working sessions with Cameroonian authorities.

(Cameroon Tribune)

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Elangwe Pauline

23.Mar.2016

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An umbrella organization representing Shia Muslims in Nigeria has decided not to appear before a tribunal looking into the army's December massacre in Zaria. The decision, announced during a Tuesday press conference by the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), came after Nigerian authorities did not allow IMN's legal team to meet with detained leader Sheikh Ibrahim al-Zakzaky. The legal team said it was "unethical and unprofessional" to represent a client whom it has not seen.

The Nigerian army attacked Shia Muslims attending a religious ceremony in Zaria on December 12, touching off several days of a crackdown in which hundreds of people were killed. The army accused participants in the ceremony of blocking the convoy of its chief of staff and attempting to assassinate him, a charge which they have categorically denied. Nigerian forces later raided Zakzaky’s home and arrested him after killing those protecting him. 

The cleric himself was injured in the attack and was taken into custody along with dozens of his supporters. They are being held incommunicado since then. The attacks led to the deaths of a large number of the members of the religious community, including three of Zakzaky’s sons. The Shia cleric is said to have been charged with “criminal conspiracy and inciting public disturbances.” In a Tuesday interview Zakzaky’s daughter, Suhaila, gave an eyewitness account of the army’s attack on their house.

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Presstv

23.Mar.2016

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The President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella who arrived in Yaounde on March 17, 2016, is the highest Italian official ever to have visited Cameroon. Barely four hours after setting foot on Cameroonian soil, President Sergio Mattarella was at State House in Yaounde where for over 60 minutes, the two men seemed to have engaged a very significant turnaround in Cameroon-Italy relations which, although already so good, have a potential to be even better. Since 1962 when the two countries established diplomatic relations, there have been high-level visits by officials of the two countries and although President Biya has visited Rome several times on the invitation of The Vatican, he has often availed himself of Rome stays to discuss with Italian officials and so President Mattarella’s State visit deservedly carried all the accoutrements and accompaniments of a most triumphant event beginning at the airport arrival ceremony with a 21-gun salute and then at State House with a thick red carpet stretched out right to the limousine from which he stepped out at exactly 4.15 pm and the impressive waterworks which gave State House precincts a real feel of feasting. 

Upon arrival, the Italian President was welcomed by President Biya before the two headed for the latter’s third floor office where they went into a conclave for some thirty minutes before other senior officials accompanying them joined in the discussion. What is remarkable about this meeting is the fact that in just 60 minutes of talks, cooperation between the two countries had been given a significant booster if one were to go by the number and quality of the Accords and Agreements signed after the meeting by accompanying ministers and other top officials, under the watchful eyes of the two Presidents.

There are altogether five agreements, ranging from the exemption of visas for holders of diplomatic and service passports of the two countries, a framework agreement on cultural, scientific and technical cooperation, a framework document on the use of resources devolving from the cancellation of Cameroon’s debt by Italy, a protocol agreement between the University of Padua and Cameroon’s National Advanced School of Public Works as well as a Memorandum of Understanding between the University of Padua and Cameroon’s Ministry of Urban Development and Housing on the promotion of sustainable town planning in Cameroon. Mr Mario Giro, Italy’s Minister-Delegate in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in charge of Cooperation and Development signed the agreements on visa exemptions and cultural cooperation while his country’s Ambassador to Cameroon Samuela Isopi signed the one on debt cancellation windfalls and the Rector of the University of Padua Professor Rosario Rizutto signed for the other two. The signatories on the Cameroonian side included External Relations Minister Lejeune Mbella Mbella (visas), Jacques Fame Ndongo (cultural cooperation), Louis Paul Motaze (use of debt relief windfalls), Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi (University of Padua and the National Advanced School of Public Works) and Jean Claude Mbwentchou (MoU with University of Padua).

The Agreement on visa exemptions, for instance states that “nationals of either contracting party who are holders of valid diplomatic or service passports and not accredited to the territory of the other contracting party, shall be exempted from the vise requirement required to enter, transit, stay and exit from the territory of the other Contracting Party for up to 90 days for one or several times, within a period of 180 days. For nationals from the Republic of Cameroon, the 90 days will start to run from the date of entry into the Schengen Space.”

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Cameroon Tribune

22.Mar.2016

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Last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned European countries that they could become a victim of terrorist attacks like the car bombing in the Turkish capital on March 13 that killed 37 people. And the only city that came to his mind as an example of a possible target was the Belgian capital Brussels.

"There is no reason why the bomb that exploded in Ankara cannot explode in Brussels, in any other European city," Erdogan said during a Friday speech to commemorate a famous World War I battle in the Turkish coastal town of Canakkale. 

A few days later on Tuesday, two bomb attacks at Brussels airport killed at least 34 people and left nearly 100 people wounded, including a separate bombing in a metro station that killed around 20 people and injured about 100 more.

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Presstv

22.Mar.2016

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President Paul Biya is reportedly planning a trip to Qatar. Information has filtered to the press that the Cameroonian chief executive recently instructed the Prime Minister and Head of Government to constitute a huge delegation to an economic forum between Cameroon and Qatar. Our intelligence unit is yet to establish whether the Biya planned visit is on the invitation of the Emir of Qatar. 

Prime Minister Yang Philemon has held high profile meetings at the Star Building grouping ministerial departments dealing with economic issues including private sector operators. Our Etoudi informant say the Cameroonian dictator will hopefully be traveling to Qatar on March the 27th, 2016 for the first time on an official visit. Qatar is a middle east country that has become an international attraction for any investment researcher.

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Sama Ernest in Yaounde

22.Mar.2016

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