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After the violent repression of the opposition press conference recently in Yaounde, four major political parties, the Cameroon People's Party (CPP) of Edith Kah Walla, the Movement for the Revival of Cameroon (RCM) Maurice Kamto, the Universe Party of Hon. Nkou Mvondo and the UPC have called for a general protest for the 4th to 9th of April to deny the Biya regime any amendment to the Constitution of Cameroon which can lead to the organization of early presidential.

Last Tuesday, the coalition of four political parties planning to launch the operation saw their planned press conference banned by the regime in Yaounde. Twenty people were arrested by police and then released later that evening after very serious interrogation by the nation’s tribal secret service. 

The present Cameroon opposition parties say any constitutional amendment could lead to the organization of an early presidential election and by extrapolation, the re-election of the 83 years old dictator who has been in power for 34 years. Biya’s current term ends in 2018.

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Rita Akana in Yaounde

31.Mar.2016

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More than twenty opposition activists arrested on Tuesday in Yaounde, the nation’s capital have been released. The activists and supporters of the Movement for the Revival of Cameroon (MRC), the Cameroon People's Party and the famous UPC were arrested by pro CPDM forces of law and order and were released shortly after intensive interrogation by the intelligence services. 

The opposition members were arrested on Tuesday in Odza after the regime banned a press conference that four political parties intended to adopt a common position against an early presidential election in Cameroon.

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Sama Ernest in Yaounde

30.Mar.2016

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US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's campaign manager has been arrested in Florida and charged with simple assault in connection with an incident happened earlier this month, police records show. Police in Jupiter, Florida, said Lewandowski was charged on Tuesday for grabbing and bruising the arm of Michelle Fields, a reporter for Breitbart News, as she tried to ask Trump a question during a March 8 campaign event. 

Police issued Lewandowski a notice to appear in court May 4. "Lewandowski grabbed Fields' left arm with his right hand causing her to turn and step back,” the Jupiter Police Department report said. Fields showed police her left forearm which "appeared to show a grabbing-type injury," according to the investigating officer.

"Mr. Lewandowski was issued a Notice to Appear and was given a court date. He was not arrested," the Trump campaign said in a statement. "Mr. Lewandowski is absolutely innocent of this charge. He will enter a plea of not guilty and looks forward to his day in court. He is completely confident that he will be exonerated." Police released a video which appears to show Lewandowski reaching his left hand between Trump and a security guard and toward Fields, holding her back as he passed her and continued following the billionaire through the room.

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Presstv

29.Mar.2016

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A man thought to be strapped with explosives hijacked an Egyptian plane on a flight between Alexandria and Cairo on Tuesday and forced it to land in Cyprus, Egyptian officials said.

After the EgyptAir plane landed at Larnaca airport, the hijacker released all the people onboard except four foreign passengers and the crew, EgyptAir said.

About 60 people, including seven crew, had been onboard, Egyptian and Cypriot officials said.

Cyprus broadcasting (CYBC) reported that the hijacker may have personal motives. He had an ex-wife in Cyprus, CYBC said.

"The negotiations with the hijacker have resulted in the release of all the plane passengers with the exception of the crew and five foreigners," the airline said in a statement, but it later changed the figure to four foreigners still held.

Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry said the plane's pilot, Omar al-Gammal, had informed authorities that he was threatened by a passenger wearing a suicide explosives belt and forced him to land in Larnaca.

A Cyprus Foreign Ministry official said he could not confirm the man was rigged with explosives. The hijacking occurred in Cyprus's flight information region.

Witnesses said the hijacker threw a letter on the apron of the airport in Larnaca, written in Arabic, asking that it be delivered to his ex-wife, who is Cypriot.

The plane was an Airbus 320, Egypt's aviation ministry said.

Egyptian state media named the hijacker as Ibrahim Samaha, an Egyptian, but gave no other details about him.

Passengers on the plane included eight Britons and 10 Americans, three security sources at Alexandria airport said.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said: "It looks like at least 49 of the passengers have been freed. That is all I have to say" he told reporters.

Israel scrambled warplanes in its airspace as a precaution in response to the hijacking, according to an Israeli military source.

Egypt's vital tourism industry was already reeling from the crash of a Russian passenger plane in the Sinai in late October.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said it was brought down by a terrorist attack. Islamic State has said it planted a bomb on board, killing all 224 people on board.

Cyprus has seen little militant activity for decades, despite its proximity to the Middle East.

A botched attempt by Egyptian commandos to storm a hijacked airliner at Larnaca airport led to the disruption of diplomatic relations between Cyprus and Egypt in 1978.

In 1988, a Kuwaiti airliner which had been hijacked from Bangkok to Kuwait in a 16-day siege had a stopover in Larnaca, where two hostages were killed.

(reuters)

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Elangwe Pauline

29.Mar.2016

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Not long after US President Barack Obama paid a historic visit to Cuba, Fidel Castro says the Caribbean Sea nation can stand on its own feet and doesn't need any "gifts from the empire." Castro made his first public reaction to the visit in a Tuesday column published by Granma, the official newspaper of Cuba's communist party, in which he suggested “Brother Obama” to “think and not try to theorize about Cuban politics.” “We are capable of producing the food and material wealth we need with the labor and the intelligence of our people. We don't need any gifts from the empire," noted the leader of the 1959 Cuban Revolution, denouncing the American President’s pro-democracy remarks as “syrupy.” 

On March 20, Obama became the first sitting US president to travel to the island nation in nearly 90 years. Obama did not meet with Fidel in his three-day visit, during which he said the Cuban “voters should be able to choose their governments in free and democratic elections.” "Obama gave a speech in which he used the most syrupy words," Fidel wrote. "He doesn't mention that racial discrimination was erased by the Revolution, that retirement benefits and salaries for all Cubans were decreed before Mr. Barack Obama was 10 years old," he wrote. In December 2014, Obama announced normalization of ties with Cuba, which was faced with pressure from the Republicans.

The United States broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1961 and placed an official embargo against the country in 1962. The two countries became ideological foes soon after the 1959 revolution that brought Fidel Castro to power and their ties remained hostile even after the end of the Cold War.

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Presstv

29.Mar.2016

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Gunshots were reported in the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center on Monday, U.S. Senate sources said.

Workers in the Capitol were told to "shelter in place."

A Capitol Police spokeswoman had no immediate comment but said the office would be issuing a statement soon. 

Cameroon concord is working on this story and will update it as soon as more information becomes available.

Reuters

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Elangwe Pauline

28.Mar.2016

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