Incarcerated journalist, Paul Chouta will not be going home today after sppending a year in detention. The pressman’s request for provisional release was rejected and his case which has suffered several adjournments was pushed to July 22, 2020. Arrested in 2019, the Cameroon Web journalist has spent over a year in pretrial detention as writer, Calixthe Beyala who accused him of defamation has failed to show up for court hearings.
The sum of 100 million francs cfa is the contribution from the National Assembly to the national solidarity fund for the fight against coronavirus. The money in cash was handed over to the Prime Minister by the speaker of the National Assembly Hon. Cavaye Yeguié Djibril.
The speaker of the National Assembly has applauded President Paul Biya for increasing the retirement age of civil servants in the domain of public health. Hon. Cavaye Yeguié Djibril made the statement today during a closing ceremony to mark the end of the June parliamentary session.
A total of seven bills were adopted by Cameroon’s two legislative houses in the June session of parliament that ended today. Among the bills adopted is the controversial bill regulating cultural associations in the country.
Victims of the Yaounde the bomb explosion have decried government’s abandonment. One of them is 34 year old Nke Prisca. She sustained severe burns in the course of the explosion but has been abandoned at the Yaounde Central hospital. Medical doctors have refused to continue treatment because her family cannot foot the bills.
Some 1447 workers of HEVECAM, an industrial group specialised in the transformation of rubber, have since Monday been jobless. The company located in Niété, near Kribi in the South Region says due to economic challenges, there has been a drop in production in some of its branches thus the laying off of staff.
Five boys aged between 14 and 26 were arrested at a place called Gare Voyageurs by the forces of law and order last Tuesday. Among items found on them were; knives, dangerous electrical equipment, National Identity Cards of their victims and a large quantity of cannabis. Security forces say an investigation has been launched to uncover their activities
Two hostages taken by armed men in Ndop in Cameroon’s North West region have been shot dead after weeks in detention. Eric Pakala, an electrician and Sylvester Ntonsonguh, a business operator in Ndop, were accused of providing information to the defense and security forces and for working on a bridge destroyed by separatist fighters in the same locality respectively.
Martial Tchami Soh has been named as suspect in the murder of a 21 year old student at the University of Soa, Yaounde II. Following his arrest, the suspect yesterday carried out a redo of the act in the presence of the DO for Soa, Cyrille Bellia.
Cameroon’s academic core is still mourning following the death of University of Bamenda Registrar, Prof Victor Banlilon Tani. He was laid to rest today in attendance by dignitaries, friends and family of the deceased.
A young Cameroonian has invented the “Oxynnet” (Oxygen National Network). Arthur Zang who is also founder of the Cardiopad says the new intelligent system for producing medical oxygen was propelled by the growing number of cases of the Covid-19 pandemic on the African continent. The many flaws and the shortcomings that the Cameroonian health system contains he adds were a major boost to the invention.
Taxi drivers in Buea resumed work today after a hold up yesterday. The drivers stopped circulation of cars in the town for hours after a colleague of theirs was slapped by a police officer for refusing to give bribe. The DO for Buea asked the drivers to put their complaint in writing for him to address them properly.
The man in charge of health in South Africa’s economic hub of Gauteng, Bandile Masuku, caused consternation when he declared on national television that 1.5 million graves were being prepared for victims of Covid-19. Gauteng’s health department was quick to explain that this was the total capacity of the province’s cemeteries – and that the actual number of graves being dug was far smaller.
Sudan’s prime minister has replaced four key ministers after protests over the slow pace of reform following the overthrow of Omar al-Bashir as president last year. Abdalla Hamdok dismissed the health minister and accepted the resignations of the three others – in charge of finance, foreign affairs, and energy, the government said.
Islamist militants launched a deadly ambush on Nigerian soldiers who were travelling on Tuesday on a key highway that re-opened in January after being closed last year because of frequent attacks. At least 23 soldiers are reported to have been killed in the attack, which took place approximately 40km (25 miles) from Maiduguri, the main city in north-eastern Borno state. The death toll is yet to be confirmed but the military has acknowledged it took place in the village of Bulabulin, on the road between Maiduguri and Damboa.
Ethiopian Oromo communities around the world have participated in a series of protests to condemn the killing on 29 June of popular musician Hachalu Hundessa. The Ethiopian communities from North America, Europe, Australia and the Middle East have also criticised the arrests of notable Oromo politicians, including media mogul Jawar Mohammed.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberia’s former president, and Helen Clark, New Zealand’s former prime minister, are to head a panel to review the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Mrs Sirleaf led Liberia during the Ebola epidemic that began in 2014, killing more than 11,000 people in West Africa. New Zealand has been lauded as a success story for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
South Sudan has reopened its air space for regional and international flights, the country’s civil aviation authority has said. The government suspended them in March as a precautionary measure to help prevent the spread of Covid-19. Kur Kuol, the director-general of Juba International Airport, told reporters on Wednesday that Ethiopian Airlines had been the first non-domestic carrier to land the airport in the capital. The airline is now operating daily flights from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital.
Foreign news: BBC
