National And International News Roundup – 10th November 2020

Fon Sehm Mbinglo I has arrived Bamenda. The paramount traditional leader of Nso was released this afternoon by separatist fighters in Baba village. The Fon was kidnapped on the 5th of November alongside Cardinal Christian Tumi by the Separatist fighters of Ngoketunjia Division as they travelled to Nso for the Fon to return to his land after almost 2 years of self-exile.

Fon Sehm Mbinglo I has been given an instruction to resign from the CPDM party. This is one of the many instructions given by separatist fighters that kept him in their camp for five days. The boys have equally given him a message to demand President Paul Biya to release Sisiku Ayuk Tabe Julius and others, as a condition towards resolving the Anglophone crisis. The Fon is reported to have arrived in Bamenda.

Five people kidnapped in Livanda village in Limbe yesterday have been released. The operation was carried out today by elements of the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR). The ex-hostages say they were not tortured by separatists that kidnapped them.

The minister delegate at the presidency in charge of defence, Joseph Beti Asomo has lauded the patriotism of wounded military men in the war in the North West and South West Regions of Cameroon. He visited the wounded soldiers in hospitals today in Douala.

The COVID-19 rate in the Littoral Region has risen from 2 to 5%. Officials in the Littoral Region say eleven students have tested positive of COVID-19 in three secondary schools in Douala V. Governor Samuel Dieudonne Ivaha Diboa says COVID-19 preventive measures should be taken seriously.

On the fight against Bird Flu in Cameroon, the Minister of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industry, Dr Taiga, has prohibited the importation of eggs, one-month-old chicks and other poultry products. This measure according to him will stop businessmen from importing infected livestock into the Cameroonian market. The Minister also said the Bird Flu disease has impacted the economy negatively since 2016 with an estimated loss of close to 16 billion FCFA.

The new building to host the National Assembly in Yaoundé has attained a 12 per cent execution rate, one year after the work was launched. The project manager points the refusal of residents at the site to quit and equally the outbreak of COVID-19 that delayed the importation of materials from China.

Two lawyers charged with corruption have been arrested and are currently under detention in Douala where they will face trial at the Court of First Instance in Bonanjo. Reports say one of the lawyers proposed a large sum of money to bribe the judges to secure his release. The attempt to do so failed and the client angrily confessed to trying to bribe his way out through their lawyer.

The security situation in the South West Region has been assessed and the education community reassured that security in schools will be tightened. This was at a special security meeting in Kumba on Monday, November 9, 2020, chaired by the Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Defence, Joseph Beti Assomo.

It has been confirmed that the qualification football match between the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon against the Mozambique national team will on Thursday be behind closed doors. The game will be played at the Douala Reunification Stadium for the first time in over 10 years but the outbreak of the Coronavirus will prevent football lovers in the economic capital from watching the Lions play.

The match between Cameroon and Mozambique this Friday is not open to the public. A release from the Minister of Sports and Physical Education said the measure is to respect FIFA regulation to stop the spread of COVID-19 preventive measures. Narcisse Mouelle Kombi says the public should follow the match on the media. The lions will travel to Mozambique shortly after that for a return leg on the 16th of November.

A prominent Libyan activist and lawyer have been shot dead in the eastern city of Benghazi, as the latest attempt at talks on the country’s political future continues in neighbouring Tunisia. Hanan al-Barassi was killed in her car on one of Benghazi’s main streets. She had spoken out against cases of alleged rape and assault of women in the city, in which she implicated fighters linked to Gen Khalifa Haftar, the commander of one of the country’s warring factions. Amnesty International says that she and her daughter had received death threats.

South Sudan’s health ministry has confirmed an outbreak of measles in five regional states. “When we say there is an outbreak it means there are cases. But at the moment I cannot say how many cases or how many have died and who died,” John Rumunu, Director-General for Preventive Health Services, told the BBC in the capital, Juba. He said the ministry and its partners were planning to conduct reactive measles vaccinations in the areas where the outbreaks have been reported.

Tanzanian opposition leader Tundu Lissu, who says he’s leaving the country for security reasons, has shared a video on his Twitter account leaving the German ambassador’s residence accompanied by diplomats to the airport. The Chadema party leader is quoted by local media as saying he is not running away from the country but will continue fighting for democracy and justice from Belgium, where he will be based.

Police in Mozambique’s capital city says they have detained a Vietnamese woman at the airport in possession of five rhino horns and 160 units of lion teeth and nails. The 30-year-old had been living Maputo for a year and was attempting to board a plane to Vietnam when she was arrested on Monday, the city police spokesperson Lionel Muchina said. A sniffer dog made the discoveries, he said.

A warrant for the arrest on corruption charges has been issued for the secretary-general of South Africa’s governing African National Congress party. Ace Magashule said he was not worried as he has done nothing wrong. Police say the warrant has been issued over allegations related to the awarding of an asbestos contract in 2014 when Mr Magashule was premier of Free State province.

Scientists have found that an injection given every two months is 89% more effective in preventing HIV infection than daily anti-retroviral pills. More than 3,200 women from east and southern Africa who were at a higher risk of contracting HIV took part in the trial. The United Nations has called for investment in the injectable anti-retroviral – known as cabotegravir – hailing it as a real game-changer.

Kenyan media reporting on a new commuter rail service in the capital, Nairobi, say it’s hoped it will deliver faster journeys and increased passenger capacity. About 1.5 million people commute to the city’s Central Business Disctrict every day by various modes of transport, according to Kenya Railways. New Diesel Mobile Units and Commuter Rail Buses will serve passengers on the revamped rail network.

Foreign news: BBC