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Witnesses in Somalia's capital say at least 10 people were killed and more than 15 others wounded when militants attacked a major hotel Wednesday.  

Somali lawmaker Mohamed Ismail Shuriye told VOA that two parliamentarians, Abdullahi Jama Kaboweyne and Mohamud Gure, were killed during the attack. He said a third lawmaker, Abdullah Hashi, was injured.

One of the lawmakers at the hotel described the attack, saying: "As I was sleeping in my hotel room, I was shocked by a huge explosion. A flying door and window fell on me. I ran toward the back door of the hotel and managed to survive," he said.

Abdullya Haji Dayib told VOA that he rushed a friend to the hospital, where he saw ambulances bringing dozens of wounded people for treatment.

A freelance journalist working for VOA reported seeing five dead bodies lying in front of the hotel.

VOA

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Rita Akana

02.Jun.2016

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“Is he coming, really?  Oh, bloody hell!” was the response of one diner at an upscale restaurant near the Houses of Parliament in London Monday night, after hearing news that presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will visit Britain later this month.

The reaction was as expected in a country where more than a half-million people, offended by Trump’s remarks about Muslims, signed a petition six months ago to ban him from entering Britain. That petition led to a debate in parliament in January, but there was no vote to legally bar him because British law would only allow such an action if ordered by the home secretary.

Trump angered many in Britain when he pledged to ban Muslims temporarily from the United States last year, following a terrorist attack in California. Prime Minister David Cameron at the time called the remarks “divisive, stupid and wrong.”

Sadiq Khan, who became London’s first Muslim mayor last month, called Trump’s views on Islam “ignorant.” Trump responded by challenging Khan to take an IQ test.

Pundits early Tuesday noted almost everything surrounding the billionaire-turned-politician’s visit will be characteristically controversial. Trump is scheduled to arrive on June 24, an especially sensitive time in British politics because it is one day after British voters will have cast ballots in a landmark referendum that will decide whether their country remains in the European Union.

Trump has spoken in favor of Britain’s exit, or Brexit, from the EU, but has tempered his stance by saying it is a matter for British voters to decide.

British analysts say they expect that Trump, if elected, will temper his style, adapt to the office of the president, and behave more diplomatically than he is perceived to be doing as a presidential candidate.

Some analysts say many people in Britain are coming to terms with the possibility that he may become president of the United States. Few believe the historically strong relationship between Washington and London would suffer. 

“I think the relationship will be better than people suppose,” Philip Collins, a speech writer for former Prime Minister Tony Blair, told VOA. If American voters elect Trump in November, he said, “Britain would respond in the way that Britain tends to, which is to say ‘what a peculiar choice they have made but, hey, it’s their choice.’”

The prime minister’s office did not indicate there are any plans for Cameron to meet with Trump.

The purpose of Trump’s visit is to attend the reopening ceremony of his Turnberry golf resort in Scotland after a $300 million refurbishment.

Trump is expected to receive a warm welcome from some Scottish politicians who could include those who supported a ban against him, notes Keith Boyfield, a London economist. “How far will the Scots be pleased to see him if he’s going to be writing checks to provide jobs in areas of high unemployment?”

“Perhaps you’ll see some of those Scottish politicians having selective memories about what they’ve said in the past,” he said.

VOA

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Rita Akana

02.Jun.2016

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Ghana has announced that it will shut down social media on voting day in November to ensure the platforms are not used to send misleading information that could destabilize the country. Previously citizens from countries such as Uganda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Congo, and Chad among others have found elections are a particularly popular time to crack down on social media.

What role has social media played in the political landscape? What is your take on this move of shutting down social media during elections?

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Appiah James

02.Jun.2016

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The 2^nd Ordinary Session of Parliament for the 2016 Legislative Year has been convened for Thursday June 2, 2016. Ahead of the opening session, preparations are intensifying at the Senate and the Ngoa-Ekelle Glass House of the National Assembly to ensure a hitch-free session. At the Conference Centre, the Senate is scheduled to hold in its traditional chamber in spite of ongoing rehabilitation works on the edifice. 

When Cameroon Tribune visited the Conference Centre yesterday May 30, 2016, the inner-chamber of one of the auditoriums of the venue where plenary sessions usually take place was being arranged to host Senate deliberations. Staff of the Congress Centre were busy packing out conference chairs in order to clean the red carpet and rearrange the hall with the usual chairs and tables adapted to the Senate setting.

One of the workers, Jerome Bangu, told Cameroon Tribune that they had two days (yesterday and today) to prepare the hall for the Senate. The air conditioning and sound systems were also being verified to ensure they are functioning. Bangu added that they will also prepare space to serve as offices for the General Secretariat, which was relocated to the ARMP Building in the Dragages neighbourhood in Yaounde.    

At the National Assembly, all is almost set as final touches are being carried out to prepare the Hemicycle and the Committee rooms for the 2rd Ordinary Session of Parliament. Cameroon Tribune learnt that a preparatory meeting of the different departments of the National Assembly held on May 24, 2016 to identify pitfalls during the last session and propose corrective measures for the upcoming session. Emphasis during the meeting, Cameroon Tribune gathered, was laid on security, lodging, restauration and logistics, so as to ensure a smooth session.

Cameroon Tribune

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Rita Akana

02.Jun.2016

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Cameroonians are gathering to mourn at the home of Anne-Marie Nzie, the 84-year-old artist known as the "golden voice of Cameroon." Nzie died May 24.

Fans have been flocking to her home in a Yaounde neighborhood called the green city to pay tribute to the woman who made popular a style of music known as bikutsi.

Abraham Ngwa came with hundreds of members of her university music club.

"I grew up listening to Anne Marie Nzie, I grew up dancing to her tunes like 'Liberte.' [she sings a bit of the song] Anne Marie Nzie was the queen mother of Cameroonian music," Ngwa said.

Liberte was by far her most popular song. It was a song of rebellion, originally composed in the 1960s as Cameroon and other African countries were shaking off colonial rule.

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Moki Edwin Kindzeka

01.Jun.2016

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Gabon has banned all poultry and pig products from neighbouring Cameroon after confirmations of an outbreak of deadly bird flu virus on a poultry farm in Cameroon capital, Yaounde.

“Poultry products from Cameroon entering the country by any means are formally banned as a precaution.” Said Gabriel Tchango, Minister of Gabon’s Fisheries and Livestock

The Ban includes pet, wild birds, pigs and pork according to sources in Libreville.

Cameroon’s National Veterinary Laboratory (LANAVET) confirmed the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza virus strain killed 15,000 birds in the government-owned Mvog-Betsi poultry complex last week. The government slaughtered the remaining birds of the 33,000 fowls hosted in the complex hosted, to prevent further contamination reports Africa Review.

It also banned chicken sale in Yaoundé that has been officially declared “infected zone of the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus” and the neighbouring towns.

According to Associated Press Livestock minister Dr. Taiga said one person is hospitalized and the country is taking measures to protect both people and birds from further contamination.

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Rita Akana

31.May.2016

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