The figure compares with 26,287 tonnes bought in the first nine months of the season last year, Reuters reports.

Purchases in April were down to 98 tonnes from 269 tonnes the previous month, and 255 tonnes during the same month last year.

Sic-Cacaos, based in Cameroon’s economic capital and main port city Douala, is a subsidiary of Swiss chocolate firm Barry Callebaut and supplies cocoa products to the central African region.

Reuters added that the cocoa company has a grinding capacity of 30,000 tonnes per year, but last year purchased a record 33,894 tonnes, putting excess tonnage in storage.

cameroonwebnews| May 22, 2012 | Original reporting: Tansa Musa; Writing by David Lewis)

Marthe-Angeline Minja, director of Cameroon’s Investment Promotion Agency (API) made the comments after meeting Cargill officials but did not give further details, while a Cargill spokeswoman said the firm does not comment on speculations.

“At any one time, Cargill is assessing a number of initiatives to progress our business strategy, which may help to further develop our businesses and grow our presence in particular markets,” said Corinne Holtshausen

“It is our policy that we will communicate only as and when there are any significant developments,” Holtshausen said in an email response on Tuesday.

Minja said Cargill has shown interest in investing between 100-200 billion CFA francs immediately in the country once it is offered the opportunity.

“They (Cargill) are in a sector which creates employment and the investment is a serious one. We at the API think it is a project to be taken seriously,” she said.

Cargill already has investments in Cameroon’s cocoa sector where Telcar Cocoa, its joint venture partner, is the country’s leading cocoa exporter.

The oil palm sector in Cameroon and other sub-Saharan African nations have attracted interest from international agro-industry groups.

New York-based agricultural company Herakles Farms plans to develop a $350 million 60,000-hectare oil palm plantation in the country, while Biopalm Energy, a subsidiary of Singapore’s Siva group said in August it will launch a 900 billion CFA Francs ($1.75 billion) palm oil investment project.

Environmental groups have however raised concerns that some of the oil palm projects could endanger plant and animal species, a charge the firms have rejected.

May 22, 2012 | Reuters|

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Cameroon began their first training season in Metz, France on Monday in view of the upcoming round of the 2013 African Cup of Nations and 2014 World Cup qualifiers.

Of the 26 players expected, around 10 had made it to Metz on the first morning in camp.

They are, the squad’s vice-captain Eyong Enoh, Carlos Kameni, Dany Nounkeu, Joel Matip, Henri Tsama, Allan Nyom, Ghomsi Antonio, Leornard Kwekeu, Sally Edgar and Willie Overtoom, who makes his debut in the lion’s den.

Arsenal midfielder Alexandre Song and Valacienne striker Vincent Aboubakar joined the squad later in the evening. The other players are expected to join the team progressively.

Nkede Lawrence | May 22, 2012 | Goal.com

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Doctors aboard US Airways Flight 787 examined the woman and found no sign of recent scars, according to the office of Rep. Peter King, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. A federal law enforcement source who had been briefed on the matter told CNN the woman would likely receive a psychological evaluation and posed “basically no threat.”

Nevertheless, the Paris-to-Charlotte flight made an unscheduled stop in Bangor “out of an abundance of caution,” the Transportation Security Administration said. U.S. fighter jets escorted the plane to the airport, and passengers said the woman was taken off the plane in handcuffs after landing.

The Boeing 767 carried 179 passengers and a crew of nine, US Airways spokeswoman Liz Landau told CNN. Andrew Kobayashi, a passenger on the flight, said the woman was sweaty and acting nervous.

“I had briefly noticed her in the back of the plane being a weirdo,” said Kobayashi, who was seated several rows further forward.

A senior federal law enforcement official told CNN that authorities have determined that no bomb was involved in the incident. The woman handed a note to the flight crew indicating that she had had a device implanted in her body, but did not say the device was a bomb or that she was threatening the flight, the official said.

While still in the air, the plane’s crew told passengers the flight was landing in Bangor because of uncharacteristically strong headwinds that that required the flight to take on more fuel, Kobayashi and other passengers said. But after the jet landed, they said one of the pilots apologized to passengers for the deception.

“He said he normally liked to keep the passengers informed, but the TSA and customs control had ordered him to do this,” passenger William Milam told CNN.

Kobayashi said authorities boarded the plane after landing in Bangor and handcuffed the woman, who appeared to be in her mid-20s to mid-30s.

“I was more bewildered than worried. It was happening very quickly and very quietly,” he said.

Milam said he had helped the woman stow her carry-on luggage. She had been one of the last passenger to board the flight in Paris, and she was moved to the front of the plane before it took off.

“Then there were announcements that someone was ill, and was there a doctor onboard. It turned out that it was for her,” he said.

The doctor and flight attendants helped her to the back of the plane, where she remained for several hours without incident.

King’s office said the woman is a Cameroon-born French citizen who was headed to the United States for a 10-day visit. She was traveling alone and had no checked baggage.

There was no indication she was on any kind of government watch list, the federal law enforcement source said.

May 22, 2012 |
CNN’s Dana Ford, Lizzie O’Leary, Terry Frieden, Deirdre Walsh, Deborah Feyerick, Chuck Johnston, Bill Mears and Aaron Cooper contributed to this report.

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Me Jean de Dieu Momo ici en tenue du PADDEC a rompu le mot d'ordre du boycott du défilé du 20 Mai 2012 par le G7

C’était la surprise pour les observateurs, les téléspectateurs et les spectateurs du défilé du 20 mai au Cameroun. Des militants Patriotes Démocrates pour le Développement du Cameroun, de jaune vêtus, n’ont pas manqué d’attirer le questionnement des uns et des autres alors qu’ils passaient devant les tribunes officielles lors des parades consacrées à  la célébration de la 40ème édition de la fête nationale de l’unité notamment à Douala et Yaoundé. Une curiosité normale, surtout, que le PADDEC fait partie du « G7 », du nom de ce regroupement de partis politiques de l’opposition qui, au lendemain de l’élection présidentielle du 9 octobre 2011est monté au créneau pour fustiger le déroulement de l’élection, ses résultats, et le système électoral alors en vigueur. La surprise était d’autant plus grande que le 12mai dernier les partis membres du G7 ont annoncé qu’ils n’entendaient pas participer aux festivités en rapport avec le 20mai 2012. Une façon de marquer leur désaccord au sujet du code électoral récemment adopté par les députés de l’Assemblée Nationale et dont la loi a été promulguée par le Président de la République il ya peu. Et donc la décision a été prise au cours de la récente rencontre des membres du G7à Foumban dans le Noun ; le SDF, l’UDC le CPP, le PAP, l’AFP, la Dynamique, et le PADDEC auxquels se sont joints l’Offre Orange de Hilaire Kamga et l’ADD de Garga Haman Adji, ont décidé d’un commun accord de ne pas participer au défilé du 20mai dernier, ce qui a constitué l’une des principales résolutions de la déclaration de Foumban.

Mais comment expliquer l’attitude du PADDEC ? Dans un entretien téléphonique, le président national du PADDEC, Me Jean  De Dieu Momo fait savoir qu’il n’était pas d’accord avec certaines décisions prises à Foumban notamment celle portant sur le boycott du défilé. Accusé de s’être désolidarisé de la déclaration de Foumban pour laquelle son parti était signataire, l’avocat estime que ce moment de célébration de la fête nationale de l’unité est une opportunité à saisir par les partis politiques pour faire montre de leur capacité de mobilisation. De plus, sa formation politique est à la conquête de quelques sièges et suffrages lors des municipales et législatives à venir ; « je ne pouvais quand même pas laisser filer cette occasion, c’est un marketing politique » a soutenu le président du PADDEC. A côté de cela, Jean De Dieu Momo ajoute que s’il avait pris part à la rencontre, il n’aurait pas souscrit à une telle démarche. Il s’était fait représenter par son militant à Foumban qui, dit-il, n’avait pas qualité de signer cette déclaration. Me Momo s’offusque davantage de ce que le nom de son parti et son représentant apparaissait en dernière position sur le document final, une manière implicite de « nous écarter » constate t-il.

Les militants du PADDEC de Jean de Dieu Momo lors du défilé du 20 mai

Comme on pouvait s’y attendre la réaction des autres partis du G7n’a pas tardé. Le président de l’UDC a estimé qu’il s’agissait ni plus ni moins d’une brebis galeuse infiltrée au sein de la plate forme. Adamou Ndam Njoya n’est pas passé par quatre chemins pour déclarer que c’est une attitude de traitre et surtout que le PADDEC a trahi le G7.Albert Dzongang de la Dynamique a quant à lui soutenu que le PADDEC est un « parti satellite » du régime en place, et que son attitude était intolérable. Parlant au nom du SDF, le conseiller municipal de Douala 2, Jean Robert Wafo a simplement noté que le parti de Me Momo est une taupe du régime. Les membres du G7 se sont sentis d’autant plus déçus qu’ils font remarquer que Jean De Dieu Momo s’était précipité à la cérémonie d’investiture de Paul Biya le 3 novembre 2011 foulant au pied les contestations des partis de l’opposition. La goutte qui a fait déborder le vase c’est bien le défilé du PADDEC le 20 mai dernier, un comportement digne d’un retournement de veste et pour lequel certains membres du G7 entrevoient déjà l’exclusion du PADDEC de cette plate forme.

L’AFP aussi…

Les militants de l’Alliance des Forces Progressistes ont eux aussi été aperçus dans les rangs du défilé le 20 mai à Yaoundé notamment. Mais le parti de Maître Bernard Muna est rapidement intervenu à travers son secrétariat général pour faire savoir que ces personnes qui ont défilé sous la bannière de l’AFP ne font pas partie de son effectif. Qui sont donc ces « militants » de l’AFP ? La question demeure…

Ces deux cas qui font preuve de la difficile union de l’opposition camerounaise seront certainement examinés au cours de la prochaine rencontre du G7 dont la date et le lieu de sa tenue restent encore un mystère.

© Sandrine Yamga  | 22 Mai 2012 | Cameroon Web News

Case studies are always good practice for students looking to join the ad world, but when the opportunity to pitch to actual clients presents itself, “it’s more fun than a puppy with two tails,” said Professor Jim Avery of the University of Oklahoma.

As part of the Advertising Account Planning course at the University of Oklahoma, a class of 19 students was tapped to pitch recommendations on how Cameroon could boost tourism. The project was structured like a competition, spanning the entire spring semester. At the end of the semester, the minister of tourism traveled to Oklahoma to choose the winning group. The students then had just 10 days to polish and perfect their pitch before traveling to the coastal country in west central Africa to present to the minister of tourism and leisure, the minister of agriculture and more than 50 other representatives and Yaounde University students*.

The recommendations, which include an overhaul of the Cameroon brand image as a transportation hub and a better online presence that utilizes SEO more effectively, are still being reviewed by the ministry. “I personally feel satisfied with the results of the project,” Joseph Nji, chief of service for tourism and hotel management training for the country’s ministry of tourism, told Ad Age. “Implementation will depend on the discretion of the minister of tourism, who is budget manager.” As far as other research projects related to Cameroon tourism, Mr. Nji said there aren’t any. However, the work the students did is definitely part of a bigger push the ministry is working on.

Chelsey Johnston, a graduate student at University of Oklahoma, said working on a project with a real-life problem was incredibly challenging. “They’re putting all this money into tourism and they were wondering why their numbers haven’t been increasing. So they wanted us to create a strategy to better their tourism and encourage more Americans to come to Cameroon. It’s a huge project.”

While visiting the country, the students had their own glimpse at what a tourist to Cameroon would experience — from heckling with the natives on merchandise to eating termites, porcupine and pond shrimp the size of their hands. Ms. Johnston said that the opportunity is there, but the issue is awareness.

Upon their return, the three students — two undergraduates and a graduate student — agreed that despite a language barrier, the experience was something they’ll never forget. “Going into account planning, this was a great experience. We presented for an hour; I was really nervous getting to it,” said Brennen Schleuter, one of the participating students. “It was really like unraveling a mystery. We can pitch anyone anything because we just pitched to Cameroon on their tourism. That experience will definitely pay off.”

The opportunity came about after Mr. Avery, who is a veteran of Saatchi & Saatchi, was invited to teach a class at Yaounde University in Cameroon last year. While there, the administrator of finance asked if he would be willing to do a project for the country. “I said yeah. It’ll be fun,” Mr. Avery recalled. So he made it into a learning experience for his class. “What I would like is that the students get smart and experienced in presenting to high-level people,” Mr. Avery told Ad Age while waiting to board the plane to Cameroon. “Then the students get really excited and take ownership of the project.”

The trip was paid for by the ministry. Considering the travel to and from Cameroon, room and board, and the cost of visas and shots, expenses totaled around $25,000. While Mr. Nji said he’s unsure what kinds of projects could be possible in the future, the ministry did ask if Mr. Avery could execute simple things the country could do right away — press releases, brochures, etc. Mr. Schleuter said he’s ready for more work anyway. “The trip was too short. I’m already making plans to go back during the summer to continue working on projects.”

Riley Wilson | 21 May 2012 | Advertisement Age |

* Comment taken from original story.

Nonobstant le  fait que le club allemand ait dominé pratiquement toute la rencontre, il jouissait d’un autre avantage non moins considérable,  il jouait sur son sol. Les anglais avaient quant à eux, réussi à repousser l’assault de la machine germanique, illustrationfaite par le gardien Petr Cech.

Cette finale a eu ses moments de joies et de frayeurs. Ce fut d’abord le but d’égalisation de Drogba à la 88eme minute du temps réglémentaire, puis ce moment fatidigue dans les prolongations où l’attaquant de pointe anglais, encore lui, a fait une faute sur Ribery dans la surface de vérité. Penalty! dit l’arbitre.

Roben le meilleur joueur du Bayern jusqu’à ce moment là, a tiré sur la gauche de Cech, le gardien de Chelsea. Ce dernier s’est étendu et a stoppé le ballon en deux temps.

Cet épisode a redonner du souffle aux anglais qui sont revenus dans la rencontre jusqu’à l’ultime minute des prolongations.

Enfin, ce fut ce moment redouté par tous les meilleurs de la planète, les tirs au but. Les allemands ayant manqué deux de leurs tirs et les anglais un, il revenait au meilleur avant-centre Ivoirien de Chelsea la tâche difficile de relever l’ultime défi. Il le fit de très belle manière, donnant à Chelsea pour la première fois de son histoire une coupe d’Europe. Un bravo Didier Drogba, qui à notre avis fut le MVP de la rencontre.
Video:

Pour votre plaisir, nous vous invitons à regarder ci-dessous quelques photos de la rencontre, et de voter pour la plus belle.

Photos:

Cameroon Web News|  19 Mai 2012 | Cameroonwebnews.com

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Barcamp Cameroon 2012 Banner - Photo E. Etamba @etamba

Cameroonwebnews| 19 Mai 2012 |

The 1990 World Cup star set up a group last month calling for the axing of the executive committee of the Cameroonian Federation (Fecafoot).

Milla has criticised Fecafoot for the Indomitable Lions‘ dwindling fortunes and lengthy ban for Samuel Eto’o.

“I’ve been waiting for this for a very long time now,” said Milla, 59.

The decision to sack Milla was made at Wednesday’s general assembly meeting of Fecafoot in Yaounde, where support was expressed for long-serving president Mohamed Iya.

Milla, who was accused of “injurious utterances against Fecafoot, its president and management staff”, has often clashed with Cameroon’s football authorities, accusing them of hindering progress.

Undeterred by Wednesday’s decision, he has pledged to continue his campaign to remove the Fecafoot leadership.

“I’ve got to tell you that we’re continuing our fight to get the present management of Fecafoot out of office,” Milla told Associated Press.

“This decision by Fecafoot doesn’t hurt me in the least. I was not an employee of Fecafoot. I was simply providing a helping hand to them to see that our country’s football gets sanity.”

The 1987 African Footballer of the Year‘s criticism of Fecafoot came to the fore after Eto’o was banned for 15 matches for his role in last year’s players’ strike over unpaid bonuses.

Milla and the players’ union said the suspension was excessive and Fecafoot later reduced Eto’o's ban to eight months – effectively four games.

The four-time African Footballer of the Year, who currently plays in Russia, will miss the World Cup qualifiers against Congo and Libya on 2 June and 10 June respectively.

The following weekend, the Indomitable Lions must once again do without their biggest star of recent times, as they host Guinea-Bissau in a 2013 Africa Cup of Nations tie.

Denis Lavagne’s side lead 1-0 from the first leg in February, as they try to return to a competition they missed out on earlier this year.

The Indomitable Lions’ absence from the 2012 Nations Cup was particularly disappointing for their fans, with Cameroon bordering both the countries that co-hosted the finals – Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

Cameroon have participated at five of the last six World Cups but have won just one of their last twelve games at the tournament, when beating Saudi Arabia 1-0 at the 2002 finals in Japan and South Korea.

The Indomitable Lions were ranked as Fifa’s 66th best team in February this year – their lowest rating since the world governing body began its classification in 1993.

Milla shot to prominence at the 1990 World Cup when his four goals propelled Cameroon to the quarter-finals, before extending his record as the World Cup’s oldest scorer in 1994, netting against Russia aged 42.
BBC | May 19, 2012

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