Southern Cameroons Crisis: After a week of tensions, Macron defuses the situation with Biya

13, March 2020

Southern Cameroons Crisis: After a week of tensions, Macron defuses the situation with Biya 0

Macron and Biya put aside their differences to talk about resolving violence in Cameroon.

The presidents of France and Cameroon “agreed on the need for an impartial inquiry” into the violence perpetrated in Cameroon’s Northwest Province during a phone conversation between the two heads of state on Sunday, 1 March.

Emmanuel Macron’s controversial remarks that set off a firestorm on 22 February when he promised to exert “maximum pressure” on Paul Biya to bring “Cameroon’s intolerable violence” to an end are but a distant memory. The French authorities are now evidently looking to calm the diplomatic spat.

The terse communiqué released by the French president’s press office expresses France’s evident resolve to de-escalate tensions between Yaoundé and Paris after they had mounted in the week leading up to 1 March.

Accordingly, during the phone call, Biya and Macron “agreed on the need for an impartial inquiry in response to the violence perpetrated against civilians in Ngarbuh village in the Northwest Province.”

Hardly a concession for Yaoundé given that it recently ordered the opening of an inquiry.

Significant support

The very same communiqué also indicates that “both presidents agreed to keep in touch to follow up on the political initiatives resulting from the Major National Dialogue,” without ever mentioning the issue of political prisoners or negotiations with secessionists, two taboo subjects for Cameroon’s government.

However, Macron had previously assured the leader of the Brigade anti-sardinards (BAS) activist group, Calibri Calibro, who had questioned him on the matter, that he would speak with the Cameroonian president about the crisis.

“I’m going to call President Biya next week and we’re going to put as much pressure as possible to bring an end to the situation,” the French head of state had said regarding the Ngarbuh massacre.

Does Macron’s return to diplomatic norms have something to do with the Cameroonian authorities’ strong reaction to his comments, with the government using every means at its disposal to convey its discontent? It is hard to say for sure.

What is certain is that the chants shouted by the “young onlookers” who took to the streets to denounce Macron’s remarks outside the French embassy on 24 February reached the highest French officials via a detailed report which, according to our sources, was sent to the Quai d’Orsay, the site of France’s diplomatic headquarters.

In light of Macron’s tempered stance, Yaoundé is expected to retain France’s support in the endless crisis pitting Anglophone separatists against Cameroon’s government. Yaoundé is trying to negotiate with international players that seek to open a direct dialogue with the currently incarcerated leaders of the separatist movement. The violence continues to take a heavy civilian toll.

Source: The Africa Report

Brazilian who met Trump tests positive for COVID-19

12, March 2020

Brazilian who met Trump tests positive for COVID-19 0

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s communications chief, who met Donald Trump last weekend at his Florida resort, has tested positive for the new coronavirus, the government said Thursday.

Fabio Wajngarten, chief spokesman for the Brazilian government, traveled with Bolsonaro last Saturday to Tuesday to the United States, where the far-right leader — who has been dubbed a “Tropical Trump” — met with his US counterpart.

Wajngarten, who posted a picture to his Instagram account that shows him side-by-side with Trump, developed flu-like symptoms and tested positive for the virus that has become a global pandemic, the Brazilian presidency said in a statement.

Trump said he was unconcerned and downplayed his contact with “the press aide,” apparently referring to Wajngarten.

“I did hear something about that. We had dinner together in Florida, in Mar-a-Lago, with the entire delegation. I don’t know if the press aide was there. If he was there, he was there. But we did nothing very unusual,” he said.

“Let me put it this way, I’m not concerned,” he said, speaking a day after announcing a shock 30-day ban on travel from mainland Europe because of the pandemic.

Brazilian media reports said Bolsonaro had also been tested for the virus.

Newspaper O Globo reported that the US embassy in Brasilia had contacted the Brazilian government for information on Wajngarten’s test.

The embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AFP.

The Brazilian president’s office “has taken and is taking all necessary preventive measures to protect the health of the president and all staff that traveled with him to the United States,” it said in a statement.

“This is because one of the officials in the group, Presidential Communications Secretary Fabio Wajngarten, is infected with the new coronavirus, COVID-19, as confirmed by a second test that was recently carried out.”

Bolsonaro, an admirer of Trump, met the US president at a lunch on Saturday.

After the meeting, Wajngarten posted a picture of himself standing next to Trump and wearing a hat reading “Make Brazil Great Again.”

In the picture, Trump, who is holding a similar hat, is standing next to Vice President Mike Pence.

Source:  AFP

Coronavirus Outbreak: US President and Irish Prime Minister had a “strange” moment when it came to the traditional handshake

12, March 2020

Coronavirus Outbreak: US President and Irish Prime Minister had a “strange” moment when it came to the traditional handshake 0

President Donald Trump and Ireland’s visiting prime minister, Leo Varadkhar, had a “strange” moment Thursday when it came to the traditional handshake.

“We looked at each other. We said ‘What are we going to do?'” Trump said to laughter in the Oval Office at the White House.

No one shakes hands more than politicians, but the age of coronavirus is forcing them to rethink.

“It’s a very strange feeling,” Trump said, describing the moment he greeted Varadkhar for the traditional annual visit of Ireland’s leader ahead of Saint Patrick’s Day.

Trump openly admits he is a germaphobe and never liked shaking hands anyway, but said “once you become a politician, shaking hands is very normal.”

He joked that on his recent visit to India he’d avoided exposure because of the country’s tradition of clasping hands as a greeting.

India and Japan, which has a tradition of bowing, are “ahead of the curve,” Trump said.

However, during the two-day trip to India Trump was frequently seen shaking hands and even hugging Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Varadkhar said touchy feely politicians are just going to have to get used to it as long as the coronavirus pandemic continues.

“It feels impersonal, it feels like you’re being rude, but we just can’t afford to think like that for the next few weeks,” he said.

Source:  AFP

CPDM Crime Syndicate: What you should know about Biya and the Fotso family

12, March 2020

CPDM Crime Syndicate: What you should know about Biya and the Fotso family 0

President Biya recently ordered the release of 89 million 917 thousand 374 FCFA to settle a slate and deposit a provision for medical care and hospitalization cost for Yves Michel Fotso son of a French Cameroun billionaire.

Michel Fotso, sentenced twice to life imprisonment for embezzlement of public funds during his tenure as head of the Cameroon Airlines Company (Camair-Co) is currently receiving treatment in Morocco. Cameroon Concord News understands he was evacuated to the Arab Kingdom in August 2019.

According to a leaked document signed by Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, Minister-Secretary General at the Presidency of the Republic, Biya directed the recipient, notably the Minister of Finance, to put at the disposal of the defence attaché at the Cameroonian embassy in Rabat (Morocco), the sum of 89 million 917 thousand 374 FCFA to foot Michel Fotso’s medical bills.

The sum disbursed includes a clearance of the initial allocation of 17 million 879 thousand 914 FCFA and a settlement of the remaining hospitalisation cost of 31 million 352 thousand 841 FCFA.

The document also spoke of a provision to cover Michel Fotso’s cost of living in Morocco estimated at 40 million 684 thousand 619 FCFA.

The document aroused the indignation of Cameroonians who wondered aloud about the preferential treatment of a few privileged citizens including VIP prisoners while the vast majority languishes in misery and poverty.

By Rita Akana

Spain’s coronavirus: Real Madrid go into quarantine, La Liga suspended

12, March 2020

Spain’s coronavirus: Real Madrid go into quarantine, La Liga suspended 0

Spanish football team Real Madrid went into quarantine on Thursday as La Liga announced the country’s top two divisions will be suspended for at least two weeks over the coronavirus, as Spain’s toll from the disease has soared to nearly 3,000 cases – quadrupling in more than three days –- with 87 deaths. A cabinet member is among those infected.

La Liga authorities made the decision after Real Madrid confirmed its senior football team is in quarantine after one of the club’s basketball players tested positive for the virus. Real Madrid’s football and basketball players share facilities at Ciudad Real Madrid, the club’s training ground in Valdebebas.

A club statement read: “A player from our basketball first team has tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus.

“Since then, the recommendation has been made to quarantine both the basketball first team and the football first team, given that the two squads share facilities in Ciudad Real Madrid. 

“Likewise, it has been decided to close the facilities at our training ground and it is also recommended that all Real Madrid personnel who work there remain in quarantine.”

La Liga has also followed Italy’s Serie A in suspending its matches, after a meeting on Thursday with the Spanish Football Federation and the Spanish Players Union (AFE).

It had been decided on Tuesday that games in Spain’s top two divisions would be held behind closed doors but those fixtures over the next 14 days will now be suspended.

Real’s second leg away to Manchester City in the Champions League last 16, scheduled for next Tuesday, is also in serious doubt.

Barcelona have already confirmed their tie against Napoli at Camp Nou on Wednesday will be played without fans, although UEFA is facing mounting pressure to postpone completely both the Champions League and Europa League.

Domestic league matches in France, Germany and Portugal have been put behind closed doors while Serie A in Italy has been suspended until April 3.

A La Liga statement read: “In view of the circumstances known this morning, referring to the quarantine established in Real Madrid and the possible positive tests from players at other clubs, La Liga considers that the circumstances now exist to continue with the next phase of action against COVID-19.”

“La Liga agrees to suspend at least the next two matchdays,” the statement added. “This decision will be re-evaluated after the quarantine at affected clubs and other possible situations that could occur have ended.”

And not just sport

The suspension of Spain’s iconic football league comes as equality minister Irene Montero tested positive for coronavirus and was quarantined along with her boyfriend, deputy prime minister and Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias, on Thursday.

“This morning, all members of the government will undergo testing,” the government’s statement added, indicating the results would be published later in the day.

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will hold all meetings via video conference in response to Montero’s infection.

Sanchez will head a reduced cabinet meeting on Thursday only attended by the ministers whose presence is needed to approve new measures against coronavirus spreading.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP and REUTERS)

COVID-19: International Conference on the armed conflict in Southern Cameroons postponed

12, March 2020

COVID-19: International Conference on the armed conflict in Southern Cameroons postponed 0

The Coalition for Dialogue and Negotiation(CDN), has concluded consultations with Washington D.C. local health officials and George Washington University event management team about the ongoing spread of COVID-19 and the prospect of holding the three (3) day “International Conference on the Armed Conflict in the Southern Cameroons” at the George Washington University from March 19-21, 2020.Putting the safety of all participants first, the Coalition hereby announces its decision to postpone the conference to June 18-20, 2020 at the same venue. During this time the Working Groups will continue to meet and deliberate.

 The Coalition also assessed current measures, including online classes and work from home options, taken by different universities and corporate institutions in the U.S. and worldwide, limiting travel by staff and in some cases their families. These life saving measures impact the ability of many conference participants to travel within the U.S. and from around the world to the U.S. As we closely monitor the evolution of actions taken by the U.S. and other governments, we will continue to build momentum for the conference as well as maintain pressure for the international community to engage forcefully to end the ongoing armed conflict in the Southern Cameroons.

Continued fighting in the Southern Cameroons has since 2017 reportedly resulted in more than 12,000 deaths, arbitrary arrests, and imprisonment of Southern Cameroonians. The government of Cameroon reported the killing of at least 700 of its security forces and administrative personnel. Over 300 villages have been razed forcing the displacement of more than 900,000 and over 60,000 seeking refuge in other countries including Nigeria and the United States. An estimated one million children have been unable to attend school for the past three years, and approximately 1.9 million face severe hunger. Several attempts of the government of Cameroon to quench the armed conflict without addressing the root causes have continue to fail.

 The Coalition will keep you updated with every new information pertaining to this armed conflict and the international conference. The conference website https://aic.coalitionfdn.org/will also be updated regularly.Thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing you in June 2020. We are deeply sorry for the inconveniences this postponement may cause you.

 Sincerely,

For the Steering Committee,

Champions League: Liverpool sunk by Atletico extra-time triple

12, March 2020

Champions League: Liverpool sunk by Atletico extra-time triple 0

Holders Liverpool crashed out of the Champions League in the last 16 after Atletico Madrid scored three goals in extra time to earn a shock 3-2 victory at Anfield on Wednesday that sent them through 4-2 on aggregate.

After falling 2-0 down on the night, substitute Marcos Llorente struck twice in extra time and Alvaro Morata added a late third to ensure a famous victory for Diego Simeone’s side against a Liverpool team unbeaten in their last 25 home games in European competition.

Premier League leaders Liverpool enjoyed the greater possession, created more chances, drew a series of saves from Atletico keeper Jan Oblak and scored through Georginino Wijnaldum and Roberto Firmino.

Yet after last season’s memorable comeback by Liverpool against Barcelona in the semi-finals, it was the Spaniards who turned the tables this time.

Simeone’s Atletico are famed for their defensive solidity and their superb organisation and those qualities were on full display, but it was their clinical finishing and remarkable spirit that proved the key elements.

“We don’t know where our limit is,” said Llorente who had only scored once for Atletico before this game.

“We all defended until the death and when a team all digs in like this, things like this happen. I cannot describe this feeling,” he said.

Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp was not impressed with Atletico’s approach, however.

“I don’t understand with the quality they have the football they play. They could play proper football but they stand deep and have counter attacks,” said the German.

“We accept it of course but it doesn’t feel right tonight,” he said.

After allowing an early chance for Diego Costa, which the former Chelsea forward drove into the side-netting, Liverpool, trailing 1-0 from the first leg, laid siege to the Atletico goal.

They powered forward in waves of attacks but Atletico were resilient with central defenders Stefan Savic and Felipe foiling everything Klopp’s side threw at them.

The home team broke through two minutes before halftime when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain burst to the byline and pulled back a cross to Wijnaldum who powered an angled header into the bottom corner.

Little change

There was little change to the pattern of the game after the interval with Liverpool peppering Oblak’s goal but the Slovenian proved himself up to the task, denying efforts from Mohamed Salah, Firmino and Sadio Mane while Andy Robertson headed against the bar.

Atletico thought they had grabbed a stoppage-time winner when Saul Niguez headed in a Renan Lodi cross but the effort was rightly flagged for offside, ensuring the game went to extra time.

It took just four minutes for Liverpool to take the lead in the tie with Firmino heading against the post and driving home the loose ball as Anfield got ready for a night of celebration.

Yet then it all went wrong for Klopp’s side.

Goalkeeper Adrian, standing in for the injured Alisson Becker, passed the ball out straight to Joao Felix who fed Llorente and the substitute punished the Spanish keeper with a precise shot into the far corner.

Llorente produced a carbon-copy finish following good work on the counter from Morata to end Liverpool’s hopes of defending their European crown.

Morata put the icing on the cake in the final moments with a cool finish after Liverpool had thrown all their players forward.

The pain of this exit will surely ease for Liverpool, who are 25 points clear in the Premier League and will soon win their first domestic league title for 30 years.

But for Atletico, who have never won Europe’s premier club competition, this was a triumph which will have them dreaming of even greater things.

“This will go down in our history,” said Simeone.

“It fills us with pride as a club, to be once more one of the top eight clubs in Europe.”

(REUTERS)

Nigeria: Emir’s fall shows limits for traditional rulers

12, March 2020

Nigeria: Emir’s fall shows limits for traditional rulers 0

An outspoken ruler mired in conflicts is ousted without warning from his palace and banished under armed guard into an uncertain exile beyond the borders of his realm.

This is not the plot of a Shakespearean tragedy, but the real-life drama that has played out in northern Nigeria’s influential Islamic emirate of Kano as traditional leader Muhammadu Sanusi II was unceremoniously deposed by the local governor.

The sudden fall of one of the country’s most revered hereditary rulers on Monday rattled the 1,000-year-old kingdom — and has shown the difficult balancing act facing the ancient monarchies of modern-day Nigeria.

Sanusi, also known by his birth name Lamido, had been a mould-breaker since ascending to the throne of the emirate of millions in 2014 after the death of his great-uncle.

The 58-year-old former central bank governor was already known for his outspokenness when he claimed the title and carved out a reputation as a moderniser willing to criticise practices like having multiple wives and children without being able to support them.

He was also not afraid of taking on the powerful politicians running northern Nigeria — lambasting them for leadership failures.

“It’s no secret that many of our political leaders are inept and not well educated,” the emir wrote back in 2017.

“Nigerians have learnt from experience not to expect much from them.”

The ruler’s main nemesis — and the man who ultimately unseated him — was regional governor Abdullahi Ganduje.

Ganduje suspected the emir of backing his political rival and had already divided up his territory and launched a corruption probe to try to bring him to heel.

On Monday their feud came to a head when Sanusi was unexpectedly removed for “total disrespect”.

“The governor decided that enough is enough and moved against him,” said Adewunmi Falode, a history professor at Lagos state university.

“It’s a signal that the ultimate power rests with the government while the emir is just a symbol of spirituality, culture and tradition without real power and influence.”

The deposed ruler was detained by police at his palace before being spirited out of Kano to exile in a remote village in another state where he is expected to remain incommunicado.

– ‘Seen not heard’ –

There are dozens of traditional rulers across Africa’s most populous country.

They have no official constitutional powers but are important cultural custodians who often wield great influence over their followers.

Relics from a period when monarchies dominated this region, they rely now on regional governments for their funding and their succession is regulated by elected officials.

While they lack practical power, their patronage can be key at elections when Nigeria’s notoriously cutthroat politicians jostle for votes.

But their role remains ambiguous — and when Sanusi began to talk up some complained that he was overstepping the boundaries and flouting the strict protocol of the palace.

“It is an established custom that the emir should be seen not heard,” a Kano court insider told AFP on condition of anonymity.

“But Sanusi violated that important tradition and would talk like a parrot anywhere, anytime and on any topic — this eroded the mystic and prestige around his person in the eyes of the people.”

That could in part explain the muted response to his removal on the streets of his former kingdom.

While moves to depose previous emirs provoked deadly violence in decades past, this time around there have been no major protests.

– ‘Archaic practice’ –

If anything highlighted the uncomfortable divide between modernity and tradition that the monarchies straddle — it was the nature of Sanusi’s removal.

The lightning move to turf him out was down to a powerplay typical of the political tussles of contemporary Nigeria.

Within hours a replacement had been installed — and the former ruler released a video message pledging his allegiance.

But the decision to detain and banish Sanusi to an undisclosed location proved controversial.

Amnesty International’s Nigerian branch complained on Twitter that “placing him incommunicado violates his human rights”.

The tactic dates back to the days when the British Empire dominated Nigeria with its strategy of divide-and-rule and would exile leaders viewed as troublesome.

“The archaic practice of banishment of deposed Emirs, a colonial practice, has no basis under Nigerian law or the constitution,” Abubakar Balarabe Mahmoud, a lawyer for Sanusi, said in a statement.

His legal team insisted they would go to court to challenge the legality of his treatment.

“We are totally perplexed at the resort to this practice in present day Nigeria by its political leaders.”

Source: AFP

Coronavirus Fears: Manchester City vs. Arsenal postponed

11, March 2020

Coronavirus Fears: Manchester City vs. Arsenal postponed 0

Manchester City’s Premier League home match against Arsenal, which was scheduled for tonight, has been postponed, due to concerns over the coronavirus.

The decision to postpone the game has been taken after it emerged that some personnel from Arsenal have come into contact with the olympiacos owner, Evangelos Marinakis, who has been diagnosed with the coronavirus.

A number of players from Arsenal’s squad had met the 52 year old, following their Europa League meeting in London on February 27th.

Arsenal said the risk to their players was extremely low, but they would follow the medical guidelines, which recommend anyone coming into close contact with someone with the virus should self-isolate at home for 14 days.

The match against Arsenal was going to be the 1st time Pep Guardiola would have faced his former assistant, Mikel Arteta, who moved from City to the Gunners in December.

It’s also the 1st Premier League match that’s been called-off due to the coronavirus, but, for the moment, there have been no plans for any further postponements.

Source: Presstv

WHO declares COVID-19 ‘a pandemic’, concerned by ‘alarming levels of inaction’

11, March 2020

WHO declares COVID-19 ‘a pandemic’, concerned by ‘alarming levels of inaction’ 0

The World Health Organization declared Wednesday that the global coronavirus crisis is now a pandemic, expressing increasing alarm about mounting infections.

“We are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity and by the alarming levels of inaction. We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterised as a pandemic,” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference.

“All countries can still change the course of this pandemic. If countries detect, test, treat, isolate, trace and mobilize their people in the response,” Ghebreyesus said.

The novel coronavirus, which emerged in China in December, has spread around the world, halting industry, bringing flights to a standstill, closing schools and forcing the postponement of sporting events and concerts.

The WHO declared a public health emergency of international concern, its “highest level of alarm”, on January 30 when there were fewer than 100 cases of COVID-19 outside China and eight cases of human-to-human transmission of the disease.

Now there are more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries, and 4,291 people have died, Ghebreyesus said, with the numbers expected to climb.

The WHO no longer has a category for declaring a pandemic, except for influenza.

But WHO officials have signalled for weeks that they may use the word “pandemic” as a descriptive term, but stressed that it does not carry legal significance. The novel coronavirus is not the flu.

Under its previous system, the Geneva-based agency declared the 2009 H1N1 swine flu outbreak a pandemic. It turned out to be mild, leading to some criticism after pharmaceutical companies rushed development of vaccines and drugs.

(FRANCE 24 with AP and REUTERS)

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