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26, November 2017

Americans set record for gun checks on Black Friday at more than 200,000 ⁰

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has received over 200,000 background check requests from gun dealers across America on Black Friday, the highest demand for guns on a single day since 1998.

Overall there were 203,086 requests were submitted to the bureau, a sizable increase over single-day highs from past years such as 185,713 in 2016, and 185,345 in 2015.

The real number of the guns purchased on Friday is likely higher as multiple firearms can be purchased in just one transaction.

The checks, conducted by the FBI when a gun is purchased from a federally licensed dealer, reveal a person’s record of arrest on the National Instant Criminal Background Check system (NICS).

However, pro-gun activists claim it fails to specify whether an arrest was dismissed or resulted in a conviction.

According to the NICS, five of the top 10 single-day highs have occurred on a Black Friday over the last five years.

The report comes amid heated debates over the need for a more effective background check system following several high-profile mass killings across the US over the past weeks.

In early October, a heavily armed gunman killed 59 and injured more than 500 people at a music concert in Las Vegas, Nevada, which has some of the most lax gun laws in the country.

The shooter, Stephen Paddock, purchased 33 automatic weapons in the last year. Police found a total of 47 guns in the hotel room and house of 64-year-old, who rained down a barrage of bullets from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel towards an open-air concert.

In early November, Devin Patrick Kelley, a former US airman, attacked a small church outside San Antonio, Texas, killing 26 people.

The US Air Force admitted later on that it had failed to enter Kelley’s criminal record into the NICS.

According to a new study published in the journal Health Affairs, more than 100,000 Americans were shot each year from 2006 to 2014, as a result of assaults, accidental shootings or suicide.

Trump’s 2016 election campaign was heavily funded by the NRA. In response, the billionaire had pledged to protect the American gun owners’ right to keep and bear arms, assuring them that they now have a “true friend” in the White House.

Source: Presstv

26, November 2017

Crisis in Ambazonia: Shock as GHS Fontem burns ⁰

Government High School Fontem located in the Ambazonian State of Lebialem was burned on Friday, November 24, 2017. Cameroon Concord News gathered from sources close to the French Cameroun administrative official that flames consumed a good part of the administrative building.

According to French Cameroun news agencies, the fire broke out on the night of Friday around 23:00. An alert was issued to people who were quick to react to save the other buildings of the high school.

The flames were reportedly violent and reduced everything in the office apartment to ashes. One of the teachers who spoke to the media about the incident observed that the computers, chairs, tables and documents were completely consumed by the fire.

The so-called Sous-préfet of Fontem who visited the scene on Saturday morning declared that the origin of the fire is still unknown for the moment, but an investigation was opened to take stock of the situation . Nevertheless, according to one of the school’s discipline masters, the fire was orchestrated by those who want the doors of the institutions to remain closed. Since the beginning of the Anglophone crisis, many schools in the Federal Republic of Amabazonia have been ravaged by flames.

By Eyong Johnson

26, November 2017

US pastor impregnates 14-year-old girl who gave birth to his child ⁰

A certified pastor in the US state of Colorado has been arrested after allegedly impregnating a 14-year old girl, who gave birth to his child.

The 22-year-old pastor, identified as Romello Leach of Colorado Springs, faces multiple charges of sexual assault against a minor, local daily The Gazette reported Saturday, adding that he served as a pastor for several local churches in the city.

According to the report, the unidentified teenage girl gave birth to the child on September 15 when she was 15 years old.

She reportedly did not inform anyone about her pregnancy until her mother noticed her “larger belly” in May, according to arrest records cited in the report.

The teenager’s mother took her to the Colorado Springs Pregnancy Center where they notified an employee that Leach was the father, the affidavit further stated. The employee then informed the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office of the pregnancy, prompting the launch of an investigation.

Leach told his ex-wife in a recorded telephone conversation that he had sexual relations with the teenager and admitted to being the father of her baby, arrest records also indicated.

Leach further explained to his ex-wife that “he knows he had made the worst mistake” and “it’s not like he will go around and sleep with everybody’s 13 or 14-year-daughter,” according to the affidavit.

In a different recorded phone call, Leach admitted to an unidentified person of having sexual relations with the girl at least four times and being the baby’s father. Leach “admitted the behavior was wrong and said he was full of lust at the time,” the daily reported.

Leach is being held at El Paso County jail without bond, the report said, adding that deputies were probing whether there were any other victims of Leach’s.

Culled from Presstv

26, November 2017

Thousands rally in Europe to decry slavery in Libya ⁰

Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in different European capitals for a second day to express anger at the practice of slavery in Libya.

People in the Swedish capital of, Stockholm, gathered in Sergels Torg Square on Saturday to demand an immediate end to slavery, holding signs reading “Stop the slavery, now, now, now” and “Human rights for all,” as they chanted slogans.

More than 50 people were arrested during similar protests in Brussels, the Belgian capital. Violence erupted in that protest when a group of protesters broke away and attacked police, also ransacking shops and hurling projectiles at police, who responded by using water cannon.

Meanwhile, hundreds of members of the African community in the German capital of Berlin rallied outside the Libyan Embassy to express their anger. The demonstrators demanded an end to the enslavement, torture, rape, and murder of black people in the North African country.

An Ethiopian demonstrator, Gizaw, said, “To stop this situation German [sic] has to intervene, EU has to intervene, England, Britain has to intervene and stop financing these criminals in Libya.”

People take part in a demonstration against slavery in Libya, in Marseille, southern France, November 25, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

The protests came a day after demonstrators in Paris and Rome held rallies in front of the Libyan embassies in those cities.

The French demonstrators denounced their country’s military role in the Libyan uprising in 2011, when the then-French president Nicolas Sarkozy pushed for military strikes in Libya.

The protests was prompted by a CNN video report, released last week, which showed sub-Saharan Africans being sold at slave auctions for as little as $400.

After widespread outrage, Libyan Deputy Prime Minister Ahmed Metig vowed, in a statement posted on Facebook, that his UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) would investigate the “slave market” allegations in the North African country.

Libya has faced a power vacuum since a NATO military intervention resulted in the downfall of its longtime dictator, Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Since then, the country has been grappling with chaos and the emergence of numerous militant groups, including the Daesh terrorist group.

(Source: Agencies)

26, November 2017

Battle for Ambazonia: Biya relying on a divided North West Fons Association ⁰

French Cameroun Head of State, President Paul Biya has reportedly confirmed that Prime Minister Philemon Yang and his gang of CPDM elites have failed to resolve the crisis that rocked the former Southern Cameroons territory. Southern Cameroons declared its independence on October 1 and the interim leadership renamed the region, the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

We understand the French Cameroun chief executive and his Francophone emissary Garga Haman Adji were relying on the North West Traditional Chiefs Association to win over back the territory. However, events took a dramatic U turn yesterday Saturday, November 25, 2017 in Nkambe in the North-West Region with a major split within the respected Tikar establishment.

The executive board of the Northwest Traditional Chiefs Association (NOWFU) during yesterday’s session of its the General Assembly, made public a correspondence in which Mr. Paul Biya solicited the contribution of the Fons to calm the discontented populations. To this end, reported state radio and television, “the president of the NOWFU invited his peers to prepare very quickly the grievances of their people that they will present to the head of state.”

Information filtered to Etoudi that this new attempt by Paul Biya is also bound to fail in all likelihood because; NOWFU itself is going through a crisis of leadership. While Fon Teche Njei, the incumbent president, was organizing the Elective General Assembly in Nkambe, a dissident faction of NOWFU was holding another meeting on the side in Bamenda.

The Ambazonia crisis which has lasted for more than a year now has been worsening over the past few days. On high instructions from the French Cameroun dictator Paul Biya, Prime Minister Philemon Yang has conducted no less than three missions to dialogue with elites and local populations to find ways and means away out of the crisis. The stagnation of the socio-political tension is proof that the Prime Minister and all the personalities who constituted his suite failed brilliantly in their missions ..

By Rita Akana, with files from CIN

26, November 2017

France: Macron unveils plan to contain violence against women ⁰

French President Emmanuel Macron has strongly condemned the “horrific and shameful” violence against women in the country, introducing a package of measures aimed at curbing the phenomenon.

“Our entire society is sick with sexism,” Macron said in a speech marking the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women in the capital Paris on Saturday.

“France must no longer be one of those countries where women are afraid,” he added.

The French president called for a “pact of gender equality” as he outlined plans to combat sexual harassment and violence.

He said educating schoolchildren and improving police support for rape and assault victims must serve as major guidelines.

The proposals also include criminalizing street harassment and extending the statute of limitation for the rape of minors to 30 years from 20 years.

Macron, who won the presidential election in May, had made gender equality one of the main themes of his five-year term in office.

French activists welcomed the measures as being in the right direction, but called for adequate funding for their effective implementation.

Statistics show that over 80,000 adult women face rape or attempted rape in France every year while only 10 percent file a complaint.

The European country has often debated sexual harassment over the past decade following scandals involving French politicians.

Six years ago, former finance minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn was forced to resign as head of the International Monetary Fund due to a sex scandal.

Culled from Presstv

25, November 2017

Libya: 31 refugees drown as boat sinks off western coast ⁰

At least 31 refugees have died after their Europe-bound boat capsized off Libya’s western coast, Libyan coastguard officials say.

The flimsy boat overturned on Saturday and the Libyan coastguard brought some 200 survivors back to port in the Libyan capital Tripoli.

The volatile North African nation, effectively run by competing militia groups, has remained a key transit hub for asylum seekers from war-ravaged countries trying to reach Europe. Most refugees are packed into flimsy inflatable boats that often break down or sink.

Many are picked up by international vessels and taken to Italy, where more than 115,000 have landed since the end of August this year.

An increasing number of refugees and asylum seekers are intercepted by Libya’s European-backed coastguard and returned to the North African country.

Refugees arrive at a naval base after they were rescued by Libya’s coastal guard in Tripoli, Libya, November 23, 2017. (Photo by Reuters)

The United Nations migration agency said on Friday that more than 33,000 refugees had died at sea while trying to reach European shores since 2000, making the Mediterranean “by far the world’s deadliest border.”

On Friday, the Libyan coast guard rescued some 378 refugees after their boats sustained damage in the Mediterranean Sea, officials said, adding that the rescue operation lasted over 72 hours.

Italy’s coast guard also said that some 1,600 refugees had been rescued from nearly 20 vessels in the central Mediterranean on Wednesday and Thursday.

Source: Presstv

25, November 2017

Zimbabwe court declares military action against Mugabe ‘constitutional’ ⁰

A Zimbabwean high court has ruled that the military action leading to former President Robert Mugabe’s resignation was “constitutional” and not a coup.

“Actions by the Zimbabwe Defense Forces to stop the usurping of power by those close to former president Robert Mugabe are constitutional,” state-run Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) media quoted officials of the top court as saying.

Referring to Mugabe’s wife Grace and her supporters, the court ruled that the takeover was “to ensure the non-elected individual do not exercise powers that can only be exercised by (those) elected.”

This photo taken on June 02, 2017 shows then-Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe (L) with his wife Grace Mugabe (R) raising their fists in a vehicle during a Zimbabwe ruling party rally at Rudhaka Stadium in Marondera. (By AFP)

The tribunal also noted that Mugabe’s firing of his former deputy, Emmerson Mnangagwa, over a power struggle between him as his wife earlier this month had been against the law.

On November 23, Mugabe finally succumbed to pressures and stepped down after 37 years in power.

Zimbabwean new interim President Emmerson Mnangagwa takes the oath of office before the chief judge of the Supreme Court as he is officially sworn-in during a ceremony in Harare on November 24, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

The resignation came several days after army chiefs put military vehicles on the streets of the capital, Harare and placed the 93-year-old leader under house arrest. Many Zimbabweans celebrated the end of Mugabe’s rule.

A day after, his sacked deputy, Mnangagwa, was sworn in as the country’s interim president, vowing sweeping changes and seeking to attract foreign investment to revive the moribund economy in the south African country.

Mnangagwa is Zimbabwe’s second president since the country gained independence from British colonial rule in 1981.

Source: Presstv

25, November 2017

Ambazonia: Muyuka market on fire ⁰

The Muyuka Main Market in the Fako constituency has partially been ravaged by fire. The incident occurred on the night of 23rd to 24^th of November 2017. The fire whose origin remains undetermined has reduced to ashes more than a dozen shops. The president of the market interviewed by Canal 2 international television revealed that the fire started at “midnight and everything was automatically reduced to ashes. My life ends in this fire” he pointed out. According to an initial estimate, material losses are significant and can be estimated at several million CFA francs.

Market fires in the one time United Republic of Cameroon are a phenomenon. They are recorded everywhere in the country. The capital, Yaoundé, has been hit at least twice in recent months. On August 22, 2017, it was the central market that saw 50 stores go up in smoke. A few months earlier, in April 2017, the Etoudi market, in the district hosting the Presidency of La Republique du Cameroun was attacked by the flames. Investigations have shown most of the time that poor electrical installations cause damage in commercial spaces.

Source: Cameroun Info.Net

25, November 2017

Time magazine rejects Trump’s ‘Person of the Year’ claim ⁰

The Time news magazine has disputed US President Donald Trump’s claim that he turned down the American weekly’s “Person of the Year” honor after being told that he would only “probably” receive the designation.

The pushback came after Trump tweeted on Friday that he turned down the distinction, because the magazine did not guarantee him the spot.

“Time Magazine called to say that I was PROBABLY going to be named “Man (Person) of the Year,” like last year but I would have to agree to an interview and a major photo shoot. I said probably no good and took a pass. Thanks anyway!” the president tweeted.

The magazine issued a statement disputing Trump. “The President is incorrect about how we choose Person of the Year. TIME does not comment on our choice until publication, which is December 6,” a spokeswoman told CNN.

Time’s chief content officer, Alan Murray, also shot back at Trump from his own Twitter account.

Trump has previously criticized the magazine for not being selected in past years. “Thank you @oreillyfactor for your wonderful editorial as to why I should have been @TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year. You should run Time!” Trump tweeted in December 2015.

In December 2012, Trump tweeted, “I knew last year that @TIME Magazine lost all credibility when they didn’t include me in their Top 100… ”

Trump has long been obsessed with being on the cover of TIME and other news magazines, even making fake covers to hang in some of his properties.

In June, The Washington Post reported that at least four Trump Organization properties had on display a fake Time magazine with Trump on the cover and featuring flattering headlines about his reality TV show, “The Apprentice.”

Source: Presstv