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9, December 2023

Ambazonia Crisis: Nigerian lawmaker urges action on Amba attacks ⁰

The member of the House of Representatives representing Obanliku/Bekwarra/Obudu Federal Constituency, Hon Peter Akpanke, has decried attacks by Cameroonian Ambazonian separatists on Belegete community of Obanliku local government area of Cross River State, saying it had left him in bitterness, sadness and disappointment.

Hon Akpanke stated this at a press conference in Abuja, describing the attacks as horrific. He said the attackers abducted the clan head of Belegete community, Chief Ogweshi Francis and 30 others, including women and children.

The lawmaker noted that the Belegete community is very rich in natural resources like Uranium and Lithium and this is one of the major reasons the separatists from Cameroon attacked.

He, therefore, called on the federal government to, as a matter of urgency, intervene to forestall more pains from being inflicted on the community by ordering relevant security agencies to mount posts across the border.

The lawmaker also called the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to swiftly provide vital assistance for those affected and the ministry of humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation to include areas affected by these acts that threaten the nation as well as places where Cameroonian persons of concern reside as high priority areas.

Source: Leadership.ng

9, December 2023

FECAFOOT Crisis: Release of an indictment of Samuel Eto’o in book ⁰

Samuel Eto’o was clearly unaware of the publication of a book dedicated to the first two years of his presidency at the head of the Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT), written by journalist Jean-Bruno Tagne, who was once his campaign manager.

The title, “L’arnaque” (“The scam”), is quite evocative and should make the former captain and striker of the Indomitable Lions sit up and take notice.

In it, the author discusses the campaign, Eto’o’s first two years and the broken promises, the numerous affairs that have rocked the body, the organization of competitions, as well as FECAFOOT governance and the “very personal” exercise of power. The interested party’s reaction should not be long in coming…

Source: Sports news africa

9, December 2023

Football: Real Madrid held as Ruibal rocket earns draw for Betis ⁰

Leaders Real Madrid stumbled to a 1-1 draw at Real Betis on Saturday as Aitor Ruibal’s brilliant strike cancelled out Jude Bellingham’s league-best 12th goal of the season.

Bellingham slotted Madrid ahead at the Benito Villamarin early in the second half after combining magnificently with Brahim Diaz.

But Ruibal drilled an angled shot into the top corner from outside the area to earn Betis a point and extend their unbeaten run in La Liga to 11 matches.

Madrid pulled one point clear of Girona but could lose top spot on Sunday if the surprise challengers beat neighbours Barcelona in a Catalan derby.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side thought they had taken the lead when Diaz turned in from close range on 16 minutes after a superb exchange between Bellingham and Rodrygo.

Bellingham backheeled the ball towards Rodrygo who slid the ball between the legs of a defender. An attempted clearance ricocheted off Rodrygo and left Diaz with a tap-in, but the Brazilian was offside in the build-up.

Chasing a fifth successive home league win, Betis twice went close as Ayoze Perez saw an attempt well saved by Andriy Lunin before Willian Jose bent an effort narrowly wide of the far post.

Betis goalkeeper Rui Silva clawed behind a long-range drive from Luka Modric, but he was powerless to stop Bellingham breaking the deadlock eight minutes after half-time.

The England midfielder retrieved the ball deep in Betis territory near the touchline, finding Diaz and chesting down the scooped return pass as he strode into the box and stroked past Silva.

Madrid’s lead lasted only 13 minutes as Ruibal was afforded far too much time and space before he rifled home from 20 metres, grabbing his first league goal in a two-and-a-half years.

Both teams pushed for a winner and former Madrid attacker Isco nearly undid his old club when he headed against the post.

Joselu dribbled an effort agonisingly wide in stoppage time at the other end before Lunin tipped over centre-back Chadi Riad’s header with the last touch of the game.

Source: AFP

8, December 2023

CPDM Crime Syndicate: Biya wants Camtel to remain a public entity ⁰

Cameroon’s President Paul Biya opposes the privatization of the country’s incumbent telecoms operator, Camtel. The decision was the subject of a letter addressed on December 4, 2023, by the Secretary-General of the Presidency (SGPR) to the Minister of Finance (Minfi).

Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh instructs Minister Louis Paul Motazé, also the president of the Interministerial Committee for the Rehabilitation of Public and Parastatal Enterprises, to suspend any rehabilitation plan aiming at privatizing Camtel or any segment of its operations. The SGPR’s letter follows Minister Motazé’s appearance before the National Assembly’s Finance and Budget Committee on November 15, 2023, where he defended the 2022 budget settlement. Responding to questions about Camtel’s underwhelming performance compared to other telecom operators, the Finance Minister revealed the government’s intention to restructure the telecom giant into three entities, forming a holding.

“Referring to Camtel’s low level of competitiveness, given the dynamism observed in the telecommunications sector, the Finance Minister acknowledged that the company’s performance was not up to expectations. For this reason, an inter-ministerial committee has been set up to examine the restructuring of the company. The government is currently considering how to improve the company’s performance. It is envisaged that the company will be transformed into a holding company made up of three entities”, reads the report on the work of the National Assembly’s Finance and Budget Committee, on the defense of the 2022 Settlement Act by the Minister of Finance.

The report also mentions the plan to alleviate the significant burden on Camtel, including its 4,000 employees and a heavy debt of CFA600 billion. However, the minister did not explicitly mention privatization during his presentation to the deputies.

Furthermore, sources close to Camtel’s rehabilitation discussions disclosed that a ministerial-level meeting took place to address the alarming situation of Camtel. Representatives from the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (Minpostel), the Ministry of the Economy (Minepat), and Camtel’s Director-General were present alongside the Minister of Finance (Minfi) and a representative from the Presidency. Contrary to claims of privatization, major proposals focus on reinforcing the autonomy of business units (fixed, mobile, transport) under Camtel, reducing staff, and addressing the substantial debt.

Since 2020, Camtel has held three licenses, covering the operation of electronic communications transport networks, fixed communications networks, and mobile networks. The Finance Minister’s revelation of the transformation project into a holding with three subsidiaries corresponds to the specifics of these licenses.

In response to the President’s opposition to privatization, discussions arise about the suggested holding structure. A holding, or “mother company,” can have its assets predominantly or wholly owned by the state or its entities, maintaining the company in the public domain. However, assets in both the holding and its subsidiaries could also be majority or wholly owned by private operators, aligning with the concept of privatization.

This proposed option, which the President opposes according to the SGPR’s letter, appears more reassuring to many telecom operators in Cameroon. Critics argue that Camtel, operating as a wholesaler managing infrastructure leased by other actors, competes directly with retailers, such as mobile operators and internet service providers.

A 2017 report entitled “Cameroon Economic Memorandum” by the World Bank supports this perspective, suggesting the government ends the monopoly of companies like Camtel and Bolloré in sectors producing essential inputs for other activities. During a workshop in March 2017 in the Cameroonian capital on determining reforms for improving the competitiveness of the ICT sector in Cameroon, the World Bank recommended transforming Camtel into a holding with two entities: one controlled by the state, managing infrastructure and fixed telephony networks; and another dedicated to mobile services and the marketing of home fiber optics, open to private investors.

Source: Business in Cameroon

8, December 2023

Moscow: Putin announces presidential candidacy in 2024 elections ⁰

Vladimir Putin on Friday moved to prolong his grip on Russia for at least another six years, announcing his candidacy in the presidential election next March that he is all but certain to win.

Putin still commands wide support after nearly a quarter-century in power, despite starting an immensely costly war in Ukraine that has taken thousands of his countrymen’s lives, provoked repeated attacks inside Russia – including one on the Kremlin itself – and corroded its aura of invincibility.

A short-lived rebellion in June by mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin raised widespread speculation that Putin could be losing his grip, but he emerged with no permanent scars.

Putin announced his decision to run in the March 17 presidential election after a Kremlin award ceremony, when war veterans and others pleaded with him to seek re-election.

“I won’t hide it from you – I had various thoughts about it over time, but now, you’re right, it’s necessary to make a decision,” Putin said in a video released by the Kremlin after the event. “I will run for president of the Russian Federation.”

Tatiana Stanovaya of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center noted that the announcement was made in a low-key way instead of a live televised speech, probably reflecting the Kremlin’s spin effort to emphasize Putin’s modesty and his perceived focus on doing his job as opposed to loud campaigning.

“It’s not about prosperity, it’s about survival,” Stanovaya observed. “The stakes have been raised to the maximum.”

About 80% of the populace approves of Putin’s performance, according to the independent pollster Levada Center. That support might come from the heart or it might reflect submission to a leader whose crackdown on any opposition has made even relatively mild criticism perilous.

Whether due to real or coerced support, Putin is expected to face only token opposition on the ballot.

Putin, 71, has twice used his leverage to amend the constitution so he could theoretically stay in power until he’s in his mid-80s. He is already the longest-serving Kremlin leader since Soviet dictator Josef Stalin, who died in 1953.

In 2008, he stepped aside to become prime minister due to term limits but continued calling the shots. Presidential terms were then extended to six years from four, while another package of amendments he pushed through three years ago reset the count for two consecutive terms to begin in 2024.

“He is afraid to give up power,” Dmitry Oreshkin, a political analyst and professor at Free University of Riga, Latvia, told The Associated Press this year.

At the time of the amendments that allowed him two more terms, Putin’s concern about losing power may have been elevated: Levada polling showed his approval rating significantly lower, hovering around 60%.

In the view of some analysts, that dip in popularity could have been a main driver of the war that Putin launched in Ukraine in February 2022.

“This conflict with Ukraine was necessary as a glue. He needed to consolidate his power,” said commentator Abbas Gallyamov, a former Putin speechwriter now living in Israel.

Brookings Institution scholar Fiona Hill, a former U.S. National Security Council expert on Russian affairs, agrees that Putin thought “a lovely small, victorious war” would consolidate support for his reelection.

“Ukraine would capitulate,” she told AP this year. “He’d install a new president in Ukraine. He would declare himself the president of a new union of Belarus, Ukraine and Russia over the course of the time leading up to the 2024 election. He’d be the supreme leader.”

The war didn’t turn out that way. It devolved into a grueling slog in which neither side makes significant headway, posing severe challenges to the rising prosperity integral to Putin’s popularity and Russians’ propensity to set aside concerns about corrupt politics and shrinking tolerance of dissent.

Putin’s rule has spanned five U.S. presidencies, from Bill Clinton to Joe Biden. He became acting president on New Year’s Eve in 1999, when Boris Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned. He was elected to his first term in March 2000.

When he was forced to step down in 2008 by term limits, he shifted to the prime minister’s post while close ally Dmitry Medvedev served as a placeholder president.

When Putin announced he would run for a new term in 2012 and Medvedev submissively agreed to become prime minister, public protests brought out crowds of 100,000 or more.

Although Putin has long abandoned the macho photo shoots of bear hunting and scuba diving that once amused and impressed the world, he shows little sign of slowing down. Photos from 2022 of him with a bloated face and a hunched posture led to speculation he was seriously ill, but he seems little changed in recent public appearances.

“He’s a wartime president, is mobilizing the population behind him,” Hill said. “And that will be the message around the 2024 election, depending on where things are in the battlefield.”

Source: AP

7, December 2023

Football: Pele’s former club Santos relegated for first time in 111-year history ⁰

Santos, Brazil legend Pele’s former club, have been relegated for the first time in their 111-year history.

A 2-1 home defeat by Fortaleza in their final league match of the season meant they dropped out of Serie A, Brazil’s top flight.

Santos won 12 state titles, six league titles and two Copas Libertadores during their golden era of the 1950s and 60s.

Three-time World Cup-winner Pele died at the age of 82 last year.

Santos, who also produced Brazil’s record scorer Neymar, have suffered financial problems in recent years.

Heading into the final game of the season, America Mineiro, Coritiba and Goias had been relegated.

With Santos level at 1-1, Vasco da Gama – drawing 1-1 with Red Bull Bragantino – occupied the fourth relegation spot in the 20-team division.

But Serginho scored for Vasco in the 82nd minute and a stoppage-time winner from Fortaleza’s Lucero left Santos one point adrift of safety.

Palmeiras were crowned champions for the second season in a row – and 12th in total – thanks to a 1-1 draw at Cruzeiro.

Flamengo and Sao Paulo are the only remaining sides who have never been relegated.

Source: BBC

7, December 2023

Biya: Too old to stay in power ⁰

Judging from all political gossips in the nation’s capital Yaoundé, it is evidently clear that Biya still wants to hang on. Biya is 91 and if Cameroonians are not deceiving themselves, can a 91-year-old man be enthusiastic about developing a country?

The time to make room for the youngest, for new ideas and for other experiences has come and the new commanders of the Presidential Guards and the Rapid Intervention Battalion must embrace it!

Since Biya and his generation have refused to accept their well-deserved role as retired senior citizens, we of the Concord Group are of the opinion that the military should stage a coup and restore the dignity of the Cameroonian nation.

Meeting with the new Gabonese leader General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema on Wednesday in Yaoundé, Biya showed multiple signs of fatigue, dragging his words, getting bogged down in his sentences, getting lost in his statements. Biya has gotten enough and he should go and go now!

If Biya decides to run in the 2025 presidential election, it will be mainly because of the crimes he and his kinsmen have committed against several innocent Cameroonian families.

Biya’s outing in Moscow during the Russia-Africa Summit demonstrated the risk posed by people in their 80s and 90s – who cling.

Corruption is everywhere and blood is spilling on town and city streets from crime the Biya hardliners are not fighting.

No fresh ideas coming from even the Western-trained Francophone political elite. Almost everywhere in Cameroon is the same. But Biya and his gang are only ensuring that he will be unstoppable in 2025.

Luckily, younger military leaders are popping up all over Africa including the one Biya received on Wednesday at the so-called Unity Palace.

So who is that presidential guard commander in Yaoundé who is willing to come to the rescue of the Cameroonian nation?

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

7, December 2023

US: Senate Republicans block Ukraine and Israel aid bill ⁰

Senate Republicans have blocked a move to pass an aid bill for Ukraine after failing to secure border compromises they sought in exchange.

The $110bn (£87.3bn) package included $61bn for Ukraine, as well as funds for Israel and aid for Gaza.

Republicans are insisting that any aid to Ukraine be tied to sweeping US immigration and asylum reforms.

The White House has warned that US funds for Ukraine could soon run out.

Senators voted 51 to 49 against advancing the bill, with 60 votes needed. The vote throws uncertainty into the future of aid for Ukraine and sends lawmakers back to the negotiating table with just days to go until Congress has scheduled winter break.

Every single Republican Senator voted against the measure, along with independent Senator Bernie Sanders, who had earlier in the day expressed reservations that the legislation included billions in military aid for Israel.

“I do not believe we should be appropriating over $10 billion for the right-wing extremist Netanyahu government to continue its current military approach,” Mr Sanders said, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ongoing campaign in the Gaza strip, which has so far killed thousands of civilians.

Mr Sanders, who is a long-time critic of Mr Netanyahu, added: “What the Netanyahu government is doing is immoral, it is in violation of international law, and the United States should not be complicit in those actions.”

Earlier on Wednesday, US President Joe Biden said he was “willing to make significant compromises on the border” in order to get the aid bill passed.

“This cannot wait,” he said, adding that “Republicans in Congress are willing to give Putin the greatest gift he could hope for”.

Also on Wednesday, the Biden administration announced $175m in new security assistance for Ukraine from the supply of funding that has already been approved. The package includes ammunition, including missiles and artillery shells, as well as “equipment to protect critical national infrastructure”, the US Department of Defense said in a news release.

Concerns over the future of the $110bn package grew on Tuesday after a classified briefing for lawmakers aimed at shoring up support for new funds broke down spectacularly.

Senators shouted at each other over border security and least a dozen Republicans walked out.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also cancelled a virtual briefing with lawmakers over a “last-minute matter”, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on Tuesday, without providing further detail.

Mood dims in Kyiv as US stand-off imperils war effort

The package already includes provisions for border security, but Republican demands for additional changes to asylum rules has complicated negotiations with Democrats. While the party’s members are overwhelmingly in favour of aid to Ukraine, some have sought to use the issue as a way address mounting domestic concerns over the US southern border.

Ahead of the failed vote to bring the package to the floor, Mr Schumer delivered an emotional plea to his colleagues on the Senate floor, telling them that the vote was an important “moment in history” and that they should “rush to the defence of democracy” in Ukraine.

“You can be sure that Vladimir Putin is watching closely,” he said.

Source: BBC

7, December 2023

Yaoundé: Gabon’s New Military Strongman meets Biya ⁰

Gabon’s military leader, General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, visited Cameroon on Wednesday, asking central African states to lift economic sanctions on his country before the 2025 elections.

When Nguema ousted President Ali Bongo Ondimba in a bloodless coup on August 30, economic sanctions were imposed on the country by CEMAC, the six-nation Central Africa Economic and Monetary Community, which condemned the unconstitutional power shift and suspended Gabon.

Nguema said Wednesday that he and Cameroonian President Paul Biya discussed the possibility of lifting economic sanctions before he transfers power to constitutional rule in October 2025. Nguema said he took power to save Gabon from a long rule that ruined the country, and he wants to ensure order is brought back to Gabon before handing power to civilians.

Nguema’s visit to Cameroon ended a tour that has taken him to Chad, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of Congo since he seized power in August.

Jean Rene Oba, an international affairs lecturer at Omar Bongo University in Gabon, said Nguema has been able to convince central African leaders that a military coup was necessary to save Gabon from the Bongo family’s long and autocratic rule that impoverished civilians and created political and ethnic tensions.

“The president of the transition, Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, is totally mindful of the reality that here is no single country on earth that can live in its own bubble in the 21st century, so he started a campaign explaining the legitimacy of the action he took on behalf of the Gabonese people and I think the arguments that he has been making are very powerful and that is why we could see he is so welcomed and understood,” Oba said.

Nguema told several hundred Gabon civilians in Yaounde that he seized power to improve living conditions in their oil-producing nation because its citizens remained poor during the 56-year reign of Ali Bongo Ondimba and his father, Omar Bongo Ondimba.

Gabon’s military ruler reiterated that he would hold elections in August 2025.

He said a new constitution that is being prepared would be presented to all citizens in October 2024 and a referendum on its adoption would be held that same year.

Before the elections, Gabon’s military junta says it will fight corruption, accelerate economic reforms, ensure sustainable economic development, restore stability and revise the electoral code.

Georges Mpaga, president of Gabon’s Network of Free Society Organizations for Good Governance, said Nguema’s insistence on executing so many projects looks like a plan to hold onto power.

Mpaga said Nguema should give priority to Gabon’s supreme interest, which as of now is the quest for a return to constitutional order. He said Nguema should make sure Gabon has a constitution which grants and limits powers of government officials, and paves the way for democratic, credible, fair and transparent elections that meet international norms and standards.

Nguema said he will keep his pledge to hand over power to civilians and that he will never betray the confidence entrusted upon him by his country’s civilians and military, as well as a majority of political parties and civil society groups.

Source: VOA

6, December 2023

Iran sends into space biological capsule aboard indigenous launcher ⁰

Iran has successfully put into orbit its newest bio-space capsule with the domestically-built Salman launcher.

The 500-kilogram capsule, developed by the Aerospace Research Institute of Iran, affiliated to the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, was launched to an altitude of 130 kilometers from the Earth’s surface on Wednesday.

The launch is a step to send humans into space in line with the Iranian government’s plan to revive various sectors of the space industry and consolidate bio-space knowledge.

It was a test for space technologies in the areas of launch, recovery and speed control systems, as well as impact shields, capsule aerodynamic design, and the systems related to control and monitoring of biological conditions.

Salman launcher is manufactured by the Aerospace Industries Organization, a subsidiary of the Iranian Defense Ministry. It is capable of launching bio-capsules weighing 500 kilograms.

Spokesman for the Aerospace Research Institute said the 13th government of the Islamic Republic has practically revived the bio-space.

Hossein Dalirian said several bio-capsules systems were tested for the first time, and that the launcher, which was the first version, “performed very well” its the first launch.

He said Salman launcher achieved great success in its first try and carried the 500-kilogram capsule in very good condition.

“This capsule is the result of relying on domestic power and the efforts of space industry experts in the Ministry of Defense.”

Despite sanctions imposed by Western countries in recent years, Iran has managed to take giant strides in its civilian space program.

Iran sent its first bio-capsule containing living creatures into space in February 2010, using a Kavoshgar (Explorer) carrier.

Speaking to Fars news agency, Iran’s telecoms minister Issa Zarepour said Tehran will soon conduct suborbital tests of the new generation of bio-capsules, hoping that they will bring the country closer to its space goals.

The capsule launched on Wednesday “is about half a ton and has the ability to carry a human, but its suborbital tests are underway,” he added.

“It should be taken into account that we are still 5 to 6 years away from reaching the point where we can send humans into space.”

Zarepour also noted that the Islamic Republic is trying to revitalize works in the field of launching biological capsules after a 10-year closure.

Iran is among the top 10 countries leading the space industry and among the 7 leading the bio-space.

Source: Presstv