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14, August 2023

Indomitable Lions: Swansea confirm departure of midfielder Olivier Ntcham ⁰

Swansea have confirmed the departure of Cameroon midfielder Olivier Ntcham.

The 27-year-old joined Swansea on a free transfer in September 2021 following a four-year spell at Celtic and scored 12 goals in 82 appearances.

“All regulatory paperwork required to be submitted by Swansea City regarding the player’s exit has now been completed,” the Sky Bet Championship club said in a statement.

Samsunspor posted pictures on their social media channels on August 8 announcing that Ntcham had signed a three-year contract at the Turkish Super Lig club.

Source: Nation.cymru

13, August 2023

Pope Francis prays for peace in Cameroon ⁰

During Sunday’s Angelus, the Holy Father Pope Francis prayed for dialogue and peace in Cameroon.

In his greetings following the recitation of Sunday’s Angelus, Pope Francis revealed that tomorrow on the eve of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a peace pilgrimage will take place in Bafoussam, Cameroon, a nation still suffering from violence and war.

“Let us join in prayer with our brothers and sisters in Cameroon so that, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, God may sustain the hope of the people who have been suffering for years and open ways of dialogue to reach harmony and peace” the Holy Father said.

At the same time, the Pope asked everyone to continue to pray for the battered nation of Ukraine, suffering greatly due to the war.

Source: Vatican News

12, August 2023

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Rest in Peace Grand National Dialogue ⁰

The Yaoundé initiative that was designed to resolve the crisis in Southern Cameroons, officially known as the Grand National Dialogue, is now, for all practical purposes, dead. Just like the Tripartite in the days of the late Ni John Fru Ndi and the SDF, this deal is no more. It has gone to meet its maker. This is a former deal.

To be sure, the undertaker, significantly, was none other than the senile character currently impersonating as father of the Cameroonian nation.

His name may be Paul Biya, but the 90-year-old Francophone dictator is in fact a combination of different things whose only job is mimicking the words whispered to his earpiece by his young and inexperienced wife Chantal Biya.

Biya’s acolytes say the Grand National Dialogue deal is dead and gone with Cardinal Tumi but Yaoundé is not willing to announce it!

When he was relatively less senile in the 90s, on his campaign trail, Biya promised that he would personally supervise the construction of the Bamenda ring road.

But the prominent and successful failure has played the spoiler role to perfection and today Cameroon is in chaos.

Now with the numerous coups in Francophone Africa, it is evidently clear that only an intense and productive discussion with the NERA 10 headed by President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe will guarantee peace and prosperity in the Sub Saharan geopolitical chessboard. Russia’s Wagner has reduced France in Africa to an outsize satrapy.

Correspondingly, Dion Ngute’s recent trip to Buea is simply La Republique playing for time before coming up with renewed mischief. Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, Minister-Secretary General at the presidency himself has revealed, on record, that the Grand National Dialogue in Yaoundé was nothing but a gigantic farce.

The Ambazonia Interim Government though never fell into the trap. President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and Vice President Dabney Yerima saw through it from the start: never trust La Republique du Cameroun.

Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and his deputy Dabney Yerima intuitively knew that no one deep within the Francophone dominated government in Yaoundé would respect the outcome of the Grand National Dialogue.

Biya and his gang have never made an effort to implement anything positive that came out of the Grand National Dialogue. The unspoken mantra was to keep the Ambazonia Interim Government down.

If Biya and his Francophone Beti Ewondo government were really interested from the start in achieving peace with the people of Southern Cameroons, the straightforward path would have been to ditch the current fake unitary system of government and go for federalism.

Instead, they have been using their corrupt pro Yaoundé Southern Cameroons political elites to demand more troops’ deployment to Ambazonia and making a mockery of the Canadian peace initiative.

Ngute’s latest trip to Buea without any Francophone CPDM baron in his delegation is an indication that the Grand National Dialogue is not a priority anymore.

Hence the Blame Ambazonia Game reaching a fever pitch all over in La Republique du Cameroun: Amba Boys are killing innocent people, Amba Boys are involved in kidnapping and extortion and Amba Boys are responsible for the suffering in Southern Cameroons.

At least now it’s in the open: the only thing that matters for the Biya regime is to dish-out bribes to weak Southern Cameroons leaders and fighters and also to bribe as many traditional rulers as possible forcing them to denounce the Ambazonia uprising.

Nobody will miss the Grand National Dialogue. But what we of the Cameroon Concord News Group want the people of Southern Cameroons to take home is that the decaying Biya regime is an eminently untrustworthy entity.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

12, August 2023

Grand National Dialogue: Dion Ngute in Buea with same old rhetoric ⁰

The war in Southern Cameroons is demonstrating that there appears to be widespread concerns that something fundamental is wrong with the union with French Cameroun not only in terms of perceived political marginalization, but also in terms of socio-economic exclusion and ensuring justice in all spheres.

Few including Prime Minister Dion Ngute and the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji maintain that nothing is wrong with the Republic of Cameroon and that all what is required is attitudinal change on the part of the political leadership.

For Southern Cameroonians, the United Republic of Cameroon experience simply needs a rebirth, a fundamental rebirth. While there appears to be widespread consensus about the need for separation in Ground Zero, there is a lack of consensus on the type of rebirth and the process of bringing about the desired change that will keep the two Cameroons together. Convening a Grand National Dialogue was advocated as one of the steps to be taken towards an attempt at fixing the problem with the two Cameroons.

Prime Minister, Chief Dr Joseph Dion Ngute now thinks that much progress has been made in the implementations of the recommendations of the Grand National Dialogue.

The pro Yaoundé Southern Cameroons political elite was addressing members of the committee charged with the follow-up of the implementations of recommendations of the Grand National Dialogue during their fifth session on August 11, 2023 in Buea.

According to Mr. Dion Ngute, President Biya has signed a couple of decrees and implemented many recommendations of the National Dialogue.

Dion told members of the corrupt CPDM committee that “Basic infrastructures are being rehabilitated; special funding was allocated in the 2023 finance law for the construction and development process. The funds were increased following the recent amendment of the said law signed by the Head of State. Major infrastructures such as the Limbe Deep Sea Port are ongoing; a lot of work has been done there.”

On a lighter note, Dion Ngute recommended that; “We therefore have to continue in our efforts towards a complete return to normalcy by maintaining our focus and believing on the commitments, to fulfill the aspirations of our people.”

The secretary general of the committee, Felix Mbayu, spoke on what has been achieved in terms of infrastructural development, employment and agricultural productivity.

The Grand National Dialogue can never be an automatic solution to the problems in Southern Cameroons. It remains a Francophone scheme designed to attract ordinary Southern Cameroonians to relate with Yaoundé.

We of the Cameroon Concord News Group think that Prime Minister Dion Ngute is part of the French Cameroun retrogressive force using the so-called Grand National Dialogue to take Southern Cameroonians backwards.

Prime Minister Dion is indeed a good example to demonstrate that practice does not make perfect.

By Asu Isong

London Bureau Chief

Cameroon Concord News Group

12, August 2023

Football: PSG sideline Mbappe for season-opener as Dembele arrives ⁰

French superstar Kylian Mbappe has been left out of Paris Saint-Germain’s season opener on Saturday deepening the stand-off between the France captain and the Ligue 1 champions.

France captain Kylian Mbappe is embroiled in a contract dispute with Paris Saint-Germain

As Mbappe’s contract dispute with the Qatari-backed club rumbles on PSG announced a new signing – Ousmane Dembele on a five-year-deal from Barcelona.

He is the ninth summer arrival at a side which has lost Lionel Messi to Inter Miami, and may soon be facing up to life without Mbappe.

In an affair that has dominated transfer market headlines Mbappe has refused to sign an extension to his PSG deal, meaning he can leave for free next year, with Real Madrid long seen as his preferred destination.

PSG want to sell him now and bring in a significant transfer fee for a player who cost 180 million euros ($198m) from Monaco in 2017.

“The position is very clear. If Kylian wants to stay, he must sign a new contract. We can’t let the best player in the world today leave for free. It’s impossible,” PSG president Nasser al-Khelaifi said last month.

Mbappe has not been allowed train with the first team and played only one of PSG’s five warm-up games and was not invited to the pre-season tour in Japan and South Korea.

Despite his sidelining Mbappe was one of the first to welcome Dembele to the Parc des Princes.

“Welcome home my brother, so happy to see you here, the adventure begins,” Mbappe posted on social media to greet Dembele with whom he won the World Cup in 2018.

The 26-year-old Dembele joined Barcelona in 2017 from Borussia Dortmund and had extended his contract last year until 2024.

PSG took advantage of the player’s 50 million euros ($54 million) release clause to sign the former Rennes forward.

“I’m very happy to join Paris Saint-Germain and can’t wait to play in my new colours,” Dembele said in a PSG statement.

“I hope to continue to grow here and make all who love the club proud.”

Ninth signing

Dembele, who has 37 caps for France and scored four goals, joins three other World Cup winners at PSG — Mbappe, Presnel Kimpembe and Lucas Hernandez.

PSG's latest signing - Ousmane Dembele — PSG’s latest signing – Ousmane Dembele

He is the club’s ninth summer signing after defenders Milan Skriniar and Lucas Hernandez, midfielders Manuel Ugarte and Cher Ndour, forwards Marco Asensio, Lee Kang-in and Goncalo Ramos and goalkeeper Arnau Tenas.

At Barcelona, despite early problems adjusting to the Catalan side and injuries, Dembele scored 40 goals in 185 matches, winning three league titles in 2018, 2019 and 2023 and two Spanish Cups 2018 and 2021.

PSG are bolstering their attacking options with the futures of Mbappe and also Neymar uncertain.

“The passion and determination shown by Ousmane when he joined PSG is fantastic and is the attitude required for all our players,” said Khelaifi.

“We are proud to have another French World Cup winner in Paris Saint-Germain at the moment to enter a new great era for our club.”

New PSG coach Luis Enrique also left out Brazilian Neymar from Saturday evening’s game with the forward suffering a “viral syndrome”.

The club are reported to be open to selling the former Barcelona star and Italian midfielder Marco Verratti, who has also not been called up against Lorient.

Enrique is expected to start three newcomers in attack – Lee, Portuguese Ramos and Spaniard Asensio.

Source: AFP

11, August 2023

With Niger war imminent: Rescue ship saves 600 migrants in Mediterranean ⁰

Rescue ship Ocean Viking has saved more than 600 migrants adrift in the Mediterranean over the last two days, the organisation that runs it, SOS Mediterranee, said on Friday.

The rescues took place southwest of Lampedusa, in the waters between the Italian island and Tunisia, the organisation said.

An earlier statement referred to more than 500 people rescued in 11 separate rescue operations.

But a spokeswoman for SOS Mediterranee told AFP Friday evening: “So far, we have rescued 623 migrants since Thursday morning in 15 rescues.”

Among those rescued were 146 unaccompanied minors, five accompanied minors, and two pregnant women, said the organisation, which is based in Marseille, on the French Mediterranean.

Some of those rescued were to be taken to Lampedusa and others to the port of Civitavecchia, northwest of Rome, the group added.

Most of those rescued were from Sudan, which has been caught up in a war between rival generals for the past four months. Others were from Guinea, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Benin and Bangladesh.

The Ocean Viking crew were helped on board the vessel by teams from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said the earlier SOS Mediterranee statement.

The vessel was alerted Thursday by the Italian emergency services and given the coordinates of vessels in distress southwest of Lampedusa, the NGO said.

The central Mediterranean Sea is the most perilous maritime crossing in the world for the migrants.

At least 1,848 people have died so far this year attempting the Central Mediterranean route from North Africa to Italy and Malta, according to the United Nations migration agency, the International Organization for Migration.

That is significantly higher than its figure for the whole of 2022, which was 1,417.

In June, one sinking alone in the western Mediterranean cost the lives of at least 82 people, one of the deadliest incidents involving migrants in the area.

In July, the Italian authorities detained the Ocean Viking for 10 days at Civitavecchia, after questioning the vessel’s safety standards before finally releasing it.

Source: AFP

11, August 2023

FECAFOOT Crisis: Eto’o’s lawyer attacks CAF ⁰

At a time when CAF has opened an investigation into allegations of improper conduct in the management of Samuel Eto’o within the presidency of the Cameroon Football Federation, the Indomitable Lions legend’s lawyer denounces the soccer governing body’s communication, which he deems “pernicious and toxic”.

Soccer in Cameroon is in a tense state, with a tense confrontation between a number of players and the President of the Cameroon Football Federation. Indeed, this war has reached the CAF board. On Wednesday August 9, African soccer’s governing body announced the opening of an investigation into Samuel Eto’o over “allegations of inappropriate conduct”. Complaints from several Cameroonian soccer stakeholders have landed on CAF’s table, prompting the body to open the investigation. “Although the allegations are prima facie serious, Mr Samuel Eto’o is presumed innocent until an appropriate judicial body concludes otherwise”, CAF was quick to inform.

Samuel Eto’o replies

Samuel Eto’o was quick to respond. In a statement published on Thursday August 10, the Indomitable Lions legend’s lawyer condemned CAF’s stance. “This hasty position on the part of CAF is all the more surprising in that it already refers to allegations which appear serious at first sight, even though to date Mr Eto’o Fils has not been notified of any of the accusations allegedly made against him,” the statement read. The FECAFOOT president’s lawyer also denounced “pernicious and toxic communication”.

In the press release, Samuel Eto’o reassured Cameroon’s soccer stakeholders that the implementation of his reform program, which began on December 11, 2021, would be respected. He added that these accusations were made by Cameroonian soccer players whose personal interests are threatened:”At a time when the hard work he is carrying out with his executive committee is beginning to bear fruit, as demonstrated by the recent triumph of the U20 national team at the Francophonie games, he invites the Cameroon soccer family to show resilience in the face of repeated and unjustified attacks by the enemies of soccer, who intend to hold our king sport hostage in order to continue serving their personal and selfish interests”.

Source: Sports News Africa

10, August 2023

Cameroonian footballer denied a visa to play in Glasgow after he made pro-Russia statements ⁰

Servette have hit out after midfielder Gael Ondoua — a Russian citizen — was unable to obtain an entry visa from UK authorities ahead of tonight’s Champions League qualifier with Rangers at Ibrox.

The Cameroon international grew up in Russia and made headlines during last year’s World Cup by wearing the country’s flag on his boots.

With the Swiss side already missing seven players due to injury and suspension, coach Rene Weiler’s problems for the first leg have only increased.

At last night’s media conference, Servette officials would not go into details but released a statement saying the club ‘deplores this situation and supports its player and his team, which will have to deal without a major player in its workforce for non-sporting reasons’.

It also confirmed the club had spent two weeks trying to find a solution and had enlisted the SFA’s help.

Source: Dailymail0nline

10, August 2023

US: Man who threatened Biden shot dead in FBI raid in Utah ⁰

A man who posted violent threats against President Joe Biden and other officials online was shot dead during an FBI raid on Wednesday.

Agents were attempting to serve an arrest warrant on Craig Robertson at his home in Utah, just hours ahead of a planned visit to the state by Mr Biden.

A criminal complaint said Robertson posted threats on Facebook against Mr Biden and a prosecutor pursuing criminal charges against Donald Trump.

The FBI declined to give more details.

The raid happened at about 06:15 local time in Provo, about 40 miles (65 km) south of Salt Lake City.

A criminal complaint outlined messages that Robertson made on Facebook including pictures of guns and threats to kill Mr Biden and Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney leading an investigation into a hush-money payment by Mr Trump to an adult film star.

According to the complaint, other messages targeted US Attorney General Merrick Garland and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Robertson posted on Facebook: “I hear Biden is coming to Utah. Digging out my old ghillie suit and cleaning the dust off the M24 sniper rifle.”

It was just one of dozens of violent messages and photos of weapons posted on two of Robertson’s Facebook accounts.

The complaint said Robertson came to the attention of federal agents in March after he posted a threat against Mr Bragg on Truth Social, the social network owned by Mr Trump. The company alerted the FBI’s National Threat Operations Center.

FBI agents then visited the suspect, who told them that the post was a “dream” and ended the conversation by saying: “We’re done here! Don’t return without a warrant!”

Later posts by Robertson referenced his encounter with the agents, showed him in camouflage used by snipers, and repeatedly threatened public officials.

The messages continued as late as Tuesday, when he posted: “Perhaps Utah will become famous this week as the place a sniper took out Biden the Marxist.”

Mr Biden will make his first visit to Utah as president on Thursday, with a visit to a veterans’ hospital and a fundraising event in Park City.

Source: BBC

10, August 2023

Martinez Zogo-Amougou Belinga Affair: Are interrogations going wrong? ⁰

Jean Pierre Amougou Belinga was on Wednesday August 9, 2023 auditioned at the Yaoundé Military Court. The process which began in the early hours lasted till 5:00pm when Jean Pierre Amougou Belinga was taken back to his new home inside the Kondengui Maximum Security Prison.

This came barely days after Reporters Without Borders published new revelations on the Martinez Zogo case – one indicting Amougou as master of the show.

While at the Yaoundé Military Court, Magistrate Aimeé Florence Sikati tried bringing out the truth from Belinga surrounding the kidnapping, torture and murder of Martinez Zogo.

Several other persons were also questioned including Zogo’s wife and some journalists.

Meantime, Zogo’s family has expressed dissatisfaction with the way the case is being handled.

“We are unsatisfied with the way the case is being handled. It is completely slow and we are not in contact with the Judge. We don’t also have any information on how the case is going. What we have noted is that some elements in the case file have disappeared. How come? Do they want to kill the case as they normally do? It hurts a lot. We want that the case accelerates and justice be served to our brother. Those incriminated should be heavily punished for the gruesome killing of Martinez,” Zogo’s sister, Nadege Essala Mbani said firmly.

It should be recalled, it was on March 14, 2023 that Amougou Belinga and others, suspected of orchestrating and executing Martinez Zogo were kept in temporary detention and no verdict has been passed till date.

Culled from Cameroon News Agency with additional editing