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29, August 2023

UN says at least 183 killed in clashes in Ethiopia’s Amhara ⁰

At least 183 people have been killed since July in clashes in Ethiopia’s Amhara region, the United Nations said Tuesday as it appealed for the killings, violence and rights abuses to end.

Tension in the northern region ratcheted up this year after the end of a devastating war in the neighbouring region of Tigray that also drew in fighters from Amhara.

“We are very concerned by the deteriorating human rights situation in some regions of Ethiopia,” UN Human Rights Office spokeswoman Marta Hurtado told reporters in Geneva.

“In Amhara region, following a flare-up in clashes between the Ethiopian military and the regional Fano militia, and the declaration of a state of emergency on August 4, the situation worsened considerably.

“At least 183 people have been killed in clashes since July, according to information gathered by the UN Human Rights Office.”

Tension in the northern region ratcheted up this year after the end of a devastating war in neighbouring Tigray that also drew in fighters from Amhara.

In April the federal government announced it was dismantling regional forces across the country.

The move triggered protests by Amhara nationalists who said it would weaken their region.

Clashes erupted in early July between the national army and local fighters known as Fano, prompting the authorities in Addis Ababa on August 4 to declare a six-month state of emergency.

The status gives the authorities broad powers to arrest suspects without a court order, impose curfews and ban public gatherings, Hurtado said.

“We have received reports that more than 1,000 people have been arrested across Ethiopia under this law. Many of those detained were reported to be young people of Amhara ethnic origin suspected of being Fano supporters,” she said.

“Since early August, mass house-to-house searches have reportedly been taking place.

“We call on the authorities to stop mass arrests, ensure that any deprivation of liberty is judicially reviewed, and release those arbitrarily detained.”

She added: “We call on all actors to stop killings, other violations and abuses.”

Source: AFP

29, August 2023

Bamenda: Muslim scholar Abdulkarim detained without trial for one year ⁰

Amnesty International has called on the Biya Francophone regime in Yaoundé to release Muslim scholar, Abdulkarim Ali, who has been detained without trial since August 11, 2023.

Marking the first year in detention for Abdulkarin Ali, who has reportedly been accused of inciting subversion of state power and having strong ties with the leaderships of the Southern Cameroons restoration groups, Karim said he was abducted and not arrested by Francophone army soldiers in Bamenda.

Cameroon Concord News understands Yaoundé reproached him for managing the human rights situation of the war in Southern Cameroons.

Karim has also been the defender of women’s rights ever since the beginning of the crisis in Southern Cameroons and was quoted recently as saying that many women are wailing and suffering as the war in Anglophone regions continues.

In December 2022, Amnesty International called for his release, observing that Mr. Karim was arrested for expressing his views.

“He was arrested only for exercising his right to freedom of expression,” Fabien Offner, Amnesty International’s researcher for West and Central Africa, said.

Anglophone lawyers who successively offered to defend him were previously rejected by the Francophone authorities in Bamenda. The National gendarmerie is also putting pressure on Mr. Karim’s family members particularly his mother to dissuade them from assisting him in detention.

By Fon Lawrence

28, August 2023

Retired but not tired: Pro Biya Supreme Court judge found dead in car ⁰

Retired Justice Bisseck Dagobert has been found dead in his car in Yaoundé the nation’s capital.

His lifeless body was discovered on Saturday August 26, 2023 in the Nkolbison neighborhood.

Early reports suggested that the pro President Biya judge was seen in a hotel at about 2pm and was visited by a young lady. The lady reportedly left the hotel by 7:30pm and the lifeless body of the Magistrate was later discovered at about 9:45pm.

Bisseck Dagobert died aged 74. He was serving the corrupt regime as a judge at the Chamber of Accounts at the Supreme Court and also moonlighted as president of the judicial Chamber.

Reported by Cameroon News Agency with additional editing from Ewang Miriam Metchane

26, August 2023

Black Suffering: Americans mark 60th anniversary of ‘March on Washington’ with mass rally ⁰

Americans have commemorated the 60th anniversary of the “March on Washington,” a pivotal event held in the US capital in the 1960s US civil rights movement, amid spreading social injustice in an increasingly polarized US society.

Tens of thousands of Americans, who gathered on Saturday in Washington, DC, to show their devotion to the ideas of late American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., called for an end to White supremacy and racial discrimination in the United States.

Rights activists from all over the US and from all walks of society gathered at the iconic Lincoln Memorial to promote racial equality in US society and beyond.

Speakers at the rally, who see Black America’s rights are on the line, addressed discriminatory issues in US society including Supreme Court decisions on Affirmative Action to states who are attempting to rewrite the history.

“No Justice, No Peace,” the demonstrators chanted, while speakers reminded that “Black lives matter”, condemning gun violence against Black individuals.

They stressed that racism is becoming more prevalent in American society and highlighted the need for more efforts to eliminate racial discrimination.

On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial and delivered his “I have a dream” speech which would become one of the most influential speeches in world modern history.”

That march brought more than 250,000 people to the US capital to push for an end to continuous discrimination against colored people in the US.

In his memorable speech, King urged the righteous people from all walks of US society to imagine a day when “all of God’s children, Black men and white men, [are] … ‘Free at last! Free at last!”

The “March on Washington” King’s enlightening speech helped change the segregated system prevalent in US society in the 60s and bring an end to Jim Crow laws, pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and open the modern civil rights era which was slowly making progress before former US President Donald Trump launched his regressive rightist campaign, driving a wedge in US society.

Source: Presstv

26, August 2023

Gabon blocks internet access, imposes curfew amid election voting delays ⁰

Gabon’s government blocked internet access and imposed a curfew on Saturday after a general election marked by major voting delays, as the opposition cried foul over a poll they hoped would halt President Ali Bongo’s bid to extend his family’s 56-year grip on power.

The Central African nation was holding presidential, legislative, and local polls simultaneously for the first time with tensions running high amid fears electoral system changes could sow doubt about the legitimacy of the result and provoke unrest.

Bongo, 64, who succeeded his father Omar in 2009, is seeking a third term against 18 challengers, six of whom backed a joint nominee in an effort to narrow the race.

Voting was due to start at 0700 GMT, but at least five polling stations in the capital Libreville saw voters waiting hours for polls to open, a Reuters reporter said.

“This election is very tense because I don’t think a vote in our country has ever started so late,” said voter Jeff Mbou at a polling station in Libreville’s Martine Oulabou school, where voting started nearly four hours late.

It was not immediately clear how many areas were affected by the delays or if all voters were able to cast their votes. The election commission did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Any irregularities will add to concerns about the post-electoral period, which in Gabon has previously seen violent protests linked to the opposition disputing the result.

There is no fixed deadline for the announcement of results, but joint opposition candidate Albert Ondo Ossa, 69, and his alliance on Saturday were already questioning the legitimacy of the outcome.

Citing the threat of online disinformation, the Gabonese government cut the internet until further notice and imposed a night-time curfew from Sunday “in order to prevent any misbehaviour and to preserve the security of the entire population,” according to a statement read out on national television on Saturday evening.

Fraud allegation

The vote is a much-anticipated test of support for Bongo, whose detractors say has done too little to funnel Gabon’s oil wealth towards the third of its 2.3 million population living in poverty and question his fitness to govern after a stroke in 2018.

Bongo has sought to disprove this image on a wide-ranging campaign trail. He has promised to create more jobs, boost micro-loan programmes and cut public school fees.

“We are voting and we are winning,” he said in an online post on Saturday, sharing a video of his supporters wearing T-shirts with his campaign slogan “Ali for Everyone”.

The run-up to the election has been smooth, but many fear the post-election period could see turmoil like the protests that broke out after Bongo’s 2016 victory. The opposition has disputed both his previous election wins, saying he won fraudulently.

“I am perfectly informed about the fraud orchestrated by Ali Bongo and his supporters,” Ondo Ossa told reporters at the polling station at Ba Oumar High School, in Libreville, without detailing the exact allegations.

“Ali Bongo still has time to negotiate. The only negotiation that is necessary is his departure; 60 years in power is too much,” he said.

In online posts, his opposition alliance Alternance 2023 and Bongo’s spokesperson said some polling stations had not received ballot slips for their respective candidates. Reuters could not independently verify the claims.

Bongo’s team rejected allegations of fraud.

“The vote hasn’t even finished yet, and already the opposition is losing its nerve and its composure. This attempt to sow discord, because defeat is near, will not work,” Bongo’s spokesperson said in an online post.

Recent changes to the voting system could further complicate the aftermath, said Remadji Hoinathy, a researcher at the Africa-focused Institute for Security Studies. These include the introduction of a ballot that requires voters to pick a presidential candidate and lawmaker from the same party.

The opposition has also voiced concern about a recent constitutional change to abolish two rounds of voting for the president.

The changes “might add more tensions on the outcome of the elections, and then maybe contestations and maybe violence,” Hoinathy said.

Bongo’s camp has positioned him as the firm favourite to win the race, although there has been no reliable polling.

His main threat comes from Ondo Ossa, an economics and management professor who has campaigned on the need for change and better economic opportunities.

The pitch could resonate in a country where one in three young people are unemployed and the vast majority of the population has only known Bongo’s rule.

Source: Reuters

26, August 2023

Spanish Football Kiss: FIFA suspends federation president Rubiales ⁰

FIFA suspended Luis Rubiales as president of Spain’s football federation on Saturday for kissing Spanish Women’s World Cup player Jenni Hermoso on the lips, and banned him from making contact with her.

“(We) decided today to provisionally suspend Mr. Luis Rubiales from all football-related activities at national and international level,” world football’s governing body said in a statement.

FIFA’s suspension of Spanish federation (RFEF) president Rubiales will last 90 days, while they undertake disciplinary proceedings against the 46-year-old.

They added that both Rubiales and the RFEF are prohibited from contacting Hermoso and those close to her.

FIFA’s move was the latest development in a deepening row between Rubiales and the RFEF and Hermoso and her Spain teammates which the players say has tarnished the glory of their World Cup win in Australia last Sunday.

Hermoso said in a statement on Friday that Rubiales and the federation put “continuous pressure” on her and her family and friends to make her appear alongside Rubiales in a video in which he apologised for his kiss, but she declined.

Rubiales refused to resign at an emergency RFEF meeting on Friday and on Saturday, the federation threatened to take legal action over Hermoso’s “lies” about the kiss.

Hermoso said “at no time” did she consent to the kiss following the 1-0 win against England in Sydney, which Rubiales described as “mutual, euphoric and consensual”.

The RFEF responded, saying they would “demonstrate each of the lies that have been spread, whether in the name of the player, if that is the case, or by the player herself”.

It would take “as many legal actions as necessary to defend the honour of the President of the RFEF.”

Hermoso, 33, along with 80 other Spain players, including the entire World Cup winning squad, said they were going on strike and would not play for the national team until the “leadership” changed.

That was a reaction to Rubiales refusing to resign despite unprecedented criticism. He claims he is the target of a “social assassination”.

Hermoso hit back strongly against his claims the kiss was consensual, saying she felt “vulnerable and the victim of an assault”.

“I want to clarify that at no time did I consent to the kiss that he gave me and in no case did I seek to lift up the president,” she said in the statement released through her Futpro union.

The RFEF published a series of images on their website attempting to demonstrate that Hermoso did in fact lift up Rubiales, as “the first demonstration that the facts exposed by Mr. President are absolutely true”.

Their threat of legal action appeared targeted at not just Hermoso and Futpro, but anybody who may have damaged “the president’s honourability”.

The Spanish government confirmed earlier Saturday they had also started a process which may allow them to suspend Rubiales from his post next week.

‘Abuse is abuse’

Hermoso’s union Futpro said the 81 players were striking to help foster change.

Players from World Cup runners-up England released a statement in support of Hermoso on their social networks, signed “The Lionesses”.

“Unacceptable actions allowed to happen by a sexist and patriarchal organisation. Abuse is abuse and we have all seen the truth,” it read.

“We all stand with you, Jenni Hermoso, and all players of the Spanish team.”

Before the tournament 15 Spain players had taken a similar stance against the federation and coach Jorge Vilda, but many relented and three were part of the World Cup team.

Many players, including double Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas, showed their support for Hermoso on social media on Friday, some including the phrase “it’s over” — potentially referring to Rubiales’ leadership of Spanish football.

Now Putellas, Hermoso, the World Cup’s player of the tournament Aitana Bonmati and others say they will not play for Spain again until Rubiales and potentially others leave their posts.

In its statement on Saturday, the federation appeared to send a thinly veiled threat to the striking players.

“The RFEF respects, as it has always respected, the decisions of the players who wish to participate or not with the Spanish national team in international matches, although it is clear national team duty is an obligation for all federated persons if they are called up,” the RFEF said.

Source: AFP

26, August 2023

Football: Lukaku says signing for Roma on loan from Chelsea ⁰

Romelu Lukaku has revealed he is set to sign for Roma from Chelsea, according to Belgian media on Saturday, as the two clubs try to hammer out a loan deal.

Newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws reported that Belgium striker Lukaku has said he is to move to the Italian capital.

“I’m nervous. Tomorrow (Sunday) I’m flying to Rome to sign (for Roma),” HLN quoted him as saying at a youth tournament in which his son made his Anderlecht debut.

Italian media report the two clubs are yet to agree a deal as the Serie A club want to loan Lukaku for around five million euros ($5.4 million), lower than Chelsea’s valuation.

Sky Sport in Italy report that Roma’s sporting director Tiago Pinto has denied that negotiations would be done in time for Lukaku to travel to Italy on Sunday.

Chelsea have been trying to offload outcast Lukaku all summer but neither Inter Milan — where he was loaned by the Blues last summer — nor Juventus decided to sign the Belgium striker.

Inter were deep in talks with Chelsea but reportedly gave up on the 30-year-old after they discovered he had been secretly talking to their biggest rivals Juventus and AC Milan.

Last month Inter captain Lautaro Martinez said he had been “disappointed” by Lukaku for hiding from his teammates and refusing to answer calls before the deal broke down.

Meanwhile Juve would have had to sell Serbia striker Dusan Vlahovic in order to sign Lukaku, a move which supporters vocally opposed all pre-season and during their 3-0 win at Udinese last weekend.

With a permanent sale now off the table less than a week before the end of the summer transfer window Chelsea are talking to Roma about another loan, with the Italian club’s American owners travelling to London on Friday to negotiate a deal.

Roma are at Verona on later Saturday and are set to start with an attack of Paulo Dybala and Italy’s Andrea Belotti, who also played together at Palermo.

Earlier on Saturday Roma confirmed the signing of Iran forward Sardar Azmoun on loan from Bayer Leverkusen.

Roma said they have brought in Azmoun, 28, “on a temporary basis until 30 June 2024” with “the option to make the transfer permanent”.

Azmoun, who has 45 goals in 71 appearances for his country, arrives after a difficult spell in Germany where he only scored five times since moving to Leverkusen in January 2021.

Source: AFP

26, August 2023

France: Sarkozy to face trial for receiving funds from Libya’s Gaddafi ⁰

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy will face a trial in 2025 on charges of corruption and receiving illegal funding from former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi for his successful 2007 presidential campaign, according to France’s financial prosecutors.

An initial hearing is set for March 7, 2024, the prosecutor’s office said, with the trial itself scheduled to take place between Jan.6, 2025 and April 10, 2025.

The 68-year-old is also fighting various other charges, including “concealment of embezzlement of public funds, passive corruption, and illegal campaign financing, the prosecutor’s office said.

The investigation was sparked by revelations from the investigative website Mediapart which published a document purporting to show that Gaddafi agreed to give Sarkozy up to 50 million euros ($54 million at current rates).

Sarkozy could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted in the case, while he has repeatedly denied the accusations. “There’s not even the smallest inkling of proof,” he said in an interview in 2018.

In addition to Sarkozy, there are 12 others facing the trial among them heavyweights such as Sarkozy’s former right-hand man Claude Gueant, his then head of campaign financing Eric Woerth and former interior minister Brice Hortefeux.

Sarkozy has already been convicted twice for corruption and influence-peddling in separate cases involving attempts to influence a judge and campaign financing.

He lost an appeal in May against a 2021 conviction for corruption and influence peddling. His legal team promised to challenge that at France’s highest court.

Sarkozy championed a NATO-led military intervention in Libya, taking advantage of an uprising against Gaddafi in 2011, which plunged the African country into chaos and infighting continuing to this day.

Before Sarkozy, the only former French leader to be sentenced at trial was his predecessor Jacques Chirac, who received a two-year suspended sentence in 2011 for corruption over a fake jobs scandal relating to his time as Paris mayor.

Source: Presstv

25, August 2023

FECAFOOT Crisis: President Eto’o urges his supporters to remain calm ⁰

Cameroon Football Federation (FECAFOOT) president Samuel Eto’o on Thursday urged his supporters not to give up following widespread criticisms of how he has been managing the football governing body.

“Peace and serenity to those who support me in my project to restore all the greatness to Cameroonian football. We endure the violence of adversity, but let’s not give in to it,” Eto’o said in a statement published on his Facebook page.

“Our intentions are noble, our strength is our faith in a better future for our young footballers. We will achieve this with the help of Cameroonians. Strength and courage to you, my friends,” the former Barcelona striker added.

The statement came barely two weeks after the Confederation of African Football announced that it had opened an investigation into “allegations of inappropriate conduct” by Eto’o following complaints from “several Cameroonian football stakeholders”.

Eto’o was elected the FECAFOOT president in 2021.

Source: Xinhuanet

25, August 2023

Football: Saudi Arabian Club Abha FC Announce Signing of Toko Ekambi ⁰

Saudi Arabia club, Abha FC have completed the signing of Cameroonian winger, Karl Toko Ekambi, in the summer transfer window.

The 30-year-old signed a two-year deal to join the Saudi Pro League from French giants Olympique Lyonnais.

The Cameroon international was unveiled after signing all necessary documents and will be expected to join the team ahead of Friday’s clash against Al Taawoun.

“Abha Club signed a professional contract with the Cameroonian striker Karl Ekambi until 2025. The club was represented at the signing ceremony by the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Dr. Ahmed Al-Hadithi,” wrote Abha on social media.

Ekambi, who spent last season on loan at Stade Rennais, joins the Saudi Arabian club in a deal worth € 1.5m plus €500,000 in bonuses, as reported by Olympique Lyonnais.

“Olympique Lyonnais informs of the transfer of Karl Toko-Ekambi to the Saudi Pro League club, Abha FC, for an amount of 1.5 M€ to which may be added 500 K€ in bonuses,” wrote the French outfit.

He made 114 appearances for the Ligue 1 club, scoring 38 goals.

Source: Sportsbrief