14, December 2022
Makossa: Ekambi Brillant is no more as cancer cuts his life short 0
The renowned Makossa legend passed away on Monday, December 12, 2022 at the Laquintinie Hospital in Douala, aged 74.
Ekambi Louis Brillant succumbed to cancer after his return from a medical evacuation in Europe, according to sources close to his family.
Born on 18 June 1948, in Dibombari, a village near Douala, the Cameroonian international super star spent much of his childhood with his maternal grandparents in Djébalè (a suburb of Douala); it was there that his passion for music was born, listening to the pirogues singing on their way back from the sea.
In 1962, he passed the entrance exam and was accepted at the Lycée Général-Leclerc in Yaoundé and under the guidance of Mr. Zane Daniel – a French music teacher he learned how to play the guitar.
In 1971, at the age of 23, he abandoned his studies to join Les crack’s as a guitarist. They performed in the nightclub Le Domino. He then entered the music competition launched by the Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française (ORTF) whose jury was composed, among others, of Manu Dibango and Francis Bebey. He won the competition and subsequently released his first single entitled “Jonguèlè la Ndolo”, which recorded 20,000 sales.
When he arrived in France in 1972, he signed with label Phonogram and released his second 45 rpm record which was also a success with 25,000 sales. In 1975, he broke his contract with Phonogram and joined Slim Pezin with whom he released the album Africa Oumba and the track “Elongui” which was later covered by several other African and European artists. This album recorded a record of about 4 million sales. This was followed by collaborations with Slim Pezin as producer for the tracks “Soul Castel” and “Musunguédi”.
By Rita Akana with additional files from Wikipedia
15, December 2022
Don’t turn Africa into China-US battleground, Beijing warns Washington 0
Beijing has voiced its opposition to turning Africa into a focus of the rivalry between China and the United States as dozens of African leaders converge in Washington for a summit aimed at rebooting US influence on the continent.
Ahead of Tuesday’s start of the three-day US-Africa Leaders Summit, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said China would form partnerships with African countries on the basis of mutual respect, equal treatment and sincere cooperation.
“We are glad to see that all sides of the international community are paying more attention to Africa, but we firmly oppose using Africa as an arena for great power rivalry and using African strategy as a tool to limit and attack other countries’ cooperation with Africa.”
Heads of state from 49 African nations and the African Union have been invited to take part in the summit.
China is seen as the United States’ most significant economic and military adversary. It has offered assistance in African affairs without conditions. Sub-Saharan nations have also been major recipients of Chinese investment through the “belt and road initiative.”
With dozens of African leaders descending on Washington this week, the administration of President Joe Biden is offering a not-so-subtle pitch in its economic competition with China on Africa.
Deputy Commerce Secretary Don Graves has acknowledged the US has fallen behind as China has surged past American foreign direct investment in Africa. The continent, whose leaders often feel they have been given short shrift by leading economies, remains crucial to global powers because of its rapidly growing population, significant natural resources, and a sizable voting bloc in the United Nations.
But the US has accused China of creating “debt traps” by extending unsustainable loans to developing nations with the intent of capturing loan-supported projects when they cannot pay back the loans.
Africa remains of great strategic importance as the US recalibrates its foreign policy with a greater focus on China.
Source: Presstv