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6, September 2022

Queen Elizabeth appoints Liz Truss as Britain’s prime minister ⁰

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II has appointed Liz Truss as the new prime minister a day after the former foreign secretary won the ruling party’s leadership race.

Truss, 47, on Monday won the ruling Conservative Party’s leadership contest, gaining the parliamentary majority to become the country’s next prime minister and replacing her predecessor, who was forced to resign.

“The Queen received in Audience The Right Honorable Elizabeth Truss MP today and requested her to form a new Administration,” a Buckingham Palace statement said.

“Ms. Truss accepted Her Majesty’s offer and kissed hands upon her appointment as Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury,” it added.

Truss is set to form a new government, with the country facing skyrocketing inflation, which has caused the worsening cost-of-living crisis in the UK.

The new prime minister, who has promised tax cuts to relieve the burden of a toxic economic situation on people, has said that she is going to set out “immediate action” in her first week on the job to tackle rising energy bills and to increase energy supplies.

The outgoing Boris Johnson, who was forced to resign after a series of scandalous incidents, delivered his farewell speech on Tuesday, vowing support for his successor during a “tough time”.

Source: Presstv

6, September 2022

Yaoundé: Biya will not groom a successor ⁰

89-year-old President Paul Biya, in power since 1982, has reportedly reaffirmed he will retire before the next presidential election and stressed that he is not grooming anyone to succeed him; a well-placed source deep inside the presidency has hinted Cameroon Intelligence Report.

”I have said it before and during my press conference with French President Macron that when my term ends I will retire to my village,” our source quoted the Cameroonian dictator as saying recently inside Etoudi.

Our informant added that the octogenarian leader also pointed out clearly that he will let the new generation choose their next leader.

Cameroon Intelligence Report understands Biya told his top aides that he had never indulged in the process of grooming a successor and he will never do that.

Our Yaoundé city reporter covering the head of state said Biya wants his successor to come from the ruling CPDM party and he has always opined that Cameroon opposition parties are disorganized and badly managed.

For many months now, there have been secret discussions at the Unity Palace on who should succeed Paul Biya, Cameroon’s ailing and desperately old President who has been in power for 40 years but has nothing to show for his long stay in power.

As Mr. Biya’s health continues its relentless march towards the tubes, his inner circle is working closely with the French government on the possibility of making Franck Biya, the ruthless dictator’s eldest son, the country’s next president.

According to another source at the Unity Palace who elected anonymity, the plan to hand over power to Franck Biya is now complete and the French have put their seal of approval on the plan they fear could trigger a civil war in the country.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files

5, September 2022

Archbishop Andrew Nkea opens Our Lady of Fatima girls’ college Bamendankwe ⁰

The Metropolitan Archbishop of the Bamenda Archdiocese was in Bamendankwe today when he officially opened the newly constructed Our Lady of Fatima girls’ college.

His Grace Archbishop Andrew Nkea — who heads the Bamenda Ecclesiastic Province, also announced that the school campus is safe, secure and that there are few places left for the current academic year.

Cameroon Concord News understands work on the building began early last year and is now completed.

Speaking exclusively to Cameroon Concord News Group, His Grace Archbishop Andrew Nkea said the building has been designed to take full advantage of natural light, sunshine and ventilation with a covered area outside each classroom to provide shelter and security.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files

5, September 2022

Pogba and African witch doctor: Mbappe dismisses talk of rift with teammate over blackmail affair ⁰

Kylian Mbappe on Monday played down suggestions that his relationship with Paul Pogba could be impacted after his name came up in a blackmail affair engulfing his France teammate.

Pogba says he is the victim of a multi-million euro blackmail plot to discredit him by claiming he asked a witch doctor to cast a spell on Mbappe.

The claims about the witch doctor were revealed publicly by Pogba’s elder brother Mathias.

Paul Pogba, who left Manchester United in the close season to return to former club Juventus, denies the accusation.

“No because today as things stand I prefer to believe what my teammate says,” Paris Saint-Germain star Mbappe said when asked if there might be a problem with Pogba.

Mbappe was speaking at a press conference ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League game between PSG and Pogba’s Juventus in Paris.

“He called me and gave me his version of events. It is his word against his brother’s word. I am going to trust my teammate,” Mbappe said of his fellow 2018 World Cup winner.

“I think it’s in the interests of the national team as well with a big tournament coming up.

“At the moment he already has certain problems and now is not the time to add to those problems.

“We’ll see what happens but I am quite detached from all that.”

A criminal investigation was launched in France last week into the affair.

Based on the findings of a preliminary investigation last month it will examine allegations — for now against persons unknown — including blackmail by an armed gang, kidnapping and membership of a criminal conspiracy.

Pogba is sidelined for Juve’s clash with PSG on Tuesday and faces a battle to be fit for France’s defence of the World Cup trophy in Qatar starting in November.

He is currently recovering from a knee injury.

Source: AFP

5, September 2022

Boxing: Fury offers Joshua ‘Battle of Britain’ heavyweight bout ⁰

Tyson Fury has offered fellow British heavyweight Anthony Joshua the chance to fight for his WBC crown before the end of the year.

Fury, who suggested he was retiring from boxing after beating Dillian Whyte in April, is now searching for a high-profile opponent after rival champion Oleksandr Usyk said he does not intend to fight again until 2023.

Joshua suffered a second consecutive defeat to the Ukrainian in Saudi Arabia last month and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, is considering options for a return early next year.

Fury announced he was retiring on his 34th birthday last month, having previously performed a number of U-turns over his future in the sport.

But in a video posted on social media on Monday he appeared to confirm he had reversed his decision.

“You’ve all heard that I’m going to be fighting within the next few months, and before I announce an opponent I need to do this just in case,” said Fury.

“Anthony Joshua, I know you’ve just lost a fight to Usyk, and I know you’re belt-less at the moment, and I’d like to give you an opportunity to fight me for the WBC heavyweight championship of the world and the lineal championship in the next few months.

“You’re coming off a 12-round fight so you’re match fit, you’re ready, I’m giving you a few months’ notice.

“If you’re interested I’ll send you the date over and we can rumble — a battle of Britain for the WBC heavyweight championship of the world. Let me know if you’re interested. If not, I will select another opponent.”

Joshua is unlikely to take the bait as his team look to help him rebuild with a bout against a different opponent.

Usyk, who retained his WBO, IBF and WBA titles with his victory over Joshua, said on Friday he hoped to set up a unification bout against Fury next year.

Source: AFP

5, September 2022

Biya regime lowers price of cement ⁰

The government of Cameroon has announced a decrease in the price of bagged cement. The drop comes in view of the country’s increasing cement production capacity, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

As a result, the price of a bag of 42.5 R-grade cement will fall to XAF4800 (US$7.26) from XAF5100 in Douala and from XAF5400 to XAF5100 in Yaoundé.

In terms of 32.5 R-grade cement, in Douala, the price will decrease to XAF4100 from XAF4600 while in Yaoundé the drop will be from XAF4900 to XAF4400.

Source: Cement News

5, September 2022

Boko Haram: General Blama from Cameroon is New Deputy Commander of Multinational Joint Task Force ⁰

The newly appointed Deputy Force Commander (DFC) of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), Brigadier General Assoualai Blama from Cameroun resumed duty on Friday 02 September 2022 after the out gone DFC, Brigadier General Harouna Assoumane from Niger Republic completed his tenure.

The handover ceremony was presided over by the Force Commander (FC) MNJTF Major General Abdul Khalifah Ibrahim. The FC thanked the outgoing DFC for his contributions to the MNJTF and wished him a safe journey back to his home country and success in his future endeavours.

The new DFC in his remarks thanked the FC for the warm reception accorded him and promised to contribute positively to the success of the MNJTF. He added that though all military staff officers (MSOs) were from the different Troop Contributing Countries of Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Benin Republic, there was the need for all to cooperate to end the insurgency. He pledged to put in his best in fulfilling his duties as the DFC.

Source: PrNigeria

5, September 2022

Kenya’s Supreme Court upholds Ruto’s presidential victory over Odinga ⁰

Kenya’s Supreme Court on Monday upheld William Ruto’s victory in the August 9 presidential election, ending weeks of political uncertainty and delivering a blow to challenger Raila Odinga who had alleged fraud in the poll.

“This is a unanimous decision. The petitions are hereby dismissed, as a consequence we declare the first respondent (Ruto) as president-elect,” Chief Justice Martha Koome said.

Deputy President Ruto, 55, scraped to victory by a margin of less than two percentage points in a tightly-fought race against Odinga, a veteran opposition politician now backed by the ruling party.

Odinga filed a petition to Kenya’s top court last month, claiming he had “enough evidence” to show he had in fact won the election, which ranked as one of Africa’s most expensive polls.

Although voting day passed off peacefully, the results sparked angry protests in Odinga strongholds and there are fears that the dispute could fuel violence in a country with a history of post-poll unrest.

Judges spent the last two weeks sifting through boxes of evidence to establish if any irregularities were substantial enough to nullify the election, as was the case with the August 2017 presidential poll, which Odinga also challenged.

Koome began reading out the verdict shortly after midday (0900 GMT), methodically listing the court’s response to the nine issues at the heart of the case.

She said the technology used by the Independent and Electoral Boundaries Commission (IEBC) met the standards of “integrity, verifiability, security and transparency”.

Any “irregularities were not of such magnitude as to affect the final results of the presidential election”, she said, dismissing all the claims made by the petitioners.

Odinga’s 72-page petition alleged hackers broke into IEBC servers and uploaded doctored result forms, but the claim was dismissed by the court.

Both the candidates had pledged to respect the verdict, which sparked celebrations by Ruto supporters.

Cost of living crisis

After 2017’s annulment, the IEBC was under heavy pressure to deliver a clean poll.

But this year’s outcome sparked a rift within the IEBC itself, with four of its seven commissioners accusing chairman Wafula Chebukati of running an “opaque” process.

Chebukati denied the allegations, insisting he carried out his duties according to the law of the land despite facing “intimidation and harassment”.

Since 2002, no presidential poll outcome in Kenya has gone uncontested.

At around 65 percent, turnout was sharply lower than in the August 2017 election, with observers saying it reflected growing disillusionment among citizens.

Odinga, who previously said he was cheated of victory in the 2007, 2013 and 2017 polls, had framed the legal battle as a fight “for democracy and good governance”.

Ruto in turn had urged the court to toss out the petition, accusing Odinga of trying “to have another bite at the cherry through a judicially-forced re-run”.

The 2017 poll saw dozens of protesters killed at the hands of police.

Kenya’s worst electoral violence occurred after the 2007 vote, when more than 1,100 people died in politically motivated clashes involving rival tribes.

Ruto will be sworn in on September 13, becoming Kenya’s fifth president since independence from Britain in 1963 and taking the reins of a country beset by inflation, high unemployment and a crippling drought.

Source: AFP

4, September 2022

Football: Man Utd sinks Arsenal ⁰

Erik ten Hag hailed Antony’s deadly partnership with Marcus Rashford as Manchester United’s new signing scored on his debut while his strike partner’s brace sent Arsenal crashing to 3-1 defeat on Sunday.

Antony made a dream debut as the Brazil forward scored just 35 minutes into his first appearance following his £82 million ($94 million) move from Ajax.

Some pundits questioned United’s decision to splash out such a big fee on the 22-year-old.

But Ten Hag knows all about Antony from their time together at Ajax, where the United manager worked before taking charge of the Premier League club in the summer.

And Antony appeared to the manor born as he unfurled an array of skills and intelligent play to dazzle the Old Trafford crowd.

He formed an instant relationship with fellow forward Rashford, who provided an astute assist for Antony’s clinical finish.

After Bukayo Saka’s equaliser, Rashford took the game away from Arsenal with a pair of composed strikes to end the Premier League leaders’ perfect start to the season.

“They both played great, a continual threat. I know our offensive is really strong, they are creative and have speed,” Ten Hag said of Antony and Rashford.

“This is the first time they have played together and this performance is great to see.

“I thought the first 10 minutes was the best we have played so far this season.”

Arsenal had won their first five games but United’s four-match winning run is their longest in the Premier League since winning five in a row in 2021 under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

It is exactly the kind of streak Ten Hag needed his team to go after his reign started with embarrassing defeats against Brighton and Brentford.

Spirited United

The 4-0 loss at Brentford was especially chastening, but since then Ten Hag has got the response he wanted after calling for his players to show more hunger and character.

“We are happy and satisfied with the win, also the performance against a really good team,” Ten Hag said.

“The spirit from this team, they can deal with setbacks. It is really great and shows your mentality. We have really improved on that.

“We have the right characters and now it is about cooperation. We have to stay calm, stay composed and play our game.”

Old Trafford was buzzing in the aftermath of another encouraging result that showed United’s 2-1 success against bitter rivals Liverpool was no fluke.

But, well aware of the flaws in a team that finished a woeful sixth last season, Ten Hag warned United not to get carried away.

The winning streak has lifted them to fifth place after they were bottom of the table following the Brentford debacle, yet Ten Hag sees plenty of room for improvement.

“We could’ve done things better but we are not as long together as Arsenal,” he said.

“When we get that we will have better control of the game. That’s hard work. There’s a lot of room for improvement.

“We can have better pressing and organisation. We can control the game more.

“We can be better in possession with better composure on the ball then we will dictate the game even more.

“We haven’t been together long so we’ll work on it. You can see that Arsenal are more together, but our team spirit brings us the win.”

Source: AFP

4, September 2022

Ambazonia Interim Gov’t condemns killing of Ossing man ⁰

The Ambazonia Interim Government accused pro Yaoundé militants on Sunday of killing a cocoa famer Peter Agbor, 37, who was found hanging on a tree in Ossing village in Manyu Division.

Initial reports spoke of suicide, but as the investigations continued, it was discovered that there were more questions than answers in the quest for the truth.

Sources in Ossing which saw Mr. Agbor hanging on the tree said he had been killed before being tied up to the tree, but no bullets or wounds had been found on his body, causing many people to think that he might have been forced to drink poison by his enemies.

The Senior Divisional Officer for Manyu had no immediate comment.

Southern Cameroons is now ruled jointly by the Biya regime in French Cameroun and the Ambazonia Interim Government.

Vice President Dabney Yerima said in his weekly press briefing yesterday that the African Union should pressure the Biya Francophone regime to launch a probe into the incident. “It is clearly a cold-blooded execution, committed in broad day light,” Vice President Dabney Yerima said.

The fighting in Southern Cameroons which was designed to bring independence to the country’s English-speaking minority is turning out to be a massive disappointment to Ambazonians.

The rebellion has triggered a wave of kidnappings and massacres and is spreading pain and suffering among those who have been looking forward to the independence of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

For over five years, the joy of independence has turned into a nightmare as rogues are using the ongoing socio-political crisis to commit atrocities in towns and villages in Southern Cameroons.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai