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25, December 2020

Covid-19 dampens Christmas cheer in Bethlehem, Rome and beyond ⁰

Bethlehem on Thursday ushered in Christmas Eve with a stream of joyous marching bands and the triumphant arrival of the top Catholic clergyman in the Holy Land, but few people were there to greet them as the coronavirus pandemic and a strict lockdown dampened celebrations in the traditional birthplace of Jesus.

Similar subdued scenes were repeated across the world as the festive family gatherings and packed prayers that typically mark the holiday were scaled back or canceled altogether.

On Christmas Eve in Italy, church bells rang earlier than usual. The Italian government’s 10 pm curfew prompted pastors to move up services, with “Midnight” Mass starting Thursday evening in some churches as early as a couple hours after dark. Pope Francis, who has said people “must obey” civil authorities’ measures to fight the spread of Covid-19, fell in line. This year, the Christmas vigil Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica was moved up from 9:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Normally, seats at the vigil Mass are quickly snapped up, by Romans and by tourists, but the pandemic has reduced tourists in Italy to a trickle. In keeping with social distancing measures, barely 200 faithful — instead of several thousand — spaced out in the basilica’s pews and wearing masks, attended Francis’ celebration of the Mass. A row of fiery red poinsettia plants warmly contrasted with the sumptuous cold marble of the basilica.

Francis in his homily offered reflections on Christmas’ significance. “We often hear it said that the greatest joy in life is the birth of a child. It is something extraordinary and it changes everything,” he said. A child “makes us feel loved but can also teach us how to love.”

“God was born a child in order to encourage us to care for others,” said Francis, who has made attention to the poor and unjustly treated a key theme of his papacy.

Celebrations elsewhere in Europe were canceled or greatly scaled back as Covid-19 infections surge across the continent and a new variant that may be more contagious has been detected.

In Athens, Christmas Eve was eerily silent. In normal times, voices of children singing carols while tinkling metal triangles can be heard all day. The decades-old custom, in which children go house to house and receive small gifts, was banned this year. Groups of children managed to honor the tradition by singing to Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis by video link.

Throughout the pandemic, one of the hardest-hit churches in New York City has been Saint Peter’s Lutheran Church in Manhattan. Church leaders say more than 60 members of the congregation — which numbered about 800 before the pandemic — have died of COVID-19, almost all of them part of the community of some 400 who attended services in Spanish.

Despite their own heartbreaks, congregation members — many of them immigrants — donated coats, scarves and other winter clothes for more than 100 migrant minors at a detention center in Manhattan.

While many other New York City churches have resumed in-person services, Saint Peter’s continues to offer its Masses only online. The schedule for Christmas Eve and Christmas day included Masses in English and Spanish, and a bilingual jazz vespers service.

In Bethlehem, officials tried to make the most out of a bad situation.

“Christmas is a holiday that renews hope in the souls,” said Mayor Anton Salman. “Despite all the obstacles and challenges due to corona and due to the lack of tourism, the city of Bethlehem is still looking forward to the future with optimism.”

Raw, rainy weather added to the gloomy atmosphere, as several dozen people gathered in the central Manger Square to greet Latin Patriarch Pierbattista Pizzaballa. Youth marching bands playing Christmas carols on bagpipes, accompanied by pounding drummers, led a joyous procession ahead of the patriarch’s arrival early in the afternoon.

“Despite the restrictions and limitations we want to celebrate as much as possible, with family, community and joy,” said Pizzaballa, who was to lead a small Midnight Mass gathering later in the evening. “We want to offer hope.”

Thousands of foreign pilgrims usually flock to Bethlehem for the celebrations. But the closure of Israel’s international airport to foreign tourists, along with Palestinian restrictions banning intercity travel in the areas they administer in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, kept visitors away.

The restrictions limited attendance to residents and a small entourage of religious officials. Evening celebrations, when pilgrims normally congregate around the Christmas tree, were canceled, and Midnight Mass was limited to clergy.

The coronavirus has dealt a heavy blow to Bethlehem’s tourism sector, the lifeblood of the local economy. Restaurants, hotels and gift shops have been shuttered.

It was not the usual raucous Christmas eve in Mexico City. The big celebration was a ceremony where the country’s first coronavirus vaccine shots were administered.

On Christmas Eve, parents usually take their kids to a downtown plaza where actors dress up as the Three Wise Men or Santa Claus and pose in front of elaborate backdrops resembling the sets of popular children’s movies.

But this year, the Wise Men and Santas were banned. Mexico’s other grand tradition, Midnight Mass, was canceled in many parishes.

Still, Zoé Robledo, director of Mexico’s social security system, said the start of the country’s COVID-19 vaccine program made it “an unforgettable Christmas.”

Rio de Janeiro’s iconic beaches remained open, but a City Hall decree aimed at limiting gatherings prevented drivers from parking along the shore. Rain also kept beachgoers at home.

Thomas Azevedo and his 9-year-old son braved the bad weather to set up a small stand, selling beer and caipirinhas made from fresh fruit. By early afternoon, he hadn’t sold a thing.

“It’s not so much the rain; in previous years it was full of tourists at Christmas. This year there’s no one,” said Azevedo, 28.

Australians had until recently been looking forward to a relatively Covid-19-free Christmas after travel restrictions across state borders relaxed in recent weeks in the absence of any evidence of community transmission. But after new cases were detected over the past week, states again closed their borders.

While many places around the globe were keeping or increasing restrictions for Christmas, Lebanon was an exception. With its economy in tatters and parts of its capital destroyed by a massive Aug. 4 port explosion, Lebanon has lifted most virus measures ahead of the holidays, hoping to encourage spending. Tens of thousands of Lebanese expatriates have arrived home for the holidays, leading to fears of an inevitable surge in cases during the festive season.

Lebanon has the largest percentage of Christians in the Middle East — about a third of its 5 million people — and traditionally celebrates Christmas with much fanfare.

“People around us were tired, depressed and depleted, so we said let’s just plant a drop of joy and love,” said Sevine Ariss, one of the organizers of a Christmas fair along the seaside road where the explosion caused the most damage.

Source: AP

25, December 2020

Pope Francis calls for peace and reconciliation in Cameroon, urges world to share Covid-19 vaccines ⁰

Francis called for peace and reconciliation in Cameroon, Syria, Yemen, Libya, Nagorno-Karabakh, South Sudan, Nigeria and Iraq, which he is due to visit in early March.

Pope Francis also stated in his Christmas message on Friday for nations to share Covid-19 vaccines, saying walls of nationalism could not be built to stop a pandemic that knows no borders.

In a sign of the times, Francis delivered his traditional “Urbi et Orbi” (to the city and the world) message virtually from a lectern inside the Vatican instead of from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica before tens of thousands.

The pandemic and its social and economic effects dominated the message, in which Francis called for global unity and help for nations suffering from conflicts and humanitarian crises.

“At this moment in history, marked by the ecological crisis and grave economic and social imbalances only worsened by the coronavirus pandemic, it is all the more important for us to acknowledge one another as brothers and sisters,” he said.

Stressing that health is an international issue, he appeared to criticise so-called ‘vaccine nationalism’, which UN officials fear will worsen the pandemic if poor nations receive the vaccine last.

“May the Son of God renew in political and government leaders a spirit of international cooperation, starting with health care, so that all will be ensured access to vaccines and treatment. In the face of a challenge that knows no borders, we cannot erect walls. All of us are in the same boat,” he said.

Italians are under a nationwide lockdown for much of the Christmas and New Year holiday period. The restrictions mean people are not be able to go to St. Peter’s Square or the basilica for papal events, all of which have been moved indoors.

Christmas is above all a time to help others because Jesus himself was born a poor outcast, Francis said on Thursday night at his Christmas Eve Mass, which started two hours early so the few participants could get home in time before a 10 pm curfew.

“May the Child of Bethlehem help us, then, to be generous, supportive and helpful, especially towards those who are vulnerable, the sick, those unemployed or experiencing hardship due to the economic effects of the pandemic, and women who have suffered domestic violence during these months of lockdown,” he said in his Friday address.

He also asked to comfort those suffering from humanitarian crises or natural disasters in Burkina Fasso, Mali, Niger, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Source: REUTERS

24, December 2020

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Thou shall not take the poisoned gift! ⁰

History has it that wicked people know how to bite and blow at the same time, and this is actually playing out in Cameroon where the arrogance and greed of a few have resulted in the displacement of thousands of Southern Cameroonians.

This week, Cameroon’s long-serving and ailing president, Paul Biya, who is the reason why things are falling apart in the country and the architect of the Southern Cameroons crisis, ordered his territorial administration minister, Paul Atanga Nji, an ex-convict and con man, to ensure that some CFAF 600 million is spent on internally displaced persons from Southern Cameroons.

For more than three years, Mr. Biya’s sex-starved, alcohol-inflamed and trigger-happy militia has been killing, maiming and exploiting innocent Southern Cameroonians just because they have complained that the current political dispensation has been hurting them and it clearly leaves much to be desired.

Some 6,000 Southern Cameroonians have been mowed down by the country’s military and the crisis that has obliterated the Southern Cameroonian economy has become a money spinner for the army of occupation that is making hay while the sun shines.

For those who have escaped the government-owned killing fields in Southern Cameroons, life has become a nightmare, as everybody is considered a suspect and the territorial administration minister had unleashed a group of youthful criminals on the population with the objective of giving the insurgency a very bad name.

These government-sponsored criminals have been killing and raping women across Southern Cameroons. Some of them have been burnt alive by the population after figuring out that the criminal gang has nothing to do with the brave Southern Cameroonian fighters who have given the unprofessional soldiers a run for their money.

The Biya massacre and slaughtering business is still thriving despite calls by the international community for an end to such ignoble business that is run by Yaounde-based army generals who are shareholders in the Biya killing conglomerate.

Children, pregnant women, old mothers and fathers, as well as armless citizens have all been victims of a government that is clearly on a diet of power.

The Biya killing machines are still at work and many more Southern Cameroonians are leaving the country in droves in fear of the disaster that the Yaounde government has manufactured for them.

While thousands are heading to the Middle East, many of those who do not have passports are simply crossing the border to neighboring Nigeria where they are living rough.

Their homes have been burnt down by army soldiers who have no regard for human life. The memories of Kwakwa where an elderly woman was burned alive by reckless and plundering soldiers, the inhuman killings of pregnant women and children in Ngarbuh and the overt burning of homes in Muyengue, Ikata and Muyuka are still very fresh in many Southern Cameroonian minds.

Killing has become a government unregulated sport in Cameroon because of one ego-driven person who holds that he has been ordained by God to rule the country and maybe get buried with it when he dies.

Southern Cameroonians will never forget. The pain is still unbearable. Their homes have been burnt and their loved ones have been sent to an early grave by a government that is supposed to protect them.

No gifts, no matter how expensive, will erase the negative feelings that are inhabiting the minds of Southern Cameroonians.

Southern Cameroonians have not committed any crime and it is their right to express their frustration with a system of governance that does not place the citizen at the center of things.

While citizen-focused governance is an idea whose time has come in many parts of the world, in Cameroon, Mr. Biya and his crime syndicate hold that the country belongs to them and anybody who holds contrary views does not deserve a place in that country.

Mr. Biya’s ruling CPDM is a carbon copy of the Soviet-era communist party that raised corruption and insensitivity to unimaginable levels.

The CPDM Central Committee can only be compared to the Communist Party’s CCCP (Central Committee of the Communist Party) which brought death and destruction to ordinary citizens. It drove many Russians into alcoholism and that is exactly what the CPDM is doing to Cameroonians.

Drinking has become a sport in Cameroon and it has really distorted the minds of many Cameroonians who unfortunately hold that it is the best enjoyment they can have although it accounts for more than 40% of premature deaths in the country.

For Southern Cameroonians, yours should never be the kingdom of alcohol. Though the Biya killing conglomerate might have pushed you out of your homeland, you must always ensure that you keep your dignity.

Thou shall not take Mr. Biya’s poisoned gift. He is not sincere about helping you. The best thing he can do for Cameroon is for him to call for a genuine national dialogue that will lead to the resolution of those issues that have sent Southern Cameroonians out of their God-given territories.

If he is serious, he should meet with your president, Julius Ayuk Tabe, who despite poor prison conditions is holding up properly. He is still in his right frame of mind and, in his view, only genuine and sustain dialogue can determine the country’s future and not the multiple presidential decrees that are not even worth the paper on which they are published.

The crime syndicate cannot be burning down your homes while offering you bread and sardine for Christmas. Bekondo in the Southwest region was burnt down yesterday by those plunderers who call themselves soldiers.

The Southern Cameroonian is a dynamic and hard-working citizen. He needs a conducive environment to operate freely and not bread and sardine from an enemy whose cardinal objective is total dominance.

Dignity is a currency that is not designed for everybody, but the Southern Cameroonian has it. Your suffering is temporary and you must keep on working hard to earn a living instead depending on a government whose hallmark is corruption.

As you spend this festive period out of your territory, always bear in mind that you will one day return to your homeland where your current suffering will be a distant memory. Merry Christmas without the Biya poisoned gift!

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

24, December 2020

Paul Biya, a 21st century stationary bandit and a curse on the Cameroons ⁰

In the concept of how states came into being, there is a theory of roving and stationary bandits. Whilst roving bandits stole and left, stationary bandits, stayed on by establishing a system to collect taxes which funded their criminal activities and lifestyle. In today’s world, the curse of stationary bandits is still a sad reality. These stationary bandits have designated territories with internationally recognized borders. They have an established defense force, police force, and a system to collect taxes from their victims/citizens. From the outside, it is easy to erroneously assume that it is a functioning nation-state where all citizens are ripping the benefits that come with living beyond the state of nature. One of the most notorious of these 21st century stationary bandits is the world’s oldest dictator, Paul Biya of Cameroon.

Cameroon is a nation in the Gulf of Guinea with a population of over 25 million according to the country’s 2018 census. It has been ruled with an iron fist by 87-year-old Paul Biya since 1982. The country is blessed with enormous natural resources but has been plagued by “Dutch disease” for over four decades. “Dutch disease” is when good news for one sector of the economy, such as the discovery of natural resources, results in a negative impact on the country’s overall economy. La Republique du Cameroun (to use the country’s real name) is notorious in international circles for constantly extending deep begging bowls to international organizations like the World Bank and IMF. Internationally, the country has been noted for being one of the most mismanaged and its annual budget is hugely dependent on foreign aid.

The country is bedevilled with extreme poverty, high child mortality, a non-existent health care system, extremely poor infrastructure, an appallingly inefficient public sector, a pathetic tax system, a fantastically corrupt police force, a brutal and repressive military, a war in the north against Boko Haram and a war in the south against Ambazonian separatists. Political commentators would not be far off the mark if they referred to La Republique du Cameroun as another basket case in a continent of many basket cases. La Republique du Cameroun is indeed the most corrupt nation in the world (See Transparency International).

Paul Biya took over in 1982 in a peaceful transfer of power. He has never won an election. He has never had a mandate from the people despite clinging on to power for four decades. His legacy is one of repression, economic mismanagement, and incompetence. A common assertion from those who know him is that he tends to agree with the last person who spoke to him. Over the last few years, as age is taking its toll on him, the person who spends more time with him now is his wife. As the “last person” to always speak to him these days, she is wielding considerable power in Yaoundé. This is a huge worry as she is ill-equipped to run a grocery shop.

The coronavirus pandemic has been a fantastic time for Mr.Biya and his acolytes. The IMF and World Bank have released emergency funds to facilitate his criminal pursuits against his people. On 21 October 2020, the IMF Country Report No. 20/294 on Cameroon read “The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today approved a disbursement of about US$ 156 million, 40 percent of quota) under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF). This is the second emergency disbursement to the country since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing total IMF emergency support since the outbreak of the pandemic to about US$ 382 million, 100 percent of quota). The new emergency disbursement will help Cameroon meet its urgent balance of payments and fiscal needs.”

The IMF statement went on to state that “the authorities have been proactive in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and are stepping up their efforts to contain the spread of the disease, boost health and social protection spending, and provide temporary support to affected businesses and households.” The local population has benefited from less than 1% of these funds from the IMF and other international organisations. Defense spending has been shamelessly bolstered to crush political opposition and millions of dollars have been directed to private bank accounts in Europe and other tax havens. Many dreadfully impoverished villages received single 20 litre plastic buckets, a few hand-sanitizers, and half a dozen bars of soaps as contributions from the head of state to help fight the pandemic.

The gulf between the poor and Paul Biya’s loyalists is appallingly immoral. Poverty and inflation are rife and the country’s leaders are clueless about what to do. With regards to creating an effective tax system, a manufacturing economy to wind Cameroon off IMF and World Bank loans, Mr. Biya has done zilch. He has no incentive to reform his country if the IMF and the World Bank are available to offer long term loans. When it comes to human rights, he knows that France will shield him from international condemnation, so he has been prolific at perpetrating abuse against political opponents.

Power without responsibility has been Paul Biya’s motto. A common excuse from his aids and apologists is that he is a good man but the people around him failed him. The principal prison in Kondengui, Yaoundé is packed with ex-ministers, amongst them ex-defense minister, Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo’o, former secretary-general at the presidency, Marafa Hamidou Yaya, and former Prime Minister, Ephraim Inoni. The list is extensive and shocking. He has shamelessly concentrated power around himself and political opponents are eliminated or imprisoned under dubious charges. A former senior member of the CPDM, his ruling party, opined recently to Cameroon Concord News Group that “the curse of our generation is that he was president during our lives.”

According to Amnesty International in a statement published on 9 December 2020, “The arrests, arbitrary detentions, and prosecutions in military courts of opposition members who were peacefully gathering are the latest example of Cameroonian authorities’ crackdown on dissenting voices since late September, Amnesty International said today.” These arrests are the tip of the iceberg. Cameroon probably has more political prisoners than North Korea. The prisons in all the regions of the country are packed with political prisoners while the corridors of power are littered with looters.

Mr.Biya somehow forgot that the gods always punish arrogance. The Ambazonian war was commissioned by the gods to expose all his flaws. Few of his strengths have been demonstrated over the last 38 years but all his weaknesses have been exposed over the last three. A man who spent his life ducking from making decisions to advance his nation has suddenly been confronted with a war against determined Ambazonians. Over the last three years, his monopoly of violence over the territory he claims to rule has been challenged by Ambazonian separatists who are giving him sleepless nights.

Anyone familiar with him knows that he is sneaky, lazy, and vindictive. It is worth asking how a man so patently unqualified for leadership managed to capture a nation for almost four decades. How can it be that in the twenty-first century, one man could be allowed to wreck so many dreams and lives? Today is 24 December 2020 and as Cameroon Concord pen these words, the thought keeps coming to us that he has contributed nothing to Cameroon except misery and embarrassment. His legacy is certain. A prominent and successful FAILURE!!!

Paul Biya, a 21st-century stationary bandit has a choice to make in 2021, he can continue to heap misery on his people with state brutality, embezzlement, and poverty or he can summon the courage and exit the stage so his country can start the long and painful recovery.

By Isong Asu

London Bureau Chief

24, December 2020

UK and EU agree Brexit trade deal ⁰

A historic deal on the UK’s future trading and security relationship with the European Union has been struck on Christmas Eve, a week before the end of the Brexit transition period.

As the country leaves the single market and customs union on 31 December, new arrangements allowing for tariff-free trade in goods and close police and judicial cooperation will come into force.

The announcement followed a final call between Boris Johnson in Downing Street and the European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, in her Berlaymont headquarters in Brussels – at least the fifth such telephone conversation over the last 24 hours.

The trade agreement – running to 2,000 pages – is unprecedented in scope, containing provisions on subjects varying from civil nuclear cooperation and energy interconnections to fishing and aviation.

A No.10 spokesman said: “The Deal is done. Everything that the British public was promised during the 2016 referendum and in the general election last year is delivered by this deal.

“We have taken back control of our money, borders, laws, trade and our fishing waters. The deal is fantastic news for families and businesses in every part of the UK. We have signed the first free trade agreement based on zero tariffs and zero quotas that has ever been achieved.”

Von der Leyen was more sombre in her comments at a press conference in Brussels.

“At the end of a successful negotiation I normally feel joy. But today I only feel quiet satisfaction and frankly speaking relief,” she said. “I know this is a difficult day for some and to our friends in the United Kingdom, I want to say parting is such sweet sorrow but to use the line from TS Elliot, what we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an end is often a beginning. So to all Europeans I think it is time to leave Brexit behind.”

The deal guarantees “zero tariff and zero quota” trade on goods worth £668bn in 2019. But it will also mean significant costs to businesses as exporters face a host of border checks from 1 January and its ends freedom of movement for most UK nationals.

The Downing Street spokesman said, however, that the agreement would guarantee that the UK was “no longer in the lunar pull of the EU, we are not bound by EU rules, there is no role for the European Court of Justice and all of our key red lines about returning sovereignty have been achieved”.

The statement went on: “It means that we will have full political and economic independence on 1st January 2021. A points-based immigration system will put us in full control of who enters the UK and free movement will end

“We have delivered this great deal for the entire United Kingdom in record time, and under extremely challenging conditions, which protects the integrity of our internal market and Northern Ireland’s place within it.

“We have got Brexit done and we can now take full advantage of the fantastic opportunities available to us as an independent trading nation, striking trade deals with other partners around the world.”

The prime minister told his cabinet late on Wednesday night that the deal respected the sovereignty of both sides, as he urged senior figures to help him sell it.

On Wednesday, the Brexiter European Research Group of Conservative MPs said it would ask a self-styled “star chamber” of lawyers to scrutinise the terms before giving its support.

The agreement avoids a no-deal exit that the Office for Budget Responsibility had warned would reduce Britain’s economic output by £40bn in 2021 and cost more than 300,000 jobs.

The UK left the EU on 31 January but has benefited from continued membership of the single market and customs union over the last year, with British citizens retaining the right to freedom of movement around the bloc.

The end of the transition period will bring widespread changes for British businesses and citizens, as a new chapter in the country’s relationship with its neighbours begins.

Businesses will face extra paperwork and costs when trading with the UK’s biggest export market. Freedom of movement for most UK nationals will end, with restrictions imposed on stays in EU member states. As a “third country” to the EU, coronavirus travel restrictions could be imposed on UK nationals as of 1 January.

The agreement will nevertheless be a matter of huge relief to millions of people on both sides, four and a half years since the UK decided to leave the EU in June 2016. The negotiations, staged in Brussels and London, had weaved precariously through a pandemic, appearing doomed to failure at several points.

Only two weeks ago, Johnson told the cabinet to prepare for a no-deal exit, warning the public that such an eventuality was “very, very likely”.

The sticking points at the end of the talks had been on EU access to British fishing waters and Brussels’ demand for rules that would ensure neither side could gain a competitive advantage in trade as their rulebook diverged over time.

In the final days, it had been future EU access and quotas in British fishing waters, an issue of small economic impact but high political salience for both sides, that was the difference between a deal and a breakdown in talks.

The EU had offered a six-year transition period for phasing in a 25% reduction in the catch by value taken by European fleets in British waters, with access guaranteed to a six to 12 nautical mile zone from the British coastline.

Downing Street had tabled a counter-proposal of a three-year transition period with a 60% reduction – and no access to the nautical zone.

The compromise involves a transition period of five and a half years to phase in the changes, according to sources, with the UK accepting a 25% repatriation of quotas. But Downing Street has knocked back attempts by the EU to establish a mechanism under which changes to the quotas in the future could lead to tariffs on British exports. The issue had been key to No 10’s claims to have taken back control of British waters.

Following the announcement of a deal, the European commission sent the draft treaty to the member states. Should the 27 capitals be content with the deal, ministers on the council of the EU will agree on provisional application of the agreement on 1 January.

EU ambassadors were due to meet on Thurday morning to take the first step. The European parliament declined to stage a vote of consent this year given the lack of time for scrutiny. MEPs will have their say later next month.

Source: The Guardian

24, December 2020

US: Trump pardons key 2016 campaign allies in fresh round of clemencies ⁰

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday granted full pardons to former campaign manager Paul Manafort and former adviser Roger Stone, sweeping away the most important convictions made under the long-running Russia election probe.

Trump also issued a full pardon for Charles Kushner, a real estate developer and the father of Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

It was the second wave of pardons Trump has issued in two days. The announcement came just after Trump arrived in Palm Beach, Florida, for the holiday season, with Jared Kushner on the Air Force One flight with him.

In total, Trump issued on Wednesday full pardons to 26 individuals and commuted part or all of the sentences of an additional three people.

Facing the end of his term on Jan. 20, Trump has now granted full pardons to four major figures from U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign.

Besides Manafort and Stone, Trump has pardoned former national security adviser Michael Flynn and former adviser George Papadopoulos.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office, which has been trying to prosecute Manafort in New York for mortgage fraud and other alleged crimes, said it would continue to pursue an appeal for its case, which was dismissed on double jeopardy grounds.

“This action underscores the urgent need to hold Mr. Manafort accountable for his crimes against the People of New York as alleged in our indictment, and we will continue to pursue our appellate remedies,” said Danny Frost, spokesman for the office.

The Manafort pardon spared the long-time Republican operative from serving the bulk of his 7-1/2-year prison term.

Manafort, 70, was among the first in Trump’s inner circle to face charges brought by Mueller as part of his probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

In a statement relayed by his lawyer, Manafort expressed his appreciation to Trump.

“Mr. President, my family & I humbly thank you for the Presidential Pardon you bestowed on me. Words cannot fully convey how grateful we are,” he said.

Stone was convicted in November 2019 by a Washington jury of lying under oath to lawmakers also investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Trump commuted his sentence in July, a day before Stone was due to begin serving a term of three years and four months. Stone, in a statement, thanked Trump for “completely erasing the criminal conviction to which I was subjected in a Soviet-style show trial on politically-motivated charges.”

Charles Kushner was sentenced to two years in prison after pleading guilty in 2004 to 18 counts of tax evasion, witness tampering and making unlawful campaign donations.

In an unusual twist, the man who prosecuted Charles Kushner was Chris Christie, now the former governor of New Jersey, who also has served as an adviser to Trump.

Christie was quoted by CNN as saying Charles Kushner’s case was “one of the most loathsome, disgusting crimes” he prosecuted. During the case, Charles Kushner admitted to smearing his brother-in-law, who had cooperated with prosecutors, by hiring a prostitute to have sex with him in a motel room, then sending a secretly recorded video of the encounter to the man’s wife, Charles Kushner’s own sister.

Source: REUTERS

23, December 2020

Cameroon Catholic Community Mulheim: Archbishop Nkea reflects on contribution of pastoral council ⁰

The Chairman of the Cameroon Catholic Community in Germany has described the relationship of the parish pastoral council with the Diocese of Mamfe which was introduced by Bishop Emeritus Francis Lysinge as truly remarkable adding that “The challenge the Cameroon Catholic Community in Mulheim an der Ruhr in Germany faces is not just about reopening communications with the Diocese of Mamfe but also establishing cooperation between the two entities.”

Chairman Julius Ndifor held a very intensive and productive meeting with the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Bamenda Archdiocese and the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Mamfe, His Grace Archbishop Andrew Nkea.

Speaking to His Grace Archbishop Andrew Nkea in Bamenda recently, the Chairman of the Cameroon Catholic Community in Germany said “the Cameroon Catholic Community is much richer through the contribution that the Diocese of Mamfe has made”.

The Archbishop was very begeistert that the Pastoral Council addressed a letter to him with the intention of recommencing cooperation.

Chairman Ndifor reportedly described the historic meeting as warm, welcoming and positive, especially as the Metropolitan Archbishop was pleased as he received a Christmas greeting card from the Cameroon Catholic Community in Germany.

For his part, the Archbishop agreed to reopen cooperation channels with the Cameroon Catholic diaspora community in Germany.

Archbishop Andrew Nkea paid tribute to the way in which lay men and women in Mulheim clearly took on responsibility to keep the faith in the Roman Catholic Church and added that the Diocese of Mamfe will look at how it can continue to help the Cameroon Catholic Community in Mulheim to mature, to develop and to become sustainable as times change.

Archbishop Andrew Nkea reminded the Cameroon Catholic Community German emissary of the new missionary mode as decreed by the Holy Father Pope Francis which is that of reaching out to young people, fostering programmes of faith formation and development, ensuring that each community is a caring presence in the wider community in which it exists.

By Tanyi Tambendiparrah

23, December 2020

Football: Arsenal in danger of relegation ⁰

West Brom manager Sam Allardyce on Wednesday taunted old rivals Arsenal by claiming the struggling Gunners are in danger of relegation.

Arsenal are languishing in 15th place in the Premier League after their worst start to a league season since 1974-75.

Mikel Arteta’s team are just four points above the relegation zone and were thrashed 4-1 by Manchester City in the League Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday.

Albion are second from bottom with seven points, five adrift of safety, and host Arsenal on January 2 in what Allardyce believes will be a crucial relegation showdown.

Asked if he regarded Arsenal as rivals in the fight to avoid the drop, Allardyce said: “If they are in the bottom eight at the moment, yes, absolutely.

“They’ve only won maybe one in the last 10 or so, and it appears their big results have come in the Europa League.

“And of course getting beat again last night (Tuesday), even though it’s not in the league, as it does with our players, drains the confidence of Arsenal’s players, of course it will.

“Because they’ll be wondering what has hit them, why they are down there, and what it is going to take to get out of that position.”

Allardyce often jousted with former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger whenever his teams faced the Gunners.

A veteran of several successful fights to avoid relegation in his long managerial career, Allardyce is confident he can save West Brom, potentially at the expense of Arsenal.

“I know what it takes, I hope I can convince the players to respond to what I say on what it takes to get out of it, and I hope we can push on Arsenal when they play us because they’ve got a lack of confidence, and try to beat them — or anybody in the bottom eight,” Allardyce said.

Source: AFP

23, December 2020

Israel’s government collapses, triggering fourth early election in two years ⁰

Israel will hold a snap election in March after parliament failed on Tuesday to meet a deadline to pass a budget, triggering a ballot presenting new challenges for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Campaigning in Israel’s fourth parliamentary election in two years gets underway with Netanyanu facing public anger over his handling of the coronavirus pandemic and while he is engaged in a corruption trial, the first against an Israeli prime minister.

Israel’s longest-serving leader will also have to contend with a new rival from the right, Gideon Saar, a defector from Netanyahu’s Likud party who an opinion poll on Israel’s Kan public TV on Tuesday showed was drawing even with him.

Netanyahu, who has denied any criminal wrongdoing, and the current defence minister, centrist politician Benny Gantz, established a unity government in May after three inconclusive elections held since April 2019.

But they have been locked in a dispute over passage of a national budget key to implementing a deal in which Gantz was to have taken over from Netanyahu in November 2021.

The Speaker of Parliament declared its dissolution late on Tuesday in a session broadcast on live television, saying a snap election was automatically triggered by its failure to approve a budget.

Source: REUTERS

23, December 2020

Yaoundé: Media owners plead for an increase in state support from XAF2 to 3 bln ⁰

In the framework of the 30th celebration of the law of December 19, 1990, on social communication, Repac (a media owners’ association) recently addressed a memorandum to Paul Biya, president of the Republic of Cameroon.

In its memorandum aimed at making media companies sustainable, Repac mainly asked state subsidies to be increased to XAF2 billion or XAF3 billion yearly.

Indeed, up to early this year, that subsidy ranged between XAF150 million and XAF300 million every year (The last support granted was XAF240 million.

Previously named “aide publique à la communication privée au Cameroun” (public support for private communication in Cameroon), it was distributed to media companies and trade associations. However, in April 2020, its name changed to “appui institutionnel de l’État à la presse à capitaux privés” (State institutional support to private media). The beneficiaries also changed; they now include companies that publish offline and online magazines regularly.

Source: Business in Cameroon