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5, November 2020

US Elections: All eyes on Georgia with Biden at the gates to the White House ⁰

Joe Biden leads US President Donald Trump by 50 electoral votes, closing in on the magic number of 270 – and with it the keys to the White House. The Trump campaign has mounted legal challenges, with votes still being counted and five states in play.

Five states undecided: Biden leads in Arizona and Nevada, Trump in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia.

Biden has won Wisconsin (10 electoral votes) and Michigan (16 votes), according to AP.

Trump suing to stop vote counting in Pennsylvania, has announced similar lawsuit in Michigan and seeking Wisconsin recount.

Trump has predicted a “big win”, claiming – without evidence – that Democrats are trying to “steal” the election.

Biden has called for patience, saying he is “on track” to win the White House race.

America set for its highest voter turnout in over a century, with more than 100 million votes cast before Election Day.

Biden currently has 264 electoral votes against Trump’s 214.

Source: France 24

5, November 2020

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Six gov’t soldiers killed in attack near Eyumojock ⁰

Heavy fighting raged in the Eyumojock Local Government Area in Manyu County last Thursday 29 October 2020.Ambazonia restoration forces under the command of Manyu Liberation Ghost Warriors launched a counterattack that dealt a severe blow to French Cameroun forces. The Ambazonian forces ramped up the deadly raid with artillery fire and homemade explosives.

We gathered that the Manyu Liberation Ghost Warriors have recently been launching a series of dry-season operations heading towards Mamfe, the chief town of the county. Last Thursday’s attack left six French Cameroun soldiers dead and over a dozen injured. Cameroon Concord News Group learnt that one Amba fighter was killed during the anti French Cameroun operation.

Thursdays’ offensive by the Manyu Liberation Ghost Warriors against the French Cameroun occupying forces in Manyu County follows a series of French Cameroun military advances in recent weeks. The four years’ war of independence has been fierce and particularly bloody. The latest move by the restoration forces to launch coordinated attacks from all four corners of Manyu leading into Mamfe are bold but one that they are confident will yield considerable success.

Talking to Cameroon Concord News Group correspondent in Ekok, the commander of the operation said “it was a successful operation despite the loss of one of my brave warriors. Our goal is to win this war and make Ambazonia a free nation”. He went on “we are launching counter-attacks to take over Mamfe in a few months and are making strategic advances”.

He showed Cameroon Concord News Group videos of scores of weapons seized during the mission to Eyumojock and video clips that showed the fallen French Cameroun soldiers.

Some terrified and traumatized locals confirmed that self-defense fighters ambushed and exchanged fierce fire last Thursday night.

Rights groups and residents say the French Cameroun forces have attacked and killed over 700 civilians and burned over 45 villages and infrastructure in Manyu County over the last four years since the Southern Cameroons reaffirmed its independence from Cameroun Republic.

A resident said “they are burning everything and raping our daughters. They aim to stop all services because we seek freedom from the occupying forces of French Cameroun but attacks of this nature from our self-defense forces give us confidence that we shall succeed.”

Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes and villages, many of them seeking refuge in neighbouring Nigeria since the war started in 2016. The French Cameroun government has deployed its forces in the Southern Cameroons to kill anything that moves but they sadly underestimated the determination of the Ambazonia restoration forces.

Striking the local population with impunity has been a sad characteristic of the bloody four-year war of independence that it rarely even raises international outrage anymore.

The audacious claim by the Manyu Liberation Ghost Warriors to attack and take over Mamfe in a few months would certainly raise temperatures and blood pressures in Yaoundé. Guerrilla tactics of ambush like last Thursday’s attack are now frequent and are proving extremely successful for the self-defence forces but only time will tell if such tactics will be enough to take the city of Mamfe or eventually win the independence war.

By Kingsley Betek in Ekok

4, November 2020

New clashes in Ivory Coast, US and African Union call for dialogue ⁰

Two Ivory Coast government supporters were killed and a minister’s convoy hit by gunfire, officials said on Wednesday, as tensions build over President Alassane Ouattara’s contested reelection.

Ivory Coast is caught in a standoff after Ouattara was declared victor on Tuesday, but rivals boycotted the vote and declared they would form a rival “transitional” government.

Security forces have blockaded access to homes of Ouattara’s chief rivals, Henri Konan Bedie and Pascal Affi N’Guessan, after officials accused the opposition of plotting an “act of sedition” against the government.

The United States on Wednesday joined the UN in calling for dialogue in the West African state where more than 40 people have been killed in clashes over Ouattara’s third term since he announced he would run again in August.

Two government supporters were killed in a clash near equipment minister Amede Koffi Kouakou’s home in the central town of Toumodi, a ruling party official said.

“Two young people from the minister’s entourage who wanted to help the minister’s brother were shot dead” Tuesday night, Ouattara’s RHDP party spokesman Mamadou Toure said.

Toumodi was one of the areas hit by violence over the weekend election — four people were killed at the weekend when houses were set ablaze during clashes there.

Toure also said the convoy of communication minister and government spokesman Sidi Tiemoko Toure had come under fire in the centre of the country, but there were no casualties.

Blocked roads

The crisis has stoked fears Ivory Coast could slide into the kind of violence that killed 3,000 people a decade ago when then president Laurent Gbagbo refused to accept defeat by Ouattara.

Police fired tear gas on Tuesday to clear small groups of protesters near Bedie’s residence in Abidjan’s Cocody district, where security forces have blocked access roads around his home.

Security forces were also surrounding the homes of N’Guessan and former minister Abdallah Mabri Toikeusse, an AFP reporter said.

“We cannot enter or leave my home,” said Assoa Adou, secretary general of the Ivorian Popular Front (FPI), close to former Gbagbo, from his home.

“They don’t care if we have food or medicine,” he told AFP.

Djedri N’Goran, a senior member of Bedie’s party, said five members of Bedie’s family have been arrested.

Opponents say Ouattara’s third term breaches the country’s two-term presidential limit, but the Ivorian leader contends that a 2016 reform allowed him to run again by resetting term limits back to zero.

International concern

The crisis is another test for a region where Guinea is caught up in its own post-election dispute, Nigeria is emerging from widespread unrest and Mali has a transition government following a coup.

The United Nations, African Union and African bloc ECOWAS on Tuesday called on Ivory Coast’s opposition to “respect constitutional order” and seek dialogue, while urging all sides to show “restraint to preserve human lives”.

On Tuesday, the US called on Ivorian leaders to respect the democratic process and rule of law.

“Grievances related to the presidential election must be resolved in a peaceful and transparent manner within the framework of the law,” a statement from the US embassy said.

Western and African governments are pressing the opposition to abandon its idea of a transitional government and for Ouattara to “appease rather than oppress”, a diplomatic source said.

In power for 10 years, Ouattara said earlier this year that after his second term he planned to make way for a new generation.

But the sudden death of his chosen successor in July prompted him to seek a third term.

The anger sparked by his decision has revived memories of past Ivorian feuds with roots even before a 2002 civil war split the country in two, the north held by rebels and the south by forces of Gbagbo.

Ouattara won a long-postponed election in 2010 but Gbagbo refused to accept defeat. French forces eventually intervened to help Ouattara loyalists oust the former president.

(AFP)

4, November 2020

US: Biden inches closer to victory, Trump challenges counts ⁰

Tension spiralled in the still undecided US election Wednesday after President Donald Trump made unprecedented claims of fraud and demanded a recount in Wisconsin, where Democrat Joe Biden notched up another win to inch closer to overall victory.

While there was no official winner more than 12 hours after the last polls closed on Tuesday, the fate of the most divisive contest in decades was coming down to just a handful of states where the Republican incumbent and his challenger fought over razor-thin margins.

In the latest blow to Trump, Biden, 77, was declared the winner of Wisconsin, with an unsurmountable lead of 20,000 after 98 percent of ballots had been counted.

This mirrored Biden’s slow but steady march across the remaining toss-up states in the vast country, where counting was complicated by the Covid-19 pandemic and record numbers of early and mailed-in votes.

Biden led in Michigan by nearly 45,000 votes with 94 percent counted and has already been declared winner of another tight race in Arizona. Results were still being tabulated in Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina and Pennsylvania — all of them close contests.

The apparent shift in fortunes toward the Democrat prompted Trump, 74, to launch a tirade claiming mass fraud that he claimed on Twitter had made his victories “magically disappear.”

Trump’s campaign announced a lawsuit to try and suspend the vote count in Michigan, where it said its team was denied proper access to observe vote counting.

The campaign said it was also suing to halt the counting of votes in Pennsylvania — after the president called overnight for Supreme Court intervention to exclude the processing of mail-in ballots after the close of polls.

And it demanded a recount in Wisconsin, citing “irregularities.”

– Biden’s confidence –

The Biden camp expressed confidence, with campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon calling victory by the former vice president a “foregone conclusion.”

Biden himself was expected shortly to make a statement on the knife-edge race.

But Trump has made clear he will not accept defeat before he has exhausted every possible challenge.

During the night after polls closed Tuesday, he went on live television from the White House to claim “we did win this election” and to allege there had been “fraud on the American public.”

He later repeated his vague accusations of vote rigging on Twitter, despite a lack of any substantiated reports of meaningful irregularities during voting or counting.

“Last night I was leading, often solidly, in many key States, in almost all instances Democrat run & controlled,” Trump tweeted. “Then, one by one, they started to magically disappear as surprise ballot dumps were counted.”

– ‘We have to be patient’ –

The tightest and messiest count could potentially unfold in Pennsylvania — the biggest prize still outstanding.

Here, Trump had a roughly 500,000 vote lead with an estimated 78 percent of the vote counted but votes were awaited from heavily Democratic parts of the state, promising to level things up.

“We have to be patient,” Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf said. “We may not know the results today.

“There are millions of mail-in ballots,” he said. “They’re going to be counted accurately and they will be counted fully.”

The Democratic governor shrugged off criticism from the White House over the slow vote count and said “our democracy is being tested in this election.”

“Pennsylvania will have a fair election,” he said. “And that election will be free of outside influences.”

The tight White House race and recriminations evoked memories of the 2000 election between Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore.

That race, which hinged on a handful of votes in Florida, eventually ended up in the Supreme Court, which halted a recount while Bush was ahead.

The US Elections Project estimated total turnout at a record 160 million voters including more than 101.1 million early voters, 65.2 million of whom voted by mail.

Source: AFP

4, November 2020

Bundes Liga: Boateng eager to extend Bayern deal ⁰

Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng wants to start contract extension talks with the European champions his agent said on Wednesday amid uncertainty surrounding the future of fellow centre-back David Alaba.

Boateng, 32, a 2014 World Cup winner, is out of contract in June.

“We are open to contract talks and would be delighted to have them with Bayern,” Boateng’s representative Damir Smoljan told Sport1.

“Jerome feels unbelievably well here and the team is incredibly focused and professional.”

Boateng joined Bayern in 2011 and has won eight Bundesliga titles.

He was also a key member of the Bayern team which won Champions League titles in 2013 and last August.

The timing of his agent’s comments come days after Bayern revealed a stalemate with Alaba, 28, who also has only seven months left on his current deal.

Boateng also underlined his form on Tuesday with his first Champions League goal for five years before saying the Bavarian squad are all behind Alaba.

Along with fellow stars Mats Hummels and Thomas Mueller, Boateng was told in March 2019 by Germany coach Joachim Loew his international career was over.

However, the trio’s current form has led to calls to reinstate them for next June’s postponed Euro 2020.

Bayern coach Hansi Flick said senior club bosses “are all glad” to see Boateng in such eye-catching form.

Flick praised Boateng’s “very good” performance in Salzburg as his goal “paved the way” to victory.

Bayern lost Thiago Alcantara to Liverpool in September and Alaba, who has reportedly demanded a huge pay rise, looks set to leave in the coming months.

The league leaders have made no secret, like all top-flight clubs in Germany, their finances have been badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Players have to become more understanding. We have insane financial losses and haven’t had a spectator in the stadium for eight months,” chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge told Sport Bild.

AFP

4, November 2020

Race for the White House: Biden ahead of Trump in electoral votes, but seven states still too close to call ⁰

Joe Biden leads US President Donald Trump in electoral votes yet both still have a chance to reach the magic number of 270 – and with it the keys to the White House. Several states are still to play for, with votes still being counted.

Seven states still undecided: Biden leads in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada and Wisconsin, Trump in Pennsylvania, North Carolina and Georgia.

The election is likely to hinge on postal votes, which are still being counted.

Trump has predicted a “big win”, claiming – without evidence – that Democrats are trying to “steal” the election.

Biden has called for patience, saying he is “on track” to win the White House race.

America set for its highest voter turnout in over a century, with more than 100 million votes cast before Election Day.

4, November 2020

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Gunmen attack Kulu Memorial College in Limbe ⁰

Armed men, believed to be Amba fighters, today (November 4, 2020) attacked Kulu Memorial College in the Mile Four district in Limbe.

Two classrooms were set on fire while valuables worth thousands of dollars were destroyed. Cameroon Concord News leant that the attackers stormed the school, and then directed all students and teachers to strip naked and struck them with their sticks.

A police source in Limbe has been quoted as saying that the assailants also shot and destroyed the windscreen of cars parked opposite the school premise. One fired at the window of the principal’s office and destroyed a television set.

No Ambazonia group has claimed responsibility for the attacks.

By Kinsley Betek

4, November 2020

Happening Now: Trump prematurely claims election victory, Biden says he is “on track” to win the White House ⁰

US President Donald Trump leads Democratic rival Joe Biden in the vital battleground of Florida and other US swing states, but Biden has pinned his hopes on Arizona and a trio of Rust Belt states that could take days to count their votes.

Trump is projected to win the key battleground state of Florida after significantly outperforming pollsters’ predictions

Biden leads in Arizona and is locked in a close race in other key states

The election is likely to hinge on results in Pennsylvania and other “Rust Belt” states, where vote counting is expected to stretch for hours or days

Trump has predicted a “big win”, claiming – without evidence – that Democrats are trying to “steal” the election

Biden has called for patience, saying he is “on track” to win the White House race

America looked set for its highest voter turnout in over a century, with more than 100 million votes cast before Election Day

Reported By France 24

4, November 2020

US: Democrats gather in Biden’s home town ahead of speech ⁰

Supporters of White House hopeful Joe Biden began gathering nervously late Tuesday for an election night event like no other.

Shortly after 10:00 PM (0200 GMT Wednesday), a trickle of cars started to arrive for a socially distanced drive-in in the parking lot of the Chase Center in the Democrat’s hometown.

Some 200 to 300 cars are expected for the event, where Biden and running mate Kamala Harris — joined by their spouses Jill Biden and Doug Emhoff — will address supporters from an outdoor stage.

With early projected results inconclusive, arrivals in the parking lot were slow. When people did arrive, they stood around anxiously watching results come in on giant screens.

Among the first to get there was 37-year-old Rossana Arteaga-Lorenza, who came with her young son. She had Biden-Harris stickers on her car and US flags hanging out of the window.

“I’m excited to be here,” she told AFP, through the window of the driver’s seat.

“If Joe Biden becomes president, I will be extremely happy. We are hopeful for a better future for our country.”

Drive-in rallies were a feature of the 77-year-old Biden’s campaign due to the coronavirus pandemic. Red, white and blue traffic cones with “Biden-Harris” emblazoned on them kept the vehicles six feet apart.

Biden supporter Thomas Hansen, 32, said he was cautiously optimistic about the night ahead.

“I’m hesitant to get excited about it, but I think it’s going well, especially by the number of people who voted early,” he told AFP.

Hansen said he was tired of the drama surrounding Trump’s presidency and wanted some “normalcy.”

“I think it should be boring most of the time in the White House,” he added. “If it isn’t, then you’re kind of doing something wrong.”

– Childhood home –

With early results suggesting a close race, it promised to be a long night. Hansen’s sister, Virginia Hansen, said she feared it could be days before a winner is confirmed.

“I’m withholding any hope for now,” said the 30-year-old.

Biden had started the day by visiting St. Joseph on the Brandywine, a Catholic church in his affluent Wilmington neighborhood.

He stopped at the cemetery where his first wife and daughter — and his son Beau — are buried.

Biden then visited his childhood home in the industrial town of Scranton in Pennsylvania, signing his name on the living room wall for good luck.

“From this House to the White House with the Grace of God,” Biden wrote, adding his name and the date: “11-3-2020.”

He stopped in Philadelphia before heading home to Wilmington, where he will watch the results before his event.

Source: AFP

3, November 2020

Criminalization of Politics: CPDM barons join SDF to welcome Fru Ndi, mourn Mbah Ndam, Francis Sama ⁰

An ecumenical service in honor of some frontline leaders of the Social Democratic Front, SDF, took place in Yaoundé on Sunday, November 1, 2020.

The ceremony in memory of Hon. Joseph Mbah Ndam, Batonnier Francis Sama, Mayor Balick Awah, and Barrister Manga Moussole was held at the Nkolfoulou residence of SDF National Chairman, Ni John Fru Ndi.

The occasion had an impressive presence of cabinet ministers of the Biya Francophone regime including chartered members of the ruling CPDM-SDF-National Salvation Front consortium of crime syndicates.

The CPDM gang included Grégoire Owona, Minister of Labor & Social Security and Deputy Secretary-General of the Central Committee of the CPDM; Ibrahim Talba Malla, Minister of Public Contracts and National Organizing Secretary of the CPDM; Balungeli Confiance Ebune, Director Of The Prime Minister’s Cabinet; Hon. Jean-Bernard Ndongo Essomba, CPDM Parliamentary Group Leader; Hon. Muyali Boya Mary epse Meboka, MP for Bakassi-Mundemba who also moonlights as Vice-President of the CPDM Parliamentary Group; and Ngally Ngoua Pierre Henri, CPDM Senator for Ocean Division in the South Region.

Also, present were Issa Tchiroma Bakary, Minister of Employment & Vocational Training and President of the National Salvation Front party and Jean de Dieu Momo, Minister Delegate to the Minister of Justice & Keeper of Seals and President of the PADDEC political party (Les Patriotes Démocrates pour le Développement du Cameroun).

Source: Cameroon Info.Net