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Southern Cameroons: Interim Gov’t reiterates that French Cameroun military must withdraw from Ambazonia

20, January 2021

Southern Cameroons: Interim Gov’t reiterates that French Cameroun military must withdraw from Ambazonia 0

The Vice President of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government, Dabney Yerima has underlined the urgent need to implement OPERATION CAPHOT aka THE BIG RUBBER GUN plan.

Yerima revealed that the plan is simply an operation that specifically provides equipment and prepares Ambazonia Restoration Forces for the next and decisive phase of the revolution.

The Southern Cameroons Vice President noted that the plan will end the presence of foreign forces from La Republique du Cameroun in Ambazonia and he reiterated again that all French Cameroun army soldiers must leave the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

Speaking exclusively to Cameroon Concord News, Yerima observed that “For four years now Southern Cameroonians have proved that their country will not be submissive to anyone. We want relations with everyone including La Republique du Cameroun but ties must be anchored in dignity, respect for sovereignty and mutual interests.”

By Chi Prudence Asong

US: Tumultuous Trump era comes to an end

20, January 2021

US: Tumultuous Trump era comes to an end 0

On the very last day of President Donald Trump’s administration a polarised United States remains on edge over the prospect of election-related violence.

Domestically many are not just breathing a sigh of relief but screaming with happiness, and yet polls say 35% of the country believes he’s being ousted illegitimately. That illustrates just how polarising Trump has been here, and while many wonder if he’ll run for president in 2024 many others hope he is leaving public office permanently.

Trump seemed to combine Barack Obama’s skill in manipulating the media, George W. Bush’s readiness to provoke international hatred, Bill Clinton’s ability to disregard the truth and Ronald Reagan’s jingoism. He was routinely and credibly accused of conduct which degraded public service, of re-legitimising American White supremacy, of intentionally provoking societal rifts and much, much more.

Trump’s ascension provoked the greatest burst of political activity and independent journalism in the US in 50 years. Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, the importance of voting and other progressive movements seem to be in direct response to Trump’s regular use of sexism, racism, jingoism and elitism.

Internationally Trump took America’s post-9/11 “you’re either with us or against us” worldview to a new extreme. He illegally tore up international agreements, banned travel from seven mostly-Muslim countries and antagonised longtime US allies.

Trump, who switched his party affiliation five times, has successfully reshaped the Republican Party. He was the first 21st century mainstream politician to be openly anti-free trade, to voice opposition to America’s “endless wars”, to admit the national decline of the US since the Great Recession, to bring attention to the role of a “Deep State” in the US and to openly question the integrity of the nation’s corporate-dominated media.

The Trump era was truly unlike any other. His legacy will be debated, but his detractors are innumerable, intense and international.

Culled from Presstv

US Latest: Biden arrives in Washington, Trump to depart in a grand airbase ceremony that he helped plan himself

20, January 2021

US Latest: Biden arrives in Washington, Trump to depart in a grand airbase ceremony that he helped plan himself 0

President-elect Joe Biden made a sober entrance to the nation’s capital Tuesday, ready to assume power as America reels from the coronavirus pandemic, soaring unemployment and grave concerns about more violence as he prepares to take the oath of office.

Biden, an avid fan of Amtrak, had planned to take a train into Washington ahead of Wednesday’s Inauguration Day, but scratched that plan in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

He instead flew into a military airbase just outside the capital on Tuesday afternoon and then motorcaded into fortress D.C. — a city that’s been flooded by some 25,000 National Guard troops guarding a Capitol, White House and National Mall that are wrapped in a maze of barricades and tall fencing.

Shortly before Biden departed for Washington, the U.S. reached another grim milestone in the pandemic, surpassing 400,000 deaths from the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University.

“These are dark times,” Biden told dozens of supporters in an emotional sendoff in Delaware before departing for Washington. “But there’s always light.”

Biden, who ran for the presidency as a cool head who could get things done, plans to issue a series of executive orders on Day One — including reversing President Donald Trump’s effort to leave the Paris climate accord, canceling his travel ban on visitors from several predominantly Muslim countries, and extending pandemic-era limits on evictions and student loan payments.

Trump won’t attend Biden’s inauguration, the first outgoing president to skip the ceremony since Andrew Johnson more than a century and a half ago. The White House released a farewell video from Trump just as Biden landed at Joint Base Andrews. Trump, who has repeatedly and falsely claimed widespread fraud led to his election loss, extended “best wishes” to the incoming administration in his nearly 20-minute address but did not utter Biden’s name.

Trump also spent some of his last time in the White House huddled with advisers weighing final-hour pardons and grants of clemency.

Trump plans to depart from Washington Wednesday morning in a grand airbase ceremony that he helped plan himself.

Source: France 24

Russia: Putin takes icy plunge to mark Orthodox Epiphany

19, January 2021

Russia: Putin takes icy plunge to mark Orthodox Epiphany 0

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday braved temperatures well below freezing to take a bare-chested dip into icy water in an Orthodox ritual marking the baptism of Jesus.

The Russian leader shed a thick coat and boots, as temperatures hovered at -20 degrees Celsius (-4 degrees Fahrenheit) and stepped into a pool surrounded by snow and facing a large cross made of ice outside Moscow.

The 68-year-old Russian leader immersed himself three times while crossing himself, in line with tradition.

The Kremlin said in a statement that the tradition “celebrates one of the main Christian holidays — the baptism of the Lord.”

Every year on January 19, tens of thousands of Orthodox believers mark Epiphany by dunking themselves in ponds or rivers.

Russian authorities install wooden steps to facilitate access for worshippers throughout the country wishing to commemorate the baptism of Jesus Christ.

While the ritual has become popular among Russian politicians and even foreign diplomats, the Orthodox Church has said the event is not actually a canonical tradition and dismiss it as a fad.

Source: AFP

Fighting in Sudan’s Darfur region leaves more than 130 dead

19, January 2021

Fighting in Sudan’s Darfur region leaves more than 130 dead 0

The latest inter-ethnic violence to rock Sudan’s restive Darfur region had killed nearly 140 people by Monday, tribal leaders said just weeks after a peacekeeping mission ended operations.

Clashes left 55 people dead in South Darfur on Monday, after a separate round of violence in West Darfur reportedly killed 83 and displaced tens of thousands over the weekend.

It was the worst violence reported since the signing of a peace agreement in October, which observers had hoped would end years of war.

The bloodshed, which appeared not to involve any signatories to the deal, came just over two weeks after the United Nations / African Union peacekeeping force UNAMID ended years of operations.

While former rebels have committed to laying down their arms, decades of conflict have left the vast, impoverished region awash with weapons and divided by bitter rivalries over land and water.

In South Darfur, fighting broke out early Monday between the powerful Arab Rizeigat tribe and the Fallata, a cattle and camel-herding people who trace their roots to the Fulani of western Africa.

“The clashes between the Rizeigat tribe and the Fallata tribe have killed 55 people, and wounded 37 others,” local Fallata leader Mohamed Saleh told AFP.

Saleh said that several homes were torched in the attack, which appeared to be in revenge for Fallata tribe’s killing of a Rizeigat member around a week ago.

‘Deficient’ peace deal

The fighting in South Darfur comes after at least 83 people were killed in clashes between rival ethnic groups on Saturday and Sunday in El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur state.

On Monday, SUNA news agency quoted the West Darfur governor as saying the death toll was yet to be confirmed as uncounted bodies remained at the scene of the fighting.

Aid group Save the Children urged all sides to lay down their arms “before the situation gets out of control.”

The charity’s Sudan director Arshad Malik said the wounded had overwhelmed healthcare centres and that “we have seen disturbing photos of injured and dying people on the floors and corridors of hospitals”.

The group warned that “many children will have been separated from their parents, and will now be at risk of exploitation”.

Sudanese authorities said they had sent a “high-profile” delegation to calm tensions.

The vast north-east African country has been undergoing a fragile transition since the April 2019 ouster of president Omar al-Bashir following mass protests against his rule.

The Sudanese Professionals Association, an umbrella group which spearheaded the protests against Bashir, said Sunday that the violence showed the “deficiencies” of the peace deal, saying it failed to address the root causes of the conflict.

Bashir, who is in custody and on trial in Khartoum, is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged genocide and war crimes in Darfur.

‘Ugly face of war’

Darfur endured a bitter conflict that erupted in 2003, leaving roughly 300,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced, according to the UN.

The war had erupted when ethnic minority rebels rose up against Bashir’s Arab-dominated government, which responded by recruiting and arming a notorious Arab-dominated militia known as the Janjaweed.

The main conflict has subsided over the years but ethnic and tribal clashes still flare periodically, largely pitting semi-nomadic Arab pastoralists against settled farmers.

On December 31, the UNAMID force formally ended its 13 years of operations in the region. It plans a phased withdrawal of its approximately 8,000 armed and civilian personnel within six months.

Fearing deadly violence, Darfur residents held protests in late December against UNAMID’s departure.

The UN secretary-general’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric called on Sudanese authorities to “bring an end to the fighting”.

“Escalating inter-communal violence has resulted in scores of deaths and injuries, the displacement of nearly 50,000 people and the destruction of property,” he said in a statement.

Jan Egeland, secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, warned that “the ugly face of war” could return to Darfur and called for more aid and protection.

“International support must not fade,” Egeland tweeted.

Sudan’s transitional government, a power-sharing arrangement between generals and civilians, signed a peace deal with rebel groups in Sudan’s main conflict zones, including Darfur, in October.

Gibril Ibrahim, leader of the Justice and Equality rebel movement, wrote on Twitter that the violence in West Darfur was “a human tragedy”.

Another rebel leader, Mini Minawi, urged implementation of the peace deal and called for “reconciliation” between Darfuri tribes.

Two groups have refused to join the peace deal, the latest in a string of agreements, including the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) faction led by Abdelwahid Nour, which is believed to have considerable support in Darfur.

(AFP)

Douala: Belarus’ Honorary Consulate opens

19, January 2021

Douala: Belarus’ Honorary Consulate opens 0

The Honorary Consulate of Belarus has opened in Cameroon. BelTA learned from the Belarusian Embassy in Nigeria.

“The official inauguration ceremony and the opening of the office of the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Belarus in the Republic of Cameroon Igor Kolesnikov took place in the city of Douala. During the ceremony Governor of Cameroon’s Littoral Region Samuel Ivaha Diboua handed over the exequatur to the Belarusian honorary consul,” the embassy informed.

The event was also attended by representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cameroon, the Belarusian Embassy in Nigeria, executive and judicial authorities, the business community and the media.

In addition to that, the honorary consul and the representative of the Belarusian Embassy in Nigeria met with the governor of Cameroon’s Littoral Region to discuss promising areas of cooperation between Belarus and Cameroon. The governor expressed interest in visiting Belarus to learn more about its economic potential.

Igor Kolesnikov is a citizen of the Republic of Belarus, a doctor by education. He has been living in Cameroon since 1995. He is executive director of GROUP FORM S.A.R.L, a Cameroonian company that sells and services medical equipment in Cameroon. Igor Kolesnikov also runs a private practice in Douala. He is widely known in business circles in Cameroon.

Source: Eng.Belta

2 UN peacekeepers killed in Central African Republic

19, January 2021

2 UN peacekeepers killed in Central African Republic 0

Two U.N. peacekeepers were killed in an attack Monday in the Central African Republic, the United Nations said.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the peacekeepers came under fire on the Bangasso-Gambo axis.

Dujarric said nine U.N. peacekeepers have been killed “in hostile incidents” in the last seven days in Central African Republic and Mali.

The mineral-rich Central African Republic has faced deadly inter-religious and inter-communal fighting since 2013, when predominantly Muslim Seleka rebels seized power after long claiming marginalization. Resistance to Seleka rule eventually led to Muslims being targeted en masse, with some beaten to death, mosques destroyed and tens of thousands forced from the capital in 2014.

Violence has stepped up following recent presidential elections.

The Associated Press

Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland: Fr. Berngeh to serve as vicar for local churches

18, January 2021

Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland: Fr. Berngeh to serve as vicar for local churches 0

Bishop Robert Deeley has announced that Fr. Roland Berngeh will serve as parochial vicar at Parish of the Transfiguration of the Lord Holy Redeemer Church, Bar Harbor; St. Peter Church, Manset; St. Ignatius Church, Northeast Harbor; Stella Maris Parish, St. Vincent de Paul Church, Bucksport; Our Lady of Holy Hope Church, Castine; St. Mary Star of the Sea Church, Stonington, St. Joseph Parish, St. Joseph Church, Ellsworth; Blue Hill Mission, Blue Hill; Our Lady of the Lake Mission, Green Lake; and St. Margaret Chapel, Winter Harbor, effective immediately.

A native of Jakiri, Cameroon, Fr. Berngeh attended St. Augustine’s College Nso in Kumbo, Cameroon, and Bishop Rogan College in Small Soppo-Buea, Cameroon. He completed his clerical studies at St. Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary in Bambui, Cameroon, and was ordained to the priesthood on April 10, 1985.

Since his ordination, Fr. Berngeh served in Cameroon parishes for eight years before being appointed the pioneer rector and principal at St. Aloysius Minor Seminary Kitiwum in Kumbo in 1993. He served at the seminary for 13 years before becoming the rector of the Cathedral Church of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus in Kumbo.  In 2007, Fr. Berngeh was named principal at his alma mater, St. Augustine’s College Nso, where he served until 2012 when he was appointed rector of Immaculate Conception Parish, also in Kumbo. For the last six years, Fr. Berngeh has served at the cathedral in Kumbo. In addition to those assignments, he has served as a vocations director, diocesan and national chaplain, member of the presbyteral council and as vicar general.

Fr. Berngeh holds a bachelor’s degree in theology and a diploma in philosophy from St. Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary in Bambui. He also earned a master’s degree in educational counseling from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, Calif., where he studied from 1997-2000.

Source: mdislander.com

US: Biden chief of staff warns COVID deaths will reach 500,000 by end of February

18, January 2021

US: Biden chief of staff warns COVID deaths will reach 500,000 by end of February 0

US President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming chief of staff Ron Klain has warned that the COVID death toll in the US will reach 500,000 by the end of February as Biden is set to assume control of a struggling economy and surging coronavirus outbreak in less than two days.

“The virus is going to get worse before it gets better. People who are contracting the virus today will start to get sick next month, will add to the death toll in late February, even March, so it’s going to take awhile to turn this around,” Klain said

The United States is fast approaching 400,000 virus deaths, with about 3,300 Americans dying from the coronavirus every day in the country.

More than 23,983,600 people in the United States have been infected with the coronavirus as of Monday.

Over the past week, there have been an average of 218,971 cases per day in the US, an increase of 3 percent from the average two weeks earlier.

Klain said the Biden’s team was “inheriting a huge mess” in terms of vaccine production and distribution in comments directed at states’ disappointment that a reserve of additional vaccines that the Trump administration had promised to release did not exist, US media say.

“But we have a plan to fix it,” said Klain, who has been critical of President Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We think there are things we can do to speed up the delivery of that vaccine.”

Source: Presstv

Christian Elongué, CEO of Muna Kalati named 2021 Global literacy champions and visionaries by International Literacy Association

18, January 2021

Christian Elongué, CEO of Muna Kalati named 2021 Global literacy champions and visionaries by International Literacy Association 0

Christian Elongué, the executive Director of Muna Kalati, a nonprofit promoting reading and children literature in Africa, is one of 30 literacy leaders named to the International Literacy Association’s (ILA) 2021 30 Under 30 list. The global list celebrates rising innovators, disruptors and visionaries in the literacy field. The International Literacy Association (ILA) is a global advocacy and membership organization dedicated to advancing literacy for all through its network of more than 300,000 literacy educators, researchers and experts across 128 countries.

Christian Elongué is an author and researcher on children and young adult literature. Dismayed by a lack of black characters in books available to African children, Christian founded munakalati.org in 2017 with the goal of building international recognition for African children’s book authors and increasing access to African children books.

He was also recognized for publishing Muna Kalati magazine, which is becoming a reference for writers, publishers and illustrators of children’s and Young Adult books, as well as librarians, teachers, editors and parents. Christian has supported several researchers, or mentored Master & PhD students to undertake research on African Children literature in Cameroon, Benin, Togo and Burkina Faso. In 2019, he authored the book: An Introduction to Children Literature in Cameroon, the first scientific work with a holistic approach on the children book industry in Cameroon. Prior to that, he collaborated on children literature with the French National Centre for Children’s Literature. As a founding member of International Board of Book for Young People (IBBY-Cameroon), he spent several years developing literacy and educational initiatives as a means to empower children in West Africa.

Chrstian Elongué indicated that the goal of Muna Kalati’s work is to increase awareness and access to diverse and affordable books for children and young adult in Africa. They shape the future of literacy by increasing the culture of reading and it empowers kids and young adults to be lifelong learners and leaders.

According to him, “you can’t consistently be a great leader without being a great learner, you stop growing and maturing when you stop learning. As reading is one of the common and best ways of learning, all great leaders are also great readers. So empowering kids to cultivate a passion and genuine interest in reading, not for utilitarian or academic purpose, will definitely help them become the leaders and changemakers that our societies critically need.”

Reading shapes our thinking. Children’s books shape the way we see the world as we grow up. The stories we discover through books influence our mindset. And since childhood is a period of life where our identity is mostly defined, it’s very important for children to see themselves in characters and heroes they read. Therefore, when unable to see characters and settings that are similar to theirs, children may tend to believe that what they see in those books is the “norm”, the standards.

This might negatively affect their identity construction as they would sometimes try, to conform their attitude and behavior to what they see in their book’s characters and hero. Henceforth, a lack of diversity in children books could be a threat to international understanding and an obstacle to a fruitful dialogue of cultures and civilizations. However, I don’t want children to imagine a world with no differences, but I want them to value difference. Preparing them for a more just world does not mean teaching them to reject others. It means helping them learn to celebrate their identity and be proud of it.

Moreover, a lack of diversity in children is also influencing children’s love of reading and literacy, mostly at the level of motivation. Kids usually aren’t much excited to continue reading a story in which they do not recognize themselves nor their local environment. And through my experience working with kids and young adults, I noticed that they were more enthusiastic to continue reading books where characters, settings and dialogue were the reflection of their daily realities.

Representing 12 countries, this year’s list of honorees includes educators, nonprofit leaders, authors, volunteers, researchers and social entrepreneurs. “The start of 2021 is filled with much promise thanks to the work of this year’s class of honorees,” said ILA Executive Director Marcie Craig Post. “Their work—whether it’s research on multicultural literacy, helping young students find the power of their voice or dismantling systems of oppression in education—is impacting the lives of countless individuals and communities. Not only do these emerging leaders share in our mission of literacy for all, but also they are helping to ensure that the post-COVID era, when we get there, will be grounded in equity for all.”

Christian Elongué hence joins a growing cohort of leaders. Past honorees include Gerald Dessus, social justice teacher and curriculum developer in Pennsylvania; Shiza Shahid, cofounder of the Malala Fund; Allister Chang, founder of Civic Suds; and Freshta Karim, founder of mobile library Charmaghz in Afghanistan.

If you are interested in writing, blogging, vlogging about reading, child rights and literacy, children and young adult literature, diversity in books for kids, kindly email us at info@munakalati.org. There is an urgent need to increase the visibility and access to diverse and original children books and you can significantly contribute to that agenda, kindly follow us on social media to stay tuned and never forget to offer books with original stories to your kids or teen.

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