Headline News

23, October 2024

Putin says more than 30 countries want to join BRICS ⁰

More than 30 countries have expressed a desire to join BRICS, Russian President Vladimir Putin told a meeting of the group on Wednesday.

Putin said the group would discuss its expansion at the meeting, while keeping in mind the need to maintain efficiency.

Earlier on Wednesday, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres arrived summit, his first visit to the country for more than two years that has drawn scorn from Ukraine.

The gathering is the largest diplomatic forum in Russia since launching its full-scale military offensive on Ukraine in 2022 and Putin wants to use it to demonstrate that attempts to isolate him on the world stage have failed.

Around 20 world leaders, including China, India, Turkey and Iran, are in the central city of Kazan, where they will address topics such as developing a BRICS-led international payment system and the conflict in the Middle East.

Moscow sees the platform as an alternative to Western-led international organisations like the G7 – a position supported by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

In bilateral talks on Tuesday, including with Xi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Putin hailed Moscow’s close ties and “strategic partnerships” with its partners.

Xi, meanwhile, praised China’s “profound” ties with Russia in what he called a “chaotic” world.

Russia and China’s relations have “injected strong impetus into the development, revitalisation and modernisation of the two countries”, Xi said.

Putin said he saw relations between Beijing and China as a foundation of global “stability.”

“Russian-Chinese cooperation in world affairs acts as one of the stabilising factors in the global arena. We intend to further increase coordination in all multilateral platforms to ensure global security and a just world order,” he told Xi.

Source: AFP

22, October 2024

Paul Biya: The ultimate scammer! ⁰

Scamming did not start today. It is as old as man. In the Bible (Genesis 25: 19-34), Jacob scammed his brother, Esau, out of his blessings, of course, with the connivance of their mother. Jacob ended up in another town when his mother told him to skip town because his brother, Esau, was planning to kill him.

The scammer left town, holding that he had found happiness. Unfortunately for him, he too would be scammed by Leah’s father who tricked Jacob into marrying Leah instead of Rachel, the woman he genuinely loved. He served as a worker to Leah’s father for seven years before he could marry, Rachel, the love of his life.

Since then, scamming has been part of human existence and Paul Biya, the Cameroonian president who prefers to live out of his country, has been scamming Cameroonians who are unfortunately gullible.

Yesterday, he scammed Cameroonians into believing that he was healthy and could still run the show even after having spent 49 days in a Swiss hospital.

Yesterday, Paul Biya was a bundle of steroids. He had been given high doses of steroids over the last week just for him to look good. A single dose of steroids can deliver over 5,000 calories and if 10 doses are taken by an old man who is not physically active, you get what Cameroonians got yesterday. He looked good but could not walk. He could not even move his legs. Does that not explain something to Cameroonians?

The lengthy empty speech to the Secretary General at the Presidency, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, was Biya’s way of despising Cameroonians who in their overwhelming majority want Biya out of power. In their thinking, Biya is a wet blanket, a joy killer who has inflicted a lot of pain on his people.

Spending a long time saying nothing to Ngoh Ngoh was a huge concern to the first lady and the director of cabinet. Biya was not script-bound. Even coming down from the airplane was a whole drama. It took an hour for Biya to come out of the plane as make-up artists had to do their job, protocol officers had to ensure that things went on smoothly; the presidential motorcade had to go very close to the plane to avoid any embarrassment. Luckily for Biya, it is easy to deceive Cameroonians and that game plan of his worked well yesterday like a charm.

Chantal Biya and Ayolo were aware that Biya was acting on steroids and standing for a long time could expose their game plan to the public which was still trying to figure out why a 91-year-old man could look that strong. When he ended his empty speech, the relief on Chantal’s face was visible.

But Biya is not off the hook. He cannot take steroids for a long time. Steroids have the nasty habit of blowing up the hearts of those who abuse them. Biya is fragile and he cannot stay in the steroids zone for a long time. No one has ever succeeded to cheat nature.

The Biya drama is not new in Africa. This film has already been seen in the DRC, former Zaire, when Mobutu, the country’s dictator, died shortly after his own triumphant return to Kinshasa.

Like Mobutu, Biya returned to Yaoundé yesterday after an exceptionally long stay abroad due to health concerns. Mobutu, like Biya, was welcomed by chanting crowds which saw him as their savior. But shortly after, he was overwhelmed by events and illnesses, and had to die miserably in exile in Morocco after a prostate cancer treatment in France.

There are parallels between Mobutu and Biya. Both despised their people. Like Mobutu, Biya sees Cameroonians as stupid and not worthy of respect. Like Mobutu, Biya has ruined his country’s economy and holds that he is eternal. Unfortunately, with age, he knows his days are numbered and with health issues, he knows that anything can happen.

The fear of losing power has transformed Biya into a monster, killing and imprisoning his collaborators who have any ambitions of succeeding him.

Biya might be back, but he knows the fear of death inhabits his mind. Though he is the ultimate scammer who has scammed the country out of its resources, he lives in fear, scared of the military he has created and the diseases he has manufactured for himself due to his excessive love of power.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

21, October 2024

President Biya visits Cameroon ⁰

Cameroon’s President, Paul Biya, who now operates from Geneva, is on a short visit to Cameroon where he will be holding discussions with heads of some income generating corporations and ministries such as the SNH, SONARA and the ministry of finance.

Mr. Biya will use the occasion to find out how much money is in the coffers and to give firm instructions on how the money will be wired to Geneva which is now considered as Cameroon’s new political capital.

Some observers say Mr. Biya may be back to Cameroon just for a few days just to change his clothes and clear up a few things before heading back to Geneva where he is considered as a working nomad.

However, a cream of political analysts hold that Mr. Biya who has been ill recently might be back to be close to his ancestors who will be happy to receive him in the months ahead.

Mr Biya’s visit to Cameroon puts an end to rumors that he was dead, but a source close to the dictator said that steroids were at work and once they would expire, the 91-year-old will start crying like a baby.

Mr. Biya is suspected of having multiple illnesses and his long stay in foreign hospitals recently only confirms that he is not in very good health.

By Rita Akana in Yaoundé

21, October 2024

Waiting for Biya: Will he come? ⁰

News that Cameroon’s 91-year-old ailing president, Paul Biya, will be back today has triggered a wave of activities, with ministers paying out of pocket to mobilize Cameroonians to wait for the dying President.

Two weeks ago, a similar situation occurred with CPDM militants waiting at the airport but after a long and boring wait, the hungry and cash-strapped militants were asked to go home without further explanation. Many had to cover more than ten kilometers on foot and on empty stomachs and they never got what they had been promised.

The president’s failing health was the reason for the cancelation of the project to receive him and his entourage.

Are those waiting militants sure that the 91-year-old Biya has fully recovered and will sit on that airplane? There is every indication that Biya will not be in Cameroon for the next couple of months. He is a colony of diseases and his age makes it hard for him to fly long distances. Any form of sedation to get him to fly might send him into eternal rest.

Cameroonians must be vigilant. Though a flight has just taken off from Geneva to Cameroon, nobody has confirmed that Biya is on that flight.

Cameroonian authorities have proven that they are unreliable. Cameroonians should insist on seeing pictures of Mr. Biya being received at the airport by the Prime Minister and other senior officials of the government. Only pictures and videos should convince Cameroonians that Biya is still alive.

By Chi Prudence Asong

20, October 2024

Dion Ngute needs to address the nation as Biya becomes former president ⁰

Cameroonians have been waiting for the return of their president, Paul Biya, but from every indication, Mr. Biya will not be coming back to continue ruling the country. He clearly belongs to the past as major questions emerge about his health and life.

Mr. Biya was last seen in public on 8 October 2024 while attending the China-Africa Summit. After leaving China, Mr. Biya stopped over in Europe where he is in a hospital receiving intensive care for multiple health conditions.

A coded online message by the 91-year-old dictator’s daughter, Brenda Biya, which shows only drops of tears on a piece of paper has gone viral, with many Cameroonians saying that the brutal dictator is dead and it is time for the country’s Prime Minister, Dion Ngute, to step up to the plate to deliver a rousing speech which will hold the country together and avoid any bloodshed.

Since disappearing from public view some 40 days ago, many, both at home and abroad, have been positing that Mr. Biya is either dead or dying and it is time to declare Biya a former president of Cameroon.

There is a lot of anger in Cameroon, especially against the President’s wife, Chantal Biya, who approved Mr. Biya’s long and tiring trips abroad.

Before heading to China, Mr. Biya had to go to France to watch the Olympic Games and he did so in the rain, an act many observers criticized as preposterous for an old man who was frail and fragile.

From France he returned to Cameroon before heading to China, a long trip that is not designed for old people. Mr. Biya had nothing to prove to anybody. He has won all the presidential elections in his country through massive rigging schemes, making him an evil genius.

He has willfully underdeveloped Cameroon, reducing the country to a humanitarian case; a beautiful and wealthy country handed to him by the country’s first president, Ahmadou Ahidjo in good faith.

Mr. Biya is a champion in the embezzlement of funds and a huge destroyer of taxpayers’ money. In 42 years, Biya has not developed the country’s infrastructure. There are no modern tarred roads in Cameroon. Hospitals are nothing more than consultation clinics and corruption has been institutionalized to ensure that the destructive dictator last in power.

Today, the country’s economy is in very bad shape. The country’s youths have been reduced to beggars, with many taking to alcohol and drugs just to numb their pain and frustration. Most Cameroonians want to leave the country as the future appears very bleak. The name Biya only suggests hardship and inhumanity.

The country’s youths want to walk away from their country just to put an ugly past far behind them due to the corruption and incompetence of a man who was once seen as a liberator by Cameroonians.

Mr. Biya will not be returning to Cameroon as the country’s president. Cameroon Concord News has obtained reliable information that Mr. Biya is brain dead and he is on life support. There are plans to pull him off life support in the days ahead, though his wife is opposed to such a move as she is maneuvering and plotting to see how she can influence the choice of the next president of the country.

Chantal like the French want to impose Franck Biya on Cameroonians but there is massive opposition within Mr. Biya’s ruling party and there are fears that things are falling apart for a party which has been the architect of the economic hardship which has reduced Cameroonians to walking zombies.

Many Cameroonians at home and abroad are urging Prime Minister Dion Ngute, himself a Biya creation, to take matters into his hands. The country’s business must continue with or without Biya. A brain dead Biya cannot continue to lead the country.

While there are no limits as to how long the president can be out of the country, Cameroonians hold that a 91-year-old and sickly person cannot continue to hold an entire nation captive. Biya has already proven that he is a negative force and he should be dumped on the ash heap of history.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

20, October 2024

Conor McGregor lost $500,000 after backing Francis Ngannou to lose by knockout ⁰

Ngannou made his long-awaited return to MMA against Ferreira at PFL Super Fights: Battle of the Giants in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

The Cameroonian steamrolled his opponent with a brutal first-round stoppage, becoming the inaugural PFL Super Fight heavyweight champion and maintaining his status as the lineal king of the glamour division.

Ngannou had not stepped foot inside the cage since successfully defending the UFC heavyweight strap against Ciryl Gane in January 2022 – and MMA legend McGregor was predicting an upset.

The Irishman was banking on Ferreira’s reputation as a knockout artist as he has lumped $500k on the South American giant.

“Tonight’s bet for me. 500k on Ferriera to win by KO at 12/5. $1.7m return,” he captioned a voice note posted on X.

McGregor went on to brag about his recent run of form in sports betting with an accompanying voice note.

Source: Talksports

20, October 2024

Francis Ngannou KO Renan Ferreira ⁰

Francis Ngannou made a dominant return to MMA as he brutally dismantled Renan Ferreira in his first fight inside the cage for two years. Against a backdrop of personal heartache following the passing of his infant son, Kobe, earlier this year, ‘The Predator’ delivered a devastating performance to reassert his claim as the most dominant heavyweight on the planet.

Ngannou departed the UFC in 2022, while still reigning as the promotion’s heavyweight champion. A dispute over contract terms led him to make an unexpected leap into the world of boxing – where he had a surprising amount of success.

Sharing the ring with Tyson Fury in October 2023, the Cameroonian equipped himself well, even knocking down ‘The Gypsy King’ before dropping a close decision on the judges’ scorecards. His return to the squared circle against Joshua earlier this year, however, did not go to plan – as Ngannou was knocked out cold inside two rounds.

GIVEMESPORT’s Key Statistic: Francis Ngannou hasn’t lost an MMA fight since July 2018, when he was defeated by Derrick Lewis.

Back in the more familiar surroundings of the MMA cage in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, though, Ngannou scooped the PFL Heavyweight Superfight Championship by pounding Ferreira unconscious in the first round. The former UFC Heavyweight Champion set the tone with an early takedown, secured dominant top position and then fought off Ferreira’s attempt at a triangle choke.

He was then free to unleash a furious barrage of strikes on his grounded opponent – and footage taken from cageside proves just how power Ngannou possesses.

Ngannou’s KO of Ferreira was Ruthless

From the camera stationed just inches from the action, every time Ngannou lands on Ferreira it sounds more like he is hitting him with a baseball bat than his fist. Unable to do much to avoid the onslaught, Ferreira was essentially only waiting for the referee to stop the action.

The official eventually acted, but not before Ferreira had taken more punishment than was necessary. By the time Ngannou threw his final punch, the Brazilian was already unconscious.

Ngannou would dedicate his victory to his late son Kobe, who sadly died in April at the age of only fifteen months. “Without Kobe, we wouldn’t be here tonight. I hope they can remember his name.” Ngannou said after his win.

Ferreira, to his credit, is a former PFL heavyweight tournament winner, and has a KO victory over Bellator heavyweight champion Ryan Bader on his resume. But he just couldn’t muster anything against Ngannou.

‘The Predator’ does not currently have his next fight lined up, but few PFL heavyweights will be lining up to face him after his dominant victory on Saturday night.

Culled from GIVEMESPORT

19, October 2024

Biya’s Health: Calls grow for information ⁰

Concern is growing in Cameroon about 92-year-old President Paul Biya, who has not been seen in public for more than 40 days.

Biya has not yet returned to Cameroon more than a week after state officials said he would be back from Geneva, following rumors of his death. Several groups say Biya’s long absence suggests he is not healthy enough to be president.

Biya was last seen in public on September 8, while leaving Beijing, where he attended the Africa-China forum in the company of world leaders, a few of his collaborators and his wife, Chantal Biya.

Civilians say they suspect Biya is not in good health and is receiving treatment wherever he is.

Opposition and civil society groups say Biya should be in the country to lead the nation amid multiple challenges, including a prolonged separatist crisis that has claimed more than 6,000 lives in the country’s western regions.

Government troops are fighting Boko Haram terrorists on the northern border with Chad and Nigeria, and rebels are fleeing to eastern Cameroon from armed conflicts in the neighboring Central African Republic.

Tamfu Richard, a human rights lawyer and a member of the Cameroon Party for National Reconciliation, or CPNR, said he has delivered a petition to National Assembly Speaker Cavaye Yeguie Djibril to inform Cameroon’s constitutional council of what he says is a vacancy created by Biya’s absence.

“I am simply requesting the president [speaker] of the National Assembly to exercise a constitutional right, which is to refer the vacancy [Biya’s long absence] to the constitutional council,” Richard said. “According to the [Cameroon] constitution, the seat of institutions is in Yaounde, and if the president of the republic is out of Cameroon, not on an official visit or for justifiable reasons, it could be that the president of the republic has absconded from his place of work.”

VOA could not independently verify if Richard’s petition has been received by the speaker of the national assembly, but copies of the document have been widely circulated on social media.

On October 9, government officials said social and mainstream media reports that Biya was dead were unfounded. They said Biya was alive and in excellent health and was to return to Cameroon soon.

When reports aired calling for Biya’s whereabouts to be made public and saying civilians want to see their president, Territorial Administration Minister Paul Atanga Nji banned the media from discussing Biya’s health. Nji ordered authorities to monitor all media to make sure violators are charged for illegally discussing top security issues.

Ndi Eugene Ndi, president of the Yaounde chapter of the Cameroon Association of English Speaking Journalists, or CAMASEJ, says most media ignore the ban.

“The press should be free to talk about the president’s health,” Ndi said. “The citizens have to know where the president is through the media.”

Biya has ruled Cameroon for more than four decades. Opposition parties say he rules with an iron fist and wants to keep power until he dies. Biya has always claimed he won all elections after he constitutionally took power from Ahmadou Ahidjo, Cameroon’s first president, in 1982. Ahidjo resigned after complaining of his failing health.

Source: VOA

19, October 2024

Cameroon has gone dark with its lights at night no longer visible ⁰

Cameroon has been plunged into darkness and speculations are rife. So many people are speculating that something ominous might be happening.

“There are some people who suspect that Minister Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh is working with the military to stage a coup d’état. There is tension in Yaoundé and even the ministers are trembling. Something unorthodox is certainly playing out,” a source which elected unanimity said.

In Yaoundé, a source close to the Presidency said that the power failure could be because regime insiders might be looking for ways to smuggle Mr. Biya’s remains into the country.

Other people have suggested that a coup d’état could be playing out as rumor about Mr. Biya’s death spreads like wild fire.

“How could an entire country be in total darkness? What are the people in Yaoundé cooking up? I have seen videos of Nigerians calling on the military to take over power and I think Cameroon is also ripe for a coup,” a source in Yaoundé said.

The Cameroon Concord News Group has been trying to get in touch with ENEO, the country’s power utility, but all the contact numbers provided by the company are not working.

ENEO, Cameroon’s power utility released a statement some few hours ago that there are some technical issues. But many people are still suspicious as nothing official in Cameroon earns the people’s confidence these days.

It should be recalled that the failed 1984 coup d’état was planned using SONEL which was the country’s power utility at the time to import arms into the country. If the coup had succeeded, Issa Adom would have been proclaimed the president of Cameroon.

This is a developing story.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

19, October 2024

Catholic population shrinks in Europe, rises in Africa ⁰

The Catholic population in Europe fell by nearly half a million people in 2022 but continued to increase in every other part of the world, according to data released by the Vatican this week.

According to the Vatican numbers, released by the Holy See’s Fides News Agency, the Catholic population in Europe was just under 285.6 million people at the end of 2022. That is about 474,000 fewer Catholics than was reported in 2021.

The Catholic population decline coincided with a total population reduction on the continent, which recorded a net loss of 517,000 people living in Europe over the year.

Catholics still made up about 39.5% of Europe’s population in 2022, which is an 0.08% decline, according to the Vatican. The Catholic population decline in Europe has been a consistent phenomenon for several years.

In spite of the reduction in Europe, the global Catholic population is still on the rise. At the end of 2022, the Catholic population reached nearly 1.39 billion people thanks to an increase of more than 13.7 million Catholics.

The data showed that about 17.7% of the world’s population was Catholic, which was an increase of 0.03%.

The Catholic population in Africa surpassed 272.4 million people in 2022 after seeing a rise of more than 7.3 million people — the largest increase of any continent. About 19.7% of Africa was Catholic in 2022, which was an increase of 0.32% from the previous year — the largest increase in Catholic representation as a percentage of population.

North and South America recorded more than 666.2 million Catholics in 2022 following a rise of more than 5.9 million Catholics. The number of Catholics in Asia surpassed 154.24 million, which was an increase of about 889,000. There were nearly 11.11 million Catholics in Oceania after a rise of about 123,000.

Apart from Europe, Asia was the only region to see a decline in Catholics as a percentage of the total population, with a reduction of 0.02%.

Priest shortage worsens globally, nuns decline, deacons increase

The total number of Catholics priests in the world declined for the fifth straight year, but some regions are seeing an increase.

At the end of 2022, there were about 407,730 priests in the Catholic Church, which was a net decline of about 142 priests. Globally, this means there is one priest for every 15,682 Catholics.

The worst reduction of priests was in Europe, which dropped by 2,745. There was also a decrease of 164 priests in the Americas and a loss of 69 priests in Oceania.

However, an increase in 1,676 priests in Africa and 1,160 priests in Asia helped soften the blow of the overall decline in priests.

Similarly, the number of major seminarians went down by more than 1,400 from 2021 to 2022. This includes a decrease of 921 in the Americas, 859 in Europe, and 375 in Asia.

Africa saw the largest increase of 726 seminarians and Oceania had a small increase of 12 seminarians. The number of minor seminarians went down by 553.

The number of women religious fell slightly below 600,000 in 2022 with a total decline of 9,730. This was mostly led by a decrease of more than 7,000 in Europe and more than 1,350 in the Americas.

There was also a decline of about 225 in Oceania. However, the number of women religious increased by more than 1,350 in Africa and by about 74 in Asia.

Alternatively, the number of permanent deacons increased globally by 974. This includes an increase of 267 in Europe, 15 in Asia, and one in Africa. The number declined by 308 in the Americas and one in Oceania.

The number of permanent diocesan deacons went up by 960, with an increase of 697 in the Americas, 255 in Europe, and nine in Asia, with a decrease of one in Oceania. The total number of religious permanent deacons increased overall globally by 14 to 615.

Source: aciafrica