Headline News

23, November 2017

UK study to examine link between football and dementia ⁰

The English Football Association has announced a comprehensive study to find out how the sport may cause brain damage in players.

The association announced on Thursday that a research is to be launched into the possible link between heading a football and brain damage.

The research, which will study the incidence of degenerative neurocognitive disease in approximately 15,000 former players, will start in January.

The launch of the study to unveil the potential risk of brain damage among football players followed a BBC documentary presented by former England captain Alan Shearer this month that highlighted the case of former English footballer Jeff Astle, who died aged 59 in 2002.

An inquest found that heading a heavy leather football repeatedly during his career was a key factor in causing brain damage in the player..

“In the past decade there have been growing concerns around perceived increased risk of dementia through participation in contact sports. However, research data to support and quantify this risk have been lacking,” said Dr William Stewart.

Stewart provided medical evidence in the investigation into the circumstances surrounding Astle’s death, and is the lead expert in the study entitled Football’s Influence on Lifelong Health and Dementia Risk (FIELD).

“Through the FIELD study we hope to be able to provide some understanding of the long-term health impact of football,” he said.

Stewart and his team will be conducting the research from the University of Glasgow and the Hampden Sports Clinic.

“Dementia can have a devastating effect and, as the governing body of English football, we felt compelled to commission a significant new study in order to fully understand if there are any potential risks associated with playing the game,” it added.

Source: Presstv

23, November 2017

Lagos arraigns Cameroonian home help for employer’s murder ⁰

The Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions has arraigned a Cameroonian, Leudjou Joel, for the alleged murder of his Nigerian employer, Miss Dayo Eniola. Joel, who worked as a cleaner for 33-year-old Eniola in the Ikoyi area of Lagos, was said to have allegedly stabbed his employer to death last December.

Twenty-one-year- old Joel was arraigned on murder charges before the Lagos State High Court in Igbosere. The Attorney General of Lagos State, Mr. Adeniyi Kazeem, who led the prosecution team that took Joel before Justice Adedayo Akintoye on Monday, told the court that the foreigner stabbed his Nigerian employer to death over his rejected request for salary advance.

He allegedly committed the crime at No. 15, Prince Tayo Adesanya Street, Park View Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos. Upon Joel’s arraignment on Monday, Kazeem prayed the court to order that the accused be remanded in the prison custody, pending commencement of trial. Justice Akintoye made an order that Joel should be remanded at the Ikoyi Prison. She adjourned till January 18, 2018 for commencement of trial.

Source: The Punch

23, November 2017

Biya and his gang orders Prime Minister Philemon Yang to make available 500 kilos of 10 thousand FCFA notes ⁰

The French Cameroun dictator is putting pressure on the Prime Minister Philemon Yang administration to make available the sum of CFAF 50 billion needed for the 2018 presidential elections, Cameroon Concord News has gathered from a source inside the presidency.

In the framework of the 2018 Finance Act, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, the Minister –Secretary General at the presidency of the republic, reportedly instructed the secretary-general of the Prime Minister’s office to raise 50 billion FCFA (77,524,508 euros) for the 2018 elections.

This disturbing increase of 15 billion comes at a time when the parliament is meeting to review the 2018 budget. Indeed, general elections are scheduled for October 2018, including the presidential elections, for which nearly 10 French Cameroun politicians have already announced their intention to run for office.

By law, Mr. Biya will summon the electorate to chose their mayors, parliamentarians, senators and the president of the republic. Work in the so-called national assembly has been brought to a stand still following protest led by opposition MPs of the Social Democratic Front party.

By Rita Akana in Yaounde

23, November 2017

Biya to attend Africa-EU Summit as Anglophone groups abroad have left the government permanently under pressure ⁰

Cameroon’s Head of State, Paul Biya, will be in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire from November 29-30, 2017, for the 5^th AU-EU Summit which will bring together African and European heads of state. The Summits of Heads of States and Governments take place traditionally every three years alternately in Africa and Europe with the aim of taking stock of the progress made in the implementation of commitments and providing political guidance for further work.

The Summit, which will be held on the theme: “Investing in youth for a sustainable future,” will also be attended by the President of the European Council, the President of the European Commission, the President of the African Union and the Chairperson of the African Union Commission.

The meeting will hold against the backdrop of political changes in Zimbabwe where the country’s former president, Robert Mugabe, has been forced to retire after having led his country for thirty-seven years. It should be recalled that it was Mrs. Mugabe’s vaulting ambition that pushed the former president to make some mistakes which led to the military taking over power and sidelining the 93-year-old Mugabe. Also, having been in power for that long, it was just normal for the country’s population, that had taken the brunt of Mr. Mugabe’s dictatorship and mismanagement, to take to the street in support of the military.

Similarly, the situation of Africans being sold in Libya as slaves will also be on the agenda of the summit, as this incident has shocked the entire world, especially the African continent, with many experts around the world blaming African governments for not doing enough to create an enabling environment for their citizens. It should be recalled that Sub-Saharan African countries have been mired in corruption and poor governance which are blighting the lives of their people and chasing young men and women from their countries to failed states like Libya where they hope to make their way to Europe which they erroneously consider as an earthly Paradise.

It is obvious that the issue of security will also be on the table, as the continent is facing a huge security challenge. Libya is today a magnet for many jihadists groups following the killing of Qaddafi, Somalia is yet to be back on its feet, Boko Haram is making its presence felt in Nigeria, Cameroon and Chad, while the Malian situation is far from being addressed. The Anglophone crisis will give Mr. Biya and his delegation an uncomfortable moment, given that the entire world is aware that all its efforts to roll back the Anglophone rebellion have been unsuccessful. If not checked, the situation could transform the entire Central African region into a pretty mess. The Anglophone problem will therefore be on the table, either during Mr. Biya’s personal meeting with European partners or during his tête-a-tête with his French masters.

Though the continent has made some baby strides towards modern-day democracy, there is still a long way to go for some countries such as Cameroon where Mr. Biya has been presiding over the country’s destiny for thirty-five years, with no impressive economic and political outcomes. In Cameroon, multiparty politics exists on paper, but political alternation is surely a distant tomorrow affair. Mr. Biya and his party have won all elections organized in the country since 1992 and this speaks to the type of multiparty politics that exist in the country. Political intimidation and physical elimination are still among the tricks and tactics used by the ruling party, popularly known as a crime syndicate, to stay in power.

With regard to human rights, Cameroon has one of the worst human rights records on the continent. Freedom of association has suffered over the last decade, while arbitrary arrests and detentions have been on the rise over the last few years. Over the last year, its response to the Anglophone crisis has been anything but civilized. On October 1, 2017, more than one hundred Anglophones were mowed down by the country’s military which thought it could intimidate the Anglophone minority into silence, but its response has instead made the conflict more complicated to address.

More than 50,000 Anglophones crossed over to Nigeria as refugees on October 1, 2017, with people from Manyu Division accounting for more than 90% of the refugees, as the government wanted to use the occasion to punish Manyu Division which is the birthplace of Anglophone activism and activists such as Barrister Felix Nkongho Agbor-Balla, Chief Justice Paul Ayah and Sisiku Ayuk Julius Tabe who is the current president of the “Federal Republic of Ambazonia”, which is the name of the Anglophone region that wants to secede from Francophone Cameroon.

It should also be recalled that some 100,000 Anglophones have been internally displaced following a botched declaration of independence by the Anglophone minority on October 1, 2017, and this is giving the country a bad name. Mr. Biya and his government have never really addressed concerns expressed by Anglophones who have been discriminated and marginalized for more than 56 years. Mr. Biya who counts on time to solve his problem is gradually coming to terms with the fact that the Anglophone problem will not go away anytime soon, as various Anglophone organizations are working hard to keep the struggle on the front burner in order to erode the government’s reputation and credibility, if it has any. Courts and schools in the Anglophone region have remained closed and diplomatic efforts by Anglophone groups abroad have left the government permanently under pressure.

In recent months, the conflict has degenerated, with soldiers and Special Forces deployed in the Anglophone zone becoming targets for Mr. Cho Ayaba’s military wing of the SCNC which has been calling for the secession of the Anglophone zone from the francophone region which is suffering from advanced economic and political decay due to neglect and mismanagement. Some 20 soldiers have lost their lives in this conflict which many analysts believe could have been averted if Mr. Biya and his government had opted for genuine and inclusive dialogue called for by many, including the Vatican, the U.S., the United Kingdom, France, Canada and other partners of the beleaguered government.

Meanwhile, the country’s northern part is still under an insurgency that is making life unbearable to the citizens. Boko Haram has been killing and maiming innocent civilians and its objectives are still unclear. Many Cameroonian soldiers have also been victims of this insurgency that has lasted for more than four years and there is really no end in sight. The Boko Haram insurgency is complicating issues for the government that has to deal with a very vociferous Anglophone minority that is hell-bent on walking away from a union that was flawed right from its inception. If this region succeeds to walk away, Cameroon’s economy will suffer, given that the Anglophone region accounts for more than 60% of the country’s GDP. The South West region alone accounts for more than 40% of the country’s wealth, given that its oil and gold deposits are in the region. The South West region is also the country’s largest producer of cocoa and it is also rich in timber which is being harvested with impunity.

Regarding the country’s economy, the once prosperous economy has been on its knees for a long time due to mismanagement and corruption, with unemployment and inflation attaining unimaginable rates. The country’s road infrastructure has aged and is crumbling, making it hard for farmers to move their produce from the rural areas to the city where the markets are.

Over the last eleven months, the country has reported more 4,300 fatal accidents, with some 20,000 Cameroonians losing their lives. The railway system has also faced some major challenges in recent times. The country’s railway corporation is struggling, as its assets are old and cannot stand the stress of moving large numbers of people and goods. The corporation is currently locked in a class-action law suit following a terrible accident in Eseka in 2016 that resulted in the death of more than 200 Cameroonians. Many passengers on that ill-fated train have never really been accounted for and many families are yet to be compensated for the loss of their loved ones.

As usual, the government is working hard to deflect blame and responsibility and this is earning it so many enemies and adversaries. Cameroon is seemingly a peaceful country, but if you scratch beyond the surface, you will find out that there is a lot of insecurity in the country. Poverty and unemployment have created pockets of bandits and crooks who are marauding the streets of cities such as Douala and Yaounde to prey on innocent citizens. Even uniformed officers are taking advantage of the insecurity caused by the Anglophone crisis to make a quick buck and the government is looking the other way, giving the impression that it has approved of these illegal means used by these criminals to extort money from the population.

While not much is expected from the Abidjan summit, many experts hold that many issues will be dealt with during the two-day summit. They argue that focusing on youths will be good, but seeking to address the issue of insecurity across the continent will help to attract investors who will help to create jobs for the youths. It is hoped that the summit will be used to bring pressure on African leaders to embrace democratic means that will help their economies create job, foster transparency and reduce the insecurity that is helping to stunt the continent’s economic growth.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with contributions from the editorial team

23, November 2017

How did Robert Mugabe win the last election convincingly? ⁰

The multitudes turned up yesterday in great numbers in Harare to pay adoration to the man taking over as President of Zimbabwe from Robert Mugabe, Emerson Mnangagwa. After 37 years under a brutal despot, the people of Zimbabwe, can be forgiven for their colourful celebrations following the end of a bitter era.

From the happenings of the last week, one can only conclude that Robert Mugabe had virtually no support in his country. After the generals put him under house arrest over nine days ago, nearly all the MPs and rank and file of his own party, the Zanu-PF voiced their discontent with him and his failed policies. Even the influential war veterans spoke out vociferously against their comrade.

One question that comes to mind repeatedly over the last few days is how he managed to win the last elections so convincingly? In the the last election in 2013, Mugabe won 61% of the vote. That was a landslide victory. His Zanu-PF party also won 160 of the 210 seats in the national assembly. An astonishing result. In fact it is laughable that whilst western election observers were not allowed in the country, African Union had monitors in place during the last election and they said ‘‘the election could have been handled better, but that initial reports indicated a fair election had occurred’’.

Mugabe was his party’s candidate for next year’s general election in which he was expected to carry another landslide victory. These facts are beyond belief but true. How can a man who won elections so convincingly only four years ago and was expected to carry another landslide next year be so unpopular in such a short period of time? He made one grave error of judgement, sacking his vice president. Had he not done that trying to pave the way for his wife to succeed him, he still would have been president today.

The fact is that a sizeable majority of these ZANU-PF MPs, war veterans and party militants not forgetting the president-in-waiting were accomplices in Mugabe’s election rigging machinery. Why were they involved in such large scale deception and hence co-conspirators in ruining their country?

It’s unbelievable that until the generals stepped in last week with the world’s first ever coup-that-wasn’t-a-coup, on the surface Mugabe exerted great power and control. His notorious wife, Gucci Grace also wielded influence and openly and shamelessly conversed her ambitions to succeed her husband and all appeared normal.

This might be an eye-opener that in many countries, where the ruling party, clans and elites appear happy in public with their leader, it does teach us that they might be hiding a deep sense of melancholy underneath and will happily take the opportunity to kick them out when need arises.

By Asu Ashu Isong, London

23, November 2017

France calls UN Security Council meeting over Libya slavery ⁰

France today called an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council over slave-trading in Libya as President Emmanuel Macron blasted the auctioning of Africans as a crime against humanity. “France decided this morning to ask for an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss this issue,” Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told parliament.

“We are doing it as a permanent member of the Security Council. We have this capability and we are using it.” Macron said the auctions, captured on film in footage aired by US network CNN, were “scandalous” and “unacceptable”.

“It is a crime against humanity,” he said after meeting with African Union chief Alpha Conde. “I hope we can go much further in the fight against traffickers who commit such crimes, and cooperate with all the countries in the network to dismantle these networks.” CNN aired footage last week of an apparent auction where black men were presented to North African buyers as potential farmhands and sold off for as little as $400.

But the European Union — which is increasingly influenced by the French president — has also been criticised for cooperating with the Libyan coastguard to prevent migrants crossing the Mediterranean. UN human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein accused the international community of turning a “blind eye to the unimaginable horrors endured by migrants in Libya” and called the EU’s policy “inhuman.” AFP spoke to a number of black African men in Cameroon this week who also reported being slaves in Libya, which has descended into civil war since the Western-backed overthrow of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.

“It was total hell,” said Maxime Ndong, one of 250 migrants who arrived in Cameroon on Tuesday night on a plane chartered by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to take people home. “There is a trade in black people there. People who want slaves… come to buy them,” he told AFP. “If you resist, they shoot at you. There have been deaths,” added Ndong, who spent eight months in Libya.

Another migrant, 22-year-old Sanogo, said he had been caught by people who said they were police before being sold to a slave trader. He was then forced to work on a tomato farm. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed horror at the footage on Monday, saying the auctions should be investigated as possible crimes against humanity. African music and football stars have expressed outrage at the revelations, including Ivorian reggae singers Alpha Blondy and Tiken Jah Fakoly, as well as footballer Didier Drogba.

Source: Indian Express

22, November 2017

Cameroonian refugees, Others sold into slavery in Libya ⁰

Survivors of slave auctions in Libya have described a “total hell” that they wouldn’t wish on their “worst enemy” as global outrage grows over footage showing refugees being sold off in the war-torn country.

“We were slaves,” said Moussa Sanogo, a refugee who flew back to Ivory Coast from Libya this week after surviving regular beatings and forced labor in the fields.

“For the Arabs (Libyan jailers), black-skinned men are nothing but animals — animals were treated better,” said Sanogo, who spent more than four months in Libya trying to get to Italy by boat.

The North African country has long been a major transit hub for refugees trying to reach Europe.

He was just one of those who returned home with stories similar to those aired last week by US TV network CNN, which showed an apparent slave auction where black men were presented to North African buyers as potential farmhands and sold off for as little as $400 (340 euros).

“It was total hell in Libya,” said Maxime Ndong, one of 250 refugees flown back to Cameroon on Tuesday night.

The Cameroonians flew back to Yaounde on Tuesday aboard a plane charted by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) as part of a project to return and reintegrate some 850 people.

The United Nations said the slavery auctions should be investigated as possible crimes against humanity, and the issue will be on agenda at an African Union-EU summit on November 29 to 30 in Abidjan.

(Source: AFP)

22, November 2017

1700 Cameroonians identified in Libya, Biya won’t talk ⁰

250 Cameroonian migrants arrived the Yaoundé Nsimalen international airport on Tuesday night from Algeria. Their repatriation was made possible by the International Organisation of Migration (IOM). IOM has also revealed that 1700 Cameroonians have been identified in Libya.

According to the testimonials provided by these many young Cameroonians who had chosen to reach Europe via Niger, Algeria and Libya, they were treated like cattle. Many were for the most part employed in the plantations including the building and construction industry.

The women were forced into prostitution and several cases of pregnancy have been reported among the repatriated girls. Each Cameroonian migrant received 65,000 FCFA (100 Euros).

By Rita Akana, CCN

22, November 2017

US military aircraft with 11 on board crashes in Philippine Sea ⁰

A US Navy aircraft with 11 people on board has crashed into the Philippine Sea while en route to an aircraft carrier, the military said in a statement.

“A United States Navy aircraft carrying 11 crew and passengers crashed into the ocean southeast of Okinawa,” a statement said on Wednesday.

“Personnel recovery is under way and their condition will be evaluated by USS Ronald Reagan medical staff.”

This is the latest accident to hit the US armed forces in East Asia.

22, November 2017

In Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, we see the star of the Ambazonia revolution shining ⁰

Over the last thirty-six years, Paul Biya Bi Mvondo, the blood thirsty leader of French Cameroun has pursued the colonial and annexationist agenda of his predecessor Babatoura Ahmadou Ahidjo over the Southern Cameroons with brutal and cruel arrogance. Southern Cameroonians have endued fifty-six years of French Cameroun’s colonial rule of terror with revolting indignation in the hope that the international community would come to our rescue.

Hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of petitions filed by Southern Cameroonians to the United Nations, the African Union and international organizations established to protect and promote the liberating ethos of freedom and respect for international law received only timid acknowledgement. The bureaucratic shield surrounding the United Nations system and the corrupting influence of French Cameroun using the wealth obtained from looting the natural and mineral resources of the Southern Cameroons guaranteed French Cameroun the impunity to prosecute its policy of oppression and criminality over the Southern Cameroons. Considering French Cameroun and himself insulated from scrutiny over the brutality of French Cameroun’s colonial policies in the annexed territory of the Southern Cameroons, the leaders of French Cameroun ignored all entreaties and appeals to dialogue with the leaders and peoples of the Southern Cameroons to find a lasting solution to longstanding issues.

The time has come for all the leaders of the various liberation movements of the Southern Cameroons to join the revolutionary train set on the rails by our people back home in the Southern Cameroons to support the interim government established at the just ended conclave in Kaduna, Nigeria to kick French Cameroun’s out of our territory. This support is critical because the only language that will get the UN and the international community out of slumber to right the consequences its misfeasance in our territory is that of a united targeted field action. The time for that action is now.

At the threshold of the ongoing irreversible popular revolution in the Southern Cameroons, Paul Biya Bi Nvondo the sanguinary vampiric emperor of French Cameroun paid two visits to Abuja in one month. He met with His Excellency President Mohammandu Buhari. Nothing but the Southern Cameroons revolution could have compelled this aging dictator to make the unprecedented visits to Aso Rock considering his legendary record of ignoring Africa. He hoped that he could persuade the Nigerian President through diplomatic means and may be corruption which is his hallmark, to deport hundreds of thousands Southern Cameroonians and their leaders who over the years, sought refuge in Nigeria.Among these Southern Cameroonians future prominently, SesekuAyuk, the humble but determined pillar of the Southern Cameroons revolution.

Those who know the President of French Cameroun, his missions to Nigeria portrayed his tacit acknowledgement at long last, that the much-anticipated David of the Southern Cameroons struggle had emerged in Nigeria to confront the Goliath of French Cameroun brutal annexation of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

The dispatch of French Cameroun’s Minister of Territorial Administration Rene Sadi to Nigeria where he was received by the Vice President of the Federation His Excellency Professor Yemi Osibanjo a few weeks ago carried further symbolic weight. This visit is a testament to the fearful impact on the colonial regime of the outcome of the conclave of the Southern Cameroons that took place in Kaduna, Nigeria. Far reaching decisions were taken in that conclave regarding the road map for the actualization of the liberation of the Southern Cameroons. This road map is premised on the threshold of the Southern Cameroons independence and freedom pact that was sealed on October 1, 2017 with the blood of hundreds of thousands of our citizens.

These desperate actions by the criminal regime in French Cameroun underscore the significance of Nigeria in our liberation struggle. The presence in Nigeria of our interim leader and hundreds of thousands of Southern Cameroonians are key advantages that we have in our wining strategy. This is one compelling reason why we must support our interim leader and the interim institutions of governance established at the conclave for the actualization of our freedom.

Currently, there are officially over forty thousand Southern Cameroonian refugees in Nigeria. These are but conservative figures because over the last fifty-six years, hundreds of thousands of Southern Cameroonians sought refuge in Nigeria fleeing from the brutality of the annexation of our territory. They did not fold their hands and resigned themselves to fate. They have been active in our struggle in many ways. They, for example, are significant participants in the grass roads revolution that has reclaimed our independence and are actively defending it at the colossal costs of blood and limb.

Nigeria is of great importance to our cause not just because the Federation has offered our people and leaders the protections and support afforded in international law to victims of war crimes and international criminality. Nigeria is and was and will always be a key player in the defense of our liberty, freedom and independence. The Southern Cameroons has some enduring historic ties with Nigeria. The ethnic,nationality and cultural identity that the Southern Cameroons shares with Nigeria from the Niger Delta, Bakassi, Cross River, Ogoja through to Mubi in the North are indelible factors that must be seriously weighed and acknowledged. The presence of our leadership and hundreds of thousands of our people in Nigeria, and millions more directly concerned with the ethnic and nationality component in this struggle, calls for urgent attention. It is in our best interest to support a leadership that realises this reality and has the capacity to mobilize it for our common good.

Nigeria is the natural environment where our people will and have always sought refuge in time of need. Our interim Head of State Seseku Ayuk Tabe was in Cross River State of Nigeria to visit and support our people. Our diaspora has been blackmailed by some collaborators of the colonial rule making Nigeria the natural ideal environment where they will sooner or later meet and commune with their families. For example, over the past few days, one Benard Foju, a disgraced CPDM MP for Lebialem accused the Lebialem diaspora of brainwashing Lebialem youths and providing them drugs to torch his house and to resist colonial rule. This conduct which is not isolated, was intended to mobilize the enemy forces of oppression to target members of the diaspora, making Nigeria the natural environment for many to establish contact with their families back home. There is therefore good reason for us to support the interim government whose base in Nigeria offers the best hope yet to liaise with all Southern Cameroons organizations to prosecute the urgent realization of our peoples’ freedom.

We are conscious that there are many Southern Cameroons organizations and individuals out there agitating for leadership or to present alternative leadership of our struggle. It is possible for them to make meaningful contributions towards the realization of our cause without tacitly helping our adversary French Cameroun in dislodging us from Nigeria and depriving us of a natural environment for the realization of our liberation. This perforce must lead to the vacation of our territory by the occupation forces of French Cameroun. Those who are attacking the interim President and the interim government are missing the target and in ignorance advancing the objectives of our enemy. They should spare the invectives in them and direct them towards French Cameroon. The Southern Cameroons needs a leader who is humble, matured, composed, resolute, determined and focused.

Sisiku Ayuk Tabe has demonstrated that he can reach out to front line leaders and all Southern Cameroonians. The postings by some leaders disclosing the subjects of their communication portray him as a steady leader who reaches out to Southern Cameroonians in the hope of building a consensus and grand coalition for the realisation of our objectives. This is what the leader of a revolutionary struggle must be. He has demonstrated that he can accept criticism and wise counsel in all humility. He is approachable, and available. We salute his endurance, steadfastness, vision and focus. He has depersonalised the leadership of the struggle. This is an attribute we sought many years ago. He is at the very heart of every man, woman and child in the Southern Cameroons. We strongly call on all the leaders of the various organizations in the Federation of Ambazonia to work with the interim government to confront our common enemy. There is a place and role for everyone in this struggle. Let us support Sisiku Ayuk Tabe who so far has led us this far. In him, we see the star of the Ambazonia revolution shining.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Editor-in-Chief

Cameroon Concord News Group