Headline News

16, July 2022

Biden in Saudi Arabia: ‘Washington needs a reset with the Kingdom’ ⁰

Saudi officials indicated Saturday they were keen to move on from the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, one day after US President Joe Biden raised it in his talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Tensions between the two men had been high ahead of their first meeting, especially after Biden’s administration last year released an assessment by the intelligence community that Prince Mohammed “approved” the operation that led to Khashoggi’s killing and dismemberment in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate.

In remarks Friday night, Biden called Khashoggi’s death “outrageous” and said he had warned Prince Mohammed against further attacks on dissidents, without specifying what actions he might take.

The Al-Arabiya channel quoted a Saudi official saying the pair “addressed the issue of Jamal Khashoggi quickly” and that Prince Mohammed “confirmed that what happened is regrettable and we have taken all legal measures to prevent” a recurrence.

Prince Mohammed also pointed out that “such an incident occurs anywhere in the world”, highlighting “a number of mistakes” made by Washington such as torturing detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, Al-Arabiya reported.

In an interview with CNN, Adel al-Jubeir, minister of state for foreign affairs, cast doubt on the intelligence community’s determination that Prince Mohammed ordered the 2018 operation, something Prince Mohammed has denied.

“We know what the intelligence community’s assessment was with regard to Saddam Hussein having weapons of mass destruction,” Jubeir shot back in an exchange with Wolf Blitzer shared widely on Saudi social media.

Accusations that the Iraqi dictator had such weapons trigged the 2003 Iraq War. None were found.

‘Double standards’

Jubeir also made clear the kingdom believed the Khashoggi affair had been sufficiently dealt with, even though Khashoggi’s remains have never been found.

A Saudi court in 2020 jailed eight people for between seven and 20 years over the killing. Their names were never released, and Khashoggi’s fiancee branded the ruling a “farce”.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia investigated this crime. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia held those responsible for it accountable, and they are paying the price of the crime they committed as we speak,” Jubeir said.

“We investigated, we punished and we put in place procedures to ensure this doesn’t happen again. This is what countries do in situations like this.”

Despite lingering discord over the Khashoggi affair, the meeting between Prince Mohammed and Biden “went well with a frank exchange of opinions,” Ali Shihabi, a Saudi analyst, told AFP.

Prince Mohammed “responded to Biden, pointing out US double standards of making a huge noise about Khashoggi (a Saudi) while trying their best to downplay the assassination of Shireen Abu Akleh even though she is a US citizen,” Shihabi said, referring to the Palestinian-American journalist shot dead in May while covering an Israeli army raid in the West Bank.

“But beyond that frank exchange the meeting was very cordial and important to put the bad blood created by Biden’s statement behind them,” he said.

White House: Biden will not return from Gulf summit with agreement on oil production increase

Source: AFP

16, July 2022

Cameroonian basketball star granted French citizenship ⁰

Cameroonian basketball star Joel Embiid has been granted citizenship by France, clearing the path for him to play internationally for the Europeans.

The Philadelphia 76ers centre, who rejected a call-up to represent Cameroon at the 2017 AfroBasket championship, first opened the door to a nationality switch between 2016 and 2018.

The 28-year-old has had his naturalisation approved by the French government two months after the general manager of France’s national team, Boris Diaw, revealed Embiid had commenced his bid to obtain citizenship.

He benefited from a proposal by the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs to allow citizenship to be conferred on any French-speaking alien who “contributes by his eminent deeds to the influence of France”.

Recovering from thumb, finger and facial injuries after helping the Sixers to the NBA Eastern Conference play-off semi-finals, Embiid – who has no direct relationship with France – will be hoping to represent Les Bleus at the 2023 World Cup and Paris 2024 Olympics.

Embiid has never played in an official competition for Cameroon, making him eligible for another country, and the rules of basketball’s world governing body Fiba allow each team to have one naturalised player in its squad.

France’s gain is Cameroon’s loss

Born in the Cameroonian capital Yaounde in 1994, Embiid spent his childhood in the Central African nation before moving to the United States with his family aged 15.

Yet the Sixers star has always had a special bond with France, where he spent holidays as a child and where he still has relatives living.

Embiid said he was “a fan of France in general” and willing to spend more time there in an interview with French newspaper L’Equipe in 2018.

He held discussions with the French Basketball Federation four years ago, but gave up the idea of switching nationality to focus on his NBA career.

However, he and his camp revived the conversation with France earlier this year.

Cameroon’s basketball body, Fecabasket, told BBC Sport Africa back in May it would like Embiid to play for them, but admitted it could not prevent him appearing for France if Fiba regulations allow him to.

Embiid’s arrival would be a massive asset for the French team, who took bronze at the past two World Cups and silver at the Tokyo Olympics last year.

He has just had his best season in the NBA – becoming the first non-American to finish as best points scorer with an average of 30.6 points per game.

Embiid also ended the campaign on the MVP podium for the second year in a row, ultimately beaten to the top prize by Denver Nuggets centre Nikola Jokic.

Source: BBC

16, July 2022

Women’s Football: Nigeria beat Cameroon to book World Cup place ⁰

Nigeria beat Cameroon 1-0 to reach 12th consecutive semi-final in the Women’s African Cup of Nations

The Super Falcons of Nigeria beat the Lionesses of Cameroon 1-0 to progress to the semi-final of the ongoing Africa Women’s Cup of Nations in Morocco.

Rasheedat Ajibade fired Nigeria into the lead in the second half of a competitive match between the West Africa neighbours.

The win ensured that the Super Falcons qualify for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The four teams that progress to the semi-finals of the WAFCON get automatic tickets for the Women’s World Cup to be hosted by Australia and New Zealand next year.

The team adjudged to have finished fifth would be presented with a chance via a Playoff Tournament in January 2023 to join the party.

Source: Chronicle

16, July 2022

Yaoundé: Drivers Protest as Fuel Shortage Spreads ⁰

Authorities in Cameroon say thousands of vehicles have been halted by a fresh scarcity of fuel caused, in part, by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Cameroon’s government says it’s been forced to spend nearly half-a-billion dollars in fuel subsidies since Russia’s February invasion, as western sanctions have hindered trade with Moscow.

More than 100 drivers pack a filling station in the Etoudi neighborhood of Cameroon’s capital, Yaoundé, Friday, honking their horns to protest a fresh fuel shortage.

The drivers say their incomes have nosedived since Yaoundé ran short of fuel this month and the scarcity spread to other towns.

Yves Honore Minka is with the waste disposal company Hygiene and Sanitation of Cameroon (HYSACAM) in Ebolowa, on the border with Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.

He says the town of Ebolowa and its surroundings are a mess because his company’s waste and refuse collection vehicles have been halted by a lack of fuel. Minka says his company will be able to resume refuse collection only after diesel fuel becomes available.

Cameroon’s government says several thousand public buses, taxis, and trucks are not in use because of the fuel shortage, the second one to hit the country since April.

Some of the vehicles were destined for the neighboring Central African Republic, Chad, and Gabon, slowing regional trade and transport.

Cameroon’s energy minister, in a press release Monday, again blamed Russia and its invasion of Ukraine.

Western sanctions for Russia’s assault have hampered its trade and led to volatile, higher prices for oil and gas.

Cameroon buys more than half its gasoline from Russia, one of the world’s top suppliers of petroleum products, wheat, and fertilizer.

Veronique Moampea Mbio is director general of Cameroon’s Petroleum Distribution Company (SCDP). Speaking Friday on Cameroon’s state broadcaster, CRTV, she said Cameroonians should be patient.

Mbio says the shortage of petroleum products is provoked by the inability of marketers to pay the surplus sums of money requested before delivery of fuel. She says banks are reluctant to exceed credit limits to marketers of petroleum products because regular loan repayments may be hindered by unpredictable market prices.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushed global oil prices above $100 a barrel for the first time since 2014, while those for natural gas and fertilizer have more than doubled. Cameroon’s government says it has already spent $485 million on fuel subsidies since Russia’s invasion in February and may need to spend more than $1 billion this year.

Mbio says Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya, has ordered the government to immediately pay needed subsidies for petroleum products to be imported in coming weeks.

Source: VOA

16, July 2022

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Doctors Without Borders to close projects in Mamfe and Kumba ⁰

After suspending activities in March 2022 to focus on securing the release of four detained staff members, MSF will close projects in Kumba and Mamfe on August 1.

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has made the difficult decision to close our projects—which were suspended in March— in Kumba and Mamfe, in the South-West region of Cameroon.

This closure will take effect on August 1, 2022, and will result in the termination of contracts of the majority of MSF’s staff. The closure follows the suspension of MSF activities in the region three months ago.

MSF has been working to secure the release of four colleagues who were unjustly detained in December 2021 and January 2022 while carrying out medical humanitarian activities in in the South-West region. While two of our four colleagues were conditionally released in May, two remain in prison, and all are set to face trial.

A small team will remain in the South-West region to support the release and resolution of the cases, as well as to continue dialogue with the authorities as MSF seeks to re-establish conditions that will enable our teams to carry out medical activities in a safe environment. MSF made this decision as are unable to indefinitely maintain our teams with no clear vision of when we may be able to restart our activities, or when our staff will be able to work without being prosecuted for providing medical assistance to those in need.

MSF will consider reviewing this decision following the trial and based on our exchanges with Cameroon’s government. We continue to seek to improve the humanitarian notification system, so that staff can hopefully return to their jobs in confidence that their lifesaving work will not put them at risk of legal prosecution. MSF remains hopeful that we will be able to find an understanding with the authorities that could enable MSF to support the local health system and deliver medical assistance to local people.

As an international medical humanitarian organization, MSF provides impartial medical support to every patient in need, in line with medical ethics and international humanitarian law.

For almost five years, South-West Cameroon has been impacted by violence between separatist armed groups and state armed forces. MSF provided free health care to people in the region until March 29, 2022, when we made the difficult decision to focus on obtaining the safe release of our colleagues. MSF has specified that, as a neutral and impartial medical organization, it has supported wounded patients from both sides of the conflict in South-West Cameroon, including those from the state armed forces. MSF always provides free medical to those who need it most, based solely on need.

Culled from MSF

15, July 2022

Israel and Palestine: Biden states support for two-state solution ⁰

US President Joe Biden said that US commitment to a two-state solution “has not changed”, but that the “ground is not ripe” to restart talks between Israel and Palestine. The American president was speaking during a joint press conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank on Friday.

US President Joe Biden pledged on Friday to keep up efforts to support a just solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict even though the goal of a two-state solution appeared far off.

Speaking alongside Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem, Biden said the United States would not give up on the goal of a just settlement to the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

“Even if the ground is not right at this moment to restart negotiations, the United States and my administration will not give up on trying to bring the Palestinians, Israelis and both sides closer together.”

“There must be a political horizon that the Palestinian people can actually see or at least feel. We cannot allow the hopelessness to steal away the future,” Biden said

The comments were likely to disappoint the Palestinians, who are looking to the U.S. to press Israel into restarting peace talks. The last substantive talks collapsed over a decade ago.

The key to peace

Meanwhile, Abbas said “the key to peace” in the region “begins with ending the Israeli occupation of our land.”

He added: “I am willing to extend an open hand to Israeli leaders so that we can bring peace to the region.”

But as Biden said US commitment to a two-state solution “has not changed”, Abbas said there was a narrowing window for a resolution of this nature.

“The opportunity for a two-state solution on the 1967 borders may be available today, and it may not remain for a long time,” Abbas said after meeting with US President.

Abbas said “the key to peace” in the region “begins with ending the Israeli occupation of our land”.

The Palestinian President also asked for US support to holding accountable the killers of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was killed during an Israeli raid in the West Bank city of Jenin on May 11.

Biden said the US would insist on “full” accountability over the killing of the Palestinian-American Al Jazeera reporter.

Source: AFP

15, July 2022

Chris Anu and Sako to blame for the demise of the Field Marshal ⁰

Cameroon Concord News Group is against the five year old Biya military actions in Southern Cameroons. The war in Southern Cameroons has claimed the lives of thousands of English speaking Cameroonians. But the blame for this month’s bloodshed in Lebialem County that resulted in the martyr of the great leader of the Red Dragons lies solely at the feet of Chris Anu and Sako Ikome.

This is not an attempt to divert attention from the war crimes committed by the Francophone dominated military in Southern Cameroons. But this is a serious matter involving two so-called frontline Ambazonia leaders and reveals how Chris Anu and Sako Ikome quickly saw an opportunity in the Southern Cameroons resistance movement.

Amba fighters are at their weakest point in the last five years. The front line leaders in the US are tired! Cho Ayaba and his ADF gang are in short supply of their tricks of informing Southern Cameroonians through social media that they could ‘do something’ while the Interim Government can not.

Chris Anu and Sako took over control of the renowned Field Marshal and exploited his bravery for their own selfish reasons and then threw him under the bus! The much respected Ambazonia commander and fighter with the support of Mr. Chris Anu and Sako Ikome transformed himself into a cult master so to speak expecting top Lebialem traditional leaders to bow in homage-at some point in time, he even installed himself as the supreme leader of Lebialem.

Chris Anu recruited the Field Marshal to his inner circle and spread lies and propaganda on social media, deliberately inciting distrust for the legitimate Ambazonia Interim Government headed by Vice President Dabney Yerima. And even when the Field Marshal could no longer fight for Ambazonia, Chris Anu and Sako concocted war images and dished them out to the Ambazonia diaspora informing them that the Field Marshal was doing wonders and was on their pay roll and it allowed them to continue to collect money from the Southern Cameroons diaspora. Chris Anu and Sako remain dangerous for the people of Southern Cameroons and many like the Great Field Marshal failed to listen to our Cameroon Concord News warning that we cannot continue to be a conduit for their work.

Chris Anu is not fighting for Ambazonia; he and his former political acolyte Sako Ikome are encouraging war crimes to boost their political standing. Chris Anu and Sako are out of harm’s way. They leave their foot soldiers, often young and desperate men with no employment prospects in Ground Zero, to launch attacks against the Francophone dominated army guaranteeing a military response.

We of Cameroon Concord News and the Cameroon Intelligence Report have come under very vicious attack for reporting the facts and because the reporting out of Ground Zero is not honest. Pro Chris Anu and Sako comedians in Ground Zero tightly control all what is on social media and Southern Cameroons media houses have the choice of reporting the news the way Chris Anu or Cho Ayaba tells them to!

Cameroon Concord News thinks Southern Cameroonians are forced to choose among the corrupt, ineffectual ADF Cho Ayaba gang, the fanatical, genocidal Chris Anu Youtube group or the legitimate Ambazonia Interim Government of Vice President Dabney Yerima. Of course, this is largely an academic debate. There is only one real ‘choice’ – the Ambazonia Interim Government under the stewardship of Vice President Dabney Yerima. But there is another, more pressing issue than the depressing state of the Southern Cameroons revolution: the refusal to recognise the reality that Southern Cameroonians who can make things happen and threaten Yaoundé are all behind Yerima.

Five years have passed since President Biya declared war against the people of Southern Cameroons. Unfortunately many in French Cameroun, including President Biya, still deny the obvious truth that things will no longer be the same in Southern Cameroons.

Obsessing over the issue of who leads Southern Cameroons has been a disaster for the Ambazonia struggle: it has held back Southern Cameroons progress for generations and cost the Ambazonia people dearly. We are still far away from Buea – and we are not going anywhere. We have been blessed with men like Professor Carlson Anyangwe that could provide bountiful opportunities. Instead of focusing our limited resources on supporting Ground Zero fighters, our leaders have spent years fighting among themselves. The end of Field Marshal is an indication that Southern Cameroons has long past time for all Ambazonians to stop wasting energy on who leads and try to focus on the Federal Republic of Ambazonia agenda. Only then will we get to Buea.

By Chi Prudence Asong

14, July 2022

Road to civil war: French President Macron to visit Cameroon ⁰

President Emmanuel Macron is expected in Yaoundé on July 26, 2022 and it is reportedly going to be his first trip to Africa after his re-election to the Elysée Palace last April.

The French foreign ministry is yet to confirm the information that was made public by the Paris-based Jeune Afrique but Cameroon Intelligence Report understands the intelligence services of both countries are already discussing the visit.

President Macron is expected to renew French commitment for a peaceful transition of power in Cameroon and a political solution to the crisis in Southern Cameroons.

Macron will not be the first French presiding president to actually set foot into that dangerous and corrupt country. But this bold and spontaneous diplomatic move will draw praise and criticism. Most importantly, it stands to re-echo French position on Biya’s continued stay in power and attempts at getting his son Franck Biya to succeed him.

By Rita Akana in Yaoundé

14, July 2022

War in Ukraine: Latest developments ⁰

Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine:

‘Greatest challenge’

As G20 ministers prepare to start talks in Indonesia, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says Russia’s war in Ukraine poses the “greatest challenge” to the global economy.

Moscow’s invasion has sent inflation soaring, threatening widespread hunger and poverty.

“We are seeing negative spillover effects from that war in every corner of the world, particularly with respect to higher energy prices, and rising food insecurity,” she says.

High-stake grain talks eye deal

Russia and Ukraine make substantive progress in their first direct talks since March on a deal to relieve a global food crisis caused by blocked Black Sea grain exports.

The high-stakes meeting involving UN and Turkish officials in Istanbul last just over three hours and break off with an agreement to meet again in Turkey next week.

Strike kills at 12, Zelensky slams ‘act of terrorism’

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky lashes out at Russia for carrying out missile strikes that kill at least 12 people, including a child, on Vinnytsia in the centre of the country.

“Every day, Russia kills civilians, kills Ukrainian children, carries out missile attack on civilian facilities where there is no military target. What is this if not an open act of terrorism?” he says.

The strike on the central Ukrainian town also sparks a large blaze being fought by dozens of rescue workers and emergency services say 90 personnel are on the scene.

Global outlook darkened’

Yellen’s comments ahead of the G20 meeting echoes earlier ones made by the head of the International Monetary Fund, who said the global economic outlook had “darkened significantly”.

This was due to Moscow’s invasion and comes just months after the IMF revised down its global growth forecast for 2022 and 2023.

The IMF is “projecting a further downgrade to global growth” in 2022 and 2023, the fund’s chief Kristalina Georgieva says in a blog post.

Nod to Ukraine on Bastille Day

The war in Ukraine makes its mark on Paris’s traditional Bastille Day military parade as France honours its eastern European NATO allies.

“The parade is marked by, and takes account of, the strategic context,” says an official in Macron’s office.

“The idea is to highlight the strategic solidarity with our allies.”

Source: AFP

14, July 2022

Macron wants a ‘rethink’ of French military strategy in Africa amid Mali withdrawal ⁰

French President Emmanuel Macron has called on his ministers and army chiefs to work on the country’s military postures in Africa, amid the complete withdrawal of thousands of its troops from Mali.

Macron made the statement while addressing French troops ahead of the July 14 Bastille Day parade in the capital, Paris, on Thursday, saying he wanted a “rethink of all our (military) postures on the African continent.”

His remarks come as French officials are heading to Niger to purportedly redefine the country’s strategy to allegedly fight armed groups in the Sahel region.

France’s new foreign minister, Catherine Colonna, and Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu are due to arrive in Niger on Friday to seal a regional redeployment.

“Beyond Mali, the democratic decline in West Africa is extremely worrying with successive putsches in Mali twice, in Guinea in September 2021, in Burkina Faso in January of this year,” Colonna told a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday. “France will nevertheless continue despite these events, this withdrawal from Mali, to help West African armies fight against terrorist groups,” he said.

Niger will now become the hub for French troops, with some 1,000 soldiers based in the capital, Niamey, with fighter jets, drones, and helicopters.

Some 300-400 soldiers would be dispatched for special operations with Nigerien troops in the border regions with Burkina and Mali, French officials told reporters in a briefing.

Another 700-1,000 would be based in Chad, with an undisclosed number of special forces operating elsewhere in the region.

The officials said that at this stage, there had been no formal request for further military assistance, amid concerns about whether French and European troops will also support countries in the coastal Gulf of Guinea nations, such as Benin, Togo, and the Ivory Coast, where there is an increase in militant attacks.

Some European countries had shown an interest in continuing regional operations post Mali, the officials said.

Lecornu will travel to the Ivory Coast, which also hosts French troops, on Saturday, while Macron is likely to travel to Benin at the end of July, Colonna said.

Back in February, France declared that it would withdraw thousands of its troops from Mali due to a breakdown in relations with the country, a decade after launching a war without the initial approval of the United Nations or the French parliament.

The decision applies to the 2,400 French troops in Mali, where France first deployed forces to in 2013, and a European force of several hundred soldiers that was created in 2020.

France has been a former colonizer in Africa, which, after many years of outright colonization, still controls countries spread over more than 12 territories and treats their people as second-class citizens. It has had more than 50 military interventions in Africa since 1960, when many of its former colonies gained nominal independence.

France currently has 5,100 troops in the arid and volatile Sahel region. Under a new plan, they will be reduced to 2,500-3,000.

Although France remains the only Western country with a significant military presence in the Sahel, its relationship with its former African colonies has grown increasingly tense in recent months, with an evident increase in anti-French sentiment.

Sources