Headline News

14, November 2019

US House Speaker Pelosi says Trump’s actions on Ukraine amount to ‘bribery’ ⁰

The Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi says President Donald Trump has admitted to actions that amount to “bribery” in the Ukraine scandal, accusing the Republican leader of an impeachable offense under the US Constitution.

“The bribe is to grant or withhold military assistance in return for a public statement of a fake investigation into the elections. That’s bribery,” Pelosi said at a news conference on Thursday at the US Congress.

“What the president has admitted to and says it’s perfect, I say it’s perfectly wrong. It’s bribery,” she added.

The US Constitution states that impeachable offenses include “treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors”. What exactly that means is unclear. Historically, it can encompass corruption and other abuses, including trying to obstruct judicial proceedings.

Only two American presidents have been impeached by the House, Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998. Neither Johnson nor Clinton was convicted by the Senate.

In 1974, then US President Richard Nixon resigned in the face of certain impeachment and removal from office over the Watergate scandal.

Democrats in the House launched an impeachment inquiry against Trump in September after a whistleblower alleged the Republican president pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter, who had served as a director for Ukrainian energy company Burisma.

Democrats are looking into whether Trump abused his power by withholding $391 million in US security aid to Ukraine as leverage to pressure Kiev to conduct an investigation that would benefit him politically.

PressTV-Trump impeachment probe reveals new damning evidence

The Democratic-led impeachment inquiry shifted to a public phase on Wednesday and revealed new evidence that Trump was willing to sacrifice America’s interests for his own.

The public hearings were launched after weeks of closed-door interviews, marking a new phase of the impeachment probe that could determine the fate of Trump’s tumultuous presidency.

Republicans sought to undercut the public hearing by focusing on Hunter Biden’s role on the Burisma board, pointing out that he was paid $50,000 a month and questioning his qualifications.

Two top US diplomats, William Taylor and George Kent, delivered damning testimony on the first day of the public hearings, describing Trump’s efforts to pressure Ukraine.

Taylor, the US Ambassador to Ukraine, testified that he was told Trump “cared more about” investigating Biden and improving his reelection chances than caring about US interests.

Trump dismissed the probe again as a “witch hunt” and said he was “too busy” to watch the first public hearings, during which he received strong support from Republican lawmakers.

Asked about the new allegations, while hosting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House, Trump replied: “First time I’ve heard it.”

Source: Presstv

14, November 2019

Southern Cameroons human rights situation worsens as AU, EU unconcerned ⁰

The Ambazonia Interim Government has warned about the significant deterioration of human rights in Southern Cameroons, stating that the absent of international pressure on the Biya Francophone administration has emboldened the French Cameroun ruling CPDM crime syndicate not to shy away from its heavy-handed genocidal campaign and crackdown on Southern Cameroonians.

Vice President Dabney Yerima who is expected to begin a world tour aimed at mobilizing Southern Cameroonians from all the nooks and crannies of the planet said yesterday that the Federal Republic of Ambazonia is now clearly sliding in a new and very dangerous direction.

Comrade Dabney Yerima observed during this week’s briefing on the state of the Southern Cameroons revolution that the French Cameroun military was demonstrating a fairly weak level of restraint with the sole intention of deceiving the international community.

The Ambazonia second-in-command appealed to the United States and Britain to wield their influence on the French government of Emmanuel Macron and stop the killing of hundreds of Southern Cameroons civilians.

Pro Yaoundé human rights groups have also acknowledged that the situation in Southern Cameroons has deteriorated and there are renewed reports of torture in detention and military courts in Douala and Yaounde are now trying Southern Cameroons civilians.

Dabney Yerima also said that the Ambazonia Interim Government was seriously worried about the health of Southern Cameroons imprisoned leaders. Recently, alarming signals have multiplied regarding calls for unity within the Southern Cameroons diaspora.

By Asu Isong in London

14, November 2019

Ex-Arsenal star Henry to coach Montreal Impact ⁰

Former Arsenal star Thierry Henry was Thursday appointed coach at MLS franchise Montreal Impact on a two-year contract as he gets a new chance of management after a disastrous spell at Monaco.

“Welcome to Montreal @ThierryHenry!” the Major League Soccer (MLS) club tweeted.

Henry, whose baptism by fire as a manager ended in his firing by French club Monaco in January, will coach Impact for a minimum of two seasons.

“Henry signed a two-year deal, with an option for 2022,” the club said on its website.

Henry, 42, who helped France win the World Cup in 1998, is familiar with the MLS, having played from 2010 to 2014 with the New York Red Bulls.

He scored 51 goals and had 42 assists in 122 games with the club.

“It’s an honour to coach the Montreal Impact and return to MLS,” said Henry. “It’s a league I know well, in which I had some very nice moments.

“I’ve always kept an eye on the club and now I’m here.”

Henry becomes the seventh coach of the Montreal Impact in just eight years, succeeding Colombian Wilmer Cabrera, who was acting coach for two months after the dismissal in August of French coach Remi Garde after 10 months in charge.

Henry made his name as a world-class player at Arsenal where he scored 228 goals in 377 appearances, making him the English club’s record goalscorer.

After winning the World Cup on home soil in 1998, he played in three further World Cups in 2002, 2006 and 2010.

He is also France’s all-time leading scorer with 51 goals in 123 games, in front of Michel Platini.

– Undimmed desire to coach –

His much-heralded return to Monaco ended in the sack as the team plummeted to second-from-bottom in the league.

So he must still prove himself as a coach and show he is capable of standing up to the team’s owner Joey Saputo, who is reputed to meddle in the affairs of his managers — including stopping by the team’s locker room to share post-game criticisms.

Henry could have contented himself as a highly-paid TV pundit in Britain, but his desire to coach remained strong.

He previously also turned down offers to be an assistant coach, setting his eyes on the top job after already having been number two to Roberto Martinez when Belgium reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup.

“Call me crazy if you want, but I love football and I believe I can be a successful coach,” Henry told the Daily Telegraph in August.

Despite the Monaco setback, he said: “I came out of it fully reassured that’s what I want to do, zero doubt about it.

“I saw some of my ex-coaches after I left and they said ‘Now you can say you are a coach because you’ve been sacked.'”

Henry’s hiring by the Impact is expected to help revitalize the Montreal club, which has struggled over the years to score big, missing the playoffs in 2019 after finishing ninth in the Eastern Conference.

The team has long been overshadowed by its stronger Canadian rival, Toronto FC, which lost 3-1 to the Seattle Sounders in the 2019 MLS Cup on Sunday.

In Montreal, Henry reunites with his former France teammate Bacary Sagna and former Barcelona teammate Bojan Krkic, as well as French defender Rod Fanni.

“Henry will bring a new energy to our club,” Impact president Kevin Gilmore said in a statement.

Source: AFP

14, November 2019

US: 7 people shot at high school near Los Angeles ⁰

At least seven people were shot Thursday morning at a US high school near Los Angeles, California, prompting a massive response from police and paramedics, authorities said.

Police and firefighters responded to Saugus High School, about 40 miles (64 km) north of Los Angeles.

Details about the victims’ conditions were not immediately available.The search continues for the shooter.

Saugus High School was on lockdown due to the incident, as were nearby Rosedell and Highland elementary schools.

Aerial video showed student with hands raised being escorted by officers from the school of about 2,300 students. At least two ambulances have left the campus with victims.

Source: Presstv

14, November 2019

Biya has recipe for ethnic cleansing of Southern Cameroonians ⁰

For 37 years, the French Cameroun head of state Paul Biya has demonstrated that his CPDM regime has a long-term plan for the ethnic cleansing of the people of Southern Cameroonians.

A Southern Cameroonian commenting on Mr Biya’s recent outing in France opined that during the Conference, Biya said German Kamerun was his country that was divided into the British and French trusteeships.

The 86 year old dictator furthered that he has tried to assimilate and dissolve the English 20% into the French 80% but failed and wants to give a special status to the English 20%, but keep them within one country.

It is based on this claim to German Kamerun being Biya’s country, that Southern Cameroonians think, the French Cameroun leader believes he has a duty to kill Ambazonians to force them to belong to his vision of a one and indivisible Cameroun.

Southern Cameroons political analyst Denis Atemnkeng observed that Biya’s take on the crisis in Ambazonia is the most outrageous and dangerous statement from a man sitting in a peace conference.

A cream of Ambazonia political elites in the United Kingdom observed on Wednesday in London that the French Cameroun regime backed by France is moving toward a greater plan which is a kind of scorch-the-earth policy.

Troops loyal to the Biya regime in Yaoundé have burnt down more than 280 Southern Cameroons villages with Biya claiming that the soldiers were fighting Ambazonia separatists operating in those areas.

An estimated 20,000 Southern Cameroonians have been killed, over 120,000 are seeking refuge in Nigeria and, over 1million people are internally displaced or living in bushes and over 3,000 persons incarcerated in prisons and detention facilities. It is also reported that over 4.5. Million people are at risk of famine. This is indeed a recipe for endless war and the ethnic cleansing of Southern Cameroons.

Biya’s special status plan for Ambazonians is pushing the two Cameroons towards endless crisis; and if true, the least the international community can do is to respond to this by saying no and support the Ambazonia nation.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

14, November 2019

The cry of Southern Cameroonians ⁰

Before Cameroon gained political independence from France and Britain in 1960 and 1961 respectively, it was governed as two separate entities by the erstwhile colonial masters. When the Anglophone Cameroon gained independence in 1961, there was a referendum that was conducted to determine whether it was to remain with Nigeria where it had been before independence or to join the Francophone Cameroon. We recall that the second broad spread political party in Nigeria was named the National Council for Nigeria and the Cameroons before its renaming to the National Council for Nigerian Citizens. The Anglophone speaking Cameroon opted not to remain with Nigeria and instead joined their francophone brothers.

The country became bilingual as a result of the newly found amalgamation and a regional form of government was adopted by then Presidency of Ahmadou Ahidjo to cater to the diverse interests of the different territorial regions. Regionalism was necessary in view of the fact that the Francophone speaking part of the country had much more territories and a population advantage and so it was imperative to protect the yearnings and aspirations of the minority Anglophone speaking part.

This initial arrangement worked well under Ahidjo as there was relative peace in the country. The cracks started when the present Paul Biya came to power in 1982 after Ahidjo’s sudden resignation which was not in the character of the typical sit tight African leader.

Biya, a brutal dictator who has ruled the country with a tight fist for over thirty-seven years ensured that power was centralized and there was an imposition of the francophone way of life on the Anglophone. The legal system, education and all other facets of life bore a francophone colouration.

Politicians and activists from the Anglophone Cameroon fiercely fought back and ensured that the constitutional amendment in 1996 provided for a decentralization of the government. This was all on paper as Biya continued with his unitary style system of government.

Things got to a head in 2016 when a separatist Anglophone movement was formed which led to secessionist agitations for the creation of an independent state of Ambazonia. Sorrow, tears and blood freely flowed as thousands were brutally hacked to death by the francophone government forces with millions internally displaced which saw many of them flee from the country.

On September 10 this year, President Biya started a national dialogue with the aim of permanently resolving the lingering crisis. He went ahead to appoint English speaking Joseph Dion Ngute as the country’s Prime Minister in a bid to pacify the Anglophone speakers who make up about one fifth of the total population. This move sadly backfired as most Anglophones do not trust Ngute whom they view as elitist and aloof as he has never really identified with their plight. He is seen as a Francophone stooge who will only do the bidding of his masters in Yaounde.

Human rights attorney Felix Agbor Balla, one of the masterminds of the 2016 protests, told DW, “there must be possibilities of a federal state: “The crisis began with the demand for decentralization. Without talking about the state, we will not find a solution.”

Presbyterian cleric Samuel Fonki, one of the mediators in the crisis, criticizes the government for ignoring the conflict for too long. “Now, after pressure from outside, they want to show the world that they are doing something: ‘Look, we’re making dialogue.’ As if to underscore what a minister said behind closed doors about the “big show.” A gala is planned for the last day of the dialogue. Fonki, however, is certain: “If there are no external observers, the facts will not come to the table.” But the said minister refuses: No, one only wants to speak from brother to brother, without interference from outside.

Whether and how the “Ambazonians” will be represented remains unclear: the government has sent invitations to separatist leaders abroad. But many reject the dialogue they dubbed “Biyalog”, which they say is a “waste of time and taxpayers’ money,” as separatist leader Mark Bareta wrote on his Facebook page. He went on to say that the government knew what the Anglophones wanted, so no one needed to come to Cameroon extra.

The crisis may get further exacerbated with the controversial re-election of Biya which may lead the protesters to go back to the trenches.

The bloodshed is too much and it must stop if the country is to make any meaningful progress. There is the need for the Biya led government to include trusted Anglophone leaders who genuinely represent the interests of their people rather than the government allies among the Anglophones. The demands of the Anglophone protesters especially that of regionalism, decentralization and greater devolution of powers must be met by the central government for lasting peace to reign.

This peace protest must be autochthonous and devoid of any form of interference from Paris. It is high time African leaders solve their internal problems with home grown solutions rather than permanently outsourcing their thinking caps to the uncaring west who will only give them mere placebos at best.

Source: The Nigerian Voice

14, November 2019

Cameroonian Conjoined twins successfully separated in France ⁰

One-year-old Cameroonian conjoined twins were successfully separated in a 5-hour operation in France on Wednesday, the hospital said.

Sisters Bissie and Eyenga Merveille—their family name is the French word for “marvel”—were born in Cameroon on Nov. 6, 2018, joined front-to-front and partly sharing a liver, the hospital said in a statement.

After the marathon separation in southeastern French city Lyon, which involved some 20 surgeons, doctors and other medical experts, the girls were put into emergency care and said to be in a stable condition.

They were brought to France for the life-changing procedure by the charity organization La Chaine de l’Espoir.

One of the girls has been diagnosed with a heart condition, which will be operated on later, the charity said on its website.

Rejected by the girls’ father and members of her family, the twins’ mother Mayah fled her town of Ayos to Cameroon’s capital Yaounde some 140 kilometers (87 miles) away, where she and her daughters took refuge at a hospital where they lived awaiting the operation.

Source: AFP

14, November 2019

French Cameroun Politics: MPs ponder longer House boycott ⁰

Lawmakers from Cameroon’s leading opposition party have threatened to boycott the entire remaining session of Parliament this year in protest over executive inaction on the armed conflict in Western Cameroon.

The Social Democratic Front representatives sat out the re-opening of the country’s two houses of parliament – the National Assembly and the senate – on Tuesday, November 12.

It will be the third and final session of the legislative year during which Parliament will scrutinise proposals on government spending for 2020 before dissolving for legislative elections in February.

They accused President Paul Biya of “throwing into the waste paper” recommendations of September’s Major National Dialogue on resolving the conflict in the two English-speaking regions of the country.

“Nothing has happened to make us feel that some action is being taken (to resolve the conflict), SDF Parliament Group leader in the National Assembly Paul Nji Tumasang said after the Tuesday boycott.

Mr Tumasang said the members reserved the right to boycott the entire session if measures are not taken to end the violence that has claimed more than 3,000 lives.

Source: The East African

13, November 2019

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Ekema’s death throws family into deep confusion ⁰

The death of the notorious former Buea City Council Mayor, Patrick Ekema, has thrown his entire family into utter confusion.

The late mayor, who was viewed by his political peers of the ruling crime syndicate as a bull in a china shop, has left a pretty mess behind following his sudden death due to a massive heart attack that occurred in his girlfriend’s home in the Cameroon port city of Douala.

While trying to escape to the United States, Mayor Ekema had produced a fake divorce certificate that proved that he had divorced his wife, Katherine Ekema, who is currently living in Minnesota, U.S., with their five children.

In the same vein, he had also manufactured a brand new marriage certificate indicating he had officially gotten married to his girlfriend in Douala.

This complicated situation has generated a brand new conflict in the family as the girlfriend is also laying claim to the late mayor’s property.

While many members of the Ekema family who did not really love the late mayor are rooting for Katherine, a small group that had an axe to grind with Katherine is surreptitiously engineering a strategy that will give Ekema’s girlfriend a portion of his ill-gotten wealth, a family source in Buea which opted for anonymity said during a WhatsApp call with the Cameroon Concord News Group Chairman, Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai today.

The source said that though Ekema was rough on the edges, he was loved by some of his family members who were benefitted from his largesse. He added that Ekema was indeed a lightning rod for controversy within the family and his brash approach to life was responsible for many conflicts within the family.

The Buea-based source also added that Katherine had been talking to many people back home, especially to members of the ruling CPDM who, she holds, might help her to solve her thorny traveling issues.

The source also posited that some CPDM members who saw Patrick Ekema as a potential rival are celebrating his demise, adding that many of them did not really see Mr. Ekema as a true and refined politician.

He stressed that his political enemy saw him as a fish out of water and most of they held that he lacked the political finesse to address even the smallest political issues.

Meanwhile, in Minnesota, the financial noose around Katherine’s neck is tightening. Patrick Ekema’s death simply implies that Katherine’s ATM is completely out of service.

The children, especially those in the community college, have to pay next semester’s fees and the financial taps in Cameroon have been turned off following the death of the former mayor.

A Cameroon Concord News Group’s source in Minnesota has indicated that the tension is mounting and that there is evidence that Katherine is in a pretty financial mess.

“The money is not flowing as before and the children have to go to school. Katherine did not have a source of income prior to her husband’s death and his demise had thrown her financial plan into a tailspin,” the source said.

“It is obvious that she will not be traveling back home and the news that there is a divorce certificate has left her brokenhearted and distraught,” our source added.

“With no papers, she is grounded and might be in this state for a long time. Someone close to her has been insinuating that she has not completed her lawyer’s fees and her lawyer had asked for some money before her husband passed away,” the source said.

With the wind of poverty and hard times blowing in Katherine’s direction, it is obvious she will soon be looking for a job.

Our source in Minnesota has also said that Ekema’s children are completely at a loss. They cannot believe that the man who provided for them has gone for good and, above all, with their ATM.

The days ahead are not promising for the Ekema family and as the days go by, the apprehension and confusion which are constant visitors at the Ekema apartment in Minnesota will take up residence in that little apartment.

American welfare is designed for citizens and not for people claiming to be running away from persecution, the source said.

Our source in Minnesota has also insinuated that the Ekema family is mulling the possibility of moving to Canada where they believe the asylum situation is easier and social welfare is available to all, including people seeking asylum.

As this story develops, Cameroon Concord News Group will be updating its readers.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai in the United Kingdom

13, November 2019

Germany: Customs officers stop Cameroon woman with 7 Kilos of rotten smoked cow-skin in Düsseldorf Airport ⁰

A woman wanted to import kilograms of rotten cow-skin meat into Germany, but was stopped by customs officers. It was a delicacy from Cameroon, she said according to a press release. The customs officials noticed the smell already from a distance. At the Düsseldorf airport, customs officers caught the woman with a rotten cowhide, a smoked cow-skin meat and the Cameroonian traveler spoke of a “delicacy”.

Even from a distance the officers at Düsseldorf airport had noticed an unpleasant smell. The woman had arrived from Cameroon via England. While checking her luggage the customs officers came across two plastic bags containing seven kilos of cowhide, a smoked cow-skin meat. The meat had stunk and was covered with maggots.

The woman had stated that her family wanted to eat the meat, which was “beautifully soft”. This was not the case, it was rather a violation of veterinary law and the city of Düsseldorf would therefore destroy the meat, according to the main customs office. The woman had to bear the costs.

Source: Modern Ghana