Richard Bona, a Cameroonian-born musician living in the U.S., is strongly criticized on Facebook over a video posted about three days ago. In the video, he called for the launch of “another war front” and an invitation to “burn” a TV station deemed too close to the government.

Responses immediately poured in. “Bro, is it your country? Go talk about your country and leave us alone…,” “You are not a Cameroonian so shut up…,” “Don’t talk about Cameroon,” are examples of comments posted by users to express their disagreement over the musician’s post.

For Richard Bona, Cameroonian opposition leader Maurice Kamto is an “obedient guy.” “I told him. Things wouldn’t have gone that way if another guy was in his shoes. Another war front would have been launched. Anyway, Ambazonians understood this. There is no other way than war with those looters and thieves,” he said in the video criticizing the delays in the construction of some of the infrastructures that will host the AFCON2021.

The video was posted on Facebook by some members of the Cameroonian diaspora who are harming people and properties in Europe with complete impunity, all in the name of a so-called fight for the wellbeing of Cameroonians. Those individuals usually rally through social media, Facebook most of the time. Yet, on several occasions, Facebook expressed its will to fight hate speech or addresses likely to spark violence or social unrest in all the countries represented by user communities on its platform.

Its system seems rather focused on influential countries and groups that can subject it to major political pressures. In Cameroon, like in several African countries, Facebook and WhatsApp have become useful tools for millions of users who wish to boost their business. The social platforms have also become political and ideological battlegrounds for unruly individuals with plots against elected persons and authorities.

Last October, U.S.-based media the Wall Street Journal published a journal series based on documents sent to the U.S. Congress and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by Frances Haugen, a former civic integrity team and product manager for Facebook later turned whistleblower against the online social media firm.

Before the congress, she indicated that “Facebook repeatedly encountered conflicts between its profits and our safety” and “consistently resolved those conflicts in favor of its profits.”

Media that read the documents leaked by Frances Haugen also report that although the internal management is aware of misuse of the social platform, warning signs are not always taken into account.

“The result has been a system that amplifies division, extremism, and polarization – and undermines societies around the world. In some cases, this dangerous online talk has led to actual violence that harms and even kills people,” reads Frances Haugen’s statement before the U.S. Congress.

In Africa, public authorities are regularly abused, threatened and their family members mocked with sometimes degrading words that would not be tolerated in any so-called democratic country. There are not many things African countries can do. Indeed, they can’t summon Facebook’s boss like the U.S. Congress or the European parliament would do. Also, when an African country chose to restrict or ban access to social media to prevent such abuses, it is immediately accused of taking a regressive move or being a repressive dictatorship.

The musician Richard Bona usually criticizes authorities about mismanagement deeds. Those criticisms are often supported by the general public which is upset about the misdeeds. However, the hundreds of negative comments about his recent video prove that there is a boundary most Cameroonians don’t want to cross no matter their political opinions or divergences.

Source: ecofinagency

CNN fired news anchor Chris Cuomo, the network announced on Saturday, after “additional information” came to light during an investigation into his efforts to help his brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, deal with allegations of sexual misconduct.

Cuomo, who hosted CNN’s most-watched prime-time news show, had been suspended on Tuesday. He had admitted in May that he had broken some of the cable news network’s rules in advising his brother how to handle the allegations from a public relations perspective.

Andrew Cuomo, 63, was forced to step down as governor in August after multiple allegations of sexual misconduct. He has denied any wrongdoing.

In a statement on Saturday, CNN said, “Chris Cuomo was suspended earlier this week pending further evaluation of new information that came to light about his involvement with his brother’s defense.”

“We retained a respected law firm to conduct the review, and have terminated him, effective immediately,” it added. The network did not provide details on the new information.

In a statement on Twitter, Cuomo, 51, said he was disappointed.

“This is not how I want my time at CNN to end but I have already told you why and how I helped my brother,” he said.

In journalism it is considered a breach of ethics to use one’s position to advocate for a personal cause or to conduct investigations for personal reasons.

Cuomo was initially suspended after New York Attorney General Letitia James showed texts and other messages in which he sought to use his own sources in news media outlets to find information on the case and the women involved in it.

A criminal complaint charging Andrew Cuomo with a misdemeanor sex offense was filed on Oct. 29 in a New York court.

Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, gained national fame last year during the Covid-19 outbreak for his briefings about how New York was dealing with the pandemic. He often appeared on his brother’s show during that period.

Chris Cuomo, who had tested positive for the coronavirus and at one point was self-isolating in his basement, had virtually participated in a briefing his brother was holding for other reporters.

The two brothers’ father, the late Mario Cuomo, also served as governor of New York.

Source: REUTERS

Swedish pop sensation ABBA announced Wednesday that they were pausing promotion of an upcoming show for 24 hours, after two died in a dramatic fall at a tribute concert.

The world-famous quartet is preparing to release a new album, “Voyage”, on Friday, 40 years after the group split up.

But on Tuesday night, an 80-year-old man fell seven storeys to his death at a concert hall in Uppsala in a presumed accident, killing another attendee.

The venue north of Swedish capital Stockholm was to host a tribute show for an audience of around 1,000 called “Thank you for the music”, honouring the works of Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, the two male members of ABBA.

“In the light of the tragic news at the tribute concert in Sweden last night, we have decided to hold off on releasing our concert trailer until tomorrow,” a post from the ABBA Voyage Twitter account said.

In addition to the release of its new album announced in early September, the Swedish cult band is currently building a venue in London that will host a show which includes digitised “avatars” of the four band members, scheduled for May 2022.

The exact form of these avatars, designed by a special effects company that worked on the Star Wars films, is still shrouded in mystery, but the band insists that they will not be mere holograms.

The “ABBAtars” will represent Agnetha Faltskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad as they looked in 1979.

Source: AFP

This year, SOBA:UK pulled all the stops to host a memorable come-together which not only met all the standard health guidelines, but provided entertainment worthy of St George’s Park. Home of the England’s national football teams.

 In line with the limitations and innovations of the Covid era, the General Assembly deliberations occurred virtually a week before the convention; thereby setting the stage for a convention weekend free from the usual intensity that accompanies AGMs.

This was an innovative approach that was effective, focused, and rewarding for all members.

Sobans with their families and guests had a wonderful time on Saturday morning as they enjoyed the breathtaking beauty of St George’s Park built on 330-acres in the stunning Staffordshire countryside, a couple of hours away from London.

It was a great opportunity for visitors to explore the Park, including its 14 outdoor pitches and one of them with a replica of the Wembley surface.

The convention gala was equally memorable with the official 4:30 pm kickoff time, and 6:00 pm dinner strictly enforced and respected.

Dinner was personally handled by none other than the Head Chef of the England National Football teams, Tim Barker.

The gala went on until 2:00 am. D.J Take Away was awesome and he definitely took away the two hundred plus guests with his non-stop musical output.

 The gala was graced by the presence of Mr, Albert Fotabong Njoteh, High Commissioner for the Republic of Cameroon in the United Kingdom, who was happy to be amongst Cameroonians in such numbers.

 Our hearty congratulations goes out to Franklin Egbe, President of SOBA:UK, Atem Akoh Arrey, Vice President, Obale Ebai, Chairman of the convention and to the entire exco and the management teams. Of course, we cannot forget the good-spirited members of SOBA:UK who were wonderful hosts.

 We are already looking forward to the 2022 convention.

Thanks

Soban

Edwin Daniel Ndoko

US actor Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun that killed a cinematographer and wounded the director on a film set in New Mexico, US law enforcement officers said on Thursday.

The incident happened on the set of ‘Rust’ in the southwestern US state, where Baldwin is playing the lead in a 19th-century western.

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and director Joel Souza “were shot when a prop firearm was discharged by Alec Baldwin,” the sheriff in Santa Fe said in a statement.

Hutchins, 42, was transported to hospital by helicopter but died of her wounds, while Souza, 48, was taken by ambulance and is receiving treatment.

“Mr. Baldwin was interviewed by detectives,” Santa Fe sheriff spokesman Juan Rios told AFP.

“He provided statements and answered their questions. He came in voluntarily and he left the building after he finished his interviews. No charges have been filed and no arrests have been made.”

The Santa Fe New Mexican published pictures of a distraught-looking Baldwin which it said were taken in the parking lot of the set after the tragedy.

The paper said its reporter had seen the actor in tears after he had been quizzed by investigators.

One photograph shows a man, presumed to be Baldwin, doubled over.

A spokesperson from the production told The Hollywood Reporter the “accident” involved the misfire of a prop gun with blanks.

The incident took place at the Bonanza Creek Ranch, a production location near Santa Fe which is popular with Hollywood filmmakers.

Movie sets usually have stringent rules over the use of prop weapons, but accidents have happened.

Most famously, Brandon Lee, the son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee, died during filming of “The Crow” after being shot by a gun that was supposed to fire blanks.

Baldwin co-produces the film and stars as Harland Rust, an outlaw whose grandson is convicted of murder, and who goes on the run with him when the boy is sentenced to hang for the crime.

The 63-year-old posted a photograph earlier Thursday on Instagram showing him apparently on set, dressed in a period costume and with fake blood on his shirt.

“Back to in-person at the office. Blimey… it’s exhausting,” he captioned the picture, which went online several hours before the incident.

A joint statement by John Lindley and Rebecca Rhine of the International Cinematographers Guild said news of Hutchins’ death was “devastating”.

“The details are unclear at this moment, but we are working to learn more, and we support a full investigation into this tragic event. This is a terrible loss, and we mourn the passing of a member of our Guild’s family,” the statement, reported by Variety, said.

Baldwin has been on television and in films since the 1980s.

He starred in a number of high profile movies, including in ‘The Hunt for Red October’ and two iterations of the “Mission: Impossible” franchise, and has also voiced animated characters in hits like “The Boss Baby”.

He garnered new fans with his long-running portrayal of Donald Trump on “Saturday Night Live”, a character that irritated the former president, but won Baldwin a Primetime Emmy.

“Rust” also stars Jensen Ackles (“Supernaturals”) and Travis Fimmel, best known for playing Ragnar Lothbrok in “Vikings”.

The Bonanza Creek Ranch where Thursday’s incident took place has hosted productions including ‘Hostiles,’ ‘Cowboys & Aliens,’ ‘3:10 to Yuma,’ ‘Appaloosa’ and ‘Longmire.’

Source: AFP

Veteran Cameroon Radio and Television news presenter Diana Egbe Enow-Mangha is dead. The state radio said she passed on after a long illness with diabetes. The veteran Mrs News was working with the national broadcaster CRTV. She was a  news anchor.

Diana Egbe Enow-Mangha started her career at a young age and did a number of interviews with prominent figures within the ruling CPDM party. Until her demise, She was on  duty at the National station in Yaounde.

Journalists across the country and abroad as well as political leaders in Cameroon have eulogised her as a dedicated person who valued her job.

By Rita Akana

It is indeed Countdown to the 2021 SOBA UK ANNUAL RESIDENTIAL CONVENTION billed to commence this Friday October 15, 2021 at The Hilton at St George’s Park, Burton Upon Trent.

The SOBA UK Annual Residential Convention is also an international event that regularly attracts high flying academics and business leaders in the UK and even beyond.

The Sasse Old Boys 2021 show will take place in St George’s Park, the Home of the England National football teams and the President of SOBA UK Hon. Egbe Franklin is reportedly keeping his pick for Master of Ceremony like a nuclear secret.

The event is billed to be one of the biggest ever with lots of activities on ground.

SOBA UK Annual Residential Convention is always filled with unforgettable moments.  Guests who have confirmed their participation are already very excited about it!  So it’s all fingers crossed.

By Isong Asu

The 2021 SOBA UK Convention is not only going to get a glorified Cameroon Concord News Group coverage but it is going to have a Camcordnews production with live shots and short clips from all across the venue.

The Sasse Old Boys big show “Appreciating Community Spirit” begins on Friday evening October 15, 2021 at The Hilton at St George’s Park, Burton Upon Trent. St George’s Park is the Home of the England National football teams.

Hundreds of live feeds

From Cameroon Concord News Isong ASU: “The 2021 SOBA UK ANNUAL RESIDENTIAL CONVENTION will feature hundreds of live feeds from across the venue according to a source that has seen recent SOBA UK plans.”

We understand that SOBA UK plans to structure the first night of the convention around its guests while maintaining strict Covid-19 rules. Chief Alfred Bate Bawak of Leicester likened the convention as “Most Important SOBA UK come together” ever.

Why the 2021 SOBA UK Convention matter

These recent comments in both Cameroon Intelligence Report and Cameroon Concord News hit the nail on the head:

— “With the issues Cameroon as a nation is facing right now and the coronavirus including the urgent need to start appreciating community spirit, the SOBA UK 2021 Convention will provide Sasse Old Boys with plans for a way forward,” Cameroon Intelligence Report’s senior Correspondent for special events Chi Prudence Asong said.

— Cameroon Concord News Desk Editor said the convention “will let Sobans to basically reintroduce themselves to Great Britain after the pandemic and bring the focus back to the pride of being an ex-Sasse.”

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai in London

Following 21 days of evidence including 50 witnesses and hours of searing testimony, jurors on Friday began considering whether internationally famous singer R. Kelly orchestrated a sex crimes ring for nearly three decades.

The case, delayed over a year by the pandemic, is seen as landmark for the #MeToo movement as it is the first major sex abuse trial where the majority of accusers are Black women.

The prosecution painstakingly wove the threads of alleged wrongdoing into an intricate pattern of crimes they say the artist born Robert Sylvester Kelly perpetrated with impunity, capitalizing on his fame to prey on young women and teenagers for his own sexual gratification.

The state was tasked with proving the 54-year-old singer is guilty of racketeering, a serious charge commonly associated with the mafia that casts Kelly as the boss of an enterprise of associates who facilitated his abuse.

He is also charged with eight counts under the Mann Act, a law prohibiting transportation of people across state lines for sex.

To convict Kelly on racketeering, jurors must find him guilty of at least two of 14 “predicate acts” — the crimes elemental to the wider pattern of illegal wrongdoing.

Disturbing testimony intended to prove those acts included accusations of rape, druggings, imprisonment and child pornography.

Accusers’ stories ran in parallel: many of the alleged victims described meeting the singer at concerts or mall performances, and being handed slips of paper with Kelly’s contact by his entourage.

Several said they were told he could bolster their music industry aspirations.

But all were instead “indoctrinated” into Kelly’s world, according to prosecutors, groomed for sex at hiss whim and kept in line by “coercive means of control” including isolation and cruel disciplinarily measures.

“He’s not a genius. He’s a criminal. He’s a predator,” said Nadia Shihata, the assistant US attorney told jurors.

“Writing hit songs and performing for audiences onstage doesn’t give you license to commit crimes.”

The defense painted a drastically different portrait of the superstar, arguing he was a “sex symbol” and “playboy” who was being attacked by scorned exes and money-hungry superfans.

“They’re all working on these paydays,” said attorney Deveraux Cannick.

Shihata attacked that argument in her rebuttal, telling jurors that witnesses — nine women and two men detailed devastating abuse on the stand — “relived some of the worst periods of their lives for you.”

– Criminal pattern? –

The indictment centers around six women: Jerhonda, Stephanie, Faith, Sonja and a woman who testified under a pseudonym, along with the R&B star Aaliyah, who died in a plane crash in 2001.

Several more victims alleging abuse were allowed to testify as part of the prosecution’s bid to detail a criminal pattern, though there testimony is not part of the charges.

Six of the alleged victims were underage when Kelly initiated sex with them. Many victims also said the singer routinely filmed the encounters, which in several of the cases would constitute child pornography.

Sonja traveled from Utah to Kelly’s Chicago studio believing he would give her an interview for the radio show she was interning for.

Instead, she said his associates trapped her in a windowless room for days, before giving her food and drink that caused her to quickly fall asleep. She awoke with her underwear mysteriously removed, and saw Kelly putting his pants back on.

Another woman said Kelly coerced her into getting an abortion because he had impregnated her while she was underage. Four said they contracted herpes after sexual contact with the singer, who did not disclose that he carried the incurable venereal disease.

Core to the government’s case has been Kelly’s relationship with Aaliyah.

Kelly wrote and produced her first album — “Age Ain’t Nothin’ But A Number” — before illegally marrying her when she was just 15 because he feared he had impregnated her.

His former manager admitted in court to bribing a worker to obtain fake identification allowing the union, which was later annulled.

Prosecutors also showed the jury video recordings that were not viewable to the public but which they described as containing chilling footage of Kelly threatening, hitting and humiliating women and children.

Kelly, a major R&B star of the 1990s and early 2000s known for hits including “I Believe I Can Fly,” denies all charges.

He remained largely stoic during the proceedings, though during the prosecution’s marathon closing arguments he appeared to grow agitated, shaking his head.

Abuse accusations have long trailed the wildly successful recording artist but he evaded them for decades. He faces prosecutions in three additional jurisdictions, including Illinois federal court.

Source: AFP

The leadership of SOBA UK has invited high-profile Africans including the Chairman of the Cameroon Concord News Group to the 2021 Sasse Old Boys Annual Residential Convention on 15th to 17th October 2021 at The Hilton at St. George’s Park, Burton upon Trent,UK.

The invitation card, which was seen by Cameroon Concord News London Bureau Chief Isong Asu, showed that the venue Hilton at St. George’s Park is the home of the England National Football teams.

Concord Group Chairman, the Right Hon. Soter Agbaw-Ebai is set to make the trip from Dusseldorf to London.

The editorial boards of both Cameroon Concord News and Cameroon Intelligence Report have given the approval, for the complete coverage of the SOBA UK event.

Below is the SOBA UK correspondence to the Cameroon Concord News Chairman

Special Invitation to Attend the 2021 SOBA UK Convention

Soter Agbaw-Ebai

6th September 2021

Dear Mr Soter Agbaw-Ebai,

I am writing to formally invite you to the 2021 SOBA UK Annual Residential Convention on 15th to 17th October 2021 at The Hilton at St. George’s Park, Burton upon Trent, United Kingdom. The Hilton at St. George’s Park is the home of England National Football teams and a venue we are happy to return to after the successful convention in 2018.

We would be most delighted if you can confirm your attendance to this event. The main event is on Saturday, 16th October, where we have a SOBA UK Gala Night and Fundraiser from 4:30pm to 2.30am.

Convention theme and Fundraiser

The theme of this year’s Convention is “Appreciating Community Spirit”, reflecting on the difficult year we have had as a community due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Our fundraising focus is equipping the Sasse College library, providing the students with study aids to help with their academics. We are looking to assist where possible and welcome your generous support. This year, SOBA UK had a successful elections resulting in a new mandate for the executives to 2023.

Covid-19 measures

SOBA UK will seek to provide reasonable safety measures and encourages all guests to take the necessary Covid-19 measures, in line with UK Government advice. We encourage our guests to take their double vaccine jabs and/or take a Covid test prior to the event. The capacity at the event will be limited to 250 places to allow for sufficient distancing and guests will have access to hand sanitizers and temperature checks at entry.

You have been allocated a free standard ticket but if you would like to be seated at a VIP table then please let me know, as there is a small fee to be upgraded.

We look forward to seeing you and please do not hesitate to contact me if you need any assistance.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Franklin Egbe

President, SOBA UK

Tel: +447429880730

soba@sobaintheuk.org