News

31, May 2026

Iran to respond more forcefully to any fresh enemy aggression ⁰

A senior Iranian Army commander strongly warns the Islamic Republic’s adversaries against attempting fresh aggression against the country, asserting that such miscalculation will receive a response more forceful than previous retaliation.

Deputy Army Commander for Coordination, Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari made the remarks on Saturday.

“The enemy should know that any aggression against the country’s territory will be met with a response even more forceful than before,” he stated.

“Today, the Army of the Islamic Republic stands firmly and resolutely against any hostile move by the enemy,” the commander added.

Sayyari underlined that the country’s military forces, including all the branches of the Army, were equipped with the most advanced defense systems and equipment outfitted with modern technologies.

The comments echoed verification by American officials, themselves, that Iran retains significant firepower, despite the latest bout of unprovoked aggression by the United States and the Israeli regime that targeted the country between February 28 and April 7.

Source: Presstv

30, May 2026

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Fon of Ndzerem Nyam arrested in Bamenda ‎ ⁰

A traditional ruler in Cameroon’s conflict-affected North West region has been arrested and is currently being questioned by security forces in Bamenda as he suspected to be aiding the separatist fighters.

Fon Mormah III of Ndzerem Nyam was reportedly taken into custody and initially held at the Gendarmerie Legion before being transferred to the Mendakwe Gendarmerie Brigade, where he remains under interrogation. His phone was also said to have been confiscated.

Although authorities have not issued an official statement, the arrest comes weeks after a deadly military operation in the village on April 26, during which several people were killed. The victims were presented by the army as separatist fighters, an account that has continued to fuel debate locally.

‎Security sources are said to suspect the presence of armed separatist elements in Ndzerem Nyam and are questioning whether local complicity may have facilitated their activities. The Fon is reportedly being investigated on allegations of allowing or maintaining links with fighters operating in the area.

However, a statement released by the Ndzerem Nyam Development Association expressed concern over the monarch’s detention, describing his continued questioning as troubling for the community. The group insisted that the ruler has long been regarded as neutral and committed to maintaining peace.

“Many people who know him can testify to his peaceful, neutral, and responsible character,” the statement noted, adding that his presence in the palace during the crisis should not be interpreted as alignment with any armed group.

‎Complicating matters further, the Fon is also reportedly facing accusations from separatist factions, who allegedly suspect him of cooperating with government forces. This dual suspicion places the traditional leader in a precarious position, caught between opposing sides in a protracted conflict.

Across the North West and South West regions, traditional rulers have increasingly found themselves at the centre of the crisis. Some have been targeted by armed groups, while others have faced pressure or scrutiny from state authorities.

The absence of an official government position on the latest arrest leaves several questions unanswered, including the precise nature of the allegations and the legal steps that may follow.‎

Source: Lebledparle.com

29, May 2026

Ex-ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda reveals years-long Mossad intimidation ⁰

Former Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Fatou Bensouda says she was subjected to a nearly decade-long intimidation campaign by Israel’s Mossad aimed at forcing her to abandon an investigation into Israeli war crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories.

Bensouda revealed in a speech in The Hague that she faced sustained coercion and intimidation, including threats, surveillance, and pressure targeting her family. Mossad sought to obstruct the ICC’s Palestine investigation through these measures.

Former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen personally led parts of the operation, acting as Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s “unofficial messenger” in an effort to pressure the former prosecutor to drop the case.

Despite the pressure campaign, the ICC formally authorized a criminal investigation into the occupied Palestinian territories in 2021.

The reported intimidation effort began in 2015, after Bensouda opened a preliminary examination into violence in Palestine.

In one incident, unidentified individuals delivered an envelope containing $500 to her home, which she said was intended as a signal that she was under surveillance.

“They came directly to my house,” Bensouda told Al Jazeera. “I got the message that they’re sending.”

She later said the pressure escalated, including a secret meeting in New York where Cohen confronted her and warned that continuing the investigation could endanger her and her family.

Mossad is also reported to have conducted a smear campaign targeting Bensouda’s husband using transcripts of intercepted recordings in an unsuccessful attempt to discredit her.

Bensouda said she felt “left alone” and “unsupported” throughout the process, urging the European Union to strengthen protections for the ICC against foreign intimidation and sanctions.

The revelations come amid increased pressure on the court following requests for arrest warrants against Netanyahu and former Israeli war minister Yoav Gallant.

The intimidation campaign coincided with US sanctions imposed on Bensouda in 2020, followed by later measures targeting current ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan and several judges, including asset freezes and restrictions on personal bank accounts.

28, May 2026

CPDM Crime Syndicate: Yaoundé losing CFA 162.8bn a year to timber export mispricing ⁰

Cameroon is losing an estimated 162.8 billion CFA francs annually through illicit financial flows linked to timber export mispricing, according to a report released on May 26 by the Financial Transparency Coalition in Financial Secrets of the Forests: How Secrecy Fuels Deforestation in Brazil and Cameroon.

The report found that between 2013 and 2023, illicit financial flows in Cameroon’s timber sector averaged $289 million per year, nearly five times the $59 million annual loss estimated by the National Agency for Financial Investigation. The discrepancy stems from undervaluation of timber exports, where declared export values differ from import records reported by destination countries.

The analysis focused on Cameroon because of its position as Africa’s largest timber exporter. In 2025, the country recorded 105,000 hectares of primary forest loss, the highest on record.

Timber trade losses widen

The report identifies China, Vietnam, European Union countries and the United States among the main destinations where pricing discrepancies were recorded. According to the coalition, the losses represent foregone customs duties, taxes and other public revenues.

Cameroon has tightened forestry export policies in recent years, increasing duties on raw log exports from 17.5% in 2017 to 75% under the 2024 Finance Act, while preparing a ban on exports of 76 wood species from 2028 to encourage local processing. The report says illicit financial flows continue to undermine these efforts by allowing timber products to leave the country at under-declared values.

Matti Kohonen, Executive Director of the Financial Transparency Coalition, said:

“This report shows that billions of dollars are illicitly channelled each year from Global South countries through illegal deforestation and financial secrecy. The lack of public data on land ownership and beneficial ownership makes it difficult to trace who profits directly from forest destruction.”

Transparency gaps complicate enforcement

Researchers said financial and land ownership secrecy prevents authorities from identifying the ultimate beneficiaries of logging concessions.

Using Geographic Information Systems data, the coalition mapped forest concessions and ownership structures but said beneficial ownership information remains inaccessible, complicating enforcement efforts.

Jean Mballa Mballa, Executive Director of CRADEC in Cameroon, said:

“This report confirms that although Cameroon can map forest loss and identify the legal owners of concessions, beneficial ownership records remain closed. Without transparency, efforts to sanction illegal operators and enforce international anti-deforestation regulations will face serious limits.”

The report also states that Cameroon has continued granting logging licences to companies previously sanctioned for illicit trade, allowing some operators to continue exporting to markets that prohibit illegally sourced timber.

Trade rules and market access implications

The findings come as international market requirements tighten ahead of the European Union Deforestation Regulation, due to take effect in December 2026, prohibiting products linked to deforested land from entering EU markets.

Victor Galaz, associate professor at the Stockholm Resilience Centre and contributor to the report, said stronger transparency measures are increasingly tied to market competitiveness.

“Crimes linked to deforestation often thrive in opaque financial systems. Making ownership and concession data more accessible is essential not only for accountability but also for preserving long-term access to export markets.”

The Financial Transparency Coalition is calling for the creation of public beneficial ownership registries, improved access to land ownership records and publication of sanctions data related to environmental offences.

The report warns that unresolved transparency gaps could continue draining billions of francs from public revenues while exposing timber exports to compliance risks in international markets.

Source: Business in Cameroon

28, May 2026

Kenya: Fire in girls’ school dorm kills 16 ⁰

The fire broke out shortly before 1:00 am local time at Utumishi Girls Academy in Nakuru County, around 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of the capital Nairobi, officials said.

There have been many devastating school fires in Kenya, where boarding schools are common as a colonial legacy of missionaries and the British.

“We have 16 fatalities. It’s an unfortunate incident,” education minister Julius Migos Ogamba told reporters at the scene, without giving ages for the victims.

The affected dormitory had shattered windows, blackened walls and a crumpled corrugated iron roof, an AFP journalist saw.

Parents of the victims were in the process of being informed by health workers at the site mid-afternoon as bodies were identified.

A distraught mother, Leila Matura, 52, said her 18-year-old daughter was still missing.

“We went to the hospital to see if she is there, she is not there. So they are telling us, she is not around, she is among the missing,” she told AFP.

“Whether she is dead or alive, we do not know. I’m hopeless,” she added.

Another mother, who did not wish to be named, said her 17-year-old daughter was in hospital.

“She broke both her legs jumping from the window. Thank God she is strong. It is every mother’s nightmare,” she said.

The school is linked to the National Police Service and most pupils are the children of officers.

“When we arrived, the fire was still blazing. It was so big… It took about 45 minutes to extinguish the flames because of the mattresses inside,” a firefighter, who identified himself only as Fred because he was not authorised to speak to the press, told AFP.

–‘Unimaginable tragedy’-

Authorities say they are still investigating the cause of the fire.

“Our hearts and prayers are with the families who have lost their beloved daughters,” President William Ruto said on X, describing it as an “unimaginable tragedy”.

Children have been accused of deliberately starting school fires in Kenya in the past. One report found there were 63 arson cases at schools in 2018 alone.

Pupils were accused after a 2001 dormitory fire in the southern county of Machakos killed 67.

On Thursday the education minister said the ministry had closed around 350 schools since 2024 for failing to comply with safety standards.

“We will continue inspections to ensure that our schools meet the safety standards” in force, he pledged.

Source: AFP

27, May 2026

The situation of people sentenced to death in Cameroon ⁰

In 2016, Cameroon handed down the highest number of death sentences. Although the death penalty has not been carried out in the country since 1997, nearly 300 death sentences were handed down in 2015 and 2016. Together Against the Death Penalty, Droit et Paix and the Network of Cameroonian Lawyers Against the Death Penalty (RACOPEM) have published a fact-finding mission report highlighting the human tragedy that the death penalty represents. Through the stories of those sentenced to death, as well as their families and lawyers, it highlights their experiences in the criminal justice system and their harsh conditions of detention.

This report is the result of a fact-finding mission carried out in Cameroon between March and October 2025 by the Cameroonian association Droits et Paix, the Network of Cameroonian Lawyers Against the Death Penalty (RACOPEM) and ECPM. The teams of investigators visited 10 prisons, met with 45 people sentenced to death and 6 prison staff members.

The death penalty as a political tool since Independence

This report traces the key stages in the history of the death penalty in Cameroon, showing how, since independence, this punishment has been used as an instrument of political control and legitimisation.

Assessing trends in the use of the death penalty in Cameroon remains difficult due to the authorities’ marked lack of transparency on the issue. This opacity, which seems to reflect a resolve to maintain secrecy around death sentences, severely limits access to reliable data. During the examination of Cameroon’s state report at the 67th ordinary session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in 2023, the authorities nevertheless indicated that as of 31 October 2020, 120 people were sentenced to death, including 80 Cameroonian men, 36 foreign nationals and 4 women. According to monitoring by Droits et Paix and RACOPEM, 105 people are believed to be sentenced to death in Cameroonian prisons by the end of 2025, including at least one woman.

The criminal justice system of Cameroon: a chain of black holes

From the moment of arrest through to the exhaustion of legal remedies, the criminal justice trajectory of those sentenced to death unfolds in a context where investigations are frequently conducted under duress, legal assistance remains largely illusory, challenging the charges is often impossible, and cases remain unaddressed for years. Some die in detention, having waited decades for legal remedies that never materialised.

The report examines in detail the structural failings of Cameroon’s criminal justice system, drawing on a number of testimonies and case studies documenting breaches of the right to a fair trial.

Precarious and unfair detention conditions

“Here, if you have no money, you’re not entitled to anything.” Kelvin, sentenced to death in Buea.

There are no prisons specifically designated for individuals sentenced to death. Although the Cameroonian authorities provide no official data on where such people are held, civil society estimates they are scattered across approximately 50 of the country’s 76 prison facilities. During visits to ten prisons in both French- and English speaking areas, the fact-finding mission was able to confirm the presence of people sentenced to death in eight of them.

In these prisons, overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, food shortages and very limited access to healthcare – including psychiatric care – create an environment where suffering becomes a daily experience, marked by depletion, distress and abandonment. The testimonies gathered from people sentenced to death reveal constant fear, persistent physical and mental harm, and a widely shared feeling of having been forgotten by the state.

Culled from ecpm.org

26, May 2026

Iran Supreme Leader invites Muslim nations to shape new regional order, says US era is over ⁰

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei urges Muslim countries to deepen cooperation and shape a new regional and global order beyond American dominance.

“The [global] Muslim Ummah (Nation) and the nations of the region possess many shared capacities and common interests that will shape the new order and the future architecture of the region and the world,” Ayatollah Khamenei wrote in a message on Tuesday.

The message, issued on the occasion of the Day of Arafah, the second day of the Hajj pilgrimage, said Muslim nations were entering a historical phase in which regional realities were changing irreversibly and American military influence was steadily diminishing.

“The hands of time will not turn back, and the nations and lands of the region will no longer serve as shields for US bases,” the Leader stated.

He added that the United States “will no longer have a safe haven for its mischief and for establishing military bases in the region” and was “growing more distant from its former status day by day.”

“The future belongs to the Muslim Ummah and the new Islamic civilization.”

Source: Presstv

26, May 2026

Biya regime tightens gold mining controls to curb smuggling ⁰

Cameroon announced on May 21 new measures to tighten control over artisanal gold mining, targeting illegal operations, gold smuggling and revenue losses in the sector.

The reforms were unveiled during a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute in Yaounde. They include a minimum monthly declaration threshold of five kilogrammes of gold for companies seeking exploitation rights and an environmental hazard tax of CFA 63 million for operators working on more than 21 hectares.

The government said the measures are aimed at improving transparency in gold production, increasing state revenues and strengthening oversight of mining activities.

Interim Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development Fuh Calistus Gentry said illegal mining had created major discrepancies between officially declared production and volumes traced abroad. He said the reforms would help formalise the sector and improve state control over gold exports.

“Illegality represents the gap between what is declared and what is exported. Once restructuring is accepted, it will generate immediate revenue for the State estimated in several hundreds of billions. We are also projecting a minimum increase of three tonnes in the State’s gold reserves every year,” he said.

The minister added that the reforms would strengthen the role of Cameroonians in artisanal mining, while foreign operators would be limited to technical and financial partnerships as provided by law.

Government figures presented during the meeting showed that nearly 200 illegal semi-mechanised mining sites had been identified in the Adamawa and East regions, compared with only 57 officially authorised gold operations. Authorities said the illegal activities had contributed to gold smuggling and major losses in public revenue.

“If 100 companies align with the declaration threshold, projections already point to 10 tonnes being declared. Many companies are already complying, and tax payments are now being enforced,” Fuh Calistus said.

Officials also said mining operators would face stricter environmental restoration obligations under the “polluter pays” principle. Between 2020 and 2026, the government issued 57 environmental conformity certificates for mining and quarry projects.

On labour issues, Minister of Labour and Social Security Grégoire Owona said more than 1,700 enterprise inspections were carried out during the first quarter of 2026, leading to 188 formal notices against employers found in violation of labour regulations.

“Our role is to protect workers against all forms of abuse. We will intensify inspections, continue sensitisation campaigns on workers’ rights and finalise reforms to the Labour Code to strengthen protection mechanisms,” he said.

At the end of the meeting, Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute instructed ministries to strengthen coordination and ensure strict enforcement of the new measures, particularly on illegal mining, environmental compliance and labour protection.

Source: Business in Cameroon

25, May 2026

Pope Leo apologises for Church’s historic role in slavery ⁰

Pope Leo on Monday issued the clearest apology yet from a pontiff for the Catholic Church’s ‌role in slavery, acknowledging both its delay in condemning the practice and its historic involvement in legitimising it.

In a key passage of his first papal encyclical, Leo said the Church had taken centuries to fully recognise “the scourge of slavery” as incompatible with human dignity, calling the legacy “a wound in Christian memory.”

“For this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for ⁠pardon,” he wrote in the wide-ranging manifesto, expressing “deep sorrow” for the suffering endured by enslaved people.

Leo acknowledged that Church authorities had, at times, responded to rulers by regulating and legitimising forms of subjugation, including the enslavement of non-Christians.

He also acknowledged that before that time, in the Middle Ages, ecclesiastical institutions had their own slaves.

He said the Church only reached a “formal, absolute and universal condemnation” of slavery in the 19th century, under Pope Leo XIII, after what the current pope described as a long period of inconsistency in teaching and practice.

PREVIOUS PAPAL STATEMENTS ON SLAVERY

The remarks mark the most ‌explicit ⁠papal admission to date of institutional responsibility, going beyond earlier statements by previous popes that focused on the actions of individual Christians rather than the Vatican itself.

Pope John Paul II, during a 1985 visit to Africa, asked forgiveness from Africans for the suffering caused by “men belonging to Christian nations” in the slave trade.

Leo’s predecessor ⁠Francis condemned the plight of modern-day slaves and formally repudiated papal documents from the 15th century which were used by colonial powers to give legitimacy to their actions, which included slavery.

But such statements stopped short of ⁠directly addressing the role of the papacy, instead framing responsibility in broader terms tied to Christians or historical circumstances.

Leo’s intervention was made in his debut encyclical, “Magnifica Humanitas” (Magnificent Humanity), which addresses the ethical ⁠challenges of artificial intelligence and warns of new forms of exploitation linked to the global economy.

Genealogical research published after Leo’s election last year showed that history’s first U.S.-born pope had a diverse ancestry that included both enslaved people and slaveholders.

Source: Reuters

25, May 2026

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Dozens abducted in Bamti ⁰

The weekend turned tense for residents of Bamti in Noni Subdivision, Bui Division, after dozens of civilians were forcefully taken by armed separatist fighters.

Local sources indicate that the incident occurred on Saturday morning, May 23, when the fighters rounded up community members accused of refusing to participate in a road work activity they had imposed on the population.

Among those taken were pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers, raising concerns over the conditions in which they are being held.

Residents say the abducted individuals have been asked to pay a sum of 15,000 CFA francs each as a condition for their release, a demand that has left many families in distress.

In several parts of the North West region, such actions have become increasingly frequent, with armed groups enforcing their own rules through intimidation, financial demands and compulsory participation in local initiatives.

As of now, there has been no official communication from administrative or security authorities regarding the incident.

Source: Lebledparle.com