News

10, December 2020

Bahamas: Southern Cameroonian refugees being detained for long periods ⁰

IMMIGRATION Minister Elsworth Johnson said yesterday he is not aware of any abuses happening at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre despite claims that several asylum seekers are being deprived of certain rights in contravention of Bahamian law.

However, he noted that if such injustices are being done, those workers responsible will be dealt with accordingly.

His comments to the press came after Human Rights Bahamas over the weekend raised alarm about the alleged illegal detainment of several Cameroonians at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre.

According to the activists, the group sought to take refuge in the Bahamas after fleeing war-torn Cameroon in Central Africa out of fear of their lives after having experienced many injustices there.

Rights Bahamas claimed the Cameroonians have been detained at the Detention Centre for long periods of time that contravene the laws of this country.

When asked to respond to the claims outside Cabinet yesterday, Mr Johnson said he could not directly address the matter, but noted there’s a process every applicant must go through in order to obtain refugee status.

He said: “I can’t speak directly to it but there’s a process that persons go through that’s internationally accepted and we’re going to go through that process and if those individuals prove to be entitled to asylum, we will see how best we could assist.

“But, it’s not always that the country where they claim asylum would sometimes give it. You look to see your capacity, or you can refer to the United Nations to see how best they can assist in these matters.

“So, we’re investigating it but as always, it’s the department’s intention and obligation to follow the law to ensure the rule of law is upheld and the dignity of everybody who finds themselves in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas is protected and so we’re doing that.”

Mr Johnson also defended the integrity of the Immigration Department yesterday, noting that the agency has faced false accusations of abuse in the past.

“Anybody that is held and anyone that is taken in the protected custody of any agency in the Bahamas, we have a constitutional duty to protect those persons, to ensure equality before the law and to see that their rights are protected. That is what the government is obligated to do and we’re going to ensure that that happens,” he insisted to reporters.

“But what I want y’all to do sometimes is you know there were some booklets that were put out with immigration officers with firearms, attack dogs, people being beaten which I’ve said in the past are ridiculous and dishonest.”

He added: “And when I question persons as to why they would publish such lies, they indicated they were doing it for sensationalism and that’s not right. You know I took one of your colleagues, she’s not here, into the Detention Centre and allowed her to go in almost every section.”

“I took her down in the back to let her see and inspect and it was my belief that she found just what the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights had said in 2019 when it commended the Bahamas for the improvement at the centre was just that.

“We have one of the best eateries that provide food for detainees and they do it very well. There’s food that the detainees eat, the immigration officers eat and I eat from the establishment so there’s no difficulties there and so we’re trying our best as a small country in the conscience of COVID-19 to do what is right and what is acceptable by the law. “

Asked whether any abuses were being done at the centre, he replied: “Not that I know of and if abuses occur, they will be dealt with. They will be dealt with and you can see from what we’ve been doing obviously led by the director and his team where we find there are abuses by the law, persons go before the courts and we have sat with IOM and many number of human rights entities to ensure that what we’re doing meets not just first with our constitutional mandate but our international treaties that we signed onto.”

Rights Bahamas has threatened to take legal action against the government over the asylum seekers’ treatment.

Source: Tribune 242.com

9, December 2020

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Mayor’s residence burnt in Bamenda ⁰

Ambazonia Restoration Forces defending the Mezam County have burnt down the residence of the Mayor of Bamenda II, Peter Chenwi. The mayor’s residence situated in the Ntasen neighborhood in Bamenda III Subdivision went up in flames on Monday, December 7, 2020.

The mayor reportedly took part in the so-called regional elections banned by the Ambazonia Interim Government, fled his Ntasen home and relocated to Up-Station in Bamenda.

The Francophone administration in Bamenda, the chief city in Southern Cameroons Northern Zone said in a statement that no human casualty was recorded when armed men stormed the Mayor’s Ntasen residence on Monday.

Ambazonia Restoration Forces have already declared that they would enforce the death penalty all over Southern Cameroons-Ambazonia soonest and the names of many South West Chiefs and North West Fons are prominent on the list.

Cameroon Concord News understands several traditional authorities and councilors across Southern Cameroons were transported to the polling centers in military vehicles just to prove that the elections took place in normal circumstances.

At the heart of the crisis, which started in 2016, was a strike by teachers and lawyers, in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon. The professionals, supported by citizens of their areas, protested the unfair use of the French language and unjustified appointments of French speakers in their territories. Cameroon is a bilingual country. By 2017, the situation had spiralled out of control and developed into a fully-fledged separatist war. Both government forces and separatists are now bogged down in a conflict that observers say, can only be resolved through dialogue.

By Fon Lawrence in Bamenda

9, December 2020

Helicopter carrying air rescue crew crashes in French Alps, five killed ⁰

Five people were killed in a helicopter crash in the French Alps on Tuesday and a sixth was injured and fighting for his life, French President Emmanuel Macron said.

The helicopter was carrying an air rescue crew on a training mission when it went down at an altitude of 1,800 meters (5,905 feet), local authorities said.

The pilot of the aircraft, which also had another pilot on board as well as two winch operators and two mountain rescue workers, was able to eject and give the alert.

Three helicopters were dispatched but had been unable to reach the accident site due to fog while rescue teams were also trying to approach by ground, the Savoie prefecture said in a statement.

France’s air accident bureau said separately that it had opened an investigation and would dispatch a team to the site.

Source: REUTERS

9, December 2020

US: Biden promises 100m vaccines for US in first 100 days and vows to reopen schools ⁰

President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday called for urgent action on the coronavirus pandemic as he introduced a health care team that will be tested at every turn while striving to restore the nation to normalcy.

Biden laid out three Covid-19 priorities for his first 100 days in office: a call for all Americans to voluntarily mask up during those 100 days, a commitment to administer 100 million vaccines and a pledge to try to reopen a majority of the nation’s schools.

“I know that out of our collective pain, we will find our collective purpose: to control the pandemic, to save lives, and to heal as a nation,” Biden said.

Topping the roster of picks was health secretary nominee Xavier Becerra, a Latino politician who rose from humble beginnings to serve in Congress and as California’s attorney general. Others include a businessman renowned for his crisis management skills and a quartet of medical doctors, among them Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious-disease specialist.

The usual feel-good affirmations that accompany such unveilings were overshadowed by urgency, with new cases of Covid-19 averaging more than 200,000 a day and deaths averaging above 2,200 daily as the nation struggles with uncontrolled spread.

Vaccines are expected soon. Scientific advisers to the government meet Thursday to make a recommendation on the first one, a Pfizer shot already being administered in the United Kingdom.

Indeed, President Donald Trump held his own event Tuesday, to take credit for his administration’s work to speed vaccine development.

But having an approved vaccine is one thing, and getting it into the arms of 330 million Americans something else altogether. Biden will be judged on how well his administration carries out the gargantuan task.

On Tuesday, the president-elect warned that his team’s preliminary review of Trump administration plans for vaccinations has found shortcomings. And he called on Congress to pass legislation to finance administration of vaccines as they become more widely available next year. That would effectively close the loop, from lab to patient.

The rest of Biden’s extensive health care agenda, from expanding insurance coverage to negotiating prices for prescription drugs, will likely hinge on how his administration performs in this first test of competence and credibility.

Becerra, Biden’s pick to head the Department of Health and Human Services, will be backed in the White House by businessman Jeff Zients, who will assume the role of coronavirus response coordinator. Running complex, high-risk operations is his specialty.

Alongside Fauci, the other medical doctors selected include infectious-disease specialist Rochelle Walensky to run the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Vivek Murthy as surgeon general and Yale epidemiologist Marcella Nunez-Smith to head a working group to ensure fair and equitable distribution of vaccines and treatments.

Participating by video, Fauci called Biden’s 100-day plan “bold but doable, and essential to help the public avoid unnecessary risks and help us save lives.”

Ever the straight talker, he admonished: “The road ahead will not be easy. We have got a lot of hard and demanding work ahead.”

HHS is a $1 trillion-plus agency with 80,000 employees and a portfolio that includes drugs and vaccines, leading-edge medical research and health insurance programs covering more than 130 million Americans.

In choosing Becerra to be his health secretary, Biden tapped a prominent defender of the Affordable Care Act. But Becerra, 62, will face questions in his Senate confirmation about whether he possesses sufficient health care and management experience.

Becerra as a congressman played an insider role helping steer “Obamacare” to passage, and as California attorney general he leads a coalition of Democratic states trying to block the Trump administration’s latest attempt to overturn it. He has been less involved in the day-to-day work of combating the coronavirus.

Becerra would be the first Latino to serve as U.S. health secretary. In announcing his pick Tuesday, Biden initially stumbled on the Spanish pronunciation of Becerra’s name.

But Biden was drawn to Becerra’s working-class roots, his longtime effort to increase access to health care and his willingness to work with Republicans to solve problems like getting patients access to COVID-19 treatments.

Accepting his nomination via video link, Becerra called it a “breathtaking opportunity” to help shape the future of health care.

“I share the president-elect and vice-president-elect’s determination to rebuild unity and civility in America,” he added.

Biden is under pressure from fellow Democrats to ensure that his Cabinet is diverse. Black and Asian American groups are pressing for more representation.

Biden’s choice of Becerra smooths, but does not end, the concerns of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus about Latino representation. Becerra’s mother emigrated from Mexico, and his U.S.-born father spent his formative years in that country.

Then-California Gov. Jerry Brown appointed Becerra as California’s top prosecutor in late 2016. Becerra instantly struck a combative tone toward the incoming Trump administration.

Defending California’s implementation of the Affordable Care Act was a key priority, but he also focused on protecting young immigrants from deportation and defending California’s climate change laws.

As HHS secretary, Becerra would be responsible for overseeing the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which cares for unaccompanied minors who enter the U.S. illegally. Becerra has helped lead a coalition of fellow state attorneys general who sued over the Trump administration’s child separation policies.

Republicans immediately made clear their attack lines. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas argued that Becerra was unqualified because he lacked ties to the health care or pharmaceutical industries. Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana blasted his support for “Medicare for All,” which is not Biden’s policy. Abortion opponents have called Becerra “unacceptable.”

The HHS secretary’s job requires political connections, communications skills, managerial savvy, a willingness to learn about complex medical issues and a creative legal mind to use vast regulatory powers without winding up on the losing end of lawsuits.

Becerra will need to establish ties with governors who will play outsize roles in distributing the coronavirus vaccine.

Source: AP

8, December 2020

US: Biden picks retired general Lloyd Austin as first Black Pentagon chief ⁰

Lloyd Austin, who led US troops into Baghdad in 2003 and rose to head the US Central Command, has been chosen by President-elect Joe Biden to be the first African-American secretary of defence, US media reported Monday.

A veteran of conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the retired four-star army general, 67, beat out the favourite for the job, former under-secretary of defence Michele Flournoy, amid pressure on Biden to nominate more minorities for positions in his cabinet.

CNN, Politico and the New York Times cited unnamed sources familiar with the decision, after Biden said earlier Monday that he had made his choice and would announce it on Friday. Austin would require Senate confirmation to take up the post.

He spent four decades in the army, graduating from the West Point Military Academy and following a career with a wide range of assignments, from leading platoons to running logistics groups and overseeing recruiting, to senior Pentagon jobs.

In March 2003 he was the assistant division commander of the 3rd Infantry Division when it marched from Kuwait into Baghdad in the US invasion of Iraq.

From late 2003 to 2005, he was in Afghanistan commanding the Combined Joint Task Force 180, the principle US-led operation seeking to stabilise the security situation in the country.

In 2010 he was made commanding general of US forces in Iraq, and two years later became the commander of the Central Command, in charge of all Pentagon operations in the Middle East and Afghanistan.

Few African-Americans in command jobs

Austin retired from the military in 2016, and joined the board of directors of Raytheon Technologies, one of the Pentagon’s largest contractors.

He would require special approval from the Senate due to federal law that requires military officers to wait seven years after retirement before serving as the Pentagon chief.

The waiver has happened twice — most recently for general Jim Mattis, the first defence secretary in the administration of President Donald Trump.

But members of the Senate agreed begrudgingly, amid concerns over Trump’s views on the military, and several said at the time that they wouldn’t want to do it again.

“He shouldn’t be considered for the same reason that Sec. Mattis shouldn’t have been,” said Congressman Justin Amash in a tweet.

“The law prohibits recently retired members of the Armed Forces from serving in this civilian capacity. Biden would be the second president in a row to violate this norm.”

Austin would take responsibility for the 1.2 million active service members, of which about 16 percent are Black.

But Blacks serve disproportionately in the lower ranks and few have achieved high command positions.

The issue became more clear over the past year when African-American servicemen and women expressed support for the national Black Lives Matter movement against police racism and abuse.

Former defence secretary Mark Esper said he held numerous listening sessions to make White soldiers understand what their Black colleagues felt.

Source: AFP

8, December 2020

Romania: Cameroonian Man Charged With Scamming Pandemic Puppy Buyers ⁰

A Cameroonian man was arrested in Romania for allegedly scamming thousands of dollars from people looking to buy pet puppies during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Justice Department announced Monday.

Desmond Fodje Bobga, 27, stands accused of identity theft, fraud, and forging a seal of the U.S. Supreme Court, according to a Justice Department press release. “Fodje Bogda and his co-conspirators exploited a national pandemic—and the social isolation it engendered—to exploit victims with photos of cute puppies and to bilk extra costs under the pretense of COVID,” wrote Scott Brady, District Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, in a statement.

One victim was scammed out of $9,100 after being told the puppy they had purchased was “being shipped, needed insurance, and was exposed to COVID-19,” according to the release. The website connected to the scheme, www.lovelyhappypuppy.com, has since been deleted.

Source: Daily Beast

7, December 2020

UK prepares to administer first doses of Covid-19 vaccine ⁰

Shipments of the coronavirus vaccine developed by American drugmaker Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech were delivered Sunday in the U.K. in super-cold containers, two days before it goes public in an immunisation program that is being closely watched around the world.

Around 800,000 doses of the vaccine were expected to be in place for the start of the immunisation program on Tuesday, a day that Health Secretary Matt Hancock has reportedly dubbed as “V-Day,” a nod to triumphs in World War II.

“To know that they are here, and we are amongst the first in the country to actually receive the vaccine and therefore the first in the world, is just amazing,” said Louise Coughlan, joint chief pharmacist at Croydon Health Services NHS Trust, just south of London.

“I’m so proud,” she said after the trust, which runs Croydon University Hospital, took delivery of the vaccine.

Last week, the U.K. became the first country to authorise the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine for emergency use. In trials, the vaccine was shown to have around 95% efficacy.

Vaccinations will be administered starting Tuesday at around 50 hospital hubs in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will also begin their vaccination rollouts the same day.

Governments and health agencies around the world will be monitoring the British vaccination program, which will take months, to note its successes and failures and adjust their own plans accordingly.

The U.S. hopes to start vaccinations later this month. British regulatory authorities are also examining data on the vaccines from American biotechnology company Moderna and AstraZeneca-Oxford University.

Russia on Saturday began vaccinating thousands of doctors, teachers and others at dozens of centres in Moscow with its Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine, which was approved over the summer after being tested in only a few dozen people.

Patients 80 and above among first to receive jabs

The excitement in Britain, which has Europe’s highest virus-related death toll at more than 61,000, was palpable.

“Despite the huge complexities, hospitals will kickstart the first phase of the largest scale vaccination campaign in our country’s history from Tuesday,” said Professor Stephen Powis, NHS England’s national medical director.

Patients aged 80 and above who are already attending hospitals as outpatients and those being discharged after a stay in the hospital will be among the first to receive the jab. Hospitals will also start inviting over 80s in for a vaccine shot and will work with nursing homes to book staff into vaccination clinics.

Any appointments not taken up will be offered to those health workers deemed to be at the highest risk of Covid-19. Everyone who is vaccinated will need a booster jab 21 days later.

Buckingham Palace refused to comment on speculation that Queen Elizabeth II, 94, and her 99-year-old husband, Prince Philip, will soon be vaccinated and then make it public, a move that could reassure anyone nervous about getting a vaccination.

“Our goal is totally to protect every member of the population, Her Majesty, of course, as well,” Dr. June Raine, chief executive of Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, which authorized the vaccine, told the BBC.

The U.K. has secured 40 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which can cover 20 million people. Since the British government will only immunise people over 16, around 55 million people in the U.K. will be eligible. In total, Britain has procured 357 million doses of seven vaccine candidates, including 100 million of the much cheaper Oxford vaccine, which has a lower efficacy rate than the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.

Complicated delivery

Now that the first tranche of the vaccine has arrived from Pfizer’s manufacturing plant in Belgium, checks are being conducted by a specialist medical logistics company to ensure there was no damage in transit. This could take up to a day.

Each box containing the vaccines, which includes five packs of 975 doses, will need to be opened and unpacked manually at specially licensed sites. After that, the vaccines will then be made available to hospitals.

Delivering the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is complicated because it needs to be stored at super-chilled temperatures: about minus 70 degrees Celsius (minus 94 degrees Fahrenheit). Fortunately, the vaccine is stable at normal refrigerator temperatures, between 2 and 8 degrees Celsius (35.6 to 46.4 F), for a few days, meaning it can be stored locally. After defrosting the vaccine, which takes a few hours, additional time is required to prepare it to be given in a shot.

Public Health England has secured 58 special Twin Guard ultra-low temperature freezers that provide sufficient storage for approximately five million doses. The fridges, which are not portable, each hold around 86,000 doses.

The vaccine won’t just be provided by hospitals. Local doctors’ offices and other local health care centres are being put on standby to start delivering the vaccine, with a small number expected to do so the week of Dec. 14. More medical practices in more parts of the country will be phased in during December and in the coming months.

There are plans for vaccination centres treating large numbers of patients in sports areas and conference centres and for local pharmacies to be able to offer the jabs as they do with annual influenza shots.

Although nursing home residents top the prioritisation list given to the British government by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, they won’t be getting the vaccinations straight away, as the vaccine packs of 975 doses cannot yet be divided, making it very difficult to deliver vaccines to individual care homes.

The NHS hopes authorities will soon approve a safe way of splitting up the dose packs so the shots can get to nursing homes during December.

During the first phase of the immunisation program, Britain has created nine separate groups in its prioritisation list down to those aged 50 and above. Overall, it hopes that up to 99% of people most at risk of dying from Covid-19 will have been immunised during the first phase.

Source: AP

7, December 2020

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Amba fighters enforce the death penalty in Widikum ⁰

A few hours after the polls closed in Cameroon’s regional elections, a municipal councilor from Widikum, Momo Division, Northwest Region, Encho Elias, has been shot dead shortly after having voted in the fake elections organized by the corrupt Yaounde government.

It has been reported that the councilor and some of his colleagues had voted and were returning to Bamenda when the Southern Cameroonian fighters decided to enforce the death penalty decreed by the Interim Government.

Also, Reverend Father Anthony Viban of Akum, in the North West region, was attacked by armed men who opened fire on his car as the Southern Cameroonian fighters were seeking to enforce the law.

Sources on the ground said the man of God was on his way to mass when it happened. It should be underscored that this is not the first time that a priest has been attacked. The retired archbishop of Douala, Christian Cardinal Tumi, was recently kidnapped by gunmen who later released him after the gunmen found out that the man of God was a free thinker.

Meanwhile, Fon Sehm Mbinglo of Nso surprised many when he showed up at a polling station in Kumbo to vote.

The traditional ruler who spoke shortly after voting under heavy security said the separatists were ruining the country, adding that he was working towards bringing peace back to the land.

The separatists have already declared that they would enforce the death penalty very soon in Kumbo and the Fon’s name is first on the list.

Also, there was shooting in Nveh in Kumbo, Bui Division in the North West region which unfortunately did not stop the voting.

Sources say some chiefs and councilors across Southern Cameroons were transported to the polling centers in military vehicles just to prove that the elections took place in normal circumstances.

More will be yours as Cameroon Concord News Group gets more details.

6, December 2020

Record US virus cases as reports say British queen to get vaccine soon ⁰

The United States notched a record number of coronavirus cases in 24 hours for the third day running, as it was reported that Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II will get a vaccine within weeks.

A tally by Johns Hopkins University showed the world’s worst-hit country — which has seen a dramatic virus resurgence in recent weeks — reached nearly 230,000 new infections and 2,527 Covid-related deaths on Saturday alone.

For two weeks, the US has regularly topped 2,000 deaths per day, as it had in the spring at the height of the first wave of the country’s outbreak.

Source: AFP

6, December 2020

French Cameroun: Four civilians killed in Boko Haram raids ⁰

At least four civilians have been killed between Thursday and Friday by terror group Boko Haram in Cameroon’s Far North region, local authorities said on Friday.

The traditional ruler of Wemdeley village was killed overnight into Friday, while three other persons were killed early Thursday in Talla Massali village when Boko Haram invaded the localities, authorities confirmed.

The terrorists who came on motorcycles also made away with foodstuffs and kidnapped at least two people during the raids, according to local sources.

The Boko Haram group has been active in Cameroon’s Far North region since 2014, posing enormous humanitarian and governance challenges until this day.

Source: Xinhaunet