US President Donald Trump has contradicted his national security team on pushing for a military intervention against Venezuela, saying he and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin share the goal of a peaceful end to the crisis in the Central American nation.

“He is not looking at all to get involved in Venezuela, other than he’d like to see something positive happen for Venezuela, and I feel the same way. We want to get some humanitarian aid. Right now people are starving,” Trump told reporters on Friday.

Trump’s reference to Russia’s hands-off approach towards Venezuela stands in contrast to insistence by his Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that Russia is part of the problem in Caracas. Pompeo claimed earlier last week that President Nicolás Maduro was about to flee Venezuela until Russia persuaded him to stay.

In its description of the Trump-Putin conversation, the Kremlin said Putin stressed the need to respect Venezuelans’ right to determine their own future. He told Trump that outside interference in internal affairs and attempts at forceful regime change in Caracas undermine the prospects for a political settlement of the crisis.

Trump’s statement came shortly after acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan and other senior officials, including his National Security Adviser John Bolton, reviewed options following a failed effort earlier in the week by Venezuelan opposition leaders to fuel an uprising.

Bolton signaled support last week for military intervention in Venezuela to oust embattled Maduro, a move that would pose a challenge for Trump, who has so far indicated a preference for and campaigned on scaling down existing military conflicts and avoiding new ones, according to local press reports.

While Trump has also emphasized that all options are on the table for Venezuela, Bolton has become the public face of any military campaign. On Friday, Bolton met with Pompeo and Shanahan at the Pentagon to discuss the situation in the Latin American nation.

“We want as our principle objective the peaceful transfer of power, but I will say again as the president has said from the outset … all options are on the table,” Bolton told reporters outside the White House on Tuesday when the street protests were underway.

A day later, Pompeo further told Fox Business Network that if military action is required, “that’s what the United States will do.”

Shanahan told reporters on Friday that he, Bolton and Pompeo were briefed that day by US Southern Command chief Adm. Craig Faller on his observations in the region.

“And then we went through a number of the … options that we have,” Shanahan said.

He, however, declined to provide details and gave no indication they made decisions to take any military action.

“We have a comprehensive set of options tailored to certain conditions, and I’m just going to leave it at that,” he said. Pressed to say whether the options include direct military intervention, he said, “I’ll leave that to your imagination. All options are on the table.”

The Friday session highlighted Trump administration’s effort to suggest the possibility of a military action, intending to increase public pressure on Maduro, though local press reports indicate that there appears to be little likelihood of direct US military intervention.

US claims Russia, China, Iran involved in Venezuela

Asked whether Venezuela poses a national security threat to the US that would justify using a military force, Shanahan then claimed that Russia, China and Iran are involved in Venezuela.

He then added, “Right now it’s about Maduro and his illegitimate regime, and Guaidó and making sure that the people of Venezuela have the environment and the conditions to correct for all these humanitarian shortcomings.”

Veteran Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina also wrote on Twitter, “Where is our aircraft carrier?” Asked to comment on that suggestion, Shanahan told reporters, “All (options) would include all.”

Reacting to the failed US-backed coup in Venezuela, Pompeo told Fox News on Thursday: “The military didn’t fracture in the way that we would hope, but it’s just a matter of time.”

“It’s the case that Maduro may rule for a little while longer, but he’s not going to govern. Structurally, there’s no way he stays in power. It’s time for him to leave, and we need the Cubans and the Russians to follow him out the door.”

Also attending the Faller briefing were Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, Acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, and Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Source: Presstv

The UN Security Council will hold a first informal meeting on Cameroon this month to discuss a worsening humanitarian crisis that has left three million people struggling for food.

The United States is organizing the May 13 meeting after persuading African countries on the council to drop their initial reluctance to talks on the two-year separatist conflict in Cameroon’s west.

South Africa, a non-permanent council member, had expressed reservations, arguing that the African Union was leading the international response to the crisis, according to diplomats.

“It’s long past time for the Security Council to address what’s going on in Cameroon, where we’re seeing a devastating humanitarian crisis,” a spokesperson for the US mission to the United Nations said Saturday.

“We hope this meeting will draw more attention to this disaster and encourage a more robust regional and international response by member states, the UN, and civil society in order to prevent the situation from deteriorating even further.”

Cameroon is wracked by a conflict between separatists and government forces in its English-speaking west, combined with an influx of refugees from the Central African Republic and Nigeria.

More than one in six people in Cameroon — 4.3 million — need humanitarian aid, an increase of 30 percent from 2018, according to UN aid officials.

The meeting will have a particular focus on the separatist conflict, according to a note sent by the US to the council on Friday and seen by AFP.

More than 560,000 people have been driven from their homes since 2017 including 32,000 who have fled to Nigeria, the note said.

– Starving children –

Rights groups have accused the United Nations of ignoring the conflict in Cameroon, where separatists in English-speaking regions are pushing for independence from the majority French-speaking country.

The government has responded with a crackdown, deploying thousands of soldiers.

More than 200 members of the security forces and at least 500 civilians have been killed, according to figures from the International Crisis Group think-tank.

Cameroon is also reeling from the spillover violence in neighboring Nigeria, which is battling Boko Haram insurgents and from ongoing turmoil in the Central African Republic.

Three million people are in need of food aid, tens of thousands of children are out of school and 220,000 children are suffering from acute malnutrition, according to the US note.

In February, the government and aid groups launched an appeal for $299 million to fund humanitarian needs, but only 11 percent of that amount has been raised.

“Cameroon has not witnessed a humanitarian emergency at such a scale, and the causes of the different crises are but intensifying,” said the UN’s humanitarian coordinator for Cameroon Allegra Baiocchi in late April.

Source: Daily Mail

The IMF is doling out another $77 million to Biya’s government without mentioning his killings in SW and NW nor that he lives, on the cash, in Geneva. Here is the announcement; “An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team, led by Ms. Corinne Deléchat, visited Yaoundé during April 23—May 3, 2019 to conduct discussions on the fourth review of the program supported by the Extended Credit Facility (ECF)[1] that was approved in June 2017 .  At the conclusion of this visit, Ms. Deléchat issued the following statement:  “The IMF team reached staff-level agreement with the authorities on economic and financial policies that could support approval of the fourth review of their three-year program under the ECF.

 The IMF Executive Board could consider the fourth review in late June 2019. The completion of the fourth review would enable a fifth disbursement of SDR 55.2 million (about US$ 76.5 million).  “Overall economic growth is estimated to have reached 4 percent in 2018, from 3.5 percent in 2017, mostly owing to a lower contraction in the oil and gas sector than anticipated. Non-oil activity is estimated to have remained robust at 4.4 percent in 2018, driven by projects related to the African Cup of Nations (CAN), strong external demand for forestry products and expanding financial services. Inflation remains low but is trending up from 0.8 percent in 2017 to 2.3 percent in March 2019 (y/y) mainly owing to higher food prices and with strong regional variations.

Budget execution in 2018 was broadly as envisaged under the program, but with stronger-than-envisaged revenue mobilization and higher expenditures, notably on public investment. In spite of ample financing, government net deposits at the BEAC declined by 0.5 percent of GDP as the authorities made large payments during the last quarter on unexecuted payment orders of previous years. Structural reforms are moving ahead, albeit with slower progress on already-delayed structural benchmarks in the financial sector.  “ The authorities are reprofiling the 2019 budget to take into account higher projected revenue and fully incorporate spending needs related to the forthcoming elections and fuel subsidies, while keeping the overall deficit anchored at 2 percent of GDP .

The revised budget also allows for accelerated implementation of ongoing foreign-financed investment projects based on a well-prioritized disbursement plan. In turn, higher external financing will allow the rebuilding of fiscal buffers and payment of the expenditure float accumulated at end-2018. The authorities continue to strengthen transparency and controls in budget implementation. Resort to exceptional spending procedures will decline and a decree establishing a budget calendar including a reduction of the complementary period to one month will be adopted. The laws transposing the four remaining CEMAC Directives on public financial management are being finalized.”  “The medium-term outlook remains positive, with growth expected to gradually increase to 4.2 percent in 2019 owing to higher projected oil production. Finalization of the projects related to the 2021 CAN and coming on stream of large energy and transport infrastructure projects should boost medium-term growth to about 5-5 ½ percent of GDP. Fiscal consolidation over 2019-21, together with enhanced foreign exchange repatriation will support a continued rebuilding of BEAC reserves. Structural reforms to increase investment efficiency, reduce contingent liabilities of public enterprises and support private sector development will support the growth outlook going forward.

  “The team met with Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute, Minister of State Secretary General at the Presidency Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, Minister of Finance Louis Paul Motaze, Minister of Economy, Planning, and Regional Development Alamine Ousmane Mey, BEAC Governor Mahamat Abbas Tolli, BEAC National Director Jean-Marie Mani, and other senior officials. The mission also met representatives of the diplomatic and donor communities.”  “The team wishes to thank the Cameroonian authorities for their hospitality, cooperation, and the constructive dialogue.'” We’ll have more on this. On December 17 the International Monetary Fund announced more money to Paul Biya’s government, while not answering Inner City Press question about Biya losing the African Cup of Nations on which the IMF relied. The December 17 announcement: “The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) today completed the third review of the arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) Arrangement for Cameroon. The completion of the review enables the disbursement of SDR 55.2 million (about US$76.3 million), bringing total disbursements under the arrangement to SDR317.4 million (about US$438.9 million).

In completing the third review, the Executive Board also approved the authorities’ request for a waiver for the non-observance of the performance criterion on the ceiling on net BEAC financing and the modification of two performance criteria pertaining to the ceiling on net borrowing of the central government from the central bank, excluding IMF financing, and the continuous performance criterion on new non-concessional external debt contracted or guaranteed by the government.

Cameroon’s three-year arrangement for SDR 483 million (about US$667,8 million, or 175 percent of Cameroon’s quota), was approved on June 26, 2017 (see Press Release No.17/248 ). It aims at supporting the country’s efforts to restore external and fiscal sustainability and lay the foundations for sustainable, inclusive and private sector-led growth.

Following the Executive Board discussion, Mr. Mitsuhiro Furusawa, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair, made the following statement:

“Cameroon’s performance under its ECF-supported program is broadly satisfactory. Most end-June 2018 targets have been met and structural reforms have advanced, with completion of key delayed financial sector reforms.

“The authorities remain committed to the concerted regional effort to rebuild CEMAC’s fiscal and external buffers. To that end, addressing revenue shortfalls and containing investment spending will be key to reaching the 2018 deficit target. Steadfast implementation of the 2019 budget, including measures to mobilize non-oil revenue by gradually removing exemptions and further spending rationalization will be essential to mitigate the risks from the challenging security situation, increasing commodity price volatility and other shocks to growth.

“Public external debt has increased rapidly in 2018, mainly owing to faster-than-envisaged disbursements of foreign project loans. Strictly limiting new non-concessional borrowing and addressing the stock of contracted but undisbursed loans are essential to maintain debt sustainability. Gradual adjustments in administered prices would help reduce subsidies and restore the financial viability of key public utility companies, while lowering risks from contingent liabilities.

“Financial sector reforms should continue to advance, including effective resolution of ailing banks and reduction of overdue loans. Other structural reforms should focus on tackling governance issues and improving the business environment to support private investment and enhance competitiveness.

“Cameroon’s program continues to be supported by the implementation of supportive policies and reforms by the regional institutions in the areas of foreign exchange regulations and monetary policy framework and to support an increase in regional net foreign assets, which are critical to the program’s success.” Inner City Press last week – when the IMF did answer it on Yemen and Haiti – asked, “On Cameroon, gives the IMF’s references and reliance on the 2019 African Cup of Nations (CAF) football tournament which has now on November 30 been stripped from the country, what is the IMF’s comment and modified estimates on this development in Cameroon and the IMF’s program there?” We are still waiting, as as the IMF on December 17 answered when Inner City Press asked, ” I wanted to ask for IMF’s response, if you can, to this sent to Inner City Press from South Africa, that for her visit here there are no public events scheduled (?), and an information void? Substantively, does the IMF have a view of these loans / trends:

·        in 2013, $5 billion from the China Development Bank, mainly for Transnet’s purchase of imported infrastructure inputs, especially for corrupt port-petrochemical expansion in Durban and a coal export rail line to Richards Bay (billions of rands were illicitly directed via China South Rail to the Gupta empire); and

·        in 2016, $5 billion again from the China Development Bank, mainly for Eskom’s other coal-fired mega-generator, Kusile, initially arranged by Molefe and renewed at the BRICS Sandton summit last July.” The IMF answered, “Dear Matthew, Thank you for your question. Please be advised that Ms. Christine Lagarde, IMF Managing Director, will hold a press briefing with Mr. Lesetja Kganyago, Governor of the South African Reserve Banks, on Wednesday at 4 pm SA time (SARB premises). You will receive a media advisory tomorrow with further details.” Watch this site.  Back in October the IMF published this blithe report on Cameroon: “An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team, led by Ms. Corinne Deléchat, visited Yaoundé during November 5-13, 2018 to conduct discussions on the third review of the program supported by the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) that was approved in June 2017.

At the end of this visit, Ms. Deléchat issued the following statement:
“The IMF team reached staff-level agreement with the authorities on economic and financial policies that could support approval of the third review of their three-year program under the ECF. The IMF Executive Board could consider the third review in mid-December 2018.

Source: Inner Press

The United States has expressed disquiet over Chinese increasing military activities, including the deployment of submarines to the Arctic Ocean as well as the construction of military bases around the world.

The US Defense Department released a report on Thursday, saying Beijing was planning to add military bases around the world to protect its investments in its trillion-dollar project, known as Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

The initiative would reinvent the ancient Silk Road to connect Asia to Europe and Africa through massive investments in maritime, road and rail projects for international trade in an effort to counter US unilateralism and protectionist policies.

The US report said China, which currently has just one overseas military base in Djibouti, is believed to be planning others, including possibly in Pakistan, as it seeks to project itself as a global superpower.

“China will seek to establish additional military bases in countries with which it has a longstanding friendly relationship and similar strategic interests, such as Pakistan, and in which there is a precedent for hosting foreign militaries,” it said.

The report also said the target locations for such bases could include the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the western Pacific.

The report was issued as Beijing and Washington are locked in dispute over US military presence in resource-rich South China Sea.

The US has been taking sides with several of China’s neighbors in their territorial disputes in the busy sea, stepping up military presence under the pretext of freedom of navigation operations in international waters.

China has constantly warned Washington that close military encounters by air and naval forces of the two countries in the region could easily trigger miscalculation or even accidents at sea or in air.

‘China’s activities reaching the Arctic’

The Pentagon report noted that China has been accelerating military activities in the Arctic as well.

“Civilian research could support a strengthened Chinese military presence in the Arctic Ocean, which could include deploying submarines to the region as a deterrent against nuclear attacks,” the report said.

“The speed of growth of the submarine force has slowed and (it) will likely grow to between 65 and 70 submarines by 2020,” the report predicted.

The eight-nation Arctic Council will convene a meeting in Rovaniemi, Finland on Monday with the presence of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over the Chinese military presence in the region.

The expansion of submarine forces is just one element of China’s broad and costly modernization of its military, according to US experts, who believe the move is largely aimed at deterring any action by US armed forces.

The Pentagon assessment also mentioned Beijing’s military actives in Taiwan, the self-ruled island, over which Beijing asserts sovereignty.

China and Taiwan split amid a civil war in 1949, but Beijing’s leadership pursues their reunification.

In 1979, the US adopted the “One China” policy, but under the administration of US President Donald Trump, it has courted Taipei in an attempt to counter China.

Earlier this year, Chinese President Xi Jinping said in a speech that China reserved the right to use force to bring Taiwan under its control, but would strive to achieve peaceful “reunification.”

Beijing has accused Washington of making “a series of moves” on Taiwan and “other issues” that harm China’s sovereignty.

The self-ruled island is only one of a growing number of sticking points in the US-China relationship, which also include a trade war initiated by the US as well as an aggressive campaign it launched against Chinese telecom giant Huawei.

Last year Trump signed a bill, which bans federal agencies and their contractors from purchasing Huawei’s equipment and services over the accusation that the Chinese government uses the company’s 5G (fifth generation) networks to spy on other countries.

Huawei has filed a lawsuit against the law calling the bans unconstitutional.

Source: Presstv

Message from President Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe

1st May 2019

Dear Compatriots Southern Cameroonian/Ambazonians,

After sufficient review, reflections and consultations upon developments since January 5th 2018, and placing the paramount interest of Southern Cameroons aka Ambazonia’s quest for securitization of our restored national identity and independence, and in full discharge of the moral and legal obligations of our servant-leadership, I want to extend my condolences to our bereaved families and reassure our people to remain focused. I hereby announce as follows:

1. Cognizance has been taken of the fact that despite the material and, particularly, the lives of Southern Cameroonians lost to an unrelenting genocide campaign against our people, the Caretaker Cabinet of the Interim Government (IG) has clearly lost its focus and footing in actualizing our restored independent Statehood and the march to end the illegal occupation of our homeland and our capital city, Buea;
2. Considering that despite all efforts by well-meaning Ambazonians responding to my appeals to keep the Interim Government afloat by accommodating the Caretaker Cabinet while these issues of infighting in the struggle involving grave improprieties both in management of material and human resources are sorted out, the Caretaker Cabinet has lost the ability to reconcile our people and, in doing so, has imperiled the identity and mission of the Interim Government to complete the decolonization of Southern Cameroons through advancing our collective national interests. It is incumbent on me as Servant leadership Fiduciary to bring redress to the Southern Cameroonians-Ambazonians, to their struggle, and their nation, from their slow descent into a footnote of our own history.

Consequent upon the above:

1. I hereby declare and direct that the Caretaker Cabinet is forthwith dissolved and that the Cabinet as was in office on January 5th 2018, when myself and parts of the leadership were abducted, be reconstituted, restored and reactivated.
2. All changes that were made post our abduction are hereby placed on moratorium as of the date of signature of this order.

III. Southern Cameroonians-Ambazonians and the entire world are hereby notified that any individual or group thereof, dealing with whomever other than the Cabinet  as constituted and restored by this order, shall do so at their own risk.

1. The Country & Regional Coordinators, Members of the Restoration Council, Representatives of the Local Government Areas of Ambazonia (LGA Reps), County Structures, the Ambazonia Security Council (ASC), the Ambazonia Department of SelfDefense (DoD) and all Nationalist Movements are enjoined to individually and collectively give full effect to this order.
2. Special thanks to the Acting President and to all Ambazonians who have served in previous Cabinets and who currently serve on any other revolutionary platform for your continued dedication to the struggle.
3. Call on all our activists to direct their focus on continuing to bring awareness to the plight of our suffering people and the atrocities of the enemy.

VII. And we urge our people at home to remain grounded and vigilant in the aspirations of our independence

VIII. Further directives shall be issued in the days ahead.

ISSUED THIS MAY 2nd 2019, AT THE PRINCIPAL PRISON OF YAOUNDE, CAMEROUN

With gratitude

H.E. Sisiku Julius AyukTabe President, Interim Government, Southern Cameroons (Ambazonia)

The Cameroon government denied a Human Rights Watch researcher entry to the country on April 12, 2019, Human Rights Watch said today. The government’s action is an attempt to curb reports of abuse by security forces, but Human Rights Watch will continue to document and publicize human rights violations in Cameroon.

“Denying entry to our researcher is a clear step back for Cameroon,” said Philippe Bolopion, deputy global advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. “The government is doing everything it can to keep the world in the dark about its ongoing abuses, but it won’t succeed.”

Officials at Douala international airport refused to allow Ilaria Allegrozzi, a Human Rights Watch senior researcher on Central Africa, to enter the country on April 12. Allegrozzi had received a three-month visa on March 25. Allegrozzi explained in her visa application that she planned to travel to the Anglophone regions of the country to conduct research for Human Rights Watch on abuses committed by both government and armed separatist forces, as well as the impact of the crisis on people with disabilities.

In Douala, Allegrozzi was given no explanation for denying her entry. Despite several attempts to obtain explanations, Human Rights Watch has received no clarification from the government on the basis for its decision to block access.

Human Rights Watch started working on human rights in Cameroon in 1998. Since 2018, Human Rights Watch has issued a number of reports on human rights violations by government security forces as well as armed separatists, including a comprehensive report in July 2018 and several others in 2019.

Two days before Allegrozzi was denied entry, on April 10, Human Rights Watch published a short report on a deadly attack by soldiers, gendarmes, and members of the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) on the North-West region village of Meluf on April 4, killing five civilian men, including one with a mental disability, and wounding one woman.

Cameroon’s Anglophone regions are in the grip of a crisis that began in late 2016 when Anglophone activists, who have long complained of their regions’ perceived marginalization by the Francophone majority, mobilized significant segments of the Anglophone population to demand more political autonomy or secession. Government forces violently suppressed large demonstrations in mid-2017, killing more than 20 protesters.

Since then, the emergence of armed separatist groups has been accompanied by attacks on civilians by both government and separatist forces, and a growing militarization of the Anglophone regions. The unrest has displaced nearly half a million people.

The Anglophone crisis has unfolded as the country deals with the humanitarian consequences of attacks in the Far North region by the armed group Boko Haram. Both Boko Haram and security forces have committed serious human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law.

This violence comes as the government has increased its crackdown on the political opposition. In January, police arrested Maurice Kamto, the leader of the opposition party, Cameroon Renaissance Movement (MRC), as well as about 200 of its members and supporters. This occurred against a backdrop of increasing intolerance against dissent and the right to assemble. MRC demonstrations were banned across the country in April.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights – which has a base in Yaoundé, the capital, but no mandate to monitor human rights violations – was not granted permission to investigate abuse in the Anglophone regions.

National and international human rights organizations have an important role to play in monitoring and reporting on the human rights situation, not only in Cameroon but in other countries around the world. By enabling human rights organizations to operate without hindrance, Cameroon would demonstrate its willingness to allow rigorous, independent scrutiny of its efforts to adhere to international human rights law. Cameroon’s international partners should make the urgent human rights issues plaguing the country a priority and insist on unimpeded access to Cameroon for international human rights monitors.

“Cameroon’s downward spiral on human rights is of special concern for a country that recently joined the UN Human Rights Council,” Bolopion said. “The strategy of intimidation and roadblocks will not succeed. We urge the government to engage, allow Human Rights Watch to do its job, and strive to end abuse by both state and non-state actors.”

Source: Human Rights Watch

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says a coup attempt by a small faction of the military has been defeated, thanking the armed forces for continued loyalty to him.

Sitting alongside senior military and political leaders, Maduro said in a televised speech late on Tuesday that the group of military personnel supporting opposition figures Leopoldo Lopez and Juan Guaido had been defeated.

“The empire seeks to attack and overthrow a legitimate government to enslave Venezuela,” Maduro said. “I want to congratulate the Military High Command for its courage in defending peace.”

He said Guaido and Lopez were seeking to spark an armed confrontation that might be used as a pretext for foreign military intervention, but “loyal and obedient” members of the country’s armed forces had put down the mutiny within hours after it started early on Tuesday morning.

“I want to congratulate you for the firm, loyal and courageous attitude with which you have led the defeat of the small group that tried to fill Venezuela with violence,” Maduro added.

He said that there only remained a small group of plotters who had chosen “the path of betrayal … [and] handed their souls over to the coup-mongering far right.”

During the coup, Guaido, who has declared himself “interim president” of the country, claimed in a video message recorded at an unknown location that Maduro no longer enjoyed the backing of Venezuela’s armed forces.

‘Because the people of Venezuela want peace’

He also claimed that “a peaceful rebellion,” not an attempted military coup, was underway and called on people to take to the streets on Wednesday to continue what he called the final stage of “Operation Freedom.”

But Maduro said the opposition had “failed in their plan. They failed in their call, because the people of Venezuela want peace.”

Early on Tuesday, a group of Venezuelan armed troops accompanying Guaido clashed with soldiers at an anti-government rally in the capital, Caracas. Gunfire was heard, and more than 100 people were reported wounded.

The administration of US President Donald Trump, which has recognized Guaido as the “president” of Venezuela,” quickly backed the putsch bid.

‘Dear God, how far will the US go?’

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo alleged that Maduro had been prepared to fly into exile in Cuba but was talked down by Russia.

“He had an airplane on the tarmac. He was ready to leave this morning as we understand it, and the Russians indicated that he should stay,” Pompeo told CNN, without offering any evidence.

Maduro dismissed the allegation, saying, “Mike Pompeo said… Maduro had a plane ready to escape to Cuba and that the Russians prohibited me from leaving.”

“Mr. Pompeo, please! Such a lack of seriousness! Mr. [John] Bolton (the US national security adviser) gave orders to high-ranking officers to join the coup that was overcome in Venezuela… Dear God, how far will the US go?” Maduro said.

Bolton also appeared in the grounds of the White House on Tuesday, naming three senior Venezuelan officials who he said had been negotiating with the opposition and accepted that the president had to be replaced. He alleged that Venezuela’s Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino was one of them.

Padrino, however, appeared on television surrounded by soldiers on Tuesday, asserting continued loyalty to Maduro.

Lopez flees to Spain’s embassy

Meanwhile, reports said opposition figure Lopez — who was reportedly set free from house arrest during the coup — took refuge at the Spanish Embassy in Caracas with his family.

Lopez said earlier that he had been freed by soldiers guarding his home.

Trump threatens Cuba with sanctions

Trump on Tuesday accused Cuban “Troops and Militia” of conducting military operations in Venezuela to cause “death and destruction to the Constitution of Venezuela.” In a Twitter message, Trump threatened Havana with a “full and complete embargo, together with the highest-level sanctions” if it did not pull those forces out of Venezuela.

Culled from Presstv

The Takfiri terror group of Daesh has released a propaganda video purporting to show its ringleader Ibrahim al-Samarrai, aka Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, for the first time in five years.

The group released the 18-minute footage via one of its media networks on Monday allegedly showing him addressing a gathering of three. The authenticity of the footage could not be independently verified.

If authentic, however, the video would be the first one to be released of the terror mastermind since 2014. That year, he was filmed delivering a speech at a mosque in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul and claiming that the outfit had formed a so-called territory in the Arab country and neighboring Syria.

Al-Samarrai appeared in the first video only months after the group took on the countries and overran swathes of territory before enacting a rule, characterized with summary executions and other instances of brutal intolerance.

The new footage could not be dated either, but the person appearing to be al-Samarrai makes reference to bombings that left hundreds of people dead in Sri Lanka last week.

The speaker claims the coordinated attacks were Daesh’s revenge for the defeat it suffered recently in the eastern Syrian village of Baghouz.

“The battle for Baghouz is over,” he says, adding that the group is engaged in a “battle of attrition” and would seek revenge for its jailed and killed terrorists. He also urges its elements based in East Africa to ratchet up their acts of terror.

Although, taking Baghdad and Damascus by surprise at first, the group began to suffer one defeat after another after the countries enlisted the assistance of their allies.

Russia began lending aerial support to Syria’s ground operations against the group in 2015. Iran has also been providing the Syrian and Iraqi militaries with advisory support.

The combined push led to Daesh’s defeat in late 2017.

Around the same time, the US and the militants backed by it waged a massive onslaught against the northern Syrian city of Raqqah, which the outfit had called its capital, in a push suspected of being aimed at claiming victory for Daesh’s defeat, and heavily criticized for its indiscrimination.

Source: Presstv

An unknown gunman has opened fire onto a crowd in the city of Baltimore, Maryland in northeastern United States, killing one person and injuring seven more.

The assailant took on the targets on Edmondson and Whitmore avenues in West Baltimore at around 05:00 p.m. local time on Sunday, the Associated Press reported, citing Baltimore Police Department Commissioner Michael Harrison.

The fatality was identified as a male, who collapsed behind a Baptist church. The wounded have been transferred to hospitals.

Two cookouts were in progress on opposite ends of the street and shell casings were found in two different locations, Harrison noted. He called the incident “a very tragic, very cowardly shooting.”

The incident appeared to be “extremely targeted,” he said without elaborating.

Acting Mayor Jack Young emphasized that the shooting did not involve the church.

He, however, insisted that those with knowledge about the incident share their information.

“Someone knows something,” Young said, and added, “These things … they don’t happen by happenstance. People know who’s doing these shootings.”

The agency said the city, which has chronically been inflicted with high crime rates, witnessed more than 300 homicides last year and the same number in the previous one.

Also on Sunday, a shooting at a synagogue near the southern California city of San Diego left one person dead and three others wounded, local reports said, adding that a 19-year-old male suspect was caught by police. Describing the attacker, San Diego Sheriff Bill Gore said, “This individual was with an AR-type assault weapon and opened fire on the people inside the synagogue.”

The US’s gun laws have staunch supporters among the country’s far-right politicians and activists, most of whom are either members of or associated with the Republican Party.

Resistance to change in the governing legislation has either nipped in the bud or subverted efforts at enforcement of stricter gun control across the country.

Source: Presstv

The Norwegian Refugee Council humanitarian organization expressed worries on Thursday about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon caused by violent conflict between the government and non-state armed groups and called upon international community to pay attention to the situation.

“We need to scale up the humanitarian response, and there is a need for independent reporting from the international media. But most of all, we urgently need stronger international diplomatic engagement to help solve the conflict,” Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council Jan Egeland said.

He pointed out that hundreds of villages in the English-speaking regions had been burnt during the conflict. Moreover, almost a million children did not attend school with tens of thousands of them “hiding in the bushes without any support.” According to Egeland, the locals felt abandoned by the UN and international organizations. In addition, they expected support from their former colonial leadership such as Britain and France.

Egeland urged the international community to help the warring parties to come to terms and to agree on such vital issues as reopening of schools.

Cameroon has been facing separatism in southern regions for decades. The German territory of Cameroon was partitioned between France and Britain under the 1919 League of Nations mandates. The French authorities administered the largest part of the country, while the British mandate comprised two geographically separate territories, Northern Cameroons and Southern Cameroons, which are currently part of Cameroon, called the Southern region.

The separatist crisis in the English-speaking parts of Cameroon sharply deteriorated in late 2016 with an appointment of Francophone judges in the areas. Later, it escalated to a violent conflict between the government and the militants. More than half a million people have fled their homes, according to UN figures. On October 1, 2017, activists from Cameroon’s English-speaking regions proclaimed their independence from country’s French-speaking areas. The declaration came on the anniversary of South Cameroon’s independence from Britain in 1961.

Source: Urdupoint