UK’s Johnson welcomes second child with wife Carrie

9, December 2021

UK’s Johnson welcomes second child with wife Carrie 0

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday became a father again, after his wife, Carrie, gave birth to a girl, Downing Street said.

The “healthy baby girl” was born at a London hospital in the early hours and “both mother and daughter are doing very well”, a spokeswoman for the couple said.

“The couple would like to thank the brilliant NHS (National Health Service) maternity team for all their care and support,” she added.

The announcement comes as Johnson faces a backlash over the imposition of new coronavirus restrictions designed to curb the spread of the new Omicron variant.

He is also under pressure from the public after claims that Downing Street staff held a Christmas party last year in defiance of restrictions on social gatherings.

Thrice-married Johnson, 57, has four children from his second marriage to the lawyer Marina Wheeler, and now two with Carrie, 33, a former Conservative Party media adviser whom he wed in May.

The couple’s first child, Wilfred, was born in April last year, not long after Johnson was treated in hospital intensive care for Covid.

The prime minister has another child, a daughter, from an extra-marital affair.

In September, after years of speculation about how many children he had, he told NBC in an interview that he had six.

Source: AFP

In Southern Cameroons, at the request of General No Pity, Fon of Bambalang arrested

9, December 2021

In Southern Cameroons, at the request of General No Pity, Fon of Bambalang arrested 0

His Majesty Yakum Kevin Teuvih, President of the North-West Fons Conference is reportedly in Amba drag-net, Cameroon Intelligence Report has gathered from security sources in Bamenda.

Fon Yakum Teuvih was arrested by Ambazonia Revolutionary Guards inside his Bambalang Palace at about 5:30 pm on Tuesday, December 7, 2021 and he is currently being interogated over his close ties with the Francophone dominated Cameroon government military deployed to Southern Cameroons.

Bambalang palace spokesperson said Fon Yakum Teuvih was performing some traditional rituals when the Ambazonia Self Defense forces raided the palace.

A senior Ambazonia official hinted Cameroon Intelligence Report that the Fon’s arrest was ordered by “General No Pity” who himself hails from Bambalang.

Fon Yakum Teuvih who also moonlights as Vice President of the North-West Regional Assembly was elected into the North-West House of Chiefs on December 6, 2020 and has ever since been very vocal against the Ambazonia resistant movements.

Ambazonia Revolutionary Guards often carry out detention raids against Southern Cameroonians in Ground Zero who continue to represent the interest of the Biya French Cameroun regime.

In French Cameroun, more than 3,000 Southern Cameroonians are reportedly held in jails, Douala, Dschang and Yaounde.  Several Southern Cameroonians have been incarcerated under the practice of administrative detention, which allows holding English speaking Cameroonians inmates without trial or charge. Some Southern Cameroons prisoners of concience have been held in administrative detention for up to five years.

By Sama Ernest

Africa Cup of Nations: Questions and doubts remain with month to go until kick-off in Cameroon

9, December 2021

Africa Cup of Nations: Questions and doubts remain with month to go until kick-off in Cameroon 0

One month today Cameroon and Burkina Faso are slated to get the Africa Cup of Nations underway, probably in Yaounde even if doubts remain over the host nation’s ability to stage the tournament.

Up to 40 Premier League players could be involved. And as the UK adds much of the African continent to its travel red list following the spread of a new coronavirus variant the word could is doing a lot of lifting.

There are still too many doubts and questions around a tournament that may impact Arsenal and Chelsea severely but see Tottenham Hotspur continue unchanged.

So here is an explainer of the key dates, what still needs to happen to make it a reality and for how long players from your club are likely to be absent.

How long does the tournament last?

The final is scheduled for February 6 in Yaounde, meaning a player who goes all the way could end up missing seven club fixtures should he have to report for duty on December 27, which is the date currently stipulated by FIFA.

That’s pretty much two weeks before the tournament starts. Is there a chance of players being given permission to join up later?

Yes. This is a work in progress with clubs negotiating late releases with respective national teams. Some clubs, including Arsenal and Chelsea, are hopeful that they can keep their players until a week before the tournament kicks off, with Chelsea and Liverpool particularly keen on that possibility considering the title hopefuls face each other on January 2. Senegal, for whom Edouard Mendy and Sadio Mane will be star men, play their opening game on January 10, ditto Hakim Ziyech’s Morocco with Mohamed Salah’s Egypt a day later.

Which clubs will be impacted most?

It is perhaps easier to say who will not be without a key player. Four Premier League teams – Tottenham plus Leeds, Newcastle and Norwich – will not have anyone reporting for duty. Watford could be worst hit with five members of Claudio Ranieri’s squad in contention and next worse off could be Arsenal and Crystal Palace. Mikel Arteta may be without Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon), Mohamed Elneny (Egypt), Thomas Partey (Ghana) and Nicolas Pépé (Ivory Coast) for the duration, with Patrick Vieira contemplating the absence of Jordan Ayew (Ghana), Cheikhou Kouyaté (Senegal), Jeffrey Schlupp (Ghana) and Wilfried Zaha (Ivory Coast).

Is there a chance they will not go at all because of the Omicron variant?

Unlikely but not impossible. The situation will need to worsen further but it is worth taking note of the warning statement sent by the European Clubs’ Association last week relating to their “deep concerns” around player welfare and their desire to work with FIFA to “ensure all necessary precautions are in place to protect players and club interests” as the health situation “continues to deteriorate in an alarming manner”.

On the other side the CAF head of communications, Alex Siewe, told BBC Sport on Tuesday that there has been no mention of a postponement. “We can’t keep spending time dealing with rumours,” he said. “We did not receive any other message or information from our leaders – nothing such as changing of dates or countries. We did not discuss such during all our last meetings. We are on site. We are working.”

If Cameroon was added to the red list, players would need to be quarantined for 10 days upon their return but, going off the rules for last month’s international break, they would be allowed special permission to train and play games.

Reports suggest there is still a lot of work to be done?

It seems that way. FIFA’s secretary general Fatma Samoura has taken a hands-on role in recent weeks due to stadiums and facilities being behind schedule. There are meant to be six grounds in use but CAF have not confirmed the exact status.

So what happens if they fail to get things ready?

No deadline has been specified and there have been whispers of moving the show elsewhere – possibly to Qatar. But that poses another long list of logistical questions and at the beginning of this week former CAF technical director Abdel Moneim Shatta suggested that it could simply end up being cancelled in a TV interview.

Source: Football.London

Football: Barcelona knocked out of Champions League as Benfica, Lille, Salzburg advance to last 16

9, December 2021

Football: Barcelona knocked out of Champions League as Benfica, Lille, Salzburg advance to last 16 0

Barcelona crashed out of the Champions League in the group stage for the first time in over 20 years with a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich on Wednesday, as Benfica, French champions Lille and Red Bull Salzburg all qualified for the last 16.

Meanwhile, Chelsea missed out on first place in their group to Juventus after conceding a late equaliser away to Zenit Saint Petersburg, while snow in northern Italy forced the postponement of Atalanta’s decisive game against Villarreal.

Barcelona started the day in second place in Group E but had to win away to Bayern Munich to be sure of going through, otherwise they risked being overtaken by Benfica.

Xavi Hernandez’s side were duly outclassed by an already-qualified Bayern who made it six wins out of six in the group, with Thomas Mueller’s 34th-minute header just crossing the line before Ronald Araujo could clear.

The game was played behind closed doors at the Allianz Arena due to coronavirus restrictions in Bavaria, but that did not handicap Bayern, with Leroy Sane’s powerful strike doubling their lead before the break and then Jamal Musiala making it 3-0 just after the hour.

‘A new era’

The Catalans were knocked out as Benfica beat Dynamo Kiev 2-0 in Lisbon, first-half goals by Roman Yaremchuk and Gilberto seeing them snatch second and a place in next Monday’s draw for the last 16.

“We didn’t compete. This is the Champions League but it is our reality and we have to face up to it,” Xavi told Spanish media.

“We are starting a new era from zero. Our objective is the Champions League, not the Europa League.”

Barcelona, who scored just twice in the group stage, had appeared in the knockout rounds of the Champions League in each of the last 17 seasons, last missing out in 2003-04 when they played in the UEFA Cup after coming sixth in La Liga the previous year.

They last went out of the Champions League in the group stage in 2000/01 when a team featuring a 20-year-old Xavi finished third in their section behind AC Milan and Leeds United.

The five-time European champions will now drop into the Europa League knockout-round play-offs in February.

Juve pip Chelsea

In contrast Lille are through to the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in 15 years after beating Wolfsburg 3-1 in Germany to top Group G.

Burak Yilmaz gave Lille an early lead and Canadian striker Jonathan David made it 2-0 in the 72nd minute before Angel Gomes got their third. Renato Steffen got a late consolation.

Salzburg, Austrian champions in each of the last eight seasons, also progressed thanks to a 1-0 win over Sevilla, with Noah Okafor scoring the only goal before the Spaniards had Joan Jordan sent off.

It is the first time Salzburg have reached the knockout phase, while Sevilla join the likes of Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund in the Europa League—that may suit them given they have won that trophy or its predecessor the UEFA Cup a record six times, all since 2006.

Atalanta game postponed

Last season’s winners Chelsea had already qualified for the last 16 and were on course to top Group H as they led 3-2 away to Zenit going into injury time.

But then Magomed Ozdoev’s stunning strike earned Zenit a 3-3 draw, allowing Juventus to snatch first place as Moise Kean’s goal gave them a 1-0 win against Malmo.

Timo Werner had tapped in to put Chelsea ahead in the second minute, but Claudinho and Sardar Azmoun both scored before the break for Zenit.

Romelu Lukaku’s first goal in nearly three months made it 2-2, and Werner’s second of the night looked to have won it for Chelsea before Ozdoev struck.

“My analysis is very clear: our behaviour changes when we have a lead and this is something we never did and we should never do,” said Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel, whose team twice squandered an advantage to lose 3-2 at West Ham United last weekend.

Atalanta’s game against Villarreal in Group F was postponed due to snow in Bergamo and was rescheduled for Thursday at 1800 GMT, with the Italians having to win to pip their visitors to second place in the group.

Group winners Manchester United drew 1-1 at home to Young Boys, with Mason Greenwood’s acrobatic effort putting Ralf Rangnick’s side ahead before Fabian Rieder equalised.

Source: AFP

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Cameroon gov’t military burns Bamenda City in war on Ambazonia

9, December 2021

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Cameroon gov’t military burns Bamenda City in war on Ambazonia 0

Cameroon government army soldiers burned down several houses in Bamenda the chief city in the North West and killed two children on Wednesday 8, December 2021. The soldiers also destroyed many shops around Azire Old Church forcibly displaced hundreds of people in its fight against Ambazonia Revolutionary Guards.

The Francophone dominated Cameroon government army, which has frequently been accused of human rights abuses in its five-year fight against Southern Cameroons Self Defense groups, did not respond to Cameroon Concord News requests for comment.

Five residents interviewed by Cameroon Concord News correspondent in Bamenda confirmed the incident with one of them stressing that the roasting of two kids by the army soldiers should immediately hamper Yaounde’s ability to purchase arms.

Cameroon government troops razed more than 15 houses when they came under attack around Mbengui Road forcing several Bamenda residents to leave their homes.  Several videos and images are currently circulating on social media showing several large fires in the area and almost every structure razed. We gathered that the Francophone soldiers were going house to house and rounding people up.

“We watched our houses go into flames,” a 65-year-old man told Cameroon Concord News. “We all have been crying.”

“The soldiers called us Anglofools and Biafras and set our houses ablaze” one of the residents said.

The Vice President of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government, Dabney Yerima said recently that the people of Ambazonia have managed to wear down the Francophone dominated Cameroon government army. That has left the Cameroon government military on the defensive and the soldiers are now targeting Southern Cameroons civilian population.

By Fon Lawrence in Bamenda

CAF allays fear of postponing Afcon in Cameroon

8, December 2021

CAF allays fear of postponing Afcon in Cameroon 0

The Confederation of African Football have dismissed rumours that next month’s Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) could be moved away from Cameroon following the recent discovery of the new Omicron variant of Covid-19.

The new variant has led to travel restrictions being introduced by some countries for several African nations, with Nigeria, which neighbours Cameroon, the latest to be added to the United Kingdom’s ‘red list’.

In recent days, some media organisations have suggested the dates of the 24-team tournament could change or even the location be moved, possibly to Qatar.

Caf’s director of communications, Alex Siewe says neither his organisation nor leading Cameroon officials have discussed such events.

“We can’t keep spending time dealing with rumours,” he told BBC Sport Africa.

“We did not receive any other message or information from our leaders—nothing such as changing of dates or countries. We did not discuss such during all our last meetings. We are on site. We are working.”

Africa’s football showpiece, which has already been delayed because of the global pandemic, is due to kick off on January 9 in Yaounde with the final on February 6. Staff from the Caf arrived in Cameroon this week to organise the Afcon finals.

“An official delegation from Caf has been released and general secretary Veron Mosengo-Omba is joining us in two days,” Siewe added.

The European Club Association, an independent body that represents clubs across Europe, has expressed its “deep concerns” regarding player welfare before the tournament, adding that the public health situation “continues to deteriorate in an alarming manner”.

Kenya’s national team, Harambee Stars, will be a no show at the forthcoming Africa Cup of Nations. Algeria is the defending champions, having won the 2019 edition.

Kenya’s slim hopes of qualifying for the continental showpiece were dimmed after settling for a 1-1 draw with Egypt in their penultimate Group ‘G’ qualifier at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.

Other than hosts Cameroon and champions Algeria, other nations expected in the tournament include Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Comoros, Ivory Coast, Egypt and Equatorial Guinea.

Others are Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, G. Bissau and Malawi. Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia, Sudan and Zimbabwe will also participate.

Source: The Star.co.ke

Southern Cameroons refugees flee to Nigeria as secession conflict worsens

8, December 2021

Southern Cameroons refugees flee to Nigeria as secession conflict worsens 0

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has raised concern over influx of Cameroonian refugees into Nigeria which has surpassed the benchmark of 70,000 people.

The refugee situation is exacerbated by continuing conflict between secessionist groups and Cameroonian government troops.

Raising the alarm on Monday in Abuja, UNHCR spokesperson Gabriel Adeyemo said the refugees have settled in Nigeria’s Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Benue, Enugu, Cross River and Taraba states are now more than 78,000 and they need urgent international additional support.

Mr Adeyemo said that $97.7 million is needed to respond to the needs of the 78,000 refugees and asylum-seekers of different nationalities and Internally Displayed Persons (IDPs) from Cameroon.

According to UNHCR, the refugees need protection, camps and shelter, and non-food items such as blankets and jerry cans.

“This is not just a number, these are people, mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters, people just like you and I that have been forced to flee their homes to seek safety and save their lives,” Adeyemo quoted UNHCR Country Representative in Nigeria, Chansa Kapaya.

Source: The East African

French Cameroun: At least 19 killed in ethnic clashes in Far North region

8, December 2021

French Cameroun: At least 19 killed in ethnic clashes in Far North region 0

Death toll in clashes between herders and fishers in Cameroon’s Far North region has increased to 19, many hacked to death with machetes, the region’s governor Midjiyawa Bakari said on Tuesday.

The clashes in the Logone and Chari division of the region began on Sunday between Mousgoum fishermen and Arabchoas cattle ranchers. Bakari said they are fighting over water resources and grazing land to maintain control over their natural habitats.

“This has to stop. (We have come here) to extend our condolences to those who lost their beloved ones and also to those who are injured and who are right now in different hospitals. We are calling each and every one to avoid violence in order to permit development and embrace peace,” Bakari said during a visit to Logone and Chari to diffuse tension.

Villagers have sought refuge in military camps in the region while others have fled across the border into neighboring Chad after the clashes left farms and villages destroyed, authorities said.

On Monday, Bakari told Xinhua by phone that troops have been deployed to the troubled area to maintain peace and order. Cameroon’s Far North has a history of ethnic tensions, but recent clashes are the deadliest, according to local traditional leaders.

In August, 12 people were killed when the two tribes clashed over land and water sources.

 Source: Xinhuanet

Southern Cameroons refugee crisis affecting map of Nigeria

8, December 2021

Southern Cameroons refugee crisis affecting map of Nigeria 0

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has called on the international community to urgently support over 70,000 Cameroonian refugees in Nigeria.

The UN agency said that nearly 80 per cent of these people are women and children.

“This is not just a number, these are people behind these numbers, mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters, people just like you and I, that have been forced to flee their homes to seek safety and save their lives,” says UNHCR’s Country Representative Chansa Kapaya. “70,000 refugees are 70,000 daughters and sons.”

Their dreams and plans were disrupted by violence in the North-West and South-West regions of Cameroon where a conflict between secessionist Non-State Armed Groups and the army has been displacing people from their homes since 2017. Recent arrivals and UNHCR’s protection monitoring confirm killings, abductions, forced evictions and other forms of violence, with armed groups attacking schools and hospitals.

Over 8,000 Cameroonian women, men and children have arrived in Nigeria’s Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Benue, Enugu, Cross River and Taraba States in the past 12 months, many in hard- to -reach rural areas. UNHCR, together with the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and IDPs, registered them. 59 percent found refuge in local communities. The rest live in four settlements which UNHCR helped build on land generously provided by the government.

Nigeria has a progressive open-door approach to refugees, allowing refugee girls and boys to go to school just like nationals and their parents to work where they can. With support from UNHCR, Nigeria provides primary health care to refugees and nationals alike. “UNHCR commends Nigeria because it is on its way to become a champion in implementing the Global Compact on Refugees,” says UNHCR’s Representative Chansa Kapaya, “but Nigeria needs support”. The most pressing needs of Cameroonian refugees are food, shelter, improved health care and education as well as livelihood opportunities.

With rising food prices, the economic hit of COVID-19 and the refugee influx, needs are on the rise with serious risks of gender-based violence and negative copying mechanisms such as begging and survival sex. The amount of support UNHCR can deliver is increasingly falling short. Cash for food, for instance, had to be reduced from 2019 due to insufficient funding.

US$97.7 million is needed to respond to the needs of a total of some 78,000 refugees and asylum-seekers of different nationalities and to IDP needs – protection, camp management/coordination, shelter and non-food items such as blankets and jerry cans.

So far, not even half of this amount (45 per cent, as of 23 November) has been received. UNHCR calls on donors and development agencies not to forget Cameroonian refugees in Nigeria.

Source: Vanguard

Bishops condemn attacks on Southern Cameroons schools as more details emerge on the Ekondo Titi incident

8, December 2021

Bishops condemn attacks on Southern Cameroons schools as more details emerge on the Ekondo Titi incident 0

Cameroon’s English-speaking bishops have condemned attacks on schools in the country’s conflict-ridden North West and South West Regions.

Their latest statement comes after four students and a teacher were killed on Nov. 24 at Government Bilingual High School Ekondo-Titi in the South West region.

Schools have become a battleground as Anglophone separatists fight the majority French-speaking government in the African country. For many years, the separatists imposed a schools’ boycott, which they enforced with violence.

“Our hearts have been pierced again!” said Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya of Bamemda, in a statement he signed on behalf of all the bishops of his ecclesiastical province, which overs the Anglophone regions of Cameroon.

“In recent times, we have painfully witnessed an agonizing drama involving, among other evils, the targeting and killing of pupils, students and teachers … We have hardly recovered from the cruel killing of Enondiale Tchuengia Carolaisse, killed in Molyko-Buea on Thursday, October 14, 2021, and the brutal killing of another pupil, Brandy Tataw, on Friday, November 1, 2021, in Nkwen-Bamenda, then we are confronted again with the killing of four more innocent Cameroonians within the protected area of a school,” said the archbishop.

“These innocent victims are not the cause of the socio-political crisis, and their deaths cannot be the solution. Their murder is totally senseless and unacceptable,” Nkea said.

A local government administrator confirmed the attack, telling Crux that “separatist fighters laid ambush in the school before students arrived. They were dressed like soldiers to give students the feeling that they were actual soldiers guarding the school.”

Timothee Aboloa identified the students as Emmanuel Orume 12, Joyceline Iken 16, and Kum Emmanuel, 17. The teacher, Celestine Song was 58 years old and a mother of four.

“It was quite a frightening scene,” said Henry Agbor, a local resident.

“I heard a loud explosive. I was standing around the Okada beach park ready to take a bike to the beach before the mayhem broke out. Besides the teacher and students who have died, many students are also wounded,” he told Crux.

“We never expected this,” said Father Gaetan Ndongo.

“The attacks are creating fear around the place and the education of our children has been systematically sacrificed,” he told Crux.

The recent attacks are a grim reminder of the price education has had to pay in the separatist war in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions, now in its 5th year.

The darkest date was probably Oct. 24, 2020, when six children were killed by suspected separatists at the Mother Francisca International Bilingual Academy in Kumba.

Several other schools were attacked the following month, leading to the deaths of at least three other students.

Earlier this year, on Oct. 14, a soldier killed Enondiale Carolise, a student on her way to school in Buea. Another girl, Tataw Brandy, was killed by a soldier in Bamenda on Nov. 10.

The United Nations says more than 700,000 children have been forced out of school during the conflict, with 2 out of 3 schools being shut.

Yasmine Sherif, the director of Education Cannot Wait, said the Cameroon crisis is among “the most complex humanitarian crises in the world today.”

“Children and youth are having to flee their homes and schools, are threatened with violence and kidnapping, and being forced into early childhood marriage and recruited into armed groups,” said Sherif.

“We call for urgent support from donors to respond to this forgotten crisis. We call for the respect of human rights and adherence to the principles of international humanitarian law and the Safe Schools Declaration, and for partners to redouble efforts so all children and adolescents can get back to the safety, protection and hope that quality learning environments provide,” she said.

The bishops have condemned violence as a means of problem solving, insisting that life must be protected.

“We, the Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda, condemn these barbaric acts, which violate all International Laws and Conventions safeguarding the inviolability of schools and the protection of learners (pupils and students), and teachers, offend against the fundamental right to education, and breaks the Fifth Commandment of God,” the statement reads.

“We have been persistent in our call for the respect and defence of human rights, especially the right to life, openness to dialogue, an option for the truth and recourse to peaceful means as the best way to a durable solution,” it continues.

While calling on the government to ensure the security of schools, we make a special appeal, once more, to all perpetrators of violence to allow the genuinely human feelings of love, pardon and benevolence to flow into their hearts so that the safety and security of all may be guaranteed, alongside the right of all young people to life and to an education and a future,” the statement added.

Source: Crux

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