Eto’o accused of conspiring to evade 3.9 million euros in taxes owed on income playing for FC Barcelona

29, December 2021

Eto’o accused of conspiring to evade 3.9 million euros in taxes owed on income playing for FC Barcelona 0

Cameroon football legend Samuel Eto’o owes nearly one million euros in taxes from his time in Spain, local authorities said Monday.

The 40-year-old, who earlier this month was elected president of the Cameroon Football Federation, appeared on a list published by the Spanish tax office of people and companies that owe over 600,000 euros ($678,000).

The former striker is listed as owing 981,598.19 euros to the Spanish tax office.

The four-time African player of the year played for a series of Spanish clubs, including Real Madrid and Barcelona, before retiring from football in 2019.

Contacted by AFP, a tax office spokesman said he was not authorised to give details on the player’s tax debt.

Spanish public prosecutors in 2016 accused Eto’o of conspiring to evade 3.9 million euros in taxes owed on income from his image rights when he was playing for FC Barcelona.

Over 7,200 names appeared on the tax office list that was published on Monday, including Twitter and Spanish TV personality Kiko Matamoros.

Paris Saint-Germain’s Brazilian forward Neymar topped the annual list last year, with the tax office saying at the time he owed 34.6 million euros from when he played for FC Barcelona from 2013-17.

Spain has cracked down on footballers for not paying their fair share in taxes in recent years, including Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo.

WHO warns Omicron risk remains ‘very high’

29, December 2021

WHO warns Omicron risk remains ‘very high’ 0

The risk posed by the Omicron variant is still “very high,” the World Health Organization said Wednesday, after Covid-19 case numbers shot up by 11 percent globally last week.

Omicron is behind rapid virus spikes in several countries, including those where it has already overtaken the previously-dominant Delta variant, the WHO said in its Covid-19 weekly epidemiological update.

“The overall risk related to the new variant of concern Omicron remains very high,” the UN health agency said.

“Consistent evidence shows that the Omicron variant has a growth advantage over the Delta variant with a doubling time of two to three days and rapid increases in the incidence of cases is seen in a number of countries,” including Britain and the United States, where it has become the dominant variant.

“The rapid growth rate is likely to be a combination of both immune evasion and intrinsic increased transmissibility of the Omicron variant.”

However, the WHO highlighted the 29 percent decrease in the incidence of cases observed in South Africa, the country which first reported the variant to the WHO on November 24.

It said early data from Britain, South Africa and Denmark — which currently has the world’s highest rate of infection per person — suggested there was a reduced risk of hospitalization for Omicron compared to Delta.

However, further data was needed to understand Omicron’s severity in terms of clinical markers, including the use of oxygen, mechanical ventilation and death.

More data was also required on how the severity might be being impacted by previous Covid infection, or vaccination.

“It is also expected that corticosteroids and interleukin 6 receptor blockers will remain effective in the management of patients with severe disease,” the WHO said. “However, preliminary data suggest that monoclonal antibodies may be less able to neutralize the Omicron variant.”

Rise in cases

The WHO said that in the week ending Sunday, following a gradual increase since October, the global number of new cases rose by 11 percent compared to the previous week, while the number of new deaths dipped by four percent.

“This corresponds to just under five million new cases and over 44,000 new deaths,” the Geneva-based organization said.

The highest numbers of new cases were reported from the United States, Britain, France and Italy.

Source: AFP

Ambazonia Crisis: Doctors Without Borders clarifies incident in transporting wounded patient in Manyu

28, December 2021

Ambazonia Crisis: Doctors Without Borders clarifies incident in transporting wounded patient in Manyu 0

On Saturday, 25 December, the emergency call centre of the humanitarian medical organisation Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) received a call related to a wounded person in need of urgent assistance in the Tinto health area. One of our ambulances managed to pick the patient up the next morning at Ashum area. Given his severe condition, he had to be transferred to Mutengene via Kumba for surgical attention.

As agreed and regularly done, MSF had contacted the local military authorities beforehand, informed them about the transfer of a wounded patient to Mutengene and shared the patient’s age and gender as requested. The ambulance was however stopped by Cameroonian security forces at the Nguti check point and forced to return to Mamfe, where the patient had to be treated and stabilised.

Since then, to avoid further incidents with our ambulances, we have been in touch with the authorities to understand the reason for the miscommunication with this reference.

Regarding this incident and the allegations published in some media, MSF reminds all relevant parties that:

1. In our work in Cameroon, and elsewhere in the world, MSF treats people based on medical need, regardless of their background or affiliations. This impartial and neutral medical humanitarian work is notably protected by the Geneva Conventions, which specify that persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria.

2. Hindering and obstructing our work puts patients’ lives at risk.

3. Allegations of complicity with any actor in a conflict puts patients and MSF staff in grave and immediate danger.

4. We appeal to everyone to be responsible in their statements and publications relating to our humanitarian action in the country. In an already very sensitive context, the spread of information that damages our reputation as a neutral, impartial and independent humanitarian organisation puts the lives of our teams and patients in danger.

Yaounde: Military Tribunal jails 47 opposition activists for ‘rebellion’

28, December 2021

Yaounde: Military Tribunal jails 47 opposition activists for ‘rebellion’ 0

A military tribunal in Cameroon has jailed dozens of opposition supporters for terms of up to seven years for “rebellion”, their party’s deputy secretary-general said Monday.

The 47 defendants were arrested in September 2020 as Maurice Kamto’s Movement for the Rebirth of Cameroon and several other parties planned protests against the government of Paul Biya, in power for nearly 40 years in the central African country.

Police dispersed hundreds of protesters in the economic capital Douala and made more than 500 arrests across the country. Of those, 124 remain in detention, according to the MRC.

The military tribunal in the capital Yaounde sentenced 47 activists, with Kamto’s spokesman Olivier Bibou Nissack and the party’s treasurer Alain Fogue getting seven-year terms, Roger Noah told AFP.

The rest were given terms of between one and five years, he said.

The charges included “rebellion” and “attempted insurrection”, according to MRC vice president Emmanuel Simh.

In September, a group of around 50 lawyers said they would not mount a defence for around 100 detained opposition members, denouncing what they described as the arbitrary and illegal nature of their detention.

Kamto — runner-up to Biya in a 2018 presidential election — was imprisoned in January 2019 following a march protesting the vote during which he presented himself as “president-elect”.

Following international pressure, Biya ordered him freed nine months.

The government has said that those held since September 2020 face charges of “attempted insurrection” or “revolution”.nSome have already been convicted.

Two months after their arrest, Amnesty International accused the Biya government of “relentless repression of opposition” members characterised by “arbitrary arrests and detentions”.

Source: AFP

After 5 years of Southern Cameroons Crisis, Francophone military cannot bear costs of war

28, December 2021

After 5 years of Southern Cameroons Crisis, Francophone military cannot bear costs of war 0

The Southern Cameroons Secretary of the Economy Hon. Tabeyang Brado has advised all Southern Cameroonians in the diaspora to commit to the confidence measures implemented by Vice President Dabney Yerima and start investing in the Amba bonds and Big Rubbergun Projects.

Secretary Brado made the appeal to Southern Cameroonians in Europe and the US late on Monday saying La Republique du Cameroun is yet to test the might of the Ambazonia Revolutionary Guards. Tabeyang Brado also revealed that after 5 years into the war, Yaoundé is now not able to bear the costs.

The prominent member of the Ambazonia Interim Government hinted of a well-calculated response at the right time and place should the French Cameroun regime in Yaoundé make the slightest mistake of hosting the Africa Cup of Nations anywhere in the Ambazonia homeland.

Secretary Tabeyang Brado also called on all Southern Cameroons fighters in Ground Zero to listen and follow the directives from Vice President Dabney Yerima and not waste precious time watching restoration social media comedies being made public by the disgraced so-called Maryland front liners and AGovC/ADF.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Secretary Tabeyang Brado observed that the French Cameroun enemy would not seek to test the will and strength of the Ambazonia nation during the period of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Hon. Tabeyang’s comments follow a series of empty social media postings from the AGovC/ADF militia group and increasing tensions among the Maryland gang.

By Chi Prudence Asong

King of Ndombolo rhumba General Defao dies at 62

28, December 2021

King of Ndombolo rhumba General Defao dies at 62 0

It was on a bed in the Laquintinie Hospital in Douala that the 62-year-old Lulendo Matumana breathed his last on December 27.  The renowned artist known as General Defao succumbed to diabetes that he had been suffering from for several years.

Cameroon Concord News understands that General Def Defao had come to Douala last week for a private show. He was reportedly rushed to hospital without family members, but was assisted by some Congolese citizens until the last day of the singer’s time on earth.

It is the epilogue of a rich career that started in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He began singing in 1976, in small groups in a populous neighborhood of Kinshasa, following the footsteps of his models Papa Wemba, N’Yoka Longo, Gina Efonge and Evoloko, four singers of the group Zaïko in the 1970s. But the singer he identified with most was Tabu Ley Rochereau, and his breakthrough came five years later.

Defao joined Le Grand Zaïko Wawa, of the guitarist Félix Manuaku in 1981. The Kinois discovered then a young elegant singer and a good dancer. From 1983 to 1991, he made the beautiful days of the group Choc Stars, alongside another star of the Congolese song, Bozi Boziana. He then opted for frequent appearances on television, which helped to establish his popularity. His growing success and his innate charisma have strongly contributed to his beautiful epic.

By Rita Akana

Yaounde: Release of students sentenced for 10 years for sharing joke on Boko Haram is a great relief

28, December 2021

Yaounde: Release of students sentenced for 10 years for sharing joke on Boko Haram is a great relief 0

Following the release of three Cameroonian students sentenced in 2016 to 10 years in jail for sharing a sarcastic text message that referenced Boko Haram, Samira Daoud, Amnesty International’s West and Central Africa Director, said:

“The release of Fomusoh Ivo Feh, Afuh Nivelle Nfor, and Azah Levis Gob, three young men who were absurdly punished for simply sharing a joke on their mobile phones is a great relief.

We are delighted that they have been released over the weekend and were finally able to reunite with their families after seven long years behind bars.

Samira Daoud, Amnesty International’s West and Central Africa Director

“All those who have tirelessly campaigned for their release, including the more than 300 000 people across the globe who wrote in 2016 to President Paul Biya asking him to end this injustice, were also delighted that they are finally free.

“These three students who were only exercising their right to freedom of expression should never have been arrested in the first place. Cameroon’s authorities should protect human rights and ensure all people can speak freely without fear of reprisal.”

Background

Fomusoh Ivo Feh, Afuh Nivelle Nfor, and Azah Levis Gob, three students who had been handed a 10-year jail sentence on 2 November 2016 by a military court which convicted them for “non-denunciation of terrorist-related information” have left the prison over the weekend.

This follows the 16 December 2021 supreme Court ruling to reduce their sentence from 10 to five years in jail, which they have already spent.

According to their lawyer, Victorine Chantal Edzengte, the Court upheld the charges of “non-denunciation of terrorist-related information’’ against them but quashed the 10-year sentence.

In December 2014, Fomusoh Ivo Feh received a text message from a friend, saying: “Boko Haram recruits young people from 14 years old and above. Conditions for recruitment: 4 subjects at GCE, including religion”.

His friend’s message was intended as a comment on the difficulty of finding a good job without being highly qualified – joking that even the armed group Boko Haram won’t recruit you without good exam results.

Ivo forwarded the message to Afuh Nivelle Nfor, who sent it to Azah Levis Gob. One of their teachers saw the text, having confiscated the phone, and showed it to the police. Ivo and his friends were all arrested. They were transferred to prison in Yaoundé on 14 January 2015.

Amnesty International campaigned for their release and over 310 000 people across the globe, including former Cameroonian football striker Patrick Mboma, wrote to President Paul Biya.

Culled from Amnesty International

AFCON 2021: African players to stay with clubs before Cup of Nations

27, December 2021

AFCON 2021: African players to stay with clubs before Cup of Nations 0

Footballers heading to next month’s Africa Cup of Nations finals will be allowed to play for their clubs until Jan. 3, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) said on Sunday.

Many were set to miss matches because of the rule that dictates clubs must release players 14 days before a continental championship or the World Cup.

But CAF has agreed to allow players whose clubs have matches between Dec. 27 and Jan. 3 to play them before joining up with their national squads for the Cup of Nations finals, which kick off in Cameroon on Jan. 9.

That will come as a relief to English clubs who had been due to lose their African players by the official release date of Dec. 27, although some had made individual arrangements for players to stay with them for as long as possible before the start of the tournament.

“This decision is taken in the spirit of goodwill and solidarity with the affected clubs in recognition of the fact that they, like all members of the football community, have been adversely affected by the onset of the COVID pandemic,” said a FIFA letter sent on Sunday to the World Leagues Forum and the European Leagues grouping.

Both organisations have been critical of the timing of the Cup of Nations in the middle of the club season in Europe, where the majority of players involved the tournament play their club football.

But FIFA said that CAF had decided to offer relief to clubs.

“It is also assumed that a spirit of mutual cooperation remains between CAF and all relevant stakeholders in this regard, including related to the release of players and the provision of sporting exemptions to travel and quarantine restrictions if required in the future,” added the letter from FIFA deputy general secretary Mattias Grafstrom.

The timing of the Cup of Nations finals has long been a bone of contention for club managers, and future tournaments are scheduled to played in mid-year.

Source: Reuters

Africa Cup of Nations: Ethiopia is first to arrive in Cameroon

27, December 2021

Africa Cup of Nations: Ethiopia is first to arrive in Cameroon 0

Ethiopia’s national football team on Sunday December 26 arrived in Cameroon as it readies for the 2021 African cup of nations.

The Ethiopian team is the first of the 24 qualified teams for tournament that has arrived in Cameroon.

Head of the Ethiopian delegation Abelé GELAGOY says, it was necessary to take the lead in order to familiarize themselves with the Cameroonian public.

“Yes indeed we should arrive early to prepare ourselves and acclimatise to Cameroon, especially with the climate and weather here; especially we wanted to do something different with our team.

The Ethiopians travelled to Cameroon with a 28-man squad after the country football federation summoned three players to join the 25-man squad initially selected for the continental showpiece.

Sonore (English), “It’s true that it’s too early to arrive in Cameroon but not very early for a preparation, because you know some teams have started their preparation one or two days before, we are here, so we will start our training sessions today. ” Wubetu ABATE, coach Ethiopia

The coach will be able to count on an entirely local team that plays in the country except for Bekelé who plays in Egypt and Kassim who plays in Algeria.

“It’s a young team, most of them play at home in the local league, and we have two players who play away. So if we have young players it shows that there will be energy, there is motivation to play and I think that is the most important thing. “Said Wubetu ABATE

After going through a Covid-19 test, the team took its quarters in a hotel in the capital before joining its first training session.

Ethiopia will face Egypt, Nigeria and Guinea Bissau in the group that evolves in Garoua.

This will be Ethiopia’s debut in AFCON since its last appearance in South Africa in 2013.

Source: Africa News

“Those who continue to attack President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, will bear the consequences of this wrong decision” Yerima

26, December 2021

“Those who continue to attack President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, will bear the consequences of this wrong decision” Yerima 0

The Ambazonia Interim Government has called for a complete withdrawal of troops loyal to the Biya French Cameroun regime in Yaounde from Southern Cameroons soil, saying the people of Southern Cameroons are opposed to the presence of Francophone soldiers in the Federal Republic of Ambazonia under any pretext be it the Africa Cup of Nations.

Dabney Yerima, the Vice President of the Ambazonia Interim Government, said on Sunday that the withdrawal of all French Cameroun combat forces from Southern Cameroons was a goal that cannot be negotiated.

Yerima who also weighed in on the recent attacks against President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, rejected as unacceptable the stay of French Cameroun army soldiers in Southern Cameroons and said Ambazonia sovereignty is a red line.

The Vice President is expected to use his New Year address to the people of Southern Cameroons and send a clear message to Yaoundé and the Biya regime.

Elsewhere in his comments to Cameroon Concord News the Vice President of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government said while some so called front line leaders are busy trying to make themselves popular on social media by making a mockery of President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and his top aides, the Interim Government and the people of Southern Cameroons will never accept any manipulation, fraud, or changes to the Ambazonian mission-which is to get to Buea.

“Those who continue to attack President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, will bear the consequences of this wrong decision” Yerima furthered.

Dabney Yerima said Sisiku Ayuk Tabe did not make himself leader of the Ambazonia people. “Some people sat and decided that Sisiku Ayuk Tabe should lead. The other Southern Cameroons groups must devise a policy that clarifies their mission in the Ambazonia war of liberation” Yerima added.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

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