15, April 2021

US: Cameroon Man Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Defrauding Bourbonnais Bank, Others ⁰

A citizen of Cameroon, Lovette Namatinga, 34, has been sentenced to serve 48 months in federal prison for defrauding a Bourbonnais, Ill., bank of nearly $300,000. At the sentencing hearing, on April 13, 2021, Senior U.S. District Judge Michael M. Mihm further ordered that Namatinga pay restitution in the amount of $278,201 to the bank and numerous other individual and business victims of the defendant’s fraud scheme.

Namatinga, of Owings Mills, Md., has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since he was arrested on Oct. 7, 2019, at Washington Dulles International Airport by FDIC Office of Inspector General agents.

On Sept. 21, 2020, immediately prior to jury selection before his trial, Namatinga pleaded guilty to all counts of the indictment, four counts each of bank and wire fraud, as charged, related to his defrauding Municipal Trust and Savings Bank, Bourbonnais, Ill. Namatinga admitted that he carried out the fraud from about February to April 2019, by falsely representing to the bank that the secretary of one of the bank’s customers requested that cashier’s checks be sent to Namatinga’s fraudulent company known as Keiko San Products Alimenticious, LLC. Namatinga is the registered agent for Keiko, and the four checks were mailed to his home address. Once the checks were deposited into Keiko bank accounts, Namatinga then transferred money from those accounts to his personal account or withdrew cash from those accounts.

In addition to the fraud committed through Municipal Trust & Savings Bank, Namatinga used his fraudulent business and multiple associated bank accounts to deposit and launder fraud proceeds from various other victims throughout the United States. Namatinga’s scheme, known as a business e-mail compromise scam, was just one such scheme in 2019 that resulted in more than 23,000 victims nationally, with an average loss of $75,000 per complaint, according to FBI crime statistics.

The FDIC Office of Inspector General conducted the case investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugene L. Miller represented the government in the prosecution.

Source: United States Department of Justice

15, April 2021

Federal Republic of Ambazonia: Leader welcomes Ramadan with special message ⁰

As millions of Muslims commenced the Ramadan fasting, the leader of the Ambazonian nation and head of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government, President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe shared a warm message to welcome the holy month expressing wishes to all Muslims in Southern Cameroons and around the world.

To the Muslim community,

Dear brothers and sisters of the Muslim community,

During this Holy month of Ramadan, know that we are together. As you sacrifice in fasting and prayer, it is our hope that Allah will meet you/us at the point of need. He is faithful and will give our people the freedom they deserve. Be strong and courageous in the pursuit of the goals that you set for yourself, your family and our nation, insha’Allah. Amen

Ramadan Mubarak

Sisiku AyukTabe

15, April 2021

Covid-19-Ambazonia Crisis: Yaoundé politics is to please China, Russia and Britain at the same time ⁰

While Denmark in Europe has given up using the AstraZeneca vaccine, the Biya regime instead announced the acquisition of 400 thousand doses of the dangerous British vaccine.

Prime Minister Dion Ngute recently received 200,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine from the Chinese government and now his Minister of Public Health has told the nation that 400,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine will be arriving on April 17.

The Danish government said it was abandoning the AstraZeneca vaccine against Covid-19 because of its “rare” but “serious” side effects. Denmark became the first EU member state to drop the British solution to the coronavirus.

Despite well informed opinions from the European Health regulator and the WHO in favour of AstraZeneca, the vaccination campaign in Denmark is continuing without the AstraZeneca vaccine, observed the director of the Danish National Health Agency, Søren Brostrøm, during a press conference.

However, Yaoundé which of late has been signing doggy business deals with UK authorities all in a bid to please the British and attract sympathy and cover-ups for crimes being committed by Cameroon government army soldiers in English speaking Cameroon had pleaded for the Russian vaccine before receiving 200,000 doses of the Chinese Sinopharm.

Yaoundé Covid-19 politics is indeed to please China, Russia and their British partner at the same time!

Thus, after the 200 thousand doses of Sinopharm vaccine, the Biya regime has now made it public that 400 thousand additional doses of the British vaccine is en route to Yaoundé. In May, at least one million doses of the Russian vaccine Sputnik will also be in Cameroon.

Last Monday, the Francophone Minister of Public Health launched the vaccination campaign in front of the media in order to convince the most reluctant.

The suspension of AstraZeneca in Denmark adds to the reluctance of Cameroonians both in La Republique and in Southern Cameroons who are already mostly opposed to vaccination against Covid-19.

Citizens of the two Cameroons believe that it is necessary to return to natural plant-based treatments that have proven their worth, particularly traditional pharmacopoeia or African solutions.

According to a majority opinion in the divided country, the epidemiological situation of Covid-19 is not so alarming as to create any panic.

As at 9 April 2021, French Cameroun had 3386 active cases. Out of some 61,731 cumulative cases, 56,926 were cured and 919 died.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

15, April 2021

Much of Cameroon is losing power daily in massive blackouts ⁰

A war of words has reportedly erupted between Cameroon’s Electricity Regulatory Agency (Arsel) and the concessionaire for the distribution of electrical energy in Cameroon (Eneo). The regulator has accused the company of numerous acts of abuse against defenseless Cameroonian consumers, serious breaches and recurrent violations of the law.

Most of French and Southern Cameroons, including the capital Yaoundé and many major towns, lost power for days recently in one of the biggest blackouts to affect Cameroon ever since President Biya took office. The cause is not immediately clear as power failure continues to affect the entire nation.

Cameroon Concord News understands the Arsel-Eneo tug-of-war is a CPDM crime syndicate technique to shift the blame from failed government policies and corruption deep within the energy sector to Eneo.

On Monday, the Francophone dominated regulatory agency said in a statement that Eneo was involved in what it painted as non-respect and violation of the public electricity distribution regulations; abusive suspension of electricity supply to customers; untimely cuts in electricity supply, over-billing and imaginary frauds.

Added to this complex relationship between Arsel and Eneo, some customers, supplied by delivery points regularly connected to the metering equipment fixed outside their homes or offices have also been accused of fraud and gross violation of Article 13 of the energy regulation.

It is a common practice in French Cameroun particularly in the cities of Douala and Yaoundé for French speaking Cameroonians to take electrical energy outside the quantities measured by the meter by falsifying the indications of the meter, as well as breaking of the seals.

The so-called Cameroon energy regulator has given Eneo a warning notice to comply with the law within a week. However, every aspect of the Cameroonian life is linked to the ruling CPDM crime syndicate where no one takes responsibility, no one apologize, and no one resigns.

Also playing the game of the consortium of crime syndicates, the Cameroonian League of Consumers (LCC) in a publicized declaration, congratulated Arsel for the formal notice against Eneo. A copy of the LCC statement signed by its executive president Delor Magellan Kamgaing was sent to the presidency of the republic.

For several months now, all major towns and cities in Cameroon have been suffering from untimely power cuts, causing serious economic repercussions and considerable domestic damage.

The company Eneo attributes these blackouts to the collapse of the electricity transmission network, the maintenance of which is a source of much ink and spit.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

15, April 2021

Iran nuclear talks resume under shadow of Natanz attack ⁰

Talks to save the Iran nuclear deal resume in Vienna Thursday amid new tensions, with Tehran preparing to ramp up uranium enrichment in response to an attack on a facility it blamed on arch-foe Israel.

After a positive first round of negotiations aimed at resurrecting the 2015 agreement scuttled by Donald Trump, Iran’s push towards enrichment levels needed for military use “puts pressure on everyone,” a European diplomat told AFP.

Tehran says the move is a response to Israel’s “nuclear terrorism” after an explosion on Sunday knocked out power at its Natanz enrichment plant.

Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement but public radio reports in the country said it was a sabotage operation by the Mossad spy agency, citing unnamed intelligence sources.

“It definitely complicates things,” the diplomat said, ahead of the talks between the remaining members of the deal — Germany, France, the United Kingdom, China, Russia and Iran — resuming at 1230 pm local time (1030 GMT).

But events of the past few days have also “reminded both parties that the status quo is a lose-lose situation”, and have “added urgency” to the talks, said Ali Vaez, Iran Project Director at the International Crisis Group think tank.

“It is clear that the more the diplomatic process drags on, the higher the risk that it gets derailed by saboteurs and those acting in bad faith,” Vaez added.

‘Only viable solution’

Known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the deal has been disintegrating since former US president Donald Trump dramatically withdrew from it in 2018 and re-imposed sanctions, prompting Iran to retaliate by exceeding its agreed limits on nuclear activity.

Britain, France and Germany have expressed “grave concern” over the most recent enrichment move, while also rejecting “all escalatory measures by any actor”.

China and Russia also strongly back the United States returning to the deal, believing it addresses the most pressing concerns with Iran.

Russia’s representative in Vienna said the deal remained the “only viable solution which can bring the Iranian nuclear programme back to the agreed parameters.”

But the Joe Biden administration, while agreeing on the JCPOA’s value, has stressed that it is waiting for Iran to first roll back steps away from compliance that it took to protest Trump’s sanctions.

An American delegation is attending the talks “indirectly”, staying at a separate hotel.

Washington is “very open-eyed about how this will be a long process,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Wednesday.

“It’s happening through indirect discussions, but we still feel that it is a step forward.”

‘Not much time’

In the meantime, Tehran is reducing its “breakout time” — time to acquire the fissile material necessary for the manufacture of a bomb, said the European diplomat.

Under the JCPOA, it had committed to keep enrichment to 3.67 percent, though it stepped this up to 20 percent in January.

The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency said its inspectors visited the site at Natanz for “verification and monitoring activities” on Wednesday, and that Iran had “almost completed preparations” to enrich uranium to 60 percent purity.

Iran insists its nuclear programme is peaceful.

Its foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the Natanz attack had unleashed a “dangerous spiral” and warned Biden the situation could only be contained by lifting the sanctions Trump imposed.

“No alternative. Not much time,” he added.

“It was unrealistic to expect Iran not to respond to such a humiliating attack at the heart of its nuclear programme,” the ICG’s Vaez said.

“But the only thing that in the past two decades has effectively curtailed Iran’s nuclear program has been diplomacy, not sanctions or sabotage.”

(AFP)

15, April 2021

Biden announces Afghan withdrawal, says ‘time to end America’s longest war’ ⁰

US President Joe Biden announced Wednesday it’s “time to end” America’s longest war with the unconditional withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, where they have spent two decades locked in a bloody stalemate with the Taliban.

Dubbed the “forever war”, the US military onslaught in Afghanistan began in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against the United States.

Now, 20 years later – after almost 2,400 US military and tens of thousands of Afghan deaths – Biden has named September 11 as the deadline by which the last US soldiers will have finally departed.

In a nationally televised address, Biden said the United States had “accomplished” its limited original mission of crushing the international jihadist groups behind the 9/11 attacks and that with every passing year the rationale for staying was “increasingly unclear”.

Biden insisted there would be no “hasty exit” but he was adamant about his decision.

“A horrific attack 20 years ago… cannot explain why we should remain there in 2021,” he said. “It’s time to end the forever war.”

The conflict is at best at a stalemate. The internationally backed government in Kabul has only tenuous control in swaths of the country, while the Taliban are growing in strength, with many predicting the insurgency will seek to regain total power once the government’s US military umbrella is removed.

Biden told Americans that it was time to accept the reality that there’s no alternative.

“We cannot continue the cycle of extending or expanding our military presence in Afghanistan hoping to create the ideal conditions for our withdrawal, expecting a different result,” he said.

“I am now the fourth American president to preside over an American troop presence in Afghanistan. Two Republicans. Two Democrats,” Biden added said. “I will not pass this responsibility to a fifth.”

Shortly after his address, America’s NATO allies said in a statement they agreed to also start their withdrawal from Afghanistan by May 1.

Biden’s decision is not a shock. The war is hugely unpopular among voters and Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump had committed to an even earlier exit of May 1.

“I applaud President Biden’s decision,” top Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer said Wednesday.

However, there was immediate criticism from some quarters that the United States is abandoning the Afghan government and encouraging jihadist insurgencies.

“We’re to help our adversaries ring in the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks by gift wrapping the country, and handing it right back to them,” senior Republican Senator Mitch McConnell said.

Afghan president Ashraf Ghani insisted Wednesday after a phone call with Biden that his forces are “fully capable” of controlling the country.

And Biden said that Washington will continue to support the Afghan government, only not “militarily”.

He also said the United States will “hold the Taliban accountable” on promises to keep international jihadists from setting up base in Afghanistan. Pakistan, which has close links to the Taliban, should “do more” to support Afghanistan.

But the US exit will mark a profound shift in clout for the beleaguered Kabul government and its US and coalition-trained security forces.

The US president had earlier considered stationing a residual US force to strike at al Qaeda or other international jihadist groups in Afghanistan or making withdrawal contingent on progress on the ground or in slow-moving peace talks.

In the end, all conditions were dropped and only guards for installations like the US embassy in Kabul will stay.

The planned withdrawal comes as the Taliban are observing a truce with US troops and their allies but not with forces loyal to the Afghan government.

A threat assessment report published Tuesday by the director of US national intelligence said the Taliban “is confident it can achieve military victory”.

The looming upheaval raises big questions over the future of attempts to modernise Afghanistan, especially for Afghan women who have benefited from increased rights, like access to education.

The Taliban, who enforce an austere brand of Sunni Islam, banned women from schools, offices, music and most of daily life during their 1996-2001 rule over much of Afghanistan. Two decades later, 40 percent of schoolchildren are girls.

Turkey has said it will host a US-backed peace conference from April 24 to May 4 that would bring together the Afghan government, the Taliban and international partners.

But Mohammad Naeem, spokesman for the Taliban office in Qatar, said the insurgents will not participate in any conference on Afghanistan’s future “until all foreign forces completely withdraw”.

Source: AFP

14, April 2021

Ambazonia Interim Government slam silence on French Cameroun crimes ⁰

The Vice President of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government Dabney Yerima has slammed the international community’s silence in the face of French Cameroun’s illegal acts in Ambazonia homeland.

During a recent trip to four Southern African states, the exiled Southern Cameroons leader echoed the position of President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, leader of the Ambazonian nation that Southern Cameroonians should be strong, determined, courageous and steadfast and that freedom and the independence of Southern Cameroons is priceless.

Vice President Yerima called for international action amid the continued detention of the Ambazonia leader and his top aides including thousands of innocent Southern Cameroonians in French Cameroun jails and detention facilities. Yerima also slammed the French government of President Emmanuel Macron as a key partner in exacerbating the suffering of millions of Southern Cameroonians.

In Namibia and Tanzania, Yerima told local MPs and civil rights leaders that La Republique du Cameroun’s military onslaught on Southern Cameroons has caused a severe shortage of basics, including fuel, food and water, leading to numerous deaths.

The mineral-rich but poverty-stricken Southern Cameroons territory has been unstable since the forced unification with French Cameroun.

Thousands of people have died since President Biya declared a war against the English speaking people four years ago and more than a quarter of the population have fled their homes. Of these, 75,000 are refugees in neighbouring Nigeria.

Even though bloodshed has receded in intensity over the last few months, violence remains chronic as Ambazonia Restoration Forces and militia groups hold sway over two-thirds of the rural areas.

By Chi Prudence Asong in London

14, April 2021

Biden urges Putin to show restraint in Ukraine amid troop build-up on border ⁰

US President Joe Biden has asked Vladmir #Putin to show restraint with #Ukraine, amid signs #Russia has mobilised thousands of troops in the border region in recent weeks.

In a phone call Tuesday, Biden urged his Russian counterpart to de-escalate tensions on the border, and invited him to an in-person summit.

14, April 2021

After Prince Philip: what next for Queen Elizabeth II? ⁰

Queen Elizabeth II faces the twilight of her record-breaking reign without her most trusted adviser and personal confidant — husband Prince Philip.

But his death last week aged 99 is not expected to change the monarch’s lifetime commitment to duty, as a new chapter beckons for Britain’s most famous family.

The Queen, who turns 95 next week, once described the Duke of Edinburgh as her “strength and stay”, in a rare moment of public candour.

He has been credited with the successful running of “The Firm”, cementing its position in national life, and helping it to weather crises and scandal.

“The Queen, as you would expect, is an incredibly stoic person,” said the couple’s second son, Prince Andrew, who has been under a shadow because of his links to the late Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender.

“She described (the duke’s death) as having left a huge void in her life,” he told reporters, adding the family was “rallying round to make sure we’re there to support her”.

– Life of service –

A steady stream of close family members have visited the Queen since last week, including her eldest son and heir, Prince Charles, Andrew, and youngest son, Edward.

Edward said his mother was “bearing up”, despite the understandable shock at the loss.

The Times reported on Tuesday that she is currently not being given her daily red boxes of government papers during the two weeks of official royal mourning.

But early signs are the Queen will remain faithful to the commitment she made in a radio address to the Commonwealth as a 21-year-old princess from Cape Town, South Africa, in 1947.

“I declare before you all that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service,” she said.

Just a day after her husband’s death was announced, she had an audience with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, according to the Court Circular, which lists royal events and engagements.

On Tuesday, she hosted an event at Windsor Castle, west of London, to mark the retirement of the Lord Chamberlain, the most senior officer in the royal household.

She has links to more than 600 charities, military associations, professional bodies and public service organisations.

– Family support –

Prince Philip was almost ever-present at the Queen’s side since she acceded to the throne in 1952 but had been seen less after retiring from public duties in 2017.

It is expected she will now rely more heavily on Charles, his second wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, as well as second-in-line Prince William and his wife at engagements, according to British media reports.

Charles, now 72, has already taken on more of her duties in recent years, including overseas, in preparation for his long-awaited succession.

He is expected to accompany his mother for the state opening of Parliament on May 11.

Younger royals have also accompanied her at events, including online over videoconference during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Times quoted royal sources as saying she will still carry out solo engagements.

The Queen’s apparent desire to get out and about is in stark contrast to Britain’s last female monarch, Queen Victoria, who wore black for four decades and barely made any public appearances after her husband Albert’s death in 1861.

Her seclusion led her to being called the “widow of Windsor” and increased the popularity of the republican movement.

– Step up –

Public sympathy for the Queen after her husband’s death is high, and she has consistently topped polls as the most popular royal.

Her presence and longevity as Britain’s longest-serving monarch have helped stave off republican sentiment, even as attitudes to the monarchy have changed over the years.

Charles has effectively taken over his father’s role as the most senior royal male, and if he follows in his footsteps, he has a series of pressing issues to deal with.

Andrew’s public reappearance last weekend caused outrage in some quarters, as US prosecutors still want to speak to him about his links to Epstein.

The palace is also dealing with the fall-out of Charles’ youngest son Prince Harry and his wife Meghan’s shock move to the United States last year — and their explosive claims of racism and treatment in the royal family.

Saturday’s funeral will also see Harry and elder brother William reunited, with widely-reported claims of a deep rift between the pair.

The brothers — once close after the death of their mother, princess Diana, in a Paris car crash in 1997 — pointedly issued separate tributes to their grandfather after his passing.

Source: AFP

14, April 2021

Benin’s Talon reelected president with 86 percent of vote ⁰

Benin’s President Patrice Talon was easily re-elected to a second term, provisional results showed Tuesday, after a weekend election critics said was already stacked in his favour following a crackdown on his opponents.

Talon, a cotton tycoon first elected to lead the West African state in 2016, faced two little-known rivals in Sunday’s vote with most of his key opponents in exile or disqualified from running.

Talon won 86.3 percent of the vote, the electoral commission said as it announced preliminary results, while his opponents Alassane Soumanou and Corentin Kohoue got 11.29 and 2.25 percent respectively.

Benin’s constitutional court must verify the final results.

Once praised as a vibrant multi-party democracy, critics say the former French colony has veered onto an authoritarian path under Talon with a steady campaign against his political foes.

Three international observer missions had already noted low turnout in the election, though they said the vote generally went ahead peacefully despite tensions and protests in the lead-up.

With the 62-year-old incumbent almost guaranteed victory, analysts had said voter turnout would be a key measure of his election success.

Turnout was 50.17 percent, the commission said.

Even before the announcement, for some Beninese the election results meant little.

“This election was just folklore,” said restaurant owner George Kpatchavi. “We are not waiting for the results because they were already known in advance. After the elections, everything will return to order.”

An association of civil society groups, which deployed more than 1,400 election observers, said in its preliminary statement Sunday that “attempts to pressurise, intimidate, threaten, corrupt or harass voters were observed across the entire country”.

Protests in north

Protests had blocked some routes in opposition strongholds in the centre and north of the country in the run-up to the election, leading to delays in the dispatch of electoral materials.

Two people were killed last week when troops fired live rounds into the air to break up an opposition protest blockading a major route in the central city of Save.

Benin has seen some economic successes under Talon, who promised a “KO” first-round win in Sunday’s election. Supporters have praised his projects to expand electricity and basic services.

But since Talon first came to power, critics say he has used a special economic crimes and terrorism court and electoral reforms as tools to disqualify the opposition.

Reckya Madougou, one opposition leader who was barred from running, was detained last month on accusations of plotting to disrupt the vote, a charge her lawyer said was politically motivated.

Earlier this month, a judge from the special court that ordered her detention said he had fled the country, denouncing political pressure to make rulings against Talon’s opponents.

Government officials dismissed claims the election was rigged to favour Talon and said exiled opposition leaders were trying to have the vote cancelled with a smear campaign.

Source: AFP