Monthly Archives: October 2021

Football: Newcastle fans celebrate new Saudi era in spite of rights concerns

17, October 2021

Football: Newcastle fans celebrate new Saudi era in spite of rights concerns 0

Jubilant Newcastle fans descended on St James’ Park on Sunday to celebrate a new era for the club under the ownership of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund with few showing concern for the issues raised by human rights groups over the takeover.

Hundreds of supporters sported traditional Saudi headdress and flew flags of the Gulf kingdom ahead of the Magpies’ first match since a £300 million ($412 million) takeover was given the green light by the Premier League.

The protracted deal had been held up for over a year by a dispute over piracy of sports rights, including for English top-flight football, between Saudi and Qatar.ADVERTISINGhttps://8c753c88bbf2a44252e3b56fe4d3ee18.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

Saudi’s agreement to lift a ban on Qatari sports broadcaster beIN Sports cleared that obstacle, but the deal has been criticised by human rights groups.

Amnesty International has accused Saudi Arabia of using the global appeal of the Premier League to “sportswash” its reputation.

The fiancee of murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was killed inside the Saudi consolate in Istanbul in 2018, has described the takeover as “heartbreaking”.

A billboard with the hashtag #justiceforjamal was driven in front of St James’ Park in the hours before kick-off.

Newcastle chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan (centre) and minority owner Amanda Staveley (centre right)were given a huge reception at St James' Park
Newcastle chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan (centre) and minority owner Amanda Staveley (centre right)were given a huge reception at St James’ Park Paul ELLIS AFP

But there was little other sign of protest as Newcastle fans celebrated the departure of unpopular former owner Mike Ashley and dreamt of a transformation of their fortunes on the field.

“We’ve been waiting for this for 14 years. The atmosphere is immense, I haven’t seen it like this for years,” said Chris, a fan dressed in Saudi headdress.

“I’m just excited for the new era in Newcastle, you can feel it everywhere.”

Governor of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, Yassir Al-Rumayyan, was handed a huge ovation by the 55,000 crowd as he was presented as the club’s new chairman before kick-off.

Newcastle have not won a major trophy since 1969 despite regular attendances of more than 50,000.

“It doesn’t matter where the money comes from, as long as we win something,” said another supporter, Rob McCafferty.

The club from northeast England began the day second bottom of the table, without a win in their opening seven league games of the season.

However, the fans are already dreaming big as they aim to follow in the footsteps of Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, two clubs transformed by state-backed takeover from Abu Dhabi and Qatar respectively.

On top of being linked with a host of star players in the January transfer market, supporters are keen to replace manager Steve Bruce.

“The manager is the first thing,” said another fan, Sam Gardner. “Ideally (Antonio) Conte, but I don’t know if he is interested.”

Source: AFP

Massacre of the Holy Innocents: In Loving Memory of  Louise Ndialle

17, October 2021

Massacre of the Holy Innocents: In Loving Memory of  Louise Ndialle 0

Our dear sky daddy,aka Heavenly Father has given all of us life.That life is sacred.He has placed so much value in  life by commanding that “thou shall not kill”All we have to do is develop,harness,improve on this life so that we can present our bodies to him holy,acceptable as a living sacrifice.

God gives a chance to a little girl to live,grow and eventually contribute to society.A mature man,well equipped with arms handed to him by a rock state decides to prematurely terminate the life of our baby.

A Police officer 9 months ago had beaten to death a motorcycle rider at Bellow Foncha,Bamenda still on control palaver.If sanctions have to come from the delinquent state it will never.There’s complicity in the action of state and it agents in devaluing lives leaving the people to fight their battles.

All we now see is a huge machinery of defence and justification from some colleagues and Yaounde hierarchy, no sympathy,no excuses but provocative words blaming the lady,driver etc.What warranted  the release of bullets.

We know that the main issue in a control is not whether the driver has got all the papers but whether he has given money.We systematically arrived at an unfortunate level whereby money must be given, papers or not.We don’t eat documents they say.Officially carrying arms is now a license to kill.Let the state proof us wrong.

By Chief Charles A. Taku

‘It is indeed different’: SOBA UK ANNUAL RESIDENTIAL CONVENTION kicks off with emphasis on unity

16, October 2021

‘It is indeed different’: SOBA UK ANNUAL RESIDENTIAL CONVENTION kicks off with emphasis on unity 0

The SOBA UK 2021 Annual Residential Convention started on Friday with a star-studded lineup and heavy emphasis on unity aimed at presenting a new picture of the association as the best hope for all Sasse ex-students in the UK and even beyond.

SOBA UK’s three-day Annual Residential Convention has been entirely reshaped by the Franklin Egbe administration and named “Appreciating Community Spirit.”

The event has once again drawn hundreds of guests including members of the Sasse Old Boys family to The Hilton at St George’s Park, Burton Upon Trent for days of celebrating, intellectual discourse and development politicking.

Sobans are scheduled to formally accept all decisions reached at the last convention in Colchester.

“There’s no doubt about it – it is indeed different,” a senior Soban from the USA, hinted Cameroon Concord News.

The programming has been arranged to reflect the depth of SOBA UK’s way forward beginning 2022.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Fully vaccinated foreign visitors can enter US from Nov 8

15, October 2021

Fully vaccinated foreign visitors can enter US from Nov 8 0

The United States announced Friday that it will allow entry to foreign travelers who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19, by both land and air, starting November 8.

“This policy is guided by public health, stringent, and consistent,” tweeted White House assistant press secretary Kevin Munoz in announcing the news.

In an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus, US borders were closed after March 2020 to travelers from much of the globe, including the European Union, Britain and China, India and Brazil. Overland visitors from Mexico and Canada were also banned.

The months of restrictions led to both personal and economic suffering.

Under the new policy that was outlined last month, vaccinated air passengers will need to be tested within three days before travel, and airlines will be required to put in place a contact tracing system.

Earlier this week, a White House source said the land border opening would happen in two phases.

Initially, vaccines will be required for “non-essential” trips — such as visiting family or tourism — though unvaccinated travelers will still be allowed into the country for “essential” trips as they have been for the last year and a half.

A second phase beginning in early January 2022 will require all visitors to be fully vaccinated to enter the United States by land, no matter the reason for their trip.

Source: AFP

Louise Ndialle: Irate Southern Cameroonians lynch  Francophone gendarme after killing of schoolgirl

15, October 2021

Louise Ndialle: Irate Southern Cameroonians lynch  Francophone gendarme after killing of schoolgirl 0

A gendarme officer is reported to have died from a mob action after he allegedly fired his gun killing a little schoolgirl.

The incident occurred on Thursday morning at a security checkpoint around the Divine Mercy Co-Cathedral in the city of Buea in South-West.

Although state authorities are yet to issue an official statement, open sources say the gendarmerie officer, lynched by a mob, had in an attempt to immobilize a car at a security checkpoint, shot and killed a three-year-old schoolgirl who was being accompanied to school by her parent.

Onlookers and passersby are said to have taken the laws into their hands. They were later joined by a thick crowd to administer mob justice on the suspect gendarme.

A video of the mob action that has gone viral shows policemen watching helplessly as the gendarme is stoned.

Before long, the situation degenerated into a popular protest as the irate crowd marched with the corpse of the little girl from Molyko to the Governor’s Office and back.

At the Governor’s Office, the crowd chanted songs demanding an end to security checkpoints that have been transformed into extortion posts.

“FCFA 500! FCFA 500,” they chanted, urging authorities to sanitize the security corps in the country plagued by corruption.

Some of the protesters claim the gendarme shot at the car, killing the schoolgirl, because the driver of the car failed to stop and offer a FCFA 500 (less than a dollar) bribe.

The Governor of the South-West Region, Okalia Bilai Bernard was on hand to receive the irate population.

The Governor called for calm, describing the situation as unfortunate.

“It is indeed a shocking incident. An innocent child has been killed. All of us are in shock. I want to assure you that those who did it, some are already in the hands of the law,” the Governor said.

Meanwhile, the remains of the little girl were displayed at Bongo’s Square in Clerks’ Quarters. A woman in an advanced age stripped naked to protest against brutality by security forces.

The headless corpse was paraded down to the esplanade of the Molyko Stadium, paralyzing traffic.

At press time, the road leading to the Molyko Stadium and the entire vicinity had been overtaken by a huge crowd. The stadium had been opened for the irate population and the Bishop of the Diocese of Buea, His Lordship Michael Bibi was about addressing the population.

Source: Cameroon Info.Net

Louise Ndialle: Former US Undersecretary says schoolgirl was shot because mother refused to pay a bribe of 500 CFA francs  

15, October 2021

Louise Ndialle: Former US Undersecretary says schoolgirl was shot because mother refused to pay a bribe of 500 CFA francs   0

Former U.S. Undersecretary of State for African Affairs has confirmed in a tweet that it was for a matter of 500 CFA francs that the young Southern Cameroons schoolgirl was coldly murdered by a Francophone  gendarme officer of Beti-Ewondo extraction.

The horrific murder of young Louise Ndialle in the morning of Thursday, October 14, 2021 in Buea the chief city in the South West is now causing a stir beyond Cameroon’s borders. Several  senior world citizeens and personalities were moved, including the American Tibor Nagy, the former U.S. Under Secretary of State for African Affairs.

The American diplomat reacted in a tweet on Thursday, October 14, and deplored the disappearance of the young schoolgirl, who was killed, according to him, by a gendarme, for a matter of 500 FCFA. For Tibor Nagy, the horror occurred because the girl (her mother) refused to pay the gendarme this amount.

“Does anyone doubt that the poor child killed in Cameroon by a gendarme was shot because they refused to pay a bribe of 500 CFA francs? Anyone on the roads of Cameroon encounters “electric gate” stops with great frequency. Shame on a government where corruption flows from all levels and kills!” tweeted Tibor Nagy.

Tibor Nagy, who has always focused on the armed conflict in Southern Cameroons, and who knows Cameroon inside out, also accuses the government of having maintained a reign of corruption, to the point where this scourge is now killing literally and figuratively.

By Rita Akana

Biden promises vaccines, discusses ‘transparency’ with visiting Kenyan president

15, October 2021

Biden promises vaccines, discusses ‘transparency’ with visiting Kenyan president 0

US President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a major new Covid vaccine donation for Africa and promised greater commitment to the continent as he welcomed his first African leader, Kenya’s Uhuru Kenyatta.

Meeting at the White House, Biden and the Kenyan president promised to work together on climate change and ending violence on the Horn of Africa, although there appeared to be no headway on Kenya’s hopes on a trade deal.

Biden announced that the United States would immediately donate another 17 million doses of the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine to the African Union, on top of 50 million doses already sent.

“As a continent we are lagging well behind the rest of the world in terms of being able to vaccinate our people,” Kenyatta told Biden in the Oval Office.

“So any additional support like the president just mentioned is greatly welcomed and we look forward to that continued partnership,” he said.

Biden has vowed a leadership role for Washington on vaccines at a time that infections remain stubbornly high in parts of the United States where people refuse widely available shots.

Most of sub-Saharan Africa has vaccination rates in the single digits, at the mercy of foreign donations due to the lack of indigenous production and prohibitive costs of mass purchases.

Kenyatta is the first African leader to visit Biden’s White House amid a slowdown of travel and summits as a Covid-19 precaution.

“I’m committed to further elevating our ties with Kenya and nations across Africa as a whole. But Kenya is the key,” Biden said.

‘Doing a good job’

Biden has promised a new focus on democracy after the courting of autocratic leaders by his predecessor Donald Trump — who also made no secret of his lack of interest in Africa.

Long seen as a pillar of stability, Kenya was wracked by political violence including after 2017 elections but Kenyatta has since made peace with his once-bitter rival Raila Odinga.

Kenyatta, who has vowed to fight corruption, came days after the Pandora Papers investigation which found that Kenyatta, together with six family members, owned a network of 11 offshore companies, one valued at $30 million.

Biden did not address the allegations during the brief appearance before reporters but called for “strengthening financial transparency” and praised Kenyatta’s record.

“I want to thank you for your leadership in defending the peace, security and democratic instincts of the region and your country,” Biden said. “You’re doing a good job.”

Aligned on climate, shift on trade

Kenya is the current president of the UN Security Council and in that capacity as pushed to end fighting in neighbouring Ethiopia, where hundreds of thousands of people are facing extreme hunger.

Kenya is a longstanding US security partner, working closely in another neighbor, Somalia, in combatting Al-Shabaab jihadists.

Kenyatta said he was speaking to Biden about the “fight against terrorism” but also about climate change, ahead of a high-stakes UN conference in Glasgow next month.

“Our country, our continent is the least in terms of emitting but pays the highest price,” Kenyatta said, welcoming Biden’s commitment on climate change since taking over from Trump.

Kenyatta also made a pitch on trade. The Trump administration began talks with Kenya on a free-trade deal; little progress was made but Biden has shown scant sign even of restarting talks amid a growing domestic backlash against big-ticket accords.

Trade “is vital not only in terms of further entrenching American interests on the continent but also in helping us achieve our social-economic agenda,” Kenyatta said.

A senior US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Biden administration would be “working closely” with Kenya on trade but acknowledged: “We are thinking through how we approach foreign trade.”

Kenya is worried as the landmark African Growth and Opportunity Act, which lets sub-Saharan nations with good governance export without duties to the vast US market, is set to expire in 2025.

Source: AFP

Husband of killed Kenyan running star Tirop due in court

15, October 2021

Husband of killed Kenyan running star Tirop due in court 0

The husband of Kenyan record-breaking runner Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in a killing that has shocked her home country and the world of athletics, was due in court Friday after a dramatic late-night arrest.

Emmanuel Rotich was detained in the coastal city of Mombasa on Thursday over the death of the 25-year-old double world championships medallist and Olympian.

A senior police official in Mombasa told AFP that Rotich would appear in court and prosecutors were likely to ask for more time “to firm up a case against him” during hearing.

“Given how tense the ground is in Iten, it is unlikely we will have him charged there,” the official said referring to the western town where the couple lived.

Police cornered Rotich in Mombasa, using his mobile number to track him down after he used his old SIM card in his new phone after spending days offline, one of the investigating officers told AFP.

Tributes have poured in for Tirop since her body was found with stab wounds in the bedroom of their home in Iten, a high-altitude training hub for many top-class athletes.

Athletics Kenya said it was postponing events for two weeks in honour of Tirop and another runner who was found dead at the weekend of an apparent suicide.

Athletics Kenya president Jackson Tuwei said Tirop’s death was a “huge blow” to athletics, describing her as “one of the fastest rising stars” and voicing hope for speedy justice.

Tirop was killed just a month after she smashed the women’s 10,000 metres world record at an event in Germany.

She had previously won world championship medals, finished fourth in the 5,000 metres at the Tokyo Olympics this year and became the second-youngest gold medallist in the women’s cross country championships in 2015.

– Family breadwinner –

Her family told reporters she was their breadwinner, paying for children’s school fees and clothes.

President Uhuru Kenyatta paid tribute to Tirop, who would have turned 26 later this month, saying she had “brought our country so much glory through her exploits on the global athletics stage”.

Her killing came days after another long-distance athlete Hosea Mwok Macharinyang, a member of Kenya’s record-breaking world cross country team, died of what athletics officials said was suicide.

Macharinyang, 35, had competed for Kenya in both cross country and 5,000 metre and 10,000 metre races. He won three consecutive titles in the World Cross Country Championships from 2006 to 2008.

Kenya is the most successful nation in the cross country championships, having won 49 team and 27 individual titles.

Source: AFP

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Francophone soldier shoots primary school pupil to death in Buea

14, October 2021

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Francophone soldier shoots primary school pupil to death in Buea 0

A primary school pupil  was killed by a trigger-happy Francophone army soldier in the Molyko neighborhood today Thursday  14 October 2021.

Per a witness account, the little girl and her mates were in a car transporting them to school as Francophone army soldiers were ransacking the Molyko neighborhood. But as her mother drove across the check point mounted by elements of the Rapid Intervention Battalion, the soldier shot into the car. His bullet fell the unfortunate girl.

She was pronounced dead after bleeding profusely from the bullet wound. Before the Francophone soldier cut short her life, the victim was a happy Southern Cameroons kid having scored an impressive marks in her recent examination.

The high military command deployed by the regime in Yaounde confirmed that she was hit by a stray bullet by one of its elements  on assignment to Muea.

Reacting to the news, the Vice President of the Southern Cameroon Interim Government Dabney Yerima said such acts of provocation by the French Cameroun military will not go unanswered. Yerima blamed the killing on Dion Ngute and his pro Yaounde criminal gang who are representing French Cameroun interest in Ambazonia.

Vice President Yerima added that the Interim Government has directed Ambazonia Revolutionary Guards to respond immediately.

By Rita Akana in Buea

Women’s 10km world record holder Agnes Tirop stabbed to death in Kenya

14, October 2021

Women’s 10km world record holder Agnes Tirop stabbed to death in Kenya 0

Kenyan distance runner Agnes Tirop, a two-times World Championship bronze medallist, was found stabbed to death at her home, Athletics Kenya said on Wednesday.

The 25-year-old represented Kenya in the 5,000m event at the Tokyo Olympics and finished fourth in the finals.

“Tirop was found dead at their home in Iten after she was allegedly stabbed by her husband. We are still working to unearth more details surrounding her demise,” Athletics Kenya said in a statement.

Local police said Tirop’s husband was a suspect.

“We received a message from the family of Tirop’s husband that the husband had phoned the parents while crying and asking that God forgive him as there is something bad he had done,” Tom Makori, Keiyo North Sub County Police Commander, told the private-owned NTV Kenya Television.

“When police went to Tirop’s house they found her in bed with blood under the bed and a lot of it on the floor.

“When police looked at the body, it looked like she had been stabbed on the neck with what we suspect to be a knife.”

Last month, Tirop smashed the women-only 10km world record in Germany, crossing the line in 30:01 to shave 28 seconds from the previous record held by Morocco’s Asmae Leghzaoui from 2002.

Tirop won bronze medals at the 2017 and 2019 World Championships in the 10,000m, and also won the 2015 World Cross Country Championships.

“It is even more painful that Agnes, a Kenyan hero by all measures, painfully lost her young life through a criminal act perpetuated by selfish and cowardly people,” Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta said in a statement.

“I urge our law enforcement agencies led by the National Police Service to track down and apprehend the criminals responsible for the killing of Agnes.”

(REUTERS)

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