22, December 2024
Magdeburg: Home of English speaking Cameroonians comes under attack 0
The University of Magdeburg in the Federal Republic of Germany was the first renowned German academic establishment to offer management courses in English and this attracted hundreds of English speaking Cameroonians to the city of Magdeburg.
In the late 90s, the city of Magdeburg provided a rare opportunity for several Southern Cameroons freedom fighters who were asylum seekers in the small town of Halberstadt to blend with the English speaking student community in the University of Magdeburg. Magdeburg became the home of the new Anglophone Cameroon nationalism.
Today, Magdeburg’s Christmas market is a sad sight. This should have been the busiest weekend of the season, but the whole area has been cordoned off and all the stands are shut.
Police are the only people walking around the boarded-up mulled wine and gingerbread stalls.
On the pavement, red candles flicker, tributes laid for the victims.
Lukas, a truck driver, told me he felt compelled to come to pay his respects. “I wasn’t there when it happened,” he told me.
“But I work here in Magdeburg. I’m here every day. I’ve driven by here a thousand times.”
“It’s a tragedy for everyone here in Magdeburg. The perpetrator should be punished.”
“We can only hope that the victims and their families find the strength to deal with it.”
There is sorrow here – but there is anger too.
Many people here see this attack as a terrible lapse in security. That is a claim the authorities reject, although they have admitted the attacker entered the market using a route planned for emergency responders.
Michael, who also came to pay tributes to the victims, said “there should’ve been better security”.
“We should have been prepared better but that was not done properly.”
Many people here see this attack as a terrible lapse in security. That is a claim the authorities reject, although they have admitted the attacker entered the market using a route planned for emergency responders.
Michael, who also came to pay tributes to the victims, said “there should’ve been better security”.
“We should have been prepared better but that was not done properly.”
Standing at the security cordon, I heard a group of locals complaining loudly about Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz and regional politicians.
“They are wasting our tax money, they are just looking out for themselves. They are not interested in us. We just hear empty promises,” one man said.
“They are turning what happened here around and want to put the blame on the opposition and use it for their election campaign,” he said.
On Saturday evening, around the same time as the square in front of Magdeburg’s Gothic cathedral was filled with mourners watching a memorial service, a demonstration took place nearby.
Protesters held a banner that read “Remigration now!” – a concept popular among the far-right – and shouted “those who do not love Germany should leave Germany”.
It is not clear yet what impact this attack may have on Germany’s upcoming election.
Germany has been hit by a number of deadly Islamist attacks in the past, but investigators said the evidence they have gathered so far suggests a different picture in this case.
Germany’s Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the suspect appears to have been “Islamophobic”.
The suspect, Taleb Al-Abdulmohsen, is from Saudi Arabia, and his social media posts suggest he had been critical of Islam.
He also expressed sympathy on social media for Germany’s far-right political party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), re-tweeting posts from the party’s leader and a far-right activist.
Reported by Cameroon Concord News and the BBC
23, December 2024
Tiger Woods’ son Charlie, 15, hits first hole-in-one 0
Tiger Woods’ teenage son Charlie hit his first hole-in-one during the final round of the PNC Championship – but they were beaten to the title in a play-off by Bernhard and Jason Langer.
Charlie Woods, 15, holed out at the par-three fourth to send the father-son team into the lead at the tournament, which features 20 major champions playing with a member of their family.
But it was Team Langer who celebrated a second consecutive trophy – and fourth overall – in Orlando, Florida when German Bernhard made eagle on the first play-off hole to seal the win.
“It was awesome,” Charlie said. “No one made a mistake today, so that was some of the most fun I’ve ever had.”
He added: “On top of that, I made an ace. I don’t think I can top that.”
Tiger Woods was playing in his first competitive event since the Open in July.
The 15-time major winner had back surgery for the second time in 18 months in September and conceded he was “nowhere near competitive shape” at the PGA-backed exhibition tournament.
However, he did think he and son Charlie “made a great team this week”.
“And that’s the whole joy of it, is to be out here with family and bonding and just the enjoyment of each other’s company,” the 48-year-old added.
The younger Woods was not the only player to make a first career hole-in-one on Sunday.
Some 30 minutes after Charlie holed out, Paddy Harrington – the 21-year-old whose father Padraig is a three-time major winner – aced the eighth hole.
“I’ve never hit a shot and been that excited before,” Padraig Harrington said.
Source: BBC