Two Nigerian brides abandoned their respective wedding receptions in order to sit their final exams, a move that delighted their head of department, local news portals have reported.

The incident happened on Saturday at Makurdi in the Benue State University where the two identified only as Dorcas and Deborah, entered the exams hall with their gowns much to the surprise and delight of their colleagues.

They managed to get married and to complete their final paper “Com 402: Media Law and Ethics.” Speaking to the media about the incident, course lecturer Dr. Benjamin Ogbu described it as a double joy for the students and all involved.

“The timetable for the exam was earlier fixed before their weddings were fixed and interestingly, both were on April 7, 2018. Since the exam couldn’t be shifted, the two brides left their various reception venues for the examination hall to sit for the exams in their wedding gowns.

“I was with the deputy vice- chancellor (academic) when both women stormed the examination hall. It was a moment of joy for all of us as students and lecturers.

“We were happy that our students got married and they (students) were happy too that they got married and also took their last exams same day. It was a double joy for them.”

Source: Africa News

US President Donald Trump had sent a personal letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin inviting him to the 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow, a new report says.

Citing sources familiar with the content of the letter, The Washington Post reported that Trump, who at the time owned the Miss Universe pageant, was so eager to have Putin attend the event, which was being held in Russia for the first time.

The sources, who saw the letter, said it shows how interested Trump was in attracting the personal attention of the Russian president. Trump wrote the note at a time when he was looking to expand his brand to Russia, according to the report.

At the bottom of the typed letter, the estate magnate also added a postscript saying he looked forward to seeing “beautiful” women during the trip to Moscow.

A White House spokesman and attorneys for the Trump Organization declined to comment on the report. John Dowd, an attorney for the president said he was not familiar with the letter, calling it “all nonsense.”

Trump,however, made no secret at the time about his enthusiasm for meeting Putin. In a June 18, 2013 tweet, he wrote, “Do you think Putin will be going to The Miss Universe Pageant in November in Moscow — if so, will he become my new best friend?”

The Russian president did not go to the event but sent a “sealed letter “and a Russian lacquered box instead, according to a former report by The Post. What the letter said has never been revealed.

Special counsel Robert Mueller, who has been investigating alleged collusion between Trump’s Presidential campaign and the Russian government, have asked witnesses questions about the Miss Universe pageant and Trump’s interest in having Putin attend the event, according to the report.

Allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election that have gripped Trump’s administration prompted his legal team to pursue negotiations with Mueller to end the probe in exchange for an interview with the president, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday. Muller declined to comment on the report.

Trump has so far made contradictory stories about whether he met Putin before he became president. During a Republican primary debate in November 2015, he claimed that he knew Putin “very well.” But the next year, he said in an interview with CBS that he has “nothing to do with Russia, nothing to do, I never met Putin, I have nothing to do with Russia whatsoever.” Both Moscow and Washington have consistently denied the allegations of collusion.

Source: Presstv

State-owned Cameroon Radio Televison (CRTV) in the restive South West region has reported of security threats from persons believed to be separatists.

According to a letter written by CRTV regional station manager, workers needed reinforced security especially in the wake of a threatening call to an official at Mt. Cameroon FM.

The letter addressed to the Governor of the region said an anonymous person believed to be a member of the separatists group was behind the call. Titled “Telephone Threats from Ambazonia elements,” the letter dated February 26, 2018; read as follows:

His message was frightful; that they were coming to Buea to kidnap, the Divisional Officer for Buea, the Governor and take over CRTV.

“I wish to draw your attention to the fact that an unidentified person called my collaborator Mme Charline Flore Demgne, Chief of Service for Programmes and Information at Mt. Cameroom FM on Monday, February 26, 2018 at 7am.

“I, therefore appeal to you to reinforce security at CRTV South West and put the whole city on alert,” it concluded.

Separatists under the banner the so-called Ambazonia Republic have abducted two government officials in February 2018. First a divisional commander and more recently an administrative official in the North West region also affected by what is referred to as the Anglophone crisis.

The kidnapping is a new trend in the activities of the armed wing of the separatists – the Ambazonia Defense Force (ADF). They have in the past months used guerilla style attacks on security forces killing over twenty officers at last count.

Government insists that there is durable peace in the two regions despite deadly attacks on the security forces. Curfews have been slapped on the two regions in the wake of the attacks. There has also been reports of military reprisals on locals.

Thousands of Cameroonians have fled into neighbouring Nigeria to escape the reported attacks. The United Nations refugee agency has said the numbers fleeing the crisis continues to grow. The government has been tasked to pursue dialogue but no concrete steps have so far been undertaken.

Culled from Africa News

Many observers have remarked on the recent photo published by Cameroon Concord News Group on President Biya’s 85 birthday celebration forcing us to hire the services of some photo experts to scrutinize the birthday pictures.

The observed animosity and discomfort was evident from the very first photo snapped of the event reportedly hosted at the Unity Palace. The photos showed an elaborate cake with President Biya and his wife grinning with merriment.

Cameroon Intelligence Report has clarified the photo to be a Photoshop modification of a half decent computer artist. Upon scrutinizing the photos they concluded that;

1. They found a little girl of Asian origin in the background. That supported their theory that the original photo belonged to a family of Asian lineage.



2. There were three cakes on the cake tray stand where Biya participated in the cutting. So why was Biya holding another cake in the same photo?  Where would that fit?



3. The home background, furniture and deco are all of Asian extraction.
4. The complexion of his hands is too light and appears youthful for an African male at 85 years of age.
5. Mrs. Chantal Biya has always loved exotic hairstyles correspondingly; the style on the photo isn’t her taste.

The photos released by the presidency of the republic purporting to show a healthy Paul Biya, may as well just be another ploy by the ruling CPDM crime syndicate to mislead national and international public opinion about his health.

By Chi Prudence Asong in London

Kenya’s High Court has suspended a government blackout imposed on three private television broadcasters over a live coverage of an opposition rally in the capital Nairobi.

Judge Chacha Mwita ordered Thursday that the shutdown imposed on the private stations, namely Kenya Television Network, Citizen Television and Nation Television News, would be suspended for two weeks so that the court could hear a petition by activist Okiya Omtatah Okoiti against the ban.

The administration of President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered a shutdown of the TV stations on Tuesday morning after they ran a live coverage of a mock swearing-in ceremony for opposition leader Raila Odinga.

Okoiti described the gag as “grossly arbitrary, disproportionate, oppressive, and unreasonable.”

Kenyatta had reportedly warned heads of the TV stations last Friday that they will be cut off the air if they broadcast the event.

Odinga was sworn in as Kenya’s “people’s president” at a park in Nairobi to the cheers of thousands of supporters. The mock ceremony came in response to Kenyatta’s taking of office for a second time, which the opposition believes was the result of rigged votes.

Odinga refused to accept the results of an initial presidential election last August. He then boycotted a re-run ordered by Kenya’s Supreme Court, claiming irregularities that existed in the first round still persisted. Official government tallies show that around 100 have been killed since the start of vote-related unrest in the Horn of Africa country.

An investigation has been launched into the Tuesday mock swearing-in ceremony which had no sign of violence.

Meanwhile, people on Thursday protested the arrest of Tom Kajwang, a lawyer and opposition lawmaker who administered Odinga’s “oath,” as he was standing a trial over his role in the swearing-in ceremony.

Source: Presstv

It is no longer a rumor as was the case on January 5th. The songwriter and producer of the famous Makossa tune “Ndolo l’amour” is no more. A sister publication Cameroon Info.Net reported that Pierre de Moussy died on January 25, 2018 in Geneva, Switzerland where he had taken up resident.

We gathered that Makossa legend Dina Bell who was at his bedside, confirmed the news yesterday January 26, 2018 via the antennas of Cameroon’s state radio and television CRTV.

Victim of a serious traffic accident in Geneva, Switzerland, on the 30^th of December 2017, Pierre de Moussy was in a coma and interned at the Geneva Central Hospital. But his condition, according to his family remained stable thanks to respiratory assistance that kept him alive, until it took a U turn and deteriorated dramatically on January 25, 2018.

Songwriter, Pierre de Moussy will be remembered as one of the major figures of Makossa, a Cameroonian musical rhythm with a career that started in the 1980s.

By Chi Prudence Asong

One of the BBC’s most senior journalists has resigned from her post, accusing the British broadcaster of having a “secretive and illegal” pay structure.

“With great regret, I have left my post as China Editor to speak out publicly on a crisis of trust at the BBC,” Carrie Gracie wrote in an open letter.

Gracie, who has been the BBC’s China editor since 2013, claimed the corporation is not “living up to its stated values of trust, honesty and accountability.”

The journalist accused the BBC of “breaking equality law” in its dealings with employees, and adopting a “bunker mentality” which is failing to close the significant pay gap.

“The BBC belongs to you, the license fee payer. I believe you have a right to know that it is breaking equality law and resisting pressure for a fair and transparent pay structure.”

Gracie, who has worked for the BBC for more than three decades, said the broadcaster faced an “exodus of female talent” because of a culture that discriminates against women.

The BBC ordered a review into its pay structure after it was revealed that only a third of its experienced journalists earning more than £150,000 were women, while the top seven earners were all men.

More than 40 of the broadcaster’s most high-profile female staff, including presenters Clare Balding and Victoria Derbyshire, signed a letter calling for immediate change.

Gracie announced she was leaving her position in Beijing after learning that she earned less than male international editors, despite stressing when she accepted the post that she must be “paid equally” with her male peers.

“I told my bosses the only acceptable resolution would be for all the international editors to be paid the same amount. The right amount would be for them to decide, and I made clear I wasn’t seeking a pay rise, just equal pay. Instead the BBC offered me a big pay rise which remained far short of equality,” she said.

The journalist said she rejected the pay rise and faced a “dismayingly incompetent and undermining grievance process which still has no outcome” before deciding “enough is enough.”

His US based manager, Eyong Eyong Ebot in a telephone conversation with our entertainment editor hinted that “it’s a two new singles”.  Petit Pays has announced that he’s releasing a new album that exclusively consists of “Ndongo Le Piment with the group Sans Visas”.  The album known as ‘Black and White, is a Moh Kukouri Production scheduled for the 30^th of January 2018.

It’ll be released in standard physical CD form as well as digital download – but it won’t be eligible for chart entry. Announcing the record in a press release late yesterday, his manager said: “It’s a collaboration of songs that I’m extremely proud of, they’re amazing.”

Petit Pays was quoted as saying that “Lots of great songs go missing when you’re at the apex of your career – here they are.”

He also recently expressed his worries over the happenings in Anglophone Cameroon. Last year he cancelled a concert that was planned for Buea in solidarity with the people of Southern Cameroons and has openly advocated for genuine dialogue to resolve the crisis.

By Odette Mbong

In Berlin, special tents were set up at the Brandenburg Gate to care for women victims of sexual harassment or those who feel threatened, following mass assaults on women in Cologne two years ago.

In Cologne itself, 1,400 police were being mobilised, street lighting improved and more video cameras installed.

As the midnight chimes neared in western Europe, Dubai had already moved into 2018, celebrating with a laser show on the world´s tallest tower, the 828-metre (2,716-foot) Burj Khalifa.

Moscow was likewise into a new year and a new day with major boulevards and 36 key sites decked out.

In Africa, Cameroon President Paul Biya used the occasion to remind his citizens of their “duty” to “maintain republican order” as well as “social peace and national unity” amid unrest in Anglophone regions.

Gabon´s President Ali Bongo vowed “radical change in governance” in the coming year in his end-of-year speech.

“I am determined to do everything possible to strengthen our unity, regain our cohesion,” he said. “Cohesion is my ambition for Gabon”.

In the Americas the countdown continued, meanwhile. In Brazil´s party capital Rio millions were to gather on Copacabana beach to watch the fireworks, with many wearing white, the traditional colour to usher in the new year.

 Toughest security in years

Despite the joyous mood among those enjoying the party fun, stricter security has been a key focus amid fears that crowds could be targets for vehicle and other terror attacks.

In Australia, the stronger police presence included some officers carrying semi-automatic rifles in Sydney and bollards used as barriers against vehicles.

Earlier in December one man was killed and more than a dozen hurt when a man ploughed a car into a crowd of pedestrians in Melbourne.

Other cities are also on alert following deadly vehicle assaults over the past two years in Barcelona, Nice and London.

New York´s Times Square celebrations are set to go ahead despite the Arctic chill gripping much of the central and northeastern United States and Canada.

But revellers there will be guarded by the strongest security presence in years, after two recent attacks apparently inspired by the Islamic State group.

Looking ahead to 2018

IS´s defeat in Iraq and Syria was one of the key stories this year, but the jihadists remain a threat and numerous attacks around the world were claimed by them or Al-Qaeda-linked groups.

Donald Trump stole the news spotlight after making his debut as US President in January 2017, with his “America first” policies and a bombastic personal style that has shaken up international diplomacy.

Political and diplomatic earthquakes set to rumble into 2018 include the crisis in the Middle East between Saudi Arabia and its allies against Qatar, and the humanitarian disaster in Yemen. In Europe, further talks on Brexit will help shape the region´s future trade relationship while Russia is set to host the football World Cup amid frictions with the West.

Culled from The News.com