This year, SOBA:UK pulled all the stops to host a memorable come-together which not only met all the standard health guidelines, but provided entertainment worthy of St George’s Park. Home of the England’s national football teams.

 In line with the limitations and innovations of the Covid era, the General Assembly deliberations occurred virtually a week before the convention; thereby setting the stage for a convention weekend free from the usual intensity that accompanies AGMs.

This was an innovative approach that was effective, focused, and rewarding for all members.

Sobans with their families and guests had a wonderful time on Saturday morning as they enjoyed the breathtaking beauty of St George’s Park built on 330-acres in the stunning Staffordshire countryside, a couple of hours away from London.

It was a great opportunity for visitors to explore the Park, including its 14 outdoor pitches and one of them with a replica of the Wembley surface.

The convention gala was equally memorable with the official 4:30 pm kickoff time, and 6:00 pm dinner strictly enforced and respected.

Dinner was personally handled by none other than the Head Chef of the England National Football teams, Tim Barker.

The gala went on until 2:00 am. D.J Take Away was awesome and he definitely took away the two hundred plus guests with his non-stop musical output.

 The gala was graced by the presence of Mr, Albert Fotabong Njoteh, High Commissioner for the Republic of Cameroon in the United Kingdom, who was happy to be amongst Cameroonians in such numbers.

 Our hearty congratulations goes out to Franklin Egbe, President of SOBA:UK, Atem Akoh Arrey, Vice President, Obale Ebai, Chairman of the convention and to the entire exco and the management teams. Of course, we cannot forget the good-spirited members of SOBA:UK who were wonderful hosts.

 We are already looking forward to the 2022 convention.

Thanks

Soban

Edwin Daniel Ndoko

US actor Alec Baldwin fired a prop gun that killed a cinematographer and wounded the director on a film set in New Mexico, US law enforcement officers said on Thursday.

The incident happened on the set of ‘Rust’ in the southwestern US state, where Baldwin is playing the lead in a 19th-century western.

Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and director Joel Souza “were shot when a prop firearm was discharged by Alec Baldwin,” the sheriff in Santa Fe said in a statement.

Hutchins, 42, was transported to hospital by helicopter but died of her wounds, while Souza, 48, was taken by ambulance and is receiving treatment.

“Mr. Baldwin was interviewed by detectives,” Santa Fe sheriff spokesman Juan Rios told AFP.

“He provided statements and answered their questions. He came in voluntarily and he left the building after he finished his interviews. No charges have been filed and no arrests have been made.”

The Santa Fe New Mexican published pictures of a distraught-looking Baldwin which it said were taken in the parking lot of the set after the tragedy.

The paper said its reporter had seen the actor in tears after he had been quizzed by investigators.

One photograph shows a man, presumed to be Baldwin, doubled over.

A spokesperson from the production told The Hollywood Reporter the “accident” involved the misfire of a prop gun with blanks.

The incident took place at the Bonanza Creek Ranch, a production location near Santa Fe which is popular with Hollywood filmmakers.

Movie sets usually have stringent rules over the use of prop weapons, but accidents have happened.

Most famously, Brandon Lee, the son of martial arts legend Bruce Lee, died during filming of “The Crow” after being shot by a gun that was supposed to fire blanks.

Baldwin co-produces the film and stars as Harland Rust, an outlaw whose grandson is convicted of murder, and who goes on the run with him when the boy is sentenced to hang for the crime.

The 63-year-old posted a photograph earlier Thursday on Instagram showing him apparently on set, dressed in a period costume and with fake blood on his shirt.

“Back to in-person at the office. Blimey… it’s exhausting,” he captioned the picture, which went online several hours before the incident.

A joint statement by John Lindley and Rebecca Rhine of the International Cinematographers Guild said news of Hutchins’ death was “devastating”.

“The details are unclear at this moment, but we are working to learn more, and we support a full investigation into this tragic event. This is a terrible loss, and we mourn the passing of a member of our Guild’s family,” the statement, reported by Variety, said.

Baldwin has been on television and in films since the 1980s.

He starred in a number of high profile movies, including in ‘The Hunt for Red October’ and two iterations of the “Mission: Impossible” franchise, and has also voiced animated characters in hits like “The Boss Baby”.

He garnered new fans with his long-running portrayal of Donald Trump on “Saturday Night Live”, a character that irritated the former president, but won Baldwin a Primetime Emmy.

“Rust” also stars Jensen Ackles (“Supernaturals”) and Travis Fimmel, best known for playing Ragnar Lothbrok in “Vikings”.

The Bonanza Creek Ranch where Thursday’s incident took place has hosted productions including ‘Hostiles,’ ‘Cowboys & Aliens,’ ‘3:10 to Yuma,’ ‘Appaloosa’ and ‘Longmire.’

Source: AFP

Veteran Cameroon Radio and Television news presenter Diana Egbe Enow-Mangha is dead. The state radio said she passed on after a long illness with diabetes. The veteran Mrs News was working with the national broadcaster CRTV. She was a  news anchor.

Diana Egbe Enow-Mangha started her career at a young age and did a number of interviews with prominent figures within the ruling CPDM party. Until her demise, She was on  duty at the National station in Yaounde.

Journalists across the country and abroad as well as political leaders in Cameroon have eulogised her as a dedicated person who valued her job.

By Rita Akana

It is indeed Countdown to the 2021 SOBA UK ANNUAL RESIDENTIAL CONVENTION billed to commence this Friday October 15, 2021 at The Hilton at St George’s Park, Burton Upon Trent.

The SOBA UK Annual Residential Convention is also an international event that regularly attracts high flying academics and business leaders in the UK and even beyond.

The Sasse Old Boys 2021 show will take place in St George’s Park, the Home of the England National football teams and the President of SOBA UK Hon. Egbe Franklin is reportedly keeping his pick for Master of Ceremony like a nuclear secret.

The event is billed to be one of the biggest ever with lots of activities on ground.

SOBA UK Annual Residential Convention is always filled with unforgettable moments.  Guests who have confirmed their participation are already very excited about it!  So it’s all fingers crossed.

By Isong Asu

The 2021 SOBA UK Convention is not only going to get a glorified Cameroon Concord News Group coverage but it is going to have a Camcordnews production with live shots and short clips from all across the venue.

The Sasse Old Boys big show “Appreciating Community Spirit” begins on Friday evening October 15, 2021 at The Hilton at St George’s Park, Burton Upon Trent. St George’s Park is the Home of the England National football teams.

Hundreds of live feeds

From Cameroon Concord News Isong ASU: “The 2021 SOBA UK ANNUAL RESIDENTIAL CONVENTION will feature hundreds of live feeds from across the venue according to a source that has seen recent SOBA UK plans.”

We understand that SOBA UK plans to structure the first night of the convention around its guests while maintaining strict Covid-19 rules. Chief Alfred Bate Bawak of Leicester likened the convention as “Most Important SOBA UK come together” ever.

Why the 2021 SOBA UK Convention matter

These recent comments in both Cameroon Intelligence Report and Cameroon Concord News hit the nail on the head:

— “With the issues Cameroon as a nation is facing right now and the coronavirus including the urgent need to start appreciating community spirit, the SOBA UK 2021 Convention will provide Sasse Old Boys with plans for a way forward,” Cameroon Intelligence Report’s senior Correspondent for special events Chi Prudence Asong said.

— Cameroon Concord News Desk Editor said the convention “will let Sobans to basically reintroduce themselves to Great Britain after the pandemic and bring the focus back to the pride of being an ex-Sasse.”

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai in London

Following 21 days of evidence including 50 witnesses and hours of searing testimony, jurors on Friday began considering whether internationally famous singer R. Kelly orchestrated a sex crimes ring for nearly three decades.

The case, delayed over a year by the pandemic, is seen as landmark for the #MeToo movement as it is the first major sex abuse trial where the majority of accusers are Black women.

The prosecution painstakingly wove the threads of alleged wrongdoing into an intricate pattern of crimes they say the artist born Robert Sylvester Kelly perpetrated with impunity, capitalizing on his fame to prey on young women and teenagers for his own sexual gratification.

The state was tasked with proving the 54-year-old singer is guilty of racketeering, a serious charge commonly associated with the mafia that casts Kelly as the boss of an enterprise of associates who facilitated his abuse.

He is also charged with eight counts under the Mann Act, a law prohibiting transportation of people across state lines for sex.

To convict Kelly on racketeering, jurors must find him guilty of at least two of 14 “predicate acts” — the crimes elemental to the wider pattern of illegal wrongdoing.

Disturbing testimony intended to prove those acts included accusations of rape, druggings, imprisonment and child pornography.

Accusers’ stories ran in parallel: many of the alleged victims described meeting the singer at concerts or mall performances, and being handed slips of paper with Kelly’s contact by his entourage.

Several said they were told he could bolster their music industry aspirations.

But all were instead “indoctrinated” into Kelly’s world, according to prosecutors, groomed for sex at hiss whim and kept in line by “coercive means of control” including isolation and cruel disciplinarily measures.

“He’s not a genius. He’s a criminal. He’s a predator,” said Nadia Shihata, the assistant US attorney told jurors.

“Writing hit songs and performing for audiences onstage doesn’t give you license to commit crimes.”

The defense painted a drastically different portrait of the superstar, arguing he was a “sex symbol” and “playboy” who was being attacked by scorned exes and money-hungry superfans.

“They’re all working on these paydays,” said attorney Deveraux Cannick.

Shihata attacked that argument in her rebuttal, telling jurors that witnesses — nine women and two men detailed devastating abuse on the stand — “relived some of the worst periods of their lives for you.”

– Criminal pattern? –

The indictment centers around six women: Jerhonda, Stephanie, Faith, Sonja and a woman who testified under a pseudonym, along with the R&B star Aaliyah, who died in a plane crash in 2001.

Several more victims alleging abuse were allowed to testify as part of the prosecution’s bid to detail a criminal pattern, though there testimony is not part of the charges.

Six of the alleged victims were underage when Kelly initiated sex with them. Many victims also said the singer routinely filmed the encounters, which in several of the cases would constitute child pornography.

Sonja traveled from Utah to Kelly’s Chicago studio believing he would give her an interview for the radio show she was interning for.

Instead, she said his associates trapped her in a windowless room for days, before giving her food and drink that caused her to quickly fall asleep. She awoke with her underwear mysteriously removed, and saw Kelly putting his pants back on.

Another woman said Kelly coerced her into getting an abortion because he had impregnated her while she was underage. Four said they contracted herpes after sexual contact with the singer, who did not disclose that he carried the incurable venereal disease.

Core to the government’s case has been Kelly’s relationship with Aaliyah.

Kelly wrote and produced her first album — “Age Ain’t Nothin’ But A Number” — before illegally marrying her when she was just 15 because he feared he had impregnated her.

His former manager admitted in court to bribing a worker to obtain fake identification allowing the union, which was later annulled.

Prosecutors also showed the jury video recordings that were not viewable to the public but which they described as containing chilling footage of Kelly threatening, hitting and humiliating women and children.

Kelly, a major R&B star of the 1990s and early 2000s known for hits including “I Believe I Can Fly,” denies all charges.

He remained largely stoic during the proceedings, though during the prosecution’s marathon closing arguments he appeared to grow agitated, shaking his head.

Abuse accusations have long trailed the wildly successful recording artist but he evaded them for decades. He faces prosecutions in three additional jurisdictions, including Illinois federal court.

Source: AFP

The leadership of SOBA UK has invited high-profile Africans including the Chairman of the Cameroon Concord News Group to the 2021 Sasse Old Boys Annual Residential Convention on 15th to 17th October 2021 at The Hilton at St. George’s Park, Burton upon Trent,UK.

The invitation card, which was seen by Cameroon Concord News London Bureau Chief Isong Asu, showed that the venue Hilton at St. George’s Park is the home of the England National Football teams.

Concord Group Chairman, the Right Hon. Soter Agbaw-Ebai is set to make the trip from Dusseldorf to London.

The editorial boards of both Cameroon Concord News and Cameroon Intelligence Report have given the approval, for the complete coverage of the SOBA UK event.

Below is the SOBA UK correspondence to the Cameroon Concord News Chairman

Special Invitation to Attend the 2021 SOBA UK Convention

Soter Agbaw-Ebai

6th September 2021

Dear Mr Soter Agbaw-Ebai,

I am writing to formally invite you to the 2021 SOBA UK Annual Residential Convention on 15th to 17th October 2021 at The Hilton at St. George’s Park, Burton upon Trent, United Kingdom. The Hilton at St. George’s Park is the home of England National Football teams and a venue we are happy to return to after the successful convention in 2018.

We would be most delighted if you can confirm your attendance to this event. The main event is on Saturday, 16th October, where we have a SOBA UK Gala Night and Fundraiser from 4:30pm to 2.30am.

Convention theme and Fundraiser

The theme of this year’s Convention is “Appreciating Community Spirit”, reflecting on the difficult year we have had as a community due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Our fundraising focus is equipping the Sasse College library, providing the students with study aids to help with their academics. We are looking to assist where possible and welcome your generous support. This year, SOBA UK had a successful elections resulting in a new mandate for the executives to 2023.

Covid-19 measures

SOBA UK will seek to provide reasonable safety measures and encourages all guests to take the necessary Covid-19 measures, in line with UK Government advice. We encourage our guests to take their double vaccine jabs and/or take a Covid test prior to the event. The capacity at the event will be limited to 250 places to allow for sufficient distancing and guests will have access to hand sanitizers and temperature checks at entry.

You have been allocated a free standard ticket but if you would like to be seated at a VIP table then please let me know, as there is a small fee to be upgraded.

We look forward to seeing you and please do not hesitate to contact me if you need any assistance.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Franklin Egbe

President, SOBA UK

Tel: +447429880730

soba@sobaintheuk.org

Jean-Paul Belmondo’s battered face, laconic style and roguish smile captured the imagination of French 1960s youth.

Belmondo, who has died at his Paris home aged 88, was the cool rebel of the new wave of French cinema typified in Jean-Luc Godard’s 1960 film classic, A Bout de Souffle.

His moody performance as a doomed thief and Humphrey Bogart fan struck a chord and saw him dubbed the Gallic James Dean.

Later, he forsook arts cinema to become a highly bankable commercial actor, as at home in comedy as in drama.

Jean-Paul Belmondo was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, a suburb of Paris on 9 Apr 1933, the son of Paul Belmondo, a sculptor whose statues grace many a Parisian park.

The intensely Bohemian atmosphere of his upbringing had a formative effect on him.

He failed at school and became an amateur boxer. In his short-lived career, he won 15 of his 23 bouts before giving up to concentrate on acting.

His trademark bumpy nose, however, was a result of a fight in the school playground rather than the ring.

After performing on stage in provincial theatres, his movie break came with the role of Laszlo in Marcel Carné’s 1958 film Les Tricheurs.

On the strength of his forceful portrayal, he was given his first starring role in A Bout de Souffle.

One critic described him as “a bewitchingly ugly man.”

His cult image carried him through several action films such as Les Distractions and La Novice.

Flying grandpa

Determined not to be stereotyped, Belmondo also accepted more demanding roles such as the idealistic intellectual of Vittorio de Sica’s La Ciocara in 1961, and as the young country priest in Philippe de Broca’s swashbuckling Cartouche the following year.

He also enjoyed comic roles, in Godard’s Une Femme est une Femme, and, particularly, in De Broca’s L’Homme de Rio, in which he played a suave, unflappable secret agent.

By the mid-60s, he had switched completely to the commercial mainstream and formed his own production company, Cerito.

He even performed his own stunts in such films as Les Tribulations d’Un Chinois en Chine in 1965, though he gave this practice up after an accident in the 1985 film Hold-up.

He brightened many an all-star cast in international productions such as Is Paris Burning? (1966), the James Bond spoof Casino Royale (1967) and with Alain Delon in the gangster movie Borsalino (1970),

He moved away from action movies claiming that “I don’t want to be a flying grandpa of the French cinema.”

In 1987 Belmondo returned to the stage for the first time for nearly 30 years and divided his work between theatre and film for the rest of his career.

Two years later he won a Cesar, the French equivalent of an Oscar, for his performance in Itineraire d’un Enfant Gate.

He branched out creatively as part of the ensemble in Varda’s homage to international cinema Les Cent et une Nuits de Samon Cinema in 1995 and as the Jean Valjean figure in Claude Lelouche’s re-working of Les Miserables in the same year.

Jean-Paul Belmondo was divorced from his first wife Elodie in 1965. His second marriage to Constantin also failed. He later had long relationships with actresses Ursula Andress and Laura Antonelli.

Cinema audiences at home and abroad were drawn to his charm and seeming disregard for whatever absurdities were taking place on screen. He was chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history.

Culled from BBC

Makossa legend and leader of the renowned group “Black Styl” Nkotti François has died today August 4, 2021 in the Douala General Hospital.

Desto as he was often referred to by his colleagues and fans all over the world, celebrated his 50 years of musical career recently and published an autobiographical book that traces his long and rich musical career with the likes of Toto Guillaume, Emile Kangue, Ake Loba, and Monie Miller.

Nkotti François was one of the patriarchs of Makossa who successfully recorded several albums with more than 150 songs.

He created the national song contest which has become today “Mutzig star”. He was also an economic actor with the Musical, Artistic, Industrial and Commercial Fair of Cameroon (Fomaric) of which he was the boss for over twenty years.

A multidimensional man, Nkotti François was also a militant of the ruling CPDM party and was elected mayor in (2002-2013) of the Bonalea district, Moungo Division in the Littoral region.

By Fon Lawrence

Tributes are pouring in for Guadeloupean musician Jacob Desvarieux, co-founder of the band Kassav’ who died at the age of 65 on Friday after catching Covid. He shot to fame in the 1980s with the invention of  ‘zouk’ – bringing the fast, catchy sounds of the Caribbean to the world.

Local media in the French territory of Guadeloupe announced his death late on Friday, prompting an outpouring of grief.

“A giant of zouk music. An unparalleled guitarist. An emblematic voice of the West Indies. Jacob Desvarieux was all of these things at once,” French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted.

In poor health after undergoing a kidney transplant, the singer and guitarist was taken to hospital in Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe’s largest city, on 12 July after catching Covid-19.

“The West Indies, Africa and music have just lost one of their greatest ambassadors,” tweeted Senegalese music star Youssou N’Dour.

“Jacob, thanks to your art, you brought the West Indies and Africa closer together. Dakar where you once lived mourns you. Farewell friend.”

A successful experiment

Desvarieux told French daily Liberation in 2016 that his band Kassav’ started out in Paris as an experiment.

“We wanted to find a soundtrack that would combine all the previous (Caribbean) traditions and sounds, but that would be exportable everywhere,” he said.

And so zouk was born, rising to global fame, particularly in France and on the African continent where people partied to its festive rhythm.

“We questioned our origins through our music,” Desvarieux told Liberation. “What were we doing here, we who were black and spoke French?”

Kassav’ rose to prominence along with the increasing popularity of world music in the 1980s.

Modern twist

The brainchild of Guadeloupean artists Pierre-Edouard Decimus and Freddy Marshall, the band was founded in 1979 with Desvarieux, who was born in Paris and had been influenced by guitarists Chuck Berry and Jimi Hendrix.

The band’s base style is gwo ka, a kind of Guadeloupean drumming music, topped up with ingredients from all over the Caribbean and a modern twist.

Kassav’s first album was released in 1979, and the band reached its peak popularity at the end of the 1980s.

It signed a contract with the multinational CBS record label, and was praised by jazz legend Miles Davis.

Since then, zouk music’s popularity has waned but Kassav’ continues to attract crowds at its concerts.

Source: RFI