News

5, February 2024

King Charles Bill of Health: US President Biden expresses concern ⁰

President Joe Biden says he is concerned about King Charles’s cancer diagnosis and hopes to speak to him soon.

Buckingham Palace announced on Monday that King Charles III was being treated for cancer.

The type of cancer has not been revealed, but according to a palace statement the King began “regular treatments” on Monday.

He was diagnosed during a recent treatment for an enlarged prostate.

Asked by reporters in Las Vegas what his message was for the King, Mr Biden said he had “just heard his diagnosis”.

“I’m concerned about him,” he told reporters at a union event. “Hopefully I’ll be talking to him soon.”

The King is beginning treatment as an outpatient and will pause his public events, but he will continue with his constitutional role as head of state, including paperwork and private meetings.

Buckingham Palace has not released any details about the stage of cancer, but said King Charles “remains wholly positive about his treatment and looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible”.

The US State Department called the announcement “incredibly sad news”.

“Our thoughts are with the King … and his family,” spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters at a regular news briefing.

Former President Donald Trump said the King was a “wonderful man who I got to know well during my presidency”.

“We all pray that he has a fast and full recovery,” he wrote on his social media site Truth Social.

Prince Harry, who lives in California with his wife Meghan Markle, will travel to the UK to see his father, the BBC has been told.

Source: BBC

5, February 2024

King Charles III has cancer and is receiving treatment ⁰

King Charles III has been diagnosed with a form of cancer and has begun treatment, Buckingham Palace said Monday.

The palace says the cancer is not related to the king’s recent treatment for a benign prostate condition. It did not say what form of cancer the 75-year-old monarch has.

The palace said “a separate issue of concern was noted” during Charles’ treatment for an enlarged prostate last month. “Diagnostic tests have identified a form of cancer,” it said.

“His Majesty has today commenced a schedule of regular treatments, during which time he has been advised by doctors to postpone public-facing duties,” the palace said. “Throughout this period, His Majesty will continue to undertake State business and official paperwork as usual.”

It said Charles “remains wholly positive about his treatment and looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible.”

The palace added that the king “has chosen to share his diagnosis to prevent speculation and in the hope it may assist public understanding for all those around the world who are affected by cancer.”

Charles became king in September 2022 when his mother Queen Elizabeth II died at the age of 96.

News of the king’s diagnosis comes as his daughter-in-law Kate, Princess of Wales, recovers from abdominal surgery that saw her hospitalized for about two weeks.

U.K. political leaders sent messages of support. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted: “Wishing His Majesty a full and speedy recovery. I have no doubt he’ll be back to full strength in no time and I know the whole country will be wishing him well.”

Source: AP

2, February 2024

Nigerian traditional monarch shot dead and wife kidnapped ⁰

Armed men have shot dead a traditional ruler, and kidnapped his wife plus one other person in south-western Nigeria, authorities say.

The attackers stormed the palace of Segun Aremu – a retired army general and monarch whose official title is the Olukoro of Koro – on Thursday night.

It is not clear who the gunmen were or whether they are demanding a ransom.

This latest killing and abduction comes days after campaigners demanded a state of emergency to deal with the issue.

Some 50 civil society groups want President Bola Tinubu to make that declaration, saying more than 1,800 people had been abducted since he took office last May.

But the true number of abductions during that time could be more than double that figure, at almost 4,000 people, says Nigerian risk consultancy SBM Intelligence.

No matter how desperate the circumstances, Nigerian law prohibits the payment of ransom money. However, many victims pay up because they do not trust authorities or their track record.

Condemning the killing of the Olukoro of Koro in Kwara state, as “reckless, shocking, and abominable”, Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has vowed that the authorities would catch those responsible.

Police say a manhunt is under way. They have also promised the local community they will set up a police outpost.

Nigeria is home to hundreds of traditional rulers, who have no constitutional role but are a respected presence in community life. They are often called upon to settle disputes between local people, and lead cultural activities.

Source: BBC

1, February 2024

Biya, Chadian delegation discuss cooperation ⁰

President Paul Biya on Tuesday met with a Chadian delegation made up of three ministers. The two sides discussed ways to enhance their historical, friendly relations.

In a statement issued Tuesday night, the Cameroonian Presidency said that Cameroon is a strategic trade partner to Chad, and that the establishment of a safe corridor for the transportation of goods via the Cameroonian seaports of Douala and Kribi and the Chad-Cameroon pipeline has significantly boosted bilateral ties.

The Chadian delegation was headed by Minister of State Mahamat Ahmat Alhabo.

Alhabo told reporters after the meeting in the Cameroonian capital of Yaounde that they were mandated by Chadian leader Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno “to come and meet his elder (Biya), to explain to him the good relations of friendship and cooperation between our countries, and in return to receive his wise advice so that relations between the two countries are even better.”

Source: Xinhuanet

1, February 2024

Central Africa Communication Ministers Discuss Ways to Stop Hate Speech ⁰

Communication ministers from the Economic Community of Central African States, ECCAS, are meeting in Bangui, Central African Republic, this week to map out ways to stop the spread of hate speech.

Officials from central African states say some influential politicians, business moguls and community leaders are using radio, television and social media to propagate information that has fueled regional crises, resulting in the displacement of millions of people.

Simplice Mathieu Sarandji, prime minister of the Central African Republic, said leaders of the 11-member ECCAS expect communication ministers at the meeting in Bangui to propose lasting solutions to xenophobic statements that are propagated on media outlets.

Sarandji said humanitarian crises are spiraling in ECCAS states because of widespread hate speech.

A separatist crisis in western Cameroon, which has killed more than 6,000 people, was fueled in part by social media propaganda by rebel leaders who are based in Europe and the United States, according to Cameroonian officials.

Hate on social media also fueled an ongoing conflict between ranchers and fishers in northern Cameroon and Chad. Clashes there have killed more than 100 people and displaced more than 80,000.

The 1994 genocide in Rwanda was sparked by hate speech, mostly over radio, by Hutu extremists against Tutsis.

Joanne Adamson, deputy head of MINUSCA, the U.N. stabilization mission in the Central African Republic, spoke about the Bangui meeting on state TV in the CAR.

She said the focus on hate speech is an important step toward finding solutions to fighting that sparked a mass movement of people fleeing in search of safety. By organizing the forum, Adamson added, the 11 ECCAS member states indicate they are ready to support and defend values that are vital to consolidate peace and security and promote human rights.

The ministers said they will enact legislation to punish people who use TV, radio and print media to propagate hate speech, but gave no further details. They also have agreed to control harmful content they say runs rampant on social media.

Charly Gabriel Mbock, an anthropologist and conflict resolution specialist at the Yaounde-headquartered Catholic University of Central Africa, said the ministers should launch campaigns against hate speech in restive central African towns and villages.

To do this, Mbock said, ECCAS communication ministers must educate clerics and traditional rulers that peace is priceless, before using radio, television and print media to call on civilians to reject and denounce calls for violence, especially on social media. He said central African governments should also make sure media laws being prepared against hate and xenophobic language do not infringe on press freedom.

The communication ministers say they will submit their recommendations to ECCAS governments with the hope that if hate speech and xenophobic statements can be stopped, peace will return to restive areas.

Source: VOA

1, February 2024

Hamas chief due in Cairo for Gaza truce discussions ⁰

The head of the political bureau of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas is due in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, for talks on a new ceasefire proposal, as the Israeli regime continues its brutal war against the besieged Gaza Strip.

Ismail Haniyeh is scheduled to attend a meeting in Cairo on Thursday to discuss the proposal for a six-week truce plan put forward by senior Qatari and Egyptian officials during recent meetings in France.

The three-stage plan would start with an initial six-week halt to the war that would see more aid deliveries into Gaza, AFP quoted a Hamas source as saying.

The source further said that there would also be “negotiations around the withdrawal of Israeli forces,” with possible additional phases involving more captive-prisoner exchanges.

The territory’s rebuilding is also among the issues addressed by the deal, the source said.

In a press statement on Tuesday, Haniyeh confirmed that the movement had received an invitation to visit Cairo in order to reach an “integrated vision” on the new ceasefire proposal and discuss requirements for the implementation of a potential agreement.

Source: Presstv

1, February 2024

Buea Attack: Biya regime ‘main losers’ of Southern Cameroons war, incapable of eliminating Amba fighters ⁰

The Vice President of the Ambazonia Interim Government says 91-year French Cameroun dictator and his Francophone military barons have failed to eradicate Southern Cameroons Restoration Forces and have lost their war in Southern Cameroons.

Comrade Dabney Yerima said the recent attack on the city of Buea is the result of the failure of Yaoundé and its Francophone dominated military to eliminate Amba fighters through the war.

“In the Buea restoration action, we see that La Republique du Cameroun is not capable of destroying Ambazonia Restoration Forces in Southern Cameroons. Southern Cameroons Restoration Force is a liberation and legitimate movement and will remain in Ground Zero,” Yerima said in an interview with Cameroon Concord News on Wednesday.

“The winner of the war in Southern Cameroons is the Federal Republic of Ambazonia and all resistance groups. So far, Biya and his Beti Bulu soldiers have been the main losers of this war” Dabney Yerima furthered.

Yaoundé waged the war on English speaking Cameroon seven years ago after the leader of the Ambazonian people Sisiku Ayuk Tabe declared the independence of West Cameroon from the Francophone majority.

Since the start of the war, the Biya regime has killed over 10,000 Southern Cameroonians, mostly women and children, and left vast swathes of villages in ruins.

An additional, some 4,000 Cameroon government army soldiers have been reportedly killed by Amba fighters with scores injured.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

30, January 2024

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Amba attack leaves at least one person killed in Buea ⁰

Ambazonia fighters killed at least one person and injured several others in the Molyko area of Buea, Southwest Region, at around 23:30 Jan. 29.

Cameroon Concord News gathered that the armed Southern Cameroons Restoration Forces were deployed in the city of Buea to force residents to comply with lockdown orders, which aimed to paralyze economic activities.

Several cars were also torched.

The French speaking governor of the South West region has reportedly promised to launch targeted operations against the separatist fighters in the region after the Buea attack.

By Rita Akana

29, January 2024

Douala: Businessman Faces Sex Abuse Probe After Social Media Outcry ⁰

Lawyers in Cameroon have called for prosecutors to launch an inquiry after dozens of women accused a businessman of sexual attacks in anonymous posts on social media.

The Bar association’s human rights commission said it was aware from social networks of anonymous testimony alleging “indecent exposure, sexual harassment, rapes, threats, illegal confinement and violence against several victims”.

The association’s letter called for an inquiry and urged the prosecution to bring the suspect to court “so that justice can be served in line with the law”.

Minister for women’s empowerment Marie-Therese Abena Ondoa on Friday said she was pleased to see the legal authorities take up the affair.

She urged victims “to break the silence” and offered to “supply the legal authorities with the elements needed to carry out procedures to establish the facts”.

The nation’s human rights commission took up the case on January 19 but on Saturday voiced regret at not being able “to deal with the affair properly” with a full investigation because the accusations are anonymous.

Since mid-January, more than 70 anonymous testimonies have been posted on social networks by a blogger accusing the businessman of sexual violence.

The hashtag StopBopda has taken off on a wave of indignation and seen more than 100,000 tweets on X, former Twitter, as African artists, athletes and influencers take up the cause.

In Douala’s Bali quarter, some 20 activists dressed in black gathered on Friday after the “Stand Up for Cameroon” movement called a protest.

“I am sickened, particularly since the person said to be a kidnapper and rapist is still at liberty on the streets of Douala,” said activist Chantal Egbe, calling on the justice system to prevent him from causing further harm.

Some 22 women linked to civil society groups also sent an open letter to the authorities on Thursday condemning the failure of government services to react to the allegations of sexual violence.

Source: AFP

29, January 2024

Minister Atanga Nji must face probe over killing of journalist Samuel Wazizi ⁰

The leader of the Ambazonia Interim Government says French Cameroun government actions that killed journalist Samuel Wazizi must be investigated as a war crime.

Separate investigations by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International revealed that the Ministry of Territorial Administration was directly involved in the killing of the Anglophone journalist.

On Saturday, Vice President Dabney Yerima called for an immediate, independent, and transparent investigation by the International Criminal Court that holds Minister Paul Atanga Nji and other Francophone perpetrators to account for the crime.

Cameroon Intelligence Report correspondent in Yaoundé hinted recently that evidence indicates that Minister Paul Atanga Nji teleguided the operations that killed Wazizi, making it a war crime.

Dabney Yerima told members of the Southern Cameroons war cabinet that the brutal murder of journalist Samuel Wazizi remains an unlawful and apparently deliberate attack on the free press in Southern Cameroons.

Yerima furthered that for over six years now, French Cameroun military operations have been direct attack on Southern Cameroons civilians that must be investigated as a war crime.

“No Southern Cameroons journalist should ever be targeted or killed simply for carrying out their work. Biya and his French speaking gangs must not be allowed to kill and attack Southern Cameroons journalists with impunity,” Yerima concluded.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai