US President Donald Trump has ordered the expulsion of 15 Cuban diplomats from the country, escalating his response to a series of mysterious health “attacks.” A State Department official told reporters on Tuesday that the employees had seven days to leave Havana’s embassy in Washington.

The official said a list of the personnel the US wants out of the country was given to the Cuban embassy, although he added that they were not declared “persona non grata.” “The decision was made due to Cuba’s failure to take appropriate steps to protect our diplomats in accordance with its obligations under the Vienna Convention,” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a statement. “This order will ensure equity in our respective diplomatic operations.”

So far, 22 US embassy staff have fallen ill due to the mysterious sonic attack. Those affected have exhibited physical symptoms including dizziness, headache, fatigue, hearing loss, difficulty sleeping and cognitive issues. According to US officials, the move was in no way a punishment for Havana and that the Trump administration only wanted to ensure both countries have a similar number of diplomats in their capitals.

“We continue to maintain diplomatic relations with Cuba,” Tillerson said, adding the US “will continue to cooperate with Cuba as we pursue the investigation into these attacks.” The decision, however, would further undermine a short-lived thaw between the two sides which was achieved under former US President Barack Obama in 2015 ending a half-century of hostility.

Washington is said to be preparing to send back a large number of Cuban diplomats as a row over alleged “health attacks” intensifies.

In response to the latest move, Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said, “MINREX (Foreign Ministry) strongly protests and denounces this unfounded and unacceptable … eminently political decision.” Washington has responded “in a hasty, inappropriate and unthinking manner and without evidence on the alleged facts in which Cuba has no responsibility,” Rodriguez told reporters on Tuesday.

The US State Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Cuban government must ensure that the illnesses would not continue before personnel in either embassy could resume their work.

Rodriguez said that their investigation team has not identified “perpetrators, or persons with motivation or means, nor has the presence of suspicious persons.” He also said that Havana is not “familiarized” with equipment that might have caused the attacks and that it immediately tightened the security for US diplomats.

Culled from Presstv

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Ankara no longer needs to join the European Union, but will not unilaterally quit the stalled talks on accession to the 28-nation bloc.

“We will not be the side, which gives up. To tell the truth, we don’t need EU membership anymore,” President Erdogan told the Turkish parliament on Sunday.

He, however, suggested that the bloc still needed Turkey, saying, “If the EU is going to leap forward, there is only one way to do so and it is to grant Turkey membership and start an action of cultural and economic growth.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Turkish president said the EU states had failed to respond to requests to extradite individuals suspected of involvement in the coup attempt in Turkey in 2016, adding, “The EU failed us in a fight against terrorism.”

The 12-year-long accession talks were effectively halted after Turkey began a massive crackdown on the coup suspects. The EU reacted strongly to Ankara’s purging of thousands of people from organizations and institutions over alleged links to the coup attempt.

In recent months, Germany and some other European countries have been involved in diplomatic brawls with Turkey on several issues, including the country’s human rights record.

Germany and Austria have also been outspoken critics of Ankara since the Turkish crackdown began and have said the accession talks must end.

On September 3, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in a TV debate ahead of Germany’s federal elections, agreed with her main rival Social Democrat Martin Schulz that it was “clear that Turkey should not become a member of the European Union,” marking a surprise U-turn from her previous moderate stance.

In November 2016, the European Parliament voted in favor of halting the membership talks with Turkey over Ankara’s heavy-handed crackdown.

EU leaders are expected to discuss the issue of suspension of the accession talks in Brussels later in October.

Turkey has been trying to accede to the EU since the late 1980s and formal accession talks began in 2005. The EU has opened 16 out of the 35 chapters required for Turkey to join the bloc, but only one of them has so far been concluded.

Culled from Presstv

Former Republican Congressman and MSNBC host Joe Scarborough has denounced US President Donald Trump’s verbal assault on the mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, after she begged for help in handling the crisis and devastation caused by Hurricane Maria.

Scarborough, a former Republican lawmaker from Florida, said on Saturday night the president was wrong to attack Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz for “poor leadership” amid hurricane recovery efforts in Puerto Rico, which is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeast Caribbean Sea.

“Poor leadership would be hiding at a country club golfing while fellow Americans are suffering and dying,” Scarborough said. “She’s not doing that. You are.” Scarborough also reposted tweets of his fellow “Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski, saying that Trump is “not fit” to be president.

In a series of early-morning tweets on Saturday, Trump attacked Cruz after she criticized the government in Washington, DC, for its delayed response to the hurricane-ravaged Caribbean island.

“Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help,” Trump tweeted.

“They want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort. 10,000 Federal workers now on Island doing a fantastic job,” he added.

Trump’s tweets were apparently in response to criticism from the mayor the day before.

“We are dying, and you are killing us with the inefficiency and the bureaucracy,” Cruz said at a Friday news conference.

“So I am done being polite. I am done being politically correct. I am mad as hell,” she stated. Several Democratic lawmakers on Saturday condemned Trump for targeting the mayor while he was playing golf at his club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

At least 16 people lost their lives in Puerto Rico as of Friday and the death toll was expected to climb as recovery efforts continued.

Culled from Presstv

Expressing “deep concern” over the deteriorating security situation in parts of Cameroon as well as heightened tensions related to planned events this Sunday, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called all parties to refrain from acts that could lead to further tensions and violence.

According to a statement attributable to his spokesperson, Mr. Guterres encouraged the Cameroonian authorities to continue their efforts to address the grievances of the Anglophone community.

“He urges the authorities to promote measures of national reconciliation aimed at finding a durable solution to the crisis, including by addressing its root causes,” the statement added.

It also noted that the UN chief supports upholding the unity and territorial integrity of the country and believes that genuine and inclusive dialogue between the Government and the communities in the South-West and North-West regions is the best way to preserve the unity and stability of the country.

The Secretary-General stands ready to support these efforts, including through the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA), the statement read.

Source: UN.org

A majority of American voters believe Donald Trump is not “fit to serve as president” of the United States, a new poll shows.

Fifty-one percent of American nationals contacted said they are embarrassed to have Trump serve as president, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday.

Fifty-nine percent of respondents said Trump is not an honest man, 60 percent said he does not have good leadership skills and 61 percent said he does not share their values.

A majority of voters also advised Trump to stop tweeting about every issue.

The poll also showed that Americans are split along racial lines on Trump. Ninety-four percent of black voters said the Republican president is not fit to serve, 60 percent Hispanic voters said the same, while 50 percent white voters said he is fit for the role.

Sixty-two percent of voters disapproved of the way Trump has dealt with race relations, and 60 percent said the controversial president is doing more to divide the country than unite it.

The poll also revealed divisions among men and women. Men are divided 49 percent to 49 percent, while 63 percent of women say Trump is not fit.

The poll was conducted from September 21 to 26 by phone in which 1,412 voters nationwide participated.

Another recent poll found most Americans disapprove of Trump’s leadership and see him as a divisive figure who has not fulfilled his campaign promise to positively change the US government.

More than twice as many Americans – 66 percent vs. 28 percent – said Trump is doing more to divide the country than to unify it, according to an ABC/Washington Post poll published on Sunday.

Trump has been widely criticized for his response to the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, after he said “both sides” were to blame for the violence.

Critics say that Trump’s divisive rhetoric and policies against immigrants and minorities before and after his election have emboldened far-right groups and promoted hate crimes across the country.

Culled from Presstv

Spain’s chief public prosecutor has refused to rule out the arrest of Catalan president Carles Puigdemont for pushing ahead with an independence referendum deemed illegal by Madrid.

“Legally the conditions may be met” for Puigdemont’s arrest, Jose Manuel Maza said during an interview with radio Onda Cero. “It’s a decision that is possible but we have not considered that we should take it,” he added.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has repeatedly said that the referendum slated for October 1 — which his conservative party insists is illegal and unconstitutional — will not take place, and the legislation underpinning the vote has already been suspended by Spain’s Constitutional Court.

Spanish prosecutors have warned that officials engaged in any preparations for the plebiscite could be charged with civil disobedience, abuse of office and misuse of public funds.

Maza said Puigdemont could be arrested for misuse of public funds, as this crime carries a jail sentence.

Prosecutors have also told police to investigate any efforts to promote the referendum and ordered a criminal investigation of over 700 Catalan mayors who have pledged to cooperate with the vote.

Police on Monday summoned 17 people for allegedly developing web platforms dedicated to the banned referendum.

Puigdemont, a former journalist and provincial mayor, regularly tweets links to the websites, which tell Catalans where they can vote in the referendum. He has said he is ready to go to prison rather than give up his push for independence.

Key members of the team organizing the vote have been put under official investigation for disobedience, malfeasance and embezzlement of public funds. Organizers of protests last week have been threatened with charges of sedition.

And police have seized close to ten million ballot papers, as well as other items destined for the vote. But Catalonia’s pro-separatist government has vowed to go ahead with the referendum.

If the “yes” side wins it has said it would declare independence within days for the wealthy northeastern region of Spain, home to about 7.5 million people.

Polls show Catalans are split on the issue of independence, but a large majority want to vote in a legitimate referendum to settle the matter.

(Source: AFP)

The long-simmering crisis in Southern Cameroons has taken a dangerous turn with small explosions targeting local security officials, even as ongoing protests become increasingly vociferous.

Renewed mass protests broke out early morning on Sept. 22, (Friday), in major towns and villages across the north west and south west. The aggrieved population took to the streets with placards, whistles and flags of Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia; a country they clamor to create when they secede from the present day Republic of Cameroon.

Security forces responded with bullets and teargas, injuring some protesters in Santa and Ekona in the North West and South West Regions. However, by press time, the reprisals had not deterred protesters as they moved to public places, hoisting blue-white flags and seeking to meet with administrative and traditional authorities.

 The protesters poured out on the streets hours to the time president Paul Biya was scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly. Other Anglophone protesters put up similar shows at the UN headquarters in New York. The civil disobedience call was made by the Ambazonia Governing Council and amplified by Anglophone activists in the diaspora, as a build up to Oct. 1, the day the pro-secessionist groups intend to restore their independence.

The crisis is escalating after president Biya granted amnesty to some Anglophones who were arrested and detained for months in connection to violence in the country’s English speaking regions. But many, including Mancho Bibixy still remain incarcerated. This provoked calls for the unconditional release of all detainees and further radicalsed agitators.

But, as predicted by the International Crisis Group in August, the crisis took a different twist in early September as arms became involved.

The latest of the bombings was on Wednesday morning Sept. 21, when an IED controlled from a mobile phone was activated at Hospital Roundabout in Bamenda. Three police officers were seriously injured. Another failed explosion was recorded at a petroleum depot in the major city of Douala. On Sept. 11, improvised explosive device targeting security agents on patrol was activated at Mobil Nkwen in the city of Bamenda. Five days later, another IED damaged a dormitory at Sacred Heart College Mankon, still in Bamenda, but no human loss was recorded.

Though it is yet to be established whether it is connected to the Anglophone crisis. The Ambazonia Defense Forces, the armed faction of a group of secessionist movements, has claimed responsibility for some of the attacks.

The latest incident has been described as “an act of terrorism” by a government spokesperson. Cameroon’s current difficulties stem back to its pre-independence history when it was formed by combining a region that was colonized by the British with the larger region run by the French. The country’s government, education, and legal systems are dominated by the larger French-speaking region. But in recent years tensions have mounted as people from the Anglophone regions have complained about being marginalized by the Francophone-led establishment. The Anglophone regions account for just under 20% of the Cameroon’s 23 million population.

Culled from Quartz Media

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says US President Donald Trump’s threat to “totally destroy” North Korea is wrong, citing economic pressure and diplomacy as the only “appropriate” ways to resolve the conflict.

“I am against such threats,” Merkel told the Deutsche Welle channel. “We consider any form of military solution as totally inappropriate and we insist on a diplomatic solution.”

“From my point of view sanctions and their implementation are the right answer. But I consider everything else concerning North Korea as wrong,” she added. “And that is why we clearly disagree with the US president.”

The German chancellor made the remarks in reaction to Trump’s debut speech at the United Nations General Assembly, where he said Tuesday that the US was ready to destroy the North to resolve the ongoing standoff over the country’s ballistic missile and nuclear weapons program.

“The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea,” he said.

“It is time for North Korea to realize that its denuclearization is its only responsible future,” he added.

The Trump administration has been pushing for greater international pressure on North Korea through the UN and by pressuring China, Pyongyang’s main trade ally.

The pressure peaked in early September, when the North announced that it had successfully exploded a hydrogen bomb, its sixth overall thermonuclear test.

The UN Security Council adopted new sanctions against the North as a result, a move that Pyongyang warned would not go unanswered.

Germany’s role

Merkel said in her interview that Germany’s strong ties China, Japan, South Korea and the United States puts it among the few countries that could actually help resolve the North Korea crisis.

“Even if this conflict is far away from Germany, it is one that also affects us,” Merkel said. “That is why I am prepared, as is the foreign minister, [Sigmar Gabriel], to assume responsibility here.”

Gabriel told Monday’s edition of the Bild daily that the world had to wait for the sanctions against North Korea to work.

He also noted that military action was not going to succeed and “a security guarantee other than the nuclear bomb” was needed.

Source: Presstv

French Cameroun media houses are worried about the deliberate silence maintained by the leaders of the outlawed Cameroon Anglophone Civil Consortium. Several Francophone newspapers have questioned the “silence of the lamb” attitude adopted by Dr. Barrister Agbor Felix Nkongho and Dr. Neba Fontem Neba including Lord Justice Ayah Paul Abine.
A sea of Francophone tabloids have observed that ever since their release, the leaders of the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium have not issued any statement or press release even on social networks. Le Jour, Cameoon Info.Net and Nouvelle Expression are among the French Cameroun publications that have openly targeted the leaders of the Consortium.

We learned Dr. Fontem Neba blatantly refused saying a word during a meeting organized at the Secretariat for Defense prior to their release by French Cameroun surrogate, Brigadier General Elokobi Daniel Njock.

French Cameroun radio and television stations have also claimed that the Anglophone leaders including Justice Ayah Paul have are not willing to grant any interview with the press. The media houses in La Republique are now reporting that the leaders of the Consortium had promised while in detention that they were willing to play the role of mediators in the Southern Cameroons crisis. “Their silence raises questions,” noted La Nouvelle Expression.

At the time of filing this report, a well-placed source hinted Cameroon Concord News that the Francophone regime was putting pressure on Dr. Barrister Agbor Nkongho to issue a statement calling for the resumptions of schools in Southern Cameroons.

By Chi Prudence Asong
Cameroon Concord News