US President Donald Trump’s proposed policies will increase corruption and inequality across the country, says global watchdog Transparency International. The anti-graft watchdog said Wednesday that populist politicians like Trump and French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen will bring about corruption and social inequality in societies.

Such autocratic leaders often weaken democracies, reinforce crackdown on civil societies and limit freedom of the press, the Berlin-based group said. “In the case of Donald Trump, the first signs of such a betrayal of his promises are already there,” TI’s research chief Finn Heinrich wrote in a blog about the report. TI generally defines corruption as “the misuse of public power for private benefit.”

Trump has spoken about “rolling back key anti-corruption legislation and ignoring potential conflicts of interest that will exacerbate, not control, corruption,” he noted. The US has already fallen two places in the group’s latest annual Corruption Perceptions Index, ranking 18th on the list with a score of 74 out of 100.

Denmark and New Zealand came out best in 2016, with scores of 90. Somalia remained the worst performer with a score of 10. The TI report came two days after constitutional and ethics lawyers lodged a lawsuit, saying that Trump was “submerged in conflicts of interest.” Trump, however, dismissed the allegations, saying the suit filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington was “without merit.”

Trump was one of the most unpopular candidates ever elected as president, according to opinion polls. During his campaign, he made controversial remarks about Muslims, undocumented immigrants as well as African Americans. A recent Gallup poll found that 45 percent of Americans disapproved of the way Trump was handling his new job as president, while the same percentage approved of Trump’s job.

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Cardinal Christian Tumi has called on the ruling CPDM government to listen to all shades of opinion in the ongoing Anglophone crisis.  The 86 year old former Archbishop of Douala now retired made the declaration as guest on Radio France International on Tuesday, January 24, 2017.   The renowned Prelate believes that everyone has something to say.

Reacting to the crisis that has rocked the Anglophone regions of the country over the last two months and the shutting down of internet services including the arrest of several Southern Cameroons leaders , the Cardinal said he was trying to understand both sides of the divide.

“I am trying to understand what is happening because I spent nearly thirty years of my life as priest and bishop in French-speaking Cameroon and I am from Anglophone Cameroon. I try to understand both sides. It is now young people, who have not yet become aware of reunification and have started to protest about working conditions, the conditions for living together, and they want us to go back to where we were at the beginning of reunification. That is federalism. The central power no longer wants this. So this is where we are and there is tension.”

The Roman Catholic Cardinal told RFI that the appointment of Francophone judges who do not have a mastery of the English language and who render their judgment in French is an indication that Common Law is not applied in Cameroon. The man of God pointed out that in his native constituency of Bui, the prefect, the sub-prefect and the first deputy are all Francophones, in a region that 99% of the population speak only English. The Retired Cardinal also noted that there are Francophone university lecturers who teach in the Anglo-Saxon Universities of Buea and Bamenda without having mastery of English. “There is need to reform the education system.’

Cardinal Tumi said the decision to outlaw the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium was ill advised. “Too bad. I am against any ban. Everyone has something to say, listen to them. There is no one who loves this country more than others. Even if others prefer federalism, let’s talk about it, to see what is best for everyone. When we repress, it is not a solution. We must try to convince them including those that have gone to the extreme to demand complete separation. There will always be extremists. But the majority of Anglophones want us to go back to where we were, that is, to federalism. They do not want separation, not at all.”

The Cardinal dismissed claims made by the Minister of Communication Issa Tchiroma Bakary observing that federalism is not division of a country. “The current system is showing its faults, with regard to corruption everywhere and we are seeing examples in the world where federated states are progressing well. There has to be dialogue because Anglophones are also Cameroonians. With violence, nothing is built, nothing at all.”

Culled from CAMCORDNEWS

Israeli police have extended the scope of their investigation into allegations of corruption against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The police are examining two new issues related to graft charges against Netanyahu, including his alleged role in the purchasing of Dolphine submarines from Germany and another issue which has not been disclosed yet, Channel 10 television reported on Monday.

Netanyahu’s cousin, family lawyer and confidant, David Shimron, has reportedly been involved in the deal to purchase the submarines from Germany’s ThyssenKrupp company. Netanyahu is currently under investigation for several separate charges of corruption and has been grilled by police twice in recent weeks. The investigation has come as a shock to Israel’s political scene, prompting speculations about Netanyahu’s resignation.

Netanyahu, however, has denied the allegations and accused Israeli media of “pursuing an unprecedented campaign against me in order to bring down Likud government.” On January 14, protesters gathered on the streets of Tel Aviv, calling for the resignation of Netanyahu over growing allegations of corruption.

One part of the investigation involves him allegedly proposing commercial favors to an Israeli newspaper owner in return for positive coverage. Last week, a recording emerged of Netanyahu offering the owner of the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper a reduction in the circulation of the pro-Netanyahu newspaper, Israel Hayom, if Arnon Mozes’ paper took a more favorable stance towards him. A drop in the circulation of Hayom would be a direct benefit to Mozes as it is his main rival in advertising revenues.

Another investigation is related to charges of receiving illegal donations and gifts amounting to around some $100,000 in cigars and alcoholic beverages. He is also under investigation over suspicions that he accepted one million euros (about 1.1 million dollars) from French fraudster, Arnaud Mimran, for campaign funds during the 2009 Israeli elections. The Netanyahu family has faced scrutiny over accusations that their lifestyle is out of touch with regular Israelis. Netanyahu’s wife, Sara, has also come under fire for her lavish tastes and abusive behavior toward members of her housekeeping staff.

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