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Eto’o tips African country for 2022 FIFA World Cup glory

21, August 2022

Eto’o tips African country for 2022 FIFA World Cup glory 0

Cameroon legend, Samuel Eto’o, believes that an African country can win the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

The Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup is set to take place between November 20 and December 18 this year.

No African country has ever gone past the quarter-finals of the quadrennial Mundial. Only three; Cameroon at Italia ’90, Senegal at Korea-Japan 2002 and Ghana at South Africa 2010 editions, have reached the stage.

However, Eto’o who happens to be the Qatar Legacy ambassador while in Ghana opined that this could be the year for Africa to not only surpass her quarter-final record but possibly win the FIFA World Cup title.

“First of all I feel at home and I don’t need a reason to be back home,” Footballghana.com quoted Eto’o as saying.

“However I came with our brothers from Qatar for our national teams to get the best possible information so that they give us the best results, and why not? Win the World Cup for us,” Eto’o said.

 Eto’o also took to his Twitter and Instagram platforms on Saturday to further tout his belief in the ability of African teams at Qatar 2022.

“Great to be here in Ghana speaking about the limitless potential of African football. This World Cup will be our World Cup. Who agrees?,” his Twitter and Instagram posts read.

Eto’o represented Cameroon at four FIFA World Cups; 1998, 2002, 2010 and 2014.

The five teams representing Africa at the 2022 FIFA World Cup are Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia.

Source: Agency Report

Ireland: Inquest into death of Cameroonian woman after stillbirth in Cork to be held

21, August 2022

Ireland: Inquest into death of Cameroonian woman after stillbirth in Cork to be held 0

The inquest of a Cameroonian woman who died in a Cork hospital after the stillbirth of her daughter will open in October, according to the Cork City Coroner.

Geraldine Yankeu died on August 8 last year at Cork University Maternity Hospital, some days after the stillbirth of her daughter Mary. A crowdfunding campaign was put in place by the Cameroonian community in Cork to have the bodies of the mum and baby repatriated to Cameroon.

Last Thursday, the Irish Examiner was told by the Cork City Coroner’s office that the deaths of both Ms Yankeu and her daughter Mary “were treated as natural and no inquest was required”.

However, on Monday, a statement from the office said: “Baby Mary Yankeu’s death was treated as a “Natural Death”. Ms Geraldine Yankeu’s death is due for hearing and will be listed for hearing as soon as a suitable date becomes available.”

Since the introduction of the 2019 Coroners Act, inquests into maternal deaths — during and after giving birth — are mandatory. In a statement to the Irish Examiner, the Cork City Coroner, Philip Comyn, said that the death of Ms Yankeu is scheduled for a full inquest hearing.

He added: “It is my intention to have a preliminary hearing in October.”

Referring to a call by the National Women’s Council for an inquest into the death as “soon as possible” in Friday’s Irish Examiner, Mr Comyn said the NWC “have never contacted me regarding this lady”.

He also said he had inquests taking place on Thursday, resulting in him not being in a position to respond to a query from the Irish Examiner on Wednesday about the length of time an inquest takes to be heard following on from the date of death.

Mr Comyn said that his office has to contend with “major staff shortages”, pointing out that it has just two staff. In comparison, Dublin City Coroner’s office has 24 staff. Dublin and Cork coronial districts are the only two full-time ones in the country.

The issue of staffing at the Cork City Coroner’s Office has been raised on a number of occasions in the past year in the Dáil amid concerns about delays in inquests.

Reform of the coronial system is under investigation at present by the Oireachtas Justice Committee, which held public hearings into the current system across the country in May. During the hearings, concern was also raised about the level of staffing in Cork.

Source: Irish examiner

2022 FIFA World Cup: Cameroon vs Brazil match among the most requested tickets

21, August 2022

2022 FIFA World Cup: Cameroon vs Brazil match among the most requested tickets 0

Cameroon’s group G game against Brazil at the 2022 FIFA World Cup is one of the highly patronized matches.

Tickets for the game between the five times African champions and the five times world champions has seen massive patronage. The two sides clash on December 2, 2022 at the Lusail Iconic Stadium.

Other games that have had also attracted huge interests are the Uruguay-Portugal, Brazil-Serbia, Costa Rica-Germany and Australia-Denmark matches.

FIFA reports that 2.45 million tickets have already been sold, with Mexico, Argentina and Brazil among the countries with the most number of tickets bought, in addition to Qatar, the United States, England, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, France and Germany.

Meanwhile, in the last sales period which was from July 5 to August 16, there was a total of 520,532 tickets sold, which were allocated on a first-come, first-served basis and most of these correspond to group stage matches, where residents in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, England, Argentina, Brazil, Wales and Australia they took the first places of requests and purchases.

The date of the next phase of ticket sales, which will last until the end of the tournament, will be announced at the end of September.

Source: Ghana Soccernet

Cyprus: Ambazonians march to protest situation in their home country

21, August 2022

Cyprus: Ambazonians march to protest situation in their home country 0

Southern Cameroonians marched across southern Nicosia on Friday to protest the violent intercommunal clashes that forced thousands to flee the African country.

Dozens of demonstrators gathered outside the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Engomi. They were holding placards with photos of bodies with the description suggesting they belonged to civilians killed by the military during the ongoing crisis in the north-west and south-west regions of Cameroon.

The group submitted a petition to the UN community in Cyprus as an appeal to the international community and humanitarian organisations to understand their plight and help put an end to the deadly conflict.

The petition cited incidents of discrimination from the francophone government of Cameroon against the two anglophone communities in the North-West and South-West regions. This led to the internal displacement of over 712,000 people as of August last year, while at least 2.2 million people were in need of humanitarian aid, according to estimates by the Human Rights Watch NGO.

“So many southern Cameroonians fled the country and are flooding to other countries including Cyprus. This is a crisis and that has been going on since 2016,” representative of the community in Cyprus Mokundu Elvis Bokanda told the Cyprus Mail.

According to the United Nations, at least 15,000 Cameroonians were forced to flee their homeland in just a few days in December due to violent incidents.

Commenting on the peaceful demonstration, UNHCR public information officer Emilia Strovolidou said “we received their petition, and we will forward it to our European bureau”.

Protestors left the UN refugee agency singing their traditional songs.

Earlier, they had presented a memorandum of understanding during a meeting at the foreign ministry, where they also updated officials on the “atrocities” taking place in the country using photos and videos.

Demonstrators marched to EU House at 11.30am before heading to the interior ministry at noon where they handed a relevant memorandum to a representative.

Representatives of the community were also expected to hold an open information event at Strovolos municipality in the evening.

Source: Cyprus Mail

Football: PSG coach denies bad blood between Neymar and Mbappe

19, August 2022

Football: PSG coach denies bad blood between Neymar and Mbappe 0

Paris Saint-Germain coach Christophe Galtier said on Friday there is no bad blood between star forwards Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.

Neymar insisted on taking the team’s second penalty against Montpellier last Saturday after Mbappe had missed the first.

Mbappe did not celebrate after Neymar converted the spot-kick.

Galtier called the apparent differences between the two an “epiphenomenon”, suggesting the spat was not a symptom of any deeper problem.

“We saw each other quickly the next day to iron out all that, to say what we had to say to each other,” said Galtier told a press conference ahead of Sunday’s Ligue 1 visit to Lille.

“We had a very pleasant week at work. Everyone worked well. I enjoyed all the sessions this week and this epiphenomenon disappeared very quickly, that is to say the day after our meeting.”

Galtier said after the game that instructions “had been respected” regarding penalty takers.

“There was a precise order in this game, Kylian as number one and ‘Ney’ as number two.”

Other potential penalty takers include Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos, said Galtier, adding that it was “important for our strikers to score goals, to keep the confidence”.

Against Montpellier, in his first competitive game since opting to stay in Paris rather than join Real Madrid, the 23-year-old Mbappe scored in a 5-2 win but cut a frustrated, unhappy and even isolated figure.

Last season, Mbappe was PSG’s outstanding performer, scoring 39 goals in all competitions, while Neymar struggled.

Yet the 30-year-old Brazilian has seemed rejuvenated this season, scoring five goals in three games.

Source: AFP

Ambazonia fighter dies of wounds sustained during latest military onslaught

19, August 2022

Ambazonia fighter dies of wounds sustained during latest military onslaught 0

An Ambazonian fighter seriously injured in the latest Cameroon government military operation in the rural areas of Fako Division has died of his wounds.

Ambazonia Interim Government sources are yet to identify the fighter. But our sources revealed that the 36-year-old who was seriously injured last week was a member of the Inkhata Group fighting Cameroon government forces in Muyuka, Mautu and Ekona.

Recently, Cameroon government army spokesperson announced in a statement that a prominent Amba Commander known as General No Pity had been wounded in attacks in the Northern Zone and many other Amba fighters were critically injured.

Five years into a deadly separatist conflict in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions, hopes of finding a negotiated settlement seem more distant than ever as both the government and secessionist rebels dig in, according to civil society activists.

It’s a conflict marked by spikes of extreme violence that invariably target civilians. The latest high-profile incident was last month, when government soldiers killed nine people in Missong village, in the anglophone Northwest region.

Rights groups accuse both the security forces and secessionist fighters of serious abuses that include extrajudicial killings, rape, kidnapping, and torture.

The root of the conflict is the central government’s historical marginalisation of the two English-speaking regions, the Northwest and Southwest, home to about 20 percent of the population.

By Rita Akana with files

The international community has failed to adequately respond to years of deadly conflict in Ambazonia

18, August 2022

The international community has failed to adequately respond to years of deadly conflict in Ambazonia 0

Populations in the Anglophone north-west and south-west regions of Cameroon remain at risk of atrocities amidst ongoing clashes between government forces and armed separatist groups. On 11 August Human Rights Watch reported that between 24 April and 12 June 2022 at least 10 people were summarily killed by Cameroonian security forces during military operations against armed separatists groups. During the operations soldiers burned homes and destroyed and looted health facilities and shops. Armed separatists perpetrated grave human rights abuses during the same period, including killing and kidnapping civilians. Separatists have also continued their assault on education, attacking students, teachers and schools. Human Rights Watch documented that at least 33 students and five teachers were kidnapped by armed separatists since January.

Populations in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions have faced widespread violence since tensions over cultural rights and marginalization of Anglophone populations escalated in October 2016. In the resulting clashes, government forces and armed separatist groups have perpetrated grave violations and abuses that may amount to atrocities, including extrajudicial killings, kidnappings and torture. Since the crisis began, more than 6,000 civilians have been killed and at least 666,000 displaced. Few perpetrators have been held accountable.

Since 2021 the government has intensified its attacks against armed separatist strongholds in attempts to end the conflict. During military operations, government forces have routinely targeted civilian populations for their alleged cooperation with separatist groups. Armed separatists have retaliated by using more deadly weapons, including improvised explosive devices and anti-tank rocket launchers, putting civilians at increased risk. Separatist groups have also expanded their sources of revenue through kidnapping and extortion in the north-west and south-west. Civilians are also at risk of targeted attacks by armed separatists for their suspected collaboration with the government.

Juliette Paauwe, Cameroon Expert at the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, said that, “despite escalating violence, the international community has failed to adequately respond to years of deadly conflict in Cameroon. While long overdue, the African Union (AU) and the UN Security Council (UNSC) must help establish a comprehensive ceasefire to address the growing atrocity risks faced by civilian populations in the Anglophone regions.” The AU and UNSC should also facilitate an inclusive dialogue between the government, separatist groups and Anglophone communities, mediated by a neutral player on neutral territory. Security forces must end all extrajudicial killings of unarmed civilians and ensure that the human rights of all Cameroonians are equally protected, regardless of cultural identity. Armed separatist groups must also halt attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure.

Source: reliefweb.int

Southern Cameroons Flooding: Biya regime says trade with Nigeria disrupted

18, August 2022

Southern Cameroons Flooding: Biya regime says trade with Nigeria disrupted 0

Cameroonian authorities say record flooding on its western border with Nigeria has killed at least six people, washed away homes, and destroyed thousands of tons of food meant for export.

In a video circulated on social media platforms by Widikum council officials, civilians asked the Cameroon government to help clear the road of earth, mud and stones to enable them to leave Widikum.

Among the merchants is Paul Okafor, a Nigerian who buys palm oil and vegetables from Widikum to sell in his country. He said floods and landslides have blocked him in Widikum for five days, and no vehicle has been able to leave or enter because flood waters have covered roads and landslides are pulling down hills on roadsides.

Okafor said the vegetables and tomatoes he bought are beginning to rot, and Widikum vegetable farmers are complaining that their harvest is decaying.

Andoh Stanilos, the mayor of Widikum district, acknowledged that his council staff shared the videos. He said floods that triggered landslides killed six people, left hundreds homeless, and destroyed homes and warehouses.

“The floodplains overflooded and completely swept off houses,” he said. “At the moment I speak, there are over 55 people who are without something to eat. The council is trying to mobilize some resources, so I send this SOS to the government and people of goodwill to come to the assistance of persons who are destitute now.”

The floods destroyed a 36-meter-long bridge on the River Momo, keeping hundreds of merchants and commuters stranded on both sides of the river. Momo, an administrative unit where Widikum is found, is a production basin for palm oil, maize, potato, tomatoes and vegetables.

Cameroon’s National Observatory on Climate Change last month predicted that floods and landslides would hit many Cameroonian towns and villages including Widikum.

Forghab Patrick, deputy director general of the observatory, said homes built in flood-risk areas made the situation even worse.

“People build in marshy areas,” Patrick said. “What happens? Water cannot circulate correctly because the houses block even the waterways and at the end of the day, those living in those homes are all exposed.”

The government said it is educating people to stop settling on risk zones, but has not said if it will provide the food and water-hungry victims are asking for.

Source: VOA

France rejects Mali’s accusations that it helped arm Islamist fighters

18, August 2022

France rejects Mali’s accusations that it helped arm Islamist fighters 0

France on Thursday denied accusations by Mali’s foreign minister that the French army has provided support to Islamist groups and violated Malian airspace. Mali’s relations with Paris have been deteriorating since a junta took power in an August 2020 coup, eventually culminating in the withdrawal of French troops that was completed on Monday after a nearly decade-long mission.

The accusations mark a new low in relations amid reports that Russian mercenaries hired by Mali’s military government were flocking to fill the power vacuum left by French troops leaving the country, prompting new worries among Western powers over the security situation in the Sahel region.

Mali says France has violated its airspace and delivered arms to Islamist militants in an attempt to destabilise the West African country, the latest in a barrage of accusations that have marked a bitter end to their once-close relations.

In a letter to the head of the United Nations Security Council dated Monday, Mali’s foreign affairs minister, Abdoulaye Diop, said its airspace has been breached more than 50 times this year, mostly by French forces using drones, military helicopters and fighter jets. “These flagrant violations of Malian airspace were used by France to collect information for terrorist groups operating in the Sahel and to drop arms and ammunition to them,” the letter said.

Mali provided no evidence that France had supplied arms to Islamist groups. France has spent a decade and billions of dollars to stamp out Islamist militants, some with links to al Qaeda and the Islamic State group, in its former colony and across the Sahel region.

“France has obviously never supported, directly or indirectly, these terrorist groups, which remain its designated enemies across the planet,” the French embassy in Mali said in a Twitter thread.

The embassy said that 53 French soldiers had died during its nine-year mission in Mali and that France had killed hundreds of Islamist fighters to restore security for Malians. France has also suffered Islamist attacks at home, it added.

German UN soldiers said they saw Russian forces landing at the airport in Gao and unloading equipment on Monday, the day the last French soldiers left, according to a German military document dated Tuesday.

Fighters from the Wagner Group, a Kremlin-linked private military company, have been supporting the Malian army in its fight against Islamist insurgents since late last year.

French forces were welcomed as heroes in Mali in 2013 after the government in Bamako asked France for help against the Islamist groups that had taken over much of the north, including the fabled city of Timbuktu.

But a series of setbacks and prolonged attacks by the militants have soured relations, which became worse since a military junta overthrew the government in 2020 and later overthrew an interim civilian cabinet.

Mali’s ruling junta called in February for France to withdraw its troops “without delay”. In May the junta announced it was leaving the defence accords it concluded with France, condemning “flagrant violations” of its national sovereignty by French troops.

Its military rulers had pledged to return power to civilians in 2022 but subsequently extended the timetable to 2024, incurring regional sanctions.

Reported by AFP and REUTERS

Mali accuses France of arming terrorists, seeks emergency UN meeting

18, August 2022

Mali accuses France of arming terrorists, seeks emergency UN meeting 0

Mali has requested an emergency UN Security Council meeting as the country has accused France of violating its airspace and delivering weapons to armed groups, an attempt considered to destabilize the West African country.

In a letter to the head of the United Nations Security Council on Monday, Mali’s foreign minister, Abdoulaye Diop, said its airspace has been breached more than 50 times this year, mostly by French forces using drones, military helicopters, and fighter jets.

Malian authorities have “several pieces of evidence that these flagrant violations of Malian airspace were used by France to collect intelligence for terrorist groups operating in the Sahel and to drop arms and ammunition to them,” the letter said.

Diop called for an emergency meeting of the Security Council in his letter in order to ensure that France “immediately ceases its acts of aggression,” in the form of the alleged violations of its sovereignty, support for terrorist groups, and spying.

“In the event of the persistence of this posture which undermines the stability and security of our country, Mali reserves the right to use self defense,” he said.

“France has obviously never supported, directly or indirectly, these terrorist groups, which remain its designated enemies across the planet,” said the French Embassy in Mali in a Twitter thread.

The Malian army says that after an attack on Tessit camp one week ago that claimed the lives of 42 Malian soldiers, “clandestine and uncoordinated overflight operations” were conducted.

The letter is the latest in a barrage of accusations that have strained the relationship between the West African country and its former colonizer. On Monday, France allegedly completed the withdrawal of its forces from Mali, ending a nine-year operation in the country.

A French mission began in Mali in 2013 to allegedly counter militants that Paris claimed were linked to the al-Qaeda and Daesh terrorist groups. Accordingly, the French government deployed thousands of soldiers to purportedly prevent separatist forces from reaching Bamako.

The war caused several thousand deaths and more than a million people to flee their homes. There have been two military coups in roughly a year, amid growing demonstrations against France’s military presence.

France has been a former colonizer in Africa, and, after years of outright colonization, still seeks control over countries spread over more than 12 territories and treats their people as second-class citizens. It has had more than 50 military interventions in Africa since 1960, when many of its former colonies gained nominal independence.

As French troops were pulled out of Mali, the Malian military leaders said they invited “Russian trainers” to strengthen national defense. The swap has worried Western powers, who see their influence slipping in the Sahel.

Over the past few years, Russia has built military alliances with governments in African countries facing violent armed conflicts, including Libya, Mali, Sudan, the Central African Republic (CAR), and Mozambique. Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed possibly supplying food, fertilizers, and fuel to Mali in a call with the country’s interim president last week.

Culled from Presstv

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