Headline News

14, December 2022

Belgium’s federal prosecutor widens EU corruption probe ⁰

An emergency debate took place in the European Parliament on Tuesday in the wake of explosive claims that Qatar has bribed EU lawmakers and officials. It’s being described as the biggest corruption scandal in the history of the EU.

Greek MEP Eva Kaili and three others are due to appear in court on Wednesday having been charged with accepting bribes.

Belgian police have now raided at least twenty properties in Brussels and have seized more than seven hundred and fifty thousand euro in cash. Qatar denies it has bribed EU officials. Legislators are calling for a Committee of Inquiry into the scandal and for an Ethics Commission to be established.

In addition to Eva Kaili, several lawmakers have stepped down from senior roles in the parliament raising suspicion that the scandal is bigger than first thought.

The EU’s foreign policy is very inconsistent. Many are now asking if cases of suspected corrupt interference extend beyond Qatar.

For example, often based on ambiguous claims, the EU routinely targets Iran. At the same time entirely unambiguous atrocities are committed by the likes of Saudi Arabia and Israel but zero action is taken against those countries.

Source: Presstv

14, December 2022

More than 120 killed in floods in DR Congo’s capital Kinshasa ⁰

More than 120 people were killed Tuesday as the worst floods in years battered DR Congo’s capital Kinshasa following an all-night downpour, authorities said in a provisional assessment.

Major roads in the centre of Kinshasa, a city of some 15 million people, were submerged for hours, and a key supply route was cut off.

Earlier in the day, city police chief General Sylvano Kasongo gave a provisional toll of at least 55 dead in a statement to AFP, concentrated especially on hillside locations where there had been landslips.

However, the toll was then revised upwards to at least 100, according to the country’s state television.

An AFP reporter saw the bodies of nine members of the same family – including young children – who had died after the collapse of their home in the Binza Delvaux district.

Source: AFP

14, December 2022

Messi, Alvarez masterclasses give Argentina big win over Croatia – and place in final ⁰

It was a richly deserved win for Argentina, who played with tremendous spirit to reach the final. Lionel Messi fired home his penalty in his trademark calm yet joyous style. Then Julian Alvarez’s remarkable solo goal almost stole the show from Messi, as he just kept running from the halfway line, exploiting some terrible Croatian defending, to tap it in from close range. The third goal came from Messi just being magnificently, inimitably Messi, keeping the ball under enormous Croatian pressure in the tightest of spots to carry on with his run and set it up for Alvarez to tap home.

Croatia, by contrast, looked stifled throughout the whole match. Luka Modric orchestrated some nice midfield passing for much of the game, but it never came close to producing anything. Modric came off with ten minutes to spare, a sad end to the 37-year-old’s illustrious World Cup career.

But all eyes now will be on Lionel Messi and his attempt to cap off his long and dazzling World Cup career by seizing the trophy in Sunday’s final.

Source: France 24

12, December 2022

Kenyan Olympic champion Rudisha survives plane crash ⁰

Two-time Kenyan Olympic champion David Rudisha said Monday he was grateful to be alive after surviving a plane crash on the weekend in southern Kenya.

The 800m world record holder had just taken off from a Kenyan reserve hosting the “Maasai Olympics” — a series of sporting competitions involving Maasai youth — when his aircraft encountered trouble and was forced to make an emergency landing on Saturday.

“It was a scary episode where you hold your heart in your hand as you pray to God,” the athlete, who belongs to the Maasai tribe himself, told The Nation newspaper.

“The pilot did an incredible job to keep the plane afloat and stable for long.

“We thank God we all came out alive.”

The 33-year-old is a sponsor of the “Maasai Olympics”, which was established a decade ago by community leaders and conservation group Big Life Foundation.

The goal is to help preserve the lion population and replace the traditional Maasai rite of hunting the big cats with sporting contests.

“One of the passengers was injured and is being treated at hospital,” the conservation charity said in a statement released late Saturday.

“The others, including Mr. Rudisha, who is the patron of the Maasai Olympics, suffered no significant physical injuries,” it added.

Rudisha was involved in a serious car accident in 2019.

He won Olympic golds in 2012 and 2016, and world titles in 2011 and 2015, setting a world record (1min 40.91sec) in the 2012 London Olympics final.

Source: AFP

12, December 2022

Biya French Cameroun war killed more than 10,000 Southern Cameroons teenagers ⁰

More than 10,000 Southern Cameroons teenagers have been killed ever since the Paul Biya-led aggression against the people of British Southern Cameroons began in 2016, according to Vice President Dabney Yerima of the Ambazonia Interim Government.

Thousands of innocent children have lost their lives while hundreds living in the rural areas of Southern Cameroons remain at risk of death from preventable disease, the exiled Ambazonian leader said on Monday.

Speaking exclusively to Cameroon Intelligence Report Vice President Dabney Yerima added that the “true teenager toll” of the conflict in Southern Cameroons-Ambazonia is likely to be far higher.

More than eighty five thousand Southern Cameroons refugees in neighboring Nigeria are acutely malnourished, one quarter of them aged fewer than five.

At least 11 Southern Cameroons children have been killed or wounded in Bui Division since the 89-year old tyrant arrived Washington DC for the US-Africa Summit, said Dabney Yerima.

In an interview with a French Cameroun newspaper Le Jour, the jailed Ambazonia leader President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe said that peace in Southern Cameroons is not possible unless the invading French Cameroun military and Francophone leaders in Yaoundé abandon their arrogant mentality.

The ailing President Biya launched the devastating war on the English speaking minority communities in 2016 with political support, arms and logistics from Paris.

The objective was to stifle the Southern Cameroons protest and quest for an independent state and crush the popular Ambazonia Interim Government, which has been running Southern Cameroons affairs in the absence of a functional government in English speaking Cameroon.

By Chi Prudence Asong with files from Isong Asu and Rita Akana

11, December 2022

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Biya crawls into Washington DC ⁰

Cameroon’s self-serving and sit-tight president, Paul Biya has been received in Washington DC by a crowd of desperate sycophants who are still hoping that they could one day be appointed if they continue to sing the Yaoundé strong man’s praises in a ceremony bereft of fanfare.

The crowd, which was carefully selected and vetted by Cameroon embassy officials, was on hand to receive the tired and disorientated leader who was visibly suffering from fatigue after the 8-hour long flight from Geneva.

According to a source close to Mr. Biya’s entourage, this year’s celebration for the Yaoundé strong man’s visit in the American capital will be low-key because it is being reported that a massive demonstration is being prepared by Southern Cameroonians in Washington to prove that the ineffective and senile Biya is an iron fist in a velvet glove.

The Yaoundé tyrant is expected to meet with officials of the US administration and businesspeople but many in Washington DC hold that Cameroon is a black hole which holds no good news for American investors.

Mr. Biya has promised, on many occasions, to make the country’s business environment conducive for foreign investors but has never kept his promise. The legal framework also leaves much to be desired and the reform of such a framework will make it hard for Mr. Biya to manipulate the system.

This has caused many American business owners and investors to view him as the “wizard of lies” to whom principle and discipline are foreign concepts.

Meanwhile, many American lawmakers are urging the Biden Administration to avoid Mr. Biya and the crowd of kleptocrats he has brought to Washington DC.

Many question his human rights credentials and they are displaying videos of soldiers killing women and children in Southern Cameroons at the behest of the Yaoundé kleptocratic and gerontocratic regime.

The US lawmakers are also pointing to reports by human rights organizations like the International Crisis Group and Amnesty International which have clearly indicted Mr. Biya and his brutal assassination of protesters in the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon.

Mr. Biya, who had an intense steroid consumption session in Geneva, is in the American capital to attend the US-African Leaders Summit where he is expected to lobby the Biden Administration for support to its efforts to crush a tough insurgency in Southern Cameroons which has sent over four thousand poorly trained Cameroonian soldiers to an early and lonely grave.

Sources close to the US State Department have told the Cameroon Concord News Group correspondent in North America that Mr. Biya’s plea will fall on deaf ears as the Yaoundé regime has refused to listen to calls for a peaceful resolution.

Mr. Biya will be requesting for some Southern Cameroonians suspected of financing the insurgency in the country’s English-speaking regions to be repatriated, but his request will be a dead letter as most Southern Cameroonian in America are bearers of American passports.

“The US never sends its citizens for them to be tried on mere suspicion in a country wherein the rule of law does not exist. The Biya regime has a tough job on its hands. It must show convincing evidence demonstrating that those it suspects actually engage in acts which are against the US law, and even if it comes with such evidence, American citizens in the US will only be tried by US laws,” the source which sought anonymity said.

“The FBI might have arrested and indicted three American citizens in relation to the war in Cameroon, but they are still not yet guilty. The FBI indictment and evidence might not stand the test in American courts as celebrity lawyers are opting to take up the case,” the source added, stressing that “Cameroon lacks what it takes to mount pressure on the US.”

The six-year-old insurgency which has resulted in the deaths of some ten thousand Cameroonians has put the fragile and collapsing Cameroon regime under volcanic pressure which has already ruined the health of the ministers of defense and territorial administration.

The fighting has delivered some deadly punches to the country’s economy and the government has ended up with a bloodshot eye. It has been humiliated in the jungles of Southern Cameroons and it is now seeking American help on how to put an end to the insurgency.

More will be yours as our North American correspondent makes it available.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

11, December 2022

Qatar 2022: France, Morocco, Argentina and Croatia get ready for the semi-finals ⁰

The four teams are still riding high after their respective wins in the World Cup quarter-finals, but anticipation is already building ahead of the next step: the semis on Tuesday and Wednesday. Croatia will attempt to reach its second World Cup final in as many competitions, and Morocco is looking to continue its historic run after it became the first African team and the first Arab team to ever make it to the final four.

Defending champions France edged England 2-1 on Saturday as Harry Kane missed a late penalty in the World Cup quarter-finals, after Morocco became the first African team ever to reach the semi-finals.

France will face the surprising North Africans on Wednesday, earning their place when Olivier Giroud’s header proved the difference at Al Bayt Stadium.

In a tense match, Aurélien Tchouaméni’s strike opened the scoring with 17 minutes gone, but Kane brought England level from the penalty spot early in the second half.

England were the best side for large parts of the match but Giroud scored when it mattered most, rising above Harry Maguire to nod the ball into the net on 78 minutes for his 53rd goal for France.

As England desperately searched for an equaliser, they were thrown a late lifeline when Theo Hernandez needlessly shoved over Mason Mount and the referee gave a spot-kick following a VAR review.

But Kane blasted his kick high over the crossbar, spurning the chance to send the game into extra time. He was the first England player to sink to his knees at the final whistle, his head in his hands.

“We gave them a little ammunition with two penalties, but it is with hearts and guts that we held on to this result,” France manager Didier Deschamps said. “It’s fabulous because it was a big match against a very good English team.”

“We responded once again, it’s wonderful to reach the last four again, you have to savour it, a World Cup semi-final is quite something.”

England manager Gareth Southgate said he had told his players, “I don’t think they could have given any more”.

“They’ve played really well against a top team. It’s fine margins and things at both ends that have decided the game,” Southgate added.

Morocco make World Cup history

Only the most fervent Morocco fan would have bet on their side reaching the World Cup semi-finals before the tournament kicked off.

On Saturday, they beat Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal 1-0 thanks to Youssef En-Nesyri’s first-half header to go further than any African team ever has at a World Cup.

Morocco, ranked 22 in the world before the tournament started, have surpassed the three other African sides to reach the quarter-finals – Cameroon in 1990, Senegal in 2002 and Ghana in 2010.

Ronaldo, who came on as a second-half substitute, was unable to rescue his side and at the final whistle walked off down the tunnel wiping away tears without acknowledging either his teammates or the victorious Moroccans.

Ronaldo, 37, who with Lionel Messi has dominated world football for the past two decades, has likely played his last World Cup match after making a world record-equalling 196th international appearance at the Al Thumama Stadium in Doha.

The Moroccans have wildly surpassed expectations in Qatar and coach Walid Regragui lauded the battling spirit of his injury-hit side.

“We’re drawing on all we have, we still have guys injured. I told the guys before the match we had to write history for Africa. I’m very, very happy,” Regragui said.

As their national team made history, crowds gathered in Casablanca and chanted “Qualified! Qualified!”

There were also celebrations across the Arab world and in Europe as Morocco are also the first Arab team to reach a World Cup semi-final.

“My heart will stop, what a team, what stamina, what an achievement,” Ilham El Idrissi, a 34-year-old woman, told AFP in Casablanca.

Argentina and Croatia go head-to-head on Tuesday

Argentina and Lionel Messi will face 2018 finalists Croatia in the other semi-final after the Croatians dumped out pre-tournament favourites Brazil on Friday.

The five-time champions crashed out in dramatic fashion, losing on penalties after a 1-1 draw, while Argentina survived a fightback from the Netherlands to also win in a shootout.

Brazil star Neymar said he was contemplating retiring from international football after the crushing loss, but on Saturday Brazilian legend Pele urged him to “keep inspiring us”.

“I’m 82 years old, and after all this time, I hope I’ve inspired you in some way to get this far… Your legacy is far from over,” Pele wrote on Instagram.

Neymar had equalled Pele’s official Brazil scoring record of 77 international goals in Friday’s match.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

11, December 2022

Africa, Arab world celebrate Morocco win over Portugal in World Cup quarter-final ⁰

Moroccan soccer fans exploded in joy on Saturday as their team became the first from any African country to reach a World Cup semi-final, filling the stadium in Qatar with a deafening roar and unleashing cheering, crying, dancing and singing on the streets at home.

The 1-0 victory over Portugal was celebrated further afield, with exuberant fans from Abidjan in Ivory Coast to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia lauding what they saw as a historic win for both Africa and the Arab World.

“They made us happy and proud and they proved that they can make it to the final. Why not? We are so proud of this team that is supported by Africa and Arabs” said Siham Motahir, a young woman in Rabat, where cafes had filled with fans to watch the game.

To the rhythmic playing of a horn, men and women jumped up and down waving the Moroccan flag – part of a sea of people who had filled Rabat’s city centre, raising a cacophonous din of triumph.

The win over Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal is Morocco’s third over a highly ranked European team in the tournament, a run that had brought delight both in Morocco and for Africans and Arabs more widely.

African Union President Macky Sall wrote on Twitter, using capital letters to emphasise his excitement: “HISTORIC! AND FANTASTIC! THE ATLAS LIONS ARE QUALIFIED FOR THE SEMI-FINALS OF THE WORLD CUP! BRAVO MOROCCO.”

Arab and African political and sporting leaders paid tribute to Morocco, including tweets from the prime ministers of Libya, Iraq and the Palestinian Authority and the rulers of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

Former Ivory Coast soccer star Didier Drogba tweeted, “They did it!!!! Well done Morocco for this feat. Long live Africa.”

In an Abidjan cafe where people were watching the game and drinking beer to celebrate the win, customer Jules Goule said Ivorians were proud of Morocco’s win. “Through Morocco Africa has just shown that it can compete with other continents in football,” he said.

Arab and African Joy

“Waoh, waoh… Morocco! It’s with great joy! Africa is shining! Go Africa!” shouted Agwe Jefferson, 28, a driver in Cameroon’s capital Yaounde.

In Libya, a crowd watching the game in the port city of Misrata lit red flares and waved Libyan and Moroccan flags, while in the Tunisian capital people celebrated the victory.

“Today Morocco honoured Africans and Arabs and made the dream we all have possible,” said Ameur Souilam in Tunis.

Meanwhile in the Palestinian territories and Israel, thousands of people packed cafes, restaurants and soccer stadiums screening the match, bursting into cheers with Morocco’s triumph. After its previous win, Morocco’s team had posed with the Palestinian flag.

“Seeing the Palestinian flag being waved by Morocco footballers made us feel as if we won,” said Gaza businessman Imad Joudat.

In the Edgware Road district of London, long a centre of the city’s Arab community, the street was jammed with cars honking horns and waving flags and in Paris chanting and cheering Moroccan fans filled the Champs Elysees.

Singing, Flag waving, Cheering

Moroccan fans erupted when Youssef En-Nesyri scored the game’s only goal. In the Jmaa al-Fnaa, the historic main square of Marrakech where authorities had put a big screen for fans, thousands of people leaped up and down as the ball went in.

As the game wound on, Morocco fans in the stadium screamed “Ole, ole, ole!” in unison, drowning out the handful of Portuguese fans and whistling whenever Portugal took possession of the ball.

Behind the two goals, banks of Moroccan supporters stood for the whole match with drummers and fan leaders coordinating the chants.

One man wearing the red and green of Morocco’s national flag and its football kit raised his hands in supplication as the final minutes ticked away, shouting “O God, o God”.

In the media box, a security guard, screaming with triumph, hugged a Moroccan journalist who was weeping with happiness.

As Moroccan player Jawad El Yamiq circled the pitch with a half-Moroccan, half-Qatari flag draped around his shoulders, one fan stood motionless, looking out over the pitch with his hands over his mouth as if unable to take in the scale of the win.

Outside the stadium a drummer led fans in a chant of “Go, go, go” before they sang “Al-Andalus al-Andalus” – the name of the historic Muslim state once ruling Spain and Portugal, the two teams Morocco has now knocked out.

With many Moroccans living and working in the Gulf, Morocco’s World Cup matches have felt like home-team games and Ismail Chakour, a Dubai-based banker, said he had been determined to attend the match “whatever the cost”.

In Rabat, joyful fans thronged the streets and headed towards the downtown square where Morocco’s victories are celebrated.

Children were hoisted onto parents shoulders and bounced up and down with the rest of the crowd, singing songs and waving flags.

“The last few minutes felt like hours,” said Samir Saqri as he joined a crowd pouring out from the cafe where they had watched the game to head downtown.

Source: Reuters

11, December 2022

France eye World Cup glory as Morocco loom ⁰

Defending champions France on Sunday trained their sights on a World Cup semi-final against surprise package Morocco as Argentina and Lionel Messi prepare to take on Croatia.

Didier Deschamps’ men edged past England in a thrilling quarter-final in the Qatar desert to move one step closer to becoming the first team to retain the trophy in 60 years.

They will meet Morocco at the Al Bayt Stadium on Wednesday after the African team sent Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal packing to become the first African team in history to reach the last four.

France were second best for long spells against Gareth Southgate’s England on Saturday and were grateful for a late Harry Kane penalty miss as they won 2-1.

England captain Kane had earlier cancelled out Aurelien Tchouameni’s opener, firing past his Tottenham teammate Hugo Lloris from the penalty spot.

That goal put him level with Wayne Rooney as England’s all-time leading scorer.

Olivier Giroud headed France back into the lead in the 78th minute before England were handed a lifeline but this time Kane blasted over and England’s chance was gone.

Deschamps, who led France to triumph in Russia in 2018, said his side showed “hearts and guts” to defeat a youthful England team.

“There is quality in this team, but there is also a good mentality and a state of mind,” he said. “We gave them a little ammunition with two penalties, but it is with hearts and guts that we held onto this result.”

Deschamps, who also won the World Cup as a player, said France’s semi-final opponents Morocco, ranked 22nd in the world, “deserve all our respect and recognition”.

“They weren’t among the teams we were expecting there, but it’s anything but a surprise.”

Southgate said he would take his time before he makes a decision over his future as England coach as the nation’s long and painful wait for a major trophy goes on.

The 1966 World Cup winners reached the semi-finals in 2018 and the final at last year’s European Championship but have again come up short against top-class opposition.

Morocco shock

Only the most fervent Morocco fan would have bet on their side reaching the World Cup semi-finals before the tournament kicked off.

On Saturday, they beat Ronaldo and Portugal 1-0 thanks to Youssef En-Nesyri’s first-half header, to go further than any African team ever has at a World Cup.

“We’re drawing on all we have, we still have guys injured,” said Morocco coach Walid Regragui. “I told the guys before the match we had to write history for Africa. I’m very, very happy.”

As their national team made history, crowds gathered in Casablanca and chanted “Qualified! Qualified!”

There were also celebrations across the Arab world and in Europe as Morocco are also the first Arab team to reach a World Cup semi-final.

Ronaldo headed down the tunnel with tears streaming down his face after the bitter defeat, ignoring the Morocco players rushing to their fans to celebrate.

At 37, his final chance of adding the World Cup to his Euro 2016 triumph has almost certainly gone as the end of an era of global superstars looms.

Brazil’s Neymar, who has already indicated he may never pull on the Brazil shirt again, said Saturday he was “psychologically destroyed” by his side’s elimination at the hands of Croatia on penalties on Friday.

“It is definitely the defeat which has hurt me the most, which left me paralysed for ten minutes after the match, after which I burst into tears without being able to stop,” the 30-year-old said in an Instagram message.

Messi is also likely playing on the biggest stage for the final time at the age of 35 but he has a golden chance to match the achievement of Diego Maradona, who lifted the trophy for Argentina in 1986.

The South American giants will meet the beaten 2018 finalists at Lusail Stadium on Tuesday after squeezing past the Netherlands on penalties.

They will meet a Croatia team led and inspired by veteran Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric, who will be aiming to go one better than they did four years ago.

Source: AFP

10, December 2022

Belgium makes EU parliament arrests in Qatar corruption investigation ⁰

Belgian police arrested a European Parliament vice-president and four others in connection with an investigation into corruption implicating World Cup hosts Qatar, the prosecutors office said Friday.

Officers arrested Greek socialist MEP Eva Kaili hours after four other suspects had been detained for questioning. All four were either Italian citizens or originally came from Italy, a source close to the case told AFP.

Kaili is the partner of one of the four, a parliamentary assistant with the European Parliament’s Socialists and Democrats group, said the source.

Following reports of Kaili’s arrest, the president of the Greek socialists (PASOK) Nikos Androulakis announced on Twitter that she had been expelled from the party.

A statement issued earlier by Belgian prosecutors mentioned a Gulf country in connection with an investigation into corruption and money laundering, but did not name it. And while it said a former MEP was among those arrested, it did not identify him.

But Belgian press reports said the country concerned was Qatar, and named the former MEP as Italy’s Pier-Antonio Panzeri, who served as a socialist in the parliament between 2004 and 2019.

600,000 euros seized

Belgium’s federal prosecutor announced the earlier arrests after a series of raids at 16 addresses raids in the capital Brussels.

“Today’s searches have enabled investigators to recover about 600,000 euros in cash,” the prosecutors said in a statement.

“Computer equipment and mobile phones were also seized. These elements will be analysed as part of the investigations.”

Investigators “suspected a Gulf country (of influencing) the economic and political decisions of the European parliament”, the statement added.

It alleged this was done “by paying large sums of money or offering large gifts to” influential figures in the European parliament.

A source close to the case confirmed press reports that the investigation was into suspected attempts by Qatar to corrupt an Italian Socialist former MEP, who Belgian outlets Le Soir and Knack named as Panzeri.

‘Recognised and respected’

Kaili, 44, is a former television presenter and currently one of the European Parliament’s 14 vice presidents. In November, shortly before the World Cup started, she met Qatar’s Labour Minister Ali bin Samikh Al Marri.

In a video statement posted on Twitter by the Qatar News Agency she said: “I believe the World Cup for Arabs has been a great tool for… political transformation and reforms…”.

The European Parliament “recognised and respected” Qatar’s progress in labour reforms, she added.

She made similar comments during a speech at the European Parliament later in November, accusing some MEPs of “bullying” Qatar and accusing them of corruption.

Panzeri, 67, currently heads a Brussels-based human rights organisation called Fight Impunity.

According to the reports, the secretary general of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Italian Luca Visentini, was also among those arrested. The ITUC said it was “aware” of the media reports, but had no further comment to make at present.

Corruption accusations

The alleged bribery comes as World Cup host Qatar has made a major push to improve its image in the face of criticism over its record on worker protections and human rights.

Interviewed by AFP on Monday, Visentini welcomed progress made by Qatar on worker rights, but insisted “pressure” needed to be maintained once the football tournament finishes.

Migrant workers make up more than 2.5 million of Qatar’s 2.9 million population and labour conditions have been strongly criticised — particularly in the lead-up to the World Cup.

Doha has implemented reforms to its migrant labour system, but critics insist more work needs to be done to make sure the changes have an impact.

Qatar’s World Cup has also been dogged by accusations of corruption surrounding the FIFA members’ vote to award the tournament to the energy-rich Gulf state.

Belgium’s France Soir newspaper pointed out that Friday’s police raids came on the United Nations-designated International Anti-Corruption Day.

Source: AFP