22, May 2020

COVID-19: Africa’s cases pass 100,000; deaths at 3,098 Cameroon is the leader in Central Africa ⁰

Confirmed cases of coronavirus across Africa passed the 100,000 mark barely 24-hours after the deaths hit 3,000. This is according to tallies from the John Hopkins University tracker.

The figures as of May 22 14:30 GMT stood at 100,399 with 39,481 recoveries and 3,098 deaths. The number of active cases stood at 57,82.

The five most impacted nations were as follows:

South Africa: 19,137 confirmed cases
Egypt: 15,003
Algeria: 7,728
Morocco: 7,300
Nigeria: 7,016

South Africa is the most impact across the continent and in the southern African region. Egypt tops across North Africa and Nigeria in West Africa. Cameroon is the leader in Central Africa with 4,288 cases whiles Sudan tops in the East / Horn of Africa region with 3,138 cases.

Source: Africa News

22, May 2020

Football: San Siro stadium moves closer to demolition ⁰

Milan’s San Siro stadium is closer to being demolished after Italy’s heritage authority found that the iconic stadium cannot be protected for cultural or historic reasons.

“The property named ‘Giuseppe Meazza Stadium (San Siro) has no cultural interest and as such is excluded from the protection provisions,” the Lombardy region of Italy’s cultural heritage ministry wrote in a report, according to the AGI news agency.

AC Milan and Inter Milan, who share the stadium to the west of the city, have launched their bid to knock down the San Siro and build a new 60,000-capacity home on the same site.

City authorities have been divided over the project and requested the opinion of Italy’s heritage authorities.

The report found that as the San Siro has undergone continuous transformation since being built in 1926, with only a small part of the original stadium remaining, it would not be subject to protection.

Although approval from Italy’s heritage body is not the final decision, it could be an important step towards both teams’ hope of redeveloping the site.

The clubs want to build a new ground adjacent to the current San Siro, while the old stadium would make way for an area “dedicated to sports, entertainment, and shopping”.

The two clubs presented their projects last September and estimated that it would require an investment of 1.2 billion euros ($1.34 billion).

Milan Mayor Guiseppe Sala insists he wants to renovate the existing stadium so that it could celebrate its centenary in 2026 by hosting the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics that year.

Both clubs are former European giants with AC Milan having won the Champions League seven times while Inter were the last Italian team to win the European title, when they lifted the trophy for the third time in 2010.

Neither have won the Serie A title since AC Milan triumphed in 2011.

Source: AFP

22, May 2020

Biya’s doctor dies of COVID-19, first such case in French Cameroun ⁰

Sources close to Colonel Etoudi Marius family have hinted that the senior officer of the Cameroonian army has been carried away by the Coronavirus, the dreaded pandemic that is wreaking havoc throughout the world.

The native of Konabeng, a village in Okala district, Lekié Division in the Central region was a chartered member in President Biya’s private medical team.

Cameroon Intelligence Report gathered that he died early this morning in Yaoundé.

By Rita Akana

22, May 2020

Ambazonia Interim Gov’t issues statement on Barrister Shufai’s health situation ⁰

Interim Governemnt of Ambazonia Statement on the Release of Barrister Blaise Shu Fai from Yaoundé Military Hospital

Fellow Ambazonians,

Accept revolutionary greetings from the Interim Government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia at this trying moment of a global pandemic.

At 8:23 pm last night, the Interim Government of Ambazonia was alerted through its legal representatives in Yaoundé that Barrister Blaise Shu Fai, one of its political leaders, detained in the Kondengui principal prison was discharged from the Yaoundé military hospital where he was taken sickly on Saturday the 16^th of May 2020.

The Interim Government was made aware that Barrister Blaise Shu Fai was frail, depressed and in extremely poor health at the time of his discharge from hospital to the detention facility. I have been briefed that the decision to release him from hospital was made by the prison superintendent, Mr AP Isidore Angoule, and this decision was against the advice of medical practitioners.

The recklessness and viciousness of the Yaoundé regime know no limits. The Ambazonian leader has been discharged without any satisfactory medical report or laboratory tests results interpreted to him, his family or to the Interim Government of Ambazonia. At the time of his release, clinical tests results brought by his family members from the laboratories were still in sealed envelopes pending analysis by the hospital officials. As a government, we find this state of affairs unacceptable and a continuous violation of the human rights of our political detainees.

I am by this statement putting the government of La Republique du Cameroun on notice that it will bear full responsibility for any negative aftermath that may result as a consequence of this politically motivated inhumane and reckless decision.

Thanks and God Bless You all,

Dabney Yerima, Vice President, Federal Republic of Ambazonia

The UN, the AU and the EU Commission

The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Switzerland

USA State Department

22, May 2020

US: Trump orders flags lowered to half-staff for COVID-19 victims ⁰

US President Donald Trump has announced that US flags will be lowered to half-staff over the next three days to honor tens of thousands of Americans who have died due to the coronavirus.

Trump in a tweet on Thursday said the flags will be flown at half-staff over the next three days as the coronavirus death toll in the US nears 100,000.

Earlier in the day, top Democrats had urged the president to order the practice, saying it would reflect a “national expression of grief.”

“Our hearts are broken over this great loss” from the pandemic, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer wrote in a letter to Trump.

“Respectful of them and the loss to our country, we are writing to request that you order flags to be flown at half staff on all public buildings in our country on the sad day of reckoning when we reach 100,000 deaths,” Pelosi and Schumer wrote.

As of Thursday, the country has registered 93,558 confirmed COVID-19-related deaths, so far the highest toll in the world.

This week, the US has averaged about 1,300 daily coronavirus deaths.

Source: Presstv

22, May 2020

Humanitarian partners continue Covid-19 response in Cameroon ⁰

The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said its partners have provided health, water and sanitation, and hygiene support, including mobile clinics, disease screening and Covid-19 sensitisation, to more than 450,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the north-west and south-west regions of Cameroon.

The agency said government and humanitarian partners were also providing distance learning to more than half of the children affected by school closures in both regions through radio, TV and printed material.

More than 6,370 schools and 4,200 community learning centres in the regions have been closed since March to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Authorities have announced the potential reopening of schools in June.

Food distribution to displaced people was also expected to increase following the development of revised guidelines and risk mitigation measures by the food security cluster and supporting partners. In April, Covid-19-related restrictions meant that food assistance reached only 10% of beneficiaries, leaving more than 150,000 people without support, OCHA said.

“More than 1.4 million people in the north-west and south-west regions are food insecure, with numbers gradually increasing every month,” the statement read.

The humanitarian co-ordinator in Cameroon has also met the secretary-general of the south-west region governor’s office, to improve collaboration and co-ordination with the government’s humanitarian co-ordination centres.

The agency said this is also aimed at strengthening transparency among humanitarian partners, including support for the Covid-19 response.

Besides the IDPs in the north-west and the south-west, Cameroon also has 200,000 IDPs in other parts of the country. Some 58,000 Cameroonians are refugees in Nigeria.

So far, Cameroon has recorded 3,529 Covid-19 cases and 140 deaths.

Source: African News Agency

22, May 2020

Southern Cameroons Crisis, COVID-19 overshadow national day ⁰

Cameroon is marking its national day Wednesday under coronavirus restrictions and amid ongoing clashes between the military and anglophone separatists.  President Paul Biya has spoken publicly for the first time about the pandemic.

Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya, broke his silence on the coronavirus pandemic Tuesday night in a televised address to mark the country’s national day.

Biya’s two-month absence and lack of commenting in public on the pandemic had raised speculation about his health.

The 87-year-old, who has ruled Cameroon since 1982, is known for his frequent travels overseas that spark criticism.

In a live broadcast on state television, he said there would be no festive events or military parades to celebrate this year as the number of COVID-19 victims continues to rise.

“Most of you have understood that it is necessary to put aside political squabbles and adopt a common front in the face of the insidious danger posed by COVID-19,” he said.

Instead of public gatherings to mark their independence, Biya called on Cameroonians to follow social distancing guidelines and promote national unity.

A member of medical staff wearing protective equipment, prepares to take care of patients amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at an hospital in Douala, Cameroon, April 27, 2020.

He made no mention of the ongoing separatist conflict in western Cameroon that the U.N. says has cost more than 3,200 lives and displaced more than half-a-million people.

Cameroon’s military raised flags on public buildings Wednesday to mark the anniversary of a 1972 referendum for a unified state instead of the federal system agreed to when the country first gained independence.

Cameroon’s anglophone rebels refuse to honor national day, saying the referendum was unjust because it allowed the French-speaking majority to rule over them.

Ruling party supporter Enow Tanjong voted on the referendum and said the rebels should stop fighting and work for peace in the English-speaking regions.

“They should lay down their arms and come and be integrated in the economic progress of the country. Those who think that we should go and found another country are completely wrong. The world is looking forward to having countries come together and that should be what should guide us,” said Tanjong.

Ongoing clashes

Cameroon’s military said clashes with rebels this week killed at least six people, where separatists had called for a lockdown and vowed that national day would not be observed.

The rebels claimed on social media to have abducted at least nine people they said were watching national day TV programs. Their claim could not be independently confirmed.

Dorothy Njeuma is a Biya supporter but said the over-centralization of power by the central government in Yaoundé was provoking the separatists.

“Over the years, people have had second thoughts about whether it is the best arrangement to have an over-centralized system, but I am not sure that the way that some people have gone about it is the best. I would go more for an effectively decentralized system,” she said.

The conflict started in 2016 when protests by English-speaking teachers and lawyers against the dominance of French-speaking Cameroonians led some to take up arms.

Cameroon’s military declared war on the rebels, who have been fighting since 2017 to create an independent, English-speaking state.

Source: VOA

22, May 2020

French Cameroun: Biya urges citizens to take part in COVID-19 battle ⁰

Cameroon’s president on Tuesday called on all citizens to get involved in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic that has killed 140 people in the Central African country.

“I strongly urge all political, religious and opinion leaders, all officials of associations, all traditional rulers and all dignitaries to fully participate in the fight against COVID-19,” Paul Biya said.

“I, therefore, call on each and every one of you to get involved,” Biya said in a televised speech ahead of the country’s national day celebrated on May 20 each year.

He said that it was important to observe coronavirus preventive measures such as wearing face masks, social distancing, and frequent hand washing.

“Under these circumstances, it was not possible to maintain the festivities marking the celebration of our national day due to the gatherings it entails,” he said.

“This is crucial for the health of everyone,” he emphasized.

“I also wish to hail the courage of the Cameroonian health professionals and those assisting them,” Biya said. “With the resources available to us, they are doing the utmost best to treat those infected with the virus.”

The Central African country has so far confirmed 3,529 coronavirus cases, with 140 death and 1,567 recoveries, according to data from the US-based John Hopkins University.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic and the need to respect social distancing measures, the president of the republic has decided to cancel the public celebrations of the 2020 edition of the national day, Victor Tchatchouwo, Cameroon’s ambassador to Turkey, said in a statement on Tuesday.

The ambassador also wished “a pleasant national day to all the members of the Cameroon community in Turkey.”

Source: AA.com

21, May 2020

Russia: Putin bestows birthday medal on defence chief ⁰

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday bestowed a 65th birthday honour on Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, in the Syria conflict and companion on wilderness trips.

Putin sent Shoigu birthday greetings and signed a decree awarding him one of Russia’s highest decorations, the “For Merit to the Fatherland” medal in the first degree.

Previous recipients of the medal include Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Oscar-winning film director Nikita Mikhalkov and the late cellist Mstislav Rostropovich.

Shoigu, an engineer by training who led the emergency ministry before heading the armed forces, already has a chestfull of medals that he wears on occasions such as the Victory Day parade on Red Square.

These include the very prestigious Hero of Russia star.

One of Russia’s most popular officials who first came to public attention fighting fires and floods, Shoigu rarely makes political statements.

He comes from Siberian Tuva region close to the border with Mongolia, and is one of the few representatives of Russia’s ethnic minorities in top politics.

As defence chief since 2012, he has presided over a massive modernisation of the armed forces with latest-generation weaponry including hypersonic missiles and reinforced troop presence from the Arctic to the Pacific.

He has also overseen Russia’s military intervention in Syria since 2015 in support of President Bashar al-Assad.

Known for unshakeable loyalty to the Russian Federation, Shoigu has often accompanied the president on macho fishing and wildlife-spotting trips.

These included one in 2008 where Putin shot a Siberian tiger with a tranquiliser dart and then kissed it.

On their most recent trip in October, they picked mushrooms by the banks of the Yenisei River in Siberia.

Source: AFP

21, May 2020

Football legend says games without fans ‘sadder than dancing with your sister’ ⁰

Spain coach Luis Enrique says playing behind closed doors is “sadder than dancing with your own sister”, as football faces the prospect of games without supporters for the foreseeable future due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Germany’s Bundesliga became the first major European league to resume last weekend following the two-month shutdown, with strict hygiene measures enforced at all matches across the country.

“(Playing without fans) is sadder than dancing with your own sister. It’s not attractive,” Luis Enrique told the “Colgados del aro” (“Hanging from the hoop”) basketball show on Wednesday.

“I watched the German football and it’s a sad sight. You hear the voices, you even hear the insults… you lose the intimacy of the better moments.

“But you also have to understand it’s a business that generates lots of money, and even if the spectacle is a long way from that when there’s fans it can help in dealing with the confinement.

“Watching football again or any other sport, as a fan it’s interesting,” he added.

Luis Enrique returned to his job as Spain coach in November after resigning last June to take care of his daughter, Xana, who died in August of cancer.

“(As a player), I would have liked to get back playing as soon as possible. I have no fear,” he said.

“I was a bit scared at one moment for my parents, my in-laws and the elderly people I cherish and above all for the people who may suffer. But on a personal level, I have zero fear.”

Euro 2020 has been postponed by a year due to the health crisis and Luis Enrique admitted the uncertainty was affecting everyone involved.

“We’re going day by day. We’re waiting for football to return and later down the line we will restart with some friendlies.

“In theory, the national team should play friendly matches in September as usual. But there are more important things right now so we need to be patient.”

Source AFP