3, May 2025

Togo: His family has ruled for 58 years and he is now going to rule for life ⁰

The Togolese leader, Faure Gnassingbé, has been sworn in as “President of the Council of Ministers” – a new post which is the highest office in the government’s executive branch and has no official term limits.

This follows constitutional reform that ended presidential elections, and introduced a parliamentary system.

The opposition said the change was in order to allow President Gnassingbé to stay in power indefinitely.

His family has ruled the country for 58 years – Faure Gnassingbé took over in 2005 from his father, Gnassingbé Eyadéma, who had ruled for almost four decades.

This latest change results from a new constitution approved by lawmakers last year, labelled by critics and opposition figures as an “institutional coup d’état”.

Gnassingbé’s government had paused some of the changes following huge backlash, but has moved ahead with his new role.

Togo’s municipal elections in July will be the first under the new constitution, which has replaced the presidential system with a parliamentary one.

In theory, the role of president of the republic is now only an honorary title, but analysts say Gnassingbé’s power is more entrenched than ever with his new post of council president.

His party, the Union for the Republic, won a huge majority in last year’s parliamentary election, taking of 108 out of 113 seats in the National Assembly.

Source: BBC

2, May 2025

Russia, North Korea start building first road link amid growing alliance ⁰

Russia and North Korea have announced the construction of their first-ever road bridge on the Tumen River, which is expected to help boost bilateral relations between the two countries.

The bridge will be 1 kilometer long, and its construction is expected to take one and a half years, the Tass news agency reported Thursday.

“We are creating a reliable basis for closer cooperation between our two countries, a road for an open and fruitful dialogue,” Russia’s Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said.

“The significance goes far beyond just an engineering task… it symbolizes our common desire to strengthen friendly, good-neighborly relations and increase inter-regional cooperation,” he added.

In a video call with the chairman of North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly Pak Thae-song, Mishustin also called it a “truly a milestone for Russian-Korean relations”.

The North Korean official hailed the project as “a historic monument” in bilateral ties between Russia and North Korea.

“It will become an eternal historical memorial structure symbolizing the unbreakable Korean-Russian friendly relations,” Pak said.

North Korea’s central news agency also confirmed the news on Thursday, adding that the country looks forward to expanding cross-border travel of people, tourism, and circulation of commodities through the awaited road link.

One railway bridge and air service already connect North Korea and Russia.

During a visit by President Vladimir Putin to North Korea in June 2024, the two countries agreed to construct a bridge for automobiles over the Tumen River, which runs along North Korea’s borders with Russia and China.

On Thursday, Russia and North Korea simultaneously held a ceremony in their respective border cities, celebrating the initiation of the project that will be poised for rollout by mid-2026.

North Korea and Russia have enhanced bilateral ties in recent years in a bid to circumvent sanctions, to which both countries are subjected.

The Asian side has been receiving Russian tourists since February 2024 amid slowly easing pandemic curbs.

In 2023, about 97% of North Korea’s external trade was with China, while 1.2% was with Russia.

Earlier this week, North Korea publicly confirmed its military support for Russia, acknowledging the deployment of 15,000 troops to assist Russia in the ongoing conflict with Ukraine.

According to a South Korean government intelligence assessment shared with lawmakers on Wednesday, 4,700 soldiers have been killed or wounded.

The assessment also reveals that Russia has reportedly provided Pyongyang with air defense missiles, electronic warfare equipment, drones, and technology for spy satellite launches.

Source: Press TV

2, May 2025

Football: Real Madrid boss Ancelotti set for Brazil talks ⁰

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti is set for more talks about taking over as Brazil coach before the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in June.

The 65-year-old Italian will meet representatives acting on behalf of the Brazilian Football Federation (CBF).

Ancelotti said his future was “a topic for the next weeks, not today”, following Real’s stormy Copa del Rey final defeat by Barcelona in Seville on Saturday.

However, Brazilian businessman Diego Fernandes, who has been acting on behalf of the CBF, was spotted at the match.

It is understood Fernandes’ latest visit to Europe includes a plan to try to persuade Ancelotti to take the Brazil job as soon as the Spanish domestic season is over.

That would mean Ancelotti leaving Real before this summer’s Club World Cup in the United States.

Ancelotti is the number one choice to replace Dorival Junior, who was sacked after Brazil’s 4-1 defeat by old rivals Argentina in Buenos Aires last month.

Brazil are fourth in the South American World Cup qualification table.

While they are not in any danger of failing to qualify for the expanded 48-team tournament to be jointly held in the United States, Canada and Mexico next year, the CBF feels Ancelotti would give Brazil the best chance of winning it.

The CBF previously wanted to appoint Ancelotti for last summer’s Copa America but failed in its pursuit.

Ancelotti has won two La Liga and three Champions League titles across two spells at Real, including both trophies last season.

However, his side are four points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona with five matches remaining and were beaten 5-1 on aggregate by Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Bayer Leverkusen’s Xabi Alonso is reportedly a candidate to replace Ancelotti at the Bernabeu.

Source: BBC

2, May 2025

Biya regime joins Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition ⁰

Cameroon becomes 43rd member state of the Saudi-led coalition

The Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition announced that Cameroon has officially joined, becoming the 43rd member state of the coalition, led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The step underscores a growing commitment to combating terrorism and fostering regional and international security and stability, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday.

The announcement was made during an official ceremony at the coalition’s headquarters in Riyadh, where the flag of Cameroon was raised alongside the flags of the 42 member states; a powerful symbol of unity and solidarity in the fight against terrorism.

The event was attended by Maj. Gen. Mohammed bin Saeed Al-Moghedi, acting secretary-general of the IMCTC, Iya Tidjani, Cameroon’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, the Cameroonian representative to the coalition, a delegation from Cameroon’s embassy, and representatives of member states.

Al-Moghedi welcomed Cameroon’s admission to the coalition, describing it as a significant step that strengthens joint efforts to combat terrorism and enhances coordination and integration in the intellectual, media, financial, and military fields.

Source: Arab News

2, May 2025

“Pope Francis never forgets that Cameroon beat Argentina in the 1990 World Cup” ⁰

Bishops in Cameroon have gathered in the capital Yaoundé for their 50th Ordinary Plenary, but the death of Pope Francis and the conclave to choose a new pope that begins on May 7 in Rome, loom large at the gathering.

At a Mass to kick off the deliberations, the Apostolic Nuncio to Cameroon, Archbishop Julio Murat told journalists that Francis’s legacy in Cameroon and the world will outlive his life on earth.

“The very fact of the Presence of all the Archbishops and Bishops of Cameroon here this evening to celebrate this Mass is a testament that the Pope’s Pontificate touched the very hearts of Cameroon,” Murat said.

“In his last testament, Pope Francis offered his life, his prayer, his work for peace and fraternity in the world. He himself preached many times about mercy, and the Holy Door of the Jubilee for Mercy was opened in the geographical heart of Africa, Bangui right next door to us,” the representative of the Holy See in Cameroon said.

That door was opened on November 29, 2015, by Pope Francis when he visited the Central African Republic.

“He [Francis] also promulgated the decree to make Baba Simon a venerable and presented him to the world –a Cameroonian. So his heritage will long last his life, and now we know he prays to us from heaven,” the archbishop said.

The President of the Cameroon Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya, added that the bishops were “united with the Universal Church in prayer for peace in his soul.”

“Pope Francis was a father to me,” Nkea told Crux.

“It is Pope Francis who appointed me Archbishop,” he said.

Nkea narrated little instances during which he had to be up and personal with the pope, like buttoning the pope’s cassock, and the pope asking him to take out his phone and record a greeting for the people of Bamenda.

“Pope Francis never forgets that Cameroon beat Argentina in the 1990 World Cup,” Nkea recalls the pontiff joking with him during one of his visits to the Vatican.

“His simplicity was phenomenal,” the archbishop said.

Lay Christians were also full of praise for the late pope. Pascaline Ndifor, a member of the Catholic Women’s Association, told Crux that she remembers Pope Francis for his humility.

“The memory I keep of him is that of humility, and his prayerful nature. This year, we are celebrating the Jubilee Year of Hope. It teaches us the humility and the simplicity the late Pope taught us-it is the way to Christ. That what touches me so much-the simple, spiritual life he teaches us,” she said.

Bessy Bah Awah also remembers Francis for his simplify and humility, recalling a time last year when she was among a delegation of Catholic women who visited the Holy See during which the Holy Father granted them an audience.

“He was very particular about the role of women in the Church. That touched me, and in addition to his humility, I think that he has left a great legacy-a legacy of humility, simplicity and love,” she said.

Maurine Dengo, a social worker, calls Francis “my social worker pope” because of the pontiff’s efforts to bring respite to “the less privileged, the vulnerable, the poor, the marginalized, the suffering…everything that has to do with my profession, Pope Francis was doing it.”

As the world waits for the Conclave to begin, Nkea says the Catholic Church in Cameroon is in unison with the Universal Church “to pray for the Cardinals who are already in Rome, in the conclave, to choose another Holy Father.”

“And as you can see, it is the Holy Spirit that guides the Cardinals in this exercise of choosing another Holy Father for us. And we pray, as the Holy Spirit has done all the time, he will give us a Pope who will manage the Church according to the heart of Jesus Christ,” the archbishop said.

Nkea said that that the 50th plenary of the bishops focuses on the daily running of the Church in Cameroon and to look at the future, especially in this year of hope.

He noted that the major issues preoccupying the bishops are “the socio-economic situation of the country” and the presidential election scheduled to take place in November.

The bishops had already issued pastoral letters about the two issues, and the archbishop of Bamenda called on Cameroonians to take a closer look at those letters in order to “ensure that everything is going to pass during the election month in peace and tranquility. This is what we ask of our people.”

Source: Crux

30, April 2025

CPDM Crime Syndicate: Biya appoints Johnny Razack as Chair of SNI ⁰

Johnny Razack has been appointed chairman of Cameroon’s National Investment Company (SNI), following a presidential decree signed on April 25. The 52-year-old senior civil servant takes over from Geoffroy Désiré Mbock, who held the position for five years.

The SNI acts as the government’s main investment vehicle, holding stakes in companies and helping create new businesses. Razack’s nomination comes at a turning point for the institution, which was restructured last year to take on a stronger role in shaping the country’s economic and industrial strategy.

Before his appointment, Razack served as Secretary General at the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, a position he had held since December 22, 2015. Over his career, he also managed government correspondence at the Prime Minister’s Office and spent several years overseeing union matters. He began his career at the Ministry of Economy in 2005 as acting head of personnel services.

Razack brings with him a solid academic background. He is a graduate of ENA Paris, part of the 2002–2004 “Léopold Senghor” cohort, which also included French President Emmanuel Macron. He also graduated from Cameroon’s ENAM in Yaoundé, class of 1998–2000, the same year as Health Minister Malachie Manaouda. A committed member of the ruling RDPC party, he also serves as a mission officer at the party’s central committee. He hails from Bénoué in the North region.

A fellow RDPC member commented that Razack’s appointment “shows the President’s trust in loyal, capable profiles to manage key pillars of the national economy.”

His nomination follows the recent reshuffle of the SNI’s board of directors. Eleven members were appointed, including Gwendoline Abunaw, Managing Director of Ecobank Cameroon, and Célestin Tawamba, head of the country’s main business federation GECAM. They represent the banking and private sector, respectively.

This move is part of a broader overhaul of the SNI, initiated by President Paul Biya on July 10, 2024. The reform transformed the SNI into a public capital company with a sharper focus on investment planning. Under the new structure, SNI now plays a dual role: as a government investor and as a consulting and research body. It is fully owned by the state.

The company’s capital was raised to CFA200 billion, to be released gradually over four years. The goal is to turn the SNI into a true investment holding. Plans are already underway to open its subsidiaries to new public and private shareholders. The strategy aims to better manage the state’s holdings and help build strong national companies.

The SNI’s new responsibilities are extensive. It will now screen industrial projects from the private sector by issuing financial and economic viability clearances before the state can step in. It will also assess public companies by conducting audits, performance reviews, and diagnostics. In addition, it will help prepare and monitor performance contracts between the state and these firms.

On top of that, the SNI will now handle venture capital and private equity activities, as well as act as a stock market intermediary and asset manager.

Razack’s appointment comes with big expectations. While he is seen as a trusted and well-connected civil servant with political weight and administrative experience, some in the business community question whether he has the hands-on experience needed to run an institution now tasked with high-stakes investment operations. Others are confident that his background and network could serve him well in navigating this new chapter.

Source: Business in Cameroon

30, April 2025

Mali coup leader wins backing to be president for next five years ⁰

Mali’s military leader Gen Assimi Goïta has won the backing of key political allies to be declared president for the next five years.

The 41-year-old, who has seized power twice, was named transitional president after his last coup in 2021.

At the time he promised to hold elections the following year – but has since reneged, in a blow to efforts to restore multi-party rule in the West African state.

A national conference organised by the regime – but boycotted by leading opposition parties – has now recommended naming Gen Goïta president until 2030.

He has not yet commented on the recommendation, but the conference was seen as an attempt to legitimise his bid to remain in power.

Over the weekend, an opposition leader, Mohamed Salia Touré, told the AFP news agency that suppressing the multi-party system would be a “historic error”.

On Wednesday, Amnesty International said it denounced what it described as a “proposal to dissolve all political parties in Mali”.

The rights group’s Sahel researcher, Ousmane Diallo, said he was “alarmed by the proposition” and that such a move “would be a flagrant attack on the rights to freedom of expression and association”.

It is unclear if the conference proposes to dissolve all political parties, or only those that fail to comply with certain requirements.

The conference also recommended suspending anything to do with elections until there was peace in the country, according to a document seen by AFP.

The military government has been trying to quell jihadist violence unleashed by groups linked with the Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda.

Since taking power, the junta leader has formed an alliance with coup leaders in neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger, pivoting the region towards Russia after drastically reducing ties with former colonial power France.

Gen Goïta has also withdrawn Mali from the regional grouping Ecowas over its demands to restore democratic rule. Burkina Faso and Niger have also left the grouping.

He first staged a coup in August 2020 overthrowing then-President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta after huge anti-government protests over his rule and his handling of the jihadist insurgency.

Gen Goïta handed power to an interim government that was to oversee the transition to elections within 18 months.

He had sought to lead that government, but Ecowas insisted on a civilian leader.

Unhappy with the performance of the civilian transitional arrangement, he seized power again in May 2021.

He was a colonel at the time, but became a five-star general last year.

Source: BBC

30, April 2025

African Union lifts sanctions against Gabon after political transition review ⁰

The African Union has lifted sanctions against Gabon, it said in a statement on Wednesday, after the central African nation was suspended from the organisation following a coup in August 2023.

A meeting of the Peace and Security Council on Gabon’s political transition “reviewed the processes and found them to be generally successful”, the AU’s Political Affairs Peace and Security department said on X.

The statement said Gabon would be welcome “to immediately resume her participation in the activities” of the AU.

Gabon was suspended when General Brice Oligui Nguema took power after overthrowing president Ali Bongo, whose family had been in power for 55 years.

Nguema pledged to hand back the oil-rich country to civilian rule after a two-year transitional period, and was elected president in April with 94 percent of the vote.

According to the new constitution, the president will lead the country with expanded powers.

The decision by the AU to lift sanctions follows a meeting last year between Nguema and Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara, in which Nguema asked for support in lifting sanctions.

The country of 2.3 million people has endured high unemployment, regular power and water shortages, and heavy government debt despite its oil riches.

Source: AFP

30, April 2025

Africa has no resource curse! ⁰

African natural resources have, for decades, triggered huge armed conflicts, giving the impression that there is a massive resource curse on the richest continent in the world.

Many reports on Africa’s unfortunate situation, most of which are written by Westerners, usually avoid pointing out that the resource curse on African countries is fuelled by bad governance, foreign intervention and unpatriotic leadership.

Most of the fighting in Africa is a distraction designed by certain Western countries for them to exploit the continent’s resources without playing by the books.

African countries have been theaters of bloody fighting because of their natural wealth. Resource-rich African countries have spent most of the last century fending off jihadist and terrorist attacks, thereby perpetuating the notion that there is a resource curse on Africa.

No, there is no such curse. Greed and foreign interference are to blame for the armed conflicts which have become the continent’s hallmark.

African governments must take control of their mines to ensure that they do not fall into the hands of terrorists and other illegal miners. Illegal mines are important sources of revenue for terrorists and jihadists.

Securing every illegal mining site will rob the terrorists of the money they need to recruit young, innocent and naive fighters. If terrorism has to be rolled back in Africa, African countries must be intentional in fighting this scourge that is destroying the continent.

African governments must be strong, they must create jobs for their young people and they must be present in every part of their countries.

African countries must stop thinking that a country is safe if the political and economic capitals are safe. Terrorists and jihadists thrive where there is no state authority.

However, African governments must also put in place transparent systems for the management of the resources. Corruption at the highest level only renders a country vulnerable.

Corruption weakens the police; it demoralizes the military and drives the continent’s best and brightest to other parts of the world where they are underpaid and underemployed.

The continent’s decolonization also implies that leaders must be selfless and young people who are conscious and intellectually alert are given a chance to fully participate in their countries’ politics.

A country ruled by old people cannot be innovative. Such a country will stagnate. African youths must be part of their governments. Today’s youths are more informed, tech-savvy, confident and bold enough to help their countries to fly into a bright and beautiful future.

The imaginary resource curse on Africa can be deleted if African leaders rule their countries like real patriots. They must be models to the continent’s youths. Where there is good governance and responsible leadership, hope and peace prevail.

Where leaders prioritize their people’s well-being over their own personal and parochial interests, there is no room for coups d’états. Coups are today being viewed as consequences of maladministration and corruption on the part of civilian leaders who have driven their people to the abyss of poverty. Their presence on the continent today simply speaks to the failure of the pseudo-democracy imposed on Africa by the West.

Source: Dr Joachim Arrey

30, April 2025

Football: Dembele goal gives PSG narrow advantage over Arsenal in Champions League ⁰

Paris Saint-Germain beat Arsenal 1-0 in the Champions League semi-final first leg on Tuesday, with Ousmane Dembele scoring early at the Emirates. PSG controlled the game to protect their lead and head into the May 7 return leg in Paris as favourites to reach their first-ever Champions League final.

Paris Saint-Germain seized the advantage in their Champions League semi-final against Arsenal as Ousmane Dembele sealed a 1-0 win in the first leg on Tuesday.

Dembele struck in the opening minutes at the Emirates Stadium and Luis Enrique’s side held on to the lead with a composed display that kept Arsenal at bay.

PSG will head into the second leg at the Parc des Princes on May 7 as favourites to reach the final against Barcelona or Inter Milan as they look to win the tournament for the first time.

But the French champions should take nothing for granted given their history of epic European collapses.

Arsenal’s first defeat in 18 home European matches was a painful blow to their own bid to win a first Champions League crown.

Mikel Arteta had labelled Arsenal’s run to the semi-finals a “beautiful story”.

The last chapter might make for frustrating reading, but they aren’t dead and buried just yet.

The Gunners had beaten holders Real Madrid 5-1 on aggregate to reach their first Champions League semi-final since losing to Manchester United in 2009.

They could not replicate the swaggering display that blew Madrid away 3-0 in the first leg, despite a frenzied atmosphere as kick-off approached.

When Arsenal’s players gathered for a pre-match huddle in the tunnel, Declan Rice implored his team-mates to give everything as he roared “if we don’t have the ball we die”.

A video message from Arteta played on the Emirates screens struck a similarly rousing chord as the Spaniard urged fans to raise the roof.

But PSG had already eliminated Premier League champions Liverpool in the last 16 and Aston Villa in the quarter-finals, after coming back from two goals down to beat Manchester City in the league phase.

Arsenal were the one English side they had failed to conquer, losing 2-0 in north London in October.

However, PSG were without the influential Dembele for disciplinary reasons on that occasion and Luis Enrique insisted his side were “more complete” seven months on.

Source: France 24