5, May 2025

Archbishop Nkea re-elected to lead Cameroon Bishops ⁰

The bishops of Cameroon, convening last weekend in Yaoundé, have reappointed Archbishop Andrew Nkea to lead the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon (CENC). As he begins his new three-year term, the archbishop of the Diocese of Bamenda, located in the Northwest Region, has outlined his priorities, with restoring peace to the troubled Northwest and Southwest (NOSO) regions at the forefront.

This is not Archbishop Nkea’s first foray into this critical issue. The prelate has frequently voiced his hopes for peace to return to the NOSO during his homilies. In March 2024, just before Easter, he delivered a widely noted message analyzing the root causes of the persistent sociopolitical crisis, which began in 2014. “If this crisis persists, it is because people trust diabolical processes more than they trust God,” he stated.

The Archbishop of Bamenda then proposed a path to ending this human tragedy. “We must pray together. Whether we are Christians, Muslims, or followers of traditional religion, we must unite in prayer, for God is one, He hears our prayers and will give us the solution to this problem,” Archbishop Nkea declared.

One year later, it remains to be seen if this stance has evolved, particularly given Archbishop Nkea’s reputation as a “pilgrim of peace“, a cause to which he dedicates a significant portion of his prayer life. Earlier this year, during the 48th annual seminar of Cameroonian bishops, he urged his fellow prelates to always “promote peace, through which nothing is lost, and without which everything can be lost.”

This likely explains why, beyond the NOSO, where separatist groups clash with the military, Archbishop Nkea also intends to focus on restoring peace in the Far North region, which continues to be plagued by attacks from the Boko Haram terrorist sect.

As he embarks on his second term leading the CENC, the Archbishop of Bamenda is not limiting his efforts to conflict zones. His roadmap also includes a commitment to strengthening unity within the episcopal family. “Our vocation as a Church is to continue walking together in bonds of love and unity, so that the world may believe in the One who sent us,” he reminded the press during a recent gathering of bishops.

By expressing his concern for closer bonds among bishops, Archbishop Nkea indirectly suggests that divisions threaten the cohesion of the CENC. The local press corroborates this, with tensions having regularly made headlines, notably in 2017 during the funeral of Bishop Jean-Marie Benoît Bala, the former bishop of the Diocese of Bafia, who was found dead under suspicious circumstances. While the judicial investigation concluded suicide, some members of the Cameroonian episcopate continue to assert that the prelate was assassinated.

Source: Sbbc

5, May 2025

Rwanda confirms talks with US about taking in migrants ⁰

Rwanda is in the “early stage” of talks with the Trump administration to accept migrants deported by the US, the East African country’s Foreign Affairs Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe has said.

His comments come after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last month that Washington was “actively searching” for countries that would take in “some of the most despicable human beings”.

Nduhungirehe said the talks were “not new to us” as Rwanda had previously agreed to accept migrants deported by the UK.

However, the UK abandoned the scheme, which faced numerous legal challenges, after Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government took office last July.

Speaking to Rwandan TV on Sunday, Nduhungirehe said the government was in the “spirit” of giving “another chance to migrants who have problems across the world”.

Nduhungirehe added that the talks with the US were continuing, and it was too early to predict their outcome.

Since coming to office in January, US President Donald Trump has focused on speeding up the removal of undocumented migrants, with the promise of “mass deportations”.

In February, El Salvador offered to take in criminals deported from the US, including those with US citizenship, and house them in its mega-jail.

Salvadorean President Nayib Bukele said his government would do so “in exchange for a fee”.

Panama and Costa Rica have also taken in migrants deported from the US.

Last week an unnamed Rwandan official told the Washington Post that the country was “open” to taking in more migrants expelled from the US, after having accepted an Iraqi in March.

The official added that talks with the US started shortly after Trump’s inauguration in January.

Rwanda has previously been criticised for its human rights record, including the risk that those sent to the East African nation could be deported again to countries where they may face danger.

However, Rwanda says it is a safe place for refugees.

Source: BBC

5, May 2025

Ekok: border customs intercept drugs, smuggled beer ⁰

Mobile customs agents in Ekok, a Cameroonian border town adjacent to Nigeria, recently seized 8,720 tablets and 900 milliliters of serum during an inspection of a public transport bus’s luggage compartment.

This latest operation suggests an increased vigilance by customs officials in the area. Just prior, on April 30, 2025, officers from the Southwest Customs Sector in Ekok, which borders Nigeria, conducted two significant seizures.

The first of these involved the Ekok mobile customs brigade. During a routine roadside inspection, officers stopped a public transport bus carrying various goods from neighboring Nigeria. A thorough inspection of the luggage hold revealed a consignment of 65,900 tablets of assorted pharmaceutical products. Authorities determined these products to be of questionable quality and lacking the necessary documentation, and they are slated for destruction in the coming days, sources said.

The second seizure was carried out by the Ekok commercial customs brigade. This operation intercepted 160 crates of “Guinness Nigeria” products, totaling 3,840 bottles, being smuggled into the country. According to the customs communication officer, “With this seizure, customs officers are thwarting attempts to fraudulently introduce sensitive products into the national territory, as well as combating the unfair competition posed by ‘Guinness Nigeria’ products against ‘Guinness Cameroon’ products in consumer markets.“

Notably, the border zone with Nigeria has become a significant target for traffickers and smugglers of all types since the onset of the Anglophone crisis. These individuals utilize the area to transit illicit goods, often to supply secessionist fighters. However, these consecutive seizures indicate that customs surveillance remains active at the borders and within Cameroon’s national territory, now more than ever.

Source: Business in Cameroon

5, May 2025

Harry Kane finally claims his first career title as Bayern Munich win 34th Bundesliga title ⁰

Bayern Munich confirmed their return to domestic dominance by securing their 34th league title on Sunday after rivals Bayer Leverkusen drew 2-2 at Freiburg, but rescaling the summit of German football was harder than it looked.

The Bavarians, who had won 11 consecutive Bundesliga titles in a record league run between 2013 and 2023, had seen Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen race to a domestic league and cup double last season without a single defeat in either competition. New Bayern coach Vincent Kompany had his work cut out with Bayern urgently looking for direction after a turbulent period under his predecessor Thomas Tuchel, who left the club at the end of last season.

Unlike some former Bayern coaches, including Tuchel, Kompany lacked experience coaching a big club with the former Belgium international having previously coached Anderlecht and Burnley.

Bayern bosses were prepared to take the risk and it paid off with Kompany quickly establishing control in the changing room.

Bayern were desperate for a good start in the current season in order to put an early marker down in the title race and they bagged four straight wins to kick off the campaign, before carving out a 1-1 draw against the reigning champions.

With Leverkusen no longer invincible this season and lacking last year’s consistency, Bayern gradually pulled away and by the 11th matchday had a six-point advantage, having shaken off Leipzig, Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Dortmund as possible title rivals.

The Bavarians were lethal in attack with Jamal Musiala and Harry Kane in top form but struggled with their backline throughout the season.

A string of injuries in recent weeks that sidelined several key defenders compounded the problem and Saturday’s 3-3 draw with RB Leipzig took their goals conceded tally to 32, an average of one goal per league match this season.

But Kompany’s team have been lethal up front, bagging 93 goals in 32 matches.

With 24 goals, Kane was once more Bayern’s guarantee in attack with the England captain looking set to become the first player in Bundesliga history to be crowned top scorer in both his first two seasons in the league.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest strikers of his generation, England’s all-time top scorer and second on the all-time Premier League scorers’ list, Kane had won a hatful of individual awards.

He had, however, no single team trophy to show for his efforts after 400-odd goals for clubs and country and with talk of a ‘Kane title curse’ developing over the years.

Kane had spent the majority of his professional career at Tottenham Hotspur, playing for the London club from 2009-2023 with some loan spells in between, prior to joining Bayern in a league record transfer worth 100 million euros ($114 million).

In England he had failed to win a trophy with Spurs, being Champions League runners-up in 2019, while also reaching consecutive finals at Euro 2020 and 2024 with the national team.

So his move to Bayern, Germany’s record champions and six-time European champions, was all about finally adding trophies to his goal-scoring records and fulfilling his title-winning ambitions.

While fans were unhappy with the club’s decision not to offer talisman Thomas Mueller a new contract, the 35-year-old, who will leave at the end of the season after 25 years at Bayern, did manage to reach the 500-league-match milestone before his departure.

He was only the fourth player in Bundesliga history to achieve that feat while playing for just one club and he has now extended his record-breaking haul of league titles to 13.

The Bavarians failed to get past the quarter-finals in the Champions League after their 4-3 aggregate loss to Italy’s Inter Milan last month and they also lost to Leverkusen in the German Cup round of 16, leaving the league title as their only possible trophy for the season.

But they would not be denied in the league as they kept second-placed Leverkusen at bay in the final sprint to the finish line.

(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)

5, May 2025

Francis’s popemobile converted into clinic for Gazan children ⁰

The iconic open-sided vehicle, designed to allow the pontiff to greet crowds of well-wishers, has been transferred to Caritas Jerusalem and will head to Gaza if and when Israel opens a humanitarian corridor.

The car, a converted Mitsubishi, was used by the pope during a 2014 visit to Bethlehem and had since been on display, gathering dust and rust. It has now been repaired and refurbished as a mobile clinic.

“With the vehicle, we will be able to reach children who today have no access to healthcare — children who are injured and malnourished,” said Peter Brune, secretary general of Caritas Sweden.

Brune told AFP that Sweden’s Cardinal Anders Arborelius had asked the late pope, who died on April 21 aged 88, that the spare vehicle be put to use providing essential frontline healthcare to Palestinian children.

It will be fitted with medical equipment and a fridge for medicines and be assigned a driver and a team of doctors.

The popemobile will be fitted with medical equipment and a fridge for medicines

“This vehicle represents the love, care and closeness shown by His Holiness for the most vulnerable, which he expressed throughout the crisis,” said Anton Asfar, secretary general of Caritas Jerusalem.

It was not clear, however, if or when the aid agency’s hoped-for humanitarian corridor would open.

Israel resumed major operations across Gaza on March 18 amid political deadlock over how to build on a two-month ceasefire in its war against Hamas, which was sparked by the militants’ October 2023 attack.

On Monday, Israel’s security cabinet approved an expansion of military operations that would lead to what an official described as the “conquest” of the Palestinian territory.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Sunday that at least 2,436 people had been killed since Israel resumed its campaign on March 18, bringing the overall death toll from the war to 52,535.

Hamas’s attack on October 7, 2023 resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Source: AFP

5, May 2025

Cardinals prepare to elect next pope at conclave ⁰

Cardinals from all over the world are poised to elect a successor to Pope Francis at the conclave that begins Wednesday.

There are currently 135 cardinals who are under age 80 and eligible to vote in the conclave, hailing from 71 different countries in the most geographically diverse conclave in history.

Source: France 24

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