Monthly Archives: December 2022

3, December 2022

Qatar 2022: Aboubakar gets red card for taking off shirt in celebration ⁰

Vincent Aboubakar was shown a red card for taking off his shirt as he celebrated his stoppage time goal for Cameroon against Brazil on Friday.

Aboubakar met Jerome Ngom Mbekeli’s cross with a fantastic header two minutes into stoppage time to fire his side to a 1-0 win against Brazil in the final game of the World Cup group stage.

Aboubakar took his jersey off as he and his team-mates went wild and was shown a second yellow card for the offence. The 30-year-old accepted the dismissal and even shook the referee’s hand.

Source: Goal.com

3, December 2022

Qatar 2022: Brazil wins group despite 1-0 Loss to the Indomitable Lions ⁰

Vincent Aboubakar scored 2 minutes into stoppage time as Cameroon handed Brazil its first group-stage loss at the World Cup in 24 years Friday — a result that still allowed the five-time champions to win the group and eliminated the Africans.

Aboubakar was sent off with a second yellow card for taking off his shirt during his celebration after sending his powerful header past Brazil goalkeeper Ederson. The Cameroon captain then threw his shirt to the ground near the corner flag and waited for his teammates as they rushed toward him.

Cameroon hadn’t won any of its last nine World Cup matches, with eight losses and a draw — against Ireland in its opening game at the 2002 tournament.

Brazil, which played with its reserves, had won 17 straight group games since a 2-1 loss to Norway in 1998 in France. It had lost only one of its last 29 group matches at the tournament.

Brazil, which had already reached the knockout stage after victories over Serbia and Switzerland, will face South Korea in the round of 16.

Switzerland's Remo Freuler, right, celebrates scoring his team's third goal past Serbia's goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic during a World Cup match at Stadium 974 in Doha on Dec. 2, 2022. — Switzerland’s Remo Freuler, right, celebrates scoring his team’s third goal past Serbia’s goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic during a World Cup match at Stadium 974 in Doha on Dec. 2, 2022.

Switzerland 3, Serbia 2

Switzerland advanced to the last 16 of the World Cup for the third tournament in a row after a 3-2 win over Serbia on Friday.

Remo Freuler scored the winning goal just after halftime as the Swiss secured second place in Group G. They will next face Portugal on Tuesday at Lusail Stadium.

Freuler finished off a backheel pass from Ruben Vargas after Xherdan Shaqiri clipped a ball into the penalty box.

Shaqiri put Switzerland ahead early in the first half before Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic responded for Serbia. Breel Embolo evened the score just before halftime.

Switzerland needed a win to guarantee itself a place in the knockout round after beating Cameroon and losing to Brazil in its opening two games.

Against Portugal, the Swiss will be looking to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since hosting the competition in 1954.

South Korea's Son Heung-min, center, and teammates celebrate after defeating Portugal and qualifying for the knockout stage of the World Cup on Dec. 2, 2022. — South Korea’s Son Heung-min, center, and teammates celebrate after defeating Portugal and qualifying for the knockout stage of the World Cup on Dec. 2, 2022.

South Korea 2, Portugal 1

The sign said it all. Hwang Hee-chan got the message.

A young South Korea fan held up a sign that read “One More Goal” during halftime of the team’s match against Portugal on Friday at the World Cup. The teams were even at 1-1 at the time, but the South Koreans needed another goal to earn a spot in the round of 16.

Hwang delivered the dramatic goal in stoppage time, lifting South Korea to a 2-1 victory and its third trip to the knockout stage of the World Cup.

It’s South Korea third trip past the group stage at the World Cup.

The team reached the semifinals as co-host in 2002 and then made it to the round of 16 in 2010.

Hwang missed the first two group games in Qatar with a hamstring injury and entered as a substitute in the second half against Portugal.

“In the first match it was impossible for me to play and the pain got worse,” he said. “I did a little running, but I thought I could play the second match, but they held me out.”

He finally made an appearance on Friday. And it turned out to be a match-winning, World Cup-advancing appearance, too.

Uruguay's Luis Suarez, second from left, cries after the World Cup match between Ghana and Uruguay, at the Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, Qatar, Dec. 2, 2022. Uruguay won the match but was eliminated from the tournament after South Korea's victory over Portugal. — Uruguay’s Luis Suarez, second from left, cries after the World Cup match between Ghana and Uruguay, at the Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, Qatar, Dec. 2, 2022. Uruguay won the match but was eliminated from the tournament after South Korea’s victory over Portugal.

Uruguay 2, Ghana 0

Luis Suarez couldn’t watch as his Uruguay team slid toward a painful World Cup exit. He put his hands in front of his eyes, then pulled his shirt over his head. When his face emerged again, there were tears.

The Uruguay captain sat in the dugout after being substituted as his team beat Ghana 2-0 on Friday but was still eliminated from the tournament by a stoppage-time goal in another game.

late goal by Hwang Hee-chan secured South Korea a last-gasp 2-1 win over Portugal and a place in the last 16 from Group H at Uruguay’s expense because it scored more goals.

After the most dramatic end to the group, Portugal advanced as group winner and South Korea clinched second.

Ghana, which came into the last set of games in second place, was also eliminated.

“It is sadness and disappointment that we feel,” said Suarez, who was playing in his last World Cup.

When Suarez left in the 66th minute of the game, Uruguay was in a position to advance to the knockout stage for a fourth straight World Cup. He had played key roles in both Uruguay goals by Giorgian De Arrascaeta, which came after Ghana captain Andre Ayew missed a 21st-minute penalty.

A shot by Suarez led to De Arrascaeta’s opener in the 26th minute. Suarez then set up the second with a clever pass that De Arrascaeta volleyed in six minutes later.

By the time the final whistle blew, Uruguay’s 2-0 lead still stood but the 35-year-old Suarez’s World Cup career was over, thanks to South Korea’s late goal against Portugal.

Source: VOA

3, December 2022

Biya regime says Ambazonia crisis prevents access to AIDS treatment ⁰

Cameroonian health workers and people with HIV marched for World AIDS Day on December 1, calling for access to treatment for patients in conflict areas.

About half a million Cameroonians have HIV, and at least 1,000 live in troubled western regions and the border with Nigeria. The protesters urged Cameroon’s military, separatists, and militants to allow all HIV patients access to needed treatment.

Marie Chantal Awoulbe, who belongs to the Cameroon Network of Adolescents and Positive Youths, which encourages those with AIDS to get regular treatment, took part in the protest and World AIDS Day activities at Chantal Biya International Research Centre in Yaounde. The center carries out research on AIDS, and supports programs to treat and support vulnerable people with HIV.

Awoulbe said her network is asking both armed groups and government troops to stop deaths among people with AIDS where there are armed conflicts by allowing the patients access to regular treatment.

Cameroon’s public health ministry says similar protests and activities to encourage free screening took place in 70 hospitals, with at least 30 hospital workers and people with AIDS taking part at each of the hospitals.

The Cameroon government accuses separatists in the country’s west of attacking hospitals and abducting health care workers. Activists also accuse government troops of attacking and arresting hospital staff suspected of treating civilians the military believes are either fighters or sympathize with separatists.

In April, medical aid group Doctors Without Borders suspended work in Cameroon’s troubled Southwest region to protest the rearrest of four of its staff members. Authorities accused the staffers of cooperating with regional separatists, but the organization denied it.

Medical staff members say intimidation and abduction of health workers, and ceaseless battles between government troops and separatist fighters make it impossible for medical supplies to reach the troubled English-speaking regions.

Twenty-eight-year-old Betrand Lemfon said he and several dozen people with AIDS moved from Jakiri, an English-speaking northwestern town, to Bafoussam, a French-speaking commercial city. He said he and others with the disease were afraid of dying in Jakiri because they did not have access to regular treatment.

“There are a lot of persons out there who are in need of medications, so if we could have the opportunity and chance for medications to always reach every interior part of the North-West region, South-West region who are hit by the crisis, it will help the adolescents, young persons and children living with HIV to take their ARVs [antiretroviral medicines] and stay healthy,” he said.

Lemfon spoke via the messaging app WhatsApp from Bafoussam.

Cameroon’s military says it will protect all health workers and civilians in the troubled regions.

The government says the number of people with the disease in Cameroon has decreased from about 970,000 in 2010 to 500,000 in 2021.

Health officials say the decline is due to increasing awareness of the disease and its consequences. The government says sexual behavior is changing, with the number of people using condoms or abstaining from sex increasing.

Honorine Tatah, a government official in charge of AIDS control in Cameroon, said unlike in 2020 when there was resistance due to lack of awareness, many more civilians now accept systematic screening for HIV.

“During antenatal care, a woman is screened for a number of diseases including hepatitis B, HIV and if you are tested positive, you are eligible for treatment and that treatment will reduce the chances of a child getting infected with HIV. The treatment is free of charge,” Tatah said.

World AIDS Day was the first international day for global health, starting in 1988. It allows people all over the world to join in the battle against HIV, to support those with HIV, and to remember those who have died from an AIDS-related illness.

Source: VOA

2, December 2022

Brazil to bench almost everyone against Indomitable Lions ⁰

Brazil will rest most, if not all, of their starting line-up against Cameroon. With little to play for, Tite will take a safe approach knowing his players could be vulnerable in the final group stage outing.

The rotation may allow some younger players to gain valuable World Cup experience. Rodrygo and Gabriel Martinelli, for example, are in line to make their first starts at the tournament.

Dani Alves, who made an improbable return to the national team just before the World Cup, is ready to be named to the starting XI in what would be another achievement in his storied career.

Neymar is holding out hope that he can return from his ankle problem in the knockout rounds, while Danilo (ankle) and Alex Sandro (hip) are also out without clear timetables for return.

Source: Goal.com

2, December 2022

The extraordinary story of Rigobert Song: Out of 40 cases like yours, 30 have died ⁰

As Cameroon gear up for their must-win tie against Brazil, the African nation will be hoping to emulate their head coach Rigobert Song in overcoming the odds.

Song will arguably go down as one of Cameroon’s brightest stars along with former teammate Samuel Eto’o. The former Liverpool defender has played in four World Cups as a player and is currently making an appearance at his fifth, in his role as Cameroon’s coach.

Known for his dreadlock and dyed blonde goatee, Song was appointed as Cameroon’s head coach in February earlier this year replacing Portuguese coach Toni Conceicao.

Song then overcame a stern test against Algeria, helping Cameroon book their place in at the 2022 World Cup in a winner take all showdown.

Overcoming a stroke

While Song is no stranger to overcoming serious pressure, his greatest achievement so far has to be his recovery following a stroke in 2016.

Song acknowledges to L’Equipe that it was his dog who ultimately saved his life.

“I was watching TV, but I felt very tired,” Song told L’Equipe

“I left the door open because I was expecting a visitor. If it had been closed, it was over because my family was in Paris. My dog must have felt something and started barking. Then the person who was waiting came and saw me lying on the floor.”

Biya’s intervention

Following the stroke, Song had trouble securing the required hospital attention he needed and thanks then-president Paul Biya and his family for their support.

“Without him [Biya] or his wife, I would not be here today. I cannot be grateful enough,” Song continued

“The president of Cameroon told my family that he would take care of everything and he flew me to Paris.”

The afterlife

In his comatose state Song says he had a series of visions that eventually helped him recover, including a meeting with his father who died when Rigobert was still a child.

“It was like a dream,” Song stated.

“I reunited with my ancestors. My father died when I was 9 years old, but I recognized him. He told me: ‘What are you doing here? You have to go back. ‘

“It happened to me with Alex Song’s father and my father’s older brother. By dint of listening to them, I started to fight. I had incredible strength! and I started screaming: Release me, release me!”

Song will be hoping to instill this level of resilience in his players when Cameroon take on Brazil on December 3. The African nation have only made the knockout stages once before during 1990 World Cup in Italy.

Source: Marca

2, December 2022

Ukraine war shows Europe ‘not strong enough’ ⁰

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin on Friday offered a “brutally honest” assessment of Europe’s capabilities in the wake of Russia’s war on Ukraine, stating bluntly that “we’re not strong enough” to stand up to Moscow alone.

Visiting Australia, the leader of the pending NATO member said Vladimir Putin’s invasion and occupation of neighbouring Ukraine had exposed both European weaknesses and strategic blunders in dealing with Russia.

“I must be very honest, brutally honest with you, Europe isn’t strong enough right now. We would be in trouble without the United States,” she told Sydney’s Lowy Institute think tank.

Marin insisted Ukraine must be given “whatever it takes” to win the war, adding that the United States had been pivotal in supplying Kyiv with the weapons, finance and humanitarian aid necessary to blunt Russia’s advance.

“We have to make sure that we are also building those capabilities when it comes to European defence, the European defence industry, and making sure that we could cope in different kinds of situations,” she said.

Finland won independence from Russia almost 105 years ago and inflicted heavy casualties on an invading Soviet army soon after despite being hugely outgunned.

The 37-year-old Finnish leader decried European Union policies that had stressed the importance of engagement with Putin and said the bloc should have listened to member states who were part of the Soviet Union until it collapsed.

Since joining the European Union in 2004, countries such as Estonia and Poland have urged fellow EU members to take a tougher line on Putin, a stance tempered by France, Germany, Italy and Greece — which favoured closer economic ties with Moscow.

“We should have listened to our Baltic and Polish friends much sooner,” Marin said.

“For a long time, Europe was building a strategy towards Russia to closen our economic ties, to buy energy from Russia… we thought that this would prevent a war.”

Marin added that this approach had been “proven entirely wrong”.

“They don’t care about economic ties, they don’t care about the sanctions. They don’t care about any of that.”

Source: AFP

2, December 2022

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Macron wins over the US government ⁰

The constant bickering between the various US-based factions involved in the war in Southern Cameroons has hurt efforts by the country’s English-speaking minority to gain its independence from the francophone majority which has ruled the country for decades.

The tension between the country’s English-speaking minority and the various governments which have ruled the country has always been there, but things finally came to a head in 2016 when the government’s crackdown on demonstrating English-speaking Cameroons led to calls for the total independence of the once British mandated territory.

The fighting has resulted in the economies of the two English-speaking regions being reduced to nothing, with more than a million English-speaking Cameroonians either fleeing to Nigeria or East Cameroon.

The last two years have really discredited the separatists who have being fighting over control. This uncalled for power struggle had gone a long way in destroying a struggle which had actually left the Cameroonian government in a quandary.

All efforts by the beleaguered government to wipe out the insurgents have all failed, but the separatists’ change of their objective from protecting the people to kidnapping the population for ransom has caused the population to turn against those the people once considered as liberators.

The fighting is now not against the government but against separatist fighters who have transformed themselves into violent kidnappers and rapists.

The population has decided to help the government to track down these unscrupulous elements who are notorious for their atrocities against their own people.

While the local population is living through a nightmare that has lasted some six years, the separatist leaders are enjoying life in many Western countries, with some of them purchasing masions at a time when the people on ground zero are really struggling with life.

To destroy the insurgency forever, the Yaoundé government has called on the French government to take its plea to the Biden Administration and this strategy is delivering some appreciable results.

On the eve of Macron’s visit to Washington DC, the FBI visited some separatist leaders and their homes were thoroughly searched.

Chris Anu and Eric Tataw are in the cross hairs of the Biden Administration and the raids on their homes are just the beginning of a long process which has been designed to send them to jail for a long time.

The FBI does not always visit people, but when its agents show up on your property, then you must know that they have probable cause to lead you down the path of a long and tricky legal battle.

This week, three separatists living in the United States were sentenced to long jail terms for exporting arms to Cameroon and this is clearly against US laws.

They are also accused of sponsoring terrorism through illegal financial flows.

According to a State Department source, more Southern Cameroonians are being closely monitored and names like Ebini Christmas and Cho Ayaba are on the FBI long list of people wiring money to questionable beneficiaries in Southern Cameroons.

Macron is currently meeting with Biden in the American capital and he is very likely to raise the issue of Cameroonian separatists terrorizing their own people.

A Cameroon Concord News source in the US has said that there is panic among Cameroonians living in the US as they do not know if they are on the FBI radar.

No matter the outcome of the raids on the homes of Southern Cameroonians living in the United States, the fact is that the nasty rebellion in Southern Cameroons which has kept many children away from school for six years and robbed the population of its freedom, is gradually coming to an end.

As its leaders are being hunted abroad, some of their surrogates are already fleeing to Nigeria as they know their days are numbered.

The Cameroon government is now working with the population and anybody caught trying to kidnap or extort money from the population is immediately executed.

The young men taking advantage of the situation in Southern Cameroons to make money should understand that things have changed and the end is near, a source at the Unity Palace said.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai