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Football: Historic French club Bordeaux to become amateur after bankruptcy

25, July 2024

Football: Historic French club Bordeaux to become amateur after bankruptcy 0

Former French Ligue 1 champions Bordeaux on Thursday said they will become an amateur club for the first time in almost 90 years after filing for bankruptcy.

They had announced earlier in the week that they would accept their relegation to the third-tier Championnat National by French football’s financial watchdog, the DNCG.

Bordeaux, based in France’s south-west, won the last of their six top flight titles in 2009.

They first turned professional in 1937.

The club needs to find 40 million euros ($43.6 million) to balance their books and had been in talks with the owners of Liverpool, Fenway Sports Group (FSG), before the American investors pulled out of negotiations earlier this month.

“On Tuesday, the club filed for bankruptcy with Bordeaux’s commercial court, to be able to begin necessary restructuring,” they said in a statement.

“The club had to give up asking to maintain its professional status” as it risked “heavy sanctions” if it presented a recovery plan to the DNCG that did not reflect its future financial reality.

Bordeaux were relegated to Ligue 2 in 2022, just 12 years after reaching the Champions League quarter-finals.

The town’s mayor slammed the decision by Bordeaux’s controversial owner Gerard Lopez, who has invested 60 million euros into the club since 2021.

“I’ve learnt with consternation the sudden and personal decision made by Gerard Lopez,” Pierre Hurmic told AFP.

“It confirms the risky management that has led our club in the space of three years from the elite Ligue 1 to the amateur level,” he added.

A host of well know players — past and present — have played for Bordeaux including World Cup winners Zinedine Zidane, Bixente Lizarazu and Christophe Dugarry, as well as Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni.

“I feel extremely sick like everyone who loves the club,” 1998 World Cup winner Lizarazu said on Instagram.

“What’s happing is unfortunately the result of disastrous football and financial management for many years,” he added.

One consequence to the move is that the club’s academy will close and a host of professional players will leave the outfit.

The new Championnat National season begins on August 16 with Bordeaux expected to play at their 42,000-capacity Matmut Atlantique home, France’s sixth biggest stadium, for the campaign.

Source: AFP

Stepping up efforts to check child labor in African cocoa-producing communities

25, July 2024

Stepping up efforts to check child labor in African cocoa-producing communities 0

Child labour is a common phenomenon in African cocoa-producing communities, most of which are in West and Central Africa. The use of child labour in cocoa-producing communities is spurred by poverty which impedes efforts by farmers to employ adult labour for their cocoa production.

According to the World Cocoa Foundation, “Cocoa is grown by millions of smallholder farmers with a high prevalence of poverty. Many cocoa-growing families have no choice but to put their children to work because they cannot afford other sources of labour and it is often an accepted cultural practice to help keep the farm running.”

Though culturally accepted in African cocoa producing communities, the World Cocoa Foundation is striving to remedy this situation to give children in cocoa-producing communities a chance to have a normal childhood and an opportunity to get the education they need to make informed decisions later in life by establishing broad coalitions with other key sector stakeholders.

In a message on its website, WCF has indicated that it has been working with several key actors to give children in those communities a new lease on life. “In broad coalition with governments, companies, and development organisations, a layered approach has been adopted. The primary goal is to combat child labour through a diverse set of solutions. These include efforts to confirm that children possess a birth certificate and have access to quality education. Child labour monitoring and remediation systems have been leveraged as essential tools, focusing on mitigation and providing remediation support to children involved in, or at risk of, child labour. Efforts also extend to assisting their families and communities in addressing the underlying challenges and poverty, one of the primary root causes of child labour. To address the issue of child labour we are working with our partners help increase farmers’ incomes in rural areas,” the WCF said.

WCF and its partners are setting up child labour monitoring and remediation systems to help authorities identify child labour issues and address in a timely fashion and appropriately.

“Child labour monitoring and remediation systems are set-up in order to identify and address child labour. They can be embedded in a company’s supply chain or at community level. It involves systematic monitoring, identification of child labour risks and remedial actions such as education and alternative livelihood support,” WCF stressed.

Meanwhile the World Cocoa Initiative, for its part, has undertaken a series of measure to help with efforts to check child labour. Among those efforts are the training of community members to monitor and report on the commitments of government and companies on child labour – to strengthen accountability towards local communities and their voice in global debate; the engagement with Government and local authorities to identify needs and strengthen systems to prevent, identify and address child labour and forced labour risk; setting up an online platform through which cooperatives, farmer and gold mining associations/groups can access free piloted, validated tools and training materials to improve their systems to prevent, identify and address forced labour; while at the same time allowing policy makers, law enforcement agencies and relevant government ministries to access dedicated platforms to strengthen their work.

The World Cocoa Initiative is also promoting good practices with supply chain actors at the national and international level, while building the capacity of community-based organizations to strengthen advocacy and accountability in the tracking of government commitments. It is also organizing community-based awareness raising activities with community members, in particular women and vulnerable groups, on forced labour indicators, child labour, rights and access to social services; providing hands-on trainings in alternative livelihood activities for cooperatives and at-risk vulnerable families and the setting up of Village Savings and Loans Association in Ghanaian cocoa-producing communities; and setting up a remediation fund to support child labour victims.

Also, with funding from the Norwegian Government through the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, ICI, Solidaridad and the Rainforest Alliance are collaborating to address child labour and forced labour in the cocoa supply chain and gold-mining communities in Ghana.

 By Cecilia M. Manjang

CWA Diamond Anniversary in Buea: Archbishop Nkea highlights successes in “great resilience”

25, July 2024

CWA Diamond Anniversary in Buea: Archbishop Nkea highlights successes in “great resilience” 0

Members of the Catholic Women Association (CWA) in Cameroon have, over the last six decades, manifested “great resilience” and hope, Archbishop Andrew Fuanya Nkea of the country’s Catholic Archdiocese of Bamenda has said.

In his Wednesday, July 24 homily during the celebration of the 60th Anniversary since CWA was established in Cameroon, Archbishop Nkea also acknowledged with appreciation women’s life of prayer, their perseverance, as well as their determination.

“You have taken an active part in the spiritual growth of the lives of the women in our church. You have worked hard to improve the condition of women and the girl child everywhere. You have done all within your powers to make your parishes and Christian communities true families of God,” he said during the celebration at the Divine Mercy Co-Cathedral of Cameroon’s Catholic Diocese of Buea.

As CWA member, he said, “you have worked hard for the preservation of family values and you have defended the authentic teaching of the Catholic Church on marriage and the family. You have contributed greatly to the formation of Priests in our local churches, either through financial contributions or by bringing materials, food, and other necessary items to our seminaries.”

“Women are creatures of great resilience and if women give up on something, it means there is no way for redemption. We see that no matter how bad a child is, the women never lose hope,” the Local Ordinary of Bamenda, who doubles as the President of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon (NECC) emphasized. 

He continued, “Sometimes when men torment the women, they never lose hope. When society becomes hostile and even violent, women never lose hope.”

“This is a great virtue that we have seen in the women, especially during this time that we are going through a lot of difficulties in our regions of the Northwest, the Southwest, the Far North, and the east of Cameroon,” he said referring to the Anglophone crisis.

Archbishop Nkea continued, “In the current socio-political crisis that we are going through in the Northwest and the Southwest regions of Cameroon, the women remain the hope of this nation. It is the women who would save us through their prayers, perseverance, and determination to build fraternity again.”

“Women bring hope to the future. Women always give hope to the desperate and the hopeless. Women give hope when hope is lost,” he further said.

Archbishop Nkea went on to lament the situation in the Central African nation, saying, “Many things are happening in our country today which are not good. But it is you who will save this country.”

“There’s a lot of tension mounting in our country, around various regions for various reasons,” he said, and added, “Thanks be to God the Catholic Women Association exists in all the 10 regions of this country and practically all the 26 dioceses of this country.”

“Women, you are the ones to save this country,” he emphasized during the Eucharistic celebration that was presided over by the Apostolic Nuncio in Cameroon, Archbishop José Avelino Bettencourt.

The 58-year-old Catholic Archbishop, who started his Episcopal Ministry in August 2013 as the Coadjutor Bishop of Cameroon’s Mamfe Diocese encouraged CWA members in Cameroon to be “prophets, the ones to lead us from hopelessness to hope through your prayers and your witnessing.”

“Dear mothers of the church, you are ambassadors of hope to our society, and you have become ambassadors of hope through the painful experiences and the sufferings that many of you have gone through,” the Archbishop of Bamenda said.

He added, “You have been prominent in all occasions of the Church from Episcopal or Priestly ordinations to final professions of Religious men and women, and any other occasions that are organized by the church at any level. You have promoted the Marian spirituality and you have done your best to imitate the virtues of the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is your mother and your model.”

“May God bless you abundantly, forever and ever,” Archbishop Nkea implored.

CWA Cameroon was founded in 1964 under the initiative of Mrs. Anna Foncha with the ecclesiastical approval of the then Local Ordinary of Buea, Bishop Jules Peeters.

Starting off as a small group of women, CWA in Cameroon has grown to about 20,000 registered women all over Cameroon. The association exists in many other parts of the globe.

In his remarks during the event, the Apostolic Nuncio in Cameroon recognized the vital role of CWA in the Church.

“You are important; you are the heart of the Church; you are the arms of the Church,” Archbishop Bettencourt told CWA members in Cameroon on July 24.

Source: aciafrica

Yaoundé: World Bank Group feeding Biya’s corrupt government

25, July 2024

Yaoundé: World Bank Group feeding Biya’s corrupt government 0

The World Bank Group announced on July 23 its commitment to a new Country Partnership Framework (CPF) with Cameroon, covering 2025 to 2029. This strategic partnership aims to support Cameroon’s “Vision 2035,” which aspires to transform the nation into “an emerging, democratic, and united country in its diversity.”

As part of this effort, the financial institution plans to provide over $2 billion (more than CFA1, 210 billion) during the CPF period to bolster the country’s economic development. This funding complements the $4.2 billion in ongoing commitments.

Cheick F. Kanté, World Bank Country Director for Cameroon, emphasized the importance of this partnership in job creation, particularly for the youth. “A key focus of our engagement is to create more and better jobs, particularly for the youth, as a driver for improving the living conditions of the Cameroonian population at large and preserving social cohesion,” he stated, according to the release. Another goal of the new CPF is to create more effective and inclusive service delivery institutions, with special attention to climate and fragility issues.

The new CPF marks a significant step in the collaboration between Cameroon and the World Bank Group institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). This partnership will focus on expanding economic opportunities while laying the foundations for resilient and inclusive growth in Cameroon.

Dahlia Khalifa, IFC Regional Director for West and Central Africa, highlighted the essential role of the private sector in achieving the CPF’s objectives. “The private sector has a key role to play in expanding renewable energy solutions, enhancing agricultural productivity, bridging the infrastructure gap, and increasing financing for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Cameroon,” she said.

Şebnem Erol Madan, Director of Economic Analysis and Sustainability at MIGA, underscored the World Bank Group’s commitment to mobilizing private financing and foreign direct investments to support inclusive and resilient development in Cameroon. “Over the CPF period, the WBG will build on its track record of mobilizing private finance and foreign direct investment in diverse sectors, supporting inclusive and resilient development in Cameroon. This effort will be strengthened by sustained collaboration between the World Bank, IFC and MIGA in joint business development, including through the deployment of the WBG Guarantee Platform housed in MIGA,” she explained.

According to the World Bank, the preparation of the new CPF involved consultations with key stakeholders, including government officials, the private sector, civil society, think tanks, universities, and other development partners.

Source: Business in Cameroon

The Butcher of Yaoundé postpones municipal elections

25, July 2024

The Butcher of Yaoundé postpones municipal elections 0

91 year-old President Paul Biya on Wednesday evening signed a decree postponing municipal elections scheduled for February next year.

The decree extended the mandate for current municipal councilors for a year from its expiry date of Feb. 25, 2025 to May 31, 2026.

The decree came barely two weeks after the country’s National Assembly, or the lower house of parliament, approved a bill extending the mandate for its current lawmakers for a year.

Biya did not say why the elections have been postponed but officials of the ruling party, Cameroon People Democratic Movement (CPDM), explained that it was part of efforts by the government “to lighten a congested” electoral calendar.

“Cameroon is expected to hold four major elections next year, namely presidential, parliamentary, municipal and regional council elections. This is a real heavy burden. That is why it was necessary to postpone the municipal and parliamentary elections for a better organization of all the four elections throughout 2025 to 2026,” CPDM senior official Elvis Ngolle Ngolle said.

Source: Xinhuanet

Russia’s Mi-28 Helicopter crashes, all crew members killed

25, July 2024

Russia’s Mi-28 Helicopter crashes, all crew members killed 0

A Russian military helicopter has crashed in the country’s Kaluga region during a routine flight killing all of its crew members, as confirmed by the country’s Defense Ministry.

In a statement early on Thursday, Russia’s defense ministry said that a Mi-28 military helicopter crashed in the Zhizdra district of the Kaluga region southwest of Moscow, killing all its crew members.

The ministry said a technical malfunction was likely to blame, but no specific number of individuals on board was mentioned. However, a Mi-28 helicopter usually carries a crew of two.

“A commission of the Russian Aerospace Forces is working at the site of the crash,” the ministry added.

According to TASS news agency, the helicopter was performing a scheduled flight when the incident occurred. The crew members did not survive, as the Mi-28 is not equipped with a crew ejection system, unlike the Ka-52 “Alligator” helicopter.

The Russian aircraft crashed in a remote area near the village of Klyonki, without causing any further damage on the ground, as reported by local officials.

The governor of Kaluga, Vladislav Shapsha, has confirmed the incident, revealing that the crash occurred in Zhizdrinsk district on the border with the Bryansk region, which is on the frontier with Ukraine.

Shapsha wrote on Telegram that rescuers were working at the crash site.

Moreover, the Telegram channel of Mash online newspaper disclosed that the helicopter, which is often used on drone-hunting missions, was heading back from a combat mission when a crew member spotted a fire on board, apparently caused by an engine malfunction.

As a result, the pilot decided to redirect the aircraft to an unpopulated area to prevent any potential harm to civilians.

The Cold War-era Mi-28 helicopter is a twin-seat attack helicopter, designed as an anti-tank attack platform similar in scope and function to the American Hughes AH-64 Apache series.

It took its first flight in 1982, becoming an all-weather attack helicopter with multiple updated models.

Source: Presstv

CPDM Crime Syndicate: Biya authorizes CFA616 Billion in borrowing for 2024 budget

24, July 2024

CPDM Crime Syndicate: Biya authorizes CFA616 Billion in borrowing for 2024 budget 0

President Paul Biya signed a decree authorizing Finance Minister Louis Paul Motazé to secure a total of CFA616 billion in loans for the state. This amount is allocated for “financing development projects included in Cameroon’s 2024 finance law and settling outstanding payments (invoices pending with the Treasury),” according to the presidential decree. Of this total, CFA280 billion is to be raised domestically, while CFA336 billion will be sourced from international markets.

The decree aligns with an earlier ordinance signed by President Biya on June 20, 2024, and approved by Parliament. This ordinance amends certain provisions of the 2024 finance law, which was passed by Parliament in November 2023. The revised finance law increases the state budget by CFA533 billion (+8%), raising it from CFA6,679.5 billion to CFA7,212.5 billion.

A close examination of the budget adjustment reveals that the additional CFA533 billion will primarily be financed through borrowing. The government plans to increase its “loans and other financing” by CFA488 billion, representing 91.5% of the budget increase. Specifically, the allocation for loans and other financing will rise from CFA1,489.4 billion in the initial finance law to CFA1,977.4 billion in the revised budget, with a significant portion coming from international debt.

Debt Breakdown

The 2024 budget adjustment includes a reduction of CFA95 billion in loans from domestic public securities. In response, the government has decided to secure additional “program loans” amounting to CFA240 billion from multilateral lenders, and “initial loans from external private entities” that could reach up to CFA467 billion. Additionally, the government has cut its initial borrowing targets from Paris Club members, non-Paris Club governments, and other private external entities by CFA123 billion.

Overall, the CFA616 billion in authorized borrowing combines the CFA533 billion increase from the revised finance law and the remaining loans needed under the initial budget. This is expected to raise Cameroon’s debt levels throughout 2024.

According to the Autonomous Amortization Fund (CAA), which manages public debt in Cameroon, the country’s public debt reached CFA13,070 billion as of June 2024, up 4.9% year-over-year. Of this total, 93.5% is direct central government debt (CFA12,219 billion, or 40.4% of GDP, well below the 70% threshold set by the Cemac region), while 6.4% is held by public enterprises and institutions, and 0.1% by decentralized territorial authorities.

Source: Business in Cameroon

Yaoundé: opposition, civil society condemns threats to arrest civilians who criticize Biya

24, July 2024

Yaoundé: opposition, civil society condemns threats to arrest civilians who criticize Biya 0

Condemnation is widespread in Cameroon following government threats to arrest civilians who criticize the country’s president. The threats increased after Cameroon’s political opposition accused President Paul Biya of postponing elections. In a release Tuesday, Human Rights Watch described the threats as censorship of free speech.

Cameroon’s opposition says it is not intimidated by threats from officials who are warning them to stop saying negative things about President Biya.

This week, government spokesperson Rene Emmanuel Sadi said it was unacceptable for people to use irreverent language about the 91-year-old president.

Before Sadi’s statement, Emmanuel Mariel Djikdent, a top local government officer in the unit where Yaounde is located, announced he would expel anyone from the capital who insults Biya or state institutions.

On Tuesday, Human Rights Watch said Djikdent’s announcement should be revoked to ensure the right to freedom of expression. The rights group says it is becoming increasingly difficult to speak freely in Cameroon.

Paul Atanga Nji, Cameroon’s territorial administration minister, says he is surprised that the opposition criticizes Biya, whom he says is the architect of Cameroon’s democracy.

Nji says democracy given to Cameroonians freely by Biya must be constructively used to build and not to destroy. He says all government and administrative officials should be firm in punishing opposition and civil society members why defy and insult state authority.

Nji told state TV on Tuesday that opposition parties that call for protests against state officials will be arrested for rebellion, insurrection and treason.

Cameron’s opposition accuses Biya of ruling with an iron fist and says he is not showing signs he is ready to relinquish power.

Ndah Grimbald, assistant secretary-general of the opposition Social Democratic Front Party, says Biya should emulate the example of U.S. President Joe Biden and hand over leadership to a dynamic civilian.

“Our president, Paul Biya, is 10 years older than Biden. He is 91 years [old] and instead of thinking [of] how to hand over power to the younger generation, his regime is doing everything to impede the rights, the fundamental rights of Cameroonians from assembling and discussing the affairs of their country,” said Grimbald.

Supporters of Biya say he is a democrat and has won all elections since the return of multiparty politics in Cameroon in 1990.

Biya has not said if he will be a candidate in the next presidential polls, but his party supporters have been organizing regular political rallies to urge him to run for re-election.

Opposition groups were angered earlier this month when Biya ordered his majority Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement or CPDM party to pass a government bill extending terms for all 180 lawmakers by 12 months, into 2026.

The law makes it hard for main opposition leaders, including Maurice Kamto, to gain the legislative seats they need to be eligible to run against Biya in the next presidential election.

Kamto says he won the 2018 presidential election but lost it to Biya through fraud. Kamto then boycotted Cameroon’s 2020 local council and parliamentary elections.

Cameroon’s laws make it possible for presidential aspirants who do not have legislative seats to submit 300 signatures from influential politicians, including former ministers, traditional rulers and religious leaders, to secure a spot on the presidential ballot.

But the opposition and civil society say getting the signatures is highly difficult because the leaders are either scared of Biya or are his political partners.

Biya is Africa’s second-longest serving leader after the president of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang Nguema, who has been in power since 1979.

Source: VOA

Harris leads Trump 44% to 42% in US presidential race

24, July 2024

Harris leads Trump 44% to 42% in US presidential race 0

A new poll has revealed that US Vice President Kamala Harris is taking a marginal lead over Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in the 2024 US presidential election after current president Joe Biden ended his reelection bid.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll, conducted on Monday and Tuesday, showed Harris led Trump 44% to 42% among registered voters in the national poll, a difference within the 3-percentage-point margin of error.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll last week showed Biden trailing Trump by two percentage points before his exit from the race.

The latest poll, which was conducted online, surveyed 1,241 US adults nationwide, including 1,018 registered voters.

Harris and Trump were tied at 44% in a July 15-16 poll, and Trump led by one percentage point in a July 1-2 poll, both within the same margin of error.

Some 56% of registered voters agreed with a statement that Harris, 59, was “mentally sharp and able to deal with challenges,” compared to 49% who said the same of Trump, 78. Only 22% of voters assessed Biden that way.

Three quarters of Democratic voters said they agreed with a statement that the party and voters should get behind Harris now, with only a quarter saying multiple candidates should compete for the party’s nomination.

On Sunday, Biden, 81, dropped out of the US presidential election and endorsed Harris as the party’s new nominee.

Biden’s endorsement of Harris was swiftly followed by the influential Congressional Black Caucus and various lawmakers, as well as several key donors and super PACs including Priorities USA and Unite the Country.

A pollster with Trump’s campaign has played down any polling showing an increase in Harris’ support, arguing that she was likely to see a temporary rise in popularity because of widespread media coverage of her new candidacy.

Trump’s camp has already started preparing a plan on how he should compete with the younger female Harris in the upcoming election.

Trump’s team started their attacks by linking Harris to the Biden administration’s failures, saying she is complicit in everything that occurred under Biden’s watch.

Culled from Presstv

Yaoundé: Biya and Niat taken to Europe in bundles

23, July 2024

Yaoundé: Biya and Niat taken to Europe in bundles 0

President Paul Biya, was scheduled to leave Yaoundé, the nation’s capital, yesterday in what was dubbed as a private visit to an unknown destination in Europe.

Sources at the Unity Palace in Yaoundé have hinted the Cameroon Concord News Group that Mr. Biya, 91, who is going through tough health challenges, was being rushed to his usual destination for health reasons.

“The head of state is in agony. His usual demons have reared their ugly heads and he is in very bad shape. His wife who moonlights as a care giver is already sick and tired of cleaning him up as even the thickest diapers are not a match for Mr. Biya’s incontinence,” our source at the Unity Palace said.

“Mr. Biya is heading to Switzerland where he hopes to find some relief. His body is failing him. He rarely talks these days and his heart and other organs have joined the fight to bring down the long-serving, incompetent and low-energy leader,” our source, which elected anonymity, said.

“Despite his failing health, Mr. Biya is still holding on to power and it is being rumored that the dying Biya is still insisting that he will be his party’s flagbearer in next year’s election. Why can Mr. Biya not learn from Joe Biden who has thrown in the towel because of age and poor health?” Our source quipped.

Meanwhile, the country’s Senate President, Marcel Niat Njifenji, was also rushed to France in a small bundle for emergency health care.

The 90-year-old is in a critical and unstable situation. He was rushed to France in an air ambulance and many of his collaborators thought he might not make it to France as his health had deteriorated very fast.

A source close to Mr. Niat said he might not return to Cameroon in front of the plane. “He might end up in the cargo section of the plane as his health is very concerning,” our source said.

Over the last couple of years, Mr. Niat has been a colony of diseases but he cannot quit his position because he wants to continue having free health care and other perks which come with his position as Senate President.

More will be yours as our correspondents in Europe provide us details about the two Cameroon strong men.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

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