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15, May 2024

Football: Aston Villa reach Champions League for first time ⁰

Aston Villa have qualified for the Champions League for the first time after top-four rivals Tottenham Hotspur lost to Manchester City on Tuesday.

Tottenham had been the only team who could have overtaken Villa into fourth before Tuesday, but are now five points behind Unai Emery’s side with one game remaining.

Villa have not reached Uefa’s premier club competition since it rebranded from the European Cup to the Champions League in 1991-92.

They last played in the European Cup 41 years ago in 1982-83 having won the competition the season before.

Villa did finish second and fourth in the Premier League in 1992-93 and 1995-96 respectively, but in both those seasons only first was good enough to reach the Champions League.

Source: BBC

15, May 2024

Southern Cameroons Crisis: 2 teachers kidnapped in Ndu ⁰

Suspected Ambazonia Restoration Forces have reportedly arrested two teachers on Tuesday in Ndu in the Northwest region, according to local and security sources.

The Amba fighters raided a school in Ndu town where primary school pupils were sitting for a public exam, a security source said.

“They started shooting indiscriminately in the air and dispelled the school children and kidnapped two teachers. One of the teachers was shot in the leg. The pupils had started the exams when the Restoration Forces arrived at about 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday,” the source said. Soldiers deployed to Southern Cameroons by the regime in Yaounde were in pursuit of the Amba fighters.

Separatist fighters in Anglophone regions of Northwest and Southwest are known for regularly kidnapping teachers and students.

In 2019, they abducted 170 students and their teacher in Kumbo in the Northwest region. Since 2017, government forces and separatist fighters have clashed in the two regions, where separatists seek to create an independent nation.

By Fon Lawrence with additional reporting from Xinhunet

14, May 2024

CPDM Crime Syndicate: Customs Targets 75% of Revenue from Douala and Kribi Ports ⁰

The Directorate General of Customs (DGD) within the Ministry of Finance (Minfi) aims to collect over CFA92 billion in revenue for the Treasury in May 2024. The largest contributions are anticipated from the customs sectors of Littoral I and South II, covering the ports of Douala and Kribi, respectively.

Specifically, the customs services in the Littoral I sector have been tasked with collecting CFA58.9 billion, representing over 50% of the total expected revenue. Meanwhile, the South II sector has a collection target of CFA23.3 billion, less than half of what is expected from Littoral I, amounting to a 73.3% collection goal.

Following these major contributors, the third highest revenue, amounting to CFA4.7 billion, is anticipated from the Southwest region. The smallest contribution (CFA18.7 million) is assigned to the Northwest region, which, like the Southwest, has been grappling with a socio-political crisis since late 2016.

Despite the increasing tariff dismantlement in line with the implementation of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) with the European Union (EU), Cameroon’s customs revenues surpassed 1 trillion CFA francs for the first time in 2023, reaching CFA1,019.8 billion by the end of the fiscal year.

In 2024, Cameroon aims for revenues of CFA1,079.9 billion, marking a 10% increase from the previous year’s projections.

Source: Business in Cameroon

14, May 2024

Biya regime hands 15-year biometric ID card contract to Augentic ⁰

Augentic has agreed a deal with the government of Cameroon to produce a new generation biometric national ID card for the country under a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) arrangement that will last a decade and a half.

A ceremony to put pen to paper on the deal took place in Yaounde May 13. Augentic CEO, Labinot Carreti, signed on behalf of the company, while the Delegate General for National Security, Martin Mbarga Nguele, singed for the ID-issuing authority (DGSN).

In a chat with Biometric Update after the ceremony, Carreti said the official signing of the deal is the apotheosis and happy ending of a tender process which lasted over two years.

The German company was selected by an inter-ministerial committee set up for that purpose following a restricted international call to tender launched in December 2021.

The Augentic CEO said the project seeks to overhaul Cameroon’s ID card system, and ensure that ID cards are produced in 48 hours after the submission of an application. The first cards will be produced before the year runs out, he assures.

As part of the contract, a total of 68 new multi-functional structures will be built to facilitate the issuance of ID cards, including three ultra-modern ID production centers in the cities of Yaounde, Douala and Garoua, as well as enrollment centers in the regional and divisional headquarters.

About 219 existing ID card registration centers are also expected to be renovated by the firm, and new equipment and machines will be deployed in all the centers. The company says it is also discussing with the DGSN on a transition plan from the current generation of cards to the new ones.

The project will unfold in two phases for total funding of over €70 million (US$75 million), he says. The sum of €40 million (US$43 million) will be invested in the first phase to get the system running, while over €30 million (US$ 32 million) will be put in during the second phase which will basically be to renew the equipment and infrastructure and hand them over to the government of Cameroon once the ‘Operate’ component of the deal ends.

About security, the Augentic CEO said the ID card will have the highest security features in line with ICAO standards, and a special design that will be a first for Africa and the second in the world.

The deal, he adds, heralds an end to Cameroon’s national ID card woes. In the past years, obtaining an ID card in Cameroon has been a hellish experience with recurrent complaints of issuance delays and extortion.

Apart from national ID cards, Augentic is also required to produce biometric short stay permits, refugee cards, ID cards for DGSN personnel as well as disability cards.

This is the second identity document contract Augentic is securing from the Cameroon government. The company won a biometric passport contract in 2020 and has been producing the travel credential for the country since 2021 – a project that was successfully implemented in the heart of the coronavirus pandemic.

Now that security identification system contract has been signed, Carreti says various streams of work will go on simultaneously including the development and testing of the solution, producing the card specimen, construction of physical infrastructure, as well as putting in place other technical details to ensure the system goes live in the next few months.

Source: biometricupdate

13, May 2024

2025 Presidential Election: The pressure is on! ⁰

As 2025 approaches, Cameroonians are worried about their future. Cameroonians are going through tough times, especially as cost of living is rising at the speed of lightning while salaries have remained the same for decades.

Cameroonians would have loved to see a change in their lives but there is no such thing in the offing. Life will continue to be challenging for a long time except the government employs different policy options to trigger meaningful economic change.

But this does not seem to be possible as the ruling party (CPDM) and the government is more focused on winning the next presidential election than engineering new economic strategies which might trigger prosperity across the country.

As the government keeps maneuvering to stay in power, Cameroonians are also scheming on how to push the country’s long-serving president, Paul Biya, out of power through democratic means and this has resulted in calls for young Cameroonians to go get registered for the next presidential election.

Young Cameroonians have been heading to the various registration centers and it is clear that they want their voices to be heard. The Senegalese example where a 44-year-old man was voted into office has given young Cameroonians renewed hope.

Cameroonians are peace-loving people and they hold that genuine democratic change will help them consolidate the peace in their country. They really want change but not violent change as violent change might only make things worse.

Speaking to Yannich, a 25-year-old unemployed Douala resident, it could be seen that he was full of hope and Yannich’s feelings seem to tie in well with those of other young men, most of whom are unemployed, that Cameroon needs change, especially at the top of the government.

“We need change in our country. As you can see, our country has been ruled for over 40 years by the same people and I think after such a long period in power, it is hard to be innovative,” he said.

He added that “though we are hungry for change, I would like to urge Cameroonians to seek peaceful change through the ballot boxes. We must act responsibly in order not to destroy our country.”

“Our current president is over 90 and it is obvious that he will not be standing for reelection. We need a much younger president to take the country in an entirely new direction. The current crop of politicians has done its best. The next leaders will have to build on the foundation Mr. Biya and his collaborators have built,” he added.

“Allow me to use this medium to urge Cameroonians to go get registered for the 2025 Presidential Election. Next year’s election may change the country’s fortune as a new leader might bring in a different perspective and he might take the country down a new path. I am looking forward to 2025. I am hopeful and I think we should vote to change the destiny of our country,” he concluded.

By Alain A. Ebot

13, May 2024

Football: Mbappe’s final PSG home game ends in defeat as he bids farewell to fans ⁰

Kylian Mbappe scored on his final home appearance as a Paris Saint-Germain player on Sunday but the French champions suffered a surprise 3-1 defeat against Toulouse on the night they picked up the Ligue 1 championship trophy.

Mbappe confirmed in a video posted on social media on Friday that he would be leaving PSG when his contract expires at the end of the season, ending a seven-year association with the club.

Real Madrid is expected to be the next destination for a player whose departure from Paris had been an open secret since February, when he privately informed the club of his intention to move on.

Mbappe wore the captain’s armband and opened the scoring early on against Toulouse to take his tally for the season to 44 goals goals in all competitions.

However, Thijs Dallinga quickly equalised for the visitors against a PSG side which showed 10 changes to the team knocked out of the Champions League by Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals in midweek, with Mbappe the only player to keep his place.

Yann Gboho put Toulouse ahead with a brilliant strike in the second half, and Frank Magri wrapped up the win in stoppage time as PSG suffered just their second Ligue 1 loss this season, and their first in 27 games since September.

Mbappe has now scored 256 times for PSG, a club-record tally, since signing from Monaco in 2017 in a deal worth 180 million euros ($194 million).

His tally of 191 goals in France’s top flight — including 16 with Monaco at the beginning of his career — puts him in seventh place in the all-time list. Coach Luis Enrique described the 25-year-old as “a club legend” when he spoke to media on the eve of the game.

Jeers

PSG had indicated that celebrations after Sunday’s match would be dedicated to their title triumph, rather than any specific tribute to Mbappe himself.

There were even some jeers from the crowd for the striker when the teams were read out before the game, although a huge display was unfurled before kick-off at one end of the stadium depicting Mbappe in a trademark pose with his arms folded.

The Qatar-owned club had already wrapped up a record-extending 12th French title, and 10th in the last 12 years, before hosting a Toulouse side who were themselves safe from any lingering threat of relegation.

PSG’s Champions League disappointment means Mbappe will leave the club without ever having got his hands on European football’s greatest prize.

With Mbappe, PSG were runners-up in 2020 and have since reached the last four on two further occasions, but the France captain will now hope to finally get his hands on the trophy at his next club.

PSG can still finish the season by completing a clean sweep of domestic honours, as they face Lyon in the French Cup final in Lyon on May 25.

As well as Ligue 1, they have also already won the Champions Trophy, France’s equivalent of a Super Cup.

Luis Enrique’s team will complete their league campaign with a visit to Nice on Wednesday before going to Metz on the final day of the season next Sunday.

Source: AFP

13, May 2024

US Secretary of State says Israel offensive on Rafah would not eliminate Hamas ⁰

An all-out Israeli offensive on the Gaza city of Rafah would provoke “anarchy” without eliminating Hamas, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday, as Washington stepped up a pressure campaign against such an assault.

Separately, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan emphasized Washington’s concerns about an offensive in a call with his Israeli counterpart, Tzachi Hanegbi.

“Mr. Sullivan reiterated President Biden’s longstanding concerns over the potential for a major military ground operation into Rafah, where over one million people have taken shelter,” a White House readout of the phone call said.

It said Hanegbi “confirmed that Israel is taking US concerns into account,” but did not elaborate.

Israeli bombardment in the eastern parts of Rafah have already sent 300,000 Gazans fleeing.

The United States and other countries, as well as top UN officials, have warned that a full-out assault on Rafah could have a disastrous impact on the refugees driven there by fighting elsewhere in Gaza, many of them living in desperate conditions.

Israel has said it is attempting to keep civilian casualties to a minimum.

But Blinken, when asked on CBS’s “Face the Nation” whether the US concurred with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement that Israeli forces had killed more civilians than Hamas militants since the war began, replied simply, “Yes, we do.”

Blinken said a full-scale invasion could come “potentially at an incredibly high cost” and that even a massive assault on Rafah was unlikely to end the Hamas threat.

“Israel’s on the trajectory, potentially, to inherit an insurgency with many armed Hamas left, or if it leaves, a vacuum filled by chaos, filled by anarchy and probably refilled by Hamas,” he said.

Blinken also confirmed that the hold President Joe Biden has placed on weapons to Israel — as the US continues pressing it to better protect civilians and avoid an all-out invasion of Rafah — is limited to 3,500 “high-capacity” bombs.

He said the United States was continuing to press Israeli leaders to provide a plan for Gaza once the war is finally over, telling NBC’s “Meet the Press” that “we’ve been talking to them about a much better way of getting an enduring result.”

The US diplomat said Hamas militants had already returned to certain areas of northern Gaza that Israel had “liberated.”

Source: AFP

13, May 2024

Russia: President Putin set to replace Shoigu as defense minister ⁰

Russian President Vladimir Putin has proposed a surprise new defense minister, nominating civilian Andrei Belousov, a former deputy prime minister who specialises in economics, for the job more than two years into the Ukraine war, the Kremlin said.

Putin wants Sergei Shoigu, defence minister since 2012 and a long-standing ally, to become the secretary of Russia’s powerful Security Council, replacing incumbent Nikolai Patrushev, and to also have responsibilities for the military-industrial complex, the Kremlin announced on Sunday.

The changes, certain to be approved by parliamentarians, are the most significant Putin has made to the military command since sending tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022 in what he called a special military operation.

The shake-up gives Shoigu a job that is technically regarded as senior to his defence ministry role, ensuring continuity and saving Shoigu’s face.

Putin’s defence chief Shoigu survived Wagner’s challenge – but for how long?

Valery Gerasimov, the chief of Russia’s General Staff and someone with a more hands-on role when it comes to directing the war, will remain in post.

Sergei Lavrov, the country’s veteran foreign minister, will also stay in his job, the Kremlin said.

The appointment of Belousov, a civilian official known for his economic decision-making rather than battlefield knowledge, is the biggest surprise.

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesman, told reporters that the change made sense because Russia was approaching a situation like the Soviet Union in the mid-1980s, when the military and law enforcement authorities accounted for 7.4% of state spending.

That, said Peskov, meant it was vital to ensure such spending aligned with the country’s overall interests, which was why Putin now wanted a civilian with an economic background in the defence ministry job.

“The one who is more open to innovations is the one who will be victorious on the battlefield,” Peskov said.

The change is also likely to be seen by an attempt by Putin to subject defence spending to greater scrutiny to ensure funds are effectively spent after a Shoigu ally and deputy defence minister was accused by state prosecutors of taking a bribe.

Source: Reuters

13, May 2024

NERA 10: Nigeria House of Reps to sit over petition presented by Prof. Carlson Anyangwe ⁰

Reprieve may be on the way for six Nigerian university lecturers and some other professionals seeking asylum, but arrested and currently serving life prison terms in Cameroon, as indications have emerged that the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions is set to begin full sitting on their petition before it.

The affected persons who after their alleged illegal deportation from Nigeria, and reportedly tried by a military tribunal in Cameroon and jailed.in the petition to Nigeria’s House of Representatives, called on the government of Nigeria to intervene to secure their immediate and unconditional release.

The committee, having invited the Minister of Foreign Affairs and other relevant respondents, has fixed Tuesday, May 14 to commence full sitting on the matter.

The petitioners had written to the House of Representatives, appealing for its intervention to assist in releasing them from Cameroon prison, where they have been detained since January 2018, describing their deportation as illegal and based on “frivolous allegations of plotting to destabilise the government of La Republique du Cameroon, LRC, President Mr. Paul Biya.”

According to them, two separate judgments in Nigeria had been in their favour in connection with the matter, but that despite the judgments by Nigerian courts, they were yet to be released and compensated financially in line with the courts judgments.

The petition was presented on their behalf by Prof. Carlson Anyangwe, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, Fru Awah, Abdul Oroh and Mbinkar Singeh.

They prayed the House to among other things; “Cause the government of Nigeria to institute an urgent action to secure the implementation of Communication 59/2022 of October 14, 2022, of the UN-HRC-WGAD calling for the release of the petitioners; Cause the Government of Nigeria to take action and implement the rulings in the three judgments of the Federal High Court of Abuja in 2019, ordering the release and compensation of these petitioners.”

Source: Blueprint

11, May 2024

UN General Assembly resolution urges fresh vote on Palestinian statehood ⁰

The United Nations General Assembly has overwhelmingly passed a resolution, urging the world body’s Security Council to reconsider Palestine’s request to become a full UN member.

The resolution was passed during an emergency session of the assembly on Friday.

A total of 143 countries voted in favor of upgrading Palestine’s status at the world body, while nine voted against and 25 abstained.

Palestine is currently a UN non-member observer state, a status that was granted to it in 2012. An application to become a full UN member needs to be approved by the Council and then at least two-thirds of the General Assembly.

The United States, the Israeli regime’s biggest ally, has so far blocked Palestinians’ every attempt at being recognized as a full member by casting its veto against relevant resolutions.

Source: Presstv