Headline News

WHO says Covid global health emergency is over

5, May 2023

WHO says Covid global health emergency is over 0

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared that Covid-19 no longer represents a “global health emergency”.

The statement represents a major step towards ending the pandemic and comes three years after it first declared its highest level of alert over the virus.

Officials said the virus’ death rate had dropped from a peak of more than 100,000 people per week in January 2021 to just over 3,500 on 24 April.

The head of the WHO said at least seven million people died in the pandemic.

But Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the true figure was “likely” closer to 20 million deaths – nearly three times the official estimate – and he warned that the virus remained a significant threat.

“Yesterday, the Emergency Committee met for the 15th time and recommended to me that I declare an end to the public health emergency of international concern. I’ve accepted that advice. It’s therefore with great hope that I declare COVID-19 over as a global health emergency,” Dr Tedros said.

Source: BBC

Football: Naples explodes in joy as Napoli finally regain Serie A crown

5, May 2023

Football: Naples explodes in joy as Napoli finally regain Serie A crown 0

The southern Italian city of Naples exploded into what was shaping up to be a long night of celebrations on Thursday as local team Napoli secured their first Serie A soccer title in more than three decades, sweeping away years of disappointment.

Argentine hero Diego Maradona inspired Napoli to its second and last triumph in 1990, but since then, the coveted Scudetto has been won almost exclusively by teams from wealthy northern Italy, such as Juventus, Inter and AC Milan.

Napoli claimed a third crown following a 1-1 draw at mid-table Udinese, giving them an unassailable 16-point lead over second-placed Lazio with only five matches left in the season.

“Yes! We are the champions” supporter Roberto Santoniello told Reuters TV, proudly wearing his club’s shirt while others were screaming, waving flags, lighting flares and firecrackers in the central Trieste and Trento Square.

Udinese are based in Italy’s north-east, more than 800 kilometres away from Naples, so many Napoli fans stayed home and watched the game at their local Maradona stadium, which was specially equipped with eight giant screens.

“Today must be the right day,” one of them, Raffaele Manfredonia, said. Kevin, another fan who declined to give his surname, said of the expected Scudetto party: “It will be chaos, mayhem. We won’t sleep, we won’t work.”

But then he added, with a chuckle: “I am joking”.

The U.S. consulate issued a security alert last week, saying “spontaneous celebrations could last multiple days” and warned of “heavy traffic or road closures, significant use fireworks, and alcohol consumption throughout the city”.

Police had banned fireworks but that did not stop the Neapolitan sky being lit up as soon as the game against Udinese was over. Authorities also banned car and scooter traffic from the city centre in the hope of minimising risk to public order.

“I’ve been waiting for the Napoli Scudetto since I was small,” said a teenage girl out with two friends, her cheeks painted Napoli blue. “It’s a victory for the entire city, it’s wonderful,” she added, declining to give her name.

In Udine, there were post-match scuffles as Napoli fans ran onto the stadium pitch to celebrate with players, but were met by hostile home supporters armed with belts and batons, the ANSA news agency said.

Anti-riot police intervened to break up the fights, and six fans were reported to have sustained non-serious injuries, RAI public television said.

Having enjoyed a stellar season, Neapolitans have been gearing up for weeks for the title celebration, casting aside their usual superstition about claiming victory before it happens.

Streamers, banners, flags, scarves and life-sized cardboard replicas of Napoli’s present-day footballers, including Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen and Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, have festooned the city centre.

The late Maradona is also still revered, celebrated on fans’ t-shirts, banners or tattoos, and on a giant mural in Naples’ Miracles Square that has become a major attraction in the countdown to the Scudetto.

Source: Reuters

Ukraine War: White House says Kremlin ‘lying’ about US role in drone attack

4, May 2023

Ukraine War: White House says Kremlin ‘lying’ about US role in drone attack 0

The White House on Wednesday denied any involvement in an alleged drone attack on the Kremlin, after Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused Washington of guiding Ukraine to launch the assault.

“We had nothing to do with this,” said John Kirby, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, on MSNBC. “Peskov is just lying there, pure and simple,” he added.

Russia alleges that Ukraine carried out a “terrorist attack” overnight Tuesday into Wednesday with two drones, aiming to kill President Vladimir Putin, a charge which Kyiv has denied.

Kirby reiterated in his interview to MSNBC on Wednesday that Washington does not support or condone attacks by Ukraine outside its borders.

“We’ve been clear with them publicly and we’ve been clear with them privately that we do not encourage nor do we enable them to strike outside Ukraine,” he said.

Source: France 24

Football: PSG fans protest over Messi saga, disappointing form

4, May 2023

Football: PSG fans protest over Messi saga, disappointing form 0

Hundreds of fans gathered at PSG on Wednesday to protest over the club’s current form and the Messi saga, as the Argentinian superstar’s future at PSG was plunged into doubt following his suspension, after he travelled to Saudi Arabia without the club’s permission.

When Lionel Messi arrived from his beloved Barcelona in 2021, PSG fans hoped he would transform the club into a Champions League powerhouse. But Messi has struggled to reproduce his best form at Qatar-backed Paris – even though he has scored 31 goals in 71 appearances in all competitions.

“We’re fed up with mercenaries! We must sack Messi! We must sack Nasser Al-Khelaifi (the club’s Qatari president),” supporters chanted.

“We are sincerely worried about the future and the sustainability of our club,” the team’s ‘ultras’ supporters said in a statement, adding “is there still a pilot on the plane?”

Meanwhile, several videos posted on Twitter appeared to show a group of supporters, dressed in black gathered in front of the home of Neymar, shouting abuse at their injured Brazilian superstar.

Declining form

This came after Messi was jeered by a section of the PSG support, who see him as a symbol of all the club have done wrong in focusing on superstar signings while failing to build a genuinely competitive team.

Messi’s form since leading Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar has declined along with that of most of the PSG team.

Their insipid performance against Lorient was a sixth defeat in 17 Ligue 1 matches in 2023.

They remain five points clear of Marseille at the top of the table with five games left, and are therefore still on course for a record 11th French title.

However, they were knocked out of the Champions League in the last 16 by Bayern Munich and also went out of the French Cup at the same stage to Marseille.

A source with knowledge of the disciplinary procedure told AFP that Argentina’s 35-year-old World-Cup winning captain, who is out of contract at the end of the season, would be sidelined for “several days”, while various media in France reported that he would be suspended for two weeks

“He cannot train, cannot play, and will not be paid while disciplinary measures are in place,” the source added.

Another source, also speaking on condition they were not identified, indicated that the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner would “probably” be sidelined for a fortnight, noting that “nobody is more important than the club”.

Messi played the whole game in PSG’s 3-1 home defeat by Lorient in Ligue 1 on Sunday.

He then travelled to Saudi Arabia to fulfil commercial commitments in his role as a tourism ambassador for the Gulf state.

The Saudi Tourism Authority said in a press release on Wednesday that Messi had “returned to Saudi for a second time, this time with his family” and had been treated to a demonstration of palm weaving and had fed Arabian gazelles.

As a result of the trip, Messi missed a training session scheduled for Monday following the weekend defeat.

The PSG squad were given a day off on Tuesday and Messi did not take part in training on Wednesday either.

‘Fed up with mercenaries’

PSG are due to return to league action away at struggling Troyes on Sunday, a game that Messi may now miss.

If he were to be sidelined for two weeks he would also sit out a home match against Ajaccio on May 13.

The disciplinary measures make the prospect of Messi staying in the French capital after his two-year deal expires at the end of this season even more remote.

Having at one point looked set to extend his stay for another year, a source close to the club told AFP last month that he was now “much more likely” to depart.

Source: AFP

CPDM and Oil Money: Minister Ngoh Ngoh battles it out with SNH boss Adolphe Moudiki

4, May 2023

CPDM and Oil Money: Minister Ngoh Ngoh battles it out with SNH boss Adolphe Moudiki 0

The Biya regime has been caught up in an internal crisis since the SNH bought a 10% stake in the company running the oil pipeline between Doba and Kribi.

In a series of letters seen by African Intelligence, presidency secretary general Ngoh Ngoh and SNH boss Adolphe Moudiki have been locked in a violent dispute over the operation.

Recently, Yaoundé and N’Djamena agreed to resolve their dispute over assets belonging to a multinational oil giant, Exxon Mobil.

Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh made the news public after a meeting with Chad’s transitional president, Mahamat Idriss Deby, in the capital N’Djamena.

The Biya acolyte, who visited Chad as a special envoy, days after N’Djamena recalled its ambassador to Yaoundé over the dispute, handed President Deby “a message of friendship, a message of fraternity” from Biya.

By Rita Akana with files from Africa Intelligence

Power Company Eneo claims over 210,000 new connections in one year

4, May 2023

Power Company Eneo claims over 210,000 new connections in one year 0

Cameroon power company Eneo reported a customer base up 12.278% between January 2022 (1,715,093) and January 2023 (1,925,667). This means the company has performed 210,574 new electrical connections over one year.

“This increase in access to electricity has been helped by the acceleration of the digitalization process, which has boosted management of online connection requests and better organization,” Eneo explained, stressing that interest in its digital agencies has been more noticeable in Yaoundé and Douala. In the political capital, for example, the number of price quotes produced by the online agency for the benefit of customers has increased by 958%.

Moreover, Eneo reported a significant decline in the execution deadlines for connection requests, which are now carried out on the same day of the payment of the estimate or at most 24 hours later.

Source: Business in Cameroon

Bishop Bibi and the renovation of Divine Mercy Co-Cathedral: Be a Samaritan

3, May 2023

Bishop Bibi and the renovation of Divine Mercy Co-Cathedral: Be a Samaritan 0

When Bishop Bibi was formally installed as Bishop of the Buea Diocese, one of the first ways he sought to implement the ever flowing spirit of Vatican II deep within the Diocese of Buea was to continue with renovation work at the Divine Mercy Co-Cathedral.

Influenced by donations coming in from several Samaritans, Bishop Michael Miabesue-to use his three names, is now full of praise to all lay faithful supporting the roofing and tiling of the external walls of the Divine Mercy Co-Cathedral.

Cameroon Concord News Group understands that the Bishop Bibi Divine Mercy Co-Cathedral Project is arguably the most drastic ever since the Holy Father placed him at the head of affairs in the Buea Diocese.

In his most recent pastoral letter dated May 3, 2023 and addressed to all societies of Apostolic life, members of the Institute of Consecrated Life including all lay faithful in the Buea Diocese and even beyond, the much respected Roman Catholic cleric observed that there is an urgent need for installation of aluminum, plastic glass windows and decorated gravel paper sticker in the Divine Mercy Co-Cathedral.

Reacting to Bishop Bibi’s pastoral letter on the Divine Mercy Co-Cathedral, Tambe Ndip Arrah of the Cameroon Catholic Community in Mulheim in the Federal Republic of Germany said it is the Bishop’s own version of Opera Artis, geared towards protecting the artistic heritage of the Divine Mercy Co-Cathedral

The laity is happy

The renovation of the Divine Mercy Co-Cathedral is significant in that it is very popular with all in the Diocese of Buea!

This editorial is simply to create a greater awareness of the renovation in the diaspora for all in Europe and North America to support the Bishop in the proposed changes to Buea Diocese historic Divine Mercy Co-Cathedral.

Material costs

The Bishop has made it easy for all not to wonder too much about the material cost of the renovation!! It is simply for families to choose where to help!! See document attached!!

We of the Cameroon Concord News Group think it is good stewardship. Bishop Bibi has finally found creative solutions that preserve the old art, protect the integrity of the architecture, and maintain a sacral atmosphere. Be a part of the Divine Mercy Co-Cathedral project!

By Sheikh Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Chairman/Editor-In-Chief

Cameroon Concord News Group

Football: PSG suspends Messi for taking trip to Saudi Arabia without club’s permission

2, May 2023

Football: PSG suspends Messi for taking trip to Saudi Arabia without club’s permission 0

Lionel Messi was suspended by Paris Saint-Germain for taking a trip to Saudi Arabia without the club’s permission, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The person would not specify the length of the suspension, though French media reported it to be two weeks. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to publicly discuss the matter.

A two-week suspension would mean Messi would miss PSG’s next two games. L’Equipe and RMC Sport both reported the suspension without citing sources.

The person told the AP that the World Cup champion won’t be allowed to train or play with the team and won’t be paid during his suspension.

PSG had denied Messi’s request to make the trip, the person said.

Messi has a commercial contract with Saudi Arabia to promote tourism in the Middle Eastern country.

The suspension comes at a delicate time as the French club hopes to extend the Argentine star’s contract beyond this season.

Messi’s trip followed PSG’s surprise 3-1 loss to Lorient on Sunday, leaving the defending champions with a five-point lead over Marseille with five games left in the season. Messi played the full game.

L’Equipe had reported that PSG coach Christophe Galtier pledged to give his players two days off — Monday and Tuesday — if they beat Lorient. Instead, the team trained on Monday and had Tuesday off.

The forward joined PSG from Barcelona two years ago, and there has been speculation about where he would play next.

Source: AP

Hollywood writers strike over pay for first time in 15 years as talks with studios collapse

2, May 2023

Hollywood writers strike over pay for first time in 15 years as talks with studios collapse 0

Over 10,000 Hollywood movie and television writers have gone on strike Tuesday due to unstable working conditions and pay, marking the first time US TV and film productions have taken a grinding halt after 15 years of labor peace.

After failed negotiations with studios and streamers, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) called for a work stoppage demanding higher pay, minimum guarantees of stable employment, and a larger cut of the profits from the booming streaming industry.

The strike could have catastrophic effects on the US entertainment industry as late-night shows will come to an immediate stop and television series and movies scheduled for later this year will face major delays.

According to WGA statistics, half of TV series writers now make minimum wage, as the average payment for a senior writer has dropped 4 percent over the past decade.

While writers’ pay has decreased, the entertainment industry has paid executives extravagant salaries including a total of one billion dollars to the top twelve media executives in 2021.

The issue of artificial intelligence (AI) is yet another one up for discussion. The WGA wants to put safeguards in place to prevent studios from using AI to create new scripts from existing text. Additionally, writers wish to avoid being asked to revise AI-created draft scripts.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which negotiates on behalf of Comcast Corp, Disney, Warner Bros Discovery, Netflix, and hundreds of production companies, said in a statement that its offer included “generous increases in compensation for writers.”

The studio also stated that it is committed to reaching a fair agreement and is still willing to engage in further talks.

Meanwhile, the union, representing the writers, said in a statement that they had “unanimously voted to strike.”

Other Hollywood labor unions, including the actors’ SAG-AFTRA and the directors’ DGA, have expressed their support for the writers as they plan to hold separate talks with studios this summer.

The WGA stated, “Here is what all writers know: the companies have broken this business.”

“They have taken so much from the very people, the writers, who have made them wealthy.”

The last WGA strike, in 2007 and 2008 lasted 100 days while costing the California economy an estimated $2.1 billion as a result of production being halted.

Source: Presstv

Sudan conflict pushes 100,000 to flee across borders to neighbouring countries

2, May 2023

Sudan conflict pushes 100,000 to flee across borders to neighbouring countries 0

The fighting in Sudan has caused more than 330,000 people to flee their homes within the country, with over 100,000 others escaping over the borders, the United Nations said Tuesday, as gunfire and explosions echoed across the capital despite another ceasefire deal.

The conflict risks morphing into a broader disaster as Sudan’s impoverished neighbours deal with a refugee crunch and fighting hampers aid deliveries in a nation where two-thirds of people already rely on some outside assistance.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said Cairo would provide support for dialogue in Sudan between the rival military factions, but was also “being careful about not interfering in their domestic matters”.

“The entire region could be affected,” he warned in an interview with a Japanese newspaper on Tuesday as an envoy from Sudan’s army chief, who leads one of the warring sides, met Egyptian officials in Cairo.

United Nations officials had said UN aid chief Martin Griffiths aimed to visit Sudan on Tuesday, but the timing was still to be confirmed.

Regional powers have been urging the two Sudanese warning generals, Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan and RSF head Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, to end hostilities and begin negotiations.

The two factions on Tuesday agreed in principle to a seven-day ceasefire from Thursday, South Sudan announced as more air strikes and shooting in the Khartoum region disrupted the latest short-term truce.

A statement released by the foreign ministry of South Sudan, which has offered to mediate in the conflict, said its President Salva Kiir stressed the importance of a longer truce and of naming envoys to peace talks, to which both sides had agreed.

The credibility of the reported May 4-11 deal ceasefire deal between the two warring factions was unclear, given the rampant violations that undermined previous agreements running from 24 to 72 hours.

Risk of a regional crisis

The UN’s World Food Programme said on Monday it was resuming work in the safer parts of the country after a pause earlier in the conflict, in which some WFP staff were killed.

“The risk is that this is not just going to be a Sudan crisis, it’s going to be a regional crisis,” said Michael Dunford, the WFP’s East Africa director.

The commanders of the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) who previously shared power as part of an internationally backed transition towards free elections and civilian government show no sign of backing down, yet neither seem able to secure a quick victory. That has raised the spectre of a prolonged conflict that could draw in outside powers.

Early on Tuesday, black smoke could be seen hanging over the capital Khartoum, which lies at the confluence of the Blue and White Nile rivers. Air strikes hit Bahri, on the east bank, while clashes flared in Omdurman to the west, witnesses said.

Hundreds of people have died in the fighting between Burhan and Hemedti, who have blamed each other for the ceasefire violations.

The army has used airpower against RSF units dug into residential areas of Khartoum, damaging swathes of the capital area and reigniting conflict in Sudan’s far west Darfur region.

Port Sudan, where thousands of people have fled Khartoum seeking evacuation abroad, is the main entry point for aid for many countries in the region, the WFP’s Dunford told Reuters.

“Unless we stop the fighting, unless we stop now, the impact on a humanitarian scale is going to be massive,” he said.

Kenya has offered the use of its airports and airstrips near the border with South Sudan as part of an international humanitarian effort, Kenyan Foreign Minister Alfred Mutua said.

Aid supplies

Aid supplies that have arrived in Port Sudan for other aid agencies were still awaiting safe passage to Khartoum, a road journey of about 800 km (500 miles), although Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said it had delivered some aid to Khartoum.

Some 330,000 Sudanese have also been displaced inside Sudan’s borders by the war, the UN migration agency said.

Thousands of Sudanese are trying to exit the country, many across the borders with Egypt, Chad and South Sudan. The U.N. warned on Monday that 800,000 people could eventually leave including refugees living in Sudan temporarily.

At the border with Egypt, where more than 40,000 people have crossed over the past two weeks, delays are causing refugees to wait for days before being let through after paying hundreds of dollars to make the journey north from Khartoum.

Foreign countries have carried out their own evacuation effort, with an airlift from outside the capital and long road convoys to Port Sudan where ships have ferried them abroad.

Most European countries have ended their evacuation efforts. Russia said on Tuesday it had pulled out 200 of its citizens.

The army and RSF had shared power since a 2021 coup but had fallen out over the timeline for a transition to civilian rule and moves to merge the RSF into the regular military.

The two had fought side by side to battle an uprising in Darfur from 2003 onwards in which more than 300,000 people died, raising accusations of genocide.

Source: Reuters

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