Headline News

8, May 2024

il y avait quoi avant: Camair-Co continues to buckle under debt pile ⁰

Camair-Co continues to face a debt burden of XAF124 billion Central African francs (USD203.7 million), making it the second most indebted state-owned enterprise in Cameroon, according to the country’s latest monthly public debt review.

Released on April 25, the report by Cameroon’s public debt management committee (Comité National de la Dette Publique – CNDP) and national debt recovery fund (Caisse Autonome d’Amortissement – CAA), viewed by ch-aviation, reveals that Camair-Co carried XAF62.4 billion (USD102.5 million) in domestic debt and XAF61.6 billion (USD101.2 million) in external debt by March 31, 2024. The highest debt, of XAF652 billion (USD1 billion), is shouldered by national oil refinery Société Nationale de Raffinage (Sonara).

Unprofitable since its incorporation in 2006, the technically bankrupt national carrier was among four state-owned enterprises that were placed under performance contracts in 2023 as part of government efforts to improve the viability of public enterprises under the supervision of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The government of Cameroon is currently implementing a USD689.5 million Economic and Financial Programme for 2021-2024 supported by the IMF’s Extended Credit Facility (ECF) and Extended Fund Facility (EFF).

The financial strain on the fiscus has led to discussions of privatisation. The possibility of listing Camair-Co was mentioned in a report last year by a technical committee tasked with rehabilitating state-owned enterprises (SOEs). In 2020, President Paul Biya instructed the government to develop a restructuring plan to revive the carrier and sell 51% to a strategic private investor. However, the state-run enterprises rehabilitation commission (Commission Technique de Réhabilitation des Entreprises du Secteur Public – CTR) emphasised that before any divestment Camair must clean up its balance sheet and improve its financial standing. Efforts to address this include a restructuring and revitalisation plan, supported by the presidency since September 2020.

Meanwhile, the airline is wet-leasing three Embraer jets to resume regional routes later this month, to Cotonou Cadjehoun in Benin and Pointe Noire and Brazzaville in Congo.

Source: ch-aviation

8, May 2024

FECAFOOT Crisis: Eto’o refuses to sign contract of government-appointed coach ⁰

Trouble is brewing in Cameroon after FECAFOOT boss Samuel Eto’o refused to sign the contract of Belgian coach Marc Brys who was imposed of the federation by the country’s President.

The standoff between Cameroon FA president Samuel Eto’o and the government over the appointment of Indomitable Lions coach Marc Brys continues to escalate.

Belgian coach Marc Brys was appointed by Cameroon President Paul Biya following recommendation by the country’s Sports Ministry with FECAFOOT, the country’s football association which is led by legendary striker Eto’o, not involved.

Biya made it clear that he will be the one to decide who will coach Cameroon following the departure of Rigobert Song but that did not go down well with Eto’o and his team who feel they should be the ones making that decision.

The Sports Ministry went ahead and headhunted Brys, alongside two assistants Joachim Mununga and Giannis Xilouris, who were allocated a monthly budget of €40,000 for their salaries, on a two-year contract.

However, Eto’o and his team rejected the move and even failed to attend the coach’s unveiling. FECAFOOT have also refused to complete the formalities required to allow the tactician to begin his work, leading to a standoff.

“I have read somewhere that I have not signed a contract,” Brys told the media as per Kick442 regarding reports that FECAFOOT have not signed his deal.

“But I do have one! I am open to discussion, attentive, positive, but the locker room is the place of the coach, his technical staff and the players, and into which neither the Sports Ministry nor FECAFOOT enters.”

Brys still hopes to meet Eto’o and his team and thrash out the contentious issues.

“I am ready to work with the federation and its president, in the interest of the national team and the country. I hope to meet him [Eto’o], like I said before. But I’m not the type to chase people, because I have to focus on the team and players for the next games,” he added.

Even with the standoff, Brys has continued to meet players whom he intends to integrate in the squad with Cameroon set to face Cape Verde and Angola in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in June.

The Indomitable Lions lead Group D with four points same as Cape Verde and Libya while Angola have two, Mauritius one and Eswatini are pointless.

Source: Pursesports.co

7, May 2024

Hummels stuns Mbappe and PSG to take Dortmund to Champions League final ⁰

Mats Hummels headed in the only goal as Borussia Dortmund stunned Kylian Mbappe and Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League semi-final second leg on Tuesday, winning 1-0 on the night and advancing 2-0 on aggregate to next month’s final at Wembley.

Hummels struck five minutes into the second half at the Parc des Princes and PSG were unable to muster a response, the home side all out of luck as they hit the woodwork four times in total.

Dortmund, who sit fifth in the German Bundesliga, were never expected to go so far and will be underdogs in the June 1 showpiece regardless of whether they face their old rivals Bayern Munich or Real Madrid, who meet on Wednesday.

It will be their first final since 2013 when, remarkably, the match was also played at Wembley and Jurgen Klopp’s Dortmund team lost to Bayern.

Hummels played in that final and here, 11 years later, he was the hero as Dortmund built on the advantage given to them by Niclas Fuellkrug’s goal in the first leg.

The story of this semi-final, however, is just as much about PSG’s failure in another crunch knockout tie in the competition.

They have still never won the trophy despite all the money invested by their Qatari owners since the 2011 takeover, and there will be no dream send-off for Mbappe.

He will leave when his contract expires after this season and had been hoping to play his last game for the club in the June 1 final.

Instead PSG will be left to reflect on how they failed to get their hands on the biggest trophy of all during Mbappe’s seven years at his hometown team.

PSG’s last two semi-final appearances both came during the pandemic, meaning this was the first time they had hosted a match at this stage of a European competition with fans in 29 years, since losing to AC Milan in 1995.

They were favourites to reach their first Champions League final since 2020, despite their defeat in Dortmund six days earlier.

Woodwork to rescue

Luis Enrique’s team had won 2-0 at home against the same opponents in the group stage and were safe in the knowledge that a repeat of that performance would be enough.

The PSG coach made one major selection decision, dropping Bradley Barcola and bringing in Portuguese striker Goncalo Ramos. That meant moving Mbappe out of a central position and onto the left wing.

Dortmund would have been bracing themselves for an onslaught from kick-off, but that did not transpire.

Mbappe took only seven minutes to produce his first attempt, yet his volley was easily saved by Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.

The hosts had most of the possession but struggled to get Mbappe into the game, with the France captain often looking isolated on the wing.

In fact it was Dortmund who had the best chance of the first half, when Karim Adeyemi led a counterattack before seeing his shot saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma.

It felt as though the hosts needed to change something or risk going out with a whimper.

They should have been ahead two minutes after the restart, when Ramos touched on a ball driven into the box by Mbappe, but Warren Zaire-Emery somehow contrived to hit the post from close range.

That was to prove crucial as Dortmund struck moments later.

PSG cheaply conceded a corner, and Julian Brandt’s resulting delivery from the Dortmund right was headed in by Hummels.

Ramos swept a shot over from a Vitinha pass on the hour mark before Nuno Mendes became the second PSG player to strike the right-hand post, this time with a powerful shot from outside the box.

It was starting to look as if it would really not be PSG’s night, and Luis Enrique realised he had to act as he sent on Barcola and Marco Asensio for Ramos and Fabian Ruiz, moving Mbappe through the middle.

It was a disappointing night for Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe

Dortmund responded by withdrawing Jadon Sancho and sending on an extra defender in the hulking Niklas Suele.

They withstood everything PSG threw at them but were also helped by the frame of the goal, with Kobel turning Mbappe’s shot onto the bar on 86 minutes and Vitinha then rattling the bar too.

Source: AFP

7, May 2024

US brands Israel border closures ‘unacceptable’ ⁰

The White House said Tuesday that key ally Israel must reopen Gaza’s Rafah border crossing with Egypt, while expressing hope that a ceasefire deal with Hamas was within reach.

Israel sent tanks into the southern Gaza city of Rafah and seized control of the crossing, a key aid passage, while warning it will deepen its operation if truce talks fail to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas.

President Joe Biden declined to answer questions on the ceasefire talks and the operation in Rafah as he met his Romanian counterpart in the Oval Office, merely smiling at reporters.

“The crossings that have been closed need to be reopened, it is unacceptable for them to be closed,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told a briefing.

“We believe Rafah border crossing should be quickly reopened for the movement of humanitarian assistance,” Jean-Pierre added.

Israel had already committed to reopening another crossing at Kerem Shalom, which was closed after a rocket attack on Sunday killed four Israeli troops, on Wednesday, she added.

The United States, Israel’s main military and diplomatic backer, has repeatedly said it opposes a major offensive in Rafah, where more than 1.2 million displaced Palestinians are living.

But the White House said Israel had told it that the current operation was of “limited scope, scale and duration.”

“What we’ve been told by our Israeli counterparts is that this operation last night was limited and designed to cut off Hamas’s ability to smuggle weapons” into Gaza,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

Washington would closely monitor the situation, he added.

‘Remaining gaps’

The Israeli military’s thrust into the eastern sector of the city came shortly after the Palestinian militant group Hamas said it had accepted a ceasefire proposal, but Israel demurred.

The talks got back underway on Tuesday amid high hopes and tensions after more than seven months of conflict.

“A close assessment of the two sides’ positions suggests that they should be able to close the remaining gaps, and we’re going to do everything we can to support that process,” Kirby said.

The fact that all parties, including CIA chief Bill Burns, were present at the talks in Cairo indicated they were at an advanced stage, he added.

“Everybody’s coming to the table,” Kirby said. “That’s not insignificant.”

The White House hoped for news “very, very soon” but it would be “foolhardy” to predict when the negotiations might bear fruit, he added.

The war was sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Israel launched a retaliatory offensive that has killed at least 34,789 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.

Source: AFP

7, May 2024

Asylum seekers in UK ‘hide or flee to Ireland’ for fear of deportation to Rwanda ⁰

Asylum seekers are going into hiding or fleeing to Ireland as the UK government is proceeding with a plan to detain them for deportation to Rwanda, reports say.

The detentions began a week ago under the controversial Rwanda scheme, with the first deportation flights expected to take off in July.

“Frontline asylum charities report people leaving their asylum accommodation in order to avoid arrest. They are raising the alarm about the increasing risks of destitution and exploitation,” Lou Calvey, the director of the charity Asylum Matters, said.

The Guardian questioned whether the officials had anticipated the asylum seekers’ reaction, citing the growing fallout from the high-profile round-ups that the government is dealing with following the dissemination of its message about detaining people for Rwanda.

It is not clear whether officials had anticipated that some asylum seekers would go into hiding and others would go to Ireland, it said.

According to the report, asylum seekers who have attended regular reporting sessions at centers around the UK have said that they had never seen things so quiet.

“I walked right in and didn’t have to queue at all. In all the years I’ve been reporting I’ve never seen it so deserted,” said one man from Belarus who has been in the UK for more than a decade, but is still fearful the Home Office could detain him even though he isn’t among those identified in the initial cohort of returns.

The initial cohort includes those who illegally arrived between January 2022 and June 2023.

Another asylum seeker, who has received a notice of intent for Rwanda, said he got several calls from friends in his community urging him to go into hiding.

A Syrian refugee also said he was calling on asylum seeker friends at risk of being deported to Rwanda to hide.

“I was an asylum seeker in 2020 when the Home Office was trying to deport as many asylum seekers as possible to European countries they had passed through before Brexit started. Some asylum seekers went into hiding then and I can see that it is happening again because of Rwanda.”

The first week of round-ups saw at least one asylum seeker going on hunger strike and another threatening suicide.

The detentions, however, have not acted as a deterrent for small boat crossings, with 1,420 people crossing in the last seven days up to Sunday.

Meanwhile, Ireland, that removed a tent city of asylum seekers in the heart of Dublin outside the International Protection Accommodation Services center last week, saw the return of tents close to where they were before.

The Irish authorities are expected to provide more accommodation later this week to deal with the unprecedented numbers of asylum seekers, some arriving from the UK.

Critics of the Rwanda scheme say the deportations breach international law.

Source: Presstv

7, May 2024

Russia to hold nuclear drills following ‘threats’ from West ⁰

Russia has started preparations for missile drills near Ukraine simulating the use of tactical nuclear weapons in response to “threats” by Western officials.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said recent statements by French President Emmanuel Macron and the British Foreign Secretary David Cameron constituted a “completely new round of escalation of tension”.

Last week, Mr Macron refused to rule out potentially deploying French troops, should Kyiv request them, while Lord Cameron said that Ukraine had the right to use British weapons for strikes within Russia.

On Monday, Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Lord Cameron’s “hostile outburst” contradicted previous British assurances that the long-range missiles sent to Ukraine would not be used on Russian territory and meant that the UK was a “party to the conflict”.

The ministry added that the response to Ukrainian strikes using British weapons on Russia could involve targeting any British military facilities and equipment on the territory of Ukraine and beyond.

It also said that Mr Macron’s statement on possible deployment of French troops to Ukraine could be considered as “readiness for direct confrontation with Russia”.

Both the British and the French ambassadors in Moscow were summoned on Monday.

The tactical nuclear weapons drills announced on Monday were ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to TASS news agency.

They were expected to take place “in the near future” and would involve missile formations as well as air and naval forces.

Tactical nuclear weapons are small nuclear warheads and delivery systems intended for use on the battlefield, or for a limited strike.

They are designed to destroy enemy targets in a specific area without causing widespread radioactive fallout.

Strategic nuclear weapons, on the other hand, are large and designed to be fired at a long range – for example, between continents. Russia holds regular drills with strategic nuclear weapons.

In April, Belarus’s long-time leader Alexander Lukashenko said “several dozen” tactical nuclear weapons were stationed in his country.

A Ukrainian military intelligence spokesman dismissed the announcement that drills would take place, calling it “nuclear blackmail”.

But Nato spokesperson Farah Dakhlallah said it was “dangerous and irresponsible” and stated that Nato remained “vigilant”.

Following a meeting in Paris with Mr Macron and Chinese President Xi Jinping, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that she hoped President Xi would help de-escalate Russia’s “irresponsible” nuclear threats.

Russia’s sabre-rattling come on the eve of President Vladimir Putin’s inauguration for a fifth presidential term.

Ukraine’s foreign ministry has said it will no longer regard Vladimir Putin as a legitimate president after his inauguration and has urged other countries and international organisations to follow suit.

However, a French diplomatic source quoted by Reuters said the French ambassador would attend the ceremony.

Germany and several other European countries have ruled out sending their envoys.

Source: BBC

6, May 2024

Southern Cameroons Crisis: General Sagon among 3 killed in Ngoketunjia ⁰

Three separatist fighters, including a key commander, were killed when government forces struck their hideout on Sunday in Cameroon’s war-torn Anglophone region of Northwest, according to local and security sources.

The crackdown, as confirmed by a military official in the region who requested not to be named, was launched in the early hours of Sunday in the Ngoketunjia division of the region.

Among those killed was a key commander who referred to himself as “General Sagon.”

“General Sagon” was among the first to take up arms in 2017 to fight the government. In 2021, he was the second in command when separatist fighters ambushed and killed 15 soldiers in a single combat in Ngoketunjia division, according to security reports by local police.

An official in the region who asked not to be named said that his physical elimination is a “major” setback to the separatist insurgency in the region.

Fighting between government forces and separatist fighters has persisted in Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions of Northwest and Southwest since 2017 when separatists attempted to establish an independent nation in these regions.

Source: Xinhuanet

4, May 2024

Football: Real Madrid confirmed as La Liga champions ⁰

Real Madrid clinched the Spanish title on Saturday for the fourth time in 12 years, beating Cadiz 3-0 before previous champions Barcelona lost 4-2 at Girona.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side romped clear of last season’s winners and shock challengers Girona to clinch their record-extending 36th La Liga trophy.

AFP Sport breaks down the keys to Los Blancos’ domestic success this season:

Brilliant Bellingham

Nobody expected Jude Bellingham to have such an instant impact in Spain after his move from Borussia Dortmund last summer.

The England international quickly established himself as a key player in attacking areas for Madrid with ten goals in his first ten league matches, replacing the departed Karim Benzema.

Although his numbers have dipped in the second half of the campaign, Bellingham remains Los Blancos’ top scorer with 18 in La Liga, and Ancelotti also regularly exalts his strong work ethic.

Catalan capitulation

Barcelona looked revitalised last season under Xavi Hernandez, but the champions struggled badly in the first half of the season.

Their previously rock-solid defence gave way with alarming regularity and Madrid’s consistency, falling to just one defeat in the whole campaign to date, made their march to the title feel an inevitability.

Barcelona found new life after January but it was too little, too late for Madrid’s arch-rivals.

Mentality masters

Real Madrid are admired for their never-say-die attitude and assuredness in big matches. In their key La Liga battles against Girona and Barcelona, they triumphed on every occasion.

Ancelotti’s side hammered Girona 3-0 in September in a show of strength and then crushed the Catalan minnows 4-0 in February to completely deflate their title bid.

Against Barcelona, Bellingham delivered stoppage-time winners in both league match-ups, firing Madrid to a 2-1 away triumph in October and a 3-2 victory in April at the Santiago Bernabeu.

And when Madrid were not playing well in some of the lower-key matches, they managed at least to draw. “To win a league, the games you can’t win, you can’t lose either,” noted Ancelotti.

Durable defence

Real Madrid were dealt multiple set-backs this season in defence with Thibaut Courtois, Eder Militao and David Alaba all sidelined with long-term injuries. Despite that, they boast the strongest record at the back in La Liga.

Antonio Rudiger has raised his level to marshal the defence, while right-back Dani Carvajal is in arguably the best form of his career.

Defensive midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni has dropped into the back line without fuss when required and always looked solid despite playing out of position.

Madrid’s squad players have also contributed in key moments, with Lucas Vazquez shining at right-back in the recent Clasico.

Carlo’s calls

Madrid coach Ancelotti has got his biggest decisions right this season. The coach’s first call was to deploy Bellingham as part of a three-pronged attack with Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes, a role which his previous bosses had not envisioned for him.

The Italian managed Rodrygo’s issues in front of goal well, keeping faith in the Brazilian, who made a point of celebrating with his coach after ending his drought in November.

Ancelotti has slowly phased out ageing great Luka Modric while still calling on him at the right times.

He kept squad players including Brahim Diaz and Joselu involved and hungry and both scored against Cadiz on the day Madrid won La Liga.

Source: AFP

4, May 2024

London: Labour’s Sadiq Khan easily wins record third term as mayor ⁰

London’s Labour mayor Sadiq Khan on Saturday secured a record third term, dealing the Conservatives another damaging defeat in their worst local election results in recent memory months before an expected general election.

Khan, 53, easily beat Tory challenger Susan Hall to scupper largely forlorn Tory hopes that they could prise the UK capital away from Labour for the first time since 2016.

The first Muslim mayor of a Western capital when first elected then, he had been widely expected to win as Labour surge nationally and the Conservatives suffer in the polls.

In the end, he saw his margin of victory increase compared to the last contest in 2021.

It adds to a dismal set of results for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, as his Tories finished a humiliating third in local council tallies after losing nearly 500 seats in voting Thursday across England.

With Labour making huge gains, the beleaguered leader’s Conservatives lost crunch mayoral races in Manchester, Liverpool, Yorkshire as well as the capital and elsewhere.

In the West Midlands, where Tory incumbent Andy Street is bidding for his own third term, votes were reportedly being recounted and too close to call.

An unexpected Tory defeat there could leave Sunak with only one notable success: its mayor winning a third term in Tees Valley, northeast England — albeit with a vastly reduced majority.

‘Voters are frustrated’

Writing in Saturday’s Daily Telegraph, Sunak conceded “voters are frustrated” but insisted “Labour is not winning in places they admit they need for a majority”.

“We Conservatives have everything to fight for,” Sunak argued.

Labour, out of power since 2010 and trounced by Boris Johnson’s Conservatives at the last general election in 2019, also emphatically snatched a parliamentary seat from the Conservatives.

It seized on winning the Blackpool South constituency and other successes to demand a national vote.

“Let’s turn the page on decline and usher in national renewal with Labour,” party leader Keir Starmer told supporters Saturday in the East Midlands, where the party won the mayoral race.

Sunak must order a general election be held by January 28 next year at the latest, and has said he is planning on a poll in the second half of 2024.

Labour has enjoyed double-digit poll leads for all of Sunak’s 18 months in charge, as previous Tory scandals, a cost-of-living crisis and various other issues dent the ruling party’s standing.

On Thursday, they were defending nearly 1,000 council seats, many secured in 2021 when they led nationwide polls before the implosion of Johnson’s premiership and his successor Liz Truss’s disastrous 49-day tenure.

With almost all those results in by Saturday afternoon, they had lost close to half and finished third behind the smaller centrist opposition Liberal Democrats.

‘Impetus’

If replicated in a nationwide contest, the tallies suggested Labour would win 34 percent of the vote, with the Tories trailing by nine points, according to the BBC.

Sky News’ projection for a general election using the results predicted Labour will be the largest party but short of an overall majority.

Its by-election scalp in Blackpool — on a mammoth 26-percent swing — was the Conservatives’ 11th such loss in this parliament, the most by any government since the late 1960s.

Speculation has been rife in Westminster that restive Tory lawmakers could use the dire local election results to try to replace him. But that prospect seems to have failed to materialise.

However, it was not all good news for Labour.

The party lost control of one local authority, and suffered some councillor losses to independents elsewhere, due to what analysts said was its stance on the Israel-Hamas war.

Polling expert John Curtice assessed there were concerning signs for the opposition.

“These were more elections in which the impetus to defeat the Conservatives was greater than the level of enthusiasm for Labour,” he noted in the i newspaper.

“Electorally, it is still far from clear that Sir Keir Starmer is the heir to (Tony) Blair.”

Source: AFP

4, May 2024

CPDM Crime Syndicate climbs 8 places in RSF Ranking, but Journalists still at risk ⁰

Cameroon has climbed eight spots to 130th out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index, according to the annual report released on Friday, May 3, by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Despite this improvement from its 138th position in the 2023 edition, RSF underscores that Cameroon remains one of Africa’s most perilous countries for journalists, despite the proliferation of media outlets, including over 600 newspapers, around 200 radio stations, and more than 60 television channels. The NGO points out that journalists operate in a hostile and uncertain environment.

RSF strongly criticizes the political pressures journalists face. The NGO states that journalists who adopt a critical and independent editorial stance are exposed to significant threats and pressures, particularly when the interests of those in power are involved. This situation is worsened by the head of state’s control over all institutions, promoting self-censorship and causing media alignment with the authorities or certain influential figures.

Journalists in Cameroon frequently encounter verbal and physical assaults, arbitrary arrests, detentions, gag orders, abductions, and risks of assassination. RSF specifically cites the tragic case of Martinez Zogo, the head of private radio station Amplitude FM, who was abducted, tortured, and found dead in January 2023. The NGO also expresses regret over the lack of decriminalization of press offenses on the agenda, as well as the absence of guarantees for access to information and source protection.

Moreover, RSF emphasizes the precarious conditions under which Cameroonian journalists, particularly those in private media, work, compromising their independence.

Each year, RSF publishes its World Press Freedom Index, evaluating the conditions under which journalism is practiced in 180 countries and territories. This year’s report reveals a significant drop in the political indicator, affecting even top-ranking countries like Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. At the bottom of the ranking, countries like Afghanistan, Syria, and Eritrea have seen their political index fall, replacing Asian nations such as China, Vietnam, and North Korea in their previous positions.

Source: sbbc