13, December 2023
Nearly 3 million people face food insecurity in Cameroon 0
Over 2.9 million people in Cameroon face food insecurity due to conflicts and poor production, according to a report published by the country’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
For the October-December 2023 period, 2,940,807 people, or 10.6 percent of the population, in Cameroon are in “acute food and nutrition insecurity,” Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Gabriel Mbairobe told a press briefing Monday night to officially present the report.
He said 10 of Cameroon’s 58 administrative divisions are facing food insecurity, mainly due to climate change and insecurity in the Anglophone regions of Northwest and Southwest, where an armed separatist insurgency is in progress, and in the Far North region, where the Boko Haram terror group continues to attack civilians and soldiers.
The report estimates that the number of people facing food and nutrition insecurity will drop to 2.5 million between June and August next year.
The government will adopt new policies, such as enhancing import substitution and providing support to small-scale farmers, who account for 80 percent of food production, to alleviate the food crisis, Mbairobe said.
Source: Xinhuanet
15, December 2023
UK: Prince Harry wins 15 claims in phone-hacking case against Mirror publisher 0
Prince Harry has won 15 claims in his case accusing Mirror Group Newspapers of unlawfully gathering information for stories published about him.
A judge has ruled in his favour on almost half of the sample of 33 stories used in his claims of phone hacking and other methods.
A High Court ruling found evidence of “widespread and habitual” use of phone hacking at the Mirror newspapers.
Prince Harry described it as a “great day for truth” and accountability.
He was awarded £140,600 in damages and in a statement read out on the Duke of Sussex’s behalf outside the High Court, his lawyer David Sherborne called the ruling “vindicating and affirming”.
“This case is not just about hacking – it is about a systemic practice of unlawful and appalling behaviour, followed by cover ups and destruction of evidence, the shocking scale of which can only be revealed through these proceedings,” he said.
“I’ve been told that slaying dragons will get you burned. But in light of today’s victory and the importance of doing what is needed for a free and honest press – it’s a worthwhile price to pay,” Prince Harry’s statement said.
He also called on the police and prosecuting authorities to “investigate bringing charges against the company and those who have broken the law”.
The stakes have also been high for the Mirror newspapers – the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and People – with estimates that £100m has already been spent on damages and legal costs over previous hacking cases.
Mr Justice Fancourt ruled that unlawful information gathering had been “widespread” at all three of the Mirror titles and had become “habitual”.
In response a Mirror Group Newspapers spokeswoman said: “We welcome today’s judgment that gives the business the necessary clarity to move forward from events that took place many years ago.
“Where historical wrongdoing took place, we apologise unreservedly, have taken full responsibility and paid appropriate compensation.”
The landmark ruling follows Prince Harry’s appearance at the High Court in June, where he became the first senior royal of modern times to give such extensive evidence in court in person.
Over two days, he was grilled about his claims that the group’s newspapers had published many stories about him, over several years, based on phone hacking and other unlawful ways of obtaining information.
Source: BBC