YAOUNDE: Cameroon’s progress at the African Cup of Nations was overshadowed by a stampede outside the stadium that killed at least six people during the host nation’s victory over Comoros on Monday.
The crush happened as crowds struggled to get access to Olembe Stadium in the capital of Yaounde as Cameroon beat Comoros 2-1 to reach the quarterfinals.
Strikers Karl Toko Ekambi and Vincent Aboubakar gave Cameroon what appeared an insurmountable lead by the 70th minute against the tournament newcomers, who are ranked 132nd in the world and played with a defender in goal due to a coronavirus outbreak in the squad.
Comoros also had to cope with playing most of the match with 10 men after Jimmy Abdou was sent off in the seventh minute for stepping on the back of Moumi Ngamaleu’s ankle.
But Comoros, who reached the round of 16 by ousting four-time African champion Ghana, managed to produce one of the goals of the tournament so far to provide a flicker of hope of a comeback. Youssouf M’Changama scored from a free kick from 30 yards (meters) in the 81st minute but Comoros couldn’t produce an equalizer.
Details of the tragedy outside the stadium were only confirmed after the game. Officials at the nearby Messassi hospital said they had received at least 40 injured people from the stampede.
“Some of the injured are in desperate condition,” said Olinga Prudence, a nurse. “We will have to evacuate them to a specialized hospital.”
Cameroon is hosting Africa’s flagship football tournament for the first time in 50 years.
Cameroon is scheduled to play another tournament debutant on Saturday in the quarterfinals in Douala after Guinea beat Gambia 1-0 in the day’s other game after a goal from Musa Barrow in the 71st minute.
Gambia had Yusupha Njie sent off with three minutes left for elbowing an opponent as they went up for a header, but Egyptian referee Amin Omar also gave Guinea’s Ibrahima Conté a second yellow in injury time.
Guinea were playing without regular captain Naby Keita, who was suspended after picking up two yellow cards in the group stage.
Guinea did have a clear chance to equalize late on when it hit the post, then the crossbar and had a goal-bound shot blocked in quick succession.
Deadly stampede overshadows Cameroon’s African Cup progress
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Deadly stampede overshadows Cameroon’s African Cup progress
- The crush happened as crowds struggled to get access to Olembe Stadium in the capital of Yaounde as Cameroon beat Comoros 2-1
Pakistan’s Punjab offers health, education, religious tourism incentives to Saudi investors
- Punjab CM Maryam Nawaz meets Prince Mansour, former governor of Hafr Al-Batin province
- Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have sought closer business and economic ties in recent months
ISLAMABAD: The chief minister of Pakistan’s Punjab province has offered Saudi investors incentives as part of a “special package” to explore opportunities in religious tourism, health, education and infrastructure, state-run media reported this week.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif met Prince Mansour bin Mohammed Al Saud, former governor of Saudi Arabia’s Hafr Al-Batin province, on Monday to discuss promoting bilateral relations and mutual cooperation between Saudi Arabia and Punjab, according to the Associated Press of Pakistan.
The two nations enjoy cordial ties, with Riyadh frequently assisting cash-strapped Pakistan by supplying oil on deferred payment terms and financial support to stabilize its economy.
“During the discussions, the chief minister invited Saudi investors to explore opportunities in infrastructure, health, education and religious tourism in Punjab,” APP reported. “She assured Saudi investors of her government’s full cooperation and the provision of incentives under a special package.”
Sharif praised Saudi Arabia’s longstanding cooperation with Pakistan, saying Riyadh was like an older brother.
“The hearts of the people of both countries beat together,” she is quoted as saying.
“The Punjab government has ensured foolproof security and established a system based on merit to improve the business environment in the province.”
APP said Prince Mansour assured Pakistan of Saudi Arabia’s support.
“The relationship between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is crucial for the stability and prosperity of the entire region,” he said. “Saudi Arabia will always stand by Pakistan.”
The Kingdom is home to over 2 million Pakistani expatriates and is the source of most overseas workers’ remittances for Pakistan.
The two countries have forged strong business and economic relations in recent months. In October 2024, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed several memorandums of understanding valued at $2.8 billion. In December, Sharif’s office confirmed that seven of 34 MoUs had been converted into agreements worth $560 million.
Trump Middle East envoy predicts ‘good things’ to announce on Gaza hostages before inauguration
- “Well, I think we’re making a lot of progress, and I don’t want to say too much because I think they’re doing a really good job back in Doha,” Witkoff said
- “I’m really hopeful that by the inaugural, we’ll have some good things to announce on behalf of the president“
WASHINGTON: President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said on Tuesday he hopes to have good things to report about hostages held by Hamas in Gaza by the time Trump is sworn in as US president on Jan. 20.
“Well, I think we’re making a lot of progress, and I don’t want to say too much because I think they’re doing a really good job back in Doha,” Witkoff said at a Trump press conference in Palm Beach, Florida.
Doha has been hosting negotiations on a ceasefire in the Gaza war that would include freeing hostages that Hamas abducted in its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Doha is capital of the Gulf state of Qatar, which along with Egypt and the US has been mediating negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
Witkoff said that if he did not travel back to Doha on Tuesday night, he would head there on Wednesday night.
“I think that we’ve had some really great progress, and I’m really hopeful that by the inaugural, we’ll have some good things to announce on behalf of the president,” Witkoff said.
Trump, a Republican who will succeed Democratic President Joe Biden, repeated his threat that “all hell will break out in the Middle East” if Hamas does not release the hostages by the time he takes office.
“It will not be good for Hamas, and it will not be good, frankly, for anyone,” he said.
Hamas-led Islamist militants killed 1,200 people and captured more than 250, including Israeli-American dual nationals, during their Oct. 7 attack, according to Israeli tallies.
More than 100 hostages have been freed through negotiations or Israeli military rescue operations. Of the 101 still held in Gaza, roughly half are believed to be alive.
Israel’s subsequent campaign against Hamas has killed more than 45,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to Palestinian health officials, displaced nearly all of the population in Hamas-ruled Gaza and reduced much of its territory to rubble.
Gaza clan leaders urge Palestinian Authority to govern coastal enclave
- Community leaders demand a stop to ongoing forced Israeli displacement of Palestinians from northern Gaza
- Confirm the Palestine Liberation Organization is the sole representative of the Palestinian people
LONDON: Clan leaders in Gaza City and northern Gaza called for the Palestinian Authority to govern the coastal enclave in a rare public statement this week.
Prominent clan leaders in the Gaza Strip have requested President Mahmoud Abbas take charge of Gaza’s affairs, which have been affected by Israel’s war in the enclave and clashes between Hamas fighters and Israeli forces since October 2023.
Some signatories include Yahya Ayub Al-Kafarnah, chief of Gaza’s northern clans; Zakaria Jahshan, coordinator of the Christian denominations; and Mohammed Al-Masry, former mayor of Beit Lahia municipality, along with many other community leaders, dignitaries, and Mukhtars.
They urged the PA to lead the Gaza Strip, connect it to the West Bank geographically, and stop the ongoing forced displacement of Palestinians from northern Gaza by Israel.
They confirmed that the Palestine Liberation Organization, which neither Hamas nor Islamic Jihad are a part of, will continue to be the legitimate and sole representative of the Palestinian people.
The community leaders urged the PA to exercise pressure on Arab and Western countries to “force the Israeli government to stop its war of genocide ... and secure an immediate ceasefire,” the WAFA press agency reported.
Mediated and indirect talks between Hamas and Israel to secure an exchange of captives and a truce have been ongoing for months, but without success.
At least 45,000 Palestinians have died during the war in Gaza, and around 11,000 are missing under the rubble of bombed or damaged buildings, with 100,000 people having left the enclave.
The Gaza Strip’s population had decreased by 6 percent in 2024, according to recent data by the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics.
Three Pakistani soldiers, 19 militants killed in clashes in restive northwest
- The clashes took places in Peshawar, Mohmad and Karak districts of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
- Islamabad has frequently blamed the surge in militancy on militants operating out of Afghanistan, Kabul denies allegation
ISLAMABAD: Three Pakistani soldiers and 19 militants were killed in separate clashes in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the Pakistani military said on Tuesday.
Security forces killed eight militants in an intelligence-based operation in Matani area of KP’s Peshawar district, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing.
Another eight militants were killed in an operation in the Mohmand district. A third engagement resulted in the killing of three militants and three soldiers in KP’s Karak district.
“Sanitization operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Kharji [militant] found in the area,” the ISPR said in a statement.
Pakistan has witnessed a dramatic uptick in militant attacks in recent months, particularly in KP and the southwestern Balochistan province.
In 2024 alone, the military reported that 383 soldiers and 925 militants were killed in various clashes.
The Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), are one of the most prominent militant groups that have regularly targeted security forces in KP along with separatist militants operating in the restive southwest.
Islamabad has frequently accused neighboring Afghanistan of sheltering and supporting militant groups that launch cross-border attacks. Afghan officials deny involvement, insisting Pakistan’s security issues are an internal matter of Islamabad.
Saudi golf team to compete in Arab Professional Golf Championship in Morocco
- Othman Al-Mulla, Saud Al-Sharif among top Saudi golfers taking part in event’s 2nd edition
- Abdulkarim Al-Najran, Ali Babatin to represent Kingdom in amateur category
RIYADH: Top professional Saudi golfers, including Othman Al-Mulla and Saud Al-Sharif, will represent the Kingdom’s national team in the second edition of the Arab Professional Golf Championship in Morocco.
The event will take place at Mazagan Resort in the major port city of El Jadida on Jan. 9-12.
A media statement on Tuesday said that the participation aligns with the efforts of the Saudi Golf Federation to enhance the Kingdom’s presence in the Arab and international sports landscape, and showcase Saudi talent in the sport.
Al-Mulla and Al-Sharif are two prominent names in the Saudi sports scene who aim to achieve strong results in the competition.
Golfers Abdulkarim Al-Najran and Ali Babatin will represent the Kingdom in the amateur category, reflecting the country’s commitment to nurturing and developing young talent in golf.
SGF is dedicated to creating opportunities for Saudi players to compete in major international and regional tournaments, striving for achievements that elevate Saudi Arabia’s global sports standing.
The Arab Professional Golf Championship highlights Saudi and Arab talent while fostering sports interaction in Arab countries.
Organized by the Royal Moroccan Golf Federation in coordination with the Arab Golf Federation, the championship reflects a shared ambition to develop golf in the Arab world, showcase regional talent and strengthen Arab ties through sports excellence.
