Latest news with #Gabonese
Arab Times
20 hours ago
- Sport
- Arab Times
Al-Ittihad wins King's Cup to complete domestic double
JEDDAH, May 31: Al-Ittihad added the King's Cup to its Saudi Pro League triumph, defeating Al-Qadisiyah 3-1 in front of 51,331 fans at Al-Enma Stadium, completing a historic domestic double. Having secured the league title just days earlier, Al-Ittihad lifted the King's Cup for the first time since 2018, when it also won 3-1 over Al-Faisaly at the same venue. The victory was powered by French striker Karim Benzema, who scored twice (34', 90+4'), while Algerian midfielder Houssem Aouar added a third in the 43rd minute. Al-Qadisiyah's lone goal came from a penalty by Gabonese striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (45+6). The team later went down to ten men after Argentine Ezequiel Fernandez received a second yellow card in the 81st minute. The title marks Al-Ittihad's 10th King's Cup win and grants its international stars—Benzema, N'Golo Kanté, and Fabinho—a historic milestone in their club careers. According to Opta, Benzema secured the second domestic double of his career, the first being with Lyon in the 2007–08 season. Kanté and Fabinho, meanwhile, celebrated their first domestic double despite previous success in European and international competitions. Dutch winger Steven Bergwijn also played a key role in the team's successful season, contributing goals and assists. However, his achievements in Saudi Arabia came amid ongoing tensions with Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman, who left him out of the national squad following his transfer to the Saudi league. Bergwijn, excluded throughout the season, criticized Koeman's handling of the situation, stating last September: "I don't want to play under this coach again. He disrespected me and never gave me a chance to explain myself." Following the double triumph, Bergwijn further addressed the issue, telling TV reporters: "Playing for the Netherlands is an honor, but the support from Al-Ittihad fans means more to me right now. My focus is here." Although rumors persist about a possible return to the national team, Bergwijn's strained relationship with Koeman and continued criticism of the coach may complicate any comeback.
Time of India
a day ago
- Business
- Time of India
Gabon to ban export of raw manganese from 2029
LIBREVILLE: Gabon will cease exporting manganese from 2029 as part of a plan to transform national industry, President Brice Oligui Nguema said in a government statement published on Saturday. Selling manganese, which can be used in the production of stainless steel and batteries, is one of Gabon's main sources of revenue, alongside wood and oil sales. Speaking on Friday to the council of ministers, Oligui ordered "the formal ban... from January 1, 2029, of the export of raw manganese, a strategic resource of which Gabon is the second largest producer in the world," the government statement said. The move in the country of 2.3 million people, one of the richest in Africa, aims at developing "an ambitious industrial policy based on the local transformation of primary materials, an increase in the national workforce's competence, the mastering of technological value chains and the consolidation of tax revenues", the statement added. Oligui, a putschist leader who overthrew the Bongo family dynasty before winning elections in April with almost 95 percent of the vote, said he was giving the sector three years to make the necessary investments for the change. That will also involve the setting up of a public-private investment fund to support the industry, the statement added. During the council of ministers meeting, it was also decided to ban the import of chicken meat from January 1, 2027. Despite the country's riches, a third of Gabonese live in poverty with one in 10 suffering from a lack of food.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Time of India
Power outage hits Gabonese capital
AI- Generated Image Gabon's capital Libreville was without electricity for several hours Wednesday following a "major technical incident", the national energy supplier said. The early morning power outage "resulted in the loss of all production facilities in the Libreville Interconnected Network (RIC)", the Gabonese Water and Energy Company (SEEG) said without giving further details. SEEG said it had managed to restore power to around half of its customers in the capital "by early morning", adding its teams were working to find and analyse the fault, which AFP reporters said also cut internet and mobile phone coverage. On Monday, the Gabonese presidency had announced the end of an interim administration of SEEG started in August on the back of a slew of supply cuts. As of Wednesday, "management of SEEG will be fully transferred" and it will return to its majority shareholder, the Gabonese Strategic Investment Fund (FGIS), the company stated. For several months last year, electricity supply was disrupted due to significant infrastructure problems. A rotating load shedding system was established leading to supply cuts in entire neighbourhoods for hours at a time, to enable power supply for other parts of the city. A protocol signed between the Gabonese government and Turkish firm Karpowership for supply of 70 megawatts via two floating power plants to cover greater Libreville saw the situation improve in recent months. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Roar into Style! Leopard Print Slim Fitting Dress! Undo Unleash Your Wild Side: Leopard Print Slim Dress! Undo Level Up Your Look: Men Tracksuit with Hoodie! Undo Get the Look: Rhinestone Juicy Sweatsuit - Shop Modefash! Undo Complete Your Look: Women's 3-Piece Sweatsuit - Undo Chic Comfort! Women's 3-Piece Sweatsuit. Undo Shop Exclusive Deals & Save Big! Undo Modefash: Ultimate Comfort - Men's Tracksuit with Hoodie! Undo Sparkle & Shine: Trending Rhinestone Juicy Sweatsuit! Undo Don't Miss Out! Exclusive Deals at Undo Revamping the network is a top priority for Gabon's leader Brice Oligui Nguema, a general who overthrew the Bongo dynasty and won 94.85 percent of the vote in April's election, 19 months on from his August 2023 coup. Earlier this month he vowed to provide "universal access" to drinking water and electricity.
Kuwait Times
6 days ago
- Health
- Kuwait Times
Gabon longs to cash in on sacred hallucinogenic remedy
Beneath yellow fruit, hidden within the roots of the iboga plant in the forests of Gabon, lies a sacred treasure that the country is keen to make the most of. For centuries, religious devotees have eaten it -- a psychotropic shrub that users say has addiction-fighting powers. It fascinates foreign visitors, psychiatric patients and rich pharmaceutical companies that want to market it. Now this central African country, where its use is enshrined in ancestral tradition, is scrambling to avoid missing out on the boom. Teddy Van Bonda Ndong, 31, an initiate in the Bwiti spiritual tradition, calls it 'sacred wood'. He consumes it in small amounts daily, he said, for his 'mental and physical health'. 'It has a lot of power to help human beings,' added Stephen Windsor-Clive, a 68-year-old retiree. 'It's untapped. A mysterious force lies within this plant.' He travelled to Gabon from Britain and consumed iboga -- in a powder ground from its roots -- during a 10-day Bwiti ceremony. He tried it with a view to adopting it as a treatment for his daughter, who suffers from mental illness. Economic potential Given the interest, Gabon is seeking to channel the plant onto the international marketplace. Exports of iboga products, including its active ingredient ibogaine, are few and strictly regulated in the country. It grows mostly in the wild, but 'more and more effort is being made to domesticate the plant', said Florence Minko, an official in the forestry ministry. Potentially toxic in high doses, ibogaine can have effects similar to LSD, mescaline or amphetamines, and cause anxiety and hallucinations. A general view of a jar filled with finely ground iboga powder displayed in Akanda. An initiated member of Bwiti responds during an interview on their spiritual experience and the central role of iboga in Bwiti in Ndossy Village, Akanda. A woman holds the Ghessandza, a traditional instrument, in Ndossy Village, Akanda. A player of the moungongo, a traditional Gabonese harp, and a player of the Ngoma, a traditional drum, perform during the ceremony in Ndossy Village, Akanda. An initiated participant extracts the iboga root in Ndossy Village, Akanda. But users believe it can help drug addicts kick their habit and treat post-traumatic stress and neurological illnesses. Yoan Mboussou, a local microbiologist and Bwiti initiate, hopes to gain an export licence for the 500-milligram ibogaine capsules he produces at his laboratory near the capital Libreville. He sells them in Gabon as a food supplement, declaring them to have 'anti-fatigue, antioxidant and anti-addictive' qualities. Iboga, he believes, 'is a potential lever to develop the economy and the whole country'. Tradition and IP Countries such as the United States and France class iboga as a narcotic because of health risks identified in studies, especially heart issues. But it is used in treatment centers in countries including the Netherlands, Mexico and Portugal. Numerous studies have examined its effects -- both helpful and harmful -- and scientists have taken out dozens of international patents for ibogaine therapeutic treatments. 'Most of those are based on studies of iboga use by Gabonese people, particularly by Bwiti practitioners,' said Yann Guignon, from the Gabonese conservation group Blessings Of The Forest. Despite the plant's 'colossal therapeutic benefits', 'Gabon is clearly missing out on the economic potential of iboga,' he added. 'It did not position itself in this market in time by developing productive iboga plantations, a national processing laboratory and a proper industrial policy.' Overseas laboratories meanwhile have worked out how to make synthetic ibogaine and to extract it from other plants, such as Voacanga africana. That flowering tree is available in greater quantities in Ghana and Mexico, which 'can produce ibogaine at unbeatable prices', said Guignon. A man holds the freshly harvested iboga root and prepares to hand it to one of the initiated participants during the second stage of The Call of the Sacred Wood ceremony. A woman peels the sacred root during the second stage of The Call of the Sacred Wood ceremony. A man shows the iboga root after being carefully pounded into fine powder as part of the Sacred Call of the Sacred Wood ceremony. A man consume the sacred powder from a tablespoon, following the transformation of the iboga root into powder as part of the ongoing Call of the Sacred Wood ceremony. A man peels the iboga root during the Sacred Call of the Sacred Wood ceremony. And 'Gabonese traditional knowledge is not protected by intellectual property regulations.' Currently only one company in Gabon has a licence to export iboga products -- though Minko, from the forestry ministry, said the country hopes this number will rise in the coming years. She said companies were likely to produce more, spurred by revenue guarantees under the Nagoya Protocol, an international agreement on biological diversity and resource-sharing. She wants the country to obtain a 'made in Gabon' certificate of origin for iboga. 'This is a huge resource for Gabon. We have drawn up a national strategy for the conservation and sustainable use of the product,' she said. 'Gatherings will soon be organized, bringing together all the groups concerned: NGOs, traditional practitioners and scientists.' Soothing properties After harvesting iboga to the sound of traditional harps and consuming it in the initiation ceremony, Stephen Windsor-Clive was convinced by the benefits of iboga. 'I definitely want to bring my daughter here and have her have the experience,' he said. 'This is my last attempt to find something which might be of assistance to her.' Another visitor, Tafara Kennedy Chinyere, travelled from Zimbabwe to discover Gabon and found, in the initiation, relief from anxiety and his 'inner demons'. 'I feel good in my body, in myself,' he said, sitting under a tree after the ceremony. 'I feel like the iboga helped me to let go of things that you no longer need in your life.' — AFP
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
UN court backs E Guinea in Gabon dispute over islands in oil-rich waters
The United Nation's top court has sided with Equatorial Guinea in a row with Gabon over three islands in potentially oil-rich waters. The two Central African countries have been arguing over the isles - Conga, Mbanié and Cocoteros - since the early 1970s. The islands are virtually uninhabited but are in a maritime zone thought to contain significant oil deposits. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Equatorial Guinea's claim - based on a 1900 treaty dividing up French and Spanish colonial assets - should be honoured. The court dismissed Gabon's central argument - that a more recent treaty, the 1974 Bata convention, had switched the islands' sovereignty in its favour. In a final and binding ruling, the ICJ said Conga, Mbanié and Cocoteros were held by Spain, and then passed to its former colony Equatorial Guinea at independence in 1968. Gabon will now have to remove its soldiers from Mbanié, the largest of the islands. In 1972, the Gabonese army drove Equatoguinean troops from Mbanié and established its own military presence there. Hostilities cooled until the early 2000s, when the prospect of oil in the Gulf of Guinea became apparent. In 2016, following years of mediation by the United Nations, the two nations agreed to let the ICJ settle the matter. A spokesperson for the Gabonese presidency said it was now down to the countries to negotiate in the light of the ruling, the AFP news agency reports. "Gabon and Equatorial Guinea have to live side-by-side, we can't move away from each other. Therefore we will have to talk it over to solve all these problems," said Guy Rossatanga-Rignault. Both countries are significant oil producers. However, they have experienced falling oil production in recent years due to underinvestment, insufficient exploration activity and ageing wells. Massive sex tape leak could be a ploy for power in central Africa Why Gabon's coup leader is bucking a trend by embracing democracy Gabon's ousted president and family freed after two years Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Africa Daily Focus on Africa
