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Burrell told BBC Sport he also faced prejudice within the England set-up, during a Test career that saw him win 15 caps after his debut in February 2014.

“I’ve had several traumatic experiences within England camp,” he said.

“Some discrimination and some just old-school mentality that’s really unacceptable.”

Racism had become normalised in dressing rooms, in Burrell’s experience.

“It’s something that has been dressed up as banter and that’s been the problem that I’ve personally suffered and seen,” said Burrell, who is of Jamaican descent.

“Over a period of time you just learn to believe that it’s the norm and that is fine and that it’s not malicious, but that’s nonsense.”

Burrell says he was eventually spurred to speak out after a team-mate at Newcastle referred to him as a “slave” and told him to put sun cream on his wrists and ankles “where your shackles were”.

The RFU said Burrell’s revelations had led to “a deeper look at the culture within the elite game and to the implementation of an action plan for the professional game”.

“The RFU has placed significant focus on inclusion and diversity in rugby union and a great deal of work undertaken both before and since Luther Burrell came forward and shared his experiences of racism and classism,” it added.

“We are continuing work with clubs and stakeholders in the professional game to strive for a culture of inclusivity but acknowledge this takes time and is an ongoing process.”

Every Prem and PWR club now has face-to-face education on building inclusive cultures, with its success monitored via individual reports and surveys.

All England players, including age-grade squads, are trained in being “active bystanders” to intervene and protect others from harmful behaviour.

“You should be so proud of what you have done,” Burrell’s mother Joyce told him as part of the BBC iPlayer documentary Luther Burrell – Rugby, Racism and Redemption.

“I know it has had this effect on you and finished your career, but in our eyes, you have done so well. We are so proud of you and to have you as a son.”

Burrell’s father Geoff died shortly after the filming of the documentary, and his sister died earlier this year.

US President Donald Trump is considering sending Tomahawk long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine, saying it would provide “a new step of aggression” in its war with Russia.

When asked on Air Force One if he would send Tomahawks to Ukraine, Trump replied “we’ll see… I may”.

It follows a second phone call at the weekend between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who pushed for stronger military capabilities to launch counter-attacks against Russia.

Moscow has previously warned Washington against providing long-range missiles to Kyiv, saying it would cause a major escalation in the conflict and strain US-Russian relations.

Tomahawk missiles have a range of 2,500 km (1,500 miles), which would put Moscow within reach for Ukraine.

Trump spoke to reporters as he flew to Israel. He said he would possibly speak to Russia about the Tomahawks requested by Ukraine.

“I might tell them [Russia] that if the war is not settled, that we may very well, we may not, but we may do it.”

“Do they [Russia] want Tomahawks going in their direction? I don’t think so,” the president said.

Kyiv has made multiple requests for long-range missiles, as it weighs up striking Russian cities far from the front lines of the grinding conflict.

In their phone calls Zelensky and Trump discussed Ukraine’s bid to strengthen its military capabilities, including boosting its air defences and long-range arms.

Ukrainian cities including Kyiv have come under repeated heavy Russian bombardment with drones and missiles. Russia has particularly targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, causing power cuts.

Last month, Trump’s special envoy to Ukraine Keith Kellogg suggested the US president had authorised strikes deep into Russian territory, telling Fox News “there are no such things as sanctuaries” from attacks in the Russia-Ukraine war.

Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, downplayed the chances of Tomahawks changing the course of the war.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said last month: “Whether it’s Tomahawks or other missiles, they won’t be able to change the dynamic.”

US envoy Steve Witkoff and members of President Donald Trump’s family spoke to nearly half a million people in Tel Aviv who had gathered to celebrate the imminent return of Israeli captives. The crowd booed every time Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was mentioned, who they blame for prolonging the war.

In a shifting world order, New Zealand’s foreign policy faces new tests, from Gaza to the Pacific.
Foreign Minister Winston Peters speaks to Talk to Al Jazeera about why his government has stopped short of recognising a Palestinian state, how small nations can stay neutral amid the United States-China rivalry, and whether multilateralism still protects the weak from the will of the powerful.

Families in Palestine and Israel await the return of their loved ones as the Israeli-Hamas truce continues to hold.

The new government, led by Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu, must present a 2026 draft budget on Monday.

French President Emmanuel Macron has unveiled a new government after holding marathon talks with newly re-appointed Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu ahead of a fast-approaching deadline to present next year’s budget to parliament.

In Lecornu’s new cabinet, Jean-Noel Barrot remains as foreign minister, while outgoing Labour Minister Catherine Vautrin takes on the defence portfolio, according to a lineup published by the president’s office on Sunday.

In a post on X, Lecornu wrote: “A mission-based government has been appointed to draw up a budget for France before the end of the year.”

“I would like to thank the women and men who have freely committed themselves to this government, putting aside personal and partisan interests. Only one thing matters: the interests of the country.”

Macron reinstated Lecornu late on Friday, just four days after the premier had resigned and as his first government collapsed, leading to outrage and pledges from opponents to topple any new cabinet at the first chance.

The former defence minister was tasked with assembling a government to present a 2026 draft budget on Monday, giving parliament the constitutionally required 70 days to scrutinise the plan before the year’s end.

But the right-wing Republicans (LR), a key political ally, complicated matters on Saturday by announcing that the party would not take part in the new government but only cooperate on a “bill-by-bill” basis.

Other allied and rival parties wrestled all weekend over whether to join Lecornu’s new government or vote to topple it.

The premier had pledged to work with all mainstream political movements and to select cabinet members who are “not imprisoned by parties”.

A Macron loyalist, Lecornu agreed after he had quit to stay on for two extra days to talk to all political parties.

He told the French weekly La Tribune that he had resigned “because the conditions were no longer met” and said that he would do so again if that remained the case.

The French president, facing the worst domestic crisis since the 2017 start of his presidency, has yet to address the public since Lecornu’s first government fell.

On Monday, Macron is due to travel to Egypt to support a Gaza ceasefire deal brokered by the United States, a trip that could delay the presentation of the draft budget.

Lecornu’s reappointment comes as France faces political deadlock and a parliamentary impasse over an austerity budget against a backdrop of climbing public debt.

The country faces pressure from the European Union to rein in its deficit and debt, with the fight over cost-cutting measures toppling Lecornu’s two predecessors.

Lecornu has pledged to do “everything possible” to give France a budget by the end of the year, saying that restoring the public finances was “a priority” for the future.

But he is under pressure from parties across the political spectrum, including the Socialists, who have threatened to topple his government unless he backs away from the 2023 pension reform that pushed the retirement age from 62 to 64.

Lecornu said on Saturday that “all debates are possible” over the pension reforms, and that his “only ambition is to get out of this situation that is painful for everyone”.

If Lecornu fails to secure parliamentary support, France would need emergency stopgap legislation to authorise spending from January 1 until a full budget is adopted.

French politics has been deadlocked ever since Macron gambled last year on snap polls that he hoped would consolidate power, but that instead ended in a hung Parliament and more seats for the far right.

Sources say the 28-year-old was killed by members of an Israel-linked ‘militia’ fighting Hamas in the Sabra neighbourhood.

Palestinian journalist Saleh Aljafarawi has been killed during clashes in Gaza City, just days after Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian sources told Al Jazeera Arabic that the 28-year-old, who had gained prominence for his videos covering the war, was shot and killed by members of an “armed militia” while covering clashes in the city’s Sabra neighbourhood.

Al Jazeera’s Sanad agency verified footage published by reporters and activists showing his body – in a “press” flak jacket – on what appeared to be the back of a truck. He had been missing since Sunday morning.

Palestinian sources said clashes were taking place between Hamas security forces and fighters from the Doghmush clan in Sabra on Sunday, although this has not been confirmed by local authorities.

A senior source in Gaza’s Ministry of Interior told Al Jazeera Arabic that the clashes in Gaza City involved “an armed militia affiliated with the [Israeli] occupation”.

The source said security forces imposed a siege on the militia, adding that “militia members” killed displaced people as they were returning from southern Gaza to Gaza City.

Despite the recent ceasefire, local authorities have repeatedly warned that the security situation in Gaza remains challenging.

‘I lived in fear for every second’

Speaking to Al Jazeera in January, several days before the start of a temporary ceasefire in the war at the time, Aljafarawi talked about his experiences being displaced from northern Gaza.

“All the scenes and situations I went through during these 467 days will not be erased from my memory. All the situations we faced, we will never be able to forget them,” Aljafarawi said.

The journalist added that he had received numerous threats from Israel due to his work.

“Honestly, I lived in fear for every second, especially after hearing what the Israeli occupation was saying about me. I was living life second to second, not knowing what the next second would bring,” he said.

In the deadliest-ever conflict for journalists, more than 270 media workers have now been killed in Gaza since the start of Israel’s war in October 2023.

Aljafarawi’s death comes as the current ceasefire in Gaza has held for a third day, ahead of an expected hostage-prisoner exchange.

United States President Donald Trump is set to gather with other world leaders on Monday in Egypt’s Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh for a Gaza summit co-hosted by Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

It aims “to end the war in the Gaza Strip, enhance efforts to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East, and usher in a new era of regional security and stability”, according to the Egyptian president’s office.

During the “historic” gathering, a “document ending the war in the Gaza Strip” is set to be signed, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday. Neither Israel nor Hamas will have representatives at the talks.

Crisis has damaged more than 16,000 homes and caused widespread electricity cuts.

Torrential flooding has continued to sweep parts of central and southeastern Mexico, raising the death toll to at least 44 people in less than a week.

Heavy downpours caused by two tropical storms have triggered landslides and flooding across five states, including Veracruz, Puebla, Hidalgo, Queretaro and San Luis Potosi, the government said in a statement on Sunday.

Floods have killed 18 people in Veracruz state, 16 in Hidalgo, nine in Puebla and one in Queretaro, the statement said.

Mexico’s El Universal newspaper put the death toll even higher — at 48 — and reported that dozens remain missing.

Around 320,000 people have experienced power outages, and at least 16,000 homes have been damaged, according to authorities, who fear that more landslides and overflowing rivers could exacerbate the damage.

‘We will not leave anyone’

President Claudia Sheinbaum said the military has been mobilised to help with rescue operations and aid distributions. “We will not leave anyone without support,” she said in a post on X.

Photos posted by the military showed people being evacuated by soldiers with life rafts, homes flooded with mud, and rescue workers trudging through waist-high waters.

Mexico has been hit by particularly heavy rains this year, and Mexico City recorded its rainiest June in more than two decades.

Authorities have attributed the latest deadly downpours to the remnants of Hurricane Priscilla and Tropical Rainstorm Raymond, both of which dumped heavy rains on Mexico’s west.

The remnants of Raymond, with wind gusts now at 45km/hr (28mph), were expected to hit the southern part of Baja California on Sunday.

The election in Frankfurt an der Oder, a city on the border with Poland, is between Independent candidate Axel Strasser and AfD contender Wilko Moller.

Voters in the eastern city of Frankfurt an der Oder have cast their ballots in a run-off election that could give the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, the largest opposition party in parliament, its first mayoral victory in a German city.

Independent candidate Axel Strasser and AfD contender Wilko Moller faced off on Sunday after leading the first-round vote on September 21, with Strasser receiving 32.4 percent of the vote and Moller 30.2 percent.

Candidates from the centre-right Christian Democratic Union and the centre-left Social Democratic Party were eliminated in the first round.

The election comes three days after the Bundestag, Germany’s parliament, stripped two AfD lawmakers of their parliamentary immunity, with one accused of defamation and the other of making a Nazi salute, which is illegal in Germany.

Political scientist Jan Philipp Thomeczek, of the University of Potsdam, told the dpa news agency that a victory for Moller would send “a very strong signal” that the anti-immigrant and eurosceptic AfD can succeed in urban areas.

Frankfurt an der Oder is a city in the eastern German state of Brandenburg, located directly on the border with Poland. It is distinct from Frankfurt am Main, the much larger financial hub in western Germany.

The German Association of Towns and Municipalities says there is currently no AfD-affiliated mayor of a city of significant size anywhere in the country.

Tim Lochner became mayor of the town of Pirna, near the Czech border, after being nominated for election in 2023 by the AfD, but he is technically an independent.

An AfD politician, Robert Sesselmann, is the district administrator in the Sonneberg district in Thuringia. There are also AfD mayors in small towns in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt.

The Brandenburg domestic intelligence service in May classified the AfD’s state branch as “confirmed far-right extremist”, a label the party rejects as a politically driven attempt to marginalise it.

A 1,100-page report compiled by the agency – that will not be made public – concluded that the AfD is a racist and anti-Muslim organisation.

The designation makes the party subject to surveillance and has revived discussion over a potential ban for the AfD, which has launched a legal challenge against the intelligence service.

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio sharply criticised the classification when it was announced, branding it as “tyranny in disguise”, and urged German authorities to reverse the move.

In response, Germany hit back at US President Donald Trump’s administration, suggesting officials in Washington should study history.

“We have learnt from our history that right-wing extremism needs to be stopped,” said Germany’s Federal Foreign Office in a statement.

The Kremlin also criticised the action against the AfD, which regularly repeats Russian narratives regarding the war in Ukraine, and what it called a broader trend of “restrictive measures” against political movements in Europe.

Brandenburg leaders say the AfD has shown contempt for government institutions, while the state’s domestic intelligence chief, Wilfried Peters, added that the party advocates for the “discrimination and exclusion” of people who do not “belong to the German mainstream”.

Polling stations closed at 6pm local time (16:00 GMT), and results were expected by late Sunday.

The Kremlin has warned of the risk of escalation if Kyiv is provided with the US-built long-range missiles.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said his country would only use long-range Tomahawk missiles against Russian military targets, as the Kremlin expressed alarm over Washington’s potential plan to offer the weapons to Kyiv.

Zelenskyy’s comment was aired by Fox News on Sunday, the same day he spoke to US President Donald Trump.

Writing on X, the Ukrainian president called his latest conversation with Trump “very productive”, noting that they had discussed strengthening his country’s “air defence, resilience, and long-range capabilities”. It was the second time the pair had spoken in as many days.

On Monday, Trump said he would only agree to provide Kyiv with Tomahawks if he knew what it planned to do with them. He added, without giving further details, that he had “sort of made a decision” over the issue.

Given that their range is 2,500km (1,550 miles), Ukraine could use the weapons to strike deep inside Russia.

In comments published on Sunday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the topic was of “extreme concern” to Russia.

“Now is really a very dramatic moment in terms of the fact that tensions are escalating from all sides,” he told Russian state television reporter Pavel Zarubin.

Peskov said Moscow would have to bear in mind that some versions of the missile are able to carry nuclear warheads.

The Kremlin spokesperson’s remarks came as French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the latest Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

After speaking with Zelenskyy on Sunday, Macron said: “As the agreement reached in Gaza offers a glimmer of hope for peace in the Middle East, the war in Ukraine too must come to an end.”

“If Russia persists in its obstinate warmongering and its refusal to come to the negotiating table, it will have to pay the price,” he said.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy said in a Facebook post that he had urged Macron to give Ukraine more missiles and air defence systems, stressing that Russia was increasing its bombardments while the world’s focus was elsewhere.

“Russia is now taking advantage of the moment — the fact that the Middle East and domestic issues in every country are getting maximum attention,” Zelensky said in a readout of his call with Macron.

As it has done before, Russia is targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure in an attempt to cripple the sector before winter.

In the past week alone, Russia has launched “more than 3,100 drones, 92 missiles, and around 1,360 glide bombs” at Ukraine, according to Zelenskyy.

Two employees of Ukraine’s largest private energy company, DTEK, were injured at a substation in Kyiv province in overnight attacks on Sunday, according to the regional governor.

On Friday, Russia carried out what Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko described as “one of the largest concentrated strikes” against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, leading to blackouts across the country.

Madagascar’s presidency says “an attempt to seize power illegally and by force” is under way, a day after soldiers from an elite military unit joined a youth-led protest against the government.

“In view of the extreme gravity of this situation, the President of the Republic … strongly condemns this attempt at destabilization and calls upon all forces of the nation to unite in defence of constitutional order and national sovereignty,” President Andry Rajoelina’s office said in a statement on Sunday.

The statement did not identify who was behind what it identified as an attempted coup, but members of the elite CAPSAT military unit, which once installed Rajoelina in power, said it has taken over control of the armed forces after three weeks of deadly Gen Z protests.

“From now on, all orders of the Malagasy army – whether land, air or [naval] – will originate from CAPSAT headquarters,” officers from CAPSAT’s administrative and technical contingent said in a video message on Saturday.

It was not clear whether other units of the army would follow the order.

In the face of snowballing protests, Rajoelina faces the gravest political crisis of his rule of the African nation.

So what’s happening in Madagascar? Is this the end for Rajoelina? And what do the Gen Z protesters want?

What’s the latest?

The protests by a group calling itself Gen Z Madagascar have spilled onto the streets for a third week. Saturday witnessed one of the largest protests since the unrest began last month over a range of issues, including a cost of living crisis and corruption.

Addressing crowds of protesters from an armoured vehicle, Colonel Michael Randrianirina of the CAPSAT unit, said on Saturday: “Do we call this a coup? I don’t know yet.”

The CAPSAT officers said they had named General Demosthene Pikulas as the head of the army, a post that has been vacant since its former occupant was appointed minister of the armed forces last week, the AFP news agency reported. However, it was not clear if the posting could be considered official.

There was no immediate response from other units or the existing military command.

On Saturday, a group of soldiers clashed with gendarmes at a barracks before driving into the city to join the Gen Z protesters calling for Rajoelina to step down.

Why are antigovernment protests happening in Madagascar?

On September 25, young protesters started demonstrations against water and electricity shortages, inspired by a wave of Gen Z-led protest movements in countries including Kenya, Indonesia, Morocco, Nepal and Bangladesh.

They soon escalated and snowballed into calling for the end of Rajoelina’s rule, dismantling the Senate and ending privileges for business owners perceived to be close to the president. They also want Rajoelina to apologise for the violence, in which at least 22 people have been killed and more than 100 injured, according to the United Nations.

Madagascar – an island nation off the east coast of Africa with a population of more than 31 million people, 80 percent of whom are affected by severe poverty – has a history of political crises. Several leaders have been forced out in uprisings since it gained independence from France in 1960.

The Gen Z protesters are demanding “radical change to build a free, egalitarian and united society”.

Among the issues they aim to address are systemic corruption, embezzlement of public funds, nepotism, failures in access to basic services and education, and a vibrant democracy.

Rajoelina, 51, first rose to prominence in 2009 after leading protests against the government as the mayor of the capital, Antananarivo, which resulted in a military-backed overthrow of President Marc Ravalomanana.

A military council took power and handed it over to Rajoelina as transitional leader. Later, in 2018, he was elected as president and then again in 2023 when the vote was boycotted by opposition parties.

What’s Gen Z Madagascar?

Gen Z Madagascar’s logo is a pirate skull and crossbones. The image from the Japanese comic series One Piece has become central to the global wave of Gen Z protests and is worn by generally black-clothed demonstrators in Madagascar.

From Kenya to Nepal, this image from the series, which follows the adventures of a young pirate and his crew against an authoritarian government, has come to symbolise the Gen Z movements.

In Madagascar, the image has been personalised by adding a traditional Madagascan hat on the skull.

The group has its own website, a presence on social media platforms and a GoFundMe page to raise money. Their website header reads: “Political movement of young people, by young people, for Madagascar”.

“They didn’t want to hear us in the streets,” the website says. “Today, thanks to digital technology and the voice of Generation Z, we will make our voices heard at the table of power on the opposition side. To put an end to 16 years of inaction, let’s demand transparency, accountability and deep reforms.”

Responding to Rajoelina’s offer for talks, the protesters said in a statement: “We do not reach out to a regime that every day crushes those who stand up for justice. This government talks about dialogue but rules with weapons.”

The Madagascan protesters are being compared to youth-led protest movements in Bangladesh, Nepal and Kenya, which have forced political change. In Nepal, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli was forced to resign after mass protests last month while Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to flee to neighbouring India after a student-led uprising in August 2024.

Across the world, Gen Z, or people below 30, are leading a new wave of protests. Unlike traditional movements, these demonstrations are often organised online, using platforms like TikTok and Discord to spread messages, plan actions and connect with other young people.

From Africa to Asia and Latin America, Gen Z protesters are demonstrating against corruption, economic hardships, climate inaction and social inequality, calling for an overhaul of the system.

What has the government said?

Prime Minister Ruphin Fortunat Zafisambo, speaking on the state-run TVM channel late on Saturday, said the government was “fully ready to listen and engage in dialogue with all factions – youth, unions or the military”.

Zafisambo was appointed by Rajoelina after he dissolved the previous government last week in response to the protests. However, the move failed to assuage public anger.

The army’s chief of staff, General Jocelyn Rakotoson, later made a statement broadcast on local media urging citizens to “assist the security forces in restoring order through dialogue”.

AFP via Getty Images

AFP via Getty Images

EPA / Shutterstock

More on Madagascar’s crisis:

Getty Images/BBC

Deadly clashes erupted overnight between the Taliban and Pakistani forces across the Afghanistan border, with each side claiming to have captured or destroyed outposts. The fighting follows an alleged Pakistani air strike on Kabul on Thursday, which the Taliban called a violation of their sovereignty.

Soldiers from a Madagascar army unit have declared support for the youth-led anti-government protests, urging police to disobey ‘unlawful orders.’ President Andry Rajeolina says an ‘attempted illegal seizure of power’ is under way.

Norwegian riot police used pepper spray to disperse a pro-Palestinian protest outside a World Cup qualifier match between Norway and Israel, which the hosts won 5-0. Several activists were arrested.

The three-quarter line offers so many options, despite the loss of Matty Ashton to a season-ending injury.

Out wide, Hull’s speedy Lewis Martin – a former Hull City youth footballer – was Super League’s top scorer, but is this too early for him?

Dom Young, who left Sydney Roosters for Newcastle mid-season, has been a rampaging force out wide for England, athletic and powerful.

Joe Burgess has three England caps but has not been in the reckoning of late, despite scoring regularly for Salford and now Hull KR. His team-mate Tom Davies is another who does great work out of back-field as well as out wide – but he only has one cap.

Liam Marshall scored on his England debut against Samoa last November, after several prolific seasons with Wigan, and will surely be considered.

Herbie Farnworth, arguably one of the best players in the world, has sewn up one of the centre spots, so who goes in alongside?

Jake Wardle has had another impressive season at Wigan, while Harry Newman – who Wane has shown faith in during recent series – was again a regular for Leeds.

Roosters’ Billy Smith and Gold Coast utility AJ Brimson, two Australia-born players, might come into consideration but will have to impose their desire and passion on Wane if they are to get the nod.

So who should make Wane’s Ashes squad? Share your thoughts below.

Biya, the world’s oldest serving head of state, is likely to extend his 43 years in power in the Central African nation.

Polls have opened in Cameroon in an election that could see the world’s oldest serving head of state extend his rule for another seven years.

The single-round election on Sunday is likely to return 92-year-old incumbent Paul Biya as president for an eighth term in the Central African nation of 30 million people.

Biya, in power for 43 years, faces off against 11 challengers, including former government spokesman Issa Tchiroma Bakary, 79, who has generated unexpected momentum for a campaign calling for an end to the leader’s decades-long tenure.

Bakary – a close ally of Biya for 20 years, who resigned from the government in June to join the opposition – is considered the top contender to unseat the incumbent after another leading opponent, Maurice Kamto, was barred from the race.

But analysts predict Biya’s re-election, given his firm grip on state machinery and a divided opposition.

‘Divide to rule’

“We shouldn’t be naive. We know full well the ruling system has ample means at its disposal to get results in its favour,” Cameroonian political scientist Stephane Akoa told the AFP news agency, while noting that the campaign had been “much livelier” in recent days than previous versions.

“This poll is therefore more likely to throw up surprises,” he said.

Francois Conradie, lead political economist at Oxford Economics, told the Reuters news agency that while “a surprise is still possible”, “a divided opposition and the backing of a formidable electoral machine will, we predict, give the 92-year-old his eighth term”.

“Biya has remained in power for nearly 43 years by deftly dividing his adversaries, and, although we think he isn’t very aware of what is going on, it seems that the machine he built will divide to rule one last time,” Conradie said.

Biya – who has won every election in the past 20 years by more than 70 percent of the ballot – ran a characteristically low-profile campaign, appearing in public only on Tuesday for the first time since May, AFP reported.

His sole rally in Maroua, the regional capital of the strategic Far North region, drew a crowd of just a few hundred people, far smaller than a rally in the same city by Bakary this week, which drew thousands, AFP said.

‘We want change’

Cameroon is Central Africa’s most diversified economy and a significant producer of oil and cocoa.

But voters in a country where about four people in 10 live below the poverty line, according to the World Bank, complain about the high cost of living, high unemployment and a lack of clean water, healthcare and quality education.

“For 43 years, Cameroonians have been suffering. There are no jobs,” Hassane Djbril, a driver in the capital, Yaounde, told Reuters.

He said he planned to vote for Bakary. “We want change because the current government is dictatorial.”

Herves Mitterand, a mechanic in Douala, told Reuters that he wanted to see change.

“For me, things have only gotten worse,” he said. “We want to see that change, we want to see it actually happen. We don’t want to just keep hearing words any more.”

The vote takes place in the shadow of a conflict between separatist forces and the government that has plagued the English-speaking northwest and southwest regions since 2016.

More than eight million people have registered to vote. The Constitutional Council has until October 26 to announce the final results.