Day: May 2, 2022

The UEFA Champions League, soccer’s governing body, announced Monday the Russian women’s soccer team will be banned from the Women’s European Championship in July and from participating in qualifying for next year’s World Cup over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian team will be replaced by the Portuguese team for the tournament that will be played from July 6-31 in England.

Russian soccer faced a slew of bans following the invasion.

“Further to its 28 February 2022 decision to suspend all Russian representative teams and clubs from participating in UEFA competition matches until further notice, the UEFA Executive Committee today took a series of decisions relating to the implications of that decision for its upcoming competitions, in order to ensure their smooth staging in a safe and secure environment for all those concerned,” UEFA said in a press release.

UEFA also denied Russia’s bid to host the men’s European championships in 2028 and 2032.

Russian club teams will also be barred from participating in the Champions League, the Europa League and the Europa Conference League next year.

The Russian national men’s team was already banned from the upcoming World Cup in Qatar.

Source: Voice of America

Hundreds of A-listers dressed to the theme of “gilded glamour” gathered Monday in New York for the annual Met Gala extravaganza known as “the party of the year.

The fundraiser is back in its usual early May slot after the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 event and delayed last year’s edition to autumn.

Some 400 celebrities from the worlds of music, film, fashion, sports and more strutted their stuff at the over-the-top costume parade on the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s carpeted steps.

The invitation-only guest list is a closely guarded secret, but frequent attendees have included Beyoncé, Justin Bieber and Elon Musk.

Some of the more eye-catching outfits worn over the years have included Beyoncé’s “naked dress” and Kim Kardashian’s face-covering black bodysuit.

In 2019, the last edition before the pandemic, Lady Gaga did a striptease of four different outfits, starting in a billowing fuchsia dress and ending in black lingerie.

Also grabbing headlines that year was singer and actor Billy Porter, who dressed as a sun god. With outstretched golden wings, he was carried in by six shirtless men.

At last year’s event, held in September, left-wing politician Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez caused a stir by wearing a dress emblazoned with the slogan “Tax the Rich.”

That struck a nerve at the celebration of fashion where tickets cost $35,000 and tables go for up to $300,000.

The gala — overseen by the high-priestess of fashion, Vogue magazine editor-in-chief Anna Wintour — raises millions of dollars for The Met’s Costume Institute.

Last year, the event raised more than $16.4 million for the institute.

The dress code comes from the annual exhibit that the party coincides with. This year’s is “In America: An Anthology of Fashion,” a retrospective from the late 19th century to the present.

Monday’s gala was co-hosted by actor-couple Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, Oscar-winning actress Regina King, and Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of the Broadway hit “Hamilton.”

This year’s honorary presidents are Instagram boss Adam Mosseri and designer Tom Ford, who was expected to dress many of the attendees.

The gala was first held in 1948 and was for a long time reserved for New York’s high society. Wintour took over running it in 1995, transforming the event into a catwalk for the rich and famous.

Source: Voice of America

Luanda – At least fifty-two Angolan technicians are guaranteeing, since the 26th April, the regular circulation of a cabotage services between the provinces of Cabinda and Zaire, in this first phase, a number that could rise depending on the increase in frequency on this route and with connections to other locations.

Of this number, 16 professionals are part of the crew and maintenance area for the two catamarans in service on this route, 13 are at the Cabinda Passenger Maritime Terminal, for activities on board and on land, told ANGOP today the Acting Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sécil Marítima (Angolan Maritime Carrier).

Addressed about the availability of jobs in this transport segment, João Martins informed that at the Soyo Fluvial Terminal (Zaire) there are 11 technicians available to perform the same functions, and that the province of Luanda will also have 13 professionals to ensure operations from this month.

He recalled that, in 2021, Sécil Marítima (the managing entity of cabotage services) recruited and trained 91 technicians for the vessels and passenger terminals, who will be gradually integrated with the evolution of operations, both on the Cabinda/Soyo route and in the extension of services across the country.

The first commercial catamaran trip on this route took place last Tuesday, with 40 passengers on board, who had to pay Akz 15.000,00 (US $36.9 equivalent) for the access ticket to the two vessels in service, with 360 passengers each, and with trips to Tuesdays and Fridays, as part of the North Cabotage project (Cabinda, Zaire and Luanda).

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Luanda – A training session in the ice pool, also called Cryotherapy session, marked this Monday, the beginning of Petro de Luanda’s preparation, ahead of Saturday’s game (2 pm), against Wydad de Casablanca of Morocco.

This clash, referring to the first leg of the semi-finals of the football African Champions League, will take place at the 11 de Novembro Stadium, in Luanda, the Angolan capital.

Held behind closed doors at the Catetão field, as it will happen in single sessions until Friday, the day that it will be open to the press, in the initial 15 minutes, the team worked in two.

In the pool with ice were used by the athletes in the victory, Saturday, over Desportivo da Lunda Sul, by 2-1, for the 24th round of the National Football Championship.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Luanda – The mobility agreement of the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP), an important instrument for the life and development of the institution, has already been ratified by most of its member states, with only Equatorial Guinea missing.

The information was provided on Monday in Luanda by the executive secretary of the CPLP, Zacarias da Costa, at the end of an audience granted by the Angolan Head of State, João Lourenço.

The agreement has already been ratified by Angola, Brazil, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Sao Tome and Principe, Equatorial Guinea, East Timor, Guinea Bissau and Portugal, the country that hosts the headquarters of the organisation, founded on 17 July 199600.

“I think that very soon we can start working on the second phase which is the operationalisation of the agreement and conclude additional agreements,” the Timorese diplomat told journalists at the end of the meeting.

“We are a very specific community in geographical terms. Our countries are integrated in different regional communities, we have commitments and the agreement is clear. It has to be implemented according to the specificities of each country,” he said.

With President João Lourenço, as acting leader of the CPLP, Zacarias da Costa reviewed the work carried out by this body, after almost a year of Angola’s rotating presidency.

“It was important to address issues related to the work developed by the Executive Secretariat of the CPLP,” said Zacarias da Costa, who considered the balance “positive.

The CPLP is an organisation formed by Portuguese-speaking countries, whose aim is to deepen mutual friendship and cooperation between its members.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Luanda – The efforts undertaken by the Angolan authorities, in particular the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, in the search for peace and political stability in the Central African Republic (CAR), were praised by the United Nations.

The recognition was conveyed to the Angolan Head of State by the special representative of the United Nations Secretary-General in CAR, Valentine Rugwabiza, who was received today (Monday) at the Presidential Palace, in Luanda.

“Angola has made a great effort towards stability in the CAR, so we give it a positive note,” said Valentine Rugwabiza, a Rwandan serving at the UN.

With President João Lourenço, the diplomat discussed issues linked to the roadmap for peace in this Central African country.

The roadmap for peace in the CAR, drafted with the help of Angola and other international entities, is an instrument that the United Nations considers to be a vehicle to definitively achieve political and military stability in the country.

With regard to the current political and military situation in the CAR, Valentine Rugwabiza considered it calm compared to the years 2020 and 2021, marked by an attempted coup d’état.

“With the implementation of the roadmap for peace, the unilateral ceasefire was declared, which allowed for inclusive national dialogue and the process of demobilisation and reintegration of forces,” she explained.

The UN SG representative acknowledged that much remains to be done in CAR.

The CAR has been plunged into a situation of growing insecurity since the coup d’état perpetrated by the “Seleka” group in 2013, which led to the fall of former Central African President François Bozize.

Source: Angola Press News Agency