Category: Sports

After the 2015 Edition, Angola will once again host the African Championship in zone VI in swimming, from 3 to 7 May, at the Alvalade swimming pool, in Luanda, said this Wednesday to ANGOP the president of the Angolan Federation of this sport, Joaquim Santos.

The event should count on the participation of more than 14 teams, namely, South Africa, Botswana, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Kenya, Comoros, and Uganda complete the range of competitors, according to the interlocutor.

The competition that had been initially nominated for Madagascar, which ended up declining, was assigned to Malawi, which also appeared unavailable, so Angola received the task of organizing it, on appeal.

According to the federative programme, from the 3rd to the 6th of May the athletes compete in the pure swimming event (swimming pool), and on the 7th of the same month, the XIX Edition of the biggest event in the region ends with long distance events, in open waters, on the island of Luanda.

Swimmers Pedro Pinotes (individual) Salvador Gordo, Daniel Francisco, Marco Furtado, Silvério Manuel, Carlos Fernandes, Luyane Costa, Yusseni Furtado, Djamel Pires, Enzo Anjos and Yano Elias (1º de Agosto) were pre-summoned.

Also listed are Luciano Afonso (Onda Sport Club), Henrique Mascarenhas, Alex Fortes, Janel Tati, Rafael Bredel, José Cochofel, David Padre, Guilherme Sousa, Kenzo Monteiro, Santiago Guimarães (CNIL).

In females, the shortlist includes Lia Lima, Jasmine Lourenço, Aleksandra Zhukov, Stephanie Jurado, Inês Clemente, Nayara Carvalho, Beatriz Pedro, Kenenise Vongo, all from 1º de Agosto club.

Ana Nunes, Maria Freitas, N'Hara Fernandes, Rafaela Santos, Welwichia Silva, Inara Santos, Milena Lourenço, Nyriam Morais, Rhanya Santo, Chelsea Vunge, Wezza Morais, Wendy Morais (CNIL), Alexia Vieira (individual) and Nelma Janota (OSC) complete the group.

In the field of open water competition, the country will be represented by Guilherme Sousa, Kenzo Monteiro (CNIL), Marco Furtado, Silvério Manuel and Carlos Fernandes (1º Agosto).

In females, they include Nyriam Morais, Rhanya Santo, Wendy Morais, Wezza Morais and Chelsea Vunge (CNIL), Stephanie Jurado, Inês Clemente, Nayara Carvalho, Beatriz Pedro, Kenenise Vongo (1º de Agosto).

In the first event of its kind organized in the country, eight years ago, the National Team placed 3rd in the general classification, with 61 medals, 22 gold, 21 silver and 18 bronze

Source: Angola Press News Agency (APNA)

Algerian Prime Minister Ayman Benabderrahmane (C), FIFA President Gianni Infantino (R) and President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Patrice Motsepe attend the opening ceremony of the 7th African Nations Championship (CHAN) at Nelson Mandela Stadium in Algiers

ALGIERS, Jan 14 (NNN-Xinhua) — The seventh edition of the African Nations Championship (CHAN) kicked off at Nelson Mandela Stadium in Baraki locality, southern Algiers on Friday.

Host Algeria beat Libya 1-0 through Aymen Mahious’ 57th-minute penalty in the tournament opener.

Algerian Prime Minister Ayman Benabderrahmane declared the championship open, in the presence of several international sports personalities and big world football names, including FIFA president Gianni Infantino and president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Patrice Motsepe.

In his opening remarks, Benabderrahmane welcomed all teams and guests to the tournament as he paid tribute to late Nelson Mandela.

The biennial tournament, which was first staged in 2009 in Cote d’Ivoire, runs from Jan 13 to Feb 4 this year.

The Nelson Mandela Stadium was almost full as fans attended the opening ceremony with a musical show animated by famous African singers, in addition to a show that displayed the Algerian culture.

On Thursday, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune inaugurated the Nelson Mandela Stadium which was named after the late South African President and anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela in tribute to his legacy.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

HARARE— The Zimbabwean government said it will soon host a high-level debt resolution forum with development partners and other stakeholders aimed at building consensus among stakeholders on resolving the country’s external debt.

Presenting the 2022 mid-term budget review and supplementary budget speech in parliament, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said the country’s external debt continues to burden the economy by restricting access to low-cost, long-term financing required to support the desired medium- to long-term growth trajectory.

“To address this challenge, the government has developed the Arrears Clearance, Debt Relief and Restructuring (ACDRR) Strategy aimed at restoring debt sustainability,” Ncube said.

He said the African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina has agreed to be Zimbabwe’s champion for the debt resolution and re-engagement process.

“In his capacity as champion, he will coordinate and chair the forthcoming high-level debt resolution forum,” Ncube said.

Adesina visited Zimbabwe this month to reaffirm his commitment to helping Zimbabwe clear its long-standing debt. During the visit, he met Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube and representatives of international financial institutions accredited to Zimbabwe, among others.

Zimbabwe has huge external debt arrears amounting to 13.2 billion U.S. dollars.

Zimbabwe has tried unsuccessfully in the past to clear its huge external debt arrears through various strategies, with the last debt arrears clearance plan, dubbed the Lima plan agreed with global lenders in Peru in 2015, to no avail.

The Zimbabwean government has since drawn up a new arrears clearance strategy that it hopes will succeed with the help of the AfDB president.

In 2015 and under the Lima plan, Zimbabwe cleared its 15-year debt arrears to the International Monetary Fund amounting to 108 million U.S. dollars, but this has not moved the IMF to release new loans to Zimbabwe, arguing it has to clear arrears with other international financial institutions and bilateral creditors and also implements a strong reform agenda.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

BIRMINGHAM (England, UK)— A Commonwealth Games that once appeared doomed exploded into life with a dazzling opening ceremony on Thursday that put a modern spin on a sporting event often seen as a relic of the British Empire’s colonial past.

Ten years after the 2012 London Olympics it was Birmingham’s moment in the spotlight, although a smaller one, as Prince Charles, reading a message on behalf of The Queen contained in a Baton that had travelled through all 72 nations and regions of the Commonwealth, declared the Games open.

No one could deny Birmingham for giving itself a massive pat on the back for taking on the responsibility of stageing the 2022 Games after Durban, South Africa was stripped of hosting duties for failing to deliver on promises made in its bid.

Instead of the usual six-seven years to prepare, Birmingham had four and that challenge was multiplied by the arrival of COVID-19.

While the pandemic forced the delay of an Olympics and an Asian Games, Birmingham pushed ahead, delivering on its promise of an on time, on budget project.

“I’m a Brummy and this is a great city founded by people who just got on with,” said Birmingham 2022 chair John Crabtree. “People just go on with it, that’s why we’re here frankly.

“Birmingham is a modest city that would like to have the spotlight on it for just a bit.”

For one night at least, Birmingham got its due as 30,000 spectators packed into renovated Alexander Stadium to take in a slick show that would match up against any Olympic production, Organisers say it was watched by over a billion people.

The ceremony delivered all the classic staples of an opening night extravaganza from the parade of athletes to a shower of thundering fireworks.

But it was the high-tech story-telling of Stella and The Dreamers, a group of young athletes from around the Commonwealth who explore Birmingham’s history representing a better, brighter future that provided the backbone of the two and a half hour show.

While evening celebrated Birmingham’s cultural diversity and tolerance, Britain’s Olympic diving champion Tom Daley, who came out as gay in 2013, used the moment to remind everyone that some Commonwealth nations still enforce homophobic colonial-era laws.

Homosexuality is a criminal offence in 35 of the 56 nations that make up the Commonwealth where punishments include whipping, life imprisonment and the death penalty.

Daley, who is not competing in Birmingham, ran the Queen’s Baton into the darkened stadium as LGBTQ+ flags lined his path.

At the same time, the Birmingham Games will break new ground with more medals awarded to women (136) than men (134), a first for a multi-sport event.

The evening began with a flyover by the Red Arrows and ended with West Midlands rock band Duran Duran revving up the crowd under a canopy of fireworks.

As always, however, the most anticipated moment of the night was the parade of nations as nearly 5,000 athletes from 72 countries and territories, who will compete for medals in 19 sports over 11 days, made their entrance.

Australia, widely expected to battle for top spot on the medal table as usual, were first into the stadium while their great rivals England were last and greeted with a huge roar.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

PARIS— The depressing state of the world is leading people to switch off from the news, the Reuters Institute reported on Wednesday.

The combined impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia-Ukraine war and cost-of-living crisis have led to declining interest in the news, a survey by the British research group found.

Across 46 countries surveyed and 93,000 participants, it found the share who said they actively avoided the news had increased from 29 to 38 percent since 2017.

The numbers doubled in some countries, including Brazil (54 percent) and Britain (46).

Young people in particular found the news to be a downer, but the chief reason for avoiding the news was its repetitiveness, especially around Covid and politics.

“I actively avoid things that trigger my anxiety and things that can have a negative impact on my day,” a 27-year-old British respondent told the researchers.

“I will try to avoid reading news about things like deaths and disasters.”

Others said the news led to arguments they would rather avoid, or a feeling of powerlessness, while many young people said they found it hard to understand.

Lead author Nic Newman said the findings were “particularly challenging for the news industry”.

“Subjects that journalists consider most important, such as political crises, international conflicts and global pandemics, seem to be precisely the ones that are turning some people away,” he was quoted as saying.

Most of the study was completed before the invasion of Ukraine in February, but subsequent surveys in five countries found these issues had only deepened in its aftermath.

Trust in the media fell in half the countries surveyed, and rose in just seven, the report said, reversing gains made during the pandemic.

Overall, trust was at 42 percent, down from 44 percent when the media had a small positive bump from the pandemic.

The United States showed the lowest level of trust at 26 percent, tied with Slovakia.

The problem is being compounded by young people increasingly detached from legacy media, with 15 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds saying they use TikTok as a primary source of news.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK