José Eduardo dos Santos´ funeral ceremony starts

 Luanda - The funeral of the former President of the Republic José Eduardo dos Santos started at 11:10 am of Sunday (28) at Luanda’s Republic Square.

Attended by the Angolan President of Republic João Lourenço and the other heads of State, the funeral ceremony features, among others activities, reading of messages from the Angolan state,  the family, the MPLA and the Eduardo dos Santos Foundation (FESA).

 

The ceremony also includes the funeral eulogy and an ecumenical service as well as music by two choral groups from the Catholic and Methodist churches.

 

The funeral ceremony ends with placing of the casket containing the body in a grave, located in  in the Republic Square, in Luanda.

 

Among the statesmen, who attended the ceremony,  stress goes to the heads of State of Portugal and South Africa, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Cyril Ramaphosa, respectively.

 

Also witnessing the ceremony are the Presidents of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Félix Tshisekedi,  Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso, Mozambique Filipe Nyusi,  Guinea-Bissau Umaro Sissoko Embaló,  Cabo Verde José Maria Pereira das Neves,  São Tomé and Príncipe Carlos Vila Nova, and Zimbabwe Emmerson Mnangagwa.

 

Tanzania is being represented by the former President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, Cuba by the Deputy Prime Minister Ricardo Cabrisas Ruíz, and Saudi Arabia by the Minister of Territorial Administration Sidi Brahim Salem.

 

Also paying tribute to Dos Santos, former president of São Tomé and Príncipe Manuel Pinto da Costa, and the current Prime Minister Jorge Lopes Bom Jesus.

 

The United Nations is represented by the resident coordinator in Angola, Zahira Virani.

 

Rwanda is represented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Vincent Biruta, while Equatorial Guinea is represented by the Deputy Prime Minister Clemente Engonga Nguema Onguene.

 

On Saturday, the coffin containing José Eduardo dos Santos' remains traveled through various points of the capital, during the procession, the scene was one of sadness, commotion, tears, and applause.

 

José Eduardo dos Santos died at 79 years old on July 8 in Barcelona, Spain, victim of illness.

 

The former President of the Republic took office in September 1979, following the death of António Agostinho Neto, the first President of Angola, and was in office for 38 years, until he was succeeded by João Lourenço in 2017.

Statesmen witness José Eduardo dos Santos' funeral

 Luanda - Heads of State, prime ministers, former presidents and representatives of foreign governments are witnessing this Sunday (28) the funeral of the former Angolan president, José Eduardo dos Santos.

The funeral ceremony ends with placing of the casket containing the body in a grave, located in  in the Republic Square, in Luanda.

Among the statesmen, who attended the ceremony,  stress goes to the heads of State of Portugal and South Africa, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Cyril Ramaphosa, respectively.

Also witnessing the ceremony are the Presidents of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Félix Tshisekedi,  Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso, Mozambique Filipe Nyusi,  Guinea-Bissau Umaro Sissoko Embaló,  Cabo Verde José Maria Pereira das Neves,  São Tomé and Príncipe Carlos Vila Nova, and Zimbabwe Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Tanzania is being represented by the former President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, Cuba by the Deputy Prime Minister Ricardo Cabrisas Ruíz, and Saudi Arabia by the Minister of Territorial Administration Sidi Brahim Salem.

Also paying tribute to Dos Santos, former president of São Tomé and Príncipe Manuel Pinto da Costa, and the current Prime Minister Jorge Lopes Bom Jesus.

The United Nations is represented by the resident coordinator in Angola, Zahira Virani.

Rwanda is represented by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Vincent Biruta, while Equatorial Guinea is represented by the Deputy Prime Minister Clemente Engonga Nguema Onguene.

On Saturday, the coffin containing José Eduardo dos Santos' remains traveled through various points of the capital, during the procession, the scene was one of sadness, commotion, tears, and applause.

José Eduardo dos Santos died at 79 years old on July 8 in Barcelona, Spain, victim of  illness. The former Angolan statesman ruled Angola from 1979 to 2017.

Elections2022: Electoral Commission with no complaints submitted by parties

 Luanda - The National Electoral Commission (CNE) said Saturday night that it had not officially received any complaint submitted by any political party regarding the latest provisional results of the August 24 elections.

Speaking to local and foreign media outlets, the CNE spokesperson, Lucas Quilundo, said that in case any complaint is submitted, the Electoral Commission has the legal duty to analise them and decide in the terms of the law.

 

The CNE spokesman added that it is not up to the CNE to set up the deadline for complaints to be submitted, underlining that those who want to use this right should know the opportunity and the moment that this exercise should be done.

 

"The National Electoral Commission has no official complaint from any political formation contesting the general elections", Mr Quilundo said, arguing that the legal deadlines for submission of complaints should be known by the contestants.

 

The Electoral Commission is still working, and the law establishes that the referred commission must divulge the definitive results, up to 15 days after the date of the elections, with 10 days left for this effect.

 

Lucas Quilundo clarified that the final results of the elections will be released when the CNE plenary has in its possession all the reports and other information regarding the votes claimed at the polling stations.

 

"These complaints should be resolved as soon as the polling stations have closed", Quilundo said, underscoring that the provisional totals are no longer relevant, according to the last communication of results released, which show that only 2.7% of the votes are left to be scrutinized. 

 

In relation to the division of the deputies and the totals of the entire electoral process, he considers it to be fundamental as the CNE deliberates on the claimed votes.

 

"It is always possible that, depending on the magnitude of the claimed votes, some alterations may eventually occur," the spokesman said.

 

As for the complaint made by the Unita party, the spokesman reiterated that the work that the CNE has started does not have to do, solely, with the complaint of this political formation, but, rather, of a proper legal duty that is to resolve and decide on the claimed votes.

 

For the CNE, the tallying of final results has as a preliminary element the resolution of the ballots claimed at the polling stations which are submitted to the Provincial Electoral Commissions (CPE), and these in turn have their report submitted to the CNE.

 

Commissioners Dissociate Themselves  

As for the parallel meeting held on Saturday by five CNE commissioners, the spokesman said that the meeting which approved the provisional results was attended by all members and the results were unanimously approved without protests.

 

According to the spokesman, the five political commissioners, all have free access and an equal accreditation, with a "green pass" in all areas of the CNE and the Scrutiny Centre.

 

"There is no impediment," Quilundo said, adding that maintaining such behaviour depends only on the commissioners, recalling that the plenaries are mandatory in terms of participation.

 

"Those members who are not present have a reasonable period of time under the terms of the internal regulations to justify their absences", he stressed, without advancing a possibility that the five commissioners may be sanctioned.

 

So far, the CNE has released final provisional data showing 97.03 of votes counted.

 

MPLA remains in the lead with 51.7 percent, a percentage that enables it to elect 124 deputies, followed by UNITA with 44.5 percent, equivalent to 90 deputies.

 

PRS, FNLA and PHA manage to elect two deputies each, while CASA-CE, APN and P-NJANGO have no chance to elect deputies. 

 

In these 2022 elections, the provisional abstention figure stands at 54.35 percent.

World Cup Stars Face Bills of Up to £300,000 To Secure Accommodation For Families In Qatar

 International footballers face exorbitant bills of £300,000-plus to secure accommodation for their families at the World Cup.

Rental accommodation is very limited in Qatar, so prices are soaring as owners try to cash in on the tournament.

Around 1.5million people are expected to descend on Qatar – a country which is only about the size of Yorkshire – for the World Cup.

Earlier this year, there were believed to be only 175,000 hotel rooms and apartments available for visitors.

As a result, footballers are being quoted between £250,000-£300,000 for family homes for the duration of the tournament, which starts on November 20.

Read Full Story …. Dailymail.co.uk >>> :   

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British brothers die on family holiday in Germany

 Two British children have died after being pulled from a lake during a holiday in Germany. The brothers, aged seven and nine, were visiting the Eiserbachsee, near Aachen, when their parents reported them missing on Thursday afternoon.

Rescue workers found the boys in the lake, which is close to the border with Belgium, and they were taken to hospital but did not survive.

Unconfirmed reports say they were unable to swim. The public prosecutor’s office in Aachen said it was trying to work out whether there was any suspicion of a criminal offence, including negligence.

But a spokeswoman said: “We don’t have a specific focus, we’re just doing our job.”

The lake is supervised by volunteer lifeguards but only during weekends.

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