African Cup of Nations-bound Palancas Negras of Angola arrived in the Federal Capital, Abuja

A 39-man contingent of the 2012 African Cup of Nations-bound Palancas Negras of Angola arrived in the Federal Capital, Abuja on Tuesday ahead of today’s international friendly game against the Super Eagles of Nigeria.

The delegation touched down at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport at 4.33pm aboard a chartered aircraft, which will fly the team back to Luanda on Wednesday evening immediately after the match.

President of the Federacao Angolana de Futebol, Mr. Pedro de Morais Neto led the delegation, which also included vice presidents of the Federation, the Head Coach, four Assistant Coaches, team manager, journalists, psychologist, team doctor, physiotherapist, equipment manager and 22 players. The team trained on Tuesday night at the mainbowl of the National Stadium.

They were received on arrival by General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation, Barrister Musa Amadu and the Director of Technical, Dr. Emmanuel Ikpeme, as well as a battery of media representatives.

The Palancas Negras and officials are quartered at the Transcorp Hilton hotel, and will have a light walk-out on Wednesday morning. The match co-ordination meeting will also take place on Wednesday morning, at the NFF Secretariat.

FIFA referee Aguidissou Crespin from Republic of Benin will be at the centre, to be assisted by compatriots Padonou Prosper (1st Assistant) and Fassinou Alexis (2nd Assistant). Nigerian FIFA referee Bunmi Ogunkolade will be the fourth official.

The Nigeria Football Federation reiterated on Tuesday that gates will be thrown open for the match.

Amadu said: “We want Nigerians to come out en masse to the National Stadium, Abuja and bond together, and also support the Super Eagles in this match against Angola.

It is an important game for our team as it prepares for the African Cup of Nations qualifying match against Rwanda next month”.

The Super Eagles will fly out to Monrovia on Friday for another international friendly match, this time against the Lone Star of Liberia, which will take place at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium in Monrovia on Sunday, 15th January.

Coach Jose Carlos Vidigal expects a tough game from the Super Eagles as his wards set into the final stages of preparation for the three-week, 16-nation African Cup of Nations in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, starting next week.

On his part, Nigeria’s Coach Stephen Keshi will have a good look at the boys he has been drilling at residential camping since last month, with a view to seeing which of them would be good enough to win shirts in the team to face Rwanda in a 2013 African Cup of Nations qualifier in Kigali next month.

VVG

Angola Xyami – Best Articles Directory, Free articles for your website, eZine or newsletters!

Angola Xyami – Best Articles Directory

 

Angola Xyami – Best Articles Directory, Free articles for your website, eZine or newsletters!

Know More:

http://www.articles.angolaxyami.com/about

Republican of Angolan Banking System Ready for Influx of Oil Dollars, Emidio Pinheiro CEO Says

Jan. 10 - Angolan banks are preparing to handle hundreds of millions of dollars from foreign oil companies operating in the African country when a law requiring them to use local lenders comes into effect later this year.

Emidio Pinheiro, the chief executive officer of Banco Fomento Angola, the country’s second biggest private bank, expects oil companies to start using local banks to pay part of their taxes and suppliers by the end of June.

“It’s a very significant challenge for the financial system,” Pinheiro said in a phone interview from Luanda. “I believe we will be ready for it.”

In the past, oil companies weren’t required to use banks in Angola, Africa’s biggest producer of crude after Nigeria, as lenders couldn’t handle such transactions, Agencia Angola Press reported on Oct. 26, citing a proposal of the new oil law.

The law, approved by parliament in Luanda on Nov. 29, will be phased in so that Angolan banks can adjust to it, Pinheiro said.

The southern African country, which emerged from a civil war in 2002, is adopting measures to increase transparency in the banking sector, said Pinheiro.

Last year, President Jose Eduardo dos Santos signed into law a bill designed to prevent money laundering and the funding of terrorist activities. The country ranked in the bottom 15 of 183 countries in a Transparency International corruption study last year.

“Such laws will bring more credibility to Angola’s economy and create a more business-friendly environment,” said Pinheiro.

Booming Economy

Angola is attracting more foreign companies as its economy booms. Gross domestic product is is expected to grow 10.8 percent this year, up from an estimated 3.7 percent in 2011, according to the International Monetary Fund.

“There is a lot of interest in Angola from foreign investors, mainly because the country’s energy sector remains robust,” he said. “There is also interest in farming and other industries.”

About 21 banks operate in Angola, including Standard Bank Group Ltd., Africa’s largest lender. Banco Fomento Angola, which is controlled by Banco BPI SA, Portugal’s third-biggest publicly traded lender, accounted for more than 60 percent of BPI’s nine- month net income last year, according to BPI.

--Editors: Hilton Shone, Digby Lidstone | Bloomberg

If Iran e Russia dump dollar for rial and ruble; hike in crude oil prices and disrupt the interests of the US and its allies that depend on oil imports from Iran

Russian ruble notes (file photo)

Iranian Ambassador to Moscow Seyyed Reza Sajjadi says Iran and Russia have turned to their national hard currencies instead of the American dollar in reciprocal trade exchanges.

Sajjadi said on Saturday that the proposal for the replacement of the US dollar with the Iranian rial and Russian ruble was raised during a meeting between Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev and his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on the sidelines of the 11th meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) last June.
Permanent SCO members include China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Iran, along with India, Mongolia and Pakistan, is an observer state to the intergovernmental mutual-security organization.
The Iranian envoy said Tehran and Moscow switched to their national currencies in preference after the meeting between their presidents.
Sajjadi also pointed to Russia' strong opposition to sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, saying Russians have clearly announced that they will not accept fresh anti-Iran bids that target the country's Central Bank and financial institutions.
He also described new US sanctions against Iran as “illegal and unilateral”, stressing that Russia has at times called for a peaceful solution to Iran's atomic case through negotiations.
On December 31, US President Barack Obama signed into law fresh economic sanctions against Iran's Central Bank in an apparent bid to punish foreign companies and banks that do business with the Iranian financial institution.
The bill requires foreign financial firms to make a choice between doing business with Iran's Central Bank and oil sector or with the US financial sector.
The legislation will not take effect for six months in a bid to provide oil markets with time to adjust.
Meanwhile, energy experts say sanctions could lead to a major hike in crude oil prices and disrupt the interests of the US and its allies that depend on oil imports from Iran.
Facing major economic troubles, the United States is reportedly the world's largest debtor nation.
MP/HGH/IS

Angola: Vice President Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos Discusses Cooperation With Japan

Luanda — The strengthening of cooperation relations between Angola and Japan was discussed on Monday in Luanda between the vice president of Angola, Fernando da Piedade Dias dos Santos and the deputy minister of Foreign Affairs of the Asian country, Toshiyuki Kato.

The information was released by the Japanese diplomat at the end of an audience with the vice president.

Toshiyuki Kato said that during the meeting was discussed the importance of the signing of a bilateral agreement and the introduction of Angola to the system of digital television with participation of Angola and Brazil.

The diplomat said that the interest of Japan in the signing of these agreements shows the interest of his country in the strengthening of the cooperation with Angola.

The vice president defended the necessity to have a technical cooperation with Japan to contribute toward the country development.

The deputy minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, Toshiyuki Kato arrived on Sunday in Luanda for a two-day visit and will meet various holders of ministerial departments.

FRASE DE PURO AMOR: ‎"Cada qual sabe amar a seu modo; o modo, pouco importa; o essencial é que saiba amar...(Machado de Assis)"

HERE WE GO: Some Money Quotes, Best Financial Sayings, Quotations about Wealth

My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net income.  ~Errol Flynn
Car sickness is the feeling you get when the monthly payment is due.  ~Author Unknown

Inflation hasn't ruined everything.  A dime can still be used as a screwdriver.  ~Quoted in P.S. I Love You, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

I am opposed to millionaires, but it would be dangerous to offer me the position.  ~Mark Twain
They who are of the opinion that Money will do everything, may very well be suspected to do everything for Money.  ~George Savile, Complete Works, 1912

I cannot afford to waste my time making money.  ~Louis Agassiz

There's no money in poetry, but then there's no poetry in money, either.  ~Robert Graves

When I have money, I get rid of it quickly, lest it find a way into my heart.  ~John Wesley

It is an unfortunate human failing that a full pocketbook often groans more loudly than an empty stomach.  ~Franklin Delano Roosevelt

After a visit to the beach, it's hard to believe that we live in a material world.  ~Pam Shaw

The real measure of your wealth is how much you'd be worth if you lost all your money.  ~Author Unknown

Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realise we cannot eat money.  ~Cree Indian Proverb

The only reason a great many American families don't own an elephant is that they have never been offered an elephant for a dollar down and easy weekly payments.  ~Mad Magazine

I'd like to live as a poor man with lots of money.  ~Pablo Picasso

No matter how hard you hug your money, it never hugs back.  ~Quoted in P.S. I Love You, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

There are no pockets in a shroud.  ~Author Unknown

Waste your money and you're only out of money, but waste your time and you've lost a part of your life.  ~Michael Leboeuf