President Nandi-Ndaitwah to embark on week-long state visit to China
via The Namibian1 min read
President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is scheduled to depart for China on Saturday for a week-long state visit from July 6 to 10, at the invitation of Chinese president Xi Jinping. The visit aims to strengthen Namibia's bilateral ties with the People's Republic of China. The Presidency stated that the visit will focus on enhancing cooperation in areas such as trade and investment, industrialisation and beneficiation, renewable energy and green hydrogen, agriculture and agro-processing, education, science and technology, people-to-people exchanges, health, housing, and infrastructure. During her visit, President Nandi-Ndaitwah will engage in bilateral discussions and industry visits in Guangzhou, travel to Shenzhen to visit the CGN Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant, Huawei, and municipal authorities, and participate in agriculture cooperation and agro-processing engagements in Chengdu. The visit will conclude in Beijing with high-level bilateral meetings with President Xi and other senior Chinese leaders.
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This summary was AI-generated from a story originally published by The Namibian.
Cape Verde fans in Praia celebrated their national team's narrow 3-2 loss to Argentina in the World Cup knockout stages. Despite the defeat, supporters viewed the performance as a victory, given that the Blue Sharks, a team from an archipelago of just over 500,000 people, pushed the reigning world champions to extra time in their first-ever World Cup appearance. Cape Verde had advanced to the knockout stages after drawing with European champions Spain, Uruguay, and Saudi Arabia in the group stage. The match in Miami saw Deroy Duarte score an equalizer for Cape Verde, leading to an additional 30 minutes of play before an own goal sealed Argentina's win. Fans and a diplomat described the experience as watching a World Cup final, with celebrations continuing into the early hours in Praia. Coach Bubista had expressed confidence before the game, stating the team earned their place on merit and would enjoy the match.
Holders Argentina narrowly defeated Cape Verde 3-2 in an extra-time thriller at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, securing their spot in the World Cup last 16. Cape Verde, with a population of just over 500,000, twice equalized against Lionel Messi's Argentina, pushing the match into extra time. A Diney Borges own goal in the 111th minute ultimately broke Cape Verde's resistance. Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni acknowledged the difficulty, stating that losing would have been "madness" and praised Cape Verde as a "great team." Argentina will now face Egypt in Atlanta. Earlier, Egypt made history by winning their first World Cup knockout match, defeating Australia 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in Arlington, Texas. Hossam Abdelmaguid converted the decisive spot-kick. Egypt's win marks a positive turn for African teams in the knockout phase, following the exits of South Africa, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Algeria. In other matches, Colombia beat Ghana 1-0 and will play Switzerland, while the England versus Mexico City match is set to proceed as planned despite earlier concerns about kickoff time changes due to forecast storms.
Cheetah Cement has stopped planned retrenchments of 87 workers following the Ministry of Industries' reversal of a decision to block its takeover of Ohorongo Cement. Industries, mines and energy minister Modestus Amutse overturned the Namibian Competition Commission's initial rejection after an appeal by Chinese-owned Whale Rock, which owns Cheetah Cement. The merger aims to address financial losses caused by export restrictions and the small Namibian cement market, allowing one factory to operate at full capacity. While the Competition Commission had initially cited concerns about a potential monopoly and job losses, Minister Amutse approved the merger with conditions. These conditions include no job losses, monitoring for a monopoly, exploring options for the continued existence of the Cheetah Cement plant, and increasing local ownership for both Whale Rock Cement and Schwenk Namibia to at least 40%. The Mineworkers Union of Namibia welcomed the decision to halt retrenchments and stated it would monitor developments to ensure workers' interests are protected.