21, September 2016
First Lady Chantal Biya meets wife of UN Secretary General 0
Cameroon’s First Lady, Mrs Chantal Biya yesterday, September 20, had a busy day in New York during the 71st United Nations General Assembly. Mrs Biya did not just join some 170 First spouses in a “Tea Reception” offered by the wife of the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Soon-Taek, but fully participated in other State duties as well as joining President Paul Biya at the opening of general debates at the UN Headquarters.
At about 3:00 p.m. New York time, all roads where leading to the Sutton Place Residence of the United Nations Secretary-General. It was a kind of parade for all First Spouses accompanying their husbands for the current UN session. All security measures were placed at the 3 Sutton Place, North-East, Street 57, at Manhattan, New York City. Over 170 First Ladies were at that residential quarter, honouring an invitation from Ban Soon-taek. Amongst them was the ever beaming Cameroon’s First Lady, Chantal Biya. She was accompanied by the wife of the Secretary General at the Presidency of the Republic of Cameroon, Celine Ngoh Ngoh. For over an hour, Chantal Biya and Ban Soon-taek, together with other First Ladies from around the world had a fulfilling time not only exchanging niceties but sharing their experiences as First Spouses in different social domains.
It was a unique moment between Chantal Biya and Ban Soon-taek after their last meeting at the Oriental Pavilion at East Wing of the Unity Palace in 2010, when the UN Secretary General and Wife, paid an official visit to Cameroon. Chantal Biya and Ban Soon-taek certainly had much to talk about; especially as Mrs Ban Soon-taek has an in-depth knowledge of the humanitarian activities of Cameroon’s First Lady. This accounts for why, Cameroon’s First Lady stayed longer within the residence of Mrs Ban Soon-taek unlike other First Spouses attending the tea reception. Although no information filtered out of the “Tea Party”, from the appearance of the First Ladies as they stepped out of the residence of Ban Soon-taek, there were all indications that it was a cherished time spent together.
Chantal Biya and her counterparts certainly continued conversation on the education of the girl-child and how they can reinforce their various activities to improve the situation in their various countries. The issue of empowering women and upholding the rights of children was certainly a topic of interest among the Ladies.
Cameroon Tribune
29, December 2020
France: Fashion designer Pierre Cardin dies at 98 0
Legendary French fashion designer Pierre Cardin died Tuesday at the age of 98 at a hospital in Neuilly in western Paris, his family told AFP.
Cardin was born in Italy in 1922 but emigrated to France as a small child.
Cutting his teeth working at top couture houses such as Christian Dior, Cardin went on to launch his own brand and pioneered the use of licensing in fashion, plastering his label’s name on products of all kinds. His savvy business sense brought him a mix of admiration but also scorn from fashion purists at the time.
In the 1960s and ’70s he upended traditional fashion with his futuristic, avant-garde looks. He became known for his visionary creations, shaking up fashion with bubble dresses and geometrical designs. Cardin was also one of the first to bring high fashion to the masses by selling collections in department stores beginning in the late 1950s.
While he no longer presented runway collections in his later years, Cardin remained active in the industry, attending parties and events and taking young designers under his wing.
He had previously been a mentor to prominent designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier.
His death was also announced by France’s Academy of Fine Arts on Twitter.
“It is with great sadness that the members of the Academy of Fine Arts announce the death of their fellow member Pierre Cardin,” the academy tweeted.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and Reuters)