In our series of letters from African journalists, Waihiga Mwaura looks at what the continent could expect from new US President Joe Biden. The red carpet was unrolled, the hall was packed, security was tight and Joe Biden took to the stage. This was Nairobi in 2010 and Kenyans had come to listen to the-then US vice-president.
Ultra-Orthodox demonstrators clashed with Israeli police in two major cities on Sunday, as authorities faced new difficulties in enforcing coronavirus restrictions in the country's religious communities. The clashes occurred in Jerusalem and Ashdod as police attempted to close religious schools that had opened in violation of lockdown orders. Throughout the pandemic, many major ultra-Orthodox sects have flouted safety regulations, continuing to open schools, pray in synagogues and hold mass weddings in funerals.
Pirates off Nigeria's coast kidnapped 15 sailors from a Turkish container ship in the Gulf of Guinea on Saturday in a brazen and violent attack that was farther from shore than usual. One sailor was killed in the raid, an Azerbaijani citizen, while those kidnapped are from Turkey, according to the respective governments and a crew list obtained by Reuters. Accounts from crew, family members and security sources described a sophisticated and well-orchestrated attack on Saturday in which armed pirates boarded the ship and breached its protective citadel, possibly with explosives.
The Biden administration has already set itself on a collision course with Saudi Arabia after its director of National Intelligence vowed to declassify a report on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. The push to release the intelligence community's assessment of the murder of the dissident journalist, which is believed to implicate Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has the potential to trigger a major fallout with the kingdom. Avril Haines, who was confirmed in her new role on Thursday, told Congress โwe will follow the lawโ regarding the report, referring to the Trump administration's refusal to release the full version for US House representatives.
Sri Lanka's health minister, who endorsed herbal syrup to prevent Covid, has tested positive for the virus. Pavithra Wanniarachchi tested positive on Friday, a media secretary at the Ministry of Health told the BBC. She had promoted the syrup, manufactured by a shaman who claimed it worked as a life-long inoculation against the virus.
The materials and colors took center stage,โ said David Lucas when it came to the design of the home. Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest
Biden reportedly wasn't greeted by White House staff on Inauguration Day because Trump sent them home. Trump reportedly sent the butlers home so "there would be no-one to help the Bidens when they arrived." Chief usher Timothy Harleth left his role before the Bidens arrived at the White House.
The U.S. has reaffirmed its support for Taiwan following China's dispatch of warplanes near the island in an apparent attempt to intimidate its democratic government and test the resolve of the new American presidential administration. The U.S. State Department on Saturday said it was concerned by China's "pattern of ongoing attempts to intimidate its neighbors, including Taiwan.โ โWe urge Beijing to cease its military, diplomatic, and economic pressure against Taiwan and instead engage in meaningful dialogue with Taiwan's democratically elected representatives," Ned Price, a spokesman for the department, said in the statement.
To the editor: Former President Trump did a lot of things that were terrible, but none was as disturbing to me as his pardon of a man who paid to have his daughter accepted to USC under false pretenses. The fact that the pardon was backed by several businesspeople who were financial supporters of Trump is yet another example of people being able to buy their way out of almost any crime. To the editor: Pardon me, but Trump's pardon of his former campaign manager Stephen K. Bannon may actually further endanger him.
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon accused British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday of fearing democracy when it comes to letting the Scottish people express their will on independence from the United Kingdom. Scotland voted against independence by 55% to 45% in a 2014 referendum. But a majority of Scots also backed staying in the European Union in the subsequent 2016 Brexit vote, stoking demands by Scottish nationalists for a new independence vote after the UK as a whole voted to leave.
The U.S. Census Bureau is suspending efforts to create neighborhood-level statistics on the citizenship and age of residents, using 2020 census data, in the latest rollback of Trump administration census-related initiatives that critics feared would be used to favor Republicans and whites during the drawing of state and local districts. As part of an order President Joe Biden signed Wednesday on the 2020 census, the Census Bureau said Friday that it would discontinue efforts to create citizenship tabulations at the city-block level using 2020 census data combined with administrative records.
Scott Kevin Fairlamb, 43, of Stockholm, New Jersey, was arrested on five charges on January 22. Preston Fairlamb III led Michelle Obama's service detail while she was First Lady. The son of a police officer who punched a cop during the Capitol riots also has a brother in the Secret Service who Michelle Obama previously described as a "real friend," the Huffington Post found.
It's been less than two weeks since Reps. Peter Meijer, Tom Rice and Liz Cheney broke with nearly all of their Republican colleagues in the House and voted to impeach President Donald Trump, but in their home states, the backlash is already growing. In Michigan, a challenger to Meijer received a boost when Steve Bannon promoted him on his podcast. In South Carolina, a local Republican is getting so many calls urging him to run against Rice that he can't keep his phone charged.
Thousands of people were detained across Russia on Saturday, as protests swept the nation to demand the release of jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. Tens of thousands defied an official ban on Saturday's demonstrations, and the extreme cold, as police tried to break up the rallies with force. Amateur video in St. Petersburg showed the moment one woman was kicked to the ground.
Over a thousand protesters gathered in Jerusalem on Saturday for weekly demonstrations demanding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu step down over corruption charges, as smaller protests were staged at intersections and bridges across the country. The protests have taken place each week since last summer, primarily at a Jerusalem square near Netanyahu's official residence, and continued despite lower turnout in the cold winter nights. In March, Israel will hold its fourth national election in less than two years, and Netanyahu is facing further challenges from defectors within his Likud party.
Thirty-seven lawmakers asked President Joe Biden to commute the sentences of all remaining federal death row inmates. The effort was led by Reps. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts and Cori Bush of Missouri. Biden is opposed to the death penalty and campaigned on ending the practice.
The Egyptians who took to the streets on Jan. 25, 2011, knew what they were doing. Police forces backed off, and within days, former President Hosni Mubarak agreed to demands to step down. A decade later, thousands are estimated to have fled abroad to escape the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi that is considered even more oppressive.
Three people in hotel quarantine associated with the Australian Open tennis tournament have tested positive for the highly transmissible coronavirus variant linked to the United Kingdom, officials said on Saturday. "Three quarantine residents associated with the Australian Open who tested positive for coronavirus have been found to have the UK variant of the virus," COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria said in a statement. Victoria, Australia's second most-populous state, recorded its 17th day without any new local infections on Saturday as officials focus on keeping the community separated from staff and players here for the Grand Slam tournament.
Senator Chris Coons has said that Donald Trump and โhis team caused more harm than expectedโ during the transition period after Joe Biden's transition team was not permitted access. The revelation came during an interview on MSNBC during which the Democratic senator was asked for his opinion on the flurry of executive actions passed by the president since Wednesday. Senator Coons, who holds Mr Biden's old seat and has known the president for 30 years, said the president had been thoroughly preparing since he won the election in November.
Republican Sen. Tom Cotton's past characterization of his military service is drawing scrutiny from critics. A recent Salon report resurfaced a longtime debate over military titles. Democratic Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado, a US Army veteran, took note of the debate said that the "truth matters."
Arizona Republicans voted Saturday to censure Cindy McCain and two prominent GOP members who have found themselves crosswise with former President Donald Trump. The censures of Sen. John McCain's widow, former Sen. Jeff Flake and Gov. Doug Ducey are merely symbolic. But they show the party's foot soldiers are focused on enforcing loyalty to Trump, even in the wake of an election that saw Arizona inch away from its staunchly Republican roots.
The terms of Kyle Rittenhouse's bond were modified after he was seen at a bar with his mother and members of the far-right Proud Boys, according to FOX 6. Kenosha County prosecutors previously requested to adjust his bond conditions after being spotted using white power associated hand symbols and drinking beers following his release. Rittenhouse,18, is the gunman associated with the deaths of two people and injuring another during a Jacob Blake protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin last summer.
Elon Musk, who recently relocated to Texas, now reportedly has plans to to drill for natural gas there, too. SpaceX, Musk's space company, is looking to drill wells close to the company's Boca Chica, Texas, launchpad, according to Bloomberg. The site in Boca Chica previously hosted prototype launches for the company.
Forced to sail mostly on guesswork after a technical glitch, Britain's INEOS Team UK broke the magical 50-knot barrier in beating Italy's Luna Rossa by 33 seconds on Saturday in the final round-robin race of the America's Cup challenger series at Auckland, New Zealand. In doing so Team UK, which had been a lame duck due to equipment and systems issues in pre-Christmas racing, retained its unbeaten record after five races in the Prada Cup challengers series to qualify automatically for the final. When the boats came together on opposing gybes near the bottom of the last leg โ Team UK on port and Luna Rossa with the right of way on starboard โ Britannia slid just across the bow of Luna Rossa; only meters separated the yachts.
Norwegian Cruise Line and its Regent Seven Seas Cruises brand will be asking all of its crew members to receive the COVID-19 vaccine prior to boarding, the cruise companies' spokespeople told Insider in an email statement. It's just the latest sign that cruise sailings won't be departing any time soon. Cruise ships first gained their reputation of being coronavirus hotspots in February 2020 after Princess Cruises' Diamond Princess left thousands of passengers stuck and hundreds infected with the virus.
โBy encouraging this act of terror on our capital, Trumpโs legacy is destroyed.โ
โBoth backers and critics of Trump agreed that he remade the federal judiciary โ a change that will impact America for decades.โ
โHe was largely responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans who did not need to die.โ
โI do know what the future should hold for this country. That is to say, a policy of Trumpism without Trump.โ
โIt will be decades before the consequences of his tenure are fully known.โ