News & Announcements

Joe Biden plans to announce his 12-person coronavirus task force on Monday, two sources with knowledge told CNN.

The task force will reportedly be led by three cochairs: Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner David Kessler, and Yale University’s Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith.

The announcement, which will come just days after Biden was projected to win the presidential election, signals how seriously he plans to focus on the coronavirus pandemic from the outset of his transition.

Biden is not expected to announce cabinet nominations for weeks and may wait until control of the Senate is clear, the sources said. Biden has potential people in mind for almost every top position, but the announcement of coronavirus underscores the priority he intends to place on that challenge.

“The restoration of our pursuit towards a more perfect union. I know this is not a perfect country. My God, I’m here. I’m living testimony that the country is not perfect. But we cannot give up on the country. I could not sit idly by and watch this country take backward steps in that pursuit of perfection. And so I am pleased that we can now get back on course,” he told CNN’s, Dana Bash.

Meanwhile, James Clyburn, Democratic member of the house, also revealed that he privately urged Biden to pick to a Black woman as his running mate and discussed the historic nature of Kamala Harris ascending to the second-highest office in the country.

“I’m the father of three daughters. And I have two granddaughters … So I was very, very moved by this. Now, Joe and I talked about it several times when he was trying to make his decision. He said it would be a woman. And I don’t mind saying now, I said to him in private that I thought that a lot of the results would turn on whether that woman is a Black woman. I never said that publicly because I thought, I don’t think you ought to diminish your candidate. When you ever tell a candidate what he must do publicly, that diminishes his standing with the public. So I gave him all my advice to him in private. But I’m very pleased that a Black woman was selected,” Clyburn said.

Succour came the way of the eleven Kidnapped Teachers in Cameroon as they regain their freedom.

The victims have regained their freedom in western Cameroon, where separatist insurgents are battling government forces, the church that runs the schools said on Thursday

Unidentified men took the teachers hostage on Tuesday during a raid on two schools in the town of Kumbo, just 10 days after gunmen stormed a school in another western town, killing at least seven children. No one has claimed responsibility for either of the raids.

Samuel Fonki, a representative of the church that runs the two schools, said the teachers had been freed but gave no further details when contacted via instant message.

There was no immediate comment from authorities on the release.

The recent attacks underscore the precarious security situation in some English-speaking areas of the central African country. More than 3 000 people have died since 2017 in the conflict between the Cameroonian government and the Anglophone separatists who want to break away from the primarily French-speaking state.

Human rights groups say both sides have committed widespread atrocities, with the separatists often targeting schools that fail to comply with their demands to close.

Five armed bandits and one soldier were killed when the men of the Nigerian Army took the fight against terror to the hideouts of the bandits in President Muhammadu Buhari’s home state of Katsina.
Major General John Enenche, who coordinates the Nigerian defense media operations, while speaking on Thursday, said the soldiers rescued a nursing mother as well as three other women and their children from the terror group, even as other bandits escaped with varying degrees of bullet wounds.

Major General Enenche, said the operation was conducted by troops of Operation SAHEL SANITY
The army officer, who briefed on the successes of military operations nationwide between October 30 and November 4, said within the period under review, troops of Operation SAHEL SANITY reacted swiftly to a distress call about bandit’s activities that attacked Diskuru village in Faskari Local Government Area of Katsina State.
The defense operations spokesman disclosed that “the gallant troops engaged the criminals in a fierce firefight forcing them to withdraw in disarray while three bandits were neutralized by the troops as several others escaped with various degrees of gunshot wounds.

“During the exploitation phase, two additional bandits’ bodies were discovered along their withdrawal route.
“Equally, three women and their infants earlier kidnapped by the bandits were rescued.
“Regrettably, one brave soldier paid the supreme price in an attempt to save one of the rescued nursing mothers in the heat of the encounter.”
In the same vein, he said troops deployed at Dan Ali village arrested two suspected bandits’ collaborators “namely Samaila Usman and Idi Bello.”
Similarly, Enenche said troops of Operation HADARIN DAJI arrested two suspected bandits’ collaborators at Yarkirya village and Kankara Market in Kankara Local Government Area of Katsina State.  
Expressing satisfaction with the level of successes recorded in its operations nationwide, General Enenche said that the Military High Command commended all the gallant troops of the Nigerian Armed Forces and personnel of other security agencies involved in various operations across the country for their commitment, determination, and dedication.
The security forces were equally encouraged to remain firm and decisive in curtailing the activities of all criminal elements in the country.

General Enenche assured the public that the Armed Forces of Nigeria working with other security agencies would continue to tackle the security challenges and would ensure that normalcy is attained in all the geo-political zones of the Country. 

With Joe Biden’s 264 electoral votes to President Donald Trump’s 214 as of early Thursday, supporters of the president have asked that the vote counts are stopped and they are in protest.

Thus dozens of the angry supporters of Trump converged on vote-counting centres in Detroit, Michigan, and Phoenix, Arizona, as returns went against him on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT) in the two key states, while thousands of anti-Trump protesters demanding a complete count of the ballots in the still-undecided election took to the streets in cities across the US.

“Stop the count!” the Trump supporters chanted in Detroit. “Stop the Steal,” they chanted in Phoenix.There are reports the counting centre Maricopa County, which takes in Phoenix, has been closed because of unrest, with the results to be transmitted electronically.

The protests came as the President repeatedly insisted without evidence that there were major problems with the voting and the ballot counting, and as Republicans filed suit in multiple states, preparing to contest election results.

Meanwhile, from New York City to Seattle, thousands of demonstrators turned out to demand that every vote be tallied.

In downtown Portland, Oregon, which has been a scene of regular protests for months, Governor Kate Brown activated the National Guard after demonstrators engaged in what authorities said was widespread violence, including smashing windows. Protesters in Portland were demonstrating about a range of issues, including police brutality and the counting of the vote.

Richard March came to an anti-Trump demonstration in Portland despite a heart condition that makes him vulnerable to COVID-19.

“To cast doubt on this election has terrible consequences for our democracy,” he said. “I think we are a very polarised society now — and I’m worried about what’s going to come in the next days and weeks and months.”

In New York, hundreds of people paraded past boarded-up luxury stores on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue, and in Chicago, demonstrators marched through downtown and along a street across the river from Trump Tower.

Similar protests — sometimes about the election, sometimes about racial inequality — took place in at least a half-dozen cities, including Los Angeles, Seattle, Houston, Pittsburgh, Minneapolis, and San Diego.

The confrontation in Detroit, Michigan, started shortly before The Associated Press declared that Democrat presidential candidate Joe Biden had won the state.

Video shot by local media showed angry people gathered outside the TCF Centre and inside the lobby, with police officers lined up to keep them from entering the vote-counting area. They chanted, “Stop the count!” and “Stop the vote!”Earlier, the Republican campaign filed suit in a bid to halt the count, demanding Michigan’s Democratic secretary of state allow in more inspectors. Trump has repeatedly insisted without evidence that there are major problems with the voting and the counting.
Michigan Attorney-General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, insisted both parties and the public had been given access to the tallying “using a robust system of checks and balances to ensure that all ballots are counted fairly and accurately.”

Michigan has been on edge for months over fears of political violence. Anti-government protesters openly carried guns into the state Capitol during protests over coronavirus restrictions earlier this year, and six men were arrested last month on charges of plotting to kidnap Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

On election night, scattered protests broke after voting ended, stretching from Washington in the east to Seattle in the west, but there was no widespread unrest or significant violence.

The prolonged task of counting this year’s deluge of mail-in votes raised fears that the lack of clarity in the presidential race could spark unrest.

Six people were arrested in North Carolina’s capital city when a crowd of protesters marching on Election Day began throwing rocks and other items during the demonstration, police said.

The arrests, according to APnews, happened in Raleigh around 9:45 p.m. Tuesday night, about an hour after the crowd first gathered in the city and began marching throughout downtown Raleigh, the city’s police department said in a statement.

The protesters were carrying signs that read “Whoever wins we lose,” in reference to the 2020 elections, and “In solidarity with Philadelphia,” referring to the police shooting death of Walter Wallace Jr., a Black man, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania last month, The News & Observer reported. Protesters also yelled “Abolish R.P.D.”

Police said officers notified protesters that the gathering had become an unlawful assembly when the crowd began to engage in the “unlawful activities” that police say included throwing the fireworks.

Authorities then arrested the six protesters. The charges against them includes failure to disperse, assault on a law enforcement officer, resist, delay, and obstruct and disorderly conduct.

Police said the protest began to disperse around 10 p.m.

President Donald Trump is obviously in an unease situation after he threatened to stop the counting of the results of the ongoing election.Thus, Joe Biden’s campaign team has slammed him over the threat to try to stop the election vote counting as “outrageous” early Wednesday, saying its legal team was ready to prevent such an “unprecedented” act.

“The president’s statement about trying to shut down the counting of duly cast ballots was outrageous, unprecedented, and incorrect,” Biden campaign manager, Jen O’Malley Dillon, said in a statement as the election remained undecided.

“Never before in our history has a President of the United States sought to strip Americans of their voice in a national election,” he added.

The comments came shortly after Trump delivered an extraordinary speech from the White House in which he claimed that “we did win this election” despite neither candidate reaching the electoral vote threshold for victory.

“We want all voting to stop,” Trump said, appearing to mean halting the counting of mail-in ballots, which can be legally accepted by state election boards after Tuesday’s election — provided they were postmarked in time.

Biden has long warned that Trump was seeking to diminish the integrity of mail-in voting, which has surged this year given the health concerns about going in-person to polling places during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Oil prices rose nearly three percent on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump falsely claimed victory in a tight U.S election with millions of votes still to be counted and the final result not yet clear.

A victory by Trump, according to globalnews.ca, is viewed as bullish for oil because of sanctions on Iran and his support for Saudi-led OPEC oil cuts to support prices.

A contested result and prolonged uncertainty are seen as the most bearish outcome for oil and markets in general, while a win for Joe Biden would be seen as bearish to neutral because of his support for green policies and softer stance on Iran.

West Texas Intermediate was up $0.94 cents, or 2.44 percent, at $38.60 a barrel by 1156 GMT.

Brent crude was up by 1.02 cents, or 2.50 percent, at $40.73.

Trump falsely claimed to have won after his Democratic challenger Biden said he was confident of winning a contest that will not be resolved until a handful of states finish vote counts in the next hours or days.

“This (potential Trump victory) is bullish for oil as OPEC+ can keep cutting without fear that Iranian oil supply will come back into the market any time soon,” said Bjarne Schieldrop at SEB.

Equity markets were volatile and bonds traded higher as vote counting showed the election was closer than polls had forecast.

Oil prices were also supported by the possibility that OPEC producers and Russia could consider deferring a planned increase in OPEC+ oil output from January as a second coronavirus wave stifles a recovery in fuel demand.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and allies led by Russia, a grouping known as OPEC+, earlier agreed to ease cuts by 2 million barrels per day from the current 7.7 million BPD from January.

More lockdowns could cap oil price gains. Italy, Norway, and Hungary have tightened coronavirus curbs, following Britain, France, and other countries.

The journalist in Sierra Leone, in commemoration of the ‘International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists’, challenged the government to not only protect and promote freedom of speech but to also ensure the safety and security of the pen professionals.

The journalists, under the aegis of Sierra Leone Association of Journalists (SLAJ), noted that it was imperative for journalists, both those in the government and private establishments to be protected at all times.

SLAJ said: “In line with the United Nations Resolution urging Member States to implement definite measures countering the present culture of impunity against journalists, we urge Government and its agencies, especially the national security forces, to do their utmost to prevent violence against journalists and media workers, and to take appropriate action against perpetrators of crimes against media workers,” said SLAJ President, Ahmed Sahid Nasralla.

He added: “Since this year’s End Impunity day comes shortly after the symbolic signing of the repeal of the obnoxious Criminal and Seditious libel law, we call on the Government of Sierra Leone to immediately drop all ongoing cases of Criminal and Seditious Libel in our courts.”

Apart from violence, SLAJ also notes with serious concern other forms of attack such as discrimination, intimidation and harassment against journalists and media workers, especially our female colleagues.

He said further: “We, therefore, call on specifically local authorities, Judiciary and the Parliament of Sierra Leone to exercise their supreme powers with caution and due consideration of the crucial work of journalists to hold public institutions to account and to bring the news to the people on daily basis.

“Over the years, SLAJ, through the Media Reform Coordinating Group (MRCG), has been monitoring and publishing reports on press freedom and freedom of expression situation in Sierra Leone. 

“The last report on ‘Press Freedom in Sierra Leone’ released in May 2020, highlighted the status of 26 cases of various attacks on journalists in Sierra Leone over a two-year period (most of which were based on alleged breaches of Part 5 of the Public Order Act of 1965), indicating a gradual decline in the number of crimes against journalists and media workers.

“With the repeal of this anti-free speech law, SLAJ hopes the situation with the safety and security of journalists and media workers will continue to improve.”

Meanwhile, SLAJ calls on media houses to also put in-house policies in place to ensure the safety and security of their workers, as that will enhance their professionalism.

The protest against France that has spread across the world following comment by President Emmanuel Macron has surfaced in Abuja, the Nigerian capital.
On Tuesday, members of an Islamic sect, Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), otherwise called Shiites, took the streets to protest against President Macron and republishing of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in a magazine.
The protest which kicked off from Nitel Junction was terminated at Wuse market as members of the sect n their numbers marched and were chanting anti-France songs.

The protesters also set ablaze the France national flag in the process to signify their anger against the country.
This led to confusion in the market as traders hurriedly locked up their shops to avoid any further attacks.
The Secretary of the Academic Forum of the movement, Abdullahi Musa, said the rally was aimed to condemn the action of the French President over the derogatory publication.
A statement by Sheikh Sidi Munir, a  follower of Sheik Zakzaky read:  “We set the France flag on fire in a reaction to the attack on Islam and Muslims by the President of France Emmanuel Macron since the heinous crime of publishing cartoons of the Prophet by the magazine Charlie Hebdo.

 “Hence we applaud the current campaign across Muslims and all lovers of peace and humanity.”
 As of the time of this report, there were no security agents on the ground.
 The Nigerian Federal Capital Territory (FCT) police command had last Friday deployed anti-riot policemen and water canon to the national mosque in anticipation that the group would carry out the protest.

Zimbabwe’s first family has been absolved of gold smuggling allegations following an investigation into utterances made by two people arrested for allegedly smuggling gold out from Zimbabwe to Dubai.

The gold, according to iol.com, was found in the possession of Henrietta Rushwaya. At the time of her arrest, she and co-accused Gift Karanda said the gold belonged to the Zimbabwe first lady, Amai Auxilia Mnangagwa and her son, Collins Mnangagwa.

On Sunday, Zimbabwe police clarified that Karanda’s statements were false and malicious.

“Karanda was arrested and is facing charges of contravening sections of the Criminal Law and Reform Act, Defeating or Obstructing the Course of Justice and the Gold Trade Act,” police said.

Meanwhile, in a post on her Facebook page yesterday, the first lady denied having any illegal dealings with Rushwaya.

“I have no dealings nor involvement with Miss Henrietta Rushwaya of any illegal kind. I am challenging the police through their relevant office to issue a statement with regards to the utterances by one officer during her arrest that falsely implicated me and my son Collins,” she said.

Mnangagwa said she is a strong advocate for transparency and honesty and any continued silence by the police can be misconstrued as a cover-up.

“If there is any incriminating evidence against me I challenge the police to present it to the nation without fear or favour. If there be none, I also challenge the police to say so.

“I will not be dissuaded from working for those who need my help in both rural and urban areas. I will also support totally all anti-corruption activities, regardless of the many malicious attacks clearly designed to cow me from supporting them. I stand firm on my principles.

“It pains me that my son, who is hardworking and an obedient son, is being attacked for no reason other than being a member of the first family. He is a hard-working person and strives to improve himself day by day. As a mother, I am proud of his work ethic and encourage him not to be affected by malicious rumours.

“I am an advocate for peace and love and work hard at helping those who I can. I am greatly aggravated by the continuation of these false stories and claims. However, I remain unshaken and will continue to serve my nation in its entirety to the best of my ability,” she said.