France teacher attack: Police raid homes of suspected Islamic radicals
French police have raided the homes of dozens of suspected Islamic radicals following the beheading of a teacher who showed controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad to his pupils.
Some of those being questioned are believed to have posted messages of support for the killer of Samuel Paty.
The government also said it was probing 51 French Muslim associations.
Mr Paty’s suspected killer was shot dead by police on Friday after the attack close to the teacher’s school.
Mr Paty’s school is located in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, a north-western suburb of Paris.
On Monday, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said the operations sent a message that there was “no respite for enemies of the republic”, and that they were expected to continue all week.
He said that not all individuals targeted in the operations were necessarily linked to the investigations into Mr Paty’s death.
Meanwhile, police will interview about 80 people who are believed to have posted messages in support of Mr Paty’s killer, Mr Darmanin added.
The government said if Muslim organisations under investigation were found to promote hatred, they would be closed down.
The associations include the Collective Against Islamophobia which the government believes propagate a permanent message of defiance to the French state.
Mr Paty was murdered in the Paris suburb Conflans-Sainte-Honorine. The suspect, an 18-year-old born in Moscow of Chechen origin, had no known connection to Mr Paty or the school.
The international hacker group , Anonymous yesterday released the following statements concerning the End Sars protest by Nigerian youths via their twitter account.
“We don’t know who started the 72-hour ultimatum rumor nor why it is credited to our account. Either way, the Nigerian government has been blindly running in circles all night chasing its own tail.”
Anonymous will not abandon the #EndSARS movement as it grows stronger by the day.
“The money that will be wasted on Operation Crocodile Smile VI is better suited to pay the victims of SARS and the brave protestors hurt by old corrupt men clinging to power. @HQNigerianArmy quit embarrassing yourselves. #EndSARS.”
“There is nothing to expose when your leaders are openly parasites that cling to power to siphon national wealth. Corruption and impunity will not end by hacking websites or bank theft, it’ll end through resistance and innovation in the streets. The world is with you. #EndSARS”
“Websites will continue to go down and leaks will continue to pour, the Nigerian government falls short in cyberspace. They don’t fear ‘Anonymous’ they fear the youth and overall they fear a united Nigeria that exists in the streets and beyond hashtags. That’s the power. #EndSARS”
France teacher attack: Rallies held to support beheaded Samuel Paty
Rallies are being held across France in support of Samuel Paty, the teacher beheaded after showing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad during a lesson.
People in the Place de la République in Paris carried the slogan “Je suis enseignant” (I am a teacher), with PM Jean Castex saying: “We are France!”
A man named as Abdoulakh A was shot dead by police on Friday after killing Mr Paty close to his school near Paris.
An 11th person has been arrested as part of the investigation.
No details have been given about the arrest. Four close relatives of the suspect were detained shortly after the killing. Six more people were held on Saturday, including the father of a pupil at the school and a preacher described by French media as a radical Islamist.
The Place de la République in Paris filled with people rallying in support of Mr Paty. Mr Castex and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo joined them.
It was in the square that 1.5 million people protested following the deadly attack in 2015 on the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, after it had published the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
One protester on Sunday carried a sign reading “zero tolerance to all enemies of the Republic”, another “I am a professor. I’m thinking of you, Samuel.”
Samuel Paty, a well-liked teacher, had been threatened over showing the cartoons
Another told Le Figaro she was a French Muslim who was at the rally to express her disgust at the killing.
A minute’s silence was followed by the playing of the Marseillaise. All the protesters were wearing masks to protect from coronavirus.
Mr Castex tweeted the rendition of the anthem, along with the words “you do not scare us… we are France!”
Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer said France would succeed in defeating the enemies of democracy if it were united and that all teachers in France needed support.
In Lille, people carried banners and placards with the simple words “I am Samuel”.
Thousands of people also gathered in Place Bellecour in Lyon to pay their respects, with another large turnout in Nantes.
Demonstrations are also being held in Toulouse, Strasbourg, Marseille, Bordeaux and elsewhere.
“They will not behead the Republic”
In addition to Sunday’s demonstrations, there will be a national tribute paid to Mr Paty, 47, on Wednesday.
On Saturday, Tareq Oubrou, imam of a mosque in Bordeaux, told France Inter: “A civilisation does not kill an innocent person, barbarism does.”
What happened on Friday?
Anti-terrorism prosecutor Jean-François Ricard said that the suspect, who lived in the Normandy town of Évreux, about 100km (60 miles) from the murder scene, went to Mr Paty’s school in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine on Friday afternoon and asked students to point out the teacher.
Abdoulakh A, an 18-year-old born in Moscow of Chechen origin, had no apparent connection with the teacher or the school.
He followed Mr Paty as he walked home from work. The suspect used a knife to attack the teacher in the head, and then beheaded him. “What happened is beyond words”
Witnesses are said to have heard the attacker shout “Allahu Akbar”, or “God is Greatest”.
As police approached him, he fired at them with an airgun. Officers returned fire, hitting him nine times. A 30cm-long (12in) blade was found close by.
Authorities said the man had been before courts but only on minor misdemeanour charges.
What’s the latest in the investigation?
Mr Ricard said Mr Paty had been the target of threats since he showed the cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad during a class about freedom of speech, in relation to the Charlie Hebdo case.
A trial over the 2015 attack on the magazine is currently under way.
As he had done in similar lessons in recent years, Mr Paty, a history and geography teacher, advised Muslim students to look away if they thought they might be offended.
A parent of one of the pupils reacted angrily, and went to the school to complain.
He and another man who accompanied him – Abdelhakim Sefrioui, a preacher and activist – made videos calling Mr Paty a “voyou” (thug) and demanding his suspension.
Mr Sefrioui has reportedly been known to French intelligence services for years. Both he and the father are now in custody
FULL DEREGULATION OIL AND GAS SECTOR TO ALLOW MORE INVESTMENTS FOR JOB CREATION
IMMEDIATE PASSAGE OF PIB
FULL DEREGULATION OF POWER SECTOR TO ALLOW INVESTMENT CAPITAL FLOW TO GENERATE, TRANSMIT AND DISTRIBUTE MORE POWER AND CREATE JOBS
SHOULD HANDS OFF PETROLEUM PRICING TO ENABLE FREE MARKET DETERMINATION OF PRICING
CLOSE OUR NORTHERN BORDERS TO STOP FREE ENTRY OF FULANI HERDSMEN AND BANDITS
INCLUSIVE GOVERNMENT FOR ALL TRIBES AND REGIONS OF NIGERIA WITH 50% YOUTHS IN CHARGE OF GOVERNANCE
ALLOCATE MORE FUNDS TO EDUCATION SECTOR TO PROVIDE BETTER TEACHING TOOLS AND TO PAY BETTER SALARIES TO END ASUU STRIKES
CHANGE OUR ACADEMIC CURRICULUM TO REFLECT MODERN DAY REALITIES
ALL POLITICIANS SHOULD BE PLACED ON MINIMUM WAGE TO ATTRACT GENUINE PUBLIC SERVANTS
MIGRATE TO 100% ELECTORAL REFORMS WITH ELECTRONIC VOTING TIED TO OUR BVN AND GSM
RETURN NIGERIA TO REGIONAL GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE OR RESTRUCTURE THE COUNTRY AND EMBRACE TRUE FEDERALISM. STATES AUTONOMY MUST BE PARAMOUNT.
DISBAND THE BI-CAMERAL LEGISLATURE AND ADOPT UNI-CAMERAL
IMMEDIATELY REFORM NIGERIA POLICE FORCE AND LET EVERY STATE OR REGION CREATE ITS OWN POLICE SERVICE
NO MORE BUDGET FOR RUNNING PRIVATE AFFAIRS OF ELECTED AND APPOINTED PUBLIC SERVANTS
ENTHRONE UNIVERSITY EDUCATION AS MINIMUM QUALIFICATION FOR PUBLIC OFFICE HOLDERS AT ALL LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT FROM PRESIDENT TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND WARD CHAIRPERSONS
STRIP EX-GOVERNORS AND ALL ELECTED AND APPOINTED PUBLIC SERVANTS OF ALL BENEFITS AFTER OFFICE.
INCREASE SALARIES OF OUR DOCTORS, NURSES, TEACHERS, POLICE, MILITARY OFFICERS, AND CIVIL SERVANTS
GOVERNMENT SHOULD HANDS OFF OWNERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT OF BUSINESSES AT ALL LEVELS.
NAME AND SHAME LOOTERS AND MAKE CRIMINAL OFFENDERS, AND LOOTERS FACE TRIAL IN THEIR HOME STATES AND VILLAGES TO SHAME THEM AND THEIR FAMILIES
STOP FOREIGN MEDICAL TRIPS FOR PUBLIC SERVANTS. LET THEM BE TREATED HERE IN NIGERIA. WHEN LAST DID YOU HEAR AMERICAN PRESIDENT OR BRITISH PRIME MINISTER VISIT NIGERIA FOR MEDICAL TOURISM?
The ICC team currently in Khartoum includes chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda. The UN estimates that 300,000 people were killed in the conflict, which began after a revolt in Darfur 2003.
The ICC has also charged two other former officials, Ahmed Haroun and Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein, with war crimes and crimes against humanity, allegedly committed in the region.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok told the Financial Times that newspaper he had spoken with the ICC about the option of trying Bashir in a “hybrid court” in Sudan
Bashir, 76, was toppled last year after mass protests. A transitional government is currently ruling Sudan under a three-year deal with top civilian and military leaders.
The former leader has already been convicted for corruption. He and 27 other officials are currently on trial in Khartoum over charges relating to the 1989 coup that brought him to power. If found guilty, they could all face the death penalty.
Bashir has denied the charges against him. Earlier this year one of his lawyers said Bashir and other defendants were facing “a political trial” being held “in a hostile environment”
A teacher has been beheaded in a suburb north-west of the French capital Paris, reports say, with the attacker shot dead by police.
The victim in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine was a teacher who is said to have shown caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad to his students.
The anti-terrorism prosecutor has been called in to lead an investigation into the attack.
The incident occurred at about 17:00 local time (15:00 GMT) near a school.
French President Emmanuel Macron is to visit Conflans-Sainte-Honorine later on Friday evening.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, travelling to Morocco, is returning urgently to Paris.
France’s AFP news agency, quoting police and prosecutors, said the victim had been decapitated.
A man wielding a large knife is reported to have attacked the teacher in a street, cutting off his head. The attacker then ran off, but local police alerted by the public were quickly at the scene in the nearby area of Éragny.
When they shouted at him to give himself up, he is said to have threatened them. The officers shot him and he died a short time after,
The scene is now sealed off, as the investigation continues.
A trial is under way in Paris of alleged accomplices in the deadly 2015 attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, which had published cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad.
Coronavirus: Israel to ease second lockdown after cases decline
Israel’s government has agreed to ease a month-long second nationwide lockdown, after a significant decline in the number of new coronavirus cases.
From Sunday, people will be permitted to go more than 1km (0.6 miles) from their homes for non-essential purposes; nurseries will reopen; and restaurants will be able to serve takeaway food.
Beaches, nature reserves and national parks will also reopen for visitors.
The prime minister declared the lockdown had been a “major success”.
Israel has reported 300,000 Covid-19 infections and 2,128 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
The government was praised in the spring for taking early action that contained the spread of the virus and resulted in a very low death rate compared with other countries.
But it came in for widespread criticism for losing control after the first lockdown was eased in May.
The second lockdown began on 18 September, after Israel recorded infection and mortality rates that were among the highest in the world relative to population size.
image captionThe daily number of new Covid-19 infections has fallen below 2,000
The test positivity rate of 4.5% is also the lowest recorded since mid-July, while the reproduction number, or R value, currently stands at 0.62 – below the threshold of 0.8.
Despite the statistics, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein warned on Thursday night that there was “still a long road ahead” to get the virus under control.
He noted that the number of new infections might begin to rise as restrictions were eased, and that the government might be forced to reinstate them if there was a spike.
image captionElectronic candles were placed in a Jerusalem square on Monday in memory of the more than 2,000 people who have died from Covid-19 in Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier told his cabinet that the exit from the lockdown needed to be “gradual, responsible, careful and controlled” to avoid having to impose an additional lockdown in two or three weeks.
“However, there is no doubt that as of now there is a success here which they are already beginning to talk about and look at in many countries, mainly in Europe, where the morbidity in several countries has already passed us. They are now deliberating on a question that we deliberated on and already decided – yes to a lockdown, yes to lowering the numbers quickly,” he added.
Israeli media reported that ministers would discuss on Friday whether to also lift the tighter restrictions in place in “red” cities and towns with the highest morbidity
Paul Rusesabagina, the man who inspired the film Hotel Rwanda about the 1994 genocide, has written a letter from prison on his choice of Rwandan legal representatives, according to one of the chosen lawyers who is based in Belgium.
Up to now he has been represented in court by two lawyers who his family said were picked by the prosecution.
Mr Rusesabagina has been charged with terrorism and murder among other 13 counts. He has not yet entered a plea.
Lawyer Vincent Lurquin told journalists on Thursday that he received a letter from Mr Rusesabagina during a recent visit to the Rwandan capital, Kigali, in which he picked Mr Lurquin and Gatera Gashabana from a list of seven names drawn up by his family.
But the two lawyers were reportedly denied access to their client.
“I don’t see why Rwanda blocked me from seeing and assisting my client, a Belgian citizen, on a case that started in Belgium,” Mr Lurquin said.
Mr Rusesabagina was denied bail early this month and is detained at a prison in Kigali.
The man who set up the hated Nigerian police unit, SARS declares that he feels “sad” and “guilty” about what the agency has become.
“SARS of today is not the same Sars I established in 1984,” Fulani Kwajafa said. He said the unit had been “turned into banditry”.
He also explained that the code of conduct that he set up when creating SARS had ensured that there was “no incident with members of the public” when he was in charge. The former police boss accused the agency of “brutality” saying that the officer’s acts could have been driven by “greed.” “I always tell my wife that I was sad [that] what I created with good purpose and direction has been turned into banditry,”
Mr Kwajafa said, adding that he supported the disbandment of the unit “100%”.
Officers from the Special Anti Robbery Squad have been accused of committing extrajudicial killings and torture.
Fulani Kwajafa the aged.
Meanwhile “SARS was established by me under the directive of the then IG, Mr. Inyang expressly to fight violent crimes such as armed robbery, kidnapping, anything violent. We never went for burglary cases, we didn’t go in for pick pocketing, market theft and such things, we don’t go there, it never belonged to us, local police stations are around, they handle that.
It was only crimes that involved killing, maiming; that was what SARS was established to handle. SARS is being misused now; they are misused for selfish interests, especially by politicians, but anyone calling for the scrapping of SARS doesn’t want this country to be in peace because SARS wherever it is, is supposed to operate in ways that instil fear into those violent criminals that terrorize law-abiding Nigerians.
SARS according to Kwajafa is meant for countering violent crimes, armed robbery and now, kidnapping and murder.
“When we established SARS, nobody was corrupt! When they give you information money N5,000, it is sufficient for one week. Petrol was N7 to fill a car’s tank so when you are going on operation and you are given N200, with three vehicles, it is sufficient. You get N300 for one week; you go on operation and come back with your independent mind. But the economic recession is forcing people to do all sorts, enabling some people to even buy the services of SARS, so the operation of SARS is misconstrued! People are taking undue advantage and black leg policemen sometimes submit themselves to carry out unlawful activities in the name of SARS”
President Muhammadu Buhari announced the disbandment of the agency this week after thousands of Nigerians took to the streets to protest against police brutality.
A new agency called SWAT has been formed to take over duties performed by Sars but this has also been rejected by the protesters. On the announcement of the new agency SWAT, Mr Kwajafa comments that the changes might be undermined if there’s no “change in mentality”.
The demonstrators have been using the hashtag #EndSars to push for their cause, which has since been endorsed by global celebrities such as Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, US rapper Kanye West, gospel singer Kirk Franklin, footballers Mesut Ozil and Marcus Rashford and Nigerian superstars Davido and Wizkid.
On Friday, Twitter launched a clenched fist emoji in a show of support for the protests.
Covid-19 deaths are currently five times lower than they were in March and April, when the first wave hit the continent, the WHO’s European director, Dr Hans Kluge, told a news conference on Thursday.
One reason for the increase in cases seen in recent weeks is more young people testing positive for the virus, he said, adding that the lower mortality rate was because that demographic was less likely to die from Covid-19 than older people.
But projections of the course of the disease in Europe were “not optimistic”, he explained.
If European governments relax their restrictions, the course of the virus indicates that by January 2021 the daily mortality rate will be four to five times higher than it was during April, Dr Kluge said.
But if 95% of people wear masks and other social distancing measures are applied, Europe could avoid about 281,000 deaths by February, he added.
He said that governments must consider mental health and domestic violence when imposing restrictions, and do everything possible to keep schools open.
Meanwhile, the European Commission has called on countries to step up their preparations, advising governments to co-ordinate contact tracing and the eventual deployment of vaccines.
A Nigerian payments company Paystack has been acquired by a US-based payments giant, Stripes.
The deal is rumoured to be for over $200 million.
For many in the Nigerian tech ecosystem, it was just a matter of time before this happened.
Founded in 2015 by Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi. Paystack sought to solve the challenge most Nigerians face when it comes to online payment transactions in Africa.
By seamlessly connecting all multi-channel payment options with merchants across the country, it enabled them to accept payments from around the world, via credit card, debit card, and direct bank transfer on web and mobile.
This got the one-year-old startup into US-based seed-stage accelerator, Y Combinator where it received 120,000 US dollars in funding and access to global investors.
Later that year, it raised a seed funding of 1.3 million US dollars from Tencent, Comcast Ventures, Singularity Investments, Michael Seibel, Justin Kan, Jason Njoku’s SPARK.ng, Olumide Soyombo among other investors.j
But it was in 2018 Paystack put everyone on notice as it raised 8 million Dollars in Series A funding. With participation from global payments company, Visa, US-based accelerator, Y Combinator, and Tencent, it was Stripe, a similar payments company based in the US, who led the round.
Three years after launching, this brought the company’s total funding to a little over $10 million. And since then, the company hasn’t raised a follow-up round.
So far, Paystack now has more than 60,000 businesses using its platform and is looking to expand beyond Nigeria and Ghana where it currently operates.
According to the founders of Stripe, the company was looking to continue investing in product development, further global expansion and strategic initiative
The billion-dollar startup has been strategically investing in similar startups around the world. Having invested in Paystack (Africa) two years ago, it recently invested in Paymongo, a payments startupin the Philippines (Asia) last month.
For its global expansion into Africa, Paystack presented the perfect acquisition opportunity. But while this is the biggest acquisition deal to come out of sub-Saharan Africa and Stripe’s largest acquisition till date, both companies will continue to operate independently.
The United Nations (UN) on Thursday said they are following the End SARS protests in Nigeria.
Secretary-General António Guterres, commended the government’s decision to undertake “broader reforms” in the Nigeria Police.
Guterres spoke through his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, in New York.
The UN chief said he was prepared to “accompany Nigeria in those efforts”.
He welcomed the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and urged the government to undertake broader police reforms.
The world body urged the country’s security forces to exercise “maximum restraint” in their response.
“The Secretary-General is following the protests in Nigeria calling for the dissolution of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad and an end to human rights violations allegedly committed by security agencies.
“The Secretary-General stresses the importance of respect for peaceful protests and freedom of assembly and calls on the security forces to exercise maximum restraint in the policing of the demonstrations.”
Colonel Sagir Musa’s “VEILED THREATS” to protesters Army spokesman Col Sagir Musa said in a Facebook post: “The NA [Nigerian army] hereby warns all subversive elements and trouble makers to desist from such acts as it remains highly committed to defend the country and her democracy at all cost.”
He went on to offer to “support the civil authority in whatever capacity to maintain law and order and deal with any situation decisively”.
The statement has been received as a veiled threat by protesters,
PM must decide on no-deal as Michel Barnier says negotiations ‘are not over’
Boris Johnson is facing the momentus decision of whether to walk out on Brexit trade talks, after the EU offered to extend them beyond the prime minister’s deadline to the end of October.
Chief negotiator Michel Barnier told reporters in Brussels that he had proposed a two-week extension to negotiations, offering to work through the weekend if necessary to get an agreement.
“I can confirm that we’re available, we shall remain available until the last possible day,” he said, after a meeting of EU leaders in the Belgian capital to discuss the issue.
“The negotiations aren’t over, we want to give these negotiations every chance of being successful to give every chance of agreement.”
The prime minister, who would trigger a no-deal Brexit if he decides to refuse the offer, this week said he would wait for the conclusions of the summit before making a decision about whether to extend on Friday.
He faces the choice amid a growing revolt at home over his handling of the Covid-19 crisis, and with early signs that a second wave of the pandemic is about to hit the UK.
But a statement prepared by EU leaders after their discussion gave no hint of compromise, and was even downgraded from an earlier draft that promised “intensified” discussions, in case the wrong message was sent.
“As of tomorrow I will be speaking with my counterpart David Frost [the UK chief negotiator],” Mr Barnier told reporters.
“On Monday we’ll be in London for the full week, including the weekend if necessary, the following week in Brussels.
“That’s what I have proposed to the British team to negotiate in the short space of time still left to us, so that we can negotiate this agreement through to the end of October.”
Speaking alongside European Council president Charles Michel, the chief negotiator said that sticking points remain in three perennial areas: the level playing field on regulations, governance of any deal, and fisheries.
The issue of governance has become particularly important following a UK decision to override parts of the Brexit withdrawal agreement with its Internal Market Bill, an episode has led some EU member states to call for stronger enforcement measures for any future deal, diplomats say.
Missing from the press conference lineup was Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president. Ms Von der Leyen arrived at the summit as normal but had to leave near the beginning to self-isolate, after one of her team tested positive.
Mr Johnson is expected to make his announcement on whether talks will continue on Friday, after the conclusion of the summit’s second day. If he decides to end talks there, the UK will crash out of the single market and customs union on 31 December with nothing to replace them, and fare tariffs and other economic disruption. The government has taken to referring to the eventuality as an “Australia-style Brexit”.
A UK government spokesperson said of the meeting’s results: “As the PM made clear on his call with the EU Presidents [on Wednesday night], he will reflect on the outcome of the European Council before setting out the UK’s next steps, in light of his statement of 7 September.”
Since blood group distributions vary among ethnic subgroups, the researchers also controlled for ethnicity and maintained that fewer people with blood type O tested positive for the virus.
People with blood type O may have a lower risk of infection from the SARS-CoV-2 virus, that causes COVID-19, and reduced likelihood of severe outcomes, including organ complications, if they develop the disease, two new studies suggest.
The studies, published in the journal Blood Advances on Wednesday, add evidence that there may be an association between blood type and vulnerability to COVID-19.
However, the researchers noted that more studies are needed to better understand why and what it means for patients.
In the first study, researchers compared Danish health registry data from over 473,000 individuals tested for COVID-19 to data from a control group of more than 2.2 million people from the general population.
Among the COVID-19 positive, they found fewer people with blood type O and more people with A, B, and AB types.
The study suggests that people with blood types A, B, or AB may be more likely to be infected with COVID-19 than people with type O.
The researchers did not find any significant difference in rate of infection between A, B, and AB types.
Since blood group distributions vary among ethnic subgroups, the researchers also controlled for ethnicity and maintained that fewer people with blood type O tested positive for the virus.
“It is very important to consider the proper control group because blood type prevalence may vary considerably in different ethnic groups and different countries,” said study author Torben Barington, from the University of Southern Denmark.
A separate retrospective study in Canada found that people with blood groups A or AB appear to exhibit greater COVID-19 disease severity than people with blood groups O or B.
The researchers examined data from 95 critically ill COVID-19 patients hospitalised in Vancouver.
The team found that patients with blood groups A or AB were more likely to require mechanical ventilation, suggesting that they had greater rates of lung injury from COVID-19.
The researchers also found more patients with blood group A and AB required dialysis for kidney failure.
These findings, taken together, suggest that patients in these two blood groups may have an increased risk of organ dysfunction or failure due to COVID-19 than people with blood types O or B.
While people with blood types A and AB did not have longer overall hospital stays than those with types O or B, they did remain in the intensive care unit (ICU) for a longer average time, which may also signal a greater COVID-19 severity level, the researchers said.
During a Wednesday appearance on Pod Save America, former President Barack Obama responded to President Donald Trump’s attacks, Mediaite reported.
Trump has long claimed that Obama and members of his administration need to be indicted for allegedly undermining his presidency from the outset.
In a recent tweet, for instance, Trump accused Obama and his allies of spying on his campaign, suggesting that they are guilty of treason, which is a high crime punishable by death.
Speaking with his former adviser Tommy Vietor, who is one of the hosts of the podcast, Obama said that even Trump’s allies tend to avoid addressing this issues and dodge questions from members of the media.
“This is something that even his, you know, his fellow Republicans tend to just pretend doesn’t happen,” Obama said, noting that Attorney General William Barr and various congressional committees have rejected Trump’s claims as baseless.
Obama suggested that Trump’s attacks show that he is trying to politicize the criminal justice system.
“That is stuff that you keep out of politics right now,” he argued, noting that his successor has used similarly “inflammatory” language to attack former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Obama said that his is “not surprised” that Trump’s attacks have continued, but noted that he is “disappointed that Republicans who know better have not checked him on this.”
He concluded that it remains to be seen whether Republicans will change their behavior if Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden wins the presidency, because they have failed to stand up to the commander-in-chief.
“And I think on a very important question after the election, even if it goes well with Joe Biden, is whether you start seeing the Republican Party restore some sense of ‘here are norms that we can’t breach’ because he’s breached all of them and they have not said to him, ‘this is too far.’”
Elsewhere in the interview, Obama took aim at Trump’s foreign policy, accusing him of trying to “decimate” American institutions. He said that the commander-in-chief has purged competent officials and experts from the State Department, appointing loyalists who align with him ideologically.
Obama also said that Biden will have to “rebuild” the State Department if he wins the presidency, saying that his former vice president would listen to experts and engage in diplomacy.
With less than a month until Election Day, Biden is a clear favorite to win. According to the RealClearPolitics average of polling data, Trump is trailing him by 9.2 percentage points nationwide.
Long-time White House photographer Pete Souza weighed in on some recent images released by the Trump administration of Donald Trump, saying that they were “obviously” staged.
After revealing that he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus, President Donald Trump checked into Walter Reed hospital, as The Inquisitr previously reported. While there, he released a few images that appeared to show him working in various rooms while he was being treated, as The Daily Beast wrote.
Souza, who worked under both former President Ronald Reagan and former President Barack Obama, has a unique perspective about the photos coming out of the White House.
“They were obviously posed pictures,” he said.
As ABC News reported at the time, the three images came under intense scrutiny.
In the first image, Trump wears a dark blue jacket and a white button-down shirt open at the neck. He appears to be signing a piece of paper at a round table.
When the image is zoomed in on, the paper that he is signing appears to be blank and he is apparently signing his name to the empty page. An official pushed back on the claim, saying that the image was overexposed on the page so that the type couldn’t be seen.
In a second image, the suit jacket is gone, but it seems as though he is wearing a similar shirt. Again, he works at a table with several binders and documents in front of him.
A journalist named Jon Ostrower examined the two images and noted that they were taken just 10 minutes apart.
Souza also spoke with Variety about the images, repeating the claim that the images released by the administration aren’t real.
“They’re reality show photos. It’s hard to find any authentic behind-the-scenes moments among the tens of thousands of photographs they’ve posted on Flickr,” he said.
The images stand in contrast to his own photos, according to Souza, who feels that his images create a more accurate portrayal of the reality of the White House behind the scenes. He explained why he felt it was important to capture reality.
“Michelle Obama has the great quote where she says the presidency doesn’t change who you are, it reveals who you are. I think my photographs of both President Reagan and President Obama reveal who they are as human beings. They’re authentic. They’re not staged. They’re not posed,” he said.
Following the heightening protests against police brutality across the country, the Nigerian Army has warned it is prepared to protect the country’s democracy at all cost.
Apparently referring to the #EndSARS protesters, the Nigerian Army in a statement by the Acting Director Army Public Relations, Colonel Sagir Musa, assured it is committed to the “sustenance of peace, security and defence of democracy in Nigeria”
Lieutenant General TY Buratai (Chief of Army Staff)
According to the statement: “The Nigerian Army (NA) wishes to reassure law abiding citizens that it is highly committed to the sustenance of peace, security and defence of democracy in Nigeria.
“As a responsible and law abiding organisation, the NA reaffirms its unalloyed loyalty and commitment to the President, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari and the Constitution of the Country.
“The NA hereby warns all subversive elements and trouble makers to desist from such acts as it remains highly committed to defend the country and her democracy at all cost.
“The NA is ready to fully support the civil authority in whatever capacity to maintain law and order and deal with any situation decisively.
“All officers and men are directed never to be distracted by anti democratic forces and agents of disunity”.
Apparently referring to the #EndSARS protesters, the Nigerian Army in a statement by the Acting Director Army Public Relations, Colonel Sagir Musa, assured it is committed to the “sustenance of peace, security and defence of democracy in Nigeria”
According to the statement: “The Nigerian Army (NA) wishes to reassure law abiding citizens that it is highly committed to the sustenance of peace, security and defence of democracy in Nigeria.
“As a responsible and law abiding organisation, the NA reaffirms its unalloyed loyalty and commitment to the President, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari and the Constitution of the Country.
“The NA hereby warns all subversive elements and trouble makers to desist from such acts as it remains highly committed to defend the country and her democracy at all cost.
“The NA is ready to fully support the civil authority in whatever capacity to maintain law and order and deal with any situation decisively.
“All officers and men are directed never to be distracted by anti democratic forces and agents of disunity”.
During the late hours of yesterday , the co-founder and C.E.O of Twitter, Jack Dorsey solicited for support towards the ongoing “end sars” protest in Nigeria.
He did this through his verified Twitter account and of course, this caused a lot of controversial comments on Twitter. Many Nigerians praised him for showing his concern for Nigerian youths , while others criticised his action.
Jack wrote ;
“Donate via #Bitcoin to help #ENDSARS.”
However, amongst those who criticised Jack Dorsey , is a former presidential aspirant for the 2019 presidential election and C.E.O of IPI group limited, Adam Garba.
Adamu Garba replied Jack Dorsey by tweeting the following statements;
“Dear @jack, It’ll do you a lot more good if you stay away from Nigerian Politics. You should know that the so-called #EndSARS protest have transformed into political agitation, capable of breaking law & order in our country. You should not be a moral & financial sponsor to this.”
“This is Nigeria, most of the demands initially presented was attended to by the responsible authorities. SARS no longer exist in this country. Your support for a disbanded entity was a needless interference. We cannot allow killings again in Nigeria in the name of protests.”
“I understand that this may play well to your business, you have more content, more people & more activity on your platform, but to us is about life, peace & security of our dear Country, we cannot allow you to be part of the people sponsoring disorder. We need peace & prosperity.”
“I can see you are even sharing a link for people to donate money for this protest, an event capable of escalation beyond our already overstretched security management. If this protest continues to evolve into disorder (hopefully not)…As a Nigerian citizen, we’ll meet in court. Thank you. @jack”
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