The newly elected President of the United States of America, Joe Biden said in a US media interview of Friday that Donald Trump should not continue to receive intelligence briefings normally available to former presidents because of his “erratic” behaviour.
“I just think that there is no need for him to have intelligence,” President Biden said in an interview with CBS Evening News yesterday.
“What value is giving him an intelligence briefing? What impact does he have at all other than the fact he might slip and say something,” Biden added.
Speaking further during the interview, Biden said Trump was “unfit” to be president and cited Trump’s “erratic behaviour unrelated to the insurrection”, a reference to the January 6 attack on the US Capitol by Trump political supporters.
Asked by the interviewer whether Trump should continue to receive top-level US intelligence, Biden said, “I think not.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene fiercely defended former President Trump during a press conference on Friday, arguing that the Republican Party “belongs to him.”
The comments from Greene – whom Congress voted to remove from her committee assignments on Thursday for past inflammatory remarks – come as the party finds itself mired in conflict over the direction it should take in the post-Trump era.
Greene on Friday argued Trump remains popular with Republican voters.
“He was a president that wanted every single person to achieve and that’s why we supported him, that’s why I’ve always supported him,” she told reporters, adding that “the party is his and doesn’t belong to anybody else.”
A recent Morning Consult poll shows 50 percent of Republican voters feel Trump should play a “major role” in the party, with 81 percent holding a favorable opinion of him.
Greene has come under fire for her remarks made before she was elected to Congress expressing support for executing Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and perpetuating conspiracy theories that the 9/11 terrorist attacks were a hoax. She also alleged the Parkland and Sandy Hook school shootings were false flags, praised the QAnon conspiracy theory and stated that there were lasers in space controlled by a Jewish family. She later walked back a number of her comments and apologized for some of her remarks.
Yet Greene – who has repeatedly pushed unsubstantiated claims that the election was stolen – asserted that she does not believe she nor Trump bear any responsibility for the insurrection at the Capitol that led to five deaths, including Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick.
“This impeachment trial that will happen next week is a circus. It is a circus that allows the media companies to get lots of clicks, lots of views and sell ad dollars. You know what? That’s pretty disgusting too,” she continued.
“Everyone here knows that he did not cause this attack on the Capitol, nor did I, nor did any Republican, but the responsibility falls squarely on those that invaded the Capitol, the ones that planned it ahead of time, those are the people that should be held accountable.”
The women, Jascent Nakalungi and Sharifah Namaganda said to be cousins, were intercepted by the Delhi unit of the central probe agency on January 28 after they landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in India.
A Nigerian man, identified as Kingsley, and two women from Uganda have been arrested with nine kilograms of narcotics in India. The country’s Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) busted the smuggling network, according to a report by Outlook.
The women, Jascent Nakalungi and Sharifah Namaganda said to be cousins, were intercepted by the Delhi unit of the central probe agency on January 28 after they landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in India.
According to the NCB, the two women had a medical visa for the treatment of Namaganda.
The duo was apprehended based on the agency’s inputs following a drugs case detected in December wherein over five kg of heroin was seized and two Indians were arrested.
NCB deputy director (operations) K P S Malhotra said, “A total of 8kg of heroin and one kg of cocaine has been seized from the women. The drugs were hidden in their luggage bags that were handed to them in Uganda.”
Kingsley was also arrested after the women’s leads were followed, Malhotra said.
“The case reflects the standard route employed for trafficking of cocaine, which is manufactured illegally in South American countries.
‘The seizure of heroin from this network points towards the reverse route of heroin trafficking. The intensive measures by border guarding forces, both at the northwest frontier and the high seas, have compelled drug traffickers to divert their loads towards Africa’s horn, which is Mozambique.
“Heroin concealed in various shipments then reaches other parts of Africa, where the organised syndicates arrange the carriers.
“Subsequently, human couriers transport the drugs to India by adopting various ways like hiding the narcotics in the body cavity and by concealing in baggage among other methods, ” Malhotra noted.
Two Venezuelan officials from the state oil company PDVSA have both been sentenced each to a five-year jail term on charges of providing the US with “strategic and sensitive” details of its sanctions-hit oil operations, prosecutors said Friday.
Alfredo Chirinos, the company’s special operations chief, and Aryenis Torrealba, PDVSA’s general manager of crude operations, were arrested last year.
They “were sentenced to five years in prison for the crime of disclosing, reserving or supplying information,” said a statement signed by the attorney general, Tarek William Saab.
The court relied on witness testimony and “documentary” evidence before sentencing the two Venezuelan officials to jail.
According to the ruling, both former executives handled information on fuel oil inventories and the “refining system, as well as the routes of ships that traded with PDVSA.”
“These officials leaked sensitive and confidential information from the oil industry, which resulted in the imposition of sanctions by the US government, which have caused significant financial damage to the industry by limiting the marketing of its products internationally,” the text said.
President Joe Biden has said his predecessor Donald Trump should not be given access to intelligence briefings because of his “erratic behaviour”.
The US has a tradition of allowing former presidents to be briefed on the nation’s security issues – as a courtesy extended by the incumbent.
But when asked by CBS News if Mr Trump would receive the same courtesy, President Biden said “I think not”.
He cited Mr Trump’s “erratic behaviour” as his reason for refusing access.
The president declined to speculate on what his worst fears would be if Mr Trump were allowed to see classified reports, but he hinted that the former president could not be trusted to keep confidential information to himself.
“I don’t think there’s any need for him to have an intelligence briefing,” Mr Biden said in his first sit-down interview since becoming president.
“What value is giving him an intelligence briefing? What value is there at all, other than that he might slip and say something?”
Mr Trump feuded with the intelligence community throughout his four-year presidency and went through six national intelligence directors.
He questioned reports by US agencies that Russia interfered in the 2016 election, and assailed intelligence chiefs for being “extremely passive and naive” over Iran.
During his CBS interview, President Biden was asked about the impeachment trial Mr Trump is facing in the US Senate for his role in the riot at the Capitol on 6 January.
Mr Biden said he “ran like hell to defeat” Mr Trump in the election “because I thought he was unfit to be president”, but he would leave the Senate to decide whether the Republican should be barred from ever holding public office again.
The Biden administration has ended the deadlock over the next head of the World Trade Organization (WTO) by expressing its “strong support” for Nigeria’s ex-finance minister.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was frontrunner for the role until the Trump administration last October said it wanted another woman, South Korea’s Yoo Myung-hee.
Ms Yoo has now withdrawn her candidacy.
If confirmed in the role, Dr Okonjo-Iweala would be the first woman and the first African to lead the WTO.
Dr Okonjo-Iweala on Friday praised her rival for the post and said: “There is vital work ahead to do together.”
A WTO nominations committee in October recommended its 164 members appoint Dr Okonjo-Iweala as a replacement to outgoing chief Roberto Azevedo; a spokesman at the time said all had approved the appointment “except for one”.
President Donald Trump – who had described the WTO as “horrible” and biased towards China – wanted Ms Yoo, South Korea’s trade minister.
Ms Yoo on Friday said her decision to withdraw her candidacy was made in “close consultation” with the US. She said: “South Korea will actively contribute to reaching consensus for the next WTO chief and co-operate with her and participate in the WTO reform process.”
The White House congratulated Ms Yoo on her “strong campaign” for the position and for being a “traiblazer” as South Korea’s first female trade minister.
In a statement, it said the “US stands ready to engage in the next phase of the WTO process for reaching a consensus decision on the WTO Director General”.
Legal practitioner, Tommy Ojoge-Daniel, has said the recent warning issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria to financial institutions and others against doing businesses in crypto and other digital assets, cannot stop the fundraiser set up for Yoruba activist, Sunday Adeyemo (Igboho).
Ojoge-Daniel, disclosed this in an interview with the PUNCH on Friday shortly after the CBN issued its directive.
Supporters of Igboho had set up a Gofundme page for the purpose of raising £100,000 (N51.8 million) for him to buy buses.
The fundraiser, which was initiated by Maureen Badejo,a blogger and activist based in the United Kingdom, had garnered £26, 452 (N13.8 million) as of the time of filing this report.
It was gathered that crypto currency was one of the major ways through which funds sourced through crowd funding are accessed.
On Friday, the CBN directed banks in the country to close all cryptocurrency-related accounts.
In a statement on Friday, the regulator prohibited all financial institutions from facilitating cryptocurrency payments in the country.
This directive was contained in a letter addressed to all Deposit Money Banks (DMBs), Non-Bank Financial Institutions (NBFIs)and other financial institutions (OFIs).
Ojoge-Daniel said, “It (CBN policy) does not affect it (Igboho’s funding) in any way in as much as crypto currency is an open source platform for peer to peer (P2P) exchange of value and it is largely untraceable.
“The open ledger (block chain) only tracks activities in wallets and cannot hinder or hamper individuals who have crypto in their wallets from sending it to the recipient wallet. They can only track the payments but can never track the payers. The only issue will be exchanging the crypto on a direct platform to a Nigerian account.”
Lawmakers in the US state of Virginia have voted to abolish use of the death penalty as a criminal punishment.
On Friday the state’s House of Delegates followed its Senate in voting to end the practice, paving the way for Governor Ralph Northam to sign the repeal into law.
The decision means Virginia will become the first southern US state to abolish capital punishment.
The move comes at a time of renewed debate across the US about executions.
Former President Donald Trump resumed them on a federal level last year after a 17-year hiatus. Some 13 people were put to death in a matter of months – including six executions carried out after the election despite a flurry of legal challenges.
During his presidential campaign, Joe Biden said he would work to end the federal death penalty and encourage states to follow suit.
The United Nations says 170 of its 194 member states have abolished executions in law or practice and the US has faced repeated international criticism over its failure to do so.
image captionThe state’s Democratic-led House voted 57-41 in favour of the move
Executions are still authorised in 28 states across the country – though several, including California, have enacted a moratorium on carrying the punishment out.
The Death Penalty Information Center says Virginia has executed 113 prisoners since 1976 – the second highest state tally behind Texas. Two men remain on death row in the state.
Governor Northam, a Democrat, is known to support the effort to abolish the punishment.
“The practice is fundamentally inequitable. It is inhumane. It is ineffective. And we know that in some cases, people on death row have been found innocent,” he said after the state’s Senate voted in its favour.
Children in Hong Kong are to be encouraged and taught to be responsible citizens and law abiding citizens
Children as young as six are to learn about crimes under Hong Kong’s national security law.
Schools will be asked to monitor children’s behaviour and report any support for the pro-democracy movement, as part of new education rules.
The national security law was imposed last June with Beijing arguing it was needed to tackle unrest linked to pro-democracy protests in the city.
image captionThe new education guidelines were announced late on Thursday
Thousands of children became involved in the protests.
Hong Kong’s education bureau released the guidelines late on Thursday along with an animated video that explains to students what the national security law is.
The law criminalises secession, subversion and collusion with foreign forces with the maximum sentence life in prison.
The video, featuring an owl and two students, explains that the national security law has been enacted “for the sake of Hong Kong’s continuous development and long-term prosperity”.
“We all know Hong Kong is an inalienable part of our country,” it tells students.
Primary school students will also be taught how to sing and respect the national anthem and learn about how the People’s Liberation Army protects Hong Kong. Older students will learn about the limits of Hong Kong’s rights and freedoms.
The national security law will also be incorporated into other subjects such as geography and biology.
Schools are required to stop students and teachers from singing specific songs – a nod to a trend in schools last year where children would drown out the Chinese national anthem with protest songs.
Any books that endanger national security will be removed from schools’ libraries.
The new guidelines have been criticised by Tin Fong-Chak, vice-president of the Hong Kong Professional Teachers Union.
“The government basically does not trust schools. These measures will destroy the teacher-student relationship,” he said.
Hong Kong has had a high degree of autonomy since it was returned from British to Chinese rule in 1997, and its residents have had a far higher level of freedom of speech and media than people on the mainland.
But the new law’s key provisions include that crimes of secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces are punishable by a maximum sentence of life in prison.
It makes it easier to punish protesters, and reduces Hong Kong’s autonomy.
The law also gives Beijing powers to shape life in the former British colony in a way it never has before.
Critics say it effectively curtails protest and freedom of speech. China has said the new law will return stability to the territory after a year of unrest.
Scientists believe they may have discovered the smallest reptile on earth – a chameleon subspecies that is the size of a seed.
Two of the tiny lizards were discovered by a German-Madagascan expedition team in Madagascar.
The male Brookesia nana, or nano-chameleon, has a body of just 13.5mm.
This makes it the smallest of about 11,500 known species of reptiles, according to the Bavarian State collection of Zoology in Munich.
Its length from top to tail is 22mm (0.86in).
The female is far bigger at around 29mm, the institute said, adding that other specimens were yet to be located, despite “great effort”.
“The new chameleon is only known from a degraded montane rainforest in northern Madagascar and might be threatened by extinction,” said the Scientific Reports journal.
Oliver Hawlitschek, a scientist at the Center of Natural History in Hamburg, said: “The nano-chameleon’s habitat has unfortunately been subject to deforestation, but the area was placed under protection recently, so the species will survive.”
Researchers found that it hunts for mites on the rainforest floor and hides from predators at night in blades of grass.
In a blog post, Dr Mark Scherz, one of the researchers involved in the discovery, called it “a spectacular case of extreme miniaturisation”.
The forests where the Brookesia were located are still well connected with others across the north of the island, he said.
“So this tiny new chameleon violates the pattern of the smallest species being found on small islands. That suggests that something else is allowing/causing these chameleons to miniaturise,” he added.
In their report, scientists recommended that the chameleon be listed as critically endangered in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species to help protect it and its habitat.
Christopher Plummer, the distinguished Canadian actor best known for his role as Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music, has died at the age of 91.
He won an Oscar in 2012 for the film Beginners and was also nominated for The Last Station in 2010 and All the Money in the World in 2018.
In the latter film he replaced Kevin Spacey, whose complete performance as billionaire J Paul Getty was excised.
His many other films included The Man Who Would Be King and Knives Out.
According to reports, Plummer passed away peacefully at his home in Connecticut with his wife Elaine Taylor at his side.
Lou Pitt, his long-time friend and manager of 46 years, remembered him as “an extraordinary man who deeply loved and respected his profession”.
“He was a national treasure who deeply relished his Canadian roots,” he continued. “Through his art and humanity, he touched all of our hearts and his legendary life will endure for all generations to come.
“He will forever be with us.”
Plummer had a varied career across film, television and theatre, starring in productions on Broadway and with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
Yet he will be forever known and loved for The Sound of Music, adapted from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, in which he appeared alongside Dame Julie Andrews.
Plummer had ambivalent feelings towards his best-known film, which he famously renamed The Sound of Mucus in interviews.
He also likened working with Andrews to “being hit over the head with a big Valentine’s Day card, every day”, though they later became great friends.
The United Nations has claimed in a report made available to journalists a few hours ago that leader of the terrorist group, Al-Qaeda in Yemeni has been arrested.
The statement which is dated Thursday, February 4 revealed that Khalid Batarfi has been in the custody of the Arabian Peninsula security for several months now.
Naija News learnt that his deputy, Saad Atef al-Awlaqi was killed also in an operation in Ghayda City, Al-Mahrah Governorate, in October.
Batarfi was said to have overseer the group in Yemen for just under a year. Details of the operation were contained in the report filed to the Security Council from a UN monitoring team specializing in extremist groups. This is the first official confirmation of Batarfi’s arrest following unverified reports, Naija News understands.
However, the militant’s whereabouts or further details of the October operation were not revealed in the document. But the SITE Intelligence Group noted “unconfirmed reports” in October that Batarfi had been arrested by Yemeni security forces and then handed to Saudi Arabia.
South Korea’s candidate for the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Yoo Myung-Hee, has announced she will withdraw from the race.
It clears the path for Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who the General Council announced late last year , as the consensus candidate.
The World Trade Organization’s General Council Chair, David Walker announced in last October that Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala had garnered the most support among WTO members to become the next global trade chief but her appointment was vetoed by the United States.
Korea’s Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee announced on Friday that she would withdraw her candidacy for the next World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General. Korea will continue to work with responsibility for the restoration of the multilateral trading system.
NOI, as she is fondly called, will be the first female and first African to head the WTO if affirmed by its 164 members.
Myunghee1’s withdrawal does not mean @NOIweala immediately becomes the WTO next Director-General. That appointment is taken in a formal decision by the WTO’s 164 members.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Since the U.S. is the only WTO member blocking Okonjo-Iweala’s candidacy, it remains to be seen whether the Biden administration will reverse the Trump administration’s veto and support her.
If there is no opposition from any WTO members, the chairman of the WTO general council, David Walker, can announce the resumption of the WTO suspended October general council meeting to consider the appointment of a new Director-General.
The Central Bank of Nigeria has notified Deposit Money Banks, Non-Financial Institutions, other financial institutions against doing business in Crypto and other digital assets.
In a circular dated 5th February 2021 and distributed to regulated financial firms, the apex bank of Africa’s largest economy warned and reminded local financial institutions against having any transactions in crypto or facilitating payments for crypto exchanges.
In addition, the apex bank instructed the financial institutions to immediately close the accounts of such persons or entities transacting in or operating cryptocurrency exchanges.
The Central Bank also added that “breaches of this directive will attract severe regulatory sanctions.”
The Nigerian government has slammed Emirates Airlines’ outbound flights with a 72-hour suspension.
This was contained in a Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) circular issued on February 4.
It explained that the suspension followed a breach of guidelines placed by the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19.
The airline is accused of airlifting passengers from Nigeria, using rapid antigen tests done at laboratories which are not approved by regulatory authorities.
The circular read, “Based on the foregoing and to enable the Nigerian government to put in place the needed infrastructure and logistics for COVID-19 RDT testing for departing passengers, the PTF has directed that Emirates Airlines should either accept passengers without RDT pending when the infrastructure and logistics are put in place or suspend its flights to and from Nigeria until such a time when the required infrastructure and logistics are fully established and implemented.”
“Emirates Airlines has not been in compliance with the two options given by the PTF as records obtained from Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), indicates that Emirates Airlines operated the flights from both Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos and Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja.”
The Army in Cameroon has been accused of killing no fewer than nine civilians in the restive South West region of the country.
This was contained in a statement issued on Thursday by the Human Rights Watch (HRW) which said that witnesses told them that the soldiers entered Mautu village on foot at around 14:00 on 10 January and then began shooting at people as they ran away in fear.
“The soldiers left the village at about 16:30 with at least four vehicles, which had arrived with additional soldiers after the attack began, HRW said in the statement.
The statement which also revealed that a child was among those killed added that the soldiers also looted scores of homes and threatened residents.
However, the report was denied by Cameroon’s defence ministry which said that they had carried out a “preventative raid on the positions of terrorist groups”.
The military in Myanmar have effected the arrest of Win Htein, 79, a trusted aide to overthrown leader Aung San Suu Kyi who was arrested on Friday, days after a coup that sparked outrage across the world.
In a brief interview with Reuters news agency, Win who personally confirmed his arrest said that he was being taken by police officers in a car from Yangon to the capital, Naypyidaw.
He however did not say what charges he could face.
“They are gentlemen so I can pick up the phone,” Win said. “We have been treated badly continuously for a long time. I have never been scared of them because I have done nothing wrong my entire life.”
Win’s arrest came a day after the military moved to block Facebook and other social media platforms in the country, accusing people of using them to create instability.
The Ministry of Communications and Transport said the restrictions would remain in place until February 7.
“Currently the people who are troubling the country’s stability … are spreading fake news and misinformation and causing misunderstanding among people by using Facebook,” the ministry said in a letter.
However, critics see the move by the military as a plot to quell dissent after detaining the country’s elected leaders and seizing power in a coup that the United Nations chief said must fail.
There is an outbreak of protests across Angola as the country marks the 60th anniversary of the beginning of the armed struggle with official acts and demonstrations on Friday.
In the Museum of Military History located in the center of the capital, Luanda, the national flag was raised and the anthem sang, followed by the deposition of flowers on the monument of the Unknown Soldier, in homage to all those who fought for the independence of Angola, achieved fifteen years later.
At the same time, elsewhere in the city, the National Police dispersed a demonstration with a hundred participants, in protest against the economic crisis and for political change.
According to the authorities, the demonstration did not meet the legal requirements and the participants committed several acts of vandalism, while the demonstrators claimed to have been surprised by the strong police apparatus.
The demonstrators also wanted to express their support for the inhabitants of Cafunfo, in the diamond region of Lunda Norte, where, on Saturday, the police suppressed an action they classified as separatist rebellion and which resulted in at least six deaths.
Some non-governmental organizations have denounced human rights violations while the government has ordered the opening of a judicial inquiry.
A lady was left feeling embarrassed after federal authorities found several substances that looked like cocaine hidden in her wig cap in an airport. A female law enforcement agent tore the wig cap on the woman’s hair after removing her wig to reveal several wraps of drugs on the woman’s hair.
To protect her image, the woman covered her face with her hands as some of the law enforcement agents who apprehended her took pictures of her and the drugs while others recorded as the drugs were being removed from her wig cap.
In most countries, drug smugglers get a prison or death sentence if caught. Most countries have law enforcement agencies stationed at various seaports and airports to thwart the operation of drug smugglers.
Watch the video below to see how the cocaine was extracted under her wig.
US country singer-songwriter Jim Weatherly, best known for writing 1970s hit Midnight Train to Georgia, has died aged 77, his family say.
Weatherly passed away at his home near Nashville, Tennessee, on Wednesday.
Music publisher and friend Charlie Monk said the family attributed his death to natural causes, the Tennessean website reports.
Weatherly released nearly a dozen studio albums during his five-decade career.
In his student years, the singer was a gifted quarterback for the University of Mississippi’s American football team.
But later in the 1960s he decided to leave sport and focus on music in Los Angeles.
Midnight Train to Georgia – a number one hit for Gladys Knight & the Pips in 1973 – went on to win a Grammy Award, and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.
A number of American artists, including Aretha Franklin, later recorded their own versions of the popular song.
Weatherly’s biggest solo success was I’ll Still Love You, but he also penned more Gladys Knight hits, including Neither One of Us Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye, and You’re the Best Thing (That Ever Happened to Me).
He recorded with a range of high-profile stars, including Neil Diamond, Kenny Rogers, Garth Brooks and Kenny Chesney.
“I’m missing him already,” Gladys Knight told the Jackson Clarion Ledger. “I love him and always will. He was about life and love and he wrote it so simply, he grew my love for country music. When we were with him it was like we’d always been together, we fit together. He started playing his guitar, and I started humming and it was magic.
“His music propelled us to a whole different level. I loved him and his music, he was a sweetheart and so gentle.”
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