Time Magazine names Joe Biden and Kamala Harris 'Person of the Year'

 

Time magazine has jointly named President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris its “Person of the Year.”

 

Time's editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal says Biden and Harris won the honor for “changing the American story, for showing that the forces of empathy are greater than the furies of division, for sharing a vision of healing in a grieving world.”

 

Felsenthal notes, “Every elected President since FDR has at some point during his term been a Person of the Year, nearly a dozen of those in a presidential election year. This is the first time we have included a Vice President.”

 

He continues, "Joe Biden was elected President of the United States in the midst of an existential debate over what reality we inhabit. Perhaps the only thing Americans agree on right now is that the future of the country is at stake, even as they fiercely disagree about why.... The task before the new Administration is immense: a pandemic to confront, an economy to fix, a climate crisis to tackle, alliances to rebuild, deep skepticism to overcome with many Americans dubious about unity with Trump voters, and an opposition party still very much under Trump's sway.... This will be the test of the next four years: Americans who haven't been this divided in more than a century elected two leaders who have bet their success on finding common ground."

 

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are TIME's 2020 Person of the Year #TIMEPOY https://t.co/o97QNlSBrl pic.twitter.com/KuoBoebBN4

— TIME (@TIME) December 11, 2020

 

Kamala Harris is the first Vice President to be included in the choice for Person of the Year. 

 

Felsenthal writes: "TIME from its beginnings has had a special connection to the presidency, as a reflection of America and its role in the world. Every elected President since FDR has at some point during his term been a Person of the Year, nearly a dozen of those in a presidential election year. This is the first time we have included a Vice President. In a year that saw an epic struggle for racial justice, and one of the most consequential elections in history, the Biden-Harris partnership sends a powerful message."

 

In his letter to readers, Felsenthal writes, "The selection of Person of the Year is rarely easy, and this year was far more difficult than most… In Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, we have two individuals whose election mirrored and moved the major stories of this year and whose fates will shape the nation's role in the world and the future of the American experiment."

 

Time's other Person of the Year candidates were President Donald Trump; frontline health care workers and Dr. Anthony Fauci; and the movement for racial justice.

 

Religious Freedom: “We’re seeing a lot of religious-tinged violence taking place in that country - US explains why it blacklisted Nigeria

 

The United States government has explained why it added Nigeria to its list of violators of religious freedom. 

 

U.S Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, Samuel Brownback said the decision was taken because 'a number of terrorist groups are organising and pushing into the country, and the government’s response to terrorist activities has been minimal.''

 

Brownback added that a lot of ''religious-tinged violence'' are taking place in the country which is of great concern to the world. 

 

He said; 

 

 “The Secretary and, really, the world, has great concern about what’s taking place in Nigeria at this time. A number of terrorist groups are organising and pushing into the country.

“We’re seeing a lot of religious-tinged violence taking place in that country and indeed in West Africa. It’s an area of growing concern about what’s happening, in particular the tension that’s taking place there between religious groups. And it’s often the religious affiliation that is used to try to recruit and inspire violent acts.

 

The ambassador added that a major concern for the U.S regarding Nigeria is “the lack of adequate government response in Nigeria. 

“You’ve got expanded terrorist activities, you’ve got a lot of them associated around religious affiliations. The government’s response has been minimal to not happening at all. 

“A number of cases – there have not been criminal cases brought forward by the government. The terrorism continues to happen and grow, in some places unabated." he said

Cross River, Jigawa, Kogi, Osun, Ebonyi, Adamawa and Zamfara are not conducting enough COVID-19 tests - NCDC DG

 

The Director-General of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Chikwe Ihekweazu has averred that some states are not conducting enough COVID-19 tests. 

 

Ihekweazu said this at the presidential task force briefing on COVID-19 on Thursday December 10. Some of the states he said are not conducting enough tests include Cross River, Jigawa, Kogi, Osun, Ebonyi, Adamawa and Zamfara.

 

He said; 

 

“It is important to test, to manage the outbreak and plan for vaccination. 

“The numbers are not looking good and we need to take this very seriously as we plan for the end of the year.”

N950m Jonathan campaign fund: Court acquits former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Aminu Wali, of all charges

 

The Federal High Court, sitting in Kano, has discharged and acquitted a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Aminu Wali, arraigned before the court over N950million alleged fraud.

 

Recall that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, had dragged Mr Wali, and one Mansur Ahmed, before the court on a three-count charge for allegedly receiving N950million from Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as campaign fund during 2015 presidential election.

 

The offence, according to EFCC, contravened Section 1 of the money laundering Prohibition Act 2011.

 

Delivering judgement in the case on Friday, December 11, the trial judge, Justice Lewis Allagoa, said the prosecution failed to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. He, therefore, discharged and acquitted the defendants.

Nigerian Ambassador to the U.S, Sylvanus Nsofor, dies at 85

 

Nigerian Ambassador to the US, Justice Sylvanus Adiewere Nsofor, is dead.

The Nigerian envoy died in a Maryland hospital yesterday night December 10.

 

He was 85 years old.

 

Late Nsofor assumed office as Nigeria’s Ambassador to the United States of America on November 13, 2017.

 

It was his first ambassadorial posting, after his retirement from the Court of Appeal.

 

The late Nsofor was born on March 17, 1935, in Oguta, Imo State, Nigeria.

 

May his soul rest in peace, Amen.

Blood is thicker than water! My wife and children, are they the water or Zobo? - Peter Okoye asks fans asking him to settle with his brothers

Okoye has asked his fans to get used to the fact that he and his brothers, Paul Okoye and Jude Okoye, are no longer in a good relationship and that the music group, PSquare, is no longer in existence.

 

The feud between the brothers came to the front-burner on their birthday, November 18, when Peter's wife, Lola, took to her Instagram page to appeal to Peter and Paul to let their issues slide and make peace with themselves. Read here.

 

Paul Okoye didn't take her post lightly as he went on his Instastories to attack her, accusing her of not making any effort to reconcile them but instead taking to social media whenever it is their birthday, to make an appeal for them to settle their differences.

 

In a post shared on his IG page this morning, Peter addressed the concerns of his fans who have made several appeals for him to settle with his brothers and for the music group, Psquare to come back together. He opined that they should get used to the breakup as nothing lasts forever.

 

Regarding those who always mention that ''blood is thicker than water', the singer wondered if his wife and children have ''water and zobo'' in their system. His post reads

''It’s just 24hrs before My long awaiting single FOLLOW MY LEAD Drops! Let me get this off my chest before some people start there usual preaching!

Listen!  Nothing lasts forever and Change is constant! Everyday they continue barking!
*Apologize to your bros
*Bring back our Psq
*We don’t know Mr P... we only know Psq
*He doesn’t know how to sing
*He is nothing but a dancer
*His career is dead
*Such a noise maker
*Why is he so Childish
*You are now an upcoming artiste
Waa! waa!! waa!!!

Pls let me ask, Have you ever felt liberation when you do what you’re passionate about, follow your dreams, follow your heart. Go back! Go back!! Go back!!! and do what exactly? after saying I dont know how to sing?

And again! Going back is it not for me to make more money? Since you know better! So why is that your problem? I thought i wrote an official resignation letter 4 yrs ago that I was no longer part of the group! Na by force?

For those barking “I only know Psq i don’t know Mr P and ....” Go to Psq page and do the barking. I am no longer part of the group!

Pls this page is for me and my dear fans Team P! Please let’s enjoy our new coming single “Follow My Lead” in peace!

Mr P’s fans is all that matters now! If you are still angry that my handle still has Psq come and remove it yourself
We have since moved on and its best y’all do the same! Support who you wish to support and move on. It is not a competition and I am not even giving any room for that. So Psq fans Take heart and get used to it! nothing last forever! Again Change is constant.
This is no longer about what you want! It is about what we want, so respect our decisions.

We r not the first group to split or make such decisions! Plantashun Boiz, StylePlus, Mohits and Remedies So enough of the time wasting!

Blood is thicker than water! Blood is thicker than water! Please my wife and children are they the water or Zobo?''.

 

Breaking: Abdurasheed Maina collapses in court (photos/video)

 

Abdulrasheed Maina, a former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reformed Taskforce Team, collapsed in the dock during the resumed hearing in his N2bn money laundering trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday morning, December 10.

 

Today's sitting was scheduled for the hearing of his no-case submission, following the close of the prosecution’s case with nine witnesses earlier on Wednesday December 9.

 

His lawyer, Anayo Adibe, was briefing the judge, Justice Okon Abang, that his team had yet to receive the records of proceedings requested from the court’s registry when Maina suddenly slumped.

 

Prison officials immediately rushed towards him to resuscitate him and get him proper medical care.

 

Watch a video of him being attended to after he slumped below...