Category: International News

International News

Just In: Joe Biden sworn-in as 46th US President

Aminu Imam

Joe Biden was today inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States. Biden took the oath of office at 11:50am US time. He was sworn-in by the US Chief Supreme Court Justice, John Roberts. Biden was sworn-in shortly after his vice, Kamala Harris took her oath of office. After taking the oath of office, Biden said that the Inauguration Day was a celebration of democracy and that the “the will of the people has been heard.”Details to follow…

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Trump shuns Biden as new President-Elect’s inauguration holds today

Aminu Imam

President Donald Trump has spent his last full day on Tuesday in the White House mulling pardons as President-elect; Joe Biden was set to arrive in Washington ahead of Wednesday’s inauguration that his predecessor, in a final break with tradition, would snub. CNN reports that Trump had mostly dismissed the traditions that go along with leaving office. He has not contacted Biden and would be the first president in 150 years to boycott his successor’s inauguration. AFP also reports that Trump had yet to publicly congratulate Biden on his win…

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Doctor contracts COVID-19 after receiving vaccine

Aminu Imam

A New York doctor was diagnosed with the coronavirus four days after he received the first dose of the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine. The case occurred at Montefiore Hospital, in the State of New York. “One of our team members started to feel symptoms about four days after he got the vaccine,” said Dr. Amos Dudi, an intensive care and lung disease specialist at the hospital. “We are not sure when exactly he was infected, it may have even been before he received the vaccine or it could be after then.”…

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Saudi Arabia bans underage marriage

Aminu Imam

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Justice has announced that under-18 year’s marriage has been prohibited in the country. According to reports, 18 years has been set as the minimum age for marriage, in Saudi Arabia. The Minister of Justice and Chairman of the Supreme Judicial Council, Sheikh Walid Al-Samaani, had issued the new directive on Tuesday, in a circular sent to all the courts across the country. Child marriages have always been common in Saudi Arabia as many young girls are often married off before the age of 18 but, Saudi…

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Saudi Arabia halts all international flights amid new COVID-19 strain

Aminu Imam

All international flights have been halted and entry through land borders and seaports have been suspended for a week by Saudi Arabia due to the new COVID-19 strain. The official Saudi Press Agency yesterday said the kingdom is temporarily suspending all international flights except in exceptional cases for a period of one week which can be extended by another week Citing the interior ministry, SPA added that “Entry to the kingdom through land and sea ports will also be suspended for a week, which can be extended by another week,”…

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Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, worth $104 billion

Aminu Imam

Keeps $2.3 bn in cash The founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, has personified the popular narrative that explains why the rich hardly keep most of their funds in the bank. The 36-year-old CEO and founder of the biggest social media company, Facebook, believed to be worth $104 billion, keeps just $2.3 billion in cash (4.4% of his net wealth).  The value of his present cash valuations is based on an analysis of insider transactions — mostly from the sale of his stock holdings valued by an analysis retrieved from Bloomberg…

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Saudi Arabia lifts all travel restrictions from 1st Jan., 2021

Aminu Imam

The Ministry of Interior has announced that the restrictions on citizens leaving the Kingdom and returning to it are fully lifted, and permitting the opening of ports for all means of transport through the land, sea and air ports, after January 1, 2021, in accordance with the procedures followed before the Covid-19 pandemic. The country said it will allow GGC citizens and Saudi residents with valid visas to leave and enter the Kingdom according to coronavirus and health procedures and State television reports. The approval was issued on the complete…

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U.S. President-elect Biden to appoint Nigerian, Adeyemo as Dep. Treasury Secretary

Aminu Imam
Adewale-Adeyemo

US President-elect Joe Biden is set to announce Nigerian-born Adewale Adeyemo as deputy secretary of the treasury department. This will be the highest level a Nigerian-American has reached in the US Government in the 244 years history of the United States of America. Adeyemo, appointed as the president of the Obama Foundation in 2019, will work with Janet Yellen, nominee for the position of Treasury Secretary, according to The Wall Street Journal. The Nigerian-American had served in the administration of former president Obama as Deputy National Security Adviser (NSA) for…

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Again, South Africa begins deportation of African migrants after protests

Aminu Imam

South African authorities say they have begun deporting 20 refugees and asylum seekers who were part of a month’s-long sit-in protest against xenophobia. According to reports, the asylum seekers were mostly from African countries and were demanding to be resettled outside South Africa. Their sit-in began outside the offices of the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) in Cape Town in October 2019. Canada was some of the migrants’ preferred choice, said South Africa’s Home Affairs department in a statement. Hundreds of people took part in the protest campaign which lasted five…

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Two Nigerian-Americans win legislative seats in US

Aminu Imam

Two Americans with Nigerian descent, Oye Owolewa and Esther Agbaje have emerged victorious in the US elections.  While Agbaje won a House of Reps seat in Minnesota, Owolewa was declared winner of the shadow election in the District of Columbia (DC).  Owolewa, on his part, scored a total of 164,026 votes, which represents 82.84% of the total votes cast. A Ph.D. holder from Northeastern University, Boston, Owolewa is the first Nigerian-American to be elected to US congress. Agbaje won by a landslide, scoring a total of 17,396 votes, which represents…

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