₦airaland Forum

20 July 2020

Kanye West has officially launched his campaign for the 2020 US presidential election, with an unorthodox rally in Charleston, South Carolina.

West, 43, is running as a candidate for his self-styled "Birthday Party".

At the event, the rapper seemed to make policy decisions off-the-cuff and made several rants, including on abortion and on abolitionist Harriet Tubman.

Fans have questioned whether his last-minute bid for the White House is actually a promotional stunt.

The Charleston rally did little to clarify whether his run is genuine. But a now-deleted tweet sent from West's account on Saturday, appearing to show the song list for a new album, added to the speculation.

The event, held at a wedding and conference hall in the city, was said to be open to registered guests only - but West's campaign website had no function for people to register or RSVP.

What did Kanye West say at the rally?
West appeared with "2020" shaved into the back of his head and wearing a protective security vest, and addressed the gathered crowd without a microphone.

There were no audience microphones either, leading West to repeatedly tell the crowd to be silent so he could hear the questions being asked.

At one point he began crying when talking about abortion, saying that his parents almost aborted him: "There would have been no Kanye West, because my dad was too busy."

He added: "I almost killed my daughter... even if my wife [Kim Kardashian West] were to divorce me after this speech, she brought North into the world, even when I didn't want to."

However he then added that he believes abortion should remain legal, but there should be financial support for struggling new mothers - suggesting that "everybody that has a baby gets a million dollars".

"The only thing that can free us is by obeying the rules that were given to us for a promised land," he said. "Abortion should be legal because guess what? The law is not by God anyway, so what is legality?"

At another moment, he gave an impromptu monologue about 19th century abolitionist Harriet Tubman.

"Harriet Tubman never actually freed the slaves, she just had the slaves go work for other white people," he said.

Tubman was born into slavery, but managed to escape a Maryland plantation in 1849, aged 27. She then returned to the South to rescue other slaves on the network of routes and safe houses known as "underground railroad", risking her own life to lead people to freedom.

West also became tearful when talking about his late mother, who died in 2007 from complications during cosmetic surgery.

What has the reaction been?
The speech has been met with anger by some - mostly sparked by his comments about Tubman - but also with concern over West's welfare.

Professor Jason Nichols, a senior lecturer in African American studies at the University of Maryland, told the BBC he feared West's rambling appearance pointed towards a "manic episode" - although he acknowledged he was not a psychologist

"He has admitted in the past he has been battling mental illness and that sometimes he does not take medication.

"He was a little more coherent than he has been in other times... when he has gone on these rants, but I really believe he is in a bad place right now. He said some really bizarre things."

Professor Nichols added that he was disappointed, as he had hoped West would be able "to push the other candidates", had he had the right advice and support.

"I was actually interested to see what would happen, but after the event today, all that interest has just turned to worry."

Will Kanye West actually be on state ballots?
West, who announced his candidacy on 4 July, has already missed the deadline to qualify for the ballot in several states. He needs to collect enough signatures to appear on the ballot in a number of others.

Last week he qualified to appear on Oklahoma's presidential ballot, the first state where he met the requirements before the deadline.

In order to appear on South Carolina's ballot he needs to collect 10,000 signatures by noon local time (18:00 BST) on Monday.

Wow
This is nice of you sir and I wouldn't mind if I can get blessed too
So bad that I need data too
MTN number: 0903 371 6621
Thanks and more blessings

By Robin Levinson-King
BBC News

Three months after a gunman posing as a police officer went on a rampage across the province of Nova Scotia, questions still remain about Canada's deadliest mass shooting, and why the Royal Canadian Mounted Police couldn't stop it.

When police arrived at the first crime scene at 10:36pm on 18 April, in a quiet cul-de-sac in the the seaside community of Portapique, they found a bloodbath.

Several bodies were strewn in the street and buildings were on fire. Over the course of the next few days, police would find 13 victims across seven different locations in that single neighbourhood.

"Nobody really understands. Everybody knows it was an unimaginable thing that happened there," Tom Taggart, a local politician in Portapique, told the BBC.

"You can't visualise. You couldn't possibly understand what it was like there that night."

An hour later, RCMP tweeted they were investigating a "firearms complaint" in Portapique and that people in the area should lock their doors and stay inside.

It would take eight hours before they sent another tweet, and another two after that for police to tell the public that the gunman was wearing a police uniform and driving a police cruiser.

At 11:26am, police caught up with the gunman, Gabriel Wortman, at a petrol station 95km (59 miles) south of where his crime spree began. He died in a shootout with police.

Over the course of that evening and early morning, Wortman would kill a total of 22 victims, including two frontline healthcare workers, a primary school teacher and RCMP Constable Heidi Stevenson, a 23-year veteran of the RCMP and mother of two. All were adults, except for 17-year-old Emily Tuck, who was killed alongside her two parents.

The complexities of the case meant that it took several days to identify all the victims, and several more before the police could release a timeline.

From the outset, people have demanded an inquiry into the RCMP's response to the shooting.

"I desperately want to know what led to this. And that's what the inquiry needs to be and it should be happening now," Mr Taggart said.

Why didn't the RCMP send out an emergency alert as early as Saturday evening?

Why did they only alert the public that Wortman was impersonating an officer the following morning, hours after a witness told him he was driving a police cruiser?

How did he get access to a decommissioned police cruiser in the first place?

How did he amass a collection of illegal weapons from the US?

"We need answers to heal, we need answers so we can find a way to live in this new normal that we've been forced into," wrote the daughter of one of his victims, Heather O'Brien, in a letter published on Facebook on 31 May.

Darker questions have also emerged, such as why police ignored reports of the gunman's violent behaviour towards women, or why they ignored warnings he was amassing an arsenal and wanted to "kill a cop", and how he was able to liquidate C$475,000 ($350,000, £279,000) from his account in a single transaction.

Officials keep promising an inquiry is forthcoming, but so far it hasn't materialised.

Nova Scotia Justice Minister Mark Furey declined an interview, but a ministry spokesperson said this:

"We recognise Canadians are looking for, and deserve, answers about the tragic events that happened in April. The Nova Scotia Department of Justice is actively engaged with the federal government on this matter and an announcement is forthcoming. We are committed to ensuring we take the necessary steps to support victims and families as we move toward an announcement."

In the absence of an inquiry, several legal cases have emerged.

Members of the media are going to court to release documents about the investigation. Wortman's victims and their families have filed a class-action lawsuit against his estate, and another class-action lawsuit has been filed against the RCMP, the federal attorney general and the attorney general of Nova Scotia.

"We will review and consider any such claim once served. We do not anticipate having any further comment on this matter. Our primary focus continues to be on the ongoing criminal investigation, and supporting the victims of this tragedy as well as our members and employees," RCMP spokesperson Corporal Jennifer Clarke said in a statement.

Mrs O'Brien's husband, Andrew O'Brien, is one of two named plaintiffs in the case against the RCMP. The class-action lawsuit has not been certified by the courts yet, a procedure that can take up to a year.

The lawsuit alleges the RCMP "breached the standard of care expected of them" and behaved in a "high-handed, self-serving and disrespectful manner" to victims and their family during the course of their investigation, which is ongoing.

This "disrespectful manner" is illustrated in one of the lawsuit's most shocking claims, that the RCMP released a vehicle containing bullet casings and body parts back to the family member of a victim.

Cpl Clarke told the BBC exhibits are usually returned in the condition that they were found in.

'They had no idea the hell they were going to face'
Nova Scotia gunman's first victim was girlfriend, who survived
One of the biggest questions left unanswered is what the RCMP knew about Wortman before the shooting.

An explosive investigation by Maclean's Magazine revealed that Wortman received a large cash withdrawal from a Brinks depot estimated at about C$475,000 on 30 March. Maclean's quotes sources who say the transaction was consistent with the kind the RCMP would use in a pay-out to a police informant.

The RCMP deny the police force was a source of his money, and have said they believe Wortman was concerned it would not be safe in a bank, possibly because of coronavirus.

A financial audit is taking place as part of their investigation.

"The RCMP was not the source of those funds, as has incorrectly been assumed in some recent media articles," Cpl Clarke said in an email.

But the Maclean's report has planted seeds of doubt amongst the community, who wonder if the police turned a blind eye to some of the gunman's previous behaviour.

"If the RCMP allowed somebody that volatile to live amongst innocent people, then somebody needs to be looking for work," Mr Taggart says.

Although Wortman didn't have a criminal record, he was known to the police. He was charged with assaulting another man in 2001, and pleaded guilty. He received a conditional discharge, which meant he did not go to jail and his record was clean.

He was also frequently involved in civil disputes; in two cases, including one involving his uncle, people claimed he tried to swindle them out of property, according to Global News Canada.

In 2011, a police bulletin was sent out a warning that Wortman wanted to "kill a cop" and that he had a stash of guns.

The bulletin, which was obtained by CBC News and confirmed by the RCMP, was released after an anonymous tip to Truro police. Halifax Regional Police investigated, but determined that the guns were stored in his cottage in Portapique, which is under the jurisdiction of the RCMP, the CBC reported.

An RCMP spokesperson told BBC News that police bulletins were typically wiped from the records after two years and the bulletin on Wortman was not accessible to police during April's rampage.

"Investigators continue to look into the gunman's previous behaviours and interactions, including those with police," Cpl Clarke said in an email.

Two years after the police bulletin, his neighbour Brenda Forbes says she told the RCMP he was beating his girlfriend, and that she had seen illegal weapons on his property.

She told her story to various media after the shooting.

She says she had been wary of the gunman for years before she reported him to police. In about 2005, a year after the gunman moved next door, his girlfriend had run to Ms Forbes' door, afraid he was going to kill her.

Ms Forbes says she tried to convince her to leave him, but she could not. She says the RCMP did not follow up, and nothing was done.

The RCMP confirmed they received a complaint from a neighbour in 2013, but that the file has since been purged.

"From the officer's notes there is no indication of abuse or weapons but there is mention of names of the alleged involved parties, including the gunman," Cpl Clarke said in an email.

That same girlfriend was Wortman's first victim, the night before he went on the shooting spree. She survived by hiding in the woods, and had since become a key witness in the RCMP investigation.

The RCMP has called her assault significant, and said it "could very well have been a catalyst" for the subsequent murders.

After the shooting, Ms Forbes told her story to Linda MacDonald and Jeanne Sarson, co-founders of Persons Against Non-State Torture, a local organisation working to end domestic violence around the globe.

They say the police failure to take Ms Forbes seriously was because of implicit misogyny that made them ignore reports of domestic violence.

"It disappointed me, that the RCMP would dismiss such serious allegations. It left me feeling if something had been done a long time ago we wouldn't be at this place now," Ms MacDonald told the BBC.

Ms MacDonald believes that violence against women is often a warning sign of future violent behaviour. A recent analysis by Bloomberg of 2,358 mass shootings of four or more victims in the US by Reuters found that 60% of the perpetrators had a history of domestic violence.

"If they had acted earlier, my feeling is there would have been a prevention," she says.

Ms MacDonald and Ms Sarson have called for a public inquiry "with a feminist lens", gathering nearly 8,000 signatures in a petition submitted Monday.

"The mass murders in Nova Scotia were not 'senseless.' They were predictable," the petition reads.

Ms MacDonald is especially concerned because Mr Furey, the provincial justice minister, has gone on the record saying the province is working on a "restorative" justice approach.

A restorative justice inquiry is an approach sometimes recommended when all sides agree one party has been wronged. Usually the wronged party is given a chance to talk about how they were harmed, and the party responsible makes amends.

It often happens outside the court system, often behind closed doors.

"It really needs to be public - there's nothing restorative when we make the horror in our communities silent," Ms MacDonald said.

Mr Taggart, the local politician from Portapique, is not in favour of an inquiry that only focuses on feminism.

"The guy was a misogynist bastard... the way he treated women can be part of this inquiry, but it should not lead this inquiry," he said.

And he's not in favour of an inquiry that only looks at the tragedy in his own community - that would just re-traumatise people, he says.

What he does want is for the RCMP to answer his nagging questions about why Wortman was never investigated for weapons offences, and how he got away after the massacre in Portapique.

"The RCMP, I believe, needs to answer questions, under oath and before a judge," he says.

18 July 2020

US President Donald Trump has vowed not to order Americans to wear masks to contain the spread of coronavirus.

His comments came after the country's top infectious disease expert, Dr Anthony Fauci, urged state and local leaders to be "as forceful as possible" in getting people to wear masks.

Wearing face coverings, Dr Fauci added, is "really important" and "we should be using them, everyone".

The wearing of face coverings has become highly politicised in the US.

The majority of state governors have now ordered that the wearing of masks outdoors be mandatory, rather than a personal choice. Among them are Republican governors, including Kay Ivey of Alabama, who have reversed their initial opposition to the mandates.

President Trump, who had previously resisted wearing a face covering himself, wore a mask in public for the first time last Saturday.

But speaking to Fox News on Friday, Mr Trump said he didn't agree with a national mask mandate, saying people should have a "certain freedom".

US disease chief calls White House attacks bizarre
Living in Florida and Texas as virus cases surge
Why we should all be wearing masks
Earlier this week, US public health body the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a statement urging everyone to wear masks.

"We are not defenceless against COVID-19," CDC Director Dr Robert R Redfield said. "Cloth face coverings are one of the most powerful weapons we have to slow and stop the spread of the virus - particularly when used universally within a community setting."

In the southern state of Georgia, Republican governor Brian Kemp has urged residents to wear masks for the next month.

Mr Kemp made the appeal to the state's residents despite taking legal action a day earlier against the mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms, for making face coverings mandatory in the city.

Ms Bottoms has herself tested positive for coronavirus.

Oklahoma City officials are also considering a city-wide indoor mask requirement, in the absence of a state-wide mandate.

Which states are seeing a surge in infections?
A number of US states, primarily southern states, are experiencing a surge in confirmed cases of coronavirus.

Hundreds of military medical staff have been deployed in Texas and California to help officials cope with new Covid-19 cases, and in Texas and Arizona, cooler trucks have been sent in to help store dead bodies.

In recent weeks, overwhelmed hospitals in Florida have also reported that their ICUs are at full capacity and that they cannot accept any more patients.

And some cities and states are struggling with the high demand for coronavirus tests.

In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, people who suspect that they have been exposed to the virus are being told to isolate at home for 14 days instead of going into testing centres, while Hawaii is keeping its two-week quarantine for incoming visitors for at least another month, because of a shortage in the supply of tests.

What about schools?
Meanwhile millions of children, including in the two most populous states Texas and California, have been told they won't be going back to school for the new academic year.

Education, and the matter of when to reopen schools, is another issue that has become highly politicised.

New CDC guidance on reopening schools was due to be released this week, but US media reports that it has been delayed.

The US continues to remain at the epicentre of the global pandemic. There are now more than 3.6 million confirmed cases of coronavirus in the US, and there have been more than 139,000 deaths - the highest death toll in the world.

A man has been charged with the murder of leading tech entrepreneur Fahim Saleh who was found dead in New York on Tuesday, police say.

The body of Saleh, 33, was found decapitated and dismembered in his Manhattan apartment.

His 21-year-old executive assistant Tyrese Haspil has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder.

The suspect is alleged to have owed Saleh tens of thousands of dollars, police said.

The entrepreneur was best known for his role in creating popular ride-sharing companies in Nigeria and Bangladesh.

Mr Haspil is accused of using a taser on Saleh and then fatally stabbing him on Monday.

"[The suspect] handled [Saleh's] finances and personal matters," NYPD Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison told reporters after the arrest on Friday.

"It is also believed that he owed the victim a significant amount of money."

Saleh's body was discovered by his cousin who checked on him on Tuesday afternoon after he had not been seen for several days, Chief Harrison said.

According to US media reports, CCTV footage from the building in which Saleh lived showed him entering a lift with a man wearing a mask on Monday.

His body was discovered with an electric saw placed nearby, police said.

Who was Fahim Saleh?
The 33-year-old was the son of Bangladeshi immigrants and created his first company while still in high school.

He went on to co-found the ride company Pathao, which is popular in Bangladesh and Nepal, in 2015.


More recently, he helped found the Nigerian motorbike taxi app Gokada. But the company faced a setback after authorities in Lagos banned motorbike taxis earlier this year.

Both companies have paid tribute to the entrepreneur.

Gokada described Saleh as "a great leader, inspiration and positive light for all of us" in its tweet.

Hussain M Elius, who co-founded Pathao with Saleh, told Bangladesh's Daily Star newspaper: "Fahim believed in the potential for technology to transform lives in Bangladesh and beyond.

"He saw the promise in us when all we had was a common purpose and a shared vision. He was, and will forever remain, an incredible inspiration for Pathao and our entire ecosystem."

By Joe Tidy & David Molloy
Technology reporters

Twitter says 130 accounts were targeted in a major cyber-attack of celebrity accounts two days ago.

However, Twitter says only a "small subset" of those 130 accounts had control seized by the attacker.

The security breach saw accounts including those of Barack Obama, Elon Musk, Kanye West and Bill Gates tweet a Bitcoin scam to millions of followers.

Twitter said it was still trying to work out if private data - which could include direct messages - was stolen.

"We're working with impacted account-owners and will continue to do so over the next several days," the company said, through its official support account.

"We are continuing to assess whether non-public data related to these accounts was compromised," it added.

The FBI is now investigating.

What happened?
On 15 July, a number of Bitcoin-related accounts began tweeting what appeared to be a simple Bitcoin scam, promising to "give back" to the community by doubling any Bitcoin sent to their address.

Then, the apparent scam spread to mainstream celebrity accounts such as Kim Kardashian West and former vice-president Joe Biden, and those of corporations Apple and Uber.

Twitter scrambled to contain the unprecedented attack, temporarily preventing all verified users - those with a blue tick on their accounts - from tweeting.

Attackers were able to bypass account security because they had somehow gained access to Twitter's own internal administration tools.

Listen to Tech Tent: The big Twitter hack
Twitter hack: What went wrong and why it matters
What is Bitcoin?
However, US President Donald Trump, one of the most prominent Twitter users, was unaffected.

There has been speculation for some time that President Trump has extra protections in place after his account was deactivated by an employee on their last day of work in 2017.

The New York Times confirmed that was how Mr Trump's account escaped the attack, citing an anonymous White House official and a separate Twitter employee.

Despite the fact that the scam was obvious to some, the attackers received hundreds of transfers, worth more than $100,000 (£80,000).

What do we know about the attackers?
Bitcoin is extremely hard to trace and the three separate crypto-currency wallets that the cyber-criminals used have already been emptied.

The digital money is likely to be split into smaller amounts and run through so-called "mixer" or "tumbler" services to make it even harder to trace back to the attackers.

Clues about those responsible are surfacing through bragging on social media - including on Twitter itself.

Earlier this week, researchers at cyber-crime intelligence firm Hudson Rock spotted an advert on a hacker forum claiming to be able to steal any Twitter account by changing the email address to which it is linked.

The seller also posted a screenshot of the panel usually reserved for high-level Twitter employees. It appeared to allow full control of adding an email to an account or "detaching" existing ones.

This means that the attackers had access to the back end of Twitter at least 36-48 hours before the Bitcoin scams began appearing on Wednesday evening.

The researchers have also linked at least one Twitter account to the hack, which has now been suspended.

The concern is that this hack might not be over if the attackers copied - and still possess the private Direct Messages of the accounts over which they took control.

"Bitcoin scam is a misguided way to frame this incident," Roi Carthy, CEO of Hudson Rock said.

"If anything, the 'scam' part supports the conclusion that the group behind the attack was, to Twitter's luck, unsophisticated. The incident can either be characterised as an account take-over campaign for sale on the Darkweb, or a data breach to get a hold of Direct Messages for malicious purposes."

Do the hackers have DMs?
Twitter says it is still looking into "what other malicious activity they may have conducted or information they may have accessed".

The private messages of Kayne West, Kim Kardashian West and Elon Musk could be worth money on dark web forums. Selling the private messages of presidential hopeful Joe Biden or former mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg could also have political consequences.

However, the BBC has spoken to one hacker who specialises in social media account takeovers and has been part of a hacking group with one account suspected of involvement.

"Honestly, I think the hack is over because I feel this may have been a quick money grab and run situation," he said.

"If they do have the DMs, they will be extremely careful with who they sell them to, if they do, because it increases their chances of being caught by quite a bit."

Thanks to all helpers and givers and I pray you all will never lack��

I'm a mathematics and basic tech teacher at Maviglo schools, ikorodu, isawo, Lagos State.

Acct Name: Adebayo Israel Oluwakayode
Acct Bank: UBA
Acct Number: 2117761797

May God reward you bountifully.
Thanks �

By Joe Tidy
Cyber reporter

There are a lot of unanswered questions about the Twitter hack on Wednesday night - but one thing most agree on is it could have been far worse.

Potentially thousands of people were scammed out of money after hijacked accounts of prominent verified users promised to double the money fans sent them in the cryptocurrency Bitcoin.

Using Twitter's internal systems, the cyber-criminals' messages had a reach of at least 350 million people.

And it looks like it made them about $110,000 (£86,800) in the one-and-a-bit hours the scam was active.

Huge engagement
It was an unprecedented attack on privacy, trust and security.

But experts say the hackers could have caused far more damage.

As the boss of a smaller messaging service put it: "Thank God for greed."

Twitter has huge engagement in the US, Japan, Russia and the UK.

Valid questions
It is the platform of choice for some of the most powerful and prominent people in the world.

Their posts have moved financial markets and caused diplomatic incidents.

With the US presidential election less than four months away, there are now valid questions to be asked about whether Twitter can be relied upon in the lead up to the vote.

President Donald Trump's account was not taken over in the hack.

'Favourite tools'
But many were watching to see if it would fall after his Democrat rival Joe Biden's account tweeted out the scam.

"We already know Russia is planning to meddle in the 2020 election just as they did in the 2016 election," Dr Heather Williams, from King's College London, said.

"Social-media manipulation is one of their favourite tools.

"So this hack shows just how vulnerable social-media platforms are and how vulnerable Americans are to disinformation.

"If something bigger was at stake, such as the presidency, this could have really disastrous consequences and undermine our democratic processes."

'Worst in history'
The security implications of the hack are also wide-reaching, not just for Twitter but for all social networks

Early suggestions are the hackers managed to access administration privileges, which allowed them to bypass the passwords of any account they wanted.

Twitter appeared to confirm this in a tweet saying: "We detected what we believe to be a co-ordinated social-engineering attack by people who successfully targeted some of our employees with access to internal systems and tools."

"Social-engineering" could mean one of several things.


It might imply a targeted phishing operation - a common tactic employed by cyber-criminals, who find out which individuals have the keys to a system they want to enter and then target them with personal emails that trick them into handing over details.

Or it might mean the perpetrators managed to convince one or several staff members to go rogue, by offering a financial inducement or other means.

The technology company is going to face huge pressure to be more specific.

"Twitter's reputation is the cost of this cyber-attack," World Economic Forum cyber lead William Dixon said.

"This is a major security breach for Twitter.

"The worst in its history.

"More cyber-resilience is needed across the ecosystem to be able to protect social media users around the world."

'Sensitive information'
Twitter is not answering reporters' questions directly but said it had taken "significant steps to limit access to internal systems" while it investigated.

The company also said it was "looking into what other malicious activity [the hackers] may have conducted or information they may have accessed".

The chief executive of the messaging service Element has raised the possibility confidential data was also exposed.

"It's highly likely private direct messages were accessible for a short time," Matthew Hodgson said.

"Next time, harvesting sensitive information could fuel a wave of extortion or something much worse."

The idea Twitter has the ability to take over people's accounts no matter what security they have may shock some.

But experts say it is a necessary part of any membership-based service.

Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and YouTube have been approached for comment on their security arrangements.

None has responded.

'High-risk accounts'
But Facebook's former chief security officer Alex Stamos told BBC News all consumer-facing companies needed a way to be able to help consumers recover hacked or otherwise locked-out accounts.

"The change that can be made here is that Twitter can restrict this ability for high-risk accounts to a much smaller number of users or create tools that require one person to initiate and another to approve the change," he said.

"This is, apparently, what they have already done for President Trump's account, following an incident in 2017.

"They will need to vastly expand these protections."

Lost control
Beyond a potential loss of trust, Twitter may now face legal consequences too.

The EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) says organisations such as Twitter have to show "appropriate" levels of security.

And if data-protection officers judge Twitter failed to take adequate measures to protect European users, it could be fined.

Earlier this year, the company's chief executive, Jack Dorsey, lost control of his account for 20 minutes.

And in 2010, Twitter settled with the Federal Trade Commission after it was alleged hackers had obtained unauthorised administrative control, including the ability to send out phony tweets from then-President-elect Barack Obama and Fox News

Pls what's Access Bank mobile banking code

16 July 2020

New police body camera videos have been shown in which George Floyd is seen pleading with officers as they try to force him into their car, US media say.

They say Mr Floyd told the Minneapolis officers he could not breathe, asking if he could lie on the ground instead.

A district judge allowed news outlets to view the two videos, which show the clearest picture yet of Mr Floyd's last moments in Minneapolis on 25 May.

All four officers involved have since been fired and charged over his death.

Derek Chauvin, who in a separate video filmed by eyewitnesses was seen kneeling on Mr Floyd's neck for nearly eight minutes, has been charged with second-degree murder.

The three other officers - Thomas Lane, J Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao - have been charged with aiding and abetting murder.


The death of Mr Floyd, a 46-year-old unarmed African American, sparked huge protests across the US against police brutality and racism.

In a separate development on Wednesday, Mr Floyd's family sued Minneapolis and the four policemen for wrongful death.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump said the suit was seeking monetary damages on behalf of Mr Floyd's children and siblings.

What did the videos show?
The body camera recordings from Mr Lane and Mr Kueng form part of the ongoing case against all four police officers.

Hennepin County District Judge Peter Cahill allowed news outlets to view the videos, which have so far not been made public. Previously, only transcripts were made public.

The videos begin as Minneapolis police officers Thomas Lane and J Alexander Kueng are seen responding to a call over a fake banknote being used at a local market, according to CNN.

It says that just seconds after speaking with a store employee, the officers were at the door of the car Mr Floyd was in and, after an initial knock with a torch, Mr Lane points a gun at Mr Floyd and orders him to put his hands up.

Mr Floyd is seen sobbing and pleading with the officers, and is then pulled from the vehicle as the officers struggle to handcuff him.

A big struggle ensues when Mr Lane and Mr Kueng attempt to put him in the police car.

Eventually, Mr Floyd falls out of the car, and it is at this point that the other two officers, Mr Thao and Mr Chauvin, appear in the videos, CNN reports.

They all try to restrain the suspect, and Mr Chauvin is later seen kneeling on Mr Floyd's neck.

During this time Mr Floyd is heard more than 20 times telling the officers that he cannot breathe

16 July 2020
The US has been convulsed by nationwide protests over the death of an African-American man in police custody.

George Floyd, 46, died after being arrested by police outside a shop in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Footage of the arrest on 25 May shows a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeling on Mr Floyd's neck while he was pinned to the floor.

Mr Chauvin, 44, has since been charged with murder.

Transcripts of police bodycam footage show Mr Floyd said more than 20 times he could not breathe as he was restrained by the officers.

The key events that led to Mr Floyd's death happened within just 30 minutes. Based on accounts from witnesses, video footage and official statements, here's what we know so far.

It began with a report of a fake $20 (£16.20) bill.

A report was made on the evening of 25 May, when Mr Floyd bought a pack of cigarettes from Cup Foods, a grocery store.

Believing the $20 bill he used to be counterfeit, a store employee reported it to police.

Mr Floyd had been living in Minneapolis for several years after moving there from his native Houston, Texas. He had recently been working as a bouncer in the city but, like millions of other Americans, was left jobless by the coronavirus pandemic.

In pictures: Unrest spreads across US
Why has a US city gone up in flames?
Mr Floyd was a regular at Cup Foods. He was a friendly face, a pleasant customer who never caused any trouble, the store owner Mike Abumayyaleh told NBC.

But Mr Abumayyaleh was not at work on the day of the incident. In reporting the suspicious bill, his teenage employee was just following protocol.

In a call to 911, made at 20:01, the employee told the operator he had demanded the cigarettes back but "he [Floyd] doesn't want to do that", according to a transcript released by authorities.

The employee said the man appeared "drunk" and "not in control of himself", the transcript says.

Shortly after the call, at around 20:08, two police officers arrived. Mr Floyd was sitting with two other people in a car parked around the corner.

After approaching the car, one of the officers, Thomas Lane, pulled out his gun and ordered Mr Floyd to show his hands. In an account of the incident, prosecutors do not explain why Mr Lane thought it necessary to draw his gun.

Mr Lane, prosecutors said, "put his hands on Mr Floyd, and pulled him out of the car". Then Mr Floyd "actively resisted being handcuffed".

Once handcuffed, though, Mr Floyd became compliant while Mr Lane explained he was being arrested for "passing counterfeit currency".

Court transcripts from police body cameras show Mr Floyd appears co-operative at the beginning of the arrest, repeatedly apologising to the officers after they approach his parked car.

Mr Lane asks Mr Floyd to show his hands at least 10 times before ordering him to get out of the vehicle.

It was when officers tried to put Mr Floyd in their squad car that a struggle ensued.

At about 20:14, Mr Floyd "stiffened up, fell to the ground, and told the officers he was claustrophobic", according to the report.

Mr Chauvin arrived at the scene. He and other officers were involved in a further attempt to put Mr Floyd in the police car.

During this attempt, at 20:19, Mr Chauvin pulled Mr Floyd away from the passenger side, causing him to fall to the ground, the report said.

He lay there, face down, still in handcuffs.

That's when witnesses started to film Mr Floyd, who appeared to be in a distressed state. These moments, captured on multiple mobile phones and shared widely on social media, would prove to be Mr Floyd's last.

Twitter hides Trump tweet for 'glorifying violence'
Mr Floyd was restrained by officers, while Mr Chauvin placed his left knee between his head and neck.

For seven minutes and 46 seconds, Mr Chauvin kept his knee on Mr Floyd's neck, the prosecutors' report says. The duration was initially given as eight minutes and 46 seconds until Minnesota prosecutors corrected the figure three weeks after Mr Floyd's death.

The transcripts of bodycam footage from officers Lane and J Alexander Kueng show Mr Floyd said more than 20 times he could not breathe as he was restrained. He was also pleading for his mother and begging "please, please, please".

At one point, Mr Floyd gasps: "You're going to kill me, man."

Officer Chauvin replies: "Then stop talking, stop yelling. It takes heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Mr Floyd says: "Can't believe this, man. Mom, love you. Love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."

A female bystander told the police: "His nose is bleeding, come on now."

About six minutes into that period, Mr Floyd became non-responsive. In videos of the incident, this was when Mr Floyd fell silent, as bystanders urged the officers to check his pulse.

Officer Kueng did just that, checking Mr Floyd's right wrist, but "couldn't find one". Yet the other officers did not move.

At 20:27, Mr Chauvin removed his knee from Mr Floyd's neck. Motionless, Mr Floyd was rolled on to a gurney and taken to the Hennepin County Medical Center in an ambulance.

He was pronounced dead about an hour later.

On the night before his death, Mr Floyd had spoken to one of his closest friends, Christopher Harris. He had advised Mr Floyd to contact a temporary jobs agency.

Forgery, he said, was out of character for Mr Floyd.

"The way he died was senseless," Harris said. "He begged for his life. He pleaded for his life. When you try so hard to put faith in this system, a system that you know isn't designed for you, when you constantly seek justice by lawful means and you can't get it, you begin to take the law into your own hands."

US protests timeline
George Floyd dies after police arrest
25 May 2020

George Floyd dies after being arrested by police outside a shop in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Footage shows a white officer, Derek Chauvin, kneeling on Mr Floyd’s neck for several minutes while he is pinned to the floor. Mr Floyd is heard repeatedly saying "I can’t breathe". He is pronounced dead later in hospital.

Protests begin
26 May

Four officers involved in the arrest of George Floyd are fired. Protests begin as the video of the arrest is shared widely on social media. Hundreds of demonstrators take to the streets of Minneapolis and vandalise police cars and the police station with graffiti.

Protests spread
27 May

Protests spread to other cities including Memphis and Los Angeles. In some places, like Portland, Oregon, protesters lie in the road, chanting "I can’t breathe". Demonstrators again gather around the police station in Minneapolis where the officers involved in George Floyd’s arrest were based and set fire to it. The building is evacuated and police retreat.

Trump tweets
28 May

President Trump blames the violence on a lack of leadership in Minneapolis and threatens to send in the National Guard in a tweet. He follows it up in a second tweet with a warning "when the looting starts, the shooting starts". The second tweet is hidden by Twitter for "glorifying violence".

CNN reporter arrested
29 May

A CNN reporter, Omar Jimenez, is arrested while covering the Minneapolis protest. Mr Jimenez was reporting live when police officers handcuffed him. A few minutes later several of his colleagues are also arrested. They are all later released once they are confirmed to be members of the media.

Derek Chauvin charged with murder
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, 44, is charged with murder and manslaughter. The charges carry a combined maximum 35-year sentence.

Sixth night of protests
31 May

Violence spreads across the US on the sixth night of protests. A total of at least five people are reported killed in protests from Indianapolis to Chicago. More than 75 cities have seen protests. At least 4,400 people have been arrested. Curfews are imposed across the US to try to stem the unrest.

Trump threatens military response
1 June

President Trump threatens to send in the military to quell growing civil unrest. He says if cities and states fail to control the protests and "defend their residents" he will deploy the army and "quickly solve the problem for them". Mr Trump poses in front of a damaged church shortly after police used tear gas to disperse peaceful protesters nearby.

Eighth night of protests
2 June

Tens of thousands of protesters again take to the streets. One of the biggest protests is in George Floyd’s hometown of Houston, Texas. Many defy curfews in several cities, but the demonstrations are largely peaceful.

Memorial service for George Floyd
4 June

A memorial service for George Floyd is held in Minneapolis. Those gathered in tribute stand in silence for eight minutes, 46 seconds, the amount of time Mr Floyd is alleged to have been on the ground under arrest. Hundreds attended the service, which heard a eulogy from civil rights activist Rev Al Sharpton.

International protests
7 June

As the US saw another weekend of protests, with tens of thousands marching in Washington DC, anti-racism demonstrations were held around the world.

In Australia, there were major protests in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane that focused on the treatment of indigenous Australians. There were also demonstrations in France, Germany, Spain and the UK. In Bristol, protesters tore down the statue of a 17th century slave trader and threw it into the harbour.

Funeral service for George Floyd
9 June

A funeral service for George Floyd is held in Houston, Mr Floyd’s home town. Just over two weeks after his death in Minneapolis and worldwide anti-racism protests, about 500 guests invited by the Floyd family are in attendance at the Fountain of Praise Church. Many more gather outside to show their support.

Kunle Falayi

BBC Yoruba, Lagos

Fahim Saleh, the founder of Gokada, one of Nigeria’s ride-hailing motorcycle services, has been found murdered in a Manhattan apartment by the police in the US city of New York.

The body was reportedly found by his sister on Tuesday.

A New York Police Department spokesperson said the body had been decapitated and dismembered, while an electric saw was found in the vicinity.

The reaction of the tech world in Nigeria has been one of shock as his company broke the news of his death on its Twitter page


Mr Saleh opened Gokada in the commercial hub of Lagos, in 2018, adding to the digitalisation of the city’s motorcycle shuttle business.

The startup raised $5.3m (£4.2m) in venture capital in June 2019.

Mr Saleh reacted strongly, via a video in February 2020, as the Lagos State government restricted the operation of motorcycle ride-share services in major parts of the city.

The policy forced his company to convert its fleet of motorcycles to use for logistics services.

Which UEFA champions league final the winner wan watch�

Maybe FIFA 20 own�

Passengers entering England from 59 destinations - including many popular holiday spots - will no longer have to quarantine as of today.

However, not all of them have ended restrictions for UK tourists when they arrive there.

Arrivals are exempt from quarantine if they arrive in England, Wales and Northern Ireland from:

Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba, Croatia, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Faroe Islands, Fiji, Finland, France, French Polynesia, Germany, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Malta, Mauritius, Monaco, Netherlands, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Réunion, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, South Korea, Spain, St Barthélemy, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Pierre and Miquelon, Switzerland, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Vatican City, Vietnam.

The 14 British Overseas Territories are also exempt.

The government has said the list will be kept under review.

You will still have to isolate for 14 days if you arrive back in England from Canada, the US and much of Central or South America.

Countries in Africa, the Middle East and most of Asia are also excluded - as are Sweden, Portugal and Russia.

The US is marking its Independence Day amid a surge in coronavirus cases, and many events have been cancelled.

Beaches have been closed in Florida and California, city parades cancelled and firework displays curtailed.

However, President Donald Trump will host a big party in Washington, with hundreds expected to pack the White House's South Lawn.

The daily tally of coronavirus infections hit a new record on Friday - 52,300, Johns Hopkins University said.

The number is rising in 39 states, and at least five - Alabama, Alaska, Kansas, North Carolina and South Carolina - had single-day case records on Friday, the New York Times reports.

According to the Johns Hopkins research, nearly 130,000 people have died of Covid-19 in the US - by far the highest total - and the US has 2.8 million confirmed cases.


In Washington, the White House has invited hundreds of medics to the 4 July party - medics who have been treating Covid-19 patients - despite the safety concerns of the local mayor. The fight against the pandemic is a theme of what the White House calls its Independence Day "Salute to America".

Thousands of people are expected to pack nearby streets to watch a military flypast and fireworks.

The US Department of the Interior plans to hand out 300,000 face masks to spectators who gather on the National Mall. They will also be urged to keep 6ft (1.8m) apart.

Joe Biden, the Democrat rival to Mr Trump in this year's presidential election, tweeted that "this Fourth of July, one of the most patriotic things you can do is wear a mask".

Firework displays are a traditional highlight of 4 July, but an estimated 80% of cities and towns have cancelled their shows.

New York City usually holds an hour-long extravaganza, but this year it was replaced by five-minute displays through the week, organised by Macy's department store, with a final televised one on Saturday - all at undisclosed locations.

Major League Baseball cancelled its 2020 All-Star Game for the first time since World War Two.

Defying the health warnings, President Trump on Friday addressed a big crowd at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, condemning the "angry mobs" who had toppled statues in anti-racism protests.

The site, with its giant mountain carvings of former US presidents, was chosen to strengthen his claim that US heritage is under attack.

Two of the presidents carved at Mount Rushmore - George Washington and Thomas Jefferson - were slave owners.

Mr Trump, gearing up for a tough re-election battle, accused protesters of waging "a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values and indoctrinate our children".

Guillem Balague's BBC Sport column
Lionel Messi is fed up.

According to the Spanish radio station Cadena Ser, the Barcelona captain has broken off contract talks after finally running out of patience with the club because of the constant rumours and allegations that he is one of the prime reasons for unrest around the Nou Camp.

Messi is disillusioned with any number of things emanating from his life at Barcelona at the moment. He is fed up of being accused of running the club, fed up of people saying he hires and fires the coaches, fed up of claims he chooses who should be signed and who should play and fed up with the general direction of the club and the huge mistakes they have made in the transfer market.

Enough is enough and now he has, according to the the radio station's programme El Larguero, told the club he will be leaving at the end of next season.

What is behind this? How likely is it to happen? The whole story needs context.


Claims have been made against Messi that he wanted the club to sign France forward Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid but now no longer wants him there. Untrue.

On a personal level, Griezmann has joined Messi and Luis Suarez, along with their wives, for dinner and their relationship is good, even though Griezmann has yet to find his niche in the side. In any case, there is a conscious effort by both Messi and Suarez to help him adapt.

On the managerial front he has been accused of having got former manager Tata Martino sacked and current manager Quique Setien hired because he liked his style of football. Not true.

As the best paid and number one player at the club, rumours such as these come with the territory and it is indeed true that when any major decisions concerning the playing aspects of the club have to be taken then the star names are always consulted. Of course they are, it is not something specific to Barcelona, and to do otherwise would be negligent.

But clearly there are problems to which finding solutions will be difficult. In particular president Josep Maria Bartomeu has made promises he has failed to keep. "We'll try to get Neymar back," he announced, knowing full well he had already agreed the signing of Griezmann. "We'll sack Ernesto Valverde in order to bring in Xavi," he said, but eventually both the club and the legendary midfielder decided they could not work together at that point.

Since his last renewal, Messi has had a clause in his contract which permits him to leave at the end of the season. Even though he is happy in his familiar surroundings on a personal level - possibly as he has never been before - it keeps the board on its toes.

He wants the team to compete, especially in Europe. And if he brings doubts about his future, it will force everyone to find a solution - namely, being clever in the market and bringing in good players.

Negotiations for a contract renewal had been going well. But performances on the pitch have left the Argentine unhappy and the trust in Setien has been diminishing quickly from a big percentage of the squad.

It all came to the fore after Saturday's 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo, which made the target of winning the league even harder. Big words were exchanged between Setien and some of the biggest names in the team. The manager, disappointed because he couldn't do many of the things he hoped to do when he first arrived, took a gamble. He told the players that things could not continue like that, and that if there was no change, they could easily get rid of him.

It is not described as a resignation announcement, but a way to look for a response.

The response came. Conversations took place between the captains and Setien, and also with Bartomeu, and bridges started being built again. Gerard Pique, one of the captains and a man who always has a nose for good timing, put a tweet out asking for unity among the club and its fans.

But against that backdrop of lack of confidence in the board, at a time when the manager could be replaced, when players have to be signed, when a new contract has to be negotiated, Messi has flexed his muscles and everybody has heard his doubts, even though it has come via a radio station.

There have of course been previous crossroads moments in the past when Messi has come close to leaving the club.

In his early days when he was battling with Spanish bureaucracy and not yet an automatic starter at Barcelona, Inter Milan came close to signing him when they indicated they were in no way fazed by his 150m euros buyout clause and were prepared to triple his salary. The wise words of the then president, Joan Laporta, swung things. Messi, who never really wanted to go, stayed.

The much-publicised tax evasion trials took an enormous toll on both him and his family and also left him close to wanting to leave not just Barcelona, but also Spain. But once everything had been sorted out and he returned to training, he decided to stay, although at that time he could have had the pick of any club in the world, not least Manchester City where Pep Guardiola was about to take over.

And now has come a third crisis and with it a severe shot across the bows of a dithering board, accompanied by a clear message.

After three draws, and despite starting the second phase of the league campaign in the right frame of mind, it soon became abundantly clear that, just as he had suspected earlier on in the campaign, this Barcelona side was not good enough to win the Champions League.

Barcelona have been unable as yet to finalise a deal for the Argentine striker Lautaro Martinez, despite the fact he is precisely the type of player they need if they are to continue to compete at the top level. At the club they are optimistic that they can get him.

Football will dictate if a new manager is needed and that might mean forgetting old foes and trying to approach Xavi again. Victor Font, a candidate to be club president in the upcoming elections in 2021, has made no secret of the fact the first thing he would do if elected is install Xavi as coach, whoever happens to be in charge at the time. Xavi would almost certainly prefer to take the job with him at the helm, but football being football, never say never.

While the return of Xavi might see a welcome renewal of the Barcelona style for the team, we will have to see if the old captain will address the deep problems that run in the side, mostly the consequence of a very successful team and generation that is seeing its last days.

Meanwhile Messi will watch it all with a vested interest.

There are a significant number of studies under way into potential treatments for Covid-19.

And some progress has been made in the search for effective medicines.

What work is being done to find treatments?
More than 150 different drugs are being researched around the world. Most are existing drugs that are being trialled against the virus.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched the Solidarity trial aimed at assessing the most promising treatments
The UK says its Recovery trial is the the world's biggest, with more than 11,000 patients taking part. One of the drugs it is looking at - dexamethasone - has been shown to help save the lives of patients seriously ill with coronavirus.
And multiple research centres around the world are attempting to use survivors' blood as a treatment
What types of drugs might work?
There are three broad approaches being investigated:

Antiviral drugs that directly affect the coronavirus's ability to thrive inside the body
Drugs that can calm the immune system - patients become seriously ill when their immune system overreacts and starts causing collateral damage to the body
Antibodies, either from survivors' blood or made in a lab, that can attack the virus
What are the most promising coronavirus drugs?
Dexamethasone, the first drug shown to save the lives of people with Covid-19, has been hailed as a breakthrough.

Initial findings showed the low-cost steroid cut the risk of death by a third for patients on ventilators and a fifth for those on oxygen.

Coronavirus infection triggers inflammation as the body tries to fight it off.

This can prompt the immune system to go into overdrive, and it's this reaction that can prove fatal. Dexamethasone damps down this response.

What is dexamethasone and how does it work?
Clinical trials of remdesivir, an antiviral drug originally developed to treat Ebola, have also been encouraging.

A US-led trial of more than 1,000 people worldwide found remdesivir cut the duration of symptoms from 15 days to 11. Some were given the drug and others were given a placebo (dummy) treatment.

It is one of the four drugs in the Solidarity trial and its manufacturer, Gilead, is also organising trials.

But, although remdesivir may aid recovery - and possibly stop people having to be treated in intensive care - studies have so far not given any clear indication whether it can prevent deaths from coronavirus.

It is thought that antivirals may be more effective in the early stages, and immune drugs later in the disease.

The UK government has made both dexamethasone and remdesivir available on the NHS.

However, the US has bought almost all of Gilead's forthcoming supply of the drug. The Department of Health and Human Services says it has secured 500,000 doses, which amounts to 100% of Gilead's production in July, 90% of it in August and 90% in September.

Gilead has also donated an unknown quantity of remdesivir to South Korea.


Can HIV drugs treat coronavirus?
There has been much talk, but little evidence, that a pair of HIV drugs - lopinavir and ritonavir - could be effective at treating coronavirus.

There has been some evidence they can work in the laboratory, but studies in people have been disappointing.

The combination did not improve recovery, reduce deaths or lower levels of the virus in patients with serious Covid-19.

However, as the trial was conducted with extremely sick patients (nearly a quarter died) it may have been too late in the infection for the drugs to work.

Can malaria drugs stop coronavirus?
Malaria drugs are part of both the Solidarity and Recovery trials.

Chloroquine, and a related derivative, hydroxychloroquine, may have antiviral and immune-calming properties. Hydroxychloroquine is also used as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, because it can help regulate the immune system.

The drugs were thrust into the spotlight as potential coronavirus therapies, largely because of claims made by President Trump, but there is still limited evidence on their effectiveness.

Early laboratory tests showed it can inhibit the coronavirus, but concerns emerged about its use against the disease.

The UK's Recovery trial, run by the University of Oxford, found that hydroxychloroquine does not work as a treatment for Covid-19, and it was pulled from that trial.

The WHO had previously suspended its global trials of hydroxychloroquine following a large-scale study in the Lancet which found the drug's use can cause heart problems, and actually increased the likelihood of death.

However, that study was subsequently discredited, and on 30 June, the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said that Oxford University can resume its hydroxychloroquine trials.

Researchers are keen to continue exploring whether the drug might prevent infections.

Can survivors' blood treat coronavirus?
People who survive an infection should have antibodies in their blood that can attack the virus.

The idea is you take the blood plasma (the part which contains the antibodies) and give that to a sick patient as a therapy.

The US has already treated 500 patients with what's known as "convalescent plasma", and other countries are getting involved too.

Plasma treatment to be trialled
How long until we have a cure?
It is too soon to know when we might have a drug that can treat the coronavirus.

However, we should start to get the results of trials in the next few months. This is much earlier than we will know whether a vaccine (which protects against infection rather than treat it) is effective.

This is because doctors are testing drugs that have already been developed and are known to be safe enough to use, whereas vaccines researchers are starting from scratch.

Some completely new, experimental, coronavirus drugs are also being tested in the laboratory but are not yet ready for human tests.

Why do we need a treatment?
The most obvious reason for wanting a treatment is it will save lives, but it could also allow further lockdown measures to be lifted.

Having an effective treatment would, in essence, make coronavirus a milder disease.

If it stopped people who were admitted to hospital from needing ventilation, then there would be less risk of intensive care units being overwhelmed, so controls on people's lives may not need to be as strict.

Jonathan Marcus
Diplomatic correspondent

With the UK opening its doors to three million Hong Kong residents and China threatening serious retaliation for what it sees as an intrusion into its domestic affairs, the Hong Kong crisis is becoming a real-time test of diplomacy in a pandemic-distracted world.

So what does this drama tell us about China's emerging place in the new world order? And what light does it throw on the very particular problems posed, post-Brexit, for the British government's efforts to roll out a new and optimistic foreign policy under the banner of "Global Britain"?

First off, was this crisis inevitable? Things might have been so very different. For well over two decades, most policy-makers in the West hoped that China's rise would unfold in a very specific way.

China, it was said, would become a "responsible stakeholder" in the international community. In other words, it would abide by international agreements and norms, because, as part of the system, it benefited from them as much as anyone else.

Maybe in that kind of world, the deal entered into between the British and Chinese governments over Hong Kong's future would have survived.

But things did not turn out like that. China's rise was rapid and single-minded. It became a military superpower, at least in its own region, one that close to home, even the mighty United States would struggle to confront.

Why people are scared of Hong Kong's new law
But its rise also came about at a time when the West in general and the United States in particular was distracted. There was the war on terrorism and the crisis in Syria. Europe had the distraction of Brexit.

And then there was the Trump administration in the United States which has hardly been consistent on China policy - indeed, it has lacked a strategic sense in foreign policy across the board.

China's rise over the past five years has coincided not just with a relative decline in Washington's standing abroad, but an absolute decline, plunging Washington's alliance systems in Asia, Europe and the Middle East into crisis.

What if the US removes Hong Kong's special status?
US imposes visa restrictions on Chinese officials
While problems between the West and China grew in number, there was no overall response that saw these as elements - trade tensions, technological rivalries, strategic issues and so on - as part of a bigger "China problem" that required a concerted and co-ordinated response.

This was the world on the brink of the Covid-19 crisis; a drama that originated in China and which initially caused some serious problems for Beijing, but one which it was clearly determined to turn to its advantage.

It is no accident then that a more strident nationalist tone in Chinese policy has been the result, ranging from tensions with the US and Australia, Sino-Indian rivalry on their common frontier, and to cap it all, China's decision to overturn the fundamentals of its deal with the UK over Hong Kong.

Indeed the Covid-19 crisis gave Beijing the opportunity to bring the Hong Kong crisis to a head.

However long this pandemic lasts, one consequence is clear - the trajectory of Beijing's more assertive policy is unlikely to change unless real and concerted pressure is brought to bear. And for all the condemnation of China's attitude towards the liberties of the people of Hong Kong, it is hard to see this happening.

This then places the British government in a significant predicament. Mired in mid-pandemic where Prime Minister Boris Johnson government's handling of affairs has been much criticised, this is the first big test of Britain's new bullish and re-branded foreign policy - an approach dubbed "Global Britain".

Nobody really knows quite what "Global Britain" means.

"Making the best of a bad situation" is what many opponents of Brexit might cynically note. And to be fair, with the Covid-19 pandemic taking up so much of the government's time, it is simply far too early to make any kind of verdict about "Global Britain" on the basis of the Hong Kong experience.

But what this row with China does do is to throw a spotlight on the strengths and weaknesses of the UK's current diplomatic position. It is important to cut through the high-flown rhetoric and look at the stark reality.

Why did the UK return Hong Kong to China?
What is behind the Hong Kong citizenship offer?
Hong Kong is part of China. Britain is the former colonial power which does not cut much ice in Beijing. China is widely held to have broken its agreement, quite apart from pursuing a whole variety of unpleasant internal security policies. But China is something of a superpower and Britain is decidedly not.

So where does this leave Mr Johnson's government? many commentators would say to his credit that he has taken a moral stand in offering sanctuary to some three million people from Hong Kong. This is an extraordinary number and is remarkable from a party whose base is highly sceptical about immigration per se.

The fact that China may not allow many people to leave, or that many will decide to stay, or indeed that many, even if they do leave, will go elsewhere in the world, does not alter the fact that Mr Johnson, when faced with Chinese pressure, has tried to retain the high ground.

But diplomacy is made up of many things. Principled action (many might say there is far too little of that in world affairs) is one thing, but achieving one's foreign policy goals is a team sport. It is about gaining the trust and support of allies, crafting joint positions, and developing joint action.

Here, despite a good deal of rhetorical support for the UK's position on Hong Kong, little has happened beyond words. The Americans are rolling back some of the trading advantages afforded to the territory of Hong Kong, but then, this is an election year and Mr Trump sees getting tough with Beijing as one element of the strategy that he hopes will keep him in the White House.

But "global Britain" remains unusually isolated. It is semi-detached from Europe; its tangled negotiations over the future of its relationship with the European Union continue.

And its relationship with the Americans is to say the least complicated. For all the bonhomie between Mr Johnson and Mr Trump, the UK badly needs a trade deal with Washington and is always going to be uncomfortable at the thought of whatever quid pro quo may be required for US support.

Indeed, the pandemic highlights such problems in stark terms. Mr Trump has given us an additional understanding of the meaning of "America First" in his decision to buy up the bulk of the supply of the crucial drug remdesivir for treating Covid-19 from its US manufacturer.

The EU is trying to negotiate supplies for its member states. It is not entirely clear where the UK stands in all of this, though press reports quote officials as saying it has secured sufficient supplies for its needs.

This highlights the UK's current position - in but not of Europe, and close but not that close to Washington. It's a powerful reminder too of the increasing weight of the economic and technological in global affairs.

UK needs to re-engage
For much of the past century, tanks or nuclear bombs were thought to be the currency of global power. But this was a superficial reading of things, obscuring the fact that, whatever the continuing importance of military hardware, the real reason that the United States dominated in the post-World War Two and Cold War world was its extraordinary economic muscle and research base.

Now China has these attributes too. That is the new world order in which the ship of "global Britain" will have to steer.

The UK has many attributes. Relatively, it remains a rich nation. It still retains a seat in the "directors' box" of international politics, the UN Security Council. But it is going to have to find a way to re-engage in the post-Covid, post-Brexit world.

Across the globe, there are signs of a growing frustration with Beijing's bullish policies which perhaps really should now be dubbed "China First".

The colonial legacy has given the UK a prime role in the unfolding Hong Kong drama. It now needs to play its part in helping to forge a new international consensus on dealing with Beijing: one that at the same time pushes back against Chinese pressure while seeking positively to engage with China's rulers on the big global issues that matter.

For millions of Americans, celebrating 4 July comes with certain rituals and traditions.

Parades, public fireworks displays and large family reunions are some of the most popular ways Americans mark the nation's independence from Britain in 1776.

But this year is set to look a little different. Here's why.

1) Cancelled parades
Sadly, it looks like the floats will have to stay in the garage this year.

Cities around the US have cancelled their annual parades as cases of coronavirus continue to rise. The National Independence Day Parade in Washington DC is the highest-profile casualty.

"Covid-19 infection levels will not be abated to the degree that it would be safe," its organisers said in a rather downcast statement.

But others have approached things with a more creative touch.

In the small town of Montgomery, Ohio, there's set to be a "reverse parade" where motorists will drive past a stationary show featuring the usual marching band, stilt walkers and floats.

Either way, we're unlikely to see the kind of showpiece events that we're used to. There's always next year, at least.

2) Secret fireworks
Fireworks displays are synonymous with Independence Day and - while a raft of events have been cancelled - it's not all bad news.

Some organisers have come up with ingenious ways to ensure they can still go ahead without crowds gathering to watch.

In New York, the Macy's Fireworks Show is being held over a series of nights at unspecified locations and times. Each show will last for just five minutes to avoid crowds being able to gather.

Other cities, such as Boston and Houston, are encouraging people to watch the fireworks from home on TV or online. Which brings us nicely onto...

3) ...virtual events
It's fair to say this pandemic has pushed a lot of people to do more online, and that appears to include celebrating Independence Day.

A huge number of events will be streamed online so they can be enjoyed safely at home.

What's behind alarming new US outbreaks?
Is the pandemic getting worse in the US?
The Capitol Fourth concert in Washington DC is one of the most well-known. This year, it was pre-recorded in "iconic locations across the country" and will be shown both online and on TV.

And in Los Angeles, an arts centre is set to host an "online block party" with music and other performances being shown live on Facebook. Plenty of other cities are planning to livestream concerts of their own.

Oh, and one of the quirkier Independence Day traditions - Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest - is still going ahead with various Covid-19 precautions in place.

The century-old competition will be shown on TV where it's previously attracted almost two million viewers. Some traditions are sacred, after all.

4) 'Sorry, we're closed'

While some events organisers are finding innovative ways to keep things on track, there's no getting around the fact that a lot of public spaces will be closed this weekend.

Bars and restaurants will be shut in many states, as officials continue to pull back on plans to reopen after the recent spike in coronavirus cases.

And beaches in states such as Florida and California, which would normally be packed with holidaymakers, will be closed to the public.

But there's some consolation if you had planned a trip to see a major attraction.

A fair few offer some form of online tour, including the USS Constitution which is one of the world's oldest warships. It's set to stream virtual tours as well as a live 21-gun salute to mark Independence Day on Saturday.

5) Protests and politics
Beyond the pandemic, the US has also been rocked by another major news event this year.

The death of African American George Floyd in police custody in May triggered nationwide protests and led to renewed demands for an end to institutional racism. Many of these protests targeted statues of controversial historical figures.

Now, some officials are concerned that Independence Day could see further clashes at monuments and sites.

President Donald Trump's administration has put "rapid deployment teams" in place to guard federal monuments around the country ahead of the long weekend.

"While the department respects every American's right to protest peacefully, violence and civil unrest will not be tolerated," Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said in a statement announcing the move.

There are also plans for Black Lives Matter protests on 4 July in a swathe of cities including Orlando, Newark and Washington DC.

6) The start date
While the majority of this year's events will take place on 4th, the celebrations will actually kick-off on 3rd.

That's when President Trump will travel to the Mount Rushmore National Monument in South Dakota for the first firework display there in more than a decade.

It's proved to be a controversial plan for a few reasons. Firstly, there are environmental concerns as some fear the display could set off wildfires in the surrounding forest.

And Native American groups are planning to protest against Mr Trump's visit as the monument to former US presidents was built on land sacred to the Sioux tribe.

The event has also attracted criticism because social distancing will not be enforced and masks will not be mandatory. "We told those folks that have concerns that they can stay home," the Republican governor said.

Mr Trump has promised a "special evening" back in Washington DC, too, where 10,000 fireworks will be set off as part of the "Salute to America" event which is still going ahead.

But the city's Mayor Muriel Bowser has expressed concern and urged people to stay at home. "Ask yourself, do you need to be there?" she said. "Do you know if you'll be able to social distance?"

Their disagreement points to the fraught political backdrop that is likely to make this year's Independence Day - in more ways than one - unlike any other.

Tesla has become the world's most valuable carmaker, overtaking Japan's Toyota, after its stock hit a record high.

Shares in the electric carmaker touched $1,134 on Wednesday morning before falling back, leaving it with a market value of $209.47bn (£165bn).

That is roughly $4bn more than Toyota's current stock market value.

However, Toyota sold around 30 times more cars last year and its revenues were more than 10 times higher.

Shares in Tesla have surged since the start of 2020 as investors have begun to feel more confident about the future of electric vehicles.

How Elon Musk aims to revolutionise battery technology
That is despite its founder Elon Musk having wiped $14bn off Tesla's value in May after tweeting that its share price was too high.

After years of losses, the Californian firm has also delivered three profitable quarters in a row and maintained that momentum during the first three months of 2020 despite the coronavirus outbreak.

Toyota, however, remains a far larger business in terms of sales.

The Japanese company sold 10.46 million vehicles in the year to March and posted revenues of 30.2 trillion yen ($281.20bn).

Tesla ended 2019 with sales of just $24.6bn, having delivered 367,200 vehicles last year.

However, investors are excited by the US firm's potential, believing it could dominate the future electric car market.

Analysts at the stockbroker Jefferies said the firm remained "significantly ahead of peers in product range, capacity and technology".

In a reflection of that, the firm is also now worth around three times the combined value of US rivals General Motors and Ford.

Mr Musk has said Tesla will deliver at least 500,000 vehicles in 2020, a forecast the company has not changed despite the coronavirus pandemic.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has topped Instagram's rich list as the celebrity thought to be able to charge more than any one else for a sponsored post.

The wrestler-turned-actor could charge advertisers more than $1m (£790,000) per post last year, according to the social media marketing firm Hopper HQ.

The Fast and Furious star knocked make-up entrepreneur Kylie Jenner off the top spot.

She has 182 million Instagram followers, while he has 187 million.

UK-based company Hopper HQ, which runs social media accounts on behalf of companies and individuals, published its first Instagram rich list in 2017.

The rankings and cost per post were arrived at after speaking with so-called social media "influencers" themselves, along with brands and marketing companies, and using publicly available pricing information to estimate how much each account could charge.

However, marketers tend to be secretive about how much they pay, or the posts may be part of a wider deal - as is often the case with A-list celebrities or sports stars - so the exact amounts are not known.

Other high value personalities on its list for 2019 included footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, who was worth $889,000 per post, and socialite Kim Kardashian West, who could charge $858,000.

Report
Earlier this year, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was crowned by Forbes as the highest-paid actor in the world, having earned nearly $90m last year before tax.

Outside of his film work, the action star has a major commercial partnership with Under Armour, the US sports brand he signed with in 2016.

He has also been sponsored by tech giant Apple and the Norwegian bottled water brand Voss, in which he holds a stake.

However, his current list of endorsement deals on Instagram appears surprisingly short.

Scrolling through his feed, aside from selfies of the muscle-bound actor working out, most of The Rock's recent posts promote his own Tequila brand, Teremana.

Other than that, his promotional posts are largely for new episodes of The Titans, an NBC TV series which he hosts, or films in which he stars, such as upcoming DC Comics feature Black Adam.

The 10 celebrities who can charge the most per Instagram post
1. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, 187m followers - just over $1m per post

2. Kylie Jenner, 182m - $986,000 per post

3. Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, 225m - $889,000 per post

4. Socialite Kim Kardashian, 176m - $858,000 per post

5. Pop star Ariana Grande, 191m - $853,000 per post

6. Actress and singer Selena Gomez, 180m - $848,000 per post

7. Pop star Beyoncé Knowles, 149m - $770,000 per post

8. Pop star Justin Bieber, 139m - $747,000 per post

9. Pop star Taylor Swift, 135m - $722,000 per post

10. Footballer Neymar da Silva Santos Junior, 139m - $704,000 per post

Source: Hopper HQ

"Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson has had an incredible year as he continues to dominate Hollywood with blockbuster hits, including Fast & Furious and the second Jumanji film," said Mike Bandar, co-founder of Hopper HQ.

"It was particularly interesting to see the star rise in Instagram fame this year as he moved up six places in the list and overtook reigning champion Kylie Jenner."

In May, Forbes magazine removed reality TV star and cosmetics entrepreneur Kylie Jenner from its list of billionaires, accusing her family of inflating the value of her makeup business.

This year was the first time in four years in which a Jenner or Kardashian wasn't top of Hopper HQ's Instagram celebrity rich list.

Influencers must make clear an Instagram post is an advert if they were paid to publish it or received gifts in return.

However, some have been criticised for a lack of transparency.

Las Las kogi yarf pick them village people call

That's life

Waiting for tonight's new cases

Henreez:
LOL they were compiling and adding figures na

Eh ehn
Them comply and add well oh

Well since this is Nigeria
There's 70% possibility it can be false.
No proof to believe it's real

So these numbers come Las Las
Me think say case no dey today.

Set awon late comer

Waiting for sunday's new cases��

So these numbers come Las Las.
Me think say case no go dey today.

Set awon Confusion

Everyday day stats.

Records any case above 100
Give Lagos the highest, since it's Lagos, share the rest amongst the remaining states.

Just add little to the deaths then also the addition of the audio recoveries of different states

Lies of "stigmatization"
Rabbish

Everyday day stats.

Records any case above 100
Give Lagos the highest, since it's Lagos, share the rest amongst the remaining states.

Just add little to the deaths then also the addition of the audio recoveries of different states

Lies of "stigmatization"
Rabbish