Welcome to Olamama's blog!!!: December 2020

Wednesday, 30 December 2020

Four children killed playing with grenade in DR Congo

Four Congolese children were killed when a grenade they were playing with exploded, a local official said Wednesday in Ituri, a province in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The accident occurred Tuesday in the village of Tsoro, in Ituri’s Djugu territory, said local administrator Adel Alingi. “One of them picked up the device, another threw it in the air, and the grenade exploded as it fell,” Alingi told AFP, adding that all four children died on the spot.
Djugu is at the centre of violence blamed on fighters from the Cooperation for the Development of Congo (CODECO), an armed political-religious sect linked to more than 1,000 deaths since December 2017. Experts say CODECO brings together several sects of militia fighters who claim to defend the rights of ethnic Lendu farming communities.
Source: AFP

South Africa goes back to lockdown with alcohol sales banned again

South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa has announced the country will move back to lockdown level 3, taking effect from tonight, December 28. In an address, Ramaphosa said that the move is to limit super-spreader events further, and will adjust the previous level 3 regulations to keep the economy as open as possible.
It will also allow the government to focus on social distancing measures with the aim to ease the pressure on hospitals.
The change follows meetings held by the president and his cabinet as part of the National Coronavirus Command Council on Sunday, and come as the country surpasses 1 million cumulative Covid-19 infections and record daily increases.

Six cases of the more contagious variant of Covid-19 first identified in the UK have been confirmed in India. The six individuals who returned from the UK are being kept in isolation, officials said on Tuesday. India joined a list of other countries last week in suspending flights to and from the UK.
The new variant is considerably more transmissible than previous strains but not necessarily any more dangerous, experts say.
With more than 10 million confirmed cases so far, India has the second-highest caseload in the world after the US.

Nigerian-born New Zealand MMA fighter, Israel Adesanya, has been named Fighter of the Year for 2020 at the World MMA Awards. The UFC Middleweight champion, who has a 20-0 career record after beating both Yoel Romero and Paulo Costa in the Octagon this year, picked up the Charles 'Mask' Lewis Fighter of the Year Award, and the prize for International Fighter of the Year on Sunday, December 27, at the 12th edition of the Fighters Only World MMA Awards.

Juventus striker, Cristiano Ronaldo has been named player of the century at the 2020 Globe Soccer Awards. The Portuguese superstar was crowned ahead of Barcelona's Leo Messi and Liverpool's Mohamed Salah to win the award on Sunday night in Dubai.
He voted best player of the 2000s by a 23-person jury, including coaches and former players and worldwide fan votes.
Ronaldo is a five-time UEFA Champions League winner (four with Real Madrid, one with Manchester United). He won the English Premier League title with the Red Devils for three consecutive years (2007, 2008, and 2009).

A rare, snow-white kiwi bird that inspired a children's book and was the first of its kind ever hatched in captivity has died in New Zealand after multiple surgeries to remove an unfertilized egg.
The kiwi -- named Manukura, which means "of chiefly status" in Māori -- died Sunday, according to a statement from the Pūkaha National Wildlife Centre, 78 miles (125 kilometers) from the national capital Wellington.
The North Island brown kiwi was hatched at Pūkaha in May 2011, with a rare genetic trait resulting in white feathers instead of the standard brown.

A man named Anthony Quinn Warner, 63, who died in an explosion in Nashville which saw three people injured and buildings damaged on Christmas Day morning, has been identified as a suspect in the explosion. Police identified warner as the suspect of the bombings in a news conference on Sunday, Dec 27.
FBI forensic experts matched DNA samples of Warner to those found at the scene.
Police also searched a home in nearby Antioch where it's believed he lived.
The first photo of the suspect has been released, according to CBS news, who say law enforcement sources have confirmed it is Warner.

18 Premier League players, staff test positive for COVID-19

The Premier League confirmed on Tuesday that 18 players and staff have tested positive for coronavirus, the highest number since weekly testing began.
Manchester City’s clash at Everton was postponed on Monday after an outbreak of multiple positive cases at City.
“The Premier League can today confirm that between Monday 21 December and Sunday 27 December, 1,479 players and club staff were tested for Covid-19,” the league said in a statement.
“Of these, there were 18 new positive tests. Players or club staff who have tested positive will self-isolate for a period of 10 days.”

Wrestling star, Brodie Lee dies at 41 after battle with 'non-COVID related lung issue'

The wrestling world has been thrown into mourning following the loss of WWE and AEW star, Brodie Lee. The Professional wrestler Jon Huber, better known by his stage name Brodie Lee, died at the age of 41 on Sunday morning, December 27.
According to his wife Amanda Huber, the wrestler died "surrounded by loved ones after a hard fought battle with a non-[COVID-19] related lung issue," she said in a post on Instagram.

She wrote:

My best friend died today.

The Philippines will ban travellers from 19 countries and territories until mid-January as a measure to keep out a new variant of the coronavirus, its transport ministry said on Tuesday.
The regulation will be in effect from midnight of Dec. 29 to Jan. 15, covers Filipinos and foreigners arriving from the “flagged countries”, the transport ministry told reporters in a group text message.
The Philippine government previously imposed and later extended a flight ban from Britain until mid-January.

More than $300,000 raised as reward for anyone with information about Nashville explosion

More than $300,000 has been raised to offer as a reward for anyone with information leading to the arrest of the person behind a massive explosion that rocked Nashville city in the United States on Christmas morning. The City of Nashville was rocked around 6:30 a.m. on Friday, Christmas morning by an exploding RV car. Three people were hospitalized and two responding officers were also injured in the blast. Police authorities have since said they believe the explosion was intentional.
After the bomb blast on Friday, The Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. put up a $10,000 reward for useful tips about the bomb blast before increasing their offer later in the evening to $35,000, the Tennessean reported.

FIFA has canceled the Under-17 and Under-20 World Cups scheduled for next year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The news comes after the postponement of the Olympic Games and other global sporting tournaments. In a statement released, FIFA said the 2021 edition of both tournaments will be cancelled, and the next edition will be held in 2023, with Indonesia still hosting the U20s and Peru the U17s.
“The COVID-19 pandemic continues to present challenges for the hosting of international sporting events and to have a restrictive effect on international travel. FIFA has therefore regularly consulted the relevant stakeholders, including the host member associations as well as the confederations involved in both tournaments originally scheduled to take place in 2021,” the football governing body said in a statement.
“In doing so, it became clear that the global situation has failed to normalise to a sufficient level to address the challenges associated with hosting both tournaments, including the feasibility of the relevant qualification pathways,” it added.

Black Lives Matter movement gave me extra drive in 2020 - Lewis Hamilton

Reigning Formula One champion, Lewis Hamilton has stated that the Black Lives Matter movement gave him extra motivation in 2020, a year he didn't just only win his seventh Formula 1 world title, but he equalled Michael Schumacher's F1 record of winning seven World Championships and passing the German's total of 91 grands prix victories.
He was also voted the 2020 BBC Sports Personality of the Year earlier this month.
This year, Hamilton, 35, was always taking a knee on the grid and wore anti-racism slogans in support of the cause during the season.

Manchester City's visit to Goodison Park to face Everton in the Premier League on Monday has been postponed due to COVID-19, the clubs have confirmed.
City also confirmed their training ground will close for an "indeterminate period," with further testing required before players would be cleared to train. The match against Everton was due to kick off at 8 p.m. (3 p.m. ET).
A Manchester City statement read: "Manchester City FC can confirm that this evening's Premier League fixture at Everton has been postponed.
"After the latest round of COVID-19 testing, the club returned a number of positive cases, in addition to the four already reported on Christmas Day.

The property formerly known as Neverland Ranch, home to the late Michael Jackson, has been purchased by Pittsburgh Penguins co-owner Ron Burkle, Burkle's spokesman confirmed to CNN Saturday. Spokesman Frank Quintero did not confirm the purchase price, but The Wall Street Journal reported it was $22 million.
Burkle is also the co-founder of Yucaipa Companies, an investment firm.
Neverland Ranch -- named after the fictional "Neverland" in the tale of Peter Pan, the boy who could never grow up -- was purchased by Jackson in 1987 for $19.5 million.

Manchester City stars, Kyle Walker and Gabriel Jesus have tested positive for the coronavirus, the club confirmed on Friday December 25. Two members of the club's staff, whose identities have not been revealed yet, also tested positive.
"All four personnel will now observe a period of self-isolation in accordance with Premier League and UK Government protocol on quarantine," City said in a statement released on Friday morning.
"Everyone at the club wishes our colleagues a speedy recovery over the Christmas period ahead of their return to work, training and competition."
The defender and the striker now look set to miss City's Premier League matches against Newcastle, Everton and Chelsea, with a return possible for their Carabao Cup semi-final against Manchester United on January 6.

Taiwan reports first local Covid-19 case in more than 250 days

Taiwan has recorded its first locally-transmitted case of coronavirus since April. The island has had one of the most successful pandemic responses in the world, and the new infection ends a 255-day run without local transmission, underscoring the difficulties in controlling the virus even in areas where it has been largely stamped out.
According to a statement released by the island's health ministry on Tuesday, a woman in her 30s was infected after having contact with a foreign pilot, who also tested positive for the virus, between December 8 and 12.

The European Union (EU) and United Kingdom (UK) have finally agreed a post-Brexit trade deal, ending months of disagreements over fishing rights and future business rules.
The UK is set to exit EU trading rules next Thursday - a year after officially leaving the 27 nation bloc.
It will mean big changes for business, with the UK and EU forming two separate markets, and the end of free movement.
At a Downing Street press conference on Thursday, December 24, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "We have taken back control of our laws and our destiny."

A Pakistani court has ordered the release of the British-born militant, Omar Sheikh who was accused of killing an American journalist, Daniel Pearl in 2002. Omar Sheikh was acquitted of Daniel Pearl's murder earlier this year but had remained in jail after an appeal against that decision began.
The Sindh High Court in Karachi on Thursday, December 24, 2020, ruled that Sheikh's temporary jail time was illegal and he should released within the next 24 hours.
The story of the abduction and gruesome beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter, Daniel Pearl (pictured below) in the southern city of Karachi, Pakistan in 2012 prompted shock and outrage.
Pearl, who was the Wall Street Journal's South Asia bureau chief, went missing in January 2002.

Thomas Tuchel has been sacked by Paris Saint-Germain and is set to be replaced by Mauricio Pochettino. The former Borussia Dortmund boss, 47, who joined the club at the beginning of the 2018-19 season, won six trophies with Les Parisiens, including back-to-back Ligue 1 titles, Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue in 2020.
But Wednesday night’s 4-0 win over Strasbourg was the end of the road for Tuchel despite PSG being third in the French league, just one point off top spot.
Before the game, Tuchel had given an interview in his homeland in which he was quoted as saying he had, at times, felt more like "a sports politician or sports minister than a coach" during his tenure.

First lady Melania Trump hasn’t been “in Vogue” or other fashion mags -- nearly enough, President Trump said this week. Not a single major magazine has featured the former model on its cover during her husband’s presidency, prompting the Commander in Chief to vent on Christmas about the lack of attention.
He shared a tweet from Breitbart News on Christmas Day complaining how “the elitist snobs in the fashion press have kept the most elegant First Lady in American history off the covers of their magazines for 4 consecutive years.”
Melania Trump is “the greatest of all time,” Trump added.

Four cases of a coronavirus variant believed to be particularly infectious that recently emerged in Britain have been confirmed in Madrid, the regional government said Saturday, the first cases detected in Spain.
All four cases involved people who recently arrived from the UK, the Madrid regional government’s deputy health chief Antonio Zapatero told a news conference.
“The patients are not seriously ill, we know that this strain is more transmissible, but it does not cause more serious illness,” he said.

Russian billionaire, Igor Sosin, 53, found 'dead' in Zanzibar while on holiday with his daughter and a mystery woman

A Russian billionaire has reportedly been found dead in Zanzibar while on holiday with his daughter and a mystery woman. Igor Sosin, a retail magnate, and portfolio investor, who earlier recovered from coronavirus had intended to celebrate the New Year in Zanzibar before his sudden death.
The 53-year-old father of six was spending the festive holiday with his daughter Taisia, 18, and a mystery woman as he was reported to have been going through a divorce with his third wife.
According to Mail Online, his family said he could not be woken and doctors pronounced him dead.
The cause of death is not yet established.

A passenger on a United jet with nearly 200 others onboard was pronounced dead shortly after the pilot made an emergency landing. The passenger had filled out a required checklist before flying on Monday, Dec 14, saying he had not tested positive for the novel coronavirus and did not have symptoms.
United says now that "it is apparent the passenger wrongly acknowledged this requirement."
According to reports, the man was on the plane shaking and sweating, as the jet was making its way from Orlando to Los Angeles. The situation became so dire the pilot made an emergency landing in New Orleans.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed legislation that will grant former presidents lifetime immunity from prosecution for crimes once they leave office. The bill, which was published online on Tuesday, December 22, gives former presidents and their families immunity from prosecution for crimes committed during their lifetime.
They will also be exempted from questioning by police or investigators, as well as searches or arrests.
The legislation was part of constitutional amendments that were approved this summer in a nationwide vote that allowed Putin to remain president until 2036 as he would have had to step down in 2024.

The chairman of a Netflix-affiliated Chinese gaming company who was poisoned this month has died and a co-worker remains the prime suspect in the shocking case, according to reports. Yoozoo Group boss Lin Qi -- executive producer of the streaming giant’s adaptation of The Three-Body Problem series of Chinese sci-fi books -- was first hospitalized on December 16.
Chinese media outlets have identified a senior executive at Yoozoo, Xu Yao, as having targeted Lin after an internal dispute within the rising firm.
Now in custody, Xu headed the company’s film and television division and was chosen to oversee all projects related to The Three-Body Problem.

A woman, 29, who faked she had cancer and even shaved her head to convince her friends she was terminally ill so they would pay for her £8,500 dream wedding has been jailed for five months.
Toni Standen of Widnes, Cheshire, made up a story that she had been diagnosed with terminal cancer and had just two months to live.
Friends launched a GoFundMe page to help her and her partner James have a 'wedding they deserve'.
She has been jailed for five months and ordered to to repay a donation of £2,000 made by a local businessman.

China is due to overtake the US as the world's biggest economy five years earlier than planned – despite the coronavirus pandemic starting there, experts revealed today.
The Centre for Economics and Business Research said Beijing was on track to race past America in 2028 as its growth rate outstrips rival nations.
Publishing the World Economic League Table in its annual Boxing Day update, the think tank said: “The pandemic has not affected all economies equally.
“China, in particular, seems to have weathered the storm better than the western economies and as a result, we now see the Chinese economy overtaking the US in dollar terms in 2028, five years earlier than we had expected a year ago.

Everton boss, Carlo Ancelotti, has revealed why he rejected the chance to manage Manchester United when Sir Alex Ferguson called him in 2013 to tell him he was retiring and wanted him to take over the job. Ahead of the Wednesday's Carabao Cup quarter-final against the Red Devils at Goodison Park, Ancelotti revealed he was offered the job at Old Trafford by Sir Alex Ferguson prior to Ferguson's retirement.
Ancelotti says but he was about to be signed by Real Madrid, an offer he couldn't reject.
“You want to know from me [about coaching at Man Utd]?!“ Ancelotti said.

Eight American nuns living at a retirement home for sisters in suburban Milwaukee died of COVID-19 complications in the last week, including four who passed away on the same day, according to the congregation that runs the home.
The first COVID-19 death at Notre Dame of Elm Grove happened on December 9, when Sisters Rose M. Feess, 91, and Mary Elva Wiesner, 94, died.
The School Sisters of Notre Dame Central Pacific Province said other sisters who live at Notre Dame of Elm Grove have also been diagnosed with COVID-19 but the international congregation of women declined to provide additional details, citing the residents' privacy.

The first two cases of a particularly infectious coronavirus variant that recently emerged in Britain have been confirmed in Canada, health authorities said today.
“The cases are a couple from Durham with no known travel history, exposure or high-risk contacts,” the acting chief medical officer for Ontario said in a statement.
The couple has been placed in isolation, according to the statement, the same day that Ontario reimposed a lockdown for several weeks due to a spike in Covid-19 cases.

France police shootings: Three officers killed by gunman who is later found dead

A gunman has shot dead three police officers who were called to a domestic violence incident in central France. The suspect, 48, said to be known to authorities on child custody issues, was later found dead, officials said. A woman had fled to the roof of a house in a remote village near Saint-Just in the early hours of Wednesday.
The gunman killed one officer and wounded another. He then set fire to the house and killed two more officers who arrived. The woman was rescued.
President Emmanuel Macron said the nation shared the grief of the families of the police officers.
Elite tactical police officers were at the scene on Wednesday in the village in the Puy-de-Dôme department, in France's Massif Central mountain region.

A Russian politician has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for beating her 12-year-old son to death with a dumbbell during an argument, reports said Thursday.
Authorities said Galina Morozova, 56, bludgeoned her son, Alexander Parakhnyakov, in March because he had defied her and snuck out to go to a sleepover, according to The Sun.
She then reported the boy missing, playing the frantic mother in public pleas on social media and taking part in searches in the city of Astrakhan, the report said.
Her son’s body was found three months later, encased in concrete in the foundation of his older brother’s house, where police said Morozova buried him.

The highest-paid YouTube stars of 2020 have been revealed, and a 9-year-old boy holds the title of highest-paid YouTuber for the third year running. Child influencer, Ryan Kaji, from Texas racked in nearly $30m in a year from “unboxing” and reviewing toys and games on YouTube, nabbing 12.2 billion views.
According to Forbes, the 9-year-old made $29.5m (£22m) from his YouTube channel Ryan’s World, as well as a further estimated $200m from Ryan’s World branded toys and clothing, including Marks & Spencer pyjamas.
He also signed an undisclosed, but likely multimillion-dollar deal for his own TV series on Nickelodeon.

A fire at a hospital north of Cairo on Saturday killed seven coronavirus patients, security and judicial sources said. The blaze in the intensive care unit of the hospital in Obour district, on the outskirts of Cairo, also injured five other people, the sources said.
It was not immediately clear what caused the fire, the sources said, adding prosecutors had launched an investigation into the incident.
Firefighters were dispatched to the facility and stopped the blaze from spreading, local media reported.
Egypt has so far registered 130,126 Covid-19 cases, including 7,309 fatalities.
Health facilities in the North African country, like elsewhere, have been strained by the mounting number of infections.
In June, a fire at a hospital in Egypt’s coastal city of Alexandria killed seven coronavirus patients and injured seven others.

Toddler, 2, ‘strangled to death and thrown in oven by grandparents’ for crying too much

A toddler was allegedly strangled to death and thrown in an oven by his grandparents after he "cried too much" while they were babysitting. Parents Maria, 20, and Dmitry, 25, returned home in the Kuybyshevsky district of Novokuznetsk, Russia, to find only the clothes of their son Dima, 2. They discovered his remains dumped outside the house in the snow, according to law enforcement in Russia.
The grandparents, aged 52 and 48, were both "heavily drunk" as they became irritated with the little boy’s tears, Plohie Novosti reports.

Manchester United star, Marcus Rashford is in line for a lucrative new contract at Manchester United, according to reports by Daily Star. According to the UK publication, the English forward will sign an extension in the new year which will bolster his £200,000-a-week salary, having impressed for Manchester United so far in 2020-21.
The report reads: "The England superstar's current deal runs until 2023 and has the option of an extra 12 months."
"But his rapid progress to becoming one of the best players in the world has made United bosses bring forward their plans to secure Rashford's long term future at Old Trafford."

Japan will ban foreign nationals from entering the country from Monday through the end of January after several cases of the new Covid-19 variant were recorded in the country, the Japanese foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday. Japanese citizens and foreign residents can still enter, but they're required to self-quarantine for 14 days, according to Japan's public broadcaster, NHK.
The move came after the Tokyo metropolitan government on Saturday confirmed two new cases of Covid-19 variant involving people who recently returned from the UK.
The two new cases were the first to be discovered outside of airport quarantine in the country.

On the second day of the new NBA season, a game has been postponed due to Covid-19 -- and a league star got hit with a fine for violating protocol.
The NBA announced Wednesday that the game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center in Houston has been postponed in accordance with the league's health and safety protocols.
Additionally, the league said Rockets star James Harden was unavailable to play in the game against the Thunder due to a violation of the health and safety protocols.

Stella Tennant, the iconic British model famed for her statuesque beauty and inimitable personal style, has passed away at the age of 50.
While Tennant was first known for her signature tousled pixie haircut, androgynous features, and commanding six-foot-tall presence - as well as her longstanding creative relationships with fashion legends from Steven Meisel to Karl Lagerfeld - her passion for sculpture, environmental causes, and her home country of Scotland were what eventually became closest to her heart.
The news of Tennant’s untimely death was confirmed earlier today in a statement released by her family - including her husband, the French photographer David Lasnet, and her four children, Marcel, Cecily, Jasmine, and Iris - who asked for their privacy to be respected.
“It is with great sadness we announce the sudden death of Stella Tennant on 22 December 2020,” the statement read.
“Stella was a wonderful woman and an inspiration to us all. She will be greatly missed. Arrangements for a memorial service will be announced at a later date.”

Thursday, 24 December 2020

Rapper 6ix9ine sued over involvement in 2018 armed robbery

American rapper, Daniel Hernandez, popularly known as Tekashi 69 or 6ix9ine has been hit with a civil lawsuit for his involvement in an NYC armed robbery. According to TMZ, the plaintiffs, Seketha Wonzer and Kevin Dozier, say 6ix9ine was present when his Trey Nine Bloods associates ambushed them on April 3, 2018 in Manhattan.
The victims, who also work as publicists, say they were in the studio when five armed men pulled up in an SUV, and demanded them to get on the ground before taking their belongings. Wonzer and Dozier say the men took off with shoes, jewelry, a camera, and $1,5000 cash, as well as master recordings and hard drives with client information.

Diego Maradona's autopsy has revealed that the Argentina legend had no alcohol or narcotic drugs in his body at the time of his death. Maradona died at the age of 60 on Nov. 25, two weeks after being released from a hospital in Buenos Aires following brain surgery.
Earlier this month, a preliminary autopsy determined that Maradona died in his sleep of acute pulmonary edema, a build-up of fluid in the lungs, because of congestive heart failure.
The latest toxicological report detected no alcohol or illegal substances but the presence of psychotropic drugs used to treat anxiety and depression.

League one club, Ipswich Town have confirmed the new strain of Covid-19 has driven an outbreak within the squad after five players and two manager staff including coach Paul Lambert tested positive.
Paul Lambert and five other members of the playing staff tested positive for the virus over the weekend, which has led to the postponement of Town’s next two games, while general manager Lee O’Neill has now also returned a positive test.
The British club say the new strain of the virus, which is thought to spread more quickly, is the reason for the outbreak and believe their last game, against Burton on December 15, could be the source.

Antarctica, once the only continent not to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, has now recorded its first cases. The Chilean army announced in a statement that 36 people linked with the General Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme base on the planet's southern pole had tested positive for COVID-19.
Of the 36 infected, 26 are reported to be members of the Chilean military, while the others are believed to be maintenance workers.
The outbreak has been traced to the delivery of supplies from the Naval vessel Sargento Aldea which arrived from Chile on November 27.

Muslim men accuse Airline of booting them over Arabic texts

Two Muslim men say they were booted off an Alaska Airlines flight in February because of text messages they sent in Arabic.
The men, identified as Abobakkr and Mohamed, were on a business trip when they boarded an Alaska Airlines flight from Seattle to San Francisco on Feb. 17, the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Washington state chapter said in a statement.
Abobakkr was in his first-class seat texting a friend before taking off. A passenger nearby noticed the text messages and reported them to a flight attendant despite not knowing Arabic, according to CAIR.

John Adekolawole, the rector of the Federal Polytechnic in Ede, Osun state has been suspended by the institution's academic board on grounds of "sleeping at work."
Adekunle Masopa, chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) in the institution, said the board based its decision on 21 grounds.
Speaking after an emergency congress of the union, Masopa said a position paper was submitted to the union by the board after its meeting. They accused Adekolawole of desecrating the respected office of the rector with the creation of a bedroom furnished with a king-size bed which has made it possible for him to be ''sleeping at work.''

The United States Attorney General, William Barr, has announced he would resign next week, ending a tenure in which the Trump loyalist carried the administration's "law and order" message but ultimately dealt the most credible blow to Trump when he publicly refuted Trump's claims that the 2020 election was fraudulent.
Trump's announcement of Barr's exit on Twitter comes after the Electoral College vote put President-elect Joe Biden over the 270 votes needed to formally secure the presidency.
Despite escalating tensions between Trump and Barr ever since Barr's admission that there was no widespread fraud in the 2020 election, Trump claimed they had an amicable relationship.

Five COVID-19 vaccines made in China have entered the "final sprint" for state approval, said officials in a press conference on Saturday, according to Xinhua News Agency.
The vaccines are moving quickly through the approvals process, with phase 3 human testing on the horizon, Zheng Zhongwei, of the National Health Commission, told to The South China Morning Post.
"If the data meets the relevant requirements, China's drug regulatory authority will issue approval for market launch, or launch with conditions," Zheng told reporters in a Saturday briefing in Beijing.
The country also released plans for a two-step vaccine rollout, saying it would inoculate "priority" risk groups this winter and next spring, before rolling out to the wider public market in the spring, according to Xinhua, a quasi-state media outlet.

Former Liverpool manager, Gerrard Houllier has tragically passed away. The tactician who spent six years at Anfield, and also coached France, Lyon and PSG during a distinguished career passed away aged 73.
According to French publication, L'Equipe and RMC, which shared news of Houllier's demise, on Monday morning, December 14, his death comes just days after a heart surgery.
Ex footballer and TV presenter Gary Lineker took to his Social media to pay tribute to the Liverpool legend.
"Oh no! Gerard Houllier has passed away. One of football’s smartest, warmest and loveliest people."

A Florida man allegedly conspired with his brothers to kidnap and kill his teen girlfriend, because he mistakenly believed she was pregnant, police said this week, finally announcing arrests in the 2006 cold case.
Ralph Williams, now 36, and his two siblings were charged in the murder of 16-year-old Amber Woods, whose body was found 14 years ago along a road in Manatee County, authorities announced.
“Cold, callous, just the worst in our society,” Sheriff Rick Wells said of the suspects.
“This girl had her whole life in front of her, and they treated her like she was nothing.”
The teen was last seen alive by her aunt at home around 12:30 a.m. on Feb. 11, 2006.

Wednesday, 30 December 2020

Tuesday, 29 December 2020

Monday, 28 December 2020

Sunday, 27 December 2020

Thursday, 24 December 2020