Bahrain Follows UAE to Normalize Ties With Isreal by Raphael Bichene

Bahrain Follows UAE to Normalize Ties With Isreal by Raphael Bichene

Bahrain has joined the United Arab Emirates in agreeing to normalise relations with Israel, in a US-brokered deal that Palestinian leaders denounced as “another treacherous stab to the Palestinian cause”.

Donald Trump, the president of the United States, announced the deal on Twitter on Friday after he spoke by phone to Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“This is truly a historic day,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, saying he believed other countries would follow suit.

“It’s unthinkable that this could happen and so fast.”

In a joint statement, the United States, Bahrain and Israel said “opening direct dialogue and ties between these two dynamic societies and advanced economies will continue the positive transformation of the Middle East and increase stability, security, and prosperity in the region”.

A month ago, the UAE agreed to normalise ties with Israel under a US-brokered deal scheduled to be signed at a White House ceremony on Tuesday hosted by Trump, who is seeking re-election on November 3.

The ceremony is due to be attended by Netanyahu and Emirati Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The joint statement said Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani will join that ceremony and sign an “historic Declaration of Peace” with Netanyahu.

Like the UAE agreement, Friday’s Bahrain-Israel deal will normalise diplomatic, commercial, security and other relations between the two countries. Bahrain, along with Saudi Arabia, had already dropped a ban on Israeli flights using its airspace.

Friday’s joint statement only made passing mention of the Palestinians, who fear the moves by Bahrain and the UAE will weaken a longstanding pan-Arab position that calls for Israeli withdrawal from already illegally occupied territory and acceptance of Palestinian statehood in return for normal relations with Arab countries.

The statement said Bahrain, Israel and the US will continue efforts “to achieve a just, comprehensive, and enduring resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to enable the Palestinian people to realise their full potential”.

‘Grave harm’

Netanyahu welcomed the agreement and thanked Trump.

“It took us 26 years between the second peace agreement with an Arab country and the third, but only 29 days between the third and the fourth, and there will be more,” he said, referring to the 1994 peace treaty with Jordan and the more recent agreements.

For its part, Bahrain said it supports a “fair and comprehensive” peace in the Middle East, according to BNA state news agency. That peace should be based on a two-state solution to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the report said, quoting King Hamad.

Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior White House adviser, hailed the agreements as “the culmination of four years of great work” by the Trump administration.

Speaking to reporters in a call from the White House soon after Friday’s announcement, Kushner said the UAE and Bahrain agreements “will help reduce tension in the Muslim world and allow people to separate the Palestinian issue from their own national interests and from their foreign policy, which should be focused on their domestic priorities”.

The Palestinian leadership, however, condemned the agreement as a betrayal of the Palestinian cause and recalled the Palestinian ambassador to Bahrain for consultations.

In a statement, the Palestinian Authority said it “rejects this step taken by the Kingdom of Bahrain and calls on it to immediately retreat from it due to the great harm it causes to the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people and joint Arab action”.

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), based in Ramallah, the occupied West Bank, called the normalisation “another treacherous stab to the Palestinian cause”. And in Gaza, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem said Bahrain’s decision to normalise relations with Israel “represents a grave harm to the Palestinian cause, and it supports the occupation”.

‘A purely Saudi decision’

Khalil Jahshan, executive director at the Arab Center of Washington, said Saudi acquiescence was key to Bahrain’s decision.

“It is a purely Saudi decision. In the absence of the ability, due to internal constraints, by the leadership in Saudi Arabia to respond positively to Trump, they gave him Bahrain on a silver platter.”

Bahrain, a small island state, is home to the US Navy’s regional headquarters. Saudi Arabia in 2011 sent troops to Bahrain to help quell an uprising and, alongside Kuwait and the UAE, in 2018 offered Bahrain a $10bn economic bailout.

Al Jazeera’s Nida Ibrahim, reporting from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, agreed, saying Palestinian officials believe the Bahrain and the UAE deals would not have happened “without regional backing”.

“The fear among the Palestinians is that these deals are a green light for more Arab states to normalise with Israel,” she said. “And many Palestinians say that for years they saw the US as Israel’s lawyer or partner and now they see it as Israel’s agent. That’s because Trump is the one announcing these normalisation deals.”

Source: Aljazeerah

Reggae Legend Toots Hibbert Passes on at 77 by Raphael Bichene

Reggae Legend Toots Hibbert Passes on at 77 by Raphael Bichene

Reggae legend Toots Hibbert has died aged 77.

The Toots and the Maytals frontman, credited with helping bring reggae to a global audience, died on Friday.

A statement from his family revealed he’d been battling illness at a private hospital in Kingston, Jamaica but did not give any more details.

It read: “It is with the heaviest of hearts to announce that Frederick Nathaniel ‘Toots’ Hibbert passed away peacefully tonight, surrounded by his family at the University Hospital of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica.

“The family and his management team would like to thank the medical teams and professionals for their care and diligence, and ask that you respect their privacy during their time of grief.”

Tributes have poured in from famous fans including comedian, Lenny Henry, who tweeted: “So sorry to hear of Toots Hibbert’s death.

“His music was a constant in our house growing up via Tighten up albums. His voice was powerful and adaptable to funk, soul, country, AND reggae. Rest in power…”

Bob Marley’s son Ziggy also remembered the musician, writing: “The Legendary Toots Hibbert has passed i spoke w/him a few wks ago told him how much i loved him we laughed & shared our mutual respect.

“He was a father figure to me his spirit is w/us his music fills us w/his energy i will never forget him RIP MIGHTY & POWERFUL NYAH FYAH BALL.”

Toots was born and raised in Jamaica, and found a passion for music singing in a church choir as a child,

He formed his band after moving to Kingston at the age of 16, setting up the Maytals with Henry ‘Raleigh’ Gordon and Nathaniel ‘Jerry’ Matthias.

They landed a record deal and released their first singles in the 1960s.

However, their path to fame hit a bump when Toots was jailed for marijuana possession in 1966.

He served a year behind bars, but reunited with his bandmates after his released and channeled his experiences into his music.

Toots maintained his innocence and poured his feelings into his song 54-46 (That’s My Number) – named after his prison identification number.

They renamed the group Toots and the Maytals and went on to sign a deal with Island records, scoring a hit in the UK with Monkey Man in 1970.

Their popularity grew as bands including the Clash and the Specials covered their songs, with joe Strummer’s group famously recording a version of Pressure Drop.

The band split in 1981 and Toots went solo – taking a hiatus from music before carving out a successful career for himself.

Source: Daily Mirror

Britain Clinches First Major Trade Deal Since EU Exit by Raphael Bichene

Britain Clinches First Major Trade Deal Since EU Exit by Raphael Bichene

Britain has reached a free trade agreement with Japan, its first with a major economy since leaving the European Union earlier this year.

The UK Department for International Trade said in a statement that the deal with its 11th biggest trading partner was agreed to in principle on Friday and will increase trade between the two countries by about £15.2 billion ($19.5 billion). UK businesses won’t face tariffs on 99% of exports to Japan, including on products such as knitwear, biscuits and coats.

“This is a historic moment for the UK and Japan as our first major post-Brexit trade deal,” said international trade secretary Liz Truss, who touted benefits for the manufacturing, food and drink, and tech industries.

Britain will no longer be covered by a EU-Japan free trade deal when the post-Brexit transition period expires at the end of this year. That deal removed tariffs on European exports, such as cheese and wine, and reduced barriers to Japanese car imports from 2019.

The UK government is now trying to replicate dozens of similar EU trade deals with third countries before its transitional agreement with the bloc expires. If the deals don’t materialize, British companies could face barriers to doing business in most of the foreign markets they serve, starting in January.

The deal with Japan means the United Kingdom has nailed down new agreements worth just 10% of its total trade in 2019, up from about 8% in January, according to Professor L Alan Winters, director of the UK Trade Policy Observatory at the University of Sussex.

The deal is “a benefit, but it’s not a giant leap forward,” said Winters. “It’s not a compensation for what you’re giving up in Europe,” he told CNN Business.

Modest benefit

A bilateral trade agreement with Japan could increase UK GDP in the long run by just £1.5 billion ($1.9 billion), or around 0.07%, according to the trade department, compared with an estimated 5.6% reduction in economic growth as a consequence of a no-deal Brexit, which looks increasingly likely. If a UK-EU trade deal were agreed, growth is still expected to decline by about 4.4% in the long run compared to what it would have been had Britain remained part of the bloc, according to Winters.

The UK government has negotiated even lower Japanese tariffs than the EU managed on certain agricultural products, including pork, beef and salmon, but not on Stilton cheese, which will be subject to the same tariffs as under the EU-Japan deal. Trade barriers in areas such as financial services, Britain’s biggest export to Japan, and the digital sector will also be reduced, primarily through increased coordination between regulators.

Japanese car manufacturers including Nissan (NSANF) will enjoy reduced tariffs on parts coming into the United Kingdom and streamlined regulatory procedures, according to the statement.

Other elements of the agreement will make it easier for businesses to move workers between the two countries. For example, an employee transferring from a UK company headquarters to a Tokyo office will be able to bring their spouse and dependents and stay for up to five years.

The total value of trade between the United Kingdom and Japan was just over £29 billion ($37.2 billion) in 2018, making it Britain’s 11th biggest trading partner that year. The United States, China and Switzerland are the only non-EU countries in the top 10, figures from the trade department show.

Carolyn Fairbairn, director general of the Confederation of British Industry, the main business lobby, said in a statement that the deal will be “welcomed by businesses across the country.” “It’s a huge opportunity to secure new Japanese investment across a wider range of sectors and UK regions,” she added.

Source: CNN

Abike Dabiri-Erewa Applauds Nigerian Woman for Returning $4000 by Raphael Bichene

Abike Dabiri-Erewa Applauds Nigerian Woman for Returning $4000 by Raphael Bichene

Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), has applauded Ms. Chioma Odidika, a Nigerian resident in Columbia, South Carolina, USA, for returning $4,000 USD from possible scammers. She described it as a honest gesture.

A statement by the Commission’s Head of Media, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, stated that it is a thing of joy that another Nigerian Diaspora has made Nigerians proud by her conduct.

“It is gratifying to note that the uncommon act of honesty of Ms Chioma Odidika has earned her Integrity Award from the Sheriff of Richland County”.

Balogun reports Abike Dabiri-Erewa as saying “ it is indeed a well deserved award and a great opportunity to celebrate you. This is another victory for Nigeria, as another proud Nigeria is portraying what Nigeria is about and that is honesty. Thanks for being a good ambassador of your country Nigeria, you have portrayed the image of Nigerians in the diaspora as unique, honest and trustworthy immigrants”.

“No legacy is as rich as honesty; it remains the best policy. We must continue to exhibit such behaviour in wherever we find ourselves. We must continue to be a good Ambassador to our country,” She stressed.

Chioma, who hails from Imo state, said she received an email from possible scammers. They called her and before she knew what was happening, they had sent a check of $4000 USD.

According to her, “I immediately called President Tonna Okei (Ikuku Oma), President of Organization of African Unity SC who immediately called the Sheriff of Richland County and the Police of Columbia City took me

Avengers, Bond, Game of Thrones Actress Passes on at 82 by Raphael Bichene

Avengers, Bond, Game of Thrones Actress Passes on at 82 by Raphael Bichene

Actress Dame Diana Rigg, famous for roles including Emma Peel in TV series The Avengers and Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones, has died at the age of 82.

Her daughter, actress Rachael Stirling, said she died of cancer, after being diagnosed in March.

“She spent her last months joyfully reflecting on her extraordinary life, full of love, laughter and a deep pride in her profession,” she added.

Dame Diana also played the only woman who became Mrs James Bond.

She played Tracy, who married George Lazenby’s 007 in the 1969 film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

Lazenby said he was “so sad” to hear of her death , while Bond producers Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli also paid tribute.

The Game of Thrones official account also honoured her.

Dame Diana’s other recent roles included the Duchess of Buccleuch in ITV’s Victoria and Mrs Pumphrey in Channel 5’s new adaptation of All Creatures Great and Small.

Samuel West, who plays Siegfried in the show, said : “Doesn’t really make sense to think of her having died. She generally lived the hell out of everyone.”

Stirling earlier announced the news by writing: “My Beloved Ma died peacefully in her sleep early this morning, at home, surrounded by family. I will miss her beyond words.”

Others paying tribute included Sir Tom Stoppard, who remembered her “luminous” talent, while fellow playwright Sir David Hare said the actress had a “dazzling change of direction in middle age as a great classical actor”.

‘She swept all before her’

He said: “When Emma Peel played Euripides’ Medea, Albee’s Martha and Brecht’s Mother Courage she swept all before her.”

Her four Tony Awards nominations resulted in a win for her searing portrayal in the leading role in the stage play Medea in 1994.

Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster Waldau, who played Jaime Lannister, said the actress “always raised the bar with her incredible talent , intelligence and wit. An absolute joy and honour to work with”.

Sherlock writer and actor Mark Gatiss fondly recalled working with her, while Stephen Merchant remembered her in a scene from his show Extras.

Actor David Suchet, who starred with Dame Diana in the 1996 West End production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme she was “very generous and warm”.

He said: “I met her for the first time in the rehearsal room and I remember being intimidated and nervous. She started as she continued, with 100 guns blazing, and was extremely powerful. I remember her having a fierce intelligence and extraordinary strength of passion as well.”

Vanessa Redgrave said she was a “wonderful, wonderful actress”, while Mia Farrow tweeted: “She was magnificent!! Gratitude to the great Diana Rigg for so many fearless, fascinating performances. But we wanted more.”

Baby Driver director Edgar Wright said it was “beyond a thrill to work with her on her final film” – the forthcoming Last Night in Soho.

“She exceeded all my highest expectations, so blazingly talented, fiery and funny. Miss you already Dame D.”

Director Jonathan Kent added that her “combination of force of personality, beauty, courage and sheer emotional power, made her a great classical actress – one of an astonishing generation of British stage performers”.

He said: “Her dazzling wit and that inimitable voice made her an unforgettable leading figure in British theatre.”

Her agent Simon Beresford said she “died at home with her family who have asked for privacy at this difficult time”.

He added: “Dame Diana was force of nature who loved her work and her fellow actors.”

Last year, Dame Diana spoke of her delight at her role in Game of Thrones, telling the BBC: “I love playing bad [characters]. They are so much more interesting than good.

“There are some actors who don’t like to play bad; they like to be liked. I love to be disliked. Olenna had the best lines.”

In 1990, Dame Diana won a best actress Bafta TV award for playing a difficult mother-in-law in Mother Love. She also won a Bafta special award in 2000 for The Avengers, shared with the series’ other stars Honor Blackman, Joanna Lumley and Linda Thorson.

Dame Diana was also nominated for nine primetime Emmy awards, winning for her role as Mrs Danvers in Rebecca in 1997.

Source: BBC

Keeping up With the Kardashians to End, After 14 Years by Francisca Ogar

Keeping up With the Kardashians to End, After 14 Years by Francisca Ogar

Keeping Up with the Kardashians, which helped make Kim and her siblings Kourtney, Khloe, Kylie and Kendall household names and launched their careers in the fashion and beauty business, will air its last season early next year.

There was no reasons for the decision but E! said in a statement that it respects ‘the family’s decision to live their lives without our cameras.’ In recent years numerous siblings, most recently Kourtney, have been reluctant to film the show. Kim has also endured a turbulent year with her husband Kanye West’s mental health battle and controversial presidential run putting unprecedented strain on her marriage.

Throughout the years the show chronicled key events in the personal and professional lives of the California family, including Kim Kardashian’s marriages to Kris Humphries and West, an armed robbery in Paris, the break-up of Khloe Kardashian’s marriage to basketball player Lamar Odom, and the transition of family patriarch Bruce Jenner to Caitlyn Jenner.

In an Instagram message posted on Tuesday, Kim, 39, wrote: ‘To our amazing fans – It is with heavy hearts that we’ve made the difficult decision as a family to say goodbye to Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

Shock announcement: Kim Kardashian revealed her family has made the ‘difficult decision’ to end Keeping Up With The Kardashians.

‘After what will be 14 years, 20 seasons, hundreds of episodes and numerous spin-off shows, we are beyond grateful to all of you who’ve watched us for all of these years – through the good times, the bad times, the happiness, the tears, and the many relationships and children.

‘We’ll forever cherish the wonderful memories and countless people we’ve met along the way. Thank you to the thousands of individuals and businesses that have been a part of this experience,’ she wrote.

Source: Daily Mail

Teyana Taylor Gives Birth in Her Bathroom Again by Raphael Bichene

Teyana Taylor Gives Birth in Her Bathroom Again by Raphael Bichene

Teyana Taylor and husband Iman Shumpert have welcomed a second child born in their bathroom without the assistance of a hospital.

The singer and the basketball player made headlines in 2015 when their first daughter, Iman Tayla Shumpert Jr., who is called “Junie,” made a surprise entrance into the world in the couple’s home bathroom with her proud dad delivering her.

Appropriately enough on Labor Day, Shumpert posted on his verified Instagram account that “At 3:28 am on Sept 6th 2020 Rue Rose decided that the baby shower thrown for her and mommy was too lit.”

She didn’t make the party but she managed to make the next day her birthdate!!!,” he wrote in the caption of a video of their new addition. “Now…when we buy homes, we always find a bathroom with great energy… but not in a million years would you be able to tell me we’d deliver both of our daughters in a bathroom without the assistance of a hospital!”

Shumpert, who last year played for the Brooklyn Nets, added, “Our newest edition entered the world in the water and came out looking around and ready to explore!”

“A healthy child. A little sister. Another daughter,” he wrote. “Black love wins….again. Welcome babygirl…we love you!”

Taylor confirmed her second pregnancy in June in the music video for her single “Wake Up Love,” which featured Shumpert and their first daughter.

The couple married in 2016.

Source: CNN

Erica Disqualified From BBNaija 2020 by Raphael Bichene

Erica Disqualified From BBNaija 2020 by Raphael Bichene

Hours after she had a big face off with Laycon, Erica Nlwedim has been disqualified from Big Brother Naija House.

Her offences were listed as flouting multiple house rules, including defacing Big Brother property and making the same unavailable for the use of another housemate.

The budding actress was involved in a one-sided altercation with fellow housemate and former friend Laycon on Saturday only to get disqualified on Sunday evening . Big Brother also accused her of trying to engage production crew.

In an interview after her disqualification, Erica said BBNaija 2020 would be boring without her.

Only Buhari Can Look Obasanjo in the Eye And Survive it- Adesina_Ada Nkong

Femi Adesina, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), says only his principal has enough confidence to confront former President Olusegun Obasanjo, tell him his honest opinion on things “and survive it”.

Obasanjo and Buhari have a few things in common. Obasanjo was Nigeria’s military head of state between February 13, 1976, and September 30, 1979. He later became a civilian President from May 29, 1999, to May 29, 2007. Buhari also ruled as military head of state from December 31, 1983, to August 27, 1985, before returning as a democratically elected leader on May 29, 2015.

Adesina, in a piece titled, ‘Buhari Applause For Akinwumi Adesina’, compared Obasanjo to “America and some other world powers”, adding that “you have every right to shiver in the broiling sun” when they come after you.

But the President’s spokesperson, in the piece published on his website on Friday, said, “President Buhari stood against the wishes of America on AfDB Presidency” and supported the re-election bid of African Development Bank President, Akinwumi Adesina.

News men had earlier reported that the African banking institution and its President were in the eye of the storm earlier this year over allegations of impropriety levelled against Akinwumi Adesina by some whistleblowers working in the bank.

The bank’s Ethics’ Committee, which first investigated the allegations, gave him a clean bill that was accepted by the Board of Governors but the United States outrightly rejected the report and demanded a fresh probe by an independent body.

The independent panel headed by former Irish President, Mary Robinson, also cleared all allegations levelled against the AfDB President.

Akinwumi Adesina was then sworn in on September 01, 2020, for another five-year term after getting a 100 percent vote of all regional and non-regional members of the Bank.

Commenting on the development, Buhari’s spokesperson wrote, “The strife is o’er, the battle done. But it was by no means easy. It took so much: tact, diplomacy, guts, deft footworks, prayers, yes, prayers, and so many other things.

“But today, we can noise it all around. Dr Akinwumi Adesina is now elected for another five-year term as President of the African Development Bank

“If America and some other world powers come after you, you have every right to shiver in the broiling sun. It’s like Chief Olusegun Obasanjo telling you to dismount from the horse of leadership in Nigeria. Only a Muhammadu Buhari can look him straight in the eyes, and say; No sir. And survive it.

Quoting Buhari’s reaction to Akinwumi Adesina’s victory, the President’s spokesperson said, “He (Adesina) deserves it (re-election as AfDB president).”

He, however, noted that Buhari would not have supported the AfDB President if “Adesina had peradventure been tainted with the slightest whiff of corruption or any other unethical act.”

Nigeria Secures Landmark victory in P$ID Judgment Overturn by Raphael Bichene

Nigeria Secures Landmark victory in P$ID Judgment Overturn by Raphael Bichene

Nigeria has secured a landmark victory in its pursuit to overturn a $10 billion judgement awarded against it in a case against Process and Industrial Developments (P&ID).

Delivering his judgement on Thursday, Ross Cranston, a judge of the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales, granted Nigeria’s application for an extension of time and relief from sanctions.

On January 31, 2017, a tribunal had ruled that Nigeria should pay P&ID $6.6 billion as damages, as well as pre- and post-judgment interest at 7 per cent.

The Federal Government had approached the court to establish that the contract was awarded on illegal terms.

Nigeria has been making moves to overturn the judgement and has gotten court clearance to request documents from a P&ID stakeholder and review bank statements of ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, as well as that of former petroleum ministers, Diezani Alison-Madueke and Rilwanu Lukman.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), had on August 18, arraigned James Nolan, a Briton, and six companies over their alleged involvement in the contract.

Source: Channels TV News