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White House: No plans for Joe Biden to meet new Iranian leader
There are currently no plans for U.S. President Joe Biden to meet with Iran’s newly elected leader, according to the White House, which downplayed Ebrahim Raisi’s influence. Raisi, a strident critic of the West, will take over from pragmatist Hassan Rouhani on Aug. 3 after an election on Friday. In a news conference on Monday, he backed talks to salvage a tattered nuclear deal with Washington but ruled out personally meeting with Biden. read more White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Monday that little had changed because Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is the key decision maker in Tehran. “We don’t currently have any diplomatic relations with Iran or any plans to meet at the leader level,” she told reporters. “Our view is that the decision maker here is the Supreme Leader.” ...
House speaker: APC must be committed to its manifesto to succeed
The speaker of the house of representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, says the All Progressives Congress (APC) must be committed to its manifesto for it to succeed in governance. Gbajabiamila said members of the party must also not forget that they will answer for “what we have done with our time in government”. A statement from Lanre Lasisi, the speaker’s spokesman, quoted him as saying this at the progressives youth conference organised by the APC in Abuja on Monday. He described manifestoes as “statements of vision and vision is the foundation of all achievements.” “For a nation such as ours to succeed, we must first define a common vision that will inspire us, bring us together, and provide the focus that allows us to persevere through the inevitable difficult times,” the speaker said. “As i...
Euro 2020: Donyell Malen adds extra dimension to potent Dutch attack
The Netherlands had every reason to step down a couple of gears but instead upped their pace thanks to a fine display by speedy forward Donyell Malen in Monday’s 3-0 win over North Macedonia, advancing their claims to be genuine Euro 2020 contenders. Frank de Boer’s side had already qualified for the knockouts as group winners but whereas Italy’s Roberto Mancini made sweeping changes for his side’s 1-0 win over Wales, the Dutchman fielded his strongest team in their final Group C game. One of the two changes he did make was to bring in 22-year-old Malen in place of Wout Weghorst, making the Netherlands even more potent in attack as they became the top scorers in the tournament with eight goals. Malen, who provided an assist less than three minutes after coming on in the 2-0 win over Austri...
Cardi B, Beyonce & More Artists Who Have Competed Against Themselves For Video of the Year at BET Awards
Beyoncé has had two nominated videos as a lead or co-lead artist three times, more than any other artist. Jay-Z, like Cardi B, has done it twice. But does having two nominated videos mean that Cardi B is so hot she is likely to win with one or the other, or that her competing entries are likely to split her votes so that neither one wins? The history of the BET Awards doesn’t yield a clear answer. In the nine previous times that an artist has had two nominated videos (as a lead or co-lead artist), that artist won five times. In the other four cases, somebody else won the award. Here’s a full list of artists who have had two video of the year nominees as lead or co-lead artists — and who won the award that year. OutKast, 2004: “Hey Ya!” and “The Way You Move” (featuring Sleepy Brown) ...
Biden weighs ban on China’s solar material over forced labor
For months, a bipartisan group of lawmakers has pushed Biden to impose import restrictions on polysilicon similar to ones the Trump administration placed on cotton, tomatoes and other products exported from Xinjiang. Now, the White House is considering an effective region-wide ban on polysilicon from Xinjiang, according to the four sources in the industry and on Capitol Hill with knowledge of administration plans. The ban, called a withhold release order, would allow Customs and Border Protection to seize at U.S. ports any imports it suspects of being made with forced labor. Though the agency is weighing a region-wide ban, it could also opt for narrower action against specific Xinjiang-based factories or companies, two of the sources said. That would be in line with the strategy the Trump ...
No Uefa hammer for gay supporting German skipper
The German FA has said it will not be punished by UEFA for the rainbow-coloured captain’s armband Germany skipper Manuel Neuer has worn during Euro 2020 in solidarity with gay pride this month. The German Football Association (DFB) said it has received a letter from European football’s governing body stating that a review of the matter has been stopped. “The armband has been assessed as a team symbol for diversity and thus for a ‘good cause’”, the DFB said on Twitter. Normally, the captains of each team at the European Championship are obliged to wear a standard armband issued by UEFA. Former Germany midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger, who came out as gay after retiring in 2013 and is now head of sport at VfB Stuttgart, was unimpressed that UEFA were even looking into the armband matter. “Come...
South Africa gems that sparked rush are quartz not diamonds
The South African government says that stones found in a village last month are not diamonds but quartz. A cattle herder first uncovered the stones in KwaZulu-Natal province. It prompted thousands to rush to KwaHlathi village, more than 300km (186 miles) south-east of Johannesburg. But after conducting tests, officials have said the stones are quartz crystals, which are far less valuable. After feldspar, quartz is the most abundant mineral in the Earth’s crust. “The tests conducted conclusively revealed that the stones discovered in the area are not diamonds,” a local government statement reportedly said. The rush occurred in one of South Africa’s poorest regions. The country – which already suffers from high levels of economic inequality – has seen a surge in joblessness amid the ongoing ...
Zambia’s Kenneth Kaunda to be buried on July 7
Zambia’s founding president Kenneth Kaunda will be buried on 7 July, three weeks after he died aged 97, the presidency announced on Monday. The hero of the struggle against white rule in southern Africa “shall be put to rest… at a very private ceremony for family and selected invited mourners,” Vice President Inonge Wina said on state television. He will be buried at the country’s presidential burial site situated opposite the cabinet office in Lusaka, following a state memorial to be held at the city’s 60 000-seat National Heroes Stadium on 2 July. In light of the Covid-19 pandemic, foreign leaders may be accompanied by just one official, she said. Ahead of the funeral, Kaunda’s remains will be transported to the country’s 10 provinces starting Wednesday for people to pay their last respe...
Chad accuses CAR of killing six of its soldiers
The Chad government on Monday accused the Central African Republic (CAR) of killing six of its soldiers in an attack on an outpost in the south of the country. “The Central African armed forces attacked the outpost of Sourou in Chad on Sunday morning … killed a Chad soldier, injured five and kidnapped five others who were then executed in Mbang on the Central African Republic side,” Chad’s Foreign Minister Cherif Mahamat Zene said in a statement. The CAR regularly accuses its northern neighbour of supporting armed rebel groups from inside Chad. The identity of the alleged CAR rebels is yet to be confirmed but a senior Chad security official told AFP news agency, speaking on condition of anonymity, that the rebels were members of Unity for Peace in Central Africa (UPC). The UPC is one of CA...
Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Good 4 U’ Extends U.K. Chart Reign
Meanwhile, 2021 Eurovision winners Måneskin from Italy now have a U.K. Top 10 with “I Wanna Be Your Slave” (Columbia), which lifts 12-7. British singer and songwriter Mimi Webb has this week’s highest new entry with “Dumb Love” (Epic), new at No. 12. It’s Webb’s second Top 20 single following “Good Without,” which holds at No. 9 on the Official U.K. Singles Chart this week. New Zealand singer and songwriter Lorde returns to the chart with “Solar Power” (Virgin), which powers in at No. 17 for her third Top 20 appearance. Also notable this week is the return of the “3 Lions” soccer anthem by David Baddiel, Frank Skinner & The Lightning Seeds. “3 Lions” typically comes home to the U.K. singles chart when the national team competes in a major tournament. Such i...
Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Good 4 U’ On Track for Another U.K. Chart Crown
Close behind “Good 4 U” is KSI’s summer release “Holiday,” which debuts at No. 2 on the chart update. Co-written with Jake Gosling and Digital Farm Animals, KSI’s latest will appear on the rapper’s album All Over The Place, due out July 16 via BMG/RBC Records. Meanwhile, 2021 Eurovision Song Contest champs Måneskin could snag a third U.K. Top 20, as their cover of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons’ “Beggin’” lifts 56 places to No. 17 on the chart blast. The Italian rockers’ “I Wanna Be Your Slave” lifted to No. 7 last Friday while their Eurovision-winner “Zitti E Buoni” peaked at No. 17. Finally, David Baddiel, Frank Skinner & Lightning Seeds score another goal with “Three Lions,” their evergreen soccer anthem. Originally released in 1996, the song climbs 22-7 as the England t...
French far right irked by election results, southern region in play
France’s far right performed worse than predicted in Sunday’s regional elections, exit polls showed, leaving victory in the southern battleground of Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur and a platform for the 2022 presidential election in the balance. Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National expressed frustration at a record low turnout,as the centre right made its first comeback at the ballot box since a disastrous showing in the 2017 presidential election and President Emmanuel Macron’s party finished fifth. The high abstention rate in Sunday’s first-round vote, projected at 68.5% by pollster Elabe, coincided with a sunny Sunday and emergence from months of tough COVID-19 curbs. “This evening the government won because for the last few weeks it has been in search of a massive abstention rate,” said ...
