BAMY BLOG

Hurricane Dorian strengthened into an “extremely dangerous” storm on Friday as it bore down on the Bahamas and the east coast of the US state of Florida. Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Minnis urged residents of the Atlantic Ocean archipelago in the path of the “very powerful and potentially life-threatening hurricane” to seek safety. The Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Dorian, which is expected to make landfall in the Bahamas on Sunday and in Florida late Monday or Tuesday, “has strengthened to an extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane” on a five-level scale. The storm has winds near 140 miles per hour (220 kilometers per hour), according to the NHC. “A prolonged period of life-threatening storm surge and devastating hurricane-force winds are likely in portions of the northwestern Bahamas, where a hurricane warning is in effect,” the NHC said. - ‘Very great danger’ - Minnis, the Bahamas prime minister, told a press conference that the storm was life-thr

Demonstrations are expected across Britain on Saturday against Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s move to suspend parliament in the final weeks before Brexit. The protests come ahead of an intense political week in which Johnson’s opponents will seek to block the move in court and legislate against a no-deal departure from the European Union. Organisers said they were hoping hundreds of thousands of people would take part in the demonstrations, organised under the slogan #StopTheCoup. “Disruption is the only form of leverage protesters can rely on,” said Michael Chessum, national organiser for the campaign group Another Europe is Possible. “This process needs to force the government to change its course,” he said. The left-wing group Momentum, closely allied with the main opposition Labour Party, is calling on its supporters to “occupy bridges and blockade roads”. Saturday’s main demonstration is expected outside Johnson’s Downing Street office in London from around 1100 GMT

Daniil Medvedev said he was working to do “better next time” after his middle-finger gesture angered the crowd during his third round match at the US Open on Friday. The Russian fifth seed received a code violation for angrily snatching the towel from a ballperson, threw his racquet and then covertly raised his middle finger next to his head as he began to walk. The incident was not seen by chair umpire Damien Dumusois but was caught on television and shown on video replay inside Louis Armstrong Stadium. “It was tough. I was in the heat of the moment and started losing the momentum. I don’t really remember but I paid for it the whole match after,” said Medvedev, who was roundly booed by supporters after a fired-up post-match interview. “I want all of you to know, when you sleep tonight, I won because of you. The energy you gave. The more you do this, the more I win,” he said in the wake of a 7-6 (7⁄1), 6-4, 7-6 (9⁄7), 6-4 win over Feliciano Lopez. Medvedev said he apologiz

Google will pay $150-200 million to settle allegations YouTube violated a children’s privacy law while gathering data to better target its adverts, US media reports said Friday. The US Federal Trade Commission agreed the amount of the settlement against YouTube parent Google, which if approved by the Justice Department would be the largest settlement in a case involving children’s privacy, the New York Times reported. The allegations against YouTube were made by privacy groups who said the platform had violated laws protecting children’s privacy by gathering data on users under the age of 13 without obtaining permission from parents, Politico reported. The FTC is expected to announce its decision on the settlement in September, the New York Times said. US regulators have long argued Google fails to protect children from harmful content and data collection on its YouTube platform. Advocacy group The Center for Digital Democracy said in a statement that the proposed settleme

The United States government yesterday blacklisted the Iranian oil tanker Adrian Darya following repeated warnings over its valuable oil cargo. Previously known as Grace 1, the ship has been bouncing around the Mediterranean after being held for six weeks by Gibraltar on suspicion its cargo was bound for Syria. Despite Washington’s efforts to keep it detained, it was released by the British territory and its every move is being followed with intense speculation. The US Department of Treasury on Friday said the vessel is “blocked property” under an anti-terrorist order, and “anyone providing support to the Adrian Darya 1 risks being sanctioned”. The ship’s captain, Akhilesh Kumar, was also blacklisted under the order, which generally prohibits dealings with blocked property by US persons. Lebanon had earlier dismissed Turkish claims that it would receive the ship, which has a cargo of 2.1 million barrels worth around $140 million. While Iran has denied selling the oil to

Twitter yesterday announced that the account of chief executive Jack Dorsey had been “compromised” after a series of erratic and offensive messages were posted. The tweets containing racial slurs and suggestions about a bomb showed up around 2000 GMT on the @jack account of the founder of the short messaging service before being deleted. Some of the tweets contained the hashtag #ChucklingSquad which was believed to indicate the identity of the hacker group. The messages contained racial epithets, and included a retweet of a message supporting Nazi Germany. “We’re aware that @jack was compromised and investigating what happened,” a Twitter spokesperson said. A barrage of comments fired off on the platform questioned why the Twitter o-founder didn’t secure his account with two-factor authentication, and how disturbing a sign it was that the service wasn’t to keep its own chief safe on the platform. “If you can’t protect Jack, you can’t protect… jack,” one Twitter user q

Arsenal and Tottenham battle for North London supremacy on Sunday in an early indicator as to who will be Manchester City and Liverpool’s closest challengers for the Premier League title. City and Liverpool have already moved clear of the chasing pack with Jurgen Klopp’s men boasting the only 100 percent record after three games to open a two-point lead over the champions. Both will expect to add another three points before the international break as City host Brighton, while Liverpool travel to Burnley. But below them the rest have plenty of room for improvement with Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea having already tasted defeat. Arsenal were given a lesson in how far they still have to go to challenge for the title in losing 3-1 at Anfield last weekend, but the Gunners can quickly erase the memory of that defeat should they get the better of Spurs at the Emirates. A thrilling 4-2 win over the Champions League finalists in this fixture last season was the

F ormer Kano State Governor and current Senator Representing Kano Central Senatorial District, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau has slammed Rivers State Governor, Nwesom Wike, for allegedly demolishing Mosque in the state, describing the action as barbaric and totally condemnable. Shekarau said in a statement he personally signed on Friday that “all rationale and conscious citizens of this great country, Nigeria should join in condemning the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike for recklessly demolishing the Rainbow Town Central Mosque located at the Trans-Amadi Area of Port Harcourt, and for irresponsibly declaring Rivers State a “Christian State,” and claiming to owe no apology to anyone.” He said, “Muslims and other right-thinking and peace-loving citizens of this country should come together to condemn, in strongest terms, this irresponsible, reckless, rabble-rousing Governor whose apparent aim is to ignite a religious conflagration, the kind of which has never been seen in

Arsenal manager, Unai Emery, has hinted he is ready to start Nicolas Pepe, Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang together for the first time, when they host Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. Aubameyang and Lacazette have already scored this season, while Pepe was a near menace in their 3-1 defeat to Liverpool last week. With the Gunners looking to bounce back from that loss against their North London rivals, Emery is looking to go for the kill. “Yes [they could all start], but be calm. “My decision in each moment is thinking about how we are. "For example with Lacazette he had a problem with his ankle. This week is the best week of the last three weeks. He’s getting better and feeling better with his ankle, it’s very positive. “With Pepe, he came here later than the others but he is getting and feeling better in each match. Aubameyang is very important for us, he scores two goals in the first two matches, he had two or three good actions in Liverpool,” Emery

The draw for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League has been conducted. Holders Liverpool will play Napoli, Salzburg and Genk. Last year’s finalists Tottenham Hotspur, are in Group B along with Bayern Munich, Olympiakos and Red Star Belgrade. Group A has Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Club Brugge and Galatasaray FULL DRAW: Group A: PSG, Real Madrid, Club Brugge, Galatasaray Group B: Bayern, Tottenham Hotspur, Olympiakos, Red Star Belgrade Group C: Manchester City, Shaktar Donetsk, GNK Dinamo, Atalanta Group D: Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lokomotiv Moscow Group E: Liverpool, Napoli, Salzburg, Genk Group F: Barcelona, Dortmund, Inter Milan, Slavia Prague Group G: Zenit, Benfica, Lyon, RB Leipzig Group H: Chelsea, Ajax, Valencia, Lille

Liverpool defender, Virgil van Dijk, has been named the UEFA Champions League Men’s Player of the Year. The Dutchman won the prize on Thursday, ahead of Juventus forward, Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona captain, Lionel Messi. Van Dijk had an impressive 2018/2019 campaign with the Reds, as they won the Champions League trophy and finished in second place in the Premier League behind Manchester City. He becomes the first ever defender to win the award and the first player from the Premier League to do so.

Alexis Sanchez has joined Inter Milan on a season-long loan from Manchester United, the clubs have announced on Thursday. The Chile international, who joined United from Arsenal in January 2018, has struggled to find his best form at Old Trafford. "We can confirm that Alexis Sanchez joins Inter Milan on loan until 30 June 2020. We wish @Alexis_Sanchez the best of luck in Italy,” United wrote in a Twitter post. Sanchez played in Italy with Udinese for three seasons, before moving to Barcelona in 2011. He joined Arsenal in the summer of 2014. He arrives at San Siro as a replacement for Ivan Perisic, who signed for Bayern Munich.

The Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, has emerged flagbearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC), for the November 16 governorship election. Bello won the primary conducted in Lokoja, the state capital on Thursday by 3,127 votes. A total of 3,596 delegates were accredited. The Governor defeated the following to win the ticket: 1. Hadiza Iyoma Ibrahim 2. Yahaya Odidi Audu 3. Sani Lulu Abdullahi 4. Engr. Abubakar Bashir 5. Engr. Danlami Umar Mohammed 6. Yakubu Mohammed 7. Hassan Abdullahi 8. Ekele Aishat Blessing

The Nigeria U 20 women’s team, the Falconets, on Thursday night beat Cameroon 3-2 on penalties to win the football gold at the ongoing African Games in Morocco. The win marks the third time Nigeria will clinch football gold in the women’s category after five editions. Nigeria and Cameroon were in the same group during the group stage and both sides settled for a 1-1 then. The tournament’s final clash between the two neighbouring countries was another feisty tie as the both teams battled each other for 120 minutes. But there was no goal to separate both sides. Chiamaka Nnadozie after her heroics at the World Cup with the Super Falcons in France proved to be a hero in Morocco as she saved three successive penalty kicks to help Nigeria to the gold. While it is the third gold medal for Nigeria, it is coming after a 12-year wait. Nigeria’s previous gold medal in women football at the African Games was in 2003 and 2007. While Cameroon won once in 2011 in Maputo, Mozambique.

The draw for the third round of this season’s Carabao Cup was conducted on Wednesday night. Holders Manchester City will be away at Preston, while League One outfit MK Dons host Liverpool. Manchester United will welcome Rochdale to Old Trafford. Chelsea will take on the winner of the Grimsby/Macclesfield Town tie, while Arsenal play Nottingham Forest at the Emirates. The fixtures drawn from the third round will be played in the week commencing September 23. Carabao Cup third round draw: Wolves vs Reading Oxford United vs West Ham United Watford vs Swansea City Brighton & Hove Albion vs Aston Villa Sheffield United vs Sunderland Colchester United vs Tottenham Hotspur Portsmouth vs Southampton Burton Albion vs Bournemouth Preston North End vs Manchester City MK Dons vs Liverpool Luton Town vs Leicester City Chelsea vs Grimsby/Macclesfield Town Sheffield Wednesday vs Everton Manchester United vs Rochdale Luton Town vs Leicester City Chelse

Marseille won their first match under new coach Andre Villas-Boas on Wednesday thanks to a 2-1 derby win at Nice in a match that was suspended in the first half following homophobic abuse from the home side’s hardcore supporters. Dimitri Payet moved his side up to 13th on four points with a spot-kick with 17 minutes remaining after Nice midfielder Wylan Cyprien had levelled Dario Benedetto’s first Marseille goal with his own penalty. The France international’s strike also ended Nice’s brief perfect start in the new season’s third round of matches, but the clash was dominated by the over 10-minute suspension ordered by match officials as part of a crackdown on offensive chanting from French football authorities. Players from both teams were escorted from the pitch in the 28th minute of the contest following repeated appeals to Nice fans to stop chants of “Marseille are a bunch of queers” and “Go fuck yourself, Ligue 1”. Fans also unfurled homophobic banners including one whic

Amazon has announced that more than 400 US police departments had joined its “Ring Neighbors” network, a program aimed at curbing crime using video from the company’s smart doorbell that has raised civil liberties concerns. The program represents an unusual partnership between the US technology giant and law enforcement agencies, which have offered discounted or free Ring devices to residents as part of crime prevention efforts. Ring, the device maker purchased by Amazon for $839 million, said the video-enabled smart doorbell and its associated Neighbors applications help improve communication between residents and their police departments. “Today, 405 agencies use the Neighbors portal, which is an extension of the Neighbors app that allow law enforcement to engage with their local community,” Ring chief executive Jamie Siminoff said in a blog post. This includes “posting important information about crime and safety events in their neighborhoods” and “viewing and commenting

Darth Vader’s helmet from “The Empire Strikes Back” is among a vast collection of coveted Hollywood treasures going under the hammer next month, with experts predicting it could fetch nearly $500,000. The mask and helmet is one of only a handful worn by actor David Prowse, who played Luke Skywalker’s nemesis and – spoiler alert – father on-screen in the 1980 “Star Wars” blockbuster, making them the “holy grail” of science fiction artifacts, according to auction organizers. '' The catalog estimate is $250,000-$450,000, and you never know what something will go for until it crosses the block – it could well exceed that,” said Zach Pogemiller of auctioneer Profiles in History. “Star Wars is always popular. It’s never been hotter than it is right now, with the franchise continuing as strongly as it is.” The “Icons and Legends of Hollywood” sale will take place September 25-26 in Los Angeles, with nearly 1,000 lots together expected to sell for over $10 million. The “

The Federal Government has approved a reduction in visa charges payable by United States citizens from $180 to $150. The Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, explained on Wednesday, that the Comptroller-General of Nigeria Immigration Service, Muhammad Babandede, had been directed to implement the decrease in the visa charges with effect from Thursday (Today). The development was sequel to the new visa regime announced by the US Government on Tuesday, stating that Nigerians applying for US visas will be required to pay a visa issuance fee, or reciprocity fee, with effect from August 29. The US Mission in Abuja had said that the reciprocity fee will be charged in addition to the nonimmigrant visa application fee, also known as the Machine Readable Visa fee, which all applicants pay at the time of application. It explained that the reciprocity fee was applicable to all approved applications for nonimmigrant visas in B, F, H1B, I, L, and R visa classifications, noting t

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Wednesday that parliament would be suspended until October 14 – just two weeks before the UK is set to leave the EU – enraging anti-Brexit MPs. The pound slid on the surprise news, which opponents branded a “coup” and a “declaration of war”. The government’s move will give pro-EU lawmakers less time than they expected to try to thwart Johnson’s Brexit plans before Britain’s current EU departure date on October 31. Johnson said he had asked Queen Elizabeth II, the head of state, to recommence parliament with a speech on October 14 setting out his government’s legislative programme. Anti-Brexit MPs reacted furiously, branding Johnson – who came to office only last month as head of the governing Conservative Party – a dictator. John Bercow, the speaker of parliament’s lower House of Commons, described the move as a “constitutional outrage”. - ‘Offence against democracy’ - Johnson is due to attend one last EU summit on October

Double world under-20 sprint champion Briana Williams could miss next month’s World Championships after reportedly testing positive for the banned diuretic hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ). The Jamaican daily The Gleaner said that the 17-year-old initially failed the doping test after the National Senior Championships between June 20–23 where she placed third in the 100 metres to secure a spot in the national team for the World Championships in Doha. The newspaper said Tuesday that the ‘B’ sample had reportedly confirmed the presence of the substance. Williams’ representative Emir Crowne said they had not yet received confirmation of the ‘B’ sample and insisted that the sprinter had not done anything wrong. Her team reportedly say that the teenager used a contaminated cold and flu medication – which she had declared on her testing protocol form – as the source of the banned substance. “Our primary position will be that Ms Williams bears no fault in the circumstances and there sh

South Korea on Wednesday slammed Japan for effectively downgrading Seoul’s trade status and accused Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of treating the neighbour as an “adversary”. The comments are the latest in a bitter tit-for-tat row stemming from a long-running diplomatic dispute over Japan’s use of forced labour during its colonial rule over the peninsula from 1910 to 1945. They came as Tokyo’s removal of the South from its so-called “white list” of trusted trade partners went into effect. Seoul has already announced it will reciprocate, and last week said it will terminate a military information-sharing pact with Japan, raising concerns in Washington, which has security treaties with both. “Prime Minister Abe commented twice that Korea cannot be trusted and is treating us like an adversary,” said Kim Hyun-chong, a national security official at the Blue House. He insisted Seoul’s decision to terminate the intelligence-sharing deal – known as the General Security of Military Inf

Archeologists in Peru say the 227 bodies they have unearthed from a site used by the pre-Columbian Chimu culture is the biggest-ever discovery of sacrificed children. Archeologists have been digging since last year at the huge sacrificial site in Huanchaco, a beachside tourist town north of the capital Lima. “This is the biggest site where the remains of sacrificed children have been found,” chief archeologist Feren Castillo told reporters on Tuesday. Castillo said the children, who were aged between four and 14, were sacrificed in a ritual to honor the Chimu culture’s gods. “They were sacrificed to appease the El Nino phenomenon,” and show signs of being killed during wet weather, he said. He added that there may still be more to be found. “It’s uncontrollable, this thing with the children. Wherever you dig, there’s another one,” Castillo said. The children’s remains were found in a position facing the sea. Some still had skin and hair. Huanchaco was a site where m

Australia’s Nick Kyrgios became the last player to reach the second round of the US Open by defeating American Steve Johnson 6-3, 7-6 (7⁄1), 6-4 early Wednesday morning. Kyrgios, seeded 28th, fired 24 aces to four for Johnson and made eight double faults, twice Johnson’s total. “To have a performance like that is pretty special,” Kyrgios said. “I don’t take these days for granted.” Kyrgios said that to be issued a record $113,000 fine by the ATP for actions at the Cincinnati Masters was not a concern for him entering the US Open. “Not at all,” he said. “ATP is pretty corrupt anyway. I’m not frustrated at all.” He later added, “I’m fined 113K for what?” Kyrgios smashed two racquets and used a profanity in describing an umpire as a “tool” after being assessed a time violation in a loss to Russia’s Karen Khachanov. He also called the umpire “rubbish”, “a disgrace” and “the worst ref in the game.” Kyrgios, who won ATP titles earlier this year at Acapulco and Washington,

A Chinese Catholic bishop has been ordained with the joint approval of the Pope and Beijing for the first time under an agreement intended to encourage a rapprochement between China and the Holy See. China’s roughly 12 million Catholics have for decades been split between a government-run association, whose clergy were chosen by the atheist Communist Party, and an unofficial underground church loyal to the Vatican. But under the terms of the deal agreed in September last year, both Beijing and the Vatican will now have a say in appointing Catholic bishops. China’s official church, the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, said Yao Shun was ordained as bishop of the diocese of Ulanqab in north China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on Monday. The law in China requires priests and bishops to register and align with the country’s official church. But the Vatican said the bishop, who it named as Antonio Yao Shun, had also “received the Papal Mandate” at the ordination, acc

Upcoming crime drama  The Irishman  will open in select theaters in November. Deadline reported Tuesday that the new Martin Scorsese film, starring Robert De Niro, will have a limited release Nov. 1 in Los Angeles and New York. The movie will screen in additional U.S. cities in the weeks leading up to its Nov. 27 debut on Netflix. It will expand to U.K. theaters Nov. 8. The Hollywood Reporter said Netflix kept its tradition of forgoing a wide release to make the film available to its members as quickly as possible. The streaming service was unable to reach a compromise with major theater chains, including AMC and Cineplex. Variety said Scorsese had hoped for a more traditional wide release. The limited release is in line with the short theatrical run that Netflix gave Alfonso Cuaron's film Roma in 2018. The Irishman is expected to show at iPic, Alamo Drafthouse and Landmark locations, along with indie theaters. Netflix released a first trailer for The Irishman i

The Will & Grace revival will feature Demi Lovato in Season 3. Entertainment weekly reported that the singer and actress will guest star in the show's third and final season on NBC. She will play the role of Jenny, a guarded gal who enters Will Truman's (Eric McCormack) life in an unexpected way. She will appear as the character in three episodes. Lovato confirmed the news by sharing a photo on Instagram of herself on the Will & Grace set. "Will & Grace & Demi @nbcwillandgrace #WillandGrace," she captioned the post. Will & Grace co-stars Debra Messing, Megan Mullally and Sean Hayes. The series initially had an eight-season run on NBC from 1998 to 2005, and was revived in 2017. NBC renewed the revival in March 2018 for a third season. NBC announced in July that Season 3 will be the revival's last. "In the interest of protecting the legacy of this show and the truly outstanding work that went into making every episode, we ha

Philly born Rapper Meek Mill pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor gun charge Tuesday, ending more than a decade-long legal fight with his felony conviction dropped last month. The rapper has spent most of his adult life under court supervision stemming from a 2007 arrest for allegedly assaulting a Philadelphia police officer and illegally possessing a firearm, resulting in prison sentence for drug dealing and gun possession. He was released early on parole, but was sent back to prison multiple times for violating his parole. With doubts about the credibility of Mill's arresting officer, Reginald Graham, because he allegedly engaged in criminal actions, last month the Pennsylvania Superior Courtoverturned the felony conviction and removed the city judge who sent him back to prison over minor probation violations. Meek Mill has said he's been treated unfairly in his case, sparking a #FreeMeek movement and nationwide debate on mass incarceration. The 32-year-old rapper, born R