ICYMI: Joe Biden inauguration, Trump pardons, Jojo Siwa sexuality reveal, sports round-up and more

In case you missed last week’s news as it broke, we give a rundown of the biggest stories of last week below. Look out for details from Joe Biden inauguration, Trump pardons, Jojo Siwa sexuality reveal, and Cristiano Ronaldo becoming the highest-scoring player in football history.

Joe Biden inauguration

Joe Biden was inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States on Wednesday, 20 January 2021, at a smaller-than-usual ceremony due to the Coronavirus pandemic. He took the oath from Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, with his left hand on a family Bible.

His vice president, Kamala Harris, also officially took to the office the same day becoming the first woman, first Black American and first South Asian American to serve in that capacity in the US.

Nigerian singer Burna Boy’s ‘Destiny,’ a song about the power of providence and divination, made the 46-track playlist for Biden’s inauguration. The ceremony was the highlight of the week as the majority of the most powerful women in America turned up in monochrome pieces.

Eagle-eyed photo journalists snapped Vice President Kamala Harris in all purple, first lady Dr Jill Biden in ocean blue, former first lady Michelle Obama in plum, a former first lady and presidential aspirant Hillary Clinton in violet, Jennifer Lopez in all-white and Biden’s daughter and grandchildren as well.

Not to forget the hilarious memes that Bernie Sanders and his mittens generated.

Joe Biden’s first executive orders …

In his first set of executive orders, Biden reversed Trump’s policies on the coronavirus pandemic, immigration, and climate change.

Biden cancelled the ban, which restricted travel to the US from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, Chad, North Korea, Venezuela, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan, and Tanzania.

He also made mask-wearing compulsory in all federal buildings and during interstate travel. Additionally, he signed orders for the US to return to the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Paris climate agreement.

Biden is stopping Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s actions that cause family separation. He has halted construction of the wall along the US-Mexico border.

Donald Trump official pardons

Donald Trump did not leave office without one final controversial pronouncement. Just hours before Joe Biden replaced him, Donald Trump granted clemency to American rappers Lil Wayne and Kodak Black along with 141 others.

Lil Wayne had pleaded guilty in December 2020 to illegally possess a loaded, gold-plated handgun when his chartered jet landed in Miami. He faced a sentence of up to 10 years in prison but has now received a pardon.

Meanwhile, Kodak Black was already doing time for a firearm-related offence when Trump commuted his sentence.

Also, on the eve of Trump’s departure, his daughter Tiffany announced her engagement to Michael Boulos; a Nigerian-trained business executive who grew up in the city of Lagos.

NIN-related news …

Mobile network operators from within Nigeria confirm that the deadline for syncing SIM cards with the National Identity Number (NIN) has been extended once again. The new deadline is fixed for 9 February 2021.

Entertainment news

1. Founder of Ora Media, co-host and Legendary CNN interviewer, Larry King died at the age of 87 on 23 January 2021 in Cedars Sinai hospital, Los Angeles. King had battled health problems over the years, including prostate cancer, type-two diabetes, a heart attack, a malignant lung tumour and most recently, the coronavirus.
2. American supermodel Gigi Hadid has finally revealed the name of her and her partner, Zayn Malik’s, baby girl. Gigi made the announcement in the most subtle of ways; she changed her Instagram bio to reflect “Khai’s mom”. Since Khai arrived in September 2020, her parents have been guarding what they post about her. With this recent revelation, her face is the next mystery reveal that fans are waiting for.
3. American singer and sweetheart Justin Timberlake also announced the birth of his second child with his wife. He made the announcement when he appeared as a guest on Ellen DeGeneres’s show. The couple, who married in 2012 and share 5-year-old son Silas, had not even let on that they were expecting a baby before now.
4. Things seem to not be getting any better between Kanye West and his wife Kim Kardashian. Following their divorce rumours, media sources now claim that the couple has stopped attending marriage counselling. Kim had been rumoured to be working with famed divorce lawyer Laura Wasser and this latest piece of news seems to be another step towards an eventual breakup.
5. Mavin record label boss Don Jazzy unveiled 18-year-old Ayra Starr as the company’s latest signee on Friday. Miss Starr debuted with a self-titled EP that toppled Wizkid’s Made In Lagos from the top of Apple Music Nigerian Album chart within a few hours.
6. 17-year-old social media sensation Jojo Siwa praised her parents for being supportive after she came out as part of the LGBTQ+ community. She had first posted herself wearing a T-shirt gift from her cousin that read, “Best. Gay. Cousin. Ever.” Then, in an Instagram Live video on Saturday, 23 January 2021, the teenage star further opened up on her sexuality. Here is the full article on Jojo Siwa LGBTQ+ announcement.
7. At the beginning of the week, popular Nigerian social media comedian Maryam Apaokagi, also known as Taaooma, denied having anything to do with a filmmaker identified as @olaondeck on Instagram. The filmmaker had alleged that Taaooma charged his client the sum of 1.5 million Naira for a video that didn’t meet the expectations of the client. According to @olaondeck, he only wanted the comedian to express a sense of concession as he was not even expecting a refund. In her response, Taaooma expressed her steadfastness to her craft, business dealings and fans. The accuser has been silent since Tao’s response.

Sports top ten summary

1. On Wednesday, night Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 760th career goal in the Italian Super Cup match against Napoli to surpass Josef Bican and become the highest-scoring player for club and country in football history.
2. In the Copa del Rey, Barcelona toiled against third-tier side Cornella, missing two penalties in the process before eventually winning 2-0 in extra time. Their joy will not be complete until Lionel Messi returns from his two-match suspension; a fallout of his red card in the Spanish Super Cup final after he hit an opponent in an off-the-ball incident. This is Messi’s first red card in 753 appearances for Barcelona.
3. Meanwhile, Real Madrid were sent packing from the competition after losing to Alcoyano, another third-tier team. Madrid could not find a way to turn the tie around despite having an extra man advantage.
4. Football’s world governing body FIFA has rejected the idea of a breakaway European ‘Super League’ and has followed it up by issuing a threat of a ban from the World Cup for any player that takes part in it.
5. Players who arrived for the Australia Open have been advised not to feed mice at the quarantine hotel in Melbourne after Kazakh’s Yulia Putintseva lamented having to cohabit with rodents.
6. Atalanta humbled Serie A leaders AC Milan with a 3-0 win on Saturday, handing them their second league defeat of the season at San Siro. Inter Milan again missed out on the opportunity to top the Serie A after playing out a 0-0 draw at strugglers Udinese on Saturday, with coach Antonio Conte sent off.
7. Conor McGregor was stopped by Dustin Poirier in a huge upset at UFC 257 at Fight Island in Abu Dhabi ending any lingering hopes of luring Khabib Nurmagomedov into a rematch.
8. Liverpool stumbled to two consecutive losses this week; the first against Burnley ended their 68-match unbeaten run at home in the League and the second saw Manchester United kick them out of the FA Cup.
9. Turkish giants Fenerbahce complete signing former German international Mesut Ozil from Arsenal.
10. Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid all win in La Liga to keep the race for the title the same as it was at the turn of the week. Luis Suarez was also on hand to increase his goal tally and tie Sevilla’s Youssef En-Nesyri at number 1.

Coronavirus update in numbers

As of Friday 22 January 2021, the total number of confirmed coronavirus infections in Nigeria was 118,138. 1,490 deaths have been reported while 94,150 patients have recovered and been discharged from isolation facilities across the country. This means that the number of active cases was 22,498.