Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson announces endorsement for Joe Biden


Evelyn Lau
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For the first time, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has shared his pick for US president.

In a newly uploaded video, the former WWE star says he’s endorsing Democratic nominees Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the upcoming US presidential election. Calling himself a “political independent and centrist,” the actor says he’s voted for both parties in the past, but that on November 3, he would be voting for the Biden/Harris campaign.

“I’ve got friends in all parties, but the one thing we can always agree on is the conversation and the dialogue, and where that conversation lands is always the most critical part,” he said in a video he tweeted Sunday.

The actor, 48, announced his choice in a video shared on his YouTube channel. The footage shows him having a remote conversation with Biden and Harris, whom he was formally introduced to for the first time.

“I thought it was a great and extremely productive conversation that we had and as a registered Independent for years now with centrist ideologies, I do feel that Vice President Biden and Senator Harris are the best choice to lead our country and I am endorsing them to become president and vice president of our United States,” Johnson said.

The wrestler-turned-actor has been largely politically neutral in public in the past. He spoke at the 2000 Republican National Convention and the same year appeared at a nonpartisan World Wrestling Entertainment voter registration event at the Democratic National Convention. He told Rolling Stone in 2018 that he voted for Barack Obama twice but did not vote in the 2016 election.

He even portrayed "The Rock Obama" in a skit for Saturday Night Live in 2015:

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Electric scooters: some rules to remember
  • Riders must be 14-years-old or over
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  • Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
  • Do not drive outside designated lanes
Five ways to get fit like Craig David (we tried for seven but ran out of time)

Start the week as you mean to go on. So get your training on strong on a Monday.

Train hard, but don’t take it all so seriously that it gets to the point where you’re not having fun and enjoying your friends and your family and going out for nice meals and doing that stuff.

Think about what you’re training or eating a certain way for — don’t, for example, get a six-pack to impress somebody else or lose weight to conform to society’s norms. It’s all nonsense.

Get your priorities right.

And last but not least, you should always, always chill on Sundays.

The biog

Favourite car: Ferrari

Likes the colour: Black

Best movie: Avatar

Academic qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in media production from the Higher Colleges of Technology and diploma in production from the New York Film Academy

Libya's Gold

UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves. 

The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.

Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.

What are NFTs?

Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.

You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”

However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.

This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”

This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.

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