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Author: Abigail Ampofo

  • World reacts to missile blast in Poland

    An explosion in eastern Poland near Ukraine’s border killed two, prompting world leaders to call for an investigation.

    A missile hit Przewodow village in eastern Poland near the Ukrainian border and killed two people on Tuesday, raising alarm among world leaders about a possible escalation of the war in Ukraine.

    The blast occurred as Russian attacks hit cities and towns throughout Ukraine.

    While Russia and Ukraine were quick to trade blame over the incident, the United States and NATO adopted a cautious approach to ease tensions.

    Ultimately, US President Joe Biden said the missile that struck the village in Poland was “unlikely” to have been fired from Russia.

    Poland’s President Andrzej Duda, who on Tuesday suggested the missiles were Russian, changed track on Wednesday and said it is “very likely” that the rocket was from Ukraine’s air defence system.

    Here is how some world leaders reacted:

    President Duda of Poland, a strong ally of Kyiv, said on Wednesday the missile appeared to be from Ukraine’s air defence.

    “Absolutely nothing indicates that this was an intentional attack on Poland … It’s very likely that it was a rocket used in anti-missile defence, meaning that it was used by Ukraine’s defence forces,” he told reporters.

    Previously, he had said it was “most probably” a Russian attack but that its origins were still being verified.

    “We are acting with calm,” he said. “This is a difficult situation.”

    Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau earlier summoned the Russian ambassador and “demanded immediate detailed explanations”, the government said.

    Ukraine

    Zelenskyy told G20 leaders there was a “terrorist state” among them and accused Russia of the missile attack.

    He also had a call with Duda to express his condolences and reiterate Ukraine’s support for Poland.

    “We exchanged available information and are clarifying all the facts. Ukraine, Poland and all of Europe and the world must be fully protected from terrorist Russia,” Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter.

    After NATO and Poland said the blast was likely a Ukrainian accident, officials in Kyiv demanded to visit the site of the blast and asked that allies share their information.

    Russia

    Vasily Nebenzya, head of the permanent mission of Russia to the United Nations, said the missile blast was an attempt to provoke a direct clash between Russia and NATO.

    Dmitry Polyanskiy, the first deputy permanent representative of Russia to the UN, wrote on Twitter: “I advise everyone to analyse facts before rushing to conclusions. It’s obvious that impact of direct rocket strike would be significantly bigger than the pictures show.”

    The Russian defence ministry said the explosion had been caused by a Ukrainian air defence missile, and that Russian strikes in Ukraine had been no closer than 35km (22 miles) from the Polish border.

    “The photos published in the evening of Nov. 15 in Poland of the wreckage found in the village of Przewodow are unequivocally identified by Russian defence industry specialists as elements of an anti-aircraft guided missile of the S-300 air defence system of the Ukrainian air force,” the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.

    On Wednesday, the Kremlin decried Poland’s initial response as hysterical and said the US had been more “measured” – rare praise.

     

    United States

    US President Joe Biden attended an “emergency” meeting of the G7 and NATO leaders in Indonesia on Wednesday morning for consultations over the explosion, and later said the missile was “unlikely” to have been fired from Russia.

    “There is preliminary information that contests that,” Biden told reporters when asked if the missile had been fired from Russia. “It is unlikely in the lines of the trajectory that it was fired from Russia, but we’ll see.

    “I’m going to make sure we find out exactly what happened,” he said. “And then we’re going to collectively determine our next step as we investigate.”

    Unnamed US officials told The Associated Press news agency the missile was fired by Ukrainian forces at an incoming Russian missile.

    Biden called Duda to express his condolences.

    On Twitter, Biden promised “full support for and assistance with Poland’s investigation”.

    NATO secretary-general

    Jens Stoltenberg said even though the Ukrainian air defence missile likely caused the explosion, Russia should be ultimately blamed since it is behind the war.

    “This is not Ukraine’s fault. Russia bears ultimate responsibility as it continues its illegal war against Ukraine,” he said.

    He had called an emergency meeting of the alliance’s envoys in Brussels on Wednesday. Like Biden, he offered his condolences to Duda.

    “NATO is monitoring the situation and Allies are closely consulting. Important that all facts are established,” Stoltenberg wrote on Twitter.

    Turkey

    Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who holds good ties with both warring sides, said Russia had “nothing to do” with the missiles and that he respects Moscow’s statement denying the accusation.

    “Russia saying this has nothing to do with them and Biden saying these missiles are not Russian-made show that this has nothing to do with Russia,” Erdogan said at a news conference during the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia.

    “It could be a technical glitch or something else. That’s why it’s necessary to investigate and research into this.”

    He said pointing fingers at Russia after finding out that the missile is not Russian-made “will cause provocation”, as Turkey has been working to “gather Russia and Ukraine around the same table” for negotiations.

    European Union

    European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the G20 summit participants discussed the blast in Poland and expressed their continued solidarity with Ukraine.

    “We offer our full support to Poland and assistance with the ongoing investigation. We will remain in close contacts with our partners on the next steps. We will stand with Ukraine as long as it takes,” she said.

    Italy

    Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the origin of the missile does not change much since Russia is still to blame for attacking infrastructure in Ukraine.

    “The possibility that the missile falling on Poland was not a Russian missile but a Ukrainian one changes very little,” she said.

    Meloni said she spoke to Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

    China

    Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning called for calm.

    “Under the current situation, all relevant parties should stay calm and exercise restraint to avoid escalation of the situation,” she told a press briefing.

    United Kingdom

    Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke to Duda about the missile blast and “reiterated the UK’s solidarity with Poland and expressed condolences for the victims”, he wrote on Twitter.

    Germany

    Chancellor Olaf Scholz called for a careful inquiry.

    “This destruction must be investigated, the rocket parts must be investigated and then we must wait for the results before they are publicly released,” Scholz told reporters in Indonesia.

    “In such a serious matter, there must not be any hasty conclusions about the course of events before this careful investigation.”

    Meanwhile, a German government spokesperson dismissed Ukraine’s call for a no-fly zone, saying such a move would threaten a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO.

    Ukraine’s presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak had earlier tweeted that European countries should “close the sky” over Ukraine after the blast.

    Source: Aljazeera.com 

     

  • Prince Harry makes surprise visit to Pearl Harbor on Veterans Day: ‘He was very respectful’

    The Duke of Sussex served in the British Army for 10 years and completed two tours of Afghanistan.

    Prince Harry made a surprise stop on Veterans Day.

    The Duke of Sussex, 41, visited Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, last Friday afternoon, touring the USS Arizona Memorial, PEOPLE confirms. A somber site in American history books, the battleship was bombed by Japanese forces in December 1941. Over 1,100 crew members died in the attack, which drove the U.S. to enter World War II.

    Harry visited the memorial in a personal capacity. The USS Arizona Memorial on the island of Oahu is a short flight from his home in Montecito, California, where he lives with his wife Meghan Markle and their two children, son Archie, 3, and daughter Lilibet, 1.

    “He kind of approached us,” Dan Conover, who was also touring the USS Arizona with his family on Friday, tells PEOPLE.

    “I moved out of his way because he’s royalty, I figured I’d let him do his thing. He basically gave me a greeting,” Conover, 23, explains. “He was very respectful and courteous and nice. I moved out of his way, and he kind of patted me on the back and said, ‘You’re all good mate.’ It was a simple interaction, but he was very nice and courteous and respectful.”

    <a href="https://people.com/tag/prince-harry/" data-inlink="true">Prince Harry</a> WWII memorial. Credit: Debbie Bishop Conover
    Prince Harry visits the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. DEBBIE BISHOP CONOVER

    The eyewitness added that there was an expert “who was basically explaining things to Prince Harry — ‘This is what happened on this day, how the USS Arizona, etc.’ “

    The outing was likely emotional for Prince Harry, who served in the British Army for 10 years and completed two tours of Afghanistan. Before stepping back from his senior royal role, he held three honorary military titles — Captain General of the Royal Marines, Honorary Air Commandant of RAF Honington and Commodore-in-Chief, Small Ships and Diving, Royal Naval Command.

    <a href="https://people.com/tag/prince-harry/" data-inlink="true">Prince Harry</a> WWII memorial. Credit: Debbie Bishop Conover
    Prince Harry visits the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor. DEBBIE BISHOP CONOVER

    November 11 is Veterans Day in the U.S., and Remembrance Day in the U.K. In honor of the solemn holidays, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex released a new photo and simple statement on their Archewell Foundation website. In the black and white snap, taken by their wedding photographer Chris Allerton, the couple faced military personnel, including a serviceman holding an American flag.

    “On this Veterans Day and Remembrance Day, we honor service members across the world,” Harry and Meghan, 41, wrote. “These brave men and women, as well as their families, have made tremendous sacrifices and embody duty and service.”

    “We are proud to work with so many organizations that support veterans and military families, including The Invictus Games Foundation, The Mission Continues, Team Rubicon, Scotty’s Little Soldiers and The Greatest GENERATIONS Foundation. Today and every day, thank you for your service,” the statement wrapped.

    Last year on Veterans Day, the couple paid a surprise visit to a New Jersey military base. At a luncheon for service members and their spouses at the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, Meghan and Harry discussed topics like mental health and the importance of community.

    <a href="https://people.com/tag/prince-harry/" data-inlink="true">Prince Harry</a>, <a href="https://people.com/tag/meghan-markle/" data-inlink="true">Meghan Markle</a>
    Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. LEE MORGAN

    The stop in N.J. came one day after attending the 2021 Salute to Freedom gala at the Intrepid Museum in New York City. In prepared remarks at the gala, Prince Harry discussed the isolation service members often feel when returning home and stressed the importance of supporting veterans.

    “My experience in the military made me who I am today, and I will always be grateful for the people I got to serve with — wherever in the world we were,” said Harry. “But in war, you also see and experience things you hope no one else has to. These stay with us, sometimes like a slideshow of images.”

    Harry said that he created the Invictus Games “to honor the legacy of those who have given so much” as well as to show “that the men and women who have experienced service injuries, as well as their families, are the strongest people in the world…and they deserve a platform to be seen, a platform to be recognized, and a platform to be truly celebrated.”

    The prince went on to welcome the 2021 Intrepid Valor Award honorees, who he said “are part of an everlasting bond. You are part of the team of teams. And we will always have your backs. You are not alone.”

    Source: People.com 

  • NATO’s articles 4 and 5: Russia-Ukraine war tests joint defence

    If the missile that hit Poland was fired by Russia, it would be the first time Moscow’s weapons have hit a NATO member.

    The United States and its allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are investigating a blast that killed two people in Poland’s Przewodow, a village in the eastern part of the country near the border with Ukraine.

    Polish authorities have blamed a “Russian-made” missile for the deaths on Tuesday in a village about 6 kilometres (4 miles) from the border with Ukraine.

    Russia’s defence ministry has denied that any Russian missiles hit Polish territory, describing such reports as “a deliberate provocation aimed at escalating the situation”.

    If confirmed that the missile was fired by Russia, it would be the first time since its invasion of Ukraine in February that one of Moscow’s weapons has struck and inflicted casualties in a NATO country.

    A possible Russian missile strike poses serious concerns as the foundation of the 30-member NATO alliance is the principle that an attack against one member is an attack on all.

    While the Polish foreign ministry identified the missile as being made in Russia, Poland’s President Andrzej Duda has been more cautious regarding its origin, saying that officials did not know for sure who fired it or where it was made.

    US President Joe Biden also said that the missile – based on trajectory – was unlikely to have been fired by Russia, adding however, “but we’ll see”.

    As a NATO member, Poland has said it was verifying whether it needed to request consultations under Article 4 of the alliance.

    Experts note that Article 4 must be invoked before the process begins that could, potentially, lead to the invocation of Article 5 – which enshrines NATO’s principle of collective defence.

    So, what are NATO’s Article 4 and Article 5 and how do they work?

    What is Article 4?

    Article 4 can be invoked when any NATO member feels threatened.

    Invoking Article 4 beings a process which leads to consultation between the member country (or countries) with NATO’s most senior decision-making body, the North Atlantic Council, or NAC, says John R Deni, a research professor at the US Army War College and lecturer at American University.

    Meetings of the NAC are not unusual and take place regularly to discuss day-to-day issues related to the alliance, Deni told The Conversation.

    However, when Article 4 is formally triggered by an alliance member, the NAC prioritises the consultation with the country concerned and their issue will be addressed immediately.

    Invoking Article 4 is a step on the path to a NATO response should the NAC consultation deem there are grounds to move forward based on the issue brought to its attention by the member state.

    Triggering Article 4

    Article 4 can be triggered when a member or members believe that their “territorial integrity, political independence or security” is threatened.

    “Any member country can formally invoke Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty. As soon as it is invoked, the issue is discussed and can potentially lead to some form of joint decision or action on behalf of the Alliance,” NATO says.

    “Whatever the scenario, fellow members sitting around the Council table are encouraged to react to a situation brought to their attention by a member country,” the organisation says.

    Article 4 has been invoked only on seven occasions during the lifespan of NATO, which was established in 1949.

    Most recently, Article 4 was invoked in March by eight NATO countries – Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia – following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

    Turkey invoked Article 4 in 2015 and twice in 2012, the first when in June that year one of its fighter jets was shot down by Syrian air defence. In October 2012, it invoked Article 4 when three Turkish citizens were killed by Syrian shelling amid the continuing civil war in its neighbouring country.

    Turkey requested in the Article 4 consultation process that NATO deploy Patriot missiles as a defence system, which the organisation agreed to in the interests of protecting Turkish people and territory.

    As Deni says, the Article 4 consultation and the decisions that might emerge are “a big deal – just not as weighty as invoking Article 5”.

    Article 4 is a preparatory phase prior to Article 5, which is the alliance’s commitment to collective defence.

    NATO’S ‘cornerstone’ Article 5

    Described as the “cornerstone” of the military alliance, NATO’s collective defence principle – contained in Article 5 – was developed to create a mutual protective pact in order to counter risks posed by the Soviet Union, particularly in Eastern Europe, following World War II and the emergence of the Cold War.

    Committing to Article 5 means that each NATO member knows that if one of the alliance is the “victim of an armed attack, each and every other member of the Alliance will consider this act of violence as an armed attack against all members”, NATO states.

    That means that each NATO member is obligated to “take the actions it deems necessary to assist the Ally attacked”.

    When Article 5 is invoked, NATO allies are free to provide whatever form of aid and assistance is deemed “necessary to respond to the situation”.

    Determining what is necessary to respond to a given situation is the individual obligation of each NATO ally, and may not necessarily use military power.

    As NATO states: “It is therefore left to the judgment of each individual member country to determine how it will contribute.”

    Each country consults with all other alliance members in terms of response and with the ultimate aim “to restore and maintain the security” of alliance members.

    First use of Article 5

    Article 5 was invoked for the first time ever following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US by al-Qaeda.

    The triggering of Article 5 saw “NATO engage actively in the fight against terrorism, launch its first operations outside the Euro-Atlantic area and begin a far-reaching transformation of its capabilities”, according to the alliance.

    “By invoking Article 5, NATO members showed their solidarity toward the United States and condemned, in the strongest possible way, the terrorist attacks against the United States.”

    Could the missile strike on Poland trigger Article 5?

    Deni of the American University said that it was difficult to assess currently whether the apparent missile strike could trigger Article 5 as the details of what occurred in the Polish village are not yet fully known, and “there are lots of variables at play”.

    Was the missile strike accidental or deliberate? Was Russia actually to blame?

    “It makes a massive difference whether this was a targeted attack on Polish military or civilian sites, or whether it was stray missiles,” Deni told The Conversation.

    “There is also the possibility that this was debris from a strike in Ukraine,” he said.

    “The loss of any innocent lives is tragic in any case, but I think the number of deaths resulting from the strike will also be a factor in whether Poland requests invocation of Article 5,” he added.

    Source: Aljazeera.com 

  • What we know about the explosion in Poland

    The missile blast has intensified global fears about the Ukraine war spiralling even further.

    A blast in NATO member Poland, near the Ukraine border, on Tuesday sent shockwaves across the world, with fears of a direct confrontation between the alliance and Russia.

    After the incident, Polish President Andrzej Duda said the explosive, which killed two people in the eastern village of Przewodow, was “most likely Russian-made”.

    But on Wednesday, he said it was “very likely” that the missiles were from Ukraine’s air defence.

    “Absolutely nothing indicates that this was an intentional attack on Poland,” he said. “It’s very likely that it was a rocket used in anti-missile defence, meaning that it was used by Ukraine’s defence forces.”

    Washington and NATO have made similar statements, suggesting the blast was unintentional.

    An investigation is ongoing.

    Russia immediately denied its missiles struck Poland while Ukraine was quick to blame Moscow.

    Here’s what you need to know.

    What do we know about the explosion?

    First news of the incident was reported by Polish Radio ZET, which said on Tuesday that two missiles had hit Przewodow, a village in eastern Poland about six kilometres (3.5 miles) from the border with Ukraine, killing two men.

    Residents of the village, with a population in the hundreds, told local media that a missile had hit a grain drying facility, near a school.

    President Duda said “it was most likely a Russian-made missile” but noted Warsaw had no conclusive evidence on who fired it and that the incident was still under investigation.

    He also described the incident as “a one-off event” and said there was “no indication” it would be repeated.

    A day later, he said there was no evidence the blast was an intentional attack, and, in line with NATO, claimed the missile was likely part of Ukraine’s defensive air systems.

    What was happening in Ukraine at the time?

    The explosion in Poland came on a day of sustained Russian shelling in Ukraine.

    Moscow’s forces launched 110 missiles and 10 Iranian-made attack drones throughout the country, the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said, leaving millions of households without power.

    Ukraine said more than 70 missiles were shot down, but some hit the city of Lviv, near the border with Poland to the west.

    Al Jazeera’s Jonah Hull, reporting from Kyiv, said it had been a “hugely kinetic” day.

    “The explosion in Poland … only added to a sense of crisis,” Hull said.

    The turmoil started “receding” on Wednesday, as information suggested the blast was the result of a Ukrainian attempt to down a Russian missile.

    “NATO member after NATO member is now standing back and urging caution and saying they are awaiting the outcome of an investigation [into the incident],” Hull said.

    How did Ukraine and Russia react?

    Ukraine was quick to blame Russia for the missile blast.

    President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday, without producing evidence, that Russian missiles hit Poland in a “significant escalation” of the conflict.

    “The longer Russia feels impunity, the more threats there will be to anyone within reach of Russian missiles. To fire missiles at NATO territory. This is a Russian missile attack on collective security. This is a very significant escalation. We must act,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address.

    Russia said the explosion was caused by a Ukrainian air defence missile.

    “The photos published in the evening of November 15 in Poland of the wreckage found in the village of Przewodow are unequivocally identified by Russian defence industry specialists as elements of an anti-aircraft guided missile of the S-300 air defence system of the Ukrainian air force,” the Russian defence ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

    The ministry also said that Russian attacks in Ukraine on Tuesday had been 35km (22 miles) from the Polish border at their nearest point to the NATO member state.

    Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused a number of countries of having made “baseless statements” about Russia’s involvement “without having any idea of what had happened”.

    In rare praise for Washington, he lauded its “measured” response after United States President Joe Biden said it was “unlikely” the missile had come from Russia.

    As fears of an escalation eased, Ukraine said it wants access to the site of the explosion and to see the information that provided the basis for its allies’ conclusions.

    What have the US and NATO said?

    The US and its NATO were cautious in their early responses.

    Asked whether it was too early to say that any missile was fired from Russia, Biden said that the trajectory suggested otherwise.

    “There is preliminary information that contests that,” he told reporters at the G20 summit in Indonesia. “I don’t want to say that until we completely investigate it but it is unlikely … that it was fired from Russia, but we’ll see.”

    NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance’s member states were “monitoring” the situation and “closely consulting” with one another.

    “[It is] Important that all facts are established,” he tweeted on Tuesday.

    On Wednesday, NATO said the blast was most likely the result of a Ukrainian accident but ultimately blamed Russia as the aggressor force.

    Was the incident talked about at the G20?

    Al Jazeera’s Rob McBride, reporting from the G20 summit in Indonesia, said the explosion in Poland was “very much overshadowing” the last day of the meeting – Wednesday – which is being attended by Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister.

    Western leaders convened an emergency roundtable in Bali after reports of the blast on Tuesday.

    “I think the point that will be made by the US and its allies, even if it is determined to have been a Ukrainian missile, is that it was fired as a direct result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” McBride said.

    What will happen next?

    The explosion has sparked concern that NATO, which Poland joined in 1999, might be drawn into the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

    Poland, which has put its military on heightened alert following the blast, is protected by NATO’s commitment to collective defence enshrined in Article 5 of its founding treaty.

    If it is determined that Moscow was to blame for the blast, which seems very unlikely following NATO’s statement on Wednesday, it could trigger Article 5, starting deliberations on a potential military response.

    While the situation was less clear, Warsaw was expected to request urgent consultations under Article 4 of the NATO Treaty, which is invoked when any member state feels their “territorial integrity, political independence or security” are at risk.

    Any response by the alliance will be heavily influenced by whether the incident was accidental or intentional – and for now, the former seems the most probable scenario.

    Even so, Ukraine is still demanding more investigations.

    Source: Aljazeera.com 

     

  • PitBull Federation calls for stricter regulations around breeding of the dog

    The PitBull Federation of South Africa is calling for stricter regulations around the breeding of the dog in the country.

    This comes as calls intensify to ban the breed from being a domestic pet after the latest mauling claimed the life of an 8-year-old boy in Bloemfontein.

    Spokesperson for the Federation Lehanda Rheeder says while they do sympathise with the family, the entire breed cannot be stereotyped and punished.

    She says the influx of dog fighting rings and improper breeding, coupled with bad ownership all contribute to the recent aggressive attacks.

    “At the moment we only have the laws that govern in the instances of pitbull bites or if there is a mauling or a death. Then we have laws that govern that situation which make criminal case. But in terms of owning a power breed and breeding such dogs, there is no legislation and that is one of the things that the Pitbull Dederation is trying to push at government level,” adds Rheeder.

    Calls for castration and sterilisation of all pitbull dogs

    The Sizwe Kupelo Foundation is calling for the castration and sterilisation of all pitbull dogs in the country.

    This is to prevent the future existence of what it calls the vicious breed.

    Source: SABC news

  • Raab’s behaviour will be investigated by an independent investigator

    Downing Street has announced that, an independent investigator will lead the investigation into Dominic Raab’s behaviour.

    This afternoon, the prime minister’s official spokesman provided additional information about the investigation into the deputy prime minister.

    They said a “independent investigator” from outside the civil service would lead the investigation.

    The person will be “suitably” qualified and independent, according to the spokesman.

    The probe will be reported back to the prime minister, who is the arbiter of the ministerial code, much in the same way that Priti Patel’s was.

    Officials in the Cabinet Office will support the inquiry, the spokesman said.

    They could not put a date on when the investigation would be finished, but confirmed work had started today.

    The spokesman said that the PM retained full confidence in his deputy.

     

  • This was the moment Western leaders feared

    This was the moment Western leaders have feared since Russia launched its all-out invasion in February: that the war might spill over onto the territory of one of Ukraine’s Nato neighbours, forcing Nato to respond and thus widening the conflict.

    But early fears that Russia might have deliberately attacked Poland quickly faded, as analysts and then Western politicians lined up to say this did not look like a deliberate Russian attack.

    After this morning’s Nato meeting, the alliance’s Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, said that his preliminary analysis showed that the wreckage filmed at the site was part of a Ukrainian air defence missile.

    But, he added, this was not Ukraine’s fault. After all, none of this would have happened if Russia hadn’t launched dozens of cruise missiles yesterday at targets all across Ukraine.

    Not Ukraine’s fault, but questions will be raised about Kyiv’s early denial that one of its air defence missiles was involved.

    Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, last night tweeted that any suggestion a Ukrainian missile had landed in Poland was a Russian “conspiracy theory”.

    In light of subsequent comments from Joe Biden, his Polish counterpart, Duda, Stoltenberg, the Danish defence minister and others, Kuleba’s tweet seems hasty.

    DISCLAIMER: Independentghana.com will not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author’s, and do not reflect those of The Independent Ghana

    Source: BBC.com 

  • UK Deputy PM requests an investigation into bullying allegations levelled against him

    Dominic Raab asserts that two separate complaints were filed against him during his previous tenures.

    The latest case of alleged bullying to put pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is British Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab’s request for an independent investigation into two formal complaints about his behaviour.

    Raab said on Wednesday that he had received notification of two separate complaints, one from his previous tenure as foreign minister and one from his previous tenure as justice minister.

    Some officials who worked for him describe him as a tough and demanding boss, while others have been quoted in local media as being rude, aggressive, and a bully. Raab has denied the charges.

    “I have written to the prime minister to request an independent investigation into two formal complaints that have been made against me,” Raab said on Twitter. “I look forward to addressing these complaints.”

    Raab said in a letter he attached to his tweet he had “never tolerated bullying”, and had always sought to empower teams working in his departments.

    ‘Integrity, professionalism and accountability’

    The new allegations put more pressure on Sunak, who used his first speech as prime minister last month to say his government would demonstrate “integrity, professionalism and accountability”.

    Sunak defended his deputy this week, saying he did not recognise allegations that Raab had bullied staff.

    Also on Wednesday, Sunak said that an investigation requested by Raab was the correct course of action.

    “I know that you will be keen to address the complaints made against you and agree that proceeding in this way is the right course of action,” Sunak told Raab in a letter.

    “Integrity, professionalism and accountability are core values of this Government. It is right that these matters are investigated fully.”

    A cabinet minister, Gavin Williamson, resigned from the government last week over allegations he had bullied colleagues, raising questions about Sunak’s judgement just weeks into the job.

  • Coast of Oman: Oil tanker owned by an Israeli billionaire ‘hit by a drone’

    The Pacific Zircon is operated by Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping but is owned by Israeli billionaire Idan Ofer.

    An oil tanker owned by an Israeli billionaire was hit by a bomb-carrying drone off the coast of Oman, according to an official.

    According to a Middle East-based defence source, the vessel, which is operated by Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping but owned by Idan Ofer, was attacked on Tuesday night.

    The operator stated that it was investigating after its ship was hit by a projectile.

    The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a British military organisation that monitors shipping in the region, said it was “aware of an incident”, which is “being investigated”.

    The ship was identified as the Pacific Zircon.

    Eastern Pacific Shipping said the vessel was carrying gas oil and only minor damage was reported to the vessel’s hull with no spillage of the cargo or injuries among the crew.

    According to the shipping tracking site MarineTraffic, it was last seen off the coast of Liwa, Oman, on Monday morning.

    It departed from Sohar on Monday afternoon destined for Buenos Aires. Eastern Pacific Shipping said it was some 150 miles (240km) off the coast of Oman at around the time it was struck, deep in the Arabian Sea.

     

    Idan Ofer, Director of the Israel Corporation, in Geneva in 2013
    Image: Idan Ofer, Director of the Israel Corporation, in Geneva in 2013

    Heightened tensions with Iran

    The attack comes at a time of heightened tensions with Iran and ahead of the World Cup in nearby Qatar.

    No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Tehran and Israel have been engaged in a years-long war within wider tensions in the Middle East.

    It has also reportedly provided Russia with drones to use in its war against Ukraine.

    The US blamed Iran for a series of attacks off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in 2019.

    Tehran then started escalating its nuclear programme after the US unilaterally withdrew from its atomic deal with world powers.

    Iranian state media has not commented.

     

     

  • Ethiopian woman among seven executed in Kuwait

    Kuwait has carried out its first executions in five years, hanging seven people including two women despite pleas for clemency from international rights campaigners.

    According to the public prosecution service, those put to death are a woman from Ethiopia and another from Kuwait, a Syrian and a Pakistani man, and three Kuwaiti men.

    Kuwait has executed nearly 80 people since the 1960’s, mostly on murder or drugs cases.

    Amnesty International has urged the Gulf country to impose a moratorium on executions.

    Source: BBC.com 

  • Unisex toilet plan in South African schools opposed

    A group of South Africans have started a petition against plans by the department of basic education to introduce unisex or gender-neutral toilets in schools.

    The petition has been signed by over 60,000 people so far.

    “Toilets are private and suggesting that girls and boys share toilets will bring about many social ills,” the petition says.

    The plan was contained in a leaked report from the department that also contains a proposal on the abolishment of gender-specific pronouns.

    One opposition party, The National Freedom Party (NFP), says the government is focusing on the wrong things and should rather focus on improving the country’s education system.

    Democratic Alliance, the largest opposition party, said the plan if implemented would allow for education on gender diversity, according to its Western Cape regional spokesperson Lorraine Botha.

    The National Professional Teachers Organisation of South Africa (Naptosa) has urged the government to consult teachers and parents before the plan is implemented.

    Source: BBC.com 

  • Mozambicans sentenced to 30 years in prison for rhino hunting

    Two Mozambicans were sentenced to 30 years in prison for illegal hunting and firearm possession.

    They were apprehended in September of last year with a firearm and ammunition at a game farm with the intention of slaughtering rhinos and extracting their horns for commercial purposes.

    The game farm is part of the Great Lebombo Conservancy (GLC), which includes several Mozambique game farms along the border with South Africa’s Kruger National Park.

    The two poachers were apprehended by rangers before they could kill any animals.

    This is the second time that a hunter of a protected species has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.

    Since 2008 to date, more than 8,000 rhinos have been killed by poachers throughout the region of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park – which includes South Africa’s Kruger park, Zimbabwe’s Gonarezou National Park, Limpopo National Park and the GLC.

    Rhino poaching is driven by the demand for rhino horn in Asian countries, particularly China and Vietnam.

    Rhino horn is used in traditional Chinese medicine, but also increasingly common is its use as a status symbol to display success and wealth.

  • Sweden will provide Ukraine with its largest military aid package yet

    Sweden will provide 3 billion crowns ($287 million) in new military aid to Ukraine, its largest package of defence material to date, including an air defence system, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced.

    Sweden’s previous contributions to NATO, along with neighbouring Finland, have ranged from simple equipment such as helmets and body armour to rocket-propelled grenades and missiles.

    “It’s a bigger military support package than all eight previous packages combined,” Kristersson told a news conference. “It’s the single largest we’ve done, and we follow exactly the Ukrainian priority list of what they themselves think they need just now.”

    Defence Minister Pal Johnson said the new package of military equipment included an air defence system and ammunition from the stock piles of its armed forces, much needed to defend Ukraine against a fierce onslaught of Russian missiles in recent weeks.

    Sweden’s previous Social Democrat government, which lost to Kristersson right-wing coalition in elections in September, had agreed several tranches of aid to Ukraine, both military and humanitarian, worth well over 1 billion crowns.

    The Archer artillery system has been high on the Ukrainian wish list for some time but was not included in the fresh aid package, though Johnson did not rule it out for the future and said more support would be forthcoming.

    Kristersson also said the government was closely following developments concerning the explosion in Poland near the Ukrainian border on Tuesday and that more information was needed to gain a clearer picture of what happened.

     

  • Uganda’s endangered national symbol on the verge of extinction

    The crested crane, Uganda’s national symbol, appears on the country’s flag and coat of arms.

    However, these beautiful birds are now considered endangered due to the loss of their wetland habitats to farming. There are only about 20,000 of them left in the world.

    As people continue to drain and reclaim swampland for farming, cranes have fewer places to nest and breed.

    Communities in Kabale, in the south-west, are working to protect the crane and the wetlands where it lives.

    Convincing locals to give up potential farming land has not been easy, but members of the community have now come on board as so-called “crane custodians”.

    They keep an eye on the birds in their localities, report any that are injured or killed, as well as pairs that have nested or have chicks.

    Jimmy Muheebwa of Nature Uganda says the number of cranes has now stabilised.

    But Uganda has already lost over 40% of its wetlands in the last two decades. So in some regions, it might be too late for the cranes.

  • Galamsey will not take place in my area as long as I am alive – Chief

    Okatakyie Amoa Aturu Nkonkonkia II, Omanhene of Mpuaso/Japekrom Traditional Area in the Jaman South District of the Bono region, has warned his sub-chiefs not to tolerate any form of galamsey activity on his land.

    According to him, anyone caught engaging in galamsey activity will face severe consequences.

    The traditional leader stated that galamsey would not occur under his supervision.

    He claimed that his forefathers had left the land to him and his people, so he would not entertain galamsey in the area.

    As a result, he has urged people to report those who engage in galamsey so that they can be punished.

    According to the Chief, “Galamsey will never happen in this area as long as I live. I promise my people that I will protect the land left to us by our forefathers. I will encourage you all to be vigilant and to report anyone you see engaging in galamsey”.

    Source: Ghanaweb.com 

  • GWCL: Churches, hotels, others dragged to court over nonpayment of GH¢279,000 water bill

    Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) in the Eastern Region, has taken twenty-one (21) customers to court for nonpayment of a total of Ghc279,755.83 as of June this year.

    EREDEC, KES hotels, KAMA Group of Companies, Antarctic Contract Works Ltd., Trinity Presbyterian Church, Adweso, Donewell Methodist Church in Jumapo, and Jumapo Health Center are among the notable customers who have been hauled before the court.

    The GWCL has already disconnected these customers, but they have refused to pay the company’s debt for water consumed, thus the legal action.

    Her Lordship Nana Ama Fynn, presided over by the Koforidua District Court, has referred approximately nine of the cases for resolution to alternative dispute resolution.

    The Eastern Regional Chief Manager of GWCL, Ing. Asomani Nyarko, indicated that the company will not relent in this pursuit of retrieving all arrears from customers who are owing, whether disconnected or active.

    He entreated customers who are owing to pay up, contact the nearest GWCL office to negotiate a payment plan before they are made to face the law.

    “This exercise is targeted at all our customers owing in the Eastern Region, whether disconnected or active”., he added.

    Meanwhile, Management of GWCL is still in court with the assembly member and the Chief of Oterkpolu for allegedly inciting residents not to pay water bills after their petition for free water supply was declined by the GWCL.

    Communities around the Bukunor water treatment plant including Oterkpolu and Bukunor have refused to pay water bills since 2019 stating that, they are entitled to free water supply since raw water is pumped and treated on their land for distribution to other parts of the Eastern region.

    They have since threatened GWCL over any attempt to disconnect the Communities.

    The situation coupled with hostility meted out to workers of GWCL at the Bukunor Water treatment plant got the Eastern Regional Security Council (REGSEC) to intervene and attempted to resolve the impasse but to no avail forcing GWCL to take legal action.

  • ‘I have never sponsored any candidate against you’ – Gabby tells Majority Leader

    Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko, has denied ever sponsoring a candidate within the governing New Patriotic Party to unseat the Majority Leader as a lawmaker for the Suame Constituency.

    According to the NPP stalwart, he considers Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu a strong loyalist in the party and will never do such a thing to him.

    The Suame MP, in an interview on Kumasi-based Sompa FM, accused the co-founder of the Danquah Institute of unsuccessfully sponsoring a candidate against him in the party’s parliamentary primaries leading to the 2016 elections.

    “He wrote something for someone to go on his radio station [Asaase radio] and say that if I contest Suame seat again I will lose and that is why he is saying he won’t contest again. Gabby Otchere-Darko, have you contested an election before?” the Majority Leader asked.

    “In 2016, these same people were hiding behind a candidate saying that if he wins the Suame primaries, he will lose the general election; then they sponsored a candidate against me and it didn’t work for them. I had the confidence of the President who, two days before the primaries said ‘no I want to come and speak to your [Suame] people’ but I told him to stop [because] I am in control of affairs…

    “The President was very worried and he wanted to fly in the night to Suame but I had to tell him not to bother himself and God willing after the primaries those that Gabby Otchere-Darko and his people sponsored lost massively; their votes were not closer to what I had. I don’t know what Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko holds against me…,” Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu stated.

    But Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko in a reply said on his Facebook timeline, November 15, “I have never sponsored any candidate against the Majority Leader for the Suame seat.

    “I would never do such a thing to a person I considered a strong loyalist even within the NPP.”

    Who does Gabby Otchere Darko think he is? What is his locus? – Kyei Mensah-Bonsu fumes.

    Source: Ghanaweb.com 

  • COVID-19 Vaccination: The SEND Ghana report that diagnoses need to protect friends and families

    The onset of the novel Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, was perhaps, the one time in the world’s recent history where everything came to a standstill over something that not even the best of the earth’s scientists could immediately fully diagnose.

    Economies were shattered and the wheels on which this world run grinded to halts in ways that were unprecedented and totally unplanned for.

    But this was a challenge the world immediately got to work on, and when the dusts settled, and some headway had been made, the right processes begun into the production of vaccines that would reduce the threats of the virus, which until then, had caused many deaths across many nations of the world.

    Soon, many countries had acquired the vaccines and with time, the majority of the world’s population had taken their shots; whether fully or partially. And then again, the wheels of the world’s economies begun to run once more, albeit a little slower than before the pandemic hit.

    Vaccinating the billions of the world’s populations had to be done systematically, requiring the use of the right professionals for the job: a simple but technical job it was, but how well or not was it executed by the people who became known as the frontliners?

    The case of Ghana and how its frontliners, including nurses and teachers, have and continue to play their roles in the execution of this global task is one that SEND GHANA, with funding from the Partnership for Transparency Fund (PTF), embarked on a comprehensive monitoring exercise to determine how well or not compliance to Ghana’s National Deployment and Vaccination Plan (NDVP) was like.

    The monitoring exercise also focused on the experiences of citizens who participated in the vaccination for the COVID-19.

    SEND GHANA, a reputable and credible national Non-Governmental Organisation specialised in policy research and advocacy on pro-poor policy and development program monitoring in Ghana, gathered some very interesting findings, a number of which have received the blessings of the likes of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and local health authorities.

    So, what is the SEND GHANA monitoring report on compliance and citizens’ experiences all about? What are the revealing findings too?

    With an overall aim of assessing compliance of Ghana’s National Deployment and Vaccination Plan (NDVP) and the equitable uptake of the COVID-19 vaccines, the monitoring exercise combined district monitoring and data collection approach as methodologies.

    The survey was also carried out in two regions of the country: the Greater Accra and Ashanti Regions, across 37 vaccine centres of 8 districts (4 for each region).

    In the Greater Accra Region, the districts surveyed were: Accra Metropolitan Assembly (Mamprobi Polyclinic, Kaneshie, and Obeweku Health Centre), Ashaiman (Community 22 Polyclinic, Lebanon Zone 3 Polyclinic, and Ashaiman Polyclinic), Tema (TMA Community One Polyclinic, Manhean Polyclinic, Tema General Hospital, and Tema Health Directorate), and La-Nkwantanang, Madina (Pentecost Hospital, Madina Polyclinic – Kekele, and Danfa Health Center).

    In total, there were 720 citizens, with 677 of them representing 94% of the overall numbers were interviewed. By sex, the proportion of males interviewed was slightly higher (51%) than females (49%) in both regions. In the Ashanti region, interviewees encompassed 53% males and 47% females, while the Greater Accra region had less males (49%) compared with females (51%). It is interesting to note that the proportion of male and females interviewed in the Greater Accra region, mirrored the 2021 population and housing census.

    A total of 653 responses were received from both teachers and health staff. Out of the 653 respondents, 443 (67.8%) were teachers while 210 (32.2%) comprised health care workers.

    Regionally, 361 responses (55%) were from the Ashanti region with the remaining 292 (45%) from the Greater Accra region.

    Highlights

    According to the report, some of the highlights of it put together were:

    – Vaccination posts at the health facilities monitored in the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions recorded an average vaccination of 10 persons daily.

    – Vaccination coverage among marginalized or vulnerable groups looks encouraging.

    – Friends and Family were the main transmitters of information about the vaccination exercise.

    – Clients were satisfied with time spent at vaccination centers and the attitude of health staff.

    – Majority of surveyed health workers (90%) and teachers (86%) have received at least a dose of the COVID-19 vaccines.

    – The fear of exposing family and friends to the COVID 19 disease enhanced the uptake of vaccines among teachers, healthcare workers and the general populace.

    – Aside protection for family and friends, uptake of the vaccines among health staff and teachers were influenced by four other factors as follows; prioritization; adequate information about safety of the vaccines; ease of access to vaccination centres and perceived effectiveness of the vaccines against COVID-19.

    Citizens’ experiences, opinions, and motivations for vaccination

    But the survey focused on the responses of some people and what they thought of the exercise.

    What and how they thought about the monitoring exercise were summarized as follows:

    “The overwhelming majority of the citizens interviewed indicated they had taken their vaccine at the center. Only 10 people (representing 1.5%) of the 676 interviewees who interacted with the vaccination process within the three days of monitoring at each center did not receive the jab. The two regions (Greater Accra and Ashanti) contributed an equal proportion to this finding.

    “The dominant reason given by the respondents in this group (those who did not receive the jab on the day of the monitoring) relates to claims that the number of clients/persons required to use the requested vaccine vial was not adequate, the unavailability of cards at the time of vaccination and inability to provide their cards for entries to be made at the point where the vaccines were administered.”

    Recommendations

    The Ghana Health Service should convene refresher sessions for its staff on the NDVP.

    Although the monitoring findings show compliance was generally good, this is necessary to enhance high levels of compliance with guidelines of the NDVP.

    Health Directorates are encouraged to sustain the vaccine promotion efforts/campaigns to contribute to the attainment of the country’s herd immunity target. This is also necessary if set targets for the various districts are to be met. As of July 2022, for instance, the Accra metropolis had fully vaccinated 46.2% of its target population. Thus, vaccination promotion and/or information and education campaigns will contribute in no small way to encourage more people to vaccinate.

    Health promotion efforts for the COVID-19 vaccination exercise and subsequent vaccination exercises should adequately address possible side effects and safety as these are key for uptake.

    COVID-19 vaccination communication messages should focus on the protection of family members and friends from the disease and possible deaths and less on mandates restricting access to services and employment reasons.

    The Ghana Health Service should commend its staff for exhibiting good attitude and professionalism during the vaccination exercise.

    The Ministry of Health and the Ghana Health Service should adopt steps to increase the availability of vaccine logistics across districts within the country.

    Source: Ghanaweb.com 

  • Akufo-Addo meets King Charles during private visit to UK

    President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Tuesday, November 15, met with King Charles III of England.

    The meeting which took place at the Windsor Castle ws confirmed by a tweet on the official handle of the Royal Family.

    “This afternoon, The King welcomed the President of Ghana to Windsor Castle for an Audience,” the caption accompanying a photo of the two gentlemen shaking hands read.

    Akufo-Addo is in the United Kingdom on a private visit. He is expected back in the country today.

    Per GhanaWeb tracking, Akufo-Addo becomes the third African leader to meet the King after Ali Bongo of Gabon and Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria respectively.

    Dozens of African leaders were in the UK in September to attend the funeral of the King’s late mother, Queen Elizabeth II who spent seven decades as the monarch.

    Source: Ghanaweb.com 

  • You may never get Bawumia’s attention if you try using money – Mahama claims

    Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has never authorised anyone to take money from anyone for his personal political gain.

    This is the opinion of Dr. Kabiru Mahama, a technical advisor in Bawumia’s office, who adds that using money to gain access to the Second Gentleman of the Land is a sure way to never meet him.

    Mahama praised Bawumia’s strictness when it comes to receiving visitors, saying that he frequently requests background checks on such visitors.

    “The Vice President has never asked anyone, has never commissioned anyone to go and take money from anyone, anyone without exception. For the fact that I would need this money, give me this money for me to do a campaign…

    “If you discuss issues about money, anything about money in exchange for something the Vice President would want, you may not even get his attention for the rest of your life and I am saying it without the blink of an eye,” he stressed on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana programme, November 15.

    He added that Bawumia is so cautious, people often say he doesn’t open up and this is a result of ensuring he always is able to act in the supreme interest of the nation without distractions.

    “People close to him tell you he doesn’t open up so much, he is a bit careful and wary of people coming with their own motives. He doesn’t want people to go through him to achieve interests contrary to the interest of the nation,” Mahama intimated.

    Bawumia on November 14, 2022, had reason to issue a press release after a report by Anas Aremeyaw Anas alleged that a Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance had imputed corruptibility traits against Bawumia’s person.

    Charles Adu Boahen was reportedly captured on tape saying Bawumia among other things needed a US$200,000 ‘appearance fee’ to meet and assist persons seeking to invest in the country.

    Bawumia has dispelled the allegations and insisted that his integrity remains his most cherished asset in life.

    “My most cherished asset in life is my integrity and I will not allow anyone to use my name to engage in corrupt activities,” Bawumia said in a post calling for the minister’s dismissal.

    President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has since terminated Adu Boahen’s appointment and referred the contents of the investigation to the Office of the Special Prosecutor.

    Source: Ghanaweb.com 

  • World Cup 2022: It’s going to be difficult – Stephen Appiah on Black Stars chances

    Former Ghana captain Stephen Appiah has refused to rule out the Black Stars despite being paired in a difficult group at the World Cup.

    Ghana, who are returning to the global showpiece after missing out in Russia 2018 has been housed in Group H against Portugal, Uruguay and South Korea.

    The West African powerhouse will play Portugal on November 24 in its first game before taking on South Korea and the epic clash against Uruguay.

    Speaking to Al Jazeera, the former Juventus star asserted the Black Stars admitted it is going to be difficult considering the group but did not rule Ghana out of the tournament.

    “It’s going to be difficult, 2006 when we went to the World Cup in Germany we were underdogs”, Appiah tells Al Jazeera.

    “We played against Italy we lost our first game and beat Czech Republic 2-0 who were number two in the world, played USA, number 5 in the world, we beat them. We are capable of doing that. We have to take it game after game”.

    Appiah added: “We play Portugal and not thinking about Uruguay. We concentrate on Portugal game and see what will happen. Our players are good”.

    Ghana will open their campaign against Portugal on November 24 at Stadium 974 in Doha.

    Four days later, the Black Stars return to action with a clash with South Korea at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan.

    Ghana will wrap up their group stage adventure with their much-anticipated encounter with Uruguay at Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah.

    The Black Stars having missed out in the last edition hosted in Russia in 2018 will be hoping to improve their performance in Qatar after exiting the group phase during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

    Only three sides from the continent have ever progressed to the quarter-finals; Cameroon in 1990, Senegal in 2002, and Ghana in 2010.

    Ghana will be hoping to progress from the group stage at this year’s tournament.

    Source: Ghanaweb.com

  • Over 80% of grassroots delegates want Alan to lead the NPP to victory in 2024 – Former NPP MP

    Former Member of Parliament for Manhyia North, Collins Owusu Amamkwah, has stated that the New Patriotic Party (NPP grassroot )’s delegates (made up of youth and women) prefer Alan John Kyerematen to lead the party to the 2024 elections.

    He reached this conclusion after conducting a survey.

    According to the former Member of Parliament, who confirmed the conduct of an extensive survey in five selected regions, at least eight out of every ten NPP grassroots delegates polled preferred the Minister of Trade and Industry, Alan John Kyerematen to lead the party to the 2024 election.

    Collins Owusu discussed the details of his survey in an interview ahead of the crucial presidential primaries.

    He confirmed conducting his survey in the Greater Accra, Ashanti, Brong Ahafo, Volta and Eastern Regions with simple random sampling chosen as the sample selection method.

    According to the former Member of Parliament, the sample selected preferred named employment (improved standard of living) and a marketable candidate who could unite the party for victory in 2024 as the main motivation behind their choice of Alan.

    A number of research reports have been circulated by various researchers on the possible replacement for Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo ahead of the 2024 main elections.

    Per the NPP constitution, should the number of aspirants in the primaries exceed 5, a Super Delegates Election will take place to reduce the number to a maximum of 5.

    Election experts predict that the upper-class nature of the super delegates electoral college, numbering about 1000, is being exploited by Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the vice president, to his advantage, but the grassroot delegates numbering over 200,000 are rooting for Alan.

     

  • Anas ‘money gift’ irritated Ofori-Atta in Dubai – Report

    Ken Ofori-Atta, the embattled Minister of Finance, was reportedly irritated by an attempt by some alleged investors – who in reality were members of Anas Aremeyaw Anas’s camp – to give him money as a gift.

    According to a report, Tiger Eye P.I. investigators pretended to be investors looking to invest in Ghana, and thus needed to meet with the Finance Minister to discuss opportunities and other modalities of doing business in Ghana.

     

    According to the report, the investigators had earlier met with Charles Adu Boahen, Ofori-Atta’s deputy back in 2018, in a hotel suite in United Araba Emirates, UAE, where the now dismissed Adu Boahen was given monies in lieu of helping the investors get access to among other Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia who allegedly took a US$200,000 ‘appearance fee’ to meet investors.

    After meeting with them, they then proceeded to meet with Ofori-Atta briefly at the Dubai airport whiles he was on transit to Tokyo on an official assignment.

    The report established that neither the minister nor his PA accepted the money gift from the Tiger Eye P.I. team leaving the minister irritated.

    “After the meeting with Charles Adu Boahen, Tiger Eye P.I., was not satisfied and wanted to trap the bigger fish, Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.

    “They were to have their chance, they thought when after several attempts Mr. Ofori-Atta agreed to meet them at the airport in Dubai on transit to Tokyo, Japan,” Asaase radio reportage stated.

    “In the company of his then Personal Assistant (PA), Michael Bediako, Mr. Ofori-Atta met the supposed investors (investigators) at the Dubai terminal hotel (Dubai International Airport) on 5 April 2018 at around 6:30 am.

    “Mr. Ofori-Atta was informed the meeting was with the Chairman of Al Baraka Islamic Bank of Bahrain, whose interest was to invest $500m to set up an “ethical” bank in Ghana.

    “The meeting, per our checks, lasted some five minutes. Ken Ofori-Atta left very irritated when he was offered a “gift”, which he refused to accept, and walked out with his PA who was also offered a gift that was rejected as well,” the report added.

    Anas Aremeyaw Anas’ latest ‘Galamsey Economy’ exposed Charles Adu Boahen, the dismissed Minister of State at the Finance Ministry over an alleged corruption scandal.

    Anas in a post on his Facebook timeline hours before the showing of the ‘Galamsey Economy’ film noted that the minister made some shocking revelations to his team in a hotel in UAE, when they posed as possible investors to Ghana.

    Adu Boahen among other things alleged that Bawumia will require about USD200,000 as an appearance fee from an investor to get his backing and influence in establishing a business in Ghana.

    “You mean, like appearance fees and stuff?” the investigators asked, to which Adu Boahen responded: “I mean he, himself (the Vice President), if you give him some (USD) 200,000 or something as a token, as thank you, appreciation, that’s fine. He’s not really, he’s not really (like) that. All he needs is to worry about his campaign money in 2020.”

    But Dr. Bawumia in a statement on Monday, November 14, denied the accusations and called for an investigation into the allegations.

  • ‘You can’t come and throw your weight about’ – Rundown of the Ablakwa vs. Gabby exchanges

    On the first day of the hearing of Parliament’s ad hoc committee set to investigate a vote of censure motion against Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta, there were heated exchanges at different points of the hearing.

    These were either between the chairmen and members or between ordinary members and in some instances between the chairmen and the lawyer for the embattled minister as well as between members and the minister’s lawyer, Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko.

    One of the stand-out episodes was between Gabby and a committee member in the person of Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the North Tongu Member of Parliament.

    The trigger was when the MP started asking questions about supposed government expenditure that could be said to have led to fiscal recklessness, one of the grounds against which the Minority is seeking to remove the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.

    While Ablakwa attempted to use the National Cathedral project to buttress his point, Gabby interjected stating that the MP would be better off using a press conference for what looked like a political issue which was not stated in the seven-point censure motion.

    This triggered an over two-minute back and forth between the two men as other members of the committee and the chairmen moved in to mediate.

    Read the full transcript of the exchange below:

    Gabby: he can hold a press conference to deal with those matters, I think that we are here for specific reasons, grounds have been stated, let’s stick to that. You know, we are not here for… it is not a political platform to make some political pronouncements. These are serious allegations, they are serious allegations, please, please

    Ablakwa: Chairman, I think he would not teach me how to do my work in Parliament, this is Parliament. You can’t teach me how to do my work in Parliament.

    Gabby: No, there are rules here

    Ablakwa: No, no, no. You won’t teach me how to do my work. No, no, no, he can’t come here and throw his weight around. He can’t teach me how to do my work. I take strong exception that I should go and hold a press conference. I won’t accept that.

    Gabby: I am only 78 kilos, I am not going to throw it about.

    Ablakwa: And you are not the chair, you don’t tell members what to do.

    KT Hammond: Sammy, we appreciate the point you want to make.

    Ablakwa: I will do my work, I am not going to hold a press conference, you will not teach me how to do my work.

    Mr. Chairman, I think that those who appear before this committee must be guided. We work with Standing Orders and if you go through our Standing Orders, this committee can decide not to hear strangers.

    KT Hammond: Who is the stranger now?

    Ablakwa: Once you are not a member of Parliament, this is how the Standing Order describes him. That is how the Standing Orders describe them. You can’t come and say we should go and hold a press conference, we are working and we are here to do a job, so, please. Let that be clear.

    KT Hammond: Yeah, that’s fine, it’s clear.

    Source: Ghanaweb.com 

  • Egypt’s oil pollution endangers the survival of coral reefs

    A BBC-led investigation has discovered that pollution from an Egyptian oil facility on the Red Sea coast is threatening the survival of some of the world’s last thriving coral reefs.

    According to experts who studied satellite imagery of the area, contaminated water has been entering the sea since 1985 and was still flowing as recently as September.

    Until three years ago, the plant was jointly owned by the British oil giant BP and Egypt’s state-owned Gupco oil company.

    Egypt is hosting the COP27 climate summit, and neither the environment ministry nor Gupco would comment on the findings.

    Red Sea corals have a unique ability to withstand warming sea temperatures.

    The investigation was undertaken by BBC News Arabic and journalists from the group Source Material.

  • Women in politics: Sierra Leone passes legislation to make women make up one-third of MPs

    Sierra Leone‘s parliament has unanimously approved legislation that will ensure that one-third of its members and one-third of all local councillors are women.

    The bill will now be signed into law by President Julius Bio.

    Despite the fact that it was a key promise in his 2018 election campaign, it took cabinet three years to approve the draught.

    A previous version was withdrawn due to a technicality.

    Only 19 of Sierra Leone’s 146 members of parliament are women at the moment.

  • Russia-Ukraine war: Russia denies responsibility for the blast in Poland

    US President, Joe Biden has stated that it is “unlikely” that the missile that killed two people in Poland on Tuesday was fired from Russia.

    According to Polish officials, the “Russian-made missile” landed in Przewodow, near the Ukrainian border.

    Early reports suggested Russia was to blame for the explosion. Moscow has denied the allegations.

    Speaking from the G20 summit in Bali, Mr. Biden disputed the reports based on “preliminary information.”

    The US president was speaking early on Wednesday morning, after several world leaders gathered on the sidelines of the summit at an “emergency round table” to discuss the blast.

    Among the attendees were President Biden, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

    Reports of the missiles falling in Poland – which is a Nato member – came after Russia launched a fresh wave of attacks across Ukraine on Tuesday, days after its troops were forced to leave Kherson.

    Russia dismissed claims it was responsible, with the defence ministry in Moscow attacking what it called “a deliberate provocation aimed at escalating the situation”.

    Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also said he had no information on the blast.

    Russian state news agency Ria Novosti said it was instead Ukrainian missiles that had hit Polish territory.

    But Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said any claim that Ukraine was responsible was a Russian “conspiracy theory”, and that anyone amplifying the message was spreading “Russian propaganda”.

    Polish President Andrzej Duda told reporters that it remained unclear how the blast had occurred and said investigators were evaluating all possibilities.

    “We do not have any conclusive evidence at the moment as to who launched this missile… it was most likely a Russian-made missile, but this is all still under investigation at the moment,” he said.

    Images shared online showed what appeared to be a large crater on what local media reported was Polish farmland, suggesting missile damage. Another image appeared to show a fragment of a missile.

    The encroachment on to Polish territory raised questions as to whether Warsaw would trigger Article Four of the Nato treaty – meaning member states consult on whether the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any member state is threatened.

    Warsaw said it was considering whether to invoke the provision.

    Despite lending support to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion, Nato has been careful not to become too heavily involved in the conflict in order to prevent an escalation.

    The G7 group of nations also released a statement condemning the “barbaric missile attacks” launched by Russia on Tuesday and addressing the “explosion” in Ukraine.

    “We offer our full support for and assistance with Poland’s ongoing investigation. We agree to remain in close touch to determine appropriate next steps as the investigation proceeds,” it said.

    Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres also said he was “very concerned” by the Poland explosion and called for a thorough investigation.

    “It is absolutely essential to avoid escalating the war in Ukraine,” said his spokesman, Farhan Haq.

    The BBC’s Paul Adams said there were a number of possible explanations for the incident.

    Russia has no interest in targeting Polish farms, so some kind of malfunction seems possible, he said. And on a day when Ukraine’s air defences were working hard to bring down Russian missiles, it is also possible that one of those missiles was knocked off course, our correspondent adds.

    Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he had spoken to Polish President Andrzej Duda and the military alliance was “monitoring the situation”.

    “Allies are closely consulting,” he said on Twitter. “Important that all facts are established.”

    The attacks came after one of the heaviest bombardments of Ukraine by Russian forces since the war began.

    Ukraine was hit by more than 90 missiles on Tuesday, according to Ukraine’s Air Force spokesperson Yuri Ihnatw, who said more than 70 were successfully shot down.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said most of the rockets fired had been aimed at the country’s energy infrastructure.

  • Climate activists call Russian officials war criminals

    A group of Ukrainian activists has disrupted a high-level meeting of Russian officials at the UN climate summit in Egypt.

    It’s the first time Russia was speaking publicly at COP27.

    Russian Deputy Environment Minister Sergei Anopriyenko had just started talking when a young woman stood up shouting: “You are killing my people. You are shooting bombs at our people.”

    Then another held a banner bearing the slogan Fossil Fuels Kill.

    Seconds later, Viktoriya Ball stood up and shouted “you are war criminals” before walking out.

    She told me outside the plenary room that Russia should not be at COP27.

    “This conference is about making a better place for people and planet. But Russia is committing genocide, ecocide, they are destroying Ukraine, and fossil fuels are paying for war in my country,” she said.

    Alyona Lovita, who came to Sharm el-Sheikh from Lviv, Ukraine, said she protested for her relatives living under bombardment.

    After protesters were escorted out by UN security, Russian officials continued their event, telling the meeting that “we cannot stop climate change”.

    Source: BBC.com 

  • Seven million homes without power after strikes

    Some seven million households have been left without electricity in Ukraine after Tuesday’s wave of Russian missile strikes targeted the country’s energy supplies, according to Ukraine’s presidential office.

    Customers experienced power cuts in the Kyiv, Vinnytsya, Volyn, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, Lviv, Poltava, Rivne, Sumy, Ternopil, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyy, Cherkasy, Chernivtsi and Chernihiv regions.

    Some 15 energy facilities were damaged as a result of the attacks, said the deputy head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko.

    “Our power engineers are now doing everything to reconnect the power supply as soon as possible,” he said.

    Source: Skynews.com 

  • Putin awards occupied cities ‘hero’ status

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued decrees bestowing the status “City of Military Glory” on two Russian-occupied Ukrainian cities – Melitopol and Mariupol.

    It is a status similar to the Soviet-era “Hero City”, which honoured certain cities’ roles in the USSR’s fight against Nazi Germany in World War Two. The status gave them certain privileges under communism, such as consumer goods in short supply elsewhere.

    Putin’s decrees say the new status honours “the courage, steadfastness and mass heroism displayed by the defenders of the cities in the fight for the freedom and independence of the fatherland”.

    It makes no mention of the current war in Ukraine, which Russia still calls a “special military operation”.

    Russian state news agency Ria says 45 Russian cities have the status of City of Military Glory.

    In September, Putin declared four occupied regions of Ukraine, including the cities of Melitopol and Mariupol, to be part of Russia. The claim was widely condemned. Russian shelling devastated Mariupol, killing thousands, before the city was captured.

    Putin has also given two smaller Russian-occupied Ukrainian cities – Luhansk and Horlivka – the status “City of Labour Valour”. It honours their hard industrial work during World War Two. He lists seven Russian cities alongside them.

    Source: BBC.com 

  • Texas teacher fired for telling students white race is ‘superior one’

    District officials in Pflugerville, Texas said Monday that a middle school teacher is no longer employed after videos of his comments surfaced on social media.

    A middle school teacher in Pflugerville, Texas, has been fired after a video of their racist comments to students surfaced on social media.

    “Last Friday, Nov. 11, Pflugerville ISD officials were made aware of an inappropriate conversation a teacher at Bohls Middle School had with students during an advisory class,” Pflugerville Independent School District (PfISD) Superintendent Dr. Douglas Killian wrote in a statement Monday.

    “As of Monday morning, Nov. 14, the teacher in question is no longer employed by Pflugerville ISD and we are actively looking for a replacement,” the statement added.

    In videos posted on social media, the White teacher is heard telling multi-racial students that his race is superior. “Deep down in my heart, I’m ethnocentric, which means I think my race is the superior one,” he said, as students can be heard reacting.

    “So White is better than all?” one student can be heard asking.

    “Let me finish,” the teacher is shown to respond. “I think everybody thinks that. They’re just not honest about it.”

    “You said you are a racist, right?” questioned a second student.

    “I did, yeah, I’m trying to be honest,” the teacher said.

    In the school statement, superintendent Killian apologized for any “undue stress or concern” caused by the unnamed teacher’s comments, and to the parents of the children who were captured on camera without their knowledge.

    “We want to reiterate that this conversation does not align with our core beliefs and is not a reflection of our district or our culture at Bohls Middle School,” Killian continued.

    “The advisory discussion was inappropriate, inaccurate, and unacceptable; and this type of interaction will not be tolerated in any PfISD schools.”

    PEOPLE has reached out to the school district for confirmation and any further information on the matter.

  • ‘Our thoughts are with the brave Ukrainian people’ – US

    The United States has strongly condemned Russia’s latest missile attacks against Ukraine, which are reported to have struck residential buildings in Kyiv and additional sites across the country.

    US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has said the strikes will serve to only deepen the concerns among the G20 about the “destabilising impact of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s war”.

    “It is not lost on us that, as world leaders meet at the G20 in Bali to discuss the issues of significant importance to the lives and livelihoods of people around the world, Russia again threatens those lives and destroys Ukraine’s critical infrastructure,” Sullivan said.

    “Our thoughts are with the brave Ukrainian people, who continue to demonstrate resilience and courage in their defence of their sovereignty and democracy.”

    He said the US, its allies and its partners would continue to provide Ukraine with what it needed to defend itself, including air defence systems, adding the US would stand with Ukraine “for as long as it takes”.

    Source: BBC.com

  • 85 missiles hit Ukraine, 20 more expected – Zelensky

    President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that 85 missiles were launched against Ukraine on Tuesday and 20 more are expected to hit the country.

    In a video shared on Telegram, he also warned residents to stay in shelters.

    The deputy head of the president’s office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said the situation across the country was “critical” after missiles battered energy facilities, forcing emergency shutdowns and plunging parts of Kyiv into darkness.

    “Russian terrorists carried out another planned attack on energy infrastructure facilities,” he said.

    The situation in the capital Kyiv was, he added, “extremely difficult”.

    Source: BBC.com 

  • First missile strikes have occurred since Russia lost Kherson

    These are the first Russian missile strikes on Ukrainian cities since Kyiv‘s forces liberated Kherson, a key southern port city, on Friday.

    Ukrainians regard the recapture of Kherson as a major victory, comparable to the retreat of Russian troops from the Kyiv suburbs in March, as well as a humiliation for the Kremlin.

    Approximately 30,000 Russian troops withdrew to the Dnipro’s eastern bank, and Kherson celebrated the weekend. Since early March, the city has been under Russian occupation.

    But before today Russia had already fired hundreds of missiles at Ukrainian cities, hitting residential blocks, power stations and many other civilian installations. Many were cruise missiles fired from Russian bombers or ships positioned outside Ukrainian territory.

    Ukraine says its air defences have shot down many Russian missiles during these strikes.

    Russia claims the Kherson region and three other occupied Ukrainian regions to be part of Russia, as well as Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. The claim – following hastily organised local “referendums” – is rejected internationally.

  • Meghan Markle reportedly has had a ‘dramatic change of heart’ and wants to keep her royal titles now

    Meghan Markle has had a “dramatic change of heart regarding titles,” a royal expert has claimed, which goes against what she said in her bombshell Oprah interview back in March 2021, whereby she said that titles weren’t important to her.

    Meghan Markle wants to keep royal title after realizing how beneficial it can be

    Royal commentator Neil Sean told The Daily Express that the Duchess of Sussex, 41, had the alleged change of heart after speaking with Prince Harry’s cousins, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, as they helped her realize just how important and beneficial having those titles can be. And she reportedly wants to do whatever it takes to hang on to her Duchess of Sussex title to ensure that her and Prince Harry’s children – three-year-old son Archie and one-year-old daughter Lilibet – are offered titles of their own.

    Harry and Meghan are very, very keen to cling onto those royal titles. After much deliberation, Meghan decided that the titles would be a good thing, not just for her but for both her children too,” Sean said.

    “Meghan has become very friendly with senior members of the monarchy, predominantly Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice. After this, Meghan realized how useful a title can be, particularly when you want to move in the correct circles,” he added, in reference to Prince Andrew, the Duke of York and Fergie, the Duchess of York’s daughters. “That is the reason why they want to clutch hold of titles. It’s really down to the fact that after befriending Beatrice and Eugenie, she saw how useful those titles are to them. Their father, Prince Andrew, had to push very hard to make sure his children got those titles.”

    f you cast your minds back to the infamous Oprah Winfrey interview, Meghan said: “All the grandeur surrounding this stuff is an attachment I don’t personally have. I’ve been a waitress, an actress, a princess, a Duchess – I’ve always still just been Meghan, right? I’ve been clear on who I am, independent of all that stuff, and the most important title I’ll ever have is mom. I know that.”

    However, she and Prince Harry have since made it very clear how important a royal title would be for their children, especially because of the security and protection that comes along with it. So we never really believed that Meghan would snub another royal title if it was given to her or her children!

    Prince Harry And Meghan’s Children’s Titles

    The future of Prince Harry and Meghan’s children’s titles is currently up in the air, as many sources are hinting that King Charles III is waiting for Prince Harry’s bombshell memoir to be published in January, 2023 to make his decision about his grandchildren’s titles, depending on how much he trashes the royal family.

    “Charles has made various threats to Meghan and Harry and warned them that if they go ahead, they will find themselves ostracized in a way they cannot believe. And so they are worried,” royal author Tom Bower told OK, in reference to their Netflix docu-series and Prince Harry’s memoir, Spare. “I do not think their children will get titles if they go ahead and slander the royal family. But they have also got to consider their own titles, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, could be taken away by Charles if they misbehave,” he added.

    Source: people.com 

     

  • Prince William surprises England soccer team before FIFA World Cup: ‘We’re all rooting for you’

    Prince William was the surprise guest at a ceremony to hand out team jerseys at the England soccer HQ on Monday evening.

    Prince William is the England soccer team’s number one fan!

    The Prince of Wales, 40, was a surprise guest at the team’s HQ Monday evening ahead of the 2022 men’s World Cup and helped hand out new jerseys to the 26-player squad.

    “I’m really here to just kind of point out that the rest of the country’s behind you,” Prince William told the team. “We’re all rooting for you. Enjoy it.”

    William, who is President of the Football Association, received an England jersey signed by the entire squad in return.

    “What you and Gareth have built here is something special, that’s clear to see,” William added, in reference to the role of England coach Gareth Southgate, who steered the team to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup.

    “Play for each other, support each other, enjoy it and I’m sure you’ll go far,” he added.

    <a href="https://people.com/tag/prince-william/" data-inlink="true">Prince William</a>, Prince of Wales talks to players of England at St George's Park
    EDDIE KEOGH – THE FA/THE FA VIA GETTY IMAGES

    Southgate described the surprise visit of the Prince of Wales as “a nice moment to be with the group and Prince William, who has been a huge supporter of ours.”

    “I know how passionate the players are about their country and it was great to see what it meant to each of them as they came forward,” he added about the players receiving their jerseys from William.

    “As staff and players, we are all so privileged to represent England and we are excited to see what’s possible together. We want to make the fans proud again.”

    Prince William’s presentation began with captain Harry Kane, who he recently joined for a conversation about mental health.

    He also presented the No. 17 shirt to Bukayo Saka, who was one of the players William reached out to after he and others were racially abused on social media for missing crucial penalty kicks in the final of the European Championships in 2021.

    <a href="https://people.com/tag/prince-william/" data-inlink="true">Prince William</a>, Prince of Wales talks to Jack Grealish of England at St George's Park
    Prince William and Jack Grealish. EDDIE KEOGH – THE FA/THE FA VIA GETTY IMAGES

    Later, William was pictured with his arm around the shoulders of star forward Jack Grealish as they had a quiet chat. Grealish played for William’s favorite club team, Aston Villa, until he transferred to Manchester City in 2021.

    The England team leaves for Qatar on Tuesday in readiness for their first match against Iran on Nov. 21. They then play the USA on Nov. 25.

  • Meghan Markle shares the advice she received before her royal wedding from a ‘very Iinfluential’ woman

    In the latest episode of her Archetypes podcast, the Duchess of Sussex welcomed Jameela Jamil, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Ilana Glazer to talk about why activism from women often draws criticism.

    Meghan Markle is sharing the message she received from a “very, very influential and inspiring woman” ahead of her royal wedding to Prince Harry.

    On a new episode of her Archetypes podcast, released via Spotify on Tuesday, the Duchess of Sussex welcomed Jameela Jamil, Shohreh Aghdashloo and Ilana Glazer to talk about why activism from women often draws criticism. To close out the episode, Meghan recalled a piece of advice she received “just a few days” before her May 2018 nuptials from “a very, very influential and inspiring woman, who for her own privacy I won’t share who it was with you.”

    “She said to me, I know that your life is changing, but please don’t give up your activism. Don’t give up because it means so much to women and girls,” Meghan, 41, said.

    “And I kept doing the work for women and girls because it matters, yes. But also because she encouraged me to do so,” she said. “And the collective voice of all of us telling each other that matters is perhaps the point. There’s safety in numbers. But there’s also strength in numbers.”

    Meghan’s fight for women started at a young age, notably when she called out a Procter & Gamble commercial that advertised its Ivory dishwashing soap solely to women. “I don’t think it’s right for kids to grow up thinking these things, that just mom does everything,” the then 11-year-old Meghan said during an interview with Nick News.

    Just a few months ahead of her wedding to Prince Harry, she used her platform to encourage people to listen to women at an event alongside Prince William and Kate Middleton.

    “I hear a lot of people speaking about girls’ empowerment and women’s empowerment — you will hear people saying they are helping women find their voices,” she said in 2018 at the first annual Royal Foundation Forum. “I fundamentally disagree with that because women don’t need to find their voices, they need to be empowered to use it and people need to be urged to listen.”

    Supporting women remained a key cause in Meghan’s charity work after becoming a member of the British royal family, including becoming a patron of Smart Works, an organization that helps unemployed and vulnerable women regain the confidence they need to succeed at job interviews and return to work.

    After Meghan and Prince Harry stepped back as senior members of the royal family and relocated to her home state of California in 2020, the Duchess of Sussex has continued to advocate for women, from wearing a shirt with the words “Women, Life, Freedom” written in Farsi to call attention to the ongoing protests in Iran at the Women@Spotify event in October to a teenage girl with a virtual mentoring session in March 2021.

    Source: People.com 

     

  • Shireen Abu Aqla: Israel disregards  US reporter’s death investigation as a blunder

    The decision by the US Department of Justice to investigate the death of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Aqla has been described as a “mistake” by Israel.

    Outgoing Defense Minister Benny Gantz stated that he informed US officials that Israel would not cooperate.

    The Department of Justice and the FBI declined to comment, but Abu Aqla’s family praised the “significant step toward accountability.”

    During an Israeli military raid in the occupied West Bank in May, the Al Jazeera correspondent was shot in the head.

    The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) concluded that one of its soldiers probably killed her, but called her death unintentional and ruled out a criminal inquiry.

    Shireen Abu Aqla, who was 51, arrived in Jenin refugee camp on 11 May to report on an Israeli army raid which had seen gun battles break out between soldiers and Palestinian militants.

    She was wearing a helmet and blue flak jacket marked with the word “press” when she was killed while walking along a road with other journalists, one of whom was also shot and wounded.

    Journalists, bystanders and Palestinian officials said the gunfire came from Israeli troops stationed about 200m (656ft) away – allegations which was later backed by investigations by the UN Human Rights Office and multiple media organisations.

     

    The US state department said in July that the US Security Co-ordinator (USSC) for Israel and the Palestinian Authority had concluded that “gunfire from IDF positions was likely responsible for the death”. He also found that there was “no reason to believe that this was intentional”.

     

    The IDF initially said that it was not possible to know who killed Abu Aqla. But in September a senior official told journalists that there was a high probability that she was shot “by mistake by an IDF soldier, and of course he didn’t identify her as a journalist”.

     

    Abu Aqla’s family heavily criticised both the USSC’s and the IDF’s findings and demanded that the US carry out an independent FBI investigation into the killing of a US citizen. Their call also received the support by dozens of members of the US Congress, including more than 20 Democratic senators.

     

    On Monday, Israel’s Channel 14 TV and US website Axios reported that the US Department of Justice had recently notified the Israeli justice ministry that the FBI had opened an investigation.

    Axios said the probe could lead to a US request to investigate the soldiers who were involved in the operation in Jenin, and that Israel would almost certainly reject it.

    The probe is also likely to create further tension President Joe Biden’s administration and Israel’s incoming government, which will be led by Benjamin Netanyahu.

    “The decision taken by the US justice department to conduct an investigation into the tragic passing of Shireen Abu Aqla is a mistake,” said Mr Gantz in a statement.

    “The IDF has conducted a professional, independent investigation, which was presented to American officials with whom the details were shared.

    He added: “I have delivered a message to US representatives that we stand by the IDF’s soldiers, that we will not co-operate with an external investigation, and will not enable intervention to internal investigations.”

    Abu Aqla’s family said in a statement on Tuesday that they were “encouraged by the news”.

    “We hope that the United States will use all of the investigative tools at its disposal to get answers about Shireen’s killing and hold those who are responsible for this atrocity accountable.

    “We call on all parties with any evidence to respond to investigatory requests from the US States and not stand in the way of justice.”

    The family also expressed hope that the FBI investigation would be “truly independent, credible, and thorough, following the evidence where it leads, up and down the chain of command”.

  • Elon Musk heads to court over Tesla pay that made him the world’s richest person

    Tesla and CEO Elon Musk will spend this week in court to defend the massive compensation package that helped make him the world’s richest man.

    The week-long trial in Delaware Court of Chancery will examine the 2018 compensation plan that the automaker’s board of directors created for Musk.

    The automaker said at the time it could be worth nearly $56 billion, making it the largest compensation package for anyone on earth from a publicly traded company, and the net value today is $50.9 billion.

    Even in the rarified air of CEO pay, Musk’s compensation plan stood apart. Millions upon millions of dollars are often lavished on corporate executives of the biggest companies, but the plan to pay Musk initially totaled in the tens of billions, as long as he met performance goals.

    It wasn’t in cash – top executive pay rarely is – but in shares of the company. The higher Tesla went, the more those shares would be valued, the more Musk would be awarded and the more those shares would be worth.

    And as Tesla’s stock shot ever upwards, it helped propel him to a net worth of over $300 billion at one point, all while shareholders reaped the potential gains.

    But all the while, Musk was sharing his time between his many other endeavors. SpaceX began regularly sending astronauts to the International Space Station.

    The Boring Company built a Loop under the Las Vegas Convention Center. And then, of course, he bought Twitter.

    Huge CEO Pay

    Musk isn’t the only one to benefit from the rise in value of Tesla shares and options, however. So have shareholders. The market value of Tesla has soared more 1,000% since they approved his pay package in March of 2018.

    The case could be significant for Tesla, given the serious questions raised about its executive compensation, according to corporate governance experts. Tesla’s board of directors has defended the compensation package.

    The trial may also invigorate debate over executive compensation, including large stock grants they receive. S&P 500 CEOs averaged $18.3 million in compensation in 2021, 324 times the median pay at the companies. That disparity has grown in recent years.

    Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, for example, received compensation valued at $212.7 million in 2021. Apple CEO Tim Cook received nearly $100 million last year. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was paid nearly $50 million in 2021.

    The plaintiff, Richard J. Tornetta, claims on behalf of Tesla shareholders that Musk exploited his control over the company and its board of directors to secure the huge compensation package in order to “fund his personal ambition to colonize Mars.”

    Musk entered March 2018, the month shareholders approved the compensation plan, at No. 41 on the Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index, due largely to his involvement in Tesla and SpaceX. At the time, Tesla was a promising but troubled automaker.

    It had lost nearly $2 billion the year before and struggled to overcome production delays as it manufactured its mass-market Model 3 sedan.

    Musk spoke of being in “production hell” as well as “delivery logistics hell” during the year, and joked about going bankrupt.

    Many questioned if the company could survive as an independent automaker.

    Tesla’s board of directors felt that with proper execution the automaker could become one of the world’s most valuable companies and wanted to encourage Musk to lead it for the long term.

    The compensation plan included 12 batches of stock that Musk would receive if milestones were hit, including the market capitalization of Tesla as well as its revenue and adjusted earnings. (Each batch of stock would be earned if Tesla’s market capitalization increased an additional $50 billion above $100 billion. Other milestones included hitting $35 billion in annualized revenue and $3 billion in adjusted earnings.)

    The plan, originally set to pay out over the course of a decade, turned out to be wildly lucrative for Musk and in astonishing time. Tesla was the best-performing US stock in 2020 and became America’s most valuable automaker ever. Its small SUV, the Model Y, became the best-selling car in Europe recently.

    Musk has reached many of the milestones that trigger the payouts, and he is expected to earn the final batch early next year.

    The payment plan helped lead to Musk becoming the world’s richest person, with an estimated net worth of $184 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index.

    His true net worth can be challenging to estimate as a significant portion is invested in SpaceX, a private company that does not have to publicly reveal detailed financials that could show a decline or increase in value. Tech stocks and the entire stock market more broadly have fallen sharply this year.

    A Duty to Shareholders

    Richard Tornetta, who originally filed the lawsuit in June 2018, claims that the Tesla board of directors has breached its fiduciary duties for waste, and Musk has breached his own fiduciary duties for unjust enrichment.

    Tornetta argued in his original 2018 complaint that the compensation plan was unnecessary to incentive Musk as he already had a large ownership stake in the automaker.

    The lawsuit was certified as a class action case by the court in January 2021. The case has taken years to move through the system due to the drawn-out nature of litigation, including working through a motion from Tesla to dismiss the complaint.

    The Tornetta complaint alleges that the board of directors that created Musk’s compensation plan lacked sufficient independence from him. The board included Musk’s brother Kimbal as well as friends Anthony Gracias and Steve Jurvetson. (Jurvetson and Gracias have since left Tesla’s board.)

    Carla Hayn, a professor who teaches corporate governance at the UCLA business school, told CNN Business that the case is serious for Tesla as it will be a heavy burden for the automaker to prove the compensation and the process to create it was fair.

    “This is a huge package,” Hayn said of the compensation plan. “Did they need to give away this much of the company to Musk to align his interests and keep him as CEO?”

    She noted that Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis, advisory firms, both recommended in 2018 that Tesla stockholders reject the compensation plan.

    Institutional Shareholder Services cautioned that the plan “locks in unprecedented high pay opportunities for the next decade,” and noted that Musk already owned 22% of Tesla, aligning his interests with it. But shareholders did approve the plan, she noted.

    Tesla’s Board

    Hayn noted that Musk’s close relationships with the board members could be problematic for Tesla in the case.

    “Given that entire board is very much under the influence of Musk it’s hard to know that anything that they did would be following proper process,” she said.

    Tesla’s board of directors have claimed that it created the plan “after more than six months of careful analysis with a leading independent compensation consultant as well as discussions with Elon.”

    “We gave Elon the ability to share in the upside in a way that is commensurate with the difficulty of achieving them,” they said at the time.

    Tesla did not respond to a request for comment and generally does not engage with the professional news media.

    The trial is expected to last a week. Chancery court judges at times rule from the bench, but that’s uncommon. It may take weeks to months before a decision is issued.

    Musk has become something of a regular at the Delaware Court of Chancery. Last month his acquisition of Twitter nearly went to trial at the court.

    He testified before the court last year in a dispute over Tesla’s acquisition of SolarCity. A judge ruled in Musk’s favor this April.

    Musk’s unique management style will be a topic of discussion. He leads several ventures outside of Tesla: the aerospace company SpaceX; his tunneling venture The Boring Co.; a brain interface startup, Neuralink; and Twitter. It’s uncommon for executives to hold multiple CEO titles.

    Source: CNN.com 

  • Russia delayed Kherson withdrawal announcement to sway midterm election results reports suggest

    Russia may have delayed announcing its withdrawal from Kherson in order to sway the outcome of the midterm elections in favour of Republicans, according to sources familiar with US intelligence.

    Republicans failed to achieve the hoped-for “red wave,” and Democrats retained control of the US Senate after holding seats in key swing states Arizona and Nevada.

    According to the most recent NBC News projection, Republicans will win 220 House seats to the Democrats’ 215.

    That means the Republicans would still take control but with much less authority than the 40+ gains anticipated by some pollsters.

    Now, sources have suggested that Russia delayed its Kherson withdrawal announcement in part to stop the Democrats from a political lead.

    One source said the US elections were a “pre-planned condition” when it came to Russia’s acknowledgement that it was not succeeding in the Kherson region.

    Meanwhile another source told CNN: “Even though there is still robust bipartisan agreement on Ukraine, the party that has been much more vocally supportive is the Democratic Party, and particularly the Biden administration.”

    In Washington last week, President Joe Biden also appeared to notice the timing of Russia’s announcement as he described how Russia’s decision to leave Kherson was “evidence” they had “some real problems”.

    He said: “I find it interesting that they waited until after the [US midterm] election to make that judgement.”

    Russia

     

  • ‘China poses a systemic challenge’ to UK, Sunak says

    Rishi Sunak has said he is “hopeful” he will be able to meet with China’s President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Bali as he described how the county posed a “systemic challenge” to the UK.

    Speaking to Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby, the prime minister said it was important to “engage” with the Chinese leader to try and tackle “shared challenges”.

    He said: “I’m very clear that China poses a systemic challenge to both our values and our interests, and it represents the single biggest threat to our economic security.

    “And that’s why it’s right that we take the steps that are necessary to protect ourselves against a threat or a challenge.”

    Asked if he would be able to have a collaborative relationship with President Xi, he added: “I think our approach to China is one that is very similar to our allies, whether it’s America or Australia and Canada.

    “I think it’s an indisputable fact of the global economy that China is a big part of it.

    “And if we want to solve big global challenges like public health, like Russia and Ukraine, fixing the global economy or indeed climate change, it’s important to have a dialogue and to engage with China.”

    Source: BBC.com 

  • South Sudan’s first national malaria conference unites Government and partners to renew efforts towards ending malaria

    Over 150 participants took a major step to end malaria in South Sudan during the first-ever national malaria conference that took place from 8 to 10 November 2022.

    Malaria remains the leading cause of illness and death in the country accounting for 66.8 per cent of outpatient consultations, 30 per cent  of admissions and about 50 per cent of deaths.

    “Malaria is preventable and treatable, and we cannot continue to lose lives needlessly”, said H.E. Vice President Hussein Abdelbagi Akol Agany. “We cannot continue doing business as usual. Malaria is an emergency and cannot just be the business of the Ministry of Health. I therefore call upon all of us, the public and private sectors, Intentional Organizations, UN Agencies, NGOS, Civil Society Organizations and communities to take action and fight this disease”, said H.E Abdelbagi.

    “Malaria is a disease that is well known to everybody in this nation. It is treatable and preventable, yet half of the people especially children under five years of age and those with compromised immunity die from malaria. Recent data shows that three out of 10 hospital admissions are due to malaria. This shows that we are still a long way to go”, said Honorable Yolanda Awel Deng, Minister of Health, South Sudan.

    The Ministry of Health together with its partners has made some progress in terms of prevention, treatment, and case management. “According to the 2017 Malaria Indicator Survey, 48 per cent of households slept under an insecticide treated net the previous night”, said Honorable Deng. “ Hon. Deng pledged USD 500 000 from the 2022/2023 budget to fight malaria and urged partners for continued long-term sustainable support to implement targeted interventions towards reducing the burden of malaria”.

    Although great progress has been made in malaria control, major challenges such as the inadequate supply of malaria commodities at the utilization level,  fragility of health systems, flooding, population displacements and food and nutrition insecurity affects the implementations of key malaria control and prevention interventions.

    “Malaria is our number one enemy. One person dies of malaria every hour in this country”, said George Otoo, Head RCO, Strategic Planner on behalf of  Sara Beysolow Nyanti, the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator. “It is time to act. Let us all unite and fight malaria. To fight malaria, we need domestic resources to strengthen Health systems and build more confidence in donors to provide the necessary support so that we are able to mount a good front against this disease”.

    “Malaria remains a significant public health and development challenge globally. Last year, about 95 per cent of the estimated 228 million cases occurred in the WHO African Region, along with over 600,000 reported deaths”, said Dr Fabian Ndenzako, WHO South Sudan Representative a.i.  “In South Sudan malaria is the number one killer. The World Malaria Report 2021 estimated that about 20 people die of malaria daily and over 8,500 people get malaria daily”.

    Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. It is preventable and curable.
    Early diagnosis and treatment of malaria reduces disease severity, prevents deaths, and contributes to reducing transmission.

    The Republic of South Sudan’s Ministry of Health with support from the World Health Organization and other partners convened the conference to call for multisectoral collaborative approaches towards targeted interventions to accelerate the reduction of malaria illness and death towards the larger goal of achieving Universal Health Coverage.

    The conference offered a platform for the government to update stakeholders on efforts towards the delivery of healthcare services at all levels with a special focus on malaria interventions. Also present at the conference were Sudan, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda to share their experience in the reduction and control of the malaria burden.
    The conference also sought to formulate ways through which the government and partners can work together to strengthen the national and local institutions to address the key drivers of Malaria which includes flooding, food insecurity, population displacement due to conflict and climate change and develop capacities to deliver healthcare services to the population.

    The conference with the theme “saving lives from malaria in a protracted humanitarian emergency setting” galvanized plans and actions by South Sudan’s health sector. Partners have re-committed to taking action to reduce the preventable impact of malaria on the population and ensure access to quality healthcare services for everyone in South Sudan.

    At the conclusion of the three-day event, H.E. Abdelbagi announced the launch of the Zero Malaria in South Sudan Starts With Me campaign to add his voice and commitment towards a Malaria Free South Sudan.

    Source: World Health Organization

  • Police in Canada have charged a Hydro-Quebec employee with espionage against China

    Canadian police has announced that , a Hydro-Quebec employee has been arrested for spying for China.

    Yuesheng Wang, 35, was arrested and charged with espionage by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) on Monday.

    According to police, Mr Wang “obtained trade secrets to benefit the People’s Republic of China, to the detriment of Canada’s economic interests.”

    On Tuesday, he will appear in court in Longueuil, Quebec, to face four criminal charges.

    The resident of Candiac, a suburb south of Montreal, is accused of obtaining trade secrets, unauthorised use of a computer, breach of trust by a public officer and fraud for obtaining trade secrets.

    The crimes allegedly occurred between February 2018 and October 2022.

    A company statement said that Mr Wang worked on batteries for the utility’s Center of Excellence in Transportation Electrification and Energy Storage (CETEES), which develops technology for electric vehicles.

    RCMP Inspector David Beaudoin said that Mr Wang used his position at Hydro-Quebec to conduct research for a Chinese university and other researcher centres.

    He allegedly published scientific articles and submitted patents in “association [with] this foreign actor rather than with Hydro-Quebec”, he said.

    An investigation was launched into Mr Wang in August 2022 after the company’s internal security branch filed a complaint.

    “Our detection and intervention mechanisms allowed our investigators to bring this matter to the attention of the RCMP, with whom we have worked closely ever since,”a security official at Hydro-Quebec said in a statement, adding that “no organisation is safe from a situation like this one”.

    The public utility company handles electricity generation, transmission and storage for the Canadian province, and exports power to parts of the US as well.

    It is the largest power utility in Canada, according to a company website.

    The RCMP statement called it a priority for them and other law enforcement and intelligence agencies worldwide to “detect and disrupt foreign interference attempts”.

    “Hydro-Quebec is considered a critical infrastructure and a strategic interest to be protected,” investigators said.

    “The RCMP and its partners are working together with at-risk sectors to improve Canada’s response and resiliency to this threat.”

    In the coming weeks, Canada is expected to announce a new Indo-Pacific strategy. Earlier this month, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said the country would seek to deepen ties with other partners in Asia.

    “China is an increasingly disruptive global power,” she said in a speech warning Canadian companies not to be become too entangled with Chinese businesses.

    “What I would like to say to Canadians doing business in and with China: you need to be clear-eyed,” Ms Joly said.

  • Buckingham Palace: Princess Anne and Prince Edward to become stand-ins for King

    King Charles has begun the process of increasing the number of royals who can perform official duties in the monarch’s absence, proposing Princess Anne and Prince Edward as new additions.

    Camilla, the Queen Consort, and four other senior royals currently serve as “counsellors of state.”

    However, Prince Andrew and Prince Harry are no longer available as “working royals.”

    On Monday, the House of Lords heard the King’s request for a change.

    It’s expected that the Lords will reply on Tuesday – and the same day could see the government introducing legislation in the House of Commons, with a Counsellors of State Bill paving the way for the King’s proposal for two extra working substitutes.

    This rapid move in Parliament is intended to resolve an awkward constitutional problem about who could deputise for the King if he was overseas or unwell and could not carry out his duties as head of state.

    At present two of the five eligible to act as counsellors are effectively ruled out.

    Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, withdrew from royal duties in the wake of his association with US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

    Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, lives with his family in the United States and has stepped back from being a “working royal”.

     

    Rather than remove them from the list of counsellors of state, the proposal is to widen the pool of eligible royals, so that the availability of Prince Andrew and Prince Harry would cease to be an issue.

    In the House of Lords, Lord Parker of Minsmere delivered a statement from the King which called for Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, and Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, to be added as extra counsellors of state.

    The statement said that adding the extra counsellors would “ensure continued efficiency of public business when I’m unavailable, such as while I’m undertaking official duties overseas”.

    The message was also delivered to the House of Commons, with leader of the house Penny Mordaunt telling MPs there would be legislation to follow.

    This will mean amending the Regency Act, which at present stipulates that counsellors are the spouse of the monarch plus the next four royals in succession to the throne, who are over the age of 21.

    The current counsellors are Camilla, the Queen Consort; Prince William, the Prince of Wales; Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex; Prince Andrew, Duke of York and his daughter, Princess Beatrice.

    Both Princess Anne and Prince Edward have previously been counsellors of state, before being overtaken in the order of succession.

    Counsellors can carry out official duties which could include the state opening of Parliament, signing documents, receiving ambassadors or attending Privy Council meetings, if the monarch is temporarily ill or abroad.

    It is expected that the King and Queen and the Prince and Princess of Wales could be undertaking overseas visits next year, so counsellors could be a necessity when they are away.

    Last month the issue was raised in the House of Lords, with Labour peer Viscount Stansgate challenging how Prince Andrew and Prince Harry could be two of the five replacements when one had “left public life” and the other had “left the country”.

  • Zelenskyy sets out Ukraine’s 10-point peace plan and rules out ‘Minsk 3’ deal

    We are getting a bit more on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s speech at the G20 summit in Bali.

    During his virtual address, the Ukrainian leader presented a 10-point plan for peace with Russia.

    He also said there would be no “Minsk 3” deal to end the fighting in Ukraine.

    The Minsk agreements were a series of international agreements which sought to end the Donbas war and his statement refers to two failed ceasefire deals between Kyiv and Moscow over the status of the region.

    “We will not allow Russia to wait, build up its forces, and then start a new series of terror and global destabilisation. There will be no Minsk 3, which Russia will violate immediately after the agreement,” Mr Zelenskyy said.

    Mr Zelenskyy’s 10-point plan for peace are:

    • Radiation safety and nuclear weapons;
    • Food safety
    • Energy security
    • Release of prisoners and internees
    • Implementation of the UN Charter
    • Withdrawal of Russian troops and cessation of hostilities
    • Justice
    • Ecocide and environmental protection
    • Escalation prevention
    • Confirmation of the end of the war

  • China zero Covid: Violent protests in Guangzhou put curbs under strain

    Crowds of residents in Guangzhou, southern China’s industrial metropolis, escaped a mandatory lockdown and clashed with police, as rage over strict coronavirus controls erupted.

    Some are seen overturning a police vehicle and tearing down Covid control barriers in dramatic footage. Riot squads have been dispatched to the area.

    It comes on the heels of Guangzhou’s worst Covid outbreak since the pandemic began.

    In the face of dismal economic data, China’s zero-covid policy is under severe strain.

    Tensions had been building in the city’s Haizhu District, which is under stay-at-home orders.

    The area is home to many poorer itinerant labourers. They have complained of not being paid if they are unable to turn up for work, and of food shortages and skyrocketing prices while living under Covid control measures.

    For several nights, they’d been tussling with the white-clad Covid prevention enforcement officials, and then overnight on Monday the anger suddenly exploded onto the streets of Guangzhou with a mass act of defiance.

    Again, unsubstantiated rumours have played a role. Stories have spread that the testing companies are faking PCR results to artificially boost the number of infections in order to make more money.

    In the north of the country, the coronavirus rumour mill is also building pressure.

    Officials in Hebei Province announced that the city of Shijiazhuang would halt mass testing. But this led to speculation that the population was going to be used, guinea-pig-style, to monitor what would happen if the virus was allowed to spread unchecked.

    Discussion of this has appeared on social media platforms under the hashtag #ShijiazhuangCovidprevention.

    Workers in PPE walk by a residential block under COVID-19 lockdown in Guangzhou in south China's Guangdong province on Thursday, November 10, 2022.
    IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, Guangzhou has been under lockdown after a recent spurt in Covid cases

    Many panicking locals have stockpiled Chinese medicines which are said to help with Covid infection. Supplies in the city are said to have virtually run out for the moment.

    A similar viral rumour led to the mass breakout of workers at the Foxconn complex in the central city of Zhengzhou two weeks ago, which has hit the global supply of Apple iPhones.

    Local governments across China are struggling to maintain a zero-Covid approach without trashing their economies. The latest official factory output and retails sales figures show the crushing impact of the pandemic and the government’s policy response to it.

    There are no provinces at all which have reported zero cases in recent days.

    Around 20 million people in the heart of western China’s mega city of Chongqing have been placed under a type of lockdown being referred to ironically by people as “voluntary static management”. This is because, though there has been no official announcement, they’ve been told to remain indoors by community officials.

    Online there have been jokes that the Chongqing government didn’t want to announce a mass lockdown on the same day that measures easing zero-Covid rules across China were revealed.

    Because Covid amelioration still dominates life here, even a small shift in the way it is being administered can cause consternation and panic.

    At the beginning of this week, officials in Beijing’s Chaoyang district decided to close many of the street-side testing booths and move them into housing compounds. There was a sudden cut in the number of PCR stations. The problem is that many office buildings require a daily result, or you can’t enter.

    So at the booths that were open, the queues were enormous.

    From the workers stuck in Tibet who protested to leave Lhasa, to the lockdown of the entire region of Xinjiang, zero-Covid is not going smoothly.

    A series of changes announced last week slightly toning down the rules were seen as a sign that more easing was possible down the road. But even if the government is considering this, it may not be soon enough.

  • Ukraine put forward ‘unrealistic’ conditions for peace, Lavrov says

    Ukraine has put forward “unrealistic” conditions for peace, Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov has said.

    Speaking to reporters in Bali, Indonesia, Mr Lavrov said he had been in talks with the leaders of France and Germany on the conflict in Ukraine before going on to accuse Kyiv of dragging out any possible resolution.

    He claimed Ukraine was refusing to talk to Moscow and had put forward unrealistic conditions for peace.

    The Kremlin official also said that the UN had promised to move obstacles to the export of Russian grain and fertilisers.

    Russia has long complained of barriers to its farm exports, even though they are not directly targeted by Western sanctions.

    In spite of the problems, Mr Lavrov said Russia had already exported 10.5 million tonnes of grain, mainly wheat, of which 60% had gone to Asia and 40% to Africa.

    “I hope these promises will be fulfilled. At least the UN secretary general gave me his sworn assurance that this is a priority issue for him,” he added.

    Yesterday, the Indonesian authorities said Mr Lavrov had been taken to hospital after his arrival in Bali for the G20 summit.

    Wayan Koster, the governor of Bali, said he had been taken in for a “check-up” at the Sanglah Hospital in the provincial capital, Denpasar, and was “immediately returned”.

    Three other Indonesian government and medical officials also said he was being treated on the resort island.

    However, the Russian foreign ministry dismissed claims that he had been in hospital as “fake news”.

  • Global population: Numbers reach eight billion – as projections reveal where is growing the fastest

    Despite the fact that there are more people on Earth than ever before because we are living longer lives, population growth is at its slowest rate since 1950, according to UN data.

    According to UN Population Division projections, the world’s eighth billionth resident was born today.

    The global population has grown to eight billion people, three times the size it was in 1950, and while there are more people on Earth than ever before because we are living longer lives, population growth is slowing to its slowest rate in more than 70 years.

    The global population growth rate will be less than 1% in 2020. This is largely due to a lower birth rate, with women having fewer children as a result of widespread contraception and improved education and mobility opportunities for women and girls.

    The global population is also getting older – 10% are aged over 65, and this will increase to 16% by 2050.

    By 2050 the number of over-65s will be twice that of those under five.

    Where is it growing the fastest?

    The two fastest-growing regions in the world are East and Southeast Asia, home to 2.3 billion people, and central and South Asia, which has 2.1 billion people.

    China and India are the joint-most populated countries in the world, with 1.4 billion people each.

    Based on UN projections, India will surpass China for the first time next year.

    Religious ceremony in Mumbai, India on 31 October
    Image:The population of India is expected to surpass that of China next year

    More than half of the projected increase up to 2050 will be concentrated in eight countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Tanzania.

    Countries in sub-Saharan Africa are expected to contribute more than half of the increase anticipated through 2050.

    The biggest increases will come specifically from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania, with both populations doubling in the next 30 years.

    Elsewhere in Africa, the biggest surges will be in Nigeria, Ethiopia and Egypt.

    In Asia outside India and China, the biggest growth will happen in Pakistan and the Philippines.

    More generally, 46 of the least-developed countries in the world will have the fastest-growing populations between now and 2050.

    Most of this growth (two-thirds) will be driven by what has already happened – and the youthful structure of the population.

    People queue for COVID testing in Beijing, China on 9 November
    Image:China has been the most populous country since records began

    Where is the population shrinking?

    The world population is growing more slowly than it has in decades due to long periods of low fertility.

    More than two-thirds of people live in countries where women have 2.1 children or fewer.

    This is roughly the level that would produce zero growth worldwide.

    The population of 61 countries will decrease by 1% or more between now and 2050 – either due to decreased birth rates or increased levels of migration.

    The war in Ukraine is having a huge impact on its population size – with projections showing it will have lost more than 20% of its population by 2050.

    Four other central and eastern European countries – Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania and Serbia – will experience similar population decreases in the next three decades.

     

    COVID decreases life expectancy

    Overall life expectancy fell from 72.8 before the pandemic in 2019 to 71 last year.

    COVID’s impact was not the same for every region, however.

    Central and southern Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean were hit the most – with life expectancy decreasing by around three years.

    But in Australia and New Zealand, which both shut their borders and pursued a “zero COVID” policy for most of the pandemic, life expectancy increased by 1.2 years due to a decreased risk of dying from other causes during successive lockdowns.

    Coronavirus may have resulted in some short-term reductions in pregnancies, but there was no evidence of an overall decline, UN experts said.

    What’s next?

    The global population will continue to grow – to around 8.5 billion people by 2030 and 9.7 billion by 2050.

    It will start to peak at around 10.4 billion people in the 2080s and remain at that level until 2100.

    After that, trends are uncertain.

    Australia, New Zealand, the rest of Oceania, North Africa and Western Asia will still be growing in population by the end of this century.

    But the rest of the world, including Europe and North America, will have reached their peak and started to decline before the year 2100.

    Antonio Guterres, the UN secretary-general, said of the eight billion milestone: “This is an occasion to celebrate our diversity, recognise our common humanity and marvel at advancements in health that have extended lifespans and dramatically reduced maternal and child mortality rates.”

    But he added: “At the same time, it is a reminder of our shared responsibility to care for our planet and a moment to reflect on where we still fall short of our commitments to one another.”

  • Wages rise by more than expected but unemployment also grows, Office for National Statistics figures show

    The latest wage figures will likely concern policymakers at the Bank of England who fear increases will fuel inflation further down the line.

    Wage growth picked up by more than expected over the three months to September, according to official figures also showing a rise in the jobless rate.

    The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said average weekly earnings, excluding bonus payments, rose at an annual rate of 5.7% during the three months to September as more workers secured better deals to help navigate the cost of living crisis and firms moved to retain and attract staff.

    That was up from the 5.4% figure last month.

    Economists polled by Reuters had expected an increase of 5.5%.

    Nevertheless, at 5.7% it remains well below the official rate of inflation at 10.1%.

    Real wage growth was 3.7% weaker in September when the effects of inflation were included, the ONS said.

    The unemployment rate rose to 3.6% from 3.5% as the number of people in employment fell by 52,000.

    Darren Morgan, ONS director of labour and economic statistics, said of the shift: “The proportion of people neither working nor looking for work has risen again.

    “Since the onset of the pandemic, this shift has largely been caused by older workers leaving the labour market altogether, but in the most recent quarter the main contribution has actually come from younger groups.

    “August and September saw well over half a million working days lost to strikes, the highest two-month total in more than a decade, with the vast majority coming from the transport and communications sectors.

    “With real earnings continuing to fall, it’s not surprising that employers we survey are telling us most disputes are about pay.”

    The figures were released as the economy battles problems from the highest inflation for 40 years and the fallout from Trussonomics – namely the now largely reversed mini-budget of September.

    Official figures last week showed the economy contracted during the third quarter of the year as the cost of living crisis hit demand, leaving the country on course for a prolonged but shallow recession, according to the Bank of England, which believes the jobless rate could hit 6.5%.

    The Bank fears a shrinking labour market will add to inflation pressures, forcing it to raise the Bank rate even as the economy heads into the expected recession.

    The rate is the single most important interest rate in the UK and determines the rate the Bank of England pays to commercial banks that hold money with them. It influences the rates those banks charge people to borrow money or pay on their savings.

    The Truss government’s growth plan exacerbated problems as financial markets called into question the UK’s economic credibility, making imports more expensive through a collapse in the value of the pound.

    Other implications included a rise in fixed-term mortgage costs, adding to households’ growing bill mountain.

    Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, will deliver his autumn statement to MPs on Thursday with little firepower to help alleviate the overall pain.

    ‘Taxes will increase for everyone’

    He told Sky News on Sunday that everyone faced higher taxes as the government, now led by Rishi Sunak, aims to take a more sustainable approach to the public finances.

    It is believed the package will be designed to save about £50bn from annual borrowing in the medium term.

    Mr Hunt said in reaction to the employment data: “Tackling inflation is my absolute priority and that guides the difficult decisions on tax and spending we will make on Thursday.

    “Restoring stability and getting debt falling is our only option to reduce inflation and limit interest rate rises.”

    press home the knock-on impact of 12 years of Tory economic mistakes and low growth.

    “Real wages have fallen again, thousands of over 50s have left the labour market and a record number of people are out of work because they’re stuck on NHS waiting lists or they’re not getting proper employment support.

    “What Britain needs in the autumn statement on Thursday are fairer choices for working people, and a proper plan for growth.”

    Source: Sky news.com 

  • Russia must ‘get out of Ukraine and end barbaric war’ – Rishi Sunak confronts Putin’s officials at G20

    The prime minister intends to use the summit to press the world’s most powerful economies to do more to reduce their reliance on Russian exports, while also encouraging others to do the same.

    As he confronted Vladimir Putin’s officials at the G20 summit, Rishi Sunak said Russia must “get out of Ukraine and end this barbaric war.”

    The prime minister made the remarks during the first session on Tuesday, criticising the absence of Russian President Vladimir Putin from the talks on the Indonesian island of Bali.

    “It is notable that Putin didn’t feel able to join us here,” he said. “Maybe if he had, we could get on with sorting things out.

    “Because the single biggest difference that anyone could make is for Russia to get out of Ukraine and end this barbaric war.

    “The UK rejects this aggression. We will back Ukraine for as long as it takes.”

    Mr Sunak also rebuked Russia by saying “countries should not invade their neighbours”.

    “It is very simple – countries should not invade their neighbours, they should not attack civilian infrastructure and civilian populations and they should not threaten nuclear escalation,” he said.

    “Surely these are things on which we can all agree.”

    The prime minister sat down with leaders of the world’s 19 biggest economies in Bali – the first meeting in the group’s 15-year history to be held in the shadow of a major European war instigated by one of its members.

    Canada&#39;s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak meet at the Art Cafe Bumbu Bali in Nusa Dua as they attend the G20 in Bali, Indonesia
    Image:Justin Trudeau, the Canadian leader, and Mr Sunak met at a Bali cafe on Monday

    ‘Chorus of opposition to Putin’

    Mr Sunak will use the summit to push the world’s most powerful economies to do more to reduce their dependence on Russian exports, while supporting others to do the same.

    He will also reiterate the UK’s financial support for Ukraine, saying he committed £4.1bn in aid when he was chancellor.

    This included £2.3bn in military aid, while Mr Sunak will promise to match this level of spending next year.

    Before the meeting, he said: “Putin and his proxies will never have a legitimate seat at the table until they end their illegal war in Ukraine.”

    He continued: “At the G20, the Putin regime – which has stifled domestic dissent and fabricated a veneer of validity only through violence – will hear the chorus of global opposition to its actions.”

    Russia invaded Ukraine almost nine months ago, leaving the rest of the world struggling to deal with the fallout, which has included rising food and energy prices.

    Many countries have stood firm, supporting Ukraine with weapons and aid, while imposing various sanctions on Russia.

    Mr Putin sent Sergei Lavrov, the foreign minister, to the talks in his place.

    He was taken to hospital on his arrival at the talks with a heart condition, the Indonesian authorities said – though the Russian foreign ministry dismissed the claims as “fake news”.

    Last week, the UK introduced legislation to stop countries using its maritime services to transport Russian oil unless it is purchased below a price cap – which Number 10 described as a “hugely influential measure, given the UK provides around 60% of global maritime insurance”.