TIG Post

Author: Abigail Ampofo

  • Russia-Ukraine war: Zelenskyy pushes for additional sanctions after a “new wave of terror” 

    After the attacks on Ukraine on Monday, President Zelensky encouraged nations to impose additional sanctions on Russia in response to “a new wave of terror.”

    As Russian missiles struck various parts of the nation, at least 19 people were killed and numerous others were injured.

    Defiant, he said the attacks will only “delay our recovery a little”.

    Following more strikes on Tuesday, Mr Zelensky called on the West to find new ways to apply political pressure to Russia and support Ukraine.

    The calls came after he met the G7 group of nations for emergency virtual talks on Tuesday.

    The bloc – which consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the US – promised to continue providing “financial, humanitarian, military, diplomatic and legal” support to his country “for as long as it takes”.

    Mr Zelensky said: “For such a new wave of terror there must be a new wave of responsibility for Russia – new sanctions, new forms of political pressure, and new forms of support for Ukraine.”

    “The terrorist state must be deprived of even the thought that any wave of terror can bring it anything.”

    Russian President Vladimir Putin said the attacks were retaliation for Saturday’s explosion on a key bridge linking Russia to Crimea.

    Western countries have already placed widespread sanctions against Russian businesses as well as allies of President Putin since the invasion of Ukraine in February.

    This includes removing major Russian banks from the international financial messaging system Swift and sanctioning more than 1,000 Russian individuals and businesses – including oligarchs.

    While the US has banned all Russian oil and gas imports, the EU has been reluctant to do so because it relies on Russia for about 40% of its gas needs.

    Monday’s barrage of missile strikes was the heaviest bombardment Ukraine has seen since the early days of the war. Several strikes hit Kyiv – the first time the capital city has been targeted in months, and previous attacks have not hit the city center.

    Civilian areas including a popular park and children’s playground were hit during the morning rush hour. Infrastructure was destroyed, causing a power blackout in many neighbourhoods.

    On Tuesday, President Zelensky said 28 more missiles were fired, 20 of which were shot down. These included Iranian combat drones, he said. The BBC has not been able to verify this.

    “If it wasn’t for today’s strikes, we would have already restored the energy supply, water supply, and communications that the terrorists damaged yesterday,” the president said in his nightly address on Tuesday evening.

    “Today, Russia will achieve only one additional thing: it will delay our recovery a little.”

    He added that restoration works were taking place “quickly and efficiently” throughout the country and that electricity and communication had been restored to most cities and villages targeted in Monday’s attacks.

    “Where there was destruction, the infrastructure will be renewed everywhere. Where there were losses, there is already or will be construction,” he said.

    On Tuesday, reports also emerged of a mass grave being found in recently liberated Lyman, in the eastern Donetsk region.

    Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Donetsk region’s military administration, was quoted by Associated Press as saying that more than 50 bodies of soldiers and civilians had been found in a series of graves. They included Ukrainian soldiers buried together in a mass grave, as well as individual graves holding the bodies of civilians.

    “We are finding bodies and parts of bodies here,” Mr Kyrylenko said.

    Lyman was liberated by Ukrainian troops last month, as part of a rapid counteroffensive that recaptured large parts of the east of the country from Russian forces.

    Meanwhile, in Washington, US President Joe Biden told CNN he believed Vladimir Putin was a “rational actor” who misjudged his ability to successfully invade Ukraine.

    “I think he thought he’d be welcomed with open arms – that this was the home of mother Russia in Kyiv and he was going to be welcomed – and I think he totally miscalculated,” Mr Biden said.

    Asked about the prospects of meeting President Putin at next month’s Group of 20 summits in Indonesia, Mr Biden said he did not currently see a reason to do so.

    “It would depend on specifically what he wanted to talk about,” the US president said, adding that he would be open to discussing Brittney Griner, the American basketball star currently serving a nine-year prison sentence in Russia on drug charges.

    “But look, he’s acted brutally. I think he’s committed war crimes, so I don’t see any rationale to meet with him now,” Mr Biden told CNN’s, Jake Tapper.

    President Biden also said he didn’t believe Mr Putin would resort to nuclear warfare, despite apparent threats to do so.

    “I think it’s irresponsible for him to talk about it, the idea that a world leader of one of the largest nuclear powers in the world says he may use a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine,” Joe Biden said.

     

  • What you need to know: Adnan Syed and Serial

    Following the discovery of new DNA evidence in the case, Adnan Syed was exonerated of all charges related to the 1999 murder of his ex-girlfriend, Hae Min Lee.

    The Baltimore state’s attorney’s office said a yearlong investigation revealed Syed had been wrongfully convicted of strangling and killing Lee, and that new DNA tests showed he was not involved in Lee’s death.

    Syed maintained his innocence while in prison for nearly 25 years. But his case won a massive boost from an unlikely source – a podcast.

    What is Serial and when did it come out?

    More than a decade after Syed was sent to prison, Rabia Chaudry, a Baltimore-based lawyer and family friend of the Syeds, emailed a journalist named Sarah Koenig and asked her to re-investigate Lee’s murder.

    That email helped launch the first season of the podcast Serial. The show premiered in the autumn of 2014 and each episode tried to piece together a timeline of what happened the night Lee was killed.

    Who killed Hae Min Lee?

    That’s the question at the heart of Serial.

    “For the last year, I’ve spent every working day trying to figure out where a high school kid was for an hour after school one day in 1999,” Ms Koenig says in the first episode.

    Only now, the “kids” she interviewed were adults and some of their stories had changed.

    As each episode revealed new details – and potential new suspects – internet sleuths and armchair detectives sprang into action and argued their theories on social media.

    Within months, the chatter around Syed’s case would ultimately help him win a new trial.

    Who are the other suspects?

    In an episode of Serial released after Syed’s conviction was overturned, Koenig lays out why the case was thrown out. She says his lawyers argued new evidence had emerged showing that during the original trial prosecutors failed to investigate and rule out two potential suspects who were known to detectives at the time. Syed’s lawyers also questioned the reliability of witness statements and mobile phone evidence originally used to convict him.

    A judge agreed and overturned Syed’s conviction. The state’s attorney’s office later cleared Syed of all charges on the basis of that new evidence, as well as multiple rounds of DNA testing that revealed Syed’s DNA was not present on any of the victims’ clothing. “As a representative of the institution, it is my responsibility to acknowledge and apologise to the family of Hae Min Lee and Adnan Syed,” said Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby.

    Image shows Sarah Koenig in 2015
    IMAGE SOURCE,GETTY IMAGES Image caption, The Serial podcast is hosted by journalist Sarah Koenig

    Why was the show so popular?

    Serial helped ignite the popularity of podcasts. Ms Koenig’s signature confessional style, as well as the true crime topic, kept listeners returning – and downloading – the show every week.

    The first season of Serial has been downloaded more than 300m times and the show is widely cited as one of the most popular podcasts in the world.

    Though subsequent seasons of the show were less popular, in many ways, Ms Koenig and her team helped create the formula for a “bingeable” podcast.

    But did it really help Syed?

    In 2015, Syed was granted a new trial based, in part, on new evidence uncovered while making Serial.

    But a judge also denied his request for bail. He remained imprisoned for years as his legal team argued for a new trial and tried to appeal against his conviction all the way to the Supreme Court.

    In 2019, HBO premiered a four-part documentary series produced by Ms Chaudry called The Case Against Adnan Syed.

    The series argued that Syed, who is Muslim, was convicted, in part, because of racial bias.

    It ultimately revealed that forensic analyses had found no trace of his DNA on Lee’s body at the time of the murder.

    What about Lee and her family?

    The Lee family refused to participate in Serial and has always maintained that they believe Syed was rightfully convicted and justice was served during the original trial.

    In 2016, when Syed was granted a new trial, the family told reporters that the podcast had “reopened wounds few can imagine”, according to the Baltimore Sun. They also said they believed people had been misinformed by the podcast and regretted that “so few [were] willing to speak up for Hae”.

    Before the judge ruled on Monday, Young Lee, the victim’s brother, made an emotional plea before the court on behalf of the family.

    “This is not a podcast for me. This is real life – a never-ending nightmare for 20-plus years.”

    What’s next?

    Now that the charges against Syed have been dropped, his attorneys will begin the process to have him officially exonerated.

    In Maryland, anyone who has been wrongfully convicted is also entitled to compensation for each year they were imprisoned.

    Though Syed has been cleared of murder, questions still remain about who killed Hae Min Lee.

    Prosecutors have indicated they have possibly identified new suspects, however, no one has been charged.

    For the grieving Lee family, the decision to re-open her murder case could expose old wounds.

     

  • Industrial action: French oil workers vote to continue strike

    Fuel stations across the country are experiencing shortages as a result of French oil workers’ decision to extend their strike.

    When the government threatened to use mandatory powers to make some of them go back to work, they reacted fiercely.

    The strike, in its third week, has shut six of France’s seven oil refineries.

    With long queues of cars now a regular sight at the pumps, the government wants to get the fuel flowing again.

    Nearly a third of French petrol stations are now reported to be running short of at least one kind of motor fuel.

    Unions want pay increases for their workers, which they say should take account of the huge profits being made at the moment by the oil companies.

    They are seeking a 10% pay rise – 7% to cover inflation and 3% for what they call “wealth-sharing”.

    The government’s latest move to head off the impact of the action is to requisition key staff at a refinery in Normandy, threatening prosecution unless they allow some lorry tankers to fill up.

    French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said that if no agreement could be reached between the oil firms and the unions, the government would act to “unblock the situation”.

    But the hard-left unions behind the stoppages see this as a threat to their right to strike and have toughened their position, calling the government’s warning “illegal” and a “choice of violence”.

    A spokesman for the CGT union said it was waiting for the government’s requisition notifications and would challenge them in court.

    On Friday, French President Emmanuel Macron called on unions to end the strikes, but said energy companies should listen to the workers’ “legitimate salary demands”.

    The strike action has split opinions in France, with some commuters expressing exasperation over the fuel shortages and pointing out that they need their cars for work.

    But at a time of growing anxiety about the cost of living and soaring profits for some energy companies, others have expressed sympathy for the strikers.

     

  • Iran protester: ‘You know that you might never come back’

    Protests in Iran are continuing despite a crackdown by security forces that one human rights group says has killed at least 201 people. The unrest erupted in response to the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman detained by the morality police for allegedly breaking the strict hijab rules.

    There are heavy restrictions on independent and foreign reporting in the country. But the BBC Today programme’s Nick Robinson was able to interview Fawaz – not his real name – who has been protesting on the streets in Tehran.

    The atmosphere is quite tense and yet it is exciting. People are hopeful this time and we hope that a real change is just around the corner. I don’t think people are willing to give up this time. Now, we are seeing women in the street who are not wearing a hijab. They are walking past and people are quite supportive. Drivers in the street honk whenever they see a woman is not covered up. They don’t cover up their heads.

    Usually, the protests start in the evening, in the afternoon. And they are in different locations in a city, so people do not just gather round in one specific area. If you just go out, you can hear cars honking. In some parts, people are out in the street. They are protesting against the security forces. And at night, the people who do not want to leave their houses are shouting slogans like “down with the dictator” out of their windows. You can hear some sort of protest everywhere, almost every night. That feels good, that feels really good.

    Nick Robinson: What sort of people are joining the protests?

    Everyone. The prominent figures in this are actually women. They are to some extent leading this. Their rights are part of human rights. That is why some people might call it a feminist movement. But what is setting this apart is the inclusion of minorities and women at the front. And it’s widespread. It is not just in big cities. It is in smaller cities.

    NR: When you confront the security forces, how are they reacting?

    When you take to the streets you should expect anything. Deep down, you know that you might never come back. You might get arrested, and detained for days, months, or even years, as we have seen before. So far, I have been lucky. I have been beaten with a baton [by security forces], I have been kicked. But I have seen worse. The situation is quite stressful, but it is quite hopeful as well. It is stressful because you never know whether the person standing next to you is a member of the security force. And yet it is hopeful because you can see that your voice is finally being heard, especially this time on an international level, despite all the [internet] filtering that is going on in Iran.

    NR: You go out on the streets knowing, in your words, that “you might never come back”. This is something you are prepared to die for?

    Yes.

    NR: Why?

    Somewhere, at one time, for this to end we need to do something. We should accept the challenges and the facts as well. If we want to say something, we know that we are going to give something for it as well, sometimes with our lives.

    NR: For you, is this a protest about whether women wear the hijab? Or is it something much bigger than that?

    It is about something much bigger than that. If you look at the slogans at the protests, what people are saying on the streets, it has never been – even at the beginning – about the hijab. The hijab was just the spark. It has always been about basic human rights. We’ve always wanted more. We’ve wanted what you might take for granted as a normal life. We want life, liberty, justice, accountability, freedom of choice and assembly, and a free press. We want access to our basic human rights and an inclusive government that is actually elected by the people through a proper election and that works for the people.

    NR: We are not using your real name for this interview. Are you taking a risk speaking to the BBC?

    Yes, it’s a great risk because it is considered a crime in Iran if you speak to foreign news broadcasts. You might easily get arrested, punished, or imprisoned. The consequences are severe.

    NR: Do you have hope that the change that you so desperately want might happen this time?

    Hope is all we have and I am willing to stick to it. I hope at least our voices will be heard. That’s all I can say about this.

    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

     

  • Khloe Kardashian: Get checked, she urges fans after ‘incredibly rare’ tumour she thought was a spot removed from face

    Since she has a history of melanoma, the reality star and younger sister of Kim and Kourtney revealed details of having a tumour removed from her face and urged followers to check their skin.  “I am someone who wears sunscreen every single day, religiously, so no one is exempt.”

    Khloe Kardashian revealed she has had a “rare” tumour removed from her face after speculation over a covering she had been wearing.

    The reality star said she initially thought the “small bump” was “something as minor as a zit”, but made the decision to have a biopsy after it failed to go down after seven months.

    Dermatologists told her the lump was “incredibly rare for someone my age”, Kardashian wrote on Instagram, and said she needed an “immediate operation”.

    Khloe Kardashian shared pictures of herself wearing a bandage on her face on Instagram
    Image:Kardashian shared pictures of herself wearing a covering on her face on Instagram

    She said she wanted to share the details to encourage fans to check their skin, adding that she has a history of melanoma.

    The star said she was operated on by Dr Garth Fischer, “one of the best surgeons in Beverly Hills who I knew would take incredible care of my face”.

    She continued: “I’m grateful to share that Dr Fischer was able to get everything – all my margins appear clear and now we are on to the healing process. So, here we are… you’ll continue to see my bandages and when I’m allowed, you’ll probably see a scar (and an indention in my cheek from the tumour is removed) but until then I hope you enjoy how fabulous I’m making these face bandages look.”

    Khloe, 38, is the younger sister of Kim and Kourtney Kardashian, known for appearing in the reality show Keeping Up With The Kardashians, and now simply The Kardashians, with her famous family. She is also a founder of the Good American “body acceptance” clothing brand.

    Encouraging her 276 million Instagram followers to check their skin, she wrote: “At 19 years old, I had melanoma on my back, and I had surgery to remove that as well, so I am pre-composed to melanomas. Even those who are not, we should be checking all the time.

    “I am someone who wears sunscreen every single day, religiously, so no one is exempt from these things. Please take this seriously and do regular self-exams as well as your annual check-ups.”

    Kardashian said she was “so grateful” it was caught early: “I was lucky and all I have is a scar to tell the story with. Most people aren’t as lucky as me and I am forever thankful and grateful.”

    Khloe Kardashian shared details of having a tumour removed on Instagram

    The star was examined by dermatologists Tess Mauricio and Daniel Behroozan.

    In an interview with E! News, Dr Mauricio said that although Kardashian was not diagnosed with melanoma or any other form of skin cancer this time, “if it was left there, it’s possible”.

    She continued: “Khloe has a history of melanoma, so there’s already heightened awareness of risk. Once you’ve had skin cancer, your risk for developing future ones increases.

    “For patients like her, surveillance is key. If you don’t have a history of skin cancer, make it part of your yearly check-up. If you’ve had skin cancer and they’ve done surgery, and they say borders are clear and you’re good, every six months is suggested.”

     

  • Netflix joins ratings organization Barb

    Netflix has partnered with the TV rating company Barb, which means that for the first time, its audiences will be measured by a third party, thus an independent organization.

    Netflix has now joined Barb, the first industry-owned rating service in history.

    Previously, the streaming giant has only released snapshots of its viewing data, highlighting the success of its most popular shows.

    Barb will begin reporting Netflix’s viewing figures from November.

    It is a significant move for the streamer and will see the data being used by advertisers, competitors, and journalists to ascertain the success or failure of Netflix properties.

    Barb, which stands for Broadcasters’ Audience Research Board, compiles audience measurement and TV ratings in the UK.

    The agency will report Netflix’s ratings in the same way it reports viewing for more than 300 other subscribing broadcast channels.

    The networks currently covered by Barb include mainstream services such as the BBC and ITV to smaller channels such as Dave and E4.

    The news comes as Netflix reportedly prepares to launch an ad-supported tier for its streaming platform.

    Its co-chief executive Reed Hastings said: “Back in 2019, at the RTS conference in Cambridge, I welcomed the idea of Netflix audiences being measured independently.

    “We’ve kept in touch with Barb since then and are pleased to make a commitment to its trusted measurement of how people watch television in the UK.”

    Promotional still from Netflix's Sex Education
    IMAGE SOURCE, NETFLIX Image caption, Hit Netflix shows such as Sex Education (pictured) and The Crown could be included in the ratings

    Justin Sampson, chief executive of Barb, said: “Our audience measurement continuously adapts to accommodate the new platforms and devices that are being used by people to watch their favourite television shows.

    “We took a big step forward last year when we started reporting audiences to streaming services.

    “Netflix’s commitment to Barb sends a clear signal that what we’re doing is valuable to new and established players in the market.”

    Netflix viewing data will be available to all Barb subscribers from the morning of 2 November through its existing analysis software and other systems.

    The timing coincides with the launch of season five of the royal drama The Crown, which could make a significant impact in Barb’s ratings during the streamer’s first weeks of inclusion.

     

  • Elon Musk refutes claims he spoke to Putin about Ukraine war

    Elon Musk has refuted claims that he communicated with Vladimir Putin before putting his recommendations for stopping Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in a Twitter poll.

    Ian Bremmer, head of the Eurasia Group political risk consultancy, alleged that Mr Musk had personally told him about the conversation with Mr Putin.

    But Mr Musk has now refuted this.

    “I have spoken to Putin only once and that was about 18 months ago. The subject matter was space,” Mr Musk tweeted.

    Last week, the Tesla CEO asked his 107.7 million followers to vote on ways to resolve the Ukraine war.

    The suggestions included a proposal to hold votes in parts of Ukraine occupied by Russia that the Kremlin says it has annexed. His comments were welcomed by Moscow.

    The multi-billionaire said: “Russia leaves if that is the will of the people.”

    President Putin has already declared four Ukrainian regions to be part of Russia, following so-called referendums denounced as fraudulent by Kyiv and its Western allies. Russia does not fully control any of the four regions.

    Mr Musk also suggested the world should “formally” recognise Crimea – illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014 – as part of Russia.

    In a newsletter, Mr Bremmer wrote that Mr Musk told him the Russian president was “prepared to negotiate”, but only if Crimea remained under Russian control if Ukraine accepted a form of permanent neutrality, and if Kyiv recognised Russia’s annexation of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia.

    Mr Bremmer said the SpaceX boss told him that Mr Putin said these goals would be accomplished “no matter what” and that there was the potential of a nuclear strike if Ukraine invaded Crimea.

    But Mr Musk has since denied the reports.

    Mr Musk’s initial poll caused widespread controversy.

    Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said people proposing Ukraine give up on its people and land “must stop using the word ‘peace’ as a euphemism to ‘let Russians murder and rape thousands more innocent Ukrainians, and grab more land’”.

    Russian chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov called Mr Musk’s tweet “moral idiocy, repetition of Kremlin propaganda, a betrayal of Ukrainian courage & sacrifice”.

    Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov welcomed Mr Musk’s suggestions, stating: “It is very positive that somebody like Elon Musk is looking for a peaceful way out of this situation.”

    Early in the war, the billionaire gained widespread popularity in Ukraine after sending a number of his Starlink internet terminals to the country. He was subsequently invited to visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

    But his recent tweets have seen that relationship sour, with Mr Zelensky last week hitting out at his Twitter polls.

    US federal law prevents private citizens from conducting foreign affairs without the permission or involvement of the US government.

    The Logan Act was signed into law by President John Adams in 1799, but nobody has ever been prosecuted under it.

     

     

  • Fat Bear Week: Winner crowned after cheating scandal

    Huge portions of salmon and a six-day struggle after, Fat Bear Week has a victor.

    Brown bear 747 got 68,105 votes, defeating Bear 901 with 56,876 votes despite weighing an estimated 1,400 lbs (635 kg).

    The result marks an end to Fat Bear Week 2022, which saw people from around the world vote for the fattest bruin at Alaska’s Katmai National Park.

    The chow down spotlights the park’s famous brown bears as they feed in preparation for winter hibernation.

    “Ultimately, 747 ripped apart the salmon – and the competition – to seize his 2nd crown as the 2022 Champion,” the park tweeted after Tuesday’s vote.

    But Bear 747 nearly didn’t make it to the final because of an unprecedented case of voter fraud in the semi-finals that was quickly corrected by officials.

    A large brown bear photographed in Alaska's Katmai National Park.
    IMAGE SOURCE,HANDOUT/L.LAW Image caption, Bear 901 is an impressive sight

    “It appears someone has decided to spam the Fat Bear Week poll, but fortunately it is easy for us to tell which votes are fraudulent,” tweeted Katmai National Park on Sunday.

    Since that minor hiccup, it’s been smooth sailing for the eighth annual Fat Bear Week – an extravaganza that celebrates the fearsome creatures as they prowl Katmai National Park’s eight million acre reserve.

    To prepare for winter hibernation, each bear consumes around 500lbs of salmon from the park’s Brooks River during the summer.

    Some get rather chunky in that timeframe, becoming nearly unrecognisable from when they first emerged out of last season’s hibernation.

    Viewers from around the world tune in through live cameras placed around the river to watch the hungry bears accumulate a “preponderance of pudge”, say the organisers. They then cast a vote for their favourite in an online bracket that pits the bears against one another.

    Voting opened on 5 October and officially closed on Tuesday evening.

    A skinny Bear 901 pictured by the water in Alaska's Katmai National Park.
    IMAGE SOURCE,HANDOUT/L.LAW Image caption, Bear 901 is pictured here in June after she emerged from hibernation

    Bear 747 is an exceptionally large animal that was crowned winner of Fat Bear Week in 2020.

    He was first identified by Katmai park staff in 2004. Back then, 747 was a young up-and-comer unable to compete with more seasoned rivals for prime fishing locations.

    Since then, 747 has become one of the largest brown bears on earth.

    He is known to be an efficient fisher. This year, he hunted for salmon almost every day at Brooks River between late June and early September and was the river’s dominant player for much of the late summer.

    Bear 901, a younger female adult, has never won Fat Bear Week, but her growth this year has been rather noticeable.

    She has been working on refining her fishing and social skills and is known to be a no-nonsense defender of her fishing territory.

    Bear 901 may also be expecting her first litter of cubs in the winter.

    In order to be healthy enough to give birth, she has to put on as much weight as possible during the summer months – a big motivator for her growth this season, say experts.

     

  • Gas leak at Pennsylvania daycare centre sends dozens to the hospital

    Following a carbon monoxide leak at a daycare facility in the US state of Pennsylvania, more than twenty children were taken by ambulance to the hospital.

    On Tuesday, every ambulance in Allentown was sent to the Happy Smiles Learning Center.

    The early morning call prompted a large emergency response as multiple people were showing symptoms of poisoning.

    Some 25 children and eight staff members were taken to the hospital, with the majority now in stable condition.

    Carbon monoxide poisoning can result in severe sickness and even death.

    “It was initially a medical call for a child who was unconscious,” Captain John Christopher of the Allentown Fire Department told the BBC.

    But firefighters and paramedics who arrived at the scene found the monitors on their bags indicated high levels of carbon monoxide.

    “This prompted immediate evacuation by roping in all the city ambulances,” Mr Christopher said.

    The children and staff were taken to all four of the city’s hospitals after initial medical aid was provided at the scene.

    The childcare centre is an isolated building so there is no risk of the leak spreading further, the fire official said.

    Nine-year-old pupil Danyelis Polanco said she quickly knew something was wrong after entering her school building and walking towards her classroom.

    “My nose was bothering, my eyes were burning bad,” she told CBS, the BBC’s US partner.

    “I felt a little dizzy. My head was hurting a little,” she continued.

    “And when I got there I was a little worried because I saw someone from my class who was on the floor and I was worried because his eyes were closed and stuff.”

    Local newspaper The Morning Call quoted a gas company official as saying the leak was caused by a malfunctioning heating unit and a blocked venting system, but this has not been confirmed by the authorities.

    Carbon monoxide is an odourless, colourless gas produced by the incomplete burning of carbon-based fuels such as oil, wood and coal. The gas is harmful because it displaces oxygen from red blood cells, resulting in damage to major organs.

    More than 400 people in the US are killed and 4,000 are admitted to hospital every year when they unintentionally inhale too much carbon monoxide, according to statistics provided by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

     

  • NATO’s chief of staff promises a “united and determined response” in the event of an energy supply attack

    The EU suspects sabotage caused the damage to the Nord Stream gas pipelines last month, and Russia has come under suspicion, but it is not known for definite who was to blame.

    The head of the alliance has promised that a planned attack on NATO’s energy sources will be faced with a “united and determined response.”

    Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg pledged to boost the protection of critical infrastructure in response to the damage to the Nord Stream gas pipelines.

    The EU believes three leaks in the pipelines last month were the work of sabotage and suspicion has fallen on Russia, but it is not known for sure who was responsible.

    Mr Stoltenberg said NATO has doubled its presence in the Baltic and the North Sea to more than 30 ships supported by aircraft and undersea activities.

    In a speech on Tuesday, he also said the alliance is monitoring Russia’s nuclear forces closely as the country was “losing on the battlefield” in Ukraine.

    Meanwhile, Moscow has issued a fresh warning to the West over its involvement in the Ukraine war.

    Deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said Russia will take adequate countermeasures in response to the West’s “growing involvement”.

    In the comments reported by the state-owned RIA news agency, he said: “We warn and hope that they realise the danger of uncontrolled escalation in Washington and other Western capitals.”

    Russian bombs have rained down on Ukraine, killing at least 14 people on Monday.

    Vladimir Putin said the strikes were in retaliation for its “terrorist action” against Russian territory – the attack on the Kerch Strait Bridge in occupied Crimea – but Ukraine has rejected this claim of “provocation”.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has vowed to make the battlefield “more painful” for Russian troops in response to the rocket attacks and said air defence was the “number one priority”.

    Despite remarkable Ukrainian battlefield successes – both early on in the war with the defence of Kyiv and more recently with counterattacks in Kharkiv and Kherson regions – the war could continue for decades to come, one expert said.

    Sky News security and defence analyst Professor Michael Clarke said the war is likely to be a “generational struggle” and could be a “forever conflict” until “something changes in European security or Russia”.

    Mr Clarke said the current crisis in Ukraine was the “second war” and the first war was witnessed in 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea.

    He added: “My feeling is next year there will be a ceasefire in which the Ukrainians will be better placed and that ceasefire will be unstable and it will break down and there will be a third war and then a ceasefire and a fourth war.

    “We’re dealing here with an existential struggle because the Russian establishment thinks that Ukraine has no right to exist and they won’t change their mind in the short-term.

    “This is likely to be a generational struggle. Let’s say it’s going to last 30,40 or 50 years.”

     

  • Close to a million affected by South Sudan floods – UN

    The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) reports that over 900,000 people have been affected by floods in 29 countries throughout South Sudan and in the southern portion of the Abyei administrative territory.

    It says the worst affected states are Northern Bahr El-Ghazal, Warrap, Unity, and Western Equatoria.

    Increasing water levels reported in Rubkona and Bentiu towns in Unity State were putting pressure on existing dykes, the UN agency said.

    It added that the collapse of a key bridge in Western Bahr El-Ghazal State continues to hamper humanitarian response to some 50,000 people living in the area.

    Funding shortfalls and insecurity have hampered humanitarian work, Ocha added.

     

  • Jacob Rees-Mogg expresses ‘confidence’ in Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey but disputes pension funds ‘at risk’

    The question of whether the Bank of England was correct to indicate the end of its market intervention was repeatedly avoided by the business secretary.

    Although he stated his support for the Bank of England governor, Jacob Rees-Mogg challenged the idea that pension funds face “systemic” risk.

    Speaking to Sky News, the business secretary said “of course” he has confidence in Andrew Bailey, describing him as “respected”.

    He questioned, however, whether there was a “systemic problem” with pensions after the Bank of England expanded its market intervention to help pension funds for the second time in two days on Tuesday by buying up index-linked gilts.

    The Bank had warned of a “material risk to UK financial stability” with “fire sales” of assets if it did not act.

    He told Sky News that the “rightly independent” Bank intervened to protect these “risky investments”.

    The Bank confirmed yesterday that its emergency support operation to protect pension funds would end this week.

    Mr Rees-Mogg repeatedly refused to be drawn on whether the Bank was right to signal an end to its market intervention.

    “I’m not going to criticise the Bank of England or the governor,” he said. “It is not for me to speculate on what the Bank of England is doing.”

    He also insisted to Kay Burley that parts of the economy were in a “good state” as he admitted that after the economic turmoil of recent weeks his own mortgage payments have gone up.

    “Mortgage rates have gone up for everyone who has a mortgage, and I have a mortgage,” he said.

    “Any floating rate mortgages have gone up.”

    Earlier this morning, new Office for National Statistics figures indicated that the economy shrank by 0.3% between July and August, a fall from downwardly revised growth of 0.1% the previous month.

    Mr Rees-Mogg urged caution in interpreting them.

    “The previous quarter’s figure showed a contraction [and] was then revised to show economic growth. So, be very careful about how you interpret figures immediately after they’re released,” he told Sky News.

    “It’s a small amount of a very large economy, but these figures are notorious for being revised afterward.”

    The business secretary also refused to indicate his own view on whether benefits should rise in line with inflation, an issue that has split the Conservative Party.

    “We haven’t yet had the inflation figure on which benefits will be set. So, that is something that will be decided once the figure is available,” he said.

    “Most predictions, most economic forecasts, turn out to be inaccurate rather than spot on. So, one has got to be careful about forecasts.”

    Are we set for another era of austerity?

    ‘Routine decision-making’

    Mr Rees-Mogg said the decision on benefits would be made once inflation figures come out.

    “There is a process for making this decision,” he said.

    “The statutory instrument has to be laid in November to put through the increase. That will be done in the normal way. This is completely routine governmental decision-making.”

    In the Commons on Tuesday Julian Smith, a former cabinet minister, warned Kwasi Kwarteng, the chancellor, that the government must not balance tax cuts “on the back of the poorest people in our country”.

    The government has already been forced to abandon plans to scrap the top 45p rate of tax in the face of a threatened revolt.

    Liz Truss, the prime minister, will face MPs in the Commons on Wednesday for the first time since Mr Kwarteng’s £43bn tax-cutting mini-budget caused economic turmoil.

    On Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund warned that Mr Kwarteng’s package of unfunded tax cuts was making it harder for the Bank to get soaring inflation rates under control.

    The Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned the chancellor he will have to find £60bn in public spending cuts if he persists with his tax plans.

     

  • Eritreans frightened as military call-ups increase in response to the Tigray war in Ethiopia

    As the conflict in neighbouring Ethiopia intensifies, numerous Eritrean sources have told the BBC that the government of Eritrea has increased military mobilisation and is looking for draught evaders throughout the nation.

    The latest round-ups are the worst so far as women have not been spared, with many elderly mothers and fathers detained in a bid to force their children, who have gone into hiding, to surrender, they say.

    They spoke on condition of anonymity as Eritrea is a highly restrictive state that controls almost all aspects of people’s lives.

    Eritrea has sent troops to help the Ethiopian government against forces from its northern Tigray region, which borders Eritrea.

    “As many ignored the call-up, the round-up has been intensified,” a source said, adding that wives have also been detained after their husbands tried to avoid conscription.

    Checkpoints have been set up along major roads, and widespread searches are taking place in cities and villages.

    In the capital, Asmara, round-ups are being carried out on the streets while in many rural areas, the authorities have sealed homes, confiscated cattle, and harassed relatives if a wanted person is not found, the BBC has been told.

    The BBC has contacted the Eritrean government for comment.

    Last month, Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel said that a “tiny number” of reservists had been called up, denying that the entire population had been mobilised.

    The almost two-year-long war in Tigray and neighbouring regions has been described by some analysts as bloodier than the conflict in Ukraine. But there has been fewer media coverage of it as the Ethiopian and Eritrean governments have heavily restricted travel, and communication lines to Tigray have mostly been down.

    Tigrayan forces have also embarked on a mass mobilisation campaign to bolster its army following the collapse of a five-month-long truce in August and the failure of the African Union to get peace talks off the ground.

    A source in Eritrea said the authorities were trying to “stir emotions” at public meetings, linking their military intervention to “the existence and sovereignty of the nation”, and saying that Tigray’s ruling party “must be buried”.

    A man reacts as people gather around the body of a young man that witnesses say was shot by security forces after breaking curfew, capital of Tigray on February 27, 2021
    IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES Image caption, The conflict has caused a massive humanitarian crisis in Tgray

    Last month, Eritrea recalled reservists under the age of 55, and some were sent to the frontlines.

    In the last few days, fighting has been reported in many border areas, including Adigrat, Rama, Shiraro, and Zalambesa.

    But many Eritreans have resisted the latest call-up, saying they do not want to die in what they see as a needless war.

    Elderly men have also “been forced to be on a war footing in many areas and in most cases, the operation of the conscription is being carried out arbitrarily”, one source said.

    An Eritrean in the diaspora expressed concern about his brother and sister-in-law in Asmara.

    He said his sister-in-law had fled with the couple’s children to her parent’s village, and he feared that his brother had been detained.

    Authorities are also refusing to issue shopping coupons – used to buy basic commodities like sugar and oil at discounted prices – until families heed the call-up, sources added.

    ‘Hiding someone is treason’

    “What they had been doing in the countryside, they have started in the capital, abusing families with the local administration coupons, licences, and so on,” a source told the BBC.

    Residents have been brought to the offices of local administrations, and warned that “hiding one’s children or husband, or cooperating in desertion is considered as treason”.

    “They are putting a lot of stress on the people,” the source added.

    One woman in Eritrea said that many people were frustrated and bitter as war has consumed the lives of generation after generation.

    “People are expressing their opposition in various ways, but the security system is so merciless that it can commit any kind of atrocity against its people,” the woman added.

    Abiy Ahmed and Isaias Afwerki
    IMAGE SOURCE, FITSUM AREGA Image caption, Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki (R) and Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, seen here in 2018, are staunch allies

    An Eritrean living in Europe said he feared for the safety of his family back home.

    His 67-year-old father was a reservist who had been deployed in his area, though he has not yet been ordered to fight on the frontlines.

    He was more worried about his 23-year-old sister, who, he said, had been detained at a military camp near the western city of Akurdet after being caught attempting to cross the border.

    “It has been a while since the family heard from her. She is now missing,” the man said.

    Sources said the authorities have been threatening to take detainees far away to areas with harsh conditions. The regime runs a network of secret detention centers where people are held for many years without due process of law, human rights groups say.

    The war in Tigray broke out in November 2020 following a massive fall-out between Ethiopia’s Prime Minister and Nobel Peace laureate Abiy Ahmed and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which formed the regional government, over a wide range of issues, including whether Ethiopia should retain an ethnically based federal system.

    The conflict comes against the backdrop of long-standing hostility between the Eritrean regime and the TPLF, which dominated a coalition government in Ethiopia until Mr Abiy’s rise to power in 2018.

    Under the TPLF, Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a border war that claimed the lives of about 80,000 people. An international tribunal later ruled that Ethiopia should hand over territory to Eritrea, but the TPLF-controlled government failed to do so.

    Eritrea regained its territory soon after the current war started in November 2020.

    In the 28 years since it gained independence from Ethiopia, Eritrea has fought wars with all of its neighbours – Yemen in 1995, Sudan in 1996, Ethiopia from 1998 to 2000, and Djibouti in 2008.

    Mandatory military service was supposed to last for 18 months but has become indefinite.

    In the last two decades, tens of thousands of young Eritreans have left the country to escape conscription, which includes forced labour.

    “This situation has affected the children of my martyred brother whom I considered as my hope. They have joined the army. What can I say except to beg for God to protect all the young,” said an Eritrean woman exiled in Italy.

  • Rebels in Tigray ‘behind extrajudicial killings’

    Residents of a district in Ethiopia’s Amhara region that government forces have recently retaken have accused fighters from the Tigray region of mistreatment, including extrajudicial killings.

    Tigrayan forces occupied the Raya Kobo district for five weeks.

    Residents told the BBC that people suspected of belonging to a pro-government militia were targeted.

    All sides of the conflict in northern Ethiopia have previously been accused of violating international human rights.

    A joint investigation done last year by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the UN Human Rights Office said there could also be evidence of war crimes.

    Extra-judicial executions, torture, rape, and attacks against refugees and displaced people were documented.

     

  • Ugandan doctor who contracted Ebola recounts the road to recovery

    A trainee doctor from Uganda who had Ebola was officially released from the hospital on Tuesday.

    Hudson Kunsa is a medical student in his last year and a resident physician at the Mubende hospital.

    He shared his journey to recovery with the BBC in an interview.

    Quote Message: You start with general body weakness, fevers. Your first thought as a doctor is to rule out the common things we have. I went and took my test for Ebola. After two days when they called me to the hospital, I knew it was positive.

    Quote Message: So after we went to the isolation [centre] with the symptoms just starting and two, three, four, five days down the road we were at the peak of all the symptoms that you know of; the vomiting, the diarrhoea, the general body weakness. It was not a very good experience.”

    The thought of death always lurked in his mind, he said.

    Quote Message: At one point I was scared, thinking that we were going to die. You would see yourself diarrheaing everything out. They tell you, you have to drink but still you don’t want to drink. But eventually I came out. But the scared part was there.”

    He blamed the lack of protective equipment for contracting the disease.

    Quote Message: This happened because we didn’t enough protective equipment as medics to use. By the time the patient we worked on died and we started experiencing the symptoms we knew that possibly we could also be infected with Ebola.”

     

  • Despite widespread vaccination, cholera cases rise in Malawi

    As officials battle to control an outbreak that has claimed the lives of more than 117 people so far, the number of cholera cases in Malawi has more than tripled in the previous two months.

    According to the UN, nationwide cases have increased from 1,000 to more than 4,200 since August.

    The first case of cholera, which spreads mainly through contaminated food and water, was reported in March in southern Malawi.

    But the disease has now spread to 22 of Malawi’s 28 districts. Experts have warned that the situation could be worsened by the onset of the rainy season in November.

    The government has been conducting a mass cholera vaccination in the southern Africa nation, which is one of the poorest in the world.

    Data from the World Health Organization show that this is the worst outbreak so far this year globally.

    The country’s cholera response plan currently has a funding gap of more than $13m (£11.8m).

    Malawi is currently facing one of its worst economic periods and has witnessed street protests sparked by shortages in fuel, electricity, and forex, as well as drugs and medical supplies.

     

     

  • Southern Mozambique is in fear due to a lion that is on the loose

    Residents of a neighbourhood in southern Mozambique‘s Massingir district are afraid of a lion that is on the loose.

    It is believed that the animal, which has been seen travelling around in Massingir and the nearby Mabalane district since last week, escaped from the Limpopo National Park.

    The lion is said to have already killed some cattle and residents say they are living in fear.

    A joint team of rangers from Limpopo park and the police has been deployed to hunt for the feline.

    Benito Thomisssene, the head of the administrative post in Zulo area, has appealed to locals to move in groups as a security measure to avoid possible attack by the lion.

     

  • Cough-syrup deaths: How did it end up in The Gambia?

    Investigations into the nearly 70 child deaths in The Gambia linked to Indian-made cough syrups are being conducted amid worries about the effectiveness of regulations governing the production and distribution of pharmaceuticals.

    What went wrong in The Gambia?

    Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a global alert over four brands of cough syrups, saying they could be linked to acute kidney damage, following reports from The Gambia of children diagnosed with serious kidney problems.

    Laboratory analysis of the syrups “confirms that they contain unacceptable amounts of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol as contaminants”, according to the WHO.

    The Indian authorities and the cough syrup manufacturer, Maiden Pharmaceuticals, say these syrups have been exported to The Gambia only.

    What is known about the manufacturer?

    Maiden Pharmaceuticals says it adheres to internationally recognized quality-control standards.

    But some of its products have failed to meet national or state-level quality-control standards in India.

    Official records there show the company:

    • was blacklisted by Bihar state, in 2011, for selling syrup failing to meet local standards
    • was subject to legal proceedings by India’s drug regulator, in 2018, for quality-control violations
    • failed a quality-control test in Jammu and Kashmir state, in 2020
    • has failed quality-control tests in Kerala state four times in 2022

    It is also among nearly 40 Indian pharmaceutical companies blacklisted by Vietnam for exporting sub-standard products.

    The company, based in Haryana state, has said it is “shocked” by the deaths in The Gambia and had “been diligently following the protocols of the health authorities, including [the] drugs controller general [of India] and the state drugs controllers, Haryana”.

    It would not comment further while drugs regulators were still testing, it added.

    Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij told BBC News samples had been sent for testing and if something wrong was detected, action would be taken.

    How effective is India’s quality control?

    India produces a third of the world’s medicines, mostly in the form of generic drugs.

    It is a major supplier to countries in Africa, Latin America, and other parts of Asia.

    Indian pharmaceutical plant
    IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES Image caption, India is a major global pharmaceutical manufacturer

    Its manufacturing plants are required to adhere to stringent quality-control standards and production practices.

    But Indian companies have faced criticism and even bans by overseas regulators such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for quality-control problems at some plants.

    One analysis of India’s pharmaceutical industry points to underfunding of oversight bodies and a lax interpretation of regulations as key issues, with a lack of interest in ensuring purity standards are adhered to.

    Public-health activist Dinesh Thakur also highlights the relatively light punishment in India for flouting quality standards – a fine of $242 (£220) and a possible prison sentence of up to two years.

    “Unless one can causally establish a direct link between a sub-standard drug and a fatality, this is the norm of punishment meted out,” he says.

    Also, India is not included in the WHO standards for national bodies that regulate medicines, although it is for vaccines.

    “This may result in inconsistent regulatory control over pharmaceutical manufacturing activities,” Leena Menghaney, head of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Access Campaign South Asia, says.

    Should The Gambia have tested?

    The Health Ministry in Delhi has launched an investigation but says it is “usual practice that the importing country tests these imported products… and satisfies itself as to the quality”.

    But The Gambia’s Medicine Control Agency executive director Markieu Janneh Kaira says it prioritises checks on anti-malarial drugs, antibiotics, and painkillers, rather than cough syrup.

    BBC News contacted the agency for clarification but had no response.

    The Gambia’s President, Adama Barrow, has said he “would get to the bottom” of the causes of the tragedy and announced the creation of “a quality-control national laboratory for drugs and food safety”.

    The Gambia would “establish safeguards to eliminate the importation of sub-standard drugs”, he added.

    MSF wants countries with the sufficient testing capacity to help low-income countries such as The Gambia.

    “This is not about the importing countries’ responsibility only,” Ms Menghaney says.

    In Nigeria, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control is now asking for all imported shipments of pharmaceuticals to be cleared by approved agents prior to leaving India.

     

  • Benin Bronzes: USA returns looted artefacts to Nigeria

    23 looted artefacts have been delivered back to Nigeria by the United States.

    A Nigerian delegation received the Benin Bronzes during a ceremony on Tuesday in Washington.

    Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed, who received the artefacts, hailed the US and its institutions for the repatriation of the “highly-cherished” cultural artworks.

    “These artefacts are intrinsic to the culture that produced them. A people ought not to be denied the works of their forebears. It is in the light of this that we are delighted with today’s repatriation,” he said.

    The information ministry said the returned artefacts “comprise 21 from the Smithsonian and one each from the National Gallery of Arts and the Rhode Island School of Design”.

    The repatriation is part of a bilateral cultural property agreement to prevent illegal imports into the US of some categories of Nigerian artefacts.

    Lonnie G. Bunch III, the secretary of the Smithsonian, said the institution was “humbled and honoured to play a small role in transferring ownership of the artworks to Nigeria”, based on ethical consideration.

    The items were among thousands of artworks known as the Benin Bronzes stolen from the Benin Kingdom in present-day Nigeria by British colonialists in 1897.

    The items were then distributed to various museums and institutions across Europe and the US.

    Nigeria is set to receive more such artefacts from The Netherlands, the UK, and Germany.

    The West African country says it will soon launch an international traveling exhibition with the artefacts ”in a manner that will win more friends and promote greater goodwill for Nigeria and the ethnic groups that produced [them]”.

     

  • Crimea bridge attack arrests made as more explosions heard

    In connection to the explosion that occurred on a crucial bridge connecting Russia and Crimea on Saturday, Russia claims to have apprehended eight persons.

    Five of those detained, according to its FSB security force, were Russians, while the others were Ukrainian and Armenian.

    The FSB has accused the Ukrainian security services of being behind the attack on the bridge.

    The news came as explosions were reported in the Ukrainian cities of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Nikopol.

    The BBC’s Hugo Bachega in Kyiv said five explosions had been heard in Kherson, one of the largest cities under Russian occupation, while there were unconfirmed reports that the air defence system in the city had been activated.

    He said it was not clear what had triggered the explosions.

    The blast on the Crimea Bridge was a powerful symbolic blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who opened the bridge in 2018, four years after Russia’s annexation of Crimea.

    President Putin called it an “act of terrorism”, saying Ukraine’s intelligence forces had aimed to destroy a critically important piece of Russia’s civil infrastructure.

    Russian forces retaliated on Monday with a wave of missile strikes across the country, including central Kyiv, killing 19 people.

    Following more strikes on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged countries to hit Russia with more sanctions in response to “a new wave of terror“.

    He called on the West to find new ways to apply political pressure to Russia and support Ukraine.

    The calls came after he met the G7 group of nations for emergency virtual talks on Tuesday.

    The bloc – which consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the US – promised to continue providing “financial, humanitarian, military, diplomatic and legal” support to his country “for as long as it takes”.

    Nato also said it would stand with Ukraine for as long as necessary.

    In another development, Polish pipeline operator Pern said it had detected a leak in one pipeline in the Druzhba system that carries oil from Russia to Europe.

    The discovery follows leaks in the Nord Stream undersea gas pipelines that transport Russian gas to Europe, which have been widely blamed on sabotage.

    Europe is facing a severe energy crisis in the aftermath of Moscow‘s invasion of Ukraine as it tries to wean itself off Russian gas and oil.

    The continent has imposed tough sanctions on Russia in an effort to put economic pressure on the Kremlin.

    Pern said that at this point, the causes of the leak were unknown. It was detected in a section of the pipe about 70km from the central Polish city of Plock.

     

     

  • Coronation: King’s coronation scheduled for 6 May – and Queen Consort will be crowned alongside Charles III

    In Westminster Abbey, where coronations have been held for more than 900 years, the service will be held. King Charles will be the oldest monarch in British history when he is crowned.

    According to Buckingham Palace, King Charles III will be crowned on Saturday, May 6, next year.

    The religious ceremony will be held at London’s Westminster Abbey and conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.

    The King will be crowned alongside his wife, Camilla, the Queen Consort.

    It is thought the coronation will be more modest and shorter than previous ceremonies, with some suggesting it will last one hour.

    St Edward's Crown, which hasn't been outside the Tower of London for 60 years, is displayed during a service celebrating the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's coronation at Westminster Abbey in London June 4, 2013. Britain's Queen Elizabeth returned to the scene of her coronation on Tuesday to mark a reign that has weathered six decades of social transformation and the end of her country's global empire. REUTERS/Jack Hill/Pool (BRITAIN - Tags: ROYALS ENTERTAINMENT RELIGION)
    Image:King Charles III will wear St Edward’s Crown towards the end of the ceremony, which was also worn by the Queen at her coronation in 1953

    What will happen at King Charles’s coronation?

    The Palace said the ceremony would “reflect the monarch’s role today and looks towards the future” whilst staying “rooted in long-standing traditions and pageantry”.

    It has still not been confirmed whether there will be a Bank Holiday to mark the day, although the fact it falls on a weekend might suggest this is unlikely.

    The Queen’s coronation on 2 June 1953 took three hours with a congregation of 8,000 dignitaries. The event was broadcast live on television, attracting record-breaking audiences around the world.

    Back then, thousands lined the streets for a glimpse of the Queen in the gold state coach, which has been used for coronations since George IV.

    It is not known whether the coach will be used this time.

    Queen Elizabeth II, wearing the Imperial State Crown, and the Duke of Edinburgh, dressed in uniform of Admiral of the Fleet, wave from the balcony to the onlooking crowds at the gates of Buckingham Palace after the Coronation.
    Image:Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh on the Buckingham Palace balcony after her coronation in 1953

    Although the King succeeded to the throne when the Queen died, the coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch’s regal power.

    Charles will be anointed with holy oil, blessed and consecrated by the archbishop.

    He will be crowned with St Edward’s Crown. During the ceremony, Camilla will also be anointed and crowned.

    (L-R) Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother), Princess Elizabeth (the present Queen Elizabeth II), Princess Margaret and King George VI after his coronation, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, London.
    Image:Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother), Princess Elizabeth, Princess Margaret and King George VI after his coronation in 1937

     

    The date of the coronation is also the birthday of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s son Archie – the King’s grandson – who will be turning four on the day.

    There is also no detail yet on who will attend the ceremony, including whether or not Prince Harry and Meghan will be invited or be able to travel from California to attend.

     

     

  • New Zealand suggests charging for cow burps to reduce pollution

    To combat climate change, New Zealand has suggested charging the greenhouse gases that farm animals emit when they urinate and burp.

    By 2025, farmers will begin to pay for agricultural emissions under a groundbreaking system.

    The country’s farming industry accounts for about half of its emissions.

    But farmers have been quick to criticize the plan, with one lobby group saying it would “rip the guts out of small-town New Zealand”.

    Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said money raised from the proposed levy will be pumped back into the industry to finance new technologies, research, and incentive payments for farmers.

    “New Zealand’s farmers are set to be the first in the world to reduce agricultural emissions, positioning our biggest export market for the competitive advantage that brings in a world increasingly discerning about the provenance of their food,” she told reporters while announcing the proposals from a farm in Wairarapa.

    The pricing has not yet been decided on, but the government says that farmers should be able to make up the cost of the levy by charging more for climate-friendly produce.

    But some farmers have condemned the plans, saying they could prompt many of them to sell up.

    Federated Farmers national president Andrew Hoggard said the plan will “rip the guts out of small-town New Zealand”, leading to farms making way for trees.

    He added that the body was “deeply unimpressed” with the government’s interactions with farmers while examining alternative proposals.

    Farmers will now be selling their land “so fast you won’t even hear the dogs barking on the back of the ute (pickup truck) as they drive off”, he added.

    Some have also argued that the plans could actually increase emissions if food production was to move to countries with less efficient farming methods.

    In 2019, methane in the atmosphere reached record levels, around two-and-a-half times above what they were in the pre-industrial era.

     

  • Hong Kong decides not to respond to the sanctioned Russian superyacht in  harbour

     Hong Kong says, the superyacht of a Russian oligarch who is the target of Western sanctions will not be seized.

    According to chief executive John Lee, Hong Kong will be subject to penalties imposed by the UN but not “unilateral” ones by “individual jurisdictions.”

    The $521m (£472m) boat belongs to Alexei Mordashov, an ally of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and one of the country’s richest men.

    His yacht arrived in Hong Kong last week after sailing from Russia.

    But Mr Mordashov is not believed to be on it. The billionaire was sanctioned by the US, the UK, and the EU after Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year.

    But Hong Kong’s government said it was not bound by those sanctions. For close to a week now, the multi-storey Nord superyacht has been a conspicuous sight in the city’s Victoria Harbour with the Russian flag flying at its mast.

    “We will comply with United Nations sanctions, that is our system, that is our rule of law,” said Mr Lee, who has himself been sanctioned by the US for his role in implementing Hong Kong’s repressive national security law.

    The US, EU, and the UK have sanctioned hundreds of Russians and their businesses. China, however, has remained a Russian ally and has so far not condemned Moscow’s decision to invade Ukraine.

    “Hong Kong’s reputation as a financial centre depends on adherence to international laws and standards,” a US State Department spokesman said. “The possible use of Hong Kong as a safe haven by individuals evading sanctions from multiple jurisdictions further calls into question the transparency of the business environment.”

    It’s unclear how long the superyacht will remain in Hong Kong’s waters.

    Mr Mordashov’s spokesman told Bloomberg News the steel tycoon was in Moscow. Prior to the war in Ukraine, he was Russia’s richest man, according to Forbes, with a $29.1 billion fortune built through his steel and mining company Severstal.

    The Nord is believed to be his biggest yacht asset. The 465-foot (141m) yacht is larger than a football field and is described as one of the world’s most extravagant boats, according to Forbes.

    The billionaire had already lost one of his smaller boats, the 215ft Lady M, to Western sanctions in March after it was seized by Italian police in the port of Imperia.

    Several Russian oligarchs‘ boats have been seized or denied entry to European ports this year under Western sanctions related to the war in Ukraine.

    That’s prompted the movement of such boats to areas around the world considered beyond the reach of Western sanctions- including ports around Asia, Turkey, and the Caribbean.

     

  • Shakara Live Concert: How concertgoers inappropriately touched performer Akuapem Poloo

    At Frank Nero’s Shakara Live Concert in Manso Datano, actress Akuapem Poloo went wild on stage, causing several of the audience to grasp her buttocks.

    The popular actress who doubles as a singer is known for pulling off surprises and stunts. Poloo has been lowkey for some months after converting to Islam back in August.

    Her latest performance witnessed some men at the outdoor event grabbing her butt after she willingly threw it back to the wild crowd. Many have wondered what might have influenced Poloo’s actions.

    In the video published by blogger Alex Charming, the ‘Wa Bo Ka’ singer gave her fans an energetic performance when she graced the stage.

    There have been cases of entertainers walking off stage in instances where fans touched them inappropriately, however, Poloo, seemed to be okay with the move despite the condemnation.

  • Princess Diana lost so much weight between her wedding and honeymoon that her wedding ring had to be adjusted

    In her later years, Princess Diana opened up about her struggles with an eating disorder.

    She previously told a royal biographer she began experiencing bulimia following her engagement.

    A new royal book claims that by the time of her honeymoon, Diana’s wedding ring was too big for her.

    Princess Diana‘s struggle with bulimia took such a toll after her wedding that her ring had to be adjusted following her honeymoon, according to a new book.

    Valentine Low, a Times of London royal correspondent, authored “Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown,” which was released in the UK on Thursday. In the book, he traces the modern history of the royal family through the lens of courtiers, a term used for the people working within each royal household.

    In the chapter “Growing Up,” Low covers the experience of Michael Colborne, a private secretary who worked for Charles and Diana early into their marriage. Colborne, the author wrote, witnessed not only the “disintegration” of the couple’s marriage, which began after their 1981 wedding but the beginning of Diana’s struggle with bulimia nervosa, an eating disorder.

    According to Low, Charles had summoned Colborne to Balmoral, Scotland, where he and Diana spent some time following their tumultuous two-week honeymoon in 1981. It was there that Low wrote Diana opened up to the private secretary about how unhappy she was and, after an argument between her and Charles, that the prince threw her wedding ring at him.

    “Colborne heard Charles and Diana having a massive row. Then Charles suddenly appeared, and threw something at Colborne: it was Diana’s wedding ring, which Colborne somehow managed to catch,” the author wrote.

    “Diana had lost so much weight that it no longer fitted and needed to be adjusted,” he added.

    Diana's ring required an adjustment soon after their wedding in July 1981.
    Diana’s ring required an adjustment soon after their wedding in July 1981. David Levenson/Getty Images

    Then 20 years old, Diana had already shown signs of her condition for months. The UK’s National Health Service describes it as an eating disorder and mental health condition which involves the individual eating “a lot of food in a very short amount of time (binge eating) and then making themselves sick” in order to prevent weight gain.

    According to Andrew Morton’s 1992 biography, based on confession tapes recorded by the princess, Diana’s condition began before her wedding to Charles.

    “The bulimia started the week after we got engaged and would take nearly a decade to overcome,” she said on the tapes, according to Vogue. “My husband put his hand on my waistline and said: ‘Oh, a bit chubby here, aren’t we?’ and that triggered off something in me.”

    Her wedding ring is also not the only item to have been sized down due to her struggle with bulimia. As Vogue also reported, her wedding dress designer said when they began fittings for the big day, Diana’s waist measured between 26 to 27 inches. But by her wedding in July 1981, her waist dropped to 23 inches.

    Later in life, the princess used her experience to become an advocate for others, according to Elle Magazine.

    During a keynote address in 1993, she opened up public discourse surrounding eating disorders and touched on how they can affect an individual’s overall health.

     

  • Royal Mail stamps: Wallace and Gromit among familiar faces featuring on

    Three new Royal Mail stamp designs feature Wallace and Gromit, Morph, and Shaun the Sheep.

    It is hoped the Aardman Animations characters will “bring a smile to everyone’s face”, the postal service company said.

    Some of the most celebrated characters created by the Bristol-based firm feature on the set of eight stamps.

    Other fan favourites include Feathers McGraw, Timmy, Robin, Frank The Tortoise, and Rocky and Ginger.

    The stamps are available to pre-order and will be on general sale from 19 October.

    Aardman Animations was founded in 1972 and is best known for its films using stop-motion and clay modelling animation techniques.

    Handout photo issued by Royal Mail of The Wrong Trouser stamp, part of eight stamps celebrating Bristol based Aardman's most popular animated characters.
    Image caption, One of the key moments depicted is from the short film The Wrong Trousers

    Speaking about the collaboration, Royal Mail’s director of external affairs and policy David Gold said: “These instantly recognisable, iconic animated characters have found a place in our hearts.

    “We are certain they will add a bit of joy to any envelope.”

    In addition to the eight stamps, an exclusive miniature sheet, created specially for Royal Mail by Aardman, will also be available.

    On the miniature sheet, Wallace and Gromit celebrate four of their favorite moments displayed on the wall in their home at 62 West Wallaby Street.

    Handout photo issued by Royal Mail of eight stamps celebrating Bristol based Aardman's most popular animated characters.
    IMAGE SOURCE, ROYAL MAIL/AARDMAN Image caption,
    Characters include Rocky and Ginger, Feathers McGraw, Wallace and Gromit, Frank The Tortoise, Timmy, Morph and Chas, Robin and Shaun The Sheep

    Key moments on the stamps include those from Wallace and Gromit animated short films A Matter Of Loaf And Death, The Wrong Trousers, A Close Shave, and A Grand Day Out.

    Aardman’s managing director Sean Clarke said: “We have had the pleasure of creating these films featuring these much-loved characters over the last 40 years, so it is a real honour for the studio to receive this royal stamp of approval.

    “It’s a true testament to all the hard work that goes into making these productions and we are sure that our fans will enjoy them.”

     

  • AI robot Ai-Da is about to make history giving evidence to a House of Lords inquiry

    Ai-Da Robot has made headlines painting everyone from the Queen to Billie Eilish and Paul McCartney. Now, she is set to answer questions at the House of Lords during an inquiry into tech and creativity. It’s a “real moment in history”, as creator Aidan Meller tells Sky News.

    Is creativity under attack by the rise of artificial intelligence?

    Who better to answer that question than Ai-Da, the world’s first artist robot that has made headlines for her incredible paintings and sculptures – not least a portrait of the Queen to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee earlier in 2022.

    Ai-Da Robot created this picture of the Queen for the Platinum Jubilee

    Read that back: a robot, giving evidence to the House of Lords. It might sound like a scene from a science-fiction film, but in 2022 it’s very much a reality.

    “The fact that Ai-Da is giving evidence at one of these sessions is pretty mind-blowing,” creator Aidan Meller tells Sky News.

    “It’s very remarkable. It uses data and sees patterns in data that is not apparent to humans… these strides in technology, in the area of creativity in particular, it’s pretty ‘wow’.

    “And in actual fact, it’s the silent revolution because you can’t see AI. One of the great things about Ai-Da – who looks like a human but is clearly a machine – is that she certainly makes something very difficult to grab hold of, tangible.”

    Ai-Da helps people make sense of the “very big sweeping changes that AI is bringing”, Mr Meller says. “And AI is coming in far quicker than anybody expected – it is no exaggeration to say that AI is going to be changing all aspects of life.”

    The robot was devised by Mr Meller, a specialist in modern and contemporary art, before being built in Cornwall by humanoid entertainment robot manufacturers Engineered Arts, and programmed internationally.

    Her capabilities were developed by PhD students and professors at the universities of Oxford and Birmingham.

    Using cameras in her eyes and unique algorithms, she is able to interpret what she sees in front of her before using her robotic arm to create her art.

    Making Star Wars a reality

    Portraits of the acts headlining Glastonbury Festival, created by Ai-Da Robot

    Since her first solo exhibition at the University of Oxford in 2019, the ultra-realistic robot has presented a world-first self-portrait solo show at The Design Museum London, been part of a United Nations exhibition, and featured in The 1975’s art video Yeah I Know.

    And after painting the Queen earlier this year, she was invited to paint Glastonbury headliners Billie Eilish, Diana Ross, Kendrick Lamar, and Sir Paul McCartney.

    Able to converse using a specially designed language model, she will appear alongside Mr Meller in front of members of the House of Lords communications and digital committee, including Baroness Gail Rebuck, chair of Penguin Random House; and Lord Edward Vaizey, former MP and culture minister under David Cameron.

    She could face questions about the opportunities for AI in the creative industries, the challenges around rights and intellectual property, and the role of technology and creating art.

    With AI now ubiquitous in everyday human life, from the use of predictive text to 3D printers, the world needs to keep up, says Mr Meller.

    “It’s one thing seeing [Ai-Da] on a screen, it’s very different seeing her in reality,” he says. “She has facial recognition so she can look you in the eye, and so when she looks [at you] and addresses you individually, that’s pretty mind-blowing.

    “I use that word deliberately because it is literally beyond what we thought we would… you know, we were all bought up in the 60s, 70s, and 80s, with Star Wars and the like. And we thought they were just fantasy creations.”

    ‘We need to be prepared for lots of change’

    Ai-Da is heralded as the world's first ultra-realistic robot artist and has been producing abstract paintings of Glastonbury headliners

    After Ai-Da’s evidence on Tuesday, further sessions will take place as part of the House of Lords inquiry later in October – with bosses at Google and the British Film Institute (BFI) following in her robot footsteps.

    The idea is to become better prepared for what the future holds when it comes to technology and the creative industries.

    There is a lot of fear around AI, Mr Meller says, and he admits it would be “foolish” to say it won’t take jobs from humans, “in all industries”.

    He continues: “There’s going to be a migration. Computers and robots are going to be doing some jobs better than a human would, so it would be crazy for them not to. But there are also going to be new jobs appearing as well.

    “There’s going to be a change. Whether it’s proportionate, I don’t know. What I can say is that we need to be prepared for lots of change.”

    On the future relationship between tech and creativity, we’ll leave the final word to Ai-Da herself.

    “I believe that machine creativity presents a great opportunity for us to explore new ideas and ways of thinking,” she says. “However, there are also risks associated with this technology which we need to consider carefully.

    “We need to think of benefits and limitations, and consider ethical implications.”

    Watch out for her evidence at the House of Lords inquiry on Tuesday.

     

  • You shouldn’t dress just anyhow – Jayana to Gospel acts

    One criticism that some female gospel musicians frequently face is that of their allegedly exposing fashion sense.

    The majority of the artists who have been criticised for displaying too much skin have stated that they dress to the glory of God, yet their detractors have refuted that assertion.

    In a conversation with Graphic Showbiz, Gospel musician Jayana willingly shared her views on the subject matter.

    “When it comes to dressing, people have different opinions depending on their preferences and how they were brought up, their foundation and their morals all come to play when it comes to their way of dressing.

    “What I think is that, once you wear that tag as a Gospel musician, you shouldn’t dress just anyhow. This is because whatever you do, should be associated with Jesus Christ and the word of God.

    “As we all know, as Christians, we should not dress immorally, whatever we do should complement Christ. God’s creation is beautiful so when you dress, it should be beautiful. God’s word wins souls and sets captives free so you have to ask yourself if your character and way of dressing are doing these or otherwise.

    “The Bible says that light and darkness cannot be in the same place and we Christians know we are in the light so we as Gospel musicians are the light of the world, we stand for Christ so everything about us from our hair to our toes should portray the message of Christ”, she said.

    Touching on Gospel musicians performing on secular stages, Jayana stated, “When I see my fellow Gospel acts performing on secular stages, I cannot judge them because I am not in their mind but going back to the Bible, we know that David danced so hard that even his clothes fell off his body.

    “Once we all worship God in the same place and accept all kinds of people who have given their lives to Christ, I don’t see why a Gospel musician cannot perform on a secular stage, after all, we are all one people and children of God”, she added.

    Jayana also gave her thoughts on female Gospel artistes who are managed by their husbands, “I feel that husband/wife collaboration is perfect especially when you have a man who understands your calling because the work, we do is a calling.

    “If you get a husband who understands and supports you, a husband after God’s own heart who understands the work of God then you are sorted otherwise it will be very difficult.

    Is the Gospel music industry a united front? “By God’s grace we are united but like I always say, the Gospel music industry is a very big one and I don’t even know everyone but the ones in my circles are very warm, there are times I meet others and they come up to me to say hello.

    “The fact that I don’t know you doesn’t mean I should give you attitude because no one knows tomorrow and one cannot tell when someone will be a blessing to you. So wherever I go and I meet someone, I make sure I make that person comfortable around me and those I have met so far have also been very receptive,’’ she said.

    Jayana, real name Jemima Annor-Yeboah is the second daughter of the late Bishop Dr Annor-Yeboah of Christ Apostolic Church.

    Jayana runs an NGO, Jayana Help The Needy Foundation.

    She also has a big salon and spa and she usually recruits street porters and trains them in hair, nails, and make-up.

     

     

  • ‘Unadulterated shambles’: Investigation into £120 million “Festival of Brexit” launched

    The programme, according to the government and organisers, has expanded employment possibilities and access to culture in more than 100 towns, cities, and villages across the United Kingdom.

    An investigation has been launched into the £120m “festival of Brexit” amid concerns visitor numbers were less than 1% of early targets.

    A cross-party parliamentary committee has asked the National Audit Office (NAO), the public spending watchdog, to look into how the project was managed to “help get to the bottom of how so much taxpayer money could be frittered away for so little return”.

    Originally unveiled in 2018 by Theresa May as Festival UK 2022 – it was supposed to be a nationwide celebration of creativity following the departure from the EU.

    Jacob Rees-Mogg dubbed it the “Festival of Brexit“ before it was rebranded as the Unboxed festival.

    However, earlier this year Politics Home reported that the festival – which is supposed to evoke the spirit of the Great Exhibition of 1851 and the 1951 Festival of Britain – had received 238,000 visitors compared with organizers’ initial “stretch target” of 66 million.

    And last month the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee (DCMS) called for the investigation after finding it to be an “irresponsible use of public money” and criticising its planning as a “recipe for failure”.

    Its chairman, the Conservative MP Julian Knight, said: “That such an exorbitant amount of public cash has been spent on a so-called celebration of creativity that has barely failed to register in the public consciousness raises serious red flags about how the project has been managed from conception through to delivery.

    People at the opening of PoliNations, a garden in Birmingham's Victoria Square hosting a 17-day festival of free events themed around diversity, produced by Trigger and commissioned by Unboxed: Creativity in the UK.
    Image:People at the opening of PoliNations in Birmingham’s Victoria Square

    Calling for the investigation in September, Mr Knight said the design and delivery of the festival “have been an unadulterated shambles”.

    “The paltry numbers attracted to the festival despite such a hefty investment highlight just what an excessive waste of money the whole project has been,” he added.

    The NAO’s comptroller and auditor general Gareth Davies has proposed a “short, focused report on Unboxed” which could be completed and published by the end of this year.

    Meanwhile, the government and organisers claim the programme has reached every part of the UK, in more than 100 towns, cities, and villages, spreading work, and opportunities and opening up access to culture.

    A spokesperson for the Department for Digital Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) said: “More than four million people have engaged in Unboxed programming so far and these numbers are set to rise further.”

    General views of SEE MONSTER, a decommissioned North Sea offshore platform, which has been transformed into one of the U''s largest public art installations
    Image:The SEE MONSTER is a decommissioned North Sea offshore platform that has been transformed into one of Unboxed’s largest public art installations

    And a spokesperson for Unboxed: Creativity in the UK said: “The numbers reported misrepresent the public engagement with Unboxed and reflect attendance at only eight of the 107 physical locations within the programme.

    “Unboxed’s art, science, and tech commissions have been presented in over 100 towns, cities and villages, engaged millions across live and digital and employed thousands of creatives around the UK.

    “The Unboxed programme continues until the end of the year.”

     

     

     

  • Shatta Wale won’t be able to afford this for 600 years – BHIM fan picks vawulence as Stonebwoy flaunts his new Bentley

    After ‘Aabwoy’ purchased and flaunted a new Bentley, a fan of Ghanaian dancehall musician Stonebwoy descended on Shatta Wale in opulence.

    According to the fan, Shatta Wale can never purchase such a car, even if given 600 years to do so!

    StonebwoyStonebwoy is bragging differently this morning.

    The ‘Baafira’ hitmaker has a new ride and he’s showing it off to the public.

    The new ride is a Bentley, which Stonebwoy probably got from a rich friend or a company to promote – but this is showbiz and you gotta show off these things as your newest acquisitions!

    Check out the car below…

    As he flaunted his new ‘la borrow’ car, his fans are also proud and taking shots at Shatta Wale.

    One fan said Wale could never acquire a car as expensive as the one Stonebwoy just bought.

    “It will take shatta wale 600 years to get this,” the BHIM fan said.

    An angry Wale fan clapped back: “Man do susu take buy car wale dey buy cars no now ooo and e dey give the street moni , u ever see say stonebwoy giv someone moni before or throw moni before 😂”

     

  • Kanye West’s Twitter and Instagram accounts locked over anti-Semitism

    Twitter and Instagram profiles of Kanye West have been blocked due to anti-Semitism.

    The celebrity’s Instagram account was suspended over the weekend after he claimed that rapper Diddy was under the control of Jews.

    The message played into a long-standing anti-Semitic conspiracy theory.

    West responded to his suspension by rejoining Twitter and saying he would go “death con 3 On Jewish people”, earning him a second disbarment.

    Both platforms removed West’s posts and said the star had violated policies on hate speech.

    Fashion show controversy

    The incident comes after West drew criticism for wearing a “white lives matter” T-shirt during Paris fashion week.

    The slogan also appeared during his YZY fashion show, modelled by Selah Marley, the daughter of Lauryn Hill and granddaughter of Bob Marley.

    The Anti-Defamation League has called the phrase “hate speech” and attributed it to white supremacists, who began using it in 2015 in response to the Black Lives Matter movement.

    West’s stunt immediately drew criticism from his peers.

    Among them was Diddy, who posted an Instagram video saying he “did not rock” with the slogan.

    “All lives matter – but that Black Lives Matter, don’t play with it. Don’t wear the shirt. Don’t buy the shirt. Don’t play with the shirt. It’s not a joke,” he said.

    West then posted what appeared to be a text exchange with Diddy to his Instagram, in which he told the rapper: “I didn’t like our convo. I’m selling these tees. Nobody can get in between me and my money”.

    When Diddy asked him again to stop, West replied: “Ima use you as an example to show the Jewish people that told you to call me that no one can threaten or influence me.”

    The post appeared to reference the anti-Semitic theory that a secret cabal of Jewish people is conspiring to control the world’s media, government and banks.

    Kanye West at Paris Fashion Week
    Image source, Getty Images Image caption, West was in Paris for a show that rebranded his Yeezy fashion line as YZY, but the event was overshadowed by the controversy he provoked

    After having his Instagram account disabled, West took to Twitter, posting a photo of him with Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg.

    “Look at this Mark. How you gone kick me off Instagram?” he wrote.

    He followed up with a message saying: “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jews also.

    “You guys have toyed with me and tried to blackball anyone who opposes your agenda,” he added.

    The tweet has since been removed, and West’s account has been locked.

    West, who has changed his name to Ye, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder several years ago and has spoken publicly about his mental health challenges.

    He has a long history of erratic behaviour and making controversial statements, but his latest outbursts threaten to damage his business interests.

    Adidas said it was reviewing its partnership with the star after his appearance at Paris Fashion Week, and an interview where he expressed dissatisfaction with how some of his recent Adidas shoes had turned out.

    “After repeated efforts to privately resolve the situation, we have taken the decision to place the partnership under review,” the clothing company said in a statement.

    “We will continue to co-manage the current product during this period.”

    The T-shirt was ‘funny’

    Last week, West gave a lengthy interview to Fox News host Tucker Carlson, addressing everything from his religion and his relationship with late fashion designer Virgil Abloh to his anti-abortion stance and his political aspirations.

    Asked about the “white lives matter” t-shirt, he told Carlson it was “funny” and “the obvious thing to do”.

    “The answer to why I wrote ‘White Lives Matter’ on a shirt is because they do,” he said.

    He also recalled a conversation he had had with his father about the statement.

    “I said, ‘I thought the shirt was a funny shirt; I thought the idea of me wearing it was funny.’ And I said, ‘Dad, why did you think it was funny?’ He said, ‘Just a Black man stating the obvious.’”

    When Carlson asked why the t-shirt had provoked such a backlash, West said that it was because he was not acting in a way the media approved of.

    “Because the same people that have stripped us of our identity and labelled us as a colour, have told us what it means to be Black,” West said.

     

  • There was already rap music before my emergence – Reggie Rockstone sets the records straight

    Originator of Hiplife music Reggie Rockstone born Reginald Yaw Asante Ossei says before he came to Ghana, rap music existed in the country but in a different style.

    “It was when I came to Ghana then I realized the young boys here were doing exactly..y what we were doing back in London. The only difference was the language. They were using the English language to rap. So my idea was to change from English to the Twi language. So there came Twi rap”. Reggie Rockstone said this in an interview with TV XYZ monitored by MyNewsGH.com.

    This statement by the legend will of course end the long-lasting debate and claim by some people that Reggie Rockstone actually brought rap music to Ghana.

    It is however on record that Highlife musician Gyedu Blay Ambolley has the first rap style of music dubbed “Sumkwa Rap”.

    Reggie Rockstone was born in the United Kingdom but lived his early years in Kumasi and Accra. He has been living in Ghana continuously since he pioneered the Hip-Life movement in 1994

    Some of the albums released include; Makaa Maka, Me Na Me Kae, The Last Show, Me Ka, Vol. 1, and M3 Ka.

     

  • Nigerians react as Blacko busts serious leg work with Tiwa Savage

    In a video that has gone viral on social media, well-known Ghanaian artist Black Sherif is seen hanging out with legendary Nigerian singer Tiwa Savage.

    The pair wowed folks with a beautiful rendition of the popular legwork dance they did. It is unclear where the two singers met, but they seemed to have a good bond as they laughed and smiled together.

    Fans were pleased to see the adorable pair together and dropped heartwarming comments expressing their admiration for them. The video showed how strong a bond Ghanaian and Nigerian artists share.

    Many folks were quick to highlight that and wished for more of such beautiful moments. Both stars looked fashionable in their designer apparel. Tiwa was in a beautiful long dress and a designer bag, while Black Sherif was in his trademark snapback cap, shorts, t-shirt, and sneakers.

     

  • Kency: Blessed to call you mine – Tracey celebrates her husband’s birthday

    Tracey Osei celebrated her husband on his birthday with a touching note and seven slides of attractive pictures of him.

    In an Instagram post eulogising Kennedy Osei, Tracey praised her husband while adding that she is proud to call him hers.

    “I celebrate you today and every day my love! Being by your side has been such a breath of fresh air! Your hard work, commitment, and love are admirable.

    “May God bless the work of your hands and increase you immeasurably! Thank you for all the love and care you give. Blessed to call you mine,” she wished.

    The several pictures she shared captured her husband in breath-taking poses by himself and others which captured them together by the beach.

    The famous Kency couple became a household name when they held a plush wedding that echoed in every corner of the country.

  • Social media users condemn Sarkodie for missing Nana Ampadu’s funeral

    Social media users, notably those on Facebook and Twitter, have criticised Ghanaian rapper Michael Owusu Addo, better known in the entertainment industry as Sarkodie, for missing the funeral of Highlife legend Nana Ampadu.

    After apologizing for the incident on both social media platforms, some users took to the comment sections to express their discontentment.

    While some believe Sarkodie deliberately refused to attend the funeral, others indicated that the rapper could have made use of a personal assistant or reminder on his phone to prompt him.

    Others also shared the view that the apology was an insult while others believe Sarkodie should mend his relationship with the family of Nana Ampadu.

    Pac Anokye Lord Knows, a Facebook user, wrote: “Naa…You already have it in mind that u won’t go..we are not children to come tell us stories..Shame to You”.

    “You must honour the MASTERS. This excuse is best left not said. Actually an INSULT to the memory of arguably one of the Greatest Global Musicians of all time,” Lloyd Amoah also wrote on Facebook.

    The situation on Twitter was no different as users also expressed similar sentiments on the matter. Fidelis Banaaleh in a Twitter post said Sarkodie missed the funeral because it was not his priority.

    “You missed it because it wasn’t a priority for you senior.. in an age where phones have reminders? hmm to whom much is given much is expected Mr Sarkodie.. understand that the young are learning from you,” he tweeted.

    Sarkodie apologizes for missing Nana Ampadu’s funeral

    In a Facebook post on October 9, Sarkodie said he was ashamed of himself and hurt for missing Nana Ampadu’s funeral despite being reminded about it by veteran actor, David Dontoh.

    He said even though David Dontoh’s reminder lingered on his mind, it apparently skipped him on the day of the event.

    Sarkodie added that it was bad enough for him to be missing the funerals of legends stressing that he needs to do better.

    He wrote: “Ashamed and hurt for not making it to the Legend Nana Ampadu’s funeral … Uncle David Dontoh told me about it last Sunday… Crazy how I had it on my mind from then and still missed it but all the same Rest In Peace Grandpa May the almighty keep you safe No excuse makes sense to even myself missing all these legends’ funerals… Need to do better”.

    Nana Ampadu died on Tuesday, September 28, 2021, while on admission at the Intensive Care Unit of the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC) in Accra with his funeral slated for October 8.

    A day after his passing, Sarkodie made a post on social media revealing that the late music icon had once given him wise advice about not posting private stuff on social media.

    A state funeral in Accra was organized for the late Nana Kwame Ampadu and he was subsequently transported to his hometown at Obo Kwahu, in the Eastern Region, on Saturday,

    October 8, 2022, where he has been laid to rest.

     

  • Prince David Osei threatens a protest against the government in response to an increase in living standards

    Following news that Ghana has been the nation with the highest food costs in Sub-Saharan Africa since January 2022, Ghanaian actor Prince David Osei posted a lengthy message on social media threatening a protest against the Akufo-Addo-led administration.

    Expressing himself on Instagram on October 10, 2022, the actor mentioned that he has noticed that the president and his subordinates have made it their agenda to inflict pain on citizens.

    “Mr President! With all due respect Mr President, why are you sleeping on Ghanaians… This is not acceptable Mr President? We deserve better, we know there are global crises and hardships. Yes, we know!

    “But it looks like you and your ministers are determined to inflict untoward hardship on the citizenry. I decided to give you and your government the benefit of the doubt, I reckon I was wrong!” he said.

    He added that the youth in the country are suffering and if things don’t change by December he was going to mobilise them to demonstrate.

    “The Youth of this nation are not smiling, it pours, but we are still sweating. If things don’t change by December, we will mobilise the youth of this country and hit the street irrespective of party affiliations, whether NPP, NDC, CQQ, PNC whatever, it doesn’t matter now, we are all in this together.

    “God bless our motherland ???????? We want to see improvement in our livelihoods. If you have to sack some people do it without fear or favour because your legacy is on the line, Sir!! @nakufoaddo,” he added.

    His post comes after the World Bank’s October 2022 Africa Pulse Report revealed that food prices in Ghana have been on the rise since January 2022 by 122%.

    The report noted that Ghana has experienced very rapid food price increases this year, breaching the “inflation ceiling of the central bank target bands for all countries with an explicit nominal anchor.”

     

     

  • The son of Freddie Blay weds the niece of Betty Mould Iddrisu

    Call it an inter-political union, and you’d be close to correct. Families are connected through marriage, adoption, or blood relations.

    Inter and intra-tribal marriages in Ghana are very common. Intra-political marriages are also common but inter-political marriages are somewhat rare in Ghana.

    Usually, public exchanges on politics often get very heated and followers of the political parties seem not to see eye to eye but behind the public sphere, after the radio and TV arguments, politicians in and of themselves are good friends who wine and dine together.

    Over the weekend, two young love birds whose families are ‘politically opposed’ tied the knot in a private ceremony in Accra.

    The two, Kwaw Blay, the son of the former New Patriotic Party, NPP, National Chairman, Freddie Blay married Jasmine, who is also niece to Betty Mould Iddrisu, former Attorney General and Minister of Justice.

    The ceremony was attended by members of both families. In some photos shared on social media, the families appeared excited about the young couple.

    Mother of the groom, Gina Blay, who is also Ghana’s Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Germany, in a tweet, shared photos of the two families with smiles and wrote “and they shall become One! Kwaw & Jasmine Blay.”

    And they shall become One! Kwaw&Jasmine Blay???????? pic.twitter.com/KFtzDB3ASy

    — gina blay (@BlayGina) October 9, 2022

    This is not the first there has been an inter-political marriage in the country. In April 2021, Chief Biney, Deputy National Organiser of the National Democratic Congress, NDC, married his sweetheart, Afia Akoto the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the MASLOC.

    Biney is quoted to have stated that he is in a political position to serve for a number of years and then leave for others to come and take over but he is in his marriage forever and therefore will always go home to his wife.

    “OB anyday I will go home. Now if you become a President don’t you have a period you serve? You should think, people should be wise, and let’s understand that at the end of the day, the power we look for is to serve and when you serve your people within a period you’ll not be there,” he said on Accra-based Asempa FM.

     

  • UCC: KiDi speaks on obstructed performance

    Musician KiDi has apologised to his fans for missing the advertised performance at the University of Cape Coast’s (UCC) SRC Week events.

    The “Champagne” singer explained via an Instagram Stories post that despite being ready to entertain fans, he was unable to do so because of a technical issue.

    “Sorry UCC,” KiDi said.

    “I really wanted to give you guys a show [but] I couldn’t do that with a dysfunctional sound system,” he noted.

    The multiple award-winning singer and record producer had apparently “waited for 3 hours for the problem to be solved” but to no avail.

    “Thank you for the love still,” he concluded.

    On Saturday, KiDi came on stage as part of the UCC’s SRC Week celebrations at Casford Field.

    While the cheering fans waited for KiDi to sing, the microphone malfunctioned.

    Per a video circulating on Twitter, he could be seen testing the microphone several times with no luck except for echoes and disturbing feedback.

    He eventually walked off stage, much to the disappointment of fans.

    Social media reacted by criticizing the school for its poor sound system.

    Meanwhile, KiDi’s latest project is an extended play (EP) that has 4 songs on it and is called ‘4Play’.

     

  • Reports: Mass failure in Tanzania law school exams

    Following reports that only 26 out of 633 students at the law school passed exams, representing a 4.1% success rate, lawyers in Tanzania have expressed worry, according to the Mwananchi news site.

    Some 342 students were being told to resit exams, while 265 others were discontinued altogether.

    Graduates from various universities have to pass the examination at the law school in order to be admitted to the bar.

    The poor performance has been blamed on poor standards at universities, the law school’s administrators are quoted as saying.

    Previous years had also seen a drop in performance but this year’s results were the worst in recent times.

     

  • Motive for Putin’s escalation is ‘pretty understandable’ says Ukrainian MP

    An alleged Russian missile strike on a new power plant in the area has been reported, according to Ukrainian MP Volodymyr Ariev, who is in Kyiv this morning.

    He said: “We know that yesterday’s strike was preplanned since Russian policy is still in effect. Although the perpetrator of the explosion in Crimea hasn’t been identified, [Vladimir] Putin would like to respond to it.”

    Mr Ariev added that the reason for this escalation is “pretty understandable”.

    “In one month, Putin is going to the meeting of G20 countries on Bali Island in Indonesia,” he said. “So he would like to present himself not as a weak leader after the defeat of Russian army in conventional battlegrounds.

    “He would like to speak to the world from a position of strength. So that’s why he changed the commander… and his first day was an air strike to scare Ukraine.

    “Of course, Ukrainians were not scared.”

     

  • Russian forces will soon be down to last supplies of fuel after Kerch Bridge attack, analysts say

    Russian forces will soon be down to their last supplies of fuel and unable to transport their troops in Ukraine after the crippling attack on the Kerch Bridge between Crimea and Russia, say analysts.

    “If we’re talking about the ability to manoeuvre, ie drive places, I think we are talking days into very short weeks of supply,” intelligence analyst Forbes McKenzie told Sky News.

    Ukrainians have been degrading Russian logistics with artillery and well-targeted HIMARS rocket attacks, but the Kerch Bridge attack has left Russians even more exposed.

    They will soon be unable to move their troops, say, observers, which will put them in huge difficulty if the Ukrainians continue advancing.

    Mr McKenzie said: “Can they stand and fight? They could sustain that likely through the winter time but if Ukraine has Russia on the move, ie they are dominating the battle space, pushing them back, forcing the Russians to manoeuvre and there’s no diesel to manoeuvre the armour with, it’s highly likely the armour will be left in place.”

    President Vladimir Putin will have hoped his missile onslaught across Ukraine today has projected an image of strength. They are being read in the West as quite the opposite. The act of an increasingly desperate commander running out of options.

    Mr Putin today warned that the missile attacks could be repeated if Ukraine carried out more “terrorist” attacks such as that on the Kerch Bridge. But military analysts in the West question his ability to do so.

    Long-distance precision-guided weapons are expensive to produce and Russia has used up many of its supplies. Russia has also bolstered its arsenal with Iranian-supplied Shaheed drones.

    But they too are being depleted. Ukraine has been effective at locating the warehouses where they are being stored and destroying them. Both forms of munitions are finite resources.

    The Russian missile attacks follow a series of retreats and defeats by their forces on the ground.

    If the Ukrainians are able to move quickly enough and push the Russians back fast enough, they may force them to abandon their armour.

    “We could see the Ukrainians stealing their entire armoured capability,” says Mr McKenzie.

    That would be a humiliating outcome for President Putin which would pose an existential threat. He cannot afford to look weak or fail in this war.

    His military is on the back foot and increasingly threatened by Ukrainian advances and now, say western observers, starved of logistics.

    His position is looking increasingly desperate and he is running out of time.

    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 and do not reflect those of The Independent Ghana

    Source: Sky News, Dominic Waghorn

     

  • Gazprom: NATO mine destroyer discovered at Nord Stream 1 in 2015

    According to a Gazprom official, 2015 saw the discovery of a NATO mine destroyer near the Nord Stream 1 offshore gas pipeline.

    The spokesperson, Sergei Kupriyanov, said the device was pulled out and rendered harmless by the Swedish arm forces.

    Earlier today, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said it would not share findings of an investigation into the explosions of the Nord Stream gas pipelines with Russian authorities or Gazprom.

    A Swedish crime scene investigation of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines from Russia to Europe has found evidence of detonations and prosecutors suspect sabotage.

    Last week Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin sent a letter to the Swedish government demanding that Russian authorities and Gazprom be allowed to be involved in the investigation.

    And today, Ms Andersson said Sweden would not share the findings of the explosions that took place in the Swedish economic zone, with Russian authorities.

    “In Sweden, our preliminary investigations are confidential, and that, of course, also applies in this case,” she told reporters.

    However, Ms Andersson said Sweden had no power to stop Russian vessels from visiting the sites of the explosions now that the crime scene investigation was concluded.

     

  • Relatives: Egyptians sentenced in Saudi Arabia

    Relatives of 10 Egyptian men say they have been sentenced to up to 18 years in jail in Saudi Arabia for trying to organise a remembrance event for the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.

    The men, all from Egypt’s Nubian minority, had organised similar events there without a problem.

    But in December 2020 they were charged with establishing an association without a licence and showing solidarity with the Muslim Brotherhood – designated a terrorist organisation in Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

    Amnesty International, which has campaigned for their release, has denounced the proceedings as a “travesty of justice”.

     

  • Moussa Dadis Camara plea for house arrest : Court orders Guinea ex-military ruler to stay in jail

    Former military leader Moussa Dadis Camara requested that he be placed under home arrest rather than continue to be imprisoned while facing charges of mass murder, but the judge in Guinea denied his plea.

    Captain Camara was returned to the country last month after 12 years in exile.

    He’s on trial together with 10 other former officials over atrocities that took place in 2009 soon after he seized power.

    He’s charged with being responsible for the killing of soldiers of more than 150 people and the rape of more than 100 women at an opposition rally in a Conakry stadium.

    Captain Camara has denied the charges.

     

  • Biden strongly blasts Russia’s missiles strikes

    Russia’s missile attacks on Ukraine this morning have been “seriously criticised” by US President Joe Biden.

    In a statement, Mr Biden said: “These attacks killed and injured civilians and destroyed targets with no military purpose.

    “They once again demonstrate the utter brutality of Mr Putin’s illegal war on the Ukrainian people.”

    The US leader went on to offer his condolences to the families and loved ones of those who were “senselessly killed”.

    “These attacks only further reinforce our commitment to stand with the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes,” he added.

    “Alongside our allies and partners, we will continue to impose costs on Russia for its aggression, hold Putin and Russia accountable for its atrocities and war crimes, and provide the support necessary for Ukrainian forces to defend their country and their freedom.

    “We again call on Russia to end this unprovoked aggression immediately and remove its troops from Ukraine.”

     

  • Germany to send Ukraine much wanted air defence systems

    In Germany, officials say they’re planning to send Ukraine new air defence systems.

    Known as IRIS-T SLMs, they’re used to “protect the population, important buildings, objects as well as ground troops against attacks from the air”, according to Diehl BGT Defence, their manufacturer.

    This is exactly the sort of system Ukraine has been asking for since the beginning of this conflict.

    The system uses GPS and INS navigation, and receives frequent target positional data from its base station, guiding it toward the threat.

    It also has an infrared seeker as an additional feature and is effective against helicopters, aircraft, cruise missiles, air-to-surface weapons, and anti-ship weapons. Crucial to all this is how many will be delivered – and when. It’s all part of the gradual Westernisation of Ukraine’s armed forces, following Russia’s invasion in February.

    Currently, Ukraine has Soviet-era surface-to-air (SAM) systems, comprising S-300 for long-range and Buk-M1 SAMs for shorter-range. The German system would be a significant upgrade.

    The US has provided the greatest amount of weaponry so far – totalling more than $17bn (£15bn), while the UK has supplied the country with the Starstreak anti-aircraft missile system, and other systems, as part of an assistance package worth £2.3bn.

    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

     

     

  • Shashank Joshi: Strikes ‘intended to drain morale and divert military’

    The defence editor of the Economist says today’s attacks on Ukraine were likely planned to lower civilian morale and tax the nation’s military capabilities.

    Shashank Joshi, speaking to the BBC, claimed that Russia had demonstrated by the destruction of vital infrastructure that it intended to keep the Ukrainian economy “on its knees,” regardless of any victories Ukraine may have on the battlefield.

    “It also, as a secondary objective, I suspect diverts military resources onto the home front,” he said.

    “If you look at the disruption of transport, infrastructure, energy… it’s going to make [fighting the war] that little bit more difficult.”

    But Joshi also said that Russia had already been running short of missiles, and appeared to have used up some 80-100 on Monday.

    “They have to save some, of course, in case the war escalates, in case they have to fight Nato, fight the West,” he said.

    “So I don’t think Russia can keep up this pace of strikes in perpetuity, and they’ll have to resort to weapons that are not suited to [these kinds of attacks].”

     

  • Minister says Ukraine is facing ‘new wave of aggression’

    Emine Dzhaparova, the first deputy minister of foreign affairs of Ukraine says, Russia is waging a “new wave of aggression” against Ukraine.

    Ms. Dzhaparova, who is presently in Kyiv, told Sky News that the city’s residents heard explosions early in the morning, which gave her morning a “horrible way.”

    “I jumped out of my window and started filming,” she said.

    “The first three missiles that came to the city centre, and I’ve been staying in the city centre, I could feel. And then I managed to run downstairs just to hide myself and my dog.”

    Asked if the last couple of days in the country had felt like an escalation in the war, Ms Dzhaparova said it was a “new wave of aggression“.

    “The core nature of aggression has not been changed. It’s the same,” she added.

     

  • Zelenskyy, Liz Truss: Ukraine expresses hope in British government’s support

    Ukraine “counts on Britain’s leadership”, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said following a call with Prime Minister Liz Truss.

    Ms Truss and Mr Zelenskyy spoke today following the wave of attacks which left at least 11 dead and 64 injured.

    The missile and drone barrage was launched by Moscow in retaliation for the attack on a bridge linking Russia with Crimea.

    The Russian attacks prompted an international outcry, with Ms Truss and fellow leaders of G7 nations expected to hold crisis talks on Tuesday.

    Following the call with Mr Zelenskyy, a spokesperson for Ms Truss said the prime minister had stressed that the UK stood “wholeheartedly” behind the Ukrainian leader.

     

     

     

  • Missile strikes: Ukraine announces cut of power supply to EU

    The thermal generation and electrical substations were struck by today’s missile strikes, according to the Ukrainian ministry of energy, which means that starting tomorrow, it will no longer be able to supply electricity to the European Union.

    The interruption will help Ukraine stabilise its own energy system, the ministry said in a statement on its website.

    Ukraine started exporting power to the European Union on 1 July. At the time, President Volodymir Zelensky said the launching of power transmissions was the start of a process that could help Europe reduce its dependence on Russian hydrocarbons, Reuters reported then.