A health official is being investigated for vaccinating 30 students with a single syringe in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh.
The incident took place in a school in the Sagar district where children were being given Covid-19 vaccines.
India‘s health ministry mandates a “one needle, one syringe, only one-time” protocol for Covid-19 vaccines.
India has administered over 2.03bn Covid-19 vaccines so far.
Single-use disposable syringes are widely used in India to avoid the spread of deadly diseases like HIV. However, there have been multiple incidents in the past where a single syringe has been reused in hospitals due to a shortage of equipment.
Jitendra Rai, who was vaccinating the children, told the media that he was only given one syringe by the health department and he was just following orders.
Parents who had accompanied their children spotted the issue and reported it to the school authorities.
When state officials reached the school, Mr. Rai was missing the school and his phone was turned off.
The state’s health department has registered a case of negligence against him. Meanwhile, it has also started an inquiry against the official responsible for dispatching equipment for the vaccination drive.
A spokesperson from the opposition Congress party has demanded that the state’s health minister should resign over the incident.
India is the second country after China to have crossed the two-billion Covid vaccines mark. In July, the government announced a 75-day free Covid booster dose program for all adults to mark India’s 75th independence anniversary.
According to India’s health ministry, 98% of adults have received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine, while 90% have been fully vaccinated.
On Wednesday, the country reported 18,313 daily cases for the past 24 hours and 57 Covid-related deaths.
Laura Castle was found guilty in May of killing the toddler at her home in January 2021, five months after he was placed with her family. The “critical information” disclosed by Laura Castle was not shared with her GP and was then not available to the adoption panel that went on to approve her, a review found.
Castle was jailed in May for a minimum of 18 years for killing one-year-old Leiland-James Corkill at her home in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, in January 2021.
The little boy had been placed with her and her husband Scott, 35, less than five months before his death from catastrophic head injuries.
The director of children’s services in Cumbria has admitted there was a failure to share information about Castle
The 38-year-old, who already had a birth child, was having “talking therapy” with NHS-commissioned service First Step when she applied in January 2019 to be an adoptive parent, a child safeguarding practice review into the case has revealed.
Information held by the First Step program showed she had issues with “low mood, anxiety and anger management”.
The review added: “This included her self-report that she was often irritable and short-tempered, including shouting too much at her young child.
“She spoke about feeling judged by other parents and that she avoided company. She also reported drinking six bottles of wine a week which impacted on her motivation and mood, although she denied it had an impact on her parenting.”
The review said Castle failed to mention those details in the adoption application process and no safeguarding concerns were raised by First Step, which was not aware the couple had applied to adopt.
The review added the service told her GP of its involvement with Castle between December 2018 and April 2019 but did not include any details on what was discussed with her.
It has recommended a series of changes to prevent a repeat of his death.
Image:Laura Castle (right) during a police interview
Among the recommendations is for all health information for adopters and children in the family to be updated and reconsidered at key points in the case and to not rely on self-reporting.
Cumbria County Council had been aware of “bonding issues” between Castle and Leiland-James during the adoption process but he died before a planned review could take place.
Castle had assured social workers that there was no “physical chastisement” of the child, even as she detailed hitting him in a text message to her husband.
A report of the Child Safeguarding Practice Review found Castle had deliberately misled social workers but said they should not rely on “self-reported information” and that rigorous checking and challenge of information provided is vitally important.
The police investigation into Leiland-James’s death uncovered information about Castle’s mental health, alcohol use and financial situation that was either not known or shared.
She also hid her “negative views” of the youngster from officials.
The couple had been approved for adoption after an eight-month assessment and no concerns were raised about their suitability.
Leiland-James had been taken into care 48 hours after he was born.
His birth mother Laura Corkill has described Castle as a “monster” and questioned why he was not allowed to remain with his birth family.
Her mother Yvonne called for resignations among those who dealt with his adoption.
She told Sky News: “It would have been better if he had stayed with his mum. He would still be here now. He had his whole life ahead of him. I just hope no other child had to go through this.”
John Readman, Cumbria County Council’s executive director for people, confirmed that “relevant information at Laura Castle was not shared between agencies”.
He said: “Laura Castle did tell social workers she was struggling to bond with Leiland-James. This is not unusual in adoptions.
“The report highlights that more should’ve been put in place to support the family.
“We acknowledge this and have since made changes to how we work.”
The report makes a series of local and national recommendations to improve adoption practices.
When agencies find there are issues with prospective adopters, it says, they need to respond quickly.
Following Leiland-James’s death, the other child who lived in the home had given police a clear account of what had been happening.
Ukrainians held by Russian forces are being sent “en masse” to a network of prisons and filtration camps, according to Poland’s special service.Â
It claims that in these camps, people are “verified” and checked for whether they have combat experience, whether they are officials of the Ukrainian administration, and what their attitudes are towards Russia.
Those who do not raise objections are deported to Russia – and some are then “forcibly conscripted” into the Russian army and sent to the front in Ukraine, the special service said.
People who do not comply are “forced to testify or make statements against Ukraine, or they are brought to court as part of propaganda”, it added.
The Polish special service also said it had geolocated some of the Russian prisons and filtration camps.
Up until 2012, engine ground runs had been carried out following MCD maintenance.
The report noted those post-maintenance engine ground runs were reintroduced following the identification of the cause of the crash.
Image caption,
A discarded helmet at the scene of the crash near St Martin
Air Marshal Steve Shell, director general of the DSA, also said in conclusion, there were “a number of aggravating factors including the route flown and the communication flow between the aircrew and Air Traffic Control that affected the final outcome”.
He said: “These should be considered in context whilst acknowledging the professionalism of the aircrew in what was an undoubtedly stressful and dynamic situation.”
He added that the “immediate actions of the post-crash management team and emergency personnel were commendable”.
Regarding the faults identified he said: “I am assured that the recommendations contained within this report have or will be actioned to reduce the likelihood of the future reoccurrence in the Hawk and other fleets.”
The West risks entering a nuclear war because it is not talking enough to Russia and China, the UK’s national security adviser has said.
Sir Stephen Lovegrove said rival powers understood each other better during the Cold War, and that a lack of dialogue today made miscalculations more likely.
“In the obligatory Churchill quotation, we want jaw-jaw, not war-war,” he said.
He added that we were in a “new age of proliferation” in which dangerous weapons were more widely available.
It came ahead of a phone call between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the first call between the two leaders since March.
They are expected to discuss ongoing tensions over Taiwan and Trump-era tariffs on Chinese imports.
Sir Stephen was delivering a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC, focusing on the implications of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and what he called a “much broader contest unfolding over the successor to the post-Cold War international order”.
He said that, throughout the decades of the Cold War, the Western powers benefitted from negotiations that “improved our understanding of Soviet doctrine and capabilities – and vice versa”.
“This gave us both a higher level of confidence that we would not miscalculate our way into nuclear war,” he said.
“Today, we do not have the same foundations as others who may threaten us in the future – particularly China.
“Trust and transparency built through dialogue should also mean that we can be more active in calling out non-compliance and misbehaviors where we see them.”
Sir Stephen continued that the risk of an “uncontrolled conflict” was being heightened by Russia’s repeated violations of its treaty commitments as well as the pace of China’s expansion of its nuclear arsenal and its apparent “disdain” for arms control agreements.
He also spoke of the danger associated with the rapid advance of technology and the number of states now developing arms such as land-attack cruise missiles.
He said there was “no immediate prospect of all of the major powers coming together to establish new agreements”, so the Nato powers could focus on “work of strategic risk reduction”.
“We should take early action to renew and strengthen confidence-building measures to… reduce, or even eliminate the causes of mistrust, fear, tensions and hostilities,” he said.
“[Such measures] help one side interpret correctly the actions of the other in a pre-crisis situation through an exchange of reliable and uninterrupted information on each other’s intentions.
“Confidence and trust grow when states are open about their military capacities and plans.”
The threat of nuclear war hung over the Cold War. At times in the early 1960s and early 1980s there were risks it might flare hot.
But overall, structures were put in place – like arms control negotiations and hotlines – for the two sides to talk.
But many of those same guard-rails are not around now, as tensions grow between the West, Russia and China.
New technologies like cyber-attacks could quickly escalate a conflict in unpredictable ways, while new types of delivery systems may tempt countries to use nuclear weapons in different ways.
And hanging over all of this is the concern that more countries are seeking to develop their own weapons.
Altogether, that leads to the fear that this emerging and unstable world could be more dangerous than that of the past.
The German city of Hanover has turned off the heating and switched to cold showers in all public buildings because of the Russian gas crisis.
It’s the first big city to turn off the hot water after Russia dramatically reduced Germany‘s gas supply.
Germans have been told to expect sweeping gas reduction measures and extra charges on their energy bills.
And the EU has agreed to lower the demand for Russian gas this winter by 15%.
In a bid to save energy, Germany’s northern city of Hanover has decided hot water will no longer be available for hand washing in public buildings, or in showers at swimming pools, sports halls, and gyms.
Public fountains are also being switched off to save energy, and there will be no night-time lights on major buildings such as the town hall and museums.
Mayor Belit Onay said the goal was to reduce the city’s energy consumption by 15% in reaction to an “imminent gas shortage” which posed a significant challenge for big cities.
The rules apply to heating, too. Public buildings will not have any heating from April to the end of September each year, with room temperatures limited to a maximum of 20C for the rest of the year – with some exemptions.
The city is also banning portable air conditioners, heaters, and radiators.
The policy is in line with announcements from Berlin last week, as Germany races to build up its reserves ahead of the winter. Other cities - such as Augsburg in Bavaria – have already introduced their own measures such as turning off public fountains.
The 15% reduction target in Hanover matches the EU-wide goal to reduce reliance on Russian gas.
And on Thursday, Germany confirmed that a planned gas surcharge on customers could be much higher than previously expected, to try to ensure energy companies do not go bankrupt in the coming months. “We can’t say yet how much gas will cost in November, but the bitter news is it’s definitely a few hundred euros per household,” said Economy Minister Robert Habeck.
Some reports said the levy could cost families an extra €500 (£420) a year.
Germany has long relied on Russian gas for its energy needs but has recently accused Russia of restricting the flow in retaliation for EU sanctions over the war in Ukraine – something Russia denies.
Russian gas supplies now account for about a quarter of the nation’s needs, compared with more than half before the war.
Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska has told the BBC that the whole of the country is “under constant stress”.
Her comments come hours after a number of rocket attacks were reported in the country, including in the Kyiv region.
“We have been under constant stress from 24 February and that does not relent,” she said.
Ms. Zelenska says the government is implementing support to help Ukrainians get help for their mental health and is being assisted by the WHO.
“We need expert help and that’s why we’ve approached the WHO who are helping us with psychological help.”
Ms. Zelenska, who is known for being quite private, also discussed her recent appearance in Vogue. She said it was a massive opportunity to speak about Ukraine.
“Millions read Vogue and speaking to them directly was my duty. And that was an interesting experience,” she said.
“In peaceful life, I’m not used to the attention. Everyone is fighting on a front line and it’s work and I have to do that work,” she added.
Last week Ms. Zelenska hosted a First Lady summit, attended by the spouses of a number of world leaders. During the meeting, they discussed the Ukraine war and the assistance needed.
“First ladies have no opportunities to influence politics but we have an emotional influence. We understand each other, we feel each other,” she said.
Ms. Zelenska also said that the need for the country to keep working and for people to keep going is very important.
“The country has to survive, the country has to preserve some form of normality. Even soldiers are saying to their friends to go and have a coffee, see a film, enjoy the peace that you have. We are here on the front line to give that peace for you.
“It’s a very delicate balance. So if someone might say Kyiv is a completely peaceful city, that would be an illusion. We had several rocket attacks but the country has to keep working. Businesses have to keep working. The country is working and it shouldn’t stop. There is no life without development – we have to keep developing.”
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorrieshas said Boris Johnson was “removed by a coup” and that his ousting by Tory MPs was a “huge mistake”.
Ms. Dorries told Sky News’s Kay Burley: “It is not a secret that things happened that shouldn’t have happened, that Boris Johnson was removed via a coup.”
She added that she was “very disappointed” and thought it was a “huge mistake” for Mr. Johnson to be ousted as prime minister.
Ms. Dorries , who is supporting Liz Truss, told BBCRadio 4 that leadership contestant Rishi Sunak led the “ruthless coup”.
But other Conservative MPs disagreed with her use of the word “coup”, with Victoria Atkins telling Sky News: “I wouldn’t use language like that.
“I know Nadine has an exuberant range of language.”
And veteran Tory Sir Roger Gale tweeted: “Loyalty is a fine thing Nadine Dorries but Mr. Johnson was not removed by ‘a coup’.
“He was forced to resign when too many of his ministers and backbenchers like myself made it plain that we were no longer prepared to tolerate his casual relationship with the truth.”
North Dorset MP Simon Hoare said he thinks “coup” should be “reserved for the actions of military juntas, dictators, and the like”.
He added: “The democratic workings of a party and parliament are not coups, and it’s plain stupid to even hint otherwise. As I’ve said before: it was, unfortunately, suicide, not homicide.”
Ms. Dorries also said Mr. Johnson is not supporting a campaign to get his name put on the leadership ballot going out to Tory members.
She said Mr. Johnson told her “tell them to stop, it’s not right”.
The culture secretary added that she is supporting Ms. Truss because she has “both integrity and loyalty and is able to pick up the baton” and “hit the ground running” as PM.
Ms. Truss and Mr. Sunak are going head-to-head in front of Tory members for the first time today as an intense summer of hustings begins.
A new YouGov poll of swing voters suggests Mr. Sunak has a significant edge over his rival, although both candidates suffer from “considerable” unpopularity with the public as a whole.
Tax and spending are likely to be key points of contention, with identity politics, immigration, Brexit, climate change, the NHS, and defense highly likely to be up for debate.
Mr. Sunak will seek to regain his footing after he was accused of U-turning after he pledged to temporarily slash VAT on energy bills despite accusing Ms. Truss’s tax-cutting plans of being “comforting fairy tales”.
Ms. Truss told members in Leeds, ahead of the hustings, that the taxes she is cutting “are affordable within our budget”.
“What I believe is we need to keep taxes low to attract investment into industries,” she said.
“We need to turbocharge investment into the North of England, bringing more businesses and opportunities.
“The best way to do that is to keep taxes low and attract that investment into our great towns and cities, and that’s what I’m focused on.”
She also said she is “completely committed” to her plan for Northern Powerhouse Rail and would fix the Treasury’s funding formula to make sure the north of England gets a “fairer share” of resources.
Mr. Sunak released a video clip showing him campaigning in Hertfordshire, Cambridge shire, and Suffolk on Wednesday.
He told his followers: “We have been talking about everything on people’s minds, tackling the cost of living, how we realize the benefits of Brexit.”
The former chancellor last night announced plans to make “downblousing” a criminal offence as part of a major crackdown on sex offenders.
And Ms. Truss also promised to introduce a standalone offence to criminalize street harassment and a national domestic abuse register.
UK’s largest container port set to come to a ‘standstill’ due to strikes after Unite backs action
The prospect of disruption at the port responsible for handling almost half of the country’s container traffic will send shivers down the supply chain, risking a repeat of the damaging cargo backlogs witnessed last year.
A union has revealed plans for a strike next month that it says will bring operations at the UK‘s largest container port to a “standstill”.
Unite made the threat while revealing the results of a ballot among its members at Felixstowe, ultimately employed by international port operator CK Hutchison.
The union said workers backed industrial action over pay by 92% on an 81% turnout.
“The dispute is a result of the Felixstowe Dock and Railway Company offering a pay increase of just 5% to its workers,” Unite said.
“This is an effective pay cut, with the real (RPI) rate of inflation currently standing at 11.9%.
“Last year, the workforce received a below inflation pay increase of 1.4%”.
The proposed action, which Unite expected would begin next month without substantial progress in resolving the dispute, is part of a wider union campaign for wage settlements to protect their members from the cost of living crisis.
It has already included rail and Tube strikes – with the prospect of more travel disruption to come
Rail strikes go ahead
Felixstowe was yet to comment, but the prospect of halts to operations would have devastating effects for the UK supply chain, as it handles almost half the country’s container traffic.
It is also no stranger to disruption, as backlogs set in ahead of Christmas last year because of a shortage of HGV drivers.
Hong-Kong-based CK Hutchison is one of the world’s leading container terminal and port service operators.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The bottom line is this is an extremely wealthy company that can fully afford to give its workers a pay rise.
“Instead, it chose to give bonanza pay-outs to shareholders touching £100m.
“Unite is focused on defending the jobs, pay, and conditions of its members, and we will be giving 100% support to our members at Felixstowe.
“Workers should not be paying the price for the pandemic with a pay cut.
“Unite has undertaken 360 disputes in a matter of months, and we will do all in our power to defend workers.”
No specific dates for the proposed action have been announced.
A USDemocratic senator who has proved a political thorn in the White House’s side has stunned Washington by announcing sudden support for President Joe Biden’s top agenda item.
Joe Manchin says he now backs a bill to raise corporate taxes, fight climate change, and lower medical costs.
The West Virginians previously objected to the proposal, citing fears more spending could worsen inflation.
Passage of the bill would be a major legislative victory for Mr. Biden.
Salvaging a key plank of his domestic agenda could also grant a much-needed electoral boost for his fellow Democrats, who are battling to retain control of Congress as midterm elections loom in November.
“If enacted, this legislation will be historic,” said the president.
It is not clear what prompted the senator’s dramatic reversal to support the new bill. He is something of a political anomaly, representing a conservative state that voted overwhelmingly for former President Donald Trump.
Earlier this week, the 74-year-old tested positive for Covid. He is fully vaccinated and wrote on Twitter that he was experiencing mild symptoms.
In a joint statement on Wednesday evening with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, Mr. Manchin provided a few specifics about his change in position on the bill which:
Is said to be much more modest than the $3.5tn (£2.9tn) version Democrats originally put forward
Would arguably help the US lower its carbon emissions by about 40% by the year 2030
Would devote $369bn to climate policies such as tax credits for solar panels, wind turbines, and electric vehicles, and to tackling the impact of pollution on low-income communities.
“By a wide margin, this legislation will be the greatest pro-climate legislation that has ever been passed by Congress,” Mr. Schumer said.
Mr. Manchin and Mr. Schumer also maintained the measure would pay for itself by raising $739bn (£608bn) over the decade through hiking the corporate minimum tax on big companies to 15%, beefing up Internal Revenue Service tax enforcement, and allowing the government to negotiate prescription drug prices.
President Biden needs the support of all 50 Democratic senators, along with Vice President Kamala Harris’s tiebreaking vote, to get the bill through the Senate and send it to the House of Representatives – where Democrats hold a razor-thin majority.
If passed, the legislation would mark a major breakthrough for the president, enshrining a number of his major policy goals into law and offering to salvage a domestic economic agenda that has in recent months stalled under failed negotiations.
The bill still amounts to significantly less than what the White House had hoped to achieve in its original $1.9tn Build Back Better agenda – an ambitious plan to comprehensively rewrite the US’s health, education, climate, and tax laws.
That earlier plan, which for months has floundered in the Senate with an uncertain future, is now “dead”, Mr. Manchin said on Wednesday.
Barely a fortnight ago, the senator exasperated the White Houseby saying he could only back the portions of the proposal relating to pharmaceutical prices and healthcare subsidies.
“I have worked diligently to get input from all sides,” Mr. Manchin said on Wednesday evening.
He had previously expressed concern that policies boosting the development of clean energy without also increasing fossil fuel production could hurt the US by making it more dependent on foreign imports.
Oil and gas companies employ tens of thousands of people in West Virginia and Mr. Manchin received $875,000 (£718,000) in campaign donations from the industry over the past five years.
Mr. Schumer hopes to pass the bill with 51 votes through a budgetary maneuver that would allow him to circumvent rules requiring support from 60 out of 100 senators. If every Democrat backs the measure in the evenly split chamber, it would go through.
Mr. Schumer said the Senate would take the bill up next week. The House of Representatives could then take it up later in August.
However, Senator Kyrsten Sinema, a moderate Arizona Democrat who has in the past acted as a roadblock to President Biden’s agenda, could still scupper the plan. She declined to comment on news of the agreement on Wednesday night.
In April, US media reported that Ms. Sinema had told Arizona business leaders she remained “opposed to raising the corporate minimum tax rate”.
Republicans, who have previously tried to woo Mr. Manchin to join their party, slammed him.
“I can’t believe that Senator Manchin is agreeing to a massive tax increase in the name of climate change when our economy is in a recession,” Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said.
Ahead of the Glasgow climate conference last year, Mr. Biden promised the US would provide $11.4 billion (£9.35 billion) a year in climate finance by 2024 – to help developing countries tackle and prepare for climate change.
But in March he managed to secure just $1 billion of that from Congress – only a third more than the Trump-era spending.
This rare pink diamond, weighing 34 grams, is thought to be the largest discovered in the last 300 years.
The 170-carat stone has been named the “Lulo Rose”, after the mine in Angola where it was found.
It is believed to be the largest pink diamond mined since the 185-carat Daria-i-Noor, which was cut from a larger stone and is now among the Iranian national jewels.
The Lulo Rose is a type 2a diamond, meaning it has few or no impurities.
“This record and spectacular pink diamond recovered from Lulo continues to showcase Angola as an important player on the world stage,” said Diamantino Azevedo, Angola’s minister of mineral resources.
It is the fifth largest diamond recovered from the Lulo mine – a joint venture between Australia’s Lucapa Diamond Company and the Angolan government.
Similar diamonds have been bought for tens of millions of dollars in the past, with one – known as Pink Star – selling at a Hong Kong auction for $71.2m (£59m) in 2017.
But it’s impossible to speculate on how much the Lulo Rose will fetch until it’s cut, said Joanna Hardy, an independent fine jewelry specialist
Pink diamonds are extremely rare – but the same physical attributes that make the stones scarce also make them very tough, and not easy to work into shapes.
Hardy said the stone is unlikely to end up in public view – or even brought to auction – as retailers have clients waiting to snap up such a rare find.
The largest known pink diamond is the Daria-i-Noor, discovered in India, which experts believe was cut from an even larger stone.
The largest rough diamond of any color ever recorded is the Cullinan diamond, found in South Africa in 1905.
Weighing 3,107 carats – more than half a kilogram – it was cut into 105 different stones.
The largest of these – the Cullinan I – is the biggest clear-cut diamond in the world and forms part of the UKCrown Jewels.
In our previous episode of the GhanaWeb Features dedicated to the wives and girlfriends of Ghanaian footballers, we profiled Marie-Claire Rupio, the wife of Christian Atsu who hails from Germany.
Today we put the spotlight on Mrs. Naa Shika Addy Amartey, the wife of Black Stars and Leicester City defender Daniel Amartey known to the media as ‘Efia Trimud3’.
Daniel Amartey born on December 21, 1994, is a Leicester City defender who has been at the King Power Stadium for the past six years and was part of the team that won the 2016-17 English Premier League.
The Black Stars defender is married to Naa Shika Addy and according to multiple reports, they have been together as husband and wife for the past six years.
Anyone can get monkeypox, but in the latest outbreak, the virus is predominantly spreading among gay and bisexual men. Officials noted Monday that most of the people affected reported some level of sexual activity.
That doesn’t mean the virus is sexually transmitted, but officials say it shows that prolonged skin-to-skin contact is one of the major ways monkeypox is now spreading.
As of now, the risk of monkeypox is low, according to the CDC, but public health experts say there are still things you can do to protect yourself, especially if you’re in the pool of higher-risk people.
That pool includes men who have sex with men, particularly those who have had multiple sexual partners in the past two weeks in an area with known monkeypox cases.
Symptoms usually start within three weeks of exposure to the monkeypox virus and last two to four weeks.
The virus typically triggers a rash with lesions that can be extremely painful. The pain may even be enough to push some people to go to the hospital, but that seems to be rare.
The rash often starts on the face and spreads to other parts of the body, the CDC says. Some people will also have a fever at first.
A person with monkeypox can give the virus to others at any point until their rash has healed, the scabs have fallen off and they have a fresh layer of skin on the affected area.
The virus transmits primarily through close, skin-on-skin physical contact, but it can also spread when you touch objects like sheets or towels that may have been used by somebody with monkeypox, as well as through close face-to-face interactions like kissing.
The latest outbreak looks a little different, according to Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, director of the CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention.
Monkeypox isn’t considered a sexually transmitted disease, but most people who have gotten it in the US recently report some level of sexual activity, he said Monday.
That can include penetrative encounters as well as oral sex.
“Some people have had the rash all over their body or different parts of their body, but there are many who are presenting with the genital and anal lesions as their first indication of illness,” Daskalakis said. “That sort of speaks for that close prolonged contact.”
The virus may theoretically be transmitted through respiratory droplets, he said, but the CDC is not seeing that happen in this outbreak.
“I can’t prove how efficient it is. It doesn’t seem to be very efficient. So it’s more contact with skin to skin, more than face-to-face contact”.
“But in the harm reduction discussion, it’s really important to say what we know and don’t know,” Daskalakis said. “It’s just important for folks to know that it’s not impossible to transmit monkeypox that way so they can really adjust behavior as needed.”
Parties vs. bars
Scientists are still studying how monkeypox is spreading in this outbreak, but they say people don’t seem to be getting sick after, say, walking past someone or giving them a hug and brushing past a lesion on their skin.
“If it’s a hug that doesn’t necessarily include a shirt, there’s a theoretical risk of transmission there, but that’s not what we’re hearing in terms of what’s happening with our cases, so it’s lower risk. I can’t say zero risk,” Daskalakis said.
Rather, it’s longer contact that seems to be responsible for most cases now. “If you were to ask me how long ‘long’ is, I can’t answer that question, but it seems as if it’s possible that this is not being transmitted by a light brush,” Daskalaskis said.
A circuit party, a large dance party that can attract thousands of men and lasts through a night or weekend, could be one way the virus spreads.
Dancing shirtless at a party that has good ventilation, without interacting with someone who has visible lesions, is probably low-risk. If there’s an after-party that leads to sex, that’s much riskier.
In enclosed spaces such as back rooms, saunas, sex clubs, or at sex parties where there’s often anonymous contact with multiple partners, there may be a higher likelihood of spreading monkeypox, the CDC says.
A typical gay bar where people go to hang out is different.
“Socializing is a part of what [LGBTQ people] do. So I don’t think that it’s something that we stop. It’s just sort of important to have awareness of how monkeypox transmits and you’re aware of your own risk and how to mitigate that risk,” Daskalakis said.
How to protect yourself
Researchers are also investigating whether the virus can be spread by someone who has no symptoms, or through semen, vaginal fluids and fecal matter, according to the CDC.
The CDC says that wearing a condom may help, but alone, it probably will not protect against the spread of monkeypox.
However, the agency still emphasizes that condoms can prevent other sexually transmitted infections.
There is a vaccine to protect against monkeypox, but demand for it far outstrips supply.
One thing people can do to protect themselves until the supply improves is to avoid contact with those who are clearly infected, especially close face-to-face contact like kissing.
“In line with our harm reduction guidance, thinking about reducing your number of partners, potentially trying to avoid anonymous contacts ends up being smart from the perspective of decreasing the risk of exposure,” Daskalakis said.
The CDC says people might want to reduce skin contact as much as possible by having sex with clothes on or after covering areas where the rash is present.
If you choose to have sex with someone who has monkeypox or who might have been exposed to it, talk about the virus ahead of time.
Officials also say to keep in mind that their advice could change as scientists learn more.
It may change if monkeypox starts to spread through other contacts, such as when people live closely together in places like homeless shelters or when people play full-contact sports.
“I think the most important thing is that it’s good to have awareness and some level of worry about some of these things, but it’s not paralysis,” Daskalakis said. “Realistically speaking, skin-on-skin contact of any variety theoretically can transmit monkeypox, but what we’re seeing is, you kind of have to work at it a bit.”
Two months after the United States’ first monkeypox case was confirmed, the total has risen to about 2,900. But details about those cases and other epidemiological data aren’t spreading nearly as quickly as the virus itself, leaving holes in the response.
“It’s a new and really fast-moving outbreak, and I think there have been some challenges around having a smooth and efficient way for the data to be sent from jurisdictions” to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Janet Hamilton, executive director of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists.
The CDC only recently shared a first public look at monkeypox case demographics, which showed that the vast majority of cases have been among men who have sex with men, with a median age of 36.
But the agency has detailed information on only about half of the reported cases, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said.
Monkeypox is now a reportable disease, which means public health departments work with local health care providers to collect information about people who are diagnosed and how they became ill.
But it is still completely voluntary for states to share data on monkeypox with the CDC.
CNN reached out to the health departments of all 50 states; 29 responded, and they all said they are committed to sharing case data with the CDC.
Some, however, said that they are collecting more information than they share.
As the US battles another public health challenge amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, Walensky said she is “struck” by “how little authority we at CDC have to receive the data.”
“We very much want to get as much information and informed decisions out to the American public as possible. And yet again, like we were for Covid, we are again really challenged by the fact that we at the agency have no authority to receive those data. We’re working on that right now,” she said in a conversation with The Washington Post on Friday.
National security officials are quietly working to convince House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of the risks her potential trip to Taiwan could pose during a highly sensitive moment between the self-governing island and China.
Sources familiar with the speaker’s plans say she is planning to visit in the coming weeks as part of a broader trip to Asia and has invited both Democrats and Republicans to accompany her. If she goes, she would be the first House speaker to visit in a quarter century.
The possible trip is highlighting the concerns within President Joe Biden’s administration over China’s designs on Taiwan as Beijing has stepped up its rhetoric and aggressive actions toward the island in recent months, including sending warplanes into Taiwan’s self-declared air defense identification zone several times.
US officials have expressed concern that those moves could be precursors to even more aggressive steps by China in the coming months meant to assert its authority over the island.
The war in Ukraine has only intensified those worries, as Biden and other top officials nervously watch to see what lessons China may be taking from the Western response to Russia’s aggression.
Meanwhile, China’s President Xi Jinping — with whom Biden expects to speak this week — is believed to be laying the groundwork for an unprecedented third term as president in the fall, contributing to the tense geopolitics in the region. Biden’s call with Xi was in the works before Pelosi’s potential visit to Taiwan became public, officials noted.
Administration officials have shared their concerns not only about Pelosi’s security during the trip, but also worries about how China may respond to such a high-profile visit.
With Chinarecently reporting its worst economic performance in two years, Xi finds himself in a politically sensitive place ahead of an important meeting regarding extending his reign and could use a political win, multiple officials told CNN.
Two Saudi sisters found dead in their Sydney apartment in “unusual” circumstances last month have been identified by police, as authorities appealed for more information.
Police discovered the bodies of Asra Abdullah Alsehli, 24, and Amaal Abdullah Alsehli, 23, on June 7, following a concern for welfare report, according to a statement on Wednesday from New South Wales Police.
“Despite extensive inquiries, detectives have been unable to ascertain how the women died,” the statement said. “However, it is believed the women had been deceased for some time prior to being located.”
The sisters arrived in Australia from Saudi Arabia in 2017, NSW Police confirmed to CNN. “The circumstances of their death were unusual because they have no signs of injury,” police said.
NSW Police detective inspector Claudia Allcroft said any information from the public could hold the key to solving the investigation.
“Detectives are interested in speaking with anyone who may have seen or who may have information about the women’s movements in the days and weeks prior to their deaths — which we believe occurred in early May,” Allcroft said in the NSW Police statement.
In a statement posted on Twitter, the Saudi Consulate in Sydney said it was in contact with Australian authorities about the case. “The Consulate also expresses its sincere condolences to the family of the deceased,” it said.
CNN has reached out to the Saudi Embassy in Canberra for comment.
Former acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller told the House select committee investigating the Capitol Hill insurrection that former President Donald Trump never gave him a formal order to have 10,000 troops ready to be deployed to the Capitol on January 6, 2021, according to a new video of Miller’s deposition was released by the committee.
“I was never given any direction or order or knew of any plans of that nature,” Miller said in the video.
Miller later said in the video definitively, “There was no direct, there was no order from the President.”
“We obviously had plans for activating more folks, but that was not anything more than contingency planning,” Miller added. “There was no official message traffic or anything of that nature.”
Trump has previously said that he requested National Guard troops be ready for January 6. He released a statement on June 9 that he “suggested & offered” up to 20,000 National Guard troops be deployed to Washington, DC, ahead of January 6 claiming it was because he felt “that the crowd was going to be very large.”
The committee released Miller’s testimony after already revealing that Trump did not make calls to military personnel or law enforcement to intervene as the Capitol attack was unfolding. General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the committee that he never received a call from Trump as the attack was unfolding.
Gas prices have soared after Russia cut gas supplies to Germany and other central European countries after threatening to earlier this week. Further
European gas prices rose 9%, trading close to their earlier all-time high after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Critics accuse the Russian government of using gas as a political weapon.
Russia has been cutting flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany, with it now operating at less than a fifth of its normal capacity.
Germany imports 55% of its gas from Russia and most of it comes through Nord Stream 1 – with the rest coming from land-based pipelines.
Russian energy firm Gazprom has sought to justify the latest cut by saying it was needed to allow maintenance work on a turbine.
The German government, however, said there was no technical reason for it to limit the supply.
Ukraine has accused Moscow of waging a “gas war” against Europe and cutting supplies to inflict “terror” on people.
The latest reduction in flows puts pressure on EU countries to reduce their dependence on Russian gaseven further, and will likely make it more difficult for them to replenish their gas supplies ahead of winter.
Since the invasion of Ukraine European leaders has held talks over how to reduce its dependence on Russian fossil fuels.
On Tuesday, theEuropean Unionagreed to cut gas use in case Russia halts supplies but some countries will have exemptions to avoid rationing.
EU members have now agreed to voluntarily reduce 15% of gas use between August and March.
However, the deal was watered down after previously not having exemptions.
The EU has said its aim of the deal is to make savings and store gas ahead of winter, warning that Russia is “continuously using energy supplies as a weapon”.
The voluntary agreement would become mandatory if supplies reach crisis levels.
The EU agreed in May to ban all Russian oil imports which come in by sea by the end of this year, but a deal over gas bans has taken longer.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February the price of wholesale gas has already soared, with a knock-on impact on consumer energy bills across the globe.
The Kremlin blames the price hike on Western sanctions, insisting it is a reliable energy partner and not responsible for the recent disruption to gas supplies.
While the UK would not be directly impacted by gas supply disruption, as it imports less than 5% of its gas from Russia, it would be affected by prices rising in the global markets as demand in Europe increases.
UK gas prices rose 7% on Wednesday, almost six times higher than a year ago, but still 20% below the peak seen in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
UK energy bills increased by an unprecedented £700 in April, and are expected to rise again to £3,244 a year for a typical household in October.
Gas prices have soared after Russia further cut gas supplies to Germany and other central European countries after threatening to earlier this week.
European gas prices rose 9%, trading close to their earlier all-time high after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Critics accuse the Russian government of using gas as a political weapon.
Russia has been cutting flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany, with it now operating at less than a fifth of its normal capacity.
Germany imports 55% of its gas from Russia and most of it comes through Nord Stream 1Â – with the rest coming from land-based pipelines.
Russian energy firm Gazprom has sought to justify the latest cut by saying it was needed to allow maintenance work on a turbine.
The German government, however, said there was no technical reason for it to limit the supply.
Ukraine has accused Moscow of waging a “gas war” against Europe and cutting supplies to inflict “terror” on people.
The latest reduction in flows puts pressure on EU countries to reduce their dependence on Russian gas even further, and will likely make it more difficult for them to replenish their gas supplies ahead of winter.
Since the invasion of Ukraine European leaders has held talks over how to reduce its dependence on Russian fossil fuels
On Tuesday, the European Union agreed to cut gas use in case Russia halts supplies but some countries will have exemptions to avoid rationing.
EU members have now agreed to voluntarily reduce 15% of gas use between August and March.
However, the deal was watered down after previously not having exemptions.
The EU has said its aim of the deal is to make savings and store gas ahead of winter, warning that Russia is “continuously using energy supplies as a weapon”.
The voluntary agreement would become mandatory if supplies reach crisis levels.
The EU agreed in May to ban all Russian oil imports which come in by sea by the end of this year, but a deal over gas bans has taken longer.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February the price of wholesale gas has already soared, with a knock-on impact on consumer energy bills across the globe.
The Kremlin blames the price hike on Western sanctions, insisting it is a reliable energy partner and not responsible for the recent disruption to gas supplies.
While the UK would not be directly impacted by gas supply disruption, as it imports less than 5% of its gas from Russia, it would be affected by prices rising in the global markets as demand in Europe increases.
UK gas prices rose 7% on Wednesday, almost six times higher than a year ago, but still 20% below the peak seen in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
UK energy bills increased by an unprecedented £700 in April, and are expected to rise again to £3,244 a year for a typical household in October.
In June, the World Health Organizationrecommended that scientists continue to research all possible origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, including a lab leak. Two newly published studies take totally different approaches but arrive at the same conclusion: The Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, China, was most likely the epicenter for the coronavirus.
The studies were posted online as preprints in February but have now undergone peer review and were published Tuesday in the journal Science.
In one, scientists from around the world used mapping tools and social media reports to do spatial and environmental analysis. They suggest that although the “exact circumstances remain obscure,” the virus was probably present in live animals sold at the market in late 2019. The animals were held close together and could easily have exchanged germs. However, the study does not determine which animals may have been sick.
The researchers determined that the earliest Covid-19 cases were centered at the market among vendors who sold these live animals or people who shopped there. They believe that there were two separate viruses circulating in the animals that spilled over into people.
“All eight COVID-19 cases detected prior to 20 December were from the western side of the market, where mammal species were also sold,” the study says. The proximity to five stalls that sold life or recently butchered animals were predictive of human cases.
“The clustering is very, very specific,” study co-author Kristian Andersen, a professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at Scripps Research, said Tuesday.
The “extraordinary” pattern that emerged from mapping these cases was very clear, said another co-author, Michael Worobey, department head of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona.
The researchers mapped the earliest cases that had no connection to the market, Worobey noted, and those people lived or worked in close proximity to the market.
“This is an indication that the virus started spreading in people who worked at the market but then started that spread … into the surrounding local community as vendors went into local shops, infected people who worked in those shops,” Worobey said.
The other study takes a molecular approach and seems to determine when the first coronavirus infections crossed from animals to humans.
The earliest version of the coronavirus, this research shows, probably came in different forms that the scientists call A and B. The lineages were the result of at least two cross-species transmission events into humans.
The researchers suggest that the first animal-to-human transmission probably happened around November 18, 2019, and it came from lineage B. They found the lineage B type only in people who had a direct connection to the Huanan market.
The authors believe that lineage A was introduced into humans from an animal within weeks or even days of the infection from lineage B. Lineage A was found in samples from humans who lived or stayed close to the market.
“These findings indicate that it is unlikely that SARS-CoV-2 circulated widely in humans prior to November 2019 and define the narrow window between when SARS-CoV-2 first jumped into humans and when the first cases of COVID-19 were reported,” the study says. “As with other coronaviruses, SARS-CoV-2 emergence likely resulted from multiple zoonotic events.”
The likelihood that such a virus would emerge from two different events is low, acknowledged co-author Joel Wertheim, an associate adjunct professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego.
“Now, I realize it sounds like I just said that a once-in-a-generation event happened twice in short succession, and pandemics are indeed rare, but once all the conditions are in place — that is a zoonotic virus capable of both human infection and human transmission that is in close proximity to humans — the barriers to spillover have been lowered such that multiple introductions, we believe, should actually be expected,” Wertheim said.
Andersen said the studies don’t definitively disprove the lab leak theory but are extremely persuasive, so much so that he changed his mind about the virus’ origins.
“I was quite convinced of the lab leak myself until we dove into this very carefully and looked at it much closer,” Andersen said. “Based on data and analysis I’ve done over the last decade on many other viruses, I’ve convinced myself that actually, the data points to this particular market.”
Worobey said he too thought the lab leak was possible, but the epidemiological preponderance of cases linked to the market is “not a mirage.”
“It’s a real thing,” he said. “It’s just not plausible that this virus was introduced any other way than through the wildlife trade.”
To reduce the chances of future pandemics, the researchers hope they can determine exactly what animal may have first become infected and how.
Get CNN Health’s weekly newsletter.
“The raw ingredients for a zoonotic virus with pandemic potential are still lurking in the wild,” Wertheim said.
He believes the world needs to do a much better job doing surveillance and monitoring animals and other potential threats to human health.
Andersen said that although we can’t prevent outbreaks, a collaboration between the world’s scientists could be key to the difference between a disease with a small impact and one that kills millions.
“The big question we need to ask ourselves is — the next time this happens because it will happen — how do we go from detecting that outbreak early and preventing that outbreak so it doesn’t become a pandemic?”
Membersof India’s main opposition party have been detained during protests in the capital, Delhi.
MP Manish Tewariis among those who were detained on Wednesday.
They were protesting Congress party president Sonia Gandhi’s questioning by a government agency that investigates financial crimes.
Her son and party leader Rahul Gandhi was detained by the police while participating in the protests on Tuesday. He was later released.
Mrs. Gandhi and her son have been accused of misusing party funds to acquire valuable real estate through a convoluted financial deal.
The Gandhis deny the allegations.
They have accused the governing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using federal law enforcement agencies for political vendetta.
This was the third time Mrs. Gandhi was questioned in connection with the case.
Before he was detained on Tuesday, Mr. Gandhi and other party members sat on a road in Delhi, surrounded by dozens of policemen, protesting against issues ranging from inflation to the alleged targeting of opposition leaders.
After about an hour, he and several others were taken on a bus to a detention center.
Sonia Gandhi is being questioned in connection with a corruption case
In June, Rahul Gandhi was questioned for around 50 hours over five days by the ED in the same case. Mrs. Gandhi was initially called for questioning at the same time, but her summons had to be deferred after she tested positive for Covid-19.
The 75-year-old leader was admitted to the hospital and was discharged later in June.
This is the first time that Mrs. Gandhi is being questioned by a federal law enforcement agency. BJP leaders have denied accusations by Congress party leaders that they are misusing federal institutions to settle political scores.
The case against the Gandhis has been brought by Subramanian Swamy, a BJP politician who accuses them of misappropriating party funds to buy a firm that published the now-defunct National Herald newspaper.
What is the National Herald case about?
The National Herald newspaper was started in 1938 by Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, and Rahul Gandhi’s great grandfather.
The newspaper was published by Associated Journals Limited (AJL) which was founded in 1937 with 5,000 other freedom fighters as its shareholders.
In 1947, when India won independence, Nehru resigned as chairman of the board of the newspaper after taking over his role as PM.
But the Congress party continued to play a huge role in shaping the newspaper’s ideology. Some of India’s best-known journalists have worked at daily, which continued to be funded by the Congress party.
The newspaper ceased operations in 2008 for financial reasons. In 2016, it was relaunched as a digital publication and is now widely seen as a Congress mouthpiece.
Mr. Swamy has alleged that the Gandhis used Congress party funds and took over AJL to try to acquire real estate assets in several cities, including Delhi and Mumbai, which are worth more than 20bn rupees ($250 million; £208 million).
The party has denied this, describing it as “a strange case of alleged money laundering without any money”.
The prospect of a 99p McDonald’scheeseburger is no more as the fast food giant increases the price of several items on its menu amid the cost of living crisis.
The company is raising the price of its signature cheeseburger for the first time in over 14 years, taking it to £1.19.
It will also add between 10 and 20p to the several menu items it says are impacted the most by inflation.
The chain is one of many companies passing the effect of soaring costs of fuel and ingredients on to its customers, including the consumer goods giant behind the likes of Marmite and Magnums.
Breakfast meals, main meals, large coffees, and McNuggetshare boxes are among the menu items which could become up to 20p more expensive, a spokesperson for McDonald’s told Sky News.
A study of 39,000 video gamers has found “little to no evidence” time spent playing effects their well-being.
The average player would have to play for 10 hours more than usual per day to notice anydifference, it found. And the reasons for playing were far more likely to have an impact.
Well-being was measured by asking about life satisfaction and levels of emotions such as happiness, sadness, anger, and frustration.
The results contradict a 2020 study.
Conducted by the same department at the Oxford Internet Institute – but with a much smaller group of players – the 2020 study suggested that those who played for longer were happier.
“Common sense says if you have more free time to play video games, you’re probably a happier person,” said Prof Andrew Przybylski, who worked on both studies.
“But contrary to what we might think about games being good or bad for us, we found [in this latest study] pretty conclusive evidence that how much you play doesn’t really have any bearing whatsoever on changes in well-being.
“If players were playing because they wanted to, rather than because they felt compelled to, they had to, they tended to feel better.”
This time, technology companies, including Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo, provided six weeks’ data – with the players’ consent – from:
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Apex Legends
Eve Online
Forza Horizon 4
Gran Turismo Sport
The Crew 2
During that time, only one player dropped out of the study – published in the Royal Society Open Science journal.
Mental health
In China, children are allowed to play for only one hour per day, on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
But many gamers around the world say that their playing helps their mental health.
Mike Dailly, who created Lemmings and Grand Theft Auto, said the benefits were varied.
“I’m not sure it’s something that’s measurable with a single ‘well-being’ state,” he said.
“As is everything in life, it’s a balance.
“Spend 24 hours a day playing, that’s not good – but spend 24 hours a day eating or working out, that is also not good.”
Lightning strikes have killed 20 people across eight districts of the eastern Indian state of Bihar in just 24 hours.
More thunderstorm with lightning has been forecast in northern parts of the state for Wednesday and Thursday.
BiharChiefMinister Nitish Kumar has asked people to closely follow the advice of the state’s disaster management authority.
Hundreds die in India every year in lightning incidents during monsoon rains.
One of the reasons cited for the high number of deaths is the large number of people working outdoors in India compared to other parts of the world, which makes them more vulnerable.
On Tuesday, Mr. Kumar announced a compensation of 400,00 rupees ($5,008; £4,154) for the families of each of the deceased.
The chief minister had held a meeting last week and asked state officials to install lightning arresters at all government buildings, including schools and hospitals, The Times of India newspaper reported.
The geographical position of the state makes it particularly susceptible to frequent lightning strikes during the monsoons, the report said.
In February this year, theBBC reported that the number of lightning strikes in India had risen sharply in recent years.
Satellite data gathered by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology also shows that strikes had “increased rapidly” between 1995 and 2014.
India recorded more than 18 million lightning strikes between April 2020 and March 2021, according to a study by the non-profit Climate Resilient Observing Systems Promotion Council. This was a 34% rise over a similar period during the previous year.
A member of a gang of monkeys that has terrorized residents of a Japanese city for weeks has been caught and killed, officials say.
The macaques have injured almost 50 people in Yamaguchi.
The male primate was found on the grounds of a high school on Tuesday evening by specially commissioned hunters.
It was tranquilized and later put down when it was identified as one of the animals responsible for the attacks.
Authorities have been hunting the monkeys since the attacks began on adults and children about three weeks ago. Most injuries have been mild scratches and bites.
Incidents are still being reported and the search continues for other members of the gang, an official at the local agricultural department told AFP.
“Eyewitnesses describe monkeys of different sizes, and even after the capture, we’ve been getting reports of new attacks,” he said.
The captured monkey was estimated to be four years old and was about half a meter tall (1ft 7in).
Japanese macaques are common in large parts of the country and in some areas are considered a pest, eating crops and sometimes entering homes.
However, the attacks in Yamaguchi are unusual.
A city official said before the capture that it was “rare to see this many attacks in a short period of time”.
“Initially, only children and women were attacked,” they said, adding: “Recently, elderly people and adult men have been targeted too.”
Earlier efforts to capture the animals with traps failed and police patrols set up in early July have been unsuccessful until now.
Reports include a four-year-old girl scratched after a monkey broke into her apartment and one animal entering a kindergarten classroom.
Once a vulnerable species, Japanese macaques have recently seen a population boom.
This has led to “serious conflicts” with people, according to research from Yamagata University. Changes in human behavior and forest environments may be one cause.
Thomas De Fraye from north London was looking forward to the Women’s Euro 2022 semi-final between Germany and France in Milton Keynes – but now can’t get there because of the rail strikes.
“I was going to go after work,” he said. “Now there are no trains.”
The disruption comes as 40,000 RMT union members at Network Rail and 14 train companies take part in a fresh strike over pay, jobs, and terms.
Only 20% of train journeys are expected to go ahead on Wednesday.
Mr De Fraye said he booked his ticket for today’s Women’s Euro 2022 semi-final “many months ago before there was any news about strikes”.
He does not drive and a bus would not get him there in time for kick-off.
“I live in Enfield so it’s not even that far so I was going to go after work,” said the 37-year-old.
“Now there are no trains running and an Uber would cost me £90 one way. That price would surely increase on the day due to demand and I have to get back too.”
Mr De Fraye gave his ticket away on Twitter. “If I can help someone else go there that makes me happy,” he said.
Which trains are running?
The Department for Transport said the RMT was “hell-bent on creating further misery for passengers across the UK”.
But the RMT accused Transport Secretary Grant Shapps of not allowing the rail industry to do a deal with the union.
Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haines said, despite its best efforts to find a breakthrough, there would be more rail disruption due to strikes.
In addition to the members of the RMT, members of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) at Avanti West Coast, which operates some trains to Birmingham, are also going on strike on Wednesday.
The knock-on effects of the disruption are expected to roll into Thursday, Network Rail said.
Separately, on Saturday, about 5,500 members of the train drivers’ union Aslef at seven rail companies will strike.
Further RMT strikes are also planned for 18 and 20 August, with London Underground staff planning to strike on 19 August.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman had urged the RMT union to call off the strikes, saying on Tuesday: “We are concerned about the impact this will have on the public going about their everyday lives.”
Places including Blackpool, Portsmouth, and Bournemouth have no train services at all and elsewhere people are being told only to travel by train if necessary.
Network Rail has published a special timetable for Wednesday, with trains set to start later and finish earlier than usual, between 07:00 and 18:30 BST.
Passengers are being warned that the last trains from London will leave for Edinburgh at 14:00, for Birmingham at 15:43, and for Manchester at 15:40.
Network Rail’s Andrew Haines said: “I can only apologize for the impact this pointless strike will have on passengers, especially those traveling for holidays or attending events such as the Uefa Women’s Euro 2022 semi-final and the opening ceremony of theCommonwealth Games [on Thursday].
“It is frustrating to yet again ask our passengers to change their plans and only make essential journeys.”
Network Rail said its latest pay offer was worth more than 5%, but that it depended on workers accepting “modernizing reforms”. However, the RMT union said this was a “paltry sum” and represents “a real-terms pay cut”.
IMAGE SOURCE, PA MEDIA
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch, center, stood at picket lines during the first round of strikes in June
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “The Department for Transport controls the 14 train operators we are in dispute with and Network Rail is a publicly owned company who does not have the final sign-off on any deal. That lies with the Secretary of State for Transport.
“We will continue to talk to the employers but there remains a huge chasm between us around pay, job security, and working conditions.”
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “RMT’s actions will affect people in need of urgent care, hardworking families off on long-awaited holidays and day trips, and businesses.”
US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s rumored plan for a trip to Taiwan has infuriated China and left the White House with a serious geopolitical headache. How big a problem is this?
China has warned of “serious consequences” if Mrs. Pelosi were to proceed with her visit.
Second, in line for the presidency, Mrs. Pelosi would be the highest-ranking US politician to travel to the island since 1997.
This rankles China, which sees self-ruled Taiwan as a breakaway province that must become a part of the country. Beijing has not ruled out the possible use of force to achieve this.
Even the Biden administration has reportedly tried to dissuade the California Democrat from going.
Last week, President Joe Biden told reporters “the military thinks it’s not a good idea”, but his White House has called Chinese rhetoric against any such trip “clearly unhelpful and not necessary”.
The state department says Mrs. Pelosi has not announced any travel and the US approach to Taiwan remains unchanged.
While the US maintains what it calls a “robust, unofficial relationship” with Taiwan, it has formal diplomatic ties with China and not Taiwan.
Ms. Pelosi’s trip, if it were to happen, also comes amid increased tensions between Washington and Beijing – and ahead of a much-anticipated phone call between US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Why would Pelosi want to visit Taiwan?
There is strong bipartisan support for Taiwan among the American public and in the US Congress.
And over a congressional career spanning 35 years, Speaker Pelosi has been a vocal critic of China.
Are the US and China heading to war over Taiwan?
The US watching China very closely on Taiwan – General
She has denounced its human rights record, met with pro-democracy dissidents, and also visited Tiananmen Square to commemorate victims of the 1989 massacre.
Mrs. Pelosi’s original plan was to visit Taiwan in April, but it was postponed after she tested positive for Covid-19.
She has declined to discuss details of the trip, but said last week that it was “important for us to show support for Taiwan”.
Why does China oppose the visit?
Beijing views Taiwan as its territory and has repeatedly raised the specter of annexing it by force if necessary.
What’s behind the China-Taiwan divide?
China and Taiwan: A really simple guide
Chinese officials have expressed anger over what they view as growing diplomatic engagement between Taipei and Washington. This includes a surprise visit to the island by six US lawmakers in April.
On Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian warned his country would take “firm and resolute measures” if Mrs. Pelosi went ahead with her visit.
“And the US will be responsible for all of the serious consequences,” he said.
A spokesman of the Chinese ministry of defense seemed to suggest there could even be a military response.
“If the US side insists on going ahead, the Chinese military will never sit idle and will take strong measures to thwart any external interference and separatist attempts for ‘Taiwan’s independence,” Colonel Tan Kefei told China Daily.
The meeting afforded ACFE the opportunity to familiarize itself with the functions of EOCO in order to establish ties for collaboration in fighting fraud
The executive director of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah on Wednesday (20 July) met with members of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) to discuss ways of collaboration between the two institutions.
According to the President of the Association, the meeting was for the ACFE to familiarize itself with the functions of EOCO in order to establish ties for collaboration in the fight against Fraud in Ghana.
COP Addo-Danquah expressed her appreciation to the Association for its willingness to bring its expertise to bear on the operations of the Office.
She added that being an associate member of the association, she looked forward to the invaluable addition that a collaboration between the two organizations would bring.
Following a presentation by EOCO on the Functions of the Office amidst insightful interactions, the President of ACFE affirmed their readiness for a harmonious working relationship with EOCO.
Also in attendance were the deputy director of Operations, Nana Antwi, the director of administration,
and the special assistant to the executive director.
Egyptians were horrified after video footage went viral last month purportedly showing Mohammed Adel stabbing to death Nayera Ashraf, who had rejected his advances, outside her university
A court in Egypt has called for a legal amendment to allow live broadcasts of the execution of the killer of a female student.
Egyptians were horrified after video footage went viral last month purportedly showing Mohammed Adel stabbing to death Nayera Ashraf, who rejected his advances, outside her university.
In a letter to parliament, the court that sentenced the 22-year-old to death said the broadcast of even a part of the proceedings could achieve the goal of deterrence.
Egypt does not broadcast executions, which are always carried out by hanging inside prisons.
A 2015 United Nations survey said nearly eight million Egyptian women were victims of violence.
The Parliamentary Select Committee on Health has expressed concern about the low COVID-19 vaccination coverage in the Ashanti Region.
According to the Regional Health Directorate, 70 percent of the total population of the region was targeted to be vaccinated.
As of the 15th of this month, almost one-point-five million people, representing about 42 percent, had been fully vaccinated.Â
The concern was expressed during an interaction between the Select Committee and the Regional Health Directorate in Kumasi.
The meeting between the Parliamentary Select Committee on Health and the Ashanti Regional Health Directorate was to see how best the COVID-19 vaccination coverage in the region could be scaled up. 62-point-7 percent of the population in the Ashanti Region has at least taken one dose of the COVID vaccine.
According to the Health Directorate, Kumasi Metro has the highest COVID-19 vaccination coverage, while Kwabre East Municipality has the lowest.
The Ashanti Regional Health Director, Dr. Emmanuel Tinkorang, called on the media to lead the advocacy to get people more vaccinated, particularly those who have not taken the second dose of the vaccine.
The Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Health, Dr. Nana Yaw Afriyie, was not happy about the low vaccination coverage in the region, especially among the rural folk.
The concern was expressed during an interaction between the Select Committee and the Regional Health Directorate in Kumasi.
The University of Ghana’s Pro Vice-Chancellor for Students and Academic Affairs Professor Gordon Awandare has argued that it is improper for businesses to “import” foreigners to work for them. According to him, some industry players, import labor because they believe Ghanaian graduates lack employable skills His remarks follow arguments that suggest that Ghanaian universities are unable to train and produce employable graduates hence import labor.
“People get into this argument that the universities are not training the students right and that industry cannot employ them. You know this is one of the often repeated reasons we hear for high unemployment, but we really think that this is something we need to work on together.”
“There is no need to import labor into the country when we have brilliant, young people here who can be trained. So we just have to partner with each other, industry and academia to make sure that we are training the students to suit the needs of industry.”
However, Professor Awandare believes that this could be resolved when universities and employers partner “to train students to suit the needs of industries”. According to him, building a sustainable economy is hinged on producing things on our own and reducing the importation of almost everything. He believes this would impact the economy negatively if left unchecked.
“how do you think that bringing 1000 people from another country which some of the industry often do because they do not want the time to spend to train people.”
“But I think if you want to build a sustainable economy, we cannot keep importing everything including labor. We should be able to produce some of these things here and in producing our own labor force it is crucial in sustaining our own labor economy” he added”
Speaking to TV3 on the sideline of the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the University of Ghana and Nestle Ghana, Professor Awandare said, “the University will continue to build more industry partnerships to give practical training to students.”
“The University of Ghana wants to train students for the 21st century and tailor the needs of graduates to meet the demands of the job market,” TV3 quoted Mr. Awandare to have said.
Renowned artiste manager Lawrence Hanson Asiamah, popularly known as Bulldog, has confirmed on 3FM that he is no longer working as manager of dancehall musician Shatta Wale.
For many years, Bulldog has been the pillar behind Shatta Wale. He has been carrying the dancehall musician through the tough music industry in the country.
Rumors surfaced a few months ago that Shatta Wale had sacked Bulldog from his camp as manager but both parties refused to confirm the viral news.
Bulldog spoke the truth into existence on Saturday, July 23 on Showbiz927 on 3FM.
He told host Caleb Nii Boi that indeed he is not working with Shatta Wale.
He, however, stated that the fact that he is no longer managing the artiste does mean they are enemies.
The leadership of artisans and spare parts dealers at Suame Magazine have rendered an unqualified apology to Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu for pelting sachet water and other items at him.
The leaders in a statement noted that the unfortunate incident on Monday was an act of spontaneity by a group of people and the leaders had no hand in it.
It says as leaders, they take full responsibility for what happened and wish to say the youth was wrong and should be condemned in no uncertain terms.
According to the leaders, although residents are frustrated about the poor nature of the road, the manner in which they expressed their displeasure is unrepresentative of the genuine people of Suame Magazine.
The apology comes at the backdrop of a demand for an apology by the NPP Ashanti Regional Members of Parliament on Thursday.
Chairman of the Ashanti Regional Caucus in Parliament, Kwame Anyimadu Antwi who spoke on behalf of the other MPs condemned the actions of Suame residents.
Mr. Anyimadu Antwi also urged the residents to exercise restraint as they lobby the government to fix the roads.
On Monday, some angry residents of Suame booed the MP, over the poor road network in the area.
The MP visited the Constituency to inspect the progress of work on various development projects.
His vehicle was also pelted with sachet water and other items such as coconut husk. It took the timely intervention of the Police to whisk him to safety.
The Kpone- Katamanso Municipal Education Directorate, in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service (GES) and its development agencies, has organized a maiden Municipal Reading Festival in Kpone.
The Reading Festival was on the theme: “Learn to Read, Read to Learn,†to inculcate the habit of reading into students, especially at the lower primary level.
Mr. Samuel Okoe Amanquah, the Municipal Chief Executive, in a speech read on his behalf, pledged that the Municipal Assembly would continue to support educational activities within the municipality to enhance teaching and learning in the various schools.
Mr. Amanquah stressed that the reading festival would also offer the pupils the opportunity to learn new words to improve their vocabularies, adding that being able to read and understand helps the student to perform well during examinations.
The Kpone-Katamanso MCE said due to the lack of intensive reading in the various basic schools, many students did not perform well during their final examinations, stressing that education was vital as far as development was concerned.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency on the fringes of the reading festival, Mr. Harry Evans Arthur, the Kpone-Katamanso Municipal Education Director, explained that the reading festival was also to highlight the importance of reading to the pupils.
Mr. Arthur said as part of the incentives to boost reading in the municipality, the best readers out of the lot would be allowed to represent the municipality at the regional level.
He urged stakeholders in the education sector, including parents, to support their children to enhance their reading capabilities.
He said the education directorate would ensure the reading festival expands its regime to include students from private schools within the municipality for effective and efficient competition.
The 2022 Kpone-Katamanso reading festival was sponsored by USAID.
The Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram, Sam George has been urged to eat humble pie and apologize to the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu for calling him a liar, over an issue, which Sam George has rather been found to have lied.
The MP suggested on his Facebook page that Dr. Bawumia had said that holders of the Ghana Card could use the card to travel outside Ghana, and resulting from Sam George’s own claims, he went on and discredited the Ghana Card as a travel document and also insulted Dr. Bawumia with invectives.
However, following his insults to the Vice President, it has emerged that the Vice President has never said anywhere that the Ghana Card could be used to travel outside the country. What Dr. Bawumia has maintained, public records prove, is that the Ghana Card can be used by Ghanaians, and Ghanaian dual citizens, to travel back to Ghana from any part of the world.
Again, a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirming the Ghana Card as a travel document that Ghanaians, especially dual citizens, can be used to travel into Ghana, has further exposed Sam George’s claims, for which he insulted the Vice President and called him a liar.
It is this development that has drawn the attention of a political communication consultant, Dr. Ekow Acquah to call on Sam George to apologize.
In an article copied GhanaGuardian , Dr. Acquah described Sam George as one who has earned the title of honorable because of the people he represents and asked Sam George to do “what is expected of men of honor” and apologize to Bawumia after he was exposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and public records.
“Following the Foreign Ministry’s press release and Ghana Immigration releasing data on the number of arrivals with Ghana Cards at the airport, will those who insulted Dr. Bawumia and called him a liar apologize to him”? Dr. Acquah asked.
“If nobody will apologize to the Vice President, at least Hon. Sam George, who has earned the title of Hon. by being the representative of the good people of Ningo Prampram , must do what is expected of men with honor and apologize to Dr. Bawumia for insulting him on his Facebook page on issues he Sam George was clearly wrong and has been exposed.”
“The Vice President has never stated anywhere that the Ghana Card can be used for travels to other countries. He has always maintained that following its recognition by ICAO, Ghanaians, especially dual citizen Ghanaians with foreign passports, can use it to board flights back to Ghana without needing a visa.”
“It was therefore disingenuous and mischievous for a whole honorable member of parliament to launch public attacks on the Vice President and call him names for something he has not said.”
“Indeed if we were in a decent political environment, Sam George in particular, and all those who joined him to insult Dr.Bawumia and bastardize the Ghana Card as a travel document, would have apologized, the moment the Foreign Ministry issued a statement to expose them.”
Below is the full article:
Will those who called Dr. Bawumia a liar over Ghana’s card as a travel document do the honorable and apologize after being exposed?
By Dr. Ekow Acquah (Political Communications Consultant)
One of the most profound development-oriented proverbs in Akan is the saying that; the one who climbs a good tree deserves a push.
In other words, a person embarking on any useful endeavor, whose outcome will benefit all, deserves to be encouraged and supported.
This thought-provoking adage has been part of the daily Ghanaian lexicon, bequeathed to us by our forefathers, to inspire and encourage good deeds and profitable ventures in our societies.
However, on the national scale, the opposite has now become the case. Instead of supporting and pushing people who climb good trees, our society now rather cuts down the tree to see the fall of both the tree and the climber.
The above scenario is the case in the commitment of the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, to champion a digitized Ghana, using the Ghana Card launch pad.
Rather than providing a joint, patriotic effort to support the fruitful effort of Dr. Bawumia, some Ghanaians have become the proverbial crab that won’t allow any other crab to climb up the basin. Others are even cutting down the good tree Bawumia is climbing so that both the tree and the Vice President will fall.
For the umpteenth time in recent times, certain elements, within the media and political front, this week, launched a sustained campaign to vilify Dr. Bawumia – all because he enumerated the immense benefits of the Ghana card, at the launch of the ePharmacy platform on Monday.
Among the benefits of the Ghana Card Dr. Bawumia mentioned, was its recognition by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), as a travel document, thus making it possible for Ghanaians, especially dual citizen Ghanaians with foreign passports, to be able to use the card to board flights to Ghana without requiring a visa, as was the case.
This unique and remarkable function of the Ghana Card is public knowledge, following public ceremonies in Canada by ICAO earlier this year, and public directives by state institutions such as Ghana Immigration, Ghana Airports Company, and Ghana Civil Aviation, among others, that the Ghana Card has become a travel document.
In fact, Ghana Immigration recently held an event at the Kotoka International Airport to officially announce the setting up of special booths to process Ghanaians arriving in Ghana with the Ghana Card.
Despite all these facts, and the reality that Ghanaians based at home and in the diaspora, continue to return home using the Ghana Card, some people who ought to know better, including parliamentarians, launched scathing attacks on the Vice President and called him names, just for stating the true benefits and uses of the Ghana card.
People are so eager and desperate to run down Dr. Bawumia and the Ghana Card that, they even went to the extent of deliberately misinterpreting the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, to create a state that she had contradicted the Vice President of Ghana Card is a travel document for Ghanaians to travel back home.
Rightly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a statement to set the records straight and also to confirm that the Ghana Card, indeed, can be used by Ghanaians as a travel document to travel to Ghana from any airport in the world.
Following the Foreign Ministry’s press release and Ghana Immigration releasing data on the number of arrivals with Ghana Card at the airport, will those who insulted Dr. Bawumia and called him a liar apologize to him?
If nobody will apologize to the Vice President, at least Hon. Sam George, who has earned the title of Hon. by being the representative of the good people of Ningo Prampram, must do what is expected of men with honor and apologize to Dr. Bawumia for insulting him on his Facebook page on issues he Sam George was clearly wrong and has been exposed.
The Vice President has never stated anywhere that the Ghana Card can be used for travels to other countries. He has always maintained that following its recognition by ICAO, Ghanaians, especially dual citizen Ghanaians with foreign passports, can use it to board flights back to Ghana without needing a visa.
It was therefore disingenuous and mischievous for a whole honorable member of parliament to launch public attacks on the Vice President and call him names for something he has not said.
Indeed if we were in a decent political environment, Sam George in particular, and all those who joined him to insult Dr. Bawumia and bastardize the Ghana Card as a travel document, would have apologized, the moment the Foreign Ministry issued a statement to expose them.
How people take delight to bastardize the ongoing digital transformation in the country is amazing! But one has to understand the political critics. It is Bawumia leading it so since he will be credited for it, let us vilify him and also condemn the innovation, even if its benefits to the country and the people are immense.
That is what is happening! Attack Bawumia, vilify him, and attack the innovation. It is the reason every digital innovation he has led; Ghana Card, zipline drones, universal QR Code, mobile money interoperability, ePharmacy , and digitization of government services, among others, has been doubted and criticized.
In Dr. Bawumia’s own words, people with impossible mindsets have always doubted and frustrated every digital innovation he has announced.
I think the Vice President has been very charitable in labeling people with impossible mindsets. These are people with unpatriotic and destructive mindsets.
They don’t want to see anything good for the nation and the people, once it is not coming from them. No matter how beneficial every project, intervention, or innovation is, they will always attack and bastardize it.
I cannot understand how any progressive-minded person will attack Dr. Bawumia for being a champion of digitization, a new global phenomenon every serious country is pursuing.
As a country, we should be proud we have a passionate, committed, and smart leader in our Vice President making our country great in an area many African countries are way behind.
The full benefits of digitization won’t be realized now, but the glimpses we have seen, such as making things easy, boosting revenue, and helping in the fight against corruption, should encourage us to fully support him, regardless of political affiliation.
He is doing it for the country and generations to come, not for himself.
Despite all the vilifications, I am happy the Vice President has remained resilient and unfazed.
Continue to prove the naysayers wrong, Mr. Vice President. Progressive-minded citizens appreciate what you’re doing.
Remain focused and do it for God and your country.
Nigeria’s inflation rate has continued to soar, accelerating to 18.60% in June according to the latest Consumer Price Index report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
According to the CPI report which was seen by Business Insider Africa, the inflation rate increased by 1.82% month-on-month, jumping past the 17.71% that was reported in May.
“In June 2022, the inflation rate increased to 18.60 percent on a year-on-year basis. This is 0.84 percent points higher compared to the rate recorded in June 2021, which is 17.75 percent. This means that the headline inflation rate increased in the month of June 2022 when compared to the same month in the previous year (i.e., June 2021). Increases were recorded in all COICOP divisions that yielded the Headline index,” said a part of the report.
The report further revealed that food inflation accelerated to 20.6% in June 2022 from 19.5% in May 2022. The jump was due mainly to increases in the prices of different staples and essential food items.
“The composite food index rose to 20.60 percent in June 2022 on a year-on-year basis; the rate of changes in average price level declined by 1.23 percent compared to 21.83 percent in June 2021. The rate of changes in food prices compared to the same period last year was higher due to higher foods prices volatility caused by COVID 19. This rise in the food index was caused by increases in prices of Bread and cereals, Food products Potatoes, yam, and other tubers, Meat, Fish, Oil and fat, and Wine.”
Urban inflation also rose to 19.09% in June, marking a 0.74% increase when compared to 18.35% that was recorded in June 2021. Similarly, rural inflation rose to 18.13% in June, marking a 0.97% increase compared to 17.16% recorded in June 2021.
Like most African countries, Nigeria has been grappling with an inflation problem that keeps getting worse, exacerbated by many unfavorable internal and external factors. Some of these factors include the ongoing war in Ukraine and the forex crisis. Earlier this week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that these factors are pushing many African countries to the brink of economic collapse.
Formal education builds competitive approach and gives unique experiences which boost the confidence of children and expand their circle of knowledge. There are a few billionaires like Bill Gates, Ritesh Agarwal, and Gautam Adani who achieved success without having a college degree, but education played a crucial role in laying the foundation for their success.
The basic knowledge and experiences gained are what allowed the wider picture to emerge in their later life. It is against this background that President John Dramani Mahama saw the need to invest in the development of children at the basic level of education in Ghana.
In 2013, the Mahama-led government distributed 12.5 million English, Mathematics, and Science textbooks to public basic schools. This enabled Ghana to exceed the universal textbook-pupil ratio of three textbooks for one pupil.
By the time President John Dramani Mahama was leaving office, Ghana’s textbook-to-pupil ratio stood at 4:1 (four textbooks for one pupil.) Before this achievement, three pupils used to share one textbook.
Besides, 1,437,500 readers, 6,900 teaching manuals, and 9,200 teaching guides were distributed to facilitate teaching and learning.
Aside this, President Mahama made many other unprecedented interventions to improve basic education in the country.
For instance, about two million pupils were supplied with free school uniforms from 2010 to 2016.
Also, a total of 854,040 BECE candidates benefited from the payment of BECE subsidies.
The total coverage of the School Feeding Programme was increased from 441,189 children to 1,693,000 children. It was fully funded by the Government of Ghana after the Dutch Government withdrew its funding.
To improve ICT education, 60,000 free laptops were distributed to Basic School pupils in all the then ten regions, under the Basic School Computerization Program. Furthermore, 50,000 basic school teachers across the country benefited
from ICT training.
To further consolidate these gains and offer more opportunities for Ghanaian school children, the following interventions were made:
Ten thousand free locally produced school sandals were distributed to pupils in selected deprived districts.
Under the unequaled Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) Resit Policy, one thousand, one hundred and eighty-one (1,181) candidates had the chance to resit their BECE as private candidates in February 2015. These were persons who, but for this golden opportunity would have had their education terminated at the Junior High School level.
Apostle Paul in Philippians 4:8 of the Bible said: “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think of these things.”
In a similar vein, I want you to think of the above-mentioned achievements of President Mahama at the basic level of education in Ghana: whether they are true; whether they are honest; whether they are just; whether they are praiseworthy, and whether they are of good report.
Ghana Armwrestling President, Charles Osei Asibey, has become Vice President of the World Armwrestling Federation (WAF), a first by any Ghanaian in sports administration, after being elected President of the Armwrestling Federation of Africa (AFA) in Lagos, Nigeria.
He overwhelmingly beat his contender, Samuel Jackson, President of Nigeria Armwrestling Federation at his home grounds by a whopping 73 percent of total votes.
The elective congress was conducted and supervised by the Secretary General of the World Armwrestling Federation, Mircea Simionescu Simicel at the Media Center of the National Stadium in Surelere, Lagos.
The WAF scribe congratulated Charles Osei Asibey and the delegates for a peaceful election and urged all parties to come together and work for the development and growth of the sport on the continent.
President Charles Osei Asibey during his inaugural speech thanked the delegates for the confidence reposed in him and assured them of his commitment to the growth of the sport.
He seized the opportunity to invite all present to be part of the Africa Championship to be hosted in Ghana next year as well as the Africa Games also to be hosted by Ghana in 2023.
He pledged to promote, encourage participation, seek funding, create competitions, and make arm wrestling the Sport of choice in Africa.
He also said he would embark on the promotion and development of arm wrestling by engaging the media, training the trainers, encouraging participation at all levels, and building the capacity of athletes across Africa.
“I pledge to serve Africa Armwrestling with dedication, selflessness, sponsorships, bridging the continental gap and enhancing the sporting brand with quality whilst working with the people and for the people,†he said.
Charles Osei Asibey is a broadcast journalist with almost 30yrs years of working experience in the industry having worked with Radio Gold, Groove FM now Adom FM, Peace FM, Happy FM, Radio 360, and Asempa FM having contributed writing for Graphic Sports, Ghanaweb and other online portals.
Currently, the founder and President of the Ghana Armwrestling Federation, he doubles as the Chief Executive Officer of Legaci101 Limited, a sports marketing, and event company, United Media Consult, a PR and Media Management company, and 3C Ventures Ltd, a company responsible for General Services.
In a bid to promote Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and make the youth employable at Akwasiso, a mining community in the Amansie South District of the Ashanti Region, the chief of the area has built a multi-purpose vocational center to train at least 100 females in various trades and save them from indulging in social vices.
For a start, the chief, Nana Kwakye Gyimah Yeboah II, has recruited 41 females, mainly school dropouts and young mothers to undergo training in hairdressing and dressmaking.
The facility is also to serve as a practical training center for TVET students within the catchment area to build their capacities with employable skills.
Plans are also afoot to introduce some male-dominated programs including plumbing to engage some male youth.
Subsequently, a mining firm, Asanko Gold, has lent a helping hand with the provision of industrial sewing machines, tabletop sewing machines, hair driers, and accessories valued at hundreds of Ghana cedis.
Already the company has built similar facilities at Manso Nkran and Bontefufuo in the Amansie South and West districts of the region respectively training about 500 youth.
Stakeholder engagement and external relations of Asanko, Jerry John Dua, said the training of the youth was to make them competitive in getting employment in the mines.
He said the chief’s initiative tied into the vision and policy of the mines in reducing unemployment in its catchment areas.
The chief, Nana Yeboah II, called for more collaboration between the mine and the communities to duplicate such facilities to save the youth in indulging in unacceptable behaviors.
He said 61 females initially applied to be trained but only 41 showed up to begin the first phase with the hope of achieving its targets in the coming years.
The presence of metal contaminants in agricultural soils and subsequent uptake by food crops can pose serious human health risks.
In this study, the scientists assessed the levels of toxic metals like arsenic, chromium, copper, iron, manganese, nickel, and zinc in soils and some edible root tuber crops from two gold mining and two non-mining communities in Ghana to evaluate the potential human health risks associated with exposure to these metals.
They sought to evaluate the potential human health risks associated with exposure to these metals.
The concentrations of the metals in 154 soil and edible root tuber samples were then analyzed. The scientists found the levels of the metals were generally higher in the gold mining communities than in the non-mining communities.
The contamination indices indicated low to moderate contamination of the soil and food crops. Bio accessibility for the metals varied from 1.7% (Fe) to 62.3 (Mn),†lead scientist. Prof. Godfred Darko said.
They however concluded the levels of metals in the root tubers posed a low risk to humans.
“Overall, the risks posed by the metals upon consumption of the tubers were low,†he emphasized.
The Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) has officially commenced the decommissioning of the Mr. Louie Platform in the Saltpond Oil Field which is estimated to last 12 months.
Being the first decommissioning project of its kind in Ghana, GNPC, the lead contractor, as well as other relevant stakeholders, have demonstrated their readiness to work hand-in-hand to ensure the success of the project.
Having obtained the majority of the statutory approvals and key permits, GNPC will provide both financial and technical support to fully execute the year-long project.
Oil field
The Mr. Louie Platform (commissioned in 1970) has reached the end of its operational life and is deteriorating.
GNPC has, therefore, engaged Hans & Co. Limited [a wholly Ghanaian- owned Company] to lead a consortium of industry experts in undertaking the project on a turnkey basis.
The release noted that the project would be supported by a project management consultancy firm to ensure that all aspects of the decommissioning, including well plugging and abandonment, and topside removal, are performed with strict adherence to Health, Safety, Security, and Environmental (HSSE) protocol.
In a release, the Chief Executive Officer of the GNPC, Opoku-Ahweneeh Danquah said the decommissioning of the first oil platform in Ghana was necessary to ensure that the marine ecosystem around the Saltpond area was returned to its pre-license condition.
With several oil and gas platforms expected to be decommissioned in the future, he said the GNPC personnel would gain additional hands-on technical capabilities by collaborating with other experienced industry experts during this exercise.
The CEO further noted that the field decommissioning process was preceded by pre-planning and a feasibility study that was endorsed by the Ministry of Energy.
“While we continue to work to meet all the technical and safety requirements, the corporation is also enhancing its social license to operate by continuously holding stakeholder and community engagements in coastal communities where the project is taking place.
“This is to sensitize fisherfolk about the importance and the need to observe safety measures and stay away from the restricted zone. We have also supported the traditional authorities to perform all the necessary customary rites for the project to kick off,†he stated in the release.
Mr. Danquah expressed his appreciation to the Ministry of Energy, Petroleum Commission, Ghana Maritime Authority, National Security, Environmental Protection Agency, and other key stakeholders whose representatives were present at the kick-off for their support in ensuring that the project took off successfully.
Parliament has passed the Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, 2022, which seeks to regularize the fees being charged by some public service institutions.
The bill is also expected to review existing fees, impose new ones and provide for an annual adjustment of fees and charges levied by ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) in line with prevailing economic conditions.
Among other things, it will also establish a single schedule of all fees and charges for the delivery of goods and services rendered by the MDAs to the public.
The proposed adjustments of some of the fees and charges are expected to contribute significantly to meeting the revenue targets outlined in the budget for the 2022 fiscal year.
Background
In 2018, Parliament passed the Fees and Charges (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2018 (Act 983) which transferred the authority to determine fees and charges under an enactment to the minister responsible for finance.
Act 983 also mandates MDAs to conduct an annual review of the administrative efficiency of collection, the accuracy of past estimates, and the relevance of fees and charges to current economic conditions.
Additionally, the Public Financial Management Regulation, 2019(L.I 2378) directs a Principal Spending Officer responsible for collecting various types of fees and charges to conduct an annual review of the administrative efficiency of past estimates and the relevance of rates, fees, and charges and submit proposals through the minister responsible for finance to Parliament for approval.
The two enactments, therefore, mandate MDAs to adjust regular basis fees and charges collected for the delivery of goods and services to the public to keep pace with the current economic trends.
This new bill is to ensure a regular review of the fees and charges levied by the MDA, avoid a steep increase arising from long periods without review, bridge the growing gap between the cost of service delivery and approved fees and simplify the process for review of fees and charges to a single submission to Parliament as part of the annual budget.
Observation
Per a report submitted on the bill, the Chairman of the Finance Committee, Kwaku Kwarteng, said the committee noted during its deliberations that a number of government agencies and institutions responsible for the collection of non-tax revenues on behalf of the government failed to lodge revenues collected in gross in contravention of Section 46 of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921).
The report said many of the subvented agencies either retained part or paid the entire revenues collected directly into their operational accounts from which disbursements were made.
“Again, some institutions also collect revenues on the table or over the counter after which it is lodged into their operational accounts and disbursed directly in contravention of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016. The committee noted with concern that the practice does not give the Minister of Finance a complete or comprehensive view of the total revenue (non-tax) generated by all state agencies in each fiscal year,†he said.
Additionally, the practice could expose public funds to abuse and embezzlement by collecting officers, the committee observed.
“The committee, therefore, recommends that the Ministry of Finance should take immediate steps to ensure that all institutions captured in the Second Schedule of the bill collect their revenues through a designated commercial bank or through the Ghana.gov platform from which the funds collected are transferred in gross into the respective holding accounts at Bank of Ghana,†the report said.
