TIG Post

Author: Amanda Cartey

  • Buzzing on twitter over Asanteman flag being used on a coronation flyer

    Buzzing on twitter over Asanteman flag being used on a coronation flyer

    Twitter is enraged about the usage of the Asanteman Gold, Black, and Green flag on a brochure promoting the Otumfuo’s attendance at King Charles III’s coronation on May 6.

    The flyer, an unofficial one, posted by a Twitter handle called Royal World Thailand, captures a number of royals who attended the event.

    Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and Lady Julia are the first on the flyer but whereas the others had their national flags beneath their portraits, they had the Asanteman flag not the Ghana flag.

    The Asanteman flag is always present especially on official cars of the Otumfuo wherever he travels to in the country.

    So what is the disagreement about?

    At the heart of the back and forth that has since ensued is why the Ghana flag was not used with those demanding so, insisting that Asanteman is within Ghana and the Otumfuo is Ghanaian.

    Those against the move are of the view that the Asantehene was invited in his capacity as leader of the Ashanti Kingdom which has strong relations with the British monarchy.

    What you need to know: The Asanteman flag

    The Asantes (Asante Region/Asante Kingdom) are the only people in Ghana with an official national flag, a symbol of authority which they call the Asanteman Flag.

    The flag of the Ashanti Region was adopted by the Ashanti kingdom’s Emperor Asantehene Prempeh II in 1935.

    It is based on the Ashanti absolute monarchy throne, the Golden Stool, which has been Ashanti’s symbol of unity and soul since 1701, the early-eighteenth century AD, upon the foundation of the Ashanti Empire.

    Yellow, black, and green are the colours that signify the Ashanti flag.

    All the elements in the Flag have a meaning, and they have been explained below:

    1. The yellow part of the flag represents the riches/wealth of Asanteman.

    2. The Black part of the flag represents the symbolic image of the Blackman concerning the Asante Nation and the courage of the Asante Nation in facing the challenges of warfare.

    3. The Green colour, represents the refreshingly greener vegetation cover in the forest areas of Asanteman.

    4. The symbol in the Black at the centre of the flag is called “Gyemirekutu KYƐ” (Hat) which is made up of animal parts coated with gold-coloured paintings: Elephant Tail, Ɔwam ti (Hornbill Head), The Skin Covering the Elephant Kneebone, The Feathers of the Hornbill, Adwera (PortulacaOleracea Leafs).

    Also, the flag is beautifully positioned on the hood emblem on the bonnet of the 80-year-old Rolls Royce of the Asantehene.

    See some tweets below:

    Piawwwwwwwww!!!! pic.twitter.com/AVPTQfgufF— The Asante Nation (@Ashanti_Kingdom) May 6, 2023

    You are not serious see them give you different flag you say piawwwwwww— MR DEI (@Rich99thekid) May 6, 2023

    The Gold, Black & Green Is The Flag Of Asante Kingdom & Everyone Is Proud Of. So If They (Asantes) Demand Development From Otumfoɔ, Don’t Tell Them (Asantes) To Go To The President Because That’s Where They Pay Tax. https://t.co/WR3YohiJXl— sArge???????????? (@_madlipz__) May 7, 2023

    This reads “List of members of Foreign Royal Families attending the Coronation”

    He went to represent the people this flag belongs to — Asanteman. He’s not there to represent Ghana.

    Channel your anger to Addo D., he was there too.

    Otan hunu will be the end of you people! https://t.co/rkvlVGryPM

    — noblet, wa a. (@thenoblet) May 6, 2023

    Don’t be an idiot, The Ghana flag should be there, They didn’t only represent the Ashanti Kingdom they represented us all, These things speak a lot. https://t.co/GhtTuKlrVH— Son of Sadat (@chrisaydat) May 6, 2023

    Whoever the protocol officer is did a great job not using the Ghana flag. People would’ve been up in arms (and rightly so) about him not being “king of Ghana”. He went as Asantehene and it is only right the Asante flag was used https://t.co/4l6HFfcao6— Nymphadora Tonks’ Lover (@zaman_ijaz) May 6, 2023

  • Meet Nigerian programmer challenging ChatGPT in Africa

    Meet Nigerian programmer challenging ChatGPT in Africa

    Meet Justin Irabor, the founder of Kainene vos Savant, a super-intelligent chatbot rivaling ChatGPT. He created his chatbot after enrolling as a student at the International University of Applied Sciences in Germany while working on the side.

    He soon realized how challenging it was to combine schooling with work. Justin was studying for his master’s program online and at one point, decided that he needed a study partner to make his academic life less complicated.

    However, the schedule of his study partner did not work out for him – they both had conflicting timelines.

    “My master’s program is online, and the challenge with that is that you need a study partner, otherwise you’re never quite sure how much of the study material you’ve consumed,” he told How We Made It In Africa.

    “This was quite challenging because combining daily activities with school meant you have to synchronize with a lot of people. Sometimes I’m at work and my study partner is also at work. It created conflicting timelines.”

    This led him to experiment with Artificial Intelligence (AI) in 2022. He created two chatbots and a third which became his study partner. He later shared his success story on social media, pricking people’s interest.

    He purchased an open AI model and trained it with his textbooks to create a study partner and tutor to assist him in understanding specific factors in his academic work.

    “I created Kainene vos Savant when I needed a study partner. I fed her my materials, asking her to explain parts of my textbooks that I didn’t quite get. It was an early model at this point, and while it wasn’t great, it was adequate and did the job,” he told How We Made It In Africa.

    According to Justin, he gave his AI Chatbot a female name because he wanted to depict women as intelligent peers with high IQs. In his view, AI female assistants can do more than perform basic things like scheduling emails or turning on your phone, citing Alexa and Siri.

    “However, the intelligent assistants are mostly male, like IBM’s Watson, a skilled chess player who helps with surgical procedures,” he noted. “This allowed me to flip the narrative because Kainene is your intellectual peer.”

    “You wouldn’t ask her to send an email on your behalf. She is someone who, in some circumstances, is likely intellectually superior,” he continued. “I did some research in terms of pure IQ and found Marilyn vos Savant. I liked Vos Savant and picked that as the last name for my AI chatbot, and Kainene is a name I have loved for a very long time. Besides that, AI is within the spelling of Kainene. It’s fitting.”

    Today, Kainene has thousands of Nigerian users on Telegram who rely on it for daily tasks and prompt information. Users are even comparing Kainene vos Savant to ChatGPT because of how relatable it is and how it is reducing their workload.

    Though users are currently restricted to Nigeria, Justin is working on expanding access to users outside Nigeria.

  • Foxes star Maddison, planning to leave this summer

    Foxes star Maddison, planning to leave this summer

    James Maddison’s time at Leicester looks to be coming to an end.

    The 26-year-old playmaker appears set for a switch this summer, with the Foxes reportedly ready to sell regardless of whether or not they are relegated.

    With funds limited at the King Power Stadium, club chiefs are ready to cash in on their star man as he approaches the final year of his contract.

    Ahead of Leicester’s crucial clash with Fulham this afternoon, we consider what the future has in store for Maddison.

    Firing Fox

    Despite the Foxes enduring a difficult campaign, Maddison has still made a significant impact.

    He has registered nine league goals and a team-high eight assists this term, seven of which have come from open play.

    Leicester’s No10 has also demonstrated his ability to disrupt defences with the ball at his feet, completing a commendable 34 of his 63 attempted take-ons.

    Read more: All the latest transfer news

    Just like Jack

    Leicester boss Dean Smith sees similarities between Maddison and Jack Grealish — who helped Aston Villa to Premier League survival, before earning a move to Manchester City.

    He said: “I think they are different types of players but similar characters, in all honesty. Both know that they’ve got the ability and both want to push themselves to become the best.

    “I think, when you’ve got players that have that personality and character, they push you as coaches and you want to go and help them become better players. James [Maddison] seems to have that as well.

    “He’s always looking to see what he can do better. He’s really engaging in the meetings we have and tactical meetings, and very vocal as well. I can see that similarity of wanting to push himself.

    “He wants to talk tactics with you, and football. He’s a football nut, a bit like Jack [Grealish] was as well.”

    Leicester's James Maddison has scored three league goals from outside of the box this term
    Leicester’s James Maddison has scored three league goals from outside of the box this term

    Magpies circling

    With teams preparing to pounce for the Foxes’ talisman, Newcastle reportedly lead the race as things stand.

    Eddie Howe has his side in contention for continental football next term, when he will need additional creative options in his midfield.

    The Magpies often rely on their wide players to conjure opportunities but Maddison could provide a threat centrally having created an impressive 62 chances this season.

    That would help relieve the pressure on right-back Kieran Trippier as the Tynesiders’ current creator-in-chief.

    James Maddison has been Leicester's key creative figure this term
    James Maddison has been Leicester’s key creative figure this term

    Schmeichel’s advice

    Maddison’s former Leicester team-mate Kasper Schmeichel believes that Champions League football should be a priority for the England international next season.

    Speaking last week, Schmeichel said: “He [Maddison] can go wherever he wants really.

    “I would love him to stay at Leicester but if he is to move on at some point it’s about choosing the right place.

    “I think he has the ability to play at the highest level because the personality he is, when he knows everyone is watching, that’s when he comes alive.

    “When you’re playing in the top teams, playing in the Champions League, when everyone’s watching, these are the games when he makes a difference.”

    James Maddison's future is set to be one of this summer's biggest transfer stories
    James Maddison’s future is set to be one of this summer’s biggest transfer stories

    Cottagers challenge

    Marco Silva has taken Fulham to a new level this season.

    After winning the Championship last term, the Cottagers have already comfortably secured safety and are on target for a top-half finish.

    In the reverse fixture, the Foxes lost 1-0, with Maddison absent through injury.

    Leicester supporters will be hoping that his presence will make the difference this afternoon and that he can have a survival-securing impact in the weeks ahead before a summer departure.

  • Meet Otumfuo’s rep at Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953

    Meet Otumfuo’s rep at Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953

    The bond between the Ashanti and British kingdoms dates centuries back and has in recent years been butressed by visits by monarchs on both sides.

    The most recent visit is of Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II’s official invitation to the coronation of King Charles III on May 6, 2023.

    The Asantehene attended the event along with his wife Lady Julia, with the couple praised for turning up at the event in Kente as compared to the western-themed dressing of other African monarchs present.

    King Charles officially took over from his mother Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September 2022 after seven decades on the throne.

    Her coronation in 1953 was witnessed by guests from across the world including one from Asanteman.

    Even though the Asantehene at the time was Otumfuo Prempeh II, he delegated Wankyihene at the time, Nana Kusi Apea I, as his representative to the coronation event.

    Who was the Wankyihene?

    WANKYI NANA KUSI APEA, the fearless fighter.

    In 1953, during the coronation of the then Queen Elizabeth II, the Asantehene Otumfuo Prempeh II delegated Wankyihene, Nana Kusi Apea I, as his representative to the coronation event.

    Nana Apea I was enstooled in 1949, and a brother to Dr. Kofi Busia. In 1976, the military government created a Decree SMCD 64 to oust Nana Apea from office.

    Nana remained unfazed and continued to serve Asanteman.

    Wankyi is part of Asanteman, and supplies the elephant skin on which the Golden Stool rests.

  • Customs warns importers against Under-declaration, under-invoicing of products

    Customs warns importers against Under-declaration, under-invoicing of products

    The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Tema Sector Command, has increased its efforts to prevent the under-declaration and under-invoicing of imported goods.

    The Customs division is warning importers, especially paper product importers, that it will go hard on anyone who attempts to short-change the state by deliberately under-declaring goods at the ports.

    This came to light at a press briefing in Tema after Customs officials discovered a container of finished products such as photo-copy papers (A-4 sheets), which was declared by the clearing agent as stationery.

    Head of Intelligence at the Ghana Revenue Authority, Assistant Commissioner Wisdom Xetor, lamented the manipulation of actual duty payment by some paper importers and clearing agents at the port.

    He disclosed that investigations show that most paper importers are under-invoicing, giving wrong descriptions and under-valuing their imports in a bid to evade taxes.

    Mr. Xetor said the GRA has introduced a new strategy of tracking some of these importers: “We just want to send a clear message to the importing public that they are under our radar; we are monitoring them so they should just do the right thing”.

    Mr. Xetor therefore cautioned the importers that going forward culprits will be sanctioned severely, including having to pay a 300 percent penalty; and in cases where contents are banned goods, they will be seized.

    Chief Revenue Officer, Public Education, Media Relations and Review, Dzinunya Mawuli, on his part said this exercise was previously carried out underground, but will now be done publicly as a way of warning others to desist from such acts.

    “Today we were supposed to open one of the containers and re-examine the items in it, but unfortunately the importer and clearing agent are not available. The clearing agent entered 68 items, but our scan image is telling us that it is one item. They described it as stationery, but it is not stationery when we look at the scan image,” Ms. Mawuli said.

    She noted that the container will be opened by next Wednesday, in order for them to carry out the necessary examination so they can establish its true content.

  • Rwanda floods and landslides kill more than 130 people

    Rwanda floods and landslides kill more than 130 people

    Authorities have annouced that floods and landslides in Rwanda’s northern and western districts have resulted in at least 130 fatalities.

    The rains hit at night when many people were asleep – an official told the BBC this is one reason why so many died.

    The five-year-old daughter of Claudette Nyiraneza was among them.

    “We could not save my daughter under the rubble until morning,” she told the BBC, adding that neighbours eventually helped retrieve her body.

    Local governor François Habitegeko said many houses had collapsed on people.

    He said that main roads in the area “are not usable because of landslides”.

    Rwanda’s public broadcaster RBA reports that the casualty numbers are expected to increase as floodwaters continue to rise.

    Rwanda’s president offered his condolences to those who have been affected. His statement also added that residents were being evacuated from “affected and high-risk areas”.

    The government’s main priority now is to “reach every house that has been damaged to ensure we can rescue any person who may be trapped”, the Reuters news agency quotes Mr Habitegeko as saying.

    Relief efforts have already started, “including helping to bury victims of the disaster and providing supplies to those whose homes were destroyed,” a government minister for emergencies, Marie Solange Kayisire, told AFP

    • Africa Live Page: For news updates from around the continent

    The heavy rains pounded Rwanda “all night” and more downpours are expected throughout the month, authorities say.

    Heavy rains and consequent damage and casualties between March and May are commonplace in Rwanda, but the deluge on Tuesday night was unusually strong and long-lasting.

    This is the worst flooding Rwanda has seen since May 2020 when around 80 people died.

    Deaths have also been reported in neighbouring Uganda, where six people have died after landslides, the Ugandan Red Cross says.

    Rwanda’s weather authority is linking the unusual rains seen in recent years to climate change.

    Many factors contribute to flooding, but a warming atmosphere caused by climate change makes extreme rainfall more likely.

    The world has already warmed by about 1.2C since the industrial era began and temperatures will keep rising unless governments around the world make steep cuts to emissions.

  • Kenyan president sets up inquiry into religious cult deaths

    Kenyan president sets up inquiry into religious cult deaths

    On Friday May 5 2023, Kenyan President William Ruto established a panel to investigate the murders of more than 100 people who are thought to have starved to death. A court also mandated the cult leader’s continued detention.

    The commission of inquiry, announced on Friday by presidential spokesman Hussein Mohamed, will examine whether administrative or intelligence lapses contributed to the deaths.

    Kenyan authorities have said the dead were members of the Good News International Church led by Paul Mackenzie, who they said predicted the world would end on April 15 and instructed his followers to kill themselves to be the first to go to heaven.

    The death toll stands at 111 but could rise further, in one of the worst cult-related disasters in recent history.

    Mohamed said Ruto had also appointed a task force to review regulations governing religious organisations.

    Mackenzie has not commented publicly on the accusations against him nor has he been required to enter a plea to any criminal charge. His lawyer George Kariuki told the press on Tuesday that his client could face “possible terrorism charges”.

    Mackenzie appeared in court in the port city of Mombasa on Friday, where prosecutors asked a judge to hold him for an additional 90 days as their investigation continued.

    The judge said he would deliver a ruling next Wednesday on the prosecution’s request and ordered that Mackenzie remain in custody until then.

    Mackenzie, who was wearing a black and pink jacket and holding his two-year-old daughter during the hearing, told journalists at the court that he and some of his supporters were being refused food in prison. Prosecutors denied this and his lawyer had told the press on Tuesday that his client was eating.

    “He eats and drinks,” Kariuki said. “He is healthy. I have met him personally. There have been rumours that he has refused to eat, and that is not true.”

    In March, Mackenzie was arrested earlier this year on suspicion of the murder of two children by starvation and suffocation but was then released on bail.

    Relatives of his adherents say that after he was freed, he returned to the forest where they lived and brought forward his predicted world’s end date – which had previously fallen in August – to April 15.

    This has led to criticism by some Kenyan lawmakers that security services missed opportunities to prevent mass deaths.

  • Akufo-Addo eulogizes Otumfuo as an invaluable partner

    Akufo-Addo eulogizes Otumfuo as an invaluable partner

    Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II has made enormous contributions to Ghana’s political leadership, according to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

    The president described the revered monarch as ‘an invaluable partner in the governance of Ghana,’ at a birthday dinner held for the Asantehene in London.

    “I cannot vouch for my predecessors with the exception possibly of my own boss, president Kufuor but I could say and I think it is something that he would agree with me, that Otumfuo Osei Tutu has been an invaluable partner in the governance of Ghana.

    “Certainly, for president Akufo-Addo, an invaluable partner … and I wish to declare publicly my appreciation and gratitude for all the assistance that has been given to me, by you these last six years,” the president stressed to applause.

    Akufo-Addo cited the specific instance of the Otumfuo’s contributions to securing peace especially in the Dagbon crisis, where he was a mediator, and expressed hope that the Asantehene will extend a similar hand in resolving the raging Bawku crisis.

    He tasked attendees to “make merry and remember the contributions of Asantehene to national lives, not the least to the stability of our country.

    “Remember the role he played in bringing a settlement to the crisis in Dagbon and I am confident he is going to repeat that for me in the Bawku crisis,” he stressed.

    Otumfuo and Akufo-Addo are in the UK with their spouses for the May 6 coronation of King Charles III. The 73rd birthday bash of the Asantehene took place after they had attended the coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey.

  • Burkina Faso hails Russia as a ‘strategic partner’

    Burkina Faso hails Russia as a ‘strategic partner’

    Capt. Ibrahim Traore, the interim president of Burkina Faso, expressed satisfaction with his nation’s military ties with Russia, which he called “a strategic partner.”

    “I am satisfied with our military co-operation with Russia. Besides, Burkina Faso’s cooperation with Russia dates back to a long time, but we are developing it and move it further,” he said on Thursday in an interview with state-run channel RTB TV.

    He denied that Russian mercenaries from the Wagner group were supporting Burkinabe forces in their fight against Islamist armed groups.

    He said the exit of French forces from the country “does not mean that France is no longer an ally because the French embassy is still here”.

    But he cited “new forms of co-operation” describing Russia as an an example of “a strategic ally”. He said Turkiye was a major partner.

    He also mentioned North Korea, saying it had supported Burkina Faso in the past with heavy military equipment that was still in use – and would want more supplies from there.

    Capt Traore said Burkina Faso has many international partners, but “will only collaborate with those who want to help us, like sell us equipment and support us”.

  • Japan promises to assist Mozambique battle terrorism

    Japan promises to assist Mozambique battle terrorism

    The prime minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, says his nation is prepared to help Mozambique combat terrorism.

    The Japanese PM is visiting Mozambique as part of his six-day tour that took him to three other African countries – Ghana, Kenya and Egypt.

    He said Japan was interested in financing the fight against terrorism in northern Cabo Delgado province, which would allow Japanese companies that are part of the consortiums exploiting natural gas in the Rovuma basin, to operate in a safe environment.

    The province in the north has been besieged by a Islamic militant insurgency for years.

    Mr Kishida and Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi spoke of a need for Japanese private investment in “structural areas” of the economy, with a view to concrete results in bilateral co-operation.

    Mr Nyusi urged the Japanese to explore investment opportunities in transport, agriculture, industry and tourism.

  • Envoy from Sudan woos Nigerians to return after situation is resolved

    Envoy from Sudan woos Nigerians to return after situation is resolved

    The ambassador of Sudan to Nigeria, Muhammad Yusuf, has begged with Nigerians leaving the nation to think about going back when circumstances calm down

    Speaking on Thursday after a batch of Nigerians returned from the country, Mr Yusuf urged them to resume their studies and reopen their businesses after the fighting between the army and the paramilitary forces ends.

    He asked them to consider Sudan as their second country, expressing optimism that the fighting would be controlled soon.

    “I’m very sorry for what is happening there but at the same time I’m very happy to have these evacuees coming from Sudan safe, no life is lost,” he was quoted by the Cable newspaper as saying.

    Another batch of Nigerians from Sudan is expected to arrive on Friday.

  • Man City star Haaland excites Cole for breaking record

    Man City star Haaland excites Cole for breaking record

    Erling Haaland just beat Alan Shearer’s long-standing Premier League record, and Andrew Cole couldn’t be happier.

    Haaland netted his 35th league goal of the season in Manchester City’s 3-0 win over West Ham on Wednesday.

    That saw the 22-year-old set the new record for goals in a single Premier League season, which was previously set by Cole, who was then at Newcastle United, in the 1993-94 campaign and matched by Alan Shearer a year later — the duo both scored 34 times.

    Cole, who spent time with both Manchester clubs in his career though is remembered best for his time at United, is not precious over his place in the record books being taken.

    He told Stats Perform: “Records are there to be broken, it’s that simple. When people have mentioned it to me it’s not as if I’m going home and crying and saying, ‘Oh no!’ 

    “It doesn’t bother me in the slightest, I don’t care – if someone deserved to break that record, go ahead, do it.

    Asked if he expected Haaland to hit the ground running in such fearsome fashion in his first season in England, Cole replied: “I’m not surprised, put it that way.

    “If you look at what Man City have done throughout the years, they’ve been screaming out for someone who just wants to run into the box and score goals.

    “Maybe the volume of goals he’s scored, but it’s not surprising in the slightest that he finds himself in the position that you find yourself. Because when you play for a team, like Man City that create so many chances, you just need the number nine to finish them off. That’s exactly what we’ve got now.

    “If you’re playing a team that creates many chances for you, it’s not hard. When I did it at Newcastle the team was built for me, being built for me to score goals.”

  • Nigeria investigates alleged cancer detections in Indomie noodles

    Nigeria investigates alleged cancer detections in Indomie noodles

    Recalls from Malaysia and Taiwan after detecting a potentially cancerous substances in the instant indomie noddles, Nigeria’s food and drug regulator has announced that it is making investigations into the brand

    Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) said in a statement Tuesday it was “taking swift actions” to analyze samples of the product, as well as its seasoning, and will also scrutinize “other brands of instant noodles offered for sale to Nigerians.”

    Health officials in Malaysia and Taiwan last week recalled the noodles saying they had detected a compound called ethylene oxide in the “special chicken” flavor of the noodles.

    The Nigerian regulator said Indomie is produced by a local manufacturer and that the special chicken” flavor noodles is not available for sale in the country.

    “The public is … informed that the implicated Indomie instant noodle is not registered for sale in Nigeria. It is important to mention that noodles are on the Import Prohibition List of the Federal government of Nigeria and is therefore not permitted for importation to Nigeria,” NAFDAC Director General Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye wrote in the statement.

    Indomie: The instant noodle giant in Nigeria

    Indonesian food giant Indofoods has defended the safety of its products.

    “We would like to emphasize that … our Indomie instant noodles are safe for consumption,” Taufik Wiraatmadja, a member of the board of directors at Indofoods, said in a statement last week.

    “All instant noodles produced by (Indofood) in Indonesia are processed in compliance with the food safety standards from the Codex Standard for Instant Noodles and standards set by the Indonesian National Agency for Drug and Food Control (BPOM),” the statement added.

    Ethylene oxide is a colorless, odorless gas that is used to sterilize medical devices and spices. The United States Environmental Protection Agency found in a report that the gas could contribute to increased cancer risk.

    Indonesia’s food and drug monitoring agency also said last week the products available locally were “safe for consumption as it met its safety standards” — despite containing traces of ethylene oxide.

    Nigeria is one of the largest instant noodle markets in the world and Indomie is the “market leader in the noodles industry in Nigeria,” according to the Indofoods, which owns the brand.

    Indonesian food giant Indofoods says Indomie noodles is available in more than 100 countries across the world in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

    Indomie first launched instant noodles in 1972 with a chicken flavor but is now produced in many varieties.

  • Organ trafficking: Clemency pleas for Nigerian senator convicted in UK

    Organ trafficking: Clemency pleas for Nigerian senator convicted in UK

    A Nigerian MP, Ike Ekweremadu, who has been found guilty of an organ harvesting conspiracy, will be sentenced in the UK on Friday. However, his fellow MPs in Nigeria have joined mounting pleas for leniency in his case.

    Ekweremadu, 60, his wife Beatrice, 56, and a middleman Obinna Obeta, 51, were found guilty in March of trafficking a 21-year-old Nigerian street trader to the UK to provide a kidney for the Ekweremadus’ daughter, Britain’s Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said in a statement.

    Nigerian senator guilty of organ harvesting plot, UK court rules

    Prosecutors say the victim was brought to the UK after being offered a reward of up to £7,000 ($8,810) and the promise of work in the country, but he was unaware that he was expected to provide a kidney in return.

    A medical consultant called off the planned transplant after becoming suspicious of the circumstances surrounding it and the victim fled, sleeping rough for days before reporting the plan to UK police last May, the CPS said.

    Ekweremadu, Beatrice and Obeta will be sentenced at the UK’s Old Bailey Court Friday and face up to 10 years in prison under the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

    Political class plea for leniency

    Ekweremadu was a former deputy senate president for 12 years and his case has elicited sympathy with some in Nigeria where many see him and his wife as victims of circumstance who were desperate to help their sick daughter.

    Many of the country’s political class have written to the UK courts appealing for leniency during his sentencing, including Nigeria’s former President Olusegun Obasanjo.

    President of the Nigerian Senate, Ahmad Lawan, said Wednesday that he had written to the British judiciary on behalf of Ekweremadu asking them to “temper justice with mercy.”

    “We are now using this particular intervention to seek for clemency in the sentencing. … The conviction has already been done but we are seeking clemency because this is the first time our colleague is getting involved in this kind of thing,” Lawan said.

    Femi Gbajabiamila, the Speaker of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, the country’s junior parliament, described Ekweremadu as “a brilliant lawyer, a distinguished public servant and a dedicated family man.”

    Nigerian Senator Ike Ekweremadu (L) stands for the national anthem during the national inter-denominational funeral rites of Nigeria's secessionist leader Odumegwu Ojukwu at Michael Opkara Square in Enugu, southeastern Nigeria, on March 1, 2012.

    Nigerian senator and wife charged with plotting to get child to UK to harvest organs

    The speaker of parliament of the West African regional bloc ECOWAS, Sidie Mohamed Tunis has also written to the chief clerk of the Old Bailey Court seeking leniency for the Ekweremadus.

    Ekweremadu served as speaker of the ECOWAS parliament between 2011 and 2015.

    But the calls for clemency are unlikely to hold any sway over the UK court and some in Nigeria have raised eyebrows that high profile politicians are using their influence to advocate for a convicted criminal.

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    IPC Justice, a non-governmental organization dedicated to fighting corruption in politics wrote on Twitter: “… Nigeria has a reputation for not enforcing laws against political elites, which could lead to the perception of condoning criminal activity if the Speaker advocates for clemency for someone convicted of a serious crime.”

    Prosecutors in the UK have described the Ekweremadus guilty verdict as “a landmark conviction.”

  • Murray advances to French quarterfinals

    Murray advances to French quarterfinals

    At the ATP Challenger Tour 175 event in Aix-en-Provence, Andy Murray defeated Laurent Lokoli in three sets despite the Frenchman having saved five match points.

    Murray won 6-4 5-7 6-3 as the second round tie at the Open Aix Provence Credit Agricole turned into a marathon affair lasting two hours and 42 minutes

    The 35-year-old three-time major champion – ranked 52 in the world and 135 places higher than Lokoli – shaded a tight first set on the French clay.

    It looked as if the fifth seed would make short work of the contest in the second set when he broke serve for a 5-2 lead.

    But Murray failed to take two match points and Lokoli, who was animated and waved his arms in the air to rev up the home crowd, battled back to make it 5-4.

    Another two match points came and went for Murray in the next game with Lokoli’s drop shots proving a powerful weapon against the Scot.

    Lokoli soon took the second set with Murray unable to halt a five-game losing streak.

    Both players served impressively in the deciding set until Murray applied the pressure and seized a third break point to lead 5-3.

    Despite Lokoli producing a stunning forehand winner to save a fifth match point, Murray eventually wrapped up victory – much to his obvious relief.

    It was the first time he had secured back-to-back wins since Indian Wells in March.

    Having beaten Gael Monfils in the first round, Murray will face a third French player, Luca Van Assche, in the quarter-finals on Friday.

  • Organ trafficking: Nigerian senator due for sentencing

    Organ trafficking: Nigerian senator due for sentencing

    In London’s Old Bailey court later on Friday, a prominent Nigerian senator who was found guilty in March of smuggling a man to Britain so they could take one of his kidneys will be sentenced.

    Ike Ekweremadu and his wife Beatrice planned to give the organ to their daughter who has a kidney disease.

    The victim – a 21-year old street trader from Lagos – was offered $8,000 (£6,340) and promised a better life in Britain, but only realised what was going on when he met doctors in hospital.

    The Ekweremadus, along with a medic who helped them, are the first people convicted of organ trafficking under Britain’s modern slavery laws.

    The maximum sentence they could face is life imprisonment.

  • Ablakwa altered dead man’s details to suit his identity theft scam – Cathedral Secretariat

    Ablakwa altered dead man’s details to suit his identity theft scam – Cathedral Secretariat

    The latest claims against the National Cathedral Secretariat’s registration procedures for a fundraising wing in the United States have been addressed by the secretariat.

    Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa in episode 2 of his Cathedral Scandal publications alleged that the secretariat in registering the US wing used the details of a dead Hispanic man, one Jose Salgado.

    He referenced a US social security number as provided on the registration papers he had secured and other cehcks to arrive at that conclusion.

    The Secretariat, however, in rebutting the claim explained that the MP had misquoted two different tax numbers as used in the US.

    They accused Ablakwa of quoting a different Social Security Number to run checks on the corporate institution, which are by law provided with Tax ID numbers.

    The release was signed by Executive Director to the National Cathedral of Ghana, Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah.

    The relevant portions explaining Ablakwa’s mistake were as follows: “3) In arriving at this so-called Identity theft, the MP distorts the information on the registration documents by taking the Taxpayer ID number: 86-3859197 (Appendix 1), and disingenuously changes it to the social security number, SSN: 863-85-9197 belonging to a deceased named, Jose Salgado (Appendix 2). He then proceeds to accuse the National Cathedral of using the “stolen” identity of the deceased to register.

    “4) For the record, the Taxpayer ID Number is issued for corporations and is separated by one dash, to wit, 86-3859197. This taxpayer ID Number is derived from the Employment Identification Number (EIN), which is applied for, as the first step in the application for a tax-exempt status (See appendix 3).

    “5) The Social Security Number (SSN), on the other hand, is issued to individuals, and is separated by two dashes, to wit, 863-85-9197. Even if the numbers are the same, because of the dashes, they mean different things. Thus, the taxpayer ID (86-3859197) is not the same thing as the social security number (863-85-9197).”

    Ablakwa has yet to comment on this release, he dismissed an earlier one that sought to explain five allegations he leveled against the secretariat in the first episode of what he says is a seven-part series.

    Read the full release from the secretariat below:

    THE USA “BOMBSHELLS” OF SAMUEL OKUDZETO ABLAKWA, MP: UNRAVELLING THE USA “IDENTITY THEFT” HOAX!

    1) Following the publication of the Vol 1 of the of the so-called “bombshells” on the National Cathedral’s activities in the USA, the MP for North Tongu and Ranking member on Foreign Affairs in Ghana’s Parliament, Hon Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa followed up with “Episode 2” this morning, Thursday May 4, 2023 at 6.09am

    2) Titled “Episode 2 of “National” Cathedral Scandals-America Edition”, it is prefaced, once again, by such lack of knowledge of the US system. As a Ghanaian, I find it extremely embarrassing to see these expressed by the Ranking Member of Foreign Affairs in the Country’s Parliament. The main body of Episode 2, however, is the malicious accusation that the National Cathedral is guilty of the serious crime of “identity theft” in the registration of the National Cathedral Foundation in the USA. (https://twitter.com/S_OkudzetoAblak/status/1654005225835884544).

    3) In arriving at this so-called Identity theft, the MP distorts the information on the registration documents by taking the Taxpayer ID number: 86-3859197 (Appendix 1), and disingenuously changes it to the social security number, SSN: 863-85-9197 belonging to a deceased named, Jose Salgado (Appendix 2). He then proceeds to accuse the National Cathedral of using the “stolen” identity of the deceased to register.

    4) For the record, the Taxpayer ID Number is issued for corporations and is separated by one dash, to wit, 86-3859197. This taxpayer ID Number is derived from the Employment Identification Number (EIN), which is applied for, as the first step in the application for a tax-exempt status (See appendix 3).

    5) The Social Security Number (SSN), on the other hand, is issued to individuals, and is separated by two dashes, to wit, 863-85-9197. Even if the numbers are the same, because of the dashes, they mean different things. Thus, the taxpayer ID (86-3859197) is not the same thing as the social security number (863-85-9197).

    6) But, this distortion is neither the result of an accident, nor of ignorance. It reflects the modus operandi of the MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa. All his so-called “National Cathedral scandals” are distortions of information on the project!

    7) As we have consistently argued, and repeated in our Press Release of yesterday May 3, 2023, “the National Cathedral Project has been implemented with integrity, and with no criminality. As with the recklessly-populist and reputationally-damaging accusations of the McCarthy era in the USA, the misinformation and distortions on the National Cathedral project will – ultimately – unravel!

    8) The unraveling of the so-called “Identity Theft” is just the beginning!

  • UK police confirms death of 31-year-old Ghanaian woman in Brixton

    UK police confirms death of 31-year-old Ghanaian woman in Brixton

    31-year-old Johanita Kossiwa Dogbey, has been stabbed to death, according to the United Kingdom’s Metropolitan Police.

    The incident happened on May 1, 2023 in Brixton’s Stockwell Park Walk, “when she is believed to have been approached by a man from behind who attacked her,” Police said.

    She had gone out to buy a birthday present and was on her way back when the attacker struck killing her by the time police and first aid responders arrived at the scene.

    Ms Dogbey was the founder of the Odette Foundation, a charity which worked with people suffering from sickle cell in Ghana and Togo, the UK Daily Mail reported.

    Specially trained officers continue to provide support to Johanita’s family, the police added in a statement that included a tribute from the family members who expressed devastation at the incident.

    Police account of how the incident happened:

    A 33-year-old man arrested on suspicion of murder remains in police custody after officers were granted a warrant of further detention at Croydon Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 3 May.

    Detectives launched an investigation following reports of a stabbing in Stockwell Park Walk, SW9 at 16:02hrs on Monday, 1 May.

    Officers arrived at the scene and were joined by the London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance.

    Johanita was found with stab wounds and despite the efforts of the emergency services, she was pronounced dead at the scene at 16:42hrs.

    Detectives from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command are leading the investigation and have carried out a number of enquiries, including a review of CCTV from the area. They have also spoken to several witnesses.

    Based on these initial enquiries, it is believed Johanita was walking along Stockwell Park Walk when she was approached from behind by a man who attacked her.

    It is not believed the man was known to her.

  • Sudanese stage actress killed in Khartoum

    Sudanese stage actress killed in Khartoum

    On Wednesday, amidst fighting between two rival factions that have ravaged Sudan and claimed the lives of hundreds of civilians, Sudanese actress Asia Abdel-Majid was slain in the crossfire.

    The 80-year-old was killed after shells hit her home in Bahri, north of the capital, in fighting between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese army, her nephew told CNN.

    It is unclear if it was the RSF or the army that fired the shot that killed Abdel-Majid.

    Failed negotiations between Sudanese army head Abdel Fattah al-Burhan RSF and RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo over a disputed power-sharing arrangement exploded into violence in mid-April, sparking a mass exodus of refugees from the country and resulting in the deaths of at least 528 people.

    Previous ceasefires and promises of peace talks between both leaders have failed to curb the ongoing conflict with eyewitness accounts of fighting in Khartoum reported on Thursday, despite a seven-day truce announced just days earlier.

    Sudanese actress Asia Abdel-Majid.

    Sudanese actress Asia Abdel-Majid.From Nur Ihlas/Facebook

    Abdel-Majid was buried in the grounds of a kindergarten where she worked, her nephew said, adding that it was unsafe to take her to a cemetery.

    The kindergarten is next door to Abdel-Majid’s home, where she was alone when the shelling took place.

    She was considered a pioneer of theater in Sudan and the country’s first professional stage actress, establishing a kindergarten in Bahri and becoming a teacher when she retired.

    ‘Torn apart’

    Smoke rises over Khartoum during clashes between the RSF and the Sudanese army on April 17, 2023. Eyewitnesses say the violence in the capital has intensified, despite repeated ceasefires.

    Smoke rises over Khartoum during clashes between the RSF and the Sudanese army on April 17, 2023. Eyewitnesses say the violence in the capital has intensified, despite repeated ceasefires.Reuters

    Witnesses said the Sudanese army and the RSF are fighting using light and heavy weapons in the vicinity of the Presidential Palace – the most violent since the start of the clashes – as the conflict nears its fourth week.

    At least 190 children have been killed and another 1,700 injured in the country since the violence broke out last month, according to reports received by UNICEF, the UN body’s Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement on Thursday. Due to the intensity of the violence, UNICEF was unable to confirm the estimates, she added.

    Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) warned on Wednesday that people trapped in battlefields are running out of water and food.

    “Families across Sudan, including those of our colleagues, are being torn apart, and having to choose between remaining trapped in the battlefield, or risking their lives to flee or reach an overcrowded hospital,” Egeland said in a statement.

    “They are running out of everything, including water, food, electricity, fuel, and cash. We need the international community to put as much effort into secure humanitarian access, regardless of ceasefire and in providing aid to millions of people as they have in evacuating their own citizens,” he added.

    The violence has triggered a mass exodus of refugees from Sudan, with the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) on Thursday warning that $445 million is needed to help the 860,000 refugees and returnees who could escape the country by October.

    According to a UNHCR statement, the plan was designed by “134 partners, including UN agencies, national and international NGOS and civil society groups” and includes a contingency strategy for new arrivals (refugees, returning refugees and others) to neighbouring countries.”

    Myadah Kaila

    American trapped in Sudan is desperate to escape amid deadly military clashes

    At the same time, hundreds of evacuees arrived from Sudan in Nigeria on Wednesday after being held up for days at the Egyptian border for days, as reports over the chaotic border response to the uptick in evacuees continue.

    The first contingent of 376 Nigerians were flown home in a military aircraft and a local carrier and arrived in the capital Abuja shortly before midnight, according to the Nigerians In Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM).

    Last week, more than 7,000 Nigerian nationals, mostly students fleeing the Sudan conflict had been left stranded at the Egyptian border due to the unavailability of visas, NIDCOM said while appealing to Egyptian authorities “to kindly allow the already traumatized travellers to transit to their final destinations.”

  • Deaths rise to 130 in Rwanda floods

    Deaths rise to 130 in Rwanda floods

    The death toll from the flooding and landslides that struck Rwanda’s north, west, and south on May 2 grew to 130 by Thursday morning, according to the government’s deputy spokesperson Allain Mukuralinda.

    In addition, 77 individuals were injured, with 36 receiving treatment in local hospitals and five people are still missing. The district of Rubavu was hit the hardest, with over 1,000 homes destroyed due to ongoing rainfall.

    Rescue teams are still working to recover bodies that are trapped in landslides and collapsed houses.

    In response to this crisis, various authorities, military forces, religious organisations and humanitarian groups have initiated interventions since Wednesday.

    Affected individuals have been provided with essential items such as tents, blankets, food, and basic household utensils. Some people have also been accommodated in safe zones such as churches and schools.

    According to a statement by the office of Rwandan president, rescue interventions including relocating residents from affected areas to safer zones have been carried out. Affected districts also increased from four to nine: Nyabihu, Rubavu, Karongi, Rutsiro, Gakenke, Burera, Musanze Ngororero, and Nyamagabe in the northern, western, and southern provinces.

    It started raining on Tuesday around 11 pm and by Wednesday morning, over 50 people were declared dead. Among the victims is a family of five that was all killed in the disaster.

    “My deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims of the landslides and floods that occurred last night in the Western, Northern, and Southern Provinces. We are doing everything within our means to address this difficult situation. I am personally following up on the response closely,” President Kagame took to Twitter to console survivors.

    Rwanda normally experiences heavy rains and hailstorms between January and April, which often result in the loss of lives especially those living in high-risk zones.

    In Kigali, 27,000 families still reside in high-risk zones where disaster always looms when it rains.

    The deaths from the latest floods bring the toll to 197 lives lost since January, according to Rwanda’s Ministry of Emergency Management.

    Search and rescue operations

    Rwandan authorities have launched a search and rescue operation to locate victims of the floods and assist those affected by the disaster. Emergency facilities have been set up to help those who have lost their homes. Funeral preparations for those who died are underway.

    Rwanda’s Minister of Emergency Management Marie Solange Kayisire on Wednesday morning said that the latest floods were because of the rains that soaked mountains and that victims were not only families living in high-risk zones given the mountainous nature of the region.

    At least 408 disaster cases were recorded in this period. These include 107 windstorm cases, 66 rainstorms, three mine disasters, 77 lightning cases, seven landslides, 13 house collapses, eight hailstorms, 29 floods as well as 98 fires.

    The Rwanda Meteorology Agency released a weather forecast for May, indicating above-average rainfall ranging between 50mm and 200mm across the country.

    The forecast stated that the first 10 days of May 2023 would have a higher amount of rainfall in many parts of the northwestern region ranging between 175mm and 200mm. Four districts of Ngororero, Rubavu, Nyabihu, Rutsiro and Karongi were affected by the heavy rains on the night of May 2.

    According to the weather forecast, Rulindo, Gakenke and Gicumbi districts are also likely to see similar amounts of heavy rains in the next few days.

    On Wednesday morning, the main road from Kigali, crossing through Rulindo, Gakenke, Musanze and Nyabihu districts to Rubavu, was closed due to landslides.

  • Rwandan priest sacked by Pope Francis

    Rwandan priest sacked by Pope Francis

    Pope Francis has sacked a Rwandan-born man from the priesthood after it emerged that he has legally acknowledged being a father of a 10-year-old boy

    Wenceslas Munyeshyaka, 64, was serving as a clergyman in northern France for almost three decades prior to his dismissal.

    According to a BBC.com report, a communiqué circulating online signed by the bishop of Évreux indicated that Wenceslas Munyeshyaka, “automatically loses clerical rights” and “is excluded” from serving “anywhere else” as a priest.

    “The Office of the Diocese of Évreux has confirmed to the BBC the authenticity of the communiqué, which says it is based on a papal decree dated in March.

    “Mr Munyeshyaka, who fled to France after the Rwandan genocide in 1994, hasn’t commented on the decision.” BBC.com report added

    Mr Munyeshyaka was ordained a priest in Rwanda in 1992, where he is accused of playing a role in the killing of hundreds of Tutsis who had fled to his church in the capital, Kigali, during the genocide but was later cleared of genocide charges by Courts in France.

    He was however suspended by his diocese in December 2021 after it emerged that he has legally acknowledged being a father of a 10-year-old boy.

  • Fighting rages in Sudan with echoes of bombings

    Fighting rages in Sudan with echoes of bombings

    Gunfire and explosions have echoed across the Sudanese capital Khartoum for the 20th straight day.

    Witnesses reported loud blasts and exchanges of fire on the streets.

    Heavy bombardments also rang out in the adjoining cities of Omdurman and Bahri.

    The army said it was ready to abide by a new seven-day ceasefire, but there’s been no word from the rival paramilitary, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

    The military said it killed RSF fighters and destroyed a number of vehicles “belonging to the rebels”, after clashing with the group in the Bahri military region.

    It is reportedly trying to push the RSF back from the area around the presidential palace and the army headquarters.

    The United Nations aid chief, Martin Griffiths, said the determination of the warring parties to keep fighting risked turning the conflict into a global tragedy.

  • Top 10 non-traditional export products for 2022

    Top 10 non-traditional export products for 2022

    Ghana has been recognized a significant exporter of mineral ores, timber, and cocoa beans but the nation also trades in non-traditional goods with both African and international markets.

    In the latest report on the analysis of the 2022 non-traditional export statistics, the Chief Executive of Ghana Export and Promotion Authority (GEPA), Afua Asabea Asare, stated that Ghana witnessed a 6% increment in the non-traditional export (NTE) earnings for 2022.

    She cited cocoa paste, cashew nuts, aluminium sheets, canned tuna, natural rubber sheets, cocoa powder, shea oil, among the non-traditional export products for last year.

    Afua Asabea Asare further indicated that cocoa paste emerged as the highest earner as it raked in US$520.3 million.

    Cashew nuts, on the other hand, earned the country US$294.2 million.

    She noted that the cumulative value of the top 10 NTE products was US$2,150,085,426, representing 60.9% of the total NTE earnings in 2022.

    Below are the top 10 non-traditional export products for 2022:

    Cocoa paste

    Cashew nuts

    Cocoa butter

    Iron and steel circles, rods, sheets, billets

    Articles of plastics

    Aluminium plates, sheets and coils

    Canned tuna

    Natural rubber sheets

    Cocoa powder

    Shea oil

    Meanwhile, the Chief Executive of Ghana Export and Promotion Authority (GEPA), Afua Asabea Asare, commended the efforts of individuals within the export value chain for their hard work.

    Their hard work, she said, was what contributed to the positive outcome of the 2022 NTE statistics.

  • MoMo agents hint on strike action over commission hold up

    MoMo agents hint on strike action over commission hold up

    Many Mobile Money Agents across the nation have complained about the holdup in commission payments.

    In response to the delay, the Mobile Money Agents have also threatened to go on strike.

    The Mobile Money Agents including the Northern Momo Agents, Mobile Money Advocacy Group, ABAG and MM Agents Association of Ghana, further want an increase in the cap in commission to GH¢3000 from the current GH¢1,000.

    In a joint statement, the Mobile Money agents demanded: “The cash in Commission cap be moved from GH¢1,000 to GH¢3,000 while the 0.5% rate is maintained.”

    According to them, “failure to do something about the status quo will have operational implications for Agents and customers alike.”

    “Cash-out commission shares should be made 50 percent. Maximum amount per cash out is GH¢1000.

    “We are unable to cooperate with the two payment cycles i.e. 15th and 27th of the following month for payment of previous month’s commissions to our members,” the Mobile Money Agents indicated.

    The Mobile Money Agents stressed that: “Further delay in payment reduces the purchasing power of what is paid Agents due to the current inflationary rate and cost of service availability.

    “That auditing and validation as the cause of the current undue delay, cannot be justified hence we want all our members to be paid the same date on or before 15th of each Month.”

    The Mobile Money Agents added that: “It was totally wrong to unilaterally decide on payment in batches without prior agreement with leadership.”

  • IMF deal will not happen by end of May – Ato Forson

    IMF deal will not happen by end of May – Ato Forson

    The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Government of Ghana cannot reach an agreement in the second quarter of 2023, according to Minority Leader Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson.

    The Government was hopeful of securing the deal at the end of May following an engagement with bilateral and multilateral partners at the recent IMF and World Bank Spring meetings in America.

    But Dr Forson said the earliest the government can secure the $3 billion deal with the Bretton Woods Institution will be in the third quarter.

    “I can confirm to you that it is not going to happen by the end of May, it is not going to happen, I will urge our Minister responsible for Finance to be truthful to the people of Ghana and be candid enough to say that yes, the timelines that we have, we said A, B and C but we cannot make it. The earliest is beginning 3rd Quarter, July August, that is the earliest,” Dr Ato Forson said in an interview with TV3.

    His comment comes after Deputy Finance Minister, John Kumah, assured Ghanaiana at a press briefing that discussions towards securing the fund have been fruitful and the government was waiting for a bailout to balance the economy.

    Government has already renegotiated its domestic debt and is hopeful of securing the Paris Club financing assurances within the shortest possible time.

    The country’s economy could grind at a halt if the deal is not secured soon but analysts believe the government is to blame for seeking a bailout from the IMF late.

    Currently, Ghana has secured a staff-level agreement with the IMF since December last year and now asking lenders to provide financing assurances which is a condition for the IMF’s board to sign off the programme.

    The Chinese government which Ghana owes has given an ndication that it is willing to help Ghana secure the balance of payments bailout from the Fund.

    The Chinese government has said it has an obligation to ensure the Ghanaian economy does not collapse.

  • Focus on ECB meeting outcome as pressure mounts on dollar

    Focus on ECB meeting outcome as pressure mounts on dollar

    On Thursday May4 2023, the was still under pressure against most major currencies, helping the pound reach its highest level in 11 months. This came as the Federal Reserve hinted at slowing its aggressive tightening cycle and ahead of a critical European Central Bank meeting.

    Markets were also buffeted by risk aversion amid a rout in regional U.S. bank shares, which further supported market expectations of rate cuts later in the year.

    The euro was last down slightly on the day at $1.1044, having jumped 0.57% on Wednesday.

    The pound was last flat at $1.2566 , but in Asia trade hit $1.2595, its highest since June 2022, and the Swiss franc reached 0.88215 per dollar, its strongest since January 2021, before softening.

    The narrowing rate differentials between the U.S. and Europe, as markets price in more European rate increases than in the U.S., has been boosting European currencies in recent months.

    The Fed on Wednesday raised its benchmark overnight interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point, as expected, but dropped from its policy statement language that it “anticipates” further rate increases would be needed.

    “If this does prove to be the last hike of the cycle, the next big question for FX markets will be: how long will rates remain at these levels?” said HSBC analysts in a note.

    The Fed has guided markets away from the possibility of rate cuts this year, though markets are pricing them in nonetheless.

    “If the Fed is proved right over the course of 2023, then it will make it harder for the USD decline to extend later in the year.”

    “But for the time being, the market is likely to run with the theme of a peak in Fed rates justifying a clear peak in the USD and an ongoing reduction in the greenback’s residual overvaluation,” said HSBC.
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    Money markets are now pricing in a slightly more than 10% chance the Fed will begin cutting rates in June, and expect roughly 80 basis points of rate cuts through to the end of the year.

    The European Central Bank announces its rate decision later in the day. Market positioning is for a 25 basis point increase, though it reflects a chance of a larger 50 bp increase.

    Traders will also be closely watching the ECB statement and governor Christine Lagarde’s press conference for indications about the central bank’s future rate path, with expectations being the ECB has not finished raising rates.

    Adding to expectations the Fed will soon have to begin easing monetary conditions were lingering fears of banking sector turmoil, intensified by news that PacWest Bancorp (PACW.O) is exploring strategic options. The Los Angeles-based lender said it has been approached by several potential partners and investors.

    “There are a lot of concerns in the U.S. around the banking sector and the crunch on credit. This is a credit event and that feeds through to the economy quite quickly,” said Jarrod Kerr, chief economist at Kiwibank.

    “So I think central banks, including the Fed, are at or very near the peak in their cash rates.”

    The cautious risk sentiment kept the Japanese yen – a traditional safe haven in times of market turmoil – well supported, with the currency at 134.71 against the U.S. dollar

    The dollar fell 1.4% against the yen on Wednesday, with the rate sensitive Japanese currency supported by a slide in U.S. Treasury yields.

    The Norwegian crown took a short trip after Norway’s central bank raised interest rates by 25 basis points as expected. It initially softened sharply against the euro and dollar, but recovered.

    The dollar was last down 0.4% at 10.715 crowns, the euro was last down 0.7% at 11817. ,

  • Amazigh new year in Morocco approved as national holiday

    Amazigh new year in Morocco approved as national holiday

    The Amazigh new year has been acknowledged as a recognized paid national holiday by King Mohamed IV of Morocco.

    It follows a long-running campaign by activists for the recognition of the calendar recognised by the Berber people, or Amazigh as they prefer to be called.

    The Amazigh, who constitute around 40% of the country’s population of more than 34 million, celebrate the new year, also known as Yennayer.

    The first day of the year is based on seasons and agriculture – and counting is said to have started when an Amazigh king defeated an Egyptian pharaoh 2972 years ago.

    The current year is 2973.

    The day is also celebrated by Arabic-speaking Moroccans who call it the beginning of the agricultural year corresponding to 13 January.

    The royal palace said on Wednesday that the approval of the holiday showed the “king’s commitment to the Berber language, a fundamental part of Morocco’s authentic identity and a shared asset for all Moroccans”.

  • Asabke files appeal to overturn death sentence for Adams Mahama’s murder

    Asabke files appeal to overturn death sentence for Adams Mahama’s murder

    Asabke Alangde, a convicted felon who was given the death penalty by a seven-person jury panel, has filed a notice of appeal asking the Court of Appeal to overturn the jury’s decision.

    Asabke, a former Station Master of Bolgatanga-Kumasi Lorry Station was unanimously found guilty after the jury returned a guilty verdict for him on conspiracy.

    But returned a 4:3 verdict not guilty for him and Gregory Afoko for the charge of murder while the court had ordered for Afoko’s retrial who also had a 4:3 verdict on conspiracy in his favour.

    The two were accused for the acid incident which led to the death of New Patriotic Party’s Upper East Regional Chairman in May 20, 1015.

    Six days after his conviction, documents sighted by Starrfm.com.gh indicated that the lawyers for Asabke have filed a notice of appeal to the appeal court for his conviction and the entire ruling to be set aside.

    “Please take notice that the 2nd Accused / Appellant herein being dissatisfied with the ruling/conviction by Her Ladyship Wood JA (sitting as an additional High Court Judge) delivered on the 27 of April 2023 at the High Court, [General Jurisdiction 11], Accra, hereby Appeals to the Court of Appeal on the grounds set out in paragraph 2 below and will at the hearing of the Appeal seek the relief set out in paragraph 3 below,” the notice of Appeal filed on Wednesday, May 3, stated.

    Grounds of Appeal

    Per the groups of Appeal, the notice of appeal states that, “the trial judge failed to adequately direct the jury on the offence of conspiracy in the summing up leading to misdirection and conviction of the 2nd Accused/ Appellant.

    “The unanimous verdict reached by the jury on conspiracy and a 4-3 majority verdict for murder for the 2nd Accused/Appellant; and 4-3 majority verdict on both counts of Conspiracy and murder in favour of the 1s Accused person, on the same set of facts and charges cannot be grounded in law and thus void.

    “The conviction of the 2nd Accused/Appellant is erroneous and same is not supported by the evidence adduced at the trial.

    He is seeking for a relief that, “the entire ruling / conviction of the High Court dated 27 April, 2023 be set aside.”

    EIB Network’s Legal Affairs Correspondent, Murtala Inusah, gathered that, his legal team are also contemplating filing Certiorari at the Supreme Court to Quash the conviction of ASABKE on grounds of errors on the record.

    *Jury verdict*

    The seven member panel on Thursday , April 27, unanimously found him guilty for the offense of conspiracy for murder but returned a 4:3 verdict for him for murder

    For Gregory Afoko, the jury which comprised of four ladies and three men also returned a 4:3 not guilty verdict in his favour on both counts of conspiracy and murder.

    Justice Afua Merley Wood, a Justice of the Court of Appeal said per the law, said, a 4:3 means it is a “Hung jury” and Afoko must be Retried before another jury.

    Before passing her sentencing, the judge said. “Asabke Alangde, the men and women you have chosen to try you have found you guilty of conspiracy,” the court informed him.

    Asabke in his last words to the court said, “I have not done anything. I’m pleading with the court.”

    Justice Wood while passing her sentence said, “you are sentenced to death by hanging. May God have mercy on your soul.”

  • Nigeria to give life sentence to unlicensed explosives producers

    Nigeria to give life sentence to unlicensed explosives producers

    A bill supporting life imprisonment without the option of a fine has been approved by the Nigerian senate and is now in effect.

    The passing of the bill on on Wednesday followed the consideration and adoption of a report by a senate committee on solid minerals, mines, steel development and metallurgy, local media reported.

    The lawmakers said criminals were getting more innovative in the use of explosives to perpetrate crimes.

    They said suicide bombers had killed dozens of Nigerians using explosives.

    The bill will be debated by the House of Representatives before being forwarded for presidential assent.

    Most of the explosives used by insurgents are reportedly made from ammonium nitrate and carbamide, which are locally available.

  • Murdurer of Maadwoa does not deserve to be in police uniform – Prophet Kofi Oduro

    Murdurer of Maadwoa does not deserve to be in police uniform – Prophet Kofi Oduro

    Head pastor of Alabaster International Ministries, Prophet Kofi Oduro, has urged the Ghana Police Service to cut ties with the officer who is accused of killing his fiancée over reports of a breakup.

    Prophet Oduro strongly condemned the officer’s behavior, stating that he does not deserve to wear the police uniform.

    Speaking in a sermon to his congregation on Sunday, April 30, 2023, Prophet Oduro expressed his disappointment at the officer’s actions, calling him disgraceful and unworthy of a police officer.

    He further stated that the police service should send a message to the officer that his behavior was unacceptable and that he should not be allowed to tarnish the image of the force.

    Prophet Oduro also criticized the officer’s personal life, stating that it was a “nonsense lifestyle” for him to be having extramarital affairs while having a wife and children.

    “I don’t even want to mention police because he has brought disgrace to the profession. And the police service must be able to, you know come out and detach themselves from that young man.

    “He doesn’t deserve to be in that uniform, because I know some very integral and very high-level people sitting here right now who are also wearing that uniform, but that nonsense the young man did, they can’t do it.

    “Nonsense lifestyle, you have a wife and still dating behind her, how much is your salary for you to fornicate? And we should be able to tell him, what I am saying, send it to him in police remand to watch because he has behaved foolishly, officer, you have behaved foolishly,” he said.

    Meanwhile, the Ghana Police Service has announced the arrest of Inspector Ahmed Twumasi, a police officer who is suspected of shooting and killing a woman believed to be his girlfriend.

    The incident took place on Thursday, April 20, 2023, in Kumasi, the capital city of the Ashanti Region.

    Following the shooting incident, the suspect went into hiding, and a special police operation was launched to track him down.

    The operation, according to the police, eventually led to the suspect’s arrest on Sunday, April 23, 2023, in Sekyere, near Effiduase in the Ashanti Region.

  • Nungua ‘killer’ husband receives curses as he makes first appearance in court

    Nungua ‘killer’ husband receives curses as he makes first appearance in court

    On May 3, 2023, a guy simply known as Isaac made his first court appearance. He is accused of killing his wife in the Accra suburb of Nungua.

    Family and friends of the deceased who was hacked to death for allegedly demanding a divorce from the serially abusive husband thronged the courts.

    Many of them seething with anger, others raining curses on the accused whiles shedding tears when the accused was being escorted out of the premises after the hearing.

    According to a report by Accra-based UTV sighted by the media, some of the acquaintances attempt to manhandle the accused who has a bandaged head and is wearing a black face mask.

    He is handcuffed with both hands at his back as the police shepherd him and another person into a vehicle that speeds from the premises as irate onlookers point fingers at him, some attempting to hit the car.

    The report of his deadly attack on the deceased was reported earlier this week.

    According to a witness to the marriage, the deceased serially begged to return to her matrimonial home whenever the husband’s actions caused her to leave.

    “I was the linguist at their marriage and I have known all the issues that plagued their union,” the witness told reporters stressing that it was unfortunate the role that some clergymen played in begging her each time to return to the abusive husband.

    Relatives and friends were gathered at the lady’s home in Nungua wailing over her loss.

    Pastor Boafo of Calvary Baptist speaking at the home lamented the death and the circumstances leading to it before calling on government to ensure that justice is served.

    “Things are getting worse. The nation must speak. Young people have been left to be committing crime. I beg the nation not to coverup the issues.

    “He committed the crime in front of people I know personally, this is not heresy. We beg the government to take action and deliver justice.”

    According to some accounts, he killed the wife and committed suicide over her insistence on proceeding with a divorce.

    Nungua: Sad Scene as man who allegedly killed his wife, and inflicted cutlass wounds on father-in-law makes first appearance in court#UTVNews pic.twitter.com/xl3xhVAaQJ— UTV Ghana (@utvghana) May 3, 2023

    Meanwhile, watch the latest episode of People and Places on GhanaWeb TV below:

    He went from sleeping in uncompleted buildings to becoming a landlord | People & Places.

  • Rwanda pays back $400 million in Eurobonds amid economic hardships

    Rwanda pays back $400 million in Eurobonds amid economic hardships

    Rwanda pays down a $400 million Eurobond despite Despite pressure on the nation’s finances brought on by ongoing global shocks linked to the prolonged impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the appreciation of the US dollar, Rwanda has successfully repaid its $400 million Eurobond.the strain on its finances

    The EastAfrican has learned that the full payment, which was due this week, was successfully made.

    Officials from Rwanda’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning say the repayment was made possible partly due to the availability of financing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that allowed the government to make savings.

    “The government has set aside $63 million as part of the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights (SDR) allocation that it received in 2021 as support to fight against the impact of Covid-19 on the economy,” the finance ministry told The EastAfrican.

    “This foresight and proactive measure by the government have significantly reduced the risk of default and allowed a successful repayment of the remaining 15.1 percent of the 2013 Eurobond,” the ministry added.

    However, Rwanda successfully managed to reduce its debt burden during the pandemic when it took advantage of the low-interest rate environment and issued the second $620 million Eurobond, using part of its proceeds to repay part of the $400 million.

    The 10-year Eurobond ($620 million) issued in April 2021 attracted a coupon rate of 5.5 percent, lower than the 2013 rate of 6.625 percent.

    The lower yield led to a reduction in its annual interest payments over the next 10 years, which has helped to make its debt sustainable.

    While the government has aggressively borrowed in recent years to finance economic recovery and development projects with public and publicly guaranteed debt rising sharply to 78.3 percent of GDP in 2021 up from a pre-pandemic figure of 60.7 percent of GDP in 2019.

    However, approximately 80 percent of this debt is concessional with development finance institutions with low-interest rates and long maturity.

  • ID theft: National Cathedral registered in the name of a US-based man who died in 2014

    ID theft: National Cathedral registered in the name of a US-based man who died in 2014

    North Tongu Member of Parliament, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has made claims that his inquiries and checks with American authorities reveal criminal activity in some of the incorporation paperwork for the National Cathedral of Ghana’s fundraising section.

    The allegations, backed, by documents were posted on his social media handles on May 4, 2023 in what he said was the second installment of the American Edition of National Cathedral Scandals.

    In the first part of his disclosures, Ablakwa provided evidence by way of registration documents to show that the National Cathedral of Ghana had registered a subsidiary in Washington under a different name and that it different ‘governors’ – the American term for trustees.

    On the issue of the use of false identity used to register the American fundraising wing, which the Cathedral Secertariat described as a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), he said a dead Hispanic’s details were behind the particular serial number used in the March 2021 registration.

    “Painstaking and unimpeachable investigations shockingly reveal that the March 2021 incorporation of the National Cathedral of Ghana and Bible Museum Foundation, Inc in Washington, D.C. was criminally executed through IDENTITY THEFT.

    “By an intercepted IRS tax exempt letter dated December 13, 2021 — I can confirm that the Employer ID Number for the National Cathedral of Ghana and Bible Museum Foundation, Inc is: 86-3859197. (See letter attached).

    “Further irrefutable forensic investigations reveal that the Social Security Number of: 863-85-9197 used to generate the Cathedral’s Employer ID Number belongs to one Jose Salgado. (See evidence attached).”

    His writeup continued: “Deeper investigations and impregnable gold-standard validation which include a report from police database has established that 31 year-old Jose Salgado who has many aliases including Jose Luis Delapaz, Jose Isabel Salgado, Jose Luis Paz and Jose L De was born in March 1983 and died on September 17, 2014. (See extract attached).

    “It has therefore emerged beyond any scintilla of doubt that the Social Security Number of a deceased young male Hispanic who died 9 years ago was fraudulently used to incorporate Ghana’s national cathedral in Washington, D.C.” he added.

  • Kenya: Paul Mackenzie to face terrorism charges – Lawyer says

    Kenya: Paul Mackenzie to face terrorism charges – Lawyer says

    Two pastors based in coastal Kenya have appeared in court over the deaths at least 110 of their congregants, many of whom are believed to have starved to death.

    Self-proclaimed pastor Paul Nthenge Mackenzie, who set up the Good News International Church in 2003 and is accused of inciting followers to starve to death “to meet Jesus”, appeared in the dock in Malindi.

    He will face terrorism charges over the deaths of more than 100 people found buried in what has been dubbed the “Shakahola forest massacre,” prosecutors said.

    The small courtroom was packed with relatives of victims as Mackenzie, dressed in a pink and black jacket and brown trousers, was brought in by about half a dozen police officers along with eight other defendants.

    After a brief hearing, the case was moved to the high court in Kenya’s second-largest city of Mombasa, where the suspects will face terrorism charges, prosecutor Vivian Kambaga told AFP.

  • MPs in Uganda approve amended anti-LGBTQ bill

    MPs in Uganda approve amended anti-LGBTQ bill

    A revised anti-gay law in Uganda has been approved by parliament on Tuesday, eliminating a provision that appeared to penalize identifying as LGBTQ.

    The initial version of the bill was widely criticized by the international community.

    “We thank you very much. Once the bill is passed into law, it is the duty of the executive to execute it – and we shall do our part as the executive”, said the Attorney General of Uganda, Kiryowa Kiwanuka.

    Last month, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni returned the bill back to parliament, asking for changes.

    The bill, in its original version, had prescribed life imprisonment for “homosexuality” and the death penalty for aggravated homosexuality.

    “I know all of us have faced intimidations out there, people being promised to be denied visas, travel restrictions and bans – but we have been able to withstand that”, said Asuman Basalirwa, Ugandan Legislator and Mover of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2023

    Previously, the US has warned of economic consequences if the legislation is enacted.

    “While I was in the U.S, I challenged the people I met, especially Africans, that we can see their struggle to defend the right to sexual orientation, but I don’t see them defend the right of Africa in say the transfer of technology like the Chinese are doing. The black race is struggling to transfer homosexuality, not technology, to Africa – and nobody could answer me”, added Mathias Mpuuga, Ugandan Legislator and Leader of Opposition.

    Homosexuality is already illegal in the East African country under a colonial-era law criminalizing sex acts between people of the same gender.

  • The intelligence we are producing is scary – ‘Godfather of AI’ Geoffrey Hinton

    The intelligence we are producing is scary – ‘Godfather of AI’ Geoffrey Hinton

    The man who is frequently credited with being the father of artificial intelligence has left Google, citing worries about the spread of false information, the potential for AI to completely change the employment market, and the “existential risk” posed by the development of a true digital intelligence

    Dr Geoffrey Hinton, who with two of his students at the University of Toronto built a neural net in 2012, quit Google this week, as first reported by the New York Times.

    Hinton, 75, said he quit to speak freely about the dangers of AI, and in part regrets his contribution to the field. He was brought on by Google a decade ago to help develop the company’s AI technology, and the approach he pioneered led the way for current systems such as ChatGPT.

    The decoder could reconstruct speech using fMRI scan data.

    He told the New York Times that until last year he believed Google had been a “proper steward” of the technology, but that changed once Microsoft started incorporating a chatbot into its Bing search engine, and the company began becoming concerned about the risk to its search business.

    Some of the dangers of AI chatbots were “quite scary”, he told the BBC, warning they could become more intelligent than humans and could be exploited by “bad actors”. “It’s able to produce lots of text automatically so you can get lots of very effective spambots. It will allow authoritarian leaders to manipulate their electorates, things like that.”

    But, he added, he was also concerned about the “existential risk of what happens when these things get more intelligent than us.

    “I’ve come to the conclusion that the kind of intelligence we’re developing is very different from the intelligence we have,” he said. “So it’s as if you had 10,000 people and whenever one person learned something, everybody automatically knew it. And that’s how these chatbots can know so much more than any one person.”

    He is not alone in the upper echelons of AI research in fearing that the technology could pose serious harm to humanity. Last month, Elon Musk said he had fallen out with the Google co-founder Larry Page because Page was “not taking AI safety seriously enough”. Musk told Fox News that Page wanted “digital superintelligence, basically a digital god, if you will, as soon as possible”.

    Valérie Pisano, the chief executive of Mila – the Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute – said the slapdash approach to safety in AI systems would not be tolerated in any other field. “The technology is put out there, and as the system interacts with humankind, its developers wait to see what happens and make adjustments based on that. We would never, as a collective, accept this kind of mindset in any other industrial field. There’s something about tech and social media where we’re like: ‘Yeah, sure, we’ll figure it out later,’” she said.

    Hinton’s concern in the short term is something that has already become a reality – people will not be able to discern what is true any more with AI-generated photos, videos and text flooding the internet.

    The recent upgrades to image generators such as Midjourney mean people can now produce photo-realistic images – one such image of Pope Francis in a Balenciaga puffer coat went viral in March.

    Hinton was also concerned that AI will eventually replace jobs like paralegals, personal assistants and other “drudge work”, and potentially more in the future.

    Google’s chief scientist, Jeff Dean, said in a statement that Google appreciated Hinton’s contributions to the company over the past decade.

    “I’ve deeply enjoyed our many conversations over the years. I’ll miss him, and I wish him well!

    “As one of the first companies to publish AI Principles, we remain committed to a responsible approach to AI. We’re continually learning to understand emerging risks while also innovating boldly.”Toby Walsh, the chief scientist at the University of New South Wales AI Institute, said people should be questioning any online media they see now.

    “When it comes to any digital data you see – audio or video – you have to entertain the idea that someone has spoofed it.”

    The free press is under attack from multiple forces. 

    Media outlets are closing their doors, victims to a broken business model. In much of the world, journalism is morphing into propaganda, as governments dictate what can and can’t be printed. In the last year alone, hundreds of reporters have been killed or imprisoned for doing their jobs. The UN reports that 85% of the world’s population experienced a decline in press freedom in their country in recent years. 

    This week marks the 30th annual World Press Freedom Day, a day for everyone to reflect on the importance of free expression as fundamental for all other rights. It is also an opportunity to pledge support for independent media – because without a robust and free press, a healthy democracy is impossible.

    As you’re joining us today from Ghana, we hope you will consider marking this day by supporting the Guardian. Despite the financial challenges plaguing the media industry, we’ve decided to keep our journalism paywall-free, because we deeply believe everyone has the right to access high-quality, fact-checked reporting. And we maintain our independence thanks to generosity from readers all over the world, who understand that supporting the free press is an investment in an informed and empowered public. 

    Unlike many others, we have no billionaire owner – this helps us maintain the freedom to  fearlessly chase the truth and report it with integrity. Your support will allow us to continue to work with trademark determination and passion to bring you journalism that’s always free from commercial or political interference. 

  • Sociedad’s Kubo brings former club, Madrid, to their knees

    Sociedad’s Kubo brings former club, Madrid, to their knees

    Takefusa Kubo, who scored in Real Sociedad’s 2-0 victory over Real Madrid, haunted his former team, causing a 10-man Real Madrid to stumble once more in the LaLiga title race.

    Barcelona snatched a 1-0 victory over Osasuna prior to Tuesday’s kick-off at Reale Arena, where Madrid offered little without the suspended Vinicius Junior or the rested Karim Benzema.

    Kubo – who joined La Real from Los Blancos last July – scored just past half-time and, after Dani Carvajal received his marching orders for two cautions, Ander Barrenetxea made sure of victory for the hosts.

    Next week’s Champions League semi-final clash at Manchester City appears the priority for Madrid now over LaLiga, where they trail leaders Barca by 14 points with five games to play.

    Alex Remiro made an expert stop to deny Eder Militao with a sixth-minute header bound for the top-right corner before La Real steadied their early nerves.

    Martin Zubimendi turned Alexander Sorloth’s near-post flick-on onto the crossbar from point-blank range, while Thibaut Courtois repelled a glorious David Silva chance with his feet.

    Mikel Oyarzabal saw a penalty appeal for a foul by Militao rejected as the hosts continued in the ascendancy, albeit without a first-half reward arriving.

    Yet their dominance told immediately after the interval when Kubo capitalised on a stray Militao pass back to Courtois and poked into an empty net.

    Matters worsened for Madrid as Carvajal was sent off for a second needless lunge on Aihen Munoz, before Barrenetxea sealed the deal in the 85th minute when he smashed a low finish into the bottom-left corner.

    What does it mean? Immaculate Imanol plan has Madrid reeling…again

    La Real coach Imanol Alguacil has taken more points off Madrid in LaLiga than any other manager in the competition’s history, moving past Paco Lopez (10) after making it 12 in 10 games (W3 D3 L4).

    While the visitors were without star winger Vinicius, Los Blancos had won all three fixtures this season when he had not featured and avoided conceding in those outings.

    Then there was Carlo Ancelotti’s decision to rest Benzema, displaying the Italian’s obvious priority – Alguacil may have Madrid’s number but Los Blancos’ calling card remains firmly with the Champions League.

    King Kubo

    Loan spells at Mallorca, Villarreal and Getafe marked an unsuccessful spell in Kubo’s Madrid career, with Los Blancos showing little interest in keeping him.

    But the La Real forward made his former side pay here, scoring his eighth goal in 30 LaLiga games for Alguacil’s side – two more than in his previous four seasons combined (six goals in 94 outings).

    More needed from Militao

    Miliato went close in the opening stages to scoring his sixth headed goal this season in Europe’s top-five leagues – no player can match his current mark of five either.

    Yet the Brazil centre-back’s momentary lapse in concentration in the second period, crumbling under the pressure of Sorloth before rolling in Kubo, will be what this performance is remembered for.

    Key Opta facts

    – Real Sociedad won their first game against Real Madrid in LaLiga since May 2019, ending a seven-game winless run against them in the competition (D3 L4).

    – Real Madrid have now lost six of their last 11 away games in LaLiga (W4 D1), the same number of away defeats as in their previous 58 top-flight matches combined (W40 D12 L6).

    – Real Sociedad have taken 16 points from their last eight LaLiga games (W5 D1 L2), after picking up just seven in their previous seven league games (W1 D4 L2).

    – At 37 years and 114 days, David Silva is the oldest player this century to provide an assist against Real Madrid in LaLiga, surpassing the record set by Eusebio with Real Valladolid in June 2001 (37 years and 65 days).

    – Ander Barrenetxea has now scored three goals in 18 LaLiga games this term, matching his single-season record in the competition (three goals in 31 games in 2020-21).

    What’s next?

    Madrid face Osasuna in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday, a week before La Real host Girona in LaLiga.

  • I needed a break for my mental and emotional welbeing – Rory McIlroy

    I needed a break for my mental and emotional welbeing – Rory McIlroy

    In the month of April, Rory McIlroy withdrew from the RBC Heritage tournament

    and cited his “mental and emotional wellbeing” as the cause.

    No reason was given at the time for the world number three’s withdrawal, which came soon after he missed the cut at the Masters.

    McIlroy will make his first return to competition since Augusta at this week’s Wells Fargo Championship.

    “I needed a break for me,” the Northern Irishman told the Golf Channel.

    • McIlroy withdraws from RBC Heritage event

    “Obviously, after the disappointment of Augusta, and it’s been a pretty taxing 12 months mentally, so it was nice to just try to disconnect a little bit and get away from it.

    “But it’s nice to come back and feel refreshed and I think we’re on a pretty busy run here from now until after the play-offs so I’m excited to get going.

    “I think it was a combination of a few things, and just after the disappointment of Augusta and how I played there, it was just more for my mental and emotional wellbeing I just needed to be at home for those few weeks but, as I said, looking forward to getting back this week.”

    He added: “I think I’m in a better headspace than I was. Yes, you know, that run-up to Augusta is always a stressful enough couple of weeks trying to make sure everything is in the right order and making sure your game is in good shape.

    “I think for me it was a nice reset because I still had to realise that there are three more majors this year, there is a ton left to play for.”

    McIlroy declined to do any post-round interviews after failing to make the halfway cut in what was a disappointing performance at the Masters.

    The RBC Heritage was the second designated PGA Tour event that the 33-year-old has skipped this year, one more than players ranked in the top 20 of the circuit’s Player Impact Program (PIP) are allowed to miss.

    Having already sat out the season-opening Sentry Tournament of Champions in January, this second absence could potentially cost him bonus money from the PIP, which is distributed at the end of the PGA Tour season and which earned McIlroy £7.5m in 2022.

    McIlroy will be aiming to win the Wells Fargo Championship for a fourth time when he competes at Quail Hollow this week, having won the title in 2010, 2015 and 2021.

  • PSG suspends Lionel Messi for traveling to Saudi Arabia

    PSG suspends Lionel Messi for traveling to Saudi Arabia

    Lionel Messi, the captain of Argentina, has been given a two-week suspension by Paris Saint-Germain for making a trip to Saudi Arabia this week without the club’s consent.

    The trip followed the French club’s home defeat by Lorient on Sunday, in which Messi played the full 90 minutes.

    Messi will not train or play for PSG during the period of his suspension.

    It is understood the 35-year-old asked permission to make the journey to carry out commercial work but was refused.

    • Lionel Messi: Why dream return to Barcelona looks very unlikely

    Messi, who has also been fined by the club, has a role as a tourism ambassador for Saudi Arabia.

    The World Cup winner’s two-year contract with PSG expires this summer.

    Barcelona vice-president Rafael Yuste claimed in March that the Spanish club were in contact with Messi about a return to the Nou Camp.

    Messi has scored 31 goals and contributed 34 assists in 71 games in all competitions for PSG, and won the Ligue 1 title last season.

    He is set to miss matches against Troyes and Ajaccio as PSG, five points clear with five games to go, look to clinch a ninth league title in 11 seasons.

    ‘Messi’s PSG career effectively over’ – Analysis

    Simon Stone, BBC Sport

    Lionel Messi has taken a decision that effectively calls time on his Paris St-Germain career.

    Yes, they have three games left after Messi’s suspension has been completed and there is work remaining to secure another Ligue 1 title, but PSG are on a different course now – and it does not involve Messi, who less than five months ago achieved the crowning glory of his stellar career by lifting the World Cup.

    PSG do not view their actions as being anything extraordinary. In their minds they are effectively punishing an employee who has gone somewhere else on a work day miles away from where he is supposed to be.

    But they also feel it is a statement about the future direction of the club, which they are adamant will be around younger players. It is also confirmation of their zero-tolerance approach to discipline.

    • ‘The shorter your sleep, the shorter your life’: Joe Wicks learns why sleep is fundamental to our health
    • How many footballing milestones do you know? Test yourself in this fun quiz

  • Warring parties in Sudan concedes to 7-day truce from May 4

    Warring parties in Sudan concedes to 7-day truce from May 4

    The warring parties in Sudan have agreed to a seven-day truce starting May 4, in a phone conversation with South Sudan‘s President Salva Kiir, the foreign ministry in Juba said Tuesday, raising hopes of an end to weeks of bloodshed.

    Sudan’s army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy turned rival, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, “have agreed in principle for a seven-day truce from May 4th to 11th,” the ministry said in a statement.

    Hundreds of people have been killed and thousands wounded in the fighting as air strikes and artillery exchanges have pounded swathes of greater Khartoum, sparking the exodus of thousands of Sudanese to neighbouring countries.

    The two sides have also agreed “to name their representatives to peace talks to be held at any venue of their choice”, the statement from Juba said.

    Kiir was speaking to Burhan and Daglo as part of an initiative by the East African regional bloc IGAD (Inter-Governmental Authority on Development), which has been pushing for an end to the fighting, echoing calls by the African Union and the international community.

    Sudan’s rival military forces have accused each other of violating ceasefire as the deadly conflict rumbled on for several weeks despite warnings of a slide towards civil war.

    Both sides said a formal ceasefire agreement that was due to expire at midnight would be extended for a further 72 hours. The army said it hoped what it called the “rebels” would abide by the deal but it believed they had intended to keep up attacks. The parties have kept fighting through a series of ceasefires over the past week.

  • National Cathedral: Ken Agyapong’s attorney appears in US registration paperwork

    National Cathedral: Ken Agyapong’s attorney appears in US registration paperwork

    On the registration papers of the Ghana National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., Eric Okyere Darko, a member of Kennedy Agyapong’s legal team and Member of Parliament for Assin Central, is listed as a trustee.

    This was revealed by North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Abkakwa in his May 2 revelations on the registration processes of the project in the United States.

    The MP stated in his social media post that per his checks, the registration details of the project in Ghana was different from what he got from that of the US.

    Also, whiles eminent clergymen were dominant on the Board of Trustees in Ghana registration papers, in the case of the US, there were three persons.

    The only common personality on both sides being Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah, the Executive Secretary to the National Cathedral of Ghana project.

    What Ablakwa said of the other two US governors

    Mr. Eric Okyere Darko was appointed to the Board of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) by President Akufo-Addo and sworn in by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta on October 12, 2021 — a few months after he was listed as one of three governors of the National Cathedral of Ghana and Bible Museum Foundation, Inc.

    Mr. Eric Okyere Darko was also one of Hon. Kennedy Agyapong’s lawyers in the recent case against Anas.

    Dr. Vernon Darko on the other hand is said to be the founder and CEO of EQUIPXP® (EXP) and a small business exporter. It is not clear what his usefulness will be to a National Cathedral project.

  • Tems and Burna Boy dazzle during the 2023 Met Gala

    Tems and Burna Boy dazzle during the 2023 Met Gala

    The 2023 Met Gala, one of the biggest fashion and fundraising events in the entertainment industry, saw the debut of Nigerian artists Burna Boy and Tems.

    The event, which traditionally holds every first Monday of May, had its 2023 theme as, ‘Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty’ honouring the late designer, who died in 2019.

    While Burna Boy donned a Burberry Blue and Black suit, Tems wore a black and white dress.

    PICTORIAL: Burna Boy, Tems Attend Met Gala 2023

    WhatsApp Image 2023-05-02 at 10.54.24 AM

    By Victoria Edeme

    Nigerian singers Burna Boy and Tems made their debut at the 2023 Met Gala, one of the biggest fashion and fundraising events in the entertainment scene.

    The event, which traditionally holds every first Monday of May, had its 2023 theme as, ‘Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty’ honouring the late designer, who died in 2019.

    While Burna Boy donned a Burberry Blue and Black suit, Tems wore a black and white dress.

    See photo below:Related News

    Photo credit: Twitter | AccessBurnaBoy, thesoftestaura

  • 60 Shaabab militiamen killed by Somali National Army in Haradhere

    60 Shaabab militiamen killed by Somali National Army in Haradhere

    The killing of numerous Al-Shabaab fighters, according to the Somali National Army (SNA), has boosted the insurgent group’s morale.

    Haradhere District Commissioner Mohamed Yusuf Kulmiye said that the SNA had received information about the movement of Al-Shabaab militants travelling in two vehicles after which it launched an attack. Haradhere is located northeast of Mogadishu.

    “An operation was assembled to intercept the extremist militants and their vehicles, the soldiers managing to kill all 60 terrorists travelling on the vehicles,” said Kulmiye, adding that the SNA forces seized the two vehicles and the weapons the militants carried.

    The ambush occurred near a location called Ali-Qabobe, about 30 km south of Haradhere.

    Since August last year, the SNA, in close collaboration with local vigilante groups known as Macawisley, has been gaining territory from Al-Shabaab, especially in Galmudug and Hirshabelle states in Central Somalia.

    Haradhere, a former stronghold of the notorious Somali pirates, was seized and controlled by Al-Shabaab militants over a decade ago. However, the extremists lost the strategic coastal town and many other locations in Mudug region in Galmudug State to the pro-government allied forces in January this year.

  • Russia troop deaths hit 20,000 in 5 months – US

    Russia troop deaths hit 20,000 in 5 months – US

    The US believes that since December, fighting in Ukraine has claimed the lives of around 20,000 Russian servicemen.

    A further 80,000 have been wounded, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said, citing newly declassified intelligence.

    Half of the dead are from the Wagner mercenary company, who have been attacking the eastern Bakhmut city.

    Russia has been trying to take the small city since last year in a grinding war of attrition.

    Moscow currently holds most of Bakhmut, but Ukrainian troops are still control a small portion of the city in the west. The fierce battle has taken on huge symbolic importance for both sides.

    Ukrainian officials have also said they are using the battle to kill as many of Russia’s troops as possible and wear down its reserves.

    “Russia’s attempt at an offensive in the Donbas [region] largely through Bakhmut has failed,” Mr Kirby told reporters. “Russia has been unable to seize any real strategic and significant territory.

    “We estimate that Russia has suffered more than 100,000 casualties, including over 20,000 killed in action,” he added.

    The toll in Bakhmut accounts for losses since the start of December, according to the US figures.

    “The bottom line is that Russia’s attempted offensive has backfired after months of fighting and extraordinary losses,” Mr Kirby said.

    He added he was not giving estimates of Ukrainian casualties because “they are the victims here. Russia is the aggressor”.

    The BBC is unable to independently verify the figures given and Moscow has not commented.

    A local resident pushes his bicycle down a street in Bakhmut in January
    Image caption,A local resident pushes his bicycle down a street in Bakhmut in January

    The capture of the city would bring Russia slightly closer to its goal of controlling the whole of Donetsk region, one of four regions in eastern and southern Ukraine annexed by Russia last September following referendums widely condemned outside Russia as a sham.

    Analysts say Bakhmut has little strategic value, but has become a focal point for Russian commanders, who have struggled to deliver any positive news to the Kremlin.

    The Wagner mercenary group – which widely uses convicts and has become notorious for its often inhumane methods – has taken centre stage in the Russian assault on Bakhmut.

    Its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has staked his reputation, and that of his private army, on seizing the city.

    But he recently threatened to pull his troops out of Bakhmut.

    In a rare in-depth interview to a prominent Russian war blogger, he vowed to withdraw Wagner fighters if they were not provided with much-needed ammunition by the Russian defence ministry.

    Wagner fighters could be redeployed to Mali, he warned.

    He has often clashed with Russia’s defence ministry during the war, accusing officials of not providing his fighters with enough support.

    Mr Prigozhin also called upon the Russian media and military leadership to “stop lying to the Russian population” ahead of an expected Ukrainian spring counteroffensive.

    “We need to stop lying to the Russian population, telling them everything is all right,” he said.

    He praised the Ukrainian military’s “good, correct military operations” and command.

    A top Ukrainian general said on Monday that counterattacks had ousted Russian forces from some positions in Bakhmut, but the situation remained “difficult”.

    New Russian units, including paratroopers and fighters from Wagner, are being “constantly thrown into battle” despite taking heavy losses, Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, said on Telegram.

    “But the enemy is unable to take control of the city,” he said.

  • Meet professor at KNUST, mastermind behind Otumfuo’s giant statue

    Meet professor at KNUST, mastermind behind Otumfuo’s giant statue

    Kumasi may have more statues than any other city in the nation. A statue of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, was just unveiled, adding to this honor.

    Situated at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) the gold-plated statue shows the Asantehene, who is also the Chancellor of the school, in traditional kente cloth, with what appears to be royal jewelry on his arms and wrists.

    The statue also captures Otumfuo with a head ornament.

    The statue, which exceptionally captures Otumfuo’s facial details, could also be described as an exact duplicate of his image.

    Following the unveiling of the statue in March 2023, some people took to social media to heap praises on the man who is said to have been behind the near-perfect work.

    Prof. Edwin Kwesi Bodjawah, the Head of the Department of Painting and Sculpture, as well as the Head of the KNUST Museum, has been mentioned as the man.

    In a post by Voice of KNUST on March 26, 2023, it named the professor as the man who completed this giant work of the Ashanti king.

    GhanaWeb has made an extra effort at knowing who this professor is.

    Edwin Kwesi Bodjawah (b.1970) grew up in the centre of Accra but he currently lives and practices in the city of Kumasi. He was introduced to commercial cold cast techniques by Francis Nee Kwartei Owoo, a protégé of the once internationally famous pioneer—Giovanni Schoeman, in the early 1990’s while still in art school.

    Bodjawah’s early works in this vein depicted genre scenes of the emerging African cities—with traditional African ornament—akin to the typical social realist works of the early postcolonial African canon.

    Employing antique-finish cold cast technique for his resin-bronze and multi-metal sculpture, he also worked on a number of private and public sculpture commissions. However, a few years into the 21st Century, his practice would take a radical turn after epiphanic engagements with k?rî?k?chä seid’ou on contemporary art.

    With Bodjawah’s new and expanded perspectives into the politics and infrastructure of international sculpture practice and thought, coupled with an enduring interest in African masking traditions, a new space of criticality was opened in his practice.

    In his new body of works, he repurposes decommissioned and de-accessioned materials and objects which have intervened in the lives of individuals and communities on the African continent, especially, those mediated through colonial intervention and modern market economies.

    Critical to Bodjawah’s current practice is his ritual surfing of the internet to select images of masks that have found their way into museums of the global north and reproducing them serially through a hybrid of artisanal and semi-mechanical means, collaborative manufacture and display.

    In recent years, Bodjawah’s work has seen several exhibitions including Spectacles Speculations… (2018, Kumasi) and Silence speaks: Of Blood, Soil and more (2017, Cape Coast), curated by Kwasi Ohene-Ayeh. His publications are in the areas of art history, contemporary art and art education.

    Bodjawah is a principal Trustee and Patron of blaxTARLINES, an art incubator and project space affiliated with the KNUST Fine Art Department and Associate Professor in the same Department. He is also the coordinator of the KNUST Museum (Opoku Ware II Museum).

  • 2 detained by police in relation to alleged stolen rail tracks, steel sleepers

    2 detained by police in relation to alleged stolen rail tracks, steel sleepers

    Two people have been detained by police in connection with an alleged theft of the rail line infrastructure, according to a video that went popular on social media.

    A May 1, 2023 statement posted on their social media handles identified the two as Ibrahim John and Bashiru, who were transporting the materials to a company in Tema.

    “According to the suspects, their company has been contracted by the Ministry of Railway Development to cart the exhibit items to Tema.

    “Officials of the company who were not met at the premises of the company have been asked to report to the Police tomorrow morning to assist the investigation,” the statement noted in part.

    The viral video of rail tracks and steel sleepers being removed in parts of the country went viral on social media on May 1, 2023.

    The videos, shared by the state-owned Daily Graphic, showed a citizen raising alarm about how the perpetrators had cut and removed the rail infrastructure along a bushy area in an unidentified location.

    Most commenters on social media lamented how critical infrastructure was being destroyed and looted by individuals whiles other tagged the police to take immediate action.

    Hours later, the police announced the arrest of two persons in connection with the act, stating that investigations were still underway.

    POLICE ARREST TWO PEOPLE IN CONNECTION WITH VIRAL VIDEO ON SOME ALLEGED STOLEN RAIL TRACKS AND STEEL SLEEPERS

    The Police have arrested two suspects in connection with some alleged stolen rail tracks and steel sleepers believed to belong to the Ghana Railway Development Authority which has gone viral on social media.

    The suspects Ibrahim John and Bashiru Ibrahim were arrested while transporting the said items to Ferro Frabrik Ltd. yard in Tema.

    According to the suspects, their company has been contracted by the Ministry of Railway Development to cart the exhibit items to Tema.

    Officials of the company who were not met at the premises of the company have been asked to report to the Police tomorrow morning to assist the investigation.

    Contact has also been made with the Ministry of Railway Development and officials of the Ministry are expected to report to the Police tomorrow 2nd May 2023 to support the investigation.

    Meanwhile, three DAF trucks GN 8501 – 15, GT 4705 -15 and GT 6707 -15 which were being used to convey the items have been impounded and parked at the National Police Training School due to the size of the trucks while the investigation continues.

  • Kenya Authorities begin Autopsy on cult victims

    Kenya Authorities begin Autopsy on cult victims

      Over 100 bodies of followers of a religious cult who starved themselves to death have begun receiving autopsies from Kenyan authorities.

      The investigators exhumed the bodies of 10 children on Monday and found signs of starvation and in some cases asphyxiation.

      The Christian-based cult was founded by Paul Mackenzie Nthenge, a former taxi driver, who has been in police custody since April 14th.

      Reports suggest the cult leader is refusing food and water.

      According to the Kenyan Red Cross, more than 300 people have been reported missing.

      On Sunday, Kenyan President William Ruto said he would appoint a judicial commission of inquiry this week to investigate the tragedy.

    • AI chatbots may soon be intelligent more than us – Geoffrey Hinton

      AI chatbots may soon be intelligent more than us – Geoffrey Hinton

      A man widely regarded as the father of artificial intelligence (AI) has resigned from his position in order to raise awareness of the mounting risks posed by the field’s advancements.

      Geoffrey Hinton, aged 75, announced his resignation from Google in a statement to the New York Times, saying he now regretted his work.

      He told the BBC some of the dangers of AI chatbots were “quite scary”.

      “Right now, they’re not more intelligent than us, as far as I can tell. But I think they soon may be.”

      Dr Hinton also accepted that his age had played into his decision to leave the tech giant, telling the BBC: “I’m 75, so it’s time to retire.”

      Dr Hinton’s pioneering research on deep learning and neural networks has paved the way for current AI systems like ChatGPT.

      But the British-Canadian cognitive psychologist and computer scientist told the BBC the chatbot could soon overtake the level of information that a human brain holds.

      “Right now, what we’re seeing is things like GPT-4 eclipses a person in the amount of general knowledge it has and it eclipses them by a long way. In terms of reasoning, it’s not as good, but it does already do simple reasoning.

      “And given the rate of progress, we expect things to get better quite fast. So we need to worry about that.”

      In the New York Times article, Dr Hinton referred to “bad actors” who would try to use AI for “bad things”.

      When asked by the BBC to elaborate on this, he replied: “This is just a kind of worst-case scenario, kind of a nightmare scenario.

      “You can imagine, for example, some bad actor like [Russian President Vladimir] Putin decided to give robots the ability to create their own sub-goals.”

      The scientist warned that this eventually might “create sub-goals like ‘I need to get more power’”.

      He added: “I’ve come to the conclusion that the kind of intelligence we’re developing is very different from the intelligence we have.

      “We’re biological systems and these are digital systems. And the big difference is that with digital systems, you have many copies of the same set of weights, the same model of the world.

      “And all these copies can learn separately but share their knowledge instantly. So it’s as if you had 10,000 people and whenever one person learnt something, everybody automatically knew it. And that’s how these chatbots can know so much more than any one person.”

      He stressed that he did not want to criticise Google and that the tech giant had been “very responsible”.

      “I actually want to say some good things about Google. And they’re more credible if I don’t work for Google.”

      In a statement, Google’s chief scientist Jeff Dean said: “We remain committed to a responsible approach to AI. We’re continually learning to understand emerging risks while also innovating boldly.”

    • Plans to celebrate my first premier League begun weeks ago – Antoine Semenyo

      Plans to celebrate my first premier League begun weeks ago – Antoine Semenyo

      Antoine Semenyo of Bournemouth is ecstatic after scoring his first Premier League goal in the team’s 4-1 victory over Leeds United on Sunday.

      The Ghanaian forward, who has struggled for game time, revealed that he had been practicing a celebration with his best friend Jaidon Anthony in the team when he scores his first goal.

      “We’ve been planning for weeks for a celebration, and we’ve finally been on the pitch together to do it. It’s even better,” Semenyo said.

      The 23-year-old signed for Bournemouth in the January transfer window from Bristol City after an impressive run in the English Championship. He has since found game time hard to come by, starting only two games.

      Speaking to the club’s media team after the game, Semenyo expressed his excitement, saying it still feels surreal that he is playing in the Premier League.

      “It feels real. It hasn’t sunk in yet. I am happy the ball went in. I just hit it as hard as I can. I am happy,” Semenyo said.

      Scoring his first goal in the league, Semenyo hopes it will be the beginning of good things to come, and he can contribute more to the team’s success.

    • Parliament meet again over loan agreement and vetting of new CJ

      Parliament meet again over loan agreement and vetting of new CJ

      Speaker of Parliament Alban Bagbin published a recall notice to MPs on April 22, thus, members of Parliament recovene for urgent business today after .

      Bagbin’s notice sighted by the media stated, “I…direct that Parliament shall notwithstanding anything to the contrary, be recalled from recess to sit on Tuesday, the 2nd day of May 2023, at ten o’clock in the forenoon, at Parliament House, Accra, to consider urgent parliamentary business.”

      The question that has been on the minds of many has been what business specifically has occassioned the recall.

      Ato Forson hints of loan agreement

      Minority Leader Cassiel Ato Forson hours after the recall notice revealed a reason for the recall.

      He said the Minority had no prior knowledge of the recall order issued by Speaker Alban Bagbin, “I wish to state that the minority leadership and members learned about the recall from the media, just like anyone else.”

      He also confirmed that the sitting of the House will be for a day and that it is connected with a “loan agreement currently before it.”

      “It is difficult to comprehend why the NPP government has the courage to continue borrowing, especially after its reckless borrowing, has completely destroyed the Ghanaian economy beyond recognition for generations to come.”

      New CJ expected to be vetted:

      President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, last week, nominated Justice Gertrude Torkonoo as the next Chief Justice of Ghana.

      The nomination was announced via an April 26, 2023 letter from the presidency to the Council of State.

      It was made in lieu of the imminent retirement of current occupant of the office, Kwasi Anin-Yeboah and is also subject to vetting and approval by Parliament.