Jacinda Ardern, whose decision as leader of New Zealand startled both her admirers and detractors, said she has “no regrets” about her intentions to step down.
A day after revealing she had “no more in the tank”, Ms Ardern said she was feeling a “range of emotions” from sadness to a “sense of relief”.
Polls suggest her party has a difficult path to re-election in October.
The prime minister said she would not openly back any of the likely candidates to replace her.
Speaking on Friday outside an airport in Napier – where the Labour Party caucus had gathered for a retreat – Ms Ardern said she had “slept well for the first time in a long time”.
In response to questions by reporters, she rejected suggestions by some commentators that experiences of misogyny had played a role in her decision.
Ms Ardern said she had a “message for women in leadership and girls who are considering leadership in the future” that “you can have a family and be in these roles”, adding “you can lead in your own style”.
On Thursday, she said she was looking forward to spending more time with her family and for being there when her daughter starts school later this year.
She will step down by 7 February and Labour Party MPs will hold a leadership vote on Sunday. If no candidate gets the support of two-thirds of the party, the vote will go to the wider Labour membership.
But Ms Ardern said she expected a successor would be selected on Sunday.
Chris Hipkins, who currently holds the education and police portfolios, appears to be the most likely candidate. Mr Hipkins, 44, led the government’s response to the pandemic after being appointed minister for Covid-19 in November 2020.
He later conceded that strict restrictions should have been scaled back sooner.
Other potential candidates include Minister of Justice Kiri Allan, 39. If successful she would become the country’s first prime minister of Maori descent, as well as the first openly gay leader.
Michael Wood, 42, the Minister for Transport and Workplace Safety is also on the list of potential successors.
Reaction to Ms Ardern’s decision has been mixed in New Zealand. One local, Liliana Lozano, said she’ll miss the leader’s “kindness and her ability to relate to others”.
“Watching her on TV made me feel safe during [Covid] lockdown,” she told the BBC.
But Tina Watson, who is originally from the UK and now lives in South Africa, blamed Ms Ardern for separating her from her family because the borders were closed for more than two years.
“Her Covid-19 restrictions were so harsh,” Ms Watson said. “I have three children [in New Zealand], six grandchildren – two of whom I’ve never met. She drew me apart from them. I’m glad she resigned.”
Jacinda Ardern’s personal popularity has taken a hit recently, with latest polls suggesting it’s at its lowest since she came to power in 2017.
New Zealand has been dealing with issues including a deteriorating economy, a cost of living crisis and concerns about crime rates.
Kenyan President, William Ruto, has endorsed the transformation of a well-known center for cybercrime into an innovation hub.
Hackers operating in Mulot trading centre, located in the Rift Valley, are believed to be behind illegal transfers and withdrawals of huge amounts from bank accounts, according to local media reports.
They are said to work in cahoots with rogue employees of banks and mobile phone service companies.
There have been calls to tap into the unemployed talent to fight online fraud.
President Ruto has now given the go-ahead for the construction of a multi-billion Kenyan shilling software development factory in the area, the Daily Nation newspaper reports.
He has asked the local governor to secure 100 acres of land where the facility will be built.
“In the shortest time possible, I want you to secure land and report back within two months on the progress made so we can move with speed and set up the ICT centre and turn the area to a software development hub in the region,” President Ruto is quoted as saying.
Mass graves containing the bodies of 49 civilians have been discovered in northeastern Congo after a series of weekend attacks blamed on a local militia, the United Nations said Wednesday.
U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters in New York that the graves had been uncovered in two villages in Ituri province, about (19 miles) 30 kilometers east of the town of Bunia.
A total of 42 victims, including six children, had been discovered in a mass grave in the village of Nyamamba, while the bodies of seven other men were found in another village, Mbogi, Haq added.
“Peacekeepers launched a patrol to the area immediately after receiving reports of attacks on civilians by the CODECO militias over the weekend. This is when they made the gruesome discoveries,” Haq said in New York.
Local authorities have said that CODECO — Cooperative for the Development of Congo — militants also abducted a number of women during the attacks on the villages.
Last June, seven CODECO factions announced an end to violence against civilians in Ituri, mainly in the Djugu territory where they were very active. Yet they have gradually resumed attacks in the area.
At least 195 people have been killed since December in a series of attacks blamed on the CODECO militia and other armed groups, the U.N. said. More than 1.5 million people in Ituri province have been displaced by fighting.
Senegal’s transportation industry went on strike this past Wednesday. Several unions banded together to criticize the actions taken on January 9 to address road insecurity.
A plan announced in the wake of the deadly accident in the department of Kaffrine. But some transporters protest against the lack of consultation, and the impossibility of applying certain measures.
On Monday, the fatal bus accident cost the life of at least 19 people, bringing the death toll of car crashes to about 60 in a matter of days.
The government responded by announcing nearly two dozen measures, including limiting buses and trucks to 90 kilometres per hour (56 mph), banning night buses and outlawing the import of used tyres — the suspected cause of last week’s accident. However, some transport unions called certain dispositions out of touch with reality and lifestyles.
According to the World Bank, Senegal, a country of 17 million, records 24 road deaths for every 100,000 inhabitants annually.
Anchor of Good Morning Ghana on Metro TV, Dr Randy Abbey, is perplexed by the online uproar caused by a picture that went viral showing the leaders of the renowned Alpha Hour praying brigade accepting an offertory during one of their events in December 2022.
Dr Randy Abbey, the host of Good Morning Ghana on Metro TV is puzzled by the furore generated on social media by a viral photo of an offertory received by the leaders of the famous Alpha Hour praying brigade during one of their events held in December 2022.
The photo which has been traversing various social media platforms has generated heated debate among some Christians and some persons who claim to be atheists.
The atheists are unhappy that the attendees of the said program willingly donated their monies to Pastor Elvis Agyemang and his team.
For them, the viral photo is another indication of the gullibility of persons who believe in the existence of God and decide to worship him.
The believers, on the other hand, shudder to understand why the ‘atheists’ will be ruffled by monies that they willingly gave to the pastor to support his ministry.
Some believers wonder why the same outrage did not greet some of the popular musical concerts which were held in December with expensive ticket pricing.
Having a bite of the issue on the Wednesday, January 18 edition of the show, Randy Abbey was mystified that the issue has actually become topical on social media.
Dr Randy Abbey, who is a member of the Action Chapel quizzed why people’s expression of their faith will offend others.
“What is wrong with this thing? Is it the offertory they collect? Don’t you go to church? Don’t you pay offertory? Don’t you pay first fruit? Don’t you pay tithe? If the offertory room of any church is filmed, will it be different from this?” Dr. Abbey asked.
“In any case some other people spend their time and money at some shows and concerts and clubs so it is a matter of choice. When you enter the places the monies of every church is counted, it won’t be different from this.” he explained.
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Meanwhile, Pastor Elvis Agyemang has explained what he normally uses the monies accrued from the offering and donation for.
In a viral video of a past sermon, Pastor Agyemang explained that he does not survive on the offertory because the funds are used for charity activities and other things.
“When you tell Christians to fast, oh pastor you are preaching, when you engage them in prayers, oh pastor you are doing well, when you urge them to give then you become a thief, there’s no money that comes before the altar that I take,” he said.
“I do not seek to amass wealth at the expense of the congregation; I rather seek to make sure you do well and progress in life,” he stressed.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of Parliament on Wednesday asked the Management of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospitalto refund GH¢36,000 paid as unearned salaries to some staff in 2020.
Mr Ebenezer Prince Arhin, the Deputy Human Resource Director, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, appearing before the PAC, said efforts made towards retrieving the funds from relatives of some of the deceased staff, in the last two years, had proven futile.
“The unearned salaries are GH¢115,889,12, and Korle-Bu has been able to recover GH¢79, 000 plus and the outstanding is GH¢36,000. We have made frantic efforts to recover that amount but some of them are deceased. We have gotten to their next of kin and we are pursuing them for the money,” he said.
Mr Arhin, therefore, pledged that management would do all it could to retrieve the monies as directed by the Committee.
Mr James Klutse Avedzi, the Chairman, PAC, rejected the explanation of the Hospital and charged the Management to refund the unrecovered amount to the Hospital’s accounts.
PAC commenced sittings on Monday, January 16, 2023, to examine the Auditor General’s Report on public accounts of the Government for the year 2020 and also scrutinise the accounts of the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies per the recommendations of the Report.
The accounts of public boards, corporations, and other statutory institutions would also be considered.
Proceedings of the almost two-week sitting are expected to be concluded on Friday, January 27, according to a statement issued by the Public Affairs Directorate of Parliament, and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra.
The South African military has announced that it will conduct joint military exercises with China and Russia off its coast the following month.
The drills will run for 10 days from 17 February to 27 February in the port city of Durban and Richards Bay.
The aim is sharing operational skills and knowledge, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) said.
South Africa was among African countries that abstained from taking sides in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The country assumed the chairmanship of the Brics group of nations – which brings together Brazil, Russia, India and China – last month.
This will be the second time such a military drill is taking place. The first was held in November 2019 in Cape Town.
“This year’s exercise will see over 350 SANDF personnel from various arms of services and divisions participating,” said SANDF.
At the age of 39, the second-highest Test run scorer in South Africa’s history Hashim Amla, announce his retirement.
Amla scored 9,282 runs – second only to Jacques Kallis’ 13,206 – at an average of 46.64 in 124 Tests.
He amassed 18,672 in all formats for the Proteas from 2004 to 2019, and no-one has scored more than his 27 one-day centuries for South Africa.
Amla’s 311 not out against England at The Oval in 2012 remains the highest Test score by a South African.
He was part of the Surrey team that won the County Championship in 2022, having retired from international cricket three years earlier.
Amla averaged 49.46 in 181 one-day internationals and 33.60 in 44 T20 internationals, and ends his first-class career with 19,521 runs at an average of 48.55.
Former England captain Alec Stewart, who worked with Amla at Surrey, described him as “a great of the game”.
He said: “Everyone at Surrey County Cricket Club will be sad to see Hashim retire, but we all applaud what has been a phenomenal career.
“Hashim is a fantastic cricketer and a wonderful person. He has been an incredible resource for the team to learn from on and off the field.”
Equatorial Guinea’s Vice-President Teodorin Obiang has ordered for the arrest of his half-brother after an inquiry found he had illegally sold a state-owned jet to a Spanish company, and pocketed the money, a government statement says.
The vice-president “expressed indignation” when he learned that Ruslan Obiang Nsue, the assistant director of state-owned Ceiba International airline, had sold the jet, the statement said
He has asked his father – the president – to suspend his half-brother from “all his functions in the state company”, it added.
President Teodoro Obiang has ruled the tiny oil-rich state since 1979 and has filled senior government positions with members of his family.
In 2021, French courts sentenced the vice-president, widely known as Teodorin, to a three-year suspended sentence and a fine of 30m euros ($32.6m; £26.2m) for money laundering.
He was accused of buying luxury apartments and other property in France with the proceeds of the theft of Equatorial Guinea’s resources.
The discovery comes after a series of attacks by armed groups in the region of Ituri.
A UN spokesman, Farhan Haq, said the bodies of 42 people including women and children had been discovered in the village of Nyamamba, and a further seven men in the village of Mbogi.
The peacekeepers had launched patrols in the area after reports of attacks by Codeco militias.
Its fighters are mainly from the Lendu farming community which has long been in conflict with Hema herders.
A recent investigation by Time Magazine has revealed that a company that does artificial intelligence research, OpenAI, paid Kenyan workers less than $2 (£1.60) to make its ChatGPT chatbot less poisonous.
The workers were tasked to help build a filter system that would make ChatGPT suitable for everyday use, Time reported.
They were forced to read graphic detail like child sexual abuse, bestiality, murder, suicide, torture, self harm, and incest.
Their working conditions and pay are considered exploitative even as their work contributes to billion-dollar industries.
OpenAI outsourcing partner in Kenya was Sama, a San Francisco-based company that counts Google, Microsoft, Salesforce and Yahoo among its clients.
The Kenyan workers employed by Sama on behalf of OpenAI were paid a take-home wage of between around $1.32 and $2 per hour depending on seniority and performance, Time reported.
A spokesperson for Sama is quoted by Times as saying that employees were entitled to both individual and group sessions with professionally-trained and licensed mental health therapists.
Sama cancelled all its work for OpenAI in February 2022.
Kenyan Foreign Minister Alfred Mutua says there are nationals in the diaspora brewing illicit alcohol in Arab countries where it is not allowed.
“It breaks my heart.. there are Kenyans there with chang’aa [a local home-brewed illicit spirit] dens, selling chang’aa to other Africans, an illegality of illegalities in a Muslim country,” he said at an interview with local television station, Citizen TV.
He said Kenyans doing illegal activities were undermining the government’s efforts in dealing with issues of welfare for its citizens abroad.
He was responding to concerns about some Kenyans facing difficulties including reports of abuse of people working in the Middle East.
He said the government was doing everything possible to improve the welfare of Kenyans there.
He said he found the situation not as “bad as it sounds” when he initially visited Saudi Arabia soon after being appointed a minister.
“The problem is that some Kenyans engage in illegal and criminal activities when they go there,” he said.
Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni has warned against campaigns supporting rights of homosexuals in the country.
Homosexual acts are already illegal in Uganda.
The president termed gay rights as “nonsense” during remarks made on Wednesday at a graduation ceremony at the National Defence College.
He added that he was glad to have attended a recent meeting in the US where issues of gay rights were not brought up.
“Don’t bring any more nonsense here… We were in Washington, [and] this time the Americans organised the meeting well because they didn’t bring up these issues. They concentrated on business which was good. They didn’t bring up issues about homosexuality. But if they would have brought those we would have had problems.”
A poultry organization has warned that South Africa (Sapa) may experience significant chicken shortages as a result of the power outage that is disrupting the slaughter of the hens.
The Association revealed that it has now reduced the number of chickens slaughtered with abattoirs unable to keep up because of the power cuts.
Local media quote Sapa as saying that it also had to cull 10 million chicks in the past weeks.
Some franchises such as KFC are reportedly already feeling the impact, with the situation likely to get worse.
It comes amid a warning that the issue could become a long-term problem, affecting retail and wholesale markets.
As a result of allegations made by a prominent Indian wrestler that the president of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) and other trainers have been sexually abusing female wrestlers for years, protests have become more intense in India.
Vinesh Phogat has alleged that at least 10 woman wrestlers confessed to her that they were sexually exploited by WFI president Brij Bhushan Singh.
She made the allegations during a protest held against WFI in capital Delhi on Wednesday.
Mr Singh has denied the allegations.
But Phogat and other women athletes said they would not compete in international tournaments unless Mr Singh was removed from the post.
They have also refused to call down their protest until the government addressed their concerns. On Wednesday, India’s sports ministry sought a response to the allegations from WFI within three days.
One of the most decorated women wrestlers of India, Phogat has won medals at the World Championships, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games .
The 28-year-old, who belongs to a family of international female wrestlers, is also a vocal critic of the sexist attitudes towards women in sports – in 2021, she told BBC Sports how she faced sexist remarks growing up and overcame gender stereotypes to forge a successful career as a professional athlete.
At the protest held at the Jantar Mantar heritage site on Wednesday, Phogat alleged that some of the WFI coaches appointed at national training camps had been “sexually harassing women wrestlers for years”.
“They trouble us too much,” she said. “They get into our personal lives and relationships.”
“Singh is also involved in sexual harassment,” the wrestler added. “I know at least 10-12 women wrestlers who have told me about the sexual exploitation they faced at the hands of the WFI president.”
Image caption,WFI chief Brij Bhushan Singh has denied the allegations against him
Phogat said she personally had not faced any harassment, but alleged receiving death threats from officials close to Mr Singh – a charge he denies.
Since Wednesday, several other wrestlers have spoken up against WFI and Mr Singh.
Wrestler Bajrang Punia, who won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics and was also present at the protest, accused the WFI president of running the wrestling federation in an “arbitrary manner”.
“When we win medals for India everyone celebrates but after that nobody cares about how we are treated, especially by the federation,” he said.
Mr Singh, who is also an MP from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, said there is “no truth to the allegations” and refused to step down from his post.
“Is anyone saying that the WFI has sexually harassed a wrestler? Only Vinesh has said it. Even if one wrestler comes forward and says that she has been sexually harassed, that day I can be hanged,” he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, India’s sports authority has cancelled the women’s national wrestling camp, which was due to be held this week, in wake of the protests.
If you have communication issues with your husband, apparently, there’s an unconventional solution out there.
TikToker Tena Hull posted a quick clip on how she got her husband to finally work on home renovations. After waiting over a year to get started on projects, she was done asking the regular way.
“Summoning my husband to fix things for me,” the video text stated.
All Hull did was whip out her handy power drill and pull the trigger. The simple sound was enough to signal her husband from across the house.
“What’s going on up there?” he shouted from another room. “Why do you have a drill?”
The fish took the bait, and the funny clip received 5.4 million views on TikTok.
“Tried it on my husband. The bat signal does indeed work,” a TikToker replied.
“I walk by with tools. He asks if I want a level. I say ‘nah, imma eyeball it’. Immediately up,” a user said.
“My husband forgets when we first lived together almost all of the tools we owned were mine. Somehow now he thinks he needs to save me from using them,” someone wrote.
“Isn’t it AMAZING what they can actually hear?” a person added.
“My husband literally turned around and asked what the sound was,” another commented.
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One does not typically associate an Indian-American immigrant with a heritage of hulking men with G-strings and bow ties entertaining women in seedy bars.
But Mumbai-born Steve Banerjee turned the conventional American Dream for a South Asian on its head when he founded the male strip club Chippendales in Los Angeles in 1979.
The rest is history: Banerjee made a fortune from what turned out to be a hugely successful franchise. Add sex, drugs and murder to the mix and Banerjee’s story becomes the stuff of sensational legend.
In India, Banerjee – and his work – is hardly known. In the US, the Chippendales brand appears to have eclipsed the reputation of its controversial founder. That is now changing.
Nearly three decades after his death, a podcast and a host of TV shows – including Hulu’s latest drama series Welcome To Chippendales, starring Kumail Nanjiani – are revisiting Banerjee’s story.
“Most people would think that the founder of Chippendales was an outgoing party animal who chased women, did drugs, and drank heavily,” says Scott MacDonald, co-author of the 2014 book Deadly Dance: The Chippendales Murders. “Steve was a reserved, controlled man with a clear goal of creating a worldwide brand to rival Disney, Playboy or Polo.”
Image caption,Until Chippendales, male stripping was typically seen at gay bars
He is “a unique part of the story”, says historian Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, whose podcast, Welcome to Your Fantasy, renewed interest in the Chippendales legacy. Bespectacled, brown and stocky, Banerjee stood in contrast to the “white, blonde, California man” fantasy sold by his franchise.
Banerjee, who hailed from a family of printers, left India for Canada as a 20-something man in the late 1960s. He soon ended up in California, where he owned a gas station in Los Angeles.
Banerjee, however, had bigger ambitions. “I want to be driving that car,” he would say when people drove up to fill up their fancy vehicles, Petrzela says.
In the 1970s, Banerjee used his savings to buy a dive bar in LA which he called Destiny II, and tried everything to draw in crowds – backgammon games, magic shows and mud wrestling among women.
In 1979, Paul Snider, a nightclub promoter, suggested that Banerjee bring in male strippers – usually only seen in gay clubs – for a show aimed at women.
By now, the bar had been renamed Chippendales to suggest a classier experience.
The strip shows were advertised all across West LA – everywhere women gathered, from nail salons to women’s restrooms, Petrzela says on her podcast.
An instant hit, Chippendales soon drew large crowds of women every night.
Image caption,Chippendales’ success had women lining up for shows outside its clubs
Inspired by Hugh Hefner’s Playboy bunnies, the dancers wore cuffs and collars with tight black pants.
For 1980s America “this was shocking”, Petrzela says. But in the wake of the sexual revolution of the 1970s, Banerjee’s Chippendales also came at a time when women’s empowerment and sexual liberation could be commodified, the historian explains.
Women needed a place “they could have a blast and be exonerated”, Barbara Ligeti, a club promoter, says in the A&E docu-series Secrets of the Chippendales Murders. “They could see each other, have a few drinks, pinch a butt, put $20 in a G-string of a good-looking guy.”
Banerjee wanted to create a “Disneyland for adults”, a brand big enough to rival those of his heroes – Hefner and Walt Disney.
In the early 80s, he met Nick De Noia, an Emmy Award-winning director and choreographer, who convinced him that the show needed an upgrade. Chippendales dancers and producers credit De Noia with turning the show into an interactive, theatrical production using characters and storylines.
Image caption,Nick De Noia, right, transformed the performance routine of the Chippendales dancers
De Noia helped take Chippendales to New York City and expand the production across America through a successful tour.
But things soon came to a head between the two men as the charismatic choreographer became the face of the brand – dubbed “Mr Chippendale” in the media – while Banerjee remained in the background, running the operation from LA.
As tensions rose, De Noia and Banerjee dissolved their partnership and the choreographer planned to start his own company – US Male.
In the docu-series, a former associate producer at Chippendales who helped De Noia with his new venture says it sent Banerjee “over the edge”.
Many who knew Banerjee described him as a “paranoid” man for whom success was a zero-sum game. “He felt if others succeeded, that would necessarily take away from his own success,” Petrzela says.
As rival strip clubs popped up, Banerjee hired Ray Colon, a friend-turned-hitman, to sabotage competitors.
In 1987, under Banerjee’s orders, Colon recruited an accomplice who shot De Noia dead in his office.
While friends and collaborators suspected Banerjee’s hand in the crime, it was years before FBI investigators made the link.
Banerjee’s lawyer Bruce Nahin said “the murder didn’t affect the brand at all”.
Image caption,The Chippendales touring troupe took its act across North America and Europe
Chippendales grew, travelling to Australia and Europe.
In 1991, while in the UK with the Chippendales tour, Banerjee asked Colon to take out members of a rival troupe started by former dancers from his club.
According to FBI evidence, the plan was to inject them with cyanide which Colon provided to an accomplice named Strawberry.
But an apprehensive Strawberry reported Colon to the FBI.
Colon was arrested and charged with conspiracy and murder for hire. According to the agency, 46 grams of cyanide were found during a raid on Colon’s house.
For months after his arrest, Colon remained loyal to Banerjee, pleading not guilty. “It was only after Steve refused to help him by paying for an attorney that Ray finally broke with Steve,” MacDonald says.
In 1993, the FBI finally gathered enough evidence against Banerjee by using Colon to secretly record their conversation. Banerjee was arrested for racketeering, conspiracy and murder for hire among other charges. He pleaded not guilty.
Image caption,An artist’s impression of Steve Banerjee
After the trial went on for a few months, Banerjee agreed to a plea deal – 26 years in prison and forfeiture of Chippendales ownership to the US government.
Petrzela says Banerjee’s lawyers tried hard to avoid the seizure of the enterprise, but to no avail. In October 1994, a day before he was to be sentenced, Banerjee killed himself in his jail cell.
“Very few Indian Americans know his story,” says Anirvan Chatterjee, who organises a South Asian radical history walking tour in Berkeley. Banerjee’s life was “the funhouse mirror version of the standard 1990s Indian California business story”, he says, and it contradicted every stereotype about the community.
In her research, Petrzela found Banerjee had tried hard to assimilate and become a true-blue California businessman, yet in the memory of her interviewees his Indian accent stood out. “It’s clear other people always saw him as very foreign and very Indian,” she says. “Even in death, the first thing that people did when commenting on him is start imitating his accent.”
The hiker who vanished last week in the San Gabriel mountains has been identified as British actor Julian Sands.
The 65-year-old was reported missing in the Baldy Bowl area on Friday, amid bad weather in southern California.
Police said ground rescue teams were pulled off the mountain last weekend due to avalanche risks but searches continue by drone and helicopter.
Mr Sands is known for roles in popular films and TV dramas including A Room With A View, 24 and Smallville.
In a statement shared with the PA news agency, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s department said Mr Sands was reported missing at about 19:30 local time on Friday 13 January.
The department’s search and rescue crews “responded and began a search”, it added, but had been hampered by severe weather warnings and trail conditions.
“However, we continue to search by helicopter and drones when the weather permits,” the statement said.
The force said it had responded to 14 calls on Mount Baldy and in the surrounding area over the last four weeks and warned hikers to “think twice and heed warnings” amid adverse weather conditions.
Mr Sands has lived in Los Angeles since 2020 and most recently appeared in the drama Benediction, which also starred Peter Capaldi.
The French unions have conducted a day of widespread strikes and protests over President Macron’s proposals to raise the retirement age on Thursday, putting the reform agenda on the line.
A new bill due to go through parliament will raise the official age at which people can stop work from 62 to 64.
Intercity and commuter train services are expected to be badly disrupted.
Many schools and other public services will be shut. At Orly airport in Paris, one in five flights has been cancelled.
On the Paris metro only the two driverless lines will work normally.
Large demonstrations drawing tens of thousands are expected in Paris and other cities, where police will be out in force in case of violence from ultra-left “black bloc” infiltrators.
Under the proposals outlined earlier this month by Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne, from 2027 people will have to work 43 years to qualify for a full pension, as opposed to 42 years now.
Hailed by the government as a vital measure to safeguard France’s share-out pension system, the reform is proving deeply unpopular among the public – with 68% saying they are opposed, according to an IFOP poll this week.
All the country’s unions – including so-called “reformist” unions that the government had hoped to win to its side – have condemned the measure, as have the left-wing and far-right oppositions in the National Assembly.
“On Thursday the walls of the Élysée palace must tremble,” Communist Party leader Fabien Roussel said on Tuesday.
Because his Renaissance party does not have a majority in the Assembly, French President Emmanuel Macron will be forced to rely on support from the 60 or so MPs of the conservative Republicans party. Though in principle in favour of pension reform, even some of them have warned they could vote against.
With the parliamentary process expected to take several weeks, Mr Macron faces a rolling campaign of opposition, with further days of action likely in the days ahead. The worst outcome for the government would be rolling strikes in transport, hospitals and fuel depots – effectively bringing the country to a standstill.
Political analysts agreed the mood of the country was hard to gauge, so it was impossible to predict whether the scale of the movement would be enough to force the president into a retreat. If that happened, it could mark the end of any serious reforms in this, his second term.
On the one hand, inflation, the energy crisis and constant reports of run-down public services have left many people feeling anxious and irascible. President Macron’s poor image outside the prosperous cities contributed to the “yellow-vest” insurrection four years ago, and could well do so again.
But on the other hand, pollsters have also identified a sense of resignation among many people, who no longer identify with “old-school” social movements such as the unions specialise in. Many will also be too concerned about the loss of a day’s income to go on strike.
The prime minister invoked the principle of “inter-generational solidarity” to justify the decision to make people work longer. Under the French system, very few people have personal pension plans linked to capital investments.
Instead the pensions of those who are retired are paid from the same common fund into which those in work are contributing every month. Workers know they will benefit from the same treatment when they retire.
Image caption,The reforms have sparked comparisons between Macron and the UK’s former prime minister Margaret Thatcher
However, the government says the system is heading for disaster because the ratio between those working and those in retirement is diminishing rapidly. From four workers per retiree 50 years ago, the ratio has fallen to around 1.7 per retiree today, and will sink further in the years ahead.
Nearly all other European countries have taken steps to raise the official retirement age, with Italy and Germany for example on 67 and Spain on 65. In the UK it is currently 66.
President Macron made an earlier, and more ambitious, attempt to reform the system at the end of 2019, but pulled the plug when Covid hit. This second plan was part of his re-election manifesto last year – a key argument deployed by the government in the battle for public opinion.
To palliate the effects of the reform, Élisabeth Borne has promised easier ways to retire early for people in dangerous or physically demanding jobs; steps to encourage older people back into the workforce; and a higher guaranteed minimum pension.
The opposition argues the system is not technically in deficit at the moment, so there is no urgency to act. It says there are cost-saving alternatives to making people work longer, such as cutting pensions for the better-off.
It also says the brunt of the reform will be borne by the poorest. These are people who tend to start work earlier in life, so have normally earned the right to a full pension by the age of 62. Now they will have to work two extra years for no added benefit.
This is the seventh French pension reform since President François Mitterrand cut the retirement age to 60 in 1982.
Every subsequent attempt to reverse that change has led to mass opposition on the street – though in most cases the reform did in the end go through. For example, in 2010, Nicolas Sarkozy raised the retirement age to 62, despite weeks of protests.
Prior to this year’s election, Jacinda Ardern has declared to step down as prime minister of New Zealand, claiming she no longer has “enough in the tank” to do so.
Ms Ardern choked up as she detailed how six “challenging” years in the job had taken a toll.
Labour Party MPs will vote to find her replacement on Sunday.
The shock announcement comes as polling indicates the party faces a difficult path to re-election on 14 October.
Ms Ardern, 42, said she had taken time to consider her future over the summer break, hoping to find the heart and energy to go on in the role.
“But unfortunately I haven’t, and I would be doing a disservice to New Zealand to continue,” she told reporters on Thursday.
Ms Ardern will step down by 7 February. If no would-be successor garners the support of two-thirds of the party room, the vote will go to Labour’s lay membership.
Ms Ardern became the youngest female head of government in the world when she was elected prime minister in 2017, aged 37.
And a year later she became the second elected world leader to ever give birth while in office, after Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto in 1990.
She steered New Zealand through the Covid-19 pandemic and its ensuing recession, the Christchurch mosque shootings, and the White Island volcanic eruption.
Ms Ardern said the past five-and-a-half years had been the “most fulfilling” of her life, but leading the country during “crisis” had been difficult.
“These events… have been taxing because of the weight, the sheer weight and continual nature of them. There’s never really been a moment where it’s ever felt like we were just governing.”
National Party leader Chris Luxon was among those who thanked Ms Ardern “for her service to New Zealand”.
“She has given her all to this incredibly demanding job,” the opposition leader wrote on Twitter.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described Ms Ardern as a leader of intellect, strength and empathy.
“Jacinda has been a fierce advocate for New Zealand, an inspiration to so many and a great friend to me,” he wrote.
Canada’s leader Justin Trudeau said she had made an “immeasurable” difference to the world.
But while Ms Ardern was often seen as a political star globally, opinion polls suggest she was increasingly unpopular at home.
She led the Labour Party to a landslide election victory in 2020, capitalising on her government’s strong early response to the pandemic.
But the latest opinion polls put her personal popularity at its lowest since she was elected, and approval of her party’s performance similarly low.
In 2022, Ms Ardern told the BBC her declining popularity was the price her government had paid for keeping people safe from Covid-19.
However, she has also been confronted with a cost-of-living crisis, national fears about crime, and a backlog of election promises put off during the pandemic.
Reaction to her announcement has been varied. One local from her own Auckland electorate told the NZ Herald Ms Ardern was “running away before getting thrown out”, blaming her for increased crime and rising living costs.
For others, like Auckland Pride’s Max Tweedie, she is “one of the greatest prime ministers in New Zealand’s history”.
Those are sentiments shared by New Zealand actor Sam Neill, who said Ms Ardern had faced “disgraceful” treatment from “bullies” and “misogynists”.
“She deserved so much better,” the Jurassic Park star wrote on Twitter.
But Ms Ardern stressed that she was not resigning because she and the party were unpopular.
“I am not leaving because I believe we can’t win the election but because I believe we can and will, and we need a fresh set of shoulders for that challenge.”
Contenders for the job are yet to emerge, but several MPs – including deputy leader Grant Robertson – have ruled themselves out of the contest.
Ms Ardern listed her government’s achievements on climate change, social housing and reducing child poverty as ones she was particularly proud of.
But she said she hoped her legacy in New Zealand would be “as someone who always tried to be kind”.
“I hope I leave New Zealanders with a belief that you can be kind, but strong, empathetic but decisive, optimistic but focused. And that you can be your own kind of leader – one who knows when it’s time to go,” she said.
Ethiopian government forces on Tuesday entered Adigrat, a northern town previously held by Tigray rebels in the recently concluded conflict in the region.
Residents told the BBC that the soldiers entered the town on foot while others used buses and military vehicles.
Fitsum, a resident in the town, said things were calm but added: “There is widespread fear in relation to what happened before, but nothing has happened so far.”
There has been no official statement from the Ethiopian government or Tigray authorities about the entry of federal forces into the town.
The troops are expected to retake federal military camps and security installations.
Provision of essential services, including electricity supply, telecommunications and banking services has resumed in parts of Tigray following the signing of a peace agreement in November 2022.
But Fitsum said the situation in Adigrat town had not improved much.
“There is no bank yet, no social services have started except the telephone,” he said.
An American couple accused of trafficking children have been remanded in detention by a Ugandan court on Tuesday.
They could receive a life sentence if found guilty.
Nicholas Spencer and his wife Mackenzie Leigh Spencer allegedly tortured and held a 10-year-old boy in a small, cold room without clothes between 2020 and 2022, according to a charge sheet presented by the state prosecution service in December 2022.
According to the couple’s lawyer, David Mpanga, they will return to court on February 2 to hear the progress of the state’s investigation.
”It has been adjourned to the 2nd of February and we will be here to hear the status of the investigation and when the case will be ready for committal to the High Court,” Moanga said.
He added, “They are charged with aggravated trafficking and aggravated torture. The aggravated trafficking charge is only triable in the high court so the case today was for the court to monitor the progress of the investigation and to determine when the state will be ready to commit them to the High Court.”
The boy is one of the couple’s three adopted children, who arrived in Uganda in 2017 to volunteer at a US-based nonprofit in the town of Jinja before moving to Naguru, an upmarket suburb of Kampala, to work in a start-up.
One of the sons of the president of Equatorial Guinea has been arrested on suspicion of illegally selling a plane belonging to the national airline.
State media said Ruslan Obiang Nsue is alleged to have sold the 74 seater turboprop to a company based in the Canary Islands.
An inquiry was launched last year when it was discovered that the plane had gone missing while undergoing routine maintenance in Spain.
The suspect used to run the national airline in Equatorial Guinea, a country firmly in the hands of the family of President Obiang Nguema who has been in power for 43 years.
An operation against separatist militants in the southern province of Casamance resulted in the death of one Senegalese soldier and four injuries, an army spokesman reported on Tuesday January 17, 2023.
The soldier died Monday (Jan.16) in the locality of Bignona where the army has been conducting operations these past few weeks to block attempt by the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC) to set up a new base near the border with The Gambia, press reports suggested.
Casamance, Senegal’s southernmost region, is almost separated from the rest of the country by the tiny state of The Gambia.
At the time of the incident, the Senegalese forces destroyed hemp fields, according to local media.
The MFDC has waged its campaign to break away since 1982 but signed a peace deal with the government last August, hailed as a first step toward a permanent end to one of Africa’s oldest active rebellions.
Senegal’s President Macky Sall has said that ending the rebellion is a priority, and in recent years the government has begun returning Casamance residents displaced by the conflict.
Officials also accuse the rebels of illicit trafficking of cannabis and wood, and of seeking refuge in The Gambia or in Guinea-Bissau to the south.
Kenya’s President William Ruto has made sensational accusations of a plot to abduct and kill the head of the electoral commission in the run up to the announcement of the presidential results last year.
Mr Ruto was declared the winner of the presidential election held August 2022, taking 50.5% of the vote, amid dramatic scenes at the vote tallying centre.
At the time, electoral commission chairman Wafula Chebukati said he had done his duty despite receiving threats.
On Tuesday the president claimed the plot to abduct Mr Chebukati was sanctioned by the “highest” office, according to local media reports.
“We know that there was a direct attempt to abduct Mr Chebukati and murder him so that the commission would be paralysed, or a compliant commissioner take over and subvert the people’s sovereignty. It was a hard, cold and lonely time, the threats were dire, the promised rewards lavish and the pressure relentless,” President Ruto said.
He made the remarks during a meeting with commissions and independent offices at State House, Nairobi.
The president’s rival at the elections, Raila Odinga’s party, ODM, has scoffed at the remarks, calling it a “well-choreographed chorus”.
“They should present the claims before a commission of inquiry when it is formed.”
Political parties in Nigeria are paying social media influencers in secret to promote false information about their rivals in advance of the country’s general elections in February.
The BBC’s Global Disinformation Team has spoken to whistle-blowers working for two of Nigeria’s political parties, and prominent influencers who have described it as “an industry”.
The whistle-blowers say parties give out cash, lavish gifts, government contracts and even political appointments for their work.
We changed their names to protect their identity. “Yemi” is a prominent strategist and “Godiya” a politician.
“We’ve paid an influencer up to 20m naira ($45,000; £37,000) for delivering a result. We’ve also given people gifts. Other people prefer to hear: ‘What do you want to do in government, be a board member, be a special assistant?’,” says Godiya.
Image caption,”Godiya”, a politician from one of Nigeria’s parties, says influencers have been paid up to $45,000 for delivering a result
Situation rooms are commonplace in the run-up to an election. It’s where political parties strategise, develop plans and monitor their campaigns’ success. But in the rooms the whistle-blowers described to us, there was another function: following how false narratives assigned to influencers were performing.
Strategist Yemi says fake stories are developed to improve their candidates’ chances: “You can deliberately misinform in a suitable way for you.”
The BBC has spoken to multiple influencers who have confirmed that payment in exchange for false political posts is widespread.
One influencer who asked not to be named – with almost 150,000 Facebook followers – told us he is paid by political parties to post completely false stories about political opponents. He says he does not do it openly but rather plants false stories through other micro-influencers he hires.
Separately, Rabi’u Biyora is a major influencer known for supporting the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) party.
He told us he was “wooed” by an opposition party to stop promoting the APC’s candidate, and give his support to their candidate instead.
Posts on his Facebook timeline confirm he did just that. He told us he did not receive gifts of any kind to do so. But we discovered a Facebook post from 2019 in which he said he received a car and money from a party in exchange for his support on social media.
We put this finding to him, but he stopped responding to us.
Tactics
With an estimated 80 million Nigerians online, social media plays a huge role in national debates about politics. Our investigation uncovered different tactics used to reach more people on Twitter. Many play on divisive issues such as religious, ethnic and regional differences.
In July, influencers widely shared posts associating Kashim Shettima, the APC’s candidate for vice-president, with members of the Islamist militant group Boko Haram.
This false narrative gained momentum on Twitter and was shared thousands of times, spilling onto WhatsApp and other platforms.
Using reverse image search, we found that those in the picture with Mr Shettima were nomadic Fulani parents whose children he had enrolled in secular schools in 2017, not members of Boko Haram.
Image caption,A reverse image search revealed that the men were nomadic Fulani whose children Mr Shettima had enrolled in western schools in 2017 and not Boko Haram members.
A month later, influencers promoted a claim without evidence that Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi was linked to, and following orders from, the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob) – a separatist movement designated in Nigeria as a terror group. His party denies this.
Those who shared this information included Reno Omokri – special assistant to former opposition President Goodluck Jonathan – who has more than two million followers on Twitter.
When approached for a comment, Reno Omokri said he stands by his accusations, but insists he has not been paid by the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to campaign on their behalf.
Meanwhile, false claims that the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, fell ill and was rushed out of the country have been shared several times on Twitter.
Godiya, the politician we interviewed, says political parties tell influencers to elicit as much emotion as they can with their paid posts.
“We use images that may not even be relevant to the story we are trying to spin. We can take pictures from East Africa in the 1990s in warzones and attach them to a tweet about how my ethnic group is being killed. When people get emotional they retweet, they like, and it gets traction,” she says.
According to the whistle-blowers, the hired influencers are sometimes given an idea that they should frame in their own words. At other times, they are given the actual tweets that need to be published at specific times.
They say influencers are paid based on the number of followers they have. They also say payment happens mostly in cash to avoid a paper trail.
Moral compass
It is not illegal for political parties to hire social media influencers in Nigeria, but spreading disinformation on social media is a breach of the country’s laws and Twitter’s policy.
The BBC has asked Nigeria’s main political parties, APC, PDP, and the Labour Party, about the whistle-blowers’ allegations. They did not reply to our request for comment.
Image caption,False messages tend to spill offline – travelling from Twitter to news programmes, becoming real conversations on the streets of Nigeria
In response to our findings, Twitter has taken down some of the accounts we reported to them and said it had a responsibility to protect electoral conversations from interference, manipulation, and false information.
However, there are concerns about the platform’s capacity to tackle misinformation in Africa after Elon Musk’s takeover of the company, when its continental headquarters in Ghana was closed and nearly all its staff fired.
The BBC has reached out to Twitter again after these changes, but received no response.
Idayat Hassan, director at the Centre for Democracy and Development, says the activities of these influencers amounted to “political interference”.
“It is undermining trust in democracy, undermining trust in the electoral system, and it is instigating conflict,” she says.
But politician Godiya sees it a different way, and defends the tactic: “It is a game. Somebody had to win, and God help me, I will not be on the losing side.”
VOTERS ROLL: Digital detectives uncover child voters in Nigeria
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ATIKU ABUBAKAR: The man who wants Nigerians to look back to go forward
BOLA TINUBU: Lagos ‘godfather’ sets sights on conquering Nigeria
Vice President of Gambia, Badara Alieu Joof has been reported dead in China after a short illness.
President of Gambia Adama Barrow made this known to the public on his twitter page today january 18 2023
Reports from the international media said, Mr. Joof had not been seen in public for some months now.
President Barrow picked Mr Joof as vice-president after he was re-elected in December 2021 for a second term.
The media added that , In June, Mr Joof expressed dissatisfaction about the conduct of public affairs, explaining that Gambians had great expectations, however “business as usual” would not yield great result.
A helicopter that crashed to a nursery in an eastern neighborhood of Kyiv, has killed 18 persons including the interior affairs minister of Ukraine.
Three children were among the dead and 15 more are being treated in hospital.
The minister, Denys Monastyrsky, was with eight others in the helicopter.
His first deputy minister and the state secretary also died, officials said, when the helicopter came down in the suburb of Brovary.
The 42-year-old interior minister was a prominent member of President Volodymy Zelensky’s cabinet and played a key role in updating the public on casualties caused by Russian missile strikes since Ukraine was invaded in February 2022.
National police chief Ihor Klymenko wrote on Facebook that the helicopter belonged to Ukraine’s state emergency service.
Monastyrsky is the highest profile Ukrainian casualty since Russia’s war began, although there is no indication that the crash was anything more than an accident.
The deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said the minister had been en route to a war “hot spot” when his helicopter went down.
US porn star Jeremy has been declared mentally incapable of facing sex offense charges.
Mr Jeremy was indicted on 34 counts of sexual assault – including 12 of rape – over a period of more than 20 years.
A Los Angeles judge said on Tuesday that Mr Jeremy could not face the charges, as he was in a state of “incurable neurocognitive decline”.
The 69-year-old has been in prison since his arrest in 2020. He denied any wrongdoing and vowed to clear his name.
He was not present for the latest hearing.
Mr Jeremy – whose legal name is Ronald Hyatt – became one of the most prolific performers in the adult film industry during a career that began in the 1970s.
He is believed to have featured in hundreds of titles, and looked to extend his profile in the world of showbiz more widely.
Prosecutors said he attacked 21 women – who ranged in age from 15 to 51 – between the years 1996 and 2019.
The alleged offences took places at bars and nightclubs in the Los Angeles area, and at Mr Jeremy’s home.
He was first charged in 2020. Other allegations emerged, resulting in the indictment issued the following year through a grand jury – a similar tactic to that used against Harvey Weinstein.
Mr Jeremy denied the charges against him.
Court proceedings were suspended last year after Mr Jeremy’s lawyer said his client had not been able to recognise him during a visit to his cell.
The Los Angeles Times reported earlier this month that Mr Jeremy had “severe dementia”.
Following the judge’s declaration on Tuesday, the same lawyer told the AP news agency: “It is unfortunate due to mental condition he will not go to trial and have the the opportunity to clear his name.”
A hearing on whether to put Mr Jeremy in a state-run hospital was set for next month, AP reported.
An online memorial video for a Tanzanian who was supposedly slain in Bakhmut, Ukraine, last October while fighting for Russia’s Wagner Group has received little attention from major Tanzanian newspapers.
Tarimo Neves Raymond was a student in Russia and was reportedly recruited by Wagner from a prison in Moscow.
The video shows men in military fatigues holding candles around a casket.
A portrait picture of Raymond, two medals and a certificate are placed on the casket draped with a Wagner flag.
None of the major Tanzanian news outlets have so far carried the story and there has been no comment from the government’s official channels.
Last September a Zambian national died in Ukraine while fighting for Wagner, while several “Black Russians” from the Central African Republic are believed to have been recruited by the paramilitary company.
On 1 January, Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin purportedly flaunted a mercenary from Cote d’Ivoire who had joined fighting in Ukraine.
An alleged boss of a criminal organization, Pier Antonio Panzeri, linked to an EU corruption scandal has consented to divulge the nations and methods of operation.
A lawyer for Pier Antonio Panzeri said his client had agreed to “tell all” after reaching a deal with prosecutors.
The former member of the European Parliament is one of four suspects being held in Belgium.
They are suspected of accepting bribes from Qatar and Morocco in return for influencing the Parliament in Brussels.
Qatar has strenuously denied that it tried to gain influence through gifts and money while Morocco has also strongly rejected allegations that it sought influence on issues such as fishing rights and the disputed status of Western Sahara.
The four suspects were charged last month after police seized around €1.5m (£1.3m) in cash during a series of raids on a flat, a house and a hotel. Pictures of stashes of €200, €50, €20 and €10-denomination notes were released by police, including a suitcase found in the hotel which was stuffed with cash.
Prosecutors said Mr Panzeri agreed the plea deal under an informant law used only once before in Belgium.
His lawyer Marc Uyttendaele said he admitted “criminal responsibility”, adding: “It is important to know that this is a man who is destroyed and he doesn’t have much of a life left.”
But his client hoped to “secure his situation” by agreeing to “tell all he knows about the case”, Mr Uyttendaele added.
Image caption,Belgian police released pictures of the cash seized in last month’s raids
The other suspects include a serving Greek MEP, Eva Kaili, who has been stripped of her role as a vice-president of the Parliament, her partner Francesco Giorgi, and lobbyist Niccolò Figà-Talamanca.
After Mr Panzeri, 67, left the Parliament, he became the head of a lobby group called Fight Impunity. Mr Figà-Talamanca worked from the same building in Brussels for a separate NGO.
According to a statement from Belgium’s federal prosecutor, the former MEP agreed to the plea bargain under a law modelled on an Italian provision for repentant mafia members or “pentiti” to turn state witnesses.
A spokesman said he faced a year in jail, rather than a “much heavier prison sentence”, as well as a fine and confiscation of €1m in assets.
In return he would be required to give details of how the network operated, what the financial arrangements were with the countries concerned, and “the involvement of known and unknown persons within the investigation, including the identity of the persons he admits to having bribed”.
The plea deal was released a day after an Italian court agreed to extradite the ex-MEP’s daughter, Silvia Panzeri, 38, on suspicion of involvement in the scandal.
The same court in the northern city of Brescia ruled last month that Mr Panzeri’s wife, Maria Colleoni, could also be extradited, but Italy’s top appeal court will give a final ruling on their case. The two women are currently under house arrest and deny allegations of corruption and money laundering.
Greek MEP Eva Kaili, who also denies involvement in the case, is suspected along with the others of taking bribes from Qatar in return for influencing EU policy-making.
Her partner Francesco Giorgi was reported to have confessed last month to his role in the affair.
However, a reference to “unknown” people within the investigation suggests more revelations are due to emerge.
Prosecutors have already sought to lift the immunity of two more centre-left MEPs, Belgian Marc Tarabella and Italian Andrea Cozzolino.
Lawyers for both MEPs have denied that they played any part in the scandal, but the request is being reviewed by Parliament’s legal affairs committee.
Over the weekend, a tiger in South Africa escaped from a private farm but it has been found and killed.
The tiger was the subject of a massive search after it escaped from a farm in Walkerville, south of Johannesburg. It attacked a person, two dogs and a pig while on the loose.
It was shot on Wednesday morning after it entered a farm where families live and killed a domestic animal, local media reported.
The local organisation Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) said the authorities were left with a “very difficult decision to make as the lives of more people and animals were at risk”.
“This case proves why wild animals should not be kept as pets. The SPCA is opposed to the keeping and breeding of wild and exotic animals as pets,” it said.
Fans are excited as Marvel movies makes a triumphant return to the Chinese box office after a nearly four years embargo.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever arrives on 7 February, followed by Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania two weeks after.
They will be the first Marvel films to play in Chinese theatres since Spider-Man: Far from Home in July 2019.
Chinese officials have never explained why Marvel movies were blocked from screening in the country.
But the apparent ban began at a time when tensions between the US and China reached a high amid a trade war.
There was also no reason given by Marvel for the turnaround, in its brief announcement on Chinese social media network Weibo on Wednesday about the film release dates.
But it still drew jubilant reactions from movie lovers. “I feel like I’m dreaming,” said one user, while another exclaimed, “I have missed you so much”.
“Can you also re-release Spider-Man and Doctor Strange?” pleaded one fan, referencing movies that had been released during the hiatus and never hit the big screen in China.
The loss of the Chinese market in recent years has possibly cost Disney hundreds of millions of dollars.
The first Black Panther movie in 2018 took in US$105m (£86m) at Chinese theatres, while the second Ant-Man movie that same year generated $121m, according to Box Office Mojo.
The screening of foreign films is tightly controlled in China, which imposes a yearly quota. A division of the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda department, the China Film Administration, decides if a foreign movie can be released in the country.
Disney has previously refused requests from some countries, including China, to edit movies such as Eternals and Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness to remove references to same-sex relationships.
Yesterday, in a movie, the word affair was thrown about between a husband, wife and mistress, so I asked myself “what does that word really mean at all?” I got digging and…
…an affair is “a sexual relationship, romantic friendship, or passionate attachment between two people without the attached person’s significant other knowing” (Wikipedia).
There were other definitions but the Wikipedia definition really got me. Forget sexual relationship (hook ups) and romantic friendship (friends with benefits); that is the common definition for the average Joe; PASSIONATE ATTACHMENT? Wow, do you realise how many people are having affairs without knowing?
Boy meets girl, girl meets boy, boy meets boy, girl meets girl and a relationship is ignited. Some call it friendship; others call it acquaintance, for others it’s admiration from afar. Then as time passes by, there is attachment based on the intrigue and or other superficial features of one party or both.
No fault if you don’t have a significant other but if you do, be it married significant other, boy/girlfriend significant other or best friend significant other, just be considerate and “respectful” and stop having an AFFAIR behind their backs, unless they know.
It is an affair if…
You CANNOT answer their calls when your significant other is around.
You MUST speak or chat them consistently just as you do your significant other or even less
You smile sheepishly at the thought of them
You answer their calls in the presence of your significant other and act as though s/he (significant other) is not there
Their well-being is more of your concerned than that of your significant other
If your family knows his/her or name by heart than that of your significant other
You spend on them more than you do on your significant other with every resource available to you.
Truthfully I am guilty in some respect and I have repented before bringing this piece to an end because I do have a significant other and I really did not consider some things an affair until I found out what it meant.
Note that if you do not have a significant other and yet you are passionately attached to a particular person, that person can be considered a significant other, so just be sure you are not having an affair.
Passionate attachment has nothing to do with sex but consistently it could lead to it and then there is trouble.
Be sure you are not having an affair!
The author, Isaac Kpodo, is a writer, poet and counselor. He likes to provoke the conscience of his readers with his write ups. You can contact him via email at themiragebefore40@gmail.com
Source: Myjoyonline.com
DISCLAIMER: Independentghana.com will not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author’s, and do not reflect those of The Independent Ghana
BBC has issued an apology following the interruption of the FA Cup on live air by sexual noises.
Moaning was heard while Gary Lineker presented the third-round replay between Wolves and Liverpool on Tuesday.
The football pundit later posted a picture of a mobile phone he said was “taped to the back of the set”.
“We apologise to any viewers offended during the live coverage of the football this evening,” the BBC said.
A spokesperson said the BBC was investigating the incident.
Lineker tried to laugh off the incident as he presented the programme in a studio at Wolverhampton’s Molineux Stadium alongside pundits Paul Ince and Danny Murphy.
As he cut to colleague and fellow former England striker Alan Shearer in the commentary gantry, he said: “Somebody’s sending something on someone’s phone, I think.
Well, we found this taped to the back of the set. As sabotage goes it was quite amusing. 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/ikUhBJ38Je
When the match started, he shared a picture of a mobile phone on Twitter and three laughing emojis alongside the words: “Well, we found this taped to the back of the set.
“As sabotage goes it was quite amusing.”
The incident did not go unnoticed by viewers, with clips of the moment widely shared on social media on Tuesday evening.
YouTube prankster Daniel Jarvis claimed he was behind the stunt, posting a video on Twitter that appeared to show him at Molineux.
He was handed a suspended sentence last October after being convicted of aggravated trespass over an incident where he collided with England cricketer Jonny Bairstow after invading the Oval pitch in south London during a Test.
And he was given an eight-week prison sentence suspended for two years and was banned from attending any venue where a sporting fixture is being held in England and Wales for two years.
He was also banned from travelling abroad for 12 months and made subject to a rehabilitation activity requirement.
At a California home where police were aware of drug-related activity, four generations of one family were murdered in a “cartel-like execution.”
A 16-year-old mother, her 10-month old son and the baby’s grandmother and great-grandmother were among the victims, police and family say.
The home in Goshen, population 3,000, had been raided by police last week.
Police say they are seeking two known suspects in the “targeted massacre”.
In a news conference on Tuesday, Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux did not provide the names of the suspects, saying that it was due to the possibility that the killers were watching in order to avoid capture, but revealed that much was already known to authorities about the tragedy.
Police had searched the residence just last week and found stashes of marijuana and methamphetamines.
Six people died in the shooting on Monday. Three people survived.
“None of this was by accident,” Mr Boudreaux said. “It was deliberate, intentional and horrific.”
The victims have been identified by investigators as:
Rosa Parraz, 72
Eladio Parraz Jr, 52
Jennifer Analla, 50
Marcos Parraz, 19
Elyssa Parraz, 16
Nycholas Parraz, 10 months old
According to Mr Boudreaux, one survivor lay flat on the floor, with their feet against the door in order to prevent the attackers from entering the room.
“He was in such a state of fear that all he could do was hold the door, hoping he was not the last victim,” the sheriff said. The other two hid themselves in a nearby trailer when shots broke out.
Police were called to the property by a survivor at about 03:30 (11:30 GMT) on Monday. They found two bodies on the street and others inside the home.
Sheriff Boudreaux said the child and mother appeared to have been fleeing the scene, and that forensic evidence shows that the killer stood over the victims and fired at their heads from above.
The FBI’s San Francisco office is assisting in the investigation, and a $10,000 (£8,100) reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest.
Police are monitoring the Mexico and Canada border for the suspects, the sheriff said, adding that the “very insecure border” has allowed Mexican drug cartel activity to grow in the central California area in recent years.
“Let me make this very clear, not all these people in this home were gang members,” said Mr Boudreaux, adding that the mother and child were innocent victims.
He said that the killings appear “similar to high-ranking gang executions, and the style of execution they commit”, because the victims were “shot in places where a shooter knew that quick death would occur”.
Hundreds of items of evidence have been collected so far, the sheriff said, and results of post-mortem examinations of the victims are expected by Friday.
He also appealed to members of the public to check CCTV cameras on their property for video of suspicious vehicles in the area between 03:00 to 05:00 on Monday.
Elyssa Parraz’s grandfather told the Associated Press news agency that she had been living with the child’s father’s family in Goshen, central California. Samuel Pina said that the baby’s uncle, grandmother and great-grandmother were also killed.
“I can’t wrap my head around what kind of monster would do this,” he said.
You and your guy have been together for a while. You’ve met each other’s friends, you’ve spent holidays together, and even traveled together.
Yet, he isn’t moving the relationship forward.
How long should you wait for him to figure out what he really wants? Whether he wants a relationship with you — a serious one.
The truth is you’re asking the wrong question.
The question you want to ask is: “Is he worth waiting for?”
Sure, you like him and find him attractive, but are you ever going to get what you really want?
Long-lasting, soul-satisfying love doesn’t just show up because you’re willing to wait to see if his behavior will change. If he wants a relationship with you, there will be signs. Even if the relationship he wants is a little ways away.
You don’t know if or when this man is going to step up for you. But you don’t have to remain in the dark.
Seven Q’s to ask yourself determine if he wants a relationship (& is worth the wait)
1. How does he utilize resources?
You can always tell what and who is important to a man by how he spends his resources. Everyone is limited by time, money, and energy.
So, if he is spending most of his resources on other people in his life, but not you, that can be a big warning sign.
You may have made the relationship super convenient for him in the beginning. You teach people how to treat you.
From the moment you met your boyfriend you showed him what was and wasn’t acceptable behavior. It could be that he was looking for some companionship and you went along with his desires leaving your needs and wants unfulfilled.
If your boyfriend is spending most of his time, his money, and his energy on something other than you, you may want to cut your losses and move on so you can find a man who is a much better match for you.
2. Does he make plans for the future with you?
In your current relationship if you’re wondering, “How long should I wait for him,” you’ll want to take note of how your boyfriend communicates about the future with you.
Does he share what your life together will be like when there is a deeper commitment between you? Does he make plans for the future with you, like a vacation, a concert, or tickets to the theatre?
A man who wants to claim you and take you off the market will ask for exclusivity. He will show you his intentions by discussing future aspirations with you and making plans for the future with you.
These discussions have to lead to execution so that after a couple of years in the relationship you ought to have a treasure trove of memories and photographs of the two of you and your lives together.
If he is all talk without follow-through, you may be with a man who thinks you’ll settle for the hope of a future without actually creating one with you.
3. Does he include you in his life?
Has he introduced you to his friends, his co-workers, and family? Are there photographs of you in his home? Does he spend Valentine’s Day, Christmas, and your birthday with you?
A man in love wants to show off the object of his desire. He’ll introduce you to the people in his life that are important to him.
If you are segregated to only spending time alone with him and not with the other people close to him, then your concerns are warranted and it’s time for you to think about moving on.
4. Does he honor his word?
As you consider whether to stay or go and wonder how long should you wait for him, you’ll want to pay close attention to whether or not he honors his word with you.
Does he show up at your place to take you out on time? Does he follow through on the dates he arranges for the two of you? When he makes an agreement with you does he honor it?
If he is constantly making excuses for why he cannot follow through, or he is always asking that you be understanding and take a backseat to all his other commitments, it’s time for you to evaluate whether you are a priority for him.
5. Do you share goals and values?
You can wait for him to step up, but if the two of you aren’t on the same page about what you want from life, then your wait isn’t going to be worth it. Long-lasting relationships don’t just happen.
Life will inevitably bring you challenges, and it is so much easier to navigate those challenges when the two of you are on the same page.
Are you clear about what is important to you? Do his actions show you that he shares those values?
It’s great that you feel good when you are with him, that you feel loved by him, and that the two of you are compatible. The problem with feelings is that they change.
The Romance Stage of a relationship inevitably leads to the Power Struggle Stage. You can’t avoid it.
But you can navigate through it more easily when the two of you are committed to putting the relationship first.
Look over your past together and see if he has shown you through his actions that he wants the same life that you want.
If you find that his actions haven’t given you a clear indication that he wants what you want, then you should consider moving on.
6. Are your needs met?
This is really the lynchpin because only you can tell if you’ve gone into sacrifice. By asking yourself, “How long should I wait for him,” it’s possible you’re feeling angry and resentful which is a key signal that you’ve given up your needs for too long.
It’s likely that your needs have gone unmet for so long that it feels par for the course at this point. Have you tolerated the situation for so long that you’ve made it very convenient for him?
Your needs are not a long laundry list of everything you desire in a relationship. Instead, separate your needs from your wants because needs are not negotiable.
However, wants are. It’s very important for you to know the difference so that you’re able to make requests and ask for what you need and cannot do without.
Communicating with your boyfriend authentically will allow you to see how he responds to your request for things to change.
If he can make the changes you require, great! You should consider staying in a relationship with him.
However, if he is incapable or unwilling to make the changes you desire it might be time to throw in the towel.
7. Does the cost seem to outweigh the benefit?
The sunk cost fallacy is when you continue doing what you’ve been doing because of a previous investment of resources (time, energy, or money) even though the cost outweighs the benefit. Simply stated, just because you’ve invested time and energy into this relationship doesn’t mean that you should continue to do so if it is not meeting your needs.
You may dread having to end the relationship and start dating again, but that discomfort doesn’t outweigh the fact that the relationship doesn’t appear to be going anywhere. He’s not suddenly going to wake up and realize that he should start showing you how important you are to him.
He’s showing you who he is and what is important to him by his behavior. Instead of worrying about how long you should wait for him to get his act together, start asking for what you desire and see if he can deliver it to you.
There is nothing lonelier than being in a relationship that isn’t working for you. Ultimately, only you can make the decision to stay or go.
Just make sure you aren’t sticking with your current boyfriend because of the time you’ve spent together.
How long is too long to wait?
Love isn’t a mystery. When you like someone and you want to be in a committed relationship, you don’t have to make things complicated.
There is a natural flow to a relationship that happens when the two of you are clear about what you want and able to communicate about the relationship.
Things get complicated when one or both of you aren’t sure what you want. It’s perfectly okay to take time at the beginning of the dating process to discover who someone is and if you want to make a deeper commitment.
Going slowly at the beginning allows you to discover if you two are a good match before committing your heart too deeply.
Approaching your relationships in a more conscious way is more likely to get you the type of relationship you truly desire.
Once the two of you make a commitment of exclusivity the relationship should move forward toward a deeper level of commitment.
If it doesn’t, then maybe you both don’t want the same things out of life and the relationship itself.
Media personality, Christiana Sweety Aborchie is worried by the rate at which women fail to leave violent and abusive relationships because they are scared they might not find love again.
She explained that such women may not have discovered their purpose and value, thus making it difficult for them to distinguish what they can accept from what they cannot.
According to her, “such women have their value tied to the relationship”.
She mentioned this on Prime Morning on Thursday.
Mad. Aborchie said if women prioritized what is valuable to them, they would not love to be in such relationships where they are not appreciated and treated badly, because it does not align with their goals and purpose.
“And the thing is, they’re afraid they won’t find love again or they won’t find anyone better, but you’ll find something better”, she said.
Christiana explained that, one can always find better things when they are positioned to receive them, hence women should invest in themselves and become the “good stuff” they are searching for and they will definitely locate better things.
“You attract what you are”, she advised. She then added that women should be bold to leave such relationships and not let society deceive them into thinking they are failures because they are not.
Source: Your Tango
DISCLAIMER: Independentghana.com will not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author’s, and do not reflect those of The Independent Ghana
You’ve seen it all before. From movies, books, and even TV series, you witness many ways in which relationships last or fail.
In fact, maybe you’re even sick of hearing advice on how to have a healthy relationship.
But it really is true that relationships need more work and attention than people usually think.
And while itis an amazing feeling to have a romantic partner, you need to be wary if your relationship is already leading toward an unbearable and potentially irreversible path.
Sometimes, though, all it takes is a small change to get things on the right track.
Here are six small, unsexy personal changes to make if your marriage is rocky:
1. Learn to accept things as they are
Relationships always start by getting to know each other.
One thing you need to bear in mind is that if you enter your relationship without fully accepting the other person, then it won’t work.
Do not enter a relationship hoping that you can change your partner. And even while in the relationship, stop waiting for the change to occur.
If you do, this will be a great mistake and possibly even lead to developing a toxic relationship.
And if they dochange, but it’s not in the way you want, you’ll need to accept that, too. The fact is that change is the only consistent thing in this world.
Learn to accept things as they are when they present themselves to you.
If your partner does change, it will be out of their own volition — not yours.
2. Have enough time for yourself
Being in a relationship doesn’t mean that you always need to be together for it to work.
One of the things you never should give up once you enter a relationship is time for yourself. One mistake people make when in a relationship is building their world around their partner and relationship.
And this means that if the time comes that the relationship breaks down, they’re left with nothing. This is where having enough time for yourself would mean so much more than you think.
If you feel like you need to put everything in focus, take some time off.
Go have fun with your friends and pamper yourself. Be sure to allow your partner to also have time alone.
Let your partner enjoy time with friends and respect each other’s alone time. This is how to respect your relationship with yourself, which will enrich your relationship with your spouse or partner.
Since it takes a lot of energy to maintain your relationship, a good rest will help a lot for both of you.
3. Take charge of your own happiness
Remind yourself that your happiness is in your own hands and isn’t dependent on your partner for you to feel good.
Bear in mind that you don’t need to settle on a relationship that makes you feel miserable, though.
In fact, you can search for happiness in many different ways, and this will help you feel more at ease in your connection to your love.
Don’t give away control of your own happiness.
4. Realize your own worth
If you know your own value, then you won’t have to settle on something that won’t make you happy in the first place.
There are times when you enter a relationship just to stop yourself from feeling lonely, but in realizing your worth, you will get to avoid being in one.
Never settle for what you feel is not really worth your time just to avoid being alone.
5. Surround yourself with positive people
One of the ways that you can be optimistic about a lot of things is by surrounding yourself with positive friends.
Having a positive support group surround you can help you reach and claim your own happiness.
And make sure that you’re doing more than just surrounding yourself with great friends — let go of toxic relationships that are hurting you, too.
6. Find ways to motivate yourself to be a better partner
Relationships aren’t just fun, happy times — they’re work. Arguments, disagreements, and sad events happen.
If you’re struggling through one of these patches, remind yourself how amazing you can be, and it will help you stay confident and happy in your relationship.
You can do this in little ways by leaving yourself notes or even “bribing” yourself by rewarding positive actions you’ve taken to strengthen your relationship.
Sometimes, the motivation you need to be a better partner will come from where you least expect it, so recognize when you’ve done a good job.
There may be times when your reminder that you’re doing your best in your relationship is all you need to get through the hard times.
Source: Your Tango
DISCLAIMER: Independentghana.com will not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author’s, and do not reflect those of The Independent Ghana
Media personality, Christiana Sweety Aborchie has said that women do not need men to give birth.
According to her, women who have the perception that they cannot have children without the help of a man become limited in their ability to explore life.
She said this on Prime Morning during a discussion about the topic, “Gender Bias Perception: Society’s Take on the Woman.”
“I still think a woman decides what she wants to do with her life and how she wants to raise her child. If I decide to go get some artificial insemination as a single woman and have a kid, I can do that. I think it’s limiting to think that I need to have a man to have a child. You don’t need a man to have a child,” she said to Asieduwaa Akumia.
She attributed her assertion to the fact that the world has advanced technologically, as there is easy access to information and other initiatives through the internet.
Sweety Aborchie further indicated that it is not compulsory for women to respect men, admitting that it is reciprocal.
She asserted that, “respect is not a gender thing. Women must not respect men at all costs. Respect is earned.”
She noted that men who do things in the right manner gain the level of submission expected of their wives.
To men who demand respect from women, she said, “They don’t know enough.”
Meanwhile, Sweety Aborchie has urged divorced wives to examine themselves to know the reason behind the divorce, as they may be at fault.
Unfortunately for us, lying is pretty common in relationships. From white lies to barefaced lies to lying by omission, the truth is we’re all sometimes guilty of not telling the whole truth.
Men, however, seem to have an especially bad reputation when it comes to lying to their partners, with the phrases “men are dogs” and “men are such liars” ever-present in our vocabulary.
Why do men lie?
Ultimately, men lie because they believe it is a way to protect women (and themselves).
The number one reason why he lies is to help you maintain your idealized version of him. As counterintuitive as it sounds, he lies to you because he loves you and he’s trying to avoid causing your feelings of hurt and anguish.
Unfortunately, as we know all too well, uncovering a lie hurts you anyway.
Top 10 lies men tell and what they mean
1. Men lie about staying late at work.
You’ve been in a relationship with a guy for a year or two, and most of the time, his work schedule is predictable. Then, suddenly, his work schedule becomes unpredictable.
Does his job really require him to work late at night on Thursdays and Fridays or early on Saturdays?
You can believe he is a “hard worker” all you want, but the reality is, the only thing he is working hard at is pleasing his “other” woman in bed.
2. They lie about their phones.
Some men genuinely do have a personal mobile phone and a work mobile phone. I’ve had that myself a few times before.
That being said, one of the things I always hear lying womanizers brag about is how they will maintain two — even sometimes three — mobile phones so that their “main woman” won’t find out about their “on-the-side” women.
For one phone, he will allow you to check his phone records and text messages. For the other phone? No way.
3. Men lie about female friends.
There is nothing wrong with your boyfriend/fiancé/husband hanging out socially with a good female friend of his from high school or college.
However, if his “friendship” with this person suddenly becomes a little more secretive, you might want to take caution.
In fact, according to a 2017 study, 53.5% of people who’ve had an affair reported doing so with a “close personal friend.”
If your intuition repeatedly sends you signals that their “friendship” might be a little bit more than platonic, then there is nothing wrong with you asking a handful of probing questions about the history of their friendship.
4. They lie about their motives.
Anytime a man says, “I am not necessarily trying to get in your pants,” he is trying to get in your pants.
If a man “just wants to talk,” he will invite you to have coffee with him in the morning or lunch in the afternoon.
But if a man wants you to allow him to come over to your place late on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday night, it’s far more likely that he is going to make a move on you sexually.
5. Men lie about their intentions.
Even when men pretend sex is not on their minds, it is.
When a man first becomes acquainted with a woman of interest, the thing on his mind is exchanging orgasms with that woman at some point in the near or distant future. Your other desirable qualities and non-sexual attributes do not come into play until later.
If you want to discover a man’s true intentions, tell him in a very convincing, believable manner that you are practicing celibacy and abstinence until marriage. See if that man’s attention toward you increases or significantly decreases.
6. Men lie about knowing someone.
This sounds silly, but I have actually observed women fall for this. A strange woman will continuously call their man and when confronted, he will respond by saying, “I don’t even know who that is.”
7. They lie about being busy.
Some lying womanizers and cheaters do have a “conscience.”
Let’s say a liar meets you and gives you the misleading impression that he only wants to spend time with you — even though there are three or four other women he has on the side.
One day, he might start feeling like, “Wow, I am really playing with this woman’s emotions. I need to quit leading this woman on.” However, he just can’t bring himself to “come clean” with you.
So what does he do? He makes himself unavailable and aloof. He’s hoping he can just slowly “fade out” of your life without having to explain anything.
8. Men lie about making a commitment.
I have known men to propose to a woman after dating them for five years or even 15 years. I will not go on record as saying that never, ever happens.
That being said, the vast majority of men know within the first two to three years of dating a woman if they are going to propose to that woman or not.
He may postpone proposing to his woman because he doesn’t feel stable in his career or because he’s wondering if there might be another woman who would be a better match, but it shouldn’t take five or more years to determine if you are “the one.”
9. They lie about leaving someone for you.
It’s very unlikely that a man will leave his wife for another woman.
In my lifetime, I cannot tell you how many women I’ve observed get their hearts broken by a man who was already in a relationship and gave them the impression that they were going to “one day” be elevated to the status of his only woman.
10. Men lie about loving you.
You want to know why so many women get their hearts broken by men? Among other reasons, because of their “addiction” to hearing these three words: “I love you.”
Men know the quickest way to endear themselves to a woman is to tell her, “I care for you, baby… I love you.” Those three words are like a psychological aphrodisiac for most women.
There are two simple ways you can distinguish the “sincere” guys from the liars. Men who are sincerely in love with you do not tell you this right before having sex with you or while having sex with you. They will tell you they love you in a random manner “just because.”
How can you tell when a man lies?
Now that you know the most common things men lie about, it’s important to recognize the signs he’s lying.
According to author, speaker, and educator Diana Raab, MFA, Ph.D., there are seven specific signs someone is lying to you:
Changes in vocal pitch.
Unusual blinking or fidgeting.
The use of fewer first-person words such as “I”.
A decreased tendency to use emotional words, such as hurt or angry.
Difficulty making eye contact when speaking, or shifty eyes.
The use of self-soothing techniques such as ear tugging, neck touching, collar pulling, or mouth covering.
Inconsistent gestures or facial expressions that contrast with message content.
It’s important to trust your intuition. If it feels like something is off, that very well may be the case. That said, it’s also important to avoid making drastic assumptions.
As certified life and relationship coach Doren Weinstein explains, start by taking stock of his behavior under normal conditions. “See if you can detect obvious deviations. You could try to ask them a series of simple questions and observe how they behave when they have no reason to lie.”
If you catch any of the aforementioned signs that signal he may be lying to you, confront the situation in a calm manner when you feel it’s safe to do so.
You know your relationship and your partner best, so no matter the circumstances, you’ll know the best way to proceed.
There is nothing wrong with your boyfriend/fiancé/husband hanging out socially with a good female friend of his from high school or college.
However, if his “friendship” with this person suddenly becomes a little more secretive, you might want to take caution.
In fact, according to a 2017 study, 53.5% of people who’ve had an affair reported doing so with a “close personal friend.”
If your intuition repeatedly sends you signals that their “friendship” might be a little bit more than platonic, then there is nothing wrong with you asking a handful of probing questions about the history of their friendship.
Lower Manya Krobo Municipality District Level Elections have been postponed by the Electoral Commission (EC).
“The Electoral Commission wishes to inform the General Public that the Lower Manya Krobo District Level Elections slated for Tuesday 17th January 2023 has been adjourned,” a statement issued by the EC and signed by its Chairperson Jean Adukwei Mensa said.
Following a request for an injunction by two teenagers, the EC postponed the polls.
In a statement, the commission explained, “This has become necessary due to an Application for injunction filed against the Electoral Commission at the High Court in Koforidua,”
The freshly turned 18-year-olds Angel Agyeman and Michael Tetteh claimed that the EC had breached their constitutional right to vote in district-level elections in accordance with Article 33 of the 1992 Constitution.
The adolescents claim that after they turned 18, the EC did not hold a registration drive to allow them to sign up for the elections.
In order to prevent the District Level Elections from taking place, the youngsters applied for an interlocutory injunction.
Prior to the matter’s resolution, a High Court restraining order prevented the EC and its agent from carrying out the elections that were initially scheduled for today, January 17, 2023.
Two French journalists were charged on Monday with trying to extort the King of Morocco in 2015. The charges against them were later reduced to one year in prison with a suspended sentence and a 15,000 euro fine, but the defendants maintain that the proposed financial arrangement originated in Rabat.
“Where’s the blackmail, Mr President?”, defended Éric Laurent, former reporter for Radio France and Figaro Magazine and author of numerous books, accused of having demanded 2 million euros to give up publishing embarrassing information.
The ex-journalist, now 75, recognizes before the Paris Criminal Court “an ethical error”, “a shipwreck” for having “agreed to (s) get involved in this case”, but not ” any criminal offence”.
The Moroccan emissary “seduced me with his financial offer, I plunged and I deplore it”, abounds the other defendant Catherine Graciet , 48, author of books on the Maghreb and Libya
Already authors in 2012 of a book on Mohammed VI , “The predatory king”, the two journalists had signed a contract with Le Seuil for a second volume on the same subject.
On July 23, 2015, Éric Laurent contacted the private secretariat of the King of Morocco to request an appointment, organized on August 11 in a Parisian palace with an emissary of the monarchy, the lawyer Hicham Naciri.
“I describe the contents of the book to him”, which plans to evoke tensions in the royal family and accusations of financial embezzlement involving public companies in the country, says Éric Laurent, seated on a chair at the bar of the court.
“Me Naciri said to me: all that does not suit us, and very quickly we switch to a transaction. He is the one who proposes”, he says. _”_ That’s not how it happened,” replies Ralph Boussier, one of the lawyers for the Moroccan state, for whom it is indeed Mr Laurent who “referred to an arrangement” .
The book project “never existed, they have no element to write it (…) The revelations that will shake the kingdom of Morocco: where are they? There is nothing”, he argues, believing that the two journalists saw in an attempt at blackmail “an opportunity” to “change your life”.
After this meeting, Morocco filed a complaint. An investigation is ongoing, the two other meetings are organized, on August 21 and 27.
At the last, in the presence of Catherine Graciet, the two journalists sign an agreement to withdraw the book project against 2 million euros. Before being arrested with each 40,000 euros in cash. They then learn that the three encounters were recorded by the king’s emissary.
Faced with the transcript of the first meeting, where he seems to be actively offering a sum, Mr Laurent sweeps away: “this recording is a fake”.
An expert recognized that the copy given to the investigators had undergone “a post-processing, impossible to specify”, but the defence appeals deeming it illegal were rejected in 2017.
“There is no evidence that this recording has been modified, fragmented or that there has been an assembly”, underlines the prosecutor.
In the northern area of Burkina Faso, which has been affected by the conflict, security personnel are looking for roughly 50 women who were abducted by alleged jihadists, a regional governor said on Monday.
“As soon as their disappearance was announced, efforts were launched to find all of these innocent victims safe and sound,” Sahel regional governor Lieutenant-Colonel Rodolphe Sorgho said in a statement.
“All means available are being used, in the air and on the ground, to find these women,” a security source told AFP.
“Aircraft are flying over the area to detect any suspect movement.”
Sorgho said more than 50 women were taken on Thursday and Friday around Arbinda, in an area under blockade by jihadist groups and dependent on food supplies from outside.
“While they were out looking for wild fruit, these wives, mothers and girls were wrongfully taken by armed men,” the governor said.
Several women managed to escape and return to their villages to raise the alarm.
According to local officials, the army and civilian auxiliaries had carried out unsuccessful sweeps of the area.
Since 2015, it has battled an insurgency led by jihadists affiliated with Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group that has killed thousands and displaced around two million people.
“It’s the first really big kidnapping since the security crisis began,” a senior officer close to armed forces headquarters said.
“Everything must be done to avoid a tragedy or a recurrence.”
Civilians have often been targeted in Arbinda and surrounding areas.
In August 2021, 80 people, including 65 civilians were killed in an attack on a convoy taking them to Arbinda.
In many parts of Burkina, crops can no longer be cultivated because of the conflict.
In November 2022, Idrissa Badini, a civil society spokesman, raised the alarm about the situation in Arbinda, saying: “The population, which has used up its reserves, is on the verge of a humanitarian disaster.”
Army officers have carried out two coups in Ouagadougou in the past year, in a show of anger at failures to roll back the insurgency.
The latest junta leader is 34-year-old Captain Ibrahim Traore, who seized power on September 30.
He has made security the regime’s No. 1 priority, beefing up an volunteer militia and setting his sights on “reconquering territory occupied by the hordes of terrorists.”
In an attack on a military base that the extreme Islamist Shebab claimed responsibility for, a local militia commander told AFP on Tuesday that 11 troops were slain.
This comes a day after the government announced the recapture of a strategic town.
“The jihadists first blew up a vehicle loaded with explosives and then attacked a military camp in Hawadley,” said Mohamed Osman, commander of a local militia allied with the government.
Eleven members of the army, including a commander, were killed and “dozens of terrorists were killed,” he added.
The Shebab have been fighting the internationally-backed federal government since 2007. Driven out of the country’s main cities in 2011-2012, they remain firmly entrenched in large rural areas.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud, who returned to power in May 2022, has promised an “all-out war” against the Islamist group, and recently described its members as “bedbugs. In September, he sent the army – including special forces – to support local militias, known as “macawisley”, who have rebelled against the shebab.
This offensive, supported by the African Union force in Somalia (Atmis) and U.S. airstrikes, has resulted in the recapture of large areas of two central states, Hirshabelle and Galmudug.
The Somali army recaptured on Monday Harardhere, a port city considered “strategic” by the authorities located about 500 km north of the capital, controlled since 2010 by the shebab.
Today marks the start of seven days of national mourning in memory of Frene Ginwala, who served as the first speaker of South Africa’s first democratically elected legislature.
Ms Ginwala died on Thursday night aged 90.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has directed that the national flag be flown at half-mast around the country until the evening of Tuesday 24 January 2023, according to a statement from his office.
More details will be announced later on an official memorial service that will take place in Johannesburg next Tuesday.
During the 1960s and 1970s Ms Ginwala lived in exile in Mozambique from where she helped many prominent members of the banned African National Congress (ANC) escape abroad.
Ms Ginwala also travelled around the world drawing international attention to the abuses of the apartheid era.
A Government-led and UN-supported food and nutrition study conducted twice a year, October 2022 Cadre Harmonisé, has disclosed that about 25 million Nigerians face a danger of becoming hungry between June and August 2023 (the lean season) if immediate action is not done.
This is an increase from the current estimated 17 million individuals who face food insecurity.
According to a press release on UNICEF’s website, the main causes of this worrying trend is the ongoing violence, climate change, inflation, and rising food prices.
“Food access has been affected by persistent violence in the north-east states of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe and armed banditry and kidnapping in states such as Katsina, Sokoto, Kaduna, Benue, and Niger.
“According to the National Emergency Management Agency, widespread flooding in the 2022 rainy season damaged more than 676,000 hectares of farmlands, which diminished harvests and increased the risk of food insecurity for families across the country.”
“The flooding is one of the effects of climate change and variability impacting Nigeria. More extreme weather patterns affecting food security are anticipated in the future,” it said.
The UN has indicated that out of the 17million people, three million people in the northeast BAY states lack access to food at the moment . This number is anticipated to rise to 4.4 million during the lean season if prompt action is not taken.
This includes extremely vulnerable displaced individuals and returnees who are already battling to survive a significant humanitarian catastrophe in which 8.3 million people require aid.
The state of food security and nutrition in Nigeria, according to Matthias Schmale, the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, is extremely worrying
“I have visited nutrition stabilization centres filled with children who are fighting to stay alive. We must act now to ensure they and others get the lifesaving support they need,” Schmale said.
According to the research, almost six of the 17 million Nigerians under the age of five who are currently food insecure reside in the states of Borno, Adamawa, Yobe, Sokoto, Katsina, and Zamfara.
“There is a serious risk of mortality among children attributed to acute malnutrition. In the BAY states alone, the number of children suffering from acute malnutrition is expected to increase from 1.74 million in 2022 to two million in 2023.
“UNICEF, working with the government and partners such as MSF and ALIMA, is investing in scaling up preventive nutrition interventions, while ensuring that vulnerable children have access to life-saving nutrition services. In 2022, UNICEF with its partners was able to reach approximately 650,000 children with life-saving nutrition services across the six states mentioned above.
“The northwest region, around Katsina, Zamfara, and Sokoto states, is an increasing food insecurity and malnutrition hotspot. An estimated 2.9 million people are currently critically food insecure (Cadre Harmonisé Phase 3 or worse.) This figure is projected to increase to 4.3 million in the lean season if urgent action is not taken.
“With partners, FAO has been supporting the government to restore livelihoods in the northeast and northwest regions. This includes livestock production, crop production, homestead micro gardening, value chain development, and aquaculture,” it added.
The UN has appealed to the Federal Government, the community of donors, and both public and private partners to promptly commit resources and execute mitigating measures in order to save lives and avert a potentially catastrophic situation with regard to food security and nutrition.
Threats to sue the government for the damaging its source of power in the nation have been made by opposition organizations, a trade union, and business owners in South Africa.
They have given the government up to Friday to stabilise electricity supply or face legal action for contravening its duty to provide electricity.
They have written a demand letter to the Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan and the chief executive of the state utility firm Eskom, Andre de Ruyter, saying the state was in breach of its obligation to provide electricity.
The blackouts have persisted for more than a decade, amid poor management and corruption at state firm Eskom
Recently the country has been having up to 10 hours of power cuts daily.
The problem has prompted the president to cancel a trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos to hold meetings at home with business and labour leaders.
Gay rights campaigner from Kenya, Edwin Kiprotich Kiptoo, who went by the name Chiloba, will be laid to rest on Tuesday in the western community of Sergoit.
His body was found two weeks ago dumped in a metal box by the roadside near the town of Eldoret.
The government’s chief pathologist said he died due to suffocation caused by stuffing of pieces of cloth in his mouth and nose.
Friends and family collected his body from a mortuary on Tuesday morning.
A family spokesperson, Gaudencia Tanui, has said everyone is welcome to pay their last respects.
Ms Tanui said she was hopeful that Mr Chiloba’s killers would be brought to justice and that the homicide department was in constant touch.
Five suspects, including Chiloba’s partner, are in remand as police conclude investigations before formally pressing charges.
Ms Tanui also told the BBC that they were shocked by the social media vitriol directed at the family, which she said had left them deeply hurt.
The foreign minister of Equatorial Guinea has refuted reports that a well-known dissident in the nation passed away while serving a 60-year prison term.
Julio Obama Mefuman, 51, “died in Oveng Azem prison”, his MLGE3R movement is quoted as saying by AFP news agency.
It accused the country’s regime, without elaborating, of “torture”.
Informamos a la Comunidad Internacional que,Julio Obama Mefuman un ecuatoguineano que participó en la frustrada intentona golpista del 27 de diciembre de 2017 y que, recibió un juicio justo, ha fallecido en un hospital de Mongomo a causa de una enfermedad que venía padeciendo.
But in a tweet on Monday, the Foreign Minister Simeon Oyono Esono Angue said the dissident died in a hospital and denied accusations of torture.
He said Obama Mefuman “died in a Mongomo hospital due to an illness he had been suffering from”.
The head of Equatorial Guinea’s only authorised opposition party, the Convergence for Social Democracy (CPDS), condemned “Julio Obama’s death in prison.”
“The death of Julio Obama in the Oveng Azém prison is confirmed. CPDS condemns this fact. Obama was a Spanish citizen and the GE government must open an international investigation to clarify what happened and allow all the prisoners to be visited by their families,” party Secretary General Andres Esono Ondo said in a tweet.
