Pastor Antoine Hlomador, a licensed counselor with the Ghana Psychology Council (GPC), has warned people not to attempt to repair a relationship that could endanger their lives.
In an interview on Prime Morning on Thursday, the pastor Hlomador indicated that ideally, no broken relationship should be left unfixed, unless it is one that can cause the victim to lose his or her life.
“As a pastor, I would say none. As a professional, I would say one that is likely to cost you your life, you should not try to fix it,” he said.
Pastor Hlomodor explained that since life is most important, it is imperative to protect one’s life no matter what, because without life, nothing can be achieved.
“Without your life, you cannot impact this world. And so, the most important thing is to protect your life, be preserved so that maybe in the future when circumstances have changed, you could re-establish that relationship,” the pastor elaborated.
Counselor Hlomador further emphasised the importance of two people knowing each other very well, beyond their physical appearance before they get married.
He advises couples to study each other’s temperament as well, so as to know how to cope better with each other in their marriage.
“If you team up with someone just because of the person’s looks, it’s a big mistake. You have to look deeper. It has to be a spiritual connection… meaning that you understand the person’s temperament and you agree with the person’s temperament, then it’s 50% of the chance that you will be successful,” the counselor specified.
Pastor Antoine Hlomador encourages individuals to seek the services of counselors in the community around them to enable them to solve problems in the most prudent ways.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) said on Wednesday that West African authorities would not carry out their threat to impose sanctions on Mali for imprisoning 46 Ivorian soldiers, choosing to give the diplomatic dispute time to be resolved through Togo’s mediation.
Malian authorities detained the Ivorian troops after they arrived at Bamako airport on July 10 to provide backup security for a United Nations peacekeeping mission, accusing them of being “mercenaries”.
The move sparked diplomatic tensions between Bamako and Abidjan, which has decided not to replace its military contingent with the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Mali (MINUSMA) when the current group rotates out in August.
Regional bloc ECOWAS gave Mali a deadline of January 1 to free the troops or face sanctions.
Nevertheless, a Malian court last month sentenced the troops to 20 years in prison.
Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Sissoco Embalo, the current head of ECOWAS, told journalists on Wednesday that “there will be no immediate sanctions against Mali”.
“We have given time for Togolese mediators to do their job, in order to resolve the situation. It’s just a matter of common sense,” he said.
Togolese President Faure Gnassingbe paid a “friendly working visit” to Bamako on Wednesday, the Malian presidency said in a statement.
An official at the Malian presidency, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that Gnassingbe had called for a “presidential pardon” for the troops during his meeting with Malian coup leader Assimi Goita.
Of the 49 soldiers who were initially arrested, three women were freed, however, the court sentenced them to death in absentia in its December 30 ruling.
The troops were found guilty of an “attack and conspiracy against the government” and seeking to undermine state security, public prosecutor Ladji Sara said in a statement last month.
In his New Year’s address, Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara promised that the imprisoned soldiers “will soon return to Ivorian soil”.
“We must trust the head of state,” Ivorian government spokesman Amadou Coulibaly said after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
“Ivory Coast has chosen a way – that of negotiation – it is the diplomatic way, we remain resolutely committed to this path,” he added.
He declined to comment on the convictions of the Ivorian soldiers.
“We never comment on court decisions taken in Ivory Coast; there is no reason for us to comment on court decisions taken abroad,” he said.
Ivory Coast has categorically denied the soldiers were “mercenaries”.
On December 22, an Ivorian delegation visited Bamako to discuss the detention of the soldiers. At the end of that visit, a memorandum was signed, and Ivorian defense minister Tene Birahima Ouattara said the matter was “on the way to resolution”.
However, Goita did not mention the Ivorian soldiers in his end-of-year speech on Saturday.
President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, might not be viewed as a failure, but the toll banditry and terrorism have taken on his security services may mark the end of his two terms as Nigeria’s civilian leader.
Hardly a week passes before the forces declare killings of bandits or terrorists. But the terror gangs also, occasionally take a toll on the forces and civilians.
In one recent attack, the bandits saw 83 civilians killed, most of them women and children and according to a statement from the Nigerian military, the bandits had used the civilians as human shields in a battle with forces.
The surge in banditry has forced the military to deploy aerial firepower in some cases to tackle the menace in the 12 states in North Central and North West Nigeria.
Caught in crossfire
But the 83 killed on Tuesday, December 20, 2022, in Mutunji in Maru Local Government Area of North West Zamfara States shows the dangers of it. The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) jets dropped bombs that killed 215 persons, most of them bandits in their hideouts.
It was indiscriminate.
Bandits who were fleeing from NAF airstrikes ran into a small village called Mutunji to take refuge but were hit by bombs, a military dispatch indicated. “
Mr. Zailani Bappa, the Special Adviser on Public Enlightenment, Media, and Communications to Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara, delivered condolences and heartfelt sympathy to the families of victims caught in military crossfire against the bandits.
The incident, one of the worst so far, is an indication that the military is becoming more desperate in its offensive against bandits that have been legally declared terrorists, Mr. Agboola Olayinka, a security expert, told The EastAfrican in Abuja on Tuesday.
Nigeria had been battling whether to classify bandits as terrorists or just as criminals keen on kidnapping for ransom. Recently, officials decided to categorize bandits as terrorists which would allow security forces to consider their threats as dangerous and use weapons that would otherwise draw criticism.
Besides atrocities, bandits have seized some remote communities in the 12 states of North West and North Central, imposed illegal levies and taxes on people as well as destroyed social infrastructure especially schools, telecom, and electricity facilities.
In Kwata, a small farming settlement in Zurmi local government area of Zamfara state and Shirroro in Niger state bandits invaded, forcing peasant farmers to abandon their homes and farmlands.
The bandits, as known as terrorists like Boko Haram, kill, maim, kidnap, and rape women in the troubled states of Zamfara, Sokoto, Kebbi, Katsina, Kaduna, Niger, Kaduna, Kogi, Benue, Jigawa, Plateau, and part of FCT.
Governors worried
Banditry is, however, older than Buhari’s administration. It started as a farmers-versus-herders crisis in 2011 and was initially considered to be a passing cloud. But it has ballooned into full-blown terrorism displacing over 2.1 million people.
In Zamfara state, for instance, about 69,000 Internally Displaced Persons, Kaduna 71,000, Katsina 61,000, and Sokoto 45,000, while at least 3,000 have crossed the borders through the axis of Maradi to take refuge in Niger and Chad Republics.
One of the farmers in Shiroro, Mr. Tarka Mohamed, said the bandits demanded farmers pay N1.2 million ($2,500) to allow them to access and cultivate farmlands.
Mr. Usman Kelly, another farmer in Zamfara, who said many farmers have fled their stead, said they were forced to pay levies, yet the bandits prevent them from entering their farms.
The Nigerian Red Cross Society has confirmed the fear of imminent food insecurity in the North West and North Central saying: “The situation is critical and is one that needs immediate attention.”
Buhari, expected to leave his post in 2023, had said he wants forces to eliminate the banditry problem before the end of 2022, a missed deadline.
“The military is now strong, well-fortified, and impregnable. If anyone or group dares to test our will now, they may not live to regret it,” argued Nigerian Interior Minister, Rauf Aregbesola, in Abuja.
But governors of the affected states are frustrated the problem is increasing.
Governor Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger state expressed his helplessness over the incessant invasion of bandits from various communities. In his state, some 50 villages are now occupied by bandits.
Ibrahim Dan-Musa, the spokesperson of the northern youth lobby Northern Ethnic Group Assembly, NEYGA, says the police are poorly funded and poorly motivated, and the military, which is fighting a decade-long insurgency in the North East, appears to be at the end of its wits on how to curtail the spiraling insecurity.
The war on banditry may be helped, however. Original terror groups Boko Haram and ISIS in West Africa are in a deadly battle of supremacy which has seen fighters kill one another in a bid to carve out an Islamic state.
According to rumors, Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers are interested in Ghanaian defender Gideon Mensah.
To strengthen their defense, the two Premier League clubs are competing to sign the Auxerre left-back.
After a productive loan with Girondins Bordeaux, Gideon Mensah agreed to a permanent transfer to Auxerre on 12 August 2022. The 24-year-old signed a three-year deal with the French Ligue 1 side.
If Leeds or Wolverhampton Wanderers agree to pay Mensah’s 12-million-euro asking price, he could finally realize his ambition of playing in England.
Jesse Marsch, the manager of Leeds United at the moment, is keen to reunite with Mensah after their time together at Red Bull Salzburg.
Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui is searching for a left-back backup for defender Hugo Bueno, who has been forced to adapt.
Mensah has been an important player for Auxerre this season, appearing in nine games in Ligue 1.
Gideon Mensah was a member of the Black Stars team that placed bottom in Group H at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Former head coach of the Black Stars, James Kwasi Appiah, acknowledged that he took a major risk by giving debut calls to inexperienced players like Mohammed Kudus.
According to the current coach of Kenpong Football Academy, some officials of the Ghana Football Association were against the move to hand call-ups to young players at the expense of senior players.
Speaking in an interview the coach said, he could have lost his job if Ghana had lost the match to South Africa in 2019.
“Not only [Mohammed] Kudus but some other young players. There were people who felt the young players didn’t deserve the Black Stars call-up,” he said in an interview with Dan Kweku Yeboah TV on YouTube.
“But for me, I had watched them and I believed them. I always told my players don’t prove to me, prove to Ghanaians. If you do well that’s for your own good.
“My job was on the line because I was warned that if I lost the match I will be sacked. I didn’t mind because I knew I was doing what was good for the country.”
In November 2019, Kudus made his international debut for Ghana during a qualification game for the Africa Cup of Nations against South Africa. The young player scored in his maiden game.
In that match, Appiah’s team defeated South Africa 2-0, and Kudus went on to become a regular for the national team.
An attempt to undermine constitutional order in Chad by a handful of army officers was thwarted, according to the Central African nation’s administration.
A statement released on January 5, 2022 read: “This plan was devised by a restricted group of conspirators composed of 11 army officers.”
It cited one Baradine Berdei Targuio, president of the Chadian Human Rights Organization, as the head of the coupists.
Security services have been arresting people linked to the plot since Dec. 8 and have seized military equipment, the statement said.
Chad is currently under a transitional government led by Mahamat Idris Deby Itno who was made president after his father died in 2021 whiles fighting terrorists on the frontline.
Authorities have cracked down on dissent in recent months as demonstrators took to the streets to demand a quicker transition to democratic rule, a Reuters report stated.
Former WAFA midfielder Lawrence Agyekum considers the match between WAFA and Hearts of Oak in the final game of the 2020–21 campaign to be his best performance while playing in the Ghana Premier League.
In the season being talked about, WAFA made history by finishing third in Ghana’s top flight, their best since making their debut in the league.
As part of achieving that, the Academy lads needed a win on the last day of the season to cement that position as Aduana FC were also not far behind.
But Agyekum turned out to be one of the best players on the day at the WAFA Park as the Sogakope-based side defeated the eventual league champions to claim that spot.
In an exclusive interview with Joy Sports, the 19-year-old didn’t shy away from picking that game when quizzed about his best game in the Premier League.
“The last game when the league was ending against Hearts of Oak,” he said.
“We won 1-0. We needed a victory in that game so we could seal the third position. I really tormented them. I gave them nightmares.”
Lawrence Agyekum in league action against Karela United
The teenager also picked his goal against Karela United in that same season as the best he scored in the league.
“My best goal was against Karela United in Cape Coast. I dribbled past five players and I lobbed [the ball] over the goalkeeper.”
Agyekum currently plays for Red Bull Salzburg in the Austrian league after joining the club from WAFA in February 2022.
32-year-old scrap metal dealer, Musah Seidu, has sealed the tip of his penis with solution glue, often known as super glue.
Residents of Wasa Nananko in the Amenfi East Municipality in the Western Region are shocked by the scrap dealer’s conduct.
Musah Seidu is reportedly known to have been allegedly using penis enlargement medicine to have bouts of sex with women in the area especially prostitutes.
He’s said to have contracted a sexually transmitted disease that has left him with frequent urination (urinating every two minutes).
Frustrated by this frequent urination, Musah Seidu reportedly sealed the tip of his penis with the solution glue in a bid to stop the urine from flowing.
However, the act rather threw him into discomfort as he was left with severe pain.
Unable to bear the pain, he was rushed to the hospital where he’s on admission for medical attention.
The ranking of the top 100 Africans in terms of reputation for 2023 has been published by Reputation Poll International, a well-known global reputation company.
The list includes people from a variety of fields, including business, government, human rights, education, and entertainment.
The selection criteria are integrity, impact and visibility.
Kenya’s Amina Chawahir Mohamed, South Africa’s Bonang Mohale, Chancellor at the University of the Free State and Professor at Johannesburg Business School; and Cameroon’s Njoya Tiku, Manager of the UNDP Regional Office in West and Central are some of the prominent personalities featured on the list.
Governance and Policy: The President of Kenya, His Excellency William K. Ruto, the President of Malawi, His Excellency Lazarus Chakwera and Senator Chantal Moussokoura Fanny of Ivory Coast, amongst others.
Business: Egypt’s Naguib Onsi Sawiris, Chairman of Weather Investment company, Ghana’s Sir Samuel Esson Jonah, Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast, and Executive Chairman of Jonah Capital in South Africa and Nigeria’s Dr. Dauda Lawal, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of Credent Capital and Advisory Ltd.
Human Rights Advocacy: Martha K. Koome, Chief Justice of Kenya, and Nigeria’s Aisha Yesufu are featured.
Leadership: Ethiopia’s President, Sahle Work- Zedwe, Nigeria’s Dr. Paul Enenche MD, and Ghana’s Afua Kyei (the Chief Financial Officer at Bank of England, where she leads the Finance Directorate) are featured and Bolaji Akinremi (Amb.) || Director of Economy Trade & Investment, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In addition to the individuals recognised on Reputation Poll International’s “100 Most Reputable Africans” list for their various achievements, there are also those who are celebrated for their contributions to social impact and social entrepreneurship, helping to transform businesses in Africa and positively impacting lives without causing controversy.
The 100 Most Reputable Africans list is aimed at recognising and celebrating the achievements of individuals making a positive impact in Africa and worldwide.
Below is the list of the 100 Most Reputable people in Africa:
1. Abdulrazak Gurnah FRSL || British Author and Professor
2. Afua Kyei || Chief Financial Officer at Bank of England
3. Agnes Matilda Kalibab || President of Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)
4. Aisha Yesufu || Human Rights Advocate
5. Amani Abou-Zeid (H.E) || Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, African Union Commission
Former Black Stars coach Kwesi Appiah has stated that stripping Asamoah Gyan off Black Stars captaincy for Andre Ayew was the right decision.
Kwesi Appiah, prior to the 2019 AFCON, named Asamoah Gyan as the general captain, handing the official captain role to Andre Dede Ayew.
Explaining his decision that many blamed Ghana’s early exit on, Kwesi Appiah said he did the right thing.
“It is about doing the right thing. I couldn’t have stripped Gyan of the captaincy and given it to Christian Atsu(or any junior player). Whoever deserves to take over, you give it to him,” he told Dan Kwaku Yeboah TV on YouTube.
The former Asante Kotoko manager added that Asamoah Gyan did not give him full corporation but believes he made the right decision concerning the captaincy.
“Pushing him to be the general captain, I was thinking that we would work together to control the team. Then he would end his national team honourably but unfortunately, it didn’t happen that way. In actual fact, I did what I think was right.”
Gyan featured in one game at the 2019 AFCON when he came on to force an own goal against Tunisia in the round of 16.
The game travelled to penalties with Ghana losing 4-5 on penalties. The game was Gyan’s final game for Black Stars.
Hearts of Oak coach Slavko Matic has left for holidays in his native country, Serbia.
The Serbian tactician has departed the West African country to Europe following the postponement of Hearts of Oak games by the Ghana Association postponement.
The Ghana FA approved the Phobians request to have their league games postponed due to their inability to raise matchday squad (18).
As a results, Hearts of Oak’s matchday 11 fixture against Tamale City will not come on as scheduled this weekend.
On Monday, Hearts of Oak managed to raise 17-players for their clash against Bechem United FC which they lost 2-1 at the Cape Coast stadium.
Players including Daniel Afriyie Barnieh, Suraj Seidu, Gladson Awako, Konadu Yiadom and Dennis Korsah who are with the Black Galaxies.
Samuel Inkoom, Zakaria Yakubu are injured and Enoch Esubonteng is suspended after his red card against Bechem United FC.
The Ghana FA in the coming days, communicate to various stakeholders as to when their games will be honoured.
Matic has been impressive since his arrival after Samuel Boadu’s sacking last year.
He has guided the Rainbow boys to five wins, two draws and one defeat in the eight games he has been in charge.
Five-time Ballon d’Or winner, Cristiano Ronaldo suffered a slip of tongue on his first day at work as an Al Nassr player.
Speaking at the first press conference preceding his official unveiling last Tuesday, he referred to Saudi Arabia, his new host country, as South Africa.
“The football is different, so for me it’s not the end of my career to come to South Africa. This is why I want to change, and to be honest I’m really not worried about what people say,” Ronaldo told the media in Riyadh, where the club is based.
He added: “I won everything, I played for the most important clubs in Europe and now it is a new challenge in Asia.”
Ronaldo later turned up at the club’s stadium in his traditional number 7 jersey and had a kick about on the pitch. He also formally met with his colleagues in the dressing room.
The Portuguese skipper, who had a poor outing at the 2022 World Cup was without a club at the time the tournament ended after Manchester United ended his contract following an interview he granted criticizing the past and present of the club.
He signed a world record two-and-half year contract with the Saudi club with a clause in the deal being that he will also support Saudi’s 2030 bid to co-host the World Cup along with Egypt and Greece.
Former Black Stars head coach, Kwesi Appiah, has explained the positioning problem that caused Thomas Partey to struggle at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The ex-Black Stars defender explained that, unlike Arsenal, Partey is limited at Black Stars by playing in offensive areas.
He further noted that Arsenal have the best out of the Ghanaian because they use him as a defensive midfielder.
“I would like to use this World Cup. If you look at Arsenal, they use him more like a defensive midfielder, always he plays in front of the defenders. But here we use him as an offensive midfielder who operates on the right side. That means he is enclosed in a small area with the number 10 but at Arsenal, he can move all over the place.”
Thomas Partey, who was having an impressive run at Arsenal before the World Cup, was underwhelming for the Black Stars at the tournament.
The 29-year-old suffered a backlash from Ghanaians as some questioned his commitment to the national team.
Former Black Stars head coach, Kwesi Appiah, has detailed the positioning problem that led to Thomas Partey’s struggle at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The ex-Black Stars defender explained that, unlike Arsenal, Partey is limited at Black Stars by playing in offensive areas.
He further noted that Arsenal have the best out of the Ghanaian because they use him as a defensive midfielder.
“I would like to use this World Cup. If you look at Arsenal, they use him more like a defensive midfielder, always he plays in front of the defenders. But here we use him as an offensive midfielder who operates on the right side. That means he is enclosed in a small area with the number 10 but at Arsenal, he can move all over the place.”
Thomas Partey, who was having an impressive run at Arsenal before the World Cup, was underwhelming for the Black Stars at the tournament.
The 29-year-old suffered a backlash from Ghanaians as some questioned his commitment to the national team.
Former coach in Ghana, Kwesi Appiah said he has no issues with Asamoah Gyan over the 2019 Black Stars captaincy controversy.
Gyan, who led the national team for more than five years, was dropped by coach Appiah as the captain of the side ahead of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations competition in Egypt.
The two men were close friends prior to the tournament but Appiah stunned the entire country when he announced Andre Ayew as his new leader.
Gyan, who is Ghana’s all-time leading scorer, was axed as the substantive captain of the side even though he was named in the squad for the competition.
This prompted the striker’s to announce his retirement from the national team before the country President Nana Akufo Addo intervened to get him to reverse the decision.
In an interview with Dan Kwaku Yeboah’s TV, Kwasi Appiah asserted he has no issues with Gyan over the captaincy brouhaha.
“We talk whenever we meet but I don’t know if he has issues with me. He (Gyan) knows I didn’t offend him”
Meanwhile, Kwasi Appiah has reiterated desire to return to the national team following his exit in 2019.
Gyan, despite failing to announce his retirement is yet to feature for any side after leaving Legon Cities.
While scientists attempt to identify and test the efficacy of therapeutic plants, South Africa is taking moves to commercialize these plants.
Prof Nox Makunga of Stellenbosh University says that 85% of flora and fauna found in Africa is endemic to the continent and has potential to treat a variety of diseases.
“Our reliance on plant-based remedies is really part of longstanding historical tradition. Even nowadays we are still looking for plants, for example, that might be effective against antimicrobial resistance which is a huge global problem,” she says.
However, she adds that due to stigma, Western branded medicines are often preferred over African plant medicine.
“These are remedies that have not necessarily been written down but passed on as an oral tradition. People are nervous to take something without scientific validation.”
Prof Makunga is part of a team working to provide the scientific validation of such herbal extracts.
She says there needs to be more investment to commercialise these plants and market them globally.
The interview was part of a special edition of Focus on Africa, guest-edited by Professor Thuli Madonsela.
Nigerian police have reported on the recovery of 10 lifeless bodies on Wednesday after a boat carrying dozens of passengers capsized in a river in the north.
A local official is quoted as saying that the boat had been overloaded with passengers “beyond its capacity”.
The boat had been carrying passengers returning from a farm on the River Niger and broke in half as it approached Samanaji village in Koko-Besse district.
Over 80 passengers were rescued.
Boat accidents are relatively common in Nigeria with many being blamed on overloading or poor safety measures.
Model Fancy Acholonu, who lives in the US, has disclosed that her ex-fiancé, Alex Ekubo, refused to have sex with her during their five-year relationship.
According to her, the Nigerian actor claimed he wanted to be celibate because of his religious beliefs.
Speaking in an interview with popular blogger, Stella Dimoko-Korkus, Fancy claimed that she found it difficult to understand Alex’s refusal to touch her.
She hinted that it confused her and messed with her self-esteem.
According to Fancy, she and Alexx had wanted to reconcile but he wanted something public as opposed to private which she preferred. She added that he wanted a public apology and a grand wedding which was in the works before their breakup.
She said: “Even his family and friends said privately would be better but he needed the grand gesture apology so he can have the grand wedding he wants again. Not caring the issues were still there. Everything is about social media for him, and somehow, it’s now looking like I want the attention when this is the WORST attention I’ve ever had in my life.”
“His sexuality is not the reason I broke up with him. I’m very open-minded so regardless of what he prefers, love is love for me. I loved him for his personality and heart nothing more.”
“He didn’t want to be with me intimately which was confusing and difficult for me to understand especially for 5 years so it did affect my self-esteem as I kept myself for him and when he would cheat with curvy women he wouldn’t perform with them either so I don’t know, I can’t confirm or deny his sexuality but for me, I loved him despite all and he still found ways to hurt me,” she added.
Prince Harry has alleged that his brother Prince William physically assaulted him, according to the Guardian, which claims to have read a copy of the duke’s upcoming memoir, Spare.
The newspaper reported that the book sets out an argument between the pair over Prince Harry’s wife Meghan.
“He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor,” the Guardian quotes Prince Harry as writing.
BBC News has not seen a copy of Spare.
The memoir will not be published until next Tuesday, but the Guardian said it obtained a copy amid what it called “stringent pre-launch security”.
According to the Guardian, the book says the row was sparked by comments Prince William made to Prince Harry at his London home in 2019.
Prince Harry, the paper says, writes that his brother was critical of his marriage to Meghan Markle – and that Prince William described her as “difficult”, “rude” and “abrasive”.
The Duke of Sussex reportedly writes that his brother was “parrot[ing] the press narrative” as the confrontation escalated.
Prince Harry is said to describe what happened next, including an alleged physical altercation.
“He set down [a glass of] water, called me another name, then came at me. It all happened so fast. So very fast.
“He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor.
“I landed on the dog’s bowl, which cracked under my back, the pieces cutting into me. I lay there for a moment, dazed, then got to my feet and told him to get out.”
Martin Pengelly, a journalist for the Guardian’s US website who wrote its story, said he did not approach Prince William’s communication team.
The reporter said that his article is “a report on Harry’s book, which he’s written, it’s Harry’s account”.
Mr Pengelly told BBC Radio 5 Live: “We carefully, obviously in reporting it, didn’t call it a fight because Harry says he didn’t fight back.”
Prince Harry writes that his brother urged him to hit back and he refused to do so, according to the Guardian, but Prince William later looked “regretful, and apologised”.
Photographs suggest Prince Harry regularly wore a dark necklace at events such as the Invictus Games, and on foreign tours with Meghan, as recently as September 2019.
Image caption, Prince Harry, wearing a distinctive dark necklace, alongside Meghan in South Africa, months before they stepped back from royal duties
While publishers at Penguin Random House are yet to confirm whether the leaked excerpts from the book are genuine, Prince Harry has recently spoken of his troubled relationship with his brother.
In the couple’s Harry and Meghan Netflix documentary, Prince Harry describes a meeting he attended with his brother, and father, the now King.
Prince Harry described the conference in early 2020, which was also attended by the late Queen, as “terrifying”.
“It was terrifying to have my brother scream and shout at me and my father say things that just simply weren’t true, and my grandmother quietly sit there and sort of take it all in,” he said.
The Guardian says Prince Harry details a meeting with Charles, then Prince of Wales, and Prince William after the funeral of his grandfather, Prince Phillip, in April 2021.
According to the paper, Prince Harry writes his father stood between him and Prince William, and said “please, boys, don’t make my final years a misery”.
In a trailer for a sit-down interview, which will be broadcast on 8 January ahead of the book release, the prince said: “I would like to get my father back, I would like to have my brother back”.
However, Prince Harry told ITV’s Tom Bradby “they’ve shown absolutely no willingness to reconcile,” although it was not clear who he was referring to.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment on this.
Spare, ghostwritten by memoirist JR Moehringer and part of a multi-million dollar book deal, was previously believed to be subject to the upmost secrecy with few details known about its content.
“For Harry, this is his story at last,” Penguin Random House said in a publicity statement back in October.
“With its raw, unflinching honesty, Spare is a landmark publication full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief.”
Cape Verde’s national stadium is to be renamed after Pele, the country’s prime minister has said.
The 15,000-seater Estadio Nacional de Cabo Verde, located just outside the capital Praia, will become the Pele Stadium.
The news comes after Fifa’s president Gianna Infantino proposed – while speaking at Pele’s memorial service in Brazil – that every country should name a stadium after the footballing legend who died on 29 December, aged 82.
“As a tribute and recognition to this figure that makes us all great, I manifest the intention of naming our national stadium as “Pele Stadium”, in an initiative that, I believe, will be followed by several countries around the world,” Ulisses Correira e Silva wrote on Facebook.
“With the physical disappearance of Edson Arantes de Nascimento, King Pele, who soon became a planetary figure, an icon of the masses showing that sport has the power to unite the world, it is now our wish to pay tribute to him,” added Mr Silva in a statement that stressed the importance of Pele to Portuguese-speaking countries like Cape Verde.
“Cape Verde and Brazil have a history and culture that go hand in hand, considering they are two sister countries, linked by language and very similar identities.
“Pele was and always will be a reference in Brazil, in our Portuguese-speaking countries and in the rest of the world, being an idol that links several generations.”
Pele is credited with scoring a world record 1,281 goals in 1,363 appearances during a 21-year career, including 77 goals in 92 matches for his country, and was named Fifa’s Player of the Century in 2000.
At Monday’s memorial to Pele in Santos, the city where he played club football, Infantino said that Fifa would be asking “every country in the world to name one of their football stadiums with the name of Pele”.
However, South Africa’s Football Association president Danny Jordaan has since raised concerns that this could cause potential issues with stadium naming rights.
Co-chairman of West Ham David Gold, has passed away at the age of 86 after a brief illness.
The lifelong supporter of the Hammers died peacefully yesterday morning, the club’s official website reports, with his fiancee Lesley, daughters Jacqueline and Vanessa at his side.
Fellow joint-chairman David Sullivan said: “On behalf of everyone at the football club, it is with profound sorrow and a heavy heart that we mourn the passing of our colleague and friend.
“Of all our joint ventures, none gave us more pride and happiness than the day we took ownership of West Ham United, our club, in January 2010.
“David had a long-standing connection with the Hammers, having grown up opposite the Boleyn Ground in Green Street, and represented the club at junior level.
“He always wanted what was best for West Ham United and his passing is a great loss for all of us.”
Hammers boss David Moyes added: “I am extremely sad to hear this news.
“On behalf of all of the players and my staff at the training ground, I would like to extend our deepest sympathies to David Gold’s family at this very difficult time.
“Mr Gold was a regular visitor to Rush Green and always a source of great support and encouragement to myself and the players.
“It was clear that he had a genuine and sincere love for the club and was a true supporter at heart.
“He took a great interest in the people working behind the scenes and was always keen to help in any way he could. He will be greatly missed.”
Born in Stepney in September 1936, Gold grew up at 442 Green Street — directly opposite West Ham’s former home the Boleyn Ground.
He represented the club’s junior team between the age of 13 and 16 and later played for the youth side.
After forging a successful career in the business world, he became West Ham’s joint-chairman alongside Sullivan, 73, in January 2010.
Mikel Arteta believes Arsenal should have been awarded two penalties in the goalless draw against Newcastle, describing the decisions not to point to the spot as “scandalous”.
The Gunners dropped points at Emirates Stadium for the first time in the Premier League this season, missing the opportunity to open up a 10-point advantage over Manchester City, who play Chelsea on Thursday.
Arsenal were not short of openings against Eddie Howe’s third-placed side, firing 17 attempts at goal, but just four were on target and the leaders were not at their best in the final third.
Gunners boss bemoaned two decisions that did not go the way of his side, with his view that referee Andy Madley should have punished Dan Burn for a shirt pull on Gabriel Magalhaes and given a handball against Jacob Murphy right at the end.
“I’m extremely proud of my players, the way we played, the way we dominated the game, the way we tried and continued [to try], how we dominated the game,” he told Sky Sports.
“We were missing in the final third, that is the final part, we had so many situations to finish those better, and then we had two scandalous penalties.
“They’re two penalties, it’s very simple. I’m talking about what I’ve seen and it’s two scandalous penalties.
“When you cannot win, you do not lose. We kept a clean sheet, we had a really good performance, and we go again.
“I wanted to win the game but we drew it and we should have done certain things better, especially in the final third, and we should have had two penalties to win the game.”
Arsenal are likely to shuffle their squad for Monday’s FA Cup third round clash against Oxford United, before what could be a north London derby against Tottenham on January 15.
Chelsea intends to sabotage Arsenal’s attempt to sign Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhaylo Mudryk
The Gunners have been chasing the 21-year-old Ukrainian for months, with their latest offer of £62million still falling well short of his current club’s asking price.
Shakhtar are holding out for a deal worth closer to £80m and with no resolution appearing imminent, the Blues look poised to enter the race.
According to The Sun, Chelsea officials want to meet with Shakhtar’s sporting director Darijo Srna when he travels to London later this week for negotiations.
Blues owner Todd Boehly has shown himself more than willing to splash the cash and is desperate to back his manager Graham Potter, who has struggled since replacing Thomas Tuchel in September.
Mudryk has netted has 10 goals and eight assists in 18 appearances across all competitions this season, with his impressive exploits in the Champions League gaining him plenty of admirers.
The youngster has his heart set on a move to the Premier League leaders, having even posted pictures of himself watching Arsenal games on social media recently.
Personal terms on a five-year deal have reportedly been agreed but if talks over a fee continue to stall, the wonderkid looks likely to end up elsewhere.
In other news
Xavi wants Memphis Depay to stay put at Barcelona
Metro report that Xavi has told Memphis Depayhe has an important role to play at Barcelona amid transfer interest from Manchester United.
Brentfordare close to completing the signing of Kevin Schade, 21, from Bundesliga outfit Freiburg for a fee of £22m, according to The Times.
Tottenham will hold talks with representatives from Portuguese side Sporting today regarding a double swoop for Pedro Porro and their former academy product Marcus Edwards, say the Daily Mail.
After the arrest of three suspects in place of a woman thought to be living in Saudi Arabia, the Nigeria Police Force has stepped up its campaign against Aisha Buhari’s detractors.
Detectives from the Force Intelligence Bureau, FIB, at the force headquarters tracked the trio and arrested them over their alleged “contact” with the principal suspect.
The newly arrested suspects are Salisu Isyaku, Salisu Habib and Zubairu Ahmed in lieu of a female suspect, Kaltim Ahmed, according to Daily Nigerian report.
It was gathered that the three “suspects” were arrested on December 14, 2022 and detained in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, without access to their families and lawyers.
Ms Ahmed, a fiery irredentist who criticises Fulani dominance of Hausa in audio messages shared on Whatsapp and other social media platforms had lambasted Mrs Buhari for ordering the arrest and participating in the brutalisation of a final-year student.
The Hausa nationalist said in the audio posted on the YouTube channel @jarumhausatv that the first lady’s grandparents were itinerant foreigners wandering in bushes, daring the first lady to arrest her.
“Your husband deceived us, lying and crying. It is good that we elected him, and his election had exposed all the Fulanis in Nigeria.
“Your government is silent about killing of Hausa people by Fulani. The southerners have rained all manner of abuses against you, but you are silent. Now you are here intimidating Northerners,” she said in the audio.
It was further gathered that detectives from the Force Intelligence Bureau, FIB, at the force headquarters tracked the trio and arrested them over their alleged “contact” with the principal suspect.
A security source at the presidency said one of the suspects, Salisu Isyaku, is a bureau de change operator, who was arrested for exchanging Saudi riyals to naira for the principal suspect.
“Initially, he was charged with terrorism financing but later changed to cyber stalking when the police realised that the transaction between them was not up to N500,000.
“The police are under intense pressure from Madam [first lady] to deal with the suspects. She wanted the suspects to be charged. Even the release of Dutse university student was not done with her consent, and she was angry with the IGP (the Inspector-General of Police] over withdrawal of charges against the boy,” the source added.
Spokesman for the Nigerian police, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, did not respond to an inquiry on the matter.
SaharaReporters had reported In November last year, how the Nigeria police arrested a final-year student of the Federal University, Dutse, Jigawa State, Aminu Mohammed and one Zainab Kazeem, a former aide to the first lady, Aisha Buhari.
While the student was arrested for criticising the first lady’s size that ballooned recently, the former aide was arrested for allegedly getting access to the First Lady’s Instagram account and deleting her posts.
The duo was later released and charged dropped against them, following widespread outcry over their illegal arrest, detention and torture.
In an effort to help safeguard the island from global economic shocks, the government has plans to reinvest an additional T$380 billion ($12.4 billion) in tax receipts from the previous year.
Premier Su Tseng-chang has announced that the Taiwan government is planning to give cash payouts of nearly $200 to every citizen this year.
He said the island’s economic growth will be shared by everyone.
Reuters reports that the export-reliant economy, a global tech powerhouse for products including semiconductor chips, grew 6.45 percent in 2021, the fastest rate since it expanded 10.25 percent in 2010.
The government has made plans to plough an extra T$380 billion ($12.4bn) in tax revenue from last year back into the economy to help protect the island from global economic shocks, including subsidies for electricity prices and labour and health insurance, while economic growth is expected to slow in 2023.
“The fruit of economic achievements will be shared by all citizens, from young to old,” Su told reporters on Wednesday, adding the potential payout requires approval from parliament, where the ruling Democratic Progressive Party has a majority.
“We wish to give all citizens a New Year blessing after the beginning of the Lunar New Year,” Su told reporters, referring to the week-long holiday that starts on January 20.
Taiwan is said to be a major producer of semiconductors used in everything from cars and smartphones to fighter jets. Its economy continued to grow stably during the COVID-19 pandemic in recent years helped by strong chip demand for consumer electronics as more people worked from home.
Taiwan’s central bank in December cut its 2022 estimate for gross domestic product (GDP) growth to 2.91 percent from its previous forecast of 3.51 percent in September.
For 2023, it projected GDP would grow by 2.53 percent. The economy grew 4.01 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier
I wasn’t ready. No one is ever ready. But my live-in boyfriend at the time kept sending me the links from Petfinder.
The pictures were all adorable. They all needed a home. They all stared back with eyes that said “please adopt and love me.”
The more I stared at these images, the more I began to consider them. I thought, hey, if we can do this together, share the cost, hire a dog walker, and forgo the house training thing with an adult dog, how hard could this be?
The adoption agencies were tough. The initial paperwork aimed at weeding out the weak with questions like “what percentage of your annual income will you spend on dog food?”
The people in charge of the adoption groups were crazy; crazy to the point where the mailbox at the “interview” house was shaped like a Boston terrier. I have no idea how, but we made it through.
We had a brief introduction to the actual dog candidate (who was amazingly adorable), but the final meeting was more paperwork, ending with the awkward question: “If the nature of the relationship changes, who will be the primary owner of the dog?”
At the time, we thought a custody conversation about the dog was funny.
But of course, we had to answer. My maternal instinct said “me.” My lack of faith in my partner to properly care for this dog also said: “me.” I could tell my boyfriend felt the same way. My name went down in pen.
And, tellingly, I was the only one home when our new dog arrived (my partner was conveniently on a business trip).
It was painful. The dog ran around the house nervously, circling over and over. When it was time for the dog’s foster parent to leave and officially turn over the reins to me, he ran after him and cried by the door.
And then, to my horror, my new dog ran upstairs to the only carpeted area and took a huge dump.
A few months and a breakup later, that signature took on new meaning as my now ex-boyfriend moved out, leaving the dog and me without looking back. Needless to say, I was a huge mess.
My ex broke my heart. But in those early days of heartbreak, the dog never left my side. He followed me around religiously. He growled at anyone who came near me. This was out of character.
In those months when we were all still together, the dog clearly took to my ex, staying up late with him watching TV, trailing him wherever he went. But something changed when he left — the dog seemed to know I was the one who was sticking around, and he slept a little closer than before at night.
We eventually moved away. The whole drive north, I remember the dog patiently sleeping on the floor of the car while I explained to him what was happening, why we were leaving, how things were going to be great in our new city, and how he would love the parks.
I took him to get his new tags and got the vet to give him anti-anxiety medication so he wouldn’t freak out in our new apartment and get us kicked out.
I felt like a good dog owner. But when we arrived it started to sink in: This dog is mine and mine alone. I need to train him not to bark, how to behave off-leash at the dog park, and how to walk by my side instead of pulling me the whole way.
When I started dating someone new, it became obvious that I needed to do something about the dog sleeping on the bed. Somehow having someone in my life again highlighted that this dog really did need some training. I was self-conscious and wanted to demonstrate how in control and responsible I was.
The dog wasn’t a huge help during this transition: He was reluctant. He was jealous. He guarded me fiercely. He was only slightly interested in the $250 dog bed that was more stylish than my own.
I took the initiative and signed up for a class at the SPCA. Shockingly, we excelled. The basis for training was food, which I’ve learned is the way to this dog’s heart.
Food has also been a huge threat. In our time together, my dog has had his stomach pumped and cut open. He has swallowed a plastic ball and nearly choked to death.
Each one of these episodes was extremely traumatic and reiterated just how attached I had become. Just how painful his suffering was to me. Just how responsible I felt for saving him.
Now, almost three years after that fateful drop-off, I can officially say I love this dog like I never thought I would.
Walking him no longer seems like a chore and sometimes is my favorite time of day. I am still fascinated that his tail wags uncontrollably every single time I utter the words “wanna go for a walk” and that he leaps off his leash with equal excitement every day at the park. I love that he kisses some, but not too much, and not every time I ask.
I love that he has finally warmed up to my boyfriend, but still climbs between us on the couch. I still smile at his signature pout when he watches me get ready to go out.
The list goes on: He behaves in taxis. He barks every time someone knocks on a door — on TV. He sleeps on the dining room table so he can look out the window. He unrolls the toilet paper and drags it into the living room when I leave him at home for too long.
He wags his tail every night when I walk in. He follows me from room to room without stopping, every single time I get up and move. When my alarm goes off in the morning he groans. He can sleep until 11 without having to go out.
He doesn’t run away when he is off-leash. He makes me smile and laugh at times when I might not have. He is naive and innocent and devious and funny.
I realize there are people who don’t understand, and who think loving a dog is a cop-out. I listen to my parents sigh when I talk about paying for a dog walker. I hear the undertones of their comments implying not-so-subtly that this type of concern and obligation should only be displayed towards people, namely children.
But as it is with all things in life, you can’t anticipate who will walk in and who will walk out, and what impact the coming and going will have on you.
I do know that I am thankful for this little creature and that his gifts to me are many and constant. How can this not be love?
Former WAFA defender Mohammed Alhassan, had his contract amicably terminated after the parties were unable to come to terms on an extension.
The Accra Hearts of Oak player was let go despite having almost a year left on his deal.
“With reference to the mutual termination of the employment contract agreement between the player (Mohammed Alhassan) and the club; The player is free to join any club of his choice,” a portion of the letter sent to the player read.
Alhassan signed for Hearts in December 2018 after leaving WAFA SC and has spent the last four seasons as an integral member of the Hearts of Oak team where he featured in over 90 games.
The 30-year-old was instrumental for the Rainbow club when they won a double, the Ghana Premier League and FA Cup in the 2020-21 season under coach Samuel Boadu.
He also contributed immensely to retaining the FA Cup title the following season.
Alhassan was part of the Ghana home-based national team that eliminated Benin and Nigeria to secure qualification to the 2022 CHAN tournament in Algeria.
However, he didn’t make the final squad for the tournament which kicks off in few days time.
Mother of Azumah Nelson, Comfort Atwei Quarcoo, dies at age 86.
The boxing legend lost his mother on Monday, January 2, 2023.
According to the family Madam Quarcoo passed on peacefully at home after months of illness.
In a brief statement, he said, “the bible says in all things we should give thanks to God so we thank the almighty for this one too. I spent time with her three days ago and could tell she was in pain so I know she is at peace now.”
“After raising her children well and seeing her grandchildren, she has done very well and deserves some rest. This is a celebration of life,” he added.
Azumah has also asked that Ghanaians keep him and his family in their prayers.
Details of the burial and funeral rites will be announced soon, the family said.
Azumah Nelson is a three-time World Boxing Champion, 2004 Boxing Hall of Fame inductee, Africa’s Greatest Boxer and WBC’s Greatest Superfeatherweight Boxer of All-Time.
He was also inducted into the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame in August 2022.
Authorities said on Tuesday that five people were killed in an attack by unknown gunmen in south-east Mali, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the nation’s capital Bamako.
The victims comprised three civilians and two firefighters who were members of a civil defence force.
Military ceremonies and burials for the two service members are due for Wednesday, the AFP news agency reports.
Monday’s attack is said to have happened in a part of the country where violence is rare while a jihadist insurgency rages in the central and northern regions.
At least nine people were killed and several others wounded in twin car bomb attacks in a town in central Somalia on Wednesday, the AFP news agency reports quoting a local security official.
The official said the attackers used vehicles loaded with explosives to stage the attack in Mahas town.
Militants have continued to carry out attacks in central and southern Somalia despite recent government troops backed by African Union forces and local militias retaking areas previously captured by the al-Shabab group.
As sought by Angola’s Public Ministry, the Supreme Court of Angola has authorized the preventive seizure of $1 billion in assets owned by José Eduardo Dos Santos’s daughter.
Isabel Dos Santos, the first female billionaire in Africa, often referred to as ‘Princess’, is under investigation for embezzlement of state funds, influence peddling, and money laundering, of which she has denied the accusations as a politically-induced witch-hunt.
Since 2018, Isabel has been in a legal battle with the Angolan government for corruption. On January 19, 2020, the New York-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published a detailed report on how Isabel made her fortunes.
On Monday, November 28, 2022, Angop, the Angola Press Agency reported that the Attorney General’s office (PGR) in Angola issued an international arrest warrant against Isabel Dos Santos with Interpol.
A court order signed by Justice Daniel Geraldes, dated December 19, 2022, stated “all the balances of the current accounts with title or co-title, headquartered in all the banks, including term deposit accounts, other financial applications that are associated to those, including dossiers of securities in the name of the defendant Isabel Dos Santos, are seized.”
Some of the affected accounts are said to be in Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, and Cape Verde.
The Supreme Court also ordered the seizure of 70% of Isabel’s shares in Upstar Communicação, the freezing of 70% of shares in Mozambique telecom company Mstar, and the seizure of 100% of shares of Unitel T+ in Cape Verde and Unitel STP in Sao Tome and Principe. Other companies mentioned in the court order are Embalvidro, Unitel International Holdings, and Unitel International.
49-year-old Isabel was born in Baku, Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. She is the eldest child of José Eduardo Dos Santos and was among the family members appointed by their late father to head key government positions.
Isabel, was seen as the public face of the Dos Santos business network and was appointed the head of the state oil firm Sonangol in June 2016. But she was removed in November 2017 by the new Angolan President who succeeded her father.
Isabel was in Forbes‘ 2020 billionaires list as Africa’s richest woman with a wealth valued above $1.4 billion. However, she dropped from the Forbes list in January 2021 after her assets were confiscated in Angola, Portugal, and the Netherlands.
According to the Forbes’ Inside Story on how Isabel Dos Santos made $3 billion “between 2007 and 2010, at least $32 billion of oil revenue went missing from the federal ledger, according to the International Monetary Fund, which later tracked most of the money to ‘quasi-fiscal operations. It was against this backdrop that his daughter, Isabel Dos Santos, became Africa’s richest woman, worth $3.7 billion at her peak in 2014. Her empire began to unravel after her father retired from office.”
Her father and former Angolan President, José Eduardo Dos Santos, died on Friday, July 8, 2022, after 38 years of dictatorial rule in Angola (1979 – 2017). He was the longest-serving president in Angola and the second longest-serving president in Africa after Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea. He was the leader of the People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the ruling party in Angola since the country’s independence in 1975.
In a TikTok video with her 9-year-old daughter North West, Kim Kardashian shows off her natural hair after numerous colour jobs and extensions.
Over the years, she’s had a variety of hairstyles.
North West, however, has a Christmas TikTok video where she shows off her mother Kim Kardashian’s natural hair.
The nine-year-old posted a video of the mother-daughter duo singing along to Baby, It’s Cold Outside on Christmas Eve.
Kim Kardashian flaunts real hair after multiple colours and styles.
Natural: North West has filmed a Christmas TikTok revealing her mother Kim Kardashian’s real hair
In the clip, Kim, 42, can be seen sitting on her bed in her pyjamas sporting a fresh-faced no make-up look.
But what captured fans’ attentions was her short tresses, which looked very different from usual.
The reality star’s real hair – without extensions, wigs or styling – looked much thinner and drier than normal.
Big difference: Her wet hair looked to be slightly damaged from multiple dye-jobs and a far cry from her natural glossy raven locks.
Her wet hair looked to be slightly damaged from multiple dye-jobs and a far cry from her natural glossy raven locks.
Fans took to the comments to react to the look, with many lamenting the loss of her original hair.
One said: ‘Kimberly’s hair must be tired bc of the bleaching.’
While another wrote: ‘She literally had the most beautiful silky black hair ever’.
Transformation: Kim dyed her hair platinum blonde in May last year to full resemble Marilyn Monroe, as she wore her dress to the Met Gala
Kim dyed her hair platinum blonde in May last year to full resemble Marilyn Monroe, as she wore her dress to the Met Gala.
After debuting her lighter locks, Kim detailed the transformation to Vogue the same month.
She explained: ‘I did want a physical change, too, so I thought I would wait and do it for this, so I’m spending a day straight dyeing my hair — 14 hours straight! — to get it done.
Damaged: Fans took to the comments to react to the look, with many lamenting the loss of her original hair
It appears that the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star has gone back to dark for the new year however.
On Monday, she took to Instagram to show off her brunette hairdo in a string of selfies, writing ‘2023’ as her caption.
The SKIMS mogul launched a joint TikTok account with her daughter called Kim and North in November of 2021.
Back to black: It appears that the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star has gone back to dark for the new year however. On Monday, she took to Instagram to show off her brunette hairdo in a string of selfies, writing ‘2023’ as her caption
The nine-year-old’s following has rapidly exploded on the platform, but to protect her little girl from the dangers of social media, the reality TV star has put a number of rules in place.
Kim recently sat down with Gwyneth Paltrow on her GOOP podcast and shared that North does not have free reign over the account.
For one, Kim stated that the TikTok app can ‘only be on my phone’ as to prevent North from potentially coming across an inappropriate or harmful post.
‘It’s not something where she can scroll and look at things,’ The Kardashians star explained, adding: ‘We don’t do comments.’
Erik ten Hag insists Manchester United will not be “burning money” on bringing in the wrong striker in January.
After a tough start to life as Red Devils manager, Ten Hag’s team have been much improved of late and currently sit fourth in the Premier League after three straight league victories, despite being short of options up front.
Cristiano Ronaldo was in and out of the team before his bombshell interview with Piers Morgan led to his contract being mutually terminated, while Anthony Martial has struggled with injuries.
But despite the need for a centre-forward to help United’s Champions League qualification bid, Ten Hag feels United must avoid the mistakes of the past by wasting finances on the wrong striker.
“You need one who can have an impact otherwise you are just burning money,” Ten Hag told reporters. “You don’t strengthen the squad and it doesn’t help you.
“We have a good team when all are available. We have [a striker], Anthony Martial, I’m really happy with his performances across many games.
“He has had a really good impact. If you see his minutes and the impact he has had it’s been huge.”
One suggestion for United to boost their attacking ranks has been to recall Amad Diallo, who has scored six goals in 19 matches on loan at Championship side Sunderland.
But Ten Hag is reluctant to bring Diallo back to Old Trafford early, believing it would be wrong to stunt the progress the Ivory Coast international is making with the Black Cats.
“We consider everything. I have a little reservation because I don’t want to stop the process, he is making good progress there,” Ten Hag added. “Young players need experiences.
“When we decide [he needs] to come back he has to be a player who can compete for the starting 11 or at a minimum of coming on for a lot of games to have an impact.”
Despite rumors of interest from several European heavyweights, Alexis Mac Allister is not in a hurry to leave Brighton after winning the World Cup.
At the beginning of the year, the Argentina midfielder was called back to the national squad and helped Lionel Messi and co. win the Qatar 2022 championship.
His form had already been impressive for the Seagulls this term, but his performances with La Albiceleste have seen links to several major suitors only multiply since.
But speaking after his return to the Premier League outfit following an extended post-tournament break, Mac Allister has insisted he is happy at Brighton.
“I try not to read too much [into speculation],” he told the club’s Albion TV channel. “I always say I am happy here. I don’t have any rush to leave.
“I feel really good. I’m really grateful [for] this club, my team-mates and all the people who work here. I’m just focused on the next game.”
Mac Allister’s words will come as a boost to coach Roberto De Zebri, who warned on Monday the 24-year-old could find a mid-season switch an impediment to his game.
Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Juventus are among those all linked with a move for him, though the Blues’ pursuit of Enzo Fernandez suggests they may have cooled their interest.
Mac Allister was one of eight Brighton players who headed to the World Cup, and the first Seagulls player to reach the tournament final in history.
The playmaker feels that the experience for all of the team’s international stars however will benefit them going forward into 2023, as they look to press on for a top-six finish.
“It was a good World Cup for this club and for the players who went to the World Cup,” he added.
The NFL postponed the Bills and Bengals game when Damar Hamlin received medical assistance on the field at 9:25 p.m. local time and was rushed to the hospital. The Bills later revealed on Tuesday morning that Hamlin had suffered a heart arrest and was in critical condition.
NFL player Damar Hamlin is in a critical condition in hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest during the Monday Night Football game between the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals.
The 24-year-old Bills defensive back briefly got to his feet after making what appeared to be a routine tackle on Bengals receiver Tee Higgins with five minutes and 58 seconds remaining in the first quarter but then collapsed to the ground.
The game in Cincinnati was halted as medical staff quickly attended to him and administered CPR for approximately 10 minutes, with players from both teams visibly distraught as the situation unfolded.
Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest following a hit in our game versus the Bengals. His heartbeat was restored on the field and he was transferred to the UC Medical Center for further testing and treatment. He is currently sedated and listed in critical condition.
The Bills have since issued a statement confirming Hamlin’s cardiac arrest, adding that his “heartbeat was restored on the field and he was transferred to the UC Medical Center for further testing and treatment.
“He is currently sedated and listed in critical condition.”
As Hamlin was taken in an ambulance to the hospital at 9.25pm local time, Bills head coach Sean McDermott was seen leading his team in prayer before players from both teams headed to the locker rooms, some with tears in their eyes. The NFL later announced the game had been postponed.
“Hamlin received immediate medical attention on the field by team and independent medical staff and local paramedics,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.
“He was then transported to a local hospital where he is in critical condition.
“Our thoughts are with Damar and the Buffalo Bills. We will provide more information as it becomes available.”
Hamlin is in his second season in the NFL, after being taken in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Bills. He spent five years playing his college football at Pittsburgh, his hometown, appearing in 48 games for the Panthers
Hamlin has started 13 games for the Bills this season in place of injured safety Micah Hyde, who suffered a neck injury in Week Two and has been on injured reserve since. He is tied for the second-most tackles on the team this year, with 91.
Hamlin has a charitable foundation, ‘Chasing M’s’, that has been raising money for a toy drive. His stated goal was $2,500, but by early Tuesday morning, it had over $3m in donations.
The entire Bills team departed Paycor Stadium shortly after midnight, with NFL Network‘s Cameron Wolfe reporting they would be flying back to Buffalo that evening, though it is understood some chose to stay behind in Cincinnati.
Team-mate Stefon Diggs joined Hamlin at the hospital, with about 100 Bills and a few Bengals fans also gathering on the corner near the entrance, with some of them holding candles.
After Hamlin exited the field in an ambulance, it looked briefly as if play might resume, before Bengals head coach Zac Taylor and Bills counterpart McDermott met with game officials and the decision was made to pause the game, which the Bengals were leading 7-3.
The NFL announced a full postponement to the fixture just after 10pm, 90 minutes following kick-off. Jeff Miller, an executive vice president of the NFL, told reporters on a conference call early on Tuesday morning that the league had made no plans at this time to play the game. “That’s not our consideration right now,” he said. “Our concern is for the player and his wellbeing.”
The game has major playoff implications as the NFL enters the final week of the 2022 regular season, with the Bills needing a win to reclaim the No 1 seed in the AFC in the hope of clinching a first-round bye and home advantage through the playoffs. The Bengals would have clinched the AFC North division title with a victory.
The Bills are scheduled to close out the regular season on Sunday when they host the New England Patriots, while the Bengals take on the Baltimore Ravens. The playoffs are due to begin on the weekend of January 14/15.
How the NFL reacted…
The NFLPA and everyone in our community is praying for Damar Hamlin. We have been in touch with Bills and Bengals players, and with the NFL. The only thing that matters at this moment is Damar’s health and well being.
Many fellow NFL players and teams and others in the sports world and beyond quickly offered their support and prayers on social media for Hamlin, while NBA star LeBron James sent his best wishes to the Bills safety when speaking to reporters after the Los Angeles Lakers’ win over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night.
“It was definitely the right call [to postpone the game] by Roger Goodell or whoever had the authority to make that call,” LeBron said. “The safety of players in all sports is always the most important.
“It is a terrible thing to see and I wish nothing but the best for that kid and the city of Buffalo, for the franchise of the Bills and the rest of the NFL and also the Bengals that were playing in that game as well.
“I’m a huge fan of the NFL and a huge fan of football and you never want to see anything like that happen.”
Former Pittsburgh Steelers safety, Ryan Clark, was himself in a critical condition in 2007 after high altitude conditions aggravated a sickle cell trait during a game in Denver.
Speaking on ESPN after the game’s postponement following Hamlin’s hospitalisation, he said: “I dealt with this before and I watched my team-mates for days come to my hospital bed and just cry.
“I had them call me and tell me that they didn’t think I was going to make it. Now this team are going to have to deal with that – and they have no answer.
“The next time that we get upset at our favourite fantasy player, or if we’re upset that the guy on our team doesn’t make the play… we should remember that these men are putting their lives on the line to live their dream.
“Tonight Damar Hamlin’s dream became a nightmare for not only himself, but his family and entire team.”
NFL Hall of Fame quarterback turned commentator, Troy Aikman, said on the broadcast at the time of Hamlin’s collapse: “No one’s been through this. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
On Monday, mourners gathered in line to view Pele’s casket at the Urbano Caldeira Stadium, the longtime home of the Brazilian football legend’s team, Santos.
The three-time World Cup champion’s coffin left Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo early on Monday and was taken to the stadium, where he played some of the best matches of his career for the Santos soccer club.
The club said in a statement that the public would be able to pay their last respects at the stadium in the coastal city outside Sao Paulo.
Visiting hours were expected to start at 10 am local time and it’s expected to close same time on Tuesday when a private burial ceremony would be held.
Pele died on Thursday, December 29 at age 82 after a long battle with cancer.
Pele had a colon tumour removed in September 2021. Neither his family nor the hospital has said whether it had spread to other organs.
On Monday, Ugandan police announced that they had detained one of the party’s organizers after a crush during the event claimed the lives of ten revelers.
Local media identified the man as music promoter Abbey Musinguzi of Abitex Promotions.
He is well known for organising major events in the capital Kampala; his party was in the popular Freedom City shopping mall in the city’s Namasuba suburb.
Police initially said five people had died at the scene and four others died of their injuries at the hospital where they had been taken for treatment.
UGANDAN POLICE arrest events promoter Abbey Musinguzi following death of 10 revellers attending New Year celebrations at a Kampala mall. pic.twitter.com/19VJwXwbiF
The victims were among a crowd that packed into a small passageway to watch the fireworks display outside.
According to a police spokesman, Fred Enanga, the public found themselves in this bottleneck because the organisers of the evening had closed four other exit points. Investigators are trying to find out if the tragedy was caused by their “negligence,” he added.
“We have arrested the promoter of this New Year’s concert,” he said adding we “are actively looking for other organisers and promoters” of the event.”
“The public had only one entry and exit point. As a result, several victims found themselves trapped in this narrow passage,” he said.
These New Year celebrations in Uganda were the first in three years, after restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic and security problems.
The National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) students have opposed the school’s abrupt and considerable tuition increase.
They demanded a complete reversal and characterized the NOUN management’s tuition fee increase as obscene.
Students of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) have rejected the sudden and significant hike in their tuition.
On social media, some of the students asked the school to reverse the hike or “expect the mother of all protests”.
They described the increase in tuition fees by the management of NOUN as ill-considered and outrageous while insisting on total reversal.
“With utmost humility, we write the general public on behalf of a coalition of others concerned to convey the sentiments and pains of the students of the National Open University of Nigeria over the recently communicated memo stating an outrageous increment in school for degree and postgraduate students of the University,” a statement issued on Monday and jointly signed by some students’ leaders in the institution reads.
“We are most assured and confident that the Directorate and authority of the University take her decisions after critical discussions, thoughts and review amidst the academic juggernauts and motherly minds that occupy and guide the activities of our academic life as students.
“To this understanding and in the context of the unravelling realities open to all, the released amount (a sum total of Undergraduate New Students From #36,000 to #55,000 minus courses and exam registration, Exam registration is #1,500 from #1,000, Project fee #25,000 and for postgraduate from #35,000 to #61,000 ), an increment of like 300% to be paid is felt outrageous and overwhelming for us, our parents and guardians and particularly for many of us who bear the risk of these challenging economic realities to send ourselves to school.
“As objective minds and members of the public, it is safe to research and review from our colleagues who run degree programmes with other Universities, none pay this much for tuition, even in some private universities.
“We are seriously alarmed and troubled that in our efforts of pursuing a first degree and postgraduate degree programs and to be responsible citizens who would in return give back to the society that has given a lot to us, we might be witnessing a serious roadblock to complete this exercise with the amount that has been charged if we are to further our education.
“These concerned students humbly appeal for a considerable reduction in this fee, to its previous amount and status quo.
“There is serious distress, fear and agony ravaging our colleagues as a result of this increment, some are on verge of losing hope and we will all be most gracious as always if this is resolved as quickest as possible, and just also to douse all tensions in the air.
“We are very hopeful and confident our requests will be considered and we will be made to smile again and aspire for greatness that we strive at all costs to be.”
Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo are trading accusations over alleged territorial violations and espionage, which could dampen the hope for any ebbing of tensions between the two countries.
On Wednesday, Kigali said a Congolese military plane had trespassed into Rwandan territory, the second such incident raised in more than a month. Kinshasa did not immediately respond, although it had admitted to an earlier violation in November, terming it as an “unfortunate” disorientation by the pilot.
The spark was touched off on Tuesday after authorities in DRC said they were holding two Rwandans and two Congolese citizens accused of spying for Kigali under the cover of their day jobs.
The four were presented in Kinshasa and described as “spies for Rwandan authorities who operate in Kinshasa under the cover of NGO African Health Development Organisation, AHDO.”
According to a brief from the Deputy Minister of Interior, Jean-Claude Molipe, one of the Rwandans is a medical doctor while the other is a soldier with the Rwandan Defence Force.
Mr. Molipe claimed that “these spies had infiltrated senior army officers, political figures, economic operators, and members of civil society.” The Congolese nationals are affiliated with AHDO. The Rwandans had, in fact, been arrested in August, a matter that caused a diplomatic protest from Kigali.
Rwanda’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Vincent Biruta on November 4 wrote to Congolese counterpart Christophe Lutundula to demand the “unconditional release” of the two Rwandans. In response to the incident in November, the DRC government said its jet “unfortunately” entered Rwandan airspace and that it had “never harbored intentions of violating that of its neighbor.”
Rwanda did not immediately respond to the latest espionage allegations but, on Wednesday, Kigali accused DRC of violating its airspace. A statement said a Sukhoi-25 fighter jet from DRC violated Rwandan airspace along Lake Kivu in the Western Province at around midday. Rwanda accuses DRC of repeated violations, against the spirit of Luanda and Nairobi peace initiatives.
“The authorities in the DRC seem to be emboldened by consistent coddling by some in the international community, who repeatedly heap blame on Rwanda for all ills in the DRC while ignoring the transgressions originating from the DRC,” the Rwandan government said in a statement issued December 29.
The Nairobi and Luanda peace initiatives are two peace-seeking processes for the eastern part of DR Congo, which is plagued by war between the M23 rebels and the Congolese army. Eastern DRC is also home to dozens of local and foreign armed groups, responsible for several massacres and abuses against civilians.
The Nairobi and Luanda process recommended a ceasefire and de-escalation between the DRC and the M23 rebels, but also to cool tensions between Rwanda and the DRC, who accuse one another of sponsoring rebels against their authorities. The Nairobi process was signed between the DRC government and about 50 armed groups (apart from the M23) in search of peace.
The DRC, now joined by France and the US, has sustained allegations that M23 receives backing from Rwanda, a charge Kigali rejects.
On Tuesday, Congolese officials made accusations about the four people arrested. Molipe said the four had acquired “a large amount of land in the areas [near] N’djili International Airport and the Kibomango military base.” The airport is Kinshasa’s biggest while the base lies east of Kinshasa, a few kilometers from the city center.
The Deputy Minister of the Interior and Security added that the fact that these people had acquired land near the airport suggested: “they were preparing for a Machiavellian plan.”
“The arrested Rwandan soldier revealed that he had access to different strategic sites in Kinshasa, in complicity with some general officers of the Congolese army.”
He said that investigations are continuing to arrest “military or civilian accomplices.” With the continual tensions between Kigali and Kinshasa, there is a risk of deteriorating the fragile relations between the two EAC partners.
The president of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, paid tribute to Benedict XVI and referred to the late pope as a religious broker.
“The unity of Christianity and the dialogue of religions, the coexistence of religion and society, were particularly close to his heart. He sought dialogue with Jews and Muslims, as well as all Christian denominations worldwide,” Steinmeier wrote on Saturday.
His work as professor Joseph Ratzinger, as Benedict was, born, made theological and philosophical education more accessible, said Steinmeier. This allowed many people, “not only Catholics,” he wrote, to find “clear orientation” in his work.
Steinmeier said the late Pope, had been confronted with the depressing problem of worldwide sexual abuse and its systematic cover-up, during his career, adding, “here he was particularly responsible. Benedict knew about the great suffering of the victims, and the immense damage to the credibility of the church.”
Benedict had decided to resign, at the moment when he was certain he would no longer be able to carry out his office with the necessary strength, wrote Steinmeier, calling his resignation “an unexpected caesura in the history of the church.”
In an effort to prevent a potential fresh wave of coronavirus infections, Morocco said on Saturday that is imposing a travel ban on people from China.
A foreign affairs ministry statement said the restrictions would be extended to all people arriving from China regardless of their nationality.
The ban will come into force “from 3 January and until further notice”, the statement added.
China ended its strict Covid-19 restrictions in December, leading to a spike in cases. With some of the best vaccination rates in the world, Beijing says most of the cases after the reopening have been mild.
Chinese authorities also announced that the their borders would reopen for inbound and outbound travel starting January 8th, with travelers needing only to present negative PCR tests.
France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, like the United States and South Korea, have also announced they would impose a Covid test on travellers coming from China.
Numerous errors were discovered in a report by the Court of Auditors on the management of anti-Covid funding, which prompted hundreds of Senegalese to protest in Dakar on Friday, according to an AFP journalist.
The crowd gathered at the Place de la Nation in Dakar, under the call of a dozen civil society organisations, shouting “To the thieves” and “You will not digest our billions!
A large police force was deployed around the square to supervise the rally, which was authorised by the prefect and supported by the opposition, which has repeatedly denounced the authorities’ “theft” in recent days.
In mid-December, an audit by the Court of Auditors of Senegal on the “Response Fund against the effects of Covid-19” amounting to more than 740 billion CFA francs (more than 1.1 billion euros), financed by donors and the state in 2020 and 2021, pointed to “shortcomings”, “overbilling” or “lack of evidence” of expenditure.
Civil society is demanding the resignation of all those implicated and the reimbursement of the alleged misappropriations.
The government has defended itself by stressing that the reported shortcomings concern less than one percent of the total amount of the fund and has promised to follow the recommendations of the Court of Auditors.
“Let justice be done. I am here to denounce the misappropriation of the funds,” said Alioune Tine, founder of the Afrikajom Center and a civil society figure.
“I am here to denounce impunity and the impartiality of justice. I am outraged to see that our leaders have embezzled our billions while we were between life and death,” said Papis Diatta, a 35-year-old demonstrator.
The slogan “No to the third term” appeared on several placards, because of the doubt that persists on the decision of President Macky Sall, elected in 2012 for seven years and re-elected in 2019 for five years, to run again for president in 2024.
The demonstrators also chanted the name and called for the release of Pape Alé Niang, a journalist detained for more than a month for “disclosing information likely to harm the national defence”, who was released and then returned to detention on 20 December.
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has been hailed as a party of ideas and transformation by Ghana’s Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
According to him, the governing NPP has “implemented transformational ideas” and should be credited for how smoothly the country is being run.
The Vice President said this at the NPP’s thanksgiving service held on Thursday.
Dr. Bawumia listed the widely criticized gold for oil policy as one such transformational policy.
“We are a government of ideas and transformational ideas, and we are thankful to God for the wonderful ideas that this government has been able to implement.
We have implemented the gold for oil policy and the public and the country will soon see its benefits in the next few months and that is going to reduce the demand at the Bank of Ghana for foreign exchange and bring down the fuel prices, and you have already seen the fuel prices coming down.”
The Vice President first gave a hint of the barter of “sustainably mined gold for oil” at an AGI Awards night organized in Accra in November which he indicated was “key to addressing the economic crisis confronting the country in its energy needs.”
He blamed the hike in fuel prices on the depreciation of the cedi which lost over 50 percent of its value in 2022.
Dr. Bawumia said, in a bid “to address this fundamental challenge that we all face of depreciation and its impact on fuel and utility prices and food and so on, the government has opted to implement a policy of using our gold to buy oil products.”
Doris Oduro is seated at her modest, nearly empty shop in Odorkor, a suburb of Accra, the capital of Ghana. The mother of two feels frustrated on her own.
She has been in business for 15 years, but she is now thinking about closing since she can’t afford to replenish because of the increasing cost of living.
“I am running at a big loss,” Oduro, 38, told Al Jazeera. She sells imported items, including juices, biscuits, soft drinks, toiletries and sweets, but Ghana’s economic crisis is taking a huge toll on her business.
“Prices of goods keep soaring, and it is affecting my principal capital,” she said. “I want to close my store and find something else to do. Things are tough for me because I can’t sustain the business and I have a family to keep.”
Ghana, a country once described as Africa’s shining star by the World Bank, had the world’s fastest-growing economy in 2019 after it doubled its economic growth. But today, it is no longer the economic poster boy of West Africa.
Despite being a major cocoa and gold exporter, it is currently battling its worst financial crisis in decades with inflation hovering at a record 50.3 percent, the highest in 21 years.
Ghana’s economic successes were in the limelight when the new government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo took power in January 2017 and brought down inflation significantly.
Under the previous government in 2016, it was 15.4 percent, and it fell to 7.9 percent by the end of 2019 and remained in single digits until the pandemic hit in March 2020.
Ghana’s budget deficit, which was about 6.5 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product before Akufo-Addo’s government came to power, was brought down to under 5 percent of GDP by the end of 2019.
“The growth that we experienced around 2017 to 2019 was actually coming from the oil sector,” Daniel Anim Amarteye, an economist with the Accra-based Policy Initiative for Economic Development, told Al Jazeera.
“We were so excited that the economy was growing, but we couldn’t devise strategies to ensure that the growth reflects in the other sectors of the economy,” he said. “For instance, we neglected the agriculture sector, and we couldn’t do any meaningful value-added investment in that sector. The government became complacent.”
According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, agriculture represents 21 percent of Ghana’s GDP and accounts for more than 40 percent of its export earnings. At the same time, it provides more than 90 percent of the food the country needs.
“Over the years, the government failed to invest in increasing output in the agricultural sector that will eventually lead to economic growth and transformation and food security. We are a major cocoa growing country, but we didn’t pay attention to increasing yields to translate into more foreign exchange earnings to drive economic growth and employment,” Amarteye said.
Ghanaian traders, who contribute significantly to the economy, mostly buy and sell products they import from Western countries and China, including home appliances, consumables, cars and second-hand clothes.
Due to the nature of their businesses, there is a persistent strong demand for the US dollar to pay for imports. This led to the continuous depreciation of the local currency, the cedi, which was recently described as the worst-performing on world markets.
As inflation surges, rising prices keep the cost of living accelerating for Ghanaians.
“Things are not the same anymore,” said Francis Anim, a vehicle spare parts importer. “I used to spend $5 a day with my wife and child on food alone early this year. Now we spend close to $10 [for the same amount of food]. Why?”
“We are feeling the heat,” he said. “The import duties are very high at the ports, so we have to pass on that burden to retailers, and eventually the consumer suffers. This has resulted in a high cost of living in Ghana, and the economy is not helping us either.”
Pension funds should be exempted from the debt exchange initiatives – Haruna Iddrisu
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A nation in crisis
The president conceded in a recent address to the nation that the West African country is in crisis. He blamed the situation on external shocks – the pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war.
However, analysts say the government took certain political and economic decisions that would have eventually exposed the weaknesses in the system even without those external factors.
For instance, to fulfil one of Akufo-Addo’s most expensive campaign pledges, his government launched a free education programme in public high schools nine months after he took office. It also provided free meals to students at primary and secondary levels.
Also in 2017, the governing New Patriotic Party scrapped what it called 15 “nuisance taxes”. These included the 17.5 percent value added tax on financial services, real estate and selected imported medicines. They also reduced import duties on spare car parts, abolished the 1 percent special import levy and the 17.5 percent VAT on domestic airline tickets.
“This brought a massive reduction in government revenue,” Williams Kwasi Peprah, a Ghanaian associate professor of finance at Andrews University in Michigan, told Al Jazeera. “To make up for the revenue shortfall, the government adopted borrowing. This increased Ghana’s bond market activities domestically and externally and, as a result, a high debt-to-GDP exposure, leading to the current debt unsustainability levels.”
From August 2017 to December 2018, Akufo-Addo’s government spent more than $2.1bn on what it called the “banking sector clean-up”.
The central bank said some banks were insolvent and were operating on life support, putting the interests of depositors at risk. The clean-up saw a reduction in the number of banks from 33 to 23 while more than 340 other financial institutions, such as savings and loans companies, had their licences revoked.
The government aimed to restore confidence and reposition the banking sector to support economic growth.
“The financial sector clean-up also cost the country more than anticipated in attaining a robust financial sector before 2022,” Peprah said.
He said the discovery of two more oilfields in 2019 led to the anticipation of more revenues. The government responded by issuing more domestic and external bonds, increasing its debt and raising spending on interest payments, social programmes and employment.
The government is Ghana’s largest employer, primarily in the fields of education, healthcare and security. It spends almost half of its budget on wages; this year, it raked in $8.2bn in estimated revenue and used about $4.2bn to pay salaries of public sector workers.
In 2017, the government also restored allowances for trainee nurses and teachers. President John Mahama lost to Akufo-Addo in the 2016 election partly for suspending those allowances two years earlier. They put a huge strain on the public purse. For the nurses’ allowances alone, the government paid more than $2.5 million annually.
“That was a poor political and economic decision the Akufo-Addo government made at that time because the country was faced with revenue challenges,” said Kwasi Yirenkyi, a financial analyst with Accra-based Data Crunchers. “The government was spending more than it was receiving, and at the same time, it failed to widen the tax net. We were slowly heading for disaster.”
Ken Ofori-Atta outlines Domestic Debt Exchange programme
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The pandemic and debt load
There was a significant drop in revenue in 2020 coupled with a rise in government expenditures. They were mainly COVID-related as the government adopted a populist approach, provided free water and electricity to citizens and fed 470,000 households during a three-week lockdown that cost the nation $9.4m.
In August 2021 Akufo-Addo began what he later admitted was “an overly ambitious” construction project of 111 hospitals with an estimated price tag of more than $1bn. Pressure kept mounting on his government to fulfil a plethora of other electoral promises, such as the construction of roads, schools and markets, forcing the government to keep borrowing and leaving an economy dogged by high public debt. The most recent data released by the central bank put the country’s debt load at $48.9bn as of September. That represents 76 percent of GDP.
“Largely, the debt that we accrued were not actually prudently used to drive economic growth,” Amarteye said. “If that was done, we could have generated sufficient inflow to be able to meet repayment obligations. Borrowing is not a bad thing, but how you use it is critical. On our part, the managers of the economy failed to invest it in the critical sectors of the economy.”
The oil-exporting country produced 39.15 million barrels of crude oil from January to September, according to the 2023 budget statement read by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta in Parliament in November. They brought in $873.25m in revenues for the eighth-largest oil producer in Africa. Although oil production declined between January and June, according to a report by the Public Interest and Accountability Committee, a surge in prices resulted in the government taking in more revenue than it had expected.
“Where did all the oil revenue go to?” opposition member of parliament Isaac Adongo asked. “The economy has been on life-support system because this government kept borrowing. We have now hit the ceiling, and there is no way out.”
In spite of the challenges, the government had been optimistic that the economy would bounce back after the pandemic. However, Russia’s war in Ukraine has derailed Ghana’s economic recovery. The cedi, its currency, lost more than 50 percent of its value between January and October 2022, causing Ghana’s debt burden to rise by $6bn.
“The war affected global economies and exposed fundamental weaknesses,” Peprah said. “Within a short period, prices in Ghana had increased, leading to hyperinflation and currency devaluation affecting both macro and micro levels of the economy. The Bank of Ghana did not have the needed dollars to pay for the country’s commitments. The balance of payment had deteriorated, leading Ghana to insolvency.”
Workers and traders protested from July to September over price hikes, which have increased the cost of electricity by 27 percent and water by 22 percent.
Activists and anti-corruption campaigners have also accused the government of mismanaging public finances.
“We have gold, oil and cocoa, yet we’re still foundering as a nation,” said Bernard Mornah, a leading member of the Arise Ghana pressure group. “The level of corruption under this government is unprecedented. There are so many revenue loopholes that must be blocked. Government officials are looting state funds and assets, so how do we develop?”
A 2021 Transparency International study on perceptions of corruption in Africa ranked Ghana ninth out of 49 Sub-Saharan African countries.
Government to extend expiration date for domestic debt exchange to December 30 – Ofori-Atta
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Investor confidence dims
Investors began to lose confidence in the economy as the government grappled with liquidity challenges. They started moving their money out of Ghana. In May, Minister Ofori-Atta introduced an unpopular e-levy, which placed a 1.5 percent tax on all electronic and merchant payments, bank transfers and remittances as part of measures to increase revenue. It brought in a paltry 10 percent of its targeted amount in its first month.
In the middle of this economic storm, credit ratings firms such as Moody’s downgraded Ghana to junk status, pushing even more investors away. At this point, Ghana was forced in July to turn to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for relief.
It was a difficult decision for Akufo-Addo to make after he had condemned his predecessor for mismanaging the economy and taking an IMF bailout.
In December, the government reached an agreement with the IMF for a $3bn loan. However, the West African country needs to carry out a comprehensive debt restructuring in order to receive the funds.
This means that Ghana will have to renegotiate the terms of its debt with its creditors, including extending repayment period, lowering the interest rate, or reducing the overall balance owed.
Formerly regarded as an investor favourite, Ghana has also suspended payments on part of its foreign debt to preserve the fast-depleting international reserve of the central bank. There is also a freeze in hiring into the public sector among many other measures taken to cut expenditure.
“The story would have been different but for the pandemic and the Russia war in Ukraine,” Deputy Finance Minister Abena Osei-Asare said. “We have instituted clear policies to return to economic growth. We are very hopeful the economy will bounce back.”
The economy has made some gains since Ghana reached the agreement with the IMF. The cedi is recovering against the US dollar, appreciating by 63.7 percent in mid-December, according to the Bank of Ghana, after suffering a year-to-date depreciation of 54.2 percent at the end of November. But economists and scholars such as Peprah believe the long-term solution is for the government to live within its means.
“The solution to the current problem is for the government to reduce expenditure and increase revenue,” Peprah said. “It needs to ensure efficient and effective allocation of resources backed by accountability.”
For his part, Amarteye said the government must be downsized, and he called for stringent measures to check corruption.
“We have to ensure that every cedi that is extended to government agencies are accounted for,” Amarteye said. “The Office of the Special Prosecutor should be empowered to be able to deal with corruption in the system. There should be fiscal discipline, and also we have to add value to our produce by supporting the private sector to lead that particular space.”
“If that is done, jobs will be created and also the economy will bounce back,” he said.
In Odorkor, shop-owner Oduro, like many Ghanaians, wants to see a thriving economy again, one in which she can do business and feed her family.
“I have played my part as a voter,” she said. “The government must play its part too – fix the economy. This is not the Ghana we came to meet.”
Founder and head pastor of the Prophetic Hill Chapel, Nigel Gaisie, has prophesied the demise of two Members of Parliament before the end of the eighth parliament.
Nigel Gaisie who in his 2023 message gave a number of prophecies relating to Ghana in another fictional country known as the Republic of Yemp3 Nokware, did not mention names or give further details. He said prayers are being said for these MPs to avert the unfortunate.
“There is going to be an attack on the Republic of Yemp3 Nokware. Two of the parliamentarians will not make it to the last meeting of parliament but we will be praying for them. We will avert it like the other ones have been averted,” he said.
He also added that a woman holding a sensitive position will be murdered in cold blood.
He however said if prayers are not said to avert it, the country will lose the high-profile woman.
“I saw it clearly, a woman who is leading a sensitive position in the republic of ‘Yempɛ Nokware’, I saw she was murdered in cold blood. So I asked the angel of the lord why so? I saw a party complaining she was not fair to them, let’s pray to avert it, I see it handing and if we joke with this, it will happen because I keep seeing it,” he said.
His premonition comes at a time when the Police Service is clamping down on such prophecies.
Former General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana, Reverend Dr. Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong, has urged Ghanaians to recognize the contributions made by all political parties to the advancement of their nation.
“The Development of Ghana has largely been championed by different political regimes and each of them has played a part, therefore one political party cannot claim the credits,” he said in an interview with the GNA.
He said to maintain peace and tranquillity, political leaders must be circumspect in their utterances and stop the discourse of denigrating each other.
Particularly, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have all played a role in Ghana’s development and so the leaders and party communicators of both groups should stop creating the impression that all credits belong to them alone.
“ The responsibility of creating a balance on our political front for peaceful coexistence lies on the leadership of the political parties because their followers and supporters only echo what they say,” he said.
Reverend Opuni-Frimpong, who is a leader of the Alliance for Christian Advocacy Africa (ACAA), said there must be trust in Ghana’s political discourse so together “as a people we can chart a course that would propel our development to a safe destination”.
He expressed optimism that as God ushered us to the new year, both political parties would show mutual respect to deepen our political discourse for better outcomes.
“Politics of respect and trust to pull the people along the developmental agenda is what we hope for in 2023 and beyond,“ he added.
Elon Musk, who passed that milestone in January 2021, months after Jeff Bezos, became the second person in history to generate a personal fortune of more than $200 billion.
The Tesla Inc. chief executive officer has now achieved a first of his own: becoming the only person in history to erase $200 billion from their net worth.
Musk, 51, has seen his wealth plummet to $137 billion after Tesla shares tumbled in recent weeks, including an 11% drop on Tuesday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. His fortune peaked at $340 billion on Nov. 4, 2021, and he remained the world’s richest person until he was overtaken this month by Bernard Arnault, the French tycoon behind luxury-goods powerhouse LVMH.
The round-number milestone reflects just how high Musk soared during the run-up in asset prices during the easy-money pandemic era. Tesla exceeded a $1 trillion market capitalization for the first time in October 2021, joining the likes of ubiquitous technology companies Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., Amazon.com Inc. and Google parent Alphabet Inc., even though its electric vehicles represented only a sliver of the overall auto market.
Now Tesla’s dominance in electric cars, the foundation of its lofty valuation, is in jeopardy as competitors catch up. It’s offering US consumers a rare $7,500 discount to take delivery of its two highest-volume models before year-end, while also reportedly reducing production at its Shanghai plant.
Meanwhile, with pressure on Tesla intensifying, Musk has been preoccupied with Twitter, which he acquired for $44 billion in late October. He’s applied a move-fast-and-break-things approach such as firing staff then asking them to come back and applying content policies haphazardly to justify banning the accounts of some prominent journalists who cover him.
The decline in Tesla shares has been so steep — the shares fell 65% in 2022 — and Musk has sold so much this year to help cover his Twitter purchase, that they’re no longer his biggest asset, according to Bloomberg’s wealth index. Musk’s stake in his closely held Space Exploration Technologies Corp., at $44.8 billion, exceeds his approximately $44 billion position in Tesla stock (he still has options worth an estimated $27.8 billion). Musk now owns 42.2% of SpaceX, according to a recent filing.
Musk, for his part, has dismissed concerns about Tesla and has repeatedly taken to Twitter to criticize the Federal Reserve for raising interest rates at the fastest pace in a generation.
“Tesla is executing better than ever!” Musk tweeted on Dec. 16. “We don’t control the Federal Reserve. That is the real problem here.”
The billionaire, who has previously borrowed extensively against his stake in Tesla, has though also recently warned against the dangers of borrowed money in panicky markets.
“I would really advise people not to have margin debt in a volatile stock market and you know, from a cash standpoint, keep powder dry,” Musk said in the All-In podcast released this month. “You can get some pretty extreme things happening in a down market.”
The special prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, has made an appeal for cooperation from the public in the fight against corruption.
He is, however, concerned about the posture of government in the fight for which his office was specially formed years ago.
Agyebeng told Accra-based JoyNews that he expected more from the government in terms of the anti-corruption fight.
“On the part of the government, is the government ready for the fight against corruption? From where I sit, I have not seen much. I have not seen much commitment. I have heard lip service on too many occasions paid to the fight against corruption”, he stated submitted on the NewsFile programme (December 31).
“If we want to fight corruption, we must all get involved” he urged.
He also called on Parliament to play its policy and policing role of checking corruption in state institutions.
Doing so, he noted was the best way to help offices like his and other anti-graft bodies to march forward and achieve tangible results in their biid to root out corruption.
He submitted further that with collective efforts and resolve, “we can bring corruption down,” cautioning persons engaged in such malpractices to be rest assured that they will be “found, prosecuted and jailed.”
Government appointees have routinely been accused of engaging in corruption with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo said to be paying only lip service to the fight against the canker.
According to the 2021 edition of the annual corruption ranking chart by Transparency International, Ghana ranked 73rd out of 180 countries on the Corruption Perception Index, CPI, report released on April 4.
“Ghana’s current performance is still below 50 which is the expected average, thus leaves much to be desired,” the report noted.
Out of 49 African countries ranked, Ghana placed 9th with Senegal, each bagging a score of 43.
The enterprises owned by Greek multimillionaire John Coumantaros, Nigerian billionaires Abdul Samad Rabiu and Aliko Dangote, and Nigerian billionaire Abdul Samad Rabiu have all pledged to invest a combined $1 billion in sugar production in 2022.
The investments were made as part of the Nigeria Sugar Master Plan (NSMP), a 10-year roadmap approved in 2012 with the goal of helping Nigeria achieve self-sufficiency in sugar production.
According to Executive Secretary of the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) Zach Adedeji, the investments came from Dangote Sugar, BUA Foods, and Flour Mills of Nigeria, three indigenous firms involved in sugar plantations and processing.
Earlier this year, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, led by Coumantaros, announced plans to invest N70 billion ($168.3 million) over the next three years to develop its sugar plantation in Nigeria’s northern region.
Dangote, Africa’s richest man, similarly committed more than $700 million to expand the operation of his sugar business by increasing the refining capacity of one of its plants, DSR Numan, from 3,000 tonnes of cane per day (tcd) to 6,000 tcd, 9,800 tcd, and 15,000 tcd.
The investment will also drive the expansion of the group’s Backward Integration Program (BIP) in accordance with the NSMP, as Dangote plans to put in place the necessary infrastructure for the eventual start of full-scale production.
The Federal Government recently extended the implementation phase of the NSMP by an additional ten years, from 2023 to 2033, in order to ensure that the plan’s goals are ultimately reached.
Adedeji stated that the NSMP has “forced indigenous companies to significantly raise investments in the BIP in sugar plantation farming and processing.”
This has boosted the revenue and profit of Dangote Sugar Refinery and the earnings of BUA Sugar Refinery Limited, which operates under the umbrella of BUA Foods, the unified food business segment of BUA Group.
In addition to the three firms that have made the most significant investments in the BIP, Saro Africa Group has also made significant investments after signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the Nasarawa State government for a 15,000-hectare sugar project.
In the early hours of Sunday, January 1, 2023, Reverend Isaac Owusu Bempah gave a variety of prophesies; he cautioned that only prayers might help prevent some of the unpleasant events God had revealed to him
Leading the congregation through the 31st December Watchnight Service at the headquarters of the Glorious Word Power Ministries International (GWPMI), he emphasized that men of God in and of themselves did not prophesy except what God had revealed to them.
His list of prophecies, 18 per GhanaWeb count, spanned incidents that were bound to bring grief and doom but interspersed were others that gave glad tidings to the faithful.
Most of them related to Ghana whiles a few bordered on other African countries and specifically the United States of America.
A crucial one relative to the politico-security state of the nation was a caution that a military takeover could be witnessed if government does not take measures to avert same, whiles again tasking the faithful to seek divine intervention.
“If we are not careful, a coup could take place. I saw hands without bodies holding weapons and undertaking destructive actions. The hands were swift and untraceable, its target was the presidency.
“I asked the Lord and he said he loves Ghana and therefore instructed me to say it and alert the leaders to take measures because it could happen when we are unaware,” he said.
See below the list of Owusu Bempah’s prophecies
1. Local airline could get involved in an accident that could shock the nation, aviation authorities must be careful. 2023 will witness a lot of plane crashes, we will be hearing of many more
2. COVID, I saw a spirit from muddy waters straddling north, south, east, west. Sun looked at the spirit and did nothing, the world could experience another serious ailment. The sun asked sons of men to do something about it.
3. A prominent tree in a forest was chopped off by a cutlass and trees were wailing. The trees were Ghanaians and the chopped tree was a prominent person.
4. US-branded planes releasing missiles and a dragon trying to strike it but unable to do so. America could enter a war that will affect or engulf the world
5. Another prominent Ghanaian may be lost and the Christian fraternity must intensify their prayers.
6. Four spirits have opened their mouths wide and are baying for the blood of men, as instructed by a voice
7. Deadly floods are likely to happen and it is important to undertake basic activities like desilting gutters and creating more
8. A lot of youth deaths on the horizon
9. Issues of occultism and ritualism will also be on the ascendency
Snake with eyes, releasing fire in different parts of the country
10. If we are not careful, a coup could take place. I saw arms without bodies holding weapons and undertaking destructive actions. The hand was swift and untraceable, its target was the presidency.
I asked the Lord and he said he loves Ghana and therefore instructed me to say it and alert the leaders to take measures because it could happen when we are unaware
11. A prominent person will travel to seek medical care but won’t return
12. Lots of policemen will be lost unless we pray otherwise, they’d be lost through exchange of bullets.
13. Things are tough in the nation but I saw a pit and a giant in it. That hole was filled with darkness and the giant was squeezing Ghana into the valley then a hand from above was rescuing some people
14. Civil wars could break out in some African countries and they’d be reported on CNN, BBC, Al Jazeera etc. there is the need for prayers and more prayers
15. Finances will be tough but those faithful to God will have it easy.
16. There shall be lots of marriages this year.
17. There is white cloud from God onto the land but there are some spirits that want to block it and it led to a struggle. If prayers are enough, things will not
18. Accidents could be rampant this year but if people pray, if the nation prays, God will release fire from heaven to cure these accidents. NRSC should be on their game.
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