Charterhouse Production Ltd, the organizers of the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA), have officially stated that they were not involved in Amakye Dede‘s declaration of Kuami Eugene as the future king of highlife in Ghana during the 2019 VGMAs.
The veteran Ghanaian highlife musician on Wednesday revealed that he was forced to crown the young highlife and Afrobeat singer.
Amakye Dede came under a barrage of attacks from players in the music industry, including the record producer Zapp Mallet, after the incident.
Speaking on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Wednesday, 14 June 2023, Amakye Dede said: “Though I did that, it was not my will to do so. They forced me to crown Kuami Eugene.”
In response to Nigerian chef Damilola Adeparusi’s 120-hour cook-a-thon, Guinness World Records has at last spoken out.
The young lady, better known as Chef Dammy from Ekiti State, began trending on social media after she embarked on a 120-hour cooking marathon, attempting to break the record of Nigerian chef Hilda Baci, who currently holds the world record for the longest cooking time by an individual.
However, her decision to challenge Hilda Baci’s record sparked mixed reactions and ignited a widespread debate on social media.
On Wednesday morning, June 14, Chef Dammy reached her target of 120 hours, leaving many wondering if Guinness World Records would approve her feat.
To clear the air, Legit.ng sent a press inquiry to Guinness World Records on Tuesday, June 13.
A response received from the organization suggested that the chef did not seek their approval before beginning the cook-a-thon, as there are procedures and rules that would have been sent to her to follow.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor has served notice that can arrest without a warrant, any person it reasonably suspects of having committed corruption or corruption-related offences.
This is in exercise of its police powers, a statement issued by the OSP on Thursday said.
The notice follows orders of a High Court restraining the OSP from executing a an arrest warrant against Charles Onuawonto Bissue, secretary of the erstwhile Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining.
Justice Nicholas MC Abodakpi of the Human Rights Court 2, on Thursday and following an application by lawyers of Mr Bissue made an order for Interim Injunction restraining the OSP its agents, assigns and/or persons howsoever described and claiming through it from:
Government is rolling out significant incentives to drive interest in commercial agriculture with the ultimate aim of revamping the ailing economy.
Under the Novel Agricultural Focus Economic Enclave, the government is making available suitable lands fitted with power supply, irrigation, warehousing, and other inputs to enable stress-free farming across the country.
To address bureaucracy, the government has tasked the Millennium Development Authority to implement the agenda.
The President also provided the fine details on the Novel Agricultural Focus Economic Enclave.
According to him, under the Novel EEP, “government is facilitating the availability of suitable and well-prepared land fitted with farm roads, power supply, irrigated water, some farming equipment and much-needed infrastructure for trainee farmers’ accommodation, grain processing import and equipment storage and warehousing.”
The 8-point agenda highlighted by President Akufo-Addo are:
Supporting commercial farming and attracting educated youth into commercial farming.
Building the country’s life manufacturing sector
Developing engineering machine tools in ICT digital economy industry
Fast-tracking digitisation
Developing Ghana’s Housing and Construction Industry
Establishing Ghana’s regional hub
Reviewing optimising implementation of government’s flagship and key programmes
Creating jobs for young people and expanding opportunities to the vulnerable in society including physically challenged persons
The leader of the exiled Belarusian opposition has warned of the risk of Russia giving nuclear weapons to “a crazy dictator.”
In an interview with the BBC in Warsaw, Poland, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya made the disparaging remarks about Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus.
She charged that the west had been “staying silent” over the first nuclear weapon deployment outside of Russia since the fall of the USSR in 1991.
Given that Belarus served as the launchpad for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February, Lukashenko is regarded as a crucial friend by Russia.
Lukashenko announced the first ‘missiles and bombs’ had arrived in the country on Russian state television, and when the presenter asked him to confirm if Belarus had received weapons sooner than expected, he replied: ‘Not all of them. Gradually.’
He claimed the Russian bombs were ‘three times more powerful’ than those dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima in Japan during World War II.
Lukashenko also said he hadn’t simply asked Putin for the weapons – ‘I demanded them back,’ he said, claiming he needed them to protect against external aggression.
Belarus, like Ukraine and Kazakhstan, gave up its nuclear arsenal in the 1990s in return for security guarantees from post-Soviet Russia and the west.
There isn’t any proof that nuclear weapons have been delivered to Belarus yet, but if they are, it marks a significant reversal.
Moscow announced the move in March and says it will retain control of the missiles.
‘This deployment creates no new threat to Nato countries, so they don’t take it seriously,’ Ms Tikhanovskaya argued, believing that western countries see no difference between a missile fired from Russia or from Belarus.
‘But Belarus is our country and we don’t want nuclear weapons.
‘This is like the last step to keeping our independence. And they [in the west] are staying silent about that.’
Due to her proficiency in English, Ghanaian media personality MzGee recently disclosed that she had been turned down for a job with Despite Media in 2021.
In an interview with Abeiku Santana, MzGee recounted visiting Fadda Dickson, a prominent figure in the media industry, to present a plaque during her tenure with JoyNews. During her visit, Abeiku Santana, also present at the time, introduced her to Fadda and spoke highly of her.
In an effort to secure a position for MzGee, Abeiku inquired whether Fadda would consider employing her. Unfortunately, Fadda responded with discouragement, showing no interest in her because she was not proficient in the Akan language.
Reflecting on the incident during the interview, MzGee shared her recollection with Abeiku Santana, reminding him of their initial meeting with Fadda Dickson. She expressed her disappointment as she recounted Fadda’s response, stating that he dismissed her due to her English-speaking background, suggesting that she should stick to that domain.
However, MzGee acknowledged Abeiku Santana’s belief in her and his accurate prediction of her future success. She fondly remembered how he referred to her as the “Wendy Williams of Ghana” even before they had met, recognizing her potential without seeing her as a mere imitation.
Despite facing subsequent criticism and backlash when she assumed the hosting role for UTV’s United Showbiz, MzGee demonstrated remarkable resilience. She refused to let the rejection define her and continued to pursue her passion, ultimately proving her worth as a competent and valuable media personality.
In a surprising revelation, veteran Ghanaian highlife musician, Amakye Dede, disclosed that he was coerced into crowning young highlife and Afro-beat singer, Kuami Eugene, as the future king of highlife in Ghana.
Following this incident, Amakye Dede faced significant backlash from various players in the music industry, including record producer Zapp Mallet.
During an appearance on the Asaase Breakfast Show on Wednesday, Amakye Dede spoke candidly about the circumstances surrounding the crowning moment. He expressed that it was not his desire or intention to bestow the title upon Kuami Eugene, indicating that external pressures influenced his decision.
“Though I did that, it was not my will to do so.”
“They forced me to crown Kuami Eugene,” he said.
Amakye Dede revealed that he initially even attempted to pass the crown given to him onto someone else, refusing to participate in the act. However, he was eventually compelled to carry out the coronation against his own will.
“I even gave the crown they handed over to me to someone to put it down, but they later said, no I have to crown him, and I did it,” he added.
The Su fre wo Nyame hitmaker shared these details, shedding light on the behind-the-scenes dynamics that led to the controversial crowning moment.
The revelation adds depth to the ongoing discussions and criticisms surrounding the appointment of Kuami Eugene as the future king of highlife.
A lawmaker has acknowledged that the British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles are ‘a hard time’ for Russia’s air defence to counter.
In preparation for its eagerly anticipated counteroffensive, Ukraine received its first donation of long-range cruise missiles from Britain in May.
Yevgeniy Balitsky, the leader of the occupied Zaporizhzhia province who was selected by Moscow, has now claimed the weapons have been causing ‘problems’ for his military.
They undoubtedly cause us difficulties with their missiles, particularly Storm Shadow, he added.
‘We have somehow learned how to shoot down [US-supplied] HIMARS. But the [British-supplied] Shadow ones are even harder. They arrive, and have a bigger radius.
‘So it’s a problem for us. In fact, our air defence is having a hard time with [Storm Shadow].
‘It shoots them down, but there is only a 50% chance of the missiles being shot down.’
His words confirm the impression that the missiles has been a game changer for the Ukrainians.
As recent as Tuesday, Metro.co.uk reported that a top Russian general was killed by one of the missiles while fighting in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Other senior Russian officers are also believed to have died in the same assault.
Mr Balitsky added: ‘Out of four, three have recently reached us. Sometimes two make it. The missile is modern, although it is not the newest, but it is fast enough, and it flies properly.
‘I mean, at different speeds, at varying altitudes, changing modes, so it is not easy to shoot down.’
The GPS-guided ground-hugging missiles with a 450kg warhead have a range of around 155 miles.
This allows the Ukrainian army to hit Russian troops and supply dumps far behind the frontlines.
Storm Shadow is a low-observable, long-range, air-launched cruise missile developed since 1994 by Matra and British Aerospace, and now manufactured by MBDA.
Holocaust survivors to receive an additional £1.1 billion in 2024, according to a recent announcement.
With the help of Germany’s finance minister, a settlement was reached that includes £703 million for the care and support of elderly and weak Holocaust survivors in their homes.
Additionally, increments of £138 million in the Hardship Fund Supplemental program’s symbolic payments have been made.
The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, popularly known as the Claims Conference, estimates that the money will affect more than 128,000 Holocaust survivors worldwide.
The organisations’s vice president, Greg Schneider, said: ‘Every year these negotiations become more and more critical as this last generation of Holocaust survivors age and their needs increase.
‘Being able to ensure direct payments to survivors in addition to the expansions to the social welfare services is essential in making sure every Holocaust survivor is taken care of for as long as it is required, addressing each individual need.’
The Hardship Fund Supplemental payment was originally established to be a one-time payment, negotiated during the Covid-19 lockdowns and eventually resulted in three supplemental payments for eligible Holocaust survivors.
This year, Germany again agreed to extend the hardship payment, which was set to end in December 2023, through to 2027.
The amount for each of the additional years was set at approximately 1,370 dollars (£1,083) per person for 2024, rising to 1,534 dollars (£1,213) for 2027.
The survivors receiving these payments are largely Jews who were not in camps or ghettos, and are not eligible for pension programmes, the Claims Conference said.
As children they fled the so-called Einsatzgruppen – Nazi mobile killing units charged with murdering entire Jewish communities.
More than one million Jews were killed by these units, which operated largely by shooting hundreds and thousands of Jews at a time and burying them in mass pits.
‘For those who were able to flee and survive – they are some of the poorest in the survivor community; the loss of time, family, property and life cannot be made whole,’ the Claims Conference group said.
‘By expanding payments to these survivors, the German government is acknowledging that this suffering is still being felt deeply, both emotionally and financially,’ the Claims Conference group said in a statement.
‘While symbolic, these payments provide financial relief for many aging Jewish Holocaust survivors living around the world.’
With the end of the Second World War now nearly eight decades ago, all living Holocaust survivors are elderly, and many suffer from numerous medical issues because they were deprived of proper nutrition when they were young.
As the number of survivors dwindles, the Claims Conference also negotiated continuing funding for Holocaust education, which has been extended for two more years and increased each year by 3.3 million dollars (£2.61 million).
Since 1952, the German government has paid more than 90 billion dollars (£71 billion) to individuals for suffering and losses resulting from persecution by the Nazis.
In 2023, the Claims Conference projects it will distribute hundreds of millions in compensation to more than 200,000 survivors in 83 countries.
‘It has been nearly 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz, and the need to negotiate for survivor care and compensation is more urgent than ever,’ said Stuart Eizenstat, the special negotiator for the Claims Conference negotiations delegation.
‘Every negotiation is a near-last opportunity to ensure survivors of the Holocaust are receiving some measure of justice and a chance at the dignity that was taken from them in their youth.
‘It will never be enough until the last survivor has taken their last breath,’ he added.
Several governments have issued warnings after North Korea is believed to have fired a ballistic missile today off its east coast.
At 7:28 p.m. local time, Japan’s Coast Guard reported that a potential ballistic missile launch had occurred.
Authorities later claimed that it had touched down in the nation’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), which only heightened the already tense situation.
Members of the emergency gathering team are expected to gather at PM’s Fumio Kishida’s residence to discuss how to respond to the threat from Pyongyang.
Test-fire of the new Hwasongpho-18 ICBM at an undisclosed location in North Korea (Picture: AFP)
Separately, the South Korean military said the launch happened on Thursday night but gave no further details.
This comes came after North Korea’s military vowed an unspecified response after South Korean and US troops finished five rounds of large-scale live-fire drills near the Koreas’ heavily fortified border earlier today.
This was the last round of firing drills after they began last month. This year’s drills were the biggest of their kind since they began in 1977.
‘Our response to (the South Korean-U.S. drills) is inevitable,’ an unidentified spokesperson of the North Korean Defecse Ministry said in a statement carried by state media.
‘Our armed forces will fully counter any form of demonstrative moves and provocation of the enemies.’
Tensions have risen in past months as the pace of both North Korean weapons tests and US-South Korea military exercises has increased in tit-for-tat responses.
North Korea has test-fired about 100 missiles since the start of 2022.
A Ukrainian officer acknowledged to CNN that Ukrainian forces saved the life of a Russian soldier who surrendered to a drone on the battlefield just before its operators were about to shoot.
The Wall Street Journal revealed drone video taken by a member of Ukraine’s 92nd Mechanised Brigade, which depicts the capitulation in a trench in the eastern city of Bakhmut in May.
Commander of the attack drone division “Achilles” of the 92nd Brigade, Yuriy Fedorenko, confirmed the capitulation in a statement to CNN.
“When he realized that he was going to die, he threw his machine gun aside, raised his hands and said that he would not continue to fight,” Fedorenko said.
“At that time, we had a ‘copter with explosives ready to eliminate him. But since the enemy threw away his weapon and gestured that he was going to surrender, it was decided to give him an order to surrender.”
The video appears to show a Russian soldier running from Ukrainian assault drones in the trenches of the Bakhmut battlefield. The soldier then stops and attempts to communicate with the drone through hand gestures.
The video is edited with music playing. CNN has not viewed the raw video.
Following the surrender, reporters at the Wall Street Journal interviewed the Russian soldier at a detention facility in the Kharkiv region on May 19, under the supervision of a guard.
CNN cannot verify whether the soldier spoke under duress or not.
The reporters also spoke with the Ukrainian drone pilot, according to the paper, who said he decided to spare his life after watching his pleas.
“Despite that he is an enemy […] I still felt sorry for him,” he reportedly said.
The pilot dropped a note to the soldier telling him to follow the drone if he wanted to surrender, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Footage appears to show the soldier following the drone, dodging a mortar along the way.
Upon arriving at a Ukrainian position, the soldier reportedly dropped to his knees and removed his helmet and flak jacket.
Ukrainian forces took him into their custody, loaded him into a Humvee truck, and he was later brought to a detention facility in the Kharkiv region, the paper reported.
“This is probably an unprecedented case when, through the coordinated work of the brigade and the aerial reconnaissance component, we managed to capture the occupier,” Ukrainian commander Fedorenko said.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the Russian soldier and former prison marshal was working as a liquor-store manager before he was drafted in September last year.
Before being sent to Bakhmut, he said he had performed guard duties and built fortified positions in Luhansk.
The eastern city of Bakhmut, toward the northeast of the Donetsk region, has seen some of the fiercest fighting of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and is a key part of Kyiv’s counteroffensive.
The months-long battle has been compared to the kind of fighting seen in World War I, with soldiers fighting in muddy trenches dodging artillery fire, and has been described by the head of the Russian Wagner mercenary group as a “meat grinder.”
Cheap commercial drones have become a crucial tool in the Ukraine war, both as surveillance platforms and offensive weapons.
Ukrainian soldiers have become deft at jerry-rigging off the shelf drones to drop explosives on enemy troops and vehicles.
Drones have also saved lives.
Earlier this year, a CNN team in Ukraine reported how in the opening stages of Moscow’s invasion a group of Ukrainian soldiers used a drone to help lead a civilian woman to safety after the car she was traveling in was fired upon by the Russians.
Footage of that attack, which critically wounded the woman’s husband, was also captured on the same drone’s camera and, along with intercepted phone calls, has been used by Ukrainian prosecutors to build an in absentia war crimes probe against a Russian commander.
In a joint operation earlier this week in the Arabian Sea, India’s two aircraft carriers led their battle groups, displaying what the Indian Navy says its “formidable maritime capabilities” and capacity to project power throughout the Indian Ocean and beyond.
According to analysts, it’s a significant achievement that has just recently been accomplished by the United States Navy.
The Indian Navy is one of the few in the world to operate more than one aircraft carrier, according to Nick Childs, senior fellow for naval forces and maritime security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). “This is not a small achievement,” he added.
The two aircraft carriers, INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant, led the exercise with more than 35 aircraft and an array of surface ships and submarines, according to a press release from the Indian Navy.
“The successful demonstration of two-carrier battle group operations serves as a powerful testament to the pivotal role of sea-based air power in maintaining maritime superiority,” the release said.
India became capable of dual-carrier operations when the $3 billion Vikrant, India’s first domestically built carrier, was commissioned last September, joining Vikramaditya, which was bought from Russia and went into service in 2013.
Upon Vikrant’s commissioning last year, India joined only the United Kingdom and China in commissioning a domestically built aircraft carrier in the previous three years.
But while both China and the UK have more than one aircraft carrier in their modern fleets, neither has yet to perform dual-carrier operations with them, analysts said.
Collin Koh, research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, said India’s naval history may put it ahead of China, whose People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy is the world’s largest, in the current operating environment for aircraft carriers.
“The Indian Navy has had decades-long experience and expertise in aircraft carrier ops and this is probably the key advantage it possesses over the PLA Navy, its key rival in this field, despite the latter’s relative advance in its indigenous aircraft carrier program,” Koh said.
China has two aircraft carriers in service, the Soviet-built Liaoning and the domestically built Shandong, while a third carrier, the Fujian, has been launched but not commissioned.
Hawaii-based analyst Carl Schuster, a former US Navy captain, said India’s dual-carrier operations this week show “the rejuvenation of the Indian Navy.”
India commissioned its first aircraft carrier in 1961 and added a second in 1987. It has operated two aircraft carriers on two previous occasions, between 1987 and 1997, and between 2013 and 2017.
“It should be remembered that the Indian Navy has always been a highly trained, tightly disciplined and very proficient force,” Schuster said.
The Indian Navy press release called the carriers “floating sovereign airfields,” adding that “they provide our friends with an assurance that the Indian Navy is capable and ready to support our ‘collective’ security needs in the region.”
New Delhi’s forces have been stepping up cooperation with other navies in the Indo-Pacific, including those in the informal Quad partnership – the United States, Japan and Australia – in the annual Malabar naval exercises.
“India’s partnerships and collaborative exercises with other navies have broadened the navy’s operational knowledge and open ocean experiences,” Schuster said.
What the Indian Navy can learn about dual-carrier operations from the United States could be substantial. The US Navy operates the world’s largest carrier fleet – 11 warships – and just last week had two of those, the USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan, operating together in the Philippine Sea.
The US Navy sees China as a “pacing threat” in the Indo-Pacific, and India’s naval operations look toward China too, Schuster said.
“China’s aggression along the (shared Himalayan) border and expanding operations and presence in the Indian Ocean have become India’s most serious security concern. The naval expansion and modernization is intended to address that concern,” Schuster said.
But even with the advancements demonstrated by the dual-carrier operation, India’s carrier program still has question marks, said Childs from IISS.
“While an impressive-looking display, there may be some question over what this really amounts to as yet in terms of actual operational capability,” he said, noting that images from the Indian operation showed relatively few fighter aircraft on the decks of the Vikramaditya and Vikrant.
“This may indicate limited aircraft availability, or that the ships’ capacities are somewhat constrained at the moment. It would certainly suggest that the Indian Navy could do with more carrier aircraft,” Childs said.
Holding onto the tense leash of a slobbering dog caused his forearms to swell from the tension. Muffled grunts from the beast could be felt as well as heard; they sounded like a truck’s growls.
Which was appropriate considering that the call sign of his owner is Brabus, which is the name of a German company that specialises in putting engineering testosterone on the bulimic exteriors of luxury vehicles.
As he was being hauled back into an out-of-the-way building for our covert meeting with some of his special operations team, Brabus yelled, “Come,” in a grotesque manner.
They’re part of a shadowy tapestry of units falling under various Ukrainian intelligence organizations. They operate in the crepuscular landscapes in the war against Russian occupation on and beyond the front lines.
Other groups run by Ukrainian intelligence include the Russian Volunteer Force and Freedom for Russia Legion, formed of Russian citizens fighting to rid their homelands of President Vladimir Putin, which are currently carrying out raids inside Russia from Ukraine.
But Brabus and his group are entirely homegrown. Former soldiers with specialist skills, they coalesced around an ex-officer from the Ukrainian forces in the first days of Russia’s invasion last year.
“At the beginning of the war there was a big role for small groups who could fight covertly against the Russians. Because Kyiv region, Chernihiv region, Sumy region are forested areas. So, the role of small groups was important and grew fast,” said Brabus’ boss from inside a camouflage balaclava.
In those early days and weeks, small bands of men in pickups, armed with anti-tank rockets like NATO-supplied NLAW and Javelins, ambushed, trapped, and picked off invading Russian columns down main arteries running in from the north.
Bold, fast-moving and insanely brave, they preyed on Russia’s military Leviathan – eventually, north of Kyiv and Sumy, stopping the invasion in its tracks.
While they were scratched together into “reconnaissance units” back then, some have since been absorbed into the formal army structures.
But all have clung to the freewheeling, partisan-style of warfare with higher risks but greater autonomy.
Those who’ve survived – and many have not – are now often set to work at tactical tasks aiming for strategic effect. Crudely put: killing Russian officers to collapse Russian morale.
Brabus agreed to share, to a degree, the story of one such operation.
In early March, when eastern Ukraine was powdered with snow on top of frozen ground, Brabus said he and his team snuck in through skeletal woodlands to a regular army post on the front line south of Bakhmut.
He said that signals intelligence suggested that Russian units were being swapped over. This meant there would be more officers present than normal and – better still – the incoming leadership would be naive and prone to fatal error.
Illustrating the story with video footage recorded at the time, he explained that his group was immediately caught up in a ferocious firefight with incoming Russian paratroopers new to this front.
“They got it back from us all guns blazing,” he said, his eyes kindled with pleasure at the memory of the Ukrainian fire.
Two videos glow in a metallic orange. Trees show up silver-black, while living creatures, such as men, appear as intense and moving white dots. These are video recordings from his thermal sniper sight while Brabus was at work.
The videos are silent, but more eerie for it. Somehow one can see the white figures are bent double, crouching perhaps. One can imagine these Russian soldiers scanning the darkness, searching for threats, their nerves screeching at every crunch of snow and crack of twig underfoot.
The red cross-hairs of his thermal sight settle on one of the figures. The cross leaps with the recoil of the rifle, and the little ghost crumbles to the ground. The red cross slides right, leaps again, another crumple.
“On the left were their (the Russians) dugouts and trenches from where they could see our positions. We eliminated, or rather I eliminated, paratroopers from the left flank,” Brabus explains in the clinical language characteristic of military reports.
His unit’s task, though, wasn’t to help entrenched troops fighting in the “meat grinder” of the Bakhmut front, he said. Its prey was the Russian paratroop leadership.
“We are a diversionary reconnaissance group. We did the reconnaissance, we got the intel, we prepared the operation,” he said.
“How many Russians did you kill that night?” we ask.
“Seven,” says Brabus.
He’s more animated when discussing the weapon that sits behind him, like another enormous pet, in the cafe where we meet. It’s a modified 12.7 Soviet-era heavy machine gun that a local armorer has fitted with a fat, bulging suppressor (silencer).
Shooting from an underground hide with a range, he claimed, of two kilometers (a little over a mile), this weapon is almost silent, Brabus says.
In May, he was in a dugout overlooking a junction of trees close to Bakhmut. Another video shows him take aim then pull his face from the weapon as he lets rip, sending high explosive supersonic bullets, thicker than a man’s thumb, into clusters of the enemy’s forces.
A drone operator two kilometers back from Bakhmut, is watching where the bullets strike and calling in adjustments to his aim. The video captures his voice crackling over the radio, “spot on, perfect.”
“With this,” Brabus explains. “I kill a lot of Russians, a lot.”
Ukraine is now advancing south of Bakhmut along a salient about four miles deep, pushing Russian forces back.
And, as its counteroffensive to reclaim territory captured by Russia gets under way, Ukrainian forces are fighting in ever greater numbers along an east-west front between Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia.
Since Brabus and his group were in Bakhmut, there appears to have been growing anarchy among Russian commanders. Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prighozhin’s Wagner company, who were holding the city, arrested and beat up the commander of the neighboring Russian 72nd Brigade.
They released a recording of the injured man “confessing” to being drunk and opening fire on them. He was beaten up, and released.
He’s now accused Wagner and its mercenaries, who already have a well-earned reputation for murder and summary execution, of attacking this men.
It’s this kind of chaos in the ranks of the enemy that Ukraine most wants, indeed needs, to see.
Brabus is happy to do his part in trying to create it.
Following weeks of demonstrations by female athletes over allegations of sexual harassment, Delhi police on Thursday formally filed charges against Indian wrestling‘s top official, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
According to top Delhi police official Suman Nalwa, Singh has been charged with assault, stalking, and sexual harassment.
The charge sheet has been sent to the court, and the remaining proceedings will now take place there, where the court will frame the charges and conduct the trial, the witness stated.
Singh has not been detained despite his denial of all charges of sexual harassment.
While Singh was initially accused of harassing a minor, he has not been charged under India’s child abuse laws because the alleged victim and their father had revoked their accusations, Nalwa said.
CNN has reached out to Singh and some wrestlers who have participated in the protests for comment.
The charges come months after some of India’s top female wrestlers accused Singh – who is also a powerful politician from the country’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – of sexual harassment, staging weeks of protests and demanding his arrest.
Delhi police were initially criticized for being slow to act on the allegations, but launched an investigation in late April following an intervention by the Supreme Court.
Singh has alleged – without providing evidence – that opposition parties were behind the protests.
The wrestlers’ protest has become a flashpoint of criticism against the ruling establishment, with rights activists and opposition politicians accusing the authorities of blocking the course of justice.
Among those leading the protests were Olympians Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik, whose rise to prominence in the male-dominated sport brought joy and pride to millions in the country.
But for months, their faces have been plastered across television screens for very different reasons.
Late last month, they were detained by police as they attempted to march to New Delhi’s historic center, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi was inaugurating the country’s new Parliament building – an event Singh attended.
In a chaotic escalation of events, officers “forcefully dragged and detained” the protesters, Malik told reporters from inside a police vehicle before being driven away. Police said they had failed to follow officers’ orders.
The protesters were released shortly after, but their protest site has been dismantled by the police, forcing them to stop their demonstrations.
In the days following their detention, and in an act of desperation, some of the wrestlers vowed to throw their Olympic medals in the Ganges river.
“These medals decorating our necks no longer mean anything,” they said in a statement. “What is the point of life when you compromise on dignity?”
Video and photos showed the wrestlers sobbing on the banks of the holy river, stopping short of relinquishing their medals after an intervention by an influential farmers’ union leader.
But the dramatic scenes set the stage for a final countdown for charges to be leveled against Singh, with demonstrators urging police to act quickly.
The allegations against Singh came to light in January, when several leading wrestlers demanded an inquiry into claims of sexual harassment by younger athletes against him.
In a letter addressed to the president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and shared on Twitter, five leading wrestlers said they wanted to create a “safe and secure place” for young wrestlers, especially sportswomen.
Soon after the letter was made public, Phogat and others took to the streets, demanding Singh’s dismissal. At the time, the WFI denied the allegations but said an inquiry was underway.
Glenda Jackson, a two-time Oscar winner and former UK politician, “died peacefully” at the age of 87 following a brief illness, her representative announced to PA Media.
For the time being, Boris Johnson has made the decision to leave politics on his own terms.
The former British prime minister has the opportunity to tell his own narrative after quitting as a member of parliament last week and refusing to accept the conclusions of a parliamentary committee that he intentionally misled legislators about violations of Covid rules. It’s another question completely if anyone will pay attention to or believe him.
The Privileges Committee proposed that Johnson not only be subject to a 90-day suspension, which would have required a by-election for his parliamentary seat, which he might have easily lost, but also that he not be granted a parliamentary pass, which former MPs are generally entitled to.
His statement responding to the committee’s report is a not just a rebuttal, but an attack on members of the committee.
“This report is a charade. I was wrong to believe in the Committee or its good faith. The terrible truth is that it is not I who has twisted the truth to suit my purposes. It is Harriet Harman (the committee’s chair) and her Committee,” Johnson said.
The truth is that people have largely made up their minds about Johnson and the conclusions of this inquiry will probably not change his political future in any meaningful way.
Johnson, since resigning in disgrace as PM last summer, has seen his overall approval ratings remain low. The public fell out of love with him as scandal after scandal dogged the latter part of his premiership.
Conservative MPs fell out of love with him at around the same time, as was underscored when Johnson tried to make a dramatic comeback last year after his successor, Liz Truss, was forced to resign after just a couple of months in office.
MPs blocked Johnson’s bid as he endured the humiliation of flying back from a holiday only to return to that holidays days later. It was clear that however much Johnson and his loyalists wanted him back, the people that could make it happen wanted him out of the picture.
It’s worth mentioning the Johnson loyalists, because they do exist. They are smaller in number than they used to be and they represent increasingly fringe views within the Conservative Party. But they do exist and they are as loyal as ever.
It is these people who will ensure Johnson remains a political threat to Sunak. He will always have an audience. There will always be people who are forever grateful for his role in delivering Brexit and securing a parliamentary majority for the Conservatives in 2019.
Johnson has always been an effective political figure, even when outside of parliament. It is very likely that he will return to his media career, perhaps with a column or a TV show. His supporters will read and hear his words. He will be able to set the political agenda as effectively as he could in parliament.
Johnson will have the ability to do all of this because of choices he has made. He has decided not to fight for his seat. He has decided not to accept the committee’s ruling. He has set himself as the outsider who was brought down by a cabal.
The fact that there will always be a group of people who will listen to him means that a return to the front line of politics can never be ruled out. Should Sunak lose the next general election, Johnson’s loyalists may wish to remind people of his 2019 electoral success. And over time, that audience he enjoys could grow and at some point, it might make sense for him to come back.
Make no mistake: this report is very damaging for Johnson and he is certainly down. But it would be unwise to assume that one of Britain’s most effective political streetfighters is ever out.
Beyoncé, widely recognized as the Queen of Pop music, has been implicated as the cause behind an unanticipated surge in inflation that supposedly occurred in Sweden during the month of May 2023.
According to experts and economists in Sweden, the superstar’s world tour in Sweden sky-rocketed the price of goods and services, especially the cost of hotels and restaurant services.
Sweden reported higher-than-expected inflation of 9.7% in May. Inflation in the hospitality industry increased the most.
Touching on the new development, Michael Grahn, a Swedish economist at Danske Bank said that Beyoncé helped drive the jump in hotel rates, she equally is a significant influence behind the unexpectedly strong uptick in recreation and culture prices, he said.
“I wouldn’t … blame Beyoncé for [the] high inflation print, but her performance and global demand to see her perform in Sweden apparently added a little to it,” he wrote in an email to the BBC.
The demand for hotel and restaurant services due to Beyoncé world tour is not exclusive to Sweden, in the UK, reports from the Cardiff Hotel reveal that over 60,000 people including foreign nationals from countries such as Lebanon, USA, and Australia have made demands for rooms tied to the singer’s concert in London. This unexpected situation has compelled local authorities to drive out some homeless families being housed in a hotel by the local council was reportedly booted to make way for her fans.
Beyoncé world tour, the first in seven years is expected to gross over £2bn by the time it ends in September.
Member of Parliament for Dome Kwabenya Constituency, Sarah Adwoa Safo, has commenced groundwork for seeking re-election in the upcoming New Patriotic Party parliamentary primaries.
This development comes despite her supposed dip in popularity among her constituents following her persistent absence from parliament after the 2020 election.
Speaking in an interview with Rainbow Radio, Seth Osei Kissi, the Chief of Staff to the MP, revealed that Adwoa Safo has started consultations with various stakeholders ahead of the upcoming internal contest.
He stated that the MP has already met with the youth and women organizers in the constituency and will soon meet with the organizers, secretaries, and leaders to inform them of her intention to run again.
Kissi claimed that her meetings so far have been positive and that the delegates have declared a ‘No Adwoa Safo, No Vote’ campaign.Her Chief of Staff further revealed the reasons behind the MP’s absence from the country during crucial times when her party needed her to vote on bills.Describing her absence as unintentional, Kissi revealed that Adwoa Safo “was pregnant and had to travel to give birth, but unfortunately, she lost the child during childbirth.
In a shocking and ground-breaking report that blasts Johnson‘s behaviour and suggests he be denied a pass to enter the parliamentary estate, a parliamentary committee found that the former British prime minister intentionally misled lawmakers about violations of his own Covid-19 lockdown rules.
According to the committee’s report, Johnson “committed a serious contempt” of parliament when he claimed that rules were always followed after the so-called “Partygate” affair exposed unauthorised gatherings at Downing Street.
The conclusions essentially amount to a historic reprimand of a former prime minister who, after winning an overwhelming electoral victory less than four years ago, had his political career crumble under the weight of a number of scandals.
“The contempt was all the more serious because it was committed by the Prime Minister, the most senior member of the government,” the Privileges Committee wrote in its report, published Thursday. “There is no precedent for a Prime Minister having been found to have deliberately misled the House.”
“He misled the House on an issue of the greatest importance to the House and to the public, and did so repeatedly,” the members wrote, adding that Johnson also misled the committee when he presented evidence in his defense.
Johnson resigned as an MP in fury on Friday, days before the report’s publication, nullifying the committee’s recommendation that he be suspended for long enough to force a by-election in his constituency.
But the report added a further, damning recommendation in light of his resignation: that Johnson is denied a former member’s pass to enter parliament, a longstanding convention for ex-MPs.
It marks the end of a lengthy investigation by the committee – the majority of whom represent Johnson’s Conservative Party – that Johnson and some of his allies attacked as a “kangaroo court.”
But it may not end the Partygate saga. MPs must now vote to accept the report’s findings, a potentially embarrassing exercise certain to expose divisions between Johnson’s supporters in parliament and the current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who has sought to distance himself from Johnson in recent days.
The investigation’s focus was on Johnson’s conduct during the Covid-19 pandemic, when he was prime minister and found by police to have breached his own rules.
Unlike a police investigation and a separate parliamentary probe into the parties themselves, this inquest looked at whether Johnson knowingly misled lawmakers in the House of Commons when he reassured them that he was unaware of the parties.
Its findings were unanimous and unambiguous. “We think it highly unlikely on the balance of probabilities that Mr Johnson … could have genuinely believed at the time of his statements to the House that the Rules or Guidance were being complied with,” the report said.
The report also rebukes Johnson for his attacks on the committee’s impartiality, finding that he committed contempt of parliament on several more occasions when giving evidence and when he resigned as MP.
“This attack on a committee carrying out its remit from the democratically elected House itself amounts to an attack on our democratic institutions,” the committee wrote in its report, calling Johnson’s language “vitriolic” and “completely unacceptable.”
Had Johnson stayed on as a parliamentarian, the committee would have recommended a 90-day suspension from the Commons – a ban nine times the threshold that would force a sitting member of parliament to hold a by-election to reclaim their seat.
Johnson, in his own response to the report, called its publication a “dreadful day for democracy.”
“This report is a charade. I was wrong to believe in the committee or its good. faith. The terrible truth is that it is not I who has twisted the truth to suit my purposes,” he said.
But Johnson’s reputation is steeped even deeper in disgrace following the publication. As well as being the first PM ever to be fined by police while in office, his entire premiership was dogged by scandal, ranging from financial irregularities to members of his team being accused of sexual misconduct.
Johnson’s popularity plummeted toward the end of his time in office – both among the British public and his own MPs. His attempt to come back after his successor Liz Truss was forced to resign fell short after it became apparent that a majority of Conservative MPs would block it.
Johnson has been in a war of words with Sunak, his former chancellor (finance minister) and eventual successor.
Over the weekend, he and two of his allies said they would quit as MPs immediately, forcing three difficult by-elections for a government that is languishing in opinion polls.
The former PM’s departure from the House of Commons is not necessarily good news for Sunak, whom Johnson criticized in his resignation statement.
Johnson and his allies still largely hold Sunak responsible for his predecessor’s political downfall. Johnson has always been an influential figure among Conservative voters, whether inside or outside of parliament.
The prospect of Johnson outside of parliament, writing columns and giving speeches aimed at the voters Sunak needs to win the next election will no doubt cause yet more anxiety in Downing Street.
The Minority Chief Whip in Parliament, Kwame Governs Agbodza, has made claims that the government intends to fund the construction of a new conference centre, estimated to cost $150 million, opposite the National Cathedral.
According to him, the AICC was to be demolished two weeks ago after the government procured a Structural Audit Report on the building.
“Do you know that the International Conference Centre would have been demolished last two weeks? The government procured a Structural Audit Report backing the demolition. At the same time, the government is ready to fund a new one at $ 150 million opposite the National Cathedral,” he said in the tweet.
The AICC, commissioned in 1991, has long served as a venue for major national and international events and is being reported as a ticking time bomb due to structural defects.
The defects are posing serious threats to the edifice.
Currently, most of the columns that support that huge edifice have the concrete that covers the iron rods peeling off.
The development has compromised the structural integrity of the building.
During a tour by members of the Foreign Affairs Committee to some installations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs it came to light that many huge columns have their iron rods affected by corrosion, a problem blamed on lack of maintenance and weather elements.
A Structural Engineer with the Ghana Institute of Engineering, Mark Addo, said most of the columns that are affected have “30% of the concrete peeled off.”
He warned any severe external pressure can bring the entire building down.
“If there’s a severe buckle, it can cause the building to collapse,” he said.
The committee also toured the new passport office which is under renovation following the decision to demolish the existing one to make way for construction of the National Cathedral.
The final point of call for the members was the Foreign Affairs Training Institute.
A young mother has achieved a groundbreaking feat by shattering the Guinness World Record for giving birth to a staggering nine healthy babies simultaneously.
Halima Cissé, a Malian mother and her husband, Abdelkader Arby, welcomed the nonuplets on May 4, 2021.
The Guinness World Record says that doctors initially thought Halima would deliver seven babies, but two more babies were detected when she was flown to Ain Borja Clinic in Morocco for specialist care.
The nonuplets were delivered prematurely through a caesarean section in the 30th week of Halima’s pregnancy.
The babies comprise five girls and four boys, and their names are Adama, Oumou, Hawa, Kadidia, Fatouma, Oumar, Elhadji, Bah, and Mohammed VI.
The BBC reports that the children and their mother have returned to Mali after their stay in Morocco.
Their father said:
They all have different characters. Some are quiet, while others make more noise and cry a lot. Some want to be picked up all the time. They are all very different, which is entirely normal.
The Malian government contributed to the mother’s care and ordered that she be flown to Morocco when she was pregnant.
The father, Abdelkader Arby, has said that caring for the children is a lot of work.
It’s a lot of work but Allah, who gave us this blessing, will help us in their upbringing and taking care of them, he said.
The parents already had a three-year-old girl before the nonuplets were born.
The birth of the nonuplets has captured the attention of people around the world, with many expressing their amazement at the mother’s ability to carry and deliver nine babies at once.
The Guinness World Record has confirmed that Halima Cissé’s delivery of nonuplets is the first known instance of a woman giving birth to nine babies at once.
Member of Parliament, Kennedy Agyapong, has clarified his 2013 “kill Ewes” comment which sparked outrage and also resulted in treason charges leveled against him.
Seeking to provide context and clarify his statement during a public event in Keta on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, he said the comment was in defence of New Patriotic Party (NPP) supporters in the Volta Region who were allegedly being molested by some supporters of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and not to incite hate against Ewes as purported. Mr Agyapong vehemently denied any intention to promote hatred towards any ethnic group.
Recall that in 2012, Mr Kennedy allegedly declared war on all Ewes living in the Ashanti region, inciting NPP activists in the region to attack Ewes with machetes and cutlasses.
He is quoted to have said that: “Today I declare war on this country, Gbevlo-Lartey and his people, IGP should know this. Voltarians in the Ashanti Region will not be spared. If anyone touches you, butcher him with a cutlass…” However, the MP has indicated that he meant no harm with this statement.
Narrating events that led to the comments, he said it all started when one Mr Soloman Donkor, who was then an employee of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) approached him with a complaint.
“I was charged with treason with treason sometime ago, I think that was in 2013. The story was that a gentleman named Solomon Donkor from Biakoye came to my House in Tema Community 12 and told me that a Chief in Biakoye has asked miners who are below 18 years to go and register to vote and the NPP in Biakoye resisted what the Chief said.”
As a result of the action taken by the NPP supporters, they were being attacked in the community, according to the report from Mr Donkor. He (Donkor) also indicated that he had approached various radio stations in the area to seek a platform to speak on the matter and also draw attention of authorities to what was going on in the area. However, “none of the radio allowed him to speak on air about what was going on in Biakoye.”
Consequently, Mr Donkor sought the help of Mr Agyapong who owned some radio and TV stations to help him address the matter. Initially, Mr Agyapong said he offered to let Mr Donkor speak on the matter himself but he was unable to since he was still a public servant and feared he was going to be dismissed from COCOBOD if he spoke on the matter himself.
“Mr Donkor then asked me to speak on behalf of the people of Biakoye. So I decided to speak on behalf of the NPP supporters. Actually, he dictated everything I said except one thing: “NDC, if you think Volta region is your stronghold and you’re beating people, if you think Greater Accra region is your stronghold and you’re beating people, then Eastern Region and Ashanti region is our stronghold. We will beat the NDC in our stronghold,” he recalled.
“I made this statement around 9:30 am in the morning. By 5pm, Police officers had surrounded my radio station. So the next day I went to the police station and it was all over the news that Ken Agyapong said ‘go and kill Ewes.’ Later, I was charged with treason and which meant that if I was found guilty, I would be killed,” he said.
“I was charged with treason for defending NPP voltarians,” he added.
After his arrest, he was charged with treason but was later acquitted and discharged of all treason charges.
Chief Executive Officer of Trust Hospital, Dr Julianna Oye Ameh has persons who have been diagnosed of cancer to seek medical help.
Allaying public fears on cancer, she stated that the disease is no longer a death sentence as there is an opportunity for treatment and management.
She said this in an interview on the sidelines of the Trust Oncology Cancer program held at the Ghana College of Physicians & Surgeons on Wednesday, June 14, 2023.
According to the CEO, her outfit has invested in a Cancer Care Academy which seeks to build the capacity of healthcare professionals about the management of cancer.
She stressed that the increasing prevalence of cancer in the country will require that healthcare providers are equipped to manage the condition effectively.
“Now we realize that cancer is really becoming common. It is one of the commonest non-communicable diseases in our country and therefore, healthcare providers need to know how to manage the conditions, how to diagnose, the advice to give patients, the prevention of cancer, and how to investigate and treat cancer.
“We want the public to know that cancer is no longer a death threat. When you have cancer, there is an opportunity for treatment and management. And so, we want to build capacity for our healthcare providers,” she said.
Dr Julianna Oye Ameh further added that to expand the Trust Hospital’s specialty in cancer treatment services, its Trust Hospital Premium Centre is set aside to provide holistic cancer care, providing a wide range of services, including diagnosis, investigations, among others.
“So, the Trust hospital ventured into the field of cancer treatment a year ago. We built our latest hospital which is the Trust Hospital Premium Centre. In that centre, we have started doing cancer care.
“So, we diagnose the patients, we investigate, we treat, and we give dietary management as well as our psychological treatment so it’s an all in all package for the various disciples to be involved. It is multi-disciplinary care and we do coordinate care case management,” she added.
Former New Patriotic Party (NPP) Director of Communications, Yaw Adomako Baafi has subtly taken a swipe at the party’s flagbearer hopeful Kennedy Agyapong, stating that despite his wealth, he cannot boast of the vision that Vice President Bawumia possesses.
In an awe-inspiring endorsement of the Vice President’s candidature, Yaw Adomako Baafi called on Kennedy Agyapong, the Member of Parliament for Assin Central, to reflect on his surroundings before bragging about his acquired wealth.
“You can brag about your money before delegates as followers of Bawumia we might not have money, but Bawumia has the vision”, he said.
During an interview on the Wontumi Morning Show, Adomako Baafi advised Agyapong not to forget his past when he also faced hardship.
Adomako Baafi expressed his disappointment that Agyapong did not consider the impoverished individuals around him before bragging about his riches. He stated, “You were standing before the poor and needy, and you were bragging about your riches… please excuse my language; only a fool can be given a proverb and have its meaning explained to them.”
While emphasising his admiration for Agyapong, Adomako Baafi disclosed that he had been barred from making appearances on Agyapong’s radio station.
He sadly shared, “As we speak today, he has sacked me from making an appearance at his radio station. I have worked at Oman FM, especially on the Boiling Point show, but didn’t receive a dime.” Adomako Baafi was responding to Kennedy Agyapong’s allegation against him.
Speaking to NPP members at the Agortime Ziofe Constituency in the Volta Region over the weekend, Agyapong accused Baafi of deliberately lying to the party folks just to gain support for the candidate he is supporting in the NPP flagbearer race.
He said that he bought a car for the former NPP national executive and even gave him money to go to the hospital when he was sick, but today he is spreading lies because of politics.
According to Kennedy Agyapong he is able to speak the truth because he is rich and does not fear anyone.
However, Adomako Baafi in his response emphasized that although Agyapong may boast of his wealth, Vice President Bawumia possesses the vision that sets him apart.
Crooner David Adeleke, known in showbiz circles as Davido, has spoken out about how being famous has had a negative impact on those close to him, particularly his children, nieces, and nephews.
He made this known while featuring as a guest in a recent episode on ABtalks podcast.
According to the singer, fame comes with its good and bad sides, adding that he has been a recipient of both outcomes.
The OBO crooner said that his family also gets to be affected by his fame, recounting an experience where his nephew and nieces had to switch schools because of the treatment they got on account of them being related to him.
The singer added that his own daughter was once bullied in school for being his daughter.
“I would lie to you if I say I don’t like fame. I mean it has its good and bad parts. I get anything I want with this face and with this smile but it gets stressful too cos it affects the private aspect of my life and my family.
“Like my dad will just send me something on the blog, like ‘what’s this?’, and I am like, ‘it’s a lie, don’t worry about that.’
“And even things I do affect my family. Anything I do as Davido will affect my family just like my sister had to move her kids out of some school because everyone knew this is Davido’s nephew and niece and it was weird because of how people treated them, so now they are in different schools, and when they know they are related to me, it is always crazy.
“My daughter was even getting bullied in school cos she was my daughter….so fame has good sides but also bad sides.”
Ghanaian actor and television personality, Akrobeto has strongly criticized individuals who hold the misconception that Ghanaian actors cannot amass wealth through their endeavors in the entertainment industry, referring to them as ignorant.
In an interview with One Ghana TV, Akrobeto cited himself as an example of actors who have made a living from the industry and enjoying good lives.
He stated that he has built two houses with monies accrued from movies he featured in and that anyone who holds a contrary view to his is unaware of the numerous opportunities in the industry.
“Anyone who says that is ignorant of what goes on in the movie industry. He has not been famous and popular that is why. It’s the money from the acting that I used to build two houses and I want to build more for my children. It’s the money from acting because aside from that what other job do I do?”, he said.
“I am using myself as an example and Lil Win as well. Go and check out the school Lil Win has put up, go and see. Such a thing has never appeared in the history of Ghana. What job does he do? We shouldn’t be committing such mistakes. If it’s not the money from movies, then which money am I using to survive? Any money I get is either from the movie or act work”, he explained.
His statement is linked with the recent controversy triggered by Agya Koo’s huge mansion which was put on display earlier this month.
The Scientific Director of the Responsible Artificial Intelligence Lab (RAIL), Prof Jerry John Kponyo is calling for an adequate understanding of the development cycle of Artificial Intelligence for informed regulation.
“It’s important that before we talk about regulation, we have a very good understanding of what we seek to regulate. Right from the envisioning stage to the deployment stage, there are various aspects of the development cycle of AI solutions that one needs to pay particular attention to,” he said.
Prof Kponyo comments come on the back of a motion in Ghana’s Parliament to regulate Artificial Intelligence.
He was speaking at the maiden Africa AI conference in Kigali, Rwanda.
Prof Kponyo was worried any regulation by external bodies may hamper creativity.
He believes self-regulation by actors will be beneficial.
“I will prefer we self-regulate rather than to be regulated by an external body. The fear with external regulation is the stifling of creativity and becoming an obstacle as far as the positives of AI are concerned.
“Right from the envisioning stage to the deployment stage, they’ll make sure they apply principles with regards to AI solutions to ensure AI deployment is responsible,” he’s optimistic.
Already, RAIL has developed a framework that serves as a basis for determining whether an AI solution is beneficial or not.
He, therefore, urged actors in the AI space to familiarise themselves with the framework and other useful frameworks.
Renowned Ghanaian music producer, Appiah Dankwah, popularly referred to as Appietus, has recently dropped hints suggesting his imminent pursuit of the Guinness World Record for the Music Producer with the highest number of hit songs.
Currently, the title, ‘Music Producer with the Most Hit Songs’ is held by Johnny Kitagawa, a renowned American-Japanese music producer, with a record of 232 hit songs across multi genres of music.
According toAppietus, very soon, he would equalize Kitagawa’s enviable record because he currently has 228 hit songs, 4 songs behind the American-Japanese record holder.
Appietus believe that he would soon equalize this feat. Some hit songs produced by him include; Angelina, Run Run Sometin, Kakyere Me, Shordy, Adonko, Kotosa, Goosy Gander, Change Your Style, World Trade Center, Waist & Power, Yesi Yesi, Miss Doctor, Womanizer, Front & Back ft. K.K Fosu, Azonto 320 Degrees ft. Kesse, Swagger ft. Sarkodie, Makoma ft. Kwabena Kwabena ,Do Me Na Mendo Wo Bi (Appietus Compilation) and many others.
He has worked with giants like; Obrafour, Sarkodie, Praye, Castro, Daddy Lumba, 5five, 4X4, Wutah, Ofori Amponsah, Kofi Nti, Nkasei, Sarkodie, Lord Kenya, Buk Bak and a host of others.
A young Nigerian woman has openly confessed that she engaged in sexual activities with her Uber driver as a means of compensating him for the fare associated with her journey. This confession was made during a street pop quiz in which the participant was asked to disclose a secret she has never revealed to her ex-lover.
The woman admitted without equivocation that she once slept with her Uber driver because she lacked sufficient funds to pay for her transport.
This is a current trend among women and Uber drivers. On numerous occasions, numerous anecdotes of this nature have been shared on the internet.
A number of women intentionally order transportation knowing they cannot pay, and when they arrive at their destinations, they offer to have sex with the drivers as payment.
Some motorists and commuters have expressed frustration over the poor conditions on the Nungua barrier stretch of the Accra-Tema Beach Road.
The motorists, some of whom described the road as a death trap, say it gets more difficult to drive on that portion of the road on a rainy day.
Following the stalled construction of a three-tier interchange at the Nungua Barrier as part of the Beach Road Expansion Project, some portions of the roads have caved in and become difficult to drive on due to the huge number of heavy duty vehicles that ply the road, mainly from the Tema Harbour.
A visit to the place revealed the struggles of motorists as they put up their best skills in outwitting each other to navigate their way along the stretch.
The uneven nature of the road, coupled with the constant flooding around the interchange has left some motorists with no option than to find an alternative route.
Mr Alex Appiah, a private car owner, who spoke to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), said driving on that stretch of that road had not only become dangerous but expensive.
He contends that he had to change his shock absorbers and other car parts twice in a space of three months.
Another driver, Sena Gemadzi noted that he had to find alternative routes everytime it rained.
He said, “driving on that stretch, especially the portion that brings you from Addogonno towards the mall is not amusing at all.”
“It takes guts and experience to navigate your way through that side alone,” he added.
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A commercial bus driver, Albert Adjetey on his part could not understand why the road had been left in that state.
He said “if you are not dealing with the dust when it is not raining, then you are forced to deal with the mud when it rains.”
“The other day, an articulated truck got stuck here, and the inconveniences that came with it are better not said,” he said.
The drivers who are appealing for an urgent facelift of the road say, they are spending much more time and resources on the road.
When the Ghana News Agency visited the place a couple of days ago, it found an articulated truck that had broken down along the stretch and stuck in the mud.
However, the Resident Engineer on the project, Kweku Diafo, said the challenges associated with that portion of the road will soon be dealt with as measures are underway to remedy the situation.
He revealed that an agreement had been reached with the contractor handling phase two of the project to level the road around the interchange and deal with any other difficulty being experienced by motorists along the stretch.
Mr Diafo, who was tight-lipped about whether or not the contractor had abandoned the project site, which was obvious, could also not tell when construction works on the project would resume.
He, however, gave assurance that the project would be completed because there is a contractual agreement between the government and the contractor.
Shatta Wale, a Ghanaian musician known for his outspoken nature, recently expressed his dissatisfaction with the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) regarding the arrest of drug peddlers
According to Shatta Wale, while the initiative to clamp down on peddlers of unregistered drugs is laudable, the arresting officers were inhumane and insensitive in the act by dragging the handcuffed suspects.
“It’s a good initiative but dragging a WOMAN like that makes no sense.
“These are women, for God’s[SIC] sake let’s know how to run this country.
“Ah this guy paaa as if he no get wife for house.
“Dragging the WOMEN like they killed human beings ..Aahhh !! I bore waaaa mcheeww!!” he bemoaned in a Twitter post after retweeting a video of the arrest shared by UTV.
The Pharmacy Council and the Food and Drugs Authority together with the Ghana Police Service on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, embarked on an operation against the peddling of unregistered drugs at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra.
The operation saw the arrest of several suspects including some women who were captured in handcuffs by the police and being dragged around.
Some of the suspects denied being the owners of the roadside shops selling various herbal medicines including aphrodisiacs.
“What is the essence in keeping us in handcuffs as if we have robbed someone. We are not thieves,” one of the suspects is heard in the video lamenting.
In a recent revelation, Nigerian singer David Adeleke, more commonly known by his stage name Davido, expressed that Cristiano Ronaldo, the exceptionally talented Portuguese football prodigy, holds a significant place in his life as a “very good friend.”
He disclosed this while appearing as a guest on the latest episode of the ABTalks podcast, hosted by Anas Bukhash.
Davido, who made history as the first Nigerian artiste to perform at the FIFA World Cup final last year in Qatar, berated those who mocked Ronaldo after Portugal was knocked out of the tournament.
He said: “Look at [Cristiano] Ronaldo when he left the World Cup. He is my friend, by the way. He is my very good friend.
“When he [Ronaldo] left the World Cup, I remember being on the internet, and they [trolls] were abusing him so much, even after everything that he has done.”
In 2017, Davido paid tribute to Cristiano Ronaldo in his hit song ‘Fall.’
Davido is the only African artiste that Ronaldo follows on Instagram.
There is a common belief that older men tend to prefer dating younger women as it serves as a nostalgic reminder of their own youthful days.
There are other beliefs that if an older man is dating a younger woman, he may be going through a midlife crisis, and hence, in order to feel good, they date someone who has a fresh approach to life.
Here are some reasons why men tend to date younger women.
The carefree approach to life
Older men prefer to be with younger women because the latter has a fresh, unique and more carefree attitude towards life that can make men feel less stressed or anxious. As men get older, they have to deal with a number of problems and amidst that, if they feel light-hearted with youthful banter, then so be it.
They don’t want to be called out
When people get older, they become much more assertive, straightforward and blunt, without a care in the world. Older women date younger women because the latter won’t usually call them out for their habits, as compared to what older women generally do. Older men do not want to be confronted with their issues.
Reminder of youth
As time passes, everyone wants to feel younger. Even though one’s age or health may portray otherwise, people look for things that can make them feel young. So, older men love to be with young women who are full of life, so that they can once again taste the sweetness of youthfulness.
Building connection
Generally, young women look to build strong connections, along with their careers, while young men are focused on making their life’s purpose significant. Older men realise with time, that they should’ve focused on their families and building connections more often. This is when young women and older men find a level of similarity that attracts them to each other.
Sexual intimacy
Older men are convinced that younger women are amazing in bed. They feel these women would be able to enjoy sex wholeheartedly, with the added bonus of greater flexibility and spontaneity, as compared to older women.
Mavis Hawa Koomson, the Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development has thrown her weight behind the candidature of the Dr Mahamudu Bawumia to lead the New Patriotic Party (NPP) into the 2024 general elections.
She said the Vice President is the best and only candidate that will be accepted by the governing party.
Hawa Koomson, also MP for Awutu Senya East said Dr Bawumia is the one among aspirants to the NPP flagbearership with the vision fitting enough to step in the shoes of President Akufo-Addo and steer the affairs of the country.
She was speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosiisen programme in Accra, and discounted claims that the NPP had a tradition that required that the Vice President bided his time for others thought to be riper for the job.
According to Hawa Koomson, the number of NPP MPs who are rooting for Bawumia’s candidature is proof that he is destined to be the next president to succeed Nana Akufo-Addo, describing Bawumia as ‘God-sent.’
“Have you asked yourself why majority members of parliament are supporting Dr. Bawumia? Have you asked yourself this question before?”, she quipped, and explained that it is so because of what they have seen of him as “the only person who can change this country” to add to what President Akufo-Addo has achieved for Ghana.
She said Bawumia has learned the ropes, and while his speeches prove that he has indeed matured, he also makes a lot of sense to Ghanaians.
According to Hawa Koomson, the NPP believes in democracy hence has opened the race for as many NPP folks as are interested and qualify to put in their bid but at the end of the day, it is Dr. Bawumia who will emerge the party’s candidate.
She said the race to the presidency is no child’s play for unserious people to just seek the mantle and jettison it, neither is it a queue in the NPP for anyone to claim they have been around for the longest time and should therefore be fielded by the party.
The party ticket, she maintained, will be given to the one capable of continuing the good works of President Akufo-Addo, with Bawumia’s support, and not anyone who will come and destroy same.
Hawa Koomson said with more than 100 NPP MPs supporting Dr. Bawumia’s candidature, there is no way any other aspirant will stand any good chance to win the slot, explaining that for her constituency in the Awutu Senya East for example, all the executives, with the exception of one or two, have endorsed Dr. Bawumia.
Ghanaian dance artist and choreographer Incredible Zigi, has cautioned musicians not to solely rely on DJs to promote their music.
He asserted that no serious-minded musician relies solely on DJs for promotion.
According to the popular choreographer, musicians must use other means apart from radio DJs to make sure their songs get the needed attention.
Speaking to Amansan Krakye, he said “If you are an artiste and you rely on DJs alone to make your songs go viral then maybe you’re not serious with your promo”.
During an interview on Cape Coast-based Property FM, he admonished musicians.
“Now there’s TikTok and other social media platforms which you can use by giving the song to an influencer to make it a trend,” he remarked on the show.
He added, “I have over 600K following on TikTok alone so these are platforms that we can use to promote songs whilst the DJs also promote the song”.
Despite the preconceptions associated with being a secular artist, Ghanaian musician Efya has openly disclosed that she identifies herself as a child of God and has even attended Bible school, emphasizing her spiritual connection and personal faith.
Speaking with Berla Mundi on TV3’s The Day Show, Efya took the opportunity to address the misconception that the ‘secular musician’ tag inhibits one from exploring gospel music.
Sharing her frustration, Efya recounted an incident where she faced criticism for collaborating with a gospel artiste.
She passionately expressed her thoughts, saying, “I did a song with the gospel artist, and they came at me and her, asking why she would collaborate with a secular artist like me. This is what I’m talking about.
“What’s that about? Can I not do gospel music? Are we serious? I am a Child of God. What are you saying? I have the power in me. I went to Bible School. You can’t know Bible more than me.”
Efya emphasized that the term ‘secular’ should not be automatically associated with being devilish.
She urged people to stop labeling it as such and recognized the need for a shift in mindset.
Expressing her disappointment, she observed that often, Ghanaians tend to focus on the negative aspects rather than acknowledging her achievements in the music industry.
She pointed out that despite her numerous awards and being the first female artist to break records, people tend to overlook these accomplishments.
Encouraging a change in perspective, she called on Ghanaians to redirect their attention towards positive opinions.
According to the Executive Secretary of COPEC, Duncan Amoah, petrol and diesel prices are expected to see an increment between 2% and 5% compared to the current prices at the pump.
He stated that the increase in petroleum products is due to the depreciation of the local currency – Cedi against the major trading currency – dollar.
He however noted that Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) prices remain unchanged.
In an interview with Citi News, Duncan Amoah said, “Fuel products across the country, except for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), are likely to rise, albeit marginal. LPG is likely to have prices sustained or remained at the current level. For petrol and diesel, we are likely to pay 2% – 5% more on current pump prices and a depreciation of the cedi largely accounts for this.
“International benchmarks have remained relatively stable and even declined, unfortunately, you can’t say the same for the local currency and so give or take what most oil marketing companies are likely to give all of us is some marginal increase in the next pricing window of June,” he stated.
Education Minister, Dr Yaw Adutwum has stated that only 54 Senior High Schools out of Ghana’s 1,200 SHSs are category ‘A’ schools.
He made this statement during an interview with Kwame Appiah Kubi on Kessben Maakye on Kessben TV.
Below is a complete list of all Senior High Schools of Category ‘A’ in Ghana(2023)
Senior High School of Fijai Serwaa Kesse Senior Girls High School Opoku Ware School T.I. Ahmadiyya High School for Seniors Kumasi Senior High Senior High School of Prempeh College Saint Louis Yaa Asantewaa Senior Girls’ High School Berekum Presby High School for Seniors Bolgatanga Senior College Abesim Sunyani Senior High School, Our Lady of Providence Senior High School, St. James Seminary/Senior High, and Our Lady of Providence Senior High School Notre Dame Senior High School for Girls Holy Child School, Cape Coast Mfantsipim School, Adisadel College St. Augustine’s University Wesley High School for Girls Mfantsiman Senior High School for Girls Okuapeman High School Senior Aburi Senior High School for Girls St. Rose’s High School for Seniors Ofori Panin High School for Seniors St. Peter’s High School for Seniors Krobo Senior High School for Girls. Ghana Senior High, Koforidua Koforidua Senior High Technical And Min. Seminary Accra Academy Accra Senior Girls’ High School Achimota School Senior High School Mary’s St. Thomas Aquinas High School for Seniors Presbyterian Boys’ Secondary School, Tema Senior High School (PRESEC) Tamale High School St. Charles High School Tamale Senior Girls High Senior High School of Ghana, Tamale Bolga Female Senior High School Navrongo High School for Seniors Notre Dame Senior/Middle School St. Francis Senior High School for Girls Senior High School of Lawra Senior High School of Nandom Mawuli School, Ho Ola Senior High School for Girls, Ho Bishop Herman College, and Arch Bishop Porter Senior High School for Girls. Ghana Senior Technical High Sekondi College St. Johns Senior High School, Secondi Ola Girls’ Senior High School, Kenyasi Dr. Yaw Adutwum also stated that the Double Track system has allowed rural Ghanaian pupils to attend some of the country’s finest schools.
Dr. Adutwum commended the president for implementing the Double Track system in Ghana per his recommendation.
Since its implementation, some Ghanaians have criticized the Double Track system, arguing that it has severely disrupted the country’s educational calendar. Dr. Adutwum asserts, however, that the advantages of the double-track system have been greater.
Contrary to what detractors have claimed, he emphasized that not all senior high schools in Ghana currently use the dual track system.
“Not all Ghanaian senior high schools utilize the double track system. There are many more institutions with the necessary facilities that do not utilize the double-track system.
The double-track system has had no negative impact on academics. Even more contact hours have been added. Students from rural areas now have the opportunity to attend some of the best institutions in Ghana.
A student attending Kyeraa would not have been able to attend these large institutions studying engineering, science, and others, but the double track system has made this possible.
The Accra High Court has postponed the case concerning Nii Charles Armah Mensah, popularly known as Shatta Wale, to June 27, 2023, in order to allow the involved parties sufficient time to submit the terms of their settlement.
The adjournment was requested by the Lawyers for the Dancehall Artiste.
Lawyers for Shatta Wale made the request for two weeks to enable them to file terms of settlement.
Mr Frank Atese Kwabena, the Counsel for Shatta Wale, who held brief for Madam Cynthia Quarcoe, told the Court that they had made some progress in their engagements.
The Court presided over by Justice Joseph Agyemang Adu Owusu after hearing the respondent, said since settlement was in progress, the case has been adjourned to June 27, 2023.
On November 2, 2022, Shatta Wale made some publication on his Facebook page, implicating his Former Manager, Lawrence Asiamah Hanson also known as Bulldog, in the murder of Fennec Okyere, among others.
Bulldog, a Former Manager of Shatta Wale, then sued him for defamation but, the parties have in various sittings especially counsel for Shatta Wale, told the Court that the parties are willing to settle the matter out of Court.
Since March 7, 2023, when the request was made, the parties have appeared in court at least three times, saying talks on settlement were progressing.
On April 18, 2023, Lawyers for Shatta Wale again requested for a month of further negotiations after Lawyers for Bulldog indicated the parties failed to reach agreement.
Back in Court after a month, on May 16, 2023, Lawyers for Shatta Wale indicated that the parties have now agreed on settlement terms in principle.
He, therefore, prayed the Court for a month’s adjournment for the parties to draft the terms of settlement and the same filed to the court for its adoption as a consent judgement.
The plaintiff is seeking a declaration of the Court that the series of publications made by the Defendant as particularised in the Statement of Claim are defamatory to the Plaintiff.
He is also praying the Court for declaration of the Court that the series of publications made by the Respondent in the Statement of Claim are malicious.
An order of the Court directed at the respondent to on all his social media pages or accounts, make a publication on seven consecutive days of an unqualified retraction of and unreserved apology for the defamatory words that the Defendant has published about the Plaintiff, such retraction and apology to be vetted and approved by the Plaintiff’s lawyers.
An order of the Court for perpetual injunction restraining the respondent, his agents, workmen, assigns and servants from publishing or further publishing any defamatory words against the Plaintiff.
He seeks general damages for defamation, special damages for defamation and punitive damages for malicious publication of falsehood against the Plaintiff.
Ghanaians have been cautioned to prepare themselves for the potential adverse effects of Artificial Intelligence within the realm of work, signaling the need to be ready for the changes and challenges that may arise as AI continues to advance and integrate into various industries.
Chief Executive Officer of Web & Software, Philip Gamey, has noted that there would be job losses when companies fully adopt the usage of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
According to him, companies that have a lot of workforces would be trimmed down and the few ones retained would be trained to be technologically inclined and adapt to the change.
Speaking at a press conference in Accra, Mr Gamey entreated Ghanaian companies to take advantage of AI and use it to their benefit to enhance productivity.
“Will AI result in job losses? Yes, it will. It is a significant yes. The concerns must not be of immediate priority for most companies but in no time, AI is going to result in a massive amount of job losses,” he stated whiles speaking on the theme ‘Artificial Intelligence – Assessment of strategy and impact on corporate Ghana.’
He said with the advent of AI 360, it creates human-centered solutions that are tech-powered, and less labor would be needed.
The Chief Executive Officer of Web & Software entreated corporate companies to use AI in decision-making, making recommendations, analyze data of workers at the end of the year, among others.
He said only serious companies will leverage AI to outgrow their competitors in terms of revenue whiles they have the best workforce.
The 2023 Green Ghana Day witnessed some 11,530,672 seedlings distributed and planted across the country, thus, exceeding the 10 million target.
Mr John Allotey, the Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of the Forestry Commission, announced this during a Post Green Ghana Day press briefing in Accra on Wednesday, to update the public.
This year’s Green Ghana Day was held last Friday, June 9 nationwide, which saw Ghanaians of all walks of life including parliamentarians, chiefs, students, pupils, judges and public servants planting trees at their backyards, maiden of roads and parks to help restore the degraded forest cover.
The Day was launched by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in 2021 as part of an aggressive afforestation and reforestation agenda of the government.
The initiative is intended to restore the lost forest cover of the country devastated by the illegal small-scale mining and timber logging.
The maiden edition targeted to plant five million trees, but ended up planting over seven million seedlings.
The programme also aims at inculcating values of planting and nurturing of trees in the citizens, particularly among the younger generation, to mitigate the negative effects of climate change as well as beautifying the environment.
Mr. Allotey,in his presentation, explained that four regions of the North including, the Northern Region, North East Region, Upper East Region and the Savannah Regions, had only undertaken commemorative planting as they await the rains, in order to engage in full planting exercise.
He said the Ashanti Region topped the regional target with 137% distribution rate which equaled to 3,147,306 actual seedlings distributed from an initial target of 2,300,000.
He noted that aside the Ashanti Region, the Eastern, Western North, Central, Bono, Ahafo, the Upper West and the Greater Accra regions also exceeded their targets.
From an initial target of 50 percent in forest reserves, he said, there was purported planting of 61.3 percent in forest reserves whilst 38.7 percent were planted in homes, medians of roads and other locations.
The five top seedlings distributed per demand were cashew, oil palm, coconut, orange and timber species.
The CEO of the Forestry Commission applauded the role the media played in ensuring the successful distribution of the seedlings during the Day, adding that all information regarding Green Ghana was available at the district level of the Commission.
He also lauded some leading private plantation companies and churches that contributed seedlings.
He singled out the Presbyterian Church, the Church of Pentecost, the Apostlic Church, the Catholic Church and the Methodist Church as the top five churches that deserved commendations.
He also gave plaudits to the Ecoplanet Bamboo West Africa, Sakam Savana Co. Ltd, and the Global Green Gold while commending the Muslim Community, particularly the Chief Imam for his immeasurable support.
Mr Benito Owusu-Bio, a Deputy Minister responsible for Lands and Forestry, who doubled as the National Chairman of the 2023 Green Ghana Planning Committee, appreciated the efforts of all Ghanaians, who in diverse ways supported the Green Ghana Day.
He called for an effective monitoring and supervision of the seedlings planted to improve the survival rate over the previous years.
On Wednesday (June 14), Stonebwoy, through his charitable organization The Livingstone Foundation (TLF), achieved a significant milestone by successfully initiating a transformative project that provides clean water access to four underprivileged communities.
Through the installation of four-completed mechanized boreholes, the initiative is a concerted effort by the celebrated Ghanaian international musician and his charity arm to address the dire consequences of illegal mining activities, heavily operated by Chinese and Ghanaian nationals, as well as improve the lives of affected communities. This project aims to provide sustainable access to clean water, bringing hope and relief to areas burdened by the devastating environmental impact of illegal mining.
The four communities chosen to benefit from the mechanized borehole project were carefully selected based on their urgent need for reliable access to clean water. These communities, which had previously relied on distant water sources or unsafe alternatives, were facing daily struggles that impacted their health, education, and economic opportunities as a result of unlawful mining activities, popularly known as galamsey, by Chinese, other foreign and Ghanaian nationals.
The commissioning ceremony, a beacon of optimism, was attended by community leaders and members, government officials, and members of the charity organization. It was marked by the keynote address of Stonebwoy, the founder of the Livingstone Foundation. In his speech, He emphasized the organization’s unwavering dedication to supporting communities in need. He said: ‘’Today is a significant milestone in our journey to create sustainable solutions. The borehole projects we are commissioning today are not just about providing clean water; they represent our commitment to restoring dignity, health, and hope to these communities.”
He added: ‘’We firmly believe that access to clean water is a basic human right, and it is our duty to ensure that no community suffers from water scarcity. By commissioning these boreholes, we are not only providing a lifeline; we are fostering resilience, empowering individuals, and igniting positive change.”
Representing the charity organization, Dr. Louisa Satekla, the director, TLF, highlighted the importance of collective action in addressing the challenges faced by mining-affected communities. She emphasized: ‘’Through these borehole projects, we aim to alleviate the hardships caused by water scarcity and contamination. It is crucial for us to come together, support these communities, and create a path towards sustainable recovery.”
The beneficiaries, representing the communities directly impacted by the projects, expressed their gratitude for the charity organization’s efforts. Madam. Grace Elloh, a community member, tearfully shared her appreciation, stating: ‘’For years, we had to endure long walks to fetch water, often from unsafe sources. Today, our lives are transformed, and we are forever grateful for this gift of clean water. Our children will have a brighter future because of it.”
Another beneficiary, Mr Godson Novi, highlighted the broader impact of the borehole projects, saying: ‘’Access to clean water opens doors to better health, education, and economic opportunities. We can now focus on improving our livelihoods and creating a sustainable future for our community. The charity organization’s support is truly life-changing.”
Maama Fiashidi, a mother of four, tearfully shared her relief, saying: ‘’We can finally quench our thirst without fear of falling ill. These boreholes are a blessing, not just for us but for future generations as well. We thank the charity organization for their unwavering support.”
Mr. Francis Novi expressed his gratitude, saying’’ ‘’We have long suffered the devastating consequences of illegal mining. Our water sources were polluted with chemicals from Galamsey activities, leaving us with no choice but to consume contaminated water. The borehole projects give us hope for a healthier future and the ability to reclaim our lives.”
In addition to the borehole drilling project which was launched barely a month ago, Stonebwoy, through his foundation, is actively involved in other initiatives, notably the BHIM Workshop, where participants receive training in various areas such as small-scale farming activities, entrepreneurial development, food and agro-processing, and fashion production. These workshops aim to empower individuals and equip them with valuable skills for their personal and professional growth.
Executive Director for the Ghana Association of Persons with Albinism (GAPA), Newton Kwamla Katsekuhas revealed that individuals with albinism continue to confront a range of challenges including discrimination, stigmatization, denials, and societal rejection.
“People with albinism are confronted with unemployment challenges based on their health condition and not their qualifications, denial of marriage, and other health disadvantages in society,” Mr. Kasteku told the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Tema as the association marks the 2023 International Albinism Awareness Day.
International Albinism Awareness Day is celebrated annually on June 13th to celebrate the human rights of people with albinism worldwide. Albinism is a rare, non-contagious, genetically inherited difference present at birth.
Kasteku called on the government to include sun care products, dermatological, and optical services on the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), mainstream albinism at all levels of the education system, and help the association obtain a reliable and accurate database of all persons with albinism in the country.
He also called on employers and the larger society to focus on the strengths and achievements of persons with albinism rather than the myths surrounding the condition.
Katseku explained that this year the international community is focusing on “Inclusion is Strength” as the global theme to create awareness and advocate for a change of attitude towards people with albinism.
He explained that albinism is a genetic condition caused by genes affecting the body’s amount of melanin.
Adding to that, the word “albino” involves both animals, plants, and humans races that lack melanin, and hence, the condition that brought about the lack of pigmentation (melanin) in humans is called “albinism”.
“When it comes to the human race, one is first identified as a person before albinism is detected. So in a good context, it is preferable to say “a person with albinism and not albino,” he said.
He explained that the condition affected the hair, eyes, and entire skin, and depending on the level of pigmentation, it could include blood disorders, bruising issues, lung and kidney diseases.
“Before a child with albinism can be born, either of the two parents must be carriers. In effect, there must be a recessive and dominant gene,” he said.
Kasteku noted that people with albinism can be categorized under the disability community because of how the condition affects their full function in relation to vision impairment and skin diseases that cause body irritation and result in skin cancer.
He revealed that GAPA was visible in all 16 regions with a few districts visibility and has recorded 2,744 registered persons with albinism in Ghana this year.
He also described how the awareness rate of albinism had grown since February 2003 and commended the media for its advocacy role in demystifying the myths associated with the condition.
According to him, people with albinism usually wore wide protective hats to cover the head, sunglasses to protect the eyes, protective cloths to cover the body and apply maximum skincare products to prevent the skin from drying and sun rays.
As a show of force amid tensions with Russia, NATO has begun the largest air exercise in its history.
In response to a mock attack on an alliance member, more than 250 aircraft and 10,000 personnel from 25 nations will be sent, with the US sending 2,000 members of the Air National Guard and around 100 jets alone.
On Monday morning, the first aircraft took off from airfields in northern Germany.
The Air Defender 23 drill is expected to run until June 23, but planning began in 2018.
‘The exercise is a signal – a signal above all to us, the Nato countries, but also to our population that we are in a position to react very quickly, that we would be able to defend the alliance in case of attack,’ German air force chief Lt. Gen. Ingo Gerhartz told ZDF television.
Gerhartz said he proposed the air exercise five years ago, reasoning that Russia’s annexation of Crimea underlined the need to be able to defend Nato.
But it was the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 that pushed the alliance to get ready for the possibility of an attack on its territory.
Sweden, which is hoping to become member, and Japan are also participating in the exercise.
There have already been warnings it could disrupt flights in some parts of Europe.
Matthias Maas, the head of a German air traffic controllers’ union, GdF, said that it ‘will of course have massive effects on the operation of civilian aviation’.
But Gerhartz disputed that, arguing that Germany’s air traffic control authority has worked with the air force to keep disruption ‘as small as possible’.
He noted that the exercise is limited to three areas which will not all be used at the same time, and that it will be over before school vacations start in any German state.
‘I hope that there we will be no cancellations; there may be delays in the order of minutes here and there,’ he said, insisting that the study cited by the air traffic controllers’ union assumes a worst-case scenario in bad weather in which the military would not fly anyway.
Martin Lewis has provided crucial guidance to ensure that people maximise their pension.
800,000 seniors on modest incomes who are State Pension age received a call from the financial expert.
They may be entitled to a sizable income boost through the use of a gateway benefit provided by the UK government.
A typical top-up might cost £3,500 per year.
Mr Lewis urged people to check the Pension Credit calculator on GOV.UK online or to call the Pension Credit helpline directly on 0800 99 1234 to find out if they are eligible.
He said it was a ‘national tragedy’ that people didn’t realise the money they were entitled to.
He told viewers: ‘If you’re getting your State Pension and it’s not the full State Pension, and you’re on a low income then please check whether you are one of 800,000 people in the UK missing out on Pension Credit.
‘This is really a bit of a national tragedy because these are some of the poorest people in the country who have been paying into the system for years and they are not getting the top-up to their State Pension that they are entitled to.
Thousands are eligible but haven’t claimed the cash boost (Picture: ITV/The Martin Lewis Money Show)
‘My rough rule of thumb – if you’re a single pensioner with total income of under £220 a week or a couple, both of State Pension age, with a total income of under £320 a week then you should check.
‘I’m not saying you will get it, I’m just saying it’s worth checking.’
Pension Credit gives people extra money to help with their living costs if they are over State Pension age and on a low income.
Pension Credit can also provide access to a range of other benefits such as help with housing costs, council tax, heating bills and for those aged 75 or over, a free TV licence.
He added: ‘Getting Pension Credit opens up a massive door of other entitlements to you so even if the Pension Credit isn’t worth much, you really want to get it.”
The Department for Work and Pensions has launched ‘Pension Credit Week of Action’ which aims to raise awareness of the benefit available.
Although take up of Pension Credit is at the highest level since 2010, there are still too many people missing out.
Despite common misconceptions, people can be entitled even if they own their own homes, have savings or receive a small occupational pension.
Mr Lewis is worried people are missing out on the cash (Picture: ITV/The Martin Lewis Money Show)
Almost half of the people who currently receive Pension Credit own their own homes.
Minister for Pensions Laura Trott MBE said: ‘We recognise the challenges some pensioners will be facing with the cost of living which is why, alongside driving down inflation, promoting Pension Credit is a priority.
‘During the Week of Action, we will be out and about spreading the word – and you can help too. Speak to your older loved ones about Pension Credit and get them to check if they could be eligible for this vital extra support, worth an average of £3,500 per year.’
Ukraine’s counteroffensive, according to President Vladimir Putin, was a failure since its troops sustained significant losses.
Although it hasn’t been confirmed, he said that Kyiv’s losses were on the verge of being “catastrophic.”
In his nightly video message, Ukrainian President Zelensky also refuted the notion that the counteroffensive is failing and asserted, “There is progress.”
According to him, “every step and every metre of Ukrainian land that is being liberated from Russian evil” had been accomplished by Ukrainian troops.
This was echoed by Valery Zaluzhny, the commander-in-chief of the country’s armed forces, who wrote on Telegram there had been ‘some successes, we are implementing our plans, moving forward’.
Ukraine’s military declared on Wednesday that Russian losses in the past 24 hours had included 680 soldiers, eight tanks and an air defence system.
Kyiv’s counter-offensive is in its early stages, and modest gains have been made in the eastern Donetsk and south-eastern Zaporizhzhia regions.
Buildings, vehicles in flames after missile attack in central Ukraine
Last week Ukraine said it had liberated three villages – claiming they are the army’s first victories since its counter-offensive began.
Footage on social media shows Ukrainian troops celebrating in Blahodatne and Neskuchne – which is believed to mean that they have taken back control of the small villages.
Kyiv’s deputy defence minister, Hannah Maliar has said nearby Makarivka was also taken.
Yesterday top political scientist Professor Sergei Karaganov who is close to Putin called for Russia to use nuclear weapons to smash ‘the will of the west’.
He bizarrely claimed that using nuclear weapons will ‘save humanity’ – and could stop the west from continuing to support Ukraine in their ongoing war.
Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said that while it was still ‘early days’, progress was being made in repelling Russian troops.
‘What we do know is that the more land that Ukrainians are able to liberate, the stronger hand they will have at the negotiating table,’ he told US President Joe Biden at a White House meeting.
Without providing evidence, Mr Putin said the Ukrainians had lost over 160 tanks while Russia had lost 54. He also suggested Ukraine’s troop losses were ten times greater than Russia’s – insisting Kyiv had not succeeded ‘in any of the sectors’.
His comments were dismissed by a US official, who anonymously told the AP news agency they were ‘not accurate’ and warned against taking Moscow’s public assessments seriously.
Although most of Mr Putin’s statements during his meeting with war correspondents were typically self-congratulatory, he did acknowledge that authorities in Moscow could have better anticipated recent cross-border attacks into Russia from Ukraine.
He said he was considering whether ‘to create on Ukrainian territory a kind of sanitary zone at such a distance from which it would be impossible to get our territory’.
Yesterday Zelensky again called for tougher sanctions to halt the flow of weapon components, some of which he said were being manufactured by Ukraine’s partner countries.
He said that Russia was using such components to build the type of missiles that on Tuesday struck an apartment building and warehouses in Kryvyi Rih, killing 11 people and wounding dozens more.
On the same day, the US announced it would send a new military aid package to Ukraine worth $325 million.
A last-ditch letter from Boris Johnson to MPs looking into whether he lied to the legislature about lockdown parties.
The complete report is anticipated to be released later this week, according to the privileges committee, which reported that it got the letter at 11:57 pm on Monday.
The former prime minister blasted the ‘absurdly discriminatory restrictions’ in a statement.
The privileges committee should make their report public so that everyone may judge their absurdity, he said.
‘They have no excuse for delay. Their absurdly unfair rules do not even allow any criticism of their findings.
‘I have made my views clear to the committee in writing – and will do so more widely when they finally publish.’
He took aim at the committee’s chair and Labour grandee Harriet Harman, branding it a ‘kangaroo court’ during his dramatic exit as MP last Friday.
The panel rejected Mr Johnson’s defence that senior officials advised him Covid rules and guidance had been followed.
He also launched into a public spat with arch political nemesis Rishi Sunak who he blasted as ‘secretly blocking’ the peerage of his loyal follower Nadine Dorries.
Mr Sunak said his predecessor wanted him to ignore the recommendations of the House of Lords Appointments Commission, but Mr Johnson retorted: ‘Rishi is talking rubbish.
‘To honour these peerages it was not necessary to overrule Holac – but simply to ask them to renew their vetting, which was a mere formality.’
A Downing Street source said the Cabinet Office made it clear to Mr Johnson there is no re-vetting process.
Mr Johnson’s spokesperson said it is ‘entirely untrue to say that anyone from No 10 attempted to remove or change’ the list.
The Tories are now faced with three upcoming by-elections after Mr Johnson, Ms Dorries and Nigel Adams sensationally quit.
But the by-election in Ms Dorries’s Mid Bedfordshire constituency is delayed because she has not formally resigned.
Despite quitting as MP, Mr Johnson quoted Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator when he said: ‘I’ll be back.’
It echoed his final appearance at Prime Minister’s Questions last year, when he told MPs ‘Hasta la vista, baby’.
Following the deaths of two boys in Cardiff, gross misconduct notices were issued to two police officers.
On May 22, an accident on Snowden Road in Ely resulted in the deaths of Harvey Evans, 15, and Kyrees Sullivan, 16.
CCTV footage from the time leading up to the event showed a police van pursuing the victims, who were riding an electric bike.
Following reports that they were being chased, the scene descended into violence. Officers were targeted by pyrotechnics and other projectiles, resulting in 15 injuries.
People attend a vigil for the victims (Picture: PA)
As a result, South Wales Police referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
In their latest update on the case today, the watchdog confirmed the officers in the vehicle have been served gross misconduct notices.
IOPC said the serving of the notices did not mean disciplinary proceedings would then follow.
It had previously said it was looking at the nature of the interaction with the two boys prior to the crash and the appropriateness of the police officers’ decisions and actions, whether at any time the decisions and actions of the officers in the police vehicle constituted a pursuit and whether the interaction between the police officers and the boys was reported appropriately by the officers prior to and following the collision.
IOPC director David Ford: ‘I wish to again extend my sympathies to the family and friends of Kyrees and Harvey, and to everyone who has felt the impactful loss of two young lives in Ely.
‘The response from the community in helping our investigators has been very positive and I am extremely grateful for this assistance.
‘In case there are still people with relevant information we have yet to speak to, we have placed witness appeal boards in the vicinity of the incident.
‘We would urge anyone who believes they have useful information to come forward to us.
‘We have also met with local community leaders and elected officials to explain our role and the remit of our investigation.
‘As our investigation continues to progress, I would like to reassure everyone that we are focused on establishing precisely what happened in the run-up to the tragic incident.
‘Our work will remain impartial and completely independent of the police.’
Investigators are still reviewing hundreds of video clips and have also reviewed initial accounts and body-worn video from police officers and staff.
As part of the probe into the aftermath, 20 people have so far been arrested in connection with the riot.
South Wales Police said 17 males and three females, aged between 14 and 36, had been arrested on suspicion of riot.
All have since been released on police bail while the investigation continues, the force said.
After months of torture, a woman and her partner were found guilty of killing their nine-year-old son in the bathtub.
At his ‘dishevelled’ family home in Droitwich, Worcester, in February 2021, a lifeless Alfie Steele body with 50 different wounds was discovered.
He apparently suffered from a “cruel and sinister” punishment routine that included whipping with belts and flip-flops before passing away.
At Coventry Crown Court, the boy’s mother, Carla Scott, was found guilty of manslaughter and Dirk Howell, 41, was found guilty of the boy’s murder.
The jury found her not guilty of murdering Alfie.
Alfie Steele was found dead in the bath at his family home, aged nine (Picture: SWNS)
Jurors cleared her of Alfie’s murder. They were told by the judge they would never have to sit on a jury again.
They deliberated for 10 hours over the case after weeks of hearing horrific details of the nine-year-old’s final months.
Jurors heard how his punishments included beatings, being forced to stand outside and being dunked head first in cold baths.
The family was known to social services and neighbours had made repeated calls to police to raise concerns about how Alfie was being treated.
On 18 February, 2021, Scott called 999 to report that her son wasn’t breathing. She told the call handler that Alfie had fallen asleep in the bath at their home in Droitwich, Worcestershire.
When two police officers arrived at 2.30pm, Howell was not at the house.
Scott told the officers that she had found Alfie ‘submerged’, adding he had previously ‘hit his head’.
By that stage Alfie was lifeless, not breathing and was already cold to touch – just six minutes after the 999 call.
Scott lied to police that she had last seen Howell a couple of days earlier. In fact, CCTV showed him running away from the house around the time the 999 call was made.
He was arrested a short time later as he tried to board a train at Droitwich station.
The trial heard both Scott and Howell thought it was acceptable to hit Alfie with ‘belts, or a slider, like a heavy-duty flip flop, and use other more sinister forms of punishment’.
This included ‘dunking’ him ‘in cold baths whilst naked’ or forcing Alfie to ‘stand outside, in the middle of the night and have cold water’ thrown over him.
A recording made by a neighbour in which Alfie can be heard screaming ‘open the door’ repeatedly after being locked out of the house was played to the trial.
Concerns about Alfie had been raised with the authorities on many occasions and police and social workers had been involved.
In the year before Alfie’s death, neighbours had made a number of 999 calls.
On 4 April, 2020, neighbour Daniel Grindrod called to tell police ‘I’m hearing some really worrying noises from next door’, adding: ‘I’ve heard what sounds like a child in distress.’
The following day neighbours Graham and Rosemary Willetts called 999 to report ‘something very strange’ about the house.
They called police again the next month and Mrs Willetts described seeing a boy in the garden being disciplined.
‘He’s standing like a statue,’ she said. Asked by the caller if they’d reported the family before, she said: ‘Yes, yes, this lad we believe is called Alfie.’
In August 2020, just over six months before Alfie died, next-door neighbour Gemma Allcott made a harrowing 999 call telling police: ‘It sounds like my neighbours are doing something bad to their kid in the bath, like they’re really hurting them.’
Social workers had put in place a protection plan that meant Howell was not allowed to stay overnight at the house, a rule the couple repeatedly flouted.
Social worker Hayley Waldron told the trial that in March 2020 there had been legal discussions over whether to remove Alfie from Scott’s care, but because Scott had been seen to be working with social workers at that stage it was deemed the situation did not cross that threshold.
