In ancient mummification factories and tombs found close to the capital Cairo, a stunningly well-preserved Egyptian sarcophagus has been found.
The beautiful blue, yellow, and maroon-patterned coffin was discovered in the Pharaonic necropolis of Saqqara, a section of Memphis, the former capital of Egypt and a Unesco World Heritage site.
In addition to the sarcophagus, archaeologists discovered clay pots, stone beds, and ceremonial containers in addition to natron salt, one of the primary materials needed for mummification.
Unveiling the spectacular find, Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the workshops had been used to mummify humans and sacred animals.
They are believed to date back to the 30th Pharaonic Dynasty (380BCE to 343BCE) and Ptolemaic period (305BCE to 30BCE).
The tombs found nearby date back much further. One belongs to Ne Hesut Ba of the Old Kingdom’s fifth dynasty, 4,400 years ago, and the other to Men Kheber of the late kingdom’s 18th dynasty, 3,400 years ago. Both men were priests.
Inscriptions of cultivation, hunting and other daily activities were found on the walls of Ne Hesut Ba’s tomb, while ‘scenes showing the deceased in different positions’ were engraved in Men Kheber’s tomb, officials said.
In January, archaeologists found 4,300-year-old statues of Egyptian priests, officials and servants in Saqqara, while last year the necropolis revealed a ‘dream discovery’ in the sarcophagus of Ptah-em-wia, treasurer for King Ramses II – also known as Ramses the Great.
Egypt’s government has heavily promoted new archaeological finds to international media and diplomats in recent years. It hopes that such discoveries will help attract more tourists to the country to revive an industry that has suffered since the 2011 Arab Spring, and been further impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and Ukraine war.
Aggrieved mother of L/Cpl Michael Adamtey Odonkor, bodyguard of former Inspector General of Police (IGP), John Kudalor, is seeking closure on her son’s issue.
Mr Odonkor went missing fourteen years ago. His mother has appealed to the Ghana Police Service to issue a formal report on the matter.
According to Elizabeth Teiko Odonkor, aged 69, the declaration of the status of her son, if dead or alive, will enable the family to perform the necessary customary rites.
In an interview with The Chronicle, Madam Odonkor said a finality on the issue is long overdue.
Manye (Queen Mother), as she is called, said the family can only move on when the truth comes out,
“Without the police telling me anything, I feel incomplete, especially now that his father also died six years ago,” she added.
Background
Number 38222 L/Cpl Michael Odonkor Adamptey, bodyguard of then Director General of Police Operations and later the Inspector General of Police (IGP), John Kudalor, in the morning of the 22nd of September 2009, mysteriously disappeared from the Tema Newtown police barracks and has since not been seen.
Years later, in 2011, excavation for a planned construction in Tema Newtown resulted in the exhumation of human parts believed to be the remains of the disappeared bodyguard.
The said remains were sent to the Police Crime Laboratory for tests to ascertain whose remains were excavated.
Upon request by the FSL, the parents of the missing policeman were transported from Opesika in the Yilo Krobo Municipal Assembly to the facility, where the required blood samples were obtained for the DNA process to commence.
However, the said scientific analysis could not be undertaken due to the non-availability of the required reagents to run the test. It could, however, be done outside the country.
Since then, and even though the installation is well-resourced now to conduct the DNA tests, the much-needed report by the laboratory on the bones has not been out for the investigators to arrive at a conclusion.
The apex court ordered Parliament to expunge James Gyakye Quayson’s name from its records after it concluded that he failed to renounce his Canadian citizenship at the time of filing his nomination forms to contest the polls.
Presiding Judge Justice Jones Dotse on Wednesday, May 17, ruled that the Electoral Commission (EC) acted unconstitutionally in allowing him to contest the 2020 parliamentary elections without proof of him renouncing his Canadian citizenship.
This is in the case filed by a resident of the constituency, Michael Ankomah Nimfah.
Mr Nimfah had asked the court to rule that upon a true and proper interpretation of Article 94(2)(a) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, at the time Mr Quayson filed his nomination form in October 2020 to contest the 2020 Parliamentary elections for the Assin North constituency, he was not qualified to contest a member of Parliament.
This provision of the constitution provides that a person shall not be qualified to be a member of Parliament if he owes allegiance to a country other than Ghana.
The court in a unanimous decision ruled that Mr. Quayson was not qualified at the time of filing his nomination forms.
It further held that the EC allowing him to contest when he had not shown evidence of renunciation of his citizenship of Canada was unconstitutional.
His name was to be expunged from records of the house, and his seat to be declared vacant to allow for a by-election.
The Asokore Mampong District Court has been greeted by a busload of the family of a 26-year-old mother of one who was allegedly shot multiple times and killed by her lover, a police inspector, in Kumasi.
The relatives claim they are in court to seek justice for their departed loved one.
They are dressed in red and black clothing, some of which bears the slogan ‘Justice for Maa Adwoa.’
Inspector Ahmed Twumasi, who is said to have shot his lover multiple times in the chest and abdomen with a service rifle, is appearing in court for the second time after being remanded into police custody a month ago.
In April, Police prosecution told the court the accused demanded a refund of Ghs5,000 he allegedly paid the deceased to settle an issue between the two in the presence of a female friend.
The Inspector says he had no intention of killing his lover adding that only God knows what happened on the day of the incident.
He was rushed to the hospital, but his injuries caused his death.
According to the police, the driver stopped at the site and is assisting with the investigation.
Detective Sergeant Paul Hughes, from our Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: ‘This is a tragedy and our thoughts are with the family of this little boy.
‘We have a family liaison officer supporting the family as they try to come to terms with what happened.
‘We are in the early stages of our investigation and we are appealing for witnesses or for anyone with dashcam footage to please contact us. The driver is helping us with our enquiries.’
People with information should contact Live Chat via their website or by calling 101 quoting log number 3290 of May 29 or emailing the team direct.
After a bus slid off a bridge and into a gorge, at least ten people died.
When the bus plunged off the bridge and into a gorge in the Himalayas on Tuesday, it was transporting Hindu pilgrims to a shrine in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
Police in the area said the bus was overcrowded and that the crash also left 55 other people hurt.
When it crashed into the canyon outside Jammu, the bus was heading from Amritsar in the northern state of Punjab towards Katra.
A crane was used to retrieve the crumpled bus from the gorge, watched by a crowd of onlookers.
They were visiting the shrine of Vaishno Devi, which is highly revered by Hindus and sees hundreds of thousands of people visit every year.
Police officer Chandan Kohli said the dead were from India’s Bihar state, but individuals have not yet been named publicly.
India has some of the highest road death rates in the world, with thousands of people killed and injured annually.
Most crashes are blamed on reckless driving, poorly maintained roads and old vehicles.
On the wedding day, the groom displayed evidence of his bride’s infidelity. Overwhelmed with emotions, he decided to confront her publicly during the ceremony.
In the video, the couple was about to say their wedding vows when the pastor asked if anyone had an objection.
Surprisingly, the groom raised his hand, and everyone wondered what he had to say.
The groom faced the bride and told her how much he loved her. He said he had something in mind to tell her but didn’t know how to say it.
According to him, he decided to show her everything in a video on their wedding day.
After speaking to the bride, he brought a remote and played a clip via a projector facing the congregation.
This revelation would likely come as a shock to the bride and other attendees, causing a significant disruption to the wedding proceedings.
A lecturer at the University of Ghana, Prof Michael Kpessa Whyte has been convicted for the offence of contempt of court by the Supreme Court.
The Court consequently cautioned and discharged and discharged him.
This was after the member of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) pleaded guilty to the charge levelled against him.
The case bordered on a series of tweets made by Prof Whyte on May 19, when the Supreme Court ordered Parliament to expunge the name of Mr. Gyakye Quayson from it’s records as a Member of Parliament because he was wrongfully elected.
Kpessa Whyte wrote on Twitter: “The highest Court of the Land has been turned into ‘Stupid Court’.
“They have succeeded in turning a Supreme Court into a Stupid Court. Common – sense is now a scarce commodity.”
“A major element in the death of democracies is partisanship in the delivery of justice. Our judges need lessons in political philosophy and ethics.
“Time will tell”.
He was ordered to appear at the Apex Court to show cause why he should not be cited for contempt of Court for scandalising the Supreme Court, bringing into ridicule the dignity, respect, and stature of the Supreme Court and Inciting prejudice against the Supreme Court.
Prof Whyte on Tuesday, May 30, pleaded “not guilty with an explanation initially. Presiding Judge Justice Mariama Owusu asked him to state his plea clearly.
Prof Whyte: “My Lords. Respectfully. I plead not guilty. Guilty with explanation.”
Justice Owusu: “Your plea needs to be clear”
Prof Whyte: “Guilty my Lords.”
He was thus convicted on his own plea.
His legal team led by Dr. Justice Srem Sai then proceeded to plead with the court for mercy.
He said Prof Whyte had since receiving the summons caused publications to be made apologising to the Court.
“We pray for the mitigation of sentence. My lord, immediately the matter was brought to his attention, he did issue a clear, unreserved apology which we have accordingly brought to the court’s registry, addressed to the acting Chief Justice.
“He has taken steps to have the apology published on the front page of the Ghanaian Times, an apology to the court.
“It is our humble prayer, in all humility, we plead for mercy. We are also undertaking that such a sad and regrettable occurrence will not ever again. We commit to defending the integrity of this honourable Court,” Dr Sai stated.
The case was heard by Justices Mariama Owusu, Lovelace Johnson, Prof Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu, Samuel Asiedu, and George Koomson.
UK-based Ghanaian musician Fuse ODG has released a song about his ordeal, criticising the police for harassing him, a few days after releasing a video showing his arrest by Met Police who claimed they could smell cannabis.
Titled IC3 and released on his OffTheGroundTV Youtube channel on May 26, 2023, the official music video of the four-minute song captured the UK-based Ghanaian musician and other blacks singing about the incident while highlighting IC3 – “A British Police code for identifying a black person”.
Fuse ODG made headlines on May 19, 2023, when he shared a video of his arrest and said he was “racially profiled” by four officers in Brixton on February 28, 2023.
In the said video, the officers had stopped and encircled Fuse ODG’s car, alleging to have detected the scent of cannabis and expressing their intention to search the vehicle for illicit drugs.
Disregarding Fuse ODG’s insistence on seeing their search warrant, the musician who was in the company of his manager Andre Hackett was forcibly detained in handcuffs and compelled to board a bus, where he sought clarification regarding the unjust treatment he had endured.
“It’s wild that this is the normal reality for too many of us growing up in this country. But even wilder is that this is still the reality in a post-George Floyd world,” BBC quotes Fuse ODG to have said.
“In the past months, we have seen so many videos of police officers beating up and even kneeling on our black children in the UK. I know because a lot of the time they come to me for help.
“The sad reality is that as a black man living in this system, it doesn’t matter how much money you make or the positive impact that you have on the world, they still only see you as one thing.”
While Fuse ODG awaits a response having filed a formal complaint to the police, he makes available a song he has composed about the incident.
For a considerable period of time, Ashaiman has been unjustly labeled as a hub of miscreants, which has resulted in a negative narrative surrounding the community.
Unfortunately, this stereotype has led to the unfair characterization of its residents and subjected them to unwarranted assumptions and prejudices. That is the experience of Dancegod Lloyd
Famous Ghanaian dancer, Laud Anoo Konadu popularly known as Dancegod Lloyd had to lie about his roots just to secure jobs at the beginning of his career.
According to him, he was not shy but had to lie about his background for fear of losing opportunities when he visited the homes and offices of his clients for dance lessons.
“You go to people’s houses, these people are well-to-do, people of class and when you go to their house to teach them, they want to know you well. Your background, where you are coming from…what if you are up to something else?
“Sometimes when I go to people’s homes, I tell them that I am from Tema or just say I live around because they had this perception about where I was coming from, Ashaiman,” he shared in an interview with Babs Cann on Original TV.
When Dancegod Lloyd finally had a wake-up call, he promised to live the truth and be proud of the community that raised him despite the risk to his career.
“One time I was like, I need to stay true to myself because here I was motivating others on Instagram. I was contradicting myself. I needed to face reality so I started telling people that I am from Ashaiman,” he said.
The dancer who has worked with several top brands and celebrities in Ghana was proud to finally see change and upliftment in the Ashaiman community. He named Dancehall musician, Stonebwoy as one of the proud sons of the community.
“When we start talking, it’s all vibe and happiness until I mention Ashaiman, and then their mood starts to change but now things have changed. They are proud to have an Ashaiman boy on board…it feels good, and I feel relaxed…just like Stonebwoy. Others can boldly say that they are from Ashaiman and other slum communities,” Dancegod noted in an interview.
Following a nighttime onslaught of the Ukrainian capital and the rest of the nation, Russia launched a surprise midday attack on Kyiv on Monday.
Late on Monday morning, after the city had recovered from a more routine overnight bombardment, residents of central Kyiv heard explosions that set off sirens and sent them running for cover.
In the daylight strike, the military forces of Kyiv claimed to have shot down 11 Russian Iskander missiles. As a result of missile parts landing in the Podilskyi neighbourhood, one guy was taken to the hospital, according to Vitalii Klitschko, the mayor of Kiev.
Serhii Popko, head of Kyiv city military administration, said this attack shows “the enemy changed its tactics – after prolonged, nighttime attacks only, it struck a peaceful city during the day, when most residents were at work and outside.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a video of a child running for shelter as an explosion is heard in the background.
“Ukrainian children. Every time an air raid alert sounds,” he said. “This is what an ordinary weekday looks like.”
His wife, Olena Zelenska, reposted the video, adding: “Morning after sleepless night under fire. Anxiety once again… Children running and screaming for shelter to the sounds of explosions. But it should not be like this.”
Hours earlier, cities across Ukraine were hit by a wave of Russian strikes.
The Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said 37 cruise missiles, dozens of Shahed drones and a reconnaissance UAV were shot down by Kyiv’s forces – the vast majority of those fired.
The Khmelnytskyi regional military administration said Russia had attacked a military facility in the western Ukrainian city, damaging five aircraft.
The Russian Defense Ministry said later that its forces hit Ukrainian airfields, destroying all targets. “As a result of the strike, command posts and radar posts, as well as aviation equipment, storage facilities with weapons and ammunition of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were hit,” it said in its daily briefing.
On Sunday a huge wave of Russian drones targeted Kyiv, marking the largest such assault on the capital since the conflict began, according to Ukrainian authorities. Klitschko said a 41-year-old man died in the early hours of Sunday following the attacks.
The attack came on Kyiv Day, when the city celebrates its founding. But Russia is so far seeing limited returns from its repeated attacks.
The Iranian-made Shahed drones are a cheap way to inflict at least some pain on Kyiv, which for much of the last year has been spared the impact of the Russian invasion.
Russia has bought many hundreds of such drones, which cost roughly 20 times less than a missile.
Moscow is also hoping to land a psychological blow. Since the beginning of the invasion, the air raid siren has been on in Kyiv for a cumulative 887 hours.
But all the indications are that despite the dislocation and exhaustion, the attitude of the city’s population is hardened rather than weakened by such attacks.
The greater purpose on the Russians’ part in sending waves of Shaheds is likely to wear down Ukraine’s air defenses, and force them to expend scarce munitions on the swarms of drones.
Multiple accounts over the past few months, including estimates in leaked US military assessments, have referred to critical shortcomings in Ukraine’s layered air defenses, especially as its Soviet-era S-300 system – the workhorse of Ukrainian air defenses – is degraded and as it becomes increasingly difficult to find ammunition for such systems.
Nollywood actor Yul Edochie has congratulated Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Kashim Shettima on becoming the new president and vice president of Nigeria on Instagram.
The actor while thanking the leaders for taking up such a mandate also sent prayers their way.
He also prayed to God to give them all they require to advance the nation.
He wrote: ““Congratulations to our new President and Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu and His Excellency Kashim Shettima. May God give you all you need to lead our country to greater heights”.
But it appears his post did not sit well with netizens as it has attracted a series of backlashes from them.
While some have criticised him for backing the newly elected unpopular president, others have asked him to put his house in order first.
Read some of the reactions here
ebysweden: “You were supposed to run for this seat but alas, you chose toto over your fellow youths. But then again, it demonstrates to us that your political ambition is gone with a common bag of rice. It’s a good day to celebrate that you never smelt any position in government bro because even Bubu and Emilokan will do 100 times better than you. Oya go to Facebook and post more videos and earn your 100 dollars. Leave us alone on the gram”
lak.efash: “Wow, av never see dis kind of hatred to a fellow human d way am seeing in d comment section , wat right do u people av to judge peoples life d way u are doing some of u are notyn but bloody and stupid hypocrite and frustrated people a man came on his page to post a greeting to his page not una papa page and all he get is abuse frm u dirty people most of u should go check ur life before u start talking to him nawaaaa o , nigerian are so so delusional”
sirjazzy_: “igga been thinking he’s doing right but he’s ruining his carrier gradually”
ngo_chinye: “Useless.and shameless man. Pls put your house in order and leave judy Austin and go back to your family. I’m a mother and a wife and no good mother will tolerate what you are doing to your wife and kids. Think about your aged parent. Good name is better than money. Congratulating Tinubu will never make you relevant.
alhajibelievemoney: “I know you are happy now ,, you didn’t only ruin your political career you also ruin your father’s career. well respected man was now taking for granted for Everything just because of the way you behave…Omo sit well, it pays to stand for truth be wise ..”
dreco_905: “This is the first time I’ve agreed that they actually bottled your brain”
doreen.cinfy: “How is life inside bottle of Mrs obasi are you changing diapers as she dance with Sara up and down”
Lecturer at the University of Ghana and member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Dr Michael Kpessah-Whyte has been found guilty of contempt, despite pleas by the Lecturer for the Jury to temper justice with mercy.
He had pleaded guilty to charges before a five member-panel of the Supreme Court presided over by Justice Mariama Owusu after he made some derogatory comments against the justices of the Apex Court.
The comments said to be contemptuous according to the summons read to him scandalized, rediculed and prejudiced the court.
According to EIB Network’s Legal Affairs Correspondent, Murtala Inusah, the panel of five which also includes Justice Justice Lovelace Avril Johnson, Justice Prof.Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu, Justice Samuel Asiedu and Justice George Kingsley Koomson have currently retired to deliver their ruling.
Recently, social media has seen the emergence of a new allegation against Nana Ama Mcbrown. According to this fresh attack on the actress, it is claimed that she has betrayed and revealed information about her fellow actress, Beverly Afaglo.
Empress Nana Ama McBrown has been accused of trying to ‘steal’ an advertising deal from Actress Beverly Afaglo. It is alleged that McBrown secretly tried to sabotage her to claim her deal with North Hills School.
For now, these claims are unconfirmed, yet it is trending on social media with buzzing engagements across the apps.
Remember, this is not the first time Nana Ama has been cited in this kind of allegation. About a year ago, McBrown was accused of sabotaging Actress Roselyn Nigissah for a Colorad advertising deal after she broke the news to her.
After a tourist boat sank on Sunday night in northern Italy‘s Lake Maggiore, four people’s bodies have been found there, according to the country’s fire department.
The last body was found around 8 a.m. local time (2 a.m. ET), and as of today, search and rescue efforts have been completed, according to a tweet from the fire department Vigili del Fuoco.
Two Italian citizens, one Israeli citizen, and one Russian citizen were among the victims, according to a report from CNN affiliate Sky Tg24, which cited the district attorney. It was two males and two women that died.
The 16-meter (52-foot) houseboat had been carrying 24 people when it encountered difficulty during a “violent storm” and capsized shortly after 7:30 p.m. local time (1:30 p.m. ET) on Sunday, Sky Tg24 reported.
There were 22 tourists on board, including British passengers, and two crew members, according to Sky Tg24.
Twenty people were rescued after the boat capsized, the fire and rescue service said.
Some of the 20 survivors reportedly managed to swim to the shore, according to Sky Tg24, adding that, although five were taken to the hospital, no survivors had sustained any serious injuries.
Divers and a helicopter were used as part of the search and rescue operation, according to the fire and rescue service.
Among those killed was the skipper of the boat’s girlfriend, while one of the bodies was found within the wreckage of the boat, roughly 15 meters (49 feet) below water, Sky Tg24 added.
An operation is now underway to recover the sunken boat.
A UK Foreign Commonwealth Development Office spokesperson told CNN, “we are in contact with local authorities in Italy after a boat accident and are ready to provide consular assistance to any British nationals involved.”
Lake Maggiore is a popular destination for tourists and is shared by Italy and Switzerland.
Passengers had been celebrating a birthday party when the boat, traveling between the Italian towns of Lisanza and Dormelletto, capsized, according to Sky Tg24.
“We had only been in the air for a little over a minute when the engine started wheezing. “We could see the propeller slowing down and the plane losing altitude,” recalls Diego Londoo, 30, of the isolated Colombian Amazon town of Mit, who was travelling to San Jose del Guaviare from his home three months prior when the plane abruptly lost power.
“It was all very fast, in a matter of minutes we were back on the ground, and nothing happened,” he says, brushing off the close encounter as a common event for any traveller in the region.
While this year’s mishap amounted to nothing serious – crew and passengers were able to resume their flight after a checkup at the engine – Londoño says he was involved in a more serious accident in 2019, when the cargo plane he was travelling in emergency-landed shortly after taking off from San Jose del Guaviare and causing him minor injuries as the cargo fell on top of him.
“It happens all the time here,” he says.
As Colombia waits for a sign of life from the four indigenous children who vanished into the jungle following a plane crash on May 1, accusations are emerging that dangerous flying incidents are all too common in the remote Amazon – an area where air travel is often the only connection between population centers.
The three adults onboard, including the pilot and the children’s mother, Magdalena Mucutuy, died in the crash. But only traces of the children have been found in the surrounding forests: a baby bottle, a makeshift shelter, a dirty diaper and even what appeared to be small footprints.
These discoveries have fueled hopes that 13-year-old Lesly Jacobombaire Mucutuy, Soleiny Jacobombaire Mucutuy, 9, Tien Ranoque Mucutuy, 4, and infant Cristin Ranoque Mucutuy survived. However, a massive search by hundreds of soldiers and indigenous scouts has so far been fruitless, more than four weeks since the crash.
Indigenous advocates have said the tragedy is a result of governmental negligence. Following news of the crash, the Organization of Indigenous People in the Colombian Amazon issued a statement accusing Bogota of failing to enforce safety checks and protocols for planes in the region. The organization’s president Julio Cesar Lopez told CNN he hoped for a congressional investigation that would prevent future tragedies.
The skies over the Amazon have seen many accidents. Of 641 accidents registered by Colombia’s civil aviation authority since 1996, 56, or 8.74% of the total, took place in the Amazon region, even though less than 2% of the Colombian population lives there.
Londoño’s escape earlier this year, barely a hiccup in the rollercoaster of Amazonian aviation, is not counted in the statistics.
Pilots working in the area must contend with aging planes and a wild terrain, experts say.
“This is a factory of very good pilots: if you fly here, you must be pretty good,” says Jose Miguel Calderon, a charter pilot in Mitú who regularly flies single engine Cessnas like the one that crashed with the four children.
Calderon dismisses the idea that his job is particularly high risk, but he concedes flying in the Colombian Amazon is not for the faint hearted. Mitú’s airport is the only paved runway in an area larger than Switzerland, and Calderon’s definition of a good place to land is any opening in the vegetation that is dry enough not to trap his engine’s wheels in the mud.
The planes themselves are often of the older sort. The 206 that crashed with the kids was over 40 years old, but some of the aircraft still used in the Amazon can be up to 80 years old, according to Calderon.
In a statement to CNN, the Colombia’s Civil Aviation authority said, “Colombian law does not establish a maximum age for aircrafts operating in the country as long as they comply with all maintenance protocols. Moreover, this type of older airplanes are often the most apt to operate in the limited infrastructure of the airfields in the Colombian Amazon. The institution is aware of these situations and promotes a safety program to mitigate risks related to flying in older aircrafts.”
But even when the pilot manages to lift the old plane off the dirt track used as runway, navigation can be challenging. “We don’t have cruise controls, or any sort of computer; sometimes all you see is just the blue of the sky and the green of the forest,” says Calderon.
Pilots do have long wave radios or GPS systems, the rest is left to the intuition and experience of local pilots, who often travel with no comms for a large stretch of their route – an issue that the military search teams currently combing the forest for the missing children have also experienced.
“About 50-60 miles south of San Jose del Guaviare we lose contact with the base,” says Major Juan Valencia, a Blackhawk helicopter pilot who’s flying as part of the search and rescue mission to locate the missing kids.
“The main risk for me is that you can’t emergency land,” Valencia told CNN. While in most of the world it’s always possible to find a clear, flat strip to land a damaged aircraft such as a highway or a rural field, the rainforest is often so thick that pilots performing emergency landings in the area must attempt a sort of controlled crash on the top of the tree cover.
The same plane that carried the four children had previously crashed two years prior, in 2021, due to an engine malfunction. It performed a controlled crash landing, causing considerable damage to the propeller, engine and one wing.
After being repaired, the plane crashed again on May 1 under similar circumstances, on a route with no good options for emergency landing.
“The route from Araracuara to San Jose del Guaviare this plane was travelling, 150 miles of the route’s 220 miles are just forest…When an emergency happened, the pilot had nowhere to go,” Valencia says.
Unfortunately, despite the considerable risks of flying in the Amazon, air travel is often the only way to get around, as few roads cross the through the jungle and waterways are even more dangerous. Most settlements in the region are only accessible with a plane.
The small Amazonian community of Tapurucuara, for instance, is about 20 kilometers (15 miles) from Mitú. No roads connect the two settlements, so transit from one to the other requires either an 8-hour hike on forest paths that are often under water, or a seven-minute charter according to Londoño and Calderon.
Mitù itself is only reachable via air or on a three-week boat journey from Calamar, the small settlement at the end of the only highway that links the Amazon Forest with central Colombia.
“Historically, the Amazon was not part of the agenda for Colombian governments,” say Nelly Kuiru, an indigenous activist and documentary filmmaker from La Chorrera, another indigenous settlement in the thick of the forest.
La Chorrera saw an economic boom fueled by the rubber industry in the early 1900s, but the tide receded with the spread of synthetic rubber during World War War II. The local population live off hunting, fishing, and subsistence farming, and plans to boost the local economy with eco-tourism have been hampered by the lack of connectivity; La Chorrera can only be reached by a commercial plane once every 15 days.
Kuiru also experienced danger when travelling in the Amazon. “It’s chaotic, dangerous. Once I was taking a European friend to La Chorrera, and the plane we were travelling on had the door shut from the inside with a rope because the lock was damaged… my friend could not believe it!” she recalled to CNN.
In a statement to CNN, the Colombian civil aviation authorities recognized air travel in the Amazon is riskier than in other regions of the country, due to lack of maintenance and the age of the fleet. The institution said it’s prioritizing restructuring airports over rejuvenating the fleet.
This year the Colombian government budgeted the equivalent of over $200 million to boost airports across the Amazon region over the next 30 years, and to open eight new commercial flight routes Amazon region.
President Gustavo Petro, the first progressive president of Colombia and an outspoken environmentalist, has made protecting and developing the Amazon a priority of his government. New resources are being thrown to the region from both his government and international partners; earlier this month, the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the United Kingdom had agreed to contribute 13 million pounds ($16 million) to combat deforestation in the Colombian Amazon.
But Kuiru believes increased funding also carries its own risk, if not properly managed. She would like more resources made available for grass-roots projects presented by the indigenous communities, rather than grandiose environmental funds where local people who live in the Amazon have little control.
For now however, Kuiru’s focus is firmly set onto the four missing kids and the three adults who perished in the crash. One of them, Herman Mendoza, was a personal acquaintance of hers, which only spurs even more determination to demand change for transport in the region.
“This tragedy needs to send a message,” she said, “We can’t let his death grow unpunished.”
The Italian defence ministry reports that amid clashes with demonstrators in the northern part of the nation on Monday, at least 34 soldiers of NATO’s peacekeeping force in Kosovo were hurt.
Following elections in April that the Kosovo Serbs had boycotted, ethnically Albanian mayors were elected in northern Kosovo, a region with a majority of Kosovo Serbs, which has caused tensions to increase over the past week.
NATO’s Kosovo Force (KFOR) claimed that on Monday morning, they increased their presence in northern Kosovo as a result of previous events, which they later claimed turned violent.
The Italian defense ministry said 14 of its KFOR peacekeeping soldiers were injured when protesters threw “Molotov cocktails, with nails, firecrackers and stones inside.”
Hungarian and Moldovan soldiers were also among the injured peacekeeping troops, according to the Italian defense ministry.
“Italian and Hungarian KFOR contingent were the subject of unprovoked attacks and sustained trauma wounds with fractures and burns due to the explosion of incendiary devices,” it said, adding that KFOR medical units treated the soldiers.
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her sympathy for the Italian KFOR soldiers injured in the clashes, adding in a statement, “What is happening is absolutely unacceptable and irresponsible. We will not tolerate further attacks on KFOR.”
Meanwhile, Nemanja Starović, Serbian State Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, offered a different version of events than what was outlined by NATO countries. He said “many” protesters were injured in the clashes and accused KFOR of using flash grenades when the “peaceful” protesters had “decided to disperse and continue the protest tomorrow morning.”
Kosovo, which is mainly ethnically Albanian, won independence from Serbia in 2008. But Serbia still considers Kosovo to be an integral part of its territory as do the Serbs living in northern Kosovo.
NATO has troops stationed in Kosovo to maintain peace, with tensions often flaring between Serbia and Kosovo.
The NATO-led multi-national contingents had been deployed to four municipalities in the region to contain “violent demonstrations” as “newly elected mayors in recent days tried to take office,” KFOR said in a statement.
On Friday, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić put the armed forces on the highest level of combat readiness. That decision followed Kosovo police clashing with protesters who tried to block a newly elected ethnic Albanian mayor from entering their office.
On Monday, barbed wire had been put around a municipal administration building in the municipality of Leposavić, with KFOR troops reported to be wearing anti-riot gear, CNN affiliate N1 reported. It added that Kosovo police special units erected a fence near the municipal administration building in the town of Zvecan.
Kosovo police say protesters had shown violence on Monday as they gathered in the municipalities of “Leposaviq, Zubin Potok and Zveqan.” Police added that in front of a facility in Zvecan, protesters had thrown tear gas and “tried to cross the security cordons to enter into the municipality facility by force.”
Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabić described KFOR’s increased presence in northern Kosovo on Monday as “belated” and said “the task of this international mission was to protect the interests and peace of the people in Kosovo and Metohija, not the usurpers.”
Brnabić said the situation in Kosovo and Metohija is “tense and difficult” and said, “It has never been more difficult.” Brnabić also expressed her “gratitude to Serbs in the province for remaining calm and refraining from violence.”
Meanwhile, the United States ambassador to Kosovo, Jeff Hovenier, condemned “violent actions” by protesters, citing the use of explosives.
The European Union Ambassador to Kosovo, Tomáš Szunyog, also condemned actions by protesters, citing damage to media vehicles.
Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, also spoke about the situation on Monday, describing it as a “large eruption is brewing up in the center of Europe.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story gave the wrong title for Nemanja Starović. He is the state secretary in Serbia’s Ministry of Defence.
In India‘s capital, a 16-year-old girl was brutally stabbed and beaten to death on Sunday, igniting new outrage over men’s violence against women and the protection of women in the nation.
Security camera footage of the event, which lasted for more than a minute, shows a number of people passing by while the attacker strikes the victim repeatedly.
One man is all that is seen attempting to help, and he swiftly flees after failing to remove the attacker from the victim.
The body of the victim, who has not been identified, was found Sunday evening in the Shahbad Dairy area of the northern Delhi neighborhood of Rohini, where the incident took place.
On Monday afternoon, Indian police said they had arrested a male suspect named Sahil in connection with the murder.
Sahil, a mechanic, was detained in Bulandshahr in neighboring Uttar Pradesh state, Ravi Kumar Singh, Deputy Police Commissioner for Outer Delhi, told reporters on Monday.
Delhi’s Special Commissioner of Police Deependra Pathak told Indian news channel Times Now that the initial investigation pointed toward a so called “crime of passion.”
Speaking to Indian news agency ANI, the girl’s father said the family has demanded a “stringent punishment for the accused.”
The incident is the latest in a long line of killings and rapes that have triggered anger about whether enough is being done both to protect women in India and punish attackers.
“A minor girl is brutally murdered openly in Delhi,” Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote on Twitter. “This is very sad and unfortunate. The criminals have become fearless, and there is no fear of the police.”
“The safety of the people of Delhi is of paramount importance,” he added.
Swati Maliwal, chairperson of the Delhi Commision for Women, told ANI she’s never seen such a frightening incident.
“Delhi has become extremely unsafe for women and girls,” she added.
India has long struggled to address gender violence. A 2018 Thompson Reuters Foundation survey of experts on women’s issues ranked the country as the most dangerous place in the world to be a woman.
The frequency of crimes against women in India also appears to be increasing. According to data from India’s National Crime Records Bureau, crimes against women were 20% higher in 2020 compared to 2013 – the last year before the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power.
Activists say the real statistics are likely just the tip of the iceberg, given that many forms of violence against women, such as rape, are often underreported.
Yogita Bhayana, founder of People Against Rapes in India, said the problem is largely rooted in old societal norms.
“We learn to live with this kind of situation in our country which is very unfortunate,” Bhayana told CNN. “The basic patriarchal fabric is totally rotten and right now we need to fix that.”
“Putting cameras and putting marshals is not going to be enough,” she added. “The work has to be done on the mindset of the men and the boys.”
In the UK,solar-powered metaltrees with a seven-meter canopy may soon be found in parking lots and retail centres.
The structures were created by British startup SolarBotanic Trees as a power source for charging electric vehicles (EV). They will catch the sun’s energy through nano photovoltaic “leaves” and may store it in a battery inserted beneath the tree’s trunk. Before starting commercial production at the end of the year, the company recently finished a half-scale prototype of the gadget and is now planning to develop and test a full-size version.
In the UK, EV charging infrastructure is rapidly growing, with more than 40,000 public charging points installed by the end of April 2023, up 37% from the previous year, according to ZapMap, an EV mapping service. But this still does not keep up with demand, with the UK’s Climate Change Committee estimating that 325,000 charging points will be needed by 2032 to support the growing electric fleet.
“There’s a massive shortfall of (charging) infrastructure in this country, so we are looking to work hand in glove with the EV infrastructure providers,” says Chris Shelley, CEO of SolarBotanic Trees. He adds that the company has already received its first order of 200 trees from the Raw Charging Group, a supplier of EV charging infrastructure, which plans to incorporate the trees as part of its network of charging sites rolled out across the UK and Europe.
A number of companies already offer solar-powered carports, which stretch over car parking spaces and look like a bus shelter topped with solar panels, but there is a lack of aesthetically pleasing solutions, says Shelley. Solar trees, forms of which have previously featured in Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay development and more recently at the Sustainability Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, can offer just that, he says.
But while Dubai’s 18 energy trees are collectively covered in almost 4,000 square meters of solar panels and rotate throughout the day to follow the sun’s arc, SolarBotanic Trees – which will stand around 4.5 meters (15 feet) tall – are more space-efficient so that they can be more easily added to public spaces. Shelley says the solar dome simultaneously provides shade and appeals to luxury hotels, shopping malls, corporate head offices and business parks that want a premium and visible product that shows off their green credentials.
SolarBotanic Trees are likely to cost between £18,000 and £25,000 ($22,000 to $30,000), considerably more than a conventional solar panel source. They will have a power generation capacity of five kilowatts, which is typical for a standard chargepoint according to Energy Saving Trust (EST), a UK organization specializing in low carbon solutions. With this power output it would take almost seven hours to charge a car with a 50 kilowatts battery from 20% to 80%.
“This speed of chargepoint is more suited to when a vehicle is idle for a longer period,” says Rachel Swiatek, program manager of transport at EST, adding that “there are lots of different chargepoint types and power outputs on the market and each is suited to a different type of use.”
The startup is also looking to design a smaller and more affordable version, at 3.2 kilowatts, which Shelley says is likely to cost between £10,000 and £15,000 ($12,000 to $18,000). This model would be suited to university campuses, shopping malls, town centers and other locations and could be used for several applications, from smartphone and laptop charging to LED lighting or electronic advertising. Shelley notes that he is also exploring creating a solar tree solution for powering electric scooter charging hubs.
Each tree will be equipped with an AI-driven energy storage and power management system that can link multiple trees to form local microgrids, or can connect a tree to the national grid, so that any excess energy produced can be fed back into the mains supply. It also means the tree can continue to charge during the night, or on dark winter days when there is no sunlight, by tapping into the grid for power.
However, to reduce the reliance on the grid, the startup is also planning to integrate a battery storage system in the tree trunk, so that any excess energy during the daytime can be stored for use at night.
SolarBotanic Trees has raised £340,000 ($420,000) and is looking to start a funding round at the end of the year following trials of the full-scale prototype. By 2025, Shelley wants to be building at least 1,000 trees a year.
The company will build its first trees in the UK, says Shelley, before looking to expand across Europe and North America.
An Australian guy who was snorkelling off the coast of far-north Queensland when he was bitten on the head by a crocodile managed to escape the unique attack by prying apart the reptile’s jaws.
The avid surfer and diver Marcus McGowan was snorkelling with his wife and a group of friends near a remote island off the northern edge of the country when he felt something had “got its jaws around my head.”
McGowan said in a statement on Tuesday that he initially believed he had been bitten by a shark, but that as he reached up, he discovered it was actually a crocodile.
“I was able to lever its jaws open just far enough to get my head out,” recalled the Gold Coast resident, who said the crocodile then struck at him again, but he managed to push it away with his hand.
The boat that had taken McGowan’s group to the diving spot near Charles Hardy Islands, some 40 kilometers off the coast, heard their screams and came to retrieve them.
McGowan was rushed to Haggerston, a resort island some 45 minutes away, before being helicoptered to a regional hospital. He suffered cuts and puncture wounds to his head and hands.
“I was simply in the wrong place, at the wrong time. I’m just grateful it was me and not one of the kids or ladies in the group,” he said in the statement.
McGowan said the attack happened so quickly he was unable to get a proper look at the croc but guesses it was a juvenile, about two to three meters long.
Saltwater crocodiles can grow up to six meters long and weigh up to 1,000 kilograms, according to Australia Zoo.
Known locally as “salties,” the reptiles are more commonly found in the country’s warmer northern regions. According to federal government estimates, there are about 100,000 saltwater crocodiles in Australia.
Crocodiles were sighted on nine occasions in Cook Shire on Cape York since the start of this year, according to the Queensland government.
The Soviet-era armoured BTR vehicle approaches over a grassy plain on the outskirts of Chernihiv, northern Ukraine, its loud engine warning of its approach long before it is actually seen. It stops abruptly, the door opens, and Ukrainian soldiers charge the trench below.
A Ukrainian soldier with the call sign Jenia states, “Today our job is training and cleaning the trenches.” He is a part of the Kyiv Offensive Guard, which is a new assault brigade project from the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs.
“The enemy has lost positions, we quickly arrive, take positions, and restore it,” he continues.
This operation is just a drill, but the scenario has been engineered to be as realistic as possible. The trenches are muddy – despite weeks without rain – and the soldiers are forced to face the unexpected, such as tending to and evacuating the wounded, or adapting after suffering casualties.
“Some people say training is not hard, that there is no danger – but running through the trenches and constantly training, knowing that you will go to battle, it is not easy,” Jenia says. “Everything comes with practice, It is clear that during the hostilities there will also be the psychological impact of war – but practice is very important.”
Even as Ukrainian cities experience barrage after barrage of Russian missile and drone strikes, Jenia and the other members of the Offensive Guard have remained unfazed, simulating scenarios they expect to find once Kyiv finally launches its much anticipated counteroffensive.
That day is fast approaching, if one of the top advisers to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is to be believed.
“There is already some sort of work underway to increase the intensity of the shelling of Russia’s logistics support in order to reduce their combat capabilities in the near future, to loosen up their defenses,” presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told CNN in an interview.
The strikes Podolyak mentions are often referred to as shaping operations – so-called because they aim to ‘shape’ the battlefield – in this case, in Ukraine’s favor. CNN has previously reported that these began on May 12, citing a senior US military official and senior Western official.
“Everything that is happening now is a precursor to a counterattack, a necessary pre-condition,” Podolyak explained. “When the intensity of fire increases, especially on the logistics supplies, when the number of operations increases.”
Ukraine has increased the number of strikes on Russian ammunition depots, logistical nodes and rear echelon bases, such as the ones seen in Mariupol and Berdyansk in the past few days. The military’s top general, Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi, released a slickly produced video over the weekend with the caption: “The time has come to take back what belongs to us.”
In his nightly address Monday, President Zelensky said the timing of the counteroffensive had been set, but did not provide further details. And despite the clear signs that a counteroffensive is coming, Podolyak also refuses to commit to specific dates.
“You can’t say about a counterattack that it will start any one day, one time when some events will start,” he says. “Already now there are intensive relatively offensive actions on the flanks of the town of Bakhmut. There is essentially no city left, but offensives are underway.”
These smaller operations are but a sample of the larger offensive, whose ambitious goals Ukraine is very open about and has openly advertized. But for it to succeed, Kyiv needs continued Western support.
“If there are timely deliveries of large quantities of the necessary consumable components, I am talking about shells, drones and missiles, then of course the war can mathematically be over this year,” Polodyak says. “But it will end undoubtedly on the borders of Ukraine as they were in 1991, with the de-occupation of Crimea, and undoubtedly with the beginning of a massive process of transformation of Russia’s political system.”
“There will be a counteroffensive in any case, and it will be successful. It will not be quick, it will take some time, it will be complicated, but it will be successful nevertheless,” he added.
These bold goals are why Kyiv has delayed an attack that was initially expected in early in spring but has yet to materialize with summer around the corner, taking time to perfect the strategy.
“It is impossible to be perfectly prepared for such a large volume of combat. There will always have to be fine-tuning,” Podolyak explains. “These or other initiative events along the front lines go on, we will continue to accumulate resources, we will continue to conduct combat cohesion, we will continue to train and practice our troops, including the partners conducting training.”
Back on the training grounds, the Offensive Guard’s commander, call sign Kyiv, shares a similar combat philosophy.
“We improve our fighting skills in special combat training every day to liberate our lands,” he says. “Our servicemen now know how to deal with the enemy – because we practice everything until it becomes automatic.”
He’s been helping train tens of thousands of troops and believes Ukraine has what it takes to succeed.
“We have motivation,” he says. “We defend our lands, this is our country, this is our home.”
As the crackdown on religious liberty grows, thousands of ethnic minority Muslims encircled a mosque in southwest China over the weekend in a last-ditch bid to stop what they claimed was an attempt by authorities to destroy its dome and minarets.
In the midst of a massive drive to “sinicize” religion, China’s leader Xi Jinping appears to have altered a Hui mosque in the Yunnan province village of Najiaying.
The goal of the programme is to rid religions of foreign influence and bring them more in line with traditional Chinese culture and the authoritarian leadership of the Communist Party, which is officially atheist.
In recent years, authorities have removed overtly Islamic architecture – destroying domes and tearing down minarets – from more than a thousand Hui mosques across the country, Hui activists say, with the Najiaying mosque being one of the last holdouts.
Now, the “sinicization” campaign is finally coming for Najiaying – a historic home to the Hui and an important hub for Islamic culture in Yunnan, an ethnically diverse province on China’s borders with Southeast Asia.
But the push has faced a fierce backlash from local residents.
Videos posted on social media and geolocated by CNN show residents clashing with lines of police officers in riot gear, who blocked off the entrance to the mosque and pushed back the crowd with shields and batons.
Residents shouted back in anger, with some hurling water bottles and bricks at the police, the videos show.
“This is our last bit of dignity,” a local witness told CNN. “It’s like coming to our house to demolish our home. We can’t allow that to happen.”
The source, who declined to be named over fears for personal safety, said thousands of Hui residents – including men and women, elderly and children – had gathered around the mosque on Saturday, under the close watch of more than 1,000 police officers deployed nearby.
“After arriving at the mosque, we realized that they had driven the cranes into the compound and were ready for the forced demolition,” the source said, adding that scaffolding had already been erected around the mosque.
Tensions escalated around 1 p.m., with worshipers demanding to enter the mosque for noon prayers, the source said. They said they saw police officers hitting the crowd with batons, which prompted some residents to clash with police.
Dozens of protesters were arrested by police at the scene, the source said. Ma Ju, a prominent Hui activist who now lives in the United States and has kept close contact with Najiaying residents, said about 30 people were arrested.
CNN cannot independently verify the claims and has reached out to the local police and government for comment. CNN has also reached out to the Yunnan provincial government and its bureau for religious affairs for comment.
The hours-long standoff on Saturday yielded a temporary win for the protesters, who streamed into the mosque as the police retreated, according to the witness and online videos.
Throughout Saturday night and Sunday, residents took turns to guard the mosque, fearing that authorities would return to demolish its large centerpiece green dome and four minarets, the source said.
But repercussions quickly followed, according to those CNN spoke with.
By Sunday afternoon, word started to spread that authorities were arresting more people, according to the source.
On Sunday evening, law enforcement authorities in Nagu township, where Najiaying is located, issued a stern but vague statement. Without mentioning the protest or the mosque, it said police were investigating an incident that took place on Saturday, which “seriously disrupted social order” and caused “vile social impact.”
The authorities also called on the “organizers and participants” of the incident to turn themselves in before June 6 to receive leniency, and encouraged the public to report on each other.
By Monday, Najiaying was shrouded in a blanket of fear, the source said.
The internet has been cut off in many neighborhoods. Drones buzzed overhead and surveilled the village. Public loudspeakers blasted the authorities’ message on repeat, urging protesters to turn themselves in, according to the source and Ma, the US-based activist.
“It feels like our nightmare is only starting now,” the source told CNN. “Everyone is in fear…We don’t know what’s going to happen next.”
Other local residents appeared fearful to speak out.
One shop owner reached by CNN on the phone said: “You journalists should come here to report on what’s happening to us.” When asked by CNN to explain what happened, he replied he “didn’t know” and hung up.
This is not the first time that Hui Muslims have engaged in a tense standoff with authorities to protect a mosque.
In 2018, thousands of Hui residents in Ningxia, in the country’s northwest, staged a sit-in protest for three days to prevent authorities from demolishing a newly constructed mosque.
The local government held off on the demolition, but later replaced the mosque’s domes and minarets with traditional Chinese-style pagodas.
The architectural overhaul of mosques has come with allegations of shrinking religious freedoms for the Hui, a 11 million-strong ethnic minority that live in scattered pockets throughout China from the northwest to the coastal cities in the east, including an officially designated “autonomous region,” Ningxia.
Believed to be distant descendants of Arab and Persian traders, the Hui have been well assimilated into broader Chinese society dominated by the ethnic Han majority.
Most speak Mandarin, live alongside the Han, and in recent decades had been given more space to practice their faith than other ethnic groups.
But Hui activists say their ethnic group has become the latest target in the Communist Party’s crackdown on Islam, which began in the western region of Xinjiang.
Since at least 2017, the Chinese government has been accused of detaining more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in internment camps in Xinjiang and conducting forceful assimilation to suppress their cultural and religious identity.
A United Nations report last year accused the Chinese government of serious human rights violations against Uyghurs that may amount to “crime against humanity.”
China has repeatedly denied these accusations and insisted that the massive camps are voluntary “vocational training centers.”
Hui activists and rights groups claim authorities have stepped up efforts in recent years to restrict religious practices of Hui Muslims across China, including the shuttering of Islamic schools, Arabic classes and barring children from learning and practicing Islam.
The implementation of the “sinicization” campaign has “had the effect of expunging communities of their connections to Hui culture, religion, and each other so thoroughly that some leaders view the erasure of a meaningful Hui identity within another generation as being a likely possibility,” according to a report submitted to a UN treaty body in January by the Chinese Human Rights Defenders and the Hope Umbrella International Foundation.
Ma, the US-based Hui activist who founded the Hope Umbrella International foundation, said Hui in China are now living in a constant state of fear.
Over two hundred mosques in Yunnan have already lost their domes and minarets, according to Ma, adding to the more than a thousand mosques in the country’s northwest.
CNN is unable to independently verify the number of mosques affected, and has reached out to the Chinese government for comment on the accusations made by Hui activists.
“At first, people thought it was only a question of architectural style…but it soon became apparent that (the government) is not only removing the domes from the mosques, but also removing their religious and social functionality,” Ma said.
Under a raft of restrictions imposed by the government, many Hui are now afraid to go to the mosque, which has long been a center of religious and social life for their communities, Ma said.
The end goal of the party is to implement a policy of “cultural and religious genocide,” just as it did in Xinjiang, he said. The Chinese government has denied accusations of genocide.
For the resident in Najiaying, the government’s plan to change the design of the mosque is only the harbinger of a harsher crackdown to come.
“This is only the first step. What we worry about is after that, (the authorities) will ban our children from going to (religious) classes, bar minors from entering mosques and forbid us from studying the Quran,” they said, referring to the alleged restrictions that have been imposed on Hui communities across China.
“After they trampled on your dignity, they will suppress you step by step, and assimilate the Hui ethnic group completely into the Han, generation by generation. Because we know, this is what they did to Xinjiang,” he said.
Despite the permeating culture of fear, he has vowed to “fight till the end” for the freedom of belief and the dignity of the Hui ethnicity.
“We commoners don’t ask for much. We just want to have our own religious freedom. We just want to live in peace,” he said.
“I want the world to know what we’re going through right now, and what we’re fearing next.”
Based on report from the state-run Bernama news agency, Malaysian police have seized a Chinese-flagged cargo ship amid claims that World War II ships are being salvaged in Malaysia’s exclusive economic zone.
The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency was referenced in the Bernama article, which stated that the ship was detained and boarded when it was discovered that it lacked permission to anchor in Malaysian territorial waters.
Inspecting the ship “led to the discovery of old steel and cannon shells,” the report stated.
It noted that media outlets around the region have recently reported that “a foreign salvage ship was conducting an illegal operation to salvage steel from a British warship that sank” in the area.
The case was being investigated under Malaysia’s Merchant Shipping Ordinance, which covers underwater operations among other activities, according to Bernama.
The area is the site of the wrecks of two British warships, the battleship HMS Prince of Wales and cruiser HMS Repulse, sunk in an attack by Japanese warplanes on December 10, 1941, just two days after Japan attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
The attack by dozens of Japanese aircraft armed with bombs and torpedoes left 842 men dead. The wrecks are classified as war graves under British law.
Reports of the alleged salvaging of the wrecks brought condemnation in Britain.
“We are distressed and concerned at the apparent vandalism for personal profit of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse,” said professor Dominic Tweddle, director general of the National Museum of the Royal Navy, in a statement.
“They are designated war graves. We are upset at the loss of naval heritage and the impact this has on the understanding of our Royal Navy history,”
John Bradford, senior fellow at the S. Rajaratman School of International Studies in Singapore said marine salvage “is an emotional business.”
“To many people, this feels more like robbing the graves of national heroes rather than reclaiming scrap,” he said.
Salvaging of sunken World War II wrecks around the Pacific is not a new problem.
In 2017, Dutch, British and US authorities reported that naval vessels sunk in the World War II Battle of the Java Sea had been salvaged without permission.
All traces of two Dutch cruisers and two British ships had disappeared, according to reports from 2017.
Steel from World War II shipwrecks can have special value because it is was produced before the first nuclear explosions on Earth. Known as “low-background steel,” it is needed for some special scientific instruments because it contains no traces of nuclear fallout.
But Bradford said there may be other reasons behind the alleged looting of the Prince of Wales and the Repulse.
“The fact that intact gun shells were recovered by the Malaysian authorities suggests the salvagers are not just seeking scrap metal but may be looking for trophies with high resale value,” he said.
International law on the salvage of sunken warships is murky, according to a 2017 report from the Peace Palace Library at the Hague in the Netherlands.
“The legal regime appertaining to the wrecks of warships and State-owned ships remained complex, fractured, and in serious need of clarification,” the report said.
Blake Herzinger, a research fellow from the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, said registering nations must be the ones to stop salvaging of wrecks that are war graves.
“Ultimately, the flag state is responsible for ensuring that vessels carrying its flag do not engage in illegal conduct. And if there is such a pattern of behavior, it is down to the flag state to take action,” he said.
HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse, operating out of Singapore, sank after coming under a fierce attack from land-based Japanese warplanes while attempting to confront a Japanese amphibious landing on the Malaysian coast.
Their sinking is considered one of the worst naval disasters in the history of the Royal Navy.
It was also one of the first battles to show that even the most powerful of modern warships – the Prince of Wales was only commissioned less than a year before it sank – were vulnerable without supporting air power.
The Japanese planes attacked the British ships from airstrips around the region, while there was no British air cover for the two surface ships, after an aircraft carrier that was supposed to accompany them in what was called “Force Z” had run aground during its voyage to the Pacific.
Ghanaian Dancehall artiste Shatta Wale gifted his friend $100k cheque as a birthday gift.
Over the weekend, Shatta Wale and some other celebrities came together to celebrate the birthday of a close friend and businessman Prince Richgame with a party.
At a certain time during the party, Shatta Wale wanted to prove that he was indeed a rich man and signed a cheque of $100k as his present to the birthday man.
A video shows the moment Shatta Wale signed the cheque after which he said if his money gets finished he doesn’t care.
According to sources, he passed on over the weekend.
Dr. Joe Abbey until his demise was the Executive Directive of the Center for Policy Analysis, a think tank that focuses on economic research and analysis.
Dr. Abbey contributed immensely to Ghana’s economic issues and debate.
He also once served as a Government Statistician and a Diplomat.
In addition, he did some consultancy work for the Ministry of Finance.
Dr. Abbey was 82 years and would have been 83 in August 2023.
Kuneli, the emerging Ghanaian singer-songwriter and Afro Fusion music sensation, has shared that she unexpectedly received a significant endorsement from the well-known Nigerian music producer and CEO of The Mavins, Don Jazzy.
Speaking in an interview with NY DJ on the latest episode on BTM Afrika, the musician, a graduate of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) revealed how the endorsement came about.
“Don Jazzy’s endorsement actually came as a big surprise. As busy as he could be, I persistently sent him DMs over the past months to give my music a listening ear but never had any response so I wasn’t expecting it at the time it came.
“I was actually somewhere when friends started calling me to check out Don Jazzy’s comment on my Instagram post. It was actually a great feeling and I hope I can make more people proud with my music.” she said.
Currently promoting her new single Better Days, Kuneli is gradually building an enviable catalogue. She has already released a number of singles including Odo Lastik, Wanna Love Me, Chacha, M’akoma (Promise), Understand, Guard Down, Guilty Pleasure, Like I Do, and Run Away.
The Eastern Regional Office of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has educated over 60 individuals from 27 different packaged water companies on safe and effective methods of production and sanitation.
The participants included Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and representatives of the packaged water-producing companies from the Yilo Krobo, Lower Manya, Upper Manya and Asuogyaman District Assemblies.
Ms Anita Owusu-Kuffour, the Acting Eastern Regional Head of the FDA told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that the training was to ensure that packaged water supplied into the market was safe for consumption.
“This is to ensure compliance within the packaged water-producing industries, update and give current knowledge of good manufacturing practices. It’s not just to put the product out there,” she noted.
She said the training conformed to the Public Health Act of 2012, Act 851, which mandated the FDA to regulate the manufacture, importation, distribution and sale of food, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices and household chemical substances.
Therefore, participants, she noted, were taken through quality assurance, some scientific filtration methods such as reverse osmosis system and Ultraviolet Light Sanitizer, hygienic practices and documentation.
Mr. Joseph Yeboah, Head of the Enforcement Unit at the FDA’s Eastern Regional Office, stated that the training was organised due to the non-compliance of packaged water manufacturers in the region with manufacturing practices.
He said to evaluate the success of the training, participants were given brief assessments on the knowledge obtained during the training that was to be implemented during the manufacturing process.
He observed that the participants demonstrated a high level of engagement in the training session by contributing to and asking questions about the various topics covered to dispel any misconceptions and implement the acquired knowledge with comprehension.
Mr. Yeboah added that periodic, unannounced inspections of the various packaged water-producing companies would be conducted to ensure that good manufacturing and hygienic practices were implemented for the protection of citizens.
The Ghana Police Service (GPS) has reportedly rescued a boy kidnapped at Drobo in Jaman South Municipality of the Bono Region.
A post shared on social media by EDHUD, indicated that the victim, a class five pupil, went missing at a demonstration in Drobo, on Saturday, May 27, 2023.
The father of the boy indicated that he had been kidnapped.
The tweet had a video that showed the moment he was recused by the police from what looks like a forest.
The exhausted and starved boy can be seen tied to a tree by his neck, hands and legs.
One of the police officers can also be seen cutting off the knots to free the victim.
The boy nearly fell as he attempted to walk and was carried from the scene by the police officer.
In a video that has popped up on social media, Nana Ama McBrown is seen in a graduation gown and cap flexing her muscles as a doctor.
McBrown was with a group of people who were cheering her up and obviously filming and taking her snaps.
She is seen bragging about her doctorate degree and her certificate.
However, the actress refused to give further details about her doctorate degree if it is an honourary or achieved on merit.
For further information, we run a search on McBrown’s social media pages and discovered that she has posted some people in graduation gowns and caps, celebrating them but she herself is not seen in the photos.
Currently, her fans are already jubilating and shading her haters for her new achievement.
Fingers crossed for Actress Nana Ama McBrown to confirm or deny.
National Ambulance Service has refuted Social Media claims of Ghanaian Government Ambulance being sold in Dubai.
In a statement, the National Ambulance Service described the claims as completely false adding that the vehicle in question is one of the 26 Toyota Hiace Ambulances being procured by the Government, through the Ministry of Health and being funded by the World Bank.
According to the service, the said ambulance is found on the premises of the Company, which is manufacturing the ambulances adding it is therefore not true that the ambulance is there for sale.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FALSE CLAIM OF TOYOTA HIACE AMBULANCE BELONGING TO THE GOVERNMENT OF GHANA ON SALE IN DUBAI 29th May 2023.
It has come to the attention of the National Ambulance Service, a viral video circulating on social media, of an ambulance in Dubai belonging to the Government of Ghana, which is purported to being sold in that country. We wish to state that;
1. The ambulance in question is one of the 26 Toyota Hiace Ambulances being procured by the Government, through the Ministry of Health and being funded by the World Bank.
2. The said ambulance is found on the premises of the Company, which is manufacturing the ambulances.
3. It is therefore not true that the ambulance is there for sale.
4. The manufacturing processes are over and very soon the ambulances will be shipped into Ghana.
5. We therefore entreat the general public to disregard the video in circulation and commentary made by the person who made the video.
When the strict enforcement of the ban on drumming and noise making by the Ga Traditional Council to herald the celebration of the annual Homowo some decades ago was at its peak, there were tussles between the council on one side, and religious organisations and drinking bar operators on the other.
While it is the contention of the traditional council, here refered to as landlords, that their tenants – churches, mosques, bar operators in the metropolis – had to observe the month’s ban, the churches argued that kowtowing to the dictates of the council would mean relinquishing their beliefs on the altar of the ‘gods’ of the Council.
So anytime the ban came into force, there was rancour and insecurity in Accra, particularly, between the young stoutly built men from the Ga Traditional Council, who wanted the status quo to remain and the youth of some churches.
The Ga youth would storm the ‘recalcitrant’ churches, seize their drums and musical instruments and assault anybody who dared to be a hindrance to their cause. There was virtually disorder in the enforcement of this ban.
Some of these youth from the tradition authorities most times abused the situation.
They would go to churches, seize the drums and instruments, send them to a supposed chief’s palace, where churches were to later pick them up at a fee.
With time, a compromise was reached among all stakeholders, perhaps on the strong Christian admonishment that “If it should come from you, make peace with all.”
Release
Just last week, on May 15, 2023, the ban order came into force, and as part of the interventions to broker peace, the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs said clapping in auditorium be allowed during ban on noise-making.
According to a release issued, the churches could use microphones and public address systems in their auditoriums at reduced volumes during the period of the ban on drumming and noise making by the Ga Traditional Council.
A statement signed by the Chief Director of the Ministry, Halima S. Yakubu, and issued in Accra, said clapping of hands at a minimum level was also permissible only in church auditoriums during the period.
It explained that that followed engagements between the ministry and stakeholders over the annual traditional ritual.
Loudspeakers were also banned from being positioned outside the premises of churches, mosques and pubs, while roadside evangelists must cease their activities during the period.
The ban is expected to last for one month. Ever since it came into force, there has been sanity, as excessive noise from microphones and public address systems have now been confined to their “auditorium at reduced volumes”.
Propensity
The propensity for some churches, established within residential areas, to make undesired sound and put their community on edge has been of grave concern to a lot of people.
These churches, which assume wrongly, though, that the higher the volume of the microphone to an undesired level to disturb everyone, the easier it is for the almighty God to listen to their supplications have now had to comply with the ban order.
The dangers inherent in noise making, such as exposing people in such communities and even their congregants to hearing loss, effect on the cardiovascular system as hormones are stressed, among others, are not unknown to these churches and their leadership.
The noise also affects the heartbeat of victims and pregnant women.
Within the few days that the ban has been in place, there has been ‘perfect tranquility’ in areas and homes that these churches have been situated.
Residents can make and receive calls without interference from such noises.
The sick can now have a sound environment to recover rapidly.
Our bane has been that our law enforcers on noise making, such as the metropolitan, municipal and districts assemblies, and the Environmental Protecting Agency, on many occasions, fail to enforce the law ‘’lest they touch the anointed.”
Since there is now an order, which is benefiting not only the Ga people and the Homowo ritual, may I, humbly appeal to the Ga Traditional Council to extend the ban period to three months to enable us to recover and enjoy peace from the noise produced by these churches and their public address systems.
Caterers under the School Feeding Programme have vowed not to cook for the school children until monies owed them are paid.
The caterers insist they will not be moved by empty promises this time.
Kwaku Amedume, the spokesman for the caterers, in a media interview said they have been taken for granted for far too long.
According to him, they have gone through all the necessary paperwork but they have still not been paid.
“That has always been the story we have been hearing for the past two years; we are organising some money, we are going to release some funding, we should bring our names, we should meet at 10 o’clock.
“We have gone through all these processes and promises, and we are still where we are for the past two years. So I don’t think it is enough to just conclude that we are satisfied. Until we have our money in our hands, we don’t trust that this money will be paid to us.”
The caterers declared a national strike on April 27, over government’s failure to pay them their arrears and increase the amount paid per child from 97 pesewas to GH¢3.50.
According to the National Organiser of the School Feeding Association, Kwame Amankwaah, the caterers will only return to the kitchen after the government agrees to increase the amount per child.
Renowned broadcaster, Kwasi Kyei Darkwah (KKD), known for his outspoken nature, has taken a swipe at the government for returning to the IMF despite initially vowing not to return to the fund.
Speaking on Monday, May 29, 2023, the former broadcast journalist expressed his utmost disgust at the government’s shameful return to the Bretton Woods Institution to salvage the economy.
He believes the government has made a mockery of itself by returning to the IMF regardless of rigorous resistance against such claims. What baffled him most was criticisms by this government (when it was in opposition) against the current opposition when the latter decided to seek support from the IMF.
“Right now, our hope is in the IMF. I don’t know what the 38-year-old boy from the IMF is going to tell us what to do, but my point is, who leaves his house at Ridge to go to somebody’s house at Kaneshie and says, ‘Charley, things are not going well in my home, so come and manage my home for me for the next three to five years. Who does that and still says we are brilliant? “ he said.
He made the remarks during a JoyNews interview on the state of affairs of the economy and other matters including Ghana’s IMF bailout.
During the interview, he described the current administration as the worst in the history of the country, accusing it of plunging the country into bankruptcy.
“We are broke,” he said, adding that: “Sometimes when I listen to my brothers in the NPP, they act like a team that goes to get a draw with another team and they say: ‘We have won.’ 0:0. How did you win with 0:0?,” he questioned.
“And even worse, you get Gabby writing things like “The alternative is scary. The alternative? Dude, you are the worst!” he lashed out at the government.
“If anybody can’t say it, this is not about NPP, NDC, CPP or whatever. This is the worst government we have ever had.”
Ghana has received the first tranche of the US $ 3 billion financial support it was seeking from the IMF. The country has so far received $US 600 million.
In order to attain the next tranche, President Akufo-Addo has disclosed that the government is undertaking rigorous expenditure rationalisation and prudent spending to meet conditions set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Speaking at the ongoing Qatar-Africa Economic Forum in Doha, President Akufo-Addo said his government is very much aware of its obligations and will live up to them.
Nigerian musician Davido is currently filled with joy as he has been recognized as one of the deserving recipients of a prestigious Nigerian national honor by the outgoing president, Muhammadu Buhari.
The “I’m unavailable” hitmaker is among the 20 people who bagged the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON).
The Order of the Niger (OON) is Nigeria’s second-highest civilian national honour.
Davido’s name appears as the fifth on the list of OON recipients.
It is awarded to individuals who have significantly contributed to various fields, such as academia, business, arts, and culture.
Recipients of this honour have distinguished themselves through excellence, innovation, and national impact.
A band new Toyato Hace, branded with Ghana Ambulance Service emblems is parked among a fleet of other vehicles to be auction in UAE capital, Dubai.
This is according to video making rounds on social media, sighted by The Independent Ghana.
The Vehicle which looks very new also has the Ghana Ambulance Service emergence number 112 and is purportedly donated by the World Bank.
Though The independent is unable confirm whether the said vehicle truly belongs to the Ghana Ambulance Service, the two men who recorded the video seemed sure of it, and very shocked at the sight.
According to the man, who made the claims in a viral video, he was on a quest to purchase a vehicle in Dubai when he spotted the ambulance among the vehicles on sale.
Bewildered by the incident, he decided to capture the events on his phone.
“I stepped out in search of a car to buy and behold, this is what I found. Here sits one of Ghana’s ambulances, with the Coat of Arms and other national symbols embossed on them. It’s being sold,” the man, concerned about the situation, is heard saying in the video.
The vehicle in question is white in colour and has the colors of the Ghana flag, Coat of Arms embossed on it as well as stickers with the inscription, “National Ambulance Service Ghana; Timely Care Saves Lives” on one side and “Radiology Specialist Ambulance, Ministry of Health; Funded by World Bank,” at another side.
It is believed to be one of the ambulances which should be operating in the country and assisting the Health Service in saving lives, however, there has been no explanation to how it got to Dubai.
The Health Ministry and the Ghana Health Service are yet to comment on the matter.
Curvaceous Actress Sheena Gakpe has debunked claims that she is into “hook up” business.
In an interview with 3fm, she noted ” I heard I do hook up, I don’t do hook up.
Sheena Gakpe also revealed that there are people in the entertainment industry that are involved in that kind of business. She explained “there are people in our industry who tell you, this person wants to kind of meet you and you know that is what they are trying to do”
She also recounted an occasion where she had to fake a tummy upset when she realised that she was going to be a victim of ‘hook up’. She bemoaned the experience saying “You can’t go and sell someone’s daughter without the person’s knowledge”
Ghanaian actress Sheena Gakpe has denied claims of dating Maxwell Mensah, Nana Ama McBrown’s husband.
In an interview on 3FM, she stated she has no relationship with Maxwell Mensah.
Sheena Gakpe revealed after she was asked to speak on any form of controversy about her in the public domain.
She revealed a report surfaced on a blog last year that she was dating Actress Nana Ama McBrown’s husband.
According to her, she has seen Maxwell once in her whole life. She noted she saw him at A-Plus’ birthday but she didn’t speak to him or exchanged pleasantries with him and so she doesn’t know why rumours of them dating popped up.
However, fans are lashing out at her following her interview because they believe it’s an attempt to trend using McBrown. They believe she is making up a story to trend.
‘Is it, not any rumor, she wants to ride on the fame and popularity of McBrown to just trend and gain followers’
In a contradiction of Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta‘s recent statement that Ghana should not hastily approach the capital market after securing a $3 billion credit facility from the IMF, President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has expressed a different perspective during the Qatar-African Economic forum in Doha.
To Economist and Financial Risk Analyst Dr Theo Acheampong, the President and the Finance minister’s contrasting public pronouncements came as a result of “policy incoherence and inconsistencies” that has characterised the government.
He says over the years, “when government officials say something, then there is some contradictory statements from another government official.”
He, however, sided with Ken Ofori-Atta whose stance indicated Ghana needed not to rush to the capital market after securing a deal from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“On this very issue, I think the Finance minister is right and the President was wrong and we just need to be frank about these conversation because many of the market players and the people that I interact, the priority now they’re looking at is, how is Ghana going to implement this IMF programme and where would be the trade offs in terms of labour, cost of living, the utilities that have to go up, for business, what kind of new taxes, if any, should they expect. So their market expectation is for the government to show commitment as to how they are going to implement the IMF programme,” he explained.
Speaking about the sentiments in the market, Dr. Theo Acheampong said it is to “show us what you’ve done so far and show us what you’re going to do in this programme to ensure that; a. Your debt is sustainable or on a sustainable path b. You’ll be able to grow the economy c. You’ll be allowed to allow that the offshoot of that growth would be felt at the micro level where you reduce poverty, you reduce inequality. That’s the sentiment on the market not the idea that you’ll be going back to the market to borrow should conditions improve.”
According to him, such utterances such as the President’s just sends the signal that Ghana hasn’t learnt from the mistakes that took the state into the economic quagmire the country finds itself.
Mikki Osei Berko, a renowned actor from Ghana with years of experience, recently shared his thoughts on the remuneration aspect of the showbiz industry in his country.
Mikki, also known as Dada Boat, told Blakk Rasta in an interview on 3FM that showbiz in Ghana does not pay.
He, however, acknowledged how his role in the ‘Taxi Driver’ series helped him.
“What happened on the set of Taxi Driver for me was the experience aspect. I always look at the positive side of stuff. I could say Taxi Driver for me could say arguably is one of the projects that has made me who I am and you cannot count that in money,” said the veteran actor.
“With regards to financial returns, I think that it was not to write home about and I am saying this clearly because the system hasn’t changed,” he added.
Dada Boat thinks the perception of people also contributes to showbiz not paying in the country.
“You know people consider showbiz as a part-time business, they don’t really understand that it is what put food on your table. They think that if they ask you to MC their event and offer you food and drinks that’s it. People do not regard this as an endeavour that pays so much and it was the difficulty at the time and I think sponsorship contributed to that.”
“For me to say that Taxi Driver was something I’ve never regretted being part of because it added so much to my career. If you count that in money you can’t see anything,” he admitted.
Ghanaian musician Kwabena Kwabena has revealed that early marriage deprived the singer’s precious years.
In an interview with Zionfelix, he expressed the belief that he should have prioritized his burgeoning career during his twenties rather than committing to matrimony at that stage.
In the course of the interview, the ‘Aso’ hitmaker said; “The irony of the whole thing is, I played a role in stealing my whole life away from me at a point.
“The reason why I am saying that is as at 26 and 27, around that time, I felt that what I should have done was to focus on my career and not allow any external force to derail my train,” he said.
Despite what he believes were missed opportunities to enjoy his life at the time, Kwabena Kwabena said he is happy to reclaim such lost moments now.
As claimed by him, he is now older and wiser to understand the importance of seizing opportunities and not taking anything for granted.
“I feel I was a young guy around that time, but by God’s grace, God has given me the chance again to have a second shot of my life.
That’s the reason why I am not taking things for granted because around that time, there were other people who have become casualties or were involved, and so I don’t want to make it look as if I was a great person and somebody was bad.
“I feel that at a point in my life, I should have focused on my career more than any other thing. I shouldn’t have married then,” Kwabena Kwabena said.
Prophet Nicholas Osei, also known as Kumchacha, has categorically stated that if he wins the general elections in 2024, he will cancel the free SHS programme.
According to him, some policies by the government are draining which has plunged the economy into hardship.
In a discussion on UTV’s showbiz night, he listed and explained some policies he intends to roll to build the nation.
“Hopefully should I be President, rent will be paid every month, it is absurd for persons to pay rent for 6 months and 2 years, sickness and death is inevitable so what happens when the unforeseen strikes hence this will be reviewed.
“free education will be canceled, this is because every fund from the government goes into this project which has hindered the progress of other developments, even the enlightened countries like the USA, Canada, and Germany who have it all still struggle with providing free education”
Numerous weight loss “do’s” have probably been mentioned, but what about weight loss “don’ts”? Weight loss don’ts are just as important to focus on as weight loss do’s if you’re serious about losing weight because they can seriously jeopardise your efforts!
Almost 70% of the American population is considered to be overweight or obese. Additionally, 1 out of every 3 American children are overweight or obese.
Sadly, this generation is the first in history that is expected to die younger than their parents.
The thing is, we can change this. We just need to make the appropriate lifestyle changes. “Eat healthy and exercise is the classic advice” but while it’s true, it’s not always that easy. Losing weight is damn hard!
1. Not Having A Big Enough Motivator
Like most goals in life, it’s important to have a “why” that’s bigger than your “why not” if you want to be successful at losing weight. This will help to ensure that your excuses don’t stop you from getting in that early morning gym session or evening run.
Money has been proven to be a simple yet powerful and effective motivator. Think about it – it’s what makes you keep on showing up to work each day even if you’d rather just stay in bed!
2. Skipping breakfast
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
Eating a healthy, nutritious breakfast will help to restore our glucose levels, provide energy for the day, and reduce the risk of type-2 diabetes and heart disease.
In addition to this, a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology reported that people who skip breakfast are more likely to be obese.
However, eating breakfast won’t provide any of these health benefits if it’s full of junky carbs and trans-fats, and loaded with sugar. (Doughnuts, unfortunately, fall under this category.)
3. Weekend bingeing
While it’s usually ok to have the occasional treat, all of your weekday progress can be completely thrown out of the window if you binge over the weekend.
A study in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics found that the typical non-chain restaurant meal contained 1205 calories.
American, Italian and Chinese cuisine fared even worse, with the average meal containing 1495 calories.
The amount of calories you need to consume varies based on age, gender, activity level and weight-related goals. However, it’s generally recommended that the average female consume about 2000 calories to maintain weight and 1500 calories if weight-loss is the goal.
A 1495 calorie meal leaves just 5 calories for the entire day, which is neither healthy, nor realistic.
4. Drinking your calories
In a study by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, it was reported that the energy (i.e.) calorie intake from beverages “represents 21% of of total daily energy intake in the general American population.”
What exactly does this mean?
This means that 21% of the calories that you’re consuming every day are coming not from the food you’re eating, but the drinks you’re consuming.
And a large amount of this is from artificially sweetened beverages like soda, fruit juices, energy drinks, and alcohol.
These types of drinks contain no nutrients and provide next-to-no satiety, meaning that you are left feeling hungry, despite consuming a large amount of calories.
So, what should your beverage of choice be?
Water. If you’re not a fan of the taste of water, try flavoring it with lemon, fresh berries, or cucumber. You can get this infusion water bottle for cheap on Amazon.
5. Not getting enough sleep
Experts recommend for optimal cognitive function, adults should get between 7-9 hours of sleep every night.
But a 2013 Gallup poll found that 40% of Americans get less than 7 hours sleep, with the average amount of shut-eye being just 6.8 hours.
In addition to impaired cognitive function, a lack of sleep can also contribute to weight gain.
A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that when participants were sleep-deprived, they consumed more calories (but expended the same amount) than when they received 9 hours of sleep.
A lack of sleep can also slow digestive function and increase cortisol levels, which can lead to overeating.
Here are some tips for getting a good night’s sleep:
Set a reasonable time to go to bed, and stick to it
Unplug – don’t lay in bed on your iPhone or laptop
Meditate – meditation has proven relaxation benefits and a wonderful way to wind down before bed
Set the room temperature to 60-67 degrees, which is considered optimal for sleeping
Make sure you have a good, supportive mattress and pillow
If you’re unsure of the quality of your sleep, then I recommend investing in a smartwatch with a sleep tracker like this Fitbit one or like this Apple one, which monitor how long and how well you sleep.
6. Going “fat-free”
Fat has long been considered the devil when it comes to weight loss. Walk down any aisle in the grocery store and you’ll see “fat-free” advertised on everything from milk to mayonnaise.
But not all fats are created equal. While you definitely want to be avoiding hydrogenated fats, other fats like monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat are both beneficial to overall health and can contribute to weight loss. Healthy saturated fats such as what’s found in coconut oil is also beneficial for weight loss.
Monounsaturated fats help to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of coronary heart disease while the polyunsaturated fats found in avocado’s contains essential omega-3 fatty acids, and may lower your risk of heart disease and Type-2 diabetes.
And because fat is highly satiating, it keeps you feeling full for longer, making you less likely to snack on empty calories.
7. Too much cardio, not enough weight-training
Regular cardio is important for weight-loss and essential for building a healthy heart, lungs, and cardiovascular system. Cardio also helps to boost your metabolism, which aids in weight loss.
But there can be too much of a good thing. Spending hours and hours sweating it out on the treadmill does not a lean, fat-burning body make.
In fact, overdoing it on the cardio can actually have the opposite effect. Too much cardio can cause your body to start using your lean muscle mass as a source of fuel (NOT a good thing!)
Less lean muscle mass = lower metabolism and less fat burning.
It’s incredibly important to not only maintain the lean muscle mass that you have, but to also increase your lean muscle mass.
This can be done by making sure you don’t overdo it on the cardio and by incorporating weight-training in to your exercise regime.
Regular weight training will help to build lean muscle mass which means that your calorie burning will increase, even when you’re not exercising.
A personal trainer can help you with setting up a weight training routine, but if that’s not in your budget, check out Aaptiv. I love Aaptiv because it’s like having your own personal trainer with you 24/7, at a fraction of the cost. There are so many excellent workouts, so whether you’re into weights, yoga, running, cycling, elliptical etc., then Aaptivwill likely have an awesome routine!
8. Avoiding carbs
There’s a common belief that carbs are the devil when it comes to weight loss. This is simply untrue.
Carbohydrates are not the devil – simple, “junky” carbohydrates are the devil.
Our bodies need carbohydrates to function properly – they’re the bodies main source of fuel. The key is to make sure you don’t overeat carbohydrates and that the carbs you do eat are the right kind, not the junky kind.
There are two types of carbohydrates:
Simple carbohydrates are sugars, and they’re the type you want to avoid.
Simple carbs are low in fiber and rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream which can causes major spikes in blood sugar levels.
Some examples of simple carbohydrates that you should avoid are candy, refined white bread, pasta, and white rice, soda and sugar.
Complex carbohydrates are “good carbs” – they type you want to eat more of.
Unlike simple or “junky” carbs, complex carbohydrates contain fiber and they take longer for the body to break down. Complex carbs provide more sustained energy for the body and don’t cause rapid spikes in blood sugar.
9. Starving yourself
One of the absolute worst things you can do to lose weight is starve yourself.
When you drastically reduce the amount of food you eat, you’re missing out on vital nutrients that your body needs to function optimally.
Females need a minimum of 1200 calories/day and males need 1500 calories/day just to function (that means breathe, pump blood around your body, repair cells, etc.)
Anything below this seriously jeopardizes your health, and long-term, can cause organ failure and even death.
Starving yourself will also put your body into starvation mode, which means that the body stores fat and starts breaking down muscle for fuel. This is the exact opposite of what you want your body to be doing.
And while you may initially lose a couple of pounds, you will immediately gain them back when you start eating again.
In a nutshell, starving yourself is an incredibly bad idea.
Instead, eat a diet consisting of fresh, whole foods, with an abundance of fruits, vegetables, and lean protein – food that fuels your body.
10. Eating hidden sugar
Sugar is one of those nasty guys that is lurking around every corner, using a variety of different aliases –
You’re probably doing a great job at avoiding the obvious sugar-bombs, like cakes, candy bars, pop-tarts, etc. But what you might not realize is that almost every processed, pre-packaged food you buy probably has added sugar in it.
Some common foods that contain high-levels of hidden sugar are:
Soda
Non-fat fruit yoghurt
Condiments like BBQ sauce and ketchup
Salad dressing
Granola bars
Bread
Pasta sauce
Fruit juice
Flavored coffee drinks (the type you buy at Starbucks)
Here are some healthier alternatives to those sugar-bombs:
Water
Greek yoghurt sweetened with fresh berries
Mustard
Olive oil, avocado oil
Fruit (contains natural sugars, but also contains fiber)
Sugar-free 100% whole grain bread
Homemade pasta sauce
Water, flavored with berries, lime, lemon, cucumber or mint
Black coffee or herbal tea
11. Not drinking enough water
Our bodies are composed of 60% water – almost every single cell in the human body requires water to function.
Additionally, water contains exactly zero calories.
By replacing one Starbucks frappuccino with a bottle of water, you’ll save around 480 calories and avoid 70 grams of sugar (which is almost THREE DAYS worth of the recommended daily sugar intake for a female.)
Drinking water flushes toxins from your body, can help to boost your metabolism, increase your energy output (cold water is especially good for this) and help to transport nutrients around your body.
The Supreme Court has ruled against Numo Nmaishie Family’s claim that it owns over 72,000 acres of land in Accra East, in the Greater Accra Region.
A unanimous decision at the apex court of the land saw the attempt by the family to lay claim to large expanse of land, which comprises about 70 townships and villages, crashed.
A report by myjoyonline.com stated that the court was presided over by Justice John Dotse.
It added that the ruling of the Supreme Court restores an earlier court order in 2011 which indicated that “the disputed towns and villages and their adjourning lands are not under the authority of the Numo Nmaishie family.”
By this ruling, the Supreme Court has directed that the name of the Numo Nmaishie Family be deleted from the records of the Lands Commission as the owners of the lands in the dispute.
Communities that fall within this enclave include Madina, Adentan, Oyarifa, Adjankote Hill, East Legon, North Legon, Pantang area, UPSA area, Ashesi University area, Adjirigano and others.
Background as provided by myjoyonline.com
What started as a compensation claim has led to this dispute seeking a determination of whether the Numo Nmaishie family of Teshie are owners of 70 villages and towns and land which they claim covers over 72, 454.09.
This follows the state acquisition of 25.031 acres of land on Adjankote Hill by the government of the National Liberation Council which numerous claims were pursued for compensation.
The State Land Tribunal, set up and chaired by Abban J. declared the chief of Brekuso Nana Adu Mireku III as entitled to compensation against the Numo Nmaishie family of Teshie and the Dowouna family of Osu.
The Nmaishie family then mounted an appeal against the decision in suit No. CA 49/80 as reported in the case of RE: Adjankote Acquisition; KLU Vrs Agyemang III.
The then court of appeal decided that the Numo Nmaishie family and their grantees and licensees owned the lands and villages almost contiguous to the 25.031 acres of land compulsorily acquired by the state at the Adjankote Hill area and as such they were entitled to compensation from the government for the acquisition.
The decision by the Court of Appeal that the Nmaishie family were owners of the land contiguous to the acquisition area therefore firmed that the seventy villages and land covering about 72, 000 acres which were contiguous to the acquisition area also belong to them.
The Plaintiff argued that the judgement of the court of appeal was procured by fraud, principally because the court was misled in relying on a composite plan which listed 70 villages and towns as belonging to the Numo Nmaishie family.
For the plaintiff, most of those villages do not belong to the family yet but they misled the court and appointed a surveyor at the time to prepare a composite plan to include those villages.
Fella Makafui, a talented Ghanaian actress, captivated the hearts of viewers as one of the most adored characters in Ivan Quarshigah’s renowned television series, YOLO. Her portrayal left a lasting impression, solidifying her status as a beloved figure among the show’s fanbase.
Her character in the series as Serwaa coupled with her bad grammar and many other things got a lot of people to fall in love with the award-winning TV series.
Despite being one of the cast of the show,Fella has strangely been missing from the last few seasons of the TV series for reasons no one knows.
In an interview with Sharkboy recently, she revealed why that has been the case.
According to her, it is not as though she has been booted out of the TV series, however, she had to take a break from it because of the manner the script was designed.
Fella added that even though she was out of the TV series, she is finally back and will be seen in the future seasons of the show.
She hilariously put it: ‘I went to eat gari, but now I am back…’
Nigeria‘s newly inaugurated President, Bola Tinubu, has wasted no time embracing his new role with boundless enthusiasm, captivating the nation and online audiences alike.
As the inauguration ceremony unfolded, with many Nigerians tuning in through live streaming platforms and keeping track of updates on social media, eagle-eyed netizens quickly noticed a significant change in Tinubu’s Twitter and Facebook bios.
Mere minutes after being officially sworn in as President, his Twitter profile underwent a swift transformation, shedding the title of “President-elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria” and proudly donning the prestigious status of “President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.” The alteration was met with both awe and anticipation, symbolizing the dawn of a new era under his leadership.
Bola Ahmed Tinubu, widely known as Asiwaju, secured his place as President after emerging victorious in the Nigerian elections held in March earlier this year. Brimming with eagerness, he eagerly embraces the weighty responsibilities that accompany his new position, prepared to steer the nation towards a brighter future.
In the lead-up to his inauguration, Tinubu took to Twitter to express his heartfelt gratitude to all those who have supported him thus far. In a tweet that resonated with his supporters, he extended his appreciation to those who joined both physically and virtually in the exhilarating RENEWED HOPE CONCERT.
With sincere admiration, he acknowledged their unwavering support and dedication, highlighting the awe-inspiring rendition of the National Anthem by @Praiz8 as the standout moment of the night. The performance filled hearts with renewed hope, serving as a powerful reminder of the unity that binds Nigerians together.
Tinubu’s message carried a resounding call for the nation to embrace this moment of unity, allowing it to ignite their collective determination and propel them towards a Nigeria adorned with a brighter future. Together, he believes they will forge a nation synonymous with freedom, peace, and unity.
As the nation embarks on this new chapter under President Tinubu’s leadership, the anticipation and optimism in the air are palpable. With a vibrant spirit and a renewed sense of hope, Nigerians eagerly look forward to the transformative journey ahead, united in their pursuit of a stronger, more prosperous Nigeria.
Afro Nation Miami was the setting for a truly remarkable occasion when two mighty forces in African music, Black Sherif and Burna Boy, joined forces on the stage to deliver a truly unforgettable performance of their collaborative masterpiece, the ‘Second Sermon’ remix. This electrifying moment left an indelible mark on the hearts and minds of all those fortunate enough to witness it.
The event drew music enthusiasts from all corners of the globe, treating them to an electrifying showcase of talent and exuberance.
Black Sherif captured hearts with his original track ‘Second Sermon,’ which swiftly became a youth anthem.
By teaming up with Nigerian superstar Burna Boy for the remix, the song soared to new heights, generating a buzz that reverberated far beyond the African continent.
As the pulsating rhythm of ‘Second Sermon’ permeated the air, the crowd erupted in euphoria.
Black Sherif’s commanding presence on stage, combined with Burna Boy’s dynamic energy, engendered a magnetic atmosphere that had everyone on their feet.
These artists effortlessly seized the stage, radiating confidence and a shared dedication to their craft.
This performance served as a testament to the burgeoning influence of African music on the global stage. It underscored the potency of collaboration and the ability of artists to transcend boundaries, forging connections with audiences worldwide.
