Two new suspects have been arrested in connection with the 2019 murder of Josephine Asante Tandoh, a manager of Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA).
The Daily Guide and The Chronicle newspapers are both reporting that police have recently nabbed two suspects linked to the murder.
The suspects, Richard Kwabena Kwakye, alias Kwabena Boateng, 37-year-old former GPHA driver, and Dominic Owusu, a 51-year-old taxi driver, were apprehended after fleeing to Burkina Faso following the incident on January 13, 2019, the Daily Guide report said.
This new development in the matter which has traveled over 3 years, is said to have a link with a top hierarchy of the company as the prime suspect purportedly mentioned, the report added.
Two people had previously been standing trial over the incident.
They were Christian Agyei, 22, the deceased’s house boy and Amos Apraku, driver who were facing committal proceedings till date.
When the case was called on Monday, the Prosecution informed the Tema District Court that they were withdrawing the charges leveled against the previous accused persons based on advice from the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, the Daily Guide report added.
In the case of the two new suspects, the local newspapers are reporting that they were arraigned and remanded by a Tema District Court to assist with further investigations as police press on to ascertain the rationale behind the heinous crime.
They have been charged with conspiracy to commit murder contrary to section 23(1) and 40 of the criminal offences act 1960 (Act 29) and murder contrary to section 46 of the criminal offences act 1960 (Act 29).
Police have yet to confirm the latest development.
The night before the UK crowned its new monarch, three young people were killed in a wave of knife attacks that spread over East London.
Despite “significant events” taking place in the nation’s capital over the weekend, the Metropolitan Police said they are thoroughly examining the various instances.
The attacks happened on Friday over a shorter time frame than eight hours.
Jordan, an 18-year-old nephew of Michel A. Pongo, a municipal politician for Barking and Dagenham, has been identified as one of the fatalities.
Jordan is thought to have died after a machete fight broke out near Dagenham Heathway tube station shortly before midnight.
An arrest has reportedly been made in connection with the attack.
It is believed a second man was taken to hospital with a stab injury, but is not in a life-threatening condition.
Jordan’s uncle, councillor Michel A. Pongo, said his mother is ‘inconsolable’ (Picture: Twitter/m_a_pongo)
Mr Pongo said: ‘It was with great sadness that this afternoon I learned that my nephew, Jordan, 18, had been stabbed to death in Dagenham last night.
‘His mother is inconsolable.’
The Barking and Dagenham councillor added: ‘If you are a gang member, this message is for you.
‘Drop your knife and quit the gangster life before it is too late.’
The rash of violent altercations began at around 4pm, when a 16-year-old pupil at Kelmscott School was stabbed to death in Walthamstow.
Coronation of King Charles III latest
A local said the victim’s attackers were waiting for him, and he died at the scene.
Kelmscott headteacher Sam Jones said the attack marked the ‘darkest of days’ for pupils and teachers at the school.
He said: ‘A Kelmscott student was tragically killed in a senseless knife attack.
‘Kelmscott is a large and tight-knit family and this loss will be felt for a long time to come.
He added: ‘Hold those that you love close this evening.
‘I know we will come together as a community and support one another through this.’
Detective Chief Inspector Mark Rogers, who is leading that investigation, said the brutal attack had taken place in full view of bystanders and young people.
He added: ‘My thoughts are with them as they come to terms with seeing such an act of violence unfold and I would ask anyone with footage or images to do the right thing and send them into my team of detectives.’
Meanwhile, three people have been arrested on suspicion of murder following the third fatal stabbing.
It took place around 11pm at a residential property on Mare Street in Hackney.
After a car slammed into a bus stop in front of a homeless shelter in Texas, seven migrants perished.
According to Victor Maldonado, the Bishop Enrique San Pedro Ozanam Center’s director, a group of people can be seen sitting on a nearby curb at around 8.30am local time on Sunday on the shelter’s surveillance camera.
“This SUV, a Range Rover, just ran the light that was about 100 feet away and just went through the people who were sitting there in the bus stop,” he explained.
The majority of the victims, Mr. Maldonado continued, were guys from Venezuela.
He said that the car had flipped over after mounting the pavement and continued for another 200ft before coming to a stop.
The New York Times quoted Judge Eddie Trevino Jr of Cameron County, who said it was currently unclear whether the driver had intentionally hit the group, or whether they had simply lost control of the vehicle.
He added the driver, along with 11 others, was taken to hospital.
Brownsville Police Department say the driver was detained at the scene by witnesses, and tested for intoxication.
The condition of those receiving care is not presently known.
Judge Trevino described the scene as ‘very graphic’.
He said the injuries looked ‘very serious’ and added: ‘It’s a tragedy either way, but if it was intentional, it’s worse.’
Police have confirmed investigators are on the scene of a major incident and that roads in the area have been cordoned off.
The Texas border city is a key transit point for migrants crossing the US-Mexico border, with the Ozanam centre its only overnight shelter, managing the release of thousands of migrants from federal custody.
Director Mr Maldonado said the centre had not received any threats prior to the incident, but that intimidating statements had been made in the hours since.
He said: ‘I’ve had a couple of people come by the gate and tell the security guard that the reason this happened was because of us.’
Under the brisk spring sun, a tanker train carries cargo along the track. A female voice can be heard saying, “Wow,” while pointing her camera phone at the convoy. This is the second train; there was one similar to it earlier.
An outdated Soviet tank is seen being transported in the footage, which was apparently shot in late March. These items are different from the older weapons that Moscow has been known to retrieve from storage to aid in the conduct of the conflict in Ukraine.
The tanks are T-55s, a design that was initially ordered by the Red Army of the Soviet Union in 1948, just after World War II came to a close.
You can find them at museums because they are so old.
“This was the first main battle tank used by the Soviet Union in the Cold War era,” said historian John Delaney, a senior curator at the Imperial War Museum (IWM) in Duxford, Cambridge, as he shows one to CNN.
“Up until that point, you’d had three very distinctive types of tanks, light, medium and heavy, which had different roles on the battlefield,” Delaney said. “From the mid-50s onwards, there was this concept that tried to come up with a tank that could do a bit of everything and that became known as the main battle tank.”
For the Red Army, that was the T-55 and its many variants, which later became the most widely produced tank in the world, with more than 100,000 units built. Cheap, reliable, easy to use and easy to maintain, it was a military mainstay from Egypt to China to Sudan, where they are still in use.
In Eastern Europe, they were used to quash uprisings in the former Warsaw Pact countries, rolling through the streets of Hungary in 1956, and then Prague, capital of what was then Czechoslovakia, in 1968.
But in following decades, when deployed against Western-built tanks – in some Arab-Israeli conflicts, and then in the Gulf War – they were no match.
“In the first Gulf War, in 1991 for example, the American and British tanks were knocking out Iraqi T-55s from 23 kilometers,” Delaney said.
The version inside the IWM’s Land Warfare hall was built in the 1960s and belonged to the East German army. It was snapped up by the museum after German reunification, with Berlin favoring NATO-standard versions, such as the Leopard 1 and then Leopard 2 — which it has recently sent to Ukraine — and side-lining outdated Soviet equipment.
By the time Russia began decommissioning its own T-55s in the 1980s, there were still upwards of 28,000 of them, Delaney said, adding that they were mothballed rather than scrapped.
“The Soviets never threw anything away,” he explained. “There’s probably a significant number of them sitting in sheds waiting to be reconfigured.”
Russia seems willing to do exactly that.
Satellite imagery indicates Russia has been taking dozens of tanks out of storage at a base in Arsenyev, in Russia’s far East. Publicly available photos show one of the tanks being stored at the base is the T-55.
“They’ll have been sitting there for a decade or more,” Delaney says. “They’ll need a considerable amount of work to get them back into good running order.”
After the footage of a trainload of tanks surfaced on social media in late March, the Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT), a team group of volunteers using open source intelligence to investigate conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, was the first to report these that T-54/55s were being brought out of storage at Arsenyev.
Western officials then told CNN in April they had seen the elderly tank pop up close to the frontline.
Russia hasn’t confirmed it is deploying the T-55 to the front line and the Ministry of Defense in Moscow did not respond to CNN’s request for comment. But, in recent weeks, well-connected pro-Kremlin bloggers have shared photographs showing these tanks, reportedly in Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine.
The Netherlands-based open-source intelligence website Oryx says it has visual evidence Russia has lost more than 1,900 tanks since the beginning of the invasion, nearly two-thirds of an initial fleet of around 3,000. Beyond quantity, a big issue is the speed at which Russian armor is being taken down.
“Overall Russia has lost a lot of equipment, it’s hard to build new equipment,” said Robert Lee, a former US Marine and senior fellow at the US-based Foreign Policy Research Institute.
“They are producing some new tanks — they are still producing T-90s — but, at the scale (required), they need more equipment than they can produce so they’re relying on older and older tanks to compensate,” Lee added.
Trevor Taylor, director of the Defence, Industries and Society Programme at the Royal United Services Institute, says Western sanctions are also slowing down Russia’s weapons production.
“We’ve got multiple pieces of evidence that Russian industry, which had been given access to Western technology in the 90s, is really suffering from the restrictions,” Taylor said. “We’re hearing about them taking chips out of washing machines. And when you’re doing that, then you’re really obviously in quite a bit of difficulty.”
Lee has been following the Russian invasion of Ukraine from the start, using open-source technology to gather information on the fighting in Ukraine. He has since visited the frontlines in Eastern Ukraine and, as Russia goes on the defensive, tank-on-tank battles have so far been rare and he believes the T-55s’ usage will be limited in scope.
“Some of those systems are probably going to be used in a rear area initially,” he said. “So, not necessarily tanks going forward, but more kind of firing into a long distance.”
If that is to be their purpose, Delaney believes the T-55 may still prove useful.
“One of the things you can obviously use this [tank] for if you’re trying to avoid a tank versus tank engagement is to dig them in, in defensive positions, sit the tank in the pit so you can only see the turret and then that can be used to defend a front line against the counterattack,” he said. “If you’ve been the aggressor in a war and you’re suddenly about to be on the defensive, this would be effective for static defensive positions.”
As Russian forces prepare to take the brunt of a widely anticipated, NATO-equipped Ukrainian offensive, they’re having to rely on a conscript army, less prepared than that of their opponent.
And for under-trained soldiers, the T-55 provides something modern tanks don’t: ease of use.
“If you’ve got a lot of conscripts coming into your army, which you have at the moment with the Russian forces, it’s going to be easier, quicker to train people to use these than it is to use a more modern model of battle tank,” Delaney said.
“It’s really easy to maintain and with a conscript army, that’s what you’re looking for, you’re looking for the ability to keep these things operational.”
Ukraine, in fact, also has a version of the T-55 in its arsenal – 28 highly-modernized M-55s supplied by Slovenia.
As Ukraine gears up for its expected spring counteroffensive, Russia has dug in. Satellite imagery has revealed the extensive defensive lines built by Moscow’s forces across the regions they continue to occupy.
Lee believes a successful counteroffensive will come down to Ukrainian intelligence finding the perfect location to push through.
“It’s not impossible but a lot of it comes down to Ukraine finding weak points in a line and trying to narrowly penetrate,” he said.
And that’s where modern, more advanced NATO equipment, with better armor, longer ranges and more maneuverability, could come into its own, especially when facing much older Soviet hardware.
“I think faced with Western weapons, the Russians must expect very heavy casualties if they expect to move forward using the T-55 system,” Taylor said. “It’s a move of desperation to be using weapons of that vintage.”
And though tank battles have been rare, Ukraine has an advantage if they do occur.
“If you’ve got a big open country and you’re fighting a big, armored tank engagement over vast expanses of land, then this is at a very distinct disadvantage,” Delaney said of the Russians’ T-55s.
“(Against a Leopard or a Challenger), if it’s a one-on-one tank engagement, this will lose every time.”
Fire officials said that as search and rescue efforts entered their second day, at least 22 persons, including women and children, had died after a boat capsized in the southern Indian state of Kerala on Sunday.
Around 7:30 p.m. local time, the boat carrying tourists sank close to Malappuram’s Tuvalthiram beach, the local fire service informed CNN. Officials don’t know exactly how many passengers were on board, but they guess there were about 35, it continued.
Five persons swam ashore while 10 were taken to the hospital, according to V.R. Premkumar, a senior official from the Malappuram district, where the event occurred, who was speaking to reporters on Monday.
The Indian Navy has joined search and rescue operations, regional officials said Monday.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased, announcing compensation from the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF).
“Pained by the loss of lives due to the boat mishap in Malappuram, Kerala,” a tweet from Modi’s office said Sunday. “Condolences to the bereaved families. An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh ($2,446 USD) from PMNRF would be provided to the next of kin of each deceased.”
Kerala’s chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan is expected to visit the accident site on Monday.
On Sunday, Vijayan tweeted his condolences, saying he was “deeply saddened by the tragic loss of lives.”
At the time of the disaster India was celebrating a long weekend with Buddha Purnima (Buddha’s birthday) falling on May 5 this year.
Kerala, known for its lush forests, beaches and backwaters, is a popular tourist destination for many Indians and foreigners alike.
One of the state’s top attractions are its traditional wooden houseboats which ply the brackish lagoons and canals that crisscross much of the tropical coastline.
For the year, Martin Odegaard scored his 15th goal.
Arsenal defeated Newcastle United in a nail-biting match at St. James’ Park, cutting Manchester City‘s lead over them in the Premier League standings to one point.
The team led by Mikel Arteta, who has played one more game than the champions, responded admirably to the pressure created by Manchester City’s victory against Leeds United to win in an exciting game on Tyneside.
Newcastle got off to a fast start in an effort to boost their chances of qualifying for the Champions League next season, with Jacob Murphy hitting the post and having a penalty call reversed by video assistant refereeing.
Arsenal, however, showed their strength and it was inspirational captain Martin Odegaard who followed up his double against Chelsea in midweek by drilling his 15th Premier League goal of the season past Newcastle keeper Nick Pope from 25 yards after 14 minutes.
What followed was a magnificent game full of opportunities in a frenzied atmosphere, Pope saving crucially from Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka and Odegaard before half-time. Martinelli also struck the bar after the break.
Arsenal keeper Aaron Ramsdale also produced vital stops from Joe Willock and Fabian Schar, with Alexander Isak heading against the post, before The Gunners broke clear to wrap up the three points – Schar turning Martinelli’s cross into his own net in the 71st minute.
More to follow.
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Referee:Chris KavanaghAttendance:50,267Match StatsHome TeamNewcastleAway TeamArsenalPossessionHome54%Away46%ShotsHome12Away10Shots on TargetHome5Away6CornersHome9Away4FoulsHome16Away12Live Text Post update
Match ends, Newcastle United 0, Arsenal 2.
90’+7’Full Time
Second Half ends, Newcastle United 0, Arsenal 2.
90’+6’Post update
Foul by Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United).
90’+6’Post update
Thomas Partey (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
90’+6’Booking
Fabian Schär (Newcastle United) is shown the yellow card.
90’+6’Booking
Eddie Nketiah (Arsenal) is shown the yellow card.
90’+5’Post update
Fabian Schär (Newcastle United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
90’+5’Post update
Eddie Nketiah (Arsenal).
90’+4’Post update
Corner, Newcastle United. Conceded by Ben White.
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Corner, Newcastle United. Conceded by Reiss Nelson.
90’+2’Post update
Corner, Newcastle United. Conceded by Aaron Ramsdale.
90’+2’Post update
Attempt saved. Allan Saint-Maximin (Newcastle United) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Matt Targett.
90’Post update
Attempt missed. Fabian Schär (Newcastle United) left footed shot from outside the box is too high. Assisted by Elliot Anderson following a corner.
89’Post update
Corner, Newcastle United. Conceded by Reiss Nelson.
87’Post update
Fabian Schär (Newcastle United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
87’Post update
Foul by Eddie Nketiah (Arsenal).
87’Substitution
Substitution, Arsenal. Reiss Nelson replaces Bukayo Saka.
87’Substitution
Substitution, Arsenal. Eddie Nketiah replaces Gabriel Jesus.
85’Post update
Foul by Miguel Almirón (Newcastle United).
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Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Following his farewell game in charge of Manchester United versus West Brom at the Hawthorns, Sir Alex Ferguson thanks the traveling supporters.
Ten years have passed since Manchester United officially announced Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement on Monday, May 8, 2023.
Despite the incredible measures United took to keep it a secret, the story surfaced in the media the night before the official announcement.
It may be claimed that ten years later, the club hasn’t really recovered from Ferguson’s departure.
The Scot remains the most decorated manager in British football.
He won 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups, four League Cups, two Champions Leagues, a European Cup Winners’ Cup, a European Super Cup, an Intercontinental Cup and a Fifa Club World Cup during his time at Manchester United.
Add to that the three Scottish titles, four Scottish Cups, Scottish League Cup, European Cup Winners’ Cup and European Super Cup he won as manager of Aberdeen.
Now 81, in his autobiography ‘Alex Ferguson’, he detailed why he decided to quit after nearly 27 years in one of the game’s toughest and most high-profile jobs.
‘”I’m going to retire,” he told wife Cathy, around Christmas 2012.
‘”Why are you going to do that,” she replied.
“Cathy, who had lost her sister Bridget in the October and was struggling to come to terms with that bereavement, soon agreed it was the right course. Contractually, I was obliged to tell the club by 31 March if I was going to stand down that summer,” wrote Ferguson.
So set in motion the wheels for Ferguson’s departure. It was also the beginning of an attempt to keep one of the biggest stories of the Premier League era under wraps at perhaps its most-scrutinised club.
BBC Sport has spoken to a number of sources around United at that time for an insight into the process that ended with an amazing 5-5 draw in Ferguson’s last game as a manager at West Brom on 19 May.
The Real Madrid clue
Ferguson told United chief executive David Gill of his plans early in 2013.
Gill had initially called their meeting to tell Ferguson of his own departure.
Having worked closely with Ferguson for more than a decade, Gill wanted the manager to be among the first to know he intended to stand down the following summer, hoping a lack of club ties would improve his chances of taking a seat on Uefa’s powerful executive committee.
However, Gill was surprised to hear Ferguson reveal that the current season would also be his last at Old Trafford.
The news stayed secret for months.
Long after the 31 March deadline passed, only a select few, including United’s owners, the Glazer family, knew of Ferguson’s impending exit.
However, looking back, there was a giant clue.
On 5 March, United were knocked out of the Champions League in controversial fashion by Real Madrid. They had been ahead in the tie when United winger Nani was sent off. On the touchline, Ferguson was furious.
When the teams returned to the dressing room, Gill went to speak to Mike Phelan, Ferguson’s assistant.
Phelan had been Ferguson’s regular stand-in for post-match interviews with the BBC during the manager’s seven-year boycott of the broadcaster over a disputed documentary about his son Jason.
In addition, the only time the United manager conducted the separate post-match media conferences was after European games when it was a contractual requirement.
Despite the magnitude of the game and the unprecedented nature of the request in a European context, Gill told Phelan that he would have to take the place of an upset and angry Ferguson in front of the media. Ferguson said the same.
The feeling was Ferguson might say something he would regret.
Phelan told the media Ferguson was “distraught” and “in no fit state” to talk to them.
March 2013: Sir Alex Ferguson is “distraught” after Real loss, says his assistant Mike Phelan
What Ferguson and Gill knew, but neither Phelan nor anyone in the media were aware of, was that the loss signalled the end of the manager’s final chance to lift the trophy he coveted the most once more.
His combination of rage and incredulity at the performance of Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir was heightened by the knowledge there could be no chance of redemption. In Champions League terms, it was the end.
Putting a plan in place
It wasn’t until early April that the circle of trust was widened.
Even then, it extended to no-one other than those who, for operational reasons, had to know about Ferguson’s departure and, crucially, could be trusted.
A couple of weeks later, on 22 April, United secured the title when Robin van Persie scored a hat-trick in a 3-0 win against Aston Villa.
Van Persie had been recruited from Arsenal the previous summer, having received personal assurances from Ferguson that he had no plans to stand down.
But the Scot had changed his mind and that title success paved the way for a plan to be put in place.
It was not a given at that time United would arrange an open-top bus parade to celebrate winning the Premier League.
They famously didn’t have one after winning the Premier League and Champions League in 2008, nor the following season when they won the Premier League title and reached the Champions League final.
However, on the basis Manchester City had celebrated their own success 12 months earlier with a parade, nothing seemed too unusual in United saying they wanted one as well.
Those at the club with responsibility for marking key moments were told to push the boat out. It was, after all, they were told, a milestone 20th championship. Behind that push lay the knowledge it would also be marking Ferguson’s last.
Still, hardly anyone knew the reality. The announcement of Ferguson’s departure was set for the morning of Wednesday, 8 May.
On the Tuesday morning, a meeting was called for various staff members.
They were told to prepare for a big announcement, as big as it was possible to be, for the following morning. The tone of the conversation was to steer people towards believing it was transfer or sponsorship related.
But, at the end of the meeting, a lone voice stated firmly “the king is dead, long live the king”. Those present who were aware of Ferguson’s exit were stunned.
It hadn’t been spelt out but there could be no greater steer as to what was about to unfold.
As the meeting broke up, so the rumours spread, initially across United’s Carrington training ground, then out, to the annual golf day organised by former players at the exclusive Dunham Forest course in Cheshire.
Rumours began to spread among the Manchester United squad as they attended a charity golf day on the day before Ferguson confirmed his departure
As speculation swirled, staff in the know realised their secret was getting away from them.
Senior figures on the coaching staff received text messages informing them of the golf day gossip.
Key website workers were told to report to Old Trafford for 06:00 BST the following morning. Some, who got on well with the media, were bombarded with calls and eventually opted to switch their phones off.
The announcement
The stories of Ferguson’s impending departure appeared online later that evening. The Telegraph was first, but were followed almost immediately by the remainder of Fleet Street.
By the following morning, the reports were being carried by radio and TV outlets.
Ferguson was not happy. He wanted the information to come from him.
As the staff he worked closest with arrived for work, he asked to see them. He apologised for the manner in which the information had come out, but confirmed he was standing down. The meetings were brief, no longer than 10 minutes.
Preparations then continued for the final two games – against Swansea and West Brom – as though nothing had happened, even though almost all were blindsided.
In the preceding months, Ferguson had been part of numerous meetings to discuss that summer’s pre-season trip to Australia and the following campaign. He was in good health. Nothing hinted at the massive decision he had made.
Then Ferguson went to see his players. At the same time, the official announcement was being prepared for release.
The response of the players was typical of a group of younger men being addressed by an older one. There were a myriad of jokes about the lack of dressing-room dressing-downs in the future, of their relief Ferguson was finally going and predictions he would change his mind anyway and be back next season.
At Old Trafford the mood was more serious and more tense. The number of staff arriving early alerted security staff to a something significant in the offing. It merely reinforced what they were reading and hearing in the media.
The day Sir Alex resigned
Those responsible for publishing the information were taken to Box 30, or the ‘War Room’ as it is known internally, on the first tier of the East Stand. It is the most private hospitality box at the stadium. Most recently it was seen in promotional video Ferguson filmed with Wrexham co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney to publicise the clubs’ pre-season meeting in San Diego this July.
The actual detail of the press release was only finalised 10 minutes before it was due to go live.
The statement itself, containing lengthy quotes from Ferguson, Gill and co-chairmen Joel and Avram Glazer, was checked and re-checked to make sure it went out without error. All involved understood the scale of what would happen when the send button was pressed.
Sure enough, for a while, the United website couldn’t cope as the number of visitors brought it to a standstill.
Back in the canteen at Carrington, Ferguson, accompanied by son Jason, spoke to remaining staff. It was an emotional morning. He had to steady himself on a couple of occasions to get through. Little wonder, once his various addresses had been made, he felt the need to return home to Wilmslow to clear his head.
The final games
Four days later, Ferguson’s final programme notes were published. Unlike some managers, who don’t write or even read them, he always spent time thinking about the message he wanted to deliver.
“It is the right time,” he said.
“It was important to me to leave the organisation in the best possible shape and I believe I have done so.”
He paid tribute to his wife and family, his players and staff, club legend and friend Sir Bobby Charlton, Gill and the Glazer family.
He finished with this thank-you to the fans:
“It has been an honour and enormous privilege to have had the opportunity to lead your club and I have treasured my time as manager of Manchester United.”
Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’ and Nat King Cole’s ‘Unforgettable’ were played before kick-off.
Rio Ferdinand didn’t quite score the winner in ‘Fergie-time’ but the 87th minute was late enough to be a fitting end to Ferguson’s last game at Old Trafford.
He emerged, in the pouring rain, to take the acclaim of a packed stadium.
Merchandise sellers around Old Trafford worked fast to produce commemorative t-shirts ahead of Ferguson’s final home game against Swansea
Typically, he took the microphone and declared he had “no script in his mind, I am just going to ramble on” before finding exactly the right words, across four minutes, including “you have been the most fantastic experience of my life” and “your job now is to stand by our new manager”. His grandchildren then accompanied him on a final lap of the stadium.
One week later, at West Brom, it really was the end.
The United players presented Ferguson with a 1941 Rolex watch, marking the year of his birth. They also gave him a book of photographs depicting his time at United. It included shots of his family, who were with him on that final momentous day at the Hawthorns.
He had a meal with his coaching staff on the night before the game, although given the level of uncertainty some of them were experiencing, the mood was reflective rather than celebratory.
Ferguson was said to be relaxed in the dressing room beforehand, but his behaviour was reasonably normal for a matchday.
A trade union shop steward in Glasgow’s shipyards before he moved into football, Ferguson’s final team talk concentrated on working-class values. He urged his players to show their personalities, play the Manchester United way and play to win.
He had a joke with fourth official Chris Foy when he made his way through the guard of honour formed by players of both sides. As usual, he sat between Phelan and first-team coach Rene Meulensteen on the bench.
There was the familiar sight of him chewing gum in frustration as Romelu Lukaku completed a hat-trick and West Brom fought back from 5-2 down to claim a draw. However, those close by noted the usual anger was missing.
At the final whistle, Ryan Giggs pushed Ferguson in front of the players to acknowledge the visiting fans. Paul Scholes was supposed to be with him as he prepared for his – second – retirement but, typically, the then media-shy midfielder was nowhere to be seen.
May 2013: Ferguson salutes fans one last time
Back in the dressing room, Giggs reflected on the manner of the ridiculous result and, with the then-Everton manager already extensively linked as Ferguson’s successor, joked: “David Moyes has just resigned.”
Ferguson’s coaching team went for the usual post-match chat with West Brom boss and fellow Scot Steve Clarke, who in his programme notes for the game had said: “The scale and eloquence of the tributes that have come his way speak volumes for the scale of his contribution to the game.”
West Brom had taken the unprecedented step of including an astonishing 40-page tribute to Ferguson in their match programme. Later they sent on the official teamsheets, all signed.
The end of an era
Looking back, United were in the process of making a number of mistakes.
That night, half a dozen key staff met for a drink on the outskirts of Manchester to discuss what had happened and where United went from there. There were no big meetings planned to outline the future.
Ferguson, understandably, decided to step away completely to ensure his presence didn’t restrict Moyes as he took over the reins.
Incredibly, United did not buy Moyes out of the remainder of his Everton contract. It was 1 July – a month and a half after Ferguson’s final game – before he could begin work properly.
Moyes faced the media for the first time, alongside Nemanja Vidic in a news conference to promote the club’s pre-season tour a few days later. But he was already playing catch-up and never recovered the ground.
Within 12 months, in addition to Ferguson, Gill and Scholes, Phelan, Meulensteen, goalkeeping coach Eric Steele, Ferdinand, Vidic and full-back Patrice Evra had all left the club. Giggs retired. Within two years, respected youth team coach Paul McGuiness and academy director Brian McClair had gone as well.
It really was the end of an era. Nothing at Manchester United would ever be the same again.
Ferguson’s successor David Moyes was sacked 10 months into a six-year contract at Old Trafford
When David de Gea transferred to Manchester United from Atletico Madrid in 2011, he was 20 years old.
Although David de Gea has remained a fixture in the Manchester United goal for more than ten years, is his future at Old Trafford now in doubt?
The Spaniard committed a terrible error on Sunday, allowing Said Benrahma to score the game-winning goal for West Ham and jeopardizing Manchester United‘s chances of finishing in the top four of the Premier League.
The 32-year-old has now made four errors leading to a goal in all competitions this season, the joint most of any Premier League player, along with Hugo Lloris.
In February De Gea said contract talks at Old Trafford would “end in a good way” and he was “enjoying it” – but for many fans and pundits this may be one mistake too many.
“If he’s in contract negotiations, making mistakes like that is never going to help,” former Liverpool, Tottenham and Stoke striker Peter Crouch told BT Sport.
“He’s been a top-class goalkeeper over the years, but at the moment it feels like he’s making big errors in big, big games.
“David de Gea has had a shocker, we can’t dress it up. You can’t justify it at all, it’s a terrible mistake.”
Former Newcastle and Tottenham midfielder Jermaine Jenas was equally critical, telling BT Sport: “That’s beyond shocking. His team is in full control of this game and to let one in like that. He’ll know himself.”
Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand added: “It’s a bad mistake. He will take full responsibility for that.
“His left foot does slip slightly but that’s no excuse, he’s got full contact on the ball. It’s not like he is stretching and getting fingertips on it.”
David de Gea let Said Benrahma’s shot squirm free of his grasp’Everybody has to take responsibility’
There is no doubting De Gea’s pedigree. He has made more than 500 United appearances since arriving from Atletico Madrid in 2011, winning the club’s player of the year award four times and lifting the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup and Europa League trophies.
Unsurprisingly manager Erik ten Hag leapt to the player’s defence, pointing out that he is in contention for the Premier League Golden Glove after keeping 15 clean sheets so far this season – two more than anybody else.
“Mistakes are part of football and in this team you have to deal with it and bounce back because it is a team sport,” said the Dutchman.
“Over the season he is the one with the most clean sheets and also we did it as a team. It can happen, it’s football but everybody has to take responsibility.”
But with his contract due to expire at the end of the season mistakes like Sunday are unlikely to help negotiations and leave the Red Devils boss with a decision to make.
Ferdinand says it is De Gea’s ability with his feet rather than any issue with his shot-stopping that may prompt Ten Hag to make a change.
“The question mark about him I think is whether he’s good enough with his feet to play the Erik ten Hag way,” he said.
“In terms of shot-stopping, he’s made a mistake today – but that’s not the area I question him. Is he a good enough footballer to play for Manchester United?
“The only person that can answer that is Erik ten Hag and we’ll know at the end of this season.”
Crouch added: “It’s a strange one, because he’s conceded goals from his own mistakes but he’s also kept the most clean sheets in the league.”
‘It really is time for United to move on from De Gea’ – your views
Jonny: Honestly do not know what has happened to De Gea this season. From a consistent Player of the Year contender to an even greater liability than Lloris in just one year. Renewing his contract now seems like one of the worst mistakes we could make.
Andrew: It really is time for United to move on from De Gea. His lack of quality distributing the ball is already at odds with what Ten Hag seems to want from his goalkeeper, and there are just too many errors in his game now.
Richard: In a game we have to win, De Gea is doing us no favours. Abysmal goalkeeping.
Seth: When we say De Gea is not good enough, this is just an example. The number of errors he made over the last few years, especially under Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] and now under Ten Hag is incredible. There is no way he should be a starter next season if we want to move forward.
Calum: Sadly there’s very little place for sentiment in sport if you’re looking to build a winning team, so it’s time for De Gea to go in my opinion.
Mrs. Mabel Nana Nyarkoa Porbley, the Managing Director and Chief Executive of Sanlam General Insurance Ghana, has exhorted Christians to allow their faith and the teachings of Christ guide their personal values, work ethic, and conduct in business.
Last Wednesday at the New Wine Temple of the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC) in East Legon, Accra, Mrs. Porbley shared her surprise at being given a list of people who had defaulted on loans and absconded and seeing many Christians on the list. This was the 4th edition of the weekly Practical Christianity Hangout.
“You can’t say you’re a practical Christian if you will pray for 5 hours but will not commit to paying back a loan you took for your own benefit”, Mrs Probley intimated.
The Practical Christianity Hangout, an initiative of The New Wine Temple and its partner organisations, brings together leaders and potential leaders for practical conversations about the critical success factors for personal and professional development as well as the role of faith in the journeys of various leaders.
Various leaders in the Agribusiness, Hospitality, Construction, Media, Advertising and Financial Services have so far taken their turn to share their experiences and lessons.
Mrs Porbley traced her career progression to how she was raised and the foundation of a very supportive family. She shared how she began her career in a not-for-profit as a personal assistant and rose to become a senior executive in six years.
The experienced executive got the audience excited as she shared her diverse experiences of turning around different loss-making companies to become profitable. She challenged young professionals to position themselves for leadership.
“If you do not stick up out of the pack, you won’t get noticed. Improve yourself and determine not to be ordinary or like everybody else. And in all things, make your first impressions count”, she advised.
Taking his turn, Nana Dwemoh Benneh, CEO of UMB Bank, Ghana, traced his 27-year career journey that had taken him to several African countries as well as the United Kingdom and intimated that it often felt like a dream.
He spoke about the different kinds of barriers and challenges he had had to overcome and challenged the youth to make the most of their formative years.
“Make the most of your time, especially your youthful days; they are the most exciting and the most definitive time of your life”, he said.
He shared how he often found himself as the youngest person in the executive team and how the early exposure helped shape his leadership and outlook on life. He also shared about the role prayer played in his professional journey and how it kept him grounded in the face of difficult situations.
The in-person and virtual participants asked questions on a wide range of issues and expressed their satisfaction at what they saw to be a highly beneficial session.
An online participant, Daniel Dadson from the UK wrote, “Even though I am unable to participate in person, I am glad my questions were answered. I will certainly join the online stream again next Wednesday.”
“My high point was the networking and cocktail session afterwards where I got to speak freely with all these high-level executives and take pictures with them. It was simply amazing”, said Genevieve Mensah.
Organisers of the Practical Christianity Hangout, Rev. Albert and Comfort Ocran, expressed their satisfaction at the content and patronage so far. They indicated their intention to bring together more high-profile leaders from various sectors in these weekly conversations that seek to build professional networks, mentor emerging leaders and also create jobs for the unemployed.
Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, a former minister of environment, science, technology, and innovation, has declared he will fully assist the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) in its investigations into claims of corruption in the operations of the since disbanded Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM).
This came after Prof. Frimpong-Boateng was formally invited by the OSP to help with inquiries into the operations of the IMCIM, which he served as chair of.
The well-known cardiologist confirmed the invitation in a statement by saying that the OSP had extended it and that he had formally accepted it, ready to accept it.
“Earlier today, I received a letter from the Office of the Special Prosecutor inviting me to assist the Office, ‘as a person necessary for the investigation’ into suspected corruption and corruption-related offences in respect of the activities and expenditure of the dissolved Inter- Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM).”
“I have formally communicated my willingness to attend the invitation and to support the OSP in its work,” the statement said.
OSP investigating
The OSP on May 2, said it was already investigating issues on a number of corruption offences in the mining sector in the country. Those issues include allegations raised in a report authored by the former Environment Minister.
In a press statement, the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng, acknowledged the recent calls from public and civil society following the publication of the report by Prof. Frimpong-Boateng, who was the head of the dissolved IMCIM.
“The OSP welcomes the calls for action and investigations and it assures the public and civil society that its investigation is ongoing and far-reaching and it also covers the matters raised in the report published by the head of the dissolved IMCIM.
“The OSP will take necessary action against all persons deemed culpable of corruption and corruption-related offences in the mining sector,” the statement said.
Frimpong-Boateng’s Report
In a report presented to the Presidency in March 2021, which was currently in the public domain, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng mentioned dozens of people in the Akufo-Addo administration, as well as party bigwigs, as being complicit in illegal mining and frustrating the efforts of the President to combat the menace.
Although the report was authored and presented to the President, it has become an issue of national discourse following the renowned world heart surgeon’s interview on GTV about the illegal mining menace.
He said the report was handed over to personnel of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) during investigations on some missing excavators.
“I didn’t write the report for Ghanaians to talk about it. It has been two years since the report was authored. I didn’t leak it.
“After I granted an interview with GTV, some CID officials visited me to investigate some comments I made in the said interview concerning some excavators. I then handed over the report to them.
“I am not saying the CID officials leaked the report but I gave them the report to aid with their investigations and that was the end.”
Presidency, appointees react
However, the Presidency and some of the individuals mentioned in the report have dismissed the report.
A statement from the Presidency dismissed the report in its form and substance, and further described it as “unfounded and hearsay.”
In terms of the form, the statement said the report was not an official document, but rather a catalogue of personal grievances by Prof. Frimpong-Boateng in response to some issues during his tenure as the Chairperson of the IMCIM.
The report, the statement said, was delivered by Prof. Frimpong-Boateng to the Chief of Staff on March 21, 2021, when President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo decided not to renew his mandate as a minister in his second term.
“The document did not have a transmittal or cover letter nor, indeed, an addressee, such as to suggest that it was submitted to the Chief of Staff for action.
“It is noteworthy that the IMCIM was a creation of Cabinet, and any formal report on its activities would, normally, be submitted to Cabinet through the Cabinet Secretary, or directly to the President of the Republic as Chairperson of Cabinet. To date, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng has done neither,” the statement added.
With regard to its substance, the statement noted that although the allegations made by Prof. Frimpong-Boateng were serious, he failed to provide any shred of evidence to support them.
“It is important also to point out that while Prof. Frimpong-Boateng makes serious allegations against some government appointees, as having been involved in, supporting or interfering with the fight against illegal mining, not a single piece of evidence was adduced or presented to enable the claims to be properly investigated,” the statement from the Presidency said.
Tema West’s municipal chief executive, Anna Adukwei Addo, revealed that her community is gaining from the government’s Year of Roads initiative.
She added that although the municipality was experiencing a considerable improvement in its road system, there was still much that needed to be done to provide relief for the locals.
The projects executed so far include the asphalt overlay of 3.5 km of road at Community three Sites A and B, the asphalt overlay of 5 km of roads at the former Adom FM area in Community two, the asphalt overlay of 5.3 km of road at Community five SSNIT flats area, asphalt overlay of 5.5 km road at HFC Estates in Community 18 and the asphalt overlay of 10.25 km road around Awudu Issaka park area in Community 20.
Speaking at the first ordinary general meeting of the fourth session of the second assembly, Ms Addo said the projects were part of the numerous asphalt works being undertaken within the Greater Accra Region of which the municipal assembly had so far benefited from about 50.0 km of the entire packaged allocation.
She said aside the projects, other road rehabilitation and upgrading projects in the municipality were at 40 per cent stages of completion within the municipality. These include the rehabilitation of the Emef to Sakumono link road, the rehabilitation of roads around the Pleasant Place Church area to Kotobabi, upgrading of roads around Adonai and Kenebi Hotel area.
“Road construction and maintenance is one critical area that requires immense contribution and investment. The Assembly is in touch with the Department of Urban Roads to increase budgetary allocation in respect of road infrastructure for 2023,” she said.
Health
Touching on health, the MCE said that as part of the government’s Agenda 111 initiative in building hospitals within districts and regional capitals, the Tema West Assembly had earmarked part of the TEXPO market lands for the construction of the proposed edifice.
“The Assembly in its efforts to ensure the project is realised would be demolishing the unauthorised structures within the 8.6-acre land of the Assembly at the TEXPO market.” She said that the assembly and its security council, in collaboration with stakeholders within the Tema West Municipal area had engaged the residents on the encroached land to vacate it to enable the assembly to benefit from the initiative.
Ms Addo said the assembly had also instituted regular visits to eateries in the municipality to engage food vendors on issues of food safety.
The visit, she said, formed part of continuing efforts by the assembly to intensify monitoring of the activities of food vendors in the municipality and enforce food safety and hygiene bye-laws of the assembly. She said those who failed to comply would be summoned, charged and prosecuted.
The MCE for Tema West said the Assembly in its efforts to improve infrastructural development had earmarked a number of projects such as the reconstruction of the dilapidated Tema Community two European market, completion of a three-unit classroom block at Star Primary School, Tema Community Five, completion of fence wall at Tema Polyclinic to address issues of encroachment and insecurity at the clinic, construction of speed humps on selected roads to improve road safety, construction of zonal office for staff of Adjei-Kojo Zonal Council and building of a health centre at Adjei-Kojo all aimed at addressing the development deficit in the municipality.
Finance
Ms Addo indicated that the assembly’s total revenue generated in the first quarter of 2023 stood at GH¢3,059,099.20, an increase of 15 per cent over the same period in 2022.
These increments, the MCE explained, related to the early printing and distribution of bills, monitoring and supervision of revenue activities with the municipality and strict internal controls.
The MCE reiterated the need for cooperation and unity among the various stakeholders in the planning and implementation of plans and programmes of the assembly that would be of benefit to all residents in the municipality.
The police have started looking into what exactly happened when a constable was killed while on duty in Bibiani, the regional hub for the Western North.
As they were returning from an operation last Friday, the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), a superior at the Western North Regional Command, reportedly shot and killed the constable.
The person was sent urgently to the hospital for treatment, but was declared dead there.
The names of the victim and the culprit are yet to be made public by the police.
Meanwhile, the suspect has been placed in custody while investigations continue.
Assessment
Following the incident, the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Dr George Akuffo Dampare, dispatched a team to the Command to assess the situation.
A police statement confirming the incident said the team, led by Commissioner of Police, Director-General (Welfare), Habiba Twumasi Sarpong, as well as management board members and the Director in charge of General Administration, Commissioner of Police (COP), Christian Tetteh Yohuno, were also tasked to formally inform the family of the incident.
Clinical psychologist
Also, the IGP has directed that a police clinical psychologist be assigned to the family of the late constable to support them in their difficult time, while another team of clinical psychologists had been deployed to the Western Regional Police Command to offer psycho-social support to the personnel following the tragic loss of their colleague.
As Ghana observed 2023 World Press Freedom Day last Wednesday alongside the rest of the world, the topic of local journalists’ pay has once again come to the forefront.
Behind the elegant setting of the durbar in Accra, where Gifty Affenyi-Dadzie, a former president of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), and Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, the organization’s current president, spoke movingly against media politicization, the main concerns of the practitioners lay elsewhere.
In a statement issued to mark the occasion and signed by its president, Andrew Edwin Arthur, the Private Newspaper Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG) stated: “It is the association’s and its members’ desire that government reconsider or re-strategize on its media policy, particularly the distribution of state-sponsored advertisements, so as to benefit the majority of media houses in the country.”
The action “will go a long way in sustaining the Ghanaian media and saving them from eventual collapse,” the statement read.
The PRINPAG statement, beyond serving a ceremonial ritual, underlined the state of the local newspaper space, with the space now threatened by financial difficulties.
Media landscape
While a few newspapers have folded up and left the vending space recently, some of those remaining appear to be there only in name rather than actual sales and impact.
But practitioners in the electronic and print, and private and state-owned are desperately among the poorest remunerated professionals in Ghana.
Local case
According to a 2023 report on the state of the Ghanaian media, put together by the Department of Communication Studies of the University of Ghana, in collaboration with the Media Foundation for West Africa, salaries in the Ghanaian media space “are generally quite low, with nearly half of the respondents (47 per cent) earning monthly incomes of, at most, GH¢1,000”.
Nearly half of that number (of respondents), the report said, “actually earn no more than GH¢500 monthly”.
“Salaries of respondents working in media organisations in the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions were much higher than those working outside these two regions. Up to 70 per cent of respondents (two of every three) working in the other regions earn no more than 1,000. This is irrespective of their roles (e.g. editor, reporter, presenter, etc.), which did not seem to make much difference in earnings, surprisingly. This is in sharp contrast to the 26 per cent (one in every five) Accra and Ashanti-based respondents earning a similar amount,” the report said.
“The silver lining, perhaps, is the finding that for a moderate majority of those who receive salaries, payments are relatively regular. Every two out of three respondents (65 per cent), typically, receive their salaries on time every month.
“That said, it is of concern that as much as 30 per cent of them experience frequent delays in salary payments. This is even more so when one considers the generally low salaries reported. In other words, for a good number of respondents, they must contend with delays in payments, besides their relatively low remuneration,” the report further stated.
At a day’s African Journalists Leaders’ conference in Accra in 2021, the immediate past President of the GJA, Affail Monney, said the “slave wages of journalists” compromised their professional conduct, and deemed it as a threat to democracy.
The global theme for the 2023 World Press Freedom Day was: “Shaping a future of rights: Freedom of expression as a driver for all other human rights”, but Ghana commemorated the day on the sub-theme: “Freedom of expression: A driver for all human rights for Ghana’s development”.
Interviews
For the few journalists who spoke to the Daily Graphic, they preferred to lament their service conditions on condition of anonymity or remain silent altogether.
Otherwise, their lamentations bore the common strands of unimpressive salary levels, non-existent social security, irregular work schedule without the necessary compensation, and even irregular salary payment schedule.
For professionals expected to be the watchdogs for the society, it makes sense to link the remuneration of journalists to the impact of their work, especially in developing countries.
Aside from their traditional roles of informing and entertaining the public, journalists are expected to speak truth to power and expose corruption in high places.
But in a developing world, such as Ghana, journalists’ low wages, it is anticipated, may not empower them enough to be able to independently scrutinise persons of power.
“Clearly, incomes in media organisations are low and can render media personnel vulnerable to influence and corruption,” the University of Ghana research report said in part.
“The only way to make ends meet as a media practitioner in Ghana is to seek alternative incomes,” it added.
Intriguingly, Ghana declined further on the global press freedom index in 2023, released by Reporters Without Borders, dropping two spots from 60 in 2022 to 62 among 180 countries listed on the Index.
Before this, Ghana had dropped 30 spots from its 2021 position to rank 60 in 2022.
The latest ranking, according to the Chairman of the National Media Commission, Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafo, was induced, among various factors, by the welfare conditions of journalists in Ghana.
He said much as it was important that media owners addressed the issues of welfare of their staff, unionising journalists was also not necessarily the solution.
“The condition of service of journalists has implications critical to the professional and ethical conduct and demeanour of the journalist,” he said.
The number of newborn and institutionalized maternal deaths has decreased nationwide. While the latter dropped from 7.1 per 10,000 births to 6.5 per 10,000 births in 2017, the institutional maternal mortality ratio (IMMR) also somewhat fell throughout that time, going from 111 per 100,000 live births to 102 per 100,000.
He so praised midwives and other health professionals for their diligent efforts in accomplishing this milestone, noting that over the previous ten years, there had also been a notable increase in maternal and newborn health outcomes.
The Director-General was addressing delegates at the 32nd International Day of the Midwife in Cape Coast in the Central Region, on the theme: “Together again, from evidence to reality.”
Awards were also given to 22 midwives, one each from the 16 regions and five from Teaching Hospitals in the country for their dedication to duty.
Dr Kuma-Aboagye further disclosed that total maternal deaths decreased by some 70 maternal lives saved, moving from 875 deaths in 2021 to 805 deaths at the close of 2022.
He added that the midwife to women in fertility age (WIFA) ratio had also been improving, moving from one midwife to 720 women in fertility age in 2017, to one midwife to 387 women in fertility age in 2021.
According to Dr Kuma-Aboagye, haemoglobin checks at registration and the incidence of anaemia in late pregnancy (36 weeks) had also been on a decline over the past couple of years, while skilled delivery coverage and antenatal care (ANC) clients making fourth visits had been on an increasing trajectory over the years.
He said the absolute number of midwives in the country had now surpassed the World Health Organisation’s standard of six to seven midwives per 1,000 institutional deliveries by almost two folds.
The nation currently has 13 midwives per 1,000 institutional deliveries.
Restructuring
Dr Kuma-Aboagye, however, said that there was an urgent need to restructure the health system to promote midwifery leadership at all levels.
“We, as a matter of urgency, need to restructure our health system to promote midwifery leadership at all levels, embrace midwifery innovation, encourage evidence-based practice and institute the character of empathy in our midwives, allowing for the practice to be guided by the sensitivities of our clients.
“Midwives continue to work under harsh conditions, oftentimes at the peril of their own progress and cost to their families.
“If we intend to attain the maternal and newborn health outcomes we desire, we would need to come together once more and move from the glaring evidence that midwives indeed save lives to addressing the challenges that confront midwives in reality,” he said.
A deputy Minister of Health, Tina Mensah, commended the midwives for working to save lives and supporting policies aimed at enhancing health service delivery despite their challenges.
Condition of service
The President of the Ghana Registered Midwives Association, Netta Forson Ackon, called for better conditions of service to empower members to give of their best.
The UNFPA Country Representative, Dr David Wilfred Ochan, described midwives as frontline heroes and urged stakeholder agencies to work to scale up best practices to help achieve zero preventable deaths.
Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the vice president of Ghana, is predestined by God to lead the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the future, according to Kweku Ampratwum-Sarpong, the member of parliament for Mampong and deputy minister of foreign affairs and regional integration.
Dr. Bawumia was praised by Mr. Ampratwum-Sarpong in a radio interview with Okay FM in Accra for his long-standing service to the NPP, his demonstrated competence, and his vision. According to Mr. Ampratwum-Sarpong, these qualities have won him the support of party members and will result in his resounding election as the party’s leader for victory in the upcoming presidential primary.
Mr. Ampratwum-Sarpong added that Dr. Bawumia enjoys the support of over 100 MPs in the NPP Caucus in Parliament, who demonstrated their overwhelming support during his meeting with them last week.
He said after the meeting, he was sure that Dr. Bawumia’s upcoming victory will be earth-shaking.
Bawumia’s commitment
Ampratwum-Sarpong also lauded Dr. Bawumia’s commitment to the party and his support to the current government, as well as his demonstrated competence and capabilities.
He believes that Dr. Bawumia’s vision for Ghana’s future would build on the current government’s achievements and bring positive impacts to the party, the nation, and the youth in the country.
The Mampong MP cited digitisation as an example of Dr. Bawumia’s vision, which has been thriving and making a significant impact in Ghana.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has threatened to shut down churches in the Volta Region that are functioning illegally and without an authorization from the organization.
The agency claims that it only authorized churches to operate in particular regions of towns.
Churches must renew their licences on a regular basis, according to Hope Smith Lomotey, the EPA’s Volta Regional Director, in order to maintain their operations.
He said that action was required as a result of a recent spike in the number of unpermitted churches being built in the area, disturbing neighbors with noise and other types of disturbance, particularly at night.
The director was speaking to the Daily Graphic in Ho after the agency had ended a series of meetings with about 200 church leaders in the region on issues of building permit and noisemaking.
Among those engaged were the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC), the Christian Council of Ghana, the National Association of Charismatic Churches and the National Clergy Association Ghana (NACAG).
Rationale
Mr Allotey said that the discomfort of prolonged noise was a public health issue, for which reason the agency would not look on unconcerned when churches or other groups carried out such lawless acts with impunity.
“The same goes for drinking spot operators,” he added.
The director said apart from hearing impairment, loud noise could also cause high blood pressure, heart diseases, sleep disorders and stress for people within the neighbourhood.
He said the permitted noise level in the day (6a.m.-10p.m.) for residential areas was 55 decibels and 48 decibels during the night.
Adherence
In one of the meetings in Ho, the Vice-Chairman of the GPCC, Apostle Dr Dela Quampah, urged churches to respect the laws of the land and adhere to building regulations.
He said Christians must be law-abiding at all times and also desist from noisemaking.
Apostle Dr Quampah also expressed misgivings over what he described as noisy public address systems on roofs of some church buildings.
He said such equipment were contributing to noisemaking and must, therefore, be restricted.
In order to evaluate pupils’ cybersecurity awareness at the senior high school (SHS) level nationwide, the battle lines have been formed.
It comes after the second National Cybersecurity Challenge, an initiative of the Cyber Security Authority (CSA) designed to raise awareness of cyber safety among SHS students.
The National Cybersecurity Challenge, with the subject “Empowering the next generation,” is quickly evolving to be one of the most significant challenges for challenging students at the SHS level.
The second edition of the challenge will take off this month with 50 SHSs in the 16 regions, selected through a criterion designed by the Ghana Education Service (GES) to battle among themselves through regional, zonal and the final contest for the coveted crown.
The final of the competition will be held in October as part of the National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM) 2023.
Strong collaboration
The acting Director in charge of Child Online Protection at CSA, Afua Brown-Eyeson, at the launch of the competition in Accra, stated that the authority was happy to collaborate with stakeholders on the challenge, which sought to create the needed awareness of child online safety.
She explained that with the purpose of the competition, the country had been divided into four zones, which included northern, middle, eastern and southern and the winners of those zones would compete at the grand final in October to become cyber security champions.
“Before the competition, the contestants will be taken through the child online protection (COP) provisions in the Cybersecurity Act, (Act 1038), 2020, digital footprint, social engineering, and open-source intelligence, among others.
“The challenge is a government initiative aimed at promoting cyber safety and awareness among senior high school students,” she said.
Ms Brown-Eyeson said Internet penetration in Ghana had increased exponentially from 2.31 million in 2012 to 17 million users in 2022, which was 53 per cent of the population.
“As of January 2022, Ghana was ranked 3rd globally in the use of social media, an indication of the reliance of the population on the Internet for various spheres of life including education, lifestyle, businesses, and entertainment.
“Among the active users of the Internet are children, which leave them exposed to cyber-attacks,” she said.
In recent years, she said there had been several major cyber incidents that significantly impacted schools and children worldwide.
Equipping children
The director observed that equipping children with cybersecurity skills at this age was required to keep them safe online and prevent them from causing harm to their peers.
She said the government had shown enormous commitment to the online safety of young people by passing the Cybersecurity Act, 2020 (Act 1038) which criminalised various online cases of abuse against children.
It has also developed the National Child Online Protection Framework, which would be submitted to the Cabinet for approval soon.
The context
The CSA successfully organised the first-ever cybersecurity competition for SHSs in the country among six schools selected from five regions in Accra on October 17, 2022.
With Presbyterian Boys Senior High School (PRESEC) emerging winners of the 2022 competition, the contestants were provided with hands-on experience to equip them with the knowledge and essential skills required to stay safe online and pursue careers in cybersecurity.
This year’s contest has been extended to include 50 schools and a broadcast journalist of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), Kafui Dey, announced as ambassador for the competition.
For the most dramatic portion of the liturgy on Saturday at Westminster Abbey in London, Charles was concealed from view.
The Archbishop of Canterbury anointed Charles on his head, breast, and hands in accordance with the Church of England’s ritual after the Dean of Westminster applied holy oil to the Coronation Spoon from the Ampulla, a gold eagle-shaped flask.
The 12th-century, silver-gilt spoon is the oldest object used in coronations. In the background, the Choir of Westminster Abbey sang the anthemic “Zadok the Priest” by George Frideric Handel, which was composed for the coronation of King George II in 1727 and performed at every British coronation since.
Once he re-emerged, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby placed St. Edward’s Crown upon Charles III’s head. It was the only time Charles will ever wear St. Edward’s Crown, which is reserved for the coronation of a new monarch; the crown was made for the new King’s namesake, Charles II, in 1661.
After crowning Charles, Welby shouted: “God Save the King.” Those in attendance repeated the words.
Soon after, Camilla was also crowned. Like her husband, she was anointed with holy oil by the Archbishop of Canterbury – this time in full view of the audience – before having Queen Mary’s Crown placed on her head.
Music underpinned the entire celebration, in keeping with history. Each stage was marked by either a grand choral work, an ethereal motet, an extravagant organ composition or an evocative melody, all performed by some of the most accomplished singers and musicians in the world.
King Charles and Queen Camilla entered the abbey to the strains of “I was glad,” the stirring coronation anthem written by Hubert Parry for the coronation of King Edward VII in 1902 and sung at all coronations since then.
But the old was blended with the new; Charles had asked Andrew Lloyd Webber – whose music is more familiar to audiences in the West End than congregations in Westminster Abbey – to write a Coronation Anthem, “Make a Joyful Noise,” which played after Camilla was enthroned.
And this event featured the first ever appearance by a gospel choir at a coronation; dressed in resplendent white, the Ascension Choir performed ‘Alleluia’ just before the Archbishop’s sermon.
Thousands of people had packed into Westminster Abbey.
Decked in a teal cape and cap with gold detailing, a woman in blue commanded attention as she wielded an important object of the coronation regalia – the Sword of Offering or the Jewelled Sword, before and after the investiture, when it was used. But who is she?
Penny Mordaunt is a Conservative lawmaker in the United Kingdom, and has been since 2010.
She was involved in the ceremony because, as the current Leader of the House of Commons, she is also the Lord President of the Privy Council – a body formed of senior politicians who act as the monarch’s official advisers.
The council’s president is involved in a variety of royal ceremonies, acting as a symbolic bridge between the King or Queen and the country’s elected officials. Mordaunt spoke at the Proclamation of King Charles, two days after the Queen’s death.
Queen Camilla was a regal sight in ivory, silver and gold. But who was she wearing?
Unsurprisingly, it was a British designer, Bruce Oldfield, who she has a longstanding relationship with.
Simple, tailored and cut from Peau de Soie, a silk fabric with a dull luster finish, her coronation dress was more akin to a coat dress with an embroidered underskirt as opposed to a traditional dress.
Arriving at Westminster Abbey before the service, her dress was protected by the crimson velvet and ermine Robe of State that was originally made for Queen Elizabeth’s coronation.
Peeping out beneath her dress were shoes in the same silk as her clothing, made by British designer Elliot Zed.
Never one to disappoint at royal events, Prince Louis, the youngest child of the Prince and Princess of Wales, again stole the show during segments of the coronation ceremony.
Keen-eyed viewers may have noticed the 5-year-old yawning, sitting between his mother, the Princess of Wales, and sister Princess Charlotte, but then pulling a disappearing act from the service.
It was thought the young royal might leave early, but luckily for fans, he returned before the end of the service.
For those who don’t remember, Louis gained global infamy during the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June, where he was captured throwing a tantrum and covering his ears while screaming during the flypast.
Meanwhile, there was widespread speculation before Saturday as to whether Prince Harry would be at his father’s coronation.
The Duke of Sussex attended the coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey on Saturday, sitting in the third row.
Wearing a morning suit with his military medals, Harry arrived alongside his uncles, Prince Edward and Prince Andrew, and two of his cousins, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
Prince Harry attended without his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, who reportedly stayed back in the US with their children on the account of Archie’s fourth birthday.
The coronation marked the first time the prince publicly met members of his family since the release of his memoir, “Spare.”
After it ended, he was seen talking and smiling with his cousins amidst a downpour, before he took a car on his own.
He did not appear with members of the royal family to greet the public from the balcony of Buckingham Palace on Saturday afternoon – a flagship part of royal events.
CNN understands that Prince Harry did not receive an invitation to join the family for this balcony moment, which featured a slimmed-down flypast by the Royal Air Force. Prince Andrew wasn’t present either.
The weather did not favor King Charles – and while crowds seemed unperturbed by the rain, it did alter plans for the traditional Royal Air Force flypast.
The display was formed only of helicopters and the colorful Red Arrows, and not the expected Typhoons, Spitfires, Hurricanes and Lancaster bombers.
But crowds instead enjoyed not one but two appearances on the balcony by the new King and Queen, who provided an encore after seemingly waving goodbye to supporters.
That wrapped up an eventful day, which had drawn thousands onto London’s streets.
Along with their parents, the newly crowned king’s grandchildren have left Westminster Abbey.
After today’s coronation ceremony, Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5, were seen boarding the Diamond Jubilee State Coach to join the parade.
Official coronation ceremonies for King Charles III and Queen Camilla took place in front of a historic audience that had never witnessed such a thing before.
As one of the pages of honour, Prince George—the future king—played a significant part in the coronation.
He formed part of the procession through the Abbey and helped hold Charles’s robes during the service.
This honour is usually given to teenage sons of members of the nobility and gentry or senior members of the royal household.
He’s actually the youngest future king to ever have an official role at a coronation.
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The grandchildren once again stole the show at the coronation with their adorable ceremonial outfits.
Prince George wore his page of honour scarlet tunic decorated with cold lace trim and blue velvet cuffs, with an open-fronted design, lined in silk, as he undertook a big role in the celebrations.
He also donned an ivory silk satin waistcoat trimmed in gold braid, with wool trousers and boots. The uniforms were originally made during the reign of Elizabeth II, and have been re-tailored for the coronation.
Princess Charlotte’s outfit mimicked the Princess of Wales, as she wore an Alexander McQueen dress with a cape in ivory silk crepe, with rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock motifs. The emblems also featured on Kate’s dress.
Prince Louis wore a Hainsworth Garter Blue Doeskin Tunic with specially designed lace work embellishment to the collar, cuffs and fronts, made by bespoke Savile Row tailors Dege and Skinner.
He was seen holding his sister’s hand in a sweet moment in the abbey as they entered ready for the ceremony.
Known for his cheeky character, Prince Louis was seen throughout the service shifting and looking distracted, like any other five-year-old.
During the first half of the ceremony, he let out a big yawn, while also pointing out something of interest to his sister.
He yawned again shortly after the King was crowned, just after midday, before being whisked out for a short planned break.
The brother and sister sweetly clasped hands as they walked into Westminster Abbey (Picture: PA)
During the ceremony, Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, gave a sentimental nod to tradition with her outfit of a white dress with a blue robe.
Charles has been described as a doting grandfather, with his eldest son Prince William calling him ‘brilliant’ with his three children.
He is known as ‘Grandpa Wales’ to the youngsters, and has said the births of his grandchildren reminded him of the ‘necessity of continued innovation’ of green technology.
Only three out of his five grandchildren attended the coronation, as Prince Harry’s children – Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet – remain in California with their mum Meghan Markle.
Prince Harry attended the coronation alone and is expected to return to the US shortly after the end of the day’s events.
A military flypast over Buckingham Palace that had been highly anticipated has been curtailed.
The Red Arrows aerobatic display team and a variety of helicopters will now make up the formation due to poor weather, according to the Ministry of Defence.
After a ceremony at Westminster Abbey, the King and Queen were to be crowned, and a fly-past was organised to commemorate the occasion.
The royal couple was anticipated to view the flypast from the Buckingham Palace balcony.
The display over The Mall and Buckingham Palace was originally meant to last for six minutes, but the scaled-down version will last for less than half of that time.
Now, the MoD say it would last for two minutes and 30 seconds.
There had been fears all week that the display could be cancelled completely due to poor weather.
RAF Red Arrows take off from RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire(Picture: Cpl Phil Dye/MOD/SWNS)Crowds wearing rain ponchos in the grandstand opposite Buckingham Palace(Picture: PA)Soggy scenes in Windsor for the coronation(Picture: Maureen McLean/Shutterstock)
Royal fans got soggy throughout the day as they awaited a glimpse of the Coronation procession.
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Those who camped were left drenched in a series of showers.
The Queen’s own Coronation, 70 years ago on 2 June 1953, was hit by cool temperatures and torrential rain, with crowds huddled under umbrellas and raincoats, in scenes much like today.
And her Golden Jubilee was also hit with heavy rain, with the flotilla almost a washout – though as one would expect, the Queen carried on regardless.
Over 18 million people tuned in to see the King’s Coronation, according to the viewership statistics that have been released.
Crowds flocked to the streets to see history being made as King Charles III and Queen Camilla were formally crowned at Westminster Abbey on Saturday, May 6.
Following Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953, it was the second coronation event for the British royal family to ever be broadcast on television.
The overall number of individuals who decided to watch the BBC’s coverage of the spectacle was announced in a statement by Charlotte Moore, Chief Content Officer at the BBC.
‘The BBC brought people across the UK together to share a once in a generation event with over 14 million watching the King being crowned live,’ she said.
‘I’m proud of the unique and special role the BBC plays in delivering audiences moments of such huge historical significance and the celebrations continue with our Coronation Concert tonight.’
In a breakdown of the figures, it was outlined that on BBC One, the Coronation was watched by a peak of 13.4m and an average audience of 11.9m.
Over on BBC Two, a peak of 1.7m and an average of 1.4m people watched the signed coverage of the ceremony, bringing a total figure of more than 14m overall for the broadcaster.
Over on ITV, an average of 2.1m people watched the Coronation on ITV1 from 8.30 to 10.45am.
According to the broadcaster, an average of 3.3m viewers were watching on ITV1 between 10.45am and 1pm, which decreased to 2.9 viewers between 1pm and 3pm.
Meanwhile, 55,000 viewers watched ITV3’s British sign language coverage between 10.45am and 1pm, while ITVX garnered 1.5m streams of its The Coronation programme.
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Audience measurement firm Barb announced on Twitter: ‘The average audience for the King’s Coronation service at Westminster Abbey (11:00 – 12:59) was 18.8m across 11 channels and services.
‘Reach was 22.4m, a share of 89%. Viewing peaked at 20.4m at 12:02 as the King was crowned.’
Last year, more than 29m people in the UK watched the state funeral for the late Queen Elizabeth II, with a peak of 19.5m viewers on BBC One, 5.3 on ITV and a peak of 1.8m on Sky.
In comparison, it was claimed that the Euro 2020 match between England and Italy in 2021 brought in a gigantic peak of 31.8m viewers.
The 2022 Strictly Come Dancing final saw a drop in its ratings when compared to the previous year, as an average of 9.2m and a peak of 9.7m viewers saw wildlife cameraman Hamza Yassin dance his way to victory for the Glitterball Trophy on the BBC.
In 2018, it was claimed that 18m people in the UK watched Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tie the knot at St George’s Chapel in Windsor, with a peak audience of 13.2m on the BBC.
It was reported that the wedding received more than a billion viewers worldwide, while it was claimed that Prince William and Kate Middleton’s nuptials garnering approximately 162m viewers across the globe.
The Mali government has declared that on June 18, 2023, a long-awaited referendum on a new constitution would be held in the West African nation.
The referendum is a major milestone on the road to elections promised for February 2024, after a coup in May 2021.
Government spokesperson Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga on Friday read out a decree on state television saying the country was called upon “to decide on the Constitution project” in June, after missing a previous deadline of March 19.
“Voters will have to respond by a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ to the following question,” on the referendum, the spokesperson said. “Do you approve of the draft constitution?”
Members of the security forces in the nation will vote early on June 11.
The delay in March had been expected since nearly no arrangements had been made for the vote and the draft constitution was only handed over to interim president and coup leader Assimi Goita on February 27.
The Economic Community of West African States lifted a set of trade and financial sanctions against Mali in July after the military government committed to a March 2024 handover.
The sanctions were imposed in January 2022 when the military government was considering remaining in power for up to five years.
The draft constitution significantly strengthens the power of the president. Under it, the president rather than the government appoints the prime minister and ministers and has the right to sack them as well as dissolve parliament.
Other sections of the draft have already triggered controversy.
A part of the draft states that Mali is an “independent, sovereign, unitary, indivisible, democratic, secular and social republic”. Imams, a powerful class in the country, have been contesting the principle of secularism and have called on Muslims to oppose it.
The draft also proclaims any coup as an “imprescriptible crime”. But those who carried out the 2020 coup and another one in 2021 to consolidate their hold on power would be safe since acts prior to the constitution going into effect would be covered by amnesty laws.
Mali is in the throes of an 11-year-old security crisis triggered by a regional revolt in the north that developed into a full-blown rebellion. Frustration that French troops, who had been in the country since 2013, could not root out the rebels led to rising anti-French sentiments.
That and military rule in the country led to soured relations with France, the country’s traditional ally and former coloniser, and closer ties with Russia.
Habib Chaab, a dual citizen of Sweden and Iran who was found guilty of leading an Arab separatist group accused of attacking, was put to death. In order to voice its opposition to this, Sweden has summoned Iran’s acting ambassador.
The Swedish Foreign Ministry stated in a statement on Saturday that “the death penalty is an inhuman and irreversible punishment and Sweden, along with the rest of the EU, condemns its use under any circumstances.”
Chaab was executed early on Saturday due to his alleged membership in the Harakat al-Nidal rebel organisation, according to the state-run media agency Mizan.
Iran considers Harakat al-Nidal to be a terrorist group.
Mizan claimed Chaab was the leader of Harakat al-Nidal and the suspected mastermind behind the shooting attack on a military parade in Iran’s southwestern city of Ahvaz in 2018 in which 29 people died.
Executions have risen in Iran following a nationwide uprising sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini last September, according to reports released by rights groups.
According to a joint report issued by the Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) and the France-based Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM) groups revealed at least 500 executions were carried out last year – a 75% increase from the previous year.
The increase was Tehran’s way of trying to frighten protesters and prevent dissent, groups said.
Addressing the 2018 incident, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei accused Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates of financing the perpetrators of the attack and threatened to “harshly punish” the masterminds.
UAE Minister of State For Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said the accusations were “baseless” and “official incitement against the UAE in Iran” was “unfortunate.”
Just in time for the start of the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season on June 1, a new mission intended to enhance storm forecasting is prepared for launch.
TROPICS, or Time-Resolved Observations of Precipitation structure and storm Intensity with a Constellation of Smallsats, is a constellation of CubeSats that is a part of the NASA mission.
During a two-hour window that begins at 9 p.m. ET on Sunday, the first two CubeSats are anticipated to launch from Mhia, New Zealand, aboard a Rocket Lab Electron rocket.
The launch of this first mission, nicknamed “Rocket Like a Hurricane,” will stream live on NASA’s website and Rocket Lab’s website.
Two additional CubeSats, nicknamed “Coming to a Storm Near You,” will launch from the same location later this month.
Together, the four satellites, each weighing 12 pounds and about the size of a loaf of bread, will observe tropical cyclones from low-Earth orbit.
Once all of them are in orbit, the tiny satellites will form a constellation that makes more frequent observations than current weather-monitoring satellites.
“The need for improved climate and weather data from space is acute and growing. Hurricanes and tropical storms have a devastating effect on lives and livelihoods, so we’re immensely proud to be entrusted by NASA to launch the TROPICS missions which will enable scientists and researchers to accurately predict storm strength and give people time to evacuate and make plans,” said Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck in a statement. “With the 2023 hurricane season fast approaching, time is of the essence for these missions.”
Each CubeSat will orbit at about 340 miles (550 kilometers) above Earth’s surface and capture hourly observations of the precipitation, temperature and humidity of tropical storms. Current satellites take similar data, but only about every six hours, which makes it more difficult to measure the intensity of storms.
More frequent data can help scientists understand the rapid changes that can occur within a storm, impacting its structure and stability, and help meteorologists improve their prediction and forecasting models.
During the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, there were so many tropical storms and hurricanes that meteorologists ran out of names on the predefined list and had to switch to the Greek alphabet — and then the same thing happened again in 2021, said Ben Kim, program executive at NASA’s Earth Science Division.
In 2022, three hurricanes hit the US, but Hurricane Ian alone caused more than $100 billion in damages and caused more than 100 fatalities, Kim said.
“TROPICS aims to improve our scientific understanding by obtaining microwave observations that allow us to see the inner structure of the storm approximately hourly,” Kim said. “These observations will complement existing weather satellites and ultimately then can be tied to the broader understanding of the entire Earth system.”
Data collected by TROPICS will be shared with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, the National Hurricane Center and other partners. The satellites will measure water vapor primarily located in the troposphere, or the lowest layer of Earth’s atmosphere, where most weather phenomena occurs.
“The exciting thing about this is its the ability to see inside the storms, but it’s also the ability to see how the storms are changing over short periods of time,” said Dr. Will McCarty, program scientist at NASA’s Earth Science Division.
An unemployed middle-aged man has been spotted on the streets of Abossey Okai, a spare parts hub in Accra, selling some wild animals he had conveyed there on the back of his bicycle.
The animals, caged and ready to be sold, are put on display by Solomon Dorne Ametepey, who said these are only a fraction of the several others he has on his land at Nsawam.
Narrating his story, Samuel explained that he had to bring out some of the animals to sell because he urgently needs money to pay the school fees of his children.
“I have a half piece plot of land at my village, Nsawam, full of animals that will scare you.
“Though the land was very cheap in 2007 when I bought it – GH¢200 a plot, there were animals on it that will scare you. So, I was able to gather courage for some time and I said, let me start taking care of them. At first, I managed to get a monkey and I tamed it to the extent of sending it on errands.
“Now, I have this one called potato, which behaves like a monkey, and then I have 2 Nile crocodiles; a male and a female, and the lifespan of these crocodiles can be 95-100 years, and so they are my pets now,” he said.
He also told the reporter that he grew to love taking care of the animals like it was a hobby.
He also explained that due to wildlife concerns, he has kept the animals always, while he works around getting the right authorisation so that he can operate his mini zoo in the future.
“I have animals there but because of Wildlife, I don’t want to bring them out, but I’m working on my papers, after which I will have my mini zoo and will have tamed animals in there that people can go and see,” he added.
Solomon Dorne Ametepey also explained that he once wanted to join the Ghana Armed Forces, but things did not go as planned.
He added that now, he has been able to learn about herbs and it is through this that he can support his family.
When quizzed about how business is like selling wild animals, he said “if I sell an animal to you, I make sure you are a wildlife advocate. I once sold a parrot that talks and can fly, to a chief in my village and he cut the feathers of the bird. For badly treating the animal, I paid back his money and went back for the animal.
“If you are not an animal lover, I won’t sell my animals to you. I have monkeys in the house which are not in cages because they are not harmful. I have Civet and Janet; cats, in the house. I have an animal in the house that behaves like a tiger, but it is tamed,” he explained.
The middle-aged man explained that since not getting an opportunity to become a soldier, he has learned kickboxing, Taekwondo, self-defense, which he teaches to schools.
He also stated that he once travelled to Dubai but has since returned to Ghana to settle.
Russia has accused numerous Western countries and the “Kyiv regime” of being responsible for the Saturday vehicle explosion that killed military blogger Zakhar Prilepin.
A spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry made the allegation, but she offered no supporting evidence.
As a result, the Security Service of Ukraine informed the online publication Ukrainian Pravda that it could “neither confirm nor deny” that it was involved “in this or that explosion that happens to the occupiers and their accomplices.”
Prilepin, whose Telegram channel has more than 300,000 subscribers, was hospitalized with a leg injury after the blast in the Nizhny Novgorod region, about 250 miles east of Moscow. His driver was killed.
The incident follows the death of another Russian military blogger last month. Russian also blamed Ukraine for that death, but Kyiv has previously denied any involvement.
The Russian Investigative Committee called the latest incident “a terrorist act” and said it plans to investigate the blast as such.
The committee also reported a suspect in the car bombing had been detained and during the interrogation testified “that he acted on the instructions of the Ukrainian special services.”
The suspect “planted an explosive device on the road along the route of Zakhar Prilepin’s car, which he set off remotely,” the committee alleged. “After that, he fled the scene, but was detained by law enforcement officers when he left the forest in another settlement.”
The committee published what they claimed was a video confession of the suspect but it was not clear under what circumstances he was interviewed or whether he was under duress in the video.
Russian pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia reported that Prilepin had surgery earlier on Saturday and is at the hospital in stable condition.
At least three drone strikes from Ukraine were thwarted in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol, according to the Russian-appointed authorities in Crimea, who confirmed this on Sunday.
“More than ten drones” were sent to Crimea and Sevastopol overnight, according to the city’s pro-Russian governor, Mikhail Razvozhaev. In a statement posted on Telegram, he claimed that “the air defence forces and electronic warfare units prevented another attack on Sevastopol.”
He also mentioned that one of the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) crashed into a forest after losing control.
The wreckage was recovered by Interior Ministry and Emergencies Ministry personnel, Razvozhaev said, adding that there was no damage done to any structures in the city.
Two others were shot down over the sea – one near Cape Chersonese and the other from “the side of the north breakwater.”
Crimea was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, and is internationally recognized as being part of Ukraine.
An important port and a major naval base for Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, Sevastopol city has been the site of multiple suspected Ukrainian attacks.
Last week saw reports of a suspected drone strike which sparked a huge fire at a fuel storage facility in Sevastopol. Razvozhaev said on that occasion that four fuel tanks were hit but no one was injured.
Earlier on Saturday, Sergei Aksyonov, the Russia-appointed governor of Crimea, said there had been no damage or injuries after air defense forces shot down a ballistic missile launched from Ukrainian Operational Tactical Missile System Hrim-2.
The focus is on the French finance minister. The government’s dreaded retirement age raise and the country’s reduced credit rating aren’t what have people talking, though.
Even in France, where a politician penning erotica is nothing unusual, his work “Fugue Americaine,” which contains a passage with a memorable remark about an anus, has drawn ridicule.
The controversial passage has brought the colourful past of French politicians‘ dalliances with literary professions into sharp relief.
Le Maire’s fourth book in five years, the release of “Fugue Americaine” saw the minister face questions about his moonlighting as a writer.
“10 lines on 480 pages – you should read the book,” he said Wednesday to French broadcaster France Info, his exasperation evident at being questioned on the book’s most erotic scene a week after its publication.
“It is about music, my passion for music,” Le Maire insisted of the novel, whose central character is a piano virtuoso.
For France’s finance chief, politics and prose go hand in hand.
“If there were only politics – without the freedom that literary and romantic creation gives – politics would not be enough,” he said in an interview last week.
“A lot of civil servants, senior civil servants like to take on an intellectual dimension especially, I would say, a literary one,” Luc Rouban, the head of the Centre for National Scientific Research attached to Science Po, France’s political sciences university, told CNN.
“It’s a bit of provocation,” the researcher added, “that’s largely part of the culture of the grande bourgeoisie.”
Le Maire is no stranger to harsh critiques, or steamy lines. His first book – “Le Ministre”, a memoir of his early years in the foreign ministry – describes an intimate scene with his wife in a Venetian bath.
And after years of rumors, the finance minister finally admitted to his pseudonym ‘Duc William’, the name he used as a student to write a passionate erotic novel about a doctor and a married woman.
Le Maire has been stoic on his infamy. “Who cares?” he told France Info, when asked if he was worried about being mocked.
He’s far from the first to feel similar heat.
Marie Minelli, known in her day job as junior social affairs minister Marlène Schiappa, has written titles including “Dare to Have a Female Orgasm” and “Letter to my Uterus.”
She ruffled feathers recently by appearing fully clothed on the cover of Playboy magazine.
The crime novel of Macron’s former prime minister, Edouard Phillipe, also came with a few titillating passages, including one detailing the perfect bosom.
“A real chest is round, it’s comfortable, it’s welcoming and you have to be able to put your nose in the middle with jubilation,” he wrote.
The aristocratic President Giscard d’Estaing wrote a bestseller in office and infamously, later in life, the novel “La Princess et le President,” about a fling with the Princess of Wales, thought to represent Princess Diana.
It is common for French men of state to write, Rouban said. During his mandate, President Georges Pompidou edited a collection of poetry while the retired President Charles De Gaulle wrote his memoirs.
Times may have changed.
While the corner of erotica in Le Maire’s latest literary offering may have provoked sniggers, it’s not so much the content as the time commitment to his writing that has annoyed parts of the French public.
Some in France chastized the finance minister for devoting time to writing, especially as the country weathers economic headwinds.
Rising inflation has challenged the French economy since 2021, reaching a peak in early 2023 of 7.2%. That figure, while historically high for France, still remains low for parts of Europe today.
The French finance ministry confirmed to CNN that Le Maire had warned the French presidency of the book before its release.
And the finance minister seemed unabashed on Twitter.
“Literature allows me to escape my everyday life, to take a step back, to think differently,” he said in a statement. “It is a need that is worth waking up early for, worth going to bed late for, to spend one’s weekends and one’s holidays.”
A top official in the UK government has defended the Metropolitan Police’s tactics during the anti-monarchy demonstrations that took place in London on Saturday, stating that officers had to make “tough calls” during King Charles III’s coronation in a day that saw 52 arrests.
It follows criticism of the much-maligned Metropolitan Police for what many saw to be a harsh stance towards demonstrators. Human rights organisations and a number of opposition MPs have denounced the police’s behaviour.
Although the right to demonstrate is still “really important” in a democracy, UK Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer noted that protesters’ strategies have changed in recent years to disrupt people going about their daily lives.
She told the BBC that officers had to make “tough calls” on a case-by-case basis, while taking into consideration the significance of the occasion on Saturday.
Frazer said the police were tasked with balancing people’s right to protest with overseeing an international event on the world stage.
Criticism of the Metropolitan Police, the UK’s largest force, comes amid growing concern over the increase in police powers to stifle dissent in Britain, following the recent introduction of controversial pieces of legislation.
In the days leading up to the historic event, the force said its “tolerance for any disruption, whether through protest or otherwise, will be low,” adding: “We will deal robustly with anyone intent on undermining this celebration.”
Thousands gathered in central London on Saturday to celebrate the once-in-a-generation occasion. But it also drew demonstrators, with protesters wearing yellow T-shirts booing and shouting “Not My King” throughout the morning.
Republic, Britain’s largest anti-monarchy group, told CNN Saturday that police – without providing any reason – arrested organizers of the anti-monarchy protest.
At around 7 a.m. (2 a.m. ET) police stopped six of Republic’s organizers and told them they were detaining and searching them, Republic director Harry Stratton said.
“They didn’t say why they were arresting them. They didn’t tell them or us where they were taking them. It really is like something out of a police state,” Stratton said.
Graham Smith, the chief executive of Republic, was among those detained. He was later released from police detention.
“I have been told many times the monarch is there to defend our freedoms. Now our freedoms are under attack in his name,” Smith said on Twitter.
Labour lawmaker Chris Bryant posted on Twitter Saturday: “Freedom of speech is the silver thread that runs through a parliamentary constitutional monarchy.”
Jess Phillips, also a Labour lawmaker, said on Twitter: “Our nation and our King is not so fragile as to not be able to take harmless protest of a different view.”
UK director of Human Rights Watch, Yasmine Ahmed, described the police’s actions as alarming and “something you would expect to see in Moscow, not London.”
The Met said arrests were made on Saturday for offenses including affray, public order offenses, breach of the peace and conspiracy to cause a public nuisance.
Defending the force’s actions,Commander Karen Findlay said that, while they “absolutely understand public concern,” police also “have a duty to intervene when protest becomes criminal and may cause serious disruption.”
Members of environmental activist group Just Stop Oil were also arrested on The Mall outside Buckingham Palace, the UK’s PA Media news agency reported, adding that a large group of the protesters were seen in handcuffs.
According to PA, Animal Rising said some of its supporters were apprehended on Saturday while at a training session “miles away from the coronation.” A spokesman for the campaign group, Nathan McGovern, described the arrests as “nothing short of a totalitarian crackdown on free speech and all forms of dissent.”
Ghanaian actor and farmer, John Dumelo, has shown his commitment to agriculture by sharing a video of himself ploughing his farmland with a tractor on his TikTok page.
The video has gone viral on social media, with many commending Dumelo for his hard work and dedication to promoting agriculture in Ghana.
In the video, Dumelo can be seen driving the tractor around his large piece of land with confidence, ploughing the soil like a pro.
He took it upon himself to handle the task, which is usually done by his workers, to showcase his passion for farming and his commitment to the agricultural sector in Ghana.
Dumelo has been an active advocate for young people to embrace farming as a means of creating jobs and improving food security in Ghana.
His efforts in promoting agriculture and his dedication to farming have earned him respect among Ghanaians.
The video has been widely appreciated, with fans and followers expressing their support for Dumelo and his contributions to the development of the agricultural sector.
Many have commended the actor for his hard work and determination to promote agriculture in Ghana.
Prince Harry made a brief trip back to the UK after the coronation of his father, King Charles III, on Saturday in London.
Shortly after the coronation ritual ended, the Duke of Sussex boarded a commercial flight returning to California, where he lives with his wife and two children, according to the UK’s PA Media news agency.
According to PA Media, British Airways flight attendants confirmed Prince Harry was a passenger on a flight that touched down at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Saturday at about 7:30 p.m. local time (10:30 p.m. ET).
Harry’s appearance at his father’s big day was the first time he had been seen publicly with his family since the release of his explosive memoir “Spare.”
CNN understands that Prince Harry did not receive an invitation to join the family on the Buckingham Palace balcony following the Westminster Abbey service. The King and Queen waved to huge crowds outside the royal residence, joined by “working royals” and their children, among others.
The balcony moment, which featured a slimmed-down flypast by the Royal Air Force, has become a flagship part of royal occasions. Prince Andrew wasn’t present either.
Earlier Saturday, Prince Harry was among the first group of royals to enter Westminster Abbey, arriving alongside his uncles, Prince Edward and Prince Andrew, and two of his cousins, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
Harry, wearing a morning suit and medals, sat with Andrew in the third row of the service. Both are non-working royals and did not perform any duties during the ceremony.
He did not join members of his family to ride in an impressive procession back to the palace. Instead, he got into a car alone and departed the abbey shortly after the service had ended.
The King’s youngest son had reportedly returned to London on Friday. His wife, Meghan, stayed behind in the California with their children to celebrate Prince Archie’s fourth birthday.
There was widespread speculation in the build-up to Saturday’s celebrations over whether Harry would have a role in proceedings – and if his return might suggest the family has moved on from the rift that saw the Sussexes step back from their role as senior members of the royal family.
Harry launched a series of incendiary accusations against members of his family in “Spare,” in which he recalled a number of private confrontations between him and other senior royals and detailed his split from the family.
Among the most explosive claims in the autobiography, published January, was Harry’s allegation that his older brother, Prince William, knocked him onto the floor during an argument over Meghan.
CNN royal historian Kate Williams previously described Harry’s appearance at the coronation as a “flying visit.”
“[Prince Harry] is coming for this major event of his father’s coronation but it’s not going to be a family reunion. We’re not going to see lots of big family meet-ups. Certainly, there has been damage done,” she explained.
Williams added that Harry’s presence was a “show of unity” – but the extent of that unity remains to be seen.
More than 3,000 individuals have come together with the Effutu community to celebrate the finale of the 2023 Aboakyer Festival with the Akosolontoba dance, also known as the Atopa dance.
The annual festival features Nananom, who will either ride in a palanquin or line up in a single file.
During the dance, men are seen swaying their hips behind women, showcasing the unique culture of Effutu.
According to Nananom, the cultural dance permits unmarried individuals to participate and also provides a chance for some men to express their interest in women.
An acclaimed playwright and theatre director have been detained in Russia on charges of “justifying terrorism” for their play about Russian women being recruited online to wed Islamic State terrorists in Syria.
Investigators said that Yevgenia Berkovich and Svetlana Petriychuk’s award-winning performance “Finist, the Bright Falcon” had broken the law when they were both arrested on Friday.
According to prosecutors, the book promotes the “ideology of radical feminism” and “romanticises, justifies, and glorifies terrorists,” according to Russian state media TASS.
It was staged in 2021 by Berkovich’s own company, with the support of the Union of Theater Workers of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, according to independent news website Meduza.
The play won two “Golden Mask” national theater awards last year. Berkovich also received a nomination for best director.
Theater critics described the production as “exposing the mechanics of terrorism.”
The 38-year-old Berkovich was remanded in custody for two months until July 4, despite her lawyers asking if she could be granted house arrest to take care of her two adopted, disabled daughters.
The charges against her carry a maximum penalty of seven years in prison.
The arrests shocked Russia’s shrinking theater community and prompted independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta to publish an open letter in support of Berkovich and Petriychuk, calling on Russian authorities to “persecute murderers instead of poets.”
In a separate development, authorities in St Petersburg temporarily closed the Maly Drama theater with one of its actors Danila Kozlovsky facing investigation for anti-war posts.
Russia’s cultural scene has faced increased repression since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. Prominent figures have been purged from their jobs and some have faced criminal cases.
On Saturday, at roughly 3.40 p.m. local time, a shooting at Allen Premium Outlets in the Dallas area left seven additional individuals injured.
Eyewitnesses claimed to have seen children among the victims, while some claimed to have seen an unconscious police officer and mall security guard on the ground. Local officials have not yet confirmed the identity of the victims.
A police officer who happened to be nearby on another call heard gunshots and fatally shot the suspected gunman.
Dashcam video shared online showed a gunman step out of a car outside the shopping centre and immediate begin shooting people on the pavement outside.
Hundreds of shoppers and staff at the mall fled when they heard gunshots.
Maxwell Gum, a 16-year-old shift leader at Wetzel’s Pretzels, was on his lunch break when a family with limited English ran into the back of his store, telling him ‘Gun! Shoot!’ as the sound of gunfire could be heard in the background.
He took the family into the delivery corridor running behind the shops where he saw ‘probably like 300 people pouring in from all the different doors, people are freaking out, we’re hearing screaming’.
Allen Fire Chief Jonathan Boyd said seven people including the gunman died at the scene. Nine victims were taken to hospital, but two of them have since died.
Those receiving hospital treatment are aged between five and 61, a Medical City Healthcare spokesman said.
A statement shared on social media by Allen Police said: ‘An Allen Police officer was in the area on an unrelated call when he heard gunshots at Allen Premium Outlets.
‘The officer engaged the suspect and neutralised the threat. He then called for emergency personnel.
‘Nine victims were transported to local hospitals by Allen Fire Department. There is no longer an active threat.’
Fontayne Payton, 35, was at H&M when he heard the sound of gunshots through the headphones he was wearing.
He said: ‘It was so loud, it sounded like it was right outside.’
Shop staff locked customers in a back room, and once they were given the all clear to leave Mr Payton saw the shop windows were broken and a trail of blood led to the door.
Outside he saw bodies of the victims and said: ‘I pray it wasn’t kids, but it looked like kids. The bodies were covered in white towels, slumped over bags on the ground. It broke me when I walked out to see that.’
Stan and Mary Ann Greene were browsing in the Columbia sportswear store when the shooting started.
‘We had just gotten in, just a couple minutes earlier, and we just heard a lot of loud popping,’ Mrs Greene said.
According to hospital officials and the Indian army, ethnic violence in the Indian state of Manipur has resulted in more than 50 fatalities, hundreds of hospitalisations, and 23,000 displaced persons.
Hospital officials in the city of Imphal said on Sunday that since fighting between members of the Kuki and Meitei ethnic groups earlier this week, at least 55 people have died and another 260 have been hospitalised.
across the meantime, the Indian military reported that 23,000 civilians had escaped the violence and were being accommodated on military installations and garrisons across the state.
The two ethnic groups have been clashing in the streets of Imphal in India’s east and elsewhere.
Gunshot wounds are the most common injury, according to officials at Imphal hospitals the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, the Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences and Churachandpur District Hospital.
“Most of the patients are coming in with severe bullet injuries or having been hit in the head with lathis [sticks],” Dr Mang Hatzow of Churachandpur District Hospital in Manipur told CNN.
Video and photos broadcast on local television showed vehicles and buildings set on fire, with thick black smoke billowing from the streets.
Indian army troops have been deployed to the streets and a five-day mobile internet blackout is in force.
A youth tribal leader who works in Imphal told CNN his house had been vandalized and ransacked on May 4 and that since then he had been staying in an army camp.
“What we are witnessing here unfortunately is there seems to be a very systematic, well-planned series of attacks. The execution is almost clinical and they know exactly the houses where people from tribal communities reside,” said the leader, who asked to not be identified due to fears for his safety.
“A lot of houses are burnt, all our churches have been vandalized, some have been burnt. I barely escaped – the mob was already in the house. I climbed the fence over to the neighbors’ house. I just came with my laptop bag to this camp. I don’t have anything.”
He said there were about 5,500 people staying in his camp and that there were about six or seven camps in Imphal in total.
“There have been so many deaths,” he added. “A mother and son they were on their way to a camp. On their way, a mob encountered them and beat the son to death. The mother was trying to protect the son, she was killed too.”
CNN reached out to the state government of Manipur and the Indian army for comment on Sunday. There was no immediate response from the state government.
The army said it had rescued a total of 23,000 civilians and moved them to operating bases and military garrisons. It added that there was a “ray of hope” and a lull in the fighting due to the rescue work carried out by the 120-125 Army and Assam Rifles, which had been “working tirelessly for the past 96 hours to rescue civilians across all communities, curb violence and restore normalcy.”
It said it had also enhanced surveillance efforts using drones and helicopters.
Earlier this week the state’s governor, Anusuiya Uikey, issued “shoot-at-sight” orders in an effort to bring the situation under control.
The orders were authorized for “extreme cases whereby all forms of persuasion, warning, reasonable force etc. had been exhausted” and the situation “could not be controlled,” a statement from Manipur’s home department said.
Skirmishes first broke out after thousands of tribal people took part in a rally organized by the All Tribal Students Union of Manipur, against the potential inclusion of the state’s majority Meitei ethnic group in India’s “Scheduled Tribe” grouping.
The Meitei community, who make up about 50% of the state’s population, have for years campaigned to be recognized as a scheduled tribe, which would give them access to wider benefits including health, education and government jobs.
Scheduled tribes are among the most socio-economically disadvantaged groups in India and have historically been denied access to education and job opportunities.
If the Meitei community are given scheduled tribe status, other tribal groups say they fear they will not have a fair chance for jobs and other benefits.
In the conflict, now in its 15th month, Ukraine claims that a US Patriot defence battery destroyed one of Russia’s most advanced ballistic missiles.
The Kinzhal, or Kh-47, is a modernised missile that the Russian military and President Vladimir Putin have praised as an example of their armament, stating that its hypersonic speed makes it very difficult to intercept.
The Kh-47 is an air-launched ballistic missile with an approximate range of 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles), allowing it to be launched far from the battleground. A missile Russia claimed was unstoppable was allegedly halted by Ukraine.
It travels at about 10 times the speed of sound and is derived from the shorter-range Iskander ballistic missile, which is ground launched. It carries a warhead of nearly 500 kilograms.
Ukrainian intelligence believes Russia has only a few dozen Kinzhal missiles in its arsenal – a claim which couldn’t be independently verified.
Several Kinzhal missiles were launched at Ukrainian targets in March, but it’s not clear what damage they did or whether they all reached their targets. In April, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said Patriot systems had arrived from the US, Germany and the Netherlands.
If one of those systems has now destroyed a Kh-47, as the Ukrainians say, it calls into question the capabilities of one of Russia’s new generation of weapons.
After the Kinzhal was first tested, Putin told Russia’s Federal Council in 2018: “The unique flight characteristics of the high-speed carrier aircraft allow the missile to be delivered to the point of discharge within minutes.”
He also said that its hypersonic speed would allow it to “overcome all existing and, I think, prospective anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense systems, delivering nuclear and conventional warheads in a range of over 2,000 kilometers.”
Russia has made ambitious claims for several of its newer military systems, but their prowess is unproven.
Though deployed in small numbers, the Russians’ newest main battle tank, the T-90M, has appeared vulnerable to unsophisticated munitions, and the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet, the Moskva, was sunk early in the conflict.
Analysts have questioned the Kinzhal’s capabilities during the final phase of its flight, suggesting it may not be as maneuverable or as fast as it approaches a target.
The deployment of the Patriot represents a sea change in Ukraine’s air defense capabilities, which have been highly reliant on Soviet-era S-300 air defenses – for which munitions now appear in short supply.
The Patriots provide a modern dimension to Ukraine’s air defense layers, as does the German IRIS-T system. But it’s also much more complex, requiring about 100 personnel to operate.
Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Inhat said Saturday that the Russians “were saying that the Patriot is an outdated American weapon, and Russian weapons are the best in the world.”
“Well, there is confirmation that it effectively works against even a super hypersonic missile.” Ihnat said, adding that intercepting the Kinzhal is “a slap in the face for Russia.”
An illegal small-scale miner by name Kwofie K has vowed to convert the country into a desert if government does not resolve the unemployment problem in the country.
He sent a warning to the government over the resolve of his mining crew to engage in wanton destruction of forest cover in search of gold.
In a Facebook live video sighted by GhanaWeb, Kwofie dared the government to come after him and his crew saying their action is motivated by the alleged involvement of government and political party officials in illegal gold mining on a rather large scale.
“What is happening is annoying and I have been compelled to do this video, you should see the number of excavators passing through here to go and destroy the forests and that’s nonsense.
“We will all destroy the forest together. We cannot protect the cocoa trees because of GH₵1 milo. The leaders are destroying the land and we are following suit,” he stated.
He further implored the government to cause an end to the active involvement of political actors in the illegal mining and also provide alternative jobs for the youth engaged in same or risk the deforestation of the entire country in the near future.
“The leaders should wise up. If we destroy the land, future generations will suffer so they have to implement good policies that will provide us with sustainable jobs so we can stop the galamsey. If not, we will turn the whole Ghana into a desert in just 20 years,” he stated.
Despite several efforts by the government, Ghana continues to lose its forest cover and water resources to illegal mining at a rapidly increasing rate.
A report submitted to the presidency by former Minister for Environment, Science, Innovation and Technology, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng indicted several government and political party officials as being complicit in the galamsey canker.
The former minister who was the chairman of the now-dissolved Inter-Ministerial Committee on Small Scale Mining in his 2021 report which was recently published in the media implicated several individuals including members of parliament, ministers and presidential staffers.
The wife of the late Christian Atsu, Marie-Claire Rupio, has shared an adorable snapshot of their daughter Abigail on her official Instagram page.
The picture shows Abigail looking lovely in an African print dress, which garnered admiration from many people.
One photo features Abigail in a sleeveless orange silk dress adorned with a pleated African print material. A white set of flowers was elegantly placed on the right shoulder of the dress. Marie-Claire Rupio captioned the photo with “Our sunshine,” adding to the picture’s heartwarming nature.
In another photo shared on her Instagram stories (@claireuk_), Abigail is seen wearing a purple dress, a beautiful blend of silk fabric and Kente. Her infectious smile and white teeth added to the charm of her look.
The US embassy in Ghana has released the list of selected applicants for visas for 2024.
The embassy explained that the selection does not guarantee a visa or an interview.
However, applicants may find out about their status on its website.
Each year, the Department of State conducts a random selection of Diversity Immigrant Visa (DV) applicants, based on the allocation of available visas in each region and country.
Meanwhile, effective May 30, 2023, nonimmigrant visa fees will be revised upwards by the United States of America Embassy in Accra.
This means that B1/B2 visas for business and tourist travel, F visas for international students, J exchange visitor visas, and other visa classes not requiring a petition will increase from $160 to $185.
On the other hand, petition-based nonimmigrants who fall within (H, L, O, P, Q, and R) categories will pay fees of $205 instead of the previous $190.
According to the US Embassy, the move, which will take effect at all U.S embassies and consulates around the world, was established by the Department of State in Washington, D.C.
Persons who apply before May 30 and schedule an interview within 365 days of the day of payment will, however, not be affected by the change.
“Fees are increasing for new visa applications as of May 30, 2023, only. Applicants who pay the visa fee before May 30, 2023, and schedule an interview within 365 days of the day payment is made are not affected by this change.
“There is no requirement for the interview to actually occur during that 365-day period, applicants must just take the step of scheduling an appointment within 365 days,” myjoyonline quoted the embassy as having said.
A family that buried their dead relative in a grave in front of the palace of the chief of Amamoley has exhumed the body following a court order.
This was after the Asofan District Court ordered that the police, together with the Ga-North District Assembly, exhume the remains of one Quainnor.
“It is hereby ordered that the police and the Ga-North District Assembly are to exhume the human remains of Quainnor Tetteh, and bury same in a place slated by the District Assembly for burial,” the court order stated.
The order from the court also said that all costs that pertain to this exercise should be borne by the accused persons in the case, the family of Quainnor Tetteh.
“Cost of exhumation to be borne by the accused persons,” the order, signed by the John Krampah Otoo, the court registrar, said.
Background:
The Chief of the Amamoley Traditional Area, Nii Commey Odaanu II, said in an interview, that there had been claims that he was the one who killed the deceased, Quainnor Tetteh.
He added that the people also insisted that since that was the case, they had every right to have him buried right in front of his house.
“Early March, I was in my room when I heard some noise, with people shouting, I knew there were funerals in town, so I suspected it would be a funeral. So, I was just looking through my window and I saw a group of people in front of my house, digging a trench.
“I asked myself, what was going on, and from the look of things, the way they were holding weapons in their hands, it seemed like they were prepared to stand against whoever confronts them against what they were doing.
“Before a human being will be buried, they need to take burial permit before that is done, even at the burial ground. So, I decided to go to the Environmental Protection Agency and ask them if they were the people who gave them the permission to bury the body at the point they were burying it.
“One Nii Ashietey and Ishmael Addo, and I know a lot of them by name and by faces, I could not question them, but I called the police so they could ask them why they were doing that. So, when the Environmental Protection Agency intervened, then they told them that I was the one who killed the deceased, so, that is their right to bury the person in front of my house,” he explained.
The police, however, tried to stop the people from going ahead, but they also refused to comply.
The chief eventually asked that the men are arrested because there is a designated cemetery in the community, and he did not understand why they had to come and bury a body at a point that serves as a playground for children.
The police then advised that he takes the case to court.
Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London joined condemnation of an incident on May 1, which led to the death of a 30-year-old Ghanaian, Johanita Kossiwa Dogbey.
The incident which took place in Brixton was widely reported by the media.
Johanita was returning home from a shop where she had gone to get a gift when her attacker, one Mohammed Nur attacked her.
She was pronounced dead by first responders who had been called to the scene.
“This was an utterly appalling attack – and my thoughts and prayers are with Johanita Kossiwa Dogbey’s family, friends and the wider community in Brixton.
“The Met Commissioner & I remain in regular contact. A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder & extra police remain in the area to progress this investigation & respond to concerns,” the Mayor posted in a tweet dated May 4.
The attacker was arraigned before a Magistrate Court last week but only his details were taken and is due to be transferred to a higher court next week because of the indictable nature of his offence.
Billionaire Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta Resources said it has repaid $800 million worth of loans, another move that could assuage concerns about its liquidity after surging interest rates intensified pressure on low-rated borrowers with heavy debt loads.
The London-based firm has repaid three facilities, which were taken from Standard Chartered Bank in London and Hong Kong, the company said in an exchange filing. The repayments released the encumbrances created on the shares of its unit Vedanta Ltd., it said.
Vedanta Resources has relied on hefty dividends from its Indian units, taking up record amounts last financial year, to honor its near-term liabilities. The market now focuses on how the mining giant will service its dollar notes due this month and an even bigger debt pile coming due in 2024 when close to $2 billion of bonds will mature.
The company had paid all loans and bonds due last month, cutting its gross debt to $6.8 billion, it said in a statement in April.
The IMF stated this in its departmental paper on the continent, titled: “Trade Integration in Africa: Unleashing the Continent’s Potential in a Changing World”. The departmental paper was released on May 5.
Reviewing climate change effects
According to the IMF, rising average temperatures are expected to lower gross domestic product (GDP) growth and exacerbate food insecurity in Africa. Also, the rising frequency of natural disasters associated with climate change would also be expected to disrupt economic activity at an increasing frequency on the continent.
It is expected that extreme weather events could disrupt global supply chains, create shortages, damage infrastructure, and drive-up prices. Climate change could also affect transportation costs in the future due to carbon pricing or the use of more costly fuels. In addition, geopolitical fragmentation is likely to raise the frequency of shocks to individual bilateral trade relationships directly and indirectly.
The IMF paper, however, stated that despite these challenges, regional trade integration in Africa can be an important element of a climate adaptation strategy in any of the following ways:
Regional trade integration could boost countries’ resilience by reducing their overreliance on sectors that are at increased risk of being adversely affected by climate change-related natural disasters.
By facilitating the flow of goods across borders, regional trade integration would help countries diversify sources of climate-vulnerable products.
Regional trade integration could open opportunities for increased regional trade related to climate-related infrastructure, services, and finance.
Increased global competition for commodities and critical minerals may allow some African economies to deepen their pre-existing integration into global value chains as upstream suppliers of raw materials.
The AfCFTA presents African countries with an opportunity to diversify their export destinations, import sources and patterns of cross-border value chain integration by boosting regional trade.
Under the AfCFTA, most African economies would see a decline in the concentration of their export destinations, with generally larger declines for countries that currently have a relatively high export concentration. A greater diversity of export destinations would in turn increase economic resilience.
Africa’s Future in Numbers
According to the IMF, a large and growing labour force creates opportunities for more rapid growth, complemented by a falling dependency ratio that creates room for more domestic savings.
The Fund provided some numbers that could work to the advantage of African countries in the fight against climate change and its emergence as a leader in the global energy transition.
Africa’s working-age population (ages 15–64) is projected to rise from about 800 million in 2022 to more than 1.5 billion by 2050 (and peak only later this century).
The median dependency ratio (the number of the young and the elderly relative to the size of the working-age population) is expected to decline from 0.77 currently to 0.60 by 2050.
A Security analyst, Adib Saani, has cited unemployment as one of the major causes of terrorism.
He noted that it is part of our human vulnerability and that it has been proven to create terrorism, rebellion, criminality, and other security concerns.
He was reacting to the Ghana Statistical Service’s most recent unemployment numbers.
According to the data, unemployment has risen from 19% to more than 25%.
The reported figure revealed two-thirds of the unemployed were females.
Adib Saani, in response to the report, stated that these are concerning data that must be addressed.
According to him, we play politics with unemployment, and he doesn’t accept these stats because some of the jobs listed as jobs aren’t.
“We pretend to employ people, and they also pretend to work,” he bemoaned. Graduates from our universities, unemployed nurses, and others are all over, so when I look at these figures, I know something is wrong. These statistics are typically intended to make the government appear good. The unemployment rate is alarming. The remedy was successful, and the kikes of NABCO and others no longer had jobs.
What you should do is create an environment conducive to the growth of the private sector. Several businesses in the country are experiencing difficulties. This government vowed to shift Ghana from taxing to production, but we are currently paying historic levels of taxation.”
He called the scenario “irresponsible governance” and “unfortunate.”
“On an unprecedented scale, Ghanaians are willing to travel outside the country to seek greener pastures. Several people call me requesting to know if I could assist them travel or leave the country because the situation in Ghana is terrible. Our minimum wage is the worst in the world.”
Huge shouts erupted as the newly crowned King and Queen stood side by side on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, where they were joined by other royal family members.
Millions of people around the world watched as King Charles III was crowned at his coronation earlier on Saturday at Westminster Abbey.
There were a lot of Royalists in Trafalgar Square, some of whom having waited in line for the queen for days.
King Charles and Queen Camilla watched on as a flypast from the Red Arrows painted the grey London skies red, white, and blue.
The flypast was scaled down at the last minute due to the weather, according to the Ministry of Defence, with just helicopters and the Red Arrows taking part.
The Duke of Edinburgh, the Earl of Wessex, Lady Louise Windsor, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, the Duchess of Edinburgh, the Princess Royal, Princess Charlotte, the Princess of Wales, Prince Louis, the Prince of Wales, the King’s Pages of Honour including Prince George, Lord Oliver Cholmondley, Nicholas Barclay, Ralph Tollemache, King Charles III and Queen Camilla, the Queen’s Pages of Honour including Louis and Gus Lopes, Freddy Parker Bowles and Arthur Eliot, Lady in Attendance Annabel Eliot and Marchioness of Lansdowne, Princess Alexandra of Kent, the Duke of Kent, the Duchess of Gloucester and the Duke of Gloucester on the balcony at Buckingham Palace (Picture: PA)Britain’s Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh Anne, Princess Royal, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, Britain’s Prince William, Catherine, Princess of Wales, and their children Princess Charlotte, Prince Louis and Prince George and Britain’s King Charles’ were all on the balcony(Picture: REUTERS)The Princess of Wales smiled as her son Louis looked amazed by the flypast (Picture: REUTERS)The Red Arrows put on a spectacular show as they brought a splash of Royal colour to the skies above a wet London (Picture: Getty)Dressed in lavish robes with golden silk and velvet the King and Queen gave a wave and a smile to those below them on the balcony at the Palace (Picture: Getty)The King was enjoying a wave to the thousands of people who braved the wet weather (Picture: AFP)
Initially, more than 60 different aircraft including vintage bombers were scheduled to be involved in the flyover.
The King and Queen were led back to the Palace in the Gold State Coach, followed by a procession of 4,000 troops from the army, navy and RAF.
Coronation of King Charles III latest
The Royal couple looked on as helicopters and members of the Red Arrows took to the skies for the impressive flypast.
It was initially meant to last for six minutes, but instead only took place for two and a half minutes.
The King and Queen waved after receiving huge cheers from the crowds down below them at Buckingham Palace (Picture: Sky)The Prince of Wales and The Princess of Wales had their hands full on the balcony as they had to look after their three children (Picture: Sky)
In keeping with King Charles’ wish for a ‘slimmed down’ event, it will be ten times smaller than the flypast for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953.
Queen Victoria was the first recorded monarch to step out onto the balcony in 1851 when she stepped out for celebrations for the opening of the Great Exhibition.
The planes will head over Essex to London and will also take in parts of Surrey, plus Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire as they disperse.
Each area is zoned and these are the approximate time periods to keep a lookout, based on when the airspace is due to be restricted:
The King’s mother, Queen Elizabeth II made her last appearance on the balcony during celebrations at the Platinum Jubilee last year.
Charles and Camilla, William and Kate and their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis joined her.
The Royal balcony looked a lot different to the busier one when The Queen was crowned. Charles and his sister Princess Anne, who was just two at the time, joined her, as did her husband Philip.
She also had her Maids of Honour and members of her Royal household with her.
He will wave to the public alongside his wife Queen Camilla once they return to Buckingham Palace.
They will then make their way up to the Royal balcony where they will look out and take part in the long-standing tradition of waving to the well-wishers who have gone to the Mall to show their support.
Heir to the throne, Prince Wales, and his bride Kate Middleton appeared on the balcony following their wedding ceremony in 2011.
The King and Queen are expected to be joined by members of the Royal family on the balcony at around 2.15pm today to watch the RAF fly past
It is not yet known which family members will join them for the historic moment, although it is likely they will be joined by the Prince and Princess of Wales, Princess Anne and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Lawrence and the new Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, Edward and Sophie.
The Electricity Company of Ghana has asked consumers using its electricity app to pay their bills to be patient with them.
The company’s Managing Director, Samuel Mahama, speaking to the press on Thursday, May 4, in Accra, admitted that the ECG is having internet connectivity problems but will soon rectify them.
“Our power app is still going through an enhancement. We are receiving traffic. I must admit, we’ve been having some internet problems from our internet service providers and we are working hard to switch to a better one or add on to it so that our service becomes dynamic.”
He, however, noted that the users can use the app to view their bills and urged them to pay their bills while the company works around the clock to address the challenges.
“On the power app now, you can actually view your bill. We are doing our best to make sure that all those whose information is on our system will be getting an estimated bill monthly until finally, we can visit your premises to give you your meter,” he said.
A machete attack launched on a family by a 35-year-old landlord has led to the demise of a one year old.
The incident happened in the Atwima Nwabiagya North District of the Ashanti Region, leaving one dead.
The suspect who was only identified as Emmanuel reportedly killed a one and half year old Samuel Amo, and inflicted multiple machete wounds on father and sibling of the deceased, Mr. Obed Asamoah and Bridget Owusu, 19.
Mother of the deceased, Janet Owusua in an interview with OTEC News Jacob Agyenim Boateng said the sad incident occurred on Friday, May 5, 2023.
She narrated the story, “My husband had just returned from work when the incident happened, he was carrying my son now deceased, when the suspect confronted him and asked that we pack out of the house”.
“Before my husband could reply to him, the suspect cut both the child and his father and begun butchering them, my 19-year-old daughter who was at the scene rushed to pick up the little boy who had fallen on the ground after the attack, but she was also butchered in the process “.
“I went out in desperation for help but the boy was dead when I arrived with people at the scene with both my daughter and husband battling for their lives”.
She disclosed that the three victims were rushed to the emergency ward of the Okomfo Anokye Teaching Hospital for treatment but the boy was confirmed dead.
Arrest
The suspect was said to have gone into hiding after committing the crime but was flushed out from his hideout a day later.
He was arrested by some residents in the area after confessing his crime to a local pastor in the area.
The suspect is currently in police custody assisting investigations.
Queen Elizabeth had two birthdays, which was a privilege that the rest of us could only imagine. This benefit stood out throughout her 70-year reign.
Her Majesty was born on April 21st, 1926, but every year, in June normally, the summer parade Trooping the Colour served as her “official birthday celebration.”
Will the newly crowned King Charles III continue the custom after his coronation today?
Queen Elizabeth had two birthdays, which was a privilege that the rest of us could only imagine. This benefit stood out throughout her 70-year reign.
Her Majesty was born on April 21st, 1926, but every year, in June normally, the summer parade Trooping the Colour served as her “official birthday celebration.”
Will the newly crowned King Charles III continue the custom after his coronation today?
Will King Charles III have two birthdays?
King Charles will carry on the tradition of Trooping the Colour, which dates all the way back to 1748.
So, as a result, it’s implied he will indeed continue having two birthdays.
The first royal ruler to have two birthday celebrations was the Queen’s distant relative, King George II – who wished to throw a public celebration, with a parade and plenty of pomp and circumstance to mark the occasion of his birthday.
However, having been born in November, the odds on the weather holding out for a huge outdoor bash in the UK were pretty slim.
Instead, the monarch decided to use the UK’s annual military parade held in the summer as his official birthday celebration, meaning that he would mark his birthday twice – once for the public in the summer and once in private in November.
Rather conveniently, our now king’s birthday is also in November – so Charles’ decision to host Trooping the Colour 2023 on June 17 feels more connected to history than ever before.
When it’s eventually time for the nation to have a King William, the tradition of two birthdays might come to an end.
This is because William’s birthday is already in June.
