The Ghana Soyabeans Farmers and Aggregators Association (GHASFAA) has requested that the government lift the restrictions on the import and export of soybeans in order to protect the livelihoods of the nation’s farmers and aggregators.
The regulation, passed in 2020 by the government, was to provide licensing for the exportation of soybeans in commercial quantities to ensure availability of soyabeans for domestic use to meet local processing requirement for animals production.
Mr. Abdul-Hakeem Issah, Director in charge of Administration, GHASFAA, who addressed a press conference on behalf of GHASFAA in Tamale, said the implementation of the regulation had become a thorn in the flesh of soybean farmers as government agencies were using the regulation to obstruct the soybeans trade in the country.
Mr Issah said the government needed to repeal the restrictions since the local processing companies were not having ready cash to pay for the soybeans, which was adversely affecting farmers and aggregators in the sector.
He wondered why the regulation did not target maize production, which was a staple food for the poultry industry, but rather soybeans.
He said livestock, fish and poultry farmers do not buy soybeans from them as intended by the government, adding that, they only bought it from the local processing companies, which often deal with imported soybeans.
Mr Issah called on government to allow individuals with the capacity to export soybeans to do so without frustrating them, to enable the industry to attract the needed investments, as investors were currently moving away from investing in soybeans production, because of the restrictions.
He warned that if the government failed to heed their call by May 15, 2023, they would cut down the production of soybeans in the 2023/2024 farming season.
President Akufo-Addo has nominated Gertrude Torkonoo as the new Chief Justice.
She is the President’s third appointee to the office of Chief Justice since he assumed office in January 2017 and is set to replace Justice Anin Yeboah.
A letter signed by the president indicated that it is important that he begins the processes for the replacement of the outgoing CJ now, so as not to create any vacuum.
“Chief Justice Kwasi Anin Yeboah is due to retire from the bench on 24th May, 2023, his seventieth birthday. In order to avoid a vacuum and ensure that a new Chief Justice is immediately in office after his retirement, I have decided to begin the process of appointment now. Article 144 (1) of the constitution, which governs the appointment of a Chief Justice, requires that I, first, consult with the Council of State before seeking the approval of Parliament.
“Consequently, I am nominating Justice Gertrude Arada Esaaba Torkornoo, a member of the Supreme Court, as the new Chief Justice,” his letter, addressed to the Council of State, said.
The president also added that he has been satisfied with the work of the nominee after her four years service at the apex court of the land.
He also called on the Council of State to expedite processes to have the nominee approved so he can proceed to the next stage with parliament.
Earlier, GhanaWeb had multiple reported on how either Gertrude Torkornoo, or Yonny Kulendi, both justices of the Supreme Court, had been highly tipped to become the next Chief Justice.
By this letter, it brings a finality to who President Akufo-Addo has considered for the near-vacant position.
Here is a profile of Gertrude Torkornoo:
Gertrude Araba Esaaba Torkornoo is a Ghanaian judge and author. Formerly a judge of the Appeals Court, she was nominated Supreme Court Judge in November 2019 and vetted on 10 December 2019.
She was sworn in on 17 December 2019. Aside from law, she has authored books, plays, academic essays, articles, and presentations.
Gertrude Torkornoo hails from Winneba in the Central Region of Ghana. She was born on 11 September 1962 in Cape Coast. She had her secondary education at Wesley Girls’ High School for her ordinary level certificate and Achimota School for her advanced level certificate.
She had her tertiary education at the University of Ghana and completed the Ghana School of Law in 1986.
Prior to joining Fugar & Co., a law firm in Accra as a pupil associate, Torkornoo worked as a volunteer at the FIDA Legal Aid Service and had her internship at Nabarro Nathanson in London. She returned to the firm (Fugar & Co., a law firm) in 1994 to become its director.
In January 1997, she became a Managing Partner at Sozo Law Consult until May 2004 when she was appointed a Justice at the High Court of Ghana. She worked as a High Court judge until October 2012 when she was elevated to the Court of Appeal.
She had been a justice of the Court of Appeal until her nomination for the role of Supreme Court Judge in November 2019. She was sworn into office on 17 December 2019.
Prior to her appointment as Supreme Court justice, Torkornoo has held a number of leadership positions, some of which include; Supervising Judge of Commercial Courts, Chair of the Editorial Committee of Association of Magistrates and Judges, Chief Editor for the development of Judicial Ethics Training Manual, Vice-Chair of the E-Justice Steering/Oversight Committee and Vice-Chair of the Internship and Clerkship Programme for the Judiciary.
She is also a Faculty Member of the Judicial Training Institute and a member of the Governing Board of the Judicial Training Institute.
The New Zealand pilot Philip Mehrtens who is being held captive by separatist rebels in Indonesia’s troubled Papua area has made an appearance in a video claiming to be “alive and well,” but fears are growing for his safety as conflict with Indonesian security forces escalates.
Mehrtens speaks calmly to the camera in both Indonesian and English for the whole of the one and a half minute film while seated between two unarmed Papuan men and wearing a black T-shirt and shorts.
It’s been over three months since they (separatist fighters) abducted me from Paro, Mehrtens stated. “Good afternoon, today is Monday, April 24, 2023,” he added. I am still alive and healthy, as you can see. I’ve been eating and drinking good,” he said.
“I live with the people here – we travel together as required, we sit together, we rest together.”
He then called on the Indonesian authorities to stop ongoing airstrikes in the Nduga Regency where he is being held, saying the attacks could put his life as well as others at risk.
“Indonesia’s been dropping bombs in the area over the last week,” Mehrtens said. “Please, there is no need, it is dangerous for me and everybody here. Thank you for your support.”
In a statement accompanying the video, the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) called on the New Zealand government to mediate and initiate negotiations for Mehrtens’ release and urged Indonesian authorities to stop its military operations in Papua.
“We emphasize that the pilot’s release must go through negotiations – not through military operations,” the group’s spokesperson Sebby Sambom said.
“Therefore, Indonesian President Joko Widodo must stop military operations in Ndugama immediately – if not (it will) endanger the life of the New Zealand pilot.”
Fighting and unrest continue to escalate in the impoverished but resource-rich region of Papua, where the Indonesian military maintains a heavy and controversial presence.
Designated as a terrorist group by the Indonesian government, TPNPB has periodically released updates about Mehrtens – who was captured by fighters in February after landing a commercial Susi Air charter flight at Paro Airport.
They have not disclosed Mehrtens’ location.
Indonesian security forces previously said they would refrain from any action that could endanger Mehrtens’ life but launched a military search operation for the pilot that resulted in clashes.
Last week separatist rebels claimed they killed at least 13 Indonesian military soldiers – a figure dismissed as “fake news” by Indonesian military chief Admiral Yudo Margono who confirmed one fatality and said four soldiers had gone missing while the rest had returned to their posts.
In a statement following the attacks, the rebels said they shot dead 13 Indonesian military and police officials and were in possession of 12 bodies, without providing proof.
CNN has reached out to Indonesian army officials for further comment about the latest hostage video and updates on the search mission for Mehrtens.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said he had received reports of the increased military confrontations and again called on the separatist group to release Mehrtens, reported CNN affiliate RNZ.
Two of Ghana’s top banks have suffered their first-ever losses as a result of the West African country’s decision to restructure its local-currency and foreign debt.
GCB Bank Plc, the country’s largest lender by assets, posted a 593.4 million cedis ($50.5 million) net loss for the year to end-December, its first since 1993 when Bloomberg started maintaining data. Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Ltd., the biggest by market value, reported a loss of 297.8 million cedis.
Banks operating in West Africa’s second-largest economy have taken a hit of about $1.4 billion, according to Bloomberg calculations, as Ghana restructures most of its public debt, estimated at 576 billion cedis. The impairments prompted Guaranty Trust Holding Co., Nigeria’s largest bank by market value, to vow to slow lending and bond trading in Ghana.
GCB Bank took a charge of 1.83 billion cedis after impairing its debt securities, while for Standard Chartered Bank Ghana the amount was 173 million cedis.
Ghana’s lenders were allowed a month’s extension to release full-year earnings.
The nation’s debt rose after spending pressures from an energy crisis between 2013 and 2015 and a sweeping banking-sector cleanup in 2018 were compounded by shocks from the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
As part of the revamp, Ghana exchanged 87.8 billion cedis of local notes that paid an average of 19%, with bonds returning as little as 8.35% — resulting in losses for financial institutions.
President Nana Akufo-Addo’s government has also started discussions with international debt holders as it seeks to finalize a $3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
The IMF wants Ghana to bring its debt down to 55% of GDP by 2028. Before the government’s interventions, it had been projected to reach 109%.
Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia has taken a taken a swipe at former president John Dramani Mahama, branding him as a policy-less politician with his over three decades of serving in public office.
Bawumia said at a public function in the Ayawaso Central Constituency that he will continue to ask one question of John Mahama going into the future, a question he believes the former president will never have an answer to.
“I asked John Mahama one question, he has not yet answered it. So far, I asked him just one question.
“I say, John Mahama, you have been Assemblyman, you have been deputy minister, you have been minister, you have been vice president, you have been president; over the last 30 years, so tell us one policy we can associate with you over 30 years of political life,” he stressed.
The first time Bawumia launched the ‘attack’ on Mahama was at a party rally last month in Mpraeso in the Eastern Region.
“Just one, not two, one policy that you can say, as for this one, John Mahama did it. He has not yet answered it and he cannot answer it,” Bawumia said to cheers from the audience as he is flanked by Greater Accra Regional minister, Henry Quartey.
“So, if he cannot answer one question, then I wouldn’t bother with 700 questions this time around. I would just leave it at one, I am waiting for the answer and in the future, I will keep asking,” he added.
Bawumia is seen as a front-runner in the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearership race slated for later this year, even though he has yet to openly declare his candidature, senior aides have assured that he will run to lead the NPP into election 2024.
John Mahama is currently touring the country seeking the National Democratic Congress (NDC_ flagbearership nod to lead the party into the 2024 polls. He will come up against Kwabena Duffuor and Kojo Bonsu in a primary slated for May 13.
Sarkodie has criticized the Ghanaian leadership for lacking focus, resolve, and resilience.
According to him, Ghana has a lot of great minds who have proven in their own way how they can make something out of nothing with little resources and maintain it for a long period of time hence such people deserve to be empowered.
Sarkodie made these comments in response to a video analyzing why Ghana’s first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, was ousted from power
The said video captured thoughts shared in Nkrumah’s book, ‘Neo-Colonialism, the Last Stage of imperialism’, published in 1965 which among others, espoused that “the result of neo-colonialism is that foreign capital is used for the exploitation rather than for the development of the less developed parts of the world. Investment under neo-colonialism increases rather than decreases the gap between the rich and the poor countries of the world…”
“Neo-colonialism is based upon the principle of breaking up former large united colonial territories into a number of small non-viable States which are incapable of independent development and must rely upon the former imperial power for defence and even internal security. Their economic and financial systems are linked, as in colonial days, with those of the former colonial ruler.”
Commenting on the video, Sarkodie praised Nkrumah for his selflessness and called on current leaders to follow his example.
“Typical politicians are trained not to build anything but just to fulfill political ambitions (just win power) … About time we check the track records of the leaders we give power to. The discipline, commitment, and resilience needed in a leader cannot be overlooked.
“We have a lot of great minds in this country who have proven in their own way how they can make something out of nothing with little resources and maintain it for a long period of time. Such people deserve to be empowered.
“We can’t sit on all these resources and always sit humbly in front of other foreigners (with not that much resources) asking for help. At this point we should be talking collaborations only and still maintain ownership (100%).
“When you don’t want to be responsible, you should be fine with outsiders telling you what to do.”
A statement available to Angelonline.com.gh released Monday, April 24, 2023, and co-signed by the Communication Officer and Constituency Secretary of the Abuakwa South NPP, Felix Nyarko Acheampong and Julius Okyere, said the executives noted with grave concern the claims made by the former minister.
Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, a former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, who once chaired the government’s Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), in his 37 pages report to the chief of staff on the fight against illegal mineral exploitation said a party youth organizer had a concession closer to the president’s house in Kibi.
The Youth Organizer in question, according to the document, is engaged in illegal mining in an area close to the President’s house, thereby affecting parts of the First Gentleman’s garden, a phenomenon he said was on the blind side of the President.
However, the executives expressing their grave concern about the claims in the statement stated categorically that the publication by Professor Frimpong Boateng is “falsehood” and only sought to dent the ruling government’s name.
“The executives wish to unequivocally state, that this does not only form part of that suspicious grand scheme by Professor Boateng, to use the state’s power to settle personal scores, probably, to punish the President for not reappointing him Minister of State in his second term, but also, smacks of a grand agenda to give our opponents undeserving arsenals to throw back at us in the run-up to the 2024 elections.
In the first place, to state that “the Youth Organizer of the NPP in Kyebi” is involved in any kind of illegality, is only vague, as such allegation falls short of indicating what level of the party structure the said Youth Organizer occupied at the time of the supposed incident. Was he/she a Polling Station, Constituency, Regional or National Youth Organizer? There is nothing like a local Youth Organizer anywhere in the NPP Constitution.
Indeed, if his reference to Kyebi is meant to indicate that the supposed wrongdoing is attributable to a certain Constituency Youth Organizer, then the Constituency executives wish to emphatically state, that the then Constituency Youth Organizer has never been associated whatsoever, with galamsey operation; hence, rendering this allegation short of substance,” the statement contains.
Setting the record straight, the statement noted that the very location of the President’s Kyebi residence makes it impossible for any illegal mining operation to take place even close to it except for those who do not know the house like Professor Frimpong Boateng, apparently.
It emphasised that the President’s house is not “obscured as it is closely surrounded by many other houses” and for that matter to “suggest that an illegal mining operation has taken place near the walled house to the extent that it affected parts of a supposed garden in the house, only lives much to be desired about what method at all was used for such operation.
To this end, the NPP Abuakwa South disclosed that the President does not even have a garden at his Kyebi residence therefore, for the Professor to state that a section of his garden was affected “is nothing but palpable falsehood.”
According to them the Learned Professor would have perhaps, been forgiven if he had only maintained that such report got to him through a phone call placed to him by one Eric Antwi of the office of the President.
“But to have continued to say that he personally followed up to see with his very eyes, the supposed incident, simply casts a huge slur on the integrity of both the Former Minister and his work as Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee,” it stressed.
The Abuakwa Soth NPP executives used the medium and entreated well-meaning Ghanaians to disregard the accusations and called on the media to go to the president’s residence in Kyebi to fact-check Professor Frimpong-Boateng’s claims.
After Sudanese rebels took control of the National Public Health Laboratory in the nation’s capital Khartoum, the World Health Organization issued a “huge biological risk” warning on Tuesday. This came as foreign countries rushed to launch quick evacuation operations from the country and violence shattered a tenuous ceasefire mediated by the US.
In Khartoum on Tuesday, half a day after the announcement of a 72-hour ceasefire raised hopes of opening up escape routes for desperate civilians to evacuate, CNN correspondents heard gunfire and the thunder of fighter jets. Eyewitnesses informed CNN that fierce fighting broke out between the Sudanese military and the Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary group opposing the army for control of the nation. The fighting took place in the northern region of Khartoum state.
The two warring sides accused each other of violating the agreement.
The number of people killed in Sudan since violence broke out eleven days ago has reached at least 459 deaths, the World Health Organization also said on Tuesday, with at least 4,072 people injured.
A high-ranking medical source told CNN that the lab, which contains samples of diseases and other biological material, had been taken over by RSF forces. The WHO did not appoint blame for the lab seizure but said medical technicians no longer had access to the facility.
Nima Saeed Abid, the WHO representative in Sudan, described the development as “extremely dangerous because we have polio isolates in the lab, we have measles isolates in the lab, we have cholera isolates in the lab.”
“There is a huge biological risk associated with the occupation of the central public health lab in Khartoum by one of the fighting parties,” he added.
The WHO said in a statement to CNN that “trained laboratory technicians no longer have access to the laboratory” and that the facility had suffered power cuts, meaning “it is not possible to properly manage the biological materials that are stored in the laboratory for medical purposes.”
The power cuts also mean there is a risk of spoilage of depleting stocks of blood bags, according to the director-general of the laboratory.
The medical source told CNN that “the danger lies in the outbreak of any armed confrontation in the laboratory because that will turn the laboratory into a germ bomb.”
“An urgent and rapid international intervention is required to restore electricity and secure the laboratory from any armed confrontation because we are facing a real biological danger,” the source added.
CNN has reached out to the RSF for comment.
The United Kingdom, France, South Korea and a host of other countries confirmed Tuesday that they were pulling out nationals after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that a three-day ceasefire had been agreed.
The White House is meanwhile considering a plan to send US troops to Port Sudan to help with the evacuation of American citizens, a US official with knowledge of the operations told CNN on Monday.
Three US warships are also being deployed off the coast of Sudan. A Navy official told CNN that the US is sending the USNS Brunswick to Sudan, one day after the Pentagon said the USS Truxton is already off the coast of the country and the USS Lewis B. Puller is on its way.
CNN’s team in Djibouti obtained images released by the US military showing personnel arriving in that country. France and Pakistan both said they had evacuated hundreds of nationals, while China said most of its citizens had also been pulled out of the country.
As many as 500 people fleeing the fighting have begun boarding the French frigate “Lorraine” in Port-Sudan on Tuesday afternoon, a spokesman for the French Chief of Defense Staff told CNN.
At least one US citizen, Dr. Bushra Ibnauf Sulieman, a Sudanese American physician, was killed in Khartoum on Tuesday.
Sulieman, who taught at the University of Khartoum, the oldest medical school in the country, died “after receiving fatal stab wounds in front of his house from unknown persons, according to the Preliminary Committee of Sudan Doctors’ Trade Union.
“Dr. Sulieman was murdered outside of his home due to the security situation in Sudan while he was escorting his father to a dialysis appointment,” said Dr. Yasir Elamin, President of the Sudanese American Physicians Association.
Previous ceasefires have collapsed within hours of being struck since clashes first gripped Sudan in mid-April. But the latest agreement, which Blinken said followed two days of “intense negotiation,” has raised hopes that it would open a window in which foreign nations could hurry citizens and staff to safety. According to a statement from the Sudanese Armed Forces, Saudi Arabia was also involved in mediating the truce.
On Tuesday, both sides of the conflict accused each other of breaking the truce. The armed forces said the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were moving military convoys to the capital in order to carry out a large scale military operation, had deployed snipers in parts of Khartoum, and were conducting operations near embassies. The army did not provide evidence for the claims.
The RSF blamed the army for violating the truce by “continuing to attack Khartoum by planes.” Eyewitnesses told CNN that fighter jets were heard over Omdurman to the north of the capital.
As the conflict rages on through its second week, water supplies are scarce and food is “running out” in Khartoum state, a witness told CNN on Tuesday.
“Shops are running out of food completely” and several food factories in the state had been looted, the witness, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons, told CNN.
“As for the water supplies, we don’t have water for the eleventh day continuously. We only get water from a well nearby. So you have to go all the way to the well with barrels or stuff if you have a car or stuff. If not you have to take something small to get enough water for you,” the witness said.
Saif Mohamed Othman, 51, a freelancer who resides in Shambat, North Bahri, told CNN on Tuesday that food stocks have run out in stores, made worse by the complete burning of the central market, which supplies large parts of Bahri with vegetables, meat and other food.
Residents are also struggling financially because state employees had not received their wages since before the Eid al-Fitr holiday at the end of last week, and the bank’s ATMs have stopped functioning, Othman told CNN.
Othman told CNN there are patrols in place to protect the neighborhood from the widespread looting and robbing that large areas in Khartoum have been exposed to due to the lack of security and police presence.
On Monday, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) warned that shortages of food, water, medicines and fuel are becoming “extremely acute” in Khartoum and surrounding areas.
“Access to health care, including sexual and reproductive health care, has been critically impacted by the conflict,” UNOCHA added. “Displacement of civilians continues to be reported in Khartoum, Northern, Blue Nile, North Kordofan, North Darfur, West Darfur and South Darfur states, as well as cross-border movements to surrounding countries.”
Many Sudanese people caught in the middle of the fighting have attempted to make their own perilous escapes from the capital, taking advantages of brief breaks in combat to rush to safety.
Sudan has been racked with violence since a bloody power struggle between two rival generals spilled into the streets, with forces loyal to each man engaging in combat on the streets of Khartoum and in towns around the capital.
Over the course of fighting, the RSF and Sudanese military have issued statements discrediting one another, with unsubstantiated claims of their control over key posts of the capital and accusations of each side targeting civilians.
On Monday, the Sudanese military claimed that the RSF killed an Egyptian diplomat, while the RSF claimed the army targeted civilians in an airstrike on a Khartoum neighborhood. Neither group provided evidence for the claims.
The Commission on the Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has accepted the petition from South Dayi MP, Rockson Nelson Dafeamekpor to probe the report on illegal mining authored by former Environment Minister, Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng.
The legislator on Tuesday, April 25 petitioned CHRAJ to investigate violations of fundamental human rights, alleged corrupt practices, issues of conflict of interest and abuse of public office by certain public officials cited in the report of the work of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM).
Speaking in an interview on Joy FM’s Top Story on Tuesday, the Commissioner of CHRAJ, Joseph Whittal said: “We [CHRAJ] would with the means available to the Commission, give it the deserved attention that this particular galamsey report which has bedevilled the public space deserves.”
According to him, although the Commission has received and is studying the report, they will establish a prima facie to determine whether the allegations trigger the mandate of CHRAJ.
He added that after studying the petition submitted, it is likely for the Commission to undertake a preliminary investigation into the matter, adding that “We may even invite the lawyer [petitioner’s lawyer] for further particulars when we are satisfied, we will then proceed to determine who the respondents in the case are.”
He noted that when the respondents are made known, as natural justice will require, they would be requested to comment on the matter.
He added that the next step will then be determined by CHRAJ.
When asked of timelines he expects the probe to run, he said “Looking at the quantum, the shear size of the petition and the accompanying documents, and the possibility that we will be getting back to the lawyers, if any, and then the preliminary investigation, I cannot put my hand on it.”
Ghana’s Supreme Court Judge, His Lordship Yonny Kulendi has lamented how difficult it is to get around laws in the country.
In a recent speech, the Supreme Court judge highlighted that the only time Ghanaians follow rules is when they are forced to do so by “colonial masters,” arguing that the country’s progress is being hindered by its citizens.
He cited the ingenuity of Ghanaians to be ahead of every conceivable rule, meaning that rules are constantly being circumvented in the country.
“I call it the Ghanaian problem, and we all like simple straightforward solutions…our problem does not admit a simple straightforward solution. It’s a complex problem.
“The reason it is complex is that the problem is the Ghanaian, the problem is us, the problem is each of us in this room and the problem is each of the 35 million Ghanaians. It is… our values, our ethics, our character, our belief system, and our attitudes, and call it all a culture that we have developed over time.
“God has been just too gracious to us. We are one of the most blessed countries on the face of the planet, but the people God put in charge, we say all nice things, we go to church, we go to Mosque but we are the problem.
“Now the way that God created us, with human ingenuity is always ahead of every rule, the conceivable rule you can make. So, rules are chasing how clever people are…so, we make the rules, and then we turn around to engineer ways to circumvent our own rules,” he said.
The Supreme Court Judge while speaking at a programme on April 19, 2023, held by the Institute of Economic Affairs, at the University of Ghana, under the theme ‘Institutionalizing Fiscal Discipline and Macroeconomic Stability for Sustained Growth in Ghana: The Constitutional Pathway’. He added that the only time Ghanaians adhere to rules is when they are imposed by an overarching system, such as a colonial master or the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
He noted that the francophone economies are doing well because they are not allowed the freedom to run their own affairs.
“So, the only time that we are able to keep the rules is when we have some prefects, overarching system of somebody, call it a colonial master… and that is why the francophones economy are doing well because they are not allowed the freedom to run their own…or we go to the IMF who lent us change but will come here and impose conditions on us, and we suddenly become discipline for a while but the moment we reinstate the Ghanaian, then the demon in us shows up. And so, we make the rules but we circumvent them…we have already planned our doom even before we take off,” he added.
Machine Gun Kelly Over the weekend received some unexpected visitors as he was confronted with a flamethrower during his birthday celebration.
The rapper/rockstar from Cleveland celebrated his 33rd birthday with fire the night before, the only way a “Wild Boy” can (Saturday, April 22).
MGK may be seen using what looks to be a flamethrower in an Instagram photo. A police helicopter can also be seen hovering over MGK’s house in the video.
“Party’s over. You guys need to leave,” the police can be heard saying over the intercom.
Check out Machine Gun Kelly’s birthday party post below:
Machine Gun Kelly (MGK), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is noted for his genre duality across alternative rock with hip hop. Machine Gun Kelly released four mixtapes between 2007 and 2010 before signing with Bad Boy Records.
He released his debut studio album, Lace Up, in 2012, which peaked at number four on the US Billboard 200 and contained his breakout single “Wild Boy” (featuring Waka Flocka Flame).
His second and third albums, General Admission (2015) and Bloom (2017), achieved similar commercial success; the latter included the single “Bad Things” (with Camila Cabello), which peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. His fourth album, Hotel Diablo (2019), included rap rock.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Tuesday, April 25, 2023, held a press conference on recent disclosures about illegal mining, smuggled gold as well money laundering in the country.
During the address, National Communications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, on behalf of the party registered his dissapointment over the claims in the documentary.
He, thus, called on the Office of the Special Prosecutor, as well as Parliament to launch investigations into the matter.
Below is the full text:
THE SPECIAL PROSECUTOR AND PARLIAMENT MUST PROBE FRIMPONG BOATENG’S “GALAMSEY” REPORT AND ALLEGATIONS OF MONEY LAUNDERING INVOLVING PRESIDENT AKUFO-ADDO IN THE LATEST “GOLD MAFIA” UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATION BY AL JAZEERA.
AL JAZEERA’S GOLD MAFIA INVESTIGATION
Good morning to you, our media partners here present, in the sixteen regions of Ghana and across the world.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has sighted an undercover investigative work that was recently broadcast by international news network, Al Jazeera. The said documentary forms part of a four-part investigation by Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit (I-Unit), which uncovered an international Gold Smuggling mafia and Money Laundering racket operating in various parts of Africa.
Friends from the media, of particular concern to us and indeed, the people of Ghana, is the reference to a relationship between the deadly racket and the President of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and other high-ranking officials of the ruling NPP government.
In the One-hour, thirteen-minute video documentary, one Alistair Mathias who has gained notoriety for designing money laundering schemes for corrupt African Leaders, could be seen boasting about his close relationship with President Akufo-Addo and other high-profile African leaders.
In the particular portion of this new investigative documentary that has got many tongues wagging, the said Alistair Mathias who is described as a Canadian citizen and a financial architect operating a gold smuggling syndicate in Ghana called Guldrest, confided in Al Jazeera undercover reporters who posed as Chinese Businessmen, about his constant dealings with President Akufo-Addo.
Some of the underhand dealings this shady character revealed include how the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government for instance can award his company, Mathias Holdings an inflated contract worth $100 million, which he in turn subcontracts to another company for a value of about $80 million, thereby making a staggering profit of $20 million on the contract.
Friends from the media, the mastermind of these crimes further revealed how the padded amount on such deals is then shared among the parties – corrupt officials in the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government on the one hand, and Mathias Holdings on the other hand.
Under this criminal scheme, Mathias further undertakes to bank the share of his corrupt collaborators in the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government in offshore accounts until such a time that the money is needed by them.
This is how grand corruption is created by elements in the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government, who inflate contracts and then deposit the stolen funds in the form of “commissions” with this devious individual whose operations span across other African countries. And by the way, commissions in this gold smuggling, money laundering and illicit business context simply means bribes.
As if the above dealings were not scandalous enough, we further gleaned from the documentary how supply and procurement contracts are awarded to this knavish partner of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia Presidency, who constantly returns kickbacks from these inflated contracts through their elaborate corrupt network at the expense of value for money and the good people of Ghana.
Ladies and gentlemen, the nefarious Alistair Mathias further confessed to how he manages to smuggle one ton of gold with a face value of $40 million from Ghana, every month, with the active collusion of high-ups in the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government and in collaboration with one Kamlesh Pattni, an Indian man domiciled in Kenya, who is described as the grandmaster of the Gold Mafia.
This development, my fellow countrymen and women, adds to a litany of similar acts of grand corruption and collusion involving President Akufo-Addo, the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and other high-ranking NPP government officials.
Ghanaians have not forgotten about the Number #12 documentary by ace Investigative Journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, in which former President of the Ghana Football Association, Kwesi Nyantakyi was nabbed in similar fashion negotiating kickbacks from supposed investors for President Akufo-Addo and other government officials.
Again, and of very recent memory is the “Galamsey Economy” undercover investigation by the same Anas Aremeyaw Anas, in which a serving Minister of State at the Finance Ministry, Charles Adu Boahen was captured on video negotiating bribes and “Appearance Fees” to the tune of $250,000 from supposed investors for and on behalf of the Vice President, Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia.
The question every objective Ghanaian should be asking, is how come the names of the President and his Vice, keep popping up in such shady deals and corruption scandals? Why always them? It could neither be mere speculation nor influence peddling any longer. This trend that has now received such unenviable global publicity, must worry every well-meaning Ghanaian.
We in the National Democratic Congress are deeply concerned about the damning revelations about our President in this latest documentary by Al Jazeera. The continuous naming of the President and his Vice in all manner of bribe-taking syndicates, must be a cause for concern for every patriotic Ghanaian who cares about the image of the Presidency.
Ladies and gentlemen of the media, Al Jazeera’s earth-shaking findings also give currency to the justifiable concerns raised about government’s opaque Gold-for-Oil deal which many experts, civil society organizations and the NDC have had legitimate grounds to criticize and demand transparency and accountability.
Never in the history of our country has the Presidency been reduced to a criminal Mafia as we are witnessing today.
As has become standard practice under the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government, the Presidency has kept a deafening silence on this matter in the wake of the damning revelations contained in the Al Jazeera documentary. Given the record and penchant of this government to coverup graft, Ghanaians cannot and must not accept silence or the usual flippant denials emanating from the Presidency or government corridors on this matter.
It is against this backdrop that the NDC hereby calls on the Special Prosecutor to take keen interest in this matter and launch a full-scale investigation into this matter with the aim of prosecuting anyone found culpable.
Given the considerable public interest in this matter and what it portends for Ghana’s image among the global comity of nations, we wish to call on Parliament to set up a publicly-televised and bi-partisan probe into this matter in order to ascertain the truth.
We hold the view that a Parliamentary probe is imperative to establish:
1. The number of companies owned by Alistair Mathias in Ghana.
2. Which government contracts have been awarded to companies owned by Alistair Mathias since their inception in the country?
3. The propriety or otherwise of the activities of companies owned by Alistair Mathias, among others.
We invite President Akufo-Addo, his handlers and the people at the corridors of power to whole-heartedly embrace our call for a bi-partisan probe into this serious matter, if indeed they so believe nothing untoward has been occasioned the State and that, they have nothing to hide.
FRIMPONG BOATENG’S GALAMSEY REPORT
Ladies and gentlemen, it is our well-considered view that the explosive revelations contained in Al Jazeera’s Gold Mafia investigative piece explain why the President’s supposed fight against galamsey has been a spectacular failure. It explains why Ghana has become the epicenter of gold smuggling in Africa.
Galamsey was obviously bound to flourish under the corrupt Akufo-Addo/Bawumia regime because it was a central source of the illegal gold purchases used in this complex money laundering scheme orchestrated by powerful political dark forces in high places.
As we in the NDC have always maintained, President Akufo-Addo’s proclaimed fight against galamsey was the biggest scam ever to be perpetrated on Ghanaians. Today, the NDC stands vindicated as a report authored and presented by the former Minister of Environment and Science and former Chairman of the Inter-Ministerial Committee against Illegal Mining, Prof. Frimpong Boateng has all but confirmed our long-held position that there has never been any genuine commitment or any attempt to fight galamsey by this government.
The said report by the German-trained Cardiothoracic Surgeon shows clearly that the so-called fight against galamsey was a charade calculated to enable top government and NPP functionaries to appropriate and take over the illicit galamsey trade.
Ladies and gentlemen, for the sake of brevity, we shall only highlight eight (8) of the several damning revelations contained in the Frimpong Boateng report today and deal with the rest in subsequent media engagements:
1. Friends from the media, you would recall that President Akufo-Addo placed a moratorium on April 1, 2017, suspending artisanal and small-scale mining in the country for a combined period of one year, three months. Strangely however, Frimpong Boateng’s galamsey report tells us that in 2018, this same Akufo-Addo government acting through the Forestry Commission and the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, somehow contrived to give out all forest reserves in Ghana for mining activities.
During the period that the ban on small-scale mining was in force, more illegal miners, including Chinese gangs invaded our forest reserves with the help of government officials and caused unprecedented destruction to our forests, water bodies and environment.
As the former Environment Minister puts it in his report, never in the history of Ghana have the nation’s forest reserves been subjected to such obscene rape and wanton destruction in the name of Galamsey as we have witnessed under the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government.
2. Fellow countrymen and women, the former Environment Minister and Chairman of the defunct IMCIM, has provided further and better particulars of persons, both high and low, who are neck-deep in this nation-wrecking business of ‘galamsey’.
The report specifically names appointees at the Jubilee House, such as Laud Commey, Director of Operations at the Presidency, a Presidential Staffer, Charles Nii Teiko Tagoe and Frank Asiedu Bekoe aka “Protozoa”, Special Aide to the Chief of Staff who have been actively supporting and promoting illegal mining.
We in the NDC have always known, that the political economy of galamsey in this Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government, is made up of the high and mighty in places of power and influence, who will stop at nothing to sabotage any effort at fighting the canker, because of what they benefit from it.
Time without number, Anas Aremeyaw has exposed this cabal, you in the media have done the same. Civil society and the political divide have all provided one form of evidence or the other, but President Akufo-Addo has simply refused to act. You know why? The President has refused to act because he is the chief mastermind and ultimate beneficiary of the nefarious galamsey activities of his government and party functionaries.
3. Ladies and gentlemen, the Prof. Frimpong Boateng report is also categorical about the very well-known illegal mining activities of former Chief Executive Officer of the Forestry Commission, the late Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie aka Sir John and his erstwhile Aide, Charles Owusu who doubled as Director of Operations at the Forestry Commission.
The report avers that, these two men while at the helm of affairs at the Forestry Commission, did everything to sabotage the fight against illegal mining, and instead granted forest entry permits to small and large-scale mining companies, including Chinese gangs who were brought in to mine on their behalf, at a time there was an active ban on such activities.
4. Ladies and gentlemen, the report further cites the “unwholesome behaviour” of some Members of Parliament and Government Appointees, who are all neck-deep in promoting the galamsey menace for selfish gain.
Of specific mention was the activities of Former Member of Parliament for Manso Nkwanta, Hon. Joseph Albert Quarm, who is reported to have used his position as then member of the Minerals Commission Board to acquire several dozens of large-scale mining concessions in his district under the guise of community mining. He is reported to have sold these concessions to private individuals, including his party members for about Two Hundred Thousand Ghana Cedis per concession (GHS200,000).
5. Perhaps the biggest obstructionist to the fight against illegal mining cited by the report is nephew of President Akufo-Addo, Gabby Asare Otchere Darko.
The report recounts how Mr. Otchere Darko placed a call to the then Minister and Chairman of the IMCIM to intervene on behalf of a company known as Heritage Imperial Limited, which was destroying the environment and causing havoc to the River Offin in the Kobro and Apaprama forest reserve in the Amansie area of the Ashanti Region.
The owner of the company in question, one Donald Entsuah, was co-owner of another company by name C&J Aleska, which had previously caused extensive damage to the Diaso forest reserve in the Central Region, under protection from men of the Ghana Armed forces.
The report reveals how the late Major Maxwell Mahama lost his life while offering protection to mining concessions owned by this C&J Aleska company in the Denkyiraboase area in 2017. Our sympathies go to the late Major Mahama’s widow, children and family.
Having been successfully dislodged from the Diaso forest reserve by the task force of the IMCIM, the Frimpong Boateng report notes that this same Donald Entsuah quickly formed his latest company, Heritage Imperial Limited, which has equally been at the heart of extensive destruction of the Kobro and Apaprama forest reserve in the Amansie area, operating with a prospecting license and under heavy military protection.
We are talking here about a company and its owner with a history of engaging in illegal mining under the pretext of prospecting. On 29th November 2016, Mr. Toni Aubyn, then Chief Executive Officer of the Minerals Commission during the NDC administration, wrote to C&J Aleska that the Company was “seriously engaged in illegal mining on its prospecting licence”. On 30th January 2017, Mr. Aubyn wrote again to C&G Aleska for “undertaking mining activities illegally without obtaining all the requisite permits and approvals”.
Again, on 2nd October 2017, Hon. John Peter Amewu, the first NPP Minister for Lands and Natural Resources wrote to G&G Aleska regarding the Dwuabo concession and directed that “in view of the fact that C&G Aleska does not have a valid Mining Operating Permit, and that the Ministry has not yet ratified your mining lease, you are directed NOT TO CARRY OUT ANY MINING OPERATIONS in the concession until your mining lease has been ratified.”
Ladies and gentlemen, the mining activities of this company have resulted in the destruction of these two forest reserves, and the diversion of the course of the Offin River. Yet, this is the company the President’s nephew, Gabby Otchere Darko sought to shield and defend.
What Gabby Otchere Darko sought to do was to essentially use his influence in the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government, to defend a company which has been responsible for the destruction of the Diaso, Kobro and Apaprama forest reserves.
Mr. Otchere Darko’s impunity must be called out and condemned by every well-meaning Ghanaian. Here is a company destroying our environment, yet enjoys protection from the military and no less a person than President Akufo-Addo’s nephew.
What is even more condemnable but unsurprising, is the fact that Otchere Darko’s behaviour was said to have been reported to President Akufo-Addo, yet he failed to rein in his errant and obstructionist nephew. How could the President have reined Gabby in, when his actions and inactions clearly show that he is himself an enabler, promoter and beneficiary of galamsey?
6. Ladies and gentlemen, the Frimpong Boateng report also fingered very senior and leading figures within the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government, for allegedly acting in ways that essentially compromised the fight and rather promoted the activities of people who were engaged in illegal mining.
Former Senior Minister and now Presidential Advisor, Hon. Yaw Osafo Maafo, for instance is cited by the report to have allegedly used his influence to rather defend and whitewash an alleged money laundering activity by one Seth Mantey, a journalist who was arrested for laundering money from the sale of seized excavators. This he did on behalf of one John Ofori-Atta, then Regional Security Coordinator for the Central Region and Horace Ekow Ewusi, former Vice Chairman of the NPP in the Central Region, who was indicted by Frimpong Boateng for the 500 missing excavators.
In similar vein, Mr. S.K Boafo, a leading member of the New Patriotic and then Board Chairman of the Minerals Commission, was also cited for allegedly sabotaging the work of the IMCIM relative to the implementation of a successful community mining programme.
7. Friends from the media, it is sad to note that the Frimpong Boateng galamsey report identifies the Eastern Region, President Akufo-Addo’s own backyard, as the headquarters of almost intractable and uncontrollable illegal mining activities. At the center of these activities are several New Patriotic Party bigwigs and government functionaries, notable among whom is alleged to be Capt. Kodah of the Presidential Security detail. He is reported to have demanded the release of excavators being used by illegal miners at Anyinam, who discharged mining residue directly into the Birim River. The said illegal mining site allegedly belonged to the MP for Asene Akroso Manso, Hon. George Kwame Aboagye, according to the report.
8. Perhaps, the height of impunity was when an NPP Youth Organizer for Kyebi was said to have been excavating for gold in the backyard garden of President Akufo-Addo’s house in Kyebi. Yet, President Akufo-Addo got no wind of this from National Security or his elaborate security detail. As I have already indicated, the only thing that can explain this scandalous revelation is that, President Akufo-Addo is himself complicit in the illegal mining menace.
CONCLUSION
Ladies and Gentlemen of the media, if there was any doubt that the so-called fight against illegal mining by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP government has been a sham, then this is the clearest evidence, yet again.
The report confirms one truth – that illegal mining activities have been a free-for-all enterprise for many in the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP administration. From Ministers, Presidential Staffers and other associates in government, to National, Regional, Constituency and even Unit Committee Executives of the New Patriotic Party, their agents, Personal Assistants, relatives and financiers, many have been cited to have either engaged in or promoted illegal mining with reckless abandon.
The details of this report are simply scandalous, scary, sordid, pervasive and rotten to the core. We now know how the 500 seized excavators were sold by people entrusted to take care of those seized equipment.
There is now ample evidence about how military and police officers and other men in uniform who were funded by the state and tasked to help fight galamsey, were rather used to protect illegal mining sites belonging to government and NPP officials and their foreign collaborators. It is sad to note that, Ghana today has a Commander-in-chief who sends soldiers into harm’s way for parochial gain. Major Mahama’s death and misuse of Ghanaian soldiers by this “Galamsey” Government is another reason for the public enquiry.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Frimpong Boateng galamsey report has indeed shocked the conscience of the nation, and no amount of half-witted and half-hearted explanations from the Presidency or government can whitewash this great infamy.
President Akufo-Addo’s complicity in this whole scandal is further magnified by the fact that this stinking report has been on his desk since 2021, yet he has woefully failed to act on same.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are of the view, that the only way to establish the truth and get to the bottom of the issues contained in the Frimpong Boateng report, is for Parliament to institute a publicly-televised and bi-partisan enquiry into this report, which essentially is an obituary of President Akufo-Addo’s monumentally failed fight against illegal mining.
The Special Prosecutor on his part, must act with alacrity by probing the Frimpong Boateng Galamsey report and prosecute all government officials, NPP functionaries and persons who have perpetrated serious crimes against the State as contained in the report.
The Ghanaian people deserve this probe, because millions of tax payers’ money has gone down the drain in the name of fighting illegal mining. Now that it has been confirmed that all the so-called fight was a charade, our nation stands united in crying for justice. Anything short of a bi-partisan enquiry into this matter, will be fiercely resisted.
Any country that has no firm grip over the protection of its forests, nature reserves, wet lands and biodiversity, is one that is doomed to extinction. It is sad to say, that Ghana is fast approaching this scary reality under the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP administration, who are busy destroying all our vegetative buffers to satisfy their greed and selfishness.
As a further step to back our demands, the NDC shall formally submit a request to both the Parliament of the Republic of Ghana and the office of the Special Prosecutor to initiate the necessary investigations into the Gold Mafia documentary as it relates to Ghana and the Galamsey report of Prof. Frimpong Boateng.
It is our fervent hope and firm belief that, these very serious issues will not be swept under the carpet, and that the Special Prosecutor and Parliament will rise to the occasion in order to stop the continuous desecration of our Presidency and environment by President Akufo-Addo, his Vice, Alhaji Mahamudu Bawumia and the ruling New Patriotic Party.
A Nigerian woman on her way to church has suggested that love is a scam hence women should never fall in love.
In addition, the unidentified woman argued that men are scum and that anyone who disobeys her admonition will experience heartache.
She said she wants to go married her own trash and gave the advice while she was on her way to church for her white wedding.
She jokingly stressed that men will disappoint any woman that gives her heart freely and without hesitation. “Don’t fall in love, men are scum, men will disappoint you.
Men will stain your white,” she said repeatedly. The lady added; “The bride is going to the church, let me go and marry my own scum.”
Former fetish priestess, Nana Agradaa now known as Evangelist Mama Pat has announced to her congregation of plans to migrate to TikTok and YouTube to earn money in the case where her church collapses.
The leader of the Heaven Way International Ministry is not afraid of the devil taking over her congregation as she has more profitable backing through her social media following.
The ‘preacher’ with over 127,000 TikTok followers has given a fair idea of the amount of money she makes per live section.
She explained how a single TikTok live can fetch her close to 2,000 dollars. For this, she is not scared of losing out on church proceeds.
She made this known in one of her viral sermons. Mama Pat said: “I don’t mind if the devil decides today to take over my church. I will move straight to TikTok in the morning, and YouTube in the evening. I can make over 2,000 dollars in a day from my social media activities. I can’t even make half of that money when I come to preach at church.”
On her account, she can not wait to have her fair share of the money that politicians donate to churches and powerful preachers.
“Don’t even provoke me. Now I am targeting money from the NPP and the NDC. Who is bringing the big cash? I tell you this, I will have my share of the president’s money. I am the nation’s speaker. I am the nation’s voice,” she bragged.
Popular Ghanaian actress and entrepreneur, Fella Makafui, has addressed the issue of people judging her for her appearance despite being married.
This came after she shared a video of her undergoing a natural tummy procedure to keep her belly flat, which drew criticism from some netizens who questioned why a married woman would go to such lengths to maintain her appearance.
She said, “Some of you are hypocrites, lol. Looking good has nothing to do with the fact that I’m married or not. I’m doing it for me. Sit in your house with your big tummy, lol, that’s your problem, not mine.”
Fella Makafui called out the hypocrisy of those who judge her, saying that looking good has nothing to do with whether or not she is married.
She stated that she was doing it for herself and that others should not impose their standards on her.
She goes on to say, “I love to look good and feel good in my body, I will not stop this self-care treatment for myself. If you admire this, join the train. If not, too bad. Good luck admiring from afar. You really don’t have to hate lol, the procedure is even not expensive.”
Artificial intelligence development has accelerated significantly in recent months, with generative AI systems like ChatGPT and Midjourney quickly changing a variety of professional activities and creative processes.
The window of opportunity for guiding the development of this powerful technology in ways that minimize the risks and maximize the benefits is closing fast.
AI-based capabilities exist along a continuum, with generative AI systems such as GPT-4 (the latest version of ChatGPT) falling within the most advanced category. Given that such systems hold the greatest promise and can lead to the most treacherous pitfalls, they merit particularly close scrutiny by public and private stakeholders.
Virtually all technological advances have had both positive and negative effects on society. On one hand, they have bolstered economic productivity and income growth, expanded access to information and communication technologies, extended human lifespans, and improved overall well-being. On the other hand, they have led to worker displacement, wage stagnation, greater inequality, and increasing concentration of resources among individuals and corporations.
AI is no different. Generative AI systems open up abundant opportunities in areas such as product design, content creation, drug discovery and health care, personalized education, and energy optimization. At the same time, they may prove highly disruptive, and even harmful, to our economies and societies.
The risks already posed by advanced AI, and those that are reasonably foreseeable, are considerable. Beyond widespread reorientation of labor markets, large-language-model systems can increase the spread of disinformation and perpetuate harmful biases. Generative AI also threatens to exacerbate economic inequality. Such systems may even pose existential risks to humankind.
For some, this is a reason to tap the brakes on AI research. Last month, more than 1,000 AI technologists, from Elon Musk to Steve Wozniak, signed an open letter recommending that AI labs “immediately pause” the training of systems more powerful than GPT-4 for at least six months. During this pause, they argue, a set of shared safety protocols – “rigorously audited and overseen by independent outside experts” – should be devised and implemented.
The open letter, and the heated debate it has triggered, underscores the urgent need for stakeholders to engage in a wide-ranging good-faith process aimed at aligning on robust shared guidelines for developing and deploying advanced AI.
Such an effort must account for issues like automation and job displacement, the digital divide, and the concentration of control over technological assets and resources, such as data and computing power. And a top priority must be to work continuously to eliminate systemic biases in AI training, so that systems like ChatGPT do not end up reproducing or even exacerbating them.
Proposals for AI and digital-services governance are already emerging, including in the United States and the European Union. Organizations like the World Economic Forum are also making contributions.
In 2021, the Forum launched the Global Coalition for Digital Safety, which aims to unite stakeholders in tackling harmful content online and facilitate the exchange of best practices for regulating online safety. The Forum subsequently created the Digital Trust Initiative, to ensure that advanced technologies like AI are developed with the public’s best interests in mind.
Now, the Forum is calling for urgent public-private cooperation to address the challenges that have accompanied the emergence of generative AI and to build consensus on the next steps for developing and deploying the technology.
To facilitate progress, the Forum, in partnership with AI Commons – a nonprofit organization supported by AI practitioners, academia, and NGOs focused on the common good – will hold a global summit on generative AI in San Francisco on April 26-28.
Stakeholders will discuss the technology’s impact on business, society, and the planet, and work together to devise ways to mitigate negative externalities and deliver safer, more sustainable, and more equitable outcomes.
Generative AI will change the world, whether we like it or not. At this pivotal moment in the technology’s development, a cooperative approach is essential to enable us to do everything in our power to ensure that the process is aligned with our shared interests and values.
Nigerian celebrities and fans across the world have flooded social media with emotional messages, sympathy and condolences for their colleague, Yul Edochie, as he buries son.
Yul’s first son, Kambilichukwu, whom he welcomed with his estranged wife, May Edochie, passed away on March 30 after he slumped while playing football.
Barely a month on, the private funeral of the 16-year-old has been held amid prayers for strength and comfort.
Veteran actress and grandaunt of the deceased, Rita Edochie, who made the announcement prayed for God’s wings over the remaining family members.
Other celebrities including Victoria Inyama have taken to their social media platforms to commiserate with Yul.
Since the passing of their son, neither Yul nor May have broken their silence and have been absent on the social media front.
More than two years after the incident, the identity of the teenager who fell from the Heathrow Airport-bound jet is still unclear.
After spending so much time trying to identify him, police investigators who are looking into his death are perplexed.
Between Mortlake and North Sheen stations in Richmond upon Thames, his body was discovered on the lines on December 14, 2020, according to the Sun.
An inquest at West London Coroners Court was told he had likely hidden himself in the wheel well of the aircraft, where boot marks were found, in efforts to reach the UK.
Authorities are struggling to identify the victim (Picture: British Transport Police/Shutterstock)
Believed to be aged between 15 and 18, the victim suffered ‘major injuries’ to his head, neck, chest and torso.
They were consistent with both ‘contact with a moving train and a fall from height such as an overflying aircraft’.
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The court heard that despite the ‘sterling efforts’ from both the British Transport Police and the National Crime Agency, authorities have not been able to contact his family.
His identity remains a mystery as no form of identification was found on him, and he had no visible tattoos or scars.
But when BTP arrived at the scene at 10am that day, he was missing both shoes and socks.
He was reportedly wearing a green polo shirt with the text reading ‘Sulid Supra Used High Quality Motorcycle Parts’ that as traced to a motorbike shop in Nigeria.
Owners confirmed they were unable to identify missing employees, while police in the country are circulating his image.
A post-mortem examination found that the victim did not show signs of natural diseases.
There was no evidence of a third party assault, and his cause of death was found to be hypothermia and hypoxia at altitude, a common cause of death for those hiding in the wheel storage of an aircraft.
Forensic pathologist Dr Robert Charles Chapman said: ‘It is probable he died prior to impact on the railway track.’
Acting senior coroner Lydia Brown said his cause of death was misadventure.
She told the court: ‘Sadly, the contact has not been made for me to share what I know about this young man,’ according to the newspaper.
‘He took steps to access this aircraft in a short period of time and lost his life during his endeavours to reach the UK.’
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has called on the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) to launch a full-scale investigation into gold smuggling and money laundering claims about Ghana in Al Jazeera Gold Mafia documentary.
National Communications Officer, Sammy Gyamfi, who made this call on behalf of the party said this is imperative to establish the facts and bring culprits to book.
“We in the NDC are deeply concerned about the damning revelations in the latest documentary by Al Jazeera. This trend has now received such unenviable global publicity and must worry every well meaning Ghanaian.
“It is against this background that the NDC hereby wishes to call on the Special Prosecutor to take keen interest in this matter and launch a full-scale investigation it with the aim of prosecuting anyone found culpable,” he said during a press conference on April 25, 2023.
It comes on the back of the Al Jazeera documentary dubbed ‘Gold Mafia’ which revealed, among other things that gold worth $40million is smuggled out of the country annually.
This has been described by the NDC as very disturbing considering the fact that the country loses heavily as a result of this.
“Never in the history of this country has the Presidency been so depraved and reduced to criminal mafia as we are witnessing today as has become standard practice under this administration,” he lamented.
Mr Gyamfi further condemned the President’s “deafening silence” on the issue, and also called for a Parliamentary probe into the matter.
“The Presidency has kept a deafening silence on this matter in the wake of the damning revelations contained in the Al Jazeera documentary. Given the record of this government to cover up graft , Ghanaians cannot and must not accept silence or the usual flippant denials emanating from the corridors of power,” he said.
“Additionally, given the considerable public interest in this matter, and what it portends for Ghana’s image among the global committee of nations we wish to call on Parliament to set up a publicly televised and bipartisan probe into this matter in order to ascertain the truth
“We in the NDC hold the view that the Parliamentary probe into this matter is imperative to establish the number of companies owned by this shady character, Matthias Alistair, which government contracts have been awarded to him since their inception in the country and three, to establish the propriety or otherwise of the activities of companies owned by the said Alistair Matthias and the others.
“We invite President Akufo-Addo , his handlers and the people at the corridors of power to wholeheartedly embrace our call for a bipartisan probe into this serious issue of indeed they so believe has been occasioned in the state and that they have nothing to hide,” he added.
The former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation and ex-chair of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM), Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, has shared a video of illegal small-scale mining (galamsey) site allegedly linked to the Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah.
Prof Frimpong-Boateng, who shared the link to the video in a statement he issued while responding to the information minister’s reactions to a report on government officials behind galamsey in Ghana he (Frimpong-Boateng) released, said that he received the video from a constituent of Oppong Nkrumah, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ofoase-Ayirebi constituency.
— The Independent Ghana (@independent_gh) April 25, 2023
The former science and technology minister said that even though he does not want to believe the claim made in the video about the ownership of the galamsey site, Oppong Nkrumah must take the necessary actions to stop the menace happening close to his hometown.
The man who recorded the video can be heard alleging that the galamsey site belongs to Oppong Nkrumah and he (the minister) has hired some Chinese people to work for him.
He said that the illegal mining site was in Akyem Brenasi, along the Pra River.
“He (Oppong Nkrumah) has brought the Chinese here to work for him. This is what they have done to the Pra River,” the man said as he was taking a shot of the river.
“This place is called Akyem Brenasi, along the Pra River, there are about 15 excavators here,” the narrator added in Twi.
According to federal officials, singer R. Kelly was transferred this week from a Chicago jail facility to a medium-security prison in North Carolina.
According to Benjamin O’Cone, a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Robert Sylvester Kelly was sent from the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Chicago to the federal prison in Butner, North Carolina, on April 19.
Due to privacy, security, and safety concerns, the agency doesn’t publicly state the reasons for inmate transfers, the author said.
In February, a federal judge in Chicago sentenced the 56-year-old Grammy Award-winning R&B singer to 20 years in prison for child pornography and enticement of minors for sex. He will serve all but one of those simultaneously with a separate 30-year sentence on racketeering and sex trafficking convictions in New York.
Kelly, who has vehemently denied the allegations, rose from poverty in Chicago to become one of the world’s biggest R&B stars. Known for his smash hit “I Believe I Can Fly” and for sex-infused songs such as “Bump n’ Grind,” he sold millions of albums even after allegations about his abuse of girls began circulating publicly in the 1990s.
The Trust Emporium in Accra has opened the WTTC West Africa Regional Championship. The five-day event began on April 24 and will last until Friday, April 28.
Athletes and officials from Ghana, Nigeria, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Togo, Liberia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and host nation Ghana were present for the tournament’s official opening on Monday afternoon, along with representatives from the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) and World Table Tennis (WTT).
The event attracted spectators from a variety of backgrounds, including family, friends, and table tennis enthusiasts, who were full of enthusiasm as they made their way into the Trust Emporium to support the players. The tournament will serve as a qualifier for the Africa Championship, which is scheduled to take place later this year in Tunisia.
“The reason why we would invest so much resources, effort, and energy in putting together this tournament in record time is because of the opportunity it creates for our country. It’s because of the platform it provides that we can bring our best game. This is part of the walk towards the restoration of glory. So we are glad we are hosting the rest of Africa in this country. We want to increase our achievements so far in the African Championship. It is important for athletes to build themselves up ahead of qualifying for the qualifying Olympics.”
The tournament will officially end on Friday, April 28.
As of August, 16 additional digital companies as well as Alibaba’s (9988.HK) AliExpress, Amazon’s (AMZN.O) Marketplace, Apple’s App Store, and others will be governed by new EU online content regulations, according to EU industry director Thierry Breton.
Booking.com (BKNG.O), Facebook (META.O), Google Maps, Google Play, Google Search, Google Shopping, Instagram, Linkedin, Pinterest, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter, Wikipedia, YouTube, Microsoft’s Bing, and Zalando (ZALG.DE) are the remaining 16 businesses.
Under the landmark rules known as the Digital Services Act (DSA), the companies, all with more than 45 million monthly active users, are required to do risk management, conduct external and independent auditing, share data with authorities and researchers and adopt a code of conduct.
“We consider these 19 online platforms and search engines have become systematically relevant and have special responsibilities to make the internet safer,” Breton told reporters.
He said he was checking to see whether another four to five companies fall under the DSA, with a decision expected in the next few weeks.
DISCLAIMER: Independentghana.com will not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author’s, and do not reflect those of The Independent Ghana
Ghanaian rapper Micheal Owusu Addo known to many as Sarkodie has challenged his colleague Charles Nii Armah Mensah aka Shatta Wale to a boxing match.
The two Ghanaian superstars have a long-standing unsettled issue which even broke their friendship.
But according to Sarkodie there is a way to settle their issues once and for all and that is for him to enter into the ring with Shatta Wale for a boxing fight.
He threw out this challenge to Shatta Wale after he made an appearance at the Bukom boxing arena last Sunday to witness a bout involving some boxers.
Sarkodie was asked to share his opinion on what he had seen so far at the event in his capacity as a superstar.
Sarkodie acknowledged his joy at attending the boxing match and added that he will be coming to witness more fights going forward.
When asked about his boxing skills, Sarkodie mentioned Shatta Wale and stated they might arrange a contest to demonstrate their abilities.
According to information that was leaked in 2019, Nikolay Bortsov had gained the right to reside in Britain covertly.
Despite seeming to be a devoted supporter of Vladimir Putin, he reportedly obtained “indefinite leave to remain” status as a resident of the UK.
The oligarch was discovered dead at his residence in the Lipetsk region on Sunday. He belonged to United Russia, the biggest pro-Putin group.
No cause of death was given for the 77-year-old, who made his fortune as the boss of a soft drinks company which he later sold a majority share of to PepsiCo.
As one of Mr Putin’s wealthiest deputies, he was reportedly worth £450 million and included in the Forbes list of Russia’s richest businessmen from 2011 to 2021.
Mr Bortsov is one of dozens of high-profile people connected to Putin to have died since the outbreak of the dictator’s war in Ukraine last year.
Multi-millionaire Mr Bortsov secretly gained rights to live in the UK in 2019, according to leaked data (Picture: Social media/east2west news)
Many of those deaths have come in strange circumstances, including falls from windows, random shootings, helicopter crashes and mysterious ‘suicides’.
One Russian oligarch even died last year after ‘shamans’ reportedly gave him toad venom to cure his hangover – but his cause of death was recorded as a heart attack.
Another MP, Dzhasharbek Uzdenov, 56, is also reported to have died the same day as Mr Bortsov.
At the time of the leak of his alleged UK status in 2019, Mr Bortsov denied holding British citizenship and always maintained it wasn’t true.
But news outlet Argumenti Nedeli reported leaked data that put him on a list of top Russian officials who had been granted residency in the UK.
It led to calls in Moscow for him and other parliamentarians to be checked by the security services for their loyalty.
He was subsequently sanctioned by Britain, the US, EU and Ukraine over the war.
Ukraine sentenced him to 15 years in prison in absentia for recognising the independence of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk ‘people’s republics’.
Lipetsk region governor Igor Artamonov said: ‘We will remember Nikolay Bortsov as a patriot of his country, always ready to help those who need it, a man who did not stand aside.’
Mr Artamonov did not provide any details about Mr Bortsov’s cause of death.
The Russian army has imprisoned its own deserters in pits with metal grills on top and a medieval aesthetic.
Several males are seen abandoned in confined holes buried beneath the ground in video uploaded on the Telegram channel Layouts.
They allege that Vladimir Putin‘s men threw them in there before depriving them of food and water because they chose not to fight in Ukraine or because they were heavily intoxicated.
Additionally, these holes resemble the rooms where torture victims were held in a Russian prison camp in Chechnya in 2000.
Flarit Baitemirov said he has been held captive since March 23
Flarit Baitemirov was one of the soldiers locked in a three-metre deep put called a ‘zindan’, according to the post on the messaging app.
‘I am being held captive by my own. I am Russian, I came as a volunteer,’ the 35-year-old said.
‘I am asking for help from the Ministry of Defence. Some kind of criminal case has been initiated against me. They have kept me here for the third week already.’
According to the soldier, he has been in a three-metre-deep pit since March 23.
In one of the videos, he says that he was placed in the pit for drinking alcohol with colleagues, and before that he was beaten and his collarbone was injured.
Baitemirov also speaks about rampant corruption in the regiment and the theft of humanitarian aid.
Another one shows rainwater dripping inside a stone hole where a Russian soldier sleeps.
His left eye socket looks badly bruised, and his lip swollen. He shows the dungeon like conditions, and his bed made out of a wooden pallet and nylon.
All his belongings look drenched with water, and he himself only has a rain jacket to protect himself with.
Since the first months of the invasion, Russian soldiers have been complaining about horror conditions and ‘torture’ pits.
But it is yet unclear where these pits are located, and how many men are being held there.
E Jean Carroll arrived at the Federal District Court in Manhattan on Monday morning for the commencement of a trial alleging the former president Donald Trump of rape.
On the opening day of the trial, a woman who accuses former President Donald Trump of raping her thirty years ago has come in court.
Just before nine on Tuesday morning, columnist E Jean Carroll arrived at the Federal District Court in Manhattan. She appeared to be smiling a little bit and was dressed in dark sunglasses, a dark shirt, and a light gray jacket.
Jury selection in the civil trial is scheduled to start over Carroll’s claim that Trump sexually assaulted her in a luxury department dressing room in the mid-1990s.
Carroll went through a security line alongside dozens of potential jurors.
A handful of protesters gathered near news cameras set up on Worth Street.
‘We support E Jean Carroll,’ her backers chanted. One man held a sign that read, ‘Trump is a rapist.’
Several names of high-ranked personalities have been named in Prof. Frimpong-Boateng’s 37-page report on Galamsey.
The 37-page report implicated some New Patriotic Party (NPP) members, including MPs and top government officials, as having been involved in the galamsey menace. Portions of the report indicated that these MPs and government officials were either directly involved in galamsey or were using their power to protect relations who were involved in the menace.
One of the individuals indicted in the report was Mr Gabby Otchere-Darko who the former minister recounted called to question his decision to order the dislodgment of equipment of a mining company, Imperial Heritage, which Prof. Frimpong-Boateng argues was mining illegally with a prospecting license in forest reserves.
Below is the profile of Emmanuel Donald Entsuah owner of Imperial Heritage
Mr Entsuah is a professional in Marketing. He has over twenty years of experience in developing and executing marketing strategies.
He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration and a Diploma in Business Studies from the Takoradi Polytechnic.
He has a worth of experience as he is currently the General Manager of Ghana Canada Mining Company Limited, Director for Unique Starpoint Company Limited and was the Chief Operations Officer for Class Media Group amongst other several business acumen.
According to Kennedy Agyapong, he sued one Galamsey lord called Emmanuel Donald Entsuah and won the case but it still haven’t stopped him from his Galamsey business.
He says the guy is currently in the forest going on with his Galamsey business because of the protection he gets from some NPP bigwigs.
Herald’s report
The Herald’s investigations into the involvement of the Ghana Armed Forces in government’s fight against illegal mining, has suggested that the enviable record of the Ghana’s Army, is being dragged in the mud by some top military officers with a long term implication for the reputation of the country.
This paper’s investigation shows that, Ghana Army, is not fighting illegal mining, but rather encouraging the destruction of Ghana’s environment, leaving behind polluted water bodies and deforestation by providing security to the very companies which are involved in the acts.
The companies, have sometimes acted in a manner that suggested “bribery” of Ghana’s military to secure their operations which elements of the Akufo-Addo government, including ministers had at various times raised issues with, continue unabated.
One of such companies is the Heritage Imperial Mining Company Ltd, which have had its activities brought to the attentions of the dissolved Inter-Ministerial Committee on Galamsey in 2019, then led by Prof.
Kwabena Frimpong Boateng, as well as the then sector Minister for Land and Natural Resources, Kwaku Asomah-Cheremeh.
This paper’s investigation, has captured another company, Ghana Canada Aleska Mining sometimes known as C&G Aleksa Mines.
Interestingly, officials of the Ghana Canada Aleska Mining or C&G Aleksa Mines, have been captured as linked to another mining company by name Heritage Imperial Company Ltd, which had been cited to be behind the mining activities in Tontokrom, where Ghana’s Army and some of its top bosses have been captured as aiding the wanton devastation of the environment.
In particular, Donald Emmanuel Entsuah, has been found to the Managing Director of Heritage Imperial Company Ltd and also operates under the Ghana Canada Aleska Mining or C&G Aleksa Mines.
The Herald’s investigation revealed that Donald Emmanuel Entsuah, before venturing into mining and living an ostentatious lifestyle, used to work for Viasat 1, a Ghanaian television channel owned by the Swedish listed media group, Modern Times Group, which has since re-branded to Kwesé Free Sports in 2016.
Those who know him well said he is a frequent visitor to the Labone Coffee shop and mostly seen in the company some prominent journalists with ties to the Akufo-Addo government.
Interestingly, in October 2018, C&G Aleksa Mines fulfilled major Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) to the military.
The project, at the Southern Command of the Ghana Armed Forces, at Teshie in Accra, C&G Aleksa Mines, said was a way of giving back to society what society contributes to it.
The project involved re-construction and asphalting of the main entrance road that leads to the administration block; asphalting of visitors’ car park, as well as, tarring of the entire 300metre square Parade Square, all of which had been in very deplorable state for a long time, hitherto.
The work also included installation of CCTV cameras and other security fittings at the Command, at cost of a whopping two million Ghana Cedis.
A news report on the project at the time said that its completion has visibly transformed the military base, particularly, the front view.
Interestingly, the projects had already been handed over to the authorities of the Southern Command, led by Brigadier-General Thomas Oppong-Peprah, who is currently the Army Commander with a rank of a Major-General.
Coincidentally, Major General Oppong-Peprah and the General Officer Commanding, Central Command, Brigadier General J.A Aphour, are named as beneficiaries of Tontokrom illegal mining site.
The site is being managed by Heritage Imperial Company Ltd under the protection of personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF).
A reporter with Star FM, had reported a visit to the Southern Command on Thursday, September 25, 2018, the front view arena now looks extremely marvelous and firm- showing there has been major transformation.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company, Simon Aydin, when contacted, said the project was in line with the company’s civic responsibilities to society, which are being undertaken at various sectors, mostly at its mining enclaves in the Wassa Amenfi area.
Simon Aydin, had mentioned that plans are far advanced to commence the second phase of the project at the Southern Command which involves construction of all link-roads within the Command.
Mr Aydin explains, the company is determined and very committed to contribute its quota to society, as a responsible and law-abiding entity, in order to lessen the burden on the government.
He assured that the company would not renege on its corporate social responsibilities, adding that, these interventions form the “core values” of the company and are in the heart of Management.
It was further reported that the Teshie Southern Command of the GAF was not the only place that has benefitted from the mining firm’s social responsibility projects, as many communities in the company’s catchment areas of operation, such as, Sraha, Dwobo, Ayem, Amanase, Akatrika, as well as, Ajakamanso all in the Western region, have been supported and still benefiting.
For instance, the six-unit classroom facility the company promised the Amanase community is near completion while also a clinic was about to start as soon as the completion of the school.
Dwobo community also has asked the company to help them complete their Community Centre project, which is currently under construction.
Aside that project, the community also benefited from cash donations ranging from GH¢60, 000 to GH¢100, 000.
At Ayem community, C&G Aleksa Ltd, is again undertaking KVIP toilet facility, which is under construction, in addition to a cash amount of GH¢80, 000 given to the community.
Again, it was reported that the company was constructing in Akatrika community, a major bridge after it had dug boreholes for that community alongside other immeasurable contributions made to the people.
C&G Aleksa had also donated two incubators to Kokrokoo Charities amounting to US$20,000.
A police officer who oversaw a volunteer police cadet program has been found guilty by a jury of sexual offenses and misconduct in a public position.
Adnan Ali, of Old Trafford, Manchester, allegedly exploited the training program as a “playground for grooming,” according to testimony at his trial at Liverpool Crown Court.
Ali, 36, a father of one who worked for Greater Manchester Police (GMP), had first rejected the charges, but on Monday, the agency announced that he had been found guilty of five counts of sexual assault and fifteen counts of misconduct in a public office.
The charges relate to incidents, between 2015 and 2018, involving young men and women enrolled on GMP’s volunteer police cadet scheme, the force said.
Adnan Ali was charged with five sexual assault claims related to his time running the Volunteer Police Cadets in Trafford (Picture: PA)
The court heard Ali was arrested and suspended in October 2018 after the force received a complaint that he had been behaving inappropriately towards a 16-year-old boy.
After his arrest, electronic devices were seized and, during the police investigation that followed, officers uncovered thousands of messages and identified additional victims, whose evidence was used to secure the charges which were authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service in July 2021.
Ali will be sentenced at a later date.
He has already been dismissed from his job and barred from policing when gross misconduct was found proved by GMP in April 2022.
So as to not prejudice criminal proceedings, the misconduct hearing was held in private and the outcome could not be published until after Ali’s trial.
Following the conviction, the force will be making representations to the Deputy Mayor of Greater Manchester Kate Green that Ali should be ordered to forfeit his work pension, GMP said.
Assistant Chief Constable Colin McFarlane, of GMP, said: ‘Whilst Ali is responsible for committing these crimes, no-one should be subjected to crime or misconduct during their contact with police officers and staff, like these young people were – for that, and in acknowledgement that Ali could have been better supervised and managed, we are sorry.
‘My thanks go to the victims and witnesses who bravely supported the prosecution which secured today’s verdict.
‘Though trials are a fundamental part of the criminal justice system, the impact they can have on those involved and with whom cases resonate is not underestimated. We will ensure they are supported for as long as they need.
‘Alongside the criminal and misconduct investigations, this case initiated a full review of GMP’s volunteer police cadet scheme.
‘With national oversight, improvements have been and are continuing to be implemented to ensure cadet leaders are the role models they are expected to be and that they do not pose a risk to anyone.’
Head of GMP’s Professional Standards Branch Chief Superintendent Mike Allen said: ‘Today’s verdict will do nothing to ease the public’s concerns about police misconduct.
‘However, Ali represents the very worst and the minority in policing – he is among a very small percentage who discredit the police service and undermine trust and confidence in it.
‘These individuals are being rooted and booted out by exemplary colleagues reporting their behaviour, investigating allegations, building cases against them, and playing a crucial role in proceedings to ensure they face the full force of the criminal justice system, and have the many privileges of working in policing taken from them.
‘Following national direction to all forces, the force vetting unit is currently re-vetting all GMP officers and staff to ensure those who are wearing the force uniform and that those who have applied to do so are fit to serve the public.
‘However, efforts don’t stop there. Whilst the assessment teams review complaints and allegations, the investigation teams and misconduct proceedings unit work together to secure the best criminal and misconduct outcomes, as a covert unit work undercover amongst the workforce to stop corrupt officers and staff in their tracks.’
Sexualised messages were found on PC Ali’s mobile phone, and a number of those who came forward reported being sexually assaulted by the officer, the trial heard.
Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) regional director Catherine Bates said: “Ali’s disgraceful behaviour has had a significant impact on his victims and has absolutely no place in policing.
‘The investigation also highlighted serious failings in the way cadet schemes were being managed by GMP and we welcome a range of steps taken by the force since these offences were discovered to improve supervision of the officers entrusted with this level of responsibility.’
A spokesman for the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) said: ‘From his training with the police service, Ali would have been very aware of the devastating effects sexual abuse can have on young people.
‘We would encourage anyone who has experienced abuse to speak out and seek support, no matter when it happened or who the perpetrator was.
‘Adults can speak to the NSPCC helpline and anyone under 18 can talk to our Childline counsellors.’
The Member of Parliament for La Dade-Kotopon Constituency, Rita Naa Odoley Sowah, has called out President Nana Akufo-Addo and his government for demolishing the La General Hospital and not building a replacement two years down the line.
“I am very angry at the government, NPP, Nana Addo, and his Health Minister”, she chanted during a demonstration by the people of La on Tuesday, April 25 2023.
“They demolished the La General Hospital and promised the people of La Dade-Kotopon that they would reconstruct it in two years”, she said, adding: “As we speak, when you go there, nothing has happened.”
On Tuesday, August 10, 2020, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo cut the sod for the commencement of redevelopment works at the La General Hospital.
At the ceremony, the president indicated that the redevelopment project had been occasioned by a report from the Ghana Health Service, which said that the five-storey structure of the hospital had developed gaping cracks, which made the facility unfit for use.
Furthermore, the report said the unplanned nature of the entire hospital campus required that it be re-organised so that it can function efficiently as a 21st-century hospital, which will serve the needs of the residents of La and its adjoining communities.
“This facility, in so many ways, complements the Greater Accra Regional Hospital at Ridge, and its upgrading will serve most people from Osu through La and Teshie, as well as residents living along the coastal corridor of Accra,” the president said at the time.
He added: “Indeed, with admissions to this hospital arising from maternal health and other related complications increasing from 20.5% in 2008 to 30% in 2017, and with pregnancy and related conditions, for the first time in the history of the life of this hospital, being the number one cause of admission, it requires that we improve, rapidly, the facilities of this hospital”.
The redevelopment project is being financed by a credit facility from Standard Chartered Bank of the United Kingdom, with an export credit guarantee from Sinosure of the People’s Republic of China to the tune of €68 million, with an insurance cover of €3,860,349.18.
The project will be undertaken by the Chinese company Poly Changda, which has wide-ranging experience in China and other parts of Africa in the construction of healthcare facilities.
Upon completion, it will be transformed into a 160-bed facility, and it will be fitted with an outpatient department; inpatient wards; maternity and neonatal services; surgical unit with four theatres; accident and emergency department; public health department; pharmacy unit; laboratory; administration; imaging area, with CT Scan, X-ray room, ultrasound, fluoroscopy, mammography units; physiotherapy unit; and a mortuary.
President Akufo-Addo assured the chiefs of the area that “this project is a sign of greater things to come for La, and, indeed, for the whole nation”, noting that the government was committed to the “total development of Ghana is absolute”, adding: “I expect that all of us gathered here, will be present again, God-willing, for the commissioning of this project, once it is completed.”
The opposition National Democratic Congress is holding a press conference in reaction to a recent development on illegal mining.
Key among the issues addressed is the Al Jazeera documentary which reveals that over $40 million worth of gold is smuggled out of the country annually.
The NDC is also speaking on the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM) report authored by former Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Prof Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng.
The conference is being held at the party’s National Headquarters in Accra.
For Ghanaians who pay their taxes and submit their tax returns, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) claims there are numerous tax benefits.
Assistant Commissioner, in charge of Training and Development Department at GRA, Lawrence Hotsonyame, said the country had all these services, but citizens might not benefit if they failed to file their tax returns.
Mr Hotsonyame made this known at a two-day workshop for some selected court reporters in Accra.
The two-day workshop was organised by the GRA in collaboration with the Judicial Training Institute for selected journalists and Staff of the Communication and Public Affairs Department of GRA.
It was aimed at educating participants on the Judicial System of Ghana, effective reporting of court proceedings and courtroom etiquette, among others.
Some of the tax reliefs include Aged and Dependent relief, Marriage relief, Children relief, Disability relief, mortgage relief, Responsibility relief and Cause of Training relief.
He said in the administration of the tax laws, disputes might arise between the taxpayer and GRA which would require resolution by the law courts.
“It is therefore the expectation that tax cases brought before the courts should be dealt with expeditiously to ensure fairness and timely collection of taxes due the State,” he said.
The Assistant Commissioner said the GRA was counting on the Judiciary to assist to fulfill its statutory obligations of mobilizing tax revenue for national development.
He said with the disputes arising as a result of tax-related issues, the Ministry of Finance inaugurated the Independent Tax Appeals Board to provide a clear mechanism for resolution.
The establishment of the board is part of government’s initiative to transform revenue administrations and enhance revenue mobilization.
“It is to provide an alternative tax dispute mechanism in the country, instill confidence in investors by providing a neutral entity for the resolution of tax disputes and relieve the Ministry of Finance from having to mediate or resolve tax disputes between GRA and taxpayers.
The Board was established in accordance with the Revenue Administration (Amendment) Act, 2020 (Act 1029).”
He said the GRA aimed to become a world class revenue administration institution with professionalism, integrity and excellence.
According to him, the GRA has commenced an aggressive automation drive and appealed to the public to assist the authority by paying their taxes regularly to propel development.
Mr Yaw Boadu-Ayebuafoh, Chairman of the National Media Commission, said using the media to inform or educate the public about GRA and taxpayers was one of the positive ways to enhance awareness about the Constitutional imperative of open declaration of incomes.
“As journalists, we must deploy our skills to consciously enable the people understand the work of GRA. We must also stimulate change with our reportage on tax issues,” he added.
Is there a specific duration for couples to date before finally tying the knot? Answers to this very question will vary from person to person.
There’s no definition of what’s “normal” when it comes to the question of how long one should date before getting married. Answers can vary; from decades of dating to four days!.
Even though everyone — your parents and extended family members and friends—will have an opinion on the matter; from “You’re jumping in too quickly!” to “It took him way too long to propose — are you sure?” there isn’t a magic formula. Only you can know when you’re ready to take the next step.
For Ghanaian millionaire, Dr Ofori Sarpong, after dating his wife for only four months, he was convinced it was time to take his relationship to the next level, he disclosed in an interview with Joy FM.
According to him, Mrs Ofori Sarpong was then domiciled in the States and mostly travels to Ghana for vacations and visits. It was during one of these trips, that he proposed to her.
“I met her when I was 25 years and was then managing the family business. I met her through her elder sister. She used to live in London and sometimes comes for holidays…We dated for about 3 or 4 months and we got married. I didn’t want to go wayward…I felt I needed to be more responsible,” he said in the interview.
The two have been married for 29 years and have 3 beautiful daughters – a pharmacist, lawyer, and a final-year student at the medical school.
‘Bags of love notes’ are reportedly being sent to the murderous husband of Caroline Crouch, who strangled her before staging a robbery.
Babis Anagnostopoulos, 34, has received a reported ‘astounded’ number of letters from ‘fans’ since being sentenced to 27 years in prison.
The 19-year-old was killed by the helicopter pilot, who then tied himself up and killed their dog Roxy to make it appear as though thieves were responsible for the attack in May 2021.
He also abandoned their infant Lydia, who was found in Attica, Greece, next to her mother’s decomposing remains.
Now in prison in remote Malandrino, Anagnostopoulos apparently has ‘bags’ of fan mail.
A guard at the high-security jail told The Sun: ‘We read, as is protocol, all the mail and have been left astounded.
‘They are written by women, Greek women, who say they are in love with him.
‘They believe he is innocent, that Caroline’s murder was premeditated and everything happened in the heat of the moment.’
Caroline suffered a ‘long and agonising death’ after Anagnostopoulos suffocated her with a pillow (Picture: REX)
A state coroner said Caroline suffered ‘a long and agonising death’.
She was pinned down as she slept while Anagnostopoulos held a pillow over her face for five minutes.
After police analysed his smart watch it became clear he was the killer.
He is trying to overturn the sentence by arguing there were ‘mitigating circumstances’ around the brutal murder.
An appeal was due to take place yesterday, but this was postponed as his lawyer fell ill.
Caroline’s dad, David Crouch, from Liverpool, has said his priority is now raising Lydia.
He told local TV station Mega: ‘I am determined that the monster who killed her mother, as well as those two ridiculous people who are his parents, will never see my granddaughter again.’
The now three-year-old girl lives in the Philippines with the family of Caroline’s half-sister.
Anagnostopoulos’ parents are only allowed to speak to her for only one hour a week via Skype or other electronic means, according to a court order.
Ghana is not on the schedule of meetings for the Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the rest of April 2023.
This comes after the government missed an initial March 2023 deadline to present Ghana’s $3 billion bailout programme to the IMF board announced by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the Minister for Finance Ken Ofori-Atta.
The schedule of meetings for the board, on the IMF website, shows that it will meet five countries including Moldova, Central African Republic, Nepal, Eswatini and Lao People’s Democratic Republic between April 26, 2023 and May 3, 2023.
The IMF, however, indicated that its schedule is subject to change and “the agenda for each meeting is typically finalized the day before the meeting”.
Ghana missing out on the IMF board’s meeting for April casts doubt as to whether Ghana will be getting the $3 billion bailout in mid-May as some proponents of the government have indicated.
This is because the IMF board might take weeks to approve Ghana’s bailout even if it receives the country’s programme in the first week of May 2023.
The Fund is expected to assess whether the country’s policies are consistent with debt sustainability when it receives the programme from the government of Ghana.
“This assessment is based on a Debt Sustainability Assessment (DSA) conducted jointly by the IMF and World Bank to determine whether the government is able to meet all its current and future payment obligations.
“It is a forward-looking exercise that needs to take into account the authorities’ policies. In the case of Ghana, the DSA document will be presented to the Board at the same time as the program request,” a statement on the IMF website read.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta has indicated that Ghana has met all the pre-conditions, hence government will get a programme with the IMF.
“What the IMF is looking forward to before it can go to its board for Ghana’s programme approval is the assurance from the Paris Club of Bilateral Creditors that that group is committed to extending the needed financing support,” Ofori-Atta said.
View the schedule of the IMF for the rest of April 2023 and the 1st Week in May below:
The executive director of Wassa Association of Communities Affected by Mining (WACAM), has urged the government, the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, and the Minerals Commission to halt the issuance of new mining licenses in order to help combat the illegal mining canker that has emerged in the nation.
According to Daniel Owusu-Koranteng, the moratorium not granting new licences will help track the operations of existing mining businesses.
Speaking on Asaase Breakfast Show on Tuesday, April 25, 2023, the policing of the activities of existing mining companies will help government know the companies that their activities are causing harm to waterbodies and the environment at large.
The non-compliant companies, he said, should have their licences revoked and pushed out of business.
“How much are we getting out of mining in the grand scheme of things? Surely not enough to place our environment at risk for it…A moratorium to not grant new licences is very necessary. With it, we will be able to focus on those already existing and better police their activities to know those who we should put out of business or otherwise,” Mr Owusu-Koranteng said.
In the latest news report, the former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Professor Kwabena Frimpong Boateng named some top government officials as being engaged in illegal mining, known as galamsey.
Meanwhile, the Office of the President has dismissed the allegations.
The Presidency in a statement stated that the claims in the report were unfounded and amounted to hearsay.
The Police Officer at the centre of a murder case at Adum, in the Kumasi Metropolis, Inspector Ahmed Twumasi, has been remanded by the Asokore Mampong District Court.
This comes after the accused who is attached to the Ashanti regional SWAT unit of the Ghana Police Service allegedly shot his girlfriend five times, resulting in her demise.
His plea was not taken, and has provisionally been charged with murder.
He will reappear before the court on May 30, 2023.
Inspector Twumasi shot 26-year-old Victoria Dapaah popularly called Maadwoa at close range several times killing her instantly.
The incident occurred on Thursday, 20 April 2023 around 9:30 pm.
The victim was said to have been shot six times in her head, neck, chest, and stomach by Inspector Twumasi for allegedly cheating on him.
The suspect took to his heels in a Pragya tricycle after the crime was committed.
The elder brother of the deceased, Emmanuel Oppong who said he had earlier tried to prevent her sister from going out told Class News’ Elisha Adarkwah that he heard the gunshots and rushed to the scene to see his sister in a pool of blood.
Oppong said they rushed her to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) and was pronounced dead upon arrival.
Following a broad agreement on a 72-hour truce, the British military has started the process of evacuating UK citizens from Sudan.
At least 2,000 Britons were reportedly still present in the country of North Africa as of yesterday, and there are rumors that the number may even be higher.
Around 1,400 military soldiers are reportedly working today’s operation, which involves flying British nationals first to the Akrotiri RAF station in Cyprus and then back to the UK.
According to information from the aviation website FlightRadar24, an RAF Lockheed C-130J Hercules with the registration ZH868 departed Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, at 10.21am local time, which is one hour earlier than UK time.
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly had previously said any effort from the government to evacuate UK citizens would be ‘severely limited’ unless there was a pause in the fighting.
The breakthrough came last night, with all sides of the conflict agreeing to put down their weapons for three days.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said: ‘Following intense negotiation over the past 48 hours, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have agreed to implement a nationwide ceasefire starting at midnight on April 24, to last for 72 hours.’
A spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: ‘The prime minister made the decision [to evacuate] late last night.
‘This is something that the prime minister and the foreign secretary and others have been working on for some time now.’
This morning, Mr Cleverly tweeted: ‘The UK government is coordinating an evacuation of British nationals from Sudan.
‘We have started contacting nationals directly and providing routes for departure out of the country.’
The Foreign Office urged citizens not to travel to the airfield outside the capital Khartoum unless they are contacted, as the situation remains ‘volatile’.
Just hours after the beginning of the ceasefire last night, there were reports of gunfire and shelling heard in Khartoum.
On its website, the department says: ‘Travel within Sudan is conducted at your own risk and plans may change depending on the security situation.’
Also writing on Twitter, Mr Sunak said those most at risk would be prioritised in the evacuation.
He said: ‘The government has begun a large-scale evacuation of British passport holders from Sudan on RAF flights.
‘Priority will be given to the most vulnerable, including families with children and the elderly.’
He added: ‘I pay tribute to the British Armed Forces, diplomats and Border Force staff carrying out this complex operation.
‘The UK will continue to work to end the bloodshed in Sudan and support a democratic government.’
Newly installed Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden will chair a Cobra meeting on the evacuation efforts today, the eighth such meeting.
Sir Nicholas Kay, who served as the British ambassador in Sudan between 2010 and 2012, warned that the ceasefire was ‘precarious’ and the situation remained extremely dangerous.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘The security situation can change very quickly.
‘The command and control over forces isn’t complete and there is no trust between the two sides so they might kick off again.’
British diplomats in Khartoum, as well as their family members and other embassy residents, were flown out of the country on Sunday night following a daring operation led by the SAS under heavy gunfire.
The mission had involved 1,200 personnel from the Army, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy.
The group was rescued using the same types of aircraft that have been mobilised for the wider evacuation effort today: A400M and C-130 Hercules transport planes, flying from RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.
More than 400 people have died and thousands have been injured since the conflict between the Sudanese army and paramilitary forces began less than two weeks ago.
Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan is locked into a power struggle with Hemedti, the leader of the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with both seeking control after combining to topple previous dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019.
Yesterday, Downing Street confirmed British ambassador to Sudan Giles Lever and his deputy were out of the country when the violence broke out.
The prime minister’s official spokesman said: ‘I think it was around the time of Ramadan, that they were out of the country at that point.
‘There were very senior staff still in the country and both those who were in country and the ambassador have been working around the clock to aid efforts.’
Ghanaian gospel musician and scriptwriter, Joseph Mensah, has recalled how an elder of a church embarrassed him, claiming he smelled bad.
Speaking on Adom TV’s The Journey with host Abena Ghana, he said it was one of the most embarrassing moments of his career that helped shape him into the refined man he is today.
“I remember one time after I had ministered at church, an elder called me, and when I approached, he told me, ‘gentleman, when you are coming to church, get some deodorant and apply it to your armpit and also add perfume to it’. He told me the odor emanating from me was so bad,” he recounted.
Despite the elder’s unsolicited advice, Joseph Mensah stated that he continued attending church and ministering.
“I could not have been bothered because it is human nature.” If he knew the situation I was facing, he would have known that is the least of my problems.
“I had body odor yet when song ministry is going wrong, those same elders will come and call me to mount the podium to save the situation, so why should his statement break me?” he added.
Mensah admitted to struggling with personal hygiene and barely having a roof over his head, with the one he managed being a disaster during rainfall periods.
He added that he often slept on an empty stomach to save money to record a demo.
However, his efforts were not in vain, as he met a music engineer who offered to help him record most of his songs, including his first album, which propelled him into the spotlight.
Joseph Mensah emphasized the importance of perseverance and determination, urging upcoming musicians to be focused on their goals and not let discouragement deter them.
Nigerian multi-award-winning artiste David Adeleke (Davido) is set to break records once again in 2023, with Forbes projecting his earnings to exceed $20 million. This is through a combination of royalty earnings, brand partnerships, merchandise sales, and lucrative tour performances.
Davido, who is featured on the cover of Forbes Under 30 Africa list, is billed to headline the American business magazine’s 30 Under 30 Africa Summit in Gaborone. He is widely recognized as Africa’s beat ambassador, with his music streamed more than 2 billion times.
His recently released fourth studio album, Timeless, has already attracted critical praise and digital plays. Within the first ten days of its release, the album hit number two on Billboard’s World Album chart, after it was streamed over 133 million times — with more than 43 million streams in the U.S. market alone.
As one of the most successful African artistes of this era, Davido has inked endorsement deals with Pernod Ricard’s Martell Cognac, smartphone maker Infinix Mobile, and Puma. His music represents a modern fusion of African and international influence.
Aside from his musical endeavors, Davido’s family boasts plenty of political and business power. His father Adedeji Adeleke founded Pacific Holdings Limited in 1983, which has grown into an industrial conglomerate whose power plants generate most of West Africa’s electricity.
His paternal grandfather was a senator, and his uncle Ademola Adeleke is presently the governor of Nigeria’s Osun State, a state in southwestern Nigeria.
Davido is also one of the most benevolent celebrities in the African entertainment industry.
In 2021, to commemorate his 29th birthday, he donated N250 million ($607,500) to orphanages across Nigeria. The donation follows his playfully requesting his friends on Nov. 17 to send in grants and gifts into one of his bank accounts for his birthday celebration.
As he continues to promote his latest album across the globe, Davido is expected to earn even more in the coming years.
Streamed over 2 billion times and handpicked by FIFA to lead the 2022 World Cup Soundtrack collaboration “Hayya Hayya (Better Together)”, Davido has cemented his position as a global force within the music scene.
Ghanaian gospel singer, Obaapa Christy, has explained some of the challenges musicians face when performing, particularly the often-overlooked expenses associated with touring.
Speaking on the United Showbiz show, Christy revealed that she charges for her performances due to the expenses involved in getting ready for shows, such as the cost of makeup and costumes.
According to her, makeup and costumes are expensive, and she can’t wear them anywhere after today’s show.
“From day one, when I began singing and granting interviews, I was asked if I charged before performing at shows.” And I said yes. I charge. They ask, as a Christian, why do you charge?’
“Makeup is expensive, and a costume to appear good is equally expensive because I can’t wear it anywhere after today and I also have to eat. This is our work. Even the Bible says he who works for the Lord eats from their gains,” she stated.’
While emphasizing the importance of honesty and transparency in the music industry, Obaapa Christy encouraged performers to be truthful with themselves about their expectations and financial needs.
She also noted that she sees nothing wrong with asking for pay and urged others to be open and honest about their compensation requirements.
“Initially, people used to say that they’d perform for free, but now when they want to charge, they’ll be referred to the comments they made on this subject. I think we should be honest with ourselves, especially if it doesn’t offend God,” she added.
On Monday, April 25, 2022, a publication about what led to Akuapem Poloo relocating to Kasoa was made following her interview with Delay on The Delay Show which was aired on April 24.
Akuapem Poloo who used to reside at Dzorwulu disclosed that she was no longer a resident of the apartment she was known for because her sponsor refused to fund her.
Below is the full story published exactly a year ago today.
Actress, Akuapem Poloo has said she no longer resides at Dzorwulu, the capital of the Ayawaso West Municipal District of the Greater Accra Region because her sponsor decided to discontinue paying her rent.
In an interview on the Delay Show monitored by GhanaWeb, Rosemond Brown, as the actress is known in real life mentioned that the said sponsor was a white man who resided in America. Although they had not met in person before, the man, according to Akuapem Poloo opted to pay for her rent.
“I’m no more at Dzorwulu,” she responded while responding in the affirmative that her decision to relocate was informed by her inability to pay for the rent.
“Accra is too expensive,” Poloo remarked.
According to the actress, the self-apartment with two rooms, located at Dzorwulu cost the sponsor a thousand dollars each month.
“I paid thousand dollars a month for two years. I wasn’t the one paying for the rent. I had a 54-year-old white man who took care of that. I met him on Facebook but we’ve never met in person. He rented the apartment for me. We’re not in talking terms anymore and that’s why he’s not been paying for the rent,” she disclosed.
Akuapem Poloo, who now resides in Kasoa, further disclosed that the brand-new Honda Civic with a customized number plate she flaunted recently is not hers.
“I was pressured by social media to flaunt a car that wasn’t mine. It’s the Honda Civic with the customized number plate you’re referring to. It’s not mine. It has Poloo 1 as its number plate. It was all for fame, it was someone’s car and I placed a customized number plate on it just to flaunt on social media.”
Evangelist Mama Pat also called Agradaa has jabbed socialite Ayisha Modi in a new video trending on social media.
Entrepreneur and Showbiz financier Ayisha Modi has been in the news all week for the wrong reasons.
Evangelist Mama Pat obviously fade up with Ayisha’s incessant nagging and quarrelsome attitude believes there’s something wrong.
According to Agradaa, Ayisha’s Buttocks surgery has affected her brain hence the urge to quarrel at the slightest opportunity.
Ayisha last year disclosed how she went under the knife for health reasons. After several months away from social media, she returned with a humongous hips and a slender tummy.
The woman of God claimed Miss Modi has caused damage to her brain as a result of the surgery.
It’s understandable if many in Spain believe that this week is the midst of the summer.
The nation is preparing for its warmest April day ever as a heat wave moves from Africa to Europe, with a predicted high of 40°C.
Following the driest March in 20 years, the temperature is predicted to rise to levels that are typically only experienced in July.
Spanish citizens were advised to brace themselves for “exceptionally high temperatures for this time of year,” according to the State Meteorological Agency of Spain, often known as AEMET.
The agency said on Sunday that the heat wave will begin by marching towards the Iberian Peninsula on Monday and today, peaking by Thursday and Friday.
Madrid, Andalusia, Murcia and Aragón will all be hard hit by the spring heatwave, the country’s weather agency said.
Weather forecasters are warning Spaniards to brace themselves for extreme temperatures (Picture: Aemet)
People living in the Guadalquivir Valley near the Córdoba province could see 40°C – the first time the temperature has been recorded in April.
While in Seville, the capital city of the southern Iberian community of Andalucía, an extreme temperature of 37°C is expected.
Zaragoza in northeastern Spain could see thermometers soar to 35°C this week.
Spain’s capital, Madrid, won’t be spared, with 33°C expected in the region.
The night will offer people little respite, AEMET added. In Andalusia, nighttime temperatures will stubbornly remain in ‘tropical’ heights at 20°C.
Some Spanish farmers, wary of the heat and increasing lack of water, haven’t planted crops for weeks, while civil police warn of a ‘high risk’ of wildfires.
The nation’s water reserves have become cracked and scorched in the heat, plunging the southwest European country into a long-term drought.
Reservoirs are around 15% below average levels (some have shrunk by 26%) which is fuelling fears of another wild-fire-filled summer ahead.
Agriculture, a lifeline of Spain’s economy, is feeling the heat, agriculture minister Luis Planas said last week, adding: ‘We are in a difficult moment.’
The country’s top farmers’ union, COAG, said on April 17 that 60% of farmland has been ‘suffocated’ by the lack of rainfall.
‘Irreversible damage has been done to more than 3.5 million hectares of rainfed cereals,’ the union said. Losses have been seen in crops such as nuts and wheat.
A pasture in Badajoz, western Spain, is so dry that cattle have next to no grass to eat or water to drink.
‘There is a lot of uncertainty because although there is more water available than last year, the land is much drier,’ COAG added.
It comes after a heatwave caused fires to rage in France and Spain before sending mercury sky-high in the UK last year.
The heat wave was the upshot of planet-warming pollution causing wind patterns to change and the ‘Azores High’ to become even larger.
This high-pressure system in the north Atlantic has long been behind the summer’s balmy heat – but the last few years have been especially blistering.
So much so that the Met Office issued its first red warning for exceptional heat in 2022.
And the dry zone is only getting larger and larger each year amid climate change, a study published in Nature Geoscience found.
This is all throwing Europe’s typically moderate temperatures topsy-turvy, with winter rainfall rates decreasing by the decade, leading to droughts.
Scientists expect a further 10–20% drop in winter rainfall by 2100, a daunting prospect for agricultural countries like Spain.
A stepfather “may never be released” from prisonafter killing a two-year-old child while her mother slept upstairs.
For inflicting “catastrophic” brain injuries on Lola James in the early morning hours of July 17, 2020, which resulted in her passing away in the hospital four days later, Kyle Bevan has been given a life term in prison.
The 31-year-old claimed that the household dog had pushed the girl down the stairs, but a jury at Swansea Crown Court earlier in April found him guilty of the death despite his denials.
Sinead James, Lola’s mother, was found accountable for either causing or permitting her daughter’s death. She had been in bed when the alleged attack took place.
Mr Justice Griffiths will sentence Bevan and James at Swansea Crown Court today.
A post mortem examination found no definitive cause of death and there was no evidence Avery’s neglect or the drug traces in her blood contributed to her death.
He was convicted of child cruelty instead of a more serious charge.
Darryl Avery was jailed for three years
A police raid at his home showed he had been dealing cannabis and they found a broken taser disguised as an iPhone.
In a victim impact statement, the baby’s mother said: ‘When I heard my child had been in an accident, I wanted her checked over but I found out he never sought medical help. He was not concerned about the welfare of the child. His only concern was to not get in trouble.
‘When I got the phone call on Sunday, it was the most devastating call any parent can receive. I was in panic and distressed and went to help. It was so difficult to see her being worked on by paramedics. It is something I can’t get out of my head.
‘My whole life is in turmoil. I was not allowed to see her for almost 24 hours before her death. I will never forgive Darryl for that. I still feel she would not have passed away if I had been there.
Avery pleaded guilty to the charges at Exeter Crown Court (Picture: Rex/Shutterstock)
‘It was horrible not being able to breast feed my own child. When I heard that others had done it, I felt disgusted. I just want justice for my child. I want the court to know that what Darryl did was not acceptable.’
Avery, of Bovey Tracey, Devon, admitted child cruelty, possession of cannabis with intent to supply, possession of a prohibited weapon and an unrelated charge of affray and was jailed for three years.
Recorder Malcolm Galloway said: ‘You deliberately kept the child from her mum from Saturday until Sunday morning, when she received the most devastating call any parent can receive and was told her daughter was not breathing.
‘I make clear that this tragic death cannot be linked to your actions. The cause of death is listed as ‘unascertained’, but you have kept her away from her mum. That is something that will haunt her for the rest of her life.
‘I find the exposure of the child to drugs to be the most serious factor in this case.’
After being gifted with Davido’s expensive vest halfway through his performance, an unnamed young man is currently buzzing on social media.
On Sunday, April 23, two years after his “A Decade Of Davido” concert, the superstar returned to Lagos State to thrill his fans with his “Timeless” performance.
Halfway through his performance, Davido threw his vest in the crowd and a young man was fortunate enough to grab it.
The man in question was among the many fans who were captured on social media, fighting for the vest.
After claiming it, he established that since the singlet smells like Davido, he would never wash it.
He remarked that the thrill he felt after receiving the singlet was unlike any other joy he had ever had.
The other guests approached the ‘lucky man’ and pleaded with him to show them his grace, calling him the luckiest man of the day.
A man who was stopped for driving while ineligible for the fourth time was given a jail sentence after a high-speed chase with the police.
Matthew Woody-Jones rammed four Gwent Police cars as he tried to run across the Prince of Wales Bridge, which connects Wales and England.
In court, he claimed that he escaped at speeds of between 60 and 80 mph because he chose to be detained in England’s jail system over Wales’ because it was closer to his home.
Woody-Jones, 34, had 33 convictions for 68 violations in addition to his three prior convictions for operating a vehicle when disqualified.
The father was banned from driving at the time of the incident on the M4 which took place in the early hours of April 6.
Officers tried to stop him with their blue lights on a number of times but he refused to pull over, driving dangerously towards Newport and the Prince of Wales Bridge.
The driving conditions were dark and wet and while police tried to box Woody-Jones in, he continued to escape by abruptly reversing and trying to drive the wrong way across the bridge.
Matthew Woody-Jones was jailed yesterday (Picture: Gwent Police)
Prosecutor Martha Smith-Higgins told Cardiff crown court: ‘The van then slammed its brakes on during the course of the stretch of the Prince of Wales Bridge before attempting to drive the wrong way.
‘Officers reversed to block the van, but as they did so this defendant drove forward again.
‘As he did, he collided with a number of police cars as he made off.’
In total Woody-Jones, a renderer from Bedminster, Bristol, caused £56,416.58 worth of damage to four police cars.
In his defence, Rhodri Chudleigh said Woody-Jones was suffering with stress after the rent on his family home increased by £500 a month – and he ‘panicked’ when he saw the police cars due to his previous convictions.
He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving while disqualified, and causing criminal damage to the four vehicles.
On Monday he was sentenced to 16 months imprisonment by Recorder Andrew Hammond.
Woody-Jones was also banned from driving for an additional two years and eight months after his release from prison.
Mr Hammond said: ‘You placed these police officers in a desperately dangerous situation through the way in which you drove where they had to take controlled but drastic action to bring this pursuit to an end.
‘It’s striking that South Wales is indeed fortunate to have officers of such skill and courage who are willing to put themselves very much in harm’s way to protect the public from people like you.
‘You displayed a complete disregard for the safety of those officers and other road users and drove in a way which truly was dangerous.
‘This offence has caused significant damage to four police vehicles totalling in excess of £55,000 worth of damage.
‘And of course, resulting in those four police vehicles needing to be taken off the road while they are repaired and therefore not available for police duties.’
Superintendent Mike Richards said: ‘Matthew Woody-Jones drove dangerously on the M4, placing other road users directly at risk through his reckless actions.
‘He refused to stop several times for officers when instructed to do so and was eventually brought to a halt on the M4 Prince of Wales Bridge.
‘Officers following his van used several tactics designed to keep motorists safe, including keeping his van on the M4 and away from public or residential areas.
‘As he was disqualified from driving, he simply should not have been using a vehicle on the motorway that night.
‘We’ll not tolerate behaviour that puts lives at risk on our roads and any motorist caught driving dangerously will be prosecuted.’
Traditional authorities at the Amanase palace have clarified why some skeletons were exhumed from the palace.
Following reports that some human remains were retrieved at the Amanase Chief’s palace in the Eastern Region, Gyaasehene of the area has emerged to provide some explanations to the issue.
The bodies which were said to be those of certain royals were reportedly stored at the palace for two years by the Gyaasehene, Obenfo Addo Agyekum I who is now the regent of Amanase.
They had been exhumed after the sale of the land which served as an old cemetery to an investor for redevelopment.
The Gyaasehene who had been made to write a statement on the matter after the Suhum police, led by Crime Officer, ASP Yeboah Oscar stormed the palace to retrieve the skeletons has since emerged with what he says is a clarification on why exactly the remains were found at the palace.
According to him, the skeletons which were part of the exhumed remains of royals at the old cemetery had been kept at the palace following the advice of officials from the EPA and morgue officials at the Suhum Government Hospital.
“The officials at the mortuary, and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials also told us that once they are skeletons, they can sprinkle medicine to preserve it for us so that if there’s such a place in the palace where we can keep the remnants of dead royals, we can take them there so we did that.
“While we waited, we informed elders and the family of another Chief who is called Nana Korow, whose remains we had at the palace, that the skeletons are at the palace.
“His children came to demand that we bury their father, I told them to be patient because the place we were supposed to bury him was not ready and I didn’t want a situation where we will send it there and other issues will arise. So we put it on hold waiting for such a time when we can appropriately dispose of the skeletons,” he said.
The Gyaasehene further noted that the reports which emerged had been circulated by dubious persons who wanted to bring disgrace to the Amanase seat.
He also noted that contrary to reports that the lands were sold on the blind side of Amanase Chief, Osabarima Asamoah Asare Ampofo I who is currently unable to met out his royal duties owing to advanced age, documents presented to him showed that the Chief had consented to same.
He further noted that due process was taken in the preservation and burial of the bodies as was advised.
“Unfortunately, journalists heard of the incident, but I don’t know how they broadcasted it and I don’t know which people gave them the information, but they misconstrued and misreported the entire situation.
“I am saying on authority that the old cemetery has been destroyed and we have exhumed the bodies that were there. We have done the mass burials for those whose bodies were still fresh, put those whose had to be preserved till later, and kept those whose skeletons could be here,” he noted.
“I think people who want the disgrace of the Amanase are behind the false narrations. Others may ask if the Okyehene is aware of the sale of these lands. I say emphatically that in 2012, my forefathers, when I became Gyaasehene, when the documents were laid before me, Osabarima Asamoah Asare Ampofo I in whose stead I’m reigning because of his ill health, he had signed as a witness,” he further said.
