In protest of the government’s plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, hundreds of thousands of people demonstrated once more across France on Thursday, just one day before a vital court decision on the validity of the contentious law.
On the day that shares in the business, which owns brands including Louis Vuitton and Mot, rose to a record high, protesters in Paris forced their way into the offices of the luxury conglomerate LVMH.
A union official, Fabien Villedieu, told CNN affiliate BFMTV outside the LVMH headquarters, “If Macron wants to find money to finance the pension system, he should come here to find it.”
Multiple flare ups have taken place throughout the day.
Police halted a protest in front of the Constitutional Council, France’s equivalent of the US supreme court, which will hand down a long-awaited ruling on the validity of the pension reform law on Friday. A ban on protests in the area is in place from Thursday evening until Saturday morning local time.
CNN teams on the ground witnessed protesters engaging in intense scuffles with police as smoke bombs, projectiles and tear gas were fired, before a group set off red flares outside the court building.
Violence also broke out at Paris’ Place de la Bastille as riot police clashed with angry protestors.
“At least a thousand radical individuals present at the forefront of the demonstration area tried on several occasions to commit acts of violence along the route and to hinder the smooth progress of the demonstration,” a spokesman for the Paris police said.
The police were also seen protecting the BHV department store by charging at protesters in the Rue de Rivoli in central Paris.
The police arrested 47 people in Paris and at least ten police officers were injured, according to Paris police prefecture.
Around 380,000 people attended the protests across France on Thursday, 42,000 of whom were in Paris, according to the latest figures from the French interior ministry.
The figure is down from last week’s 11th round of demonstrations which drew in crowds of approximately 570,000.
Police had been expecting further violent attacks that have been a visible, if minor, feature of the protests across France over the past two and a half months, with particular attention on so-called “black bloc” protesters, part of a radical fringe that has been present from the start of the country’s social upheaval.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron argues reforms are essential to rein in public finances, and has been standing firm, this week saying “the country must continue to move forward.”
Speaking at an incinerator picket line near Paris on Thursday morning, Sophie Binet, the new head of the GGT, one of France’s main unions, insisted: “As long as the pension reform is not withdrawn, the mobilization will continue one way or another.”
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire defended his government’s contested pension reform plans to CNN on Thursday as “vital”, saying “we need to ensure to French citizens that there is a financial balance by 2030. This is the purpose of the reform.”
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo voiced her support for the demonstrators before the new round of protests.
“On the eve of the decision of the constitutional council, I am once again supporting the mobilisations in Paris and everywhere in France,” Hidalgo tweeted.
“This reform is unjust and violent. The French have been asking for it to be withdrawn for months, the government has to hear them,” she wrote.
Friday’s ruling will be decisive on whether the protests will continue. The CFDT, France’s other main union, has been more amenable to a negotiated settlement.
Garbage is meanwhile also set to fill the streets of Paris once more as collectors and incinerator workers are on strike again, according to the CGT union.
This will be a rolling strike, the general secretary of the CGT union branch confirmed in a letter to the Paris mayor.
The previous near month-long strike, up until the end of March, had seen 10,000 tonnes of rubbish piled up across the capital at its worst.
Canadian rapper Drake has been sued by Ghanaian hip-life artist Obrafour over the use of a sample from his song “Oye Ohene (Remix)” in the former’s track “Calling My Name.”
According to Obrafour, the “Certified Lover Boy” singer and his team had previously approached him seeking permission to use the sample in the song, but they were denied.
Despite the refusal, Drake went ahead and released the track which has caused damage to Obrafour’s reputation and financial loss due to potential royalties.
Drake’s Calling My Name
Robert Freund, a lawyer for brands, agencies, and creators who shared the court documents on social media said “The Pae Mu Ka” rapper was seeking “at least $10 million in damages”.
Lawyers of Obrafuor who filed the case in the Southern District of New York are asking the court to enter into judgment that the “Defendant willfully infringed Obrafour’s Copyrighted Work in violation of the Copyright Act” among other reliefs.
Drake joins a list of Hollywood artists who have faced similar lawsuits for unauthorized use of samples, including Kanye West, Robin Thicke, and Pharrell Williams.
A number of these cases have resulted in substantial payouts to the original artists or their estates, highlighting the importance of obtaining clearance for any samples used in music.
In the case of Obrafour and Drake, it remains to be seen how the legal proceedings will play out as the outcome of the lawsuit will likely have implications for both artists and the wider music industry on how to obtain proper clearance before using any copyrighted material.
Gunmen reportedly broke into the residences of those who work for the United Nations and other international organizations on Tuesday, amid contradicting reports of a mutually agreed ceasefire in the nation. Gunfire, explosions, and overhead fighter jets could be heard around Sudan’s capital Khartoum at the time.
The country’s armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are engaged in fighting in Khartoum, which has been going on for four days now close to the army command, the presidential palace, and two RSF camps to the north and west of the capital.
After agreeing to a 24-hour ceasefire that began at 6 p.m. local time (12 p.m. ET), the two sides’ attempts at a truce failed late on Tuesday as fighting broke out again in central Khartoum, according to witnesses.
Residents remain trapped in the middle elsewhere in Sudan; Medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said a lack of medical supplies, blood and electricity are threatening lifesaving treatments in Sudan, adding that 11 have died from their injuries in North Darfur and the western region’s the last running hospital has received dozens of wounded patients in the past 48 hours.
At least 270 people have been killed and more than 2,600 injured in the unrest, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) officials citing Sudan’s Ministry of Health Emergency Operations Center.
Armed personnel raided the homes of UN staff and employees of other international organizations in downtown Khartoum, according to reports in an internal UN document seen by CNN.
According to the document, the gunmen sexually assaulted women and stole belongings including cars. “In Khartoum armed uniformed personnel, reportedly from RSF, are entering the residences of expats, separating men and women and taking them away,” reads the report. One incident of rape was also reported.
The RSF denied those reports, telling CNN in a statement that it “will never assault any UN staff or employees. RSF is very mindful of respecting international law.”
The statement went on to blame the opposing side in the fighting, led by Sudan’s military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan: “That is the new desperate way of Burhan’s army of fighting. They supply their people RSF uniform clothing so they can commit crimes against civilians and embassies and other groups including the UN so the image and perspective of RSF can be damaged to everyone, international and local.”
Sudan’s Armed Forces (SAF) denied their troops were involved in the violations and pointed to a previous statement regarding crimes against humanity allegedly committed by RSF forces.
Khartoum has been wracked by violence and chaos in a bloody tussle for power between Burhan, Sudan’s military chief, and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, who is head of the RSF.
The two leaders have traded blame for instigating the fighting and breaking temporary ceasefires.
Colonel Khaled Al-Aqeel, a SAF spokesman told Al Jazeera they were keen on continuing the truce on Tuesday, shortly after sounds of gunfire were heard in the country’s capital.
RSF commander advisor Mousa Khaddam also said the paramilitary force is also committed to the truce, telling al-Jazeera: “Our forces that are deployed in multiple regions in Khartoum are committed to the ceasefire.”
Yet fighting appeared to continue hours after the truce was meant to go into effect. An eyewitness told CNN that they heard sounds of explosions around the Army General Command building and the Presidential Palace in Khartoum.
For more than three days, students at the University of Khartoum have been trapped inside campus buildings as artillery and gunfire rain down around them in Sudan’s capital. “It is scary that our country will turn into a battlefield overnight,” said 23-year-old Al-Muzaffar Farouk, one of 89 students, faculty members and staff sheltering inside the university library.
Food and water are running low, but leaving is not an option – one student has already been killed by gunfire outside. Khalid Abdulmun’em had been trying to run to the library from a nearby building when he was struck, said Farouk.
The students retrieved his body and brought it inside “despite the bullets that were falling on us,” he added.
The university confirmed Abdulmun’em’s death in a Facebook post, saying he had been shot in the campus’ surroundings. In a separate post on Monday, the university urged humanitarian organizations to help evacuate dozens of people stranded on campus.
Eyewitnesses described the scenes across the Sudanese capital.
“I can see outside smoke rising from buildings. And I can hear from my residence blasts, heavy gunfire from outside. The streets are totally empty,” said Red Cross staffer Germain Mwehu from Khartoum.
“In the building where I stay, I saw families with children, children crying when there are airstrikes, children horrified,” Mwehu said, adding that people had little to no access to food or medicine given the fierce fighting outside.
Children are among those killed; a 6-year-old child died on Monday after the RSF shelled a hospital in Khartoum and damaged a maternity ward. Medics were forced to evacuate, leaving patients behind – some just newborns in incubators.
At least half a dozen hospitals have been struck by both warring sides, according to Sudan’s Doctors Trade Union.
Health services have been heavily impacted by the fighting. Cyrus Paye, Project Coordinator for MSF in El Fasher of North Darfur, said in a statement that the only remaining hospital in North Darfur is “rapidly running out of medical supplies to treat survivors.”
Other hospitals in North Darfur have had to close, either due to their proximity to the fighting, or due to the inability of staff to get to the facilities because of the violence, he added.
MSF teams are also facing “serious challenges” in other parts of the country, the statement said. The group’s premises in Nyala, South Darfur, have been looted and in the capital Khartoum most teams are trapped by the ongoing heavy fighting and are unable to access warehouses to deliver vital medical supplies to hospitals.
Multiple diplomats and humanitarian workers have been targeted.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed there was an attack on a US diplomatic convoy on Monday.
“Yesterday, we had an American diplomatic convoy that was fired on. All of our people are safe, but this the action was reckless, it was irresponsible and, of course, unsafe,” Blinken said in a press conference on Tuesday.
The European Union ambassador to Sudan was also assaulted in his residency on Monday, though he is now doing fine, according to a spokesperson for the EU’s top diplomat.
And three workers from the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) were killed in Darfur, prompting the WFP to temporarily halt all services in the country.
In statements early Tuesday morning, the two rival factions pointed fingers at each other.
The RSF accused the army of conducting airstrikes on residential neighborhoods and of attacking the EU ambassador’s headquarters in Khartoum; meanwhile, the army accused the RSF of targeting the ambassador’s residency, and of targeting the WFP’s headquarters in Darfur.
Various foreign leaders have called for peace, with Blinken speaking separately with Burhan and Dagalo on Tuesday.
Blinken “expressed his grave concern about the death and injury of so many Sudanese civilians,” and argued a ceasefire was necessary to deliver aid, reunify separated families, and ensure the safety of diplomatic and humanitarian staff, according to a readout from the US State Department.
And Egypt has been “in direct communication with both parties” encouraging restraint, cessation of hostilities and a return to dialogue,” Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told CNN’s Christina Macfarlane in an exclusive interview Tuesday.
The Sudanese Armed Forces later issued conflicting statements on a proposed 24-hour ceasefire, intended to go into effect later on Tuesday.
A statement citing a spokesperson on the official SAF Facebook page said the armed forces are “not aware of any coordination with mediators and the international community about a truce” and that the RSF announcement for a 24-hour truce “aims to cover up the crushing defeat it will receive within hours.”
But Burhan told CNN earlier that the SAF will “adhere” to a ceasefire proposal by the tripartite mechanism, comprising of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), the African Union (AU), and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
Dagalo meanwhile said on Twitter that a 24-hour ceasefire “to ensure the safe passage of civilians and the evacuation of the wounded” was approved by the paramilitary force.
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus condemned the conflict in Sudan on Tuesday, saying that medical supplies have been depleted, there is a lack of medical personnel on the ground and some health care facilities have been looted or are being used for military purposes.
Volker Perthes, the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Sudan, said on Monday the organization has been trying to convince the two rival parties to “hold the fire” for a period of time, and asked them to protect embassies, UN offices, humanitarian and medical facilities.
Both sides had previously agreed to a three-hour ceasefire on Sunday, and again on Monday, with fighting resuming afterward, Perthes said.
But both Burhan and Dagalo have since accused the other of breaking that ceasefire.
When CNN spoke to Burhan on Monday afternoon, the sound of gunshots rang out in the background despite the supposed ceasefire – and Burhan claimed Dagalo had violated it for the second day.
A spokesperson for the RSF rebutted the accusation, claiming that they had been trying to abide by the ceasefire, but “they keep firing which leaves no choice” but for the RSF to “defend itself by firing back.”
The National Petroleum Authority, the statutory Agency regulating the petroleum downstream industry in Ghana has stated that they are not aware of any compensation paid to Ghanaian musician, Fameye, regarding the adulterated fuel incident at a fuel station.
Fameye in a recent interview on TV3 New Day on Tuesday, April 18 disclosed that he had received compensation of GHC 25K from the unnamed fuel station after it filled his car with fuel mixed with water.
According to him, he had wanted to fill up his vehicle in preparation for a show in Kumasi. However, a few minutes after leaving the fuel station, his car started jerking, and he continued to drive until it stopped at a roundabout.
The fuel station involved in the incident has since compensated Fameye with GHC25,000 for the damages caused to his vehicle.
However, in a tweet by the NPA, the authority stated that they had no idea of any compensation paid to Fameye or the identity of the fuel station in relation to the incident.
“The NPA is not aware of any compensation paid to Fameye, till date, Fameye is yet to disclose the fuel station that sold fuel laced with water to him,” it posted on their official Twitter account.
Fameye after expressing his frustrations over the matter in March was asked by individuals to report the matter to the appropriate authorities but went silent until he mentioned the hefty compensation package during his interview.
Although his car has now been fixed, Fameye expressed his disappointment and sadness over the entire situation but has refused to disclose the identity of the fuel station in question.
North Korean state media KCNA said on Wednesday that Kim Jong Un, the country’s leader, has instructed authorities to be ready to launch the nation’s first military surveillance satellite.
Kim Jong Un announced that the nation’s military surveillance satellite production has been finished during his visit to the National Aerospace Development Administration on Tuesday. He also ordered the dispatch of “several reconnaissance satellites,” according to KCNA.
Along with his daughter, who is thought to be Ju Ae, he paid the visit. Together with her father, she has already been to a lot of events this year.
Last December, North Korea claimed it had conducted an “important final stage test” for the development of a spy satellite. The country’s space development agency announced that it would finish preparations for the first military reconnaissance satellite by April 2023.
Despite the North Korea claims, recent satellite images of the country’s space launch center show no signs of an imminent launch, said Dave Schmerler, senior research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in the United States.
“But North Korea could launch this via a road mobile vehicle. So were all just waiting to see what they do,” Schmerler said.
North Korea’s recent missile launches, including the test of an intercontinental ballistic missile last week, have come from mobile launchers.
On Tuesday, Kim stressed the role of military satellites as to protect national safety and territorial stability in the midst of escalating military threats and challenges by the United States and South Korea. Kim also spoke about the role of satellites and its strategic value when deploying military force preemptively according to the situation, KCNA said.
Kim said the acquisition of military reconnaissance satellites was “indispensable,” calling them a “right to national sovereignty and self-defense.” He cited tensions on the Korean Peninsula and the need for managing “prospective threats,” KCNA reported.
The Ghana Police Service has established a dedicated legal team to investigate all politically related incidents legally to determine whether there are elements of crime present or not before taking any action.
Consequently, it said the service would not intervene in any situation where there was no criminality involved.
A statement to that effect was released yesterday by the police administration after the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr George Akuffo Dampare, met with the leadership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) over recent happenings on the political front.
“This is a paradigm shift from the practice in the past where people were arrested in the heat of the moment for politically related incidents as a result of attempts by politicians on either side to whip up public sentiments against the police thereby creating the impression that the police supports one side against the other.
“ In such instances when no concrete charges can be levelled against such people, they are eventually released thereby creating the impression in the public domain as though the police were manipulated in effecting their arrests,” the statement said.
It added: “This initiative has been used to analyse all recent cases such as comments made by the Minister of Food and Agriculture and the Constituency Youth Organiser for the NDC at Suame, among others”.
The meeting, which was called at the instance of the IGP, was necessitated by press statements issued by both parties and subsequently followed by petitions to the police service to arrest certain individuals on either side of the political spectrum for some alleged offences.
The NDC petitioned the police service to arrest the Member of Parliament (MP) for Abetifi and Minister of Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, for allegedly claiming that the NPP would never hand over power to the NDC.
On the other hand, the NPP, following the NDC’s petition, followed up with a similar petition calling on the police to arrest former President John Dramani Mahama and the NDC National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, over some alleged inflammatory comments they had made in the past.
Updates
The police said they provided an update on the status of political violence and related incidents recorded during the recent internal elections of both parties.
These included the arrest and prosecution of some 14 members of the NPP for disturbances during their constituency election at Enchi and the arrest of nine out of the 16 wanted individuals for disturbances at the national youth and women organiser polls of the NDC in Cape Coast.
“An update was also provided on the status of the 2020 general election-related cases, including Techiman South and Odododiodio constituencies and the public will be duly updated on these cases in the course of the week,” the statement said.
Strategic intervention
Again, the police service said it had established a Police Election Security Secretariat to work with all political parties and other stakeholders to enhance the management of security for all elections in the country.
“This is a complete departure from the old order where an election security task force was put together just some months before the general election.
Since its creation over a year ago, the Police Election Security Secretariat has worked with the various political parties in their respective internal elections from the polling station, through the constituency to the national executive elections,” it stated.
It added that the secretariat was currently working with both parties on their parliamentary and presidential primaries.
Support police
The police statement further indicated that at the meeting, both parties were informed that with the new policing interventions in place, “they should do their politics and allow the police to do their policing.”
“ We, therefore, called on them to support us, including by criticising us constructively to do a professional job in line with our constitutional mandate”.
While commending the leadership of the two political parties for availing themselves and contributing to the success of the meeting, the police service called on Ghanaians to help the service in their effort to build an independent police service which would serve the greater good of the people and not the interest of any individual or group of people.
“Once again, we wish to assure the public that we remain committed to ensuring peace, security, law and order in the country at all times including before, during and after all elections in the country,” the statement said.
Managing Editor of the Daily Dispatch newspaper, Ben Ephson, has predicted that many Muslims will not vote in favor of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the upcoming 2024 elections.
He claims this is because Muslims feel the party has taken them for granted.
“The Muslims have now noticed that the NDC has taken them for granted for far too long because they don’t take Muslims for even running mate,” he said during an interview on Onua TV.
He further projected a landslide victory for Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia in the general elections should he be given the nod as the NPP flagbearer, over two main reasons.
“If Bawumia is made the flagbearer of NPP, he comes with two main advantages; that is many Christians feel comfortable with him even though he is a Muslim and Muslims who used to vote for the NDC would switch and vote for NPP,” he asserted.
In another on Hello FM, Mr Ephson mentioned that former President John Dramani Mahama may win the NDC flagbearership position although he is most likely to lose the 2024 election bid.
“Mahama will win but it is 2024 that will be his problem. Mahama will win the NDC slot, he will win easily but 2024 is going to be his problem,” he said.
According to climbing officials, a mountaineer from Northern Ireland died while coming down from the top of the world’s tenth-highest peak.
Noel Hanna, a ten-time Everest climber, reached the 8,091-meter (26,545-foot) Annapurna peak in west Nepal on Monday. He passed away the next day at Camp IV after descending from the mountain.
According to Yubaraj Khatiwada, a representative of the Department of Tourism, Hanna’s death’s circumstances are unknown.
He claimed that since Monday, a climber from India has been missing after falling into a crevasse on the lower parts of Annapurna.
Two other Indian mountaineers, who were caught up in bad weather while climbing Annapurna, were being rescued, hiking company officials said.
Annapurna peak in west Nepal, first climbed by Maurice Herzog of France in the early 1950s, is considered dangerous because of the risk of frequent avalanches.
At least 365 people have climbed Annapurna and more than 72 have died on the mountain, according to hiking officials.
Last week, three Nepali sherpa climbers died after being hit by an ice serac on the lower parts of Mount Everest.
Nepal has eight of the world’s 14 highest mountains. Climbing Himalayan peaks and hiking on their foot hills are popular adventure sports as well as a source of employment and income for the country which is tucked between China and India.
Ghanaian businessman, Osebo the Zaraman has admonished men to try and build their family with one woman if they could. He made this known when he detailed the disadvantage of fathering children with multiple women in an interview with blogger Zionfelix.
To him, the best thing is for a man to do due diligence when it comes to the woman he ends up with as a wife. Failure to do so will cause one to father children with multiple women despite the plan of having one big family.
“No, it is very bad to have your children scattered. It is not good at all but as humans, we don’t always get what we want in life. As a young man, you can experience bad relationships. You end up moving on to the next woman hoping for the best. It is better to be on your own when things don’t work out,” he said.
The fashionista, who has six children with four women, gave out a piece of advice to all men.
“Children are more important than marriage. The best for a man is to have patience and ensure that he marries a woman he truly loves.”
Osebo who has a love for all his children highlighted the importance of being in the lives of his offspring who are in Ghana and abroad.
“I have access to all my six children, the ones in Ghana pay me a visit constantly…I will accept any child that comes my way. It is okay to father many children if only you have the means to cater for them. What business do you have producing children when you can pay their school fees,” he quizzed.
The death of a Chinese acrobat while performing on the aerial silks has shocked the world and sparked outrage on social media about the lack of safety precautions.
The woman, whose last name is Sun, was performing a mid-air performance with her husband on Saturday in a village close to Suzhou in central Anhui province when she collapsed to the stage. The Tongqiao district government said in a statement on Monday that she was brought to a hospital but later passed away from her wounds.
Online video of the event showed the pair being lifted into the air above a sizable outdoor stage by a crane while the woman held on to her husband, whose arms were encircled by two pieces of fabric suspended from the crane.
As they swung in mid-air, the woman wrapped her arms around her husband’s head and hung off him during a transition act. But she lost her grip and and plunged to the hard stage amid screams from the crowd. Her husband attempted to catch her with his legs but failed, the footage showed.
Videos of the horrific moment shocked Chinese social media. Many users questioned why the woman did not wear any safety belt, and why there was no safety net or crash mat on the ground. Others called for stricter regulations on the acrobatic industry and better protection for performers.
“This kind of mid-air acrobatic performance is really dangerous. At least put a safety net underneath so the (performer) can be protected from falling,” said a comment on China’s Twitter-like Weibo platform. “No matter how skilled the performers are, there will always be mistakes. How come there are no safety measures?”
In another statement released Tuesday, the Tongqiao government said an investigation by authorities had ruled the tragedy was an accident.
The show was hosted by a local farm business owner, who contracted the Anhui Yaxi Performing Arts Media Company to run the performance, the statement said.
The company failed to obtain approval from authorities prior to the show, and failed to provide essential safety protection and emergency measures during the performance, the investigation found. The use of a crane in the performance was also a violation of regulations, it added.
The company has reached an agreement on compensation with the family of the acrobat, and will be punished according to regulations, the statement said.
China’s Acrobats Association said in a statement Sunday it was “devastated and shocked by the tragedy” and called for acrobatic groups and performers to pay greater attention to safety measures.
The Paper, a state-run news website, reported that during the show, a host had boasted to the audience that in order to make the performance look “real,” the performers were not equipped with any safety measures.
The report added that the female acrobat had been married to her husband for more than a decade and left behind two children.
The Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA) State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2023 shows adoption rates are even more significant than expected, with registered accounts, transaction values and deployments exceeding industry predictions.
Mobile money services are growing faster than predicted around the globe, as digital services continue to rise in popularity, according to the GSMA’s annual ‘State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money 2023’ published yesterday.
The report, published annually by the GSMA and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, demonstrates that rates of adoption are even quicker than expected; with the number of registered mobile money accounts growing by 13% year on year, from 1.4 billion in 2021 to 1.6 billion in 2022. While it took the industry 17 years to reach the first 800 million customers, this is extremely significant growth as it has taken just five years to reach the next 800 million.
In 2022, daily transactions via mobile money reached US$3.45billion – exceeding the US$3billion amount predicted in 2021. Total transaction value for mobile money grew by an incredible 22% between 2021 and 2022, from US$1trillion to around US$1.26trillion.
However, in many areas worldwide, more work is still needed to help give underserved communities access to safe, secure and affordable financial services. With 1.4 billion people worldwide remaining unbanked, the GSMA Mobile Money Programme is working with mobile operators and industry stakeholders worldwide to create a robust mobile money ecosystem, increasing the relevancy and utility of these services and ensuring their sustainability.
The 2023 report shows there are now 315 live mobile money deployments across the globe, with peer to peer (P2P) transfers and cash-in/cash-out transactions still among the most popular use-cases. Bill payments using mobile money grew by 36% year-on-year – faster than any other use-case – and the industry continues to focus on use-case diversification, playing an important role in digitising economies.
Pandemic-driven uptake
As the world increasingly moves on from COVID-19, mobile money services have continued to show resilient growth that was instigated during the pandemic. Up to 400 million accounts were added during the pandemic alone. This rapid uptake is largely due to the technology’s role in enabling millions of people across low- and middle-income countries to access digital financial services. This upward trend continues, with the number of accounts active on a 30-day basis also growing by 13 percent year-on-year to 401 million in 2022.
The report also shows that during 2022, mobile money-enabled international remittances grew by 28% year on year – to US$22billion. During the pandemic, many diasporas sent more funds via mobile money to friends and family than ever before. As a result, international remittances grew significantly in both 2020 and 2021, as many senders favoured mobile money for its efficiency, speed, safety and cost-effectiveness. The trend continued in 2022, albeit at a slower rate.
Closing the gender-gap
Mobile money is also continuing to drive financial inclusion for the world’s unbanked, particularly among women in rural communities where access to mobile money can play a transformational and empowering role.
However, according to the latest GSMA data, there is still a mobile money gender-gap that has shown signs of widening over the last year – particularly in India, Indonesia and Pakistan. Mobile phone ownership is one of the main drivers of the mobile money gender-gap; however, a number of other barriers and cultural norms also prevent women from adopting mobile money. As a result, women in low- and middle-income countries are currently 28% less likely than men to own a mobile money account.
Growing agency networks
The number of mobile money agents also increased significantly last year, with a 41% increase between 2021 and 2022. The overall number of agents went from 12 million in 2021 to 17.4 million in 2022. The number of active agents increased by 25% to 7.2 million in 2022.
A lot of this growth came from Nigeria, where a more liberal regulatory regime meant an increase in mobile money providers. Agents continued to prove to be an invaluable part of mobile money services, and were responsible for two-thirds of all cash-in transactions in 2022.
“It is promising to see the continued growth of mobile money worldwide. Mobile money has afforded millions of unbanked and underserved people in low- and middle-income countries access to digital financial services for the first time,” said Max Cuvellier, Head of Mobile for Development, GSMA.
“However, even with this significant growth, there is still a long way to go to bring those services to over a billion people worldwide who remain unbanked. The GSMA is therefore encouraging governments worldwide to keep developing the enabling policies that can support mobile money deployments and further boost the growth of this crucial ecosystem. Doing so helps accelerate the digitisation of national economies and builds financial resilience, allowing communities to support themselves in uncertain times.”
After spending six days stuck without food or water, eleven Indonesian fishermen were rescued by Australian maritime officials from a small island; however, there are concerns that nine more may have perished in the process.
According to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), Tropical Cyclone Ilsa, one of the fiercest storms to hit Western Australia in more than ten years, wrecked two fishing boats last week.
On the isolated Bedwell Island, a sliver of sand in the Rowley Shoals, roughly 300 kilometers west of Broome on the northwestern Australian coast, the first set of 11 men swam to shore.
Deep sea fishing is popular in the area.
The desperate men survived without food or water for nearly a week before being spotted by an Australian Border Force (ABF) aircraft during a planned surveillance mission, AMSA said, prompting the dispatch of a rescue helicopter.
The second vessel, believed to have been carrying at least 10 others, sunk in the powerful storm, AMSA said.
One survivor spent 30 hours in the water before reaching Bedwell Island. The remaining nine fishermen are feared dead, AMSA said.
Pictures released by AMSA showed a group of stranded fishermen waving to the rescue helicopter above, silhouetted by a barren white beach. Their stricken vessel could be seen close by.
CNN affiliate Nine News Australia reported that the survivors were taken to Broome Hospital for treatment.
The Russian military is in a state of decline as a result of battlefield setbacks and Western sanctions, but Moscow will still have enough weaponry to continue the conflict in Ukraine, according a new independent report.
According to one estimate, the research from the Center for Strategic and International Studies provides stark estimates of Russian military losses, including close to 10,000 units of critical equipment like tanks, vehicles, artillery pieces, and aerial drones.
However, it also states that Russia can use Cold War-era and earlier stocks on the front lines to make up in numbers for any technology it may have lost.
“The quality of the Russian military in terms of advanced equipment will likely decline, at least over the near term,” the CSIS report says.
It notes how Russian losses of main battle tanks, especially modern ones, have been severe.
“Moscow is estimated to have lost anywhere from 1,845 to 3,511 tanks one year into the war,” the CSIS report says, with losses of its newer, upgraded T-72B3 main battle tank, first delivered in 2013, noted as especially damaging.
The Netherlands-based open source intelligence website Oryx says it has visual evidence of more than 500 variants of T-72B3 destroyed, damaged, abandoned or captured as of this week.
“They’re going backwards in terms of equipment,” the officials said of Russian armor, noting that T-55 tanks, introduced in 1948, are now turning up on the battlefield.
The CSIS report highlights the problem Russia faces in new tank construction, citing Russian media reports.
One tank plant, UralVagonZavod, can make about 20 tanks a month. But Russia loses, on average, almost 150 tanks of all types in Ukraine each month, it says.
And then there’s the lack of modern hardware.
The CSIS report says Moscow has to refurbish and put its decades-old tanks back into action because it just doesn’t have the resources to build new ones, with Western sanctions leaving it unable to source parts and tools needed to put together a modern tank.
Sanctions have cut Russian access to optical systems – needed for tank gunners to pick out targets – ball bearings and machine tools, the CSIS report said.
Specifically for optical systems, Russia relied on French imports during its pre-war production, the report said.
With those imports cut off by sanctions, it’s forced to put older, less sophisticated gunner’s sights in even its most modern tanks, resulting in a possible loss of up to two kilometers in range, it said.
In the case of high-quality ball bearings – “critical to producing any type of moving vehicle,” the report said – 55% of Russia’s pre-war supply came from Europe and North America. With those sources now lost, it may try to make up the deficit with domestically produced supplies or imports of lower quality from China or Malaysia, the report said.
Either way, Russia can’t get the quality it did before the war.
“Moscow is under pressure to adapt, often turning to less-reliable and costlier suppliers and supply routes, lower-quality imports, or trying to reproduce Western components internally. This is likely hampering the rate and quality of Russian defense production,” the report said.
The loss of Western components is not just felt in tanks, the report says.
Manned and unmanned aircraft, missiles and electronic warfare equipment need modern, high-tech parts – including microchips – that Russian can’t source adequately from internal suppliers and has difficulty importing because of Western sanctions, it said.
Retired Lt. Gen. explains where US defense systems need to be placed in Ukraine
But the report cautions that Ukraine and its Western supporters should not expect these supply problems to quickly stop the hostilities.
“Sanctions and export controls are not a silver bullet that will force Russia to bring the war to an end,” it said.
Russia still retains numerical advantages over Ukraine, the report said, because it has large inventories in reserve.
“Russia’s military capabilities still greatly outnumber those of Ukraine on most indicators, including man-, air-, land, and naval power,” the report says.
“While an accurate count of Moscow’s current military stocks is not available publicly, it has been roughly estimated that, as of February 2023, the total number of aircraft at the Kremlin’s disposal has been 13-15 times more than Kyiv’s. Russia has nearly 7-8 times more tanks and 4 times more armored fighting vehicles, while its naval fleet is 12-16 times larger than Ukraine’s,” it says.
The numerical advantages will enable Moscow to run a war of attrition over the next year, throwing numbers on the battlefield until Ukraine, even with fewer losses, runs out of hardware, the report says.
To offset the Russian numerical advantages, even of inferior weaponry, it is vital that Western countries keep technologically superior armaments flowing to Ukraine.
For instance, the older tanks are vulnerable to hand-held Javelin missiles, it says.
“This is the crux of this war in its second year: the Russian military can rely on its mass and continue feeding older or less than state-of-the-art technology as long as it thinks it can simply outlast the Western deliveries of weapons and systems to Ukraine,” the CSIS report says.
According to Israeli police, a suspected “terror attack” happened early on Tuesday local time in East Jerusalem next to the Shimon Hatzadik tomb, injuring two persons.
According to a police statement, the department received a report of a firing at a vehicle in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Shimon Hatzadik, where tensions between Palestinians and Jewish settlers have been building recently.
Two people were “moderately injured,” according to medical officials and were transferred for further medical treatment, the police statement added.
“Police and Border Police officers are at the scene conducting searches for the suspect who fled the scene,” it continued.
In a follow-up statement, police said forces located a “Carlo” style submachine gun near the site of the shooting.
A spokesperson for the Magen David Adom (MDA) ambulance service the two injured men involved a 50-year-old male who was sent to be treated in Shaare Tzedek Hospital and a 48-year-old to Hadassah Mt. Scopus Hospital.
The attack comes amid escalating Israeli-Palestinian violence. Last year was the deadliest for both Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and for Israelis in nearly two decades, and this year is on pace to be worse.
Tensions have boiled over during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which coincided this year with the Jewish Passover holiday, after Israeli police twice raided the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, whose compound is also known as the Temple Mount – one of the most revered places in Islam and Judaism. Israeli police arrested hundreds whom they accused of barricading themselves inside the mosque and throwing fireworks and stones, leading to wide condemnations from the Arab and Muslim world.
The complex and the neighborhood where Tuesday’s shooting took place lies in East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want as the capital of their future state and which most of the international community considers to be Israeli-occupied territory. Israel captured it from Jordan in a 1967 war and considers both East and West Jerusalem as its united, “eternal capital.”
Popular fashion icon and businessman, Osebo The Zaramanhas talked about his large family.
Speaking in a new interview with ZionFelix, Osebo revealed he is having six children.
He indicated that his children are from four different women.
Known as Richard Brown in private life, the well-known businessman stated that he had one with Nana Aba Anamoah, two with Anita, a Nigerian woman in Italy, two with Ohemaa and his last born with another woman.
Osebo added that he does not joke with his children.
He shot down allegations that some people are peddling against him over his kids.
The Zaraman averred it’s not good for a man to have kids with different women.
However, he stated human beings cannot always get what they wish for.
He further advised young men who are yet to get married to look for someone who will love and understands them.
Kenpong Academy FC, has been banned by the Ghana Football Association (GFA) from using the Swedru Stadium as its home venue with immediate effect.
This decision has become necessary due to the unfortunate incidents that occurred during Matchday 23 between Kenpong FC and New Edubiase FC played on April 17, 2023.
The decision is in accordance with Article 14(2) of the GFA Division One League Regulations which states inter alia “the GFA may order the closure of any league centre where the safety of clubs, Match Officials or Spectators cannot be guaranteed.”
The Competitions Department is therefore advised to determine the venue for the Club’s subsequent home matches in accordance with the Division One League Regulations.
This order is however is without prejudice to the determination of the case pending before the Disciplinary Committee who have been charged to hear the case in accordance with the relevant Regulations.
After a lengthy break in construction, China is now making “significant progress” on its fifth research center in Antarctica, according to a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
After several years of stagnation following the start of construction in 2018, the site now has new support facilities and the foundation for a larger structure, according to a report released on Tuesday by the Washington-based think group.
The conclusions were based on Maxar’s most recent satellite photos.
The site – a research station China has hailed as a means to expand its scientific investigation in the Antarctic – could also be used to enhance the country’s intelligence collection, according to CSIS.
China is far from alone in bolstering its presence and research activities in the frozen continent, where a number of countries including the United States, Britain, and South Korea all operate research stations.
But attention has turned to potential dual-use of China’s facilities amid increasing power competition with the United States and Western concerns about Beijing’s assertive foreign policy and surveillance capabilities.
The new station’s position, on Inexpressible Island near the Ross Sea, is triangulated with China’s other coastal stations on Antarctica to “fill in a major gap in China’s coverage” of the continent, and could support intelligence collection given its inclusion of a satellite ground station, according to the CSIS report.
The station’s position may enable China to “collect signals intelligence from US-allied Australia and New Zealand” and “collect telemetry data on rockets launching from newly established space facilities in both countries,” it said.
Once completed, the 5,000-square-meter (53,820-square-foot) station is expected to include a scientific research and observation area, an energy facility, a main building, a logistics facility and a wharf for China’s Xuelong icebreakers, according to CSIS.
In February 2020, a team of US inspectors visited the station, where they were hosted by station leader Wang Zhechao of the Polar Research Institute of China.
They found no military equipment or military support personnel at the site, according to a report of the inspection published by the United States State Department.
Once completed the scientific research at the station would focus on physical and biological oceanography, glaciology, marine ecology, zoology, atmospheric and space physics and geology, the account said, citing a 2018 draft Comprehensive Environmental Evaluation about the project submitted by China to an Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting.
China has established four scientific research bases in Antarctica since 1984, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
A 2022 Department of Defense report on China’s military notes that “(China’s) strategy for Antarctica includes the use of dual-use technologies, facilities, and scientific research, which are likely intended, at least in part, to improve PLA (People’s Liberation Army) capabilities.”
China, however has stressed the scientific nature of its ambitions in the region.
In an address to researchers based in polar regions at the start of this year, then-Vice Premier Han Zheng hailed the teams’ contributions to “humanity’s scientific understanding and peaceful use of polar and ocean regions.” Han has since been appointed China’s vice president.
Under the 1959 treaty Antarctic Treaty, to which China is party, activities on the continent are restricted to “peaceful purposes.”
Military personnel are allowed to conduct scientific research, but may not set up bases, test weapons of carry out maneuvers.
According to a top relief agency, half the hospitals in Sudan’s capital are “out of action” as a result of the conflict’s escalating casualties and the grave medical needs of many of the injured.
Abdalla Hussein, the operational manager for Médecins Sans Frontières in Sudan, stated, “According to the information we have in Khartoum, 50% of hospitals have been out of operation in the first 72 hours.” He explained, “This is because the hospitals itself have been the target of shelling or bombing or the employees didn’t feel secure going there.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 270 people have been killed and more than 2,600 injured since the clashes erupted on Saturday between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
At the heart of the conflict is a power struggle between the groups’ leaders: Sudan’s military chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti.
As residents cower from gunfire, international governments have called for a ceasefire so authorities can distribute aid and coordinate evacuations amid attacks on foreign nationals, including diplomatic staff.
Japan has been able to contact all 60 of its nationals in Sudan, including embassy staff, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said during an emergency news conference. There are no reports of injuries among them, though food and water are scarce, and power cuts have become frequent as the security situation deteriorates.
Further details about the deployment of Japan’s Self-Defense Forces will be discussed in the future, he added
The United States has not announced any plans for an evacuation operation for Americans in Sudan, but has urged its nationals to stay indoors, shelter in place, and stay away from windows.
Other countries have published advisories to their national in Sudan. China has asked its citizens there to stay vigilant and to register their information online with the Chinese Embassy in Khartoum. The Indian Embassy in Sudan also issued an advisory on Tuesday asking its citizens to stay indoors and ration supplies due to looting.
The advisories come as reports emerge of attacks on foreign nationals and staffers.
Armed personnel stormed the homes of people working for the UN and other international organizations in downtown Khartoum, according to reports in an internal UN document seen by CNN.
According to the document, the gunmen sexually assaulted women and stole belongings including cars. One incident of rape was also reported. These armed personnel, “reportedly from RSF, are entering the residences of expats, separating men and women and taking them away,” read the report.
CNN has not been able to independently verify the alleged attacks.The RSF denied the claims, blaming Sudan’s armed forces for committing the crimes while wearing RSF uniforms. The armed forces have denied involvement in the violations, and reiterated accusations that the RSF has committed crimes against humanity.
In separate incidents cited in the document, two Nigerian men working for an international organization were abducted and later released; a building housing the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs was targeted; and a rocket-propelled grenade hit the home of a local UN staff member in Khartoum.
Other incidents in recent days include a US diplomatic convoy coming under gunfire, the EU ambassador to Sudan being assaulted in his Khartoum residency, and three workers from the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) killed in clashes.
President of the Ghana Union of Traders Association, Dr Joseph Obeng is seriously unhappy with comments made by First Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Joseph Osei-Owusu, regarding the passage of the three new tax laws
Joseph Osei-Owusu, popularly known as Joe Wise said in a TV, on Monday, April 17, 2023, GUTA members have no moral authority to accused government of exploiting Ghanaians and business.
But reacting to this in another interview with Oyerepa TV, on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, Dr Joseph Obeng said that the comment of the 1st deputy speaker is an insult to all traders in Ghana.
He said that it is Joe Wise who has no morals because he imported tiles from China, when some are being produced in Ghana, at a time his government is seeking to encourage local production of goods.
“On what grounds is he saying that we, the citizenry, have no moral rights? He is the deputy speaker so he has the moral right to talk. You are introducing taxes and we are saying they are killing us and you sit there and say we have no moral right.
“Contrary to him saying we avoid taxes; we always pay our taxes and that is why the government always meets its domestic revenue targets. But the reason the revenue is not enough for the government is that people like Osei Owusu are paid ex-gratia. The taxes are also used to pay for his petrol, his security guards and his allowances.
“He says we have no moral rights, what moral rights does he have? He went to China to buy tiles while we have two big factories in Ghana producing tiles and his government is saying we should patronize made-in-Ghana goods… He is not shamed of this,” he said in Twi.
Dr Obeng added that the statement made by Joe Wise is similar to comments which led to traders being attacked during the days of the revolutions because traders were allegedly charging unfair prices and holding their products.
Background
Joe Wise, who is also the Bekwai MP, said that the GUTA does not have the moral right to complain about tax hikes, alleging that members of the association under-declare their products and also over-price their goods to gain huge profit margins.
He made these remarks while reacting to concerns raised by GUTA over the introduction of the 3 revenue bills approved by parliament.
According to the association, their members are already struggling with their businesses insisting, the 3 revenue measures will impose additional hardship on them.
But in an interview with Kumasi-based Oyerepa TV, Joe Wise accused members of the association of dishonesty, insisting they (members of the GUTA) have been ripping off the Ghanaians.
“GUTA should be fair to this country. They are always talking about taxes and yet they are over-exploiting Ghanaians and I am saying this without fear. I bought these tiles you see in China, some of the highest grades, you can get.
“But I bought them at less than a fraction of what they (GUTA) sell on the market which is even the weakest in China. I also paid import duties. They are dishonest, they are under-declaring and inflating the prices to make huge profits on any product,” he said in Twi.
The Ghana Water Company Limited risk being disconnected if they fail to pay its accumulated debt to the power distributor Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCO).
This comes after NEDCo revealed that the GWCL owes GHS 62 million during a revenue collection exercise.
Speaking after the exercise which began on Tuesday, NEDCo’s managing director Osman Ayuba warned it would not compromise in its revenue recovery exercise adding GWCL will be taken off the grid if they fail to settle its debt.
“It is a compilation of outstanding bills over the years and I think that we’ve not been very hard on them, that is what has led us to this amount of GHS 62 million. But, with this exercise I’m sure they will put in an effort to redeem themselves,” he said.
Mr Ayuba added that not only will they disconnect their offices but also the treatment plant where water is produced to supply residents in over five districts.
“Water is an essential commodity, yes, but they also sell the water. We get disconnected when we don’t pay so why we should not disconnect them when they don’t pay us?” He quizzed.
Meanwhile, according to NEDCo officials, customers owe the company about GHS 1.2 billion cedis. The company said its targeting to recover about 50% of the revenue.
NEDCo owes the Volta River Authority and the Ghana Grid Company in excess of GHS 2 billion. As part of the exercise they zoned its operational area into groups led by its managing director to undertake the exercise.
The exercise with the managing director’s team started with a visit to the Bagabaga College of Education where the college currently owes GHS 4.1 million. Unable to pay the amount or reach an agreement with NEDCo, the college had its power source disconnected.
The team’s next stop was the Aliu Mahama Sports Stadium and the Tamale College of Education, who owe about GHS 466,000 thousand and GHS 3.5 million cedis respectively. These two institutions were also taken off the grid after failing to pay their debt.
At the Tamale Technical University, an agreement was ready with NEDCo for a plan to get them to pay their debt. The University said it would pay GHS 100,000 out of the arrears while a new payment plan is developed to help them settle the rest.
Meanwhile, the managing director described the exercise as a success following the recovery of some amount and the disconnect of some institutions.
“I will describe it as a success for me and my team,” Mr Ayuba said.
The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) has expressed concern over what it describes as unlawful interdiction of the headmaster of the Ghana Senior High School (GHANASCO).
GNAT has therefore asked the Ghana Education Service (GES) to immediately reinstate the interdicted headmaster of GHANASCO.
The Association says the interdiction was without merit as no investigation had been conducted into the issue at the time.
According to GNAT, the move by the GES has affected the confidence of the embattled headmaster, Mr Doughlas Haruna Yakubu.
GNAT General Secretary, Thomas Musah speaking in an interview with Accra-based Citi FM on April 18, lambasted GES for taking such a decision.
“Why should you in a rush go and issue a statement interdicting the person, putting the person in the public for ridicule? Do you know you have humiliated the head? You have broken his confidence and that, you don’t handle professionals like that.
The matter should have been investigated. GES should do the needful by reinstating the man and let’s move forward, he came to meet the matter he didn’t create it,” he said.
The GES has stated that it is conducting a probe into a video on social media showing some students of the school using toilet cubicles as dormitories.
According to a statement issued dated April 16, the Regional Director of Education has asked both the head and senior housemaster to step aside for a thorough investigation.
“The Headmaster and the Senior Housemaster have been directed to step aside to allow for further investigations into the matter by the Regional Director of Education and report back in two weeks,” the statement signed by the Head of the Public Relations Unit, Cassandra Twum Ampofo disclosed.
It has thus sent a fact-finding delegation to probe and ascertain the truth or otherwise of the allegation.
Meanwhile, the headmaster, Mr Doughlas Haruna Yakubu has dispelled the video footage depicting students sleeping in toilet cubicles as trumped-up.
Mr Yakubu said the school has enough space to accommodate its students and thus there is no reason for students to be kept in toilet cubicles.
In his estimation, the footage was taken with malicious intent to cause public disaffection for the school.
The Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) workers have given notice of their intention to embark on a series of actions, including picketing at the Jubilee House, to support their call for the revamping of the refinery.
Mr. Bernard Owusu, National Chairman of the General Transport Petroleum Chemical Workers Union (GTPCWU), announcing this in a press conference at the forecourt of TOR, said the industrial actions would precede the May Day celebrations.
Mr. Owusu said other workers would also picket at the premises of the Ministry of Energy and other strategic locations, as several calls and meetings with management and government officials had yielded no result.
He said it was worrying that the refinery, which has the best engineers in the sub-region and has the capacity to refine 45,000 barrels a day, was only carrying finished products instead of fulfilling its core mandate of refining crude.
He questioned why Ghana has crude oil and yet TOR could not get crude to refine, adding that, almost all the companies created by Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah Ghana’s First President has collapsed.
He said TOR workers would not allow that to happen to the refinery.
He reminded the government that if TOR was working at full capacity, it would supply the country with 50 percent of its overall domestic consumption, provide 100 percent of the residual fuel oil (RFO) for industrial operations, provide 20 to 25 percent of LPG consumption, and provide 100 percent of Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK).
The National Chairman of GTPCWU further said that on average, Ghana required about $4.8 billion to import petroleum products per year.
According to him, if TOR was producing, the forex requirement for petroleum product imports would significantly reduce by over 50 percent.
He said other benefits included the lowering of domestic ex-pump prices due to the removal of certain import charges, including the freight rate of about $92/Mt for petrol, $101/Mt for diesel, and $83/Mt for LPG.
He added that revamping TOR to work at full capacity would also lower the financing charges as these transactions were cedi denominated.
The Union observed that as Ghana was currently going through financial distress and a debt restructuring programme, significant benefits from TOR’s work should be top on the national agenda.
“Unless the managers of the country have no confidence in those, they have appointed to manage the TOR facility, the state is responsible and determines those who constitute the Board of Directors and the MD of TOR.
“Therefore, all past and current operational anomalies and challenges must be borne by the appointing authority of these key critical office holders, knowing very well that all operational controls are a function of management,” he added.
Mr. Anthony Koomson, Chairman of the Senior Staff Union, reminded the government that when TOR functions, it does not only benefit the staff but all Ghanaians and the economy.
He said if the issue has to do with competent management, then the government must appoint the right people.
Nothing compares to a mother’s love; she becomes her children’s biggest fan, supports them throughout their journey, and is quick to rejoice when they succeed.
Ghanaian politician, Dorcas Affo Toffey, who is the mother of singer Fantana, has confessed how proud she is of her daughter’s feature in Season 2 of the Netflix series ‘Young, Famous & African’.
The Member of Parliament for Jomoro Constituency in a Facebook post announced that her daughter is living her dream and thanked God for blessing her with all her heart desires.
“I am so ecstatic to see my daughter Fantana live her dreams. Proud is an understatement! There is nothing you can not do, never stop dreaming and believing what you can achieve. God has been good. Catch my daughter as she represents Ghana on Season 2 of Young, Famous & African,” the post read.
Fantana’s feature in the upcoming series created by Ghana’s Peace Hyde has been widely circulated on social media following the release of the trailer on Tuesday, April 18.
Former Minority Leader and Member of Parliament for the Tamale South Constituency, Haruna Iddrisu, has stated that reports of a toilet facility at the Ghana Senior High School (GHANASCO) being converted into a toilet facility are not entirely true.
While calling for circumspection in the reportage of the purported toilet-turned dormitory at the GHANASCO, he said there was the need to report the historical facts accurately about the Gbanza/Cabrel house which is at the center of the brouhaha.
Mr. Iddrisu who said much of what has been put out there is not entirely factual and lacks the historical perspective, and that the reports were as if there is an official record of students being posted to the toilet facility.
Speaking to the media after touring the said house, the MP said there was no official record to support the claim that students were being permanently housed in the toilet facility. Instead, the facility has largely been used as a box room.
“The facility was built in 1970 and 80 as toilets and baths but have been used by some category of students searching for isolation for purposes of learning, therefore, some of your report as I have indicated is not entirely accurate and factual, however, let’s all await the investigation that has been sole commissioned by the Director General of the Ghana Education services,” he said.
Mr. Iddrisu said the negative reportage can affect the emotions of the students and called for the discontinuation of the negativity.
“And therefore we owe it to these kids that this negative reportage stops while we establish the full facts around the purported reportage of student being accommodated in toilets and baths. I do not have the full facts but I have gone round with you to ascertain some of the facts.
“As far back as 1978, Master Agude taught me mathematics at the Bagabaga JSS, leaving this school the facility was no longer used for that purpose so when again was it used for that purpose we need to ascertain the facts,” he said.
He raised concerns over the acute water shortage in the Tamale Metropolis. Mr. Iddrisu said parliament in 2019 approved an amount of 276 million Euro for the expansion of the Tamale water facility but that is yet to happen.
“Far back in 2019 into 2021, parliament approved for a facility for the expansion of Tamale water which will naturally benefit Ghansco, Nobisco and benefit Tamasco, and benefit all other schools in Tamale and therefore it’s been of concern,” the Tamale South MP said.
He therefore called on government to give the issue the priority it deserves.
Mr. Iddrisu also visited the room the former president John Dramani Mahama lived in as a student and prefect. He said the former president renovated the Gbanza/Cabrel house and has said he will take care of any defect should there be one in the house. Mr. Iddrisu added that he as MP for the area would support the course.
Since the video was posted on Twitter, a lot of tweeps have expressed solidarity with the boy and a number of them have pledged to support the family to ease the struggle Abraham goes through to study.
In follow-up tweets, Teiko wrote: “A lot of people reaching out to support already but I’m trying to get the right channel to get everything to them directly. I’m open to advice and ideas on how to do that.
“for now any form of support can be sent to 0203773217 – Teiko Yartey
“Hopefully by morning I’ll pay the parents of Abraham a visit to get the necessary details, needs and also inform them about the support from everyone. I didn’t expect this much support for the little boy but the good Lord had a bigger plan.”
Below is the exchange he had with @teikoszn
Teiko: Who do you live with, how are you?
Boy: Please I am fine.
Teiko: So, why do you study here?
Boy: Please, we don’t have light.
Teiko: Is it light off or you don’t have light at all?
Boy: (We don’t have light) At all.
Teiko: So, every night you learn like this, everyday?
Renowned pollster Ben Ephson has dismissed claims bribery allegations peddled by the Ashanti Regional campaign manager for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential hopeful, Alan Kyerematen.
In an interview on Akoma TV on April 13, Collins Owusu Amankwah, who is the Ashanti Regional campaign manager for Alan and a former Member of Parliament for Manhyia North, claimed that Ben Ephson’s polls are not credible and alleged that the pollster makes favourable predictions for politicians who pay him.
However, in response to these allegations, Ben Ephson stated that he is measured in what he says now, adding that “When you are bathing and a man comes for your cloth, you don’t run naked after the person.”
Ben Epson highlighted that over his 22 years of research, he has achieved 83% accuracy, he also noted that in 2019, he was part of a team of University of Ghana lecturers who conducted research on the list of MPs who were likely to lose their seats.
“So, I have seen what Alan’s Ashanti Regional campaign manager has said, so let me take my time and say this, there is this saying that goes like ‘When you are bathing and a man person comes for your cloth, you don’t run naked after the person, so I have been very measured in what I say.
“In 2019, the University of Ghana lecturers that did research about the list of MPs who will lose their seat, I was part of them …he doesn’t believe in research, and he also said I take money and conduct polls…in twenty-two years (22) I have gotten 83% accuracy.
“I have done 7 polls, national polls…if he wants to help his candidate, Alan, there are people at Alan’s camp who come to me and ask why I said he will be third and I have explained to them,” he added.
It was a dramatic scene at an Accra High Court when a judge remanded into police custody two persons accused of robbing a nurse of her Toyota Corolla valued at GHS150,000.00 and an iPhone valued at GHS 3,500.00.
The accused persons also robbed the complainant of her Samsung S10 mobile phone valued at GHS 3,200.00, the quantity of Brazilian hair valued at GHS50,000.00 and other personal effects, prosecutors said.
Michael Mensah, aka “Ayellow,” an unemployed man and Jerry Maglo Senam, an Okada rider are jointly held for conspiracy to commit crime and robbery.
Meanwhile, their accomplices, Abdul Salam Dauda, a scrap dealer, Abdul Aziz Salisu, a trader, George Kwame Azuma, a car dealer, Sadat Mohammed, a scrap dealer, and Eric Bawa aka “Jupitar,” an Okada rider, were also charged with dishonestly receiving.
One of the accomplices, namely, “Sixty-Four,” is at large.
All the accused persons have pleaded not guilty to charges levelled against them.
Samuel Ofori, Counsel for four of the accused persons, prayed for bail for his clients, saying they were not a fright risk in the sense that they came to Court on their own without the Police after being granted a Police enquiry bail. “My clients will always avail themselves to stand trial if granted bail,” he added.
Moses Ansah, who also represented two of the accused persons, applied for bail on the grounds that his clients had fixed places of abode and had people of substance to stand as sureties.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Emmanuel Haliga, prosecuting, did not object to the bail applications but prayed the Court to give them conditions that would compel them to always appear before it for trial.
He said Mensah and Senam did not have a fixed place of abode because they were not able to provide any house number to the Police.
The Prosecution said ‘Senam is a Togolese national and so there is no guarantee that if granted bail, he will appear before Court.”
It, therefore, prayed that Mensah and Senam be remanded for further investigations.
The Court presided over by Evelyn Asamoah, therefore, remanded Mensah and Senam into Police custody, while admitting the other’s bail in the sum of GHS150,000.00 each with three sureties each.
The Court directed that two of the sureties each should be gainfully employed.
The prosecution was also directed by the Court to file and serve all disclosures and witness statements before the next adjourned date.
The matter has been adjourned to May 2, 2023.
The facts as presented by the prosecution are that Madam Efua Bryan, who is a nurse, resides at Gbawe, while the accused persons were residents of Accra.
The Prosecution said on February 25, 2023, at about 0150 hours, the complainant was returning home from town and on reaching the CP Event Centre taxi rank, she noticed that two young men on a motorbike were trailing her but she managed to escape their track.
The Prosecution said immediately after she got home and attempted to open the gate, Mensah and Senam pounced on her and threatened to harm her if she did not surrender the vehicle and its content to them. “For fear of her life, she ran into the compound screaming for help.”
The Prosecution said Mensah and Senam bolted with the complainant’s vehicle which contained quantity of Brazilian hair valued at GH¢50,000.00, a Samsung S10 mobile phone and iPhone 11 Pro mobile phone valued at GH¢3,200.00 and GH¢3,500.00 respectively, assorted ID cards and personal effects yet to be valued.
The Prosecution said the matter was reported to the Police and the scene was visited for reconstruction and vital information was gathered which provided leads for further investigations.
It said on March 31, 2023, Police intelligence led to the arrest of one Manya Kofi Richard for his involvement in the receipt of the complainant’s Samsung 10 mobile phone
The Prosecution said upon interrogation, Manya told the Police that he acquired the same from Bawa whom he knew at Agbogbloshie Yam Market.
It said Bawa and Moammed were subsequently arrested for their involvement in the case and later admitted having received the complainant’s mobile phone from Mensah and Senam.
The Prosecution said Mensah and Senam were also arrested and upon interrogation, they both admitted having robbed the complainant of her vehicle and its contents on February 25, 2023.
It said Mensah and Senam told the Police that they later sold the vehicle to Salisu for GHS18,000.00 with the assistance of Dauda.
Dauda and Salisu were arrested and Salisu admitted having sold it to Azuma for GHS60,000.00 after changing its original colour from white to wine and got “Sixty-Four” to change the chassis number of the said robbed vehicle, according to the Prosecution.
It said efforts were underway to retrieve the iPhone 11 Pro and other personal effects of the complainant and to arrest “Sixty-Four”.
Dancehall artiste Shatta Wale was at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) on Tuesday evening to welcome Gramps Morgan to Ghana.
The Morgan Heritage member arrived at the airport to a sizeable welcome crowd and was captured in a video with Shatta Wale making their way out of the facility into a waiting car.
“GHANA I have touchdown for the @morganheritage @shattawalegh @JChameleone Collab on the NEW Morgan Heritage Album “The Homeland” PRE ORDER NOW,” Morgan posted in a tweet hours after his arrival.
Accompanying the tweet were photos of himself and Shatta Wale along with other associates.
The three-time Grammy award-winning artist flew into Ghana from Uganda, where he had promoted the album on which he is set to collaborate with Shatta Wale.
A video of a young boy sitting on a stone by the roadside somewhere in Accra with his books displayed on a lawn behind a wall close to a drain, has warmed the hearts of many.
The place is Westlands, a suburb of the capital and the boy is 5-year-old Abraham. He confirms he is in class five and is there in the evening because he needs lights to copy his notes before school the following day.
When a Twitter user with the handle @teikoszn was driving by, his curiosity piqued and he decided to engage the boy.
Abraham lives with his parents nearby but because of the unavailability of electricity at home means he sits under the streetlights to study daily.
Since the video was posted on Twitter, a lot of tweeps have expressed solidarity with the boy and a number of them have pledged to support the family to ease the struggle Abraham goes through to study.
In follow-up tweets, Teiko wrote: “a lot of people reaching out to support already but i’m trying to get the right channel to get everything to them directly. i’m opened to advice and ideas on how to do that.
“For now any form of support can be sent to 0203773217 – Teiko Yartey. Hopefully by morning I’ll pay the parents of Abraham a visit to get the necessary details, needs and also inform them about the support from everyone. i didn’t expect this much support for the little boy but the good Lord had a bigger plan.”
Below is the exchange he had with @teikoszn
Teiko: Who do you live with, how are you?
Boy: Please I am fine.
Teiko: So, why do you study here?
Boy: Please, we don’t have light.
Teiko: Is it light off or you don’t have light at all?
Boy: (We don’t have light) At all.
Teiko: So, every night you learn like this, everyday?
Boy: Please yes.
Teiko: So, what are you doing now?
Boy: I am copying my notes
Teiko: Which class?
i came across this little boy around Westlands studying on the streets, so i had to stop and ask why pic.twitter.com/e2h6pLa6Yj
Following claims that the US was reportedly eavesdropping on the Secretary-General and other senior UN officials, the United Nations delivered a rare censure of the US weeks after a cache of classified US intelligence papers was exposed on social media.
“The UN has made clear that such actions are inconsistent with the obligations of the United States of America enumerated in the UN charter and the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations,” UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric stated at his midday briefing on Tuesday.
The UN also sent a note to the US Mission at the United Nations in New York regarding the leak, according to Dujarric.
The stern reaction comes after a BBC report last week on a US intelligence leak which accused Guterres of being too soft on Russia. According to the broadcaster, the documents in the leak also includes detail of a private conversation between Guterres and his deputy Amina Mohammed.
“The Secretary-General has been at this job, and in the public eye, for a long time. He’s not surprised by the fact that people are spying on him and listening in on his private conversations,” Guterres’ office said in a statement Thursday.
“What is surprising is the malfeasance or incompetence that allows for such private conversations to be distorted and become public,” it added.
Stéphane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the Secretary-General, added later that “the Secretary-General is not soft on any one country”.
The leak appears to shed light on how Washington perceived Guterres’ handling of the Black Sea grain deal, according to the BBC. It suggests US officials believe Guterres was so keen to maintain the deal that he made generous concessions to Russia back in February .
CNN has not independently verified the documents.
“Guterres emphasised his efforts to improve Russia’s ability to export,” the leaked documents reportedly say, “even if that involves sanctioned Russian entities or individuals”.
The intelligence document continues saying Guterres was “undermining broader efforts to hold Moscow accountable for its actions in Ukraine,” according to the BBC report.
A State department spokesperson responded Thursday saying: “The Department of Defense and the intelligence community are actively reviewing and assessing the validity of the photographed documents that are circulating on social media sites, but we are not in a position to confirm or comment on any specific information they contain.”
The Black Sea grain deal was brokered by the UN and Turkey last year to help alleviate a global food crisis brought about by sky-rocketing grain prices. The deal was extended in March and is due to expire on May 18, after Russia refused to extend by more than 60 days.
In recent days there have been delays to Ukrainian grain ships passing through the Black Sea. Inspections,which rely on co-operation between Russian, Ukrainian, Turkish and UN officials, have repeatedly been halted.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is set to discuss the Black Sea grain deal with Guterres during a visit to New York next week, according to Russian state news agency TASS.
After a remarkable $1.81-billion surge in net worth during the first 96 days of 2023, South African tycoon Johann Rupert’s fortune continues to soar, having increased by an additional $400 million in the past 12 days. The surge has pushed his net worth above $13.1 billion.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Rupert is presently the richest man in South Africa and the second-richest billionaire on the African continent.
The recent $400-million boost in his net worth cements his status as one of the wealthiest men in Africa, with year-to-date gains totaling $2.14 billion, making him the only African billionaire to have recorded a net worth gain in excess of $2 billion since the start of the year.
Rupert’s wealth primarily stems from his 9.14 percent ownership of Richemont, a Swiss-based luxury goods group that boasts high-end brands like Cartier, Chloe, Dunhill, Alaa, and Delvaux. As a result, Rupert now ranks as the 143rd richest person in the world according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with a net worth exceeding $13.1 billion.
In recent days, Richemont’s shares have risen by 6.05 percent, jumping from CHF139.75 ($155.7) on April 6 to CHF148.25 ($165.17) at the time of this report.
The modest increase has driven the market value of Rupert’s 9.14-percent stake up by $420 million, elevating its total value to $9.82 billion.
With the latest increase in the company’s shares, Richemont’s stock price has now surged by over 16 percent since the start of the year thanks to its impressive sales figures at the end of the third quarter of its 2023 fiscal year.
The luxury goods group reported sales figures of over €15 billion ($16.3 billion) during this period, surpassing the first nine months of the 2022 fiscal year which saw €12.77 billion ($13.9 billion) in sales.
Notably, the surge was largely driven by a significant sales increase in Japan, rising from just under €855 million ($929 million) in 2022 to almost €1.29 billion ($1.4 billion).
President Nana Akufo-Addo has cut the sod for constructing the first phase of a 600 million-unit capacity vaccine manufacturing plant at Medie in Accra.
This move takes the country closer to achieving its target of becoming the hub of healthcare delivery within the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), with focus on the production of pertinent drugs and vaccines which the continent lacks capacity to make.
The project’s first phase, which is estimated at US$122.6million, will be fitted with state-of-the-art technology to produce malaria; human papillomavirus (HPV); pneumonia; rotavirus; and cholera vaccines.
This phase is expected to be completed in late 2024, with production of the first-ever vaccine in the country set for first-quarter 2025. The plan is to make vaccines accessible to every child born in Ghana and the West African sub-region.
The second phase, which is an expansion of phase-one, will eventually incorporate vaccine manufacturing with a plan to construct a total of four fill and finish lines that can fill any type of vaccine – both traditional and messenger Ribonucleic Acid (mRNA). This will be done upon completion of phase-one.
The idea to manufacture vaccines locally was birthed during the COVID-19 pandemic – which reminded the nation that it is not advisable to solely depend on the benevolence and kind gestures of developed countries for vaccines and other critical healthcare requirements; hence the decision by government to support the private sector in developing local vaccine manufacturing capacity.
The initiative is executed by DEK Vaccines Limited, a consortium of three Ghanaian pharmaceutical firms – Danadams, Ernest Chemists and Kinapharma – selected to produce vaccines for Ghana, the ECOWAS region and Africa as a whole, under a broader plan to shore-up the continent’s capability to produce vaccines.
The president said venturing into vaccine manufacturing and development as a nation is part of an objective to be self-sufficient in healthcare delivery in its entirety, as the COVID-19 pandemic left many African countries struggling to get vaccines because the Western world was thinking about saving their people first.
He said the investment, which is the first of many to come in the next five years, will ensure that the country is future-ready for any pandemic and childhood diseases.
“One of the vaccines to be produced in this facility is the malaria vaccine; and as you may know, Ghana became the first country on 21st March 2023 to give access to the newly-developed malaria vaccine by Oxford University and produced by the Serum Institute of India to be used in Ghana.
“I therefore urge all well-meaning Ghanaians, entrepreneurs and corporate bodies to help this initiative with whatever they can to make Ghana a producer of malaria vaccines among others,” he said.
Mr. Akufo-Addo added that local production of vaccines comes with both direct and indirect social economic benefits to the country, and that the adoption and maintenance of reliable health security infrastructure could serve as the foundation for sustainable economic growth.
Irchad Razaaly, European Union (EU) Ambassador to Ghana, on his part mentioned that the EU has provided a €5million grant to support the project – explaining that the EU’s decision to support the initiative is a demonstration of its commitment to support the country in becoming the vaccine manufacturing hub of Africa.
The multi-purpose vaccine manufacturing facility to be established in Ghana will be the second in West Africa after the Yellow Fever vaccine manufacturing plant in Senegal.
The grant, made available by the European Investment Bank, will among others cover project-related expenditures, initial engineering and civil works, equipment down-payments, project development and technical assistance.
Managing Director of DEK Vaccines Limited, Pharm. Dr. Kofi Nsiah-Poku, emphasised the need for Ghana and Africa to be prepared for the next pandemic. He said vaccine manufacturing is a technology-intensive initiative that requires huge capital, and that the partnership with government is very appropriate.
One of the deadliest fires in the Chinese capital in recent years claimed the lives of 29 people on Tuesday in a hospital fire in Beijing. Twelve people have been detained by Chinese authorities in connection with the incident.
According to Zhao Yang, a representative of Beijing’s fire service, the Changfeng Hospital’s inpatient building fire was started by restoration work being done inside of it, where sparks from the construction ignited combustible paint.
Among the victims, 26 were inpatients with an average age of 71. The oldest victim was 88 years old. A nurse, a care worker and a family also died in the fire, according to Li Zongrong, deputy head of the Fengtai district government.
A total of 142 people were evacuated, including 71 patients. As of Wednesday, 39 injured remain in hospital, with three in critical condition, said Li Ang, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Heath Commission.
In videos shared on social media Tuesday, smoke could be seen billowing out of several hospital windows as people desperately attempted to escape the blaze. At least one person appeared to use a rope made from bedsheets to descend from a window onto a lower level terrace.
Others were seen either sitting on air conditioning units positioned on the exterior of the building, or trying to use the units to maneuver themselves from one level to the next. One person was seen jumping from one level of the building to the lower terrace.
The blaze is the most deadly in Beijing in recent years, surpassing the toll from a fire in 2017 that killed 19 in a cramped two-story building in Daxing district in the capital’s southern suburb.
That tragedy prompted authorities to demolish large swathes of buildings deemed illegal or unsafe in the neighborhood and forced thousands of migrant workers out of their homes and businesses.
A former 3rd National Vice Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Michael Omari Wadie, has called on the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, the finance minister, Mr Ken Ofori Atta and the Economic Management Team to open a window to allow those who declined to sign on the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme.
According to him, those who signed on it are enjoying more privileges than those who did not sign, hence the appeal.
The Minister of Finance announced in 2021 that the government would implement a voluntary DDEP as part of measures to reduce the debt burden and give the government some breathing room to deal with the fiscal challenges facing the country.
According to him, all bonds have been put into four categories as part of a restructuring programme that had been necessitated by recent economic headwinds.
He said individual bondholders and investors in Treasury Bills were exempt from the exchange programme.
“Under the programme, domestic bondholders will be asked to exchange their instruments for new ones,” he said.
The Minister also noted that existing domestic bonds as of December 1, 2022 will be exchanged for a set of four new bonds maturing in 2027, 2029, 2032 and 2037.
“The annual coupon on all of these new bonds will be set at zero percent in 2023, five percent in 2024, and 10 percent from 2025 until maturity. “Coupon payments will be semi-annual,” he stated.
Since its introduction, some groups, organizations, and entities, including the Christian Council, labour unions, and more recently, pensioners, have kicked against the idea.
Some of the bondholders, especially pensioners, despite the Government’s plea, also withdrew from the programme.
Speaking on Atinka TV’s current Affairs show, “The Agenda” with Nana Yaw Fianko, Michael Omari Wadie said some people did not understand the Programme at the initial stages and so they did not agree or sign on it.
According to him, those who signed onto the Programme enjoy loans when they present their bonds to any bank without stress.
Meanwhile, he observed that those who did not sign are going through some form of hardship because they do not have access to these loans and others.
“What I will do is to plead with the President, the Vice President, the Economic Management Team and especially, the Finance Minister. I am pleading in the interests of some Ghanaians who did not understand the Debt Restructuring Programme. Please open a small window for those who would like to come and sign for it,” he said.
He added, “I earnestly request that the Finance Ministry or those in charge of these negotiations open a window of at least one week. If you know someone who did not sign, ask him how it is going, and also ask those who did not sign how it is going for them.”
Kinzaburo Shiga, 77, returns to Onahama harbor in the early hours of the morning after catching a trawler full of fish off the eastern coast of Japan.
The third-generation fisherman, though, won’t go right to the market. He will first check his catch for radioactivity.
Since a horrific earthquake and tsunami in 2011 caused a nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, releasing deadly toxic particles into the surrounding area, he has been performing it as part of a ritual.
Three prefectures that had previously supplied Japan with half of its catch had their fishing operations off their coasts suspended as a result of radiation leaks from the damaged nuclear facility.
That ban lasted over a year and even after it was lifted, Fukushima-based fishermen like Shiga were for years mostly limited to collecting samples for radioactivity tests on behalf of the state-owned electricity firm Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, rather than taking their catches to market.
Ocean currents have since dispersed the contaminated water enough that radioactive Cesiumis nearly undetectable in fishfrom Fukushima prefecture.Japan lifted its last remaining restrictions on fish from the area in 2021,and mostcountries have eased import restrictions.
Shiga and others in the industry thought they’d put the nightmare of the past years behind them.
So when Japan followed through on plans to gradually release more than 1 million metric tons of filtered wastewaterinto the Pacific Ocean from the summer of 2023 – an action the government says is necessary to decommission the plant safely – the industry reeled.
The Japanese government and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a United Nations body promoting the peaceful use of nuclear energy, say the controlled release, which is expected to take decades, will meet international safety regulations and not harm the environment, as the water will be treated to remove radioactive elements – with the exception of tritium – and diluted more than 100 times.
But with the deadline for the planned water release looming this summer, Fukushima’s fishermen fear that– whether the release is safe or not – the move will undermine consumer confidence in their catches and once again threaten the way of life they have fought so hard to recover.
A year before the 2011 disaster, government data shows Fukushima’s coastal fishing industry landed catches worth around $69 million. By 2018, that figure had dwindled to little more than $17 million. By 2022, while it had recovered somewhat to around $26 million, it was still just a fraction of what it once was.
“I know that the government has decided to go ahead with the policy of releasing treated wastewater into the sea, but for us fishers, it really feels like they made this decision without our full consent,” said Shiga, adding that it made his “blood boil.”
In 2011, the earthquake and tsunami cut off the power supply to the Fukushima plant,disabling its cooling systems. This caused the reactor cores to overheat and contaminate water within the plant with highly radioactive material.
Since then, new water has been pumped in to cool fuel debris in the reactors. At the same time, ground and rainwater have leaked in, creating more radioactive wastewater that now needs to be stored and treated.
TEPCO has built over 1,000 massive tanks on the site to store what is now 1.32 million metric tonsof wastewater – enough to fill more than 500 Olympic pools.
But space is running out and the company says building more tanks isn’t an option. As decommissioning work approaches a critical stage, it says it needs to free up space to store the fuel debris from the stricken plant.
A Trade Ministry officialtold CNN the government considered five options, including hydrogen release, underground burial and vapor release, which would have seen wastewater boiled and released into the atmosphere, but in April 2021, officialsapproved the controlled release of the water into the sea. They reasoned that other nuclear facilities around the world had done this and it would be easier to monitor.
The IAEA told CNN it will also monitor and review the release for as long as necessary, at the request of the Japanese government.
While radioactive wastewater contains dangerous elements including Cesium and Strontium, TEPCO says the majority of those particles can be separated from the water and removed. TEPCO claims its filtering system, called advanced liquid processing (ALPS), can bring down the amount of those elements far below regulatory standards.
But one hydrogen isotope cannot be taken away, as there is currently no technology available to do so. Thisisotope is radioactive tritium, and the scientific community is divided on the risk its dissemination carries.
TEPCO and the Japanese government say that tritium occurs naturally in the environment. They say that the concentration of tritiated water it plans to discharge would be on par or lower than the amount other countries allow. Since 2021, they’ve been on a mission to promote public awareness about the wastewater and their plans for it, releasing videos and creating a multilingual portal.
The IAEA also says that releasing small amounts of tritium can be safe because it is already present in small quantities in everything from rain and sea water to tap water; small amounts even exist naturally in the human body.
However, experts are divided over the concept of “safe” radiation, with some arguing it is to a large extent a political rather than a scientific concept.
“For decades, nuclear power plants worldwide – including in the United States, Canada, Britain, France, China and South Korea – have been releasing waste contaminated with tritium, each under its own national quota,” said Tim Mousseau, an environmental scientist at the University of South Carolina.
But Mousseau argues tritium is overlooked because many countries are invested in nuclear energy, and “there’s no way to produce it without also generating vast amounts of tritium.”
“If people started picking on TEPCO in Fukushima, then the practice of releasing tritium to the environment in all of these other nuclear power plants would need to be examined as well. So, it opens up a can of worms,” he said, adding the biological consequences of exposure to tritium have not been studied sufficiently.
In 2012, a French literature review study said tritium can be toxic to the DNA and reproductive processes of aquatic animals, particularly invertebrates, and the sensitivity of different species to various levels of tritium needs to be further investigated.
TEPCO’s website states that it started assessing the effect of tritium on fish from Fukushima last year. A technical document published by the company in 2022 stated that “fish tritium measurement is very difficult.” It says “there are only a few analysis agencies capable of performing this measurement,” and they do not all produce the same findings.
Currently, countries set different standards for the concentration of tritium allowed in drinking water. For example. Australia, which has no nuclear power plants, allows more than 76,000 becquerel per liter, a measure used to gauge radioactivity, while the WHO’s limit is 10,000. Meanwhile, the US and the European Union have much more conservative limits – 740 and 100 becquerel per liter respectively.
Ian Fairlie, an independent consultant on radioactivity in the environment, told CNN that “two wrongs don’t make a right” when it comes to Japan’s decision to release tritiated water. He argues TEPCO should build more storage tanks to allow for the decay of the radioactive tritium, which has a half-life of 12.3 years.
In Japan, the Fukushima wastewater issue has become highly contentious due to a lack of trust among influential advocates of nuclear energy, or what’s locally known as the “nuclear village.”
The informal group includes members of Japan’s ruling party (the Liberal Democratic Party), the Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry and the nuclear industry.
“(The nuclear village) used to tell us that nuclear energy is 100% safe – but it wasn’t, as the Fukushima Daiichi plant accident revealed,” said Koichi Nakano, a political scientist at Sophia University, in Tokyo.
A series of missteps after the disasterfurther eroded public trust, according to a 2016 report written by Kohta Juraku, a researcher at Tokyo Denki University.
For instance, in 2012, the government and TEPCO presented a proposed action plan to local fishing representatives that involved pumping up groundwater before it flooded into the nuclear reactor buildings and releasing it into the sea. Fishing bodies were on board but the plan was it postponed until 2014 after 300 tons of radioactive water leaked from the plant into the sea, infuriating fishers.
Standing between the towering wastewater tanks, Kenichi Takahara, a risk communicator at TEPCO told CNN that the company is aware that people in Japan and overseas are skeptical of the company’s assurances.
“While TEPCO has been promoting nuclear safety in the first place, the nuclear accident happened in 2011. So, we understand that there are many people who can’t trust us,” said the TEPCO official.
“We are hoping that if the IAEA and other organizations can show them that there is no problem, people will understand us,” Takahara added.
Japanese officials told CNN that they have taken the voices of locals in Fukushima into consideration and will send a message to other nations andconsumers around the world that the treated water is safe to release.
Tokyo has also created a fund of 30 billion yen ($225 million) to buy and store freezable seafood if consumer confidence takes a hit following the release, an official from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry told CNN.
And in an effort to convince both fishermen and consumers that the water to be released is safe, in March 2022 TEPCO started conducting tests on the tritium concentrations in fish, shellfish and seaweed reared in regular seawater as compared to those raised in ALPS-treated water.
But Satsuki Takahashi, an anthropologist specializing in sustainability studies at Hosei University, warned that changing mindsets is no easy feat.
“From the consumer’s perspective, whether it’s processed or not, this is wastewater. It’s hard for (people) to grasp what safety means or what risks mean,” she said.
“One of the biggest issues in terms of this wastewater, for those who used to purchase the fish from Fukushima before the disaster, is whether they are going to come back and buy the fish once the label states its provenance.”
For fishers like Shiga, the work to restore their way of life is far from over.
“We’re taking the initiative and appealing to consumers so they understand (our products are safe), but we have a hard time reaching them,” said Shiga, who fears that countries may reimpose bans on imports of Fukushima fish following the wastewater release.
“If the government releases the water into the sea off Fukushima now, everything we’ve done so far and our current efforts will be wasted,” he said.
Pollster Ben Ephson has predicted a landslide win for Vice President in the 2024 election should he be given the nod as the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
“If Bawumia is made the flagbearer of NPP, he comes with two main advantages; that is many Christians feel comfortable with him even though he is a Muslim and Muslims who used to vote for the NDC would switch and vote for NPP.
“The Muslims have now noticed that the NDC has taken them for granted for far too long because they don’t take Muslims for even running mate,” he asserted.
He also stated that former President John Dramani Mahama will have it difficult winning the 2024 presidential election.
According to him, the former president will most certainly win the flagbearership of the opposition National Democratic Congress but will face a bigger challenge in winning the presidency.
“Mahama will win but it is 2024 that will be his problem. Mahama will win the NDC slot, he will win easily but 2024 is going to be his problem,” he stated during an interview on Hello FM.
Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party, the two main leading political parties are set to elect their flagbearers.
In the NPP race, Mr Ephson has predicted a landslide win for Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia who is one of the lead contenders.
In an interview with Onua TV in early April, Ben Ephson said Dr Bawumia will go ahead to win the presidency if he is elected the flagbearer of the NPP.
These cars which are in the possession of some individuals and car dealerships are to be brought to the offices of EOCO no later than May 3, 2023.
Owners of these vehicles are expected to come along with the needed documents.
The statement from EOCO said if owners of the said vehicles do not report with them on the said date, it will take the needed steps to confiscate them in accordance with the law.
The cars are believed to have been stolen from across the United States and shipped into the country by a syndicate.
As a terrible April heat wave continues to engulf much of the continent, with no sign of relief in sight, temperature records are being broken in nations all around Asia.
This week saw record-breaking high temperatures in various Southeast Asian nations, while the Indian subcontinent’s scorching heat has claimed the lives of more than a dozen individuals.
According to weather historian Maximiliano Herrera, Laos is the most recent nation to break a record after Luang Prabang hit 42.7°C (109°F) on Tuesday.
Over the weekend, Thailand topped 45°C (113°F) for the first time in its history, according to Herrera, using data from the Thai Meteorological Department. The northwest city of Tak reached 45.4°C Saturday, but large portions of the country have been in the upper 30s to low 40s since late March.
Earlier this month, Thai authorities issued a health alert for several provinces as the heat index was forecast to reach 50.2°C in the Bang Na district of the capital Bangkok. The heat index is what the temperature “feels like” and considers both air temperature and humidity to measure its impact.
On Tuesday, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha expressed concern over “dangerously high temperatures in various parts of Thailand” and said in Bangkok’s Bang Na area, temperatures “could reach 52.3°C,” according to a statement from the prime ministers office.
Neighboring Myanmar set an April temperature record on Monday as Kalewa, in central Sagaing region, reached 44°C (111°F), Herrera tweeted.
April and May are typically the hottest months of the year for South and Southeast Asia as temperatures rise before monsoon rains begin and bring some relief.
But the heat in Thailand has been compounded by an intense smoggy season that has caused pollution levels to spike.
The tourist hotspot of Chiang Mai in the north ranked as the world’s most polluted city for seven straight days as smoke from forest fires and widespread crop burning deteriorated the air quality. At least one hospital in the city said it had reached “full ward capacity” as patients sought medical treatment for respiratory issues.
The scorching temperatures have also been widespread across China.
On Tuesday, the country saw temperatures as high as 42.4°C (108°F) in Yuanyang, in the southeast – only 0.3°C from the country-wide record for April, according to Herrera.
On Monday, more than 100 weather stations in 12 provinces broke their April temperature record, according to climatologist Jim Yang.
Although not record-breaking in most cases, the heat has also been prevalent – and deadly – across South Asia. Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bangladesh have all seen temperatures topping 40°C (104°F) for many days.
In India’s western Maharashtra state, at least 13 people died from heatstroke after attending a state award ceremony on Sunday. More than 1 million people attended the event in Navi Mumbai and between 50 to 60 people were hospitalized, according to a city police official.
Meanwhile, at least two states, Tripura in the northeast and West Bengal in the east, ordered schools to shut this week, as temperatures rose more than 5 degrees Celsius above normal, state governments said, Reuters reported.
Heat waves in India usually take place between March and July, but in recent years these hot spells have become more intense, more frequent and longer.
Last year, India experienced a searing heatwave, where parts of the country reached more than 49°C (120°F). As the impacts of the human-caused climate crisis accelerate and global temperatures continue to rise, scientists say heat waves will only become more common.
A 2022 study found that dangerous heat waves will be between three and 10 times more often by the turn of the century.
In the tropics, which encompasses much of Asia, people could be exposed to dangerous heat most days of the year, the study found. Days of “extremely dangerous heat” – which is defined as 51°C (124°F) – could double and experts say those levels of heat push the limits of human survivability.
Extremely hot temperatures across South and Southeast Asia are expected to continue. Meanwhile, cooler conditions are on the way for much of China as temperatures are forecast to fall from around 10°C (18°F) above average to 10°C (18° F) below average this weekend.
According to state-run CCTV, a hospital fire in Beijing, China’s capital, claimed at least 21 lives on Tuesday.
In an effort to escape the fire, which started in what Chinese state media described as the inpatient ward of Changfeng Hospital at around 1 p.m. local time (1 a.m. ET), people are seen in amateur video hanging from the building’s façade.
According to CCTV, 21 persons had sadly passed away as of 6 p.m. local time (6 a.m. EST). 71 other patients had to be evacuated.
This fire has killed more people in Beijing in recent years than the one that claimed 19 lives in a crowded two-story building in Daxing district, a southern suburb of the city, in 2017.
That tragedy prompted authorities to demolish large swathes of buildings deemed illegal or unsafe in the neighborhood and forced thousands of migrant workers out of their homes and businesses.
In videos shared on social media Tuesday, smoke can be seen billowing out of several hospital windows as people attempt to escape the blaze. At least one person appears to use a rope made from bedsheets to descend from a window to a lower level terrace.
Others people are seen either sitting on air conditioning units positioned on the exterior of the building, or trying to use the units to maneuver from one level to the next. One person is seen jumping from one level of the building to the lower terrace.
It is unclear if all those seen outside the building escaped the fire or not.
At least two ladders are seen leaning against the building amid rescue efforts.
Several other clips that showed the exterior of the building and were posted on Weibo have since been removed.
CCTV state media reports that the cause of the fire is under investigation.
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has disclosed that the Chief of Staff Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, lambasted the company for failing to submit a bill for payment on behalf of former President John Dramani Mahama.
According to the Managing Director (MD) of ECG, Samuel Dubik Mahama, has disclosed that the Chief of Staff Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, criticized the company for not properly carrying out its duties, particularly with regard to the payment of bills by former President John Dramani Mahama.
According to the ECG MD, the company is responsible for reading the former president’s meter and submitting the bills to the Chief of Staff’s office for payment. However, this has not been done, leading to the Chief of Staff’s dissatisfaction.
The MD revealed that during a meeting with the Chief of Staff, she expressed her disappointment with the ECG’s failure to properly carry out its responsibilities. She stressed the need for the company to improve its services.
“We collate all former president’s bills and we send them to the Chief of Staff for payment.
“Let me break it down, former President Kufour’s bills are with us, we gave them to the Chief of Staff and she has worked on them. We also had former President John Mahama’s own…we tried to get in touch with him, and when we got the bills, for him, he has already been paying his own bills…Yes, he pays his own bills.
“…so, we had a meeting with the Chief of Staff and she told us her piece of mind and she told us exactly what we have to do because a lot of people would like to drop the problem at the political doorstep which is wrong,” he said.
Speaking in an interview with Peace FM’s Kokrokoo on April 18, 2023, Samuel Dubik Mahama maintained that there will be discussions with the former President to ensure that his bills are settled by the state, in accordance with the country’s constitution.
“So, from now onwards we are going to have discussions with him (John Mahama) so that moving forward it would be absorbed.
“I won’t put the blame at his doorsteps or make it political, it is my office, we were supposed to read his meter and take action by informing him that we will handle it, so, we now have put those structures in place after a very comprehensive conversation with the Chief of Staff.
He further assured Ghanaians that ECG is committed to providing reliable and uninterrupted power supply to its customers and that it will continue to work towards improving its services and addressing any challenges that arise. He urged all customers to ensure that they settle their bills promptly, to avoid disconnection and any inconvenience that may arise as a result.
It may be recalled that John Dramani Mahama in an exclusive interview with TV3 in 2022 said that all he receives from the government is his monthly pension and that all other bills the state must cater for have not been attended to since he left office in 2017.
Mahama said he is footing a myriad of bills, including light, fuel, office rent, and travel expenses.
An illegal explosives manufacturing hub has been discovered in in Tarkwa, Western Region, by the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF).
This has resulted in the arrest of 13 foreign nationals.
The syndicate, comprising eight Chinese, three Togolese, an Ivorian, and a Nigerian, were found to be producing over 20,000 pieces of illegal explosives, including around 10,000kg of ammonium nitrate concealed in flour and rice sacks.
“Most of the ammonium nitrate were concealed in flour and rice sacks,” GAF said in a statement.
The explosives were seized on the premises of Mohammed Brothers Company Limited and Dekete Mines in Tarkwa. The GAF conducted the operation with the aim of clamping down on illegal dynamite production and use in mining areas.
“the operation…was premised on detailed intelligence aimed at clamping down on the manufacture, sale and use of illegal dynamite in parts of the country, especially mining areas,” the GAF statement read.
The suspects have been screened and transferred to the National Security in Accra for further investigation.
Community members expressed their concern about the danger the syndicate posed, especially with the current threats from terrorists in the northern border areas of the country.
“…the operations of the syndicate posed a threat to lives and properties,” said one community member who spoke to Daily Graphic.
Community members have since commended GAF for its intervention, as an explosion could have caused catastrophic damage. A military source warned that ammonium nitrate mixed with diesel can be dangerous, and exposure to its dust can lead to respiratory disease. The source added that the location of the explosives production near a populated area and school posed a significant threat.
“It is important to let the public know that ammonium nitrate mixed with diesel tends to be dangerous when there is a blast. Aside from that, exposure to the inhalation of high concentrations of ammonium nitrate dust could lead to respiratory diseases,” the military source said.
Renowned Kumawood star, Kwadwo Nkansah popularly known as Li Win, marked his first decade in the entertainment industry by giving back to society.
The actor and singer spent his day visiting some physically challenged persons in the Ashanti Regional capital, Kumasi which was followed by a series of donations.
He distributed wheelchairs and cash of GH¢1,000 each to the 16 beneficiaries he selected.
This, he said, forms part of his social responsibility to the community that introduced him to stardom.
On how he generated cash, Lil Win, in an epistle on Instagram, said he raised the money from TikTok for the Street Disability Project.
“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around,” he added.
Poet and literary coach Nana Asaase has refuted claims that highlife is gradually dying out of the system.
A lot of people have expressed worry about the seeming extinction of the genre following the the rise of other music forms especially Afrobeats.
A few weeks ago, veteran highlife musician Gyedu-Blay Ambolley said the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards was responsible for the misfortunes of the highlife genre.
Nana Asaase, who is a member of the Ghana Folklore Board added his voice to the highlife conversation on Joy FM’s ‘Showbiz A-Z’ while explaining the current consideration of highlife to be listed as UNESCO’s intangible heritage.
“We are talking about highlife. Highlife is the common denominator for a lot of these things that are coming up. You can’t do Afrobeats without talking about highlife.
“There are individual doing highlife. There are bands doing highlife, there are people in the background promoting highlife. We might not have the numbers showing on Twitter, the number of people following this when we talk about the people who are doing the business of selling the music,” he told Kwame Dadzie.
Asked the people who now do highlife are visible Nana Asaase said: “there are different layers of the audience. I dare say Wiyaala’s music even ventured into highlife. Atongo Zimba too. I think sometimes we just discredit ourselves.”
Highlife, a music genre of Ghanaian origin is being considered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to be listed as intangible heritage. If this goes through, Ghanaian will duly be credited as the owners of the music genre.
UNESCO defines ‘Intangible cultural heritage’ refers to the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge and skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces associated – that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage.
Ghanaian singer Fameye has been compensated with the amount of GHC25,000 for damages after a fuel station filled his car with fuel mixed with water.
Fameye had, on March 15, taken to Twitter to voice his frustration after the fuel station diluted the fuel he had purchased.
The singer drove a Honda Pilot 2019 model.
So few days ago ,I go buy fuel for one fuel station ,700 cedis,the rest is heart breaking They filled my tank with water mixed with petrol as I’m talking to you now my car Honda pilot touring 2019 model is spoilt 😢 Spent 7k already still not working!!! What do I do?
In an interview on Accra-based TV3, the ‘Praise’ crooner narrated his ordeal.
“So I had a show at Kumasi on the 12th of March so on Saturday, I had wanted to go and fill my tank so that at midnight, I move with my team because I drive everywhere. So I realized like five minutes after I left [the filling station] it started jerking, but I’m don’t know too much about cars so I was wondering why. So I continued driving until the car stopped at a roundabout,” he said.
He further revealed that the action had affected the engine of his vehicle.
Although his car is now back to normal and working well, Fameye expressed his sadness over the entire situation.
Semi-retired Ghanaian singer, Fantana, is one of the new castmates for season 2 of the Netflix show Young, Famous and African.
Fantana announced the exciting news on her Instagram page just a short while ago.
Sharing a promo clip for the show, Fantana revealed she’s set to debut on Netflix.
“YOUR GIRL HAS JOINED YOUNG, FAMOUS & AFRICAN – SEASON 2!!!! MAY 19th, on NETFLIX !!! LETS GO!!! FANTANA to the world 👑🎉🔥🌍 @netflixsa | I love you @peac_hy ❤️” she wrote.
Young Famous and African is a show created by Netflix to expand its reality offerings for the young African viewer.
The show’s official synopsis for Season 1 reads: “This reality series follows a crew of famed, affluent stars as they work and play, flirt and feud in Johannesburg, South Africa,”
Fantana begins her appearances on the Netflix show on May 19th.
Menaye Donkor, the wife of well-known footballer Sulley Muntari, has appeared in images that had fans in complete awe.
Menaye, 42, has made a name for herself in the fashion business because of her impeccable sense of style and ability always to look put together and refined.
In a recently released video and photos shared on Instagram, Menaye donned a magnificent purple Kente pencil dress embellished with gemstones that fit perfectly on her body.
She completed the look with a neat ponytail and flawless makeup, further enhancing her gorgeous features.
She never fails to wow with her attire whenever she appears on social media, whether attending a high-profile event or just going about her daily duties.
She has a natural sense of how to dress to accentuate her figure, and she always looks great doing it.
She has become a highly sought-after model for several fashion labels because of her consistently imaginative and eye-catching photoshoots.
Ghanaian musician and socialite Efia Odo looked elegant in a beautiful ensemble at a Sunday church service on April 16, 2023, at the Maker’s House Chapel International Campus Ministry, Legon branch.
The fashion model wore a matching pink button-down shirt and skintight pink pants. Andrea Owusu, popularly called Efia Odo, slayed in pink shoes.
She wore flawless makeup and a long straight blond hairstyle and accessorised her look with a designer bag.
Some social media users have commented on Efia Odo’s Instagram post:
Nigerian superstar Davido allowed a guy with whom he shares a similar physical resemblance the liberty and privilege to perform his songs at a club.
Obo’s gesture comes at a time when Ghanaian celebrities are fighting some lookalikes who have reared their heads on the scene.
Several Ghanaian musicians have seen their lookalikes impersonating them and performing their songs at events.
Most of these artists have expressed their displeasure openly and privately against the lookalikes riding on their fame to chase clout.
Well, Davido appears not to be bothered at all. In fact, he has given his blessings to his lookalike and encouraged him to shine.
He was allowed to perform “Unavailable” at the club during Obi Cubana’s birthday bash. Davido and his crew joined in to enjoy his performance.
After the performance, he expressed his gratitude by writing: “Wow thanks ? to God I finally see @davido at @obi_cubana birthday ? @davido say make i perform unavailable for him cheee I don blow“.
Broadcaster, Afia Pokua is of the view that Shatta Wale will not take lightly any individual who impersonates him under the guise of a celebrity lookalike.
Vim Lady’s comments come in the wake of the increasing celebrity lookalike craze that has witnessed some personalities including rapper Edem and Medikal, condemning the act with calls to the media not to offer them a platform.
In a Facebook, the broadcaster posited that Shatta is likely to take on any man who emerges as his lookalike or attempt to rise to fame with his brand.
Look alike association 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Come and learn how to do business on my Facebook Live
“Try Shatta Wale lookalike, anka mo be te sounds ene law suit from Dr Justice Sai. You think creativity be cheap Tchew,” Vim Lady’s viral post read.
She named Ghana’s high unemployment rate as the cause of the youth finding short-cut to stardom as there is nothing to keep them busy. She urged te so-called lookalikes to find something profitable to do with their lives instead of impersonating celebrities.
“This lookalike issue is a reflection of the unemployment crisis. We need commercial farms and factories to utilize their energy,” she wrote.
Ghanaians are praising Okyeame Kwame but If I did same, I would be labelled as drug addict” – Shatta Wale
Following Akuapem Poloo’s terrible experience, where she had to spend some days in jail for going naked on social media, Shatta Wale believes that the sauce of the goose should be sauce for the gander.
The SM president shared a picture on Twitter, implying that he could not understand why people were hailing Okyememe Kwame for his nude photo; meanwhile, he has been blasted in the past for similar actions.
@realsest_lakers commented: Why dem dey compare ? Okyeame is wearing his own released boxers which is up sale o . Dey play
@Views09 commented: When Shatta Wale does it he’s not normal but when another person does it, they’re creative. Shatta just can’t win walahi
@branik& wrote: There’s a difference bro And also no one calls it classic He’s actually taking backlashes for that post. And even as much as people are hating his post… I really don’t see what is wrong with it. It wasn’t necessary as he could’ve hired a model to do it
Remember, Shatta Wale, was called out for undressing himself on stage at the Accra Sports Stadium last December.
Therefore, he believes the angst that greeted his action and the nationwide condemnation it received should be given to Okyeame Kwame too.
