Rita Ora will perform a medley of some of her biggest hits as one of the interval acts at next month’s Eurovision semi-finals.
Rebecca Ferguson will also be performing, in her home city of Liverpool.
Speaking on the BBC’s Eurovisioncast Podcast she said: “It’s a celebration of Liverpool and Ukraine through music”.
She will sing a duet with Ukrainian artist Alyosha.
One of this year’s hosts, Julia Sanina will open the first semi-final performing with her band The Hardkiss.
Other Ukrainian artists who will perform include Mariya Yaremchuk, OTOY and Zlata Dzyunka, as the UK is hosting the song contest on behalf of Ukraine.
The BBC said it will symbolise how the UK is “United by Music” – this year’s slogan for the competition.
Image caption, Singer songwriter Rebecca Ferguson began her career on 2010’s X Factor placing runner-up to Matt Cardle
“I’m hoping to squeeze into some kind of dress,” Ferguson joked to the BBC, eight weeks after she gave birth.
“I’m looking forward to it because it’ll be my first work event where I get to dress up because I’ve just been mummy for the past few weeks”.
About 160 million people are expected to watch the competition, making it one of the biggest TV audiences in the world.
“I’m going to treat it like I treated X Factor because when I’d go on stage all I’d imagine was the studio audience,” Ferguson, who has four top 10 albums in the UK said. “That’s the only way you can get through a performance, otherwise you’d never get on the stage”.
Kate Phillips, BBC’s director of Unscripted, which includes focus on entertainment and big events, said: “There won’t be a moment to miss during these very entertaining and very tense semi-finals.”
The knock-out stages will take place on Tuesday 9 and Thursday 11 May.
A farmer who defiled a 12-year-old girl at Tabakrom in the Prestea Huni-Valley Municipality has been sentenced to 12 years imprisonment in hard labour by a Tarkwa Circuit Court.
Richard Kofi Asante, charged with defilement pleaded not guilty to the offence.
At the end of the trial, the court presided over by Madam Hathie Ama Manu, found Asante guilty and convicted him accordingly.
Prosecuting, Superintendent of Police Juliana Essel-Dadzie, said the complainant was a farmer residing at Tabakrom with his wife and the victim, whilst Asante also live in the same vicinity.
She said on November 20, 2022, at about 0930 hours, the convict went to the complainant’s house to buy cassava, but on his arrival, the complainant’s wife informed him they had none in stock in the house.
Superintendent Essel-Dadzie said the complainant’s wife who was with the victim asked Asante to wait in her house so she could dash to the farm and harvest some of the cassava for him.
She said the complainant’s wife after a while returned from the farm with the cassava and sold some to the convict on credit and he left.
The prosecution said the victim then informed her mother that Asante forcibly had sexual intercourse with her on their veranda while she was away.
Superintendent Essel-Dadzie said the victim’s mother informed the complainant who reported the incident to the Police in Prestea where a medical report form was issued to the complainant to seek medical care for the victim.
She said Asante was arrested and during interrogation, he admitted the offence in his cautioned statement.
Three people have been remanded in police custody for the alleged murder of a 28-year-old lady at Dwinase near Kokotro in the Bekwai Municipality of the Ashanti region.
Prime suspect, Mary Akosua Agyemang, 25 years, is alleged to have accosted the deceased, 28-year-old Vida Ennin, for gossiping about her over a man they have both dated.
The two women got into a brawl, Sunday evening, over who rightfully deserves to be the fiancée of the man, an excavator operator.
Mary is said to have left the scene of the brawl to buy a sharp knife. She allegedly returned to stab Vida in the face, breast and palm. She bled to death.
The Bekwai police later arrested Mary, also known as Serwaa, together with two others – Felicia Sarpong, 61 years and Ernest Achirem, 63 years – accused of attempting to shield Mary from arrest.
The deceased Vida Ennin
All three were arraigned before the Bekwai Circuit Court on Wednesday and have been remanded in police custody to assist in investigations.
TikTok star, Asantewaa, has finally opened up on why she has stopped promoting Ghanaian musicians on her social media platforms.
Back in 2022, the influencer was one of the most used to promote music on the TikTok app because of her huge following and the impressions the videos she mostly posts get.
One song she is famous for in terms of promotion on TikTok is Lasmid’s hit song, ‘Friday Night’.
Despite all the clout she supposedly has with these types of music promotions, she told Nana Romeo on Accra FM that she no longer promotes music.
Asked why she has stopped, Asantewaa bluntly stated that it is because the musicians in Ghana do not have money.
She went on to add that her brand has grown to a point where she feels that various Ghanaian musicians who might want her services cannot afford her.
“…even if you bring us 10 billion, we won’t do it,” she stated.
Chief Superintendent Simon Crick said: ‘This is a tragic incident and I am devastated that a young life has been lost as a result of knife crime.
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‘My thoughts are with the victim’s family at this incredibly difficult time. Incidents such as this have a devastating impact on families, friends and our local communities.
‘We have a dedicated team of detectives working on the investigation. They have been at the scene overnight and will remain there today as they carry out further enquiries.
‘This work is being supported by additional local patrols who are there to respond to any concerns within the community.’
A man has been detained after smashing up 17 cars in one night, including with a police cruiser.
The 23-year-old guy is accused of tearing through the cars on nearby streets in West Bridgford, a commuter town in Nottinghamshire, early yesterday morning.
After learning that a vandal had been breaking windscreens and wing mirrors, police were summoned to Bryon Road at about 1:30 in the morning.
One of the damaged vehicles was a police car that was parked in front of West Bridgford Police Station and had its wing mirror damaged.
A front window of a Caffe Nero along the high street Central Avenue was also found shattered during the vandalism spree.
Police detained a suspect at nearby Trent Bridge on suspicion of criminal damage and remains in police custody.
The vandal struck the cars all in the space of a single night (Picture: Tom Maddick / SWNS)
Nottinghamshire Police said the vehicle-smashing rampage was ‘completely unacceptable’, with car owners taping cardboard boxes in makeshift repairs.
PC Chris Morgan said: ‘As many as 18 vehicles had their windscreens put through or their wing mirrors damaged during this incident.
‘It really should go without saying but this type of behaviour is completely unacceptable and not what we want to see in our communities at all.
‘We are still in the process of investigating this incident, so we’d ask anyone who has any information that could assist our inquiries to get in touch with us.’
Teachers of Senior High Schools (SHSs) teachers across the country will soon benefit from a sum of GHS 62 million released by the government as their intervention grants.
According to The Chronicle newspaper, the grant forms part of incentives the government is providing to motivate SHS teachers.
It added that the grant is also to motivate teachers to provide extra tuition to all SHS students beyond normal school hours.
The report also indicated that a statement issued by the Minority of Education said that the grant is also to ensure that the quality of education provided at SHSs in Ghana is enhanced and sustained.
“It’s a commitment to ensuring smooth, timely, and efficient resource distribution in our quest to improving and sustaining quality education in Ghana,” parts of the statement is quoted.
Meanwhile, the Public Relations Officer of the ministry, Kwasi Kwarteng, has said that the government remains committed to resolving all the challenges faced by SHS across the country.
According to him, the government takes full responsibility for the current infrastructure deficit in schools because of the increasing number of enrolments.
“… we take full responsibility and assure all Ghanaians that, wherever there are challenges, we’ll go in and resolve them,” he said.
The PRO, however, posited that the infrastructure challenge is caused by schools indicating that they have vacant facilities while they have not.
“I’m still wondering why you could declare that you could take, for instance, 500 boarding students while you know very well that there are no spaces or beds for them,” he added.
A man who sexually assaulted an ambulance worker who was summoned to assist him was sentenced to more than three years in prison.
In the back of the ambulance, James Macky abused the emergency care worker sexually before urinating on tools that could save lives.
After someone contacted 999 to offer assistance to Macky, 58, last summer, the ambulance staff was able to save him.
He also insulted the emergency worker while on the way to Poole Hospital in Dorset and damaged the ambulance, rendering it useless for 36 hours while it was thoroughly cleaned and fixed.
Macky, from London, appeared at Bournemouth crown court where he was sentenced for sexual assault, criminal damage, and causing racially aggravated fear or provocation of violence.
The victim, who works for the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust and can’t be named for legal reasons, said: ‘I do my job simply because I want to make a difference. I come to work each day to offer treatment, care, and comfort to those in greatest need.
‘When I arrived for my shift, I did not expect to be spat at, sexually assaulted, and subjected to threatening behaviour, appalling racial remarks and misogynistic comments.
‘This individual showed utter contempt towards me and my fellow crew members who were simply trying to do their jobs.
‘Unfortunately, these incidents are becoming more prevalent, and no one should feel afraid to come to work.
James Macky has now been jailed (Picture: South Western Ambulance Service/Dorset Police/BNPS)Macky flung ambulance equipment onto the ground (Picture: South Western Ambulance Service)He then started to urinate inside the ambulance (Picture: South Western Ambulance Service)
‘Luckily, I was wearing a body camera, which captured the assault and the footage was used as evidence.
‘I would like to thank my senior officers for their support and commitment to me during this difficult time.’
On top of his prison sentence of three years and two months, Macky will also be put on the sex offenders register for life.
Alan Packwood, from the ambulance trust, said: ‘What happened to our female crew member is shocking and completely unacceptable. James Macky assaulted them while they were trying to help him.
‘The criminal damage to the ambulance resulted in the vehicle being taken off the road, at a time when the service was already stretched.
‘As an organisation we will prosecute any individual who assaults or abuses one of our people while they are at work. Please help us to help you and treat them with the dignity and respect they deserve.’
Judith Miller, the writer and antiques expert who appeared on BBC One’s Antiques Roadshow, has died aged 71.
She died “over the weekend after a short illness”, her publisher Mitchell Beazley said.
Miller, who wrote more than 100 books on antiques and interiors, joined the BBC show in 2007.
She also co-founded the international bestseller Miller’s Antiques Price Guide in 1979, and was a regular lecturer and broadcaster.
At the time of her death, Miller had been working on the latest version of the antiques guide.
One of her notable discoveries on the Antiques Roadshow came when she identified a set of Art Deco posters designed by French painter Jean Dupas, found in Stanway House, Gloucestershire, in 2009.
Image caption, Miller appeared with Lennox Cato, Paul Atterbury, Fiona Bruce, Mark Hill and Rupert Maas for the show’s anniversary
Born in Galashiels, in the Scottish borders, in 1951, Miller admitted she was a child of the “Formica generation” and said she did not start collecting antiques until the 1960s, as a student at Edinburgh University.
She began researching the inexpensive plates she bought in the city’s junk stores, sourcing information in books, auction catalogues and local antique fairs.
Alison Starling, from Octopus publishing group, which owns Mitchell Beazley, said: “I’ve been lucky enough to work with Judith on and off for the last 30 years and the news of her death is a huge shock.
“She had such energy and spirit, and always combined her impressively broad-ranging, in-depth knowledge of antiques with a life-long passion to make the world of collecting accessible and un-intimidating to all.”
She added that Miller would be “much missed”, and had established many friendships with staff at Octopus “forged through topics of conversation as diverse as work, family, dogs, Scottish rugby and her other passion, Bruce Springsteen”.
The antiques expert, who founded Miller’s Antiques Price Guide with her first husband Martin Miller, leaves her second husband John Wainwright, three children and four grandchildren.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a particular strain of avian flu has claimed its first human victim in China.
The third person to have contracted the avian influenza H3N8 strain was a woman from the southern province of Guangdong.
The 56-year-old became unwell on February 22, was admitted to the hospital on March 3 for acute pneumonia, and passed away on March 16—nearly two weeks later.
The public health agency said in a statement the other two cases were reported in China in 2022.
A worker carries chickens at a market (Picture: AFP)
But there is nothing to suggest any of them were connected, and that this could cause a spillover.
The Guangdong Provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention reported the third infection late last month but did not provide details of the woman’s death.
WHO confirmed she had multiple underlying conditions and a history of exposure to live poultry.
Samples collected from a wet market visited by the woman before she became ill were positive for influenza A(H3), suggesting this may have been the source of infection.
There were no other cases found among close contacts of the infected patient, and the strain does not appear to spread easily between people.
H3N8 was first detected in wild birds in the 1960s. Though rare in humans, it has since been found in other animals like horses.
‘Based on available information, it appears that this virus does not have the ability to spread easily from person to person,’ the statement from WHO added.
‘Therefore the risk of it spreading among humans at the national, regional, and international levels is considered to be low.’
Crime author Anne Perry, who, as a teenager helped murder her friend’s mother, has died aged 84.
The writer served five years in prison from the age of 15 for bludgeoning Honorah Mary Parker to death.
Perry died in a Los Angeles hospital, her agent confirmed. She had been declining for several months after suffering a heart attack in December.
The author was the inspiration for Peter Jackson’s 1994 film Heavenly Creatures, which starred Kate Winslet.
At the time Perry bludgeoned her best friend’s mother to death, she was known as Juliet Hulme, later adopting Anne Perry as a pen name for her writing career.
The murder took place in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 1954, and was plotted by Perry and her friend Pauline Parker, the victim’s daughter.
The details were later discovered in journals found by police.
Honorah Mary Parker died after being hit with a brick about 20 times. When the case went to trial, a court heard the two girls had plotted the murder in an attempt to avoid being separated when 16-year-old Perry’s parents were planning to send her abroad.
The girls wanted Parker to join Perry as she went to live with relatives in South Africa, and thought Parker’s mother would try to stand in the way of their plan.
As both were aged under 18 at the time they killed Parker’s mother, the girls were too young for the death penalty, and were sent to prison instead.
Image caption, Actress Kate Winslet (pictured last year) portrayed Perry in Peter Jackson’s 1994 film Heavenly Creatures
Perry was born in Blackheath, London, in October 1938, and moved first to the Bahamas at the age of eight before settling in New Zealand.
She said on her website that she had been fostered as a child due to illness and missed a lot of school as a result.
After she was released from prison, Perry left New Zealand to return to the UK, and worked briefly as a flight attendant.
She later became a Mormon and settled in Portmahomack, a small Scottish village.
Her first novel, The Cater Street Hangman, was published in 1979. She went on to write a string of novels across multiple series, which collectively sold 25 million copies around the world.
‘Social injustice awareness’
One series of books focused on a Victorian police-inspector-turned-detective Thomas Pitt. Another featured a private investigator called William Monk.
The most recent novel in the Pitt series was published last month.
New Zealand director Peter Jackson dramatised the murder by Perry and Parker in his 1994 Academy Award-nominated Heavenly Creatures.
A statement from Ki Agency said: “Anne was a loyal and loving friend, and her writing was driven by her fierce commitment to raising awareness around social injustice.
“Many readers have been moved by her empathy for people backed into impossible situations, or overwhelmed by the difficulties of life.”
Fashion designer Dame Mary Quant has died aged 93, her family has announced.
A statement from her family to the PA news agency said she “died peacefully at home in Surrey, UK this morning”.
Dame Mary was credited with popularising the mini-skirts that helped define the Swinging ’60s.
Her family said she was “one of the most internationally recognised fashion designers of the 20th Century and an outstanding innovator”.
“She opened her first shop Bazaar in the Kings Road in 1955 and her far-sighted and creative talents quickly established a unique contribution to British fashion.”
Former Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman led the tributes on social media, tweeting: “RIP Dame Mary Quant. A leader of fashion but also in female entrepreneurship – a visionary who was much more than a great haircut.”
Image caption, Dame Mary (pictured in 1966) was a major figure in the fashion industry in the 1960s
The Victoria & Albert Museum said: “It’s impossible to overstate Quant’s contribution to fashion. She represented the joyful freedom of 1960s fashion, and provided a new role model for young women.
“Fashion today owes so much to her trailblazing vision.”
The fashion director of the International New York Times, Vanessa Friedman tweeted: “RIP Mary Quant, who freed the female leg. We owe you.”
Dame Mary was one of the most influential figures in the fashion scene of the 1960s and is credited with making fashion accessible to the masses with her sleek, streamlined and vibrant designs.
Born in south-east London on 11 February 1930, Dame Mary was the daughter of two Welsh school teachers.
She gained a diploma in the 1950s in art education at Goldsmiths College, where she met her husband Alexander Plunket Greene, who later helped establish her brand.
Image caption, Models wearing outfits designed by Mary Quant in 1967
A budding designer, Dame Mary was taken on as an apprentice to a milliner before making her own clothes, and in 1955 opened Bazaar, a boutique on the Kings Road in Chelsea.
The shop would become the beating heart of Swinging London. Bazaar sold clothes and accessories and its basement restaurant became a meeting point for young people and artists.
The whole Chelsea district was soon attracting celebrities such as Brigitte Bardot, Audrey Hepburn, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.
Image caption, An recent exhibition of Dame Mary’s work saw models wear her designs to launch the show at the V&A
Her far-sighted and creative talents quickly established a unique contribution to British fashion.
Dame Mary was arguably best known for conceiving the mini-skirt and hot pants as well as helping to develop the mod style in the 1960s.
In 2014, Dame Mary, who named the skirt after her favourite make of car, recalled its “feeling of freedom and liberation”.
She said: “It was the girls on King’s Road who invented the mini. I was making clothes which would let you run and dance and we would make them the length the customer wanted.
“I wore them very short and the customers would say, ‘shorter, shorter’.”
Dame Mary told the Guardian in 1967 that “good taste is death, vulgarity is life”, and raised the hemline well above the knee as she created short dresses and skirts with simple shapes and strong colours that she described as “arrogant, aggressive and sexy”.
Whether or not Dame Mary actually invented the miniskirt has been the subject of a long and bitter dispute with late French designer Andre Courreges, among others.
But her role in turning the thigh-skimming super-short hemlines into an international trend has not been disputed.
Image caption, Dame Mary Quant, pictured in 2007, pioneered the mini-skirt which helped define the Swinging Sixties
Dame Mary explored geometric designs, polka dots and contrasting colours, and played with new fabrics, including PVC and stretch fabrics, to achieve a modern and playful look.
Her models were showcased in extravagant and provocative window displays overlooking the King’s Road, which became a mini-skirt catwalk and drew American photographers keen to picture Swinging London.
Writing in her 1966 book Quant by Quant, Dame Mary recalled: “City gents in bowler hats beat on our shop window with their umbrellas shouting ‘immoral!’ and ‘disgusting!’ at the sight of our mini-skirts over the tights, but customers poured in to buy,” she recalled.
As well as popularising the bob haircut pioneered by her friend Vidal Sassoon, the hairstylist and businessman, Dame Mary also created hot pants, the skinny rib sweater and waterproof mascara.
Image caption, Dame Mary also created hot pants, the skinny rib sweater and waterproof mascaraImage caption, Dame Mary pictured in 1972 with Vidal Sassoon (centre) and broadcaster Sir Michael Parkinson
Dame Mary, who was also a Fellow of the Chartered Society of Designers and winner of the Minerva Medal, the society’s highest award, was made an OBE in 1966 and a dame in 2015 for services to the fashion industry.
A retrospective exhibition of her work opened at the V&A in 2019 and has since toured Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan and Japan.
Reflecting on the first 20 years of her career as the show launched, Dame Mary said: “It was wonderfully exciting and despite the frenetic, hard work we had enormous fun.
“We didn’t necessarily realise that what we were creating was pioneering, we were simply too busy relishing all the opportunities and embracing the results before rushing on to the next challenge.”
Actress and designer Sadie Frost said she was “honoured” to front a documentary about Dame Mary’s “astonishing life” in 2021.
“The more I researched and delved into her life I realised the vast impact she had on fashion, popular culture, history and women’s rights,” Frost said in a statement to the BBC. “I really felt like I knew and loved her. Rest in peace, Mary”
The disappearance of an adolescent who became known as the “Vatican Girl,” one of Italy’s longest-running mysteries, has Pope Francis determined to solve it, according to the chief prosecutor of the Vatican.
Emanuela Orlandi, a 15-year-old who was headed home from a flute lesson in Rome in 1983, was the daughter of an usher who resided inside the city-state.
The family’s search for answers has taken several turns over the past four decades as a result of the countless conspiracy theories that have been sparked by her case.
After the Netflix series “Vatican Girl” debuted, it attracted new interest on a global scale last year.
And in January this year, Pope Francis launched the Vatican’s first formal investigation into the disappearance.
His top prosecutor, Alessandro Diddi, said his office would try to ‘give answers’ to the family.
Emanuela Orlandi is the daughter of a Vatican employee and vanished in 1983 (Picture: AP)
Speaking to Italy’s Corriere della Sera ahead of a meeting with Emanuela’s brother, Diddi said Francis has an ‘iron will’ regarding the case and wants ‘the truth to emerge without any reservations’.
Family lawyer Laura Sgro told reporters afterwards: ‘We hope this can shed light on this episode and write a page of history.’
She said the Vatican’s openness and the pope’s determination was ‘absolutely positive’.
There have been countless theories about what happened to Emanuela.
In the 1980s, reports emerged in the Italian media that she had been kidnapped as part of a bid to free Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turk jailed two years earlier for trying to assassinate Pope John Paul II.
Others linked her to the grave of infamous Italian gangster, Enrico De Pedis, who was a leading figure in Rome’s underworld when she vanished.
His remains were exhumed in 2012 but nothing was revealed.
In 2019, the Orlandi family received an anonymous letter saying Emanuela’s body might be hidden in the Vatican’s Teutonic Cemetery, where a statue of an angel holding a book reads ‘Requiescat in Pace’, Latin for ‘Rest in Peace’.
Two tombs were prised open but nothing was found – not even the bones of the two 19th century princesses said to have been buried there.
The most encouraging find came in 2018, when reports suggested bones found during work at the Vatican embassy in Rome could be those of Emanuela or another missing teen Mirella Gregori.
But DNA tests quickly put paid to those hopes.
Last month, Italy’s lower house approved the establishment of a parliamentary commission to investigate the disappearances of both girls.
Police have never excluded the possibility that Emanuela may have been abducted and possibly killed for reasons with no connection to the Vatican, or been a victim of human trafficking.
A few days ago, popular Ghanaian content creator, Kwadwo Sheldon, reacted to Don Jazzy’s post where he advised artistes against being lackadaisical towards their projects.
Don Jazzy cautioned artistes against the habit of ‘feeling too big’ to promote their songs while projecting Davido, who is currently promoting his ‘Timeless’ album, as a case study.
“Dear artists hope you can see how Davido is marketing his album. He didn’t form oh I’m OBO so everybody will cop my shit. Marketting your beautiful project that you worked hard on does not reduce your swag,” The Nigerian music executive wrote on Twitter.
Kwadwo Sheldon, an avid critic of what he describes as the ‘lazy and reserved’ culture’ among Ghanaian artistes, seized the opportunity to strike again after seeing Don Jazzy’s post.
“I have said that we can’t compete. The earlier we will accept this and move on, the better. We will try but we can’t compete. Davido’s album is out. Top-tier album. Have you people seen the promotion for the album? We dey joke! An artiste will release a project in Ghana but will still be posting black-and-white pictures of himself.
Not really about the competition for now bro. I hope the message educates and motivates my Ghanian brothers too. We can all do better. 🤍🐘 https://t.co/WCorAjQsPq
“You see the interest Davido put in this? The Guy is on the street doing dance videos. Here, they will give you merch and pen drive. If you do it for free, they won’t even acknowledge you. How can you compete with this mechanism?” Sheldon fumed on his YouTube channel.
However, Don Jazzy, after chancing on Sheldon’s video is somewhat unhappy about the latter’s analysis which keenly focused on comparison and competition.
In response, the Mavin Records boss said his post shouldn’t be used to further incite competition and rivalry among Ghanaian and Nigerian artistes.
“Not really about the competition for now bro. I hope the message educates and motivates my Ghanaian brothers too. We can all do better,” he responded.
Only after employing ultraviolet photography inside Matthew’s Gospel were researchers able to find the ancient Syriac text.
When Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, his followers became hungry and started to gather the grain’s heads to eat, according to Matthew, a disciple of Jesus.
The newly found version, however, reads as follows: “At that time, Jesus proceeded through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and his disciples became hungry and began to ask him for food.
But the newly discovered translation reads: ‘At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath and his disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain, rub them in their hands, and eat them.’
A scribe apparently erased the chapter whilst it was being written.
Only one segment of the recovered text has been released to the public so far.
Only one segment has been released to the public so far (Picture: Getty Images)
Grigory Kessel, who made the discovery, told DailyMail.com: ‘The Gospel text found in this reused manuscript contains the so-called Old Syriac translations of the Gospels.
‘This Old Syriac translation quite often attests the Gospel text that is different from the standard Gospel text as we know it today.’
The Gospel of Matthew forms the core of the 27 books of the New Testament.
Matthew’s section begins describing the birth of Jesus and also includes early correspondence between Church leaders and Christians.
Volodymyr Zelensky, visibly upset, has threatened to punish Russian “murderers” after footage purportedly depicting Kremlin soldiers beheading Ukrainian soldiers surfaced.
The shocking videos, according to the president of Ukraine, demonstrate “how easily these beasts kill.”
In one beheading video, a killer is urged to break the spine of his scared victim, who is wearing a yellow tactical armband to identify him.
‘Get working, brothers. Break his spine, f–k, have you never cut off a head?’, the voice says.
Volodymyr Zelensky looked visibly shaken over the video
A photo thought to be from the same video shows what appears to be a severed head mounted on a spike.
Another piece of footage is said to show the beheaded corpses of two Ukrainian soldiers lying on the ground next to a destroyed military vehicle.
Seemingly referring to the bodies on the ground, a laughing voice says: ‘They killed them. Someone came up to them. They came up to them and cut their heads off.’
It’s thought the first clip may have been filmed in summer last year given the amount of foliage seen on the ground, while the other is apparently more recent.
Western analysts have blamed mercenary fighters from the Wagner Group for the alleged atrocities.
After the videos were posted to pro-Russian social media channels last week, it was claimed both incidents took place in or near Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine – where Wagner forces are spearheading some of the war’s heaviest fighting.
Metro is unable to independently confirm the details behind the videos, but Ukrainian authorities have made it clear they believe them to be real and blame Russia.
Ukrainian soldiers fire artillery at Russian positions near Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region of Ukraine (Picture: AP)
Vladimir Putin’s spokesman today admitted the footage is ‘terrible’, but said the authenticity must be checked and suggested Ukraine may have filmed it themselves.
Mr Zelensky appeared visibly shaken by the footage as he mourned the ‘sons, brothers and husbands’ killed.
He promised Russia would never be forgiven for alleged war crimes and called on world leaders to take action ‘now’.
‘This is something that no-one in the world can ignore – how easily these beasts kill’, the politician said.
‘This video – the execution of a Ukrainian captive – the world must see it. This is a video of Russia as it is – what kind of creatures they are.
‘There are no people for them. A son, a brother, a husband – someone’s child.’
The beheadings were ‘not an accident or an episode’ and instead showed the ‘new norm’ that Putin’s Russia wanted to impose, he said.
‘There was the case in Bucha. Thousands of times – everyone must react – every leader’, he continued.
‘Don’t expect it to be forgotten, that time will pass. We are not going to forget anything.
‘Neither are we going to forgive the murderers. There will be legal responsibility for everything.
‘The defeat of terror is necessary. No-one will understand if the leaders don’t react. Action is required now!’
The head of the Security Service of Ukraine has also vowed to ‘find these subhumans’.
‘If necessary, we will get them wherever they are, from underground or from beyond the grave’, Vasyl Malyuk warned.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has named Russia ‘worse than ISIS’ while blasting the enemy country’s current chairmanship of the UN security council.
Militants from Islamic State in Iraq and Syria were notorious for releasing videos of beheadings of captives when they controlled swathes of those countries from 2014-2017.
Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov has insisted ‘we need to check the authenticity of this footage in this fake world we live in’.
He said: ‘First it is necessary to check whether it is credible, and then, of course, there may be an opportunity to verify whether this is true, where it happened and by which side.’
A senior legislator alleged that allegedly leaked information regarding UK special troops in Ukraine might “endanger lives.”
The records, which were allegedly obtained through the social networking site Discord, could be hazardous to UK troops, according to Tobias Ellwood, chair of the Commons defense select committee.
However, the Ministry of Defence claimed that the leak was inaccurate to a “serious level” and should not be believed at face value.
An unidentified person allegedly published purportedly classified US documents on Discord, spelling them out and adding their own comments before publishing screenshots of the materials.
Said posts went unnoticed outside of the chat until a few weeks ago, when they began to circulate more widely online.
Analysis from the Associated Press could not independently confirm many of the details shared, and the original chatroom has been deleted.
Mr Ellwood said: ‘Given our long-established lead in scale and capability when it comes to elite forces, it will come as no surprise that our special forces are doing much of the heavy lifting.
‘But this deliberate, large-scale disclosure of sensitive material could easily endanger lives and should prompt an urgent review about who has access to sensitive information and how it is shared.’
A document, dated March 23, suggested up to 50 UK special forces personnel have been deployed to Ukraine alongside other western special forces – but the document doesn’t state where those forces are located or what they are doing.
Chris Meagher, a spokesman for the Pentagon, has urged caution in ‘promoting or amplifying any of these documents’, adding that ‘it does appear that slides have been doctored’.
It is not yet known whether more documents could appear online.
When asked if the US government was waiting for more documents to be leaked, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby replied: ‘The truth and the honest answer to your question is: We don’t know. And is that a matter of concern to us? You’re darn right it is.’
Meanwhile, there is speculation that US president Joe Biden is anti-British after a proposed bilateral meeting with prime minister Rishi Sunak over a UK-US free trade deal was downgraded to an informal coffee.
At one point it appeared the president pushed Mr Sunak away from him, instead opting for a hug with a US diplomat, and Mr Biden’s limousine, The Beast, blocked the view of their parting handshake.
But Home Office minister Chris Philp rejected those assertions, insisting Mr Sunak and Mr Biden had ‘extensive discussions’.
Speaking to GB News, Mr Philp said: ‘I don’t know exactly what the Prime Minister’s schedule was. I haven’t discussed it with him or No 10.
‘Of course they did have extensive discussions in Belfast yesterday before President Biden’s speech.
‘I don’t think the president is anti-British. I think the president, when he spoke to the King recently, agreed to come to the United Kingdom on a full state visit which is fantastic.
‘I think he’s been here four times since becoming president so no, I don’t think – I would not accept that characterisation at all.’
Miss England 2019 winner Dr. Bhasha Mukherjee, 27, is currently employed in an A&E department for kids.
She would miss up to four days of income if she joined NHS coworkers on the picket line, thus she is unable to do so.
‘I fully support the strike movement, I voted to strike, and at heart I am striking,’ said Bhasha, a nurse at a hospital in North West London.
But this represents four days’ pay and four days’ worth of sick or compassionate leave.
‘The whole point of this strike is for better pay and a lot of us are struggling.
‘I know of at least one other person who cannot afford to strike. We have to foot our bills every month.
She was crowned Miss England in 2019 (Picture: Ziad Altaf/Miss England/SWNS)
‘It’s a wiser financial decision to go to work and get the wages rather than wait for a potential wage increase.’
She also described how staff absence can have a ‘massive impact’ on the team.
‘I know the massive impact it has on the team when one staff has a day off work,’ she explained.
‘Not having enough doctors on the scene and how that impacts patient care. It’s always helpful to have more hands on board.’
Bhasha also revealed she withdrew her membership from the British Medical Association (BMA) after a run in with union members which left her feeling unwelcome.
She said was ‘ostracised’ when she did not join her colleagues, but was quickly invited back in when they found out she was media trained as a beauty queen.
Bhasha, of Derby, added: ‘My experience of the picket line was almost “you can’t sit with us”. After I spoke to members of the press they asked why they wanted to speak with me.
‘They were asking probing questions after I revealed I had media training and done interviews previously.
‘They said something like call me or contact me, we could do someone like you in the BMA and join us at the picket line.
‘I guess it made me feel that I wasn’t part of the movement.’
A mother who was crossing the road with a baby in a pram when she was struck by an SUV is in critical condition.
Around 9 a.m. on Tuesday, a Toyota RAV4 struck a woman who was walking along the A347 near Redhill Park in Bournemouth.
According to police, her condition is still life-threatening and she is still in the hospital.
The infant was transported to the hospital as a precaution, according to the police, but was not hurt.
According to Dorset Police, the car’s driver left the area without stopping.
The force added a 38-year-old man, from New Milton, Hampshire, had been arrested on suspicion of driving offences.
Tracey Howe was on her way to a hospital appointment when she witnessed the incident.
The 50-year-old said: ‘I saw a pedestrian get hit by a car as I was going round the one-way system.
‘She was crossing the road near the crossing by the park, the lights were changing to red so the car should have been slowing down.
‘It all happened really fast, it was horrible. I heard a noise and turned to see it.
‘I think she made contact with the front of the car but didn’t hit the windscreen and the car just zoomed off.
‘I saw who I assume could have been the grandmother running towards the baby. It looked about 18 months old.
‘I wasn’t able to pull over and stop. There were lots of pedestrians rushing over to help and the woman was lying by the side of the road.’
Police Sergeant Richard Stroud, of the road traffic unit, said: ‘We are investigating the circumstances of this collision and I am appealing to anyone who was travelling in the area at the time and either witnessed the collision or captured it on dashcam to please contact Dorset Police.
‘I would like to thank motorists for their patience while the road closure was in place so we could carry out our investigation.’
Detectives have urged witnesses or anyone with dashcam footage to contact them.
A total of 544 individuals were killed in various road accidents in the country for the first quarter of 2023.
They were killed in 3,340 road crashes recorded within the same period.
This was contained in road crash statistics gathered by the Motor Traffic and Transport Department of the Ghana Police Service.
However, this report indicates a reduction in road accidents compared to the same period in 2022.
According to the National Road Safety Authority (NRSA), the reduction is a promising outlook for the country as most road users are adhering to traffic regulations.
Meanwhile, the Greater Accra Region recorded the highest number of crashes, 1,243, among the 16 regions while the Oti Region recorded 15 cases being the least.
Former President Donald Trumphas been back to New York City to answer questions regarding the $250 million civil case filed by the state attorney general accusing him and his business of fraud.
On Thursday, just before 10 a.m., Trump arrived to Letitia James’ office, the New York Attorney General. The New York Times claimed that as Trump’s vehicle entered a parking basement at 28 Liberty Street, located beneath the office building, a throng screamed “New York hates you.”
In James’ civil action, in which Trump, his three eldest children, and the Trump Organization are charged with inflating asset valuations by billions in order to qualify for more benevolent loans and tax incentives, the former president is taking the stand for his second deposition.
Shortly after 8am, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: ‘I will be heading downtown to meet with a Racist who leaked that I would be there at 9:30 A.M.
‘The leak makes it much more difficult for the Police and Secret Service to do their job. This civil case is ridiculous, just like all of the other Election Interference cases being brought against me.
‘If I had a fair judge, this case would have never happened. MAGA!’
Ghanaian media personality, Deloris Frimpong Manso, has advised women to consider factors beyond material possessions when selecting a partner.
In a post she shared on Twitter, she noted that while financial stability is undoubtedly crucial, it should not be the sole criterion for choosing a date or a spouse.
She has cautioned against allowing material things to blind women to their soulmates, stating that emotional connection and compatibility should take precedence over material possessions.
“There’re two types of men; the one who can spoil you financially now and the one who can do that in the future. Don’t miss out on your soulmate cos you’re blinded by material things!” she tweeted on April 13, 2023.
The media personality’s tweet got netizens talking, with many sharing their thoughts.
Some users argued that women should prioritize financial stability, while others contend that emotional connection and compatibility are more important.
One social media user asked which option women should select, stating that some ladies require a financially stable man to achieve their goals with just a little push.
“Which should the ladies actually go for? Because some ladies just need a financially stable man now to reach their goals, just a small push,” a user said.
Another person commended Manso for sharing her ideas, ‘Thank you for sharing this with us’ while a third agreed with her statements noting that it was ‘Fact.’
Following his extradition from Pakistan, a man accused of killing a police officer nearly 20 years ago has appeared in court.
On November 18, 2005, as PC Sharon Beshenivsky and a colleague responded to a heist at Universal Travel in Morley Street, Bradford, Piran Ditta Khan, 74, is accused of killing her.
The married, 38-year-old mother of three biological children and two stepchildren was a rookie with only nine months of experience. On her daughter’s fourth birthday, just hours before she was scheduled to host a party at her Haworth home, she was assassinated.
Her colleague, PC Teresa Millburn was seriously injured.
Khan appeared in the dock of Westminster Magistrates’ Court in central London on Thursday wearing a blue and white Nike tracksuit jacket.
He is also charged with robbery, two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life and two counts of possession of a prohibited weapon.
Khan was not asked to enter a plea to any of the alleged offences and spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and to tell the court he was having some trouble hearing.
Ms Beshenivsky was a rookie with only nine months’ service when she was killed (Picture: PA)
The court heard that a warrant was issued for the arrest of the defendant in Pakistan in 2018 and that he was was detained in 2020.
Khan is charged with the robbery of Mohammed Yousaf of a quantity of cash of a value unknown.
The firearms charges relate to his alleged possession of a Mac 10 sub-machine gun and a 9mm pistol.
All the alleged offences are said to have taken place on the same day.
No bail application was made and District Judge John Zani remanded Khan back into custody before he appears at the Old Bailey on Monday.
The judge told him: ‘All the allegations that you face are to be dealt with at a higher court, the Crown Court, so I am transferring this case to the Central Criminal Court in London and you will appear there on Monday.’
The trial may take place in Leeds but detailed arrangements for that were not made, the court heard.
Rapper Mediakal has urged social media users to cease fire in the ongoing attack launched on TikTok influencer, Hajia Bintu, for advertising a product that has the tendency of charming men.
The promotion of Kayamata by the popular influencer has been condemned by some concerned Ghanaians but on the account of Medikal, the young woman is only doing her business and sees nothing wrong with that.
“Allow Hajia Bintu to do her business, if you no go buy the product just pass,” he wrote in a tweet dated April 13.
On the account of Bintu, the Kayamata when is currently on sale can cause the sexual partner of a woman to gift her large sums of money upon her demand.
In her viral video, she explained that the so-called love potion becomes effective when its user comes in contact with a man through sexual intercourse or just a handshake.
Bintu listed them as: “Fuck & Stay, Attraction To Rich Men, Love & Pay, Love Me Alone, and Do As I Say.”
A body has been discovered by police in Brighton after being carried away by strong winds during a storm.
Yesterday just before 4 o’clock in the afternoon, emergency services including Sussex Police and RNLI volunteers were called to the incident close to Brighton Palace Pier.
Teams from Littlehampton, Shoreham, and Newhaven assisted in the search for the missing person over the course of many hours.
The search was suspended shortly before 10pm – almost six hours after emergency crews were first called to the scene.
Search and rescue teams battled the storm for six hours last night (Picture: Getty)
Sussex Police today confirmed a body was found on Saltdean beach.
A spokesman said: ’Emergency services investigated a report of a person in the sea off Brighton Palace Pier on Wednesday, April 12.
‘Searches were conducted by RNLI Lifeboats, volunteers, and the HM Coastguard helicopter, as well as by Coastguards and Sussex Police officers on shore.
‘Sadly, a body was found on the beach at Saltdean at about 8.15am on Thursday, April 13.
‘An investigation into the circumstances is ongoing, and further updates will be provided in due course.’
They added: ‘
Describing the previous incident, the force spokesman said: ‘Emergency services conducted a search off Brighton beach shortly after 4pm on Tuesday April 11.
‘Sadly, the body of a woman was found. Her next of kin have been informed.
‘Her death is not being treated as suspicious and a report will be prepared for HM coroner.’
Elsewhere during Wednesday’s storm, in Fareham, Hampshire, a woman was badly hurt when scaffolding fell on to a main shopping street.
And at Blackpool Pleasure Beach, customers on the Big One rollercoaster had to be escorted down after the ride was stopped because of the adverse weather.
Two teens who have gone missing from south London are being sought by police.
Both 14-year-olds Angel Holly and Shanai Bonaparte-Chambers, along with Shanai’s 2-year-old sister, were last seen yesterday at around 3.20 p.m. in Croydon’s Fir Tree Gardens.
The south London was returned to a Croydon house in the early hours of this morning, and police reported that she is safe and well.
Police are still looking for the two teenagers.
Shanai Bonaparte-Chambers has been missing since yesterday (Picture: Met Police)
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Shanai has blonde hair and was last seen wearing a black tracksuit. Angel has two nose piercings and was wearing a Superdry jacket when she was last seen.
The pair have links to the Beckenham and Penge areas.
This was made known in the recently launched Fiscal Monitor report released on Tuesday, April 11, 2023.
In the report, the Fund predicted that Ghana would end the year 2023 with an inflation rate of 45.5 percent and this would further decline by close of 2024 to 22.2 percent.
On Ghana’s fiscal deficit, the report projected that, the country’s fiscal deficit will reduce to 7.3 percent by the end of 2023, however, in 2024, the Fund expects that the rate would rise to 8.4 percent and take a dip to 7.3 percent in 2025. It will decline sharply to 5.9 percent in 2026, 5.3 percent in 2027 and end 2028 at 5.4 percent.
Although the IMF projects Ghana’s current fiscal deficit at 7.3 percent, it is lower than the Fund’s initial projection of a 8.6 percent rate. The new projection also beats the government of Ghana’s projection in the 2023 Budget statement which was pegged at 9.9 percent
Giving the fine details of Ghana’s projection at the ongoing IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings, Division Chief at the Fiscal Affairs Department of the IMF, Paulo Medas urged government to be consistent with its macroeconomic framework to enable the country attain macro stability and price stability.
“The problem is once you lose the inflation expectations then it’s going to be much more difficult because you are going to have both bites for longer so the cost is larger to bring back price stability,” he said.
The government’s spokesperson for governance and security,Palgrave Boakye-Danquah is asserting that the government is systematically enforcing the provisions of the staff level agreement signed with the IMF and is certain that a solution will be struck by the end of the second quarter.
He was optimistic that Ghana will secure the $3 billion bailout from the IMF to improve the country’s economic situation due to the success of the local debt exchange scheme and the support obtained from other creditors.
“I am confident that with the cooperation we are receiving from the Paris Club members and the People’s Republic of China, which sent a delegation from China’s Exim Bank to France over the weekend to meet with officials of the Ministry of Finance, we will be able to go to the board of the fund to finally conclude the agreement by the end of the quarter,” Palgrave Boakye-Danquah told Kwaku Owusu Adjei on Adwenepa on Accra-based Original TV.
He claimed that the agreement with the Fund would pave the way for Ghana’s economy to rebound strongly.
Palgrave Boakye-Danquah asked the friends of the country to speak up at the Fund in favour of initiatives to stabilize the situation and reset the economy.
Ghana is currently seeking an IMF-support programme to the tune of $3 billion to revive its struggling economy.
The government in December 2022 reached a staff-level agreement with the Fund as part of processes leading to a bailout.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently projected that the country’s Debt to GDP ratio will rise to 98.7 percent by the end of 2023 in its Fiscal Outlook Report released at the Annual IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington DC, USA.
Advising the government on how Ghana can ensure financial stability, the Director of Fiscal Affairs at the IMF, Vitor Gaspar urged for fiscal policy to be consistent with monetary policy in order to restore price and financial stability, while supporting the most vulnerable.
“Abrupt changes in financial conditions also call for fiscal restraint to tackle fiscal vulnerabilities. To that end, governments will need to give greater priority to rebuilding fiscal buffers by developing credible risk-based fiscal frameworks that promote”, Mr. Gasper said this at the launch of the Fiscal Outlook Report.
The IMF in its report however projected that Ghana’s Debt-to-GDP ratio will reduce marginally to reach 92.8 percent in 2024. Meanwhile, Ghana recently undertook a Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) to reduce the country’s debt stock with talks of an external debt restructuring with foreign creditors ongoing.
Key insights from the IMF reports
• The IMF is projecting that Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate for 2023 will slow to 1.6%. This is lower than Ghana’s forecast of 2.8% captured in the 2023 Budget. The new projection is contrary to the Fund’s predictions in its 2022 World Economic Outlook Report that Ghana’s growth rate for 2023 will be 3.6%.
• The report also classified Ghana’s economy as Low-Income Developing Country.
• The IMF in the report linked the slowdown to some global economic challenges, such as the COVID-19, Russia-Ukraine War, Energy issues and its impact on Ghana’s economy for this year.
• The IMF in the report also forecast the Debt-to-GDP Ratio to reduce marginally to reach 92.8% in 2024.
Florence Bondze Adofo, a 56-year-old trader, is currently being prosecuted for allegedly attempting to trick a forex bureau owner, Chief Haruna Saley, in a transaction worth $45,000.
According to a news report by The Chronicle, the accused person told Chief Saley that she had $45,000 she was willing to exchange for GH¢652,500.
However, when the GH¢652,500 was given to her, she failed to produce the $45,000.
The police prosecutor for the case, Inspector Cyrus E. Conduah, told the court that the accused person (Florence Bondze Adofo), with the help of a police officer, Detective Corporal Thompson Abraham Ntosour, contacted Chief Haruna Saley to sell the $45,000 she had in her possession.
Both Bondze Adofo and Chief Saley agreed that the $45,000 would be exchanged for GH¢652,500.
According to Inspector Conduah, Chief Saley and the police officer, who was acting as a middleman, met Bondze Adofo at the SIC Mall car park at Makola in Accra, where the GH¢652,500 was handed to the accused.
Florence, after receiving the money, demanded that Chief Saley should wait behind while the police officer accompanied her to Opera Square to get the US$45,000.
The police officer and Florence went to Opera Square, and she asked him to wait behind an office while she went for the dollars, only for her to come back without the US$45,000.
The prosecutor indicated that she told the police officer who accompanied her that her partner, Abdulai Hashim, could not raise the entire US$45,000 and that he was waiting on more dollars to be able to raise the said amount.
They returned to inform the owner of the forex bureau about the state of the transaction, and the accused person told him that they had to wait for a while for the total amount of dollars to be raised by her partners.
After waiting for some time, the victim became suspicious and ordered the arrest of the accused, whom they took to the Accra Central Police Station and lodged a complaint.
The prosecution also disclosed that during the investigation into the matter, the accused person admitted that she did not have the dollars and that her partner Abdulai Hashim and his boss Alhaji Taminu informed her that they had $70,000 that they were selling.
She admitted that she took the GH¢652,500 which she gave to Alhaji Taminu. Abdulai Hashim was subsequently arrested, and he also admitted that he had received GH¢60,500 from Florence. His boss, Alhaji Taminu, is, however, nowhere to be found.
Both Florence and Abdulai were charged with conspiracy to commit a crime, defrauding by false pretences, and dishonestly receiving charges.
They have both pleaded not guilty to the charges and have been granted bail by the Accra Circuit Court.
Florence received bail in the sum of GH¢600,000 with three sureties, and Abdulai received bail in the sum of GH¢100,000 with one surety. The case was adjourned to April 17, 2023, for continuation.
The 2023 edition of the Jubilee House Iftar has been held in Accra, with a host of dignitaries from diverse backgrounds and religious backgrounds attending.
Iftar is one of the religious observances of Ramadan and is often done as a community, with Muslim people gathering to break their fast together.
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, on behalf of President Akufo-Addo, led the government guest list, which included Ministers of State and senior officials at the Presidency, to welcome the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu and the leadership of the Muslim Community.
Also present were MPs, Members of the Council of State, the Diplomatic Corpe and some members of the clergy, who led a fair number of Christians present.
The Iftar is the traditional evening meal to break the Ramadan fast, and it is normally held in groups to bring people, families and communities together.
Many countries around the world, including the United States, organise Iftars at their respective seats of Government during Ramadan. In Ghana, the Jubilee House Iftar was introduced by the Akufo-Addo Government in 2017, and it has since been held every year, except in 2020 due to covid-19 restrictions.
Speaking at the ceremony, Vice President Bawumia said the institution of the Iftar, has enabled the government to further its engagements with religious groups for harmony.
“The historic institution of the Jubilee House Iftar, after we assumed office in 2017, reflects its importance, and the significance our government attaches to our engagements with religious groups, in our quest to promote harmony among our people,” Dr. Bawumia said.
Dr Bawumia added: “The month of Ramadan is a period of devotion, sacrifice and togetherness, and the Iftar, as we all know, is a time during the Ramadan, which defines the essence of unity, as we have all gathered here from diverse backgrounds, including our Christian brothers, for a meal to break the day’s fast and also pray for our nation Ghana.”
A former Chairman of Christ Apostolic Church International, Apostle Dr. Stephen Kwame Ntow Amoani, reflected on the beautiful relationship between Muslims and Christians in the country, and commended the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu and Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, for providing leadership which has greatly contributed to the harmonious relationship.
Both the National Chief Imam and Apostle Dr. Stephen Kwame Ntow Amoani said separate prayers for the country.
Ghanaian Gospel singer, born Moses Osei Kwarteng, popularly known as Moses OK has expatiated further on his earlier comments that “A true Christian should stop listening to secular music.”
The singer recently caused a stir on social media when he said every Christian should stick to Gospel music and not listen to any other song that will contaminate their spirituality.
Moses OK speaking in an interview on Onua TV pointed out that Christians have no business in listening to secular songs because it does not edify them.
“You can’t listen to songs that do not carry the word of God, songs that don’t correspond with the scriptures. That’s why I don’t encourage people to listen to secular songs,” he said.
In another interview with Halifax Ansah-Addo on Okay FM on Wednesday, April 12, 2023, the Gospel singer who’s now a pastor defended his statement again.
According to him, he did not mean to discriminate against secular musicians but was trying to explain that a Christian has no business listening to secular music for inspiration.
To this, he said the word of God or the gospel songs should be the believers’ inspiration for life.
In addition, he said he met one secular musician at a restaurant and he quickly rushed to hug him.
Using scriptures to back his point, the pastor and leader of Truth Chapel Church located in Kumasi, Abrepo Junction, admonished Christians to guide their hearts against listening to secular music because it could have a very great negative impact on their lives.
“Bible says, we should guard our hearts with all diligence, out of it flows the issues of life. Any information I consume, I know it will frame and shape me to become someone I want to be. Paul said, I died and resurrected with Christ and I live for Him. So as for me, I live for Christ. Some information can be deceptive.”
He added, “They appear to be good but go contrary to the word of God. As a Christian, I do not encourage words that contradict the principles of Christ; we should not listen to them. I am not criticizing circular musicians; I am not against them.
“I vividly remember embracing a circular musician during the valentine celebration. I am emphasizing that as believers and followers of Christ filled with the Holy Spirit, we should hold on and ingrain the lifestyle of Christ by depending on his information to live our life.”
Mr. Woodberry, also known as Jacob Ponle, a close associate of notorious internet fraudster Ramon Abbas, popularly known asHushpuppi, has admitted to engaging in wire fraud.
In a plea declaration filed on April 6, 2023, at the US District Court of the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division, Mr. Woodberry admitted guilt to one count of the indictment.
As part of his plea agreement, he agreed to relinquish his luxury cars, watches, and $8 million in wire fraud proceeds to the US government.
According to the Nigerian blog, People’s Gazette, the court plea agreement requests that Mr. Woodberry repay the $8 million he fraudulently obtained from seven businesses that he defrauded.
The plea reads: “Defendant understands that by pleading guilty, he will subject to forfeiture to the United States all rights, titles, and interests that he has in any property constituting or derived from proceeds obtained, directly or indirectly, as a result of the offence.”
In addition, Mr. Woodberry was ordered to relinquish his claim to the expensive cars and designer watches he had hidden in Dubai, including a Lamborghini Urus, a Mercedes-Benz G-class, and a Rolls-Royce Cullinan.
In addition, six gold neck chains, three pairs of gold and diamond-studded earrings, four Rolex watches, one Patek Philippe watch, three Audemars Piguet watches, and one Patek Philippe watches were confiscated.
It’s important to remember that Mr. Woodberry already gave the American government 151.8 Bitcoin in 2022. On June 10, 2020, Hushpuppi and Mr. Woodberry were captured in Dubai for their participation in cybercrime.
Mr. Woodberry had a reputation for flashing his money on social media before his arrest, notably by donning pricey designer attire and showing off his ill-gotten earnings to his enormous Instagram following.
The Member of Parliament for Oda, Alexander Acquah, has taken a swipe at critics who are contesting claims that COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war caused the current economic failure in the country can burn the sea.
He was captured on UTV’s Adekye Nsroma, supporting the comments made by the Agriculture Minister, Bryan Acheampong, that the NPP will not hand over power come 2024.
In his justification, the MP was captured saying that the current economic hardship is caused by COVID-19 and the unrest between Russia and Ukraine, which, he says, the government is currently working on to drive the country out of it.
He said the IMF and the vice president of the US both endorsed this claim.
“Our current financial difficulty, that we keep mentioning that people do not want to understand, we have two main testimonies: the US vice president and the IMF boss, all say our plans were on track until COVID and the Russia-Ukraine war,” he said.
“Monnte ase a monk) hyi po”, to wit, ‘go and burn the sea if you don’t understand’. “We know that these two individuals [IMF boss and US veep] have vested interests in Ghana’s economy. And so, if they testify, then we believe that our government’s policies were on track,” he continued.
To him, the government is pursuing an IMF bailout because they believe it is the only way out of the current economic hardship.
“NPP is currently exploring opportunities to get the economy back on track, which will cause Ghanaians to vote for the party in the 2024 general elections. We went for loans to help the country so we could reap the benefits someday. So, IMF assisting us in right the right order,” he said.
The MP believes that once the deal on the debt restructuring programme is done, Ghanaians will come to terms with the claim that the failing economy is a result of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
“At this point in time, once we are done restructuring and we take off, Ghanaians will know that truly, we know how to keep the economy better than them. So, when Ghanaians see that really our setback was as a result of COVID-19 and the war between Russia and Ukraine, they will vote for us,” he added.
He added that once the NPP emerges victorious in the 2024 elections, there will be no way they are going to hand over power to the NDC.
“If Ghanaians finish voting for us, you want us to hand over power to you? What is the alternative? What are you giving us?” he asked.
Rapper Medikal has urged social media users to cease fire in the ongoing attack launched on TikTok influencer, Hajia Bintu, for advertising a product that has the tendency of charming men.
The promotion of Kayamata by the popular influencer has been condemned by some concerned Ghanaians but on the account of Medikal, the young woman is only doing her business and sees nothing wrong with that.
“Allow Hajia Bintu to do her business, if you no go buy the product just pass,” he wrote in a tweet dated April 13.
On the account of Bintu, the Kayamata when is currently on sale can cause the sexual partner of a woman to gift her large sums of money upon her demand.
In her viral video, she explained that the so-called love potion becomes effective when its user comes in contact with a man through sexual intercourse or just a handshake.
Bintu listed them as: “Fuck & Stay, Attraction To Rich Men, Love & Pay, Love Me Alone, and Do As I Say.”
Check out the post below:
Allow Hajia Bintu to do her business, if you no go buy the product just pass.. 🤷🏾♂️
Parliament is represented by a nine-member in Washington DC as part of Ghana’s delegation attending the 2023 IMF/ World Bank Spring Meetings.
The delegation is led by MP for Obuasi West and chairman of the finance committee in Parliament, Kwaku Kwarteng.
The eight other members include:
* The vice-chair of the finance committee and MP for Okaikoi Yaw Boamah,
* Minority Leader in Parliament, Cassiel Ato Forson
* Member of Parliament for Oforikrom, Dr Emmanuel Marfo.
* Kennedy Osei Nyarko, chairman of the Roads and Transport, Member of Parliament for Mpraeso
* Davis Ansah Opoku,MP for Mpraeso
* Elvis Morris Donkoh, Member of Parliament for Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese,
* Betty Nana Efua Krosbi Mensah, Member of Parliament for Afram Plains North.
“The meeting is particularly important for us, Parliament as the institution that is responsible for oversight and for budget and also for legislation,” the Oforikrom MP told Accra-based Asaase Radio in an interview.
“Whatever priorities that the government have, we need to make sure that there is an appropriate budget for them. And we will also make sure that whatever commitment government makes, we are able to follow through to make sure they are done,” he stated.
Ghana’s delegation is led by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta along with top finance ministry and Bank of Ghana officials.
Ofori-Atta and his team will be seeking to get assurances from bilateral and multilateral lenders with the view to getting IMF Board approval for a US$3 billion facility.
Government has already got a staff-level agreement in place since late last year and is in the process of completing external debt restructuring after a contentious domestic debt deal was agreed months back.
Just before its recession, Parliament passed three new revenue taxes; Excise Duty Amendment Bill 2022, the Growth and Sustainability Levy Bill 2022, and the Income Tax Amendment Bill 2022, which is currently awaiting presidential assent for its implementation.
The IEAG and the GFL have however called on the President not to assent to the bill as it was against the interests of the growth of businesses, both manufacturers and importers.
Mr Samson Asaki Awingobit, the Executive Secretary of the IEAG, and Mr Abraham Koomson, Secretary General of the GFL, were speaking respectively on the topics, “Perspective of Importers and Exporters on the three newly approved taxes,” and “What makes the three new taxes bad from the perspective of organised labour.”
They said this when they appeared on the Ghana News Agency-Tema Industrial News Hub Boardroom discussions, which provides the platform for both state and non-state organisations to deliberate on national topic issues.
Mr Awingobit said, “We want to engage the President, “this is the only tax bill that collectively all business organisations have come together to oppose, therefore the President must take it seriously.”
He said should the President go ahead and sign, the business community would meet and decide the way forward and what actions to take, as implementing the bills would lead to suffering for businesses, government revenue, and the public.
Mr Koomson, for his part, said since the government did not engage the unions and businesses before pushing for the passage of the bill, it would not even rake in a quarter of the projected annual revenue of GHS 4 billion it hopes to collect.
He said it was not too late for the President to hold on to the assent, as doing so against the will of the people would backfire and not benefit the economy.
He described it as unfortunate that the Members of Parliament passed the bill even though they petitioned them on the consequences of such taxes, reiterating that it would lead to the folding up of many companies and the redundancy of workers who were members of labour unions such as the GFL.
According to him, already workers were being laid off and businesses were folding up due to the unfavourable economic situation in Ghana, therefore adding all three would compound issues.
A Russian defector from Wagner claimed to have seen the killing of a Ukrainian prisoner of war in video, and he recognized his former coworkers in the scene.
Andrey Medvedev, who in January managed to flee Vladimir Putin’s de facto private army and later applied for asylum in Norway, said he was able to identify the hired men by their “nicknames, the way they talk, and their manner when talking over the radio.”
The distressing videos, which surfaced on social media over the weekend, purport to show a Russian military allegedly chopping off a hostage’s head with a knife.
In one video, a voice encourages a killer to break the spine of his victim, identified by a yellow tactical armband, as he struggles on the floor.
‘Get working, brothers. Break his spine, f–k, have you never cut off a head?’, they can be heard saying.
It is unclear when or where this ISIS-style footage was shot, and who is behind it.
But an exiled Russian human rights group has said evidence indicates it was an act by Wagner fighters.
‘We contacted Andrey Medvedev, 26, ex-commander of the first squad of the 4th platoon of the 7th Wagner PMC assault squad, now in deportation prison,’ said Vladimir Osechkin, founder of Gulagu.net.
‘We sent this video, he listened to it several times and watched it carefully. He definitely identifies [in the video] his former colleagues, members of the Wagner PMC [private military company].
‘By their distinctive callsigns, the way they talk, what they say on the radios, as they go about this extrajudicial execution, that brutal murder.’
Osechkin stressed that Medvedev ‘was in Wagner and knows their call signs and code words and ciphers’.
He ‘helps us to identify them [and establish] that fighters of the illegal armed group known as Wagner PMC were involved in this extrajudicial execution, a terrible murder’.
Ukraine has vowed to identify the knifeman and a second suspected Russian fighter who appeared to be taunting him to decapitate the prisoner of war.
Osechkin has offered a £2,670 reward for information on the identities of those behind the atrocity.
The identity of the victim – seen pleading for mercy before he is decapitated – remains unclear.
The chief of Wagner, close Putin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin, said: ‘I watched this video.
‘It is bad when people’s heads are cut off, but I have not found anywhere that this is happening near Bakhmut or that fighters of PMC Wagner are participating in the execution.’
For some days now, Twitter users have been going on and on about the taxes that are charged at restaurants and eateries in the country.
The reactions were to a receipt that showed how much a patron had to pay for services at a restaurant.
The taxes were as follows:
GFT (GETFL) – GetFund Levy 2.5% NHL (NHIL) – National Health Insurance Levy – 2.5% CRL (CHRL) – Covid-19 Health Recovery Levy – 1% VAT – Value Added Tax – 15% GTL – Ghana Tourism Levy – 1%
These taxes accumulated to an additional 42% of the entire cost of the purchase
In a response by the Ghana Revenue Authority on Twitter on April 7, 2023
GFT (GETFL) – GetFund Levy 2.5% NHL (NHIL) – National Health Insurance Levy – 2.5% CRL (CHRL) – Covid-19 Health Recovery Levy – 1% VAT – Value Added Tax – 15% GTL – Ghana Tourism Levy – 1% SUR – Service Charge – 10%
“The other taxes are not from GRA,” the Authority added.
A Twitter user said “The very thing your guy said he wouldn’t do; is the very thing we’re actually suffering from the most… Do we learn? No.”
Another said, “From taxation to more tax.”
“SC is service charge” 10% and these restaurants still pay their employees under 500cds and still don’t pay in full. These owners should be arrested, trade and workers union should ensure employees are treated right but in the farm there, everyone is not serious,” another tweet said.
One user also noted that “Never really paid attention to receipts as they are not vat refundable for visitors but thanks for the awareness – almost 25% of additional taxes!! There will certainly be a curtailment in expending and supporting these places.”
Singer-songwriter and rapper Black Sherif has revealed some behind-the-scenes details concerning how he creates his sensational music.
The ‘Soja’ hitmaker was asked how he births songs that sound different every single time.
“You see, where I was born – the kind of community I was born in [Konongo] – the first survival [tactic] you’ll realize is being a rebel,” he said.
He clarified that he was not talking about “pulling a knife and [other] things but rather not going [about things] conventionally.
“So I’ve been a rebel with everything I do [and] with my music.”
On what fuels the vim of the rebel in him, he simply answered: “I have nothing to lose, zero!”
Maintaining the Pidgin English, he added that: “I take risks with everything.”
Here, Blacko revealed that the beats other artistes reject are what he takes to “do my songs.”
“So, I take risks, being a rebel, singing – that’s my thing,” he emphasised.
He shared that he sees “life through my lens” and “past experiences,” and “I write about them.”
“I cannot see it through yours,” he added.
Peeling back more details about his creative process, the famous Ghanaian artiste and fashionista indicated that his songs are “mostly my opinions and debates that are going on in my head.”
“In my songs, I’m a wise person and sometimes I am a corny a** n***a,” the ‘45’ hitmaker explained. “Sometimes, I am vulnerable, sometimes I am something else. I do all that in my songs.”
The reason, he said, was “that’s the only place I feel safe.”
He repeated that his music “most at times” captures his “fantasies, past experiences and bare [a lot of other] things.”
“Last last,” that is, in the final analyses of things, “no one really cares,” Blacko commented in conclusion when his host highlighted his headstrong posture, especially in view of what people may think or say about him and his work.
Nominated 9 times for the 24th edition of the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMAs), including the ultimate Artiste of the Year award, he spoke on the Road to the VGMAs programme with media personality Akosua Hanson and co.
Below is the report from Forbes on Ghana’s Akpeteshie
The resurgence of a once banned liquor in Ghana, Akpeteshie, is shaking up the global distillery market. Brothers Kofi and Raja Owusu-Ansah, owners of Republic Distilleries in Accra, are bringing Akpeteshie, Ghana’s indigenous alcoholic spirit distilled from sugar cane juice, to the rest of world. They are poised to disrupt the international liquor market valued at $1.4 trillion in 2021, a figure that’s expected to grow 10.3% until 2028, one “Kokroko” drink at a time.
The Breakdown You Need To Know:
The African distillery market has been growing steadily in recent years, with increasing demand for traditional alcoholic beverages in the region, changing consumer preferences, and expanding export opportunities. Specifically, consumer expenditure on the continent hit $1.4 trillion in 2015 and this figure is expected to reach $2.5 trillion by 2030, according to Brookings.
Republic Distilleries is giving Akpeteshie the “Cool Factor” that consumers and investors alike are looking for. At Republic Bar, the direct-to-consumer part of the brothers distillery business, they are hoping to replicate the wild success of Cachaça in Brazil, also a distillate of sugar cane, which is expected to hit about $485.8 billion in 2028, according to Adroit Market Research.
Raja Owusu-Ansah, founder of Republic Distilleries at a sugar cane factoryRepublic Distilleries
“Akpeteshie and its distillation is firmly rooted in Ghanaian tradition and culture. Ghana’s organically grown sugarcane and methods of distillation can certainly provide the world with another Cane-Spirit option,” Raja Owusu-Ansah said to CultureBanx.
Distilling African Success:
West Africa’s alcoholic beverages market is ripe for investment and growth as it reached a value of $11.7 billion in 2021. Looking forward, the IMARC Group expects the West Africa alcoholic beverages market to reach $6.8 billion by 2027. Broadly across the continent, a report by Euromonitor International found the total volume of alcoholic beverages in Africa was estimated to be around 21.2 billion liters in 2019, with a retail value of approximately $65.2 billion.
Africa is one of the fastest-growing consumer markets in the world, and the aforementioned figures are just just+0.6%+0.6% a few more reasons why Akpeteshie has the opportunity to become a formidable competitor in the global liquor market. Ghana’s Akpeteshie has the opportunity to one day become as big as Mexico’s tequila market valued at $10.4 billion in 2022 and projected to grow to $15.5 billion by 2029.Forbes Money 00:04 01:12
Positive Pan African Drinks:
The African distillery market is dynamic and constantly evolving. Across the continent, distilleries contribute to economic growth by creating employment opportunities, generating revenue through exports, and stimulating local communities. For Republic Distilleries bringing Akpeteshie to the world is a way of preserving Ghana’s cultural identity, while promoting its unique traditional alcoholic beverages in domestic and international markets.
“Akpeteshie has always accompanied the celebration of Ghana’s traditional festivals, weddings, funerals and parties,” said Kofi Owusu-Ansah. It’s these types of events that Republic Distilleries wants to make sure their Akpeteshie alcohol is a part of in countries all around the world.
Situational Awareness:
Quick background on Akpeteshie: In the 1930s, when the Great Depression hit West Africa, drinking liquor became too expensive. Ghanaians began to distill Akpeteshie at home, giving this local brew the name that in its local language means “in hiding”. Originally banned by British Colonial authorities, it was legalized in 1962, five years after Ghana’s independence from the British Empire.
The ambulance service tweeted a confirmation of the incident: ‘Unfortunately, a second little child has suffered serious injuries from dog bites.
“At 5:20 p.m., multiple paramedic units were dispatched to a private address in Yatala and transported a child with serious head and neck injuries to Queensland Children’s Hospital.”
Local media identified the victim as a girl, aged three, adding she was attacked by at least three dogs.
It is understood two German Shepards and a French Bull Mastiff were taken from the home at about 7pm.
Pictures from the scene show the animals being taken away in metal cages by the management officers.
This is the second dog attack this week after a six-year-old girl was mauled by two bull Arabs in Woodbridge.
The child was also rushed to Queensland Children’s Hospital in a serious condition after sustaining significant abdominal, chest and shoulder injuries.
Ghanaian businessman Freedom Jacob Caesar, also known as Nana Kwame Bediako or Nana Cheddar, stole the show Wednesday night during the 50th birthday party of Ghanaian businessman, Nana Kwame.
Nana Kwame, CEO of Analaze Group and member of the East Legon Executive Fitness Club, has been trending over his birthday.
As GhanaCelebrities.Com reported, he was pounded with water by other East Legon rich men in a video that drew criticism from netizens.
There was more to come from his birthday though as a party followed in the night.
During the party, Freedom Jacob Caesar proved to be the showstopper with his incredible birthday gift.
He gave Nana Kwame a blank cheque to write whatever amount he wanted to withdraw as his birthday gift.
Reacting to the video, one netizen said: “I’m writing $3 millions since u want do it big we go do em big,”
Deputy Minister of Transport Hassan Tampuli says his ministry will support the Ghana Airports Company Limited’s proposal to increase the Domestic Airport Passenger Service Charge (APSC).
He noted that the infrastructure developments being undertaken at the regional airports were enough justification for pursuing the review, so that Kotoka International Airport (KIA) is relieved of the burden of subsidising the operations of regional airports in Ghana.
He made these comments at the 8th Annual General Meeting of GACL held at Kotoka International Airport.
For 2022, the GH¢5 charged to each domestic passenger for the use of on-ground aviation infrastructure, yielded just under GH¢4.3 million.
The amount, which translates into a little under GH¢360,000 per month, remains inadequate in the maintenance of Kumasi, Sunyani, Wa, Ho, Tamale airports and Terminal 2 of the Kotoka International Airport in Accra used for domestic operations.
Typically, for the existing regional airport such as the Tamale Airport, the major expenditure lines—electricity and water supply, maintenance of lighting equipment, air conditioning, janitorial services, waste disposal, maintenance of the terminal building, and other overhead costs —is close to a million cedis per month. Hence the proposal by GACL for a review.
While an upward review has largely been endorsed by aviation analysts, the margin of increase is not firmed yet.
Sean Mendis, CEO of Seanmendis.com, told AviationGhana that said the proposed increment is long-overdue and it is the surest way for the GACL to operate and maintain various airports in the country.
“Airlines have been lobbying for an increase in the domestic APSC for GACL for years. Increase GH¢5 to GH¢10 and it is a tiny fraction of the ticket price, but it’s a doubling of their operations budget. As long as they use the funds to actually support the airport operations, it is a good thing,” he said.
Mr. Hassan Tampuli, commended the Board and Management of Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) for gradually steering the company out of the financial challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr. Tampuli, who represented the Minister for Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah, said the Ministry had made several interventions to ensure a viable aviation sub-sector.
He further touched on measures instituted by the Vice President of the Republic, Dr Mahamadu Bawumia in collaboration with the Economic Management team to streamline the Departure and Arrival Facilitation Processes to improve KIA’s competitiveness in the sub-region.
2021 Annual Report
Presenting the 2021 Annual Report, the Board Chairman, Mr Paul Adom-Otchere, citing statistics from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), disclosed that Global Passenger Traffic recovered modestly in 2021, with the ICAO impact analysis of COVID-19 on Civil Aviation revealing that the number of passengers worldwide was 2.3 billion or 49 percent below pre-pandemic (2019) levels, up from the 60% drop witnessed in 2020.
He stated that ICAO further reported a decrease in the rate of global air traffic recovery in the first quarter of 2021 due to the sharp spike of COVID-19 infection.
The situation stabilized slightly in the second and third quarter mainly due to rising vaccination rates and the lifting of travel restrictions in various parts of the world during the peak travel season. However, this upward trend stalled quickly in the fourth quarter with the emergence of the Omicron variant.
Paul Adom-Otchere indicated that in Ghana, Air Traffic Movements in 2021 exceeded that of 2020 by 50.4% after the Government of Ghana eased travel restrictions and reopened the country’s borders for flight operations in 2021.
Air traffic movements for both international and domestic showed strong growth with international growing at 53.9% and domestic growing at 46.1%.
He touched on the Industrial Relations climate indicating that it had remained relatively calm and peaceful as a result of deliberate and proactive steps taken by Management to resolve staff-related challenges.
Addressing the 8th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the company, Managing Director of GACL, Mrs. Pamela Djamson-Tettey, commended staff for their resilience and exemplary workmanship throughout the business recovery process following the overwhelming and unparalleled effect of COVID-19 and the ensuing travel restrictions on airports.
She gave an overview of the Air Traffic Performance attributing the leap in variance for Air Traffic Movements for both International and Domestic, to the impressive growth in charters especially cargo flights during the pandemic, increased flight frequency by domestic airlines and flight operations on the Accra-Ho-Accra and Accra-Wa-Accra routes within the year.
On the Financial Performance of the company, she indicated that a loss of about GH¢252 million was posted for the year under review ending 31st December 2021. This was an improved performance compared to the loss of GH¢435.5 million in 2020. The underlying factor, she said, was a significant increase in financial cost for the Term Loan Facility for the construction of Terminal 3 at KIA.
GACL to focus on new revenue-generating initiatives
On the business outlook for GACL, she said the company will transform its revenue generating capacity by focusing on implementing and leveraging new Business Development Initiatives as well as strategies for the growth and diversification of Non-Aeronautical Revenues.
“The Company will focus on implementing new Business Development Initiatives, strategies for the growth and diversification of Non-Aeronautical Revenues in line with its corporate objectives. In that regard, the proposed Airport City 2 Project would feature largely in the Company’s efforts to enhance its Non-Aeronautical Revenue Base in the coming years. It is expected that this approach will produce tangible results and transform the revenue generating capacity of the Company and drive the vision to make Kotoka International Airport a true hub and leader in the Airport Business in West Africa”, she said.
The Audit Service on its part, opined that the Annual Report gave a true and fair reflection of the financial position of the company as at 31st December 2021.
Present at the event were the Deputy Minister for Transport, Fredrick Adom, Board Members of GACL, Management and Stakeholders from the Ministry of Finance, State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) and the Ghana Audit Service.
Joe Biden mistook the name of the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team for the infamous Black and Tans, a British paramilitary group that mercilessly suppressed anyone who opposed British rule during the Irish War of Independence.
The error was made by the US president on Wednesday when he thanked distant relative and former Irish rugby player Rob Kearney for giving the Irish rugby team a tie as a gift following a victory over the New Zealand rugby team at Soldier Field in Chicago in 2016.
He said, “Look at this shamrock tie I have. It was presented to me by one of these guys who is a fantastic rugby player and who recently defeated the Black and Tans.
The 80-year-old went on to correct himself during the speech in Co Louth on Wednesday – and the White House said it was “very clear” to Irish rugby fans the president was referring to the New Zealand rugby team the All Blacks when he made the mistaken reference.
Asked if he realised his mistake, National Security Council senior director for Europe, Amanda Sloat, said: “It was clear what the president was referring to, it was certainly clear to his cousins sitting next to him.”
However, Mr Biden was criticised on social media, with the incident being described as a “signature gaffe”.
Image: Joe Biden celebrating St Patrick’s Day at the White House this year
White House denies Biden is ‘anti-British’
As he continues his visit in Ireland, we take a look at some of his controversial jokes and reactions to some of his past comments about the island.
He has frequently spoken of his Irish roots and his love for the country – but not all of his light-hearted comments have gone down well in the past.
‘Anyone wearing orange, you’re not welcome in’
When Mr Biden was vice-president in 2015, he made a joke when the then-Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny visited his house in Washington on St Patrick’s Day.
“Anyone wearing orange, you’re not welcome in… only joking,” he said, wearing a green tie as they smiled for a picture.
Orange is the colour associated with the Protestant majority in Northern Ireland, while green is used as a symbol by mostly Catholic Irish nationalists.
The joke, at the expense of the Orange Order, which counts Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) MPs among its number, led to criticism from the DUP and a backlash on social media.
William McCrea, the former DUP representative for South Antrim, said he appreciated that Mr Biden said it was a joke, but called his comments a “slur” and said they were “disgraceful and careless”.
The party called for him to apologise. An official from his office said he made it clear that it was a joke.
‘I may be Irish but I’m not stupid’
The president opened a St Patrick’s Day speech at the White House last year with a joke about his wife Jill, and his Irish heritage.
He said: “Father, before I begin – bless me, Father, for I’m about to sin… I – well, I just want you to know, I may be Irish, but I’m not stupid. I married Dominic Giacoppa’s daughter [Jill Biden’s grandfather] so, you know, I got a little Italian in me now.”
Why the US president’s visit is significant
Some in the audience did laugh, but the off-the-cuff remark referencing his own roots left some unimpressed including Twitter users who shared their incredulity that he would infer that people from Ireland are “stupid”.
The president has repeated this joke on more than one occasion.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player ‘I’m the only Irish who’s never had a drink’
He joked his relatives ‘weren’t really in jail’
More recently, the US leader also joked about his experience meeting distant members of his Irish family.
He told the crowd: “When I went over to Ireland, It was a great experience. I’ve been to Ireland many times, but not to actually look up – to find my actual family members.
“And there are so many – and they actually weren’t in jail.”
Reggie Rockstone, the celebrated Ghanaian Hiplife icon, was pleasantly surprised on his 59th birthday when a group of street kids from his neighborhood gathered to wish him a happy birthday in their unique way.
The excited children had heard about his special day through Reggie’s love for the community, and they seized the opportunity to show their admiration for him.
He shared a heartwarming video on his Instagram, capturing the special moments he shared with his wife and children.
However, the highlight of his day came when he was unexpectedly greeted by a group of enthusiastic street kids from his neighborhood.
While heading towards town with his family, Reggie was swarmed by some street kids from his neighborhood.
The excited kids wished Reggie a happy birthday, which surprised him as he wondered how they knew it was his special day. However, he soon realised that his love for the community had spread the word.
The kids requested a birthday present from their beloved rapper, which amused Reggie greatly. He jokingly asked them if they had forgotten the birthday protocol, where he was supposed to receive a gift.
The kids laughed heartily, and it was clear they were having the time of their lives with their hero. Reggie and his wife were generous, sharing snacks with the kids and adding to the joyous atmosphere. The rapper’s humility and kindness were on full display as he interacted with the kids and made their day memorable.
Reggie Rockstone has been a music icon in Ghana for decades, pioneering the Hiplife genre and inspiring many young musicians. He has also been actively involved in various philanthropic projects, especially those aimed at empowering the youth in his community.
As he signed the visitor’s log, Joe Biden remarks that the Irish president’s official house “looks just like the White House.”
Before presenting the message he left, he writes for a while.
He reads aloud, “As the Irish proverb says, your feet will get you where your heart is.
“I talk about going back to the place where my ancestors lived to celebrate the things that unite Ireland and the United States, and recommit ourselves to peace, equity, and – I think the most Irish of words used in my family was – dignity.”
Looking around, the president says “this is an incredible place”.
“It’s wonderful to be back,” says Mr Biden, on his third visit but his first as president.
Joe Biden meets Irish president
Joe Biden has met the Irish president in Pheonix Park, Dublin.
Arriving at Aras an Uachtarain, he emerged wearing sunglasses and a broad smile as he walked the red carpet to be met by Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabine.
He was taken to the drawing room to meet Tanaiste Micheal Martin and Ireland’s secretary-general to the president, Orla O’Hanrahan
The two presidents are set to have a private meeting for around half an hour, plant a tree in the grounds – as other US leaders have done before Mr Biden – and ring the Peace Bell.
The US premier arrived in the Beast, considered a fortress on wheels, alongside a motorcade.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken and other members of the US delegation accompanied him.
Visit ‘won’t change DUP minds’ on returning to Northern Irish Assembly
Joe Biden’s visit is unlikely to have any impact on getting the Northern Ireland Assembly back up and running, a political expert has said.
Power to restore Stormont lies ultimately “in the hands of the DUP”, who have boycotted it, said research associate at the University of Liverpool, Clare Rice.
Dr Rice said the party is of the opinion that the president’s visit “will not do anything” to “encourage or speed up the rate at which they will take a decision”.
Looking ahead to Mr Biden’s engagements today, she said Mr Biden would likely focus on peace as a way of fostering Irish-American relationships.
She said his speech at Ulster University was largely a success, being “broadly well received right across the community.”
He will likely continue to discuss his own Irish identity, as he has done throughout the visit, said Dr Rice.
Biden to plant tree at president’s home, securing further ‘Irish roots’
By Ashna Hurynag, news correspondent, in Dublin
Almost 60 years since JFK visited the Irish president’s official residence, Joe Biden will do the same – keen to stress he has the most roots in the country of any recent US leader.
In the grounds of Áras an Uachtaráin, Dublin, the trees planted by Kennedy and, most recently, Barack Obama stand tall; all different varieties of Irish Oak.
Today Joe Biden will plant another one in a ceremony with President Michael D Higgins, before ringing the Peace Bell.
The Bell was installed to mark the 10th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in 2008.
Purported major US intelligence leak on Ukraine ‘did not come up’ in meeting with Sunak
Documents posted online purported to be leaked US intelligence on the war in Ukraine were not discussed in talks between Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak.
The White House press secretary said the subject of a major Pentagon investigation “did not come up”.
Among the trove of records, one seen by Sky News alleges that UK special forces were in Ukraine on 1 March 2023.
The Ministry of Defence has previously said there was “a serious level of inaccuracy” in this claim.
Sky News cannot independently verify the documents, and several nations, including Ukraine and Russia, have questioned their veracity.
For context: Documents were published in a chatroom on Discord, a social media platform popular with gamers, labelled as secret Pentagon material on Ukraine.
If accurate, potentially hundreds have been leaked and the US doesn’t know if more will surface as it investigates who is behind the information.
White House responds to Biden’s ‘Black and Tans’ gaffe
The White House has said it was “very clear” to Irish rugby fans that Joe Biden was referring to the All Blacks New Zealand team when he mistakenly referenced “the Black and Tans”.
The president appeared to confuse the name of the team with a War of Independence-era police force in Ireland during a speech yesterday.
Asked if he realised his mistake, National Security Council senior director Amanda Sloat said: “It was clear what the president was referring to, it was certainly clear to his cousins sitting next to him.”
Mr Biden was standing near former Irish rugby international and distant relative Rob Kearney, who was a member of the team that famously beat the All Blacks for the first time in 2016.
The Black and Tans was a name for part-time officers recruited to bolster the Royal Irish Constabulary, many of whom gained a violent reputation.
For context: The president said Rob Kearney was “a hell of a rugby player, and beat the Black and Tans” while speaking in a Co Louth pub.
War in Ukraine ‘high on agenda’ for talks with Irish leaders
The war in Ukraine will be “high on the agenda” when Joe Biden meets with Irish leaders today, a top US official has said.
National Security Council senior director Amanda Sloat said the conflict would be a priority in talks with Irish President Michael D Higgins and Prime Minister Leo Varadkar “given Ireland’s participation in various aspects of US support for Ukraine”.
Ireland has contributed nearly £68m (€77m) in military support for Ukraine, an aid package worth £17.5m (€20m) and another £22m (€25m) in government and business sector assistance as of 31 January, according Micheál Martinto, its minister for foreign affairs.
Ms Sloat said Mr Biden’s address to the Irish parliament will refer to areas of close partnership between both countries and “setting out a shared vision for the future”.
‘Nervousness’ as officials pray Biden sticks to the script in parliament
There is “nervousness” among officials in Ireland at the prospect of another gaffe from the US president, after he appeared to confuse a New Zealand rugby team with a British paramilitary group, said international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn.
They are “hoping he sticks to the script” as he addresses the Irish parliament today following the offhand comment, in which Mr Biden paid tribute to a rugby player for beating the “Black and Tans” rather than the All Blacks, Waghorn said.
He explained a gaffe-free day of diplomacy was important because “it is a particularly sensitive, precarious time, of course, for politics in Northern Ireland”.
Waghorn added: “He’s made a number of those comments which I think have reinforced in the eyes and minds of many in Northern Ireland that he is nationalist, he’s too pro-Irish.”
But Mr Biden made the opposite impression when he went off-cue to talk about his English heritage during a speech to Ulster University yesterday, he said.
Indeed, former UK ambassador to the US Lord Darroch told Sky News that though the president sometimes misspeaks, “I remain convinced that he is a friend of the UK”.
Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald has said it would be wrong to boycott Joe Biden’s address to both houses of the Irish parliament today.
People Before Profit (SPBP), which has five members in the lower house, will boycott the speech over objections to his foreign policy.
Mrs McDonald said she shares concerns about the US record in Iraq and Afghanistan, but stressed that closer to home there “wouldn’t have been a peace process without America”.
On RTE Radio 1’s Morning Ireland programme, she said of SPBP’s decision: “I think that’s the wrong choice.”
Asked if she shared left-wing criticisms of US foreign policy, she said: “I very much doubt that anybody in the American administration is unaware of the wide criticism of many of their foreign policy stances.”
What is the fallout from Biden’s ‘Black and Tans’ gaffe?
He was paying tribute to his distant cousin in a pub, the former Irish rugby international Rob Kearney.
Mr Kearney was a member of the Irish team that famously beat New Zealand’s All Blacks for the first time ever, in a 2016 match played in Chicago
President Biden, who played rugby himself as a student, said that Rob Kearney was “a hell of a rugby player, and beat the Black and Tans”, thus confusing New Zealand’s famous team with the reviled British paramilitary force the Black and Tans, who brutally repressed opponents of British rule during the Irish War of Independence.
Most infamously, the force massacred 14 people and wounded 60 more at a Gaelic football match at Croke Park in Dublin in 1920.
It seemed an obvious slip of the tongue, rather than anything intentional.
It had all been going so well, says Ireland correspondent Stephen Murphy in his full analysis…
Biden to address Irish parliament in first for a US president since peace deal
Joe Biden’s visit to the island of Ireland continues today, south of the border.
The president is in Dublin, where he is expected to address a joint session of the Irish parliament – the first US premier to do so since the Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998.
He will spend most of the day with Irish President Michael D Higgins, who is hosting Mr Biden at his official residence, Aras an Uachtarain.
The pair will take part in a tree-planting ceremony and a ringing of the Peace Bell, first unveiled 15 years ago to mark the 10th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who visited the White House on St Patrick’s Day, will then begin talks with Mr Biden.
But his address to parliament will be the main event today – that’s the first time we’ll hear him speak.
The last president to make a speech in the Irish legislature was Bill Clinton in 1995.
A banquet in Mr Biden’s honour at Dublin Castle will be the last item on his agenda today. He is expected to give a toast.
As you can see, barriers have been erected at the castle and the heavy security operation that has followed the US president on this trip will continue today…
Good morning – here’s the latest
It has been a busy couple of days for President Joe Biden who landed in Belfast on Tuesday evening for the start of a historic four-day visit to Northern Ireland and Ireland.
The visit marks the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement and has seen the US leader, 80, pay homage to his Irish roots.
We’ll be bringing you live updates as the president embarks on another busy day but here is a rundown of the key events from yesterday…
Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak met at the Grand Central Hotel in Belfast;
The US president urged a return to power sharing in Stormont during a speech at Ulster University;
The leader of the DUP insisted Mr Biden’s visit “did not change the political dynamic” in Northern Ireland;
Mr Biden arrived in Co Louth, where his Irish ancestors once lived, and delivered at speech the The Windsor pub – which sits at the centre of Dundalk;
Police said four devices discovered in a cemetery in Londonderry were “viable” pipe bombs.
That’s all for our coverage tonight
We’ll be back tomorrow morning with more updates on Joe Biden’s visit to Northern Ireland and Ireland.
Tomorrow, Mr Biden will meet with Michael D. Higgins, the Irish president.
He will also address the Irish Parliament and is set to attend a banquet dinner at Dublin Castle.
We can expect Biden’s comments to remain more rigidly to script tomorrow
By Stephen Murphy, Ireland correspondent
It had all been going so well.
The serious political business of the day dispensed with, Joe Biden left Belfast and broke for the border.
Arriving for the first day of ancestral exploration in Co Louth, he was taken on a tour of Carlingford Castle, the last sight his great-great-grandfather Owen Finnegan would have seen in 1849 as he sailed away to a new life in America.
The rain sheeted down, the cold was something from the depths of winter. And yet, the 80-year-old president exuded an energy of a much younger man, beaming from beneath his baseball cap as he arrived in Dundalk.
Traditionally a staunchly republican border town, he wound up at a bar improbably called The Windsor.
Here, in relaxed mood, he spoke from the heart, and apparently off the cuff. And that’s where the gaffe came from. He was paying tribute to his distant cousin in the room, the former Irish rugby international Rob Kearney.
Kearney was a member of the Irish team that famously beat New Zealand’s All Blacks for the first time ever, in a 2016 match played in Chicago.
President Biden, who played rugby himself as a student, said that Rob Kearney was “a hell of a rugby player, and beat the Black and Tans”, thus confusing New Zealand’s famous team with the reviled British paramilitary force the Black and Tans, who brutally repressed opponents of British rule during the Irish War of Independence.
Most infamously, the force massacred 14 people and wounded 60 more at a Gaelic football match at Croke Park in Dublin in 1920.
It seemed an obvious slip of the tongue, rather than anything intentional. But here you had a US president often accused by unionists of being rabidly republican, apparently bragging about his family beating the British. In that context, the remark was deeply unfortunate.
President Biden continues on a more familiar political path tomorrow, meeting with the Irish president and prime minister, and addressing the Irish parliament. We can expect his comments there to remain more rigidly to script.
Biden’s visit to Dundalk in pictures
Joe Biden shook hands and took selfies with excited locals in Dundalk as he continued with his four-day visit of Northern Ireland and Ireland today.
Screams and cheers erupted in the town’s main street as the huge presidential motorcade rolled into the Co Louth town on a drizzly, grey and windy Wednesday evening.
Despite the weather, crowds lined the town’s main street to catch a glimpse of the US leader, who wore a navy baseball cap bearing the American flag as he emerged from The Beast.
Mr Biden, whose grandfather James Finnegan was born in Co Louth, spoke fondly of his Irish roots with the owner of a local deli and said it “feels like home” as he spoke to an assembled audience at a pub.
Here, are just a few pictures from the day…
‘Ireland breeds faith and possibilities’
During his speech to assembled crowds earlier, President Joe Biden described how his and former president Barack Obama’s ancestors were shoemakers from Ireland.
He said: “It’s doubtful they knew each other and they came out of the same port but one thing we do know is that they left everything behind
“They had faith. They had faith in an uncertain future. I’m not sure they could have imagined that 175 years later both their great-great grandsons would be presidents of the USA.
“That’s what you breed here. This faith and the possibilities that are out there.”
Peace deal architect praises Biden’s power sharing plea
An architect of the Good Friday Agreement has said Joe Biden struck the tone right in his speech today encouraging a return to power sharing in Northern Ireland.
Jonathan Powell, former chief of staff to Tony Blair, said Mr Biden was right to appeal to keep the peace rather than berate the DUP, which is boycotting the Northern Irish Assembly.
But the address at Ulster University is not going to be what “clinches it” because his visit is not a negotiating one, Mr Powell said.
“It was a symbolic visit, I think it was important he came. I think he struck the right note: He wasn’t bullying anyone, he wasn’t hectoring anyone, he was just appealing to people to keep the peace going, to get back into the institutions,” said Mr Powell.
He said the president looked to the future, rather than the troubled past, and pointed out the benefits of American investment, which will only come with political stability.
Xi Jinping gets unexpected mention in Biden’s pub speech
After reminiscing about his Irish ancestry, Joe Biden’s speech in a pub in the small town of Dundalk takes an unexpected turn towards the geopolitical.
Almost out of nowhere, he brings up Xi Jinping, the Chinese president.
“I’ve spent more time with him than any other world leader has over the last 10 years,” he says.
And then recalls a story….
“I was once on the Tibetan plateau with him,” he says.
“He asked me ‘Can you define America for me?’ and I said ‘Yes I can. One word – possibilities.”
He then says he “believes anything is possible if you set your mind to it”.
Mr Biden also says the world is facing “darkness” but people must keep “marching forward”.
He ends his speech by thanking those who have come to see him and jokes: “The bad news is we will be back.”
‘The best drop of blood in you is Irish’: Biden speaks in pub
“It feels like home,” Joe Biden says as he takes to a podium in a pub in Dundalk.
“When you’re here you wonder why anyone would want to leave, so it’s good to be back.”
He says his grandfather used to tell him “the best drop of blood in you is Irish” to laughs from the crowd gathered inside.
He entertains guests in the pub with tales of his distant Irish relatives and how important the heritage has always been within his family.
“Hope is what beats in the heart of all people, particularly in the heart of the Irish,” he says.
“My message to you today is quite simple: We have to continue to keep the faith.”
He tells the audience we must “face darkness” and work towards a future of “greater dignity”.
The late Johnny Kitagawa, a prominent player in Japan’s entertainment industry, was allegedly responsible for several incidents of sexual abuse of young men, according to charges made public on Wednesday by a former J-pop star trainee.
Singer-songwriter Kauan Okamoto, a Japanese-Brazilian, said during a press conference that Kitagawa, who passed away in 2019 at the age of 87, regularly raped him over the period of four years starting in 2012 when he was 15 years old.
When Okamoto would spend the night at one of Kitagawa’s penthouse homes in Tokyo, often with other young, aspiring musicians who were also represented by Kitagawa’s talent agency, Johnny & Associates, the abuse, according to Okamoto, would take place.
Okamoto made the allegations during a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan Wednesday, saying he was speaking out now in the hope that other alleged victims will come forward.
During his long career, Kitagawa headed Japan’s biggest talent agency and was known for manufacturing popular boy-bands and launching the music and acting careers of teen idols. He was a powerful and influential figure in the media and entertainment industries for decades.
Johnny & Associates released a statement to Japanese public broadcaster NHK in response to the allegations. CNN has also reached out to the company for comment.
“Since the change in management following the death of the former president in 2019, we have developed a trustworthy, highly transparent organizational structure and systems that is in line with the times,” the statement said.
“The entire company will continue to work together to ensure thorough compliance without exception by management and employees, and strengthen the governance system with the cooperation of neutral experts,” it continued, without directly addressing the allegations.
There have been long-standing allegations against Kitagawa. In 1999, Japanese magazine Shukan Bunshun published accounts of other young men and boys who claimed they were sexually abused by Kitagawa. He sued the magazine for libel and was awarded damages, according to local media. A Tokyo High Court partially overturned the earlier decision in 2003, ruling the published sexual abuse claims were not libelous. An appeal brought by Kitagawa was later dismissed by the Supreme Court in 2005.
Kitagawa was never charged over the allegations. He had reportedly denied all accusations when he was alive.
Singer-songwriter Okamoto joined Kitagawa’s agency in February 2012 while he was in junior high school. He became a member of Johnny’s Juniors, a J-pop trainee talent pool set up by Kitagawa for young hopefuls trying to make it in the industry.
Okamoto said Kitagawa would often invite these young recruits to spend the night in his apartment, and pick “favorites” among the boys. He told reporters that when Kitagawa told him “you should go to bed early,” the other Juniors “knew that it was my turn.”
He claims the first time Kitagawa sexually assaulted him was in March 2012. That day work had finished late and he stayed at Kitagawa’s place with other Juniors.
Okamoto said he had heard from other boys that Kitagawa would be “in a very bad mood the next day if you didn’t go to sleep in his room or a room nearby.”
He describes hearing Kitagawa’s slippers approaching his room, pulling off the futon he was sleeping under and lying down next to him.
“He began massaging my feet,” Okamoto said, and alleged that Kitagawa touched his genitals and performed oral sex on him.
Okamoto said the following day Kitagawa gave him 10,000 yen (about US$75) without giving a reason.
By the time Okamoto left Johnny & Associates in 2016, he alleged that he had been assaulted between 15 and 20 times by Kitagawa.
He said he saw between 100 and 200 Juniors rotating in and out of the apartment during the four years he was with the agency, and alleged the majority of them were similarly assaulted by Kitagawa.
“There were things I saw. In some instances it happened right next to me because we were sleeping in the same room. I would say three other members for sure, but to be honest I think that almost everyone fell victim to him because as long as we stayed at his place it would be very rare that someone would be unscathed,” he said, adding that he believes “the majority of the 100 to 200 during my time experienced that.”
For a long time, Okamoto said he couldn’t talk about his experiences.
“There are others… who have decided to stay anonymous. I chose to show my face. But that might change as well. That is the hope that I have,” he said.
Okamoto also alleged that if a boy refused Kitagawa’s advances, their career would be over.
While Kitagawa “would never directly or explicitly mention that if you don’t do so and so, you won’t be a success,” Okamoto said, his favorites would be picked for their debuts as entertainers and receive more opportunities.
“It was a special situation in that someone who would be standing next to Johnny-san would be picked to, for example, act in a TV program or be allowed to form a boyband.”
He said it was “general awareness among everyone” that “you have to be at his place to succeed, so you have to even take the initiative to be at his place.”
Okamoto said he was frustrated that long-standing allegations against Kitagawa had not been taken seriously.
Okamoto said because of Kitagawa, “my life did turn around” but “I also believe what Johnny-san did to me…and to the other Juniors was a bad thing.”
French President Emmanuel Macron might have wanted to concentrate this week on what could end up being the largest domestic test of his leadership, as France’s Constitutional Council gets ready to decide on Friday whether or not he can move through with contentious pension reforms.
Instead, he is now dealing with the international fallout from his recent goodwill visit to China, particularly from remarks that have made him unpopular in both Washington, DC, and with some of his European friends.
Macron spoke with POLITICO Europe on the plane back from Beijing. In it, he responded to a question concerning the possibility of China occupying Taiwan by saying that Europe must not turn into “just America’s followers.”
“The question Europeans need to answer … is it in our interest to accelerate [a crisis] on Taiwan? No. The worse thing would be to think that we Europeans must become followers on this topic and take our cue from the US agenda and a Chinese overreaction,” Macron said, adding that Europe must not get “caught up in crises that are not ours, which prevents it from building its strategic autonomy.”
Strategic autonomy is a Brussels term that refers to the EU having an independent geopolitical policy, which relies in part on the bloc being able to become a third power and not get squashed between the US and China. However, the China hawks, typically in Eastern Europe, have always been skeptical of anything that puts clear water between Europe and the US, who they see as the ultimate protectors of European territory through NATO.
Macron has since attempted to downplay his comments, saying on Wednesday that France was “for the status quo in Taiwan” and that position “has not changed.” But the hawks have already hit back.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said: “Instead of building strategic autonomy from the United States, I propose a strategic partnership with the United States.” Lithuania’s foreign minister tweeted “We are capable of defending Europe without Chinese help. Instead of requesting assistance we should be projecting our strengths.”
Eastern European diplomats have been less subtle. One said that Macron is “simply tone deaf to everything happening in the world. No wonder Macroning has become a synonym of bullshitting without any result.” Another said they “cannot understand” Macron, that his visit to Beijing and remarks on Taiwan were “not helpful” and that Europe should engage with countries that “value democracy and the rule of law” over China.
Macron’s trip was further undermined when Beijing performed military rehearses encircling Taiwan the day after he left China.
European diplomats and officials say that while Macron doesn’t speak for Europe and that the 27 EU member states have all agreed on an approach to China, they are aware that his comments – and, they believe, attempts to present himself as the EU’s leader – could cause Europe real problems with the US, particularly in terms of European security.
And they’d be correct. Multiple US government sources told CNN that while they are aware that Macron indeed doesn’t speak for all of Europe, they are concerned that his words make it much harder to make the case for a strong transatlantic alliance to lawmakers in DC.
Case in point: Florida Senator Marco Rubio posted on Twitter shortly after Macron’s comments were published, suggesting that if Macron “speaks for Europe” then maybe the US should focus on its objectives and let “you guys handle Ukraine and Europe.”
The US government sources said Macron’s comments would only add to the skepticism some Republican lawmakers have about open-ended financial support to Ukraine, and fear the remarks could even contribute to a decision to block or curtail such funding. Worse, the sources also fear it could disrupt NATO unity – which has been remarkably strong since the start of the Ukraine crisis – if countries start unilaterally undermining the priorities of others.
A European government official who was at NATO headquarters for a meeting last week said there was broad agreement among the allies, including France, that Taiwan and security in the Indo-Pacific region was of crucial importance to the alliance. They were surprised to see Macron’s comments so soon after that meeting.
For all that Macron’s comments could be put down to a president under pressure at home doing things on the world stage to create a distraction, his comments on Taiwan have done real damage to the fragile transatlantic relationship.
It might not have been his intention, but Macron’s comments have come at a yet unknown cost. And meanwhile, at home, he still faces a serious political crisis.
His proposal to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64, which was pushed through parliament without a vote, caused violent protests and nationwide strikes.
The reforms include other cost-cutting measures and are, Macron’s government says, essential in preventing the pension system from collapsing. Social reforms like this were central to his 2022 re-election campaign. If they are blocked by the Constitutional Council, it will be a huge embarrassment for Macron.
“Even if he gets his way, even if he sacks his prime minister, Macron has taken a huge political hit and it’s hard to see how there won’t be even more protests,” says Aurelien Mondon, senior lecturer in politics at the University of Bath. “He has always wanted to lead as the all-powerful, sole leader of France. Whatever goes wrong, it’s on him.”
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