Kumawood actor Michael Afranie appeared on the Delay Show, detailing reasons for his move to join the National Democratic Party (NDC).
Narrating his family history, Michael Afranie revealed that his father was a staunch New Patriotic Party (NPP) member, while his mother was for the NDC.
He said he saw the light and quickly joined the NDC. And since, he has never regretted his decision.
Michael Afranie, known for his roles in ‘Obaapa Nisuo’ and ‘The Mighty’, has been vocal about his political affiliations.
He explained his decision to convert from NPP to NDC on the Delay Show. According to him, he is forever indebted to John Mahama and the NDC.
The big love I have for John Mahama made me join NDC. I saw that the people loved each other when I joined NDC because how they console you in times of trouble shows that they have love.
Michael Afranie described the NPP as a miserly group that finds it hard to help each other.
I was an NPP member from 1992 until I saw the light. When I was with NPP, I was in the dark.
According to Michael Afranie, former president John Mahama gifted him a Hyundai i10. But his other car, a Mitsubishi, was acquired through a loan scheme from the ministry under the NDC government.
Ghanaian actor, television personality, and comedianAkwasi Boadi, popularly known asAkrobeto, entertained fans through his adventurous spirit during the Easter festivities.
The actor took on the challenge of paragliding in Kwahu, a popular destination for holidaymakers during the Easter period, while dressed in his signature two-piece suit.
Paragliding is an adventure sport that involves flying a lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure.
Instead, the pilot is suspended below the wing by a harness and controls the direction of flight by manipulating the lines that are attached to the canopy.
Paragliding has become a popular activity in Ghana in recent years, with Kwahu being one of the most popular locations for enthusiasts.
The Kwahu Easter festival is a major attraction, with thousands of people flocking to the area to participate in various activities, including paragliding.
Akrobeto, who is known for his comedic acts on television, surprised netizens and onlookers when he decided to take on the challenge of paragliding while dressed in a two-piece suit.
The actor looked confident and unafraid as he soared through the skies, waving to his fans and shouting out in excitement.
Elikem Kumordzie, a renowned Ghanaian fashion designer and former Big Brother Africa participant, and his partner are excitedly anticipating the arrival of their second child.
The couple recently made an appearance together at Kojo Soboh’s birthday bash, the executive director of Emy Africa, causing a stir with their fashion choices.
In an Instagram post shared by blogger Nkonkonsa, the duo’s fashion ensemble was nothing short of spectacular, as they both exuded a simple yet elegant appearance.
The post showcased the expectant mother donning a striking black see-through netted top, decorated with silver sparkly designs that highlighted her baby bump.
She matched this with a pair of coffee brown pants and black flats, creating a chic and effortless look.
On the other hand, Elikem’s outfit featured a two-piece attire in black, adorned with white spotted designs, which perfectly complemented his partner’s outfit.
The couple appeared to relish each other’s company as they socialized and mingled with guests during the birthday festivities.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has encouraged all Parliamentary candidate hopefuls of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to remain steadfast in their support to the party despite the outcome of the party’s upcoming primaries.
In the event of failing to obtain their goal, the NDC presidential candidate assured that positions such as Ambassadors, District Chief Executives (DCEs) among others, will be up for grabs to failed candidates should the NDC win the 2024 polls, per reports.
Speaking to Asuogyaman NDC delegates as part of his tour of the Eastern Region on Tuesday, April 11, 2022, he suggested that those who would abandon the party would not be considered in the next NDC administration.
“If your party is in government, there is a lot of work you can do. So if it is not yet your time and we elect someone else, just support the person.”
“Because if God opens opportunities for us in future, the assistance you showed is the same assistance you would receive. It is your time to get appointed. So do not make a mistake to shift sides,” he said per campaign videos monitored by The Independent Ghana.
“It is not only the MP that we have, if we come to power we have board chairmen, we have Ambassadors, DCEs, and a lot of appointments and so if you don’t become an MP you will get an appointment,” Mr Mahama is also quoted to have said by TV3 news.
According to the 64-year-old, it is imperative that aspirants in the Parliament contest battle it out with transparency and decency.
The former President on the other hand offered job opportunities to the unemployed party supporters he engaged, explaining that it would serve as a reward for their “sacrifices” for the party.
He noted that it is high time their hardwork and dedication to the party pay off.
“We will help you with employment opportunities. We will help you to set up your own businesses so that you can look after yourself. We will seek the welfare of our party people. We will no longer expect that you only sacrifice so that other people enjoy it. The opportunities Ghanaians enjoy, are party executives and cadres must also enjoy,” he promised.
On Day 1 of his 3-day tour of the Eastern Region, Mr John Mahama engaged delegates of Lower Manya, Yilo Krobo, Aburi, Akuropong and Okere. He is expected to visit 33 constituencies.
From the Eastern Region, Mr Mahama will spend a day touring some constituencies in the Greater Accra Region on Friday April 14, before heading out to the Oti Region.
Assin Central MP, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, says fellow flagbearer hopeful, Alan Kyerematen, has paid his dues and is well deserving of becoming the next flagbearer of the
fellow flag bearer aspirant Alan Kyerematen is deserving of the slot by virtue of his toils for the party.
Mr Agyapong told Sompa FM in the Kumasi metropolis that Mr Kyerematen has paid his dues to the party and, thus, deserves to be the flag bearer.
In is view, if people are arguing that Dr Bawumia deserves to be the flag bearer because he has been the Vice President for two terms, then Mr Kyerematen is even more deserving of that privilege.
“Yes, if Alan says it’s his turn, he deserves it because he has been in the trenches with the party from its inception as the president of the Young Executives Forum (YEF) which was the financial wing of the NPP in the early days”, Mr Agyapong noted.
He wondered: “Where were all these small boys who have been insulting Alan, when he was in the trenches working for the NPP”.
It has emerged that one of the three newly appointed Electoral Commissioners(EC) in the person Dr Appiahene is a devout card-bearing member of the New Patriotic Party.
Dr Appiahene reportedly held over 13 different positions in the NPP and its youth wing organisation before his recent appointment at the EC. List of all the positions Dr Appiahene has held in the NPP from his supposed CV.
“This is the CV prepared by the man himself (Dr Appiahene), I’m just reading aspects of it. ‘Political position held and service to the NPP’, that is how he titles it.”
1. Member of the 2022 Bono Regional Election Committee 2. Bono Regional IT Director for Election 2020 3. Bono Regional D-day Coordinator for Elections 2020 4. Member of the National Research and Data Analysis Team for Election 2020. 5. Regional Collation Officer representing NPP at the Bono EC office 6. Regional Collation Officer for NPP Internal Collation for Election 2020 7. Member of the Bono Regional Communications Team 8. Member of Let My Vote Count Alliance. 9. Organised training for all Bono Constituency D-Day Coordinators and Parliamentary Candidates, Chairmen and Secretaries for the 2020 Elections. 10. Organised training for all Bono Constituency IT coordinators and Polling Station Executives for Elections 2020. 11. Funding Member of UENR (University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani)TESCON 12. Patron of UENR TESCON 13. TESCON Member of the University of Education, Winneba
Background:
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Monday, March 20, 2023, swore-in three new members of the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC) at the Jubilee House.
The three new members of the EC, Dr. Peter Appiahene, Hajia Salima Ahmed Tijani, and Reverend Akua Ofori Boateng, are expected to serve in their new roles until the end of the 2024 elections and are replacements for members of the commission who recently retired.
Akufo-Addo has been heavily criticized for the appointment because some of the appointees are said to be known members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
The president is being particularly berated for the appointment of Dr. Peter Appiahene, who is said to be a patron of TESCON, the tertiary education branch of the NPP and Salima Ahmed Tijani, whose family relations are leading members of the NPP.
Mifepristone, an abortion drug, has had its US approval revoked, a move that may further disrupt millions of people’s access to reproductive healthcare.
An injunction directing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prevent its clearance while a lawsuit contesting its safety is ongoing was signed by District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, a Trump administration appointment in Amarillo, Texas.
He supported Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian organization that filed a lawsuit contending that the drug’s regulation was inadequate, in part.
He did not go as far as the complainants wanted, but he put a “stay” or hold on approval of the drug.
The judge’s decision does not come into effect for seven days. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice has announced it will appeal the ruling.
In a statement, President Joe Biden said: “My administration will fight this ruling…
“Let’s be clear – the only way to stop those who are committed to taking away women’s rights and freedoms in every state is to elect a Congress who will pass a law restoring Roe versus Wade.
“Vice President [Kamala] Harris and I will continue to lead the fight to protect a woman’s right to an abortion, and to make her own decisions about her own health.”
A legal stand-off
Mifepristone blocks the hormone needed to maintain a pregnancy and has been approved in the US since 2000 for medical abortion and miscarriage management.
It is used safely in more than 60 countries worldwide and when taken together with the drug misoprostol, accounts for more than half of abortions in America.
Some abortion providers have said they will wait for guidance from the FDA before implementing the ban on mifepristone.
In a separate ruling in Washington state on Friday night, a judge said the FDA must keep medication abortion drugs available in at least 12 liberal states, creating a legal stand-off on the drug, which is likely to escalate to the Supreme Court.
‘Ludicrous’ to question drug ‘safer than ibuprofen’
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player ‘This is a dangerous precedent’
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists says the Texas lawsuit disregards “decades of data” that supports the efficacy of mifepristone, and is “exacerbating the current abortion care crisis in the US”.
Dr Razel Remen, an abortion provider in Michigan, told Sky News: “Mifepristone is literally one of the safest medications on the market – safer than ibuprofen, safer than Tylenol.
“People are more likely to have an adverse event happen to them driving in their car, or going through childbirth… The fact that it’s even being put into question is absolutely ludicrous.”
Angel, who is 24 and lives in Texas, had an abortion using the drug in February.
She was already a mother of three, and decided to terminate her recent pregnancy because she did not want any more children.
Angel says the attempted ban on mifepristone is “another attack on a woman’s right to choose”.
“You can do it at home… it’s convenient, it’s easy, it’s safe… I just don’t understand how something could be right for so many years. And then one day, all of a sudden, be wrong.”
Pills have become the new frontier in the battle for abortion access since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade– the constitutional right to abortion – in June 2022.
Many people trying to access abortion in severely restricted states are ordering pills in the post, or travelling across state lines to pick them up.
As abortion clinics have already been shuttered in Texas, Angel had to acquire the pills through underground methods.
“It’s nearly impossible to get an abortion here,” she said. “You can’t go to the pharmacy. You can’t go to a Planned Parenthood. No clinics… nothing… If you find it, it’s like a blessing.”
‘Outrageous injustice’
Now, with mifepristone access in jeopardy, pro-choice campaigners fear that getting an abortion in America has become even harder to navigate.
“What’s clear is that we need all forms of abortion in this country, and we need them all to be legal,” Elisa Wells, co-founder of the organisation Plan C, tells us.
Her organisation provides information and support to women searching for abortion access in every state.
“This injustice is being done by manipulating the court system to try and ban this medication… It’s really outrageous,” Ms Wells said.
“We are a modern democracy, and we need access to basic medical care in every part of our country, legally and without restriction – and that includes abortion.”
There are alternatives to mifepristone for those still trying to access medical abortion.
Some doctors have been anticipating the ruling, and plan to move to a misoprostol-only option. They say that method is still safe, but it has the potential for more side effects and increased discomfort.
This decision marks yet another controversial legal battle over abortion access in America, which has the potential to wind up back in the Supreme Court.
A man has denied sending Angela Rayner, the deputy leader of Labour, an insulting email.
David Perry appeared in Westminster Magistrates’ Court and entered a not guilty plea to two Communications Act charges.
One alleges the message was “grossly offensive” and the other that it was “indecent, obscene or menacing”.
The 66-year-old defendant from Weybridge in Surrey was charged last month by Greater Manchester Police for allegedly sending the email to the Ashton-under-Lyne MP.
The court heard he will say he did not send the email after telling police his computer might have been hacked.
Perry has been granted unconditional bail ahead of his trial at the same court on 16 November.
The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison, and other members of the economic management team are currently in Washington, D.C., to deliberate on Ghana’s pending request at theInternational Monetary Fund.
The meeting is crucial to determining Ghana’s next step with the Fund.
Ghana is currently seeking a $3 billion financial bailout from the International Monetary Fund to help the country solve its balance of payment issues and the current economic crisis.
The team is attending the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings as an all-important opportunity for Ghana to make its case and secure a deal for the country.
In addition to meetings with the IMF and World Bank management, the Ghanaian delegation is also expected to hold talks with commercial, bilateral, and multilateral creditors at the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings.
Ghana also needs to fast-track its moves to get IMF Board approval since it could not secure board approval by the March deadline.
The US president, Joseph Biden, is scheduled to arrive in Ireland and Northern Ireland today to begin his trip.The visit, which commemorates the signing of the Good Friday Agreement 25 years ago, will draw the largest police presence in over a decade.
Speaking hours after a petrol bomb attack on Easter Monday in Londonderry, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said officials were aware of the “recent violence” and that the president was “grateful” for the work of the security forces in Northern Ireland to keep people safe.
Asked again if there are any concerns about the president’s safety during the trip, Mr Kirby said: “You know we don’t ever talk about security requirements, protecting the president.
“But the president is more than comfortable making this trip and he’s very excited to do it.”
During the attack at an Easter parade on Monday, petrol bombs were thrown at an armoured police Land Rover while officers attended what they described as an “unnotified” march by dissident republicans.
Officers condemned the attack as “senseless and reckless”.
MI5 raised the terror threat in Northern Ireland to “severe” at the end of last month, meaning an attack is highly likely.
What are Biden’s family ties to Ireland?
Joe Biden has often spoken proudly of his Irish roots, and the Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar has said his visit this week is about “welcoming a son of Ireland home”.
The US president – who is among 32 million people in the US with Irish heritage – can trace his ancestry to opposite sides of the island.
His great-great-grandfather Owen Finnegan emigrated to the US from the Cooley peninsula of Co Louth in eastern Ireland.
Another great-great-grandfather, Patrick Blewitt, was born in western Ireland – in the town of Ballina, Co Mayo.
He left during the Irish famine of autumn 1850 to settle in the US.
Distant Irish relatives toasted to the US president’s 2020 election win and celebrated his inauguration in January 2021.
Air Force One takes off
The US president’s plane, Air Force One, has begun its flight to Belfast.
The journey should take approximately six to seven hours, with Joe Biden expected to touch down between 9pm and 10pm.
Rishi Sunak is expected to greet the US leader on the runway.
Mr Biden will spend half a day in the Northern Irish capital tomorrow before going to Ulster University to mark the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
Joe Biden boards plane headed for Northern Ireland
Joe Biden has boarded a plane in the United States headed for Belfast.
Asked on the runway what his top priority was for the trip, the president said: “Make sure the Irish accords and the Windsor agreement stay in place; keep the peace. That’s the main thing.”
He said two of his family members will accompany him on the visit.
‘To have someone Irish in power is very cool’: Pride and Irish dancing in Joe Biden’s childhood hometown
Joe Biden spent his childhood in Scranton, a town in Pennsylvania where his Irish ancestors settled.
The town is twinned with Ballina, in Ireland’s Co Mayo, and has a strong Irish-American community.
US correspondent James Matthews speaks to people in the town ahead of Mr Biden’s trip…
An island on high readiness – and high alert
By Stephen Murphy, Ireland correspondent
In rural Co Louth, the clattering of heavy military helicopters breaks the quiet of a sleepy Easter weekend.
Two US Army Chinooks accompany a pair of the famous “white tops”, the Sikorsky Sea Kings in presidential green-and-white livery, as they swoop down to land on a GAA pitch.
One of the Sea Kings will be known as Marine One when it lands here again with a distinguished guest on Wednesday. But not yet.
Across the nearby border, the Police Service of Northern Ireland is drafting in an extra 300 officers from other UK forces to help with a major security operation.
Against the background of an increased terror threat level (put by MI5 at “severe”), there is intelligence that dissident republicans may mount a “spectacular” – an attack against police while the US president is in town.
Motorists gawp on the M2 as armoured American vehicles arrive, including the presidential “roadrunner” communications truck.
In Dublin, a flight of four Chinooks thundering overhead causes a football game to pause. They’ve arrived from US bases in Europe, via Cardiff, and are now en route to the Irish military air base at Baldonnel.
And across the country, in Ballina, Co Mayo, on the Atlantic Coast, the manhole covers are being sealed. There’s a newly renamed Biden’s Coffee Corner to caffeinate the visitors, and the town’s mural of its most famous son will greet him before he makes his homecoming address, at a cathedral built with bricks supplied by his great-great-great-grandfather.
Yes, it’s hard to miss the impending arrival of Joe Biden, with the awesome logistical machinery of a US presidential visit highly visible as early as a week before his arrival. Ireland is ready. Northern Ireland is ready.
All eyes will now be on this most Irish of American presidents to see how he shapes a visit billed here as the ultimate homecoming.
‘Home again’: The many US presidents who have visited Ireland
The island of Ireland – especially the Republic – has a rich history of welcoming US presidents.
John F Kennedy once referred to his Irish visit in 1963 as “the best four days of his life”. It came just months before his assassination.
Richard Nixon‘s official state visit to Ireland in 1970 has often been called “the forgotten visit”. It was considered poor timing, as many people in Ireland opposed the war in Vietnam.
Ronald Reagan, who had Irish ancestry, visited Ireland in 1984. During a speech to the Irish parliament, he said his feelings could be summarised as “home, home again”.
Bill Clinton made history by becoming the first US president to visit Northern Ireland in 1995, with the aim of encouraging the peace process.
He visited again in 2000 on a farewell trip as his presidential term came to an end.
George W Bush visited Northern Ireland in 2003 to hold talks over the political process in the country and the war in Iraq.
He also made a flying visit to Ireland in 2004 for an EU-US summit that was marked by anti-war protests.
Barack Obama visited his family roots in the tiny village of Moneygall in Ireland in 2011 – and also made a stirring speech in Dublin.
In 2013, he travelled to Northern Ireland with his family to attend the G8 summit.
Donald Trump declared that he “loves the Irish” within minutes of touching down at Shannon Airport in Ireland in 2019. But there was an awkward moment as he compared the Irish border situation with a US-Mexico “wall” – with Leo Varadkar, the Irish PM, having to hastily interject.
Biden ‘more than comfortable’ visiting Northern Ireland despite threat of violence
Joe Biden is “very much looking forward” to his visit and is not concerned about threats of violence, the White House has said.
Speaking hours after a petrol bomb attack on Easter Monday in Londonderry, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said officials were aware of the “recent violence” and that the president was “grateful” for the work of the security forces in Northern Ireland to keep people safe.
Asked again if there are any concerns about the president’s safety during the trip, Mr Kirby said: “You know we don’t ever talk about security requirements, protecting the president.
“But the president is more than comfortable making this trip and he’s very excited to do it.”
During the attack at an Easter parade on Monday, petrol bombs were thrown at an armoured police Land Rover while officers attended what they described as an “unnotified” march by dissident republicans.
Officers condemned the attack as “senseless and reckless”.
MI5 raised the terror threat in Northern Ireland to “severe” at the end of last month, meaning an attack is highly likely.
Read more on what that means below…
Policing operation around Biden’s visit is biggest in a decade – but how much will it cost?
The policing operation around Joe Biden’s visit to Northern Ireland will be the biggest in nearly a decade – and it’s set to cost around £7m.
Around 300 officers from other parts of the UK will travel to the area to help police a series of events to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
The US president and Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, will both fly in this evening, Assistant Chief Constable Chris Todd of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said.
The force is hoping to “maintain business as usual” while delivering “safe and secure events”.
It will be a “significant operation” of a size not surpassed since Northern Ireland hosted the G8 summit in 2013, Mr Todd added.
He said “elements of the operation will actually be more impactful than we saw then”.
“In terms of the number of movements of protected persons and vehicle escorts… it’s a very significant operation.”
Police have been planning for the arrival of the US leader for several weeks and are “prepared for all the various contingencies”, Mr Todd said.
But although it’s a high-profile visit, he said, the “style and tone” of policing will remain “community focused”.
Mr Todd said the PSNI would initially shoulder the £7m cost but would look to “recover costs as best we possibly can” in the future.
What is the Good Friday Agreement?
Joe Biden is marking the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland this week.
The US president is in Belfast over the next couple of days to mark the “tremendous progress” made since the deal was signed.
The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) was a deal signed with the aim of ending three decades of violence in Northern Ireland, known as the Troubles, which started in the late 1960s.
What were the Troubles?
After the partition of Ireland in the 1920s – which granted independence to the majority of the island while keeping the northern part in the UK – divisions remained between republicans who wanted a united Ireland and unionists who favoured political union with Britain.
Divisions erupted into conflict in the late 1960s, and more than 3,600 people were killed over the next 30 years.
How did the conflict end?
Multiparty talks began in the late 1990s and though they came close to collapse several times, they resulted in a peace deal being reached on 10 April 1998 – which was Good Friday that year.
The deal was ratified by voters in both Northern Ireland and the republic in May 1998.
What did the agreement say?
Through the deal, Northern Ireland’s multiple identities were officially recognised – meaning it was the birth right of residents to identify as British, Irish or both.
It also formed a new government in Northern Ireland representing both unionists and nationalists in order to foster cooperation between the two communities.
The GFA recognised that Northern Ireland is part of the UK, but that it could unite with Ireland if a majority of people in both the north and the republic vote in favour of it.
Hello and welcome to our live blog
Joe Biden is set to kick off his four-day trip to Northern Ireland and Ireland today.
The visit marks the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.
He will first travel to Belfast in Northern Ireland for two days to mark the “tremendous progress” made since the signing of the historic treaty.
Rishi Sunak, the prime minister, will fly into Northern Ireland this evening, and the pair will be involved in “a number of events” tomorrow.
Mr Biden will then travel to Ireland from 12 April to 14 April, where he is expected to visit Dublin, Co Mayo and Co Louth.
We’ll be bringing you all the latest updates throughout the president’s trip.
Many of the over 50 classified documents that appeared on social media networks days after the Pentagon declared it was looking into the leak, are still accessible on Twitter.
Before making their way to more popular websites like Twitter and other platforms like Telegram, images of the hacked documents first appeared on a social media site called Discord weeks ago and went mostly unreported.
The fact that these documents sat undetected for so long and in some cases continue to circulate online underscores the limited authority the US government has to force social media companies to remove content, even classified materials that threaten national security. It also highlights the subjective enforcement of those companies’ policies that determine what content does and doesn’t belong on their sites.
“This all underscores that the notion that platforms are neutral is absolutely bogus,” said Justin Sherman, founder and CEO of Global Cyber Strategies, a DC-based research and advisory firm. “Doing nothing is still a decision, and platforms have to make judgment calls about what they want to allow on their platforms.”
In Twitter’s case, the classified material appears to have fallen through a policy loophole. The posting of classified US military documents would likely not be a violation of Twitter’s hacked materials policy, a former Twitter employee told CNN, “because there isn’t credible evidence establishing the likelihood of a technical hack or intrusion as the source of the materials.”
Twitter’s content moderation policy allows for the platform to label tweets that share potentially doctored materials, but the team responsible for producing such labels has been gutted under Elon Musk, the former employee told CNN, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid retaliation by Musk.
“The fact that Twitter is unresponsive to questions about this at a time when Musk says he’s interested in public trust does not inspire a lot of confidence,” Eddie Perez, a former Twitter executive focused on product safety, told CNN.
Twitter’s personnel issues have only exacerbated its inability to respond to the classified information incident, Sherman said.
“Twitter has been a content moderation dumpster fire since Elon Musk took over and fired or pushed out or caused people to quit in large numbers,” he said, “and there is basically nobody left paying attention to many of these issues.”
Twitter did not respond to a request for comment. Musk broached the issue in a tweet last week, saying sarcastically: “Yeah, you can totally delete things from the Internet – that works perfectly and doesn’t draw attention to whatever you were trying to hide at all.”
Without additional information from outside sources such as government or intelligence officials, tech companies will struggle to proactively respond to classified material, said Katie Harbath, a former Facebook official who helped lead the company’s global election efforts until 2021.
“There’s the hack part, the leak part, and the classified part,” Harbath said. “There’s all those different components. No company alone is going to be able to determine every single one of those without help.”
Like Twitter, Discord does not appear to have a specific policy against posting classified information. It has roughly two dozen other policies in its community guidelines, including bans on “illegal behavior,” conduct that infringes on others’ “intellectual property or other rights,” and spreading false or misleading information.
On Discord, content resides on community-managed chatrooms known as “servers.” The basic structure of the platform can make it easier for illegal content to linger in niche corners compared to more centralized platforms.
That structure also arguably made it easier for the sensitive classified documents to slip under the radar for weeks.
In 2022, the shooter who killed 10 people in a Buffalo, New York, grocery store posted racist screeds and memes to a private Discord server before embarking on his rampage, but Discord did not learn of or remove the content until after the killing spree and once the shooter began sharing links to the private server to his followers.
The classified documents’ murky origins weren’t just an issue for the platforms.
“Most [Discord] users distributed the files because they thought they were fake at first,” one Discord user who followed the initial flurry of postings of classified documents told CNN. “By the time they were confirmed as legitimate, they were already all over Twitter and other platforms,” said the user, who spoke to CNN on the condition of anonymity.
A Discord spokesperson said in an emailed statement that the company is “cooperating with law enforcement” in response to the “to the apparent breach of classified material.”
“When we are made aware of content that violates our policies, our Safety team investigates and takes the appropriate action, including banning users, shutting down servers, and engaging with law enforcement,” the Discord spokesperson said.
Discord has grown more popular in recent years and now claims 150 million active users, many of them avid video gamers.
Austin Berglas, a former senior FBI official, said the FBI is likely looking to obtain information on which Discord users were administering the chat rooms where the documents appeared and the users that posted the documents.
It is unclear whether the US government warned social media platforms to be on alert for posts containing the specific classified information, and it is uncertain how the government could have done so without divulging the fact of the compromise or the contents of the documents to a wide range of otherwise unauthorized individuals.
“In a scenario where you identify and expect a platform to remove leaked classified documents, you’re asking that company to do classified document verification,” said Sherman. “That is not something your average moderator, especially for these companies that farm out their content moderation to people in low-resource countries that they underpay, are going to be able to do.”
Beyond the difficulty of verifying whether the content is authentic, there is also the issue of whether posts have intrinsic public interest value. In the past, some platforms have used that defense to justify hosting content that otherwise might violate their policies, including social media posts by Donald Trump.
The challenges involving US-based social media companies such as Twitter and Discord become even thornier when the platform is based outside of the United States, experts said.
“Good luck getting any of this removed from Telegram,” said Sherman, referring to a social media platform with operations outside of the US.
The world economy is entering a “perilous phase” of low economic growth and high financial risk, the International Monetary Fund has warned in its latest set of assessments.
The IMF, which is holding its spring meetings in Washington this week, downgraded its outlook for global growth and said its medium-term forecast for the economic output was now at the weakest level since the fund began publishing these forecasts in 1990.
However, its chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas added that there were also more severe risks in prospect.
He said: “We are… entering a perilous phase during which economic growth remains low by historical standards and financial risks have risen, yet inflation has not yet decisively turned the corner.”
“Below the surface,” he added, “turbulence is building, and the situation is quite fragile, as the recent bout of banking instability reminded us.
“Inflation is much stickier than anticipated even a few months ago. While global inflation has declined, that reflects mostly the sharp reversal in energy and food prices. But core inflation, excluding the volatile energy and food components, has not yet peaked in many countries.”
This cocktail of factors prompted the IMF to cut its forecast for global economic growth by 0.1 percentage points this year and next, to 2.8% and 3% respectively.
A spokesman for Hampshire Constabulary said: ‘We were called at 6.36am this morning following the death of a woman in International Way, Southampton.
‘Police remain on scene and enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances of the death.
‘A 52-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in custody at this time.
‘We encourage anyone with information to please not speculate on the circumstances online, and to provide all information to police in the first instance.’
One neighbour said he heard a ‘loud banging’ and thought ‘something dodgy’ had happened.
He said: ‘I can’t believe what happened. It’s just horrible.
‘Lots of people have their kids around here, and I myself moved into the building only three months ago.’
Another neighbour, a mum of two, said: ‘It’s so sad to be woken up to something like this.
‘I don’t know what happened to her, but I hope her family are doing okay.’
The UK is set to be one of the worst performing major economies in the world this year, according to a forecast.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says the UK economy’s performance in 2023 will be the worst of the G7 richest nations.
But it now also sees it as the worst performing of the wider G20 group, which includes sanctions-hit Russia.
It now predicts the UK economy will shrink by 0.3% in 2023, before growing by 1% next year.
It comes as the world economy continues to recover from the energy and pandemic shocks.
But the IMF now fears a “rocky road” from pockets of fragility in the global financial system since a series of bank failures around the world.
The IMF had already forecast that the UK would experience a mild downturn this year and be bottom of the pile of the G7 group of major nations, which it topped last year during the pandemic rebound.
The G7 group is made up of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the US and UK.
While many forecasters think the chances of a recession are declining, the IMF still predicts the UK will shrink this year, alongside Germany.
The IMF also released a forecast for all the world’s economies, which showed the UK is predicted to be the worst performing of the wider G20 group of countries, which includes India, China and Russia.
IMF researchers recently pointed to Britain’s exposure to high gas prices, rising interest rates and a sluggish trade performance as reasons for the slowdown.
The new forecasts come against the backdrop of a world economy that continues to recover from both the pandemic and the Ukraine war energy shock.
But the body said there were concerns about the wider impact of recent fragility in global banking markets.
In March, Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse was taken over by its rival UBS. A number of US banks had already gone under earlier in the month, sparking fears of another financial crisis.
The IMF now expects global growth to fall from 3.4% in 2022 to 2.8% in 2023, before rising slowly and settling at 3% in five years’ time.
But it warned that if there is more stress in the financial sector, global growth could weaken further this year.
Rate predicted to fall
Separately, the IMF said it expects real interest rates – which take into account inflation – in major economies to fall to pre-pandemic levels because of low productivity and ageing populations.
Central banks in the UK, the US, Europe and other nations have been increasing interest rates to combat the rate of price rises, otherwise known as inflation.
In the UK, inflation is at its highest for nearly 40 years because of rising energy prices and soaring food costs. In response, the Bank of England has been raising interest rates, and last month increased them to 4.25%.
However, in a blog the IMF said that “recent increases in real interest rates are likely to be temporary”.
It added “When inflation is brought back under control, advanced economies’ central banks are likely to ease monetary policy and bring real interest rates back towards pre-pandemic levels.”
The IMF did not say, however, exactly when interest rates were set to fall back to lower levels.
Over the Easter holiday, two adolescent girls were raped in Buckinghamshire.
The victims were attacked on Saturday while they were walking along a canal towpath close to Park Street in Aylesbury.
Between 9.30 and 10.10 o’clock in the evening, there was a sexual assault.
In Bedfordshire, a 17-year-old male has been detained on suspicion of two offences of rape. He was granted police bail and freed.
Specialized cops are helping the girls.
Police have launched an investigation and are appealing for information from the public.
Detective Sergeant Thomas Booth, based at Aylesbury police station, said: ‘This is a concerning incident but I would like to reassure the community that we are carrying out a thorough investigation.’
He added: ‘Members of the public may see an increased police presence while we continue to investigate and I would advise anyone with concerns to please speak to one of our officers.
‘Anyone with any information relating to this incident should come forward.
‘Also I would ask anyone who has CCTV, a dash-cam or a video doorbell to please check their footage and get in touch if it shows anything that could assist our enquiries.’
A group of young men from Pakistan stand poised and prepared to represent their nation on a well-kept soccer field in Qatar. These young men are not from wealthy families or play on a typical football team.
They participated in the Street Child World Cup involving 28 teams from 24 countries. It was a football tournament for street-connected children facing adversity. The competition took place ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
The team trained in Muslim Hand’s Sports Academy in Mirpur, Pakistan – Sallam Atif Shafiq
“Street Child World Cup is for those children who have a lot of talent but don’t have the facilities to play,” explains Tufail, a 17-year-old football player from Landi Kotal in Pakistan.
‘Homelessness, poverty, and neglect’
International Islamic charity Muslim Hands sponsored and travelled with the Pakistan team to Qatar’s capital city, Doha. The charity’s regional Executive Manager, Muhammad Suleman, says that many children in Pakistan suffer from homelessness, poverty, and neglect.
“In Pakistan, more than 22 million children are out of school, and more than 7.5 million children are on the streets,” Muhammad Suleman tells SCENES. “We engage these children through our mechanism of 17 academies all over Pakistan. We engage them through football,” he adds.
Pakistan team trained for many months in preparation for the tournament – Sallam Atif Shafiq
‘I love football.’
The charity views football as essential to improving children’s mental and physical health. Sahil Gul, a 17-year-old football player from Punjab, Pakistan, says football has a special connection to his heart. “I love football; I feel restless when I don’t play. It’s the kind of sport that cheers me up if I am upset,” he says.
The team began training over a year ago after a series of nationwide football trials. “Our coach, Mr Rasheed, took us under his wing and trained us well. He taught us how to play football professionally and stressed the importance of unity and brotherhood,” says Suhil.
Head Coach Muhammad Rasheed says the team are strong in faith, skill and mind – Sallam Atif Shafiq
Muhammad Rasheed is the Head Coach of the team and is a former national football player. Muhammad told SCENES that Muslim Hands provides young footballers with accommodation, mentorship, equipment and food. “These are street children, so in addition to football, we look into their everyday behaviour and teach them how to improve their lives,” he says.
The tournament was held in Qatar Foundation’s Education Education City on the outskirts of Doha. Travelling outside of Pakistan was a new experience for the boys, and they were excited to represent their country.
‘Every player’s dream’
“This is every player’s dream. Every Pakistani football player wishes to wear the Pakistani colour and to represent Pakistan,” says Suhail. “I’m thrilled that I was among the people who got to represent Pakistan. There are so many people in Pakistan; out of all of them, only ten got to go. And I was among those ten.” adds Tufail.
The Pakistan boys team battled hard against Sudan at the Street Child World Cup in Doha, Qatar – Anthony Geagea
The team won their first three matches against Sudan, Qatar and Bosnia and Herzegovina and then faced Tanzania in the quarter-final. “The competition went very well. In the quarter-final, we won by two goals. And then we qualified for the semifinal,” explains Tufail.
The Pakistan team replicated their previous triumphs and secured a spot in the final against Egypt. The fierce competition between the two teams resulted in an intense penalty shoot-out, and a crowd gathered to cheer on both sides. However, victory escaped Pakistan in the game’s last minutes, and Egypt emerged as the ultimate champions.
Members of the Pakistani team pose for a photo with other national teams at the Street Child World Cup in Doha, Qatar – Gregory Ward
‘A voice for children in Pakistan’
“I am extremely proud of these boys. I know that when they return to Pakistan, they are heroes,” says Muhammad Suleman from Muslim Hands. “This team is a voice for children in Pakistan who are at risk, a voice for the millions of children out of school and those living on the streets,” he adds.
Despite being unable to secure the top spot, Sahil hopes that the team’s performance will inspire other street-connected children in Pakistan living in poverty. “My message to people is, never stop working hard and never lose courage. Keep your passion above all else and never lose it,” he says.
Team Pakistan won the hearts of the crowds watching in Doha, Qatar – Gregory Ward
Team Pakistan’s journey in the Street Child World Cup was extraordinary. They demonstrated true grit and determination. The team may not have won the tournament, but it undoubtedly won the hearts of the crowds watching in Qatar.
Ramadan is a busy time for the charity Many Hands, as they continue to support the football player’s well-being and financial needs. They also work around the clock to provide food and shelter for street children across Pakistan.
Just after attending an Easter Sunday service, a worshiper was stabbed outside of a church.
Yesterday, just before 11 a.m., an attack took place in front of St. Stephen’s Church in Sneinton, Nottinghamshire.
They claim that a fellow churchgoer followed them outside and stabbed them in the abdomen.
According to the Telegraph, the victim was a regular attendee of the church and the suspect, who is 20 years old, is said to have gone there two or three times before.
When the victim was being brought to the hospital and having surgery, the suspected attacker was taken into custody.
His injuries are not currently believed to be life-threatening.
Lynda Blakeley, curate at St Stephen’s Church, said: ‘All I can say is that our thoughts and prayers are with everybody affected by this very difficult situation.’
Officers from Nottinghamshire Police were called to the church at around 10.50am after reports of a serious assault.
Police said the attack is not currently believed to be a hate crime and that the suspect remains in custody. They are appealing for witnesses.
DCI Mark Dickson, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: ‘Officers were called to Dale Street, Sneinton on April 9 following reports of a serious assault.
‘Police arrested a 20-year-old man shortly after the incident on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and he remains in custody.
‘An investigation has since been launched to establish what happened and, despite the large police presence in the area, I’d like to reassure the public that there is no wider threat to the community.’
The General Secretary of the Ghana Federation of Labour, Abraham Koomson, has bemoaned the “numerous” taxes Ghanaians have to pay.
He said that the finance minister, Ken Ofori-Atta and by extension, the government is confused about how to run the economy because there are already about 17 taxes.
His comment comes on the back of the passage of the three revenue bills; Excise Duty, Growth and Sustainability Levy, and Income Amendment Bills. Something he says will add to the excruciating burden the ordinary Ghanaian is already going through.
“This government, they are confused especially the finance minister who doesn’t know what he is doing. Already, about seventeen taxes are being paid, we have import duty which is 5%, import VAT of 15%, processing fee, ECOWAS Levy, Network Charge VAT, Network Charge Covid-19 levy, Health, Ghana’s Shippers Authority SNF fee, Import National Health Insurance, Network Charge National Health Insurance, IRS Tax deposit, Special Import Levy…
“Seventeen taxes are being paid before these three new ones so we don’t need taxes again,” he was quoted by 3news.com.
Reacting further, Mr Koomson said the Federation of Labour has tried unsuccessfully to have an audience with the finance minister after they got wind of the new taxes.
“Fortunately for us, we got wind of these new taxes that Ofori-Atta wanted to impose on us so we petitioned Parliament through the Speaker dated 3rd February 2023. GUTA also petitioned, AGI petitioned, to the extent that AGI even gave recommendations, they wanted engagements with Finance Committee of Parliament… the Food and Beverages Association of Ghana also petitioned, we even followed up, we went to parliament to meet the leadership there, for the speaker we couldn’t access him, we went there several times but he was involved in other things so we couldn’t access him. “Our problem now is that the taxes that we are paying, if they are not being applied well that is the situation that we will find ourselves in because we know that going to IMF comes with so many implications,” he told Moro Awudu.
He also added that these taxes must be put to good use, especially when the country is looking to secure some support from the International Money Fund.
“Our problem now is that the taxes that we are paying, if they are not being applied well that is the situation that we will find ourselves in because we know that going to IMF comes with so many implications,” he said.
According to Friday’s report by Russian state news outlet Tass, journalist Evan Gershkovich officially denied the allegations after being prosecuted by Russia’s Federal Security Service.
Tass quoted an unnamed source as saying, “He categorically refuted all the allegations and indicated that he was involved in journalistic activities in Russia.”
It was not immediately clear if Gershkovich, 31, was charged in a court hearing.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was detained in Russia on March 30 (Picture: Getty Images)
Gershkovich is the first US journalist to be detained in Russia, on March 30, on espionage charges since the end of the Cold War. US President Joe Biden the next day called on Russia to ‘let him go’.
The Kremlin said that Gershkovich was engaging in espionage ‘under the cover’ of being a journalist. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claims Gershkovich was caught trying to get away with secrets.
Meanwhile, the Journal has called the arrest of its ‘trusted and dedicated reporter’ a ‘vicious affront to a free press’ that ‘should spur outrage in all free people and governments throughout the world’.
If convicted, Gershkovich could face 20 years behind bars.
On Friday, Senate Democratic Majority Leader Charles Schumer and Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in a rare joint statement called on Russia to immediately release Gershkovich.
‘We strongly condemn the wrongful detention of US citizen and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, and demand the immediate release of this internationally known and respected independent journalist,’ wrote Schumer and McConnell.
They noted that the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs accredited Gershkovich to work as a journalist in the country.
‘Let there be no mistake: journalism is not a crime,’ stated Schumer and McConnell stated.
‘We demand the baseless, fabricated charges against Mr Gershkovich be dropped and he be immediately released and reiterate our condemnation of the Russian government’s continued attempts to intimidate, repress, and punish independent journalists and civil society voices.’
Earlier this week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Gershkovich was ‘wrongfully detained’ and that the US agency was evaluating if that determination could be made formally.
A US Army sergeant who was convicted of killing a US Air Force veteran taking part in a Black Lives Matter demonstration in 2020 is being sought out for pardon, according to the governor of Texas.
On Friday, Sgt. Daniel Perry, a soldier assigned to Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, was found guilty of murdering Garrett Foster during the demonstrations that followed George Floyd’s passing in June 2020.
Yet Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared he was already looking to pardon the gunman before Perry was even given a sentence.
‘Texas has one of the strongest “Stand Your Ground” laws of self-defense that cannot be nullified by a jury or a progressive District Attorney,’ Abbott said in a message posted on Twitter.
Perry was working as an Uber driver in Austin, about 70 miles from Fort Hood. At that point in time, protesters had been taking to the streets for weeks in the Texas capitol after George Floyd’s death on May 25, 2020.
The confrontation between Perry and Foster took place after the Army sergeant drove his car towards a crowd of protesters. Among the crowd was Foster, who was carrying an AK-47 rifle.
Perry rolled down his car window and shot Foster four times with a revolver. The Army sergeant then drove away as another protester fired back at his car.
Perry called 911 himself to report the shooting. He told investigators that he feared for his life because Foster was pointing his rifle at him.
Foster was rushed to the hospital, where he died from his gunshot wounds.
David Fugitt, the Austin Police Department homicide detective that investigated the case, did not arrest Perry after the shooting, agreeing with his claims of self-defense.
He later submitted an affidavit to District Judge Cliff Brown claiming Travis County District Attorney José Garza’s office pressured to present less exonerating evidence to the grand jury tasked with reviewing the case against Perry.
Attorneys for Perry tried to use Fugitt’s affidavit to get the case thrown out, but Judge Brown denied the motion.
The defense then focused proving Perry acted in self-defense. Texas’s ‘Stand Your Ground’ law protects people who shoot others in self-defense, but it makes an exception ‘if the actor provoked the other’s use or attempted use of unlawful force,’ according the the state’s Penal Code.
According to Perry’s attorneys, Foster pointed his AK-47 at the Army sergeant after his car drove towards the group of protesters.
‘That’s when I got my weapon and pulled the trigger as fast as I could, and then drove away and called 911,’ Perry told an investigator in a videotaped interrogation immediately after the shooting.
However, prosecutors were able to produce multiple witnesses who testified under oath that Foster never raised his rifle at Perry.
Prosecutors argued that Perry sought out a confrontation with protesters, and pointed to social media posts and messages he sent in the days leading up to the shooting.
‘I might have to kill a few people on my way to work, they are rioting outside my apartment complex,’ reads one post from June 2020.
‘I might go to Dallas to shoot looters,’ Perry texted a friend around the same time. ‘I wonder if they will let me cut off the ears of people who decide to commit suicide by me.’
The jury deliberated over the course of two days before returning their verdict. Perry was found guilty of murder, and not guilty of assault with a deadly weapon – a charge related to driving his car toward protesters, on Friday, April 7.
Whitney Mitchell, Foster’s fiancée, was seen silently crying in the courtroom as the guilty verdict was read by the jury foreman.
‘We’re happy with the verdict,’ Foster’s father told reporters after the hearing on Friday. ‘We’re very sorry for his family as well because there’s no winners in this.’
Perry’s attorney stated that his client intended to appeal the conviction. His sentencing was scheduled for Tuesday, April 11.
But before a sentence could be handed down, Texas Governor Greg Abbott stated that he intended to pardon Perry.
Governor Abbott said that he cannot issue a pardon before the state Board of Pardons and Paroles reviews the case, but he asked them to expedite their decision for Perry’s case.
‘I look forward to approving the board’s pardon recommendation as soon as it hits my desk,’ the governor said in a statement posted on Twitter on Sunday.
District Attorney Garza said that the governor’s announcement was ‘deeply troubling.’
‘In our legal system, a jury that gets to decide whether a defendant is guilty or innocent – not the Governor,’ Garza said in a letter released on Sunday.
Television show host Deloris Frimpong Manso (Delay) has named her top five active celebrity fathers in Ghana with Kwaw Kese, Sarkodie, Reggie Rockstone, Okyeame Kwame, and Abedi Pele making the list.
In the 8th April 2023 edition of The Delay Show, she mentioned that although some celebrities flood various social media platforms with pictures of their families that suggest they are caring and responsible, it may not be a true reflection.
According to her, the five aforementioned names are fathers she has observed for a while and knows they actually are supportive and responsible.
“It’s not just about posting photographs on social media. It entails a lot,” she emitted in her introduction before listing her top five celebrity fathers.
“5th is Kwaw Kese. Beyond his ‘madness’, he’s a family man. He takes his children to school together with his wife. He’s shown he is a very responsible father who makes fatherhood attractive.
“4th is Sarkodie. He is famous but still has time for his family. Despite his busy schedule, he travels with his kids, especially his daughter, and takes good care of her. We’re proud of him,” Delay said.
She continued: “Reggie Rockstone is next. The history of Hiplife cannot be told within his input. Regardless of his level of fame, he prepares and sells waakye with his wife, and takes them to school; indeed, he is very active.
“2nd is Okyeame Kwame. I know Okyeame Kwame personally. He would take his children to school and bring them back home when they close. He assists them with assignments, is concerned about what they wear. He’s a very present father.
“Top on the list is Abedi Pele. I’d say he’s the best father in Ghana; he is my number one father. He is very hardworking. He is always there for his children even at his age. He shows up when his children are signing deals abroad. He has taken care of his children and now, the Black Stars is on their shoulders,” said Delay who was proud of the exhibition of love.
Kwaw Kese is married to Doris Nana Pokuah Kyei Baffour. They tied the knot in 2016 after his first marriage with American national, Ann, ended in 2014. The rapper has three children: Van Ewurabena Botwe, Docilla Nana Hemaa Botchwey, and Sean Sahyoun.
Sarkodie and his wife Tracy have two children – Titi and MJ. Reggie Rockstone is married to Dr. Zilla Limann, the daughter of Dr. Hilla Limann. They have a son and two daughters – Ricci, Zuzu, and Renji-Zaida.
Married to Annica Nsiah-Apau, rapper Okyeame Kwame has two children. They are Sir Kwame Nsiah Bota and Shanti Antwiwaa Nsia Apau.
Abedi Ayew Pele has four children – three sons and a daughter. They are Ibrahim Ayew, Andre Ayew, Jordan Ayew, and Imani Ayew.
Rising bills and prices are forcing many people to borrow more or leaving them struggling to repay their debts.
Spending more than you can afford can be caused by a number of factors and is usually due to our daily lives and situations that many of us face.
Living paycheck to paycheck can leave you in a precarious position when faced with a large bill or unexpected payments. Poor money management can cause you to pay off your debt before it hits you.
Debt affects a person financially, emotionally, mentally, and physically. This can lead to anxiety, depression, and mental health problems. The following steps will help you manage your personal debt during a time of high living costs.
Understand your debt
Bad debt habits can harm your financial health and prevent you from reaching your goals. Your ability to make smart debt choices means you know when it makes sense to borrow.
Depending on how you use it, debt can help or hurt your financial future. If you borrow money wisely, debt can be a valuable tool to help you manage expenses over time, but if you use debt carelessly, it can threaten your financial future.
I encourage all of us to make smart decisions when it comes to borrowing money, especially if it can help you set current or future financial goals.
Taking on too much debt or borrowing money just because you have it may not be the best decision.
Reduce your personal expenses
Cutting unnecessary expenses is an important part of getting out of debt. Look at your regular expenses and determine which are essential (such as food, housing, and allowances) and which are non-essential (such as entertainment or clothing). Cutting back on your unnecessary expenses can give you extra money to pay off debt.
It’s important to know where your money goes by writing down what you spend during the week so you can track your spending and be more frugal.
It’s important to create a budget that tracks both your income and your expenses and gives you a clearer picture of how money comes in and goes out, helping you assess your financial habits over time to see what patterns emerge.
Plan a repayment strategy
Plan your repayment strategy by determining which debt you need to pay off first, rather than putting extra money toward any debt.
Most people target their smallest amount of debt first, not high-interest debt. It is important to note that you prioritize debt payments over other expenses.
Remember, before you focus on getting out of debt, you need to make sure your basic living expenses are covered.
Pay your debts on time
Time management and debt management often go hand in hand, as paying things when they are due often helps you avoid things like late fees and extra interest fees.
It is important to note that late payments can affect your ability to borrow money in the future and result in a bad credit history.
Consider setting up alerts to remind you when your payments are due or to let you know if you’re eligible for direct debit. Paying your bills on time can be considered one of the most important factors in managing your financial life.
It is important to note that some companies and services charge a late fee just a few minutes after payment. It’s important to avoid late fees, as they can make it difficult to manage an already tight budget.
Contact a financial advisor
Meeting with a financial advisor can help you understand all of your options for getting out of debt, as well as create long-term strategies for building wealth and managing risk.
A financial advisor will guide you in choosing the best strategies for your situation.
They can support you in monitoring, managing and rebalancing your investment portfolio and provide useful advice on many other financial matters and decisions.
DISCLAIMER: Independentghana.com will not be liable for any inaccuracies contained in this article. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author’s, and do not reflect those of The Independent Ghana
The Office of the Vice President has refuted claims that Dr Mahamudu Bawumia recently said “there are jobs everywhere” in the country.
Dr Bawumia’s Office said the Vice President never said that hence, the claim is false.
The Office has therefore demanded that the media house, Multimedia Group, retracts and delete quotes attributed to Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia and contained in its story about some 2.1 million jobs created by the current administration and the supposed joblessness during the era of National Democratic Congress (NDC).
The Office in a response issued and signed by Dr. Gideon Boako, also wants that the media house apologise for misquoting and misrepresenting the Vice President.
The statement noted that the demand being made on Multimedia is to ensure that persons who have not had access to the full address of the Vice President are not misled.
Subsidiaries of Multimedia, MyJoyOnline.com and Joy News, had reported that the Vice President claimed in an address at Kwahu Mpraeso that the NPP had created some 2.1 million jobs and quoted him to back the report. But the Office of the Vice President says he did not say” These days there are jobs everywhere,” and therefore wants a retraction, a deletion and an apology.
Read full statement below:
The attention of the Office of the Vice President has been drawn to a quote in a myjoyonline.com news report titled: “We’ve created 2.1m jobs unlike the NDC who created unemployment – Dr. Bawumia”, which was published on Saturday, April 7, 2023.
The story quoted Dr. Bawumia as saying: “During the NDC administration, there were no jobs, they created unemployment instead of employment, BUT THESE DAYS THERE ARE JOBS EVERYWHERE.”
The Office of the Vice President wishes to state for the record that portions of the quote were fabricated, as nowhere in the Vice President’s address at Mpraeso did he say, “These days there are jobs everywhere,” as was reported by myjoyonline.com and shared by its social media handles.
The Office finds it strange that comments he did not utter, found their way into the story and were attributed to him in a direct quote.
The misrepresentation is still highlighted on some social media platforms of multimedia such as Joy News.
We have been compelled to set the records straight, as many unsuspecting readers may not have the benefit of the full address of the Vice President’s address. We ask that a media house of the stature of Joyfm retract and delete the fabricated quotes and apologize for what can only be described as unprofessional conduct on the part of some of its employees who engaged in this fabrication.
The Office of the Vice President has asked the Multimedia Group to retract and apologise for what it says are fabricated remarks by the latter attributed to the Vice President.
Myjoyonline.com, a subsidiary of the Group had published a story claiming that Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia had said the current government has created some 2.1 million jobs since assuming office.
The story further said Dr Bawumia had also stated that “there are jobs everywhere.” However, Dr Bawumia’s office says the Vice President never said that.
The office in a response issued and signed by Dr. Gideon Boako, also wants that the media house apologise for misquoting and misrepresenting the Vice President.
The statement noted that the demand being made on Multimedia is to ensure that persons who have not had access to the full address of the Vice President are not misled.
Subsidiaries of Multimedia, myjoyonline.com and Joy News, had reported that the Vice President claimed in an address at Kwahu Mpraeso that the NPP had created some 2.1 million jobs and quoted him to back the report. But the Office of the Vice President says he did not say” These days there are jobs everywhere,” and therefore wants a retraction, a deletion and an apology.
Read full statement below:
The attention of the Office of the Vice President has been drawn to a quote in a myjoyonline.com news report titled: “We’ve created 2.1m jobs unlike the NDC who created unemployment – Dr. Bawumia”, which was published on Saturday, April 7, 2023.
The story quoted Dr. Bawumia as saying: “During the NDC administration, there were no jobs, they created unemployment instead of employment, BUT THESE DAYS THERE ARE JOBS EVERYWHERE.”
The Office of the Vice President wishes to state for the record that portions of the quote were fabricated, as nowhere in the Vice President’s address at Mpraeso did he say, “These days there are jobs everywhere,” as was reported by myjoyonline.com and shared by its social media handles.
The Office finds it strange that comments he did not utter, found their way into the story and were attributed to him in a direct quote.
The misrepresentation is still highlighted on some social media platforms of multimedia such as Joy News.
We have been compelled to set the records straight, as many unsuspecting readers may not have the benefit of the full address of the Vice President’s address. We ask that a media house of the stature of Joyfm retract and delete the fabricated quotes and apologize for what can only be described as unprofessional conduct on the part of some of its employees who engaged in this fabrication.
Media personality, Maame Yeboah Asiedu, who doubles as a preacher has said that she is quick to heed the voice of the Lord anytime He directs her to make a big move.
The former employee of Despite Media has disclosed that it was in one of these instances that God instructed her to quit her job and move to Multimedia Group.
“I am somebody who listens to the voice of the Lord. Have you ever wondered why I left Peace FM and UTV for Adom TV? It was based on directions. Yes, I had a few hitches here and there but it was something I had to pray over and when I did, it was clear that I should move.
“Truly, it was at Multimedia that I was able to establish my gospel ministry, I had the urge and the opportunity to do it at the new place…I had nothing, it has been God since day one,” Maame Yeboah disclosed in an interview with Zionfelix in April 2023.
On her account, the media transfer proved beneficial by paving the way to grow her gospel ministry as a preacher, a decision she hasn’t regretted.
“I enrolled at the law school but I couldn’t complete it because the Lord instructed me to stop…he knew that wasn’t my path, I was just winding,” she added.
At the White House Easter Egg Roll, President Joseph Biden casually announced he would be seeking reelection in 2024.
Al Roker, co-host of NBC’s Today show, questioned Biden on the South Lawn on Monday morning about whether he would continue to participate in Easter Egg Rolls beyond 2024.
Biden stated, “I plan on, at least three or four more Easter Egg Rolls.” “Maybe five. maybe six, who cares!
Roker asked Biden to ‘help a brother out, make some news for me’.
‘I plan on running, Al,’ Biden replied. ‘But we’re not ready to announce yet.’
It was not the first time that Biden, 80, has said he plans on launching a 2024 bid. He has said for months that he plans to pursue a second term.
He stood next to First Lady Jill Biden, who in late February had given one of the clearest indications that her husband would be running.
‘How many times does he have to say it for you to believe it?’ the first lady told AP at the time. ‘He says he’s not done. He’s not finished what he’s started. And that’s what’s important.’
She added that there was ‘pretty much’ nothing left to do but decide on a time and place for his announcement.
Top White House advisers are working on the final decisions on launching Biden’s re-election campaign, several unnamed sources told NBC News on Monday. However, Biden has reportedly been delaying his announcement past the timelines his team has set.
One longtime adviser told NBC News that Biden’s delaying preserves the option for him not to run.
Biden’s planned announcement hangs as no major Democratic challenger has emerged. In addition, his predecessor Donald Trump has been on headlines across the world with his indictment in a hush money case last week. Trump’s campaign has said they have received more than $12million in donations since his indictment.
At the Easter Egg Roll, Biden made brief remarks to more than 30,000 guests partaking in the festivities and said what he has often uttered.
‘Anything’s possible in America if we remember who we are and we do it together,’ he said.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has doubled down on its plea to wealthier nations to support Ghana and other weaker economies to help such countries extricate themselves from the shackles of debt.
The call also comes at a time when the fund has seen a $1. 6 billion shortfalls in its funding in the face of the seemingly global economic crises where funding to debt-distressed countries was at its highest.
Speaking ahead of the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, Kristalina Georgieva, the
IMF’s Managing Director said the fund and wealthier countries needed to make it easier for vulnerable ones to restructure their debts to help minimise the effects of the debt crises on lives and livelihoods of their people.
Developed economies must also commit more resources to the fund’s Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) – a concessionary lending window for low-income countries (LICs) – to help strengthen the global response to debt vulnerabilities, Ms Georgieva said in a curtain raiser speech before the meetings that opened yesterday, Monday, April 10.
Ghana’s case
The one-week meetings in Washington D.C. in the United States of America (USA) come off at a time when Low-Income Countries (LICs) are battling extreme debt pressures worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Ghana, with a debt stock of GH$575.7 billion in November last year, is one of more than 10 LICs in debt distress.
The country defaulted in servicing its debt last year and is now working with bilateral creditors to restructure their component to be able to earn a US$3 billion IMF assistance to help slow down inflation, prop up the currency and return the economy to the path of growth.
Although discussions with some bilateral creditors under the G20 Common Framework are underway, talks with China, which holds US$1.9 billion of Ghana’s debts have dragged, fuelling doubts over the country’s ability to secure a package before May.
Costly delays
The IMF MD said such delays to debt restructuring requests were costly to the countries and the global economy in general, hence the need for additional support from wealthier countries for these “weakest members of our global family.”
“I wish to make a double plea on their behalf: help them to handle the burden of their debts, which has been made so much harder by the shocks of the past years; and secondly, help ensure that the IMF continues to be in a position to support them in the years ahead. Start with debt”, she pleaded.
About 15 per cent of low-income countries are already in debt distress and another 45 per cent face high debt vulnerabilities. And about a quarter of emerging economies are at high risk and facing “default-like” borrowing spreads.
This has raised concerns over a potential wave of debt restructuring requests—and how to handle them at a time when current restructuring cases are facing costly delays, Zambia being the most recent example,” she said.
Zambia started its debt restructuring in December 2022 but the inability to reach a consensus with China largely means that the process is yet to be concluded.
Stronger support
Beyond this, Ms Georgieva said the IMF needed more resources from wealthier nations “to bolster the IMF’s capacity to help our poorest member countries.”
“To support them, we have increased our interest-free lending more than four-fold to US$24 billion since the beginning of the pandemic. Now, we are urgently calling on our wealthier members to help address fundraising shortfalls in our PRGT,” she said.
In April 2020, the fund disbursed US$1 billion to Ghana under its Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) of the PRGT to fight the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects.
It said earlier this year that increased demand by countries hit by the twin effects of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine meant that the PRGT faced funding shortly of about US$1.6 billion.
As a result, Ms Georgieva said support from wealthier nations was critical to ensure that the IMF can continue to provide vital support and help catalyse financing from others.
“It is now more important than ever to step up cooperation—to strengthen the ropes that tie us together—on this issue and the full range of economic challenges, we face. Only then can we climb these hills together.
Growth
The IMF MD said global growth was also headed for the weakest since 1990.
She said as the debt pressures surged, the growth prospects remained subdued with the fund’s latest estimates showing that the global economy would grow below three per cent in the next five years.
“This makes it even harder to reduce poverty, heal the economic scars of the COVID-19 crisis and provide new and better opportunities for all,” Ms Georgieva said.
Ghanaian actor, Mawuli Gavor, and his wife, Remya, have been spotted attending the event with their newborn baby in tow.
The event, which was attended by numerous high-profile personalities in the entertainment industry, was held in Accra.
Mawuli and Remya brought their infant in a detached baby stroller, and the new parents looked delighted to be showing off their little one to their colleagues at the party.
Remya, who wore a chic ensemble consisting of black pants and a flowery top, followed her husband and greeted the guests.
Mawuli took advantage of the event to introduce his bouncing baby to Elikem and his partner, who are also expecting their second child, resulting in a lovely moment between the two couples.
Mawuli and Remya had earlier announced their pregnancy news on Mawuli’s birthday, March 22, through a heartwarming Instagram post.
In the post, Mawuli shared images of himself and his wife cradling her belly, with Remya wearing a blue dress and Mawuli dressed in a white kaftan.
Tommy, also known as Thomas Elliott, was a senior vice president at Old National Bank and was 63 years old.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear referred to Elliott as ‘one of my closest friends’ when speaking to the press at the scene of the shooting.
‘Tommy Elliott helped me build my law career, helped me become governor,’ Beshear said. ‘He gave me advice on being a good dad. He’s one of the people I talk to most in the world, and very rarely are we talking about my job. He was an incredible friend.’
The governor also noted that another friend was injured in the shootout, and he maintained deep ties to the downtown Louisville building.
‘My AG campaign was out of that building. I know virtually everyone in it. That’s my bank.’
James Tutt, 64, was a market executive for the bank’s southern region.
Joshua Barrick, 40, was a senior vice president in the bank’s commercial real estate group.
Juliana Farmer, 45, was a commercial loan specialist.
Additionally, another nine victims were hospitalized after the shooting. This included two police officers, one of whom was critically injured.
The officer was identified as Officer Nickolas Wilt, a 26-year-old rookie cop who only just graduated from the police academy less than two weeks before the massacre.
‘Just graduated from the police academy on March 31. I just swore him in, and his family was there to witness his journey to become a police officer,’ LMPD Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel.
According to the police chief, Wilt was struck by a bullet in the head. He was rushed to University of Louisville Hospital, where he underwent brain surgery.
Wilt is currently out of surgery but still in critical condition. ‘The next few days are important and very critical for Nickolas’s recovery,’ Chief Gwinn-Villaroel.
The shooting took place at around 8.30am on Monday morning, less than a half hour before the Louisville branch opened for the week. The victims were all taking part in a morning meeting.
The shooter, later identified as 23-year-old Connor Sturgeon, was an employee of Old National. He was killed by police responding to the attack.
Sturgeon was a recent graduate of the University of Alabama, where he received a masters in finance in 2020. He spent three summers interning at Old National from 2018 through 2020, before starting as a full-time employee in 2021.
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has justified again its financing of the budget post Covid-19, saying, failure to do so will have spelt doom for the economy.
Before Covid-19 struck, the Central Bank between 2015 and 2020 had a policy of zero financing of the budget.
However, that changed right after Covid-19 when government was struggling to raise enough revenue.
Speaking at the University of Ghana 75th Anniversary Public Lecture on “Ghana’s Economic; The need for Paradigm Shift”, Director of Research at the Bank of Ghana, Dr Philip Abradu-Otoo said the Bank of Ghana had no choice but to save the economy from collapsing.
“So the Central Bank’s point of view, we realised we needed an economy to protect. So there were choices that had to be made, should we allow the economy to collapse or we should stick strictly to issues of fiscal dominance and then who picks up the pieces after the economy has collapsed”.
“But that financing that we did in 2022 went mainly to deal with investors; domestic investors whose bonds had matured and government needed to pay these bonds and for which government had no resources”, he explained further.
Dr Abradu-Otoo added that the Bank of Ghana stepped in as a lender of last resort as it always does to protect the financial sector.
“Hundred per cent of that amount [BoG financing] was due to domestic bonds that had matured for which we had to step in to save these domestic investors. And that is where this fiscal dominance issue came in”.
“So yes, it came in but we did that to save domestic investors”, he concluded.
The United Kingdom has included Ghana, Nigeria, Angola, and Cameroon among 54 countries that should not be actively targeted for recruitment by health and social care employers.
This announcement was made by the UK government in its revised code of practice for international recruitment of health and social care personnel in England, which was published on the NHS Employers website.
The code states that some developing countries, such as Ghana, should not be targeted when actively recruiting health or care professionals.
The countries placed on the red list of ‘No active recruitment’ under the code are Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Liberia.
Other countries are Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Federated States of Micronesia, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Samoa, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Republic of Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Titled: “Code of Practice red and amber list of countries,” the UK Government said the list is based upon the World Health Organisation Workforce Support and Safeguard List, 2023 and will be updated alongside progress reports on WHO Global Code implementation and reported to the World Health Assembly every three years.
The countries listed have a UHC Service Coverage Index that is lower than 50 and a density of doctors, nurses and midwives that is below the global median (48.6 per 10,000 population).
The code applies to the appointment of all international health and social care personnel in the UK, including all permanent, temporary, and locum staff in clinical and non-clinical settings.
The code stated that being on the list doesn’t prevent individual health and social care personnel from independently applying to health and social care employers for employment in the UK, of their own accord and without being targeted by a third party, such as a recruitment agency or employer (known as a direct application).
It defined active international recruitment in the code as the process by which UK health and social care employers (including local authorities), contracting bodies, recruitment organisations, agencies, collaborations, and sub-contractors target individuals to market UK employment opportunities, with the intention of recruiting to a role in the UK health or social care sector. It includes both physical or virtual targeting, and whether or not these actions lead to substantive employment.
This includes but is not limited to allied health professionals, care workers, dentists, doctors, healthcare scientists, medical staff, midwives, nursing staff, residential and domiciliary care workers, social workers, and support staff.
It will be recalled that in March this year, the WHO included Ghana and 54 other countries on its Health Workforce Support and Safeguards List 2023.
The global health body stated that the countries face the most pressing health workforce challenges related to universal health coverage.
“In particular, these countries have: 1) a density of doctors, nurses and midwives below the global median (i.e., 49 per 10 000 population); and 2) a universal health coverage service coverage index below a certain threshold,” WHO said in the report released March 8.
“To account for the disruptions caused to health services by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the effects on health worker mobility and migration, the threshold for the universal health coverage service coverage index for the WHO health workforce support and safeguards list 2023 has been increased from 50 (the value used for the 2020 list) to 55.”
A total of 37 countries were listed under the African Region category, including Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Gabon.
Others were Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Togo, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.”
However, Yul and his first wife, May, are yet to make a public statement after the death of their son, Kambilichukwu.
Earlier on March 30, 16-year-old Kambilichukwu reportedly collapsed while playing football and died in the hospital.
Read some reactions below:
gleo143: “The guy must be going through a lot. May God console him and his family. May we never bury our children in Jesus Name. Let’s keep the family in our prayers.”
oluchijuliajideuno: “Why delete them now? The damage has already been done. Polygamy never ends well. Even if Judy isn’t diabolical,there will still be problems. You can’t never live in peace with someone who cheated on you with your husband. Each time you see her,you will remember.”
its_lovinainam: “He did not delete… Let him getoutttt.”
iam_holufuntor: “Don’t fall for his drama. He’s not showing any remorse. I believe Judy para for him so he kukuma deleted all. That man is a”
thrift_nighty.more: “Chai May God heal their broken hearts. It’s well with May and Yul, it’s not easy at all.”
hildamerryheart: “Omo, grief is a terrible thing”
kadibya: “The man is grieving, the kind thing to do would be to let him be.”
The Ghana National Gas Company (GNGC) has announced completion of the maintenance work on the Atuabo plant effectively ending the recent load management exercise being carried out by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
A statement issued late Friday, April 7, 2023, signed by Head of Corporate Communications of GNGC, Ernest Kofi Owusu Bempah Bonsu, indicated, “the entire maintenance activities ended in the late hours of Wednesday 5th April ,2023”.
“We are currently at a flow rate of 90 mmscfd,” the statement added.
The release further extended appreciation to the general public for their patience and cooperation during the period of shutdown.
It was a sight to behold in the in Upper West Akim Constituency when about 92 communities converged to hold the Adom Easter Gala 2023.
Adeiso-Anchiase XI, one of the teams that participated in the competition carried the day after it defeated Okurase Zongo XI and took the ultimate prize of GHS 10,000.
The team entered the record books of Upper West Akim on Monday, April 10, after beating its opponent by a goal, to win the two-week competition.
The first runner-up also got GhS 5,000, while the third-place team, Breman FC bagged GhS 3,000.
Anchiase goalkeeper, Evans Apreku was crowned the Best Goalkeeper and the Player Of The Tournament following his impressive performance.
He walked away with an Itel 32 inch LED Tv and gloves.
Bashiru Tanko of Breman FC also went home with an electric blender for emerging as the top-scorer.
His run of excellent helped the former champions to finish third.
The competition which is dubbed “Adom Easter GALA” started on Sunday, March 26 and ended on Monday, April 10.
About 92 communities within the constituency competed for the ultimate.
This is the fifth edition of the annual event organised by the MP.
In attendance were DCE for the area, Mr Eugene Sackey, the NPP constituency chairman, Nana Addai Obuobi and his first Vice Chairman, Nuru Alhassan, Council of Elders, Council of Patrons and the chiefs of the area.
The strikes are the latest in a long-running dispute between public sector unions and the government across Britain and follow three days of walkouts in March.
Junior doctors are trying to secure a pay rise of around 35 percent, and the union has argued that since 2008-2009 medics have experienced a real-terms pay cut of more than 25 percent.
Matthew Taylor, the NHS Confederation chief executive said: ‘It is going to be an incredibly tough week. There will be 10-11 days where the NHS is not able to operate at full strength.
‘There is no point in hiding the fact that there will be risks to patients,’ he added, before urging the public: ‘Try to avoid risky behaviour because the NHS is not going to be able to provide the level of care it wants to provide.’
With the health service set to lose the ‘largest part of their workforce’ due to strikes, Mr Taylor said the government and British Medical Association (BMA) need to start negotiations.
Meanwhile, further strikes are feared in education after teaching unions rejected the government’s offer of a 4.5 percent pay rise and £1,000 one-off payment.
Professor Sir Stephen Powis, national medical director for NHS England, said that while the service had been ‘preparing extensively’ for the strikes, ‘managing additional pressure’ was becoming more difficult.
He said: ‘This is set to be the most disruptive industrial action in NHS history, and the strikes tomorrow will bring immense pressures, coming on the back of a challenged, extended bank holiday weekend for staff and services.
‘Emergency, urgent and critical care will be prioritised.’
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph newspaper, health secretary Steve Barclay argued that the BMA’s pay demands were ‘widely out of step with pay settlements in other parts of the public sector’.
Last month the health unions Unison, the Royal College of Nursing and GMB urged their members to back the government’s pay offer of a one-off bonus and consolidated pay rise of 5 percent for the 2023-24 financial year.
Barclay said: ‘Unfortunately, the decision by BMA junior doctors’ leaders to maintain an unrealistic position meant we were unable to make progress with talks.
‘It seems they are intent on maintaining a militant stance rather than working with the government and NHS management to meet the best interests of their members and of patients.’
The health secretary warned that the walkouts, which coincide with Easter school holidays, Ramadan and Passover, will pose a ‘considerable risk to patient safety’, echoing comments by senior NHS figures who are braced for severe delays to in-patient treatments.
A three-day strike action by junior doctors in March resulted in more than 175,000 patient appointments and procedures being cancelled or postponed, placing added strain on the health service as it tries to clear a waiting list backlog of about 7mn patients.
The NHS Confederation has estimated that as many as 250,000 operations and appointments could be cancelled or delayed as a result of the four-day strike.
Netizens on social media have expressed disgust, after chancing on the said video which has since gone viral on Twitter.
But reacting to the numerous backlashes he has since encountered, his office has issued a statement apologizing to the boy and his family as well as individuals across the world, for the hurt his actions may have caused.
“His Holiness often teases people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras,” parts of the statement read.
Background
At an event, a young boy approached the popular Buddhist leader cum YouTuber, and asked, “Can I hug you?”
The spiritual leader then invited the boy on stage and pointed to his cheek and said, “first here,” prompting the boy to give him a hug and a kiss.
The Dalai Lama then pointed to his lips, and said: “then I think finally here also.” He then pulls the boy’s chin and kisses him on the mouth.
“And suck my tongue,” he said after a few seconds, poking his tongue out.
Although the identity of the boy is not known, he was at an event with the M3M Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Indian real estate company M3M Group based in Dharamshala, India, where the Dalai Lama lives.
This is NOT playful banter & so inappropriate to use 'affectionately plants kiss' alongside 'suck my tongue'. Hugs are fine not this.
Don't normalise molestation of kids – don't care how revered the Dalai Lama is I'm not OK with a child sucking a grown man/woman/anyone's tongue https://t.co/B3tpKw6meS
In a world where HIV-positive individuals are often ostracised and discriminated against, the Human Compassion Organisation in Accra, Ghana stands out as a beacon of hope.
Here, children affected by HIV are given a chance to grow, learn, and play together without fear of discrimination.
The orphanage is home to 11 boys and girls aged 3 to 18, all of whom have one thing in common – they are growing up without parents. Many of the children were born to HIV-positive parents who were also alcohol or drug abusers, and in some cases, these parents don’t even know where their children are now.
For almost 2 decades, Kwesi Boye Mensah has been running this facility, which offers a family-like care environment where these young individuals find solace in the arms of those who understand their struggles. Here, solidarity prevails, and kids both infected and unaffected co-exist in harmony, removing the fear of judgment.
Kwesi Boye Mensah’s late wife was HIV positive. “We come into contact with some of these kids through HIV/AIDS support groups. We do psychosocial counseling for those affected and come across children who have lost their parents to HIV”
Each child, whether HIV positive or negative, follows their tailored morning routine, which includes taking medication if needed. While the older HIV-negative children understand how the virus is transmitted, everyone here is well-aware that there’s no danger of contracting the virus from HIV-positive children.
For Dr. Gamji Rabiu, this orphanage model goes a long way to help the kids living with HIV. He noted that infected kids would have a better chance out in the world living in such a family setting.
“This orphan gives us an example of what it means to choose your family and mentors”.
Despite their situation, the children still endeavor to approach their HIV infection with confidence, determined not to be defeated by the stigma of their diagnosis. Growing up with HIV can be challenging, and the stigma associated with the condition only makes it worse.
HIV is a virus that attacks the immune system, making it difficult for the body to fight off infections and diseases. It is primarily spread through sexual contact, sharing needles, or from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding. There is currently no cure for HIV, but antiretroviral therapy (ART) can help people with the virus to live long and healthy lives.
The toll that the infection takes on the already fragile bodies of these children is heartbreaking. As each day passes, they know that their fate is uncertain, with a lifetime of medications and uncertainty to come. Without any family or place to go, they are left here alone, wondering when and if their suffering will ever end.
Unless they are adopted, they will likely be left to fend for themselves for the rest of their lives. It is a somber scene as the day closes at the Human Compassion Organization, but it is also a scene of hope. Hope that one day, these children will find a loving and accepting family to call their own.
This orphanage serves as a shining example of hope and acceptance for all children, reinforcing the importance of equal treatment regardless of whether a child is positive or negative for HIV. The children follow tailored morning routinesand receive equal care and attention from dedicated staff. Despite the challenges still faced, such as limited resources and pervasive stigma towards HIV, the Pokuase orphanage remains committed to providing a stable foundation for the children’s future.
By fostering a positive and stable environment, the orphanage provides a profound impact on their growth, development, and overall well-being. For these children, the Pokuase orphanage is a beacon of hope and a testament to the power of love and acceptance.
The procession’s route is much shorter than anticipated, according to the royal officials who have just announced it.
The newly crowned King will travel 1.3 miles from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace, passing via Trafalgar Square before turning and proceeding down The Mall directly to his royal residence.
In contrast, Queen Elizabeth II’s 1953 procession took a winding five-mile path past Trafalgar Square onto Regent Street, Oxford Street and Park lane, allowing huge crowds of wellwishers to see her.
The Gold State Coach passing Buckingham Palace during the Platinum Jubilee Pageant last year (Picture: PA)
Unlike his late mother, who covered more ground by travelling in a loop, Charles will travel home along the same route taking him to Westminster Abbey ahead of the ceremony.
The shortened route will drastically reduce the number of people able to get a direct view of the monarch, although those who make it will likely get to see him twice.
Latest London news
Even some who camp out may struggle to nab a good spot, reports suggest.
According to The Telegraph, organisers have ruled out using a ticketing or ballot system for spectators, advising wellwishers to simply ‘plan in advance’.
Those who miss out will be able to watch the procession at any of 30 special outdoor screenings taking place across the UK.
They include Cardiff Castle, Belfast City Hall and Manchester’s Piccadilly Gardens.
Charles’ wish for a pared-back, cheaper ceremony have led to a number of other differences from the last coronation, including a much smaller number of invited guests from the House of Lords and Commons.
Elizabeth rode the entire route in the 260-year-old Gold State Coach – which is suspended on leather straps – and famously described the bumpy experience inside as ‘horrible.’
Charles and Camilla instead travel to the Abbey in the more modern and comfortable Diamond Jubilee State Coach, which has shock absorbers, before completing the procession in the Gold State Coach.
Many elements of the ceremony remain rooted in tradition, such as the appearance of an ivory sceptre in the hands of Camilla the Queen Consort.
This is despite Charles’ longstanding campaign as Prince of Wales to end the illegal trafficking of animal parts like rhino horn and elephant tusk.
A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said: ‘As with any historical collection of its size, it is to be expected that the Royal Collection includes items that contain ivory as this reflected the taste at the time.’
Minister of Energy,Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh on April 6, 2023, disclosed that the Electricity Company of Ghana had signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with a company called the AKSA Energy Company Limited (AECL).
In a Facebook post, the Minister said the agreement forms part of efforts to ensure power grid stability and reliability, especially in the middle belts of Ghana.
As part of the agreement, the PPA will entail a 205MW (ISO) thermal power plant as part of the strategy to stabilize and increase power reliability in the middle belt of Ghana, as well as encourage power exports.
Below are some details of the Power Purchase Agreement between the ECG and AKSA Energy:
1. The plant will be located at Anwomaso in Kumasi
2. The capacity of the plant will be 205MW (ISO) with a guaranteed capacity of 175MW.
3. The plant will run on natural gas and the responsibility of the fuel supply shall lie with AKSA
4. The project is expected to reach commercial operations in the 4th quarter of 2024
5. PPA structure is take-and-pay with a 40% guaranteed dispatch
6. The term of the PPA is 240 months
8. There will be no buyer guarantee and no government guarantee
On the part of AKSA, the agreement has the following benefits:
1. Provides voltage stability and enhanced power generation capacity for customers in the middle belt of Ghana and for exports
2. Offers a highly competitive price and commercial terms that frees ECG of inconveniences such as bank guarantees and the responsibility of providing fuel – the components that intensifies the indebtedness of the energy sector.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, who was present at the signing ceremony, tasked the ECG and AKSA Energy to ensure the full operationalization of the agreement in the interest of Ghanaians.
After accusations surrounding Tony Danker‘s behavior with a female colleague, the leader of one of the biggest corporate groups in the UK was fired.
With immediate effect, Rain Newton-Smith will take up Tony Danker’s position at the CBI.
According to the organization, three more CBI employees have also been placed on administrative leave “pending further investigation into a number of continuing claims.”
Moreover, it stated that the lobbying organization is “liaising with the authorities” and “has made plain its desire to co-operate completely with any police inquiries.”
It said in a statement: ‘Tony Danker is dismissed with immediate effect following the independent investigation into specific complaints of workplace misconduct against him.
‘The board wishes to make clear he is not the subject of any of the more recent allegations in The Guardian but has determined that his own conduct fell short of that expected of the director-general.’
‘It is already clear to all of us that there have been serious failings in how we have acted as an organisation. We must do better, and we must be better.
‘We apologise to the victims of this organisational failure, including those impacted by the revulsion we have all felt at hearing their stories.
‘Nobody should feel unsafe in their workplace.’
The allegations made against those working at the CBI were described as ‘devastating’ in the statement.
Government officials also pulled out of meetings with the group and the accountancy firm EY had ended the secondment of one of its employees to the organisation.
Law firm Fox Williams had been hired to investigate the allegations made against Mr Danker.
That investigation will move into ‘the next phase’ of its inquiry, the CBI said.
A statement said: ‘The CBI is liaising with the police and has made clear its intention to cooperate fully with any police investigations.
Mr Danker had stepped aside in early March as the allegations were investigated.
Before working at the CBI he held positions in management consultancy firm McKinsey, The Guardian, and helped create the Labour government’s financial crisis economic rescue package in 2008.
Mr Danker, who had stepped aside while the investigation took place, previously apologised and said any ‘offence’ he caused was unintentional.
Following those recent allegations the main business lobby group for employers in the UK, at the heart of the British establishment, had cancelled all its external eventslast week as misconduct accusations mounted.
Ghanaian actress Lady Harriet has revealed that she detests men who are unable to meet her sexual needs.
According to her, she considers romantic relationships to be fun and interesting for both parties; thus, she enjoys the making-out phase of lovemaking.
Speaking in an interview with Kwaku Manu on a YouTube channel, she maintained: “Some men are selfish, if you are a man and you want to have an affair with your wife, make sure she also enjoys the act to the fullest, because for you the man, the moment you reach orgasm then it means that both of you can’t continue anymore.
“Unlike a lady, even if she reaches orgasm, you can still go ahead and do your thing but for men it is not like that.
“Some men don’t have patience; they are selfish … They don’t know how to play with women (sex) because as a man you ought to know how to play a woman and know how to ride her,” she said.
She went on to say that men who aren’t good in bed and frequently rush during sex are not welcome in her life because such frustration will result in her slapping such people.
“There are people who are selfish in lovemaking, they are just in hurry to release, and for me, such people cannot come to me because I will slap them. Yes, if you can’t play me then what are you coming to do? You have to make love to me so that I will open my heart to you also,” she added.
Member of Parliament for Kumbungu Hamza Adam has been named as one of the 30 NDC MPs who voted to approve the newly appointed Ministers, completely defying the NDC long-held view that the Akufo-Addo government was over-bloated
Former Member of Parliament for Kumbungu, Ras Mubarak, made this allegation that in a Facebook post
In a post reacting to the recent outburst by MP for Abetifi, Bryan Acheampong who was part of the nominees, Mubarak said Kumbungu MP Hamza Adam voted against the party position.
“Let’s clap for the obscure backbench NDC MP for Kumbungu and other traitors who voted to approve his nomination,” he captioned the post which as the link to a GhanaWeb story.
The story titled, “We will never hand over power to the NDC in 2024,” reported how the Abetifi MP who now doubles as agric minister said at a New Patriotic Party event that the governing party was ready to do all it takes to retain power.
The comment has since elicited condemnation from the NDC whiles the NPP have issued a defense of the statements.
Ras Mubarak, it is worthy of note, is in the race to become the NDC parliamentary candidate for Kumbungu in upcoming party primaries.
Ghanaian highlife music legend, Kojo Antwi, has disclosed some of his other businesses asides from music.
Kojo Antwi, whose music career spans over 40 years, disclosed in an interview with Abeiku Santana that although he is into other businesses, music still remains his core.
This was after he was asked what his life would’ve been like, if not for music.
“My life rotates around music. I’m into different things as well. When I say I’m into different things I mean I’ve got businesses that have got to do with oil, radio station but my life has always revolved around music,” Kojo Antwi said.
Detailing his journey, the ‘Amirika’ hitmaker seized the opportunity to eulogize his father who saw potential in him and gave him the green light to pursue his purpose.
“All these didn’t come easy; I had my challenges because I grew up with my dad. I started this whole music journey at age 17 and I have been through a lot, But in all, he allowed me to do my thing. He allowed me to do what God has planned for me,” he stated.
When asked what schools he attended and the role they played in his success story, Kojo Antwi disclosed that his educational journey ended at the primary level.
“I first started primary school in Suhum and continued at Ordorkor in Accra. That was all. Education is in different forms. we have the formal type and the one that life teaches us,” he established.
Sometime in 2014, the highlife maestro established his own radio station named, Breeze 90.9 FM, situated in the Airport Residential Area.
President Akufo-Addo has been accused by the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) over the persistent claim the New Patriotic Party (NPP) will not hand over power to an NDC government in 2024.
The party through its National Organizer Joseph Yammin seems to suggest, persons who are making positions of not handing over power in 2024 and breaking the eight are only taking cues from the President who is just a bad influence.
Mr. Yammin has vowed as long as he remains a leader of the NDC during the election 2024, the NPP wish will only remain that and not a reality.
He spoke in a Facebook live stream monitored by MyNewsGh.com
“As the national organizer, I will not lead the NDC into election 2024 for Bryan Acheampong and the NPP to make such useless statements, this is not the first time such a statement has been made, unfortunately, the president of the republic made a similar statement and I wonder why people with a conscience did not speak against the president. That is the hypocrisy you find in this country, that you have men of God, CSOs that will not see the wisdom in criticizing the president when he makes a statement like that”, he lashed out.
“Nana Akufo-Addo is the first person to say he will hand over to an NPP government, does the president understand the words he was using, and then Lord Commey comes to repeat such nonsense”, he added.
According to the leaked intelligence papers, an RAF jet came dreadfully close to being shot down by Russians over the Black Sea last year.
An RAF RC-135 Rivet Joint observation plane, widely known as ‘the nuke sniffer’ was flying near to Russian-occupied Crimea when a squadron of Su-27 fighters was just 15ft away.
One ‘launched a missile in the proximity’ of the British surveillance jet, Defence Minister Ben Wallace said at the time.
But leaked US military documents claim the missile launch in September came close to striking the RAF aircraft.
The worrying incident happened in September
They describe it as ‘a near-shoot down of UK RJ (Rivet Joint)’, MailOnline reports.
The incident could have dragged the UK, and its Nato allies, directly into the Ukraine war.
The Kremlin blamed a technical malfunction, and Mr Wallace agreed to accept this explanation and drew a line under the incident.
A UK defence source has argued that the US documents have it wrong, telling MailOnline: ‘These reports contain inaccuracies and do not reflect what happened in International air space over the Black Sea.’
The RAF regularly flies over the Black Sea to gather intelligence.
The role of the Rivet Joint aircraft is to hoover up electronic transmissions and communications.
Ever since the incident, RAF surveillance planes are escorted by Typhoon fighters – while the US has chosen to use unmanned drones instead.
Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder has stressed that it is vital the Black Sea and the skies above it are kept open to all nations.
An RAF RC-135 Rivet Joint spy plane, known as a ‘nuke sniffer’ was gathering intelligence above the Black Sea (Credits: Shutterstock / VanderWolf Images)
‘The Black Sea is a critical international seaway supporting many of our Nato allies, including Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey, and does not belong to any one country,’ he said last month.
His comments came after a Russian fighter jet accidentally crashed into a US drone.
It lead to the US and Russia racing to recover the debris, with Russian ships spotted at the crash site on March 15.
The Pentagon insisted the parts could not be retrieved and any intelligence had been wiped.
Government will invest an estimated US$108 million to improve soybean production/best practices, as well as developing the grain’s value chain to curb post-harvest losses over the next five years.
The investment is in line with key resolutions of the recently held Dakar II Summit in Senegal and is expected to expand certified seed production to 17,500 metric tonnes yearly – and also develop 50,000 hectares of new land for soybean production.
It is anticipated that soybean cultivation will increase from the current 218,000 tonnes per year to 400,000 metric tonnes annually, and contribute to a yield upsurge of 40 percent after the investment.
Chief Director at the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Robert Ankobia – who revealed this to the B&FT, said the move is to achieve self-sufficiency in soybean production for the domestic market by expanding cultivation and increasing competitiveness in the value chain.
MoFA says US$21million of the amount will be expended on research and development programmes to develop early-maturing, high-yielding soybean varieties; high pod clearance varieties for mechanisation; and maintenance-breeding of existing varieties.
US$63million will go into land development programmes for soybean production, with a special focus on new land for rain-fed soybean market-oriented production.
The remaining US$24 million will augment investment in harvest and post-harvest programmes to increase soybean quality, increase processing and reduce physical losses. This will be a key part of government’s Agriculture Mechanisation Service Centres’ (AMSEC) strategy.
“The above plan to invest in the local soybean value chain is part of pathways and one of the country’s key compacts during the Dakar II Summit to attain self-sufficiency and agrifood transformation over the next five years,” Mr. Ankobia said.
Important features of the compact include the prioritisation of key sub-sectors with the highest impact on food security, with key consideration for other commodities such as rice and poultry.
Overall, the compact focuses on production expansion and loss reduction in the country’s food value chain.
Radio presenter, Nana Romeo has revealed what he opines is the secret to what can cause a woman to shower her partner with love and gifts in a relationship.
According to Romeo, a man’s sexual performance can blow the mind of his partner, leading her to go the length and breadth of the world to also keep him happy.
He posited sexual satisfaction will cause her to gift you the finest things in life without a second thought.
“You ought to be a true man for a woman to take money out of her pocket to buy you a gift or hand it over to you. No ordinary man can spend a woman’s money.
“Before a woman will buy a mobile phone for her man, she thinks twice. She says to herself, what benefit am I going to get from this gift? Okay, my man gives me pleasure during sexual intercourse. She can die for you just because of your sexual performance,” Romeo announced in an interview with Mona Gucci.
Not long ago, the radio presenter in an interview with Stacy Amoateng narrated how his former girlfriend sponsored his lifestyle by purchasing him expensive gifts. Their envious relationship ended when a man of God came between them.
Romeo outlining the ways to a woman’s heart added: “All a woman wants is happiness, peace of mind and the best sex. If you give her these things, she will not take any advice from her parents, not even her pastor. This is because she is blown away by the pleasure you give her, something she has never experienced in her life.”
The American actress and broadway star Laura Benanti said she had a miscarriage on stage while performing for 2,000 people.
The 43-year-old Tony Award-winning star shared her story in a post on Instagram, writing that she “knew it was happening” as “it started slowly the night before”.
The singer was performing for 2,000 people on a five-night broadway-themed cruise on 3 April when she had the miscarriage.
She went on to explain that she is “no stranger to the pain and emptiness of losing a pregnancy”, having had miscarriages in the past.
“If it had been our first loss, or even our second, I likely wouldn’t have been able to go on,” she wrote.
“But unfortunately, I am not a stranger to the pain and emptiness of losing a pregnancy. It is a path I have walked before, hand in hand with my husband.”
Benanti has received five Tony Award nominations across her successful broadway career, winning in 2008 for her role as Louise in the revival of Gypsy the musical.
She has also appeared in TV series Supergirl and musical drama series Nashville.
