Once her husband, the SNP’s former chief executive, was taken into custody, the former first minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, declared that she would “completely cooperate” with the authorities.
Later, on Wednesday night, Peter Murrell was released without being charged in the wake of an ongoing inquiry.
In her first statements to the public following the extraordinary expansion of the police investigation into the party’s finances, Ms. Sturgeon said she would “get on with life” and her job.
The ex-SNP leader told reporters said she could not comment on the investigation into the spending of around £600,000 which was earmarked for an independence campaign, ‘as much as there are things I may want to say’.
She continued: ‘The last few days have been obviously difficult, quite dramatic at times, but I understand that is part of a process.
Asked if she had been questioned by officer, the MSP said: ‘I haven’t, but I will fully cooperate with the police as and when they request that, if indeed they do.’
Ms Sturgeon stepped down as SNP leader in February, and handed over the role of first minister to Humza Yousaf at the end of last month following a leadership election.
Speaking outside her home in Uddingston, east of Glasgow, she asked journalists to respect the privacy of her neighbours.
She added that she understands the ‘scrutiny that comes on me as a public figure’, adding: ‘But I’m also entitled to a little bit of privacy in my own home.’
A desire to return to a life away from the full glare of public life was one of the reasons Ms Sturgeon gave for her unexpected decision to step down as first minister in her resignation speech on February 15.
Police searched the couple’s home for more than a day earlier this week, with uniformed officers also searching the SNP’s headquarters in Edinburgh.
Earlier today, party stalwart Mike Russell said the current crisis in the SNP was the most serious in the half-century he had been involved with it.
Mr Russell, who serves as the party’s president, told The Herald newspaper: ‘In my 50-year association with the party this is the biggest and most challenging crisis we’ve ever faced, certainly while we’ve been in government.’
‘But I have an obligation to this party and the movement for Scottish independence that’s been such a massive part of my life for so long.’
He added that he did not believe independence could be ‘secured right now’, though he maintained it was still ‘achievable’.
Officials from Mexico say that on Monday, four bodies were discovered close to a hotel in Cancun, marking the latest violent incident in the well-known tourist area.
According to the state’s attorney general, two people have been detained for their alleged involvement in the deaths of four people.
According to José Pablo Mathey Cruz, the secretary of public safety for Benito Juárez, the municipality where Cancun is located, all of the fatalities were Mexican nationals.
He said the suspects are allegedly engaged in the sale and distribution of narcotics, adding that footage from local security cameras and the joint work of local authorities helped lead to their arrest.
The prosecutor’s office confirmed earlier on Monday that three people had been found dead and an investigation was opened. Later, the office said they found a fourth body.
Polo Gallegos, a tourist who was in the area at the time of the shooting, told CNN en Español that he heard shots while at a nearby gym at around 10 a.m. local time.
“We heard the shots and they hid all of us in an office and they kept us there until the incident was over. Everyone kept us there until they secured the area, and right now there are police, the Navy, everyone, everyone in the beach area and it’s very uncomfortable for us,” he said.
The security situation in Cancun has deteriorated in recent years. In 2021, the Mexican government said the National Guard would permanently deploy to Cancun and its surrounding area following a rise in violence there linked to organized crime, Reuters reported.
There have been a series of violent incidents around the Caribbean coastal area. In early 2022, two people died after shots were fired in a hotel at Playa del Carmen, according to CNN en Español.
There were shootings reported in late 2021 in the tourist areas of Puerto Morelos and Cancun.
The State Department advises travelers to “exercise increased caution due to crime and kidnapping” in the state of Quintana Roo. The advisory says that violence and criminal activity may occur anywhere, “including in popular tourist destinations.”
“Travelers should maintain a high level of situational awareness, avoid areas where illicit activities occur, and promptly depart from potentially dangerous situations,” the advisory warns.
The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), has expressed the highest optimism of beating the NDC hands down in next years Presidential elections.
The party led by whoever emerges as the winner of the presidential primary, will defeat former President John Mahama at the polls again, General Secretary Justin Frimpong Kodua has said.
According to him, even though the National Democratic Congress is yet to elect a flagbearer, the NPP knows former President Mahama will emerge winner of that internal race so, the NPP is poised to defeat him for the third time.
Addressing party supporters after a health walk through the principal streets of Mpraeso on Saturday, 8 April 2023, Mr Kodua said the Akufo-Addo government will fix the economy before the 2024 elections.
“Akufo-Addo has stated that the NPP has the men to turn the economy around. We are confident that by the end of the year, the economy will be in good shape. We just need your support because the alternative is worse, it is empty and hopeless”, he said.
Mr Kodua noted: “Whoever we elect as the flagbearer for the NPP will defeat John Mahama in the 2024 elections. They are yet to elect a flagbearer but we know it is Mahama who will win eventually.”
According to Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada, search teams are looking for 10 personnel who were reportedly aboard a Japanese military helicopter that apparently fell into the lake on Thursday.
Hamada, who appeared obviously affected with sorrow when he spoke to reporters on Friday, said: “I will continue to do my best to collect information on the damage and seek for human life.”
Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) Chief of Staff Gen. Yasunori Morishita reported that rescuers have discovered what appear to be parts of the UH-60JA helicopter in the water and are still searching for survivors.
If no survivors are found, the crash would be Japan’s deadliest military aviation accident since 1995, Japan’s Defense Ministry said.
The missing troops include two pilots, two mechanics and six passengers, among them Lt. Gen. Yuichi Sakamoto, a senior GSDF commander, Morishita said.
Sakamoto, commander of the 8th Division, had been newly appointed to his role on March 30, Japan’s public broadcaster NHK reported Friday.
The helicopter – which was surveying the local area – went missing Thursday at 3:56 p.m. local time after disappearing from radar screens off the coast of Miyako Island in the southern Japanese prefecture of Okinawa, according to the Defense Ministry.
Miyako Island – adjacent to the East China Sea – is about 400 kilometers (250 miles) east of Taiwan and is home to a JGSDF missile unit.
A spokesperson from the Japan Coast Guard told CNN that around 6:50 p.m. local time on Thursday, a patrol boat retrieved a lifeboat with the words “Ground Self-Defense Force” written on it from the sea.
The spokesperson added that early Friday morning, a window frame, a door with “Ground Self-Defense Force” written on it and a rotor blade were recovered in waters north of Irabu Island, which is connected to Miyako Island by a bridge.
According to manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the UH-60JA is a multipurpose helicopter based on the US military’s Black Hawk helicopters.
The last time at least 10 people were lost in a Japanese military aviation accident was on February 21, 1995, when a Maritime Self-Defense Force flying boat crashed in Kochi prefecture, southern Japan, killing 11 people, the Defense Ministry said.
In February 1984, 12 died when a flying boat crashed in waters off the west coast of Ao Island in Ehime prefecture, the ministry said.
The nearly two-week absence of Tunisian President Kais Saied has sparked concerns about his well-being and the country’s succession in a setting where authoritarianism has grown since he entered office.
The country’s opposition, activists, and media outlets all voiced concerns about the 65-year-old president’s “disappearance” after he was missing from the public eye from March 22 to April 3. He reappeared on Monday, though.
Saied was shown in a video addressed to Prime Minister Najla Bouden, denying health rumours, including those of a stroke, in the speech, which was broadcast on the Tunisian presidency’s Facebook page.
“(The rumors) had reached a level of insanity that we haven’t seen in Tunisia before,” the president said, adding that talk of a power vacuum had ulterior motives. “They (the opposition) want to create crisis after crisis… and to overthrow the authorities,” he said.
Despite his reappearance, the mystery of his whereabouts remains unsolved. The president repeatedly referred to his “temporary absence” in the 11-minute video but didn’t say what the cause of it was.
Whereas Saied downplayed his absence, analysts say it is cause for concern when the man who wields a multitude of powers is inexplicably absent for almost two weeks.
“He holds all the power so his whereabouts and state of health are of immense importance equally for those who support him and those who oppose and want to see him gone,” said Intisar Fakir, senior fellow and director of the North Africa and Sahel program at the Washington, DC-based Middle East Institute.
Former Tunisian Foreign Minister Rafik Abdessalem, from the opposition Ennahda party, tweeted on Saturday that the president had been lying in a military hospital “in an atmosphere of complete secrecy,” without saying how he got the information.
Asked by reporters about the president’s health, Tunisian Health Minister Ali Murrabit on Sunday walked away without commenting, according a video posted in local media.
Tunisia’s presidency didn’t respond to CNN’s request for comment.
Disappearances of heads of state are not uncommon in North African authoritarian regimes, said Monica Marks, a professor of Middle East politics at New York University Abu Dhabi who focuses on Tunisia. She noted that in neighboring Algeria, former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who was deposed in 2019 after mass protests, was not seen in public for years.
But Saied’s thirteen-day absence is a first for Tunisia in almost a decade, she said.
“This is the first time since Tunisa’s 2011 revolution for democracy that we have seen a head of state perform a disappearing act like this,” Marks told CNN. “But it is not at all surprising given Tunisia’s return to dictatorship.”
Once seen as the sole democracy to have emerged from the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings, Tunisia in July of last year passed a new constitution that cemented Saied’s one-man rule and was widely seen to have eliminated the last vestiges of democracy in the country. The president has referred to parliament as “an institution of absurdity” and a “state within a state.”
Ahmed Nejib Chebbi, the head of the National Salvation Front (NSF), a grouping of opposition movements, demanded on Monday that the government address concerns about the president’s health, stressing the dangers of a vacuum in the presidency given the powers that Saied has accumulated of late.
He decried the lack of a functioning system in place to ensure a smooth transfer of power should the president be incapacitated. “There is a constitutional gap… and we won’t sit back and watch while this vacuum is filled by one of the (foreign) powers,” he said.
There is currently no clear outline of how Tunisia would transfer power, even temporarily, should the president become incapacitated, analysts say.
“It is a giant, opaque mess,” Marks said, adding that the president has surrounded himself with “undemocratic acolytes who do not seem disposed to solving national problems through democratic elections.”
The North African country has been engulfed in an economic crisis that started with the Covid-19 pandemic and a political crisis since July 2021, when Saied dissolved the government and suspended parliament in what critics called a “coup.” But Tunisia lacks a unified opposition force, analysts say, given that the powerful UGTT union and the opposition are not aligned.
“Tunisia’s pro-democracy, anti-Saied opposition remains extremely disunited, fundamentally fractured,” Marks said.
There have however been attempts to band the opposition together against Saied and NSF leader Chebbi has previously called on the UGTT to coordinate with the opposition.
“If all Tunisians were against (Saied), there would have been more opportunity and willingness to mobilize and for other actors to join,” said Fakir of the Middle East Institute.
General Secretary of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Justin Frimpong Kodua, has said government has competent people to turn the country’s economic misfortunes around.
Mr Kodua said he was optimistic that the economy will bounce back on track by the end of 2023.
He stressed that government only needs the support of Ghanaians to sail through the crisis to have a better and more robust economy.
Speaking to some members of the New Patriotic Party after a health walk through the principal streets of Mpraeso on Saturday, April 8, 2023, the general secretary of NPP said, “Akufo-Addo has stated that the NPP has the men to turn the economy around. We are confident that by the end of the year, the economy will be in good shape. We just need your support because the alternative is worse, it is empty and hopeless.”
The Ghanaian economy has in the past years taken a nose dive and this has had dire consequences on both Ghanaians and businesses.
To salvage the situation, government of Ghana ran to the International Monetary Fund for financial assistance.
Government is targeting an amount of $3 billion over a three-year period from the IMF once an agreement on a programme is reached.
The IMF programme, according to government is aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability and safeguarding debt sustainability among many others.
The People’s National Convention (PNC) has urged Christians to use the Easter season to reach out to God for protection against everything LGBTQ+.
“We wish to use this occasion to call on Christians to support the bill on proper human sexual values in parliament and to pray to God for the continuous protection of Ghana against LGBTQI+ influence”, the party said in a statement signed by General Secretary Janet Nabla, dated Friday, 7 April 2023.
The private members’ bill is being sponsored by MPs across the aisle in Ghana’s parliament.
It became a topical issue, for the umpteenth time, during the recent visit of US Vice President Kamala Harris to Ghana.
At a joint press conference with President Nana Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House, Accra, the US Vice President said she felt strongly about what she described a human rights issue.
For his part, Mr Akufo-Addo said his government was not behind the bill, stressing that it was being pushed by “just a handful of MPs”.
Mr Akufo-Addo said the bill was currently going through the parliamentary process, adding that he would step in at the right time.
Read the PNC’s full statement below:
The Press
LET’S CELEBRATE EASTER BY SACRIFICING FOR OUR COUNTRY JUST AS CHRIST SACRIFICED HIS LIFE TO SAVE MANKIND
The PNC wishes all Christians a Happy Easter celebration.
The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ changed the narrative of human history and infused hope, love and sacrifice into the world.
Christ’s sacrifice enjoined all believers to emulate him in their everyday life.
We must refrain from all forms of selfishness and greed that have bedeviled us as a nation but love one another and be each other’s keeper.
We wish to use this occasion to call on Christians to support the bill on proper human sexual values in parliament and to pray to God for the continuous protection of Ghana against LGBTQ+ influence.
Israeli police opened fire and killed a Palestinian man early on Saturday morning inside the Jerusalem compound of the Al-Aqsa mosque, which is frequently a flashpoint in tensions between Israel and the Palestinians.
The facts surrounding the death of 26-year-old Muhammad Al-Osaibi at the compound, home to one of Islam’s holiest sites as well as the holiest place in Judaism, known as the Temple Mount, have been challenged by Palestinian and Israeli sources.
Talab Al-Sanee, a former Israeli MP, claimed that Al-Osaibi was slain after attempting to stop Israeli police and border guards from abusing a young Palestinian woman.
Israeli police said the man had grabbed a gun from a police officer who had stopped him for questioning and managed to fire two shots before he was killed by police.
Social media video apparently filmed at the time of the incident captured the sound of at least 11 gunshots – the first one followed almost immediately by nine in quick succession, then another one after a moment’s pause.
Al-Osaibi’s family asked police to release security camera footage of the incident to prove “the allegations that their son pulled a soldier’s weapon.”
Police initially said there was no footage of the incident, but after CNN provided evidence that security cameras were pointed at the scene they altered their story.
“We collected all footage of the surrounding area for investigation,” a spokesperson said. “Some footage might not be shared with media because it’s still closed for investigation.”
The incident came in the middle of Ramadan, which has passed largely peacefully in Jerusalem. The first two Fridays of the Muslim holy month have seen hundreds of thousands of worshippers offer prayers at al-Aqsa without incident.
A large group of Muslim worshippers staged a mass prayer outside the holy site Saturday after the incident, video from the scene showed.
Local authorities in Al-Osaibi’s native region of Rahat in the Negeb called for a general strike on Sunday in response to the killing.
And Palestinian Authority presidency spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh warned in a statement against what he described as “the dangerous escalation by the Israeli occupation authorities,” calling the Israeli version of the killing of Al-Osaibi “fabricated.”
The relative calm of Ramadan comes after a violent beginning to the year in Israel and the occupied West Bank.
At least 90 Palestinians have been killed, according to Palestinian Ministry of Health statistics. In addition to suspected militants being targeted by Israeli forces, the dead include Palestinians killing, wounding or attempting to kill Israeli civilians, people clashing with Israeli security and bystanders, CNN records show.
In the same period, at least 15 Israelis have been killed in attacks by Palestinians in Israel and the West Bank, CNN records show – 14 civilians and a police officer who was hit by friendly fire after being stabbed by a Palestinian teenager while inspecting bus passengers.
A creche in Blumenau, a city in southern Brazil, was attacked with an axe, leaving four kids dead and four more hurt.
Three boys and a girl who were killed were between the ages of 5 and 7, according to the neighbourhood police.
Santa Catarina’s governor, Jorginho Mello, announced the arrest of a male suspect through Twitter.
The suspect, a 25-year-old man, allegedly leaped over a wall onto the daycare center’s playground before attacking the kids, a police official told CNN Brasil.
Although teachers defended the kids, he ran away and eventually surrendered to police, the official said.
Mello expressed his solidarity with the victims.
“May God comfort the hearts of all families in this time of deep sorrow,” he said.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva also gave his condolences.
“There is no greater pain than that of a family that loses its children or grandchildren, even more so in an act of violence against innocent and defenseless children,” Lula wrote on Twitter.
Florence Otedola, better known as DJ Cuppy, is a Nigerian music producer and singer. She donated £100,000 ($125,000) to the Africa Oxford Initiative (AfOx) to help African graduate students at the University of Oxford in the UK.
According to a statement released by Oxford University on Monday, DJ Cuppy recently earned a master’s degree in African studies there. The university also said that the Cuppy Fund would help African postgraduate students “to meet unexpected and urgent financial needs and undertake activities that will ensure the pursuit of excellence in their graduate studies.”
The 30-year-old internationally successful DJ said she witnessed “variances in university life experiences” among African students studying at Oxford during her time at the university.
“The fundamental role that the Cuppy Fund will play is to narrow resource gaps for those who need it the most so they can fully commit to pursuing the education they deserve,” she said in the release.
Cuppy is the daughter of Femi Otedola, one of Nigeria’s wealthiest oil magnates. She has previously made philanthropic contributions to organizations advocating for child protection and education for girls, including people with disabilities.
DJ Cuppy is one of Africa’s best-known performers, who had fueled the rise of a new breed of highly successful female DJs from a male-dominated DJ scene in her home country. She has also performed internationally at the MTV Africa Music Awards.
In 2020, she presented Apple Music’s first radio show dedicated to the popular Afrobeats. Her debut album “Original Cuppy” released later that year, featured Grammy-winning singer Wyclef Jean and Julian Marley, son of Reggae legend Bob Marley.
In a car-ramming attack on Friday night in Tel Aviv, Israel, a tourist from Italy was killed and seven others were hurt.
The Tel Aviv boardwalk’s bike path was entered by a car, according to Israeli police, which then struck pedestrians before flipping over on a grass.
The driver was shot by police after they got at the scene and saw him reaching for what appeared to be a rifle-like weapon that was with him, according to Israeli police.
Israeli and Italian police have identified the victim of the attack as Alessandro Parini. He was a 35-year-old lawyer, according to Italian media.
In a tweet posted Friday, Italy’s Prime Minister Georgia Meloni expressed “deep condolences for the death of one of our compatriots, Alessandro Parini, in the terrorist attack that took place in the evening in Tel Aviv,” and condemned the “cowardly attack that hit him.”
Three of the seven people injured in the attack are still in hospital as of Saturday morning local time, according to Ichilov Medical Center. All of those killed or injured in the attack were tourists.
Police said that the car was driven by a 45-year-old resident of Kfar Kasem, an Arab-Israeli city east of Tel Aviv.
Israeli authorities described the incident as a “terror attack.”
The attack occurred after Israel struck Palestinian militant targets in southern Lebanon and Gaza, amid days of tensions in the region following police raids on the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.
The leader of the United Arab List and Knesset Member Mansour Abbas rejected any “use of violence against any citizen.”
“Especially in these difficult times, it’s important for me to emphasize… this is not the way of the Arab community and Arab citizens in Israel,” Abbas said Saturday.
Veteran actor and broadcaster, Mikki Osei Berko, popularly known as Master Richard, has claimed that he holds a UEFA B coaching licence.
According to him, he also learned about coaching under the English Football Association and is, therefore, qualified to manage the Black Stars.
Master Richard made his name through acting before branching into the media industry, where he currently hosts programmes on television and radio.
“I had the opportunity to do some football coaching, and I can proudly say that I am a UEFA B Licence holder in football coaching,” he said on Accra-based Asaase Radio.
“And I know there’s a coach who has come to coach the Black Stars who has the same certification. And I am a member of the English Football Association.”
“I am more than qualified to coach any team, even the Black Stars. For our football to transform we need to get back to our grassroots, that is why our football is failing.”
Hughton has signed a 21-month deal as the head coach of the Black Stars, replacing Otto Addo.
The former Newcastle United and Brighton boss has since been unbeaten in his opening two matches in charge of the Black Stars.
Ghana defeated Angola 1-0 in Kumasi before drawing with the Black Antelopes in Luanda in a double-header 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has taken a swipe at President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, describing his administration as a bitter pill for Ghanaians.
According to him, the many promises made by the president and his vice, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia prior to the 2016 and 2020 elections convinced many Ghanaians into voting for the NPP government.
Former President Mahama believes the Akufo-Addo administration has taught Ghanaians to be careful of the promises politicians make while seeking political power.
He said Ghanaians are really suffering under the Akufo-Addo-Bawumia-led administration and the lessons learnt after voting based on their supercilious promises is bitter and the hardship unprecedented.
Mr. Mahama said, the “incompetent” tag at his administration now fits the NPP well considering the current state of the economy and the plight of the suffering Ghanaians who voted for them.
“They called me incompetent and I told them they have not come close to the presidency before. Now, what do we see? Ghanaians are suffering,” he bemoaned.
Speaking at Ajumako Enyan Essiam Constituency, as part of his three-day tour in the Central Region, Former President Mahama, told delegates of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to vote for people with experience during the party’s Parliamentary and Presidential primaries to rescue the country from its knees.
He said, “We currently need people with experience to save our country not experiment,” adding that the Akufo-Addo administration has taught us that “So me hwe” is not for managing a country.
Former President Mahama, hinted, that the next NDC government will present to Ghanaians the very alternative they yearn for.
A six-year-old girl has met her untimely death after she reportedly fell into a gutter at South Suntreso in the Kumasi metropolis of the Ashanti Region.
The deceased, Angel Adana, according to residents died on the evening of Thursday, April 6, 2023.
Some residents in an interview with OTEC News’ Jacob Agyenim Boateng said they could not point to what exactly caused the girl to fall into the gutter.
They added that they however suspect the deceased was playing around the gutter and subsequently fell into it.
The Assembly Member of the area, Kwame Asafo Agyei, who confirmed the incident during a visit to the deceased’s family, said police in the area was notified immediately about the incident.
“I received a distress call about the unfortunate incident from a resident in the area and upon getting to the scene, I saw the lifeless body of the girl,” he said.
“Police after receiving an official complaint from the residents reported to the scene and conveyed the body to morgue for investigation,” Mr Agyei stated.
Former Attorney-General, Betty Mould-Iddrisu, has bemoaned the hardship Ghanaians are going through amidst the economic crisis under the Akufo-Addo-led government.
She stated that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has disappointed Ghanaians and led the country into a pit.
Betty Mould-Iddrisu, in an interview with Joy News and monitored by GhanaWeb, said Ghanaians have endured so much pain and still are in these difficult times.
When asked by the interviewer that her friend of 70 years [President Akufo-Addo] has steered the affairs of Ghana from 2017 to date, Betty Mould-Iddrisu quickly said “into the pit…every Ghanaian can see that we have been misled and it is a pity that we have to continue even for another year.”
“I think Ghanaians reeled from the shock, they cannot believe what they are in. I must say, I cherish being a Ghanaian even in the most difficult times because I think we are incredible people, we are so generous and we have this innate capacity to absorb so much…we have endured a lot,” she said.
“I think anybody can see we have been bitterly let down by this government…The governance of the country has been abominable and even I, never ever thought could get to this stage,” Ghana’s first female Attorney General said.
Below is what transpired between the interviewer and Betty Mould-Iddrisu
Interviewer: Your friend is leading this government
Betty Mould-Iddrisu: I know and would not say more.
Interviewer: Your friend you have been with for 70 good years has led us from 2017 up to date …
Betty Mould-Iddrisu: Quickly interjects to say into the pit…every Ghanaian can see that we have been misled and it is a pity that we have to continue even for another year.”
She further said government’s attribution of the country’s economic crisis to the outbreak of COVID-19 and Russia-Ukraine war was false.
Betty Mould-Iddrisu described those comments as misguided beliefs from government.
Professional Gamer and betting expert Enoch Hood has shared his view on introducing a 10% tax on bettingwinnings in the country.
Taking to Twitter, Hood said some people may turn to unlicensed or offshore betting sites to avoid paying additional taxes and it can result in an increase in illegal sports betting activities.
In his tweet, Hood said, “As a Senior investor, I think one negative effect of implementing a 10% tax on sports betting could be that it may discourage some people from participating in sports betting altogether.
“The added cost of taxes could make it less appealing for some individuals to place bets, leading to a decrease in revenue for the industry.”
“Additionally, it could lead to an increase in illegal sports betting activities, as some individuals may turn to unregulated or offshore betting sites to avoid the added cost of taxes.
Finally, it’s possible that the tax revenue generated from sports betting may not necessarily be allocated towards public services or initiatives, which could further exacerbate the issue.”
Hood’s comments come after government’s introduction of a 10% tax on all betting, games of chance, and lottery winnings, as well as a 20% tax on the revenue of betting companies operating in the country.
Popular Ghanaian media personality, Afia Pokuaa (Vim Lady) is questioning how Ghanaians are complaining of hard times yet are having the fun of their lives in Kwahu, this Eater.
According to her, she is unable to fathom how these individuals pull up at such a ‘money consuming’ event where they bask in ‘enjoyment’ for a couple of days.
“Eiiii Ghanaians, “no money”, “no money” but see the chilling you are chilling in Kwahu,” she wrote with a thinking emoji to drum home her surprise.
Her comment has been met with mixed reactions from her followers on social media.
While some agree with her statements, others share the opinion that monies for such occasions are usually set aside and budgeted for.
Others emphasized that not all Ghanaians are affected by the harsh economic conditions in the country.
“Point of correction some Ghanaians, not all Ghanaians madam. Some are hungry and have nothing to even eat. Speak for those u are seeing, The Whole Ghana is not in kwahu,” A netizen retorted.
Kwahu is arguably the most desired Easter holiday destination in southern Ghana.
Each year, many troop into the town to spend their holidays with loved ones, where they experience fun-packed activities.
The commemoration of Easter as a Christian festival began from 1876 when Ramseyer and other Basel missionaries came to Ghana and established the Presbyterian Church.
Before then, all the Kwahu communities had their traditions and annual festivals.
However, Easter was accepted and adopted by the communities when members understood the scriptures, got converted to Christianity and stopped consulting Atia Yaw, a traditional priest whose shrine was in Nkwatia Kwahu in the Kwahu East District.
The missionaries, who pitched camp at Kwahu Abetifi, also had to contend with deities such as Tigari, and history has it that there were several encounters between the missionaries and deities with their chief priests until Christianity became entrenched on the Kwahu ridge, and Easter, among other Christian festivities, became accepted by the larger society.
Since then (147 years ago), Easter has become synonymous with the Kwahus, and indigenes from both far and near make it a duty to return home during the period.
Why Easter was adopted
Delving into the adoption of Easter by the Kwahus, a retired teacher, Philip Asiama Opoku, popularly known as Professor Akasanoma, said the real name of Easter, according to the holy scriptures, is Passover.
“It is this same Passover that Jesus and his family partook in and on the eve of the death of Jesus Christ he ate the last supper with his disciples.
“Easter signifies that we are mourning Jesus Christ and Kwahus, by adopting it, are saying ‘we can hold a befitting funeral for Jesus’,” he told the Daily Graphic.
He recalled that even as a child, Kwahus marked Easter, which was referred to as the passion of Christ (Yesu Amanehunu), to wit ‘the suffering of Christ’.
“And we always said we were going to mark the suffering of Jesus Christ, so it is the funeral of Christ that we hold every year,” Mr Opoku stated.
Homecoming
The Chief of Obomeng, Od33fuo Nana Effah Opinamang III, however, said: “Easter is a period during which the indigenes, who have travelled, come home to support ongoing projects.
“There are not many jobs here so many citizens have travelled to other towns and cities to work so we urge them to come home this Easter period and support projects.”
Another reason for marking Easter on the Kwahu ridge, apart from merrymaking, is to afford people who have put up houses the opportunity to open them.
“It is an opportunity to know our citizens so that if there is a need for support in any developmental projects, we can fall on them,” he said.
Nonetheless, over the years, the Kwahu Easter festivities have come to be mostly associated with merrymaking, with many artistes flocking the ridge to perform at one concert or the other.
They have included Ghanaian musicians such as Kojo Antwi, Amakye Dede, Lord Kenya, Nana Tuffour, Ofori Amponsah, Slim Busterr, Kwabena Kwabena, Nana Agyeman, Batman, K. K. Fosu and Kofi Nti
Others are Daasebre Dwamena, Stone Bwoy, Kofi B, Guru, Pop Skinny, Castro, Nhyiraba Kojo, Kofi Kinata, Kuami Eugene, Shatta Wale, Bisa Kdei, Samini and Sarkodie, among other popular Ghanaian musicians.
History
Also recounting how the Kwahu Easter came into being, the Odikro of Demuni, Owusu Nyami, said: “History tells us that some time ago, Jesus and his family were going to their town for a census, which was a festival they attended regularly.
“So, we took something from that occurrence and the elders realised that our children who were scattered everywhere must also come home every year.
“For some people, if it were not for the annual festival, they would never come home so we chose this period for all our sons and daughters to come home.
If we come together like this, it makes people who hail from here get to know one another.”
He added that it gave people the chance to see indigenes who were visiting for the first time and expressed interest in marrying them, the opportunity to approach their families to seek their hand in marriage.
“It was gradual when it started – every year we visited so it was decided to institutionalise it.
During those times, whenever we gathered, we invited popular musicians then, such as C.K. Mann, so that we would not just come home but there would also be an aspect of entertainment.”
“In that way, whoever visited every year got the chance to meet family and old friends and also make merry and that is what has persisted till today.
So, when the occasion arrives, we tell all indigenes about developments home so that those who are doing well can support,” he added.
Projects
In terms of proposed and ongoing projects, Nana Opinamang III disclosed at the meeting with the Daily Graphic team that a new durbar ground had been proposed, work on which was yet to take off and asked sons and daughters to offer support when work started on it.
He said a kindergarten had also been established. “Obomeng stretches to Nkawkaw and Pankese and the villages under Obomeng are more than 16. We have set aside a plot of land for a police station at Wawase, and the community will join hands with the assembly to put it up to reduce crime rate,” he said.
Another plan is to build a new market at Abepotia to help all those who go to Akyem.
Urging cleanliness during the Easter festivities, Nana Opinamang stated: “If we are indeed the cleanest town then we are asking for an incinerator so that we can easily burn our waste and generate power.
We can do with some assistance from some non-governmental organisations and “Whoever cuts a tree should plant 10 in their place so that we preserve the environment.”
In spite of the advertisement of the Kwahu Easter being largely absent from the airwaves this year, indigenes, as well as guests, are sure to troop to the ridge this weekend, thus bringing about the legendary traffic jams on the entire stretch from Nkawkaw to Obomeng, the centre of all the celebration each year.
In spite of protests from the Arab and Muslim community, Israeli police stormed the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, one of Islam’s holiest sites, for a second time on Wednesday.
The skirmishes, which occurred on Wednesday night as Jews celebrated Passover and Muslims observed Ramadan at al-Aqsa, provoked retaliatory rocket fire from terrorists in Gaza.
During the first incident on Wednesday morning, footage shared on social media showed Israeli officers striking screaming people with batons inside the darkened building. Eyewitnesses told CNN that police had smashed doors and windows to enter the mosque and deployed stun grenades and rubber bullets once inside. Video shared by Israeli police show forces holding riot shields up as fireworks were launched back at them, ricocheting off the walls.
Israeli police said in a statement that its forces entered al-Aqsa after “hundreds of rioters and mosque desecrators (had) barricaded themselves” inside. “When the police entered, stones were thrown at them, and fireworks were fired from inside the mosque by a large group of agitators,” according to the statement.
The Palestinian Red Crescent in Jerusalem said at least 12 people were injured during clashes in and around the mosque, and at least three of the injured were transferred to hospital, some with injuries from rubber bullets.
The Red Crescent added that at one point its ambulances were targeted by police and were prevented from reaching the injured.
Police said they arrested and removed more than 350 people in the mosque, and that two Israeli police officer were wounded.
Images shared on social media showed dozens of detained people lying facedown on the floor of the mosque with their legs and arms bound behind their backs, and others with their hands tied being led into a vehicle.
During the second incident on Wednesday evening, armed Israeli forces deployed stun grenades and ordered Muslims worshipping there to leave immediately, video posted to social media shows.
The Israeli police said in a statement that “dozens of law-breaking juveniles, some of them masked” had thrown fireworks and stones into the mosque and tried to barricade themselves inside.
“The police forces prevented the lawbreakers from closing the doors and from barricading themselves (inside), and helped the worshipers leave the Mosque,” Israeli police said.
One eyewitness, cameraman Rami Khatib, told CNN that after moving worshippers out of the mosque, the Israeli police had stationed officers at each doorway and prevented people from entering.
The Palestinian Red Crescent in Jerusalem treated six people for their injuries and transferred two of them to hospital.
Wednesday morning’s incident drew condemnation from across the Arab and Muslim world. Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the Israeli police actions “in the strongest terms,” and called on Israel to immediately remove its forces from the mosque. Jordan has also called for an extraordinary meeting of the Arab League to discuss the development.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry meanwhile condemned the “storming” of the mosque by police, saying it had caused “numerous injuries among worshipers and devotees” and was “in violation of all international laws and customs.”
The US Office of Palestinian Affairs called for restraint following Wednesday morning’s raid, saying on Twitter: “Violence has no place in a holy site and during a holy season. Alarmed by the shocking scenes in Al Aqsa Mosque and rockets launched from Gaza toward Israel. We call for restraint and de-escalation to allow peaceful worship and to protect the sanctity of the holy sites.”
Over the last two weeks, there have been calls by Jewish extremist groups to slaughter goats at the mosque compound as part of an ancient Passover holiday ritual that is no longer practiced by most Jews. A greater number of Muslim worshipers stayed in the mosque after calls came to prevent those attempts.
Last week, a Palestinian man was shot and killed by Israeli police at the entrance of the compound. Palestinian and Israeli sources disputed the circumstances that led to the killing of 26-year-old Muhammad Al-Osaibi.
The mosque compound, frequently a flashpoint in tensions, is home to one of Islam’s most revered sites but also the holiest site in Judaism, known as the Temple Mount.
In a statement Wednesday, Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh condemned the actions of the Israeli police, saying: “What is happening in Jerusalem is a major crime against worshipers.”
“Israel does not want to learn from history, that al-Aqsa is for the Palestinians and for all Arabs and Muslims, and that storming it sparked a revolution against the occupation,” Shtayyeh added.
Aviv Bushinsky, a former media adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, told CNN situations that impact Israel’s security could unite a divided nation, but said that isn’t likely to have been the motivation behind Israel’s storming of al-Aqsa mosque.
Bushinsky added he thought it was in Netanyahu’s interests to ease tensions
Bushinsky said that the average Israeli would not, however, support any extreme Israeli measures against Palestinians in Jerusalem as that would be “too risky.”
“I think it is in the interest of Netanyahu and even Ben Gvir to try to ease the tension in the Al Aqsa mosque,” he said. “Because when there is a rupture there, it affects the entire Arab world, and we feel it.”
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Wednesday that around 12 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israel after the incident in Jerusalem.
Two were fired late on Wednesday, the IDF said. Earlier in the day, 10 rockets were fired from Gaza towards Israel, five of which fell in open fields and one that fell on a factory in Sderot leaving no casualties, the IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari had said in a previous statement.
Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas, the militant group that runs Gaza, said in a statement that “the current Israeli occupation’s crimes at the al-Aqsa mosque are unprecedented violations that will not pass.”
Later on Wednesday, the Israeli military said its fighter jets had struck weapons manufacturing and storage sites in the Gaza Strip belonging to Hamas.
“This strike was carried out in response to rockets fired from the Gaza Strip toward Israeli territory earlier,” it said in a statement.
Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Wednesday “we will hit anyone who tries to harm us, and exact a heavy price that will make them regret threatening Israeli citizens or IDF troops.”
Last year was the deadliest for both Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and for Israelis in nearly two decades, CNN analysis of official statistics on both sides showed.
And this year has seen a violent beginning, too. At least 90 Palestinians have been killed, according to Palestinian Ministry of Health statistics. In addition to suspected militants being targeted by Israeli forces, the dead include Palestinians killing, wounding or attempting to kill Israeli civilians, people clashing with Israeli security and bystanders, CNN records show.
In the same period, at least 15 Israelis have been killed in attacks by Palestinians in Israel and the West Bank, CNN records show – 14 civilians and a police officer who was hit by friendly fire after being stabbed by a Palestinian teenager while inspecting bus passengers.
Yiftach Golov is waving an Israeli flag amid a sea of similar-looking ones.
Golov hoists a brown flag that represents a group named “Brother and Sisters in Arms” among the hundreds of thousands of demonstrators who came to the streets for the 13th week in a row on Saturday.
Veterans who feel they are now engaged in combat to preserve Israeli democracy, many of them, like Golov, are from elite forces.
“We believe this is our responsibility to go once again called to the flag of the nation to stop this madness to defend Israel,” Golov said, as he weaved his way through the protesters on Tel Aviv’s Kaplan street, between the high-rises that house many of Israel’s high tech companies.
During the second intifada, in the early 2000s, Golov served in a special forces reconnaissance unit. He was never before particularly political, focusing more on getting his PhD in biophysics from Tel Aviv University.
But when the protest movement against the Israeli government’s judicial overhaul plan began in January, Golov attended one a demonstration and soon became one of thousands of veterans, and now military reservists, who have taken up the cause as their new mission.
Some, including elite Air Force reservists, have taken it a step further, threatening not to heed the call to train or even serve in protest of the government’s plans planned judicial changes, which would give the governing parties more control over Israel’s judiciary.
Others have taken to becoming some of the most active organizers and demonstrators. Last week, a group from Brothers and Sisters in Arms protested by carrying a figure wrapped in the Israeli flag on a stretcher, the way they would carry a wounded comrade off the field.
While Golov says he has not taken the drastic step to refuse service, he understands the motivation.
“We’re fighting for justice and liberty, just like the American story, that’s the values that that are being represented symbolized back when we look at our flag, that’s something that was lacking lacking for the last few decades. So basically, we reclaim the flag,” he said.
Fellow members of the group, all wearing brown shirts with the organization’s logo, come up and say hello. They’re sprinkled all throughout the protests. One is even leading the “Pink Front,” a group of coordinated drummers who look like they are dressed for a rave, and often lead the chants at the protests.
They’re using skills they learned in the military – how to organize, how to mobilize – now for the protests. But more importantly, they say they have the same type of motivation.
“The very deep feeling that you are part of something bigger than yourself, that (you’re) allowed to sacrifice anything that is needed, whether it’s your career, health, seriously mental health,” Golov said. “We all have a mission, you’re willing to do it at any cost. You’re very determined, you know that you are on the right side, you’re carrying the torch of light. That keeps us being highly motivated despite the fact that we’re not sleeping for days.”
Israel’s protest movement is made up of many disparate groups, but the pressure from Israel’s much vaunted veterans has been seen as a key to moving the needle.
Last Monday, after weeks of sustained protests and the largest general strike in Israeli history, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced a pause to the legislation, to allow time for negotiations with the opposition.
But despite the announcements, protesters are still out in the streets in large numbers. CNN affiliate Channel 12 in Israel estimated the size of Saturday’s demonstration in Tel Aviv at about 150,000 people. Organizers claimed it was 230,000.
Last week’s mass protests and widespread strike action came after Netanyahu said he had decided to fire Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for advocating a delay in passing the legislation – a move that Netanyahu has since delayed, sources told CNN, due to “the present security situation.”
In his televised speech calling for a delay, Gallant had said the pause in the legislation was needed “for the security of Israel,” citing the refusal of some Israel Defense Forces reservists to train in protest of the government plans. He said pressing ahead with the proposals could threaten Israel’s security.
Under pressure at home and from allies abroad, Netanyahu said he would delay votes on the remaining legislation until after the Knesset’s Passover recess in April “to give time for a real chance for a real debate.”
“Out of the responsibility to the nation, I decided to delay … the vote, in order to give time for discussion,” he added.
But Netanyahu indicated that the delay was only temporary. He insisted that the overhaul was necessary, and reiterated criticism of refusal to train or serve in the military in protest at the planned changes. “Refusing is the end of our country,” he said.
Many protesters don’t believe that the pause is real, or say it’s simply a stalling tactic to give Netanyahu some breathing room and get the protesters to go home before he plows on with the reforms.
“We will start doing deactivation only when we will know 100% that Israel state will stay a functional democratic country. Whatever needs to be done for that,” Golov said.
The government was dedicated to finishing the restoration work on the road leading to the Odweanoma Mountain at Kwahu paragliding location in Atibie, according to the deputy minister of tourism, Mark Okraku-Mantey.
The deputy minister added that improving the area’s road, which was in poor shape, was essential to boosting tourism.
On April 7, 2023, Mr. Okraku-Mantey announced at the beginning of the annual paragliding event at Kwahu in the Eastern Region, “We will also play our part as a government in fixing the road very soon.”
He stated that tourism was actually a marketing environment in which everyone could benefit the entire country for that reason every Ghanaian should participate.
“Let’s make this year’s Kwahu Easter, an accident free event because the event is supposed to bring us together as a people to enjoy and depart unhurt to our various destinations,” he said.
Atibiehene’s appeal
The deputy minister made the remarks after the Chief of Atibie and Gyasehene of Kwahu Traditional Area, Barima Kwame Asante Betiani II, made a passionate appeal for the road to be fixed.
Observation
The Graphic Online team who witnessed the opening of the annual paragliding festival observed that parts of the road in question were being fixed.
The team also noticed that with the exception of a few metres from the entrance and exit of the road which has experienced some form of construction works, the rest of the zigzag road to the mountains is not in good condition.
The Tema-based beverage manufacturing company Multipac Ghana Ltd.’s warehouse was destroyed by fire.
At around 12 in the morning on April 8, 2023, the occurrence took place.
The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) estimates that it took the firefighters around four hours to put out the fire.
After receiving the distress call at 12:52 a.m., the Ghana National Fire Service Headquarters immediately dispatched the first fire engine from the Industry Area Fire Station, which was about two kilometres away, to the scene, according to Divisional Officer Grade 1 Joseph K. Forson, who was on the scene.
He said on arrival at the scene within six minutes the crew observed that one of the warehouse at the premises of the factory where raw materials were kept was on fire.
After a brief assessment of the situation, the crew deployed to tackle the fire adding that multiple fire pumps were called in to support.
DO1 Forson said a total of six pumps and one water tanker from the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority as well as ten private water tanker operators were called in to help extinguish the fire.
He said fire was brought under control at 4:20 am and totally extinguished at 6:33 am.
DO I Forson said there were no casualties or injuries recorded adding that investigations were underway to determine the cause of the fire.
Nadia Adongo, the lady at the helm of the ‘Year of Return’ affairs, which included the facilitation of Meek Mill’s visit to Ghana, got married in a ‘most-talked-about’ ceremony in Accra.
Nadia, who is currently the Deputy Head of Diaspora Affairs at the Office of the President, and her sweetheart, Kwesi Fynn, have registered in the book of ‘trendsetting weddings’ in Ghana as their ceremony was indeed a sight to behold.
Held in one of the top-rated hotels in Ghana, Kempinski, every bit of their wedding was characterized by luxury and the finest of class.
The grooms’ convoy lined up vehicles ranging from Rolls Royce, Ferraris, Lexus SUVs, Cadillac escalades, Land cruiser V8s, Porches, and many other exotic engines to the event grounds.
In a green, purple, and gold-themed colour, social media witnessed a ‘fairy-tale-like’ décor, a train of groomsmen and bridesmaids, a host of celebrities, performances from musicians, and many more.
The likes of Freedom Jacob Caesar (Cheddar), Nana Ama Mcbrown and her husband Maxwell Mensah, popular Ghanaian business mogul Kofi Boat, King Promise, Nana Boro, and many others were spotted at the wedding grounds.
The couple had a change in outfit three times, prior to hitting the dancefloor at the reception grounds.
With the hashtag #FYNNAD23, videos kept pouring in on social media amidst interesting reactions from fans.
According to vice president Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, the eight-year administration of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) only served to increase unemployment.
He contrasted this with the fact that the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) had added 2.1 million jobs since coming to office in 2017.
The Vice President stated that out of the 2.1 million jobs, 975,000 were in the private sector and the remaining 1.2 million were in the public sector while speaking at Mpraeso Saturday morning, April 8, 2023, in the Eastern Region. This was after the party had organised a health walk as part of activities to mark this year’s Kwahu Easter celebration.
He said the party was able to create the jobs due to the strong economic management team the party has assembled to run the affairs of the country.
He explained that the emergence of the graduate unemployment association during the era of the NDC government was a clear attestation of the mess the party created in the country.
“They were not creating jobs. They were creating unemployment,” Dr Bawumia said, adding that in spite of the current economic challenges that the country was facing, the party was working assiduously to turn things around.
He expressed the hope that the country’s economy will bounce back to further create more jobs for the teaming youth in the country.
Dr Bawumia therefore implored Ghanaians to continue to repose their trust in the NPP-led government since they are capable of turning the fortunes of the country around.
Due to traffic caused by the Kwahu Easter, drivers at the Atibie-Nkawkaw taxi rank in the Kwahu South Municipality of the Eastern Region have opted to raise their rates.
Before the Easter holiday, travellers from Nkwakwa to Atibie paid GH$10.00; now, they pay GH$15.00 for the same trip.
Due to the Easter holiday, there was considerable traffic in practically all of the towns in the Kwahu area. As a result, drivers had to spend a lot of time navigating the bottleneck.
For the drivers, since they could not move at their usual speed to cash on the occasion due to the traffic, it was necessary for them to increase their fares to cater for their fuel cost due to the traffic.
Some of the drivers told Graphic Online that they would revert to the old fares right after the Easter celebrations.
One of the drivers, Kofi Yeboah who plies the Atibie-Nkawkaw route, said the Easter traffic was making their business unprofitable.
He said the drivers had not increased the fares to take advantage of the revelers at the Easter celebrations but to make sure that they did not run into loss.
“Because of the slow movement of vehicles due to the heavy traffic build up, it is causing us so much in terms of fuel cost,” Mr Yeboah said.
Another taxi driver, Amoah Tawiah, said the increment was very reasonable because of the Easter occasion since their vehicles could not move freely like they used to do during normal days.
Some passengers who spoke to Graphic Online said it was not right for the drivers to take extra monies from them.
One of the revellers, Akosua Korang, a native of Atibie who lives in Accra said it was not good for the taxi drivers in the area to increase their fares since there had not been any increase in fuel cost.
For her, the taxi drivers were making things difficult for revelers to move freely and enjoy the celebration.
“Don’t take advantage of the Easter celebrations or heavy traffic build up to increase taxi fares because you are also making things difficult for people to enjoy the celebration,” she said.
The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) may be able to hold onto power in the 2024 Presidential elections, according to Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.
According to him, the party’s efforts since 2017 have been sufficient for it to retain power and continue its rule.
The Vice President stated, “The NPP’s records much outweigh those of the parties aiming to grab power from them in the 2024 general elections,” at Mpraeso in the Eastern Region after the party had organised a health walk as part of festivities to mark this year’s Kwahu Easter celebration.
them in the 2024 general elections.
He said in terms of educational and road infrastructures, the party’s records stand tall, hence Ghanaians will not allow deceptions from other political parties, particularly the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to win their votes.
Dr Bawumia has, therefore, challenged the NDC to point one transformational project that the party did during its tenure in office.
The National Coalition Party (NCP), the opposition right-wing party, declared victory in the closely contested election, while Finland’s left-wing Prime Minister Sanna Marinaccepted defeat.
Assuming all votes were counted, the pro-business NCP was projected to win 48 of the 200 members in parliament, narrowly beating out the nationalist Finns Party with 46 seats and Marin’s Social Democrats with 43 seats.
In a speech to supporters, NCP leader Petteri Orpo declared, “We have the biggest mandate,” promising to “repair Finland” and its economy.
He will get the first chance at forming a coalition to obtain majority in parliament as Marin’s era as prime minister was expected to end.
“We have gained support, we have gained more seats (in parliament). That’s an excellent achievement, even if we did not finish first today,” the prime minister said in a speech to party members.
Marin, 37, the world’s youngest prime minister when she took office in 2019, is considered by fans around the globe as a millennial role model for progressive new leaders, but at home she has faced criticism for her partying and her government’s public spending.
While she remains very popular among many Finns, particularly young moderates, she antagonized some conservatives with lavish spending on pensions and education they see as not frugal enough.
The NCP has led in polls for almost two years although its lead had melted away in recent months. It has promised to curb spending and stop the rise of public debt, which has reached just over 70% of GDP since Marin took office in 2019.
Orpo accused Marin of eroding Finland’s economic resilience at a time when Europe’s energy crisis, driven by Russia’s war in Ukraine, has hit the country hard and the cost of living has increased.
Orpo has said he will negotiate with all groups to obtain a majority in parliament, while Marin has said her Social Democrats may govern with the NCP but will not go into government with the Finns Party.
Marin called the Finns Party “openly racist” during a debate in January – an accusation the nationalist group rejected.
The Finns Party’s main goal is to reduce what leader Riikka Purra has called “harmful” immigration from developing countries outside the European Union. It also calls for austerity policies to curb deficit spending, a stance it shares with the NCP.
Who is Sanna Marin? (2019)
Most notable of Marin’s foreign policy actions has been her push, along with President Sauli Niinisto, for the country to make a watershed policy U-turn by seeking NATO membership in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
That process is now almost complete, with Helsinki expected to join within days after all the Western defense alliance’s 30 members approved the accession.
The Amansie South District Chief Executive (DCE), Clement Opoku, is crying foul over allegations that he has been cut off from the national power grid over illegal connection and non-payment of bills.
In an interview with the Independent Ghana, he said the claims are inaccurate and a calculated attempt to tarnish his image.
” I’ve never said anywhere that I’ll not pay bills. ECG got furious because I said they don’t bring bills,” he said on Saturday, April 7, 2023.
Clarifying matters, he explained that the action taken against him by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), as captured in the media reports, is only a move to sabotage him for criticising the work of the company.
“On March 21, 2023, I was a panel on Angel FM’s morning show dubbed Angel in the morning. Among the topics to be discussed was the ECGs revenue mobilisation exercise. ECG was on the table; that they were disconnecting people for non-payment of bills and what have you. So when it got to my turn, as part of my submissions, I said in my opening that ECG is not a serious company.”
According to him, he questioned why the ECG had sat aloof and overlooked non-payment of bills for several months without taking any concrete steps to retrieve the debts until this exercise which commenced on March 20, 2023.
He stated that: “it appears that they [ECG] are not serious with what they are doing because, one, how can someone owe you for 6, 7, 8, 9 months and then you (ECG) still supplies the person with power. If it’s your private company that you are managing, would you have done that? Because it’s for the state so you [ECG officials] sit there unconcerned and think that people should rush to your offices and come and pay, you are enjoying monopoly.”
He cited his district Amansie South, which is a rural district, for instance, and questioned how a peasant farmer in the area who makes barely enough a day to cater for himself and his family would be able to pay off an accumulated ECG debt of about six hundred cedis at a go, which in his view, is not feasible.
“That person can’t afford to pay and when he or she is unable to pay, then you say you’re cutting off the supply of power to the person’s residence, and that’s so wrong. It’s unfair treatment to anyone,” he lamented on the show.
Additionally, he disclosed that he had not paid any electricity bill at his official residence since he assumed office as DCE because he had not been served any bill by the ECG.
“I was so emphatic that they are not serious because in my district we don’t even have an ECG office there so if you to pay your bills you’ll have to drive to the nearby district before you can be able to do so which shouldn’t be the case and I made reference to my official residence that if what I’m saying is not true, they should come to my official residence and come and check. Ever since I moved in as DCE in 2020 till March 21, 2023, I’ve never seen any bill coming from ECG and so they should sit up, up their game and work towards it.”
He said this statement, however, got to ECG Management in Accra, who got enraged by his comments and stormed his Amansie South residence “in rambo style” to disconnect power at the premises.
“Their actions show that they are just in for witch hunting [but] my point still remains that they should bring bills and we will pay. Besides, I don’t pay bills by myself, it’s the government that does so. So if we are not being served bills, how are we going to pay?” he added.
This comes in response to earlier reports that the Electricity Company of Ghana has disconnected the power supply to the official residence of the District Chief Executive of Amansie South District in the Ashanti Region.
According to a myjoyonline.com report, at least four floodlights were on when the ECG Revenue Protection taskforce visited at 3:42 PM.
Led by the Ashanti Regional Director of ECG, David Boadi Asamoah, the taskforce took away electrical cables used for the illegal service connection.
The founder and leader of Heavens Gate Ministries, Prophet Nicholas Osei, alias Kumchacha, has referred to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo as the most cowardly person in the nation because of his express failure to declare his true stance on the controversial Lesbians, Gays, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ+) issue.
According to Kumchacha, previous presidents of the country, such as the late Professor John Evans Atta Mills, were bold enough to tell Western countries that Ghanaian culture and norms conflict with the LGBTQ+ group’s activities, which is why the country abhors such practices, but Akufo-Addo is reluctant to express his position on the subject matter.
“See, if you want the most cowardly person, then it is Nana Addo, why am I saying that? If you want someone who is a coward then it is president Akufo-Addo.
“…what Kumchacha, I am saying is that our father President Nana Akufo-Addo…I am saying he has disappointed Ghanaians, he has disappointed Ghanaians and I am saying it categorically because, in President Atta-Mills’ time, he was brave enough to say that, we won’t accept it, and I clap for him, he was a true Christian.
“But for President Akufo Addo, the same issue has come to him more than 4 times, still he can’t tell them we don’t like it,” he said.
Kumchacha argued that in accordance with Ghanaian cultural norms and values, men are supposed to be partners with women and not people of same gender acting as partners of each other.
Speaking in an interview on Onua FM, on April 05, 2023, he further explained that even animals prefer the opposite gender when having sexual relations and he doesn’t understand why a fellow human being would choose to identify as gay or lesbian.
“I have said this before, that for a man to marry a man and a woman to marry a woman, is nasty. So, every man who sleeps with a fellow man, and every woman who marries a fellow woman is mentally ill. We need to go and examine their brains. Yes, because monkeys don’t even do that, ducks don’t do that, sheep and other animals don’t even do that,” he added.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo recently disclosed that the anti-LGBTQI bill curently before parliament has been modified.
Akufo-Addo further stated that even if the bill is passed, it will still have to be ratified by him.
He made these remarks while addressing the press at the Jubilee House together with the Vice President of the United States of America, Kamala Harris, on Monday, March 27, 2023, adding that the modification of the Anti-LGBTQI bill was after the intervention of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Godfred Dame.
That claim of a watered-down version of the Bill has been rejected by Sam Nartey George, one of the dozen MPs that sponsored the Bill.
The Ghana National Gas Company says the planned maintenance work of the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant in the Western region has been completed.
According to the company, the maintenance works ended on Wednesday, April 5, 2023, ahead of the scheduled date of completion.
This brings to an end the timetable for power outages released to consumers by the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and GNGC due to the maintenance works.
“Ghana National Gas Company wishes to announce to all its stakeholders and the general public that the planned maintenance of the Atuabo Gas Processing Plant has been completed.
“The entire maintenance activities ended in the late hours of Wednesday 5th April 2023 ahead of the scheduled date of completion. We are currently at a flow rate of 90 mmscfd,” the Head of Corporate Communication, Ernest Kofi Owusu-Bempah Bonsu stated in a release dated April 7, 2023.
He continued: “The Management of Ghana Gas wishes to thank the general public for their patience and cooperation during this period.”
Some might call him a prophet of doom, but renowned Ghanaian filmmaker, Ola Michael, has spoken what he believes to be the hard truth.
Speaking about the struggles the movie industry has been through in the last few years, Ola Michael indicated that if care is not taken the issues might not end any time soon.
He praised the likes of Dr. Likee for the efforts they have put in to sustain the industry which almost died with the skits they have been producing in the last few months.
Despite applauding Dr. Likee and the others, the Neat FM midmorning show host was quick to add that if care is not taken, movie lovers in the country will soon get fed up with the manner they act.
Ola Michael cited the manner the likes of Santo and Judas started some years ago before they left the scene for Agya Koo to come and take over and do his thing till he became a household name and eventually, how Agya Koo was left to hang out dry for the likes of Kwaku Manu and Kwadwo Nkansah Lilwin to also become the face of the industry to buttress his point.
He added that some time ago, he advised Agya Koo and cautioned him to be careful with how he was handling the fame and his God-given taken because he has no formal training in that field to rely on, and again, he will give the same advice to Dr. Likee.
Famous Ghanaian film producer and director, Ola Michael, has passionately spoken about things he believes can be done to save the dying Ghana movie industry.
In an interview with the host for One Ghana TV on Youtube, Ola disclosed that he was scared that if care is not taken, the movie industry might die because the key players were taking many things for granted.
Asked how the situation can be salvaged as soon as possible, the Neat FM presenter mentioned that even though hosting radio shows has taken a lot of his time now, he has observed the industry keenly in the last few months and believes that there is the need for some drastic changes.
One of the changes he listed was the need for over 200 exhibition centers or cinemas for producers of movies in Ghana.
According to Ola, if these exhibition centers are there, people will not be afraid to invest their money in quality movies because they are sure that in the end, they will get their money back.
He also indicated that it was high time the English language was taken seriously by producers in Ghana because they want to reach a larger audience because the Twi dialect used in most movies is only restricted to people in Ghana and those overseas who can speak the dialect.
Ola also stressed that it was high time the industry started to introduce more creatives into the space instead of placing the focus on just a single individual because once that is the case, people will easily get fed up seeing the same face all the time.
The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has raised concerns over food safety during the Easter season, calling on the public to be health conscious.
The call comes on the back of the festive season, Easter, which is usually characterised by the influx of all kinds of cheap food items, and some times, expired or unapproved food products on the market.
The Head of FDA, Central Region, Francisca Obeng said, it is crucial that citizens prioritize food safety and abstain from purchasing foods that may potentially harm their health especially in this festive season.
“As we celebrate Easter, I will urge everyone to be vigilant when purchasing pre-packaged food. Please do well to check the expiry date before you proceed to make purchase,” she said.
Some foods that are nearing expiration could be sold at cheaper prices in the guise of promotion.
This she urged that, customers must insist on seeing the food permits when visiting food establishments and centres like, restaurant and chop bars.
“Also, make sure that any food vendor you are buying food from also has the Street Food Vending Permit” she added.
Madam Obeng stressed that the FDA working to keep the consumers safe from potentially harmful products.
“This will help us celebrate Easter in a way that after the celebration, we would not have any issues with our health,” she added.
Marlene Schiappa, a minister in the French government, has drawn criticism from those in her own party as a result of her appearance on the cover of Playboy magazine.
The magazine’s cover featured Schiappa, a cabinet minister since 2017, along with a 12-page interview she gave about women’s and LGBT rights. Schiappa was pictured for the cover wearing a white outfit. Schiappa is currently the Minister for the Social Economy and French Associations.
Schiappa has been a long-time advocate for women’s rights and was appointed as the country’s first ever Gender Equality Minister in 2017. In this role, she successfully spearheaded a new sexual harassment law which allows for on the spot fines to be issued to men who catcall, harass or follow women on the street.
Her appearance has drawn criticism from political colleagues including French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne.
Borne pulled up Schiappa over the cover, telling her it “wasn’t appropriate, especially during this period,” CNN affiliate BFMTV reported Saturday, citing a source close to the prime minister.
France is currently in the throes of a political and social crisis triggered by French President Emmanuel Macron’s move to push ahead with controversial pension reforms despite widespread public opposition.
Trash is piling up on the streets of Paris. Here’s why
“We are in the middle of a social crisis, there is the issue of policing, there are people between life and death, and I have the impression of being behind a smoke screen,” Sandrine Rousseau, Green Party politician and fellow women’s rights activist, told BFMTV Friday.
French politician, Jean Luc Mélenchon who came third in the 2022 presidential elections criticized both Schiappa’s appearance and the decision by French President Emmanuel Macron to give an interview to children’s magazine, Pif Gadget, this week.
“In a country where the President expresses himself in Pif and his minister in Playboy, the problem would be the opposition. France is going off the rails,” Mélenchon tweeted Saturday.
Schiappa responded to her critics in a tweet on Saturday, saying: “Defending the right of women to have control of their bodies, that’s everywhere and all the time. In France, women are free. With all due respect to the detractors and hypocrites.”
French Interior Minister, Gérald Darmanin came to Schiappa’s defense during an interview with French news channel CNews on Sunday calling her a “woman of character.”
“I wanted to say that Marlene Schiappa is a courageous female politician who has her character and who has her style which is not mine, but I respect,” he remarked.
A 21- year- old Abdul-Rauf Sadiq who was arrested by the Field Workers of Yendi Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) for allegedly stealing the company’s items has been remanded by a Yendi Circuit Court.
The boy Abdul-Rauf was accused of stealing four meters, 19 safety valves, three tap leads, and two stock cocks amongst others that were all found in his room at Sikafo, a Suburb of Yendi.
Alhaji Adam Sayibu Asuro, the Yendi Municipal Manager of the Ghana Water Company Limited who briefed the media after the arrest said they received information that the suspect Abdul-Rauf Sadiq had stolen some of their company’s items.
He said immediately after they saw the items the suspect run out of his room and with the help of the people who were around, the Company Field Workers arrested him and handed him over to the Yendi Municipal Police command.
Alhaji Adam said they started getting reports from their customers that their meters and fittings were stolen over time, around Sikafo, Nurses Quarters, and Junior Staff Quarters (JSQ) amongst others all Suburbs of Yendi.
He said they reported the theft cases to the Overlord of Dagbon Ya-Na Abukari II and Alhaji Hammed AbubakariYussif the Yendi Municipal Chief Executive who is also the chairman of the Yendi Municipal Security Council.
He said the suspect Abdul-Rauf Sadiq was put before the Yendi Circuit Court on the 6th of April 2023 and has been remanded into the Yendi Police custody and to re-appear on the 19th of April 2023.
He indicated that the company has over 1,700 customers and he appealed to them to be alert about their meters and fittings because the suspect said he sells the items to the scrap dealers in Yendi.
He appealed to the public to volunteer information to the workers of the company to curb the stealing of the items in the municipality.
Early Friday, Israel claimed to have attacked Hamas-related targets in southern Lebanon and Gaza. This came after the Israeli military said Palestinian terrorists were responsible for the firing of hundreds of missiles into Israeli territory from southern Lebanon.
The number of rockets fired from Lebanon was at its highest level since 2006, yet neither rocket attack in Gaza, Israel, or Lebanon was associated with any recorded fatalities.
The strikes only caused minor damage to buildings, automobiles, and agricultural locations on both sides.
The overnight exchange of fire came after Israeli police conducted violent raids of Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque twice in less than 24-hours starting on Wednesday.
The situation on the ground however remains tense. On Friday, a shooting in the occupied West Bank targeting a group of settlers as they drove killed two sisters and critically injured their mother in what Israeli police described it as a “terror attack.” Hamas and Islamic Jihad praised what they called a “heroic operation.” This year’s violence takes place at sensitive time for both Israelis and Palestinians. Muslims have been marking the holy month of Ramadan, while Jews are celebrating Passover.
The violence also took place as Israel grapples with the aftermath of mass protests over a controversial judicial overhaul, which only slightly waned last week after a pause was announced, leaving the country deeply divided.
Here’s how the situation developed, and why this year’s violence is particularly a cause for concern:
The al-Aqsa mosque compound, known to Muslims as Al Haram Al Sharif, is the third holiest place in Islam, and is the holiest site in Judaism, known to Jews as Temple Mount.
Al-Aqsa mosque and its surrounding complex are located in the Old City, in the eastern sector of Jerusalem, which most of the international community considers to be under Israeli occupation. Israel captured East Jerusalem in 1967, and considers both East and West Jerusalem part of its “eternal capital.”
A “status quo” agreement between Israel and Jordan governs the Muslim and Christian holy sites there. But the specifics of the agreement are constantly changing, says Mairav Zonszein, a senior analyst on Israel-Palestine at the International Crisis Group, a Brussels-based think tank.
Israeli police raids of al-Aqsa mosque are considered by Muslims as a major provocation, and have in the past led to violent escalation. The 2021 war between Hamas and Israel was partly triggered by an Israeli raid on al-Aqsa mosque.
Under the status quo agreement, Jordan is the custodian of the compound. But Israeli police control East Jerusalem, and Zonszein said Israeli raids of the compound have increased since the Second Palestinian Intifada, or uprising, in the year 2000.
Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on Occupied Palestinian Territories, told CNN that Israeli police have been raiding the area for many years, particularly during Ramadan, with varying frequency and intensity.
What’s different this time, she says, is that it occurs during a climate of record levels of violence between Israelis and Palestinians, and inflammatory rhetoric towards Palestinians by some of the Israeli government’s far-right ministers.
‘We are ready’: The IDF prepares reserve forces following barrage of rocket attacks from Gaza and Lebanon
02:19 – Source: CNN
Calls for Muslims to stay in the mosque overnight increased after Jewish extremist groups had encouraged Jews to go up to the compound and sacrifice goats as part of ancient Passover ritual that is no longer practiced today.
Israeli police said it stormed al-Aqsa Wednesday after “hundreds of rioters and mosque desecrators (had) barricaded themselves” inside, adding that once they entered, stones and fireworks were thrown at them by “agitators.”
“Their intention was to create a violent riot particularly against the Temple Mount visitors in the morning hours,” a police spokesperson said on Thursday, referring to non-Muslims, who are allowed to visit but not perform prayers under the status-quo agreement. Some members of the current Israeli government have campaigned to allow Jewish prayer there.
Videos shared on social media form early on Wednesday showed Israeli police beating screaming Muslim worshipers with batons. Eyewitnesses told CNN the police also broke windows, smashed doors and fired stun grenades and rubber bullets.
The raid caused outrage in Arab states and was criticized by Israel’s allies, including the United States.
While Israel’s jurisdiction over East Jerusalem isn’t recognized by international law, and Israeli entry into the al-Aqsa mosque is forbidden by the status quo agreement, it has repeatedly sought to prohibit overnight Muslim prayers there.
There is no explicit agreement restricting overnight worship at the mosque, but an Israeli police spokesperson Dean Elsdunne on Saturday told CNN that “Muslims are not allowed to be in the compound during night hours.”
Zonszein said Israel claims there are “understandings (with the Jordanian custodians) on not staying overnight,” adding that they haven’t been made public and that Palestinians are unlikely to have agreed to them.
It is customary for Muslims to perform overnight prayers at mosques during Ramadan, in a ritual known as “itikaf.”
“Over the years it (itikaf) became yet another tool in conflict,” Zonszein said. “Israel started to restrict it when it found it to be a way for Palestinians to provoke friction with Jewish Israelis.”
While it is customary to mainly do so in the last ten days of Ramadan, itikaf can be practiced at any time of the year and is not restricted to the holy month, said Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, Imam of al-Aqsa mosque and former Grand Mufti of Jerusalem.
Israeli media has reported police will prohibit non-Muslims to access the compound during the last 10 days of Ramadan, in line with previous years.
Following Wednesday’s violence, the Waqf – the Jordan-appointed body that manages Jerusalem’s Muslim holy sites – said that al-Aqsa mosque “did not and will not close its doors” to those performing itikaf prayers throughout Ramadan, at night or during the day. Sabri said that prayer timings are solely the prerogative of the Muslims authorities at the site.
The UN’s Francesca Albanese said that as per to the status quo agreement, the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, under Jordanian custodianship “is the only recognized authority responsible for managing the site.”
Israel’s strikes on both Gaza and Lebanon are thus far seen to be relatively restrained compared to its response in 2021 and previous years, which saw much more aggressive rocket salvos targeting Jerusalem.
While security threats have traditionally unified Israelis and masked domestic divisions, some say too great an escalation could trigger the opposite effect for the Israeli government.
“The public is always supportive when these things begin, there is always a rallying around the flag phenomenon,” said Chuck Freilich, a former deputy national security advisor in Israel and senior fellow at Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Israel, adding that while limited tension may divert attention away from the controversy over the judicial overhaul, any further escalation risks damaging Netanyahu’s image, especially as it is taking place over the Passover holidays.
Netanyahu’s response comes not only amid domestic upheaval, but also amid strained relations with the United States and Gulf allies, he said, adding that Netanyahu has generally been known to be cautious in his use of military force.
“The hope is that (the government) can de-escalate it, but I am not sure they will succeed,” he said, adding that it may be in the interest of Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah — both backed by Israel’s longtime foe Iran — to “take advantage of Israel’s disarray.”
“There is a potential for this to escalate further at a time when Israel is deeply divided domestically,” he said.
Personnel of the Ghana national fire service and the ambulance service rescued 16-year-old Wahid Abdallah who was caught up by the fire when his dormitory caught fire on the night of Thursday, April 6, 2023.
Business SHS (BISCO) had one of their boys’ dormitories completely burnt yesterday in Tamale.
Fire officials said the incident occurred at dawn on Thursday, affecting the school prefect’s room, with fire officials acting swiftly to prevent the fire from spreading to other parts of the building.
The Public Relations Officer for the Ghana National Fire Service, ADO II, Baba Hudu, revealed that only one student was in the affected room when the incident happened as schools are on Easter break.
The incident is the latest in a series of fire outbreaks in Senior High Schools in the Northern region. Saint Charles Minor Seminary Senior High School alone has suffered more than five fire outbreaks over the last three years, reducing the dormitory capacity by more than a thousand students.
Last year, the Tolon Senior High School was closed temporarily following a fire outbreak that destroyed a two-story girls’ dormitory with a capacity of more than 500 students.
Though officials are yet to identify the cause of these fire outbreaks, fire officials suspect poor wiring and reckless use of electrical gadgets by students are to blame for the disasters.
According to Adel Khaydarshin, an attorney for the blogger and his girlfriend, Russian officials detained a Chinese blogger who identifies as LGBTQ on Wednesday for allegedly breaking a rule that forbids what is known as same-sex “propaganda.”
Haoyang Xu, a citizen of China, was found guilty at a court on Thursday, according to Khaydarshin. According to a statement from the court that Khaydarshin sent to CNN, he is currently being held in a facility for temporary foreign custody and is in danger of being expelled from Russia.
This comes months after Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, approved a law expanding the country’s current ban on so-called LGBTQ “propaganda.” Anyone who promoted same-sex relationships or implied that non-heterosexual orientations were “normal” was in violation of the law.
Xu’s Russian partner, Gela Gogishvili, has also been charged in connection with the same law, Khaydarshin said. But Gogishvili, who faces fines of up to 200,000 Rubles (more than $2,400 USD), has not yet been arrested, according to the lawyer.
The bloggers have regularly documented their life online through social media as a same-sex couple living in Russia.
According to court documents given to CNN by Khaydarshin, Xu was arrested for allegedly posting videos depicting “non-traditional sexual relations” with Gogishvili.
“Namely, being males, they kiss each other, hug, touch each other on various parts of the body, including in the genital area, while the description of the videos contains the following, How does a gay couple sleep? Kiss me all night,” the court document said.
Police said they uncovered the footage during an inspection of the couple’s YouTube account, according to the court document.
They also claimed nearly 1,800 of the account’s 64,900 subscribers were under 18 years of age, the document says.
CNN is unable to independently verify these claims.
Video posted to the couple’s Telegram feed showed police escorting a handcuffed Xu down a staircase. Another image shared on the Telegram feed shows Xu standing beside a police car. The picture’s caption says he was being sent to the temporary detention center for foreign citizens.
Xu has not yet been deported; he has the opportunity to appeal the court’s decision, the lawyer added.
CNN has reached out to the Chinese embassy in Moscow for comment on the arrest.
The law was first adopted in Russia in 2013 and banned the dissemination of LGBTQ-related information to minors. Since then, the law has been expanded multiple times.
Human Rights Watch has described it as an “unabashed example of political homophobia.”
In November 2022, Russia’s upper house of parliament unanimously voted to toughen the controversial law to make it apply to Russians of all ages.
Individuals who spread what the bill called “LGBT propaganda” or attempt to do so, can be fined up to 400,000 rubles (about $5,000 USD). Legal entities can be fined up to 5 million rubles (nearly $62,000 USD). Foreigners can be arrested for up to 15 days or deported, according to the text of the bill.
The law was expanded in December 2022, making it illegal for anyone to promote same-sex relationships or suggest that non-heterosexual orientations are “normal.”
The ban was rubber-stamped by Putin just days after a harsh new “foreign agents” law came into effect, as the Kremlin cracked down on free speech and human rights amid its military operation in Ukraine.
The package of amendments signed by Putin also included heavier penalties for anyone promoting “non-traditional sexual relations and/or preferences,” as well as pedophilia and gender transition. Under the new law, it was banned across the internet, media, books, audiovisual services, cinema and advertising.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has asked God to give Ghanaians hope with his redeeming blood during the Easter festivities.
He also prayed to God to inspire Ghanaians to love one another as Christ loved everyone.
This was contained in the Easter message he posted on his official Facebook page.
“Happy Good Friday to all Ghanaians. As we commemorate this holy day, may the ultimate sacrifice of Christ who gave His life for our sake guide our journey on earth and instil in us the power of forgiveness and compassion”.
“May His redeeming blood fill us with hope, joy and peace, and inspire us to love one another as Christ loved us”.
“May our Lord’s sacrifice of love and compassion for humanity reflect in our actions,” he prayed.
Popular Kumawood actor, Nana Kofi Agyemang popularly known as Oboy Siki has predicted that he will die in 2024.
This according to him, is a personal prayer and plea he has made to God.
“I have personally been praying to God to take my life in 2024. I have been saying it for two years now,” he said in an interview on Accra-based Kingdom FM.
The controversial actor said should he die in 2024, nobody should be surprised or think he was murdered.
“I’m serious; I know in 2024 I will die. I have been saying it. Nobody should be surprised when I die in 2024. I have not gone to take any spiritual medicine from anywhere” he stressed.
Oboy Siki noted that he is very much aware of the circumstances in which he will die, stating it will be peaceful.
He shockingly revealed that it was his wish to die on top of a woman during intercourse but changed his mind because he wants to leave behind a good name.
Oboy Siki recounted how he insulted a man of God who wrongly predicted his death years ago.
“A pastor prophesied that I will die earlier and I told him it was a lie. Here I am today; I’m waiting for 2024. I won’t die through an accident, I will die peacefully. You will come to find me lying cool in my room” he predicted.
Two American groups that received Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen during her recent visit to the United States have been sanctioned by China, despite vehement opposition from Beijing.
The Hudson Institute, a think tank with its headquarters in Washington, and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, located in California, have been prohibited from cooperating, exchanging, or conducting business with institutions or people in China, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Friday.
The announcement also warned that key executives of the groups would have their assets in China frozen and would not be permitted to conduct business or collaborate with entities or people there.
“The Hudson Institute and the Reagan Library have provided a platform and facilitated Tsai’s separatist activities… which seriously undermines China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the ministry said, using a term often used to criticize the actions of Taiwan’s leader.
The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library was the site of a meeting between Tsai and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday – the first time a Taiwan president had met a US Speaker on American soil.
And last week, the Hudson Institute presented a Global Leadership Award to Tsai in New York City.
Both occurred during stopovers in the course of the Taiwan President’s 10-day international tour, which included official visits to Central America.
In a statement posted to Twitter Friday by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute, President and CEO David Trulio said the organization was “proud of its decision” to host the meeting between Tsai and McCarthy.
“We will not shy away from living up to President Reagan’s expectation that the foundation and institute bearing his name be a ‘dynamic intellectual forum,’” Trulio said. The organization, created by the late president, encompasses the Reagan library.
Hudson Institute President and CEO John Walters said in a separate statement on the institute’s website that it stood “firmly with Taiwan and against the CCP (Chinese Communist Party).”
“The Chinese Communist Party has a long history of attempting to silence voices, domestically and abroad, that oppose its international aggression and its oppression of the Chinese people. It has not worked before and it will not work now,” said Walters, who is among four leaders between the two organizations targeted by the sanctions.
It’s unclear if either organization or its leaders have assets or cooperation in China that would be impacted.
China had repeatedly said it would take “resolute and strong measures” in response to Tsai’s meeting with McCarthy.
China’s Communist Party claims the self-governing democracy of Taiwan as its own despite never having controlled it, and has vowed to take the island, by force if necessary.
China also imposed sanctions on two Taiwanese organizations, The Prospect Foundation and Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats,on Friday, according to the Taiwan Affairs Office.
A spokesperson accused the groups of promoting Taiwan independence and said they could not cooperate with mainland organizations and individuals. Their directors were also barred from entering the mainland.
Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan representative to the US, was also hit with sanctions on Friday, according to Chinese state media. Hsiao was previously sanctioned by China last August, following a visit from then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the island. On her Twitter account on Friday, Hsiao reacted to the sanctions saying, “Wow, the PRC just sanctions me again, for the second time.”
Taiwan’s foreign ministry responded later Friday calling China’s decision to impose new sanctions over Tsai’s meeting with McCarthy “irrational and absurd.”
It was Taiwan’s “fundamental right” to conduct diplomatic activities overseas, and “coercion and suppression” from Beijing would only boost its “insistence on freedom and democracy,” the statement said.
Beijing’s overall response to the latest meeting has appeared muted so far compared with its actions following Pelosi’s visit.
Then, Beijing launched extensive military drills around the island following the Speaker’s departure and suspended several lines of communication with Washington.
This time there has been little clear military response toward the island, which sees regular incursions into its air defense identification zone and patrols in surrounding waters by the Chinese military.
Ahead of the meeting between Tsai and McCarthy, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said it had tracked a Chinese aircraft carrier group, led by the carrier Shandong, passing through waters southeast of Taiwan for training in the Western Pacific.
China’s retaliation against the US organizations comes at a tense time between the two powers, which have struggled to stabilize their relationship amid friction over a range of issues.
Among those is bolstered American support of Taiwan in the face of increased military, economic and diplomatic pressure on the island democracy from Beijing.
On Friday, US Republican congressman Michael McCaul, who is currently visiting Taiwan, said that speeding up the delivery of weapons to the island was “critically important” in building deterrence against China.
The chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee told reporters that “we are doing everything in our power to expedite [weapon delivery],” and that the bipartisan congressional delegation he is leading is “in broad agreement that this absolutely needs to be done, to provide the deterrence for Taiwan to promote peace in the region.”
McCaul said that potential ways to do so included reprioritizing weapon sales to Taiwan or through third-party sales.
The US maintains an unofficial relationship with Taiwan and Tsai’s transit in the country was therefore not an official visit in order to keep Washington aligned with its longstanding “One China” policy.
Under the policy, the US acknowledges China’s position that Taiwan is part of China, but has never officially recognized Beijing’s claim to the island of 23 million.
Tsai arrived back in Taiwan on Friday, and said her government would not cease having exchanges with the world despite “impediments.”
“We have shown to the international community that when faced with pressure and threats, Taiwan will be even more united. We will never succumb to suppression, and we will also never cease having exchanges with the international community because of impediments,” Tsai said.
“Going forward, Taiwan will not only contribute its expertise and be a force of good for the world, but will also cooperate with other international partners actively for more fruitful results.
Referring to her transit in the US, she added: “Taiwan’s resolve to safeguard freedom and democracy have received support from our fellow democracy partner, and have solidified our friendship with them.”
Staying away from sex and its related pleasures during the Lent period is very vital, the All Souls Anglican Church pastor, Rev Father Amos Asiedu has said.
In a Mynewsgh report, Rev Asiedu said although it isn’t a sin for married couples to have sex during this period, Christians must rather drive their focus on the significance of Easter among other things.
“Having sex by married couples is not a sin but for the Christian during the period of lent the focus should be the blood of Jesus and things that get you closer to God and not bodily pleasure like sex,” he said.
According to him, married couples must reach a consensus and seek permission from each other before strictly observing the period.
“We advise that couples that are married need to communicate to each other and explain the need as a couple to desist from sex during this time. I mean you need to seek permission from your partner before you embark on fasting so that you are not disrupted by sex by your partner.”
He also established the implications of indulging in any form of sexual activity during this period.
“Even sex during this time weakens your spirit with God, that is why Jesus went away into the wilderness to fast, no destruction, just prayers and we need to do the same. The reason for the season is the blood of Jesus and its salvation nothing more nothing less and Christians must know this always”.
A Canadian international based in Dubai has once again boasted of his illegal gold smuggling abilities which occurs in Ghana.
Alistair Mathias, one the individuals recorded with secret cameras in the Al Jazeera undercover investigation called ‘Gold Mafia’ has indicated that he was at one point the biggest gold smuggler in Ghana.
In the first episode of the documentary, Mathias told undercover journalists that he could smuggle about US$40 million to $60 million worth of gold from Ghana every month.
This development left some citizens in Ghana with shock as to how the activity was conducted and gone unnoticed for so long.
But in the third episode of the four-part documentary aired by Al Jazeera on April 6, 2023, undercover journalists discovered that one of the companies Alistair Mathias used for his gold smuggling activities was Guldrest Resources Ghana.
The company, which is registered in Ghana, is well documented in FinCEN Files following an investigation carried out in 2020 and is a member of the Chamber of Bullion Traders Ghana.
Although its offices could not be traced by the Al Jazeera investigative team, Mathias is said to have used this firm to launder money all over the world through other companies and refineries with clients such as African politicians, Russians and others criminal cartels.
However, documents shared on the ‘Gold Mafia’ documentary showed that Mathias’ Guldrest Resources firm conducted transactions of about $16 million with Kaloti Precious Metals at a specific time.
In an interaction with undercover reporters from Al Jazeera, Alistair Mathias explained that to legitimise his money laundering activities, he had to register other companies across the world covering places like Switzerland, Dubai and Africa.
“I do it here [Switzerland] more for track record because If I have an existing business here then the source of funding is not a problem so that’s why I have set ups everywhere. Whatever is like…grey area I take in to Dubai.
“In Ghana I was the biggest at one point… I was doing one tonne and one a half tonne every month so about 40 to 60 million dollars every month I was exporting [smuggled gold] out of Ghana,” Alistair Mathias told the female undercover journalist posing as an investor.
While Guldrest Resources Ghana has denied ever engaging in money laundering or Alistair Mathias being the owner or serving as a director of the company, it is part of some five gold exporters in Ghana cited in connection with highly suspicious dealings with businesses including Kaloti Precious Metals Group.
These transactions included transfers of funds within the gold industry amounting to about $2.8 billion.
Documents and records, according to Al Jazeera, also showed that the bank compliance officers had reason to believe that Kaloti Precious Metals had dealt in suspicious transactions in illegal gold over a period of time with some of these funds paid to companies located in Ghana.
From November 9, 2011 to August 28, 2012, FinCEN Files showed that Guldrest Resources Ghana received 58 transactions totaling $83 million ($83,040,000.00) from Kaloti for trading in gold and purpose of payment was stated as gold trading B/O Gold Diam Export.
Another record further revealed that Guldrest Resources Ghana was listed to have received 37 transactions totaling $30.3 million ($30,368,560.00) between November 5, 2012 and April 8, 2013 which were from Kaloti Precious Metal for gold trading purposes.
New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer hopeful, Kennedy Agyapong has noted that contrary to the mantra ‘fear delegates’ he is confident that delegates will be faithful to him in the upcoming primaries given his hard work and loyalty to the party.
He stated a view contrary to the widely acclaimed “fear delegates” mantra coined by the party’s late former General Secretary, Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie.
According to him, delegates are people with consciences in making rational choices and cannot be said to be treacherous beings who are easily influenced.
“When they bring you money, take it but show them that you cannot be taken for a ride. They say fear delegates, for me, I don’t fear delegates because if you are faithful to delegates, they won’t take someone’s money and even if they do, they will still vote for you,” Kennedy Agyapong told a gathering of NPP members in the Ayawaso East Constituency in a video shared by Oman Channel.
The Assin Central MP noted that he remains the only candidate amongst the party’s flagbearer hopefuls who has been consistent in showing devotion to the cause of the NPP and members at all levels.
He thus implored the party members to reward his devotion with the nod to lead the party into victory for the 2024 presidential election by electing him as flagbearer.
“I have confidence in the grassroots. I may not have been able to take care of everyone but I have fought hard for you. From being charged with treason because of injustice against NPP among other things.
“So I know the love you are showing me is not the ‘fear delegates’ type but one that will manifest in votes. I still have confidence in you,” Kennedy stated while listing his many contributions to the NPP.
The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been officially charged by Russian investigators with espionage, according to Russian state media on Friday. He has refuted the charges.
“The FSB investigation accused Gershkovich of carrying out espionage in the service of his nation. According to a spokesman of the organisation, TASS, the Russian state news agency, “He categorically refuted all allegations and indicated that he was involved in journalistic activities in Russia.”
Since the journalist’s case was categorised “top secret,” the spokesman declined to make any additional comments, according to TASS.
Gershkovich was detained by Russian authorities last week, who accused him of spying, signaling a significant ratcheting of both Moscow’s tensions with the United States and its campaign against foreign news media.
A Moscow court on April 18 will hear an appeal filed by Gershkovich’s lawyers against his arrest, Russian state media said citing the court. The correspondent is currently held in the notorious Leftereovo pre-detention center until May 29.
Gershkovich’s arrest marks the first time an American journalist has been detained on accusations by Moscow of spying since the Cold War.
The Wall Street Journal on Friday issued a new statement condemning Gershkovich’s detention in Russia. “We’ve seen media reports indicating Evan has been charged,” the statement read. “As we’ve said from the beginning, these charges are categorically false and unjustified and we continue to demand Evan’s immediate release.”
Gershkovich’s arrest has alsobeen widely condemned by western officials and the Journal vehemently denied the espionage charge against Gershkovich, describing his arrest “a vicious affront to a free press” which “should spur outrage in all free people and governments throughout the world.”
On Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he urged Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to release Gershkovich immediately.
“In my own mind, there’s no doubt that he’s being wrongfully detained by Russia, which is exactly what I said to Foreign Minister Lavrov when I spoke to him over the weekend,” Blinken said during a press conference in Brussels. “But I want to make sure that as always, because there is a formal process, that we go through it and we will, and I expect that to be to be completed soon.”
CNN reported on Tuesday that the Biden administration is preparing to officially declare Gershkovich as wrongfully detained in Russia, two US officials told CNN, a move that will trigger new US government resources to work towards his release.
In a Facebook post, the agreement forms part of efforts to ensure power grid stability and reliability, especially in the middle belts of Ghana.
“Our efforts at ensuring power supply reliability in the overall context of our socio-economic development continues on daily basis, anchored on the dictates of good governance.”
“In my remarks, I reminded the two parties of the essence of this morning’s exercise and thus, charged the ECG to ensure the full operationalization of the agreement in the interest of Ghanaians,” the Minister’s post read.
Dr Opoku Prempeh said the Ministry envisages an energy sector that will be robust enough to support the national economy.
He therefore reiterated government’s commitment to increase investments through partnerships that will result in constant availability of power for industrial and residential consumption.
Present at the signing ceremony was the Minister of Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, officials from AKSA Energy, Deputy Ministers of Energy, Andrew Egyapa Mercer and Herbert Krapa along with Managing Director of ECG, Samuel Dubik Mahama.
Wednesday morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin called a partial mobilisation in a televised national speech. As a result, Putin has essentially violated an unspoken social bargain that Russians have with the government: in return for you not meddling in our personal affairs, we, the citizens, allow you, the government, to steal and fight.
The trapped Putin is leading a sizable majority of Russians into a new phase of the conflict. On the home front, he has effectively declared war on the Russian male populace as well as the opposition and civic society.
Why is Putin taking the risk? Because he himself has encouraged the lack of public attention to the war for several months. Mobilization is fraught with serious discontent in society. That is precisely why he decided to make a partial mobilization, rather than a full one. In the long run, he laid a mine under his regime; in the short run, he will face sabotage.
For so long, Putin fostered a disinclination among the masses for war, a disinclination that will now cost the Russians, who are being turned into cannon fodder.
How might Wednesday’s announcement take Russians out of their comfort zone – those who remained indifferent to the “special operation” in the current circumstances?
Until now at least, the main emotion (or rather, its absence) felt here was indifference. That indifference comes in different shades – genuine, imitative or self-cultivated.
The Russian who falls within the 30% who “rather” support the “special operation” (nearly 50% “definitely” support it, slightly less than 20% do not support it) has no opinion of his own, prefers to borrow it from the TV or from Putin, blocks out for himself the bad news and alternative sources of information. But he sometimes does not like the war itself, and a person in this 30% could potentially change his attitude toward Putin and his initiatives.
The indifference of ordinary people benefits Putin. We, the citizens, do not interfere in the affairs of our political class and support their initiatives, but in exchange we ask them to maintain an impression of normality.
Which is what Putin does, skillfully combining partial mobilization in support of the war and himself (which happened immediately after the invasion began) and demobilization. Entertainment programs are back on TV, fireworks went off on annual Moscow City Day festivities (an ironic joke of this day was that Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin celebrated the start of the Ukrainian counteroffensive), and people live their normal lives – interest in the events in Ukraine has been low throughout the summer.
But even those who were indifferent could not ignore the Ukrainian counterattack. Although here, too, a reluctance to know the truth prevailed: if the officials said that it was not a retreat, but a regrouping of troops, then that was the case. Yet even the official Kremlin talk shows were full of admissions of failure.
This did not provoke a desire for peace – which is also present in the mood even of those who generally support the operation – but caused an explosion of aggression and hate speech. There were calls to “take off the white gloves” and already really punish Ukraine. This is what Putin has done by launching missile strikes on infrastructure – power plants and hydroelectric facilities. This is revenge and anger, but anger that reveals weakness rather than strength.
The radicals are unhappy with Putin and demand a war to the bitter end and general mobilization. But the Kremlin dictator lacks the resources for a quick victory, including, above all, human resources (which is why he is beginning to recruit cannon fodder, even from convicts serving their sentences).
That said, it is not profitable for Putin to provoke the discontent of the middle classes, who are happy to watch the war from their sofa on TV, but are not about to go to the trenches. Moreover, general mobilization would divert the human capital needed for the economy – simply put, there would be hardly anyone to work.
Discontent with Putin on the part of radical hawks is not a new phenomenon. But nevertheless, it has not yet manifested itself so vividly. However, they have no chance of competing with Putin – the ultra-conservative radicals will be suppressed with the same energy as the pro-Western liberals: the dictator will not tolerate any competition in the niche of war and imperialism.
Public opinion in Russia is very inert, and something extraordinary will have to happen for the mood to change in earnest. The same is true of economic problems. Until now the social-economic crisis wasn’t so visible. The full-fledged beginning of it is being postponed, but, as some economists say, will probably manifest itself in late 2022/early 2023.
While public opinion is in a state of inertia, Putin has a chance to find words to pass off defeats as victories. He could stop the war right now by describing the losses as gains. And partly he did, when he decided to fix the losses by announcing the urgent holding of referendums in the four occupied territories of Ukraine on their accession to Russia.
It’s evident that Putin is not ready to stop what he started. He presumes that Russia will succeed on the battlefield. Or at least would gain a stronger foothold in the occupied territories, declaring them Russian, in which case any fighting in them would be assessed as an attack on Russia. And then he will have the opportunity to transfer the “special operation” into the official status of war and to create the possibility of general mobilization. Now Putin has announced only limited, “partial” mobilization.
And that could all be a mistake. The longer Putin delays ending the war – even given the already publicly expressed wariness of his main “friends” Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi – the harder it will be for him to make peace later on in terms that could be portrayed as victory.
Yes, public opinion is mentally prepared for a long war, but who knows when the fatigue of constant tension, which has to be relieved by carefully nurtured indifference, will break through and change the mood. Putin says he has time and the Russian army is in no hurry.
But as time passes, defeats will become increasingly difficult to present as victories – above all for the hesitating 30% who “rather” support him.
Ahuofe Patri has stated that she would choose colleague screen star Kalybos to face an apocalypse with.
Thursday, April 6, 2023, Patri appeared on Ayekoo Ayekoo hosted by Nana Romeo on Accra 100.5 FM.
She was asked who she would choose to live with if God was wiping all humans off the face of the planet.
She asked “dead or alive,” to be sure.
If the person is dead and could be brought back, it would be “my mom,” she answered.
March 4, she buried her mother Susanna Opoku, whom she has eulogised as a mother, big sister, friend and confidant.
If the person is alive, she would choose her on-screen suite; “Kalybos,” she exclaimed.
She said she likes him “very much,” giggling.
She also agreed that they have good chemistry.
Ahuofe Patri, born Priscilla Opoku Agyeman, revealed that she and Kalybos, born Richard Asante, hang out “all the time.”
“You know what? He got me a phone for my birthday,” she showed an iPhone 14 to the camera and flashed a dazzling smile which broke into hearty giggles.
The two studied at the National Film and Television Institute, now the University of Media, Arts and Communication. It was while in school, creating sensational comic skits, that Kalybos named her Ahuofe Patri.
On Saturday, North Korea asserted that it had tested a brand-new underwater drone that was “capable of delivering a nuclear warhead.”
According to a report by the government-run Korean Central News Agency, the drone, known as the “Haeil-2 Unmanned Underwater Nuclear Attack Boat,” was tested between April 4 and 7. (KCNA).
Before its test warhead was exploded underwater on Thursday afternoon, it drifted in the waters off North Korea‘s east coast for more than 71 hours, according to KCNA.
This is the second time in weeks the reclusive country claims to have tested a nuclear capable drone. In March, Pyongyang said it had tested the Haeil-1, which it claimed was capable of carrying a nuclear warhead that could create a “radioactive tsunami.”
“As a result of the test, the reliability and fatal strike capability of the underwater strategic weapon system were perfectly proved,” KCNA said of the latest test, of the Haeil-2.
Pyongyang claims to have been developing nuclear capable drones since 2012 and to have carried out more than 50 tests in the past two years.
However, analysts have poured doubt on North Korea’s claims, noting that North Korea has previously exaggerated its capabilities and deployment time lines.
The news follows tests last month of what North Korea said were nuclear-capable cruise missiles.
