Following Mykhailo Mudryk‘s rejection of an Arsenal transfer in January, Oleksandr Zinchenko claims he has no ill will towards his colleague for the Ukraine national team.
The Arsenal seemed prepared to smash their transfer record in an effort to sign one of the most highly regarded young forwards in European football.
In a series of less-than-cryptic social media posts, Mudryk had made no secret of his desire to join the Premier League‘s top team, and in a candid interview with Zinchenko’s wife, journalist Vlada Sedan, he had said that he had fantasised about moving to north London.
As events transpired, Arsenal were unable to agree a fee with Shakhtar Donetsk and their refusal to meet the Ukrainain club’s valuation allowed Chelsea and Todd Boehly an opportunity to swoop.
With Chelsea happy to cede to Skakhtar’s demands, Mudryk found himself with no option but to sign for Chelsea instead, much to Zinchenko’s disappointment.
He told the Daily Mail: ‘I said to him: “It’s gone already, it doesn’t matter what you wanted, what the other guys wanted”.
‘Now you’re a Chelsea player, you signed a long-term contract and you have only one option, only one way: direct and forward.’
‘Unfortunately he didn’t become an Arsenal player – as I wanted personally! – but it’s life.’
Arsenal reacted to Mudryk’s snub by recruiting Leandro Trossard instead, a decision which has reaped instant dividends, while the 22-year-old has found adapting to the Premier League a far from straightforward task.
After an eye-catching debut against Liverpool, his subsequent six appearances have yielded a solitary assist while he has struggled to nail down a place in Graham Potter’s constantly changing first XI.
Zinchenko and Arsenal, meanwhile, continue to go from strength to strength as they progress with their relentless march towards a first Premier League title in approaching 20 years.
Arteta ‘really happy’ with Arsenal’s 4-1 win against Crystal Palace
The summer recruit from Manchester City has been an essential component in a side that has married steel with a creative flair that had been absent from of Mikel Arteta’s tenure prior to this season.
Zinchenko’s technical ability and eagerness to dictate play from his customary left-back position has been central to the rapid progress Arsenal have made since his arrival and he credits Arteta, who he worked with at City, for helping shape his career.
‘I remember when Mikel was leaving City (in 2019),’ Zinchenko said. ‘I didn’t hold my emotions. I couldn’t because this guy was so special to me.
‘He taught me a lot As a human being he was incredible and the way he was working with us young players after every single training session, the advice he was giving everyone, was something incredibly important for me.’
Asked what makes Arteta so special, he added: ‘The way he sees football – his vision, his character, his mentality. He’s a winner and everyone likes to win… as simple as that.
‘I said to my circle: “If one day I’m going to leave City and I’m going to stay in the Premier League, it will be only one manager: Mikel Arteta.”
‘That’s what I said to him when he called me for the first time in that transfer window.’
The John Agyekum Kufour Foundation CEO has reacted to the approval of the six new ministerial appointees, following Friday’s secret ballot.
He said he is not surprised that some NDC MPs after declaring their intention not to approve the ministers ended up voting in favor of all the six.
Professor Baffour Agyeman-Duah said he was optimistic that the Akufo-Addo-led government will come out victorious.
“Personally I wasn’t surprised at the outcome because normally in such circumstances, you’re going to find out that the wheeling and dealing on the floor of Parliament on both sides and across, eventually will determine the outcome.
“The outcome doesn’t surprise me. I knew that the government side will win,” he said when speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday.
Prof Agyeman–Duah partly attributes the NDC’s approval of the appointees to what he describes as excessive power vested in the executive arm of government.
According to him, this makes it easy for government to influence those who may oppose its initiatives.
Following the resignation of some ministers in pursuit of presidential ambitions, the President made new appointments even though there were criticisms of a bloated size of government.
After a prolonged vetting process on Friday, Parliament debated whether or not to give the said appointees the nod after vetting them.
The leadership of the NDC in a statement cautioned its MPs not to approve any of the appointees.
It requested that all who had travelled should make sure they are available for the voting process.
The Minority Caucus indicated a strong opposition to the approach, saying government ought to cut down on expenditures and not exacerbate the current trends of an economic downturn by introducing new Ministers.
However, on March 24, after hours of disagreements and a brief suspension, Parliament finally approved all ministerial nominees.
This does not surprise the co-founder of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana).
Prof Agyemang-Duah said the Majority Caucus was aware that should they delay the process, they could convince some of the opposition MPs to join their course.
He told host Samson Lardy Anyenini that it was to be expected that such a situation was going to happen.
“When the Majority side decided to suspend the voting, they knew what was happening, and they knew that if they delayed the process they were going to be able to get some other guys from the other side to join them. This is what you should expect,” he said.
Meanwhile, the public including some experts have expressed disappointment at the NDC MPs for failing to stay through to their course.
This week’s new moon marked the start of the holy month of Ramadan for Muslims throughout the globe, and one man will be watching it from space.
First Emirati to work on the International Space Station (ISS), where he will spend the next six months, is astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi.
‘Mubarak in Ramadan. Al Neyadi tweeted a video of his breathtaking views of the Earth, moon, and Venus from the International Space Station on Thursday along with the message, “Wishing you all a month full with blessings.”
‘Sharing the beautiful night time scenery from the International Space Station Station with you all.’
During the month of Ramadan, Muslims refrain from eating or drinking anything from sunrise to sunset. So will Al Neyadi be fasting in space?
As an astronaut Al Neyadi fits the definition of a ‘traveller’, excusing him from attempting to observe Ramadan at the same time as Earth-bound Muslims.
‘Fasting is not compulsory if you’re feeling not well. So in that regard — anything that can jeopardize the mission or maybe put the crew member at risk — we’re actually allowed to eat sufficient food to prevent any escalation of lack of food or nutrition or hydration,’ he told reporters at a press conference in January.
Alneyadi also told reporters during a news conference in Dubai in February that he could fast according to Greenwich Mean Time, or Coordinated Universal Time, which is used as the official time zone on the space station.
‘If we had the opportunity, definitely Ramadan is a good occasion to fast, and it’s actually healthy,’ said Al Neyadi. ‘We’ll wait and see how it goes.’
The Emirati is only the 11th Muslim astronaut to go to space.
In 2007, Malaysian astronaut Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor became the first practising Muslim aboard the ISS.
Since his time in space coincided with Ramadan, Malaysia’s space agency, Angkasa, convened a conference of 150 Islamic scientists and scholars in 2006 to create special guidelines to guide his and future Muslim astronauts’ practices in space.
According to the guidelines, Shukor’s fasting could be postponed until he returned to Earth or he could fast in accordance with the time zone of the place from which he had launched.
He was also relieved of the obligation to attempt to kneel while praying — a difficult feat in zero gravity.
Another challenge in space is attempting to face Mecca, as Muslims must during Salah or daily prayer. This was left to the best abilities of the astronaut, according to Fatwa Council guidelines.
So far, less than a dozen Muslim men have been in space.
Al Neyadi was part of SpaceX’s Crew 6 and is currently on the first-ever long-duration mission flown by a United Arab Emirates (UAE) astronaut.
Member of Parliament for La Dadekotopon, Rita Odoley Sowah, reportedly missed her late father’s burial just to be in parliament to partake in the secret ballot on President Akufo-Addo’s six new ministerial appointments.
The House had an extended sitting as it considered the votes on the inconclusive report of the Appointments Committee of Parliament, on the nominations of some six persons as ministers and one deputy minister.
Although the Minority MPs from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) had clearly stated that they would reject the nominations, the results, as announced by the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, showed a different picture.
In the end, all the nominees got approved by parliament, with all of them receiving majority votes. It is worth noting that the House had 136 MPs on either side.
Reacting to this, NDC member, Dzifa Gunu, used the opportunity to celebrate the La Dadekotopon MP for sacrificing so much for the party, although their intentions were not met.
“On Thursday, whilst your late dad was laying in state to be buried on Friday, you were in Parliament because you were responding to a call to service.
“Friday, the final day of your late dad’s funeral, you spent less than 3 hours at the church service, you couldn’t stay to even watch his coffin being carried to the cemetery, you left for Parliament House.
“At a point, the Regional Chairman called me to enquire if you were in parliament, indeed you were in parliament for the rest of yesterday.
“Unfortunately, sadly, your sacrifice was in vain, the reason why you couldn’t fully be at your own dad’s funeral didn’t materialise,” he wrote.
Although the NDC MPs have stated on several occasions, including during debates ahead of the vote, that they would reject the nominees because the government needs to rather downsize, when the results were declared, it showed a sharp contrast.
All the six ministerial nominees were approved by majority votes, with many describing the move as a betrayal from the NDC MPs, especially when there were 136 of them on either sides of the House.
The MPs for Madina, Tamale North, and North Tongu, Francis-Xavier Sosu, Alhassan Sayibu Suhuyini, and Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa respectively, have also since put out cryptic messages, registering their disappointments.
The House also approved the nominations of two Supreme Court justices.
The leadership of the NDC is yet to issue a statement on the outcome of this vote.
This is how the MPs also voted on the day for the ministers:
Total eligible 275
Absentees = 3
Total valid votes = 272
KT Hammond, Minister for Trade and Industry
Yes = 154 No = 116 Rejected = 1 Abstention = 1
Bryan Acheampong, Minister for Food and Agriculture
Yes = 167 No = 98 Rejected = 1 Abstention = 3
Stephen Asamoah Boateng, Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs
Yes = 147 No = 122 Abstention = 3
Mohammed Amin, Minister of State at the Presidency
Yes = 152 No = 117 Rejected = 1 Abstentions = 2
Osei Bonsu Amoah, Minister of Local Government and Decentralization
Yes = 149 No = 120 Abstentions = 2
Stephen Amoah, deputy minister of Trade and Industry
Several football players and former coworkers attended John Motson‘s burial.
The greatest names in football and broadcasting gathered today to mourn the passing of renowned pundit John Motson.
On February 23, Motson passed away. For 50 years, his upbeat voice was practically inseparable from some of the most memorable football events. He was 77.
Today, he was laid to rest today at the Crownhill Crematorium in Milton Keynes.
Motson’s co-commentator, Sir Trevor Brooking, led the mourners.
Former football stars such as Ray Stubbs and Bob Wilson as well as Martin Keown, Garth Crooks and Mark Lawrenson showed up to pay their respects.
Martin Tyler, the top football commentator for Sky Sports, also attended the funeral.
Motson, often called ‘Motty’, retired in 2018 after commentating on 2,500 matches, 29 FA Cup finals, 10 World Cups and 10 European Championships.
He was invited onto the pitch when he finally hung up the microphone during the Crystal Palace v West Brom game during the Premier League.
Often seen with his sheepskin coat and thick-framed glasses, Motson joined the BBC in 1968 before working on the BBC’s Match of the Day in 1971.
He became the station’s go-to voice for football for decades and was even appointed an officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2001.
BBC’s director-general, Tim Davie, said: ‘John Motson was the voice of a footballing generation.
‘Steering us through the twists and turns of FA Cup runs, the highs and lows of World Cups and, of course, Saturday nights on Match of the Day.
‘Like all the greats behind the mic, John had the right words, at the right time, for all the big moments.’
Motson was a known regular at The George in Little Brickhill, a village in Buckinghamshire, often swinging by three or four times a week.
According to the landlords, he spent his final night doing what he loved: watching football while enjoying a pint.
Six individuals are still missing after a major explosion at a chocolate factory that left five people dead.
Thick smoke filled the air after the blast at the R.M. Palmer Co. plant in Pennsylvania.
The intensity of the explosion was strong enough to shake the camera as shocking video captured debris flying into the street.
A structure was destroyed and several nearby residences were damaged by the explosion, which also started a fire.
The blast destroyed the R.M. Palmer Co. plant in West Reading, Pennsylvania (Picture: AP)Thick plumes of smoke could be seen for miles (Picture: TWITTER @Based_In410 via REUTERS)
Following their arrest on suspicion of killing a 16-year-old kid by stabbing him to death, two adolescent lads were remanded in custody.
In the aftermath of the incident near the Cock Hotel on Harborough Road, Kingsthorpe, on Wednesday at around 3.35 p.m., Rohan Shand, also known as Fred to his family and friends, passed away.
On Saturday morning, the two Northampton-born boys, ages 16 and 14, appeared before the local magistrates.
The pair, who cannot be named for legal reasons, will appear next at Northampton Crown Court on Monday.
Two men, aged 49 and 21, also from Northampton, who were arrested in connection with Fred’s death have both been released with no further action.
Officers would still like to speak to witnesses, anyone with information, or anyone with CCTV, doorbell, or dash-cam footage of the area at the time.
The US state was devastated by the powerful storms that passed over it.
Due to the tornado, vehicles were left on their sides and buildings were reduced to ruins.
Many people were compelled to seek refuge in the morning darkness because it struck about 6.20am.
While the tornado passed through the state, WTVA meteorologist Matt Laubhan was live-blogging the weather.
Lost for words, he struggled to pull sentences together as he tried to get across the sheer danger it posed.
‘Dear Jesus, please help them’, Mr Laubhan added as he put his face in his hands.
The National Weather Service issued an alert as the storm was hitting that read: ‘To protect your life, TAKE COVER NOW!’
The damage left behind in Sharkey County, Mississippi (Picture: @SacharBlake/Twitter)Homes in the tornado’s path have been destroyed (Picture: @MHPTroopD / Twitter)
‘You are in a life-threatening situation,’ it warned.
‘Flying debris may be deadly to those caught without shelter. Mobile homes will be destroyed. Considerable damage to homes, businesses, and vehicles is likely and complete destruction is possible.’
Rural towns such as Silver City and Rolling Fork reported destruction as the tornado swept northeast at 70 mph without weakening, racing towards Alabama through towns including Winona and Amory into the night.
The damage spans communities over the combined distance of more than 100 miles, authorities say.
Homes reduced to rubble after deadly tornado tears through Mississippi
Cornel Knight told The Associated Press that he, his wife and their three-year-old daughter were at a relative’s home in Rolling Fork when the tornado struck.
He said the sky was dark but ‘you could see the direction from every transformer that blew’.
He said it was ‘eerily quiet’ as that happened. Mr Knight said he watched from a doorway until the tornado was, he estimated, less than a mile away.
Then he told everyone in the house to take cover in a hallway.
Four people remain missing and the death toll is expected to rise following the tornado.
In a tweet, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency wrote: ‘We can confirm 23 dead, dozens injured, four missing due to last night’s tornadoes.
‘We have numerous local and state search and rescue teams that continue to work this morning. A number of assets are on the ground to assist those that have been impacted.’
The National Weather Service confirmed a tornado caused damage about 60 miles north-east of Jackson, Mississippi.
At least 24 reports of tornadoes were issued to the National Weather Service overnight by storm chasers and observers.
‘Many in the MS Delta need your prayer and God’s protection tonight,’ Governor Tate Reeve said in a tweet.
‘We have activated medical supportâsurging more ambulances and other emergency assets for those affected. Search and rescue is active.’
The silver Royal Victorian Medal has been given to the pallbearers who escorted the Queen’s casket in honour of the significant part they played in her funeral.
Last September, countless people watched as eight Grenadier Guards in full uniform carried Her Late Majesty’s lead-lined coffin into Westminster Abbey before transferring it to St. George’s Chapel in Windsor, where she was laid to rest.
Lance Sergeant Alex Turner, Lance Corporal Tony Flynn, Lance Sergeant Elias Orlowski, Guardsmen Fletcher Cox, Guardsman James Patterson, Lance Sergeant Ryan Griffiths, Guardsman Luke Simpson, and Guardsman David Sanderson slowly ascended the chapel’s steep steps without disturbing the Imperial State Crown or the orb and sceptre placed on top. Some reported holding their breath.
The soldiers were named as recipients of honours under the Royal Victorian Order (RVO) in recognition of their service to the Queen, as part of a special set of Demise awards.
The eight pallbearers carrying the Queen’s coffin out of Westminster Abbey after her State Funeral (Picture: PA)
Awards under the RVO are in the King’s gift and are bestowed independently of Downing Street to people who have served the monarch or the royal family in a personal way.
The unit had a close connection with the Queen – as the serving monarch she held the position of company commander and made a personal review of the company every decade.
After watching them carrying out their duties in some of the most poignant moments of the Queen’s funeral, Tory former minister Eddie Hughes said: ‘I held my breath for every step… These lads are amazing.’
Fellow Tory MP Tom Hunt said at the time: ‘I can’t imagine how hard and emotionally challenging it must have been to have carried Her Late Majesty’s coffin just once.
‘They’ve done it time and time again this week. With billions watching. They’ve done Her Late Majesty and the country proud.’
Carla Lockhart, Upper Bann’s DUP MP, said: ‘Amidst the pageantry and occasion, eight young men silently went about their duty.
‘The weight of the world on their shoulders, the glare of the world on them, but they were flawless.
‘They did themselves, their families and our country proud. Thank you.’
The late Queen’s closest adviser, Angela Kelly, has also been recognised by the King alongside other royal aides, and many who played important roles during her funeral.
The honours list also featured RAF flight crew who transported the Queen’s coffin from Scotland to London, senior managers from the household and Government, and the late Queen’s stud groom Terry Pendry, who held the reins of the monarch’s pony Emma as the funeral cortege entered Windsor Castle.
Ms Kelly, the late Queen’s personal assistant, adviser and curator, worked for the monarch for more than 25 years and was made a Commander of the RVO.
The new King and Overlord of Gonja, Yagbonwura Bii-Kunuto Jawu Soale (I) has pledged to re-introduce the ban on commercial charcoal burning and tree harvesting. He said he will do so in consultation with the elders and the sons of the Gonja Kingdom.
The speech of the Yagbonwura at his Outdooring on March 21, 2023, read by his Spokesperson Benkrowura Seidu Saaka Bakari, said the Yagbonwura and his Council of Elders and the sons of the Gonja Kingdom will prescribe severe punishment for whoever flout its decision in this matter.
The Yagbonwura stated, “Gonjaland is the home of the biggest Game Reserve in Ghana if not the whole of West Africa. It had until a couple of years ago the highest concentration of the Shea nut tree in Ghana, if not the whole of West Africa”.
The Overlord of Honja futuer said that other commercial trees such as the dawadawa, kapok, rosewood, etc. which could be found in almost every part in the Kingdom and exploited by our women folk for their livelihood, are now a rare in sight.
The Yagbonwura stated, “indiscriminate felling of trees by commercial charcoal burners and harvesting of rosewood has put our environment in a situation that this Kingdom will no longer tolerate”.
When the Members of Parliament from the Minority side (National Democratic Congress MPs) walked into the Chamber of Parliament on Friday, March 24, 2023, they went in with one profound message: we will reject the ministerial nominees of president Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Their reasons were that the government of the day, led by Akufo-Addo, was already too crowded and there was the need for it to rather be cut down.
The leadership of the NDC party had also sent the same communication to the MPs not to approve the six ministerial appointees and the two remaining Supreme Court judges’ nominees.
As an affirmation of this direction, arguments ahead of the vote on Friday, from the NDC MPs, all clearly indicated their resolve to cause the change for which many voted for a hung parliament: to keep the government properly in check.
But then things went sideways very quickly after the Members of Parliament cast their secret votes later that evening.
Surprisingly, and in what many have described as a betrayal by the NDC MPs, all the nominees of the president were approved by the House by an outright majority.
The results were declared by the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, after extended sitting on Friday, March 24.
Disappointed in the turn of events, some three MPs from the Minority side: Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, North Tongu; Alhassan Sayibu Suhuyini, Tamale North; and Francis-Xavier Sosu, Madina; put out some very cryptic messages.
Shared on their social media pages (Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp), the MPs, through their messages, showed indications at their surprise and disappointment in the turnout of the votes.
Here are their messages below:
This is how the MPs also voted on the day for the ministers:
Total eligible 275
Absentees = 3
Total valid votes = 272
Hon KT Hammond, Minister for Trade and Industry
Yes = 154 No = 116 Rejected = 1 Abstention = 1
Bryan Acheampong, Minister for Food and Agriculture
Yes = 167 No = 98 Rejected = 1 Abstention = 3
Stephen Asamoah Boateng, Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs
Yes = 147 No = 122 Abstention = 3
Mohammed Amin, Minister of State at the Presidency
Yes = 152 No = 117 Rejected = 1 Abstentions = 2
Osei Bonsu Amoah, Minister of Local Government and Decentralization
Yes = 149 No = 120 Abesmtion = 2
Stephen Amoah, deputy minister of Trade and Industry
The Deputy Majority Leader, Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah, has urged members of the National Democratic Congress not to be dejected by the loss in the battle on the approval of ministerial and judicial appointees of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
According to him, even though the loss was unbearable, the important thing is that the party comes together for the many battles ahead.
“I was naturally devastated last night but woke up surprisingly feeling stronger and convinced that we simply lost a battle and not the war.
“We necessarily have to regroup and soldier on for there are many battles ahead and I know with God on our side we shall win the war in the end,” the deputy majority leader wrote in a tweet shared, on Saturday, March 25, 2023.
“The victory of the NDC is coming again and nothing can stop it,” Armah-Kofi Buah, the Member of Parliament for Ellembele, added.
Parliament approves all six nominees, two Supreme Court Justices:
Parliament on Friday, March 24 approved all six ministerial nominees as well as the nominees of the supreme court of President Akufo-Addo after a heated debate, 24 hours prior and a tense voting process.
Final results declared by Speaker Alban Bagbin showed that all nominees got more votes than the minimum of 138 votes required because out of the 275 eligible voters, there were three absent.
Some Members of Parliament (MPs) of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) did not adhere to the decision of the party to vote against the approval of the nominees.
Kobina Tahiru Hammond (MP for Adansi Asokwa) was approved as the Minister of Trade and Industry and Bryan Acheampong (MP for Abetifi) as the Minister of Food and Agriculture.
Other nominees who were approved include Stephen Asamoah Boateng, as Ministry of Chieftaincy; Mohammed Amin Adam, Minister of State (Ministry of Finance), and Osei Bonsu Amoah, Ministry of Local Government.
Stephen Amoah, the Member of Parliament for Nhyiaeso, was also approved as the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry.
The Supreme Court nominees who were approved include George Kingsley Koomson, Justice of the Court of Appeal, and Justice Ernest Yao Gaewu, Justice of the High Court.
The district is blessed with tourist sites; caves, fascinating scenery (mountains), waterfalls, and streams, apart from the agricultural potential.
The Accelerated Rural Development Organisation (ARDO), a Non-Governmental Organisation, with support from the New England Biolabs Foundation-USA, donated irrigation machines and accessories, safety items and cash to groups at Likpe Todome in the Guan District.
Two vegetable-farmer groups from Lolobi-Ashiambi and Likpe Bala received two irrigation machines and accessories worth GhC38,600, while a cash amount of GHc1,200.00 was handed over to Mr Paul Onai, the Chairman of the Anti-wildfire Volunteer Group, at in Lipke Bala, to support firefighting activities.
Another ecotourism group from Likpe Todome, an area endowed with six ancestral caves, also received 200 metres of climbing safety ropes, 20 galvanized rods, and 20 bags of cement, worth Gh11,800.00, to enhance the work of members.
Mr Nicholas Mensah, the Chairperson for the Community Environmental and Ecotourism Management Committee (CEEMC), received the donations on behalf of the groups, at Likpe Todome.
He appealed to individuals and organisations to assist the communities to conserve the environment, improve agriculture, preserve cultural heritage, and mitigate climate change effects.
Nana Kadjangla IV, the Chief of Likpe Todome, expressed appreciation to the NGO and Foundation, for their support to promote eco-tourism and minor-season vegetable farming in the district.
He called for the preservation of the caves and Wadzakli falls/stream, by restoring or protecting the vegetation and ecology around those natural resources, to promote tourism and improve the livelihoods of the people.
Mr Pascal Benson Atiglah, the Executive Director of ARDO, appealed to the chiefs to collaborate with their counterparts in Togo, to prevent the annual cross-border fires, caused by cattle herders.
He cautioned the people against bushfires, which aggravate climate change effects and environmental degradation.
Mr Elias Zuri Domernya, the Assembly Member of Likpe Todome, noted that minor season vegetable farming played a significant role in the livelihood of the people, hence must be given the necessary support.
The chiefs and elders of Todome, where the ancestral caves and the Wadzakli streams can be found, as well as farmer groups from Lolobi-Ashiambi and Likpe-Bala were present at the presentation.
Vodafone Ghana Mobile Financial Services Limited (Vodafone Cash) and MobileMoney Limited (MML) have enabled interoperability services that allow both entities’ customers to pay at each other’s merchant point of sale.
This is a major milestone in creating an enabling environment in furtherance of the financial inclusion agenda of both entities and the Government of Ghana.
A press statement signed jointly by Director of Legal and External Affairs, Vodafone Ghana, Preba Greensheet, and Chief Corporate Services Officer, MTN Ghana, Mr Nana Kofi Asare, copied to GNA said the service was launched on March 1, 2023, and was available to all Vodafone Cash and MTN Mobile Money customers.
The Customers of both networks can now make direct payments for goods and services at any MTN Mobile Money or Vodafone Cash merchant point across the country.
The Acting Chief Executive Officer of MMLMr Shaibu Haruna, said that the step made was in line with MTN Group’s ambition of developing the largest financial services platform in Africa.
He added that they were committed to building an all-inclusive payment ecosystem that provided a platform for all players to flourish.
“We look forward to partnering with other players in the market to leverage off our distribution network to offer their services to customers,” he noted.
Madam Judith Adumua-Bossman, Acting Mobile Financial Services Manager at Vodafone Cash, said they believed that partnerships were key to expanding access to financial services for everyone and they were dedicated to creating innovative solutions that would help their customers better manage their financial goals.
Madam Adumua-Bossman said, “this is a truly historic moment for us, and this new feature underscores our commitment towards growing accessibility, convenience and value for our customers.”
Illegal mining, Farming, and deforestation along the banks of water bodies on some parts of the Black Volta River are major challenges to water resources management in the Upper West Region.
On the part of groundwater Resources, the major challenges faced are the uncontrolled drilling of boreholes and the use of unlicensed drilling companies in the drilling and construction of boreholes.
The Head of Black Volta Basin, Water Resources CommissionDr Joachim Agiiwe Abungba, raised these concerns during a tour with students and other stakeholders around the stretch of the Black Volta River to mark World Water Day celebration in the region.
The Day was on the theme: “Accelerating Change” and the tour was to enable the students and the stakeholders to see how they could individually accelerate the change in water resources management.
The Water level in the basin as at March 22, 2023, was 4.12 metres and will rise to 13.28 metres during its peak in the rainy season.
The students were drawn from the Wa Senior High, St. Francis Xavier Minor Seminary, Wa Senior High/Technical School and Jamiat Islamic Girls Senior High and charged to act as agents of change, advocating for the protection and sustainable utilisation of water resources to help address why so many people had been without access to safe water.
Dr Abungba noted that the Unwillingness on the part of water users in the basin to register their operations with the Water Resources Commission mandated to regulate and manage the water resources, was also a challenge and needed to be addressed.
“Without a proper register of water users in the basin, it will be difficult to regulate activities for sustainable utilisation of the basin’s water resources,” he pointed out.
He said as part of efforts to the attainment of the Goal Six of the Sustainable Development Goals, which targeted water for all by 2030, to among other actions, there was the need to advocate for the protection and restoration of ecosystems to safeguard the existence of water resources for use today and that of posterity.
Dr Abungba announced that the Black Volta Basin Secretariat had developed an integrated water resources management plan to ensure sustainable exploitation, utilisation and management of the basin’s water resources while maintaining biodiversity and the quality of the environment for future generations.
He explained that all major global issues from health to hunger, gender equality to employment, education to industry, and disasters to peace were hampered by dysfunction in the water cycle.
The Head of Black Volta Basin, said it was sad that the world’s population human rights to water and sanitation had not been met, as numerous farms, industries, schools, enterprises, and healthcare facilities were being held back because of water and sanitation challenges.
He called for urgent measures to speed up efforts towards achieving sustainable water management practices through collective efforts so that the challenges being faced in the water sector could be solved.
Mr Ato Quansah, the Regional Director of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency, appealed to community leaders to refrain from the practice of burying dead bodies in the compounds and rooms.
They should also make sure that old cemeteries were properly demarcated to stop people from drilling boreholes in those areas because underground water could be contaminated and unsafe for human consumption.
The new Minister for Food and Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, received the highest votes cast by Members of Parliament on Friday, March 24, 2023, to determine whether or not to approve the appointees of the president.
In total, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, told the House that there were 275 MPs eligible to vote, 3 absentees, and 272 valid votes cast.
At the end of the secret vote, Bryan Acheampong received 167 Yes votes, 98 No votes, and 1 rejected vote.
According to the records on the day, there were 136 MPs apiece on both the Majority and the Minority sides of the House, however, the votes that were cast for all the nominees, were in outright majority.
In the specific case of Bryan Acheampong, who is also the MP for Abetifi, with a total valid vote of 167, it meant that he clearly had an extra 31 votes from the Minority side.
This is the case because, what was certain going into the vote was that all the MPs from the Majority side (New Patriotic Party; also the party in power) were going to give a Yes vote to the nominees.
The Minority MPs had also sent a very clear message about their position on the fact that they would not approve the appointees of the president.
They had given their reasons that the government was overcrowded and that there was the need for President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to downsize his government instead so that the public purse is not further under pressure.
Arguments from the debates on the approval of the nominees, plus some two other appointees for the Supreme Court of Ghana, had all indicated that the Minority were going to reject the nominees.
However, in the evening of Friday, March 24, when the House held a secret vote on the matter, all the results came out in favour of the nominees, as all of them were confirmed.
Some of the MPs from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have since openly expressed their disappointments in the way things turned out, with some of them describing the outcome as a betrayal.
This is how the MPs voted on the day for the ministers:
Total eligible 275
Absentees = 3
Total valid votes = 272
KT Hammond, Minister for Trade and Industry
Yes = 154 No = 116 Rejected = 1 Abstention = 1
Bryan Acheampong, Minister for Food and Agriculture
Yes = 167 No = 98 Rejected = 1 Abstention = 3
Stephen Asamoah Boateng, Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs
Yes = 147 No = 122 Abstention = 3
Mohammed Amin, Minister of State at the Presidency
Yes = 152 No = 117 Rejected = 1 Abstentions = 2
Osei Bonsu Amoah, Minister of Local Government and Decentralization
Yes = 149 No = 120 Abstentions = 2
Stephen Amoah, deputy minister of Trade and Industry
Court action has been threatened against neighbours in Wales because of the height of their fences.
In response to enforcement notifications from the local council, residents of Lliswerry, Newport united.
In a circumstance that has been called “farcical,” three people have now been instructed to destroy their fences.
According to enforcement notices they got, they needed to get planning authorization.
The council’s chain reaction of fence furore began with Corinne Winslett.
Officials had noticed her taller-than-usual fence and investigated nearby properties.
Angela Cureton, 78, was next to find herself in deep water over her half-finished fence.
She told WalesOnline: ‘Just before December I received the first letter, and of course when I saw it I became very upset.
‘You can see the fence gives me privacy.
‘The letter said by law it shouldn’t have been erected and that I needed permission. I took it personally, I took it as though people had been complaining.
‘All my neighbours around here I know very well and it hurt to think that may have happened. I went and asked every individual about the fence and they said: “No, there is no problem with it Ang. It’s absolutely super.”‘
The council has sent Angela a diagram of what she needs to do to avoid court action which includes demolishing the fence and rebuilding it to around half its size.
She will struggle to find the funds to carry out the work.
Meanwhile, Corinne says she’s prepared to go to court over her fence which splits the driveways between her and her neighbour.
She said: ‘Mine started because of a complaint. They said they couldn’t see off the end of the drive. But if you drive around the estate you’ll see so many other similar fences. When I got the letter I thought it was a joke.
‘They’re all over Newport, there are hundreds and hundreds of fences like it.’
Lianne Garnett also found herself embroiled in the dispute over a composite fence which stretches a few metres outside her home.
She’s also received a notice in the last couple of months informing her she needs to remove the fence. She says it’ll leave her with no privacy in her garden.
The fence fury was hotly debated at a recent local authority meeting.
Councillor Allan Morris said: ‘The fences don’t look bad. If someone had made a fence out of crates you could understand. If people had been complaining to us we’d understand it, but we’ve not had anyone come to us.
‘It doesn’t make sense. We are talking about a time where the council can’t empty people’s bins every couple of weeks but they are prepared to spend money taking action in this way against people with fences that are attracting very few complaints.’
A council spokesperson said: ‘Newport City Council is legally obliged to investigate complaints in relation to breaches of planning regulations and, if necessary, take action including the serving of enforcement notices.
‘Enforcement notices were served on two properties in the Lliswerry area after complaints about unauthorised fences were received.
‘The council then received a large number of complaints about differing types of means of enclosures for the boundaries of properties in the area. Each was investigated but only four were found to be in breach of planning legislation.
‘As a result, enforcement notices were served in each case. Formal enforcement action is a last resort when negotiations have failed to resolve the breach of planning control.
‘There is an independent appeal process for people who wish to challenge the notice or an application that has been refused. Court action is only taken if remedial action is not undertaken by the property owner and the council would be able to recover its costs.’
Former President John Dramani has expressed utmost disappointment over the outcome of the secret ballot which resulted in the approval of the six new ministerial appointees.
This comes after all six appointees were approved in Parliament on Friday, March 24, 2023, after a secret ballot was conducted.
Some members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in Parliament have been accused of woefully disappointing the party since they did not vote in accordance with the party’s “principled position not to approve any new ministers until the President has taken steps to significantly reduce the size of his government.”
Based on this, there were high expectations that the Ministers will not be approved. However, contrary to these expectations all six ministers were approved despite the Minority Caucus having a full house and the Majority side being short of two members.
Many members of the party including North Tongu MP, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Tamale North MP, Alhassan Suhuyini, have all expressed their disappointment over the outcome of the secret ballot. Latest to join the protest is former President John Mahama.
Taking to Twitter he said: “A couple of weeks ago, our NDC group in Parliament announced a principled position not to approve any new ministers until the President has taken steps to significantly reduce the size of his government. This position was supported by a broad section of Ghanaians and public advocacy groups.
“Unfortunately, Ghanaians were sorely disappointed yesterday when several members of the Minority for some parochial and personal interest voted against the principled position adopted by the party. I am also disappointed,” he said.
He added that “those responsible for this betrayal must do some serious soul searching and learn to place national interest over personal interest.”
He further lamented President Akufo-Addo’s refusal to cut down on the size of his government, promising the next NDC government will not toe that line.
“Equally disappointing is the President’s refusal to seize the opportunity to realign and downsize his bloated government when the NPP flagbearer hopefuls and the Chieftaincy minister resigned. Clearly in this time of crisis and excruciating hardships, President Akufo-Addo, his NPP administration and some of our MPs are out of tune with the mood of the Ghanaian people.
“I still believe, as I said in Ho recently, that in this time of crisis, government can still run efficiently with not more than 60 ministers. For our grassroots members and all Ghanaians who are disappointed by this insensitivity, I urge you not to despair. 2024 offers us an opportunity to work hard to defeat this reckless government that seeks to destroy our democracy and the very livelihoods of Ghanaians- an opportunity for us to work and build the Ghana we all want from January 07, 2025,” he added.
A killer who killed his partner during a heated sex chat argument and left him to die alone has been sentenced to life in prison.
In September, after seeing Grindr messages on his phone, 21-year-old Aaron Ray stabbed Jason Brockbanks, 24, with a knife while he was sleeping.
In the bathroom of the Mansion Tyne student residence in Newcastle, the murderer left Mr. Brockbanks to bleed to death after first slitting the throat of his family’s cockatiel.
It took three days for the Northumbria University student’s body to be discovered.
Newcastle Crown Court heard he could have survived if medical attention had been sought.
Ray, from Sunderland, denied the murder but was convicted by a jury after a trial.
Mr Justice Spencer sentenced Ray him to life behind bars and said he must serve a minimum of 22 years.
The judge said the evidence showed Ray had been ‘violent’ in previous relationships and said he was ‘deceitful, dishonest and when drunk highly dangerous’.
The two men had enjoyed a night out together in Newcastle’s Pink Triangle before Ray saw the Grindr messages on Mr Brockbanks phone.
The judge said it is likely Mr Brockbanks had fallen asleep, at which point Ray recorded a video of himself scrawling through the phone, got a knife from the communal kitchen and launched the deadly attack.
Mr Brockbanks was slashed across the back before being stabbed in the side as he lay in bed under his duvet.
Justice Spencer told Ray: ‘I find, when he was attacked, Jason was asleep under his duvet, defenceless and in no position to defend himself against your attack.
‘You have shown no remorse for your actions. You didn’t call the emergency services to help Jason.
‘He was bleeding profusely from the wounds, blood soaked through his duvet and sheet. He fell to the floor beside his bed, the duvet fell onto the floor and covered his phone. That’s why, I find, he didn’t call for help himself.
‘He attempted to stand up, find his way to the bathroom, collapsed in the shower cubicle and bled to death.’
After the stabbing, Ray took the knife he had used in the killing back into the communal kitchen then left the accommodation.
Three days later, on September 27, the university student accommodation manager received an email asking if she could check on Mr Brockbanks’ welfare, as his parents had become concerned.
She entered his room and found him ‘very obviously dead’.
Mr Brockbanks’ dad Chris said his son ‘hated violence’ and had a ‘huge passion for life’.
He said: ‘To know Jason died slowly and alone will haunt us for the rest of our lives.
‘To hear his death was possibly avoidable if assistance had been sought is truly heartbreaking for us.
‘We believe Jason spent his last moments looking for his mobile phone to call for help but he was unable to find the phone due to the defendant having been the last person to use it.
‘I will never comprehend how a human being could walk away from Jason, lying injured in his room in such a cruel and callous manner.’
Prosecutor David Lamb KC had told the court the Grindr messages on Mr Brockbanks’ phone were the ‘trigger and motivating factor’ for the murder.
A post mortem examination showed Mr Brockbanks had a stab wound to his right abdomen, which was fatal, and two knife injuries to his back.
Speaking on Hitz FM, Eno expressed her surprise and disappointment, wondering what female rappers in the country might done wrong.
Eno who was dissatisfied with the two nominations handed her, questioned why the scheme will only give two of the recognition of her work.
She had hoped to be nominated for Best Rapper or Song and Best Hip Hop Artist or Song categories and has the conviction that would have won had she been nominated.
“I think the names of my songs, Don’t Judge Me, played a role because I said they shouldn’t judge me and they didn’t, so they took me out. My songs have done very well in the year under review. Check the online charts; my songs have topped almost everywhere,” she said.
Eno argued that her songs performed exceptionally well in the year under review and topped almost every online chart.
She stated that, although she would not ordinarily voice her displeasure, it was necessary to speak out on behalf of herself and other female rappers.
Eno’s noted that her management team reached out to the VGMA board, and they are currently awaiting feedback.
Eno, further, assured her fans that she would work harder and be recognized in the next edition of the awards.
She said that although awards do not define her, she was hurt because she worked hard and deserved to be recognized.
“Awards don’t define me; Eno will still be Eno.” It hurts because I have worked and I deserve to be recognized, but in all, we work harder,” she added.
Despite complaints from viewers who called it “extreme,” the BBC is standing by its news coverage of the Gary Lineker impartiality controversy.
The company also disclosed that several complainants believed the piece should have “focused more on the Illegal Migration Bill and criticism it has received,” according to a report that was released on Friday.
Lineker, 62, was briefly removed from his role as Match Of The Day host earlier this month after criticizing the government‘s asylum policy on Twitter.
The fiasco was later resolved and he returned to air following a boycott by top talent at the broadcaster, which included pundits and presenters cancelling appearances in solidarity, including the likes of Ian Wright and Alex Scott.
Although BBC coverage of the events sparked fierce criticism, the corporation is defending its output and is standing firm that its reporting was ‘proportionate, fair and duly impartial’.
The corporation believes its coverage of the Lineker fiasco was ‘proportionate, fair and duly impartial’ (Picture: BBC)
A spokesperson said in a statement: ‘The row over Gary Lineker’s social media use, with regards to the BBC Editorial Guidelines, generated high media interest, as well as reaction from politicians from across the political spectrum and sporting personalities; this also caused disruption to the BBC Sport scheduling over the weekend of Mr Lineker’s suspension.
‘This was a story of significance and we legitimately reported on the impact for the BBC and Mr Lineker.’
It continued: ‘However, we continued to report on many other stories of national and international importance, including the cost-of-living crisis and the collapse of US Silicon Valley Bank.’
The BBC went on to stress that it made ‘clear the context’ of the story, explaining the content of Mr Lineker’s tweet, and his criticism of the government’s new asylum policy’.
‘This was primarily a media story, and our coverage focused on the issues highlighted over freedom of speech and BBC impartiality,’ it added.
‘We have separately reported in detail on the government’s Illegal Migration Bill, offering comprehensive scrutiny of the legal, political, and humanitarian implications, and featuring a wide range of views from those both critical and supportive of the proposals.’
Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg on March 12 also received complaints from viewers who felt the programme ‘displayed bias against Gary Lineker’.
In another statement, the BBC argued: ‘Throughout the programme we looked at the issues highlighted by the row over Gary Lineker’s social media use and the BBC Editorial Guidelines in detail, hearing a range of nuanced views, some of which were supportive of Gary Lineker.
‘We discussed this story with our contributors, including an in-depth interview with former Director General of the BBC Mark Thompson; we also heard from television executive Peter Salmon, who has previously worked closely with Mr Lineker.’
The statement concluded: ‘We always invite our audience to share their thoughts with us, and in this context Laura read out the views of a couple of those who had contacted us on this topic.
‘This was one aspect of our overall coverage of this story, during which we offered fair and duly impartial analysis of what this signified for Gary Lineker and the BBC, and the wider political implications.’
On Thursday, the BBC issued an apology after they received complaints from those disappointed with the disruption to the broadcaster’s football schedule during the weekend of turbulence.
Afrobeat artist Kelvyn Boy has disclosed that he was not bothered that the remix of his popular song “Downflat” did not sell as he thought.
Recall that one of the most popular songs at the beginning of the year in 2022 was Kelvyn Boy’s Downflat. The song became a household song and was mostly played at events
During an interview on Hit FM, the artist stated that he was excited to have worked with Nigeria’s Techno and UK’s Stefflon Don – who were happy to work with him.
“I feel like the affiliation and link up itself is going to do a lot for the song and to my career than just the hits. The main song is already a hit and I wanted to link up with other artists so it’s all good,” Kelvyn Boy told Andy Dosty.
Kelvyn Boy released a remix o his hit song ‘Downflat’ which features Techno and Stefflon Don which unfortunately did not make as much impact.
Following the government’s crushing of a DUP and Tory backbencher uprising, Rishi Sunak‘s new post-Brexit arrangement for Northern Ireland has been approved.
At a meeting in London on Friday, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and EU’s Maros Sefcovic formally endorsed the so-called Windsor Framework.
A new system known as the Stormont Brake is introduced as part of the revisions, which overhaul the border agreements reached by Boris Johnson in 2019 and known as the Northern Ireland Protocol.
The Brake is supposed to give elected politicians in Northern Ireland powers to hold up new EU border rules if they’re shown to cause ‘significant’ problems locally, forcing an independent review which can result in a permanent exemption.
Officials hope the ‘powerful democratic safeguard’ will unblock a Brexit-related stalemate in the Northern Ireland Assembly, though the DUP’s opposition means it may not actually be used for some time.
The party has been boycotting the power-sharing agreement at Stormont’s devolved government since last year in protest at issues for which they blamed Mr Johnson’s version of the Protocol.
The stand-off continues despite the new deal, which DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson says is not enough of an improvement for his party to return to Stormont.
The deal aims to smooth tensions around the Irish land border (Picture: Getty)
Mr Johnson, his successor Liz Truss and former home secretary Priti Patel were among the 22 Tories who joined the DUP in opposing the new deal.
It won by an overwhelming 515 votes to 29, massively shoring up Mr Sunak’s influence as het did not have to rely on Labour votes.
Ahead of Friday’s meeting, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris warned there would be no prospect of renegotiating the deal.
Mr Cleverly said: ‘By formally approving the Windsor Framework, we are delivering on our commitment to provide stability and certainty for Northern Ireland.
What is the new Windsor Framework and how does it work?
The Windsor Framework is a new version of the Northern Ireland Protocol, a special set of rules for post-Brexit customs and immigrations along the Irish land border.
The rules are designed to avoid ‘hard border’ checks which officials feared might reignite sectarian tensions that fuelled the violence of The Troubles.
Mr Sunak’s deal aims to formally bring politicians from Northern Ireland’s devolved government into decision-making over the rules, which they were previously only able to influence by lobbying. Here’s how:
The main reform, known as the Stormont Brake, allows members of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLAs) to hold up new border rules if there are enough of them.
If 30 or more MLAs object to a rule, the government in Westminster is obliged to review their concerns.
Unless the objection is deemed to have been made in bad faith or for ‘trivial’ reasons, the rule is suspended for up to four weeks.
It must then be reviewed by independent officials from the UK and EU via the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee.
A ‘cross-community vote’ will then be held to decide whether a rule is permanently blocked.
Special criteria must be met in order to satisfy UK ministers that an objection has been not made simply for political leverage.
This includes a ‘detailed and publicly available written explanation’ showing a new EU rule is having a ‘significant’ impact on people in Northern Ireland.
The EU also has the right to impose penalties if it concludes an objection has been lodged in bad faith.
The ins and outs of the new system have yet to be agreed, and will be thrashed out in further meetings with Northern Ireland’s political parties.
Overall the deal means that, when it comes to border arrangements, a typical MLA will have more influence than a backbench Westminster MP, but less than a government minister.
It gives them powers over post-Brexit rules not unlike the House of Lords, who cannot block new laws outright but can delay them and put them under greater scrutiny.
‘The framework is the best deal for Northern Ireland, safeguarding its place in the Union and protecting the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement.
‘I look forward to further effective co-operation with the EU on key issues, such as security and energy.’
The Windsor Framework will also reform a number of other post-Brexit issues such as checks, paperwork, VAT and alcohol duty, but the Stormont Brake is the only issue which MPs have so far been given a vote on.
The foreign secretary and Mr Sefcovic, who is the European Commission vice president, also discussed Peace Plus, a scheme to promote reconciliation and cooperation across the Irish land border.
We cannot be wiser than God indeed. Well, today, the craze for body enhancement in both males and females has dominated the airwaves. But we don’t also look at the negative aspect of these body enhancements. We look at the interlocutory benefits.
One well Studies from researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Harvard University investigated the link between male body image issues and mental health.
A researcher interviewed 2,460 men aged 18-32 about their gym habits, and about 10% of them have “body-image disorder.” They found that body-obsessed men have a higher risk of not only depression but also weekend binge drinking, and using illegal supplements, including anabolic steroids.
With this disorder, they will feel guilty when missing out on one workout even while they are in excellent shape; they will still feel the need to be thinner.
Apart from that, 6 Pack Abs Interfere With Your Breathing. Your breathing consists of your lungs, diaphragm, and accessory respiratory muscles. The “Rectus Abdominis Muscle,” what we know as the 6-pack, is directly connected to the lower part of your ribcage.
When your abs are in a contracted state, it will further pull your ribcage down and restrict the free gliding movement of the lungs and interfere with your breathing.
6-Packs?
The term “six-pack’” typically refers to the rectus abdominis muscle. Flynn and Vickerton, nd) explained that the rectus abdominis muscle runs from the sternum to the pubic bone and is responsible for dynamically flexing the spine forward. Some Studies have shown, though, that this muscle is not necessarily effective as a stabilizer of the spine(Kim and Lee 2017; Stokes et al. 2011).
Tyler Read(2021) explained in his article that, The moniker “six-pack” comes from its appearance of visible rows of 4–8 distinct muscular segments that you can see on individuals with relatively low body fat.
Although many additional important muscles comprise your core, the rectus abdominis is the most superficial one.
As such, it’s the muscle that gives chiseled abs their distinct appearance. Likewise, because it’s the outermost layer of ab muscle, it does not do much in terms of stability of the spinal column.
Visibility of 6-Pack
The major issue that has to do with six-pack visibility is the amount of subcutaneous body fat store around the stomach.
We have been advised that the fact that one does not have visible six-pack abdominals doesn’t mean our core is weak, or even that you are carrying excess weight.
Traditionally, visible six-pack abs need a body fat percentage far lower than that required for general health benefits.
One study(Branco et al. 2018) recommended that a normal range for body fat percentage is 17.6–25.3% in males and 28.8–35.7% in females.
There is no universally accepted body fat percentage at which six-packs become visible, typical ballpark ranges are 10–12% body fat for men and 16–20% body fat for women.
Besides, Tyler Read(2021) opined that these figures are too low for those needed for optimal general health and fitness despite the popular association between visible abs and optimal fitness.
This notwithstanding, he pointed to one article by Harvard Health that asserts that the excess visceral fat, which is located deeper in the abdomen and surrounds our organs, is far more dangerous to our health than excess subcutaneous fat, which lies just under our skin and coves our muscles from the outside.
Hence, he believes that more levels of visceral fat may not affect the visibility of the six-pack to the same extent as subcutaneous fat, even though excess visceral fat is a greater health concern.
Also, genetics as well influences where you store body fat, which greatly influences the specific body fat percentage at which your abs will be visible. Tyler Read(2021) notes that If one store more fat in the hips, the abs will be visible at higher body fat percentages and vice versa.
Lifestyle factors, such as sleep and stress levels, also affect fat gains, which will affect the visibility of your abs.
He justified this with one study by Cooper et al. (2018) that found regularly sleeping less than 7 hours was linked with greater rates of obesity and weight gain. They also found that sleep deprivation has negative effects on ghrelin, leptin, and insulin, which are key hormones for regulating hunger and fat storage in the body.
Another study by Valk et al.(2018) found that higher stress levels, as reflected by greater glucocorticoid activity, were also associated with increased rates of obesity.
Despite the above factors, a surplus calorie intake will typically lead to fat gains over time, which will decrease the visibility of your six-pack — independent of any other factors.
Should 6 Packs be the major goal in exercise?
Read says had this to say: “While it’s OK to strive for aesthetic fitness goals like having visible abs, the truth is that your core and abdominals play a much more important role than just being nice to look at. The rectus abdominis is just one of many muscles in the so-called core, which is a series of muscles that span the hips to the thoracic spine and include superficial and deep layers, as well as different muscles along the front, side, and back of your lower torso. Collectively, the core muscles stabilize the spine and allow it to bend and twist as required for functional activities. The biggest benefits of core training have nothing to do with visible abdominals. Furthermore, the abdominals are just one of many core muscles you should target in your routine”.
He further says: Additional core muscles that play a vital role include:
transverse abdominis
multifidus
diaphragm
pelvic floor
internal and external obliques
quadratus lumborum
A large body of evidence supports core training for a variety of improved outcomes across different populations.
For instance, Hsu et al. (2018) study found that 4 weeks of core strength training enhanced performance on sudden perturbation tasks, which correlates to our ability to catch ourselves and stand upright when we’re about to fall over.
Also, another study by Hung et al. (2019) found that for athletic performance, additional research found that an 8-week core training program enhanced static balance, core endurance, and running economy in college running athletes.
Finally, Chang et al.(2015) study on core training and low back pain found that all core routines studied enhanced lower back pain. Frequent ones that targeted the deeper core muscles, such as the transverse abdominis and multifidus, had the greatest positive effects on lower back pain.
Read finally summed it all: “It’s worth noting that training the core may help build more muscle mass in that region, which will add more contour to your six-pack and potentially allow it to be visible at slightly higher body fat levels.
However, you will still need to have relatively low body fat for this effect to occur, and the main reasons to train the core have more to do with performance and health benefits rather than aesthetic appearances”.
In conclusion, getting six packs alone is not enough and researchers believe that those who engaged in them have no confidence in themselves, they drink more as well and have mental health issues leading to depression because they are not happy with their natural bodies.
Also, six-packs don’t automatically make you fit, but they also don’t mean you’re underweight or addicted to exercise. Those abs aren’t great correlations for much of anything and these are not markers of health and wellness.
NB:
Prof. Nyarkotey has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations to justify his write-ups. My articles are for educational purposes and do not serve as Medical advice for Treatment. I aim to educate the public about evidence-based scientific Naturopathic Therapies.
The writer is a Professor of Naturopathic Healthcare, a Medical Journalist, and a science writer. President, Nyarkotey College of Holistic Medicine & Technology (NUCHMT), African Naturopathic Foundation, Ashaiman, Ghana. E. mail: professor40naturopathy@gmail.com.
References
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Stokes IA, Gardner-Morse MG, Henry SM. Abdominal muscle activation increases lumbar spinal stability: analysis of contributions of different muscle groups. Clin Biomech (Bristol, Avon). 2011 Oct;26(8):797-803. doi: 10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2011.04.006. Epub 2011 May 14. PMID: 21571410; PMCID: PMC3157598
Cooper CB, Neufeld EV, Dolezal BA, Martin JL. Sleep deprivation and obesity in adults: a brief narrative review. BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2018 Oct 4;4(1):e000392. doi: 10.1136/bmjsem-2018-000392. PMID: 30364557; PMCID: PMC6196958.
Branco BHM, Bernuci MP, Marques DC, Carvalho IZ, Barrero CAL, de Oliveira FM, Ladeia GF, Júnior NN. Proposal of a normative table for body fat percentages of Brazilian young adults through bioimpedanciometry. J Exerc Rehabil. 2018 Dec 27;14(6):974-979. doi: 10.12965/jer.1836400.200. PMID: 30656157; PMCID: PMC6323334.
van der Valk ES, Savas M, van Rossum EFC. Stress and Obesity: Are There More Susceptible Individuals? Curr Obes Rep. 2018 Jun;7(2):193-203. doi: 10.1007/s13679-018-0306-y. PMID: 29663153; PMCID: PMC5958156.
Hsu SL, Oda H, Shirahata S, Watanabe M, Sasaki M. Effects of core strength training on core stability. J Phys Ther Sci. 2018 Aug;30(8):1014-1018. doi: 10.1589/jpts.30.1014. Epub 2018 Jul 24. PMID: 30154592; PMCID: PMC6110226.
Chang WD, Lin HY, Lai PT. Core strength training for patients with chronic low back pain. J Phys Ther Sci. 2015 Mar;27(3):619-22. doi: 10.1589/jpts.27.619. Epub 2015 Mar 31. PMID: 25931693; PMCID: PMC4395677.
Hung KC, Chung HW, Yu CC, Lai HC, Sun FH. Effects of 8-week core training on core endurance and running economy. PLoS One. 2019 Mar 8;14(3):e0213158. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0213158. PMID: 30849105; PMCID: PMC6407754.
According to The Guardian, the Prime Minister’s and the ruling party’s activities today were all conducted behind closed doors.
This evening at the Birmingham conference, Sunak gave a speech outlining his goals for the nation, participated in a Q&A session, and hosted drinks for Tory activists.
However, the Tory party insisted that only officials and members were permitted inside because it was a “inside function closed to reporters.”
Earlier today, according to video shared on Twitter, Sunak said to the throng and a few empty chairs in the room, “It’s actually really simple.”
‘It’s to halve inflation, grow the economy, reduce debt, cut waiting lists and stop the boats.’
Treasury Minister Andrew Griffith also quizzed Chancellor Jeremy Hunt on the economy after inflation defied expectations by rising to 10.4% after a slow downward trend.
While experts expected the consumer price surge to peak in October at 11.1%, inflation is now back in the double digits.
Food inflation especially has swelled, with prices rising at an annual rate of 18% – the largest increase in 45 years.
But the conference had some advice for cash-strapped Brits – well, Tory members hoping to raise money for the party, at least.
‘Raising money – how to seal deal with donors’ and ‘Our Plan – getting it done: you’ve said you’ll do it, now get it done!’ are two included sessions.
While business leaders who paid £500 attended a business day today full ‘of networking and highly interactive sessions between business leaders and government ministers’.
The ‘spring forum’ was described by the event’s brochure as ‘the most important two days of the next general election campaign so far’.
Though, the brochure said it was ‘a little bit different this year’.
Steve Goodrich of Transparency International UK told the Guardian that it’s ‘crucial’ to let the press attend political events.
‘Parties routinely sell privileged political access at their conferences, allowing private interests to lobby ministers and senior party figures, so they could at least keep these jamborees open to some media scrutiny on the public’s behalf,’ he said.
‘Journalists are crucial to informing the public about how our democracy works.
‘Closing the door to them keeps us all in the dark about access and potential influence in UK politics.’
Ghanaian musician Wanlov Kubolor is one of the few celebrities in Ghana who has championed the activities of the LGBT over the years. He is of the opinion that people should be allowed to practice what they want if only it doesn’t affect the country negatively.
Speaking with GhanaWeb, Wanlov disclosed how his daughter is infatuated with another female girl.
According to him, he sees nothing wrong with his daughter liking another girl. He disclosed that he fully supports his daughter’s right to love whomever she wants, regardless of gender. He disclosed that the mother of his daughter informed him and gave him his support.
“I have a daughter who is currently infatuated with another girl. I don’t see anything wrong with that. She likes this girl, and that’s what her mother told me. She is eleven,” he disclosed.
Pinaman Appau has been appointed to head the Mental Health Authority, as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Appau replaces Prof Akwasi Osei.
Prior to her appointment, Appau was the hospital director for the Accra Psychiatric hospital.
She is a consultant psychiatrist and a mental health rights advocate.
The Mental Health Authority (MHA) is an agency established by an Act of Parliament, Mental Health Act 846 of 2012, to propose, promote and implement mental health policies and provide culturally appropriate, humane and integrated mental health care throughout Ghana.
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Pinaman Appau is Ghana’s first female Psychiatrist trained by the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons and has over the past fifteen years, worked to improve mental health in Ghana in several regions of the country.
Having worked within the mental health space with some of the nation’s most vulnerable persons, it has become her career and life ambition to see to improved service delivery in her field by ensuring that proper administrative structures in mental health care system are well instituted and functioning.
The quest to fulfil this ambition drove her to undertake a master’s degree program in Public Administration at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA) where she came out as the Overall Best Student and Valedictorian, Graduate Programme, for the year 2020.
Apart from her administrative role as Director of the nation’s biggest mental health facility, she is also actively involved in the training of Doctors and Psychiatrists from both the Ghana and West African Colleges of Physicians, medical students from the University of Ghana Medical School and other medical schools.
Outside her official duties, Appau has for many years championed the rights and welfare of persons living with mental illness, especially children and the youth.
Ajagurajah and Osebo the Zaraman have been involved in an interesting ‘fashion flaunting competition’ on social media in recent days.
It has been an interesting spectacle of outfits being put together and displayed by these two gentlemen on their respective social media pages.
It all started when Ajagurajah, whose specialty lies in spiritualism suddenly took to social media to contest in a fashion challenge with OsebotheZaraman, a ‘pro’.
In a subtle but interesting competition, they took to social media to flaunt their sense of style and finesse when it comes to fashion.
Osebo, a ‘heavy weight’ in the fashion field, effortlessly stood to the task and Ajagurajah on the other hand, struggled to match up to it.
The spiritualist brought his A-game and flaunted all the crazy outfit styles he could think of.
But just when things had gotten a lot more interesting, Ajagurajah has taken to social media to concede defeat.
“Ladies and gentlemen, loyal supporters, at this juncture, I think the brave thing to do is to cede the Title of Fashion Messiah to my brother Osebothezaraman. We have had a wonderful contest no doubt but we all know my specialty is Spirituality, so I need to leave the fashion business to him. Thank you for all the love. It was great because of you guys,” he wrote on social media.
Osebo who had already taken the contest a notch higher asked Ajagurajah not to give up just yet but the latter responded, “My clothes are finished.”
However, disappointed netizens, particularly Ajagurajah’s fans are calling on him to rescind his decision and finish the race.
After an American was murdered by a drone believed to be from Iran, the US started an airstrike against Syria overnight.
Yesterday, a self-destructing drone struck a maintenance building on a base, killing a US contractor and injuring five American service members.
According to US intelligence analysts, the drone used in the incident near Hasaka at roughly 1:40 p.m. was “of Iranian origin,” the Pentagon reported.
As ties between Washington and Tehran grow more heated, today’s airstrikes on sections of eastern Syria are thought to be retaliatory.
With relations between Washington and Tehran increasingly tense, a new wave of reportedly retaliatory wave of airstrikes pelted parts of eastern Syrian today.
It came after Iran-backed militants used rockets against another base hosting US personnel in Syria’s Conoco gas field this evening.
Syrian opposition activist groups have said the targeted sites were used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, or IRGC.
US launches airstrikes in Syria after civilians killed in drone strike
The three sites were in Deir Ez-Zor, a province that borders Iraq and is dotted by oil fields.
The activist group Deir Ezzor 24 said the strikes killed four people and wounded a number of others.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group that monitors the war in Syria, put the death toll from US strikes even higher at 11 Iranian-backed fighters.
They included six at an arms depot in the city of Deir el-Zour and five at military posts near Mayadeen and Boukamal.
The head of the observatory, Rami Abdurrahman, said three rockets were fired earlier today at the al-Omar oil field in Deir el-Zour that houses US troops.
Whether US warplanes carried out the attacks in Deir Ez-Zor is unclear.
The retaliation was at the direction of US President Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said.
In a statement, Austin said US intelligence determined the drone was of Iranian origin – though he offered no evidence for this.
‘The airstrikes were conducted in response to today’s attack as well as a series of recent attacks against coalition forces in Syria by groups affiliated with the IRGC,’ he said.
A US defence official claimed the American strikes were conducted by F-15E fighter jets that struck three areas in the vicinity of Deir el-Zour.
Iran uses proxy forces across the Middle East to counter the US, which has had troops in north-east Syria since 2015.
The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) is impressed with the support of the Minority in the approval of the six ministerial appointees of President Akufo-Addo.
The party has therefore congratulated MPs on the opposing side who ensured that president the ministerial and Supreme Court nominees were passed.
The party also expressed the nation’s gratitude to opposition MPs who also defied the Minority position to reject the nominees to vote in the national interest.
“Kudos to our gallant MPs for standing firmly behind the Government and ensuring that the President’s nominees for Ministers of State and Deputy Minister as well as for the Supreme Court were approved! The nation is also grateful to the brave NDC MPs who stood for #GhanaFirst,” the NPP posted on their official Twitter handle.
Parliament on Friday, March 24 approved all six ministerial nominees of president Akufo-Addo after a heated debate, 24 hours prior and a tense voting process.
Final results declared by Speaker Alban Bagbin showed that all six nominees got more votes than the minimum of 138 votes required because out of the 275 eligible voters, three were absent. The NPP thus had 136 MPs, same as the NDC.
After the ministerial vote, Parliament also voted on the report of two remaining Supreme Court justice nominees appointed by Akufo-Addo. The Minority had stated their position to reject the nominees in this case too.
At the end of a vote demanded by the Minority, both nominees were approved by a slight majority.
George Kingsley Koomson, Justice of the Court of Appeal got 139 YES votes against 133 NO votes, whiles Justice Ernest Yao Gaewu, Justice of the High Court got 138 YES and 134 NO votes.
COCOBOD has launched the Cocoa Farmers Pension Scheme, with the goal of enrolling 800,000 cocoa farmers in the scheme.
Farmers from 15 communities, out of the seventy cocoa districts across Ghana, have been captured by the Cocoa management System (CMS), to start phase one of the scheme.
Among the communities to start the scheme are Juaso, New Edubiase, Antoakrom, Bekwai, Obuasi, Nyinahin and Tepa.
Section 27 of the COCOBOD Law 1984 (PNDC Law 81), enjoins the Board of Directors to implement a contributory insurance and welfare scheme that provides a decent pension for cocoa farmers.
The scheme is regulated by the National Pension Regulatory Authority and governed by a ten-member board of trustees which includes four cocoa farmers.
It is a regulated pension scheme for the sole benefit of registered cocoa farmers.
The requirement of the scheme has it that, there is no specific age entry and it only requires a registered cocoa farmer with a cocoa card issued by COCOBOD through the Cocoa CMS.
Per the scheme, a registered farmer makes a mandatory contribution of five percent of his or her produce, while COCOBOD pays a minimum top-up contribution of one percent of the farmers’ produce on behalf of the farmer.
Complementing the scheme is the eligibility of the farmer to add an additional voluntary contribution, ranging from 2.5% -10% of his or her produce.
Mr. Daniel Aidoo Mensah, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Scheme, at a programme to officially roll out the scheme in Kumasi, said the essence of the scheme was to afford cocoa farmers a befitting retirement package.
“The primary aim of the scheme is to ensure a decent pension for cocoa farmers, improve their welfare and make farming attractive to the youth.”
Mr Mensah explained that, while on the scheme, a contributor may decide after five years, to retire from it and enjoy full benefit, but a young farmer who signed onto it may opt to retire at age 55 or decide to remain on it and retire later.
He said it was more advantageous if a young farmer joined the scheme and maintained good standing with regard to contributions.
Mr Mensah called on farmers to avail themselves to be enrolled in the scheme.
Angry supporters of the opposition National Democratic Congress have expressed dissatisfaction over the outcome of the secret ballot on the approval of six ministerial nominees by the House on Friday, March 24, 2023.
Despite the equal numbers on both the minority and majority sides (136 apiece) on the day, all six ministerial nominees got more than the minimum 137 votes when a secret balloting was conducted. It emerged that NDC MPs had actually voted for all the nominees.
Mortified and angered by the decision by some members of the caucus to break rank in voting against the directive of the party’s leadership, the NDC members are expressing their thoughts via social media.
Having been directed by their party to reject the nominees on the basis of the size of the government in the face of the country’s current economic crisis, the minority members remained clear about their objection against the approval of the nominees during the debate by the house on the matter.
However, the secret balloting proved otherwise.
For some members of the NDC, the result of the vote is a clear act of betrayal while others believe it is an embarrassing spectacle which casts a dent on the entire caucus.
Kelvin Brown, also known as Kelvyn Boy, has voiced out his dissatisfaction with the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards (VGMA) and the selection process for award winners.
During an interview with Abeiku Santana, Kelvyn Boy said that he doesn’t trust the awards scheme.
“I don’t know. To be honest, we don’t trust them. Even the Grammys, people don’t trust them because they all hope to win,” he said.
Kelvyn Boy, however, acknowledged that there are other artists within the categories of Afrobeats/Afropop Artiste and Best Highlife Song of the Year who also have popular songs.
But he believes that if the organizers take a closer look and assess the nominees carefully, he should deservedly win the awards he is up for.
He also emphasized that everyone on the list of nominees in his category are deserving of recognition.
“I am not the only person with a popular song. There are a lot of songs that are popular, but if they take a careful look and give me the award I deserve, then they should give it to me,” Kelvyn Boy said.
According to evidence presented at an inquest, two young boys were found strangled at the same house where their mother’s body was also recovered.
On March 9, police broke into Nadja de Jager’s home in Belvedere, southeast London, and found the 47-year-old woman with her two kids, Maximus, 7, and Alexander, 9.
After worries about their welfare, they were discovered deceased at the location at around 11.50 am.
Post-mortem examinations revealed the boys’ provisional cause of death as ligature compression to the neck while their mother’s provisional cause of death was given as suspension- a medical term which includes hanging.
He added: ‘Maximus was on the bed while Alexander was lying on the floor next to the bed.
‘The provisional cause of death for both of them was given as ligature compression to the neck pending further investigation.
‘Nadja’s provisional cause of death was given as suspension.’
He added that the boys’ father, whose name was not given, identified the boys’ bodies.
Alexander and Maximus were ‘model pupils’ and ‘each other’s best friend’, their school said at the time.
In a tribute, a spokesperson for Belvedere Infant and Junior School said: ‘Alex and Max were truly wonderful members of our school community and we will remember them with great fondness and love.
‘They were loving and caring boys who had a real hunger to learn.
‘Both were model pupils and it was clear that they were each other’s best friend.
‘They will be hugely missed by pupils and staff alike, and forever be part of our hearts at Belvedere.’
Detectives are not looking for anyone else in connection with the investigation.
An inquest into all three deaths was opened and adjourned during a five-minute hearing at Croydon Coroner’s Court on this morning.
Senior coroner for South London, Sarah Ormond-Walshe, told the hearing: ‘There is a police investigation in relation to all three deaths. The proceedings in this case are essentially adjourned.’
It is likely to conclude in six months.
Once that has happened it will be decided whether a full inquest needs to take place.
The National Executive Council (NEC) of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) has announced that it is going to the polls for the election of regional and national executives.
According to the union’s National Election Committee (NEC), Tuesday, August 8, 2023, is the proposed date to hold the elections.
The announcement follows an emergency meeting by MUSIGA’s NEC to review the roadmap offered by the Peter Marfo-chaired election committee.
Mr Marfo is the outgoing Eastern Regional chairman of MUSIGA.
Between Mondays, March 20, and April 3, MUSIGA members have the opportunity to check their status and eligibility, with the voter’s register open.
The new voters register for the impending election will be compiled between Tuesdays, April 4 and April 18.
The exhibition of the new voter register will take place from Thursday, April 20 to Sunday, April 23.
Thereafter, with the election day slated for August 8, contestants will have the opportunity to campaign for votes.
MUSIGA’s election were supposed to be held in 2019 but have been delayed owing to several court cases against the Union.
In March 2023, however, the union announced that the Industrial and Labour Division II of the Accra Circuit Court, presided over by Her Ladyship Justice Ananda Juliana Aikins, had on February 28, given it the go-ahead to hold elections.
Currently led by acting President, Bessa Simons, MUSIGA has been incorporated since Tuesday, December 9, 1975 with registration number 8460.
Emergency Trauma Physician, Korle-Bu Hospital Dr Ray Kakrabah Quashie Jnr, has advised the University of Ghana graduands not to take loan to buy cars after school to impress society.
He asked them to rather save their salaries and use the investment as security to take loans to buy car if they needed it.
“The appearance of success is all a matter of time. You need to develop yourself and never set yourself up to compete with others, especially imitation competition, which may lead to failure,” he said.
Dr Kakrabah-Quashie said this on Thursday at the graduation ceremony for the Colleges of Health Sciences for the 2021/2022 academic year.
The ceremonies were held with a total of 11,711 students graduating from all four Colleges as well as the School of Graduate Studies.
He admonished them to view education as a means to an end and not an end in itself, adding that the process of acquiring a degree was meant to equip them to be problem solvers.
“You may have studied medicine, but you will be required to solve a banking problem in addition.”
“You may have studied biochemistry, but may be required to solve a problem medical Doctors are grappling with,” he said.
He said the measure of one’s success should not be within the personal sphere only, or what the individual alone benefited, but the larger society.
“I urge you to be focused… Make good use of influential people in society for your career development,” he said.
Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, the Vice Chancellor, the University of Ghana, said the University in 2022 started the construction of a PhD Apartment Block dedicated to PhD students.
It was funded by savings on the Carnegie-sponsored capacity-building projects.
The University, she said, had re-introduced the in-out-out-out policy, which would result in all the traditional halls of residence being reserved for fresh and graduate students.
The policy, which is being implemented progressively will be in full force by the 2025/2026 academic year.
She said a seven-member board of the Students Representative Council Development Fund had been inaugurated to champion the implementation of the physical development projects initiated by students.
On research activities, she said that from July 2022 to date, the University had received 62 research grant contracts and agreements with a total value of US$4,676,636.73 executed, with expected overheads of about US$508,353.46.
“In addition, 18 sub-award agreements worth US$1,452,051.08 were issued, and the Office of Research, Innovation, and Development facilitated the submission of 28 proposal/grant applications to various funders worth US$25,665,527.34.”
Ms Mariam Williams, the Best Graduating Student, Bachelor of Science Programme in Nursing, pledged to use the knowledge acquired to impact society positively.
According to the NYPD, the white powder envelope was “discovered inside the location” at around noon.
According to court officials, the package was brought to a mailroom at 80 Centre Street, the state office building where a grand jury is now considering evidence against former President Donald Trump.
A representative for Bragg’s office said, “The DA has notified the office that it was immediately controlled and that the NYPD Emergency Response Unit and the NYC Department of Environmental Protection
According to a report from NBC News, the letter was addressed to ‘Alvin’ and contained a note with the message reading: ‘ALVIN: I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!’
The same sources said that the envelope was mailed from Orlando, Florida and postmarked on Tuesday – the same day Trump incorrectly predicted he would be arrested.
The district attorney is currently investigating former president Trump for his role in a $130,000 payment in to porn star Stormy Daniels.
The cash was allegedly sent to the adult film actress by the ex-president’s attorney Michael Cohen in 2016 as a hush money to buy her silence about an affair with Trump in 2006.
Hours before the threat, former president posted a message on his Truth Social platform that warned of ‘death & destruction’ if he faced criminal charges.
In the post, Trump called the prosecutor ‘a degenerate psychopath that truely [sic] hates the USA!’
In another early-morning post which has since been deleted, the former president posted a selfie holding a baseball bat next to a photo of DA Bragg.
The discovery was disclosed by Danish researchers, who described it as a tubular structure measuring about 40 cm by 10 cm.
Following the explosions beneath the Baltic Sea last year, it was discovered close to the only undamaged pipeline.
The cylinder can be seen sticking out of the seabed next to the pipeline in photos taken at the location.
On Thursday, a spokesperson from the Danish Energy Agency (DEA) said: ‘With a view to further clarifying the nature of the object, Danish authorities have decided to salvage the object with assistance from the Danish Defence.
‘The DEA has in that context invited the owner of the pipeline […] to participate in the operation.’
Gas bubbles to the surface of the Baltic sea near Bornholm, Denmark, following the attacks last September (Picture: Reuters)
The Kremlin has called on any investigation into what the item is to be ‘transparent’.
Meanwhile Gazprom, the Russian state-owned gas company that controls the pipeline operator, has yet to respond to the Danish invitation.
A ship rented by the company had reportedly already located an unidentified object near the site of the explosions, according to statements made last week by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Security walks in front of the landfall facility of the Baltic Sea gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 in Lubmin, Germany, just days before the bombings took place (Picture: Reuters)
It is not clear if this was the same item found by Danish authorities.
The blasts at the Nord Stream pipelines, which occurred underwater off the coasts of Sweden and Denmark on September 26, rendered inoperable three of the four channels that make up the Russian-owned Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines supplying gas to Germany.
Authorities say these were deliberate bombings, but have yet to identify who was responsible.
The explosions have come amid rapidly escalating tensions between Russia and the West over war in Ukraine, with many European states enforcing sanctions against the Kremlin as the EU explores alternative avenues for alleviating its longstanding energy dependency on Moscow.
Much speculation has surrounded the question of who was responsible for the pipeline bombings.
Russia’s defence ministry has accused British naval personnel of participating in the attacks, an allegation denied by the British government, who described the claims as an effort to divert attention from military failures in Ukraine.
An article posted by veteran US investigative journalist Seymour Hersh earlier in February claimed the United States had orchestrated the bombings.
The story has widely been treated with scepticism, and readers questioned the reliability of Hersh’s evidence and sources.
The New York Times has since published a piece drawing on ‘new intelligence reviewed by U.S. officials’ suggesting the attacks may have been orchestrated by an anti-Putin sabotage group, likely made up of Ukrainian or Russian nationals.
Ukrainian government and military officials have denied having any involvement in the blasts.
According to Ukraine’s foreign minister, incidents like the downing of an American drone over the Black Sea will continue until Russia vacates Crimea.
Yesterday, a $32 million American “Reaper” drone collided with a Russian fighter jet, sending the unmanned surveillance plane plunging into the Black Sea.
The action, which marked the first time an American aircraft had been shot down by a Russian fighter since the Cold War’s height, raised concerns that tensions between the two countries may worsen.
Yet despite the ‘deplorable state’ of relations between the two nations, a Kremlin spokesperson today announced that Russia would not rule out ‘constructive dialogue’ with the US.
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Asked if the incident could inflame tensions with Washington, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov repeated the Russian Defense Ministry’s statement that Russian jets didn’t use their weapons or impact the U.S. drone.
Peskov described U.S.-Russia relations as being at their lowest point, but added that ‘Russia has never rejected constructive dialogue, and it’s not rejecting it now.’
U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the drone was flying in international airspace and over international waters when the encounter with the Russian fighter took place Tuesday.
He stressed that the drone’s presence over the Black Sea was not an uncommon occurrence.
‘It is also not uncommon for the Russians to try to intercept them,’ Kirby said, adding that such an encounter ‘does increase the risk of miscalculations, misunderstandings.’
Speaking to the BBC, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he did not expect to see any serious diplomatic escalation.
Describing it as a ‘routine incident’, Mr Kuleba said: ‘As long as Russia controls Crimea, these kinds of incidents will be inevitable and the Black Sea will not be a safe place.
Ukraine’s foreign minister said such skirmishes are ‘inevitable’ while Russia remains in Crimea (Picture: Getty)
‘So the only way to prevent such incidents is actually to kick Russia out of Crimea.’
While encounters between Russian and Nato aircraft are not unusual- before the invasion of Ukraine, Nato planes were involved in an annual average of 400 intercepts with their Russian counterparts- the war has heightened the significance and potential hazards of such incidents.
US military officials said the encounter happened on Tuesday morning and lasted for around 30-40 minutes.
Several times before the collision, Russian jets dumped fuel on the drone in a ‘reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner’, before flying underneath the craft and clipping its propeller, causing it to become ‘unflyable.’
The MQ-9 Reaper drone has not yet been recovered from the Black Sea and it is unclear whether it will be.
The secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, Oleksiy Danilov, tweeted on Wednesday that the drone incident was ‘a signal from Putin that he is ready to expand the conflict zone, with drawing other parties in.’
At the Pentagon, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the intercept by the Russian jet was part of a ‘pattern of aggressive, risky and unsafe actions by Russian pilots in international airspace.’
Vladimir Putin’s spokeman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was open to ‘constructive’ dialogue with the US (Picture: Getty)
He said Russia must operate its aircraft in a safe manner.
‘Make no mistake, the United States will continue to fly and to operate wherever international law allows, he added.’
After being summoned to speak to officials in Washington, Russian ambassador Anatoly Antonov said Moscow saw the drone incident as ‘a provocation’.
Mr Antonov added that from the Kremlin’s point of view, ‘the unacceptable activity of the US military in the close proximity to our borders is a cause for concern.’
When asked by the BBC if the US and its allies might become more cautious following the incident, Mr Kuleba said: ‘The mood is not to escalate but nor is the mood to lean under the pressure – the physical or rhetorical pressure – of Russia.’
‘If the West wants to demonstrate its weakness, it should certainly demonstrate its cautiousness after an incident like this, but I don’t have a feeling that this is the mood in capitals,’ he replied.
Member of Parliament for Builsa South, Dr Clement Abass Apaak has attributed greed and disloyalty to the failure of the Minority in parliament to vote against the approval of six ministerial nominees.
Although the National Democratic Congress minority had earlier stated their decision to reject the nominees, all six of the president’s ministerial nominees won more than the required 138 minimum votes when the House conducted a secret balloting on Friday, March 25, 2023.
Reacting to the results of the election in a Facebook post, Dr Apaak said those who betrayed the cause of the party will be exposed with time.
“Approval of Ministers – Most devastating and disappointing outcome. Greed and treachery is our bane. Yet again we have failed to live up to expectations. The traitors will surely be exposed by their collaborators in no time,” he wrote.
Parliament approves all six nominees, two Supreme Court Justices:
Parliament on Friday, March 24 approved all six ministerial nominees of president Akufo-Addo after a heated debate, 24 hours prior and a tense voting process.
Final results declared by Speaker Alban Bagbin showed that all nominees got more votes than the minimum of 138 votes required because out of the 275 eligible voters, there were three absent.
The NDC prior to the vote had directed all members of the minority to reject the nominees on the basis of the size of the government in the face of the country’s current economic hardship.
Below are the final figures for each nominee:
Total eligible 275
Absentees = 3
Total valid votes = 272
Hon KT Hammond, Minister for Trade and Industry
Yes = 154 No = 116 Rejected = 1 Abstention = 1
Bryan Acheampong, Minister for Food and Agriculture
Yes = 167 No = 98 Rejected = 1 Abstention = 3
Stephen Asamoah Boateng, Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs
Yes = 147 No = 122 Abstention = 3
Mohammed Amin
Yes = 152 No = 117 Rejected = 1 Abstentions = 2
Osei Bonsu Amoah
Yes = 149 No = 120 Abstentions = 2
Stephen Amoah, deputy minister of Trade and Industry
Yes = 146 No = 123 Abstentions = 3
Meanwhile, Parliament also voted on the report of two remaining two Supreme Court justice nominees appointed by Akufo-Addo.
At the end of a vote demanded by the Minority, both nominees were approved by a slight majority. George Kingsley Koomson, Justice of the Court of Appeal got 139 YES votes against 133 NO votes, whiles Justice Ernest Yao Gaewu, Justice of the High Court got 138 YES and 134 NO votes.
President Akufo-Addo is impressed by the new nickname of Volta Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Letsa.
He has been laughing hysterically at the new nickname he discovered.
He is excited Dr Letsa has gotten an additional nickname besides what was given to the two of them by late former President Jerry Rawlings.
Late Rawlings nicknamed President Akufo-Addo and the Volta Regional Minister Dr. Archibald Letsa Aki and Pawpaw, but there is a new one.
Aki (Chinedu Ikedieze) and Pawpaw (Osita Iheme) are diminutive actors in the Nigerian movie industry (Nollywood). Ex President Rawlings obviously nicknamed President Akufo-Addo and Dr. Letsa as such because of their short stature.
Dr Letsa’s new nickname – triple 66 was revealed on Thursday, March 23, when Dr Letsa accompanied a delegation made up of members of the Volta Regional House of Chiefs, some Chiefs from Adaklu Traditional Area, Municipal and District Chief Executives and other stakeholders to pay a courtesy call on President Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House and thank him for hosting the 66th independence parade in the Volta Region.
According to Akufo-Addo the tripple-66 has come to replace the earlier one given to him by late President Rawlings.
“And this new nickname of our Volta Regional Minister – triple-66 has replaced the nickname that Jerry John Rawlings gave you and I,” he said while laughing.
The origin of the new nickname is uncertain. However, one can guess that instead of double 6, Dr. Letsa may have said triple 66, an obvious slip of tongue or gaffe.
Nicknames are abbreviated or extra names that are given to people.
Although a person’s name can be shortened as a nickname, sometimes these names are imposed on a person as a way to tease or mock them.
A number of Ukrainian children who had been held captive in Russian facilities have been released.
After Russian forces seized control of their cities, the 17 children were sent to Crimea.
They claimed that if they expressed sympathy for Ukraine, they would be thrashed with iron rods and informed that their families had abandoned them.
The children’s release, which was coordinated by the NGO rescue Ukraine, was applauded by EU chief Ursula von der Leyen.
What’s going over there with the deportation of children, she added, “It is a dreadful reminder of the darkest days in our history.” This is a crime of war.
More than 16,000 Ukrainian youngsters have been taken since the Kremlin’s invasion.
The International Criminal Court has accused Russia of attempting to ‘re-educate’ the children, which included threatening violence as punishment.
One teenager said he was told: ‘We will take you to a boarding school, you will sit there and understand everything.
Inessa meets her son Vitaly after the bus delivering him and more than a dozen other children back (Picture: Sergei Chuzavkov/AFP)Denys Zaporozhchenko and his ten-year-old son embrace each other (Picture: Sergei Chuzavkov/AFP)
‘One girl was hit on the back, she ad a big bruise on her back from where the rod was.
‘We were sat in the hall, and there someone shouted, “Glory to Ukraine!”
‘They were taken away. But I don’t know what happened to him.’
Taisa, 15, ddescribed the intense political indoctrination.
She said: ‘If we didn’t sing the (Russian) national anthem, they made us write an explanatory note. Over the New Year, we were shown Putin’s speech.’
Children were seen running into their parents arms after arriving into Kyiv.
Denys Zaporozhchenko embraced three of his children who were among the 17 who returned.
The dad last saw his children in October in Kherson – when they left to go to the Russian summer camp.
He sent his children to Crimea as he expected tough fighting in the region, thinking it seemed the lesser evil.
He told AFP: ‘Russian officials promised to send them to these camps for a week or two.
‘By the time we realised we shouldn’t have let them go, it was too late.’
His 11-year-old daughter Yana, said: ‘Everything was like in normal camps’ but camp officials ‘made us sing and dance when inspectors came’ from Moscow.’
One mum, Inesda Vertosh, said her son is not ready to talk about his experience in the camp.
‘He looks at me and says “Mom, I don’t want to tell you about it, you wouldn’t sleep at night”.’
Myroslava Kharchenko, a lawyer working with Save Ukraine, said families were often pressured.
She said: ‘(Russian officials) told parents that they have one hour to think, and that if Ukrainians get there before, they will bring American mercenaries who will beat and rape the children.’
Russia insists they are saving Ukrainian children from the horrors of war.
A week ago, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin, accusing him of committing war crimes in Ukraine.
The warrant seeks to haul him before a tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, for allegedly trafficking Ukrainian children from occupied territories into Russia.
Reports by the UN and multiple human rights agencies have detailed a ‘vast network’ of detention facilities and convoys in which civilians are systematically forced out of their homes by invading Russian soldiers.
Allegations include children, the elderly and people with disabilities being separated from their families, as well as detainees being beaten, electrocuted and threatened with execution.
North Tongu Member of Parliament, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has expressed disappointment at the outcome of a vote on six ministerial nominees of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
The MP posted a quote attributed to Ouida, philosophically stressing the pain that he felt by way of the impact that the outcome of the tense vote had on him.
The quote read: “There is no knife that cuts so sharply and with such poisoned blade as treachery.”
Parliament approves all six nominees, two Supreme Court Justices:
Parliament on Friday, March 24 approved all six ministerial nominees of president Akufo-Addo after a heated debate, 24 hours prior and a tense voting process.
Final results declared by Speaker Alban Bagbin showed that all nominees got more votes than the minimum of 138 votes required because out of the 275 eligible voters, there were three absent.
Below are the final figures for each nominee:
Total eligible 275
Absentees = 3
Total valid votes = 272
Hon KT Hammond, Minister for Trade and Industry
Yes = 154 No = 116 Rejected = 1 Abstention = 1
Bryan Acheampong, Minister for Food and Agriculture
Yes = 167 No = 98 Rejected = 1 Abstention = 3
Stephen Asamoah Boateng, Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs
Yes = 147 No = 122 Abstention = 3
Mohammed Amin
Yes = 152 No = 117 Rejected = 1 Abstentions = 2
Osei Bonsu Amoah
Yes = 149 No = 120 Abesmtion = 2
Stephen Amoah, deputy minister of Trade and Industry
Yes = 146 No = 123 Abstentions = 3
Meanwhile, there is a debate on deciding on whether or not to take the vote on the remaining two Supreme Court justice nominees appointed by Akufo-Addo.
Out of the four that were appointed, two of them were approved, leaving George Kingsley Koomson, Justice of the Court of Appeal, and Justice Ernest Yao Gaewu, Justice of the High Court.
A year after the initial incident, a Russian admiral has officially acknowledged that Ukraine sunk one of its ships in a missile strike.
In the occupied city of Berdyansk in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine started an attack on a captured Russian harbour exactly one year ago.
The attack damaged the Novocherkassk and Caesar Kunikov in addition to destroying the Russian landing ship Saratov.
Around a dozen sailors were killed in the attack across all three landing ships, along with an unknown number of elite marines.
The Ukrainian MoD shared a video a missile strike that hit Saratov landing ship- but Russia refused to acknowledge it until now (Picture: Ukriaine Ministry of Defence)
After previously refusing to acknowledge the attack or the damage it wrought, a Russian Black Sea admiral today admitted that Ukraine had managed to sink the vessel, although he refused to concede the total number of lost men.
The admission came at a sombre memorial ceremony involving grieving relatives presided over by senior Black Sea Fleet commander Rear Admiral Felix Menkov.
‘A year ago, in combat, we lost the amphibious force ship Saratov,’ said Menkov.
‘[We] lost the crew of the Saratov, Novocherkassk, Caesar Kunikov landing ships,
‘Today is the first mournful anniversary.
‘We gathered to commemorate our comrades, to remember them.’
He fought back emotion as he said: ‘Our children and grandchildren should be raised with such role models of love and service to the Fatherland.’
A Russian admiral finally acknowledged the attack on the anniversary of the Saratov’s sinking (Picture: East2West)
A plaque names a dozen Russian servicemen who died in the strike, but it is unclear if this was the full toll.
It also makes clear that elite marines were among those who died.
At the time of the attack, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi, released a video of the strike on his Telegram which showed missiles hitting the Saratov, which had been set ablaze.
‘The large amphibious ships Orsk, Cesar Kunnikov, Novocherkask were damaged, Saratov was destroyed,’ the Commander wrote.
‘The myth of the invulnerability of the Russian fleet was destroyed by well-targeted strikes of the AFU. This once again proved an irrefutable fact: the enemy will not rest on Ukrainian land: neither on land nor on water.
Nine were killed on the day of the strike, and three perished from wounds later.
The strike on the Saratov came exactly one month into the bloody war unleashed by Vladimir Putin, but until now the regime had refused to acknowledge the loss.
It was three weeks before the Black Sea Fleet’s flagship – the cruiser Moskva – was destroyed by the Ukrainians.
American Gospel Legend Donald James Moen (Don Moen) to charm gospel music lovers at Harvest Praise 2023, by the Harvest International Ministries, organizers of the crucifixion worship festival slated for Friday, April 7.
Don Moen would lead other seasoned local and international artistes with soul-inspiring rhythms at Harvest Praise 2023 slated for Good Friday, April 7th at the University of Professional Studies Accra (UPSA) main auditorium.
Don Moen (born June 29, 1950, in Minneapolis, Minnesota) is an American singer-songwriter, pastor, and producer of Christian worship music.
Moen produced eleven volumes for Hosanna! Music series of worship albums. His first album under his own name, Worship with Don Moen, was released in 1992.
Dr. Mrs. Gloria Folson, Chairperson of the Harvest Praise 2023 Planning Committee told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that the Ever Green Harvest Gospel Choir was expected to lift the banner of Jesus Christ high to give meaning to the Good Friday Gospel show.
She said the 2023 Harvest Praise also marks its 25th Anniversary and to coincide with the celebration Harvest Gospel Choir would launch its own record label.
Other guest artistes, who are expected to interplay their singing with charismatic chorographic performances to showcase West African Gospel Music to their American counterparts, include Moses Bliss, the ‘Bigger Everyday’ hitmaker, and a host of other surprise gospel artists.
The Harvest Theatre would also put a performance to give meaning to Easter through an artistic demonstration of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and its significance to the world.
Dr. Mrs. Folson noted that children between the ages of 5 and 12 will be treated to a special package of music, dance, and games simultaneously in an auditorium on the same premises.
She said the high points of Harvest Praise would be the Good Friday Message from the Reverend Fitzgerald Odonkor, General Overseer of Harvest International Ministry.
Harvest Praise was inaugurated in 1998 as an evangelistic gospel entertainment and ministering platform to reach out to souls on Good Fridays to have an amazing relationship with God.
The annual event has also been used to project local and international talents in the gospel music industry.
Don Moen’s brief profile obtained by the Ghana News Agency Tema Entertainment Desk indicates that his music had total global sales of over five million units.
He worked for Integrity Media for over 20 years, serving as Creative Director and President of Integrity Music, President of Integrity Label Group, and an Executive Producer of Integrity Music albums.
He left Integrity Media in 2008 to start a new initiative, The Don Moen Company.
Moen received a Dove Award for his work on the musical God with Us in addition to amassing nine nominations for his songs.
Moen is also a prolific songwriter, having worked with Claire Cloninger, Paul Overstreet, Martin J. Nystrom, Randy Rothwell, Ron Kenoly, Bob Fitts, Debbye Graafsma, Paul Baloche, Tom Brooks, among many others.
He has also worked with talented musicians, Justo Almario, Abraham Laboriel, Alex Acuna, and Carl Albrecht. His name is associated with some of the most well-known songs in Contemporary Christian Music.
Visiting the market arena today, Friday, 24 March 2023, to inspect the extent of destruction, Mr Kyerematen expressed sadness at the spectacle.
Accompanied by the Fire Service Commander and the security heads at the Kejetia Market Company Limited, Mr Kyerematen and his team visited all the burnt portions of the market.
Addressing the market queens and traders as well as the crowd that thronged the arena, Mr Kyerematen promised to engage government to ensure implementation of the measures in the report on the fire outbreak.
“I will liaise with government authorities as they investigate the cause of the fire and ask that they implement remedial measures swiftly to forestall the recurrence of such a tragedy”, the NPP flagbearer aspirant stated.
Mr Kyerematen asked the traders to keep hope in government and wait for the report of the investigation before they think of going back to the burnt area.
He noted that once there was fire there should be investigations.
Mr Kyerematen asked the traders to conduct their activities in accordance with the laid down regulations at the market.
“We should not allow what happened here to happen again because this very place is where you get your livelihoods from your trading activities”, Mr Kyerematen said.
Receiving the cash donation on behalf of the victims, representative of the Market Queen, Nana Sakina, commended the NPP flagbearer aspirant for the gesture.
Nana Sakina noted that it was quite refreshing that having visited them recently to learn about their challenges, including those who plied their trade at the race course market, Mr Kyerematen had cut short his tour of the country to sympathise with them as well as make a cash donation.
“You’ve shown that you are caring and considerate and for you to cut short your nationwide tour to visit us in our time of need shows you are a good man. We pray God’s favour for you as you seek to lead the NPP and Ghana”, she intimated.
Liz Truss has come under fire for allegedly recommending four close friends for peerages as part of her resignation honours in an effort to reward failure.
The 49 days Ms. Truss spent in Downing Street made her the prime minister with the shortest tenure in British political history. She left No. 10 after her September mini-budget measures helped drive the pound’s value down.
Yet, she has continued to nominate former aides and allies for a place in the House of Lords as part of the honours a prime minister might suggest after their retirement despite being humiliated.
Her four nominations equals roughly one peerage for every ten days she was in office, and both Labour and Lib Dem MPs have called on her successor Rishi Sunak to block the nominations.
Ruth Porter headed Ms Truss’s leadership campaig and was briefly her deputy chief of staff (Picture: Getty)Matthew Elliott was a Brexit campigner who headed the Vote Leave campaign
Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner called it a ‘list of shame’, coming after she said Ms Truss ‘and her Conservative co-conspirators’ had taken a ‘wrecking ball to the economy’.
According to The Sun and the i newspapers, former Vote Leave chief executive Matthew Elliott, Conservative Party donor Jon Moynihan, long-term aide Ruth Porter and think tank boss Mark Littlewood have all allegedly been recommended for peerages by the former Tory leader.
Mr Littlewood is director of the free market-supporting think tank Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA).
The group backed the disastrous mini-budget unveiled by Ms Truss and her chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng, with Mr Littlewood, according to The Guardian, calling it a ‘boost-up budget’.
Upon her resignation, Mr Littlewood said: ‘I’m very sorry the PM’s efforts to move the UK in a pro-growth, low-tax, pro-enterprise direction has failed.
‘She had a difficult hand to play, but she also played the hand badly.’
He also served as chief press spokesman for the Lib Dems and reportedly was at Oxford University with Ms Truss.
Mark Littlewood is director of a conservative think tank and attended Oxford University with Liz TrussJon Moynihan (R) is a Tory donor who gave £50,000 to Ms Truss’s leadership campaign
Ms Porter currently works for a lobbying firm but helped spearhead Ms Truss’s successful Tory leadership bid in the summer before briefly serving as her deputy chief of staff in No 10.
The register of MPs’ financial interests shows that Mr Moynihan donated, in two separate transactions, more than £50,000 to Ms Truss’s leadership campaign.
Mr Elliott, as well as campaigning for Brexit, was also involved in founding the Taxpayers’ Alliance group which lobbies for lower taxes.
Ms Rayner said: ‘Liz Truss and her Conservative co-conspirators took a wrecking ball to the economy in a disastrous six-week premiership that has left millions facing mortgage misery, but Rishi Sunak now looks set to allow her to hand out these obscene rewards for failure.
‘If this Prime Minister was serious about the integrity he promised, he would be point blank refusing to rubber stamp Liz Truss’s list of shame.
‘Instead of approving undeserved honours and lifetime golden goodbyes for her cheerleaders, he should be demanding the public apology she has refused to provide.’
Wendy Chamberlain MP, the Lib Dems’ chief whip, said: ‘Handing out more expensive gongs to Conservative allies is a truly remarkable way to reward the shortest tenure as prime minister in British political history.
Labour deputy Angela Rayner labelled the nominations a ‘list of shame’ (Picture: Getty)
‘Truss and her Conservative colleagues trashed our economy and left millions in misery.
‘Those selected for honours are the very people who helped plunge the country into chaos and crisis.
‘Rishi Sunak must block these honours immediately as allowing Truss to dish out positions of influence shows a stunning lack of humility.’
A spokesman for Ms Truss said he could not comment on who any individuals on the nomination list were.
Founder of the Atta Mills Institute, Samuel Koku Sitsofe Anyidoho has officially been inducted as an Accredited member of the Institute of Public Relations (IPR), Ghana.
The former deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) together with notable professionals became Accredited Members of the sole professional body for Public Relations practitioners in Ghana during its annual general meeting and summit.
The 2023 edition of the IPR Annual General Meeting organized at Kwahu in the Eastern Region of Ghana saw a total of 59 professionals inducted as Associate and Accredited members.
The IPR Annual General Meeting summit held under the theme “Staying Credible Through Rough Patches” brought together distinguished practitioners across the country to share insights on trust and the significance of credibility.
Parliament has approved all six ministerial nominees recently appointed by President Akufo-Addo.
The six nominees include Member of Parliament for Adansi Asokwa, Kobina Tahiru (K.T) Hammond, who is to head the Trade Ministry; Abetifi MP, Brian Acheampong, who is to head the Food and Agriculture Ministry; MP for Karaga, Mohammed Amin Adam, who has been appointed the Minister of State at the Finance Ministry; Nhyiaeso MP, Stephen Asamoah Boateng who is man the affairs of the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs.
Others are former Deputy Minister at the Trade Ministry, Mr Hebert Krapah, who is now heading to the Energy Ministry as Deputy Minister; Dr Stephen Amoah who has been appointed the Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry and MP for Akuapem South, Osei Bonsu Amoah, who has been appointed Minister of State at the Local Government and Rural Development Ministry.
Their appointments were approved after a secret ballot in the House on Friday, March 24, 2023, following a series of heated debates.
The Minority had earlier threatened to reject the approval of President Akufo-Addo’s appointees due to the size of his government.
However, the Majority was also of the view that the nominees needed to be approved to facilitate the work of the government. The back and forth resulted in a request for the nominees to be approved by secret ballot, which was eventually conducted after some hesitation from some MPs.
At the end of the ballot all six nominees has amassed enough votes to qualify them for their positions.
The Speaker announced that 154 people voted ‘Yes’ in favor of K.T Hammond’s appointment while 116 people voted to reject the appointment. There was one rejected ballot and an abstention.
“Bryan Acheampong amassed 167 ‘Yes’ votes, 98 ‘Nos’ , 4 rejected ballots and 3 abstentions.” Stephen Asamoah Boateng also had 147 votes in his favor, 122 ‘Nos’ 3 abstentions, with Mohammed Amin Adam acquiring 142 ‘Yes’ votes, 117 ‘Nos,’ 1 rejected ballot and 2 abstentions,” he continued.
“Hon OB Amoah also had 149 ‘Yes’ in his favor, 120 ‘Nos’ against his appointment, 3 abstentions and Dr Stephen Amoah had 146 ‘Yes’ in his favor, 123 ‘Nos’ with 3 abstentions,” the Speaker added.
Dome Kwabenya MP, Sarah Adwoa Safo, was no where in sight when Parliament was conducting a secret ballot to determine the fate of President Akufo-Addo’s recent ministerial appointees.
All members of the House were expected to be in the House to cast their votes on the matter, given the country’s hung Parliament.
Prior to the vote, the National Executives of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) issued a statement directing all members of the Majority Caucus not to miss the day’s sitting.
However, the former Gender Minister was no where to be found during the day’s sitting.
It is unclear her whereabouts or whether she had sought permission to be absent from the sitting but when her name was mentioned by the Speaker, she was not in the House to cast her vote.
Aside Adwoa Safo, MP for the Kumawu Constituency in the Ashanti Region, Philip Atta Basoah, was also not in the House.
With the absence of the two, the President’s nominees are unlikely to be appointed if all the members of the Minority Caucus were present to cast their vote, and did so in accordance with the party’s decision.
