TIG Post

Author: Chris Kodo

  • DeSantis pokes Trump as he speaks out about the hush money issue

    DeSantis pokes Trump as he speaks out about the hush money issue

    Ron DeSantis, the governor of Florida, broke his silence on Donald Trump’s legal woes on Monday. He criticized the Manhattan district attorney who is seeking charges against the former president and vowed his office would not get involved if the case somehow ended up in Trump’s adopted home state of Florida.

    But DeSantis, a potential contender for the Republican presidential candidacy in 2024, refrained from endorsing the outgoing leader and instead appeared to make fun of the predicament Trump finds himself in as he launches a third presidential bid.
    Whether Trump should be charged for an alleged payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels linked to an alleged affair is currently being debated by a grand jury.

    “I don’t know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair,” DeSantis said as laughter broke out at a news conference in Panama City, Florida. “I just, I can’t speak to that.”

    DeSantis added: “I’ve got real issues to deal with here in the state of Florida.”

    The dismissive quips traveled quickly across the state to Mar-a-Lago, where Trump has decamped while he awaits for word on the New York grand jury’s findings. His allies immediately started attacking DeSantis across social media, suggesting he would face a political price for failing to recognize Republicans are rallying around Trump amid his mounting legal threats.

    Trump responded in a statement posted to his social media site, Truth Social, leveling a series of personal attacks against DeSantis.

    “Ron DeSanctimonious will probably find out about FALSE ACCUSATIONS & FAKE STORIES sometime in the future, as he gets older, wiser, and better known, when he’s unfairly and illegally attacked by a woman, even classmates that are ‘underage’ (or possibly a man!). I’m sure he will want to fight these misfits just like I do!” Trump wrote.

    As part of the post Trump also shared a photo that suggested DeSantis had behaved inappropriately with teenage girls while teaching history in Georgia in his early 20s, an image the former president previously shared on social media to go after the Florida governor.

    The episode Monday was illustrative of the increasingly fraught rivalry between two of the GOP’s biggest stars as they battle for party supremacy — one made more awkward by their proximity inside the Sunshine State. Trump has suggested his arrest is forthcoming, and if he is in Florida at that moment, it could require a coordinated effort by police in DeSantis’ state.

    DeSantis said he is not aware of any arrangements with local law enforcement regarding Trump, and he said he had “no interest in getting involved in some type of manufactured circus.”

    The delayed remarks by DeSantis stand in stark contrast to the forceful defense he offered on Trump’s behalf last August when federal authorities seized documents from the former president’s Palm Beach estate. Just hours after the raid, DeSantis on Twitter called the FBI search at Mar-a-Lago “another escalation in the weaponization of federal agencies against the regime’s political opponents, while people like Hunter Biden get treated with kid gloves.”

    But there was no such tweet this time from DeSantis, who had remained quiet for days amid reports that a New York grand jury was interviewing witnesses and has largely avoided discussing Trump at all amid escalating attacks from the former president and his allies. DeSantis instead last week held events focused on relief for Hurricane Ian victims and the pandemic. He posted a picture from the World Baseball Classic picture standing next to the Miami Marlins mascot.

    Over the weekend, as other Republicans criticized Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a Democrat, for pursuing charges in a case that dates back to the 2016 election, Trump allies engaged in a coordinated pressure campaign to get DeSantis to speak out in defense of the former president.

    “Thank you, Vice President @Mike_Pence and @VivekGRamaswamy, for pointing out how Radical Left Democrats are trying to divide our Country in the name of Partisan Politics,” Trump campaigdn adviser Jason Miller wrote on Twitter. “Radio silence from Gov. @RonDeSantisFL and Amb. @NikkiHaley.”

    Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., wrote in a tweet on Sunday: “Pay attention to which Republicans spoke out against this corrupt BS immediately and who sat on their hands and waited to see which way the wind was blowing.”

    MAGA, Inc sent several emails tracking which Republicans had commented on the potential criminal charges and hitting DeSantis for “remaining silent.” Trump allies acknowledged that this was a concerted effort to force DeSantis to weigh in on the matter, believing that he would have to offer support to Trump.

    When DeSantis finally weighed in Monday, it came during an unrelated press conference about central bank digital currencies, a recent area of concern among some conservatives but hardly the topic of the day, given the revelations about Trump’s legal case. He didn’t address Trump’s legal situation until asked by an individual from the Florida Standard, a conservative website friendly to DeSantis.

    DeSantis echoed other criticism of Bragg, accusing the Democrat of seeking charges against Trump for political reasons. He compared Bragg to the local state attorney in Tampa, Andrew Warren, who DeSantis controversially removed from office last year over his politics, and linked them both to George Soros, the Hungarian-born billionaire and progressive donor often at the center of conservative conspiracies.

    “If you have a prosecutor who is ignoring crimes happening every single day in his jurisdiction, and he chooses to go back many, many years ago to try to use something about porn star hush money payments, you know, that’s an example of pursuing a political agenda and weaponizing the office, and I think that that’s fundamentally wrong,” DeSantis said.

    But DeSantis also seemed to downplay Bragg’s pursuit of Trump as a lesser concern compared to issues related to crime in the city.

    “That’s bad, but the real victims are ordinary New Yorkers, ordinary Americans in all these different jurisdictions that they get victimized every day because of the reckless political agenda that the Soros DAs bring to their job,” he said. “They ignore crime and they empower criminals.”

    Haley weighed in later Monday, saying a prosecution of Trump would be “for political points.” The former South Carolina governor, who announced her White House campaign last month, told Fox News’ Bret Baier, “And I think what we know is that when you get into political prosecutions like this, it’s more about revenge than it is about justice.”

    “I think the country would be better off talking about things that the American public cares about than to sit there and have to deal with some revenge by some political people in New York,” added Haley, who served as ambassador to the United Nations under Trump.

  • US to dispatch tanks and Patriot missile systems to Ukraine earlier than anticipated

    US to dispatch tanks and Patriot missile systems to Ukraine earlier than anticipated

    As per American defense sources, the deployment of US Patriot missile defense systems and Abram tanks to Ukraine is expected to proceed more quickly than anticipated.

    According to the defense officials, 65 Ukrainian soldiers will soon finish their system training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

    According to the authorities who spoke to reporters at Fort Sill, the troops will next proceed to Europe for more training on the two Patriot systems—one American and one made by the Germans and Dutch—that will be deployed to Ukraine in the coming weeks.

    The announcement of the acceleration of Patriot deployments came shortly after it was reported that the US will accelerate the time it takes to ship Abrams tanks to Ukraine by sending older M1-A1 models of America’s main battle tank instead of the more modern version of the tank, according to two US officials.

    The decision to speed up the delivery of tanks and Patriots comes as Ukraine is preparing to launch a spring offensive against Russian forces, built largely around the more powerful and more advanced systems Western countries have agreed to send, including tanks and other armored vehicles.

    US trainers at Fort Sill, where the 65 Ukrainians have been training since January 15, were able to significantly speed up the timeline of the course because of the Ukrainians’ baseline knowledge of air defense systems, the officials said.

    “Our assessment is that the Ukrainian soldiers are impressive, and absolutely a quick study,” said Brig. Gen. Shane Morgan, the Fort Sill commander. “Due to their extensive air defense knowledge and experience in a combat zone, it was easier – though never easy – for them to grasp the Patriot System Operations and Maintenance concepts.”

    It typically takes around a year for US soldiers to complete training on the Patriot, though Pentagon spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said in January that the accelerated training timeline for Ukrainian troops would take “several months.”

    The Ukrainian troops training are men and women ranging in age from 19-67. They arrived in mid-January and are set to compete the training in the coming days. The schedule was “aggressive,” a Fort Sill official said, with the Ukrainians training daily from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

    The announcement at the end of 2022 that the US would be providing a Patriot battery was a welcome one for Ukraine, who had repeatedly asked for the air defense capability. But experts warned that the system would not be a game changer overnight because of the significant training and logistical requirements that go along with it, as well as its limitations in scope.

    “These systems don’t pick up and move around the battlefield,” retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, former commander of US Army Europe, told CNN in December. “You put them in place somewhere that defends your most strategic target, like a city, like Kyiv. If anyone thinks this is going to be a system that is spread across a 500-mile border between Ukraine and Russia, they just don’t know how the system operates.”

    The Ukrainians’ day-to-day training in Oklahoma was overseen by the Army’s 3rd Battalion, 6th Field Artillery Regiment, Morgan said, adding that the Ukrainian troops were “hand-picked by their country” and the “best of the best in what they do.”

    “I’m certain their actions these past months will save lives and alleviate suffering,” Col. Marty O’Donnell, the spokesman for US Army Europe and Africa, said of the Ukrainian troops on Tuesday. “What they did matters — it matters to Ukraine, and to the world.”

    On Tuesday morning, John Kirby, the National Security Council’s strategic communications coordinator, said the US was working to speed up the delivery of tanks to Ukraine.

    “We’re working on that. There’s some changes that you can make to the process, to sort of speed that up,” Kirby said on MSNBC. “The Pentagon is working as fast as they can, and they’ll have more to say on adjustments they’re making.”

    The US had previously announced it would send the more modern M1-A2 version of the Abrams battle tank, but that would have required either building new tanks or modernizing existing older tanks, then training Ukrainian crews on the more advanced system. The M1-A2 has a newer digital targeting system that makes it a more capable tank, but it also required more training for Ukrainian troops to operate the more complex tank and to maintain the system.

    The US still intends to send 31 M1-A1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, the same number as previously announced and the size of a complete Ukrainian tank battalion.

  • Bad Bunny sued for $40m by ex-girlfriend

    Bad Bunny sued for $40m by ex-girlfriend

    Pop superstar Bad Bunny is being sued for $40m (£33m) by his ex-girlfriend, who says he used a recording of her in two songs without permission.

    Carliz De La Cruz Hernández says she recorded the catchphrase “Bad Bunny baby” on her phone in 2015, before he became famous and before they split up.

    The line has appeared on the Puerto Rican singer and rapper’s 2017 single Pa Ti and the 2022 song Dos Mil 16.

    Bad Bunny was the most-streamed artist on Spotify for the past three years.

    He has not publicly responded to Ms De La Cruz’s legal action, which was filed in Puerto Rico earlier this month.

    It said the pair got together in 2011 and both worked in a supermarket as Bad Bunny – real name Benito Martínez Ocasio – also made music.

    She recorded several versions of herself saying the “Bad Bunny baby” line using the voice notes app at a friend’s home in the bathroom – because it was the quietest room – and sent them to Martínez.

    He used them in a string of early tracks on Soundcloud, then released it on Pa Ti, which has had more than 355 million views YouTube platform and 235 million plays on Spotify.

    Bad Bunny sued for $40m by ex-girlfriend 
    Bad Bunny won a Grammy Award for his latest album Un Verano Sin Ti

    ‘Overwhelmed and anxious’

    Ms De La Cruz’s lawyers claim that, days before Bad Bunny’s latest album Un Verano Sin Ti came out last year, his representatives offered to buy the rights to the line from her for $2,000 (£1,600).

    She refused, and the album was released with her line on it. Un Verano Sin Ti went on to be nominated for album of the year at the Grammy Awards, and the track Dos Mil 16 has had 60 million YouTube views and 280 million Spotify plays.

    Ms De La Cruz says her recording has also been used in concerts, and argues that its use amounts to “gross negligence, bad faith and, worse still, an attack on her privacy, morals and dignity”.

    Since the latest album came out, thousands of Bad Bunny fans have commented on Ms De La Cruz’s social media accounts as well as talking to her about it when they see her in person, she said.

    “This has caused, and currently causes, De La Cruz to feel worried, anguished, intimidated, overwhelmed and anxious,” the legal document said.

    “The situation for De La Cruz became unmanageable, to the point that she needed to contact multiple psychologists for help as soon as possible.”

    The couple split up in 2016 before briefly getting back together the following year.

    Ms De La Cruz is also suing Bad Bunny’s record label Rimas Entertainment and manager Noah Assad.

  • US to expedite tank deliveries to Ukraine

    US to expedite tank deliveries to Ukraine

    As per two US officials, the US will deliver older M1-A1 versions of the country’s main combat tank to Ukraine rather than the more recent model, greatly reducing the time it takes to transport the tanks.

    According to one of the officials, the decision will allow the tanks to arrive as soon as this fall, cutting months off the previous schedule that may have lasted a year or longer.

    The US is trying to hasten the delivery of tanks to Ukraine, according to John Kirby, the strategic communications coordinator for the National Security Council.

    “We’re working on that. There’s some changes that you can make to the process, to sort of speed that up,” Kirby said on MSNBC. “The Pentagon is working as fast as they can, and they’ll have more to say on adjustments they’re making.”

    The US had previously announced it would send the more modern M1-A2 version of the Abrams battle tank, but that would have required either building new tanks or modernizing existing older tanks, then training Ukrainian crews on the more advanced system. The M1-A2 has a newer digital targeting system that makes it a more capable tank, but it also required more training for Ukrainian troops to operate the more complex tank and to maintain the system.

    The decision to speed up the delivery of tanks comes as Ukraine is preparing to launch a spring offensive against Russian forces, built largely around the more powerful and more advanced systems Western countries have agreed to send, including tanks and other armored vehicles.

    Reuters first reported the decision to send the older Abrams tanks.

    The US still intends to send 31 M1-A1 Abrams tanks to Ukraine, the same number as previously announced. The size of a complete Ukrainian tank battalion.

    In mid-February, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said these systems would “make a pretty significant difference” in Ukraine’s anticipated counteroffensive.

    Austin urged other countries last week to send tanks and other armored vehicles to Ukraine as soon as possible.

    “We have to deliver swiftly and fully on our promised commitments,” Austin said at a news conference following the latest meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, an unofficial organization of some 50 countries providing aid to Ukraine. “That includes delivering our armored capabilities to the battlefield and ensuring that Ukrainian soldiers get the training, spare parts and maintenance support that they need to use these new systems as soon as possible.”

    Last month, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said all of the options the US was considering to get tanks to Ukraine would take months.

    “We’re looking at options for how to get the Ukrainians tanks and there are a variety of different ways that we could do that,” Wormuth told a group of reporters at the time. “We’re looking at what’s the fastest way we can get the tanks to the Ukrainians. It’s not going to be a matter of weeks.”

    But she warned that even the faster options still involve “longer timelines” that may take a more than a year.

  • I need a woman with a good attitude and personality – Funny Face

    I need a woman with a good attitude and personality – Funny Face

    Comic actor Funny Face has reconsidered the qualities he needs in any lady he would want to be in a relationship with after his experience.

    The actor has for years been saying that he prefers a woman with a huge backside adding that when he sees ladies with huge backsides he losses his mind.

    After getting married twice to women who are curvy and his ‘bitter’ experiences with them, he has declared that he is no more going to follow curvy women because he has realised that is not always about curves.

    According to him, despite all the experiences he has had with ladies he is still not giving up on marriage but this time around he is not going to chase ladies with curves but rather one with a good personality.

    Speaking with Berla Mundi, he mentioned that he made the decision to give love and marriage another opportunity since he is convinced that there are decent ladies out there who would be the ideal fit for him.

    He continued by saying that there are still good ladies with curves and that his comment was not intended to disparage endowed women. The only thing he regrets is that in the past, he put appearance over character.

    Watch his interview below:

  • I lived without sex for 14 years – Gospel singer recounts

    I lived without sex for 14 years – Gospel singer recounts

    Reverend minister cum gospel singer, Mr. Sarpong McAbraham, has recounted how he stayed celibate for 14 years until he found his wife.

    The gospel singer, who is widely noted for his teachable songs, said he made some mistakes in the past that compelled him to make such a decision.

    Opening up on his reasons, the ‘hye wo akono so’ hitmaker said he became born again after having his first child out of wedlock.

    Mr. McAbraham who finally found his soul mate said all through their 26 years of marriage, he had made another decision to stay faithful and loyal to just one woman.

    “I had my first child although I had not married at that time. But after I became born again, I stayed without sex for 14 years. 14 years! The holy spirit lived inside of me and I came to the realization that I did all the wrong things. After 26 years of marriage, I had never cheated on my wife,” he stated in a discussion with Hello FM in Kumasi.

    Reacting to the current trend where pastors have joined the train of men patronizing side chicks, he recalled an encounter.

    “The other day, a pastor was telling me that, nowadays all pastors are having side chicks and I told him to personalize it. I told him to leave everybody else from it. He was making such statements in front of my wife,” he stated.

    McAbraham is a force to reckon with in the Ghanaian music industry. The veteran is known for his exceptional lyrics aimed at influencing the listener to draw closer to God.

  • Palestinian people are not drawing censure from the US – Israeli official

    Palestinian people are not drawing censure from the US – Israeli official

    Bezalel Smotrich, Israel’s far-right Finance Minister, said over the weekend that there is no such thing as the Palestinian people or a nation. This came after Smotrich called for the “erasure” of a Palestinian community just a few weeks earlier.

    Jewish nationalist Smotrich asserted that the Zionist drive to build modern-day Israel was the catalyst for the invention of Palestinian nationalism in the previous century.

    “Who was the first king of Palestine?
    What dialects speak the Palestinians?
    Has Palestine ever had its own currency?
    Exists a Palestinian culture or history?
    Nothing.
    In a speech in Paris, Smotrich asserted that there is no such thing as the Palestinian people.

    US National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby on Monday objected to the comments, saying they would not help to calm tensions in the region.

    “We utterly object to that kind of language. And It’s extremely unhelpful to – again – trying to de-escalate the tensions and trying to find a viable two-state solution going forward,” Kirby said, speaking to Israeli Channel 13. “We don’t want to see any rhetoric, any action or rhetoric – quite frankly – that can stand in the way or become an obstacle to a viable two-state solution, and language like that does.”

    The Palestinian Authority presidency slammed Smotrich’s remarks as “racist,” calling them “an attempt to falsify history.”

    In a statement, the PA asserted that the Palestinian people “have existed on this land forever.”

    Hamas, the militant Palestinian Islamist movement that runs Gaza and calls for Israel’s destruction, also called Smotrich’s comments racist, saying they “clearly reflect the fascist policies of colonial settlement expansion and forced eviction of the Palestinian people, on which the occupation state was founded,” in reference to Israel.

    Smotrich’s appearance in Paris also caused a diplomatic incident between Israel and Jordan. The podium he was standing at was draped in what appeared to be a variation of the Israeli flag displaying an enlarged map of Israel that included the occupied West Bank, Gaza and most of Jordan.

    A spokesperson for Smotrich said the flag used at the event he attended was “set decoration” put there by the conference organizers and that the minister was only a guest, according to Reuters.

    Jordan summoned the Israeli ambassador to Amman on Monday in protest, citing Smotrich’s use of the map.

    Jordan’s foreign ministry “warned of the seriousness of the continuation of these extremist racist actions issued by the same minister who had previously called for the erasure of the Palestinian village of Huwara.” It added that Smotrich’s actions were a violation the Jordanian-Israel peace treaty.

    Israel’s foreign ministry tweeted in response saying it was “committed to the 1994 peace agreement with Jordan” adding that Israel “recognizes the territorial integrity” of Jordan.

    Tzachi Hanegbi, head of Israel’s National Security Council, also said he spoke with Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi to reaffirm Israel’s commitment to Jordan’s territorial integrity and the Israel-Jordan peace treaty.

    Smotrich’s comments came on the same day that Israeli and Palestinian officials met in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, to try and calm tensions ahead of the Ramadan and Passover holidays. Among other agreements the two sides pledged “to develop a mechanism to curb and counter violence, incitement, and inflammatory statements and actions.”

    The minister, who also has some powers over the Israeli unit that controls border crossings and permits for Palestinians, has a long history of denying the existence of a Palestinian nation and has previously made controversial statements about them as well as on other issues like LGBTQ rights.

    Earlier this month, he made incendiary comments saying that the Palestinian town of Huwara in the West Bank “needs to be erased” after two Israeli brothers were shot and killed while driving through the town. Israeli settlers went on revenge attacks in the aftermath, where one Palestinian man died. Smotrich later apologized for the remarks saying they had been made in a “storm of emotions”.

  • Mass Disconnection Exercise: Ghanaians rush to clear debts at ECG offices

    Mass Disconnection Exercise: Ghanaians rush to clear debts at ECG offices

    It was a beholding sight at the various Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) offices across the as scores of customers owing the company trooped in to settle their debts to forestall any implications of sanctions. 

    Residents of La in Accra, on Monday, March 20, 2023, boycotted all activities and stormed the Company’s offices to pay their outstanding bills.

    This is after officials of ECG, as part of a month-long revenue generation exercise, descended on the community to disconnect customers owing it.

    The Company’s officials from the Makola District Team, Accra East Region, told the Ghana News Agency that some residents owed bills for months and years, with others engaged in “bypasses” – their consumptions not passing through meters.

    For instance, a two-storey building, which had a pharmacy at the ground floor and sports bar at the first and floors in the Community had two of its three prepaid meters tampered with.

    The occupants of the edifice were given a summon letter.

    A bartender too had her meter disconnected for refusing to pay her debt of GHS3,700.

    After acquiring the meter, she never paid a bill because there were no bills coming from ECG since 2021.

    Madam Mary Eshun Oppong, Communications Officer, Accra East ECG, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said: “Most people don’t pay their bills with the excuse of not receiving bills. The least amount we have seen them owe is around GHS1,500 and the highest is GHS5,000,” she said. 

    Madam Eshun Oppong said the disconnection had yielded results, with the affected individuals and households making prompt payments.

    The Ghana News Agency observed that some residents closed their shops until the ECG Officials left.

    The team will continue its work in the community for some days before moving to another area.

  • NDC primaries: John Mahama files nominations

    NDC primaries: John Mahama files nominations

    Former President John Dramani Mahama has finally filed his nominations to contest the flagbearership of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) slated for May 13, 2023.

    The filing of nomination was done by his campaign team led by a leading member of the NDC, Prof Joshua Alabi.

    They submitted the required documents as well as fees at the party’s headquarters in Accra on Tuesday March 21, 2023.

    Prof Alabi gave a strong indication to the Electoral Commission ahead of the 2024 general election that they will not tolerate any level of compromise that will be disadvantageous to their candidate.

    “We are not prepared to cheat anybody and in the same vein we are not ready for any party to cheat us,” Prof Alabi said, adding that the EC has a role in ensuring that the 2024 general elections are free and fair.

    He added that the NDC is also putting in place measures to closely and effectively monitor the elections.

    “We are working hard to make sure that our collation system is very robust. Come that day, don’t be surprised when by 12 midnight or 1 am you see us on TV telling you to go out and jubilate,” Prof Alabi told the NDC supporters.

    John Mahama picked nominations forms to contest for the NDC presidential primaries. Three others have also entered the race.

    The former Mayor of Kumasi, Kojo Bonsu and businessman, Ernest Kwaku Krobea, as well as former Finance Minister, Dr. Kwabena Duffour, have all picked forms to contest.

    Duffour was a Finance Minister under the late former President Jerry John Rawlings from 1997 to 2001 and also under the late president Atta Mills’ leadership from 2009 to 2013.

    Meanwhile, Prof Alabi urged the party supporters to vote massively for John Mahama in the upcoming NDC falgbearership race.

    He stated that a unanimous vote will convey to other parties, and their opponents how united the NDC is in their support for the former President.

    “Even with 51%, he has won. With 60%, 70%, 80% or 90% he has won, but we want 99.999%. The 2024 elections are not going to be easy. Around the whole country what the people say is very simple, ‘the NDC is coming back’.”

    “When something belongs to you and you don’t protect it the thief will come for it. So we are not going to sleep even though the general claim is ‘the NDC is coming back’. We are going to work with all the organs to make sure that in the next election, we give the party a one-touch victory,” Prof Alabi noted.

  • Kelvyn Boy discloses how he maintains a good mental health

    Kelvyn Boy discloses how he maintains a good mental health

    Ghanaian musician, Kelvyn Boy, has opened up about how he practices and maintains a good mental health.

    Speaking on 3 Music TV’s Culture Daily Live, the ‘Down flat’ hitmaker shared insights on how he keeps his mental health in check, outside the limelight.

    While admitting that he doesn’t have a therapist or a medical professional on his team, Kelvyn Boy disclosed that he has people to confide in.

    “I don’t have a therapist in my team or a medical professional but I have people I talk to and I have things that I do that are therapeutic,” he asserted.

    Some of the activities that Kelvyn Boy finds therapeutic and helps him rejuvenate are taking walks on the beach and watching movies.

    “I go to the beach, it’s therapeutic. I do watch movies. There are things I do. I definitely will go to the beach with someone, why would I want to go to the beach alone? I am not a fisherman,” he added.

    It can be recalled that in an earlier interview with Naa Ashorkor sometime in 2022, Kelvyn Boy disclosed that he sometimes pretends to be happy or cries in his bedroom just to maintain his sanity.

    Watch the video below:

  • Burger vendor explains how he keeps prices at £1, but we’re not in a rush to purchase one

    Burger vendor explains how he keeps prices at £1, but we’re not in a rush to purchase one

    In this high cost of living issue, tales of street food costing £1 are like urban legends.

    It is improbable and extremely rare, much like seeing the Loch Ness Monster or outbidding Ticketmaster to secure a Eurovision ticket.

    This may be the reason why the burger at Higgit’s Las Vegas Arcade has elevated to the status of one of the main attractions in Blackpool.

    On Dale Street, Chris Higgit’s notorious $1 hamburger stand is tucked away from the promenade.

    Chris Higgit, from Higgitt's Las Vegas Arcade Blackpool on Dale Street in Blackpool, which offers hungry customers a freshly-cooked burger for just ?1. Photo by James Maloney/LancsLive
    His stall on Dale Street in Blackpool attracts customers from far and wide (Picture: MEN Media)

    It is hard to miss, with signs directing tourists and locals alike to the business that has made quite a name for itself in recent years for not rising its prices.

    The owner has already seen a fair few customers even though the season is yet to officially begin.

    Chris says people find him on Facebook, Instagram, and now TikTok, and rush to sample his food.

    He said: ‘Because I have such a presence on social media, people physically come to find me.

    Chris Higgit, from Higgitt's Las Vegas Arcade Blackpool on Dale Street in Blackpool, which offers hungry customers a freshly-cooked burger for just ?1. Photo by James Maloney/LancsLive
    Chris has managed to keep the cost of the burger the same despite inflation (Picture: MEN Media)

    ‘It also helps the rent here on Dale Street is one tenth of what it is on the prom, but being two streets back doesn’t matter, because people come to find me.’

    It is hard to believe Chris succumbed to pleas from reporters to divulge his secret as to why the burger is so sought after apart from the low price.

    He said: ‘The secret is I burn spices into the plate. The plate is black and at the start of every shift I grind spices on to the plate and burn them on so it marinates and goes into the food.

    ‘It is just normal burgers but I make sure that the plate is marinated so all those spices have to go straight into the burgers.’

    In recent months, the rising cost of food has hit the headlines, as well as pressure on both families and business who are facing rising energy bills.

    But Chris is somehow managing to beat inflation and keep his costs the same and continue to make a living.

    He stressed it is ‘purely about volume’, adding: ‘The biggest costs are me, because of the cost of my labour, and the electricity.

    ‘The electricity costs the same if the grills are on and I cook one burger, or if I cook 500 burgers, so it is all about the number of burgers.

    ‘If I buy in bulk I can also get discount from the warehouse, so I can go in and get volume discounts.

    ‘So where other places will be doing four or five burgers a day, I’ll be doing 100.’

  • Ruth Adjei drops her first single for 2023 titled ‘Same Old God’

    Ruth Adjei drops her first single for 2023 titled ‘Same Old God’

    Ghanaian multiple-winning gospel artiste, Ruth Adjei has released a new song titled ‘Same old God’.

    Already, there is a whole new level of anticipation that has started building up these few days after the announcement of the ‘Same Old God’ single, especially on social media.

    Speaking about an encounter she had with a video on social media that questions the existence of God, the ‘Siesie Me’ hitmaker said she went on Facebook to respond to a message where someone blasphemously spoke ill about the existence of God.

    Ruth said God does not discriminate, he’s unconditional, a promise keeper because the Lord has fulfilled all promises he made to her. God never checked her status or her condition” adding that it motivated her to put out the song.
    The song hinges on the faithfulness, and unconditionality of God’s nature to fulfill every word he has spoken to his children.

    With great chart-topping songs in her repertoire such as ‘Matchless Father’, ‘Oshidaa’, ‘Mebo’ and many more, Ruth Adjei is still living her mission of ‘Making Jesus Proud’ and making him known in every song, lyrics, gathering, and service.

  • Terror police investigating the burning man who was on his way home from the mosque

    Terror police investigating the burning man who was on his way home from the mosque

    An elderly man was set on fire while returning from a mosque, and counterterrorism police are now looking into the incident.

    Today it was revealed that one individual had been detained on suspicion of trying to kill someone.

    At after 7 o’clock last night, the victim allegedly encountered another man after leaving the Birmingham place of worship on Dudley Road.

    The two are believed to have had a few words on Brixham Road in the Edgbaston neighborhood before the victim was doused in an unknown liquid and his clothing caught fire.

    He suffered burns to his face and was taken to hospital with serious injuries, but they are not believed to be life-threatening.  

    Footage has been circulating on social media, appearing to show a man in a backpack pointing at – and at one point pushing – another man before setting him alight. 

    man set on fire walking home from Birmingham Mosque
    The man was attacked on Brixham Road, in the neighbourhood of Edgbaston, Birmingham (Picture: Twitter/@CrimeLdn)

    Councillor Rizwan Jalil, who is also from West Midlands fire authority, told BirminghamLive: ‘I’m absolutely appalled by this vile attack on an elderly respected gentleman.

    ‘He is a pillar of this community who has lived here for well over 20 years.’

    Chief Supt Richard North continued: ‘Our investigation continues with support from Counter Terrorism Policing West Midlands CTU who have access to specialist capabilities to help establish the full circumstances surrounding the incident. 

    ‘We have officers patrolling the local area to reassure people and we are visiting local faith establishments to keep them informed.’

    Anyone who thinks they might have information on the crime has been asked to come forward. 

  • Election budget should have been used to build schools and hospitals – Simi

    Election budget should have been used to build schools and hospitals – Simi

    Nigerian artiste, Simisola Ogunleye-Kosoko also known as Simi, has stated that the budget for the 2023 general elections should have been used to establish schools and hospitals.

    She said this via her Twitter platform while calling out the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday, March 20.

    Simi wrote: “300 billion naira budget for this joke of an election. @inecnigeria you might have as well given them back the money to fix some hospitals and schools and just used a finger to point at the people you wanted to select.”

    “The blatant rigging and nobody in power addressed it. Lol. The giant problem of Africa.

    “Anybody that saw the disenfranchisement and didn’t condemn it better keep their prayers for Nigeria. She doesn’t need prayers from people like you”.

    This isn’t the first time, Simi who is of the firm belief that the 2023 election was blatantly rigged has called out the INEC.

    Read the post below:

  • Akesse Brempong narrates how a robbery attack led to some revelation in his family

    Akesse Brempong narrates how a robbery attack led to some revelation in his family

    Akesse Brempong, a Ghanaian gospel musician and pastor, recently shared the backstory to his song “God is Working.”

    In an interview with Fiifi Folson on Joy FM’s “The Reason is Jesus”, he said the song was inspired by a miraculous event that happened in his personal life.

    Akesse and his wife, Benedicta, had been trying to conceive for four years after their marriage in 2011, despite receiving prophetic words about the children they were going to have. They sought medical attention, but it didn’t seem to be working.

    Akesse mentioned that the situation was difficult, especially since they were doing the Lord’s work.

    “One time Dicta [his wife] comes to talk to me, and it leaves me broken. We are going around, doing the Lord’s work, but there is a need in your home. Going around praying for people, seeing some manifestations of the hand of God in their lives, but we have a need. And I went to God in prayer, and the Lord said to me, tell your wife that when I turn her captivity, she will be like a dreamer,” he added.

    Several months later, Akesse revealed that he went to Obuasi with his wife, who was employed by the Ghana Commercial Bank, to attend a friend’s wedding. On their way to Accra, he felt strongly that his wife was about to become pregnant.

    “So I said to her, ‘This month and you are going to conceive. I sense that in my spirit,” he told Fiifi Folson.

    Two months later, his wife was robbed at gunpoint while in a taxi. The robbers took her phone, and money, and attempted to remove her wedding band, but it was stuck in her fingers. They pushed her, and she landed on her arms.

    When they reported the incident to the police, they requested a doctor’s report.

    “After examining her, the doctor kept insisting that she should do a pregnancy test. And she was distraught because it was armed robbery, there was a sprain in her arm that is why my mother brought her there so, pregnancy test with a sprain in arm?” he said.

    The doctor explained that the medication she was going to receive could affect the fetus if she was pregnant, hence the pregnancy test. This is how Benedicta discovered she was eight weeks pregnant.

    “It meant that when I gave the prophetic word, the month before, she had actually conceived and entered into another month,” Akesse said.

  • Pepsodent launches initiative to give millions of people free teledental consultation

    Pepsodent launches initiative to give millions of people free teledental consultation

    More than 6 out of 10 people in Ghana (66%) have never visited a dentist due to lack of access. Lack of professional care means oral problems often go untreated, resulting in worsening conditions, pain, and other health issues. In Ghana, 1 in 4 people over the age of 5 have untreated caries on permanent teeth and 4 out of 6 lose all their teeth by age 65.

    In light of this, Pepsodent’s new global campaign – Now Everyone Can #TalkToADentist was launched today to mark World Oral Health Day 2023 and to encourage people to take the first step to improve their oral health with a free Teledental consultation.

    Today, there are more than 10,000 people for every dentist in Ghana, even though the World Health Organisation recommends a dentist-population ratio of 1 dentist per 7,500 people. Given this severe lack of access, millions of people have never been to a dentist. This means that oral health problems often go untreated. 25% of Ghanaians over the age of 5 have untreated caries of permanent teeth, which affects quality of life and wellbeing, and means people suffer from largely preventable pain. Additionally, there is an adverse economic impact as this results in people missing work due to pain and discomfort, leading to $161 million total productivity loss worldwide. Pepsodent Ghana is on a mission to change this and help those who have never been to a dentist take the first step to improve their oral health.

    Adopting the belief that everyone should have access to quality dental health advice and care, Pepsodent Ghana aims to give millions of people the opportunity to access professional dentist advice for free through its teledentistry service. The service is made freely available for everyone and can be conveniently accessed via mobile devices using direct links or USSDs. It connects people with dentists in real time, who can help identify causes of an oral care problem and provide professional advice to address the problem at home, where possible. If at-home care is not suitable, the patient will be given advice about how to seek professional help at a clinic. Now everyone can talk to a dentist.

    Osato Evbuomwan, Category Manager, Oral Care Ghana, says, “A core value of our brand is to prevent oral disease for everyone. We want to make the process of accessing a dentist as seamless as possible, to provide quality dental advice and care, especially for those who have never been to a dentist before. Our teledentistry service and dental camps have been introduced to give people access to professional oral healthcare, no matter where they are. Our World Oral Health Day 2023 campaign, ‘Now Everyone Can #TalkToADentist’ encourages people to take the first step to improving their oral health by going for their first dental visit, for free.”

    Dr. Paapa Puplampu, President of the Ghana Dental Association, also emphasized, “A large proportion of the population has never been to the dentist, not even once. To change this reality, our job is to help people take the first step towards better oral health by providing them with easy and convenient access to dental consultations. Pepsodent Ghana’s teledentistry and dental camps services will help to improve people’s habits and hopefully encourage them to regularly go for check-ups to avoid costly procedures in the future”.

    Alongside this year’s campaign, ‘Now Everyone Can #TalkToADentist’, Pepsodent will be launching its teledentistry service which consumers can utilise on their mobile phones through designated shortcodes. Interested dental professionals can reach out to Pepsodent on their social media accounts or with the contacts provided, or they can contact relevant members from the Ghana Dental Association or Ministry of Health. Monthly dental camps will also be located across the different regions to provide screening and other oral health care services, so all are encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity and share their experiences on social media.

    This World Oral Health Day, Pepsodent Ghana is urging everyone to take the first step to improve their oral health with a free Teledental consultation. You can access the service by scanning the QR code with the camera on your mobile phone device and tap the chat now button to talk to a dentist or call the toll-free number 0800 161 000 and follow the voice prompts alternatively visit https://www.pepsodent.com/gh for more details.

  • Elderly man set on fire while returning from the mosque after he was sprayed

    Elderly man set on fire while returning from the mosque after he was sprayed

    An elderly man was walking home from a mosque when someone approached him and set him on fire.

    Just after 7 o’clock last night, he was confronted by another man after leaving the Birmingham place of worship on Dudley Road.

    They exchanged a few words on Brixham Road in the Edgbaston neighborhood before the victim was doused in an unknown liquid and his jacket caught fire.

    He was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries, including burns to his face, but it is not thought that they are life-threatening.

    Footage has been circulating on social media, showing a man in a backpack pointing at – and at one point pushing – another man before setting him alight. 

    The police said they are looking into the video as part of their investigation but no details about the clip have been officially confirmed.  

    One local, who only gave his name as Ibraheem, captured an attack on his home’s CCTV.

    man set on fire walking home from Birmingham Mosque
    The man was attacked on Brixham Road, in the neighbourhood of Edgbaston, Birmingham (Picture: Twitter/@CrimeLdn)

    He said: ‘The footage shows an older man walking on the path, I understand he had been to evening prayers at the mosque and was going home.

    ‘Out of nowhere a man approached him and in other video online he was heard asking the man: “Do you speak Arabic?”

    ‘The victim said he didn’t speak Arabic but spoke Punjabi. He suddenly got out a flammable spray and doused the man with it. It looked like the victim managed to turn away so his jacket protected his body.

    ‘Suddenly there was a whooshing sound and he was on fire and the man who did it just walked away.

    ‘The fact that the attacker was black and asking if the victim spoke Arabic suggests to me it wasn’t racially motivated but you never know.

    ‘This is a close knit area where people know each other. My dad knows of the victim and he is a lovely, genuine, honest man.’

    Councillor Rizwan Jalil, who is also from West Midlands fire authority, told BirminghamLive: ‘I’m absolutely appalled by this vile attack on an elderly respected gentleman.

    ‘He is a pillar of this community who has lived here for well over 20 years.’

    A women who lives close to where the violence took place said: ‘I’m hoping it was a grievance and not a racist attack. – we have a good community.

    ‘Why would someone do that? It’s the lowest of the low.’

    Superintendent James Spence said: ‘I’ve been speaking to people this morning, and so I know just how concerned they are, and that people are after answers. 

    ‘We are determined to find the person responsible and get those answers as soon as possible, and I’d urge the community to work with us and to avoid any speculation at this stage.’ 

    The force has deployed extra officers in the area to reassure locals.  

    Anyone who thinks they might have information on the crime has been asked to come forward. 

  • Bawumia eulogizes late Dr. Akoto Osei

    Bawumia eulogizes late Dr. Akoto Osei

    The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has paid tribute to former Old Tafo Member of Parliament, Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei.

    In a social media post to eulogize the former Minister of Monitoring and Evaluation, Dr. Bawumia described the death as a ‘complete shock’.

    Dr. Akoto Osei died on Monday, March 20, 2023.

    He was the Member of Parliament for Old Tafo Constituency for 16 years and the Minister of Monitoring and Evaluation during President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s first term, from 2017 to 2021.

    “His dedication to serving mother Ghana was unpaired and his fidelity to the country’s development was unquestionable”, the Vice President also wrote.

    Describing the late lawmaker as his bosom friend, Dr. Bawumia reminisced how he worked closely with Dr. Akoto Osei as Vice President and during his time as Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana.

    Osei worked as deputy minister for Finance and Economic Planning in May 2003 and was a major economic adviser to the government.

    He was elevated to substantive Minister for Finance and Economic Planning after the death of the then Minister Kwadwo Baah Wiredu.

    He served in that role until 6 January 2009 when the government was handed over to the National Democratic Congress which had won the 2008 General Elections.

    In February 2017, Osei was sworn in as Minister of Monitoring and Evaluation after being nominated by President Nana Akufo-Addo and going through the vetting process in the parliament of Ghana.

    The ministry of Monitoring and Evaluation was a newly created Ministry to evaluate, monitor and plan review summits and forums in fulfilment of the government’s policies on evaluating the progress of its own ministries.

    In May 2017, President Nana Akufo-Addo named Anthony Akoto Osei as part of the nineteen ministers who would form his cabinet. The names of the 19 ministers were submitted to the Parliament of Ghana and announced by the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Prof. Mike Ocquaye.

    As a Cabinet minister, Anthony Akoto Osei was part of the inner circle of the president and aided in key decision-making activities in the country.

  • Funny video of Lil Win, Akrobeto and McBrown reciting nursery rhymes goes viral

    Funny video of Lil Win, Akrobeto and McBrown reciting nursery rhymes goes viral

    Kumawood actors Nana Ama McBrown, Akrobeto and Lil Win have reunited as they made a hilarious video that got many people admiring their friendship.

    The memorable video was recorded by Ghanaian comedian and actor, Lil Win who brought McBrown and Akrobeto together to feature in it.

    In the video, they recited the primary school rhyme on the month of the year. They also recited the number of days in each month.

    Mrs McBrown Mensah indicated that these were the recitals they learnt to help those who were not smart in school become brilliant students.

    Watch the hilarious video below.

    @officiallilwinwezzy

    I met my legends today ❤️❤️❤️

    ♬ original sound – Official lil win wezzy

    Ghanaians react to hilarious video of Lil Win, Akrobeto and McBrown reciting the nursery rhymes

    official.agyakoo:

    I’m here .

    Brandy:

    We can’t do without these people in Ghana ooo

    Gyasi Ababio:

    When legends meet legends but left with one man @official.agyakoo

    user3039361058113:

    Wofa, Lilwin, nana ama and agya koo for the whole wiase! Love you guys

    akumvom Richard:

    Who else hear “apruu”

    Yaapapabi :

    My young brother used to say October November November oooo January February March

    rayedem1:

    No school but you made it… I look up to you guys… my favourite nana ama

    Kobbie:

    Awurade krakas

    lovemeone12:

    God Bless you All ♥️♥️♥️i Love you soo much

    @Mr. Debate TV:

    How can you be sad in this country

    Queen:

    These guys will kill me

    user33461841217197:

    It’s very true I always have to sing it even My first 20 Elements ❤️God bless our teachers

    Nana Adwoa Agyeiwaa❤️❤️❤️:

    Who else heard April in November

    Afia Quenzy:

    May this happiness be with you forever amen

  • Family conflict results in a £1 million legal dispute

    Family conflict results in a £1 million legal dispute

    A squabbling family’s legal costs in a bitter battle over a refurbished property have reached £1 million.

    After 44 years of marriage, Pamela Teasdale, 68, informed her husband Daniel, 73, that she wanted a divorce. This sparked a contentious four-year legal fight that “fractured” the family.

    According to MailOnline, the mother-of-two wished to remain a resident of Burne Farm in Todwick, South Yorkshire, in order to launch a livery enterprise.

    Despite Ms. Teasdale receiving a lump sum payment and Mr. Teasdale’s family having owned and operated the farm for three generations, this continues.

    But it was a recently renovated barn their daughter Rebecca Carter, 45, lived in with her husband and daughter that lead to major complications.

    Both parents were happy for their daughter and her family to stay at Cow House cottage, which had undergone a major £200,000 revamp.

    A row was sparked as Mr and Ms Teasdale and their daughter argued over who could claim legal ownership of the home.

    Mrs Carter said she had been paying the mortgage for years, but her mum insisted it was just rent.

    Daily Mail - Internet collect photo of Pamela Teasdale. A court has heard how the dispute between Pamela Teasdale, aged 68, her daughter Rebecca Carter, 45, and estranged husband Daniel Teasdale, 73, had left the family ???fractured??? and was what a judge called ???one of the most regrettable pieces of litigation??? he had ???ever come across???. The judge said the dispute centred on the ownership of Cow House, a converted barn on Burne Farm, in Todwick, South Yorkshire, where Mrs Carter lived.
    Pamela Teasdale, 68, wanted to divorce her husband Daniel after 44 years of marriage.
    Daily Mail - Internet collect photo of Dan Teasdale. A court has heard how the dispute between Pamela Teasdale, aged 68, her daughter Rebecca Carter, 45, and estranged husband Daniel Teasdale, 73, had left the family ???fractured??? and was what a judge called ???one of the most regrettable pieces of litigation??? he had ???ever come across???. The judge said the dispute centred on the ownership of Cow House, a converted barn on Burne Farm, in Todwick, South Yorkshire, where Mrs Carter lived.
    Daniel Teasdale’s family has been running the farm for three generations.

    The argument became so bitter Ms Teasdale accused her own daughter of planting a listening device in her lounge.

    Judge Gordon Shelton said it was a ‘tragedy’ no amicable agreement was reached, and it was ‘one of the most regrettable pieces of litigation he had ever come across’.

    A nine-day High Court hearing followed by a two-day appeal hearing, with all three family members represented by expensive legal teams, led to a total legal bill of £1,048,000.

    Judge Shelton, backed by the appeal judge Mr Justice Moor, ruled the parents promised the cottage to their daughter.

    Daily Mail - Internet collect photo of Rebecca Carter daughter of Pamela and Dan Teasdale who lives at Cow House on Burne Farm. A court has heard how the dispute between Pamela Teasdale, aged 68, her daughter Rebecca Carter, 45, and estranged husband Daniel Teasdale, 73, had left the family ???fractured??? and was what a judge called ???one of the most regrettable pieces of litigation??? he had ???ever come across???. The judge said the dispute centred on the ownership of Cow House, a converted barn on Burne Farm, in Todwick, South Yorkshire, where Mrs Carter lived.
    Rebecca Carter, daughter of Pamela and Dan Teasdale, insisted she had been paying the mortgage on the cottage.

    However, they refused Mrs Carter’s bid to stop her mum’s future livery business because it would ‘disturb their peace’.

    The couple remain living under the same roof, with their daughter and her family also on the farming property.

    It is still undecided who shall live where.

    Mr Teasdale said: ‘My wife asked me for a divorce and I didn’t even know anything about it. There is nobody else involved. It has been such a stressful time, this has been going on for nearly five years.

    ‘It’s caused so much upset because they were all close, my wife and daughters would spend weekends together with Rebecca having an interest in horses and Penelope with labradors.

    ‘Now it’s all gone. I don’t know if I will get to keep the farm. We are all in limbo.’

  • Fella Makafui slays in stunning pants suit; Fans react

    Fella Makafui slays in stunning pants suit; Fans react

    Ghanaian actress Fella Makafui has inspired businesswomen with their impeccable looks. The beauty entrepreneur rocked a trendy pants-suit ensemble for her photoshoot.

    The two-piece outfit was styled with a lace camisole as she posed in her plush mansion with her black designer bag.

    Fella Makafui looked breathtaking in her flawless makeup and long-coloured hairstyle. She accessorized with gold stud earrings, an expensive wrist watch and a pearly bracelet.

    Some social media users have commented on Fella Makafui’s elegant look;

    amgmedikal

    Gegeee

    hajia_pretty1

    I love the way she’s giving it back to you guys. Since minding your business is too much to ask

    feliciaanaba2

    Mrs. Frimpong papabi❤️

    taktiz_man_141

    Our boss wife bi dat

    she_loves_stonebwoyb

    Our blessed beautiful wifeyyyy

    lorie__k

    superwoman

    simonbillionsz

    Pretty Gorgeous

    loyce_abhy

    Looking beautiful as always… you’re an inspiration to me just to see you will be a great birthday surprise and a wish come true

    mannyneverdies1

    Gorgeous Queen MAMA MAKAFUI ❤️

    delaliodani

    Very lovely outfit there❤️❤️

  • NDC Primaries: Agbanyo files nomination for Ketu North

    NDC Primaries: Agbanyo files nomination for Ketu North

    Don Emmanuel Agbanyo, a.k.a next MP, a Ketu North National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentary Candidate hopeful, Monday filed his nomination and restated his ambition to create markets and financial systems towards transforming Ketu North’s rural economy if elected the Party’s Candidate and later Member of Parliament for the area.

    He said the creation of a viable market and financial systems, which would link the production and marketing of farm produce was the way to create jobs and curb youth unemployment in the Municipality noted for agricultural production.

    Mr Agbanyo said this in an interview with the GNA, that, this will be his third time contesting the primaries.

    He said it was unfortunate that though the Municipality was noted widely in the West African sub-region for the production and marketing of exclusive quality palm oil, gari and rice, the people remained poor and said his aim was to change the narrative and open up the Municipality for rapid socio-economic growth.

    Mr Agbanyo said it was high time Weta, Penyi, Afife and Dzodze, the capital of Ketu North, became the commercial hub of the Volta Region leveraging the passage of the ECOWAS International Highway through it, linking Ghana and neighbouring Republic of Togo, and said that was going to be one of his priorities – taking advantages under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to make the area a market centre.

    Mr Agbanyo, a Real Estate Developer, said he had engaged some investors who were ready to invest in irrigation and to support agro-processing industries taking advantage of the Ohawu Agriculture College in the Municipality.

    He said once the Municipality was able to produce enough to feed itself and market through AfCFTA and local markets in Ghana, the rural economy would expand with opportunities for the service sectors-health and education.

    Mr Agbanyo said his policy of “Education First” was to encourage and empower all, especially girls to be in school and said he would organise regular competitions for pupils and students from basic to tertiary level towards making Ketu North an education tourism Centre.

    He said he would initiate various training schemes for traders, artisans, and people in the transport business to make their enterprises self-sustaining, towards “building the Ketu North we want”.

    Mr Agbanyo said 2024 offered a new dawn for Ketu North, saying he was ready to give his all to transform the Municipality with opportunities for the young, medieval and the old and urged the delegates to vote for him.

    Ten persons have picked forms to contest the NDC Ketu North Constituency primaries.

    They are: Don Emmanuel Agbanyo, Afetsi Awoonor, Gabriel Kwamigah and Wisdom Nyamuame.

    The rest are: Dr Donald Senanu Agumenu, Mr Prosper Ledi, Mr Leonard Nyakpo,Edem Agbana, Mr Francis Seglah and Mr John Adanu.

    Dr James Avedzi, the current MP, who is also the Chairman of the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, is not contesting.

  • Boris Johnson acknowledges deceiving the legislature about parties

    Boris Johnson acknowledges deceiving the legislature about parties

    The Privileges Committee has made the defense file for former prime minister Boris Johnson‘s involvement in the Partygate scandal public.

    In the 52-page letter, Mr. Johnson, a Tory MP fighting to keep his political career alive, admits he deceived the legislature but says it was what he thought at the time.

    At a session that could determine Johnson’s political future, a cross-party committee of MPs will grill him live tomorrow.

    The Privileges Committee came under fire for not publishing the report sooner, but it was confirmed that the final written evidence did not arrive until 8.02am today.

    epaselect epa10534493 Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson outside his home in London, Britain, 21 March 2023. Johnson is set to give evidence to MPs who are investigating accusations that he misled Parliament over Partygate, on 22 March. EPA/ANDY RAIN
    Mr Johnson was seen outside his home in London earlier today (Picture: EPA)

    This is because the original contained ‘a number of errors and typos,’ they said.

    The group also said the written submission contains ‘no new documentary evidence.’

    Mr Johnson rejected the committee’s belief that the evidence strongly suggested breaches of coronavirus rules would have been ‘obvious’ to the then-prime minister.

    He called the inquiry’s allegation ‘illogical’, arguing that some of those who attended the events ‘wished me ill and would denounce me if I concealed the truth’.

    He wrote that it was ‘Far from achieving a ‘cover-up’. He said: ‘I would have known that any deception on my part would lead to instant exposure. This would have been senseless and immediately self-defeating.’

    LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 20: Former British prime minister Boris Johnson leaves his home on March 20, 2023 in London, England. The former prime minister will attend a televised evidence session on Wednesday in front of the Commons Privileges Committee, which has previously suggested that Mr Johnson may have misled Parliament in his statements about parties at Number 10 during the Covid-19 lockdown. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)
    The ex-PM will face a grilling tomorrow after the submission of his dossier.

    He said it was ‘implausible’ that he would have known the parties photographed and ‘immortalised’ by his official photographer were rule-breaking.

    He says the only evidence that he intentionally misled the Commons is from the ‘discredited Dominic Cummings’, and that Cummings’ assertions are not ‘supported by any documentation’

    In his evidence to the Privileges Committee Boris said he accepts he misled the House of Commons when he said lockdown rules had been followed in No 10 but insisted the statements were made ‘in good faith’.

    Downing Street partygate
    Boris Johnson pictured at a party in Downing Street on November 13, 202, where he was seen holding a drink in his hand.

    In his opening submission he said: ‘As I made clear to the House of Commons on 25 May 2022, I take full responsibility for everything that took place on my watch at No. 10.

    ‘The revelations in Sue Gray’s report shocked the public, and they shocked me. I therefore begin by renewing my apologies to the British people for what happened on my watch.

    ‘It is now clear that over a number of days, there were gatherings at No. 10 that, however they began, went past the point where they could be said to have been reasonably necessary for work purposes.

    ‘That should never have happened, and it fills me with sadness and regret that it did.’

    LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 25: In this handout photo taken on 19 June 2020; UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak at a gathering in the Cabinet Room in 10 Downing Street on the Prime Minister's birthday, issued on May 25, 2022 in London, England. The Sue Gray Report into lockdown parties in Downing Street was published today. (Photo Handout/UK Government via Getty Images)
    A gathering in June 19, 2020, that Rishi and Boris attended that was published in The Sue Gray Report into lockdown parties in Downing Street.
    EDITORS NOTE IMAGE REDACTED AT SOURCE Handout photo dated 19/06/20issued by the Cabinet Office showing a gathering in the Cabinet Room in 10 Downing Street on Prime Minister Boris Johnson's birthday, which has been released with the publication of Sue's Gray report into Downing Street parties in Whitehall during the coronavirus lockdown. Issue date: Wednesday May 25, 2022. PA Photo. The full publication into the parties was sidelined during Operation Hillman, the Metropolitan Police's inquiry into the gatherings. The force concluded its investigation on May 19, with 126 fines being issued in total to 83 people. See PA story POLITICS Johnson. Photo credit should read: Sue Gray Report/Cabinet Office/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
    On June 19, 2020, Boris was joined by other members in the Cabinet Room in 10 Downing Street to celebrate his birthday.

    The ex-PM then further appears to rely on an absence of evidence that he broke lockdown rules.

    He says: ‘There is not a single document that indicates that I received any warning or advice that any event may have broken rules or guidance.’

    In the document, he says that the ‘vast majority of individuals’ who have given evidence to the privileges committee ‘have not indicated that they considered their attendance in breach of the law’

    In one photograph published in the Sue Gray report, Boris can be seen holding a drink in the Cabinet room within Number 10, and raising a toast.

    This was on Boris’s birthday, and in the report, he said that for his celebrations, for which he was fined, ‘No cake was eaten, and no one even sang happy birthday.’

    He defended attending a number of leaving parties in Downing Street, saying: ‘I might raise a glass to honour a colleague, but that was it.’

    ‘At the time I was recovering from a serious illness, I was desperately worried about the state of the country, and I was going back to my flat to continue working.’

    Mr Johnson claimed he was at none of the events for more than half an hour, and said: ‘When I looked around the room, I did not think anyone was breaking any rules or guidance: on the contrary, I thought that we were all doing our job.’

    According to Boris it was his ‘duty’ as the prime minister to ‘say a few words of thanks’ to those departing.

    Boris did however receive a birthday cake at a school just hours before attending his party in Downing Street.
    Downing Street garden party Police decided this event attended by Mr Johnson, his then fiancee Carrie Symonds and staff did not warrant an investigation
    The party on May 2020, where Boris can be seen with his wife Carrie Symonds along with a number of other members of Number 10 including Dominic Cummings.

    On May 20, 2020, in a photograph published initially by The Guardian, he was seen in the Downing Street garden with a number of other members of Number 10, when lockdown rules were still in place.

    He said he was never warned that the gathering might breach lockdown rules, and said he wished ‘in retrospect’ he had considered how such events could be perceived.

    He said: ‘I can categorically state that no-one at the time expressed to me any concerns about whether the event complied with the rules or guidance.’

    He added that he ‘did not see any of the emails’ relating to the event, after Sue Gray’s report showed around 200 staff were encouraged to ‘bring your own booze’ in an invite.

    He wrote: ‘It is simply inconceivable that I would have allowed an event to go ahead if I had known that it would breach the rules or guidance.’

    ‘Of course, I wish, in retrospect, that we had given some thought to how these events could be perceived.

    ‘We should have found a way to make it clearer that these were work events, with the specific purpose of thanking and motivating colleagues for their tireless efforts in fighting Covid-19.

    ‘Hindsight is a wonderful thing.’

    He insisted that any lack of social distancing in the ‘old, cramped London townhouse’ of No 10 was not necessarily a breach of guidance.

    ‘We tried to keep our distance, but we knew that proximity was sometimes unavoidable, and we knew that this was acceptable under the guidance,’ he said.

    Mr Johnson accepted he personally attended five of the events considered by the committee but said he ‘honestly believed that these events were lawful work gatherings.’

    If Mr Johnson fails to convince the committee he did not deliberately mislead the Commons, he could be found to have committed contempt of Parliament.

    A suspension of more than 10 days could result in a high-profile by-election in his Uxbridge and South Ruislip seat.

    The full House of Commons would vote on any recommendations.

    Speaking further in the report Mr Johnson said: ‘I accept that the House of Commons was misled by my statements that the Rules and Guidance had been followed completely at No. 10.

    ‘But when the statements were made, they were made in good faith and on the basis of what I honestly knew and believed at the time.

    ‘I did not intentionally or recklessly mislead the House on 1 December 2021, 8 December 2021, or on any other date. I would never have dreamed of doing so.’

  • Wakaso goes back to training to recover from his loss: Bids Atsu farewell

    Wakaso goes back to training to recover from his loss: Bids Atsu farewell

    Mubarak Wakaso, Ghanaian footballer and best friend of the late Christian Atsu, who died in Turkey’s earthquake, posted a picture of himself exercising a few days after burying his bosom friend.

    In the sad-looking photos, which have garnered many reactions from football fans, the Black Stars player thanked Ghanaians who supported him throughout this difficult period in his life.

    He said he was now getting in terms with reality since he lost Christian Atsu, who was a better part of him. He also bid his good friend goodbye and hoped that Atsu would rest in peace.

    Ghanaians who reacted to the photos shared their sentiments with him and hoped that he would recover from this heartbreak and carry on with his late friend’s legacy.

    Some Ghanaians commented on Mubarak Wakaso’s post

    Mhaame Yaa Konadu commented:

    Awwww sorry, ok, It is well. Everyone is broken by his sudden death. He will forever be remembered.

    Shadrack Amonoo Crabe commented:

    Like By Now, Atsu Has Already Appeared here in the Comment Box, Trolling You and cracking Jokes… Charlie… Life

    Hilda Tegah commented:

    Hmmmmm. I remember how he always comments on your posts eg ‘mumu lyk you’ and stuff. May his soul rest in perfect peace.

    Vicky Serwaa commented:

    Hmmm anka by now Atsu will be giving it to you. I remember when you were singing Feliz navidad. Hmmm… May he continue to rest in peace ✌️

  • SoNA by NDC is to provoke Ghanaians against NPP – Ahiagbah

    SoNA by NDC is to provoke Ghanaians against NPP – Ahiagbah

    Communications Director for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) Richard Ahiagbah believes the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) State of the Nation Address is a move to incite the people of Ghana against the NPP.

    Under the leadership of their Chairman, Asiedu Nketiah, the NDC presented what it described as the true state of the nation address on Monday, March 20, 2023.

    They provided what they termed a better understanding of the country’s economy and the failure of the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-led administration, indicating that Ghana is not in a ditch due to external forces.

    The NDC indicated that mismanagement on the part of the government has led to the hardship currently being faced by the people of Ghana.

    But reacting to the address, Richard Ahiagbah said, “The NDC’s SONA is a dismal & insincere attempt to misrepresent & incite Ghanaians. When NPP gave its SONAs in opposition, the state of GH was truly weak & in crisis from the mismanagement of the NDC govt. Ghanaians know we are in difficulties bcos of the Covid&Ukraine war”.

  • After an intended impact by a spacecraft, an asteroid creates a debris cloud

    After an intended impact by a spacecraft, an asteroid creates a debris cloud

    Detailed views of the debris streaming out from the collision caused by the Double Asteroid Redirect Test can be seen in new photographs published by scientists using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile on Tuesday.

    In an effort to alter the asteroid Dimorphos’ velocity, the DART spacecraft, which weighs roughly 1,200 pounds (544 kilograms), collided head-on with the space rock at a speed of 13,000 miles per hour (20,921 kilometers per hour).

    The results demonstrated how this kinetic impact technique could be used to divert asteroids that may appear to be on a collision course with Earth. This was the first time humans attempted to alter the motion of a celestial object.
    Both Dimorphos and Didymos, the larger asteroid it circles, are not dangerous to Earth.

    The DART impact was successful, changing Dimorphos’ orbital period around Didymos by 33 minutes. This first test of planetary defense, which took place 7 million miles (11.3 million kilometers) from Earth, also released tons of material into space.

    Two different teams of astronomers used the Very Large Telescope to study the aftermath of the event.

    “Impacts between asteroids happen naturally, but you never know it in advance,” said lead study author Cyrielle Opitom, an astronomer and chancellor’s fellow at the University of Edinburgh, in a statement. “DART is a really great opportunity to study a controlled impact, almost as in a laboratory.”

    Opitom and her fellow researchers tracked the debris cloud that resulted from the collision for a month using the telescope’s Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer instrument, also called MUSE.

    The cloud of rocks and debris initially blasted off of Dimorphos’ surface first appeared to be made of fine particles. Days later, the team spied other structures in the debris cloud, like clumps and spirals of larger particles, as well as a long cometlike tail streaming behind the asteroid.

    The MUSE instrument allowed the researchers to look at the cloud through a rainbow of light to look for telltale signatures of chemicals and gases. But the team couldn’t detect any water or oxygen.

    “Asteroids are not expected to contain significant amounts of ice, so detecting any trace of water would have been a real surprise,” Opitom said.

    The team also kept an eye out for any trace of the DART spacecraft itself, including the propellant it used to journey to the asteroid.

    “We knew it was a long shot, as the amount of gas that would be left in the tanks from the propulsion system would not be huge. Furthermore, some of it would have travelled too far to detect it with MUSE by the time we started observing,” she said.

    Other recent research included a “movie” captured by the Hubble Space Telescope showing the evolution of the asteroid’s new tail and just how many tons of material were sprayed into space at impact.

  • I’ve never been President; why question me on education? – Adutwum jabs Mahama

    I’ve never been President; why question me on education? – Adutwum jabs Mahama

    The Education Minister Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum has re-echoed John Dramani Mahama’s catchphrase, ‘You have never been President before,’ ostensibly to dismiss his calls for him to resign over dwindling standards in the sector.

    John Mahama recently asked the Education Minister to delegate authority if he is unable to help students in low-performing schools improve.

    It follows the Minister’s threat to close all underperforming schools if they do not improve educational outcomes.

    Mr Mahama believes that closing such schools is not only unacceptable but also demonstrates gross incompetence on the Minister’s part, emphasizing that it is the Minister’s responsibility to ensure that all schools have the necessary resources to improve their academic outcomes.

    However, in a media interaction on Tuesday, March 21, Dr. Adutwum found the ex-President’s position perplexing.

    “The former President made a famous statement that if you have not been a President before, you can’t question or engage him. But this same person is trying to engage me as a Minister when I have never been a president before. So, I really don’t understand why I am being engaged”, he pointed out.

    The Minister went on to praise the government’s educational achievements.

    He maintained that the gains made in the sector since the NPP government took office have been incomparable.

    “But I want to tell you one thing, Nana Akufo-Addo’s achievements in education are incontestable. The records of President Akufo-Addo in education are unmatched. So, if anyone wants to engage me as Minister of Education, I don’t have any record of my own. I have the record of the President”, Dr Adutwum added.

    Why poorly performing schools are to be shut

    According to the Minister, a school with a consistent zero to ten per cent pass rate should develop intervention programs to ensure that the majority of their students are able to continue their education rather than becoming a liability to their parents and society due to their inability to pass their exam.

    He explained that closing the schools would help save the nation from the huge financial losses incurred by the government as a result of the school’s existence and that the affected students would be redistributed to other nearby schools, allowing them to continue their education.

    However, the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT), for example, has taken on the Education Minister, claiming that the move is misguided.

    “This is totally misplaced. That is not where that comment should go. For these schools that he is talking about, those who go there have poor grades, you put all these in one place and expect the heads to do magic. The Minister should sometimes consult”, says GNAT’s General Secretary, Thomas Musah.

  • Don’t wait to get everything on your prospectus before going to school – Education Minister to SHS freshers

    Don’t wait to get everything on your prospectus before going to school – Education Minister to SHS freshers

    The Education Minister, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum has encouraged parents of students who just gained admission to senior high schools to take their wards to school.

    According to him, parents should not worry so much about meeting all the requirements on the prospectus before enrolling their children.

    “Parents of Ghana, if your child has not reported to school yet because you are waiting to get all the items on the prospectus, I want you to know that my head teachers want to see you in school immediately.

    “So even if you don’t have all your items, go to school the head teachers can’t wait to see you and welcome you in their schools,” he said on Tuesday.

    Dr Adutwum who was addressing the press on Tuesday also encouraged students to manage and the little that they were given by their parents, adding that “if you are determined, one day you will tell your story.”

    “You will tell your story of how you went to Odogono with one shirt and shorts and the rest is history. You’ll tell the world about how you didn’t wait for your items and yet you went to school.

    “So parents send your children to school and take advantage of the Free SHS and TVET to change the future of your children and the future of Ghana,” he added.

    Dr Adutwum earlier today, demonstrated the helpline his outfit set up by his outfit to help the Ministry address the concerns of parents.

    By showing the behind-the-scenes, the Minister sought to inform Ghanaians about the team that has been set up to ensure seamless correspondence between his outfit and parents.

  • Don’t wait to get everything on your prospectus before going to school – Education Minister to SHS freshers

    Don’t wait to get everything on your prospectus before going to school – Education Minister to SHS freshers

    Education Minister, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, has admonished both parents and students who just gained admission to senior high schools not to wait till they satisfy all requirements on the prospectus before commencing class.

    Rather, he admonished parents who may be struggling to make ends meet to send their wards to school and later fulfill the requirements on the prospectus.

    According to him, parents should not worry so much about meeting all the requirements on the prospectus before enrolling their children.

    “Parents of Ghana, if your child has not reported to school yet because you are waiting to get all the items on the prospectus, I want you to know that my head teachers want to see you in school immediately.

    “So even if you don’t have all your items, go to school the head teachers can’t wait to see you and welcome you in their schools,” he said on Tuesday.

    Dr Adutwum who was addressing the press on Tuesday also encouraged students to manage and the little that they were given by their parents, adding that “if you are determined, one day you will tell your story.”

  • Are you mad? – Fella Makafui blasts Bongo Ideas over cheating allegations

    Are you mad? – Fella Makafui blasts Bongo Ideas over cheating allegations

    Actress cum socialite Fella Makafui has taken a swipe at Ghanaian blogger, Albert Nat Hyde popularly known as Bongo Ideas over allegations of her cheating on her husband with his former manager.

    Bongo Ideas took to Twitter to boldly accuse Fella Makafui who is the wife of Ghanaian rapper Medikal of cheating with the latter’s dismissed manager. 

    “Sources suggest that Medikal sacked Flow Delly after finding out thru phone records about his secret relationship with wife, Fella. Also, Fella Makafui has stopped describing herself as “Mr. Frimpong” as she stops putting on her ring. Medikal has done the same too.

    “There’s fire in the camp of Medikal and Fella Makafui with their marriage potentially falling apart. It’s just a matter of time,” he tweeted.

    The allegation follows the dismissal of Medikal’s manager, Flow Delly. Although he refused to disclose the reason for dismissing Delly, Bongo is alleging that it’s got something to do with a supposed affair with Fela Makafui.

    Obviously outraged by the post, Fella, descended on him and questioned if Bongo was going nuts or something. “Are you mad?” Fella Makafui commented under his post. 

    However, Bongo did not give up the fight and threw some questions at her. 

    “Okay. No problem! Why have you stopped referring to yourself as Mrs. Frimpong? Also, why have you taken off your ring? A good explanation will help,” he added. 

    Fella refused to respond to his subsequent post. However some Ghanaians expressed their views on the matter. 

    While some Tweeps took the incident on a lighter note, others were outraged by Bongo Idea’s claim since he is known for peddling falsehood and bullying people on social media. 

    Source: The Independent Ghana

  • Explainer: Why NATO allies are unlikely to send more advanced jets to Ukraine

    In one of the most significant escalations of military support to Ukraine from a NATO member since the Russian invasion, Polish President Andrzej Duda on Thursday became the first leader from the security alliance to pledge fighter jets to Kyiv.

    Duda announced that four MiG-29 fighters will be handed over to Ukraine in the coming days – the rest, he said, are being serviced and will likely be handed over successively. Four might sound a modest number, but it is a monumental step from a year ago, when a NATO member sending such sophisticated lethal support to Ukraine was politically unthinkable.

    It is unsurprising this step was taken by Poland – a country with a pronounced anxiety of Russian expansionism kindled by deep historical experience of Russian aggression.

    Will it make a difference? On a political level, it certainly could. By normalizing such support, it could start a domino effect whereby more European countries go on to provide fighter jets to Ukraine.

    Less than a day after Poland’s pledge, Slovakian Prime Minister Eduard Heger announced his government would send a fleet of 13 MiG fighter jets to support the defense of Ukraine. It is plausible that more European countries will follow suit, and free up their Soviet-designed MiGs as they modernize their own air forces.

    This is exactly what Poland is doing. Last year the country signed a historically large $14.5 billion defense deal with South Korea which included the purchase of 48 FA-50 light aircraft, and it has also added American F-35 Lighting II stealth fighters to its fleet. Another practical advantage is that because many European countries have MIG-29s, their parts are more readily available for the repair and maintenance of Ukrainian aircraft.

    On the question of a military advantage, the Kremlin has been predictably dismissive, claiming the gift of more Soviet-era MiGs to Ukraine will not alter the course of the conflict. Which might be why it is F-16s – and not MiGs – that are in fact at the top of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s wish list.

    For obvious reasons, the precise make-up of Ukraine’s air force, most likely around a tenth of the size of Russia’s, remains shrouded in secrecy. Ukraine inherited dozens of Soviet-made MiG-29 planes after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, about five years after they entered service. But its fleet took a hit after Russia illegally annexed Crimea.

    MiG-29s are analog aircraft, using older flight technology. Zelensky’s sought-after F-16s are digital. MiGs can be used for short combat missions, they can deploy weaponry and shoot down Russian aircraft with good maneuverability at short range. But F-16s can fly for longer, are more versatile, possess integrated weapons systems and have dramatically better long range and radar capability, therefore providing improved early warning.

    Defense analyst Alex Walmsley, an associate fellow of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London, uses the analogy of comparing a “1990s laptop with the latest MacBook. Or a Ford Escort and a Porsche. Basically they do the same things – fly and launch missiles – but MIGs are not as responsive or powerful.”

    The US has so far resisted calls to provide F-16s to Ukraine on the grounds of avoiding escalation with Russia, as well as impracticality. The desire to avoid a cataclysmic spill-over of the conflict was front of mind this week after the downing of a $32 million US Reaper drone over the Black Sea by a Russian jet – the first time Russian and American aircraft have come into direct contact since the war began. The potentially incendiary incident was seized on by Russia as proof of direct American involvement in the conflict.

    Still, the shift from resistance to delivery has happened before; the US came around to supplying Ukraine with M1 Abrams tanks after Germany reversed their own policy on Leopard II tanks.

    But the impracticality argument is not a mere political fig leaf. The Ukrainian Air Force already operates MiG jets so they will be able to use them as soon as they arrive, whereas it would take months to train a MiG-29 pilot to a high level of comfort and efficacy on an F-16. Not to mention that Ukrainian pilots are in short supply.

    Retired US Lieutenant General Mark Hertling notes that while the Ukrainians have been very adaptable incorporating new kit like user-friendly Himars and Javelins, F-16s are a “whole different ballgame.” They have different engine parts, design and fire control systems for shooting and dropping bombs. “Lots of people want things to happen right now in Ukraine,” says Hertling, “but without years of peacetime training and establishment of sustainment and repair, you’re just not going to get the results you think you’re going to get.”

    The first pledges of jets will uplift Ukraine’s air defense, but in no way decisively alter or provide an edge for Ukraine in the conflict. Former RAF F-16 Fighter Pilot William Gilpin tells CNN: “There’s a saying – if you’re a generation behind, there’s no point turning up. Right now the Ukrainian Air Force is a generation behind the Russians. The F-16s would move them a generation ahead.”

    This is the dilemma. The impracticality of supplying Ukraine with F-16 jets, requiring a huge burden of training in the middle of an active conflict, is clear. But without them, obtaining air superiority is further out of reach.

  • Did the Princess of Wales violate royal protocol?

    Did the Princess of Wales violate royal protocol?

    King Charles III and senior royals attended a service at Westminster Abbey earlier this week to observe Commonwealth Day and honor the 56 nations that make up the international organization, despite the blustery weather.

    The King’s speech at the abbey focused on this year’s celebration’s theme, “Forging a Sustainable and Peaceful Common Future,” while the service represented the broad Commonwealth community (more on that later in the newsletter).

    Brianna Fruean, a young Samoan environmental advocate and a previous recipient of a Commonwealth Youth Award, read a reflection, while Muslim, Sikh and Jewish representatives also gave readings. There were several musical performances, including from the National Ballet of Rwanda, Cyprus’ all-female Amalgamation Choir and British saxophonist YolanDa Brown.

    But it was a moment at the start of the festivities that sparked conversation among royal-watchers.

    As the Windsors made small talk before the service, several eagle-eyed fans noticed that the Princess of Wales didn’t curtsy to her father-in-law.

    It is fairly well known that royal protocol directs members of the Firm to bow or curtsy to the sovereign and their spouse in recognition of their roles as the most senior members of the family.

    Kate’s sister-in-law, the Duchess of Sussex, touched upon the convention in the Netflix docu-series with Prince Harry, released back in November. Meghan admitted her surprise at finding out that they practice the formality behind palace walls as well as in public.

    In episode 2, Meghan recalled starting “to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside” adding how “that was surprising to me.”

    Recalling her first encounter with the Queen, Meghan said: “I didn’t know I was going to meet her until moments before. We were in the car and we were going to Royal Lodge for lunch and (Harry’s) like, ‘oh my grandmother’s here, she’s going to be there after church,’ and I remember we’re in the car, driving up and he’s like ‘you know how to curtsy, right?’ And I just thought it was a joke.”

    Harry added: “How do you explain that to people? How do you explain that you bow to your grandmother? And that you will need to curtsy – especially to an American – that’s weird.”

    While we’re briefly on a tangent, one common misconception is that royals have to bow or curtsy to more senior members of the family depending on rank. But that’s not actually the case. Other than to the monarch, the royals generally greet each other using the same guidance offered to the general public which states that there are “no obligatory codes of behaviour” but that “many people wish to observe the traditional forms.” Basically meaning it’s up to the individual who can choose to bow or curtsy if they would like to.

    But getting back to Kate. The princess has often been praised over the years for her elegance while adhering to royal etiquette, so many were left confused about why she appeared to breach protocol at the Commonwealth event.

    There could be a couple of reasons. One might be that she’s still adjusting to her father-in-law’s new role. Another, perhaps more likely, rationale may be that members of the royal family only need to greet the monarch formally upon their first meeting that day. While the King and Queen Consort arrived in a separate car to Prince William and Kate, it’s entirely possible they could have gathered ahead of the service and, as such, the Princess of Wales wouldn’t have been expected to curtsy again. Either way, the King appeared unperturbed and remained focused on the service – the first of his new reign.

    The King received a rather splendid gift this week: A black mare called Noble. Charles was given the horse by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), renowned for their famous Musical Ride – a showcase of their cavalry’s equestrian prowess. The RCMP have a long association with the royal family: They took part in the Queen’s coronation in 1953, and gave her several horses during her reign. Noble has been a standout in the RCMP’s recent displays, noted for her athleticism and poise, even in raucous environments. The 7-year-old horse is now settling into her new life at the Royal Mews in Windsor.

    Prince William features in Red Nose Day short film.

    The Prince of Wales will appear in a video appeal for the UK’s Red Nose Day on Friday. Prince William sat down with Miles and Nawshin from Groundswell, a homelessness charity supported by Comic Relief. The pair are volunteer reporters with the organization’s Listen Up! podcast project, which allows individuals to share their perspectives and experiences of homelessness and explore how society can help. The issue of homelessness has become a priority in William’s public work and Nawshin said his involvement was “amazing.” She added: “I hope it means we can change the narrative for the better, and Prince William can use his influence to get real policy changes.” Check out a clip of the discussion here.

    King knights Queen guitarist.

    The legendary rock guitarist Brian May received a knighthood from King Charles III. May, 75, was a founding member of the band Queen, and will now be known as Sir Brian, following the investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday. He was one of more than 1,000 people recognized in the King’s first New Year’s honors list, and received the title of Knight Bachelor for his services to music and to charity. In addition to performing with Queen for more than half a century, May is also an astrophysicist. He received his PhD from Imperial College London in 2007 – having taken a break from his studies in the 1970s to focus on the band. “Arise, Sir Brian,” the band’s official Twitter account said, congratulating him for the award. Read the full story.

    One of the world’s most famous – and controversial – gems will be part of a new exhibition at the Tower of London exploring the origins of Britain’s crown jewels. The Koh-i-Noor diamond, which was seized from India while the country was under British rule, will be displayed as a “symbol of conquest,” a Tower of London representative told CNN Thursday.

    The exhibit will explore the precious stone’s conflict-filled history. For her own coronation this summer, Queen Consort Camilla has chosen not to wear the diamond, which faced fresh calls of repatriation by India following the late Queen’s death last year. The exhibition will open May 26. Find out more here.

    Spain’s Crown Princess Leonor to start military training.

    The heir presumptive to Spain’s throne will begin three years of military training later this year in preparation for her future role as head of state, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles confirmed at a press conference Tuesday. “In the Cabinet meeting today, we have approved a royal decree whose aim is to give structure to the military training and career of (Princess Leonor),” Robles said. Leonor will spend a year each with Spain’s army, navy and air force at their respective academies. She is following in the footsteps of her father, King Felipe VI, as she prepares one day to succeed him as the supreme commander of the armed forces. Read more on this story here.

    “The Commonwealth has been a constant in my own life, and yet its diversity continues to amaze and inspire me. Its near-boundless potential as a force for good in the world demands our highest ambition; its sheer scale challenges us to unite and be bold.”King Charles III

    The King added that the Commonwealth has “an incredible opportunity, and responsibility, to create a genuinely durable future – one that offers the kind of prosperity that is in harmony with nature and that will also secure our unique and only planet for generations to come.”

  • Jessica OS becomes 3rd Ghanaian YouTuber to hit 1million subscribers

    Jessica OS becomes 3rd Ghanaian YouTuber to hit 1million subscribers

    Ghanaian media personality, TV and radio broadcaster and digital entrepreneur, Jessica Opare-Saforo has joined the list of Ghanaians with the highest number of subscribers on YouTube. 

    On Tuesday, March 21, she took to Twitter to announce this feat. 

    She wrote: “There will be a few times in ur life when all ur instincts will tell u to do something. Something that defies logic, upsets ‘ur’ plans, and may seem crazy to others. When that happens, listen to ‘ur’ instinct and just go 4 it. Take that leap of faith. We’re 1 million strong!” 

    Jessica Opare-Saforo announcing her feat in a tweet.

    She ranks as the third Ghanaian to hit a million subscribers on YouTube, after Ghanaian Youtuber, Berthold Kobby Winkler Ackon, popularly known as Wode Maya and SweetAdjeley, a Ghanaian Food Blogger.   

    In January last year, Jessica quit her job at Citi, after about 17 years of being with the firm and over 20 years of being in the media industry. 

    The news came to many, especially her fans, as a surprise. Subsequently, she launched a strong social media presence, with her “relationship YouTube channel.”

    Brief profile of Jessica 

    Jessica is currently the Voice Ambassador for the number 1 Telecommunication company in Ghana, MTN. She’s a Voice Actor with an enviable voice over repertoire. For years she has been the Voice Standard for many Big Brands in Ghana. 

    Jessica is the founder of an all female motorcycle group in Ghana (Biker Girls GH) that rides for fun and philanthropy. 

    Source: The Independent Ghana

  • Russian soldier is charged of war crimes in absentia over audio files

    Russian soldier is charged of war crimes in absentia over audio files

    The Ukrainian police have accused a Russian soldier of war crimes in absentia for allegedly shooting a civilian during an unprecedented attack that was captured on camera by a Ukrainian drone.

    The soldier’s wife and a friend’s intercepted phone calls from a months-long probe into the Russian attack near the city of Izium last June are among the evidence gathered against him.

    Prior to a news conference to announce the accusations on Tuesday in Kharkiv, the audio files were given exclusively to CNN.

    Police identified the soldier as Klim Kerzhaev – a 25-year-old commander from Moscow, who served in the 2nd Motorized Rifle Division of the 1st Tank Army in the Western Military District. He is accused of the attempted murder of a civilian – a war crime under Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

    The attack was also captured on aerial footage by Ukrainian soldiers, who launched a unique rescue mission by attaching a piece of paper with the words “follow me” to a small drone – an operation which featured in a recent documentary by Ukrainian filmmaker Lyubomyr Levytsky.

    “We are watching this as if it’s on TV, like a soap opera. A horror movie where Russians kill civilians,” the head of the investigation department for Kharkiv Police, Serhii Bolvinov, told CNN.

    In addition to the drone footage, Bolvinov said their investigation included forensic examinations of the vehicle and the scene – conducted after Izium was liberated by Ukrainian troops in September – along with evidence gathered by cyber police who tracked down the soldier’s social media accounts and phone calls.

    CNN requested comment on the case from the Russian Ministry of Defense at the time of publication on Tuesday, after the embargo on the information was lifted.

    Bolvinov said this is just one of hundreds of alleged Russian war crimes that his team are currently investigating in the Kharkiv region alone, including the discovery of hundreds of bodies in mass graves in Izium. He has more thant 900 investigators on his team, and most of their current work is focused on war crimes cases.

    On Friday, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian official Maria Lvova-Belova– on the charge of illegally deporting thousands of Ukrainian children into Russia.

    Last summer, married couple Valeria Ponomarova and Andrii Bohomaz were driving to Izium in Ukraine to help Bohomaz’s sick, elderly parents escape the Russian-held city.

    The couple took a wrong turn and inadvertently strayed close to the frontlines where Russian troops were based, and their car was hit by incoming fire.

    Ukrainian soldiers based nearby had spotted the incident from afar using a reconnaissance drone – which they dispatched closer to the scene to capture the extraordinary footage of the couple attempting to flee.

    The video shows the couple abandoning the car to run to safety, but turning around when explosions landed too close to them. They were fired upon again, leaving Bohomaz badly injured. Ponomarova tried to move her husband behind the car and wrap towels around his wounds to stem the bleeding.

    Russian soldiers were based around 30 meters (98 feet) away from the couple’s car, according to police, so it was too dangerous for Ukrainian troops to extract the couple.

    So they sent the drone back after recharging it and attaching a white piece of paper to it with the words “follow me” – to guide Ponomarova to safer territory.

    She saw a drone overhead, but wasn’t sure whose side it was on. “I turned and just fell on my knees and I just screamed with the most agonizing cry,” said Valeria Ponomarova. “I didn’t know [whose drone] it was. Our forces, or the enemy,” she later said during the documentary.

    Ponomarova said she eventually followed the drone, thinking it was the only way to get help to her injured husband.

    But soon after she left, a team of Russian soldiers approached the car on foot, and picked up the injured Bohomaz and threw him in a nearby ditch.

    Miraculously, he survived.

    The drone footage showed that Ponomarova didn’t see this happening behind her, as she continued on foot down the battle-scarred road, even stepping around lines of anti-tank mines.

    When the soldiers successfully got Ponomarova to safety, they told her it wasn’t possible to return for her husband, as Russian troops were at the scene.

    So far, one Russian soldier has been accused. In addition to the drone footage, the evidence compiled by Ukrainian investigators against him includes recordings of intercepted phone calls with his wife and a friend.

    In one of the expletive-laden conversations, the soldier told his wife that he “f***ing killed a man today,” after firing on a car from his Soviet-era infantry fighting vehicle. Immediately after this, the soldier reverts back to casual conversation, asking his wife to “put some money on my phone today, okay?”

    In a call to a friend a day later, he repeated the confession of killing a man, and when his friend asked how it felt, he replied, “the f***ing car got shot up. I don’t give a f***.” CNN has translated the raw audio intercepts provided by police, but cannot independently verify the files.

    Bohomaz managed to pull himself out of the trench to seek help despite serious injuries.

    “I heard that it was starting to rain and I began to shiver,” Bohomaz said in the “Follow Me” documentary. “After a night in the trench I came to my senses from the rain.”

    “I understood that I had to get out somehow,” he added.

    Bohomaz managed to limp to safety towards the Ukrainian position.

    “It took about 30 or 40 minutes,” he said. “But I walked with stops, because I felt a lot of pain.”

    Nine months since surviving the attack, Bohomaz is still in treatment for multiple shrapnel wounds to his brain, chest and spine.

    CNN reached out to the couple for comment on the legal process which is starting against the Russian soldier, but did not receive a response.

    “It’s a terrible crime,” Bolvinov said. “Their lives could have ended at this crossroads, but luckily they managed to survive.”

  • Taiwan’s President to transit US on Central America trip, without visiting McCarthy

    Taiwan’s President to transit US on Central America trip, without visiting McCarthy

    President Tsai Ing-wen will travel through the US on her way to Central America at the end of the month, Taiwan said on Tuesday, but there was no indication on whether their much awaited encounter with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy would take place.

    Presidential spokeswoman Lin Yu-chan informed reporters that Tsai would go to New York on March 29 before stopping in Guatemala and Belize.
    Then, before heading back to Taiwan, she will make a stop in California.

    The presidential office declined to give any information regarding Tsai’s itinerary in the US in response to a question about whether she will meet with McCarthy as has been widely reported in recent weeks.

    McCarthy told reporters earlier this month that he’ll meet with Tsai when she is in the US but didn’t specify a date. He also did not rule out the possibility of taking a trip to Taiwan himself in addition to their meeting.

    Any face to face meeting between McCarthy and Tsai is likely to infuriate China’s ruling Communist Party, which claims democratic Taiwan as its own territory despite never having controlled it.

    China launched massive war drills near Taiwan last summer, including firing multiple missiles over the island, when McCarthy’s predecessor Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei – the first such trip by a sitting House speaker in 25 years.

    China hit out at initial reports of Tsai’s planned US transit emerged earlier this month with its Foreign Ministry declaring it was “seriously concerned” about the prospect of a meeting with McCarthy and repeating its position that Beijing “resolutely opposes all official exchanges between US and Taiwan.”

    On Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin repeated that criticism, saying Beijing was opposed to the visit “in any name for any reason” and accusing Tsai of “promoting Taiwan independence” with the trip.

    Taiwan’s refusal to confirm details of a potential McCarthy meeting in advance is not surprising given the geopolitical sensitivities.

    Pelosi’s visit to Taipei last year was only officially made public once her plane landed, although it was reported by Western media ahead of time.

    See why tensions are rising between US and China over Taiwan

    Guatemala and Belize are two of Taiwan’s few remaining official diplomatic allies.

    Last Tuesday, Honduras President Xiomara Castro said she planned to switch diplomatic recognition to Beijing.

    That move would leave Taiwan with just 13 official diplomatic allies, mostly small nations in Latin American and the Pacific.

    However, Taiwan has de-facto, but non-official, diplomatic relations with many Western nations including the United States.

    During her trip to Taipei last year, Pelosi, a California Democrat, said the visit intended to make it “unequivocally clear” the US would “not abandon” the democratically governed island.

    The US maintains close unofficial ties with Taiwan, and is bound by law to provide Taiwan with defensive arms.

    Taiwanese leaders, including Tsai, have previously transited through the US on their way to other places.

    Tsai most recently visited the US in July 2019 when she stopped over in New York before heading to Haiti, a diplomatic ally of Taiwan.

    US officials have engaged in multiple communications with Chinese officials in recent weeks to remind them of past precedents regarding US transits of Taiwanese presidents, a senior administration official told reporters.

    The official noted that that any transit to the US of Tsai should not be used by China as a pretext for an aggressive response.

    Tsai’s planned trip comes as Taiwan and the United States ramp up efforts to counter China’s growing military capabilities.

    It also coincides with former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou’s visit to mainland China, the first such trip by a former Taiwanese leader since the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.

    Ma served as Taiwan’s president between 2008 and 2016, during which he drew stronger economic ties between China and Taiwan but kept Beijing’s push for “reunification” at bay.

    The two trips are taking place at a politically sensitive time.

    Taiwan is scheduled to hold its next presidential election in January next year. Tsai is not eligible for re-election.

    Fears of a potential Chinese invasion, which have loomed over Taiwan for more than seven decades, are particularly high, supercharged by both Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s increased assertiveness and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

  • Securing an IMF deal by end of March is impossible – Terkper

    Securing an IMF deal by end of March is impossible – Terkper

    A former Minister for Finance, Seth Terkper, has cast doubt on the government’s ability to secure a deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by the end of March.

    This comes on the back of the government setting an ambitious target of getting a board-level agreement with the IMF by the end of March 2023.

    But speaking on the Morning Starr with Francis Abban, Terkper stated that Ghana still has set outstanding obligations and targets it must meet before the board-level agreement can be approved.

    “As far as I know and from experience, it may be difficult, and the reason is, in that communication, there are conditions that involve Domestic Restructuring and External Debt Restructuring. We know that we have come to sign an agreement with the domestic debtors.

    “Now, as far as I know, with the external, we are in a negotiation with the Chinese, and there isn’t any communication yet; I stand to be corrected with respect to other external creditors,” the former Finance Minister stated.

    He continued: “Notably those institutions who formed the committee, if you recall, with respect to our external bonds. So a precondition for a debt restructuring, I don’t think that we are within the eleven days from what I know of accomplishing it.”

  • Nsawam prisons remember Atsu with memorial service and football match

    Nsawam prisons remember Atsu with memorial service and football match

    As Ghanaians trooped to the forecourt of the State House, Accra on Friday, March 17, 2023, to pay their last respects to former Ghanaian player, Christian Atsu, prisoners of the Nsawam prison also honoured his memory with a memorial and thanksgiving service. 

    Both authorities at the Prison service and inmates gathered to hold the memorial service which was complemented by a special football match on March 16, 2023, ahead of the burial. 

    Christain Atsu is known to be “dear” to the Ghana Prisons Service over his remarkable contributions to the facility and lives within it. 

    He rescued about 143 petty offenders and ensured their reintegration into society, among other deeds, according to the Crime Check Foundation. 

    Following his good deeds, the prisons service decided to honour him with the service, as well as the football match.

    Christian Atsu who was involved in the Turkey earthquake sadly lost his life. His body was found nearly two weeks after the incident.

    He was laid to rest on March 17, 2023.

  • Funke Akindele deletes all politics related posts from Instagram after losing election

    Funke Akindele deletes all politics related posts from Instagram after losing election

    Nigerian actress Funke Akindele has deleted all posts relating to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after the party’s woeful performance at the just-ended governorship election in the state.

    Politicians Abdul-Azeez Adediran and Funke Akindele were vying for Lagos governor and deputy governor respectively on the ticket of PDP.

    The PDP and its candidate, Abdul-Azeez Adediran, also known as Jandor, finished a distant third in the elections after polling 62,449 votes.

    Incumbent governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu who was declared the winner of the elections polled 762,134 votes, more than double the number of his closest rival, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour who got 312,329.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) returning officer, Adenike Oladiji, who announced the result said Mr Sanwo-Olu scored 25 per cent of the total number of votes and also the highest number of votes in the race.

    Funke Akindele loses election, deletes all politics related posts from Instagram account

    The officer also said the governor cleared 19 out of the 20 local government areas of the state Mr Sanwo Olu, adding that polled the highest number of votes in Ikeja, Apapa, Badagry, Lagos Island, Epe, Agege, Ibeju-lekki, Kosofe Surulere and Somolu

  • French government overcomes votes of no confidence

    French government overcomes votes of no confidence

    Two attempts to overthrow French President Emmanuel Macron‘s administration in the country’s parliament have failed, paving the way for the implementation of his wildly unpopular pension reforms and igniting fresh demonstrations in Paris.

    Last Thursday, the government used special constitutional powers to enact contentious legislation that would raise the retirement age for the majority of workers from 62 to 64.
    The no-confidence votes that were held on Monday were requested by lawmakers who were against the action.

    The first resolution, which was presented by the small parliamentary group “LIOT,” which is made up of a number of minor parties, was thought to pose the greatest threat to the ruling party.
    Only nine votes separated the 278 votes it obtained from the required 287 votes for passage.

    The second vote – tabled last week by far-right party National Rally – drew less support, with only 94 lawmakers voting in favor.

    The government’s narrow survival will exacerbates the legitimacy crisis that Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne’s cabinet and Macron’s presidency are facing.

    “The Prime Minister must resign, taking her reform with her,” said Mathilde Panot, parliamentary leader of the communist party, following the vote.

    The opposition is now looking to appeal to France’s constitutional council, the highest constitutional body in the country, in order to block part or all of the law. The council would have up to a month to consider any objections to the legislation.

    Meanwhile, popular anger against the reforms shows no sign of ending, with protestors gathering in central Paris following the votes and clashing with police.

    CNN affiliate BFMTV showed footage of spontaneous gatherings of people marching and chanting slogans against the government, and images showed trash being set on fire.

    There was heavy police presence across the capital as demonstrators moved between locations. At least 70 people were detained in the city during the demonstrations on Monday evening local time, a police source told CNN.

    With one of the lowest retirement ages in the industrialized world, France also spends more than most other countries on pensions at nearly 14% of economic output, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation.

    The government argues that the current system – relying on the working population to pay for a growing age group of retirees – is no longer fit for purpose.

    Over the weekend, with protesters gathering spontaneously in several cities to decry both the reform and the government’s use of constitutional Article 49.3 to force the bill through the National Assembly without a vote – a tactic seen by critics as undemocratic.

    There were 169 people detained during protests across France on Saturday, according to the Interior Ministry.

    In addition, workers in various sectors have been taking industrial action to protest the move.

    Authorities in charge of civil air traffic asked airlines to cancel 20% of their flights on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Air France warned of flight cancellations in the upcoming days.

    Oil refineries and storage facilities were also impacted, with 39% of TotalEnergie workers on strike Monday, according to a statement from the company, and more than 10,000 tons of garbage littering the streets of Paris as trash collectors have been on strike for the past two weeks.

    Unions have called for nationwide strikes and protests this Thursday, hoping to bring the country to a standstill.

    At their height two weeks ago, street protests gathered 1.28 million people across the country, according to the French Interior Ministry.

  • American-purchased pistol used fatal kidnapping of Americans in Mexican border – Criminal complaint

    American-purchased pistol used fatal kidnapping of Americans in Mexican border – Criminal complaint

    One of the firearms used in the murderous kidnapping of four Americans in the Mexican border city of Matamoros earlier this month was bought in the US and given to a Mexican cartel, claims a federal court filing.

    A criminal complaint submitted on Saturday in US District Court in Brownsville, Texas, charges Roberto Lugardo Moreno with intentionally conspiring to export or transmit from the United States a “multi-caliber AR type weapon” for use by the Gulf Cartel. Moreno was detained and charged with this crime.

    The firearm was “recovered by Mexican authorities and linked to an incident involving the murders and kidnappings of US nationals which occurred on March 3, 2023 in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico,” according to the lawsuit.

    The four Americans were kidnapped as they were driving to a medical appointment, two family members told CNN earlier this month. LaTavia Washington McGee and Eric Williams survived the kidnapping, while Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown were killed. Mexican authorities have arrested six people in the kidnapping case.

    Lugardo Moreno told investigators he purchased the pistol on October 17, 2019, for individuals that he knew were going to provide the weapon and other guns to a Gulf Cartel figure in Mexico, according to the criminal complaint. During that time, Lugardo Moreno said he received a $100 payment, the complaint states.

    Lugardo Moreno also told investigators that he did not apply for a license to export the firearm from the United States to Mexico.

    CNN has reached out to the FBI and to Lugardo Moreno’s attorney of record for comment and has not immediately heard back. Lugardo Moreno faced a federal judge Monday and is being held without bond, according to the court docket.

  • GRA, Ho airport, and KFC, others removed from national grid over outstanding debts

    GRA, Ho airport, and KFC, others removed from national grid over outstanding debts

    The Ho Airport, the Ho regional office of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Ho Technical University, KFC , among other notable institutions have been removed from the national debt over outstanding debts. 

    The aforementioned institutions are said to owe the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) over GH¢605,000.

    The disconnection was conducted on the first day of the company’s nationwide revenue mobilization exercise in the eleven operational districts of ECG in the Volta and Oti Regions. 

    “The company has disconnected KFC for owing GH¢68,000, Ho Airport for owing GH¢63,000, GRA Office for owing GH¢55,000, CEPS training academy for owing GH¢80,000, and Ho Technical University for owing GH¢402,000. 

    However, Ho Technical University paid GH¢200,000 after crunch talks with the ECG and have been told to settle the arrears by the end of March”, stated in a press release signed by the Volta Regional Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Obeng Antwi. 

    The University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS) made an upfront payment of GH¢1 million out of GH¢1.400,000 and was given a week’s deadline to pay the remaining GH¢400,000 

    ECG hopes to retrieve about GH¢292 million in the Volta and Oti Regions, within the one-month revenue mobilization exercise, which will see it visit debtors such as the Ho Teaching Hospital, and the National Communications Authority among other state agencies and private institutions.

    “We want customers to prioritize the payment of bills and this will enable us to collect more revenue to keep the power sector operating. 

    The company is appealing to all customers to make payment before the disconnection team visits their premises. Customers can make payments at any bank or through mobile money. Customers can also pay by dialing *226# or by downloading the ECG PowerApp”. 

  • The London Metropolitan Police allows predators to thrive

    The London Metropolitan Police allows predators to thrive

    A review that accused the London Metropolitan Police Service of upholding a misogynistic, sexist, racist, and homophobic internal culture claimed the agency failed to adequately protect members of the public from abuse as well as its own female staff and allowed predatory behavior to flourish within its ranks.

    “The Met has not protected its female employees or members of the public from police offenders of domestic violence, nor those who abuse their position for sexual objectives,” said the 363-page assessment by Baroness Louise Casey, issued on Tuesday.

    “Even though the Met claims that violence against women and girls is a priority, it is not given the same attention as’serious violence.’
    As a result, it has not been treated seriously enough in terms of resources and attention in practice.

    Police Commissioner Mark Rowley said in video statement on Tuesday that the force “fully accepts” the review’s findings and intends to act on them.

    “I’m sorry we’ve let you all down, and we will fix this,” he vowed, citing a “turnaround” plan to address systemic issues within the force.

    The United Kingdom’s largest police force came under intense scrutiny after Wayne Couzens, a serving Metropolitan Police officer, was convicted of the kidnapping, rape, and murder of Sarah Everard, a 33-year-old London woman in March 2021. The killing sparked a national conversation about the stark issues with policing.

    One day after Couzens was sentenced that year, another serving officer, David Carrick, was arrested, accused of rape. He had joined the ranks of Britain’s worst serial sex offenders – later pleading guilty to raping multiple women over a period of almost two decades, again reigniting calls for urgent reform.

    Grappling with the series of scandals and a growing crisis of trust, the Metropolitan Police then appointed Casey, a member of Britain’s House of Lords who has worked for years on social welfare, to lead an independent inquiry into its institutional culture and standards of behavior.

    Her review began in February 2022. It paints a damning picture both of how seriously violence against women and girls is taken, and how crimes against them are investigated. “Instead of access to fast-track forensic services, officers have to contend with over-stuffed, dilapidated or broken fridges and freezers containing evidence including the rape kits of victims, and endure long waits for test results,” the review said.

    Casey called the report “rigorous, stark and unsparing” in the foreword. When asked by Britain’s PA news agencywhether there could be more officers like Couzens and Carrick in the force, she said: “I cannot sufficiently assure you that that is not the case.”

    She called on the Metropolitan Police to reform itself, and said that far too many Londoners had lost faith in the force to protect them.

    “It is not our job as the public to keep ourselves safe from the police. It is the police’s job to keep us safe as the public,” Casey said in the foreword, pointing out that Carrick was not caught after action taken by the Metropolitan Police, but only after one of his victims came forward and reported him to the Hertfordshire Police – spurred to speak out by a statement made by Everard’s mother.

    A CNN investigation published in March revealed how police failures may have prevented Carrick, who served in one of Britain’s most elite armed police units for years, from being stopped sooner. After Carrick pleaded guilty to a total of 71 sexual offences, the Metropolitan Police admitted there were nine “missed opportunities” when he had previously come to its and other forces’ attention, although he was never charged with a criminal offense.

    Those nine “opportunities” spanned decades. Between 2000 and 2021, Carrick was accused of multiple crimes including burglary, harassment, assault and rape. CNN spoke to more than a dozen police officers from multiple forces in England and examined the force’s own guidelines on handling misconduct, to identify how Carrick’s abuse could have been prevented.

    An investigation into the nine incidents has found at least two occasions, in 2019 and 2021, when the Metropolitan Police did not follow those guidelines, leaving Carrick’s violent and degrading treatment of women to go unchecked, and him free to meet further victims. CNN reached out to the Metropolitan Police for the investigation and were referred to their existing statements on Carrick. They said they would not be commenting further while there are government reviews ongoing into the handling of the case.

    In January, after Carrick admitted to the abuses, sending shockwaves through the country, Rowley, the police commissioner, vowed to root out the forces’ problems. “We are going to turn all those stones over, we’re going to come to the right conclusions and we’ll be ruthless about rooting out those who corrupt our integrity. You have my absolute assurance on that,” he said in an interview with UK media.

    Reviewing the Metropolitan Police’s internal misconduct system was among the chief priorities for Baroness Casey. Last October, she wrote to Rowley with some of her initial views on the problems she had detected within the force’s misconduct system, among them: cases were taking too long to resolve, allegations were more likely to be dismissed than acted on, the burden of raising concerns was prohibitive, the threshold for “gross misconduct” too great and a racial disparity reflected across the system.

    Those early findings were echoed in Tuesday’s report, which said that “recruitment and vetting systems are poor and fail to guard against those who seek power in order to abuse it” and that they “do not effectively root out bad officers.”

    “In the absence of vigilance towards those who intend to abuse the office of constable, predatory and unacceptable behaviour has been allowed to flourish,” the report added, calling for a root to branch overhaul of the system. “There are too many places for people to hide. The integrity of the organisation remains vulnerable to threat.”

    Reacting to Casey’s report, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said in a statement that he was deeply concerned by her findings: “The evidence is damning. Baroness Casey has found institutional racism, misogyny and homophobia, which I accept. She has described the Met as defensive, resistant to change and unwilling to engage with communities.”

    “This review simply must be a turning point and I expect all the recommendations to be implemented quickly and in full,” he added.

    Home Secretary Suella Braverman also reacted to the review, saying, “It is clear that there have been serious failures of culture and leadership in the Metropolitan Police – which is why the Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, has been taking action to restore confidence in policing in London.”

    “There is much more to do and the task of rooting out unfit officers means that further unacceptable cases will come to light,” she said.

    But Braverman also noted that there are many officers in the force who perform their duties with the “utmost professionalism” who had been “let down” by the behavior of others.

  • Bruce Willis’s wife speaks of her grief at his dementia on his 68th birthday

    Bruce Willis’s wife speaks of her grief at his dementia on his 68th birthday

    Emma Heming Willis, the wife of actor Bruce Willis, has spoken about the “grief and sadness” she feels over her husband’s dementia, as they celebrated his 68th birthday.

    “I have started the morning by crying, as you can see by my swollen eyes,” she said in an Instagram video.

    “It’s important that you see all sides of this,” she said, as she continues to raise awareness about his condition.

    Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia in February.

    Emma Heming Willis and Bruce Willis have two daughters together


    Bruce Willis’s wife speaks of her grief at his dementia on his 68th birthday


    Emma Heming Willis and Bruce Willis have two daughters together

    This came after he was diagnosed with aphasia, which causes difficulties with speech, last year.

    His family said last year that he was giving up acting as the condition was affecting his cognitive abilities.

    The actor’s dementia diagnosis affects language as well as behaviour and the ability to plan. There is no cure or intervention that can slow down the progress, so his symptoms will continue to worsen.

    In her post, Heming Willis addressed the loss she feels as she cares for her husband.

    “I always get this message where people always tell me, ‘Oh you’re so strong. I don’t know how you do it’,” she said.

    “I’m not given a choice. I wish I was but I’m also raising two kids in this.

    “Sometimes in our lives, we have to put our big girl panties on and get to it, and that’s what I’m doing. But I do have times of sadness every day, grief every day and I’m really feeling it today on his birthday.”

    She is going public with her experiences, she said, as the “silver lining or flip side” is that she and the family are appreciative of the “warmth and love” of fans.

    “As much as I do it for myself, I do it for you because I know how much you love my husband.”

    Emma Heming Willis [L], Bruce Willis and Demi Moore [second R] are pictured with his eldest three daughters in 2015


    Bruce Willis’s wife speaks of her grief at his dementia on his 68th birthday
    Emma Heming Willis [L], Bruce Willis and Demi Moore [second R] are pictured with his eldest three daughters in 2015

    In another post featuring footage of Willis playing with their children, she called her husband “pure love”.

    Willis’s former wife, actress Demi Moore was also part of his birthday celebrations. She and Willis have three daughters together.

    She posted footage of him singing with his family as they wished him happy birthday and give him a birthday pie.

    He was seen smiling and joining in the celebrations, and stumbling slightly after blowing out his candles.

    Moore said: “So glad we could celebrate you today. Love you and love our family. Thank you to everyone for the love and warm wishes – we all feel them.”

    I’ve got dementia – dementia hasn’t got me
Lifestyle changes that could lower your dementia risk

    Willis became a household name in the 1980s and 90s after starring in blockbuster films such as Die Hard, The Sixth Sense, Armageddon and Pulp Fiction, along with the hit TV series Moonlighting.

    He has also been nominated for five Golden Globes – winning one for Moonlighting – and three Emmys, where he won two.

  • Politics won’t destroy our brotherhood – Fred Nuamah to John Dumelo

    Politics won’t destroy our brotherhood – Fred Nuamah to John Dumelo

    Actor-turned-politician, Fred Nuamah has said that he will not let politics ruin the relationship he has built with colleague John Dumelo despite their recent fallout.

    Speaking on UTV’s United Showbiz, Mr Nuamah said that he sees John Dumelo as a brother and it will be a shame if their years-long relationship comes to an end because of politics.

    “John Dumelo is not my friend, he is my brother, so I won’t let politics come between us. I won’t let politics destroy our brotherhood. Apart from him being my brother, NDC is one party so our issue is a house matter,” he stated.

    Mr Nuamah said that people are not privy to what goes on behind closed doors adding “ for all you know we have resolved our issues.”

    John Dumelo and Fred Nuamah have seemingly been on bad terms since they both announced their decision to contest in the 2023 elections on the ticket of the NDC at the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency.

    Fred Nuamah in an interview had said he was surprised Dumelo decided to join the Ayawaso race again, claiming that the actor had told him he was picking forms to contest at SALL in the Volta Region.

    He also claimed his friend gave him his blessings and approval to contest in the NDC primaries at Ayawaso West Wuogon.

    However, in a later interview, John Dumeo denied all the claims, emphasising that Fred Nuamah knew he (Dumelo) would contest to represent the constituency once again in the 2024 election but he (Nuamah) went to pick the forms anyway.

    John Dumelo noted that despite Mr Nuamah’s decision, he would contest and win the NDC primaries to vie for elections in 2024.

    However, Fred Nuamah has expressed confidence he will emerge victorious.

    He said on UTV that a poll his office conducted predicted he has already won the election by a landslide.

  • Russian cruise missiles shot down in Crimea – Ukraine Defense Ministry

    Russian cruise missiles shot down in Crimea – Ukraine Defense Ministry

    Russian “Kalibr” cruise missiles that were being transported by train in the town of Dzhankoi, in Russian-occupied Crimea, were destroyed, according to a strike, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense announced late Monday.

    Although they did not officially take credit for the attack, Ukrainian authorities claimed it further “demilitarizes Russia and prepares the Crimean peninsula for de-occupation.”

    The region’s air defense system was activated, and Sergei Askyonov, the Russian-installed leader of the annexation-affected peninsula, confirmed there had been an attack.
    According to Askyonov, one individual was hurt and two buildings sustained damage.

    Amateur video geolocated by CNN shows a large explosion and resulting fireball. An individual is heard saying off-camera the strike hit the train station. However, the video did not clearly show what had been hit and CNN hasn’t been able to confirm the exact location of the strike.

    Two of Russia’s most important military airfields in Crimea are located in Dzhankoi and Gvardeyskoye, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said in 2022.

    “Dzhankoi is also a key road and rail junction that plays an important role in supplying Russia’s operations in southern Ukraine,” it said.

    Crimea also hosts an important port and a major naval base for Russia’s Black Sea fleet in the city of Sevastopol. Some of Russia’s most important warships have been docked there, including surface ships equipped with cruise missiles.

    The US has previously accused Russia of using cruise missiles fired from ships in the Black Sea to hit civilian targets in Ukraine.

    Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2021, Ukraine has launched multiple strikes against Russian positions in Crimea and operations that its military said destroyed Russian Kalibr cruise missiles.

    Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, have repeatedly vowed to liberate the peninsula, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014. Zelensky has previously stressed that for Ukrainians, Crimea is “not just some territory” but “a part of our people, our society.”

    The strike follows Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Crimea on Saturday to mark the ninth anniversary of its annexation. The visit, which also included a stop in Russian-occupied Mariupol, came just days after the International Criminal Court accused the Russian president of committing war crimes in Ukraine and issued a warrant for his arrest over an alleged scheme to deport Ukrainian children to Russia.

    The ICC charges are the first to be formally lodged against officials in Moscow since it began its unprovoked attack on Ukraine last year. The Kremlin has labeled the ICC’s actions as “outrageous and unacceptable.”

    The strike comes as Putin hosts Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the Kremlin in Moscow. During a meeting on Monday, Xi told Putin that China and Russia have “similar goals” and he expressed support for Putin to be reelected. The war in Ukraine was raised in the first hours of their meeting, and is expected to be a key point of discussion throughout Xi’s three-day visit.

  • Nigerian celebrities who won and lost the 2023 election

    Nigerian celebrities who won and lost the 2023 election

    The 2023 elections in Nigeria witnessed a surge of celebrities actively buying party forms and joining the country’s political fray to contest for elective positions to help change the country’s direction.

    Many celebrities, like Tonto Dikeh, Funke Akindele, Caroline Danjuma, and Olumide Owuru, who participated in the 2023 elections after declaring their candidacy received tremendous applause and public support for showing interest in politics.

    However, not many of them did very well at the polls based on results declared by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    This article highlights the eight celebrities that contested for political positions in 2023 gubernatorial and State House of Assembly elections and how well they fared.

    Caroline Danjuma African Action Congress (AAC):

    According to the results declared by INEC, Umo Eno of the People’s Democratic Party won the governorship election in Akwa Ibom, where the actress and reality TV star Caroline Danjuma contested for the position of Deputy Governor.

    The movie star was contested on the African Action Congress (AAC) platform, with her principal, Iboro Otu, coming a distant sixth.Umo Eno of the PDP got the most votes, the Young Progressive Party candidate Albert Bassey came second, and APC’s Akanimo Udofia came third.

    Tonto Dikeh African Action Congress (ADC):

    Another ace Nollywood actress whose participation in the 2023 elections brought a lot of enthusiasm was Tonto Dikeh Tonto Dikeh and her principal, Tonte Ibraye, stirred a lot of hope after their declaration for the Rivers state election.

    However, the movie star dashed is fans’ hopes of going all out to vote for her when she and her principal announced that they were stepping down for the candidate of the APC, Tonye Cole.

    Banky W People’s Democratic Party (PDP):

    Ace entertainer, Bankole Wellington of the PDP is another celebrity that contested for an elective position during the 2023 elections.

    However, like many of his other colleagues, he lost This is his second shot at running for the House of Representative position in the Eti-Osa constituency Banky W lost, coming second to the Labour Party candidate. Attah Achief.

    Desmond Elliot All Progressive Congress (APC):

    Of the lot, actor Desmond Elliot is the only Nollywood practitioner already in government contesting again for a political position. He, however, was given a run for his money at the just concluded election as he was challenged by a younger colleague from Nollywood, Olumide Oworu of the Labour Party.

    The Lagos state legislator, however, is the only celebrity that contested at the last election that won amongst his colleagues that participated in the 2023 polls.

    Olumide Oworu Labour Party (LP):

    Young, fresh-faced Nollywood actor Olumide Oworu is one of the new kids on the block both in the movie industry and the Nigerian political space. Olumide Oworu declared his interest in contesting for a political position weeks before the presidential election.

    Oworu competed against his senior colleague and former boss, Desmond Elliot, for the Lagos state House of Assembly position, Surulere Constituency.

    However, it was later revealed that Olumide was not on the ballot. Instead, one Mr Bode Adebayo was on the LP ballot contesting for the Surulere constituency 1, not the young actor.

    Tuoyo Ideh All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA):

    Another young public personality that contested a political position in the 2023 elections is Tuoyo Ideh. The reality TV star contested for the House of Representatives, the Warri Federal constituency and lost.

    Funke Akindele People’s Democratic Party (PDP):

    Arguably the biggest Nollywood name that contested for a political position at the last election was Funke Akindele. She was the deputy governorship candidate of the PDP for the Lagos state gubernatorial elections.

    When this article was published, Funke’s party had won none of the 19 of the 20 LGAs declared The APC cleared 18 LGAs, with the Labour Party winning just one.

    Funke Akindele and her principal Abdul-Azeez Olajide Adediran, aka Jandor, were defeated woefully.

    Femi Branch National Rescue Movement (NRM):

    Veteran Nollywood actor, Femi Branch, was the deputy governorship candidate for Ogun state alongside Tofunmi Ogunronbi under the National Rescue Movement (NRM) party. Femi Branch’s party came a distant 12th in the Ogun state gubernatorial elections. It was a blowout.

  • Ludacris hangs out with Sarkodie in Ghana – Fans want a collabo

    Ludacris hangs out with Sarkodie in Ghana – Fans want a collabo

    Ghanaian music heads are drooling over the idea of a possible collaboration between Sarkodie and US rapper and actor, Ludacris.

    Ludacris is currently in Ghana reportedly working on new music.

    In a video on social media, the American hip-hop artiste was seen in an apartment eating a plate of Jollof rice, a local delicacy.

    The visual posted on the ‘Countryside’ crooner’s Instagram stories was captioned “Guess who linked up after 11 years @ludacris.”

    In another muted footage, the duo are seen bopping to a song.

    On the back of these, fans are convinced the interaction could birth new music.

    Sources say the American rapper and actor is working on a project expected to feature some African musicians and producers.

  • Warriors bank first road win since January

    Warriors bank first road win since January

    The Golden State Warriors snapped a run of 11 consecutive road losses by defeating the Houston Rockets 121-108 on Monday.

    Entering the game with the third-worst road record in the league (7-29), the Warriors had not won away from home since January 30 against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

    After a back-and-forth first three quarters, the Warriors called on the Splash Brothers, Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, to close the show, igniting a 37-28 final period to pull away.

    The duo combined for 21 points in the fourth quarter, and they finished with remarkably similar games.

    Curry top scored with 30 points on 10-of-23 shooting, hitting five-of-15 from deep with seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block. Meanwhile, Thompson posted 29 points on 11-of-21 shooting, hitting five-of-13 from deep with seven rebounds, a steal and a block.

    With promising young Rockets center Alperen Sengun out, it was an opportunity for first-round rookie Tari Eason to earn his fourth start of the season, and he capitalised with 21 points (nine-of-16), 12 rebounds and four steals. Third overall pick Jabari Smith Jr added 17 points (seven-of-15) and 11 rebounds.

    With the win, the Warriors pulled above .500 at 37-36, and combined with the Dallas Mavericks’ 112-108 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, they have climbed out of the play-in tournament placings and up into the sixth seed in the West.

    Knicks waste Randle’s career night

    New York Knicks forward Julius Randle scored a career-high 57 points as his side went down in a 140-134 shoot-out against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

    Randle had never previously scored more than 47 in a game, but he shot 19-of-29 from the field, eight-of-14 from three-point range and 11-of-13 from the free-throw line to set a new benchmark.

    Unfortunately for him, the Timberwolves also could not miss, shooting 14-of-24 (58.3 per cent) from three-point range as a team, as they were buoyed by an outrageously efficient night from veteran wing Taurean Prince. 

    Prince shot 12-of-13 from the field and a perfect eight-of-eight from three for 35 points, while veteran point guard Mike Conley ran the show with 24 points (six-of-11) and 11 assists.

    The Timberwolves (36-37) sit eighth in the West, just a game behind the Warriors.

    Embiid fouls out in double-overtime loss

    Joel Embiid led both teams in scoring and rebounding but crucially fouled out in double-overtime as his Philadelphia 76ers fell 109-105 against the Chicago Bulls.

    Embiid, now the favourite to win his first MVP, scored a game-high 37 points (11-of-22 shooting), grabbed a game-high 16 rebounds, and blocked a game-high three shots before picking up his sixth foul early in the second extra period.

    Zach LaVine top scored for Chicago with 26 points (eight-of-20), seven assists and three steals, while DeMar DeRozan was just as good with 25 points (10-of-22), eight rebounds and three steals.

    The win gives the Bulls (34-37) a two-game buffer on the Washington Wizards (32-39) in the race for the East’s final play-in spot.

  • Warriors breathe sigh of relief after snapping 11-game road losing streak

    Warriors breathe sigh of relief after snapping 11-game road losing streak

    Golden State Warriors sharpshooter Klay Thompson was relieved to finally snap a streak of 11 consecutive road losses after beating the Houston Rockets 121-108 on Monday.

    The Warriors came into the clash against their once-heated rivals with the third-worst away record in the NBA at 7-29, having not won away from Chase Center since January 30.

    It was far from smooth sailing against the 18-54 Rockets, as the home side pulled in front late in the third quarter, but the ‘Splash Brothers’ combination of Thompson and Stephen Curry refused to let another one slip.

    They combined for 21 points in the final period, and 59 for the game as they each finished with five made three-pointers.

    When asked after the win about Golden State’s recent trouble on the road, Thompson said: “I think trouble would be an understatement – it’s been a rollercoaster on the road this year.

    “You’ll take any win you can get, especially at this point of the season. We’re fighting for our playoff lives and we responded well after a beatdown in Memphis.”

    While the current Rockets team is a far cry from the juggernaut that pushed the Kevin Durant-led Warriors to a seven-game series back in 2018, Thompson said he still uses those memories as motivation when he heads to Houston.

    “We didn’t look at their record,” he said. “I actually told myself I was pretending we were playing the 2018 Rockets, where it was a battle every time we used to play those guys,

    “They’re still young, they’re talented, and you can’t take anybody lightly. Every win we get is just a huge win, so I think we all understood that going into the game, and although it was close there I think we did a good job in the second half of playing our brand of ball.

    “[We need] extreme urgency, we’ve got to take every game so seriously. You always do – 82 games, it’s tough to be great all of them – but nine left, we have to treat these like a playoff buffer, and I know we will.”

    Head coach Steve Kerr told reporters he could not even remember their last away victory, and believed his team got away with a mediocre performance.

    “It’s been a long time,” he said. “I don’t remember the last road game we won – it’s been a while.

    “January 30th? Thanks, that doesn’t make me feel any better. But we needed it, obviously.

    “I actually felt like we played decently in the first three games of this trip – lost all three, but had our chances in all three. I liked our effort, I liked a lot of our execution.

    “Ironically, I thought this was the worst of the four games we’ve played on this trip, but obviously we were playing a different calibre of team. 

    “The first three we were battling against those teams for the playoffs – Memphis have won of the best records in the league – and Houston have had a rough season. 

    “We had to come in tonight with a focus that was unfortunately not there – that was the issue with the first half – but eventually we got there.”

    The win, combined with the Dallas Mavericks’ loss, meant the Warriors leapfrogged them out of the play-in tournament placings and up into the sixth seed, where they have a half-game buffer on the chasing pack.

  • Knicks rue loss as Randle makes franchise history in 57-point haul

    Knicks rue loss as Randle makes franchise history in 57-point haul

    New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau says it was a “shame to waste” Julius Randle’s 57-point performance in Monday’s 140-134 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

    Randle produced a career-best scoring performance, shooting 19-of-29 from the field with eight-of-14 from three-point range, becoming the 13th different player this NBA season to surpass 50 points.

    The power forward scored 26 points in the third quarter, making franchise history for the most points ever by a Knicks player in any single quarter.

    Randle also became the first player Knicks since Carmelo Anthony in 2014 to reach 50 points, which was the longest active drought by any franchise, except the Orlando Magic dating back to Tracy McGrady in 2004.

    Only two players have scored more points in a single game in Knicks history, led by Anthony with 62 in 2014 against the Charlotte Bobcats and Bernard King with 60 in 1984 against the New Jersey Nets. Randle’s 57 points was tied for third highest in Knicks history.

    Despite all that, the Timberwolves edged the Knicks, aided by 58.3 per cent three-point shooting.

    “It’s a shame to waste a performance like that,” Thibodeau told reporters.

    Randle had 52 points at three-quarter time and was on pace to surpass both Anthony and King’s marks but he was humbled to be close to their company.

    “Those are legends in this game,” Randle said. “And pioneers, specifically for this organisation, who laid the groundwork and led the way for players like myself to come behind them, be able to play the game I love. Be able to grind, put on that Knicks jersey with pride.”

    Randle was left to lament fumbling a rebound at 137-134 in the dying seconds, allowing Taurean Prince to make a lay-up to ice the game.

    “Hopefully I will be able to [enjoy the 57-point performance],” Randle said. “But tonight, probably not.

    “Jalen [Brunson] got a defensive stop, we’re down three, it’s my job to come up with that rebound, 14 seconds left. If we do that, we have a chance to win the game – or not win the game, but at least tie the game, so I didn’t get the job done.”