A doctor testified in court that he “wished” he had called the police about his worries about a nurse who is accused of killing many babies at a hospital neonatal unit.
A year-long alleged binge by 32-year-old Lucy Letby at the Countess of Chester Hospital in Cheshire between June 2015 and June 2016 is alleged to have targeted newborns who were preterm or ill.
Ten infants passed away before being saved by doctors and nurses, while five boys and two girls perished, Manchester Crown Court heard.
Consultant Dr Ravi Jayaram told the court on Tuesday there were significant concerns over Letby’s ‘association’ with numerous baby collapses, and they were raised eight months before she stopped working at the hospital.
‘We had significant concerns from the autumn of 2015,’ he said. ‘They were on the radar of someone as senior as the executive director of nursing as far back as October 2015.
‘As clinicians, we put our faith in the system… in senior management to escalate concerns and investigate them. The initial response was, “It’s unlikely that anything is going on. We’ll see what happens”.
‘We said, “OK” – against our better judgment in retrospect.’
After those concerns were raised, from November 2015 onwards, Letby allegedly went on to murder two children and attempted to kill six others.
Dr Stephen Brearey, head of the neonatal unit, reviewed the circumstances surrounding the case of Child D shortly after her death in June 2015, the court was told previously.
Dr Jayaram said the review identified Letby’s presence at a number of collapses but it was ‘an association, nothing more’.
He said concerns were flagged a second time in February 2016, to the medical director and the director of nursing.
‘My colleague Dr Brearey requested a meeting with them,’ he said. ‘They didn’t respond to that for another three months and we were stuck because we had concerns and didn’t know what to do.
‘In retrospect, I wished we had bypassed them and gone straight to the police.
‘We by no means were playing judge and jury at any point but the association was becoming clearer and clearer and we needed to find the right way to do this. We were in an unprecedented situation.
‘Eventually, we reached a point in June 2016 when we said, “Something has got to change”, but that’s not for me to talk about now.’
Ben Myers KC, defending, said the doctors were ‘grown adults’ who could have gone straight to the police.
Dr Jayaram replied: ‘We were also beginning to get a reasonable amount of pressure from senior management at the hospital not to make a fuss.
‘In retrospect, we were all grown-ups and we should have stood up and not listened.’
Letby, originally from Hereford, denies the allegations.
Afrobeats may be the dominant sound right now in Ghana, as in many other African countries, but the sounds of Jamaica can still be heard blaring through the speakers of Ghana’s roadside and beach bars almost every day. Thursdays are reggae night in two big clubs in the capital, Accra – turning up the heat in an already hot climate.
Jamaican musicians such as the late greats Bob Marley and Peter Tosh and the group Culture have long been credited with planting the seeds of reggae music on African soil 50 years ago – and Ghana shows the roots have grown deep, and gone on to produce homegrown talent.
This love of reggae has also had a cultural bearing on the language: it is not hard these days to hear Ghanaians talking a little Jamaican Patois, which is different from Pidgin English, a lingua franca spoken by roughly a fifth of Ghana’s population.
Take Livingston Satekla, one the biggest reggae-dancehall artists to come out of Africa, better known as Stonebwoy. The spelling of his stage name is a nod to Jamaican Patois.
The phrase “Who is that boy singing?” in Ghanaian Pidgin is: “Who be dat boy weh he de sing for deh?” In Jamaican Patois it is: “Ah who dat bwoy weh im ah sing fi deh?”
In a recent interview Stonebwoy and I discussed the growing use of Patois in Ghana, frowned upon by some Ghanaians.
“What’s wrong with learning to communicate in Patois, which comes as part and parcel of reggae-dancehall as a core tool of communication? If you love reggae-dancehall you ought to learn Patois,” the 34-year-old musician told me.
Born in the ghettos of Ashaiman outside Accra, Stonebwoy would regularly listen to Jamaican dancehall dons like Capelton, Anthony-B and Beenie Man as a teenager – wanting to sound just like his Patois-speaking heroes.
He would later go on to host some of the very same people at his annual BHIM Concert, arguably one of the most successful dancehall showcases in Africa.
It takes place in December as part of Ghana’s Beyond The Return campaign – a project designed to encourage people from the diaspora to visit the country.
It draws big crowds – me included – and last year featured Jamaica’s Busy Signal, who had many of his fellow countrymen and women singing along to his hits.
Some in the audience could be seen with dreadlocks – worn by Rastafarians.
Reggae has been instrumental in spreading the rasta message. It too has been a cheerleader for Africa – singing about the beauty of the continent, boasting of its natural resources while calling for people in the diaspora to return to the motherland.
This has gone a long way to solidify the bond between reggae and Africa, especially during and after colonial rule.
It makes sense that Ghana, among the first African countries to gain independence (from the UK in 1957), gravitates to the sounds of struggle and strife associated with reggae. It has had plenty of struggle and strife, having experienced six military coups between the 1960s and 1980s.
One of the first big reggae artists in Ghana was Kojo Antwi, also known as Mr Music Man.
Antwi started his career in the 1970s working with reggae band Classique Handles which later changed its name to Classique Vibes. Their debut 1979 album Higher: Suffer Hell on Earth addresses the economic struggles of the ghetto and how a lack of job opportunities can lead to starvation.
By the mid-1980s Antwi would become better known for love songs with lyrics in his local language Twi – sung over the less political lovers’ rock reggae sound, which went on to inspire other big Ghanaian artists.
While Mr Music Man was serenading his homeland, a young northern Ghanaian, Rocky Dawuni, of royal heritage, was beginning to make waves on the global reggae scene with the 1998 hit In Ghana. His growing popularity saw some of his tracks featuring on various US TV dramas and three Grammy nominations to his name.
If reggae is the parent, dancehall is definitely its mischievous child – with skilful lyricism and the unmistakable tones of Patois.
One of the first successful descendants of this in Ghana is Samini, famous for his energetic live performances, singing in Pidgin, Patois and Twi.
Often referred to as Africa’s King of Dancehall Music, he has received accolades from foreign and domestic organisations, including a Mobo back in 2006 for Best African Act and an MTV Africa Music award in 2009 for Best Live Performer.
Not being content with his solo accomplishments, Samini helped launched the career of top Ghanaian artist Mugeez as well as playing a huge role in kick-starting the career of Stonebwoy.
There is also another contender with a legitimate claim to Ghana’s dancehall throne: Shatta Wale.
As a student in Accra, he performed using the names Doggy and Bandana, producing one hit in 2004 and then disappearing into relative obscurity.
It took a trip to Jamaica to bring his resurrection.
He returned as Shatta Wale – now with a devoted fan-base and catalogue of hits including an epic collaboration in 2019 with Beyoncé on Already. The 38-year-old’s golden touch has also extended to business and he owns a successful line of taxis known as Shaxi.
Currently, Shatta Wale and Stonebwoy are two of Africa’s biggest reggae-dancehall stars and memorably participated in the Asaase Sound Clash at the height of Covid in 2020.
The onstage competition, a musical tradition that originated in Jamaica, was live-streamed globally and hosted by Grammy award-winning producer and BBC broadcaster Seani B.
As each artist tried to outdo the other, their fans shouted out their appreciation, with the phrase “dat tune deh mad” (Jamaican Patois for “that song is awesome”) ringing through the venue.
Both sets of supporters believed their man had won on the night. However, the real winner was GH dancehall – a true child of Jamaica.
The Herald is picking up mixed signals as to the real owners of the 600,000 tonnes of Russian fuel, which have been shipped and stored in Ghanaian tanks revealed by the international business news network, Bloomberg.
Whilst, some have linked the consignment to a Tema-based company by the name of Platon, others have sought to tie it to the government of Ghana, saying Platon doesn’t have the capacity to take delivery of such a huge consignment as the company can only refine a paltry 20,000 tonnes.
The Herald’s checks on the current position of Theseus, the Crude Oil Tanker carrying the huge consignment said, it is “at West Africa reported 8 days ago by AIS. The vessel is en route to GH TEMA, sailing at a speed of 12.7 knots and expected to arrive there on Feb 24, 12:00. The vessel THESEUS (IMO: 9304825, MMSI 341750000) is a Crude Oil Tanker built in 2006 (17 years old) and currently sailing under the flag of St Kitts & Nevis– an island country and microstate located in the West Indies.
But the development has raised concern on the claim that Deputy Energy Minister, Agyapa Mercer, had recently announced that theTema Oil Refinery (TOR) was going to start refining crude oil, hence the fuel is being linked to the government as what the minister talked about.
However, industry players who have sought to link the owners of the 600,000 tonnes of Russian fuel consignment to Platon which has been linked to both the Chinese, as well as some Eastern European countries, are of the view that even if TOR does not own it, it will eventually be refining and selling it in Ghana since it has the capacity to do.
There are, however, questions being thrown around as to why Ghana will be taking delivery of Russian fuel although President Nana Akufo-Addo, has openly spoken against Russia’s military operations in Ukraine with Ghana voting twice at the United Nations (UN) in disapproval of the Russian.
The second question is what will be the reaction of Western countries to Ghana over 600,000 tonnes of fuel from Russia, especially so when the country is begging the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a US$3 billion bailout. Many believe there could be sanctions if it’s established that Ghana had received the fuel, which is yet to be pumped out of the Theseus.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the European Union and the US barred fuel imports from the former Soviet leader.
Bloomberg reports that its tanker tracking data show that “The last signal from the vessel was on Sunday evening, by which time unloading had not begun. Its cargo was due to be pumped into storage tanks in Tema”.
This comes on the back of the Ghana Government’s controversial gold-for-oil policy.
Bloomberg had reported that “a cargo of Russian oil is heading for storage tanks in Ghana, a nation that exports crude itself and is on the doorstep of two regional supply powerhouses.
The development suggests that traders could be scouring the market for new buyers of Russian barrels after the European Union stopped almost all seaborne imports from the country in December.
The bloc’s measures made Moscow hugely reliant on Chinese and Indian purchases.
The tanker Theseus arrived in Ghana’s territorial waters on Friday carrying about 600,000 barrels of Russian oil from a port in the Black Sea, according to tanker tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.
Its cargo was due to be pumped into storage tanks in Tema, people with knowledge of the matter said.
The last signal from the vessel was on Sunday evening, by which time unloading had not begun.
Russia is under pressure to sustain its oil revenue after the Group of Seven and the European Union imposed punishing sanctions on the country’s energy industry.
Almost all European Union companies are prohibited from buying Russian crude and petroleum products or providing important services such as insurance to nations that buy such exports above a capped price.
In December, Russia’s petroleum revenues dropped nearly 20 percent from the previous month after the price cap triggered big discounts on the nation’s crude, according to the International Energy Agency.
The crude will be stored in tanks at the Tema Oil Refinery, the people said. The firm didn’t respond to requests for comment.
When the tanker was en route to the country, the CEO of Ghana’s National Petroleum Authority CEO said the shipment would be blocked if it was bound for the country. The NPA didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment after it reached the West African nation’s territorial waters.
The shipment to Tema would be the first time Russian oil has been delivered to a West African country since at least October 2018, tracking data show.
Ghana itself is a small oil exporter, shipping an average of about 140,000 barrels a day over the past six months, according to tanker tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. It’s also next to Nigeria and Angola, the two biggest suppliers in sub-Saharan Africa.
After sanctions were imposed on Russia, the nation directed crude exports toward China and India, upending global oil flows and the maritime industry.
With Europe previously having been by far the largest market for Russian oil, that narrowed the nation’s pool of buyers dramatically. It also meant the barrels had to be discounted at the point of export to compensate for relatively high delivery costs.
The husband of a popular Nollywood actress, Regina Daniels, Chinedu Nwoko, was on Monday, declared the winner of the Delta North Senatorial District seat in Delta, Nigeria.
Mr Nwoko, also known as Ned Nwoko, scored a total of 92,514 votes to win the elections that took place on Saturday in Nigeria.
He defeated the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Mr Kennedy Kanma, who got 86,121 votes and the incumbent and candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), Sen. Peter Nwaoboshi, who polled 36,816 votes.
The Returning Officer, Dr Josephine Anene-Okeakwa, announced the results at the INEC collation centre in Oshimili South Local Government Area in Asaba.
Meanwhile, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Ndudi Elumelu, representing Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency on the platform of PDP, lost his seat to Mr Ngozi Okolie of the Labour Party.
Ghana’s Eurobonds extended declines on Wednesday after the country missed a self-imposed deadline to restructure its bilateral debt and S&P Global Ratings warned bondholders face larger losses than anticipated.
The nation’s 2032 dollar securities dropped 0.5% to 36.8 cents in the dollar by 8:18 a.m. in London, bringing their decline this week to 1.7%.
Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta wanted to reach a restructuring agreement with bilateral creditors by the end of February to help qualify for a $3 billion International Monetary Fund program. So far, Ghana has only partially completed the domestic-debt part of the exchange program.
Meanwhile, S&P said Ghana may have to ask external creditors to write off as much as 50% of the debt it owes them — far higher than the 30% the government initially considered.
Ayda Zugay clasps her hands collectively in an effort to calm her nerves.
She has been anticipating this day for years.
The woman she spent so much time trying to find will arrive at any moment.
More than 23 years have passed since Zugay and her sister received the $100 envelope that would forever alter their lives from a stranger on an airline.
A CNN story last spring featured Zugay’s quest to find the woman and thank her. At the time, Zugay only knew that the woman’s first name was Tracy, that she played tennis and that her act of generosity had made a tremendous difference in the lives of two refugees from the former Yugoslavia who were just beginning a new life in the United States.
The story reached millions of readers – many of whom sent in tips to help with the search. Several of them saw the handwriting on the envelope and knew right away who was behind it: Tracy Peck of Blaine, Minnesota.
Zugay and her older sister, Vanja Contino, reconnected with Peck in an emotional Zoom call that weekend.
But they haven’t had a chance to meet in person – until now, when an invitation to appear as special guests on “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute” has brought all three women to New York City.
It’s a joyful occasion. But as they wait for Peck to arrive, Zugay tells her sister that she’s feeling anxious and emotional.
What if the moment doesn’t feel right? What if they struggle to connect with each other? What if the woman who’s inspired her for so many years ends up seeing her as a disappointment?
Tears well up in her eyes.
“I don’t want to let her down,” she says.
Contino tells her sister that could never happen.
“You are an amazing person,” she says. “This is all happening because of you.”
Zugay and Contino hide themselves behind a Christmas tree covered with gleaming gold ornaments, hoping to surprise Peck when she arrives.
As they wait, the Midtown Manhattan hotel lobby where they’ve planned to meet is bustling. Guests toting suitcases and shopping bags dart past them, oblivious to the dramatic moment that’s about to unfold.
Even though they know she’s coming, Peck catches them by surprise when she finally appears.
“Hi!” the sisters shout in unison, rushing forward to wrap their arms around Peck.
“My lovelies!” Peck exclaims.
Her face reddens as tears stream down her cheeks. “Oh! This is such a blessing,” she says, and they hold each other tighter.
To Peck, the hug feels like an embrace from family members she’s known for years.
To Contino, it’s an amazing connection between the past and the present that she never imagined would be possible.
To Zugay, it feels like a moment of closure, and a moment of something new that’s just beginning.
A few minutes later, Zugay and Peck settle down on the couch in Zugay’s hotel room. Contino sits on a chair nearby, snapping photos and taking in the scene.
They’ve exchanged some texts and messages on social media since their virtual meetup in the spring. When she got engaged several months ago, Zugay texted Peck to tell her.
But there’s so much more to catch up on, and so much to share.
The last time these three women sat side by side, they were in very different places, even though they were flying to the same destination.
On May 31, 1999, Peck was in her late 40s and had just finished a dream vacation watching the French Open with friends.
Contino, then 17, and Zugay, then nearly 12, had just said goodbye to their parents and everything they knew as they fled their war-torn country.
Peck was heading home to be with her family. Zugay and Contino were heading into uncertainty. They were seeking refuge in the United States, but had no idea what they’d find once they arrived.
Zugay didn’t speak much English then, but she sensed the compassion in her seatmate’s voice.
“We were able to communicate even though we had so many differences,” she says.
After hearing the sisters’ story that day, Peck handed them an envelope at the end of the flight, telling them to wait until they got off the plane to open it. Inside she tucked a $100 bill and the dangly earrings she’d been wearing.
“To the girls from Yugoslavia –” her note on the outside of the envelope began. “I am so sorry that the bombing of your country has caused your family any problems. I hope your stay in America will be a safe and happy one for you — Welcome to America — please use this to help you here. A friend from the plane — TRACY”.
Peck had no idea how much that gesture would come to mean to its recipients – and how much writing it would end up changing her life, too.
Contino, who’s now 41 and an anesthesiologist in Connecticut, sees the envelope as a reason why she still tries to prioritize giving to people in need, and why she’s teaching her two daughters to do that, too.
Zugay, a 35-year-old who lives in Boston, sees Peck’s simple act of generosity as the foundation of many things in her life, including her work with numerous nonprofits and the consulting company she cofounded.
And now that they’re finally reunited, Zugay wants to make sure Peck knows how much it’s meant.
“I thought of you for so many years,” she says. “It was almost like you were next to me in the things I was doing.”
Zugay unzips a black backpack, pulls out the envelope and hands it to Peck.
It’s in remarkably good condition, with no major wrinkles or tears. Zugay keeps it with her important documents and has tried hard to protect it.
“This is so wonderful,” Peck says. “I just can’t believe you kept this all these years.”
Peck says she’s amazed Zugay kept searching when so many others would have given up.
“Thank you so much for everything, Tracy,” Zugay says. “You’re such a beautiful person. I’m so excited for your joy to radiate across the planet.”
Zugay tells Peck she still remembers having a panic attack once when she thought she’d lost the envelope, and the many hours she spent looking at it and searching for clues. For so many years, that piece of paper seemed to be the only thing connecting her to a puzzle in her past she needed to solve.
Now that she and Peck have reunited, the envelope itself doesn’t seem as important. But what it symbolizes seems more important than ever. And that, Zugay says, is why she’s determined to keep telling the story.
“It’s been really beautiful to be able to elevate the message of welcoming people, and encouraging people to be kind,” she says. “You don’t have to be a wealthy philanthropist; you don’t have to be somebody who has a lot of power. You can be an average person, and you can have an incredible impact on somebody’s life.”
Since CNN’s coverage of her search began, Zugay estimates she’s received more than 2,300 emails from readers who were moved by Tracy’s story.
Some shared their own experiences of reaching out to others or receiving unexpected support at moments when they felt lost.
One person wrote that they’d been dangerously close to suicide but reconsidered after reading about Zugay’s search for Tracy.
“Something woke up in me that was quiet for so long. … Instead of ending my life that day, I walked around the city feeling gratitude for people like Tracy in my life,” the note said. “Now when I think about what I hope to build out of my life, I will always think of you and Tracy.”
Sisters reunite with stranger who helped them 20 years ago
Zugay says it’s been overwhelming and inspiring to receive so many beautiful messages.
But while most responses have been positive, a few negative emails have also made their way to her inbox.
To Zugay, that’s important to acknowledge, too.
“That’s why I do the work I do,” she says. “The goal is for everybody here to feel belonging and welcome and to thrive.”
And no matter how many negative responses she gets, Zugay says finding Tracy makes it all worthwhile.
When Peck learned she’d be traveling to New York, there was one thing she knew she wanted to see with Zugay and Contino: the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.
“To me, the whole idea of Christmas is about love and giving and kindness,” Peck says. And who better to see the tree with than the women who’d given her such a beautiful reminder of how a small act of kindness can grow into something so much bigger?
So after hours of swapping stories about their family members, discussing their lives and careers, and sharing memories of the past and dreams for the future, the trio venture out to the packed sidewalks of Midtown Manhattan for a glimpse of the iconic sight.
At points, it feels like someone is shoving them from every direction. In the commotion, Zugay and Contino try to keep their eyes trained on Peck’s blonde hair.
“We can’t lose Tracy now,” Contino laughs, “not after we finally found her.”
They marvel at the Saks Fifth Avenue holiday lights display and snap selfies beside the tree.
“So beautiful,” Peck says.
And no matter how crowded the sidewalks around them get, the three women stick together.
Reuniting in person, Peck says, has brought even more unexpected joy than their initial conversation.
“Love and friendship among women is to me among the greatest gifts in the world,” she says. “I feel I’ve gained that bond with these two amazing women.”
Waiting backstage the next day as they prepare for their appearance on “CNN Heroes,” the women marvel at the stories of this year’s honorees.
“There are good people in this world,” Contino says.
Zugay nods in agreement.
Before long, a familiar voice echoes in the event space as a video plays that includes excerpts from their May reunion on Zoom.
It’s Tracy – the Tracy. Hearing her voice makes Zugay feel instantly emotional. Now they’re together at last.
The audience gives them a standing ovation as they walk on stage side by side.
As they return to their New York hotel after the show, they rehash highlights of the night – the celebrities who stopped them in the hallway to marvel at their story, the many honorees doing extraordinary things for their communities and, best of all, the fact that they got to spend an entire weekend together after so many years apart.
Peck thinks back to the young girls she met on the plane and how brave they were that day.
“I wouldn’t have been nearly as strong as you were. I wouldn’t have been mature enough to do it. … I’m so proud of you, the two women you’ve become,” she says.
Zugay thinks back to her many years searching for Tracy, and what she hoped she’d find.
“You turned out to be so much more than I ever expected,” Zugay tells Peck. “Just hearing your voice means so much to me. I can’t wait to hear about our future days together.”
They’re hoping to plan a bigger reunion so more members of their families can meet. And next year, Zugay hopes Peck will be a guest at her wedding.
Still reveling in the many inspiring stories of the evening and the chance they had to share the moment together, Zugay says she feels so overwhelmed with gratitude that she won’t be able to sleep.
Over the years, the efforts of so many people helped her find Tracy – at least 17, by her latest count, from the first journalist to cover her story for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune to the videographer who helped her get the word out on social media.
Tonight, she can only think of one thing to do: write her own notes, just like Tracy did, thanking them.
One member of the music duo Keche, Keche Andrew has revealed that his wife must pay if she wants to use our song for her campaign
According to him, would not allow his politician wife to use his song for her campaign unless she is willing to pay.
In an interview with Abeiku Santana on Okay FM, Andrew said he is in a group and hence will need permission from his partner to allow his wife to use their songs in her campaign.
Keche Andrew said he would not allow his wife to use his song for her campaign.
About 16 persons, including nine employees from the Lands Commission have been arrested by the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) officials over their alleged involvement in the stealing of 500 draft cheques meant for the Land Commission of Ghana.
According to a news report by the Daily Guide newspaper, the 16 suspects were part of a 21-member syndicate involved in stealing cheques worth around GHC 100 million belonging to the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).
The report indicated that the suspects were arrested between January 2023 and February 2023 after a petition was filed against them for crimes they committed from 2021 to 2023.
It added that all the suspects were charged with three counts, including conspiracy to commit crime, stealing, and money laundering, contrary to Sections 23(1) and 124(1) of the Criminal Offences Act 1960 (Act 29) and Section 1 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act 2020 (Act 1044), stealing contrary to Section 124 (1) of the Criminal Offences Act 1960, Act (29) and Money Laundering: Contrary to Section 1 of Anti-money Laundering Act, 2020 (Act 1044).
It was stated in the report that the suspects included Frederick Okai, Gideon Obeng Mensah, Andrews Tettey Antwi, Frank Kwame Darko, Jude Odoom Yamoah, Emmanuel Mawuli Bani, and Jephther Sanso Akyea, all staff of the commission.
The remaining suspects are Gilbert Fongadje Awuvie, Isaac Karikari Junior alias Bonsu, Sani Mohammed Issah, David Maanyin Antoh, Kofi Armoo Okyne, Samson Sebrah, Frank Debrah alias Franko, Emmanuel Ketigoa, and Nutifafa Asare Kojo.
It added that five of the suspects, including Alfred Amarquaye, Jason Hassan Degalu, Mary Kish Bagbodjan, Leslie Bruce, and Adams, escaped arrest and are currently at large.
It was stated in the report that the nine suspects, who were staff of the Land Commission, conspired with the other suspects, including private businessmen, a banker with First National Bank, the Chief Executive Officer of the Air State Company Limited and a staff at the Tema Development Company Limited to commit the crime.
The suspects, according to sources at the NIB, paid draft cheques ranging from GHC 20,000 to GHC 2,500,000 to the other accomplices at the Lands Commission rather than paying them to the commission, thereby denying the GRA the much-needed revenue.
They agreed and were able to manipulate the software of the Lands Commission to show that the said payments were made to the commission, but that did not happen.
“The draft cheques were thereafter handed over to Emmanuel Ketigo through Samson Debrah and Frank Debrah, who took the cheques to clearing agents at the Tema Harbour, wherefore the said cheques were used to pay import duties for importers.
“Thereafter, Emmanuel Ketigo received physical cash of the face value of the cheques, and the monies were shared among themselves based in percentage, with Emmanuel taking 15 percent of the face of the cheques, the first-nine suspects taking 40-45 percent whilst the remaining 40-45 per cent were shared among the remaining suspects,” a source is quoted to have said by the Daily Guide.
The suspect told the NIB that they used the proceeds from their criminal venture to buy houses and other properties in Greater Accra, the Eastern and Central Regions.
It added that suspects are still in the custody of the NIB, having failed to meet their GHC 2 million bail terms.
Popular Ghanaian filmmaker, Prince David Osei has reacted to Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate already leading in the ongoing Nigeria election.
If Tinubu maintains the lead spot and finally retains power with the ruling party and becomes Nigeria’s next president, the actor said that the same luck will follow NPP in the next election.
The pro-NPP actor said the party will break the eight-year jinx of governance in the country since both parties have the same political fortune.
In a tweet on Tuesday, February 28, Prince Osei wrote, “Just thinking ooo , if APC retains power and Tinubu becomes President this means NPP will also retain power!! Dynamics.”
This comes at a time when provisional results announced by electoral officials in 31 of Nigeria’s 36 states and the federal capital Abuja showed Bola Tinubu, the governing party’s candidate, leading with about 35% of the valid votes counted, while Atiku of the PDP comes right behind with 29%, or nearly 6.2 million valid votes.
To the surprise of many, Peter Obi, who was tipped by experts to be a potential winner, garnered 25%, or about 5.2 million votes.
He’s known for playing suave Secret Service agent James Bond, but Pierce Brosnan traded in his signature slicked back strands for something a little more scruffy.
The 69-year-old actor was spotted wearing a gray wig with tendrils cascading down to his shoulders while walking on set of his latest film, “Four Letters of Love.”
Brosnan stars alongside Helena Bonham Carter and Gabriel Bryne in the romantic flick, based on the Niall Williams bestselling novel of the same name.
Brosnan wore fingerless gloves and a long trench coat on set
Pierce stayed warm underneath a dark blue knit sweater in addition to a heavy trench coat. He wrapped a scarf around his neck for added comfort.
The “Mamma Mia!” star sported a pair of forest green fingerless gloves and dark slacks.
Salt-and-pepper stubble on his face matched a full head of shoulder-length straight hair.
Brosnan and Bonham Carter will play the parents of Nicholas Coughlan (Finn O’Shea) and Isabel Gore (Ann Skelly).
“Nicholas and Isabel were made for each other, but how will they ever know it? As ghosts, fate and the sheer power of true love pull them together, so too does life threaten to tear them apart,” a synopsis described the movie on IMDb.
The “Black Adam” star was born in Ireland and studied acting in London before moving to the United States in the ’80s.
Pierce Brosnan and Dwayne Johnson recently worked together on “Black Adam.” (David M. Benett)Pierce Brosnan and wife Keely Shaye Smith have been married for 21 years. (Kevin Mazur)
He starred on several stage and screen productions before landing his first Bond film, “GoldenEye.”
The 1995 film grossed $350 million worldwide. He returned as the British spy in the 1997 movie, “Tomorrow Never Dies,” and once again in 1999 for “The World is Not Enough.”
His fourth and final stint portraying 007 was in “Die Another Day” in 2002.
The Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Marketers Association of Ghana is making a passionate appeal to government to include LPG in its ‘Gold for Oil’ Programme.
The, association, believes this will go a long way to help stabilise and reduce the soaring price of LGP, similar to that of petrol and diesel.
Checks by Joy Business at some LPG outlets have revealed that the prices of LPG have gone up by about 5% per kilogramme from today March 1, 2023.
Speaking to Joy Business, Vice President of the LPG Marketers Association, Gabriel Kumi, said if urgent steps are not taken to control the continuous surge in the price of the commodity, government’s efforts of increasing the consumption of LPG will be dashed.
“LPG prices have gone up beginning today [March 1, 2023] and initial indications we are picking from the BDCs [Bulk Oil Distributors] shows that the cost to the Oil Marketing Companies has gone up by about 10% per kilogramme. If we are lucky, competition will bring that one down to about 6% or 7%. But certainly LPG price will go up by not less than 5% beginning today and that will push the pump prices to about ¢16 per kilogramme from the ¢15 per kilogramme it was selling the previous window”.
“Diesel and petrol prices are going down but unfortunately LPG prices keep escalating and that is why our association has called on government to immediately look at including LPG in the ‘Gold for Oil’ deal so that it can also bring the prices down. We believe LPG is a product government must target in this deal because the rate at which LPG prices are going up is unbelievable and this will certainly thwart government’s effort at increasing penetration and usage of LPG in Ghana”, he explained.
Last year 2022, LPG consumption went down by over 12% against that of 2021.
Mr. Kumi said that should be a very big worry to every single Ghanaian and to government.
“Efforts should be made to ensure that this ‘Gold for Oil’ deal, LPG is included immediately because the experts are telling us that LPG prices on the international market will keep escalating even though diesel and petrol prices are coming down. So we appeal to government to immediately include LPG in this deal so it can help stabilise prices”.
He also called for reduction in taxes, saying “we believe this is the best time for government to take off taxes from LPG”.
“So, if we’re able to get LPG included in the Gold for Oil deal, and the taxes are removed, we believe that the prices could come down to a reasonable level so that every Ghanaian can afford”, he added.
American comedian, Chris Rock is ready to let loose on America Actor Will Smith during his live global Netflix standup special this Saturday after months of honing jokes about his in famous Oscar slap, according to reports.
The special this Saturday comes nearly a year after Smith walked onstage at the Academy Awards while Rock was presenting and smacked him across the face.
The “Spiral” star has mostly stayed mum on the attack except for jokes he has been trying out on stand-up audiences in his “Ego Death World Tour.”
In July, Rock joked he was slapped by “Suge Smith,” comparing Smith to the former Death Row Records co-founder, Marion “Suge” Knight. Knight is currently serving a 28-year prison sentence after pleading no contest to voluntary manslaughter in 2018 following a fatal confrontation in Los Angeles in 2015.
Chris Rock reportedly plans to open up about the Will Smith Oscar slap during his Netflix special this weekend.
Netflix promised the “seven-second delay button is taking a night off” for Rock’s “Selective Outrage” special, which will be the platform’s first-ever live event, in a release earlier this month.
Rock’s special will be flanked by a pre-show featuring Arsenio Hall, Amy Schumer, Paul McCartney, George Lopez, Ice-T, Jerry Seinfeld and Matthew McConaughey among others, and a post-show hosted by Dana Carvey and David Spade.
Eating out seems to have been as popular 5,000 years ago as it is today, with archaeologists in Iraq uncovering an ancient tavern dating back to 2,700 BCE.
Researchers working in the ancient city of Lagash discovered that the pub, hidden just 19 inches below the surface, was split into an open-air dining area and a room containing benches, an oven, ancient food remains and even a 5,000-year-old fridge.
They initially found themselves in the open courtyard space, an area that was difficult to excavate, being “open and exposed to the outdoors,” Reed Goodman, an archaeologist from the University of Pennsylvania, told CNN.
After returning to the mysterious courtyard a few months later, in fall 2022, field director Sara Pizzimenti, from the University of Pisa, broadened the trench.
The team then discovered the industrial-sized oven, a moisture-wicking ancient “fridge,” to keep food cool, and dozens of conical bowls, many containing fish remains, revealing the purpose of the courtyard to be an outdoor dining area.
An international team of researchers plans the next steps at Lagash. Credit: Lagash Archaeological Project
“I think the first feature to show itself was this very large oven and it’s actually beautiful,” Goodman said. “From various burning episodes and deposits of ash it left a sort of rainbow coloration in the soils and the interior is framed by these big bricks.”
Lagash, now the town of al-Hiba, was one of the oldest and largest cities in southern Mesopotamia — occupied from the fifth millennium until the middle of the second millennium BCE and encompassing an area of almost two square miles.
It has since become an important archaeological site, with excavations restarting most recently in 2019 as part of a joint project between the Penn Museum, the University of Cambridge and the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage in Baghdad, using new techniques such as drone photography and genetic analysis.
Using state-of-the-art technology, the archaeologists are able to “see” underground and only excavate when necessary. Credit: Lagash Archaeological Project
Previous excavations focused on religious architecture and understanding the elites, but Holly Pittman — director of the Lagash Archaeological Project and curator of the Penn Museum’s Near East section — concentrated on non-elite areas during these latest excavations to provide a broader understanding of ancient cities.
Uncovering a tavern supports the perspective of Pittman and her team that society was not organized into just elites and enslaved people — the previous prevailing view — but included an ancient middle class.
“The fact that you have a public gathering place where people can sit down and have a pint and have their fish stew, they’re not laboring under the tyranny of kings,” Goodman said.
“Right there, there is already something that is giving us a much more colorful history of the city.”
The Prince and Princess of Wales will on Tuesday visit a mental health therapy garden that is under construction in South Wales with the aim of providing support to the local communities.
The couple’s Royal Foundation has announced a new collaboration with horticultural therapy and mental health counselling provider Life at No.27 to help the charity scale up its mission.
The Prince and Princess will visit the site where the first garden will be developed, at Brynawel Rehabilitation Centre near the town of Pontyclun, where individuals will eventually be able to learn and grow their own produce.
It is hoped that the allotments and garden will provide individuals with a space to support their mental health as well as leave a lasting legacy in the community that the Royal couple visit.
The garden, under development, will sit alongside a communal sensory and herbal garden, a mud kitchen, and an interactive learning space.
The Royal Foundation has arranged for national and local organisations to support the design and development of the new garden, as well as provided funding, tools, plants, seeds and materials for landscaping.
The garden and neighbouring allotments are being developed over the next few months, with the goal of offering free and low-cost gardening therapy and mental health support sessions for the Centre’s users and their families.
It is hoped that residents in the wider local community who are suffering from mental health, loneliness or low confidence will eventually also have access to the therapy garden through a GP referral.
An unidentified philanthropist has donated GH¢100,000 to the Greater Accra Regional Office of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to help it offset its outstanding rent.
This was made known by the Regional Chairman, Nii Ashie Moore, when one of the flagbearer aspirants of the party, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, visited the regional office to seek their blessing on his intended tour of the region.
Dr. Kwabena Duffuor had gone to meet the executives of the NDC in the Greater Accra Region ahead of his intention to lead the party as its flagbearer.
While addressing the Duffuor team, the Regional Chairman, Nii Ashie Moore, expressed his joy that the former Minister of Finance had decided to visit them that day, describing it as a special day.
He explained that before the former Governor of the Bank of Ghana showed up at their offices, a philanthropist in the party had come to donate GH¢100,000 to them.
“As we sit here today, you also coming here has brought luck. One of the philanthropists within the region has come to dash us GH¢100,000 a while ago, to aid us pay our rent arrears, that’s why today is a special day. As I’ve said, you’ve also come so since you’re also here, we know that the blessings will be double-double,” he said.
Dr. Kwabena Duffuor is in the race to become the NDC flagbearer with three others: former president, John Dramani Mahama; former Mayor of Kumasi, Kojo Bonsu; and a businessman based in the United Kingdom, Ernest Kobeah.
On March 1st, 2023, Bola Tinubu won Nigeria’s presidential election by defeating his closest rival, Peter Obi, and other contestants.
While many Nigerians celebrated Tinubu’s victory, some were not pleased with the outcome.
Ghanaian socialite, Afia Schwarzenegger, and political analyst, Kwame A Plus, both posted on Instagram, expressing their views on the election results.
Afia Schwarzenegger’s post, which featured a photo of the 70-year-old looking dejected and confused while wearing a Jalabia and a hat, suggested that Nigerians had made the wrong choice.
She wrote, “Okay ooo…Since this is what you want…Congratulations Nigerians…Africa is proud of you all.”
Meanwhile, A Plus appeared to question the decision of Nigerians, writing, “Wei????♂️????♂️ Aaawell… Congratulations Sir,” after asking if Tinubu was really the man Nigerians had voted for.
The posts by Afia and A Plus generated a lot of reactions from netizens, with some Nigerians accusing the pair of being ignorant of Nigerian politics and not understanding the election’s significance.
This is not the first time Afia Schwarzenegger and Kwame A Plus have sparked controversy on social media. Their posts highlight the deep divisions in Nigerian politics and the polarizing nature of social media.
The election results underscore the contrasting views of Nigerians on Tinubu’s leadership capabilities.
While some see him as a capable leader who can take Nigeria to the next level, others view him as a representative of the old political order that has failed to address the country’s many problems.
Losing a child is a tragedy that no parent should ever have to experience. The anguish and sadness that such an encounter may bring can be enormous and life-changing.
Regrettably, celebrities, including Ghanaian superstars, are not immune to this tragic truth.
Some of Ghana’s most prominent figures in the entertainment business have suffered the unspeakable loss of a child in recent years. From musicians to actors and here is a list of some of Ghana’s beloved stars who have lost children:
Kwaw Kese
in 2018 the tragic news of rapper Kwaw Kese and his wife losing their second child due to heart complications was announced.
The newborn, according to Kwaw Kese, was born at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital and passed away shortly after delivery, leaving the family and the community in mourning.
Wayoosi
Ghanaian actor, Joseph Nana Osei Kofi, popularly known as Wayoosi, suffered a devastating loss in October 2016 when his daughter, Blessing Osei Fremah, passed away from a drug overdose.
The young child fell ill, and while she was given medication, she was mistakenly administered an overdose that was inappropriate for her age.
Pascaline Edwards
Actress Pascaline Edwards was hit with a devastating blow in 2020 following the loss of her son. The actress took to social media to express her grief, without indicating that the cause of her son’s death.
In a tweet that captured the depth of her sorrow, Pascaline described herself as “confused, shattered, speechless,” and unable to sleep or eat. Her heartfelt post was a testament to the immense pain and suffering that comes with the loss of a child.
Okomfo Kolege
In November 2022, Kumawood actor Collins Oteng, also known as Okomfo Kolege, suffered a devastating loss when his pregnant wife and unborn child passed away.
The actor in an interview indicated that his wife died during the delivery of their unborn child.
According to the actor, he recalled that his wife was very healthy when he drove her to the hospital, and when he was told that she had died, her sudden death came as a shock that nearly caused him to faint.
Ras Nene
The Kumawood movie industry was plunged into mourning after the news of the death of the three-month-old child of popular actor and comedian, Ebenezer Akwasi Antwi, widely known as Ras Nene or Dr. Likee, broke out.
It is unclear what caused the child’s untimely passing, but the news left many in shock and disbelief.
The tragic loss of his child has undoubtedly been a devastating blow to Ras Nene, his family, friends, and colleagues in the industry.
Actor and Lagos State lawmaker, Desmond Elliot, has hit the streets to jubilate with other supporters of the All Progressives Congress.
The celebration comes after Bola Tinubu was declared the winner of the just ended 2023 presidential election.
At 4:30am on Wednesday, March 1, the Independent National Electoral Commission chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu announced Bola Tinubu as the president-elect of Nigeria.
Bola Tinubu won with 8,794,726 beating Peter Obi who polled 6,101,533 and Atiku Abubakar who scored 6,984520 votes respectively.
Expressing his joy at his party’s victory, Desmond Elliot took to his social media to share a video of himself celebrating Tinubu’s win on the streets of Lagos.
Ed Sheeran has revealed his wife was diagnosed with a tumour while pregnant with their second child.
The Shape Of You singer described how Cherry Seaborn, who he married in 2019, was told by doctors she had a tumour while she was expecting the couple’s second child, who was born in May 2022, “with no route to treatment until after the birth”.
Sheeran went on to discuss the impact the diagnosis had on his wellbeing, describing how he “spiralled through fear, depression and anxiety” last year following the news, and that of the death of his close friend Jamal Edwards.
Music entrepreneur Edwards, who was awarded an MBE for his services to music in 2014, died on February 20 last year at the age of 31.
In a statement announcing his new album, called – , the mathematical symbol for Subtract, which is due to be released on May 5, Sheeran said the songs had been influenced by the difficult events he’d faced.
“I had been working on Subtract for a decade, trying to sculpt the perfect acoustic album, writing and recording hundreds of songs with a clear vision of what I thought it should be,” he said.
“Then at the start of 2022, a series of events changed my life, my mental health, and ultimately the way I viewed music and art.”
The star said his wife Cherry Seaborn’s diagnosis has impacted the writing of his new album, pictured here at the Brit Awards. (Getty Images)
The Bad Habits singer said to get through those experiences he used songwriting as his “therapy” and to help him “make sense” of his feelings.
“I wrote without thought of what the songs would be, I just wrote whatever tumbled out,” he explained. “And in just over a week, I replaced a decade’s worth of work with my deepest darkest thoughts.
“Within the space of a month, my pregnant wife got told she had a tumour, with no route to treatment until after the birth,” Sheeran continued.
“My best friend Jamal, a brother to me, died suddenly and I found myself standing in court defending my integrity and career as a songwriter. I was spiralling through fear, depression and anxiety.”
The amended customer service plan for American Airlines states that the carrier will guarantee that youngsters will be seated adjacent to an accompanying adult. It represents the newest airline answer to requests for better family seating guidelines.
The action coincides with the Department of Transportation announcing plans to establish a “dashboard” for family seats the following week “to highlight which airlines ensure families can sit together for free,” Secretary Pete Buttigieg stated on Twitter on Tuesday.
He commended American Airlines for being the first US airline to do so in its amended customer service policy, which was released on Tuesday.
There are conditions to American’s guarantee, which applies to children 14 and younger.
They include a requirement that everyone in the party is booked in the same reservation, that adjacent seats are available in the same class of service at the time of booking and that the original flight isn’t switched to a smaller plane, among others.American Airlines has updated its family seating policy.
Full details are available in the airline’s customer service plan.
Last week, United Airlines announced an overhaul to its family seating policy that would help ensure that families with children younger than 12 are seated together free of charge.
US airline customers have long complained about seating that separates young children from their parents on flights and the added costs associated with purchasing seats in order to sit together.
President Joe Biden addressed the government’s efforts to curb such fees in his State of the Union address this month, touting a Junk Fee Prevention Act that would also target resort fees and concert ticket fees, among others.
“Baggage fees are bad enough – they can’t just treat your child like a piece of luggage,” Biden said in the speech
A July 2022 notice from the Department of Transportation called on US airlines to make seating children next to accompanying adults available at no additional cost.
Delta Air Lines said last week that it “does not charge family seating fees and regardless of the ticket class purchased, will always work with customers on a case-by-case basis to ensure their family seating needs are met.”
Delta’s website refers to family seating “upon request,” referring passengers who are not able to secure seats via the airline’s website or mobile app to contact its reservations team. Delta’s seat map technology blocks off some areas for family seating up to 48 hours before a flight.
On Southwest Airlines, which does not have assigned seating, families with children 6 or younger are allowed to board early – right after the “A” group of passengers. The airline’s website also offers the option of EarlyBird Check-in for a fee that may yield an “A” group boarding position.
Colombian singer, Shakira has given her first interview since ex Gerard Piqué went public with his new girlfriend.
The singer, 46, and retired professional footballer, 36, shocked fans last June when they announced that they were calling time on their relationship after 12 years and two children together.
Former Spain and Barcelona defender Piqué has made no secret of the fact that he has since moved on with Clara Chia Marti, 23.
For her part, Shakira’s recently released DJ Bizarrap collaboration Music Session Vol.53, featured the lyrics “I’m worth two 22s,” in a clear jibe against Marti, who was aged 22 when it is believed she started dating Pique.
Now the Hips Don’t Lie hit-maker has had another apparent dig at Marti in the process, telling Mexican journalist Enrique Acevedo: “There is a place in hell reserved for women who don’t support other women.”
Gerard Piqué pictured with new girlfriend Clara Chia Marti (Gerard Pique / Instagram)
Asked where she stood in the debate she had created with her recent song appearing to slam both Piqué and Marti, she said: “I am right in the centre.
“I also bought that story, that a woman needed a man to complete herself. I also had that dream of a family where the children had a mum and dad under the same roof.
“You don’t achieve all your dreams in life but life has a way of compensating you and I think life has certainly done it with me with the marvellous two children I have who fill me with love every day.”
Shakira added she had always been “emotionally quite dependant on men” but now she is “sufficient on her own”.
The UN’s nuclear inspector claims that uranium particles that are almost bomb-grade have been discovered at an Iranian nuclear site, as the US cautioned that Tehran’s progress toward developing a nuclear weapon is quickening.
The Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant(FFEP), an underground nuclear facility in Iran that is located about 20 miles northeast of the city of Qom, was found to have uranium particles enriched to 83.7% purity, which is close to the 90% enrichment levels required to make a nuclear bomb. This information was revealed in a restricted report seen by CNN.
The report says that in January, the IAEA took environmental samples at the Fordow plant, which showed the presence of high enriched uranium particles up to 83.7% purity.
The IAEA subsequently informed Iran that these findings were “inconsistent with the level of enrichment at the Fordow plant as declared by Iran and requested Iran to clarify the origins of these particles,” added the report.
Iran’s stockpile of uranium enriched up to 60% had also grown from 25.2 kg to 87.5 kg since the last quarterly report, according to the confidential IAEA report.
The IAEA report said discussions with Iran to clarify the matter are ongoing, noting that “these events clearly indicate the capability of the IAEA to detect and report changes in the operation of nuclear facilities in Iran.”
In an exclusive interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on Tuesday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian did not directly respond to a question on reports of the enrichment.
Amir-Abdollahian said that the deputy director general of the IAEA, Massimo Aparo, had visited Iran on two occasions in the past weeks and that the IAEA’s director general Rafael Grossi has been invited to visit the country.
“We have a roadmap with the IAEA. And on two occasions, Mr. [Massimo] Aparo, Mr. [Rafael] Grossi’s deputy, came to Iran in the past few weeks, and we had constructive and productive negotiations. And we have also invited Mr. Grossi to come and visit Iran soon,” Amir-Abdollahian told CNN. “Therefore our relationship with the IAEA is on its correct, natural path.”
Last year, Iran removed all of the IAEA equipment previously installed for surveillance and monitoring activities related to the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The move had “detrimental implications for the IAEA’s ability to provide assurance of the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme,” the IAEA report stated.
A US State Department spokesperson on Tuesday said the IAEA report potentially poses a “very serious development.”
“We are in close contact with our allies and partners in Europe and the region as we await further details from the IAEA on this potentially very serious development,” added the spokesperson.
Veteran actor, Kanayo O. Kanayo says he won’t be celebrating his 61st birthday on March 1 due to the emergence of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as president-elect.
Kanayo said he won’t celebrate because he wants Nigerians to understand that INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu needs to be held responsible for the turnout of events.
Kanayo complained about the failure of the BVAs system, stating that Nigerians should demand an explanation from INEC as to why they decided to neglect the use of the BIVAS system at the last minute.
“INEC chairman sold shame to Nigerians in the marketplace. You deceived us, INEC; you compromised! On this day on my 61st birthday, I am asking Nigerians, especially Obiedients, to restrain themselves; we must get to the root of this.”
Greta Thunberg joined Native American and environmental organizations in Norway this week to protest against wind turbines, which might seem weird to some.
In an effort to show their opposition to two wind farms constructed on Sámi reindeer grazing areas, dozens of protesters, including Thunberg, have blocked entry to Norwegian government facilities in Oslo.
A representative for the Oslo police district said that on Wednesday morning, police removed 10 persons, including Thunberg, from the door of the ministry of finance.
The Sámi people, the only recognized Indigenous group within the European Union, say their centuries-old tradition of reindeer herding is jeopardized by the windfarms in the Fosen region in Central Norway. Among the largest onshore windfarms in Europe, they are made up of 151 wind turbines that stretch 285 feet high.
“The constructions are stealing the reindeer’s grazing land,” Maja Kristine Jåma, a reindeer herder and Sámi politician, told CNN. The reindeer are also affected by the infrastructure around the turbines, including roads, she said. “It disturbs them a lot.”
Jåma and others are calling for the turbines to be torn down and the reindeer grazing lands restored.
“Indigenous rights, human rights, must go hand-in-hand with climate protection and climate action. That can’t happen at the expense of some people,” Thunberg told Reuters on Monday.
The fight over the wind turbines has been long running.
In October 2021, the Sámi people secured a legal victory. Norway’s Supreme Court ruled that the wind farm permits were invalid because the turbines violated the protected cultural rights of Sámi people by infringing on reindeer grazing lands.
But nearly a year and half on, the turbines are still operating.
“So far, the government has not even acknowledged the Supreme Court’s ruling on the violation of human rights or offered an apology to the Reindeer Sámi,” Eirik Larsen, Political Advisor to the Sámi Parliament in Norway, told CNN.
The Norwegian government said it is assessing how to secure the Sámi’s rights in Fosen. “The Supreme Court has considered that the permits that have been granted are invalid, but it does not follow from the judgment that the wind turbines must be taken down,” Elisabeth Sæther, State Secretary in the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum, told CNN.
Sæther added that the government has been consulting with reindeer herders and the Sámi Parliament to find solutions “that make it possible for reindeer herding and the wind turbines to operate side by side.”
What’s happening in Norway is part of a growing conundrum when it comes to the green transition: How to implement climate policies without riding roughshod over Indigenous rights and the environment.
Wind energy is an important plank in Norway’s green energy transition. The country’s electricity generation is already almost completely renewable. In 2020, more than 90% of its electricity was generated using hydropower and wind, which has increased 10-fold in the last decade, accounted for 6.5%.
Norway, which remains a major oil and gas producer, has pledged to reduce its levels of planet heating pollution to 55% below 1990 levels by 2030.
“But you cannot have a green shift that violates human rights or Indigenous rights,” said Jåma. “These constructions threaten our way of living and our way of engaging in our culture as reindeer herders.”
Jåma calls what’s happening “green colonization,” a term the Norwegian government told CNN was “misleading and incorrect.”
Steve Trent, CEO and Founder of the Environmental Justice Foundation, told CNN: “The Sámi did not cause the climate crisis, and their traditional ways of life – which they have practiced for millennia – should not be jeopardized by efforts to resolve it.”
“Our efforts to roll back global heating must be equitable and fair,” he added.
The Sámi people, whose traditional lands – Sapmi – span northern parts of Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia, already live on the frontline of the climate crisis.
The Arctic is warming as much as four times faster than the rest of the world and the temperature changes are making it harder for reindeer to feed, as increased rainfall means layers of ice freeze over their food.
“Indigenous Peoples are asked to give up their lands for the wind industry, mining, and other purposes to save the world from a crisis mainly created by others,” Larsen said.
One of the oldest cities in the Middle East is located in the center of occupied Nablus. The occupied West Bank city is known as “Little Damascus” because of its architecture, arches, and even the local accent and cuisine, which are reminiscent of those of the Syrian capital. There are two churches, 12 mosques, and a Samaritan synagogue scattered around densely populated residential areas.
The Old City of the Ottoman era is filled with friendly faces and brightly colored clothing on a typical day, along with the aroma of spices and locally made soap from Nablus.
The market was on strike, mourning the 11 Palestinians killed the day before. Rather than selling their wares, business owners were collecting spent bullets from the alleys, with bullet holes and blood stains testifying to the violence the day before.
“We heard explosions and went to hide under the beds. We covered our ears with blankets,” said an old woman with trembling hands and a shaking voice, who was afraid to be identified. “I can’t even describe how shocking it was. We saw death with our own eyes. We didn’t expect to get out of this alive.”
Residents of the Old City have faced many night-time military invasions over the last year, especially since the new Lion’s Den militant group started operating there.
But this week’s invasion came at a very unexpected time of the day.
“They came around 10 a.m. We consider that rush hour in a densely populated area,” said Ahmad Jibril, head of the Emergency and Ambulance Department of the Palestinian Red Crescent in Nablus. The dead included a 72-year-old market trader who, Jibril alleged, “was shot with 10 live bullets all over his body although he wasn’t causing any threat.”
Paramedic Amid Ahmad, who was working to rescue the injured, said this is the first time since the height of the last intifada in 2000 that he has seen the Israeli army using weapons the way they did this week.
“They were shooting randomly everywhere,” he said. “There was an extremely huge number of injuries. Everything was so difficult – reaching the injured, evacuating the injured, everything was difficult because the area is very narrow and was all blocked by the army that prevented us from working.”
Israel Defense Forces international spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht denied that Israeli troops were firing “randomly,” saying: “The IDF only shoots at threats.”
Another IDF spokesman, Maj. Nir Dinar, told CNN he hoped it was not true that IDF forces had blocked medics from reaching the wounded, and said he was “not familiar with such behavior.”
Nablus residents say undercover Israeli military operatives were involved in the raid, one reason they were so distrustful of strangers the following day.
Sahar Zalloum was coming home from bringing her husband’s breakfast to his shop in the market, she said, when she was shocked to see a man she believes was an undercover operative at the door of her house: “I heard some noises in the yard. I saw a man wearing a sheikh’s clothes sitting with a gun. He asked me to get into the house. I ran home – it was terrifying, we didn’t dare to look out from any window, snipers were on all of the rooftops.”
Zalloum and her husband survived uninjured. But many were not so lucky.
Social media video appears to show at least two Israeli army vehicles near the entrance of a mosque, amid gunfire as a group of Palestinians come out of the mosque.
CNN asked the IDF about the video, but received only a generic statement in response, saying in part: “The circumstances of the event in the video are under examination.”
The wounded were transferred to Al Najah Hospital in the city, where Elias Al-Ashqar is a nurse. A video captured him in the emergency room, screaming “My father, my father” the moment he realized one of the dead was his father Abdul-Hadi Al-Ashqar, 61.
“I didn’t believe it, then I came closer,” he told CNN the next day. “I had one of my colleagues with me. I asked him if he sees this dead man as my father. I looked around, waiting for anyone to say that I was mistaken. But it was my father.”
Since the beginning of the year, 62 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health – the highest number at this point in a year since the year 2000. Israel argues that many of the dead are militants, or people attacking Israeli civilians or clashing with Israeli military forces.
But some of them – like Elias Al-Ashqar’s father Abdul-Hadi – appear simply to have been innocent bystanders.
Local settler leader Yossi Dagan described the Sunday shooting and deaths of two Israeli settlers in the West Bank as “an exceedingly dangerous terrorist attack.” Following the shooting, Israeli settlers attacked Palestinians in retaliation, resulting in at least one fatality and multiple injuries.
The Israelis were shot at Huwara, south of Nablus, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, just days after a huge Israeli military assault into Nablus resulted in the deaths of at least 11 Palestinians while looking for wanted militants.
The brothers Hillel Menachem Yaniv, 21, and Yagel Yaakov Yaniv, 19, were identified as the settlers killed on Sunday, according to the local settler council.
“We embrace the family and will be with them as much as necessary,” the Shomron (Samaria) Regional Council said. They were from the settlement of Har Bracha, council leader Yossi Dagan said.
Video from the scene showed that their car had crossed a median, and hit a vehicle going the other direction, suggesting they were shot while driving.
The two Israeli men were taken to a hospital after the attack, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said, but they later died, the Magen David Adom medical agency said. The IDF added that it was pursuing the attacker.
Another local settler leader said he was present when the two were shot.
“The shooting took place right behind me. It looked terrible – the shooting was from point blank range,” said Shai Alon, the head of Beit El council, adding that Israel needed to “go to war against those who wish us harm.”
Hours after the incident, Israelis killed at least one Palestinian man and injured several others with stones or iron bars in and around Huwara, Palestinian medics and the Ministry of Health said Sunday night.
Sameh Hamdallah Mahmoud Aqtash, 37, was shot in the abdomen and killed in the town of Za’tara, between Huwara and the Israeli settlement of Kfar Tapuach, the ministry said.
In Huwara itself, at least one person was stabbed and another assaulted with an iron bar, the Palestinian Red Crescent said. The emergency service also reported its ambulances were attacked, and said Israeli military forces had prevented three ambulances from entering the town.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health said a person had been treated for a minor injury from a metal rod in the face, and another had been treated for a skull fracture from being hit in the head with a stone.
Two Palestinian firefighters said that about 50 settlers had stoned their fire engine, injuring them as they attempted to respond to a fire at a Palestinian house in Huwara, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported. The Red Crescent also said it had dealt with nearly 100 cases of smoke inhalation.
Social media video which CNN geolocated to Huwara appeared to show several dozen Israeli settlers walking down a main street as at least three fires burned by the side of the road. Other photographs and videos circulating on social media appeared to show fires burning in the town.
The Palestinian Authority Presidency accused the settlers of carrying out “terrorist acts… under the protection of the Israeli occupation forces, in Hawara, Burin, Einabus and other areas, which resulted in the injury of more than 100 Palestinians and the burning of shops, homes, cars and other public property.”
Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid accused Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the leader of the settler-based Religious Zionism party, of being responsible for the violence.
Linking the events to deconfliction talks between Israel and the Palestinians in Jordan earlier in the day, Lapid tweeted: “Smotrich’s militias set out to burn Hawara in order to torpedo the summit in Aqaba of Netanyahu and [Defense Minister Yoav] Gallant. This government is dangerous to Israel’s security.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu issued a statement asking Israelis not to engage in revenge attacks for the killing of Hillel and Yagel Yaniv earlier in the day.
“I ask – even when the blood is boiling – not to take the law into one’s hands. I ask that the IDF and the security forces be allowed to carry out their work. I remind you that in recent weeks, they have targeted dozens of terrorists and thwarted dozens of attacks,” Netanyahu said.
The IDF are sending reinforcements to the West Bank to “thwart terror attacks and prevent violent riots,” it said Sunday night.
The “riots” – an apparent reference to the settlers carrying out revenge attacks against Palestinians – “are being handled by the IDF, Israeli Fire and Rescue Services, Israeli Border Police and additional security forces,” the IDF said.
On Sunday night, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi visited the site where the Yaniv brothers were shot, the IDF said, and “ordered the area to be reinforced with additional forces to thwart terror attacks and prevent violent riots, while increasing and expanding the efforts to capture the terrorists.”
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack on the Israeli brothers, but Lion’s Den had vowed revenge after Wednesday’s raid in Nablus.
Six of those who died there were members of the Palestinian militant group, which emerged in the city last year.
“As big as the pain filling Nablus, the occupation will taste twice the pain,” the group said, referring to Israel. “They will know that the fighters of the honorable groups in Nablus will not take a step back.”
Dagan, the head of the Samaria Regional Council, called after Sunday’s killings for Israel to break off ongoing security talks between Israel and the Palestinians brokered by Jordan, Egypt and the United States, saying: “I demand that the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense and all the ministers return the delegation from the idle talks in Aqaba…. We need to launch an operation against terrorism!”
Following the rare talks on Sunday, Israeli and Palestinian representatives “affirmed their commitment to all previous agreements between them, and to work towards a just and lasting peace,” they said in a joint statement.
Jordanian, Egyptian, and US senior officials attended the summit in Aqaba following an invitation of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
The joint statement said both sides reaffirmed the necessity of committing to de-escalation on the ground and to prevent further violence.
Israel and the Palestinian Authority confirmed their “joint readiness and commitment to immediately work to end unilateral measures for a period of 3-6 months. This includes an Israeli commitment to stop discussion of any new settlement units for 4 months and to stop authorization of any outposts for 6 months,” the statement read.
The five parties agreed to convene again in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, in March.
“Jordan, Egypt and the United States consider these understandings as major progress towards re-establishing and deepening relations between the two sides, and commit to assisting and facilitating as appropriate their implementation,” the statement said.
An IDF officer stated on Monday that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) views the attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians the day before as “acts of terror,” as emotions in the area rose following a violent weekend.
Palestinian medical officials blamed Israeli settlers in the West Bank for at least one Palestinian man’s death, a Palestinian fire engine being stoned by a group of roughly 50 settlers, and several Palestinians being hurt by stones or metal bars.
An unidentified 27-year-old male was declared dead on Monday, according to a statement from Hadassah Mt. Scopus hospital, as the violence raged throughout the day.
He was shot in the West Bank on a highway between Jericho and the Dead Sea on Monday, according to Israel’s Magen David Adom (MDA) emergency service.
The West Bank victim “was unconscious outside his car with gunshot wounds to his upper body,” when MDA paramedic Eden Cohen arrived to treat him, Cohen said in a statement released by the service.
The attacks followed the fatal shooting of two Israeli brothers earlier on Sunday in the town of Huwara, south of Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, just days after a massive Israeli military raid into Nablus in search of wanted militants left at least 11 Palestinians dead.
“Last night there was revenge activity done by people that live in the area. I wanted to say we see these actions as actions of a terror, these violent riots,” the IDF official said, asking not to be named due to the sensitivity of the situation. “It’s been a horrible night,” the official added.
The official said the reason the IDF was sending three additional battalions to the area was to keep the Palestinians and Israelis apart.
“More forces will de-escalate” the situation, the official said. “This morning we’ve sent in another Givati (reconnaissance) battalion – the Givati Special Forces battalion – into the area in addition to two Border Patrol companies, basically trying to de-escalate and keep the two sides apart.”
Israel’s Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant vowed to arrest the individual or individuals who killed the settlers and called for calm while allowing military and security forces to work and apprehend the perpetrators.
“It is neither legitimate nor possible to operate individually,” Gallant said Monday, while visiting the location where the incident took place. “We cannot allow a situation in which citizens take the law into their hands. I call on everyone to follow law and order and to trust the IDF and security forces everywhere, across the country.”
The IDF detained eight people in connection with the attacks in Huwara, some of whom have since been released, Israel Police spokesman Dean Elsdunne told CNN Monday.
Sameh Hamdallah Mahmoud Aqtash, 37, was shot in the abdomen and killed in the town of Za’tara, between Huwara and the Israeli settlement of Kfar Tapuach, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said Sunday night. In Huwara itself, at least one person was stabbed and another assaulted with an iron bar, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.
The Israeli settlers who were killed earlier were named as brothers Hillel Menachem Yaniv, 21, and Yagel Yaakov Yaniv, 19, according to the local settler council.
Video from the scene showed that their car had crossed a median, and hit a vehicle going the other direction, suggesting they were shot while driving.
Late Sunday, the IDF announced that the older brother, Hillel, was a serving soldier and expressed condolences in a statement.
Following rare talks on Sunday brokered by Jordan, Egypt and the United States, Israeli and Palestinian representatives “affirmed their commitment to all previous agreements between them, and to work towards a just and lasting peace.”
Israel and the Palestinian Authority confirmed their “joint readiness and commitment to immediately work to end unilateral measures for a period of 3-6 months. This includes an Israeli commitment to stop discussion of any new settlement units for 4 months and to stop authorization of any outposts for 6 months,” a joint statement read.
However, in response to the announcement of a halt on settlement construction, far-right Religious Zionism party leader Bezalel Smotrich firmly rejected a pause, “even for one day.”
In a post on Twitter, the Israeli finance minister appeared out of alignment with his government, writing: “There will not be a freeze on settlement building and development, not even for one day (this is under my authority). The IDF will continue to act to counter terrorism in all areas of Judea and Samaria without any limitations (we will reaffirm this in the cabinet). It’s very simple.”
Also on Sunday, Israel’s cabinet approved a proposed law to impose the death penalty on “terrorists.” It is officially a private member’s bill sponsored by the far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, rather than government-backed legislation.
The law would give courts the power to “impose the death penalty on those who have committed the crime of murder on nationalistic grounds against the citizens of Israel,” a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ben Gvir said.
After a preliminary vote in the Knesset, or parliament, Israel’s political-security cabinet will next discuss the language in the bill, before it goes to the committee stage. If it passes the committee stage, it will require three Knesset readings to become law.
There have been previous attempts to introduce the death penalty in 2016 and 2018, according to the Israel Democracy Institute, but they did not become law.
In response to the moves, the Palestinian government on Monday condemned “in the strongest terms” the Israeli cabinet’s approval, according to a statement from the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“The death penalty violates the fundamental rights of the Palestinian people to life, non-discrimination, and self-determination. It is a cruel, barbaric, and inhumane bill rooted in Jewish supremacy and precisely aimed to deny the Palestinian people their right to exist and their humanity,” it said, while also calling on the international community to take “concrete actions to pressure Israel to rescind its bill.”
A succession of storms hitting the opposite ends of the US have left communities on the West Coast and in the Northeast struggling with heavy snowfall, strong winds, power outages, and hazardous driving conditions.
On Tuesday, there are winter weather advisories for almost 23 million people nationwide. While snow continues to fall across parts of New York and New England‘s interior, several alerts are still in effect in the Northeast.
While a strong storm is delivering heavy snow to lower elevations, including the Portland and Seattle areas, the most of the advisories are for regions in the West, including blizzard warnings for the Sierras.
In Southern California, some residents of mountain communities were left stranded as snow-covered roads became too dangerous to navigate.
In the East, a storm that has already brought tornadoes, damaging winds and hail to the central US is moving north. The system will spread further into northern New England on Tuesday as cold air moves over the region and brings 4 to 8 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service.
New York City is no longer under any winter weather alerts after it recorded its biggest snow event of a nearly snowless season. Central Park recorded 1.8 inches of snow from the storm by 7 a.m. Tuesday, bringing the total for this winter to 2.2 inches. That’s the lowest seasonal snowfall on record for the park, which is more than 2 feet below its normal seasonal snowfall.
Areas outside the city got between 2 and 4 inches of snow overnight and could get up to 6 inches by the time the system moves out.
The snow will continue falling throughout the day in upstate New York and parts of New England, with widespread totals up to 8 inches possible and some isolated areas getting even more.
In Rhode Island, where Gov. Daniel McKee warned of a difficult morning commute, all Providence schools were closed Tuesday. Connecticut also announced closures of schools in Hartford as well as all state office buildings as the state readied for a significant snowstorm to come through that could bring heavy snowfall of 5 to 7 inches and isolated amounts up to 10 inches.
South of the freeze line, Philadelphia is forecast to see rainy conditions Tuesday.
More than 210,000 homes and businesses across the US were without power Tuesday, mainly in Michigan and California, according to PowerOutage.us.
On the West Coast, back-to-back winter storms have left some residents in Southern California’s San Bernardino County stranded since last week with dwindling supplies of food and fuel, officials said.
The county declared a local emergency Monday after several feet of snow left mountain roads nearly impassable. “Residents of mountain communities found themselves trapped at home or unable to reach home due to several feet of snow that fell over the weekend, with more to follow during the next several days,” a news release from the county said.
Crews have been working to create single-lane pathways for first responders but are seeking state and federal assistance clearing the snow, the news release said.
In Blue Jay, in the San Bernardino Mountains, Lisa Griggs walks 20-30 minutes through several feet of snow to get to the nearest grocery store, she told CNN. On Monday, the manager told her the store was running low on food, she said.
Rick Varikian was visiting his sister in Blue Jay when he got stuck there by the snow with three other adult family members and six children, he told CNN.
“My car doesn’t work and there’s no fuel at all,” Varikian said. “There’s 10 of us right now in the house and we’re running low on food.”
“We’re getting to the end of where we can be comfortable just feeding our child,” a Crestline, California, resident told CNN affiliate KCBS/KCAL. “It’s frustrating.”
Both Griggs and Varikian are hoping help will make its way up the mountain soon.
“We need manpower. We can’t do this by ourselves. We’re not used to this much snow. Thank god we still have electricity and internet so we can at least communicate and let the people know what’s going on up here,” Griggs said.
More than 600 Orange County middle school students were among those stuck in the San Bernardino mountains after getting snowed in while attending camps last week. The students were supposed to return home Friday but were stranded over the weekend until the California Highway Patrol escorted buses down the mountain so they could reunite with their families, according to an Irvine Unified School District spokeswoman.
Two more rounds of heavy snow are expected in the Sierra Nevada and Northern California over the next few days, with snowfall rates over 2 inches per hour and wind gusts up to 60 mph forecast, the weather service said. In the higher mountain ranges, snowfall amounts over a foot are likely.
An avalanche warning is in effect through Wednesday morningfor the central Sierra Nevada, including the Lake Tahoe area.
Heavy snow will make it as far east as the Colorado Rockies and as far south as northern Arizona, bringing hazardous travel conditions Tuesday and Wednesday, the weather service said.
Snow and wind will combine in the Sierra Nevada to create blizzard conditions and make travel “verydangerous to impossible,” the weather service warned.
“If you plan to travel by road at elevations above 1,000 feet through West Coast states, be prepared for rapidly changing conditions and have winter driving supplies,” the service said.
Interstate 80 at the California-Nevada state line was closed Monday night due to whiteout conditions.
California Highway Patrol in Truckee tweeted that officers were responding to drivers stuck in snow all day Tuesday, warning drivers not to try to drive I-80 over Donner Summit.
“Travel conditions are extremely dangerous with zero visibility and blizzard conditions! Stay home and don’t put your life in danger!!,” CHP said.
In Oregon, a section of the 5 Freeway was closed, with the weather service there warning that patchy blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility.
With the risk of getting trapped in a car on a snowy road a reality, officials are urging those who venture onto the roads to be prepared.
“Bring chains and know how to use them. Bring an emergency kit that includes warm clothes, snacks and water in case you are delayed. Make sure your vehicle is ready with good tires and working wiper blades,” the Oregon Department of Transportation said.
At least 11 school districts in northwest Oregon were closed due to heavy snow and winter weather warnings.
As the Northeast and West Coast prepare for more snow, residents in Central US are recovering from tornadoes and severe winds.
The central US tallied 14 tornado reports Sunday – including nine in Oklahoma – and another five in Illinois on Monday.
In Oklahoma, the storm ripped roofs off homes, flipped cars, downed trees and littered neighborhoods with debris. As many as 12 people have been reported injured in the state.
There were 185 storm reports Sunday across the Southern Plains, mainly of strong winds across Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma. That number includes 15 tornado reports and 15 hail reports, with several hailstones reportedly 1.75 inches in diameter.
Weather experts will work to determine whether the system can be classified as a derecho, a widespread, long-lived windstorm, which typically causes damage in one direction across a relatively straight path.
The frontal view of 240-year-old Fort Prinzenstein at Keta in the Volta Region shows an indestructible fortress. Its rear however displays decades of destruction caused by intense tidal waves from the Atlantic Ocean.
A remarkable rise in the sea level has left neighbouring villages fully submerged under water, and is now threatening the two- and a half-centuries-old heritage monuments.
About two-thirds of the fort currently lies in the belly of the ocean, said James Ocloo Akorli – 45, the fort’s caretaker who grew up in Keta. Eight of the fort’s 10 dungeons – built initially to hold enslaved Africans as part of the transatlantic slave trade – had been entirely covered by the rising sea level by the time a sea defence wall was built to preserve the monument.
“Visitors to the fort are left disappointed when they get to see its poor state,” said Akorli, who doubles as the local government official for Keta Central Electoral Area where the fort is located. “It takes some amount of convincing to let them know it is safe to enter,” the caretaker said, pointing to the entrance that leads to a courtyard.
A little over 100km east of Prinzenstein is Fort Kongenstein, which was built in the 18th century at Ada, Greater Accra Region. It did not survive the raging tidal waves. Where the former slave post once stood is now the open Atlantic Ocean. There’s no visible trace of Kongenstein. A former prison yard and an abandoned graveyard for the early European settlers are the only remains of the once-vibrant trading port.
Rising sea level accelerated by climate change is not only threatening the livelihoods of low-lying or below-sea-level communities but also posing an existential threat to some of the country’s historic slave forts and castles found within these areas. Fort Kongenstein in Ada has been completely submerged by the Atlantic Ocean. The remains of a nearby local primary school flattened by the destructive Atlantic Ocean Image by: Richard A. Abbey
Human activities – such as creating fumes or emissions from industrial production – generate heat that is trapped in the earth’s atmosphere, over time leading to warmer temperatures. The rise in temperature leads to the melting of large masses of ice, generating more water and making the sea level rise gradually. The steady shift in temperature and ultimately weather patterns is what’s generally referred to as climate change.
The monuments, numbering about 21, were listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979 – in recognition of their “enormous historical relevance” for local communities along the shoreline and the rest of the world.
In 2020, the UN agency found that some of the monuments – which constituted a significant and controversial symbol of European-African encounters and the origin of the African Diaspora and were to be preserved for posterity – were mostly falling apart.
In its report, the agency wrote that climate change-related threats such as coastal erosion – a phenomenon wherein strong tidal waves encroach on the coastline – and unpredictable torrential rains have exacerbated structural integrity issues caused by years of neglect and lack of maintenance.
“Because the forts and castles are situated along the coastal zone, the components are extremely vulnerable to environmental disturbances linked to climate change,” the report read.
Compared to the forts, Ghana’s three castles located in Accra, Cape Coast and Elmina remain in better condition. Sea walls built in Elmina and Cape Coast, both in the Central Region, helped provide a buffer not only for the towns but also for the two historical sites.
Nevertheless, the 360-year-old Christianborg Castle in Osu, Accra – which served as the seat of government until 2013 – remains barely protected. While there are several pertinent reasons for the decision to move the presidency away from the former slave post, the heightened risk of coastal erosion cannot be discounted, said Prof. Kwasi Addo Appeaning, Director-Institute of Environment and Sanitation Studies at the University of Ghana.
Sea walls
Ghana loses an average two metres of its coastline annually to coastal erosion. In some areas, the rate of erosion measured rose to as much as 17 metres, a study published by the Institute of Environment and Sanitation Studies said.
In Keta, where Prinzenstein is located, rampant coastal flooding fuelled by erosion measured between four and eight metres per annum led to the construction of the 8.3km Keta Sea Defence Wall Project in the early 2000s.
The US$94 million project was funded through a loan from the United States Export-Import Bank (EXIM Bank), and saw the construction of a wall that has kept the ocean at bay so it could not cause further erosion to the coastline.
Despite sea walls’ growing popularity in battling coastal erosion, they are costly and sometimes aggravate erosion or flooding in adjoining unprotected beaches. In 2018, flash tidal waves submerged several villages in the Keta Municipality; forcing hundreds of residents to flee their homes and abandon their livelihoods.
“After construction of the sea defence wall, some parts of Keta – especially the downstream side, started eroding at a very high rate,” said Prof. Appeaning. “Erosion in some areas measured as much as 17 metres in a year.”
Notwithstanding the peripheral effects of sea defence walls, they helped keep the destructive tidal wave at bay from Prinzenstein – preventing a total collapse. Two other former slave forts in the low-lying coastal twin towns of Old Ningo and Prampram in the Greater Accra Region, which do not benefit from the protection of a sea defence wall, are on the brink of complete disintegration.
Of the two, what is left of the 289-year-old Fort Fredensborg in Old Ningo is merely a stump that used to house the fortress’s armoury. Fort Vernon, which appears to have weathered an onslaught of tidal waves crashing into its base, is on borrowed time.
“It [Fort Vernon] is now a death-trap,” said Joyce Ayorkor Guddah, the Tourism and Culture Officer in Ningo Prampram district, the local government office.
While the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board – the government agency in charge of these forts – is aware of the imminent danger to Fort Vernon, Guddah added that little had been done to rescue the monument.
“Losing the fort will mean a big revenue loss in our bid to harness its tourism potential,” said Guddah. “And for the people, it will erase an important part of their history.”
Climate change’s increasing assault on heritage sites is not uncommon, especially in Africa where countries have found conservation costly.
Governments are increasingly becoming resigned to the idea of losing some of these heritage sites to the effects of climate change for good, said Will Megarry, who works at the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) as its Focal Point for Climate Change.
“They are accepting that the sites are going to be lost, and what they’re trying to do in the interim is preserve them by their records,” said Megarry.
“They’re using things like drones, 3D-scanning to preserve the knowledge of these sites, accepting that it’s not going to be possible to protect them physically.”
Local response
Ghana’s ability to stave off climate change impacts on its heritage sites is a costly endeavor and the government has demonstrated it cannot shoulder that cost without seeking external assistance; with the Keta Sea Defence and other similar projects proving this point.
In November 2022 President Nana Akufo-Addo, speaking in Egypt at COP27 during the UN’s climate change conference, reminded richer countries which generate more emissions into the environment of their promise to help vulnerable nations like Ghana mitigate the impact of climate change.
“Payment is overdue for the loss and damage suffered by our most vulnerable and least responsible nations,” President Akufo-Addo said.
These vulnerable nations, mostly small islands or countries with smaller economies, have demanded their counterparts support a fund that will help in dealing with the fallout of climate change. The conference raised more than US$230million in pledges for the fund – an amount that falls far short of the US$100billion per annum vulnerable countries have persistently demanded.
While Ghana and other vulnerable countries wait on the well-endowed economies to make good their promises, the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board- the government agency that manages these heritage sites – remain cash-strapped, barely generating enough revenue to fund conservation plans.
“As a country, we have not done enough in conserving these monuments apart from the notable ones in Accra, Cape Coast and Elmina,” said Bernard Agyiri Sackey, Director of Monuments at the Ghana Museum and Monuments Board.
The government’s inability to fund conservation plans has led the Monuments Board to seek the benevolence of institutions like UNESCO, the UN agency that previously identified these former slave posts as having “Outstanding Universal Value” – transcending national boundaries and of importance for present and future generations of all humanity.
Forty-four years after recognising the former slave posts’ uniqueness, the UN agency has committed almost US$280,000 to fund various conservation works in Ghana. It’s worth noting that the agency is not obliged to financially support the maintenance of these monuments, although countries seeking to carry out restorative works are mandated to notify the UN agency.
With Ghana looking to position its forts and castles at the centre of its ambitious tourism drive christened ‘Year of Return’ – a campaign inviting descendants of enslaved Africans to reconnect with the land of their ancestors – the existential threat faced by these historical sites appears problematic.
With poorer countries that ironically contribute less to climate change inexplicably affected by its impacts, there are suggestions that prosperous countries must shoulder the bigger responsibility of supporting affected countries to manage fallouts like threats to heritage sites.
“We are not a funding agency like some of our sister UN agencies that have funds,” said Carl Ampah, the National Programme Officer for Culture at UNESCO Ghana.
“We are the intellectual arm of the UN. We come up with the ideas and strategies to resolve some of these issues.”
The agency is currently helping the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board draft a management and conservation plan for all the listed heritage sites in Ghana. The project will undertake a needs assessment of the monuments, paving the way for the government and other stakeholders to have a fair idea of what would be required to maintain these sites’ status.
“Losing these forts is not something I can imagine. It would be devastating – whether in terms of the lost heritage or the potential for maximising tourism opportunities,” said Sackey.
The Federal Aviation Administration reports that air traffic controllers prevented a departing private jet from colliding with a JetBlue flight as it was coming in to land in Boston on Monday night.
The FAA claims to be looking into the event. This is the commercial airliner’s fifth near-miss on a runway this year.
According to a preliminary analysis of Flightradar24’s data, the two aircraft involved in Monday night’s apparent close call at Boston Logan International Airport were 565 feet (172 meters) away from colliding.
The FAA will ascertain the closest distance between the two aircraft as part of the investigation, the agency said in response to a request for comment on the Flightradar24 study by CNN.
“According to a preliminary review, the pilot of a Learjet 60 took off without clearance while JetBlue Flight 206 was preparing to land on an intersecting runway,” the FAA said in a statement on Tuesday.
“JetBlue 206, go around,” said the controller in Boston Logan’s tower, according to recordings archived by LiveATC.net.
The FAA says its air traffic controller told the crew of the Learjet to “line up and wait” on Runway 9 as the JetBlue Embraer 190 approached the intersecting Runway 4 Right.
“The Learjet pilot read back the instructions clearly but began a takeoff roll instead,” the FAA said in a statement. “The pilot of the JetBlue aircraft took evasive action and initiated a climb-out as the Learjet crossed the intersection.”
The National Transportation Safety Board tells CNN it has not launched an investigation into the incident at Boston Logan, though it has investigated four other runway incursions involving commercial airliners at major US airports this year.
On Friday, the agency announced it was investigating a possible “runway incursion” in Burbank, California, involving Mesa and SkyWest regional airliners.
Three other incidents have occurred at Honolulu, Austin and New York’s JFK airport this year.
First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Joseph Osei Owusu (Joe Wise) is concerned about the conduct of some members of the House.
According to him, there is a vast difference in the level of decorum between when he joined Parliament and now.
He said that if this is not controlled, members of Parliament will turn Parliament into a place that could be likened to a ‘boxing ring’ in the near future.
“The level of decorum I observed when I joined [Parliament] and what I observed today, there is a vast difference. If you ask me, it is a bad reflection on young people coming into the chamber. I am afraid that if we don’t curb it now, in the next two or three parliaments, we will not have a parliament; we will have a boxing ring,” Joseph Osei Owusu said.
In an interview with TV3, he stated that the party has the responsibility to groom people to become their representatives in the NDC parliament, referring to the number of youth who have picked up forms to contest parliamentary seats within the NDC.
“Sometimes the parties even go out to recruit people who have not demonstrated that they have the intellectual and social capacity to be public officers; because they are popular, they can win the seat. That appears to be the only consideration that parties give to people who are going to contest the seats.
“The parties which have the responsibility to groom people before they become representatives – they are not doing anything.
Unfortunately, it appears to me that those who are vile in their choice of language, those who are rude in their attitude towards their opponents and sometimes internal opponents, and those who can make the most catching comments about others are gaining more popularity, and they are being put in front,” he said.
Rather than adopting fiscal policies that will put the government in check to change the fortunes of the economy, Ivan Innocent Kyei has slammed Dr. Ernest Addison for turning the central bank into a “printing press.”
According to him, the Bank of Ghana has specialised in printing out currency notes to the government without putting the fiscal ramifications on the economy into consideration.
He has bemoaned the entire government machinery for taking the country through the Sri Lankan trajectory which ended up collapsing their economy.
He told Captain Smart on Maakye Tuesday, February 28, 2023, that if care is not taken, China will take over the country just as they did to Sri Lanka and other countries that defaulted on their debt payment.
“The President has failed us. The confidence and trust that was reposed in him by the citizens, he has messed up to the extent that even if he hears the word President in his next life, he will flee to the bush.
”That was the same thing Sri Lanka did. They thought China was going to forgive them their debt but it didn’t so they took over their port. The port is on lease for 99 years and that’s why they (Sri Lanka) fell.
“…And the Bank of Ghana is also printing currencies for them (government). Addison has now turned the Bank of Ghana into a printing press. All he does is to print currency notes,” he said on Onua TV/FM.
His comment follows Ghana’s call on China to forfeit its debts to help her restructure her economy which the Asian giant refused.
President Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Friday, January 3, 2023, urged Germany to “encourage” China, an ad hoc member of the Paris Club, to support Ghana’s debt restructuring efforts.
He said it was critical that the Paris Club swiftly establishes, with the participation of other official creditors, a creditors committee, to support the efforts that would enable Ghana to restore economic growth.
The President made the call when the visiting German Finance Minister, Christian Lindner called on him at the Jubilee House, Accra.
Linden, who was the head of a delegation from his country, held bilateral talks with the President aimed at boosting relations and economic ties between the two nations.
President Akufo-Addo told the Minister that the main concern for his government is to conclude negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), particularly at the Board Level, and seal a deal with the Bretton Woods institution by mid-March this year.
“Our main concern right now is the arrangements that we are in the process of concluding with the IMF… and the specific assistance that will be useful to us and help us fast-track the process.
“Our target is that by the middle of March, we should be before the Board for the full agreement. We have already taken one important step forward in concluding a staff-level agreement with the IMF and we are now looking to go the full haul in concluding the agreement. We are hoping that it will be done by the middle of March.
“One of the steps towards that has been the domestic debt exchange programme that we are on, which unfortunately, we have quite a lot of difficulties, but has now been virtually concluded,” he stated.
But China after some negotiations has decided to opt out of Ghana’s bilateral debt talks.
After it was discovered that the Red Crescent group in Turkey sold tents to a charity rather than giving them to people in need following the devastating earthquake that claimed more than 44,000 lives earlier this month, legislators and civilians attacked the organization.
The Turkish Red Crescent sold 2,050 tents to the AHBAP charity organization for 46 million Turkish liras (about $2.4 million), according to both organizations, as people were pleading with the government for shelters to sleep in during the bitter cold in the immediate wake of the earthquake.
AHBAP, a well-known charity in the country, said it was desperate to acquire tents and couldn’t find any to deliver to people in need, so made a decision to purchase from the Red Crescent, which is known in Turkey as Kizilay.
“Our friends had a meeting with Kızılay Çadır ve Tekstil A.Ş, which is a subsidiary of Kızılay. We immediately signed the contract for the tents that we learned had 2,050 tents in hand, and the next morning we sent 2,050 tents to the earthquake zone,” AHBAP wrote in a tweet.
“Since the earthquake affected 10 provinces and the destruction was at an extraordinary level, the existing stocks of all tent manufacturers in our country could not meet the grievances of our citizens. The companies we contacted at that time did not have tents that we could send to the earthquake zone that morning. They were able to make them within a week at the earliest,” AHBAP added.
President of The Red Crescent, Kerem Kınık, told CNN’s sister network CNN Turk Monday that he was not aware of the sale, adding that it was the decision of his staff to sell the tents. He said if he was aware of the situation, he would have suggested giving them away.
However, a day earlier, on Sunday, Kınık wrote in a tweet, “@Ahbap and @Red Crescent’s cooperation is moral, rational, and legal. Anyone who claims otherwise either does not understand the issue or is malicious.”
Haluk Levent, a singer who founded AHBAP, wrote in a tweet Monday that his charity not only bought tents but also purchased “30 thousand units of food from Kızılay Lojistik A.Ş., which each one would supply 3 meals for a family of 4 and does not expire for a year.”
“In total, we purchased 108 million Turkish Liras worth of food from five different suppliers. 14 million of this (around $742,000) we bought from Kızılay Lojistik A.Ş.,” Levent also wrote.
Kınık also wrote on his Twitter account on Monday: “PUBLIC DISCLOSURE. The Red Crescent Society delivers the donations it receives to those in need, it certainly does NOT sell it. The subject in the press is the activities of our companies specialized in the field of humanitarian aid, which generates sustainable income for the Red Crescent.”
The revelations have attracted criticism in Turkey. Ahmet Davutoglu, who was formerly prime minister under Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party, criticized the Red Crescent on Twitter, writing: “Red Crescent cannot sell tents while people are desperately waiting for tents on the street. Those tents should have been delivered to the people of the region free of charge. It’s called ignorance, losing your mind. Our country and our noble nation do not deserve this.”
Meral Akşener, the leader of Turkey’s opposition IYI Party, added: “The Turkish Red Crescent was established with the understanding “to protect the dignity of people and society with the power of goodness, to increase their resilience and to work to relieve their suffering”; With the power of money, you have condemned people to an understanding that leaves them alone and empties them. Shame on you!”
In the aftermath of the earthquake, many people including citizens, journalists, and opposition party members accused the Turkish government not only of failing to distribute tents and food to earthquake regions but also criticized it for not having enough teams for operations to rescue the survivors.
During a news conference on Monday, President Erdogan asked to be pardoned for delays in aid and rescue. “Due to the weather and road conditions, we could not carry out the work we wanted in Adıyaman for the first few days, I ask your pardon for this. We are aware of everything, no one should doubt that we will do what is necessary,” he said.
Last week, the Turkish government also announced that it will start some rebuilding in quake zones amid criticism from engineers and architects. Turkey’s Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change minister Murat Kurum announced that excavation has begun for 885 houses in the earthquake region.
However, Turkey’s Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB) warned about future problems that could arise from building houses in a hasty manner.
Emin Koramaz, chairman of the TMMOB’s Board wrote in his column at BirGün, an independent newspaper, that “every project that will be implemented without making new geological investigations, updating the ground surveys, and preparing the city plans in accordance with the earthquake after the earthquake means carrying the current earthquake risk to the future and putting people’s lives at risk.”
Some social media users also criticized the building efforts, arguing that continuous aftershocks in the region would damage the foundations of the new buildings.
President Erdogan, who faces a general election in the coming months, has promised new homes for the people who were affected by the earthquake and said that they’ll be completed in a year.
An Accra High Court has ruled that the purported removal from office of Dr Wilberforce Dzisah, as the Rector of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ), was wrong and unlawful.
The court has consequently directed that he is paid all his entitlements at the current bank rate of interest for the remainder of his unexpired fixed term as Rector of GIJ.
In a judgement delivered by the High Court (Labour Division-Court 1), on Wednesday, the court presided over by Justice Frank Aboagye Rockson, also directed the defendants (GIJ) to pay the plaintiff (Dr Dzisah) additional six months’ salary at the prevailing interest rate.
Justice Rockson also ordered GIJ to pay Dr Dzisah his additional responsibility allowance of 20 percent as the Director of the Graduate School from 2013-2017 with interest.
The court further stated that his withheld responsibility and entertainment allowances for July-December 2016 as Rector as well as research and book allowances for 2017 be paid to him at the current bank rate of interest.
The court also slapped a cost of GHS25,000.00 on GIJ.
It would be recalled that in March 2018, the Governing Council of GIJ sacked Dr Dzisah who was asked to proceed on leave.
Dr Dzisah, whose appointment was due to end in August 2018, had it terminated in a letter, dated Friday, March 23, 2018.
He was directed to proceed on leave in December 2017 over “procurement infractions.”
The Governing Council of GIJ then led by Prof. Kwasi Ansu-Kyeremeh, Dr Margaret Amoakohene, and Dr Kweku Rockson among others took this costly decision without recourse to the GIJ Statutes and the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.
This compelled the plaintiff to initiate legal action to right the wrong and to redeem his reputation as contained in Suit No.
An aristocrat and her partner were detained by British police after going missing in early January with their newborn child, but the search for the child is still ongoing.
Constance Marten, 35, and Mark Gordon, 48, were “further arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter,” according to an update released by the London Metropolitan Police on Tuesday. They had first been detained on suspicion of child neglect.
The couple’s infant, who police believe was delivered moments before they vanished without seeking medical help, is still missing, according to the police.
“Throughout this investigation our key priority has been finding the baby, and we remain committed to that,” Detective Superintendent Lewis Basford said in the statement.
Police helicopters, sniffer dogs, thermal imaging cameras and drones are all being used to assist the over 200 officers on the ground in their search for the baby, the police statement added.
Prior to their arrest, the couple were spotted in Brighton, southern England, on Monday night, police had said earlier on Tuesday.
Basford said a member of the public there “quickly called police” on Monday night after spotting the couple, enabling police to get “on the scene within minutes to make the arrest.”
He also appealed to residents of the area to report any potential sightings or information about where the couple may have slept.
The search for the couple and newborn began in early January, with police releasing several appeals and offering a £10,000 ($12,090) reward for information that would lead to their discovery.
Marten is the daughter of aristocrat Napier Marten, a film and music producer. In an audio appeal to his daughter, published by UK news outlet The Independent last month, Napier Marten said Constance was “much, much loved, whatever the circumstances,” adding that the family was “deeply concerned” for her and her child’s welfare.
“Darling Constance, even though we remain estranged at the moment, I standby, as I have always done and as the family has always done, to do whatever is necessary for your safe return to us.
“I beseech you to find a way to turn yourself and your wee (little) one into the police as soon as possible so you and he or she can be protected. Only then can a process of healing and recovery begin, however long it may take, however difficult it may be,” he added.
In a renewed appeal for information last week, Basford said more than 630 hours of security camera footage had been reviewed and police had received more than 350 calls from members of the public.
He explained at the time that they were “not doing this and putting so many resources and efforts into finding the family just to be awkward or to interfere,” but explained the police “have a genuine concern for the health and wellbeing of the baby, and Constance and Mark, and it our duty to ensure that they are okay.”
On January 5, police inquiries identified Marten and Gordon as the occupants of a car that had caught fire on a highway in the northwestern town of Bolton, England.
The pair were not at the scene and most of their belongings were destroyed in the fire, according to police, who launched a missing persons investigation.
Several confirmed sightings of the couple by members of the public were reported in the days following their disappearance.
The pair and their baby had left the highway safely, and police used sightings and security camera footage to map their movements through various UK cities and towns.
On January 7, the pair were seen in London with their faces covered leaving a taxi with an orange carrier bag and a pram.
Using cash, they paid for various items, including a two-man tent, two sleeping bags and two pillows, which made detectives fear they had been camping or sleeping rough, at a time of cold temperatures.
The couple dumped the buggy and other items later that day before continuing to travel.
Peruvian authorities over the weekend found a pre-Hispanic mummy inside a food delivery cooler bag. It is thought to be between 600 and 800 years old.
According to police, the mummified remains were discovered on Saturday afternoon in a deserted park in the Peruvian city of Puno with three other men who were also intoxicated.
“A 26-year-old male was carrying a package marked “Pedidos Yes.” Senior agent Marco Antonio Ortega, a spokesman for the National Police in the Puno region, told CNN that they discovered a mummy inside. A Latin American food delivery app is called Pedidos Yeah.
The mummy was discovered inside the red delivery bag in the fetal position, according to images.
The 26-year-old man, identified by news agency Agence France-Presse as Julio Cesar Bermejo, said he named the remains “Juanita” when speaking to local media, and described them as “like my spiritual girlfriend.”
“At home, she’s in my room, she sleeps with me. I take care of her,” he said in a video, according to AFP.
The Peruvian news agency ANDINA reported Monday that the mummy is in fact believed to be an adult male, and presumed to be from the eastern area of Puno.
It is currently in the custody of the Ministry of Culture, which has classified the mummy as a national cultural asset.
A government official told AFP Tuesday that Cesar Bermejo will remain in detention while investigators look into the case.
Several mummies have previously been found in Peru, which is home to hundreds of archaeological sites of several civilizations that developed before and after the Inca Empire.
In 2021, a mummy estimated to be between 800 and 1,200 years old was unearthed by archeologists at a site near the country’s capital city of Lima.
Following an oil depot fire and a sudden closure of the airspace over the second-largest city in the nation, Russia’s Defense Ministry on Tuesday accused Ukraine of conducting a series of attempted drone strikes against infrastructure located throughout much of Russia, including close to the capital.
Apparently, a Ukrainian drone crashed close to the village of Gubastovo, southeast of the capital, according to governor Andrey Vorobyov. It was later determined that the drone was directed at a gas facility run by state-owned enterprise Gazprom, which he had earlier described as “civil infrastructure.”
State media cited the local Energy Ministry as saying that the facility was unharmed.
State media later posted a photograph of what it said was the crashed device, which appeared to resemble a Ukrainian-made UJ-22 attack drone.
The UJ-22 is relatively small and versatile, able to fly through poor weather and to travel up to 500 miles (800 kilometers). It’s unclear where or when the photo of the crashed drone was taken.
The crash was allegedly one of several attempted strikes, with state media reporting a drone was shot down near the Belarus border and the defense ministry claiming two more strikes were thwarted through the use of drone-jamming technology in the Krasnodar and Adygea regions.
“Both drones lost control and deviated from their flight path,” the defense ministry said in a statement. “One UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) fell in a field, and another UAV, deviating from the trajectory, did not harm the attacked civilian infrastructure facility.”
At least one drone appeared to have evaded Russian defenses, with footage posted on social media overnight and geolocated by CNN showing a fire at energy firm Rosneft’s oil depot in Tuapse, on Krasnodar’s Black Sea coast.
It’s unclear if the facility was the intended target, but Ukraine has previously targeted oil depots within Russian-controlled territory.
CNN is unable to independently confirm the claims for each alleged attack, and Ukraine did not immediately comment on the incident. Ukraine has previously declined to comment on attacks inside Russia.
Following the alleged attacks, Russia’s second-largest city of St. Petersburg closed its airspace Tuesday within a 200-kilometer (124-mile) radius, briefly banning incoming flights, according to state media.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had been briefed about the closures – but Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had declined to discuss whether it was related to the “incidents in St. Petersburg and Tuapse,” state media reported.
Attacks targeting Russian infrastructure have focused attention on Ukraine’s efforts to develop longer-range combat drones.
In early December, Russia reported multiple attacks by Ukrainian drones targeting military infrastructure, including air bases that lie hundreds of miles inside Russian territory and beyond the reach of Ukraine’s declared arsenal of drones.
Around the same time, Ukraine’s state-owned weapons manufacturer Ukroboronprom indicated that it is close to finishing work on a new long-range drone – though there is no public indication that such a device has been readied for deployment or was involved in explosions inside Russia.
At the time, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry offered no comment on the strikes – though a presidential adviser tweeted a cryptic message hinting at the possibility Kyiv was indeed behind the December attacks.
“The Earth is round – discovery made by Galileo. Astronomy was not studied in Kremlin, giving preference to court astrologers. If it was, they would know: If something is launched into other countries’ airspace, sooner or later unknown flying objects will return to departure point,” he said at the time.
Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jr. has expressed opposition to the adoption of the Ghana Card as the sole form of identity required for registration as a voter in Ghana.
The Electoral Commission (EC) is proposing a new Constitutional Instrument (C.I.) to replace the existing Instrument (C.I.) in preparation for the elections in 2024 and has asked Parliament for the passage of the new C.I.
The Commission wants the Ghana Card to be used for voting, claiming this will help to avoid irregularities and the guarantor system during the elections.
Contributing to Peace FM’s “Kokrokoo” morning show, Kwesi Pratt questioned the logic in the EC’s argument to remove the guarantor system by the use of the Ghana Card.
“The guarantor system they are saying is not perfect and should be changed, we changing it to use the Ghana Card, the same system is used to do the Ghana Card. So, show me the wisdom in this!” he told host Nana Yaw Kesseh.
He also deflated the argument that the Ghana Card will improve the electoral system stating emphatically “there is no perfect identification card in Ghana. Whether a passport, birth certificate or any other thing, Ghana Card included, there is none that is perfect.”
“Elections are less than 2 years away. How do you insist on using this card which is unavailable?…Go high or low, someone has written his or her name and for 2 years now, the person has not got his or her card. How come such a person vote based on this? Based on the new C.I, how can such a person vote?”, he further asked.
Mr. Pratt concluded that “there is wisdom in opposition to the use of the card”.
The Greater Accra Regional National Democratic Congress (NDC) leadership have given their approval for NDC flag bearer candidate Dr. Kwabena Duffuor to start his national tour in the area.
This comes after he successfully picked up a flagbearership nomination form to contest the vacant position of the party.
Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, a former Minister of Finance, and a former Governor of the Bank of Ghana, has expressed optimism about his chances of winning the flagbearer race of party.
He has also indicated in several interactions that he is the best man to bring Ghana out of its current economic challenges, adding that he once stabilised the economy as minister.
In lieu of that, Dr. Kwabena Duffuor paid a working visit to the regional executives of the NDC in the Greater Accra Region to announce his intentions to run as flagbearer, and to also seek their blessings to tour the region.
“Last Thursday, I was so delighted, but at the same time, I was humbled when thousands of our members – grassroots, particularly women, picked up forms and delivered the forms to me, saying that ‘we want you to contest for the flagbearership of the NDC.’
“It was an honour, but I was humbled. I’ve accepted to contest, that’s why we are here today. Colleagues, ours is a great party; it’s a very big party, bigger than the other groups,” he said.
In his response, the regional chairman, Nii Ashie Moore, expressed hopes that whoever gets to lead their party will deliver victory for the NDC in 2024.
He was also excited that the candidate had decided to begin his tour in the Greater Accra Region, adding that a win in that region is a decisive one.
“You have distinguished yourself to the max. we are one family, this is an internal election. Our target is the NPP. Our target is to maximise the votes of Greater Accra, because we see Greater Accra Region as a decisive region when it comes to politics. When we win Greater Accra, we know we will form the next government.
“I pray to the Almighty God that all of you who have put up yourself there to lead our political party, to lead our country, at the end of the day, one of you will be made a flagbearer of our party,” he said.
While wishing Dr. Kwabena Duffuor well, he prayed that at the end of the contest, all the factions in the party will work towards unity.
Dr. Kwabena Duffuor’s tour of the Greater Accra Region will be the first in a series across the country.
Tuesday saw the arrival of a significant autocratic supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin for a state visit to China, despite concerns from American officials that Beijing may be considering supporting Moscow in its current offensive against Ukraine.
Following confirmation of the leader’s arrival on Tuesday, Belarus’ state news agency Belta said that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko would remain in China until Thursday and meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss a variety of topics, including trade and investment as well as “acute international challenges.”
His visit follows a September summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Uzbekistan, which Putin also attended, where the two leaders decided to upgrade their nations’ relations to a “all-weather comprehensive strategic cooperation.”
Lukashenko met with outgoing Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday and called for the two countries to “intensify” their relations, according to a readout from the Belarusian government.
“We have no closed topics for cooperation. We cooperate in all avenues,” Lukashenko told Li, per the readout, adding “we have never set ourselves the task of … working against third countries.”
Chinese state broadcaster CCTV on Wednesday reported that Lukashenko visited Beijing’s Tiananmen Square and laid a wreath in front of the Monument to the People’s Heroes, which honors revolutionary figures in the Chinese Communist Party.
The visit from the Belarusian leader – who allowed Russian troops to use Belarus to stage their initial incursion into Ukraine last year – comes as tensions between the US and China have intensified in recent weeks, including over concerns from Washington that Beijing is considering sending lethal aid to the Kremlin’s struggling war effort.
In some of the most specific comments to date about the US response to any such support, Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a trip to Kazakhstan on Tuesday warned that Washington would target Chinese firms or citizens involved in any effort to send lethal aid to Russia for its war in Ukraine.
Report obtained by CNN shows Russia is getting military support from China
Beijing has pushed back on claims it is considering sending lethal aid, with its Foreign Ministry on Monday saying China was “actively promoting peace talks and the political settlement of the crisis,” while the US was “pouring lethal weapons into the battlefield in Ukraine.”
And despite its “no-limits” partnership with Russia, China claims to be a neutral party to the Ukraine conflict.
On Friday, Beijing released a 12-point position on the “political solution” to the crisis in a document calling for peace talks to end the year-long war. Its release, however, was criticized by Western leaders, who accused China of already having taken Russia’s side.
Xi has yet to speak with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky since Russia’s invasion began, though he has spoken with Putin on multiple occasions, including in person during the SCO summit.
In an interview with Chinese state news agency Xinhua released ahead of his visit, Lukashenko is cited as saying the position paper was a testimony to China’s peaceful foreign policy and a new and original step that would have a far-reaching impact.
While burgeoning economic ties between China and Belarus are expected to be a key component of talks this week, the conflict in Ukraine will loom over discussions.
See why Ukraine thinks Russia will launch new offensive from Belarus.
Belarus has been targeted by sweeping sanctions from the US and its allies in response to Moscow’s aggression after Lukashenko allowed Russian troops to invade Ukraine through the 1,000-kilometer (621-mile) Ukrainian-Belarusian border north of Kyiv.
Belarus already had fraught relations with Western powers, with the European Union not recognizing the results of Lukashenko’s 2020 election win – which sparked mass pro-democracy protests in the country and were followed by a brutal government crackdown.
There have been fears throughout the conflict in Ukraine that Belarus will again be used as a launching ground for another Russian offensive, or that Lukashenko’s own troops would join the war. Before visiting Moscow earlier this month, Lukashenko claimed there is “no way” his country would send troops into Ukraine unless it is attacked.
Hear the message the Belarusian president told a CNN reporter to relay to Biden
The backdrop of Belarus’ damaged ties with the West – and an interest in diversifying a Russia-dependent economy – could see Lukashenko keen to focus on boosting economic ties with China during this visit.
Belarus was an early joiner of China’s Belt and Road development initiative, launched a decade ago, and trade between the two last year increased 33% year-on-year to surpass $5 billion, according to Xinhua.
In a call between Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and his Belarussian counterpart Sergei Aleinik on Friday, Qin pledged that China would “support Belarus in its efforts to safeguard national stability and development,” and “oppose external interference in Belarus’s internal affairs and illegal unilateral sanctions against the country,” according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry readout.
On Monday, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said at a regular briefing that Lukashenko’s visit would be “an opportunity to pursue further progress in the all-round cooperation between the two countries.”
Ghanaian musician, M3nsa, has claimed that it will be a bad idea forJohn Dumelo or Fred Nuamah to be given the mandate to serve as Members of Parliament.
The two Ghanaian celebrities are gearing up for the NDC primaries where they will be keenly contesting for the parliamentary candidature in the Ayawaso West Wuogon constituency.
Fred Nuamah, a popular Ghanaian actor cum CEO of Ghana Movie Awards took netizens by surprise after the flyer announcing his political intent went viral.
John Dumelo, who contested the seat in the 2020 elections but lost to Ms Lydia Alhassan, has declared a comeback.
The two aspirants have since been trending on social media, particularly, Twitter, after they declared their intentions.
But wading into the discussion, M3nsa said the two aspirants are not to be trusted.
He took to Twitter and wrote, “Some of us grew up knowing some of these people personally and I tell you… we’re FUCKED!.”
The tweet was a direct reaction to a post shared by the handle of a local media.
Two friends contesting for the same seat
Although John Dumelo and Fred Nuamah will be contesting for the same position, the same party, and at the same constituency (Ayawaso West Wuogon), they are good friends.
The number of births registered in Japan plunged to a new record low last year, the latest alarming figure in a decades-long slide that the government has made significant attempts to stop.
According to statistics provided by the Ministry of Health on Tuesday, the nation experienced 799,728 births in 2022, the fewest ever recorded and the first time the number fell below 800,000. Throughout the previous 40 years, that number has almost halved; in contrast, Japan saw more than 1.5 million births in 1982.
Moreover, Japan reported more than 1.58 million post-war deaths in 2017, a record high.
Deaths have outpaced births in Japan for more than a decade, posing a growing problem for leaders of the world’s third-largest economy. They now face a ballooning elderly population, along with a shrinking workforce to fund pensions and health care as demand from the aging population surges.
Japan’s population has been in steady decline since its economic boom of the 1980s and stood at 125.5 million in 2021, according to the most recent government figures.
Its fertility rate of 1.3 is far below the rate of 2.1 required to maintain a stable population, in the absence of immigration.
The country also has one of the highest life expectancies in the world; in 2020, nearly one in 1,500 people in Japan were age 100 or older, according to government data.
These concerning trends prompted a warning in January from Prime Minister Fumio Kishida that Japan is “on the brink of not being able to maintain social functions.”
“In thinking of the sustainability and inclusiveness of our nation’s economy and society, we place child-rearing support as our most important policy,” he said, adding that Japan “simply cannot wait any longer” in solving the problem of its low birth rate.
A new government agency will be set up in April to focus on the issue, with Kishida saying in January that he wants the government to double its spending on child-related programs.
But money alone might not be able to solve the multi-pronged problem, with various social factors contributing to the low birth rate.
Japan’s high cost of living, limited space and lack of child care support in cities make it difficult to raise children, meaning fewer couples are having kids. Urban couples are also often far from extended family in other regions, who could help provide support.
In 2022, Japan was ranked one of the world’s most expensive places to raise a child, according to research from financial institution Jefferies. And yet, the country’s economy has stalled since the early 1990s, meaning frustratingly low wages and little upward mobility.
The average real annual household income declined from 6.59 million yen ($50,600) in 1995 to 5.64 million yen ($43,300) in 2020, according to 2021 data from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
Attitudes toward marriage and starting families have also shifted in recent years, with more couples putting off both during the pandemic – and young people feeling increasingly pessimistic about the future.
It’s a familiar story in East Asia, where South Korea’s fertility rate – already the world’s lowest – dropped yet again last year in the latest setback to the country’s efforts to boost its declining population.
Meanwhile, China is inching closer to officially losing its title as the world’s most populous country to India after its population shrank in 2022 for the first time since the 1960s.
Members of Parliament may approve the newly appointed Ministers through secret ballot, the Chairman of Parliament’s Appointments Committee has said.
This, according to Joseph Osei-Owusu, is a result of the Minority’s reluctance to second the Majority’s validation of the officials at the committee level.
It follows the National Democratic Congress’ (NDC) earlier directive that its Minority Caucus declines approval of the new ministerial nominees.
Joe Wise, as he is popularly called, indicated that should the Minority MPs toe their party’s line, this may force the committee to do so even though “our recommendation will be that, the Minority says yes, the Minority says no.”
“If we recommend approval by consensus, then, the decision is taken by voice vote. But when it’s recommended by a majority decision, then the report is adopted by a secret ballot,” he added.
President Akufo-Addo on February 7, nominated six NPP members to replace some outgoing ministers.
They have been vetted by the Appointments Committee awaiting approval by Parliament.
Chris Rock will hit back the way he does best, on stage.
The legendary comic is set to perform a live standup special on Netflix on March 4, where he’ll address Will Smith slapping him at the Oscars, according to Netflix.
While Rock has alluded to the incident in short quips in his stand-up performances over the past year, he’ll address it at greater length for the first time.
The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Rock workshopped the material for the special in January during an arena show in Charleston, where he was on the bill with Dave Chappelle. Dressed in all white, he addressed the now-infamous moment with Smith about a third of the way through his set, according to a source in attendance who spoke with CNN.
Rock talked about collective outrage after the Oscars incident and made several jokes.
“The thing people wanna know … did it hurt? Hell yeah it hurt. He played Muhammad Ali! I played Pookie (in ‘New Jack City’). Even in animated movies I’m a zebra, he’s a f—ing shark. I got hit so hard, I heard ‘Summertime’ ringing in my ears,” Rock joked, according the source.
In another line, Rock talked about the difference in size between the two men.
“Will Smith is a big dude. I am not,” Rock said. “Will Smith is shirtless in his movies. If you see me in a movie getting open heart surgery, I’m gonna have a sweater on.”
“Chris Rock: Selective Outrage” will stream live on Netflix at 10 p.m. ET on Saturday from the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore, a week before this year’s Academy Awards.
Following John Dumelo and Fred Nuamah’s announcement to contest in the 2024 parliamentary primaries of the National Democratic Congress in the same constituency, the two celebrities have trended on social media consecutively.
Twitter in particular, is awash with massive reactions from netizens and their colleagues in the showbiz fraternity.
A host of Ghanaian celebrities have since congratulated the actors for taking up such a mantle.
The likes of Joyce Bawa Mogtari, Dentaa Amoabeng, Fella Makafui, Prince David Osei, Joselyn Dumas, Peace Hyde, Edem, Juliet Ibrahim and a lot more others, have congratulated and wished the two actors well.
Others, however, have haboured doubts and questioned their abilities in the political space.
John Dumelo’s second attempt and Fred Nuamah’s first bold attempt
For John Dumelo, this is not his first time in the contest.
In the 2020 elections, he ran for the constituency seat on the ticket of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) but lost to the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Lydia Seyram Alhassan during the general election.
Lydia Seyram Alhassan won with 39,851 out of 77,604 total votes while John Dumelo of the NDC had 37,778.
John, who gave Lydia a run for her money during the 2020 elections was actively involved in party politics as he was seen seriously campaigning on various fronts to win the position.
Fred Nuamah on the other hand is making his debut in the same constituency.
When he announced his intention to run for the NDC parliamentary primaries in the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency, a lot of people wondered what had become of John Dumelo’s political ambition for the area.
Wednesday’s meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko, a strong ally of Vladimir Putin, took place during a state visit. The West has warned Beijing against supporting Putin’s conflict in Ukraine with military aid.
According to Belarusian state media agency Belta, Xi welcomed Lukashenko before the two started official discussions on Wednesday in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People. No one has yet made information about the negotiations public.
It is their first face-to-face meeting since the two presidents decided in September, outside the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Uzbekistan, which Putin also attended, to upgrade their nations’ relations to a “all-weather comprehensive strategic alliance.”
The visit from the Belarusian leader – who allowed Russian troops to use Belarus to stage their initial incursion into Ukraine last year – comes as tensions between the US and China have intensified in recent weeks, including over concerns from Washington that Beijing is considering sending lethal aid to the Kremlin’s struggling war effort. Beijing has denied those claims.
The meeting came a day after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday made some of the most direct comments to date about how the US would respond to any lethal support China supplied to Russia.
Blinken warned Washington would target Chinese firms or citizens involved in any effort to send lethal aid to Russia for its war in Ukraine, while speaking during a visit to Kazakhstan.
Beijing – which claims to be a neutral party in the conflict – has pushed back on the US implication it is considering sending lethal aid. Its Foreign Ministry on Monday said China was “actively promoting peace talks and the political settlement of the crisis,” while the US was “pouring lethal weapons into the battlefield in Ukraine.”
Beijing last week released a 12-point position on the “political solution” to the crisis in a document calling for peace talks to end the year-long war. Its release, however, was criticized by Western leaders, who accused China of already having taken Russia’s side.
Lukashenko also met with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday and called for the two countries to “intensify” their relations, according to a readout from the Belarusian government.
“We have no closed topics for cooperation. We cooperate in all avenues. Most importantly, we have never set ourselves the task of being friends or working against third countries,” Lukashenko told Li per the readout.
The tightening of ties between Minsk and Beijing comes alongside a years-long decline in Belarus’ relations with the European Union and as it may seek to diversify its Russia-dependent economy.
The former Soviet state was targeted by sweeping sanctions from the US and its allies in response to Moscow’s aggression after Lukashenko allowed Russian troops to invade Ukraine through the 1,000-kilometer (621-mile) Ukrainian-Belarusian border north of Kyiv.
The European Union also does not recognize the results of Lukashenko’s 2020 election win – which sparked mass pro-democracy protests in the country and were followed by a brutal government crackdown.
There have been fears throughout the conflict in Ukraine that Belarus will again be used as a launching ground for another Russian offensive, or that Lukashenko’s own troops would join the war. Before visiting Moscow earlier this month, Lukashenko claimed there is “no way” his country would send troops into Ukraine unless it is attacked.
Both China and Belarus have previously implied that the US does not want to see an end to the conflict.
In comments to reporters earlier this month before heading to Moscow to meet with Putin, Lukashenko maintained he wanted to see “peaceful negotiations” and accused the United States of preventing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky from negotiating.
“The US are the only ones who need this slaughter, only they want it,” he said.
Beijing has made similar assertions, with China’s top diplomat Wang Yi saying at a security conference in Munich earlier this month that China does not “add fuel to the fire,” and is “against reaping benefits from this crisis,” alluding to regular Chinese propaganda messaging that the US is intentionally prolonging the war to advance its own geopolitical interests and increase the profits of its arms manufacturers.
Following a head-on collision between two trains in central Greece that left dozens of people dead and scores more injured, rescue personnel are desperately looking for survivors.
The Greek Fire Service said that at least 36 persons were murdered on Tuesday night, just before midnight, in Tempi, central Greece, close to the city of Larissa, when a passenger train carrying more than 350 people crashed with a freight train.
In addition, 66 patients, including six in intensive care units, were being treated for their wounds in hospitals.
The two trains involved in the fatal collision were traveling on the same track for many kilometers before the incident occurred, state-owned public broadcaster ERT reported Wednesday. The passenger train had changed lanes and switched to a cargo track before it collided head-on with a freight train, according to ERT.
Speaking outside the hospital in Larissa, Plevris said: “As you understand this is a terrifying process for parents and relatives who are here. We will help them as much as we can.”
He said there were “some difficulties” in the identification process, but added that, “Those injured are in relatively good condition.”
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is heading to the scene of the collision, his office confirmed to CNN Wednesday.
“We just heard a bang… the (train) car started spinning, before ending up sideways when we managed to exit,” one male passenger told Greek public broadcaster ERT.
“It was 10 nightmarish seconds with fire, you couldn’t see much from the smoke,” said a second passenger.
Recovery efforts are underway, with the focus on the first carriages of the passenger train, the Greek Fire Service said. The death toll is expected to rise.
The passenger train had been traveling from the capital Athens to Thessaloniki, Greece’s second-largest city, which is renowned for its festivals and vibrant cultural life. The collision follows a nationwide carnival at the weekend which ended with a public holiday on Monday.
Images on Greece’s state-owned public broadcaster ERT showed plumes of thick smoke pouring out of toppled carriages and long lines of rescue vehicles next to them.
Meanwhile, rescue workers with torches searched carriages for survivors as paramedics led shell-shocked passengers from the scene.
The images also showed some surviving passengers arriving in Thessaloniki.
Greek Fire Service spokesman Vassilis Varthakogiannissaid earlier that 194 passengers had been taken safely to Thessaloniki and 20 people transferred by bus to the city of Larissa.
At least 150 firefighters including special rescue units with 17 vehicles and 30 ambulances were involved in the rescue operation, Varthakogiannis added.
“All the actions of the firefighters operating on the scene are focused on the first three carriages of the train,” he said. “The crane vehicles are creating the conditions to access and fully check the interior of the carriages.”
The Greek railway company, Hellenic Train, said in a press release that there was “a head-on collision between two trains: a freight train and train IC 62 which had departed from Athens to Thessaloniki.”
Hellenic Train, the main Greek railway company, was acquired by Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane in 2017 and is now fully controlled by Trenitalia. The company operates both passenger and freight transport. The main line on which daily connections are offered is Athens-Thessaloniki.
Condolences have begun pouring in from across the world. Writing on Twitter, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said: “Sad thoughts after the terrible train accident near Larissa in Greece … my heart goes out to the people of Greece and I express my sincere condolences to the victims and their families.”
“My thoughts are with the people of Greece,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“The whole of Europe is mourning with you. I also wish for a speedy recovery for all the injured.”
Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, tweeted on Wednesday: “My thoughts are with the people of Greece this morning.”
Talented movie producer and actress, Tracey Boakye, has caught the attention of many people as she shared new pictures flaunting her exquisite casual outfit and expensive Fendi bag.
She was spotted standing on the cleared street which had snow on the sides as she showed off her outfit.
She was dressed in all-white in the carousel post she shared on her verified Instagram account. She wore a white long-sleeved sweatshirt and a pair of white sweat trousers.
She accessorised her all-white attire with a long red scarf with brown and black strips to create a beautiful design. She wore a pair of sneakers and a black cap to complement her white outfit.
Her beautiful Fendi bag, which cost over GH₵13k, was wrapped around her left arm as she beamed with smiles in the pictures. On the official Fendi website, the Fendi Nano Fendigraphy Hobo bag costs a whopping $1,290.00.
Comments from Ghanaians as Tracey Boakye drops new pictures on Instagram
asare_bernice_ said:
Mama❤️
safowaa410 stated:
We miss you and familyit’s my birthday fam…
mama_traceyb said:
My beautiful queen ❤️
omaxilona10 remarked:
I like your outfit ❤️
adwoaafinest stated:
Pregnancy looks good
nanamintah_1 stated:
God bless your family ❤️❤️
houseofade3pena said:
Mrs baakop3 ❤️I love you.
brindlee45 remarked:
I’ve seen your bump. The scarf didn’t cover the whole belly
oforievelyn6 stated:
I miss you rufff rufff
priscillabaahsackey said:
Our baby is on the way in Jesus’ name. May evil eyes be shut down. Your twinny.
While it was a tight dress, it was decent as she had a mesh-like material joining from her bust to the shoulders. This ensured that the young Kumawood star did not show cleavage.
The first slide had Spendilove standing akimbo with smiles. In the second photo, she sat down, while in the third photo, she gave an up-close look.
Spendilove’s photos stir reactions
The latest photos have triggered loads of responses from the actress’ followers on Instagram. Many are impressed with her growth and good looks in 2023.
papeiye_yaw_okwabi said:
“You’re a NATURAL BEAUTY makeover doesn’t look good on you.”
agyapong8111 said:
“Indeed Spendy you are beautiful ❤️❤️.”
dapaahabel said:
“Beautiful shots, beautiful smile. Love your outfit.”
