The NCA in a statement issued on Monday, February 27, 2023, said the disconnection will be in line with a directive issued by the Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu Ekuful on November 30, 2022.
According to the NCA, there have since been additional subscribers who have completed stage one of the registration process but are yet to conclude with the final stage.
During a game in Istanbul, football supporters tossed tens of thousands of soft toys and teddy bears onto the field in support of the young earthquake survivors in Turkey.
Players applauded and showed signs of emotion as Besiktas fans threw a sea of plush toys from the stands.
They held the “This toy is my friend” event on Sunday during their Turkish Super League match against Fraport TAV Antalyaspor.
In order to depict the time the initial 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Turkey on February 6, the game was paused after four minutes and 17 seconds.
More than 50,000 people in Turkey and Syria have now died with millions displaced after a series of devastating quakes hit the region.
Players rushed onto the pitch to collect the toys before they are shipped to people in need.
Besiktas said in a statement: ‘Our fans organised a meaningful event called ‘This toy is my friend’ during the match in order to give morale to the children affected by the earthquake.
‘The fans threw scarves, berets and plush toys to be given as a gift to the children in the earthquake region.’
Fans throw toys onto the pitch during the Turkish Super League soccer match between Besiktas and Antalyaspor (Picture: AP)Fans holding teddies to donate to quake victims (Picture: Getty)
Defender Tayyib Sanuc said: ‘There are more important things than football.
‘We are going through difficult times as a country.
‘Together we will heal the wounds.
‘Our fans held a meaningful event – I was very touched.’
Almost 240,000 people have been deployed to help rescue efforts in 11 quake-hit provinces in Turkey.
A sea of teddies and soft toys on the pitch in Istanbul (Picture: Getty)
Central Turkey was hit by another 5.5 major earthquake on Saturday as it desperately tries to rebuild previously destroyed homes.
Last Monday a 6.4 quake hit parts of Turkey and Syria already devastated by massive tremors.
Turkey and Syria rocked again by 6.3M earthquake
The death toll has eclipsed Turkey’s previous worst ever earthquake in 1939, which claimed the lives of 33,000 people.
People in the UK have raised £100million towards an appeal by the Disasters Emergency Committee, hailed as one of the ‘largest and fastest’ responses to a disaster.
Funds that initially supported the search and rescue operation are now being used to pay for food, water, temporary shelters and warm clothing.
Ghanaian rapper Solomon Adu Antwi popularly known as Yaa Pono has disclosed that he has no issue with Sarkodie as people like Kwaw Kese claim.
“I’m cool with Sarkodie, we have no issues”, Yaa Pono has said.
A few days after the release of a remix version of the song “Stir Up” by the late Bob Marley which featured Sarkodie, Yaa Pono also cooked a song titled “YARD” which many including Kwaw Kese tagged as a diss to Sarkodie.
In the song, Yaa Pono in one of his lines asked since when did we start featuring the dead? This line really did not go well with most fans of rapper Sarkodie and brought a lot of heated arguments on social media.
But Yaa Pono setting the records straight on Kingdom FM in an interview revealed that he was only making it clear that in the history of Ghana music, it was Sarkodie who first features a dead person adding that he has no issue with his brother.
In the said song, Yaa Pono also bragged about his skills claiming he is the boss of rap in Tema. He bragged about playing shows every weekend and also had a question in it that says, since when did we start to feature the dead?
In his interview on Kingdom FM, when asked whether he was referring to Sarkodie in his music, Yaa Pono responded, “No no no, I was just doing my music. All the time when I write stuff, some of these things will come.”
TheMeteorological Office reports that the Northern Lights shone in the UK’s skies last night and may do so once more on Monday night.
The light phenomenon was photographed in North Uist in Scotland, North Wales, Cambridgeshire, and Shropshire, according to a series of images shared by the public on Twitter by the Met Office.
The national weather service reported that “Aurora sightings across the UK” were caused by a coronal hole high speed stream that came this evening together with a pretty quick coronal mass ejection.
In a separate tweet, it encouraged users to upload pictures of any other sightings using the hashtag #LoveUKWeather.
The Met Office also said there is a chance of seeing the northern lights again on Monday night.
Passengers on a night flight from Norway were treated to a stunning show of aurora from the sky (Picture: Paul Botten / SWNS)
The lights, also known as Aurora Borealis, were also spotted by passengers on flights, who got to view them from the sky.
An Essex photographer, Paul Botten, 50 managed to snap the vibrant colours on his iPhone at 30,000ft, on his delayed flight from Norway.
‘I was testing the capabilities of the IPhone 13 Max against DSLR cameras and was amazed to see the results, especially when unexpectedly seeing them on a blizzard-related delay out from Tromso,’ said Botten.
‘We were supposed to take off at 4pm and the delay meant it was darkness when we got through the clouds and the aurora was already very active even at 6:30pm, with sunset visible way off to the west that you can see in the pictures,’
‘The captain turned off the lights and people ended up taking pictures for the next 15 minutes on their phones,’
‘The delay meant an overnight stay in Oslo, as we missed our connecting flight to Heathrow, but most of the plane were happy in a strange way as the free light show was the pay off,’
Royal Museums Greenwichexplains on its website that the lights are caused by solar storms on the surface of the sun giving out clouds of electrically charged particles which can travel millions of miles and collide with the Earth.
Most particles are deflected away but some are captured in the Earth’s magnetic field and accelerate down towards the north and south poles, colliding with atoms and molecules in the Earth’s atmosphere, according to the observatory.
Did you spot the Northern Lights last night?
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The lights are the product of this collision between atoms and molecules from the Earth’s atmosphere and particles from the sun.
In November last year, strong light displays were witnessed across Scotland.
A Met Office spokesperson said the rare sightings of the aurora borealis further south in the UK on Sunday night were due to the ‘strength’ of a geomagnetic storm and the ‘strip of cloudless skies’ in southern regions.
Where and how to see tonight’s Northern Lights?
The Met Office also said there is a chance of seeing the northern lights again on Monday night (Picture: Nick Bull/pictureexclusive.com)
The best conditions to view the lights are when the sky is dark and clear of any clouds and mostly in Northern areas of the UK. However, tonight’s lights could be visible much further south than usual this week.
The Northern Lights are generally visible at high latitudes close to the Arctic Circle, which is why they are more commonly seen in Scotland and other parts of northern England.
While spotting the Aurora from London is extremely rare, a strong geomagnetic storm could make it possible.
It is recommended to seek out a location with minimal light pollution and a clear view of the northern horizon for the best chance of seeing them.
‘Cloud cover ultimately blocks the view of the light. Ideally, the lights will be best viewed away from any light pollution, in remote areas, facing the northern horizon – north facing coasts produce some of the best viewing locations,’ said the Met Office added.
Popular Ghanaian actress Jackie Appiah has hopped on the trending Tiktok challenge, which involves choosing between two options written on a piece of paper – whatever is on the paper is the treatment you receive.
Sharing her own version of the whole challenge, Jackie Appiah was lucky enough to choose a breakfast in London over one in Accra.
Fortunately for her, the person she was playing the challenge with fulfilled his promise of flying her to London just for an English breakfast.
Aside from the English breakfast, Jackie also received a red Goyard bag.
As we all know, if it’s not a known designer brand, Jackie Appiah will never put it on because she is clad in stylist apparel in almost all her pictures on her socials.
Once again, the A-list actress Ghanaian has given Ghanaians a topic to discuss concerning her flamboyant lifestyle.
While some social media users are wishing and praying just to enjoy like her in life – Others are also admonishing her for her opulence on social media.
Nothwithdnaidng the insults from her critics, Jackie Appiah will still share another video about her flamboyant life outside of social media.
After spending 48 hours on ice, a woman who had purchased a fish for dinner was surprised to find it still alive.
On February 10, Cheltenham resident Cindy Lao was in London for Chinese New Year and bought a Crucian carp from a neighborhood fishmonger in Greenford.
When she got back home, she put the fish in the freezer and forgot about it until she went to get the carp for supper.
The fish was still alive after 48 hours on the ice, which startled Cindy.
Her partner, Paul Lewis-Borman, said: ‘[Cindy] called me down as she thought she had seen the Crucian carp’s gills moving and asked me what I thought.
‘They certainly were.
‘I was in two minds of whether to put the poor thing out of its misery but Cindy said, “no, it’s a miracle he is still alive.” So we got a bowl of water to put him in.’
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The fish, named Lazarus after the character in the bible, recovered in the couple’s bathtub (Picture: BPM Media)Cindy’s partner Paul Lewis-Borman, left, joked the fish needed to be rehoused because she was giving it too much attention (Picture: BPM Media)
The couple then acted swiftly and ran a bath to place the fish in, who they’ve since named Lazarus – after a figure from the Bible who rose from the dead.
Paul added: ‘The carp was listless for a while, but after 20 minutes those gills were certainly going.
‘We had nowhere to keep him except the bath and luckily we have another shower room.
‘Needless to say he could not stay there and it did put you off when you were trying to use the toilet.’
Paul said the couple eventually decided to find a home for Lazarus. He posted on an online forum, and soon found a woman with a Koi carp pond who said she would take care of the fish.
Paul added: ‘He needed to be rehoused, if for no other reason than my girlfriend was paying the fish more attention than she did me.
‘He had been through a lot. He was sandwiched between all those dead fish for all that time and was nearly dinner.
‘We are pleased he now has a good home. The lady told us he now has a best fish friend who he happily is swimming about with in his new home.’
The former GES employee has taken to the internet to flaunt his newly acquired Benz to shade the government and his former colleagues in the teaching field.
Quoting Nana Addo’s infamous words to teachers, Teacher Kwadwo mockingly captioned his picture showing off his big boy purchase as; You can’t be a teacher and become a millionaire” -Prez Akufo-Addo
Tweeps who have come across the post have described his caption as very unnecessary because owning a Benz doesn’t necessarily make one a millionaire.
And besides, he has been a teacher before hence he knows the plight of government tutors, and making a mockery of them is quite insensitive.
Meanwhile, some critics have also put forward that he isn’t the original owner of the Benz he’s shading government teachers with – They claim he only sat in it to take pictures and later share the pictures online to taunt and make teaching look like a useless job.
Two people are currently on the run after allegedly robbing a Forex bureau at the Accra mall.
Both persons, who purportedly stole an amount of $1,600 dollars from the Forex bureau are currently being pursued by the Ghana Police Service (GPS).
The two suspects, according to the victim, entered the Forex bureau on Tuesday after, February 27, 2023, under the pretext of changing some money but managed to steal some dollars from the counter of the bureau on the blind side of the attendant.
Upon realising that the money had been stolen, the attendant went after them but the two dashed into a waiting vehicle and drove off.
According to the police, investigation is underway to apprehend the suspected thieves.
“We would like to urge the general public, especially operators of forex bureaux to be vigilant and where necessary report any suspicious activities to the police, as this could be a new approach adopted by criminals to steal from unsuspecting persons,” the police cautioned.
Meanwhile, images of the suspects as captured by CCTV cameras are being circulated.
“Anyone with relevant information on the suspects should contact 0200416540 for further Police action,” the statement concluded.
An employment tribunal ruled favorably in the favor of a senior teacher who was sacked for restraint of a belligerent student who had recently been expelled.
She was asked to leave the school for “throwing objects at people and barging into them,” and Clive Kitchener, assistant principal of Goodwin Academy in Deal, Kent, was given the responsibility of seeing that she did.
Once the girl stormed out and refused to leave, the 55-year-old pursued her down a hallway, but she turned around and yelled “f*** off” before attempting to re-enter a doorway that was open.
Mr Kitchener tried to block her by putting his arms out and holding the doorframe with one hand but she walked into him and started ‘struggling’ to get through, the tribunal heard.
The tribunal found school bosses had exposed Mr Kitchener to the risk of assault (Picture: Solent)
The pupil, who was described as ‘adult-sized’, then hit him five times in the head, breaking his glasses, and kicked at his leg and groin before walking off again.
The school’s management accused of Mr Kitchener of using unnecessary force and sacked for him gross misconduct without notice in April 2022.
He won back his notice period after an appeal but the decision to sack him was initially upheld.
Challenging his dismissal at a tribunal, Mr. Kitchener, who started teaching six years ago after a 23-year Army career, argued that he had not been trained properly on the use of force.
The chief executive of the academy trust, Stewart Gardener, argued that the student ‘could have spent the whole day at school behaving in that fashion and physical intervention would not have been justified’.
But the tribunal found that school bosses had never provided him with any training on correctly using force to restrain children.
The Thinking Schools Academy Trust’s failure ‘exposed him to risk’ which resulted in him being assaulted, it added.
Employment Judge Michael Atkins said: ‘Student A was felt to be a sufficient health and safety risk that she could be excluded from school.
‘[She] had been throwing objects at people and barging into them, de-escalation techniques had been tried and failed.
‘[Mr Kitchener] then lost his job because he did not have the tools to handle the situation that [The Thinking Schools Academy Trust] was supposed to give him.
‘It does not form any part of a fair procedure for [The Thinking Schools Academy Trust] to set him up to fail, and then fail to take proper account of their own failures.’
Speaking after the tribunal, Mr. Kitchener said the last 18 months have been a ‘difficult time’ but he was now back “doing what he loves” after getting a teaching job at another school.
A hearing to decide his compensation will be held later this year.
Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, has slammed former president Olusegun Obasanjo over his call for cancellation of some results of Saturday’s presidential election on the grounds of fraud.
In an open letter on Monday, Obasanjo had called on President Muhammadu Buhari to prevail on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to cancel results that fail to “pass the credibility and transparency test” and schedule a fresh election for March 4, 2023.
The former president warned that failure by President Buhari and the INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, to act may pose serious danger for the country as tensions are already building up.
But responding through a spokesperson of his campaign organization, Dele Alake, Tinubu described Obasanjo’s request as “reckless” while further accusing him of seeking to “endanger and derail our democratic process for utterly selfish, egoistic and malicious reasons.”
Part of Tinubu’s response reads: “Obasanjo repeated without the slightest iota of evidence rumours he had picked up that the Bimodal Voters Accreditation System had been compromised and that the results of elections being announced are fraudulent. It is tragic that a former President who ought to be a statesman in comportment and speech will recklessly seek to endanger and derail our democratic process for utterly selfish, egoistic and malicious reasons. He offers not a single credible piece of evidence to prove his laughable and ridiculous allegations against INEC and the credibility of the ongoing process.
“Of course, we are all aware that Obasanjo is not an impartial and disinterested party as far as this election is concerned. On January 1, 2023, he had issued a characteristically lengthy epistle to Nigerians endorsing the candidacy of Mr Peter Obi and asking Nigerian youths to vote en masse for him. Of course our reaction was that the former President was entitled to his view and that the outcome of the elections would demonstrate if he had any electoral value. As fate would have it, Peter Obi was defeated even in Obasanjo’s own polling unit in Abeokuta in Ogun State. But it is now obvious that the only election Obasanjo will agree to being free, fair and credible is one that produces Obi as winner which is ridiculous.
“Is Obasanjo also querying the outcome of the presidential elections in Lagos or Delta where Obi won? If the outcome in Lagos won by Obi is free and credible, on what basis is he querying the outcome of the elections in other places? This is pure mischief and sheer hypocrisy. Obasanjo wants President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in an undemocratic manner to truncate the ongoing political process just the way he did most shamelessly in the 2003 and 2007 elections widely described as the worst in our political history. Luckily, President Buhari is made of finer and more principled democratic stuff. He will not allow Obasanjo to lure him into tainting his democratic credentials in this regard. We recall that in his last trip to the United States, President Joe Biden praised Buhari ‘s commitment to democratic values and principles. Obasanjo has no such record to be applauded. The world has not forgotten his fraudulent and undemocratic attempt at a third term agenda in violation of the letter and spirit of the Nigerian constitution.
“This is an election in which ASIWAJU Tinubu, for instance, has lost in Lagos state in his South West region while Atiku and Obi have also won elections outside their own regional bases. No true democrat must seek an abortion of the process just because he believes the elections are not going his way. What Obasanjo is subtly calling for in his nefarious statement is a coup against democracy and the constitution. He should be roundly condemned and severely ignored. The constitution has stipulated processes for seeking redress against electoral malpractices in the past and these have been tested several times and used to redress electoral injustice where such has been proven. Nigerians must reject Obasanjo’s dubious and hypocritical advice and stay strictly and firmly on the path of constitutionalism and democratic due process.
Police officer John Caldwell was the target of an attempted assassination in Northern Ireland, according to the IRA.
After a statement was posted on a wall near the shooting location in Derry, Irish Republican Group members described the incident as a “military operation” with “all volunteers returned to base.”
On Sunday night, the unconfirmed post appeared and quickly spread online.
It comes after PSNI John Caldwell was targeted at a sports centre on Wednesday night, where two gunmen opened fire as he was putting footballs into the boot of his car alongside his son.
The off-duty officer was shot in the attack in front of a number of young people at the Youth Sport Omagh a sports centre in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.
He underwent surgery and police have since arrested six people in their investigation into the attempted murder.
The note was signed off as ‘T O’Neill’, a signature famous with dissident republican paramilitaries.
The message from the IRA claiming responsibility for the shooting was seen near the attack
The full statement read: ‘The Irish Republican Army claim responsibility for the military operation targeting senior Crown Force member John Caldwell.
‘An active service unit of the IRA were in position to target the enemy within our chosen kill zone with other armed volunteers giving cover.
‘All volunteers returned safely to base.
‘Irish Republican Army intelligence are now in possession of security information regarding the out of bounds movement of Crown Force personnel.
Forensics have been scouring the scene since the attack last week The Youth Sport Omagh sports complex on Killyclogher Road, where off-duty PSNI Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell was shot, in Omagh (Picture: REUTERS)
‘We would say this, you still have to try and live a normal life day-to-day, one of these days the IRA will be waiting. T O’Neill.’
The dissident organisation has previously issued statements by posting them on walls in public areas.
The statement was later carried on social media, including an account that has carried previous republican statements.
A 71-year-old was arrested under the Terrorism Act on Saturday, and he is to be questioned by detectives at Musgrave Serious Crime Suite.
The five other men – aged 22, 38, 43, 45 and 47 – who have also been arrested in connection with the attempted murder remain in custody.
Earlier on Saturday, the PSNI said they had been granted an extension to the detention of four of the men, allowing more time for questioning.
Mr Caldwell remains in hospital with ‘critical injuries’ according to police.
Wounded officer Mr Caldwell is a well-known officer who has led investigations into murders, organized crime and the dissident paramilitary campaign.
The injured officer was rushed to Altnagelvin Hospital around 8pm. Northern Ireland’s chief constable Simon Byrne said he was in a ‘critical but stable’ condition.
Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell was shot in front of the youth football team he had been coaching on Wednesday night (Picture: PA)Hundreds of people gathered in Omagh on Saturday to call for an end to paramilitary violence (Picture: PA)
Northern Ireland Police: Shot Omagh officer is ‘critically ill’
A crime scene still remains in place
Assistant Chief Constable Mark McEwan said: ‘John sustained a number of bullet wounds to his torso and was taken to hospital for treatment to his injuries’.
The gunmen are believed to have fled across the Irish border following the attack, prompting Irish police to ‘intensify patrolling’ in border counties.
Mr McEwan said: ‘Two gunmen approached and we believe both have fired multiple shots.
‘John has ran a short distance and he’s fallen to the ground, and as he’s on the ground the gunmen have continued to fire at him.
‘That shows the absolute callous nature of this attack in a crowded space where there are children and parents in the vicinity, and we saw many of those young people and children running in sheer terror to get to safety.
‘At least two other vehicles have been struck, and again this highlights the callous and reckless nature of this attack.’
The Coalition of Aggrieved Customers of Menzgold Ghana, has called on President Akufo-Addo to as a matter of national concern, address the issue of the locked-up investment of Menzgold customers in the 2023 State of the Nation’s Address (SONA).
The President is expected to present the SONA before Parliament on March 8, 2023.
The Coalition in a statement noted that a decisive pronouncement from the President on the issue in respect of how the government will pay the locked-up investment in Menzgold will guide customers in their quest to retrieve their investments.
On September 12, 2022, the leadership of the Coalition presented a petition to the president to intervene in the plight of the customers and, therefore, they said they expect the government to intervene and bring finality to the issue to save lives since close to 200 customers have died already.
The operations of Menzgold were shut down in September 2018 by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The company’s operating license which had initially been granted in 2014 by the Minerals Commission of Ghana was primarily for gold trading and export.
However, as reports of a gold-investment scheme with high returns started to circulate, the Bank of Ghana began to publish warnings that cautioned citizens to be wary of dealing with the firm and warned the firm against taking cash deposits.
Some customers were adamant while the company also called the bluff of the regulatory authorities.
Customers’ deposits at Menzgold have been locked out since the shutdown and can’t access their investments, leading to numerous demonstrations at its various branches to no avail.
Charles Bronson, a notorious prisoner, has claimed that he can “smell and taste” freedom ahead of a public parole hearing the following month.
On March 6 and March 8, the Parole Board will determine whether to keep one of the UK’s longest-serving prisoners behind bars.
One of Britain’s most violent offenders, Bronson has spent the majority of the last 50 years behind bars, frequently spending time in solitary confinement or specialized units. In 2014, he changed his last name to Salvador in honor of the surrealist artist Salvador Dali.
He may still be detained at Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire’s HMP Woodhill, a maximum-security facility.
Charles Bronson on a video call from prison with George Bamby (Picture: Channel 4/NKD TV)Bronson features in a new two-part documentary from Channel 4
Bronson features in a new two-part documentary from Channel 4 ahead of his ‘jam roll’ hearing.
In part one of Bronson: Fit to be free?, which aired on Monday night, he can be seen video calling his son George Bamby from his maximum security cell.
READ MORE: Charles Bronson says he’ll ‘make history’ with first ever public parole hearing
On the prospect of his parole review, Bronson tells his son that he is not the same man he was when he first entered prison.
‘I’ve got a horrible, nasty, vicious, violent past (but) I’ve never killed anyone, I’ve never harmed a woman, never harmed a child,’ he said.
‘I’m focused, I’m settled, I can actually smell and taste freedom like I’ve never, ever done in (my) life. I’m now anti-crime, anti-violent.
‘What the f**k am I still in prison for?’
Bronson is one of the UK’s longest-serving inmates (Picture: REX/Shutterstock)He has long been dubbed one of Britain’s most violent offenders (Picture: Jim Nicholson/REX/Shutterstock)
Bronson previously said he was first sent to jail in 1968 and has held 11 hostages in nine different sieges – with victims including governors, doctors, staff and, on one occasion, his own solicitor.
He was sentenced in 2000 to a discretionary life term with a minimum of four years for taking a prison teacher at HMP Hull hostage for 44 hours.
Since then the Parole Board has repeatedly refused to direct his release.
READ MORE: Notorious prisoner Charles Bronson says ‘this is my time now’ as he eyes freedom
Bronson continued: ‘The system have labelled me for so many years untameable, untreatable, unpredictable, dangerous, blah, blah, blah. I’ve had every label you can think of.
‘But at the end of the day what people don’t realise, since George, my son, has come into my life, I’ve changed and… George has got me the best legal team in the world… I’m coming home, I’m definitely coming home.
‘Cards on the table, do I sound like Britain’s most dangerous man? Come on. I’m 68-years-old and all I wanna do is get out there and enjoy my f**king life, what’s left of it.’
The Parole Board confirmed his public hearing has been listed for March 6 and 8 (Picture: Nick Razzell/REX/Shutterstock)
Along with his son, Bronson credits art for helping him find his ‘true self’ while in prison.
‘My art now is my life,’ he said.
‘When I create a piece of art, I create a piece of myself. I’m more proud of my art than I am anything and what I’ve basically done.
‘I’ve swapped (my) sawn-off shotgun for a sawn-off paintbrush. And it’s lovely, it’s beautiful.
‘When I sit there and do a piece of art, it feels like I’m part of the human race, I feel lovely and happy.
‘It gets rid of all my frustrations and my tension and my madness. I’m an artist and people have got to start believing it and seeing it.’
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has been lauded for gifting the Coaltar District of the Presbyterian church a school.
The Vice President, who pledged to contribute to the Presbyterian Church’s decision to build legacy centenary anniversary projects, is building a classroom block for Kwaboanta JHS in the Ayensuano District, in the Eastern Region.
Dr. Bawumia visited Kwaboanta to inspect the project, which is nearing completion, and he was showered with commendations, both by the Presby Church and the community.
The Coaltar District Minister for the Presby Church, Rev. Odai, recalled how the Vice President made the pledge to build the school during the Centenary Anniversary celebration of the Akuapem Presbytery, adding that Dr.
Vice President, I want to say the children of this community are so excited about this because they need such a place for their training and we are thankful to you.
Bawumia for his thoughtfulness and generosity to the Church and the community.
The Chief said the community is in need of educational facilities and the project by the Vice President would a long way to help them.
Before inspecting the project, Dr. Bawumia thanked the Almighty God for giving him the guidance and strength to personally undertake the project.
The Vice President also commended the for the Church’s immense contributions to the development of Ghana.
A court has heard that a nurse who is on trial for several killings at a hospital neo-natal unit attempted to murder a baby girl two hours after her birth.
Just as a consultant entered the room, Lucy Letby, 33, allegedly purposefully dislodged the extremely preterm infant’s breathing tube.
When the infant, known as Child K, was delivered at 25 weeks of gestation and placed into the neo-natal ward in February 2016, Letby was working a night shift at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
As the infant’s designated nurse left the room to go to the labor ward, she is accused of tampering with the tube.
On Monday, prosecutor Nick Johnson KC told Manchester Crown Court: ‘It is alleged Lucy Letby interfered with the endotracheal (ET) tube and Dr Ravi Jayaram walked in to the immediate aftermath of that.’
Child K was born at 2.12am – but by 3.50am there was a ‘sudden deterioration’ in her condition, as her blood oxygen levels dropped to 40%, jurors heard.
The breathing tube was then removed and her oxygen rate ‘recovered pretty quickly’ after she received rescue breaths through a facemask, the court was told.
A new ET was put in and an X-ray taken at 6.07am showed it was in a ‘satisfactory position’, the court heard.
The alleged crimes took place at the Countess of Chester Hospital (Picture: Getty)
Eight minutes later the tube had to be adjusted after Dr Jayaram noted Child K’s oxygen levels had dipped again.
The tube was withdrawn again when Dr Jayaram noted at 7.25am that it had ‘slipped’ 8cm at the lips.
Child K was transferred to specialist hospital Arrowe Park in Wirral but died three days later.
The Countess of Chester typically didn’t care for babies of 25 weeks gestation but Arrowe Park was full so the infant had to wait until a bed was available, jurors heard.
Her cause of death was certified as severe respiratory disease and extreme prematurity.
Mr Johnson told the court: ‘We are not alleging what Lucy Letby did actually caused her death.’
Letby conducted a Facebook search for the parents’ surname in April 2018, three months before she was arrested.
After a discussion with hospital medics, Child K’s mother and father made a decision to ‘switch off the machines and let her go’, the court heard.
The mum described the decision as ‘by far the hardest of my life’.
She said in a statement: ‘I remember saying to the doctor that (Child K) had been poked and prodded from the moment she was born.
‘Her tiny little delicate body had swollen up so much.
‘We didn’t want her to be suffering anymore.’
A picture of the hospital’s neonatal unit (Picture: PA)
Ben Myers KC, defending Letby, told the court in his opening address last October that the ‘probable cause’ for the tube being dislodged at 3.50am was the infant inadvertently moving it herself.
Her case was another example of ‘sub-optimal care’ in that she should have received more specialist treatment, Mr Myers said.
Letby broke down in tears and abruptly got out of her seat in the dock when a doctor began giving evidence at the trial earlier this month.
The witness, a registrar at the Countess of Chester Hospital in 2016, told the court about his care of Child L, a twin boy born prematurely.
The prosecution allege Letby tried to murder the baby by poisoning him with insulin.
Letby, originally from Hereford, denies the murder of seven babies and the attempted murder of 10 others, between June 2015 and June 2016.
The Interbank forex rates from the Bank of Ghana today, February 28, 2023, have shown that the Ghana Cedi is trading against the dollar at a buying price of 11.0075 and a selling price of 11.0185.
As compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 11.0077 and a selling price of 11.0187. At a forex bureau in Accra, the dollar is being bought at a rate of 12.60 and sold at a rate of 13.10.
Against the Pound Sterling, the Cedi is trading at a buying price of 13.2398 and a selling price of 13.2542 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 13.1641 and a selling price of 13.1795.
At a forex bureau in Accra, the pound sterling is being bought at a rate of 15.20 and sold at a rate of 15.90.
The Euro is trading at a buying price of 11.6753 and a selling price of 11.6859 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 11.6660 and a selling price of 11.6775.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Euro is being bought at a rate of 13.20 and sold at a rate of 13.90.
The South African Rand is trading at a buying price of 0.5973 and a selling price of 0.5978 as compared to yesterday’s trading of a buying price of 0.6031 and a selling price of 0.6038.
At a forex bureau in Accra, South African Rand is being bought at a rate of 0.50 and sold at a rate of 1.10.
The Nigerian Naira is trading at a buying price of 41.8451 and a selling price of 41.9241 as compared to yesterday’s trading at a buying price of 41.8135 and a selling price of 41.8861.
At a forex bureau in Accra, Nigerian Naira is being bought at a rate of 14.00 Naira for every 1 Cedi and sold at a rate of 19.00.
Our forex bureau rates are provided by Afriswap Bureau De Change in Osu, Accra.
Some members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Jaman South have accused the MP for the Constituency of abusing funds allocated for development projects in the area.
Seen as development agents at the constituency level, Members of Parliament (MP) are expected to use their share of funds, including the District Assembly Common Fund and Social Intervention Fund (SIF), among others, to support pro-poor development activities in the communities to the benefit of the people.
But according to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Jaman South, their National Democratic Congress (NDC) MP, Williams Okofo-Dateh, is doing the opposite.
They allege the MP is engaging in financial malfeasance and corrupt acts with approved project items or money by directorates of the assembly not disbursed. A situation, they said, is killing the development agenda of the municipality.
Hayford Techie, Jaman South constituency Deputy Organizer of the NPP
At a press conference in Drobo, Hayford Techie, Jaman South constituency Deputy Organizer of the NPP, accused Mr. Okofo-Dateh of colluding with suppliers to divert funds meant for the vulnerable, and school buildings at Anukunano, Miremano, and other communities, which is against the Procurement and Financial Management Acts, thereby depriving the people of the expected benefit.
“He (MP) has taken money to procure 600 bags of cement and 20 trips of sand to construct classroom blocks for the people of Anukunano, but our checks from the site indicate that after almost two years of taking that money, only 1,200 blocks have been molded. Again, Hon Okofo-Dateh has taken money for the Kwadwobadukrom project with virtually nothing to show for it,” he alleged.
A trip of sand and the blocks were on site near the dilapidated Anukunano MA JHS when JoyNews visited the cashew farming community.
Abandoned blocks and sand at Anukunano
Mr. Techie said the MP also took over 70,000 Cedis from the MP’s share of the common fund to purchase food items for the vulnerable in society during the 2021 Christmas celebration, however, their checks indicated “the items were diverted to party executives as Christmas gifts instead of the vulnerable in society”.
The NPP also alleged that 39,000 cedis the MP collected from the GETFUND meant for the purchase of about 300 bags of cement and 4 trips of sand to Miremano Islamic Primary, Ampenkro Asratoa M/A JHS, and Adamsu R/C JHS has still not been supplied despite inflating the prices of the items to about 15%.
The Jaman South NPP constituency secretary, Samuel Obeng Takyi, further alleged that building materials worth 20,000 cedis for the Miremano Islamic School resulted in a cash donation of 12,000 cedis to the school instead.
Anukunano MA JHS block
He explained that the MP, since coming into office, also took 60,000 cedis from his share of the social intervention fund to organize a football competition with 10,000, 7,000, and 3,000 cedis as prizes for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd teams.
The competition, however, did not end as a result of alleged security concerns.
“One would have expected that if the competition didn’t end as expected, the 20,000 cedis award should have been paid back to where the money was taken from, but for almost two years now the money is nowhere to be found, all as a calculated vehicle to loot from the people”, Mr. Obeng Takyi alleged.
When contacted, the Jaman South Municipal Chief Executive, Andrews Bediako, corroborated the claims made against the MP, Okofo-Dateh, adding that there are invoices and receipts to show that monies duly paid to the MP ends up not being used for the intended purposes with many abandoned projects in the communities.
Jaman South Municipal Chief Executive, Andrews Bediako
“He (MP) went to some churches to say that I have refused to sign the 2022 documents to enable him to provide items to the vulnerable. I was around, so I showed the 2021 beneficiary list to them, which included NDC constituency executives”, he said and added that the 2022 beneficiary list is even worse.
To remedy the situation, Mr. Bediako said he has control over those that come to him, adding, “I have written to the education and health directorates in charge of the GETFUND and the SIF not to make payment without my knowledge, else I will involve the NIB, whom I am already inviting to investigate these issues”.
He emphasized that the money is not the MP’s money that he can spend at will, hence he will not allow him to shortchange the people of Jaman South.
The party called all stakeholders, including the media, audit service, NIB, and opinion leaders, to get involved and join them to serve as watchdogs to funds received by the MP and hold him accountable.
Following Andrew Tate‘s arrest in December, a Romanian court has upheld a third 30-day incarceration for the sexist influencer.
The judge’s order to extend the former professional kickboxer’s incarceration for a third time for 30 days was appealed by him on February 21.
Today, he was spotted tied to his brother Tristan, who is being imprisoned in the same case, when they arrived before the Bucharest court of appeal.
He lost his appeal, however, on Monday, according to Ramona Bolla, a spokeswoman for Romania’s anti-organized crime organization DIICOT.
It is the third separate appeal Tate has failed to win, meaning he will now remain in jail until at least March 29.
Prosecutors also won an appeal on Monday against a court’s decision last week to place two women held in the case under house arrest, instead of in full detention.
Former kickboxer Tate was arrested in December on suspicion of human trafficking, rape and forming an organised crime group to exploit women.
It is the third separate appeal Tate has lost (Picture: EPA)
None of the four people have been charged in the long-running investigation.
The Tate brothers’ lawyer, Eugen Vidineac, says his clients reject all the allegations.
Tate himself has repeatedly claimed Romanian prosecutors have no evidence and alleged their case is a ‘political’ conspiracy designed to silence him.
Following the ruling, a tweet on his profile read: ‘They weaponize lies to keep me in here. But you cannot hide the sun forever.’
Beforehand, another post had said: ‘I’ve been in jail for 61 days. But not allowed a single visit. Not even from my children.’
Six victims were subjected to ‘acts of physical violence and mental coercion’ and sexually exploited by members of the alleged crime group, it was alleged after the arrests last year.
They were lured with pretences of love and later intimidated, placed under surveillance and subjected to other control tactics, it’s claimed.
A document explaining the decision to keep the accused detained said a judge took into account the ‘particular dangerousness of the defendants’
Their alleged capacity to identify victims ‘with an increased vulnerability, in search of better life opportunities’ was also considered.
American television host and actor Nick Cannon hasn’t ruled it out, but he also acknowledges that it is ultimately not up to him to determine whether or not to expand his already sizable mixed family.
The father of twelve recently invited Kevin Frazier of Entertainment Tonight to his offices in Hollywood, where he has a nursery large enough to fit his complete family, whose ages range from 11 years to two months.
Because of his younger children’s close age differences and the number of women he has accepted into the family, Cannon’s family size has cropped up frequently over the past few years.
However, Cannon claimed that he is not necessarily trying to increase that number. But it’s also not clear “no” to say whether he will or not.
“God decides when we’re done [laughs] but I believe I definitely got my hands full,” he told Frazier. “And I’m so focused. I’m locked in. But when I’m 85, you never know. I might.”
As for how difficult it has been for him to spend time with his kids, who he shares with a total of six different mothers, the multi-media mogul said that it’s not as hard as people on the outside might think.
“Everybody thinks it’s time management. It’s energy management,” he told ET. “[Because] once we’re all aligned, the flow is a lot easier. If there are any kind of low frequencies or dissension in there that’s what messes up the scheduling.
“As long as we’re all on the same page and we all got the same goal — to be the best parents we could possibly be — that works and then the scheduling is the scheduling.”
A man who traveled approximately 70 kilometers (about 40 miles) on foot from London to Brighton got off easy because his legs weren’t “particularly stiff” afterward.
29-year-old Cam Vargas shared a screenshot of his most recent Strava activity, although it was far longer than the typical stroll.
He really walked 68.98km (more than 80,000 steps) in total from Croydon to Brighton.
After sharing his epic voyage with his fans on Twitter, the communications professional quickly gained followers.
He started off early on Saturday by getting a bus from his home in Camberwell to Croydon before beginning his walk.
The 13-and-a-half hour trek took him through the likes of Redhill, Haywards Heath and Ardingly before reaching his coastal destination.
Speaking about the experience, he told Metro.co.uk why he decided to give it a go: ‘It’s quite common to cycle from London’s Brighton, I went to the University of Sussex so I lived in Brighton.
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He described Ditchling as his highlight (Picture: Cam Vargas)He was discussing the idea with a friend for the summer but was ‘impatient’ and wanted to give it a go
‘I don’t have a bike anymore but I did quite a lot of cycling in lockdown, and I was just talking to my friend whether it would be possible to do it.
‘He was telling me about his friend who’d done it in two days, starting in London and camping halfway, around Crawley, then doing the rest the next morning.’
But Cam felt he could go one better and attempted to do it all in one day, even booking himself an AirBnb in Brighton to make sure he’d get there.
‘[My friend] didn’t want to do it until the summer, but I’m impatient – I’ve done longish hikes before and I just thought I’d just give it a go,’ he said.
The journey was just under 70km. This was around 20km in (Picture: Cam Vargas)
‘I made myself commit to it by booking an Airbnb for when I got there, to force myself to do it. I didn’t really plan it too much or train or anything like that, I just figured out a route, and then went.’
He said the route was ‘pretty straightforward’, managing to avoid most roads and sticking to pavement and country walks most of the way.
Cam said only around an hour of his time was used for pit stops: ‘About 12 and a half hours was actually me on the move, I stopped four times each for about 15 minutes.
He got to see a lot of the Sussex countyside on his route (Picture: Cam Vargas)
‘I stopped at a cafe after about two hours and got a bacon and egg sandwich and a coffee, then stopped again two hours later for another coffee.
‘I knew I was going to burn loads of calories so I was just eating whatever I wanted and I had a massive doughnut and a coffee about two hours after that.
‘The third stop was by Ardingly Reservoir, where I had some leftover Chinese takeaway from the night before, then had one final stop with a coffee and a packet of caramel wafers.’
He described the feeling of finally completing the journey early on Saturday evening as ‘surreal’ and ‘emotional’, and finished it off in the most British way ever, with a trip to the pub.
He concluded: ‘It’s a bit surreal when you’re doing it on your own because there’s no one to really share it with, but it was quite emotional – I haven’t been to Brighton in ages so it was really nice.
‘I ended up on Lewes Road so I went to a pub I used to go to when I lived there and a pint after doing that? It tasted amazing.’
Cam is keen on attempting a walk from London to Oxford next, as a ‘sensible step up’.
Multiple award-winning Amapiano King, Mark Kwesi Arthur popularly known as DJ Azonto has pleaded with the 3Music team, asking them to nominate him with no competitor under the ‘New Artist Of The Year category.
According to DJ Azonto, per his work input, he doesn’t see any competition in regard to the new artists under the year review
The Amapiano king in an interview with Andy Dosty on Adom FM said, “I haven’t had a two-day rest since last year because of how promoters keep booking me, I perform not less than 5 times every week in different towns and cities. Last year I headlined all the regional festivals, for parties, weddings, and concerts, I can’t count.
“Not forgetting the numerous awards including the Ghana DJs Awards so I can confidently say I’m doing extra than many. My humble plea to 3Music is they should nominate only DJ Azonto under the New ‘Artist Of The Year’ category if possible.”
He further went ahead to tell Andy how he thinks his ‘Kaba & Skirt’ brand has also helped in marketing strategy.
DJ Azonto is currently on a media tour promoting his latest single titled ‘WKHKYD’.
The ‘Fa No Fom’ hitmaker on this new tune serenades music lovers with some captivating lyrical vibes and some catchy phrases of the new social media term ‘Wokoho Koyeeden’.
He talks about the recent happenings in the entertainment industry involving Abeiku Santana, Great Ampong, Daddy Lumba and more.
Efia Odo has established that henceforth, all pictures and videos captured during her hangouts withShatta Wale will be restricted from the internet.
Shatta Wale and Efia Odo have had a great relationship and this has been evident in some moments of their hangouts captured online.
Images of themselves hanging out in Shatta Wale’s studio, apartment, or videos capturing some seemingly intimate moments, have been seen online on several occasions.
Interestingly, anytime Efia Odo trends on social media, particularly, on Twitter, such pictures and videos resurface.
The images are being used to intensify the trolls targeted at the actress.
But Efia Odo who seems unhappy about such happenings has vowed never to hang out with Shatta Wale and post moments of themselves online.
Stating her reasons, she established in an interview with Pulse.
“I will never hang out with Shatta Wale and post it. Just look at the embarrassment. All the things that I’ve done with Shatta Wale publicly have come back to hunt me. I will be more careful I hang out with and the people I post because it will come back and bite me in the butt.”
I knew we had to meet him when I saw that foolish grin,’ Lankston told CBS 8. We haven’t been able to visit our friends and favorite spots in San Diego in a few years, so why not? Roadtrip.’
Animal humane officer Joy Ollinger wrote in the post: ‘Harvey has a facial deformity that doesn’t bother him but gives him a crooked smile. I think it makes him even more endearing. He walks like a dream on leash too.’
Sherry Lankston and her family adopted Harvey the husky (left) on SaturdayHarvey the husky has a facial deformity that gives him a lopsided grin
Harvey ‘is a quiet and mellow husky who gets along with other dogs and loves treats’, Ollinger added.
Lankston, who used to live in San Diego, asked how Harvey might get along with cats, dogs and her kids. Ollinger responded that Harvey appeared to be a great fit for other animals as well as children.
‘We’re up in Seattle at the moment but I can easily be convinced to come visit our friends in San Diego and bring home a love-bug,’ Lankston replied. ‘I wasn’t actively looking for a new furbaby but this guy’s sweet face has me swooning.’
Days later, Lankston began documenting the roadtrip with her kids – who were on mid-winter break from school – on Facebook.
The San Diego County Department of Animal Services shared a post about Harvey the husky being up for adoption (Picture: Joy Violet/San Diego County Department of Animal Services)The family drove more than 2,600 miles to adopt Harvey the husky (Picture: Joy Violet/San Diego County Department of Animal Services)
‘Here we go. San Diego bound,’ Lankston wrote on February 19. ‘Day 1 Operation meet #Harveythehusky. (Note: if he’s adopted before we get there… I’ll still be thrilled).’
The family’s journey wasn’t easy, especially as they got caught in a winter storm that struck southern California. They met Harvey at long last mid-last week and were loved him right away. They picked Harvey up on Saturday morning.
‘There’s nothing sad about an animal finding its forever home,’ Lankston said. ‘We’ll be very happy for him and enjoy visiting our friends and soaking up some sun before heading back north.’
Harvey’s adoption story is a reminder that ‘shelters are bursting at the seams with amazing animals that would make excellent family pets’, Ollinger said.
Former President John Dramani Mahama has been criticised for rating Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) above Ghana’s Electoral Commission (EC).
According to General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Obiri Boahen time has proven the former president wrong in his assertion and thus, he described Mr Mahama’s claims as “ridiculous and so childish”.
He noted that Mr Mahama’s problem with the EC has to do with the sacking of the former chairperson, Madam Charlotte Osei.
“On the very day Charlotte Osei was sacked as EC boss, he refused to have faith in the commission.”
“If it isn’t NDC that would direct our elections, he doesn’t have faith in it. He wants to say if it isn’t Charlotte Osei or Afari Gyan, then he considers all other persons to come from Satan”, he said in an interview on pro-NPP Wontumi Radio on Monday February 27, 2023.
Former President Mahama on the eve of Nigeria’s presidential elections held on Saturday, February 25, 2023, called out the EC led by Jean Adukwei Mensa for failing to inspire confidence.
According to him, the posture of the Electoral Commission unlike the INEC which has gained the confidence of Nigeria’s electoral stakeholders has rather been hostile towards his party, the National Democratic Congress.
“One thing that has struck me in my pre-election mission in Nigeria for the West African Elders Forum (WAEF) is the confidence all the candidates and parties have expressed in the Independent Electoral Commission.
“They all testify that INEC has listened and taken their concerns on board.
“Unfortunately, I can’t say same for my Electoral Commission (EC), which was once among the best election management agencies in the world.
“The hostility of the Chairperson of the EC and her other Commissioners to one political party is legendary. How I wish our own EC can inspire the same level of confidence in all its stakeholders,” Mr Mahama said.
Despite his wish, Mr Mahama said he shares no hope of the situation in Ghana getting any better.
“Regrettably, I am not hopeful this will happen when we have an EC that has blatantly spurned all efforts by the National Peace Council to host a meeting between the Commission and the two major political parties, the NDC and NPP,” the former president said.
Actor and musician, Olurotimi Akinosha, popularly known as Rotimi seems to know exactly what contributed to getting him lots of attention in his career.
Rotimi says playing the role of Andre Coleman in the popular hit-series Power, executive produced by rapper 50 Cent got him a lot of attention and admiration from people, contrary to having a bad effect on him.
In a chat with Hitz FM’s Doreen Avio, he said people wondered how he was able to balance creating good music with playing the role of a villain in the series.
“People were just like how can you just play such a villain but then make such beautiful music… [like ‘In my bed’ and ‘Love Rhythm’]. It’s just a testament to God’s gift and talent and just being able to create as freely as I want to and not have anything that holds me back”, Rotimi stressed.
The actor cum singer briefly spoke about his relationship with 50 cent, Omari Hardwick and other casts in the series.
Rotimi describes them as his brothers, adding that his relationship with them exposed him to important nuggets in the film and music industry, as well as guided him on the path to professionalism, for which he is forever grateful.
“It was a lot of big brother stuff, they taught me a lot about the industry and how to be a professional and I’m forever grateful, and you know 50 Cent made me a lot of money so I will forever be grateful to him,” he told Doreen Avio.
Andre Coleman, also known as Dre, is a major antagonist in the Power TV series. His role presented him as a gangster and a drug dealer, who was once the right-hand man of Drug Lord Kanan and Ghost.
Power is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Courtney A. Kemp in collaboration with Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson.
Rotimi is currently in Ghana tying up stuff with Kuami Engene on his latest single Crypto Currency. The two, after briefly touring the streets of Accra last week, have reportedly shot a video to the new record, which fans are eagerly anticipating.
The number of fruits and vegetables that consumers are allowed to purchase has been restricted by Lidl, the newest store to do so.
Customers at the bargain store will only be able to purchase three tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers apiece due to a ‘surge in demand’ as a result of shortages at other stores, the store claims.
The action follows the introduction of comparable limits by Aldi, Asda, Morrisons, and Tesco.
There has been a shortfall of some vegetables reaching British shop shelves as a result of supply chain problems and harsh weather in south-west Europe and northern Africa.
Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, the Co-op and M&S are not currently planning to introduce constraints.
A Lidl spokesperson said: ‘As advised to our customers through signage in our stores last week, adverse weather conditions in Spain and Morocco have recently impacted the availability of certain salad items across the supermarket sector.
‘Whilst we still have good availability across the majority of our stores, due to a recent increase in demand we have taken the decision to temporarily limit the purchase of peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers to three items per person.
‘This will help to ensure that all of our customers have access to the products they need.’
Government food minister Mark Spencer has summoned supermarket bosses to a meeting, in order to find out how they plan to tackle the issues.
Customers have been confronted by empty vegetable shelves at supermarkets across the UK
He said: ‘The current situation – caused by recent poor weather in North Africa – shows how dependent we can be on certain trade routes for some types of food.
I know families expect the fresh produce they need to be on the shelves when they go in for their weekly shop.
‘That is why I am calling in supermarket chiefs to find out what they are doing to get shelves stocked again and to outline how we can avoid a repeat of this.’
Like Lidl, Tesco and Aldi are limiting customers to three units of tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, while Asda is also limiting customers on lettuce, salad bags, broccoli, cauliflower and raspberries.
Morrisons has set a limit of two items per customer for tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and peppers.
To drum home the importance of insurance, the regional office is to embark on awareness creation to educate shops, stores and construction sites in the Metropolis and the Sagnerigu Municipality of the Northern Region on the importance of insurance for private commercial property.
The exercise will help create awareness of the need for property owners to insure their properties to ensure the safety of their occupants and those working around.
Insuring private commercial properties helps to protect occupants of the facilities, and relieve the burden on individuals and government in case of unforeseen disasters.
The new Insurance Act 2021 (ACT 1061) was enacted in Ghana to replace the previous Insurance Act of 2006, Act 724, and bring regulation of the insurance industry into conformity with international frameworks and supervisory standards, and to increase its competitiveness on the international market.
The new Act makes it mandatory for commercial buildings, both completed and under construction, to be covered by an insurance policy; and tenants need to demand an insurance certificate before patronizing it to safeguard their future.
Checks by the B&FT Tamale team revealed that the majority of facilities destroyed by fire or rain in the region were not covered with an insurance package, and therefore occupants of those facilities could not be supported with any relief when disaster occurred.
Some homes had only fire extinguishers but no knowledge of how they should be used in case of emergency, and only few had insured their properties.
If the facilities were insured, the insurance companies or brokers would have come to their aid and assessed the damage and cost, and pay for them.
The Northern Regional Manager for National Insurance Commission (NIC), Joseph Agyampoak Akanlagmin, in response to the B&FT said the Commission observed that the outbreak of fires and other disasters in the region result in occupants losing every property, and not getting any support due to failure of the individual or owners of the facilities to insure them.
“In spite of the several benefits that come with insuring one’s property, many property owners do not see the need to insure their property,” he said.
He said most of those who had fire certificates had not renewed them after their expiry, and therefore posed a threat.
He stressed the need for commercial facility owners to comply with the insurance law by insuring their facilities to cover any disaster.
Providing insurance cover might not benefit you today but will do so in future, and so insuring your property is the best step everyone must take to secure the future he said.
He explained any third party who visits a facility and there is an accident resulting in injury or death, the insurance package covers them.
Touching on insurance brokers and companies, he said efforts are also being made to educate operators to ensure professionalism in the delivery of their duties to win the trust and confidence of their clients.
“We would also like to advise them to build the capacity of their agents and staff to communicate well with the clients. As a Commission, we will continue to engage stakeholders and use the media to educate the public until all understand the need to insure their properties,” he added.
Communities in the Chereponi are at the brink of facing famine due to recent clashes in the area.
The North East Regional Minister,Yidana Zakari, expressed fear over this, indicating that the communities in the conflict ravaged district especially Sakou, are likely to run out of food, water and basic amenities.
The Regional Minister who toured the areas yesterday, described the situation as dire, sounding an alarm for aid.
He has appealed to government and philanthropists to intervene before it is too late.
“We went with NADMO officials, we have a few plastic buckets, some blankets and water for them. We know that is not enough, but that is just an interim measure. But going forward, we think that we’re to mobilise strongly and come back so that we’ll help alleviate the suffering that the people are going through.
“I can tell you for sure they don’t have food, all their foodstuff have been burnt. No cooking utensils, they have lost almost everything that have. So I want to use your medium to appeal to the Ghanaian people if they can come to our aid,” he said.
Mr Zakari has also appealed to the Yaa Naa and other stakeholders to help resolve the conflict in the area.
“The first is the traditional angle. You know the Chereponi district, traditionally, is under the supervision of the Yaa Naa, the King of the Dagbon Kingdom. And so once it has to do with chieftaincy, if we have to find a lasting solution to that, we will need to refer that to our father to handle.
“Then the criminal aspect of what has happened is what we will allow the appropriate institutions of state to deal with.”
Meanwhile, Police at Chereponi have arrested 10 suspects following the communal clash at Wenchike last week.
The clash was said to have occurred as a result of a chieftaincy disagreement between 2 Chokosi factions in the community.
Four people were killed and over 25 houses were burnt in addition to motorbikes and other property.
ccording to the National Disaster Management Organization, over 600 people have been displaced by the violence. Schools remain closed as the community is deserted.
Speaking to JoyNews, the District Chief Executive, Hajia Zuweiratu Nashiru, said the 10 suspects had been remanded for two weeks to reappear in court.
The DCE assured that the suspects will be made to face the law if found guilty.
Wife of the General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God Church,Rev Steve Wengam, Mrs. Monica Wengam has advised would-be couples to consider more of the beauty of their partners before they marry.
In an interview with Nana Yaa Konadu on Talklife, a TV program that focuses on addressing social issues, the wife of the renowned Pastor said she did not consider the outward appearance of the husband when they first met on the campus of the University of Ghana.
“When I met him [Rev Wengam], I think I saw beyond him at the time. I saw that he had so passion and his vision was way bigger than him at the time…he also had a certain direction so I realized this man had focused in life…,” she said.
She said all these factors made her realize that Mr. Wengam was the perfect material for marriage.
“Even my parents approved of him after meeting him…they realized he was deep in his communications and knew exactly what he wants in life…,” she added.
Mrs. Monica Wengam, therefore, advised the young persons who are preparing to select a partner to ‘look beyond the package and see what the person has to offer’.
Constance Marten, a missing aristocrat, and Mark Gordon, her partner, were apprehended in Brighton and are now in police custody.
Scotland Yard reported that a search effort is under way urgently to find their infant, who has not received medical care since being born in early January.
The two were discovered by Sussex Police officers in Stanmer Villas on Monday night after a member of the public reported seeing them just before 9.30pm, according to the force.
Marten, 35, and Gordon, 48, have been travelling around the UK by taxi since their car was found burning on the M61 in Bolton, Greater Manchester, on January 5.
Handout photo issued by the Metropolitan Police of a CCTV image of Mark Gordon and Constance Marten on Whitechapel Road in London (Picture: PA)
Police search area and under cars for aristocrat’s missing baby
A member of the public reported seeing Constance Marten and Mark Gordon in Stanmer Villas, Brighton on Monday
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Sussex Police officers responded to the scene and arrested the pair
Authorities previously believed the couple had been sleeping rough in a blue tent, and had avoided being traced by the police by moving around frequently and keeping their faces covered in CCTV images.
The couple travelled from Bolton to Liverpool, then to Harwich in Essex, then to east London and then to Newhaven in Sussex, where they were seen near the ferry port on January 8.
Ms Marten, who is from a wealthy aristocratic family, was a promising drama student when she first met Mr Gordon in 2016.
Since then the couple have led an isolated life, and in September, when Ms Marten was well into her pregnancy, began moving around rental flats.
Gordon served 20 years in prison in the US for rape and battery committed when he was 14.
It is unknown if their baby was full-term or has any health issues.
Anyone who may be able to assist in the search for the couple’s baby is urged to contact 999.
The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission Jean Mensa will be hauled before Parliament’s Privileges Committee if she fails to appear before the House as directed by the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin last week.
Mr. Bagbin requested the presence of Mrs Mensa at the insistence of the Minority Caucus who say they are opposed to the Constitutional Instrument (CI) currently before the House that seeks to make the Ghana Card, the sole document for voter registration.
The NDC MPs said the EC’s Chairperson does not have respect for Parliament, hence her refusal to be present in the House to answer questions on the CI.
However, the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana, has debunked the assertion.
According to the Commission, the Chairperson had been invited for an election observer mission in Nigeria, therefore her two deputies had to represent her in Parliament.
The statement added that “For the attention of the General Public, the EC received a letter from Parliament on Wednesday 22nd February 2023 inviting the Commission to brief the leadership of the House on the draft Cl on the registration of voters on Thursday 23rd February 2024”.
However reacting to the news that the EC Chairperson is not within the jurisdiction and may not be able to appear before the House, a ranking member on the Interior and Defense Committee of Parliament Mr James Agalga, indicated that the action of Jean Mensa is contemptuous.
“We have a Chairperson of the Electoral Commission and we are talking about very serious matters affecting the integrity of the compilation of the voters register that is very crucial. And so for the head of that body not to turn up before Parliament without first all to giving us a reasonable excuse as to why she wouldn’t attend, raises serious questions. The counterpart of the EC, in this case, the NIA was represented by its boss so why do you think that we should tolerate the EC?
“And we are saying that Jean Mensa has been very consistent in not turning up or responding to invitations from the House. She is the person who bears ultimate responsibility and so we require her personal attendance before the House so that whatever assurances are given will come from her own mouth,” he said.
On the question of what may happen if the EC Boss doesn’t appear, Mr Agalga told host of JoyNews’ The Pulse Blessed Sogah that “you cannot treat Parliament like that. Parliament represents, if you like, the soul of our democratic experiment, the people’s representatives.
“I have indicated to you that her continuous absence is contemptuous. First of all, the assurance has been given that she would appear. If she doesn’t, seriously speaking, we will escalate our actions to include the referral of Jean Mensa to the Privileges Committee to be dealt with for contempt of Parliament.”
Ghanaian Afro-pop musician Sista Afia has revealed that she won’t hesitate to beat Efia Odo if somebody pays her to do so.
As revealed by Sista Afia, she holds grudges against Efia Odo because she once body-shamed her and continuously called her derogatory names, therefore she cannot and will never pretend to love her in public.
Speaking in an interview with Neat FM she said “I mean if somebody gives me money right now to go around and beat her, I will do it. I’m just kidding (laughs).
“I mean it is what it is…I mean everybody knows that we don’t like each other.
“She has called me a hypocrite, she has called me ugly, she has done all these things so many times…I mean she has body-shamed me so many times.
“When I say I don’t like this person or nothing positive is going to come from her name, people should understand it…I mean in both ways nobody likes each other.
Recall that just about two weeks ago, Sister Afia described Efia Odo as non-talented in an interview with Zionfelix, stating that she would not listen to any of her music.
Sista Afia and Efia Odo haven’t been best friends for some time. The cause of the rift between the two ladies cannot be pinpointed as each is seen throwing jabs at the other at the least opportunity.
An abusive woman smiled as she was given a four-year prison sentence after attacking, taunting, threatening, and humiliating her husband for 20 years.
Mum-of-three Sheree Spencer, 45, repeatedly launched “nasty” assaults on her husband Richard during which she punched, kicked, slapped, and bit him, leaving him feeling helpless and in terror.
Every day while beating him and making him clean up her own feces, she called him a “p****.”
The prison security guard was convicted at Hull Crown Court after irreparably disfiguring her partner’s ear and causing damage to his clothes, laptops, and phones.
Judge Kate Rayfield told her that the abuse of Mr Spencer was ‘the worst case of controlling and coercive behaviour I have seen’.
As well as a prison term, Spencer was given an indefinite restraining order against her victim.
But she was still seen smiling as she left the dock to be taken down to the cells.
Spencer viciously hit her husband with a wine bottle, leaving him with a disfigured ear
Spencer admitted coercive and controlling behaviour between January 2016 and June 2021 and three offences of assaulting her husband, causing actual bodily harm, between January and April 2020.
Michele Stuart-Lofthouse, prosecuting, said that the couple had been together since 2000 and lived in Bubwith, near Selby, at the time. They have three young children.
Spencer’s violent behaviour towards her husband came to light after police were alerted due to concerns.
Even she was arrested, Spencer continued to ‘exert control’ over Richard during Family Court hearings, claiming she was the victim.
While sharing his story, Mr Spencer said: ‘I have had to seek help from my GP on several occasions.’
Videos shown to the court revealed ‘persistent, nasty physical and emotional abuse’ on a frequent basis, sometimes several times in a day.
She grinned as she was taken down to the cells
Mr Spencer ‘cowered sometimes on his hands and knees on the floor’ as he was threatened and assaulted.
His wife showed ‘utter contempt for him’ and sometimes ‘whispered in his face in the most sinister way’, the court heard
She was also said to shout orders at him after drinking three bottles of wine a day.
Defence barrister Richard Pratt KC said that there was ‘little if anything’ that could be said in mitigation.
Mr Pratt said: ‘It’s a shocking, distressing case. Alcohol played the most significant part in what happened.’
During her job with the Ministry of Justice, Spencer had been working on a project connected with the impact of custodial sentences on families.
Unlike most upcoming YouTubers who struggle to make just $10 at the end of every month from the video streaming platform.
Celebrated Kumawood actor popularly known as Wayoosi has revealed that he makes more than GH¢20,000 at the end of every month from the content he publishes on his YouTube channel.
This revelation was made during an exclusive interview with Ghanaian blogger and YouTuber Zionfelix.
Although Wayoosi refused to disclose the total amount of money he makes from YouTube at the end of every month he admitted to being raked in more than 20,000 cedis.
He further eulogized Dr. Likee for introducing him to skit-making on YouTube.
He only confessed for the first time that Dr. Likee guided him to become a successful content creator on YouTube.
Talking about the current most prominent YouTuber in the country, Wayoosi didn’t hesitate to crown Dr. Likee as the undisputed champion.
Charles Oputa, also known as Charly Boy has revealed that he began to tremble after he recently encountered Davido, admitting that he was star-struck.
The musician went on to post photos of himself and Davido on Instagram and acknowledged that Davido had taken the photo. On February 25, election day, he said he ran into the Afrobeat performer at Boudillon.
He didn’t go into detail about their encounter, but he admitted he was nervous to meet the singer and that his hands were shaking, so the singer offered to assist him to take the photo.
“Meeting one of my favourite Artiste OBO, as I dey scooter on Boudillon today.
I was star-struck he even helped me take dis picture on my phone. Na so my hand dey shake say I see Davido.
One of Nigerian’s pride. Much Love my guy.”
Charly Boy is a Nigerian singer-songwriter, actor, publisher, and director who also works as a television host. He is best known for his alternative lifestyle, political stances, and media productions, most notably The Charly Boy Show.
He is one of Nigeria’s most divisive performers. He has held the office of president of the Nigerian Performing Musicians Association, and in 2011 he acted as a judge for the Idol Series.
In an apparent demonstration of the message he is propagating, the young man could be seen enjoying some spa time with his girlfriend in a video shared originally on Instagram.
“If you didn’t meet her rich, what’s wrong with helping her become rich,” he captioned.
A man who stole more than £250,000 to pay sex workers and support his extravagant lifestyle was sentenced to three years in prison.
After being hired as Stortec Engineering Ltd’s financial controller in 2018, Darren Parker started stealing substantial sums of money from the company almost immediately.
The 43-year-old spent hundreds of pounds on hotel stays in addition to going on shopping sprees at Argos and Amazon, where he purchased laptops and iPhones.
His theft was discovered two years later while he was on holiday by a suspicious colleague
Preston Crown Court heard he had suffered a breakdown and started seeing sex workers, who demanded ‘goods, and homes in Spain’.
But Parker, who has been married for nine years, claimed he did not seek sexual gratification and only visited the women for company.
At his sentence hearing, recorder Carwyn Cox told Parker: ‘This was a catastrophic fall for you.
‘You left school at 16 and have worked in finance since and have been married for nine years.
A general view of Preston Crown Court where his case was heard (Picture: PA)
‘Since this offending, you no longer work in finance and never will again. You used this money to fund your lifestyle, to a total sum of just over £250,000. The impact on Stortec is considerable.’
A spokesperson for the company stressed that Parker’s theft could not have come at a ‘worse time’ after the financial repercussions of the pandemic, and that they were forced to make redundancies.
They said: ‘This could not have come at a worse time, as we uncovered this fraud in the middle of the pandemic when business conditions were already extremely challenging for a start-up business operating as a key supplier to the water and renewable energy sectors.
‘The disruption to our business from the theft and the extent of Parker’s covering deceptions cannot be underestimated.
‘Unfortunately, it was necessary to make redundancies due to a financial position that could not be supported by fact once the extent of the thefts became clear.’
Between March 2018, and June 2020, Parker withdrew £181,596 from the company accounts.
He then extracted £38,592 from Stortec’s bank between April 2018, and August 2020.
And from June 2018, and August 2020, he went on to take out £35,115, with the total value of the money he took totalling £255,304.
After his arrest, Parker pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud in February 2022.
Recorder Cox said: ‘Your explanation is that you suffered a breakdown, but you were not able to say whether that was work, or home or alcohol, and found yourself depressed.
‘You found yourself in the company of prostitutes, but you were not seeking sexual gratification, only company.
‘You wanted to be liked and then you started paying for hotels and used funds from the company after you had exhausted all your savings.
‘Then those women began demanding goods, and homes in Spain to be purchased. You wanted to go to the police but you didn’t.’
Two miles from Grenfell Tower, a lady has appeared in court on charges of falsely requesting assistance for the 2017 fire survivors.
Salma Said, 48, of Kensington is accused of fabricating a series of bogus claims that brought in more than $389,000 by pretending to have lost her house in the tragic fire.
Two other defendants who appeared with her on charges of assisting an offender, Rawda Said, 35, and Makrem Harzi, 38, both from Kensington, are said by the prosecution to have corroborated her account.
Salma Said is also accused of making a dishonest claim through the Right to Buy housing scheme in Barnet in September 2017, three months after the fire which killed 72 people.
More than a dozen fraudsters have been convicted for trying to con councils and support agencies by falsely claiming they lived in the tower
She is charged with six counts of fraud by false representation said to have been committed between 2014 and 2018.
The three defendants appeared in Westminster Magistrates’ Court with two others accused of playing parts in the alleged offending.
Nura Abdulkader, 40, from Hackney, is accused lying about living in Grenfell on 14 June 2017 in order to gain ‘housing and financial support’.
William Inglebright, 62, from Hammersmith, is accused of dishonestly claiming to meet the relevant criteria for the Help to Buy scheme in Barnet in May 2017 in order to be granted an equity loan.
All five defendants indicated they would plead not guilty to all offences.
All five were released on bail ahead of a further hearing at Isleworth Crown Court.
A British tourist described how, during a wild swim, a dolphin nearly bit off her foot and she feared she may die.
After the animal assaulted Claire Bye while she was on an unforgettable trip in Bolivia, she suffered trauma.
A pink river dolphin bit Claire, 28, when she was swimming in a river near Santa Rosa de Yacuma.
When bystanders frantically sought to pull her out of the water, she fought to escape.
Around 20 seconds later, the creature finally let off and swam away.
But she was ‘horrified’ to see her foot was ‘pouring with blood’ after it was partially severed.
‘I’ve never known pain like it,’ Claire said.
‘I remember seeing the dolphin out of the corner of my eye, and then it suddenly lunged at me.’
‘It wasn’t the cute-looking dolphins we’re used to seeing – it had a huge beak and a mouthful of spiky teeth.
‘I screamed and screamed but it just wouldn’t let go of me.
‘It felt like it had me for 15 minutes, but apparently it was only 20 seconds before it let go and swam away.’
Claire was rushed to a local hospital – which she described as more like a ‘farmyard’ with an ants’ nest in the bathroom.
‘The people there were very kind and did the best they could to sew up my foot, but they didn’t have any drugs,’ she said.
Claire swimming with a dolphin a river in Santa Rosa de Yacuma, Bolivia
But her condition deteriorated four days later when she was struck by a potentially life-threatening infection.
It was only after frantic calls to the British embassy that she was transferred to a hospital in Bolivian capital La Paz for urgent treatment.
‘I honestly thought I’d lose my foot, or potentially my life,’ she said.
It was another fortnight before she could return home to Bristol, where she underwent surgery to transfer tissue from her groin to her foot.
She then spent a further two weeks in recovery.
Claire left Britain in October 2022 intending to spend seven months travelling around Central and South America.
But her trip was cut short just three months in after the incident happened during a jungle trek to explore the Amazon Basin – a part of South America drained by the Amazon river.
Claire feared she could lose her foot or die after the attack in January
She and a friend joined a tour group including families, led by an experienced guide.
They spent time swimming and playing with the pink river dolphins.
But Claire became uneasy when a child tried to pick one up.
‘That’s when the dolphins became aggressive, and a few people got out of the water with scrapes on their legs where they’d been bitten,’ she recalled.
She decided not to return to the water but instead played with the dolphins with a water bottle, as demonstrated by the tour guide.
But a dolphin attacked her after she accidentally dropped the bottle in shallow water and jumped in to retrieve it.
Claire is now unable to work after the ‘traumatic’ ordeal and has seen a psychologist to help process the incident, which has left her feeling ‘lost’.
‘I used to really love wild swimming and I hope to be able to do it in the future, but I’ll never swim with dolphins again,’ she said.
Claire has seen a psychologist after the ‘traumatic’ incident
‘I wish I’d never gone back into the water, it’s hard to think about how life would be if it (hadn’t) happened.
‘What should have been a beautiful experience changed my life forever, it’s incredibly rare for dolphins to attack humans and I never thought it would happen to me.’
An investigation has been launched into the incident – with warning signs now placed around the river to alert tourists.
Lil Wayne, who is 40 years old, recently sat down with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe to discuss his new single “Kant Nobody,” his forthcoming album Tha Carter VI, and much more.
During the conversation, Wayne detailed his eating habits and said that he’s had a personal chef since he was 19 years old. He went on to say that he hasn’t had fast food in 20 years and can’t recall the smell of McDonald’s.
“When I was 19 I moved to Miami and my mom is a chef and she was very happy for the move because New Orleans is crazy. One thing she really wanted me to do was get a personal chef,” Lil Wayne explained. “So from the age of 19 to now, I’ve always had a personal chef. I haven’t eaten any fast food forever. I don’t know what McDonald’s smell like.”
Wayne continued by saying that he doesn’t workout or hit the gym.
“Only gyms I know is Jim Jones,” the rapper said. “I can’t lift a weight. I don’t do no workout.”
Elsewhere in his conversation with Lowe, Wayne said of Carter VI: “It’s Carter VI. I never even imagined. That didn’t even sound right years ago. I can’t believe we’re at Carter VI. My fans know I give my all. Go listen to my last feature and know it’s gonna be a thousand times better than that.”
Ahead of the release of his next studio album, Wayne released a DMX-sampling new track, “Kant Nobody.”
Popular Kumawood actor, Yaw Dabo, has been spotted in a behind-the-scenes video shooting a movie with an impressive cast that includes popular actors Ras Nene and John Dumelo.
The video, which surfaced online recently, has garnered a lot of attention on social media, with many people expressing their excitement about the upcoming film.
However, Yaw Dabo’s previous comments about movie watchers have caused some fans to express their disapproval of his involvement in the movie.
In an interview with Saddick Adams, Yaw Dabo referred to people who spend an hour watching movies as “lazy,” a statement that did not sit well with many movie enthusiasts.
Some folks dropped hilarious and sarcastic comments saying they hoped the movie was not up to an hour as they did not want to be seen as lazy. Dabo has since apologized for the statement, but it seems many folks are not ready to forgive him.
A document summarizing the procurement activity reports of the cash-strapped Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company (GCMC) for 2017 was intercepted, and it revealed the company, among other expenses, spent GHS 250,430 on “office furniture and fittings”, which is equivalent to 2,504,300,000 in old cedis.”.
The Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company was in the news recently over a unilateral decision by the Chief Executive Officer to take loans to pay workers, which the Board Chairman questioned.
In early May 2018, the Chief Executive Officer of GCMC, Frances Essiam, was suspended by six of the nine members of the board, over claims that she had mismanaged the company, and also awarded some contracts without the approval of the Board or the Energy Ministry.
Prior to the suspension, the board queried Madam Essiam over the allegations of mismanagement.
Madam Essiam, who prevented the board members from holding a meeting at the company’s premises before her suspension, eventually defied the suspension, and returned to work with the support of the workers, insisting that she remained the CEO.
Frances Essiam had removed the Finance and Accounts Manager of GCMC, one Julius Opuni Asamoah who was sacked by the management over some alleged procurement breaches but he petitioned the Board accusing the CEO, Frances Essiam of some malfeasance.
Ms Essiam was also accused of going for loans to be able to pay salaries.
This led to an extended impasse in the media between the CEO and her board member.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo following this directed that all the necessary steps should be taken to dissolve the Board of the Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company (GCMC) Limited in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act and the company’s regulations.
A letter dated July 3, 2018 and signed by the Minister of Energy, Mr Boakye Agyarko and addressed to the Board Chairman of GCMC read: “His Excellency President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has directed that all the necessary steps be taken to dissolve the Board of Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company Limited in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act and the Company’s Regulations.”
“In this regard, you are kindly requested to take note of the directive as in paragraph one (1) above and act accordingly,” the letter added.
The letter which was copied to the Deputy Minister of Energy, Chief Executive of GCMC and the Company Secretary of GCMC asked the board chairman to ensure that “all documents and items belonging to the Board are handed over to the Company Secretary.”
“Meanwhile, please accept the gratitude of the President for the services you rendered to the nation,” the letter added.
The Auditor General has indicted the Boss of the Ghana Cylinder Manufacturing Company (GCMC) for the astronomical and illegal increase in the monthly fees and sitting allowances for the chair and members between 2016 and 2017.
According to an audit report into the operations of the company intercepted by Starr News, monthly fees have seen some 400% increment since the new board took over.
The allowance for the board chair which stood at GHC650 has jumped to GHC3000 while that of members which was GHC 500 has ballooned to GHC2000.
“Our review of the first (1st) minute of the Board of Directors meeting of the Company held on Thursday 2I September 2017 disclosed that the Board increased their monthly fee, and sitting allowances by themselves instead of seeking approval from members at a general meeting. The monthly fee was increased from GHC650 for Chairman and GC580.00 for members to GHc3,000.00 for Chairman and GHC2,000.00 for members. The sitting allowance was also, increased from GHC600.00 for Chairman and GHC500.00 for members to GHC1000,” the audit report said.
It also indicted the CEO of the company Frances Essiam of arbitrarily increasing the salary of staff without recourse to the procedure.
“The Chief Executive Officer (C.E.O) of the Company, arbitrarily increased the salary and wages of the workers by 30% to 50%. She again increased the number of staff from 36 to 59 without approval from the governing board, or reference to any approved salary structure and scheme of service. This resulted in an increase of the Wage bill astronomically, from GHC44,531.81 in June 2017 to GHC112,404.78 as December 2017”.
Officials of the company declined to comment on the report when contacted by Starr News.
Last year an impasse between the board and the CEO led to the dissolution of the board.
London’s falcons fed on starlings and parakeets during the pandemic, when pigeons fled the city.
In a recent study titled “The Raptor Lockdown Menu,” published in the British Ecological Society journal People and Nature, researchers examined how Covid-19 lockdowns impacted peregrine falcons’ feeding behaviors in the nation’s capital.
The fewer people outside meant that fewer pigeons were enticed out by the prospect of abandoned food, forcing their predators to look for alternative prey.
Falcons found an alternative in starlings and parakeets, the study found. However, researchers also observed no discernible change in the feeding habits of falcons in other major cities.
Academics at King’s College London and University of Bristol who authored the report said their findings illustrate just how susceptible the raptor population in the nation’s capital is to being influenced by changes in human behaviour.
They used online live-streams to monitor more than 31 falcon nests in almost 30 cities around the country over the course of three breeding seasons.
Dr Brandon Mak of King’s College London said: ‘Our results indicate that peregrines in larger, highly urbanised cities like London may be more dependent on, and hence more vulnerable to changes in, human activities which support their prey populations, particularly feral pigeons.
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“The world is still learning about the consequences of lockdowns on wildlife, which promises to shed light on how human and animal lives are linked in our shared environments.’
Peregrine falcons ate parakeets and starlings after pigeons fled cities in lockdown
Lockdowns meant there was a lack of discarded food in London, leading to fewer pigeons for the city’s falcon population to prey upon Falcons ate roughly 15% fewer pigeons during the period covered by the storyInstead, London’s peregrines ate far more parakeets and starlings
Dr Mak and his fellow researchers observed that during London’s lockdowns, peregrine falcons ate roughly 15% fewer pigeons, compared with a seven percent and three percent increase in the number of starlings and parakeets eaten, respectively.
They drew comparisons to the goshawk population in Poland, which dropped by almost 50% after farmers stopped keeping domestic pigeons and chicken, the goshawk’s chosen prey.
Such changes can have adverse effects on the health of birds of prey, given that their first choices are usually the more nutrient-rich options.
They may also have consequences for reproduction and fitness levels, given that hunting fasting prey can consume more time and energy.
The prime minister has said that there has been a “decisive breakthrough” in negotiations with the EU about Northern Ireland‘s post-Brexit commercial arrangements.
Three years after the original Brexit agreement, Rishi Sunak introduced the “new Windsor framework” during a news conference with EU Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen.
The British leader admitted that the UK and EU had “had our disputes” but said that “a new chapter in our partnership” is underway.
The agreement includes green lane and red lane trade routes – with goods remaining in the UK using the green lane to avoid customs bureaucracy and goods moving to the EU being sent in the red lane.
A ‘landmark’ settlement on medicines has also been promised, as drugs approved for use by the UK’s medicines regulator will become automatically available in every pharmacy and hospital in Northern Ireland.
The arrangement comes with a new ‘Stormont brake’ – a move designed to ‘safeguard’ Northern Ireland’s sovereignty.
‘The elected Assembly can pull the brake for changes to EU goods rules that would have significant and lasting effects on everyday lives’, Mr Sunak said. ‘When pulled, the UK government will have a veto.’
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hold a news conference at Windsor Guildhall (Picture: Reuters)
‘ECJ will have the final say’ – Ursula von der Leyen on new Brexit NI deal
The pair came to an agreement after years of debates, but it must pass through Parliament (Picture: Reuters)
He has promised his deal delivers ‘smooth-flowing trade within the whole United Kingdom, protects Northern Ireland’s place in our union and safeguards sovereignty for the people of Northern Ireland’.
But there are still hurdles to overcome, as Mr Sunak must now seek to win the backing of unionists and Tory Eurosceptics.
Parliament will have a vote on the agreement ‘and that vote will be respected’, he announced today after officials previously refused to confirm this would be the case.
Ms von der Leyen said the European Court of Justice (ECJ) is the ‘sole and ultimate arbiter of EU law’ and will have the ‘final say’ on single market decisions.
‘Extensive consultations’ with the UK and Northern Ireland will regulate the system, she added.
The EU chief will go on to have tea with the King at Windsor Castle, despite criticism that the meeting would drag Charles into the politically contentious deal.
Today we are changing the Northern Ireland Protocol and announcing the new Windsor Framework.
This agreement:
ð Delivers smooth flowing trade within the whole UK
ð¬ð§ Protects Northern Irelandâs place in our Union
â Safeguards sovereignty for the people of Northern Ireland pic.twitter.com/fy8JS1QDLR
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) February 27, 2023
The PM said: ‘For a quarter of a century the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement has endured because at its heart it is respectful to the aspirations and identity of all communities. Today’s agreement is about preserving that delicate balance and charting a new way forward for the people of Northern Ireland.’
After revealing the planned red and green lanes, he said: ‘Food retailers like supermarkets, restaurants and wholesalers will no longer need hundreds of certificates for every lorry and we will end the situation where food made to UK rules could not be sent to and sold in Northern Ireland.
‘This means that if food is available on supermarket shelves in Great Britain, then it will be available on supermarket shelves in Northern Ireland.’
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak greets EU President, Usula Von Der Leyen at the Fairmont Hotel on February 27, 2023 in Windsor (Picture: Getty Images Europe)The two leaders discussed the ‘range of complex challenges’ around the Brexit treaty earlier today (Picture: PA)
Going on to reference the process of sending parcels and VAT, he added: ‘This means we have removed any sense of a border in the Irish Sea. Second, we have protected Northern Ireland’s place in the Union.’
Ms von der Leyen has said she took ‘pride’ in delivering on the commitment to fix the issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol.
‘This new framework will allow us to begin a new chapter’, she said. ‘It provides for long-lasting solutions that both of us are confident will work for all people and businesses in Northern Ireland. Solutions that respond directly to the concerns they have raised.’
The PM hopes the deal will win the approval of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) so powersharing can be restored in Northern Ireland to get Stormont back up and running.
Mr Sunak said he understood that parties will want to consider the agreement in detail, ‘a process that will need time and care’.
Party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson previously said: ‘We’ll take our time to consider the detail and measure a deal against our seven tests.’
The value of the pound and of the UK’s biggest companies dropped as the prime minister and Ms von der Leyen started speaking at the press conference in Windsor.
Both sterling and the FTSE 100 had been trading up earlier in the day in anticipation of a new Brexit deal, but they gave back some of those gains during the press conference.
German Ambassador to Ghana Daniel Krull has observed that China’s hesitance to come to the external debt restructuring table could be due to fears over implications for its dealings with other African countries.
China’s current position as the leading creditor to African countries, the diplomat explains, means that whatever arrangement it ends up making with Ghana in terms of ongoing debt restructuring to help the country meet requirements for an International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout must be done to all the others that are looking to reduce sovereign debts or heading to the Bretton Woods Institutions for bailouts.
“China has been very reluctant in terms of setting up a creditors committee, which is a key decision to take now; and we are aware that, so far, the Ghanaian government has not been able to enter into direct talks with them; so we are trying to talk to them, but China is a big player and has its agenda for dealing with Africa.
“We must also be aware that other countries are having similar challenges, and that is making it so complex because it might not be with only Ghana but other African countries. So, this is not only with Ghana but all of Africa; and that explains China’s hesitance in negotiating with Ghana. Let’s not also forget that China’s economy has also been hit hard by COVID-19 and is not in the best of shape,” he said.
Imperatively, he urged China to take a bold internal decision as soon as possible and come to the negotiation table in order to enable Ghana chart a pathway to recovery from the ongoing economic challenges characterised by unsustainable public debt.
Touching on what the German government is doing to help Ghana out of its woes, Mr. Krull emphasised that Germany remains committed to supporting the country in these hard times; nonetheless, every help must be given within the remit of international conditions and policies.
“The recent visit of top German ministers and parliamentarians to Ghana in recent times is a clear sign of our commitment and preparedness to support in all times, and especially in times of crisis like this one. We are prepared to live up to our responsibility as one of the major bilateral creditors to Ghana, but we are ready to do so with certain criteria adhered to,” he said.
He stated that the G20 has a common framework for handling such crises and that Germany is committed to respecting the framework irrespective of the fact it might not be perfect.
The ambassador further called on business moguls who have good relationships with China to also get involved in lobbying the Asian nation to come to the aid of Ghana.
The ambassador made these remarks in his engagement with the press at his residence to brief them on the state of bilateral relations between the two countries after the German employment minister’s visit.
China-Ghana debt restructure status
The Minister of Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, disclosed last week that government’s planned high-level meeting with Chinese creditors over Ghana’s debt restructuring has been postponed to late March 2023.
For many stakeholders, this could affect Ghana’s timelines for an economic bailout of US$3billion to build back the economy, as the country needs to conclude its debt restructuring negotiations with its creditors to be able to secure the Fund’s executive board approval for the bailout programme.
China and its agencies hold about US$1.7billion of Ghana’s US$5.5billion bilateral debt, and the specialised nature of their lending windows means that Ghana cannot add them to the model used to negotiate with the G20 and Paris Club members.
Drake has a track record for name-dropping his ex-girlfriends in his music. But it appears the rapper might have some second thoughts about some of those choices.
While chopping it up with Lil Yachty on FUTUREMOODS’s premiere episode of Moody Conversations, Drake hinted that he feels remorseful about naming drop his ex-girlfriends. “I heard it the other night. I think that, and sometimes when I’ve said girls’ names in songs, maybe those are the two things that I look back on, and I’m like, ‘Maybe I coulda done without, like, shitting on people for age or disrupting somebody’s life,’” he said.
“The lyrics are never with ill intent, but I had somebody tell me one time, ‘You know, it’s not necessarily what you’re saying about me, it’s the fact that you said it,’” Drake added.
He then elaborated on a conversation he had with his ex, saying that she said he doesn’t know how his lyrics can impact her life.
“’You don’t know who my boyfriend is at the time, or you don’t know what my family knows or doesn’t know. And if you express any form of discontent for me and call me by name in a song, then all of a sudden I’m left to pick up the pieces of my own life that I’ve tried to build up for myself,’” Drizzy said, mimicking their conversation.
“So I’ve tried my best to stop doing that,” Drake concluded. “But I like to be honest in music too, so that one’s a push and pull.”
Challenging Heights, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has petitioned the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) over human trafficking and modern day slavery in the supply chains of AfCFTA participating companies.
This petition was submitted to the AfCFTA Secretary General through the AfCFTA Secretariat, urging the organisation to address human rights issues, especially those bordering on human trafficking, modern slavery, forced labour, and other human rights abuses throughout company supply and value chains.
Challenging Heights says this is to avoid the risks of international product sanctions, as well as to enhance international consumer and investment confidence in the participating companies within the AfCFTA agreement.
The Chief Executive Officer of the organisation, James Kofi Annan, says that currently, there are an estimated 49.6 million people in modern slavery globally, generating over 150 billion US dollars annually.
CEO of Challenging Heights, James Kofi Annan
Modern slavery, he implies, is prevalent in Africa, with over 27.6 million people affected (in Africa alone) on any given day, and more than 3.3 million of those affected being children (ILO, 2022).
Background
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UN, 1948) sought to guarantee the rights of all people in the world. Since the declaration was made, the United Nations has established several protocols and funds to address issues of human rights violations globally.
About 12 years ago, the United Nations published the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UN, 2011). The Guiding Principles contain three fundamental pillars: protect, respect, and remedy, detailing concrete and actionable steps for governments and companies to meet their obligations to protect human rights in company operations, and to provide remedies if human rights violations do occur.
Globally, a lot of efforts have been made to address the issue of human trafficking and modern slavery. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Goal 8.7, sets out to “take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, end modern slavery, and human trafficking, and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor, including the recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labor in all its forms.”
Various countries and states have passed various laws and regulations that address human trafficking and modern slavery, from victim protection to addressing supply chain issues related to modern slavery. Forced labor has been made a crime in the United States of America. Forced labor has been defined in the United States Code, Section 1589, as “knowingly providing or obtaining the labor or services of a person using force, threats of force, physical restraint, or fraud.” This law mandates the US State Department of Labor, to blacklist products that are tainted with forced labor.
The California Transparency in Supply Chains Act (2012) for instance requires all retailers and manufacturers doing business in California with a profit of $100 million or more to inform the general public about human trafficking and modern slavery risks in their supply chains. This law makes it possible for consumers to learn about companies’ efforts to address human trafficking and modern slavery issues in their supply chains and gives consumers the chance to be more responsible in their buying decisions.
The California modern slavery law is similar to that of the UK modern slavery Act (2015), which also makes it mandatory for companies to publish efforts they are making to address modern slavery and human trafficking. The Australian Modern Slavery Act (2018) puts the responsibility on Australian companies, both home and abroad, to address issues within their supply chains or face severe sanctions. Currently, the European Union is discussing new legislation aimed at comprehensively addressing human rights due diligence issues, including human trafficking and modern slavery, in business supply chains.
All these superpower country laws have several implications for businesses and products from Africa, as the requirements of the laws include first-, second-, third-, and, in some cases, fourth-tier due diligence requirements.
Human trafficking and modern slavery
CEO of Challenging Heights, James Kofi Annan, says many members of the African Union, and AfCFTA for that matter, have established human trafficking legislations that address human trafficking from victims’ perspectives. However, there is a wide gap in the human trafficking and modern slavery laws established in African countries. There is, as yet, no law in Africa that makes it mandatory for African businesses to address human trafficking and modern-day slavery issues in their supply chains. Also, he indicates there are no comprehensive arrangements within the business community to identify and address human trafficking and modern-day slavery issues within business value chains.
Obviously, today’s business environment has a complicated supply chain mechanism that goes beyond one country, or one continent. Businesses done in Ghana, Nigeria, or any other part of Africa have their value chains deeply connected to those in Europe, Asia, America, Australia, and so on, due to factors such as raw material sourcing, financing arrangements, investments, equipment requirements, and so on. In effect, due diligence laws passed in America, Europe, Asia, or Australia, inevitably affect businesses in Africa due to the complexities of human resources, supply chains, and the reach of the laws at all levels.
There have been several global private and intergovernmental initiatives aimed at helping the private sector address issues of modern slavery, both in their supply chains, and as part of doing responsible business. The Bali Process is an international governmental initiative which was established over two decades ago, that brought 49 countries of the world together to foster cooperation towards addressing modern slavery through policy and regulatory reforms, and corporate social responsibility. The Khartoum Process, set up ten years ago, is an intergovernmental initiative aimed at addressing the flow of modern slavery from Africa to the Gulf countries. The UN backed New York based Global Financial Sector Commission, which Challenging Heights was deeply involved, produced a report that brought the global financial sector together, and produced a Blueprint, which allows the financial sector to help address human trafficking and modern slavery comprehensively. Their work resulted in the establishment of the Finance Against Slavery and Trafficking Initiative (FAST Initiative), of which Challenging Heights is a founding board member.
James Kofi Annan stated: “Therefore, AfCFTA has an opportunity to leverage existing national and international regulations and initiatives to establish initiatives that will provide participating companies with the obligations to address human trafficking and modern slavery in their supply chains.” “As AfCFTA is young, such a concurrent initiative will provide the business cultural environment that will assist participating products with a clean image to enter markets where they would have faced blacklisting or weakened consumer confidence.”
He further noted that investors all over the world are investing in responsible businesses. The Principles of Responsible Investment (PRI) group, with 7,000 member investors and corporate signatories representing businesses in 135 countries, is the world’s largest voluntary corporate sustainability initiative whose members underscores what are the issues engaging investors’ attention in the global business environment – human rights, and the environment.
“Such international initiatives have resulted in international banks being forced to lend to responsible and diligent companies.” Consumers are looking into responsible companies that are addressing issues of due diligence before making consumption decisions. “The need for AfCFTA to help members address supply chain issues cannot, therefore, be overemphasized,” he stated.
Challenging Heights is by the petition requesting that AfCFTA establish an initiative that obliges its members to approve corporate policies that address supply chain issues as well as its own internal human rights issues. The organization is also requesting that AfCFTA initiate conversations with the governments of member countries to pass punitive company/product due diligence legislation.
Challenging Heights finally requests AfCFTA set up a unit to monitor compliance and for the unit to work with member countries to facilitate the passing of due diligence legislation.
Challenging Heights, with several years of national and international advocacy experience and years of being involved with most of the said international initiatives, is willing and able to support AfCFTA in these directions.
The NGO, officially established in 2005, works for the protection of human rights, especially the protection of victims of forced labor, human trafficking, and modern slavery. Since its inception, the organization has rescued over 1,800 children from human trafficking and modern slavery, supported over 4,000 women and over 4,000 youth, and been part of several successful advocacy efforts, both in Ghana and abroad.
The patient was one of five people on board a medical transport flight who were all murdered when it crashed in the northern Nevada foothills.
The Friday night disaster near Stagecoach claimed the lives of the pilot, flight nurse, paramedic, and a relative who was traveling with the patient.
We convey our sincere condolences to their families, said Barry Duplantis, president and CEO of Care Flight, which offers ambulance service via plane and helicopter.
The crash occurred amid a winter storm warning issued by the National Weather Service in Reno for large swaths of Nevada, including parts of Lyon County.
The weather service said it was expecting heavy snow, wind gusts of up to 65 mph and periods of whiteout conditions between 4am Friday and 4am Sunday.
‘It’s a pretty mountainous region,’ Lyon County Sergeant Nathan Cooper said. ‘Especially with the weather being the way it is right now, it’s not very good.’
The National Transportation Safety Board said Saturday morning on Twitter that it is sending a seven-member team of investigators to the crash site.
The NTSB is expected release more information Sunday at a news conference.
Care Flight identified the downed aircraft as a Pilatus PC-12 airplane. Federal Aviation Administration records show the aircraft was manufactured in 2002.
The company said in a statement that it is halting flights to focus on helping responding agencies, team members and the families.
In the wake of reports of the purported friction between him and Mzbel, Nana Tornado has shared a cryptic message on social media.
Earlier, news of the two best friends unfollowing each other on social media took over the internet with scores of netizens wondering if their friendship had crashed.
But it appears the two have been throwing subtle jabs at each other and the latest to throw a shot is Nana Tonardo.
He took to his Instagram to talk about how certain people have destroyed and negatively transformed him.
Unclear, who his rants are targeted at, Tonardo said he has pulled the plugs on fair-weather friends, particularly those who troop in and out of his life.
“I just want to thank all those who’ve destroyed me into the person I am today. My heart is not a guest house for your short visit. have a glorious week Odiiii disciples,” he wrote as caption to a picture.
Earlier, in two separate posts on Instagram Mzbel said:
“Giving people who betrayed u a 2nd chance is like giving them a 2nd bullet for their gun because they missed u the first time… Stay woke, learn your lesson, and move on.”
“You should feel beautiful and you should feel safe. What you surround yourself with should bring you peace of mind and peace of spirit,” Another post read.
Mishasha is on her way to recording the biggest Dancehall song for Ghana with her new single release titled “Papabi” featuring Stonebwoy.
Released on Friday, February 24, 2023, the song is already making heavy rotation across radio, television, and online platforms. Without delay, Mishasha has already jumped on a media tour to amplify the song even before it gets to a week.
Many (including radio show hosts, DJs, entertainment critics and music fans) have already tipped the song as the biggest Dancehall song to ever hit the eardrums; in a very long time, such a song with a heavy buzzing hardcore dancehall sound hasn’t hit mainstream yet, especially with the 90s and early 2000s style for the genre.
On Sunday, February 26, 2023, Mishasha kicked off her media tour with an exclusive 30-minute engagement on Asaase Radio 99.5 FM on ‘Yaad Settingz’ with King Lagazee.
The fantastic interview session saw King Lagazee exhuming some new information about Mishasha too where she disclosed she’s an Accountant and Dietician by profession. This blew the audience away with how she’s able to meander her way through it all and still juggle music.
For Mishasha who is now signed to Sky Entertainment – a Ghanaian record label based in Accra – she doesn’t only major in Dancehall as many would put it.
“I am a blend of many styles because I am versatile. I don’t want to be boxed in just one genre (Dancehall); I do jazz, Afrobeats, RnB and many other music styles that connect with my vibe. I grew up in a family of musicians where you would find some of my family playing the trombone and other instruments. I do play the flute too and now trying my hands on the guitar so I have many styles to me,” Mishasha disclosed.
In the last quarter of 2022, she got officially introduced to the media and public as a signee under Sky Entertainment, same label that signed new buzzling Afrobeats Singer, Yaw Darling (who is also equally doing well with his debut release under the label titled ‘Pull Up’).
Mishasha released “It’s You”, an Afrobeats song not too long ago which is also enjoying airplay, but “Papabi” seems to be taking the lead for her now, which is also a good thing.
She has released some singles previously before she got signed to Sky Entertainment.
She is a protégé of Mr. Logic, a seasoned Ghanaian Dancehall veteran cum industry Critic – which even speaks volumes on how she delivered on the song; there was no way she could fail after her tutelage from the ‘Dancehall Dada’, Mr. Logic.
