Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic insists his team will have no reason to “fear” Lionel Messi in the World Cup semi-finals if they repeat the defensive approach that limited Neymar’s influence against Brazil.
A 4-2 penalty shoot-out win over the Selecao on Friday following a 1-1 draw after extra time at Education City Stadium secured Croatia successive World Cup semi-final appearances.
Neymar did give Brazil the lead in the first half of extra time at the end of a brilliant move, before Bruno Petkovic’s deflected strike took the game to penalties.
But Brazil’s talisman otherwise struggled to penetrate the Croatian defence.
Occupying a slightly more central position inside Vinicius Junior on the left, the two players managed just one key pass and five completed dribbles out of 14 between them as Mario Pasalic, Josip Juranovic and Luka Modric worked tirelessly to pressure them.
Life will not get much easier for Croatia in their next game as they face Messi and Argentina, though Dalic is confident in their ability to keep him quiet.
“We need to guard against Messi, but not in a player-on-player style, as we didn’t [do that] in
our last meeting,” he said.
“We know how much he runs, how much he likes to play with the ball at his feet and the key to our defensive phase will be discipline.
“If we repeat the same thing as against Brazil, which is that we are close [to him], that we stand by the player, we have nothing to fear.”
Dalic was keen to stress Messi cannot be their sole focus.
However, he believes Croatia should be able to take encouragement from Argentina’s struggles against the Netherlands in the quarter-finals.
As pointed out by The HollywoodReporter, the 13-track project unexpectedly dropped Friday morning on major platforms like Apple Music and Spotify; however, representatives for Sony Music claim the set was an unauthorized release that had nothing to do with its catalog division, Legacy Recordings.
Kelly’s attorney insisted the singer’s team was not involved in I Admit It’s release, and claimed the project was a bootleg version.
“It’s stolen music,” attorney Jennifer Bonjean told THR. “A police report was filed some time ago because his masters were stolen, but there’s not much of an appetite to investigate these things. People have had access to his intellectual property rights that they are attempting to profit off of, but unfortunately that does not include Mr. Kelly.”
She continued: “When he was arrested, he had studio equipment that was taken. His masters are missing. The music is somewhere out there, but who has it and who has profited off it — we don’t know entirely.”
I Admit It includes songs like “Last Man Standing,” “Where’s Love When You Need It,” “Freaky Sensation,” and the controversial title track in which he addresses domestic violence, pedophilia, and other sex crime allegations.
“What’s the definition of a cult? What’s the definition of a sex slave?” he sings in the 19-minute song, which was released in 2018 via SoundCloud. “Go to the dictionary, look it up/Let me know, I’ll be here waiting … I’m not gonna let y’all steal my joy/I’m just gon’ keep on doin’ me/Now I don’t know what else to say except ‘I’m so falsely accused’/Tell me, how can you judge when you’ve never walked in my shoes?”
Kelly received a 30-year prison sentenced back in June, after he was found guilty of racketeering and sex trafficking in a New York federal court. The 55-year-old is facing similar charges in Minnesota and Illinois.
Johnny Knoxville has another lawsuit on his hands.
According to Variety, the 51-year-old Jackass star is being sued over an elaborate prank on a California handyman named Khalil Khan. The plaintiff, who filed the complaint in Long Beach Superior Court this week, claims he was called to a home back in October to perform, what he believed to be, a routine repair job; however, once he arrived at the residence, he was subjected to a series of bizarre events that caused him emotional distress.
The lawsuit states the owner of the home told Khan to fix a light dimmer, and threatened to beat him up if he failed to do a good job.
“I know jiu-jitsu,” the owner allegedly told Khan.
Within minutes of arriving at the home, the plaintiff was allegedly confronted by a little girl, who began shouting: “You killed my pony!” Khan claims the child and the homeowner—who were both actors—led him to a room in which a pony appeared to be on life support. The repair said he was blamed for cutting off the home’s electricity, which caused the animal to die.
The situation intensified when Khan reportedly looked outside and noticed his car was being towed. He said he pulled out his phone to call the police, but stopped when one of the tow truck drivers claimed they had found cocaine in his vehicle. The lawsuit states Khan vehemently denied having any narcotics, which prompted one of the actors to hold up a small plastic bag that contained a white powder.
“At this point, Plaintiff was in a panic,” the complaint read. “In the span of just minutes, he had been threatened with being beaten up, told he botched the repair job, accused of murdering a pony, had his car taken without his permission, and was now being told that he would be arrested for possession of illicit narcotics.”
Khan said it Knoxville eventually emerged and informed him it was all a big prank. Knoxville then allegedly offered Khan a few hundred dollars in cash for his participation.
“But Plaintiff was not amused, and remains unamused,” the suit continued. “He has been badly shaken and traumatized by this episode.”
Khan is now suing Knoxville and Dickhouse Entertainment, Inc. for compensatory and punitive damages, claiming the “terrifying ordeal” left him with anxiety and sleep problems. He also claimed the prank could hurt his reputation and career if it was ever released to audiences.
Though Knoxville teased the possibility of another Jackass movie, the stunt was likely filmed for The Prank Patrol, an upcoming ABC series featuring Knoxville, Eric Andre, and Gabourey Sidibe.
Knoxville’s camp has yet to publicly comment on the lawsuit.
Tina Turner’s son Ronnie Turner has passed away at the age of 62.
According to TMZ, police received a call Thursday morning from someone who said Ronnie was having trouble breathing. While Bystanders attempted CPR, paramedics arrived at the scene to find Turner dead.
Turner’s cause of death is currently unclear, though the outlet notes “he’s had health issues for years, including cancer.”
Ronnie’s mother, legendary singer Tina Turner, took to Instagram on Friday to mourn the loss of her son.
“Ronnie, you left the world far too early,” Tina wrote. “In sorrow I close my eyes and think of you, my beloved son.”
Hours earlier, Ronnie’s wife, French singer Afida Turner, confirmed her husband’s death in an Instagram tribute.
“I did the best to the end this time I was no[t] able to save you. Love you for… 17 years this is very very very bad and I am very mad,” she wrote in the caption of the post. “This is a tragedy u with your brother Craig and your father Ike Turner and Aline rest in paradise… So unfair.”
Ronnie’s death comes four years after Tina lost oldest son, Craig, who in July 2018 died by suicide at the age of 59.
“My saddest moment as a mother,” Tina tweeted at the time.
“On Thursday, July 19, 2018, I said my final goodbye to my son, Craig Raymond Turner, when I gathered with family and friends to scatter his ashes off the coast of California. He was fifty-nine when he died so tragically, but he will always be my baby.”
Lionel Messi was motivated to lead Argentina past the Netherlands due to feeling “a little attacked” by Louis van Gaal’s pre-match comments, Lionel Scaloni said.
Messi is enjoying an outstanding World Cup and continued in that vein on Friday as he scored one and created another in a 2-2 quarter-final draw with the Netherlands.
Argentina advanced after a penalty shoot-out, recovering after Wout Weghorst’s dramatic double had denied them victory in normal time.
There had predictably been plenty of focus on Messi heading into the match, with Netherlands coach Van Gaal suggesting Argentina were relying too heavily on their captain in attack while he would not be asked to defend.
Messi appeared to gesture in Van Gaal’s direction on multiple occasions, including after scoring, cupping his ears in an apparent reference to Juan Roman Riquelme’s own celebration.
Van Gaal and Riquelme were at odds during their time together at Messi’s former club Barcelona.
“I’m not going to give Van Gaal advice, but it’s not easy to make [Messi] play angry,” Argentina coach Scaloni told TyC Sports.
“I don’t know if he was angry, but to make him play the way he played today… it’s exciting.
“These are things that happen on the pitch and stay there. But we didn’t play with one less when we didn’t have the ball, we played with 11.
“I think with Leo he felt a little attacked and showed that he is the best of all time. We are happy to have him.”
After a last-16 win over Australia, in which Messi was similarly influential, team-mate Alexis Mac Allister had explained how the legendary forward was inspired to perform.
Black Galaxies head coach Annor Walker has stated that camping ahead of the CHAN tournament is going well but the team’s game plan has not been finalized.
The squad is training in Prampram under the strict supervision of veteran head coach Annor Walker. The tournament will begin on January 13, 2023.
After being absent from the previous three editions, Ghana will be making her first participation in eight years.
“I think we have been here for the past 10/11 days and we started training and at the weekend we had our first friendly game against a second Division team called New Town FC and won 7-0. We continued our training and today we had another friendly match that we won 4-1,” he told GFA Communications.
“I am not looking at the results but performance and the game plan that we are strategizing to play. For me it’s working but we are not there yet,”
The Black Galaxies will take on Ghana Premier League side Accra Hearts of Oak tomorrow at the Accra Sports Stadium. The game will kick off at 3:00 pm
Brazil’s hope of winning a sixth World Cup has fallen into the mud after losing to Croatia on penalties in the quarter-finals.
The Selecao since the start of the 2022 FIFA World Cup have been one of the favourites to win the tournament.
Unfortunately, their journey has been ended by a determined Croatian side that fought to stay in the quarter-final contest throughout the 120 minutes on Friday, December 9.
In the game today, neither Brazil nor Croatia did enough to win at the end of the 90 minutes
After the goalless draw, the game travelled to extra time where both sides managed to score a goal each.
It was Brazil that took the lead in the 105th minute when poster boy Neymar got the ball into the net of Croatia’s net to complete a well-worked team move.
Unfortunately, for the Samba Boys, they could not hold onto the lead. A strike from Bruno Petković four minutes before the end of the match restored parity to the game.
At the end of the penalty shootout, Croatia won 4-2 to progress to the semi-finals of the tournament.
Brazil are out and will have to wait for the next four years to try again for the sixth world title.
Annor Walker head coach of Black Galaxies says MTN FA Cup holders Accra Hearts of Oak will give his side a good test as they prepare for the CHAN tournament which will be held in Algeria.
Ghana competes in Group C, along with the reigning champions Morocco, Sudan, and Madagascar.
Hearts of Oak will also be preparing for the Ghana Premier League, which begins on December 19, 2022, immediately after the World Cup finals.
The Accra-based club travel to Nsoatre for their showdown against Nsoatreman FC on Match Day 9.
Speaking to GFA Communications Annor Walker said:
“We will continue until the final day that we will leave for the tournament. Luckily, we are playing Accra Hearts of Oak on Sunday and as one of the biggest teams in Ghana, I think they will give us a good test,”
“The GFA is working on an International friendly for us but they are not done yet so I decided to play them for now, in place of an International friendly. So, our preparation is on course,”
In the last 13 years, Highlife musician Kwaisey Pee has made four attempts at waving goodbye to his music career because of frustrations in the industry.
In addition to that, comments and insults that greet him anytime he releases a song push him further to call it quits from music.
According to the Mehia Odo singer, “for the past 13 years, I have been releasing good songs but they don’t get the needed attention, they are rather met with insults. I have personally sent some of my songs to radio stations after releasing them and as we speak, I am yet to hear them on air.
“I mostly get comments like stay away from music and give the young ones a chance and that I am too old to do music, others tell me straight away they are not interested in my works.”
“Such comments make me feel so bad that all I want to do is to give up on music. In fact, I have thought about it on a number of occasions to stop doing music and venture into other stuff,” he told Graphic Showbiz in a recent interview.
Explaining why he was still doing music if he was discouraged and so frustrated, Kwaisey Pee said it was because of the passion he has for it, and also family and friends just won’t let him go ahead with his decision.
“Whenever I decide to abandon music, I consult family and friends and they never support me. I remember telling a colleague musician I was tired of music and wanted to switch to something else. He came over and spent close to two hours convincing me to stay in the industry. My family never supports me anytime I discuss leaving music,” he revealed.
The effect of the Covid-19 pandemic has worsened inequitable access to health care systems in Africa and the world, Health Minister, Kwaku Agyeman-Manu, has said.
He said the vulnerable populations continued to face higher burden of morbidity and mortality.
The Minister was speaking at the opening of the 3rd African Medicine Regulatory Harmonization (AMRH) Week in Accra, on the theme: “The African Medicine Regulatory Harmonization – A foundation for the African Medicines Agency”.
According to him, this situation was due to limited access to affordable, effective and good quality essential health care products and services in the African continent.
This he said could only be addressed through efficient and well coordinated efforts to harmonize regulatory processes and initiatives that would enhance collaboration among regional communities.
He said: “Many African governments have realised and agree that there is an urgent need to strengthen manufacturing capacities on the continent for vaccines and other medical products as part of building strengthened health systems after the Covid-19 pandemic and in preparation for future pandemics should they occur”.
Dr. David Mukanga, Deputy Director, Africa Regulatory Systems, expressed commitment to support the vision of the AMRH in addressing the challenges to achieve its objectives, adding that there was the need to move quickly due to Africa’s many challenges.
“We need to move beyond plans and ideas to executing, and we are here to work with the African continent to make sure that people of the continent, mothers, children and the men on the street have access to quality medicines,” he said.
Mrs Delese Mimi Darko, Chief Executive Officer, Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), said Ghana, Egypt, Tanzania, South Africa and Nigeria were the African countries with strong regulatory systems.
She disclosed that the Authority had trained more than 52 African regulators in clinical trial oversight, pharmacovigilance, and marketing authorisation.
She said: “Since 2020, we have been designated as a Maturity Level 3 agency based on the World Health Organization’s Global Benchmarking Tool and we are working assiduously to achieve ML4”.
Mrs Darko noted that the momentum for joint learning and mentorship was rife and keen to grow along with many National Regulatory Authorities ( NRAs) to achieve the vision of a robust medicine regulatory regime in Africa.
The AMRH week is an event convened every two years by the AMRH joint secretariat which comprises the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD (AUDA-NEPAD) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) with support from the African Union Commission (AUC).
The ‘week’ brings together high-level African leaders and policy makers , members of the AMRH steering committee, Regional Economic Communities (REC) and other partners and stakeholders to showcase and celebrate the successes of AMRH as well as to reflect on progress, challenges and identify opportunities for continued improvement.
The NRAs across the globe, especially in Africa and other low and middle-income countries faced many challenges in ensuring access to quality medical devices , in-vitro diagnosis, personal protective equipment and other health products to control the COVID-19 pandemic.
In response to these challenges, AMRH steering committee is expected to provide accelerated technical support and assistance to address some of the challenges highlighted.
The 3rd AMRH week celebration which was hosted for the first time in Ghana would present an opportunity to share experiences, good practices and innovative responses to the pandemic by the NRAs.
The vision of the AMRH would ensure that countries work together under the AMRH, pull talents from across the continent, ensure best practices in regulatory processes while ensuring that medical products that are either produced locally or imported would be safe and of good quality for the citizenry.
Movie producer and CEO of Farmhouse Productions, Ivan Quashigah, is optimistic things will turn around despite the decline in the patronage of the local movies.
In an interview with Graphic Showbiz, Ivan delved into the current situation with the industry and also looked at the way forward.
‘’We are still at the beginning stages; we are still crawling. We haven’t really taken off in terms of production. For us to really have a thriving industry, there has to be a lot of production and if that happens, then the themes will be varied and we will have a wide range of themes.
‘’What happens here is that producers see a particular film do very well and somehow, everybody goes in that direction so we end up replicating the same themes without venturing into others. Our historical stories about Yaa Asantewaa, Okomfo Anokye and all the big festivals we have ought to be brought to the screens.
Ivan gave his thoughts on what he believes should be the government’s support for the industry, “In terms of support, I have always said the film industry is somehow driven by private people’s efforts so it looks like the government doesn’t put in a lot because the benefits of the entertainment industry are not quite easily quantifiable. You go to the hospital and you can see that they have treated 5,000 people, in terms of the entertainment industry it is not like that.
“What we have all come to see is that the benefits we derive from the entertainment industry or cinema go far, far beyond anything else, it rebrands the country, it provides visibility for the country just as the Black Stars are doing worldwide. Films build pride and confidence in the people, these are things that are priceless that we can leverage.
“So far, when it comes to government’s support, we have the Film Bill, as well as the National Film Authority. But we need support to create an enabling environment for filmmakers to thrive. We don’t need a lot of money because when we have digital platforms and opportunities to put films out there, we will make money.
“Also, we need the government to help us with venues to show our films around the country. I know that distribution is the bane of the industry so if our films are well distributed even around Ghana, filmmakers can make their money back and come out with more films.”
He also opined that a film fund would come in handy, and said: “We need a film fund where filmmakers can borrow from to finance their films and then pay back. The tax on film equipment should be minimal and filmmakers who have set up their own companies should be given some tax holidays maybe for five years.
“What the government needs to understand is that the film industry employs a lot of people, the value chain in the film process is very huge from pre-production to production to post-production and even distribution. If the film industry thrives, a lot more people will be engaged and in the process reduce unemployment,’’ he stated.
A renowned American sports journalist passed away while covering the World Cup in Qatar.
He died at age 48
According to reports, the journalist during the game between Argentina and the Netherlands on Friday, Grant Wahl passed out.
He may have had a heart attack, according to early reports, although this has not yet been formally verified.
In favour of LGBT rights, Mr. Wahl attempted to enter a stadium last month and was briefly held by Qatari officials.
In a statement, the US Soccer Federation said it was “heartbroken” by the news.
“Fans of soccer and journalism of the highest quality knew we could always count on Grant to deliver insightful and entertaining stories about our game, and its major protagonists,” it said.
In a tweet, Mr Wahl’s wife, Céline Gounder, said she was in “complete shock”, adding that she was “so thankful” for the support she had received from friends.
Mr Wahl celebrated his 48th birthday on Thursday with friends in Qatar, a day before he collapsed. He wrote on his website on Monday that he had been unwell in the last 10 days and was on a course of antibiotics for suspected bronchitis.
“My body finally broke down on me,” he wrote. “What had been a cold over the last 10 days turned into something more severe on the night of the USA-Netherlands game, and I could feel my upper chest take on a new level of pressure and discomfort.
For almost a year now, controversial social media sensation, Akuapem Poloo, has kept a low profile. She is hardly seen twerking, insulting others or quarrelling like she used to and she is loving her new self.
Akuapem Poloo, who is also an actress, has said she has turned a new leaf and is bent on maintaining her current lifestyle because it is helping her more, especially now that she is a Muslim and goes by the name Haniya.
Speaking with Graphic Showbiz, Akuapem Poloo said her new life takes her out of trouble.
“For the past five years, anything I do or say become a topic in town but I have deliberately kept a low profile for a year now and it is for a purpose.
“No more twerking or revealing body parts. That was in the past, the new me is doing that no more. I have been able to stay out of trouble and it is helping me in so many ways
“Previously, people contacted me and paid me to promote their products or songs for them and I did so by twerking to advertise whatever it was but I have vowed never to do that again,” she added.
Asked if she is still getting jobs although she has stopped twerking and revealing body parts, the social media personality said a few people still contacted her to do stuff for them.
“The gigs are not coming like before, maybe it was because I was loud back then and the clients were okay with me being that way but I now tell anyone who wants to do business with me that I am not going back to my old life,” she said.
Last year, Akuapem Poloo, real name Rosemond Brown, was slapped with a 90-day jail term for the publication of obscene materials after she displayed her naked picture with her seven-year-old son on social media.
Talking about prison and how that changed her life, the mother of one said it was not a place she would even wish for her enemy, adding that it had made her sober and very careful about what she did on social media.
“Now, I have realised that not only killing someone or stealing can land you in prison but other things can also get you there. So I am very careful,” she said.
Talking about her love life, Akuapem Poloo said she was engaged to one fine man and they would announce their wedding date soon.
“We are preparing to get married soon. I don’t want to rush into marriage because it is a very long journey. You need to be prepared physically and emotionally. And I know my marriage will last forever,” she revealed.
Black Galaxies head coach Annor Walker is expecting Hearts of Oak attacker Daniel Afriyie Barnieh and Asante Kotoko goalkeeper Danlad Ibrahim to join the group before the team leaves for a training tour.
Although the reason for Barnieh’s absence from the CHAN team is uncertain, Annor Walker claimed in an interview with the GFA communications that Danlad was sick and had been admitted to the hospital after the World Cup.
Daniel Afriyie Barnieh and Danlad Ibrahim were part of the 26 man Black Stars squad that exited the 2022 World Cup on December 2nd.
“Barnie and Danlad are already part of the team before they were invited to the Black Stars to travel to Qatar for the World Cup and I am told they are in town. But this morning, I heard Danlad is ill and has been admitted to the hospital,” he said.
“So seriously, I am expecting them to report to camp when Danlad is okay. For Barnie I don’t know about his condition but I am expecting them to join us here so that we can all work together before we move outside Ghana,”
Nigerian music star D’banj says he has “no business with fraud” after his lawyer said he was released from custody by the Nigerian anti-corruption agency – the ICPC.
He was arrested early on this week on allegations of fraud after millions of dollars meant to help unemployed youths start businesses was reported missing.
“I have assisted the Commission with all I know”, D’banj said on Instagram.
“I am confident in their capacity to unravel the truth,” he continued.
D’banj also added that he has been released on “self-recognition”, which means he did not have to post bail before being allowed to go.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the ICPC has told the BBC that “investigations are ongoing”.
The artist – whose real name is Oladapo Daniel Oyebanjo – has claimed to be the brand ambassador for the youth business scheme.
However, the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, which oversees the N-Power scheme, said it had no official engagement with the artist and that his claim to be an ambassador for the scheme was misleading.
N-Power was launched in 2016 by President Muhammadu Buhari. Many beneficiaries have complained for months that they were not receiving their grants.
Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency said in a statement on Wednesday that “billions of naira” had been diverted.
Ten other people, apart from D’banj, are being investigated, the agency previously said.
D’banj’s lawyer said it was an “embarrassment to the entire country that such a huge allegation [was made] against a public figure without any evidence”.
D’banj’s 2012 hit Oliver Twist won him fans across the continent and in the diaspora. Two years ago his one-year-old son drowned in a pool at his home in the commercial city of Lagos.
Russia and Iran’s relationship has warmed to a fully-fledged defence partnership, the US has said.
Russia is giving an unprecedented level of military support, said US national security council spokesman John Kirby.
The US has seen reports that the two countries are considering joint production of lethal drones, he added.
Australia has announced it is sanctioning three Iranians and one Iranian business for supplying Russia with drones to use against Ukraine.
Co-operation between Russia and Iran has been highlighted recently, with Ukraine accusing Russia of using Iranian drones in its attacks.
After initially denying sending any drones to Russia, the Middle Eastern country later admitted it had supplied some before the invasion of Ukraine.
Mr Kirby said that a partnership between Iran and Russia to produce drones would be harmful to Ukraine, Iran’s neighbours and the international community.
“Russia is seeking to collaborate with Iran in areas like weapons development, training,” he said, adding that the US fears that Russia intended to “provide Iran with advanced military components” including helicopters and air defence systems.
“Iran has become Russia’s top military backer…” he said. “Russia’s been using Iranian drones to strike energy infrastructure, depriving millions of Ukrainians of power, heat, critical services. People in Ukraine today are actually dying as a result of Iran’s.
n response to Mr Kirby’s comments, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said that Iran had become one of Russia’s main military supporters and that the relationship between them was threatening global security.
The “sordid deals” between the two countries have seen Iran send hundreds of drones to Russia, he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in July.
“In return, Russia is offering military and technical support to the Iranian regime, which will increase the risk it poses to our partners in the Middle East and to international security,” he added.
He said the UK agreed with the US that Iranian support for the Russian military would grow in the coming months as Russia tried to get hold of more weapons, including hundreds of ballistic missiles.
Ukraine accused Iran of supplying Russia with “kamikaze” drones used in a series of attacks which killed at least eight people on 17 October.
After denying this, Iran later admitted sending a “limited number” of drones to Russia, “many months” before the war in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said this was a lie and that Ukraine was shooting down about 10 Iranian drones a day.
On Saturday, Penny Wong, Australia’s foreign minister, said in a statement: “The supply of drones to Russia is evidence of the role Iran plays in destabilising global security. This listing highlights that those who provide material support to Russia will face consequences.”
She also announced measures against 19 other people and two entities, including Iran’s Morality Police, for the brutal treatment of anti-government protestors following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in custody earlier this year.
Three Premier League clubs Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool are interested in Valencia and USA international Yunus Musah.
Musah was among the top players for the USA at the World Cup in Qatar, and he has drawn interest from three Premier League teams.
The 20-year-old made an impression with his outstanding performance against England in their Group B match, but the USA’s loss to the Netherlands prevented him from advancing with his country through the round of 16.
In 2012, at age nine, he moved to London and joined Arsenal’s Academy. In the summer of 2019, Musah joined Valencia, at the age of 16, and was assigned to the reserves in Segunda División B. He made his debut with the B-team at the age of 16 on September 15, 2019, starting in a 0–0 home draw against CF La Nucía.
According to 90Min, Valencia is trying to extend Musah’s contract in an effort to beat off interest from the Premier League. Musah has two assists in 11 appearances for his team so far this season. His current contract, which already expires in 2026, contains a release clause of €100 million (£86 million).
Performing for all the Presidents of Ghana’s Fourth Republic, as well as King Charles of England will be the joy of most entertainers, and Ghanaian Poet Nana Asaase prides himself on having achieved that feat.
Not only has he performed for all these high-profile people during the 23 years of his career but the young man, who is mostly dressed in his traditional cloth, has performed for chiefs, queens and at events such as funerals, celebrity weddings and parties, among others.
How does he connect to all these people? Well, Nana Asaase, who usually communicates in Twi, told the Daily Graphic that his gigs came from recommendations from the people he had done business with.
“The clients I have dealt with recommend me to other people who need my services and others also reach out to me through my social media handles. For instance, during the burial of ace broadcaster Komla Dumor, I did something special for him and through that I had gigs across Africa.
“But in all, I will say it is my hard work, consistency and how effortless I do my things that bring me the gigs. When you are not good at what you do, no one will be willing to work with you after one or two deals, but the people always come back anytime I work with them,” he said.
Doing this for 23 years has given Nana Asaase the opportunity to travel and meet so many dignitaries but the graduate of the University of Ghana, Legon said there was more for him to do because he wanted to be the Shakespeare of Ghana.
“Like what rapper Sarkodie has been able to do with Twi internationally and Abedi Pele with football, I also want to be the Shakespeare of Ghana. After conquering Africa, I want to see myself on the international stage competing with some of the best poets in the world.
“Even though I have done this for 23 years, there is so much ahead of me to do and until God calls me, I will make sure that dream comes to pass. When you mention five top poets in Africa,
I want to be part of them and that requires hard work to get there,” he said.
Using local language
Although doing poems in English is not a problem for him, Nana Asaase said speaking his local dialect enabled him to express himself more and also get his messages across to Ghanaians.
“When you speak to a man through his language, you speak to his soul. First of all, I am a Ghanaian and the best way the majority of Ghanaians will understand me is through my local dialect, and I know how impactful communicating in my mother tongue has helped. When I perform in Twi to chiefs on occasions such as durbars, I get applause and encouragement to do more.
They like how I coin my words in the Akan language using figures of speech and proverbs to express myself,” he said.
Has he ever flopped?
Every entertainer has had a bad day at a point in his career but Nana Asaase does not remember performing so badly at an event because he does a lot of research and puts in his all to always come out with the best.
“No one is perfect but I believe there is always room for improvement. I wouldn’t say I have performed badly at an event but sometimes, you perform and get the applause but deep within you, you know it could be better.
“One thing that helps is that I always know my audience and know what to coin for them. You cannot say certain things at some events and I know what to say at a particular point in time and I always get the applause for that,” he said.
Is being a poet difficult?
Answering the question of whether being a poet is difficult, Nana Asaase said it was neither yes or no. “Putting words together requires deliberate effort but consistency will give you that mastery. It is not easy but with constant practice it becomes normal. You only become perfect at what you do with constant practice. Some people are gifted in memorising things so fast but with others, it has to be a constant practice. We are all different but I believe once you are into what you do and put in more practice you can conquer any difficult task,” he said.
Nana Asaase
Born Philip Boakye Dua Oyinka, Nana Asaase, who admires great poets such as the late Professor Awoonor and Professor Atukwei Okine, was under the tutelage of Prof. Kofi Anyidoho, a giant in Ghanaian and African literature.
He has been interviewed on both local and international media, including BBC and CNN’s African Voices programme.
He is currently serving his second term as the Secretary of the governing board of Ghana’s National Folklore Board. Nana Asaase is the Digital Reading Ambassador of the Ghana Library App and the CEO of Asaase Inscriptions, Ghana’s first Literary Coaching Agency and Cultural Consultancy.
A former Minneapolis police officer who knelt on George Floyd’s back has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for his role in Mr Floyd’s death.
J Alexander Kueng pleaded guilty to a state charge of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter in October.
He was one of four officers involved in the arrest, filmed by bystanders, of the 46-year-old.
Mr Floyd was killed by police in May 2020 while lying prone and handcuffed.
His death sparked global outrage and a wave of demonstrations against racial injustice and police use of force.
Kueng will serve his new sentence for state charges concurrently with a previous federal sentence for violating Mr Floyd’s civil rights.
In April 2021, former police officer Derek Chauvin was convicted on state murder and manslaughter charges for kneeling on Mr Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes and sentenced to 22-and-a-half years in jail. He is serving that sentence concurrently with a 20-year sentence on federal civil rights charges, for which he pleaded guilty in December 2021.
In February, Kueng, along with two other responding officers, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao, were also found guilty on federal civil rights charges. The officers were charged with showing “deliberate indifference to [Mr Floyd’s] serious medical needs” during the attempted arrest.
Video footage of the arrest shows Kueng and Lane assisting Chauvin by helping to hold Mr Floyd down. Thao, meanwhile, kept concerned bystanders away. Chauvin was a field training officer to both Lane and Kueng.
As well as Chauvin, the other officers involved were given sentences of varying lengths for the federal charges:
J Alexander Kueng was given a 36-month sentence for failing to intervene
Tou Thao was sentenced to 42-months in prison. The state case against him is still pending.
Thomas Lane is serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence concurrently with a three-year state sentence for second-degree manslaughter
Speaking in court ahead of the sentencing, prosecutor Matthew Frank said that Kueng “was not simply a bystander in what happened that day”, but instead played an “active part”.
While Kueng declined to address the court directly, his defence attorney, Thomas Plunkett, argued that city and police officials had “failed” Mr Floyd, Kueng and the community alike.
Attorneys representing George Floyd’s family said that the sentencing represented “yet another piece of justice for the Floyd family”.
“While the family faces yet another holiday season without George, we hope that moments like these continue to bring them a measure of peace, knowing that George’s death was not in vain,” they added.
Striker Eddie Nketiah scored in Arsenal’s first friendly game against Ligue 1 side Lyon in the Dubai Super Cup on Thursday.
The Gunners impressed the crowd in Dubai as Gabriel jumped highest from a corner to give Arteta’s men the lead 19 minutes in.
Striker Eddie Nketiah kicked off his spell as the club’s leading man up top in Gabriel Jesus’ absence with a great first-half performance that ended in Arsenal’s second just after the 30-minute mark before Fabio Vieira completed a near-perfect half of play.
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At the start of the second half, Arteta replaced the excellent Vieira with Marquinhos, who came close to adding a fourth goal for the north Londoners on several occasions.
Eddie Nketiah spent his World Cup break in Ghana, he was hosted by Ghana Women’s Premier League side Ridge City. He was spotted training with the newly promoted side in Ghana.
The 23-year-old has made twelve appearances this season in the Premier League.
The Ghana Health Service (GHS) will begin a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination for all persons 15 years and above, including pregnant women, from Wednesday, December 14 to Sunday, December 18, this year.
The exercise is targeted at administering about 1.46 million doses of vaccines during the four-day campaign, which is the fifth round of the National COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign Days (NaCVaDs) started in February 2022.
At a press conference in Accra yesterday, the Programme Manager of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation, Dr Kwame Amponsa-Achiano, said the strategies adopted for the campaign included outreach services just as was done for childhood immunisations; camp out where the vaccination team moved to island communities and sleep there to do the vaccination.
There would also be vaccination units stationed at the health facilities and modified house-to-house vaccinations.
He said the fifth NaCVaDs had become important to prevent any upsurge with the anticipated influx of people during the festive season.
Furthermore, Dr Amponsa-Achiano said, the fourth campaign was completed with impressive results and the fact that NaCVaDs campaigns had shown to be an additional key strategy that got a lot of persons vaccinated within a short time.
Vaccine doses administered
Touching on COVID-19 vaccines doses that had been administered, he said as of the end of last month, more than 21.17 million doses of vaccines had been administered.
The vaccines include Astra Zeneca, Sputnik, Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech, and Janssen.
As of the same period, the country had received 34.04 million doses, out of which 30.57 million had been distributed, with 3.47 million doses available.
Vaccinated persons
On persons who have been vaccinated, Dr Amponsa-Achiano said more than 12.16 million people had received at least a dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while more than 9.10 million people had been fully vaccinated.
COVID-19 situation
On the COVID-19 situation, the programme manager said the number of positive cases was 171,026, out of which 169,556 had recovered and been discharged, with nine active cases.
There is neither a severe nor critical case of the disease. He, however, said the deaths recorded so far, were 1,461.
Some of the challenges facing the vaccination campaign remain misinformation and disinformation about vaccines; pockets of hesitancy and stretched health workers who were responding to multiple outbreaks, including Marburg, polio, yellow fever and monkey pox.
Festive season
The Director-General of the GHS, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, said more people would be coming into the country as the festive season approached, hence the need for people to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
“The best gift you can give your relative this festive season is convincing them to get vaccinated and when they get vaccinated, we all get protected. The teams are already in the field, when you walk into any facility, they will vaccinate you. After the vaccination days, if you want vaccination, you will be given. I want to say that the vaccination period has started,” he said.
The UNICEF Representative to Ghana, Anne-Claire Dufay, said it was important for people to consider COVID-19 vaccination as part of routine immunisation, adding that, that was what was happening worldwide.
“In the same way that we systematically and automatically send our children for polio immunisation, we should also make sure our family members are immunised when it comes to COVID-19 and yellow fever. Let us take the vaccination seriously, if we want to continue to have normal lives and for our loved ones to have normal lives,” she advised.
After weeks of anticipation, the D-day is finally here, and this evening, Africa’s Afrobeat sensation, Wizkid, officially known as Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, takes the Accra Stadium by storm for his debut concert in the city he calls his ‘second home’ for the Wizkid Live Concert.
The concert of the young, dynamic, youth favourite and multiple award-winning show man promises to thrill about 40,000 expectant fans at the stadium.
Before heading to Ghana, the Grammy Award winner and Nigerian star had held similar sold-out concerts at the Accor Arena in Paris and New York’s Madison Square Garden (November 16) and a gig at the Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (November 24) and the audience cannot expect anything less that a swell time and an experience they would not forget in a hurry.
Although this will be Wizkid’s third show in Ghana, having made his debut alongside the celebrated Akon in 2018, tonight’s show will be his first as the headline performer and also the first performance of the new album in Africa, further lending credence to Ghana’s efforts to the best destination for tourism and hospitality.
“The better part of Wizkid’s 2022 has been on the road, running the ‘Made in Lagos’.
“Safe to say, it is only about time to let Africa in on the party, and nowhere else would have been a better host than Wizkid’s second home,” he said on twitter when the Accra concert was announced.
Event
Wizkid Live is put together by the Finali Entertainment Group, the parent company of Live Hub Entertainment.
A number of Ghana’s best in the music industry at the moment are also billed to be on stage to lend support and also thrill their fans.
Notable among them are R2Bees, King Promise, Eugy, Efya, Darko Vibes, Kelvyn Boy, Gyakie, Yaw Tog, Asaaka Boy, among others.
Preparations
All is set for the show, and with local football on a break due to the World Cup, organisers have had ample time to get the venue ready.
When the Daily Graphic visited the venue yesterday, it observed that the stage was about 90 per cent ready, just like the entire set up.
The Director of Live Hub Entertainment, organisers of the event, Jeffrey Engmann, said they had factored in the star’s love for big spacious stages for his performance and had thus provided that.
“Our stage is bigger and better than anything that has ever been experienced on Ghanaian soil and we honestly cannot wait for the audience to experience our 360-stage set up,” he said.
For better visibility and illumination of the venue for the ambience and visual directions to enable the audience see the artistes and what they do on stage better, the organisers are promising a top-notch lighting system, with the best of light emitting diode (LED) lights to be used.
Medical, welfare
Also, the Daily Graphic observed that ambulances, as well as medical tents, had been mounted, with organisers promising to deploy all the needed medical staff for any emergency or casualty.
Knowing very well how energy would be needed to dance through the nights, there the Daily Graphic saw food and drinks stands being set up for patrons to refill their energy banks.
On the issue of restrooms, Daily Graphic also observed that a lot of work has gone into it.
Aside from the regular washrooms, a number of mobile lavatories have been positioned at vantage points to make access easy when pressed.
Security
The safety and security of both artistes and patrons have been a priority and personnel from private security companies will be strategically positioned at the various entry points, while men in uniform from the state security apparatus will also be there to make sure everyone is cleared before entry.
This is to get rid of any form of threat to put the minds of patrons at ease as they dance their hearts out.
Apart from that, ushers will be all over to attend to and direct patrons as they throng in.
Performances
The ‘yeah yeah’ crooner will give the audience the opportunity to enjoy his music with a two-hour, non-stop performance of some of his repertoire, including ‘Holla at your boy’, ‘Don’t dull’, ‘Essence’, ‘Ojuelegba’ and ‘Call me every day’.
Who is Wizkid?
Wizkid is a Nigerian-born singer, songwriter, producer and executive at Starboy Worldwide and is known for his infectious Afrobeat music.
He began his musical career as a member of the Glorious Five, a group he formed with friends from his church, and was later signed to Empire Mates Entertainment (E.M.E), a Nigerian record label, in 2009.
He went on to release his first hit single, ‘Holla at your boy’, in 2011, which won him the ‘Next Rate’ award at the 2011 Headies.
His debut album, ‘Superstar’, was released that same year.
Wizkid went on to release four other studio albums, including: Ayo in 2014, Sounds from the Other Side (SFTOS) in 2017, Made in Lagos in 2020 and now More Love Less Ego in 2022.
He has also collaborated with many international artistes along the way, including Drake, Beyonce, Chris Brown, Justin Bieber, Ty Dolla Sign, etc.
In 2013, he founded the Star Boy Entertainment record label. He released two of his latest works: Made in Lagos and More Love Less Ego, on that label.
His label also hosts a number of talented artistes, including Terri and LAX, and producers DJ Tunez, Legendury Beatz and Maleek Berry.
Wizkid is a prominent figure in the Afrobeat music scene and has been a pioneer in cultivating a love for the genre across the globe. Also, he has won multiple awards at the Grammys, Billboard Awards, Soul Train Awards, BET Awards and MOBO Awards.
The Accra Zoo, which is located in the Achimota Forest, has been reopened to the general public
The zoo was forced to close down after an unidentified intruder was discovered dead in the lions’ cage on August 28 of this year.
The closure of the zoo was to pave the way for police investigations and also allow for the improvement in security, among other things.
Four months after the horrific incident, management provided enhanced security measures in order to protect tourists who visit the recreational centre.
Management of the zoo has provided electricity and the installation of closed-circuit television cameras.
Others are the mounting of security checkpoints close to the enclosures for lions for constant monitoring, enhancement of the enclosures with the addition of a third outer perimeter security fence of five metres high to be robust and the provision of directional signages to allow visitors to know their bearings.
The rest are the construction of new receptive facilities and improvement in existing washroom facilities for visitors, the renovation of old and dilapidated animal cages, as well as a tagging system for all visitors.
The current World Cup in Qatar has broken all previous records. The tournament exceeded all previous finals with the eighth 0-0 after 90 minutes in the quarter-finals between Croatia and Brazil.
The tallies were 0-0 seven games beyond the regular ending of the game at the World Cups in 1982, 2006, 2010, and 2014.
Croatia also drew goalless matches with Belgium and Morocco prior to the first quarterfinal encounter. Denmark and Tunisia, Mexico and Poland, and England and the United States all had scoreless matches.
Furthermore, Uruguay and South Korea tied 0-0. In the round of 16 encounter between Spain and Morocco, it was likewise deadlocked
The first 0-0 at a World Cup was a long time coming for the football world. There were two gameswithout a goal after 90 minutes just once, in the sixth round of the 1958 tournament. After 90 minutes of play at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the score remained 0-0. Denmark and the eventual world winners France were separated without scoring in the group stage. Even after Qatar, the current World Cup record for fewest goals scored will continue.
After 58 games, 154 goals were scored – 2.75 per game. The 1990 World Cup in Italy holds the negative record. Only 115 goals were scored throughout the tournament – an average of 2.21 goals per game. The record for the highest goal average at a World Cup will probably not be beaten either. When Germany became world champions for the first time in 1954, the ball landed in the net 140 times in 26 games – an average of 5.38 goals per game.
Ati Zigi has been a regular at St Gallen this season, making 14 appearances, keeping two clean sheets, and conceding 21 goals.
He was named as Ghana’s first keeper ahead of the World Cup after Orlando Pirates goalkeeper Richard Ofori and Charlton keeper Jojo Wollacott were ruled out of the tournament due to injuries.
Wollacott missed Charlton’s 3-3 draw against Burton Albion after injuring his finger in the warm-up.
Lawrence Ati Zigi received high praise from football pundits and Ghanaians after his outstanding performance in the post for the Black Stars of Ghana.
Ghana exited the tournament early after winning one game against South Korea and losing two games against Uruguay and Portugal in the group stage.
This year’s Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols is expected to hit a high note when MTN Ghana put together crowd-pulling artistes to thrill fans and customers at the Fantasy Dome in Accra on 16th December 16.
The well-cerebrated artistes billed to perform are Kuami Eugene, Adina, Joe Mettle Lasmid, Kwan Pa Band, Nana Sei the story singer, and El Dunamis.
MTN’s Viva Voices Choir and the silky smooth singer, Adepa Zela will complete the exciting line-up of performers on the night.
According to MTN, this year’s carols service promises to surpass all expectations.
To make this event a memorable one MTN Ghana has also introduced a Family Carols Competition to enable family and friends to get invitations to the event.
All you need to do is to film yourself singing a carol and upload it on social media using the hashtag #Yellowtide22. There will be a special prize for videos that gain more likes or trends.
MTN’s Nine Lessons and Carols Service is organised annually to usher MTN stakeholders into the Christmas season and share in the joy of the season.
The much-anticipated occasion is adored by patrons and members of the general public for its superb planning and the staging of numerous seasoned artists.
MTN Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols also offers MTN the opportunity to celebrate Christmas with customers, staff, and other stakeholders and to thank them for their support throughout the year.
The star-studded event will also be streamed live on Facebook and YouTube (MTN Ghana), from 7 pm.
The founder of the Liberal Party of Ghana, Kofi Akpaloo, claims he will invest US$1 billion dollars into football to win the World Cup for Ghana when voted as president.
Ghana’s failure in recent competitions has been attributed to the dependence on foreign-based players because of the lack of infrastructure to develop local talents.
The LPG’s 2020 Presidential Candidate believes investment in sports, especially football, will help Ghana win laurels when he is voted as president in 2025.
“When given the mantle to lead Ghana as President in 2025, I will invest hugely in football so we can build a solid team that can compete and win the competition (World Cup) for Ghana.” Mr. Akpaloo told Kumasi-based Akoma FM.
“I see football as a business. When you invest well into it, you reap huge returns with its attendant and employment benefit for the citizenry.
“I will invest an amount of $1 billion into the GFA so they can develop and nurture talents. This will be another avenue for employment.
“We must support colts football and grassroots athletics, and this can only be done by investing in sports.”
The Ahafo Regional Coordinating Council and Asutifi North District Assembly have commended Newmont Africa’s Ahafo Mine for their contribution to the stability, growth and progress of Agriculture especially in the Asutifi North District, even in the face of challenges.
This was captured in a citation presented to Newmont Ahafo during the 38th Farmers’ Day Celebration at Gyedu, in the Ahafo region.
The Ahafo Region Regional Minister, George Boakye, presented the citation to Newmont Ahafo mine on behalf of the Ahafo Regional Coordinating Council and Asutifi North District Assembly.
According to the General Manager of the Ahafo mine, Alex Kofi Annin, the Ahafo mine has been deliberate with its social and economic interventions and has sought to provide considerable support to agriculture, being mindful of the agrarian nature of the communities that host the mine.
As has become the practice, the Ahafo mine supported all the five Municipal and District Assemblies (MDA’s) close to its operations, which are, the Asutifi North and South Districts, the Tano North Municipality, and the Asunafo North and South Municipalities, with items and cash valued at GHC337,730.
In accepting the citation on behalf of the mine, Mr Alex Kofi Annin said, “What we have sought to do is to ensure that our core business of mining co-exists meaningfully with agriculture so that, together, we provide a range of opportunities that improve the lot of our people.”
He added that, with the limited employment opportunities within the mine, agriculture remains an important and sustainable income-earning option for community youth, and the mine is ready to support it.
Asutifi North District Best Farmer is Newmont’s AILAP Beneficiary
The 2022 overall Best Farmer for the Asutifi North District, Halid Amidu Yakubu, is a beneficiary of Ahafo mine’s Agricultural Improvement and Land Access Programme (AILAP), and a contractor to the mine.
AILAP is a livelihood re-establishment programme that was designed to help increase agricultural productivity, improve crop diversity and market access, and ultimately improve food security in the mine’s host communities.
Mr. Yakubu, who started farming in 2009 through AILAP, now has 65 acres of cocoa, 15 acres of plantain, seven acres of orange, four acres of coconut and cocoyam, 10 acres of maize, and 10 acres of oil palm. This is in addition to livestock such as cattle, poultry, rabbits, and goats, among others.
Three out of four adults representing 75.0 percent think corruption increased in Ghana in the last two years.
This is according to a new survey by the 2021 Ghana Integrity of Public Services Survey (GIPSS) released by the Ghana Statistical Service.
The report also revealed that about half of the people surveyed representing 52.6 percent think corruption increased due to COVID-19.
“Three in every four, representing 75.0 percent of adults think corruption increased in Ghana in the two years preceding the survey with about half, representing 52.6 percent thinking corruption increased due to COVID-19.”
“The most frequently selected strategies for fighting corruption are improving living standards (45.1% of adults), improving the access to basic services for all (41.2% of adults), and introducing an anonymous reporting system against corruption (35.9% of adults).
“Less than half (46.5%) of adults in Ghana are aware of the major anti-corruption agencies i.e. Office of the Special Prosecutor, the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), and the Organised Crime Office (EOCO).”
The findings add that 69.9% of Ghanaians, representing seven in every ten adults have more confidence in the religious and traditional justice system than the formal one.
“Seven in every 10 (69.9%) adults hold the view that the religious and traditional leaders’ system effectively protects the rights of every citizen, a figure that is 10.8 percentage points higher than those who agree that the formal justice system effectively protects the rights of every citizen (59.1%),” a statement from the GSS announced.
These findings were released as part of International Anti-Corruption Day (IACD) which is commemorated annually on 9th December.
The findings also indicate that one in every three adults (32.6%) report that they do not feel safe walking around in their neighbourhood at night.
A slightly higher proportion of people who report not feeling safe paid bribes in the past 12 months compared to those who feel safe: three in every 10 (29.6%) adults who do not feel safe paid a bribe compared to 25.2% of those who feel safe.
Otto Addo stated that he feels honoured to have fulfilled his dream of coaching Ghana at the World Cup, in addition to playing for the Black Stars at the global tournament.
The former Ghana international was a member of the Ghana squad for their first tournament in Germany and made an appearance. Sixteen years later, he was in the dugout giving instructions to players as Ghana won one of three games in Qatar.
“16 years apart but the feeling is the same. It was always an honour and a blessing to represent the culture, hard work and the passion of our nation at the world stage. Let’s use the power of football and our love for the game to build and grow together. Ghana Osey!!!!” Addo wrote on Instagram.
Development Bank Ghana (DBG) has participated in the Global 2022 CEO Forum of African Development Finance Institutions organised by the Association of African Development Finance Institutions (AADFI) in collaboration with the Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA).
The event was held in Gaborone, Botswana under the theme “Building partnerships for resource mobilization in financing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”.
The CEO Forum, held between November 23 and 25, 2022, is an annual event on the calendar of the AADFI, that provides a platform for CEOs and C-suite executives of African Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) to gather with key stakeholders and partners to discuss issues that impinge on African DFIs’ operations and to generate innovative ideas on the way forward.
The discussions focused on building a better partnership between the national DFIs and development partners, and how these institutions can be repositioned in the resource mobilisation equation to ensure impact.
This year, the conference focused on improving the operating conditions of African DFIs for the recovery of members’ economies from the pandemic, and other global challenges.
It also focused on speeding up the process of attaining the SDGs and Paris Agreement on the African continent. However, the lack of adequate resources as agreed upon by all stakeholders remains a major constraint.
Development Bank Ghana (DBG) was represented by Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Michael Mensah-Baah.
He also took part in the panel discussion on the theme: “African DFIs Capabilities and the Quest for Relevance in Achieving the 2030 SDGs Agenda on the Continent”.
The discussion focused on the importance of national DFIs and their place in grassroots development.
It also focused on whether there could there be a better partnership between national DFIs, MDBs, and Regional DFIs.
Mr. Mensah-Baah re-emphasised DBG’s commitment to supporting Ghana in achieving the SDGs by 2030.
He explained that National DFIs have a critical role to play in achieving the specific goals under the SDGs however, the first step in achieving this is to cultivate a strong governance culture.
He also reiterated the need for de-risking and collaborating with government agencies on developmental policies, providing technical assistance, driving product innovation including Partial Credit Guarantees and Equity funding by DFIs.
In addition, Mr. Mensah-Baah stated that “digitization is vital to achieving development and successful implementation of the SDG goals at the scale and urgency it requires.
DBG has therefore partnered with the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Bank of Ghana to develop a digital financial ecosystem aimed at providing a common platform for promoting financial literacy, lending with common underwriting standards, creating a marketplace between Ghanaian SMEs and those in Ghana’s Asian corridor and de-risking”.
The 2022 AADFI CEO Forum provided a platform for knowledge sharing and collaborations between the various countries on building partnerships towards resource mobilization for the SDG goals.
This was a good platform for DBG to share its views with other African DFIs for future collaboration.
DBG is a Development Finance Institution, established by the Government of Ghana, in accordance with the Development Finance Act, 2020. DBG acts as an enabler for businesses in Ghana and as a long-term capital provider in the market.
DBG’s mission is to foster strong partnerships to finance economic growth, create jobs and build capacity for SMEs and to provide long-term financing and de-risking services, underpinned by technology and evidence-based research/insights.
It also includes attracting, developing and retaining exceptional people and operating as an independent, financially sustainable world-class institution.
DBG aims to promote Environment Social and Governance (ESG) excellence within the businesses the Bank supports.
The Bank has received funds from the World Bank, European Investment Bank, Kreditanstalt Für Wiederaufbau (KfW) and the African Development Bank. DBG is a signatory to the UN Global Compact.
Ghana has produced her first locally trained Geriatrician at the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons in Accra.
Geriatricians are primary care doctors who have additional training and experience in treating older adults, especially those 65 and above, who often have multiple or complex health matters.
Dr Lenusia Ahlijah, the first locally trained Geriatrician, said as a pioneer Geriatrician trained by the Ghana College of Physicians, it was quite challenging because she had to embark on the journey on a modular basis.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the 19th Annual General and Scientific Meeting of the College, she said during the journey, she had had to actively provide services at the Tema General Hospital and made herself available for training at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital twice or thrice every week.
Dr Ahlijah said, “I have come to realise that our older persons, persons above 60 years, according to W.H.O although are actively contributing to the development of our nation, most times, their needs are sometimes marginalised, as far as resources are concerned.”
“Quite a number of times, the older persons are not thought of when it comes to planning for development, providing resources for their health, and as of now, older persons between 60 and 69 years were still paying for health care services themselves,” she reiterated.
Dr Ahlijah indicated that health care to the elderly was rewarding, such that, as they interact with the elderly and take care of their needs, they also advocate for them, leading to improve quality lives.
She added that the college had also started training Geriatricians to offer medical care and advocacy for older persons.
Dr Ahlijah noted that most older persons were diagnosed with chronic diseases like hypertension, diabetes, arthritis and having to deal with mental issues, saying “but you will find no one around them to offer help to them with excuses of work and others.”
She advised the citizenry to take the elderly into consideration when tiling their various homes and make them elderly-friendly to protect them from accidents and other health issues.
She called on authorities to put health care delivery into the curricula of the training institutions for nurses, midwives and other health training centres as well as equip them with some basic care knowledge on Geriatrics.
Dr Ahlijah also appealed to policy makers to prioritise caregiving to the elderly to ensure a comfortable life for them.
“I would want to encourage various doctors and other family physicians who would love to take care of older persons to get into the fight and join forces so that we can make life for our older persons comfortable,” she said.
An International Organisation, Bloomberg has described the Ghana cedi as the best performing currency against the US dollar.
According to Bloomberg, the cedi performed the best against the dollar this week after being compared to almost 150 different currencies worldwide for the past 5 days.
It will be recalled that the Ghana cedi, which lost 45.1% of its value against the US dollar this year, was tagged by Bloomberg as the worst-performing currency in the world on October 17, 2022.
However, the Ghana cedi has witnessed an overwhelming appreciation in value against the dollar.
Currently, the local currency is being sold by forex bureaus at an average of ¢12.80 to the US dollars.
The Ghana cedi has also improved in value against other significant international currencies like the pound and the euro.
The Euro and the Pounds are trading at ¢12.85 and ¢15.00 respectively.
The Ghana cedi for the past weeks had been comparatively steady against the dollar. On the retail market, it increased by 3.12% against the dollar, 0.88% against the pound, and 3.79% against the euro.
The current appreciation of the Ghana Cedi has been attributed to Ghana’s Debt Restructuring Programme.
Russia and Iran‘s relationship has warmed to a fully fledged defence partnership, the US has said.
Russia is giving an unprecedented level of military support, said US national security council spokesman John Kirby.
The US has seen reports that the two countries are considering joint production of lethal drones, he added.
Australia has announced it is sanctioning three Iranians and one Iranian business for supplying Russia with drones to use against Ukraine.
Co-operation between Russia and Iran has been highlighted recently, with Ukraine accusing Russia of using Iranian drones in its attacks.
After initially denying sending any drones to Russia, the Middle Eastern country later admitted it had supplied some before the invasion of Ukraine.
Mr Kirby said that a partnership between Iran and Russia to produce drones would be harmful to Ukraine, Iran’s neighbours and the international community.
“Russia is seeking to collaborate with Iran in areas like weapons development, training,” he said, adding that the US fears that Russia intended to “provide Iran with advanced military components” including helicopters and air defence systems.
“Iran has become Russia’s top military backer…” he said. “Russia’s been using Iranian drones to strike energy infrastructure, depriving millions of Ukrainians of power, heat, critical services. People in Ukraine today are actually dying as a result of Iran’s actions.”
In response to Mr Kirby’s comments, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said that Iran had become one of Russia’s main military supporters and that the relationship between them was threatening global security.
The “sordid deals” between the two countries have seen Iran send hundreds of drones to Russia, he said.
In order to be ready for the second half of the season, Mohammed Kudus has come back to Ajax. The Ghanaian international visited the de Toekomst practice facility one more following Ghana’s early elimination from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Kudus 22, was named man of the match against South Korea and scored two goals at the Mundial. He played in all three games in Group H, but Ghana could not advance past the group stage.
His outstanding performance at the World Cup received massive praise from Ghanaians and football pundits around the world. Top clubs in Europe have also added him to their list of players to buy.
Mohammed Kudus took part in training on Friday, the players completed their training session in cold weather.
This season Mohammed Kudus has made 14 appearances and scored five goals in the Dutch Eredivisie. Ajax is currently 2nd on the league table with 30 points after 14 games.
His last game for Ajax before flying to Qatar was the 3-3 draw with FC Emmen.
POV: you just got home from an incredible Hinge date. You’re straight up weak in the knees and smiling non-stop as you close your front door – it basically feels like one of those just-met-the-love-of-my-life moments in a rom-com. You already feel the urge to say the big “L” word, even though you just met this person, like, tonight. You’re wondering: how long does it take to actually fall in love, anyway? Is it possible you’re falling too fast?
No matter your romantic sitch, it’s totally normal to think about how long it takes to fall in love. The important thing, though? You should know that falling in love is different for *everyone*, explains clinical psychologist and sex therapist Janet Brito, PhD, founder of the Hawaii Center for Sexual and Relationship Health.
“It all just depends on the individuals, the circumstances, and the environment that they’re in,” Brito says. So just because one person falls in love quickly doesn’t mean it’ll be the same for others, ya know? That said, this doesn’t make approaching the question of falling in love (or lust) any darn easier. Like, is it sexual tension or a crush? What are the actual signs you’re falling in love?
These are the hard-hitting Q’s, and Cosmo is here to help. The following is everything you need to know about how long it takes to fall in love, according to relationship experts and research.
First, how do you define “falling in love” anyway?
Before you dive into the logistics, you should probably make sure you’re clear on what it means to “fall in love” in the first place. Among other things, “falling in love is a process of understanding and coming to love a whole human’s values, philosophies, history, challenges, and eccentricities,” explains Jenni Skyler, PhD, director of The Intimacy Institute. In short, falling in love can feel intense and overwhelming, but it’s also the process of feeling a closeness and acceptance of a person’s ~entire being~.
Per experts and research, this is (basically) how long it takes to fall in love
People have been studying and contemplating the world of love since time immemorial. Among other things, some of the (warning: very gender binary-heavy!) research out there indicates that men think about confessing their love when they’re about 97 days into a relationship, while women can take about 149 days, says one 2011 study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
In heterosexual relationships, while they may not verbalise it, research shows that men tend to fall in love faster than women, according to a 2010 study published in the Evolutionary Psychology journal. In relationships between two women-identifying folks, declarations of love were exchanged between partners by around roughly six months into the relationship, says a 2008 study published in the Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services.
That said, note this: there are other studies out there that also contradict these notions, so overall research is pretty inconclusive and, yup, dated. Experts continue to assert that how long it takes to fall in love is different for everyone, explains Brito.
Reasons you might fall in love quickly
How quickly you fall in love can also depend on additional factors, Skyler says. Some of those reasons include but are not limited to…
Your attachment style. For starters, “people with anxious attachment styles fall in love really easily,” Skyler says. Those with an anxious attachment style might feel like they “need” their partner in order to feel secure, Skyler explains, which is why they might be more open to falling in love and forming a relationship than most. Those with an avoidant attachment style tend to, well, avoid those touchy feel-y, emotions, Skyler says. “They have a block, a wall up. They can still fall in love, just not immediately or as quickly,” she explains.
Have you had sex? Yep, falling in love can also depend on whether or not you’ve already had sex with this person. (Or people!) Even though you might be cool with casual sex, bringing intercourse into the mix can make you catch feelings for someone that much faster, since it adds another layer of intimacy into the equation that can bring you closer to the big “L,” Skyler says. But again, remember, everyone’s different.
They remind you of your parents. “Usually we fall in love quickly when someone reminds us subconsciously of our parents,” Skyler says. Why? This person can seem familiar and safe, making you feel closer to them than you might actually be and, in turn, making you fall in love faster. (Kinda odd, but makes sense.)
Okay, but what about love at first sight?
Yes, it’s certainly possible to fall in love at first sight, though it’s uncommon. “Usually what people consider to be ‘love at first sight’ is actually sexual attraction,” Skyler says. From that attraction, sometimes the stars align and the person you’re attracted to ends up being your marital partner, Skyler notes – which largely contributes to the love at first sight phenomenon.
That said, some research indicates that the body’s cerebral networks associated with love can activate within one fifth of a second of meeting a person, according to a study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine. And yep, other research from the Journal of Neuroscience indicates that people decide within seconds whether or not they’re interested in someone. Does this equate to *true love* at first sight? Not exactly, but it shows that it is possible to have a strong draw to someone upon first encounter.
All in all, everyone is different when it comes to how long it takes to fall in love – so try not to stress out about timing and just focus on the relationship itself instead, Brito says. K?
Godknows Tamakloe, a 22-year-old jobless guy, has been placed in custody following the suspected murder of David Korbla Klutsey.
Godknows, a resident of Agbozume in Ketu South, is accused of helping his stepbrother, Remember Tamakloe, stab the victim (David) on October 20, 2022, following a fight about GH-30.
Later, on October 23, David passed away while undergoing medical care at a hospital.
In his testimony before the Agbozume Magistrate’s Court, which was presided over by Mr. Issah Iddrisu, Police Chief Inspectorr Esperance Agbo said, “Remember sold a cell phone to the dead and was left with a balance of GH30.00.”
He said Remember and Godknows went to David for the money and in the process, a fight ensued between them and David slapped the suspect, who fell to the ground.
In the subsequent chaos, according to Chief Inspector Agbo, Godknows seized the victim from behind while Remember stabbed him.
The victim was brought to the hospital, where he passed away a few days later, while the stepbrother was detained and taken to the police station, according to the prosecutor.
Godknows, who was first charged on October 23, 2022, is scheduled to appear in court for the fourth time on December 20.
Rember Tamakloe on the other hand, is on the run after the incident.
Meanwhile, The deceased’s body has been placed in the Sacred Heart Hospital mortuary in Abor as it waits for an autopsy.
Former Black Stars coach Otto Addo has expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to represent Ghana on the world stage as a player and as a coach.
Otto Addo started for Ghana as right midfielder in the 2006 FIFA World Cup game against the Czech Republic on 17 June 2006 at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne, which Ghana won 2–0. In 2006 he played in Ghana’s 2–1 win over the United States at the Frankenstadion in Nuremberg.
After retiring he was appointed as a head scout of the Ghana national football team prior to the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
The Ghana Football Association announced on 9 February 2022 that Otto Addo has been named temporary coach of the Black Stars ahead of the team’s 2022 FIFA World Cup final play-off matches against Nigeria.
After drawing 1-1 with Nigeria’s Super Eagles on March 29, 2022 at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, he qualified Ghana (on away goals) for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. On March 25, the Black Stars of Ghana drew 0-0 with the Super Eagles at the Baba Yara Stadium.
His tenure was extended after guiding Ghana past the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Ghana won one game against South Korea and lost two against Portugal and Uruguay. After the Uruguay game, Otto Addo announced his departure.
Former Ghanaian international Shilla Illiasu believes that if a top coach is in charge of the team, the current Black Stars group will be a force to be reckoned with.
He has urged the Ghana Football Association (GFA) to select a quality coach to lead the national team in order to achieve this.
“So, the Ghana Football Association has to make sure this time we are contracting a top coach for the Black Stars,” Shilla Illiasu said.
According to him, the Ghana squad which is dominated by talented young players has a bright future and will do the country proud.
“I think first of all Ghana we are fortunate to have one of the youngest squads as afar as Qatar 2022 is concerned. What it means is that as far as the future is concerned, we are up there,” Shilla Illiasu told Class Sports.
The former defender added, “What we need is – I made it clear from the onset, we need someone to be a coach, not a part-time coach, someone to guide them [the players] for the next 3 to 4 years, give him the project, give him the time, give him the plan, let him understand the task at hand, that’s what we need.
“Because you look at the calibre of our players, right now they need somebody to guide them.
The minister told the media that road users won’t be paying 50 pesewas, GH¢1 from 2023.
According to the minister, all work will be done electronically, not manually.
In response to this announcement, actress Lydia Forson believes the government thinks Ghanaians are blockheaded.
“I am convinced that we’re being governed by people who believe us to be stupid. You stopped something we weren’t complaining about to avert attention from what you were really doing, only to come back to this.
“This is why we don’t trust anything good you do,” she tweeted.
I am convinced that we’re being governed by people who believe us to be stupid.
You stopped something we weren’t complaining about to avert attention from what you were really doing, only to come back to this.
The finance minister while presenting the budget announced the elimination of road tolls despite opposition that road tolls were not collected for the entire 2022 financial year.
Making a U-turn, the government told parliament that “the fiscal policy measures to underpin the 2023 Budget for consideration and approval by Parliament include the reintroduction of tolls on selected public roads and highways with a renewed focus on leveraging technology in the collection to address the inefficiencies characterized by the previous toll collection regime.”
Ghanaian indigenous band Kwan Pa is finally releasing their much anticipated “Christmas Jama” song.
Christmas in Ghana, apart from being observed as part of an annual religious celebration, is also highly regarded as one of the periods that heighten social interaction.
Amidst the family reunions, and the religious activities among others, music is an integral part embedded in this whole celebration.
It’s on this premise of music as a tool for socialisation that Kwan Pa has released this refreshing Christmas medley titled ‘Christmas Jama’ in the beautiful Ghanaian ‘Jama’ style (fast-paced rhythmic music in the time signature 4 4).
Why Jama? Simple! Kwan Pa realised that there are no Jama songs for Christmas throughout our celebrations, meanwhile, it’s a music style Ghanaians love, especially the youth.
For this reason, Kwan Pa once again has decided to pump some indigenous freshness into our Christmas celebrations. The 8-minute-long Christmas Jama medley has songs like ‘Christmas is here’, ‘Papa Bronya’, ‘Yɛnkɔ di Bronya’, and ‘Bronya aduane’ among other popular Ghanaian Jama melodies.
Christmas Jama is available on digital platforms for your enjoyment.
Ghanaian movie producer, Peter Mawuli Ekpe, known widely as Loudmouth Abro, has narrated a difficult situation he found himself in some years ago.
Speaking in an interview with ZionFelix, Abro revealed that he impregnated his ex-girlfriend after he got married.
He explained that he reconnected with his ex when his angry wife packed her things and went to her parent’s house.
According to him, anytime they had little issues, his wife would leave their house to stay with either her mother or father.
After his wife was away for some months, the movie producer said he met his ex-wife and looking at how beautiful she had become, he expressed interest in her again.
Abro stated that they started having sexual affairs until his wife returned.
He indicated that the relationship between him and his ex-girlfriend ended again.
Later, Abro’s ex-girlfriend got pregnant without informing him.
The popular movie producer disclosed that he got the news about his ex’s pregnancy through his wife who wanted to know if it was true.
Abro averred he rushed to use the toilet facility after the question was posed to him.
Though he denied it initially, Abro took up the responsibilities after the child was born because it was clear that he was the father of the baby.
Sadly, Abro and his wife broke up, hinting that they were not having the same understanding, but they are still friends.
An officer was seen showing off his bhangra dance moves with a group of volunteers at a Commonwealth Games warm-up event in footage released by West Midlands Police.
Student officer Gorvinder Chima “got his dancing shoes on” at the event in Perry Barr to the popular bhangra track Mundian To Bach Ke.
Officers were at the Alexander Stadium policing an event for the British Army who were testing the athletics track ahead of the Games later this year.
Perry Barr Police said it was “great to speak to and engage with the local community in the run up to the Commonwealth Games”.
With Arsenal challenging at the top of the English Premier League table, Ghana star Thomas Partey looks set to play a big role for the Gunners after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
A crucial figure in the Black Stars’ squad, the former Atletico Madrid midfielder has been finding some strong form this season. That could go a long way in helping Arsenal end their wait for the Premier League crown.
Partey Finding Consistency
Last season was one that ended in disappointment for Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, as the Gunners missed out on qualification for the Champions League. Looking at ExpressVPN’s streaming infographic we can see that Arsenal are not regarded as not one of the top-five streamed teams in England. Football fans are instead choosing to search for options to stream Man City, Man United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs.
Playing in the Champions League could help the Gunners break into that group. Partey played 24 times in the Premier League that season, scoring two goals in the process for the North London outfit. Missing out on a top-four finish will have been tough for Partey and the rest of the Arsenal squad to take but the Gunners have responded well this season.
Partey has found some consistency with his performances in the English top flight and already has scored two Premier League goals this season in his first 11 appearances. Becoming a key member of Arteta’s starting lineup at the Emirates, the Ghana talisman Partey is showing the form that made him such a hit during his time in the Spanish capital with Atleti.
Ghana Star Can Help Gunners Rekindle Form
All eyes are on how Arsenal fare once the Premier League season resumes after the World Cup in Qatar. Partey is likely to be an important figure in helping the Gunners hit the ground running. Arteta’s side enjoyed a strong start to the domestic campaign with just one defeat in their first 14 games of the season. Beating the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Chelsea, the Gunners went on an eight-game unbeaten run before the major tournament in Qatar. Partey was an important figure in that successful spell for Arsenal, scoring a goal in the derby against Spurs and in the 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest at the Emirates.
Partey’s attention will of course have shifted to the World Cup in Qatar but after the dust has settled on the tournament in the Middle East, the 29-year-old will have a job to do with Arsenal. Reigning English champions Manchester City found themselves five points behind the Gunners before the World Cup break and Pep Guardiola’s side will be determined to narrow the gap.
It will be interesting to see how Partey, and the other players who went to represent their nations at the World Cup, fare after the competition in Qatar. The disruption of a major tournament mid-season is not something any of these players will have experienced before and it will take mental strength to refocus on their club duties after the thrill of a World Cup.
As an experienced midfielder, Partey should take it all in his stride and it’s exciting to see where he and the Gunners can go in the title race this season.
Nigerian disc jockey, Florence Ifeoluwa Otedola, popularly known DJ Cuppy has disclosed that she does not have it easy when it comes to spelling the correct English.
She made this known via her Instagram platform on December 7.
Cuppywho is enjoying a nice moment in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) with her fiance, said that she does not know the correct spelling of ‘yacht’ although she has three university Degrees.
“EVEN AFTER GETTING MY 3RD DEGREE AT OXFORD UNI…I STILL DON’T KNOW HOW TO SPELL THIS THING I’M ON – IS IT YATCH, YACTH OR YACHT? #CUPPYDAT,” she wrote.
DJ Cuppy has completed her second master’s degree at Oxford University in UK where she studied African Studies.
She graduated from King’s College London in July 2014, with a degree in business and economics.
She also bagged a master’s degree in Music Business from New York University in 2015.
Cleaners at Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco have told the BBC they were sacked without severance pay.
One of them told the BBC a member of Elon Musk’s team had said their jobs would be replaced by robots.
A California state senator said Mr Musk was treating the former staff “like garbage”.
San Francisco’s city attorney, David Chiu, said he’s investigating if Mr Musk broke the law. Twitter has not responded to a BBC request for comment.
“Elon Musk has had a long history of flouting labour laws,” Mr Chiu told the BBC.
“While I’m not surprised this happened, I feel for these workers. We will be looking into this further.”
Juana Laura Chavero Ramirez says she might not be able to afford her diabetic medication
The BBC spoke to four cleaners who say they were fired from Twitter on Monday – their interviews were conducted in Spanish.
Adrianna Villarreal, who worked for Twitter for four years, said she’s now worried she won’t have enough money to feed her family over Christmas.
“It’s a sad and frustrating thing for our families and children,” she said.
The cleaners were working at Twitter last week until they were told their jobs were under threat.
Olga Miranda, president of the cleaners’ union, said they organised a strike on Monday to protest. The cleaners were then told they had been laid off effective immediately, she says.
“They did this three weeks before Christmas,” she said. “I think we were fired because we’re a union.”
Adrianna Villarreal says she’s worried about how to buy Christmas gifts for her children
Julio Alvarado had been a cleaner for 10 years at Twitter. He says the environment was always friendly during his time there.
But he says things changed when Elon Musk took over Twitter in October.
“People worked without worries,” he told the BBC. “Now we are afraid.”
Since Mr Musk acquired the company, Mr Alvarado says he was escorted by private security while cleaning parts of the office.
He also says he was told by someone from Mr Musk’s team that his job would be obsolete soon anyway because robots would eventually replace human cleaners.
Without his job, Mr Alvarado says he’s worried about paying his bills. He also says he’s supporting his family back in Mexico.
“I can only tell you, I don’t have money to pay the rent,” he says. “I’m not going to have medical insurance. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”
Juana Laura Chavero Ramirez said she had worked for five years at Twitter. A diabetic, she’s concerned she won’t be able to get her medication.
“It’s just horrible,” she said. “We’re not only losing our job, we’re losing our income.”
Adrianna Villarreal, who had worked at Twitter since 2018, said she was worried she would not be able to afford Christmas gifts.
“We are supposed to have Christmas presents for our children,” she said, “a plate of food on our table and overnight we don’t have anything.”
The cleaners say they do not know what to do – as there are few available cleaning vacancies in San Francisco at the moment.
A small group of cleaners have protested outside San Francisco’s Twitter headquarters since Monday.
California state senator Scott Wiener told the BBC the cleaners had been treated “horribly”.
“In the short term, I’d like to see him [Elon Musk] treat his janitors like human beings,” said Mr Wiener, “and get them back working – not just throw them out right before Christmas.”
Editor of ABC News, Gordon Asare-Bediako, has said that the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta should advise himself and step down if the people want him out.
According to him, the situation shouldn’t have gotten this far. “Because for 98 Members of Parliament, in fact more, to write and publicly declare that they don’t want you any longer as a Finance Minister, he should advise himself, it shouldn’t have come to this level”, he stated
He added that Mr. Ofori-Atta has allowed himself to be subjected to public ridicule.
Speaking on Prime Morning, on Friday, Mr. Asare-Bediako stated that this act can affect the party in the 2024 national elections because the public has decided and there’s a huge clarion call to do a reshuffle which they’re expecting the President to listen and take an action on.
“Nobody wants a president who has an adamant posturing and it’s not good for the party”, he said.
Mr. Asare-Bediako continued that, the President may admire the loyalty and competence of the Finance Minister, but it gets to a point when you listen to the voice of the people and prioritize their interest ahead of yours.
The Editor believes that stakeholders will respond and there will be stability in the system if the Finance Minister is changed.
“So to me, the President will do himself a lot of good by making Ofori-Atta go after the Appropriation bill has been passed”, he mentioned.
The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), ranked fourth in the 2022 Electricity Regulatory Index (ERI) for Africa.
This was made known when the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the World Bank (WB) on the Global Electricity Regulatory Index (GERI), launched the ERI report virtually on Thursday, December 8, 2022.
Forty-three (43) countries in Africa with forty-four regulatory institutions, participated in the assessment process, which was based on well-developed electricity regulatory frameworks, the capacity to exercise the necessary regulatory oversight and authority on the regulated entities, and the ability to achieve measurable outcomes.
These frameworks were categorized into three pillars: Regulatory Governance Index (RGI), which assesses the extent to which the laws, procedures, standards, and policies governing the electricity sector provide for a transparent, predictable, and credible regulatory framework, which meets international standards; Regulatory Substance Index (RSI), which evaluates how well electricity sector regulators are carrying out their mandate and implementing the practices and processes that affect regulatory outcomes; and the Regulatory Outcome Index (ROI), which measures the perspectives of distribution utility companies and/or consumers, and the degree to which the regulator has a positive or negative impact on the sector.
The PURC ranked fourth (4th) among the forty-four African regulatory institutions sampled, only after Uganda, Egypt and Senegal. This was achieved based on the significant progress made by the Commission in the operations of its functions as per the legal mandate, clarity of roles of independence, accountability, transparency, predictability, participation, and open access to information for various stakeholders.
For the year under review (2022) and in the interest of deepening its transparency, the Commission was able to among others, undertake consumer service clinics, which enabled the Commission to bring its complaints resolution processes closer to consumers; published the reckoner (electricity and water), which enables consumers to compute their own tariffs based on consumption levels; redesigned the Commission’s website to accommodate new developments, such as hosting the public utilities regulatory information system (PURIS); as well as constituting regulatory audit teams to undertake verification exercises, based on submitted investment needs of the Utilities.
Furthermore, the Commission made significant progress on transparency in its tariff setting processes by publishing approved guidelines for setting tariffs, quality of service measures to guide the regulated utilities, and improved considerably on its institutional capacity to enable it fulfil its mandate. Through this, the Commission was able to reverse the tariff structure, which was previously punitive for industry. This was to enhance the competitiveness of Micro, Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) across the country.
The African Development Bank, since 2018, has embarked on carrying out surveys on the level of development of Regulatory Frameworks in the electricity sector in Africa. From year to year, the Bank through the ERI continues to inspire African countries to achieve better electricity sector performance through reforms that have been or are to be put in place but also through improvements to the current framework in which, the electricity sector finds itself. Africa needs investments in the energy sector, and this requires making the sector attractive, ridding it of all the administrative and organizational red tape that still hinders active private sector participation.
The ERI has evolved considerably since 2018 when only 15 countries participated in it, compared with 44 countries in 2022, which now participate in the ERI. The Director for Energy Financial Solutions, Policy and Regulation at the African Development Bank noted that “…the ERI has been influential not only in Africa but also the rest of the world”.
The World Bank on its part has also assessed the regulatory frameworks within the sector, including the report on Rethinking Power Sector Reforms in the Developing World. These efforts are aimed at providing a quantitative basis for measuring the adoption of regulatory best practices, which allows for countries to identify gaps in their regulatory framework and benchmark their performance against regional or global peers.
The African Development Bank and World Bank as a collaborative partnership joined forces to harmonize the structure of indicators under both projects, resulting in the development of the Global Electricity Regulatory Index (GERI), which was produced by the World Bank.
Whiles the AfDB, measures the level of development of electricity sector regulatory frameworks in African countries and the capacity of regulatory authorities to effectively carry out their relevant functions and duties, the World Bank measures broadly on the global space. As at the end of 2021, the GERI, reports on results from a first global survey comprising a snapshot of the regulatory context in 82 low-and middle-income countries.
According to the Executive Secretary of the PURC Dr. Ishmael Ackah, being ranked fourth this year is an improvement on the Commission’s 7th position in the previous year.
The Commission owes this to the cooperation of its numerous stakeholders to which the Commission is grateful.
Kumawood actor Okomfo Kolege has written a tribute to his late wifeMillicent Oteng weeks after her death.
She passed away on November 19 in a hospital during labour. Millicent was 34 years old.
In the tribute posted to his social media pages, the actor born Colins Oteng, talked about his state of mind, struggles to accept his wife’s death and the pain he has had to deal with in the past weeks.
He noted that although they have been married for only a year and half, Millicent Oteng was his pillar, adding that life with her was a dream come true.
“Since you have left this world, words cannot describe the emptiness inside me. I get so lost without you but I am sure you are with the Lord,” he noted.
Okomfo Kolege added that his wife’s death has made him realise how brief life can be. “It brought clearly to the fore the thin line between life and death. We often take life for granted, too much so.”
“Her death has made me sit down and reflect. It has made me put things in perspective. I am still in a state of shock…I miss a million things, every detail of who you are. I miss your mind, body and soul. I still say I am one lucky man to have been given the gift of you,” he added.
The actor said he wished he would have done more for his late wife and apologised for failing to do so.
Read the full tribute below:
A Tribute to My Wife Mrs Millicent Oteng
It is hard to accept the death of a loved one, especially when you didn’t have the chance to say goodbye, especially when the deceased was taken so suddenly and so shockingly at the prime of life and most especially when it seems like an irreplaceable part of ones life is gone.
The grief and pain can be unbearable; you cry a river and your sorrow knows no end.
You never really know what it’s like until you are there yourself, but you look to God because he is the only one who can comfort you.
Death and indeed a death so sudden and painful like the death of my wife on 19 November (last 3 weeks Saturday ), makes me realize the brevity of life. It brought, clearly, to the fore the thin line between life and death. We often take life for granted, too much so.
Her death has made me sit down and reflect. It has made me put things in perspective. I am still in a state of shock.
Millicent and I lived as husband and wife for only 1 year and 5 days. All through this period, she was my pillar of support. Our relationship started from years back when both of us were still naive about love and life.
“In charge” as I affectionately call her was my friend, my colleague, my sister, my companion, my partner and my wife.
Millicent was deeply religious. She was involved in so many charities anonymously and her last activity which was a week to the day she passed on was to go and transfer funds to some of the charities she was sponsoring.
Millicent, I miss the wonderful plans we made. The memories we shared will never fade.
Having you in my life, was the best dream come true. Since you have left this world, words cannot describe the emptiness inside me. I get so lost without you but I am sure you are with the Lord. You are with angels singing and praising the almighty whom you served while on earth with all your heart.
You can no longer be seen by the human eye, but your soul and love that you gave so many will never die.
Since you are with the angels, please I need you as my guide and intercessor in heaven.
I wish I could tell myself that you will be back someday and will be back to be with me again. I guess this is the way life goes. God’s will must be accepted.
I miss a million things, every detail of who you are. I miss your mind, body and soul. I still say I am one lucky man to have been given the gift of you.
There are many things I think I should have done for you. Please forgive me for procrastinating.
You thought me so much by your actions in the time we spent together. You thought me the value of a family. You thought the value of the truest of love.
I know that I should not question God obviously because He knows and has His reasons but I can’t help constantly asking myself “ Why did you have to die”? We have a number of dreams we hoped we will realize. You served God fervently. Anyway, God knows best.
I take it you are the best of the roses in the garden and the almighty wants the best.
I know what you will love to hear and see and I will endeavour to always do those things. I wonder if I had lived the way you did if God would have taken me too?
They say only the good die in their prime.
Farewell, my darling. You will forever be in my heart.
Walid Regragui, the manager of Morocco, will face Portugal on Saturday in an attempt to make history by being the first African coach to lead a side into the World Cup semifinals.
The North African country has defied all odds to reach the quarter-finals after stunning tournament favourites Spain 3-0 in a shootout after a goalless draw.
Morocco are the last African side following the exit of African champions Senegal, Ghana, Tunisia and Cameroon and also the only remaining Arab team left in the tournament.
“If you can do it, you can, if not, not,” the 47-year-old said of breaking new ground for an African or Arab coach.
“It has nothing to do with being Arab or not. I fought for it. Maybe when I’m old, I’ll be proud of it, but for the moment, I am mainly proud for my country.
“And with a local coach, it’s the best thing for me and for my country.”
