Ex-England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson says he might only have about a year to live after finding out he has cancer.
The 75-year-old man from Sweden was the first coach from another country to manage England’s soccer team. He led the team to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in 2002 and 2006, as well as the Euros in 2004.
“I will keep fighting for as long as possible,” Eriksson told Swedish Radio P1.
I am very sick. In the best situation, it might take a year, but it could be much less in the worst situation. We can’t know for sure, so it’s best not to worry about it.
Eriksson, who worked as a manager for 42 years, stopped working as the sporting director at the Swedish club Karlstad 11 months ago due to health problems.
He said he was trying to stay happy and “create something positive” out of his cancer diagnosis.
“You try to fool your brain, but it’s too easy to start feeling bad and stay at home. ” He said it’s good to stay positive and not give up when things get tough.
Eriksson started working as a manager for Degerfors in 1977. Then he went to Gothenburg, where he won the Swedish title, two Swedish cups, and the 1981 Uefa Cup.
After that, he played for big teams in Portugal and Italy like Benfica, Roma, Fiorentina, Sampdoria, and Lazio. He won seven trophies with Lazio including the Serie A title, two Italian Cups and the Uefa Cup Winners’ Cup.
Eriksson left his job at Lazio in 2001 to become the new England manager after Kevin Keegan.
After working for five years, it was announced in January 2006 that Eriksson would be leaving his job after the World Cup in Germany that summer, even though he still had two years left on his contract.
It is not clear why he left, but people think it might be because he got caught in a sting operation by a journalist.
After leaving England, Eriksson had different jobs as a manager. He worked for teams like Manchester City and Leicester City, and also coached national teams like Mexico, Ivory Coast, and the Philippines.
He worked for Chinese soccer teams Guangzhou R&F, Shanghai SIPG and Shenzhen from 2013 to 2017. He also briefly managed the Philippines national team from October 2018 to January 2019.
Author: Chris Kodo
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Former manager of England, Sven-Goran Eriksson, claims to have only “a year” to live
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Streets deserted as violence erupts in Ecuador
Soldiers are patrolling the streets in many cities in Ecuador because the country is dealing with a very violent day.
Armed men wearing masks entered a TV studio in Guayaquil while a live show was on, and bombs exploded in different parts of Ecuador on Tuesday.
Inmates in five jails have taken more than 130 prison staff as hostages.
A state of emergency started on Monday because a dangerous criminal disappeared from his prison cell.
It’s not clear if the attack on the TV studio in Ecuador’s biggest city is connected to the disappearance of the leader of the Choneros gang, Adolfo Macías Villamar, also known as Fito.
President Daniel Noboa said that things were very bad because there were a lot of fights and people escaping from jails, so he made a special rule to help stop the problem.
He commanded that criminal gangs be stopped and said there was a war happening within the country.
The government says that the violence is happening because people are upset about President Noboa’s plan to build a new, very secure prison for gang leaders.
On Wednesday, the president announced that Ecuador will send foreign prisoners, especially those from Colombia, back to their own countries to lower the number of inmates.
Esteban Torres Cobo, who works for President Noboa, said that fighting against armed gangs could lead to a lot of people being killed or injured.
“It’s going to be tough, but this change is necessary for a better future. We can’t keep putting off this decision. We need to make it now,” he said on the BBC’s Newshour program.
He said gang leaders wanted to talk things out, but the government won’t negotiate with them.
A representative for the United Nations leader, Antonio Guterres, said he is very worried about the worsening situation and how it is affecting the lives of people in Ecuador.
At the same time, a person at the White House said the US is very against the recent attacks. Another person from the National Security Council said the US wants to help keep Ecuador safe and help them do well.
A few hours after the most bold of the attacks, Guayaquil was like a city that just woke up from a weird bad dream.
In recent years, the security situation has gotten worse. But it was still surprising to see the TV anchor with a gun pointed at him during a live broadcast.
Police have arrested 70 people since Monday, including those who stormed the TV station.
The attack has made people scared and they are still hiding, even a day later. There are not many people on the streets today, even though it’s a weekday. Many people think that the situation is similar to the time when Covid was happening.
Many soldiers are walking around Guayaquil and Quito, some in tanks.
Schools all around the country are shut down, and students are having their classes on the internet.
China, who gives a lot of money to Ecuador, said it was closing its embassy and consulates for a little while.In Guayaquil, some businesses are still open and have security guards who are anxious and keeping the doors closed. They only let people inside carefully.
Eduardo works for a big clothing company. He was outside getting coffee when everything started to get crazy. When he got back to the office, his coworkers were already getting ready to go.
“He said that today, everyone is working from their houses. ”
The SNAI prisons agency in Ecuador said that around 125 prison guards and 14 office workers are being kept as hostages.
Four police officers were taken by bad guys and are still being kept. Three more policemen were released on Tuesday night.
The police say that there is still violence happening in Guayaquil. On Tuesday, criminal gangs attacked and killed eight people in the city. Three others were hurt. In a nearby town, two police officers were killed by armed criminals.
The police are trying to figure out who the three people are who were found dead in a car that was on fire in the south of the city last night.
This is a very unusual situation for the people of Guayaquil. They have seen protests and violence before, but nothing as scary as what happened on Tuesday.
The students were scared and ran away when gunmen came into their university and set off bombs in different parts of the country. People were worried that the attacks were planned together.
People who have to go out for work or to see their family are very scared and worried. The past day in Ecuador’s biggest port has been tiring and upsetting.
A rule that says people have to stay inside at night to stop fighting and crime.
In the past few years, there have been a lot of fights between different gangs in Ecuador’s prisons. These fights have led to many inmates being killed.
President Noboa declared a state of emergency and said that the Choneros gang, along with 21 other gangs, are responsible for the recent violence.
The new rule started after the state of emergency was announced on Monday. It says that people have to stay inside at night to try to stop violence after Fito ran away. The police are working to make things calm again in six jails where riots happened on Monday.
Fito getting away is really bad for Mr Noboa. He’s only been president for seven weeks.
President Noboa became the youngest leader of Ecuador when he was 36 years old. He won the election, but it was a sad time because another presidential candidate and journalist, Fernando Villavicencio, was killed.
Villavicencio told people he was going to be killed by Fito. Then he was shot and killed after a campaign event in Quito. -
Joe Wise endorses ex-cop, COP Mensah for Bekwai seat
Member of Parliament for the Bekwai Constituency, Joseph Osei-Owusu, also known as Joe Wise, has officially endorsed retired Commissioner of Police (COP) George Alex Mensah as his successor.
In a viral video, Joe Wise, during a meeting with New Patriotic Party (NPP) delegates, commended the courage of COP Mensah.
Months earlier, COP Mensah had been the focus of a parliamentary investigation into a leaked tape in which some officers and a politician were allegedly plotting the removal of the Inspector-General of Police, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, from office.
“If COP today has announced his intention to contest our party primaries, he is no stranger…” he stated.
According to the MP, who currently serves as the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, COP Mensah not only displayed courage during his appearance at the committee’s sitting but also refuted the various allegations made against the current IGP in the leaked tape.
“So, when you watched on TV how he answered the questions; the courage and the truthfulness that unfolded, a lot of people including the committee members kept calling me that Joe your man is heavy, he is courageous.
“Today, by the grace of God, we have concluded the committee’s report, those who brought the issue are afraid and do not want the report to be brought out because of his truthfulness, the testimony he gave proved that everything he said was the truth,” he said.
In the leaked tape, COP Asare, along with two other senior officers, Superintendent George Lysander Asare and Superintendent Emmanuel Gyabi, were heard seeking the support of former New Patriotic Party Regional Chairman Bugri Naabu for the removal of Dr. Dampare.
In the recording, the officers accused Dr. Dampare of incompetence and alleged that he was a member of the opposition National Democratic Congress, suggesting that his presence in office posed a threat to the NPP’s ability to retain power.
The officers also confessed to being NPP members on the tape.
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Kwame Anyimadu Antwi is behind NEIP CEO’s arrest by OSP – NPP constituency secretary claims
Constituency Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kwame Anyimadu Antwi, has accused Member of Parliament Kwame Anyimadu Antwi of being the mastermind behind the arrest of the CEO of the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program (NEIP) by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP).
The allegations suggest a political intrigue within the party, raising questions about the motives and potential implications for the accused NEIP CEO. Read on for further details on this developing story.
During an interview on Citi News on January 10, 2024, Amakye claimed that Anyimadu Antwi had conveyed to his assistant his intention to report Nkansah to the Special Prosecutor. The accusation suggested that the NEIP CEO had allegedly distributed money to delegates in anticipation of the upcoming NPP parliamentary primaries.
“The MP reported Kofi Ofosu because he told my assistant, Debrah Philip, that he was going to report Kofi Ofosu to the Special Prosecutor and that is what he has done.
“I am the constituency secretary and we know all the delegates and when they meet too, we know everything and it includes our family members and it is an open thing and he gave it (money) to every delegate and the delegates are around 623 and everybody knows it and so I don’t know why MP is pushing this thing to that end.
“My wife is a delegate and she collected GH¢300 from the MP. Kofi shared it (money)with all delegates and that is what the MP also did and it is a Christmas package,” he added.
In response, Anyimadu Antwi has refuted the allegations, stating that he was unaware of Nkansah’s arrest.
He accused Amakye of bias and disseminating misinformation, pointing to previous claims made on social media by the constituency secretary regarding financial payments to delegates.
“I have no clue about what the secretary is alleging and it is about time for us to do the elections and the primaries are still around the corner and this is not a do-or-die affair.
“The secretary has taken sides with one of the contenders and has been speaking passionately and there is pain in the constituency speaking to delegates.
“If you are talking about reporting anybody to the OSP, I have no idea, but he [Felix Amakye] is on record saying that my preferred candidate has been paying GH¢500,000 and promised to pay GHS1 million to people and he said these things on Facebook,” citinewsroom.com quoted him to have said.
Meanwhile, Kofi Ofosu Nkansah, the CEO of NEIP and a candidate for the Asante Akim Central parliamentary seat, has been released after being arrested by the Special Prosecutor.
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All Akufo-Addo appointees must be probed – Nyaho Tamakloe
A founding member of the New Patriotic Party, Dr. Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, has recommended that the incoming president of the country initiate investigations into all officials appointed by the Akufo-Addo-led administration.
Dr. Nyaho-Tamakloe urged the victor of the 2024 presidential election to set up a commission of inquiry to investigate members of the current government for allegations of corruption.
Speaking in an interview on Tuesday, January 9, the Hearts of Oak S.C. board member expressed his belief that many of President Akufo-Addo’s appointees have engaged in corrupt practices while in office.
He underscored the importance for the next president to ensure that these individuals do not evade consequences for their alleged crimes against the Ghanaian people.
Dr. Nyaho-Tamakloe emphasized that such commitment and dedication to addressing corruption are what Ghanaians desire from their leaders.
“Whoever takes over this country next year, must set up a commission of inquiry to investigate into anyone who has been in public service, particularly those in government. Because a lot of the things that they have done is known to the people.”
“After all, the buildings that they have put up in Peduase and all the places you can imagine, are built by human beings. So, they shouldn’t think they didn’t know, they are known,” he said.
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Ghana will be prosperous before I leave office – Akufo-Addo
President Akufo-Addo has confidently stated that Ghana will be in a favorable state by the time he completes his term and hands over in 2025.
He pledged to construct a prosperous nation and enhance the well-being of all citizens before the conclusion of his term.
Speaking at the annual Jubilee House thanksgiving service in Accra, the president affirmed that Ghana is poised to witness progress and prosperity in the coming year.
He said, “At the end of my time in office, as it nears, or be it with one year to go, I am still optimistic and determined, with the support of the Ghanaian people and the guidance of the Almighty God, I am confident that we will achieve our goal of creating a progressive and prosperous Ghana for all.”
“It is a mission that requires not only political understanding but also heavenly inspiration and grace,” he added
In the meantime, President Akufo-Addo has called upon Ghanaians and pertinent stakeholders to collaborate in guaranteeing that the upcoming 2024 elections maintain fairness and transparency.
Emphasizing that functional democracies rely on credible elections worldwide, the President highlighted the need for all citizens to prioritize this as December’s general elections draw near.
Addressing the nation on the 30th anniversary of the 4th Republic, Akufo-Addo advocated for expanded cooperation and stressed the importance of upholding the established rules and regulations governing electoral conduct in the country.
“Democracies are grounded on viable elections, and, this year, like we have done on eight (8) other preceding occasions, we will go to the polls to elect the President and my successor. No true democrat can disregard the importance of elections and the sanctity of the ballot,” he stated.
“It must, thus, be in our collective interest to ensure that the rules and regulations for the conduct of this year’s elections are fair and transparent and that we all develop respect for them, a respect that should not be a function of whether you win or lose,” he added.
He further emphasized that the key to reinforcing the nation’s democracy, peace, and stability is through collaborative efforts among all stakeholders to solidify Ghana’s democratic foundations.
The president mentioned that, “All stakeholders, that is the Electoral Commission, the political parties and their leaders, the electorate, and citizenry, should work to assure the consolidation of Ghanaian democracy and help us maintain our pride of place on the continent as a model of democracy in Africa.
“At the end of it all, there should be no lingering doubt about the legitimacy of the election, and the winning candidates, on the conclusion of the process, should receive the unalloyed support of all. That is how we can strengthen our democracy and the peace and stability of our nation,” he added.
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UTAG, TUTAG reps exit meeting with FWSC
The University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG) and the Technical University Teachers Association of Ghana (TUTAG) on Wednesday, January 10, 2024, walked out of a meeting with the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission (FWSC).
The groups cited reasons such as bad faith, contempt, and a lackadaisical attitude on the part of their employer, FWSC, towards the crucial aspects of their conditions of service, as grounds for their decision.
They maintained that UTAG/TUTAG would not participate in meetings that do not result in benefits and cautioned that the voices of University Lecturers would soon be heard in a language better understood by the Employer/Government.
The National President for UTAG, Professor Mamudu A. Akudugu, in an interview noted the commission picked out some key components in the conditions an left some out.
He explained that as groups, they are not going to pick and choose conditions rather, they want the commission to relook at the entire condition of service as they have agreed.
“We were in a meeting with the FWSC about our condition of service and some other key component of our conditions of service that we thought would be part of the meeting. Our employer is of a different view regarding our concerns
“Some key components of our conditions of service were supposed to be included in our meeting. So, we think that as we are talking about them, then it should have been everything and not to pick and choose. So we decided to walk out,” he said.
Although Prof. Mamudu A. Akudugu, did not give out the specifics of the conditions for which they walked out, he noted that as associations, they would return to the Fair Wages and Salary Commission if it is ready to meet all of the terms and conditions.
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Ghanaians paying VAT on electricity since January 1 – Finance Ministry
A letter from the Ministry of Finance indicates that the government has been modifying the Value Added Tax (VAT) for a segment of electricity consumers in the country.
The letter, signed by the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, and directed to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCO), specified that the VAT would be applicable to residential customers of electricity exceeding the maximum consumption level outlined for block charges for lifeline units.
It added that VAT is a component of the country’s Covid-19 recovery program and should be levied effective from January 1, 2024.
“As part of the implementation of the Government’s Medium-Term Revenue Strategy and the IMF-Supported Post Covid-19 Programme for Economic Growth (PC-PEG), the implementation of VAT for residential customers of electricity above the maximum consumption level specified for block charges for lifeline units in line with Section 35 and 37 and the First Schedule (9) of Value Added Tax (VAT) Act, 2013 (ACT 870) has been scheduled for implementation, effective 1st January 2024.
It added, “For the avoidance of doubt, VAT is still exempt for “a supply to a dwelling of electricity up to a maximum consumption level specified for block charges for lifeline units” in line with Section 35 and 37 and the First Schedule (9) of Act 870,” part of the letter which is dated December 12, 2023, reads.
The minister, in the letter, stated that the ECG and NEDCO to put measures in place and collaborate with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to ensure that the implementation of the VAT starts on January 1.
“The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCO) are, hereby, requested to liaise with the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to ensure that the implementation of VAT for residential customers of electricity above the maximum consumption level specified for block charges for lifeline units takes effect on 1st January 2024, in line with Sectio35 and 37 and the First Schedule (9) of Act 870.”
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Education Minister announces imminent implementation of ‘One Student, One Tablet’ at SHS
The Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, has reiterated Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia‘s commitment to providing every student in public Senior High Schools (SHS) with a tablet.
Addressing attendees at the commencement of the 75th Annual New Year School and Conference (ANYSC), Dr. Adutwum stated that in the near future, the government would distribute tablets to every student in SHS as part of the digitalization agenda.
He made this announcement while commending Dr. Bawumia, the flagbearer of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP), for spearheading Ghana’s digitalization drive.
He highlighted that the Vice President has revolutionized the way things are done in Ghana by leveraging technology and innovation.
“You know we have a digitalisation agenda led by the president but championed by the vice president together with the Ministry of Communication and Digitalisation.
“The vice president’s agenda has done so much for this nation; whether it is mobile interoperability… being able to use digital service for transportation. In the past few years, it was so difficult moving from point A to B in Ghana, now because of Google App you just have to turn on your GPS and your driver would take you from point A to B,” he said.
The minister added, “…. We have seen digitalisation in the field of agriculture. Now the latest addition is the field of education and the total transformation of education as you know it, is happening. And very soon you are going to see students with their tablets – One to One – at the Senior High School level,” he added.
Dr Adutwum made these remarks as he was introducing Dr Bawumia to open the 2024 ANYSC on behalf of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo
The 75 (ANYSC), which started on Tuesday, is being held under the theme: “Nurturing Resilience: Adopting Technology and Embracing Humanism for Sustainable Development,” and will end on Thursday, January 11, 2024.
Professor Katrin Niglas, the Vice-Rector for Research at Tallinn University, Estonia, delivered the keynote address at the opening of the school and conference at the Great Hall, UG.
Professor Niglas, in her address, emphasised how the embracement of technology by Estonia in every sector, including education, helped make the small European country one of the most developed countries in the world.
The ANYSC is an annual event that brings together academics, policymakers, business leaders, civil society organisations, and other stakeholders to discuss critical issues affecting the African Continent and Ghana in particular.
This year’s theme focuses on the need to develop resilience, adapt to leverage technology and promote human values and dignity to propel the ended development and progress in Ghana and will be organized around the following sub-themes:
1. Nurturing resilience and leveraging on technology to achieve sustainable growth
2. Promoting education for sustainable development.
3. Towards the attainment of a digital economy: Global Perspectives.
4. New local government system, election 2024, security and peacebuilding.
The deliberations at the conference will be documented and presented to the appropriate authorities for policy interventions.
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Somali Islamists grab UN helicopter and its crew
The al-Shabab group in Somalia has taken a United Nations helicopter and around eight people who were on it, including passengers and crew, according to local sources.
The helicopter landed in an area in central Somalia that is controlled by a group.
Some people said the plane had to land unexpectedly, while others said the landing was a error.
Al-Shabab has power over big areas of southern and central Somalia.
The group is connected to al-Qaeda and has been fighting a violent war for almost 20 years.
The Galmudug region Security Minister Mohamed Abdi Adan told the BBC that they took control of the helicopter.
“According to Somali military official Major Hassan Ali, there were some foreigners and two local people on the helicopter. ”
“He said it was bringing medicine and was supposed to take wounded soldiers from Galgudud region. ”
The helicopter was flying to Wisil town where the government forces are fighting against al-Shabab. It landed near the frontlines of the battle.
The UN has not said anything yet.
The Somali government has been fighting harder against the group connected to al-Qaeda in the last few months. -
Chef Faila’s cook-a-thon journey from day 1 to day 10
Renowned Ghanaian Chef, Failatu Abdul Razak, popularly known as Chef Faila, has gracefully concluded her highly anticipated cooking marathon.
She ended the marathon on January 10, 2024, after cooking for 227:00:02 hours.
Over the past 10 days, Chef Faila has embarked on a gastronomic journey, showcasing her culinary prowess from day one to the grand finale.
The cook-a-thon, marked by a diverse array of dishes and innovative cooking techniques, has garnered widespread attention and praise from both local and international audiences.
Chef Faila, known for her passion for blending traditional Ghanaian flavors with a modern twist, has not only demonstrated her exceptional skills but has also inspired many aspiring chefs and cooking enthusiasts.
The cook-a-thon has been a celebration of culinary artistry, with Chef Faila’s unique flair and dedication shining through in each dish she presented.
Here are photos and videos from the event from the first day to the tenth day.
Day 1
Faila started her journey on January 1, 2024 and she had some celebrities and government officials passing through to support her; key among them was musician, Kwabena Kwabena, actor Yaw Dabo and MP for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu, all passing through.
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5 When she crossed 120 hours
Day 6
When Dr Bawumia visited
Day 7
Day 8
Day 8 : Faila’s husband’s birthday
Day 9
Day 10
When the cook-a-thon finally came to an end
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Colorado police arrest ex-husband of Lauren Boebert
The former husband of Lauren Boebert, who is a Republican politician, was taken into custody after a disagreement with her at a restaurant.
Jayson Boebert got in trouble in Colorado for allegedly attacking someone and causing damage.
The police were looking into a fight at Silt restaurant on Saturday, but they haven’t said if the arrest is related to it.
Lauren and Jayson Boebert got unmarried last year.
The BBC looked at records from jail and found that Mr Boebert was arrested and then let go.
He was the person who called the police after an incident at the restaurant. He said he was a victim of domestic violence during the fight, according to CBS News, who works with the BBC in the US.
Mr Boebert said to the Denver Post that he didn’t plan to accuse anyone, and that he and his former wife were trying to talk about a tough situation.
After hearing that the police were looking into the incident this week, Ms. Boebert said: “I didn’t hit Jayson in the face and no one got arrested. ”
Before Mr Boebert got arrested, she made a statement on Sunday. She said she was talking to a lawyer because people were making up lies about her.
In September, Ms. Boebert was asked to leave a theatre in Denver while watching the musical Beetlejuice because she was accused of causing a disturbance.
When she said sorry for that thing, she mentioned that her hard divorce made her behave that way.
“I admitted to laughing and singing too loudly. ” Boebert said on a platform called X, which used to be called Twitter.
She is the Republican representative for Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District and sits in the House of Representatives.
She said she will run for a new job in Colorado in 2024.
On Sunday, she said the restaurant incident was one more reason for her to move. -
Ethiopian dispute prompts Eritrea to “voice support for Somalia”
Somalia’s president says the president of Eritrea has promised to support Somalia’s control of its own land, as there is disagreement with Ethiopia about a deal for access to the sea.
Eritrean leader Isaias Afwerki expressed his position in a meeting with Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud yesterday, according to the state-run Somali National News Agency.
The story was told.
The leader of Somalia said similar things to the Eritrean media, but there was no official statement from Mr.
Mr Mohamud visited Asmara for two days. He talked to Mr Afwerki about the sea access problem.
Trouble started last week when Ethiopia made an agreement with Somaliland, a place that says it’s its own country.
The deal would let Ethiopia use a port in the breakaway region for trade and military purposes.
Somalia said the deal is aggressive. It thinks Somaliland is a part of its land and promised to protect its own control.
No other country or big group in the world thinks Somaliland is its own country.
President Mohamud said his government will ask for help from any friend who is willing to help us before going to Asmara.
The media in Somalia said that Mr. Mohamud will go to Cairo shortly because he was invited by the Egyptian leader, Abddul Fattah al-Sisi. -
Misinformation about cholera causes deadly violence in Mozambique
Health officials say that wrong information about a cholera outbreak in northern Mozambique has caused people to riot and some have died.
The WHO said that false information about the disease has caused problems.
We checked out some protests on social media and local news to see what caused the problems.
Recently, a man was killed by a group of people in Gurue town in Zambezia province. The people wrongly thought he was spreading cholera. This was reported by health officials.
A video seen by the BBC and shared on social media shows a large crowd watching a man’s body.
In another protest, four people died when police fought a group attacking homes and property belonging to local officials in Nacala Porto in Nampula province.
In Cabo Delgado province, police shot into the air to break up a group of people trying to attack a health centre in Meluco district.
What do people think is true.
We don’t know for sure what is causing the misinformation to spread, but we have some ideas from watching social media.
Cholera grows where there is not enough clean water and good sanitation.
Some people are saying online that things like adding chlorine to water and using purifiers are making the disease spread, but that is not true.
The BBC reporter in Maputo says most violent cases of cholera are caused by wrong information.
Also, they are going after the leaders who encourage people to use the purifiers. He says people wrongly think the leaders are part of the group that is spreading the water-borne disease.
In a message with the video of the killing in Garue, it was said that the victim had given out harmful “dust” at a place in the neighborhood.
The person from WHO in Africa in Mozambique, Severin von Xylander, says wrong information is bad because it can make people do things that spread disease.
Mozambique has been fighting a disease outbreak since September of last year.
It’s just one of several countries in the area dealing with more cases of cholera. Other countries include South Africa, Malawi, Zimbabwe, DR Congo and Kenya.
“This makes people not trust the health experts, which makes it harder for them to respond to public health problems and makes outbreaks last longer. ”
Graph showing 30,943 people have cholera and 135 have died. -
BoG advised to scale-up your forex buffers to withstand shocks on cedi
Economic Analyst at Databank Research, Kweku Arkoh-Koomson, is advocating for the Bank of Ghana to enhance its forex buffers to withstand potential shocks, ensuring the continued stability of the cedi.
He asserted that establishing a sustainable reserve will empower the Central Bank to intervene in the face of seasonal shocks that could impact the performance of the local currency.
His statement comes in response to a forecast by IC Research indicating that the cedi might experience an approximate 8.4% depreciation against the US dollar in the retail market this year.
Speaking in an interview, Mr Arkoh-Koomson urged the Bank of Ghana to collaborate with the Development Bank Ghana to invest more in value-addition advancement to improve the country’s export earnings.
“It is very crucial indeed to have a very good FX buffer because it makes you more resistant to external shocks and shocks obligating from financing external debts as well. It is quite crucial to build this sustainable reserve”.
Meanwhile, the Ghana cedi traded unchanged against the US dollar last week at a mid-rate of GH¢12.18/$ on the retail market. The same story emerged on the interbank market.
However, it shed 0.49% and 0.56% week-on-week against the pound and euro respectively.
The foreign exchange market also experienced a decrease in liquidity levels last week as the Bank of Ghana’s supply-side intervention took a pause. But corporate demand remained elevated after the yuletide.
While awaiting the meeting outcome, a positive conclusion will pave the way for Ghana to receive its expected inflows of $1.15 billion from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. This will potentially ease the pressure on the cedi.
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Tiwa Savage lodges police report against Davido
Tiwa Savage, an artist from Nigeria, has told the police that Davido, who has been nominated for a Grammy award, threatened her.
The famous singers have been fighting since Tiwa posted a picture of herself with the mother of one of Davido’s kids on her Instagram.
Davido has not answered the BBC’s request for a comment yet.
Tiwa said that Davido thought she was teasing him and he said mean things back to her.
He told friends who know both of them to warn her to be careful in Lagos, Tiwa said.
She told the police that Davido’s actions and words directly threatened her right to life, privacy, and dignity.
Tiwa finished the report by saying that if something happened to her or her family, she wants the police to blame Davido.
The two famous people stopped following each other on Instagram.
Lagos state police spokesperson Benjamin Hundeyin told the BBC that they got Tiwa’s report. -
Berekum Traditional Council refutes allegations of eviction of GHS1m goat farm investor
The Berekum Traditional Council has issued a response following reports of a Ghanaian investor allegedly being instructed to relocate his GHS1 million goat farm from its land due to taboo concerns.
The council extended an invitation to the implicated investor for a meeting, aiming to delve into the core of the matter.
The Chief of Senasi and Kontihene of Berekum Traditional Council, Osahene Asomah Agyeman Sabi II, clarified that the council has not made any such decision.
Nana Agyeman Sabi II emphasized that Fredrick Benneh Frimpong, the investor and Founder/CEO of Semanhyia Learning and Development Farms, a prominent livestock breeding facility in Berekum Senase, should initiate dialogue with the council to address the deadlock.
“I don’t know whoever gave him that order. Because we haven’t met on it at the Tradition Council level and that place happens to be the highest decision-making body for the traditional area. We’ve not met, we’ve not taken any decision over his removal from our stool land.
“I would just advise him. He should come down and let us talk and see how best (sic) because if the land would reject you, you wouldn’t have been there by now,” he said in a JoyNews interview aired on Wednesday, January 10, 2024.
Benneh Frimpong disclosed that the chiefs of the Berekum area have asked that he evacuate his goats from the land in two weeks.
According to him, the evacuation, the chiefs explained, is due to a long-standing taboo that banishes goats from the town.
He explained that despite the existence of the taboo since his childhood, it was not exactly followed until a recent funeral of a chief prompted the slaughter of stray goats to enforce the taboo.
“In fact, when this order came, people were spreading rumours, everybody had something to say, and in about three days, a group of young guys with machetes came to the community and killed all the goats in the community. Everybody was very annoyed, angry, and marvelled,” he said on his YouTube channel, Farming in Africa.
Providing further details, he said he was summoned to the chief’s palace and was told to evacuate the land in two weeks.
Some members of the Berekum community have also said that they lost their goat farms after the order by chiefs and traditional rulers of the community.
According to them, the traditional rulers barred the rearing of goats in the community after an oracle revealed to them that it was the cause of some misfortunes in Berekum.
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Antony Blinken on US mission to stop Gaza igniting wider war
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken wants to talk about the most important message during his fourth visit to the Middle East in three months.
His main goal on this trip is to make sure that the fighting between Israel and Gaza does not spread to other countries nearby.
He is traveling to many places in southwest Asia like Turkey, Jordan, Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Israel. There is a lot of evidence that the tension in the region is getting worse.
The Houthi rebels in Yemen keep firing missiles and drones at civilian ships in the Red Sea. This has caused a lot of ships to stop using the Red Sea.
The US said it will protect the things that are important to them. If the rebels keep causing problems for global trade, the US might have to use its military to stop them. This would worry some important Arab allies of the US.
“We don’t see using the military as a solution,” said the leader of Qatar during a press conference with Mr. Blinken in Doha on Sunday. Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani said he is very worried that taking such action will make the situation never-ending and create a lot of tension in the whole region.
On Saturday, the group Hezbollah in southern Lebanon shot a lot of rockets at northern Israel as revenge for what seemed to be a bomb attack planned by Israel that killed an important leader of Hamas in Beirut. Israel bombed Hezbollah forces in Lebanon with their airplanes.
Later in the day, Mr. Blinken said that the situation was getting worse and it was a serious problem. He asked Iran and Turkey to use their influence to control Hezbollah.
That might be hard. The Washington Post said American officials are worried that Israel might be planning a big attack on Hezbollah.
“We want to solve things through talking, but if we can’t, we might have to take action,” said Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Friday.
At the same time, US military bases in Iraq and Syria were attacked by rockets and drones from militants. There are over 3,000 American soldiers in these areas. In the end of October, a drone entered US defenses and hit a building but did not explode, according to a report from Reuters. This avoided potentially causing serious harm to American soldiers.
The US took military action by bombing Baghdad last week and killing Mushtaq Taleb al-Saidi, who led a militia supported by Iran.
Each of these events could cause problems for the surrounding area. When you look at everything together, it seems like the Middle East is on the edge of a big war.
In Qatar, Mr. Blinken said the US has a plan to make things more stable. This plan depends on ending the fighting between the Israeli military and Gaza. The US wants to work with Arab countries and Israel to create a lasting peace for the Palestinians.
“He said the United States has a plan to make Israel safe and create a country for the Palestinian people. ” “And what I’ve learned from our talks up til now is. ” “Do our partners want to talk about tough things and make difficult choices. ”
That’s the problem. After talking to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday, Mr. Blinken said that all the leaders he has talked to seem ready to help make Gaza stable and strong again after the war. However, the US needs to convince Israel to agree.Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Friday that they would like to settle things peacefully through discussion, but they are getting close to a point where they might have to take action.
At the same time, militants in Iraq and Syria have attacked US military bases with rockets and drones. There are more than 3,000 American soldiers in these places. In October, a drone got past US defenses and hit a building but didn’t explode, said a Reuters report. This narrowly avoided causing a lot of American injuries.
The US used the military to attack and killed Mushtaq Taleb al-Saidi, a leader of an Iran-backed militia, in Baghdad last week.
Each of these episodes is a danger to the peace of the area. When you look at everything together, it seems like the Middle East is close to starting a big war.
In Qatar, Mr. Blinken said the US has a plan to deal with the growing problems in the region. The plan relies on ending the Israeli military operation in Gaza and collaborating with Arab nations and Israelis to create a lasting peace for the Palestinians.
“The United States has a plan to make Israel secure and give the Palestinian people their own state,” he said. “And what I got from the talks until now . Can our partners talk about hard things and make tough choices.
That’s the problem. After talking with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday, Mr. Blinken said that he sees a desire to help make post-war Gaza stable and strong from all the leaders he has talked to. The US needs to convince Israel to agree.
Mr Blinken’s trip to the Middle East might tell us about the plan the US has for its recent diplomacy efforts. He visited Turkey and Arab countries, and then he went to Israel two days later. This helped him to understand the feelings and opinions of the people in the region before meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli War Cabinet.
Now it’s up to Israel to make a decision.
“On Monday, he said he will get to tell Israeli leaders everything he’s learned on this trip. ” “I believe there is a way to bring long-lasting peace and security to Israel in the future. ”
The American hope is that ending the Gaza War will reduce tensions in the region. It is a guess that the small problems in the Red Sea, Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria have not gotten worse on their own.
The Qatari prime minister said on Sunday that there can’t be peace in the area without a real and peaceful solution to the Palestinian conflict. Will there be peace if this is decided.
During his trip to the Middle East in November, Mr. Blinken said that countries in the area don’t want war and are trying to stop it from spreading. He said this in Turkey.
The US secretary said that just because something bad did not happen, it doesn’t always show that progress has been made, but it does.
Since then, there has been a lot of evidence that shows the chances of a bigger war happening have gone up, even though Mr. Blinken and the Americans say they don’t want it. -
Government plans eviction of squatters for Accra-Tema Motorway expansion
Government is planning to evict squatters along the Tema motorway to pave the way for the much anticipated expansion of the road.
Chairman of the Transport Committee in Parliament, Kennedy Osei Nyarko, affirmed this to the media.
This decisive move signals the administration’s determination to prioritize infrastructure development despite potential challenges posed by resettlement concerns.
The government has declared plans to transform the motorway into a 10-lane thoroughfare, incorporating eight flyovers at a cost of $380 million. The construction is anticipated to conclude within a timeframe of 36 months.
Mr Nyarko explained that the land earmarked for expansion is presently encroached upon by unauthorized squatters, and sections of it have also been legally allocated to private individuals by local assemblies along the stretch.
In an interview, the Akim Swedru MP, said ample notice has been given to those in the vicinity, thus work on removing them from the area will commence earnestly.
He, however, stated that those who had acquired land in the area legally through local assembly allocations will be compensated.
“You remember some time ago, the minister for roads and highways and I went on some tour around the motorway to engage those people there and advise them to relocate because there will soon be critical work on it [the motorway]. It generated a lot of heat; it came on television and whatnot.
“I mean so already they were notified, those people, the illegal occupants on that stretch were already informed about the intended project the ministry wants to embark on and the advice to relocate. So those people who are occupying those places illegally, I’m not sure they have any legal right of stay on that property. The original owner of that property has come to use it for a project so they have to vacate,” he said.
He added that “People who maybe the assembly may have legally allocated some land to people and they have developed on it, then certainly the government has to pay compensation to those people for them to relocate.
“I think it’s part of the arrangement the ministry through GIIF and the contractor would have to look at it to make sure that those who are legally living there may be as a result of the assembly allocating some land to them and putting up their property on it and definitely their property is going to be affected, then it is incumbent on the initiate to find compensation for them.
“But those occupying there illegally I don’t think they deserve any compensation.”
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This is not our handiwork – Atta Akyea debunks leaked draft report on plot to oust IGP
Chairman of Parliament’s ad hoc committee, Samuel Atta Akyea, investigating the suspected plot to oust the Inspector General of Police (IGP), has strongly refuted the contents of a leaked draft report purportedly originating from the committee.
The leaked document has raised questions and concerns about the ongoing probe into the alleged plot against the IGP.
In an interview on JoyNews, he said, “With the greatest of respect, this is not the handiwork of the committee.”
He clarified that the committee members are currently awaiting the clerk to compile a report for their review and consideration.
Hence, according to the legislator, anything disclosed in the public domain does not accurately represent the proceedings and findings of the committee.
“The members of the committee are waiting for the clerk to tease out a report for our consideration and it is very distasteful that anybody bandies this about that this is the report of the committee. A report of the committee will be signed by a committee will be signed by the chairman and the clerk,” he said.
The allegedly leaked draft report vindicates the IGP and indicts the three police officers named in the leaked tape saga.
According to Atta-Akyea, the committee is yet to make any recommendation on the case, thus the public should disregard the content of the said leaked draft report.
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How TB Joshua’s daughter suffered years of torture after standing up to her father
The BBC has uncovered disturbing allegations against the late megachurch leader TB Joshua, who stands accused of committing sexual crimes on a mass scale.
The investigation discloses that Joshua reportedly locked up his own daughter, subjecting her to years of torture before abandoning her, homeless on the streets of Lagos, Nigeria.
The exposé sheds light on the dark and hidden facets of the renowned religious figure’s personal life, raising questions about the extent of abuse within his own family.
“My dad had fear, constant fear. He was very afraid that someone would speak up,” says one of the pastor’s daughters, Ajoke – the first whistle-blower to reach out to the BBC about the abuse she witnessed at her father’s church, the Synagogue Church of All Nations (Scoan).
TB Joshua, who passed away at the age of 57 in 2021, is alleged to have engaged in extensive abuse and torture over a nearly two-decade period.
Now aged 27, Ajoke lives in hiding and has dropped her surname “Joshua” – the BBC is not publishing her new name.
Limited information exists about Ajoke’s biological mother, who was thought to be one of TB Joshua’s followers. Ajoke asserts that she was brought up by Evelyn, Joshua’s widow, from her earliest recollections.
During her early years up to the age of seven, Ajoke recalls experiencing a joyful childhood, including family vacations to destinations like Dubai with the Joshua family.
However, a significant turning point occurred when she faced suspension from school due to a misdemeanor. A local journalist compounded matters by publishing an article identifying her as the illegitimate child of TB Joshua. Subsequently, she was withdrawn from school and relocated to the Scoan compound in Lagos.
“I was made to move to the disciples’ room. I didn’t volunteer to be a disciple. I was made to join,” she says.
The disciples were an elite group of dedicated followers who served TB Joshua and lived with him inside the maze-like structure of the church. They came from all over the world, many staying at the compound for decades.
They lived under a strict set of rules: forbidden to sleep for more than a few hours at a time, prohibited from using their own phones or having access to their personal emails, and forced to call TB Joshua “Daddy”.
“The disciples were both brainwashed and enablers. Everybody was just acting based on command – like zombies. Nobody was questioning anything,” she says.
Just a child, Ajoke would not follow the rules like the other disciples: she refused to stand up when the pastor came into the room and rebelled against the severe sleeping orders.
The abuse started soon after.
Not long after arriving, aged seven, she remembers being beaten for wetting the bed and then being forced to walk around the compound with a sign around her neck saying “I am a bedwetter.”
“The message about Ajoke was that she had terrible evil spirits that needed to be driven out,” says one former female disciple.
“There was a time in the disciple meetings – he [Joshua] said people could beat her. Anyone in the female dormitory could just hit her and I remember just seeing people slapping her as they walked past,” she says.
From the moment Ajoke moved to the church in the Ikotun neighbourhood of Lagos, she was treated like an outcast.
“She was, like, kind of labelled the black sheep of the family,” says Rae, from the UK, who spent 12 years living in the church as a disciple. Like most of the former disciples interviewed by the BBC, she opted to only use her first name.
Rae remembers a time when Ajoke slept for too long, and Joshua shouted at her to get up.
Another disciple took her to the shower and “whipped her with an electrical cord and then turned the hot water on”, she says.
Recalling the incident, Ajoke says: “I was screaming at the top of my voice, and they just let the water run on my head for a very long time.”
Such abuse was never-ending, she says.
“We’re talking about years and years of abuse. Consistent abuse. My existence as a child from another mother undermined everything he [TB Joshua] claimed to stand for.”
The abuse escalated to a different scale when she was aged 17 and confronted her dad about “accounts, first hand, of people who had experienced sexual abuse”.
“I saw female disciples go up to his room. They were going away for hours. I was hearing things: ‘Oh this happened to me. He tried sleeping with me.’ Too many people were saying the same thing,” she says.
The BBC spoke to more than 25 former disciples – from the UK, Nigeria, US, South Africa, Ghana, Namibia and Germany – who gave powerful corroborating testimony of experiencing or witnessing sexual abuse.
“I couldn’t take it any more. I walked directly into his office on that very day. I shouted at the top of my voice: ‘Why are you doing this? Why are you hurting all these women?’
“I had lost every iota of fear for this man. He tried to stare me down, but I was looking in his eyes,” she says.
Emmanuel, who was part of the church for 21 years and spent more than a decade living in the compound as a disciple, remembers that day clearly.
“He [TB Joshua] was the first person that started hitting her… then other people joined,” he says.
“He was saying: ‘Can you imagine what she’s saying about me?’ Even as much as they were hitting her, beating her, she was still saying the same thing.”
About the late TB Joshua
Temitope Balogun Joshua, popularly known as T. B. Joshua, was a Nigerian charismatic pastor, televangelist, and philanthropist.
He was the leader and founder of SCOAN, one of the continent’s leading megachurches that runs the Emmanuel TV television station from Lagos. Born on June 12, 1963 in Ondo, Nigeria, Joshua died on June 5, 2021, at his base in Lagos, Nigeria.
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Bright Simons describes Cheddar as a blend of Megachurch Televangelist and miracle drug salesman
Honorary Vice President of IMANI-Africa, Bright Simons, has described Nana Kwame Bediako, widely known as Cheddar, as a unique blend of a megachurch televangelist and a miracle drug salesman.
This assessment comes following months of speculation, during which Simons was among the first to project that Cheddar might be the mysterious figure behind the mask.
The speculation gained traction as billboards promoting The New Force movement started appearing.
Simons, in an interview with Semafor.com, drew parallels between Cheddar’s aspirations and the characteristics of a modern-day megachurch televangelist and a miracle drug salesman.
He pointed out that Cheddar seemed to be cultivating a cult-like following with the aim of combining aspects of spiritual leadership and commercial ventures.
The article, titled ‘Ghana’s mystery presidential candidate pulls off his mask,’ delves into Cheddar’s persona, tracing the footprint of The New Force movement in Ghana’s political landscape. It covers the skepticism and criticism that followed Cheddar’s confirmation of being the leader of the movement during a recent press conference.
Cheddar, who previously kept his identity concealed behind a mask, revealed himself at the press conference on January 7, 2024. He disclosed his role as the leader of ‘The New Force’ political movement, flanked by prominent political figures from across Africa, including Peter Obi of Nigeria, PLO Lumumba of Kenya, and Zimbabwe’s Dr. Arikana Chihombori-Quao.
The revelation occurred during an event labeled “The Convention,” organized by Cheddar under the brand name New Africa Foundation. However, the event was abruptly canceled, with the Presidency citing unforeseen circumstances at the widely-announced venue, the Black Star Square in Accra.
Cheddar’s unmasking has sparked curiosity and controversy, with Simons’ comparison shedding light on the intriguing blend of roles that Cheddar seems to be assuming.
As the public awaits further details on Cheddar’s political agenda and vision, the dynamics surrounding this enigmatic figure continue to captivate both skeptics and supporters alike.
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Bawumia declares Ghana as Africa’s leader in digital transformation
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has proudly showcased the achievements of the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo government in the successful digitalization of Ghana’s economy.
He emphasized that the Akufo-Addo government recognized technology and innovation as pivotal tools for the country’s transformation, leading to the prioritization of digitalization as a central policy.
Dr Bawumia made these remarks while commending Estonia as one of the world’s most digitally advanced nations during the opening ceremony of the 75th Annual New Year School and Conference (ANYSC) at the University of Ghana. He highlighted that the government’s investments have positioned Ghana as the fastest-growing country in Africa in terms of digitalization.
“Governments since independence have by and large not focused on the underlying system that underpins economic activities. Our goal from the assumption of office was to quickly transform our economy by leveraging on technology innovations as a means to leapfrog the development process, overcome the basic problems and improve both economic and public sector governance.
“… we decided to do something different and this is why digitalisation has become a major area of focus of our government. Our strategy since 2017 has been to build a new system through digitalisation and therefore to build a data-based economy,” he said.
Dr Bawumia added that the investment the government has made in its digitalisation agenda, which he has been championing, has made Ghana “the faster digitalising economy in Africa.”
The Vice President emphasized that digitization would play a crucial role in ensuring that every Ghanaian is included in the progress of the country’s development process.
On Tuesday, January 9, 2024, Dr Bawumia inaugurated the 2024 Annual New Year School and Conference (ANYSC) on behalf of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. The event, themed “Nurturing Resilience: Adopting Technology and Embracing Humanism for Sustainable Development,” is scheduled to conclude on Thursday, January 11, 2024.
Professor Katrin Niglas, the Vice-Rector for Research at Tallinn University, Estonia, delivered the keynote address at the opening of the school and conference at the Great Hall, UG.
Professor Niglas, in her address, emphasised how the embracement of technology by Estonia in every sector, including education, helped make the small European country one of the most developed countries in the world.
The ANYSC is an annual event that brings together academics, policymakers, business leaders, civil society organisations, and other stakeholders to discuss critical issues affecting the African Continent and Ghana in particular.
This year’s theme focuses on the need to develop resilience, adapt to leverage technology and promote human values and dignity to propel the ended development and progress in Ghana and will be organized around the following sub-themes:
1. Nurturing resilience and leveraging on technology to achieve sustainable growth
2. Promoting education for sustainable development.
3. Towards the attainment of a digital economy: Global Perspectives.
4. New local government system, election 2024, security and peacebuilding.
The deliberations at the conference will be documented and presented to the appropriate authorities for policy interventions.
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1st Deputy Minority Whip raises concerns over potential exit of 18 NPP MPs
First Deputy Minority Whip, Ahmed Ibrahim, has raised concerns about the impending primaries of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), emphasizing potential far-reaching implications for Ghana’s Parliament.
Mr Ahmed Ibrahim underscored the significance of closely monitoring the effects of the party’s internal processes on the broader parliamentary landscape.
The decision of 18 incumbent NPP MPs not to seek re-election presents a significant challenge due to the potential loss of institutional memory and expertise.
He pointed specifically to the departure of Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu, a veteran politician trained by the legendary JH Mensah, as a potential blow to Parliament’s capacity.
“The exit of Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu who was trained by J.H Mensah, are you saying it is not going to have a negative impact on parliament, it will. As for representation, you will get somebody to represent you but as for replacement, you cannot replace the institutional memory and capacity of the exiting MP and that is how parliament is going to be negatively affected. We take you, invest in you, and throw you out.”
He further argued that the government’s underutilization of experienced MPs contributes to their decision to leave. Citing examples like Joe Ghartey and Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi, Ibrahim highlighted their wasted potential and lack of meaningful roles within the government.
“You see Joe Ghartey, you see Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi which post is he holding, zero. Joe Ghartey which post is he holding, zero. I can mention the names of the seniors to you. Joe Ghartey was a former Attorney General and a former deputy speaker but he is there, his party is not using him so he sees himself as being underutilised. And do you think that when that happens he will contest again, he will not.”
“Kwame Anyimadu-Antwi was a law lecturer from Tech, he is here, they left him and took a first-timer as an Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General in those days. Anyimadu-Antwi is still there, a law lecturer, with 16 years in parliament.
Ibrahim urged the government to take proactive steps to retain experienced MPs and tap into their expertise. He emphasized the importance of recognizing their contributions and offering them roles that utilize their skills and knowledge.
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Public Sector workers without Ghana Card likely to face delisting on March 5
Member of Parliament for Builsa South, Clement Apaak, has alleged that there is growing aversion among government appointees of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) following former President John Dramani Mahama’s call for a review of the Free Senior High School (SHS) policy.
Public Sector workers without Ghana Card to face delisting on March 5
The Controller and Accountant General’s Department (CAGD) has declared an uncompromising measure, revealing plans to delist public sector workers who do not possess Ghana Card numbers.
This stern action includes the freezing of salaries for affected individuals, with the implementation set to commence on March 5, 2024. The announcement marks a significant step towards reinforcing the importance of Ghana Card compliance within the public sector.
He made these remarks during an event in Accra where the linking of NIA data to the CAGD payroll was officially announced.
Controller and Accountant-General Kwasi Kwaning-Bosompen stated that this initiative aims to eradicate phantom entries from the government’s payroll.
“With the effect of March 24, this year, all employees without Ghana Card face the risk of being not paid on the government payroll,” Mr Kwaning-Bosompen explained.
On the back of this, the CAGD boss urged staff and members to register for their Ghana Cards at any of the NIA offices nationwide.
He also clarified that the new modality “is just there to enhance all these controls and make it possible for us to have a credible database.”
For him, this “linkage between the national payroll and NIA database has not come to replace existing payroll controls and protocols.”
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How international news outlet, The Guardian, reported on Chef Faila’s cook-a-thon
Ghanaian Chef, Faila Abdul-Razak, has been trending in Ghana in the past few days over her attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the longest cooking period.
Her zeal and perseverance to break the standing record and set a new one has been captured by many outlets in the country and beyond.
She has also been featured on prominent UK-based media outlet, The Guardian.
The Guardian’s coverage highlighted the chef’s unique approach, blending innovation with traditional techniques, making his cook-a-thon a resounding success.
Chef Faila for the past ten days has been attempting to break the Guinness World Record for longest cooking (Cook-A-Thon). She eventually ended the cooking afer2
Read the full article below:
Chef in Ghana aims to break world record with 120-hour cookathon
A chef in Ghana has been preparing regional dishes on live TV since New Year’s Day in an attempt to break a world record for marathon cooking.
Failatu Abdul-Razak had cooked for more than 110 hours as of Friday afternoon at a hotel in the northern city of Tamale where she is aiming to break the Guinness world record for a cookathon of 119 hours and 57 minutes held by the Irish chef Alan Fisher.
The world record attempt is being cheered on and widely celebrated in the west African country.
Abdul-Razak “has put Ghana on the map”, said Isaac Sackey, the president of the Chefs’ Association of Ghana. “So we need to try to honour her.”
West Africa has seen a frenzy of world record attempts in several categories since the Nigerian chef Hilda Baci claimed the world cooking record last May with a 100-hour performance before being dethroned by Fisher.
The Guinness World Records organisation has yet to make a statement about Abdul-Razak’s attempt, which could reach 120 hourson Saturday.
Celebrities, government leaders and hundreds of local people have visited the Modern City hotel in Tamale, where the chef’s record attempt is taking place. Visitors danced, sang and enjoyed the prepared food during the countdown to 120 hours.
The Ghanaian vice-president, Mahamudu Bawumia, posted about the attempt on Facebook earlier this week and donated 30,000 Ghanaian cedis (£1,981) to the chef.
“Go for gold,” he urged her.
Abdul-Razak said at the outset her attempt was a national assignment on behalf of Ghana and its citizens. Among the dishes she has prepared are banku – a traditional dish of fermented cornmeal balls in a soup – as well as the spicy jollof rice enjoyed across west Africa.
She said: “If I fail, believe me, I have put our president, Ghanaians, people who have supported (and) groomed me, my family and friends to shame.”
Under the guidelines, she is entitled to five-minute breaks every hour or an accumulated one hour after a stretch of 12 hours.
There have been concerns raised about the endeavour’s possible mental toll on the chef. Last month, the Ghanaian media personality Afua Asantewaa Owusu Aduonum was forced to end her attempt to break the world record for the longest time spent singing, after her medical team said her body showed signs of mental stress.
It’s the excitement that keeps record-seekers going during their attempts, said Annabella Osei-Tutu, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Ghana. “A lot of hype has got into it, so momentarily, they are running on adrenaline. After the episode, they will perhaps start feeling the toll on their body.”
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Prisoners in Ecuador kidnap guards after escape of drug lord Fito
Security forces in Ecuador are working to bring order back to six prisons where there were riots on Monday.
Prisoners have taken some guards captive and said they will hurt them if soldiers try to take back control of the prisons.
Four police officers were also taken away after President Daniel Noboa said that there was a serious situation.
The trouble started when the famous gang leader Fito escaped from jail.
Authorities stated that Fito, also known as Adolfo Macías Villamar, was not in his cell when the police came to take him to another jail in the same area on Sunday morning.
They looked in the high-security area where he was kept but did not find him yet.
Government spokesperson Roberto Izurieta said that Fito, the leader of the Los Choneros gang, was warned that he was going to be transferred from La Regional jail. He lived in a big cell with bright colored paint and murals.
It’s believed that he ran away just before he was supposed to be moved. Two prison guards are being held because they might have helped Fito escape.
The 44-year-old is the leader of a strong prison gang called Los Choneros. It is believed that this gang is responsible for a lot of the violent fights and riots in Ecuador’s prisons in the last few years.
Despite their leader being in prison, the Los Choneros gang still has a lot of influence outside of Ecuadorean prisons. Gang members also do illegal things like killing people for money, making people pay them for protection, and selling drugs in different parts of the country.
The group has teamed up with a strong drug gang in Mexico called Sinaloa. They work together to bring cocaine from Colombia through Ecuador’s port cities to the US and Europe.
Fito became the new leader of the gang when the old boss, Jorge Luis Zambrano, was killed in 2020.
He used to stay hidden, but then he sang a song that bragged about his crimes, and it seemed like he was trying to challenge the authorities. The song was released in September.
In the video, two singers and Fito’s daughter sing about the boss’s love for his family and his loyalty to those who support him. They say that he is unfairly criticized.
The secret video, made in spite of a rule against using electronic devices in jail, also shows Fito in the prison yard hanging out with other prisoners and petting a rooster.
His getaway is bad for President Noboa’s government. President Noboa had just taken office in November after winning an election that was marred by the killing of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio.
Villavicencio said he got death threats from Fito, and then he got shot and killed after a campaign event in Quito.
Mr Noboa announced that there will be a state of emergency all over the country for two months. There will also be a curfew at night to try to stop the violence caused by Fito’s escape.
Three police officers are missing after they were taken by men in an unmarked car while working in Machala. Another policeman was taken away in the main city, Quito.
There have been explosions in the city of Cuenca and notes left behind asking for prison transfers to stop. -
Transport fares to go up by 60% due to passage of Emissions Levy Bill
Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) has restated its commitment to implementing a 60% hike in transport fares starting January 2024, fter the approval of the Emissions Levy Bill in Parliament last year.
The Union contends that the Levy, designed to impose a yearly fee of GHS100 on owners of petrol and diesel cars, will impose further financial burdens on the operations of their members.
Abbas Imoro, the Public Relations Officer of GPRTU, conveyed that transport operators were already grappling with financial difficulties in the country. Consequently, he voiced apprehension about the imposition of an additional tax measure.
“We are already paying for the emission, 10 pesewas for a litre. So, you can imagine 10 pesewas by 4.5 for a gallon by several gallons you use a day times 26 working days in a month. You can imagine how much one driver pays for it. And we pleaded with parliament that they should have a second look at it,” he said.
“But we did indicate that if nothing is being done or nothing can be done about it, then of course we have other problems as well. We will package ourselves and come out with an upward adjustment of lorry fares not less than 60%,” Imoro added.
As part of efforts to promote the use of environmentally friendly energy sources for vehicles in the country, government is introducing the Emissions Levy to address climate action and help achieve net zero targets.
The GPRTU have however opposed the move and petitioned the Speaker of Parliament to reconsider the passage of the Emissions Levy Bill by government.
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Ecuador declares war on gangs in wake of TV incident
Ecuador’s president wants to stop criminal gangs after a lot of violence and an attack on a TV studio.
Armed people wearing masks entered TC public TV channel’s live studio while it was on air, and made the staff lie down on the floor.
The police arrested 13 people after the attack and two workers got hurt.
At least 10 people died since a state of emergency started in Ecuador on Monday.
An emergency was announced because a dangerous criminal escaped from his prison cell. It’s not clear if the incident at the TV studio in Guayaquil is connected to the disappearance of Adolfo Macías Villamar, also known as Fito, the Choneros gang boss, from a prison in the same city.
On Tuesday, President Noboa said that there is a war happening inside the country. He is sending the military to stop crime and terrorism.
The government of Peru sent police to the border quickly to stop any trouble from coming into the country.
The US is against the bold attacks in Ecuador. They are working closely with President Daniel Noboa and his government and are ready to help.
Ecuador sends out lots of bananas to other countries. They also sell oil, coffee, cocoa, shrimps, and fish products to other places. An increase in fighting and violence in the Andean country, both in and outside of its prisons, is because of battles between drug gangs from different countries and local ones. They are fighting to control the routes for bringing cocaine to the US and Europe.
On Tuesday, during the attack at the TV station, a person with a shotgun pointed it at the head of one of the captives. The captive was also threatened with a revolver.
According to the AFP news agency, a woman was begging not to be shot, and someone else was heard screaming in pain.
A TC employee sent a message on WhatsApp saying that someone came in to hurt us. “Please, God, don’t let this happen. ” The criminals are on the run.
A cameraman got shot in the leg, and another one broke his arm in the attack, according to the deputy news director.
“Producers told us through our earpieces to be careful because someone was trying to enter, steal and mug us,” said Jorge Rendon to Reuters news agency.
“The doors in the studio are really thick, almost like they can stop bullets. They were trying to get in because they wanted to enter the studio and make us say whatever they wanted us to say,” he explained.
The police said that they arrested the suspects and posted a video of them and their weapons on social media. They also said that the suspects would be punished for their terrorist acts.
Emergency situation
President Noboa made a decision to declare a state of emergency in response to a series of riots and escapes from prisons, as well as other violent activities that were caused by criminal gangs.
He made a law that included the Choneros and 21 other gangs. The Choneros are named after the town of Chone in Manabi Province.
The order was made because of a state of emergency and it means there will be a curfew at night to stop the violence after Fito’s escape. The police are working to calm down the situation in six jails where there were fights on Monday.On Tuesday, in Guayaquil, eight people were killed and three were hurt in attacks by criminal gangs. In the nearby town of Nobol, two police officers were also killed by armed criminals.
In Riobamba, a city in Ecuador, about 40 prisoners, including a drug lord, escaped from jail.
At least seven police officers were taken by force and there is a video going around on social media that shows three of the kidnapped officers sitting on the ground with a gun pointed at them. In the video, one of the officers is being made to read a statement directed to President Noboa, according to AFP.
The officer said, “If you start a war, you’ll have to deal with a war. ” You said there is an emergency. We say that police, civilians, and soldiers are the things that are taken as a result of war.
The police told everyone to leave the government building in Quito because they are worried about safety.
People in Quito told Reuters that the city was very chaotic after they heard about the attack at the TV station in Guayaquil.
Mario Urena said there are too many people feeling nervous in the city. “People are leaving work earlier. ” All the people are going away, there is a lot of traffic and alarms all around. There is a lot of confusion.
Some people in Cuenca were surprised when they saw the TV station taken over. They told AFP about their shock.
Francisco Rosas said that in Ecuador, they have never seen something like a channel being taken over and a show starting with shootings and kidnappings. “How safe are we right now. If a TV station can be robbed, then restaurants and shops are also at risk. ”
In the last few years, the prisons in the country have had a lot of fighting between gangs. This has led to many prisoners being killed in gang fights.
The Choneros are a tough gang in prison that is believed to be responsible for a lot of the violent fights and riots in Ecuador’s jails.
Fito is believed to have run away just hours before he was supposed to move. Two prison guards have been arrested for possibly helping him to get away.
His getting away also hurts the government of President Noboa. He became president in November after winning an election that was affected by the killing of presidential candidate and journalist Fernando Villavicencio.
Before he was killed while leaving a campaign event in Quito, Villavicencio had told people that he was getting death threats from Fito.More update on this story soon.
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Major Tory uprising against Sunak over Rwanda bill
Rishi Sunak is having a big problem with some members of his political party because they don’t like his idea to send some asylum seekers to Rwanda.
More than 30 members of the party’s less influential members support making it more difficult for people to appeal deportation by changing the bill next week.
The changes show how divided the Tory party is on the policy, which the Prime Minister thinks is very important.
Ministers say that only a very small number of appeals are allowed in the bill.
Some people who support the changes are former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith and a few former cabinet ministers, including former home secretary Suella Braverman.
Former immigration minister Robert Jenrick, who quit because of the proposed law last month and is a leading rebel, said the new law would not stop people from challenging immigration decisions over and over again.
Last month, the government made a new law because the Supreme Court said their plan to send asylum seekers to East Africa was not allowed.
The law wants to say that it’s okay to send refugees to Rwanda from the UK. This would stop flights from being stopped because of legal reasons.
Government officials may not have to follow urgent rules from the European Court of Human Rights to stop a flight to Rwanda while a person’s legal case is being decided.
However, the rebels believe that the policy can still be stopped by many people appealing against it, and they want to make the circumstances for allowing appeals stricter.
They also want to make it the usual thing for ministers to ignore orders from the ECHR that stop flights.
‘Be the one who gets the last word in the discussion’
The changes probably won’t pass on Tuesday because they won’t get enough support from Labour MPs to beat the government’s majority.
But, if the rebels vote against the government’s bill later on and it stays the same, the bill could be in danger.
A group of 29 MPs could be powerful enough to change Mr Sunak’s 56-seat majority if they vote with Labour, who doesn’t agree with the Rwanda policy.
Mr Jenrick said on BBC Radio 4’s Today show that he might vote against the entire bill if their suggested changes don’t work.
But he said he was not thinking about that yet, and the rebels wanted to win the argument.
One Nation stress
Government might give in to the rebels to get them to agree, but experts think this probably won’t happen until the bill is almost finished in Parliament.
The government is feeling pressure from some members of the Conservative Party who believe that the bill can’t be made stricter without breaking international law.
Mr Jenrick said the current bill would not work because it does not stop people from coming to the UK to ask for asylum.
He said that people should only be able to appeal to not be sent out of the country in a few special situations, like if a woman is having a baby or if someone can’t travel on a plane.
“If we don’t change this law, there will be more people crossing the border illegally, more poorly run hotels for migrants, and we will waste billions of taxpayer dollars in the future,” he said.
Downing Street said that the bill is the strongest law ever in Parliament and it shows that this Parliament, not any foreign court, has the most power. -
Committee report on plot to oust IGP yet to be finalised – Atta Akyea
Chairman of the committee tasked with investigating the leaked tape purportedly detailing a plot to remove Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, has clarified that the committee is actively engaged in the process of finalizing its comprehensive report.
The ongoing investigation seeks to shed light on the alleged conspiracy involving senior police officers and determine the appropriate course of action.
Contrary to circulating rumors indicating the report’s submission to the presidency, the chairman, Samuel Atta Akyea, refuted such claims and attributed the delay to the committee’s dedication to fairness and ongoing parliamentary commitments.
He stated, “A lot of things have happened, and we don’t want to come and give excuses for why we are late in bringing the report. It is just about to be concluded, and then the committee will converge to look at it and ensure an understanding that nobody has been shortchanged before putting it before plenary. I do not know how anybody will say that the report is with the president— a report that the committee has not even reviewed,” citinewroom.com quoted him to have said.
Akyea also tackled concerns regarding potential national security breaches during the investigation, underscoring that the in-camera hearings provided a secure environment for the committee to gather crucial information.
He highlighted intervening factors, such as budgetary considerations, as significant contributors to the delay.
A leaked tape in July 2023 allegedly revealed plots by some high-ranking people linked to the government to remove IGP Dampare, over claims that he could influence the upcoming December general elections.
A seven-member committee, chaired by Samuel Atta Akyea, was subsequently constituted by the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, to investigate the tape’s contents.
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3 police officers in plot to oust IGP lied under oath – Parliamentary Committee
The Parliamentary Committee investigating the leaked tape, wherein three senior police officers were conspiring to remove Inspector-General of Police George Akuffo Dampare, has officially accused the implicated officers of perjury.
A preliminary report from the committee, revealed that Commissioner of Police (COP) George Alex Mensah (now retired) provided false testimony under oath during his appearance before the committee.
“The Committee established that COP George Alex Mensah lied under oath before the Committee by stating categorically that he was not a card-bearing member of the NPP when responding to questions about whether or not he is a member of the NPP.
“His subsequent conduct, however, of picking and filing to contest a parliamentary seat, specifically to represent the Bekwai constituency on the ticket of the NPP established that he actually is evidently a card-bearing member of the NPP,” the report noted.
Likewise, the report implicated Superintendent George Lysander Asare and Superintendent Emmanuel Gyabi for making false statements while under oath.
“The Committee further established that Supt. George Lysander Asare and Supt. Eric Emmanuel Gyebi lied under oath before the Committee when they both denied calling and speaking to Chief Bugri Naabu on Supt. Asare’s phone in furtherance to their conspiracy to remove the IGP.
“They both stated categorically before the Committee that Chief Bugri Naabu was palpable liar when he alleged that they spoke to him on Supt. Asare’s phone. They both upon submission of the second audio tape by Chief Bugri Naabu promptly recanted their earlier denials under oath and admitted their voices and participation in the phone call,” the report said.
The over 70-page report which covered the work of the committee chaired by the Member of Parliament for Abuakwa South, Samuel Atta Akyea cleared the IGP of allegations made by the three officers.
Among other things, the committee established the authenticity of the leaked tape, it established that the three senior police officers conspired to remove the IGP from office for the replacement of their own (COP George Mensah).
The committee further established that the objective of the plot was to help the officers take charge of election security management and favour their party, the New Patriotic Party to “break the 8.”
In line with the committee’s terms of reference, it also established that the officers by their actions, misconducted themselves against the constitution and misconducted themselves under the Police Service Act, 1970 (ACT 350) and the Police Service Regulations, 2012, (C. I. 76).
According to the committee, the actions of the three senior officers could affect the integrity of the 2024 general elections.
“The three senior police officers namely, COP Alex Mensah, Supt. George Lysander Asare and Supt. Eric Emmanuel Gyebi involved in the conspiracy to remove the IGP should be referred for further investigation and possible prosecution for perjury under the Criminal Offences Act 1960 (Act 29) and professional misconduct under the Police Service Act, 1970 (Act 350) and the Police Service Regulations, 2012, (C.I. 76),” the committee recommended.
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TB Joshua’s daughter: Tortured for refusing to submit to “Daddy”
The BBC reported that the late mega church leader TB Joshua is accused of committing sexual crimes on a large scale. It was also revealed that he kept his own daughter locked up, tortured her for many years, and eventually left her homeless on the streets of Lagos, Nigeria.
My dad was always afraid. One of the pastor’s daughters, Ajoke, was very scared that someone would tell the truth about the abuse she saw at her father’s church, the Synagogue Church of All Nations (Scoan). She was the first person to reach out to the BBC about it.
TB Joshua, who passed away in 2021 at 57 years old, is accused of hurting and mistreating many people for almost 20 years.
At 27 years old, Ajoke is hiding and has changed her last name from “Joshua. ” The BBC is not sharing her new name.
Not much is known about Ajoke’s birth mother, but it is thought that she was a member of TB Joshua’s church. Ajoke says she grew up with Evelyn, who was Joshua’s wife, from a very young age.
Until Ajoke was seven years old, she had a really good childhood and went on fun vacations with the Joshua family to places like Dubai.
But one day, everything was different. She got in trouble at school and had to leave for a while. Then a writer in the area said she was TB Joshua’s child but not born in marriage. She was taken out of school and brought to the Scoan compound in Lagos.
“I was told to go to the disciples’ room. ” I didn’t choose to be a follower. “I had to join,” she says.
The disciples were a special group of loyal followers who lived with and served TB Joshua inside the church building. People from different countries came to the compound and many of them stayed there for a long time.
They had to follow strict rules: they couldn’t sleep for long, they couldn’t use their phones or check their emails, and they had to call TB Joshua “Daddy”.
The followers were influenced and made things possible. Everyone was just following orders without thinking – like zombies. She says that no one was asking any questions.
As a child, Ajoke didn’t like to follow the rules like the other kids: she didn’t want to stand up when the pastor came in and didn’t like being told when to sleep.
The treatment began shortly after.
Shortly after she got there at seven years old, she was hit for wetting the bed and made to walk around with a sign that said she wets the bed.
One former female follower said that they were told Ajoke had bad spirits inside her that needed to be removed.
Once, in the meetings with his followers, he said that people could defeat her. Anyone in the girls’dorm could hit her and I only saw people slapping her as they walked by,” she says.
When Ajoke moved to the church in the Ikotun neighborhood of Lagos, people didn’t treat her nicely.
Rae, from the UK, says that she was seen as the outsider in her family. She lived in the church for 12 years as a follower. Like most of the former followers asked by the BBC, she chose to only give her first name.
Rae remembers when Ajoke slept for a long time and Joshua yelled at her to wake up.
Another follower brought her to the shower and beat her with an electrical cord before turning on the hot water, she explained.
Ajoke remembers that she was shouting very loudly and the water kept running on her head for a long time.
She says the abuse never stopped.
“We’re talking about many years of mistreatment. “Regular treatment I, as a child from a different mother, made everything that he [TB Joshua] believed in look less important.
The abuse got worse when she was 17 and talked to her dad about people who had been sexually abused.
“I saw some women followers go up to his room. ” They were leaving for a long time. I heard people saying,”Oh, this happened to me. “”He tried to have sex with me. A lot of people were saying the same thing,” she says.
The BBC talked to more than 25 former followers from different countries. They all said they experienced or saw sexual abuse.
“I couldn’t handle it anymore. ” I went straight into his office on that exact day. I yelled really loud and asked,”Why are you doing this. Why are you hurting all these women. “
I wasn’t scared of this man at all. “He tried to make me look away, but I kept looking into his eyes,” she says.
Emmanuel was in the church for 21 years and lived in the compound for over 10 years. He remembers that day very well.
“He [TB Joshua] was the first person to start hitting her. and then other people joined in,” he said.
“He was asking if you can picture what she’s saying about me. Even though they were hitting and beating her, she kept saying the same thing. “ -
Akufo-Addo’s much touted investigations into the SML scandal is nothing but a sham – Ablakwa
North Tongu Member of Parliament, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has denounced President Akufo-Addo‘s much-publicized investigations into the SML scandal as nothing more than a sham.
Ablakwa contends that recent events, particularly the alleged departure of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) Commissioner-General, Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Adu Owusu-Amoah, with a regular passport instead of his official service passport, raises serious doubts about the authenticity of the ongoing probe.
“The Owusu-Amoahs’ first travel destination when they left Accra a week ago was São Tomé and Príncipe, and continuous tracking appears to paint a picture of a family in no hurry to return to Ghana, that is if they will ever return.
“In the January 2, 2024 press statement from the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia presidency signed by Mr. Eugene Arhin, Ghanaians were informed that ‘President Akufo-Addo has tasked KPMG to complete the assignment in two weeks, and submit appropriate recommendations to him.’
“The release additionally indicated that the ‘President has directed the Ministry of Finance and GRA to provide KPMG with whatever assistance they will require for conduct of the audit.’
“Now here we are, the GRA boss who is to be audited has been surreptitiously assisted to leave the country. It is also worth noting that KPMG has only about 6 days left to report to the President. Clearly, President Akufo-Addo’s much touted investigations into the SML scandal is nothing but a sham,” portions of a statement published on Facebook said.
The parliamentarian asserts that the use of a non-official passport implies that Owusu-Amoah’s journey may not be related to official duties, casting a shadow over the sincerity of the government’s investigation.
Ablakwa suggests that this departure is indicative of a deliberate attempt by the GRA boss to evade potential scapegoating by the government in the aftermath of the scandal’s exposure.
“Painstaking investigations further reveal that Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Adu Owusu-Amoah has told a few very close friends and allies that he will never return to Ghana, particularly after realizing that there’s an elaborate scheme to make him a scapegoat following Manasseh Azure Awuni’s brilliant SML exposé — even though according to Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Adu Owusu-Amoah, he only carried out the wishes of the same notorious looting cabal,” he added.
As the controversy surrounding the SML scandal unfolds, Ablakwa has accused the government of orchestrating a deceptive façade of accountability while allegedly allowing key figures involved in the saga to evade scrutiny. The North Tongu MP further questions the credibility of the investigative process and raises concerns about the government’s commitment to holding those implicated accountable.
“The NDC Caucus in Parliament shall be demanding an urgent inquiry into how Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Adu Owusu-Amoah fled Ghana; we shall seek to identify and sanction the conspirators who facilitated his disgraceful escape despite presidential assurances of an urgent high-stakes KPMG audit; we shall be committed to unraveling the subsequent silence, grand deception and attempted cover-up.
“Ghanaians must resolve to do all in our power to vote out this fantastically corrupt Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP regime in this year’s election. We must uproot this government of endless monumental embarrassments. We have really had enough!” he added.
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USA and UK thwart biggest Houthi attack in the Red Sea
Navies from the UK and US stopped a big attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on ships in the Red Sea, according to the UK defence secretary.
The US military said that a group supported by Iran sent out 18 drones and three missiles on Tuesday night.
They were attacked and shot by jets from carriers and warships. No one got hurt or things broken.
The Houthis have not said anything, but they have attacked merchant ships because of the fighting in the Gaza Strip.
They have said, sometimes not true, that the ships were connected to Israel.
Houthis are not listening after being told not to attack the Red Sea.
What does attacks in the Red Sea mean for world trade.
The US military said that there have been 26 attacks since November 19th.
The US, UK, Germany, Italy, Australia, Japan and 10 other countries are telling the Houthis to stop their attacks right away. They say the attacks are against the law and are a danger to ships passing through the important waterway, where 15% of the world’s trade goes through.
The allies have chosen not to attack areas in rebel-held north-west Yemen in response. However, the UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has warned that if the attacks keep happening, the Houthis will face the consequences.
“We will do what’s necessary to keep innocent people safe and protect the world’s economy,” he said. -
GRA boss flees Ghana with family over SML/GRA contract probe – Ablakwa alleges
Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has claimed that the Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Adu Owusu-Amoah, has left the country following the public revelation of the SML scandal.
He asserted that the Commissioner-General of the GRA, Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Adu Owusu-Amoah, departed the country with his immediate family just days after President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo ordered an audit of the contract between SML and the Ghana Revenue Authority.
Okudzeto Ablakwa claims that the Commissioner-General of the GRA, Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Adu Owusu-Amoah, departed the country using a regular passport rather than his official service passport, suggesting that his journey may not be for official duties.
“Exactly a week ago, the entire Owusu-Amoah family departed at 17:10 on TAP Air Portugal, flight TP 1527 from KIA-Terminal 3. Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Adu Owusu-Amoah used an ordinary Ghanaian passport issued on June 14, 2019, with its last four digits being 5283.
“Interestingly, the runaway GRA boss did not travel with his Service Passport with 2702 as its last four digits. A Service Passport which was issued to him as GRA Commissioner-General on October 3, 2019. This development adds another layer of confirmation that Rev. Dr. Owusu-Amoah has not embarked on an official trip,” he said.
According to him, this signals that the call for an inquiry into the contract is deceptive, as the GRA boss has reportedly informed individuals in his circle that he does not plan to return to Ghana. Allegedly, he believes the government aims to scapegoat him following the exposure of the scandal.
Okudzeto Ablakwa indicated that the Minority will bring to book persons who facilitated his travel and has urged the people of Ghana to vote out such a government.
SML SCANDAL— WHY IS THE AKUFO-ADDO/BAWUMIA GOVERNMENT PRETENDING THEY HAVEN’T ASSISTED THE GRA BOSS & HIS FAMILY TO RAN OUT OF THE COUNTRY?
Can the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government stop the despicable deception that they are seriously investigating the SML/GRA scandal.
President Akufo-Addo must immediately offer a sincere explanation to Ghanaians on the circumstances under which the Commissioner-General of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Adu Owusu-Amoah who signed the dubious SML contract was allowed to travel out of the country with his entire nuclear family less than 24 hours after Akufo-Addo’s 2nd January, 2024 press statement announcing that KPMG has been tasked to carry out an urgent audit into the sleazy affair.
My unimpeachable and irrefutable tracking of Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Adu Owusu-Amoah reveals that on January 3, 2024, he led his family to swiftly and clandestinely leave the jurisdiction.
Exactly a week ago, the entire Owusu-Amoah family departed at 17:10 on TAP Air Portugal, flight TP 1527 from KIA-Terminal 3.
Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Adu Owusu-Amoah used an ordinary Ghanaian passport issued on June 14, 2019, with its last four digits being 5283.
Interestingly, the runaway GRA boss did not travel with his Service Passport with 2702 as its last four digits. A Service Passport which was issued to him as GRA Commissioner-General on October 3, 2019. This development adds another layer of confirmation that Rev. Dr. Owusu-Amoah has not embarked on an official trip.
The Owusu-Amoahs’ first travel destination when they left Accra a week ago was São Tomé and Príncipe, and continuous tracking appears to paint a picture of a family in no hurry to return to Ghana, that is if they will ever return.
In the January 2, 2024 press statement from the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia presidency signed by Mr. Eugene Arhin, Ghanaians were informed that “President Akufo-Addo has tasked KPMG to complete the assignment in two weeks, and submit appropriate recommendations to him.”
The release additionally indicated that the “President has directed the Ministry of Finance and GRA to provide KPMG with whatever assistance they will require for conduct of the audit.”
Now here we are, the GRA boss who is to be audited has been surreptitiously assisted to leave the country.
It is also worth noting that KPMG has only about 6 days left to report to the President.
Clearly, President Akufo-Addo’s much touted investigations into the SML scandal is nothing but a sham.
Painstaking investigations further reveal that Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Adu Owusu-Amoah has told a few very close friends and allies that he will never return to Ghana, particularly after realizing that there’s an elaborate scheme to make him a scapegoat following Manasseh Azure Awuni’s brilliant SML exposé — even though according to Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Adu Owusu-Amoah, he only carried out the wishes of the same notorious looting cabal.
The NDC Caucus in Parliament shall be demanding an urgent inquiry into how Rev. Dr. Ammishaddai Adu Owusu-Amoah fled Ghana; we shall seek to identify and sanction the conspirators who facilitated his disgraceful escape despite presidential assurances of an urgent high-stakes KPMG audit; we shall be committed to unraveling the subsequent silence, grand deception and attempted cover-up.
Ghanaians must resolve to do all in our power to vote out this fantastically corrupt Akufo-Addo/Bawumia NPP regime in this year’s election.
We must uproot this government of endless monumental embarrassments.
We have really had enough!
For God and Country.Ghana First
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Donald Trump loses mother in-law
Melania Trump’s mother, Amalija Knavs, passed away at 78. Melania said she is very sad about it.
“Amalija Knavs was a strong and graceful woman who carried herself with warmth and dignity,” she said.
The reason for death was not given in the short message on X, which was previously called Twitter.
Donald Trump said in Florida that his wife’s mom from Slovenia is very sick.
Mrs Trump said on Tuesday night that she was completely dedicated to her husband, daughters, grandson, and son-in-law.
“We will miss her very much and will always remember and love everything she left behind. ”
Mrs Trump was taking care of her sick mother when people noticed she wasn’t in the Trump family Christmas photo at Mar-a-Lago last month.
Mrs Knavs and her husband, Viktor, became US citizens in 2018 after living in the US with the help of Mrs Trump’s green cards.
She worked at a cloth factory in a town called Sevnica in Slovenia, and her husband Viktor sold cars.
Mrs Trump went to high school in the city of Ljubljana in Slovenia.
In 2005, she met Donald Trump when she was a model. They had a son named Barron in 2006, and she became a US citizen that same year. -
CPP optimistic in winning 2024 election despite ‘cracks’
The party has expressed its determination to resolve its internal wrangling and adequately prepare and win the 2024 General Election.
The party’s leadership has appealed to the members at all levels to collaborate in the best interest of the CPP.
Expressing concern, Sylvester Soprano Sarpong, the Communications Director of the CPP, stated that the apprehension of potential exclusion from the presidential election was a significant challenge for the party. However, he expressed confidence that the CPP could effectively organize itself to secure victory in the December 7 polls.
“We are determined to go to the polling station this year and vote for the CPP presidential candidate. We are not going to sit down to let anybody divide the Party to prevent us from going to the presidential polls,” he said.
“It is a pressing concern for us that we have elements within the Party and their actions are leading us on a road not to participate in the General Election,” he stated.
Weeks ago, the CPP’s General Secretary, National Organiser, National Youth Organiser, National Treasurer, and National Women’s Organiser were all reported to have resigned their position following a National Executive Committee meeting held in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region on December 5, 2023, which called for their resignations.
Subsequently, an “Interim Council” was formed to replace the National Executive to steer the affairs of the Party.
But Sarpong said the activities of the supposed Interim Council were unconstitutional and urged members of the Party especially those in the regions to disregard what he described as “intimidation” by members of the said group.
He said Nana Akosua Frimpomaa remained the Chair and Leader of the CPP and that the other executive members were working to unite the rank and file of the Party.
“Until the determination of the matter by the High Court, Nana Frimpomaa remains the Chair and Leader of the CPP,” he stressed.
Sarpong said the Party had appointed some members to occupy the vacant national executive positions and that those officers were working to ensure that the Party prepared well for the 2024 Presidential and Parliamentary elections.
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MPs detained in presidential residence by Polish police
The Polish police arrested the former interior minister and deputy interior minister inside the presidential palace in Warsaw. It was a day of unusual political drama.
Mariusz Kaminski and Maciej Wasik were sent to prison for two years last month because they used their power in the wrong way when they were in charge of an anti-corruption office in 2007.
After the arrests, the new interior minister Marcin Kierwinski wrote on X: “Everyone is treated the same by the law. ”
The arrests show the problems between the Law and Justice party and the new pro-EU coalition.
The men who were chosen as PiS MPs in October did not accept the court’s decision last month because President Andrzej Duda, who is a PiS supporter, forgave them for the crime in 2015. Mr Duda said he doesn’t agree with the court’s decision because he still believes his pardon is valid.
The pair lost their positions in Parliament, but they and President Duda say they are still legally elected MPs because of the pardon.
On Monday evening, the court told the police to arrest the men. However, Duda invited both of them to the Presidential Palace in Warsaw on Tuesday morning for a ceremony to swear in two of their former colleagues as presidential advisers.
They came out of the palace a few hours later to talk to reporters for a short time, but they stayed inside the palace grounds the whole time. Mr Kaminski said that if they are arrested, they will be called “political prisoners” and he thanked Mr Duda for his help.
“We have a big problem that needs to be taken care of right away. ” Kaminski said a very strict and oppressive government is being formed. Then they went back into the palace as the political events continued.
A little while later, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said at a press conference that the situation was “unbelievable”. He said we should listen to the court’s decision and suggested that President Duda is helping the men avoid punishment.
The prime minister and interior minister don’t have a set of rules to follow when there are prisoners in the Presidential Palace. This is clearly using a situation to benefit from the fact that no one will fight back against such an important person like the president,” he added.
After the police arrested some people, many PiS supporters protested outside the palace to show their support for the arrested men.
Last year, the highest court in Poland decided that Mr. Duda’s pardon in 2015 was not allowed because it was given while the men were still trying to prove they were innocent, before their conviction was officially final. Mr Duda disagrees and says the pardon still counts.
To make things more difficult, judges chosen by the PiS party have ruled in favor of Mr. Duda in the Constitutional Tribunal and a new Supreme Court chamber.
Mr Tusk said that Mr. Duda could end the disagreement by forgiving the men again, now that the decision is final. But that would make people doubt if the first pardon was legal or not.
Mr Tusk’s group started working as the government last month. They promised to reverse the changes made by PiS to the courts, news organizations, and government workers. Many international groups say these changes have hurt the legal system in Poland.
One of the first things it did was to change the state TV, radio, and news agency that PiS had turned into a propaganda tool for its government.
However, their ways were like PiS’s, they started by having a government minister remove media boards and put new people before making new laws.
The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights said it was hard to change the public media because of new laws by PiS. They said the media had become like a tool for spreading one-sided information. They also said they were not sure about the changes made by the new government.
Former PiS prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki told the BBC that Mr. Tusk’s government talked a lot about democratic standards, but didn’t really follow through with them.
“We are seeing an unusual attack on the way laws are enforced. ” Tusk’s government wanted to control public television and media using force. This does not meet democratic standards. We haven’t seen a government being so harsh since communism. Morawiecki said it is very wrong for people who talk about democracy to do this.
Many people who support Tusk think it’s hypocritical for PiS to make these accusations, because PiS has a history of controlling government institutions when they’re in power. -
Ghanaians already know their presidential candidate and it’s not Mahama – Nana B
National Organizer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Henry Nana Boakye, widely known as Nana B, has addressed a suggestion urging the NPP to commence preparations for their transition documents in anticipation of the 2024 general elections.
The remark was issued by Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, who holds the position of National Chairman within the primary opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC).
Nana B remarked that there is no necessity for such preparations, confidently stating that the NDC is destined to lose the 2024 general elections.
During an interview on Peace FM on January 9, 2023, he shared the perspective that Ghanaians have already grown disillusioned with the NDC’s candidate, former president John Dramani Mahama. Consequently, he urged the party to abstain from disseminating misinformation among their supporters.
“NDC has been playing games all along. Yesterday, Asiedu Nketiah addressed the press conference, the same person who claimed NDC won the 2020 election and vowed to go to court. However, he was also the witness who testified, not realizing that their collated results were baseless,” he said.
He continued “NDC will lose this election, and they should be careful not to go and lie to their supporters as they have been doing always because nobody is going to rig any election.”
Highlighting the perceived unpopularity of the NDC’s presidential candidate, Nana B suggested that Ghanaians have grown weary of John Dramani Mahama.
“Ghanaians already know their presidential candidate, and they are no longer interested in him. His Excellency Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia will become the president of this country,” he added.
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Violent storms cause tornadoes, snowfall, and flooding in the United States
Three people died and more than 500,000 homes don’t have power after strong winter storms hit the eastern US and Canada.
Powerful winds blew cars and caused damage to homes in Florida. There were also reports of multiple tornadoes in the area.
On Tuesday, over 1,300 flights were cancelled going to or from the US, according to FlightAware.
Kamala Harris’ plane had to change course because of bad weather.
Mrs Harris’ spokesperson said bad weather made her plane land in Virginia instead of Maryland on the way back to Washington DC from Atlanta.
By Tuesday evening, over 630,000 homes in the eastern US, from Florida to New York State, had no power.
Many counties in Florida have said there is a big problem, because strong winds from storms have taken off the roofs of houses and knocked down power lines.
Early on Tuesday, there were twelve tornadoes in Florida, Alabama, and Georgia. They caused a lot of damage and in some places, people had to be rescued.
In Houston County, Alabama, a tornado destroyed mobile homes and RVs and an 81-year-old woman died.
A storm hit a mobile home park in Claremont, North Carolina and one person died.
In Clayton County, Georgia, a driver died when a tree fell on their car while they were driving.
A person who lives in Panama City, Florida, said that when the wind toppled the home across from theirs, it sounded very loud and strong, like a freight train hitting a brick wall.
“He said it was very loud,” he told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.
The storms in Panama City made roads impossible to travel on, damaged buildings by tearing off roofs, and brought hail as big as baseballs.
A curfew is in place for the downtown area of the city until 6:00AM EST (11:00AM GMT) on Wednesday morning.
“Don’t go to this area at night,” the Bay County Sheriff’s Office wrote on Facebook.
The National Weather Service (NWS) said that stronger storms are expected to happen in the east of the US.
Some areas in Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina might have more powerful tornadoes that can cause strong winds and hail.
Strong winds of up to 50 mph and heavy rain in the eastern US could cause flooding from Florida to southern Maine.
In South Carolina, heavy rain caused flooding in some areas as four to five inches of rain fell before sunset on Tuesday.
Over 1 foot of snow fell in the middle of the US, leaving drivers stuck and stopping presidential campaigning in Iowa.
A big snowstorm is expected in Canada from southern Ontario to central Quebec. Over 1 foot of snow is predicted.
A strong and rare blizzard in the Pacific Northwest knocked down trees and caused power outages for over 25,000 customers in Washington state. It also affected thousands of people in Canada’s British Columbia province. Snow and strong winds made mountain roads and ferries close. People were warned about possible avalanches.
There is a warning for possible flooding along the coast of New Jersey until Wednesday.
The governor of the state, Phil Murphy, said there is a big storm coming and told people to take it seriously.
In New York State, Governor Kathy Hochul said the storm could be very dangerous. She especially warned that the heavy rain and snow together could cause flash floods, which could be life threatening.
About 2,000 people who left their home country and now live in a tent shelter in Brooklyn were moved to high school gymnasiums because of the storms.
There was a brief stop of planes coming in and out of Chicago’s O’Hare Airport because of too much snow and ice, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
A warning for a tornado was issued at Tampa International Airport in Florida, so they had to stop flights.
Severe weather has also caused problems for people traveling on the roads in Nebraska and Kansas. The state patrol has had to deal with lots of weather-related issues.
“Please don’t go out,” a Kansas state trooper wrote on the internet. “We might not be able to help you if you get stuck because it’s hard for us to move around. ”
The NWS said the very bad weather will start to get a little better on Wednesday, but there could still be some snow in the areas that have already been hit hard in the central US and the northeast. -
Recent dumsor caused by bushfire – ECG
Ghanaians, especially rural residents, have been cautioned against igniting fires in the bush, particularly during the dry season.
The caution was issued by authorities of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) who emphasize the potentially devastating consequences of these fires, warning that they have the potential to escalate into disasters.
Additionally, the ECG authorities indicated that these fire incidents affect their operations since they often destroy poles that help in providing electricity to communities.
This, according to the power distribution company, results in unstable power supply, and increasing the cost of maintenance.
During a media engagement in Ho, the General Manager of ECG in the Volta/Oti Regions, Christina Jatoe- Kaleo explained that the unfortunate incident has cost ECG and the state huge sums of money.
She indicated that ten electricity poles were burnt between December 2023 and 10th January 2024 in her jurisdiction, which would cost her outfit about GHS 70,000 to replace the affected poles.
“Some of the communities that do not have power, or they have but people have extended to new sites and they are requesting for us to extend services to them. These poles that should have been used to extend services to them have to be used to replace what have been destroyed by the bushfires”, she lamented.
She mentioned that ECG has implemented certain measures to reduce the impact of bushfires. These measures include clearing trees along ECG transmission lines, establishing fire belts around the poles, and using fire-retardant paint. Additionally, in areas prone to fires, ECG is replacing wooden poles with metallic ones.
She also entreated community members to be watchdogs and ensure the protection of the installations of ECG and also act as ambassadors to preach against bushfires.
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Gunmen break into live broadcast television studio in Ecuador
Gunmen wearing masks have entered a TV studio in Ecuador and scared the people working there.
Workers were made to lie down on the floor by the public TV channel TC in the city of Guayaquil before the live broadcast ended.
The police let all the staff go and arrested 13 people later. The station said that two workers got hurt.
At least 10 people have died since a 60-day state of emergency started in Ecuador on Monday.
A dangerous criminal escaped from his jail cell, so an emergency was called. It’s not clear if the TV studio incident in Guayaquil was connected to the boss of the Choneros gang, Adolfo Macías Villamar, who is also known as Fito, going missing from a prison in the same city.
In Peru, the government sent police to the border right away to stop any problems from coming into the country.
The US is strongly against the bold attacks in Ecuador and is working closely with President Daniel Noboa and the Ecuadorean government. They are also prepared to help if needed.
Ecuador sells a lot of bananas to other countries. They also sell oil, coffee, cocoa, shrimp, and fish. An increase in fighting in the Andean country, both in and out of its prisons, has been connected to battles between drug groups, from other countries and from the country itself, over who gets to control the paths for moving cocaine to the US and Europe.
On Tuesday, during the attack at the TV station, a person with a shotgun pointed the gun at the head of one of the hostages. The hostage was also threatened with a revolver.
According to AFP news agency, a woman was begging, “Please don’t shoot,” and someone was screaming in pain.
“Please help, someone came in to hurt us,” said a TC employee in a WhatsApp message to AFP. “Please don’t let this happen, God. ” The criminals are being watched on TV.
One person with a camera was shot in the leg, and another person’s arm was broken during the attack, the deputy director of news explained.
“Jorge Rendon told the news agency that the producers warned us through our earpieces that someone was trying to break in, steal, and rob us. ”
“The doors in the studio are really strong, almost like they can stop bullets. They were trying to break in because they wanted us to say what they wanted us to say,” he said.
The police said they would punish the suspects for their terrorist actions and share their arrest and weapons on social media.
President Noboa said that there is a fight happening inside the country, and he is sending the army to stop crime and terrorist groups.
He was reacting to a lot of fights and escapes from jails that have been happening lately. Authorities say it’s because of gangs.
He made a list of 22 gangs, including the Choneros, named after a town in Manabi Province. Some of the other gangs on the list were Aguilas, AguilasKiller, AK-47, Caballeros Oscuros, ChoneKiller, Covicheros, Cuartel de las Feas, Cubanos, Fatales, Ganster, Kater Piler, Lagartos, Latin Kings, Lobos, Los p. 27, Los Tiburones, Mafia 18, Mafia Trebol, Patrones, R7 and Tiguerones.
The new rule says there must be a curfew at night to stop violence after Fito escaped. Police and prison guards are working to bring back calm in six jails where there were riots on Monday.
On Tuesday, in Guayaquil, eight people died and three got hurt in attacks by criminal gangs. Additionally, two police officers were killed by armed criminals in the nearby town of Nobol.
In Riobamba city, almost 40 prisoners, including a drug lord, escaped from jail.
At least seven police officers were taken by force. There is a video on social media showing three of the kidnapped officers sitting on the ground with a gun pointed at them. One of the officers is made to say something to President Noboa in the video.
“You started a war, so you will receive a war,” the officer says. “You said it’s an emergency. ” We say that police, civilians, and soldiers are the things that are taken in war.
Police told everyone to leave the government offices in Quito because they are worried about safety.
People in Quito told the news agency Reuters that there was a lot of disorder in the city after they heard about the attack at the TV station in Guayaquil.
“Mario Urena said there is too much anxiety in the city. ” “At work, some people are leaving earlier. ” Many people are going away, and there’s a lot of traffic and alarms everywhere. There is a lot of confusion.
More people in Cuenca were surprised when they saw the TV station taken over.
Francisco Rosas said that in Ecuador, they have never seen a channel being taken over and a broadcast starting with shootings and kidnappings. “What’s the security like here. If a TV station can be robbed like this, imagine how vulnerable restaurants or shops are. ”
Lately, the country’s prisons have had a lot of fighting between different gangs, which has led to many inmates being killed.
The Choneros are a strong prison gang that is believed to be responsible for a lot of the violent riots and fights in Ecuador’s prisons in the past few years.
Fito is believed to have run away just a few hours before he was supposed to be moved. Two prison guards have been taken into custody because they are suspected of helping him escape.
His getting away is bad for President Noboa’s government. President Noboa became president in November after winning an election that was affected by the killing of presidential candidate and journalist Fernando Villavicencio.
Villavicencio had told people that Fito threatened to kill him. Then, he was shot and killed in Quito after a political event. -
11 aspirants disqualified in NPP parliamentary primaries
Ahead of the scheduled parliamentary primaries on January 27, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has disclosed the disqualification of eleven prospective candidates.
The revelation of the disqualifications came to light in a summary detailing the results of the vetting process conducted last week. Specific reasons for the disqualifications were not provided.
Speaking to the press in Accra, Evans Nimako, the Director of Elections, underscored that the vetting procedure strictly adhered to the party’s constitution.
He emphasized the party’s dedication to carrying out a vetting process that is both fair and transparent.
Nimako stated, “If you look at the party’s constitution, it has been done in a very free, fair and transparent manner. But, as I said, we are human, and that’s why the party has provided the opportunity for individuals who may feel aggrieved by some development to appeal through the National Parliaments Appeals Committee.”
Around 400 individuals acquired forms to enter the NPP Parliamentary race, and among them, 373 underwent the vetting process. Of these, 11 candidates faced disqualification, 326 successfully qualified to compete, and two cases were forwarded to the National Executive Committee for additional scrutiny.
Apart from the disqualifications, two aspirants opted to withdraw voluntarily from the race. Additionally, 29 individuals faced no opposition, and one aspirant had their application considered incomplete due to a failure to fill out the required forms. Moreover, two aspirants did not appear before the vetting committee.
The NPP has previously conducted parliamentary primaries in orphaned constituencies. The upcoming January 27 election will now take place in constituencies where the party currently has incumbent Members of Parliament (MP).
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China promises the US it won’t “ever compromise” on Taiwan
China said it will not give in on the Taiwan issue during its first military talks with the US since 2021.
It asked the US to “stop giving weapons to Taiwan” and to listen to its worries.
This happens shortly before important elections in Taiwan. The elections could either bring Taiwan closer to or farther from Beijing.
China says that Taiwan belongs to them, but Taiwan thinks of itself as separate from China.
The Chinese defense ministry said that China wants to have a good and steady relationship with the US military, based on fairness and respect.
The message said that the US should pay attention to China’s worries. China will not change its stance on Taiwan and wants the US to follow the one-China principle, promises, and stop supporting Taiwan’s independence.
Taiwan is an important and tense issue between China and the US as they compete for power in Asia. In 2022, China said no to talking because they were mad that US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022.
They started again earlier this week after China’s president Xi Jinping and US president Joe Biden made a deal in November. The meetings in Washington ended on Tuesday after two days of talking.
Taiwan said that it doesn’t see the Chinese satellite launch over the island as election interference.
A satellite was sent into space on Tuesday afternoon, which caused an alert for an air raid across the whole island. People on the island got a message on their phones telling them to be careful and stay safe.
Taiwan’s defense ministry said sorry for giving the wrong information about a missile in a message sent to people’s phones.
“Lin Yu-chan, a spokesman for Taiwan’s president, said that after the national security team looked at all the information and listened to other countries’ advice, they don’t think any political attempts will work. ”
The Chinese government’s news sources said that the Einstein Probe satellite is used to watch strange and short-lived events in space.
The KMT, the main opposition party on the island, criticized the use of a warning for the whole island as fear-mongering. -
US Defence Secretary underwent surgery for prostate cancer
The White House said that President Joe Biden only found out on Tuesday that the US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has cancer and is receiving treatment.
Mr Austin, who is 70 years old, went to the hospital on January 1st. After having surgery in December, he had some problems and had to go to the intensive care unit.
He got in trouble for not telling the higher-ups about it for a few days.
He said sorry for not making sure the public got the right information.
The delay in telling the White House about something important could be a problem for national security and causes questions about how open the Biden administration is being.
The defense secretary is an important person in the US military and works closely with the president.
The Pentagon said that Mr. Austin was still in the hospital on Tuesday. A person speaking for the hospital didn’t say when the patient would be able to leave.
“Secretary Austin is doing well and is in good spirits. He is in touch with his senior staff and has access to the necessary secure communication technology. He is also keeping an eye on day to day operations at the Department of Defense worldwide,” the spokesperson said.
The doctors at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center found prostate cancer during Mr. Austin’s check-up in December 2023, and he needs treatment for it.
Mr Austin had a small surgery in the hospital on December 22nd to remove the cancer. He was put to sleep with medicine for this procedure.
He went back to Walter Reed on 1 January 2024 because he had some problems, and the doctors found out he had a urinary tract infection. The next day, he was moved to the intensive care unit for more treatment because he had abdominal fluid that was affecting his small intestines.
He never passed out or went under deep sleep for surgery. Mr Austin’s infection is gone and he is getting better. We expect him to fully recover, but it might take some time.
The doctors said that they found the cancer early and think he will get better.
On Tuesday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that President Biden was told that he has prostate cancer.
“He said no one at the White House knew Secretary Austin had prostate cancer until this morning. ”
He said the president was worried about the secretary’s health at first, but admitted that the way it was communicated wasn’t great.
“Mr Kirby said things are not going as planned. ”
Mr Biden and Sec Austin haven’t talked since the weekend, based on what Mr.
Kathleen Hicks, the person who helps Mr. Austin, didn’t know he was in the hospital even though she was supposed to do some of his work.
During a meeting on Tuesday, the Pentagon’s spokesperson, Air Force Maj Gen Pat Ryder, did not say why Mr. Austin didn’t talk about his condition earlier.
“I don’t have that exactly,” he said, but mentioned that being diagnosed with prostate cancer is very personal. The Pentagon said that a important person was sick with the flu which caused the failure.
Mr Ryder said they are looking at how they let people know about hospital stays to try to do a better job next time.
On Tuesday, the boss at the White House told the president’s helpers to let him know if they can’t do their jobs. -
Former chief justice of Liberia receives life sentence over murder
Liberia’s former chief justice, Gloria Musu Scott, and three of her relatives have been given a life sentence for killing someone.
Last year in June, four people were arrested and accused of being involved in the death of Charlotte Musu, who was said to be the niece of Ms Scott.
Last February, Charlotte was killed by unknown people at Ms. Scott’s house in Brewerville, in north-west Liberia.
The previous head of the court said someone broke into her house and killed her niece.
However, after five months of trial, a court in the capital city of Monrovia found her and three family members guilty of Charlotte’s murder last month.
The four women were also are guilty of planning together and lying to the police.
During the trial, the person accused said they didn’t do it and pleaded not guilty.
On Tuesday, the court decided that the evidence presented by the prosecution was very convincing and gave the four people lifetime in jail.
Liberia stopped using the death penalty in July last year.
Ms Scott’s attorneys stated that they will challenge the decision.
She was the top judge in Liberia from 1997 to 2003. -
3 senior police officers in anti-Dampare plot indicted for perjury
The Parliamentary Committee tasked with investigating the leaked tape involving three senior police officers conspiring to remove Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr. George Akuffo Dampare has officially absolved the IGP of any wrongdoing.
According to a preliminary report, the Atta Akyea Committee recommended a thorough inquiry into the conduct of the three senior officers, suggesting the possibility of pursuing perjury charges.
“The three senior police officers namely, COP Alex Mensah, Supt. George Lysander Asare and Supt. Eric Emmanuel Gyebi involved in the conspiracy to remove the IGP should be referred for further investigation and possible prosecution for perjury under the Criminal Offences Act 1960 (Act 29) and professional misconduct under the Police Service Act, 1970 (Act 350) and the Police Service Regulations, 2012, (C.I. 76).
“In order to safeguard the sanctity of the appointment of an IGP and, in particular, shield the appointment process from perceptions of partisanship and political “manipulation”, there is the need to review/amend article 202(1) of the Constitution, 1992, Police Service Act, (Act 350) and related legislation/statutes fundamentally to secure the independence of the office of the IGP,” the recommendation read.
The Committee also found all the allegations made against the IGP to be baseless and unsubstantiated.
Below are excerpts of draft report by the Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS
In view of the issues raised before the Committee and resolved by the investigations and evidence uncovered by the Committee, the Committee makes the following recommendations for consideration by the Rt. Honourable Speaker;
The three senior police officers namely, COP Alex Mensah, Supt. George Lysander Asare and Supt. Eric Emmanuel Gyebi involved in the conspiracy to remove the IGP should be referred for further investigation and possible prosecution for perjury under the Criminal Offences Act 1960 (Act 29) and professional misconduct under the Police Service Act, 1970 (Act 350) and the Police Service Regulations, 2012, (C.I. 76).In order to safeguard the sanctity of the appointment of an IGP and, in particular, shield the appointment process from perceptions of partisanship and political “manipulation”, there is the need to review/amend article 202(1) of the Constitution, 1992, Police Service Act, (Act 350) and related legislation/statutes fundamentally to secure the independence of the office of the IGP.
The office of the IGP shall be on the same terms and condition of service of a Justice of the Court of Appeal except that the tenure of office shall be non-renewable after the attainment of compulsory retirement of sixty years (60).
A serving/sitting IGP shall not be removed from office except for stated misbehaviour or incompetence; incapacity to perform the functions of the office by reason of infirmity of body or mind and related misconduct provided under the Police Service Act or Regulations.
Relatedly, parliament should expedite action on the enactment of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers Bill to address professional dilemmas that may lead to conflict of interest.
Additionally, safeguarding the sanctity of the election security management, the IGP, as head of the National Election Security Task Force, should ensure transparency in the deployment of security personnel engaged in election security management operations and, where such personnel are found to have acted unprofessionally in the discharge of their duties, including in violent intimidation of a voter, they should be held accountable by the GPS or the appropriate external accountable authority/body.
In order to promote professional and adherence to good practice, the Police Council and/or POMAB should put in place a programme of continuous professional training of police personnel at all levels regarding the legal, policy and normative frameworks (regional, national and international) for regulating professional, ethical policing, as well as professional dilemmas associated with conflict of interest. In this connection, it is worthwhile for the GPS to collaborate with key stakeholders, particularly the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), the Office of the Attorney-General and Ministry for Justice and related civil society actors to achieve this objective.
Urgent steps should be taken by the Police Council towards establishment of an Independent Police Complaint Commission (IPCC) modelled on global good/best practices pertaining in jurisdictions such as South Africa, England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Canada, Malasia, etc., to replace the existing Police Professional Standard Bureau (PPSB). PPSB currently serves as as an internal accountable mechanism dedicated to maintenance of professional standards by checking acts of misconduct and unprofessional/unethical conduct involving police personnel. The need for the establishment of IPCC is anchored in the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights Resolution 13a, 2006 on “Police Reform, Accountability and Civilian Oversight in Africa”, which aims at enhancement of peace and security, checking abuse of power and professional misconduct by police personnel. The proposed IPCC primarily would function as an independent oversight body Ombudsman) for purposes of ensuring internal and external accountability relative to the GPS.
Strict enforcement of the provisions under the Police Service Act 1970 (Act 350) and the Police Service Regulations 2012 (C.I. 76), prohibiting serving police officers from engaging in activities outside his or her duties as a police officer which may lead to political controversy as the Committee found for the three senior police officers in this enquiry.
9.0 FINDINGS OF FACT
The Committee established the following as findings of fact based on the evidence gathered and undisputed by all the witnesses who appeared before the Committee:
1. There were two audio tapes (first and second tapes) that served as the primary evidence for the Committee’s investigation. The first audio tape was one that went viral in the public domain and was made available to the Committee by Rt. Hon. Speaker of Parliament. The second audio tape was made available to the Committee by Chief Bugri Naabu through his lawyer, Mr. Raymong Dornyo. The first and second audio tapes formed one audio tape with different durations.
2. The two audio tapes were authenticated by the four key witnesses who testified before the Committee namely Chief Bugri Naabu, COP Alex Mensah Supt. George Lysander Asare and Supt. Eric Emmanuel Gyebi. They all confirmed their voices as captured in the audio tapes as true representation of their voices as well as the contents therein.
3. Chief Bugri Naabu, COP George Alex Mensah, Supt. George Lysander Asare and Supt. Eric Emmanuel Gyebi conspired, purposely to remove the IGP, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare because of his alleged unsubstantiated affiliation to the NDC. These allegations by the senior police officers were found to be unsubstantiated and therefore without basis but were sold to Chief Bugri Naabu by the COP George Alex Mensah, Supt. George Lysander Asare and Supt. Eric Emmanuel Gyebi in order to rile up the political sentiments of Chief Bugri Naabu and secure his support for their cause to remove the IGP and replace him with COP George Alex Mensah.
4. The combined effect of the content of the leaked audio tape and the testimony of the three Senior Police officers before the Committee confirm that all the senior police officers captured in the leaked audio tape publicly declared their affiliation, sympathy and possible membership of the NPP, a circumstance that is prohibited by the Police Serve Act and its regulations. 5. It was also established as a fact that there was intense lobbying initiated through Chief Bugri Naabu by COP Alex Mensah, Supt. George Lysander Asare and Supt. Eric Emmanuel Gyebi aimed at removing the current IGP, Dr. George Akuffo Dampare because of the unsubstantiated claim by COP Alex Mensah, Supt. George Asare and Supt. Eric Emmanuel Gyebi that Dr. Akuffo Dampare is capable of frustrating the electoral fortunes of the NPP in the 2024 General Election.
6. The conspiracy to remove the current IGP, Dr. Akuffo Dampare, initiated by COP George Alex Mensah, Supt. George Lysander Asare and Supt. Eric Emmanuel Gyebi is to allow for a more submissive, pliant IGP to help the NPP “break the 8”, has the potential to undermine the integrity of the forthcoming 2024 General Election and could potentially undermine the true will of the citizenry in respect of their right to freedom of choice and the right to vote as guaranteed under Article 21(13) of the Constitution and international human rights for which Ghana subscribes to, and a State Party to, particularly Article 21(1) (3) of the UDHR and Article 25 (a) (b) of the ICCPR.
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Mamprugu youth urged to support Dr Bawumia to become president
The Mamprugu Zaabuni Youth for Development, a prominent pressure group in the Mamprugu Traditional Area, has officially announced its unwavering support for Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia in the upcoming December 7 Presidential election.
This endorsement underscores the group’s confidence and endorsement of Dr. Bawumia’s candidacy as they rally behind him for a successful electoral outcome.
Mr Musah Abdul-Basit, the group’s President, who made the announcement at this year’s congress of the group at Walewale in the NorthEast Region on Sunday, urged the youth to work to ensure that Dr Bawumia, the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, won the elections.
Mr Abdul-Basit said: “We urge the youth of Mamprugu to massively support one of our own to be President no matter the political colourations.”
“Insha Allah, if we have such an opportunity coming from another political party in the future, Zaabuni shall not shy away but give him/her the maximum support to be President of Ghana.”
The congress was to take stock of the area’s development and continue to champion better opportunities.
It was on the theme: “Rekindling the Glory of Mamprugu: Our Collective Responsibility”.
Mr Abdul-Basit emphasised the mark Dr Bawumia had left in every corner of Mamprugu and said the youth would work hard to ensure he won the election to make history for the area.
He mentioned the extension of electricity to most communities and the construction of sports facilities as some of the government’s projects there, saying: “Mamprugu Traditional Area is very happy for having a region of its own.”
The group, within its eight years of existence, could boast of paying the medical bills and school fees of some residents as well as securing a large tract of land to build an educational institution, he said.
Mr Abdul-Basit urged the youth to help in restoring prosperity and promote peace for development and opportunities to thrive.
He appealed for the construction of a bridge to link Arigu to the Shilinga community through the Mamprugu mainland.
Vice President Bawumia, who was the Special Guest of the congress, mentioned the establishment of the STEM Senior High School at Kpasenkpe, the Fire Service Training School at Wungu, and the ongoing construction of the Walewale, Nalerigu and Gambaga town roads as some of the government’s intervention.
He said efforts had been made to complete the Misio Bridge for ease of transportation and that all the districts in the region were benefiting from the Agenda 111 hospital project.
He donated GHc200,000.00 to the group to support its operations to alleviate the plight of students in the region.
Meanwhile, the group also donated footballs, trophies and money to some football clubs in the area to support their operations.
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GJA President demonstrates compassion by supporting 2 orphanage homes
President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, has made a substantial donation of items valued at over GHC80,000 to support two orphanage homes. This benevolent act reflects the GJA President’s commitment to making a positive impact in the lives of those in need.
The two fortunate beneficiary homes, namely the Faith Needy Children’s Home in Awutu Bewuanum and the Countryside Children’s Welfare Home in Awutu Bawjiase, both situated in the Central Region, have received the substantial contributions from the GJA President, Albert Kwabena Dwumfour.
The items included boxes of Lufart antimalarials, cough syrup, paracetamol syrups, disinfectants, boxes of bathing soaps, toothpaste, and floor cleaners.
Albert Kwabena Dwumfour, the President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), has generously provided a diverse range of items to the Faith Needy Children’s Home and Countryside Children’s Welfare Home. The donation includes boxes of milk, washing powder, detergents, toiletries, sachets of water, gallons of cooking oil, drinks, bags of sugar, sanitary pads, rice, gari, maize, beans, tomato paste, and more.
In addition to these essentials, the GJA President extended financial support by presenting GH¢5,000 to one home and GH¢6,200 to the other. These funds are earmarked to assist with additional expenses such as water and electricity bills, reinforcing the commitment to holistic support for the well-being of the orphanage homes.
The GJA President explained that his kind gesture was in response to the biblical commandment that urges Christians to extend love and joy, particularly to those who are less fortunate, during the Christmas season.
“We know that Christmas is a season of love because Christmas is a season of remembrance of the Saviour Jesus Christ. It (Christmas) is a time and period of the season where we all dine with families, and loved ones and also share whatever we have, put smiles on the faces of others,” Mr Dwumfour explained.
Representatives of the beneficiary homes were eternally grateful to the GJA President for the donation and asked for God’s blessings upon his life.
The Administrator of Countryside Children’s Welfare Home, Mr Ernest Osei Owusu gave the assurance that the items would be put to good use and thanked the GJA President for putting smiles on the faces of the orphans and the needy during the Christmas and New Year Festivities.
Mrs Mary Acquah, Caretaker of Faith Needy Children’s Home, also heaped praises on the GJA President for the huge support and asked God’s blessings upon his life
She added that the donation came at the right time as the children “will remember a special day like this.”The GJA President was accompanied by some executives of the association as well as some senior media professionals including Kobby Asmah, former Editor of the Daily Graphic and Member of the National Media Commission, Mr Gabriel Bosompem, former General Manager at Media General and member of the National Media Commission.
Other volunteers including Media Personality and socialite, Adu Safoa also supported the GJA President during the exercise.
Elder Donkor of the Hebron Prayer Camp also prayed for the two orphanage homes.
