TIG Post

Author: Chris Kodo

  • Coronavirus ‘a devastating blow for world economy’

    World Bank President David Malpass has pulled no punches by declaring that the Coronavirus pandemic is a “devastating blow” for the world economy and that the economic fallout could last for a decade.

    In May, Malpass warned that 60 million people could be pushed into “extreme poverty” – living on less than $1.90 (£1.55) per person per day – by the effects of Covid-19.

    However, in an interview on Friday, Malpass said that they could now find themselves with less than £1 per day to live on.

    He has told BBC Radio 4’s The World This Weekend: “Both the direct consequences, meaning lost income, but also then the health consequences, the social consequences, are really harsh.”

    He added: “We can see that with the stock market in the US being relatively high, and yet people in the poor countries being not only unemployed, but unable to get any work even in the informal sector. And that’s going to have consequences for a decade.”

    Source: bbc.com

  • John Dumelo to snatch Ayawaso West seat from Lydia Alhassan, Here’s how

    Popular Ghanaian Actor, Entrepreneur, John Dumelo is likely to dethrone incumbent Lydia Alhassan for the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency.

    John Dumelo got into active politics during the John Dramani Mahama reign as the President of the Republic of Ghana using his popularity on social media to his advantage.

    On August 4, 2020, John Dumelo easily won the Ayawaso West Wuogon National Democratic Congress, NDC, Parliamentary elections for the 2020 General elections.

    John Dumelo is now expected to face off against Lydia Alhassan, the current MP of the constituency and widow of the late NPP MP, Emmanuel Agyarko for the seat which has always been captured by the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

    But some seasoned Political Analyst and Pollsters have expressed hopes that the actor turn Politician might end the long-held NPP Parliamentary seat with much evidence of his political activities in the constituency.

    John Dumelo, even prior to the Coronavirus lockdown in the country has developed a cordial and healthy relationship with the constituents especially with the students at the University of Ghana, Legon.

    He would seldomly storm campus to interact with these students and at one time, he was seen platting hairs for some of the female students at the University.

    During the lockdown, John Dumelo has connected free internet for students at Legon and GIMPA to use for their virtual studies.

    He also helped to connect the pipe-borne watch to some homes in his constituency when President Akufo-Addo announced free water for three months.

    Thoughtful John Dumelo has recently launched a ¢200K initiative to support small scale businesses amid coronavirus outbreak for his constituents.

    With barely six (6) months to go into the general elections in December, will John Dumlo be able to emerge as the winner?

    Well, he once said;

    “Decide to contest in an election and sit at home and watch Al Jazeera and see if you go get 2 votes.”

    Source: opera.com

  • Date Rush: It ended in tears for Emefa as AJ reveals she was never his first option

    If you think that the drama, intrigues and lot more in Date Rush season 3 reunion is over, then you got it wrong.

    The love show have continued to provide us with new twist of event.

    Just when you thought Emefa and AJ are headed for the alter, another bombshell is uncovered.

    Emefa says she is highly disappointed with AJ after he went about telling people that Freelove was the person he had wanted and not Emefa.

    She said that instead of covering their issues by saying they are working hard to make everything work out, but rather he tells them freelove is lady he loves.

    she’s stated that she doesn’t have problem with him wanting freelove but what she hates is being a second option.

    Emefa concluded by saying nothing will happen between them, no dating, no wedding bell.

    Read what the fans are saying.

    “Talking about Emefa i think Aj should be ready to be with Emmy before anything ”

    Source: opera.com

  • I am not afraid to die for Ghana Captain Smart vows

    Angel FM Fabewoso reloaded host, Captain Smart has lamented about the kind of racism in the country. Not long ago, the outspoken journalist left the multimedia group of company to join Angel group of companies.

    He said on his program this morning bemoaning on how our African leaders are sitting on the necks of their citizens.

    He quizzed the black politicians “WHY DO YOU HAVE YOUR KNEE ON INNOCENT YOUTH OF AFRICA” This goes to confirm the post made by the National Communication Officer, Sammy Gyamfi on twitter which he meant to tell the government to remove its neck on the poor people of Ghana.

    Captain Smart also asked the African politician to think, change their ways of governing their various countries for the betterment of the continent. He asked them to stop kneeling on our necks citing to the death of George Floyd.

    He vowed that he will not stop or end his course on putting governments on toes and making them responsible. He said even if it will have to take his life to this country a better place and give freedoms to citizens

    This is a warning to all African leaders. He has called for a change of mind by the African politician.

    Source: thedistin.com

  • Murdered Ofankor tenants family storm court, demand instant justice

    Tension is escalating at the Abeka District Court as family and friends of the late Benjamin Okyere, who was shot dead by his landlord at Ofankor, are demanding Justice.

    According to the family present, the accused ought to be killed in the manner their relative was murdered for Justice to prevail as “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”.

    Even before the accused person was brought to the court, unhappy friends and families were in court in their numbers clad in red bands, red and black attire with others weilling.

    Court Correspondent Muntalla Inusah reports that the case has been adjourned immediately to June 22, 2020.

    The accused person who was brought to court was immediately whisked away on grounds that he has allegedly contracted COVID-19.

    Background:

    The suspect, Victor Stephen Nana Kankam allegedly shot and killed the tenant at Ofankor on Sunday, May 24, 2020, because he (the tenant) refused to vacate a room he rented after the tenancy agreement had expired.

     

    Source: Starr FM

  • No longer coronavirus cases in Vatican City – Holy See

    The Vatican has announced there are no more cases of Coronavirus among Holy See employees – the governing body of the Catholic Church – and others inside Vatican City.

    Matteo Bruni, Holy See press chief, said: “The last person declared sick with Covid-19 in recent weeks has been tested negative. To date, there are no longer any cases of coronavirus among the employees of the Holy See and in the Vatican City state.”

    The last of the 12 positive cases was reported in early May.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Adorable video of Reggie Rockstones beautiful daughter rapping like her dad – Watch

    Grandpapa, Reggie Rockstone has shared a video of his daughter displaying her rap prowess.

    In the video, his daughter Zuzu rapped word for word to one of his rap songs as they prepared to head out to town.

    He shared the video on his Instagram page with caption;

    SOHM!!! ( HOLD IT) TIKI TIKI TIKI TIKI!!!

    BEAUTIFUL MORNING 🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿 ZUZU JUMPED IN THE MIX BLESS HER❤️

    Reggie Rockstone is a Ghanaian rapper. He was born in the United Kingdom but lived his early years in Ghana in Kumasi and Accra.

    He has been living in Ghana continuously since he pioneered the Hip-Life movement in 1994.

    Source: thedistin.com

  • Great white shark kills surfer off Australia’s New South Wales

    A 3m (10ft) great white shark has killed a surfer in northern New South Wales, police in the Australian state have said.

    The shark bit the leg of the surfer, aged between 50 and 60, off Kingscliff, 800km (500 miles) north of Sydney.

    Several “heroic” boarders tried to help the man by fighting off the shark but although he was brought to the beach, he died there of his wounds.

    This is the third fatal shark attack in Australian waters this year.

    The Sydney Morning Herald said that although police gunmen were deployed to find the shark, they were unable to kill it and it left the area after several hours.

    Police are licensed to kill sharks if they are considered a threat to human life but no shots were fired in this case.

    The attack took place off Salt Beach at about 10:00 local time on Sunday (midnight GMT Saturday). The shark bit the man’s thigh, then circled those who came to his aid, reportedly ramming one of their boards.

    The surfer, who the Herald said was from the Gold Coast, died at about 10:40.

    “He was rendered first aid for serious injuries to his left leg but died at the scene,” a police statement said.

    Paramedic Terry Savage praised the men who brought the surfer ashore, saying: “It was nothing short of heroic to get him to the beach.

    “Unfortunately there was nothing else we could do,” he told ABC.

    People were ordered out of the water, with jet skis used to bring some in.

    Salt Surf Life Saving Club member, James Owen, told the Herald: “It’s a bit of a shock for everyone at the moment. There’s a very sombre mood here. I don’t know of a previous fatal shark incident in this area.”

    White sharks are said to be active in the area at this time of year.

    This is the third fatality from shark attacks this year.

    In April, a 23-year-old Queensland ranger was killed in an attack on the Great Barrier Reef.

    In January, a 57-year-old diver was killed off Western Australia.

    No deaths were recorded last year.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Britain eyes places of worship as lockdowns lift

    The UK government said Sunday it will reopen places of worship for individual prayer on June 15 as it reportedly looks to speed up easing measures in order to save jobs.

    Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office said services and worship groups will still be banned for the time being due to concern that the new Coronavirus spreads more quickly in enclosed spaces.

    “People of all faiths have shown enormous patience and forbearance, unable to mark Easter, Passover, Ramadan or Vaisakhi with friends and family in the traditional way,” Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said in a statement.

    “We are now able to move forwards with a limited but important return to houses of worship.”

    Britain’s official COVID-19 death toll of 40,465 is second only to that of the United States.

    But cases across Europe have fallen off sharply and Britain is now cautiously proceeding with partial school reopenings and the resumption of basic business activity that ended when the country shut down on March 23.

    The UK government also intends to reopen all stores on June 15 and then push ahead with a reported plan to return to something resembling the old way of life in July.

    Johnson has had to weather intense criticism for his handling of the health crisis in the past month.

    Critics say Britain had ample time to take the appropriate precautions – such as shutting down retail and closing schools – after seeing the disease spread from China to Italy and other parts of Europe at the start of the year.

    “We should have gone into lockdown earlier,” the government’s scientific advisory group member John Edmunds told the BBC.

    “I think it would have been very hard to pull the trigger at that point but I wish we had – I wish we had gone into lockdown earlier,” the scientist said.

    “I think that has cost a lot of lives unfortunately.”

    Emphasis on economy

    The government is now coming under attack for starting to lift the restrictions too quickly.

    The average reinfection rate in some northwestern and southwestern parts of Britain is still perilously close to the 1.0 figure above which the virus begins to spread.

    Health Secretary Matt Hancock argued that the government was proceeding with abundant caution because it was wary of the dire economic effects of a second lockdown.

    “The worst thing for the economy would be a second spike,” he told Sky News.

    Hancock dismissed reports of a raging policy clash between pro-business government ministers and more health conscious scientific advisers.

    “I care deeply about getting the economy going and the best way to get the economy going is to ensure that we get the number of new infections right down,” he said.

    The Sunday Times said Johnson signed off on a sped-up scheduled after being told Friday that a failure to reopen the hospitality sector by the summer could cost 3.5 million jobs.

    The newspaper added that Johnson wanted the government to cut social distancing guidelines from two metres to one “if scientific evidence can be found to justify the move”.

    “It’s right that the emphasis has shifted to the economic side and a return to normal life,” an unnamed cabinet minister told the paper.

    “Boris wants us back to normal, or as near to it as possible before the summer,” another unnamed source told The Sunday Times.

    Source: france24.com

  • PLAYBACK: NPP gives details on its upcoming Parliamentary primaries

    The governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) is holding a press conference to give details on its upcoming Parliamentary primaries.

  • George Floyd: Huge protests against racism held across US

    Huge peaceful rallies have taken place across the US against racism and police brutality on the 12th day of protests sparked by the death of George Floyd.

    Tens of thousands of people marched in Washington DC, in the city’s largest protest so far. Security forces blocked any approach to the White House.

    Crowds also demonstrated in New York, Chicago, LA and San Francisco.

    Meanwhile, people paid their respects to Mr Floyd in North Carolina, where he was born, before a memorial service.

    Mr Floyd, an unarmed black man, died in police custody in Minneapolis on 25 May. Video showed a white police officer kneeling on his neck for almost nine minutes while he is pinned to the floor.

    Officer Derek Chauvin has been dismissed and charged with murder. Three other officers who were at the scene have also been sacked and charged with aiding and abetting.

    Large anti-racism protests also took place in a number of other countries. In the UK, Parliament Square in central London was filled with people despite calls by the government to avoid mass gatherings for fear of spreading the coronavirus.

    In Australia, there were major protests in the cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane that focused on the treatment of indigenous Australians. There were also demonstrations in France, Germany and Spain.

    What happened at the protests?

    The largest appeared to be in Washington DC, where protesters – many of them carrying placards saying “Black Lives Matter” – gathered peacefully near the Capitol, the Lincoln Memorial and outside Lafayette Park, next to the White House, at the newly renamed Black Lives Matter Plaza.

    Mayor Muriel Bowser welcomed people, saying the crowds had sent a message to President Donald Trump. On Monday, federal law enforcement officers fired tear gas to clear a protest in the area ahead of a visit to a church by the president.

    “If he can take over Washington DC, he can come for any state, and none of us will be safe,” she said. “Our soldiers should not be treated that way, they should not be asked to move on American citizens.”

    Ms Bowser has requested the withdrawal of all federal law enforcement officers and National Guard troops from the city, saying their presence is “unnecessary”.

    One 35-year-old protester, Eric Wood, told the BBC: “I’m here because I really couldn’t afford not to be here. Racism has long been a part of the US.”

    Crystal Ballinger, 46, said she felt hopeful about the movement this time. “I feel something different about this protest… I’m hopeful that the message of solidarity and equality is getting out.”

    Many of the city curfews imposed after initial unrest have now been lifted. With restrictions eased, arrests have plummeted.

    However, late on Saturday police in Portland, Oregon, declared an “unlawful assembly and civil disturbance” after projectiles were thrown at officers near the Justice Center. Fifty arrests had been made by the early hours.

    Seattle police also said projectiles had been thrown and several officers were hurt by “improvised explosives”.

    Earlier in New York, crowds crossed the Brooklyn Bridge, while in San Francisco demonstrators briefly shut the Golden Gate Bridge. In Chicago, about 30,000 people rallied in Union Park, and a Hollywood intersection was blocked by protesters in Los Angeles.

    And in Richmond, Virginia, a statue of a Confederate general was pulled down from its pedestal.

    There were also protests in Atlanta and Philadelphia, where crowds chanted, “We need justice, we need love”.

    Meanwhile, the top editor of the Philadelphia Inquirer resigned after publishing a headline that equated property damage to the deaths of black people, which prompted public condemnation from many of the newspaper’s staff.

    Stan Wischnowski apologised for what he described as a “horribly wrong” decision to use the headline “Buildings Matter Too” on an article about civil unrest in the US.

    In Buffalo, two policemen were charged with second-degree assault after they were filmed pushing a 75-year old protester to the ground, seriously injuring him.

    In his overnight tweets, President Trump thanked the police, Secret Service and National Guard for doing a “fantastic job” and said that the Washington crowd was “much smaller than anticipated.

     

    Source: bbc.com

  • Ranked best: Mahama and Akufo-Addo who deserves the final four

    Election 2020: John Mahama and Nana Addo who deserves the final four, leave your comments

    President John Mahama and Nana Addo ruled one term one term. 2020 election is the rematch, who deserves the final four

    1. Mahama

    A member of the Gonja ethnic group, Mahama hails from Bole in the Northern Region. Mahama was born in Damongo in the Damango-Daboya constituency of Northern region into a political tradition dating back to the country’s First Republic.

    Mahama government;

    Good economy

    Good roads and transportation

    Quality Education

    Good water and sanitation

    Quality security

    2.Nana

    Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was born in Accra, Gold Coast, to a prominent Ghanaian royal and political family as the son of Edward and Adeline Akufo-Addo.

    Nana government;

    Reduction in car import bills

    Bumper harvest

    Planting for food and job

    Free Shs

    Trainee allowance

    One district one factory

    Bad; Covid-19

    Who will you ranke as best president. John Mahama or Nana Addo

    If you find this article useful don’t forget to share and follow me. Stay blessed

    Source: opera.com

  • Conor McGregor: UFC fighter announces retirement for third time

    Conor McGregor says he has retired from fighting – for the third time in four years.

    Ireland’s former two-weight UFC champion, 31, has a record of 22 wins and four defeats.

    His last fight, in January 2020, saw him beat American fan favourite Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone in just 40 seconds in Las Vegas.

    He has previously announced his retirement in 2016 and 2019 before twice returning to the octagon.

    McGregor also tried boxing, losing to former five-weight world champion Floyd Mayweather in August 2017.

    “Hey guys I’ve decided to retire from fighting,” he said on Twitter on Sunday.

    “Thank you all for the amazing memories! What a ride it’s been!”

    McGregor signed for the UFC in 2013 as a two-division Cage Warriors champion, and went on to capture the UFC titles at featherweight and lightweight, becoming the first man to simultaneously hold UFC titles in two weight classes.

    Those titles were subsequently stripped by the UFC after he failed to defend his belts.

    After his first ‘retirement’ in 2016, he returned in October 2018 to unsuccessfully challenge for the UFC lightweight title against Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229.

    Earlier this year, he displayed one of the most spectacular performances of his career to defeat Cerrone – his first win inside the octagon since taking his second world title in 2016.

    In May, McGregor declared himself as the second greatest mixed martial arts fighter of all time behind Anderson Silva, adding he would “easily” surpass the Brazilian before retiring.

    However, McGregor’s time in mixed martial arts has also been marred by controversy.

    In 2018, he was ordered to have anger management training and perform five days of community service by a court in return for criminal charges being dropped after he had attacked a bus containing rival UFC fighters.

    Video footage appeared to show McGregor throwing a railing at a bus carrying Nurmagomedov and a number of other UFC fighters.

    In March 2019, McGregor was arrested in Miami for allegedly smashing a fan’s phone as they tried to take pictures of him. The charges were later dropped, although McGregor settled a civil lawsuit with the victim out of court.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Burkinabe arrested for entering Ghana illegally

    Vigilant Immigration Officers at the Tumu Command in the Upper West Region have apprehended a Burkinabe in the Tumu township.

    The illegal migrant was earlier on refused entry into Ghana at Katina, an unapproved route bordering neighbouring Burkina Faso in the Tumu SECTOR.

    But, the Ecowas national sneaked into Ghana through a different unapproved route and was apprehended on his motorbike with registration number 25 KZ 5250.

    He was screened by the health personnel before being handed over to the Burkina Faso authorities on the other side of the border at the Lan Border Post.

     

    Source: Kasapa FM

  • Use sanitation by-laws to prosecute those who dump refuse in drains – Atta-Akyea to MMDAs

    Metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) must strictly enforce sanitation by-laws so that recalcitrant individuals who dump filth into open drains are prosecuted and punished for doing so, Mr Samuel Atta-Akyea, Minister of Works and Housing has said.

    “The sanitation by-laws must be activated, so those obstinately uncooperative individuals who break the laws are punished accordingly.

    “The MMDAs must begin to deal ruthlessly with those who use the open drains as their receptacle for filth so that the indiscipline ceases,” he said.

    Mr Atta-Akyea was addressing the press last Saturday, after a desilting exercise in Koforidua.

    The exercise, which formed part of preparation to prevent flooding this year, saw the desilting of major drains in the various suburbs of the New Juaben South and the New Juaben North municipal assemblies.

    It was a collaboration between the Ministry of Works and Housing, the two assemblies and Zoomlion, a waste management company.

    Mr Atta-Akyea said the cleaning exercise was intended to “raise the conscience of our people” to desist from the sub-culture of dumping garbage and filth from their homes into open drains.

    The minister said drainage systems were not intended to be a receptacle for filth, but purposed to allow the free flow of sewage, otherwise, when the drains become much silted “and because we are in a raining season, a downpour can cause flooding,” he said.

    He said the Ghana Metrological Agency has forecast heavy rainfalls this year, there was, therefore, the need to desilt gutters in major cities not only in Accra, Kumasi, but Koforidua and other areas, to curb flooding that could destroy lives, property and livelihoods.

    Mr Atta-Akyea, therefore, urged the people to voluntarily clean their environment to ensure cleanliness in their surroundings, adding that “filth is associated with ill-health.”

    “Some of the health challenges we face in this country such as diarrhoea, dysentery, typhoid and others, are all filth-related, so when we clean our environment we give ourselves good health,” he said.

    The Municipal Chief Executive for New Juaben, Mr Isaac Appaw-Gyasiu Gyasi, noted the huge amount of rubbish, especially plastics, dumped in drains in the area, and expressed the readiness of the assembly to go all-out to enforce the sanitation by-laws.

     

    Source: ghanaiantimes.com.gh

  • Trump plan to slash US troops sparks concern in Germany

    German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas voiced regret Sunday at reports that President Donald Trump plans to cut the number of US troops stationed in Germany, stressing that close cooperation was in the interests of both countries.

    Other senior politicians in Berlin were more blunt in their criticism, slamming the plan as the latest blow to US-German ties and a potential security risk.

    The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Trump had ordered the Pentagon to slash the number of US military personnel by 9,500 from the current 34,500 permanently assigned in Germany.

    Such a move would significantly reduce the US commitment to European defence under the NATO umbrella, and appeared to catch Berlin off guard.

    “Should it come to the withdrawal of part of the US troops, we take note of this,” Maas told the Bild am Sonntag daily.

    “We appreciate the cooperation with the US armed forces that has grown over decades. It is in the interest of both of our countries.”

    But he admitted ties had become strained under Trump.

    “We are close partners in the transatlantic alliance. But it’s complicated,” Maas told Bild.

    There was no immediate confirmation from US officials about the alleged plan to slash US troop numbers in Germany and cap them at 25,000 in future.

    But it comes amid tensions between the Trump administration and European allies over longstanding cooperation agreements.

    Trump has been particularly critical of Germany in recent years, accusing the fellow NATO member of not spending enough on defence.

    Germany hosts more US troops than any other country in Europe, a legacy of the Allied occupation after World War II.

    Johann Wadephul, a senior member in Merkel’s conservative CDU party, said the plan showed that the Trump administration was “neglecting an elementary leadership task: involving alliance partners in the decision-making process”.

    He warned that only China and Russia stood to gain from “discord” between NATO allies. “Washington should pay more attention to this,” Wadephul said in a statement on Saturday.

    ‘Security realignment’

    Peter Beyer, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coordinator for transatlantic relations, warned that Trump’s plan to pull out some 9,500 US troops and their families would weaken “transatlantic bridges”.

    “The German-US relationship could be severely affected by such a decision from the US president,” he told DPA news agency.

    Rolf Muetzenich, leader of the parliamentary group of the centre-left SPD, Merkel’s junior coalition partner, told the Funke newspaper group that the US troop reduction could lead to “a lasting realignment of security policy in Europe”.

    Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Saturday that he hoped some of the troops moved out of Germany could be reassigned to Poland.

    Source: france24.com

  • NPP turns to voting-buying ahead of parliamentary polls

    Over the weekend, I took my camera from one end to the other. From Accra to Kumasi, from constituency to constituency, looking at how the political arena is looking like.

    June 20th, the NPP is scheduled to go polls choosing their parliamentary members who will head the various constituencies for the parliamentary seats. The party through their executives have made their selections.

    Ashanti Region made news since their regional chairman, Wontumi was alleged to have made sure, all female incumbent MP’s within various constituencies of the Ashanti Region went unopposed, this caused mayhem, evoking curses from party foot soldiers and polling agents as the leaders cannot imposed their choices over what they the constituencies needed. Sheeps, schnapps, eggs were sent to various water goddess within various communities to invoke curses on the party leaders from top to down.

    Stakeholders applauded the executives for choosing their women incumbent MP’s to go unopposed, because parliament is always underrepresented since 1992 when democracy started. Males always turns to dominate at a huge percentage to that of the women, so Ashanti Region was applauded for such move despite protests.

    It will be politically sensible if the women going unopposed learn something from what is happening. Do good to your constituencies and don’t assume going unopposed means you did well but a chance for you to cut across and lobby great developmental instruments for the various constituencies, that is what an MP should stand for, not just making laws.

    From Achimota to Kumasi, the various constituencies were not darling as I was expecting due to the tension. Fortunately, most aspirants were present at their various constituencies lobbying delegates for their votes. From Thousand to Two Thousand cedis, to flat screen Television to expensive mobile phones and to huge promises, the delegates erected ears and hungry mouth were all wide open for the cash and gifts.

    I asked myself if the messages the aspirants were carrying were even convincing. The delegates were much into the gifts rather than their respective messages at expensive hotel meetings. Do delegates have to be this shameful? Does MP’s have to be this insensitive? Asokwa delegates were quick to rain curses, Juabeng constituency wasn’t different so as was Offinso. What is happening in Ghana politics within the NPP is outrageous. The NPP did bounce on the NDC in 2014 for the same phenomenal issues of curses, and 6years down the line, you the party that criticized is doing the same thing of money sharing, votes buying, curses raining?

    Asante Akyem Central, North and South was different, the political arena was calm and safe. It seems the three constituencies were the only safe constituency which were able to manage their war without tantrums and earthquakes from Accra to Kumasi.

    Source: opera.com

  • Worry about your party without running mate and leave Sarkodie alone Kwasi Ernest

    Some personalities in the entertainment industry have descended heavily on Dela Edem for attacking Sarkodie.

    Dela Edem who is a member of the Communication team of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) courted controversy when he said Sarkodie had no right to ask Sammy Gyamfi to remove a cartoon mimicking how George Floyd was killed by a United States security officer.

    He is also reported to have threatened to burn all CDs from Sarkodie because he only records song to favour the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

    Artiste manager and CEO of Media Excel Production, Kwasi Ernest asked Dela Edem to concentrate on the fact that his party; the NDC, has no running mate with a few months to election 2020 and leave Sarkodie alone.

    He further dared him to go ahead and burn the CDs.

    “Dela goofed big time; he could have made his argument without attacking the young man’s brand. What he said could even lead to a revolt…I dare him; I want to see Dela physically burning Sarkodie’s CD and he will show us if he took him to the studio to record the songs” he said on Peace FM Entertainment Review programme.

    Source: Peace FM

  • US records 749 coronavirus deaths in past 24 hours

    The Coronavirus pandemic killed 749 people in the United States in the past 24 hours, according to figures released Saturday by Johns Hopkins University.

    The latest deaths bring the total in the United States to 109,791, and there have been more than 1.9 million cases, according to a real-time tally maintained by the Baltimore-based university at 8:30 pm (0030 GMT Sunday).

    Some 500,000 people have recovered from the disease.

    The United States has suffered by far the largest number of both Coronavirus deaths and infections.

    On a per capita basis, however, several European countries — including France, Italy and Spain — have a higher death toll.

    President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States was “largely through” the pandemic and renewed his call on governors to ease lockdown measures in their states.

    While the United States was suffering around 3,000 deaths a day in mid-April, that number has declined to around 1,000 deaths and 20,000 new cases a day at present.

    But health care professionals worry mass demonstrations against police brutality and racism taking place in cities across the US may lead to a new surge in infections in the coming weeks.

    Source: punchng.com

  • TV right holders StarTimes pile pressure on GFA to continue season

    TV right holders StarTimes are pulling punches to ensure the continuation of the 2019/2020 season amid the Coronavirus outbreak according to GHANAsoccernet.

    The Chinese-based firm is putting enormous pressure on the FA to ensure the season continues unabated following the Covid-19 shutdown.

    The shutdown of football due to the coronavirus pandemic has led to financial problems for the Asian broadcasters and they are pushing for a season to continue.

    StarTimes are steeling themselves for a significant drop in ad sales revenue for the rest of the season as brands pull from the campaign and slash marketing budgets amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Already, Ghanaian Premier League clubs have received a paltry $30,000 as partial payment from StarTimes since acquiring the rights for the 2019/20 Ghana Premier League.

    StarTimes, a major partner of the Ghana Football Association has been directly impacted by the Coronavirus.

    Now fresh reports are emerging that the pay-per-view channel is putting intense pressure on the Ghana FA to continue the season as they aim to recover lost revenue.

    The majority of clubs especially those in the bottom-half, want the season to be cancelled.

     

    Source: Ghana Soccernet

  • Prampram Police Chief Inspector collapses and dies

    News reaching MyNewsGh.com indicates that a female Police Chief Inspector stationed at Prampram in the Greater Accra Region has collapsed and died.

    It is gathered that Chief Inspector Patience Ayivor aged 54 who is the Prampram Station Officer complained of ill health at home and was rushed to Prampram Polyclinic but collapsed and died on arrival.

    Her body has since been conveyed and deposited at the Police Hospital morgue for preservation awaiting autopsy.

     

    Source: My News GH

  • The Bible never said dont be a transgender -1st Ghanaian Transgender to critics

    Ghanaian transgender and musician, Angel Maxine in an interview with Sammy Kay on the Go online show, has stated that there is nowhere in the Bible that speaks against transgender as a sin, but rather the Bible speaks against fornication, adultery, stealing, etc,citing the ten commandments as his basis.

    The model revealed that he is in the process of transitioning to fully transform to become a woman and a trans-sexual and added that his outlook now is a manifestation of what he feels inside.

    When asked about his sexual organ, he revealed that he has a very attractive male sexual organ which powerfully erects.

    Watch full video below:

    Source: sammykaymedia.com

  • You’re ‘unwise’ to fight Sarkodie, upgrade your level of thinking – Arnold to NDC’s Dela Edem

    Arnold Asamoah-Baidoo has pounced on Dela Edem after making some comments against Sarkodie.

    Dela Edem, a member of the Communication team of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) said Sarkodie had no right to ask Sammy Gyamfi to remove a cartoon mimicking how George Floyd was killed by a United States security officer.

    He is also reported to have threatened to burn all CDs from Sarkodie because he only records song to favour the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

    The entertainment pundit who was seething with anger did not understand why a party communicator would be so ‘intolerant’ to think of burning someone’s CDs.

    “Dela Edem did not say anything sensible…he’s confused; he needs to upgrade his level of thinking. the most annoying thing is; he said he will burn his CDs; where is the tolerance in this? These are people who were voted for to lead; foolish and unwise to say he will throw away his CDs” Arnold said on Entertainment Review programme on Peace FM.

    Source: Peace FM

  • PLAYBACK: Ernesto Yeboah speaks about recent arrest

    Following his arrest on Friday, June 6, 2020, after he led a protest at the Black Star Square over the gruesome murder of African-American, George Floyd, the leader of Economic Fighters League, Ernesto Yeboah is opening up about his arrest.

    After the George Floyd incident in the United States, the world over has been taken by a storm of protests seeking to highlight the level of racism and injustice Africans are suffering especially in the United States.

    The Friday vigil at the Black Star Square was supposed to be the very first of the now global protest organised in Ghana.

    However a few minutes after the vigil started with chants by the protesters, a group of security officers made up of the police and military stormed the venue to break up the vigil.

    In videos seen on social media, some of the military officers were seen assaulting the leader of the vigil and other participants. Ernesto Yeboah was said to have been subsequently arrested by the police and sent to the Ministries Police Station and then relocated to the Accra District Police Station.

    He was granted bail after passing the night in police cells the next morning.

    Watch Ernesto Yeboah Speak to Class FM about his arrest on the Executive Breakfast Show below:

     

    Source: Ghanaweb 

  • Post-retirement contract: Lecturers can teach until 70

    The government has announced new rules to guide post-retirement contracts for academic staff of public universities in the country.

    Under the rules, even though the mandatory retirement age for academic staff of public universities shall continue to be 60 years, professorial grade staff (Associate Professors and Professors) shall be eligible for post-retirement contracts until the age of 70, in line with constitutional provisions.

    Until the current guidelines, that category of staff used to retire at 60, with a few of them being given contracts, which came with challenges of payment in the light of their receiving pensions.

    Consequently, the Auditor-General called for the cancellation of such post-retirement contracts.

    Post-retirement contract

    In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Minister of Education, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, explained that the new rule had become necessary as part of measures to bolster and maintain a critical mass of key academic staff to support the anticipated significant increase in tertiary enrolment as a consequence of the free senior high school (SHS) programme.

    He said for the professorial category, “the initial contract shall be for five years up to the age of 65, and then afterwards contracts shall be offered on a 2+2+1 basis, subject to need and good health”.

    He explained that specific provision must be made for compensation for all staff on post-retirement contracts, and that such staff should be clearly designated and accounted for separately as contract staff in the annual budget of the institutions.

    He explained that the post-retirement contract was not automatic, “because if a university does not need your services or a Professor does not want to be engaged, then the contract will not be put in place”.

    Rationale

    Dr Prempeh said the new rule was important because the universities needed to boost their human resource capacity in research and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) supervision.

    He said giving that category of staff the contract was to ensure better student/lecture ratios, especially as the tertiary institutions prepared to receive the large cohort of free SHS products in the next academic year.

    To that end, he said, the National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) had been tasked to develop and deploy a mechanism for monitoring output in those areas, following the implementation of the new regime for post-retirement contracts.

     

    Source: Graphic.com.gh 

  • I was kidnapped by police and soldiers Ernesto Yeboah speaks about George Floyd vigil arrest

    Ernesto Yeboah, the leader of Economic Fighters League, has described his arrest last Friday night as a “kidnap” by the security forces.

    According to him, the police was not able to tell exactly what his crime was; rather they were insisting that his arrest for organising a vigil for George Floyd was an “order from above”.

    “I was kidnapped from the space [Independence Square] because there was no warrant of arrest, there was no reason for my being taken away…” Ernesto Yeboah told Joy News in an interview.

    He said he only obliged to follow the police because of the hype his followers and other Ghanaians gave the vigil, therefore, he thought it better to acquiesce to the police to avoid the whole program being disrupted.

    “I joined them [police] to the Ministries Police Station, and then in about 30 minutes, I was relocated to the Accra District Police Station,” he narrated.

    Ernesto Yeboah was arrested on Friday, June 6, 2020.

    He was leading a vigil against police brutalities in the USA, especially after the killing of the African-American, George Floyd, which sparked global protests.

    The sun has never set on the protests which have gone on for some 10 days – the UK, Germany, Australia, Japan, and many other places have witnessed largely peaceful protests at such time intervals that ensure round-the-clock protests.

    The Independence Square event was Ghana’s first, but unfortunately, the viral videos of soldiers hitting unarmed civilians is Ghana’s attitude to the trending human rights and equality protests.

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

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    Business and Financial Times

  • Coronavirus slows down banking sector business John Awuah

    Mr John Awuah, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Association of Bankers, has revealed that the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic have slowed down banking business and increased risk of impact on loan performance.

    COVID-19 has had a negative impact on the economy and the banking sector as economic activities had taken a downturn with growth projected to be 1.5 per cent compared to an earlier outlook of 6.5 per cent for 2020, he said.

    Mr Awuah explained that some sectors of the economy have had zero cash inflows during the pendency of the pandemic especially Aviation, hotels and resorts, bars and restaurants.

    Mr Awuah said this at the Second Edition of Webinars organised by Integrity Magazine, a subsidiary of Krif Ghana Limited, on the theme: “Effects of COVID-19 On Corporate Ghana- The Banking Sector- Part 1”

    He said economic projection of the COVID-19 was that: “It will take much longer for businesses and households to return to normal operations with its consequential impact on the ability to perform on existing obligations resulting in a heightened probability of increased non- performing loans”.

    Mr Awuah outlined some post-COVID-19 activities by the banks amongst which were credit expansion to productive sectors such as the manufacturing and small and medium enterprise financing.

    Others measures were for banks to invest heavily to enhance Fintech capabilities, whilst Government introduced policy initiatives to redirect the trajectory of credit expansion and the Banking Regulator to proactively balance the need for regulatory prudence and inertia post-COVID-19.

    He said banks had a duty to anchor the economy by cautiously continuing with credit expansion to productive sectors among others.

    He also mentioned that banks have cut interest rates by between 1.5 per cent and 3.5 per cent. In addition, a total of 1.6 billion Ghana cedis of Payment Holidays had been granted to selected customers with specific needs during this COVID-19 period.

    The Reverend Mrs Patricia Sappor, President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers, said the banks had begun to aggressively drive the digital agenda whilst encouraging customers to jump onto the digital train using channels like Mobile Apps, USSDs, Internet Banking, and ATMs to facilitate transactions.

    “One of the key impacts of the current pandemic is the emphasis on social/physical distancing and contactless payment options. The situation presents financial institutions with the opportunity for digital transformation both at the front and back-office levels.”

    “This, if done effectively, could result in efficient service delivery, quicker turn-around time and improvement in the overall service experience for bank customers,” she noted.

    Rev. Sappor explained that investing in large and expensive edifices to accommodate employees could be curtailed as banks have found ways for workers to work more remotely and digitally.

    “This will reduce the operating costs of banks since lesser expenses on utilities and depreciation are incurred”.

    She said banks have had to re-strategize and re-prioritize projects due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “Banks can no longer go back to their old ways of operating since the needs and psyche of customers have changed significantly as a result of COVID-19”.

    “In a nutshell, low transactional volumes will result in low profitability, low deposits, and significantly, high Non-Performing Loans and high operating costs are some of the adverse impacts to be envisaged by financial entities as a result of COVID-19.”

    She said banks should proactively stay in touch and build good relationships with their clients supporting them in these difficult times.

    Rev. Kennedy Okosun, the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of the Integrity Magazine, called on stakeholders to find out how banks and other financial institutions in Ghana could better protect themselves from the harsh effects of the lockdown and still play their important role as “engine of growth.”

    He said through such webinars solutions would be proposed as to the way forward for policymakers and industry players to reduce the biting effect of the Covid-19 on corporate Ghana.

    Source: GNA

  • Foreign minister outlines governments plans for evacuating stranded Ghanaians abroad

    Government has outlined its plans for evacuating some stranded Ghanaians abroad as the country is yet to open its borders to other countries.

    For several weeks, the Foreign Ministry and its Missions abroad, together with key MDAs such as the Interior and Aviation Ministries, as well as the Ghana Immigration Service have been working closely to bring back home stranded Ghanaians in several countries.

    To ensure a well-coordinated evacuation exercise, government decided to undertake the exercise in phases.

    According to the Foreign Minister, the decision was informed by financial and logistical considerations namely, the capacity of our isolation centres to hold large numbers of evacuees as well as the human resource capacity of the National COVID-19 Task Force comprising personnel from various security agencies.

     

    Source: myjoyonline 

  • E/R: Majority of COVID-19 patients are youth, eight are children

    A total of 108 out of 166 persons who have tested Positive for Covid-19 in the Eastern Region are youth between the ages of 15 to 39.

    Persons with ages above 40 tested who have positive are forty-six in number.

    Children with ages between 0-14 years tested Positive are eight( 8).

    The minimum age of persons tested positive is a 5-month-old baby with the maximum age been 91years.

    The young age group are mostly asymptomatic, according to report sent to Ghana Health Service-Headquarters by the Eastern Regional Health Directorate intercepted by Starr News.

    According to the report dated June 6, 2020, 84%of the cases recorded in the region are asymptomatic.

    Meanwhile, 31 health workers in the Eastern Region have tested positive for Covid-19.

    The affected health workers are a mixture of those conducting contact tracing and those working in hospitals and other health facilities.

    About eight (8) out of the total number have, however, recovered.

    Spike in Koforidua cases.

    The number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in New Juaben South Municipality (Koforidua) have jumped from 2 to twenty-four(28) within two weeks.

    Out of the total number, only one(1) has recovered with one death being a Senior Police Officer who died May 29,2020.

    The four new confirmed cases in New Juaben South Municipality-Koforidua have increased the Eastern Regional case count from to 166 with about 100 recoveries as of June 6, 2020.

    Fifteen (15) out of thirty-three (33) Municipalities/Districts in the Eastern Region have recorded confirmed cases of Covid-19.

    The Districts and Municipalities are Lower Manya Krobo, Asuogyaman, Akauapem North, New Juaben South, Denkyembuor, Nsawam- Adoagyiri, Fanteakwa North, Kwahu West, Birim Central, Achiase, Suhum, West Akyem, Birim North, Upper Manya Krobo, and Akauapem North.

     

    Source: Starrfm.com.gh

  • Group demands answers from Ghana Government over disruption of #BlackLivesMatter vigil

    Economic Fighters League is demanding explanations from the Ghana government over circumstances that led to the disruption of its Black Lives Matter vigil at the Black Stars Square on Sartuday.

    The vigil was organized in Ghana as a sequel to the global agitation following the tragic death of George Floyd in the US and also to condemn all forms of oppression.

    It was organized by the Economic Fighters League on Saturday evening went on peacefully for about an hour when some armed police and military officers stormed the venue and disrupted the exercise.

    The security officers had claimed that the vigil was illegal although the organizers insisted that they notified the police in line with the Public Order Act.

    Leader of the group, Ernesto Yeboah was subsequently arrested and detained; a development patrons of the vigil were unhappy with.

    In a statement chronicling the turn of events, the group asked three questions and demanded answers from the Government of Ghana.

    The group also appealed to the United Nations (UN), Human Rights Watch and the international media to pressurize authorities to explain why the vigil was disrupted.

    “We urge the United Nations, Human Rights Watch, and the world media, to ask the Ghanaian authorities three things. Why display so much hypocrisy, after holding a state-sponsored “funeral” for Floyd, just 30 hours earlier? Why risk the lives of many, by instigating the breaking of social distancing protocol, at a peaceful vigil? Why was the notice to gather, ignored? Who gave the order from above?”

     Leader released 

    Meanwhile, the leader of the Economic Fighters League, Ernesto Yeboah has been released from police custody.

    A day after his arrest, Mr. Yeboah is seen in a video announcing his release stressing that his continuous arrest will not discourage him from seeking freedom for Africans and the continent.

    “The handcuffs are off. But as I keep saying, do not be afraid of the handcuff. It is with the handcuff that we will seek our freedom. It is with the handcuff that Africa shall unite. It is with the handcuff that we shall access economic freedom in our lifetime,” he said.

     

    Source: citinewsroom 

  • We cannot sacrifice Ghana’s peace on political rhetorics – Prince Mba

    Prince Bagnaba Mba, President of the Forum for National Equity has called on all political actors to give the Electoral Commission the chance to carry out its mandate to deepen Ghana’s democracy.

    “I have observed that the issue of compilation of the new voter’s register has generated unnecessary threats of violence and mayhem from political interest groups and wish to remind Ghanaians that the corporate peaceful Ghana cannot be sacrificed on political rhetoric.”

    Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in an exclusive interview in Accra on Sunday, Mr Mba said the Electoral Commission was the constitutional body mandated to conduct peaceful elections and it was only fair to give them the free hand to carry out that mandate.

    He said the voter’s register was the main key to the door of democracy and it was not only illegal, but also criminal to use a faulty key to open the main gate. “We have come a long way as pacesetters in Africa, when it comes to democratic governance and this enviable height we have achieved comes with a price of sacrificial responsibility.”

    Mr Mba called on political parties to rather be concerned with the mobilization of their supporters and members to register massively to ensure transparent conduct of elections, and not to spend their energies on issues that could hamper the country’s democracy.

    “Foundation building is the basic determinant of the strength of any institution. It’s interesting how the political parties are behaving, like fighting an unnecessary war over which side of the egg should be broken. Lack of sincerity and party first, nation last politics is nothing but populism.”

    Mr Mba said there were always excuses to justify actions, but for the common good of all, “we call for maximum cooperation with the Electoral Commission in the spirit of goodwill and commitment to the promotion of democracy.”

    He said the coronavirus had hampered everything globally and there was therefore little time for planning and should not be spent on unnecessary arguments.

    Source: GNA

  • Oti Regional Minister inspects projects

    Nana Owusu Yeboa, Oti Regional Minister has inspected some ongoing projects in the region.

    The projects, being funded by the government of Ghana are to ensure that infrastructural projects are equitably distributed in newly created regions.

    The two-day working tour took the Minister to the site of the Regional Health Directorate at Worawora in the Biakoye District where work was done was said to be around 30 percent.

    He was also at the project sites of bungalows for workers, the Regional Education Directorate at Jasikan, and the building of the Regional Coordinating Council, all at various stages of completion.

    The Regional Minister expressed satisfaction at the progress of work after the contractors assured that the projects would be completed by the end of the year.

    Source: GNA

  • Coronavirus is not over; Strictly adhere to protocols Medical Assistant

    Christians have been urged to adhere strictly to the laid down COVID-19 safety protocols and wear their face masks when stepping out as the COVID-19 is still prevalent.

    Mr Emmanuel Obeng Apau, the Head of the COVID-19 Committee at the Assemblies of God, Ghana – Berean Assembly at Ogbojo, on Sunday said regular washing of hands with soap under running water, sanitising with alcohol-based sanitizers and observing the social distancing protocols at all times were very important.

    He said this when he engaged the Church members on the COVID-19 pandemic and the safety measures to be observed under the resumption of church services.

    “Coronavirus is still active globally and in Ghana, we must not joke with it, do well to stay at home if you have nothing doing outside,” he advised.

    Mr Obeng Apau, also a Medical Assistant at the Bennett Medical Centre at Madina, told the Ghana News Agency that the temperatures of all members was taken and that there was no one with high temperature.

    The Reverend David Ampadu Berkoh, the Senior Pastor of the Assembly, in a message titled: “The Lord will rescue you,” urged members to continuously place their trust in the Lord Almighty and seek His face during difficult situations like the current pandemic.

    Quoting Psalm 50:15, he said it was a command for every child of God to call on the Lord in times of troubles “because God has assured us He will keep everyone who calls on Him safe.”

    He said it was important to trust God and believe His promises adding that, “When we stand on the promises of God, He will answer our prayers.”

    Rev Ampadu Berkoh said in the day of trouble, Christians ought to continue thanking God because that was a sign of submission and soon God will bring His deliverance to pass.

    He led the Church to pray for the nation against the spread of the COVID-19, the protection of citizens, the speedy recovery of those infected and the discovery of a vaccine that would help uproot the pandemic.

    Mr Stephen Abban, the Church Secretary, said the Church had done its best to put in place all the necessary safety measures and assured that adherence to the protocols would be taken seriously.

    He said although the duration of the service was short it was better to fellowship together than to stay at home.

    The Ghana News Agency observed that all measures prescribed by the Government were followed as members were taken through the various processes of safety before getting into the auditorium.

    Members present wore face masks and were directed to wash their hands and sanitize, and have their records taken before entering the auditorium, which had COVID-19 information posted on the walls.

    On May 31 President Akufo-Addo eased the restrictions on public gathering allowing churches to open and hold services but with not more than 100 congregants at a time and services to last for an hour.

    Source: GNA

  • Coronavirus: WVG strengthens education in rural communities

    The Sekyere East Cluster Office of the World Vision Ghana (WVG) has embarked on an intensive outreach programme to educate people in rural communities on the novel Coronavirus.

    The aim is to strengthen their understanding of the dangers of the disease and how they could adhere to the various preventive and containment protocols to stay safe.

    Mrs. Georgina Harriet Nyamekeh, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Officer of the Cluster, speaking at one of such outreach programmes at Bomso, said it would augment efforts by the Government to contain the further spread of the virus.

    She said reaching out to people in rural, remote and poverty-prone areas where access to information on the disease and how to prevent its contraction and spread was very challenging.

    However, that was what the WVG was seeking to achieve.

    Mrs. Nyamekeh said the programme was being done in collaboration with the District Directorates of the Information Services, National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and the Community Development Department.

    Mr. Emmanuel Arthur, the District Community Development Officer, urged the community members to constantly wash their hands with soap under running water and observe all the preventive protocols, including social distancing, consistent wearing of face masks, avoiding shaking of hands, and others.

    He commended WVG for the support and said, “Our partnership with the WVG is very fruitful since reaching out to persons in the very remote zones would have been very difficult and even impossible due to lack of logistics”.

    Madam Adjoa Fremah, a Community Member of Bomso, commended WVG and partners for the education especially, with the free distribution of Information, Education and Communication materials, such as posters and flyers for the awareness creation.

    She urged community members to put into practice the education and information they had received on the virus.

    Source: GNA

  • NaDMO intensifies awareness creation efforts

    David Okyere, the Director for National Disaster and Management Organisation (NaDMO) in the Birim Central Municipality, has advised residents at disaster prone areas to take pro-active measures to avert disaster during this raining season.

    He advised the people to dump their litter in designated areas and avoid building in water logged areas or in water ways.

    Mr Okyere gave the advice in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Akim Oda in the Eastern Region.

    He said the Emergency Operation Centre which gives updates on weather conditions would enable officials of NaDMO to alert people in the municipality about pending weather dangers.

    Mr Richard Aboah, the Officer in-Charge of Relief, Logistics and Reconstruction, said as part of its core mandate, NaDMO has started public education on rainfall and disaster risk reduction.

    Source: GNA

  • Registration Exercise: Try causing chaos and see what will happen to you! – Nana B dares

    National Youth Organizer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Henry Nana Boakye, has issued a stern warning to opposition party members and supporters not to let the thought of interrupting the registration exercise by Electoral Commission cross their minds.

    He stated emphatically that any person who will decide to cause mayhem will be met with strict resistance from the appropriate security forces.

    The Electoral Commission (EC) has announced the registration exercise will commence in the middle of June this year.

    The exercise is aimed at compiling a new voters’ register for the 2020 general elections and subsequent Presidential and Parliamentary elections in the country.

    The EC argues there is the need for a new register to replace the current one because the current register has some invalid names and therefore compiling a new voters’ register will help in eliminating unqualified names to ensure credible elections.

    This notwithstanding, the EC has been strongly opposed by members and leaders of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the Inter-Party Resistance Against New Voters’ Register (IPRAN).

    They claim the EC wants to rig the 2020 elections in favour of the incumbent government.

    Contributing a panel discussion on Peace FM’s ‘Kokrokoo’, Nana Boakye, popularly called Nana B stressed that no-one will be allowed to misbehave during the exercise.

    He called on any citizen who doesn’t want to register his or her name to peacefully stay home and enjoy the sight of those who will turn up in their numbers at the various registration centres.

    ”Registration is not by force. In fact, with voting, the law doesn’t even enforce anybody to vote. You don’t contravene any law if you don’t vote; even though it is your civic duty. When the time comes and you feel you’re not in support, you don’t want to register your name again and so won’t vote; nobody will begrudge you. But for you to make your mind to cause problems during the registration exercise or take the law into your hands, the security forces will deal with you drastically because the feedback we have from the security agencies is that they won’t allow any person to disrupt the work of the EC…This is not compulsory. If you like, write your name. If you don’t, don’t write your name”, he stressed.

    Source: Peace FM

  • Veteran actor Kojo Dadson recounts 8 years battle with stroke

    Veteran Ghanaian actor, Kojo Dadson, popularly known for his role in the hit TV series, is fighting for his life as the day goes by.

    The actor has been suffering from stroke for the past eight years and has recounted how is surviving.

    Mr Dadson is reported to have been paralysed and confined to a wheelchair after he was first diagnosed in 2012.

    In a video which has surfaced online, the actor is seen trying to move with the aid of a walking stick and also shares his story for Ghanaians to lend him help.

    See below:

    Source: ghgossip.com

  • Man in court for threatening cut neighbour into pieces for snatching his girlfriend

    A 30-year-old man who threatened to cut his neighbour into pieces for allegedly snatching his girlfriend has been granted ¢10,000 bail with two sureties by a circuit court in Cape Coast.

    Kobina Aggrey pleaded not guilty to the threat of death and the court, presided over by Abena Buansi Amponsah, adjourned the case to Thursday, July 9.

    Giving the facts of the case, the Prosecutor, Chief Inspector Iddrisu Yakubo, said the complainant, Smith George, a health worker, had information suggesting that Aggrey was accusing him in the neighbourhood of snatching his girlfriend.

    Unhappy with it, George on Friday, April 10, went to the accused to ascertain the truth or otherwise of the issue.

    On seeing George in his house, Aggrey pointed a cutlass at him without any provocation and dared the complainant to joke with him or have his body cut into pieces.

    Chief Inspector Yakubo said it took the intervention of an eye witness to bring the situation under control.

    He said George felt threatened thus reported the matter to the police.

     

     

  • Sophie Ellis-Bextor recovering at home from bike crash

    Sophie Ellis-Bextor has said she is recovering at home with a “newly glued forehead” following a bike crash in London.

    The pop star said on Instagram she had not broken any bones after falling from her bike while cycling along the Thames with her husband on Tuesday.

    Ellis-Bextor, who had said she had “some impressive bruises”, added that she was being “well looked after”.

    The 41-year-old posted a photo from A&E on Tuesday of her injuries.

    Sharing an image of a bouquet of flowers on Friday, Ellis-Bextor updated fans on Instagram, saying: “Hello all. Just to let you know I’m doing ok. I’ve been so well looked after at home and am currently laid up on a sofa surrounded by my 3 smallest boys.

    “I’ve got some impressive bruises and a swollen and newly glued forehead which I’m completely fascinated by.

    “If I hurt myself, I’m always satisfied by a spectacular healing process and my puffy face has not disappointed.”

    She thanked fans for their kind messages. “Quite overwhelming really, and almost worth falling off my bike for,” she added.

    She said she felt “incredibly lucky” to have not broken anything and was fortunate to have so much support.

    The singer was taken to West Middlesex Hospital in West London following the accident.

    Ellis-Bextor, whose hit songs include Groovejet (If This Ain’t Love) and Murder On The Dancefloor, made it to the final of the 11th series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2013, securing fourth place.

    During lockdown she has been entertaining fans by hosting “kitchen discos” from her house every Friday night, usually wearing sparkly outfits and accompanied by her husband and five children.

    She told fans in her latest post: “Have a boogie for me. I’ll be dancing with you again in no time.”

    Source: bbc.com

  • Great white shark kills surfer off Australia’s New South Wales

    A 3m (10ft) great white shark has killed a surfer in northern New South Wales, police in the Australian state have said.

    The shark bit the leg of the surfer, aged between 50 and 60, off Kingscliff, 800km (500 miles) north of Sydney.

    Several “heroic” boarders tried to help the man by fighting off the shark but although he was brought to the beach, he died there of his wounds.

    This is the third fatal shark attack in Australian waters this year.

     

    The Sydney Morning Herald said that although police gunmen were deployed to find the shark, they were unable to kill it and it left the area after several hours.

    Police are licensed to kill sharks if they are considered a threat to human life but no shots were fired in this case.

    The attack took place off Salt Beach at about 10:00 local time on Sunday (midnight GMT Saturday). The shark bit the man’s thigh, then circled those who came to his aid, reportedly ramming one of their boards.

    Body removed from beach

    The surfer, who the Herald said was from the Gold Coast, died at about 10:40.

    “He was rendered first aid for serious injuries to his left leg but died at the scene,” a police statement said.

    Paramedic Terry Savage praised the men who brought the surfer ashore, saying: “It was nothing short of heroic to get him to the beach.

    “Unfortunately there was nothing else we could do,” he told ABC.

    People were ordered out of the water, with jet skis used to bring some in.

    Salt Surf Life Saving Club member, James Owen, told the Herald: “It’s a bit of a shock for everyone at the moment. There’s a very sombre mood here. I don’t know of a previous fatal shark incident in this area.”

    Presentational white space

    White sharks are said to be active in the area at this time of year.

    This is the third fatality from shark attacks this year.

    In April, a 23-year-old Queensland ranger was killed in an attack on the Great Barrier Reef.

    In January, a 57-year-old diver was killed off Western Australia.

    No deaths were recorded last year.

     

    Source: BBC 

  • Trump ‘approves plan’ to withdraw US troops from Germany

    US President Donald Trump has approved a plan to withdraw 9,500 American troops from bases in Germany by September, US media say.

    Mr Trump, who has long complained that European members of Nato should spend more on their own defence, reportedly wants US troop levels capped at 25,000.

    Troops would either be redeployed elsewhere or return home, US media report, citing a government official.

    Tensions between the US and its Nato allies have increased under Mr Trump.

    The president has said that Europe’s North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) members should no longer be relying so heavily on the US to shoulder the costs of maintaining the alliance.

    On Friday, Mr Trump directed the Pentagon to permanently remove almost a third of the country’s troops currently based in Germany, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing an unnamed administration official.

    It added that the US Defense Department would need to approve the plan before it could be implemented.

    The White House did not immediately confirm the reports, but spokesman John Ullyot said in a statement that the US remained “committed to working with our strong ally Germany” on defence and other issues.

    Mr Trump has previously raised the issue of so-called burden-sharing at Nato summits.

    The debate focuses around the target agreed by all alliance members that defence spending should reach 2% of GDP (gross domestic product, the total value of goods produced and services provided) by 2024.

    Last year, Nato’s civilian and military budget was about €1.67bn (£1.43; $1.84bn), its own figures show.

    The US military presence in Germany is a legacy of the post-World War Two Allied occupation of the country. Germany currently hosts by far the largest number of US forces in Europe, followed by Italy, the UK and Spain.

    Some US personnel based in Europe support non-Nato operations and US military numbers fluctuate as forces are rotated in and out of Europe.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Coronavirus: US-China virus row flares with senator’s comments

    The row between the US and China over the coronavirus outbreak has flared again with a US senator accusing Beijing of trying to block the development of a vaccine in the West.

    Rick Scott said evidence had come via “our intelligence community” but provided no details to back it up.

    China meanwhile issued a document defending its virus actions, saying it briefed the US as early as 4 January.

    Deaths caused by the virus passed 400,000 worldwide on Sunday.

    The figure is provided in a count by Johns Hopkins University, which also shows confirmed global infections close to the 7 million mark.

    What did Rick Scott say?

    The Republican senator for Florida, who serves on the armed services and homeland security committees among others, was speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show.

    He said: “We have got to get this vaccine done. Unfortunately we have evidence that communist China is trying to sabotage us or slow it down.”

    Mr Scott was pressed on the issue twice. He said: “China does not want us, and England and Europe to do it first. They’ve decided to be an adversary to America and democracies around the world.”

    Mr Scott, who has been a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, was questioned again, saying the “evidence” had come through the intelligence community and armed services, adding: “There are things I can’t discuss… I get provided information.”

    He said if “England or the US does it first, we’re going to share. Communist China, they are not going to share.”

    What is the background to this?

    The Trump administration has consistently attacked China over its handling of the coronavirus outbreak.

    Mr Trump has referred to coronavirus regularly as the “China virus”. He also said he has proof Covid-19 originated in a Chinese laboratory in Wuhan. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said there was “enormous evidence” to back the theory, which Beijing has dismissed.

    The Five Eyes intelligence alliance, which includes the UK and the US, said there was no such evidence, as did the World Health Organization (WHO).

    But the WHO is another point of contention for Mr Trump’s administration. It has pulled out of the body, accusing it of being China’s puppet.

    Mr Trump accused Chinese officials of covering up the virus early on and saying they could have stopped the disease from spreading.

    This week he threatened to bar passenger flights from China from 16 June, after which Beijing said it would loosen restrictions on international air travel.

    Then there is the backdrop of the US-China trade dispute, which saw the imposition of hundreds of billions of dollars worth of tariffs on each another’s goods.

    What is China’s side of the story?

    It has not yet responded specifically to Mr Scott’s accusations but in a new document it has published on its response to the virus, Beijing says it briefed the United States as early as 4 January, when the disease was still largely unknown.

    It lists a telephone briefing given by the head of the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention to his US counterpart.

    China says in the document it has acted in an open, transparent and responsible manner.

    The WHO has praised China’s actions, saying they helped slow the spread of the virus, particularly with the quick and voluntary sharing of the virus’s genetic code.

     

    China’s foreign ministry has repeatedly accused the Trump administration of trying to distract from its own problems tackling the crisis.

    The US has more infections and deaths than any other nation.

    One Chinese foreign ministry spokesman also promoted the idea – without evidence – that Covid-19 might have originated in the US.

    Where are we with a vaccine?

    Dozens of groups around the world are researching vaccines, with some entering clinical trials.

    The first human trial data appears positive, showing patients produced antibodies that could neutralise the virus.

     

    However, no-one knows how effective any of these vaccines will be.

    A vaccine would normally take years, if not longer, to develop, although given the huge effort some experts believe there could be a vaccine by mid-2021, but again there are no guarantees.

     

    Source: BBC 

  • Two Buffalo policemen charged for shoving 75-year-old protester

    Two US policemen have been charged with second-degree assault after they were filmed pushing a 75-year old protester to the ground, seriously injuring him.

    Aaron Torgalski, 39, and Robert McCabe, 32, pleaded not guilty in Buffalo, New York. They were released without bail, and face up to seven years in prison.

    On Thursday, they were seen shoving Martin Gugino, who fell backwards on the pavement and started bleeding.

    He remains in a local hospital in a serious but stable condition.

    The two officers were enforcing a curfew in the city as a result of protests since the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis last month.

     

    Aaron Torgalski and Robert McCabe, members of the Emergency Response Team, were suspended without pay after footage of the incident outside the City Hall went viral.

    Fifty-seven of their colleagues – the entire unit – later resigned from the team in response to the officers’ suspension.

     

    On Saturday, a crowd of more than 100 supporters – including police officers and firefighters – protested outside the courthouse in Buffalo against the assault charges filed.

    What are Buffalo prosecutors saying?

    In a statement, Erie County District Attorney John Flynn said: “The two defendants, who are Buffalo Police officers, pushed a protestor outside of City Hall, causing him to fall and hit his head on the sidewalk.”

    He stressed that he was not taking sides in the high-profile case.

    “We’re on the same team here. We’re all working each and every day to do justice, to keep our streets safe, to keep our communities safe.

    “I’m partnered with law enforcement every day to do that. And when I have to prosecute one of my teammates it doesn’t help the situation,” Mr Flynn said.

    What has been the reaction?

    John Evans, president of the local police union, told the Buffalo News newspaper: “Our position is these officers were simply following orders from Deputy Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia to clear the square.

    “It doesn’t specify clear the square of men, 50 and under or 15 to 40. They were simply doing their job. I don’t know how much contact was made. He did slip in my estimation. He fell backwards.”

    New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Friday the two officers should be fired, and called for the incident to be investigated for “possible criminal charges”.

    In a statement, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said: “We can confirm that contingency plans are in place to maintain police services and ensure public safety within our community.”

    An initial statement from Buffalo Police Department said the man – long-time social justice activist in Buffalo, according to advocacy group Push (People United for Sustainable Housing) – had “tripped” and fallen during a “skirmish involving protesters”.

    Police spokesman Jeff Rinaldo later attributed the statement to officers not directly involved in the incident.

     

    Source: BBC 

  • Police in Bono region intercept loads of cannabis

    The police in the Bono Region have arrested a 27 year-old driver, Ayuba Ali and his 20 year-old mate, Ametus Sori for allegedly transporting 8,460 compressed bales of dried leaves suspected to be indian hemp valued at GH¢1, 269, 000.

    The substance were packed in 180 sacks each of which contained 47 compressed slabs of the suspected cannabis.

    The driver and the mate onboard a Rhino Cargo Truck with registration number GR 2474-16 were transporting the substance from Nsawkaw, the Tain District capital.

    The two were busted at a section of the road between Menji in the Tain District and Banda in the Banda District while they were on their way to Burkina Faso at about 1:00am.

    In order to outwit the police at the various check points, the suspects mixed the substance with other items such as boxes of weedicide, lumber, plywood and saw dust to suggest that they were transporting lumber and farm inputs.

    The suspects were said to have told the police they hailed from Kunnyukuon near Babile in the Upper West Region and were contracted for at a sum of GH¢7, 000 to transport the substance to Hamile and subsequently to Burkina Faso.

    However, luck eluded them when they were arrested by the officials of the Drug Law Enforcement Unit of the Ghana Police Service (GPS).

    Police briefing

    The Bono Regional Crime Officer, Superintendent Kwaku Duah, told the media that personnel of the Drug Law Enforcement Unit had a tip-off that the impounded truck had loaded bales of dried leaves suspected to be cannabis at Nsawkaw and was heading towards Banda en route Hamile and to Burkina Faso.

    According to him, the unit led by the Detective Inspector Adams Yahaya swiftly traced the truck and intercepted it on the Menji-Banda road near the Bui Dam.

    Supt Duah said the police inspected the load and found out that it was carrying the substance, compressed in black and brown sellotape and kept in white plastic bags.

    He said upon interrogation, Ali admitted he was transporting the bales of the suspected cannabis, alleging that he was contracted by a certain man at Nsawkaw, whose name he did not know but could identified him when seen, to transport the substance.

    Investigation

    Supt Duah said the police has begun investigation for the arrest of those who contracted the suspects to transport the substance to Hamile, explaining that since the establishment of the unit in the region last year, this was the biggest substance they have intercepted.

    “Efforts are been made to arrest those who contracted them, meanwhile the driver and the mate are been process for court. We are charging them for unlawful possession of narcotics drugs”, he stated.

    Supt Duah said the police acted upon a tip-off and appealed to the public to assist the police with information that could lead to the arrest of those engaged in narcotic drugs.

    “It will interest you to know that almost all the cases we handle here have a link with drugs addiction, so dealing with drugs must be the concern to all”, he explained.

    Source: Graphic.com.gh 

  • Wa Central: Hajia Humu’s campaign gets boost as Party Chair apologises to MCE

    The campaign of Hajia Humu Awudu, the Parliamentary Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for the Wa Central Constituency, has received a major boost following a public apology to the Wa Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) by the Constituency Chairman of the party.

    Chairman Ali Abdul-Kareem Kunsangpou Kamara and Alhaaj Issahaku Tahiru Moomin, the Wa MCE, were said to be at each other’s throat since the NPP took over the reins of governance.

    This was evident in the acrimonies thrown at each other by their admirers and well-wishers given the least opportunity especially, during the party’s elections to elect their executives and the last Parliament Primaries that saw the MCE’s third bid to represent the party in Wa Central at the 2020 polls hit a snag, losing out to Hajia Hummu, a first-timer.

    With the emergence of Hajia Humu as the Parliamentary Candidate coming from the camp of the Chairman Kamara who was not in the good books of the former Parliamentary Candidate of the party and MCE of the Wa Municipality, many political pundits became very skeptical about her chances of wrestling the seat for the elephant family for the first time.

    But the recent demeanor of the MCE in partaking in the programs of the Parliamentary Candidate has given hope to the party and political watchers alike in the constituency, that this was likely to ensure unity in the party ahead of the general elections in December 2020.

    Even more heartwarming and assuring is the constituency chair’s move to offer the MCE an unqualified public apology today, Thursday, June 4, 2020, on Radio Progress, a Wa-based community radio transmitting on 98.1 Megahertz, in a rare show of political maturity.

    Speaking to Muniru Ibrahim (IB), the host of the Morning Show Program, Chairman Ali Kamara apologized in very vivid terms to the MCE, Alhaaj Issahaku Moomen, without mincing his words, for all that might have happened between them in the past. He said it was time they buried the hatchet, came together with their sympathizers, unite and work to enhance the fortunes of the party while consolidating their gains as well.

    According to him, it would only take collective efforts to chalk the much-needed success for the party and therefore wanted all hands on deck to ensure this is achieved since no one individual alone can bring that success to the party.

    Commenting on the developmental strives of Hajia Humu, the Parliamentary Candidate, Chairman Ali Kunsangpou Kamara, taunted her many developmental achievements such as her women’s livelihood empowerment programs, the provision of educational scholarships abroad, the resurfacing of some roads within the municipality, the provision of boreholes, among others.

    He claimed that it was due to these unprecedented developmental agenda by Hajia Humu that has made it impossible for the incumbent Member of Parliament, Dr. Abdul-Rashid Pelpou, to remain in the capital for long as he hitherto did, without rushing back to the constituency for visibility.

    Chairman Ali Kamara was also full of praises for Dr. Hafiz Bin Saleh, the Upper West Regional Minister, in coordinating the affairs of the region and for ensuring the smooth running of the party.

     

    Source: Ilyaas Al-Hasan, Contributor

  • Ghana is my second country Milovan Rajevac wants Black Stars return

    Serbian coach Milovan Rajevac has expressed interest in coaching Ghana for the second time.

    The 66-year-old tactician enjoyed a productive two-year spell with the Black Stars from 2008 to 2010.

    Rajevac led Ghana to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in 2010 and also oversaw a run to the round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

    However, he left his post after refusing to sign a contract extension, moving on to join Saudi Arabian side Al-Ahli.

    The Serbian has since had spells with Qatar, Algeria and Thailand, but has been without a job since 2019.

    Speaking to Kumasi FM, Rajevac confirmed his interest in the Ghana job and referred to the country as his second home.

    “Of course, I will be interested [if offered the opportunity to coach Ghana again]. It will be very difficult to reject it because of my feelings for Ghanaians,” he said.

    “Of course, Ghana is my second country, and the success I achieved there and how I felt cannot be compared to anything in this world.”

    He added: “I still have many friends and are in touch with a lot of them. Everyone at the Ghana Football Association (GFA), the media, and my technical team contributed to my success, it was a collective success.

    “I will visit Ghana in the future, at least as a tourist [and possibly] to talk about professional engagement.”

    Source: pulse.com.gh

  • Ghana Boxing Authority meets to deliberate on fighting coronavirus

    The Ghana Boxing Authority (GBA) held an important meeting to plan and prepare for post-COVID-19 events and activities.

    According to Secretary-General Patrick Johnson, they spoke about how to engage stakeholders to strategies the way forward after the lift of ban on contact sports.

    The meeting which was attended by management of the Trust Sports Emporium Ltd (TSEL) at the GBA Office in the Bukom Boxing Arena on Wednesday agreed to meet all stakeholders as soon as possible and the date will be liaised by the TSEL.

    They decided on meeting most TV stations to see if it could be possible to give some the sole rights to show fights behind closed doors after the lift of the ban.

    The meeting settled on some measures that would be put in place before boxing bouts are sanctioned.

    – All boxers will be examined/tested before any bout.

    – Referees and Judges will also be examined/tested to clear them before they are invited to come and officiate.

    – Cornermen will also be examined/tested.

    – All protocols on safety will be observed.

    After the meeting, Streetwise Foundation donated some foodstuffs, hand sanitizers and soap to be shared to boxers.

    Mc-Bbhphills Protocol Consult also donated foodstuffs, hand sanitizers, soaps and Veronica bucket to the GBA to be shared among boxers.

    Source: ghanaolympic.org

  • John Dumelo spotted directing traffic at East Legon

    Actor and politician John Dumelo has been spotted helping to ease traffic at the Adjiringanor junction in East Legon, Accra

    In a video that has gone viral, he is spotted helping drivers navigate their way by directing traffic at the junction.

    The 35-year-old is aiming to become Member of Parliament for the Ayawaso West Wuogon Constituency, in which Adjiringanor is located.

    Dumelo supported constituents with sanitizers and other products during the Coronavirus lockdown period.

    He also recently supported a group of students who are into the production of locally-made liquid soap by buying gallons of their product.

    In his latest move, though, the actor cum politician was seen directing traffic at the Adjiringanor junction.

    A part of the video also captured him helping push a taxi which seemed to have developed a fault in the middle of the road.

    Watch the video below:

     

    Source: pulse.com.gh

  • BoG receives 30 weekly complaints from public on banking issues

    The Market Conduct Office of the Bank of Ghana receives an average of 30 weekly complaints from the public.

    This follows the completion of the Banking and Specialised Deposits-Taking Institutions sector clean-up in 2019 which has compelled the Bank of Ghana to intensify its market conduct supervision.

    The public complaints are received through phone calls, WhatsApp messages, e-mails, and direct walk-ins to the Market Conduct Office located at Cedi House in Accra.

    The central bank said the complaints typically are resolved by the Office within 20 days.

    This was revealed in its assessment of banks and SDIs compliance with its consumer protection regime.

    On-Site Conduct Supervision

    The Market Conduct Office undertakes both off-site and on-site supervision of licensed institutions with the aim of ensuring that these institutions comply with all consumer protection requirements under relevant laws and as prescribed by the Bank of Ghana.

    The maiden on-site conduct examinations were conducted by the Office from November 2019 to February 2020.

    The exercise involved officials of the Market Conduct Office visiting eight selected banks to examine the structures, systems, and processes in place to promote consumer protection and the early resolution of customer complaints, and to generally assess compliance with relevant market conduct rules.

    Specifically, the examinations covered a number of key areas including the Board and Management oversight of the complaints handling function; unfair banking practices; privacy and data protection issues; the ambience of banking halls; disclosure and transparency and the content of marketing material.

    It said the relevant banks have committed to addressing the identified issues within timelines agreed with the Bank of Ghana.

    The Central Bank concluded that it will continue to deploy all legal tools available to it to pursue its financial stability and consumer protection mandate, as well as continue to sensitize consumers on their rights and obligations in their dealings with licensed financial institutions.

     

    Source: Class FM