TIG Post

Author: Chris Kodo

  • Coronavirus slowing down livestock business chain in UE

    Businesses in the livestock value chain are experiencing a sharp decline in the Upper East Region as a result of the outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) in the country.

    When the Ghana News Agency visited the Bolgatanga market to ascertain the progress of business in the midst of the Pandemic, it was revealed that the demand for animals especially cattle and small ruminants had decreased.

    Since the outbreak and spread of the coronavirus in the country, government has undertaken a number of measures including; the closure of the country’s borders to foreigners and a ban on public gathering among others.

    All Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies at their own levels implemented stringent measures including; the closure of markets especially on market days, relocation of traders among others as part of efforts at curbing the rapid spread of the virus.

    The Upper East Region which has so far recorded 19 positive confirmed cases of the virus with one death was no exception of these regulations and the situation is having a toll on the livestock business value chain.

    Speaking with dealers of both the cattle and small ruminants in the Bolgatanga Municipality, they complained that since the spread of the virus in the country, their businesses had almost come to a standstill.

    They said their daily sales had dwindled and the number of customers continued to reduce by the day leading to low income levels.

    They said due to the closure of the borders, people who used to bring animals from neighbouring Burkina Faso were unable to do so.

    At the small ruminants market in Bolgatanga, it was observed that many ruminants such as goats and sheep among others were on sale, but there were no customers to purchase them.

    Mr Akolbire Adongo, Chief of the Small Ruminants Association, said since the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly closed down the Bolgatanga Markets on four consecutive market days, their businesses had declined.

    He said people who used to travel from outside the region including; Burkina Faso and the North East Region, no longer patronized the market for fear of contracting the virus.

    The Chief disclosed that some of the ruminants which were sold at GHC500.00 and GHC300.00 were being sold at GHC350.00 and GHC200.00 respectively.

    Mr Adongo explained that apart from the COVID-19 pandemic which had prevented traders from transporting the animals from the region to the southern sector, the Ramadan season of fasting was also a contributory factor.

    Mr Ayela Apana, the Chairman of the Bolgatanga Cattle Dealers Association, said due to the restriction on movement, it was difficult for them to get cattle to buy for sale, thereby making the prices of the cattle to increase.

    He said people who used to bring cattle from outside the region no longer did so due to the numerous restrictions put in place by government to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

    Mr Timothy Timbil, Secretary of the Bolgatanga Butchers Association, said the hospitality industry and the chop bars, restaurants and other food vendors were major stakeholders in the livestock value chain but due to the coronavirus the patronage had reduced as most of the facilities had closed down temporary.

    “I used to slaughter about three cattle in a day but due to the emergence of the coronavirus coupled with the Ramadan when I even slaughter one cow, I always struggle to sell all the meat and it is having a toll on my daily earnings.”

    Source: GNA

  • Davido almost showed the face of his son Ifeanyi in latest video

    Afrobeat sensation Davido who has been hiding his son Ifeanyi since he was born nearly showed off his face today.

    In a video sighted online, the singer was seen playing with his son after he woke him from sleep and were having some daddy and son moments.

    While they were playing and Davido was taking the video, at a point in time the face of his son nearly popped up but he was quick to cover it up.

    video below;

     

    View this post on Instagram

     

    A post shared by GH Gossip (@ghgossipdotcom) on

    Source: ghgossip.com

  • Clear Junction and Zeepay Ghana sign partnership agreement

    Clear Junction, a London-based global fintech company that offers end-to-end regulated payment solutions based on in-house technology, has signed an agreement establishing a partnership with Zeepay, a leading African fintech company.

    The partnership would allow Clear Junction to offer correspondent accounts for collecting payments in the European Union and the UK that will enable Zeepay’s p2p remittance service for Ghanaians living in Europe, allowing them to send money to their families in the homeland.

    The service is expected to be operational in the summer.

    Countries such as Italy, France, and Spain have large African communities usually consisting of migrant workers who are socially and economically vulnerable, not to mention have been hit hard by the economic slowdown due to the COVID-19 virus.

    The Zeepay p2p payment service aims to reduce transfer commissions for migrant workers and their families when sending money home.

    In late March, the Bank of Ghana granted Zeepay a license to operate a full Electronic Money Issuer service, allowing customers to send and receive money across a 150,000 agent network and perform other financial services.

    Zeepay was Ghana’s first non-bank financial services company to get such a license. It has operations across Africa: in Uganda, Mozambique, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Cameroun, Côte d’Ivoire, and more.

    “Together with Clear Junction we’re bringing the European fintech revolution to Africa, and this will help to mitigate the lockdown’s impact on people and society,” said Zeepay director, Andrew Takyi-Appiah. “We offer our community a service that is cash-free and available without the need to go physically to the post office and wait in a line.”

    The agreement with Zeepay is a part of Clear Junction’s strategy of extending the service to domestic payment operators worldwide. By this partnership, Clear Junction expands its services to Africa. In recent years the company has built similar relationships with banks and payment intermediaries in the UK, Poland, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey, and other countries.

    “Since Sub-Saharan Africa is traditionally considered a challenging region from the remittance perspective, we are glad to extend our service to an institution that just recently has satisfied the scrutiny of the local regulator,” said Dima Kats, CEO of Clear Junction. “Our correspondent account service will lower the entry barrier for Zeepay when rolling out the payment collection in the EU and UK.”

    Clear Junction is an FCA-authorised payment operator from London, UK. Its correspondent account service enables regional banks and payment intermediaries to have access to the interbank clearing systems of the EU (SEPA) and UK (FasterPayments, BACS, CHAPS).

    Zeepay is the fastest-growing fintech into Mobile Financial Services across Africa with Operations in Ghana and the United Kingdom and terminating to 20 countries across Africa and with termination agreements in over 90 jurisdictions globally.

    It specializes in remittance termination into mobile wallets and completely network and partner agnostic. As a wholly-owned Ghanaian company, it is also regulated in the UK by Financial Conduct Authority-FCA and in Ghana by the Bank of Ghana.

    Zeepay supports Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 3 and is considered a financial inclusion company positioned to improve last-mile access.

    Source: GNA

  • Germany passes law banning ‘gay conversion therapy’ for minors

    Germany’s parliament has passed a law banning so-called “gay conversion therapy” for young people nationwide.

    The legislation is intended to stop groups offering the service – which claims to be able to change a person’s sexual orientation – to under-18s.

    Those breaking the new law can face up to a year in prison, or a €30,000 ($32,535; £26,268) fine.

    Research suggests the controversial practice can lead to depression and increase the risk of suicide.

    Under the law, passed on Thursday evening, minors will not be allowed to take part in medical interventions aimed at changing or suppressing their sexual orientation or gender identity.

    Parents and legal guardians can also be punished for making their children take part through deception, coercion or threats.

    Conversion therapy practices can include hypnosis and electric shocks. But experts say the word ‘therapy’ is misleading because there is no scientific basis for it.

    German Health Minister Jens Spahn said a robust law was needed to protect it from court challenges, adding that most people who attended treatment were young people forced to do so by others.

    “They should feel strengthened when the state, when society, when Parliament makes it clear: we do not want that in this country,” said Mr Spahn, who is gay himself.

    Mr Spahn, a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) party, first announced plans to ban the practice last June, and a bill was drafted in November.

    However, critics argue the law does not go far enough. Germany’s opposition Green Party has called for the age limit to be raised to 26 – the Left Party wants it to be 27.

    Around 1,000 people are subjected to conversion therapy in Germany every year, according to the Magnus Hirschfeld Foundation, a Berlin-based human rights organisation.

    The practice is outlawed in Switzerland and areas of Australia, Canada and the US.

    Source: Class FM

  • ECG begins 3 hours power cut in parts of Accra for six days

    The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has begun a three-hour power cut to some parts of Accra for the next six days to enable it relocate transformers to a new site.

    It said explained that as part of the relocation of 145MVA transformers from the Tema Port to the Pokuase Bulk Supply Point construction site, it will have to isolate some high voltage overhead lines.

    Accordingly, electricity supply to persons in Tema, Klagon, Spintex, Trasacco, Dzorwulu, Achimota, and Ofankor will be cut from 10:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m each day from Friday to next Thursday, May 14.

    The Pokuase Bulk Supply Point is expected to supply and stabilise power and also reduce the technical and commercial losses of transmission to Pokuase, and its surrounding communities.

    It is expected to directly benefit 350,000 people.

    The $60 million dollar project was funded by the Millennium Challenge Corporation under the supervision of the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA).

    Source: 3news.com

  • Fans blast Regina Daniels for posting ex-Lovers photos

    Fans of Nollywood actress Regina Daniels are picking on her on Instagram after she dumped her boyfriend Somadina Adinma for a rich old man Ned Nwoko.

    Regina Daniels sparked huge controversies following her marriage to the 64-year-old billionaire as many dragged her for marrying a man as old as his father just because of money.

    Somadina, an actor turned a year older on May 8, 2020, and Regina Daniels could not ignore such a day in the life of her ex-boyfriend who she once enjoyed love with.

    The brand ambassador took to her Instagram page to pen down a soothing yet subtly romantic message to Somadina wishing him all the best on his birthday.

     

    However, not so many a fan were happy about her gesture as she celebrated the same man she dumped for a rich man.

    A fan identified as @moonblack trolled Regina Daniels for leaving such a handsome and fine-looking man for a grandfather.

    See a screenshot below;

    Source;www,ghgossip.com

  • Smoking marijuana actually kills coronavirus – Kwesi Pratt stunned by new study

    Kwesi Pratt, Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, is utterly shocked by a new study that indicates nicotine could prevent infection and serious illness from coronavirus.

    A recent French study has indicated that nicotine is helpful in guarding against coronavirus, functioning as an anti-inflammatory agent that kills the virus.

    Nicotine is a stimulant and alkaloid poison in tobacco and used for smoking.

    Speaking to host Kwami Sefa Kayi on Peace FM’s ”Kokrokoo”, the seasoned Journalist was amazed to find out smoking helps in both prevention and recovery against the current pandemic.

    “It blew my mind. It blew my mind completely. When the disease started, we were told that if you smoke, the likelihood to contract the disease is very strong and your recovery is not as good as the non-smokers and so on…Just last week, according to a French scientist’s research, they have discovered that nicotine is good against COVID-19 meaning smoking marijuana is helpful. So, how do you deal with this situation because the earlier protocol was that smokers should stop smoking? French scientists are on the other hand saying smoking helps because the nicotine is good,” he said.

    Although nicotine may help in fighting the virus, doctors have cautioned that it is not a license to pick up a smoking habit.

     

    Source: Peace FM

  • 10 Togolese who entered Ghana illegally repatriated

    Ten Togolese who illegally entered Ghana have been repatriated to Togo after serving a 14-day mandatory quarantine.

    One of them had tested positive to the deadly coronavirus.

    The Ghana Immigration Service in Aflao on Friday handed over the 10 people to the Togolese health and national security officials at the Aflao border.

    The 10 entered Ghana on March 27 through unapproved routes in the Bono region and were intercepted at Duadaso Police checkpoint.

    They were isolated upon their arrest and tested for coronavirus thereafter. The result of one of them came out positive.

    After serving their compulsory isolation, Ghanaian security officials handed over to the Togolese nationals.

    A team led by one Lt. Mahinou Rock from the Commission for COVID-19 in Togo received Mandanakou Kodjo whose sputum tested positive.

    Mandanakou Kodjo was transferred into another ambulance parked at the Togo side of the Aflao border whilst the other nine were driven onboard the Bono Regional Coordinating Council bus into Hotel Ibis in Lome.

    The Ghana Immigration Service said they will ensure no one enters the country illegally during the border closure.

     

    Source: 3 News

  • I had to sleep with a fellow man for shelter at age 10 Actor Michael Ifan ecounts (video)

    Fast-rising Nigerian actor and costume designer, Ifan Ifeanyi Michael shared a harrowing tale of an experience he had when he was in his tender age.

    Ifan speaking to a friend during an Instagram live conversation broke into tears as he recounted the unimaginable thing he did just to survive.

    The filmmaker revealed that he was sodomized when he was 10 years old by an older man just so he can find shelter and sleep.

    According to Ifan, his ordeal lasting for some time and it is one of the unforgettable experiences in his life.

    Watch the video below

    Source;www.ghgossip.com

  • Techiman: Absa Bank bullion van robbed GHS638, 000

    A bullion van belonging to Absa Bank was on Friday afternoon robbed at gunpoint by 8 unmasked men at Maapehia on the Techiman Sunyani in the Bono East Region.

    The incident happened when one Lance Corporal Yussif Abubakar , a Police officer stationed at Tanoso District Headquarters on board  the bullion van with registration  GT 3181- W  driven by Frank Agyemang age 44 years and  Sampson Kofi Sarfo age 45 years  on special duty was heading from Techiman towards Sunyani at about 3:30pm.

    Just on reaching Maapehia eight (8) unmasked men wielded armed with a pump action gun attacked and opened gun fire at them and wounded the driver on his right arm and the Police officer on the left arm.

    The robbers robbed them of cash the sum of GHS 638,000, one Tecno mobile phone and one Infinix mobile phone.

    According to the police, the robbers also took away an AK 47 service rifle Number AZ 5522 loaded with 19 rounds of ammunition together with Police body armour into the nearby bush and bolted.

    The robbery victims were rushed to Holy Family Hospital in Techiman where they were treated and discharged while the bullion van was towed to the station and impounded for investigation.

    Credit: MyNewsGh

  • Eight alleged coup plotters granted Gh¢ 80 million bail

    An Accra High Court has granted bail to eight persons accused of being part of a plot to destabilise the country and overthrow the government.

    Each of the eight persons was granted bail in the sum of Gh¢10 milllion with two sureties to be justified, by the court, presided over by Justice Samuel Asiedu, a Justice of the Court of Appeal with additional responsibility as a High Court judge.

    With the justification, the sureties must show prove that they have proprieties worth the Ghc10 million bail sum .

    The eight accused persons are Dr Frederick Mac -Palm, the man accused of masterminding the alleged plot, Colonel Samuel Kodzo Gameli, Donya Kafui, Bright Alan Debrah Ofosu, Johannes Zipki, Corporal Seidu Abubakar, Lance Corporal Ali Solomon and Corporal Sylvester Akanpewon .

    As part of the bail conditions, the court also ordered the accused persons to deposit their passports to the registrar of the court and also report to the police twice every week .

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    The eight were granted bail following an application by their lawyer, Mr Kodzoga Adawudu.

    The bail was opposed by the prosecutor, Ms Hilda Craig, a Senior State Attorney

    The eight are part of a group of 10 people accused of being part of Take Action Ghana (TAG), a group the state accused of plotting to destabilise the country and overthrow the government.

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    Two other accused persons – Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Dr Benjamin Agordzo and Warrant Officer (II) Esther Saan Dekuwine are already on bail.

    Committed to stand trial

    On March 3, 2020, the Kaneshie District Court committed the 10 accused persons to stand trial at the High Court.

    The trial is expected to start on June 5,2020 with the empaneling of a jury .

    Charges

    Dr Mac-Palm, Kafui, Debrah, Dekuwine, Abubakar, L/Cpl Akanpewon and Zikpi have been charged with conspiracy to commit treason felony and treason felony, while Dr Mac-Palm and Kafui have been separately charged with conspiracy to possess explosives and ammunition without lawful excuse and possession of explosives and ammunition without lawful excuse.

    Col. Gameli and ACP Dr Agordzo have been charged with abetment to treason felony.

    Alleged killing of President

    The facts of the case as presented by Ms Craig was that TAG plotted to destabilise the country and overthrow the government.

    The prosecution claimed that, as part of the plot, Dr Mac-Palm, who is accused of being the mastermind of the plot, Kafui and Debrah planned on kidnapping the President, the Vice-President, the Speaker of Parliament and the Chief of the Defence Staff  and also force the President to announce his overthrow.

    “Again, there were discussions on whether or not to kill the President in the process of overthrowing the government,” she said.

    The prosecutor added that in June 2018, the security agencies picked up intelligence that the accused persons, under the auspices of TAG, had planned to overthrow and take over the government.

    According to her, as part of the plan, Col. Gameli recruited Zikpi, who was a signal specialist with the GAF, to help jam the radio signals of the National Communications Authority.

    TAG, she said, planned to jam all radio stations, with the exception of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation.

    The prosecutor said in furtherance of the plot, Dr Mac-Palm invited Kafui, who was a blacksmith at Alavanyo, to Accra to manufacture explosives and pistols for

    With regard to ACP Dr Agordzo, she said he donated GH¢2,000 to TAG to aid its cause and also drafted a speech for Dr Mac-Palm to be read at the planned demonstration by TAG.

    Source: Graphic.com.gh 

  • Zoomlion fumigates 114 Senior High Schools in Eastern Region

    Zoomlion Ghana Limited has begun a 5-day fumigation exercise of Senior High Schools in the Eastern Region against bedbugs.

    The exercise is part of a nationwide exercise in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service to fumigate all schools in the country.

    The 114 SHSs included both private and public to ensure a conducive environment for students when school reopens.

    Mrs Emma Akyea- Boakye, Corporate Communications Manager of Zoomlion Ghana Limited said the focus was on the control of bedbugs that had invaded the schools in the country.

    She explained that all classrooms, dormitories, dining and assembly halls, administration blocks, and other spaces of each school would be fumigated.

    Mrs. Benedicta Foli, Headmistress of Pope John SHS and junior seminary, was grateful for the gesture adding that the effects of bedbugs on the students would be minimised.

    She also noted that the fumigation exercise would allay fears of parents and guardians of the COVID-19 pandemic when it was time for school to reopen.

  • Pay compensation before demolition for N-8 highway – Kennedy Agyapong urges governmentt

    The Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Mr Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, has urged government to pay compensation to property owners who would be affected by the construction of the N-8 highway before the demolishing of their property.

    Property owners were expected to relocate to pave the way for the road construction by Friday, May 01.

    The N-8 project is from Yamoransa in the Central Region to Ahwiankwanta in the Ashanti Region.

    The portion from Assin Praso through to Assin Fosu will end at Assin Atonsu.

    However, some owners of temporary structures have removed them but owners of permanent structures are yet to adhere to the guidelines by the Fosu Municipal Assembly.

    During a dialogue between the Assembly and the property owners, the Assembly maintained that the demolition exercise would start before the government released funds for the payment of compensation.

    However, in a telephone interview with the Assin Central Lawmaker, he opined that government settled the compensation to affected property owners before it carried out the exercise.

    That, he said, was to avoid the possible difficulties the delay in payment might cause the owners, which may be three years or more after demolition.

    Mr Agyepong said the effects of the exercise could be dire as it would affect people who had their daily bread where the demolition would take place.

    Source: GNA

  • Adaklu communities grapple with water challenges

    Communities in the Adaklu District of the Volta Region are grappling with water problems despite President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s directive for water to be supplied to all communities free of charge.

    The President, in his fifth address to the nation on containing the COVID-19 pandemic directed the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL), Community Water Systems, and private water tankers to supply water free of charge to all communities.

    Except for communities in the Adaklu Kodzobi Electoral Area, which are being supplied with water by GWCL, about 70 communities in the District are relying on dams and rivers some, said to have dried up.

    Mr Moses Eworvor, Assemblyman for Hlihave Electoral Area told the Ghana News Agency that people from Davanya and Hekope in his area had to travel to Mafi Kumase, a distance of 15 kilometers daily to buy water for use.

    He described the situation as alarming and said it was having an adverse effect on their economic activities.

    Mr Nat-Lord Kofie, Assemblyman for Goefe said the situation was not different in his area as the dam they were relying on had dried up completely, making it difficult for them to have access to potable water.

    He said though there was a borehole at Goefe, it could not serve all the communities in the area.

    Mr Eli Keti, Assemblyman for Kpetsu said when he contacted GWCL for assistance, he was told that they only served their customers but could give them free water if they brought their water tanker.

    Mr. Phanuel Kudi Assemblyman for Waya said they were relying on River Tordzie as drinking water and for other domestic uses.

    Mr Eworvor said when he contacted the District Assembly for its water tanker to draw water from GWCL for his community, he was told the community would have to pay GH¢300.00 per trip and also allegedly give the driver GH¢ 50.00 because he was not an employee of the Assembly.

    Mr Phanuel Donkor Kadey, the District Chief Executive told the GNA that the tanker service by the Assembly was free and that, “the GH¢350.00 was only for fuel for the tanker.”

    The Assemblymen appealed to the Assembly to take a second look at the condition attached to the tanker and provide water to the communities to help stop the spread of COVID-19 as directed by the President.

    Source: GNA

  • Daily Guide: In deference to our Medics

    A few days ago, the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital discharged its recovered Covid-19 cases, a feat which is now the feature of the various treatment centres across the country.

    Measures put in place by the government alongside the mutual relationship existing between them and medical frontliners have all contributed towards the feat being registered in the management of our chapter of the global emergency.

    We are on a war-footing with an invisible enemy though not invincible if we persevere as our medical frontliners are doing.

    Various factors, of course, account for the relative low mortality rate of Covid-19 patients in the country, the most outstanding, however, being the dedication of local doctors, nurses, laboratory scientists and indeed the medical delivery chain in general.

    We wish to acknowledge the feat chalked up by the Noguchi Medical Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) in sequencing the virus, the feat putting Ghana on the world map of medical scientists. Their continuous backbreaking assignments have provided policymakers with the necessary data required in the arduous task of managing the medical emergency in the country.

    During the recent Covid-19 updates, Health Minister Kwaku Agyemang-Manu recommended that we too replicate the European and American style of expressing appreciation and admiration for the frontliners, their gallantry worthy of such gesture.

    A couple of days ago, the US President acknowledged the feat of nurses in that country in the fight against the virus and recognized them appropriately by way of some legislation.

    At a time when even the British and American authorities were struggling to provide their medical personnel with personal protective equipment (PPE), our precarious situation in that direction can only be conjectured.

    Our doctors, nurses and the others in the medical-delivery chain even at the peril of their lives did not abandon the wards in the face of the logistical shortcomings. They continued to serve humanity, especially their compatriots, to the best of their abilities, with some of them contracting the disease.

    The apprehension which gripped Ghanaians when the disease began its killing spree elsewhere was household knowledge. When we recorded the first case and subsequent deaths, there were obvious doubts about what level of attack and defence our doctors, nurses, medical laboratory scientists could marshal against the little known virus.

    The number of recoveries is competing with the number of cases, and that is encouraging because that suggests that, after all, our doctors and nurses have not been found wanting.

    They are prevailing over the virus and, therefore, demand the support of all Ghanaians in the form of commendations and also adhering to the World Health Organisation (WHO) protocols.

    As for those who have politicized the subject and do not recognize the success chalked up, let alone doff their hats for the gallant personnel, Ghanaians are the best judges.

    Source: Daily Guide Network

  • Adansi-Fomena NPP commends government for reviving hospital project

    Members of the Adansi-Fomena Constituency of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has commended the government for resuming construction works on the government hospital project in the town.

    According to the party members, the hospital project, which was started by the former government was dear to the hearts of the people, and the decision by the government to revive and complete it was laudable.

    Addressing a press conference at Fomena in the Adansi North District, Mr. Akwasi Nti Asamoah, constituency chairman said the people in the area were very happy over the coming back of the contractor who was working on the project to the site to continue work.

    “We commend the President for his commitment to work for the good of the country by bringing the work on the project back again”, he stated.

    Mr Asamoah said everybody in the district was aware of the hullabaloo that surrounded the Fomena Hospital project, which was stalled under the previous administration for unknown reasons.

    He appealed to the contractor to ensure that the project was completed, this time around since it was a priority project to the people in the area.

    Source: GNA

  • Palestinian Ambassador galvanises support to fight COVID-19

    Mr Abdulfatah Alsattari, the Palestinian Ambassador to Ghana, has called on individuals and organisations around the world to help alleviate the ill effects of COVID-19 on the vulnerable.

    This is because the pandemic, besides its health implications, also had social, economic, and other effects on mankind, which required an all hands on deck approach.

    Mr Alsattari said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on Thursday after he launched the “Special Food Sharing by the People of Palestine in Ghana” project.

    The project seeks to assist the less-privileged during the month of Ramadan to minimise the effects of the COVID-19 crisis.

    Mr Alsattari said the Embassy collaborated with a number of Palestinians within the country for the launch, which saw the distribution of assorted food items to over 50 families, chosen from a number of communities within Accra.

    He said the Palestinian Community in Ghana would continue to support the people and Government in every way possible to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic and its unpleasant effects.

    “The people of Palestine believe that the world is one big family, and in times like this, the greatest service we can offer each other is to help so far as we can,” he said.

    The Ambassador thanked the Government and people of Ghana for the long standing friendship and that the time had come for Palestine to show kindness to a good friend and neighbour.

    Source: GNA

  • Police and GIS intercept Burkinabe migrants at Nadowli

    Six Burkina Faso nationals who entered Ghana through unapproved routes have been arrested by the Upper West Regional Command of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) at the Nadowli Police checkpoint.

    The migrants, who comprised four men and two women and aged from 2 to 55, were arrested with support from the Police Service at the checkpoint on Thursday, May 7, 2020.

    Mr Ibn Yussif Duranah Abdul-Mumin Seidu, the Upper West Regional Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the GIS made this known to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Wa on Thursday.

    “Upon a tip-off, the patrol team chased the minibus and intercepted it with the ECOWAS nationals at a police checkpoint”, he said.

    According to Mr Seidu, the irregular migrants attempted using alternative routes in order to swerve the GIS inland checkpoint at Babile in the Lawra Municipality.

    “They hired a minibus with registration number BA 2761-14 with the intent of using alternative routes to Wa in order to swerve the immigration Officials on duty at the Babile inland checkpoint”, he said.

    He said the arrested Burkinabe migrants had been screened by the health personnel, sent to the Hamile Sector Command of the GIS and handed over to the Burkina Faso authorities for the necessary action to be taken.

    The GIS had arrested several Burkina Faso nationals in the region for violating President Akuffo-Addo’s order on the closure of the national borders in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.

    Mr Seidu said the GIS would not relent on its efforts to secure the borders and to enforce the president’s order to the letter.

    He called for support from the public, especially the border communities, to police the borders.

    He warned that any person or group of persons found aiding any foreigner to enter the country illegally would be made to face the full rigours of the law.

    Source: GNA

  • Ghana Police Command and Staff College, Winneba disinfected and fumigated

    The exercise was carried out by Zoomlion Ghana Limited in collaboration with Administration of the Ghana Police Service and the Emergency National Disinfection Exercise.

    Offices, dormitories, the barracks, Syndicate rooms. the compound and the outskirts of the college were disinfected.

    In an interview with the media after the exercise, Chief Superintendent Samuel Asiedu Kofi Okanta, Acting Commandant of the College commended the Inspector General of Police (IGP) for the decision to have all police facilities across the country to be disinfected to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

    “The move by the IGP was timely and will go a long way to protect the men and their families, as well as others who visit the facilities from contracting the pandemic and other diseases, he indicated.

    Chief Superintendent Asiedu believed the exercise would boost the confidence of officers who may have the opportunity to school at the college and further assured that it would also continue with routine clean up exercises at their offices and the barracks.

    He urged the officers to adhere to all the protocols in place to augment the efforts of the government to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Mr. Ernest Osei, Central Regional Manager of Zoomlion Company for his part, said the exercise was to get rid of the virus and bacterial from the area, aimed to prevent the COVID-19 from spreading further.

    According to him, the previous disinfection exercises the company executed in Markets, Senior High Schools, and Universities were highly successful, hence, the exercise will be carried out across police facilities in the Region and assured that they will work as expected of them.

    He expressed the need for Authorities of the College to continue to ensure that all persons who entered its premises washed their hands under running water with soap placed at the entrance of the main gate of the facility and as well observe the social distancing to help stop the spread of the pandemic

    Source: GNA

  • Vehicle tracker aids arrest of man declared wanted for murder, three others in Kumasi

    A man on police wanted list was on Thursday arrested after a vehicle he allegedly stole from a woman in Kumasi, was tracked and intercepted at Offinso in the Ashanti Region.

    Nana Kofi Owusu, 29, was arrested after a woman (name withheld), who works at the Center for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) at Fumesua in Kumasi reported to the police on Wednesday, May 5 that the suspect had bolted with her Toyota Corolla vehicle with registration number GE 1210-16.

    The victim had told the police that she became helpless after the vehicle developed a mechanical fault on the Adum-Kwanwoma stretch, while driving to work.

    “While looking for a mechanic to fix same suspect Nana Kofi Owusu aged 29 yrs emerged and offered to help. That the suspect managed to start the vehicle and sped away with same,” an incident report sighted by Dailymailgh.com read.

    Arrest

    Luck, however, eluded Kofi Owusu, when he was arrested by the police at Offinso on Thursday, at about 6:00am following a dispatch message and information provided by telecom giant, MTN Ghana, which has a car tracking service team in Accra.

    The suspect who was later handed over to the Asokwa Divisional Police Command for interrogation where investigations revealed that he had been declared wanted by the Cyber Crime Unit of the Ghana Police Service.

    “Picture of the suspect was sent to the Unit Commander who confirmed that he is wanted by the Unit in a case of murder,” investigators say.

    Other accomplices

    The suspect also named Collins Ankomah, aged 27; Kwadwo Samuel Gyamfi, 32 and one Daniel Owusu Aboagye, as accomplices.

    The three who have since been arrested confessed to the police during interrogation that they had committed several crimes including a recent robbery at Offinso in April this year.

    Items stolen during the operation from a victim known only as Gyamera included; a black Nissan X-Trail 4×4 vehicle with registration number AS 8150-10, a fridge, four foam mattresses, an air-conditioner and other domestic appliances.

    The items have been retrieved and impounded at Asokwa Divisional Police Headquarters.

    The suspects have been detained as the Ashanti Regional Police Command launches an identification parade and brief the media over the development.

    Source: Daily Mail

  • 323 coronavirus patients recover in Ghana

    323 COVID-19 patients have recovered, the Ghana Health Service has announced on Friday.

    The GHS further said that Ghana’s COVID-19 cases have now reached 4,012.

    The new figure represents an increase of 921 cases from the last update announced on Thursday by the GHS.

    The death toll however remains at 18.

    The Greater Accra region still leads as the nations hotspot with 3,436 cases with the Ashanti Region following closely with 210 cases.

    With the Bono Region recording its first case on Thursday, the Savannah, Ahafo and Bono East areas are the only Regions yet to record a case.

    Below are the Regional count from the highest to lowest

    Greater Accra Region 3,436

    Ashanti Region 210

    Eastern Region 96

    Central Region 58

    Western North Region 56

    Western Region 35

    Volta Region 32

    Upper East Region 26

    Oti Region 24

    Upper West Region 20

    Northern Region 16

    North East Region 2

    Bono Region 1

    Savannah Region 0

    Ahafo Region 0

    Bono East Region 0

    Source: Class FM

  • Coronavirus Fight: God has refused to listen to Akufo-Addo’s prayer – Kweku Boahen

    Deputy National Communications Officer for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Kweku Boahen, has accused President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo of not having positive intentions towards fighting the novel Coronavirus in the country.

    He said the President should be able to put up proper and fair mechanisms as the leader of the country to save the people, as all his current measures in fighting the disease are pure political campaign messages that need not to be heeded to.

    In a submission on UTV’s ‘Adekye Nsroma’ newspaper discussion show, the NDC Communication Officer insisted “the affected cases of COVID-19 keep going up due to the hypocritical behaviors and principles President Akufo-Addo and his appointees exhibit concerning the fight against the disease”.

    He indicated that left to the first gentleman of the land alone, Coronavirus should forever remain in the country for his own selfish political gains.

    “God has refused to answer his (President Akufo-Addo) prayers because his holy words have already made us understood that he does not answer the prayers of a sinner,” Kweku Boahen bitterly lamented.

    Source: Peace FM

  • Coronavirus will not be in Ghana had Akufo-Addo not traveled to Norway – NDC Deputy Communications officer

    The National Democratic Congress (NDC) Deputy National Communications Officer, Kweku Boahen, has stressed that a survey he has firmly conducted shows that COVID-19 which the country is strongly battling within every angle of its economy will have been with us today had President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo not traveled to Norway during the early days of it’s spread.

    “Ghana will not have had any case of COVID-19 had President Akufo-Addo not traveled to Norway” he categorically stated.

    According to him, sometimes as the largest opposition party in the country, they need to be listened to since they also conduct important investigations for the growth of the country.

    “We warned citizens against foreign travels during the early days of COVID-19 in some foreign countries but the president neglected us and went to Norway, therefore the hardship we find surrounding us today” he added.

    However, in a detailed pronouncement on UTV’s ‘Adekye Nsroma’ political discussion programme, the NDC guru pointed out that President Akufo-Addo on his monetary laid out policies in fighting COVID-19 are ways of misusing state funds, to fill his family financial account.

    “All the President is interested in is positioning members of his family to be in charge of state funds to help build up their family account, especially the Finance Minister and the Chief Justice (RTD) Sophia Akufo who after pension has been elected back into government to be in charge of the COVID-19 funds. Can’t the President get any other trusted active person to be in charge of this fund?” he asked.

    Source: Peace FM

  • Disregard publication on government protocol scholarship Public Services Commission

    The Office of the Public Services Commission has urged the public to disregard any publication titled “Government Protocol Scholarship” form purported to come from the Commission.

    A statement signed by Dr Janet Ampadu Fofie, Chairman of the Commission, said: “the form is fake and is not from the Commission, neither is it from government to the best of our knowledge”.

    It calls on the security agencies to investigate the source of the form for possible prosecution of the culprit to serve as a deterrent to others.

    Source: Public Service Commission

  • Some areas in Accra to experience power cuts, starting today ECG

    The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has announced, certain areas in the capital, Accra, will experience power outages for a period of six days, starting today, May 8, 2020.

    In a statement put out by ECG, the company stated, power interruption in these areas will be between the hours of 10pm and 1am and end on Thursday, May 14, 2020.

    ECG explained, the six day period would be used to convey some transformers from the Tema Port to the Pokuase Bulk Supply Point (BSP) construction site.

    “The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) Limited wishes to inform the general public, especially our cherished customers in the under-listed areas that, to ensure safe conveyance of 145MVA transformers from the Tema Ports to the Pokuase Bulk Supply Point, the company will have to isolate some High Voltage overhead lines,” ECG said.

    Areas to be affected include Ofankor, Tema, Klagon, Spintex, Trasacco, Dzorwulu and Achimota.

    Source: backend.theindependentghana.com | Anita Odei-Osafo

  • KATH closes Pediatric Emergency Unit to new admissions

    The Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) has closed its Pediatric Emergency Unit (PEU) to new admissions, effective immediately.

    The decision was taken after a patient referred to the facility from the Tafo Government Hospital who had been on admission tested positive for coronavirus.

    This comes after almost all staff at a ward in the facility were made to self-quarantine after a staff tested positive for the disease on April 30, 2020.

    In a communique cited by JoyNews, the Head, Department of Child Health said the new case has caused additional 26 staff to go into self-quarantine effective today May 5, 2020.

    The Department has decided, following a meeting that the “PEU is closing its doors to all new admissions with immediate effect for one week.

    “That all exposed staff should self-quarantine for two weeks from the date of last contact with the positive Covid-19 case.”

    All new PEU admission cases will be transferred to other pediatric health services in the Metropolis.

     

     

  • Give us PPE, our members are scared of contracting COVID-19 Private Health Association to government

    The Private Health Association of Ghana has said some private health facilities intend folding up their activities due to the lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

    According to the Association, some facilities are shutting down their operations due to the fear that their staff might contract the disease.

    The government announced on Wednesday, the allocation of 1.2 million PPE to health facilities in the country.

    However, in an interview with Citi News, President of the Private Health Association, Samuel Donkor said they are yet to receive PPE from the government.

    “We are just struggling all over. We are not being paid to fight COVID-19. We are not being paid to buy PPE and fight COVID-19. There is no support from the government,” he said

    “Thousands of PPE have been supplied and we do not even know where they are. Some of us are folding up our activities due to the fear of contracting the disease and spreading it.

    Globally the deficit of PPE amid the novel coronavirus pandemic has been a major point of concern and Ghana has not been an exception.

    The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) has also reiterated its concerns over the distribution of PPE to health facilities after the confirmation that 13 members of the group who are medical doctors, tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

    The government says it has enabled significant domestic production and supply of protective equipment to health workers.

    President Nana Akufo-Addo recently noted that 905,031 nose masks, 31,630 medical scrubs, 31,472 gowns, 46,870 headcovers, and 83,500 N-95 face masks have been available.

    Giving some advice on the distribution on face masks, the Africa Centre for Health Policy urged a more equitable approach.

    “You look at densely populated areas and areas that are recording more cases of COVID-19 compared with areas that are not recording more cases so that you can direct more of the face masks to areas that are densely populated and areas that are hotspots,” the Executive Director of the Centre, Ahmed Farhan, said.

     

    Source: citinewsroom 

  • Coronavirus: Bono Region steps up Enhanced Port Surveillance after first case

    The Bono Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) has stepped up measures to prevent community spread of Coronavirus in the region.

    This comes in after the region confirmed its first case of the novel coronavirus since its outbreak in the country.

    Measures adopted by the RCC and the Regional Public Health Emergency Management Committee include an increase in port surveillance and behaviour change communication (BCC).

    Speaking at a press briefing to provide an update on the first case of coronavirus in the region, the Regional Health Director, Dr. Kofi Issah, revealed that the Health Directorate has since made improvements in their activities in order to prevent community spread.

    According to him, the Health Directorate has since increased preventive measures in relation to pandemic preparedness and response rate in the region.

    “As at this afternoon (7th May 2020), contact tracing teams have been to the field to take samples from identified primary contacts of the quarantined. We have stepped up surveillance in our 12 districts to enable us gain a broader picture of the state of infection within the region and thereby respond appropriately. We have also increased behaviour change communication (BCC) and continue to emphasize social distancing to prevent community spread”.

    Dr. Issah revealed that the Bono Region has investigated 583 suspected cases and taken 202 samples. Out of the number, they have received the results of 128 samples with one positive case.

    He urged residents in the region to remain calm and adhere fully to the hygiene protocols announced by the President and the Ghana Health Service.

     

    Source: www.ghanaweb.com

  • God will punish you severely if you dont lift ban on churches – Osofo Kyiriabosom to Akufo-Addo

    Founder of the Ghana Union Movement (GUM) and General Overseer of the Life Assembly Worship Centre, Rev. Christain Andrew has given President Akufo-Addo a week to lift the ban on church activities or face the wrath of God.

    The man of God and an aspiring president told Nyankonton Mu Nsem on Rainbow Radio 87.5Fm that, God has instructed him to tell the president to lift the ban to allow Christians pray to him for help.

    Rev. Andrew who is popularly known as Osofo Kyiriabosom said God wants Christians to attend church and seek his face.

    He said if the president fails to lift the ban, all the doctors and the team that advised him to place the ban on church activities would be severely punished.

    “The president has a week to lift the ban or the wrath of God will come upon him and his team. He should listen to the instruction from God and lift the ban. God wants his children to seek, his face and pray to him,” he declared.

    He wondered why banks, markets and other businesses have been allowed to operate with churches asked to shutdown.

    Rev. Andrew opined Ghana has been favoured as compared to other countries hence the low rate of deaths recorded.

    President Akufo-Addo last month extended the ban on all forms of social gatherings including church activities by two weeks.

    The extension took effect on April 27, 2020.

     

    Source: rainbowradioonline.com

  • SSNIT Hospital shut down, 60 workers including doctors self-quarantine after two COVID-19 cases

    The main branch of The Trust Hospital (SSNIT Hospital), located on the Oxford Street of Osu, has asked about 60 workers comprising doctors, nurses and other staff to self-quarantine after recording two cases.

    The hospital has also been shut for fumigation following the development.

    Accra-based Joy FM reported on Friday that the patients have been on admission to the hospital for close to a week. They tested positive for COVID-19, after their samples were analysed following pronounced symptoms of the infection.

    Management had no choice but to instruct all persons who came into contact with the patients to self-isolate as close contacts have been quarantined.

    At the same time, samples of the contacts have been taken to the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research (NMIMR) for further analyses.

    Consequently, the hospital has shut down the facility with fumigation expected to take place on May 9 and May 10.

    “The main branch of the hospital will resume work on Monday, May 11, 2020”, a statement from the hospital said.

    Patients on admission have been transferred to the Sunkwa Road branch of the hospital, also at Osu, located at the Kuku Hills. Out Patients Department (OPD) and emergency services will be undertaken at the same branch.

    The hospital has also requested clients to seek services at its other branches dotted in the Greater Accra Region or consider telemedicine for medical services.

     

    Source: theghanareport.com

  • Facebook update crashes TikTok and other rivals

    Facebook has apologised after its latest software update crashed rival apps on iPhones and iPads.

    Popular apps such as dating service Tinder, music-streaming app Spotify and video platform TikTok were among those rendered unusable.

    The problem affected apps that had integrated the “login with Facebook” feature, which eliminates the need for a separate username and password.

    Facebook said it had “identified the issue quickly and resolved it”.

    It had updated the software development kit (SDK) used by app developers to integrate its services, on Wednesday.

    But independent developers were soon warning, on coding site Github, it was crashing their apps.

    And on Thursday, Facebook said: “Yesterday, a new release… included a change that triggered crashes for some users in some apps using the Facebook iOS SDK.

    “We apologise for any inconvenience.”

    Source: BBC

  • Coronavirus: Pandemic sends US jobless rate to 14.7%

    The US unemployment rate has risen to 14.7%, with 20.5 million jobs lost in April, as the coronavirus pandemic devastated the economy.

    The rise means the jobless rate is now worse than at any time since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

    Since the pandemic began, the US has suffered its worst growth numbers in a decade and the worst retail sales report on record.

    Just two months ago, the unemployment rate was at 3.5%, a 50-year low.

    “It is historically unprecedented,” said economist Erica Groshen, former head of the government’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, who now teaches at Cornell University. “We have put our economy into a medically induced coma in order to heal it from the pandemic… and that has led to the most precipitous loss of jobs seen in any of the modern data.”

    The report from the Labor Department showed declines in every sector of the economy.

    Leisure and hospitality was hit especially hard, with payrolls falling by 7.7 million or 47%. Employers in education and health services cut 2.5 million positions, while retailers shed 2.1 million.

    The Labor Department said more than three-quarters of those without jobs described themselves as temporarily laid off, a sign that many of those currently without work are hopeful that the economy will be able to rebound.

    But economists warned that the pandemic is likely to force major changes to businesses – such as limits on how many people may be in a restaurant at one time – that could reduce the need for workers. And the longer the shutdown lasts, the more likely it is that a business will not survive.

    “Even a temporary layoff can turn into a permanent one if the business doesn’t survive or if the business has to change its business model so dramatically that it needs different numbers or a different kind of worker,” Ms Groshen said.

    The economic crisis is not unique to the US. In the UK, the Bank of England has warned of the sharpest recession on record, while Canada on Friday reported its unemployment rate had increased 5.2 percentage points to 13% last month.

    Statistics Canada estimated that about a third of the workforce was either out of work, or working less than half of their usual hours.

    In an appearance on the Fox News channel, US President Donald Trump shrugged off the 20.5 million jobs lost in the US as “totally expected” and “no surprise”.

    “Even the Democrats aren’t blaming me for that. What I can do is I can bring it back,” he said as the figures were released.

    But bankruptcies have already claimed retailers such as J Crew and Neiman Marcus, as well as many firms in the energy sector, where a collapse in oil prices, due in part to a pandemic-related drop in demand, has worsened the strains.

    While some states have already started to relax restrictions, re-starting the economy is likely to be difficult, as workers worry about the risk of infection and grapple with the impact of school closures.

    “I’m not certain what’s going to happen next,” said Tanya Nikolaevskaya, a legal assistant in New York, who was furloughed last month, after working from home in March.

    Ms Nikolaevskaya hopes to return to what she described as her dream job, but she has a medical condition that makes her worried about infection and is a single mother, whose 8-year-old daughter will need care if schools do not reopen.

    “It’s all about, ‘Is there childcare,’” she said. “If I will not have childcare, I will not be able to go back.”

    The number of people in the labor force – working or looking for work – fell 2.5% last month, to its lowest level since 1970, while those reporting reduced hours or an inability to find a full-time job nearly doubled.

    The Labor Department warned that the situation might be worse than estimated, pointing to the spike in the number of people who said they were employed but “absent from work”. Including those responses suggests an unemployment rate closer to 20%, it said.

    Among black workers, the unemployment rate jumped to 16.7%, the highest since 2010. Among Hispanics, it surged to a record 18.9%, while it climbed to a lower – but still record-setting – 14.2% among white workers.

    Overall, the unemployment rate was the highest recorded in data back to 1948, while the over-the-month jobs decline was the largest reported in data back to 1939.

    “The scale of the challenge cannot be overstated,” said Robert Alster, head of investment services at wealth manager Close Brothers Asset Management.

    Source: bbc.com

  • UN decries dangerous Med migrant pushbacks

    The UN voiced alarm Friday at reports that countries are failing to help migrants in distress on the Mediterranean Sea, blocking assistance by NGOs and coordinating pushbacks of their boats.

    UN rights office spokesman Rupert Colville warned during a virtual press briefing that such measures “are clearly putting lives at risk”.

    “We are deeply concerned about recent reports of failure to assist and coordinated pushbacks of migrant boats in the central Mediterranean, which continues to be one of the deadliest migration routes in the world,” he said.

    More than 100,000 migrants tried to cross the Mediterranean last year with 1,200 dying in the attempt, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration.

    And so far this year, more than 250 migrants have perished trying to make the perilous crossing.

    Colville pointed to claims that distress calls to Maritime Rescue Coordination centres “have gone unanswered or been ignored”.

    “If true,” he said, this “seriously calls into question the commitments of the states concerned to saving lives and respecting human rights.”

    He especially decried reports that Maltese authorities had asked commercial ships to push boats with migrants and refugees in distress back to the high seas.

    And he lamented that humanitarian search and rescue vessels that usually patrol the central Mediterranean have been prevented from helping migrants, even as the numbers of attempted crossings surge.

    – ‘Horrendous conditions’ –

    During the first three months of this year, departures from war-torn Libya increased four-fold compared to the same period in 2019, Colville said, stressing that migrants and refugees embarking on such journeys were entitled to protection under international law.

    “Yet, since April 9, both Italy and Malta have declared their ports ‘unsafe’ for disembarkation due to COVID-19,” he said.

    Italy, the most common destination for rescue boats, has been one of the most affected countries in the pandemic, with nearly 30,000 deaths.

    As a result of port closures, at least three vessels with migrants onboard are awaiting disembarkation, Colville said.

    He pointed to reports that a small group of adults, including pregnant women, and children were allowed to disembark on Thursday after the Maltese government made a concession on humanitarian grounds.

    “While we welcome this effort, we call for all migrants currently being held on board these vessels to be urgently disembarked, as the conditions on merchant vessels are not suitable for long-term accommodation,” he said.

    He also decried that the Libyan Coast Guard continues to turn vessels back to its shores and to detain all intercepted migrants in “horrendous conditions”, warning that overcrowding there also made detainees vulnerable to the novel coronavirus.

    Since the summer of 2018, the European Union has tasked Libya’s coastguard with coordinating search and rescue operations in a vast stretch of the Mediterranean beyond their territorial waters.

    But the UN and others have long warned that it is not safe for migrants to be returned to the conflict-ravaged country.

    “Libya cannot be considered to have a safe port for disembarkation,” UN refugee agency spokesman Charlie Yaxley told Friday’s briefing.

    Source: france24.com

  • Ty: UK rapper dies aged 47 after contracting coronavirus

    The Nigerian-British musician died on Thursday after contracting pneumonia while recovering from coronavirus.

    Ty was known for a witty, mature style that owed more to the old-school US rappers than the grittier street sounds of London.

    In 2004, Ty’s second album, Upwards, was nominated for the Mercury Prize alongside Amy Winehouse, The Streets and eventual winners Franz Ferdinand.

    Ty contracted coronavirus earlier this year, and a fundraising page set up in April said he had been “put in a medically induced coma to temporarily sedate to help his body receive the appropriate treatment”.

    He later left intensive care after his condition seemingly improved – but on Thursday, his press team confirmed he had died.

    Writing on the fundraising page, Ty’s friend Diane Laidlaw confirmed he had contracted pneumonia while recovering from coronavirus.

    “Ty’s condition had been improving but last week while on a normal ward he had contracted pneumonia which worsened his recovery and ultimately Ty’s body couldn’t fight back anymore,” she wrote.

    His death was mourned by stars including Ghetts and Roots Manuva.

    DJ Charlie Sloth called him “a friend, a role model and a true foundation to UK rap”.

    “This brother here was truly a good person. Sad to see you ascend from this realm so soon,” wrote Posdnuous, from US rap trio De La Soul, who appeared on Ty’s third album, Closer, in 2006.

    Skip Youtube post by Big Dada

    Warning: Third party content may contain adverts Report End of Youtube post by Big Dada Born Ben Chijioke in London in 1972, he grew up with his sister in a strict household where he was expected to become a doctor or a lawyer.

    But he fell in love with hip-hop and decided to pursue a career as an MC.

    “They didn’t take to it very well at all,” he told the Independent in 2008. “I knew that it was going to happen, but I just continued to do what I did – they just made me do it in secret.”

    After finding a job as a sound engineer, he started recording in the mid-90s, appearing on tracks produced by IG Culture’s New Sector Movement and DJ Pogo, as well as hosting a hip-hop night called Lyrical Lounge.

    He released his debut album Awkward in 2001, but it was Upwards – with its mixture of Afro-funk, Jamaican dub, Latin shuffles and dextrous wordplay – that brought him to mainstream attention.

    The album showcased his relaxed, storytelling style, whether he was talking about relationship problems on Wait A Minute or the more serious dilemma of gun crime on Rain.

    He went on to record three further solo albums, the most recent being A Work of Heart in 2018 and collaborated with dozens of artists from afro-beat drummer Tony Allen to Soweto Kinch and US hip-hop outfit Arrested Development.

    Rapper Ghetts was among the rappers paying tribute, writing on Instagram: “RIP TY. This one’s deep I had a lot of respect for.

    He added that Ty was “one of the first from the older generation to embrace me and show me, love”.

    Roots Manuva simply wrote: “Rest my Brother. You did good”.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Rangers director under fire as Scottish football row deepens

    Rangers managing director Stewart Robertson has been accused of making “baseless, damaging and self-serving attacks” by his fellow Scottish Professional Football League board members.

    The other eight SPFL directors have issued a lengthy rebuttal of a number of allegations made in a dossier Rangers sent to clubs on Thursday.

    They said they had “complete confidence” in chief executive Neil Doncaster and legal advisor Rod McKenzie, both of whom the Ibrox club want suspended.

    The board members again urged clubs to reject Rangers’ resolution proposing an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the vote that ended the lower-league season and handed the SPFL board the authority to do the same for the Premiership.

    Robertson claimed clubs were shown a “complete disregard” and had been “railroaded”.

    The letter, which came ahead of a meeting between the 12 Premiership clubs and Championship winners Dundee United on Tuesday, stated it was “enormously frustrating to see one of our number launch baseless, damaging and self-serving attacks”.

    The board members also questioned why Robertson had waited so long to make his claims.

    Rangers were 13 points adrift of leaders Celtic when the Premiership season was suspended in March due to the coronavirus outbreak.

    Celtic would be awarded a record-equalling ninth consecutive title if the SPFL board deemed that no more games could be played.

    Source: AFP

  • George Quaye takes over from Naa Ashorkor as the host of showbiz A-Z on JOY FM every Saturday

    Media Personality, George Quaye is the new face of Entertainment program, Showbiz A-Z on JOY FM.

    Versatile George Quaye takes over from Naa Ashorkor whose contract was terminated by JOY FM earlier this week.

    George Quaye would continue to host his Late Night Express show on JOY FM from 10pm each day in addition to Showbiz A-Z.

    You know how George Quaye does it in style already, and so tune in to JOY FM this Saturday from 2pm as Aboagye officially takes over the Showbiz A-Z show.

    Source: www.ghgossip.com

  • Shortages of virus test materials ‘critical’ – UN lab chief

    Shortages of materials needed in tests for the novel coronavirus remain “critical”, according to the head of a UN lab, which is supplying countries with COVID-19 detection kits.

    In particular the chemical reagents for the tests are still in short supply, said Giovanni Cattoli, head of the Animal Production and Health Laboratory run jointly by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

    “There is indeed on the global market a shortage of some items, particularly reagents, because there are demands from all over the world,” Cattoli told AFP this week during a tour of the laboratory at Seibersdorf, 40 kilometres (25 miles) outside Vienna.

    “The situation is still critical,” he said. “We are working … to accelerate purchase and investigate if there are alternative reagents.”

    The tests the lab sends out use the nuclear-derived RT-PCR technology, which is now common for new coronavirus detection and can give results within hours.

    Cattoli said one of the lessons of the crisis was “that we need not to rely only on a single type of test but to have a portfolio of tests and a portfolio of reagents in order to be prepared to have a plan B and possibly a plan C in order to respond effectively and rapidly.”

    The IAEA has received requests from 119 member states for test equipment to supply more than 200 laboratories, Cattoli added.

    Of them, 18 have already received supplies with more on the way.

    The costs of each package of equipment – some 100,000 euros ($108,000) – are borne by the IAEA.

    “Some laboratories in some areas of the world don’t have the necessary equipment. They don’t have the necessary reagents and procedures to rapidly detect the virus,” Cattoli said.

    Those who have received equipment are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Iran, Kenya, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Malaysia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Peru, Philippines, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Togo.

    The IAEA Laboratories in Seibersdorf are the only ones of their kind operated by the UN in the world.

    They cooperate with the FAO and others to monitor the evolution of the novel coronavirus and other viruses.

    They also work on improvements to RT-PCR technology, which may enable it to be used outside laboratories in the future, Cattoli said.

    Source: france24.com

  • Son Heung-min: Tottenham forward wins award as South Korea military service ends

    Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-min has completed his three-week mandatory military service in South Korea – and won an award for the best performance.

    Officials said the 27-year-old excelled in shooting skills and was the top performer among 157 trainees.

    Son had returned to his homeland in March to continue his recovery from a fractured arm while the season is suspended because of coronavirus.

    All South Korean men must complete military service by the age of 28.

    Son had earned exemption from the mandatory 21-month military service after helping South Korea win the 2018 Asian Games.

    He graduated at a ceremony on Friday at a Marine Corps unit on the island of Jeju in the south of the country.

    His military service included shooting and bayonet skills, chemical, biological and radiological training, individual battle skills and first aid training.

    “He received the ‘Pilsung’ prize, which is one of five types of awards for best performers,” an officer said, as reported by Yonhap News Agency.

    “All the courses were judged in a fair and strict manner, and his military training officers have said he went through the training faithfully.”

    Spurs congratulated their player on social media and said he will return to London next week.

    Son had surgery in February after fracturing an arm during Tottenham’s 3-2 victory at Aston Villa.

    Spurs boss Jose Mourinho said he did not expect Son to play again this season, though that was before the Premier League’s shutdown.

    Although he has now finished his military training, Son will still have to complete 544 hours of community service over the next 34 months.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Expired goods confiscated at Achiase

    The Achiase District Assembly has undertaken an inspection exercise to confiscate expired manufactured products at the main markets to discourage the sale of unwholesome goods in the District.

    Mr Richmond Amponsah, the Achiase District Chief Executive at a press briefing explained that the inspection would be conducted periodically by the eight-member committee of the Assembly.

    The committee members included officers from the Environmental Health Department, Procurement Unit, Information Service Department and the District Budget Office.

    Mr Emmanuel Binjomi of the Environmental Health Department said the goods inspected included groceries, cosmetics, and drugs.

    He indicated that before the commencement of the exercise, the committee members met the vendors in the District and educated them on the importance and expected outcome of the inspection exercise.

    Mr Binjomi said the committee in its inspection seized some expired goods from about 15 shops.

    He said the expired goods would be burnt by his department.

    The exercise was carried out at Aperade, Akenkansu, Achiase and other markets in the District.

    Madam Grace Acquah, a grocery shop owner at Akenkansu said the exercise would help make the vendors alert when purchasing items in bulk to prevent the sale of expired goods.

    Source: GNA 

  • Facebook and Google allow work from home for rest of year

    Facebook and Google have announced plans to reopen their offices but say they will let employees continue working from home for the rest of the year.

    Google originally said it would keep its work-from-home policy until 1 June but is extending it for seven more months, while Facebook intends to reopen its offices on 6 July as lockdowns are gradually lifted.

    Google chief executive Sundar Pichai says employees who need to return to the office will be able to do so from July with enhanced safety measures in place, but those who can carry out their jobs from home can do so until the end of the year.

    The announcement coincides with Facebook’s, as more companies start rolling out their post-lockdown strategies.

    “Facebook has taken the next step in its return-to-work philosophy. Today, we announced anyone who can do their work remotely can choose to do so through the end of the year,” a spokesman said.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Lufthansa to resume some European services in June

    German airline giant Lufthansa said Friday it will fly twice as many aircraft in June as in recent weeks and return to some European destinations, but the flight plan remains a shadow of pre-coronavirus operations.

    Spots beloved of holidaymakers like Spanish island Mallorca, Crete and German North Sea retreat Sylt will return to the timetable, with 160 aircraft aloft bearing Lufthansa’s crane or the logos of subsidiaries Swiss and Eurowings.

    More details of the 106 planned destinations will be published next week, Lufthansa said.

    But the vast majority of the group’s roughly 760 planes will remain grounded as restrictions on travel and tourist essentials like hotels and restaurants ease only slowly around the continent.

    “We sense a great desire and longing among people to travel again,” board member Harry Hohmeister said in a statement.

    “With all due caution, we are now making it possible for people to catch up and experience what they had to do without for a long time.”

    Details of the June flight plan were released less than 24 hours after the Frankfurt group said it was in talks for the German government to buy shares and offer a loan to keep it afloat through the coronavirus crisis.

    Berlin could end up owning around 25 percent of Lufthansa, although politicians are still wrangling over the details.

    Economy Minister Peter Altmaier told tabloid-style daily Bild Thursday that Lufthansa was part of Germany’s “family silver” and that Berlin aimed to avoid a “fire sale” of valuable firms.

    Source: AFP

  • Coronavirus pandemic sends US jobless rate to 14.7%

    The US unemployment rate has risen to 14.7%, with 20.5 million jobs lost in April, as the coronavirus pandemic devastated the economy.

    The rise means the jobless rate is now worse than at any time since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

    Since the pandemic began, the US has suffered its worst growth numbers in a decade and the worst retail sales report on record.

    Just two months ago, the unemployment rate was at 3.5%, a 50-year low.

    Weekly figures released on Thursday showed a further 3.2 million Americans sought unemployment benefits last week. That brings the total number of jobless claims since mid-March to 33.3 million- or about 20% of the US workforce.

    In recent weeks, companies such as Uber, Lyft and Airbnb were among the firms that have announced cuts, as shutdowns halted significant amounts of travel.

    The impact has been felt across the economy, affecting medical practices, restaurants and administrative workers among many others. The number of new claims reported each week by the US Department of Labor has subsided since hitting a peak of 6.9 million in March.

    But they remain extraordinarily high.

    And the number of people collecting benefits has continued to rise, despite recent moves to start re-opening in some parts of the country.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Coronavirus: China smog returns after pandemic cleared the air

    The coronavirus pandemic had cleared smog from China’s skies for months, but air pollution has returned with a vengeance as factories rush to ramp up output after going idle during the outbreak.

    Levels of toxic pollutants including nitrogen dioxide and tiny particles known as PM2.5 were all higher in April compared with the same period last year, data released by Greenpeace China on Friday showed.

    “What is interesting is how rapidly the emissions have rebounded after the sharp fall seen in the first three months of the year,” Li Shuo, a climate and energy expert at Greenpeace China, told AFP.

    “This may be an early sign that the positive trends seen during the epidemic period might be quickly reversed.”

    Levels of PM2.5 across China fell by more than 18 percent between January 20 and April 4 amid city-wide lockdowns and strict travel restrictions, according to the environment ministry.

    Satellite images released earlier by NASA and the European Space Agency showed that nitrogen dioxide emissions in major Chinese cities in central and eastern China – where most chemical, steel and cement plants are located – were down by 30 percent in the first two months of the year.

    But the level of PM2.5 particles in a cubic metre of air in April was 33.93, a slight increase from 33.2 in the same period last year.

    The level of nitrogen dioxide in a cubic metre of air in April was 25.4 compared with 24.6 in the same month last year.

    Both pollutants are toxic by-products of burning coal, oil and gas and can cause asthma, heart diseases and can even weaken the immune system, making people more susceptible to contracting other illnesses.

    Exposure to chronic air pollution has shortened China’s average life expectancy by more than four years, according to the World Health Organization.

    An uptick in industrial production and adverse weather patterns have worsened air pollution in April, Li said.

    Electricity production was up 1.2 percent in April. China relies on coal for most of its energy, he said.

    Illegal emissions

    Local governments were also turning a blind eye towards factories flouting emissions standards as they rushed to increase production.

    The environment ministry said Friday that local officials in the coastal province of Fujian a textile and electronics equipment manufacturing hub have failed to take “strict and correct” measures to curb illegal emissions and even accepted bribes from companies.

    Some heavy polluters have also been faking emissions data submitted to the government’s online monitoring system over the last two months, the ministry said in a separate statement Friday.

    In March, a packaging materials company in Shandong province was fined one million yuan ($141,000) for emitting 12 times more sulphur dioxide than what was earlier reported.

    A company in the eastern city of Wenzhou that was helping the local government collect online emissions data had “tampered with the figures more than 100 times between March 24 and April 9”, the ministry said.

    Polluting stimulus

    Environmentalists are worried that a stimulus to kick-start the ailing economy, which shrank 6.8 percent in the first quarter, would worsen air pollution woes.

    After the 2008 financial crisis, Beijing launched a four trillion yuan ($567.6 billion) stimulus package that included massive infrastructure investment.

    In the years that followed, air pollution rose to record highs and sparked a public backlash.

    China has refrained from an all-out stimulus this time around, and has pushed for investments in high-tech sectors such as 5G telecom networks, smart manufacturing, data centres and electric vehicles.

    But in early March, Chinese regulators approved 7.9 gigawatts of new coal-fired power plants – more than the approved projects in the entire year of 2019, Li said.

    “Depending on how the economic situation unfolds, the government may still retrieve its old playbook and invest in traditional infrastructure projects that took a toll on the environment,” Li said.

    Source: france24.com

  • Coronavirus: WHO warns 190,000 could die in Africa in one year

    As many as 190,000 people across Africa could die in the first year of the coronavirus pandemic if crucial containment measures fail, the World Health Organization (WHO) warns.

    The new research also predicts a prolonged outbreak over a few years.

    “It likely will smoulder in transmission hot spots,” says WHO Africa head Matshidiso Moeti.

    This patchier and slower pattern of transmission sets Africa apart from other regions, WHO experts say.

    Other factors taken into account are the region’s younger populations who have “benefitted from the control of communicable diseases such as HIV and tuberculosis”, as well as lower mortality rates.

    The WHO’s warning comes as Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria, plus others including South Africa and Ivory Coast, have begun relaxing some of their lockdown measures.

    Their estimates are based on prediction modelling, and focus on 47 countries in the WHO African region – Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia and Djibouti are not included.

    Across the whole of the African continent more than 2,000 coronavirus deaths have been recorded by Africa’s Centre for Disease Control. By comparison, 140,000 have died in Western Europe, where the virus took hold several weeks earlier.

    “Covd-19 could become a fixture in our lives for the next several years unless a proactive approach is taken by many governments in the region,” Dr Moeti says in a WHO statement.

    “We need to test, trace, isolate and treat.”

    Source: bbc.com

  • Toke Makinwa has never looked this beautiful- Check her dazzle in an all-white ensemble (Photos)

    Toke Makinwa is looking way too beautiful than we have ever seen her over the years.

    And that has something to do with the touch of a white and black ensemble that she is displaying on Instagram.

    Toke who recently delved into the kind of man she would immediately fall flat for dons a flawless two-piece white mini dress which accentuated her full figure.

    She urges her fans to make it their priority to protect their peace of mind at all costs regardless of the situation they find themselves in.

    PHOTOS:

     

    View this post on Instagram

     

    Friday got me I. My feelings 💡💡💡

    A post shared by Toke Makinwa (@tokemakinwa) on

     

    View this post on Instagram

     

    Protect your peace at all cost ⚔️⚔️⚔️⚔️

    A post shared by Toke Makinwa (@tokemakinwa) on

    Source: GhanaCelebrities.Com

  • Rwanda investigates grenade explosion in barbershop

    Police in Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, have opened investigations into a grenade explosion in a barbershop on Thursday evening that killed one person and injured 11 others.

    In a statement, they said the victim, a 25-year-old man identified as Tunezerwe Jean Paul, had tried to show the barber, Niyikiza Pacific, something he was carrying in his pocket before the explosion.

    “Inside his pocket was a smoke-emitting grenade. On seeing the grenade Nyikiza immediately told Tunezerwe to get out of the salon and in the process the grenade detonated,” the police statement said.

    Two children aged eight and 12 were among those injured, the police said.

    They ruled out terrorism as a motive.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Nigerians with no masks face arrest in virus hot-spot

    Residents of Ogun state in Nigeria face arrest if found not wearing face masks in public, according to police spokesman Abimbola Oyeyemi.

    The state is considered as a coronavirus hot-spot and was under a 35-day lockdown that ended last week.

    Governor Dapo Abiodun had ordered mandatory mask-wearing as a precaution to stop the spread of coronavirus. The order took effect on 1 May and local leaders say people are not complying.

    Enforcement will begin this weekend, the police said. Those arrested will be quarantined for 14 days while doing community work.

    Ogun state has so far recorded 100 coronavirus cases and is at a high risk because of its proximity to commercial capital, Lagos.

    Source: bbc.com

  • EU blacklists four African states over money-laundering

    The European Union has added 12 countries to its money-laundering blacklist, putting their financial transactions under greater scrutiny.

    They include Botswana, Ghana, Mauritius and Zimbabwe.

    Others are Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, Cambodia, Mongolia and Myanmar.

    Once approved by the European parliament the list will come into force in October.

    The commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis said the EU needed to put an end to dirty money infiltrating its financial system.

    Of the 22 blacklisted countries, only North Korea has refused to commit to trying to tackle the problem.

    Source: bbc.com

  • Sweet Ex!- Regina Daniels pens a warm message to ex-boyfriend Somadina as he celebrates his birthday today

    Sweet Ex!- Regina Daniels is doing exactly what Sister Derby and Shatta Wale did.

    She has penned a heartfelt message to her ex-boyfriend Somadina and fans, as usual, have come at her for doing that.

    Her 59 years old husband, Ned Nwoko would certainly be jealous when he sees it.

    The heavily pregnant young lady shared a picture of Somadina with the caption; “Happy birthday to you Soma….. you know I wish you the best in life…. keep soaring High.”

    Somadina immediately responded with; “Gee fi life. God bless your beautiful heart and soul. I appreciate B…”

    Somadina and Regina were the loveliest couples until Regina allegedly dumped his broke self to marry Ned Nwoko.

    The two claimed they are best friends now but no one can really tell if that is true. Perhaps they were right when they said she can never get over him.

    The last time we heard, Akwapim Poloo claimed she was in a love relationship with him.

     

    View this post on Instagram

     

    Happy birthday to you soma….. you know I wish you the best in life…. keep soaring High @adinmasomadina

    A post shared by Regina Daniels (@regina.daniels) on

    Source: GhanaCelebrities.Com

  • South Sudan frees 85 children to decongest jails

    The United Nations says 85 children have been released from detention in South Sudan as part of efforts to ease crowding in jails during the coronavirus pandemic.

    Some 11 others will remain in prison because of the severity of their alleged offences.

    The UN Children’s Fund said those who had been freed were reunited with their parents or legal guardians.

    It said prisons in South Sudan are overcrowded, with inadequate sanitation and healthcare – conditions highly conducive to the spread of Covid-19.

    The country does not have a juvenile justice system, with many children locked in jail with adults, often for minor offences.

    Source: bbc.com