Togbe Afede XIV, the Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State and President of Asogli Traditional Area was given the name James Akpo at birth. He was born on 23 April 1957. He is a twin whose twin brother Philip died at an early age.
The great chief was born to Corporal Patrick Akpo and Madam Rose Anyawoe in who in the Volta region.
Togbe Afede XIV is a product of Labone Secondary School in Accra where he excelled in the GCE “A” Level examination in 1976.
He however began his education at Ho Bankoe Roman Catholic Boys School in 1961 and then entered Kpedze Secondary School in 1969, successfully completing his GCE “O” Level in 1974.
Togbe Afede XIV is an alumnus of University of Ghana where he obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration qualification in Accounting in 1979. He also holds an MBA from the Yale School of Management in 1989.
Otumfuo Nana Osei Tutu II
Born Nana Barima Kwaku Duah on 6th May 1950, he rose to become the 16th Asantehene, when he was enstooled on 26 April 1999 and took the kingly title Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
He is the third son and youngest of the five children (three sons and two daughters) of Nana Afia Kobi Serwaa Ampem II, Asantehemaa (Queen-mother of the Ashanti) and his father Nana Kwame Boakye-Dankwa, who was from Kantinkyere in Ashanti and was also the Brehyia Duke of Asante. Nana Kwame Boakye-Dankwa died on 1st January 2002, in Kumasi, Ashanti.
Otumfuo is a product of the Sefwi Wiaso Secondary School where he obtained his ‘O’ Level and was taught by the late Omanhene of Sefwi Wiawso, Nana Kwadwo Aduhene II who was a cousin of Otumfuo’s guardian uncle, Oheneba Mensah Bonsu, Hiahene.
He also attended the Osei Kyeretwie Secondary School (OKESS). He studied accountancy studies at the erstwhile Institute of Professional Studies, which is today known as University of Professional Studies in Accra.
He then enrolled at the Polytechnic of North London (now London Metropolitan University), where he earned the Diploma in Management and Administration. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the university at a ceremony at the Barbican Centre on 11 January 2006.
Okyenhene Amoatia Ofori Panin
The current Okyenhene Amoatia Ofori Panin had his secondary education at the Abuakwa State College in the Eastern Region. He was born on the 10th October, 1952 as Odehyie Kwame Boakye Ofori Atta to Nana Yaw Boakye and Odehye Abena Akoto into the Asona clan in ER.
He ascended the throne on October 4th, 1999, after the passing of his predecessor.
Okyenhene Amoatia Ofori Panin also attended the Oxford University in UK, where he studied Political science and administration.
He is the 35th King to have ascended the throne referred to as the Ofori Panin Stool.
To become the president of Ghana is the zenith of politics in this country, but getting there is not much of a walk in the park.
Even for those who have ever won the presidency before, the ability to stay for the two constitutionally-permitted terms (a total of 8 years) gives them an even better upper hand over their peers.
That has been the case for the sitting president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and only two of his predecessors: Flt. Lt. Jerry John Rawlings and John Agyekum Kufuor.
All the other remaining presidents in the Fourth Republic of Ghana have only completed one term of four years, except for John Dramani Mahama, who is seeking another mandate to complete a four-year term, and to boast of a few other months in addition to his reign – this was after he took over the presidency upon the death of John Evans Atta Mills.
But Ghana could have had even more presidents.
The only problem with the possibility is that all of those candidates were never able to convince the Ghanaian electorates enough to give them their votes.
GhanaWeb takes a look back at the personalities who fall within this bracket, as well as the political parties they represented during their attempts to become president of Ghana.
The following list is in no particular order.
Dr. Edward Mahama:
Dr. Edward Mahama was at the People’s National Convention (PNC) in 2016.
George Aggudey:
George Aggudey was the 2004 presidential candidate of the Convention People’s Party (CPP).
Thomas Ward-Brew
Thomas Ward-Brew was the presidential candidate of the Democratic People’s Party (DPP) in the 2008 elections.
Dr. Paa Kwesi Nduom:
Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom is a three-time failed presidential candidate who stood on the tickets of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and his own party, the Progressive People’s Party (CPP).
Hassan Ayariga:
Hassan Ayariga was a one-time presidential candidate of the People’s National Convention in 2012, and then again on the ticket of his party, the All People’s Congress (APC) in 2020.
He is an accountant, entrepreneur and a politician.
Michael Abu Sakara Foster:
Michael Abu Sakara Foster was the presidential candidate of the Convention People’s Party (CPP) in the 2012 general polls.
He is an agronomist and politician.
Akwasi Addai Odike:
Akwasi Addai Odike is a Ghanaian businessman and politician.
He was the presidential candidate of the United Front Party (UFP) in the 2012 general elections.
Jacob Osei Yeboah:
Known famously as JOY, Jacob Osei Yeboah contested as an independent candidate in the 2012 and 2016 elections.
He is also the first independent candidate to stand for president in the fourth republic.
Henry Herbert Lartey:
Henry Herbert Lartey was the candidate of the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP) in the 2012 general elections.
He replaced his father, Daniel Augustus Lartey, as the leader of party.
Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings:
Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings was the First Lady of Ghana from June 4, 1979, to September 1979, and from December 31, 1981, to January 7, 2001.
Both times were under the presidency of Jerry John Rawlings, her husband.
In 2016, she became the first woman to run as president in Ghana, on the back of her break away political party, the National Democratic Party (NDP).
Ivor Greenstreet:
Born on May 31, 1966, Ivor Kobina Greenstreet was the presidential candidate for the Convention People’s Party (CPP) in the 2020 general elections.
He is the first physically-challenged person to run for president of Ghana.
Asiedu Walker:
Asiedu Walker was an independent presidential candidate in the 2020 elections.
Christian Kwabena Andrews:
Popularly known as Osofo Kyiri Abosom, Christian Kwabena Andrews stood on the ticket of his party, the Ghana Union Movement, as presidential candidate in 2020.
Brigitte Dzogbenuku:
Brigitte Dzogbenuku was one of the few female faces that appeared on ballot sheets for a presidential poll in Ghana. She was a former beauty queen, who won Miss Ghana 1990.
During the 2020 general elections, she was the presidential candidate for the Progressive People’s Party (PPP).
Akua Donkor:
Akua Donkor is the founder and leader of the Ghana Freedom Party (GFP).
She appeared on the presidential ballot sheet in 2020.
Marricke Kofi Gane:
Also known as Kofi Ghana, Marricke Kofi Gane was an independent candidate in the 2020 general elections.
He is a management consultant, Chartered Accountant, a public speaker, and a book author.
Kwasi Busumbru:
People’s Action Party
Kofi Akpaloo:
Kofi Akpaloo is a Ghanaian politician and the leader of the Liberal Party of Ghana.
He was the party’s presidential candidate for the 2020 general elections.
David Apasera:
Daavid Apasera was the presidential candidate of the People’s National Convention (PNC) in the 2020 general elections of Ghana.
He was once a Member of Parliament for Bolgatanga in the Upper East region between 2001 and 2009.
The Ghana Aids commission continues to express worry over the low usage of condoms by the general population, especially during festive periods.
The Director General of the Ghana AIDS Commission, Dr. Kyeremeh Atuahene tells GHOne news Nadima Umar Uthman that the perception that casual sex without a condom is better, continuous to lead a lot people especially the youth astray.
In the first half of 2022 alone, 23,495 people tested positive for HIV.
However, over one hundred thousand persons are living with HIV without having been tested or on any form of treatment.
The festive season is often a time for people to make merry and break away from ironclad routines.
But as people celebrate, sex cannot be removed from the equation.
The Ghana AIDS commission says more people are having casual sex than ever before.
Director General of the Ghana AIDS Commission, Dr. Kyeremeh Atuahene says eighty percent of all HIV infections are through risky sexual behaviors like casual sexual encounters such as hookups, booty calls, and one-night stands.
“Casual heterosexual sex contributes to over 70 percent of all new HIV infections, but people still continue to engage in casual sex without condoms. Sex is fun but whiles having fun, remain cautious.’’
Kwaku Ankomah is the pharmacist in charge of the lesson pharmacy. He says there has been a reduction in condom sales compared to last year.
‘’Sales are quite low compared to December last year. Every month we sell about fifty packs of condoms but this month, it is less than ten. I think we need to up the advocacy.’’
Previously, the commission would embark on mass condom distributions, testing and advocacy during festive seasons like Christmas in all regions across the country. However, none of these activities have taken place this year as the commission says it lacks resources.
Funding from donor partners has significantly reduced over the period, a situation which continues to affect advocacy campaigns the commission intends to embark on.
“We are calling on all Ghanaians to come to the aid of the AIDS commission financially as this should be a collaborative effort between all stakeholders.”
As the New Year approaches, Ghanaians are advised to remain cautious and adopt healthy sexual lifestyles if the country is to end the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat by 2030.
A former secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Tain constituency, Adama Coulibaly, has described Ghanaians as ungrateful.
He said Ghanaians are ungrateful because they have failed to commend the government following the appreciation of the cedi against the dollar, and reduction of fuel prices, among other things.
He claimed that Ghanaians slammed President Akufo-Addo when the cedi fell against the dollar and food prices skyrocketed.
They have, however, refused to commend the President after things have stabilized. Ghanaians must come out in support of the President. Those who attacked him on social media should go back and commend him for what he is doing,” he added.
He believed that while Ghanaians had various opinions about the government when things were bad, they should also praise it when efforts were made to alleviate the problems.
According to him, he was taken aback by Ghanaians’ silence now that things are improving in the country, but when things were worse, people were insulting the government.
Member of Parliament for Atwima Kwanwoma, Kofi Amankwa-Manu has said that contrary to perceptions that the current Parliament is good for Ghana, the hung Parliament is actually not ideal for the country.
According to him, the current system in Parliament prevents the realization of the full benefits of a hung Parliament.
He noted that the whip system which is to ensure that members of Parliament are almost always on the side of their party does not allow for the benefit of Hung Parliament.
Speaking in an Oyerepa FM interview, the MP said that the whip system prevents the MPs from executing their jobs independently and effectively.
He said that hung parliament will be beneficial for Ghana if the whip system is removed and MPs are at liberty to support the opposing side.
“I agree with the school of thought that Hung Parliament is not good for Ghana. It is certainly not the best. The country has not gotten to the point where a hung parliament is good for the country.
“There are certain things in Parliament I disagree. I disagree with the whip system. Whipping me in line basically means that I’m blockheaded and have no mind of my own. I disagree because this system does not make you grow. It prevents you from being independent.
“We must get to a situation where you must be able to disagree with your government. When the country gets to that level and we have a hung parliament, I’d go for it but currently if certain individuals disagree with government, they can’t come out to say it because they are being whipped,” he said.
Ghana’s eighth Parliament currently has 137 MPs on either side with an independent candidate who has chosen to do business with NPP caucus making them the majority group in Parliament.
Whereas the government has had its way with the passage of E-levy, VAT Amendment Bill and others, the Minority caucus has also chalked some successes including the shooting down of the budgetary allocation for the National Cathedral.
A 32-year-old National Security Operative and two others have been put before an Accra Circuit Court for possessing a pump action gun without lawful authority.
The gun was allegedly concealed in a car during a snap check conducted by the Police on December 25, this year at Osu in Accra.
The accused persons are Dawood Akwasi Agyemang, the National Security Operative and a Chief, Chris Mawunyo Oteiku, a 28-year-old trader, and Joshua Kwame Gbeti, a 27-year-old entrepreneur.
Charged with possessing firearms without lawful authority, the accused persons have pleaded not guilty.
The court presided over by Mrs Evelyn Asamoah has admitted them to bail in the sum of GHC250,000 with three sureties.
The sureties are to be public servants earning not less than GHC3,000 a month. The court further ordered the accused persons to be reporting to the Police every first Wednesday in a month until directed otherwise.
The matter has been adjourned to January 12, 2023.
Earlier, counsels for the accused persons took turns to argue for bail saying they were not flight risk, had fixed places of abode and had people of substance ready to stand as sureties for them.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Maxwell Oppong opposed to the grant of bail saying documents covering the weapon were not genuine and that the weapon had been fired severally.
ASP Oppong told the Court that the Police would like to take fingerprints of the accused persons to ascertain if they marched with what the Police had in their system.
The prosecution further held that there were other weapons that were found in the car of the accused persons.
It said during a search, the police found clubs, nails among others in the car. The prosecution recounted how people had been using flashlights on their vehicles illegally to outwit the Police, adding “it takes experienced police officers to fish such people out.”
Narrating the facts of the case, the prosecution said on December 25, this year, at about 0140 hours, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and some members of the Police Management Board visited the Oxford Street at Osu to interact with the public.
The prosecution said during the interaction, some Police officers spotted the accused Chris Otieku, who was driving a blue-black Toyota Tundra with registration number WY 1088-20, driving with security flashlights.
The prosecution told the court that “this attracted the attention of the officers and the vehicle was quickly intercepted”.
During a search in the car, it said, a pump action gun with serial number PS 33743 was found concealed in the vehicle.
The prosecution said Otieku and Joshua Kwame Gbeti who were in the vehicle were arrested and sent to the Cantonment Police Station.
During investigations, the prosecution said Dawood Akwasi Agyemang, a National Security Operative showed up and produced documents of the pump action gun, but they were detected to be invalid.
The prosecution said Agyemang who also claimed ownership of the gun was arrested.
Government has assured road contractors across the country that it will continue to work in their interest to ensure prompt payments of the debts owed them.
According to Government, it will pay “a chunk” of the debts before the end of 2022.
Speaking at the festival of lessons and carols held by the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), in collaboration with the Ministry of Roads and Highways, Sector Minister, Kwasi Amoako-Atta said:
“Contractors of this country are doing a yeoman’s job despite all the difficulties, and I want to assure them that government will continue to work in their interest and all their outstanding payments from now onwards will be done from time to time”.
He noted that: “A chunk of outstanding (payments) are going to be effected before the end of the year and it will continue.”
The Minister further appealed to persons living in areas that are yet to benefit from government’s road development to be patient.
“The people deserve to have good roads.”
“I appeal to all those who haven’t had their turn to be patient and calm,” the Minister said.
The Chief Operations Officer at Dalex Finance, Mr. Joe Jackson, has reiterated calls to the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to cut down the size of his government instead of a planned reshuffle.
Mr. Jackson made the call through his Twitter handle.
“Dear HE Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, we need a reduction, not a reshuffle! Please cut the size of government significantly.#BrokeGhana#HardDecisions #FiscalDiscipline,” he tweeted.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, according to the Chief Operations Officer at Dalex Finance, must immediately reduce the number of appointees serving in his government.
In the view of Mr. Jackson, the country can no longer afford to pay for the number of appointees; hence, the government must be downsized.
The Chief Operations Officer at Dalex Finance’s call is in reaction to reports in a section of the media that President Akufo-Addo will be reshuffling his ministers.
In the next 72 hours, the year 2022 would officially be over and the dawn of 2023 will be heralded in but that has not completely ruled out everything that can be done in this year.
Having been a generally difficult year for many people, many may wonder what they can do with very little money, especially too as the year grinds to an end soon.
And besides, let us not forget that the first month of every new year comes with its own mysteries – one that many believe is the longest month of the year due to several superstitious reasons.
The fact that in January, most people would have lavished all their monies on the Christmas holidays and only come to the realisation that there is a whole month ahead of them where they might have to live on almost nothing, makes the matter an even more difficult one.
If proper financial planning is not put in place, it compounds the situation even more for people.
GhanaWeb has however devised a strategy around how you can have little and still be able to manage it within a very short period.
So, have you wondered what you can do adequately do with an amount of GH¢100 in 3 days? This question must be placed in perspective as the present is when standards of living are very high.
With GH¢100, instead of stepping out these holidays to eat, you can visit the market and consider a stay-at-home plan that will see you making your own food to eat.
It doesn’t have to be an elaborate meal, much as the temptations of the period could demand it. Sometimes, little is more and there would not be the need to prove any kind of point to anyone with a ‘show off.’
In more specific terms, you can, for instance, prepare stew (which should not exceed GH¢50, provided you have to buy oil).
But corn dough for GH¢10 that you can use to prepare banku. That leaves you with GH¢40, from which you can buy bread at GH¢15, leaving you with a balance of GH¢25.
For the next three days, if you prepare to have any beverage for breakfast, you can get some GH¢9 for either Hausa koko or any of tea replacement.
With GH¢16 left on you, you can now decide to commit it into purchasing mobile data on your phone just so you are in touch with the social world. It can also be a perfect backup for you in case you really, badly have to contact an emergency contact for some urgent financial support.
And just in case you are not a banku person, you can either cook a cup of plain rice, buy some kenkey, or get yourself some gari from the shop nearby and prepare your own eba at home.
At the end of it all, the aim is to stay alive and what you put into your stomach may not mean much to most people as long as you are satisfied so, live within your means.
Don’t forget that January comes and there can be no certain projection on how well or not it will get for anyone until the next salaries come through, but you can play smart and stay alive.
The Ghana AIDS Commission has said it has spent $323.7 million on HIV/AIDS-related activities in the last three years.
According to the Commission, the total HIV/AIDS-related expenditure for 2019, 2020, and 2021 will be $88,648,568, $107,280,242, and $127,828,300, respectively.
Director General of the Ghana AIDS Commission, Dr Kyeremeh Atuahene, who disclosed this, also revealed that the spending for the years mentioned came from the government, the private sector, and international donors.
Dr. Atuahene stated this during the launch and distribution of the National AIDS Spending Assessment (NASA) report for 2019-2021.
NASA is a comprehensive and systemic resource tracking method for HIV/AIDS programmes that describes the financial flow, actual disbursements, and expenditures.
The report is hinged on three dimensions, including financing, provision, and consumption, and the overall estimates of the expenditures of the public, private sectors, and international donors on the national HIV and AIDS response.
Some principal streets in Accra have been taken over by filth shortly after the three-day Christmas holidays, the Ghana News Agency observed during a tour of some streets of the capital on Tuesday.
However, the sanitation situation was better on some streets around the Ministries, Independence Square, areas near the Accra Psychiatric Hospital and Holy spirit Cathedral, and Osu Oxford Street.
Though measures have been put in place to ensure proper sanitation in the city during the festive season in line with the Government’s vision of making Accra the cleanest city in Africa, filth continues to remain a challenge in the capital.
Madam Akosua Oteng, a street vendor around the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange, attributed the garbage heaps on the streets to pedestrians, who litter indiscriminately and evening traders who dump their garbage during the night.
“Those who dump here are often passers-by and some traders. When you confront them, they tell you that Zoomlion will come and sweep,” she said.
She further stated how the various Assemblies had refused to do their jobs hence causing the practice to be perpetuated with impunity. She said this was a bad attitude that needed to change.
Adwoa Amankwa Boadi, a food vendor at the Kaneshie market, attributed the delay in emptying rubbish bins at the market as one of the causes for poor sanitation and the habit of littering, which she said had increased during the festive season.
Madam Boadi was more concerned with the choked underground drains that had not been desilted for a long time, which she said could end causing flooding and disease outbreak with the slightest rain.
“The pile of rubbish since we hit December has increased because a lot of people have flocked to town to trade and shop. Though rubbish bins have been provided, they are usually not emptied on time so there is always a spillage which end up in the underground drain which is already choked. What I am afraid now is flooding when it rains and a cholera outbreak”, She said.
Evans Boakye, a coconut seller at the Tema Station, was not surprised at the level of filth that had engulfed the surroundings, as according to him, this had always been the trend and increases during the yuletide.
For him, the solution to the problem is for traders, passengers, and drivers to cease the habit of littering and for the Assemblies to enforce the byelaws on sanitation.
Festus, a driver nearby, agreed with him that an attitude change was a prerequisite for cleanliness but, more stringent actions such as the arrest and prosecution of sanitation offenders needed to be applied.
Poor sanitation, according to a 2012 desk study carried out by the Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) and published by the World Bank costs Ghana more than US$290 million each year, an equivalent of US$12 per person in Ghana per year or 1.6 per cent of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
In 2017, the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo pledged to make Accra the neatest and best city in Africa by the end of his first term of office.
However, for more than two years into his second administration, the issue of Sanitation continues to remain a challenge in the country, particularly in Cosmopolitan areas such as Accra, Kumasi among other urban areas with huge populations.
At least 14 people have been killed and 24 others injured after a vehicle ploughed into crowds watching bikers at a popular carnival in Nigeria’s southern port city of Calabar.
Eyewitnesses said that a speeding driver lost control of the car.
Pictures shared online in the immediate aftermath of the incident show bodies strewn across the street.
The month-long annual carnival, which features several events, has become a big draw since it was launched in 2004.
Dubbed Africa’s biggest street party, it attracts local and foreign tourists throughout December.
Tuesday’s incident took place during the popular bikers’ parade on one of the major carnival routes which had been closed to vehicle traffic.
The event features riders, including celebrities, from across the country, some adorned in colourful costumes, performing stunts.
The police said a drunk driver – who has been arrested – had lost control of the car and ploughed into the crowd.
Cross River State Governor Prof Ben Ayade cancelled the rest of the bikers’ parade and called for an immediate investigation.
Other events planned for the rest of the carnival – which is set to end on New Year’s Eve with a fireworks display – have not been cancelled.
Hong Kong is dropping almost all its Covid restrictions this week, following a similar move by mainland China.
From Thursday, people arriving in the city – a special administrative region of China – will no longer have to do mandatory PCR tests.
The vaccine pass system will also be scrapped – but compulsory masks in public places will continue.
It is a dramatic move by the city, which once had some of the toughest restrictions in the world.
Also being scrapped from Thursday is the rule that limits the number of people allowed to gather outside to 12.
This was increased from four people in October as part of measures to begin reopening the city.
Hong Kong’s leader, John Lee, cited high vaccine rates as one of the reasons for lifting restrictions.
According to government figures, 93% of the population have had two vaccine does, while more than 83% have received three.
Unlike mainland China, which has developed its own vaccines, Hong Kong has also used mRNA vaccines – including the BioNTech jab made in Germany – that have been shown to be more effective.
“Hong Kong has a sufficient amount of medicine to fight Covid, and healthcare workers have gained rich experience in facing the pandemic,” Mr Lee said on Wednesday.
“The society has established a relatively extensive and overall anti-epidemic barrier.”
Mr Lee added that instead of the vaccine pass, which has limited access to public places for unvaccinated since it was introduced in February, the city would take “more targeted measures” – including promoting vaccination for the elderly and children.
More than 11,000 people have died with Covid in Hong Kong, according to official numbers, from more than 2.5m cases.
Since the pandemic began, the city has largely followed mainland China’s lead in efforts to tackle the virus, including attempts to eliminate it with a “zero-Covid” strategy.
This has been criticised by some residents and business owners – who said the policy damaged Hong Kong’s economy and international standing.
The scrapping of the Hong Kong’s Covid restrictions comes weeks after mainland China made a similar move following landmark protests against the strict controls.
On Monday and Tuesday, Beijing announced further plans to ease travel restrictions. Hong Kong has said that it will fully reopen its borders with the rest of China before mid-January.
The mainland is currently experiencing a surge in cases, with reports suggesting hospitals are overwhelmed and elderly people are dying.
Hong Kong is part of China and is governed by the “one country, two systems” principle, but Beijing has tightened control in recent years.
The US is considering imposing new Covid restrictions on Chinese arrivals, after Beijing announced it would reopen its borders next month.
American officials say this is due to a lack of transparency surrounding the virus in China, as cases surge.
Japan, Malaysia and Taiwan – worried at importing Covid cases – have already outlined tighter measures for Chinese travellers, including negative tests.
Beijing has said Covid rules should be brought in on a “scientific” basis.
India is also stepping up measures for Chinese arrivals, but this was announced before Beijing said it would relax its strict border policy.
Passport applications for Chinese citizens wishing to travel internationally will resume from 8 January, the country’s immigration authorities have said.
Travel sites have reported a spike in traffic, leaving some countries fearful over the potential spread of Covid.
“There are mounting concerns in the international community on the ongoing Covid-19 surges in China and the lack of transparent data, including viral genomic sequence data,” US officials said in a statement quoted by news agencies.
Wang Wenbin, China’s foreign minister spokesperson, subsequently accused Western countries and media of “hyping up” and “distorting China’s Covid policy adjustments”.
He said China believed all countries’ Covid responses should be “science-based and proportionate”, and should “not affect normal people-to-people exchange”.
Mr Wang called for “joint efforts to ensure safe cross-border travel, maintain stability of global industrial supply chains and promote economic recovery and growth”.
The true toll of daily cases and deaths in China is unknown because officials have stopped releasing this data. Reports say hospitals are overwhelmed and elderly people are dying.
Last week, Beijing reported about 4,000 new Covid infections each day and few deaths.
Before the relaxation of travel rules, people were strongly discouraged from travelling abroad. The sale of outbound group and package travel was banned, according to marketing solutions company Dragon Trail International.
Within half an hour of Monday’s notice that China’s borders would reopen, data from travel site Trip.com – cited in Chinese media – showed searches for popular destinations had increased ten-fold on last year.
Macau, Hong Kong, Japan, Thailand and South Korea were the most popular destinations.
Separately on Wednesday, Hong Kong’s leader John Lee announced that his city was scrapping the last of its Covid rules almost immediately – apart from the wearing of face masks, which will remain compulsory.
“The city has reached a relatively high vaccination rate which builds an anti-epidemic barrier,” Mr Lee told a media briefing.
The US still requires international travellers to show proof of being fully vaccinated against Covid on entering the country.
The website for the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also recommends that anyone travelling to the US gets a Covid test beforehand and has their result to hand – but this is not a legal obligation.
In their statement, the unnamed US officials added they were “following the science and advice of public health experts” and “consulting with partners”.
China’s loosening of travel measures – the last part of the country’s controversial zero-Covid policy – follows weeks of unrest which saw people take to the streets in rare protests against President Xi Jinping and his government.
A British woman has been stabbed to death during a break-in at her home in Australia.
Emma Lovell, 41, originally from the Ipswich area, died after confronting intruders at her home in North Lakes, Brisbane, on Boxing Day night, police said.
Her husband Lee Lovell, 43, who was also stabbed, described his wife as the “glue to our family”.
Two boys, aged 17, have been charged with murder.
Mr Lovell, whose injuries were non-life threatening, told reporters his family was “devastated”.
Image caption, The fatal stabbing took place at the Lovell’s home near Brisbane
“Emma was the glue to our family,” he said
“She was such a beautiful person. We’re all just devastated from her loss.
“It’s senseless. I don’t know what people do it for.”
The Lovells have two daughters.
Mr Lovell, who is also from the Ipswich area, shared photographs on social media of them all together at a nearby Sunshine Coast beach on Christmas Day.
Image caption, People have left floral tributes outside the Lovell’s Brisbane home
In a statement, the Queensland Police Service (QPS) said an altercation took place inside an address in Whitfield Crescent at 23:30 UTC and “moved outside to the front yard”.
“Two offenders fled on foot prior to police arrival,” it said, and “investigators, with the assistance of the dog squad, located four teenagers at a nearby location just before 04:00” on 27 December.
Two 17-year-old boys, one from Holland Park and the other Zillmere, the QPS said, were charged with one count each of murder, attempted murder and entering a dwelling with intent in company.
Both have been denied police bail and were due to appear in the Brisbane Children’s Court.
A 17-year-old boy and a 16-year-old boy continue to assist police with inquiries, the force said.
Thirteen-year-old Nika Selivanova made a heart shape with both her hands, waving goodbye to her best friend Inna who was pressed up against the glass partition that divided the entrance hall of Kherson’s train station from the waiting area.
Moments earlier, they’d hugged, tears welling up in their eyes. Inna had kissed Asia, a tan dachshund dog wrapped up in a warm blanket, carried by Nika in her arms.
The girls didn’t know when they might see each other again.
Nika’s family was leaving Kherson, not sure of where they would end up eventually. For now, they were heading to the western city of Khmelnytskyi, hoping they would get some help there.
The past few days in Kherson had simply been too much for Nika’s mother Elena.
“Before, they [Russian forces] shelled us seven to 10 times a day, now it’s 70-80 times, all day long. It’s too scary.” Elena said. “I love Ukraine and my dear city. But we have to go.”
Elena and her three daughters are among more than 400 people who have left Kherson since Christmas Day, after a sharp increase in the intensity of the bombardment of the city by the Russian military.
On Tuesday, a hospital maternity ward was shelled. No-one was hurt but it has further escalated fear among people.
Elena left by train, in an evacuation facilitated by the Ukrainian government.
Image caption, These cars were driving out of Kherson on Christmas morning
Hundreds of people are leaving on their own, a queue of cars building up at the checkpoint leading out of Kherson, filled with terrified civilians.
Iryna Antonenko was in tears when we walked up to her car to speak to her.
‘We can’t take it anymore. The shelling is so intense. We stayed this whole time and thought it would pass and that we would be lucky. But a strike hit the house next to ours, and my father’s home was also shelled,” she said.
She planned to travel to Kryvyi Rih, a city in central Ukraine where she has family.
Image caption, This image shows the aftermath of one of many strikes which hit Kherson on 24 December
Just last month, there had been jubilant scenes in Kherson. Taken by Russian forces on the second day of the invasion, the city was liberated on 11 November.
Close to the spot where masses had gathered waving Ukrainian flags to celebrate being freed from Russian control, a mortar attack on Christmas Eve left eleven dead, and dozens injured.
Among the dead were a social worker, a butcher and a woman selling mobile Sim cards – ordinary people working at or visiting the city’s central market.
That day, Kherson was hit by mortars 41 times, according to the Ukrainian government.
The Russians are firing from the left (east) bank of the Dnipro river, where they withdrew to; the waterway has become a de facto frontline in the south of Ukraine.
Kherson is a strategically important region, often called the gateway to Crimea. Many analysts say that Russia has now been forced into a defensive position here.
It’s hard to see what it hopes to gain from the pounding of Kherson. In addition to mortar shells, we have also seen incendiary munitions being used – fiery sparks raining down on the city, intended to set fire to targets.
It’s also unclear if the Ukrainian military is attempting to take back control of areas on the left bank of the river.
Here in the city, there’s barely ever a break from the constant sound of mortar shell attacks.
Serhii Breshun, 56, was killed when he was asleep. His home collapsed on him after a shell hit it.
Image caption, Serhii’s passport was retrieved from the ruins of his home
The day after he died, we met his mother, 82-year-old Tamara, who had come to search for his passport in the rubble. She needed the document to get his body released from the morgue.
“I must have had a sense that something would go wrong that day. Because I spoke to him [over the phone] and urged him to leave the house. He didn’t and that was it. Our lives have been ruined,” she wept.
We’d barely finished talking to her, and there were more loud explosions.
The elderly mother’s lone pursuit to give her son a dignified farewell is a dangerous one, because no part of Kherson is safe.
Image caption, Tamara, 82, must now bury her son
Surviving here, whether out in a street or inside a home, is a matter of chance.
Thirty-nine-year-old Red Cross volunteer Viktoria Yaryshko was killed in a mortar shell explosion just outside the organisation’s base in Kherson, a few feet away from safety.
Her mother Liudmyla Berezhna showed us the medal of honour Viktoria was given.
“I’m very happy she helped a lot of people. She was so kind. But it’s also painful for me. I must recover and raise her two children. I tell them they should be proud of their mother because she is a hero,” she said.
Image caption, Viktoria was a Red Cross volunteer and the mother of two children
Viktoria had been living in the underground shelter of the Red Cross with her two children – 17-year-old Alyonushka and 12-year-old Sasha. They continue to live there, feeling comfort and protection amidst a group of volunteers who’ve become family.
‘When someone so close dies, it is difficult. But if we give up and stop, then her death would have been in vain. We work to make sure people live. Everything else is secondary,” said Dmitro Rakitskyi, Viktoria’s friend and another volunteer.
But it’s hard to do that knowing your own family could be in danger every minute.
When a few moments later, more bombs go off, Dmitro paces up and down trying to call his wife, tension visible on his face. He has two children.
“They don’t want to leave. They worry about me, and I worry about them. That’s how we live,” he said.
Image caption, Dmitro, a friend of Viktoria’s, knows he and his family remain at risk in Kherson
“What makes me most angry is that they [Russian forces] always hit civilian infrastructure. Houses, apartment blocks, boiler rooms. It’s impossible to understand the logic behind these attacks,” Dmitro said.
“We almost never have power or water. It comes briefly sometimes and is gone again because of shelling. It’s very scary at night. We still have gas though, and are able to stay warm,” one resident, Larysa Revtova, said.
Tens of thousands of civilians are still living in Kherson, but at least twice this week the regional administration has urged them to leave.It is a city haunted by relentless and indiscriminate attacks.
The UN Security Council has denounced Taliban government policies targeting women and girls in Afghanistan.
The 15-member Security Council said it was “deeply alarmed” by the increasing restrictions on women’s education.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the latest restrictions “must be revoked”.
A statement from the Council called for the “full, equal, and meaningful participation of women and girls in Afghanistan”.
It urged the Taliban “to reopen schools and swiftly reverse these policies and practices, which represents an increasing erosion for the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
The ban on female humanitarian workers “would have a significant and immediate impact for humanitarian operations in country”, including for the UN, it added.
Mr Guterres said that the latest restrictions were “unjustifiable human rights violations”.
“Actions to exclude and silence women and girls continue to cause immense suffering and major setbacks to the potential of the Afghan people,” he wrote on Twitter.
At least five top NGOs halted work in Afghanistan after women were banned from working for them by the Taliban government.
Care International, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and Save the Children said they could not continue their work “without our female staff”.
The International Rescue Committee also suspended services while Islamic Relief said it was stopping most of its work.
The Taliban last week arrested five women taking part in a protest in the Afghan capital, Kabul, over the ban on female education. Three journalists were also arrested.
Since seizing back control of the country last year, the Taliban have steadily restricted women’s rights – despite promising their rule would be softer than the regime seen in the 1990s.
As well as the bans on NGO workers and female university students – in the case of students, now being enforced by armed guards – secondary schools for girls remain closed in most provinces.
Women have also been prevented from entering parks and gyms, among other public places.
Bekwai Circuit Court in Ashanti Region presided over by His Honour Mark Diboro has sentenced a 31-year-old farmer, Michael Nhyira Cobbina to 20 years imprisonment in hard labour for robbing a woman of her itel mobile phone worth GH¢500.
Michael Nhyira Cobina was convicted on his plea of guilty to offence of robbery.
The prosecutor, Chief Inspector Eric Twum told the court that the complaint Bernice Yeboah and the convict live in Aduabin community in the Bosomtwi district in the Ashanti region.
One Thursday, December 1, 2022 at about 9:00pm, Michael Nhyira Cobbina, armed with knife attacked the complainant who was sleeping with her two children in a room.
The traumatized children started screaming for help but could not be heard due to the remoteness of the house.
Under knife point the convict threatened and demanded the complainant to give him money but the complainant had no money hence gave him her itel mobile phone which contained GH¢2000 e-cash in mobile wallet.
Days later, a witness in the case who bought the mobile phone for the complaint saw the wife of the accused in possession of same stolen phone.
The witness gave the complainant a tip off which she quickly reported the case at Feyiase police station on December 8, 2022.
Police trailed and retrieved the mobile phone. A search on the phone saw the pictures of Michael Nhyira Cobbina together with his wife.
Cobbina was immediately arrested by the Police.
He admitted robbing the woman during interrogation and led police to his room to hand over exhibits.
Michael Nhyira Cobina was charged with robbery contrary to section 149 of the criminal offences Act, Act 29 of 1960 and arraigned.
Prof Godfred Bokpin, an Economist and Finance Lecturer at the University of Ghana, has called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to as a matter of urgency reduce the size of his government.
According to him, if the president thinks he will not be able to manage Ghana’s economy with at most 40 ministers of state, he should step down.
He added that some ministers and their ministries have become idle and should be merged to other ministries, myjoyonline.com reports.
“As a matter of urgency, a reduction in the size of ministers… if our President cannot govern with less than 40 ministers and the other reforms, he should resign and give Ghana a chance.
“.. with the number of ministers and associated calls, State Owned Enterprises, new agencies being created, some of them are actually not doing anything but their lifestyles are loaded on the public purse,” Prof Bokpin is quoted to have said on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Friday.
The Economist added that the president must also temporarily suspend some emoluments given to political office holders including ex-gratia.
He reiterated that if President Akufo-Addo wants Ghanaians to sacrifice to help the country get out of the current economic situation he must lead by example by cutting the government’s expenditure drastically.
Bismark Boateng, the chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Ayawaso Central constituency, believes breaking the 8-year jinx is a possibility for the party in 2024.
The party’s chair indicated that the unprecedented achievements of President Akufo-Addo will make it easier for the NPP to win the 2024 general elections.
According to him, what the party needs are to unite its front, avoid the infightings and any differences and unite its front for victory in 2024.
In his opinion, the party should improve its communication and communicate its achievements so that Ghanaians are aware of what the president has accomplished, making it easier for them to vote for the NPP in 2024.
He was speaking on Nyankonton Mu Nsem on Rainbow Radio 87.5Fm.
He admitted that there had been some economic challenges, but the current administration is putting in measures to address these challenges.
“Breaking the eight is possible. Nothing has changed. The belief we had and the factors that gave us hope of breaking the eight have not changed. We still have hope. We are doing a lot to make this country run smoothly. We must deal with our conflicts and remain united in order to break the eight.”
Despite financial difficulties, the president is building roads. Despite the fact that we are experiencing hardship, we are seeing massive works across the country. President Akufo-Addo has accomplished much, and we are confident that we will surpass the eight-year mark as a result of his efforts.
The Ghana Physician Assistants Association (GPAA) leadership has ordered all of its members to postpone renewing their medical and dental council licenses for the upcoming year 2023.
According to them, all physician assistants should not renew their licenses for the year 2023 until the Ministry of Health comes out with modalities of getting their own regulatory body through the amendment of the Health Regulations Bodies Act, 2023 (ACT 857) with the involvement of all the key stakeholders.
Physician Assistants (PAs) are middle-level cadre in the health service delivery machinery with a level of training apt and appropriate for the basic and essential healthcare needs of the people of Ghana.
According to them, the physician assistant is so indispensable that their work gives a good blend of clinical, preventive, promotional and administrative services at rural, urban and peri-urban communities especially, where human resources are scarce, thus making the physician assistant an epitome of versatility and efficiency in human resource crises.
Speaking at a press conference in Accra, the Vice President of the Association, Emmanuel Kofi Nti said, the leadership of GPAA is highly aware of the legal implications of this decision to both practitioner and the employer but to stand by their directive to register their displeasure about the way the Medical and Dental Council has treated them since joining the Council over a decade ago.
He reiterated that the Government of Ghana through the Ministry of Health as a matter of urgency get their own regulatory body through Act 2013 (ACT 857)
Mr Nti, therefore, advised their members not to renew their licenses with the Medical and Dental Council.
In the year 2010, the Ministry of Health directed the Medical and Dental Council to temporarily regulate the practice of the Physician Assistant cadre and this regulation was subsequently backed by law with the enactment of the Health Professions Regulatory Bodies Act, 2013 (ACT 857).
Political Science lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr. Kwame Asah Asante, has warned that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s only legacy will be the Free Senior High School (SHS) programme if he fails to reshuffle his government.
Speaking in a Peace FM interview monitored by GhanaWeb, on Monday, December 26, 2022, Dr Asante said that calls for the president to sack his non-performing minister of state are long overdue.
He added that the insistence of the president on maintaining his appointees will certainly have an impact on the electoral fortunes of his party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
“There is something called political cost. If your mother is dead but you keep saying she is alive, let her resurrect for us to see. The president has been saying that his ministers are performing well but you and I know that, that is far from the truth.
“Because if they were performing well, we will not be in the current situation we find ourselves in… He should close his eyes and sack his ministers who are not performing well and bring in people who can do the job.
“He should put his feet on the ground and sack his ministers who have failed so that he will leave a legacy. So that in the future if the Free SHS is mentioned other achievements will be added to honour his name,” he said in the Twi dialect.
Every year, Ghanaians anticipate December 31 watch night services held across churches. This is because it is known as the day some renowned prophets release tall lists of prophecies for the new year.
Many Ghanaians are always eager to hear what these prophets will predict for the coming year.
2022 was a bit different because the Ghana Police Service cautioned the Christian Council that prophets who caused fear and panic with their prophecies would be arrested. This reduced the number of revelations these men of God dished out to the public.
Despite all the cautioning, in 2022, three popular prophets, Bishop Salifu Amoako, Rev Owusu Bempah, and Prophet Nigel Gaisie topped the trends with their prophecies.
As 2022 comes to an end, GhanaWeb takes a look at the prophecies by some of these prophecies that dominated headlines.
Nigel Gaisie drops prophecies about ‘Umuofia’ with details from Ghana
Prophet Nigel adopted a strategy to deliver his prophecies about Ghana without directly referring to the country.
Right before delving into his prophecies, the controversial pastor issued a disclaimer saying his prophecies will be about a nation called Umuofia and not Ghana.
Strikingly, however, were the similarities between details about the nation of Umuofia and Ghana as disclosed in his prophecies.
“I saw a heavy cloud like the cloud of darkness covering the head of state of Umuofia. Let’s take this prophecy very seriously, I saw a cloud of darkness covering the head of state of Umuofia. I saw that his deputy is using mediums to trigger the quick passing away of the head of state. I saw in the realm of the spirit that the shoe of the big man is being worn by the deputy. I saw in the nation of Umuofia that something that has happened there is about to reoccur again,” he stated.
Prophet Nigel also warned of a terror attack in the nation of Umuofia. He warned that a pending explosive attack will occur in the nation of Umuofia and that the attack will be an external one with internal collaboration.
Without mincing words, Prophet Nigel said the Lord revealed to him that former President John Dramani Mahama will win power in 2024 but warned that the current government of “Umuofia” will do everything to subvert the ballot.
“The hand of the Lord rested upon me and carried me into the election of 2024 or 2025 in the nation of Umuofia, and the Lord told me to tell them, to tell the CND people they should forget about the Ashanti Region. They should focus more on the Northern region. Because the election will be determined by these two regions. I saw a flag with red and black taking dominance. But let the CND people focus more on the northern region.
“Again, the Lord carried me in the realm and said I should say. The Lord said if the CND people of Umuofia do not wake up they will use systems and the EC and the NIA to twist the agenda and the will of the people. So let the CND people be more vigilant.
He also predicted that 2022 will be a difficult year with a famine similar to that of 1983 likely to occur. On the works of parliament, Prophet Nigel said there is a conscious effort to reduce the minority seats and added that there will be a by-election.
He also gave several prophecies about the speaker of parliament, the NPP’s internal election, and the Greater Accra Regional Minister.
He added that the current Special Prosecutor will resign just like his predecessor but issued all the prophecies alluding to the nation of Umuofia.
List of Owusu Bempah’s coded prophecies
Leader of the Glorious Word Power Ministries International, Isaac Owusu Bempah, begged his congregation to accept a proverbial edition of prophecies during the 2021 Watch Night and Cross Over event at the church headquarters in Accra.
Whiles admitting that this year’s session may not have been enjoyable as previous years due to the manner of prophecies, he tasked them to accept it as such and pray about the issues to the best of their abilities.
GhanaWeb lists a number of the proverbial prophecies that Owusu Bempah delivered during the well-attended service that ended in the wee hours of January 1, 2022.
Prayer for Parliament
Owusu Bempah requested prayers for MPs because two persons holding candlesticks clashed causing their flames to be extinguished. “We need to remember Parliament in prayers, we will remember them in prayers,” he stated.
Escalating tribal conflict
Without giving specifics or mentioning in which region, the prophet said two tribes with serious disagreements were revealed to him and the spat became a public issue and military intervention was required.” The offshoot was not palatable so we need to pray about it,” he added.
Prayers for Asanteman
“I saw darkness over Asanteman, I will pray that God intervenes,” he stated.
Prayer for people living along the coast
“We will pray for people living along the coast. I saw a man who was in the shape of water and he had walked to places inhabited by people. When he was going back, he went along with some people from the living world.
“We will pray water does not invade people,” he added.
A religious leader who travelled and never returned
“I saw a religious leader travelling, when he went he stayed on and delayed for so long and I saw nothing more about him. Prayers must go on,” he stated.
A big musician to get into trouble
Owusu Bempah announced that big musicians must be remembered especially the very prominent and popular ones.
“I saw a popular musician who is well respected and largely followed, lose his hair and I saw his bare head. He lost all his hair. We will pray for prominent musicians,” he added.
Combative Kangaroos in security uniforms
“I also saw a kangaroo wearing military attire and another in police attire fighting and all trees around were in commotion. Trees were trying to intervene but it was impossible, even after a leader tried to intervene and it came down a bit.
“(Let us pray) if not, Kangaroo in military and police attire will clash,” he stated.
Sleigh drawn by horses and donkeys crash
Owusu Bempah said he saw a sleigh with horses in lead. The eyes of the horses lights like car headlights. “I saw donkeys, horses and sleighs going at speed. The street before them rose and they entered a ditch. What emerged was bad.”
Encounter with silent destructive darkness
“I saw darkness walking and I asked where it was going and it discarded me. It refused to answer me, ‘darkness stop, what are you doing,’ it refused to respond.
“I saw darkness go and stand at a big house and cover it with its hands, whiles rising, I heard shouts and screams in the house all subsequent questions, it refused and left the land of the living. I didn’t see it again.”
In his closing remarks, he stated: “2022, if you walk well with God, you will be blessed. There will be marriage, which means the end time is almost here. The Bible says women will be given in marriage. Take good care of yourselves.”
Details of Elisha Salifu Amoako’s prophecies
During his first Sunday of 2022 service, the Founder and Leader of the Alive Chapel International, Archbishop-elect Elisha Salifu Amoako listed out some prophecies about the nations of the world.
He called for prayers to be made against a lot of deaths and major confusion.
Starting from the United States of America, right down to Ghana, the prophet told his congregation about how there have been major attacks initiated in the realms of the spirit against major personalities and groups of persons in the world.
“The angel of the Lord carried me into the nations, into the kingdoms. And the Lord said, in 2022, beginning from this month, the enemy has designed destruction and mind-boggling destruction against the world leaders. I’m talking about the present and the past. If we don’t pray for them, this year will be a year of major destructions.
“And the angel settled me in the United States and I saw a major death; a national one in the United States of America and the Lord said, ‘Son of Man, pray against this destruction against the world leaders,’ he said.
Archbishop-elect Salifu Amoako also spoke about what he said will be major deaths in India that will be occasioned by heavy rains, resulting in floods.
“And the angel settled me in the land of India. The Indian problem this year is going to be rain; rainfall will wipe away many lives. It will be heavy rainfall … with heavy floods that is destroying people. The Lord said I pray also for the nation of India,” he said.
In Africa, he began his prophecies from Nigeria, calling for prayers to be made for the pastors in the country because a wind of many deaths has been directed at them.
He also urged the actors in the country to take their prayer lives seriously otherwise they will be very surprised by the way people in the industry will die.
“Then He brought me to Africa and when I came to Africa, we settled in Nigeria. The Lord said, this year, certain high men of God need to pray in Nigeria because the enemy will kill some men of God; certain men of God, not only Nigeria too. Some men of God are going to die in Ghana; many men of God. You’d be surprised the way it’s going to happen. We need to pray.
“And I looked and I saw actors in Nigeria, and many of them, they have names, and the enemy attacked them and they started falling one after the other. The Lord says we should pray,” he said.
In Ghana, the prophet spoke to the media and the country’s lawmakers, stating that major attacks have been planned for them and that there is the need for prayers to be said for them, against all those evil.
Salifu Amoako also said that the two main political parties should be guided since a major confusion is likely to break out between them.
“Then when he brought me to Ghana, this year, all the media houses – the media houses, the media men, need to pray because they’ll be attacked and there’ll be a major occurrence of death in the sector of the media. The Lord said we should pray because the media will be attacked.
“Number two, in Ghana here, the Lord said we must pray for the parliamentarians because this year will be a year of political confusion. There will be a major confusion between NPP and NDC. I see a lot of confusion but the Lord said we should remember them in prayer,” he said
He also spoke about directly sending an information to a sitting president who needs foreknowledge on something that is to happen between now and February of 2023; prayer for the Queen of England; that a Christian will rise up to lead in Nigeria; confusion in Uganda in June; and for the former president of Cote d’Ivoire, Laurent Gbagbo to be prayed for because there is a plan to poison him since the people want him back but people in power do not.
Archbishop-elect Salifu Amoako also spoke about the world’s economies getting better, adding that in 2022, Ghana’s economy will grow by 7%, among other things.
A planned press conference by students of the Mensah Sarbarh and the Commonwealth Halls of the University of Ghana has been prevented from happening.
This is after a joint team of police personnel, and UG security prevented the aggrieved group of students from going ahead with their planned presser, GhanaWeb can confirm.
The students were to hold the press conference in protest of the decision of the management of the university to revoke accommodation and residency for continuing male students their respective halls.
The decision, captured in a statement by the school management, follows the recent clashes involving the two halls on the university campus.
In a statement signed by the Registrar of the University, the residents were to be randomly assigned to available rooms in any of the University of Ghana Enterprise Limited Hostel (UGEl) and private hostels.
The statement furthered that, continuing female students of Mensah Sarbah Hall and students with special needs in both halls will not be affected.
According to the University Council, the recommendations were from the residence and Academic Board, regarding changes to student residence arrangements and the changes were requested by the council of the University following the repeated incidences of violence involving students on campus.
“All continuing students of Commonwealth Hall and continuing male students of Mensah Sarbah Hall will not return to these halls, or to any of the traditional halls. They are to be randomly assigned to available rooms in any of the UGEL and private hostels. Continuing female students of Mensah Sarbah Hall and students with special needs in both halls will not be affected by this measure,” the statement said.
The managing editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jr has slammed the minority caucus in Parliament for not doing enough to stop the passage of the new Value Added Tax (VAT) Amendment law.
Pratt holds the view that if the minority caucus was determined to block the passage of the bill, they would have done all it takes to achieve that feat.
He compared them to the NPP MPs, stating that if it was the government that needed the bill to go through, they would have done everything possible to seal it.
“The vote on VAT, when they counted it, It was 136-135. Meaning that one NDC MP was not there to vote. We are being told that it was for medical reasons. Medical reasons can mean so many things.
“Maybe the father or aunt was sick. If she herself was not sick, then there is a problem. If the NPP was facing a critical vote like the VAT and one of them was critically ill and in surgery, they would have brought him in an ambulance, Let’s be serious.”
Parliament on Thursday, December 22,2022 passed the Vat Amendment Bill which will see a 2.5% increment on the rate.
How voting was done
Members of the Minority argued against the upward review of the VAT rate stating such a move could compound the hardship Ghanaians are already going through.
Ranking member for the Finance Committee Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson and his deputy Isaac Adongo argued the timing was wrong.
The majority MPs, however, argued that the government needs the revenue to resuscitate the economy urging the NDC MPs to support the passage of the bill.
In the end, minority chief whip Muntaka Mubarak had to call for a head count after the voice vote.
The resistance of the NDC MPs was curtailed after the process, since they could only get 135 of their members against 136 of the majority.
Reports indicate that the decision by the minority leadership to not call for a division, that would’ve required secret voting, angered the backbenchers.
The VAT vote was the only one of eight items the minority caucus opposed in the 2023 Budget that it lost.
A potential flagbearer for the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Kennedy Agyapong, has stated that if elected president, he will take steps to regularize galamsey.
Speaking in an Nsem PII TV video sighted by GhanaWeb, Ken Agyapong said that he is not going to destroy the business of galamseyers but rather provide them with the needed training and legalise their activities so that they can mine in an environmentally friendly way.
“The way galamseyers are destroying our water bodies, they should be registered under one body so that they can be regulated to make sure that they don’t destroy our forest, they don’t destroy our water bodies.
“When I come (become president), I will not say that their (the galamseyers’) work should be destroyed but we are going to regularise them, legalise their activities and give them the needed training,” he said Twi.
Ken Agyapong, the Member of Parliament for Assin Central, who was interacting with some Ghanaians in Nevada, USA, insisted that just as small-scale mining is done in America without destroying the environment, it can also be done in Ghana.
He added that allowing Ghanaians to own small-scale mining sites is better than fronting for foreigners to mine illegally.
The MP also said that one of the main reasons why galamsey is prevalent in Ghana is because there is no political will to stop it.
He added that politicians from both the NPP and the opposition, National Democratic Congress (NDC), are involved in the menace.
A specialist in family medicine at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Ghana’s Greater Accra Region, Dr. Ernest Anim-Opare, has defined the process of overcoming addiction as a long journey and a cycle.
Speaking on the GTV Breakfast Show on how to do away with or manage one’s addiction to alcohol, especially during the festive season, Dr. Anim-Opare generalised addiction as one that “needs a very meticulous process to be broken”.
He explained that for one who is addicted to either alcohol, gambling and hard drugs to break away, required, “a behavioral transition”.
According to him, the behavioral transition or cycle begins with the “precontemplation stage”. Here, he described as the stage where the individual may be hooked on something but may not be able to identify what it is or the dangers therein.
The second stage of the cycle, he termed as the “contemplation stage”. Here, the individual begins to realize the danger their deeds may have or lead them into and begin to reason into it. The third stage of the cycle, which is the “planning stage”, is where the individual plans or decides on refraining from some engagements or friends that lure or push him or her into such addictive acts.
The fourth stage of the cycle is the “action stage”. Here, Dr. Anim-Opare described as the stage where the plan of refraining from addictive acts is implemented or put to effective work. The “maintenance stage”, follows after the plan has been put into action for at least six months or more to see progress.
The last and final stage of the cycle is the “relapse stage”. This stage is where the individual after going through all the five stages explained above will have to go through guidance and counselling.
Dr. Anim-Opare described the relapse stage as one that is very essential in the breakaway process.
“The fact is that all five stages are not a linear journey but indeed a tough one.
The Ghanaian Armed Forces have reported unprovoked violent attacks on its soldiers by a number of communities in the Ashanti area, which is afflicted by illegal mining, while legitimate operations to drive away illegal gold miners, also known as “galamsey,” were underway.
The Ghana Armed Forces claims that despite the situation being alarming, these tendencies cannot dissuade the Forces from carrying out its mandate to assist the government in putting an end to environmentally destructive phenomena and that, going forward, any such unruly attitude toward soldiers will be met with the most suitable responses.
During this year’s West African Soldiers Social Activities at Kwadaso near Kumasi in the Ashanti region, Brigadier General Joseph Aphour, the General Officer Commanding the Central Command of the Ghana Armed Forces, issued the warning.
“The posture of some locals towards troops on anti-galamsey operations has been a cause of worry to us. There have been instances where some locals pelted troops with stones and other harmful materials which they laid their hands on. Some of these individuals sometimes wield deadly weapons at troops, all in attempt to frustrate us from undertaking our legally sanctioned duties. It is my hope that appropriate stakeholders would be impressed upon to caution these youth to desist from such acts to avoid any clash with the military and other security agencies”, the GOC cautioned.
He also issued a warning to soldiers who, alone or as part of a group, engage in clandestine activities because doing so is against operational protocol.
“I will also like to sound a note of caution to all troops to also refrain from indulging in illegal or one man operation. Any soldier who is found culpable of this unprofessional behaviour will be dealt with accordingly’’.
The General Officer Commanding the Central Command used the occasion to enumerate some progress made since he assumed duty in the regions under his command.
These include an ongoing construction of an accommodation for officers, provision of regular potable water supply systems at both the Command Headquarters and the Iddris Baracks, completion of the commercial water production factory with a delivery truck and a coconut plantation as additional income generation sources.
“ When I took office here the command major challenge included accommodation for troops, lack of portable water and other means of raising generation founds for day today management of the command. I’m happy to report that currently we no more have water problem in our barracks again. The commercial water project my predecessors started has also been completed. While 20 units accommodation for soldiers are also at the completion stage’’.
The Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr. Simon Osei Mensah, noted that, the region is now relatively peaceful mainly due to the cooperation, unity and team work among the various security services.
He commended the Command of the Central Command also for the various initiatives to generate additional income to support what the government provides, which he admitted, is inadequate.
Mr. Osei Mensah, however, reminded the military that they have more work to do to ensure absolute peace and security in the region in the ensuing year.
“I know you are under resourced but with the little resources available at your deposal you have delivered for the region. I appreciate your efforts in maintaining law and order in your operational command, however more need to be done against the potential terrorism against the region the country as such. Remains committed to ensure you are appropriately resourced to carry your constitutional defense responsibility for the country’’.
The West African Soldiers Social Activities, WASSA, is an occasion for both soldiers and civilian staff of the Ghana Armed Forces to shed off some of the work-related stress through social activities with their families and other stakeholders.
This year’s edition for the staff of the Central Command of the Ghana Armed Forces is the first since the outbreak of COVID-19.
Nigerian national Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, 40, a prisoner, owned 15 acres of land in Ghana, Abbas is known on Instagram as “Ray Hushpuppi.”
The notorious prisoner, who is doing more than 11 years in a federal state prison in the United States of America for money laundering and fraudulent crimes, was reportedly fishing in Ghana, according to the reports.
The prolific international fraudster’s catfish farm is also said to have been discovered after documents were found in his home, according to thisis50.com.
The information also showed that Hushpuppi was in the process of expanding operations on the farm.
The documents also showed that once, Hushpuppi gave a female waitress $5,000 as a tip, as receipts found in his apartment during his arrest at the Palazzo Versace in Dubai showed.
Hushpuppi was arrested in Dubai in 2020 over an extensive fraud scheme that has robbed victims of their money in the U.S., Qatar, the United Kingdom, and other places.
He was extradited to the US, where he was charged with fraud and money laundering. He pleaded guilty to all charges levelled against him.
The socialite, however, bagged only 11 years in prison after he appealed to US Judge Otis Wright to tamper justice with mercy and a lighter jail term after scoring high in cleaning activities while in prison.
A member of parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong, has criticized the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo administration’s National Buildings Corps (NABCO) initiative as a poor choice of strategy.
According to him, most of the trainees under the programme, who were posted to government agencies, were paid for no work done.
Speaking to some Ghanaians in Nevada, USA, in an audio-visual shared by Nsem Pii TV, Ken Agyapong said that the government should have used the money for the programme to establish factories that will provide decent employment to Ghanaian youth.
“The youth must take their destiny into their own hands, (but) then again, what police did we implement (to help with unemployment)? I think that we made was with the introduction of NABCO.
“NABCO trainees were posted to government offices and ministries where they were doing nothing and being paid GH¢700 every month.
“The money the government used (for NABCO) could have been used to establish industries that could have provided 20,000 permanent employment out of the 100,000 trainees to reduce the number of unemployed youth,” he said in Twi.
Agyapong, who has indicated his intention of contesting in the presidential primaries of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), noted that President Akufo-Addo should be praised for some of his policy initiatives, including the One District, One Factory programme.
Undoubtedly, 2022 will be one of the most difficult years Ghanaians have ever experienced, especially for those who did not experience the 1980s drought.
Many expect the father of the country, the president, to give hope to the citizenry with his public pronouncements. Unfortunately, some statements President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo made added insult to injury for many Ghanaians.
The president’s comments that annoyed Ghanaians were mostly made during his tour of some parts of the country.
Here are three statements by Akufo-Addo that did not sit well with many Ghanaians:
To those of you saying bad things about me in the Ashanti Region, I will shame you all – Akufo-Addo
President Akufo-Addo, while speaking during a sod-cutting ceremony for the Suame Interchange on October 18, 2022, as part of his Ashanti Region tour, berated his political detractors in the region.
According to him, these people will be shamed one by one for the numerous things he has done for the people of the region, which is considered the ‘political world bank’ of his party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
President Akufo-Addo stated that for the past six years that he has been in office, the people of the Ashanti Region have benefitted enough from his government; therefore, his detractors cannot say otherwise.
“And to those of you going around saying bad things about me in the Ashanti Region, one after the other, they are all going to be shamed convincingly today, tomorrow and the day after.
“In spite of our present difficulties, which I know will be gone as soon as possible, I continue to be excited about the future prospects of the nation, and I urge all Ghanaians to join hands in building the Ghana that we want, we can realize it if we all work at it,” he said.
Your threats to vote against the NPP don’t frighten me – Akufo-Addo
The president once again raised eyebrows in an interview on OTEC FM during his tour of the Ashanti Region when he stated how unfazed he was about the NPP losing the next general elections.
He explained that while there are threats to vote against them, he is unmoved, adding that the intimidation of voting against the NPP due to unfulfilled promises or lack of development under his tenure is a voter’s personal decision he cannot be bothered about.
“People make those kinds of threats; they don’t frighten me. Somebody votes for you, and somebody supports you. It’s because they want you to do certain things for them. I understand that. But there is no need for people to say that if I am unable to do this and that… those are their own issues to deal with. Of course, I will do it (the road).
“But if it comes to the election and you choose to vote for the NDC, that is your own issue; that is not my worry because nobody holds your thumb to vote; it is your own work. The important thing is that I understand my responsibility, and we will deal with it,” the president said.
I’m not so sure if Aisha Huang was deported – Akufo-Addo
In September 2022, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo contradicted statements by some of his appointees that illegal small-scale mining (galamsey) kingpin, Aisha Huang, was deported from Ghana in 2018.
Speaking in an interview on Stone City Radio in Ho during his tour of the Volta Region, which GhanaWeb monitored, Akufo-Addo expressed uncertainty about whether Aisha Huang was deported.
According to the president, it is likely that the ‘galamsey’ queen was never deported but fled the country in 2018.
“… I am not still sure whether she was, in fact, deported or whether she fled the country the first time and has now come back or whatever. There still seems to be some uncertainty about it.
“Whichever way it is, she has become a sort of nickname for all that the ‘galamsey’ represents and also, unnfortunately, for the involvement of Chinese nationals in this illicit trade,” he said.
Oppong Nkrumah’s shocked expression after Akufo-Addo said Aisha Huang wasn’t deported.
In the first of a series of joint quarterly district dialogue held in Asankragua, in the Wassa Amenfi West district, the district assembly, representatives from other government agencies, cocoa companies, gold mining association and community representatives came together to discuss various commitments made that would support the elimination of forced and child labour in the local communities.
While progress has been made in recent years towards eradication of child labour, especially the impact of Covid-19 which saw schools shut down around the globe has exacerbated the situation putting an additional 9 million children at risk of child labour globally.
Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire account for over 60% of global cocoa production. While this significantly boosts the country’s economy, it has also brought serious challenges, including a rise in forced labour and child labour due to several factors including the above.
The government of Ghana and cocoa companies have made a lot of effort in interventions towards eradicating child and forced labour.
Nonetheless, the menace still persists and is a cause of concern to both producing and consuming countries.
It is because of this concern that the Norwegian government with funding through NORAD is working with Rainforest Alliance together with communities through its local partners, the Center for Social Impact Studies and New Generation Concern, to curb the menace.
In a plenary after group discussions, community representatives presented their concerns about interventions being implemented at the community level by government and cocoa companies/gold associations to eradicate child labour in the last four months. They also advocated for inclusion in discussions that leads to choice of interventions by companies and government that will best meet their needs and make an impact.
The Wassa Amenfi Municipal Assembly, as part of its commitment to eliminating child labour and the worst form of child labour, indicated that they will support community self-help initiatives in mining and cocoa communities to eradicate child labour.
To this end, the Municipality is urging local communities to submit to the District Assembly such initiatives for validation and support.
A Development Planning Officer of the Assembly, Cyril Ankomah, made this known at a dialogue on child and forced labour by the RainForest Alliance and their local partners in Asankragua.
According to the Assembly, reporting child labour cases is free, and called on people to support the Municipality in dealing with the menace.
Representative from CHRAJ, Social Welfare and NCCE present also mentioned what they have been doing so far and pledged their continuous support to collaborate with other stakeholders in raising awareness.
The Sustainability Officer of Touton Ghana Cocoa Buying Company, Manasseh Ameworlor, who spoke on behalf of cocoa companies at the meeting, reiterated their total commitment towards eliminating child labour in their operational areas.
He said the companies would continue to support schools with furniture, reading materials, and playgrounds and form climate-smart groups.
He urged RainForest Alliance and their local partners to organize regular dialogues since it keeps everyone in check regarding child and forced labour.
A consultant on the project, Elizabeth Adubofour, encouraged the stakeholders to work assiduously towards preventing, identifying and addressing forced and child labour whiles she encouraged the community members to be diligent in their work and contribute their quota towards this shared responsibility as they have roles to play in its eradication.
The Senior Project Manager (Forced and Child Labour), RainForest Alliance, Joyce Poku-Marboah, drew attention to the fact that there is difference between child work and child labour and not every work a child gets involved in is child labour.
She also called on government, cocoa and gold-mining companies to fulfill their commitments and be more proactive by committing to their own plans, strategies and activities designed to eliminate child and forced labour.
She said the district dialogue was premised on the grounds that child labour was a shared responsibility that required the involvement of all stakeholders to work to eliminate the practice from the sector.
“We Need to Collaborate. Together We Can!”
Present at the district dialogue were representatives from the district assembly (representing government), cocoa companies and goldmining associations, religious leaders, social welfare and community development, NCCE, CHRAJ and community volunteers and opinion leaders.
The President, Nana Addo Dankwa-Akufo-Addo, has urged Ghanaians in privileged circumstances to give back to the less fortunate individuals in society during this holiday season.
He further urged Ghanaians to offer some comfort to people who are in distress to avert any untoward circumstances in their lives.
The President believes the gesture will put some smiles on the faces of the poor and the needy.
“I urge all of us, to celebrate the season safely and responsibly, if you are in a more fortunate position, remember to lend a helping hand to those who are in need, let each one of us do our bit to help feed those who are hungry and offer comfort to those who are in distress,” the President said this his Christmas message to Ghanaians.
He expressed hope that Ghana will rise up again as his government works around the clock to prudently manage the economy.
“I am happy that in spite of it all, we are beginning to emerge out of the difficulties which encourages me to say that with hard work, dedication and continued prudence in the management of the affairs of our nation, we will rise up again,” the President added.
Due to the nation’s economic difficulties, this year’s Christmas appears a little different.
However, the political authorities in Ghana are urging the Ghanaians to have confidence and hope for the best in 2023.
The President of the Republic, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in a video message shared on social media, expressed optimism about the ability of Ghana’s economy to bounce back.
“I am happy that in spite of it all we are beginning to emerge out of the difficulties which encourages me to say that with hard work dedication and continued prudence in the management of the affairs of our nation, we will rise up again,” Akufo-Addo said.
The Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta, in a tweet he shared, wished Ghanaians well and urged them to work together for a better 2023.
“May unity in serving the Republic be our mantra in 2023,” parts of his tweet read.
The Minister for Health, Kwaku Agyeman Manu, in a video message, said, “It is my prayer that this Christmas will fill you and your families with hope, joy, peace and above all good health”.
Below are some of the Christmas and New Year messages shared by Akufo-Addo, ex-President John Dramani Mahama and other politicians:
At the birth of Jesus, a bright star lit up in the sky and the wise men followed it with, gold, frankincense and myrrh. May this X’mas day, speedily bring, gold, frankincense and myrrh, your way in the mighty name of Jesus. I wish us all well. Ghana ???????? will not die. Shalom????❤️????— Samuel Koku Anyidoho???????? (@KokuAnyidoho) December 25, 2022
Wishing everyone in my constituency and beyond a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year. May this festive season bring lots of Joy and Happiness in everyone’s life. #TogetherWeCanpic.twitter.com/vuEGC3rqeT— Hon. Dorcas Affo-Toffey (@AfoDorcas) December 25, 2022
At the core of this festive season is the message of hope, peace and love. Despite these crushing economic challenges, I respectfully ask Ghanaians to take heart and collectively commit to the spirit of hope in entering the year 2023. Merry Christmas to you and your families. pic.twitter.com/H7rbVolZnW— Dr. Kwabena Duffuor (@DrDuffuor) December 25, 2022
Abdulai Osman from Larabanga and Fuseini Sumani from Damongo Atributo, both poachers who reside in the West Gonja Municipality in the Savannah Region, were apprehended in the Palma beat of the Mole National Park at around 6:30 p.m. on Friday, December 23, 2022.
The Poachers had killed an antelope and a waterbuck. The rangers at the Mole National Park who were on the field and has been tracking the two Poachers for some time managed to apprehend them.
The Park Manager of the Mole National Park Ali Mahama confirmed the arrest to Bole-based Nkilgi Fm and stated that; “the Poachers killed an antelope and a waterbuck”.
Mahama added; “We are wide awake and will make the Park a no-go area for all Poachers. Our duty is to protect the animals and we will do everything to protect them from Poachers”.
One of the contenders in the race has caught the attention of many Ghanaians as Nigerians get ready to cast ballots in February 2023 to choose new political leaders and a new president.
This is because of the slogan the candidate, Abdulrahnan Abdulrazaq, is using in his campaign, which is very common in Ghana too.
In a billboard spotted by GhanaWeb, the candidate, who is the current governor of Kwara State and is seeking re-election, had the inscription, “Four More To Do More.”
That slogan was very prominent in Ghana in 2020 because the sitting president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and his party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP), used those same words in their re-election bid.
It has therefore become very interesting that the Nigerian politician, who is running on the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC), would also run with the same tagline.
Nigeria will hold its general elections on Saturday, February 25, 2023.
Senior Vice president of Imani Africa, Bight Simmons, asserted that the Ghanaian government spent $6 million on a consultant for the National Cathedral project.
According to him, it is unclear what has been done by this consultant, who he names as Cary Summers, to merit the amount of money as payment.
Sharing this in a tweet, Bright Simmons said this is a mystery.
“As the year draws to a close, one of the mysteries that remain unexplained is what Mr. Cary Summers did to earn ~$6 million as a consultant to Ghana’s ‘National Cathedral,” he wrote.
The Imani Vice President also questioned why the government of Ghana owes the Nehemiah Group, which has been involved in the creation, construction, and/or operations of numerous global projects over the last twenty years, one of which is Ghana’s National Cathedral.
“Why does Ghana still owe his Nehemiah Group? Maybe without the GHC80m to share in 2023, answers will come,” he added.
So far, there have been questions and doubts as to the progress of work on the $400 million project.
Details available on wikipedia.com say that by the end of 2022, the government of Ghana had spent over $58 million on the project, with about half of it going to architect David Adjaye’s firm, Adjacent & Associates.
The Glorious Word Power Ministry International’s founder and leader, Reverend Isaac Owusu Bempah, has revealed his first prophecy for the upcoming year.
Usually, the man of God announces his prophecies on December 31 but on Christmas Day, Sunday, December 25, 2022, Owusu Bempah detailed a spiritual encounter he had which gives him confidence that 2023 will be a great year.
Addressing his congregation, he prophesied into their lives that their prayers will be answered in the coming year.
“I had a revelation that I was holding a mango. I saw another mango hanging and God asked me to hit the mango I was holding with the one hanging. I did just that and both mangoes fell into my hands. There will be blessings in 2023.
“Mangoes will fall into your hands. Something joyous will come to life. 2023 will be exciting. Don’t be surprised if you park your car here. Those without lands will buy land,” he said.
Reverend Owusu Bempah also promised his church members to expect fireworks on December 31, 2022, when he will announce new prophecies.
“This year’s 31st All Night will be different from the others. We will see things we’ve not seen before and Ghanaians will hear what they’ve never heard before.
“I’m very keen on the 31st night service and I can’t sleep. I wish tomorrow was 31st. It’s like Jesus rising to Heaven after his death. He was wild because he didn’t want anything to disturb him.
“In the World Cup, there is an Argentine player called Messi and I heard that he couldn’t sleep because of the game, I’ve meant 31st night more than Messi meant the World Cup,” he said.
Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bwumia on Sunday, December 25, 2022 visited Reverend Owusu Bempah’s church to mark Christmas Day.
Bawumia appealed to Reverend Owusu Bempah to continue praying for the Akufo-Addo-led government.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Police Service has cautioned against what it terms to be charlatanic activities. In a statement issued on Friday, it warned the public to desist from such ventures.
“The activities which often begin with misleading advertisements on some mainstream and social media platforms lure unsuspecting members of the public including children, and deceive them into engaging in dubious acts, in the hope of getting rich overnight”, the police said.
Meanwhile, financial news portal, Bloomberg is predicting that the economy in the coming year could be worse than 2022 where government admitted huge headwinds that hit the economy with depreciation of the cedi and galloping inflation as main indicators.
Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has urged Apostle Isaac Owusu-Bempah, Head Pastor of the Glorious Word Power Miracles International, to remain praying for Ghana’s peace as well as on behalf of the administration.
Dr Bawumia indicated that Ghana has enjoyed peace due to the prayers of Men and Women of Ghana including Mr Owusu-Bempah.
He said this when he attended the Christmas church service at the Glorious Word Power Miracles International on Sunday December 25.
“Today, Ghana is one of the most peaceful countries, the most peaceful country in West Africa and the second most peaceful country in the whole of Africa, we should thank God.
“I believe that we are a peaceful country not by a coincidence but by the grace of God, we have men and women of God who keep praying for the this country and God is listening to our prayers.
“I want to thank Rev Owusu-Bempah for his prayers for this country I want to ask that he should continue praying for Ghana and the government.”
To help ensure accident-free holiday celebrations, the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has urged the general public to think carefully about using electrical power sparingly.
Mr Richard Mac-Ekor, Ho District Manager of the Company said the hazards associated with improper electricity were more likely during the period and could ruin the celebrations for entire households and communities, therefore all must help ensure safe consumption.
The District Manager made the call while sending season’s greetings through the Ghana News Agency (GNA) to customers and the public.
“We have to manage our celebrations during the yuletide and be mindful that electricity can shorten our happiness if we don’t follow principles,” he said, reminding us of the need to switch off all gadgets and appliances when leaving homes and other premises.
He said the ECG was working round the clock throughout the period to ensure uninterrupted supply, and that although major offices took their annual breaks, vital sections including the faults and the various vending points remained operational.
The District Manager wished the public a happy season and advised to limit alcohol consumption to be able to “identify electrical hazards and avoid them.
“Despite a challenging year, we have hope because of His (Christ) birth,” he said.
Mrs Patience Amuzu, Volta Regional President of the Power Queens Club of the ECG, also called to “make merry with caution,” and said women should ensure electrical appliances received the needed attention to prevent hazards and accidents.
Three major non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have halted work in Afghanistan after women were banned from working for them by the Taliban.
In a joint statement, Care International, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and Save the Children said they would be unable to continue their work “without our female staff”.
The aid groups are “demanding” that women can continue to work for them.
Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban have been steadily repressing women’s rights.
The latest edict on NGOs came just days after the Taliban banned women from attending university.
Abdel Rahman Habib, spokesman for the Taliban’s ministry of economy, claimed female workers at the foreign aid groups had broken dress codes by not wearing hijabs.
The Taliban threatened to cancel the licence of any organisation that did not swiftly comply with the ban.
The leaders of Care, the NRC and Save the Children said the organisations “would not have jointly reached millions of Afghans in need since August 2021” were it not for their female staff.
“Whilst we gain clarity on this announcement, we are suspending our programmes, demanding that men and women can equally continue our lifesaving assistance in Afghanistan,” their statement added.
Ramiz Alakbarov, the United Nations’ top humanitarian coordinator, said the UN was trying to get the ban reversed and that it was a “red line for the entire humanitarian community”.
The United Nations could stop humanitarian aid delivery in Afghanistan if the Taliban authorities do not reverse their edict banning women aid workers, the official told the BBC.
But Mr Alakbarov said it was still unclear what the Taliban meant by its edict.
He said the Taliban’s minister of health had told the UN the agency should continue its health-related work and women could “report to work and discharge their services”.
Other ministries had also contacted the UN directly to say work in the areas of disaster management and emergencies should continue, he added.
Jan Egeland of the NRC said nearly 500 of the aid group’s 1400 workers were women, and that female staff had been operating “according to all traditional values, dress code, movement, [and] separation of offices”.
He said he hoped the decision would be “reversed in the next few days” and warned that millions would suffer if NGOs’ work was obstructed.
NGOs also expressed concern about the effect the ban would have on jobs “in the midst of an enormous economic crisis”.
Female Afghan NGO workers acting as the main earners in their household previously told the BBC of their fear and helplessness following the ban.
One asked: “If I cannot go to my job, who can support my family?” Another breadwinner called the news “shocking” and insisted she had complied with the Taliban’s strict dress code.
The ban triggered international outcry, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warning it would “disrupt vital and life-saving assistance to millions”.
Since seizing back control of the country last year, the Taliban has steadily restricted women’s rights – despite promising its rule would be softer than the regime seen in the 1990s.
As well as the bans on NGO workers and female university students – in the case of students, now being enforced by armed guards – secondary schools for girls remain closed in most provinces.
Women have also been prevented from entering parks and gyms, among other public places.
King Charles greeted crowds at Sandringham after attending a Christmas Day church service for the first time as monarch.
The King and Camilla, the Queen Consort were joined by the Prince and Princess of Wales, their children and other senior royals at the Norfolk estate.
Crowds gathered outside St Mary Magdalene Church from the early hours.
It is the first time members of the Royal Family have spent Christmas at Sandringham House since 2019.
The royal standard is flying above the house, marking a return to traditional royal festivities.
The sound of the church organ rang out as members of the Royal Family made the short walk from Sandringham House to the church just before 11:00 GMT.
The Earl and Countess of Wessex and their children, and the Duke of York and his children Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie attended the service.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex who last celebrated Christmas at Sandringham in 2018 were not there.
The King and Queen Consort, as well as the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children, spoke to crowds following the 45-minute service. Some in the crowd gave them flowers and gifts.
It is the first year the King has hosted the Royal Family’s traditional gathering at the Norfolk estate since the death of his mother.
Queen Elizabeth II hosted 32 Christmases at Sandringham but was forced to cancel her annual festivities in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid pandemic.
Later this afternoon the King’s first Christmas Day message will be broadcast. It was recorded on 13 December in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle, where the late Queen was buried in September.
Crowds started gathering outside St Mary Magdalene Church in the early hours hoping to catch a glimpse of the royals and to speak to them as they walked back to the house following the service.
Sandringham House has been the private home of British monarchs for more than 160 years.
At least 15 people have been killed, and about 40 injured, by a huge fuel tanker explosion near a hospital east of Johannesburg.
The tanker appeared to have got stuck under a low bridge on Saturday morning in Boksburg city, about 100m from Tambo Memorial Hospital.
Patients were evacuated from the hospital’s casualty after part of the roof collapsed following the blast.
The truck was carrying liquid petroleum gas.
“Apparently, a gas tanker drove under the subway bridge and got stuck in there, and due to friction, it caught alight,” emergency services spokesperson William Ntladi was quoted as saying.
As firefighters tried to put out the blaze, there was a huge second explosion – captured on amateur video – that destroyed a fire engine and two motor vehicles.
There are fears the death toll could rise, as 19 people are in critical condition and 15 others are stable but seriously hurt, AFP reports.
Eyewitness Michael Kulinji described the blast as “more like a bomb” and told the Reuters news agency that he had seen the fire under the bridge.
Another witness, Jean Marie Booysen, said that she saw “immense flames at about 06:35 local time (04:35 GMT) and thought “this feels like 6.5 on the Richter”, according to Reuters.
Footage apparently taken in the immediate aftermath of the blast shows a number of dazed and burned people stumbling around a residential area near the epicentre.
More than one million Americans and Canadians are facing Christmas Day without power as a massive winter storm continues to pummel North America.
A bomb cyclone, when atmospheric pressure plummets, has brought snow, strong winds and freezing temperatures.
Nearly 250 million are affected, and at least 19 deaths have been linked to the storm that extends more than 2,000 miles (3,200km) from Quebec to Texas.
Thousands of flights have been cancelled during the festive period.
The western US state of Montana is the worst hit by the cold, with temperatures dropping to -50F (-45C).
Near white-out conditions have been reported in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan. In the city of Buffalo, New York state, the US National Weather Service (NWS) reported “zero mile” visibility.
In the Pacific Northwest, some residents ice-skated on frozen streets in Seattle and Portland.
Coastal flooding has been seen in America’s north-eastern New England region, inundating communities and downing power lines.
Image caption,This man in Minneapolis, Minnesota state, clearly struggled to clear a passage from heavy snowImage caption,This restaurant in Hamburg, New York state, was covered in ice from the spray of Lake Erie wavesImage caption,In Canada, a number of motorists have had to abandon their vehicles in blizzards in the province of Ontario
Even the usually milder southern states of Florida and Georgia are experiencing hard-freeze warnings.
The only region that has largely been spared the cold weather is California where continental mountain ranges are helping to protect the Golden State.
In Canada, the provinces of Ontario and Quebec were bearing the brunt of the Arctic blast.
Much of the rest of the country, from British Columbia to Newfoundland, was under extreme cold and winter storm warnings.
A number of the storm-related fatalities have involved road traffic accidents, including a 50-car pile-up in Ohio that killed four motorists. Another four died in separate crashes in the state.
Travel problems across the country were being exacerbated by a shortage of snowplough operators, with low pay rates being blamed.
The NWS says more than 100 daily cold temperature records could be tied or broken over the next few days.
An order by the Taliban banning women from working for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) has been condemned by the United Nations, which said the move violated fundamental rights.
The Islamist rulers justified the move by saying female NGO staff had broken dress codes by not wearing hijabs.
The US Secretary of State also criticised the move saying it would be “devastating for the Afghan people”.
Female Afghan NGO workers acting as the main earners in their household told the BBC of their fear and helplessness.
One asked: “If I cannot go to my job, who can support my family?” Another breadwinner called the news “shocking” and insisted she had complied with the Taliban’s strict dress code.
A third woman questioned the Taliban’s “Islamic morals”, saying she would now struggle to pay her bills and feed her children.
“The world is watching us and doing nothing,” said another female interviewee. The BBC is not publishing the women’s names in order to protect them.
Saturday’s order came in a letter from the Ministry of Economy to both national and international NGOs. It threatened to cancel the licence of any organisation that did not swiftly comply.
By way of explanation, it said women were breaking Sharia law by failing to wear the hijab.
The move has sparked international outrage, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying he was deeply concerned, adding that it “will disrupt vital and life-saving assistance to millions”.
“Women are central to humanitarian operations around the world. This decision could be devastating for the Afghan people,” Mr Blinken said.
It was also described as a “clear breach of humanitarian principles” by a senior United Nations official.
UN agencies have a significant presence in the country, carrying out relief and development work. An urgent meeting of the Humanitarian Country Team was planned for Sunday to respond to the news.
An employee of Save the Children told BBC News the organisation was planning to meet Taliban authorities, saying that if women were not allowed to work then some NGOs would have to close.
It is also feared that Afghan women could be left unable to receive aid directly, if organisations are only allowed to employ men. Taliban rules prevent men from working with women.
Female employees were “essential” for reaching other women and girls, explained Melissa Cornet from Care International.
She added: “Without them, the humanitarian situation might deteriorate rapidly, in a situation where most of the country is already facing life-threatening levels of hunger.”
The South Asian branch of Amnesty International described the ban as “yet another deplorable attempt to erase women from the political, social and economic spaces” of Afghanistan.
One doctor working in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif and nearby remote villages said she was “sad and devastated” at the development.
She predicted “great difficulty” for women trying to access medical treatment, as they “can’t fully tell their problems to men”.
Meanwhile, one imam – whose identity is again being protected by the BBC – said the Taliban was “not committed to any Islamic value”.
He explained: “Islam has not said that men can educate and women cannot. Or men can work and women cannot. We are confused about this decision.”
A ban on women attending Afghan universities earlier this week met similar criticism. It triggered protests – including in Herat on Saturday – which were rapidly suppressed by the Taliban.
Since seizing back control of the country last year, the group has steadily restricted women’s rights – despite promising its rule would be softer than the regime seen in the 1990s.
As well as the ban on female university students – now being enforced by armed guards – secondary schools for girls remain closed in most provinces.
Women have also been prevented from entering parks and gyms, among other public places.
King Charles will celebrate Christmas at Sandringham with his family for the first time since before the pandemic.
The last time the Royal Family spent Christmas at their Norfolk estate was in 2019, but the royal standard is flying above the house, marking a return to the festive tradition.
Today also marks the first Christmas since the death of the Queen in September, aged 96.
The family will attend a morning service at St Mary Magdalene Church, greeting fans before sitting down to a family dinner with turkey and the usual festive trimmings.
The King and Camilla are expected to be joined by the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children George, Charlotte and Louis, the Princess Royal and her family, and the Earl and Countess of Wessex and their children.
It is understood that the Duke of York and his former wife Sarah, Duchess of York, are on the estate, but it is not known if Andrew will make a public appearance.
The 62-year-old’s reputation has taken a beating since he settled a civil sex case out of court.
King Charles is expected to reflect on the loss of his mother and her legacy.
In a nod to his long-held commitment to the environment, the King is pictured standing in front of a large Christmas tree, decorated with pine cones and sustainable ornaments made of paper and glass.
It is a change of scene from the messages recorded by the Queen, where she would traditionally be seated and surrounded by photos of her family.
No photos for the King this year – but there are floral arrangements in the background using English foliage of holly, ivy, and red skimmia.
The year is drawing to a close after a challenging few months for the King, facing the fallout from Harry and Meghan’s Netflix documentary, as well as accusations of racism within inner royal circles.
Image: Prince George and Princess Charlotte singing at the carol service
Meanwhile, Prince George and Princess Charlotte were seen singing in full voice at the Christmas carol service overseen by their mother, the Princess of Wales.
The service was filmed at Westminster Abbey earlier this month, but was broadcast on Christmas Eve.
George and Charlotte were among more than 1,800 people at the televised service, which was narrated by Catherine Zeta-Jones.
At least 28 people have died in the US as the country grapples with a brutal winter storm.
Blizzard conditions have left almost 300,000 homes and businesses without power, as temperatures plunge to well below freezing.
More than 3,000 flights were cancelled on Saturday, with some airports closed.
On Friday more than 200 million people were under some form of weather warn
Warning of 90mph winds and 20cm of snow
Icy conditions on the roads prompted many authorities to warn against non-essential travel, and hundreds of people who did venture out found themselves stranded in their vehicles.
Among those who have died are three people in car crashes in Kentucky, and another three in Oklahoma, two of which happened as winds blew the drifting snow.
In Montana, the National Weather Service warned that the eastern slope of Glacier National Park and nearby foothills and plains could see up to 20.3cm of snow and winds of up to 90mph.
Montana saw a temperature of -45.6C (-50F) earlier in the storm, while yesterday’s low belonged to the remote town of Havre – also in Montana – which saw -39C (38F).
In Maine, more than 107,000 properties are without power and utility bosses have warned it could take days before supply is fully-restored, while some other states have asked customers to cut back on their usage to avoid rolling blackouts.
Several busloads of migrants were dropped off in front of Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence in Washington, DC, on Christmas Eve in 18 degree weather late Saturday.
An initial two busloads were taken to local shelters, according to an administration official. More buses arrived outside the vice president’s residence later Saturday evening. A CNN team saw migrants being dropped off, with some migrants wearing only T-shirts in the freezing weather. They were given blankets and put on another bus that went to a local church.
Tatiana Laborde, managing director of SAMU First Response, said her group was prepared for Saturday night’s arrivals. Busloads of migrants have been arriving in Washington weekly since April.
“The DC community has been welcoming buses from Texas anytime they’ve come since April,” she said. “Christmas Eve and freezing cold weather is no different. We are always here welcoming folks with open arms.”
It’s not clear who is responsible for sending the migrants to the Naval Observatory, though CNN reported earlier this year that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had sent buses of migrants north, including to a location outside Harris’ home.
Abbott is one of at least three Republican governors who have taken credit for busing or flying migrants north this year to protest the Biden administration’s immigration policies. He previously confirmed in September that his state had sent the buses to Harris’ residence at that time.
A murder investigation has been launched after a woman was fatally shot at a pub near Liverpool on Christmas Eve.
Merseyside Police officers were called to the Lighthouse Inn in Wallasey Village at about 23:50 GMT on Saturday.
Three men and the female victim were taken to hospital suffering gunshot wounds – the woman later died.
Det Supt Dave McCaughrean said the shooting happened at a “busy venue full of young people”.
He added: “We believe that the gunman left the pub car park in a dark coloured vehicle – possibly a dark coloured Mercedes shortly after the shooting.”
The force said a “number of others” were also injured in the shooting, which was described as despicable by the chief constable.
Det Supt McCaughrean appealed for anyone who witnessed the incident to come forward.
“This investigation is in the very early stages and we understand that this is a truly shocking and devastating incident that has happened just before Christmas Day,” he added.
“We have a number of officers at Wallasey Village who are carrying out extensive inquiries to understand exactly what has taken place and take immediate action.
“A woman has tragically lost her life at Christmas whilst several people are being treated in hospital and our thoughts and condolences are with the victim’s family.”
Police added the woman’s next of kin had been informed and her family were being supported by specially trained officers.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged his people to persevere in the face of Russian attacks as the country celebrates Christmas.
In a defiant speech on Saturday, he said: “Freedom comes at a high price. But slavery has an even higher price.”
Russia’s missile and drone attacks have left millions of Ukrainians without power, heating and running water.
Earlier on Saturday, Russian air strikes killed 10 people in Ukraine’s southern Kherson city, officials said.
The regional authorities said another 68 people were injured and called on local residents to urgently donate blood.
Describing Russia as a “terrorist country”, Mr Zelensky accused Russian troops of “killing for the sake of intimidation and pleasure”.
In a post on social media, he showed pictures of streets strewn with bodies and burning cars, saying “the world must see and understand what absolute evil we are fighting against”.
Kherson, the only regional capital captured by Russia since it launched its full-scale invasion on 24 February, was liberated by Ukraine last month.
Since then it has been frequently targeted by Russian forces positioned on the left (eastern) bank of the Dnipro river.
Moscow has repeatedly denied targeting civilians in its attacks. However, President Vladimir Putin has recently admitted that Russian troops have been hitting Ukraine’s critical energy facilities.
Most Ukrainians are Orthodox Christians, and mark Christmas Eve – the main day of the festive season in the country – on 6 January.
However, a growing number of worshippers have been celebrating the day on 24 December, in line with the majority of Christians around the world.
Image caption,President Zelensky: “We will not wait for a miracle. After all, we create it ourselves”
In a video address to the nation late on Saturday, Mr Zelensky said: “We endured at the beginning of the war. We endured attacks, threats, nuclear blackmail, terror, missile strikes. Let’s endure this winter because we know what we are fighting for.
“We will celebrate our holidays! As always. We will smile and be happy. As always. The difference is one. We will not wait for a miracle. After all, we create it ourselves.”
For many Ukrainians, Christmas will be in the dark and in the cold, says the BBC’s Hugo Bachega in Kyiv.
But Ukrainians say the hardships have only made them stronger, as the war enters its 11th month, our correspondent adds.
On Saturday, fierce fighting continued in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region where Russian troops attacked the strategic town of Bakhmut.
