Interior Minister Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka has issued a directive to the Ashanti Regional Police Command, urging immediate action to dismantle the notorious drug den known as ‘Tinker Island’ in Kumasi.
This move is part of broader efforts to combat the escalating problem of drug trafficking and abuse in the city.
“Tinker Island has become a hub for drug distribution, attracting dealers and users from various parts of the city, and contributing to the rise in drug-related crime and violence in Kumasi,” Muntaka remarked.
His statement highlighted the growing concerns over the area’s involvement in illegal activities, which continue despite previous efforts to address the issue.
In a post shared by JoyFM on X, Muntaka expressed his frustration with the persistence of these illicit operations, noting that despite past attempts to clear the den, it remains active.
He has now instructed the Ashanti Regional Police to take decisive action, with a clear mandate to eradicate the drug hub within the next six months.
This directive reflects the Minister’s commitment to tackling drug-related crime in Kumasi and ensuring that law enforcement agencies take swift and effective measures to restore safety in the region.
The Western Central Regional Police Command has taken seven people into custody and brought them before the Special Court for Illegal Mining in Sekondi.
The group—comprising Ibrahim Dauda, Michael Tettey Komlorm, Douglas Ayambila, Elvis Aborta, Nsoh Oto (also called Agorogo), Kwadwo George (alias Sergio), and Emmanuel Van (alias Atta)—is accused of working together to engage in illegal mining operations without proper authorization.
They have been remanded into prison custody and are set to make another court appearance on April 17, 2025.
In a separate case, two Chinese nationals, 38-year-old Huan Ciongjian and 56-year-old Ling Yong, were arrested for mining unlawfully along the Bonsa River.
All foreigners found to be involved in illegal mining activities have since been transferred to the Ghana Immigration Service for further handling.
The information was first spread online in chatrooms and social media posts and then shared by a Russian-owned news outlet called Sputnik.
Canada’s government knows that a Canadian person has died in Ukraine, but they won’t say who it is or how they died.
“We are thinking of his family and loved ones during this tough time,” said spokesperson Grantly Franklin. The officials are talking to the local authorities to get more information and are helping the family.
Zelenskyy’s office and the Defense Ministry said Valerii Zaluzhnyi isn’t getting fired. He is still in his job as a top commander and is very popular. But the reports have made people think he might quit soon, which could be good for Russia as the war gets close to two years.
His leaving would be the biggest change in Ukraine’s top military leaders since Russia invaded. The country is struggling with not having enough ammunition and soldiers after a failed attack in the summer. This could also make Ukrainian soldiers feel unhappy and demoralized, they have been fighting tough battles for almost two years.
The USis stopping the important help the military needs to keep fighting. Congress and Ukrainian soldiers are getting ready to protect their positions from Russian troops moving forward.
“Zelensky can fire Zaluzhnyi. ” “Oleksii Haran, who works at a research organization in Kyiv, says that he must have a really good reason for it and explain it well to the people in Ukraine. ”
“We understand that if Zaluzhnyi is fired now, Russian propaganda and other groups, even in the US, will use it to hinder the delivery of weapons to Ukraine. ” Haran said this is not good.
Zaluzhnyi is liked by many people and the military, but he doesn’t get along with Zelenskyy because of a comment he made about fighting with Russia. The president said it wasn’t true.
Ukrainian media said there might be a chance that Zaluzhnyi could lose his job. Ukraine’s newspaper Mirror of the Week reported that the president asked a general to leave his job, according to sources close to Zelenskyy and Zaluzhnyi. Zaluzhnyi was asked to be an adviser, but he said no, according to the reports.
The Associated Press was not able to check if the reports are true. Ukrainian officials, the president’s office, and Zaluzhnyi’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
Russian government media were happy on Wednesday about rumors from Western sources. They talked about the rumors many times during the main discussion show “60 Minutes” on Russia 1 TV and also during news updates on Russia 24.
“Many questions remain,” Peskov said, according to Tass, and he added, “It’s clear that the government in Kyiv has a lot of problems and things are not going well there. ” This is easy to understand.
“It’s clear that the failed attack and the problems at the front have caused more fighting. ” “In both the high-ranking military and civilian people in Kyiv,” Peskov said. He said that more fighting will happen as Russia’s military operation keeps going well.
Thomas Kwoyelo is accused of doing many bad things like killing people, hurting others, and making kids become soldiers.
He is the first LRA leader to be tried in a Ugandan court, which is a very important moment for the country’s legal system.
In 2011, when Mr. Kwoyelo went to court, he said he didn’t do the things he was accused of.
He has been in jail for 14 years before his trial because the crimes he is accused of are very serious and complicated, according to experts.
More than 20 years ago, Joseph Kony started the LRA in Uganda. He said he was fighting to create a government that follows the rules written in the Bible.
The group was well known for cutting off people’s arms and legs and taking children to be soldiers and for bad things. Hundreds of people had to leave their homes because of the fighting.
It started in northern Uganda, then moved to the Democratic Republic of Congo where Mr Kwoyelo was arrested in 2009, and later to the Central African Republic.
Mr Kwoyelo has been to court before for pre-trial hearings, but the case has been delayed many times.
Several people will tell the court what they saw happen.
Human Rights Watch said that there have been long delays in this case, and generally, not enough people have been held responsible for the bad things that happened during the 25-year war in Uganda, including bad things done by the Ugandan government.
In 2021, the ICC gave Dominic Ongwen a 25-year jail sentence because he was a commander in the LRA. They didn’t give him the harshest punishment because he had been kidnapped as a kid and trained by rebels who had killed his parents.
Mr Kwoyelo says he was kidnapped by LRA fighters when he was a young teenager, while he was on his way to school.
Many people who used to be part of the LRA have been forgiven and allowed to go free under a law in Uganda, after they left and said they didn’t want to be part of the rebel group anymore.
But Mr Kwoyelo was not allowed to choose that, leading to claims that the denial was based on politics.
As his court case continues, people are worried that the money to support it could run out. This would make the process even longer for the people who say they were hurt by him and want justice.
On Wednesday, the United States government imposed sanctions on prominent leaders of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), one of the conflicting parties in Sudan, in response to their involvement in atrocities against civilians.
The State Department specifically identified Abdelrahim Hamdan Daglo and Abdul Rahman Juma as individuals responsible for overseeing a range of violations, including assassinations and kidnappings, during Sudan’s five-month-long conflict. This ongoing conflict has resulted in the displacement of nearly 2 million people and the loss of over 2,000 lives.
Abdelrahman serves as the deputy leader of the RSF and is the sibling of the rebel group’s leader, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. Meanwhile, Juma holds the position of RSF General and West Darfur Sector Commander. The U.S. Treasury has imposed sanctions on him due to his direct involvement in grave human rights violations.
“According to credible sources, on June 15, 2023, RSF forces led by General Juma kidnapped and killed the Governor of West Darfur, Khamis Abbakar, and his brother. This act came just hours after Abbakar’s public statements condemning the actions of the RSF.
“Concurrently, the Department of the Treasury is imposing sanctions on RSF Senior Commander Abdelrahim Hamdan Dagalo for his connection to the RSF, whose members have committed human rights abuses against civilians in Sudan, to include conflict-related sexual violence and killings based on ethnicity,” the State Department said on Wednesday.
After Khamis was fatally shot in broad daylight, the Sudan Armed Forces and RSF both released statements in which they each accused the other of murder.
Yet, the US said members of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Darfur have committed atrocities and other abuses, inducing ethnically motivated killings, “targeted abuses against human rights activists and defenders, conflict-related sexual violence, and looting and burning of communities”.
“We will not hesitate to use the tools at our disposal to hinder the ability of the RSF and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) to further prolong this war, and we will also use such tools to deter any actor from undermining the Sudanese people’s aspiration for peace and civilian, democratic rule.
“We will act to promote accountability for those responsible for atrocities and to pursue justice for the victims. The parties must comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians, hold accountable those responsible for atrocities or other abuses, allow unhindered humanitarian access, and negotiate an end to the conflict.”
