This pastor was chopping the lady behind the speakers in the back of the church. A few men moved closer to the chapel to witness what was going on, as the sound of the hot afternoon action caught their attention. From a distance, they witnessed the pastor hitting a lady in the back, and their camera captured it on film.
In Ghanaian society, it's ordinary to see Christians paying offerings, that is 10% of their pay to ministers and chapels.
Some places of worship have utilized this money to change the lives of individuals through instruction and wellbeing, We have schools like SDA JHS, SDA SHS, Methodist Basic School in Wa, Catholic Primary in Wa, Presy SHS in Accra and Many others, in the interim, other chapels have depended on that to cover their power bills, Pay their congregation investors and get themselves rich vehicles.
It's anything but an unquestionable requirement to pay tithes in Church and nobody will get lost if you don't pay offerings to a congregation.
This book of scriptures refrains underneath can protect the reality to the current matter as of now.
Check Deuteronomy Chapter 26:12 and it peruses "When you have completed the process of saving a 10th of all your produce in the third year, the extended time of the offering, you will give it to the Levite, the outsider, the illegitimate and the widow, so they might eat in your towns and be fulfilled." and Verse 13 Continues that "Then, at that point, tell the LORD your God: "I have taken out from my home the holy piece and have given it to the Levite, the outsider, the bastard and the widow, as indicated by all you directed. I have not diverted beside your orders nor have I failed to remember any of them".
Per this let the offerings reflect in your area, your working environment, family and old neighbourhood before considering Churches, other than God is Omnipresent(everywhere) you don't should be in the chapel to revere him. Plant that seed in your relatives, mates, Customers, associates and Community individuals.
Ghana is rapidly booming with many infrastructures, as we know every country that wishes a better standard of living for it's citizens has a duty to invest massively in infrastructure development.
This is because it creates the necessary and conducive environment to attract more investment in trade and improve tourism in addition to generating revenue and employment as well as increase foreign exchange earnings
Here are four (4) Key infrastructures that will change the face of Ghana once completed;
1. Ghana international mall:
Ghana International Mall is the upcoming West Africa's largest shopping centre. The project is located at the intersection of Spintex road and Agblezaa - Manet road, right opposite Manet Police Station. The mall has provision for a parking space of over 5,000 cars, combined with swimming pool, children's playground and other recreation centers.
2. Pretonia City:
Petronia City is a new state of the art self-sufficient integrated city. The city is designed around the ideology of ‘work, live, learn and play’, Petronia City is a self - sustaining, master - planned, integrated city.
It will attract, retain and support businesses, human capital needs and elevate Ghana’s Western Region into a world-class business location, tourist destination and home. The city will be built in phases with high-tech Infrastructures, recreational center, shopping mall, schools and clinics and more.
3. Marine Drive City:
The Marine Drive Tourism Investment Project is a government initiative aimed at developing sections of the coastline of Ghana’s capital city (from the Christianborg Castle in Osu, through the Independence Square to Baiden Powell near the Arts Centre in down - town Accra) into a state of the art tourism and hospitality enclave.
This development will have tourist resorts with facilities such as hotels, shopping malls, casinos, water theme parks, 15-floor office complex, conference and exhibition centres, a playground and a beach soccer pitch, among other things.
4. Africenter City:
Africenter City is an ongoing project of a huge commercial and recreational complex at Adenta, Accra. This project is the pioneering commercial project of AfCFTA with an international trade centre, international exhibition centre, cross - border e-commerce and logistics park and an international standard water park.
It will be the biggest international business district in West Africa as well as one of the major commercial hubs in Africa. The construction would make Ghana one of Africa’s major commercial centres.
MTN Ghana says it will cap its mobile money service fee at GH¢7.5 for any transfer from GHS1,000 and beyond when the 1.5 per cent electronic transfer levy (e-levy) is implemented.
Currently, the cap is on GH¢10, but MTN and other telcos have already announced a 25% decrease in transfer fees if e-levy comes on stream.
What was not clear was whether the the reduction was going to apply to the cap, and the CEO for MTN MobileMoney, Eli Hini has confirmed to Techgh24 that the cap will reduce to GH¢7.5.
Vodafone however still maintains a zero-rate on all transfers to all networks till date. Some Vodafone customers have been asking to know if the telco will also absorb the e-levy, but it has not announced any such gestures.
Background
E-levy was first announced by Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta in his 2022 Budget presentation to Parliament. It was initially 1.75% but due to reasons only known to government, it has been reduced to 1.5%.
Indeed, it remains a controversial tax because the Minority in Parliament, civil society groups, industry players and several Ghanaians are still opposed to it.
Indeed, long before it was every mentioned, the champion of Ghana’s digital transformation, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia kicked against any plans to tax mobile money saying that it is a pro-poor platform that is driving financial inclusion, and taxing it will impact government’s own digitalisation drive negatively.
The Government however managed to get the Bill for its implementation passed in Parliament amidst a walkout by Minority MPs, some of whom are currently in court challenging the legality and constitutionality of the passage of the Bill.
While the case is yet to be determined, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has hurriedly assented to the Bill to make it law, pending implementation in May 2022.
Weeks before the passage of the Bill, the tax collector, Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) issued implementation guidelines which had timelines indicating the government was preparing to implement the tax in three phases, starting between late March and early April.
In the march to this point, government officials have been on an errand to parts of the country holding townhall meetings and churning out some untruths and half truths just to convince Ghanaians to accept the tax.
They for instance, said at 1.75%, e-levy is the lowest tax rate. Meanwhile, their own Health Levy stands at 1%, much lower than the rate of the e-levy. Again, the claimed there is a 10% e-levy on British citizens, but that was also fact-checked and found to be a palpable falsehood.
As government, its institutions and industry players prepare to implement the e-levy in May, the point has been made that everywhere an e-levy or its type has been implemented on the continent, it has failed because it impacted negatively on the use of mobile money and failed to yield the expected result.
In the case of Ghana, government is targeting some US$1 billion to get the economy back on track from being hit by Covid-19, and now the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Only time will tell if the government took the right decision in imposing the e-levy in spite of the huge public outcry against it.
Meanwhile, Vice President Bawumia has been very silent on e-levy since it was announced by his government.
A cedi here, a cedi there, soon you have a billion Ghana is home to many prominent and highly successful individuals. Dine with Kennedy Agyapong and you will never starve again. He is considered to be among the richest Ghanaians of the 21st century. Born and bred in Assin Dompin, his life was not always as smooth as it is now and his success is a pure display of his dedication to achieving his goals.
Will Smith has won the Oscar for best actor for his portrayal of Venus and Serena Williams' father Richard in the tennis biopic "King Richard".
53-year-old man took home the trophy just minutes after he went viral for slapping presenter Chris Rock on stage after he had made a joke about the actor's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
Smith referenced the moment in his speech and later apologized to the Academy before going on to thank the Williams family.
How it happened
The exchange began when Rock took aim at Pinkett Smith’s shaved head, saying, “Jada, I love you. ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it, all right?” Rock’s reference was made from the 1997 film “G.I. Jane,” starring Demi Moore, who shaved her head to portray a fictional Navy Seal candidate.
Pinkett Smith revealed in 2018 that she was diagnosed with alopecia. She has often discussed the challenges of hair loss on Instagram and other social media platforms.
The joke missed, badly.
Smith who laughed at first then walked onto the stage from his front-row seat and took a swing at Rock with an open palm, generating a loud smack. Smith walked back to his seat and shouted for Rock to leave Pinkett Smith alone. Rock replied that he was just making a “G.I. Jane” joke — and Smith yelled back at him a second time.
Smith shouted at Rock to “keep my wife’s name out of your (expletive) mouth,” and the crowd hushed as it became clear this was no act.
But once Smith returned moments later to accept his first-ever Academy Award, he delivered a tearful apology.
Smith shared what Denzel Washington told him earlier: “At your highest moment, be careful because that’s when the devil comes for you.
"I’m hoping the Academy invites me back," Will Smith said, as he concluded his on-stage remarks.
Chris Rock announced he wouldn't press charges against Will Smith for the Oscars assault.
The confrontation overshadowed Smith’s milestone accomplishment. He was previously nominated twice for best actor, for his role in “Ali” in 2002 and “The Pursuit of Happyness” in 2007. In those films, he portrayed real-life characters: Boxing legend Muhammad Ali and Chris Garner, a homeless salesman.
This time, Smith won against formidable competition including Andrew Garfield, Javier Bardem, Benedict Cumberbatch and Denzel Washington — who won his first and only best actor Oscar award in 2002 over Smith for “Training Day.”
King Richard follows Williams’ relationship with his daughters, as well as their development into tennis stars. Smith also served as a producer for the film.
The UN Security Council voted unanimously on Thursday to create a new African Union-led peacekeeping force in Somalia.
The new mission, Atmis, replaces the current mission of nearly 20,000 military, police and civilians that will be gradually reduced to zero by the end of 2024.
The purpose of the new mission is to continue the fight against Shebab jihadists.
The US Deputy Ambassador to the UN, Richard Mills, described Shebab extremists as "representing a formidable and adaptable threat to Somalia and East Africa more broadly".
Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, has been the scene of multiple terrorist attacks.
Two separate attacks last week in the centre of the country resulted in at least 48 deaths.
Somalia has been waiting for parliamentary and presidential elections for over a year.
The mandate of the current head of state, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, known as President Farmajo, expired in February 2021
The United Nations Population Fund just published its annual State of World Population Report. This year's document focuses on unintended pregnancies, prengancies occuring to women who did not intend to have anymore children or not at this moment in their life. The reaseach reveals that they concern 121 million women worldwide each year with 60 percent of them leading to safe or unsafe abortions and 5 percent to 13 percent to maternal deaths. A global phenomenon that affects the african continent.
#DidYouKnow: Globally, nearly half of all pregnancies are unintended? That's a startling 121 million each year. This is an unseen crisis unfolding right before our eyes. Start #SeeingTheUnseen today and join @UNFPA to take action: unf.pa/stu
"If young people are affected by unintended pregnancies, development is hindered, their education is hindered, their contribution to socio-economic life is hindered, explains Dr. Jean-Pierre Makelele, Deputy Resident Representative UNFPA Senegal, In short, somewhere along the line, in terms of cost, it is a loss".
Therefore, the UNPF decided to highlight the problem of unplanned pregnancies, particularly in West and Central Africa, in this year's report. The UN agency is calling on public authorities and all sectors of the African population to take global action.
"If we want to take advantage of the demographic dividend, it is time to act on the levers that will accelerate the reduction of all the psychological, medical, economic, social and ediucational consequences of unintended pregnancies", says Huguette Gnakadja executive secretary of the Beninese Institute of women.
The report stresses the link between the developement of women's rights and unplanned pregnacies and for activist Kadiatou Konaté, the main solution for it is a real political engagement."If decision-makers are willing to enforce laws, we will evolve. It's not enough to pass laws, you have to enforce them", insists the young activist, Executive director of the Young women leader's club in Guinea.
In order to avoid this situation, the UN emphasizes on the importance of contraception and claims to have distributed tens of millions of forms of contraceptives in 2020.
The opening match is scheduled for November 21st.
The host nation, Qatar, will face Ecuador to kick off the tournament in Group A that also includes Senegal and the Netherlands.
The African champions will also have to face the hosts, Qatar, and Ecuador for a place in round 2.
In Group D, Tunisia will be playing against defending champions, France and Denmark plus an unknown opponent that could be Peru, Australia or the UAE.
In Group F, Morocco faces a battle against Canada, Belgium and Croatia.
The Atlas Lions are currently being managed by Bosnian Vahid Halilodzic.
Record holder Brazil is in Group G and will face Cameroon, Switzerland and Serbia.
The Indomitable Lions are under the supervision of Rigobert Song. It is the eighth time that Cameroon gains a place in the competition. For many, the question is how far the Lions will be able to go this time.
Finally, in Group H, Ghana will face Portugal on November 24th. Uruguay and South Korea are the two other teams in the same group.
All eyes will also be on Group E where Spain and Germany will be facing each other.
A courier company, ShaQ Express, has started piloting the use of electric (e) bicycles for the delivery of items in Accra.
The company deployed its first set of two e-bikes in Accra last week as part of efforts to operate in a sustainable manner and also to cut down on its recurrent expenditure, particularly fuel.
Although a burgeoning business with dozens of delivery companies in operation, not many courier operators use e-bikes – making ShaQ Express one of the first companies to do so in the country.
Announcement
Its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Anthony Owusu-Ansah, said the pilot phase was going on well with emissions and fuel turning out to be the two main areas of improvement.
Announcing the piloting phase, Mr Owusu-Ansah said “the future is here and it is indeed electric.”
“We have started piloting the use of our new e-bikes for deliveries as our small way of contributing to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) seven and 13, by cutting down on carbon emissions in the environment,” he said.
“This is going to be a game changer in reducing our dependence on fuel and creating a way of serving you better economically,” he added.
Healthy delivery
Mr Owusu-Ansah said while the bikes performed just like the fuel-driven motorcycles on long-distance journeys, they emitted less to no carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases that were found to be dangerous to the environment and humans.
This, the CEO of ShaQ said made e-bikes the appropriate vehicle to use in delivering food and other health essentials such as medications.
Impact on pricing
Mr Owusu-Ansah Express said the company was beginning to also realise that the use of e-bikes could help it make savings from its fuel expenditure, leading to a reduction in prices for consumers.
“The deployment will reduce our dependence on fuel and generally reduce our operation cost by about 50 per cent to 60 per cent. That will help with the pricing to our end user,” he explained.
He said the savings could also be ploughed back into the business through the creation of more jobs for riders.
Convenient charging
Mr Owusu-Ansah said the e-bikes did not require the purchase of petrol or diesel but charging from an electricity source.
He said they could be charged from almost anywhere, provided the electricity source had the appropriate socket to take the charging system of the motor.
According to him, this made the e-motorbikes convenient and more cost-effective to use.
President Akufo-Addo Calls For Lasting Mining Practices 02-Apr-2022 / General News, News
03 Apr 2022
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stressed the need for more lasting mining practices that promote sustainable economic development within the communities in which the extractives are located.
“As a government, we expect the industry to keep also being a reliable partner for sustainable development for the economy and the people…We are also aware that all the private stakeholders in the industry are also looking for stability, security, and certainty in the economy, adding that unlocking the potential of mining for development in Ghana also meant building a sector that thrived on transparency and community development.
“That is why I believe the establishment of the Ghana Gold Expo Mining Week Initiative is a necessity to create synergies that added to a stronger economy, based on sustainable growth over the long-term.”
The President whose address was read on his behalf by Dr. Kwaku Afriyie, the Minister for Environment at the third Ghana Mining Week in Takoradi, added that the Synergies from the event must lead to opportunities for people to get good education and jobs; improving infrastructure for citizens to have equal access to the benefits that flow from mining revenues.
He said the Potential of Mining for Sustainable Development was an important subject to every citizen, as it had a direct relationship with the country’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
“As we all know, the Western Region and Ghana is endowed with immense economic mineral resources and with Ghana being one of Africa’s leading gold producers, such an initiative is necessary to promote our mineral resources to the world.”
According to him, currently, geological mappings and reports showed that Ghana had Gold, Diamond, Manganese, Bauxite, Clay, Kaolin, Mica, Columbite-tantalite, Feldspar, Chrome, Silica sand, Quartz, Salt, Iron ore, Copper, and the newly discovered Lithium.
“Meanwhile, cooperation and integration of technical and economic activities in the mining sector under the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Ministry of Finance and other key stakeholders have ensured economic growth, ecological protection of natural resources and environment, and social development including safety at workplaces and community development.”
He said the government had repositioned the industry and created a sustainable environment that ensured growth for existing companies and new entrants.
“We have promoted the effective partnership between the Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) and the Central Bank of Ghana (BoG), especially, as the Bank launched its domestic gold purchase programme as part of efforts to build gold reserves…My government is keen on ensuring the transparent utilization of mineral royalties. “
On illegal mining, the President noted interventions such as the expansion of the Community Mining Scheme under the purview of the Minerals Commission and exclusively for Ghanaians with 5000 direct and indirect employment through the initiative.
Turning attention to other mineral deposits, He said Ghana, had become the first West African lithium-producing country, following a conditional binding agreement that Iron Ridge Resources entered with Piedmont Lithium to fully fund and accelerate the Ewoyaa Lithium Project to production.
He said Lithium and its compounds also had several industrial applications, including heat-resistant glass and ceramics, lithium grease lubricants, flux additives for iron, steel, and aluminum production. “This is a great gain to our economy and our efforts to create a sustainable economy.”
He commended some key mining companies for helping to develop and bring infrastructure to various communities.
Mr. Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, Western Regional Minster was grateful to the government for the commendation to start such a laudable initiative which was gradually transforming the minerals sector and giving the Africa Mining industry hope.
He said feedback had exposed the experiential value gained from the Ghana Mining Week was serving its purpose and impacting positively on both corporate and personal objectives.
The Regional Minister said the concept of the Ghana Mining Week recognized the interplay between mining and the other sectors of the national economy.
The 2022 Ghana Mining Week under the theme, “The Potential of Mining for Sustainable Development “, is a call to investors in the areas of exploration, mining, processing, refinery, jewelry, mining-tourism, financing, infrastructure development, environmental management, among others.
The Ghana Mining Week had ensured a safer mining environment through responsible mining.
Source: GNA
Morocco Inaugurates International Center for Research on Prevention of Child Soldiers
03 Apr 2022
Morocco has inaugurated the International Center for Research on the Prevention of Child Soldiers with the aim of contributing to the fight against the recruitment of child soldiers, through the dissemination of research to be carried out by the Center.
Speaking at the inaugural conference of the Centre, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Abroad, Nasser Bourita stated that the creation of the Center, was to contribute to the debate by formulating concrete proposals for the security-development and coordination of efforts of the international community.
Mr. Bourita added that the objective of the Center is to provide accurate, qualitative and quantitative data to formulate an informed action through academic research.
The Minister further noted that the Polisario-forced recruitment of children in the camps of Tindouf fuels instability in North Africa and the Sahel.
He said the indoctrination and enlistment of children by the “Polisario” armed militia is an inhuman crime, and a denial of the basic rights of the children recruited, as well as a flagrant violation of the resolutions adopted by the Security Council on this matter, he said.
Mr. Bourita further called for an end to impunity for those responsible for the recruitment and criminal use of children and other grave violations, by supporting systematic UN monitoring and reporting of child rights violations in conflicts.
He stated that the proportion of children living in conflict zones who are at risk of recruitment and use by armed groups has tripled from less than 5% in 1990 (99 million children) to more than 14% in 2020 (337 million children).
“The problem of child soldiers is neither marginal nor circumstantial and contrary to popular belief, this phenomenon is not exclusive to Africa,” he added, noting that children take part in 75% of conflicts in the world, more than 460 million children live in a conflict zone in 2022 and more than 15% of child soldiers are girls.
“In the last 25 years, 170,000 children have been released from armed groups. However, only a limited number of former child soldiers have been identified in a limited number of countries surveyed,” he said.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Center, Abdelkader Filalion his part stressed that the Center will focus its missions on studies, research and consultations on the prevention and exploitation of children in conflict zones.
Mr. Filali, also a professor at the University of Ottawa, noted that this structure will be equipped with mechanisms for international advocacy within United Nations organizations in the various fora, in collaboration with civil society around the world and civil authorities working in this area.
Mr Justice Edward Amoako Asante, President of the ECOWAS Court of Justice has stressed the need for the court and Member States to fashion out a new approach in enforcing the court’s judgements.
Currently enforcement of the judgement of the ECOWAS Court has been a big bane with the court recording about 30 per cent enforcement of its judgements.
The President of the ECOWAS Court was speaking at the closing ceremony of the Court's 11th external sitting held in Accra, said notwithstanding the provisions of methods of enforcement of the decisions of the court in the Protocols as amended, the compliance rate with judgements remained unsatisfactory.
He said it was important that ECOWAS relies on the national courts for the enforcement of decisions because both courts represent the "cornerstone of the community's legal order and they create the enabling legal environment for the attainment of the objectives of the community.
The external sitting which started on March 21 and ended on April 1, 2022, constituted an egalitarian activity of the court designed to among others, bring justice closer to the people: expose lawyers in member states and engage stakeholders of the court.
It also affords an opportunity to engage the national courts of member states in achieving the full intent of the Communities integration process.
Justice Asante said Article 24 (3) of the Supplementary Protocol of the court provides that each member state should appoint a National Authority for the purpose of reception and processing of execution o judgements.
According to him "only six members have complied.... this poses a challenge for the enforcement of the judgements of the court.
However, it is noteworthy that some countries that are yet to appoint national authorities have complied with decisions and judgements of the court."
According to the President of the Court, "No Member State has communicated to the court the status of decisions and judgements complied with so far. However, the court has been able to get unofficial information from lawyers and parties involved in some cases."
He said enforcement of the court’s judgements would require close collaboration with national courts and institutions of member states as well as fashion out a workable formula that would respond to the procedures of the court.
Justice Asante said the Accra sitting had achieved 90 per cent success as it was able to deliver 20 judgements.
He recounted that the 20 judgements were the highest so far in the history of the court as it previously gave out only 11 judgements during its sittings.
The story of what happened to Liberian Emmanuel Tuloe has the quality of a modern fable.
The 19-year-old, dressed in a school uniform of sky blue shirt and navy shorts, looks incongruous in a class full of pupils at least six years younger than him.
But the one-time primary school dropout is happy.
Last year, he was struggling to earn a living as a motorbike taxi driver when he found $50,000 (£40,000) in a mix of US and Liberian notes, wrapped in a plastic bag by the side of the road.
He could have easily pocketed this life-changing amount. But he gave it to his aunt to look after and when the rightful owner appealed on national radio for help in finding the cash, Emmanuel came forward.
Mocked by some for his honesty - people laughed at him saying he would die poor - his act earned him generous rewards including a place at Ricks Institute, one of Liberia's most prestigious schools.
President George Weah handed him $10,000 and a local media owner also gave him cash, some of which was raised from viewers and listeners. And the owner of the money that was found donated $1,500-worth of goods.
On top of those and perhaps most significantly, a college in the US reacted by offering him a full scholarship once he had completed his secondary education.
'Enjoying the academic discipline
And that is what he is focused on at Ricks, a boarding school set up 135 years ago for the elite of Liberian society descended from the freed slaves who founded the country.
Its two-storey buildings sit on a beautiful, lush campus 6km (3.5 miles) from the Atlantic coast.
"I am enjoying the school, not because Ricks has a big name but because of the academic and moral disciplines," Emmanuel said, chuckling and playing with the collar of his shirt as he talked.
Like many Liberian children from a poor rural background are forced to do, he dropped out of school at the age of nine in order to earn some money to help his family out. This was shortly after his father had died in a drowning accident and he went to live with his aunt.
He became a motorbike taxi driver just a couple of years later.
After such a long time out of education, he needs a lot of extra support at school.
When Emmanuel first joined the sixth-grade class "he was feeling a bit inferior; he could not voice himself in the classroom, but day-by-day we worked on him", his main class teacher Tamba Bangbeor explained to the BBC.
"Academically, he came with a low foundation, so we tried to put him in the enrichment programme. That has been helping him."
China says it will back neighbour Myanmar "no matter how the situation changes", in the latest show of unequivocal Chinese support for the ruling military council that seized power last year.
China "has always placed Myanmar in an important position in its neighborly diplomacy" and wants to "deepen exchanges and co-operation", Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Myanmar counterpart Wunna Maung Lwin on Friday, according to China's official Xinhua News Agency.
The sides should accelerate work on the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor, step up construction of "major landmark projects" and "deepen solidarity in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic", Wang said during the meeting in Tunxi, in east China's Anhui Province.
"No matter how the situation changes, China will support Myanmar in safeguarding its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and in exploring a development path suited to its national conditions," Wang said.
Myanmar's military, which ousted the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, has continued to face resistance that now amounts to what some UN experts have characterised as a civil war.
The government is also facing genocide accusations at the International Court of Justice.
In return for Chinese diplomatic support and material assistance, Myanmar has been a loyal ally of Beijing within the nine-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
However, Myanmar's military leader has not been allowed to take part in ASEAN meetings following the army's seizure of power and violent suppression of opposition.
China pursues what it calls an independent foreign policy of peace that generally prioritises its own narrow interests, with little or no consideration for a country's human rights record or other internal controversies.
China has refused to criticise Russia over its invasion of Ukraine while blaming the West for provoking the conflict.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has suggested that he might not accept a vote to oust him, a move he alleged was being orchestrated by the United States.
Opposition parties say Khan has failed to revive an economy battered by the coronavirus pandemic or fulfil promises to make his government more transparent and accountable, and have put forward a no-confidence motion due to be voted on on Sunday.
"How can I accept the result when the entire process is discredited?" Khan told a select group of foreign journalists at his office on Saturday.
"Democracy functions on moral authority - what moral authority is left after this connivance?
"The move to oust me is blatant interference in domestic politics by the United States," he said, terming it an attempt at "regime change".
Khan has already lost his parliamentary majority after key allies quit his coalition government and joined the opposition.
Hours before he spoke, the head of the army, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, had said Pakistan wanted to expand its ties with Washington.
US President Joe Biden has not called Khan since taking office, but the White House has denied that it is seeking to topple him.
Bajwa told a security conference in Islamabad that "we share a long history of excellent and strategic relationship with the United States, which remains our largest export market".
He noted that Pakistan had long enjoyed close diplomatic and business relationships with China, but added: "We seek to expand and broaden our ties with both countries without impacting our relations with the other."
The US embassy in Islamabad did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The head of Russia's space program says the future of the International Space Station hangs in the balance after the United States, the European Union, and Canadian space agencies missed a deadline to meet Russian demands for lifting sanctions on Russian enterprises and hardware.
Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Roscosmos, told reporters that the state agency is preparing a report on the prospects of international cooperation at the station, to be presented to federal authorities "after Roscosmos has completed its analysis."
Rogozin implied on Russian state TV that the Western sanctions, some of which predate Russia's current military operations in Ukraine, could disrupt the operation of Russian spacecraft servicing the ISS with cargo flights.
Russia also sends manned missions to the space station.
He stressed that the Western partners need the space station and "cannot manage without Russia, because no one but us can deliver fuel to the station."
Rogozin added that "only the engines of our cargo craft are able to correct the ISS's orbit, keeping it safe from space debris."
Later on Saturday, Rogozin wrote on his Telegram channel that he received responses from his Western counterparts vowing to promote "further cooperation on the ISS and its operations."
He reiterated his view that "the restoration of normal relations between partners in the ISS and other joint (space) projects is possible only with the complete and unconditional lifting" of sanctions, which he referred to as illegal.
The Canadian Space Agency declined to comment. NASA and the European Space Agency did not immediately return emailed requests for comment.
Space is one of the last remaining areas of cooperation between Moscow and Western nations.
US-Russian negotiations on the resumption of joint flights to the space station were underway when Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine last month, prompting unprecedented sanctions on Russian state-
linked entities.
On Saturday afternoon, a bright red tanker carrying 33,000 tonnes of Russian diesel sailed up the Thames and delivered its cargo in Grays, Essex.
Its arrival - which doesn't violate sanctions - highlights the UK's dependence on Russia, which supplies nearly a fifth of the country's diesel.
The UK has pledged to stop importing Russian diesel by the end of the year: until then, the deliveries continue.
Russian-owned or flagged vessels are now banned from UK ports.
But the STI Comandante's journey from Primorsk on the Baltic sea does not flout the Ukraine-related sanctions on Russia, because the ship is owned by the US firm Scorpio Tankers and flies the flag of the Marshall Islands, a nation in the Pacific Ocean.
Some shipping lines including the global giants Maersk and MSC have chosen to suspend most deliveries to and from Russia.
Others have decided that as long as the trade is still legal and safe, they will continue.
It's a controversial choice. “This shipment of diesel, along with the other fossil fuels that have been allowed to enter the UK since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is filling Putin’s coffers and helping to fund the war. It has to stop,” said Emily Armistead, programme director at Greenpeace UK.
Greenpeace has set up an automated tracker to monitor movements of tankers leaving Russia, loaded with oil and diesel.
The STI Comandante was chartered by ST Shipping, a subsidiary of the commodity giant Glencore. Glencore doesn't necessarily own the diesel on board, though - it may well have been bought and sold many times while the boat was on the water.
Diesel prices rising faster than petrol
Phasing out Russian oil will be extremely hard, and diesel will be particularly difficult. Russia supplies 8% of the UK’s oil needs but 18% of its diesel, according to government figures.
Diesel is essential to a modern economy. Besides fuelling more than a third of UK cars, it powers trucks, buses, some trains, farming and construction equipment, and is used for generating electricity.
A Police officer with the SWAT Unit in Koforidua has been found dead with a mysterious black substance smeared on his face.
Identified as Sergent Emmanuel Asiedu, the officer was found dead at Adjeiwa Lodge in the New Juaben South Municipality of the Eastern Region on Thursday, March 31, 2022.
According to DSP Ebenezer Tetteh who is Public Affairs Officer of the Eastern Regional Police Command, neighbours of the deceased reported his unconsciousness at about 10:30pm
“I was on duty when a call came in to report about his death, a team of three went to examine him at his rented premises before we conveyed him to the Eastern Regional Hospital,” he said as reported by 3News.
From the officers deployed to his residence, he was found lying on his bed unresponsive in a supine position wearing a pair of blue black vertically striped jeans.
Further examination revealed a mysterious blackish dried substance was spotted on the face of Sergent Emmanuel Asiedu.
In addition, the officers found that there was dried foam that had come out of his mouth.
Sergent Emmanuel Asiedu, age 44, was officially declared dead by medical officers at the Eastern Regional Central Hospital in Koforidua.
Although not much information is given, sources say the police is not ruling out anything for now and have decided to investigate the death of the SWAT officer to ascertain the actual cause of the death.
Youth besiege Essiama police station after officers allegedly shoot and kill resident
03 Apr 2022A 33-year-old Andrews Donkor is believed to have been killed by security personnel at Nkroful during an attempt to disperse an agitated crowd who massed up in front of the Nkroful District Court after some 28 illegal small scale miners (galamseyer) were brought to the court.
According to an eyewitness, Solomon Eduku Ackah, the illegal miners were arrested on the concession of Adamus Resources Limited this dawn and the youth of Teleku Bokazo rushed to the court premises to witness the case after the police brought them to court.
He alleged that the bullet which hit the victim, who later died at the Ekwe Hospital, came from security personnel who wanted to disperse the crowd from the court premises leading to the youth currently besieging the Essiama police station.
“About 30 of the galamseyers who visited Adamus pit to mine were arrested by military persons who were sent on operations by the company. These guys were sent to Nkroful Police Station and instantly processed for court at Nkroful Magistrate Court. When the news of the arrest broke to the community, the youth of Teleku Bokazo rushed to the court premises to witness the case,” he said
“While they were sitting outside, the military men began shooting at them and the bullet, unfortunately, killed one of them by name Andrews Donkor who was sitting somewhere witnessing the event. The bullet entered his heart and he lost his life while they were taking him to the Ekwe hospital,“ he added.
Citi News is yet to get an official account from the police as to whether the alleged bullet came from the police or the Adamus Resources Limited security personnel.
Residents demand justice for illegal miner burnt by Adamus security personnel
Residents of Anwia-Bokazo in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region are yet to recover from the shock of the brutal assault and subsequent death of a 27-year-old man, allegedly assaulted and burnt by security personnel of Adamus Resources.
In December 2021, the deceased, Michael Derry, was captured on a mining concession belonging to Adamus Resources and was allegedly molested before being set ablaze.
He passed on at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital on Sunday after he was referred there due to the severity of his wounds.
---Citinewsroom
The Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Decentralization (MLGRD), Dan Kwaku Botwe has asked the various assemblies to enforce sanitation by-laws to help rid the country of filth.
He said they can also make their laws as well.
His comments come on the back of a tour he embarked on to the various landfill sites in Accra.
He said the country can be cleaned if the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) without fear or favour apply the laws to the letter.
“The assemblies have by-law, and they can also make their own laws as well to make sure the cities are clean. We continue to urge them to put in place sanctions because when there is filth in the communities, it has a great effect on our health.”
“The MMDAs need to take charge of cleanliness in communities and cities; and it is our duty to make sure they take sanitation as their top priority. Any assembly that doesn’t see sanitation as a priority will be sanctioned.”
With regard to the provisions of transfer stations in Accra to reduce the turnaround time for the trucks that will take the filth to landfill sites, the minister assured that these stations will be ready in due time.
“Even if you will sanction someone for doing the wrong thing, you have to first make it easy for them to do the right thing, then when they flout, you can sanction them. Hence, the transfer sites will be ready so that the tricycles can easily access them.”
The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey has begun a motion; Operation Clean Your Frontage, in the quest to make Accra Work, making it the cleanest city in Ghana.
The Minister banned tricycles from using the highways for reasons that their pace is too slow, and that they liter the street with filth.
This decision of his was battled against as the rubbish collectors argued that the highways, particularly the motorway, is the only route they can use to reach the dumping site at Kpone which is the only one that can house a lot of refuse.
The Ministry hence assured that more dumping sites will be made available and very much operational to help see this course succeed.
—citinewsroom
The Police has said a man believed to be an officer in mufti who was captured in a viral video brandishing a weapon and attacking at motorist at Winneba, has been arrested.
The man was seen allegedly slapping a motorist while brandishing his gun.
The Police said in a Facebook post that “”Reference the above, the person involved in attacking the motorist has been arrested and the weapon retrieved.”
Perceived gunman arrested
Reference the above, the person involved in attacking the motorist has been arrested and the weapon retrieved.
Full details will follow soon.
Two teenage girls get pregnant daily within the Ashiaman Municipality as the municipality has recorded 124 teenage pregnancy cases between January and February this year.
The Municipality also recorded a total of 671 teenage pregnancies cases in 2020, and in 2021 the cases increased to 793, Ms. Theodora Okpojah, Sub-Municipal Head Nurse in Amuidjor in the Ashaiman Municipality has revealed.
She said Amuidjor has been identified as a community with the highest cases of teenage pregnancy cases municipal statistical data revealed.
Ms Okpojah stated at a forum organized by the Ghana Federation of the Urban Poor(GHAFUP) in collaboration with the United Nations- Habit (UN-Habit) and United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) to climax the celebration of the International Women’s Day 2022.
Speaking on the topic: “Sexual and reproductive health, teenage pregnancy and family planning,” she highlighted the rate at which teenage pregnancy was increasing in Ashaiman and called for urgent intervention.
She urged parents and guardians to build relationships with their teenage children to enable them to have a friendly band to discuss adolescent sexual growth.
She, therefore, encouraged parents and guardians to deepen their friendly relationships with their teenage wards.
She pleaded with parents to be watchful and mindful of the kind of friends’ their teenage girls associate with and also try to school them on sex education at home.
Ms Okpojah encouraged teenage girls and mothers that “if they do not want unwanted pregnancies which may lead to abortion, then the best way was to totally abstain from sexual activities, use protection, or walk into a registered hospital for family planning.
'I'm sad we're celebrating this holy month in economic hardship' — NDC's Sinare wishes Muslims peaceful Ramadan
03 Apr 2022
Alhaji Said Sinare, the NDC's National Vice Chairman, wishes Muslims in Ghana and around the world a successful and peaceful Ramadan month.
Taking to Facebook, Alhaji Sinare extended his sincerest wishes to the Muslim community across the world.
"As the holy month of Ramadan begins, it gives me great pleasure to warmly wish my Muslim brothers and sisters in the country and around the globe a happy and peaceful Ramadan.
This holy month is a time for millions of people all around the world to refresh and strengthen their faith through severe fasting, fervent prayer, pensive meditation, persistent Quran reading, and charitable acts, "he stated.
He took advantage of the opportunity to call on Muslims to pray for an end to the country's chronic economic difficulties, which has resulted in exorbitant pricing for products and services.
READ HIS FULL STATEMENT BELOW:
H.E ALHAJI SAID SINARE, NATIONAL VICE CHAIRMAN OF THE NDC WRITES...
As the holy month of Ramadan begins, it gives me great pleasure to warmly wish my Muslim brothers and sisters in the country and around the globe a happy and peaceful Ramadan.
This holy month is a time for millions of people all around the world to refresh and strengthen their faith through severe fasting, fervent prayer, pensive meditation, persistent Quran reading, and charitable acts.
These gestures are consistent with the Islamic faith's universal objectives.
As Ramadan underpins Islam’s core values of prayer and philanthropy, feeding the poor and needy, and offering support to others, I am disappointed and sad that this holy month falls at a time when nothing in our country is working. Aside from the ongoing economic woes, the country needs prayer, the impoverished need assistance, and we all need Allah's mercy.
The holy month of Ramadan offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to renew our faith in Allah and to show love and generosity to all people, regardless of their religious affiliation, to underline the importance of our peaceful coexistence as one people.
Let us look to our Muslim brothers and sisters as we strive to come to grips with the current economic hardships and join them in praying and providing assistance to those who are suffering in our country.
I want to invite you to use this time of dedication and holiness to pray for an end to the country's economic crises, insecurity, terrible governance, and undemocratic leadership styles for the country to prosper through peace, love, and togetherness.
I would like to take this opportunity to appeal to and inform my dear Ghanaian youths, various NDC youth groups, friends of Alhaji Said Sinare, supporters and sympathizers of the great National Democratic Congress that during the holy and sacred 30 day grace period, I will be taking a one-month hiatus from social media to spend time with Allah.
I take this opportunity to offer my sincerest best wishes to each and every Muslim throughout the country and beyond who is about to embark upon this spiritual journey over the next 30 days. I wish you a happy and peaceful Ramadan.
Facebook's owner Meta Platforms saw its stock market value slump by more than $230bn (£169bn) on Thursday, in a record daily loss for a US firm.
Its shares fell 26.4% after quarterly figures disappointed investors.
Meta also said that Facebook's daily active users (DAUs) had dropped for the first time in its 18-year history.
The company's share price slide saw chief executive Mark Zuckerberg's net worth fall by $31bn, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The drop in Mr Zuckerberg's personal fortune was equivalent to the annual gross domestic product of Estonia.
Even after that drop, Mr Zuckerberg has an estimated net worth of almost $90bn, which means he is still one of the richest people in the world.
That came after Meta revealed that Facebook's DAUs fell to 1.929bn in the three months to the end of December, compared to 1.930bn in the previous quarter.
It was the first time ever that this measure of activity on the world's biggest social network had gone into reverse.
Meta's stock market slump came on the eve of the 18th anniversaryMeta also warned of slowing revenue growth in the face of competition from rival platforms including TikTok and YouTube, while advertisers were also cutting spending.
Mr Zuckerberg said the firm's sales growth had been hurt as audiences, especially younger users, had left for rivals.
The firm forecast revenues of between $27bn and $29bn for the first quarter of this year, which was lower than analysts had expected.
Although the company has been making investments in video services to compete with TikTok, owned by Chinese technology giant ByteDance, it makes less money from those offerings than its traditional Facebook and Instagram feeds.
nding of Facebook
