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SOUTH AFRICA

S. African treatment center intensify battle against COVID-19 In South Africa, provision has been made at a treatment centre for those infected by the coronavirus.At a visit to a  COVID -19 treatment centre in Johannesburg Friday, president Cyril Ramaphosa expressed his satisfaction with the level of preparedness.“The country now needs to get very well prepared, because we are going to be reaching a peak somewhere later in August and in September, where we will need lots of hospital beds”, he said. We are going to be reaching a peak somewhere later in August and in September, where we will need lots of hospital beds. On Thursday, he announced the start to ease national lockdown measures from May 1. In Soweto, residents stood in long queues waiting to enter a supermarket on Friday.“It (national lockdown) has affected me because I haven’t been going to work for quite some time. But as soon as we get instructions if we are going to go back to work and what so ever. Other than that I

SOUTH AFRICA

South Africa coronavirus: Record one-day test, prez mocks 'mask mishap' South Africa has become a   COVID -19 model for the continent in many ways since it confirmed its   index case on 5th March, 2020 . From the area of testing through to record number of recoveries, South Africa has been praised for pro-activeness in combating the virus. The economic intervention measures rolled out by President Cyril Ramaphosa has also been classed as one of the most comprehensive across the continent. South Africa was one of the earliest to roll out such measures.Challenges have been recorded in the area of enforcing the three-week lock-down which was augmented by two weeks. Spike in cases at certain points and incidents of shoplifting and increase in domestic violence cases have all been headaches Pretoria continues to deal with. That President Ramaphosa is also the current Chairperson of the African Union, AU; means he has the delicate task of juggling national tasks withe the contin

Akufo-Addo endorsing illegality and irresponsibility of EC – Sam George

Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram, Sam Nartey George has accused President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and the seat of government of endorsing what he says are illegal and irresponsible actions being showcased by heads of the country’s Electoral body. This follows a supposed meeting held by some Electoral Commission officials at the Airport City Escape Hotel in Accra Saturday. Mr. George, who had earlier secured a court injunction against a planned workshop by the EC in his constituency said the move was a violation of the country’s laws and impropriety. The MP who had stormed the place with some other party members to ascertain the details of the said meeting expressed disappointment in the leaders of the commission whom he claims acted with approval from the presidency. His displeasure was based on the argument that the EC and officials present at the location were flouting government’s directives against the holding of any political or public gatherings in the wake of the fas

Kennedy Agyapong lists Obinim girls

      An outspoken politician,  Kennedy Agyapong , seems to have stripped controversial pastor Bishop Daniel Obinim naked, accusing him of being a habitual womanizer, whose taste for girls knows no boundaries. In a latest video circulating on social media, Mr. Agyapong, who is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central, has listed names of different ‘hot’ ladies that he claimed Bishop Obinim had committed adultery with. He said on a single count, he (Kennedy) managed to trace 14 different women that Bishop Obinim, who owns International God’s Way Church, had slept with. Besides, he showed the pictures of the ladies to buttress his claim on his Net2 television station. Mr. Agyapong said topping the list of the Obinim girls was a fair in complexion and stunning-looking female actress, who is very popular in the country. He said this particular actress was much loved by Obinim. The tall list of ladies, who have so far fallen victim to Bishop Obinim’s alleged sexual escapades

No Black Stars player could challenge my decision on penalty kick - Stephen Appiah

   Former Ghana captain, Stephen Appiah has revealed that no player in the Black Stars could ever challenge his decision to take a penalty kick during his time with the national team. Appiah captained the Black Stars from 2003 to 2010 and was a kingpin for the national team. In 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Ghana suffered a painful quarterfinal exit after losing on penalties to Uruguay. Ghana could have won in extra time but for a late penalty miss by forward Asamoah Gyan, an incident which goes down as one of the bitter defeats for the Black Stars. Gyan, 33, who was Ghana’s lead scorer at the Mundial was reported to have gone against Stephen Appiah’s decision to take the penalty against Uruguay after the latter had made his intention to affect the kick. Contrary to the reports, the former Fenerbahçe and Udinese star who qualified the country to it first World Cup appearance in Germany has denied the said reports insisting none of his teammates could ever challenge his decisi

UK

Coronavirus: Transport usage will change after lockdown The number of people using public transport in Britain's cities could be 20% lower than normal after the end of the coronavirus lockdown. In London, commuters using buses and tubes could fall by as much as 40% from pre-lockdown levels. Rail use could drop by 27%, a poll for transport consultants SYSTRA has found. The survey results capture people's current attitudes about returning to work, but some changes may be carried on into the long term. The results are bad news for the government, which wants more people to  use public transport to cut emissions  that are fuelling climate heating. It could lead to more people driving to work. It's also challenging for public transport operators, which will face a sharp drop in income until public confidence returns. But the survey offers a glimmer of good news too. It suggests that of those expecting to reduce their use of buses and trains, 24% said they pl

US& CANADA

Coronavirus: US death toll passes 50,000 in world's deadliest outbreak The US virus death toll has surpassed 50,000, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, in what is the world's deadliest Covid-19 outbreak. More than 3,000 deaths came in the last 24 hours, and there are now over 870,000 confirmed cases nationwide. But the US still has a lower mortality rate than most European nations based on current case counts, as the White House task force has emphasised. The grim news comes as parts of the US reopen after weeks of lockdown. Some hair salons, bowling alleys and other businesses are opening on Friday in Georgia, Alaska and Oklahoma. The US has by far the highest death toll and case count in the world. However, it has a population of 330 million, much higher than other worst affected countries such as Spain and Italy. Dr Deborah Birx, an expert on the White House Covid-19 task force, has said the country has "one of the lowest mortality r

MTN Group ranked Africa’s top telecoms brand

MTN Group ranked Africa’s top telecoms brand MTN has been awarded the most valuable telecom brand in Africa in a recent annual report by Brand Finance, a leading independent brand valuation consultancy. The report stated that MTN’s brand value was boosted by a solid overall performance for the year, despite challenging economic conditions and regulatory challenges in some markets. Brand finance also recognised MTN for its focus on customers and providing a high-quality service across all its markets. “Amid these unprecedented times in fighting a global pandemic, MTN Group is humbled by the Brand Finance recognition and our progress in rising up through the ranks of this year’s Telecoms 150 report” said MTN President and Group CEO, Rob Shuter.Brand Finance CEO, David Haigh stated that, “MTN is to be commended for its performance in its home market as well as further afield. They are increasingly recognised throughout Africa by their customers as providing high quality servic

6 Nigeriens escape from mandatory quarantine centre in Kadjebi

6 Nigeriens escape from mandatory quarantine centre in Kadjebi Six Nigeriens under mandatory quarantine have escaped from a holding centre at Asato in the Kadjebi District of the Oti Region. Sources tell JoyNews that the incident happened when health officials went there to check on them on Monday but found an empty building without any notice. The Nigeriens were part of the  37 commuters who were arrested on April 17 and 18  in the district. They had been prevented by a joint security operation from using one of the border outposts in the Kadjebi District into Togo and subsequently confined for observation at a guest house. According to Peter Senoo, the Joy News Oti Regional Correspondent, they were returning from Nkawkaw in the Eastern Region where their mainstay – polishing finger and toes nails – is no longer fetching them much. The District Chief Executive (DCE) of Kadzebi, Maxwell Asiedu, suspects the escapees are still in the area “because they left their belonging

Ghana’s COVID-19 case count rises to 1,279 with 134 recoveries

Ghana’s COVID-19 case count rises to 1,279 with 134 recoveries Ghana’s COVID-19 case count has risen to 1,279 from the 1,154, after125 more cases were confirmed in the country. According to the latest Ghana Health Service update of April 24, 2020, Oti and Western North Regions have now recorded cases increasing the number of regions affected by COVID-19 to 12 out of 16 regions in Ghana. The update indicates that 14 more people have recovered from the virus, putting the total number of persons who have recovered from COVID-19 in Ghana at 134. One more death has been confirmed bringing the number to 10. Regional breakdown The Greater Accra Region still leads with the highest number of positive cases, followed by the Ashanti and Eastern Region. Greater Accra region – 1,089 Ashanti region – 69 Eastern region – 56 Northern region – 13 Oti region – 13 Volta region – 10 Central region – 9 Upper East region – 8 Upper West region – 8 North East region – 2 We

Hearts of Oak deny signing Sulley Muntari

Hearts of Oak deny signing Sulley Muntari                                                          Accra Hearts of Oak have denied and described as untrue rumours that they have signed former Black Stars midfielder Sulley Muntari. Speaking to ghanaweb.com, a Management member of the club who wishes to remain anonymous for now said Hearts of Oak have not been in touch with the former AC Milan and Inter midfielder and thus is shocked that anyone will suggest that Sulley Muntari has joined the Phobians on a two year deal. "A journalist was chatting with me on WhatsApp and asked me if we were done with the Sulley deal and I responded yes because in my mind he was talking about our new signing called Nuru Sulley. I think the journalist mistook that for Sulley Muntari and that is how come the story got out. But I can tell you on authority that we have not signed Sulley Muntari. It is not true." Our source said. Rumors were rife on Friday afternoon that Muntari had joine

Coronavirus

Coronavirus: Let scientists do the talking, not politicians – Nana Addo President Nana Akufo-Addo has urged the media the centre the views of scientists on issues having to do with the novel coronavirus. “When people are going to talk about this disease (Coronavirus), they will talk about it from the viewpoint of science. Get the scientists. Let them be the ones to talk. Get those who have specialist information. That is what I will encourage you to do.” These President Akufo-Addo, on Friday, 24 th  April, 2020, when he met with the leadership of the National Media Commission, the Ghana Journalists Association, the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association, the Private Newspaper Publishers Association of Ghana, as well as the leadership of State-Owned media organisations on the COVID-19 pandemic. In his remarks, he encouraged the media to “bring those who have the knowledge, and let them, through you, explain these matters to the public.” Whilst acknowledg

POLITICS

Leadership experts praise Akufo-Addo’s handling of coronavirus crisis in Ghana President Nana Akufo-Addo’s management of the coronavirus pandemic in Ghana has received rave commendations from notable experts in leadership in Ghana. Prof Baffour Agyeman-Duah, Dr Kobby Mensah and Dr Etse Sikanku were unanimous in their approvals of how the government has handled the crisis since the first case of Covid-19 was reported in Ghana in the latter part of March this year The commendations by the experts come despite contrary views from a section of the public, particularly from the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), that  some the decisions by the President have been poor. According to Prof Agyeman-Duah, who is a former UN Senior Governance Advisor, after closely monitoring the President’s management of the crisis, he is convinced the President checks all the boxes for a bold and courageous leader – the type societies need in a time of crisis. “When he began, when he m