The Deputy Director of Elections and IT for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr. Rashid Tanko, has questioned the Ghanaian electorate’s willingness to retain a leader associated with economic challenges, drawing instances with recent developments in the United States.
In an interview with JoyNews on Wednesday, Dr. Tanko reflected on America’s decision to re-elect a former president amid economic concerns, suggesting a similar outcome might be expected in Ghana.
“The Americans have decided to go back and take what they lost,” Dr. Tanko remarked. “A president who was on the path of delivering them, and they decided to push him out. They have gone back to pick a former president whom they think has the magic wand as of now to alleviate the over and huge difficulty the American people are going through. The election was won based on the economy. The economic doldrums in America was too much.”
Drawing a comparison to Ghana’s economic condition, Dr. Tanko argued that Ghanaians might reject a candidate associated with the current administration’s economic challenges.
“It is just like what we are going through here in Ghana. Nobody needs to tell you our economic condition is worse. You expect a sitting Vice President who is part and parcel of the mess of the economy to continue in government?” he questioned. “America rejected a driver’s mate. Do you think Ghanaians will maintain a driver’s mate? What will stop us from bringing JDM?” he added, referring to former President John Dramani Mahama.
The statements come as former U.S. President Donald Trump edges closer to an unprecedented political comeback. Trump, having declared victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in the U.S. presidential election, told supporters in Florida that they were on the verge of “a new golden age for America.”
“Needing only one more state to secure the required 270 electoral college votes, Trump appears poised to return to the White House, marking the first such return for a former president in over 130 years. CBS projections indicate his party is also on track to gain control of the Senate.
Speaking to a crowd in West Palm Beach, Trump said, “This will truly be the golden age of America — that’s what we have to have. This is a magnificent victory for the American people that will allow us to make America great again.”
Already, social media users are speculating that Trump’s potential return to office could bode well for a win for former President Mahama in Ghana.
Ghana’s Minister for Health, Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye has outlined measures to tackle the increasing departure of Ghanaian medical professionals seeking better opportunities abroad.
This issue, raised by concerned healthcare professionals, has seen nearly 4,000 nurses leave for Europe and America in 2023 alone, posing a potential crisis for Ghana’s healthcare system.
Addressing the Ghana Dental Association’s 33rd Annual General Congress in Kumasi, Dr. Okoe Boye emphasized strategic initiatives to mitigate these challenges.
He proposed fostering partnerships and Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) between training centers and district health facilities.
This approach aims to enhance practical training opportunities, ensuring that healthcare professionals gain valuable experience outside major hospitals.
“According to the Ghana Nurses and Midwives Association, nearly 4,000 nurses left Ghana for Europe and America in 2023 for better jobs. Without equivocation, one of the critical challenges the health sector will face in the next decade is a shortage of essential health care workers.”
“If the ongoing trend is not checked, it will pose significant challenges to the provision of quality and accessible health care for all. I am quite optimistic that the Ghana Dental Association and other professional bodies in the country are thinking through how to prevent such phenomenon in their ranks.”
Furthermore, Dr. Okoe Boye underscored collaborative efforts with professional bodies and educational institutions to ramp up annual training capacities.
“One of the things that the ministry is going to promote and sponsor has to do with partnerships, MoUs between the training centres and the let’s say the district facilities, the health centres and possibly even the CHPS compounds.”
“I think as professionals who always want to improve or increase our knowledge, we are comfortable when we are given logbooks that says that as part of your training at Komfo Anokye go to a particular district for some one month as part of the training. So, if we fashion this very well and the relationship between the Ghana Health Service facilities, most of the government facilities outside the teaching hospitals are under Dr. Kumah Aboagye.”
“If we can have MoUs between these facilities and the teaching hospitals or the regional hospitals or the big centres where dentists are comfortable to practice, then through this route, we’ll find a way to make sure that every Ghanaian gets to have an experience with the dentist. And so, I believe MoUs is the way to go.
“The second strategy or policy would be to work together with GDA, Ghana Education Service, and the teaching hospitals so that we can increase the numbers that we train annually.”
This concerted approach seeks to bolster local healthcare services and stem the outflow of skilled medical personnel from Ghana.
These initiatives, discussed during the congress themed “Strengthening the GDA: An All-Inclusive Membership for Tomorrow’s Success,” reflect the ministry’s proactive stance in addressing critical healthcare workforce shortages in Ghana.
Ghanaian musician Showboy has issued a cautionary message to young people about the perils of peer pressure and engaging in fraudulent activities.
During an interview on Adom FM, he specifically advised young Ghanaians in America to avoid illegal actions and instead capitalize on the opportunities available in the country.
He urged Ghanaian youth in the U.S. not to succumb to the temptation of fraud or blindly follow peers.
Showboy emphasized that America presents numerous prospects for success, including ample job opportunities, and encouraged adherence to the law and responsible financial management, such as building credit.
“I advise all the Ghanaian youth who got the chance to go to America to not go into fraud and not to follow friends around.
“It’s a land of opportunities, take advantage of them. There are many jobs there, follow the rules and the laws, build your credit,” he said.
“If you follow friends, you will die early. Don’t let the pressures on social media get to you, those posting do not have anything, it’s just vibes.”
Furthermore, he cautioned against excessive socializing, noting that too many friendships can hinder personal growth and invite trouble.
Showboy highlighted the dangers of being influenced negatively, drawing from his own experiences where such influences led to missed opportunities.
Despite facing financial difficulties, Showboy remains optimistic and determined to learn from past mistakes, including his involvement in a violent incident that resulted in legal consequences.
He returned to Ghana after a period of incarceration and has been striving to reintegrate into the music scene, releasing songs like ‘GBA’ and ‘Stubborn’.
Showboy’s return has not been without controversy, as he has accused individuals in the music industry of setting him up and faced accusations regarding previous criminal activities. Nonetheless, he continues to focus on personal growth and musical endeavors.
Maryam Kamalmaz talked to The Associated Press and said that she met with eight important American officials in Washington. They gave her a lot of information about her father, Majd, who is a therapist from Texas and is believed to be dead.
The officials said they were very confident about her father’s death. She asked if other detained Americans had been rescued in similar situations, and they said no.
“What else do I need. A lot of important people confirmed to us that he’s really gone. ” Maryam Kamalmaz said there was no way to avoid the truth.
She said the officials told her that they think her father died many years ago, at the beginning of his time in captivity. In 2020, she was told by officials that they thought he died from a heart problem in 2017, but the family still had hope and US officials kept looking for him.
She said that they didn’t confirm how trustworthy the information is until this meeting and the different levels of checking it had to go through.
She did not explain what she learned about being smart.
Majd Kamalmaz went missing in February 2017, when he was 59 years old, while he was traveling in Syria to see an old family member. The FBI said that he was stopped at a checkpoint in Syria and nobody has heard from him since.
Kamalmaz and other Americans have gone missing in Syria. One of them is Austin Tice, a journalist who disappeared in 2012 at a checkpoint near Damascus. Syria says they are not keeping any Americans as prisoners.
In 2020, during the end of Donald Trump’s time as president, important officials went to Damascus to have a big meeting to try and get the Americans released. The meeting didn’t go well. The Syrians didn’t show any proof that the person is alive and made demands that US officials thought were not reasonable. US officials are still working to bring Tice back home.
The delivery is the first one in a plan that American military officials think could increase to 150 truckloads every day. At the same time, Israel continues to attack the southern city of Rafah in its seven-month fight against Hamas. At the White House, a person named John Kirby said that the initial delivery of aid included more than 300 pallets, which were given to the UN to distribute.
Kirby said the US has received signs that some of the help was already going to Gaza.
The US, UN, and aid groups are saying that the floating pier project is not enough to replace bringing in food, water, and fuel to Gaza by land. Before the fighting started, over 500 trucks came into the Palestinian area every day.
The operation might not be successful because there is a risk of attack by militants, there are many logistical problems, and there isn’t enough fuel for the aid trucks because of the Israeli blockade of Gaza. Attackers killed 1,200 people and kidnapped 250 others in southern Israel. The attacks by Israel have killed over 35,000 people in Gaza, according to local health officials. Many others have also been killed in the West Bank.
Soldiers finished putting in the floating platform on Thursday, and the US military’s Central Command said the first aid went into Gaza at 9 am Friday. It was reported that no American soldiers landed during the operation.
The Pentagon said there will be no extra supplies in the distribution process. The US wants the United Nations, using the World Food Program, to be responsible for the aid after it leaves the pier. This will involve making sure that empty trucks arrive and get registered, overseeing the transfer of goods from the floating dock to the trucks, sending the trucks to different warehouses in Gaza, and giving the supplies to aid groups for delivery.
On Friday evening, the WFP announced that supplies brought to the pier were taken to their storage in Deir al-Balah and are now ready to be picked up and given out.
The UK sent aid to Gaza in the first shipment, which included 8,400 kits to make temporary shelters using plastic sheets. It said that more help is coming soon, including 2,000 shelter kits, 900 tents, five forklift trucks, and 9,200 hygiene kits.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said this is the result of a huge effort from many countries working together. “We understand that traveling by sea is not the only solution. ” We want more land routes to open, like the Rafah crossing, so we can get more aid to people who really need it.
The UN agency that helps with humanitarian aid said it’s good to start the operation, but it can’t replace delivering aid by land.
Jens Laerke, who speaks for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said that everyone involved in the operation agrees that any help for Gaza is good, no matter how it gets there. He said this to reporters in Geneva on Friday. Helping people in Gaza should not rely on a faraway floating platform.
Anastasia Moran, who works for the International Rescue Committee, says that the pier is taking attention away from the growing humanitarian crisis.
In the last few months, the maritime route has been using a lot of time, energy, and resources. This is happening at a time when aid has not been increased. “Now that the sea route is open and working well, the land crossings are closed. ”
Between May 6 and May 15, 154 trucks brought food and 156 trucks brought flour into Gaza from Israel. This happened while Israel was attacking Rafah. Farhan Haq, a UN spokesperson, shared this information on Friday. This week, Haq said that hardly any fuel is making its way through.
Israel is worried that Hamas will use fuel in the war, but it says it is not stopping any humanitarian aid from coming in. It says the UN is responsible for the slow distribution of goods in Gaza. Israel has opened two crossings to send aid to the north of the territory, because the US asked them to.
Hamas attacks at Kerem Shalom crossing have caused problems with delivering goods. The UN says that it has been difficult to deliver aid because of fighting, Israeli firing, and bad security conditions. Israeli people have also had angry protests that stopped aid from being delivered.
US President Joe Biden said to start building the pier, which will probably cost $320 million. The aid will be brought by boats to a port made by Israelis near Gaza City. The US has worked closely with Israel to keep ships and workers on the beach safe.
Last month, people were worried about the safety of aid workers after an Israeli attack killed seven workers from World Central Kitchen. Their trip had been planned out.
A big storm came to Atlanta at the end of the morning traffic. There were delays at busy airports in Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina. The National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center said that there is a higher chance of dangerous weather from Texas to South Carolina. A person in charge of emergencies said there was a lot of damage from strong winds that might have been from a tornado on Thursday afternoon in Vidalia, Georgia. Vidalia is an area where a lot of onions are grown.
The storms bring heavy rain and tornadoes to the Plains, Midwest, and Southeast this week. For the past few days, severe weather has put 39 states in danger, and at least four people have died. On Wednesday and Thursday, around 220 million people were at risk of severe weather. Matthew Elliott, who forecasts for the Storm Prediction Center, said that some people were in danger for more than one day.
The weather comes after a very stormy April in the US. There were 300 confirmed tornadoes in April, which is the second-highest number ever for that month and the most since 2011.
Severe weather in Tennessee caused a lot of damage to homes, hurt people, knocked over power lines and trees, and led to the death of a 22-year-old man in a car in Claiborne County, which is north of Knoxville, according to officials. Another person died in Columbia, south of Nashville, in Maury County. A tornado with winds of 140 mph (225 km/h) damaged or destroyed over 100 homes, according to officials.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee said that a woman died in Maury County when her mobile home was thrown into a forest. Lee went to see people who work in emergencies and people who work for the Tennessee Department of Transportation in the area that was hit by the storm on Thursday. He said thank you to the workers who worked all night to remove trees and garbage from the roads.
Later, Lee told the news people that it’s really sad to see families who have been hurt by the tornado.
Lee said it is tough to see another family going through a tough time, but it is good to see them talking to their neighbors and saying they will be okay.
Bob Booth had just come back to his house in Columbia from Georgia. He was about to watch TV when he heard a loud noise.
Booth said, “I woke up and saw a lot of chaos outside. ” “Then the upper part of one of my trees falls on the road. ”
Former pastor Walter Shell said he and his wife took their two dogs and went to the basement when his phone told him about a tornado.
“It just missed us by about 4 inches. ” “It went in circles,” he said. “Praying is worth it, I can tell you. ”
Heavy rain caused a sudden flood and people had to be rescued from the water northeast of Nashville. The weather service also issued a tornado warning for nearby areas.
A 10-year-old boy was hurt badly in Christiana, near Nashville. He got stuck in a drainage pipe and was carried away by the water while playing with other kids. Adults were cleaning up debris at the time. His dad, who is the superintendent of Rutherford County Schools, shared the news on social media.
The boy, Asher, came out of a drainage ditch and stayed alive after getting CPR. “But he is really hurt,” Sullivan wrote on Facebook, and asked for people to pray for him.
“Asher really needs something amazing to happen,” Sullivan wrote.
Many people came to the school district’s offices for a prayer event on Thursday. They bent down and shut their eyes to pray, and they sang “Amazing Grace” at the same time.
Schools in Rutherford and Maury were closed on Thursday and Friday. Some areas north of Atlanta in Georgia had to cancel in-person classes or start later because of storm damage. Fallen trees damaged houses and cars in Clarkesjsonville. Nobody got hurt there.
“We are currently cleaning up and waiting for the next round,” said Lynn Smith, who is in charge of the Habersham County Emergency Management Agency.
A big tornado wrecked at least 20 homes in northern Alabama’s DeKalb County and hurt some people but didn’t kill anyone, officials said.
A big storm hit Gaston County in North Carolina. It caused a lot of damage and knocked down power lines and trees. A car also got hit by a falling tree. The state declared a state of emergency in response to the storm. One person died in the car and another person went to the hospital, according to officials.
Severe weather hit parts of the central US on Monday, with storms bringing heavy rain, strong winds, hail, and tornadoes. One person died when a tornado tore through a town in Oklahoma. Tuesday, the Midwest got hit the hardest by the bad weather. Tornadoes hit Michigan, Ohio and Indiana, said the weather service.
The Kalamazoo area in Michigan was hit hard when a FedEx building was destroyed, and about 50 people were trapped by fallen power lines.
Tornadoes were seen near Pittsburgh, in central Arkansas, and in northern West Virginia. The West Virginia tornado was the 11th tornado in the state this year. Usually, West Virginia has about two tornadoes in a year.
Tornadoes have hit the Plains and Midwest a lot this spring.
The soldier, whose name is not known, was in South Korea and on their way back to the United States. Instead, authorities said he went to Russia.
The officials wanted to keep their identity a secret while they talked about the staff details.
Cynthia Smith, who speaks for the Army, said that a soldier was arrested on Thursday in Vladivostok, a big port in the Pacific, for doing something against the law. She said Russia told the US and the Army told the soldier’s family.
Smith said that the US government is helping the soldier in Russia.
On Monday, it wasn’t clear if the soldier is considered absent without permission.
Less than a year ago, an American soldier named Travis King ran into North Korea across the heavily guarded border. He has now been arrested. North Korea said they would kick out King, and he was sent back to the US. He was later accused of deserting.
Russia has some Americans in its jails. This includes Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich. The US government thinks they are being held unfairly and is trying to get them released.
Other people who were arrested are: – Travis Leake, a musician who lived in Russia for a long time and was arrested for drugs last year – Marc Fogel, a teacher in Moscow who got 14 years in prison for drugs – Alsu Kurmasheva and Ksenia Khavana, who are citizens of two countries
NBC News was the first to report that the soldier had been arrested in Russia.
Three bodies found in Baja California are probably the same ones of the two Australians and one American who were lost during a camping and surfing trip. The state prosecutor’s office announced this on Saturday.
Local TV network Milenio reported that although forensic examination has not yet confirmed it, the physical characteristics such as their hair and clothing strongly suggest that the bodies found are likely those of the three tourists. This information was provided by chief state prosecutor Maria Elena Andrade Ramirez.
An employee from the state prosecutors’ office, who cannot be named, told The Associated Press that it’s believed the bodies are being looked into.
The dead bodies were found in a well. The investigators also found another body in the same well. The authorities said they would investigate the situation.
“A fourth person was found. ” It has nothing to do with the three foreigners. The fourth body had been there for a long time, said the official.
The place where the bodies were found was close to the town of Santo Tomas. It was also near the isolated seaside area where the men’s tents and truck were found on Thursday.
The men, who are brothers from Australia and an American man, went missing on Saturday. They didn’t go to where they were supposed to stay over the weekend. Watch an Australian radio host work whilst carrying baby at her back The US government knows about the reports of bodies and is keeping a close watch on the situation. Right now, we don’t have anything else to say.
The police in Baja California were talking to three people about the case, they said on Thursday. On Friday, the authorities said three people were arrested and charged with a crime similar to kidnapping. It was not clear if they might get more charges.
Andrade Ramirez, the top lawyer for the state, said that the evidence found with the empty tents is related to the three people who are being asked about the foreigners who disappeared.
Milenio stated that she said the people who might do the crime, took the surfers’ truck and some of its parts were found in another truck that belongs to one of the suspects.
On Wednesday, Debra Robinson asked people on Facebook to help find her missing sons. Robinson said no one has heard from Callum and Jake since April 27th. They had arranged a place to stay in the town of Rosarito nearby.
Robinson said her son Callum has diabetes. She said the American with them was named Jack Carter Rhoad, but the US Embassy in Mexico City didn’t confirm it right away. The US government knows that a person from the US is missing in Baja, but they didn’t share any more information.
In 2015, two surfers from Australia, Adam Coleman and Dean Lucas, were killed in western Sinaloa state, which is across from the Baja peninsula. Officials said that they were attacked by robbers on the road. Three people were taken into police custody for that situation.
The group from Iran said it attacked an American ship called Maersk Yorktown and an Israeli ship called MSC Veracruz in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. The spokesman, Yahya Sarea, talked about this on TV.
Yemen’s Houthis are attacking ships in the Red Sea to show support for Palestinians fighting Israel in Gaza. This has been going on since November.
“The Yemeni military says they will keep stopping Israeli ships or any ships going to ports in occupied Palestine in the Red and Arabian Seas, and also in the Indian Ocean,” Sarea stated on Wednesday.
The ship said there was a big boom in the water, about 72 nautical miles from Djibouti, according to a new warning from Ambrey.
Houthi attacks are causing problems for global shipping in the Suez Canal. Companies have to take longer and more costly routes around southern Africa because of this. The United States and Britain attacked Houthi targets in Yemen.
The last time Iranian-backed groups in Iraq attacked US troops was in early February. This recent attack is the first one since then.
The attack happened one day after the Iraqi Prime Minister came back from visiting the United States and meeting with the US President at the White House.
Two people who work in security and a senior army officer said that a small truck with a rocket launcher on it was left in Zummar, a town near the border with Syria.
The army person said that the truck caught on fire and exploded because there were rockets inside. At the same time, there were warplanes flying in the sky.
Iraqi police went to the area and started looking for the people who did the crime. The criminals ran away in a different car. This was said by a security officer in Zummar town.
The Iraqi Security Media Cell, a group in charge of sharing security information, said that Iraqi forces have started a big operation to find and check the people responsible for a crime near the Syrian border. They promise to make sure those responsible are punished.
A soldier said they took the truck to look at it some more. A first look shows that it was destroyed by a bomb dropped from a plane.
“We are talking to the coalition forces in Iraq to give them information about this attack,” the officer said.
The attacks happened the day after a big explosion at a military base in Iraq. The explosion killed a member of the Iraqi security force, which includes groups supported by Iran. The leader of the army said there was an attack, but the army is still looking into it. They also said there were no planes flying at the time.
“When I was a child living on the farm, we saw a partial eclipse and I was really excited, more than anyone else in my family,” Hadfield said to the reporters. “I put holes in a piece of paper and when the sun shone through it, I could see a partial eclipse. “
“I haven’t been able to see an eclipse since then, but today the stars have aligned and I can see it. “
Had field went to Florenceville-Bristol, NB on Monday to see where the solar eclipse would be fully visible. He was one of many people in the Maritimes who watched the special event in the sky, and it won’t happen again there until 2079.
There were lots of cars on the roads in Prince Edward Island because many people we retrying to find a good spot to see the eclipse.
“He said that today is a rare day when millions of people actually stop and look up. “”We often focus on our shoes and the bad things people do, but there are so many amazing things in nature around us that we ignore. “Today is a day that brings people together.
Five people were hurt in an attack on March 30 in Kafue National Park. The park is very big and covers 22,400 square kilometres. It’s one of the largest animal reserves in Africa.
According to the safari company Wilderness, a very angry male elephant suddenly ran towards the truck that had six guests and a guide on a morning trip through the wild areas.
It wasn’t easy to figure out why the bull was upset. However, in a video that many people have seen online, the elephant is seen aggressively running through the bushy land towards the tourists’ car. A man is yelling “hey hey hey” trying to scare something away, but it doesn’t work. It gets to the truck and turns it over with its trunk.
Another woman who was visiting as a tourist got very hurt and had to be taken to South Africa by helicopter for treatment. The other tourists had smaller injuries and were treated by the company.
“This is a very sad event for everyone involved, and we are doing our best to help the family and everyone affected,” said Tarryn Gibson, who handles communications for the safari company, in a statement to The Associated Press on Thursday. Gibson didn’t say the name of the tourist who died, and mentioned that her family wants to keep things private. The company also told people not to spread the video of the attack on the internet.
Keith Vincent, the boss of the safari company, said it would be hard to escape because of the rough ground.
“Our guides are very skilled and have lots of experience, but in this situation, the terrain and plants made it hard for the guide to find a way out quickly,” he said.
An avalanche near the Swiss resort of Zermatt claimed the lives of an American teenager and two others, according to police on Tuesday.One person was taken to the hospital with bad injuries by helicopter.
The big snowslide happened around 2 in the afternoon. On Monday, in a place called Riffelberg, off the main skiing routes, above the town and below the famous Matterhorn mountain. Rescuers found three dead people and a 20-year-old Swiss man who was hurt while skiing.
Police in Valais canton said a 15-year-old American boy and two other people were victims, but they haven’t been identified yet. They did not share any more information, but they do not know who the woman is right now.
The police are looking into what happened.
Five people from a Swiss family were found dead last month after they went missing while skiing near the Matterhorn in bad weather. The search for the sixth missing person was stopped by the authorities after a few days.
A bombing by Israel killed seven aid workers from World Central Kitchen, causing the charity to stop giving food to the people in Gaza who really need it. This is happening because Israel is attacking Gaza, and many Palestinians don’t have enough food to eat.
There was no way to verify where the fire started on Monday. The Israeli military said it was very sorry for the deaths, but did not admit that it was their fault.
The video showed dead people, some wearing protective clothing with the charity’s symbol, at a hospital in the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah. Hospital records show that three people from Britain, one from Australia, one from Poland, one from the United States and Canada, and one from Palestine were killed.
The charity, started by famous chef José Andrés, helped open a new way to bring much-needed help to northern Gaza. The UN says many people there are close to starving because they are cut off from the rest of the area by Israeli forces.
Andrés’ charity helps people in many countries that have had wars or natural disasters, like Israel after the Oct. The person who caused the conflict with the attack feels very sad about the deaths of his friends.
The Israeli government must stop killing people without choosing who they are. He said on X, which used to be called Twitter, that they should stop blocking humanitarian help, stop hurting innocent people and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon.
The charity said the team was traveling in three cars, with two of them being armored vehicles, and they had planned their movements with the Israeli army.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the top military spokesperson, said that they are looking into the incident very seriously. He also mentioned that they will begin an investigation to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.
Erin Gore, the head of the charity, said, “This is not just an attack on our organization, but on all groups trying to help in dangerous situations where food is being used as a weapon. ” “This is really wrong and can’t be forgiven. “
UNRWA, the main UN agency in Gaza, reported that 173 of its workers have been killed in the area since the war started. This happened when militants led by Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages. Israel fought back with one of their most deadly and damaging attacks in a longtime.
Several countries wanted to help the people in northern Gaza, where there is a big problem. They tried to open a new way to bring in more aid by using the sea. Right now, not enough supplies are getting in because Israel controls the land routes. The United States and other countries have dropped supplies from airplanes to help, but experts say it’s not enough to meet the growing needs.
Three ships from Cyprus brought 400 tons of food and supplies to help people. The ships were organized by World Central Kitchen and the United Arab Emirates after a test run last month.
The US has given important help to Israel’s attack. They are talking about using the sea to deliver aid and are going to build a floating dock. It will take a few weeks to build.
Adrienne Watson, who speaks for the National Security Council, said that the US is very upset and worried about the strike. “Weask Israel to quickly look into what happened,” she wrote on X.
Nael Eliyan, a Palestinian who had to leave his home, was in his tent about 100 meters away when he heard a big blast on Monday night. He quickly went to the place where it happened. “Their injuries were very bad, and they died fast,” he said, calling them “heroes, martyrs, and brave people. “
The aid workers’ bodies were brought to a hospital in the southern city of Rafah near the Egyptian border, as reported by an Associated Press reporter at the hospital.
The Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, said that a person named Zomi Frankcom from Melbourne, who was 44yearsold, was killed. He also said that the Australian government has asked Israel for an explanation.
“This person volunteered in another country to help people in need through a charity organization in Gaza who are going through a lot of hardship. ” “This is not okay at all,” Albanese told reporters.
DavidCameron, the top official in charge of UK relations with other countries, said they are checking to see if reports about British people dying in the attack are true. He said it was very upsetting news.
“It is important to keep humanitarian workers safe while they do their job,” he wrote on X, and also asked for an investigation.
Poland’s Foreign Ministry expressed their deepest sympathy to the family of a volunteer who had been helping Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. They did not say how the volunteer had died. The Foreign Ministry wants to know why Israel did something and is asking them to explain.
The mayor of Przemysl, Wojciech Bakun, said on Facebook that the victim’s name was Damian Soból and he was from the city in southeastern Poland.
Over 32,916 people in Gaza have died in the war, and most of them were women and children. The Health Ministry in Gaza counts all the deaths, not just civilians. Israel says that the deaths of civilians are caused by Palestinian militants who fight in crowded neighborhoods. The army doesn’t usually talk about specific attacks.
Late on Monday, it seems like Israel attacked Rafah and 12 Palestinians, including 5 children, were killed. Israel said they would keep fighting in that area even though there are a lot of Palestinians there who have run away from the fighting in other places.
The unknown crew members died on Friday while the Nieuw Amsterdam ship was in the Bahamas. Holland America confirmed this in a statement.
Officials were told about the accident and they are now looking into what caused it, the cruise company said. The crew members were being given help to talk about their feelings.
“We are very sad about what happened and we are thinking of our team members’ families during this tough time,” said the statement. “The most important thing for the company is to make sure all guests and crew are safe and taken care of. ”
The cruise company did not give any more information about the crew members or say which organization was doing the investigation. The boat left Fort Lauderdale on March 16 for a seven-night journey.
The new law’s details were not available on Wednesday afternoon, but lawmakers and their assistants were expecting it to be officially revealed later in the day or early Thursday. The package is likely to be approved, and it will finish Congress’s work on spending bills for the year, which is almost six months after the fiscal year started.
This year, twelve spending bills were put into two groups. The first bill was approved by Congress two weeks ago, just in time before the agencies would have to shut down.
Congress is now working on a bigger package that has $886 billion for defense. This is about a three percent increase from last year. The bill gives money to the Departments of Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Labor, and others. Non-military spending is expected to stay about the same as last year.
The leaders tried to convince the members to buy the package. In a private meeting with GOP lawmakers, Speaker Mike Johnson talked about some of the policy changes that House Republicans were able to get in the latest negotiations. This means that the United Nations won’t give money to help Palestinian refugees until March 2025. He also said that the bill pays for 8,000 more beds for people who are not citizens and are waiting for their immigration hearings or to be sent out of the country.
Johnson said that it was really hard to agree on the Homeland Security part because the two parties are very far apart. “I believe that we were able to include a lot of important things in the final product, and we got some victories. It’s going in the direction we want, even though we have a small majority. ”
The House will vote on the second package on Friday. Lawmakers will have more than a day to look at the law. But, this bypasses a House rule that says lawmakers should have 72 hours to review major laws before voting on them.
This is making some House Republicans angry, but if we follow the rule, it would likely mean that some important federal agencies might not have enough money for a day or two.
Once the bill is approved by the House, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer from New York will take charge. He said he will bring it to the Senate for discussion.
“Schumer said it will be difficult to get the funding package before the weekend deadline, even if both parties work together. ”
The Democrats were happy that they stopped most of the rules that the Republicans wanted in the spending bills. These rules included making it harder to get the abortion pill and banning gender-affirming health care.
“We are where we expected to be,” said the representative. Pete Aguilar from California. We were aware that the House Democrats, Senate Democrats, Senate Republicans and the White House were not going toallow any big harmful cuts and unreasonable policy changes.
The bill’s spending mostly follows an agreement made by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the White House in May 2023. This agreement limited spending for two years and delayed the debt ceiling until January 2025 so the government could keep paying its bills.
“Sen said we had to follow some tough rules and fight against many bad ideas from Republican, including some very severe cuts proposed by House Republicans. ” Patty Murray is the leader of the Democratic group in charge of deciding on how to spend the government’s money. “Now we have a great bill that both political parties agree on. It helps to protect important investments in the American people. ”
McCarthy lost his position as speaker a few months after making a deal about the debt ceiling. Eight Republicans joined with Democrats to remove McCarthy as speaker. Some people who didn’t like the debt ceiling deal were also worried about the new package.
Johnson plans to put the bill up for a vote using a faster process. The bill needs two-thirds support to pass. The first spending package was approved with a vote of 339-85. Most of the no votes came from Republicans, with only two from other parties.
Rep said, “If this bill is not dealt with for two weeks, it will be heavily criticized. ” Chip Roy is from Texas and is a member of the Republican party. “They want to push it through in the next 2 days. ”
“I wish we will have some small wins. ” Sadly, I don’t think we will achieve many important policy wins because of our history and our unwillingness to use leverage to force policy changes. This means we are not willing to walk away and say no. Bob Good, who is Republican from Virginia.
Johnson wanted to stop giving money to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which helps people in Gaza with food, water, and shelter, until March 2025. Republicans want to stop giving money to the agency because Israel said some of the agency’s workers were part of the attack by Hamas in Israel. “This is an important report. ”
The United States They give the agency a lot of money – about $364 million in 2022 and $371 million in 2023. After Israel accused the agency of something, the Biden administration stopped giving them money. Republicans want to make the ban last longer.
However, some lawmakers are worried about the ban because many relief agencies say there is no other way to provide the humanitarian aid that the United States and others are trying to send to Gaza.
America embassy in Russia said that dangerous people have plans to attack Moscow soon. This comes after Russian security services stopped a planned shooting at a synagogue by a group linked to Islamic State in Afghanistan.
The embassy has asked the U.S several times to do something about the situation. The government has told its people in Russia to leave right away. However, the government failed to tell them why, but they warned to stay away from large gatherings and to be careful of their surroundings.
The Embassy is keeping an eye on reports that extremists have plans to attack big events in Moscow, like concerts and events involving the U.S The embassy’s website said that people should stay away from big crowds for the next two days.
It warned a few hours after Russia’s FSB said it stopped an attack on a synagogue in Moscow by a group from Islamic State.
It was not clear if the two statements were connected.
Many countries say it’s not safe to travel to Russia and tell their citizens to come back home. The United States of America and Russia has been given the highest warning level, which is the same as countries like Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, South Sudan and Iran. It means “do not travel”.
The fighting in Ukraine has caused a major problem in Russia’s relationship with the West, the biggest since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962.
The Kremlin is blaming the relationship between Russia and the United States are not good right now because the United States is helping Ukraine with money, weapons, and intelligence in its fight against Russia.
The FSB found an Islamic State group in Russia’s Kaluga region. This group is part of ISIS-Khorasan, which wants to control many countries in the region and is based in Afghanistan.
The group showed up in eastern Afghanistan in late 2014 and became known for being very brutal.
The FSB said that the person was getting ready to shoot people at a synagogue.
Russian special forces fought back against the militants and eventually stopped them with return fire.
The FSB said they found and took away guns, bullets, and parts to make a homemade bomb.
Western countries now think that being a diplomat in Moscow is really hard.
Western diplomats in Moscow say they are often spied on and bothered. They use a guide called “Moscow Rules” to help them stay safe, which was made by Western spies in the past and has been updated for today’s Russia.
Russia has been saying that its diplomats are often mistreated in big Western cities and its citizens are unfairly treated because of a strong dislike of Russia. They say this is the worst it has been in 100 years.
Peter Biar Ajak ran away to the United States with the help of the American government, four years ago after he said South Sudan’s president wanted to kidnap or kill him. Ajak, who is now 40 years old, and his family were given special visas quickly because they had been hiding in Kenya for several weeks. He lived in Maryland until recently.
A legal document in Arizona says Ajak and Abraham Chol Keech, who are 44 and from Utah, are accused of plotting to buy and send weapons to South Sudan through another country. This breaks the law about exporting weapons. The weapons they were thinking about included guns like AK-47s, grenade launchers, Stinger missiles, hand grenades, sniper rifles, bullets, and other controlled weapons.
The criminal report was made public by the United States. Officials from the justice department still couldn’t find the case on the government’s website by Tuesday afternoon. It was not clear if the men had lawyers who could talk about the accusations against them.
The defendants tried to secretly bring big weapons and bullets from the United States to South Sudan, which is a country controlled by the U. NThe arms embargo is because of the fighting between armed groups that has caused thousands of deaths and people to leave their homes. This was said by Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen from America The Department of Justice’s National Security Division said in a statement.
“Saying no to sending American weapons to other countries helps to make sure they don’t get used to cause trouble in other countries,” Gary Restaino, U.S, lawyer explained in Arizona.
A man who picked up the phone at the Embassy of South Sudan in Washington on Tuesday said that they don’t have a press officer and the ambassador was not available to comment because he was traveling.
From 2022 to 2023, Ajak worked at Harvard University’s Belfer Center as a postdoctoral fellow, where he studied how South Sudan became a country. He was also a member at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies of the National Defense University and a Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy.
South Sudan became its own country on July 9, 2011, after a vote by the people. But many different groups of people are fighting each other and treating each other very badly in the country.
The top graduate of the School of Performing Arts department at the University of Ghana (UG) in 2021, Xorlali Plange Fiamafle, has revealed that he declined a 30,000 Ghana cedis monthly salary job offer in Ghana to pursue his master’s degree at Tisch School of the Arts in the United States.
According to the first-class honors student, initially, his mother was incredulous at the thought of turning down a job offer with such a lucrative salary.
However, he found himself at a crossroads, having to choose between the promising job in Ghana and the opportunity to pursue higher education at Tisch.
Taking to the X platform he indicated that the tempting job offer was from one of the high commissions/embassies, through a connection made at the vice chancellor’s award ceremony at UG
“Before getting admission into schools abroad I had a job offer in Ghana. It was in one of the high commissions/embassies. It was paying 30,000+ cedis a month. (The rate was in dollars). It was an offer from a man I met at the vice chancellor’s award ceremony at UG. I got admission into Tisch 2wks after so I declined the offer. My mother wouldn’t hear it at the time, “meba yi wagyimi o, 3 hundred million????,” he stated.
However, he stated that just two weeks later, he faced a significant turning point in her life when he received admission to Tisch.
He added that his decision was influenced not just by the allure of America but also by the renowned Tisch program and a scholarship offer from Susan Hilferty.
A sequel; Almost Xorlali Plange !!!
One time a bitter person told me, “FYI your cheerleaders will soon leave you.” No hunny! They won’t 🤣 pic.twitter.com/RcYeF3QcBH
Xorlali expressed surprise at his employment prospects in Ghana, especially after becoming the center of attention during his graduation over his unconventional look, leading to multiple job offers.
Despite the sense of accomplishment, he decided to manage the influx of offers by crafting a generic offer declined letter.
“I never thought I’d be employed in Ghana. I didn’t even imagine myself making it into interviews, talk less getting a job. I had multiple job offers upon going viral during my graduation. I didn’t desire any, but it felt good. So I drafted a generic “offer declined letter.” Which I’d copy and paste and send to all of these people who talked to me about hiring. The 30+k job offer was a challenge. however, I decided to choose school. It wasn’t about America, it was about Tisch and Susan Hilferty’s offer of scholarship. Do you have any idea what that meant? Lmaoooo. So I left everything and traveled. If getting first class in Legon and going viral for wearing heels can get me all these offers, let’s see what Tisch can do,” he added.
In 2022, Xorlali Plange Fiamafle garnered attention after he showered praises on his mother for her unwavering commitment and sacrifices that contributed to his educational success.
Before getting admission into schools abroad I had a job offer in Ghana. It was in one of the high commissions/embassies. It was paying 30,000+ cedis a month. (The rate was in dollars). It was an offer from a man I met at the vice chancellor’s award ceremony at UG. I got… pic.twitter.com/SqVjbAQkVg
Expressing profound gratitude, he disclosed that his mother went above and beyond, sacrificing her entire salary, depleting her savings, and even taking out loans to ensure he could live a life at the pinnacle of the social class.
He demonstrated his appreciation by commissioning a specially designed sash for his mother on the day of his graduation.
Beyond his academic achievements, this young man is recognized for breaking societal norms, often seen wearing heels and women’s clothing, which have not well accepted by some section of the public.
In a testament to his unique style, he invested in a $755 pair of shoes for an award ceremony where he was recognized as the best student in Theatre at the university.
Retired Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Dr. Benjamin Agordzo, who was recently acquitted in the high-profile coup plot case has revealed that discussions on a WhatsApp platform led to the charges against him and other convicted alleged coup plotters.
In an interview on GhanaWeb TV’s ‘The Lowdown’, ACP Agordzo explained that while he wasn’t part of the ‘Executive Platform,’ he accessed the messages through court disclosures.
He maintained that, in his opinion, the messages did not suggest a coup plot unless there was additional information the court used to convict the alleged plotters.
Mr Agordzo highlighted a member on the platform who suggested the coup and was removed by Dr. Mac-Palm, the accused leader who passed away in 2023.
Surprisingly, the person suggesting the coup has not been arrested and is reportedly in the United States.
“They (the security agencies) alleged that a particular WhatsApp platform, called the ‘Executive Platform’, was where this whole issue was discussed. With the benefit of disclosures, I also had copies of whatever that platform contained. And I can tell you on authority without prejudice to whatever the court has decided… you observed that there was a certain man, who had tried to say something in connection with what they have alleged with the planning.
“And I, the BNI people and everybody who read saw that Dr Mac-Palm was opposed to that person and as a result, he took him (the man) out of that platform. They had a whole quarrel, misunderstanding between them because of what the man said which was also printed and is with the BNI,” he told the host of ‘The Lowdown’ programme, Daniel Oduro.
The retired police officer added, “… the person who suggested that (the coup) up to now we don’t know the person. They could not arrest the person. One lawyer asked about that in court and they said they are making efforts to that effect to get him. The person who made those suggestions has not been arrested. Who is that person? Was he planted on the platform?… where is he? They say he is in the United States,” he explained.
He questioned the validity of the security apparatus’s claims, arguing that if the WhatsApp messages were truly indicative of a coup plot, efforts should have been made to bring back the person who suggested it from the United States in collaboration with US security authorities.
The US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, is visiting four countries in Africa. He started in Cape Verde and said that it is a very stable country in a region that has a lot of problems. He thinks it is a good example for other countries.
Mr Blinken will also travel to Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and Angola.
In 2022, US President Joe Biden wanted to show how much he cares about Africa by inviting African leaders to a summit in the US.
He said he would go to Africa in 2023 but he never went.
Mr Blinken visited the continent last March. He has been dealing with the conflict in the Middle East.
President Biden said in Cape Verde that he supports Africa, according to the AFP news agency.
“We are all connected in our futures and our success, and African people are now playing a bigger role in leading and influencing global discussions,” he said.
American travelers going to Colombia have been told not to use dating apps there because eight American tourists have died under strange circumstances in the past two months.
The US embassy in Bogota said that some people were given drugs and robbed after meeting others on these apps.
Things happened a lot in cities like Medellin, Cartagena, and Bogota where more American tourists are visiting.
Travellers should stay away from places that are remote and alone, like hotel rooms.
The embassy warned that criminals use apps to trick people into meeting them in public places like restaurants and bars. Then they hurt, steal from, and even kill their victims, sometimes the person they met.
In the last three months of 2023, the number of robberies of foreign visitors went up by 200% and deaths by 29%. Eight Americans also died between November 1st and December 31st.
One of the people hurt was Tou Ger Xiong, a 50-year-old comedian and activist from Minnesota who is Asian-American.
He went on a trip to Colombia at the end of November. While he was there, he met a woman online and went on a date with her. Unfortunately, he was then kidnapped and killed.
Xiong was kidnapped and stabbed to death more than twelve times by a group of men.
The actual number of people from other countries who were hurt by these crimes may be more than what the numbers show.
The embassy said that these crimes often don’t get reported because the victims feel ashamed and don’t want to go through with the legal process.
Those who try to stop a robbery are more likely to be killed, the warning said.
The company Astrobotic says their spacecraft Peregrine has had a problem that stopped it from pointing its solar panels towards the Sun.
If we can’t charge the batteries and keep the power running, the mission can’t go on.
Astrobotic is fixing a problem and will let us know when they have more details.
The 12-tonne lander was sent into space from Cape Canaveral, Florida, using a Vulcan rocket.
It wants to be the first American mission in 50 years to land softly on the Moon, and it would be the first time a commercial company has done this.
The US is paying to use a spacecraft to study the moon before sending astronauts there in a few years.
Astrobotic told us about the mission seven hours after it started.
Everything seemed to be going well: Peregrine was communicating and all its systems were powered up and working as they should.
“Unfortunately, something went wrong and Astrobotic couldn’t point towards the Sun like they wanted to. ” The team is working quickly to update people as things happen. They will give more information as they learn and study the data.
It is common for spacecraft to have problems, and the engineers at Astrobotic have practiced many times how to fix different kinds of issues. The spacecraft has been programmed to protect itself during these events. Its main focus will be on keeping power and communication with Earth.
Tariq Hamouda and his wife Manal are very sad because their family members from three different generations have died. They are not near the war in Gaza.
The Palestinian Americans, living in Maple Grove, Minnesota, are finding it hard to believe that their 42 relatives were killed in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. They have been struggling to understand this news for over a week now.
Hamouda tells us that his wife, who used to be called Saqallah before they got married, had a very sad experience. On October 19, their family home in the Sheikh Ejleen area of Gaza City was destroyed by two explosions. As a result, they lost four of her brothers, one sister, and many of their children.
Hamouda and his family believe that the attack was carried out by the Israeli air force. Israel has attacked Gaza City many times since October 7, including several attacks in that area on the same day.
CNN cannot verify or prove on its own that the strike was from Israel. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they can’t say anything unless they know the exact location of the house. The family did not give CNN the coordinates because they were afraid of getting in trouble or being harmed.
A neighbor captured a video that shows the remains of a family’s home. The buildings were burned and destroyed, while the neighboring houses were not damaged.
“Yesterday, Hamouda told CNN that Manal is still refusing to admit what happened. ” However, the sadness that they are experiencing in their home in the Midwest is genuine.
She really loves everyone in her family. Hamouda said that his wife and he are from Gaza but have been living in Minnesota since 2004. His wife spent the summer with them.
There has been fear and lots of fights between Israel and militant groups in Gaza since then, but not like this, he says.
Israel started a war against Hamas on October 7. This was because Hamas broke through the barrier between Gaza and Israel and killed over 1,400 people, including civilians and soldiers. They also kidnapped more than 220 people. Israeli authorities reported this information.
In reaction, Israel carried out very destructive attacks on Gaza. It wants to get rid of Hamas, which is in charge of the land near the coast. However, the situation is difficult for the 2. 2 million Palestinians living there because they are unable to leave due to the Israeli and Egyptian border closures. They are stuck in the middle of the conflict.
According to recent information from the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah, Israeli bombings have caused the death of over 8,485 Palestinians and injured more than 21,000 others. These numbers were gathered from sources in the Hamas-controlled area. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, another 1. 4 million people have been forced to leave their homes within the country. This happened after the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) advised people in northern Gaza to relocate to the southern part of the region.
But Hamouda doesn’t have enough time to properly grieve for the deceased, he explains, because he is still concerned about what will happen to the people who are still alive.
In South Florida, Manal’s cousin Eyad Abu Shaban is also very upset. “It feels as if everything around you suddenly freezes,” he explained.
“It’s not a small number like one, two, three, or four – it is a group of 42 members, and it’s extremely difficult to handle. ”
Abu Shaban says that the people who died were between three months and 77 years old. They were all living together in one place. His uncle, Essam Abu Shaban, his wife Layla Saqallah, and their son Ahmed were among the people who died. To stay safe from Israeli airstrikes, they had moved out of the nearby Tel El Hawa neighborhood and found shelter in Saqallah’s home, according to Abu Shaban.
Surviving family members told Hamouda that before the airstrikes, the IDF told them there might be military activity in the area. However, they were never instructed to leave their home.
“He said that they have destroyed houses both with and without giving people a warning. He feels upset and worried because there is a lot of fear and confusion among the people, and they have no safe place to go. ”
Hamouda says that his mother-in-law was on a balcony when the first attack happened. She managed to escape with the assistance of a family member who also made it out alive.
He said that the compound was destroyed again and many family members were killed.
A video, taken by family members who survived, and given to CNN, shows many dead bodies being put into a large grave covered in white cloth.
Hamouda said that his mother-in-law told him that his sons tried to leave quickly, but they didn’t have enough time. He also said that his family is not involved in any violent or dangerous activities and that they have no connection to anything.
Abu Shaban, a person who works in real estate in Boca Raton, said that his family were regular people who are not involved in any military or official roles, and some of them are medical workers.
Manal has four brothers named Saed, Omar, Ameed, and Khorsheed. Three of them are eye doctors, and the other one is an ENT doctor. Hamouda says they ran the biggest group of eye clinics owned by families in Gaza.
“We don’t have any members of Hamas in our family. ” They are normal people. Doctors, grandparents, uncles, aunts, and children,” Abu Shaban said.
“I think, if you want to get rid of Hamas, you should find the root cause. ”
The Maple Grove community has come together to show love and support to the Hamouda family.
Last week, people from the community went to the Brooklyn Park Islamic Center to pray for the family. A person who works for a Senator. The Minnesota office of Amy Klobuchar reached out to express sympathy and provide help, according to Hamouda.
But all Hamouda and Abu Shaban want is for the killing to end.
In today’s world, it’s unusual for everyone to witness innocent people being harmed. Families, complete families, were completely destroyed,” Abu Shaban said.
I want everyone to understand that the people of Gaza are just like everyone else. They feel pain, they bleed, they have families, and they have emotions.
He says that there are too many photos and videos of the conflict on social media, and they are overwhelming to see.
Activists, human rights groups, and international officials have asked for a stop to the fighting, but the war continues and has entered a new phase with risky ground operations.
Abu Shaban says that his family is still suffering until the killings come to an end. He feels like he is still trapped in a never-ending bad dream. I am still sleeping.
Richard Roundtree, an American actor who is most famous for playing the main character in the Shaft movies, has passed away at the age of 81.
He passed away on Tuesday afternoon at his home in Los Angeles. His family was with him when he died, according to his manager Patrick McMinn.
He died after a brief fight with pancreatic cancer.
“According to McMinn, Richard’s job and career marked an important moment for African American men taking on prominent roles in movies. ”
“He had a huge influence on the industry,” he said.
Roundtree was born on July 9, 1942 in New Rochelle, New York. He started acting in the 1960s.
He became famous at the age of 29 for his role as detective John Shaft, and many people thought he was a very special actor. The movie series from the 1970s was very famous because it was one of the first movies in a genre called Blaxploitation. These movies were action films that focused on black characters who were heroes.
Roundtree also acted in several movies and TV shows. Some of the movies he appeared in are Inchon and Seven. He also appeared in TV series like Roots, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and Desperate Housewives.
Samuel L Jackson, who was in the 2000 Shaft remake and a 2019 movie in the same series with Roundtree, said that the late actor was “the original and the greatest at what he did”.
He said that his death has caused a great sadness in his heart and he believes it has affected many other people as well.
“Brother, I love you. I see you walking on the main street in Heaven and Isaac is leading your song,” he said, mentioning the popular theme song from Shaft that won an Oscar for its great original music.
Roundtree was found to have breast cancer in 1993 and had surgery to remove both of her breasts.
According to the New York Times, he has four daughters named Kelli, Nicole, Taylor, and Morgan. He also has a son named John and at least one grandchild.
The war between Israel and Hamas is causing problems all over the world. Palestinian and Jewish Americans are feeling more afraid because they are facing more threats and harassment.
Hundreds of people came together for a peaceful event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on 13 October. However, things took a turn for the worse when a man with a gun started shouting offensive words about different races.
People ran in different directions, trying to save themselves, according to Omar Mussa. He was one of the people responsible for arranging the event supporting Palestine at the state Capitol’s stairs.
The 30-year-old Palestinian American said to the BBC that he came to the rally to make us feel afraid and scared. Don’t be afraid to meet with your friends and talk about your thoughts and beliefs.
The man accused of aiming a gun at a group of people and expressing hate towards Islam has been faced with charges of intimidating different ethnicities and making threats of terrorism.
The Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee said they have received lots of reports about hate incidents against Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim Americans. The Anti-Defamation League stated that there has been a significant rise in acts of hatred towards Jewish people, with 107 incidents reported since the conflict started on 7 October.
President Joe Biden expressed strong disapproval of the incidents and emphasized the importance of taking a stand against hate during a recent address in the Oval Office.
However, experts and leaders from both Jewish and Palestinian-American communities are concerned that this pattern will continue as the conflict in the Middle East carries on.
“We are preparing for a difficult and challenging situation – not just because of how intense the conflict is but also because it will last for a long time,” said Brian Levin, the person who started the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism.
Bomb threats and stabbings
Many important and noticeable events have caused worry across the country.
A six-year-old boy from Palestine who lived in the United States was attacked and killed with a knife last week in a place called Plainfield, Illinois. His mother was also hurt badly. It is said that their landlord singled out the couple because of their religion and the ongoing fighting between Hamas and Israel.
A man in Lombard, Illinois, around 30 miles away, was charged with hate crimes last week. He apparently threatened to shoot two Muslim men.
In New York City, the police report that a man hit a woman in the face in the subway just because she was Jewish. In Utah, some Jewish groups have said they got scary messages.
Sam Spector, a religious leader in Salt Lake City, had been leading a gathering for about an hour on October 8th when he had to abruptly stop due to a threat of a bomb.
MrSpector explained the frightening message that said, “We placed explosives in all Jewish facilities in Utah. ” “It says they will explode soon – you all deserve to die,” the message stated.
Many people had to leave the building, including 20 children in a nearby room.
This was not the first time the congregation at Mr. Spector’s workplace has received a bomb threat. But since the war started this month, he said he has gotten more mean and hateful messages about Jewish people than he has ever gotten before.
He said that people unfairly blame the Jewish and Muslim communities in America for their own strong opinions, even though these communities are just regular people trying to live their lives.
“Enjoy life to the fullest and be cautious. ”
Some Americans are being careful about what they do each day because they are worried about their safety.
Last week, a man from Texas sent Mohammad Abd-Elsalam a message threatening to kill all Palestinians, saying they all deserve to die.
The leader of the Palestinian American Organizations Network, Mr. Abd-Elsalam, said he has started staying away from crowded areas and has told his family to do the same.
“Mr Abd-Elsalam said it’s a lot to handle. ” “You may not know how to handle the war in Gaza, but you also need to worry about your safety here and the safety of our community in the United States. ” Rabbi Spector has increased security at his synagogue recently. They are also planning to spend almost $500,000 to make the temple safer in the coming years.
However, Jewish individuals all over the country are wondering if it’s secure to go to their religious gatherings, according to Niv Elis from the Jewish Federations of North America.
“Right now, he told the BBC that our recommendation is for you to embrace your Jewish lifestyle wholeheartedly and to be cautious. ”
Mr Mussa said that because of increased tensions in the Middle East, there are threats against Palestinians and other Muslim groups. Some people see the entire Muslim community as one group, which is incorrect.
He said that people who wear religious coverings like a hijab are usually the ones who can be easily harmed or taken advantage of.
“He said that people who resemble a minority or who appear to be from another country are singled out. ” “More people are very afraid to walk outside now. ”
Tension that has existed for a long time.
Both Muslims and Jews in the US have experienced discrimination and threats for a long time. But some experts have stated that hate crimes often increase when there are conflicts and tensions occurring in the Middle East.
Jessica Winegar, a teacher who studies people and cultures in the Middle East at Northwestern University, said that the ongoing fighting in Gaza is particularly difficult and tense.
She said that we have never witnessed so much killing in such a brief period. “This conflict has become even more intense. ”
Experts say that the divided nature of American politics made the situation even worse.
The argument about the complicated and ongoing conflict in the Middle East is causing disagreement between the left and right sides of politics in the US. Those who have extreme beliefs are more likely to angrily blame someone else for it.
Ms Winegar said that government officials and local leaders must speak out against hate and show support for innocent people on both sides of the conflict.
Mr Mussa, a Palestinian-American who attended a rally at Pennsylvania’s state Capitol, said that he protested and also expressed his disagreement with Israel’s policies. However, he thinks that the political establishment pays little attention to the suffering of Palestinian civilians, and this has consequences in the US as well.
“This is making people in this country feel empowered to treat us poorly, not see us as equals or Americans,” Mr. Mussa said in an interview with the BBC.
President Biden promised to strongly support Israel after the Hamas attack. He also asked Congress to give an extra $14 billion in aid to Israel. However, he expressed sympathy for the Palestinians who lost their lives in Gaza.
We feel sad for every innocent person who died. “He said that we must not overlook the fact that innocent Palestinians, who simply desire a peaceful life and opportunities, also have basic human needs. ”
And he also understood that the anger in Israel and Gaza can lead to hate crimes in the US, affecting both Jews and Muslims.
And to all of you who are suffering. I wanted to let you know I recognize your pain. You are included. And I want to tell you this: You are all America.
Alsu Kurmasheva, an American journalist, was arrested after visiting her family in the Russian city of Kazan. Now, she is being accused of a crime, according to her coworkers.
She worked as an editor for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Prague, which is funded by the United States. On 2 June, she was held for a short time by authorities.
She was arrested again on Wednesday and accused of not registering as a foreign agent. If convicted, she may be sentenced to up to five years in jail.
Ms Kurmasheva is the second American journalist who has been detained in Russia this year.
Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for Wall Street Journal in Moscow, who is 31 years old, was arrested in March for spying. This month, a court in Moscow said no to his request and told him that he needs to stay in jail.
His boss and the United States government are saying that the accusations are not true and that he is being kept so he can be exchanged for Russians who are held in the custody of the United States or its friends.
Alsu Kurmasheva has citizenship in both the US and Russia. She works for RFE/RL’s Tatar-Bashkir service. Tatar and Bashkir are two similar languages spoken by native people in two parts of Russia.
According to RFE/RL, Ms. Kurmasheva, who lives in Czech Republic, went to Kazan at the end of May because of a family emergency. She was stopped and held by authorities while waiting for her flight back home and they took away her passports from Russia and America.
She was accused of not registering as a foreign agent and of gathering information for foreign governments, as reported by a local state news website called Tatar Inform.
Dmitry Kolezev, a well-known journalist from Russia, explained that the law Ms Kurmasheva was accused of breaking was written in a way that makes it possible to restrict gathering simple information about military members, like their names and which unit they belong to. “They captured another person,” he added.
Ms Kurmasheva’s work often dealt with problems that people from different ethnic backgrounds in central Russia experience.
According to independent Russian media organizations and press freedom watchdogs, Russian authorities often use strict laws to bother journalists and prevent them from reporting freely on important matters.
Many reporters and people who oppose the Kremlin have been called “foreign agents”. This includes Dmitry Muratov, who won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Last year in September, Ivan Safronov, a journalist for Kommersant and Vedomosti, was given a 22-year prison sentence for the crime of treason.
In March, a student named Dmitry Ivanov was given a prison sentence of eight and a half years for sharing false information about the Russian army on the messaging app called Telegram.
A man has been arrested for killing a six-year-old boy who was Muslim. He has been charged with murder and hate crimes.
Joseph Czuba, a 71-year-oldman, is being accused of causing the death of Wadea Al-Fayoume and causing severe injuries to his mother in Plain field, Illinois.
The landlord supposedly singled out the two people who rented from him because of their religious beliefs and the ongoing dispute between Hamas and Israel.
President Joe Biden expressed feeling very disgusted and disturbed by the attack that occurred on Saturday.
“This terrible act of hate should not exist in America and goes against our core principles:feeling safe to worship,having our own beliefs, and being accepted for who we are,” he stated.
The woman, who is 32 years old, was hurt by her landlord. The landlord used a big knife with a long blade that is like the ones used in the military. It had a length of seven inchesor18centimeters. The woman quickly went to the bathroom to call the police for help,according to the authorities.
Her six-year-old son, Wade Al-Fayoume, was stabbed many times in the attack and later died in the hospital.
He had his birthday party a few weeks ago. He had strong feelings of affection and care towards his family and friends. Ahmed Rehab, the executive director of the Chicago office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said that he really enjoyed playing soccer and basketball.
When the police got to the place,which was around 40 miles (64km) away from Chicago in the south-west direction, they saw Mr. Czuba sitting on the ground outside the building. He had a cut on his face.
The people who were hurt, and are from Palestine and America, were discovered in a room.
Mr Czuba went to the hospital to get medical help before speaking with the detectives. He was accused of committing very serious crimes including murder, attempting to murder someone,displaying hatred towards specific groups, and causing severe harm to someone.
The detectives were able to figure out a possible reason even though he did not say anything.
The suspect attacked both victims because they were Muslim and there was a conflict happening in the Middle East involving Hamas and the Israelis. The Will County Sheriff’s office stated this.
The US Justice Department is investigating the attack as a federal hate crime. During a press meeting on Sunday, CAIR introduced the boy as Wadea al-Fayoume and his mother as Hanaan Shahin.
It is said that Wadea was born in the US. His mother came from Beitunia in the West Bank and moved to the US 12 years ago.
“[Wadea] suffered the consequences of the strong dislike and exclusion of others, as well as the act of treating them as less than human,which I honestly believe is happening in the United States,” expressed Mr.
The father of the boy, Oday al-Fayoume, was at the press conference and was very surprised,according to Mr.
People who lived nearby,like Eva Case, were really shocked and couldn’t believe what happened during the violent attack. “I don’t have any concern about the circumstances,” she said to CBS,which is a US partner of the BBC. “Don’t blame someone who is innocent in life. “
Some people who lived close by said the two people moved into the house four years ago.
It’s making me feel really disgusted. “I can’t believe someone would do that to a small child,” a neighbor said. Over 1,400 people died in Israel when Hamas came over the border from the Gaza Strip to attack regular people and soldiers.
In Gaza, around 2,700 people have died because of the bombings by Israel,according to Palestinian authorities. They believe that approximately 1,000 people are still missing and trapped under the debris.
On Sunday, the FBI announced that there have been more reports of threats in the US since Hamas began their attack over a week ago.
A high-ranking FBI official said that many cases were found to lack credibility, but both Jewish and Muslim institutions have been targeted.
Get out the world’s smallest violin because Donald Trump is not one of the richest 400 people in America anymore.
The former president was not included in the Forbes 400 list because he had a fortune of only $2. 6 billion, which was $300 million less than what was needed to be on the list.
His overall wealth has decreased by over $600 million in the past year, mainly because the value of his office buildings has gone down.
On Tuesday, the publication reported that Donald Trump is not wealthy enough anymore to be part of the country’s most exclusive club. According to Forbes, in New York City, Trump owns a 30% share in a building called 1290 Avenue of the Americas. This building is managed by a company called Vornado Realty Trust, which is publicly traded. Currently, the value of Trump’s share in the building has dropped by around $60 million. The building is almost completely full, but its largest renter, Equitable Holdings, is going to move next year.
The main reason for Trump’s net worth decreasing is his Truth Social website, which has around 6. 5 million users This is just 1% of the users that X (previously known as Twitter) has. Donald Trump’s ownership of 90% of the social media platform has decreased in worth from around $730 million to under $100 million.
Forbes said: ‘If Trump’s ideas were doing well, he would probably have no difficulty finding another way to get money. ‘ However, that is not the case, and there is not much reason to feel hopeful about what lies ahead for Truth Social. In simpler terms: If people aren’t going on Trump’s platform to hear what he has to say right now, when he’s dealing with legal issues and competing in the Republican presidential primary, then they probably won’t ever be interested.
Trump is now involved in a lawsuit that accuses him of cheating people and could potentially ruin his business in New York.
During the first day of the trial for New York Attorney General Letitia James’ $250 million lawsuit, prosecutor Kevin Wallace claimed that Trump’s financial statements tricked banks into taking on a lot of hidden risk, costing them hundreds of millions of dollars.
Wallace said: ‘It’s okay to stretch the truth for a magazine like Forbes, but you can’t do it when doing business in New York state. ‘
Each year, the defendants lied about how much money Mr. Trump had in order to keep getting low interest rates for his loans.
Trump made rare appearances in court voluntarily on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. These appearances turned the trial into something like a campaign event. Trump walked out of the trial after lunch on Wednesday and James said: ‘This was just a political trick, a way to collect money. ‘ Later on Wednesday evening, the Trump campaign announced that Trump collected over $45. 5 million in the third quarter of the year and currently has more than $37. 5 million in cash.
Donald Trump’s lawyers are requesting a review of Judge Arthur Engoron’s decision from last week. The judge stated that Trump, his sons, the Trump Organization, and its executives have consistently and repeatedly engaged in fraudulent behavior.
The ex-president was removed from The Forbes 400 list for the first time in 25 years in October 2021. At that time, Trump had about $2. 5 million in wealth, which was $400 million less than the amount needed to make it onto the list that year. While he was president, his total worth decreased each year, and the coronavirus pandemic also affected his real estate business.
The recent establishment of a new bread factory along the Tema motorway has stirred significant apprehension within Ghana’s local baking sector.
Local industry participants have voiced concerns over potential unwarranted competition this development might pose to the pre-existing bread brands within the nation.
Reportedly under the ownership of Chinese investors, the factory named “Amigo Bread” is visibly designed for large-scale bread production.
A significant aspect of the concerns raised revolves around the potential impact on small-scale bakers who currently serve their local communities while sustaining their livelihoods through this occupation.
GhanaWeb Business investigations have also revealed that the new bread product is comparatively more cost-effective than established local brands. Amigo Bread is priced at 10 cedis per loaf, whereas other known local brands are marketed at 13 cedis and 15 cedis respectively.
Offering his perspective on the matter via Twitter, Economist Theophilus Acheampong highlighted that a nation’s focus should not solely revolve around foreign direct investments, drawing attention to the broader considerations at hand.
He stated that as a country, “We must be DELIBERATE about protecting certain industries. Even America, China, the EU, and others do the same!!!! We’ve over liberalised the Ghanaian economy. Too much neoliberalism! FDI is not everything!”
Other Twitter users also shared varied opinions on the subject.
Mista Darko said: “I think govt needs to consider taking steps to build the capacity of local entrepreneurs to scale their business so there will be no need for some of these FDIs.”
Nick wrote “Spot on bro! You can’t enter China today and start a bakery.”
Thinker said: “The govt should protect local industries for once. We can’t open our economy to everybody just like that.”
Kiko also said: “The impact of these kinda of investments are grossly overstated. The amount of jobs it creates vs the mom&pop outfits that are going to go out of business, doesn’t offset. That being said, will connoisseurs of real Ghana made bread patronize a commercially made bread? I won’t!”
You’re right.
FDIs should not be robbing the common folk off their daily bread by competing for the same opportunities.
It’s easier for them to make incursions because local businesses do not look out for each other’s welfare through cooperative regulation.
The impact of these kinda of investments are grossly overstated. The amount of jobs it creates vs the mom&pop outfits that are going to go out of business, doesn’t offset. That being said, will connoisseurs of real ghana made bread patronize a commercially made bread? I won’t!
A lot of the smalls shops around the corner and the minimarts will abandon their old customers for such brands because they have big branded vans for delivery. Another thing is that such big brands tend to add banned substances to their bread to make their loaves heavier.
I am confused whether the problem is the Scale or the Foreign ownership ? Either way, what will happen to the small scale bakery is a natural order of capitalism, the efficient ones will survive AND transform while the inefficient ones will perish OR transform. Best for everyone.
Nollywood star Joseph Benjamin has shared that his experience of unsuccessful movie opportunities led him to become a cab driver upon his move to the United States.
At 46 years old, he opened up about his decision to relocate to the U.S. with the hope of promised film roles, only to be let down by the person who made those assurances.
Joseph Benjamin revealed these insights during his guest appearance on the most recent installment of the Teju Babyface Deep Dive podcast, hosted by comedian Teju Oyelakin.
Joseph Benjamin said, “I got to America on a promise that I had some gigs waiting for me. So I thought I was going to have a soft landing there. I packed up everything from Nigeria, bought a one-way ticket, and came to America.
“I was put in a well-furnished house and all of that. Then two days later, the person who I was supposed to book a deal with said to me, ‘Those our financiers have pulled out. They have an issue.’
“So, I said, what do I do? He was like, ‘From next month on, you will have to start paying rent in this house.’ The amount of the one-month rent was equivalent to a one-year rent in Nigeria.
“I’m like, ‘I’m not earning any money so what do I do?’ I don’t know what to do. So, shot into that life, I had to figure out what to do. I had nowhere to go. Nothing to turn to.
“My phone was buzzing, like, ‘When are you coming back to Nigeria? We have this gig for you.’ $1,500 was all I came to America with. How do I buy a ticket to go back to Nigeria?”
Joseph Benjamin also disclosed that he drove Uber, Lyft, and delivered Amazon packages to pay his bills in America.
“And then someone gave me a car. I’m like, What do I do with the car? And they said Uber. I was driving for Uber and Lyft to pay my bills.
“I carried a lot of Nigerians, my name on the Uber App was Joseph. The moment they get in or three minutes into the journey, they know I’m the one.”
“One woman even had to call her husband, and she ended up taking pictures with me. I even had some people say to me ‘Boss you will make it.”
The defence minister of Italy referred to his country’s choice to join a major Chinese infrastructure project as “wicked,” as the government considers whether to keep participating in the project.
Guido Crosetto claimed that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which Italy signed up for under its former government, has not done anything to boost the nation’s exports in an interview with the Corriere della Sera newspaper that was published on Sunday.
Beijing’s international infrastructure investment programme is known as the BRI, a term established by China‘s Xi Jinping in 2013. It was created to recreate China’s Silk Road, which linked Asia with Africa and Europe in order to boost trade and economic development.
Each year, the effort has seen billions of dollars poured into infrastructure projects, including the construction of ports from Sri Lanka to West Africa, the paving of motorways from Papua New Guinea to Kenya, and the provision of power and telecoms infrastructure for people in Latin America and Southeast Asia.
Critics claim that China is using the BRI to increase its global influence.
Italy joined the BRI in 2019 and is the only major Western nation and the only advanced economy from the G7.
“The decision to join the Silk Road was an improvised and wicked act, made by the government of Giuseppe Conte, which resulted in a double negative outcome,” Crosetto told the Corriere della Sera.
“We shipped a lot of oranges to China, whose exports to Italy have increased threefold in the last three years. The most absurd thing at the time was that Paris sold jets to Beijing for tens of billions of dollars without ever signing a treaty.
He stated that the current issue is how Italy may leave the BRI without hurting its relationship with Beijing. Beijing was referred to by him as “a competitor, but also a partner.”
The BRI membership of Italy will end in 2024. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni asserted earlier this year that “good relations” with China could exist independently of the plan.
A visitor who allegedly carved himself and his girlfriend’s names into the Colosseum in Rome has been identified.
Ivan Dimitrov, also known as Ivan Hawkins, is a Bristol-based fitness professional.
The 27-year-old was allegedly captured last weekend using a set of keys to carve the words “Ivan and Hayley 23” into the masonry by American tourist Ryan Lutz.
In the video Ryan can be heard saying ‘Are you serious man? That is f***** up man. Stupid a******.’
When challenged, the man said to be Ivan turns around to Ryan and grins before turning his attention back to the wall.
MailOnline has established Ivan is originally from Lovech, Bulgaria, and also works as a delivery driver around Bristol.
His girlfriend, Hayley Bracey, 33, is thought to run her own sports nutrition business and the pair live together in Keynsham, near Bristol.
In a statement released this afternoon a spokesperson for the Carabinieri said: ‘Following investigations, subsequent to the complaint presented by the Colosseum Park Authority, the Carabinieri of the Command of Rome Piazza Venezia, coordinated by the Public Prosecutor of Rome, have identified, through traditional investigations and photographic comparison, the person seriously suspected of being responsible for engraving his own name and that of his partner, at the Colosseum, filming the scene, then published on social media.
‘The Carabinieri have ascertained that it is a couple, man and woman, residing in England.
‘It should be noted that the proceeding is in the preliminary investigation phase, therefore the suspect must consider himself innocent until a final sentence is issued.’
Meanwhile in a statement culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano said: ‘I am grateful to the Arma dei Carabinieri for having promptly identified the alleged perpetrator of the uncivilized and absurd act committed at the Colosseum.
‘An act that has offended all those throughout the world who appreciate the value of archaeology, monuments and history.
‘Now I hope that justice will take its course by rigorously applying the laws. If it comes to a trial, the Ministry of Culture will appear as a civil party’.
Ryan previously said: ‘I couldn’t believe it when I saw what this jerk was doing to the brickwork.
‘I’m fascinated by history and culture and here was this dumba** defacing it which is a crime and I wanted to do something about it.
‘That’s why I took the video and I showed it to the security guard at the site and I pointed the couple out to them.
‘He said there was nothing he could do as he hadn’t actually seen them defacing the wall but he said I should speak with his boss. So I did and he told me the police had been called.
‘That was the last I heard and then I left the Colosseum and carried on with my day. I posted the video in the hope that someone would recognise and identify them and then they will be punished.
‘I think both of them, whoever they are, are idiots and I have a horrible gut feeling these two jerks are American because it’s the sort of thing we have a reputation for doing.
‘But I respect culture and history and I’m grateful to be a visitor to a place like Rome and be hosted by such wonderful people and then two idiots do something like this.
‘They clearly have no shame and when he looked at me in that bizarre way and he just smiled you can hear what I thought of him.
‘I don’t understand what would possess someone to do something like that and I really hope they are caught and punished.’
Builders who work at the couple’s home said: ‘They left last week and aren’t due back for a fortnight. We are just doing the groundwork. They said they were touring Europe.’
Hayley’s mum expressed her shock and said: ‘No, that can’t be right. She wouldn’t do anything like that. She’s on holiday in Italy. Ivan is her partner, and they are both away.’
Hayley’s dad refused to comment on the matter and said: ‘I’ve got nothing to say.’
The decision by the United States to create a data center in Ghana will increase investor trust in the nation, according to Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta.
The move, he said will make Ghana an attractive investment destination for foreign investors.
Reacting to the news on his social media pages, Ken Ofori-Atta said government welcomes the announcement of a $300m private capital investment through @DFCgov, to build a first-of-its-kind data center in Ghana.
“Following the #IMFDeal, the @UnitedStates has led the way to signal renewed confidence in Ghana as an attractive investment destination. We welcome the announcement of a $300m private capital investment through @DFCgov, to build a first-of-its-kind data centre in Ghana,” he said.
On Sunday, May 21, 2023, the Development Finance Corporation (DFC) disclosed that a whopping $300 million was set aside to establish a data centre in Africa with Ghana being the location for this project.
DFC said the project forms part of the US government’s support to improve digitalization in Africa.
In a tweet sighted by GhanaWeb Business, it noted that the establishment of the data centre in Ghana will be the beginning of a digital revolution on the continent, as well as, will increase access to cloud-based technologies.
It will also bring down the cost of internet for women to have access to it.
“Under PGIL, the USG will work to construct data centres throughout Africa. This week, DFC announced it is using its $300 million loan facility to Africa Data Centers (ADCs), Africa’s largest network of interconnected data facilities, to construct a first-of-its-kind data centre in Ghana,” part of the release read.
“Africa accounts for less than one percent of total available global data center capacity despite being home to 17 percent of the world’s total population. This investment builds on the Vice President’s recent trip to Ghana and is laying the groundwork for a digital revolution on the continent by increasing access to cloud-based technologies, bringing down the cost of internet which facilitate greater access to women, and making the continent a more competitive destination for industry,” it added.
Read the finance minister’s tweet below;
Following the #IMFDeal, the @UnitedStates has led the way to signal renewed confidence in Ghana as an attractive investment destination. We welcome the announcement of a $300m private capital investment through @DFCgov, to build a first-of-its-kind data center in #GhanaRisinghttps://t.co/oxWPKPh0ss— Office of the Finance Minister-Ghana (@oofmghana) May 20, 2023
In a court hearing in Boston, the US airman accused of disclosing secret intelligence and defense documents was formally charged.
Jack Teixeira, 21, wore shackles and a prison uniform as he stood before a federal judge on Friday.
After a shout of “love you, Jack” from a person in the courtroom, the defendant replied “you too, dad”.
Mr Teixeira faces up to 15 years in prison over charges of unauthorised transmission of defence information.
He is also charged with the unauthorised removal and retention of classified documents.
The airman faces up to 10 years in prison for the first charge, and up to five years in prison for the second.
The dozens of leaked documents had revealed US assessments of the war in Ukraine as well as sensitive secrets about American allies.
The leaks embarrassed Washington and raised fresh questions over the security of classified information.
Mr Teixeira was arrested by armed FBI agents at his family home in Massachusetts on Thursday.
The judge ruled that the suspect qualifies for a public defender – a lawyer employed at public expense in a criminal trial for people who cannot afford legal fees.
Mr Teixeira remains in custody.
US President Joe Biden thanked law enforcement in a statement for their “rapid action” to investigate the source of the leaks. He said he has directed US military and intelligence to secure and limit distribution of any more sensitive information.
Watch: How damaging are 21-year-old Jack Teixeira’s US intelligence leaks?
‘Top secret clearance’
The leaked intelligence material first appeared in a Discord chat room on which Mr Teixeira is said to have been an administrator. Its members would often discuss geopolitical affairs and wars.
The affidavit provided by FBI Special Agent Patrick Lueckenhoff to the court stated that the suspect began posting the leaked documents some time in December.
The initial leaks were in the form of paragraphs of text, according to the affidavit, but Mr Teixeira then moved on to posting photographs of documents in January.
It was not until intelligence material was posted outside the chat room group that Pentagon officials became aware of the leak, prompting a search for the culprit.
Mr Teixeira worked as an IT specialist in the intelligence wing of the Massachusetts National Guard, based at Otis Air National Guard Base in western Cape Cod.
The National Guard is a reservist wing of the US Air Force. They are not employed full-time in the military, but can be deployed when necessary.
Mr Teixeira’s official title was cyber defence operations journeyman, according to the criminal complaint filed in the Boston court. He held the rank of Airman 1st Class – a relatively junior position.
The affidavit stated that Mr Teixeira held a “top secret” security clearance since 2021, and that he would have “signed a lifetime binding non-disclosure agreement” to take on his role.
Mr Luekenoff added the suspect “would have had to acknowledge that the unauthorized disclosure of protected information could result in criminal charges”.
The affidavit also alleged that Mr Teixeira used his government computer to search classified intelligence reporting for the word “leak” on 6 April – the day when public reporting about the documents first emerged.
Prosecutors alleged that Mr Teixeira searched the term to learn whether US intelligence had information on the identity of the person behind the leaks.
The deadliest known cattle fatality occurrence in US history resulted from an explosion at a dairy farm in west Texas, which resulted in the deaths of 18,000 cows.
Tens of thousands of dairy cows were confined in holding cages at the South Fork Dairy farm outside Dimmitt, Texas, on Monday night when a fire broke out. Social media users posted pictures of a huge black plume of smoke and some burned cows that were salvaged.
What firefighters discovered once the fire was put out, according to Dimmitt Mayor Roger Malone, was “mind-boggling.”
‘I don’t think it’s ever happened before around here,’ Malone told USA Today. ‘It’s a real tragedy.’
The Castro County Sheriff”s Office, the Dimmitt, Hart and Nazareth Fire Departments responded to an explosion and fire at the Southfork Dairy Farms in Texas (Picture: Castro County Sheriff’s Office)
A worker was rescued from inside the holding pen and transported to a hospital. As of Tuesday, the victim was in critical but stable condition. No one else was injured or killed.
More cattle died in the incident than any other since the Washington-based advocacy group Animal Welfare Institute started tracking farm and barn fires in 2013. The deadliest event up until then had been a 2020 blaze that killed about 400 cows in an upstate New York dairy farm, according to a policy associate at the institute, Allie Granger.
‘The deadliest fire involving cattle we know of,’ Granger told the newspaper. ‘In the past, we have seen fires involving several hundred cows at a time, but nothing anything near this level of mortality.’
A farm equipment malfunction may have caused the explosion that ignited the fire, according to Castro County Judge Mandy Gfeller.
The Holstein and Jersey cows that perished were about 90% of the herd on the farm and were worth about $2,000 each. That equates to tens of millions of dollars, not including building and equipment losses.
Malone said he has taken courses on disposing animal carcasses after a disaster, but is still trying to figure out what to do.
‘How do you dispose of 18,000 carcasses?’ he said. ‘That’s something you just don’t run into very much.’
Meanwhile, residents are concerned about the disaster possibly hurting the local economy.
‘That’s a lot of the money that we have and then a lot of milk also too,’ Dimmitt resident Alex Aguilar told KFDA. ‘So I think it’s really crazy that that happened.’
Only after employing ultraviolet photography inside Matthew’s Gospel were researchers able to find the ancient Syriac text.
When Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, his followers became hungry and started to gather the grain’s heads to eat, according to Matthew, a disciple of Jesus.
The newly found version, however, reads as follows: “At that time, Jesus proceeded through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and his disciples became hungry and began to ask him for food.
But the newly discovered translation reads: ‘At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath and his disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain, rub them in their hands, and eat them.’
A scribe apparently erased the chapter whilst it was being written.
Only one segment of the recovered text has been released to the public so far.
Only one segment has been released to the public so far (Picture: Getty Images)
Grigory Kessel, who made the discovery, told DailyMail.com: ‘The Gospel text found in this reused manuscript contains the so-called Old Syriac translations of the Gospels.
‘This Old Syriac translation quite often attests the Gospel text that is different from the standard Gospel text as we know it today.’
The Gospel of Matthew forms the core of the 27 books of the New Testament.
Matthew’s section begins describing the birth of Jesus and also includes early correspondence between Church leaders and Christians.
As he signed the visitor’s log, Joe Biden remarks that the Irish president’s official house “looks just like the White House.”
Before presenting the message he left, he writes for a while.
He reads aloud, “As the Irish proverb says, your feet will get you where your heart is.
“I talk about going back to the place where my ancestors lived to celebrate the things that unite Ireland and the United States, and recommit ourselves to peace, equity, and – I think the most Irish of words used in my family was – dignity.”
Looking around, the president says “this is an incredible place”.
“It’s wonderful to be back,” says Mr Biden, on his third visit but his first as president.
Joe Biden meets Irish president
Joe Biden has met the Irish president in Pheonix Park, Dublin.
Arriving at Aras an Uachtarain, he emerged wearing sunglasses and a broad smile as he walked the red carpet to be met by Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabine.
He was taken to the drawing room to meet Tanaiste Micheal Martin and Ireland’s secretary-general to the president, Orla O’Hanrahan
The two presidents are set to have a private meeting for around half an hour, plant a tree in the grounds – as other US leaders have done before Mr Biden – and ring the Peace Bell.
The US premier arrived in the Beast, considered a fortress on wheels, alongside a motorcade.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken and other members of the US delegation accompanied him.
Visit ‘won’t change DUP minds’ on returning to Northern Irish Assembly
Joe Biden’s visit is unlikely to have any impact on getting the Northern Ireland Assembly back up and running, a political expert has said.
Power to restore Stormont lies ultimately “in the hands of the DUP”, who have boycotted it, said research associate at the University of Liverpool, Clare Rice.
Dr Rice said the party is of the opinion that the president’s visit “will not do anything” to “encourage or speed up the rate at which they will take a decision”.
Looking ahead to Mr Biden’s engagements today, she said Mr Biden would likely focus on peace as a way of fostering Irish-American relationships.
She said his speech at Ulster University was largely a success, being “broadly well received right across the community.”
He will likely continue to discuss his own Irish identity, as he has done throughout the visit, said Dr Rice.
Biden to plant tree at president’s home, securing further ‘Irish roots’
By Ashna Hurynag, news correspondent, in Dublin
Almost 60 years since JFK visited the Irish president’s official residence, Joe Biden will do the same – keen to stress he has the most roots in the country of any recent US leader.
In the grounds of Áras an Uachtaráin, Dublin, the trees planted by Kennedy and, most recently, Barack Obama stand tall; all different varieties of Irish Oak.
Today Joe Biden will plant another one in a ceremony with President Michael D Higgins, before ringing the Peace Bell.
The Bell was installed to mark the 10th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement in 2008.
Purported major US intelligence leak on Ukraine ‘did not come up’ in meeting with Sunak
Documents posted online purported to be leaked US intelligence on the war in Ukraine were not discussed in talks between Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak.
The White House press secretary said the subject of a major Pentagon investigation “did not come up”.
Among the trove of records, one seen by Sky News alleges that UK special forces were in Ukraine on 1 March 2023.
The Ministry of Defence has previously said there was “a serious level of inaccuracy” in this claim.
Sky News cannot independently verify the documents, and several nations, including Ukraine and Russia, have questioned their veracity.
For context: Documents were published in a chatroom on Discord, a social media platform popular with gamers, labelled as secret Pentagon material on Ukraine.
If accurate, potentially hundreds have been leaked and the US doesn’t know if more will surface as it investigates who is behind the information.
White House responds to Biden’s ‘Black and Tans’ gaffe
The White House has said it was “very clear” to Irish rugby fans that Joe Biden was referring to the All Blacks New Zealand team when he mistakenly referenced “the Black and Tans”.
The president appeared to confuse the name of the team with a War of Independence-era police force in Ireland during a speech yesterday.
Asked if he realised his mistake, National Security Council senior director Amanda Sloat said: “It was clear what the president was referring to, it was certainly clear to his cousins sitting next to him.”
Mr Biden was standing near former Irish rugby international and distant relative Rob Kearney, who was a member of the team that famously beat the All Blacks for the first time in 2016.
The Black and Tans was a name for part-time officers recruited to bolster the Royal Irish Constabulary, many of whom gained a violent reputation.
For context: The president said Rob Kearney was “a hell of a rugby player, and beat the Black and Tans” while speaking in a Co Louth pub.
War in Ukraine ‘high on agenda’ for talks with Irish leaders
The war in Ukraine will be “high on the agenda” when Joe Biden meets with Irish leaders today, a top US official has said.
National Security Council senior director Amanda Sloat said the conflict would be a priority in talks with Irish President Michael D Higgins and Prime Minister Leo Varadkar “given Ireland’s participation in various aspects of US support for Ukraine”.
Ireland has contributed nearly £68m (€77m) in military support for Ukraine, an aid package worth £17.5m (€20m) and another £22m (€25m) in government and business sector assistance as of 31 January, according Micheál Martinto, its minister for foreign affairs.
Ms Sloat said Mr Biden’s address to the Irish parliament will refer to areas of close partnership between both countries and “setting out a shared vision for the future”.
‘Nervousness’ as officials pray Biden sticks to the script in parliament
There is “nervousness” among officials in Ireland at the prospect of another gaffe from the US president, after he appeared to confuse a New Zealand rugby team with a British paramilitary group, said international affairs editor Dominic Waghorn.
They are “hoping he sticks to the script” as he addresses the Irish parliament today following the offhand comment, in which Mr Biden paid tribute to a rugby player for beating the “Black and Tans” rather than the All Blacks, Waghorn said.
He explained a gaffe-free day of diplomacy was important because “it is a particularly sensitive, precarious time, of course, for politics in Northern Ireland”.
Waghorn added: “He’s made a number of those comments which I think have reinforced in the eyes and minds of many in Northern Ireland that he is nationalist, he’s too pro-Irish.”
But Mr Biden made the opposite impression when he went off-cue to talk about his English heritage during a speech to Ulster University yesterday, he said.
Indeed, former UK ambassador to the US Lord Darroch told Sky News that though the president sometimes misspeaks, “I remain convinced that he is a friend of the UK”.
Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald has said it would be wrong to boycott Joe Biden’s address to both houses of the Irish parliament today.
People Before Profit (SPBP), which has five members in the lower house, will boycott the speech over objections to his foreign policy.
Mrs McDonald said she shares concerns about the US record in Iraq and Afghanistan, but stressed that closer to home there “wouldn’t have been a peace process without America”.
On RTE Radio 1’s Morning Ireland programme, she said of SPBP’s decision: “I think that’s the wrong choice.”
Asked if she shared left-wing criticisms of US foreign policy, she said: “I very much doubt that anybody in the American administration is unaware of the wide criticism of many of their foreign policy stances.”
What is the fallout from Biden’s ‘Black and Tans’ gaffe?
He was paying tribute to his distant cousin in a pub, the former Irish rugby international Rob Kearney.
Mr Kearney was a member of the Irish team that famously beat New Zealand’s All Blacks for the first time ever, in a 2016 match played in Chicago
President Biden, who played rugby himself as a student, said that Rob Kearney was “a hell of a rugby player, and beat the Black and Tans”, thus confusing New Zealand’s famous team with the reviled British paramilitary force the Black and Tans, who brutally repressed opponents of British rule during the Irish War of Independence.
Most infamously, the force massacred 14 people and wounded 60 more at a Gaelic football match at Croke Park in Dublin in 1920.
It seemed an obvious slip of the tongue, rather than anything intentional.
It had all been going so well, says Ireland correspondent Stephen Murphy in his full analysis…
Biden to address Irish parliament in first for a US president since peace deal
Joe Biden’s visit to the island of Ireland continues today, south of the border.
The president is in Dublin, where he is expected to address a joint session of the Irish parliament – the first US premier to do so since the Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998.
He will spend most of the day with Irish President Michael D Higgins, who is hosting Mr Biden at his official residence, Aras an Uachtarain.
The pair will take part in a tree-planting ceremony and a ringing of the Peace Bell, first unveiled 15 years ago to mark the 10th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who visited the White House on St Patrick’s Day, will then begin talks with Mr Biden.
But his address to parliament will be the main event today – that’s the first time we’ll hear him speak.
The last president to make a speech in the Irish legislature was Bill Clinton in 1995.
A banquet in Mr Biden’s honour at Dublin Castle will be the last item on his agenda today. He is expected to give a toast.
As you can see, barriers have been erected at the castle and the heavy security operation that has followed the US president on this trip will continue today…
Good morning – here’s the latest
It has been a busy couple of days for President Joe Biden who landed in Belfast on Tuesday evening for the start of a historic four-day visit to Northern Ireland and Ireland.
The visit marks the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement and has seen the US leader, 80, pay homage to his Irish roots.
We’ll be bringing you live updates as the president embarks on another busy day but here is a rundown of the key events from yesterday…
Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak met at the Grand Central Hotel in Belfast;
The US president urged a return to power sharing in Stormont during a speech at Ulster University;
The leader of the DUP insisted Mr Biden’s visit “did not change the political dynamic” in Northern Ireland;
Mr Biden arrived in Co Louth, where his Irish ancestors once lived, and delivered at speech the The Windsor pub – which sits at the centre of Dundalk;
Police said four devices discovered in a cemetery in Londonderry were “viable” pipe bombs.
That’s all for our coverage tonight
We’ll be back tomorrow morning with more updates on Joe Biden’s visit to Northern Ireland and Ireland.
Tomorrow, Mr Biden will meet with Michael D. Higgins, the Irish president.
He will also address the Irish Parliament and is set to attend a banquet dinner at Dublin Castle.
We can expect Biden’s comments to remain more rigidly to script tomorrow
By Stephen Murphy, Ireland correspondent
It had all been going so well.
The serious political business of the day dispensed with, Joe Biden left Belfast and broke for the border.
Arriving for the first day of ancestral exploration in Co Louth, he was taken on a tour of Carlingford Castle, the last sight his great-great-grandfather Owen Finnegan would have seen in 1849 as he sailed away to a new life in America.
The rain sheeted down, the cold was something from the depths of winter. And yet, the 80-year-old president exuded an energy of a much younger man, beaming from beneath his baseball cap as he arrived in Dundalk.
Traditionally a staunchly republican border town, he wound up at a bar improbably called The Windsor.
Here, in relaxed mood, he spoke from the heart, and apparently off the cuff. And that’s where the gaffe came from. He was paying tribute to his distant cousin in the room, the former Irish rugby international Rob Kearney.
Kearney was a member of the Irish team that famously beat New Zealand’s All Blacks for the first time ever, in a 2016 match played in Chicago.
President Biden, who played rugby himself as a student, said that Rob Kearney was “a hell of a rugby player, and beat the Black and Tans”, thus confusing New Zealand’s famous team with the reviled British paramilitary force the Black and Tans, who brutally repressed opponents of British rule during the Irish War of Independence.
Most infamously, the force massacred 14 people and wounded 60 more at a Gaelic football match at Croke Park in Dublin in 1920.
It seemed an obvious slip of the tongue, rather than anything intentional. But here you had a US president often accused by unionists of being rabidly republican, apparently bragging about his family beating the British. In that context, the remark was deeply unfortunate.
President Biden continues on a more familiar political path tomorrow, meeting with the Irish president and prime minister, and addressing the Irish parliament. We can expect his comments there to remain more rigidly to script.
Biden’s visit to Dundalk in pictures
Joe Biden shook hands and took selfies with excited locals in Dundalk as he continued with his four-day visit of Northern Ireland and Ireland today.
Screams and cheers erupted in the town’s main street as the huge presidential motorcade rolled into the Co Louth town on a drizzly, grey and windy Wednesday evening.
Despite the weather, crowds lined the town’s main street to catch a glimpse of the US leader, who wore a navy baseball cap bearing the American flag as he emerged from The Beast.
Mr Biden, whose grandfather James Finnegan was born in Co Louth, spoke fondly of his Irish roots with the owner of a local deli and said it “feels like home” as he spoke to an assembled audience at a pub.
Here, are just a few pictures from the day…
‘Ireland breeds faith and possibilities’
During his speech to assembled crowds earlier, President Joe Biden described how his and former president Barack Obama’s ancestors were shoemakers from Ireland.
He said: “It’s doubtful they knew each other and they came out of the same port but one thing we do know is that they left everything behind
“They had faith. They had faith in an uncertain future. I’m not sure they could have imagined that 175 years later both their great-great grandsons would be presidents of the USA.
“That’s what you breed here. This faith and the possibilities that are out there.”
Peace deal architect praises Biden’s power sharing plea
An architect of the Good Friday Agreement has said Joe Biden struck the tone right in his speech today encouraging a return to power sharing in Northern Ireland.
Jonathan Powell, former chief of staff to Tony Blair, said Mr Biden was right to appeal to keep the peace rather than berate the DUP, which is boycotting the Northern Irish Assembly.
But the address at Ulster University is not going to be what “clinches it” because his visit is not a negotiating one, Mr Powell said.
“It was a symbolic visit, I think it was important he came. I think he struck the right note: He wasn’t bullying anyone, he wasn’t hectoring anyone, he was just appealing to people to keep the peace going, to get back into the institutions,” said Mr Powell.
He said the president looked to the future, rather than the troubled past, and pointed out the benefits of American investment, which will only come with political stability.
Xi Jinping gets unexpected mention in Biden’s pub speech
After reminiscing about his Irish ancestry, Joe Biden’s speech in a pub in the small town of Dundalk takes an unexpected turn towards the geopolitical.
Almost out of nowhere, he brings up Xi Jinping, the Chinese president.
“I’ve spent more time with him than any other world leader has over the last 10 years,” he says.
And then recalls a story….
“I was once on the Tibetan plateau with him,” he says.
“He asked me ‘Can you define America for me?’ and I said ‘Yes I can. One word – possibilities.”
He then says he “believes anything is possible if you set your mind to it”.
Mr Biden also says the world is facing “darkness” but people must keep “marching forward”.
He ends his speech by thanking those who have come to see him and jokes: “The bad news is we will be back.”
‘The best drop of blood in you is Irish’: Biden speaks in pub
“It feels like home,” Joe Biden says as he takes to a podium in a pub in Dundalk.
“When you’re here you wonder why anyone would want to leave, so it’s good to be back.”
He says his grandfather used to tell him “the best drop of blood in you is Irish” to laughs from the crowd gathered inside.
He entertains guests in the pub with tales of his distant Irish relatives and how important the heritage has always been within his family.
“Hope is what beats in the heart of all people, particularly in the heart of the Irish,” he says.
“My message to you today is quite simple: We have to continue to keep the faith.”
He tells the audience we must “face darkness” and work towards a future of “greater dignity”.
Whether you want to go home to be with your family or take advantage of the bank holiday for a long vacation, Easter is frequently a busy period for travel.
Unluckily, this makes it one of the most difficult times to get about London.
Throughout bank holiday weekends, public transportation frequently sees improvements as more people take advantage of their time off and use the already-busy facilities.
Roads can also be busier than usual, with more travellers than usual opting to get in the car to avoid any public transport delays.
So, if you’re planning a journey around the capital this weekend, what should you keep in mind?
Here is what you need to know.
Easter 2023 travel disruption in London
Latest London news
With potential disruption on both the road and public transport, it’s essential to check any journey details in advance, as well as on the day of departure, for the latest updates.
Complete information on travelling around London over Easter 2023 is available on the TfL website.
TfL also recommends using the TfL Go app and the TfL Journey Planner.
Rail
National Rail has warned of several potential problems over the Easter weekend.
While the trains are running, travellers have been warned to plan their journey in advance, with disruption expected from Friday, April 7 to Monday, April 10, 2023.
Concerning London specifically, modernisation to both tracks and signalling on some lines into the London Victoria station will be taking place, and Southern services will not call. They may instead be diverted to London Bridge.
There will also be no trains running to or from London Euston at Easter.
The various Train Operating Companies may also be operating different timetables over the Easter weekend, with full details available on the National Rail website.
Tube
Currently expected disruptions on the London Underground network include:
Jubilee line – On Good Friday, April 7, there is no service on the entire line until 2pm. After 2pm, there will be no service between West Hampstead and Stanmore, which will continue to be the case until April 10.
Metropolitan line – The Metropolitan line will see no service between Aldgate and Harrow-on-the-Hill from April 8 to April 10.
Elizabeth line
From April 7 to April 10, the Paddington to Maidenhead stretch of the line will see a reduced service, and there will be no service from Paddington to Abbey Wood.
However, there will be services running to/ from the Paddington and Liverpool Street national rail terminals and regular service is expected between Maidenhead to Reading and Paddington to Heathrow.
London Overground and DLR
On Good Friday, a Saturday service will run on the London Overground with no service between Euston and Kilburn High Road (which will also be the case on Saturday, April 8).
On Easter Sunday (April 9), there will be no service between Euston and Watford Junction, as well as no service between Gospel Oak and Barking Riverside. The Camden Road to Stratford line will also see no service after 10.15pm.
On Monday, April 10, the London Overground will also be running a Saturday service, with no service between Euston and Watford Junction and Woodgrange Park to Barking Riverside.
Between April 7 and April 10, the DLY will see no direct services between Lewisham and Bank, meaning you will have to change at Poplar.
Trams
Throughout the Easter period (April 7 to April 10), there will be no service westbound from East Croydon to Wandle Park and no eastbound service from Reeves Corner to East Croydon.
On Good Friday and Saturday, April 9, there will be no service before 7.30am and after 6.30pm between Arena and Elmers End. On Easter Sunday and Monday, the same restriction will apply before 9.15am and after 6.15pm.
Road
TfL has warned that roadworks will occur over the Easter bank holiday weekend and that public transport will be the easiest way to get around.
If you are travelling by road, allow more time for your journey. You can also check the status of the capital’s streets via the TfL website.
Cycling
If you’re planning to journey via bike this weekend, the TfL website states that there will be temporary changes to Cycleway 3, saying: ‘Between Monday, April 3 and Monday, May 15 2023, there will be temporary changes to Cycleway 3 around Buckingham Palace and Constitution Hill.
‘These are to support the London Marathon and Coronation events.’
In a combative speech following his arraignment, Donald Trump blasted the criminal accusations brought against him and declared that “our country is going to hell.”
Hours after having his fingerprints taken in a Manhattan courthouse, the former US president said: “God bless you all” while speaking from the ballroom of his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida.
Godspeed to you all. And I never, ever imagined that something similar might occur in the United States.
‘The only crime that I have ever committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it.’
Trump slammed Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation into a hush money payment to a porn star, and called the presiding Justice Juan Merchan a ‘Trump-hating judge’.
He also ripped other probes on him including Georgia’s investigation into whether he and his allies tried to overturn the state election, and a federal investigation into his handling of classified documents that wound up at Mar-a-Lago.
Trump called special counsel Jack Smith – who is overseeing the federal probes into the classified materials and his actions around the January 6 Capitol riot – a ‘lunatic’.
The ex-president also brought up the Hunter Biden laptop scandal and blamed the country’s problems including an economic slowdown on the Biden administration and Democrats.
Some TV news stations did not air Trump’s full speech, even though it ran for less than 30 minutes. MSNBC host Rachel Maddow explained that it was ‘basically a campaign speech in which he is repeating his same lies and allegations against his perceived enemies’.
Meanwhile, ABC News cut it off as Trump claimed that President Joe Biden would provoke an ‘all-out nuclear World War 3’.
Trump walked into his Florida resort to cheers from fans wearing MAGA hats.
His family members who entered Mar-a-Lago smiling included his son Eric Trump and wife Lara Trump, and his youngest daughter Tiffany Trump. Walking behind them was Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, who appeared for a speech outside Manhattan Criminal Court before being swarmed by protesters and escorted away by police.
What is Trump charged with and what’s next?
WHAT’S THIS CASE ABOUT?
The grand jury spent weeks investigating money paid during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign to two women who alleged that they had extramarital sexual encounters with him.
Trump has denied the allegations.
His former lawyer Michael Cohen, who testified as a key prosecution witness, paid Daniels $130,000 through a shell company he set up and was then reimbursed by Trump, whose company logged the repayments as legal expenses.
Earlier in 2016, Cohen also arranged for former Playboy model Karen McDougal to be paid $150,000 by the publisher of the supermarket tabloid the National Enquirer, which squelched her story in a journalistically dubious practice known as ‘catch and kill’.
WHAT’S AN INDICTMENT?
An indictment is the formal charge brought against someone after a grand jury — which is made up of members of the community — votes and enough members agree there’s sufficient evidence to charge someone with a crime.
The indictment against Trump remains sealed, as is standard in New York before an arraignment. But once the document is made public, it will lay out the crime or crimes that Trump is accused of committing.
Sometimes indictments include a lengthy narrative with lots of details about the allegations, while others are more basic and just outline the charges a defendant is facing.
WHAT ARE THE CHARGES?
Trump is facing multiple charges of falsifying business records, including at least one felony offense, according to two people who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss information that isn’t yet public.
Under the law, prosecutors must prove there was an ‘intent to defraud’.
The felony falsifying business records offense requires prosecutors to prove that the records were falsified with the intention of committing, aiding or concealing a second crime.
It’s not clear yet what prosecutors allege the second crime to be, but experts have said it is probably some kind of campaign finance violation.
WHAT’S AN ARRAIGNMENT?
An arraignment is generally the first time a defendant appears in court after being charged.
The judge will tell Trump the charges against him and advise him of his right to go to trial and other things.
Trump will enter a plea of not guilty — as is standard for defendants to do at arraignment. The indictment is expected to be unsealed upon his arraignment.
Trump is expected to walk out of the courtroom because the charges against him don’t require that bail be set in New York.
It’s possible — but unlikely — that Judge Juan Merchan could decide that Trump is a flight risk and order him held, with or without bail, though Trump’s lawyers would vigorously fight that.
WHAT WILL TRUMP’S DEFENSE BE?
Trump’s lawyers have vowed to ‘vigorously fight this political prosecution in court’.
Defense attorney Joe Tacopina has described Trump as a victim of extortion who had to pay the money because the allegations were going to be embarrassing to him. But he says it had nothing to do with the campaign.
Trump will no doubt try to fight the case on multiple fronts. He may try to have the case moved out of Manhattan or New York City entirely — arguing he can’t get a fair trial there — though it’s rare for judges to agree to do that.
Trump may also argue that the statute of limitations has passed.
He has complained that the statute of limitations ‘long ago expired’ because the hush money payments and Cohen’s reimbursements happened more than six years ago.
New York’s statute of limitations for most felonies is five years. For misdemeanors, it’s just two years. But in New York, the clock can stop on the statute of limitations when a potential defendant is continuously outside the state.
Trump visited New York rarely over the four years of his presidency and now lives mostly in Florida and New Jersey.
WHAT ARE THE POLITICAL RAMIFICATIONS FOR TRUMP?
Neither the indictment itself nor a conviction would prevent Trump from running for or winning the presidency in 2024.
Already, the charges have been a boon to his fundraising. The campaign announced Friday evening that it had raised over $4 million in the 24 hours after the indictment became public, far smashing its previous record after the FBI search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club.
Trump’s team over the weekend blasted out emails full of supportive comments from dozens of top Republicans, many of whom had already been supportive of him leading up to the indictment.
Those likely to be facing off with Trump in next year’s GOP primary contests have also slammed the prosecution.
Former Vice President Mike Pence called the indictment ‘an outrage’ and ‘nothing more than a political prosecution’.
Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley said on Twitter that the indictment ‘is more about revenge than it is about justice’.
Biotech investor Vivek Ramaswamy, who is also seeking the GOP presidential nomination, called the indictment ‘a dark moment in American history’.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Saturday accused District Attorney Alvin Bragg of weaponizing the law ‘for political purposes’ to bring a case against a former president, never mentioning Trump by name.
Trump finished his remarks with his familiar campaign slogan.
‘With a very dark cloud over our beloved country,’ he said, ‘I have no doubt that we will make America great again.’
WNBA star and former political prisoner Brittney Griner has called on the Biden administration to help free American reporter Evan Gershkovich following his detainment in Russia.
“Our hearts are filled with great concern for Evan Gershkovitch and his family since Van’s detainment in Russia,” reads a statement that was signed by both Griner and her wife Cherelle Griner. “We must do everything in our power to bring him and all Americans home. We are grateful for President Biden and his administration’s deep commitment to rescue Americans. We celebrate their recent successful efforts to bring home Jeff Woodke and Paul Rusesabagina.”
Griner’s statement comes a week after Russian security officials arrested the Wall Street Journal reporter, age 31, on espionage charges. His arrest comes during a particularly tense time for U.S. and Russia relations, as President Vladimir Putin continues to wage war in Ukraine. The arrest marks the first time since the Cold War that a U.S. journalist has been arrested on espionage charges in Russia.
“Every American who is taken is ours to fight for and every American returned is a win for us all,” the statement continues. “That is why we call on all of our supporters to both celebrate the wins and encourage the administration to continue to use every tool possible to bring Evan and all wrongfully detained Americans home.”
President Joe Biden has already called on Russia to release the journalist and shared a message with reporters on Friday. “Let him go,” he said. Gershkovich was arrested in Ekaterinburg last week and was flown to Moscow the following day. The Wall Street Journal has denied accusations leveled against him, while Vice President Kamala Harris said she was “deeply concerned” by the news.
Griner was arrested on drug smuggling charges in Russia in February 2022 and was eventually freed from Russian custody by December as part of a prisoner exchange with the United States.
An American humanitarian worker, Jeffrey Woodke, who was abducted in Niger more than six years ago and held prisoner by terrorists had been freed.
President Joe Biden’s national security advisor, Jake Sullivan tweeted on Monday, March 19 2023, that an American humanitarian worker who was abducted in Niger more than six years ago
“I’m gratified & relieved to see the release of U.S. hostage Jeff Woodke after over 6 years in captivity. The U.S. thanks Niger for its help in bringing him home to all who miss & love him. I thank so many across our government who’ve worked tirelessly toward securing his freedom,” Sullivan tweeted.
Jeffery Woodke is now being offered support and transport. He was released outside of Niger in the Mali-Burkina Faso area, the official said.
“We are working closely with partners in the region and beyond to ensure safe transport and immediate access to the best medical and psychiatric support we can offer,” a senior administration official told reporters on Monday. “Where exactly Jeff chooses to go will be a bit up to him.”
The US government has been working on efforts to secure Woodke’s release for years, relying on both intelligence and military resources, the official said. But ultimately the government of Niger was central to securing his release, the official said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken hailed the release of Woodke at a press conference at the State Department later on Monday.
“As you know, I have no higher priority or focus than bringing home any unjustly detained American, wherever that is in the world,” said Blinken. “We won’t rest until they’re all home and, like Jeffery, reunited with their families.”
Blinken thanked Niger’s government, Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens and “all of those who have been working at the department” on Woodke’s case.
Blinken visited Niger earlier this month.
“We have certainly been in touch with them about what a priority it is, for us to secure the release of Americans like my Jeff Woodke, and that’s something that the Secretary confirmed when he was out there,” the official said, adding that Niger would be able to share more details about the release.
On his trip, Blinken announced $150 million in new humanitarian aid for the region.
“It will help provide life-saving support to refugees, asylum seekers, and others impacted by conflict and food insecurity in the region,” Blinken said in a statement about the aid which will go to Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali and Mauritania.
Terror groups linked to al Qaeda and ISIS have been active in Niger for years.
Without saying which specific terrorist group held Woodke, the official pointed to several “intersecting overlapping terrorist networks in that part of West Africa.” The official added that these terrorist networks see “kidnapping and hostage-taking as part of their business model frankly, and as a source of revenue and support.”
The official thanked the government of Niger which was involved in the efforts to secure his release, adding that the US did not pay any ransom to terrorists.
The US did not pay any ransom to terrorists to get Woodke released, the official said.
“There was no direct negotiation here between the US government and the terrorist organizations, it is worth making that clear. Certainly, we did not pay a ransom a concession to a terrorist organization here,” the official said.
“Emerging as our best line of effort among many that we have tried over the years was working to see what a very good and capable and thankfully willing partner in Niger was able to deliver in their own engagement,” the official added.
In addition to the release of Woodke, French journalist Olivier Dubois, who was abducted in 2021 in Mali, was freed Monday, according to a tweet by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Dubois was moved to Niger after his release.
“We feel joy and immense relief. Our colleague was held hostage for 711 days in Mali. His captivity was the longest for a French journalist held hostage since the Lebanon war,” a statement by Reporters Without Borders said.
Dubois was kidnapped in the Gao region north of Mali by an al Qaeda-linked group known as the GSIM.
“We thank the French authorities for having implemented the necessary means to obtain his release. It is the honour of France not to let the hostages down and to allow them to regain their freedom,” added the RWB statement.
Jessie Clark Funk, the American woman whose viral video about her experiences in Ghana riled Ghanaians has apologized for her statements in the video.
Jessie Clark came under sustained attacks from Ghanaians after a video of her detailing her experiences in Ghana was posted on Instagram and subsequently across other platforms.
In the video, she referred to Ghanaians as poverty-stricken, hungry and living in filth.
Led by broadcaster Nana Aba Anamoah, social media users took her to the cleaners questioning her account of the state of Ghana.
In an apology via her Instagram handle, Jessie Clark Funk who is believed to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saint explained that her words have been taken out of context.
She stated that she has been to the country twice, once with her daughter and has huge admiration for Ghana.
She claims to have learned a lot from the Ghanaian culture and will at no point run it down.
“A video I made talking about my experience in Ghanaian was taken completely out of the context and there are many upset people from Ghana which breaks my heart because I love and respect the people of Ghana and their beautiful country so much.
“I have been there twice, once with my daughter. We learned so much from their amazing culture and deep wisdom. I cherish my experience there and I’m sorry that something I said didn’t reflect my love for your country. I sincerely ask for forgiveness,” she said.
Her apology was shared by Nana Aba Anamoah who took exception to her earlier description of Ghana and for that matter Ghanaians.
Nana Aba’s clapback read: “Here you are, @jessieclarkfunk. I knew I’d find you. Those lies you spewed about Ghana made you look less intelligent. That we hate the Mormons? Madam, are you okay? No one resents your temple. The area your temple (the church of Latter-Day Saints) stands in Accra (Ridge) is one of the richest, most peaceful and prestine neighborhoods. “
“I’ll forgive your imbecilic comments about the poverty stricken and hungry people you claim you saw around that temple and assume you just wanted to appear relevant. You looked pathetic instead.”
Nana Aba also took time to educate her on the realities of living in Ghana.
“Indeed, we do have poor people here just as your country does too. There are so many Americans who call cars, shacks, tents and boxes their homes. It’s 2023. Grow up. It’s time to unlearn the truckload of lies you’ve been fed by some of the painfully lazy media platforms in your country about Africa.”
She added, “ I’m willing to help you speak sensibly next time about a country that’s been kind to your ilk, church and any other organisation from your country. To be honest, they’d be shocked to the marrow to hear you speak this way about Ghanaians. You lot need to stop making Africa a victim of your incredibly dumb agenda,” parts of her post on Instagram read.
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.
The familyof a child who was thrown over a balcony at the Mall of America in Minnesota has reached a settlement in connection with the shocking act of violence.
The child in question, Landen, was five at the time of the April 2019 incident, which saw a man identified as Emmanuel Aranda throwing him to the ground from a height of nearly 40 feet. Per a report from the Associated Press, a joint statement from the Mall of America and the child’s family was shared on Monday, confirming a settlement had been reached following a lawsuit alleging that mall officials were aware of Aranda’s “violent” past.
Furthermore, Aranda—who later pleaded guilty to attempted murder—was previously reported to have been barred from visiting the shopping location.
“Mall of America and the family have agreed to work together with a focus on safety, and already are jointly pursuing policy changes to existing trespass limits for violent criminals so as to give greater ability to preclude such persons from their premises,” the joint statement, which did not provide additional information regarding other facets (i.e. financial details) of the settlement, said.
Complex has reached out to reps for Briol & Benson, PLLC and Mall of America for additional comment. This story may be updated.
A GoFundMe, donations for which topped $1 million, included an update from the family on Landen’s road to recovery in April of last year. Per a family rep, the “long road of mental, physical, and emotional recovery and healing” will continue.
“We are, however, so thankful to the Lord that Landen is with us and our family is whole,” the family’s rep said at the time.
According to previous updates from the family, the five-year-old sustained “life-threatening injuries” after being thrown from the balcony.
These injuries required multiple operations, with the family saying in 2019 that their child had been required to undergo “15 separate medical procedures or surgeries” as part of the healing process.
Michael K Obeng, a Harvard-trained Ghanaian American plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, has been awarded the US President’s Volunteer Service Award by the United States of America President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation.
This honour recognises the crucial role of volunteers in the United States of America.
Obeng, a philanthropist, humanitarian, and global health strategist, has been honoured for his exceptional service that embodies the strength and national identity of the United States of America, which not only influences but also inspires those around him to take action in their communities.
He does this through his excellence in plastic and reconstructive surgery as well as through his pro-bono medical work across the globe with his charitable foundation R.E.S.T.O.R.E. Worldwide Inc., The Foundation for Reconstructive Surgery.
R.E.S.T.O.R.E. is an acronym that stands for Restoring Emotional Stability Throughout Outstanding Reconstructive Efforts.
R.E.S.T.O.R.E. provides free reconstructive surgery to patients in developing countries. The organisation has performed over 2000 free surgeries since its inception in 2007, in three different continents, to a tune in excess of over US$75 million.
A man with a big heart, a father of six, Dr Obeng is one of the most sought-after surgeons in the world. Throughout his two-decade career as the youngest Chief of Plastic Surgery at St Elizabeth Boardman Health Centre in Ohio and Director of MiKO Plastic Surgery in Beverly Hills, he has performed numerous groundbreaking surgeries.
Hanging proudly on his wall of accomplishments, include a successful forearm reattachment, rib removal, forehead reduction and complex breast surgeries to name a few. His passion has always been intricate and complex reconstruction and surgeries other surgeons deem impossible, earning him the nickname, “The Surgeon‘s Surgeon” by his colleagues.
As an avid advocate for breast reconstruction, Dr. Obeng hosted the first ever Bra-Day (Breast Reconstruction Awareness) event in Los Angeles in 2012 under the auspices of the American Society of Plastic Surgery.
“Dr. Obeng is a true visionary, who has transcended barriers and all stereotypes; continuing to trail-blaze paths that many only dream of,” said Dr Paa Ekow Hoyte-Williams of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, who serves as the R.E.S.T.O.R.E Foundation’s director of medical affairs.
The flag of excellence flew high again last year after the hashtag #GorillaGlueGirl trended on social media following an incident where a woman accidentally stuck Gorilla glue to her hair. In the midst of the media frenzy, in stepped an angel in the form of the Beverly Hills plastic surgeon, Dr Obeng, who did not just provide a chemical solution to dissolve the “devastating” adhesive but provided his services free of charge.
In Ho, the Volta Region of Ghana, last month, Dr Obeng and the R.E.S.T.O.R.E group of medical volunteers set a record for the most life-changing interventions in the organization’s 14 years history. The team evaluated 500 patients; 174 patients were actively impacted including 135 patients receiving life-transforming surgeries. This surpassed the previous record of 111 surgeries completed in Dakar, Senegal in December 2021.
Obeng’s service to humanity has earned him several humanitarian awards including, GHAPAC Humanitarian Award (2022), HAPAwards International man of the year award (2021), The Amanfoo Goodness & Excellence Award (2021), Ebony Magazine 75th Edition Power 100 Honouree (2020), GUBA Humanitarian Spirit Award (2017), NAACP Humanitarian Award (2013) and the list goes on. In addition, he has been commended by the City of Beverly Hills and the County of Los Angeles for his “dedication to improving and bettering the lives of individuals around the world using his medical expertise”.
“None of these accolades would have been possible without the selfless volunteers over the years and the patients who trusted us with their lives, not to mention the Almighty God,” Dr Obeng said.
“It is with great pleasure and humility to accept this award on behalf of all the R.E.S.T.O.R.E volunteers. I hope this phenomenal recognition inspires others to reach out and lend a helping hand to those in need. I would like to thank our team and donors over the last fifteen years and all the people behind the scenes, without whom none of these great works that we do across the globe would be possible,” he added.
About the President’s Volunteer Service Award
The President of the United States bestows the President’s Volunteer Service Award as a civil honor. The award was established 19 years ago by executive order of George W. Bush to honour volunteers who donate hundreds of hours each year to helping others through the President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation.
The President’s Volunteer Service Award (PVSA) recognizes incredible individuals who are committed to a high level of volunteer and service. These individuals work tirelessly to help solve some of the toughest challenges facing their communities, and our nation.
The President’s Volunteer Service Award has been honoured to few Americans in recognition of their exceptional service. Notable recipients include S. Truett Cathy, Mark Carman, and Zach Bonner.
The prestigious annual U.S. President’s Volunteer Service Awards Gala will take place at the Hilton Long Island Huntington, New York, on 2 December 2022.
America has recorded 609 multiple-victim shootings so far in 2022, according to The Gun Violence Archive.
It’s the third year in a row that the country has surpassed 600 mass shootings.
The data paints a disturbing picture of increased gun violence over the last eight years.
The US set a chilling record earlier this month amid a spate of recent mass shootings: This year marks the third in a row that the country has recorded more than 600 multiple-victim shootings, according to gun violence data.
The Club Q shooting in Colorado Springs that left five people dead and 17 wounded on Sunday marked the 601st mass incident in 2022, according to The Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit that tracks and records shootings and gun violence throughout the country.
The archive calls mass shootings an “American phenomenon,” and defines the incidents as any attack in which there are at least four victims shot, injured, or killed by a gun, excluding the perpetrator.
Tragedy struck again just two days after the Club Q shooting when a Virginia Walmart manager opened fire at a store in Chesapeake, according to authorities, killing six employees and marking the 607th multiple-victim shooting in 2022 thus far.
As of Thanksgiving day, there have been 609 mass shootings this year.
With more than a month left in the year, the US is on pace to reach 675 mass shootings before 2022 ends, according to The Gun Violence Archive, which would be the second-highest number of multiple-victim shootings since the nonprofit started tracking gun violence in 2013.
The archive recorded 690 mass shootings in 2021 as gun violence peaked while the Covid-19 pandemic abated, and 610 shootings in 2020.
“GVA had never logged a month of 60+ mass shootings before 2020,” the nonprofit tweeted after the Club Q shooting. “It happened five times in 2020, six times in 2021, and now six times again this year.”
The data paints a disturbing picture of increased gun violence in the last eight years.
In 2014, the archive recorded 273 mass shootings. By 2017 — just five years ago — that number had jumped to 348. There was another significant increase between 2019, which saw 417 multiple-victim incidents, to 2020, in which there were 610 recorded mass shootings.
The 2022 statistics come out to an average of 1.86 mass shootings per day, The Gun Violence Archive said.
Following the Colorado shooting, President Joe Biden condemned the “senseless attack,” and urged the country to “address the public health epidemic of gun violence in all of its forms.”
“Earlier this year, I signed the most significant gun safety law in nearly three decades, in addition to taking other historic actions,” Biden added. “But we must do more. We need to enact an assault weapons ban to get weapons of war off America’s streets.”
Pink says her upcoming ninth studio album “TRUSTFALL” is possibly the best album she’s ever made.
During an interview with “Good Morning America” that aired Friday, the award-winning singer said the long-awaited project, out Feb. 17, is also probably one of the “most fun” albums she’s made.
“It’s very, very true to what I believe and where I am and what I’m feeling and what I think a lot of people are feeling,” she said.
Along with the album release, Pink is also heading out for a Summer Carnival tour in 2023 in the U.S. and Canada. She’ll be joined by talented lineup of artists, including Brandi Carlile, Pat Benatar, Neil Giraldo, Grouplove and KidCutUp, at select dates throughout the tour.
“It’s gonna be amazing,” she said. “I have new music to play with, and that just makes me so excited – and I’m gonna learn skills and things that I’ve never done before.”
While speaking with “GMA” about the upcoming tour and album, the singer also discussed her intense devotion to prioritizing her family, how her relationship with music has evolved, the impact she hopes her music has and more.
Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Abubakar Atiku has departed Nigeria the United States of America to intensify his political campaigns ahead of the 2023 elections.
Atiku is proceeding on a weeklong political campaign in the US, where he would be meeting Nigerians and business community during the visit.
While in the US, Atiku would be meeting with Nigerians in Diaspora as well as with the PDP members in North America.
According to report, the PDP presidential candidate would also meet with top Nigerian business leaders based in the US, as well as young Nigerian professionals in the diaspora.
Atiku will also hold meeting with some other business communities in the US during the visit.
Recall that Atiku flagged off his campaign in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State three weeks ago. He has also followed his campaign flag-off with the Kaduna campaign last Saturday, with another campaign in Benin, the Edo State capital respectively.
Atiku is expected to return to Nigeria on Monday. He is expected to resume his campaign Ekiti state on Tuesday, November 1, 2022, while the campaign rally in Ondo State would hold on Wednesday November 2.
Atiku’s trip to the US has laid to rest controversies that the former vice president could not travel to the US.
