Author: Krobea

Facebook’s quarterly sales rose by nearly 50% in the social media giant’s first results since a privacy scandal over users’ data emerged. The company said that revenues rose to $11.9bn in the first three months of the year, compared to $8bn previously. Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said: “Despite facing important challenges, our community and business are off to a strong start in 2018.” He added that the firm is “taking a broader review of our responsibility”. Facebook said that its advertising revenue rose to $11.7bn in the three months to the end of March, compared to $7.8bn in the same…

Whoever said Italian football is boring? AS Roma, bouncing back to eliminate Barcelona in Europe and now look around you in Europe. What do you see? The title race is settled in England where Pep Guardiola and Manchester City have completely dominated, France and Germany are settled and Barcelona have La Liga in the bag. Italy is different though and that is thanks to Napoli who have clawed back Juventus’ lead and left them with just a one point advantage with four games left. These are special times for Napoli fans. Once upon a time Diego Maradona used to be…

Ghana’s University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) has conferred an honourary doctorate degree on the President of the Confederation of African Football, Ahmad Ahmad. At a ceremony on the campus of UPSA, Dr Ahmad was decorated with the honour for his reforms to football so far on the continent. A citation also congratulated the Malagasy for ousting long-term president Issa Hayatou. The President of the Madagascar Football Association last year – precisely March 16, 2017 – beat Mr Hayatou by 10 votes to end a near three-decade reign. On Wednesday, Dr Ahmad received the honour for his exploits barely one…

Mohamed Salah is mastering the art of forcing his name into our conscience, into the most contentious debates and into top awards. Halfway through the English Premier League season, Kevin De Bruyne was the odds-on favourite for Player of the Year in England. Yet after Christmas, the Egyptian chunked that away game after game, with every chip, every delicate finish, every goal and every assist. It is credit to just how well he has done that while there are those convinced the Belgian deserved the credit for the top player in England’s top flight, the voices of dissent have been…

The Center for Democratic Development (CDD) Ghana has expressed disappointment in President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in increasing the staff at his office “considering the public concerns raised over his appointment last year of an unprecedented 110 ministers and deputy ministers”. CDD-Ghana says the explanations given for the increase in the numbers is “unpersuasive”. Last Friday, there was leakage of a list of 998 staffers at the presidency, Jubilee House – most recently called Flagstaff House – submitted to Parliament at the end of 2017. The list involves civil servants as well as political appointees working at the Jubilee House.…

Cast of the famed Flagstaff House stage comedy are back with another hit play, The Inspection. Written by C. S. Acheampong, this boarding house play promises to rip the ribs of its audience apart with its high voltage comedy. It touches on team work, the second coming of Christ, having  faith in God, keeping hope alive in difficult times, respect for mankind and being discipline in all aspects of life. The Inspection features all the top comic acts in Ghana viz Lawyer Ntims (Kejetia vs Makola), Foster Romanus, Clemento Suarez, Jeneral Ntatia, Dr. So, Komla Mensa, Daniel Delong and more.…

One of Fifa’s most senior executives, Fatma Samoura, has been reported to the organisation’s powerful ethics committee. Samoura, who was appointed secretary general of football’s world governing body by its president Gianni Infantino in 2016, is accused of alleged breaches of its ethics code relating to “duty of disclosure, co-operation and reporting” and “conflicts of interest”. The claims stem from allegations relating to Morocco’s bid to host the 2026 World Cup. The North African country wants to host the tournament but is up against a North American joint effort comprising Canada, the USA and Mexico. Members of a Fifa World Cup evaluation…

The Minority in Parliament has challenged the Minister of Information, Mustapha Hamid, to produce evidence on his claims that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government was allocated GHS3 billion in 2016 for use by the Office of Government Machinery (OGM). The Minority says the claims are false, at best, and Mr Hamid should apologise to Ghanaians or resign his position if he fails to adduce evidence for his claims. “The claims, false as they are, also betray an uncanny lack of thoroughness and attention to detail on the part of the Information Minister in particular and the government he speaks…

Saudi authorities are threatening to bar Nigerians from attending this year’s pilgrimage to Mecca over fears they could spread Lassa fever, Nigeria’s National Hajj Commission has said. Since the start of the year the disease has killed at least 90 people in Nigeria and more than 1,000 cases have been reported across the country. Symptoms of Lassa fever can include fever, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, headaches, abdominal pains, sore throat and facial swelling. The virus is passed to people who eat infected rats, or if food is contaminated by rat droppings or urine. It can also be transmitted through contact…

Popular messaging service WhatsApp is banning under-16s from using its platform in the European Union. Users must currently be at least 13, but the firm is changing the rules ahead of the introduction of new EU data privacy regulations in May. The app, which is owned by Facebook, will ask users to confirm their age when prompted to agree new terms of service in the next few weeks. It has not said how the age limit will be enforced. The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which comes into force on 25 May, will give people much more control over how companies…