Author: Krobea

Siwaphiwe Mbambo appeared to have been abducted when her mother’s car was taken in Durban The mother of the baby whose alleged abduction sparked a national manhunt in South Africa has been arrested. One-month-old Siwaphiwe Mbambo was found alive and well around midnight on Saturday. The mother had told police that she was taken during a car-jacking outside a shopping centre in the South African city of Durban on Friday. But a police official has accused her of making the crime up, after the baby was found with her boyfriend. The boyfriend, and a woman thought to be his other…

The Mental Health Authority (MHA) is calling on Parliament to decriminalize attempted suicide “if the fight against suicide is to be won”. In a statement on the recent spate of suicide among university students, the Authority says the menace is not a moral issue. Neither is it spiritual. “It is simply a cry for help to resolve psychosocial issues and therefore more appropriately is a medical problem,” said the statement signed by Dr Akwasi Osei, the Chief Executive Officer of the Authority. “Decriminalizing attempted suicide will give the youth and people who have suicidal thoughts an opportunity to talk about…

Depression, also known as clinical depression and major depressive disorder (MDD), is one of the least understood disorders of our time. People have a tendency to disregard what they can’t physically see as an occasional mood-swing or a short-lived bout of despondency, nothing a tub of chocolate ice cream and a good night’s sleep can’t fix. For such people, “disorder” and “disease” are terms reserved for things that are more serious, and “feeling depressed” just doesn’t cut it. Nothing is more harmful to a patient of depression than such ignorant and flippant views. According to the World Health Organization (WHO),…

Several shops and structures housing hundreds at Busia Junction in Odorkor, Accra have been razed down in a fire that is said to have started around 10:30 pm Sunday, March 12. The cause of fire is yet to be known. But according to 3FM’s Jason Amoo “everything has been burnt to the ground”. Victims blamed the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) for the extent of damage as they claim the personnel responded to distress calls too late. “The [Ghana National] Fire Service came too late,” a victim told Grace Asare on 3FM Monday morning. “I was even sleeping when someone…

The 2016 elections review committee of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is scheduled to be in the Eastern Region from Monday, March 13 to sample reasons for the party’s defeat. The committee is expected to be in the Region till Friday, March 17. An itinerary released by Eastern Region Secretary Kevor Mark-Oliver on Sunday, March 12 said the committee chaired by Dr Kwesi Botchwey will meet constituency executives, cadres representatives, members who lost constituency elections, those who lost parliamentary primaries, former municipal, metropolitan and district executives (MMDCEs), current and former members of Parliament (MPs) and party agents. Monday will see…

At least 48 people have been killed in a landslide at a vast rubbish dump on the outskirts of Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, officials say. They say dozens of people are still missing since the landslide on Saturday night at the Koshe landfill. A resident said 150 people were there at the time. A number of makeshift houses are now buried under tonnes of waste. The area has been a dumping ground for Addis Ababa’s rubbish for more than five decades. A city spokeswoman told AP news agency that many children were among the dead. There are fears the death…

Former President John Dramani Mahama has denied knowledge of any event on Saturday, March 18 “intended to celebrate him”. According to a statement issued by his Special Aide, Joyce Mogtari, on Sunday, the immediate past president has not been informed of, neither invited to, any such programme. There was a social media artwork inviting persons to be at the Kawukudi Park in Accra to join in celebrating Mr Mahama. Patrons were asked to be in National Democratic Congress (NDC) colours. But the statement said “he has not provided any form of endorsement for the programme”. Former President Mahama, however, expressed…

Zambia’s Young Chipolopolo won the Africa U-20 Nations Cup on home soil on Sunday after they beat Senegal 2-0 in the finals. The Zambians finished the game off in the first half after Patson Daka and Edward Chilufya got their names on the score sheet. With a packed National Heroes Stadium in Lusaka behind them, the Young Chipolopolo held on till referee Thierry Nkurunziza blew his final whistle to end the game. This is the first title for the South Africans, coming five years after the senior side, Chipolopolo, won their maiden continental title. In the third place play-off, Guinea…

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey is expected to travel from Mauritius to South Africa on Monday, March 13. “The Minister’s visit comes in the wake of attacks on non-South Africans in recent weeks,” a statement on Sunday said. Ms Ayorkor Botchwey is part of the Vice President’s delegation in Mauritius but will not join the returning party on Monday. She is expected “to ascertain at first hand, the events that led to the attacks and bring clarity to the issue of reported casualties”. She will also meet with South African authorities and secure assurances about…