Author: newsfilegh

Pharrell Williams says the controversy surrounding Blurred Lines made him realise some of his songs “catered” to a sexist culture. The singer says at first he didn’t understand why some people saw the lyrics as “rapey”. But he later realised that “there are men who use the same language when taking advantage of a woman”. Blurred Lines was criticised by some who claimed the lyrics referred to non-consensual sex. It was banned at several universities and an advert featuring the song and models from the video was also banned from daytime TV in 2013. In an interview with GQ magazine,…

Leadership of law students across the country on Tuesday successfully petitioned President Nana Akufo-Addo to trigger reforms in legal education after an initial attempt failed a week ago due to police brutalities. Police personnel on October 7 used brute force to prevent the law students from presenting a petition summing up their grievances on legal education to Nana Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House, claiming the students did not have permission though contrary evidence was provided. Rubber bullets and teargas were fired and water sprayed on the protesters just few metres to the Jubilee House leading to injury of some of…

Eritrea has often been described as one of the most repressive states in Africa, where people lack basic political and religious freedoms. This is not surprising as it has been a one-party state ruled by President Isaias Afwerki since it officially gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993. The government has banned opposition parties and local private media, jailed critics (some of whom have not been heard of for years), and has imposed military conscription on young people. This has forced hundreds of thousands of Eritreans to flee the country, some of whom perish during the treacherous journey across the Sahara…

A 38-year-old Takoradi-based mason has been shot death under strange circumstance. The deceased, Eric Yeboah, popularly known as coach, was said to have been shot at the chest and arms on Tuesday dawn around 3:00 a.m. at his neighbourhood at Kweikuma, a suburb of Sekondi/Takoradi. Wife of the deceased, Faustina Amtwiwaa, told Connect FM that she woke up at dawn with her husband and stepped out of their room only to find some people loading some items they believed were stolen in a nearby uncompleted building, into a salon car. “As soon they saw us, one of them fired at…

The management of the Rugby Africa has earned praises from Herbert Mensah, President of Ghana Rugby,  for staging the 2019 Rugby Africa Women’s Sevens tournament in Tunisia that also served as 2020 Olympic qualifier. Mr Mensah specifically commended Khaled Babbou, President of Rugby Africa, for the inclusion of top African teams from the four Africa regions. Mensah said that, in light of the difficulties with finding sponsors, it was indeed a great achievement by Babbou and his team. He noted that the U20 Barthes Cup and the women’s fifteens had been made possible under the administration of Mr Babbou. According…

Pupils of Tsledom Basic School and residents in the lower Manya Krobo Municipality of the Eastern Region have received 17,000-cedi water facility and a polytank from a philanthropist and the Japanese International Corporation Agency (JICA). The polytank, to be used by the school to harvest rainwater for hand washing, was donated by JICA. The pupils and resident of Tsledom, who hitherto resorted to untreated water for drinking and domestic chores, have now been provided with a borehole by a philanthropist, Madam Mercy Tettey. The borehole will be serviced and maintained for free for the next five years. She said she…

Media General on Tuesday joined some market women at the Mallam Atta market in Accra to mark the 2019 Global Handwashing Day. With support from WaterAid Ghana, GAMA Water and Sanitation Projects, Global Communities, Dream Cosmetics and other partners, the media conglomerate used the opportunity to educate market women on the need to keep the hands clean at all times as they go about business at the market. Sanitation experts and officials took the market women through proper hand washing techniques. The initiative formed part of Media General’s ‘Sanitation Campaign’. Dream Cosmetics and Twellium Ghana gave the market women goodies…

 Police in northern Nigeria have freed 67 people who had been found shackled at an Islamic boarding school, officials say. The pupils, between the ages of seven and 40, told police they had been tortured and abused. Last month, more than 300 male students were freed from a similar boarding school in neighbouring Kaduna state. Islamic boarding schools, known as Almajiris, are common across the mostly-Muslim north of Nigeria. In a statement released on Monday, police said the boys and men were chained and subjected to “inhuman and degrading treatments”. Some had been sexually abused. “Beating, abusing and punishment, this…

Nigeria’s land border with neighbouring countries to remain closed until 2020 as the government intensifies what is seen as a radical move, to check smuggling of goods into the populous African nation. Though unilateral border closures go against all commercial and freedom of movement treaties signed under the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Nigeria has justified its decision. It has directed affected traders to use the country’s ports where authorities can easily monitor goods coming into and going out of the country. “Nobody stops goods coming in from the ports” Nigeria High Commissioner to Ghana, Olufemi Abikoye told…

Founder of defunct Capital Bank William Ato Essien and three others have pleaded not guiltily to 26 charges including stealing of various sums in excess of ¢260 million. The three are Managing Director of MC Management Services Ltd, Dr Tetteh Nettey; former CEO of the Bank, Fitzgerald Odonkor and CEO of Reroy Cables Ltd, Kate Quartey-Papafio. Attorney General Gloria Akuffo presented the facts of the case to an Accra High Court presided over by Justice Eric Kyei Baffour. She told the court that liquidity support amounting to ¢620 million handed by the BoG to revive Capital Bank was appropriated (¢27million) and transferred to various companies…