Author: newsfilegh

It has emerged that the lack of confidence exhibited by political parties in Ghana’s security agencies is a major trigger for increasing political party vigilantism in the country which has led in part to loss of life and destruction of properties. This came out as one of the major issues during a workshop organised by the Coalition For Domestic Election Observers (CODEO) when they interacted with some stakeholders on how to curb the menace. Other notable pointers that emerged included the need to adequately resource and empower the security and law enforcement agencies To deal with such criminality in all…

Google has been fined 2.42bn euros ($2.7bn; £2.1bn) by the European Commission after it ruled the company had abused its power by promoting its own shopping comparison service at the top of search results. The amount is the regulator’s largest penalty to date against a company accused of distorting the market. The ruling also orders Google to end its anti-competitive practices within 90 days or face a further penalty. The US firm said it may appeal. However, if it fails to change the way it operates the Shopping service within the three-month deadline, it could be forced to make payments…

Inmates at a South African prison known as Sun City were treated to “strippers” as part of an official event. Pictures circulating on social media show two scantily-clad women in thigh-high boots pressing themselves up against orange suited men at Johannesburg’s Medium B prison. On Monday, the Department of Correctional Services confirmed the veracity of the photos. A full investigation was under way, James Smalberger told journalists. “We can never tolerate what we have seen on the social media since Saturday,” Mr Smalberger, the acting national correctional services commissioner, said. Thirteen officers are being suspended and will face the “full…

Mr Carlos Ahenkorah, a Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, has challenged the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) to take decisive action to deal with current difficulties in the export sector to enhance growth. Speaking at a three-day retreat to strategies on effective service delivery for GEPA, Mr Ahenkorah said the many hindrances to exports in the country, including the multiplicity of inspection by various government bodies and a ban on vegetable and fruit exports to the EU, must be addressed expeditiously to boost exports. “As I speak the EU has banned importation of vegetables and fruits to the EU.…

Massive rot has been uncovered at the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited (BOST) with some former management staff under interdiction including the former General Manager in charge of Finance. Various sums of monies have been misappropriated either through ‘suspicious’ or over priced contracts which has milked the company’s finances. The current management of BOST under the leadership of Alfred Obeng Boateng has suspended some of the contracts from being executed and has instituted investigations into them. These decisions by the new management has ruffled furthers of the previous management which was under the leadership of Nana Awuah Darko.…

US President Donald Trump has welcomed a Supreme Court ruling allowing his travel ban to be partly reinstated as a “victory for our national security”. America’s highest court also granted a White House request allowing part of its refugee ban to go into effect. The justices said they would consider in October whether the president’s policy should be upheld or struck down. Mr Trump seeks to place a 90-day ban on people from six mainly Muslim nations and a 120-day ban on refugees. The president welcomed the ruling’s qualified authorisation to bar visitors from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and…

The Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) is demanding full-scale investigations into the issues surrounding the sale of five million substandard petroleum product  onto the Ghanaian market. It also wants the Head of the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation Company Limited to immediately step aside to allow the independent investigation to take place unimpeded. The product was contaminated when petrol and diesel accidentally mixed when a petrol flow-line was misdirected into a diesel tank during a discharge of petrol cargo into the Accra plains depot. The product has since been released for sale to consumers, although experts say it is “unfit…

A former dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Ghana, Legon, Professor George Tawia Odamtten, has cautioned the public against eating ‘kaakro’, mashed plantain, made into balls and fried in very hot oil. He said although eating ‘kaakro’ is not bad, the manner in which it is prepared with soft plantain that are almost decayed or rotten can cause cancer. Professr Odamtten said this when he delivered a public lecture on the topic: “Plant diseases, crop and food security in Ghana,” organised by the Ghana Academy of Arts and Science in Accra. He said the fungi which…

Some pupils of the Kanda Cluster of Schools in Accra have been screened and sensitized on scoliosis, a three-dimensional abnormality that occurs when a person’s spine becomes rotated and curved sideways. A total number of 221 pupils were screened and one suspected scoliosis case recorded in the exercise, which was held Saturday to mark the International Scoliosis Awareness Day. It was organised by the Scoliosis Foundation Ghana in partnership with the Foundation of Orthopedics and Complex Spine (FOCOS) and Inspire to Rise. Helena Owiredu, a survival of scoliosis who developed curvature at the age of 13 shared her story. A…