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A newborn baby boy with umbilical cord intact has been found in a bushy wire mesh near a river bank at Dadwen, in the Obuasi Municipality of the Ashanti Region.
The boy was discovered by one Ama, a resident of Dadwen community in the Obuasi municipality, wrapped in a white knitted cloth inside a black Poly bag shortly before daybreak.
The boy is believed to have been born outside of a hospital environment as there were traces of blood on his body, according to the Good Samaritan, who has since appealed to the public to assist the child to survive.
It is unclear who the mother is but the police have been informed about the incident which is being investigated.
Speaking to Sikapa Fm’s Aduanaba Kofi Boamah, the eyewitness disclosed she was informed by some children in the Dadwen community when they were screaming for some one to come and rescue the new born from the bush.
She said, initially she thought the children were joking but later rushed to the scene upon a second thought.
Meanwhile, two women later went to the woman who rescued the boy with claims that the boy belongs to one family member who “has a mental problem”
But they were ordered to make an official report at the police station for further investigations.
All travelers who intend to come to Ghana after the opening of the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) are to pay $150 or equivalent of GHS 865 for covid-19 instant test.
The test, according to government will last for about 30 minutes and therefore passengers will receive the results before they will be allowed to enter the country.
The directive comes after the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo announced the opening of the KIA during his 16th update.
“Fellow Ghanaians, I am glad to announce that Kotoka International Airport will reopen and resume operations from Tuesday, 1st September 2020. This decision has been communicated to international airlines across the world,” the President said.
He explained that,”It has been well-established that the very first cases of COVID-19 in Ghana were imported into our shores. We are determined to make sure this scenario does not recur. The commitment to ensuring that the gradual easing of restrictions, including the reopening of our airports, does not lead to the importation or resurgence of the virus into our country, is firmly in place. That is why the following measures have been taken and duly communicated to airlines wishing to resume flights to Ghana.”
He directed that any passenger arriving in Ghana must be in possession of a negative COVID-19 PCR test result from an accredited laboratory in the country of origin.
President Akufo-Addo said the test should have been done not more than seventy-two (72) hours before the scheduled departure from the country of origin.
He added that all airlines have been instructed to ensure compliance with this directive for all passengers wishing to travel to Ghana, and those airlines who fail in this regard will be duly sanctioned;
disembarking passengers must do so wearing face masks;
Upon disembarking from the aeroplane, each passenger will undergo a mandatory COVID-19 test at the airport terminal, at a fee to be borne by the passenger. The test result will be available within thirty (30) minutes;
children under the age of five (5) will not be required to undergo testing at the airport
passengers, who test positive for COVID-19, will be handled by the health authorities for further clinical assessment and management;
passengers, who test negative, can, thereupon, enter Ghana to go about their lawful activities, and will be advised to continue to observe COVID-19 safety precautions during their stay in Ghana.
Meanwhile, briefing the media in Accra on Monday, the Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Bernard Okoe Boye said the amount was reasonable, explaining that government wanted to make sure that the cost of test will not put any burden of the passengers.
He noted that the amount was also reasonable as compared to other countries also charging passengers for the test.
As coronavirus cases continue to rise in the US, there are competing narratives about the impact of the disease.
President Trump claims the country has one of the lowest death rates from the virus in the world. GETTYI heard we have one of the lowest, maybe the lowest, mortality rate anywhere in the world.Donald Trump US President
He’s also said excess deaths are significantly lower than elsewhere – that’s the number of extra deaths above what would be expected.
But others say the US has been hit worse than other countries, pointing out it has the most recorded Covid deaths of any country in the world.
“More than 170,000 Americans have died – by far the worst performance of any nation on earth,” Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden has said.
We’ve looked at three different ways you can measure the rate of Covid-19 deaths, two of which show that while the US is not the worst affected, it’s among those most badly hit.
1. The number of excess deaths
First, there is no international standard for how you measure deaths, or their causes. And making comparisons is tricky as countries record deaths in different ways.
But experts say one of the most telling measures is how many extra deaths a country experiences above the number who would have been expected to die.
This “excess” death data captures some potentially unrecorded coronavirus deaths, and other deaths that might be the result of strain on healthcare systems and other indirect effects of the epidemic.
It can therefore provide a more complete picture of how a country has been affected overall.
Most developed countries publish excess death data, but they do it less frequently than the daily coronavirus death totals they provide.
The US experienced almost 200,000 excess deaths from the start of the outbreak up to 11 July, according to the latest data available.
That’s an 18% increase on previous years.
Although the time periods are different, looking at the latest data from the world’s leading industrialised nations, we can see the US has a lower proportion of excess deaths so far than Italy and the UK.
The UK has been one of the hardest hit countries, with around 26% more deaths than expected in a typical year up to the start of August.
So on this measure with the data available so far, the US is not the hardest-hit country, but this figure could change.
While weekly deaths in the UK and Italy have gone back to expected levels, the US could move up the rankings if it continues to see above-expected numbers of deaths each week.
2. The case fatality rate
Another measure is the case fatality rate. This is the ratio of deaths to confirmed cases – of those who tested positive for coronavirus, how many have died?
President Trump has said: “Our case fatality rate has continued to decline, and is lower than the European Union, and almost everywhere else in the world.”
The US rate is relatively low compared with most major European countries, including the UK, although it isn’t the lowest in the world.
Percentage of coronavirus cases which lead to deaths
Data as of 21 August.Source: Johns Hopkins University & UK.gov
But different countries are testing to find coronavirus cases in different ways, meaning this is a hard comparison to make.
A low case fatality rate could mean that widespread testing identifies lots of mild cases who were unlikely to die in the first place.
3. Death rates per capita
The US has recorded the most deaths from coronavirus in the world, but it has a larger population than many other countries.
When you look at deaths per capita – as a proportion of each country’s population – the US is no longer top of the list, but remains in the top 10 worst-hit countries.
10 countries with most coronavirus deaths per capita
Major countries, excluding Andorra and San Marino. Data as of 21 August.Source: Johns Hopkins University & UK.gov
The US has recorded more than 52 coronavirus deaths per 100,000 people – there are a number of countries that have recorded more.
The Centre for Social Democracy Ghana has made it known their support for the legalisation of the okada business as promised by the flagbearer of opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) during one of his campaigns.
Even though it supports the legalization , the Organisation identified valid arguments against the move including non adherence to traffic regulations, blatant disregard of safety measures including non-wearing of helmets, the use of such medium by criminals to commit crime, and the high rate of motor bike related accidents which accounts for about 33% of road fatalities in the country have been raised by a section of the public.
Despite the fears, Centre for Social Democracy Ghana maintained that the legalisation and regulation of motor taxi would widen the tax net and has the potential to generate significant amount of revenue for government.
“The high rate unemployment resulting in social vices are likely to reduce drastically provided policy makers discuss dispassionately the proposal by the former President; H.E. John Mahama,” it stated.
Meanwhile, the organisation has drafted the required framework geared towards the legalisation and regulation of the Okada and Aboboyaa business.
Below is a statement:
LEGALIZATION OF OKADA AND ABOBOYAA (MOTOR TAXI)AUGUST30, 20201.
The Centre for Social Democracy Ghana has noted with keen interest the ensuing public debate following the Former President’s (H. E. John Mahama) policy pronouncement on the need to legalize and regulate the motor taxi business, commonly referred to as Okada if he wins the 7th December 2020 Presidential elections.
2.The Center for Social Democracy supports the legalization and regulation of Okada given its socio-economic benefits and the potential to augment government efforts to achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 1, 2 and 8.
3.A sampled view of the arguments against the legalization of Okada include; non adherence to traffic regulations, blatant disregard of safety measures including non-wearingof helmets, the use of such medium by criminals to commit crime, and the high rate of motor bike related accidents which accounts for about 33% of road fatalities in the country.
4.The economically active youth between the ages of 18 and 40 are predominantly engaged in the Okada and Aboboyaa business across the 16 regions and 254 districts in the country.
The Okada and Aboboyaa business serves as the only source of livelihood for some graduates, students, school drop outs and individuals with no formal education. The Ghana Report in its recent release stated that the Association of Okada Riders has an estimated membership of over 800,000, which statistically constitute about 2.7% of Ghana’s population.
5.According to The Ghana Report, Jonathan Annan, a Senior Lecturer at KNUST in a study on road transport congestion management in 2017 suggested that Ghana loses about US$4.8 billion just by staying in traffic. Undoubtedly, the motor taxi has somewhat provided very fast and cheaper means of transport in both rural and urban areas.
6.The legalization and regulation of motor taxi would widen the tax net and has the potential to generate significant amount of revenue for government. The high rate unemployment resulting in social vices are likely to reduce drastically provided policy makers discuss dispassionately the proposal by the former President; H.E. John Mahama.
7.It must be noted that, motor taxi has existed in India since 1981 and is regulated to some extent. We suggest Ghana adopts, tried and tested regulatory practices from India and Rwanda as it builds consensus in the rollout of this viable policy.
8.The Center for Social Democracy recommends the following as the basis for drafting the required framework geared towards the legalization and regulation of the Okada and Aboboyaa business:
I.Formation of cooperatives to be recognized by government.
II.Compulsory registration in a recognized cooperative.
III.Compulsory wearing of helmet by both rider and passenger.IV.Continues education and training on traffic regulations and safety.
V.Bespoke insurance, investment and pension schemes for the sector.
VI.Fixed operating hours (5:00am to 7:00pm).
VII.Prescribed registration plate(color differentiation) and rider uniform.
VIII. Cap on registration, licensing and operation per district.
9.We are optimistic that legalizing and regulating the Okada and Aboboyaa business is timely policy worth pursuing as a nation.
An Educationist, Daniel Oppong, has called on the Ghana Education Service (GES) to allow students repeat their respective classes to enhance their knowledge.
This statement by the Daniel Oppong, comes after the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo speaking during the 16th Covid-19 update address announced that the Ghana Education Service, after further consultations, has decided to postpone the remainder of the academic year for all nursery, kindergarten, primary, JHS 1 and SHS 1 students.
He added that the next academic year will resume in January 2021, with appropriate adjustments made to the curriculum, to ensure that nothing is lost from the previous year.
“The relevant dispositions will also be made so that the presence, at the same time, in school of all streams of students, can occur in safety”, the Akufo-Addo said.
Before the imposition of restrictions following the outbreak of covid-19, students in nursery, kindergarten, primary, JHS 1 and SHS 1 had already started the second term of the academic year.
In an interview with host of Atinka FM’s AM Drive, Ekourba Gyasi, Educationist, Daniel Oppong, who is enthused about the development argued that it would be better for the students to repeat classes for an additional year and better their knowledge in their respective classes since they had stayed home for such a long time.
“I want the GES to allow these students to repeat the classes so that the students re-learn everything they had already learnt to enrich themselves. I think it would be better than gambling with the health of these students. It’s just one year. Trust me, these students have already forgotten what they learnt before the outbreak of covid-19”, he explained.
Asked whether or not the change in the academic calendar will not affect the students, Educationist, Daniel Oppong said the calendar will not interfere in the studies of these students.
Educationist, Daniel Oppong, has commended government on it’s decision to postpone the remainder of the academic year for all nursery, kindergarten, primary, JHS 1 and SHS 1 students to January 2021.
The President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo speaking during the 16th Covid-19 update address noted that the Ghana Education Service, after further consultations, has decided to postpone the remainder of the academic year for all nursery, kindergarten, primary, JHS 1 and SHS 1 students.
He added that the next academic year will resume in January 2021, with appropriate adjustments made to the curriculum, to ensure that nothing is lost from the previous year.
“The relevant dispositions will also be made so that the presence, at the same time, in school of all streams of students, can occur in safety”, the Akufo-Addo said.
Speaking on the development on Atinka Fm’s AM Drive with host Ekourba Gyasi, Educationist, Daniel Oppong said the decision is a step in the right direction as the lives of these students cannot be gambled with.
According to him, the schools are likely to serve as breeding grounds for the virus since the activities of especially, nursery and kindergarten, cannot be controlled.
” It’s a wise decision, we can’t gamble with the lives of these students. By the grace of God the intensity of Covid-19 is gradually reducing and it will be in our own interest not to endanger ourselves. As an educationist, I will say its a good decision. It would be better for the students to stay home and wait till January than to put them at risks”, he noted.
Nana Nyonwah Panyin IV, the new Chief of Dompim-Pepesa Divisional Council has appealed to President Akufo-Addo to caution the Western Regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, Member of Parliament for Tarkwa-Nsuaem, George Mireku-Duker and Municipal Chief Executive of Tarkwa-Nsuaem Benjamin Kesse to desist from meddling in chieftaincy dispute at Dompim-Pepesa.
The appeal follows the recent conflict in Dompim-Pepesa between Ohyeawora Bian Nyonwah IV who is said to have been destooled by the Wassa Fiase Traditional Council and the newly enstooled Chief of Dompim-Pepesa by the same council.
Nana Nyonwah Panyin IV made the appeal when he addressed the media concerning the recent happenings at his palace in Dompim over the weekend.
On Wednesday, August 26, 2020, some police officers from the Western Regional Police Command and Tarkwa Divisional Command accompanied by two bailiffs from Tarkwa Circuit Court went to Dompim-Pepesa Palace to execute the court order that is, the writ of possession against Ohyeawora Bian Nyonwah IV, the supposed destooled chief of Dompim-Pepesa.
On arrival, the police and the bailiffs met one Awuah, a brother of the defunct chief, so they explained to him that they were there to serve the chief with a copy of the court order and also execute it.
According to them, Awuah responded that the chief was not around and so the court bailiffs then started the execution of the order at the palace.
After that, they decided to go upstairs, but, the two doors, leading to the top floor of the palace were found to have been locked. The bailiffs engaged a civilian carpenter to get the door broken in order to get access to the top.
According to them, the police in the process of climbing upstairs, heard Ohyeawora warning them not to go because he would shoot and kill them if they refuse to take heed to his warnings and climb upstairs.
Ohyeawora immediately after the warning started firing gunshots through the windows aiming at the police and the bailiffs.
In the process, one of the court bailiffs, Isaac Armah Quaye, was hurt with pellets from gun shots.
The chief’s brother, who was with the Police and bailiffs, advised him to surrender, but, he did not heed to the advice, and, rather warned him that he shoot and kill him if he attempts to enter the room.
According to the new chief police report indicates Ohyeawora after firing at the police and the bailiffs set the palace ablaze and together with his eight months old baby, wife and other supporters, who were with him at the top jumped through the back windows and escaped.
Nana Nyonwah Panyin IV dismissed the claims that the police burnt down the Dompim-Pepesa palace, stressing that the police were down stairs while the incident occurred.
Dompim, had suffered from chieftaincy disputes following the destoolment of Oshiawora by the Wassa Fiase Traditional Council.
Information gathered indicated that, in February, this year, the Wassa Fiase Traditional Council ruled against the legitimacy of Oshiawora and gave him 30 days to vacate the palace.
Following this, the Tarkwa Circuit Court issued the order of writ of possession.
But, the Queenmother of Dompim-Pepesa Divisional Council, Obaahema Angaba II, together with other sub-chiefs in February, dismissed the alleged destoolment of Ohyeawora Bian IV and maintained that he remains the legitimate Chief of the area.
Ghana Football Association Ethics Committee will invite President of Tema Youth Football Club Wilfred Kwaku Osei (Palmer) to substantiate comments he made in a recent radio interview on Accra based Angel FM .
Palmer in the said interview accused President Kurt E. S. Okraku’s led GFA of blowing GH¢40million in less than a year and also accusing the Executive Council of “create, loot and share”.
The GFA Ethics Committee has initiated investigations into the allegations and will write to Mr. Wilfred Osei Kwaku (Palmer) to ascertain the veracity of the allegations he made.
A man who inspired a Hollywood film about the 1994 Rwandan genocide has been arrested for leading “terrorist movements”, officials say. Paul Rusesabagina, a Hutu, became well known after Hotel Rwanda depicted his efforts to save hundreds of Tutsis at his hotel during the genocide.
He later launched an opposition party, which had an armed wing based in the Democratic Republic of Congo. About 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed in the genocide.
Mr Rusesabagina, 66, was paraded by the authorities at a press conference in the capital, Kigali, after he was arrested under an international warrant. He had been living in exile. The authorities did not say where he was arrested or give any further details about the accusations he faces.
In 2011, he was accused of funding subversion in Rwanda, but no charges were brought.
At the time, Mr Rusesabagina denied any wrongdoing and said there was a smear campaign against him.
The 2004 film Hotel Rwanda told the story of how Mr Rusesabagina, a middle-class Hutu married to a Tutsi, used his influence – and bribes – to convince military officials to secure a safe escape for an estimated 1,200 people who sought shelter at the Mille Collines Hotel in Kigali.
Rwandan genocide survivors’ group Ibuka has in the past said that he exaggerated his own role in helping hotel refugees escape the 100-day slaughter.
Host of Atinka FM’s Obi Adi Ma’wu, Pastor Martin Semordzie, was adjudged the Best Social Program Host of the Year at the 2020 edition of the Foklex media awards.
Pastor Martin Semordzie, who doubles as the Head of Religious Desk at Atinka Media Village, has been hosting Obi Adi Ma’wu for over a year.
Notable among the intriguing stories on Obi Adi Ma’wu is that of a A 20-year old man, Samuel Nii Quaye who got missing at age 2 and was reunited with his finally after he (Samuel) appeared on Atinka FM’s “Obi Adi Mawu program” to recount his ordeal.
The 20-year old man who had been living with a fetish priest all his life said he got to know the man was not his biological father when his wife died. Samuel Nii Quaye disclosed that prior to the burial of the wife of the fetish priest, his name was omitted from the section of the obituary which had the names of the children of the deceased.
According to Samuel, he inquired from children of the fetish priest, who he thought were his biological siblings, why his name had been deleted from the obituary only to be told that he was sold to the fetish priest over 18 years ago. After the revelation, Samuel embarked on a journey to look for his biological parents, a search which brought him to Atinka Media Village and subsequently shared his story on Atinka FM’s “Obi Adi Mawu”, show.
Samuel narrated his ordeal on the program and before the program ended, more than four families had come to report that they had lost their son some 18 years ago. Of all the families that came, it was only the Nii Quaye family who returned after they were asked to go for a DNA to confirm the paternity of the child. The result of the paternity test was 99.98 %.
“Obi Adi Mawu”, a program, which brings to light the bad deeds of so-called men of God as well as impact society positively airs on Atinka FM from Monday to Friday from 10am to 12pm.
The Program repeats on Atinka TV from Monday to Friday from 6:30pm to 7:30pm.
