Borax cuts off dreadlocks for parliament job

Daniel Opare
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Hiplife artiste Borax, has cut off his signature dreadlocks for a job in parliament.

Known for his hit singles, ‘Nana Yaa’ and ‘Aseε Ho’, a song with highlife legend, Daddy Lumba, the musician has been off the music scene for a while now.

In 2014, he re-emerged onto the music scenes with the name ‘Big Borax’ indicating his readiness to entertain music fanatics to some tracks.

But that, speaking in an interview , the musician who now keeps an Afro hair, explained why he had to cut his dreadlocks.

“I took it off basically because; I actually had to suit the corporate world. I’m actually working at the parliament house now and obviously in that jurisdiction, they frown on locks. Especially when you are in a high office like that,” he revealed.

Borax further added that “I had to contemplate about it for over a month and I asked myself that if I should cut the locks, what will be my next image, should I have to strip off my whole hair? Then I said to myself, if I had to chop off the locks, then I think I’ll go for this cute afro.”

Borax, born Nathaniel Larbi, also admitted to being naïve at the peak of his music career and hinted of a possible comeback onto the music scene.

“When I was at the peak of my career, I was making much money and in life, there are ups and downs. So at the moment, I’m not at the peak of my career therefore, I need to get some primary source of income to support my music,” he said.

myjoyonline.com

Paris Saint-Germain caught cold by Real Madrid's extra gear

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Paris Saint-Germain were caught cold by Real Madrid's ability to find an extra gear in their thrilling Champions League last-16 tie, says Guillem Balague.

The runaway Ligue 1 leaders were seven minutes away from a positive result in the first leg at the Bernabeu with the score locked at 1-1 after Adrien Rabiot's opener was cancelled out by a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty.

PSG dominated large spells against the 12-time winners but Ronaldo's second and a quick-fire third from Marcelo left Unai Emery's men with a daunting two-goal deficit to overturn at the Parc des Princes on March 6.

"This was going to be a draw, it looked like a draw and PSG seem comfortable with a draw," Balague said. "But, of course, PSG forgot that Real Madrid have got an extra gear – a Real Madrid gear.

"It has nothing to do with the performance, or who deserves it more, Real Madrid appear when it's needed and they've been doing now for four years now. In fact, for decades!

"They've been to at least the semi-final in the last seven seasons and they look to be heading the same way, draw permitting.

"Regardless, on tonight's showing, Real Madrid clearly showed they have the qualities to go far in this competition."

With PSG coasting to a draw at the Bernabeu, it was Zinedine Zidane's utilisation of his substitutes that swung the tight contest in Real Madrid's favour.

And Balague singled Marco Asensio, Gareth Bale and Lucas Vazquez out for praise after their contributions from the bench.

"The Real Madrid fans were demanding fresh blood and something new as PSG were controlling the game," he added.

Bale came on, Vazquez came on and then Asensio came on. They changed the game completely. Asensio and Vasquez provided the fresh blood while Bale allowed Real to play longer.

"That stretched PSG and Asensio and Vazquez operated in that spaces created by Bale. They recovered balls, as they did for the third goal, kept running into space and, as we saw with Asensio, he created chances.

"By hook or by crook, in the end, Zidane changed the game from the bench."

Yet, while Ronaldo stole the headlines, PSG's failure to provide the platform for Neymar and Kylian Mbappe to win the game proved telling for Balague.

"Ronaldo scored two more goals, that's eight consecutive games he's found the target – the record is nine," Balague said.

"But it wasn't about Cristiano tonight, it wasn't about Karim Benzema and it wasn't about Edinson Cavani.

"For most of the game you could see that Neymar and Kylian Mbappe have a freshness, bravery and cheekiness to their game but they did not sustain it until the end.

"That's what I was fearing for PSG, they are not a team that can last the duration. When PSG were on top until the 80th minute – helped by the addition of Thomas Meunier into midfield – they missed the Neymar goal, the Mbappe special moment. A coach can try to change things but it is the players who make the difference.

"Emery complained about the referee and rightly so. Kroos' penalty was not a penalty and Sergio Ramos' handball was. True, Neymar could have been sent off but in the balance of play, Real were benefited by the officials.

"But, and it's a big but, I feel Emery moaning about decisions is a bid to detract away from the fact Neymar did not score the key goal and did not affect procedures as much as needed.

"It was a strange game because up until 80 minutes PSG deserved much more, but you have to fancy Real to qualify for the next round from this position."

Sky Sports
    

We’ll invest more in security for greater development-Akufo-Addo

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President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Wednesday stressed the resolve of government to invest more in security and safety to ensure social cohesion for greater development.

Government, he said, would make certain that the nation was not overrun by criminal elements with impunity, assuring that the Police Service would, in the coming months, witness a greater enhancement of their capacity to enforce and reduce infractions of the law.

President Akufo-Addo gave the assurance when the leadership, some chiefs and queenmothers from the Upper West Regional House of Chiefs, called on him at the Flagstaff House in Accra.

He told the traditional rulers that his government’s priority was to ensure that the citizenry went about their duties in an orderly and peaceful manner, and that through prudent economic management, it had found the means to equip the security services to ensure that there was peace, tranquility and security in every part of the country.

The President made the delegation aware that government had made it a   priority to improve the quality of life and the social and economic conditions of the people in the Upper West Region.

He said his administration had initiated a raft of plans to improve the social and economic conditions of the Upper West Region, particularly in the areas of education, health, agriculture, infrastructure, and aviation.

On education, President Akufo-Addo disclosed that the conversion of the Wa Campus of the University of Development Studies into a fully-fledged university was well underway, as the requisite institutions of State were being impressed to support the move.

“A lot of work has already gone into it. The Ministry of Education and the Council for Higher Education are working behind the scene and I am very optimistic that very soon, we will hear something positive,” he said.

The President informed the chiefs that government was also committed to the process of converting the Wa Polytechnic, recently named after Dr Hilla Limann, into a technical university, adding that the necessary infrastructure was being put in place to enable the institution to attain that status.

On aviation, he informed the delegation that construction of the Wa Airport had been completed and would be made operational very soon to open up the Region for trade and investment.

President Akufo-Addo further assured the people of the region of quality health care with work soon to commence on the Wa Regional Hospital as government had made the provision for that in the 2018 Budget.

On a proposal by the chiefs for the establishment of a Shea Development Board to support the production and export of the crop, President Akufo-Addo gave the assurance that government would look into the request because that sub-sector could change the fortunes of the Region for good.

He urged the chiefs, and indeed all Ghanaians, to support the Government to achieve the vision of a Ghana beyond aid.

The President of the Upper West Regional House of Chiefs, Kuoro Richard Babini Kanton VI, commended President Akufo-Addo for the strides his administration had made in its first year of governance, saying government’s policies and programmes had affected the lives of his people and the entirety of Ghanaians positively.

He urged the President to stay focused on his agenda to bring rapid development to Ghana and pledged the support of the chiefs and people of the Region towards the realisation of that vision.

GNA

Eating more processed food raises cancer risk

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Eating more processed food raises cancer risk

Increasing the amount of ultra-processed food in a person's diet proportionately increases their risk of cancer, a large study has found.

An examination of the food intake and health of nearly 105,000 people found that for every 10% more factory-processed food someone consumes, there is a 12% greater risk of them developing the disease.

Fizzy drinks, packaged breads and cakes, crisps, sweets, sausages, bacon and ham, instant noodles, and frozen or chilled ready meals were found to be associated with the increased risk.

The research by teams from the Sorbonne in Paris and the University of Sao Paulo also suggested there was an 11% increase in the risk of breast cancer.

The study looked at 104,980 healthy French adults with an average age of 43 and asked them about their eating habits.

After an average of five years, the adults were asked whether they had been diagnosed with cancer, and their answers were compared with their medical records.

While eating more ultra-processed food was associated with an increased risk of cancer, there was no significant link between less processed foods – such as canned vegetables, cheese and fresh bread – and cancer.

:: Eating burnt toast 'may increase cancer risk'

Consuming fresh or minimally processed foods – such as fruits, vegetables, pulses, rice, pasta and fresh meat – was associated with a lower risk of cancer overall.

The study's authors say: "Several surveys … have suggested that ultra-processed food products contribute to between 25% and 50% of total daily energy intake.

"This dietary trend may be concerning and deserves investigation. Several characteristics of ultra-processed foods may be involved in causing disease.

"In this large prospective study, a 10% increase in the proportion of ultra-processed foods in the diet was associated with a significant increase of greater than 10% in risks of overall and breast cancer.

"Further studies are also needed to better understand the relative effect of nutritional composition, food additives, contact materials, and neoformed contaminants in this relation."

The authors say ultra-processed foods often have a higher content of total fat, saturated fat, and added sugar and salt, along with a lower fibre and vitamin density.


Sky News

Florida shooting: 17 feared dead in high school attack

Daniel Opare
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At least 17 people are dead after a 19-year-old man opened fire at a high school campus in Parkland, Florida, police have said.

The suspect has been named as Nikolas Cruz, a former student at the school who had been expelled.

As the attack unfolded students were forced to hide as police swooped in on the building.

It is the deadliest school shooting since 26 people were killed at Connecticut school Sandy Hook in 2012.

It is the sixth school shooting incident in 2018 that has either wounded or killed students.

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel told reporters Mr Cruz killed three people outside the school, before entering the building and killing another 12.

Two people later died after being taken to hospital.

"It's catastrophic. There really are no words," Sheriff Israel tweeted later.

Three people remain in a critical condition and three others are in stable condition, health officials said.

The victims are still being identified. Sheriff Israel said a football coach was among the dead but no names have been released.

How the attack unfolded

On Wednesday, the local public school district tweeted that "students and staff heard what sounded like gunfire" just before the end of the day at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Witnesses said that the suspect set off a fire alarm before the violence erupted.

Police and SWAT team members swarmed the campus and began clearing students from the school in Parkland, about an hour north of Miami, as parents and ambulances converged on the scene.

Mr Cruz, who had been expelled for "disciplinary reasons", was taken into custody without incident in the nearby town of Coral Springs about an hour after he left the high school, according to police.

"We have already begun to dissect his websites and things on social media that he was on and some of the things… are very, very disturbing," Sheriff Israel said.

"Just a horrible day for us," said Robert Runcie, the superintendent of the county's school district.

'Worst nightmare'

Many students said they thought it was a drill after hearing the fire alarm go off shortly before the shooting.

Students told US media they hid under desks, in closets or barricaded doors as loud shots rang out.

One student, Bailey Vosberg, said: "I heard what sounded like fireworks and I looked at my friend and he asked me if I heard that."

"Immediately, I knew. I didn't say anything to him, I just hopped over the fence and I went straight to the road that our school is located on – and as I got there there was just Swat cars and police units, police vehicles just flying by, helicopters over the top of us."

Caesar Figueroa, a parent, told CBS News his daughter was hiding in a closet when she called him.

He told the news outlet earlier that he told her not to call him because he did not want the gunman to hear her voice.

"It's the worst nightmare not hearing from my daughter for 20 minutes, it was the longest 20 minutes of my life," Mr Figeuroa said.

A teacher told WSVN that she hid in a closet with 19 students for 40 minutes – and that the school had undergone training for such a situation six weeks ago.

What's the reaction been?

Florida Senator Marco Rubio tweeted that the shooting was "designed & executed to maximize loss of life".

But he said that it was too soon to debate whether tighter gun laws could have stopped it.

"You should know the facts of that incident before you run out and prescribe some law that you claim could have prevented it," he told Fox News.

Florida Governor Rick Scott said the shooting was "pure evil", but also refused to be drawn into a discussion about gun control.

"There's a time to continue to have these conversations about how through law enforcement… we make sure people are safe," he said.

President Donald Trump tweeted his condolences.

bbc

Video: Bawumia surprises wife on Valentine's Day

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Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia surprised his wife, Samira with roses on Wednesday as the world celebrated Valentine's Day.

A video on Instagram shows a visibly excited Samira smirking as delivery men from Jandel Limited presented her with the flowers accompanied with music.

Video below:

 Akufo-Addo leaves for Nigeria

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The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, left Ghana for Nigeria, on Wednesday, 14th February, 2018, at the invitation of the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Most Rev. Dr. Matthew Hassan Kukah, to attend a two-day International Conference on Transformative Governance in Africa.

President Akufo-Addo will deliver the keynote address at the Conference, on the theme, “How to make Democracy work for Africa.”

The President will return to Ghana on Thursday, 15th February, 2018, and in his absence, the Vice President, Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, shall, in accordance with Article 60(8) of the Constitution, act in his stead.


Source: Director of Communications, Office of the President

Tafo Police arrest 6 in alleged lesbians stoning

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Two alleged lesbian girls have been rescued by the police in Tafo in the Ashanti region after a mob threatened to beat them up.

The identities of the girls remain concealed but the Tafo-Pankrono Divisional Police Commander, ACP Francis Agrippa confirmed it was a tense situation at the compound when police were called in.

They found an angry crowd besieging the house, some armed with stones.
An eyewitness told Luv FM, the girls were naked and in a compromising position.

One of them had unzipped her trousers, he said.

The throng created a scene and demanded the girls be brought out.

A police officer sustained a head injury in an effort to rescue the two girls from the stone-throwing mob.

ACP Francis Agrippa, told Luv News, police have taken statements from six people as investigations start.

While there is no law prohibiting lesbianism and homosexuality, there are express laws forbidding unnatural carnal behaviour and anal penetration.

Source: myjoyonline

Inflation drops to 10.3%  

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Inflation rate for January dropped to 10.3 percent from the 11.8 percent recorded in December 2017. 

The figure represents a 1.5 percentage point drop.

Inflation measures the rate of change in prices of goods and services over a period of time, and affects the purchasing power of consumers.

Speaking at the announcement of the Consumer Price index for January 2018, Acting Government Statistician, Baah Wadieh attributed the decrease in the January inflation to a general reduction in the food and non-food inflation components, as well as a base drift effect.

“The food and the non-alcoholic beverages group recorded a year on year rate of 6.8 percent. This is 1.2. percentage points lower than the rate recorded in December 2017,” he said.

He explained that six groups of the food and non-alcoholic beverages group recorded inflation higher than the group’s average rate of 6.8 percent.

He stated that the non-food group recorded a year on year inflation rate of 12.0 percent in January 2018, compared to the 13.6 percent recorded for December 2017.

Meanwhile at the regional level, Mr. Wadieh announced that the Ashanti region recorded the highest food inflation rate.

Ghana | Atinkaonline.com | Hannah Obeng 
 

10 unique valentine’s gift ideas

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The thing about Valentine’s Day is that it can actually be a bit of a minefield. You fretted about what to get your partner for Christmas just two months earlier, and now you have to go through the whole charade again. You want to get them a surprise gift they’ll really love, but you literally have no idea what to get them. Moreover, you want to get them something special, but your bank balance still hasn’t recovered from Christmas.

The worst thing you could do on Valentine’s Day, though, is freeze up and either get your partner nothing at all, or something really obvious so that it looks as though you’ve put in zero effort. If time is ticking down and you still haven’t bought anything, let’s take a look at 10 unique Valentine’s gift ideas.

Personalised Name Mug

Everyone loves a cup of tea or coffee in the morning, but it always feels extra special when we’re drinking it out of our very own personalised name mug.

And it feels even more special when said personalised name mug was given us by the person we love on Valentine’s Day.

So why not make your lover smile with a cute mug that carries a very romantic message?

Sculpt Your Own Boyfriend Or Girlfriend

Perhaps your partner has a really great sense of humour. As such, you want to get her or him something ironically funny that they’ll appreciate.
Sculpt Your Own Boyfriend/Girlfriend is smart little toy-kit gift that is actually a dig at yourself and your partner. You know you’re not perfect, but you also know that your partners standards are always bit too high; they literally find fault with everything you do!

So, why not give them the chance to sculpt their own partner from scratch? That way they’ll be totally perfect!

Art Print

Most of us love a bit of art even if we say we’re not into art. You don’t have to buy your partner a complex Picasso or a slice of modern art that nobody understands. Instead, you could buy them a print that everyone gets.

Just take a walk into your local home store and you’ll see an array of contemporary fine art prints. These include framed life-affirming quotes, black and white time lapse photographs, and simple coffee art prints. They’re inexpensive and they add a touch of colour to your home.

Love Photo Frame

This would make a fab Valentine’s Day gift any year. A Love Photo Frame is essentially a collage of your best memories together that you hang on your wall. It’s cute, thoughtful and absolutely screams “I love you.”

With a gift like this, it might be a great idea to surprise your partner by hanging it up on the wall before they’ve got up for breakfast.

A Cactus

Perhaps your partner is a little bit quirky, a little bit different. Perhaps they prefer a box of whiskey miniatures to a box of chocolates.

And perhaps they’d rather prefer that you showered them with a cactus as opposed to a boring old bunch of roses.

A cactus is a surprise gift idea that works for either sex. Although it’s kinda manly, girls love them too. There are many different varieties, and they’re really easy to water. They add a touch of something different to your home, and are certainly not just for Valentine’s Day.

United States Beer Tasting Map

This one is a gift for girls to buy their men. If your guy loves his beer, there’s every chance that he’ll love this unique gift that helps him to keep track of where his beer is coming from.

Indeed, real ale is experiencing a surge in popularity at the moment. Men are getting their beer from all around the world, from America to Belgium. Although you might not get it at all when your partner starts discussing the complexities of a German beer and how much better it is than a French beer, it’s now his favourite topic of conversation.

A (Fake) Mounted Animal’s Head

All girls love stuffed cuddly toys. Every girl in the world had a favourite teddy bear who was their best friend in the whole wide world when they were a little girl. And we may be adults now, but stuffed toys still melt our hearts.

But if you’re looking to get your partner something a little bit different this Valentine’s Day, why not think outside the box and get them a fake mounted animal’s head instead? It could be a moose, a bull, a tiger and so on. They’re inexpensive and they add a touch of class to your walls.

Brew Your Own Beer Kit

Champagne has long been the romantic drink of choice for couples all around the world, but in 2016 your man doesn’t drink it anymore; instead, he drinks beer – and probably lots of it!

Beer has now replaced bubbly in his world, but rather than simply buying him a few bottles from the supermarket, how about getting really creative by getting him his very own beer starter kit instead? This way, he’ll be able to brew his own beer!

A Lovers’ Bungee Jump

Providing you’re both the adventurous type, you won’t be able to go wrong if you get you both a Lover’s Leap Bungee Jump surprise gift.

Naturally, leaping off a very great height is not the faint-hearted, so you need to make sure that your partner will be up for this before you buy it. But there will be an extra special gift at the bottom that can calm both your nerves – a bottle of bubbly!

Karma Sutra Playing Cards

If you and your husband both still love each other and find one another desirable, you’ll have lots of fun with the Karma Sutra Playing Cards gift.

This card game takes the concept of snap to a whole other level. It’s like a regular card game, but with extra special rewards. Strictly for married couples only, it’s fun, entertaining and can bring you and your partner closer together this Valentine’s Day.

What are your favourite Valentine’s gift ideas?

Happy Valentine’s day!

Stay beautiful!

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