Harry Potter actor, Alan Rickman, dies aged 69

Actor Alan Rickman, known for films including Harry Potter, Die Hard and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, has died at the age of 69, his family has said.
The star had been suffering from cancer, a statement said.
He became one of Britain's best-loved acting stars thanks to roles including Professor Snape in the Harry Potter films and Hans Gruber in Die Hard.
Harry Potter author JK Rowling led the tributes, describing him as "a magnificent actor and a wonderful man".
She wrote on Twitter: "There are no words to express how shocked and devastated I am to hear of Alan Rickman's death."
She added: "My thoughts are with [Rickman's wife] Rima and the rest of Alan's family. We have all lost a great talent. They have lost part of their hearts."
Emma Thompson, who appeared with Rickman in Love, Actually and was directed by him in The Winter Guest, said he was "the finest of actors and directors" and "the ultimate ally".
She wrote in a statement: "Alan was my friend and so this is hard to write because I have just kissed him goodbye.
"What I remember most in this moment of painful leave-taking is his humour, intelligence, wisdom and kindness.
"His capacity to fell you with a look or lift you with a word. The intransigence which made him the great artist he was - his ineffable and cynical wit, the clarity with which he saw most things, including me, and the fact that he never spared me the view. I learned a lot from him."
She added: "He was, above all things, a rare and unique human being and we shall not see his like again."

Announcing his death on Thursday, a family statement said: "The actor and director Alan Rickman has died from cancer at the age of 69. He was surrounded by family and friends."
Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe said Rickman was "undoubtedly one of the greatest actors I will ever work with".
He wrote on Google Plus: "Working with him at such a formative age was incredibly important and I will carry the lessons he taught me for the rest of my life and career.

"Film sets and theatre stages are all far poorer for the loss of this great actor and man."
Sir Michael Gambon, who appeared with Alan Rickman in Harry Potter as well as on stage, told BBC Radio 4 he was "a great friend".
He added: "Everybody loved Alan. He was always happy and fun and creative and very, very funny. He had a great voice, he spoke wonderfully well.
"He was intelligent, he wrote plays, he directed a play. So he was a real man of the theatre and the stage and that's how I think of Alan."
Director Ang Lee, who cast Rickman opposite Kate Winslet in 1995's Sense and Sensibility, called him a "brilliant actor… a soulful actor… [and] a great
Actor Richard E Grant wrote on Twitter: "Farewell my friend. Your kindness and generosity ever since we met in LA in 1987 and ever since is incalculable."
TV star and Bafta ceremony host Stephen Fry wrote: "What desperately sad news about Alan Rickman. A man of such talent, wicked charm and stunning screen and stage presence. He'll be sorely missed."
Other film credits ranged from Tim Robbins' 1992 political satire Bob Roberts to Richard Curtis's 2003 romantic comedy Love, Actually, 1999's sci-fi spoof Galaxy Quest and the voice of the Blue Caterpillar in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland.
He also moved behind the camera in 1997 with the drama The Winter Guest, in which he directed Emma Thompson and her mother Phyllida Law.
Two years ago, he also directed period saga A Little Chaos, in which he co-starred with Kate Winslet.
Meanwhile, he continued to be a major presence on the stage in London and New York.
Another Tony nomination came for Private Lives in 2002, in which he appeared opposite Lindsay Duncan on Broadway following a transfer from London.
He recently revealed he had married Rima Horton in secret last year. The couple had been together since he was just 19 and she was 18.
Credit: BBC

Akufo-Addo donates to Adoagyiri explosion victims

The 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has consoled the victims of an explosion at a quarry site in Adoagyiri, in the Eastern Region, which claimed the life of one person, critically injured 13 others and displaced hundreds within the Sabon Electoral area.
Accompanied by stalwarts from the region, on Wednesday, January 13, 2016, Nana Akufo-Addo visited the site of the explosion, after which he, together with the MP for Nsawam/Adoagyiri, Hon. Frank Annoh-Dompreh; Eastern Regional NPP Executives; and Members of Parliament, made a donation, comprising 250 bags of cement, 400 pieces of roofing sheets, and an undisclosed amount of cash to the victims of the explosion.
It will be recalled that on December 23, 2015, an explosion occurred at a quarry site in Adoagyiri, which, according to Police investigators, was caused by the presence of explosive materials in containers at the site.
In addition to the loss of life and injuries to some persons, properties worth millions of Ghana cedis in nearby communities were also destroyed. The NPP presidential candidate explained that, in the aftermath of the explosion, he deemed it important to assess at firsthand the extent of destruction, and also see what he, together with the party, could do to help assuage the pain and suffering of the victims.
Nana Akufo-Addo urged those in-charge of the distribution of the items to ensure that all the victims affected by the tragedy are presented with their share of the items.
With this year’s election some 10 months away, Nana Akufo-Addo admonished the electorate “to use this opportunity given to them by God to remove this incompetent government and vote in an NPP government, which is coming to improve the lives of Ghanaians.” To the gathering, he said: “I want you to trust me.
I am humbly asking Ghanaians to give me and the NPP the chance to implement the good plans we have for this country. We are going to change the fortunes of our country, and bring about prosperity for all and jobs for our youth, so our young people can live lives of dignity.”
Hon. Frank Annoh-Dompreh, the MP for the area, Nana Akufo-Addo noted, has in his period of being in Parliament done tremendous amount of work for the constituency. To this end, he asked the electorate to “vote for the Elephant in 2016, and return Hon. Annoh-Dompreh as MP and Akufo-Addo as President.”

I’m frustrated at Chelsea - Rahman

The 21-year-old has made just four Premier League appearances since joining the club from Augsburg in August
Chelsea full-back Baba Rahman has voiced his frustration at his lack of playing time at Stamford Bridge.
The Ghana international joined the club from Augsburg in August, but has so far been unable to secure regular first-team action.
Rahman, 21, has made just four Premier League appearances so far and is determined to play more in the second half of the season.
“Of course it is frustrating for any footballer to be forced to watch from the stands,” Baba told Sport Bild.
“I do not want to experience that any longer.
“You have to get used to the Premier League and a big club like Chelsea first when you are a young player like I am, so the first half of the season was alright.
“But I definitely want more playing time in the second half of the season.”
The left-back was brought in by Jose Mourinho, who has since been replaced as manager by Guus Hiddink, and he has nothing but fond memories of his former boss.
“He always gave me tips on how to improve both defensively and going forward,” Rahman added.
“I liked him right from the first moment. Every player would benefit from working with him.”

More pundits want Gospel Album of the Year category scrapped from 2016 VGMA

Charter House, organisers of the annual Ghana Music Awards have revealed they have been inundated with calls to scrap the Gospel Album of the Year category of the awards.
George Quaye, Public Relations Officer of Charter House speaking on Hitz FM’s ‘Showbiz Review’ with MzGee, said, many pundits are suggesting that the gospel album category be joined with other song categories of the awards.
He said, “One category that came up strongly was, for instance, the Gospel Album of the Year category which most people have agreed that if they are that good, why don’t they join the album of the year category where everybody else competes?”
Nevertheless, there is also another school of thought that says that the gospel music genre is the only music genre where artistes are able to produce albums as compared to the other genres.
Citing an example, George said, “an artiste like Shatta Wale has reportedly released about 93 singles, not an album but when you go into the gospel arena, almost all the gospel artiste have in the year under review, released albums. Very few released albums in the other genres.”
George, however, indicated that the final decision rests at the door steps of the Ghana Music Awards board.
On the argument that Reggae and Dancehall should not be treated as one category, he said, whereas it might be easy for anyone to instantly name as many dancehall songs that were released in the year under review, it may be difficult to do same for reggae so they will keep the two music genre’s together as one until they are able to individually stand on their own.
Asked whether a cover of a song could be nominated, George said, “a cover is a totally new song and once it was released in the year in review, it qualifies like any other song.”
His response is coming on the back of concerns by the public that ‘Gasmilla’s hit song ‘Telemo’ does not qualify for this year’s awards because it was not released in 2014 whereas the song’s cover, ‘Y3wo Krom’ by Atom was released in 2015.
George said, “the VGMAs have also nominated remixes as new songs before.”
Charter House, organizers of the VGMA opened nominations for this year’s awards on January 1, 2016.
Some Radio presenter across the country have also been given the opportunity this year to also file forms according to the kind of music they have played in the year under review.
This new initiative according to George is part of a research by the board to identify songs that trended during the year under review.
George says, “because media houses interact mostly with music and musicians, all year through, they also know the songs that are trending, so they will also file some of these forms.”
He said, “we’ve tried to broaden the research bracket so that we’ll try to make it as nationalistic as possible. Eventually, when we have all that, during the cut-down, you’ll see the song that has appeared at many of these places, that will give you an idea of the strength of that song as far as the national preference is concerned.”
“So it means that when an artiste’s song has been entered by the research team or by some radio station, but the artiste has not filed a nomination, the research team based on recommendation from the board can approach the artiste and tell them,” George added.
This year’s calendar year starts form January 1, 2015 to December 31 2015. Any musical work that was released within these dates qualifies to be nominated.

Credit: Hitz News

Ronaldo statue vandalised with 'Messi 10' graffiti

The statue of the Real Madrid star in Madeira was desecrated as unknown assailants wrote "Messi" and drew a number 10 on his back after the Argentine beat him to the Ballon d'Or
As if losing out to Lionel Messi in the race for the Ballon d'Or on Monday was not enough for Cristiano Ronaldo, the Real Madrid attacker was given another reminder of the Argentine star's dominance over him in the wake of the award ceremony

While Ronaldo hoped to draw level with his Barcelona counterpart and pick up the award for the fourth time in his career, he was left disappointed to see Messi swoop in and collect it for the fifth time.
To make matters worse, the star saw the statue which stands in his hometown of Madeira painted over with some unwelcome graffiti.
The culprits wrote 'Messi' on the back of the bronze homage to the Portugal international, scribbling the number 10 underneath.
Credit: goal.com

I will submit my songs for Ghana Music Awards nomination – Shatta Wale

Dancehall artiste Shatta Wale, born Charles Nii Amarh Mensah Jnr, has disclosed that he will submit his songs for nomination for this year’s Ghana Music Awards.
Organizers called for entries for this year’s music awards on January 1 but it was unclear whether Shatta Wale, who has had issues with organisers of the awards, Charter House, will submit his songs.
The events company dragged Shatta Wale to court for posting four videos considered defamatory on social media.
The ‘Kakai’ hit singer is said to have said he does not want to be nominated for the awards this year. He, however, appears to have changed his mind. He told JoyNews on MutiTV in an interview that he will submit the songs because of his fans.
“Well you know I’ve gotten calls everywhere and it’s mostly from my fans, telling me to forget certain things and move with the system,” he said and added that his fans are the only people he listens to.
“I feel they are my god and they really pushed my music and get it to where it has to be and I believe they made me who I am so I told my team since the fans are asking then let’s submit it. I’m a type that doesn’t fancy awards but since the fans want it, we will submit it whether we win or not.”
Shatta Wale noted that the decision is to get people to understand that there is time for everything and he believes it is appropriate to do so.
“I just want to let them feel relaxed and feel we are all one people, so nobody will have that [bad] mentality about Shatta Wale with the awards organisers.”
When the Public Relations Officer for Charter House, organizers of the awards George Quaye was contacted by Hitz @ 1 for a reaction, he advised Shatta Wale to stand by his words that he should not be nominated.
George said, “He said, because Charter House was in court with him so he didn’t see why he should be part of an award scheme being organised by a company that is in court with him.” “Last time I checked, we were still in court so what changes, nothing changes, and it’s still the same. So if you ask me, personally the gentleman did issue a warning that warning still stands,” he added.
On whether Shatta’s nomination would be considered if it was by popular demand, George replied, “Where were the fans when Shatta Wale issued the warning on Facebook last year?”
According to George Quaye, the ‘Hol It” singer has thrown the name of Charter House into disrepute and that going back on his words is disrespectful and unfair to the legends the awards scheme has honoured over the years.
“I’m speaking for this award scheme that’s recognized and appreciated legends in this industry, legends that have put this awards schemes honours on their CVs and this gentleman gets up, drags its name into total disrepute and then says he doesn’t want to be a part of it and then in another breath he comes back, says he wants to be a part of it and everybody thinks yeah, let’s go, really?”
He reiterated that, “I trust my brother Charles Nii Armah Mensah (Shatta Wale) to be one of the most vocal gentlemen, very poignant with his ideas, very strong about what he stands on. In my opinion, he should stand by the warning he issued last year.”
“That is a man for me. The company is still in court with you, so why do you want to be a part of it now, what you said last year, your fans supported you please rally them along there’s no point for you now coming back, that for me is a cowardice act,” George Quaye added.

Credit: Kessben News

I have no ties with DKM owner and others – Mahama

President John Mahama has refuted rumours that he and the First Lady, Lordina Mahama, are behind some fraudulent microfinance institutions in the Brong Ahafo region, particularly DKM.

The Director of DKM Microfinance Company, Martin K. Dele, is in the custody of the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) for allegedly misappropriating funds of his clients.
Dele, who was on the run, reported himself to the BNI in Accra yesterday and has since been placed in custody.
Three other persons facing similar charges were arraigned last Friday, January 8, 2016.
They were remanded till January 14, 2016.

A highly placed BNI source said Dele would be arraigned within 48 hours of his arrest.
“We will take him to court for a remand warrant,” it disclosed to the Daily Graphic in Accra yesterday.
Those arraigned last Friday were Monica Afriyie, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of God Is Love Fan Club; Nortey Noel, a businessman, who is also an associate of Monica, and Charles Asum, the founder of Jastar Motors and Investment Company.
Afriyie (popularly called Maame Korkor) and Nortey pleaded not guilty to two counts of agreeing to act together to commit crime and dishonestly appropriating GH¢50,000 cash which was invested by a man identified as Adam Jagoi.
Asum, who is standing trial for dishonestly appropriating GH¢22, 500 that was invested by a man identified as Stephen Yaw Boateng, also pleaded not guilty.

Customers of DKM Diamond microfinance and ‘God is Love fun club’ are facing a hard time retrieving their funds as managers of the facilities are unable to account for them.
The BNI has subsequently arrested the owners of such facilities as part of investigations into their operations.
The Central Bank has also begun moves to revoke the licenses of some microfinance institutions for breach of its regulations.
Speaking at a press encounter at the Flagstaff House Tuesday, Mr. Mahama said it is unfortunate that some people are playing politics with the development.
“I don’t know DKM from Adam, my wife doesn’t know DKM from Adam. I only got to see him in the papers today after his arrest by the BNI but yet we are being linked to him.
”...If anybody promises I will give you 50 percent interest on your money, just know that he’s fooling you,” the President stated.
He also disclosed that the BNI has been instructed to go after properties and assets of such institutions.
According to him, the Central Bank will soon start disbursing the remaining funds in the accounts of DKM and 'God is Love' to their aggrieved customers.

Barack Obama and Kendrick Lamar talks oval office meeting

President and rapper talk about "topics concerning the inner cities, the problems, the solutions, and furthermore embracing the youth"
President Barack Obama recently proclaimed that his favorite song of 2015 was Kendrick Lamar's "How Much a Dollar Cost," and today it was revealed that the Commander-in-Chief and the To Pimp a Butterfly rapper sat down in the Oval Office to discuss a variety of topics. Photos from Lamar's meeting with the president were shared in a new video promoting the Pay It Forward program, which encourages the mentoring of inner city youth, with the rapper opening about his conversation with Obama.



"I look at where I'm at today and realize that most of my success is owed to the mentors that was in my life," Lamar says in the Pay It Forward video. "I sat down with President Barack Obama and shared the same views. Topics concerning the inner cities, the problems, the solutions, and furthermore embracing the youth, both being aware that mentoring saves lives."
Obama senior adviser Valerie Jarrett shed some more light on the president's encounter with Lamar in an interview with Buzzfeed. "You know what the president said to him," Jarrett said. "[Because Lamar] was a little nervous — bless his heart, he's really a very nice young man, and the president said, 'Can you believe that we're both sitting in this Oval Office?'

Credit: Rolling Stone

Armed robber burnt in Kumasi

A suspected robber in his mid 20s has been cruelly burnt to death after an unsuccessful robbery operation on Saturday dawn.
The deceased, name not known, reportedly tried to break into a house at Kromoase, near Agric Nzema in Kumasi to rob the inhabitants.
Reports suggested that the robber’s action during that unholy hour was eventually uncovered by some residents in the neighbourhood.
The suspect, who was said to be wielding a locally manufactured pistol, was overpowered by an angry mob who subjected him to severe beatings.
The alleged robber reportedly became very weak as his constant cry for leniency was swiftly ignored by his blood-thirsty attackers.
The mob dumped the body in a gutter in the area, poured petrol on him and set him on fire, resulting in his death.
Some residents in the area that spoke to the media said they were petrified to see the charred body of the alleged robber in the gutter in the morning.
According to them, the armed robber, who had a locally manufactured pistol, doesn’t live in the area.
They claimed the young robber lives in a different area in Kumasi and decided to storm Kromoase to rob people.

Credit:  Joe Awuah Jnr., Kumasi

Why we make (and break) January resolutions

Many of us will start 2016 with resolutions – to get fit, learn a new skill, eat differently. If we really want to do these things, why did we wait until an arbitrary date which marks nothing more important than a timekeeping convention? The answer tells us something important about the psychology of motivation, and about what popular theories of self-control miss out.

What we want isn’t straightforward. At bedtime you might want to get up early and go for a run, but when your alarm goes off you find you actually want a lie-in. When exam day comes around you might want to be the kind of person who spent the afternoons studying, but on each of those afternoons you instead wanted to hang out with your friends.

You could see these contradictions as failures of our self-control: impulses for temporary pleasures manage to somehow override our longer-term interests. One fashionable theory of self-control, proposed by Roy Baumeister at Florida State University, is the ‘ego-depletion’ account. This theory states that self-control is like a muscle. This means you can exhaust it in the short-term – meaning that every temptation you resist makes it more likely that you’ll yield to the next temptation, even if it is a temptation to do something entirely different.

Some lab experiments appear to support this limited resource model of willpower. People who had to resist the temptation to eat chocolates were subsequently less successful at solving difficult puzzles which required the willpower to muster up enough concentration to complete them, for instance. Studies of court records, meanwhile, found that the more decisions a parole board judge makes without a meal break, the less lenient they become. Perhaps at the end of a long morning, the self-control necessary for a more deliberated judgement has sapped away, causing them to rely on a harsher “keep them locked up” policy.

A corollary of the ‘like a muscle’ theory is that in the long term, you can strengthen your willpower with practice. So, for example, Baumeister found that people who were assigned two weeks of trying to keep their back straight whenever possible showed improved willpower when asked back into the lab.

Yet the ‘ego-depletion’ theory has critics. My issue with it is that it reduces our willpower to something akin to oil in a tank. Not only does this seem too simplistic, but it sidesteps the core problem of self-control: who or what is controlling who or what? Why is it even the case that we can want both to yield to a temptation, and want to resist it at the same time?

Also, and more importantly, that theory also doesn’t give an explanation why we wait for New Year’s Day to begin exerting our self-control. If your willpower is a muscle, you should start building it up as soon as possible, rather than wait for an arbitrary date.

A battle of wills

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Another explanation may answer these questions, although it isn’t as fashionable as ego-depletion. George Ainslie’s book ‘Breakdown of Will’ puts forward a theory of the self and self-control which uses game theory to explain why we have trouble with our impulses, and why our attempts to control them take the form they do.

Ainslie’s account begins with the idea that we have, within us, a myriad of competing impulses, which exist on different time-scales: the you that wants to stay in bed five more minutes, then you that wants to start the day with a run, the you that wants to be fit for the half-marathon in April. Importantly, the relative power of these impulses changes as they get nearer in time: the early start wins against the lie-in the day before, but it is a different matter at 5am. Ainslie has a detailed account of why this is, and it has some important implications for our self-control.

According to this theory, our preferences are unstable and inconsistent, the product of a war between our competing impulses, good and bad, short and long-term. A New Year’s resolution could therefore be seen as an alliance between these competing motivations, and like any alliance, it can easily fall apart. Addictions are a good example, because the long-term goal (“not to be an alcoholic”) requires the coordination of many small goals (“not to have a drink at 4pm;” “not at 5pm;” “not at 6pm,” and so on), none of which is essential. You can have a drink at 4pm and still be a moderate drinker. You can even have a drink also at 5pm, but somewhere along the line all these small choices add up to a failure to keep to the wider goal. Similarly, if you want to get fit in 2016, you don’t have to go for a jog on 1 January, or even on 2 January, but if you don’t start doing exercise on one particular day then you will never meet your larger goal.

From Ainslie’s perspective, willpower is a bargaining game played by the forces within ourselves, and like any conflict of interest, if the boundary between acceptable and unacceptable isn’t clearly defined then small infractions can quickly escalate. For this reason, Ainslie says, resolutions cluster around ‘clean lines’, sharp distinctions around which no quibble is brooked. The line between moderate and problem drinking isn’t clear (and liable to be even less clear around your fourth glass), but the line between teetotal and drinker is crystal.

This is why advice on good habits is often of the form “Do X every day”, and why diets tend to absolutes: “No gluten;” “No dessert;” “Fasting on Tuesdays and Thursdays”. We know that if we leave the interpretation open to doubt, although our intentions are good, we’ll undermine our resolutions when we’re under the influence of our more immediate impulses.

And, so, Ainslie gives us an answer to why our resolutions start on 1 January. The date is completely arbitrary, but it provides a clean line between our old and new selves.

The practical upshot of the theory is that if you make a resolution, you should formulate it so that at every point in time it is absolutely clear whether you are sticking to it or not. The clear lines are arbitrary, but they help the truce between our competing interests to hold.

Good luck for your 2016 resolutions!

Source: BBC

UK wife killer grabbed

 The BBC reporter (middle) and some of the indigenes of Busua who helped in arresting the suspect
A UK resident, Arthur Simpson-Kent, has been arrested at Busua, a popular tourist site in the Ahanta West District of the Western Region, for allegedly killing his actress girlfriend Sian Blake and their two children in London, after which he fled to Ghana.
Daily Guide gathered that Arthur Simpson-Kent was arrested in the late afternoon of Saturday, January 9 in a joint operation by INTERPOL and Ghana Police, with assistance from the indigenes of Busua and Butre, two adjoining communities.
The British fugitive was armed with a knife and a spoon when the police arrested him with the assistance of the chiefs and people of Busua and Butre communities.
He had been a wanted man since the bodies of Sian, Zachary and Amon were found buried in shallow graves in their own back yard.
Interpol put out an international alert for his arrest on Thursday night and Metropolitan Police officers arrived in Ghana Friday to hunt down the Ghanaian-born suspected killer.
He is currently in the custody of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) Headquarters awaiting deportation to his home country for trial.
The two murdered children, Zachary and Amon, were aged 8 and 4 respectively, while their mother was 43.
The suspect was said to have a Ghanaian mother called Selina Simpson and a United Kingdom (UK) father, with his roots traced to Cape Coast.
He was said to have arrived in Ghana on December 19 after allegedly committing the crime in mid-December and was swimming at the outskirts of Busua when he was arrested.
Local residents told Skyy Power FM that it was the owner of a local resort in the district who alerted the police after seeing pictures of the suspect circulating on social media.

A BBC reporter, Alastair Leithead, who was in Ghana to help in the manhunt, requested to be put on a platform on WhatsApp to enquire from the members if anyone had knowledge on the suspect.
However, the suspect was arrested a few hours after the BBC reporter had put in the request.
After the arrest, the Police expressed their profound gratitude to the locals for their immense support.
Police Speaks
Briefing the media on his arrest, Commissioner of Police Prosper Kwame Agblor, Director General in charge of Police CID, said the Ghana Police received a request from the National Crime Agency (NCA), through INTERPOL Manchester and British High Commission for assistance to arrest Arthur Simpson-Kent, who fled into the country from the United Kingdom after allegedly murdering his girlfriend Sian Blake and their two children.
He said information gathered indicated that Arthur Kent, in escaping from the United Kingdom, travelled to Glasgow in Scotland from where he flew to Ghana via Amsterdam on December 19, 2015.
Police enquires at the Kotoka International Airport confirmed that Arthur Simpson-Kent arrived in Ghana on December 19, 2015 but he entered on his disembarkation form December 7, 2015, as the date on which he arrived in Ghana.
In the wee hours of Saturday, January 8, 2016, a team of police personnel led by DSP Hanson Gove from the Homicide Unit of the CID apprehended the suspect from his hidey-hole.
Shallow Grave
Bodies of EastEnders actress Sian Blake and her two kids were discovered buried in a shallow grave in the garden behind their apartment at Erith in London.
Miss Blake and her two sons with Mr Simpson-Kent, according to reports, were last seen on December 13, and Mr Simpson-Kent was quizzed by officers at the family’s home in Erith, Kent, on December 16.
Their decomposing bodies were found buried in the back garden of the bungalow on Tuesday – 20 days after they were reported missing.
By Linda Tenyah-Ayettey and Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi

Golden Globes 2016: Brie Larson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Sylvester Stallone win big

Given their track record over the past decade, it's natural to look towards the Golden Globes when trying to surmise which actors may win when the Oscars roll around next month, and Sunday night Brie Larson and Leonardo DiCaprio cemented their presumptive front-runner status with wins.
Larson has been steadily gaining momentum since September for her nuanced performance in Room, in which she plays a young woman who's raised her young son in total captivity after being kidnapped.
DiCaprio's performance in Golden Globe Best Picture winner The Revenant has been whispered about even before the film was released, and with the actor teaming up with director Alejandro Iñárritu for the film — an Oscar favorite after his Birdman wins last year — this could be the beginning of an awards season wave for the brutal revenge film.

In the musical or comedy category, Matt Damon took home the award for Best Actor for his work in The Martian. (Yes, you read that right, and yes, we're as flummoxed as you are.) Jennifer Lawrence, always a favorite of the Golden Globes (she's won previously for Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle), won for her performance in Joy, beating out Amy Schumer, Melissa McCarthy, Maggie Smith and Lily Tomlin despite that film's lukewarm reception.
But nowhere did the winners seem more Oscar-friendly than in the supporting actor categories.
Kate Winslet won for her role as Apple employee Joanna Hoffman in Aaron Sorkin and Danny Boyle's Steve Jobs, while Sylvester Stallone won the Best Supporting Actor award for taking on the role of Rocky Balboa once again in Ryan Coogler's Creed.
Winslet is an actor who seems to receive an Oscar nomination almost every other year, but she's only won once for the 2009 film The Reader.
Stallone is the kind of nostalgic throwback that could appeal perfectly to Academy voters, letting the actor return to the role that made him famous while also working with the exciting director and actor combination of Coogler and Michael B. Jordan.
With Oscar nominations coming this Thursday, I wouldn't be surprised at all six Golden Globe film actor winners in the mix.
Credit: The Verge

Music legend David Bowie dies

Singer David Bowie has died at the age of 69 following a battle with cancer.

His son confirmed the news and a statement was released on his official social media accounts.

"David Bowie died peacefully today surrounded by his family after a courageous 18-month battle with cancer," it said.

"While many of you will share in this loss, we ask that you respect the family's privacy during their time of grief."

The singer only released his latest album Blackstar on his birthday on Friday.

There had been rumours about Bowie's health for years.

His last live performance was at a New York charity concert in 2006.

Blackstar, which includes just seven songs, has been well received by critics.

Bowie's breakthrough came with 1972's The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars.

His hits include Let's Dance, Space Oddity, Heroes, Under Pressure, Rebel, Rebel, Life on Mars and Suffragette City.

Credit: BBC

Nana Addo is my friend, Mahama isn't – EC Boss

The Chairperson of the Electoral Commission has revealed that the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is a close friend.

Speaking on Morning Starr Monday, Charlotte Osei told host Nii Arday Clegg that she has no friendship with President Mahama but has known Nana Addo for many years.

“Is John Mahama my friend? No, I have met him in the course of work, have I met Nana Addo, Yes, he actually is my friend...but I do know both of them.

“With Nana, being a young lawyer, I have known him for many years,” Mrs. Osei said.

Mrs. Osei who was the former head of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) was appointed by President Mahama as EC boss in June last year to replace Afari Gyan who retired after 22 years as EC head.

The opposition NPP and pressure group ‘Let My Vote Count Alliance’ have accused the EC boss of bias after several calls for a new voters’ register were rejected by the EC.

Both the NPP and the LMVCA have vowed to challenge the decision of the EC in court.

Source: Starr News

No nomination for Shatta Wale at 2016 VGMAs, this is why

George Quaye , PRO for Charterhouse, organizers of the annual Ghana Music Awards has disclosed on Accra FM that Shatta Wale will not be nominated for this year’s Vodafone Ghana Music Awards.

Speaking to DJ Premiere on Entertainment Capital Saturday morning, he said the musician gave directives telling organizers of the show not to nominate him for the music awards.
“He listed all his songs on Facebook and gave a stern warning asking us not to use his songs else he will go to court. If the person says we should not use his songs then what else do we have to do?

We never said anywhere that we will not nominate him but the artiste said we should not nominate him so why are you forcing us to nominate him?”
When host of the show, DJ Premiere asked George Quaye if there has been any attempt to reconcile with Shatta Wale, he answered;
“Why must there be any attempt? Is he the only artiste in Ghana.”

He further listed musicians who have not been nominated after they warned organisers of Ghana Music Awards not to add their names to the awards.
“There are a lot of musicians in Ghana, we should not behave like we are trying to pamper or favor certain musicians.

When Mzbel said sometime ago that she should not be nominated for Ghana Music Awards, why is nobody pleading for her? Is Mzbel also not a musician who is important in Ghana? Have you seen that VGMAs has ever nominated Mzbel after she made those comments?
Black Rasta was banned but did people fight for him?. Kwaisey Pee also said sometime ago that he didn’t want nomination and when did people fight for him? Are those I have mentioned not important?”

Credit: OMG Ghana

Koala to reward 'hero' taxi driver with a new car

 Retail company, Koala Shopping Mall, has promised to reward a taxi driver for his bravery after he rammed his taxi into two suspected armed robbers on a motorbike leading to their arrest.
The taxi driver whose name has been withheld will be getting a brand new taxi from the company.
It is for being a national hero and a special hero with the Koala family,
Two suspected robbers, Abaliku Sannie, 35, and Oko Quaicoo, 30, shot an Administrative assistant who had left the Cantonment branch of Koala are all arrested by the police.
The taxi driver who witnessed the incident drove his taxi stopped the fleeing shooters by ramming his taxi into the motorbike they were using to escape. He also prevailed upon an angry group not to lynch the suspects.
Speaking about his heroic act of bravery, the taxi driver deflected praise to God.
“Everybody is praising me but it is not me, it is by God. The heart needed to do this was given by God.”
He explained the taxi does not belong to him. It is a ‘work and pay’ arrangement which requires that he makes daily sales to the owner for some years before he can eventually own the vehicle.
The engine area of the taxi is badly damaged, he said.
Koala says it is impressed his act of bravery and selflessness and will present him with a new vehicle.
Credit: Joy News