Kwadwo Sarpong, Nneka Ogwumike among Honorees for 2017 Face List Award | See Full List

The 2017 Face List Award celebrating Pan-African achievement is set to hold on Saturday, July 15, 2017.
In the 6th annual edition, Face2face Africa is carrying on its tradition of  honoring a group of inspirational heroes with uniquely fascinating stories to tell.
The 2017 honorees  are recognized for their distinguished careers and achievements. Their impact and legacy will shape and influence the pan-African community for generations to come.
Ghana’s Kwadwo Sarpong, Founder of African Research Academies for Women and Nigeria’s Nneka Ogwumike,WNBA Most Valuable Player of 2016 and the will be honoured in the Young Africans Committed to Excellence category of the award.
Nigerian Femi Kuti was a recipient of the Face List Award in 2014 for Entertainment.
See portfolio of 2017 Honorees below:
Rev. Dr. Al Sharpton – The National Action Network

Rev. Dr. Al Sharpton is founder and President of the National Action Network (NAN), a not-for-profit civil rights organization formed in 1991 with over 100 chapters nationwide. As one of the nation’s most-renowned civil rights leaders, Rev. Al Sharpton has been praised by President Barack Obama as “the voice of the voiceless and a champion for the downtrodden”.

Mimi Alemayehou – Black Rhino Group

Ethiopian-born Mimi Alemayehou is one of the most influential and sought-after experts in African Business. She is Managing Director at Black Rhino Group, and also serves as an Executive Advisor and Chair of Blackstone Africa Infrastructure LP. Previously, she was executive vice president of the Overseas Private Investment Corp. (OPIC), under the Obama administration, and was one of the architects of the Power Africa initiative to increase energy access across the continent.

Beverly Bond – Black Girls Rock!

A dynamo in true form, Beverly Bond, has blazed trails in the music, entertainment and social entrepreneurship industries. Her body of work, across sectors, has made her one of the most celebrated DJ’s, and social innovators of our time. She is the founder of BLACK GIRLS ROCK! a youth empowerment mentoring organization, and the annual BLACK GIRLS ROCK! Awards, which celebrate the accomplishments of exceptional women of color.

Tuma Basa-Spotify

Billboard has called Tuma Basa one of the “new pioneers” in music today. As the global programming head of hip-hop at Spotify, he is one of the most important tastemakers in hip-hop music today, personally responsible for choosing every song that goes onto the Rap Caviar playlist. Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo, he has held music programming positions at BET, MTV, and Revolt, where he served as Vice President of Music Programming.

Adenah Bayoh – Adenah Bayoh & Companies

Adenah Bayoh embodies the American dream. At age 13, she escaped the civil war in her native country of Liberia, immigrated to the United States and is now one of the most successful entrepreneurs in her home state of New Jersey. Her company owns IHOP franchises in Paterson and Irvington, New Jersey and a real estate development portfolio with over $225 million dollars in urban redevelopment projects. Adenah Bayoh & Companies is the second largest employer in Irvington, NJ.

Organization Honoree – “Ubuntu Award for Service”


Young Africans Committed to Excellence (YACE) Honorees:

Nnemkadi Ogwumike WNBA Player

Kwadwo Sarpong Founder, the African Research Academies for Women

Other Details:

Wyclef Jean Headline Performer

Host Ama K. Abebrese Actress, “Beast of No Nation”

For tables, group registration or advertising, contact Sandra Appiah at Sappiah@f2fafrica.com.

Blac Chyna Was Involved In A Car Accident In Los Angeles

Blac Chyna Was Involved In A Car Accident In Los Angeles But Was Examined By Paramedics

According to TMZ, Blac Chyna was involved in a car accident in Los Angeles early Saturday morning after she was rear ended by another driver. She was driving around the Studio City neighborhood in L.A. at around 2:30 a.m. when another driver slammed into the back of her Rolls Royce.

Chyna was then placed into a nearby ambulance and examined by paramedics but was eventually released after someone arrived to pick her up. 

Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department detained the other driver and administered several DUI tests, though it is unclear if the motorist was arrested.

Credit: Spash News

Facebook launches initiative to fight online hate speech

Facebook is launching a UK initiative to train and fund local organisations to combat extremism and hate speech.

It comes a week after the social network announced steps of its own to remove terrorist-related content from its site.
The UK Online Civil Courage Initiative's initial partners include Imams Online and the Jo Cox Foundation.
Facebook has faced criticism for being slow to react to terrorist propaganda on its platforms.
"The recent terror attacks in London and Manchester - like violence anywhere - are absolutely heartbreaking," said Facebook's chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg.
"No-one should have to live in fear of terrorism - and we all have a part to play in stopping violent extremism from spreading.
"We know we have more to do - but through our platform, our partners and our community we will continue to learn to keep violence and extremism off Facebook."

In recent months, governments across Europe have been pushing for technology companies to take more action to prevent online platforms from being used to spread extremist propaganda.
In particular, security services have criticised Facebook, Twitter and Google for relying too much on other people to report inappropriate content, rather than spotting it themselves.
In April, Germany passed a bill to fine social networks up to €50m (£44m) if they failed to give users the option to report hate speech and fake news, or if they refused to remove illegal content flagged as either images of child sexual abuse or inciting terrorism.
Following the London Bridge terror attack, UK PM Theresa May announced that new international agreements needed to be introduced to regulate the internet in order to "deprive the extremists of their safe spaces online".
And last week in Paris, Mrs May and French President Emmanuel Macron launched a joint campaign to look at how they could make the internet safe, including making companies legally liable if they refused to remove certain content.

Similar initiatives to counter hate speech were launched in Germany in January 2016 and in France in March 2017.
They have held training workshops with more than 100 anti-hate and anti-extremism organisations across Europe, and reached 3.5 million people online through its Facebook page.
In the UK, people are being encouraged to visit the UK OCCI Facebook page, to share stories, content and ideas, and use the hashtag #civilcourage.
Brendan Cox, the widower of murdered MP Jo Cox and the founder of the Jo Cox Foundation, has welcomed the move.
"This is a valuable and much needed initiative from Facebook in helping to tackle extremism," he said.
"Anything that helps push the extremists even further to the margins is greatly welcome. Social media platforms have a particular responsibility to address hate speech that has too often been allowed to flourish online.
"It is critical that efforts are taken by all online service providers and social networks to bring our communities closer together and to further crack down on those that spread violence and hatred online."
Credit: Reuters

Katy Perry crowdsurfs at Glastonbury

Pop star Katy Perry ended her debut performance at Glastonbury by diving head first into the audience.

It was less crowd-surfing than crowd-swimming, as the singer pulled herself slowly over the heads of her fans.
"Well, Beyonce never did that," joked one audience member as Perry emerged from the fray.
The stage dive came as the star performed Roar at the end of 60 colourful minutes of pure grade pop, including the hits Firework and ET.
The star brought something that the Pyramid Stage never usually sees - choreography - as well as glitter cannons, silver-clad backing singers, and dancers dressed as giant eyeballs.
"This makes me feel cool," remarked Perry as she observed the crowd. "I don't really ever feel cool."
"There's so many people here," she added. "I didn't know if you still liked me."
The comment was presumably in reference to the relatively poor performance of her new album, Witness, which entered the charts at number six last week.
In truth, most of the audience had come for the earlier hits - I Kissed A Girl, Teenage Dream, California Girls - which prompted mass sing-alongs from the younger elements of Glastonbury's audience.
The newer material was less enthusiastically received; although a spirited rendition of Chained To The Rhythm, which saw Perry trade impromptu dance moves with a security guard, proved to be a lot of fun.
Credit:  BBC

Your husband is cheating on you because you did same to somebody - Counselor Lutterodt

Controversial Ghanaian counselor, George Lutterodt has said husbands cheat because their wives have been mistresses before.

He said this after he commended ‘side chicks’ saving marriages due to the good treatment they give married men.

He added that such mistresses will be greatly rewarded by God as they took very good care of another’s husband.

“I want you to understand, if you are a woman and you are going out with somebody’s husband, immediately you take good care of somebody’s husband, God will bring you your husband. Depending on the way you are taking care of somebody’s husband, God will bring you your own. And remember once you took care of somebody’s own and God brought you yours, when you get your own, somebody will take care of him,” he explained.

He went on to prophecy to all side chicks doing a good job with their men to expect their husbands soon.

“So all of you going out with peoples husbands, get ready for God is bringing yours in the name of Jesus. If you are taking care of someone’s husband well, God is just about to give you your own husband,” he said.

Counsellor Lutterodt said being a side chick is good especially when you are from a poor background as going out with a rich man could change your destiny. He believed dating rich men to alleviate poverty in women was essential and a practice to welcome.

“Those of you who have found poverty in your family make sure that if a right rich man comes, you accept them.God can use a rich man to change your destiny even though the man is not married to you, God can bring prosperity through a rich man,” he mentioned.

He mentioned Kwame Despite of Despite group of companies and Kennedy Agyapong, MP for Assin Central, as examples of rich men who could help some poor ladies out there.

“For example, Despite is very rich, Kennedy Agyapong is very rich. If there is a poor girl walking there and there is poverty in her family, God can use these people to have a relationship with them and remove them from poverty? God works in mysterious ways, so don’t make yourself look miserable, your Boaz can come in any form. It could be somebody’s husband but he is your Boaz,” he said.

He then advised all married women to pray for their husbands’ mistresses as they help keep their husbands at home.

“Your marriage is still stable because of your husband's girlfriend, so if you are praying, pray for your husband's girlfriend.They are the ones keeping your husband, you don’t know. Because your husband is not able to manage you, you are a burden to your husband ,but all of a sudden God has brought your husband an ex-girlfriend, pray, pray, pray. I say pray for your husband's girlfriend,” he mentioned.

Credit: Ghanaweb 

Pistorius' 400m world record set in 2011 smashed by American

American Blake Leeper broke South African Oscar Pistorius’s T43 paralympic world record in the 400 metres when he ran 45.25 seconds at the U.S. athletics championships on Friday, officials said.
“It is hard to believe. To run 45.25 to break the world record, I am excited for the future,” said the 27-year-old Tennessee native who lives in Southern California.
Leeper finished a non-advancing seventh in the semi-final race despite competing as a double amputee.

It is hard to believe. To run 45.25 to break the world record, I am excited for the future.

Pistorius set his record of 45.39 seconds at Daegu, South Korea in August, 2011.
Paralympic gold medallist Pistorius is serving a six-year jail term after being found guilty of murdering his girlfriend in 2013.

Credit: REUTERS

Otumfuo Osei Tutu makes historic visit to Techiman

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has made a historic visit to Techiman in the Brong Ahafo Region and paid a courtesy call on the Omanhene of the Techiman Traditional Area, Oseadeeyo Akumfi Ameyaw IV.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu was on his way to Nkoranza in the Brong Ahafo Region to attend the burial ceremony of the Omanhene of the Nkoranza Traditional Area, Okatakyie Agyeman Kudom IV.

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has made a historic visit to Techiman in the Brong Ahafo Region and paid a courtesy call on the Omanhene of the Techiman Traditional Area, Oseadeeyo Akumfi Ameyaw IV.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu was on his way to Nkoranza in the Brong Ahafo Region to attend the burial ceremony of the Omanhene of the Nkoranza Traditional Area, Okatakyie Agyeman Kudom IV.

Credit:  

Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah & Biiya Mukusah Ali

China landslide: 15 dead, over 100 missing in Sichuan

The bodies of 15 people have been found after a landslide in Sichuan province in south-western China left more than 120 people missing, state media say.

About 40 homes were destroyed in Xinmo village in Maoxian county, after the side of a mountain collapsed at about 06:00 local time (22:00 GMT Friday).
Rescue teams are frantically searching for survivors trapped beneath rocks dislodged by heavy rainfall.
President Xi Jinping urged rescuers to "spare no effort".
A couple and a baby were rescued and taken to hospital after teams of workers used ropes to move large rocks, AFP news agency reports, citing local authorities.
Qiao Dashuai told CCTV the baby had woken them and when they came to the door of their home they were swept away by water. He said his parents and other relatives were still missing.
An earlier toll of 141 missing people has now been revised down by state media.
The landslide blocked a 2km (1.2-mile) stretch of a river, Xinhua news agency reported.
Local police told state broadcaster CCTV a lack of vegetation in the area had made the landslide worse.
Local officials said some 8m cu m (282m cu ft) of rock had been dislodged.
Roads in the county were closed on Saturday to all traffic except emergency services, the news agency said.
Landslides are a regular danger in mountainous regions of China, especially during heavy rains.
In 2008, 87,000 people were killed when an earthquake struck Wenchuan county in Sichuan province. In Maoxian county itself, 37 tourists were killed when their coach was buried in a landslide caused by the earthquake.

Credit: BBC

Egypt president pardons 502 prisoners ahead of Eid festivities, 25 women benefit

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has pardoned 502 prisoners before the Eid al-Fitr holiday including prominent businessman Hesham Talaat Moustafa, according to a presidential decree issued on Friday.
The prisoners to be released include 25 women and “a large number of youth jailed in cases involving protesting and gathering,” state news agency MENA reported, without specifying how many.
Since seizing power in mid-2013 from the Muslim Brotherhood, Sisi has presided over a crackdown on Islamist opponents that has seen hundreds killed and many thousands jailed. Activists and liberal opponents have also been imprisoned.
A law requiring permission from the Interior Ministry for any public gathering of more than 10 people is strictly enforced and has largely succeeded in ending the kind of mass demonstrations that helped unseat two presidents in three years.
Among those pardoned was Hesham Talaat Moustafa, the former chairman of one of Egypt’s largest real estate developers, Talaat Mostafa Group.
Moustafa had been sentenced to 15 years in prison for hiring a hitman to kill Lebanese pop star Suzanne Tamim in 2008. He was pardoned on health concerns, security sources told Reuters.
Sisi ordered the interior ministry to implement the decision before the start of the holiday, which immediately follows the holy month of Ramadan that ends this Saturday.
Credit: REUTERS

Turkish water park: Children and adults electrocuted

Three children and two adults who tried to rescue them have been electrocuted in a water park in north-western Turkey, local media say.

The incident happened in the town of Akyazi, in Sakarya province, 100km (62 miles) east of Istanbul.
The park manager and his son dived in to help the three children. The five, believed to be all Turkish, were taken to hospital but could not be saved.
It was unclear how the pool had become electrified.
Rescuers and park personnel flushed the pool's water away as others turned off electricity in the facility.
One other person was injured in the incident and taken to hospital.
An investigation has already begun.
The Hurriyet news agency named the park manager as Mehmet Kaya, 58, and his son as Kadir Kaya, 30.
The children were aged 12, 15 and 17.

Credit: Turkish media

UK schoolboys wear skirts to protest against ban on shorts

Teenage boys at a school in Exeter, United Kingdom, went to school Friday wearing skirts in protest at a ban on wearing shorts.
Around 50 pupils at ISCA Academy are understood to be taking part in the protest after a small group of boys came to school in girls' uniform Thursday.
"My son wanted to wear shorts but was told he would be put in the isolation room for the rest of the week," the mother of one 14-year-old told Devon Live yesterday.
"The head teacher told them 'Well you can wear a skirt if you like' but I think she was being sarcastic.
"However children tend to take you literally and so five boys turned up in skirts today – and because she told them it was ok there was nothing she could do as long as they are school skirts."
One of the five boys is believed to have got in trouble because his dress was too short - and another boy, Josh Baxter, told reporters he'd been told to change back to trousers as he "had hairy legs."
Mother Claire Reeves told Devon Live: "[The school] have told me that if I send my son to school in shorts then he will be sent to the isolation room all day and if I keep him off school then it'll be an unauthorised absence.
"The girls are allowed to wear skirts all year round so I think it's completely unfair that the boys can't wear shorts.
"Boys just don't have the option and I am just really concerned about how the heat is going to affect him."
Following the pupils' protest the school has said it would considering changing its uniform policy in future.
"We recognise that the last few days have been exceptionally hot and we are doing our utmost to enable both students and staff to remain as comfortable as possible," said headteacher Aimee Mitchell.
"Shorts are not currently part of our uniform for boys and I would not want to make any changes without consulting both students and their families.
"However, with hotter weather becoming more normal, I would be happy to consider a change for the future."

Credit: Telegraph

GOVERNMENT SHOULD WITHDRAW ALL MILITARY MEN FROM DENKYIRA OBUASE - ISAAC...

VIDEO: WITHDRAW MILLITARY MEN FROM DENKYIRA BOASE- FARMER PLEADS WITH GOV’T

A farmer and a retired miner, Isaac Kwaku Owusu has appealed to the government to withdraw all military men deployed and stationed at Denkyira Obuase

In an exclusive interview with Kessben TV , he explained that the amount of money spent by government on the daily activities of these military could be used for other things  like even building a police station with that money to check lawlessness in the area.

He said innocent were paying dearly for crimes they did not commit and they have rights as Ghanaians.

PLAY VIDEO

Two Britons arrested over Microsoft hack

Two men have been arrested for their part in an alleged plan to hack into Microsoft's network.

A 22-year-old from Sleaford and a 25-year-old from Bracknell were detained by police on Thursday.
It is believed that the men were involved in repeated attempts to infiltrate the Microsoft network between January and March this year.
Both were charged under the UK's Computer Misuse Act that criminalises unauthorised access to computers.
Police said the pair were part of a larger group that was plotting the cyber-intrusion into the software giant's systems, seeking to steal customer data.
Detectives from the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (Serocu) carried out the raids which, said Det Sgt Rob Bryant, also led it to seize devices believed to have been used in the attacks.
He added that Serocu had worked with Europol, the NCA's National Cyber Crime Unit, the FBI and Microsoft to investigate the intrusions.
"After speaking with Microsoft, we can confirm they did not gain access to customer information," he said. "It is too early to speculate on what information the group has accessed."
Tom Burt, Microsoft's vice president and deputy general counsel of the Digital Crimes Unit told the BBC: "Today's action by authorities in the UK represents an important step. Stronger internet security depends on the ability to identify and prosecute cybercriminals.
"This requires not only a strong technical capability, but the willingness to acknowledge issues publicly and refer them to law enforcement. No company is immune from cybercrime. No customer data was accessed, and we're confident in the integrity of our software and systems.
"We have comprehensive measures in place to prevent, detect, and respond to attacks. We also have specialist teams focused on working with law enforcement to identify people who attack either us or our customers, and we're committed to fast and effective action against attackers."

Credit: BBC

Hacker jailed 16 months after using bank glitch to go on £100,000 spending spree

 A 24-year-old man who exploited a temporary vulnerability in the computer systems of a UK bank to steal nearly £100,000 has been jailed for 16 months following a spending spree which included the purchase of two high-end cars and face tattoos.
James Ejankowski, from East Riding of Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to fraud and was sentenced this week (19 June) alongside his partner, 26-year-old Charlotte Slater, for stealing more than £99,000 from the Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank in December last year using the bug.

According to Gazette Live, he used the bank's now-fixed computer flaw to transfer money that was not his own between a current account and savings account for roughly an hour between midnight and 1am.
He later funnelled the cash through his partner's Natwest bank account and told close family members that he won the cash on a scratchcard, it emerged.
"He has indicated his intent to pay all the money back when he is able to do so," Ejankowski's lawyer Andrew Turton told Teesside Crown Court.
"He thought it would be a good thing to do to have tattoos all over his face and that is what he did, and he will have to live with that for now."
At the time, Ejankowski transferred more than £53,000 to Slater's bank account and more than £1,300 to his father-in-law's account. Out of the funds stolen he bought a BMW and a Range Rover. The defendant, who is unemployed, also gave "thousand pounds" to his aunt.
Out of the stolen money, the inadvertent bank hacker claimed to have £40 left, the Gazette said.
Police later interviewed the couple after Ejankowski handed himself into the authorities on Boxing Day last year. Slater, of the same address, said she was aware her partner was unemployed and that he had a previous conviction, allegedly for seven offences of fraud.
The judge handed Slater a six-month suspended jail sentence and 30 days rehabilitation after she admitted "acquiring criminal property," the Gazette revealed. "She appears to have received no personal gain, and [it] was a lesser role," prosecutor Shaun Dryden told the court.
There have been a number of hacking incidents against financial institutions over the past 12 months. In the UK, a flaw with Tesco Bank's online service resulted in £2.5m being stolen from 9,000 customers. In another case further afield, a sophisticated hack compromised millions of dollars.

Credit: ibtimes

Kenyan Primary school closes after pupils beat teachers

A school in central Kenya has been closed after the pupils attacked and injured their teachers on Monday.
Witnesses said Standard Six boys of the Kirimon Primary School on the Samburu-Laikipia counties border went to classes with clubs and machetes, protesting against being punished by female teachers.
Three teachers were seriously injured.
Teachers who attempted to save their colleagues were also beaten up.
They dashed into homes and surrounding bushes to escape more punishment from the ‘morans’.
Rowdy pupils
An attempt by an administration Police officer from Kirimon post to rescue the besieged teachers by firing several times in the air yielded no fruit.
The policeman was also injured as the rowdy pupils hurled stones at him.
The same fate befell parents and residents who rushed to the school to help the teachers and the policeman.
Learning was cut short following the incident and the more than 700 pupils ordered to go home.
Closed door meeting
At the time of publishing this story, Teachers Service Commission officers and other education stakeholders in Samburu County were holed up in a closed-door meeting with members of the school board of management.
It has since emerged that Monday’s attack on teachers by pupils at Kirimon Primary School was the third.
Similar incidents took place in 2010 and 2013.
“We have experienced this before but today’s (Monday's) attack was the worst because the boys sneaked into classrooms with swords and rungus,” a shaken teacher who requested anonymity told journalists.
Female teachers
“As soon as one of the female teachers arrived in Standard Six for her lesson, she was attacked and seriously injured on her head and right hand.”
Twelve of the boys who reportedly led the attack were identified as among those suspended from school last week for misbehaviour.
The school has 13 teachers against a population of 756 pupils.
Last year, the headteacher of neighbouring Soradoru Primary school was seriously injured on the head when club-wielding pupils attacked him.

Credit: Daily Nation

13 injured after RTD bus, several vehicles involved in accident in Boulder

An RTD and several vehicles were involved in an accident on Wednesday morning that injured 13 people, officials said.
The crash happened just after 9 a.m. on Arapahoe Avenue between 63rd and 75th streets, near where a BNSF Railway train derailed on Tuesday afternoon, the Boulder Police Department said.
The Rocky Mountain Fire Department said 13 people suffered minor injuries because of the crash.

The bus was seen hanging off the side of a sidewalk on its side.
Police closed a two-mile stretch of Arapahoe Avenue between 63rd and 75th because of the crash. Eastbound lanes reopened about 10:30 a.m. There was no estimate for when the eastbound lanes would reopen.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Credit:  Chuck Hickey

GRA declares Roland Agambire wanted for defaulting tax

The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has declared the Chairman of Agams Group of Companies, the Mr Roland Agambire, a wanted man.
This, is because according to the GRA, one of the subsidiaries of AGAMS Group, ACI Construction Company has evaded corporate tax and VAT amounting to GH₵14,312,974.19.

According to the GRA, even though it has sent a number of correspondence to Mr Agambire as chairman, he has not responded or sent a representative to meet with the GRA.
Consequently, the special mobilisation task force of the GRA on Tuesday locked up the company.

14 days notice
According to the National Co-coordinator of the GRA task force, Mr Henry Sam, under Section 34 of the VAT Act, Act 546, and Section 136 of the Internal Revenue Act, when a property is sealed, owners have 14 days within which to pay up.
“We have locked the place but it is not the end, the final determination is that we will auction the property if the company fails to pay within the 14 days”, he explained.
He said all efforts to reach Mr Agambire has proven fruitless, adding that they have therefore given Mr Agambire fourteen days to report himself or lose his properties.
“We’ve been trying to get in contact with him to explain the basis upon which the company has been assessed but to no avail. We even issued a notice for him to appear at the Ghana Revenue Authority but once again we did not establish contact with him” he stated
He said the GRA will sell off the property to defray the debt if Mr Agambire fails to comply.
He further explained that GRA conducted a tax compliance audit on ACI Construction and a draft report was sent to him through a consultant three months ago for him to appear before them but they were told he was not in the country.

 GRA storms 4 companies to demand taxes
The GRA on Tuesday stormed the offices of four companies in an effort to compel them to settle their tax indebtedness to the state.
The companies were Vodafone Ghana Limited, ACI Construction, a subsidiary of the Agams Group of Companies, which is indebted to the state in the sum of GH¢14,312,974; Eagle Star Enterprise Limited, an engineering and construction firm that owes GH¢604,175, and Logistics Supplies Services Limited, which owes GH¢460,779.
The National Communications Backbone Company (NCBC), a firm set up by Vodafone Ghana Limited to provide the bandwidth needs of Internet service providers (ISP) and offer other technology services, is said to owe the state GH¢30,061,608 in taxes, which is being disputed by the Vodafone Ghana Limited.
Credit:   Getrude Ankah Nyavi

Akufo-Addo to visit Zambia June 26

 President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, will pay a 3-day state visit to the Republic of Zambia at the invitation of the Zambian President, His Excellency Edgar Lungu.
The visit by President Akufo-Addo would be the third visit to be paid by a foreign Head of State to Zambia, following visits from President Rajaonarimam Pianina of Madagascar and President Paul Kagame of Rwanda.

It would be recalled that at a media briefing on May 29, 2017 in Accra, Zambia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Harry Kalaba, stated that President Akufo-Addo would undertake his visit from June 26 to 29, 2017.
Activities while in Zambia
He said that President Akufo-Addo, while in Zambia, would hold bilateral talks with President Lungu, and, among other activities, would be the Special Guest of Honour at the opening of the 5th Zambia International Trade fair in Ndola.
Mr Kalaba pointed out that the Zambian Government recognised the importance of enhancing cooperation with other Africa countries in achieving sustainable development.
It will be recalled that President Edgar Lungu was in Ghana for the inauguration of President Akufo-Addo on January 7, 2017.
Ghana’s exemplary democracy
Speaking to journalists during the inauguration in Accra, President Edgar Lungu noted that Ghana was a testament that democracy in Africa was alive and was a well-entrenched system of governance for African countries to embrace.
President Lungu stated that Ghana had demonstrated to the world that democracy in Africa was an inherent way of life worth emulating by other African countries, adding that
“Ghana’s veritable democracy of successful elections and peaceful transition of power is a mark worth emulating by other African countries.”
Need to strengthen ties
Later, President Lungu conferred with President Akufo-Addo and said there was the need to strengthen ties between the two countries whose relations were historical.
President Akufo-Addo accepted an invitation by President Lungu for the visit to Zambia to further cement ties, especially on trade.
President Lungu was of the view that the chambers of commerce of the two countries should be meeting more often to exchange ideas on areas of possible investments in the respective nations.

Credit: Victor Kwawukume

Artists for Grenfell: Charity single with Stormzy and Liam Payne is released

A single to raise money for those affected by the Grenfell Tower fire has hit the number one spot on iTunes two hours after it was released.

More than 50 stars including Stormzy, Craig David and Liam Payne, recorded Bridge Over Troubled Water to support victims' families and survivors.
The cover of the Simon and Garfunkel classic was organised by Simon Cowell.
Residents and survivors of the fire-ravaged tower block also appear as part of a choir led by Gareth Malone.
"Seeing how emotional the local residents became while singing was really moving," he told The Sun.
"Some of them actually lived in Grenfell Tower, Their homes have been destroyed. It's very raw for a lot of them."
The song was made available to download at 08:00 BST on Wednesday - a week after the fire - and donations can be made directly on artistsforgrenfell.com

SONG LYRICS
Intro: Stormzy rap

When you're weary - Robbie Williams
Feeling small - James Blunt
When tears are in - Rita Ora
Your eyes - Craig David
I will dry them all - Dan (Bastille)
I'm on your side - Liam Payne
When times get rough - Emeli Sande
And friends just can't be found - Kelly Jones (Stereophonics)
Like a bridge over troubled water - Paloma Faith
I will lay me down - Louis Tomlinson
Like a bridge over troubled water - Labrinth
I will lay me down - Jorja Smith

Rap by WSTRN

When you're down and out - Leona Lewis
When you're on the street - Jessie J
When evening falls so hard - James Arthur
I will comfort you - Roger Daltrey (The Who)
I'll take your part - Ella Eyre
When darkness comes - Anne-Marie & Ella Henderson
And pain is all around - Louisa Johnson
Like a bridge over troubled water - Robbie Williams, all voices
I will lay me down - James Arthur
Like a bridge over troubled water - Choirs
I will lay me down - Rita Ora

Emeli Sande, who has just been made an MBE, said: "I hope it shows the power of community and the strength of people.
"That is the beauty of London, the integration makes it so incredible."
Pianist Tokio Myers, who recently won Britain's Got Talent, has also recorded part of the single, as have Bastille, James Blunt and Dua Lipa.
Meanwhile, West End stars are taking part in a benefit concert next week. Dame Judi Dench, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Harry Potter And The Cursed Child's Noma Dumezweni will be among those taking part in the event at Trafalgar Studios in London.
Proceeds from the show will go to the Grenfell Tower Fire Fund

Credit: BBC