Russia's Lavrov threatens US over seized diplomatic mansions

Russia says it is "outrageous" that the US has not yet handed back two Russian intelligence compounds seized in the US under the Obama administration.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he was "considering specific measures" in response, but did not elaborate.
Earlier, unnamed Russian officials said Moscow was ready to expel about 30 US diplomats and seize US state property.
In December the Obama administration expelled 35 Russian diplomats and shut down two intelligence compounds.
Ex-President Barack Obama acted against Russia after US intelligence sources had accused Russian state agents of hacking into Democratic Party computers to undermine Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.
Mr Lavrov told Russian media it was "simply shameful for such a great country as the United States, a champion of international law, to leave the situation in such a state of suspended animation".
"Justice and international law must be restored," he said, accusing the US Congress of being "charged up with Russophobia".
Which compounds were seized?

• The US seized a Russian diplomatic property on Maryland's Eastern Shore - a sprawling 45-acre (18.2-hectare) retreat. The facility, acquired during the Cold War, was used by Russian diplomats for recreation, such as tennis and swimming. But it also had sophisticated communications, and US officials said it doubled as a spying outpost
• The other diplomatic property is a New York mansion at Glen Cove, Long Island. It has 49 rooms and is similarly surrounded by woods. Like the Maryland mansion, its location is ideal for eavesdropping on US communications, US officials say

Russian President Vladimir Putin raised the issue of the Obama sanctions with US President Donald Trump when they met in Hamburg on 7 July, the daily Izvestia reported.The Trump team is under investigation over alleged Russian collusion during last year's presidential campaign. The Kremlin has denied interfering in the election.
Credit:  CNN

Senyo Hosi sues Ken Agyapong for GH¢8 million

 The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors, Senyo Hosi has filed a GH¢5,000,000 defamatory suit against the Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Agyapong.
The suit arises from "bribery and corruption" claims made by Mr Agyapong against Mr Hosi last month over the alleged sale of contaminated fuel by the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST) Company.
In the suit filed on Tuesday, July 4, at the Accra High Court, Mr Hosi claimed that the allegations made by Mr Agyapong had affected his image and reputation in the sight of right-thinking members of society.
The defendants in the case are Mr Agyapong, Ken City Media Limited and the Deputy Executive Secretary of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Afia Akoto.
According to the suit, 2nd defendant, owners of Oman FM and Net 2 TV, helped in circulating the said defamatory comments, while the 3rd defendant joined in by taking to Facebook to repeat and republish the said comments.
Mr Hosi is also praying the court to order the 2nd and 3rd defendants to pay compensatory damages of GH¢3,000,000 and GH¢1,000,000 respectively for injury to his character and integrity.
He is further praying the court to order the defendants to unconditionally retract the statement and offer an unqualified apology to him.

Credit:  Graphic Online

South African court rules against religious bias in state schools

A South African court on Wednesday ruled that public education institutions cannot promote any one religion to the exclusion of others, saying to do so was a violation of the Schools Act, local media reported.
The Organisation for Religious Education and Democracy (OGOD) had argued that it was in the interest of South Africa’s democracy that public schools not be allowed to favour a specific religion.
OGOD asked the court to declare unconstitutional the religion policy of six public schools, accusing them of favouring Christianity over other religions.
The six schools, the ministers of basic education and justice, and the National Society for School Governing Bodies were respondents, local media reported.
Judge Willem van der Linde said in his ruling that religious observances may be conducted at state or state-aided institutions, as long as they are held on an equitable basis and attendance was voluntary.
Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga had supported the application, saying schools were not permitted to focus on just one religion.
Reuters

“Zambia will work closely with you” – Lungu to Akufo-Addo

The President of Zambia, Mr Edgar Chagwa Lungu, has reiterated his and the commitment of the Zambian people to developing strong bilateral ties and exploring areas of co-operation with Ghana, under the leadership of its President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to the mutual benefit of the two countries.
According to President Lungu, the margin of victory chalked by President Akufo-Addo in the 2016 election “was a true reflection of the confidence the people of Ghana have in your vision, and for that reason, we look forward to working closely with you during your tenure of office.”
The Zambian President noted further that “there are a lot of things you (Ghana) are doing in mining, agriculture, infrastructure development, amongst others, which can benefit Zambia, by being emulated. It is about common, good practices, Mr. President, and what you do better, we should not hesitate to emulate.”

President Edgar Lungu made this known on Tuesday, July 27, 2017, when he held bilateral talks with the Ghanaian President and his delegation, at the commencement of the 3-day official State Visit by President Akufo-Addo to Zambia.

With the two countries having signed an agreement for the establishment of a Permanent Joint Commission on Co-operation (PJCC) to serve as the legal framework to address their trade and investment concerns, President Lungu bemoaned the non-implementation of this commission.

He, however, indicated that the PJCC will be given a new lease of life under his and the tenure of office of President Akufo-Addo, so as to ensure that “our Ministers will begin co-operating, and, henceforth, make the PJCC a living document.”
On the Ezulwini consensus, a position on international relations and reform of the United Nations agreed by the African Union in 2005, President Lungu was confident that the pioneering role played by President Akufo-Addo, then Foreign Minister of Ghana, in the fashioning of the document will be of invaluable to the cause of the AU.
“You were a pioneer, you were there. So as we go to the UN General Assembly in September, I am sure that Africa can count on you as an anchor,” he added.
President Lungu stressed that, “We want a prosperous Africa, which is integrated, united, peaceful and secured, and influential, not only in Africa but in the UN family.
“Regional integration is one aspect which will lead us to the Africa we want. Zambia is proud to be a member of SADC, and we are equally proud of the role that you (President Akufo-Addo) are playing in ECOWAS, in terms of peace keeping in the region, and trying to find common ground in improving co-operation and development of the African people we are privileged to look after.”

Credit:  Ghraphic online
 

Trump accuses Obama of inaction over Russia meddling claim

President Donald Trump has accused his predecessor Barack Obama of inaction over alleged Russian interference in the US election in 2016.

Mr Trump said Mr Obama had learned well before the 8 November poll about the accusations and "did nothing".
His comments followed an article in the Washington Post which said that Mr Obama learned last August of President Vladimir Putin's "direct involvement".
The alleged meddling is the subject of high-level investigations in the US.
President Putin has repeatedly denied any Russian interference into the presidential election.
The Washington Post article says Mr Obama was told early last August by sources deep within the Russian government that Mr Putin was directly involved in a cyber campaign to disrupt the election, injure Hillary Clinton and aid a Trump victory.
The Post said Mr Obama secretly debated dozens of options to punish Russia but in the end settled on what it called symbolic measures - the expulsion of 35 diplomats and closure of two Russian compounds. They came in late December, well after the election.

The Post reported that Mr Obama was concerned he might himself be seen as trying to manipulate the election.
The paper quoted a former administration official as saying: "From national security people there was a sense of immediate introspection, of, 'Wow, did we mishandle this'."
Measures Mr Obama had considered but which were not put into action included planting cyber weapons in the Russian infrastructure and releasing information personally damaging to Mr Putin.

Mr Trump tweeted on Friday: "The Obama Administration knew far in advance of November 8th about election meddling by Russia. Did nothing about it. WHY?"
He followed that up with two more tweets on Saturday, the second saying: "Obama Administration official said they "choked" when it came to acting on Russian meddling of election. They didn't want to hurt Hillary?"
He repeats the argument in an interview with Fox News, which will air on Sunday.
Credit: BBC

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

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

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

Bill Cosby case: Judge declares mistrial after jury deadlock

A US judge has declared a mistrial in the Bill Cosby sex assault case after the jury remained deadlocked for days.

The seven men and five women were unable to reach a unanimous decision after some 53 hours of deliberations in Norristown, Pennsylvania.
Mr Cosby, 79, is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand in 2004. His lawyers had argued the sex was consensual.
The US comedian could now face new proceedings.
For now, he walks away from court a free man, but the prosecution has already said they are pursuing a fresh trial.
Dozens of women say he assaulted them, but statutes of limitation rules mean he was allowed to be tried for Ms Constand's allegation only.
The veteran entertainer could have faced up to a decade in prison if found guilty of three counts of aggravated indecent assault.
Announcing the decision, the Pennsylvania judge reminded Mr Cosby that he remains charged and on bail, despite the mistrial.
The BBC's Aleem Maqbool, inside the courthouse, said Mr Cosby was expressionless when the decision was announced.
The jury had been instructed by the judge to work into the weekend to reach a verdict, after they first revealed that they were deadlocked on the case on Thursday.
Credit: BBC