Several illegal miners have been trapped in one of the shafts of Anglogold Obuasi Mines at Anwiam in the Ashanti Region. The unfortunate incident occurred four days ago. This was after the route they used in entering in search of gold deposits was closed. One of them who has been able to reach his family claims they have been there for four days. The traped miner said “We went to the AngloGold mine to work, but the place was closed down. For four days now, we are just in there. We don’t have any food or water" “And they do not want to give us water. We are about 300. We went there on our own. The DCE must come to our aid" “We don’t have any work, that’s why we go there to mine to take care of ourselves and our families,” he said. Credit: 1GhanaTv

Information reaching Thinknewsonline.com indicates fifteen (15) persons have been crashed to dead after a fuel truck smashed a Yutong bus at Okyereko, a community in the Central Region. According to sources, forty (40) others have also sustained various degrees of injuries. It is emerging that the fuel tanker with registration number WR 2063-10 plies its trade at Winneba. The Yutong bus also had GR 5866-L as its registration number. Sources further reveal that driver of the fuel tanker which was heading from Accra to Cape Coast was dozing and veered off its lane, colliding with the Yutong bus which moving towards Accra. An officer from the Ghana National Fire Service said 15 people have been confirmed dead. The officer says they met passengers with some having their heads chopped off and others’ limbs dismembered. The unfortunate incident occurred on Tuesday. Sources say $9,000 dollars was found in the crashed Yutong bus after the accident and it has been handed over to the Police. Driver of the Fuel Tanker however survived the accident. Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

Popular Ghanaian Highlife singer, Kwabena Kwabena, has opened up about his regret regarding marrying in his 20s, expressing that it stole precious years of his life. In an interview, the ‘Aso’ hitmaker revealed that he should have focused on his young and blossoming career instead of settling down. Reflecting on his past decisions, Kwabena Kwabena shared, “The irony of the whole thing is, I played a role in stealing my whole life away from me at a point" "The reason why I am saying that is as at 26 and 27, around that time, I felt that what I should have done was to focus on my career and not allow any external force to derail my train.” Despite the missed opportunities he believes he encountered during that period, Kwabena Kwabena expressed contentment in reclaiming lost moments in his life. Now older and wiser, he understands the importance of seizing opportunities and cherishing every experience. He emphasized, “I feel I was a young guy around that time, but by God’s grace, God has given me the chance again to have a second shot at my life" "That’s the reason why I am not taking things for granted because around that time, there were other people who have become casualties or were involved, and so I don’t want to make it look as if I was a great person and somebody was bad.” Kwabena Kwabena, 44, admitted that he should have prioritized his career over other aspects of life, particularly marriage, during that period. However, rather than wallowing in misery, he has found solace in channeling difficult circumstances, such as heartbreak, into his music. The “Adult Music” singer experienced a tumultuous journey in his marriage. After tying the knot with his first and second wives, Esther and Abena Owusuaa respectively, the relationship eventually ended in divorce, marred by allegations of infidelity. Credit: 1GhanaTv

The National Cathedral Secretariat has stated that it needs the amount of $100 million to import steel for the construction of the project. In an interview on Accra-based Okay FM, the Chief Executive Officer of the Secretariat, Dr. Paul Opoku-Mensah justified the expenditure that has so far been incurred in the construction of the cathedral. He disclosed that two floors have already been constructed underground and the only major work that has to be done is the placement of a steel structure adding that the construction of the cathedral has now stalled because the steel structure will cost $100 million which has not been raised yet. "After finishing the foundation, we need money that we will use to import all the steel we need. The steel component of the cathedral will be built before it is brought into the country for us to fix. "After fixing it, we will be left with the concrete and marble cladding and some few works. So, this is why there is a setback in the construction of the cathedral. "We need about $100 to import the steel. The cathedral is not a small building. It will be a structure, we have never seen in Ghana before," he said. Earlier, the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, said the National Cathedral project remains the most sleazy, reckless, sacrilegious, and scandalous mission by the sheer magnitude and audacity in the entire history of Ghana. He disclosed that an American consultant to the National Cathedral project gave an official address that leads to a warehouse. Credit: Pulse GH

Former Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari says his cows and sheep are easier to control than fellow Nigerians. According to the Former Head of Stae, he was forwarding to flying back to his cows and sheep in Daura. Speaking at the inauguration Dinner/Gala Night, organised by the Presidential Transition Council (PTC), at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja, outgoing President Buhari said, “I congratulate fellow Nigerians who have realized their power that their votes count. I’m looking forward to tomorrow to fly to my base and go back to my cows and sheep, which are much easier to control than fellow Nigerians.” Former President Buhari seized the opportunity to thank all dignitaries who came to honour Nigeria at the event,. “Your Excellencies, Heads of States and Government, and their representatives that have come to share this day with us, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I thank you very much and I say goodbye to you and wish us the best of luck”, he said. Some of the leaders present at the colourful event included the Presidents of South Africa, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Burundi, Liberia, Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Central Africa Republic, Gabon, the Prime Minister of Morocco, and Vice President of Venezuela, among others. Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

Former Minister of Food and Agriculture, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto has picked nomination forms for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) presidential race. The forms, picked on his behalf by his campaign team on Monday, May 29, 2023, was reportedly paid for by his supporters, said to be farmers. Speaking on his behalf, the spokesperson of the campaign team, Dr. Prince Amuzu, said Dr Akoto's performance at the Ministry of Agriculture is enough reason to give him the nod as flagbearer of the NPP. “We want to continue to thank Ghanaian farmers and the friends of Dr. Akoto who pulled themselves together to make it possible this morning that the forms for the contest have been picked at the party’s headquarters. Team Akoto says thank you very much and God bless you for the show of love and support. These farmers are across the country, and they have come out boldly to say they want to encourage Dr. Akoto. To the delegates, the farmers, the good people of Ghana, we say thank you.” he said. Meanwhile, Dr Owusu Afriyie Akoto has said he disagrees with a survey that is tipping his competitors ahead of him. Addressing his supporters in his office after they picked the nomination forms, he said, “I have never sponsored any poll. Find out who is sponsoring those polls. If I sponsor a poll I bet you, they will say that I am first but I won’t, it doesn’t serve any purpose. He added that “We know what we are doing on the ground so all the polls in the world can say whatever they want but we are talking about the 900 people who will be voting in the super delegates and the 210,000 delegates who will be voting on the 4th of November, that is what matters. So I don’t know the bases.” Credit: Graphiconline.com

The newly sworn-in President of Nigeria, His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu says his government will consult, dialogue and not dictate to good people of Nigeria. His Excellency Tinubu made these remarks at swearing-inceremony held for him on Monday. "Our administration shall govern on your behalf but never rule over you. We shall consult and dialogue rather than dictate. We shall reach out to all without putting down a single person for holding views contrary to our own," he said. His swearing-in makes him Nigeria's 16th President after he emerged winner in the 2023 general elections. He won the elections on the ticket of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The Newly sworn-in President described this year’s election as best so far. He noted that it was a hard-fought contest, which he won fairly. "Since the Fourth Republic began, Nigeria has not held an election of better quality. The outcome reflected the will of the people." "However, my victory does not make me any more Nigerian than my opponents, nor does it render them any less patriotic," Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

The Government of Ghana says it owes it to Ghanaians, his compatriots, and himself to go to any length to bring back the economy to the rude health it was in before the onset of the pandemic. President Akufo-Addo made these remarks while addressing the nation on Sunday. He said "When things came to the state where I concluded that we had to go to the International Monetary Fund to access a facility for budgetary support, I gave directives to the Minister for Finance to start the process" "It was a painful decision for me to take, because going to the IMF was not part of the economic transformation agenda I had been pursuing, especially as my government had gone the extra mile to bring to a successful end the IMF programme we inherited from the previous government" "But who would have imagined that President Akufo-Addo would order the closure of airports, offices, factories or schools" "We were in extraordinary times and we took extraordinary measures, and when faced with the realities of the economic crisis last year, I accepted the challenge that the economy required a similar attitude, including the sacrifices many of us have made in recent times" He noted that, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been most supportive, hence approving Ghana's bailout in record time culminating in the formal approval by the IMF Board on 17th May. "As I am sure we have all heard by now, the details of the programme have been explained by officials of the Fund and by our Minister for Finance and the Governor of the Bank of Ghana" He disclosed that the first tranche of six hundred (600) million US dollars has been credited to Ghana's national account, out of the three (3) billion US dollars that the country had negotiated to receive within a period of thirty-six (36) months. "Fellow Ghanaians, access to the IMF facility will not spell the immediate end of the difficulties we are in presently, but the fact that we have been able to negotiate such a deal sends a positive message to our trading partners, creditors and investors; a positive message that will be underpinned by the discipline, hard work and enterprise with which we execute the programme" "It should lead to the restoration of confidence and the reopening of avenues that had been closed to us this past year and a half. It should also lead to the resumption of many of the infrastructural projects that have stalled" "Fellow Ghanaians, we got ourselves out of a pandemic in which there were no precedents on which to rely, and where even the experts admitted they had no clear-cut solutions. We did it by being resolute, being focused and working very hard, and by accepting that we had to stick together" President Akufo-Addo hinted that, with a similar frame of mind and attitude, Ghana will overcome the economic difficulties as well. "I have no doubts at all in my mind that we are on the right path, and we would soon start to see significant improvements in the economy and in the living standards of Ghanaians" Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

The Government of Ghana says it has safely lifted many of the oppressive restrictions it placed on the citizenry followingthe widespread of covid-19 in the country. According to President Akufo-Addo, the emergency is over hence the public can go back to their normal lives. Addressing the nation on Sunday, he said "Fellow Ghanaians, throughout these trying times, I kept urging all of you to believe that this, too, shall pass. Dare I say that this too has passed?" "The emergency is over, and we can safely lift many of the oppressive restrictions we have had to endure, we can shake hands, we can hug, we can visit, and we no longer have to wear masks" He howevernot that though there is a safe lifting of many of the restrictions, it is strongly recommended that populace keep some of the measures imposed during the crisis and integrate them into their everyday lives. President Akufo-Addo urged citizens to continue with the regular hand washing and other personal hygiene measures, so it becomes entrenched national habits. "There has been a dramatic decrease in diarrhoea diseases, and we have not had any cholera outbreaks these past three years – these developments are attributable mostly to the hand washing and improved hygiene regimen in our communities." "It does not hurt to wear a mask if you have a cold for example, it might protect those around you. If you are uncomfortable in a crowded and enclosed space, go out into the open and continue the new ways we have devised for outside entertainment. I hope there will be no argument that we should continue and institutionalize the periodic cleansing, disinfection and fumigation of markets. Never again should our markets be breeding grounds for rodents" "There are other ways in which this nightmare has brought some good dividends that must be acknowledged. It has led to the strengthening of our disease surveillance system, and this has been manifested in recent months by our ability to deal, in a very rapid and aggressive way, with outbreaks of frightening diseases like Marburg, Lassa fever, Monkey Pox, before they could turn into serious public health catastrophes" He noted that the pandemic also exposed some of the painful deficiencies Ghana has, and forced it to take some brave and necessary decisions, such as expansion of its network of health facilities under Agenda 111. "I doubt very much that, but for the pandemic, the network of health laboratories with capacity to do PCR testing in our country would have expanded exponentially from the initial 2 to 67 laboratories nationwide" Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

Former MUSIGA president and a renowned gospel musician, Diana Hopeson ( Akiwumi ) has admonished young girls to try take their bath at least two times daily during their menstrual cycle. She joined over 400 both young girls and boys at the Ashiaman Senior High School to mark this years World Menstrual Hygiene Day Commemoration. She stressed on the need for a complete healthier menstrual management by these teenage girls bearing in mind that bathing their body is an essential part of menstrual hygiene. A collaborative effort from the Bonabear Foundation Ghana under the auspices of the Special Monitoring Missions of the International Human Rights Commission Ghana in partnership with the SHEP Department of the Ashaiman Municipal Education Directorate of the Ghana Education Service and WO YE BRA Schools Project this year engaged the Pupils of the AshaiSec to mark the all important date on the UN calendar. Mrs Hopeson on the theme of this years commemoration dubbed “ Making Menstruation a normal Fact of Life by 2030” also explained on the main need for every girl to know that “Menstruation leads to Procreation” therefore every growing girl must not be ashamed of her Menstruation and that it’s a normal thing. She lamented on how she felt during her “Menarche” at age 12 and the funny experiences she went through that time. Mrs Hopeson has been the project Ambassador two years running to the MENSTRUATE 2 PROCREATE initiative with a few of her friends mobilizing support for the project. The Founder and the Project Lead of the Bonabear Foundation Ghana, Amb Dr Bernard Kofi Bonarparte in his speech added his voice to the call to totally scrap off all Taxes on Sanitary Materials and pleaded with the Government to consider implementing policies to make Sanitary materials in the Schools more accessible and free mostly in deprived communities a cross the country. He reiterated that, it is about time menstruation is considered as a Human Rights issue and as such the need to put in measures to ensure every girl is not denied of this Right. He stressed the need to easy access to water in the various Schools is also a contributing factor for ensuring a clean, safe and healthier society. The Ambassador who doubles as the Commissioner for the Special Monitoring Missions of IHRC Ghana also called on various corporate bodies to partner organizations and civil societies that have embarked on this journey to ensure that Ghana does not fail to achieve the agenda 2030 of the UNSDG. All participants received free Disposable and Reusable Pads and were trained on the management of those with live demonstration from the male students of the School by the help of the School Nurse and the Lead Facilitator for the WO YE BRA SCHOOL Project-Ms Jennifer Moffat as The head Mistress of the School Madam Jemimah Quarshie and her staff received the team warmly. Story by: Amb Dr Bernard Kofi Bonarparte

President Akufo-Addo has announced that Ghana no longer has any critical or severe covid-19 cases. He made these known while addressing the nation on Sunday. "As at 15th May, 2023, there have been one thousand, four hundred and sixty-two (1,462) deaths attributable to Covid-19 in Ghana, with the last death being recorded on 8th January, 2023." "These are not mere figures, or inconvenient statistics, they are dearly loved parents, sons and daughters, relations, friends and colleagues whom we shall continue to miss dearly" "May their souls rest in perfect peace. I am glad to report that, currently, we do not have any critical or severe cases" "They tell us also that there is evidence of reducing risks to human health from COVID-19 infections. This has led to the decreasing trend of COVID-19 related deaths, hospitalizations and intensive care admissions" He also noted that the world has also achieved the long hoped-for immunity, and with improved clinical management. "In other words, we can now breathe that collective sigh of relief. For, even though we may still have to deal with sporadic, isolated outbreaks, the crisis itself has technically ended" "The pandemic trend in Ghana is similar to the general global trend as announced by WHO" "In general, since the first case was confirmed in our country on March 12, 2020, there have been one hundred and seventy-one thousand, seven hundred and fifty-eight (171,758) positive cases from two million, five hundred and thirty-eight thousand, one hundred and ninety-eight (2,538,198) tests" "You would recall that we started the Covid vaccination campaign in March 2021 and, as at 25th May 2023, twenty-five million, one hundred and seventy thousand, three hundred and eighty-two (25,170,382) vaccine doses have been administered" He stressed that there are ten million, five hundred and thirty-six thousand four hundred and twenty (10,536,420) fully vaccinated people, that is, 52.7% out of the twenty million (20 million) people target Ghana had set, with four million, five hundred and ninety-nine thousand, eight hundred and eighty three (4,599,883) persons having received booster doses. "In the light of these facts, the COVID-19 Taskforce, which I chair, met on 17th May and took some far-reaching decisions on the measures we have put in place for the management of the pandemic, which were announced by the Ghana Health Service on 19th May" "The most important of these decisions was that the COVID-19 pandemic was over in Ghana" Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

President Akufo-Addo has charged the Christian and Muslim communities in Ghana to say a special prayer of gratitude to God for the nation's health. According to him, the Lord has heard Ghana's prayer and thus seen the citizenry through the COVID trial. Addressing the nation on sundah update on measures taken to curb covid-19 on Sunday, he said "We are a God-fearing and a God-loving nation, and that is why throughout my presidency, I have consistently stressed that the Battle is the Lord’s" "Thus, three years ago, when the pandemic first hit us, I asked for a National Day of Prayer and Fasting for God’s help to be observed on 25th March, 2020 "Now that the Lord has heard our prayers and seen us through this COVID trial, I would respectfully ask that next Friday, i.e. 2nd June, all Muslims should say a special prayer of gratitude for our nation’s health, and that next Saturday and Sunday, i.e. 3rd and 4th June, all Christians should do the same" "Anyemim3, Nyonmor dromo naa, COVID hela niba wono, ni eke hawmo babaoo ba, nyonmor 3joo wo,  wo nye wofal3shi.Wo f33 woda nyomo shi ni wokw3 woh3no ojogban" President Akufo-Addo was optimistic that Ghana will overcome its present economic difficulties. "The Battle is indeed the Lord’s. Goodnight, and may God bless us all and our homeland Ghana, and make her great and strong. I thank you." Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith