The final funeral rites and burial of late actor Ekow Blankson will be done on December 17, according to his family. The decision was communicated at the one-week observation ceremony held at the Tema Community 11 Presec School on Saturday. “The family has decided that final funeral rites for our beloved Ekow Blankson will happen on December 17 here in Tema”, the MC announced. A family member of the actor said the funeral services will begin at the Full Gospel Church, Community 1, behind Obonu fm, followed by a reception at Community 11 Presec school park, all in Tema. “Ekow asked that when he dies, no one should wear black, so there will be a special cloth for the funeral, and all white for the Sunday service on December 18.” The memorial service was attended by many including fellow actors Bill Asamoah, Kalybos, Fiifi Coleman, Fred Amugi, Michael Afranie, Prince David Osei, Anthony Woode, and Beverly Afaglo. An entourage from The Multimedia Group Limited was present to mourn and extend condolences to the bereaved family. The team was led by the Programs Manager of Hitz FM, Prince Tsegah, who is a schoolmate of the late actor. With him were the Host of Hitz FM’s morning show, Andy Dosty, the host of The Overdrive on Joy FM, Kofi Hayford, Joy Prime TV hosts, Ibrahim Ben-Bako and Roselyn Felli, the latter of whom had close working relations with the late actor. Credit: Myjoyonline.com

The Ashanti Regional capital, Kumasi, was on Monday, October 17, the scene of jeers and catcalls for President Akufo-Addo, who was inspecting the Phase II of the Kejetia/Central Market Project. On their way to the Kumasi Central Market, the president’s convoy was met by scores of traders at Adum in the central business district who had displayed their wares for sale. On seeing the vehicles conveying the president and government officials, the group of market women, hawkers and artisans wasted no time in voicing their displeasure with the prevailing economic situation. In a video posted on the microblogging platform, TikTok, the traders and passersby are seen in the chorus of boos as the convoy advanced. In good times, the stronghold of the ruling New Patriotic Party would be most welcoming of the President, with residents waving their approval, with some offering their cloths for a carpet for him to walk on. The economic downturn and its attendant increasing hardships appear to have eroded all of that love. This is the second time the President has been booed in public. During the Global Citizens Festival, the youth who gathered at the concert jeered at him. Below is a video: Credit: Myjoyonline.com

Being cheated on is one of the most painful, shattering experiences, one that I wouldn’t wish upon anyone. I unfortunately know firsthand how brutal it is. You feel betrayed, your trust is destroyed, your self-esteem is ravaged, and you can’t stop questioning what you did wrong, why he cheated on you, and what signs of infidelity you must have missed. The one thing I wish I had realized a decade ago, when the guy I considered to be the love of my life cheated on me, is that it really had nothing to do with me, it was the result of his own internal issues. And that’s how it usually goes.The reason I was so confused back then is I didn’t have an understanding of the male psyche, and I didn’t know the internal psychological factors that cause men to cheat. Iam not saying there is an excuse for why he did it, but there is a reason. And knowing the reason can be therapeutic in a way. So here is the real reason why he cheated on you. Men don’t cheat because they’re scumbags or scoundrels. It’s not because they can’t control themselves and oftentimes it’s not because they no longer desire you. Men usually are tempted to cheat when they no longer feel like winners in their relationship. This isn’t true of all men, but it is for most. I’m not talking about narcissists or sociopaths or guys with major commitment issues. I’m talking about normal, stable dudes.A man’s most fundamental drive in this world is to feel like a winner. He needs to feel like he is “conquering,” like he is significant, like he is having an impact on the world, like he is pursuing his mission in life. Women are typically more driven by the desire to connect and build interpersonal relationships. When a woman cheats, it’s usually because her emotional needs are no longer being met — maybe she no longer feels seen or cared for, or understood. When a man cheats, it is most often because he feels like a loser in the relationship. He feels like he is constantly disappointing his woman and nothing he does is good enough. He may feel like she no longer desires him sexually, like she doesn’t appreciate him, like she’s disappointed in him, like she isn’t impressed by him. If these feelings converge with him meeting a woman who is turned on by him, who does value him, who does appreciate him, who makes him feel like a man, well…I’m not saying cheating, in this case, is okay or acceptable. I’m not giving excuses; I’m just giving a reason. When my ex cheated on me I was devastated and thought he was the world’s biggest scumbag. I hated him and I hated her and I hated myself for getting involved with him and expending all that time and energy on him and the relationship. However, in looking back I can understand exactly why it happened.You see, his life was in utter shambles when he and I started dating. He had just been dumped by a girl he loved, he was failing miserably at his job, he was in debt, and he was completely lost with no direction or purpose in life. Being young and naive and having no real understanding of what love is except for what I saw in the movies, I thought my love could heal him somehow. I thought if I loved him enough then he would snap out of his funk and be the man I knew he could be. But I did it all wrong. I didn’t encourage him to get his act together and instead, tried to take care of everything for him. I thought if I made his life as easy and manageable as possible he would love me even more and would suddenly find the motivation to get his life in order. I paid for our dates because he couldn’t afford to, I did his laundry (because he couldn’t afford to), I cleaned his apartment, I fixed his resume, I searched for job listings online and applied to them for him, I kept doing and doing and was baffled as to why he kept sinking deeper into his rut. After many months of things going from bad to worse, of our once passion-filled relationship drying up into an almost platonic, mother-son type of dynamic, he cheated on me and swiftly entered into a relationship with said mistress. If that wasn’t bad enough, within a few weeks of them dating he all of a sudden transformed into the man he could never be with me! He got a real job, he committed to her, he took her on romantic dates, he was happy and alive. I felt devastated and I beat myself up over it for months. What does she have that I don’t have? Where did I go wrong? Why wasn’t I good enough?The answers didn’t come until several years later with both the wisdom that comes with experience and my somewhat hasty decision to reach out to him and ask the questions that had been haunting me. The short version of this very long conversation is that while he did love and care for me, being with me made him feel like an even bigger loser. The more I tried to “fix” him, the more damaged he felt. The more I did for him, the more useless he felt. The more I tried to make his life easier, the more comfortable he became with his own misery.Cheating usually is the result of an easy opportunity and him feeling like a loser, either in life or in his relationship. In order to feel valuable and significant again, he may give into temptation, it doesn’t matter how much he loves his partner. I know it may sound ridiculous to you, but this really is a testament to how vital a man’s need to feel like a winner is. Men will often sacrifice things that they truly hold dear simply to temporarily get rid of the feeling of being a loser. Affairs usually start when a man feels misunderstood, like the areas of his life that are important to him are being criticized or deemed not important. Then he finds a woman who appreciates him, who gives him something he isn’t getting from his primary relationship, and he strays. It’s not that he doesn’t love his partner, she just can no longer connect to him in the way he wants most and when that sort of pure appreciation comes from another source he can’t help but be drawn to it. For example, let’s say a guy is a programmer. During the workday, he is on fire with passion and thrives off of meeting the daily challenges of his job. After killing it all day, he comes home feeling on top of the world and wants to share that energy with his girl. She quickly dismisses him and says, “You know I don’t understand all that technical stuff, it just makes no sense to me. Can we talk about something else?”Bam — he has officially shut down. He feels like she doesn’t accept the most important part of his life, the thing that makes him feel effective and worthwhile. Since she doesn’t care about what he does, he seeks that type of understanding elsewhere. He may spend more time with people who are part of that world or are passionate about the same kind of mission. Maybe a girl will come along who finds what he does sexy, and she appreciates him for the effort and passion he puts into it. When he’s with her, he gets all this validation and appreciation for the man he is and the mission he’s on. He feels good about himself around her, he feels seen, he feels desired, and these things combined have the potential to take him down a bad path. You don’t have to study code or take programming classes. It doesn’t even matter if you’re the most technologically challenged person on the planet. You don’t have to connect to the technical side at all, what you should try to connect with are the emotions he feels about it. It’s easy to recognize when a man is excited about something when he’s driven to win and succeed. You aren’t responsible for his entire emotional well-being, he also needs to live his life in a way where he feels good about himself and that doesn’t only come from you. You can’t change him or control him, all you can do is try to build a meaningful connection and support his aspirations in life (and he should do the same for you as well). When a man is with a woman who taps into his vision and what he wants out of life and tries to connect to these areas, he feels empowered and inspired and he won’t ever want to do anything to jeopardize the relationship. In an article revealing the most common things men complain about in marriage counseling, psychotherapist and Neuman Method co-creator M. Gary Neuman revealed the biggest complaint he hears from men who have cheated usually isn’t a lackluster sex life, but rather feeling under-appreciated by their wives. “The problem is, too many women think that if they are overly appreciative to their husbands, they’ll reduce their husband’s desire to please her. It’s quite the opposite. actually. Men are energized when they feel their wives are appreciating them,” he said. I want to just add that I do not think it is ever okay to cheat. I think it is cruel and selfish and I am not excusing it in any way — I’m explaining it. More than anything I hope by understanding the reason, you won’t blame yourself for his transgression and think it said something about you, which is the huge mistake I made. Credit: MyjoyOnline.com

President Akufo-Addo has said that he is not threatened by calls for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to be voted out of office in the 2024 election. He said such threats do not frighten him. The President made this comment in an interview on Kumasi-based OTEC FM on Monday. His comment was in response to a question posed by host of the programme regarding what he made of threats by the people of Kwabre against the NPP in the 2024 election due to poor road infrastructure in the area. Reacting to the threats President Akufo-Addo replied, “no problem. I am saying people make those kinds of threats; me they don’t frighten me.” According to him, although he understands the masses may support a party with an expectation, he, however, does not see the need to threaten the government if it fails to deliver. “If you decide to vote for the NDC in the general election, it is your choice and that is not my problem. No one will force you to vote for someone,” he stated. He, however, admitted that he has been mandated with a responsibility to construct roads and will definitely execute it. Credit: Myjoyonline.com

The Tema and Nungua Traditional Councils have pledged to collaborate with the government in its bid to reclaim encroached portions of lands at the Ramsar Site in Accra. The Chiefs and elders of the two communities have given their express approval to remove all illegal structures at the Ramsar site to allow it serve the purpose for which it was created. At a stakeholders engagement meeting with the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Greater Accra Regional Security Council, Tema and Nungua Traditional Council and the Tema Development Corporation, the two traditional authorities bemoaned illegal activities at the site and encouraged the government to motion steps towards the recovery of the encroached lands. The Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Hon.Benito Owusu-Bio commended the chiefs for living up to their position as pre acquisition owners of lands by offering their support to the government. He bewailed the invasion of the Ramsar Site by illegal occupants and vowed to clear them and make the space serve the purpose for which it was created. His dismissed notions that government has some ulterior motive in clearing the land and assured that everything done on the site will be in accordance with the recommendations of an inter-ministerial committee that was set up to probe the issues at the site and craft a report with far-reaching conclusions. “Government intend to use the land for anything development. Government wants to leave the lands as Ramsar site due to its benefit and importance. We’ve investigated and are aware of the places that have been encroached. I have a report of an inter-ministerial committee and there some recommendations. We’ll look at the recommendations and implement them accordingly.” Hon. Henry Quartey, the Greater Accra Regional Minister explained that the government took the initiative to engage the chiefs due to its recognition of the chiefs as key stakeholders in the mission to reclaim the encroached lands. He said that the Lands Ministry has a mandate to protect the Ramsar Site and that the GARCC will offer its utmost support to the ministry. The meeting with the chiefs and their blessings paves way for planned demolition exercise at the Ramsar Site. Below are some pictures: Story by: Fafa Nyame

The Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation has served notice that all unregistered sim cards will be blocked permanently at the end of October. According to the Ministry, the the non-blockage of those SIM Cards currently does not amount to an extension of the September deadline. In a statement copied to the media, the Ministry said those who haven’t registered their sims are living on borrowed time. "All SIM Cards that have been linked to Ghana Cards (i.e. completed Stage 1 registration), but have not completed their Stage 2 registration will be blocked from the end of October.“ "This is not an extension of the deadline, but a temporary moratorium to encourage these individuals to complete the process. If they have any peculiar challenges, they should contact the NCA" “These good people have the Ghana card, have started the process, and will be encouraged to complete it with this gentle reminder. All other unregistered SIMs will also be blocked progressively,” the statement said. According to the statement, these Cards are over 28 million.“28,959,006 SIM Cards have been linked to Ghana Cards (Stage 1 registration); representing 67.28% of the 42,749,662 total SIM cards issued nationally.” Meanwhile, some 18 million SIM Cards have been completely registered. These SIM Cards have gone through a two-stage process. This amounts to 44.28% of active SIM Cards in the country at the moment.“18,930,664 SIM Cards have been fully registered (Completed both Stages 1 and 2) – representing 44.28% of the total SIM cards issued. This equates to 69.64% of all Stage 1 registrations,” the Ministry said. Credit: Pulse Ghana

Fedems Limited, a Ghanaian-owned engineering consultancy and construction company, in partnership with Construction Ambassadors Limited, Modern International Developers (MID) and Superior Royal, have completed the construction of an ultra-modern residential complex for Court of Appeal judges in Kumasi. The project was executed within sixteen (16) months beginning 20th April, 2021. The residential complex will serve as permanent residences for Court of Appeal judges based in Kumasi and who are mandated to handle cases in the northern part of the country. The project is a gated community of 20 units of four-bedroom town houses with boys’ quarters, a swimming pool, a guest house, a club house and a tennis court. The complex also has another gated community of six units of three-bedroom houses with boys’ quarters, a parking lot for the directors and other supporting administrative staff members of the Judicial Service. Other facilities incorporated in the complex are judges bungalows, apartments, guest house, club house with a road network and ancillary facilities. It means that appeals from Upper West, Upper East, Savannah, North East, Northern, Bono, Bono East, Ahafo, Western North and Ashanti Regions will be conveniently heard within a much shorter period as judges will be permanently stationed in Kumasi. Performing the commissioning ceremony on Monday, October 17, 2022 in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo gave a firm assurance to do more for the judiciary to advance the rule of law in the country. "We will continue to implement policies that will advance the rule of law and, thereby, reinforce the confidence of the people in a country governed by the rule of law,” he underscored. He commissioned the project in the presence of Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, and the Chief Justice, His Lordship Justice Anin Yeboah, and immediate past Chief Justice, Her Lordship Sophia Akuffo. He was hopeful that the residential complex will motivate the judiciary to work even harder to promote justice and the rule of law in the country. “Government, since the assumption of my office, has introduced a number of policy measures to help bridge the technology gap in the administration of justice. "We launched the e-justice system, which is leveraging technology, in the delivery of justice,” he indicated. According to the President, his government was also addressing the challenge posed by the inadequate number of courts in various parts of the country. This, he said, the government was doing by constructing 120 courts and 150 bungalows for the judiciary across the country. 70 per cent of these ongoing projects, he stressed, were completed. President Akufo-Addo, therefore, urged the Chief Justice, His Lordship Justice Anin Yeboah, to take over the Kumasi residential complex for Appeal Court judges and post officers to begin working with “immediate effect.” He however, lamented the situation where citizens in parts of the country are compelled to travel long distances to gain access to the courts. This, he intimated, weakens the rule of law. President Akufo-Addo expressed his government’s appreciation to the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, for his immense support for the project including his “generous donation” of a 7-acre land for the project. He also commended the Administrator of the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), Irene Naa Torshie Addo, the Chief Justice, the immediate past Chief Justice, Mrs. Sophia Akuffo, the Ministry of Local Government, Decntralisation and Rural Development (MLGDRD) and the contractors for their efforts in ensuring that the project was delivered on schedule. The Chief Justice, His Lordship Justice Anin Yeboah, asserted that the newly completed residential complex for Court of Appeal justices in Kumasi marked an epoch in the history of the judiciary. He admitted that the judiciary’s journey has not been smooth sailing, albeit they have worked to improve the legal and constitutional framework within which they operate. “We have also had to deal with the lack and distressing poor physical infrastructure. The evidently deplorable state of most of our court structures and residences of justices in administering justice has been a major challenge,” he bemoaned. To this end, the Chief Justice lauded the government, through the MLGDRD and the DACF for ensuring the completion of the project, and similar ones which were ongoing across the country. He was also grateful to Otumfuo Osei Tutu II for making available land for the project, Members of Parliament (MPs), MLGDRD and the contractors for the expeditious execution of the project. He disclosed that a land had been acquired in Adenta in Greater Accra for a similar facility to be constructed for the judiciary. Justice Anin Yeboah charged the judiciary to build a system justice that will assure litigants. Furthermore, he revealed that the Kumasi residential complex will require about 2,500 staff, and thus made a passionate appeal to the Ministry of Finance to grant financial clearance for the recruitment process to begin. Earlier, in a welcome address, the Ashanti Regional Minster, Simon Osei Mensah, lapped praises on the Chief Justice for his active supervision of the project right from the sod-cutting ceremony by the President last year. "I don't see the project as residential facilities but as a community on its own," he expressed. He admonished the judiciary to properly maintain and put the facilities in the complex to good use to ensure a long life span. For his part, the deputy Minister of MLGDRD, Mr. Collins Ntim, who represented his Minister, Mr. Daniel Kweku Botwe, noted that the residential complex will facilitate the adjudication of justice in the northern sector of the country. Among the dignitaries who attended the event were judges, Members of Parliament, Ministers of State, metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs), and members of the Judicial Council and Ghana Bar Association (GBA). Below are some pictures: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

Member of Parliament for Dome-Kwabenya Constituency, Sarah Adwoa Safo has wished candidates partaking in this year's Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in her Constituency good luck. The MP took to her social media page to wish the students. In a post sighted by Thinknewsonline.com, she wrote "I wish all 5,423 students writing the BECE in Dome-Kwabenya Constituency the best of luck" The post has generated lots of mixed reactions on social media. Watch the video and post below: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

Ghana's Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta has consoled Kwasi Alfred Addo Kwarteng, a British Conservative Party politician with Ghanaian roots who was sacked as the Minister of Finance in the United Kingdom. According to Ofori-Atta, his pain was that a Ghanaian who reached the highest level had to suffer in this manner. He told TV3 "The pain or sadness is that he is a Ghanaian reaching almost the highest level, Chancellor of the Exchequer. Yes, we sat together three days ago" "I am always very optimistic, if one is really doing things in truth there might be some waves but the Lord will see him through" "I was surprised at what happened. I have sent an email to him, I told him the Lord knows best" Kwasi Kwarteng was sacked by Prime Minister Liz Truss on Friday, October 14, 2022, after the government's recent mini-budget—which promised large tax cuts for the wealthy—triggered major backlash both from the public and the markets. He becomes the country's shortest-serving chancellor since 1970, and his successor will be the fourth finance minister in as many months in Britain, where millions are facing a cost of living crisis. Before he was appointed the Finance Minister, Kwarteng served as the Secretary of State in the Department of Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy Story by: EMMANUEL TORNYI

Ghanaian media giant, Media General has announced the signing of Sports Personality, Owuraku Ampofo to its family. Media General took to its Facebook page to announce the new signing. Owuraku Ampofo becomes Media General's third signing in the month of October. The celebrated young Sports Journalist was signed from the Multimedia Group Limited. Below is a Facebook post: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema has won the men's Ballon d'Or for 2022. The 34-year-old managed 44 goals in 46 matches last season as Real won the Champions League, another LaLiga title along with the Spanish and European Super Cups. Benzema was crowned in a ceremony in Paris ahead of Sadio Mane in second and Kevin De Bruyne in third - with the striker becoming the first French winner of the Ballon D'Or since Zinedine Zidane - who presented him the award - in 1998. The striker is also the oldest Ballon D'Or winner since Stanley Matthews won the first edition of the prize in 1956. Benzema's goals helped Real Madrid win the Champions League last season. "It makes me really proud," said Benzema. "All the work I did, I never gave up. It was a childhood dream like all kids [have]. I had two motivations in my life - Zidane and Ronaldo. I've always had this dream in my mind that anything is possible" "There was a difficult period where I wasn't in the French team, but I never stopped working hard nor gave up. I always kept my head, concentrated on playing football and I'm really proud of my journey here. It wasn't easy, it was a difficult time. It was hard for my family as well. To be here today, for the first time for me, I'm happy and pleased with my work and I keep going" "I want to thank my team-mates, whether it's Real Madrid or the national team. My coach, thanks to him as well. The Real Madrid president as well" "I have a lot of people to thank. It's an individual prize, but it's a collective one because everyone has played a role" Credit: Sky Sports

Deputy Minister for Lands and Natural Resources in-charge-pf mines, George Mireku Duker has sued the Multimedia Group Limited, Class Media Group and his cousin, Nathaniel Dekyi, self-styled Chief of Dompim Pepesa. The suit comes after the Deputy Minister revealed that he had been falsely alleged to be involved in illegal mining activities in the country. It will be recalled that the Deputy Minister denied claims saying the speculations were untrue. In a suit sighted by Thinknewsonline.com, it read "Writ of Summons, in the High Court of Justice between Honourable George Mireku Duker (Plaintiff) and Nathaniel Dekyi, The Multimedia Group and Class Media Group" The writ further mentioned that an action has been commenced against the defendants. The defendants, per the writ were commandedo within eight days after service do cause an appearance to be entered on their behalf. The writ reminded the defendants that failure to respond will see judgement be given without their presence. The writ was issued on October 17 and was signed by Chief Justice of Ghana, Justice Anim Yeboah. Below are copies of the writ: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith