Facebook has changed its corporate name to Meta as part of a major rebrand. The company said it would better "encompass" what it does, as it broadens its reach beyond social media into areas like virtual reality. The change does not apply to its individual platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp, only the parent company that owns them. The move follows a series of negative stories about Facebook, based on documents leaked by an ex-employee. Frances Haugen has accused the company of putting "profits over safety". In 2015, Google restructured its company calling its parent firm Alphabet, however, the name has not caught on. Story by: News Desk Report

Four persons, including a retired midwife, allegedly involved in the stealing and selling of babies at Atuabo and Half Assin in the Western Region, have been arrested. According to sources, they were nabbed by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) More details to follow soon... Credit: GHBase

One of the world's most patronised social media platform, Twitter is on fire as its users are expressing mixed reactions over what they describe as wild allegations leveled against President Akufo-Addo by an alleged 'side chick', Serwaa Broni. According to her, she has good ties with President Akufo-Addo, has even spent some great time with him and his entourage on high profiled assignment(s). These wild allegations has left social media users talking all day and night, wondering whether, the allegations were framed up or indeed true. In series of tweets sighted by Thinknewsonline.com, Bonty_Official_ tweeted "Serwaa Broni said Nana Addo call am dey talk plenty plenty wey she hung up Eii a whole President oo herh Charlie fear women 😂" Slightly Used Virgin also tweeted "Images of Hopeson Adorye at Golden Tulip Hotel to execute the agenda on Serwaa Broni to do away with evidence on Akufo-Addo’s infidelity as alleged by Serwaa Broni. Herrr NPP and evil agenda, you gave the lady 20,000 cedis and went to stage a robbery to take it back #KromAy3Shi" @papakwesi_jr also added "Expensive Luxurious Private Jet Serwaa Broni - 1 Rebecca Akufo Addo - 0" @papakwesi_jr again tweeted "Akufo Addo has lowered the standard of Presidency in Ghana 🇬🇭 upon hearing Serwaa Broni’s case 💔👎" @Kofi_Good tweeted "When Nana Addo sang ..allow me make I enjoy life cus problem nor Dey finish ooo , everyday different wahala , problem nor Dey finish oooo . Chale I felt it 😂💔 Serwaa Broni de Asem b3ba" @franswagga tweeted "Methinks this whole Serwaa Broni brouhaha would have escalated last week but Shatta Wale and Medikal's arrest was used to sway our attention. Finally we're here, let's see how it goes. Serwaa Broni saf no dey bee too😏" @Efuomm also added "Middle man for Akufo-Addo and Serwaa Broni So Akufo-Addo Addo denied us employment because of Serwaa Broni so that he can use our salary to influence the woman to like him Kennedy Aggyapong is too bad #efuom" @marcusadampah tweeted "Herrrrh Serwaa Broni has finished our President. Eeeiiiiiiiish this one weak me🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 " Below are some screenshots and video (click on link): https://www.facebook.com/Sammykofi55/videos/908351339804750/ Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

Participants at the just ended high-level meeting on tobacco control in Ghana have expressed concerns about the need for more rigorous structures for the regulation and control of tobacco and tobacco products within the country. The meeting brought together about 40 participants from the judiciary, security, health services, civil society organisations, and Local Government, among others. Broad objectives of the meeting included the incorporation of a strict adherence to the provisions for Designated Smoking Areas and Non-Smoking Areas as part of the prerequisites for public facilities. Others include public sensitization on the criminal implications of non-adherence to the national tobacco control provisions, and expansion of access to tobacco cessation services countrywide. Tobacco control is a global challenge that requires a sustained concerted effort to address. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), more than 80% of the 1.3 billion tobacco users live in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where the burden of tobacco-related illness and deaths are high. The Tobacco Atlas Ghana also estimates that over eight hundred and seven thousand, six hundred (807,600) people smoke cigarettes and other tobacco products in Ghana. Out of this number, seventy-five (75) men die every week from diseases linked to smoking and using tobacco and tobacco products. Even more alarming is the fact that 0.4% of boys, and 1.7% of girls in Ghana smoke shisha (Ghana Youth Tobacco Survey, 2017), a rising trend in the youth. Addressing participants, the Chief Executive of FDA represented by Mrs. Akua Owusua Amartey (DCEO-Technical Operations) indicated that tobacco continues to be a threat to public health and an impediment to the actualization of the Sustainable Development Goals. She noted that although Ghana has made significant strides in the implementation of the World Health Organisation’s Framework for Tobacco Control, there is the urgent need for stronger collaboration of all stakeholders such as the law enforcement agencies, local government, revenue authorities, creative industry etc. in the enforcement of the recently ratified Protocol to Eliminate illicit Trade in Tobacco Products in addition to the many other conventions the country has committed to. A representative from the WHO, Dr. Joana Ansong in her remarks emphasized the need for a multi-sectoral approach to the implementation of Ghana’s tobacco control provisionsin Part 6 of the Public Health Act, 2012 and the Tobacco Control Regulations of 2016, Legislative Instrument 2247. Dr. Ansong mentioned that adopting a multi-sectorial approach would help avoid duplication of efforts and other inefficiencies and rather maximize limited technical and financial resources to shore up the regulation and control of tobacco. She reminded participants that a clear delineation of roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders, coupled with strong platforms for information sharing are perquisites for the successful implementation of a multisectoral approach. She, therefore, urged participants to join efforts and reaffirm their commitment in this fight to preserve public health and safety. Participants committed to prioritizing actions to better regulate and control tobacco. The Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority indicated that with the deployment of its Integrated Customs Management Information Systems, the Revenue Authority is able to identify the content of incoming consignments and would ensure timely sharing of the information with FDA and security agencies to effect the necessary actions. In addition, the police and other law enforcement agencies committed to investigate all issues of infusions of tobacco products with other substances of abuse and prosecute such cases to serve as a deterrent. On the issue of tobacco cessation, participants stressed on the need to strengthen Ghana’s cessation policies and establish more cessation centres outside mental health facilities to encourage people who want to quit the addiction to do so with ease. FmAn appeal was made to advocate for more stand-alone services to tobacco cessation and the need to incorporate these in the existing Ghana Health Service wellness centres and the Ghana Education Service’s guidance and counselling facilities. The Psychological Association of Ghana also expressed their readiness to support the course and help candidates in their cessation drive. Training of other critical health service delivery personnel like those in the traditional herbal treatment centres were also identified for capacity building to assist in tobacco cessation programmes Below are some pictures: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, has warned MPs and Ministers of State about the attitude of the Ghanaian in draining people in authority of their resources and leaving them dry to die miserably. According to the speaker, MPs and Politicians who work to use their own resources on constituents end up being destroyed by the same people they serve to the extent that when they’re no longer wielding power they become useless. The former Nadowli-Kaleo MP who until the 8th parliament was the longest-serving lawmaker, lamented the sorry state of former Politicians in the country attributing the same to the nature of Ghana’s politics. Speaking in parliament today, the Speaker charged MPs not to spend too much on elections since the appreciation is mostly low from the electorates leaving them in huge debts especially when they don’t win. “That is what is happening to former Members of Parliament and Ministers of State, you are destroyed to the extent that you have no value in the society. Meanwhile, all that you have been doing go to other people and not to yourself. “You all know it, how many of you work and keep the money in your pocket? It is just a few who might be in business or something and continuing maybe putting something there. But the majority of the MPs sweat to satisfy the hopes, aspirations and needs of their constituents. At the end of the day after you struggle to win primaries or you lose you have no pesewa in your pocket. The same people will insult you in the constituency.” Credit: Starrfmonline.com

The Circuit Court in Accra has granted dancehall musician Charles Nii Amarh Mensah popularly known as Shatta Wale to a self-recognisance bail of GHC100, 000. This was after Shatta Wale who pleaded not guilty to one count to wit; Publication of false news that caused fear and panic in the public domain made a second appearance after five days in prisons custody. Three others who appeared in court with him Kojo Owusu Koranteng, Shatta’s personal assistant, Eric Vanetor, a graphic designer and Iddrisu Yussif, a beautician were charged for abetment of criminal publication of false news were also admitted to GHc100, 000 each with a surety whom should be a public servant. EIB Network’s Court Correspondent Murtala Inusah reports that, the court presided over by Mr Emmanuel Marvin Essandoh has adjourned the case to November 9. Meanwhile, rapper Samuel Adu Frimpong popularly known as Medikal has been granted bail in the sum of GHc100, 000. He is also to produce one surety who should be a public servant. The case has been adjourned to November 9 after spending five days in prisons custody. The rapper pleaded not guilty to one charge of displaying arms and ammunition when he first appeared in court last Friday. The court presided over by Justice Emmanuel Essandoh, a High Court judge sitting with additional responsibility as a circuit court judge granted them bail after his lawyer repeated the previous application application Lawyer for the accused Emmanuel Yeboah Ghana had argued that his client is well known and lived all his life in the country and will not disobey the court. According to him, if granted bail he has persons to stand sureties for him including his wife and mother. The prosecution led by Chief Inspector Dennis Terkpetey while opposing the grant of bail said, the interest of the larger society is what the court must consider. He argued that there is an aspect of the case that is still under investigation and ought to be remanded. EIB Network’s Court Correspondent Murtala Inusah reports his wife Fella Makafui and his mother were in court. Brief facts The brief facts of the case as presented to the court, by Chief Inspector Terkpetey, the prosecutor, were that, the accused person is a popular musician and in the month of September 2021, whilst in his car, the accused without any reasonable excuse displayed a rugger 9mm pistol and posted the video on his snap chart social media platform. According to him, on March 26, 2021, the video of the weapon he displayed on snap chat went viral and “Adomonline” published same. He said, on October 21, the police acting on intelligence arrested the accused and handed him to the regional criminal investigations department for investigation. The accused he said, admitted the offence in his investigation cautioned statement and was subsequently charged and arraigned. Credit: Starrfmonline.com

Francis-Xavier Sosu, Member of Parliament for Madina has disclosed that he has been given a Toyota V8 official car purchased via a US$100,000 facility made available to lawmakers, but that he has parked the vehicle. According to him, he did not feel right driving a V8 in town whiles seeing the level of poverty in his constituency. He told the host of Citi TV’s Point Of View programme on October 26, 2021, that he had actually requested that he returned the car but that request was turned down. “I don’t use V8, I have been given but when I look at the level of poverty in my community, I don’t feel right driving V8 around. Honestly, I don’t feel right. So it is parked. I have been given but it is parked. “I have my small vehicle which the police attempted to destroy yesterday,” he said in respect to a failed arrest on Monday, October 25, when he led a section of his constituents to protest over poor nature of roads in parts of the constituency. “I actually requested if I could (return it) but they said I couldn’t…. I requested, if I didn’t, I would have said so, I actually requested… in fact I even wanted to take the money so that I can invest it so that I use it to support some of the social projects…” he added. He explained further that he accepted it because he didn’t want to be tagged a deviant, he is quick to add that the only time he would consider using the V8 will be for outstation duties when he has to make long trips. Asked when it would feel right to use the vehicle without feeling bad about doing so, he answered: “Unless there is a real need for it, there are certain occasions that may necessarily require its use, maybe you are accompanying a sitting president and they are requiring that you all appear in a particular way…” Months back, former deputy Health Minister and MP for Ledzokuku, Bernard Okoe-Boye revealed on the same programme that he actually bought a pick-up with his MP car loan when he was in Parliament. In his case, he said he wanted the people to better relate to him and to cut down on the perception that he was living the big life at their expense. "I did not go in for V8 with my car loan, I got a pickup and it was transparent. In fact, when I started using it, all four windows were transparent, but break-ins were happening because people could see what was in the car, so it was the back glasses that were tinted, so when I am driving, you see me." “That is why I was not chauffeured because they made comments like, you see them (MPs), there is a policeman around. That is why I never had any police, I just made sure for security reasons, I had a friend by me at any time,” he stressed. Credit: Ghanaweb

The Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has announced that, the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia will be holding another edition of Town Hall meeting on Tuesday 2nd November, 2021 with students of the Ashesi University at Brekusu in the Eastern Region. He stated that, the Townhall meeting seeks to give the Vice President the opportunity to speak on the program of work done the government in the digitization of the economy. The MP for Ofoase Ayerebi made this announcement at the Information Ministry's meet the press series held in Accra today. Mr Oppong Nkrumah stressed that, the Vice President after briefing the audience on the program made will also welcome questions and inputs to help better the government's agenda. He stressed that, the Townhall meeting will begin from 5:30pm. Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

Barcelona sacked coach Ronald Koeman after Wednesday's 1-0 LaLiga defeat at Rayo Vallecano, the Catalan club said on Wednesday. "FC Barcelona has relieved Ronald Koeman of his duties as first team coach. The president of the club, Joan Laporta, informed him of the decision after the defeat against Rayo Vallecano," the LaLiga club said in a statement. "Ronald Koeman will say goodbye to the squad on Thursday at the Ciutat Esportiva." FC Barcelona wishes to thank him for his service to the club and wishes him all the best in his professional career, it said. Barcelona is ninth in LaLiga on 15 points from 10 games, six points behind leaders Real Madrid who beat them 2-1 at the Camp Nou on Sunday. They are third in their Champions League group with three points from three matches after suffering 3-0 defeats in their opening two games against Bayern Munich and Benfica. Barcelona are five-time European champions, and the results marked the first time in the club's history that they had failed to score in their opening two European games. Koeman, who spent six years with Barca as a player, was brought back to the club in August 2020 by former president Josep Maria Bartomeu. New chief Joan Laporta, however, frequently made it clear that the Dutchman was not his appointment. The duo had an uneasy relationship, with Koeman last month releasing a statement calling for him to be given time to rebuild after losing Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann in the transfer window. However, that wish was not granted and the club will now seek a replacement for the 58-year-old. Local media reports suggest that former midfielder Xavi Hernandez, who is in charge of Al Sadd in Qatar, and Belgium coach Roberto Martinez are the front runners for the role. Credit: CNN

The Minister for Transport, Kwaku Ofori Asiamah has touched on the controversial Central Regional Airport as he says there is currently ongoing feasibility study ongoing to decide which region will the airport will be sited. According to the Minister, the ongoing feasibility study will determine the exact location for the airport to be sited which he says will be completed soon. The said airport that is yet to be construct has garnered series of controversies as the people of Central region are demanding for it, the people of the Western Region also feels it should be sited in their region. The controversies begun after President Akufo-Addo in an interview claimed there is on going discussions as to where the airport will be sited. But speaking at the meet the press series of the Information Ministry, Mr Ofori Asiamah stressed that, the study will determine where exactly the airport needs to sited that could service both the people of the Central Region and the Western Region as well. Mr Ofori Asiamah added that, the government main aim is to make Ghana the Aviation Hub of Africa thus they taking keen interest in constructing and upgrading the various airports in Ghana to region the international level. In other developments, the Transport Minister hinted that government is engaging the various transport operators over new transport fares in the country. He noted that government is engaging leadership of the transport unions to reach a fair conclusion. Mr. Ofori Asiamah said "There is an arrangement between government and transport operators that any time fuel prices hit certain percentage, government will engage the transport operators, so that they don’t pass all their burden onto passengers" Earlier last week, Private commercial road transport operators and the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) have threatened to increase fares if government does not meet their demands to remove or reduce some taxes on petroleum products. He added that, some unions and drivers would want to take the opportunity to increase their transport fares due to the increment of fuel prices but that could bring chaos but he pleaded with them to rescinded their decision. The Minister also calls on Ghanaians to support the Ghana Police Service to combat traffic situation in the cities. Watch the video below: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

The Ghana Police Service has revealed that it has gunned down three armed robbers at Bole in the Savannah Region. According to the Police, it managed to execute the mission after weeks of painstaking investigations and covert operations. In a statement signed by the Acting Director of Public Affairs, ASP Kwesi Ofori, it said "The gang of robbers who were allegedly planning another robbery attack, opened fire on the police when they were closing in on them, leading to the death of Iddrisu and Dramani Iddi when the police fired back" He added that the alleged notorious leader of the gang, Ali Igudu, sustained gunshot wounds and was responding to treatment under a police guard. Below is a copy of the release: Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith

The Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Marfo has challenged African Leaders to treat as urgent issues of youth unemployment and rising socio-economic inequalities. According to him, addressing such issues will help prevent conflicts in Africa. Speaking at the opening of a three-day inter-ministerial Africa Union-ECOWAS Consultative workshop on the implementation of Ghana'ss Structural Vulnerability and Mitigation Strategy in Accra, he said "African leaders ought to tackle youth unemployment and rising socio-economic inequalities as urgent mitigation measures to prevent conflicts in Africa" He also underscored the recent political upheavals in some African countries, leading to the ousting of some heads of state as a clear testimony of deep dissatisfaction among the people. He reminded all about the need for African governments to address teething socio-economic challenges bedeviling the continent. He underlined the need to equip the youth with employable skills by expanding training in entrepreneurial, technical and vocational education in order to avert potential exposure to radicalism and extremist groups. He also called for deeper reflection on how to address environmental and climate related challenges, promotion of the rule of law, good governance, peace and security, human rights and democracy on the continent. The Senior Presidential Advisor made the call at the opening of a three-day Inter-Ministerial Africa Union-ECOWAS Consultative workshop on the implementation of Ghana's Structural Vulnerability and Mitigation Strategy, in Accra on Tuesday. He said efforts at advancing socio-economic development in Ghana and Africa in general hinged on the maintenance of peace and security and called for evidence-based approach in identifying structural weaknesses in the governance system. "We need to fashion out strategies to nib the triggers of conflicts in the bud and strengthening resilience structures in the country for the wellbeing and prosperity of our citizens," Mr Osafo-Maafo emphasised. Members of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on the implementation of the 2018 report on Country Structural Vulnerability and Resilience Assessment (CSVRA) and the Country Structural Vulnerability and Mitigation Strategy (CSVMS) were supposed to identify priority areas and ensure smooth implementation. The Technical Committee will also fashion out financial and technical proposals as well as mobilise resources and roll-out capacity-building programmmes towards the effective and efficient implementation of the report. The workshop is being attended by representatives from the ECOWAS Commission, African Union Secretariat, Research Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, the Ministry of National Security, Ministry of Finance and other development partners. Ghana is the first African country to present its Structural Vulnerability and Resilience Assessment (SVRA) report for peer-review, which will serve as a yardstick for measuring other African countries. Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, the Minister of National Security, in his welcome remarks, recalled the country's chequered history from the era of independence through the various military regimes to the fourth republican constitution, noting that the lessons learnt from the trajectory of nationhood was guiding the current generation. He, however, called for strengthening of the various governance structures and institutions in order to improve the standards of living. He mentioned some social interventions including the free senior high school policy, planting for food and jobs and other industrial policies as catalyst for development. Story by: News Desk Report