• My Ghana Portal
  • My Ghana Portal
  • My Ghana Portal
  • My Ghana Portal
MyGhanaPortal a new source of latest Ghana news ::: Your smart choice to buy or sell your car in Ghana:www.ghanaautos.com ::: MyGhanaPortal :: Google.com::: Over-aged Vehicle Importers To Be Penalised:::Looking to buy ,sell or build a house or commercial property in ghana,visit VistaGhana.com
Politics


Mills outraged by cocaine saga - Okudzeto PDF Print E-mail
Source: joy-online   
Thursday, 15 December 2011 14:21

President John Mills is outraged by a cocaine exhibit said to have been metamorphosed into baking powder at a circuit court in Accra.

This is according to a Deputy Information Minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa in an interview with Joy News, Wednesday.

A cocaine exhibit tendered in evidence in court is said to have later metamorphosed into baking powder under mysterious circumstances, leading to the acquittal of the suspect, one Nana Ama Martin.

The police, haunted by a similar scandal when cocaine exhibit later became dried cassava powder (kokonte) in 2007, have been quick to blame the judiciary for the current incident.

Okudzeto Ablakwa said the president is angry and the law will take its course.

He said a crack team from the BNI has been tasked to investigate and present a report in seven days.

Those found culpable will be dealt with under the law, he added.

The Judiciary has also announced a committee to investigate and unravel the circumstances under which the cocaine was swapped.

The deputy Information Minister believes the concurrent investigations would not in any way scuttle the BNI investigations.

The police have meanwhile washed its hands completely off what it believes is a cocaine swap.

At a press conference in Accra on Wednesday, Director of CID, DCOP Prosper Ablorh said the police tendered in evidence an exhibit which was accepted by all - prosecution and defence - as cocaine and handed it over to the court.

He said the police can therefore not be held responsible for the swap since it did not happen under its watch.

The Head of Narcotics Unit of the CID, DSP Kofi Adjei Tuadzrah later told Joy News’ Dzifah Bampoh the police opened the exhibit in court with all interested parties agreeing it was cocaine before it was handed over to the court.

According to him, after the seals of the exhibit were broken before the court, the “chain of custody” was broken with the court now taking custody of the exhibit.

He described as “misleading” headlines which stated the cocaine exhibit was tempered with at the Police Headquarters, stating, no cocaine got missing in the CID HQ.

“There is no evidence that the police changed the cocaine exhibit. The incident happened in court,” he said.

 
$3bn Chinese loan: IMF gives government green light PDF Print E-mail
Source: joy-online   
Thursday, 15 December 2011 13:41

Information available to Joy News indicates that the International Monetary Fund (IMF)has given Ghana the go-ahead to borrow 3 billion dollars from the Chinese Exim Bank.

It follows the waiver of the borrowing cap agreed with government.

The cap meant that the country could not take on non-concessionary loans exceeding 800 million dollars in any year.

The fund however waived the cap at a meeting on Wednesday.

Government requires the loan to execute many of the infrastructure projects lined up in the 2012 election year.

Critical amongst them is the installation of infrastructure to process natural gas from the Jubilee Field.

 
U.S. seeks oil supply cushion as Iran sanctions loom PDF Print E-mail
Source: reuters   
Thursday, 15 December 2011 13:24

The United States is building ties with Ghana and other oil producing countries in an effort to ensure a steady supply of crude to global markets as the West ratchets up the threat of increased sanctions against Iranian exports.

According to a State Department official, the groundwork is being laid with exporters including Ghana, Angola, and Iraq, where the oil industry is recovering from war and years of neglect, to boost global spare oil capacity in case of outages that can lead to price spikes that threaten the fragile economy.

As Iran, the world's fifth biggest oil exporter, faces calls for fresh sanctions based on concerns it is developing a nuclear bomb, the United States is working with countries beyond its old ally Saudi Arabia to ensure spare capacity in global oil markets.

"It's no longer just going to one or two places and saying, 'Hey can you pump an additional million barrels per day and we will all be fine,' it's become a much more complicated market to be able to work with," Carlos Pascual, the State Department's special envoy and coordinator for international affairs told a meeting at the Council on Foreign Relations on Tuesday night.

Pascual was in charge of creating the State Department's new Bureau of Energy Resources, which takes the lead on issues from market stabilization to lowering environmental risks of energy production.

Tighter sanctions on Iran could result in its output falling by about a quarter to below 3 million bpd by 2016, the International Energy Agency, the West's energy watchdog, said this week.

Some groups in Washington also hope to make U.S. sanctions on Iran smarter by pushing China and other countries in the East to buy more of Iran's oil. The idea is China has a better bargaining position than Europe because it's state oil companies buy crude as a monolithic block and can force Iran to sell its crude for a lower price and deprive it of billions of dollars in petroleum revenues.

Saudi Arabia remains the swing producer of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, a major factor in the world's spare capacity cushion, now estimated about 2.5 million bpd to 5 million bpd.

FABRIC OF A STABLE MARKET

But as the kingdom's domestic demand for crude rises and as the world's thirst for oil grows to nearly 90 million bpd, new sources of oil are also coming into focus for Washington.

Angola's oil production, which is currently about 1.7 million bpd is expected to rise to nearly 2 million bpd by 2013 and keep rising.

Iraq's output has risen about 500,000 bpd this year to about 2.95 million bpd, the highest level in two decades, and could easily rise by the same amount next year, Pascual said.

Ghana joined the club of oil producers in late 2010 when the offshore Jubilee field operated by Tullow Oil started up producing light sweet crude. The company is hoping to soon hit a target of 120,000 barrels per day from the field, while Ghana's total oil reserves are estimated to be at least 1.25 billion barrels.

Production in offshore East Africa could also take off in coming years, Pascual added.

"What seemed in the past to people as maybe not that significant, 200,000 barrels here and 400,000 barrels there, is part of what actually makes up that whole texture, that whole fabric, of what can become a stable market," Pascual said.

Rising oil output in the Western Hemisphere also has big potential to add to the global supply cushion. Offshore drilling in Brazil could make it Latin America's biggest oil producer in coming years, while Canadian and U.S. oil production is also rising from unconventional sources such as shale oil and oil sands.

"The problem is those new supplies are not elastic," Pascual said. "You can't turn them on and off tomorrow, and so if you have an immediate problem or spike that takes those supplies off the market, then the speculation starts, then the price spikes start."

 
Youth Coalition wants politicians to commit to peace in 2012 PDF Print E-mail
Wednesday, 14 December 2011 09:14

The National Youth Coalition for Peace Building (NYCP), a non-governmental organization committed to creating a culture of peace before, during and after the 2012 elections has announced plans to recruit peace corps across the country to contribute to government’s efforts to ensure a violent-free elections.

The Peace Corps, to be deployed to all polling stations during the elections, would be expected to assist security officers to maintain law and order when tempers start rising during voting. Mr Ganiyu Ibn Hassan, a leading member of the NYCP, told myjoyonline.com in an interview Tuesday that the group would also get prominent political leaders to commit to the peace efforts by making pledges to rein-in their followers who misbehave. “We want all parties to support this peace effort…” he stated.

Established on April 24, 2000, the NYCP upholds the values of non-violence, respect for human rights and the free expression of ideas. The group, in the wake of the recent developments in the political arena, has identified the need to redefine its strategy in order to meet the needs of the changing political and social environment in Ghana.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 14 December 2011 14:47
 
Hell at embassies in Ghana PDF Print E-mail
Source: the-finder   
Tuesday, 13 December 2011 22:23

.US, Spain, China, South Africa hostile

At a time human rights have become the focus of global discussion, Ghanaians seeking visas to some countries are given hostile reception while they await their interview sessions.

A visit by the Finder newspaper to a number of Embassies showed the plight of applicants. There was a lack of shelter and minimum provision of chairs. The embassies and High Commissions visited were those of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, France and South Africa.

Most applicants The Finder met at the US Embassy yesterday morning were seen waiting under trees and sitting on rocks. This situation has led to an individual hiring out seats on a pay-as-you-sit basis.

The individual who gave her name as Sara provided applicants with plastic chairs and charged them 60 pesewas an hour. A student-applicant who gave his name as Justice told The Finder that he arrived at the Embassy at about 10:20am but was expected to go in for his interview at 1pm.

“I have paid a visa fee of US$140 and therefore expected to be served well but as you can see, I am sitting on a rock and this is where I am going to sit till 1pm; can you imagine the discomfort?” he asked.

A family of four, who patronized Sara’s plastic chair services, said they agreed to pay GH¢2.40 for every hour that they sat on the chairs.

They said it was their second visit to the embassy, adding that the situation was no different even in the interview area. “There is a bold inscription that reads that the room accommodates only 150 people but the last time we were there, there were not less than 300 people in there and some of us had to stand for almost three hours before getting a seat,” the family head said.

Another applicant, Helena, who said she came from Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo Region, said even though her appointment time was 1pm, she had to get to Accra early so that should make the appointment.Distance is the only reason why i have to sit on these rocks till 1pm," she said.

Added to the predicament of these applicants is the fact that they were all at the mercy of the weather, whether they sat on rocks or on Sara’s pay-as-you-sit chairs. “Can you imagine what will happen to us and the documents in our possession if it starts raining right now?” Sam, another applicant-in-waiting asked.

At the Spanish embassy, the situation was not different as visa applicants had to queue to enter the embassy.

Anybody who has passed by the visa section of the Spanish embassy on the Ariport-37 Road, almost opposite the Airport Police Station, on the morning of a working day, cannot fail to notice the pathetic scene. ‘I have been here since morning and the situation is terrible for me; I have been standing in this sun and what I don’t know is if I will be given the visa in the first place’, a visa applicant said.

At the French embassy, visa applicants sit outside under the barest cover and still at the mercy of the sun, a situation that cannot be said to be comfortable.

“I wonder if this is what these people go through when they are applying for visas to come to Ghana”, an applicant at the French embassy asked.

Another mission that is not doing enough for its applicants is the High commission of the Republic of South Africa. Most applicants that The Finder saw were standing in the sun as they waited for their turns to pass through the gate.

A visit to the visa section of the High Commission of the United Kingdom, one of the most patronized in the country, showed that there were enough seats for applicants, with some empty seats evident.

The German embassy visa section is another place where applicants appear to be treated with dignity as they are given comfortable places to sit while waiting to enter the main visa building. Applicants appear protected from the vagaries of the weather.

At the Italian embassy a make-shift shed with wooden chairs have been provided for visa applicants.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 13 December 2011 22:31
 
«StartPrev12345NextEnd»

Page 3 of 5
 

Politics

 
 

Entertainment

 
 

Health

 
 

Business

 
 

Sports

 
 

Justice

 
 
Banner
Banner
Banner
Banner
Banner



Share this with other people

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • Del.icio.us
  • Ma.gnolia
  • Stumble Upon
  • Google
  • Yahoo! MyWeb
  • Furl"
  • BlinkList
  • Technorati
  • Mixx
  • Windows Live
  • MySpace
  • Yahoo Bookmarks
  • N4G
  • Mister Wong
  • BlogMarks
  • Slashdot
  • Fresqui
  • Kirtsy
  • Sphinn
  • Hugg
  • Meneame
  • Faves
  • newsvine
  • Propeller
  • FriendFeed
  • funP
  • Diigo
  • OKNOtizie
  • Simpy
  • Bookmark