Israeli strikes killed 32 Palestinians on Monday, taking the Gaza death toll to 109 as UN chief Ban Ki-moon joined efforts to end the worst violence in four years and Israel's inner circle of ministers mulled their next move.

A City trader who lost £1.4bn ($2.2bn) of Swiss bank UBS's money has been found guilty of one count of fraud.

Nine Ghanaian teenagers have been named among the final 33 successful candidates from the Benin Republic and Nigeria to graduate into the Glo Soccer Academy following the second round of screening in Lagos, Nigeria at the weekend.

Airtel Ghana Managing Director, Philip Sowah has promised that the company will continue supporting the development of soccer at the juvenile level through its flagship ‘Airtel Rising Stars’ and would even increase the support over the coming years.

What could best be described as an epic political jamboree greeted Akuse in the Lower Manya-Krobo constituency, when Member of Parliament for the area announced his presence at a keep fit programme organized by some party faithful of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and sympathizers of the MP, who is contesting the December polls as an independent candidate.

A survey conducted by the Marketing Social Research International claims the NPP will win the December elections by 52 per cent. The NDC, according to the research will come crushing with 46.9 percent.

Officials of the Ghana fire service are currently battling a fire outbreak said to be spreading across the Abeka Lapaz new market in Accra.

The Education Minister Lee Ocran has warned he will take drastic disciplinary action against headteachers of secondary schools who have become notorious for charging unapproved fees.

A Sunyani High Court presided over by Justice Ofosu Quartey on Tuesday ordered the Attorney Generals Department to file a defence in the case against Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) Robert Ayalingo, Brong-Ahafo Regional Police Commander.

There were tears and hearts were broken, but overall joy reigned when the Tigo Community Soccer challenge rolled into action in Dansoman.

GhanaÂ’s former President, Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings has called on managers of the National Health Insurance scheme to work hard to break the knot of institutional bureaucracy that affects its implementation.

Accra, Nov. 20, GNA -Broll Ghana Limited (BGL), a property services company, has asked property owners to conduct periodic audits of their premises to correct any defects and to ensure the structural integrity of the buildings.     Tony Sekyere, Properties Portfolio Manager, Broll, told a press conference that property owners needed to adhere to international best practices adding that an audit was not the periodic painting of the buildings but rather professional checks by qualified individuals.     He said while there were existing rules and regulations guiding the built environment, they were not being properly enforced to ensure compliance.     In this direction, Mr Sekyere said the call for a regulatory body to police the industry was important as it would help sanitise the industry and ensure that building contractors adhered to the provisions of the building permits they had been issued with and also ensure that high rise buildings were architecturally sound.     Mr Sekyere explained that though the Municipal, Metropolitan and the District Assemblies had regulations for the building industry, a regulatory body would add further impetus to help boost the property industry.     He said because Broll takes issues of safety in the properties it manages seriously, the company had instituted as part of its take-on procedure to conduct an audit to ensure that the properties they manage were safe for habitation.     ''In conducting safety analysis of the buildings, we consider the architectural designs and also ensure that fire equipment such as fire alarms are installed and emergency exit are provided,'' he said.     Mr Sekyere assured the clients that Broll’s properties were safe for use, saying the company conducts monthly, quarterly and yearly audits to ensure that all their buildings were safe for occupation.     In addition, he said, Broll had structural engineers who promptly produced structural reports on the company's properties to ensure that all their buildings were strong and fit for habitation.     The Portfolio Manager appealed to investors in the property industry to seek professional advice before putting up high rise buildings.     Operations Manager of BGL, Emmanuel Caulley for his part entreated property owners to conduct regular maintenance of their properties.     Property maintenance, he said, was not only about painting and changing of air conditions,  but also conducting structural audits to check the  structural integrity of a building  to ensure they were safe for occupation. Mr Caulley advised tenants and corporate bodies   to critically scrutinise the structural designs and building certificates before renting them for use.   Chief Executive Officer of Broll Ghana Limited (BGL), Kofi Ampong in a statement enjoined players in the property industry in the country to put safety measures in place to ensure   that their buildings were safe for habitation.     BGL, jointly owned by Broll South Africa, SIC and SSNIT, is a leading property management services company in the country.   The company manages high rise buildings in Accra and Tema and Takoradi with the intention of expanding to Kumasi.     GNA ...

Accra, Nov. 20, GNA – Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA) and the Asongtaba Cottage Industries (ACI) have graduated trainee hairdressers and dressmakers at a ceremony in Accra. The grandaunts numbering 3,629 were made up of 2,486 dressmakers and 1,143 hairdressers were trained in ways to establish sustainable businesses and how to provide direct and auxiliary employment assistance to others. Mr Abuga Pele, Executive Director of GYEEDA in a speech read on his behalf, said in propelling the agenda for youth entrepreneurship, steps have been initiated to harness the immense benefits of Public Private Partnership towards solving the youth unemployment situation in the country. He said several initiatives are being implemented jointly with private and non-Governmental institutions such as Zoomlion Ghana Limited, Youth Enterprises and Skills Development Center (YESDEC), RLG Communications and Asontagtaba Cottage Industries. Mr Pele said the World Bank had agreed to finance a programme, “Youth Enterprise Project”, which would bring together youth groups and individuals who have brilliant business ideas and proposals to be supported and mentored as they grow their businesses into sustainable ventures. Mr Issac Vanderpuye, Deputy Greater Accra Regional Minister, said Government was progressing in its effort to provide jobs and training to the youth. He said Government was aware of her responsibility to provide basic skills to the youth of the country and cautioned the beneficiaries of the training to be responsible citizens by paying their taxes to their various assemblies. Mr Vanderpuye assured managers of the programme of the Regional Coordinating Council commitment and support as they seek to improve the lot of others. Mr Henry Kangah, Executive Director of ACI, said government sees the development of the youth as vital as they are a rich resource base and with the right training can make a positive contribution to the economic development of the nation. He said this can be realized through a well defined public-private partnership which has been exemplified in the relationship between government and GYEEDA. Mr Kangah said Asongtaba through the partnership was facilitating the training of the youth in various vocations with the overall goal of making them economic independent and socially proactive. The Chairman of the occasion was Nii Nortey Owuo III, Osu Mantse and President of the Osu Traditional Council.   GNA ...

Akyem Ofoase (E/R), Nov. 20, GNA - Mr David Oppon-Kusi, Member of Parliament (MP) for Ofoase-Ayirebi, on Tuesday donated a motor bike to the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) at the Akyemmansa District. Making the donation, Mr Oppon-Kusi said earlier in the year, he had donated five of such motor bikes to the Ofoase District Police Command as the constituency was one of the most deprived in the country. The challenges of the area include poor road networks which made access to the various communities very difficult, said the New Patriotic Party MP who is seeking re-election for a third term in office. He said most of the decentralized agencies and departments in the constituency were under resourced and hoped that his little contribution to the two institutions would help them to perform their duties effectively. Mr Oppon-Kusi said since becoming MP for the area, he had done a lot for his people, especially in the area of education by offering a number of scholarships to students in both Junior and Senior High Schools. He said he had also lobbied for electricity to the Constituency and was hopeful that when given the mandate again to represent his people he could do a lot more for them. Mr Opong-Kusi appealed to his constituents to vote massively to retain him as their MP and Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo, flag bearer of the NPP, in the December polls. The District Director of the NCCE, Mr Daniel Chartey, said the donation had come at the right time since his outfit needed to be mobile in order to go about their activities in preparation for the upcoming polls.     GNA ...

Akyem Afosu (E/R), Nov. 20 GNA - Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, has appealed to voters in New Abirem to vote for Ms. Mavis Ama Frimpong, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Parliamentary candidate in the area. Mr Ofosu- Ampofo made the appeal during the campaign lunch of Ms Frimpong at Akyem Afosu. Ms Frimpong, who holds a Masters Degree in Public Health (MBH) from the University of Ghana Legon, is a Public Health Technical Professional and Development Expect and a Researcher. Until her appointment as the District Chief Executive (DCE) for New Abirem over a year ago, she worked with a Colombia University Earth Institute Centre for West and Central Africa as the Regional Sexual and Reproductive Health Advisor. Mr Ofosu-Ampofo said Ms Frimpong was well poised to snatch the seat from the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in order to bring development to the constituency. The Eastern Regional Organizer of the NDC, Mr Anthony Gyampo, appealed to the people to reject the incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) as she has achieved little for the area and that the time had come for the electorate to vote for someone like Ms Frimpong who could serve their interest in Parliament better. Ms Frimpong on her part said she was humbled by the massive show of support by the people and pleaded that they translate that into voting on December 07 in order to accelerate the pace of development in the Constituency. She said under the “Better Ghana Initiated Project” she had ensured the establishment of a District Magistrate Court at New Abirem to prevent litigants from travelling to Akyem, Ofoase or the Nkawkaw Courts for hearing of their cases.   GNA ...

Mpraeso (E/R), Nov. 20 GNA - Mr Kwadwo Sarfo- Katanka, the Deputy Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), has said political party agents should be blamed for the high rate of the registration of minors in the voters register. He said party agents were sent to the registration centres among other things to monitor the process and their failure to challenge minors when they were being registered should be a concern to all. Mr Sarfo Katanka said even though the biometric registration exercise was a good one, all Ghanaians should have been vigilant and cooperate with all stakeholders to challenge the registration of minors in the registration and exhibition exercise for the country to produce one of the best voter registers for the country. He said this when addressing Parliamentary candidates, electoral officers and the media from 10 constituencies in the Northern part of the Eastern Region at a day’s dialogue at Mpraeso on Tuesday. The dialogue was to enhance collaboration between the candidates, the EC and other stakeholders to ensure credible election in the constituency. The constituencies included Atiwa East and West Fanteakwa, Afram Plains North and South, Nkawkaw, Mpraeso, Abetifi and New Abirem. Mr Sarfo-Katanka said the biometric registration had detected multiple registration and other malpractices as the people failed to challenge the registration of minors during the exercise throughout the country. He warned that any minor who would try to vote during the December polls would be arrested and prosecuted. Mr Katanka said a little over 14 million voters had been registered in about 26,000 polling stations throughout the country for the polls. He advised the district and municipal electoral officers to educate the electoral officials who would be recruited for the elections to abide by the rules and regulations to ensure free, fair and credible election. Mr Samuel York Aidoo, a Director of Finance of the EC, urged all stakeholders to develop a keen interest in activities of the EC for them to understand the challenges and other technicalities of their operation. He said copies of the voters register were being printed for distribution to all the political parties before the election. The Eastern Regional Electoral Officer, Mr Paul Boateng, said the achievement of a credible general election for the country would be the responsibility of all stakeholders in the electoral process.   GNA ...

Atebubu (B/A), Nov. 20, GNA - The Atebubu-Amantin District in Brong-Ahafo Region has raised GH¢244,590.13 out of its estimated Internally Generated Fund of GH¢401,380 for 2012. The amount realised by the end of October, represented 61 per cent of the estimates,  Mr Sanja Nanja, Atebubu-Amantin District Chief Executive who announced this at the Third Ordinary Meeting of the Assembly at Atebubu. He expressed optimism that management would welcome any measures for revenue mobilisation and implored members to explore all possibilities to assist the assembly in that regard. Mr Nanja said the allegation that the School Feeding Programme was collapsing in the district “was totally false” as it had rather expanded from 20,628 to include 23,122 pupils. He said the district had remained calm and relatively peaceful for the past four years but noted that the impasse between the Krontire Royal Family and the Atebubu Traditional Council as well as that of Amantinhene and Amantinhemaa remained unsolved despite combined efforts by the District Security Council and Regional Security Council. Mr Nanja said a major security achievement in the area now was the reduction of political tension during an election year because the district had always been characterised by chaos during campaigns by political parties. He announced that the district had qualified for GHȼ904,000 under the District Development Facility (DDF) based on Functional Organisational Assessment Tool (FOAT) for 2010 to finance some developmental projects in the area.        GNA ...

Nyinahin (Ash), Nov. 20, GNA – The Atwima-Mponua District Office of National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE),  has organised a peace walk at Nyinahin to draw attention to the need for political accommodation as the nation inch towards December 7polls.         It brought together members of the various political parties, civil society and youth associations.         They held placards with messages such as “We have done it before, let us do it again,” “Your actions on December 7 will make or unmake Ghana,” and “We need peace not war.”         Addressing the marchers, Nana Agyemang Gyasi, District Director of the NCCE, urged politicians to ensure responsible conduct by using decent language on the campaign platform.   He asked them to avoid inciting their supporters to violence.      Nana Gyasi asked voters to comport themselves at the polling centres to make the exercise smooth and peaceful.      Deputy Superintendent of Police Ernest Fosu, District Police Commander, assured the people of adequate security protection on the day of the elections.   GNA...

Tamale, Nov. 20, GNA - Dr Clement Apaak, Convener, Forum for Governance and Justice, said the country needed to maintain peace, unity and stability during and after the December polls to ensure the achievement of her democratic and development aspirations.   “As far as I can tell, without peace, unity and stability, all our dreams, our wishes, our desires, our hopes, our aspirations both personal and as enshrined in our Constitution, even loudly espoused by political parties and their candidates, will never see the light of day,” he said.   He said democracy could not be practiced in an atmosphere of violence and instability and the best way to cherish it was to maintain peace, unity and stability enshrined in our Constitution.   Dr Apaak was a addressing a press conference in Tamale on Tuesday as part of activities of the Forum for Governance and Justice (FGJ) to sensitized the public on the need for peace in the country which would influence the growth of our democratic culture, social transformation and the delivery of justice.   He said the forum harnessed the expertise and experience of its members to think through matters that concerned governance, human rights and respect for the rule of law.   He said peace had always been among humanity's highest values and the most supreme for some, adding that the most popular view of peace is as an absence of dissension, violence and war.   Dr Apaak said: “Without peace, unity and stability, we cannot uphold our constitution, the basis for our democracy, including the right to vote…our natural and inalienable right to establish a framework of government, which shall secure for ourselves and posterity the blessings of liberty, equality of opportunity and prosperity”.   He appealed to all political parties to be national in character and free to participate in shaping the political will of the people, disseminate information on political ideas, social and economic programmes of a national character.   Mr Amadu Issahaku, Northern Regional Population Officer, said peace was cardinal for the coming elections and advised politicians who incited the youth to cause violence to stop that practice.    GNA ...

  Accra, Nov. 20, GNA - Nine Ghanaian teenagers have been named among the final 33 successful candidates for the Glo Soccer Academy reality show after going through the second phase of screening in Lagos, Nigeria, last week.     The selected candidates who will join other teenagers from Republic of Benin and Nigeria include; Davis Abagana (14), Samuel Opoku Mensah (14) Abaa Daniel (17), Aminu Murtala (16), Princewilll Owhormeji (14), Annan Klinsmann (15), Charles Addai Danquah (17), Bismarck Larbi (16) and Collins Asare (17), were shortlisted from  a pool of 52 players selected from the three countries.   A statement from the Public Relations outfit of Glo Ghana Limited, said the nine Ghanaians qualified along 24 other nationals.   It said four of the candidates were from the Republic of Benin with the remaining 20 coming from Nigeria.   According to the statement, six of the selected Ghanaian players were midfielders while three were defenders.   The statement however noted that, the selected 33 candidates include; three goalkeepers, eight defenders, 18 midfielders and four strikers.   They are expected to camp for one month in Lagos, after which a final squad of 16 players will be selected to form " the Glo Dream Team” and which they will be flown to Manchester for a training tour with the Manchester United Soccer School.   One of the final 16 finalists will eventually emerge as the Most Valuable Player (MVP), with an ultimate prize of GH¢60,000, with 15 other players receiving GH¢12,000 each along with separate academic scholarships and qualification to become Glo Ambassadors.   The Glo Soccer Academy, the biggest soccer reality show and talent hunt in the sub region, started with a six week-long international screening campaign in Kumasi, Ghana, through Benin and ended in Lagos with the selection of 52 male youth from the three countries.    Globacom, the African communications giant launched Glo Soccer Academy in September this year to provide a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for young, untapped soccer talents to kick-start their careers in professional football.   GNA...