FirstpostFacebook sets sights on mobile, reveals plans of more standalone appsFirstpostFacebook has confirmed that it will soon release more standalone apps like Instagram and Messenger for mobile devices in the near future. The announcement was made during Facebook's fourth quarter earning calls on Wednesday. “You should also expect ...Facebook plans to launch more standalone appsBusiness TodayMobile ad revenue lifts Facebook past targetsRTE.ieFacebook reels in advertising cashFinancial TimesIrish Examiner -Irish Independent -Business Standardall 467 news articles »

The  Minister of Food and Agriculture, Clement Kofi Humado, has refuted allegations that he has vowed to his close associates not to go down alone should  he be indicted in the ongoing investigations into the Ghana Youth Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Agency (GYEEDA) saga. The Tuesday edition of an Accra-based newspaper purported that: “The NDC Member of Parliament for Anlo, [...]The post My Hands Are Clean — Kofi Humado appeared first on The Ghanaian Times.

The Greenfield School at Agona Swedru has presented assorted items to the Children’s Ward of the Swedru Government Hospital to support the upkeep of children on admission at the health facility. The items, worth GH¢1,000, included fruits, toiletries, assorted soaps, tins of Milo and milk, biscuits, fruit juices and detergents. The school also paid the outstanding medical bills of two children, totalling GH¢205, and registered them with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). Presenting the items on behalf of the school, Miss Martha Osabutey said the gesture was to show love to the children admitted to the hospital and put smiles on their faces. She noted that most of the items presented were made available by the students and the objective was to inculcate the habit of giving in the schoolchildren so that they could make it part of their lives when they grew up. She stated that most children admitted to the hospital needed to be shown care and affection so that they could respond to treatment quickly. Mr Prince Aboagye Mante, a patron of the Bible Fellowship of the school, added that the gesture would be incorporated into the calendar of the school so that it would be done annually to support institutions that were in need. The Deputy Director of Nursing Services of the hospital, Mrs Levina Tetteh, who received the items on behalf of the administration, thanked the school for the assistance.

The Brong Ahafo Region has launched a project to involve citizens in the planning processes in metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs). The project is being implemented by the Social Development and Improvement Agency (SODIA), a non-governmental organisation, to address the issue of low involvement of citizens, particularly marginalised groups such as people with disabilities, women and the youth, in the decentralised planning processes in the Brong Ahafo Region. A research conducted by SODIA in some of the rural communities in the region revealed that the sub-district structures on which participatory governance hinged were not properly developed. This presupposes that the foundations of participation at the district level are weak and unsupportive of the decentralisation drive of the country. The 12-month project, which is being sponsored by STAR-Ghana at a cost of US$ 80,000, started in January, this year, and will end in December.  The project is being piloted in three districts in the region, namely Asutifi South, Tano South, and the Sunyani Municipality. The project will ensure that the needs of citizens, particularly marginalised groups, are reflected in the Districts’ Medium Term Development Plans (DMTDPs) in the three districts. It will also strengthen partnership with the Parliamentary Select Committee on Local Governance and Decentralisation, as well as the Regional Planning Co-ordinating Unit (RPCU), to promote citizen participation in the decentralised planning in the three districts. The Executive Director of Social Development and improvement Agency, Mr Aziiz Issifu, who launched the project, explained that the project would enhance awareness of citizens in the development planning processes of the MMDAs. He said the project activities would include planning, the development of terms of reference, and hiring of an external consultant to conduct baseline survey to establish project parameters. He said the project organisers would hold baseline validation workshop and that there would be media engagement on the baseline survey at the district level to mobilise support for the project. He said they would also organise interface meetings with the MMDAs to discuss Area Council Action Plans, as well as plan and carry out field monitoring in 12 communities in three MMDAs using jointly agreed indicators.

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The Hindu (blog)Lenovo, Motorola and what it means for IndiaThe Hindu (blog)Almost all industries, including the smartphone industry, have two viable categories or positions. The first is the differentiated high-end, and the second is the low-cost low-end. Take a look at the table above – quite simply put, there are two types of players: ...Lenovo shares fall 8.21% after Motorola acquisitionTimes of IndiaHow Google's expensive Motorola mistake could be Lenovo's boonIBNLiveLenovo's Motorola Moment Could Be FleetingWall Street JournalDAWN.com -Irish Times -Firstpostall 777 news articles »

Calgary HeraldBieber charged with assault in CanadaRTE.ieCanadian pop star Justin Bieber turned himself in at a Toronto police station yesterday to face an assault charge. The 19-year-old was charged over an alleged altercation with a limousine driver in December, reports People. His lawyer told the website "The ...Justin Bieber charged with assaulting limousine driverMetroPolice charge Justin Bieber with assaultThe News InternationalJustin Bieber Charged With Assault In TorontoContactmusic.comDaily News & Analysis -gulfnews.comall 1,388 news articles »

The leadership of the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council has cautioned national leaders to thread cautiously at any attempts to endorse Genetically Modified (GM) foods. It said any decision of that nature must be put on hold now while the international debate on the controversial issue was still ongoing. Critical questions The council said Ghanaians must participate in the debate and ask critical questions about who stood to benefit from the introduction of the GM foods and seeds, and at what cost to individuals and the nation. A statement dated January 24, 2014, issued by the council in Accra, said they had noted the arguments on both sides of the debate and opined that there were serious questions to be asked. The council asked, for instance, about who would be at the receiving end of the final decision respected in that debate. It also posed the big question; “Why do we need the GM seeds and food in our system?” It again asked: “Can we improve our current system of farming such as to increase productivity without recourse to genetic engineering of the seeds, and what happens to our local farmers and the existing seeds and methods of farming if we endorse GM foods?” Besides, the council wanted to know whether or not the scientific information and advice we received on GM food were independent enough, and why the voice of local research scientists was not being heard on the issue.” Improving farming practices As all await the outcome of the debate, the council urged the government to  put in place a pragmatic approach to improve the current methods of farming, including irrigation, storage facilities, as well as the marketing of farm produce.  Local produce “There must also be a deliberate attempt to promote the patronage of local produce which would bring economic and social benefits to farmers and the nation. “For example, the government can consider a policy that would enable all state-assisted senior high schools and the school feeding programme to use the produce of our local farmers,” it suggested. Security Touching on other important national issues, the statement noted the good work of the Police Service and its leader, the Inspector General of Police (IPA), as well as the government, in promoting the security of the people. “We are witnessing a clear and visible presence of the police in some of our cities and, particularly, on the streets.  “This move by the IGP is most commendable as it reduces crime, road accidents and indiscipline by motorists and pedestrians,” the statement said, and expressed the hope that the arrangement would be extended to other parts of the country, especially on the highways. We would also like to commend the government for the appointment of the first woman as director of the Ghana Prisons Service. It is hoped that she would bring her “motherly spirit” to bear on the administration of the service and transformation of the inmates. Environmental pollution Another critical issue the statement touched on was the pollution of the environment, in which case the council was concerned about the water bodies that continued to be attacked by human activities. “Similarly, we are alarmed at the rate at which farmlands are being acquired by mining companies, as well as the destruction caused by galamsey operators,” it said. In that respect, the council stressed the need for all Ghanaians and recognised bodies, including private companies, district, municipal and metropolitan assemblies, chiefs, churches and other religious bodies to assist the central government in addressing the critical issues of sanitation and drainage in the towns and cities, as well as the pollution of water bodies, particularly in the mining areas of the country. Mushrooming of churches Touching on the proliferation of independent churches with associated challenges of charlatans who exploit vulnerable people in society, the council said “These activities do not only undermine the integrity of the Gospel of Christ but also has the potential of making people become disillusioned with Christianity and religion as a whole.” It, therefore, suggested the formation of “religious self-regulatory bodies” that would evaluate and give advice on the activities of independent pastors and churches. The council appealed to the media to be more circumspect in the programmes they put on air for public consumption, particularly on the TV and radio stations. Bribery and corruption On the fight against bribery and corruption, the council challenged the Christian community to lead the way and also encourage the government to strengthen the existing institutions that dealt with the destructive menace to enable them to perform creditably. The council said curriculum for civic, cultural, religious and moral education for our schools must be reviewed with the view to inculcating community values and ethical principles in children before they graduate and take private and public offices in the nation.  On that score, it stressed the need for the nation to encourage and celebrate local people who took the initiative and the risk to establish businesses in this country.

The Director of Community Policing of the Ghana Police Service, Chief Superintendent Abiba Twumasi Sarpong, has advised persons in realationships who suffer abuse by their partners to take positive steps to address their problems. “When you are abused, you should report the matter to the nearest police station instead of sitting down for such violence to be repeated again and again and suffer in silence,” she said. Chief Supt Sarpong was addressing members of the Calvary Congregation of the Presbyterian Church at Abesim, near Sunyani, as part of her tour of the Brong Ahafo Region. Tour of the region The tour, which has already taken her to other parts of the region, is aimed at educating and creating awareness among the people about the increasing spate of spousal murders in the country and what the people should do to curb the trend. Chief Supt Sarpong said it was unfortunate that spouses, especially the women, who were repeatedly abused and later pacified with gifts, had their minds conditioned to consider such gifts as “show of love”. She called on members of the various communities to be one another’s keeper and give the police tip-offs to enable them to step in on time to save spouses who were continuously abused. Chief Supt Sarpong explained that the Community Policing Department of the Ghana Police Service had adopted a proactive way to constantly engage people in the various communities and groups to educate them about the new trends in crime in the country. “The police are now proactive and will always go to the people. Ghanaians should be prepared to volunteer information on time by calling 18555 or 191 on Vodafone and MTN,” she said. Reporting spousal abuse  Chief Supt Sarpong explained that reporting spousal abuse to the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVSSU) did not mean the dissolution of marriages, adding that it was not in all cases that spouses were arrested. She said in some cases, the spouses were counselled and monitored to curb the perpetuation of such violence. Answering questions from members of the congregation, Supt Sarpong explained that there was no law requiring the payment of monies before one could seek bail for people who had been arrested by the police. “You should be aware that both the giver and the receiver of bribes are guilty before the law,” she said. Wrong perception about the police She added that the perception that some personnel of the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ghana Police Service collected monies from drivers was a dent on the image of the service. Chief Supt Sarpong said the police administration had already mounted surveillance to ensure that such unscrupulous police personnel were weeded out of the service. Chief Supt Sarpong called on religious leaders to devote part of their sermon to educating the people to be aware of new trends in crime to enable them to adopt measures  to not fall into the traps of criminals. The Brong Ahafo Regional Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Police Service, Chief Supt Christopher Tawiah, appealed to the people to consider the police as their friends and not enemies. The minister in-charge of the church, Reverend Wilberforce Takyi, commended the police for adopting a proactive method to curb crime and expressed the hope that the gesture would not be a nine-day wonder.

Police in Wa have arrested 25 suspected criminals during a swoop around the Wa central market at dawn on Saturday. The 25 suspected criminals would be and those found culpable would be prosecuted, Assistant Superintendent of Police  Edmund Nyamekye told …

The Volta Region House of Chiefs (VRHC) would work at resolving all chieftaincy disputes in the region this year, Togbe Afede XIV, President of the House, has said. He was addressing the first general meeting of the House in 2014 …

Scottish Daily RecordChildren with peanut allergies could be cured by eating small amounts which ...Scottish Daily RecordALLERGY sufferers could go into potentially fatal anaphylactic shock just by smelling peanuts but a study on children has found it is possible to build up a tolerance. 11-year-old Lena Barden is no fan of peanuts. MILLIONS of people whose lives are made a ...Peanut Allergies Treated Using PeanutsSky NewsNew treatment could reduce kids' peanut allergiesWashington Postall 105 news articles »

The Eastern Regional Domestic Violence and Victims’ Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service recorded more cases last year than it did the previous year. The Unit in 2013recorded 1,929 cases as against 1,502 cases recorded for the same …

Mr. Simon Bakar, Volta Regional National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO) Coordinator, has appealed to Ghanaians to change their lukewarm attitude to disaster prevention. He said the national economy and businesses of individuals were negatively affected by the frequent, sometimes preventable …

[Vanguard]The Black Stars of Ghana ,Wednesday, stopped the Super Eagles from qualifying for the final of the ongoing African Nations Championship (CHAN) in South Africa.