The 2024 All Ghana Badminton Open Championship has been fixed for May 25-26, 2024, at the Borteyman Sports Complex in Accra.
The two-day championship is the biggest and most prestigious tournament in the Badminton Association of Ghana (BAG) calendar.
It would offer elite players the platform to battle for the national champion title, as well as amazing prizes and ranking points.
In an interview with the GNA Sports Mr. Evans Yeboah, the President of BAG said the annual championship, would see players competing across five individual disciplines including men’s singles, men’s doubles, women’s singles, women’s doubles, and mixed doubles in a knock-out and round-robin format.
He said national ranking points would be awarded in each tournament entered and there would be a grading after competing in first tournament.
He said, “this event is a chance to earn a place among the nation’s elite for the 2024 All Ghana Badminton Open by claiming a finish, experience and participation.
“The event is open to all players eligible to play or hold a Ghana Competes membership for a discount.
He said, “our new partnership with Tebel Cleaning Solutions is designed to build on a firm, existing relationship and drive greater connection between Tebel and the core priorities of our new 10-year strategy”.
Apostle Abraham Swanzy, the Head of the Dormaa Area of the Church of Pentecost in the Bono Region, has cautioned political parties against violent vigilantism as the election 2024 gathers momentum.
That, he said, threatened the nation’s fledgling democracy, and urged them to refrain from providing the vigilante groups with arms and weapons.
Besides, Apostle Swanzy said the use of indecent, abusive and intemperate language in the electioneering could inflame passion, trigger political violence and disturb the prevailing peace of the nation.
He drew inferences and lessons from the abuses that characterized the nation’s military regimes, and appealed to political parties and their followers to be mindful of their utterances, saying “people usually undertake violent acts because they are shaped to fit into traditionally aggressive norms and moods.”
Apostle Swanzy gave the advice when speaking on the topic, “preventing violent extremism and promoting community resilience” at an inter-party dialogue committee meeting organised by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) with support from the European Union (EU) at Dormaa-Ahenkro.
Discussions were centered on monitoring and reporting threats and vulnerabilities to violent extremism, ways to detect youth radicalization, and signs of recruitment, mediation and resolution of local conflicts.
The meeting was attended by political actors, media practitioners, religious and traditional leaders, and Heads of Departments and Agencies.
Apostle Swanzy underlined the need for the nation to put in place proper and effective systems to prevent, check and contain conflicts, ahead of the December 7, Presidential and Parliamentary polls.
“It becomes extremely difficult to tame and control ethnic, religious and political violence when they happened,” he stated, explaining that violent extremism occurred when people employed the use of force to impose their ideologies, either political, social, religious, ethnic or racial on others.
Apostle Swanzy cautioned political, religious and tribal leaders against such practice that had the potential to disturb national peace and social cohesion, saying the 1992 Constitution frowned on such behaviours. He urged traditional authorities to be more assertive of their roles and contribute towards strengthening democratic governance processes by putting up measures to check violent behaviours within their purview.
Baffour Kwadwo Damoah Afari, a Member of the Bono Regional Peace Council, and the Sanaahene (sub-chief) of the Dormaa Traditional Area, called on political parties to endeavour to accommodate divergent views and opinions, irrespective of individual and political differences.
He said political violence was detrimental to the nation’s growth and development and appealed to everybody to contribute towards achieving peaceful and successful elections.
Mr Seth Broni Tagborloh, the Dormaa Municipal Director of the NCCE, highlighted the relevance of the meeting, and called on everybody to promote peace before, during and after the general election.
He said research conducted by the EU showed terrorist activities were spreading in neighbouring countries, including Niger, Burkina Faso and Nigeria, hence the need for everybody to remain watchful.
A cross-section of first-time voters at the Tamale Metropolitan Electoral Commission’s registration centre has indicated that they obtained the voter identity cards for reasons other than voting.
More than 10 first-time voters interviewed by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) said they had no plans to vote in the upcoming general election.
Abdul-Samed Sulemana, a 19-year-old first-time voter, told the GNA that his father compelled him to register, adding he had no intentions to use the card for voting.
He said, “For me, I am here because my father asked me to come for the card. He said I may need it for other registrations in future.”
In response to why he would not exercise his franchise, Abdul-Samed said he did not feel the need to do so, noting that older generations had voted many times without seeing any significant changes in government that benefited Ghanaians.
Narfiq Mustapha, an 18-year-old first-time voter, shared the belief that voting for the first time could not bring about any significant change in governance.
He said he got the voter ID card to identify himself as Ghanaian and to use it when needed.
Majeed Yussif, an 18-year-old first-time voter, expressed doubt stating that he believed elections were determined by a small group of people and questioned whether voting actually resulted in substantial development changes.
He said waiting in line to vote just for a few people to declare others as winners, was not worth it.
However, some other first-time voters expressed eagerness to vote, believing that their votes could bring about changes in economic situations.
Rashida Issahaku, a first-time voter, told the GNA that she got the voter ID card with the intention of voting in the election and affirmed that she understood the importance of voting as a Ghanaian.
She said, “I am a citizen, and I must vote. I want to vote for the right person, who can take care of the economy and our education.”
Rahina Yussif stated that while she needed the ID card as a student, her primary motivation was to use it to vote for a better Ghana.
While some first-time voters obtained their ID cards for purposes other than voting and others specifically to vote, there were also many, who remained undecided about whether to participate in the elections or not.
Alhassan Yakubu said he had not decided about voting yet, saying he would decide whether to vote later in the year.
He said there were times he felt the need to vote for change but other times, he was indecisive.
President Joe Biden speaks to graduating students at the Morehouse College commencement Sunday, May 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Joe Biden’s 2024 campaign fundraising in April behind challenger Donald Trump’s for the first time, as the former president increased his joint operation with the Republican National Committee and headlined high-dollar fundraisers.
The Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee raised more than $51 million in April, according to the campaign, which is less than the $90 million raised in March and less than the $76 million claimed by Donald Trump and the Republican Party for the month.
Democrats still have a significant funding lead over Trump, and the Biden campaign continues to have a far larger war chest.
Trump clinched the Republican presidential nomination in March, and can now raise money with the RNC, which his daughter-in-law co-chairs.
His April haul was boosted by a record-setting $50.5 million raised during an event with donors early in the month at the Palm Beach, Florida, home of billionaire investor John Paulson. Paulson has been floated by Trump as a potential Treasury secretary.
The event turned out to be a much-needed boost for Trump, who has been routinely outraised by Biden and is in the midst of a financial squeeze due to ballooning lawyer fees and legal payouts from his criminal and civil court cases.
Trump’s Save America group submitted a filing to the Federal Election Commission on Monday showing more than $3.3 million in legal expenditures during the month.
The Trump campaign said in a statement its April fundraising was “especially remarkable when you consider he has been confined to a courtroom for nearly 9 hours a day over the past four weeks fighting against Biden’s Trial.”
Trump’s campaign said in March that it would be unable to match Biden’s fundraising totals this year. Trump won the 2016 presidential election despite being outraised by Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
Biden and Trump are tied in national polls with just over five months to go before the Nov. 5 election, while Trump has the edge in the battleground states that will decide the election, recent polls show. On economic issues like inflation, Trump scores higher with voters overall than Biden.
WAR CHESTS
Biden’s campaign reported to the Federal Election Commission that it had some $84 million in the bank at the end of April. The Trump campaign reported having $49 million.
A large war chest has allowed Biden’s campaign to undertake major advertising campaigns in key battleground states, said Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Biden-Harris 2024 Campaign Manager. She said that including the Democratic National Committee and other groups, Biden’s campaign had $192 million at the end of April.
The Biden campaign said on Monday night that April was its strongest month for recurring donors to date, with such donors contributing more than $5.5 million during the month alone. It said 225,000-plus donors had committed to giving every month, which it said was more than 1.5 times the amount at this point in the 2020 cycle.
The campaign raised more in March after the State of the Union address, a fundraising blitz through eight battleground states and an event with former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, where it raised $26 million.
In June, the Biden campaign is planning another major fundraiser featuring Hollywood stars George Clooney and Julia Roberts in Los Angeles.
Britain improperly expanded police powers to put restrictions on peaceful protests that cause “more than minor” inconvenience to the public, the London High Court found on Tuesday.
Liberty, a civil rights organisation, sued the government over amendments to public order rules enacted last year, which it claims granted police nearly limitless ability to suppress protests.
The case was tried in February, during a broader crackdown on protest movements in Britain and around Europe, as environmental activists utilised direct action marches to demand immediate government action on climate change.
On Tuesday, Judges David Bean and Timothy Kerr decided in favour of the organisation, ruling that the laws providing the expanded powers were illegal.
The High Court granted the government permission to appeal and suspended its decision that the new powers should be quashed pending the outcome of the appeal.
Liberty’s legal action focused on the Public Order Act, under which the police can impose conditions on a protest if it could cause “serious disruption to the life of the community”.
The law was amended last year, so police could impose conditions in cases where a protest could cause “more than minor” disruption, which Liberty said was unlawful.
Government lawyers argued that ministers were given express powers to amend the law on what amounted to serious disruption.
But the High Court ruled that the government exceeded its powers, which “did not extend to lowering the threshold for police intervention”.
Prince Harry’s case against Rupert Murdoch’s British tabloid newspapers cannot be amended to include charges concerning his wife Meghan, and he and others cannot bring claims against the media tycoon himself, the London High Court said on Tuesday.
The prince and more than 40 individuals are suing News Group Newspapers (NGN) for allegations of illegal activity by journalists and private detectives working for the Sun and the now-defunct News of the World between the mid-1990s and the mid-2010s.
The proceedings against NGN are set to go to trial in January, with a maximum eight-week duration.
In March, Harry, 39, the younger son of King Charles, sought to amend his lawsuit to add new allegations, including that the Sun ordered private investigators to target his then girlfriend – and now wife Meghan – in 2016.
However, in a ruling on Tuesday, Judge Timothy Fancourt refused him permission to extend the time frame of his claim to do so, and likewise rejected an application to include allegations dating back to 1994 and 1995 involving his late mother, Princess Diana.
The judge also rejected an application from Harry and the claimants to include allegations Murdoch, 93, gave “knowingly false” evidence about his knowledge of phone-hacking and other unlawful acts, and was personally involved in a cover-up.
However, Harry was allowed to alter his case to include allegations the papers had bugged his landline phones, and the judge ruled the claimants could include accusations against more journalists and private investigators, and amend their case to bring more details of alleged lies by NGN to a public inquiry.
Fancourt told the court both sides had won about half of the disputed amendments, although NGN had won on more “big ticket” items such as bringing “Mr Murdoch personally into the matter”.
In his written ruling, Fancourt said those pursuing the lawsuits against NGN could not resist adding more and more details, which he said were of great interest to “journalists who are looking for a good storyline to publish” but did not add any weight to the evidence.
“I also consider that there is a desire on the part of those running the litigation on the claimants’ side to shoot at ‘trophy’ targets, whether those are political issues or high-profile individuals,” he said. “This cannot become an end in itself.”
A spokesperson for NGN said the court had “thoroughly vindicated NGN’s position”.
Israeli forces advanced farther into the Jabalia camp in northern Gaza on Tuesday, destroying residential neighbourhoods with tank and air bombardment, according to locals, while Israeli air strikes killed at least five Palestinians in the southern city of Rafah.
This month, Israel launched simultaneous attacks on the northern and southern borders of the Gaza Strip, causing a massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians abandoning their homes and severely restricting the supply of supplies, heightening the risk of hunger.
In Jabalia, a huge refugee camp founded 75 years ago for displaced people, locals reported the Israeli army used bulldozers to demolish stores and property near the local market as part of a military operation that began about two weeks ago.
Israel said it has returned to the camp, where it had claimed to have dismantled Hamas months ago, to prevent the militant group that controls Gaza from rebuilding its military operations there.
The health authorities and Gaza Civil Emergency Service said dozens of bodies remained trapped under rubble of houses and on the roads in Jabalia, but rescue teams have been unable to reach them.
“Israel is destroying the camp on the heads of the people, the bombardment never stops, and the world is calling for more food to enter Gaza. We want to spare lives not extra food,” said Abu El-Nasser, a resident of Jabalia, who fled to nearby Gaza City.
More than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war, which is now in its eighth month, according to the Gaza health ministry. At least 10,000 others are missing and believed to be trapped under destroyed buildings, it says.
Israel is seeking to eradicate Hamas after militants from the group stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 and taking more than 250 hostages, by Israeli tallies.
The war has devastated the overcrowded coastal enclave, destroying houses, schools and hospitals and creating a dire humanitarian crisis.
In a roundup of its military activity over the past day, the Israeli Defence Forces said they had dismantled “about 70 terror targets” throughout the Gaza Strip, including military compounds, weapon storage sites and warehouses, missile launchers and observation posts.
Residents and medical officials said Israeli tanks were besieging the Al-Awda Hospital in Jabalia for the third day, and opened fire against Kamal Adwan hospital in nearby Beit Lahiya town, medics said.
In the north, an airstrike on a house in Jabalia killed at least three people overnight. In the south, airstrikes killed three children in a house in Khan Younis and at least five people including three children in a home in Rafah.
East of Khan Younis, residents said they were fleeing Khuzaa town after Israeli troops began a limited incursion on the eastern edge of the territory, bulldozing across the border fence.
“Bombing everywhere, people are leaving in panic. It was a surprising incursion,” one resident from Khuzaa told Reuters over the phone as he and his family were leaving.
Israel is pushing on with its operations in Rafah on Gaza’s southern edge, where more than half of the territory’s 2.3 million population had sought refuge after being displaced from areas further north.
UNRWA, the main United Nations agency in Gaza, estimated as of Monday that more 800,000 had fled since Israel began targeting the border city at the beginning of the month, despite international pleas for restraint on concern over civilian casualties.
Israel has pledged to continue with the Rafah assault to root out what it says are four remaining battalions of Hamas fighters holed up there.
The Israeli military said over the past day it had “identified a terrorist shooting mortar shells at IDF troops”, though no injuries were reported. It said it had taken out the foe with an airstrike and had located rockets and additional military equipment in the area.
Laryea Kingston – Head Coach of the national under-17 team, the Black Starlets has said they will approach their game against Benin, this evening withal the seriousness it deserves.
The Starlets would take on Benin in the second group game of the 2024 WAFU Zone B Under-17 Championship at the University of Ghana Sports Stadium.
The Black Starlets defeated Cote D’ Ivoire 5-1 in their opening game of the tournament and would be looking forward to seal qualification to the next stage when they Benin.
“As for the Ivory Coast game, it’s past and gone and we’ve forgotten about it. The most important game for us now is Benin and we will approach it with all the necessary seriousness,” Laryea added after his side’s final training session on Monday.
He noted that, the team would guard against complacency adding that “Complacency? Oh no! It’s not in our dictionary.
“We have our style and that is what we hope to show. We aim to dominate the game in terms of possession and win and that’s what we would be doing on Tuesday,” Coach Kingston noted.
The Starlets are seeking qualification to the Africa Under-17 Cup of Nations in Morocco next year.
Participants at the Inter-party Dialogue Committee meeting Japekrom in the Jaman South Municipality have agreed to prioritize the promotion of peace, tolerance, and the fight against violent extremism to ensure a peaceful electoral process.
The collective decision reflected a shared commitment to foster a harmonious and secure environment for all stakeholders involved in the upcoming general elections.
The participants included political parties, faith-based organizations, women and youth groups, civil society organizations, persons with disabilities, security agencies, heads of departments, traditional and community leaders.
The meeting, organized by the Jaman South Municipal Office of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) with support from the European Union, was a proactive step towards ensuring peaceful elections and post-election stability.
Addressing participants at the meeting, Mr. Emmanuel Oduro, the Municipal Director of NCCE, emphasized the importance of the Commission’s campaign which focused on discussing strategies to promote peaceful co-existence and prevent and contain violent extremism.
Emphasizing on the NCCE’s theme for the year, “Together We Can Build Ghana, So Get Involved,” Mr. Oduro urged citizens to uphold the law and refrain from engaging in any activities that could disrupt the current peace of the country.
He urged all political parties to be tolerant towards opposing viewpoints and conduct in accordance with the country’s laws as the presidential and parliamentary elections approach.
Chief Inspector Mark Kwabena Okyere, the station officer at the Japekrom Police headquarters, asked the citizens to be vigilant in monitoring and reporting potential threats and vulnerabilities related to violent extremism.
He also discussed methods for detecting youth radicalization, recognizing signs of recruitment, and promoting mediation and resolution of local conflicts.
He highlighted the important role citizens could play in security matters, stating that the police relied on information and assistance from the public to enhance their operations in combating crime.
Dr. Henrietta Asante-Sarpong, Director of Research, Gender, and Equality at the Commission’s head office, emphasized that civic education was a collective responsibility and urged leaders of the various groups to support the efforts of the NCCE by educating their members on their duties and responsibilities as citizens.
Volta Palm, an innovative venture focusing on sustainable oil palm cultivation and production in the Volta Region through collaborative partnerships with landowners and farmers, has taken off.
Conceived by Mr Ibrahim Mahama, a prominent businessman and younger brother of former President John Dramani Mahama, the project is set to become the largest of its kind in Africa, with a target of over 400,000 hectares (one million acres) of oil palm plantation spanning the region.
During a brief event at Tsaweme, South Tongu, held to inspect the nurturing of oil palm seeds and officially kick off the project, Togbi Agbesi Awusu II, the Awadada of Anlo Dukor, expressed optimism that this initiative could revolutionise the economic landscape of the region within the next five years.
He revealed that the Tsaweme project, encompassing the cultivation of around 10,000 hectares, construction of an access road to the plantation, training programmes, and provision of seedlings to farmers, served as the inaugural phase of the broader regional endeavour.
Togbi Awusu highlighted that plans were underway to kickstart similar projects in other locations such as Lawoshime (Keta), Mafi (Central Tongu), Dzodze (Ketu North), Adaklu, and beyond, emphasising that this undertaking would generate employment opportunities, enhance the income of farmers/outgrowers in the region, and contribute to Ghana’s overall economic growth.
He lauded Mr Mahama for such a dream and called upon the chiefs and people to embrace the project for the benefit of the region.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr Christian Foli, a Distributor and Business Finder for PalmElit (a company specialised in oil palm seeds), who is overseeing the implementation of the Volta Palm project, assured that the project would adhere to both local and international quality standards, with a commitment to environmental conservation and a zero-tolerance policy towards child labour.
The expert in oil palm cultivation expressed confidence in the success of the project, citing the superior quality of hybrid oil palm seeds, the fertile tropical black earth soil, ideal for oil palm cultivation, and an abundant freshwater supply for irrigation.
Miss Khadija Benyamina, a Sales Engineer and Supply Chain Coordinator for PalmElit, anticipated a significant achievement for the project, affirming that their improved seeds would meet the high expectations of key stakeholders in the supply chain.
She underscored Ghana’s vast potential in the oil palm industry and emphasised the project’s pivotal role in boosting the sector and positively influencing the economy.
Ms. Benyamina expressed her company’s enthusiasm in having Mr Mahama as client and pledged unwavering technical support for the project’s success.
Mr Albert Degollo, Coordinator of the project, said the venture would have a plant to process palm fruits, expected to yield for harvesting in the next three to four years, noting the project could potentially be extended beyond the region.
Mr Mahama said as an entrepreneur seeking to invest in the region of his late mother’s birth, oil palm industry was the most viable as he drew parallels with the successes of Malaysia and Indonesia, stating that “there’s money in oil palm.”
The ceremony, attended by chiefs, residents, family members of the businessman, and Members of Parliament (MPs) from the region, including all the MPs from Tongu and the coast, the Volta Caucus Chairman and the Minority Chief Whip, was hailed by Mr Kobena Mensah Woyome, MP for South Tongu as a transformative initiative that would bolster the region’s economy.
On behalf of the Volta MPs, he extended gratitude to Mr Mahama for his benevolent gesture towards the region, suggesting that he should be granted an “Honourable” title in recognition of his commendable deeds.
Enthusiastic residents of the area expressed optimism about the promising economic prospects of the new project and offered prayers for Mr Mahama’s continued success and prosperity.
