The Ministry of Health (MoH) has said that the government would do due diligence in the posting of nurses to work abroad if the agreement with partner countries is officially cemented. “We would ensure that only the best and most experienced of Ghanaian nurses are sent outside as expatriates for healthcare services,” Mr Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, the Health Minister noted. The government recently announced future plans to export Ghanaian nurses abroad, arguing that the move was in tandem with the vision to create more job opportunities for the health professionals in foreign countries. Mr Agyemang-Manu, who was addressing staff and students of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) Nursing and Midwifery Training College, Kumasi, hinted that currently, there were about ninety (90) nursing and midwifery training institutions in the country. The Minister is in the Ashanti Region on a four-day working visit to keep abreast with health development projects and programmes, as well as related challenges. The first day of the visit saw the Minister touring facilities at the KATH, including the Oncology Directorate, where he inspected the newly installed ‘Lican’ machine, ultra-modern equipment for the treatment of cancer. He was accompanied on a tour of the facility by Dr Oheneba Danso, the Chief Executive Officer of KATH, and Dr Emmanuel Tenkorang, the Regional Health Director. Mr Agyemang-Manu urged health workers to be committed to duty, saying, the government would continue to work assiduously in improving their living conditions. Source: https://www.adomonline.com
Florida family discovers 6-foot boa constrictor that was living in attic for up to four years
A Florida man said it all started with strange noises his family heard coming from their attic. Bob van der Herchen, of Englewood, Florida, and his family believed for years that they might have had rats, or similar small pests, living in their home. “I didn’t think much of it, I thought maybe it was rats,” van der Herchen told WESH. But van der Herchen made a far more surprising discovery when he came face-to-face with a 6-foot-long boa constrictor that took up residence in his home. To his son’s credit, he told his father that he thought a snake could be in the attic, but he didn’t believe it until he saw the serpent himself. “It took three and a half minutes for that snake to move into that rafter space…it was bigger than I expected,” van der Herchen told WFLA-TV. “It was actually bunking in the rafter space right above the Florida room chair where my wife sits,” he said. Van der Herchen, who is also a bee removal specialist, detailed the snake saga in a video he posted on Facebook. “Been distracted from bee removals by a boa that was living in our attic. Only in Florida!” he wrote. He told WESH he believes the snake has been living there for two to four years, which isn’t hard to believe considering that the average lifespan of a boa constrictor ranges from 20 to 30 years. Fortunately, van der Herchen said the 6-foot boa has since been safely removed from the family home.
A new dawn in Africa: The African Continental Free Trade Area agreement
This is the statement by Frank Annor-Dompreh, MP for Nsawam-Adoagyiri delivered in Parliament to mark a new dawn in Africa with the coming into force of the Africa Free Trade Area agreement. Mr Speaker, The drive to Africa’s development remains bedded on its unity. African unity remains a vision that was and is being advocated for by many politicians, scholars, organisations and individuals on the continent. Undoubtedly, the efforts of the first president of Ghana, Dr Kwame Nkrumah were geared to ensure the conception of a united continent which is not only characterised by political unity but also, economic unity, a joint military force, common foreign policy and a borderless continent where all artificial borders are non-existent. Mr Speaker, Contemporary Africa today largely depends on the African Union (AU) to ensure a successful integration of the countries on the continent. An agendum of economic unity by member states as featured by the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) which aims at ensuring the creation of a single continental market for goods and services, with free movement of business persons and investments. Mr Speaker, Ghana has yet again proven to be a beacon for a positive African revolution, following the acceptance of the nation’s bid to host the secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Not to put the cart before the horse, this is nonetheless an achievement worthy of note in the history of Ghana and Africa at large. It is pleasant to see progress in the objective to unify the African continent in all of its resources, with a sincere aim to improve the lives of the people of Africa, provide more opportunities and promote peace and harmony. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which has been under discussion for quite some time has continued to stir up interests and has increased in importance exponentially, as more and more stakeholders are realising the value and potential it holds. Free movement of persons; promotion of goods and services; accessibility to a wider range of entrepreneurial support in form of funding and logistics are all important ingredients for the development we wish to see here in Africa. Taking into account the understanding of the layman on this issue, the AfCFTA may be demonstrated by the analogy of trade occurring in large countries in terms of area. Nigeria for example with an estimated GDP of $376.284bn (2017) and a population of over 200 million, may be seen as a large country compared to Ghana and for that matter is capable of generating trade activity in larger volumes. The larger the market-space, the greater the potential for the increased demand for goods and services. This then affects supply in a positive manner for the growth of businesses. This is the kind of environment we need, one key component of the AfCFTA will create that large market-space for a business person in say Wenchi-Ghana, to supply goods produced, to consumers in Kigali-Rwanda and vice versa free of tariff. Retracing the objectives of the AfCFTA Mr Speaker, the African Union report that, the CFTA will create a single continental market for goods and services, with free movement of business persons and investments, and thus pave the way for accelerating the establishment of the Customs Union. It will also expand Intra-African trade through better harmonization and coordination of trade liberalization, across Africa in general. It will resolve the challenges of multiple and overlapping memberships and expedite the regional and continental integration processes. Competitiveness will be enhanced at the industry and enterprise level through exploiting opportunities for scale production, continental market access and better reallocation of resources. As several individual and organisational studies probe into the longevity of the AfCFTA, we are continuously prompted to factor in all challenges and possibilities to ensure optimum operation. One of such is the report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development(UNCTAD), recently discussing the ‘Rules of origin’—what it believes to be a key component of success for the AfCFTA signifying a simple and business-friendly trade arena. Theoretically, ‘Rules of origin’ would represent a passport for goods to circulate duty-free within a free trade area (FTA) as long as those goods qualify as originating within the FTA. It is therefore important to make trade within African countries more attractive, considering the reality that many African countries may already be used to trading with foreign counterparts over the years. I will again highlight that, the economic benefits such as employment creation, capital inflows, the influx of goods and services, and a boost of the tourism industry would be directly generated along with the CFTA Secretariat based in our beloved country Ghana and ripple to all participating states. Mr Speaker, Ghana has managed to maintain ideal bilateral relationships with other states within and outside Africa and this certainly speaks volumes about the capability of the nation to adequately manage the AfCFTA secretariat, on a positive record of negotiation capacity and amiable attitude towards member states in the African Union. Africa’s trade has grown rapidly in recent decades. During 1990–2017, the region’s trade openness (imports and exports of goods and services) increased from about 53% of GDP to 67%, after peaking around 2011 as commodity prices surged. The UNCTAD also reported that intra-African trade is a mere 15% of the total trade volumes generating from the African continent, compared to areas abroad which are as high as 61% in Asia, 67% in Europe, and 47% in America. While overall intra-African trade is miniscule, studies by a Council on Foreign Relations show that about 42% of intra-African trade consists of industrial goods and I interpret this to be a good potential for the sustainability of the AfCFTA even as it is expected to grow. With the agreement underway, the gross domestic product of most African countries could increase by 1% to 3% once all tariffs are eliminated, also according to UNCTAD estimates. Though tariff may not be the only barrier for increased intra-African trade, Regional Economic Outlook on Sub Saharan Africa believes that the agreed 90% tariff cut would increase intra-African trade by about US$16 billion or about 16% over recent average levels. South Africa alone is the source of about 35% of all intra-regional imports in Africa (and about 40 per cent of intraregional manufacturing imports). Specifically, exports to Sub-saharan Africa, South Africa generates a significant $22.8bn compared
Shatta Wale publicly makes advance towards Nikki Samonas
On record, Shatta Wale is still single after breaking up with Michy as he has never introduced any new lover yet but it seems he’s got his eyes focused on a new prize for his heart. The dancehall musician out of the blues decided to publicly make some advances towards beautiful Ghanaian actress, Nikki Samonas. Sending his message across social media, without hiding his intention and interest, Shatta posted a stunning photo of Nikki Samonas, telling the world how he has been dreaming about the bubbly actress. “The way I have seeing you @nikkisamonas in my dreams giving me breast milk dierr, Ghana need to do something about it ooo Ok bye mami [SIC]” King Wale wrote on Instagram. In reply Miss Samonas only received Shatta’s post with some surprise as she dropped a comment saying “Jesus is Lord ” and with a post on her Instagram page as well, she later said that “I am waiting for you like kakai in the dream!! obra y3 oku paaaa !!” Is Shatta Wale getting over with Wendy Shay and falling in love with Nikki or he just needs some milk? Maybe, he is just giving us some entertainment news or what do you think? See their posts below and share with us if you think Shatta Nikki will be a hot couple. Source: https://www.ghanaweb.com
25 Million Android Phones Infected With Malware That ‘Hides In WhatsApp’
As many as 25 million Android phones have been hit with malware that replaces installed apps like WhatsApp with evil versions that serve up adverts, cybersecurity researchers warned Wednesday. Dubbed Agent Smith, the malware abuses previously-known weaknesses in the Android operating system, making updating to the latest, patched version of Google’s operating system a priority, Israeli security company Check Point said. Most victims are based in India, where as many as 15 million were infected. But there are more than 300,000 in the U.S., with another 137,000 in the U.K., making this one of the more severe threats to have hit Google’s operating system in recent memory. The malware has spread via a third party app store 9apps.com, which is owned by China’s Alibaba, rather than the official Google Play store. Typically, such non-Google Play attacks focus on developing countries, making the hackers’ success in the U.S. and the U.K. more remarkable, Check Point said. Whilst the replaced apps will serve up malicious ads, whoever’s behind the hacks could do worse, Check Point warned in a blog. “Due to its ability to hide it’s icon from the launcher and impersonates any popular existing apps on a device, there are endless possibilities for this sort of malware to harm a user’s device,” the researchers wrote. They said they’d warned Google and the relevant law enforcement agencies. Google hadn’t provided comment at the time of publication. Typically the attack works as following: users download an app from the store – typically photo utility, games or adult themed apps (one called Kiss Game: Touch Her Heart is advertised with a cartoon of a man kissing a scantily clad woman). This app then silently installs the malware, disguised as a legitimate Google updating tool. No icon appears for this on the screen, making it even more surreptitious. Legitimate apps – from WhatsApp to the Opera browser and more – are then replaced with an evil update so they serve the bad ads. The researchers said the ads themselves weren’t malicious per se. But in a typical ad fraud scheme, every click on an injected advert will send money back to the hackers, as per a typical pay-per-click system. There’s some indication that the attackers are considering moving to Google Play. The Check Point researchers said they’d found 11 apps on Google’s store that contained a “dormant” piece of the hackers software. Google swiftly took those apps down. Check Point believes an unnamed Chinese company based in Guangzhou has been building the malware, whilst operating a business that helps Chinese Android developers promote their apps on overseas platforms. Alibaba hadn’t responded to a request for comment on proliferation of malware on the 9apps platform at the time of publication. What can you do? So what can anxious Android owners do? Check Point’s head of cyber analysis and response, Aviran Hazum, said that if users experience advertisements displayed at odd times, such as when they open WhatsApp , they should take action. First, go to Android settings, then the apps and notifications section. Next, got to the app info list and look for suspicious applications with names like Google Updater, Google Installer for U, Google Powers and Google Installer. Click into the suspicious application and choose to uninstall it. Otherwise, staying away from unofficial Android app stores might help, given Google’s extra protections designed to prevent malware from getting on the site. Not that Google’s efforts always pay off. Earlier this week, a warning went out about an Android malware spreading over Google Play that was screen recording users banking sessions. Source: https://www.forbes.com
Nduom sues Finance Minister, 3 others
The Ghana Growth Fund, a subsidiary of Groupe Ndoum, has sued the Finance Minister over debts that have left it unable to pay investors’ funds. Included in the suit is the Attorney-General, Minister for Roads and Highways and Agyakot Company Limited. Lawyers for Ghana Growth Fund Limited, which invests the money on behalf of Gold Coast Fund Management, are demanding the recovery of ¢4,416,719.37 being the total face value of the accrued but unpaid interim payment certificates due the fourth defendant, Agyakot Company. This will enable Agyakot Company to pay the Fund debts owed it. The suit represents the first set of separate suits that the Company will be embarking on, to ensure debts owed it by government are paid. Counsel for the Fund, Justice Srem-Sai, told Joy Business their clients have been stretched thin. “We have exhausted all other avenues. It was never our first choice to go to court but unfortunately, if all other approaches don’t work, we are entitled to go to court. At this point, we are very confident that this is the only option that will get the government and the contractors to honour their obligation to us. “Because of this default from government and the contractors our client is also finding it a bit difficult to honour its obligations towards its depositors,” the lawyer said. Gold Coast Fund Management has been in the news for its inability to pay clients’ invested capital and the interest accruing on same. Below is a copy of the writ: Source: https://www.ghanaweb.com
Bluehead wrasse fish switch from female to male in just 20 days
For many fish, changing sex is a normal part of life. For the first time, we have found out exactly how one of these species – a small cleaner fish called the bluehead wrasse – does it. Erica Todd of the University of Otago in New Zealand and her colleagues removed some male bluehead wrasse from a few sites on reefs off Key Largo in Florida to trigger females to change sex. They then caught changing females at regular intervals after this, and looked at what was happening in their bodies down to the level of which genes were turning on or off. They found that the loss of males makes some females stressed. They become more aggressive and to start performing male courtship behaviours. In individuals that become dominant in a social group, the genes associated with female hormones shut down in a day or two, and their colours begin to change – females of the species are yellow and brown (see above), while the males are green and blue. At the same time, the egg-producing tissues in their ovaries start to shrink and begin to be replaced by sperm-producing tissues. In just 8 to 10 days, the mature ovaries are transformed into testes, and the fish can mate with females and sire offspring. After around 20 days, the fish have the full male colours and the process is complete. “The bluehead is certainly remarkable for its speed,” says Todd. “Other species do take much longer.” However, as the fish only live around two or three years it’s a fair chunk of their lifespan – equivalent to more than 2 years in terms of human lifespan. Around 500 species of fish can change sex, a fact long known to biologists but which got wider attention recently when the Blue Planet II documentary narrated by David Attenborough showed Asian sheepshead wrasse changing sex. It’s most common for female fish to turn into males but in some species including clownfish the males turn into females. In at least one species, the hawkfish found around southern Japan, the females can not only turn into males but also turn back into females again if circumstances require it. For one species of shrimp, there’s no need to change back. It starts out male but becomes an hermaphrodite – a phenomenon known as protandric simultaneous hermaphroditism. Source: https://www.newscientist.com
NASA Shuts Off Systems on Voyager 2, Saving Power for the Long Haul Into Interstellar Space
Launched in 1977, Voyagers 1 and 2 are the longest-running spacecraft, still operating at more than 11 billion miles from home, decades after the end of their nominal goal of exploring the outer solar system planets. They still get their power from the same three radioisotope thermoelectric generators, or RTGs, that have served them for years. But with these generators yielding less power every year, the spacecraft have started to flag. Mission controllers have had to make some tough calls about which instruments to prioritize, and recently made the call to turn off heating for Voyager 2’s cosmic ray instrument. The instrument itself is still functioning for now, despite operating at conditions of negative 74 degrees Fahrenheit, when it was only tested down to negative 49 degrees. The craft has five functioning instruments remaining, which it still uses to collect data and send back to Earth on its long journey into deep space. After All These Years The Voyager spacecraft launched in 1977 as twin spacecraft, each with ten instruments to explore space and tour the solar system, sending back humanity’s first close-up look at most of the outer planets. Voyager 1 visited Jupiter and Saturn before heading for deep space, while Voyager 2 swung by those planets plus Uranus and Neptune, its trajectory carrying it off at a slower pace. But since 1989, both have been exploring the empty space beyond the planets, and returning priceless information about how far the solar atmosphere extends its influence. It was only in 2018 that Voyager 2 officially entered interstellar space, returning information on how the space environment changed as it finally left the sun’s sphere of influence. Voyager 2 has five working instruments compared with Voyager 1’s four. Most of them have been switched off intentionally, as the imaging cameras, for instance, are not useful so far from any sunlight or photographical objects. But they are still measuring cosmic rays, magnetic fields and other charged particles that fill interstellar space far beyond the worldly realm of the planets. By measuring these particles, astronomers are learning just how far the Sun’s energy extends, and how those fields interact with the interstellar medium beyond the solar system’s edges. The two Voyager spacecraft took different paths through the solar system, and both have since left the Sun’s influence entirely. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech) Working Tools It’s not just the data-collecting instruments that matter on the Voyagers. For that data to be any use, they must also have working communications equipment and be able to point that equipment toward Earth for transmission. Luckily, their communications equipment is still functional. But the thrusters that allow the spacecraft to point in a particular direction have started to degrade. In 2017, engineers turned on Voyager 1’s older thrusters, ones that hadn’t been used in 37 years. Later this month, they will try the same for Voyager 2 and the thrusters it last used at Neptune in 1989. The mission managers for Voyager have kept the spacecraft going for decades beyond the ends of their original missions. They have pushed the instruments to new limits, and are proving that these pioneers, aged as they are, can still reveal powerful information about the cosmos. They are the farthest human-made objects in the universe, and they are still exploring and still teaching humanity about our universe. With the mission managers’ continued efforts and any amount of luck, they should continue doing so for years.
