Welcome To Blaco Smiles Blog: August 2015

Thursday 27 August 2015

9 convicted for illegal power connection

Nine out of 14 people put before an Accra Circuit Court last Saturday have been convicted and fined for illegally connecting electricity to their homes and business outlets.

The nine, including a pregnant woman and a lactating mother, were sentenced on their own pleas of being guilty of connecting power illegally and theft of power.

They were fined between 80 and 100 penalty points ranging from GH¢960 to GH¢1,200 and were to pay their fines before 2 p.m. that day, or risked being placed in police custody until today.

Each of them, in addition, was charged to pay GH¢200 as compensation to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).

A 40- year-old manager of Ecobank, Seth Akyea, has been shot dead by three unidentified persons at his residence at Kasoa.
Seth Akyea until his death was the Operations Manager at the Cantoments Branch of the bank.
The incident occurred around 9.30 pm last Friday.
Seth Akyea was killed when he arrived home from work at Kasoa New Market in the Central Region.

A 21-year old barber is in the grips of the Agona Swedru Police for stealing three Mahama branded laptops.
Kwame Akraman, was arrested after he stole the laptops which belong to Gomoa Amowire Methodist Basic School in the Central region.

The Akyem Swedru Circuit Court judge who gave an order for a goat thief to be paraded on the streets of the town has been asked to proceed on leave.
A source close to the court in Akyem Swedru, who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic, said the decision was to enable the Judicial Service to conduct in-depth investigation into the conduct of the judge.
In a sentence reminiscent of punishments associated with local shrines, the judge, Mr Emmanuel Brew, on August 21, 2015 ordered the thief to hang the stolen animal around his neck, together with a placard with the inscription, “I am a goat thief”.

Crazed Gunman Shoots DEAD Reporter And Her Cameraman Live On TV

A gunman is on the loose after killing two broadcast journalists in a shooting that was captured on live television in Moneta, Virginia early Wednesday morning.

WDBJ camearman Adam Ward was filming reporter Alison Parker interviewing Smith Mountain Lake Chamber Director Vicki Gardner for a segment at 6:45am when about eight shots rang out.

Screams are then heard as the women duck and the camera falls to the floor. A person dressed in all black is then seen standing nearby with what appears to be a gun raised in one hand pointed at Ward.

The Inspector General of the Ghana Police (IGP), Mohammed Alhassan will today [Wednesday] visit robbery-plagued Amanfrom in the Ga South Municipality.The purpose of the visit is to assess at first hand, the armed robbery situation in the area. Residents of Amanfrom have fallen victim to robbers in the last few weeks and several people have reported injuries from the robberies, including a 15-year old girl who stabbed.

Rejection happens all the time, and the types of rejection are numerous. People are being rejected for a job, a pay rise, a date and so on.

But when it happens to you, it can be a very damaging experience that can deal a huge blow to your self-esteem. Worse still, rejection is not easy to recover from and its effects can last for a long time. Because of this, it can be very easy to lose focus at work and in our everyday life. We dwell on the rejection, and we find it hard to move on, as we look for answers. Furthermore, we sometimes blame ourselves.

But all of us handle rejection in different ways. Some handle it very well, while others take it very badly. If you’re looking to find out how to handle it better, let’s take a look at 10 helpful tips on how to deal with rejection.

Couple hugging on a couch --- Image by Â© Big Cheese Photo/Corbis

Men are not always the best at showing their emotions, and that can leave some people left wondering where they really stand. So, if you find yourself in the difficult position of knowing you love him, but you are unsure if he loves you in return, then read these ten sure signs that he is head over heels in love with you:

1. He’s not interested in other girls

A man doesn’t stop appreciating beauty when he falls in love, but he does stop feeling the need to chase after it! Yes, he may well still glance toward a gorgeous lady, but, it will only be a glance, and he’ll do nothing more than that.

2. He talks about the future with you

You may not be planning the wedding yet, but he will have started using the word ‘we’ far more than he uses the word ‘I’. When he has fallen madly in love with you, he will begin to see a future with you and he will be including you in all of his plans.

A group of commercial drivers calling itself Committed Drivers Association of Ghana, has given notice of a planned sit-down strike on Monday. The drivers are protesting what they say is an overwhelming increment in insurance fees.A similar action over the same reasons by the drivers some months ago brought Accra to a standstill and left many passengers stranded.

A crew member of Arik Air,Chika Egwu Udensi, was on Monday night apprehended at Heathrow Airport, London, for allegedly peddling substances suspected to be cocaine.
Spokesman of Arik Air, Ola Adebanji confirmed the latest arrest.
He said the crew member was arrested by the UK Border Force in connection with alleged possession of items suspected to be banned substances.
Adebanji, in a statement, said the airline was presently carrying out it’s own investigation.
He stressed that the airline would also be cooperating fully with the UK authorities and other appropriate agencies in their investigations.

Authorities at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) have expressed shock and worry over reports that a last year graduate of the school has joined the Islamic militant group Isis.

The spokesperson of KNUST Ankamah Lomotey has served notice the institution will investigate the existence of any group after news broke Nazir Nortei Alema has joined the militant sect.

“It’s a source of worry to hear. We have to look into the case… when the national security comes we’ll give them the student file,” he told Ultimate FM.

Parents of Nazir Nortei Alema, the Ghanaian said to have joined terrorist group Islamic State (IS), have expressed shock at the action of their 25-year-old son.

“It was a shock because we didn’t expect to hear something like that from him,” Nazir's father, Abdul Latif Alema, told TV3 on Tuesday, August 25.

Nazir had sent a WhatsApp message on Sunday, August 16 that he had joined IS contrary to telling the family he was going on an official assignment in Prestea in the Western Region.

I Am Against Doctor's Strike - KSM

Ghanaian satirist, KSM (real name Kwaku Sintim-Misah), in the heat of things has penned down his position on the current ongoing strike by members of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) over their conditions of service as medical doctors.

Titled ‘The Doctors’ Strike – New World Order’, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Sapphire Ghana Limited gave reasons to support his position.

Girls Advised To Preserve Virginity

Nana Abenaa Boatemaa, the President of the National Queen-mothers Association of Ghana, has entreated adolescent girls to preserve their virginity for marriage. She emphasized that pre-marital sex was not only sinful, but also defied the dignity of womanhood and contributed to low self esteem among women.

Ace investigative Journalist Anas Aremeyaw Anas will next month release what he calls his biggest investigative story ever. The internationally acclaimed Ghanaian investigative journalist explained that the piece will reflect his disappointments in the last two years.

For now – the Ghana Medical Association [GMA] are being brave, taking risks because perhaps nothing can substitute their experience.

They [striking doctors] were ordered by the Ministry of Health to return to work by Thursday August 20, 2015 or forfeit their salaries for the period of their strike.

The inviolable ultimatum by government seems to have hit the rocks as doctors are still “enjoying” their nationwide strike.

NPP’s Lawra constituency Member of Parliament [MP] aspirant, Anthony Abayifa Karbo has anticipated that – foreigners in Ghana’s voters register will soon reach one million [1,000,000] and possibly exceed.

According to him, a team of researchers are still reconnoitering in order to gain more information on the number of foreigners in the voters register.

Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide, Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Jnr., has called both the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) to analyze issues about the voters' register holistically and critically without recourse to emotional outbursts.

According to him, issues bordering on the credibility of the voters' register should not be treated as a party affair.

SEX IS SWEET BUT........

Have you ever wondered why God carefully
positioned a membrane of blood in a lady’s
sexual opening? It is a tinny membrane that
partially or completely covers the opening of
the vagina. It is called the “HYMEN”.
Why would God-Our Maker put a breakable
tissue full of blood at the very door of the
sexual opening of the female?

Doctors’ strike: Police Hospital admits patients in tents

The Police Hospital in Accra has started admitting patients in tents as the main wards of the facility have run out of space, Starr News has learnt.

The hospital which is one of the few health posts still operating in the country due to the nationwide strike by members of the Ghana Medical Association is burdened with high patient turnout.

Although authorities at the hospital say they are ready to admit more patients, space appears to be a stumbling block.

Ghanaian doctors are on an indefinite strike pending a mass resignation over government's refusal to agree on their service conditions.

Mugabe Fires His Chief of Defence Forces For Starring At His Wife's Butt (Photos)

If this is true, then this is funny and sad! According to twitter user, Alex Tackie and a few others, President Mugabe allegedly fired his Chief of Defense Forces, seen seated next to his wife - for allegedly being too free around her and staring at her butt when she bent down.

Source: twitter

Withdrawing Our Salaries Won’t Kill Us – Doctors

Government’s decision to not to pay striking doctors may exacerbate the turmoil in the health sector. This is because; the doctors are unfazed by the decision to freeze their salaries for the period they stay away from work, according to the President of the Ashanti Regional branch of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Dr. Frank Ankobia. Members of the GMA have been on strike some two weeks now over stalled negotiations on conditions of service.

A 26-year old unemployed was on Thursday sentenced to seven years imprisonment by an Accra Circuit for defiling a Class Three pupil at Madina. Daniel Darkwa, who is blind, was charged with defilement.

He pleaded guilty and the court presided over by Ms Patricia Quansah convicted him on his own.

Today is decision day for striking doctors across the country who are expected to determine whether to resign as a group.

The doctors have been striking for the past two weeks withdrawing emergency service last week.

An 81 year old South Korean man identified simply as Choi set himself on fire this morning Wednesday, August 12th outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul during a large protest over Japan's forced recruitment of sex slaves to service military brothels during World War II.

Other protesters tried to douse the fire with blanket and bottled water before emergency services arrived.

The universe is dying, scientists have confirmed, but thankfully it's happening very, very slowly. Over the past two billion years, the energy coming from stars has been cut by half, and a dramatic decline is expected in the next two billion years.

Health:Eating fried food washed down with sugary drinks 'increases your risk of heart attack by 56%'

People who like fried food, sweet tea may be at an increased risk of heart attack and death, according to a new study.

"If their overall pattern of eating seems to closely match those components, they may want to move away from that," said lead researcher James Shikany, of the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

About 735,000 people in the U.S. have heart attacks each year, according to the American Heart Association, and about 120,000 die as a result.

These are the 8 people who were killed by David Conley on Saturday night after he broke into their home in Houston. Conley's ex wife, Valerie Jackson had sent a text message to her mother pleading for help, telling her that she and her children were being held at gunpoint by Conley. All were bound and shot in the head execution style. One of those killed, was Conley’s own 13yr old son.
David Ray Conley III, had recently moved out of the family home and came back to find the locks had been changed, he told police.

CRIME:Man charged with murder after he was spotted driving while beating infant in car seat

A man named Daniel Cox from Kentucky has been arrested and charged with murder after he was seen beating his 4-month-old son while driving on a highway. Daniel had taken the infant from his mum to go for a visit with his family but was later seen by another motorist beating the boy, who was in a car seat, in the face and chest. The infant (pictured above) later died in hospital.

A sickening footage has shown callous French farm workers disposing of unwanted male chicks by tossing them into shredders while still alive or leaving them to suffocate in plastic sacks.

The gruesome footage recorded undercover at a hatchery and broadcast on French TV shows staff putting the chicks on a conveyor belt that leads them towards fast moving blades.

The Ghana Medical Association is set to hold a Press conference on Wednesday morning in Koforidua to announce to the world what their next line of action will be.

The Health experts who are on a strike action for nearly a fortnight, are currently meeting in the Eastern Regional capital to determine whether to actualize their threat of resigning en masse, and also to map out other strategies in ensuring their demands are met by the government.

General Secretary of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA), Dr. Frank Serebour has lashed out at the National Peace Council for calling on them to rescind their decision.

According to him, calling off the strike action is not on the agenda of the GMA.

Ghana’s former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings has alleged that Ghanaian journalists have been paid to keep silent while the country collapses.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony of Nhyira Prophetic Training Institute, the founder of National Democratic Party (NDP), said although the media is witnessing the gradual collapse of the country’s economy, they are silent due to the fact that they have been paid.

The salaries of striking doctors are likely to be frozen by government.

A statement from the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations reminded the doctors and all other striking public sectors workers that under the provisions of the Labour Act 2003 (Act 651), a worker on strike, “may forfeit his/her remuneration in respect of the period during which he/she is engaged in the illegal strike.”

As part of efforts to meet the varying needs of its customers, management of British Airways has launched a new on-board menu from Accra to London.

The new menu which incorporates regional flair of both destinations will also afford passengers an opportunity to enjoy simple, but flavourable cuisine that uses traditional cooking methods and fresh local ingredients.

1,000 National Service Personnel Deployed To Direct Traffic

The National Service Secretariat (NSS) has introduced a new module for this year’s service personnel, which will see them deployed onto the streets to help manage traffic.

The module, known as the Urban Traffic Management, is to complement the efforts of the Ghana Police Service in traffic management in the country’s urban centres.

A total of 1,000 service personnel have been drafted into the new module and are currently undergoing a two-week intensive training at the Ghana Police Training School in Accra.

Why We Sacked 14 Doctors - Catholic Church

Chairman of the Diocesan Health Service board of the Catholic Church in Techiman, Very Reverend Father John Kofi Takyi has justified the dismissal of fourteen (14) medical doctors of the Holy Family Hospital.

According to him, the action by the doctors contradicted the principles upheld by the Catholic Church which does not believe in using strikes to get labour issues addressed.

14 doctors including junior and senior house officers of the Holy Family Hospital were sacked by the National Catholic Health Service for expressing solidarity to the Ghana Medical Association in the latter’s strike demanding conditions of service from government.

Retired doctors are likely to replace striking members of the Ghana Medical Association (GMA) as they prepare to resign as a group on Friday.

One of such retired doctors willing to fill the gap of the agitating GMA members is a former Director General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr Elias Sore.

Dr Sore told Joy News the exigencies of the times at the health front calls for him and other retired doctors to come out of retirement and assist.

“I wouldn’t mind going to a hospital, at all”, he told Joy News.

Some teenage girls at Bomase, a village in the Upper Manya Krobo district of the Eastern Region have been forced to drop out of school after they were branded witches by a self-styled pastor.
The yet-to-be-identified pastor has blamed the death of some of the residents in the community on the minors.
The pastor who is believed to be in his twenties sends these girls - mostly between the ages of 12 and 14 - to a hill top to pray and deliver them from their witchcraft, physically abusing them in the process.The church at the hill top where the pastor exorcises the girls

To all government officials – planning to add at least 10% to any state contract, be very careful because that could be a curse on you.

According to the General Overseer of the Open Arms Ministries in Kumasi, Apostle Kofi Nkansah-Sarkodie, he will “curse” any government official who attempts to defraud the state.

NANA WIAFE Akenten III, the paramount chief of the Offinso Traditional Area in the Ashanti Region has pleaded with the Ghana Medical Association [GMA] to rescind their decision from the indefinite strike.

Public hospitals across the country have been abandoned by doctors who are pushing for conditions of service and they have threatened to resign from the profession by August 14 if their demands are not met, a move that cause a cataclysm in the health sector.

Water supply to residents in Sunyani in the Brong Ahafo is being threatened by galamsey activities.
This is because the Tano River, which serves as the main source of raw water for treatment and subsequent distribution to residents in the region, is being polluted by activities of illegal miners.
Joy News is learning that the miners wash gold particles in the River using poisonous chemicals.
Several protests against the illegal mining activities have not produced concrete results.

The 183 network of health facilities that make up the Christian Health Association of Ghana (CHAG) are struggling to deal with increased patient numbers as the strike by doctors at public hospitals enters week two.
Executive Director of CHAG Peter Kwame Yeboah revealed this Monday on ‘Burning Issues’, aired on Adom FM.

The Ghana Medical Association (GMA) has warned that it would not hesitate in responding to any insults heaved on striking doctors by anyone, irrespective of the person’s class or status in society.

According to the President of the GMA, Dr Opoku Adusei, public sector doctors have had enough of insults and invectives ever since they declared their strike action, adding that the GMA has resolved to reply in same manner and possibly even harsher to any attack on group.

A former Presidential candidate for the People’s National Convention (PNC) Dr. Edward Mahama has asked Ghanaians to blame state institutions and not President John Mahama for the strike by medical doctors.

According to him, the President is only a victim of unresponsive state institutions.

The Fast Track High Court in Accra yesterday gave the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) permission to collect television licence fees.It, however, debarred the state broadcaster from sharing the fees collected with the National Media Commission (NMC), the Ghana
Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA) and other stakeholders until the final determination of a suit challenging the legality or otherwise of GBC’s decision to share the fees collected.
Per the court’s decision, the fees can be collected any moment.

Executives of the incumbent National Democratic Congress in the Mpraeso constituency of the Eastern Region, who were locked up for assault, were on Monday granted bail by an Mpraeso Circuit court.

Their bail bond was set at Ghc8,000, and they are to reappear in court on Friday, August 14.

Engineers have created earphones that they say could help women get pregnant. Known as Yono, the in-ear wearable is designed to help track ovulation cycles, so that women can find out when they are at their most fertile.

Its creators say the device is more accurate and convenient to use than existing ovulation tracking systems.

The National Catholic Health Service has sacked 14 doctors in its Holy Family Hospital in Techiman. They include junior and senior house officers of the facility.

The Catholic Health Service claims the decision was taken after, “the officers served notice to them of their unavailability for training and service as an expression of their solidarity with the current impasse between GMA and Government.”

She Asked Her 89 Year-Old Grandma To Be A Bridesmaid. It Turned Out Better Than She Ever Expected

You're never too old to be a bridesmaid. Just ask bride Christine Quinn's 89 year-old grandma Betty Govern, a.k.a. Nana Betty.She asked me about 10 times,
'Are you sure?' and 'Why would you want an old lady in your bridal party?Not only was Nana Betty adorable - she was the life of the party!She had the entire wedding party laughing with her words of wisdom and funny comments throughout the day.

It all starts with your morning: rather than waking up on the wrong side of the bed, start with calm positivity. Whether you're an early riser who finds enjoyment in the early hours of the day, or a night owl who falls asleep already dreading the sound of the alarm, these seven morning habits will form the basis of a happy and productive workday.

DivineChocolate women Divine Chocolate public

Unwrap a bar of Divine Chocolate and you’ll find…not a golden ticket, but the story of one of the company’s owners.

Peel back one more —why not? Life is short!—and the stories inside may continue to surprise you. That’s because, as the only fair-trade chocolate maker owned by a farmers cooperative, Divine Chocolate has transformed the lives of tens of thousands of growers, many of them now-powerful women.

Besides a jolt of caffeine to get you through your day, a long-term study shows that coffee may have additional perks.Researchers say an inflammation-lowering effect of the beverage could be the reason coffee drinkers were 54 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes as non-coffee drinkers, as reported in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

turkish wedding couple serve food-youtube

A young Turkish couple wanted to celebrate their wedding day by bringing happiness to some of the refugees who have fled Syria since the outbreak of the civil war four years ago.

Fethullah Üzümcüoğlu and Esra Polat, who married last week in a province near the Syrian border, pooled the money they got from friends and family and used it to host a party for thousands of strangers.

“I was shocked when Fethullah first told me about the idea but afterwards I was won over by it. It was such a wonderful experience. I’m happy that we had the opportunity to share our wedding meal with the people who are in real need,”The idea was first proposed by the groom’s father, Ali Üzümcüoğlu, who said he hopes others will follow their example and help feed their Syrian neighbors in need

Culture of strikes, demo killing Ghana – Christian Council

The Christian Council of Ghana has made a passionate appeal to government and other stakeholders to address the emerging culture of strikes and demonstrations in the country.

According to the Council, the emerging culture of strikes and demonstrations is weakening laid down structures for negotiation, and displaces the relevance of dialogue.

The General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana, Rev. Dr. Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong made the appeal on-behalf of the Council in a fraternal message at the 2015 Synod of the Global Evangelical Church in Accra.

Thursday 27 August 2015

Wednesday 26 August 2015

Thursday 20 August 2015

Friday 14 August 2015

Wednesday 12 August 2015

Tuesday 11 August 2015

Sunday 9 August 2015