The following highlights represent what President Akufo-Addo said in his first State of the Nation address to Parliament on Tuesday, February 21, 2017.
I used to be here as MP, now I’m President
Thank God for peaceful and smooth tr…
One of US President Donald Trump's top aides has resigned amid abuse claims from his two ex-wives.
White House staff secretary Rob Porter said "these outrageous allegations are simply false" as he announced he would step down.
The ac…
Italian police have arrested the head of a top amateur cycling team and several associates suspected of encouraging young cyclists to take banned drugs.
Police raids took place in Lucca and elsewhere in Tuscany, media report.
The cyc…
The US has carried out rare air strikes on Syrian pro-government forces after what it called an "unprovoked attack" on allied Kurdish and Arab fighters.
US officials estimated that 100 pro-government fighters were killed in the incident…
The Minority Caucus in Parliament embarked on a sit-down strike to protest against what they describe as unprovoked insults from the Majority Leader, Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu over the cash-for-seat saga.
According to the Minority, the Maj…
A Nigerian airline has blamed a passenger after one of its aircraft doors fell off on landing.
Dana Air says it is impossible for a door to fall off by itself "without a conscious effort by a passenger to open it”.
Reports of the app…
North Korea has held a military parade attended by leader Kim Jong-un, a day before the opening of the Winter Olympics in the South.
The North often boasts of its parades but reports of this surfaced afterwards with TV only airing delay…
Former Minister of Defense and Interior, Dr. Benjamin Kunbour is lacing his boots to contest the national chairmanship position of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), sources close to him have confirmed.
The race for the National Ch…
The Commonwealth has welcomed The Gambia back as a member, following the democratic election of former estate agent Adama Barrow as president. A flag-raising ceremony is being held at the Commonwealth headquarters in central London to mark…
President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday he was open to adding a specific mention of Corsica in the French Constitution but rejected several other demands for autonomy made by the island’s nationalist leaders.
Corsica’s relationship …
North Korea has no intention of meeting U.S. officials during the Winter Olympics that start in South Korea on Friday, state media reported, dampening hopes the Games will help resolve a tense standoff over the North’s nuclear weapons prog…
Construction of the world’s tallest skyscraper in Jeddah is going ahead, the head of the consortium behind the $1.5 billion project said, despite the detention of some businessmen backing the plan in Saudi Arabia’s crackdown on corruption.…
A missing Nigerian masterpiece has been found in a "modest north London flat".
Ben Enwonwu's 1974 painting of the Ife princess Adetutu Ademiluyi, known as Tutu, became a symbol of reconciliation after the Nigerian-Biafran conflict.
T…
South Africa's Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa says he is holding direct talks with embattled President Jacob Zuma over a transfer of power.
Mr Ramaphosa, who heads South Africa's governing party, said both he and Mr Zuma understood th…
Mr John Nyaba, the Sene West District Chief Executive, has expressed satisfaction with the prevailing unity between supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the area towards the proposed creatio…
National Organiser of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), has cautioned flagbearer hopefuls of the party to desist from the campaign of running down former President John Mahama for their parochial political gains.
Accordin…
The United States has been a steadfast partner in Malawi’s development since independence in 1964
U.S. Ambassador to Malawi Virginia Palmer today announced that the Governments of the United States and Malawi have signed a Memorandum…
European Union leaders are so discomfited by their relationship with Turkey these days that they relegated their summit next month to Varna, a Bulgarian Black Sea port, rather than hold it in Brussels.
But despite their wariness over Pr…
Planned protests over rising fuel prices in Ghana have been criticised by the industry regulator, reports Joy Online, in an ongoing row with consumer bodies.
The Ghanaian news site quotes the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) as saying…
If the religious edict banning some forms of female genital mutilation in the self-declared republic of Somaliland is observed, it has the potential to change the lives of millions of Somali women.
The World Health Organization estimate…
The Minority in Parliament on Tuesday dissociated itself from the Report submitted by Mr Kwasi Ameyaw-Cheremeh, the Chairman of the committee set up to investigate the “Cash for Seat” allegation against the Ministry of Trade and Industry a…
Indian officials are investigating claims that a fake doctor in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh has infected at least 33 people with HIV with a used syringe.
The unqualified practitioner allegedly used one syringe, which he recycled…
Angela Merkel's conservatives (CDU/CSU) have finally hashed out a coalition deal with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) that could break months of political deadlock in Germany.
Negotiators have agreed on the division of key minist…
South African President Jacob Zuma is under pressure to resign, as top members of his own party who have the power to remove him consider their next step.
His presidency has covered more than a third of South Africa's time after aparthe…
Mr Alan Kwadwo Kyeremanten, Minister of Trade and Industry, wants Parliament, and by extension the state, to explore the possibilities of charging Alhaji Mohammed Mubarak Muntaka, Minority Chief Whip for wilfully causing financial loss to …
The Five-member Committee mandated to investigate the “Cash for Seat” saga has dismissed the allegation brought against the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Millennium Excellence Foundation, organisers of the Ghana Expatriate Busines…
Kenya has deported opposition supporter and lawyer, Miguna Miguna, following his role in the unofficial swearing-in of opposition leader Raila Odinga as "the people's president".
Mr Miguna has boarded a flight to take him to Canada, whe…
The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is to attend the Winter Olympic Games which open in Pyeongchang in the South on Friday, ministers in Seoul say.
Kim Yo-jong, a senior Workers' Party official promoted to the poli…
The Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Kennedy Osei Nyarko, has underscored the need for Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to get a comprehensive data sy…
South African President Jacob Zuma's state of the nation speech in parliament has been postponed, as pressure grows on him to resign.
Parliament speaker Baleka Mbete made the announcement, without giving a new date for the address that …
More than six years after they were forced to leave their homes in the civil war that toppled Muammar Gaddafi, tens of thousands of residents of the Libyan ghost city of Tawergha were finally meant to start going home last week. It never …
A strong earthquake in Taiwan has killed at least two people and injured more than 200 others, officials say.
The powerful 6.4-magnitude tremor struck at 23:50 (15:50 GMT) about 20km (12 miles) off the island's east coast.
Emergency …
Denmark’s government said on Tuesday it planned to fine people who covered their face in public, putting it in line to join France and others restricting the burqa and the niqab, worn by some Muslim women.
The center-right government, w…
Government has disclosed that it saved $300,000 after renegotiating a $9.1million deal to purchase bulletproof vehicles for the Presidency.
Making the disclosure at a press conference on Tuesday, February 6 in Accra, the Informatio…
The Functional Executive Committee (FEC) of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), at its meeting on Tuesday has finalised its Outreach Programme to be carried out simultaneously in all 10 Regions.
The exercise, which would commence o…
Workers staged warning strikes last week as part of their dispute
Industrial workers in south-western Germany have won the right to reduced working hours as part of a deal that could benefit millions of employees across the country.
…
Zimbabwe's main opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai is critically ill in a South African hospital, reports say.
Local media quoted family sources as saying the 65-year-old former prime minister - who is being treated for colon cancer - …
The Nelson Mandela Foundation has called for South Africa's controversial President Jacob Zuma to quit as he faces growing pressure to stand down.
South Africa had seen "systematic looting" under Mr Zuma's rule, and he "must go sooner r…
The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has voiced what it says is its caution against the nomination of its one-time flagbearer running mate and political stalwart, Martin ABK Amidu, for the post of Special Prosecutor.
…
The Minority on Tuesday, February 6 walked out of parliament in connection with a debate on the 146-page report by the five-member ad hoc committee regarding the cash-for-seat saga.
The Minority, led by Haruna Iddrisu, said there w…
The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights on Tuesday said the protection of human rights is a collective responsibility, “whether we are Judges, Litigants, Applicants, Respondent States, Civil Society or friends of African human right…
Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, Director of Elections of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has advised party members to adopt “the Jehovah Witness and trotro-mate theories” to ensure effective party organisation to recapture power during the …
This February, we celebrate National African American History Month to honor the significant contributions African Americans have made to our great Nation — contributions that stand as a testament to their resolve, resilience, and co…
China released a further list of goods banned for export to North Korea on Monday, saying the items could be used to build weapons of mass destruction, amid a standoff between North Korea and the United States over its weapons programs.
…
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is offering the migrants, most of whom are from Sudan and Eritrea, $3,500 and a plane ticket to what it says is a safe destination in another country in sub-Saharan Africa.
The fate of some…
The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mr Ishmael Ashitey, has urged members of the Ledzokuku Krowor Municipal Assembly (LEKMA) and its chief executive to engage residents to enable them to understand the need to divide the assembly into two…
A new World Cup event featuring eight leading athletics nations and intended to attract a wider audience to the sport will take place in London this year, British Athletics said on Monday.
Britain and the United States will compete alon…
The sole surviving suspect from the 2015 Paris terror attacks is refusing to speak any further in a Belgian court, where he is on trial over the gunfight that led to his arrest.
Salah Abdeslam has said he will not respond to questions f…
An oil tanker with a crew of 22 Indian nationals is missing in the Gulf of Guinea off Benin in West Africa.
There has been no contact with the Panama-registered Marine Express since Thursday.
The incident occurred less than a month a…
Russian media have lauded a pilot killed in Syria as a hero, saying he detonated his grenade to avoid being captured by jihadists who had shot his plane out of the sky.
Roman Filipov's reported last words were: "Here's for the guys."
…