Kendrick Lamar has tweeted a new link to his Oklama website. And, on the site, the rapper revealed his new album’s title and release date: Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers is out May 13.
Lamar teased the record—his “final TDE album,” as he described it—on a website launched in August 2021. “May the Most High continue to use Top Dawg as a vessel for candid creators. As I continue to pursue my life’s calling,” he wrote at the time.
“There’s beauty in completion. And always faith in the unknown.” He signed the note, “Oklama.”
In March 2020, Lamar and his longtime collaborator Dave Free launched pgLang, an enterprise they described as “a new multi-lingual, at service company.”
He’s the subject of a new cultural biography by Pitchfork contributor Marcus J. Moore called The Butterfly Effect: How Kendrick Lamar Ignited the Soul of Black America.
A rare rough ruby from Tanzania dubbed one of the world’s biggest has gone on display for the first time ahead of an auction in the Gulf emirate of Dubai.
Never before seen in public, the stone is currently on display at DIFC and will be offered at auction shortly after Ramadan.
Described by Patrick Pilati, managing director of SJ Gold & Diamond, as the company’s “crown jewel”, Burj Alhamal is expected to attract strong interest given the GCC’s growing appetite for investing in high value, one-of-a-kind gems and jewellery pieces.
However, even as the gem goes public for the first time, authorities in Tanzania are yet to say anything about how the current owner obtained it.
The would-be buyer of the stone will have to decide what to do with it once bought. With more people looking to invest in portable assets in the wake of the pandemic, as opposed to more traditional static investments such as land or property, this might dictate if the stone will be cut up into smaller stones and sold off, or kept in its large, raw state.
The 8,400-carat stone – nicknamed Burj Alhamal and weighing 2.8 kilogrammes – was mined in Tanzania and made its debut at a Dubai hotel on Friday (April 15) as part of SJ Gold and Diamond’s Callisto collection.
The company says it is “one of the biggest” rough rubies in the world, with managing director Patrick Pilati calling it among the “rarest rubies ever found”.
He said the Tanzanian stone was “not heated”, meaning “it has not been treated, so it’s natural and that’s why it’s precious”.
Local reports have suggested the rough ruby with greenish and dark-purple hues could fetch up to US$120 million.
The stone will be on display at different locations in Dubai for the next 30 days before going to auction, Pilati told Agence France-Presse.
Late last month, a giant diamond nicknamed “The Rock” went on display for the first time in Dubai.
The 228.31-carat pear-shaped gem, which was mined and polished in South Africa more than 20 years ago, is the largest white diamond ever to come to auction, according to Christie’s.
The diamond is expected to fetch over US$30 million.
With the President’s announcement that social gatherings could resume at full capacity, Christians marked Good Friday with in-person with activities at various locations.
One such mammoth gathering was the Good Friday Miracle Service. Hundreds of buses and thousands of people filled the Independence Square.
Located in Accra, the Square is purported to be the world’s second-biggest ‘city square’ after Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.
All available space was taken by the huge gathering, which comprised of people from all walks of life.
Led by some Bishops of Charismatic denominations, the multitude prayed for the nation, Ghana, specifically for President Akufo Addo, the Executive, the Legislature, the Judiciary and the people of Ghana. Prayers were also offered for the salvation of people in all nations.
A ten-thousand-member choir sang songs to mark the theme. The well-organised gathering witnessed record-breaking numbers in attendance.
Bishop Dag Heward-Mills, an evangelist popular for his Healing Jesus Campaigns in Africa, preached a sermon on “The Mysterious Accomplishment of Jesus Christ”.
He opined that the gruesome ordeal God’s Son went through was to accomplish certain things; temptation, pressure, betrayal, sorrow and accusations to mention a few.
He stated that Christians should also go through these when following Christ.https://0c491d9a08bf28aa9390d498bde35428.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html
The man of God prayed for the gathering and also prayed specifically for the sick to be healed. Several people testified they had been healed of various ailments.
Christians believe that being saved is the basic truth of the Bible, made real by the central event of all history – the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Thousands were saved at the Independence Square on Good Friday.
After the Good Friday Miracle Service, news spread about the sudden passing away of Dr David Heward-Mills.
David Heward-Mills was the first son of Bishop Dag Heward-Mills. David was a medical doctor residing and working in the United State of America.
Despite the news of the death, the Bishop has displayed immense and commendable faith in God in the face of adversity and great loss. He encouraged his congregation to not lose faith in God.
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers inspecting luggage at Washington Dulles International Airport recently discovered an unusual find: three and a half pounds of bat meat, ‘Dankwansere’.
The charred meat was found in the baggage of a passenger from Maryland arriving from Ghana, on April 5, CBP said in a news release.
Bat meat is considered “bushmeat,” which can carry infectious diseases, and is therefore prohibited from entering the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In addition to bat meat, the traveler was also carrying prohibited plants in his luggage, including 12 pounds of tetraplura, popularly known as Prekese, (a flowering plant from West Africa), turkey berries also known as Kwahu Nsusua (yellow-green, pea-sized berries), and eggplants, authorities said.
The plants were seized and destroyed, and the meat was turned over to the CDC for further inspection, the CBP said. The traveler was
“Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists play a very challenging frontline role in protecting the public, our nation’s agricultural industries, and our economic vitality every day against the deliberate or accidental introduction of potentially crippling animal diseases that may be carried in passenger baggage,” Daniel Escobedo, CBP’s Area Port Director for the Area Port of Washington, DC, said in the release.
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A bat’s skeleton can be seen in the bottom left in this x-ray image of the traveller’s baggage U.S. Customs and Border Protection
Bushmeat has been linked to the spread of Ebola, as humans may be exposed to the virus when hunting, butchering and eating infected animals, according to the CDC. Bats, in particular, have been suggested as one possible source of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Despite these concerns, the bushmeat trade continues to grow due to food insecurity, among other issues.
The British government’s plan to send asylum seekers in the United Kingdom to Rwanda for processing is facing a bumpy ride, with criticism coming from all angles.
This follows the announcement of the £120 million deal, on Thursday, by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), civil servants at the British Home Office, which is in charge of immigration and asylum, and over 160 human rights and campaign groups are strongly opposed to the deal.
A statement by the UNHCR expressed “strong opposition and concerns” over the UK’s plan to “export its asylum obligations” and urged the Conservative government of Prime Minister Boris Johnson to “refrain from transferring asylum seekers and refugees” to Rwanda.
“UNHCR remains firmly opposed to arrangements that seek to transfer refugees and asylum seekers to third countries in the absence of sufficient safeguards and standards,” said the UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Gillian Triggs.
“Such arrangements simply shift asylum responsibilities, evade international obligations, and are contrary to the letter and spirit of the Refugee Convention. “People fleeing war, conflict and persecution deserve compassion and empathy.
“They should not be traded like commodities and transferred abroad for processing,” she added.
The UNHCR said the UK and Rwanda should re-think the plan, warning: “Instead of deterring refugees from resorting to perilous journeys, these externalisation arrangements will only magnify risks, causing refugees to seek alternative routes, and exacerbating pressures on frontline states”.
The UNHCR noted that Rwanda had “generously provided a safe haven to refugees fleeing conflict and persecution for decades”.
It said the majority lived in camps with limited access to economic opportunities, but now “wealthier nations must show solidarity in supporting Rwanda and the refugees it already hosts, and not the other way around”.
“The UK has an obligation to ensure access to asylum for those seeking protection,”the statement emphasised.
“Those who are determined to be refugees can be integrated, while those who are not and have no other legal basis to stay, can be returned in safety and dignity to their country of origin.
“Instead, the UK is adopting arrangements that abdicate responsibility to others and thus threaten the international refugee protection regime, which has stood the test of time, and saved millions of lives over the decades.”
It was reported that the UK Home Secretary, Priti Patel, overrode opposition to the plan by her officials by invoking a “ministerial direction” that gave her sole responsibility for the decision.
It was only the second time the Home Office had used such power since 1990. The General Secretary of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union, which represents civil servants, Mark Serwotka, said: “For the government to attempt to claim this is anything other than utterly inhumane is sheer hypocrisy.
“We have already seen that they are prepared to risk lives by turning boats back in the [English] Channel – a policy which we have had to take them to court over. “It is a heartless approach that displays total disregard for human life which everyone must oppose.”
In a radio interview on Saturday, the opposition Labour Party’s Shadow Minister for Prisons, Ellie Reeves, said the government’s plan was “completely misguided”. She noted: “The government is going to be paying £120 million upfront before any asylum seekers will be sent to Rwanda.
“Asylum seekers are saying it won’t deter them from crossing the Channel. “We are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis so it doesn’t seem the right way to be spending money on an unethical and unworkable scheme that won’t deter people from coming over.”
Announcing the plan on Thursday, Mr Johnson said “this innovative approach…will provide safe and legal routes for asylum, while disrupting the business model of the gangs” that had been smuggling people.
He said this would mean that “economic migrants taking advantage of the asylum system will not get to stay in the UK, while those in genuine need will be properly protected, including with access to legal services on arrival in Rwanda, and given the opportunity to build a new life in that dynamic country, supported by the funding we are providing”.
The plan means that anyone entering the UK illegally – as well as those who have arrived illegally since January 1 – may be relocated to Rwanda.
President of the Ghana Football Association, Kurt Okraku says lots of factors go into the decision to release the squad before the matches between Ghana and Nigeria.
“A lot of factors went into the decision to release the squad the day the squad was released. There are moments we release two weeks before the game. There are a-times one week before the game, we came out with the squad and for very good reasons. We were preparing against our sworn rivals, Nigeria and every factor counts in such encounters and it was always important for us to make sure that at least we can control what we can control and leave out what we cannot “.
Asked when the list of the squad for the World Cup will be released, Mr. Okraku said, “Anytime the squad is ready, we will release the squad “.
He asked the public to be patient.
“ I think that we all have to be patient. We know the people love the Blackstars. People will always want to see the squad and the squad will always be given to the people. We just have to be patient a bit.”
We all love the underdog story, don’t we? The rags to riches of that man who came from the village and set up the biggest business in Accra.
The story of that woman who started from zero and now leading the pack in her chosen area or the story of that business mogul who began in a kiosk and now boasts of some of the country’s biggest retail shops.
These stories abound and are inspirational, motivational and give the belief that with time and the right attitude, we can also reach there.
There however exist some rag to riches stories that raise eyebrows. Not that they did not happen but the way they are told, makes it hard to believe.
In Ghana, there exist an endless list of successful business persons who with nothing set themselves on a path to success and are now celebrated for their shrewdness.
There are stories of these magnates that some, if not most people, find hard to believe.
GhanaWeb brings you five of such stories.
I set up my company with GH₵3 – Jospong
In the waste management industry and allied areas, the Jospong Group reigns supreme. Lately, they have made a foray into the media space with the acquisition of Metro TV and the establishment of Original TV and Radio.
The success of Jospong would not have been possible but for a GH₵3 initial investment by the owner, Joseph Siaw Agyepong.
He is quoted by Joy FM to have said that a GH₵3 loan handed him by his mother funded the establishment of Jospong Printing Press which became the foundation for the establishment of the Jospong conglomerate.
I sold scraps – Nana Kwame Bediako
Nana Kwame Bediako, Cheddar and Freedom Jacob Caesar. Don’t be confused, they are all names of one person who is represented in the media as a real estate mogul.
Media reports indicate Cheddar or whichever of the three names you opt for owns some of the most patronized and luxurious buildings in the country.
From the Number1 Oxford Street to the Kwarleyz estates, Cheddar has built a niche as a real estate magnate in the country.
But his story started with dismantling his car and selling it as scraps to dealers in the United Kingdom.
“By age 21, he had made a million pounds for himself, selling scrap, steel, and telecommunications material while in school at Waltham Forest College,” Joy FM’s Twitter quoted him.
Selling cassettes – Despite
Osei Kwame Despite is hailed and celebrated as an entrepreneur and job creator who has given job opportunities to thousands of people.
From media to financial to the beverage industry, he has an interest in key sectors of the Ghanaian economy.
It is an unhidden secret, however, that Despite’s wealth began with the selling of records at Kantamanto.
From there, he built a music distribution empire that catapulted him into what is known now.
St Philip Enterprise – GH₵2.50ps
In the phone and accessories business, St Philips enterprise is high on the list of most popular companies.
With constant media advertisement, St Philips has positioned itself as a destination for phones and accessories.
According to the CEO, Philip Danquah, the entire St Philip enterprise was made possible by a GH₵2.50ps investment.
“I sold my coal pot for GH₵3 and came to Accra. The whole St Philip Enterprise started with GH₵2:50pesewas”, he told Adom FM.
As the global economic crunch takes a toll on businesses, industries and services, the bakery industry is not left out, as prices of baking products keep rising at the expense of high inflation rates.
Regina Agana Akanteba engages some bakers in Accra to ascertain how they have been surviving.
According to the bakers, business was booming until harsh economic challenges emerged. The bakers believe things could have been better but the increase in prices of goods and services which has been exacerbated by hikes in fuel prices has taken a toll on bread.
The Russia-Ukraine war has also been another factor, the two countries are the main producers of wheat and flour in the world. They said, the situation has compelled them to also increase the prices of their products or reduce the sizes of their products, especially bread, but are still incurring losses.
“When they increase the products and you also try to increase or reduce the size then it becomes a problem. They complain bitterly and some even refuse to buy. I’m a Ghanaian if I can’t do business here then where can I do?”, a baker said.
“Every time they increase flour, sugar, margarine and all our products, this is affecting the bakery industry. I have people that I work with, they make a living out of it, and if because of inflation all these people will become jobless. Do imagine the havoc this is causing”, another baker asserts.
Popular bread brands such as A1,FC, BB, Maa Reggi, Daily and Value bread have increased the prices of products ranging from 8 cedis to 13 cedis per loaf that were sold between 5 cedis and 10 cedis. Though some have increased the prices, the size of the bread remains the same.
Some consumers of bread are complaining about the recent increment in prices of bread and called on the government to address the situation.
“Last week I went to buy 1 cedi bread and the shopkeeper insulted and sacked me from her shop. This one something must be done. At least if you are working, there should be something for you to save, but now due to the so-called inflation you can’t even save anything
“Now the economy is very very hard, so now schoolchildren can’t buy bread for 1 cedi”, a parent noted.
The bakers lamented that the situation is crippling their businesses, and have urged consumers to be considerate when increasing the prices or reducing the sizes of their products.
Bishop Dag Heward-Mills is the founder of the Lighthouse Chapel International.
In a message to church members, the church stated:
It is with deep regret and great sorrow that we announce the sudden passing away of David Heward-Mills, after a short illness. David was the first son of our Founder and Presiding Bishop and Episcopal Sister Adelaide Heward -Mills .
David was a Medical Doctor working and living in the US. He was 31 years old.
We, also as a church, are heartbroken, however we stand with our leader and his family and believe that God will comfort and see us through this very difficult season.
Please respect their privacy during this difficult time. Funeral arrangements will be communicated in due course.
David Heward-Mills worked as a resident physician at Prisma Health, Columbia, South Carolina in the United States of America.
From July 2019 to June 2020, he was with Piedmont Healthcare as a medical doctor in Athens, Georgia, United States.
He worked as a part-time lead director for national alliance for mental health and substance abuse recovery for five years
He was also a research physician at Shriners Hospitals for Children – Galveston.
Education
The late Dr David Heward-Mills had his Internal Medicine Residency Programme at the University of Georgia from 2019 to 2020.
Before that [2008 to 2014], he acquired his Doctor of Medicine certificate from Ukraine at the National Pirogov Memorial Medical University, located in Vinnytsya, Ukraine [Vinnic’kij Derzavnij Medicnij Universitet im M.I.Pirogova]
A former Coca-Cola Enterprises manager has admitted taking more than £1.5m in bribes in exchange for helping favoured companies win lucrative contracts.
Noel Corry, 56, provided Boulting Group, Tritec Systems, and Electron Systems with confidential and sensitive data from 2004 to 2013.
It gave them an advantage over rivals in contract bids.
Corry, of Lymm, Cheshire, was given a 20-month suspended sentence and the companies involved were fined.
A former director of Tritec Systems, Gary Haines, 60, of Market Drayton, Shropshire, was also given a 20-month suspended sentence and a former contract manager at Boulting, Peter Kinsella, 58, of Manchester, was given a 12-month suspended sentence at Southwark Crown Court.
All three were ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.
‘Bogus contracts’
Boulting Group – now named WABGS Ltd – was fined £500,000, while the other two companies were made to pay £70,000, for failing to prevent bribery.
Corry, a senior engineering manager responsible for identifying electrical services contractors for bottling plants in the UK, was forced to sell his family home and hand over his pension pot to repay Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd £1.7m when his nine-year scam was discovered, the court heard.
Prosecutors said Corry received payments for “bogus” contracts for Coca-Cola Enterprises, for work never carried out, or had the firm pay more than the real price for the work and was sent the difference.
Corry received at least £950,000 from Boulting, which was said to have benefited by £13m, while Tritec Systems and Electron Systems paid more than £600,000 in bribes by the time he was discovered and sacked.
The court heard the bribes to Corry came from a shell company he controlled through family members, Trojan Ltd, Alpha Windows – owned by his brother-in-law – or Axial Partnership Ltd, where he was a partner.
Corry also received hundreds of thousands of pounds as sponsorship or through other payments to Droylsden FC, a football club where he was president.
He also arranged expensive entertainment events through corporate events company Sports Management UK Ltd, including one payment of more than £11,000 for Manchester United season tickets paid for by companies he favoured.
Corry admitted five counts of corruption, Haines admitted two counts while Kinsella admitted three counts of corruption and three counts of conspiracy to bribe.
WABGS admitted failure to prevent bribery. Tritec Systems and Electron Systems pleaded guilty to corruption and failure to prevent bribery.
Alistair Dickson of the CPS said Corry established a “corrupt procurement culture” awarding contracts to companies whose senior managers were prepared to bribe him.
He said Coca Cola Enterprises were “wholly unaware” of Corry’s corruption but added: “The contracting companies should have had in place compliance measures which would have prevented the payments.”
Det Supt John Roch, of the Metropolitan Police, said: “Corry, Haines and Kinsella worked hard to present themselves as reputable, reliable and genuine businessmen.”
He added: “This is the first time the Met has charged and convicted a company with failure to prevent bribery.”
