Berekum Arsenals have withdrawn from the Ghana Premier League with just four matches to end the season, Ghanasoccernet.com can reveal.Club officials took the decision to

dailymail.co.uk :    The Hamptons may be famous as the natural home of America's 'old money', but the exclusive community will soon have a more modern

The Ghana Football Association has cancelled next month’s international friendly against Kenya, officials have confirmed.According to a letter sent to the Kenya Football Federation, Ghana

people.com :    Heat was Monday night's theme on The Voice – even the air-conditioning in the studio gave out for a time.Despite the setback, the

Ghana Business NewsWhither, global trading system?Hindu Business LineThe new Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Roberto Carvalho de Azevedo, will face a Sisyphean task in breathing life into the comatose Doha Round that has been under negotiations since its official launch in November 2011.New chief vows to revive World Trade OrganisationChannel News AsiaInto a protectionist worldAsia Times OnlineBrazil's Azevedo to head World Trade Organization - Arkansas OnlineArkansas Online (subscription)Bahrain News Agency -Daily Caller -Metropolitan Corporate Counselall 26 news articles »

New York Daily NewsAngelina Jolie speaking out raises awareness: top cancer docNew York Daily NewsA top cancer doctor praised Oscar-winner Angelina Jolie for raising public consciousness about breast cancer by detailing her decision to undergo a double mastectomy. “Awareness is a good thing,” said Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer of the American ...Winnipeg cancer survivor applauds Angelina Jolie's decisionCBC.caAngelina Jolie Is Still a WomanThe AtlanticBrad Pitt: Jolie's choice 'absolutely heroic' - USA TodayUSA TODAYKansas City Star -MTV.com -Salt Lake Tribune (blog)all 645 news articles »

Ghana defender John Boye is worried Stade Rennes would suffer the consequences of his red card.

Zee NewsBlackBerry Q5 announced; to aim for budget buyers - Zee News - IndiaZee NewsBlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins in his keynote unveiled the new BlackBerry Q5 at the BlackBerry Live 2013 event held at Orlando. The new smartphone was quite rumoured in the build up to the event though most doubted that the company would actually ...BlackBerry Q10 lands at Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint this summerCNETBlackberry announces BBM for iOS and AndroidInquirerThis Morning: BlackBerry BBM Comes to IOS, Android, Cheers for FIO, YHOOBarron's (blog)Globe and Mail -Wired -Computerworldall 278 news articles »

BBC NewsLumia 925 Trades Metal For PlasticInformationWeekNokia unveiled the Lumia 925 at an event in London today, the company's latest Windows Phone 8 device. The 925 uses a brand-new design but keeps most of the features found in the Lumia 920 and Lumia 928. The big change is the form itself. Nokia has ...Nokia unveils Lumia 925, lighter metal modelIrish IndependentCan Nokia's good not great Lumia 925 stand up to Apple's new range when it ...Computerworld (blog)New Nokia Lumia 925 Focuses on CameraWall Street Journal (blog)PC Magazine -PC Advisor -3G.co.ukall 392 news articles »

ABC NewsSearch continues for Mother's Day second-line shooting suspectNOLA.comNew Orleans Police Chief Ronal Serpas announces that Akein Scott is a suspect in the Mother's Day shooting in New Orleans, Monday, May 13, 2013.(Photo by David Grunfeld, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune). Print · Helen Freund, NOLA.com | The ...Violence in New Orleans: The Nation Finally Takes NoticeDissident Voice19 people injured in New Orleans Mother's Day parade shootingXinhuaMother's Day parade shooting: New Orleans police release shooting CCTV - videoThe GuardianCHANNELS -Christian Broadcasting Network -Montreal Gazetteall 564 news articles »

BBC SportRoberto Mancini pays price of failure at Manchester CityBBC SportThis time last year I stood in Manchester's Albert Square - the imposing setting for Monday night's triumphant farewell to Sir Alex Ferguson - and reflected on what looked like a changing of the guard at the top of English football. There, beneath the Town Hall's ...Sacked Roberto Mancini described by former kit man as 'arrogant and vain'Irish TimesMan City sack manager ManciniDAWN.comRoberto Mancini should have had another year at Manchester City, says former ...Telegraph.co.ukHerald.ie -SuperSport (blog) -The Sport Reviewall 613 news articles »

Sunon Asogli Power Company (SAPC), one of the five independent power producers (IPPs) in the energy sector, says it will build a second power plant to generate 360 megawatts of electricity in the second phase of its power agreement with Government. The plant will cost US$315million and be completed within a year, Mr. Li Xiaohai, Chairman of the company, disclosed to B&FT in an interview. “SAPC has a strong interest in Government’s plan to develop 5,000 megawatts of power capacity to cushion economic expansion. As investors, we have the capacity to start and complete the project within a maximum of one year. The budget for preliminary works has already been approved,” he said on the sidelines of an energy forum organised by the Ghanaian German Economic Association (GGEA) in Accra. The project, when completed, will see the company raise its electricity generation capacity to 560 megawatts to support the country’s mounting energy demand -- reckoned to be rising at between 8-10 percent per annum. The company currently operates a 200-megawatt plant that was shut down last year due to the unavailability of gas from the West Africa gas pipeline. Ghana’s electricity consumption rose from 1,664 megawatts in 2011 to 1,800 megawatts in 2012 -- with the existing generation capacity just enough to meet this demand. The Ghana Grid Company Limited (GRIDCo), which manages the power-transmission infrastructure, has estimated that the country needs around 340 megawatts of reserve power capacity for contingencies -- but that is not available at present. To ensure that power generation keeps up with supply, about US$200-280million of investment in new power generation is required each year. Mr. Xiaohai said because Government is unable to provide this amount, private sector investment is critical for the power sector and Government must “coordinate and organise the system, including how tariffs should be calculated and collected”. It must also honour its payment obligations on time. “Payment for supplies has been a major headache because it takes Government up to seven weeks to settle a month’s bill,” he said. “We are owed in excess of about US$7million from last year’s operations. This is very high because we have an agreement that allows for a 45-48-day payment, after which it becomes a breach of contract.” Mr. Li said the unavailability of gas is costing the company significantly due to the shutdown of its 200-megawatt plant which can only run on gas. The company is however also targetting alternative power sources as it is currently undertaking feasibility studies into wind power generation, with plans to introduce two 300-megawatt coal-fired power plants to support economic needs. Asogli, whose output accounts for 14 percent of Ghana’s total electricity generation, is jointly owned by Shenzhen Energy Corporation -- an independent power producer in China, and China-African Development Fund (CADFUND), a special fund of the Chinese Government to support local businesses that want to venture into Africa. By Patrick PAINTSIL

MTN has more data customers than any other mobile network operator in the country, affirming the operator’s stranglehold on the telecom sector in the country, the National Communication Authority (NCA) has reported. According to the NCA, as at the end of the first three months of this year MTN controlled 65.42% of the total 8.89 million mobile data subscribers in the country. This positions the mobile network operator well to increase its revenue streams as mobile data is predicted to overtake voice within the next five years. Currently, MTN controls almost half of the voice subscription market in the country. MTN’s performance in the data market is remarkable in a market with five other operators, despite dropping about 200 basis points from its data subscription figure in January this year. Tigo follows MTN in second place with 14.48% of the market, while Airtel increased its subscriptions from 811,866 in February to 867,386 at the end of the first quarter. Airtel’s share represents 9.75% of the market. Vodafone, which is the only mobile network operator in the country to cap its broadband data packages, trailed in fourth position with 6.64% of the market. At the same time Expresso maintained its subscription of 49,270, but its market share dropped marginally to 0.55%. Meanwhile, Glo’s subscription decreased from 420,479 to 280,077 -- representing 3.15% of the total market share. The CEO of MTN Ghana recently said that data remains a key driver in the company’s operations as its data revenues increased 96.1% in 2012, and the trend is continuing with lower data tariffs and bundles. Growth in the mobile data market has been helped by the proliferation of cheap smartphones, which has helped to drive mobile data traffic to social media platforms and other Internet applications such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter. At present, many Ghanaians use phones not PCs to access the Internet because broadband connectivity is incredibly slow and the nation lacks a decent fixed-line network. And with the current fluctuations in the power sector, more people have turned their phones into home entertainment centres and are spending time on the smartphones, which is also driving data usage and revenue in the market. The GSM Association (GSMA) has predicted that mobile operators will make more money from data than voice by 2018. This prediction falls in line with local operators’ decision to align their services toward enhancing user experience in data services, which has helped to increase mobile broadband penetration in the country by more than three-fold to 23% within 12 months. According to the GSMA, which represents mobile operators and related companies devoted to supporting the standardising, deployment and promotion of the GSM mobile telephone system, the surge in connected devices and the growth of machine-to-machine communications is creating huge demand. Currently, fixed (wired)-broadband penetration remains marginal; but mobile broadband took off with a remarkable surge in penetration from seven percent in 2010 to 23 percent in 2011, which is comparable to that of many developed countries. This makes Ghana the country with the highest mobile-broadband penetration in Africa. A recent GSMA report, lays out some of the ways that mobile is transforming lives, particularly in the developing world. “Mobile health services could help save one million lives in Africa,” it said. By Evans Boah-Mensah

Striker Mahatma Otoo has agreed to sign a new one-year deal at Hearts of Oak, according to reports in the Ghanaian media.

Times of IndiaReward considered for stadium heist infoNews24Police said on Monday that millions of rands were stolen during the robbery at the FNB Stadium not long after the Justin Bieber concert. See the pictures. Related Links. Millions stolen in FNB Stadium heistview · Robbers hit FNB Stadium after Bieber concert ...Justin Bieber South Africa Concert Takings StolenMTV UKHicks: Justin Bieber robbed after South Africa gigSan Jose Mercury NewsJustin Bieber stadium on lockdown after robbers make off with millions in ...Telegraph.co.ukChannel 24 -TMZ.com -Eyewitness Newsall 119 news articles »

Irish IndependentDeadly Benghazi blast caused by fishing explosives - officialReuters UKTRIPOLI | Tue May 14, 2013 3:48pm BST. TRIPOLI (Reuters) - A blast that killed three people in Libya's second city Benghazi was caused by fishing explosives that detonated accidentally, not a car bomb as originally thought, a local government official said ...Libya deadly car bomb near Benghazi hospitalBBC NewsBenghazi bomb kills and injured dozens as Libya's security unravelsTelegraph.co.ukLibyan official says car bomb in eastern city of Benghazi has killed 9, including 3 ...Washington PostIrish Times -Ahram Online -The Daily Starall 109 news articles »

The Israeli Embassy in Ghana will officially launch a club dedicated to all alumni and individuals who have benefitted from the training of its international Development Agency (MASHAV) over the years.  The Ghana Chapter of the Shalom Club will officially be launched on May 25, 2013, and will include a screening of the documentary “Kumasi-Haifa” which follow’s MASHAV’s Early Childhood Education programme in Kumasi during its first years. The alumni club will provide Ghanaian experts and professionals in various fields a unique platform to network, share experiences and ideas, get professional updates and initiate activities to the benefit of Ghanaian society. The event will bring together individuals who have been trained through MASHAV -- in Israel or in Ghana -- to interact and network.  MASHAV maintains contact with many of its over-200,000 former course participants through its network of over 70 Shalom Clubs worldwide. These clubs serve as a forum for MASHAV alumni to participate in professional and social activities. Members of the club are usually invited to attend local lectures by skilled experts to exchange ideas and to organise technical cooperation and humanitarian assistance, as well as hold cultural functions. Israeli Ambassador to Ghana, Madam Sharon Bar-li noted: “We are excited to launch the Shalom Club in Ghana for the first time. We are proud to see that our alumni hves reached top positions in their professional fields and in the Ghanaian public sector, and are now in positions of influence and decision-making." "MASHAV is training individuals and empowering them to lead change and impart the know-how that they’ve acquired upon their peers. Today, we are bringing all these individuals together in order to amplify the impact they can and should make.” The Ambassador added that it is heartwarming to notice the diversity of the alumni -- men and women from all ten regions of Ghana, younger and older. She noted that some of the club-members were trained in Israel as far back as 1969. In a related development, MASHAV has launched a new and updated website. The website -- http://www.mashav.mfa.gov.il -- is both more colorful and easier to navigate. Each section of the website displays the different aspects of MASHAV’s activities. MASHAV, Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation, has been working to improve lives and living conditions across the developing world for more than fifty years through capacity building and knowledge sharing -- using small budget to create great impact. Bringing Israel's first-hand experience and own creative solutions for development, MASHAV offers technical assistance in education, agriculture, medicine, advancement of the status of women, community and family, and other fields. Since inception, MASHAV professionals have trained close to 270,000 people from approximately 132 countries, in Israel and abroad.

Agro-processing businesses such as fishing, farming among others within the country have been encouraged to improve upon their products and services to be competitive in the global market. Also, you have to come together as a group to ensure a fair market price that will promote and expand your business, Mr. Charles Wordey, Marketing Manager of the Export Development and Agricultural Investment Fund (EDAIF) has said. He said this at a national road show organized by Export Investment Fund (EDIF), an implementation agency of the Ministry of Trade, to sensitise farmers that there is a state facility they have to access in order to improve their businesses. He explained that the fund was established in 2000 to provide financial resources for the development and promotion of export trade of Ghana -- in 2011 financial resources for the development and promotion of agriculture relating to agro-processing and agro-development was added. “To access the credit facility, you must have a registered company that is at least 51% owned by a Ghanaian and must have an account with one of EDAIF’s financial institutions, as well as have a business plan and fulfil the conditions attached to it,” he said. According to him, the requirements attached to the fund include business-plan, audited financial statements, company registration documents among others -- interest rate applied is 12.5% per annum. Mr. Wordey pointed out that the loans are for a short period, not exceeding one year; medium-term loans are from one to five years, and as well long-term loans for five years can be accessed in almost all banks within the country -- the maximum is US$3million. He said a moratorium can be given depending on individual needs and cash flow, and collateral can be negotiated with the banks. He stated that EDAIF provides grants for development and promotion of the country’s non-traditional exports to exporters. “EDAIFs mandate is to finance non-traditional exporters like gari-processing and does not include traditional export such as cocoa, timber gold among others -- however, if these products are processed, then they qualify,” he added. He said while there is no minimum amount, the maximum is US$1,000 -- and the activities that qualify for the grant facility are research and products development, and capacity and minor infrastructure development. By Juliet AGUIAR, Takoradi

Syria Talks: Government, Opposition Want Details Before Committing To US ...Huffington PostDAMASCUS, Syria -- The Syrian government wants more details before deciding whether to take part in a proposed U.S.-Russian initiative to negotiate a peaceful end to Syria's crisis, the country's information minister said, staking out a similar position to the ...and more »