THE PARROTS

Juventus have made another approach for Chelsea midfielder Nemanja Matic. The Italian champions want to offer Chelsea £17m for the Serbia international and hand the player a salary worth £4.2m a year. They made an approach earlier this year and have returned as they also discuss a permanent move for Juan Cuadrado who has been on loan in Turin. Matic, 27, is interested in a move to Italy but is waiting to see if Jose Mourinho makes a bid to sign him for Manchester United. Though Matic didn't always see eye to eye with Mourinho at Stamford Bridge, he is keen on the idea of playing for the Special One at Old Trafford. United are concentrating their immediate efforts though on signing Paul Pogba from Juventus and Matic believes he may be their back-up option. MATIC LEAGUE STATS 2015/16  Appearances: 33 Goals: 2 Shot accuracy: 40 per cent Chances created: 19 P

Former President of Ghana, Jerry Rawlings, has called on international community to return Nigeria’s stolen funds stashed away in developed countries. Rawlings, who decisively fought corruption in the West African country, has called for a global campaign for the return of the looted funds citing the credibility of President Buhari as a major deciding factor for the call. Rawlings told The Guardian in Ghana that “The high-level London conference on corruption offers an opportunity not only for countries in Africa and the developing world to revise and enhance their strategies for combating corruption, but also for developed countries whose banks have served as a safe haven for stolen wealth from Africa and elsewhere to repatriate those funds. “I also implore the international community to join the chorus for the return of the loot, especially to a country like Nigeria while she enjoys the leadership of a proven man of integrity.”  “Let us stop this support and mere

Nigeria international, Ahmed Musa signed with English champions Leicester City on Friday, supersport.com can report. Supersport.com sources say the deal will see the Nigerian stay at the King Power Stadium for four years, until 2020. The 23-year-old completed his move for an undisclosed fee though it is believed that it is worth around £16 million after passing his medicals on Friday Already personal terms between Musa and his new employers have been agreed paving way for the move. Leicester are expected to announce the capture of the Nigerian winger later on Friday, barring any hitch. Everton and Southampton were also linked with the Nigerian, who became the first player from his country to score twice in a Fifa World Cup game in their 2-3 loss to Argentina. Musa scored 13 league goals and provided five assists for Russian champions CSKA Moscow last season.

Getting a good night’s sleep boosts women’s brain power, while men benefit from shorter naps, research has suggested. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute in Munich analysed the sleep patterns of 160 adults to consider how sleep affects intellectual capacity. Their study has been presented at the Forum of Neuroscience in Copenhagen. The researchers monitored the cohort’s sleep patterns, as well as performing intelligence tests on them to assess their reasoning and problem solving skills,   Mail Online  reports . They monitored sleep spindles, which are bursts of brain activity to consider correlation with different forms of sleep, cross-referenced with gender. They found that sleep spindles, which are associated with higher IQ scores, were boosted when women entered dreamless sleep. For men no such correlation was found during dreamless sleep. However, analysis of men’s brain activity found the same stimulation occurred when they had naps. Professor Martin Dres

The Mayor of Kumasi, Kojo Bonsu has apologized to the traditional authorities in Kumasi following days of intense pressure and calls for his dismissal. He rendered an unqualified apology to the Asantehene Otumfou Osei Tutu II and Nananom for what he described as "actions and inactions on my part, which may have incurred their displeasure." The Traditional Council has demanded the removal of Mr Kojo Bonsu for allegedly grossly disrespecting them. Mr Bonsu wrote to the local Government Minister questioning the locus of the Chief of Amoaman, Nana Agyenim Boateng who was appointed by Otumfuo to represent the chiefs on a committee to supervise the construction of the Kejetia Market Project. Citing this as one of the mayor's acts of disrespect towards the chiefs, the council members said they have had enough of the Mayor's insubordination. They said this during a meeting at the Palace of Otumfuo Osei Tutu II on Monday. The members slaughtered a sheep

The Youth Organizer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Brong Ahafo Region, Mr. Kwame Baffour says his party cannot trust an Electoral Commission (EC) boss who uses the sitting president’s picture as her mobile phone’s screensaver. Speaking on Atinka FM , Kwame Baffour mentioned that he was sitting behind Madam Charlotte Osei during the Supreme Court's sitting on the NHIS deletion saga and was surprised to see madam Charlotte Osei using President John Dramani Mahama’s picture as her screen saver. According to Yaw Baffour, Madam Charlotte Osei quickly changed the picture when she realized that there were people sitting behind her. He mentioned that the EC is supposed to be a neutral body and that one cannot trust such a person with regards to the country’s quest for a free and a fair election.

The Electoral Commission is seeking to pass a new legislation  that will make it possible for electorates to vote without being verified. The Commission is by that sa m e legislation seeking to indemnify its presiding officers from any form of punishment or prosecution. The new constitutional instrument, if passed into law, will have far reaching implications on the 2016 elections which is just five months away. A copy of the instrument which was intercepted by Joy News' Parliamentary correspondent, Elton John Brobbey is already creating some drama on the floor of Parliament. Even before the Deputy Majority Leader will lay the document before Parliament, some Members of Parliament protested, saying they had not received copies of the document. Per Parliamentary procedures, documents are presented to Members before they are laid before the House. After brief protestations the document was laid. The provisions in the new Legislative Instrument seek to fun

Android co-founder Rich Miner. What exactly is Google's new education project? No one really knows, but according to  Tech Crunch  and originally reported by  Fortune ,  Android  co-founder Rich Miner is leaving GV (formerly known as Google Ventures) to head up the 'mysterious' new edtech initiative within Google Inc. It will not be an Alphabet company. While most of Miner's team will reportedly be based in Silicon Valley, Miner will remain in Cambridge, Mass. "I don't actually know exactly what we're building yet," Miner  told Fortune's Dan Primack . "Just like Android took us our years to get the first device out and I helped create WildFire 25 years ago as a voice-based personal assistant, which is just now starting to happen. This vision is another big idea, but it will take time."

After years of establishing himself as the Rap Doctor and one of the country’s most versatile artistes, Okyeame Kwame is switching his style and going gospel. So after almost 20 years of recording and performing Hiplife songs, Okyeame Kwame released his maiden gospel song, Hallelujah July 7. “I have always believed that I should make music which will positively impact the society because I believe the society has given me a lot so I must give back to it,” he said. Besides his versatility, Okyeame Kwame is renowned for discovering new talents and with his maiden gospel song, he introduces new artiste Abochi to the Ghanaian music scene. A few of the artistes Okyeame Kwame introduced who later became household names in the country include, Bradez, Nana Quami, Yoggi Doggi among others. Hallelujah will be outdoored today on 4Syte TV and Okay FM with Abieku Santana at 4pm. Later this month, Okyeame Kwame is set to embark on his annual Hepatitis B Screening and Vaccinat

The recent power cuts (dumsor) experienced in several parts of the country are as a result of, among other things, the low level of water in the Akosmobo dam, a statement signed by Deputy Minister of Power John Jinapor has said. The other factors highlighted by the ministry include delay in the supply of light crude as a result of force majeure caused by unprecedented vandalism of major pipelines and five terminals in Nigeria, and the non-availability of gas from the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP). The statement, however, assured Ghanaians that the ministry “expects the situation to return to normalcy very shortly owing to contingency measures adopted to procure adequate quantities of fuel to generate enough power.” Read full statement below: Following recent interruptions in electricity supply in various parts of the country and changes in the tariff regime, the Ministry of Power wishes to clarify as follows: 1. The interruptions in electricity supply are due

A mass burial has been organised on Thursday July 7 for nine persons, who died in a stampede at Asawase, a Muslim suburb of Kumasi in the Ashanti region. The incident happened on the night of Wednesday July 6. The nine, six females and three males, who perished in the Eid ul-Fitr celebrations at the Asawase community centre Eventhough is not clear what led to the stampede within the community centre where the revelers jammed the night away, THE PARROTS,gathered that a fight broke out and those inside the Center were in a hurry to get out. Six others, who survived, but sustained serious injuries, were conveyed in trucks to the Manhyia hospital are still receiving treatment as the police have started investigating the matter

President John Dramani Mahama has issued a three-month ultimatum to contractors working on the Upper West Regional Hospital to complete their work. The President wants the modern health facility completed in October to serve the health needs of the people in the region. According to the President, the region is one of the most disadvantaged in terms of access to quality healthcare hence the need to fast track work on the hospital. The president is expected to continue his three-day tour in the region today, inspecting projects and paying courtesy calls.

Liberty Professionals will travel to the home of New Edubiase on Sunday 10 July in a Ghana premier league fixture. Edubiase lie bottom of the league with 15 points from 17 games played so far while Liberty is seventh on the league log with 25 points, and is six points away from league leaders WA All Stars. The first leg of the fixture between both clubs ended 2-0 in favor of the Dansoman-based side. Speaking to THE PARROTS, captain of Liberty Professionals, Samuel Sarfo, said they anticipate a difficult game, but was confident his side will get the results. “They came here and played good football in the first round, but we managed to beat them two goals to nil. They being at the bottom of the table will motivate them to come all out for the three points. I think it won’t be an easy game, but we are just preparing as we do all the time, so when the day comes, we just have to comply with everything our coach tells us”, he stated. The sk