THE PARROTS

  The 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has left Ghana for the United States. The 10-day visit will also see him visiting the United Kingdom. He left Ghana on Monday, July 18, 2016. He will return to Ghana on Friday, July 29, 2016, according to a statement from his Press Secretary Eugene Arhin. The statement failed to disclose the former attorney general’s mission in the two countries.

State-owned electricity distributor, Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and Karpower Ghana Limited have reached advanced stages of negotiations to increase Karpower’s generation capacity to 675 megawatts (MW) before the end of this year as part of steps to resolve the power crisis permanently. The Finder has learnt that aside hydro generation, Karpowership is currently producing power at the cheapest. This, coupled with reliable fuel supply, is the compelling convictions behind the decision to bring in the 450MW power barge. Sources familiar with the negoti¬ations have told The Finder that both parties are confident of reaching an agreement soon. Consequently, a consolidated 450MW power barge is being con-structed in Turkey and expected to arrive in Ghana in November. This barge would also dock in Tema. Officials of Karpower Ghana told The Finder that when delivered, Government of Ghana would be given the first choice to keep Aysegul Sultan, the 225MW powership currently s

Videos have emerged online that appear to show Syrian rebels taunting and then beheading a boy they say is a captured Palestinian pro-government fighter. One video shows five men posing with the frightened child, who could be as young as 10, in the back of a truck. One of the men grips him by the hair. The same man is later filmed apparently cutting the boy's head off. The incident is reported to have taken place in Handarat, north of Aleppo, where there has been heavy fighting. The area is the location of the unofficial Palestinian refugee camp of Ein El Tal , which was home to some 7,000 people before they were displaced by armed groups in 2013.   Pro-government forces have been attempting to capture Handarat in recent weeks, as part of an offensive that has seen the last remaining road out of rebel-held eastern half of Aleppo cut, trapping an estimated 300,000 people living there. The footage of the boy, who some on social media identified as "Abdullah Issa&qu

Want to look younger and live longer without having to go under the knife? Turns out there's a way — and no, it doesn't involve any magic pills or complex regimes. All you need is one thing: your sweetie. That’s right. According to  Dr. Nicholas Sieveking,  a board-certified plastic surgeon and functional medicine specialist, the more sex we have, the better we look and feel, and the longer we may live. We know how sex benefits our loving relationships, but here are seven ways that sex is also good for our health: #1. It's a natural mood lifter. Psychologically, those who have sex on a regular basis experience less depression, says licensed marriage and sex therapist  Dr. Kat Van Kirk.  "These individuals generally report a higher satisfaction with their lives overall, and tend to feel more bonded to their partners as a result of sexual intimacy." Van Kirk adds that, in the afterglow of sex, it’s usually impossible to focus on distracting though

The Inspector General of Police (IGP), John Kudalor has reiterated his intention to ban social media on Election Day if need be. The IGP who was earlier criticized for this same comment seems unwilling to change his mind. He fears social media if allowed on Election Day, will disrupt the process. IGP Kudalor in his earlier comment indicated that "At one stage I was even saying that if it becomes critical on the eve and the Election Day we shall block all social media as other countries have done. So we are thinking about it." In a later interview with Joy News, he said “If people are churning out the type of information which are quite false then why not? The security of this nation is paramount.” Despite the criticisms, the IGP believes blocking social media is unavoidable if it will mar the elections. Joy News’ Kofi Siaw reports that the IGP, in an interaction with the Eastern Regional Police command as part of a visit to the region, says he still st

International Scientists have expressed concern about what they say is limited resources for agricultural research in Ghana which they say threatens the country’s food security. They are meanwhile commending Nigeria for taking agricultural research and implementation serious. The scientists have been speaking at the congress of the International Federation of Agric Journalists in Germany where it came to fore that less that 0.3 percent of Ghana's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expended on agriculture annually. This is considered to be one of the lowest in Africa, meanwhile, countries with higher GDP's including Africa like Nigeria are spending almost 2 percent of their GDP on research. Ghanaian senior researcher at the University of Bonn, Germany, Dr Justice Tambo has called on government to sit up. "For example, in Nigeria, they have developed a lot of innovations in the agricultural sector like using of fertilizer seedling because formerly the former m

Wife of Adams Mahama, the deceased Upper East Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) has testified against the man accused of murdering her husband. Hajia Zenabu Adams has told an Accra High Court that before her husband died, he told her that Gregory Afoko and  Asabke Alangbi poured acid on him leading to his death. Gregory Afoko, is being held on the charges of conspiracy to commit crime and murder of the late Upper East Regional Chairman in May 2015. Gregory Afoko has pleaded not guilty in a court hearing constituted by a seven-member jury. Adams Mahama died of extensive acid burns and shock lungs (acute respiratory distress syndrome ) , an autopsy report has indicated. A car seat on which Mahama sat during the acid attack had been burned seriously. He died a day after he was bathed with acid by some unscrupulous men, one of whom is alleged to be Gregory Afoko, brother of the chairman of opposition party, Paul Afoko who was also later suspended from th