THE PARROTS

A New York man faces child pornography charges after investigators say he tricked his ex-girlfriend into engaging in and recording sex acts with her teenage son. U.S. Attorney William Hochul says 60-year-old Kevin James Fox of Limestone used different cell phone numbers to make the woman believe she would be physically harmed by organized crime unless she had sexual contact with the 17-year-old and shared it via text messages. Authorities say the contact occurred during two days in June, with the images and videos sent to phone numbers Fox controlled. Fox was represented by a public defender at an initial appearance in federal court Tuesday. He's being held pending a detention hearing Wednesday. The charges carry a mandatory minimum prison term of 15 years and a 50-year maximum.

Comedian Leslie Jones , who stars in the new Ghostbusters movie, has become the latest victim in Twitter’s struggle to control abusive speech on its platform. A 2014 study by the think tank Demos focusing on a nine-day period in November 2012 found “approximately 10,000 uses per day of racist and ethnic slur terms”, of which 500-2,000 were directed at individuals. And the new Ghostbusters reboot has become a particular focal point for misogynist abuse because of its female cast, leading to an orchestrated online campaign to make the trailer the most disliked in YouTube history . But following the film’s opening weekend, Jones found herself singled out for a particularly egregious campaign of racially charged slurs, many of which she retweeted from her account. In a stream of tweets on Monday evening, Jones addressed the attacks directly. “It’s so sad, most of these comments sound like they are from ignorant children,” she said. “You have to hate yourself to put out th...

A 1200 capacity examination/lecture theatre funded by the GCB Bank Limited has been commissioned at the University of Ghana, Legon. The GH¢4.9 million building complex is equipped with the state of the art facilities that provide a conducive atmosphere for teaching and learning. Mr. Samuel Sarpong, Acting Managing Director of the Bank attributed the successful completion of the project to the strong and long-standing bond between the University and GCB. “This is a vivid demonstration of a fruitful collaboration between academia and industry,” he said. Mr. Sarpong paid glowing tribute to past Managing Directors of the Bank from 2003 for their foresight and commitment which has culminated in the realization of the project. The complex was initiated during the golden jubilee celebration of the Bank. However, the initial plan was reviewed and expanded to accommodate more students in view of the growing student population and the strategic direction and development of th...

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Northern Region has accused the Regional Minister, Abdullah Abubakari, of ordering a machete attack on a supporter of the party. Northern Regional Secretary of the NPP, Sule Salifu, says the party has picked up intelligence that a close relative of the Minister carried out the machete attack and also run over the NPP supporter with a vehicle. The NPP on Tuesday held a press conference where they accused the NDC in the Northern Region of stockpiling arms to cause mayhem during the upcoming elections this year. The party also said Mr Abdullah has formed a vigilante group which he uses to terrorise members of the opposition parties in the constituency. Mr Salifu alleged further that Mr Abdullah is using his influence to prevent the arrest of the perpetrator of the machete attack. He said one Mustafa Zakaria, who is alleged to be “a direct brother” to the Minister attacked the NPP supporter. “The NPP in the Northern Regio...

  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...