Ghana's First First Lady,Fathia Nkrumah is dead

Accra, May 31, GNA - Madam Fathia Nkrumah, the First First Lady of Ghana is dead. She died this evening at the Badrawy Hospital in Cairo.
Funeral service would be held for her at the Coptic Cathedral in Cairo on Friday, June 1, 2007.

According to usually reliable source the Government of Ghana would ask for the body to be buried in Ghana.

President John Agyekum Kufuor visited Madam Fathia during his recent visit to Egypt.
President Kufuor, who was at the bedside of Madam Fathia at the Hospital, said his visit was to confirm his commitment and that of his Government to support and accord her the dignity of a Former First Lady.
Source:GNA

Kenya 'miracle baby' wife jailed

The wife of Kenyan pastor Gilbert Deya accused of child trafficking has been sentenced to two years in jail by a Nairobi court for stealing a child.
Mary Deya claimed that one of her two accomplices had given birth to the child, but the court proved the woman was not the biological mother.

"The actions and claims of miraculous birth deserve no mercy," Magistrate Teresia Ngugi said.
Kenya has requested the extradition of UK-based evangelist Mr Deya.
No amount of the sentence can undo the damage done to the life of the child
Magistrate Teresia Ngugi

He runs a number of churches in UK cities and says he aids infertile couples by prayer.
Kenyan police allege the Gilbert Deya Ministries is an international baby-snatching ring, allegations Mr Deya denies.

Some children were taken into care in Kenya when DNA tests showed they were not related to women claiming to be their mothers.
"No amount of the sentence can undo the damage done to the life of the child who may never know who his biological parents are," said Ms Ngugi is quoted by Kenya's Daily Nation as saying on Wednesday.

Mrs Deya's co-accused - Miriam Nyeko and Rose Kiserem - were also jailed for two years.
The women claimed that Ms Nyeko, who is a British citizen, had given birth to the baby boy.
She was sentenced to another one year in prison - to run concurrently - for obtaining a false birth certificate.

BBC

Director----I have the cure for HIV/AIDs

Mr Nicholas Antwi, the Director of the Chronic Diseases and HIV/AIDS Treatment Centre at Kubease near Ejisu, has said it was unacceptable that scientists, especially in the developed countries, had still not discovered a cure for the pandemic.

He said it was ironic that HIV/AIDS continued to claim lives despite the increasing technological advancement the world over and appealed to African leaders to join efforts to find a lasting solution to the menace since Africans were the worst victims of the disease. Mr Antwi, who claims to have discovered cure for the disease, was speaking to newsmen at Kubease in the Ejisu-Juaben District on Monday.

He claimed he had so far treated between 70 and 80 patients in the last five years and that about 70 patients were on his treatment roll.Asked why it had taken him so long to make the discovery public, Mr Antwi said efforts to make the drugs available at some major health facilities over the years had been thwarted by authorities who insisted on the disclosure of his formula for producing the drug.

Mr Antwi said as much as he was willing to present the drug for the treatment of the disease, under no circumstance would he disclose the formula for production.In order to erase all doubts on the efficacy and potency of his drug, Mr Antwi challenged the government to provide 10 HIV positive patients for him to treat within two and half months.He said though he had a gadget for diagnosing the disease, he always insisted patients brought report from credible health institutions confirming they were positive before treating them.

He welcomed a partnership with non-governmental organisations who would provide trainees and outlets to enable him open branches across the country to reach more people."Under such partnership, I will only equip the trainees on how to administer the drug to the patients but not its preparation", he said.

Mr Antwi maintained that he had no intention to throw dust into public's eye but to save lives, saying, he had his reputation to protect."It is obvious people will doubt my capabilities but the ball is in the court of stakeholders leading the crusade against the disease", he said.
Source:GNA

World's 40th most peaceful Country --Ghana

Ghana is the 40th most peaceful country in the world, while Norway is the most peaceful and Iraq the least, according to a study launched today. (read)
New Zealand ranks second and Denmark third on the list, which notably puts Japan near the top and Russia and Israel close to the bottom. While most European countries are more peaceful, half of the league table, the US is nearer the bottom in 96th place, while Russia is fifth from last on 118th.

The Global Peace Index, published a week before a Group of Eight (G8) summit in Germany, rates 121 countries from Algeria to Zimbabwe on 24 factors/indicators including levels of violence, organised crime and military expenditure.

Ghana is ranked the second most peaceful in Africa after Tunisia
A close look at the details of Ghana's peace indicators and drivers (read) shows that the Potential for terriorist acts, Level of violent crime and Number of jailed population per 100,000 people is very low. However, Corruption perceptions, Ease of access to weapons of minor destruction and Likelihood of violent demonstrations are relatively high.

Some statistics used are however mind-boggling. For example, Unemployment in Ghana is listed as 8%. Spending on education is as low as 4% and GDP per capita marked as $409, which is lower than the government's figure. The index is backed by international figures including the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former US president Jimmy Carter and US economist Joseph Stiglitz, all winners of the Nobel peace prize. It is also supported by Queen Noor of Jordan.

Overall the study found that small, stable countries which are part of regional blocs such as the 27-nation European Union are most likely to be more peaceful. Income and education are crucial in promoting peace, it said.

Ghana gets Tough on Child traffickers

Ghana's government is to prosecute parents who sell their children to traffickers under a law introduced two years ago. Ghana's child trafficking law was passed in 2005 but has not been strictly enforced.

Ghana's Minister for Women and Children's Affairs said the grace period is now over. It makes it illegal to sell a child or to encourage parents to sell their child. The crime will carry a maximum sentence of ten years.

Zimbabwe to make anti-retroviral drugs more accesible

Zimbabwe plans to put 40,000 more people on anti-retroviral drugs to treat HIV by the end of the year. Health Minister David Parirenyatwa said the number of people receiving ARV's has already increased from 60,000 in December to 80,000 this month.



HIV rates in Zimbabwe are amongst the highest in the world with more than 3,000 people dying every week. However, the country has seen a marked decline in the spread of HIV/AIDs over the past six years.

Nigeria's New President Sworn In

Umaru Yar'Adua is to be sworn in as Nigeria's new president despite widespread claims of electoral fraud. He will take over from current president Olusegun Obasanjo.



Two opposition candidates are challenging the outcome through the courts and trade unions called a two-day strike in protest. Local and international observers said the voting procedures were not credible.