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King Charles in first public outing since cancer diagnosis

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King Charles in first public outing

King Charles has attended church in Sandringham in his first public outing since Buckingham Palace announced his cancer diagnosis.

The King waved to members of the public as he walked outside St Mary Magdalene Church with his wife, Queen Camilla.

It comes after the King, 75, thanked people on Saturday for their “support and good wishes” since the news.

He said all those affected by cancer knew “such kind thoughts” were “the greatest comfort and encouragement”.

Around 100 well-wishers were gathered on Sunday as the King walked into church in Sandringham, briefly speaking with the Rev Canon Dr Paul Williams.

Crowds gathered around the gates of the private estate, but were not allowed to enter the grounds – which are closed to the public until Easter.

King Charles left Clarence House, London, for his Norfolk residence on Tuesday, accompanied by the Queen. His youngest son, the Duke of Sussex, had flown in from the US for a brief visit earlier that day.

Credit: bbc.com

Trinidad and Tobago hit by mystery ship oil spill

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Oil now covers some of Tobago's pristine beaches

Trinidad and Tobago is considering declaring a national emergency over a huge oil spill from a ship that ran aground and overturned this week.At least 15km (nine miles) of Tobago’s south-western coast have been affected, including some of the Caribbean island’s pristine beaches.

Some 1,000 volunteers have now joined government staff to clean up the spill.

Divers have been trying to isolate the leak from the vessel, which was abandoned by its crew.

Farley Augustine, the chief secretary of the island of Tobago, on Saturday said the government may designate the accident a Level 3 disaster, the highest.

“Everything indicates that we are going in that direction,” he was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.

The spill is currently Level 2, meaning the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Management believes that the country can deal with the spill.

A national emergency is declared when local resources become “overwhelmed” and international assistance is needed.

The ship – identified only as The Gulfstream – capsized last Wednesday off the coast of the Cove Eco-Industrial Estate.

Credit: bbc.com

Hungary’s President Katalin Novak resigns

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Hungary's Katalin Novak has resigned

Hungarian President Katalin Novak has resigned. Novak announced her resignation on Saturday after coming under mounting pressure for pardoning a man convicted as an accomplice for helping cover up a sex abuse case in a children’s home.

“I made a mistake … Today is the last day that I address you as a president,” she said in a speech broadcast on state television. At least 1,000 people protested in the country’s capital on Friday, demanding her resignation. Hungarian opposition parties had also demanded she leave office.

Novak decided to pardon some two dozen people in April 2023, in advance of a visit by Pope Francis, among them the deputy director of a children’s home who helped the former director of the home hide his crimes.

Endre K was sentenced in 2022 to three years and four months in prison and was barred for a further five years from all activities and occupations in connection with minors.

But due to the Novak’s pardon, he was set free and is allowed, in theory, to return to his profession.

At least 1,000 people protested in the country’s capital on Friday, demanding her resignation. Hungarian opposition parties had also demanded she leave office.

Credit: aljazeera.com

AG punches holes in Opuni’s witness’ evidence

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BERNICE BESSEY
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Dr Stephen Kwabena Opuni

The Attorney-General’s (A-G) office has challenged the evidence by 10th Defence Witnesses (DW10) of Dr Stephen Kwabena Opuni on the efficacy of the controversial Lithovit fertiliser as a mere hearsay.

The A-G, represented by Principal State Attorney (PSA), Stella Ohene Appiah, stated that Samuel Amponsah (DW10) and a former Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED) Regional Manager for North-West’s evidence lacked proof.

Madam Stella argued that the Witness of Dr Opuni, a former Chief Executive (CE) of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), did not independently see how lithovit fertiliser improved cocoa trees performances.

According to her, Mr. Amponsah’s evidence about the efficacy of lithovit fertiliser was something that he heard and not that he saw for himself.

DW10 responded in the affirmative, but indicated in his evidence-in-chief that farmers in the Western-North requested to be supplied with lithovit fertiliser, as some of them knew about the agro-chemical from the Bong Ahafo region, because they also have farms there.

He explained that those farmers were not supplied with lithovit because the region had already been given sidalco and leavelet A.

The subpoenaed Witness indicated to Justice AboakyeTandoh, a presiding High Court judge, on Thursday, that the farmers told him that lithocit was a good fertiliser because they have used it in the Brong Ahafo region.

Mr. Amponsah is one of the many subpoenaed Witnesses by the court at the instance of Dr. Opuni who is facing criminal charges for purchasing lithovit from SeiduAgongo and his company, Agricult Ghana limited.

The fertilizer deal is alleged to have caused the country financial loss of over GH¢217 million.

 

Examination

Q: Before retirement where were you working?

A: My lord, I have worked in so many places. At first I was with Quality Control.

Q: Where do you reside?

A: My lord I reside in Akyem Manso in the Eastern region.

Q: Where do you work?

A: My lord, I am on retirement.

Q: What is your name?

A: My name is Samuel Amponsah.

Q: In which university did you obtain your BSc in Agriculture?

A: My lord, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

Q: Which year did you obtain your first degree?

A: My lord 1989.

Q: So when did you start work with Cocobod?

A: My lord 1991.

Q: What is your educational qualification?

A: My lord, I hold Bsc in Agriculture.

Q: What was your initial position at Cocobod in 1991?

A: My lord I was a district Quality Control officer.

 

Q: You earlier told this court that you worked at so many divisions at Cocobod. Can you tell us the divisions and the years?

A: I was promoted to the regional Quality Control manager and sent to Koforidua in 2021, and then I was sent to Kumasi regional office in the year 2004. Then I was transferred to CHED as deputy regional manager, then I was sent to Western-North region as the acting regional manager in 2013 and in 2014, I was confirmed as regional manager and early 2016, I was promoted regional director.

Q: What did your field of work entail?

A: My lord, it entailed going to farmers farms, tree cutting of cocoa swollen shoot virus disease control, monitoring of staff in the field and any other duty that may occur.

Q: As regional manager, what were your job descriptions?

A: My lord, my duties were administrative work, field work, organisation of rallies, meeting farmers and supervision of the staff.

Q: You said you were the acting regional manager in Western North, which year?

A: From 2013 to 2018.

Q: In your position as a former staff of Cocobod, can you tell us some folia fertilisers which were used in Cocobod?

A: My lord, we were having sidalco fertiliser, leavelet A and then lithovit fertiliser.

Q: You mentioned farmers’ rallies as one of your functions as the Western North regional manager. Are the functions the same as meeting farmers?

A: My lord, there are slight differences, in the sense that rallies are meant for large number of people and the meetings are in small groups.

Q: You mentioned granular and folia fertilisers. Can you tell us what type of fertilisers are granular and the types which are folia?

A: My lord, the granular are solid like pebble size and others like sugar and folia is in a liquid form.

Q: What did the aspect of meeting with farmers entail?

A: It entailed the right to transplant cocoa seedlings, good farming practices and also teach them how to apply fertilisers both granular and folia, and the good time or season to do all these things.

Q: It wasn’t sent to your region during that time and presumably you were the regional manager for Western North region from 2013 to 2018, then how did you know about lithovit?

A: My lord, as the regional manager we had a meeting at the head office and any new fertiliser is shown to us before it gets to the region.

Q: Sir, can you tell this court where you have a farmer who has a farm in another region?

A: My lord, most of the farmers in Western North are settler farmers from Brong Ahafo and so it is an usual thing, so they have farms in both regions

Q: It is your evidence that some of the farmers in your region, the Western-North region also had farms in the Brong Ahafo region?

A: Yes my lord.

Q: Is that the only way you got to know about lithovit?

A: My lord, my going rounds and visits to farmers, especially those from Brong Ahafo but have farms in Western North always talked about it.

Q: Now, you mentioned three folia fertilisers namely; sidalco, leavelet A and lithovit. Can you tell this court how you came to know these three folia fertilisers?

A: My lord, some of the folia fertilisers sent to my region were sidalco and leavelet A, but lithovit was not sent to my region during that time.

Q: You also mentioned in your evidence today that you also got to know of lithovit at your head office when you met as regional managers. Can you tell the court what your colleague regional managers said?

A: My lord, when they were introducing the product, they called us to educate us and at that time lithovit had not gone to the farms, so could not talk much.

Q: So when the farmers asked why you didn’t give them some of lithovit to use on their farms, did you do anything with respect to their querries?

A: My lord, I didn’t do anything because it was at the tail end of the season and we were having a stockpile of sidalco and leavelet A, so it will be a waste to request for more fertilisers

Q: What did these farmers who have farms in Brong Ahafo and the Western region say about lithovit?

A: My lord, they said it was a good fertiliser for them when they use it in the Brong Ahafo and we didn’t give them some (in Western-North).

Q: What fertiliser did you give to the farmers in Western North?

Ans: My lord, we were supplied with leavelet A and Sidalco.

Codjoe: My lord that will be all.

Q: Sir, you said you were promoted to senior manager, were you still at Western North?

A: Yes my lord.

Q: Did you do anything about the information?

A: My lord, because some didn’t come to my region, I didn’t do anything because we do verification on our farms when they use them.

 

Cross examination by lawyer Benson Nutsupui

Q: Will I be right to say any fertiliser that enhanced flowering and pot formation is a good fertiliser.

A: That is correct my lord.

Q: Sir, it is also true that those farmers who mentioned lithovit to you talked about its efficiency?

A: What they told me is that it is good because it enhanced flowering and good in pot formation.

Q: And it was at the farmers rally in Western North that the farmers mentioned lithovit to you?

A: Yes, some of the farmers from Brong Ahafo mentioned it to me.

Q: So any fertiliser that performs these two functions are good?

A: Yes my lord.

Q: When you were the regional manager for Western North, did fertilisers come up for discussions?

A: Yes my lord.

Q: Sir, so these farmers from Brong Ahafo were impliedly requesting for lithovit for Western North?

A: Yes my lord.

Q: Sir, the regional managers meeting you came to the head office and will sometimes discuss the fertilisers. Is that correct?

A: Yes my lord.

Q: Whilst you were interacting with farmers in Western North, did any of the farmers from Brong Ahafo make any complaint?

A: No my lord.

Q: And there was no complaint about lithovit during your regional managers meetings at the head office?

A: Yes my lord.

Q: You were the regional head in 2015.

A: Yes my lord.

Q: While you were the regional head in 2015, did the folia fertilisers come up for discussion at the head office?

A: At times.

Q: Did you personally discuss with any regional manager whose region lithovit was used?

A: I don’t recall.

Q: Will I be right to say if there was any complaint from any region on lithovit, you would have heard it?

A: Yes my lord.

Q: Before becoming the regional manager, were you giving any position at Cocobod?

A: I was first posted to Koforidua as deputy regional manager before I was sent to Western North as acting regional manager of CHED and subsequently the regional manager.

Q: And CHED will take any issue from farmers seriously at the head office?

A: Yes my lord.

Q: So as regional manager you conveyed to head office the concerns of farmers?

A: Yes my lord.

Codjoe: My lord, that will be all for the witness.

 

Cross examination by prosecution

Q: Can you tell us in which year the farmers from Brong Ahafo, who were also farmers, spoke to you about lithovit?

A: My lord, I cannot recall the month but it was in 2015.

Q: So you cannot confirm the efficiency farmers from Brong Ahafo spoke about litohvit?

A: Yes my lord.

Q: So you did not independently see the flowering and pot formation function of lithovit?

A: Yes my lord.

Q: So as you sit here as former regional manager, you have not got any evidence or personal knowledge that lithovit was efficient.

Codjoe: My lord, I oppose this question because the witness has already explained to the court about farmers from Brong Ahafo.

Prosecution: My lord, per section 60, I am mandated to ask this question.

Court: Yes, the question is disallowed. You can reframe the question.

Prosecution: My lord that will be all for the Witness

Let’s Rally Behind Bawumia To Break The 8 -Freda Prempeh

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SEBASTIAN R. FREIKU
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Dr Freda Prempeh

The Member of Parliament for Tano North in the Ahafo region, Dr Freda Akosua Oheneafrewo Prempeh, has called on the rank and file of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to work hard and rally behind the Presidential candidate, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia for the party to break the 8.

The MP who is also the Minister of Water Resources and Sanitation said her failed fourth term bid in the recent primary must not discourage party executives and constituents.

She noted that delegates continue to serve the people and that she trusts the judgment of delegates who collectively help to shape the developmental agenda of the constituency.

She advised that results of the NPP primaries should not impact negatively on the electoral fortunes of the party.

Dr. Freda Prempeh lost the Tano North constituency seat in the January 27, 2024 primary to Dr. Gideon Boako, the Spokesperson for the Vice President and NPP flagbearer, Dr. Bawumia.

Freda Prempeh polled 221 votes while Gideon Boako polled 444 votes. But the MP has stated that “The important thing is for the party to work hard, rally behind Dr. Bawumia and break the 8 to constitute a government to serve the interest of the people”.

Eric Opoku calls for probe of govt’s Rehabilitation Programme

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ERNEST BEST ANANE
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Mr Eric Opoku, MP for Asunafo South

Mr Eric Opoku, the ranking Member of the Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs’ Parliamentary Sub-Committee has called for a probe into the Cocoa Rehabilitation Programme launched in 2018.

The Asunafo South Legislator argues that the programme, which identified diseased farms and cut down affected trees for replanting with disease-resistant cocoa varieties, among other measures, has failed because the country has lost some 500,000 hectares of cocoa farms to Swollen Shoot disease.

Speaking with the media, the Member of Parliament for the Asunafo South constituency in the Ahafo region stated that the programme must be investigated to unravel the cause of the significant loss.

He also alleged that the funds earmarked for the programme have been exhausted, leaving cocoa farmers in a dilemma.

According to him, he is reliably informed that the amount of money earmarked for the rehabilitation Programme has been exhausted and that the farms would soon be handed over to the farmers, even though some farms have just been cut down and not even planted, let alone being provided with plantain suckers.

Mr. Opoku further cast doubt on the assurances given by the Chief Executive officer of COCOBOD to ensure that the programme would be continued.

He disclosed that the picture being painted is very alarming and does not believe in the assurances that the CEO is offering, because they are in the field and know what is happening there.

How Much Sleep Do I Need?

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The amount of sleep a person needs depends on many things, including their age. In general:

  • Infants (ages 0-3 months) need 14-17 hours a day.
  • Infants (ages 4-11 months) need 12-15 hours a day
  • Toddlers(ages 1-2 years) need about 11-14 hours a day.
  • Preschool children (ages 3-5) need 10-13 hours a day.
  • School-age children (ages 6-13) need 9-11 hours a day.
  • Teenagers (ages 14-17) need about 8-10 hours each day.
  • Most adults need 7 to 9 hours, although some people may need as few as 6 hours or as many as 10 hours of sleep each day.
  • Older adults (ages 65 and older) need 7-8 hours of sleep each day.

But experts say that if you feel drowsy during the day, even during boring activities, you haven’t had enough sleep.

Sleep Deprivation and Sleep Debt

The amount of sleep a person needs goes up if they’ve missed sleep in previous days. If you don’t have enough, you’ll have a “sleep debt,” which is much like being overdrawn at a bank. Eventually, your body will demand that you start to repay the debt.

We don’t really adapt to getting less sleep than we need. We may get used to a schedule that keeps us from getting enough sleep, but our judgment, reaction time, and other functions will still be off.

Why You Need Deep Sleep

There are four stages of sleep, based on how active your brain is. The first two are light.

Stage three is “deep sleep,” when your brain waves slow down and it’s harder for you to wake up. During these periods, your body repairs tissues, works on growth and development, boosts your immune system, and builds up energy for the next day.

Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, or stage R, usually starts about 90 minutes after you fall asleep. Brain activity increases, your eyes dart around quickly, and your pulse, blood pressure, and breathing speed up. This is also when you do most of your dreaming.

Signs of Sleep Deprivation

Common signs that you haven’t gotten enough sleep include:

  • Feeling drowsy or falling asleep during the day, especially during calm activities like sitting in a movie theater or driving
  • Falling asleep within 5 minutes of lying down
  • Short periods of sleep during waking hours (microsleeps)
  • Needing an alarm clock to wake up on time every day
  • Feeling groggy when you wake up in the morning or throughout the day (sleep inertia)
  • Having a hard time getting out of bed every day
  • Mood changes
  • Forgetfulness
  • Trouble focusing on a task
  • Sleeping more on days when you don’t have to get up at a certain time

How to Know if You’re Getting Enough Sleep

To find out whether you’re getting enough sleep at night, ask yourself:

  • Do you feel healthy and happy on your current sleep schedule?
  • Do you feel like you get enough sleep to be productive?
  • Do you ever feel sleepy when going about your day?
  • Do you rely on caffeineto get through the day?
  • Is your sleep schedule fairly regular, even on weekends?

The Effects of Sleep Deprivation

Too little sleep can cause:

  • Memory problems
  • Feelings of depression
  • Lack of motivation
  • Irritability
  • Slower reaction times
  • A weakened immune system, raising your chances of getting sick
  • Stronger feelings of pain
  • Higher chances of conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, or obesity
  • A lower sex drive
  • Wrinkled skinand dark circles under your eyes
  • Overeating and weight gain
  • Trouble solving problems and making decisions
  • Bad decision-making
  • Hallucinations

How to Get the Sleep You Need

Healthy habits can help you sleep better and longer.

  • Give yourself time to sleep.A busy schedule can make it hard to get a good night’s sleep.
  • Keep a sleep schedule.Go to bed and get up at the same time every day, even on weekends.
  • Create a sleep sanctuary.Keep your bedroom dark, quiet, and at a comfortable temperature. Use it only for sleep, sex, and quiet activities like reading. Don’t bring in electronic screens like TVs or cell phones.
  • Have a bedtime routine.Avoid bright lights, large meals, caffeine, and alcohol before bed. Try things to help you relax, like a hot bath.
  • Exercise.Get about 30 minutes a day, at least 5 hours before bed.
  • Nap if you must.Aim for no more than 30 minutes so you don’t wake up groggy or mess up your sleep schedule.
  • Don’t force it.If you find yourself lying awake, get up and do something quiet, like reading, until you feel sleepy. Journaling may put nagging thoughts to bed.
  • Talk to your doctor.A medical condition might be causing your sleep problems.

Source: webmd.com

 

Feature: Informal sector reforms and the issues of compliance

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Dr. Edward Kwadwo Yeboah

Informal sector plays a pivotal role in the economy; however, they are often excluded from formal market access.

This sector faces cyclical challenges, an undocumented job means, no job security, or income security, banks deem such uncertain cash flows as high risk and therefore exclude them from various essential services to take a loan to expand a small business.

There is a need to also recognize the significance of the informal sector in the development process and with particular reference to the economy in terms of income generation and human development to re-orientate more emphasis on the informal sector.

The formal sector activities appear not to have resulted in any significant changes over the decades regardless of the development strategy or strategies that have been tried out. It is also worth to note that the informal sector in most cases bears the impact of any negative fallouts from badly formulated and/or badly implemented macroeconomic policies designed primarily for the formal sector.

The sector is considered crucial to understanding the relationship between trade, growth and employment generation in the economy. In order for the government to achieve its aims or to achieve successful implementation and gain economic benefits from the informal sector, it must support the surviving activities, especially those which have potential for economic growth to enable the micro-enterprise to accumulate capital through substantial productivity gains. However, the problem we have to critically consider and pay serious attention to is non-compliance in the informal sector due to the nature of their activities.

Non-compliance with business and labour laws in the informal sector is one major problem and needs the progressive application of labour laws and standards, beginning with the most viable enterprises. However, the fundamental requirement should be to ensure compliance with basic human rights concerning freedom of association, freedom from forced labour and child labour and freedom from discrimination.

Workers’ protection as a goal of the informal sector to link with taxation and social security is very crucial. The development of practical guides and innovative measures, instead of legal protection and law enforcement, is the preferred line of action to improve working and employment conditions through enhanced occupational safety and health and social security coverage.

The employment issues in the informal sector should also look outside the sector to promote employment-intensive infrastructure policies in urban areas. Firstly, job-creation response to rising urban poverty levels, declining employment opportunities in the modern private and public sectors and the astonishing expansion of the informal sector.

Action on the informal sector requires knowledge of the scope and structure of the informal sector, and therefore requires systematic data collection and analysis.

The national statistics systems are designed in such a way that they could not adequately capture or describe the economic or employment structure of the informal sector.  The statistical agency must be designed in a way that it can have accurate knowledge.

For example, mixed household and the enterprise surveys methodology proved to have many advantages over labour force surveys and establishment surveys, as labour force surveys cannot provide information on productivity or income generation, while establishment surveys tend to capture only the visible enterprises.

Secondly, due to the substantial seasonal variations in the level of activities, data collection should be spread over a reasonably long period, which the statistical agency is probably not designed to do so.

Thirdly, intensive dissemination of information about the survey through informal sector organizations could reduce the survey’s non-response rates among informal sector operators and workers.

Fourthly, hope for future assistance is a factor which motivated many informal sector operators to answer survey questions; fifthly, lack of proper follow-up action smashes the expectations raised: as a consequence, non-response rates are likely to increase in future surveys and lastly, survey results should be used as a basis for the design and implementation of support action programs and technical cooperation projects.

The principal approach for small enterprise development focuses on unleashing the obscured potential of the informal sector to provide income and create jobs.

Inherent deficiencies in capital, management skills and technology, unequal access to factor and product markets, as well as restrictive regulatory frameworks, are the major impediments involved.

In order to overcome these constraints, especially unequal access to credit, many micro-entrepreneurs voluntarily choose to enter into various kinds of arrangements, for example credit arrangements which are not suitable for them.

This is often the case in particular, with women, who choose to operate out of their homes. This dependency enhances the vulnerability of those in the sector, as the contracting relationships are in many cases not governed by any regulations.

Support strategies can aim at improving access to credit, technology, training and marketing in order to strengthen the productive capacity of micro entrepreneurs, small producers and artisans.

At the grass-roots level, the major strategy in this regard can create group-based self-reliance schemes at the national level by strengthening of national programs and institutions to target support services more effectively to the informal sector and building and strengthening alliances and networks among small producers’ and micro-entrepreneurs’ organizations at the national level.

Informal sector reforms and institutional framework

Strategies for building an institutional framework of targeted support consist in strengthening the effectiveness of national programs targeted at micro-enterprises and informal sector units. This modality involves action at the national level and the design of general policies and strategies for the development of the target sector or industry.

As regards access to credit and finance, action at the macro-level aims at linking informal group-based mutual credit schemes to the commercial banking system.

The effectiveness of such programs strongly depends on their targeting mechanism, that is, how the target group is defined and selected, and, in the end, actually reached by the programs.

Given that the informal sector is highly heterogeneous, selective targeting is even more critical and difficult in informal sector programs than in other targeted programs.

The sustainability of the economic benefits resulting from targeted programs will partly be determined by the effectiveness of the network of support institutions assisting the target industry and, equally importantly, by the successful implementation of specific complementary national policies aimed at creating an improved environment to stimulate the growth and expansion of micro-enterprises.

In order to assess the effectiveness of the network of support institutions, the criterion is whether their technical capacity and performance improved as a result of the technical assistance provided to them within the framework of the strategies adopted. Existing information from evaluations of institutional capacity-building projects is, however, inadequate and does not provide sufficiently solid evidence of the final outcome of rendered assistance.

Most importantly, institutional support strategies must look at setting up and developing networks and alliances among informal sectors, and among governmental and non-governmental institutions concerned with the informal sector. Attention must be paid to the evolution and expansion of grass-roots organizations and their increasing need for consolidation and the increasing demand for technical assistance to develop strategies and methodologies.

The primary functions of such networks are often the exchange and dissemination of information, the consolidation of experience, the harmonization of concepts, strategies and methodologies, and coordinating activities.

The creation and strengthening of informal sector organizations is a strategy that consists in creating and supporting group-based self-reliance schemes among informal sector producers, traders and others economically active in the informal sector.

This approach includes the gradual mobilization of participants’ own financial, technical and human resources to encourage autonomy, stimulating participants’ desire for improvement and to reaffirm their social identity, building and strengthening organizations of small producers and micro-entrepreneurs and institutional recognition and representation of participants at higher levels.

The informal sector reforms are one of the difficult areas in the economy to deal with and many governments have neglected this area, leaving the government’s limited revenue to support its budget.

Therefore, loss of tax revenue limits the scope of the country to provide services and infrastructures depending on borrowing and aid, if high proportion of business activity operates outside the scope of regulation, it will be extremely difficult for the government to shape macro-economic outcomes through any policy.

As such reforms are desperately needed. The results of the government ignoring the informal sectors are to adopt indiscriminate taxation, which usually affects vulnerable people and usually makes the architect of such policy unpopular.

By Dr. Edward Kwadwo Yeboah, Kumasi

*The Writer is an Economic Development Consultant

PSG come from behind to beat Lille

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PSG have lost just one match so far this season

Paris St-Germain came from behind to beat Lille and move 11 points clear at the top of Ligue 1.

Goncalo Ramos swept home four minutes after Yusuf Yazici’s sixth-minute opener at the Parc des Princes.

Lille defender Alexsandro tucked into his own net before Randal Kolo Muani tapped in from close range.

Kylian Mbappe did not feature with PSG boss Luis Enrique resting the striker before they face Real Sociedad in the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday.

The France international picked up an ankle injury in the French Cup win over Brest in midweek but was fit enough to be named on the bench.

Marco Asensio and Nordi Mukiele both went close late on but Lille keeper Lucas Chevalier produced several brilliant saves.

Eleven-time French champions PSG sit comfortably above Nice in second place while Lille are fourth, ahead of Monaco just on goal difference.

Credit: bbc.com

Bellingham double helps Real Madrid thump Girona 

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Jude Bellingham (left) celebrates wth Vinicius Jnr

Jude Bellingham scored twice before going off injured as leaders Real Madrid thumped title challengers Girona to go five points clear in La Liga.

A sensational long-range drive from Vinicius Jr gave Madrid an early lead at the Bernabeu.

Bellingham then scored his first of the game from a sublime Vinicius pass before converting his 20th of the season after half-time.

Rodrygo made it 4-0, before Joselu struck the post with a late penalty.

Bellingham has now scored more La Liga goals for Real Madrid than any other midfielder in a single season this century – but the England international’s night ended on a sour note as he was forced off with an ankle injury.

He fell to the ground after colliding with Pablo Torre and was treated on the pitch for several minutes before gingerly getting to his feet.

He was pictured on the Madrid bench with an ice pack strapped to his foot. He has since been diagnosed with a sprained ankle.

Credit: bbc.com

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