Satirist Kwaku Sintim Misa popularly known as KSM, has advised creatives against the use of drugs.
Although he reveals that the biggest push for drug use among talents in the creative industry is the ability of the drugs to evoke wild creative ideas, he cautions that it is dangerous to rely on drugs for any creative activity.
“When you get on any drug, it can give you some amazing energy and some creative geniuses that can give you the boost. However, trust me, if you rely on the natural and you give yourself enough time, you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish. The deception is that that one gives you an immediate thing that you can do and you think this is the way out.
But the more you do it, the more you destroy that capacity. So you can be the greatest creative and everything but later on you realise that it brings you down again, very very fast. So my advice is, don’t depend on any external high to get creative because it will give you just the boost but you can’t depend on that boost,” he said.
He also admitted to using drugs in the past but explained he did so to see if that could really enhance his creative abilities. The venerated creative made this revelation in a new Joy News documentary by Joy FM journalist Kwame Dadzie.
In ‘Creative Addictions’, some creatives open up on how they found themselves in such a noose and the effects it has had on them. Experts of psychiatry also share their opinion on what can be done to help people get out of drug addiction.
Ghanaian Afrobeat artist, Kelvyn Boy, has voiced his observation that Ghanaian audiences tend to favor simpler, catchier music over deeper, more complex compositions. Speaking in a recent interview on 3Music TV, Kelvyn Boy, real name Kelvin Brown, said he has observed that songs with profound messages often struggle to gain traction in Ghana.
He described the phenomenon as a result of “lazy ears,” in which listeners tend to favour familiar sounds over more thought-provoking music. “In Ghana, if you do a deep song, it doesn’t get buzz. Ghanaians have these lazy ears. They want to hear what they expect; they don’t want to hear conscious music,” he said.
He asserted that he knows how to make songs simpler to appeal to Ghanaians, but said he wouldn’t as it was not his purpose for doing music.
“I’ve always known that and I don’t do that. That’s why I’ve always stayed different.
“I know the simple things to say and I can say that. I know that it will be very easy for it to be catchy, but is that what God brought me here to do? To impress you?” he asked.
For him, staying true to his unique style and message is important, even if it means forgoing popularity.
Ukraine has claimed responsibility for a drone attack in Russia’s Tatarstan region – more than 1,300km (807 miles) from the Ukraine-Russia border.
The strikes, in which 12 people were injured, are the deepest into Russian territory since the start of the war. Local authorities said that the strikes hit the town of Yelabuga, where drones are thought to be produced, and an oil refinery in nearby Nizhnekamsk.
The attacks occurred around 05:45 local time (02:45 GMT).
Yelabuga is located in the Alabuga “special economic zone” – an area with a special legal system aimed at attracting foreign investment. Iranian Shahed drones – which are frequently used by Russia to attack Ukraine – are thought to be assembled in Yelabuga.
According to media reports, at least 12 people – all of them students – were injured in Yelabuga.
The judge overseeing Donald Trump’s criminal hush money case has expanded a gag order on the former president after his online attacks against his daughter.
Justice Juan Merchan has banned Mr Trump from criticising his family members or those of Manhattan prosecutor Alvin Bragg. The Trump campaign has called the gag order unconstitutional.
In the case, Mr Trump denies concealing hush money payments to an adult film actress ahead of the 2016 election.
The original order last week barred Mr Trump from attacking court staff, potential jurors and witnesses. But Mr Bragg, the district attorney, argued on Monday that the restriction should be widened following Mr Trump’s singling out of the judge’s daughter.
In a post on Truth Social after the gag order was expanded, Mr Trump said the judge should be removed from the case.
The expanded order comes after earlier posts by Mr Trump, on 28 March, saying Justice Merchan’s daughter was a “Rabid Trump Hater” who “admitted to having conversations with her father about me”.
The UK and US have signed a landmark deal to work together on testing advanced artificial intelligence (AI). The agreement signed on Monday says both countries will work together on developing “robust” methods for evaluating the safety of AI tools and the systems that underpin them.
It is the first bilateral agreement of its kind.
UK tech minister Michelle Donelan said it is “the defining technology challenge of our generation”.
“We have always been clear that ensuring the safe development of AI is a shared global issue,” she said. “Only by working together can we address the technology’s risks head on and harness its enormous potential to help us all live easier and healthier lives.”
The secretary of state for science, innovation and technology added that the agreement builds upon commitments made at the AI Safety Summit held in Bletchley Park in November 2023.
The event, attended by AI bosses including OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Google DeepMind’s Demis Hassabis and tech billionaire Elon Musk, saw both the UK and US create AI Safety Institutes which aim to evaluate open and closed-source AI systems. While things have felt quiet on the AI safety front since the summit, the AI sector itself has been extremely busy.
A child has died and two others have been seriously wounded in a shooting at a school in Finland, police say.
Police said all three victims were 12 and that a suspect, also aged 12, had fled but was later detained.
Parents told Finnish media that the shooting had taken place in a classroom at Viertola school in Vantaa, to the north of the capital, Helsinki.
Police said they arrived at the school within nine minutes at 09:17 (06:17 GMT) and tended to the three victims.
“One of the victims died almost immediately at this location in the school,” said the head of local police, Tomi Salosyrja. “Two other victims were transported to hospital in Helsinki.” In common with other Finnish schools, children had just returned to classes in Vantaa, just outside Helsinki, after the long Easter weekend. All of those involved are thought to have been in the sixth grade.
The suspect ran off as soon as police arrived and was eventually detained “in a calm manner” in the northern Siltamaki district of Helsinki at 09:58. A video taken from a passing car shows the suspect being pinned down beside a road.
Police said he had been holding a firearm which they had taken from him and he admitted carrying out the shooting.
People burned Israeli and US flags at a protest in Tehran
Iran has vowed to respond to what it said was an Israeli strike on Monday that destroyed an Iranian consulate building in Syria’s capital, Damascus. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel would “regret this crime”, while President Ebrahim Raisi insisted that it would “not go unanswered”.
Iranian state TV reported that seven Revolutionary Guards, including two generals, and six Syrians were killed. The Israeli military said it did not comment on foreign media reports.
But an unnamed senior Israeli government official told Reuters news agency that those killed had “been behind many attacks on Israeli and American assets and had plans for additional attacks”. They also insisted that the embassy “was not a target”.
The New York Times also cited four Israeli officials as confirming that Israel had carried out the strike but denying the building had diplomatic status.
Israel has acknowledged carrying out hundreds of strikes in recent years on targets in Syria that it says are linked to Iran and allied armed groups which are armed, funded and trained by the Revolutionary Guards.
At least 29 people have been killed in a fire in a nightclub in Turkey. The club, in the basement of a high-rise building in Istanbul, was closed and undergoing renovations during the day.
Speaking to the media, Istanbul governor Davut Gül said the cause of the fire was not yet clear.
Mr Gül said that the victims of the fire were employees, but it is not clear whether they were contractors or employees of the nightclub.
He added that investigations were continuing.
The Mayor of İstanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, offered his condolences on social media.
“May God have mercy on our citizens who lost their lives, and I wish a speedy recovery to our injured,” he said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is aware of the tragedy following a phone call with interior minister Ali Yerlikaya.
A migraine is a headache that can cause severe throbbing pain or a pulsing sensation, usually on one side of the head. It’s often accompanied by nausea, vomiting, and extreme sensitivity to light and sound.
What Causes Migraines?
You know how your migraine headaches start but have no idea why you get them. What makes you more likely than some other people to get these awful headaches?
Common Causes of Migraines
Doctors aren’t totally sure what causes migraine headaches, but they think imbalances in certain brain chemicals may play a role.
The trigeminal nerve in your head runs your eyes and mouth. It also helps you feel sensations in your face and is a major pathway for pain. Your levels of a chemical called serotonin may fall at the start of a migraine, and this nerve can release chemicals called neurotransmitters that travel to your brain and cause pain.
Migraine Risk Factors
You might be more likely to have migraines because of:
Your genes. If someone in your family gets migraine headaches, you’re more likely to have them.
Your age. Migraine headaches can hit at any point in your life, but you’re more likely to get your first one in your teens. The headaches tend to peak in your 30s and become less severe later in life.
Your gender. Women are about three times more likely to get them than men.
Migraine Triggers
Things that may set off a migraine include:
Hormonal changes. Shifts in the hormone estrogen can bring on migraines in women. Medications like birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy can trigger headaches or make them worse. But other women have fewer migraines when they take these medications.
Emotional stress. This is one of the most common migraine triggers. When you’re stressed, your brain releases chemicals that set off your “fight or flight” response. Anxiety, worry, and fear can create even more tension and make a migraine worse.
Certain foods. Salty, processed foods and aged cheeses like blue cheese are known triggers. The artificial sweetener aspartame and flavor enhancer monosodium glutamate (MSG) may cause them, too.
Skipping meals. If you miss a meal, your blood sugar could drop, triggering a headache.
Sensory overload. Bright lights, loud sounds, and strong smells can bring on these headaches in some people.
Changes in your sleep pattern. If you get too much or too little sleep, you may get a migraine. Traveling between time zones? Jet lag can be a cause, too.
Physical strain. An intense workout, like heavy exercise or even sex, can cause a migraine. You should still be active, but you might do better with a more moderate pace.
Changes in weather. This is a big trigger. So is a change in the overall air pressure.
Too much medication. If you have migraines and take medications for them more than 10 days in a month, you may be setting yourself up for what’s called a rebound headache. Your doctor will probably call it a medication overuse headache.
Although you might not be able to prevent migraine triggers altogether, some simple things — like regular, good-quality sleep, a healthy diet, exercise, and stress management — may help you stop them before they start.
In today’s corporate world, fostering an inclusive work environment has become not just a moral imperative but a strategic business priority. Inclusion goes beyond merely having a diverse workforce; it encompasses creating a culture where every individual feels valued, respected, and empowered to contribute their unique perspectives and talents.
For so many years, the mining industry has been a male dominated one, with limited representation and opportunities for women. This imbalance is reflected not only in the workforce composition but also in leadership positions. Some women have faced barriers to entry and advancement in the mining industry, including systematic biases, cultural norms, and workplace environments that were often unwelcoming or hostile to female employees.
Records show that as of 2023, only 20% of women were employed in the mining sector globally. It is for this reason that Newmont, the world’s leading gold mining company, has taken proactive steps to change the status quo and make the mining industry an attractive profession for women.
Newmont has made several strides in this regard; consciously making inclusion one of its core values, and creating an environment where everyone, irrespective of their differences, has the opportunity to contribute, develop and work together to deliver on the business strategy.
Across its operations in Ghana, a significant number of women are blazing the trail – working as Geoscientists, Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, Chief Mine Surveyors, truck operators, and many more. You may have heard that Newmont is establishing its third mine in Africa – the Ahafo North Project.
To advance its inclusion agenda, the Ahafo North Project has committed to progressively employ 50% of its workforce as women. Currently, women make up 33% of the project’s employee workforce.
Additionally, the company has instituted several initiatives like the Women and Allies Business Resource Group, the Female Top-Up programme where females from our host communities are trained to increase their chances of being hired by Newmont and the mining industry.
In celebrating women’s month, this article puts a spotlight on some amazing women in Newmont’s Ahafo North project who are excelling in their respective fields.
Anita Yentumi is a Metallurgical Engineer for Newmont’s Ahafo North Project Processing Team. She is responsible for developing metallurgical procedures, standards, and reporting templates. Additionally, she leads projects related to the setting up of the Metallurgical Laboratory and oversees the completion of Ahafo North’s Metallurgical Business Readiness Plans.
In 2022, Anita was adjudged the overall best candidate for the Chemical/Mining Technical Division for the Ghana Institution of Engineering Professional Examinations at the 35th Engineers Induction Ceremony. Anita is an advocate for increased female participation in STEM education.
Vincentia Ametephe
Vincentia Ametephe is a dedicated professional with a passion for Exploration Geology. She is currently an Exploration Geoscientist at Newmont Ahafo North Project and is responsible for monitoring day-to-day technical drilling operations, ensuring compliance and safety standards, managing geological data collection, supervising the preparation of drill core samples, and ensuring adherence to quality control and assurance procedures. “The company advocates for equal opportunities, regardless of demographic factors such as gender or ethnicity,” she said.
Fatima Adjei is the Chief Mine Surveyor for Newmont’s Ahafo North Project. Her role involves leading and controlling the efficient development and implementation of operating mine survey activities.
Fatima Adjei
Fatima says, “I like Newmont because it is one of the few companies in this country that is very people – centered.’’ Fatima holds a BSc in Geomatic Engineering from KNUST and an MSc in Engineering Project Management from Coventry University. She is a member of the Ghana Institution of Engineers (GhIE), Ghana Institution of Surveyors (GhIS) and the Project Management Institute Ghana Chapter (PMI-Ghana).
Yvonne Amoah is an innovative female who has a background in Natural Resource Management from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology. She is currently an Environmental Technician for reclamation and waste management with the Ahafo North Project. “I am a proud employee because Newmont values inclusion and integrity. Also, the company’s commitment aligns with my career aspirations,” she said. Yvonne believes in being independent, self-sufficient, and personal growth.
Yvonne Amoah
In conclusion, the spotlights on some of these remarkable women at the Newmont Ahafo North Project serves as powerful reminders of the invaluable contributions women make in Newmont and the world at large. Their dedication, resilience, and achievements not only inspire but also underscore the importance of fostering inclusive workplaces where every individual, regardless of gender, has the opportunity to thrive and succeed. With March out of the way, the mining sector and the society at large must continue to champion diversity, equity, and inclusion, recognizing that it is through embracing the unique talents and perspectives of all individuals that innovation, progress, and lasting positive change can be achieved.
