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Mantse disputes Obrafour ‘s claim over sound Drake Sampled

By
NANA KWESI COOMSON
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Obrafour, Mantse Aryeequaye and Drake

Following Obrafour’s suit against Canadian singer, Drake for $10m over his alleged copyright infringement of the “Killer Cut” sound,Mantse Aryeequaye, a popular Ghanaian filmmaker has called out hiplife artiste,Obrafour over the ownership of the “Killer Cut” sound in the latter’s song.

Mr. Aryeequaye claims he owns the intellectual property right of the sampled sound in Drake’s ‘Calling My Name song,’ which was released on June 17, 2022. Mantse Aryeequaye has disputed hiplife legend Obrafour’s claim that he is the copyright owner of the “Killer Cut” sound in the rapper’s song ‘Oye Ohene.’

On his official Twitter page, @Accradotatl, Mr. Aryeequaye said the copyright infringement dispute between Obrafour and Drake, which is playing out in a US court should rather be between him and Drake since he owns the right to the sample.

The famous ‘Killer Cut’ sound was first featured in Obrafour’s 2003 song ‘Oye Ohene.’

The development prompted Obrafour to file a $10 million lawsuit against Drake, claiming that the Canadian rapper had infringed on his copyright.

On Wednesday, April 19, 2023, Manste took to Twitter to assert his right to the sampled song, describing it as his intellectual property. “Hello @Drake, the intellectual property more specifically the ‘KILLER CUT’ sound which was sampled in your song “Calling My Name” belongs to me Mantse Aryeequaye and not to @IamObrafuo,” he wrote.

The filmmaker, who tagged Drake in his tweets, noted that although Obrafour was an interested party in the lawsuit, he did not own the right to the sampled sound and could not independently demand compensation for its use.

Mantse went on to warn Obrafour to tell the truth about the matter otherwise, he would expose the Ghanaian hiplife legend. He added that Obrafour had refused to respond to him since he reached out to him following Drake’s release of the song.

He further urged Obrafour to contact his lawyer and make arrangements to engage with him, (Mantse) as the rightful owner of the “killer cut” sound.

Chairman Wontumi drags Afia Schwarzenegger back to court

By
NANA KWESI COOMSON
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Chairman Wontumi and Afia Schwarzenegger

Media owner, Chairman Wontumi has dragged Afia Schwarzenegger back to court for allegedly violating the terms of her release in a previous contempt case.

Chairman Wontumi earlier slapped the comedienne with a defamation lawsuit, alongside Nana Ama McBrown, A-Plus, and other panelists of United Showbiz on UTV.

This comes after Nana Ama McBrown, Afia Schwarzenegger, Mr. A-Plus, Mr. Logic discussed on live TV a court case between Afia Schwarzenegger and Mr Chairman Wontumi.

Afia was sentenced to a 10-day prison for contempt of court. According to reports, although a branch warrant was issued for the arrest of Afia Schwarzenegger, the media personality never served her sentence.

She, however, later turned herself in, apologized and her lawyer requested a fine instead. In an attempt to nullify the prison sentence, she was ordered to sign a bond of good behavior for 36 months and pay a fine of GH¢60,000.

Additionally, she was instructed not to discuss the case on any platform during the pendency of the bond, with a warning that any breach would result in further consequences.

However, Chairman Wontumi believes that the socialite did not abide by the court’s orders, and his legal team has issued another lawsuit seeking to hold her accountable for contempt.

“The counsel for and behalf of the applicant herein will move this honorable court for an order praying the honorable court to punish the respondent herein for continuing contempt arising from respondent violation and disobedient to the terms of the judgment of this court,” parts of the statements read.

The Court had also fined the other parties involved GH¢60,000 each for contempt.

Six-year-old shot after basketball rolls into North Carolina man’s yard

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admin
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Police said they have conducted an overnight search for suspect Robert Louis Singletary, who remains at large

Police in North Carolina are searching for a man accused of shooting a 6-year-old girl and her father after their basketball rolled into the suspect’s yard.

Two other victims, a woman and a man, were also injured.

Police said the suspect, 24-year-old Robert Louis Singletary, remains at large.

Mr Singletary faces four counts of first-degree attempted murder.

Police have also charged the suspect with two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon.

The suspect was previously known to police for allegedly assaulting his girlfriend with a sledgehammer in December.

Police in Gaston County first received a 911 call at 19:44 local time on Tuesday (00:44 BST on Wednesday) about the shooting.

Investigators later reported that a six-year-old child and her father were both seriously injured. An adult female was grazed by a bullet and a second adult male was shot, they said.

A neighbour told reporters that the shooting unfolded after a basketball rolled into the suspect’s yard.

“They were playing basketball, and a ball rolled into his yard. They went to go and get it. It was just crazy,” said Jonathan Robertson, who lives in the Gaston County neighbourhood. “We just never expected it in a million years. We never expected anybody would break a gun out amongst all those kids.”

Police said the suspect went inside his home and came out with a gun before he fired indiscriminately at neighbours. Mr William and his daughter were struck as parents were rushing to gather their children.

Source: bbc.com

Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are melting rapidly and driving sea level rise, new satellite data finds

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A view of the Greenland Ice Sheet.

The Earth’s ice sheets lost enough ice over the last 30 years to create an ice cube 12 miles high, according to new research.

The Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, which hold almost all of the world’s freshwater ice, are shrinking at a frighteningly rapid pace, according to a report on Thursday from a team of international scientists.

Combining data from 50 satellite surveys of Antarctica and Greenland, spanning the years 1992 to 2020, scientists from the Ice Sheet Mass Balance Inter-comparison Exercise, or IMBIE, were able to track changes in the ice sheets’ volume and ice flow.

They found that ice sheet melting has increased six-fold over the past 30 years, as record levels of planet-heating pollution push up global temperatures.

In all, the polar ice sheets lost more than 8.3 trillion tons of ice between 1992 and 2020, according to the report.

The worst year for ice sheet loss was 2019, the report found, when the ice sheets lost around 675 billion tons of ice. These losses were driven by an Arctic heatwave, which saw Greenland’s ice sheet shed 489 billion tons.

The loss of ice is having a significant impact on the oceans, pushing up sea levels by 21 millimeters (just less than an inch), according to the report. Ice sheet melting now accounts for a quarter of all sea level rise – a fivefold increase since the 1990s.

“This is a huge amount of ice,” study lead author Inès Otosaka, a research fellow at the University of Leeds, told CNN. “This is very worrying, of course, because 40% of the global population lives in coastal areas,” she said.

Source: cnn.com

Sudan’s generals reject negotiations as ceasefire fails

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Sudan's army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (L) and RSF commander General Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo

Warring generals in Sudan have rejected negotiations with each other, as fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continues, despite repeated attempts at a ceasefire.

Speaking to Al Jazeera on Thursday, the head of Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), General Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo, said that he would not sit down and talk with his chief rival, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

“We are calling for a humanitarian truce and for a ceasefire for a specific period, but the other side does not want that,” Hemedti said in a phone call with Al Jazeera on Thursday. “But we are not talking about sitting down with a criminal. We have been negotiating [with al-Burhan] for two years, without any results.”

“Al-Burhan was the one who started the battles and he is the one responsible for murdering the Sudanese people, so there are no future negotiations with him,” he added.

Following the interview with Hemedti, al-Burhan also spoke to Al Jazeera, and said that there was no party “with whom we can sit down to negotiate with now”.

“This party [the RSF] vowed to eliminate the Sudanese army and the rule of Sudan, and it is now stealing the homes of the Sudanese, and this does not augur that it is a party that restores Sudan’s permanence.”

Both men spoke of the upcoming Eid holiday, with Hemedti saying that he had “no objection” to a truce over Eid, but claimed that the army had continued attacking his forces despite a ceasefire that was supposed to be observed from 16:00 GMT on Wednesday evening.

Source: Aljazeera.com

Malian president’s Chief of Staff, three others killed in ambush

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The Chief of Staff for Mali’s interim president, Oumar Traore, and three others have been killed in an ambush, the government said on Thursday.

The ambush took place in the rural area of Nara in Mali’s southwestern Koulikoro region, the statement said, without providing further detail on when the attack occurred or who was responsible for it.

A driver who was travelling with the delegation is still missing, it added.

Mali is one of several West African countries battling armed groups during the past decade.

Rebels linked to al-Qaeda and the ISIL (ISIS) armed group have seized swaths of territory across the region, killed thousands and displaced millions. In January, fourteen Malian soldiers were killed and 11 wounded in two separate attacks in central Mali after their vehicles struck explosive devices.

Frustrations against the authorities’ failure to quell the violence have spurred two military takeovers in Mali since 2020.

In 2022, French troops completed a withdrawal from Mali as relations soured between both countries due to two coups and the perceived ineffectiveness of the foreign military in tackling rebel activity.

There have also been growing tensions between the UN mission and Mali’s military government following the alleged arrival of Wagner Group operatives from Russia to bolster government forces.

Source: aljkazeera.com

Yemen: Almost 80 die in Ramadan crush at Sanaa school

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Clothes dragged on steps at the scene of the crush

At least 78 people have been killed in a crush at a school in Yemen’s rebel-held capital, Sanaa, during a charity event for Ramadan, officials say.

The incident began after hundreds crowded into a narrow street in the Bab al-Yemen area late on Wednesday to get handouts of $9 (£7) from a merchant.

Video showed people screaming for help and others trying to pull them free.

Later footage appeared to show dozens of bodies on the ground, as well as shoes and clothing strewn over steps.

Officials from the rebel Houthi movement accused organisers of failing to co-ordinate with local authorities and said they had been detained.

Yemen has been devastated by a civil war that escalated in 2015, when the Iran-aligned Houthis seized control of large parts of the west of the country from the internationally-recognised government and a Saudi-led coalition intervened in an effort to restore its rule.

The fighting has reportedly left more than 150,000 people dead and triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with two thirds of the population – 21.7 million people – in need of some form of aid.

Poor people made their way to the Maeen School in central Sanaa on Wednesday night after being told that a local merchant would be handing out zakat (alms) to mark the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

The head of the Houthis’ Supreme Revolutionary Council, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, posted a photo on Twitter apparently showing hundreds of people queuing outside the school before the crush.

Mr Houthi said the merchant received people via a back gate that was reached by a narrow street and steps. This resulted in overcrowding and a crush when the gate was opened, he added.

Source: bbc.com

How safe are mosquito coils?

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admin
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Mosquito coils

We’ve all had to use it once before, in mosquito swarmed places such as camps. While we all know that mosquito coils basically repel the mosquitoes around it, not many of us know exactly what the dangers of using this device can bring.

Coils — the dangers

Yes, these green spiral coils do help solve the problem of mozzies and most often than not, come at an extremely affordable price point. However, there have been multiple researches showing the health hazards of inhaling these coils. So what makes these vexing vitriolic vessels so dangerous to us?

Majority of the coils out there in the market contain insecticides that are known to kill mosquitoes. Though the products are generally safe, it’s the smoke that comes out of the mosquito coil that poses the highest risk. Studies have reported that the exposure to the smoke could pose significant health risks. Just for comparison, burning one coil is the equivalent of inhaling a mass burning of more than 100 cigarettes! Besides just the smoke inhalation, toxic formaldehyde is also a substantial chunk of its chemical compound, amongst other toxic chemicals.

Other than the chemical dangers of these products, there are side effects that impact our health. For starters, the vapour of mosquito coils can result in dehydration and headaches, making your insect-free experience an uncomfortable one. Besides just temporary side effects, inhaling these coils in the long term have debilitating health hazards. Formaldehyde present in these coils have been known to result in cancer.

Natural Safer Alternative

At incognito, we sell a non-toxic natural room refresher that acts like a mosquito coil, but without the harmful chemicals involved! Our fresh pine and citrus aroma deters insects from coming into the fragranced area, leaving you insect bite-free! Besides having none of the toxic chemicals, our 100% natural product is also free from irritants, parabens and SLS.

Source: www.incognito.com.sg

Appiadu Chief appeals for SHS

By
RICHARD OWUSU-AKYAW
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Odeefo Yaw Barima II addressing the media

The Chief of Appiadu in the Oforikrom Municipality of the Ashanti Region, Odeefo Yaw Barima II, has appealed to the government, through the Ministry of Education, to help establish a Senior High School (SHS) in his community.

Odeefo, who was installed Chief of Appiadu by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, about five months ago, has, therefore, made two acres of land available for the construction of the school and other developmental projects.

“Just as my late uncle, Odeefo Owusu Amoaye II, who I succeeded, provided a parcel of land to the Oforikrom Municipal Assembly for the construction of [the] Assembly block which is near completion, I am also ready to follow his good example by providing two acres of land for the construction of a Senior High School,” he said.

Odeefo also promised to release lands for the construction of a lorry park and hospital, and appealed for more support to help the town achieve the status it deserved.

The traditional leader, who was speaking to journalists at his palace recently, advised the youth to take their education seriously, so as to become relevant leaders in future.

According to him, it would be prudent if the community got its own SHS for the young children to attain higher education, and urged the government to help him realise his dream.

He indicated his readiness to receive the Minister of Education, Yaw Osei Adutwum, whenever necessary for discussions.

The Appiaduhene also lamented over the very poor road network linking Emena to Appiadu, which needed a facelift to alleviate the plight of his people.

He implored people in/from his traditional area, both home and abroad, to support the developmental projects being initiated in the community.

The Chief cautioned people selling and buying lands from unauthorized persons in the community to desist from such fraudulent transactions to avoid any future complications.

He also advised prospective land buyers in the community to come to the palace to follow the approved processes.

DID JESUS DIE IN VAIN? (PART II)

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Dr. Joyce Rosalind Aryee, Executive Director, Salt and Light Ministries

“But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by His wounds we are healed.” – Isaiah 53:5

 

INTRODUCTION

We bring you this week, the concluding part of last week’s article on “Did Jesus Die in Vain?”  Please enjoy and share with others!

THE PLEA JESUS MAKES

Christ was the embodiment of the sins of the world while hanging on Calvary’s cross.  Stripped of every form of dignity, He was condemned to the most horrifying and shameful death.  If the Jews regarded leprosy as punishment from God, both they and the Romans regarded death on the cross as the lot of the most despised criminals on earth.  Yet that was the only price that could ransom man from the deathtrap of sin.

Many today think Christ a dead and buried ordinary man who once lived on earth.  For that, they think He died in vain.  But the death and burial of Jesus is only part of the story.  He is risen and alive.  Did He die in vain?  Was His death and sacrifice really worth it?

If you are one of those who wonder about these thoughts, know for a fact that Jesus died knowingly.  His death was a gift from God to us: “For God so loved the world that He gave His One and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” – John 3:16.  It is a gift that in His characteristic fashion, He does not force anyone to take, though it is a gift that means the difference between life and death for us.  Apostle Paul reminds us that “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 6:23.

  1. Jesus died, rose again and is alive forevermore! The purpose of His death was so that we might be saved, if we believe in Him – Acts 2:21; 16:31. Man’s salvation does not therefore validate Christ’s death, but Christ’s death validates man’s salvation.  Though it is “by His wounds we are healed” – Isaiah 53:5, it does not matter whether the whole world receives Him or not.  His sacrifice on Calvary remains valid and powerful to save.

Centuries earlier in the wilderness, the Israelites had had to look at the cross as a step towards salvation.  Bitten by poisonous serpents, they had to look at the brass snake hung on the cross.  Those who obeyed lived.  Those who disobeyed, died – Numbers 21.

While Jesus hung on the cross, surrounded by two thieves, one received salvation and the other did not.  The two symbolize the two groups of people all men fall into – those who believe that Christ is Saviour and Lord, and those who do not.  As valid as Jesus’ death on the cross of Calvary is, many, like the recalcitrant thief on the cross, will still be lost.  They will come very close to salvation, but will not recognize the Saviour.

They will witness others like them being saved, but will not take advantage of the opportunity.  That such a group of people will be lost will not invalidate the efficacy of Christ’s death and atoning sacrifice.  His blood bought us.  Redeemed us from the curse of our guilt.  Reconciled us to the Father.

Paul noted that “the preaching of the cross is foolishness to those who perish; but unto us who are saved, it is the power of God.” – 1 Corinthians1:18.  This is because “the person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.” – 1 Corinthians 2:14. It is an ordinance that we are asked to constantly ponder as believers.  And the sacredness of the sacrifice made for our salvation on the cross of Calvary constrains us to not cheapen this with the revelry of those who do not understand its sacred import.

  1. Christ died for us to be saved. It was a gift to us that we do not deserve. That when we fail to benefit from His gift will not invalidate the power of His Sacrifice.  That any man loses his soul will not mean that Jesus died in vain.  It would simply mean that the person scorned God’s gift to His own eternal loss.  It’s what Isaac Watts describe in His classic hymn: When I Survey The Wondrous Cross.  Millions sing it.  Do not do so in vain.
  2. When I survey the wondrous cross, On which the Prince of glory died,

My richest gain I count but loss.  And pour contempt on all my pride.

 

  1. Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, Save in the death of Christ my Christ

All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood.

 

  1. See from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down!

Did e’er such love and sorrow meet, Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

 

  1. Were the whole realm of nature mine, That were a present far too small;

Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all.

To Ponder: Hans Urs von Balthasar, the Swiss theologian and priest reminds us of why we the Easter message is important.  “It is to the Cross that the Christian is challenged to follow his Master: no path of redemption can make a detour around it.”  Have you been seeking the crown without the cross?

 Remain Blessed!

Please continue to join us on Asempa 94.7 FM – Sundays 5.30 am., Sunny 88.7 FM – Tuesdays 5:30 am; and YFM 107.9 – Sundays 6.30am; for our Radio Bible Study as well as Sunny FM 88.7 FM every Sunday at 3:30 pm for Hymns and their Stories.

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