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Newmont rehabilitates 46km Sunyani-Ntotronso-Akyerensua Highway

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The Minister for Roads and Highways, Kwame Governs Agbodza

Newmont Corporation has partnered the Government of Ghana, through the Ministry of Roads and Highways, to rehabilitate of the 46km Sunyani-Ntotronso-Akyerensua highway.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between Newmont and the Ministry of Roads and Highways, and the contractor has begun mobilization to commence work on the road. Newmont has been particularly focused on infrastructure development over the years, in addition to its health, education, and other development-focused investments.

In the Ahafo area, the company has funded and committed to the rehabilitation of major roads, including the Ntotroso-Kenyasi road, the Hwediem-Kenyasi road, and internal roads within the Ntotroso, Wamahinso, Gyedu, Kenyasi No.1 and Kenyasi No.2 communities.

Newmont recognizes the important role that road infrastructure plays in facilitating the transportation of goods and services, as well as stimulating local economic growth. In supporting government’s effort at improving infrastructure nation-wide, the company is living its purpose of creating value and improving lives through sustainable and responsible mining.

BoG Moves to Deepen FX Market as Reserves Hit US$10.7bn

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Bank of Ghana headquarters

The Bank of Ghana (BoG) is taking bold steps to strengthen Ghana’s external position with the introduction of a new foreign exchange intermediation initiative under the Domestic Gold Purchase Programme, expected to commence next month.

Governor Johnson Asiamah announced the move at a post-Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) engagement in Accra on Tuesday, disclosing that the central bank plans to sell up to US$1.15 billion through twice-weekly auctions to all licensed banks.

According to him, the measure forms part of the Bank’s broader efforts to deepen the foreign exchange market, improve liquidity, and ensure long-term stability in the value of the cedi.

“We are committed to ensuring that our external position remains robust and that the gains made in stabilizing the cedi are sustained,” the Governor stated.

Ghana’s external sector performance has shown remarkable improvement in recent months. The country recorded a trade surplus of US$6.2 billion in the first eight months of 2025, while gross international reserves rose to US$10.7 billion, representing 4.5 months of import cover.

The cedi has also appreciated by 21 percent year-to-date, ranking among the best-performing currencies globally. The Governor attributed this progress to consistent monetary policy, prudent fiscal management, and strong performance in key export commodities.

Meanwhile, the BoG’s decision to lower the policy rate by 350 basis points to 21.5 percent the third cut this year, signals growing confidence in Ghana’s macroeconomic outlook. The policy easing is expected to further support private sector activity, while maintaining the ongoing disinflation momentum.

The central bank’s focus, Mr. Asiamah noted, is to ensure that monetary and exchange rate stability translates into real growth for households and businesses.

He further called on commercial banks to collaborate closely with the BoG to sustain the gains achieved so far, channel more credit to productive sectors, and support export-led growth.

“Our collective responsibility now is to sustain discipline, strengthen the financial system, and ensure that stability translates into jobs, affordable credit, and real growth,” the Governor emphasized.

BoG Calls for Stronger Partnership with Banks to Sustain Ghana’s Economic Stability

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JENNIFER AMBOLLEY
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Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Johnson Pandit Asiama

Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Johnson Pandit Asiama, has called on banks to work closely with the Central Bank to sustain Ghana’s hard-won macro-economic stability and translate the recent gains into real economic benefits for households and businesses.

Speaking at the Post-Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) Engagement with Heads of Banks in Accra yesterday, Dr. Asiama said the progress achieved in restoring stability was the result of shared effort and discipline within the financial sector, and that continued collaboration would be vital in consolidating these gains.

“The task of consolidating stability is a shared one. Sustaining a stable exchange rate, deepening credit to productive sectors, and expanding exports require close collaboration between the Bank of Ghana and the banking industry,” Dr. Asiama stated.

The Governor urged banks to design and promote export-oriented financial products, support SMEs and agribusiness, and enhance foreign exchange sourcing through formal channels.

He further appealed to the institutions to adhere strictly to domestic regulatory provisions, including the use of local insurance companies for import coverage, to reduce foreign exchange leakages and strengthen local liquidity.

Dr. Asiama also encouraged banks to take active steps toward public listing to boost capital strength, improve transparency, and enhance long-term growth prospects.

While highlighting Ghana’s progress in returning to single-digit inflation for the first time in four years, The Governor emphasised that the ultimate goal was to ensure that economic stability leads to affordable credit and job creation.

“Our collective responsibility now is to sustain discipline, strengthen the financial system, and ensure that stability translates into jobs, affordable credit, and real growth for households and businesses,” he said.

He commended the banking industry for maintaining resilience, noting that the Capital Adequacy Ratio had improved to 17.7 percent, while Non-Performing Loans stood at 20.8 percent.

The Governor reaffirmed the Bank’s commitment to working with industry players through open dialogue, consistent regulation, and shared purpose, underscoring that Ghana’s financial transformation depended on sustained partnership between regulators and banks.

“The return to single-digit inflation marks a new chapter in Ghana’s economic recovery, but it is not the end of the story,” he said. “The Bank of Ghana will continue to work closely with all of you to achieve these goals.”

Cardi B Recalls What Shakira Told Her When She ‘Felt the Love Dying’ in Marriage to Offset

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NANA KWESI COOMSON
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Cardi B

Cardi B went through a rough time recently, but luckily, Shakira was there to help her through some of it.

In an interview on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast posted Monday (Oct. 6), the rapper looked back on the period of time in her marriage to Offset during which she felt their feelings for each other waning. “I also feel like my marriage, I felt the love dying — from my end, from his end,” Cardi said. “I was very lonely, because I chose to be lonely.”

“Around that time, I was working with Shakira, and I was like, ‘How the f–k did you overcame this?’” she continued of her “Punteria” collaborator. “Like, how did you overcame this? And she’s like, ‘It’s going to happen.’ And [I’m] like, ‘It will never happen.’”

Despite her initial disbelief, Cardi eventually realized that she would simply have to push through the unraveling of her relationship — just as Shakira, who went through her own split from longtime partner Gerard Piqué in 2022, had said. “And it happened,” the Bronx native told Shetty. “It took some crying, it took some thoughts, scary thoughts. But I’m here, honey, and I’m the strongest I’ve been.”

The interview comes just a couple of weeks after the Grammy winner dropped sophomore album Am I the Drama?, on which she seemingly unpacks her feelings toward ‘Set. After eight years of marriage, Cardi filed for divorce — for a second time — in July 2024, and the pair have been publicly trading barbs as they work toward finalizing their divorce.

Aside from the remaining legal disputes, though, Cardi has fully moved on from her estranged husband. Earlier this year, she started dating Stefon Diggs, and she is now expecting her first baby with the NFL star.

Aside from the remaining legal disputes, though, Cardi has fully moved on from her estranged husband. Earlier this year, she started dating Stefon Diggs, and she is now expecting her first baby with the NFL star.

Credit: yahoonews

The awkward moment divorcees Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck spot each other at movie premiere

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NANA KWESI COOMSON
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The former couple

Bennifer is back — for one night only.

The awkward moment Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez reunited at the “Kiss of the Spider Woman” premiere was caught on camera Monday evening.

The Grammy nominee, 56, was mid-interview with “Access Hollywood” when her ex-husband tried to get her attention.

She turned, spotted Affleck and exclaimed, “You’re here!”

The actor, 53, gestured to Tonatiuh, whom he was posing for red carpet pics with, and asked, “Picture?”

Lopez confirmed that she would “get in the picture right now” before turning back to the outlet to finish answering the question.


The singer then confirmed that she and Affleck were “gonna do a photo right now” and turned back to her former partner.

Affleck stepped forward and appeared to ask, “How are you, darling?”

The duo, who divorced last year, subsequently stood side-by-side with Tonatiuh, 30, for smiling snaps.

Lopez stunned in a striking Harris Reed gown that featured a spider-esque overlay.

Affleck, for his part, suited up in navy.

When the Golden Globe winner spoke to “Extra” at the screening, he gushed about Lopez and called her an “amazing” actress who “really does it all.”

Earlier that same day, Lopez was asked about promoting the project following her divorce from Affleck during a “Today” show interview.

The dancer awkwardly called out Craig Melvin for his question, quipping, “There you go! Look at this guy.”

Her and Affleck’s love story began in 2002 when the duo were engaged for two years before calling it quits — only to reconcile in 2021.

Credit: pagesix.com

Taylor Swift settles rumors about Super Bowl halftime show, Selena Gomez wedding speech and more

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NANA KWESI COOMSON
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Taylor Swift being interviewed

The rumors are terrible and cruel, but honey, are most of them true?

Taylor Swift finally put online chatter to sleep during Monday’s appearance on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”

After hyping her new album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” and gushing over her “favorite person” — fiancé Travis Kelce — Jimmy Fallon asked the singer to address a few elephants in the room.

The comedian went on to list five rumors he read online, which included Swift turning down the Super Bowl halftime show because the NFL wouldn’t allow her to own the footage, Ed Sheeran learning about her engagement on Instagram and joking about Selena Gomez beating her to the altar at the latter’s wedding.

He also brought up rumors that Swift was spotted walking a mystery dog in Florida and that Kelce could be heard harmonizing on her new track “Opalite.”

When it came time for the “Fate of Ophelia” singer to make the big reveal, she explained that only the Sheeran story was true.

“He doesn’t have a phone,” she declared.

As for the Gomez wedding discourse speculation, Swift revealed, “I did make a speech, but I actually made a point not to mention anything about my engagement.”

“I did do some light teasing about the way we used to dress in 2008 — the year we met. Because we met when we were teenagers and 2008 was quite a year, let me tell you. I talked a little about 2008, how happy I am for her and how beautiful it’s been getting to be a part of her life, but I did not make it about me.”

The talk show host then asked Swift whether she turned down the Super Bowl halftime show because the NFL wouldn’t let her own the footage.

“No!” the Grammy winner vehemently denied, explaining that she hasn’t performed at the big game because she’s too “locked in” to Kelce’s season to accept the gig.


“This is nothing to do with Travis; he would love for me to do it! I’m just too locked in,” she said.

Swift’s appearance on “The Tonight Show” marked her second TV sit-down since the release of “The Life of a Showgirl,” as she appeared on “The Graham Norton Show” the evening it dropped.

On the album, Swift — who got engaged to Kelce in August — sings about falling in love with the NFL star.

She announced her new era during her first-ever appearance on his “New Heights” podcast, which immediately preceded his proposal.

Credit: pagesix.com

German mayor-elect gravely wounded in stabbing attack

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German mayor-elect, Iris Stalzer (L)

A newly elected mayor in western Germany has been critically injured in a stabbing attack, according to German media reports.

Iris Stalzer, the 57-year-old mayor-elect of the North Rhine-Westphalia town of Herdecke, was stabbed in front of her home about noon (10:00 GMT) on Tuesday, leaving her with life-threatening injuries, Germany’s WDR broadcaster reported, quoting local police.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned the “heinous attack” and called for a swift investigation.

“We fear for the life of the designated mayor, Iris Stalzer, and hope for her full recovery,” he wrote in a post on X.

According to WDR, Stalzer was repeatedly stabbed before managing to haul herself inside her home, where her children called rescue services.

After finding Stalzer severely injured, rescue workers sent her to a hospital on a helicopter, according to Germany’s Deutsche Welle broadcaster.

Stalzer’s teenage son told authorities his mother had been attacked by several men, Germany’s Bild newspaper reported.

Further details about the attack or potential motives were not immediately clear.

Stalzer, a member of the centre-left Social Democratic Party, was elected mayor of the town of 22,000 people in the eastern Ruhr area on September 28.

The attack came after a regionwide campaign that politicians in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s largest state, described as unusually hostile.

A recent study found 60 percent of politicians in Germany had experienced violence at least once, with one in five saying it had made them more reluctant to appear in public.

Credit: aljazeera.com

 

Tunisia pardons man sentenced to death over Facebook posts

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Tunisian President Kais Saied

A Tunisian man who had been sentenced to death over Facebook posts deemed offensive to President Kais Saied has been pardoned and released from prison, his lawyer and a human rights group say.

Saber Ben Chouchane left jail overnight and was at home with his family, his lawyer Oussama Bouthelja told news agencies on Tuesday, after a wave of criticism from human rights groups over the case.

Saber’s brother, Jamal Chouchane, also confirmed to the Reuters news agency that he had been freed while the rights group Amnesty International said in a statement that he had been released due to “a presidential pardon”.

Ben Chouchane, who was arrested in January 2024, had been sentenced to death by a court in Nabeul, east of Tunis, on Wednesday, Bouthelja told the AFP news agency.

His client had been found guilty of “insulting the president, the minister of justice and the judiciary”, spreading false news and some of his social media posts were also deemed to be incitement, Bouthelja added.

Bouthelja told AFP that he had filed an appeal against his sentence on Friday but was later informed Ben Chouchane withdrew it, allowing a presidential pardon to be granted.

Bouthelja said he had been “astonished” by the death sentence, which rights groups said represented a chilling new level of repression amid tightening restrictions on speech since Saied mounted a sweeping power grab in 2021.

Heba Morayef, regional director at Amnesty International, had described the verdict “as a significant escalation and an outrageous assault on human rights”.

Credit: aljazeera.com

Albanian judge shot dead in court by man during trial

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Judge Kalaja was appointed to Tirana's Court of Appeal in 2019

A judge in Albania has been shot dead after a man opened fire during a trial at the Court of Appeal in the capital Tirana.

Judge Astrit Kalaja died en route to hospital, officials said, while two others involved in the hearing over a property dispute – a father and son – were shot but sustained injuries that were not life-threatening.

Police said they had arrested a 30-year-old male suspect who they identified by the initials “E Sh”, but Albanian media have named as Elvis Shkëmbi.

Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama offered his condolences to Judge Kalaja’s family, adding: “The criminal aggression against the judge undoubtedly requires the most extreme legal response toward the aggressor.”

He also called for stricter security within the country’s courts and harsher punishments for the illegal possession of weapons.

Sali Berisha, leader of the opposition Democratic Party, said Judge Kalaja’s murder was the first time in 35 years a judge had been killed “while doing his duty”, adding: “Today is the day for a deep reflection by all Albanian society.”

The suspect in Judge Kalaja’s killing had opened fire because he expected to lose the case, according to local media reports. Mr Shkëmbi’s uncle and the court’s security guard have also reportedly been arrested over the shooting.

Albania’s general prosecutor Olsian Çela said in the wake of the incident that the security of judges needed enhancing “in every respect”.

“Beyond the heartbreaking loss of one life and the injury of two others, this event strikes at the very foundation of justice and the functioning of the legal system,” he said.

Credit: bbc.com

Macron should step down early, says his first PM

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Emmanuel Macron

Emmanuel Macron should name a prime minister to push through a budget and then call early presidential elections to solve France’s political crisis, his first prime minister has said.

Édouard Philippe’s comments come after France’s third prime minister in a year, Sébastien Lecornu, resigned on Monday after his bid to form a government fell apart.

Macron has asked him to make a last-ditch plan for stability by the end of Wednesday – but support for the French president appears to be waning even among his allies.

Philippe, who was prime minister from 2017-20 and now leads the centrist Horizons party, said he was “not in favour of his immediate and abrupt resignation”, but that it was up to the president to live up to his mandate.

Meanwhile, Gabriel Attal – who leads Macron’s Renaissance party and was prime minister for six months in 2024 – went on national TV on Monday night to say he “no longer understands the decisions made by the president of the republic”.

The president had tried to re-establish control three times in the past year, said Attal, and it was now time to share power with other parties: “I think we should try something else.”

Until now, pressure on the 47-year-old French president to resign has come largely from his political opponents on the more radical left and hard right.

The public interventions from his allies indicate just how serious the political crisis has become.

Macron, who has been in office since 2017, was captured on video walking alone by the River Seine in Paris on Monday, followed by his bodyguards, as the latest crisis swirled around his presidency.

His entourage indicated that he would “take responsibility” if Lecornu’s last-ditch talks failed, without specifying that that would mean.

Credit: bbc.com

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