The Women’s Wing of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Western Region has described the late Takoradi Constituency Treasurer of the party, Mark Ofori as a vibrant leader.
Mark Ofori was shot dead by an unknown assailant on Wednesday, October 30, 2019 at Fijai.
He was killed in his house around 1:00am.
The family has confirmed that nothing was stolen from his house.
The police has seen not made any arrest.
In a statement issued and signed by the Western Regional Women’s Organiser on behalf of the Wing, Mrs. Abena Kwallah expressed shock over the sad news.
She added that “The vacuum created in our heart would be difficult to find a replacement”.
Below is the full statement:
NPP WESTERN REGIONAL WOMEN’S WING – MOURNS LATE MR MARK OFORI
We are with much pain, sorrow and wailing to mourn and sympathize with sudden demise of late Mark Ofori; the treasurer for Takoradi Constituency.
The party has lost a vibrant leader, the vacuum created in our heart would be difficult to find a replacement. We are in deep pain and as Women’s wing of the party, we share the pain with your family, friends, church members, colleague workers, the clergy, party faithful and the entire Takoradi Constituency Executives.
In fact, we didn’t think life would be too brief under this sun but we can take comfort from the good book which says:
Behold, I tell you a mystery: we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed – in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the DEAD will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruptible, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruptible, then shall be brought to pass the saying that it written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” – Corinthians 15:52 – 56.
It is our prayer that, our God Almighty shall keep you in His Bosom till we all meet again in eternity.
The Former Executive Secretary of the Ghana Free Zones Board, Kwadwo Twum – Boafo has cautioned the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) not to attempt to bribe the electorates with state monies and resources in the upcoming 2020 general elections.
He was speaking on the Alhaji and Alhaji political talk show on Pan African TV on November 2, 2019.
The outspoken National Democratic Congress (NDC) member intimated that, “This government should not wait for next year to attempt to bribe the electorate because the electorate is wise. Whenever you talk about anything related to their overspending, this government will tell you, we are doing Free Senior High School (FSHS).”
He also stressed that the President’s alleged renting of a private jet to fly around at $17,000 an hour instead of using the country’s own Presidential Jet is an absolute waste of the Ghanaian tax payer’s money and it is a terrible precedence for future governments.
“It’s a terrible example for future governments that we already have a Presidential Jet in this country and the President and his government decide that they are going to allocate themselves 4 times the amount of money that President Mahama allocated to the Presidency so that they can use it to fly around in private jets.”
“They said they were going to do something about corruption. This government is sitting on 111 scandals. Every single week, there is a new scandal,” he concluded.
The Islamic State on Saturday claimed responsibility for a devastating raid that killed 49 Malian troops as well as a blast that led to the death of a French soldier who became the latest casualty in the conflict-torn region.
The strikes underscored the fragility of an area straddling several West African countries battling increasing jihadist violence that has claimed hundreds of lives.
Friday’s assault on a Malian military outpost at Indelimane in the eastern Menaka region near Niger killed 49 soldiers, wounded three and left 20 survivors, the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) said Saturday.
“Soldiers of the caliphate attacked a military base where elements of the apostate Malian army were stationed in the village of Indelimane,” the IS said in a statement on its social media channels.
On Saturday, French corporal Ronan Pointeau, 24, died after an armoured vehicle in which he was travelling hit an improvised explosive device (IED) near the city of Menaka, a French defence ministry statement said.
The IS late Saturday also claimed responsibility for that, saying its fighters had “detonated an explosive device on a French army convoy in the Indelimane area”.
Pointeau and his colleagues were escorting a convoy between the cities of Gao and Menaka.
“This insidious attack shows the importance and bitterness of the fight against armed terrorist groups” in the border region straddling Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, the French defence ministry said.
French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said she would be “visiting Mali very soon to hold discussions with Malian authorities.”
President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to Pointeau and expressed solidarity with the French and African troops fighting in the region.
The Malian government initially said 53 people died in what it described as a “terrorist attack” at Indelimane.
An army officer said troops arrived at the outpost around 5:00 pm on Friday and “took back control of our positions.
“The terrorists carried out a surprise attack at lunchtime. Army vehicles were destroyed, others taken away,” he told AFP.
The attacks came a month after two jihadist assaults killed 40 soldiers near the border with Burkina Faso. Several sources have said the real death toll was higher.
MINUSMA, the UN mission in Mali, condemned the raid and said its peacekeepers were helping Malian troops secure the region.
‘We can resist’
“This bloodshed that Mali has been living through cannot go on,” imam Mahamound Dicko, an influential religious leader in Mali, said.
“Do you want us to resign ourselves to this suffering? We can resist,” he added.
Rights activist Alioune Tine, from Mali’s western neighbour Senegal, called for action across Africa to tackle the threat.
“If Africa does not mobilise for Mali and Burkina (Faso), it won’t be spared the bushfire that is quickly catching West Africa’s coastal countries, the next chosen targets” of the jihadists, he said.
The violence has also spilled over into Burkina Faso and Niger where extremists have exploited existing inter-communal strife, leaving hundreds dead.
In Mali, the attacks have spread from the arid north to its centre, an ethnically mixed and explosive region.
The recent assaults are a humiliation for the so-called G5 Sahel force — a much-trumpeted initiative under which five countries created a joint 5,000-man anti-terror force — and for former colonial ruler France, which is helping to bring security to the fragile region.
Northern Mali came under the control of Al-Qaeda linked jihadists after Mali’s army failed to quash a rebellion there in 2012.
A French-led military campaign was launched against the jihadists, pushing them back a year later.
But the jihadists have regrouped and widened their hit-and-run raids and landmine attacks to central and southern Mali.
United Nation Secretary General has warned of a rise in the scale and number of attacks against media workers in recent years, on the International Day to End Impunity against Journalists. Antonio Guterres urged the world to “stand up together for journalists, for truth and for justice”.
The UN General Assembly designated 2 November as the International Day to End Impunity against Journalists after RFI journalists Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon were abducted and killed on that date in 2013 in northern Mali.
“When journalists are targeted, societies as a whole pay a price,” said Guterres. “Without the ability to protect journalists, our ability to remain informed and contribute to decision-making, is severely hampered.”
According to official statistics more than 1,000 journalists have been killed worldwide in the world in the past 12 years. Not just in warzones, but also at their homes, including in peaceful western countries.
Forty-four have died so far this year, with crimes going unpunished in nine out of 10 cases.
Rise in crimes against women
Guterres said there had been a recent rise in the number of women journalists among fatalities in recent years, along with an increase in gender-based violence, such as sexual harassment and sexual assault.
Caruana Galizia was one of the most prominent journalists in her country, having made her name investigating high-profile corruption, including with the Panama Papers.
RSF qualified her murder as “previously unthinkable in an EU state”.
“A shocking state crime,” said RSF. “Thirteen months later, the journalist’s dismembered body has yet to be found, those who instigated his murder have yet to be put on trial, and the Saudi regime continues to persecute journalists with exceptional ferocity.”
#KeepTruthAlive
UNESCO this year launched the #KeepTruthAlive campaign on social media to highlight the dangers faced by journalists close to their homes. Some 93% of journalists killed in 2019 were local workers.
As part of the campaign, Unesco created an interactive map which gives an idea of the scale of dangers faced by the world’s media workers.
A French soldier was killed in Mali’s volatile east near the border with Niger Saturday, a day after 49 Malian troops were massacred in the same area, underscoring the fragility of a region straddling several countries under increasing pressure from jihadist violence.
Corporal Ronan Pointeau, 24, died after an armoured vehicle in which he was travelling hit an improvised explosive device (IED) near the city of Menaka, a statement said.
Pointeau and his colleagues were escorting a convoy between the cities of Gao and Menaka.
It had “no link” to Friday’s devastating strike on Malian soldiers, also in the Menaka region, French military spokesman Colonel Frederic Barbry said.
“This insidious attack shows the importance and bitterness of the fight against armed terrorist groups” in the border region straddling Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, the French defence ministry said.
Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said she would be “visiting Mali very soon to hold discussions with Malian authorities.”
French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to Pointeau and expressed solidarity with the French and African troops fighting in the region.
Friday’s strike at a military outpost at Indelimane, also in the Menaka region, killed 49 soldiers, wounded three and left 20 survivors, the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) said Saturday.
The situation was now under control and soldiers were sweeping the area, it added.
The government on Friday had said 53 people died in what it described as a “terrorist attack”. No group immediately claimed responsibility.
An army officer said troops arrived at the outpost around 5:00 pm on Friday and “took back control of our positions.
“The terrorists carried out a surprise attack at lunchtime. Army vehicles were destroyed, others taken away,” he told AFP.
The attacks came a month after two jihadist assaults killed 40 soldiers near the border with Burkina Faso. Several sources have said the real death toll was higher.
MINUSMA, the UN mission in Mali, condemned the raid and said its peacekeepers were helping Malian troops secure the region.
‘We can resist’
“This bloodshed that Mali has been living through cannot go on,” imam Mahamound Dicko, an influential religious leader in Mali, said.
“Do you want us to resign ourselves to this suffering? We can resist,” he added.
Rights activist Alioune Tine, from Mali’s western neighbour Senegal, called for action across Africa to tackle the threat.
“If Africa does not mobilise for Mali and Burkina (Faso), it won’t be spared the bushfire that is quickly catching West Africa’s coastal countries, the next chosen targets” of the jihadists, he said.
The violence has also spilled over into Burkina Faso and Niger where extremists have exploited existing inter-communal strife, leaving hundreds dead.
In Mali, the attacks have spread from the arid north to its centre, an ethnically mixed and explosive region.
The recent assaults are a humiliation for the so-called G5 Sahel force — a much-trumpeted initiative under which five countries created a joint 5,000-man anti-terror force — and for former colonial ruler France, which is helping to bring security to the fragile region.
Northern Mali came under the control of Al-Qaeda linked jihadists after Mali’s army failed to quash a rebellion there in 2012.
A French-led military campaign was launched against the jihadists, pushing them back a year later.
But the jihadists have regrouped and widened their hit-and-run raids and landmine attacks to central and southern Mali.
Afro Pop singer Luminary DMR has rubbished complaints by other musicians that the industry is not paying as expected. Luminary DMR in an interview with NYDJ on Kumasi based YFM explained that, Ghanaian artistes should put in hard work into their crafts and that will definitely pay them but to relax and wait for stakeholders to put in measur …
The Women’s Wing of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Western Region has described the late Takoradi Constituency Treasurer of the party, Mark Ofori as a vibrant leader.
Mark Ofori was shot dead by an unknown assailant on Wednesday, October 30, 2019 at Fijai.
He was killed in his house around 1:00am.
The family has confirmed that nothing was stolen from his house.
The police has seen not made any arrest.
In a statement issued and signed by the Western Regional Women’s Organiser on behalf of the Wing, Mrs. Abena Kwallah expressed shock over the sad news.
She added that “The vacuum created in our heart would be difficult to find a replacement”.
Below is the full statement:
NPP WESTERN REGIONAL WOMEN’S WING – MOURNS LATE MR MARK OFORI
We are with much pain, sorrow and wailing to mourn and sympathize with sudden demise of late Mark Ofori; the treasurer for Takoradi Constituency.
The party has lost a vibrant leader, the vacuum created in our heart would be difficult to find a replacement. We are in deep pain and as Women’s wing of the party, we share the pain with your family, friends, church members, colleague workers, the clergy, party faithful and the entire Takoradi Constituency Executives.
In fact, we didn’t think life would be too brief under this sun but we can take comfort from the good book which says:
Behold, I tell you a mystery: we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed – in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the DEAD will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruptible, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruptible, then shall be brought to pass the saying that it written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” – Corinthians 15:52 – 56.
It is our prayer that, our God Almighty shall keep you in His Bosom till we all meet again in eternity.
The Former Executive Secretary of the Ghana Free Zones Board, Kwadwo Twum – Boafo has cautioned the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) not to attempt to bribe the electorates with state monies and resources in the upcoming 2020 general elections.
He was speaking on the Alhaji and Alhaji political talk show on Pan African TV on November 2, 2019.
The outspoken National Democratic Congress (NDC) member intimated that, “This government should not wait for next year to attempt to bribe the electorate because the electorate is wise. Whenever you talk about anything related to their overspending, this government will tell you, we are doing Free Senior High School (FSHS).”
He also stressed that the President’s alleged renting of a private jet to fly around at $17,000 an hour instead of using the country’s own Presidential Jet is an absolute waste of the Ghanaian tax payer’s money and it is a terrible precedence for future governments.
“It’s a terrible example for future governments that we already have a Presidential Jet in this country and the President and his government decide that they are going to allocate themselves 4 times the amount of money that President Mahama allocated to the Presidency so that they can use it to fly around in private jets.”
“They said they were going to do something about corruption. This government is sitting on 111 scandals. Every single week, there is a new scandal,” he concluded.
A French soldier was killed in Mali’s volatile east near the border with Niger Saturday, a day after 49 Malian troops were massacred in the same area, underscoring the fragility of a region straddling several countries under increasing pressure from jihadist violence.
Corporal Ronan Pointeau, 24, died after an armoured vehicle in which he was travelling hit an improvised explosive device (IED) near the city of Menaka, a statement said.
Pointeau and his colleagues were escorting a convoy between the cities of Gao and Menaka.
It had “no link” to Friday’s devastating strike on Malian soldiers, also in the Menaka region, French military spokesman Colonel Frederic Barbry said.
“This insidious attack shows the importance and bitterness of the fight against armed terrorist groups” in the border region straddling Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, the French defence ministry said.
Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly said she would be “visiting Mali very soon to hold discussions with Malian authorities.”
French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to Pointeau and expressed solidarity with the French and African troops fighting in the region.
Friday’s strike at a military outpost at Indelimane, also in the Menaka region, killed 49 soldiers, wounded three and left 20 survivors, the Malian Armed Forces (FAMa) said Saturday.
The situation was now under control and soldiers were sweeping the area, it added.
The government on Friday had said 53 people died in what it described as a “terrorist attack”. No group immediately claimed responsibility.
An army officer said troops arrived at the outpost around 5:00 pm on Friday and “took back control of our positions.
“The terrorists carried out a surprise attack at lunchtime. Army vehicles were destroyed, others taken away,” he told AFP.
The attacks came a month after two jihadist assaults killed 40 soldiers near the border with Burkina Faso. Several sources have said the real death toll was higher.
MINUSMA, the UN mission in Mali, condemned the raid and said its peacekeepers were helping Malian troops secure the region.
‘We can resist’
“This bloodshed that Mali has been living through cannot go on,” imam Mahamound Dicko, an influential religious leader in Mali, said.
“Do you want us to resign ourselves to this suffering? We can resist,” he added.
Rights activist Alioune Tine, from Mali’s western neighbour Senegal, called for action across Africa to tackle the threat.
“If Africa does not mobilise for Mali and Burkina (Faso), it won’t be spared the bushfire that is quickly catching West Africa’s coastal countries, the next chosen targets” of the jihadists, he said.
The violence has also spilled over into Burkina Faso and Niger where extremists have exploited existing inter-communal strife, leaving hundreds dead.
In Mali, the attacks have spread from the arid north to its centre, an ethnically mixed and explosive region.
The recent assaults are a humiliation for the so-called G5 Sahel force — a much-trumpeted initiative under which five countries created a joint 5,000-man anti-terror force — and for former colonial ruler France, which is helping to bring security to the fragile region.
Northern Mali came under the control of Al-Qaeda linked jihadists after Mali’s army failed to quash a rebellion there in 2012.
A French-led military campaign was launched against the jihadists, pushing them back a year later.
But the jihadists have regrouped and widened their hit-and-run raids and landmine attacks to central and southern Mali.
Microsoft’s Edge browser is freshening things up with a new look, and it’s a swirling blue-and-green design that to many calls to mind another thing that’s gone out of style: Tide pods.
Discovered by The Verge, Tom Warren writes that the “Edge icon was revealed in an elaborate Easter Egg hunt where Microsoft employees posted cryptic clues to a series of puzzles and images.”
Which, sure, sounds fun!
What was also fun was how quickly people with opinions jumped from every corner of the internet to weigh in on elements of the design. Namely, as mentioned above, that the logo looks like a Tide pod.
The new Microsoft Edge logo looks more like the logo for something I’d toss in the dryer to make my clothes softer and smell like perfumey palm trees. pic.twitter.com/Y6h46aWOOS
— Jeff Higgins (Professional Whatever) (@ItsJeffHiggins) November 2, 2019
Others joked that Edge, which is a Chromium-based browser, is really just Chrome in disguise.
Of course, rather than seeing Chrome underneath, at least one keen observer pointed out the logo’s surface resemblance to Firefox’s logo.
But hey, you know what they say, a Tide pod’s beauty is in the eye of the eater.
Ghana’s Black Meteors will be seeking to qualify for the Olympic for the first time in over a decade, but first, they will have to face the wrath of seven other teams for one of the three slots for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Total U-23 Africa Cup of Nations Egypt 2019.
Finishing amongst the top three at the 8-22 November tournament will end a 15-year wait as far as the Olympics is concerned, a feat that would earn the present generation of players a place in Ghana’s football folklore.
For a nation that prides itself as the first African country to win football medal at the Olympics – bronze medal at the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games – a feat that opened the doors for fellows Nigeria and Cameroon won gold in Atlanta 1996 and four years later in Sydney respectively.
Former Ghana captain Stephen Appiah led the Meteors at their last participation at the Olympics in 2004 in Athens, Greece; where he scored two goals in three games, with a team that included legendary forward Asamoah Gyan.
The West Africans failed to qualify for the subsequent edition in 2008 in Beijing when Nigeria edged them to the slot.
Since the introduction of the U-23 Africa Cup of Nations in 2011, to serve as at the continental qualifier for the Olympics, this is first time Ghana has qualified for the eight-team tournament.
After unsuccessful attempts, it was Ibrahim Tanko, a former Black Star forward who guided the Meteors to a first-ever qualification.
Journey to qualification
After seeing off Togo 5–2 on aggregate in the opening round of qualifiers, Ghana again brushed aside Gabon 4–0 before earning a surprise 2–1 aggregate win over Algeria, drawing 1-1 at home and beating the North African side 1-0 away to qualify.
The Meteors are drawn in a group of death, which has the host Egypt, Cameroon, and West African neighbors Mali
Ghana opens their campaign in Group against fellow debutantes Cameroon on 8 November, before wrapping up against Mali and host Egypt.
It is perhaps too early to say anything about the new administration of Ghana Football Association (GFA) President, Kurt E. S. Okraku. Nothing particularly significant has happened since his October 25, 2019 election, to serve as a strong indication as to whether his manifesto promises will see the light of day to illuminate the present dark face of Ghana football.
It is indeed very early. That notwithstanding, we do not have to lose sight of Kurt’s footprints regarding where he stepped publicly in his first week in office. It started with his visit to Kumasi; Kotoko’s camp – to encourage the Porcupines and watch their Confederation Cup game.
The match was rained off but that was no blot on Kurt’s visit. It would have been nice had Kotoko won massively yet the team’s performance and the rains did not make that possible, forcing the second half of the game to be played on Monday. The Porcupines beat their Ivorian opponent, San Pedro 1-0. The return fixture comes off tomorrow.
Kurt met President Akufo-Addo this week at Jubilee House. It was a visit called by the Presidency at a short notice per my checks. It amazed me then, why there was an ungodly attempt by some not to see the spontaneity of the visit. I find nothing wrong with Kurt being at Jubilee House without his Executive Council members given the impromptu nature of the visit.
Whatever President Akufo-Addo discussed with Kurt, if it was meant for public consumption, should be our primary interest. Images of the ‘Bring Back the Love’ campaign spearheaded by Kurt popped up during the week. Whether it is the love for the Black Stars or Ghana football was a subject of debate. For me, that debate is immaterial because, be it love for the Black Stars or love for Ghana football; only positive, diligent actions of the new football administration will change things.
No amount of media work will bring Ghanaians passionately close to the Black Stars if we continue to immorally monetise the team as we have shamefully done in recent years. Domestic league fans will as well waste no time on our game if corrupt referees dictate the pace if fixtures are planned but poorly executed with violence taking over the game. The good thing is, the new FA President knows these things and is prepared to change the status quo.
Also, this week, pictures of Kurt’s engagement with reggae dancehall artiste, Shatta Wale were made public. I have been wondering what has been cooking. I can only wait. Kurt met the Sports Writers Association of Ghana (SWAG) too. I was not at the meeting but I am told it was all positive. So, from the visit to Kotoko to President Akufo Addo at Jubilee House; the ‘Bring Back the Love’ campaign, to SWAG and so on, Kurt has been taking a few fine steps.
He holds so much promise. He has the support of many. It is my prayer that he succeeds.
The Black Meteors of Ghana will leave the shores of Ghana on Monday for Egypt ahead of the Africa U23 Cup of Nations.
Ghana have been preparing for their maiden Championship in the North African country.
Coach Ibrahim Tanko has already named his final squad for the tournament with less than two weeks for the start of the tournament.
21 players together with team officials and technical members are expected to leave for Cairo on Monday.
Ghana have been drawn together with the host Egypt, Mali and Cameroon.
The Black Meteors are also looking forward to grab a place at next year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo by finishing among the top three.
The team meanwhile will be missing some key players with the likes of Dauda Mohammed, Majeed Ashimeru, Gideon Mensah, Osman Bukari, Joseph Paintsil, Bernard Tekpetey and Isaac Twum who all played part in the team’s qualification failing to make the competition due to Club commitments.
Mr O’Rourke struggled to carry the energy of his insurgent Senate campaign into a White House bid
US Democratic presidential hopeful Beto O’Rourke has announced he is ending his campaign.
The former Texas congressman tweeted: “Our campaign has always been about seeing clearly, speaking honestly, and acting decisively.
“In that spirit: I am announcing that my service to the country will not be as a candidate or as the nominee.”
Mr O’Rourke ran for president in March after losing his 2018 bid to oust Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz.
In that Senate race, he did better than any Democrat had in Texas for decades, running a campaign that invigorated the party nationwide and drew comparisons with former President Barack Obama.
His passionate delivery along with his good looks and background as a skateboarder and a punk rocker endeared him to liberals across the country.
But Mr O’Rourke struggled to carry that energy into a White House race crowded with more than 20 Democratic candidates.
As the initial buzz over his campaign began to subside, Mr O’Rourke, 47, tried to reboot his candidacy. He began to focus on gun control after a mass shooting in August in his hometown of El Paso, Texas. He vowed to remove assault-style weapons from private ownership, saying in one televised debate: “Hell yes, we’re going to take your AR-15s.”
But he could not catch up with front-runners like former Vice-President Joe Biden, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.
Mr O’Rourke also found himself leap-frogged by another young, charismatic, white candidate – 37-year-old Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana.
In the latest opinion poll by New York Times/Siena College on Friday, Mr O’Rourke drew the support of just 1% of voters in the crucial early-voting state of Iowa.
He acknowleged in a blog post announcing the end of his presidency that his cash-strapped campaign “does not have the means to move forward successfully”.
He said: “It is in the best interests of this party as we seek to unify around a nominee [that I quit]; and it is in the best interests of the country.”
He also took a parting shot at President Donald Trump. “We confronted institutional, systemic racism and called out Donald Trump for his white supremacy and the violence that he’s encouraged against communities that don’t look like, pray like or love like the majority in this country,” his statement said.
I am grateful to all the people who made up the heart and soul of this campaign. You were among the hundreds of thousands who made a donation, signed up to volunteer or spread the word about this campaign and our opportunity to help decide the election of our lifetime.
Mr O’Rourke had been urged by donors to drop out of the presidential race and run against Texas Senator John Cornyn, who is up for re-election next year. But the O’Rourke camp reiterated in a statement on Friday night that he did not plan on standing for the Senate again.
Mr O’Rourke is not the only once-promising Democratic candidate who is struggling – California Senator Kamala Harris this week scaled back her campaign, firing some staffers and shuttering offices in another key, early voting state, New Hampshire.
From rock star to rock bottom
Analysis
In just about 12 months, Beto O’Rourke went from Democratic rock star to political rock bottom.
During his 2018 Senate race, the former Texas congressman was fundraising like a top-tier presidential candidate. Beloved by Democrats across the country for his youthful energy, his passionate stump speeches became viral sensations.
His obvious political skills in his home state did not translate on to the national stage, however, where a lack of campaign organisation and an inability to stand out on a crowded debate stage cost him dearly.
Mr O’Rourke’s relatively thin CV, which wasn’t a concern for Democrats when he was facing conservative stalwart Ted Cruz in Texas, was also a liability in a match-up against senators and a former vice-president with extensive experience and in-depth policy knowledge.
Some presidential hopefuls can run unsuccessful campaigns and end up with an elevated stature among party faithful – with more political prospects than when they began. Mr O’Rourke, whose campaign started high and trended only downward, was not so fortunate. He may have a second act in national politics, but his 2019 effort will be an experience he will have to overcome, not build on.
Who is Beto O’Rourke?
Mr O’Rourke represented Texas’ 16th congressional district for three terms before running unsuccessfully last year for the US Senate. He travelled to all of Texas’ 254 counties during his Senate campaign, documenting his journey on social media, and broke Senate fundraising records by amassing more than $80m.
He lives with his wife, Amy Hoover Sanders and three children in El Paso. He has an estimated net worth of nearly $9m (£6.7m). His first name is actually Robert, but he is known by his nickname Beto – a common contraction of Roberto, which he says he picked up as a child in El Paso.
Following his November Senate defeat, Mr O’Rourke drew criticism for embarking on a road trip across the south-western US, during which he documented his travels in a blog and admitted he was stuck in a “funk”.
Even supporters questioned why Mr O’Rourke was on the road, leaving his wife at home to look after their children, while other Democratic contenders were assembling staff and funding.
As he launched his campaign, he posed on the cover of Vanity Fair, telling the magazine about the White House race: “Man, I’m just born to be in it.”
He later said he regretted that move because it reinforced a “perception of privilege.”
After Mr O’Rourke dropped out on Friday, President Trump, a Republican, mocked him in a tweet.
Oh no, Beto just dropped out of race for President despite him saying he was “born for this.” I don’t think so!
WhatsApp Update – Fingerprint Lock Feature Now Rolling out to all Android Users. After months of beta testing, Whatsapp Fingerprint lock for Android smartphones is finally here. Android users can now require Fingerprint ID authentication to unlock their WhatsApp application.
The feature was previously announced in January 2019, rolled out to iOS users in February and available to Android beta testers in August, just now it is rolling out globally to all Android users.
You can now secure your WhatsApp conversations with an additional layer of biometric security. This means you can bid goodbye to all those third-party app lockers or the thought of switching to an expensive iPhone just for the sake of this feature.
Once the Fingerprint Authentication is turned on, the widget content will be hidden by default. But users can still answer WhatsApp calls and reply to messages from notifications since the authentication of the fingerprint is only required when the user wants to open the app and access it.
How to Use Fingerprint ID for WhatsApp on Android
Update the app from the Google Play Store to the latest version.
Once the update is installed, open WhatsApp Settings (can be accessed by clicking the three dots present on top right corner) > Account > Privacy.
You will find a new option called ‘Fingerprint lock’ under ‘Privacy’.
Turn on ‘Unlock with fingerprint’ option to enable the feature.
Confirm the selection by touching the fingerprint sensor.
WhatsApp is also giving more options with regards to the new fingerprint unlock feature. Users can choose to let WhatsApp ask for fingerprint authentication as soon as one closes the app or they can set a specific time limit. Additionally, the app will also give an option to hide the content of the messages in the notifications for enhanced security.
Once the option is enabled, users will see the WhatsApp app ask for fingerprint data as soon as one opens it. Once the verification is done, the app will open and the user can access all the chats and messages. The feature should work on phones with conventional capacitive fingerprint sensors along with the modern in-display fingerprint sensors.
See The Ugly Moment Area Boys ‘ATTACK’ Nollywood Actress, Nkechi Blessing and Broda Shaggi On Movie Set
Nollywood actress, Nkechi Blessing today had an ‘unpleasant’ encounter with ‘area boys’ who disrupted her movie set in Langbasa, Lagos.
Sharing a video from the ‘ugly’ incident, the actress wrote:
‘this has to stop,this people expects me to give them the whole of my production money before I shoot? Really? Look at the faces of useless lazy Nigerians youths and this ones will say they have girlfriends too, bastards I swear on my late fathers grave I will find you all and u must pay for every damages’.
She added
YOU CAN NOW JOIN OUR OFFICIAL SOCIAL MEDIA GROUP FOR SWIFT UPDATES, GISTS, AND INTERACTIONS.
‘thanks to everyone that reached out,I am safe and fine but i still need to point out some things due to some stupid comments I saw about me not giving them money’.
After giving the location manager 10k to settle anyone that might give us issues in the market wey shot first,I personally gave one of the guys that disturbed us earlier extra 5k.
When we proceeded to the estate that dis whole brouhaha happened,I gave Broda shaggi some money to give this guys when he’s leaving,then one of the idiot said how can we give them dt kind of amount that he should give dem 50k,broda shagi had to add extra 10k to the money I gave him earlier from his pocket to give dem,this idiots refused ,and u expect me to do what? Give dem 50k?
Abeg which acct I want write am? Dear stupid Lamsgbasa Boys,I will find you and you must pay dearly ,cus I am sure most of you will see this post,but for now now I am fine and work continues,cus my job stops for no idiot
WATCH VIDEO BELOW:
HOT!!!Comedy Video: Broda Shaggi – Agbero Training (Full Video)
Apple is a notorious Black-Friday-skipper. When it comes to great deals directly from the company: Zip. Nada. You’re not going to find much of anything.
But because they list so many of their products with major retailers (ie. , , Best Buy — you know, the usual suspects), those sellers are able to offer some pretty sweet opportunities for you to get the Apple device you’ve always wanted. Well, the older ones at least. Don’t expect to see an iPhone 11 Lightning Deal at any point.
Thanks to the team at , we have some insights on what we might see this year in terms of doorbuster deals on Apple products (note that Apple never does an official “ad preview,” so these are mostly educated guesses using data from years prior — aka good data!).
So, without further ado, let’s take a look at the Apple deals we think you might see this Black Friday.
iPhones
When it comes to the world’s most popular array of smartphones, most retailers go the route of including a free gift card with your purchase. Last year, Target bundled the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X with $150 gift cards for multiple carriers. The iPhone XS or iPhone XS Max came with a $250 Target Gift card when activating on Verizon or Sprint.
Shopping super-giant Walmart is also known for being generous with gift card bundles. Last Black Friday, the retailer offered $400 in gift cards with a purchase of the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, and iPhone X (shots fired, Target). Apple’s own gift card offer paled in comparison at just $50 — wow, how nice of them.
So, expect to mostly be getting some store credit when it comes to iPhones — which, hey, isn’t so bad.
MacBooks
PC people, you can keep scrolling — MacBook fans, hold up for a second.
We see MacBook sales regularly during the year (meaning besides just shopping events), so we’re thinking that you’ll probably be able to snag one of these powerful laptops at a pretty decent discount. Last year, Best Buy had up to a $250 discount on select MacBook Pro models, which beat Apple’s offer of up to a $200 Apple gift card. We also see MacBook Pros for around $200 off, and MacBook Airs for about $100 off, on Amazon quite frequently.
Start picking out your software in preparation now.
iPads
Most iPhone users think that also getting an iPad isn’t exactly a necessity (and we tend to agree), but if you can grab one on sale, we say “why not?”
During last year’s Black Friday festivities, Best Buy offered up to $150 off the iPad Pro (for reference, Apple’s own offer was full price with up to a $100 gift card — what’s up with them and gift cards?).
Other highlights of last year’s iPad discounts were:
Walmart and Amazon have consistently better iPad deals than anywhere else, so we think you’ll want to stick with them this year, too.
Apple Watches
Smart watches are getting more and more popular as the years go on, with tons of shoppers subbing out their wrist bling for something more tech-based. Like, come on, getting texts sent to your watch is pretty cool.
Last year, Best Buy offered the Series 3 Apple Watch for $50 off, so you can probably expect something similar, if not a tiny bit cheaper. But, if you’re looking to get a more recent Apple Watch model, the Series 4 was offered at $75 off during this year’s Amazon Prime Day — it’s probably safe to say that we’ll see a comparable deal during Black Friday on the same device.
iTunes Gift Cards
Yes, people still use iTunes (Spotify users, pick your jaws up off the floor, it’s rude).
If you or somebody you know is an avid user of the Apple service, a gift card could be a good get. Best Buy, Walmart, Amazon, Sam’s Club, and Costco all had $100 iTunes gift cards at just $80 last Black Friday, so you’ll most likely see that again.
Note: iTunes gift cards can also be used to pay for Apple Care.
AirPods
Finally, AirPods. Everybody is getting them as of late — try walking down the street and not seeing a pair. Go ahead.
In terms of last year, AirPods were not discounted by Apple or other retailers last holiday season (which makes sense — they were still really new, after all). But, with Amazon now offering a competing product in their new Echo Buds, as well as some promising AirPods discounts during Amazon Prime Day, we think you’ll probably see some sort of savings on the in-fashion headphones.
You’re not going to see the AirPods Pro, though. Trust us. Too new. Too nice.
Morocco’s penitentiary administration Friday sacked a prison director afer the detained leader of a protest movement complained of being “tortured” and “raped” in jail.
Nasser Zefzafi — who earlier this year lost an appeal against a 20-year prison term — said in a taped message that he “suffered the worst forms of torture” following his arrest in June 2017.
In the message from jail shared widely on social media this week, Zefzafi said he was “beaten up… raped with a stick… forced to undress”.
His father, Ahmed Zefzafi told AFP the audio tape was authentic.
On Thursday the penitentiary administration said it had opened an “administrative investigation” into the details on the audio tape.
And on Friday it announced the sacking of the director of the Fez prison where Zefzafi is detained.
Zefzafi was convicted on charges of threatening state security in June last year, along with three other members of the Hirak protest movement which rocked Morocco in 2016 and 2017.
Their sentences were upheld in April by a court of appeal in Casablanca.
In December last year, Amnesty International said the trial of Hirak members exposed “serious flaws” with some confessing under torture.
The protests took hold in the country’s marginalised Rif region in October 2016.
The social unrest was sparked by the death of a fisherman and escalated into a wave of demonstrations demanding more development in the neglected region and railing against corruption and unemployment.
Authorities accused the activists of having separatist aims.
Zefzafi, who is now 40, emerged as the face of the movement as a result of his rallying speeches, accusing authorities of corruption.
In August he and five other activists issued a statement accusing authorities of torturing them during investigations.
China’s Communist Party says it will continue to respect Hong Kong’s autonomy but expressed impatience with the ongoing unrest at the end of a full session, or Plenum, of its 371 member Central Committee in Beijing.
In a statement, the party said it will protect the “stability” of Hong Kong, which has been rocked by months of unrest.
Led by the Party’s 25-member Politburo, a Central Committee plenum is a closed-door meeting of high-ranking officials where the country’s future direction is discussed. This week’s meeting was the first since February 2018.
In his concluding speech, CPP Secretary Xi Jinping, who doubles as the country’s President, highlighted the achievements of two of his four illustrious predecessors Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping, but did not mention the other two, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, the last one being China’s president until 2012.
Historically, party plenums take place on a yearly basis, mostly in October, and only after its members have solved their differences so they can come up with a unified statement.
“The timing of the Fourth Plenum itself is not exceptional,” says Tsang. What was exceptional was the timing of the Third Plenum. That was held much earlier in order to enable Xi Jinping to consolidate his condition within the Party.
The meeting was fast-forwarded to February and Xi Jinping abolished limits for the Presidency, making him China’s President for life, just in time for the yearly session of the National People’s Congress, China’s nominal parliament, to rubber-stamp the decision.
Meanwhile, through a harsh anti-corruption campaign, Xi managed to rid himself of his main opponents and heads the seven-member Standing Committee of the Politburo – the most powerful political body in China – that also includes six of his most loyal followers.
Xi Jinping “managed to consolidate his power. And yet, two years on, he is still consolidating more of his power. It really makes you wonder: will he ever stop?” says Tsang.
The CCP has Hong Kong in the crosshairs
Just after the CCP Plenum was finished, Shen Qunyao, the Head of the National People’s Congress Committee overseeing the Basic Law of Hong Kong, said in a press conference after the Plenum in Beijing that China “will boost efforts to safeguard national security in Hong Kong.
“It means that the Chinese government is determined to persist in a policy which may well end up with a tragedy in Hong Kong,” says Tsang.
“It reflects a complete refusal on the part of the Chinese leadership to see the reality in Hong Kong and acknowledge that the problems in Hong Kong are largely the result of a misguided policy on the part of Beijing under the leadership of Xi Jinping,” he adds.
The leadership agrees to redouble their efforts in implementing a policy that caused the problems in the first instance, thinking that this would therefore solve the problems, says Tsang.
“Which is a rather extraordinary way of looking at how to deal with their problem that they created in the first instance,” he adds.
Patriotic education
National People’s Congress Committee head Qunyao also stressed the importance of stepping up so-called “patriotic education,” especially among civil servants and young people, aimed at impregnating them with the “values of China’s Communist Party” and “Socialism with Chinese characteristics,” ideas that often conflict with the liberal ideas.
It was the very idea of introducing “Patriotic Education” that created a new generation of very young protesters in Hong Kong.
The leading light of Hong Kong’s protest these days, Joshua Wong – who was earlier this week banned from presenting himself as a candidate for Hong Kong’s elections – , was himself a high school student when the original Patriotic Education Campaign was introduced.
“It really created problems which became much more serious as the years went by,” says Tsang.
“Now they would like to make sure that they go back to it more strenuously, and expect that this would resolve the problem. It is going to take a lot more than this to deal with the issues in Hong Kong,” he adds.
Foreign-owned shops in Ghana’s second city of Kumasi, have been forced to close by local traders angry with their illegal presence, according to the head of the country’s trade union.
Joseph Obeng, president of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), said local markets were being invaded by foreigners.
Traders have accused them of selling cheaper products.
“Many businesses, especially those owned by Nigerians, are not legal,” he told AFP.
Foreigners are not allowed to own shops or work in retail in Ghana, but this law is not enforced.
In August, Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari declared all land borders closed in order to prevent any import or export of products via road as a way of combatting illegal goods in their market.
Traders in Kumasi, in the south, want the Ghanaian government to hit back at Nigeria with financial measures and basic law enforcement. Ghana and neighbouring countries have been hit by Nigeria’s ultra-protectionist stance.
But Ghanaian officials have called on traders to call off the forced closures and blockades in the streets, believing that any clampdown could strain relations with Nigeria.
“Their economy is six times more important than ours, why go into confrontation with them?” said Radio Carlos Ahenkorah, the Ghanaian Minister of Commerce.
“I’m on the side of GUTA, I just want us to take our time to find a solution,” he added.
