Trump Orders Second Trade Cutoff With Spain

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Trump Orders Second Trade Cutoff With Spain

President Donald Trump ordered Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to halt all trade with Spain on Wednesday, accusing the NATO ally of failing to meet the alliance’s defense spending targets.

Trump made the demand at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, seated beside Secretary General Mark Rutte. “Spain is a wasted cause,” he said, before adding that Madrid does not participate in or pay for the alliance and that he wanted nothing more to do with the country, including visits.

Spain remains the only one of NATO’s 32 members that has not committed to the alliance’s target of spending 5 percent of gross domestic product on defense by 2035, a goal agreed at last year’s summit and split between 3.5 percent on core military spending and 1.5 percent on broader security related investment.

Rutte pushed back in Trump’s presence, noting that Spain had already raised its defense spending to 2 percent of GDP and calling that a significant step, though he acknowledged unresolved issues remained. Trump also criticised NATO members for not backing the United States more firmly during its recent military action against Iran, and separately renewed his call for the U.S. to take control of Greenland, a claim Denmark’s prime minister rejected.

Spain’s government did not back down. The office of Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told reporters it viewed Trump’s comments as business as usual and had no intention of altering what it called an excellent trade and defense relationship with the United States.

Wednesday marked the second time Trump has instructed Bessent to cut off trade with Spain, after a similar order in March that followed a dispute over the use of joint military bases in southern Spain. Trade between the two countries continued without disruption after that first threat.

Despite the public friction, NATO leaders closed the summit by reaffirming their Article 5 commitment to collective defense and pledging roughly $80 billion in military assistance to Ukraine for 2026.

Paraguay Senator Renews Mbappe Attack Amid Probe

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Paraguay Senator Renews Mbappe Attack Amid Probe

Paraguayan senator Celeste Amarilla renewed her attacks on France captain Kylian Mbappe in a Senate speech on Wednesday, refusing to apologise even as French prosecutors investigate her earlier racist remarks.

The row began after Paraguay lost 1-0 to France in the World Cup Round of 16 on July 4, with Mbappe converting the only goal from the penalty spot. Amarilla responded with a series of social media posts mocking Mbappe’s Cameroonian heritage, his upbringing and his appearance.

Mbappe hit back on Monday, calling Amarilla a “despicable woman” unworthy of her office and accusing her of tarnishing Paraguay’s World Cup run through what he described as brazen racism. Paraguay’s government distanced itself from her comments, saying they clashed with the values the country promotes and did not reflect the position of the state. The French Football Federation called her remarks unacceptable and said it would take the matter to prosecutors, a move French President Emmanuel Macron publicly backed.

The Paris prosecutor’s office has since confirmed it opened an investigation after receiving a complaint from the French Football Federation, examining allegations of aggravated public insult and incitement to hatred through the country’s online hate crimes unit.

Amarilla addressed the backlash in an open letter posted late Monday, in which she deleted her original posts and said she regretted matching the insults she said she had faced herself as a mixed race Latin American woman. She nonetheless accused Mbappe of gender based violence over his response and demanded he apologise, threatening legal action of her own.

Despite that partial retreat, Amarilla escalated the dispute again on the Senate floor Wednesday, using a vulgar insult against Mbappe and alleging he had refused to shake the hand of Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill after the match, an incident she said did not reflect France’s character. “That is not French. A Frenchman would never have done that,” she said.

Dangote Pledges US$2 Billion For Gambia Power

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Dangote Pledges US$2 Billion For Gambia Power

Aliko Dangote has pledged $2 billion for a solar plant and fuel storage terminal in The Gambia, a commitment President Adama Barrow announced Tuesday after meeting the Nigerian billionaire in Banjul.

The package covers a 250 megawatt solar plant and a fuel tank farm, unveiled on the sidelines of the African Caucus 2026 meetings the Gambia is hosting. Dangote arrived with Olusegun Alebiosu, chief executive of First Bank Group, whose institution is backing the initiative.

The scale of the proposed solar plant stands out against The Gambia’s current power supply. The country imported 57 percent of its electricity in the first quarter of 2025, relying mainly on Senegal and Guinea, and its biggest solar scheme now under construction, the 150 megawatt Soma project, is not due to finish until 2030. Dangote’s plant would exceed both the country’s existing grid capacity and the Soma project’s output, and would push The Gambia further toward its goal of lifting renewable energy’s share of the power mix from 13 percent in 2024 to 30 percent by 2030.

The fuel tank farm is meant to build strategic petroleum storage, guard against supply disruptions and help stabilise domestic fuel prices, according to the presidency.

Barrow called the pledge a “strong vote of confidence” in the country’s stability and reform agenda, and directed government agencies to work with Dangote’s technical teams to move the projects forward. Both sides still need to sign formal agreements and complete feasibility studies before construction begins, and no timeline or funding breakdown between the two projects has been disclosed.

The commitment adds to a run of continent wide investment pledges by Dangote this year, including separate energy and infrastructure deals recently announced in Tanzania.

NPP Directs Members To Join Post Flood Cleanup

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NPP Directs Members To Join Post Flood Cleanup

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has directed its members to join a nationwide post flood cleaning exercise this Friday and Saturday, timing the call to coincide with the party’s own constituency elections on Saturday.

The clean up follows a government declaration naming July 10 and July 11, 2026, as National General Cleaning Days across seven regions hit by flooding in late June. President John Dramani Mahama ordered the exercise through the Post Flood Mitigation Committee, with security agencies, district assemblies and waste management firms starting the work on Friday before members of the public join on Saturday.

NPP General Secretary Justin Kodua Frimpong said in a statement issued on July 9 that party members should take part to support environmental sanitation, civic responsibility and national development. He said the initiative aligned with the party’s own goals for community engagement.

Frimpong noted that the NPP’s constituency elections, already scheduled for Saturday, will run on a walk in basis, letting members vote and then head straight into the clean up in their communities. The constituency polls form part of the NPP’s wider internal reorganisation exercise ahead of its national delegates conference later this year.

Parliament has also suspended its Friday sitting to allow members of parliament to take part in the exercise, underlining the scale of participation being sought across party lines just weeks after the floods.

NPP Clears Afoko, But Cocaine Claims Resurface

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NPP Clears Afoko, But Cocaine Claims Resurface

Paul Afoko, a contender for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) national chairmanship, has denied decades old cocaine trafficking claims while welcoming the party’s decision to dismiss a petition against his candidacy ahead of September’s national elections.

The NPP’s National Council unanimously threw out the petition on June 25, 2026, ruling that Afoko is eligible to contest despite his earlier suspension from the party. Speaking on Owia TV, Afoko said the ruling signalled that the NPP was ready to unite behind fresh leadership after its 2024 election defeat.

Party records show Afoko was suspended as national chairman in October 2015 following a National Executive Committee decision, not 2018 as he stated in the interview. He had held the post since April 2014, when he became the first person from northern Ghana to lead the party.

Afoko also used the platform to push back on longstanding claims that he trafficked cocaine into the United States, allegations he said circulated during his time in office and were deployed to damage his standing within the party.

“I was not found guilty because I had never done anything like that,” he said, adding that he had never faced any such conviction.

The National Council’s ruling clears the way for Afoko to face other declared aspirants, including Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, when the NPP holds its National Delegates Conference in September. Afoko has built his campaign around what he calls the 3Rs Agenda of reuniting, rebuilding and recapturing power, and is urging delegates to back a leadership reset built on reconciliation ahead of the 2028 general election.

What A Partner’s Lack of Friends Can Reveal

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What A Partner’s Lack of Friends Can Reveal

A partner’s friendships often say as much about their character as their words do, and having none worth naming is worth understanding before a relationship gets serious.

What it might reveal about relationship habits Someone who cannot point to a single long standing friendship may struggle with the same qualities a relationship demands: patience, compromise and staying power through disagreement. That pattern rarely shows up only in friendships.

No outside voice Friends often act as a check, someone willing to question a decision or offer a view the person would not reach alone. Without that voice, a partner may end up absorbing every doubt and hard truth by themselves.

What it says about connection Friendships take the same skills relationships do: showing up, listening, forgiving small mistakes. A person who has never sustained one may not have had much practice at any of that.

The weight it puts on you When there is no wider circle, a partner often becomes the only outlet for stress, sadness and everyday venting. That can work for a while, but it asks one person to carry what would normally be shared among several.

Context still matters None of this applies evenly. Someone who recently moved, buried themselves in work for a stretch, or simply prefers a quiet life is not the same as someone who cannot hold a friendship at all. The difference is worth asking about rather than assuming.

The bottom line Friendships are not a report card on someone’s character, but they do show how a person shows up for others over time. Before things get serious, it is worth knowing why the circle looks the way it does.

Alleged Kantanka Will Names Household Staff As Heirs

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Alleged Kantanka Will Names Household Staff As Heirs

An alleged will attributed to the late Apostle Kwadwo Safo Kantanka lists household workers as beneficiaries of shares in nine of his companies, as his children dispute the document’s authenticity.

The document, read publicly on Okay FM by journalist Kwame Nkrumah Tikese on July 8, follows an earlier reading at the Accra High Court on July 6. It names nine Kantanka linked firms, including Kantanka Automobile Company Limited, Great Imperial Transport and Services Limited, Kantanka Quarry Limited, Modern Kosa Company Limited, KSK Organic Farms Limited, Great Kosa Herbal Clinic Limited, Kantanka Media Limited, Kantanka Security Services Limited, and Kantanka Herbal Pharmaceutical and Research Centre Limited.

According to the document, household workers are to receive half of the 60 percent stake Apostle Safo held in each company, divided equally among them and held for life. It also allocates cash found in his possession, safe or residence, along with funds in his bank accounts other than an account with Consolidated Bank Ghana (CBG), to the same group in equal shares, citing appreciation for their domestic service over his lifetime. His CBG account was left to his biological children, the document states.

The disclosure comes amid a dispute between two of Apostle Safo’s children over the document’s authenticity. Israel Nana Kwadwo Safo Jnr, known as Akofena and Chief Executive Officer of the Kantanka Group, was named heir in the version read at the High Court. His sister, Sarah Adwoa Safo, a former Member of Parliament for Dome Kwabenya, has contested the reading through her legal team, who argue the document presented in court was not the original and may have been altered before it was submitted.

Private legal practitioner Kwame Akufo, addressing the wider succession question, said the will does not settle who leads the church. “The will does not confer a leadership position on anybody,” he said, noting that the document predates recent amendments to the Kristo Asafo Mission’s constitution.

Apostle Safo, founder of Kantanka Automobile and the Kristo Asafo Mission, died on September 11, 2025, at age 77. He built a business empire spanning vehicle manufacturing, herbal medicine, farming, media and quarrying.

506 Feed Ghana Brigadiers Pass Out: Birth of New Force for Agricultural Transformation

Prosper Kay
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506 Feed Ghana Brigadiers Pass Out: Birth of New Force for Agricultural Transformation

In a historic ceremony that signals a bold new direction for Ghana’s agricultural sector, 506 trained Feed Ghana Brigadiers have passed out at the National Police Training School (NPTS) at Tesano, Accra, equipped with certificates, motorbikes, and a renewed sense of purpose to drive the nation’s food security agenda.

The 506 Brigadiers—comprising 420 males and 86 females—underwent an intensive two-week training programme from June 23 to July 8, blending technical agricultural expertise with paramilitary discipline to prepare them for deployment across the country’s districts.

Speaking as Special Guest of Honour and delivering the keynote address, Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, declared that the ceremony represented more than a simple graduation—it marked “the birth of a new national force for agricultural transformation.”

“Today we are not merely witnessing a passing out ceremony. We are witnessing the birth of a new national force for agricultural transformation,” the Minister declared. “We are commissioning 506 men and women who have accepted a call to duty, a call to service, and a call to help reset Ghana’s agriculture for food security, job creation, industrialization, and national prosperity.”

The Minister addressed what he described as a “legitimate question” from some Ghanaians regarding why the training was conducted at the Police Training School rather than agricultural colleges. He explained that the Brigadiers, who already hold first degrees and master’s degrees in agriculture and related disciplines, were not brought to learn basic agriculture but to develop discipline, sharpen their sense of duty, strengthen teamwork, build resilience, and prepare for field service under pressure.

“Agriculture itself requires discipline,” the Minister emphasised. “A farmer cannot plant at the wrong time and expect the right harvest. A livestock farmer cannot neglect feeding and health and expect productivity. A coordinator cannot submit false reports and expect successful implementation.”

The Feed Ghana program, he stressed, is “not an ordinary agricultural intervention” but a bold national response to fundamental questions of national survival: “How do we feed ourselves as a nation, create jobs for our youth, support our farmers, reduce unnecessary imports, strengthen agribusiness, and build a Ghana that produces more of what it consumes?”

Mr. Opoku made a significant announcement that the Brigadiers would not only support the Feed Ghana program but also provide agricultural advisory and technical support services to private agribusinesses, households, educational institutions, public institutions, and faith-based organisations.

“I’m pleased to report that even before today’s passing out ceremony, the ministry has begun receiving requests from agribusiness enterprises seeking the services of these Brigadiers,” he revealed. “One company has requested for 20 Brigadiers, while another has requested for two.”

The Minister stressed that the Brigadiers were being deployed to strengthen existing agricultural systems, not to replace them. “Every district Feed Ghana coordinator is expected to work under the administrative leadership and guidance of the respective district director of agriculture,” he directed. “Do not go to the district as bosses; go as servants of the people.”

Bright Edward Kodzo Demordzi, National Coordinator of Feed Ghana, welcomed the initiative as “another significant milestone in government effort to transform Ghana’s agriculture sector into a modern, productive, competitive sector capable of ensuring food security, creating employment, and driving inclusive economic growth.”

The National Coordinator reported that the Brigadiers had demonstrated “discipline, competence, and commitment required to complement and strengthen Ghana’s agricultural extension systems.”

COP Frederick Bragogi, Director General of Human Resources at the Ghana Police Service, urged the newly trained officers to serve as worthy ambassadors. “As you are going out to serve as ambassadors, whatever you portray, whatever you do, you portray what the Minister has invested so much in bringing you up, and Ghanaians are watching all of you,” he cautioned.

Each Brigadier received a certificate and a motorbike to facilitate their operations in the field. The Ministry has indicated that this represents only the first phase of the initiative, with plans to recruit and train additional agricultural graduates as the program expands.

The ceremony concluded with the Minister formally charging the Brigadiers to “serve with humility, serve with discipline, serve with honesty, serve with patriotism, and serve with urgency.”

By Kingsley Asiedu

Black Maidens Crush Accrington Stanley Before Senegal Decider

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Black Maidens Crush Accrington Stanley Before Senegal Decider

Ghana’s Black Maidens beat Accrington Stanley by seven goals to nil in a friendly on Wednesday, before Saturday’s winner takes all World Cup qualifier against Senegal.

The friendly at the Accra Sports Stadium formed part of head coach Joe Nana Adarkwa’s final preparations for the second leg of Ghana’s FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup qualifier against Senegal, with a place at next year’s tournament on the line.

The tie stands level after the first leg in Dakar on July 3, when Ghana came from behind to draw 1 1, meaning Saturday’s return fixture at the Accra Sports Stadium is effectively a straight knockout for qualification. “Now our focus is on winning at home to book our place,” Adarkwa said, describing his side’s character in Dakar as a platform to build on.

Ghana forward Andre Ayew visited the team’s camp this week to offer support ahead of the fixture, while a Namibian referee has been appointed by the Confederation of African Football to take charge of Saturday’s match, according to the Ghana Football Association.

Victory on Saturday would send the Black Maidens to the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup, capping a qualifying campaign that has already included wins over Liberia and Togo in earlier rounds.

AG Says Aludiba’s UK Eye Booking Insufficient

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AG Says Aludiba’s UK Eye Booking Insufficient

The Attorney General has told the High Court that an online booking with Boots Opticians in London did not justify Hanan Aludiba’s court approved trip to the United Kingdom.

In an affidavit filed at the Accra High Court, the Attorney General said the document Aludiba relied on to secure permission to leave Ghana, an online booking confirmation, did not amount to evidence of a confirmed appointment requiring treatment abroad. The application, sworn by an assistant staff officer of the Economic and Organised Crime Office, asks the court to revoke its June 29 order granting Aludiba, the former Chief Executive Officer of the National Food Buffer Stock Company, leave to travel.

Court exhibits filed in the case tell a different story. Records show Aludiba was examined by two ophthalmologists in Ghana before the London appointment was arranged. Dr Stephen Akafo of Akafo Eye Services diagnosed him with allergic conjunctivitis on June 22, after complaints of watery and itchy eyes, and referred him to a doctor in the United Kingdom who had treated him before. A second report the following day, from Robert and Sons Optical Services and signed by consultant ophthalmologist Dr Naa Naamuah Tagoe, reached the same diagnosis and recorded that Aludiba wished to continue treatment with the doctor already caring for him abroad.

The exhibits also include a confirmation for an eye test booked at a Boots Opticians branch on Oxford Street for June 23, the appointment at the centre of the Attorney General’s objection.

The dispute over the medical evidence forms part of a wider application in which the Attorney General also alleges Aludiba presented a court ruling that lifted a freeze on his landed properties to his bankers as though it covered his frozen bank accounts too, in what prosecutors describe as an attempt to access the funds. Aludiba’s lawyers, led by former Attorney General Godfred Yeboah Dame, have separately disputed that any valid freezing order was in force, and have accused the state of violating the original travel order when he was arrested at Kotoka International Airport on July 4.

The case forms part of the wider Buffer Stock prosecution, in which Aludiba is standing trial with his wife, Faiza Wuni, and three others on 24 charges, including stealing, conspiracy, money laundering and causing financial loss to the state. He denies wrongdoing and continues to enjoy the presumption of innocence.

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