Wide Africa Media

Thousands of fans have gathered in Ivory Coast's capital Abidjan to pay tribute to musician DJ Arafat. The 33-year-old Ivorian, whose real name was Ange Didier Huon, died in a motorcycle accident earlier this month. Hundreds of Ivorian artists took part in a stadium concert, with President Alassane Ouattara among its attendees. Huon's coffin was then brought to the stadium before being carried away to a local cemetery for burial. The concert was organised after a successful online petition which called on the government to allow the use of Félix Houphouët Boigny stadium, which seats 35,000 people. The government also pledged $250,000 (£205,000) towards the event and said it would pay for Huon's funeral ceremony. DJ Arafat was one of the most popular African musicians in the Francophone world, and had been referred to as the "king" of coupé-décalé (cut and run), an Ivorian form of dance music. The musical genre was born in the early 2000s during...

The President and Chief Executive Officer of Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Ichiro Kashitani, has told President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to expect the first Toyota vehicle to be assembled in Ghana to be outdoored by August 2020. Thanking the government of President Akufo-Addo for its help and support towards the realization of this project, Mr. Ichiro Kashitani stated that “we consider the project of the assembly plant a marriage. It lasts for life, and it is a long-term project.” The President and CEO of Toyota Tsusho made this known on Thursday, 29th August, 2019, when the Government of Ghana and Toyota Tsusho Corporation signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the establishment of a Toyota and Suzuki Assembly Plant in Ghana. The Chief Operations Officer of the company in charge of the Africa division of Toyota Tsusho, Mr. Imai Toshimitsu, who was also at the meeting noted that the decision to set up in Ghana has been necessitated by the favourable economic climate prevail...

An Ethiopian man in Kenya was sentenced to four months in prison on Thursday for joking about a bomb after boarding a Kenya Airways flight, the BBC has learned. Chifraye Bekele’s joke led to the cancellation of the Johannesburg-bound flight in April and to a three-hour shutdown of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in the capital, Nairobi. Magistrate Christine Njagi found him guilty of “imperilling the safety of aircraft and persons on board”. According to the judgement, passed on to the BBC, Bekele had said to a flight attendant as she was closing an overhead locker: “Why are you scared? You think it’s a bomb?” The flight attendant consulted her colleagues and also informed the captain, who decided to taxi back for the plane to be searched. All the passengers had to disembark, resulting in the cancellation of the flight. Bekele was taken into custody and has been in prison since then. In court, testifying via a translator, he said he did not make the joke as h...

The US government has announced a new visa charge called a "reciprocity fee" for Nigerians seeking to travel to America. Hundreds of Nigerians travel to the US each year for education, jobs and healthcare. In announcing the retaliatory action, the US authorities disclosed that Nigeria charges US citizens higher fees for visas than Nigerians pay for US ones. The price for a US citizen to get a Nigerian visa is currently $180 (£146). The new levies for Nigerians range from $80 to $110 and will only apply to those whose visa applications have been approved. The decision comes after consultations with the Nigerian government to reduce its visa fees for US citizens failed to yield results. The new fee takes effect from Thursday 29 August. Source: BBC

A Kenyan wheelchair user has hit out at Ethiopian Airlines, saying he was abandoned by airport staff who refused to help him board a flight leaving the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, to the US. In a series of tweets and Facebook posts, author and disability rights campaigner Harun Hassan said he was treated "insensitively", with one member of staff impolitely telling him: “Please, we don’t have a provision for a disabled person who is travelling alone." Mr Hassan said that his ticket clearly indicated that he was a wheelchair user who was travelling on his own. "They left me alone and stranded without any options," he tweeted. "This clearly goes against the policies and guidelines of Kenya Airport Authority and other international disability travelling laws that this airline subscribes to," he wrote. About 10 hours after he had posted his comments, the airline reached out to him, apologised and offered him a business class flight. But he said...

In a rather odd turn of events, two match officials have been accused by a fan with an official complaint lodged with North Rhine-Westphalia Polic A Budesliga referee and VAR match official have been accused of fraud by a disgruntled Schalke supporter who submitted an official complaint to police following the club's defeat on Saturday. David Wagner's side suffered a 3-0 defeat against champions Bayern Munich to keep them winless after the first two games of the new season, but one fan felt that his team had been unjustly cheated out of a result. Both man in the middle Marco Fritz and video assistant Bastian Dankert were referred to police by the individual after the pair failed to award a pair of appeals for handball against Benjamin Pavard and Ivan Perisic in the second half, with Schalke trailing by two goals. Neither incident was deemed to warrant anything from Fritz and the experienced official later confirmed that Dankert had not given him any further indicatio...

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has hinted he will leave the club at the end of his current contract. The former Borussia Dortmund manager first joined Liverpool in 2015 and is currently contracted to the club until 2022. Liverpool's owners Fenway Sports Group are keen to tie Klopp down to a new, long-term deal but the German has suggested he will take a break from football when his contract ends in three years' time When asked if he was planning to take a sabbatical, Klopp told Kicker: "It looks like it. Who can now say if he can give it his all in three years' time? "If I decide for myself that I can't go on anymore, I'll take a break and in that year I'd have to make a definite decision [over my career]. "I have absolute energy, but I have one problem; I can't do 'a little bit.' I can only do 'all or nothing.' "But the chances are very high that my energy levels will go up again [after a year's break]...

Kenya has exported its first batch of oil as President Uhuru Kenyatta flagged off the crude shipment from the port of Mombasa on Monday morning. It is being described as a historic day and an important step on the way to the full exploration and development of oil in the East African nation. This is an experimental phase to test the country’s crude oil before full production and exportation begins in around 2024. The country is expected to earn $84m (£69m) over the next two years. UK-based Chinese company ChemChina UK Ltd won the bid to buy the first batch of 240,000 barrels under the Early Oil Pilot Scheme (EOPS). Oil bids were received from firms in Asia and Europe, but the joint oil production consortium, led by explorer Tullow Oil, awarded the contract to ChemChina. The crude was transported 850km (528 miles) by road from the country’s northern-western oil fields in Turkana to Mombasa. Kenya currently does not have an oil pipeline in place. A plan to build a join...

Tammy Abraham repaid manager Frank Lampard's faith in youth as his two goals against Norwich helped Chelsea to their first win of the season. In a frantic start, Abraham opened the scoring inside three minutes for the Blues, whose starting line-up had an average age of 24 years and 208 days - their youngest in the Premier League since February 1994. But Norwich equalised just 156 seconds later, Todd Cantwell finishing from close range from a Teemu Pukki cross. Mason Mount restored the Blues' lead midway through the first half with his second goal of the season, but the Canaries soon pulled level once more as Pukki slotted in from a tight angle for his fifth of the campaign. Chelsea dominated the start of the second half and were rewarded through Abraham's second - an unstoppable drive past Tim Krul - before Kurt Zouma had a goal ruled out by the video assistant referee after substitute Olivier Giroud was judged to have fouled the Norwich keeper. The result mean...

Spanish World Cup-winning striker Fernando Torres has played his final professional match before retirement. The former Atletico Madrid, Liverpool and Chelsea forward, 35, finished his career in Japan with Sagan Tosu. They lost his final game 6-1 to a Vissel Kobe side featuring former team-mates Andres Iniesta and David Villa. Iniesta wrote Torres an open letter, in which he said "it's been a wonderful journey, it has taken us to every corner of the world". Torres made 110 appearances for Spain and won the World Cup in 2010, as well as the European Championships in 2008 and 2012, scoring in both finals. Torres announced the date of his retirement in June. "To say goodbye to football next to my dear friend Iniesta is something I could never imagine," Torres said at the time. "Also my friend David Villa, with who I share probably the best moments in Spanish football history. "I tried to find an iconic moment to play my final game and I...

A court in Los Angeles has charged 80 people - most of them Nigerian nationals - with participating in a conspiracy to steal millions of dollars through fraud, money laundering and identity theft. They are accused of using business email fraud schemes and romance scams to con victims - many of whom were elderly - out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. US Attorney Nick Hanna described the FBI investigation as a "major step" to disrupt criminal networks. Fourteen people were arrested on Thursday but correspondents say it is unlikely that many of the other accused will face justice as they are believed to be abroad - most of them in Nigeria. Source: BBC

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has offered his condolences to the family of former Ghana international, Manuel Junior Agogo, who died earlier today [Thursday]. In a tweet, the President described Junior Agogo as “a fine player” who represented the nation proudly any time he was called up to the national team. Agogo passed on in England at a hospital on Thursday. “Saddened by the news of the death of former Black Stars Striker, Junior Agogo. He was a fine footballer, and was always proud to represent our nation. My sincere condolences to his family. May his soul rest in perfect peace.” He suffered a stroke in 2015 and underwent rehabilitation two years ago. He died at age 40. Since his demise, tributes have been pouring in from across the world, including his former clubs, and former teammates. Fans of English Championship club, Nottingham Forest will also hold a minute’s applause in his memory. Agogo spent two years of his career at Forest fro...

The Comptroller-General of Immigration (CGI), Mr. Kwame Asuah Takyi, on Wednesday, honoured six officers of the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) at a staff durbar at the National Headquarters in Accra for their dedication to duty. The honoured officers on 1st August, 2019 at Fielmon, an unapproved route, at the Ghana – Burkina Faso border in the Upper West Region, intercepted 1,950 bags of NPK fertilizers meant for the Planting for Food and Jobs programme and for declining a bribe of GH¢25,000.00 by the smuggler in the process of arrest. The officers include the Hamile Sector Commander, Chief Superintendent Felix Agyeman-Bosompem, Assistant Superintendent Razak Mohammed and Inspector Prince Osei Bonsu. The rest are Assistant Inspector Benjamin Duah, Immigration Control Officer (ICO) Godfred Amponsah and Assistant Immigration Control Officer 1 (AICO I) Maurice Logochura. Presenting the awards to the officers, the CGI commended the officers for acting swiftly to the call of the...

Former Ghana striker Junior Agogo is reported dead at age 40 according to reports in England. According to reports, the unfortunate news occurred on Thursday morning. Agogo was hospitalized in 2015 after suffering stroke which debilitated him. In April 2019, the striker revealed that he can no longer write with his right hand after suffering a stroke over four years ago. He was remembered for his eye-catching performances for the Black Stars during the 2008 Nations Cup on home soil. The 40-year-old played for the likes of Nottingham Forest, Zamalek Sheffield Wednesday, Queens Park Ranger, Chicago Fire among other clubs.

Ghanaian hip-hop and hiplife musician Strongman and his long time girlfriend Nana Ama have welcomed their first child. The rapper announced the safe delivery of his baby girl via his Instagram page few minutes ago and also revealed the name of his newly born baby girl.  He wrote;  “You have been a blessing to my life My Little Angel 👼 SIMONA LAWRESHIA OSEI , Daddy loves 💕 YOU babygirl @simonaoseistrong #UpsAndDownsVideo drops at 10am tomorrow  Get ready Fam". The “Transformer” crooner revealed that his girlfriend Nana Ama had taken seed after he featured her with her baby bump in the official video for his single “Nana Ama” which was dedicated to her.    Congratulations to Strongman and Nana Ama.

Floyd Mayweather claims the video circulating on social media in which he talks up a potential Manny Pacquiao rematch is a $2.2million dud. The Saudi Arabia clip leaked over the weekend and got fans excited for a brief period, however, the American moved quickly to kill off all speculation. Mayweather posted: “There is a video circulating that I made eight months ago about a Mayweather vs Pacquiao rematch. “I got paid $2,200,000 to make the video. The truth is, the fight will never happen again. “Now, look at the money that got wired to me for the video. “Who’s the smart one? I’m making millions just for 10-second video drops.” Upon seeing the video, Pacquiao took to social media and declared that Mayweather was using his name for attention. It appears that only one rematch is likely to actually happen, Saudi Arabia, as things stand – Andy Ruiz Jr vs Anthony Joshua.

Dwayne Johnson, also known as the Rock, tops the Forbes list of the world’s 10 highest-paid actors, collecting $89.4 million between June 1, 2018 and June 1, 2019. “It has to be audience first. What does the audience want, and what is the best scenario that we can create that will send them home happy?” Johnson told Forbes in 2018. It seems he makes the audience happy. Johnson has landed a pay formula as close to the famed twenty-twenty deal of yore as any star can get these days. He’ll collect an upfront salary of up to $23.5 million—his highest quote yet—for the forthcoming Jumanji: The Next Level. He also commands up to 15% of the pool from high-grossing franchise movies, including Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, which had a worldwide box office of $962.1 million. He also gets paid $700,000 per episode for HBO’s Ballers and seven figures in royalties for his line of clothing, shoes and headphones with Under Armour. While Johnson’s deal is the biggest in the business right n...

Singer and songwriter, King Promise, has stated that his movements and actions have been restricted since he became a celebrity. Walking on the streets and buying food from vendors, are two of such things the ‘Bra’ singer misses since his rise to fame. Speaking on Drive Time on Joy FM, King Promise said that everything he does now is in the news. “It’s like you don’t own yourself anymore.” “I can’t go and buy Waakye [boiled rice and beans] again, at least not like I used to before. Someone has to go buy it for me and I can’t also walk around like a regular human being anymore,” he said. He told Lexis Bill, being a celebrity has taken away his freedom of being a regular human being. “One time a lady saw me and she started crying. You don’t have to see me and start crying, I’m human but that only shows I’m not normal as I used to be,” he stated. King Promise added that being in the limelight gives people the chance to also write untrue stories about. “One time there wa...

Bayern Munich legend Franck Ribery has signed for Fiorentina, the Serie A club announced on Wednesday. The 36-year-old, who won a record nine Bundesliga titles during his stay in Germany, has penned a two-year deal with the Florence-based side to take him through until 2021. The former France international brought the curtain down on a 12-year stay with the Bavarian giants last season after helping them to another domestic triumph. Having started his career with his hometown club Boulogne in 2000, he spent spells with Ales, Brest, Metz and Galatasaray before moving to Marseille in 2005, where he made his name, helping the club to back-to-back Coupe de France finals. He subsequently moved to Bayern two seasons later, in 2007, for a then club-record fee of €25 million (£22.9m/$27.7m), where he helped the club dominate German football for the subsequent decade, winning his first title in his maiden season. Along with his domestic league triumphs, was also a six-time DFB-Poka...

The hashtags #IStandWithPogba and #SayNoToRacisim are trending in several African countries following online racist abuse aimed at Premier League footballer Paul Pogba. The Manchester United player was trolled after missing a penalty in a 1-1 draw with Wolves on Monday night. Fellow Manchester United player Harry Maguire has called on social media companies to stop such "pathetic trolls". And African football followers have been lending their support to the Frenchmen, whose parents come from Guinea. A Kenyan tweeter pointed out Pogba's admirable attributes, like raising money for charity, and said he didn't choose his birth place or to be black: Another Kenyan tweeted some comments that Pogba had made in June about how he had dealt with racism in the past, including: "Don't think about people who hate, because they just want to pull you back." A Ghanaian tweeter quoted a famous Martin Luther King line: "The ultimate measure of a...

Growing as a child, Olympic champion Caster Semenya at some stage had to walk into a change room naked just to prove that she was a girl as her teammates struggled to compete with her. Speaking at the Standard Bank Top Women Conference held at Emperors Palace in Kempton Park on the East Rand, Semenya said her humbled beginnings made her the tough woman she had become. She said she grew up around boys and had to walk seven miles every single day – the reason she is fast. “I was always in the bush [training]. Bullies for me never existed because how I responded to them, was way rough. I was one of those young [ladies] that had no fear. I had goals. I knew that everything I touched would turn to gold,” she said. With a mother who played netball and a father who was a soccer player, being in sport was a foregone conclusion. Semenya started playing soccer at the age of four and she was described as a “diski queen”. “My dad thought I was going to be with Banyana Banyana but I di...

Three lions were shot and killed after fatally mauling the suspected owner to death. ‌ A man was mauled to death by lions at the Dinokeng nature reserve on Tuesday morning, reports Pretoria North Rekord. Early reports indicated that the victim was the owner of the lions. According to Best Care emergency service spokesperson Xander Loubser, three lions were shot and killed after the fatal attack. “We received a call of a lion attack at Dinokeng. We received information that the male (patient) was unresponsive and that a few lions were shot. We were also informed that the patient was not safe to approach as there was still a third lion in close proximity,” he said. Loubser said the man succumbed to his injuries and was declared dead by medical personnel.

“You wasted my money to come out here,” those were some of the angry texts 29-year-old New Jersey woman Taija M. Russell sent to her lover around 4 a.m. when he told her to come over but fell asleep while waiting. According to the New York Daily News, Russell then went ahead to set his house ablaze, leaving the man, who managed to escape through a window as the only doorway to the house was engulfed in flames with first-and second-degree burns. Russell was arrested on Tuesday and subsequently charged with attempted murder and aggravated arson. Describing Russell to the police as his side-chick, the man claimed he missed eight of her calls as a result of falling asleep. Feeling stood-up, she followed the missed calls up with a series of angry and threatening text messages including “U smoked,” “I see you wanna die,” and “I swear to god I hope you die,” the police added. Per security camera footage, Russell, according to the police was spotted purchasing matches, a lighter and...

Paul Pogba had a second-half penalty saved as Manchester United were held to a Premier League draw at Wolves. With the score 1-1 in the second half, the Frenchman was fouled by Conor Coady and got up to take the spot-kick, despite failing with three penalties last season and Marcus Rashford scoring from one against Chelsea on the opening weekend. Pogba's powerful shot was pushed away by Rui Patricio, who saved low to his right. In a first half containing just three shots, Anthony Martial had put United in front with his 50th goal for the club - a fine left-footed finish - only for Ruben Neves to level with a sensational strike from the edge of the area, which bounced down off the crossbar 10 minutes after the break. Wolves' Raul Jimenez had flicked a header against the inside of a post just before Neves' effort but neither keeper was troubled after Pogba's miss. Best and worst of Martial In his news conference on Friday, United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjae...

The United States of America has deported 40 Ghanaians for engaging in various criminal activities and immigration-related issues. A statement from the Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) noted that 12 Ghanaian women have also been deported from Saudi Arabia for illegal stay. “The Ghanaians [deported from the US] aged between 21-70 comprising thirty-eight males and two females were deported for various offences ranging from trafficking of banned substances, assault, vehicle theft, burglary, fraud, domestic violence and immigration-related issue.” They arrived on board a chartered flight Omni Air International flight from the US. According to the statement, 38 of them arrived on Travel Certificate issued by the Ghana Mission in Washington DC, whilst two of them travelled on Ghanaian passports. The deportees are from various regions in Ghana with 16 from Greater Accra, 10 from Ashanti, two from Bono, two from Western, two from Central, three from Eastern and three from Volta. ...

Embattled Chief Executive Officer of Menzgold Ghana Limited Nana Appiah Mensah says he is unfazed by the large-scale condemnation of defrauding thousands of customers. He said he is focused and has his eyes on the ball “and I am determined to kick the ball”. Addressing journalists on Monday, August 19, NAM1, as he is popularly called, he said he is a staunch believer and will not be discouraged by such derogatory tags. “I am a believer and even Jesus Christ had his fair share of criticism,” he pointed out. To him, if the right regulatory body is shown him, he can file for the relevant certificates and authorisation to return to business. He, therefore, appealed to government to not only unfreeze his accounts but also give a clear direction as to which state agency has jurisdiction to regulate activities of jewelry trading in Ghana. “We are lying prostrate. We are on our knees.” He gave a personal guarantee to all customers that if his accounts and those of his companie...

The CEO of Menzgold, Nana Appiah Mensah believes that his time in security detention in the United Arab Emirates has toughened him to reach higher heights in business. Mr. Appiah Mensah, popularly known as NAM1 while addressing a press conference on Monday, said being held in Dubai for several weeks “has made me older than my age.” The challenges with his business commenced in 2018. NAM1, who spent several months in detention in Dubai said, “While my detention in Dubai was a harrowing, daunting, terrific and horrific experience, I am grateful to God because I feel very refined. It has made me older than my age as we grow in our experiences and not in years. I am fulfilled and ready for greater exploits, highly motivated to add up to our previous gain.” NAM1 is currently standing trial and facing charges of fraud brought against him by some persons who invested in his gold dealership company, Menzgold but have not been paid their dividends or principals for several months. ...

A Kenyan chef has set a new world record for the longest time spent cooking, after cooking for 75 hours non-stop. Maliha Mohammed began her attempt on Thursday at 10:00 local time in the coastal city of Mombasa. She ended her marathon at a local restaurant on Sunday at 13:03 local time. If verified by Guinness World Records, she will have beaten the official record set by a US cook, Rickey Lumpkin - he cooked for 68 hours, 30 minutes and one second in April 2018. Ms Mohammed prepared 400 dishes - including local and international recipes - most of which she offered to shelters and orphanages. During her epic time in the kitchen, she only rested for 30 minutes every 12 hours. Afterwards she told journalists: "The journey has been tiresome. My legs are very painful, my eyes are hurting due to lack of enough sleep, but I’m grateful to have achieved this." Ali Hassan Joho, Mombasa's governor, congratulated the 36-year-old, who becomes the first African to b...

Nana Appiah Mensah, CEO of gold dealership firm, Menzgold Ghana Limited says the ability of his firm to settle debts owed his customers is among other things dependent on government’s willingness to help the company retrieve some $39 million debt owed him by a Dubai company, Royal Horizon. He said this at a press conference on Monday. “We respectfully pray the Ghanaian authorities to cooperate with us to achieve the following; to assist us to make a full recovery of the amount owed Menzgold by Horizon Royal Diamond in Dubai. As an act of good faith, we are willing to engage the Attorney General’s office on the best possible way for them to aid Menzgold by employing international law and diplomatic relations to ensure we achieve this objective”. At the press conference, Nana Appiah Mensah, also known as NAM1, justified the legitimacy of his company and called on the government to unfreeze his account and that of Menzgold to enable him to settle his debt. He said the company w...