As Guyana continues to transform, a family is betting on a different side of the country’s future, one centered on lifestyle, community living, and modern waterfront experiences.Monarch Group has officially launched Monarch Bay, a new waterfront community planned for Ogle that will feature Guyana’s first Crystal Lagoon, a massive man-made turquoise lagoon designed to bring a resort-style living experience closer to home.Behind the project are Guyanese entrepreneurs Clairmont and Iman Cummings, who say the development is rooted in a desire to invest back into Guyana and create spaces that reflect the country’s rapid evolution.Spread across 30 acres, Monarch Bay is being designed as more than just another housing development. The vision includes homes, shopping, dining, green spaces, recreational areas, and family-centered amenities all built around a modern waterfront setting.At the heart of the project will be the Crystal Lagoon, powered by internationally used Crystal Lagoons technology, known for creating large scale clear water lagoons in luxury and tourism developments around the world.For many Guyanese, the concept may feel unlike anything currently available locally, blending residential living with the kind of leisure experiences more commonly seen in international resort communities.Founder of Monarch Group, Clairmont Cummings, said the idea was always about creating a destination that matches the energy and optimism now shaping Guyana.He explained that the goal is not simply to build houses, but to create a community where people can live, relax, connect, and enjoy modern amenities within a safe and thoughtfully planned environment.Co Founder Iman Cummings said Guyana is entering a major period of transformation and developments like Monarch Bay are intended to contribute to that growth in a meaningful way.According to the developers, the project is targeting a wide cross section of buyers including young professionals, families, returning Guyanese in the diaspora, and regional investors looking for opportunities in one of the world’s fastest growing economies.The first phase of the project represents an estimated US$20 million investment and is being financed by Citizens Bank Guyana.Construction preparation has already started, with the first phase expected to be completed by 2028.<img src="https://i0.wp.com/newsroom.gy/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/xbxbxbx.jpg?resize=1500%2C999&amp;ssl=1">Monarch Group has also partnered with ARC Consultants, led by Toronto based real estate professional Kimberly Jeffrey D’Angelo, to oversee sales and market positioning.As Guyana’s economic boom continues to reshape skylines, industries, and communities, projects like Monarch Bay signal a growing demand not only for housing, but for a different style of living one that blends comfort, recreation, convenience, and long term investment into a single space.

Guyanese family unveils waterfront community featuring crystal lagoon

RICHARD AKOTO WALLS

Their report concludes that Barbados’s population of African descent have suffered damages estimated at up to $2tn (£1.5tn) from 200 years of chattel slavery.The head of the research team, Coleman Bazelon, said the total reflected the magnitude of the damage done, but he emphasised that the figure was not a bill for damages but the factual foundation for dialogue.“This research is not creating an invoice for anybody to pay,” said Bazelon. “It is an accounting of the harm that was done … a recognition of the harm that was done that is the starting point for reconciliation.”Barbados was the first major British colony to force enslaved people to work on its plantations from the early 1600s. It is also a founding nation of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) which advocates for reparations.Bazelon was the lead co-author of the 2023 Brattle analysis, which was included in the report on reparations for transatlantic chattel slavery in the Americas and the Caribbean. The analysis estimated that chattel slavery affected 19.9 million people, including those who were captured, those who lost their lives while being transported from Africa, and those who worked on plantations and their descendants.After Britain abolished slavery on 1 August 1834, £20m was paid in compensation to enslavers for loss of their “property”. The enslaved people themselves received nothing.Bazelon conducted this new research through the non-profit organisation Public Interest Experts. “What they asked me to focus on was: what was the value of the labour stolen through slavery in Barbados,” Bazelon said.Speaking at an event in Barbados to preview the research earlier this month, Barbados’s minister for pan-African affairs and heritage, Trevor Prescod, said: “You can’t erase history … My job is to give an Afrocentric redress to the imbalances that occurred during the period of slavery.”The minister said that the report will eventually go to the cabinet for ratification. “I feel the public must walk with us to our destination … Many areas of progress that we were denied will be at the heart of our call and claims for reparations and reparatory justice,” he said.<img src="https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/03d1a4d93825a6fa88e80b5b6fa188ac29ea0c17/0_0_3000_2492/master/3000.jpg?width=445&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none"><h6>Workers on a sugar plantation in Barbados in the 19th century. Photograph: Chronicle/Alamy</h6>Bazelon has given a detailed breakdown of the methodology and figures: “The value of the labour that was provided but not compensated, it’s somewhere between$500bn and $700bn. But of course, an enslaved person working in Barbados had much of their life stolen from them as well. So, I think it’s very proper to include the short lifespan of people who were enslaved in Barbados. And the short lifespan estimate is anywhere from about $1.1tn to $1.3tn. So if you add them together you end up with a range of about $1.6tn to $2tn as the value of the labour and life directly stolen from people in enslaved Barbados.”He added: “The important contextual point is that there were [about] 379,000 people who got off the boat from Africa in Barbados … There were another 78,000 people who got on the boats but didn’t get off, who died during the middle passage. And then we estimate another 335,000 people who were born into slavery in Barbados.”The findings provide an understanding of the significant size of the harm done.Prof Alan Lester, from the University of Sussex, a leading expert on the British empire, said: “It’s not surprising that – when you add up the value of lives appropriated to make money in Barbados, Britain’s oldest slave plantation colony – you get such an enormous figure.“The inequalities entrenched by slavery have only been exacerbated since, as compensation was paid to slave owners rather than the enslaved and independence left Caribbean islands drained of capital and indebted to western institutions.”The 2023 Brattle analysis estimated that the value of harms from transatlantic chattel slavery in 31 territories in the Americas and the Caribbean amounted to $100–131tn in total, of which $77-108tn represented harms during the period of enslavement, and $23tn the continuing harms since.The analysis was commissioned after an international symposium on reparations and international law concluded that transatlantic slavery was unlawful.Last month 123 nations at the UN general assembly voted that chattel slavery was the gravest crime against humanity. The US, Israel and Argentina voted against the resolution, while 52 countries, including the UK and other many European countries abstained. Previously, the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, ruled out direct monetary payments for reparations.David Lascelles, the co-founder of Heirs of Slavery, a group of descendants of British enslavers who encourage others to acknowledge and discuss reparative justice, said: “My distant ancestor Henry Lascelles made his fortune in Barbados in the 18th century. Now, 300 years later, it’s high time we all recognise there is a debt to pay, a debt that is of course about money, but not just about money.”Alex Renton, another co-founder of the group, added that “addressing the legacies of this most terrible event in Britain’s modern history is the right thing for the nation to do, morally and practically”.

UK stole 25m years of life and labour through slavery in Barbados, says report

In late August, the term of the current secretary general of the 15-nation Caribbean Community, Dr. Carla Natalie Barnett, 68, would have come to an end and although leaders recently reappointed her to a second and final five-year term, it does not appear that she will survive a full second employment period.Speculation about whether she might even work a day after August 26 is rife and growing because of a relentless campaign by Trinidad’s government to see the back of her due to a row, dating back nearly four years, between Barnett and Kamla Persad-Bissessar, prime minister of the Trinidad and Tobago (T&amp;T) federation.The escalating public row about her tenure and the process used to reappoint has become so divisive that at the weekend, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness called for an emergency meeting of leaders to look at the issue all over again.The T&amp;T PM is gunning for the Belizean economist turned regional chief executive largely because of what she has basically said was a hurtful diplomatic snub that Barnett had allegedly inflicted on her while she was the country’s opposition leader back in 2022.The PM complained that she had written to Barnett because a Trinidadian national had allegedly been abducted from his hotel by local police while he was in neighboring Barbados during a joint operation with Barbadian officers. She said Barnett never had the decency to reply, but now that she is PM after winning general elections a year ago this month, the time to get rid of Barnett is now.The vitriol emanating from Port of Spain against Barnett has been so loud and has become so embarrassing that it appears that the issue of her reappointment might well trigger a second emergency meeting of heads of governments as early as this week, after one held earlier in April.“I think the solution really lies in assembling another heads meeting to have the matter addressed,” Holness told the local Guardian Media during a visit to New York over the weekend. “That’s something that I have been pushing for quietly behind the scenes. I think it is distressing for a lot of people within the region regarding what is being said in the public domain, but I know that all the heads are working behind the scenes to have this matter resolved.”Trinidad is contending that the process to reappoint Barnett at the late February meeting of leaders was highly flawed and suspicious because the local delegation and at least two countries were excluded from attending a closed-door caucus in sister isle Nevis.Leaders including Terrance Drew, prime minister of St. Kitts and the current regional chair have accused Foreign Minister Sean Sobers of not attending the session because of his fear of seasickness on the short boat ride to Nevis. Sobers had been the acting Trinidad delegation head to the meeting and would have been the one to attend after his PM had left the summit. He denies ever suggesting his fear of the sea but later admitted that he was simply joking.As preparations proceed for the second emergency meeting in weeks, a leading regional diplomat is suggesting that it is better for Barnett to walk away rather than stick around and stoke division in the bloc. Sir Ronald Sanders, Antigua’s ambassador to the U.S., has argued that this will be the best solution to a contentious and divisive issue.“If I were the secretary general of CARICOM, and I’m being quite serious here, and this had occurred, I would have resigned, and I would have resigned because I would have said I must not stand in the way of Caribbean integration and the movement forward,” he said on the state-owned ABS Television, apparently signaling the position of the government. “Why am I still there? Because it is clear that I will never enjoy her support and why, therefore, would I put myself in a situation in which I am now the cause of the rift? If I were Carla Barnett, I would resign now on principle because … Kamla Persad will not attend the meeting if Carla Barnett is at that meeting; neither will her foreign minister,” he noted._Source: Amsterdam News

CARICOM to meet again as row over incumbent escalates

Nathan

Guyana's oil exports are experiencing an historic boom, with&nbsp;production surpassing 900,000 barrels per day by late 2025, transforming it into one of the world's fastest-growing economies. Major export destinations include the Netherlands, Panama, and the United Kingdom, with a significant portion (roughly half) going to just two nations. The crude, largely from the Stabroek Block, generated over US$17 billion in 2025.<img src="https://aukisscontent.s3.amazonaws.com/08449990cIMG_3642.png">Key Aspects of Guyana's Oil Export Industry<ul><li>Production &amp; Growth:&nbsp;Production has surged from zero in 2019 to over 900,000 barrels per day by late 2025, with plans to exceed 1.2 million barrels per day.</li><li>Major Export Destinations:&nbsp;Over 60% of shipments are headed to Europe, with the Netherlands (often via Rotterdam) being a primary hub, while Panama serves as a key transit point. Other significant recipients include the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, and the United States.</li><li>Revenue &amp; Economic Impact:&nbsp;Export earnings are massive, reaching over US$17 billion in 2025. Guyana's GDP saw record growth, expanding by 62% in 2022 and over 30% in 2023.</li><li>Key Operations:&nbsp;All oil production is managed by a consortium led by ExxonMobil, along with Hess and CNOOC.</li><li>Export Composition:&nbsp;The oil produced is primarily "light and sweet" crude, which is in high demand.</li><li>Export Trends:&nbsp;In 2024, Guyana ranked as the 8th largest crude oil supplier to the United States.</li></ul>Key Export Data<ul><li>2024 Earnings:&nbsp;~US$17.99 billion</li><li>2025 Earnings:&nbsp;~US$17.8 billion</li><li>Primary Destination Region:&nbsp;Europe (&gt;60% of shipments)</li><li>Top Hubs:&nbsp;Netherlands (Rotterdam), Panama&nbsp;</li></ul>The rapid increase in oil exports has driven significant infrastructural development and economic expansion, but it has also brought challenges, including inflationary pressures on housing and food.

Guyana is quietly getting rich from the oil blockade cause by the US Israeli war in Iran

The color shows up in the sand before anything else. Along certain stretches of The Bahamas and the broad reaches of the Caribbean, crushed coral mixes with white grains to create a soft pink tone that runs for miles along the shoreline. It’s most visible along the edges of Bermuda, The Bahamas and Barbuda, with smaller pockets in Barbados and Grenada. The hotels along these beaches keep a close relationship with the shoreline — low-rise footprints, short paths to the water, and rooms positioned so you see the ocean the moment you open the door.Here’s where you can check in and walk straight onto pink sand.<img src="https://aukisscontent.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/a084a5a32IMG_3375.webp"><a href="https://www.thecrane.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Crane, Barbados</a>Set above Crane Beach on Barbados’ southeastern coast, this resort gives you a clear vantage point over one of the island’s most distinctive shorelines, where the sand carries a noticeable blush tone in certain light. You reach the beach by elevator or staircase carved into the cliff, stepping onto a wide, open stretch framed by rock formations and steady Atlantic surf. Rooms range from suites to multi-bedroom residences, many with private plunge pools and full kitchens. Dining includes Zen for sushi and Asian dishes and L’Azure for Caribbean-focused plates, both set within restored historic structures. You’re here for elevated views, direct beach access, and one of the island’s most visually distinct coastlines. It’s one of the most iconic places to stay in the region.<img src="https://aukisscontent.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/6c849b857IMG_3376.jpeg">Sandals Grenada.<a href="https://www.sandals.com/sandals-grenada/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sandals Grenada, Grenada</a>Set on&nbsp;Pink Gin Beach&nbsp;on the southwestern coast of Grenada, this resort takes you to a quiet, curved stretch of shoreline. In certain light, especially near the waterline, the sand carries a faint pink tint from crushed coral mixed into the shoreline. The resort runs along the beach with multiple zones, the spectacualr SkyPool suites. Dining spans more than 10 restaurants, from Caribbean to Italian to sushi, all included, along with bars positioned close to the sand. You stay here for Sandals’ unique brand of all-inclusive luxury.<img src="https://aukisscontent.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/6b5435a7aIMG_3377.jpeg">The iconic Blue Bar at Pink Sands.<a href="https://pinksandsresort.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pink Sands Resort, Harbour Island</a>Cottage-style rooms are scattered across landscaped gardens just above Harbour Island’s signature pink sand beach, with sandy paths leading directly to the shoreline. Interiors use white walls, light woods, and soft fabrics, keeping the focus on the setting outside. You can walk from your room to the water in under a minute, with miles of uninterrupted beach in both directions.&nbsp;Blue Baranchors the beachfront with grilled fish, conch, and cocktails served steps from the sand. The layout keeps things quiet and spaced out, even when the hotel is full.<img src="https://aukisscontent.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/86e49693cIMG_3378.webp">It’s the gateway to Barbuda.<a href="https://www.barbudabelle.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Barbuda Belle, Barbuda</a>A small collection of beachfront villas lines one of the longest uninterrupted pink sand beaches in the Caribbean. There’s no nearby town and very little surrounding development, so the experience stays focused on the shoreline and the water. Each villa opens directly onto the sand, with shaded terraces and outdoor seating facing the ocean. The on-site restaurant serves fresh seafood and simple Caribbean dishes, often sourced locally. You stay here for isolation, open coastline, and a setting where the beach stretches out with almost no interruption.<img src="https://aukisscontent.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/cd74b3ac3IMG_3379.webp"><a href="https://www.thelorenhotels.com/bermuda" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Loren at Pink Beach, Bermuda</a>Set directly on one of Bermuda’s most consistent pink sand stretches in Tucker’s Town, this hotel puts you steps from the shoreline the moment you leave your room. Every accommodation faces the Atlantic, with private terraces that open to uninterrupted ocean views and a clear line down to the sand. The beach here runs in a gentle curve, with a visible blush tone that shows up strongest along the waterline.Rooms and suites keep a clean, modern look, with floor-to-ceiling glass, light finishes, and layouts that prioritize the view. Villas add private plunge pools and expanded outdoor space, giving you a more residential setup right above the beach. The&nbsp;Pink Beach Club&nbsp;anchors the property, with outdoor tables set close to the sand and a menu focused on local seafood, while the&nbsp;Marée Lounge&nbsp;handles drinks and lighter fare throughout the day.<img src="https://aukisscontent.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/a1240aaa8IMG_3380.jpeg">The Dunmore, perched above the sand.<a href="https://www.dunmorebeach.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Dunmore, Harbour Island</a>I just adore this hotel. A white main house faces the Atlantic from slightly elevated ground, with a long veranda that looks out over the pink sand below. Guest rooms sit in modern bungalows behind it, finished with clean lines, polished concrete, and neutral tones. The restaurant draws both hotel guests and visitors, with a menu that mixes Bahamian seafood and broader coastal dishes, and a bar that fills up as the evening progresses. You’re steps from the beach throughout your stay, with a layout that keeps the ocean in constant view. It’s jet-set, it’s golden age, it’s what we love about travel. It just feels special.<img src="https://aukisscontent.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/22e438bf6IMG_3381.png">It’s set on a seven-mile stretch of pink sand beach.The Potlatch Club, Harbour IslandOne of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.caribjournal.com/2024/06/20/bahamas-eleuthera-new-boutique-hotel/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">newest places to stay in The Bahamas</a>&nbsp;is famous for something old: a jet-set pedigree that includes Paul McCartney’s honeymoon. It’s hip and low-key. There’s no central hotel building, and no shared resort structure, just individual homes set along the sand. You walk straight from your villa onto the beach, with outdoor showers and shaded seating areas that keep you outside most of the day. It’s a quieter, more residential approach to Harbour Island, built around privacy and direct access to the shoreline.<img src="https://aukisscontent.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/830480852IMG_3382.webp">La Bougainvillea, a boutique resort in Governor’s Harbour.La Bougainvillea, EleutheraThis small beachfront hotel places you directly on a quieter stretch of Eleuthera’s pink-tinged sand. Rooms and suites include terraces facing the Atlantic, with clear sightlines to the water and steady ocean breeze. The on-site restaurant serves fresh fish, lobster when available, and simple Caribbean dishes, with seating just steps from the sand. The setting stays relaxed and low-density, with long walks available in either direction along the beach.<img src="https://aukisscontent.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/023493baaIMG_3383.jpeg">The hotel just underwent a big makeover.<a href="https://www.coralsands.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Coral Sands, Harbour Island</a>One of the island’s best-known properties, Coral Sands offers a mix of ocean-facing rooms and private cottages set along the Atlantic side. Many units include patios or balconies with direct views of the shoreline. The freshwater pool sits just above the beach, and the Pink Mermaid restaurant anchors the property with all-day dining and a bar that remains active into the evening. You get immediate access to a wide stretch of pink sand, along with a classic, easy-to-navigate setup.<img src="https://aukisscontent.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1f649ebbaIMG_3384.jpeg">Greenwood Beach on Cat Island in The Bahamas.<a href="https://greenwoodbeachresort.biz/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Greenwood Beach Resort, Cat Island&nbsp;</a>Set on a quiet stretch of Cat Island’s Atlantic coast, this small resort gives you direct access to a long, open beach where the sand carries a soft pink tint in certain light. The shoreline runs wide and largely empty, with steady surf and almost no development in sight. Rooms face the ocean, with simple interiors and short paths leading straight onto the sand. The on-site restaurant serves fresh, straightforward meals, often centered on local seafood, with a bar that stays low-key into the evening. You stay here for seclusion, uninterrupted beachfront, and a part of The Bahamas where the pace stays slow and the beaches feel untouched. It’s a kitesfuring retreat as much as anything.<img src="https://aukisscontent.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/252446ac7IMG_3385.webp"><a href="https://pineapplefields.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pineapple Fields, Eleuthera</a>Near French Leave Beach, these condo-style residences give you larger living spaces with full kitchens, separate bedrooms, and private terraces. The beach itself is one of Eleuthera’s most consistent pink sand stretches, wide and lightly trafficked, with steady surf and long walking distances. You’re a short walk or quick drive from the shoreline, with nearby access to Tippy’s Restaurant for beachfront dining and drinks. The best part is, of course, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.caribjournal.com/2024/01/26/tippys-eleuthera-rum-punch-secret/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">secret rum punch.</a>_Source: Carib Journal

These 11 Beach Resorts From Barbados to The Bahamas Deliver the Ultimate Pink-Sand Vacations

Africa is changing fast, and the old ways of measuring success don’t tell the full story anymore. Instead of just looking at GDP or income levels, a new ranking is taking a wider view of how countries are actually performing on the ground.Top 10 best-performing African countries in 2026, according to latest ranking<ul><li>Business Insider Africa presents the top 10 best-performing African countries in 2026, according to latest ranking.</li><li>The list is courtesy of Jeune Afrique and The Africa Report.</li><li>South Africa ranks first in Africa’s 2026 performance index, driven by strong scores in influence and innovation.</li></ul>Africa’s best-performing countries in 2026 are assessed across governance, influence, and innovation, offering a more forward-looking picture of national strength.Developed by Jeune Afrique and The Africa Report, the index uses 24 indicators to measure how effectively states are governed, how much weight they carry globally, and how prepared they are for the future through education, startups, and technology.<h3>1. South Africa</h3>South Africa ranks first in Africa’s 2026 performance index, driven by strong scores in influence and innovation. The country maintains outsized diplomatic and cultural weight through its membership in the G20 and BRICS, alongside a deep academic and scientific ecosystem. Its financial markets and entrepreneurial base remain among the most developed on the continent, supporting steady innovation output. However, governance challenges continue to weigh on its overall trajectory, reflecting institutional inefficiencies and inequality pressures.<h2>2. Mauritius</h2>Mauritius climbs to second place, reflecting its reputation as one of Africa’s most stable and business-friendly economies. Strong governance institutions, predictable regulation, and an open investment climate continue to attract foreign capital. The country has successfully diversified beyond tourism into financial services, fintech, and offshore business activity, strengthening resilience.<h2>3. Namibia</h2>Namibia records the greatest improvement in the 2026 rankings, rising to third place. Its progress is driven by political stability, improving governance systems, and better fiscal management, including stronger tax collection capacity. The country’s natural resource base, particularly in mining and emerging green hydrogen projects, continues to attract international attention.<h2>4. Morocco</h2>Morocco ranks fourth, reinforcing its position as one of Africa’s most consistent performers. The country benefits from sustained investments in infrastructure, renewable energy, manufacturing, and sports diplomacy. Its strategic location linking Africa and Europe supports trade and tourism flows, while industrial hubs such as Tangier continue to expand export capacity. Morocco’s innovation ecosystem is also growing, particularly in the automotive and green energy sectors.<h2>5. Nigeria</h2>Nigeria ranks fifth, reflecting its paradox of scale and structural weakness. As one of Africa’s largest economies and most populous nation, it remains a major force in influence and innovation, particularly in fintech, entertainment, and startups. However, weak governance indicators, debt pressures, and institutional inefficiencies weigh on its overall score. Despite this, Nigeria’s entrepreneurial ecosystem continues to attract significant investment, and its cultural exports remain globally dominant.<h2>6. Egypt</h2>Egypt ranks sixth but experiences a decline in position due to macroeconomic pressures. High debt levels exceeding 90% of GDP, currency challenges, and weaker regional integration have slowed its momentum. However, it remains strategically influential due to its geographic position, large population, and diplomatic weight. Egypt continues to invest in infrastructure megaprojects, education reform, and urban expansion, such as the New Administrative Capital.<h2>7. Rwanda</h2>Rwanda holds seventh place, driven by strong governance, efficient public administration, and consistent policy execution. The country is widely recognised for its ease of doing business and digital governance systems. Kigali has positioned itself as a regional hub for conferences, aviation, and services. Innovation is supported by targeted investments in technology and education. While its economy remains small, Rwanda’s institutional discipline and long-term planning continue to elevate its continental reputation.<h2>8. Ghana</h2>Ghana ranks eighth, reflecting a balance between democratic stability and economic challenges. It remains one of West Africa’s most influential economies, supported by gold, cocoa, and oil exports. However, fiscal pressures and debt concerns have affected recent performance. Ghana’s innovation ecosystem is growing steadily, particularly in fintech and digital services, supported by a young entrepreneurial population.<h2>9. Côte d’Ivoire</h2>Côte d’Ivoire ranks ninth, continuing its rise as one of West Africa’s fastest-growing economies. Strong infrastructure investment, political stability, and export diversification have strengthened its position. The country has become a major regional hub for agriculture, energy, and manufacturing. Abidjan’s growing financial and logistics ecosystem reinforces its influence dimension.<h2>10. Kenya</h2>Kenya completes the top ten, driven by its leadership in innovation and digital transformation. Nairobi remains one of Africa’s most important startup and fintech hubs, supported by strong mobile money infrastructure. The country also benefits from regional diplomatic influence and a diversified service-based economy. However, governance and debt challenges remain constraints. Kenya’s innovation strength continues to offset structural weaknesses, keeping it among Africa’s most forward-looking economies.

Top 10 best-performing African countries in 2026, according to latest ranking

Africa’s largest lender, Standard Bank Group, has pledged to play a leading role in the planned public listing of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, offering a major vote of confidence in what is expected to be one of the most closely watched corporate transactions in African markets.Standard Bank backs Dangote refinery IPO as output tops 700,000 bpd [Photo: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images]<ul><li>Standard Bank has pledged to play a leading role in the planned public listing of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.</li><li>The endorsement comes as the refinery reports test runs of 700,000 barrels per day, above its official 650,000-bpd capacity.</li><li>The bank also signalled readiness to support future Dangote expansion projects across Africa.</li><li>The development strengthens investor confidence in what could become one of Africa’s largest corporate listings.​</li></ul>The endorsement comes as the refinery achieved a significant operational milestone, recording performance test runs of 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day, exceeding its official nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.The achievement strengthens the investment case for a facility that has rapidly emerged as one of the most influential energy assets on the continent.The commitment was made during a visit by Standard Bank Group Chief Executive Officer Sim Tshabalala and senior executives to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Dangote Fertiliser complex in Lagos.“We are here because the Dangote Group is a large and important global player and a significant force on the African continent,” Tshabalala said.“Standard Bank is the largest financial institution in Africa and we have partnered with Dangote on a variety of initiatives. We are here to lend support, to see this magnificent refinery and to discuss Vision 2030 and how we can continue supporting the Group’s growth ambitions.”Standard Bank backs refinery listingTshabalala confirmed that Standard Bank intends to be a key participant in the refinery’s planned initial public offering and future financing activities.Standard Bank Group CEO Sim Tshabalala during a visit to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Fertiliser complex in Lagos.“As Dangote lists, there is an IPO coming up and we are a leading player in that process,” he said.“As the Group continues to expand in Nigeria and across Africa, there will be opportunities for financial advisory services and balance sheet support, and we stand ready to provide both.”The announcement is significant because it places Africa’s biggest banking group at the centre of a transaction expected to test investor appetite for large-scale African industrial assets.The refinery’s planned listing has attracted attention from investors and market operators across the continent, with analysts viewing it as a potential landmark transaction capable of deepening African capital markets and broadening participation in one of the region’s most ambitious industrial projects.Refinery beats nameplate capacityThe visit coincided with a major operational milestone for the refinery.David Bird, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Petroleum Refinery, disclosed that the facility recently completed performance tests at 700,000 barrels per day, surpassing its official design capacity.“We have always believed there was engineering flexibility built into the design,” Bird said.“Achieving sustained production of 700,000 barrels per day is a testament to the technical capability of our people and the strength of the systems we have built.”The refinery, which began fuel production in 2024, is already reshaping fuel trade flows across Africa.Recent export data show growing shipments of petrol, diesel and jet fuel to African markets, while exports have also reached Europe, the United States and Saudi Arabia.Analysts say the facility is increasingly emerging as a regional supplier amid efforts by African countries to reduce dependence on imported fuels.The refinery’s management has also outlined plans to expand processing capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day within the next few years, a move that could make it one of the world’s largest refining hubs.The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has recorded performance test runs of 700,000 barrels per day, exceeding its official design capacity. A partnership built over yearsDangote Industries executives said the visit reflected a long-standing relationship that dates back to the refinery’s construction phase.Group Vice President for Oil and Gas, Devakumar Edwin, said Standard Bank had supported the project from its early stages.“The bank visited us during construction and understood the scale of what we were building,” Edwin said.“Today, the refinery is fully operational and they can see what their support has helped to create. It is like nurturing a tree and eventually seeing it bear fruit.”Bird described Standard Bank as one of the refinery’s strongest institutional supporters and said the visit gave executives a first-hand view of the project’s scale and impact.“Seeing is believing, and it allows our partners to appreciate the scale of what has been achieved,” he said.For Nigeria, the growing alliance between Africa’s largest bank and Africa’s largest refinery underscores a broader shift taking place across the continent: the increasing use of African capital, African institutions and African industrial champions to finance projects once considered beyond the reach of local markets.Whether the refinery’s planned IPO ultimately becomes the largest listing in African history remains to be seen.But with Standard Bank now publicly backing the transaction and refinery output moving beyond its original design threshold, momentum behind the offering is clearly building.

Africa’s largest bank backs Dangote refinery IPO as mega-plant surpasses design capacity

Bob Marley’s impact can hardly be summed up in a few iconic albums or songs. With titles such as Get Up Stand Up, Is This Love, No Woman No Cry and Buffalo Soldier, the Jamaican artist has made a major contribution to the spread of reggae throughout the world. Born in Jamaica in the late 1960s, reggae has its roots in ska and rocksteady, while developing an instantly recognizable musical identity driven by syncopated rhythms, omnipresent bass lines and a deeply organic approach to music. Much more than just a musical genre, reggae quickly became a true cultural and social vector.<img src="https://i0.wp.com/blog.son-video.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/bob-marley.jpg?resize=696%2C457&amp;ssl=1">A major figure in reggae, Bob Marley made a huge contribution to the worldwide popularity of Jamaican music in the 1970s.Through his songs, Bob Marley gave an international scope to this music intimately connected to the history and social realities of Jamaica. His lyrics are as much about social injustice as they are about freedom, unity and spirituality. With him, the Rastafari movement also found a voice capable of reaching a worldwide audience, well beyond the borders of his native island.But Bob Marley’s influence extends far beyond the sphere of music. His image remains associated with values of sharing, peace and cultural openness that continue to transcend generations. More than just a figure of reggae, he embodies a certain way of experiencing music that’s freer, warmer and deeply linked to sharing.<h2>House of Marley: a brand built around this heritage</h2>Today, this philosophy is reflected in House of Marley, an audio brand created in direct collaboration with the Marley family. Founded on the values championed by Bob Marley – sharing, respect, openness and a deep connection to music – the brand has, since its inception, developed a cohesive identity that blends audio products, warm design and a more responsible approach. Far from simply licensing the image of the Jamaican artist, House of Marley seeks to extend a certain philosophy of life through everyday objects designed to accompany music listening in all its forms.<img src="https://i0.wp.com/blog.son-video.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/uplift-bookshelf-69ef7b53242f31.jpg?resize=696%2C696&amp;ssl=1">With their bamboo, textile and matte-black finish, the House of Marley Uplift Bookshelf speakers perfectly illustrate the warm visual identity developed by the brand.This identity is also reflected in the names of many of the brand’s products, directly inspired by songs or references associated with Bob Marley’s life. The Stir It Up turntables, Get Together speakers, Positive Vibration headphones and Zion earbuds are just a few examples of the permanent link between products and identity. The brand is now available on Son-Vidéo.com, with over a dozen turntables, Bluetooth speakers, headphones and earbuds. The brand takes a more responsible approach, inspired by one of Bob Marley’s central messages: music can inspire change, and everyone has a role to play in preserving the planet. From the outset, House of Marley has favored the use of renewable and recycled materials in the design of its products: Bamboo, REWIND fabrics made from recycled materials and recycled plastics.Used in the design of many House of Marley products, bamboo is fast-growing and more durable than traditional materials.House of Marley adopts a warm, natural aesthetic that translates into instantly recognizable products blending light woods, textiles and matte black finishes, sometimes accompanied by touches of color inspired by reggae culture.As for Bluetooth headphones, the Positive Vibration range takes its name from the famous Bob Marley track released in 1976 on Bob Marley &amp; The Wailers’ album Rastaman Vibration. The House of Marley Positive Vibration Frequency adopts a circum-aural design with 40 mm transducers, multipoint Bluetooth connection and a battery life of up to 34 hours. It comes in a black finish, but also in a Rasta color mixing red, yellow and green.Available in Signature Black or in the iconic colors of the Rastafari movement, the Positive Vibration Frequency headphones combine a 34-hour battery life with a robust design in recycled aluminum and FSC-certified wood.More compact and more affordable, the House of Marley Positive Vibration Riddim have a supra-aural design for everyday on-the-go listening, while the House of Marley Positive Vibration Rebel ANC complete the range with active noise cancelling for traveling and noisier environments.When it comes to true wireless earbuds, the House of Marley Little Bird is the most affordable model in our selection, with a compact size designed for simple, unobtrusive everyday use.The House of Marley Smile Jamaica take their name from Bob Marley’s historic Smile Jamaica concert in 1976, and feature a compact in-ear design with an easy-to-carry charging case.Designed for maximum portability, the Smile Jamaica feature an extremely compact format, designed to be forgotten once in place.More comprehensive, the House of Marley Trenchtown ANC, a nod to the Jamaican neighborhood closely linked to the history of reggae and Bob Marley, add active noise cancelling for nomadic listening in noisy environments.In homage to the birthplace of reggae in Kingston, the Trenchtown ANC earbuds isolate the listener from urban noise thanks to their active reduction while retaining the brand’s warm, bass-rich sound signature.The brand also offers a number of open models designed for a more natural listening experience while remaining attentive to one’s surroundings. The House of Marley Zion models feature a compact format for everyday use and take their name from Zion, a spiritual symbol very much present in Rastafari culture.Designed without silicone ear tips for a more natural fit, the Zion offer an open listening experience that favors comfort and a better acoustic perception of the surrounding space.For their part, the House of Marley Liberate Open Ear feature an open design that rests around the ear to enhance listening comfort while maintaining good perception of your surroundings.In a spirit that is, in the end, quite similar to the visual and cultural world associated with Bob Marley, American manufacturer Grado also offers a particularly unconventional model with the Grado The Hemp Headphone Limited Edition. Made from hemp and maple, these headphones even feature a hemp leaf on the ear cups, an aesthetic and cultural nod that House of Marley could well have come up with.<img src="https://i0.wp.com/blog.son-video.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/the-hemp-headphone-limited-edition_60acea521e98b_6.jpg?resize=600%2C338&amp;ssl=1">Made from hemp and maple, the Grado The Hemp Headphone Limited Edition have a unique aesthetic in a spirit close to certain visual codes associated with the world of reggae.Forty-five years after Bob Marley’s death, his legacy continues to live on in other ways: through music, of course, but also through objects designed to accompany everyday moments of listening and sharing.he <a href="https://blog.son-video.com/en/2026/02/comparison-of-the-best-mini-projectors-under-e500/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">s nder 5</a>

45 years on, Bob Marley’s legacy resonates with House of Marley

Ship diversions around Cape of Good Hope have seen vessel traffic growth along the West African coastline. Additionally, recent expansion of deepwater drilling operations by big oil companies is a development indicator for the offshore industry in West Africa. With these opportunities, the region is emerging as a global destination for ship repair and maintenance. In fact, several West Africa governments are ramping up plans to expand ship repair infrastructure.The latest milestone is from Ghana, with Takoradi Floating Dock Project (Shiprite) securing $9.7 million funding from the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG). The financing is part of a growth partnership between Ghana and the UK. The pact was signed last week during Ghanaian President John Mahama’s visit to the UK.The $137 million Takoradi Floating Dock project involves an investor consortium led by the project developer, Prime Meridian Docks Ghana Ltd and an equity investment from the ARM-Harith Infrastructure Fund. PIDG investment helped to close the final funding gap. The African Export-Import Bank is the mandated lead arranger, with other investments expected from the African Development Bank and the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB).PIDG will provide financing through its project development unit InfraCO. PIDG is funded by six governments including Australia, Canada, UK, Sweden and Netherlands, and has lauded Project Shiprite as a timely investment for West Africa’s maritime development. Currently, vessels operating in the busy Gulf of Guinea are forced to undertake a 10-14-day journey to Walvis Bay in Namibia or to Las Palmas in Spain to access periodic dry docking and ship repair services.The Takoradi Floating Dock hopes to solve this challenge, providing a modern commercial-scale ship repair and dry docking facility in the Gulf of Guinea. The project is delivered in partnership with the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority (GPHA) under a 25-year concession agreement with the project partners. The dry dock is being developed within the vicinity of the Port of Takoradi, around 140 miles from the capital, Accra. Once built, the facility will handle vessels up to 200 meters in length.Recently, the West African region is seeing a rise of drydock upgrade projects. Last month, Senegal formed a joint venture with Damen Shipyards Group to operate and upgrade the historic Dakar Shipyard. Afreximbank is also backing the upgrade of the Starzs Marine shipyard in the Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone, Rivers State in Nigeria.

Ghana’s New Drydock Project Progresses After Successful Financing Round

We always celebrate when a visionary steps up to shift the cultural landscape. Byron Allen is doing exactly that. The media mogul and founder of Allen Media Group is officially expanding his empire, taking majority ownership of BuzzFeed in a move that promises to disrupt the digital content space.For audiences passionate about pop culture, media representation, and the intersection of technology and entertainment, this acquisition is a massive milestone. It represents a powerful moment for Black media ownership and signals a drastic shift in how we will consume free-streaming video in the near future.<h2>How did Byron Allen secure the BuzzFeed acquisition?</h2>The deal officially closed on May 27, when Allen Family Digital acquired nearly 51% of BuzzFeed’s outstanding shares. According to Variety, Allen acquired 40 million shares of the media company at $3 per share, bringing the total purchase price to $120 million. The transaction was completed with $20 million in cash and a $100 million promissory note, which is due in five years at a 5% annual interest rate. Furthermore, $12.5 million in cash from the transaction was utilized to pay down BuzzFeed’s existing debt.Byron Allen brings immense capital and structural power to the table. Allen holds an estimated net worth of $1 billion. His company, Allen Media Group, already boasts a massive portfolio featuring nearly 400 local TV broadcast affiliates and a network of 650 free, ad-supported television channels.<h2>Why is Jonah Peretti stepping down as CEO?</h2>After two decades of leading the company he founded, Jonah Peretti is passing the baton to Allen. Peretti will now step into the newly created role of President of BuzzFeed AI.Peretti firmly believes that artificial intelligence will fundamentally transform the media industry. He sees this transition as an enormous opportunity to empower creative people to build in entirely new ways. According to Peretti, Allen’s deep relationships with advertisers, partners, and sources of capital free him up to focus on his true passion: the intersection of technology and media.“I’m thrilled to pass him the baton, and even more excited about what comes next,” Peretti stated. “AI is going to create a new medium for content that wasn’t possible before, and I’m convinced the opportunity is enormous.”<h2>What is the new vision for the BuzzFeed streaming platform?</h2>Byron Allen is not playing small. His immediate vision is to build upon the iconic foundations of both BuzzFeed and HuffPost by expanding heavily into free-streaming video, audio, and user-generated content.Allen made his ambitions crystal clear: “As of this moment, with the power of AI, BuzzFeed is officially chasing YouTube to become another premier free-streaming video service.”This bold push will work in conjunction with Allen Media Group’s Local Now, an existing free streaming platform that delivers original local news, weather, traffic, sports, and customized entertainment based on a user’s zip code. By integrating advanced artificial intelligence, the company plans to accelerate content creation, distribution, and discovery, bringing a highly tailored, free-streaming experience directly to consumers globally.<h2>Join the Conversation on Media’s Next Chapter</h2>This acquisition is more than just a corporate buyout. It is a powerful example of taking up space, building community-driven platforms, and challenging the heavyweights of the tech world. Byron Allen is empowering a new generation of creators to share their voices on a global scale.What do you think about Byron Allen taking on YouTube? Drop your thoughts, share this article with your community, and let us know how you feel about the future of AI in media.<h2>Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)</h2><h3>How much did Byron Allen pay for BuzzFeed?</h3>Byron Allen’s company acquired 40 million shares of BuzzFeed at $3 per share, totaling a $120 million purchase price. This included $20 million in cash and a $100 million promissory note.<h3>What will Jonah Peretti do at BuzzFeed now?</h3>Jonah Peretti stepped down as CEO to become the President of BuzzFeed AI. He will focus exclusively on integrating artificial intelligence into the media company to empower creators and develop new content mediums.<h3>How will artificial intelligence change the BuzzFeed platform?</h3>BuzzFeed will use artificial intelligence to accelerate content creation, optimize distribution, and improve video discovery. This technology aims to help the brand transition into a premier free-streaming video destination to rival platforms like YouTube.

Byron Allen Acquires BuzzFeed to Rival YouTube

Ghana's state-owned cocoa buyer is unable to purchase cocoa from farmers after accumulating debts of 673 million cedis ($60 million) ​that have left it facing an asset seizure, a company source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.The company, ‌Producer Buying Company, is legally mandated to purchase cocoa from any farmer as a buyer of last resort. The government pledged in February to restore it as the country's leading cocoa buying company.But three months later, PBC owes growers 24 million cedis for over 9,000 bags already delivered and lacks the ​liquidity to resume purchases, the company source said.A consortium of Ghanaian banks owed 257 million cedis secured a court order ​in March to sell off the company's assets, the source said.Ghana's cocoa industry has been in crisis as ⁠it has struggled to sell beans and pay farmers this year due to ample global harvests, lower cocoa prices and falling ​demand from chocolate makers for the ingredient.PBC's woes also stem from a loss of market share - it used to control 30% of the ​domestic market but currently buys less than 5% of cocoa produced in Ghana. Its problems risk further exacerbating financial hardship for Ghana's smallholder farmers, thousands of whom have not been paid for beans delivered since November 2025.The company source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief ​the media, said COCOBOD has yet to reimburse PBC for 800 metric tons of cocoa delivered more than two months ago.Under Ghana's ​cocoa system, PBC and other Licensed Buying Companies that purchase cocoa from farmers then sell it to COCOBOD, the market regulator, which sells it ‌on to ⁠international buyers.Neither the finance ministry nor COCOBOD has responded to requests from PBC for support, the source said.The finance ministry and COCOBOD did not respond to requests for comment.Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson said in February that the revival of PBC was central to the government's strategy of supporting cocoa farmers, promising a reliable and transparent avenue for growers to sell their product ​at fair prices.The source said ​the minister has since not ⁠had any discussions with the company on the way forward.COCOBOD says it has been disbursing funds to buying companies. But the company source said PBC had not received any money.PBC’s debt includes over 24 ​months of unpaid staff salaries, vendor arrears and outstanding statutory payments, in addition to the 257 ​million cedis owed to ⁠banks, the source said.Two of the five banks in the consortium that secured a court order to sell off PBC assets are state-owned and all report to the finance ministry.SSNIT, the state pension fund and a major shareholder, has been reluctant to inject fresh capital into PBC, ⁠having ​not received expected dividends since its initial investment, the company source said.A structured COCOBOD ​intervention could turn things around, the company source said, if the board directed a share of international buyers towards PBC and released funds for purchases.PBC operates in ​all 127 cocoa-growing districts, giving it a bigger reach than any private company.

Farmers go unpaid as Ghana's indebted state cocoa buyer faces asset seizure, source says

African culinary creator Chef Abbys has for the past few years now been building a reputation for herself as the go-to person for everything African and Ghanaian cuisine. Her short form videos of various food recipes that are easy to replicate have found their way into most homes on the continent and in the diaspora. This has led her to receive accolades such as being named one of TIME 100’s top creators of 2025, getting the chance to cook with TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew and the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.In extraordinary fashion, Chef Abbys decided to throw a spotlight on her home country Ghana’s cuisine and rich culture during Ghana’s Heritage Month celebration for the month of March. Throughout the whole month, the tour planned by UK-based cultural and creative organization My Runway Group, set out to explore Ghana’s heritage through food and tourism and after 25 days on the road, she completed a groundbreaking tour spanning 12 out of the 16 regions in Ghana. This feat, never before attempted on the African continent, took Chef Abbys beyond the kitchen, into the heart of each community. The 24 videos she created on this journey amassed almost 100 million views across Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Facebook, Youtube and X. The feedback has been remarkable with Chef Abbys socials experiencing an 18% increase in just that short period.<img src="https://aukisscontent.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/3e145da1eIMG_5069.JPG">Over the course of this four-week expedition, Chef Abbys traveled from the mountainous terrains of the Eastern Region to the historic castles of the Central Region, from the lush forests of the Ashanti Region to the desert landscapes of the Upper East. Each region presented unique flavors,cuisine, markets, rich traditions, and both expected and unexpected challenges. From navigating remote villages to securing filming permissions at heritage sites, the journey was as much about resilience as it was discovery.Critics and locals alike have praised Chef Abbys for bringing a fresh lens to Ghana’s cultural tapestry. In a series of pop-up cooking demonstrations, each region’s cuisine, culture and tourist destinations were celebrated, drawing millions of views across the world. She got to cook at iconic Ghanaian tourist destinations like the Umbrella Rock, Elmina Castle, Nzulezu Floating Village, Larabanga Mosque, Kintampo Water Falls and even the Desert Safari.Speaking about her experience on the tour, Chef Abbys says, “exploring the 12 regions through food showed me how rich and diverse Ghana truly is. My goal is to make the world see Ghanaian cuisine not as one thing, but as a powerful collection of cultures, flavors, and histories.” She goes on to add that, “what I’ve started is more than a tour, it’s a movement to document, celebrate, and elevate cuisines and cultures from across the world, and I look forward to bringing the tour to other parts of the world.”Beyond the numbers, the impact is seen in a revived pride among locals and a new global curiosity about Ghana’s diverse culinary story. Chef Abbys’s historic journey flips the script for African culinary exploration, one where every region, every bite, and every story is a bridge between the past, present and future.<img src="https://aukisscontent.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/56c4f9867IMG_5163.JPG">Chef Abbys’ approach to food and content creation is very distinct amongst her peers. It’s not just about recipes, plating, or even taste, but for her, it’s about memory, identity, and the quiet power of culture being passed from one generation to the next.&nbsp;Long before the recognition, the awards, and the millions of followers, there was simply a deep curiosity to understand where dishes came from, why they mattered, and how they made people feel. That curiosity would eventually grow into something much bigger than a career.&nbsp;Today, Chef Abbys stands at the center of a new movement in African cuisine. Through her work, she has built a community of over 4 million people across platforms, including more than 2.2 million followers on TikTok. But what makes her influence powerful isn’t just the numbers, it’s the connection. People don’t just watch her content; they feel seen in it.

Chef Abbys Breaks New Ground With A First-of-Its-Kind Culinary and Cultural Journey Across Ghana’s Regions

Cypress

International Breweries, Nigeria’s second-biggest beer maker, is out of the woods at last as it reported its first annual profit since 2017 in the 2025 financial year.The results signal profound relief for AB InBev, the Belgian majority owner, which had endured seven harrowing years of losses.The company booked N50.9 billion in post-tax profit for 2025, relative to a net loss of N113.6 billion the previous year, its audited financial report issued on Friday stated.International Breweries, which owns popular beer brands such as<a href="https://us.budweiser.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">&nbsp;Budweiser</a>, Trophy, Hero and Castle Lite, is worth N739.7 billion in assets, placing it next to Heineken-backed Nigerian Breweries among the country’s top beer manufacturers.Its share price rose by 9.9 per cent to N13.35 in Lagos after the news went public. It is its strongest daily gain since the start of the year.<h3>Rough road to profitability</h3>AB InBev, in 2016, completed the purchase of SAB Miller’s interest in International Breweries, consolidating it with the stake it already held in the brewer, which totalled 72.2 per cent at the time.It proceeded to merge the entity with Intafact Beverages Limited and Pabod Breweries, two other companies where it held controlling stakes, the year after, hoping to unlock greater value from the broader economy of scale the consolidation would deliver.The deal was central to the investor’s strategic push to gain a huge swathe of Africa’s brewery business, following a slowdown in its European and North American operations, and targeted Nigeria as one of the most promising beer markets on the continent.International Breweries started reporting losses in 2018, when it posted negative earnings of N3.9 billion, driven by a 257.6 per cent surge in finance costs and the harmonisation of the accounts of the three entities that went through the business combination.Setting up a greenfield plant as vast as the Sagamu-based Gateway plant, completed at an initial cost of $250 million, added further pressure to its financials, particularly in financing costs and debt levels.Between 2019 and 2020, soaring operating costs and a flattish revenue growth lengthened the chain of losses.Post-tax loss, at its peak, crossed N113 billion in 2024, following four years when foreign exchange losses from a dollar crunch and far-reaching currency reforms in Nigeria hammered earnings.The winning factor that turned the tide last year, apart from an appreciable leap in revenue to N619 billion, was cutting back net foreign exchange loss to N13.7 billion from N165.7 billion.<h3>Free float troubles</h3>As of 2020, AB InBev had upped its shareholding to 87.3 per cent by virtue of a rights issue that raised N164.4 billion for the purpose of moderating the company’s debt level, which had been bloated by the cost of constructing the Gateway factory.Proceeds from another rights issue in 2024 helped it deleverage its balance sheet dramatically, as the cash was used to pay down a balance of $379.9 million on a sticky loan obtained from Citibank six years earlier.AB InBev fully exercised its rights under the share sale, driving its shareholding further up to 96 per cent.Allowing a single investor to own a stake that huge in a public company, to the extent that only 4 per cent of its issued shares are tradable in the open market, has been noted to make its shares hardly available to potential investors, consequently creating artificial scarcity.The practice tends to fuel jumps in share price without justifiable fundamentals to support most of the gains the stock records over time.The main board of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), on which International Breweries is listed, requires that companies maintain a free float (the minimum number of shares that can be traded publicly) of 20 per cent or at least N40 billion worth of their shares.In a January 2025 disclosure, the brewer said the NGX had extended the deadline it had given the brewer to remedy the shortcoming._Source: Premium Times Nigeria

Nigeria’s second-biggest beer maker posts N51 billion profit after seven years of loss-making

China has halted imports of&nbsp;soybeans&nbsp;from five Brazilian exporters after inspectors found pesticide-treated wheat mixed into a cargo bound for Beijing, officials from both countries said on Thursday.The suspension by&nbsp;China’s General Administration of Customs&nbsp;was communicated to Brazil’s agriculture ministry on Wednesday and made public on Thursday.The ban covers two Cargill facilities and one plant each run by Louis Dreyfus Co., CHS Agronegocios and 3Tentos Agroindustrial. Four of the plants are in São Paulo state. One is in Rio Grande do Sul.Inspectors in China discovered the contamination during checks at a port. The ship Shine Ruby was carrying about 69,000 tonnes of soybeans. Inside the hold, they found roughly ten tonnes of wheat treated with a chemical coating not authorised for food or&nbsp;animal feed.The customs agency called it a “serious violation” of&nbsp;Chinese food safety rules. It said the pesticide involved is only approved for seed treatment and is considered toxic if consumed. Wheat from Brazil is not cleared for import to China, adding to the breach.In a letter to the Brazilian embassy in&nbsp;Beijing, the agency said the decision was made to protect public health and ensure the safety of imports. The order took effect on Thursday and applies only to the listed facilities. Other plants run by the same companies remain cleared to export.

China halts soy imports from Brazil plants, pivots to US amid food safety probe

Many have grown tired of wandering without direction through the darkness of Canadian cannabis legality surrounding food beyond snacks. Yet, a new document has just emerged. This isn’t another government white paper, or a dry legal textbook. It is a comprehensive Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) manual for cannabis-infused dining called CannaDine, and it’s a sign that we’re finally moving beyond the fearmongering and into a truly mature cannabis culture.This manual is nothing less than a blueprint for a: civilized, respectful, and safe way to consume. It directly addresses the most significant and often misunderstood aspects of edibles: the delayed onset and potency variability. As CannaDine rightly points out, it’s this unique characteristic that leads to overconsumption, turning a pleasant experience into a “nightmare.” This is the very core of why precision is so crucial to responsible consumption. By hammering home the principle of “start low, go slow,” the manual provides the kind of common-sense guidance that should have been mainstream from day one.The document then dives headfirst into the logistics of creating a safe environment, something that has been severely lacking in the cannabis community. It stresses that every detail matters, from sourcing cannabis legally and safely (avoiding the issues associated with an illicit market) to the meticulous process of dosing. It rightly frames the act of preparing cannabis-infused food not just as cooking, but as a scientific process, requiring digital scales and a precise understanding of milligrams. This is how we elevate infused dining from seeming like a dark-alley transaction to a sophisticated culinary practice, just as legal cannabis deserves.Where the manual truly shines, and where it distinguishes itself from other types of governing documents, is in its focus on the critical issues that have long been ignored. CannaDine’s unvarnished discussion on potential interactions with medications and, more importantly, the dangerous mix of cannabis and alcohol, is a monumental step forward.The guide doesn’t pull any punches, detailing how THC can affect everything from blood thinners to antidepressants. It’s a brave and necessary move to prioritize health and safety over all else, forcing a new conversation about responsible consumption. The blunt yet relevant language about the synergistic effect of mixing cannabis and alcohol (“cross fading),” which can lead to “greening out,” an intense anxiety, and dangerous impairment) is a much-needed public education campaign. It’s a simple notion, but one that often gets lost in the casual nature of a party, and the manual’s call to action is a powerful one: choose one, or the other.CannaDine even tackles the very act of a cannabis-infused gathering. It provides a full roadmap for event planning, from pre-notifying guests and designing menus with clear differentiation to managing the event itself with a sober host, and a clear emergency plan. It is a level of professionalism that has been missing from the conversation. The manual’s inclusion of emergency protocols and crisis management is a testament to its maturity. It acknowledges that, despite best intentions, things can go wrong, and a prepared, calm response is the only acceptable option.In the end, CannaDine is a blueprint for a better cannabis culture. It takes the formless lump of clay that is the living, changing nature of our laws and shows how it can create beautifully polished plates for everyone to use. By providing a clear, simple outline for every aspect of infused dining, it normalizes and professionalizes a practice that has long been shrouded in myth, and mystery. It’s a crucial step in ensuring that as more people feel comfortable with how and what they consume, we can build a safe, respectable, and ultimately, more enjoyable cannabis community._Source: TorontoCaribbean.com

Is this the missing blueprint for Canadian cannabis dining culture?

A Chinese team of medical experts has arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo for a three-month frontline mission to contain an expanding Ebola outbreak across a mining region with extensive Beijing-backed mineral investments.The five-member team of specialists in epidemiology, clinical medicine, research and traditional Chinese medicine arrived in the capital Kinshasa on Tuesday.According to China’s National Health Commission, the experts will work with local authorities to strengthen Ebola prevention and treatment capacity, providing training and epidemic-control guidance for local medical institutions, Chinese-funded enterprises and local Chinese communities.The deployment marks a major moment for Beijing’s health diplomacy in a region central to its economic interests, given the high number of Chinese investors seeking gold and other critical minerals.Members of a Chinese medical expert team arrive in Kinshasa on June 2. Photo: XinhuaIt also stands in stark contrast with the approach taken by the United States, which has focused on barring travellers from the outbreak zone and building a divisive isolation facility in Kenya for its own personnel.

Chinese medical team arrives in DR Congo to help fight Ebola, ‘filling US void’

Ghana reportedly rejected a health deal with the US over terms that would require sharing citizens’ personal data, the latest sign of mounting privacy concerns around the agreements being pursued by Washington.More than a dozen African countries — including Nigeria, Rwanda, and Uganda — have signed up to the Trump administration’s America First Global Health Strategy, which asks countries to share data about pathogens that could spark epidemics, as a condition of receiving the funding. But data-sharing concerns prompted Zimbabwe to abandon talks this year over a similar deal to Ghana’s, and led a Kenyan court to suspend implementation of an agreement between Washington and Nairobi. The head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has previously expressed “huge concerns” over data and pathogen-sharing between African countries and the US.Washington’s pursuit of deals comes after last year’s shuttering of the US Agency for International Development, which had disbursed $40 billion a year across 130 countries. USAID’s closure, along with aid budget cuts by other Western countries, has left some African governments struggling to cover health budget shortfalls.

Ghana ‘rejects’ US health deal over data concerns

Portugal and Italy do not plan on exempting British nationals from Europe's new fingerprinting and facial scanning checks, the European Commission has confirmed.Recent reports had suggested the two countries were set to follow the example of Greece, which has effectively suspended biometric checks at its borders for British citizens in order to prevent major disruptions over the summer.These reports were not confirmed by the authorities in either country.The rollout of the Entry-Exit System (EES) has caused long queues at some European airports and sparked warnings that delays could worsen over the summer holiday period.The biometric checks are required by the European Union's new digital system, which was first introduced in October last year and was meant to become fully operational on 10 April.It requires most short-term visitors from outside the EU and European Economic Area to register biometric data each time they enter or leave the Schengen free travel zone.Although the European Commission insists the system has mainly been working well, there have been widespread reports of travellers, many of them from the UK, experiencing very long delays at borders.In some cases, large numbers of passengers have missed flights as a result.Last month more than 100 people missed their EasyJet flight to Manchester from Milan's Linate airport after they were stuck in what the airline described as "unacceptable" passport queues.Other passengers due to travel with Ryanair from Milan Bergamo airport to Manchester also missed their flight due to passport control problems, the airline confirmed.<h2>People urged not to cancel flights over fuel shortage fears</h2>These issues have already led to biometric checks on British citizens being abandoned in practice at Greek border controls, despite Athens claiming that it had "successfully started the full operation of the Entry-Exit System".The Commission told the BBC it was "in contact with Greece to clarify the situation and recall the existing rules".It pointed out those rules allow checks to be suspended for short periods at specific border crossings in exceptional circumstances, but do not allow "blanket exemptions for nationals of specific third countries and for an extended period of time".The Commission was "also in contact with Portugal and Italy, as with all Member States, on the implementation of the EES".It added: "The Portuguese and Italian authorities confirmed that they do not intend to exempt any nationality."The changes to the EU's border system come as airlines grapple with skyrocketing jet fuel costs and concerns over ongoing fuel supplies ahead of the busy summer months.Airlines have cut 13,000 flights globally for May, equivalent to 1% of flights for that period.Holidaymakers have been urged not to change their travel plans as there is currently no fuel shortage in the UK and there are contingency plans in place.<h2> </h2>

Portugal and Italy will not suspend digital border checks for Brits

World Malaria Day was observed recently and each year at this time, conversations tend to focus on progress — declining incidence rates, global eradication targets, and long-term public health milestones. While it is important to acknowledge the increased visibility this has brought to malaria control efforts and the advances in research and treatment, there is a growing concern that the narrative is becoming too abstract.In doing so, we risk losing sight of what is still happening on the ground: malaria has not become less dangerous. If anything, its outbreaks have become more predictable, yet responses remain dangerously delayed, particularly in underserved communities where access to timely care is based of finance.<img src="https://mydailynewsonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/iwIMFOzN.jpg">The World Health Organization estimates that malaria still causes over 200 million cases annually, with more than 600,000 deaths each year, and about 94% of those deaths occurring in Africa, predominantly among children under five. UNICEF continues to highlight malaria as one of the leading causes of preventable childhood mortality on the continent. These are not historical figures. They are the current realities.At Helpster Charity, between 2025 and 2026 to date, we supported 498 severe malaria cases requiring hospitalization. These were not mild or early-stage cases. Every patient in this cohort had already crossed into clinical severity — requiring urgent admission rather than outpatient treatment. The average age of these patients is 7.6 years, a figure that should immediately sharpen our understanding of where the burden is concentrated: children who depend entirely on the timing of adult decisions, access to care, and affordability.<img src="https://mydailynewsonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/8TD4N6g8.jpg">We also recorded cases involving pregnant women, including women in their early thirties, where malaria becomes not just an individual illness but a dual-risk condition affecting both mother and unborn child. In these situations, the consequences are intergenerational and far more complex than a single infection episode.These cases rarely exist alone. The most common complications we see include cerebral malaria, anemia, and kidney failure. Malaria acts as the trigger, but what unfolds is a wider clinical collapse shaped by delayed care-seeking, underlying vulnerability, and systemic gaps in early intervention. Most patients are hospitalized for an average of three days, but those three days are often preceded by much longer periods of unmanaged fever at home, where families delay seeking care due to cost constraints or uncertainty about severity.<img src="https://mydailynewsonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/3VOgL2-X.jpg">The financial reality is equally revealing. Across these cases, the average treatment cost is approximately $82.50, with extremes ranging from $15 to $560, depending on complexity. While these figures may appear modest in global health discussions, they are significant in the context of the households affected. Importantly, treatment is always initiated immediately at Helpster-supported facilities, before payment is resolved, because in severe malaria, delay is not clinically acceptable. Yet administrative confirmation of cases often takes between two weeks and one month, reflecting a persistent gap between urgent clinical response and slower institutional documentation systems.Malaria is also highly seasonal, and our data reflects clear clustering during and after rainy periods, with peaks consistently observed in May, June, October, and November. This is not new epidemiological knowledge. What remains unresolved is the implication of that predictability. Each year, the same seasonal conditions produce surges in severe cases, yet the preparedness of households and systems does not scale in proportion. Predictability without resilience simply becomes repetition.A further complexity lies in financing. Our intake system focuses on patients who cannot independently afford care, meaning every case represents not just a medical emergency but a financial one. In this context, conventional ideas around micro-credit or repayment capacity become difficult to apply meaningfully. In the middle of a child’s fever crisis, the question is not repayment structure — it is survival and immediacy of access.Within this cohort, luckily, we have no confirmed malaria-related deaths recorded based on available partner reporting and case management data. While this is encouraging, it should not be misread as evidence that risk is absent.<img src="https://mydailynewsonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/iUZzK6ep.jpg">What emerges clearly from this data is that malaria is no longer simply a disease of incidence. It is a disease of delay — delay in detection, delay in care-seeking, delay in financing, and delay in system coordination. It disproportionately affects young children and pregnant women, who have the least capacity to withstand these delays. And its true burden is not captured by infection numbers alone, but by the complications, comorbidities, and systemic inefficiencies that turn preventable illness into hospitalization.A child admitted for three days of inpatient care is not just a clinical case. It is an indicator of earlier failures — in prevention, in access, or in affordability. When nearly 500 such cases are recorded through one organization in just over a year, the question is no longer if malaria remains a public health challenge. The question is why severity is still the entry point into care.World Malaria Day must move beyond symbolic recognition and confront a harder truth: progress cannot be measured by declining incidence alone when preventable infections are still escalating into emergencies. Until early detection, timely access to care, and financing mechanisms operate with the same urgency as the disease itself, malaria will remain not something we are eliminating, but something we are repeatedly forced to manage at its most severe and costly stage.<img src="https://mydailynewsonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/MrlfIrPR.jpg">For the children and families behind these numbers, intervention after deterioration is not enough. At Helpster Charity, our work is rooted in closing that gap — continuously refining our systems to reach underserved communities earlier and ensure that lack of funds never delays lifesaving care. Our goal is simple: make access to quality healthcare immediate, efficient, and dependable when it matters most.But no single organization can solve this alone. Real progress depends on a collective effort; from donors who enable rapid response, to technology teams building transparent and efficient systems, to healthcare partners delivering critical care, and even to the patients and families who take the step to seek help. Ending malaria, and other treatable conditions like it, will require that shared commitment to act earlier, faster, and together.By Kate Lysykh, CEO, Helpster Charity.

The Real Malaria Crisis Is Delay To Hospital Access, And Health Financing

Did you know that April is Stress Awareness Month? I don’t know about you, but the month of April always makes me feel like I’m treading water. I don’t know if it’s just the time of the semester when I’m grading exams, helping students register for the fall, making sure seniors are all set for graduation, and assisting with summer internships … and that’s just my professor hat. I haven’t even begun to think about all of the other meetings and organizations and obligations in the various facets of my life … and I know I am not alone in sometimes feeling totally overwhelmed with the amount of work on my plate and news in my ears. The world seems like it is being pushed and pulled to limits many of us have not seen in our lifetimes and it can be, well, rather stress-inducing.&nbsp;It seems like everyone I speak to echoes my feelings of being so busy and emotionally drained by national and international politics that we feel like we’re on a Ferris wheel (fun fact: The Ferris wheel was actually designed by George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. for the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair). I’m seeing a certain level of burnout in my students, family members, friends, and just everyday New Yorkers I interact with on a daily basis. Many folks have expressed feelings of sheer emotional and mental exhaustion caused by the leaders in Washington, D.C. and the levels of incompetence and corruption and policies that make our lives more difficult and less safe.&nbsp;I definitely know this draining feeling and am trying to be proactive about how to take care of myself and reduce stress in this moment. First things first: I have been getting the adequate amount of sleep. Sleep is fuel for our minds, bodies, and spirits, and I am keenly aware that a good night’s rest will carry me a long way.&nbsp;I definitely do not exercise as much as I should, but I know getting endorphins moving helps not only produce better sleep and decrease anxiety, but the sheer activity of sweating away the day does wonders for emotional regulation. More exercise, beyond just walking, is something I will work on in the upcoming weeks to help decrease the overall stressors of life these days.For some, stress can have severe and long-standing health effects. It is imperative for us to be in community with others so we can name the issue and find solutions for it before it becomes something unmanageable and irreversible. Sometimes just saying what the stressor is can be an important step in alleviating it.&nbsp;For the remainder of the month, let’s be mindful about taking care of ourselves. Let’s get out in nature; get good rest; and make our mental and physical health a priority.&nbsp;Christina Greer, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Fordham University; author of the books “How to Build a Democracy: From Fannie Lou Hamer and Barbara Jordan to Stacey Abrams” and “Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream”; and co-host of the podcast FAQ-NYC._Source: Amsterdam News

Find ways to observe Stress Awareness Month

The global spotlight is set to shine on Ghanaian actress, filmmaker, and producer Juliet Ibrahim as her short film Behind A Lie prepares for a special screening in Cannes, marking an important moment not only for her career but also for African women in film and storytelling.The announcement comes at a symbolic time for Juliet Ibrahim, who is also celebrating 20 years in film in 2026. In a recent social media post, the actress shared her excitement about taking the project to Cannes, revealing that she both directed and produced the short film under Juliet Ibrahim Studios.&nbsp;The screening is expected to take place alongside activities connected to the Nigerian International Film &amp; TV Summit (NIFSUMMIT), bringing together creatives, filmmakers, executives, and media professionals from different parts of the world.For many African creatives, Cannes represents more than just a glamorous destination. The Cannes Film Festival remains one of the most influential film platforms globally, often shaping conversations around cinema, storytelling, funding, and international collaborations. Having Behind A Lie screened within that environment signals growing visibility for African independent films and especially female-led productions from the continent.What makes this moment even more significant is the involvement of WIFT Ghana, which is using the Cannes moment as part of its global launch and visibility push. Organizations like WIFT Ghana are increasingly important in Africa’s creative ecosystem because they create opportunities, mentorship, visibility, and support systems for women working across film and television industries that have historically been male-dominated.Across Africa, conversations around women in film have become louder over the last decade. Female directors, producers, screenwriters, and cinematographers are gradually gaining more recognition, but challenges around funding, distribution, representation, and leadership opportunities still remain.&nbsp;<img src="https://aukisscontent.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/15e41b926IMG_3020.jpg">According to UNESCO reports on gender representation in film industries globally, women remain underrepresented in directing and technical roles despite growing participation rates. Moments like this therefore become important because they push African women-led storytelling into international spaces where deals, partnerships, and long-term opportunities are often created.Juliet Ibrahim’s journey also reflects the evolving nature of African entertainment itself. Over the years, she has built a career that cuts across acting, directing, producing, and entrepreneurship, becoming one of the recognizable names within West African cinema. Her decision to direct and produce Behind A Lie herself suggests a growing movement among African creatives who are taking ownership of their narratives rather than waiting for outside validation.The film’s screening in Cannes also speaks to a larger trend happening across African cinema today. More African stories are traveling internationally through streaming platforms, festivals, and global partnerships. In recent years, films and projects from Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, and other African countries have increasingly gained international attention, proving that audiences around the world are interested in stories rooted in African realities and perspectives.<img src="https://aukisscontent.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/b734dbbd1IMG_3086.jpg"> Beyond the screening itself, the networking and cocktail events hosted around the showcase are expected to create room for collaboration between African filmmakers and global industry players. These gatherings may seem social on the surface, but they often become spaces where funding conversations, distribution agreements, co-productions, and future partnerships begin.

Juliet Ibrahim’s “Behind A Lie” Heads To Cannes As WIFT Ghana Launches On The Global Stage

International actor and entrepreneur Boris Kodjoe has paid a courtesy visit to the Minister for Sports and Recreation, Kofi Adams, in a meeting facilitated by the Black Star Experience, led by Coordinator and Presidential Staffer, Rex Owusu Marfo.Also present at the meeting was Yaw Ampofo Ankrah, Chief Executive Officer of the National Sports Authority, and the Chief Director of the Ministry of Sports, Wilhemina Asamoah.The high-level engagement focused on strengthening collaboration between Ghana’s sports sector and private industry, particularly in the area of sports tourism ahead of upcoming global competitions, specifically the 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico.During the meeting, Mr. Kodjoe introduced his company, Full Circle Streamline Travel, which he co-founded with Chantel Foli, and outlined plans to roll out tailored World Cup travel packages specifically designed for Ghanaians. The initiative aims to provide accessible, well-organized travel experiences that will enable more fans to support the Black Stars on the global stage.He added that his firm will help enable solid partnerships between the Ghanaian business community and those in the US, leveraging on shared nterests and opportunities.Minister Adams welcomed the initiative, highlighting the importance of partnerships that enhance fan engagement and expand opportunities for Ghanaians to participate in international sporting events. He emphasized that such collaborations align with the government’s broader vision of leveraging sports as a tool for national development and international visibility.The facilitation of the meeting by the Black Star Experience underscores its growing role in connecting global Ghanaian talent and investment opportunities to local development priorities, particularly across tourism, culture, and sports.Mr. Kodjoe expressed his commitment to contributing to Ghana’s global presence, noting that sports, especially football, remain a powerful unifying force for the country and its diaspora.Further details on the World Cup travel packages, including pricing and booking arrangements, are expected to be announced in the coming months.About the Black Star ExperienceThe Black Star Experience (BSE) serves as Ghana’s leading national brand platform for culture, arts, tourism, and creative engagement, bridging local and international audiences. It represents a unified expression of Ghana’s renowned hospitality, offering structured pathways for both Ghanaians and global visitors to explore, engage with, and appreciate the country’s rich cultural assets, attractions, and experiences.Anchored on the vision to reaffirm, revitalize, and reimagine the essence, identity, and spirit of Ghana, the Black Star Experience is designed to attract people, investments, and businesses into the Ghanaian economy while strengthening the country’s global cultural footprint. It seeks to align Ghana’s brand reputation among the top 20 most admired country brands globally, Integrate the BSE framework across national initiatives and sectors, Position Ghana as a premier destination for global travelers, Transform Ghana into Africa’s Culture Capital and Contribute significantly to economic growth, targeting multi-billion-dollar impact by 2027. The Black Star Experience’s primarily focuses on: Amplifying and scaling existing platforms, programs, events, and attractions through coordinated local and global promotion and Creating and collaborating on new initiatives, formats, and experiences that showcase Ghana’s cultural and creative excellenceAbout Full Circle Streamline TravelFull Circle Streamline Travel is an international travel and lifestyle company focused on creating seamless, culturally immersive travel experiences. Founded by Boris Kodjoe, and Chantel Foli, the company specializes in curated group travel, sports tourism, and diaspora engagement initiatives, with a mission to connect people to meaningful global experiences while promoting cultural exchange and heritage exploration.

Black Star Experience facilitates Boris Kodjoe & Sports Minister Kofi Adams engagement to Boost World Cup Travel Opportunities for Ghanaians

A vibrant and culturally immersive Tourism Trade Show has been successfully held in Ethiopia as part of the official launch of Ghana Month&nbsp;at the renowned Kuriftu African Village, bringing together tourism stakeholders, cultural enthusiasts, business leaders, creatives, and members of the diplomatic community in a celebration of African unity and collaboration.The initiative was organized by Bridge54, a Pan-African cultural and diplomacy platform committed to reconnecting African nations through tourism, culture, trade, and investment opportunities. The event was coordinated by the The Black Star Experience Secretariat under the leadership of Rex Owusu Marfo.The launch marked an important cultural and economic exchange between Ghana and Ethiopia, highlighting the shared values, heritage, and aspirations of the African continent. Guests were treated to an authentic Ghanaian experience through carefully curated showcases of Ghana’s rich traditions, creativity, and hospitality.Attendees experienced live Kente weaving demonstrations, authentic Ghanaian Shea Butter exhibitions, chocolate tasting sessions, traditional Ghanaian cuisine and drinks, GTP fabric displays, and a showcase of indigenous craftsmanship that reflected the beauty and ingenuity of Ghanaian artisans.<img src="https://aukisscontent.s3.amazonaws.com/2334b2bc4Black%20Star%20Experience%20Coordinates%20Ghana%20Month%20In%20Ethiopia%20To%20Strengthen%20Pan-African%20Tourism%2C%20Culture%20And%20Business%20Connections%20III.jpeg">The event also served as a platform for strengthening meaningful Ethiopian-Ghanaian partnerships in tourism, business, investment, arts, and cultural exchange. Through music, food, fashion, and storytelling, the initiative reinforced the importance of intra-African collaboration and people-to-people connections.Speaking on the significance of the initiative, organizers emphasized that the Ghana Month activation goes beyond cultural exhibition and represents a broader vision of building bridges across Africa through shared identity, economic cooperation, and cultural diplomacy.The celebration forms part of ongoing efforts to position Africa as a connected destination for tourism, trade, and cultural engagement while encouraging Africans to explore, invest in, and celebrate one another.The significance of initiatives such as this lies at the very heart of The Black Star Experience Secretariat&nbsp;vision, using culture, tourism, arts, and creative engagement as powerful tools to reconnect Africa with itself and the world. By creating platforms that promote authentic African experiences and foster cross-border partnerships, the Black Star Experience continues to position Ghana as a leading hub for Pan-African collaboration, cultural diplomacy, tourism growth, and creative economy development across the continent.One of the major highlights of the event was the commitment by Tadiwos G. Belete, CEO of Kuriftu Resorts, to establish a dedicated shop in Ethiopia to market Ghanaian products. The move is expected to significantly expand visibility and commercial opportunities for Ghanaian brands within the Ethiopian market.<img src="https://aukisscontent.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/b4e4de850Black%20Star%20Experience%20Coordinates%20Ghana%20Month%20In%20Ethiopia%20To%20Strengthen%20Pan-African%20Tourism%2C%20Culture%20And%20Business%20Connections%20I.jpeg">Discussions during the event also revealed plans for a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Ghana Tourism Authority and their Ethiopian counterparts to strengthen tourism cooperation and jointly market both destinations. Stakeholders emphasized the enormous opportunities presented by Ethiopia’s vast market size and strategic accessibility, particularly with Ethiopian Airlines currently operating flights from Accra three times daily.The announcement that, from 25th May, Africans will be able to travel to Ghana visa-free was received with excitement by participants, who described it as a major step toward strengthening cultural and economic ties between Ghana and Ethiopia, while advancing broader Pan-African integration.As part of efforts to sustain cultural awareness throughout the month of May, Ghanaian chefs will remain in Ethiopia to promote Ghanaian cuisine and culinary experiences. In addition, GTP Textiles announced plans to enter the Ethiopian market by designing fabrics tailored specifically to Ethiopian tastes and preferences. Ghanaian fashion brands also participated in the showcase, with collections modelled by Ethiopian models in a powerful display of cultural exchange and creative collaboration.<img src="https://aukisscontent.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/73a497a32Black%20Star%20Experience%20Coordinates%20Ghana%20Month%20In%20Ethiopia%20To%20Strengthen%20Pan-African%20Tourism%2C%20Culture%20And%20Business%20Connections%20II.jpeg">The event attracted high-profile participation including Ghana’s Ambassador to Ethiopia, His Excellency Robert Afriyie and his Deputy, representatives from United Nations Permanent Missions, and the Kenyan Ambassador to Ethiopia. Sister agencies including the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) and the Ghana Tourism Authority also participated alongside six Ghanaian SMEs, including a Kente weaver, 57 Chocolate, a handmade chocolate company, Skin Gourmet, a Shea Butter company, and several fashion houses.Panel discussions during the event encouraged both countries to deepen investment partnerships, particularly within Ghana’s mining sector, tourism industry, and creative economy. Organizers noted that the success of the initiative demonstrates the immense opportunities that exist when African nations intentionally collaborate through culture, tourism, trade, and diplomacy.The event is expected to grow even bigger as Ghana prepares to celebrate its 70th anniversary next year, with projected benefits for tourism operators, investors, creatives, and Medium to Small Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) across both countries.

Black Star Experience Coordinates Ghana Month In Ethiopia To Strengthen Pan-African Tourism, Culture And Business Connections

Barbados Reggae Weekend ended on a high note after three nights at Kensington Oval, with organisers hailing the 2026 staging for its record attendance.&nbsp;The festival, which ran from Friday to Sunday, featured its signature events: Mount Gay Legends of Reggae, Guinness Showdown, and Reggae in the Gardens.Speaking to reporters on Sunday night, sonsorship manager Michelle Straughn said the turnout had surged across the weekend, estimating that attendance at Guinness Showdown doubled, while that of Reggae in the Gardens tripled.&nbsp;Straughn noted that, despite production challenges, the event continues to position Barbados as a premier entertainment destination.“At the end of the day, we are happy. We are doing this on behalf of Barbados, to help build Barbados as another destination of festivals because I think we were losing that somewhat when the Barbados Reggae Weekend went away,” she said.The organiser also noted that this year marked the first time the festival was livestreamed worldwide, with patrons purchasing tokens for digital access. According to Straughn, the process was “seamless” and organisers intend to continue the initiative for future eventsCommenting on the use of Kensington Oval as the event’s venue for the first time, Straughn described the venue as “beautiful”, despite logistical considerations.“The venue is beautiful,” she said. “We still had to make sure that we protect the pitches so that cricket can be played here in Barbados.”Straughn said she hopes the festival will help attract visitors ahead of the island’s summer arrivals. “We are hoping that from here on in, we start seeing plane-fulls coming in April, before we start to get [visitors] in July.”The festivities opened Friday with the Mount Gay Legends of Reggae Show and Dance, where icons including Barrington Levy, Super Cat, Sister Nancy, Norris Man, JC Lodge and Biggie Irie delivered nostalgic performances despite technical issues that affected sections of the show. Levy emerged as a standout, while deejays Jerry Dan and Lil Rick kept patrons entertained between sets.Saturday’s Showdown shifted the tempo with a dancehall-heavy showcase led by Popcaan, while Capleton and General Degree delivered hit-filled sets. Local acts Maasta T, Doejay, Brutal Crankstar, Weather 40 and Idea the Artist also earned strong crowd reactions. Although 450 did not appear, organisers later confirmed his move to Sunday’s lineup.Reggae in the Gardens brought the curtain down on Sunday with headliner Fantasia leading a diverse cast that included Dexta Daps, Kranium, Admiral Tibet, DJ Puffy, D’Yani, Spice and Company, and Rite Side of Red featuring Buggy Nhakente and Rhesa Garnes.

Reggae Weekend draws record crowds, says organiser

BREAKING: Ministry of Education orders suspension of SHS graduation ceremonies amid concerns over excessive display of wealth.<img src="https://aukisscontent.s3.amazonaws.com/e8b4519b9IMG_4457.jpeg">

SHS Graduation ceremonies shutdown

The United Arab Emirates has set a minimum age of 15 for social media use, becoming the first Arab ​country to introduce such a restriction as governments worldwide seek to ‌address growing concerns over the impact of online platforms on children.Under a resolution approved on Thursday, children under 15 will be prohibited from creating, using or operating ​personal social media accounts. The ban means they will not ​be able to post content, comment, share or join public ⁠groups, the government's media office said.Learn about the latest breakthroughs in AI and tech with the Reuters Artificial Intelligencer newsletter. Teenagers aged 15 and 16 will ​be allowed to use social media platforms subject to enhanced safeguards, including ​age-appropriate content controls, restrictions on interaction with unknown users, screen-time management tools and parental supervision features.The rules apply to all social media platforms operating in the UAE and ​require companies to implement robust age-verification measures, including digital identity checks ​and artificial intelligence-supported technologies. Self-declaration of age will not be accepted as a valid ‌form ⁠of verification.Item 1 of 2 A teenage girl holds her mobile phone displaying a news alert on social media, after the United Arab Emirates approved a resolution setting the minimum age for social media use at 15, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, June 18, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. REUTERS/Rula Rouhana[1/2]A teenage girl holds her mobile phone displaying a news alert on social media, after the United Arab Emirates approved a resolution setting the minimum age for social media use at 15, in Dubai,... Platforms must also disable accounts created by children under 15, prevent users from circumventing age-verification systems and refrain from using children's personal data for targeted advertising or behavioural profiling.The government said the measures were designed ​to address concerns ​over children's exposure ⁠to inappropriate content, unsafe online interactions, excessive social media use and the collection of personal data.Social media companies ​will have up to 12 months to comply with ​the ⁠new regulations.The UAE said the framework aligns with international efforts to strengthen online child protection while balancing digital access with safety.Several countries, including Australia and ⁠others ​in Europe, have moved to tighten restrictions on ​children's use of social media amid mounting concerns about its effects on mental health and ​online safety.

UAE sets minimum social media age at 15, mandates age checks

Telecel Ghana has engaged final year students of the Mampong Akuapem Senior High Technical School for the Deaf in the Eastern Region, encouraging them to embrace technology and pursue career opportunities in the field to participate equally in Ghana’s growing digital economy.The interaction, which formed part of the telecommunication operator’s inclusive customer support initiative for people with special needs, known as SuperCare, brought together about 160 final year students, who were enlightened about digital career pathways and tailored connectivity packages for the Deaf community.Welcoming the SuperCare team, headmistress of the school, Madam Philomena Kakra Buckman commended Telecel Ghana for its longstanding partnership with the school and its consistent support for workplace inclusion and career development for Deaf people.“We appreciate Telecel Ghana for continuing to stand with our school and students. Opportunities like these expose our young learners to possibilities beyond the classroom and remind them that their disability should never limit their ambitions,” Madam Buckman said.Speaking at the session, Rita Adiase, Experience Centre and Customer Operations Manager at Telecel Ghana, introduced students to the Telecel SuperCare initiative, specifically highlighting the available customer support channels, internship opportunities, national service placements and potential full-time career pathways within the company.“Technology has opened doors that were once inaccessible to many people with disabilities. We want you all to know that you belong to the digital future, and that Telecel Ghana is creating an enabling ecosystem where you can learn, grow and build careers with confidence and a sense of belonging,” she said.She also encouraged students to take advantage of relevant digital tools and the highly affordable connectivity packages by the telco to continue learning and exploring opportunities after graduation.The engagement included the distribution of free SuperCare service SIM cards and branded souvenirs for the students.Speaking on behalf of the graduating class, the student representative expressed their collective gratitude for the visit and said the interaction had strengthened students’ confidence about their future.“This session has shown us that there are opportunities available for us and that we can also work in technology and other professional fields. It has encouraged us to believe in ourselves and our future,” she said using sign language.The visit is part of Telecel Ghana’s tireless efforts to promote inclusion for the Deaf community and persons with disabilities. Through its SuperCare initiative, the telco has been building partnerships with tertiary institutions where sign language is taught, helping to introduce students to careers and create pathways for talent recruitment into the telecommunications industry.The Telecel Play App includes accessibility features that enable persons with disabilities to access digital content and services through an intuitive smartphone experience. For customers without smartphones, the SuperCare quick code (*494#) provides an accessible alternative for support and service access.During the 2025 International Week of the Deaf in Saltpond, Telecel Ghana advocated for the mainstreaming of sign language in schools and public service delivery, highlighting its importance in improving access to healthcare, education and employment for Deaf persons.Through the Telecel Ghana Foundation, Deaf students participate annually in STEM and digital skills training during the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, where they are introduced to emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence. These initiatives reflect Telecel's broader commitment to embedding accessibility and inclusion into its digital transformation agenda.According to Ghana's 2021 Population and Housing Census, more than 211,000 Ghanaians are Deaf or hard of hearing, while over 470,000 people live with varying degrees of hearing loss.

Telecel engages Deaf graduates on digital career pathways

The parliament in Ghana has approved a new bill criminalising homosexuality and the promotion of LGBTQ+ activities.It proposes that identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer be punished by up to three years' imprisonment. The bill also introduces a "duty to report" prohibited acts to police.Religious leaders have pressured President John Dramani Mahama, who still needs to ratify the legislation, to strengthen anti-gay laws since he came to power last year.The ban has been sharply criticised by international organisations, including Human Rights Watch, which said it placed LGBTQ+ peoples' lives at risk while also "encouraging citizens to surveil and denounce one another".Same-sex relationships have been banned in Ghana under laws dating from the British colonial era.In an address to parliament, the bill's sponsor Reverend John Ntim Fordjour said it would protect Ghanaian family and cultural values.He said the new bans would make existing laws "more robust, more encompassing and more stringent in dealing with the practices of LGBTQI".Anyone who identifies as an "ally", a general term for a supporter of LGBTQ+ people, could also face a prison sentence.<img src="https://aukisscontent.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/28840b818IMG_4132.jpeg">Exemptions were included for legal, media and healthcare professionals who report on LGBTQ+ issues or provide medical treatment or other services for gay people.Human Rights Watch recommended the bill be abandoned in a formal submission to the constitutional and legal affairs committee scrutinising the legislation in the capital, Accra.Ghana passed a similar bill in 2024 but it did not become law after former President Akufo-Addo failed to sign it amid legal challenges.The current President Mahama has indicated he would support the bill's passage, saying shortly after he took office that "I believe in the principles and values that only two genders exist – man and woman - and that marriage is between a man and a woman."Several African countries have cracked down on LGBTQ+ rights in recent years.Senegal's parliament approved similar legislation in March prescribing a maximum prison term of 10 years for sexual acts by same-sex couples and criminalising the ''promotion'' of homosexuality.Uganda introduced a death penalty for certain same-sex acts in 2023._Source: BBC

Ghana's parliament passes anti-LGBTQ+ bill

Department of Justice said the cost of the deportation charter flight was €735,000 (Stock image)Forty-two South African nationals were deported from Ireland yesterday, Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan has said.Nine men, 18 women and 15 minors - who were all part of family groups - arrived in Johannesburg this morning on the charter flight from Dublin.Two of those deported had been convicted of offences in Ireland.The Garda National Immigration Bureau carried out the operation on foot of deportation orders issued by the Minister for Justice.The operation was the fourth deportation charter flight this year, with 130 people previously removed from the State, including 67 EU citizens on grounds of criminality, according to the Department of Justice.The department said the cost of this latest charter flight was €735,000.Minister O'Callaghan said the deportation orders are "an essential requirement" for Ireland's immigration system to work effectively.

42 people, including 15 children, deported to South Africa

The dress code did not call for khaki, but nonetheless, the tan suits were out in full force for the glittery opening of Barack Obama’s presidential library in Chicago on Thursday.David Letterman, Stephen Colbert and the Obama Foundation board chairman, Martin Nesbitt, all arrived at the event in same-same khaki suits.The men’s suits, of course, alluded to Obama’s notorious tan suit, which he wore in August 2014 at a news conference about the United States’ response to the Islamic State. Whatever Obama said that day about the goings-on in Syria is lost to popular memory. Instead, it was the tan outfit that drew all the attention and hand-wringing.Obama’s decision not to wear the more expected navy or black on that occasion ignited days of breathless scrutiny, particularly from members of the Republican Party and the conservative media ecosystem, many of whom deemed the outfit insufficiently formal for the West Wing. For days, politicians and pundits embraced a new job: fashion police.Image<img src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2026/06/18/multimedia/18ST-TAN-SUIT-2-ktzf/18ST-TAN-SUIT-2-ktzf-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale">The original, controversy-igniting tan suit on President Barack Obama in 2014.Credit...Gabriella Demczuk/The New York Times“The suit was a metaphor for his lack of seriousness,” Representative Peter King, Republican of New York, told Newsmax at the time. Lou Dobbs of Fox News thought it was “shocking to a lot of people.” Mainstream publications assessed the merits of the suit itself, with GQ and New York magazine deeming it “sad.”

With a Wink, Obama’s Tan Suit Is Back

The opening ceremony of the Obama Presidential Center honored and celebrated former President Barack Obama’s legacy.Speaking to thousands gathered in Chicago, Obama urged Americans to reject pessimism.“It’s tempting to give in to cynicism and even despair,” he said, adding, “I do not believe that is the story of America that prevails in the end.”Throughout his speech, Obama homed in on themes of hope and the need to fight for democracy even during difficult times.In case you missed it, these are key moments from Obama’s speech and the ceremony:Obama had a special message for former President Joe Biden, who was in attendance. “Joe, we started as running mates and ended as family, and we would not be here without you. And we are grateful,” he said.He paid tribute to Chicago: “I found my purpose here and I fortified my faith here and I found my community here,” he said.A message for wife Michelle Obama: “She’s always made me better. And I could not be more grateful.”Obama noted that he did not want the center to be “a mausoleum.” But he has had an active engagement with what he called the “unfinished business” of his time in office.He delivered a pointed criticism of President Donald Trump, without mentioning his successor by name, as he described his hopes that “shared values that make democracy possible” course through the presidential center.The 44th president said those values were shared by his GOP opponents in his two presidential campaigns — John McCain and Mitt Romney.Obama urged those visiting his presidential center that are stretched for time to “skip” clips of his speeches and instead focus on the exhibits that highlight ordinary citizens.Barack Obama wiped away a tear as the former first lady delivered a moving tribute to her husband. She began her speech saying she wanted to “fully sing his praises.”“You told me all those years ago that you couldn’t promise me the world but you could promise me an interesting life, and, of course, you outdid yourself and managed to give me both,” she said.Michelle Obama praised her husband for his resilience in the face of criticism, including conspiracy theories questioning whether he was born in the US — something promoted at one point by Trump.“You were unflappable at every turn, always focused always calm and always looking at the long view. Tough,” she said. “How absurd it is to even imagine that you might’ve buckled under the pressure even once, lashed out in frustration, lost your temper.”The former first lady praised her husband for his “stubborn optimism and courage,” but also offered thoughts on today’s political moment.“Especially during these anxious and divided times, we must remember those values are not unique to my husband,” she said.Grammy Award-winning artist Jennifer Hudson, a native of Chicago’s South Side, sang the national anthem, followed by a performance of “The Impossible Dream.”Christina Aguilera performed “What a Wonderful World.”U2 lead singer Bono ended his rendition of “City of Blinding Lights” with a refrain: “Michelle, my belle.”Stevie Wonder closed out the musical performances today with a staple of the Obama-era campaign soundtrack: “Signed, Sealed, Delivered.”

Obama implores Americans to reject “cynicism": Key moments from presidential center opening

The coach of Iran’s World Cup team said it was ordered to leave the U.S. and return to its training base in Mexico only a few hours after opening its politically charged tournament by playing to a 2-2 draw with New Zealand on Monday night.Subscribe to read this story ad-freeGet unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Coach Amir Ghalenoei didn’t say who ordered the Iranians to leave earlier than planned. The team had expected to spend the night in California to maximize the normal recovery process after its opening game, only to be told after the match that everyone must immediately get on a plane for the 140-mile trip back to Tijuana.“They didn’t even give us time to recover,” Ghalenoei said through an interpreter. “After the game today, they said to us, ‘You have to leave immediately.’ It’s very important for us to have time for recovery, (but) we are asked to get on a plane and return to our camp in Tijuana, and we are really troubled by that.”The Iranians’ World Cup cycle has been in upheaval since the U.S. and Israel began a war against Iran on Feb. 28. Iran ultimately decided to compete even after FIFA rejected its request to move its three group-stage matches out of the U.S.Iran captain Mehdi Taremi said the team endured five hours of travel and security checks during what’s normally a very short trip from Tijuana to the Los Angeles area on Sunday.“We don’t know why they are returning us, to be honest,” Ghalenoei said. “I think it’s very strange. It seems like others are doing the planning for us. The decision-making for us is being made elsewhere. We were supposed to come two nights before the game, and we were supposed to stay tonight to recover and return tomorrow at lunchtime. We have no idea why.“I think our team is perhaps the most oppressed in the World Cup.”Taremi and Ghalenoei both decried the team’s lack of many important staff members — including the president of Iran’s football federation, coaching support personnel and media officials — who were denied visas by the U.S., amplifying the team’s difficult preparations.“We have to leave Los Angeles right now, and it’s not good for us,” Taremi said about an hour after the match. “I think FIFA have to help us more than this. ... Everything is like a disaster, actually, for us.”Ghalenoei said several players developed cramps during the game, which was played in mild conditions. He attributed the injury problems to the lack of proper preparation time caused by Iran’s bureaucratic and diplomatic obstacles.“Before the game, I said we haven’t had time to adjust because of the travel,” Ghalenoei said. “Many of our players, they had cramps, and that’s why we had to substitute them. So it wasn’t for technical reasons that we made substitutions. It was because of the injury and because of the cramp. They will be examined (Tuesday) by our technical staff, but the fact they delayed our arrivals and they are forcing us to go back early without time for recovery, they are making the situation more difficult.”The Iranians’ remaining two games in group stage play are against Belgium in Inglewood on Sunday, followed by a trip to Seattle to face Egypt next week.Iran opened its World Cup with a disappointing draw to a team ranked 65 places lower in FIFA’s rankings. Yet the Iranians also overcame two deficits in an exciting match, getting the tying goal from Mohammad Mohebi in the 64th minute before a strongly pro-Iranian crowd at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles, which has the world’s largest population of Iranians outside Iran.The game was played in a crackling atmosphere created in part by a conflicted, diasporic fan base that remains furious with the current Iranian government but is still largely supportive of Team Melli.While several hundred Iranian Americans protested the government outside, many fans from the diaspora jeered and turned their backs on the field during the national anthem. Yet the vast majority of the crowd vocally supported the Iranian players once the match kicked off.“It was an incredible atmosphere in the game, all 90 minutes,” Taremi said. “It was like at home for us.”Elijah Just scored early in each half for New Zealand, but Iran responded twice with a pair of beautiful goals, including Mohebi’s header off a perfect pass from Ramin Rezaeian, who had scored off the side of his boot in the first half.Mohebi appeared to mime the shooting of a gun after his goal, setting off criticism online. He also made the now-ubiquitous “ice in my veins” gesture originated 10 miles away from SoFi Stadium by Los Angeles Lakers rookie D’Angelo Russell a decade ago, before he held up a heart to the cheering fans.“The Iranians who live in Los Angeles, they make a great atmosphere,” Mohebi said. “That celebration, it comes in the mind, and I did like this” — motioning to his arm — “for all the fans. Just a celebration.”Players from both teams embraced and shook hands after the final whistle, with at least one jersey swap occurring. While Ghalenoei sat by himself in the dugout, his players gathered and walked around the field applauding their remaining thousands of flag-shaking, roaring fans.Both of Iran’s next two matches are tougher on paper, endangering its chances of getting out of the World Cup group stage for the first time. Iran, Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand have one point apiece after the opening round.“We’re facing more hurdles, but we’re not going to let that stop us from doing our best,” Ghalenoei said. “I think today was one of the best games in the World Cup so far, and I think the fans really enjoyed it inside the stadium and outside the stadium.”

Iran ‘most oppressed’ team at World Cup, coach says after being ordered out of U.S. following tie with New Zealand

The northeast corner of Lower Simcoe and Bremner Boulevard turned into a celebration on Monday night as hundreds of Ghanaian soccer fans gathered to welcome their beloved Black Stars to Toronto.Ghana's national team arrived in the city ahead of its FIFA World Cup opening Group K match against Panama on Wednesday, and the players were greeted with a traditional jama celebration outside their downtown hotel.Fans began gathering outside the hotel a few hours before the team bus arrived, singing and cheering to help pass the time and build anticipation. When the team bus pulled in around 6 p.m. on Monday evening, the fans erupted.<iframe class="ql-video" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZoE3x5PEKf/embed/captioned/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=1074&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.blogto.com&amp;rp=%2Fsports_play%2F2026%2F06%2Fhundreds-ghana-fans-surprise-team-toronto%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A13691.29999999702%2C%22ls%22%3A4031.3999999910593%2C%22le%22%3A13618.09999999404%7D"></iframe>When the team got off the bus, Ghana's former captain and all-time leading scorer, Asamoah Gyan, joined supporters outside the hotel and led a light jama session of his own.For those unfamiliar with jama, it's a style of group singing and chanting, accompanied by dancing and percussion, that's popular among Ghanaian soccer supporters.The fact that hundreds of supporters greeted the team in Toronto isn't surprising, given that an estimated 28,000 Canadians of Ghanaian descent live in Ontario.That passion should carry through to the game and the FIFA Fan Festival on Wednesday.Ghana is also one of three West African nations scheduled to play matches in Toronto during the tournament. Ivory Coast will face Germany this weekend, while African powerhouse Senegal takes on Iraq next week.Before Ghana's opening match against Panama, the team will first hold a training session at Centennial Park in Etobicoke on Tuesday night.After Wednesday's game, the Black Stars will head to Boston for a showdown with England, while Panama will remain in Toronto to face Croatia on June 23.

Hundreds of Ghana fans surprise FIFA World Cup team at Toronto hotel

TORONTO (AP) — Caleb Yirenkyi tapped in a cross from Brandon Thomas-Asante in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time, and Ghana beat Panama 1-0 on Wednesday night in the teams’ World Cup opener. At the end of a game that saw few chances for either side, Thomas-Asante got loose on the left side and fired the ball across the goal mouth. Yirenkyi knocked it in, sending his teammates streaming onto the field.Ghana played without midfielder Thomas Partey, who was denied entry into Canada while he awaits trial on rape charges in England.The late goal denied Panama its first World Cup point. The only shot on goal in the first half came two minutes in, when Panama forward Cecilio Waterman latched onto a low cross from Amir Murillo and clipped a ball from the centre of the box toward the net. Ati-Zigi dove to his right and palmed the ball away. The goalkeeper left the game at halftime after bearing the brunt of a couple of hard collisions. He was replaced by Benjamin Asare. The result puts Ghana at the top of Group L with England, which beat Croatia 4-2 earlier in the day. After the first hour, when chances came at a premium at rainy Toronto Stadium, the match opened up and both teams started smashing shots toward the net.In the 65th minute, Thomas-Asante broke through Panama’s back line and played a ball along the 6-yard box toward Jordan Ayew, but Jiovany Ramos ran up from behind with a tackle to prevent the tap-in.

A last-gasp winner from Ghana's Caleb Yirenkyi denies Panama their first ever World Cup point 🇬🇭

Naomi Osaka isn’t letting negativity get to her, as evidenced by a few posts made to social media over the weekend, addressing those upset over a recent event she threw. And believe us when we tell you, her response is just as classy, yet, as direct as you might think.For a bit of context, you should know that over the weekend, the Grand Slam winner decided to co-host an exclusive dinner in France for Black tennis players with fellow tennis star Taylor Townsend, as the French Open continues to get underway. Dubbed the “Black Party,” the intimate dinner was attended by folks like Coco Gauff, Asia Muhammad, Christopher Eubanks, and more.And while many of both Townsend and Osaka’s Black fans were quick to praise the event, with many calling it “beautiful,” “Black excellence,” and more on Instagram—there were a handful of others online who saw the event as nothing but racist and exclusionary.“Half black/half Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka held a dinner party exclusively for black tennis players before the French Open She defended the party by claiming there have been segregated white-only parties (Without proof, of course) This woman is insufferable,” wrote one user on X/Twitter.“Imagine is a white tennis player today said I’m holding a whites only party. Osaka would be the first one at a mic crying racism,” said another.“How does someone of mixed race heritage end up being so bloody racist?,” one other user wrote.Added another: “If a white Tennis player held a party where black players were not allowed, there would be a global outrage and understandable too.”However, after so much time and seeing the backlash to her good deed increasing, Osaka took to Threads to address it a couple of since-deleted posts over the weekend.<img src="https://assets-server.theroot.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/26101914/Screenshot-2026-05-26-at-7.18.35-AM-891x1024.png">Screenshot: Threads“You know I’m seeing a little bit of- ‘Why can’t you love everyone for all skin tones?’ and ‘what if someone had an all white party?!’ First of all I do love everyone for who they are no matter their race + ethnicity, (I’m literally half Japanese lol),” she began in one post as captured by The Tennis Letter. “I can only speak from my experiences in my own life though, growing up as a tennis player I didn’t see many people that looked like ME and I feel like it’s important to celebrate them. “She continued: “Secondly I feel like it’s important to note that there have been all white dinners/parties. I don’t know how else to tell you this, I literally seen them all the time and never had an issue with it at all. To the people who ask this question I want to ask you this question too, ‘What is it about POC getting together that unsettles you so much?’”Osaka concluded, “I want to end this by saying I grew up watching my dad get discriminated against, having the cops called on him multiple times at the tennis court. There are multiple things I will apologize for in my life but celebrating being black and appreciating who we are will never be something I would consider saying sorry for. Thanks. Actually I lied, I am sorry. I’m sorry for the people who cannot comprehend in their brains that this is not about exclusion, this is a celebration about how far we have come.”

Naomi Osaka Responds to Backlash Over Black Tennis Dinner

GUYANA’S 10-member contingent captured a massive medal haul on Saturday evening at the annual International Bodybuilding Federation’s Roger Boyce World Cup in Bridgetown, Barbados.The country’s bodybuilders finished with a combined 13 medals, their largest haul at the World Cup,Leading the way was strong man Roley Chandler, who was fabulous in his three men’s physique categories, winning three gold medals on his way to a pro card on the world bodybuilding circuit.Romelton Siland who turned out in the men’s fitness, men’s physique and master’s physique, also had an outstanding showcase to walk away with two gold medals and a silver medal.Reigning Mr Guyana Colin ‘Mr Clean’ Chesney snapped up two silver medals in the heavyweight and master’s bodybuilding classes.Also earning a gold medal was Lindon ‘Muscle’ Burnett; he won his weight class and took silver in the masters.Javier Cespedes also claimed gold in the youth bodybuilding division.Other medal winners were Weslyn Gonsalves – bronze in women’s wellness and Suraj Jahaman – silver in youth bodybuilding.Savita Stephenson took fourth place in the women’s bikini, and Christopher Anthony finished fourth in Classic Physique and his weight category.The team is coached by Videsh Sookram along with Guyana Body Building and Fitness Federation (GBBFF) president Roger Callender.Guyana’s Rosanna Fung is competing in the Women’s Wellness category of the professional segment of the competition.

Guyana captures seven gold medals

Home Affairs is working on new South African digital IDs that will store all particulars on your smartphone. And yes, it is a big deal …Good news, Home Affairs is working on new South African digital IDs that will keep all pertinent information on your smartphone. Think of it as a digital version of your identity document, birth certificate, marriage certificate and any other official government documents (UIF, SARS, SASSA, etc) that you can keep on your smartphone.But hang on a moment, do the planned South African digital IDs mean the end of the current paper booklet and plastic Smart ID cards? Yes and no … Yes, in the future you will be able to prove who you are only using facial or fingerprint recognition (biometrics) digitally. However, traditional green ID books and Smart ID cards are not going anywhere.The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) explains that South African digital IDs are merely ‘an extra option’ and not an outright replacement. It is completely voluntary and nobody will be forced to use it. But why …?Minister Dr. Leon Schreiber is focused on fully digitising his department, but not to the point he exclude any residents. Image: FileSo, why is the DHA creating South African digital IDs, only to make them non-mandatory? There are a few reasons:<ul><li>The added security will it make it harder for criminals to steal your identity.</li><li>It will cut down on fraud, corruption and illegal immigration.</li><li>To let you access government services directly from your smartphone.</li><li>It speeds up processes that currently require you to stand in long queues.</li></ul>In turn, government says nobody should be left out of this system. Physical IDs will remain in use, so the neediest residents who don’t have a smartphone or reliable internet, won’t be any worse off.Moreover, security experts say the new South African digital IDs actually possess very strong security. This includes face-matching technology to confirm you’re a real person, fingerprint checks to prevent duplicate identities, and encrypted digital documents that are impossible to fake.Likewise, privacy laws (POPIA) will also strictly govern how your data is used.

South African digital IDs: Here’s everything you need to know

Dr. Hallowed Oluwadara Olaoluwa has emerged as one of Africa’s most remarkable academic prodigies, earning recognition as one of the youngest PhD holders on the continent after completing his doctorate in Mathematics at the University of Lagos at just 24.His journey, marked by exceptional academic milestones and record-breaking achievements, continues to inspire young scholars across Nigeria and beyond.Born on September 27, 1989, in Bangui to Nigerian missionary parents from Ekiti State, Olaoluwa’s journey has been defined by exceptional brilliance and record-breaking achievements from an early age.He completed his primary and secondary education with four double promotions and passed the French Baccalauréat (equivalent to A’ Levels) in Sciences at the age of 14, making him one of the youngest to achieve that milestone in the Central African Republic at the time.Olaoluwa went on to attend the University of Bangui, where he undertook the rare challenge of studying two degree programmes simultaneously. At just 18, he graduated in 2007 with First Class Honours in both Mathematics and Physics.His outstanding performance earned him multiple accolades, including the All-Time Best B.Sc. Student in Mathematics and the Best B.Sc. Student in Physics.Not stopping there, he repeated the extraordinary feat at the postgraduate level, completing two Master’s degrees in Mathematics and Physics concurrently at the same institution. He graduated at 19 with first class in both programmes, becoming the first and only student at the university to accomplish such.Related NewsIn pursuit of higher academic excellence, Olaoluwa enrolled at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), where he obtained his PhD in Mathematics in January 2014 at age 24. Specialising in Functional Analysis with a focus on Fixed Point Theory, he graduated with a perfect CGPA of 5.00/5.00.His doctoral performance earned him the Overall Best Graduating PhD Student award for the 2012–2013 academic session, as well as the Best PhD Graduate in the Engineering/Sciences category.Olaoluwa’s academic journey also includes international recognition. He received an offer to pursue advanced studies at Université Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris VI) in France and later became a Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University between 2015 and 2016, where he worked on quantum ergodicity in mathematical physics. He is also a fellow of the Next Einstein Forum.Over the years, he has received several awards, including the Ekiti State Merit Award (2014), Youngest PhD Holder in Africa of the Year (2014), and the Young Achievers Award by the Hallmarks of Labour Foundation. He was also recognised by the Nigerian Young Professionals Forum as the Youngest Academic Achiever in Nigeria.Fluent in French, English, and Yoruba, Olaoluwa currently serves as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Lagos, where he continues to teach, mentor, and inspire the next generation of scholars.

Meet Hallowed Olaoluwa, UNILAG lecturer who had double First Class at 18, PhD at 24

A UMG press release on Wednesday confirmed: “Consistent with the Company’s approach to artist compensation, artists will share in the proceeds. UMG’s share will initially be directed towards its buyback program.”That commitment to artist participation in any Spotify sale dates back to 2018.Later that year, at the request of Taylor Swift, UMG agreed to distribute any proceeds to its artists on a non-recoupable basis, matching a policy previously adopted by Sony Music.According to UMG‘s 2025 annual report, the company holds 6,487,000 Spotify shares — equivalent to a 3.10% stake in the streaming platform — valued at €3,214 million as of December 31, 2025.Based on Spotify‘s closing share price on Tuesday (April 28), 50% of UMG‘s stake is currently worth approximately $1.4 billion (€1.2 billion).However, that comes after Spotify‘s shares fell double-digits on Tuesday after the streaming platform’s Q2 operating-income guidance landed below Wall Street expectations.The expanded buyback authorization brings UMG‘s total share repurchase commitment to €1 billion — doubling the €500 million program announced on March 30.The additional €500 million authorization is subject to shareholder approval at UMG‘s 2026 Annual General Meeting on May 13.UMG said its board “considers UMG’s share price to be undervalued relative to its business performance and prospects.”Pershing Square has cited the same valuation gap as the rationale for its takeover proposal: UMG‘s shares are down approximately 30% over the past year, despite continued growth in its underlying business.“The important steps we are announcing today to increase our share buyback authorization and monetize a portion of our equity stake in Spotify will lead to enhanced shareholder value while maintaining the flexibility the Company requires to drive further success,” said Matt Ellis, UMG‘s CFO.On Wednesday’s call, Grainge said the Spotify monetization “underscores the importance of our capital discipline, the expected returns from our buybacks and our confidence in the long-term growth of UMG, as well as the broader music ecosystem.”The UMG chief added that the company would not be commenting further on the Ackman proposal until the board completes its review.UMG‘s Q1 2026 revenues came in at €2,900 million ($3.39 billion), flat year-over-year and up 8.1% in constant currency, partly reflecting the consolidation of Downtown Music Holdings, plus “initial pricing benefits of Streaming 2.0 agreements”.Music Business Worldwide

Universal is selling 50% of its Spotify stake, generating around $1.4 billion

A consortium led by investment firm HOF Capital has acquired a stake in the company behind the iconic Bugatti brand, indicating a significant shift in the ownership structure of one of the world's most prestigious automakers.Bugatti Chiron Profilée [BugattiNewsroom]<ul><li>A consortium led by HOF Capital is acquiring stakes in Bugatti Rimac, signaling a major ownership shift for the luxury automaker.</li><li>Porsche AG will fully exit Bugatti Rimac by selling its 45% stake and also divesting its 20.6% holding in Rimac Group.</li><li>BlueFive Capital, based in Abu Dhabi, joins as the largest investor, with additional support from institutional investors in the US and Europe.</li><li>Rimac Group will gain control of Bugatti Rimac and partner strategically with HOF and BlueFive to drive expansion.</li></ul>The transaction will see Porsche AG fully divest its stake in Bugatti Rimac, a joint venture founded in 2021 with Rimac.Porsche presently owns 45% of the brand, with Rimac Group controlling the remaining 55%.In addition to selling its Bugatti Rimac investment, Porsche will sell its 20.6% stake in Rimac Group as part of the deal.The purchase consortium is led by HOF Capital, which was co-founded by the Egyptian businessman, Onsi Sawiris, a member of Egypt's well-known wealthy family, alongside fellow Egyptian investors Hisham Elhaddad and Fady Yacoub.BlueFive Capital, an Abu Dhabi-based private equity firm, has joined the deal as the largest investor.The consortium will also comprise a mix of institutional investors from the United States and Europe, reflecting the substantial worldwide interest in the luxury automotive market.Rimac Group will take control of Bugatti Rimac and develop a strategic relationship with HOF Capital and BlueFive Capital to assist its continued expansion.In addition, HOF Capital will become the largest shareholder in Rimac Group, alongside Mate Rimac, the company's founder and CEO, as seen on the Porsche newsroom.The transaction's agreements, which were touted back in December 2025, were officially signed on April 24, according to comments released Friday. However, the purchase is still subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.“In setting up the joint venture Bugatti Rimac together with Rimac Group, we successfully laid the foundation for Bugatti’s future. As an early-stage investor of Rimac Group, Porsche made a significant contribution to developing Rimac Technology into an established Tier-1 automotive technology company,” Dr Michael Leiters, CEO of Porsche AG, stated.Billionaire Sawiris scion eyes Porsche’s Bugatti stake in $1.2b deal“Now, with the sale of our stake, we demonstrate that we will focus Porsche on the core business. We would like to thank Mate Rimac and his team for the constructive and trusting cooperation over the past years,” he added.<h3>Sawiris family and HOF Capital</h3>HOF Capital was co-founded by Onsi Sawiris, the father of billionaire Naguib Sawiris, and the former patriarch of the Egyptian billionaire family.At the same time, BlueFive is a private equity firm led by Hazem Ben-Gacem, formerly an executive at Investcorp.The group is known for investing in fast-growing technological startups and ambitious enterprises across numerous industries.Since its founding, HOF Capital has concentrated on early and growth-stage investments, particularly in fintech, enterprise software, and developing digital platforms.In recent years, HOF Capital has broadened its focus, taking part in larger and more significant transactions.The group’s co-founder, Naguib Sawiris, in October last year, announced a $50 billion push into U.S. real estate, and is currently the richest man in North Africa.

Egyptian-founded firm buys stake in one of the world’s most luxurious car brands

President John Dramani Mahama has praised NASA astronaut Christina Koch for her historic role in the Artemis II mission, highlighting her past as an exchange student at the University of Ghana.He said Koch’s journey is an inspiration to young Ghanaians.The Artemis II mission has four astronauts—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen—with Koch set to become the first woman to travel that far from Earth.<img src="https://aukisscontent.s3.amazonaws.com/a1d42a83cIMG_3323.png">In a Facebook post on Thursday, April 9, 2026, President Mahama described her journey from an exchange student in Ghana to a member of the Artemis II crew as a source of national pride.“I join the University of Ghana and the entire nation in celebrating NASA Astronaut Christina Koch on her historic membership of the Artemis II mission,” he wrote.Madam Koch, the only woman on the mission, studied at the University of Ghana during the 1999/2000 academic year, where she immersed herself in Ghanaian culture and academic life.“Her time at Legon was not just a passing visit; she truly immersed herself in our culture and heritage… she built a foundation of global citizenship right here in Accra,” he said.President Mahama also highlighted Koch’s gesture of carrying the Ghanaian flag into space as a moment of national significance.<img src="https://aukisscontent.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/aea497b19IMG_3324.png">“Her gesture of hoisting the Ghanaian flag in outer space was a deeply touching moment for every Ghanaian,” he said.“Christina’s journey from the classrooms of the University of Ghana to the frontiers of space exploration serves as a powerful inspiration to every young Ghanaian.”The President wished Koch and her fellow crew members a safe return, expressing hope that their achievement would inspire future generations._Source: Citi Newsroom

‘Ghana is proud of you’ – Mahama celebrates Astronaut Christina Koch

An Indian entrepreneur has claimed that he was denied a US visa after officials ruled he lacked sufficient ties to his home country. Swapnil Srivastav, founder of a sustainable bamboo kidswear brand with $12 million in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR), shared the setback on social media. Despite employing over 100 people and securing top-tier venture capital backing, Srivastav was deemed disconnected from the country his business actively serves.Srivastav explained that having been born and raised in India, he has strong family and cultural ties, making it difficult for him to understand exactly what US officials were looking for in his visa application."Got denied a US visa today. Reason: “Not enough ties to home country.” I built a Series A company from scratch, employ 100+ people, have backing from top VCs and investors, and serve millions of Indian families through our brand," Srivastav said in an X (formerly Twitter) post.Srivastav sought advice from those who were similarly denied their visa as to what could be done differently in the next attempt."Apparently, that's not enough ties. Anyway, founders are used to hearing “no.” Will reapply after some time. If you've been through this and eventually got approved, would love to hear your suggestions."As the post gained traction, social media users empathised with Srivastav, sharing similar experiences, while others suggested a workaround for the issue."This is unfortunate, a friend of mine spent four years in the US got O1 Visa and when she went back to India, she was denied on similar grounds," said one user, while another added: "Wish you luck for your next application. I was rejected 5 times before I got US stamp on my passport."A third commented: "Have seen this trick working in most of the cases. Book any Event ticket happening in the USA. That should be your purpose of visit. This eliminates a number of questions and make smooth process. As it makes sure once event is done, you'll fly back to your home country. Eg. Want to experience a FIFA WC match."A fourth said: "Yeah same stuff. They don't even check your bank balance lol. Whatever. Going to Morocco instead. Will apply later when things calm down maybe. Not that I need to go there for anything important."

'Not Enough Ties To India': Entrepreneur's US Visa Denied Despite Building $12 Million Empire

A total of 262 passengers and three officials were on board the flight to Lagos, according to Nigeria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ministry earlier said over 1,000 Nigerians have registered for voluntary return.Authorities in South Africa said the returnees were found to be in the country illegally, contradicting Nigerian officials that they were fleeing xenophobic attacks.Nigeria is the latest African nation to organize such evacuation flights from South Africa. Since April, a series of anti-immigration protests have led to attacks against some foreigners. The protests highlight tensions between foreign workers and locals who claim foreigners are taking their jobs. South African officials have condemned them as xenophobic acts.Nigerian Foreign Minister Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu said the president ordered the “evacuation of imperiled Nigerian citizens who consider their lives at risk by continued stay in South Africa.”“The price of your peace, and the safety of your children is not worth any sacrifices you have to make, or any assets you have to leave behind when fleeing a conflict zone or hate-infested environment,” the minister said in a message to those returning.Humanitarian Affairs Minister Bernard Doro criticized the treatment of Nigerians, who he said were “living in South Africa legally.”“If there were issues of illegality, that would be determined on a person-to-person basis. You can’t just crown the entire Nigerians living in South Africa as living there illegally,” Doro said.Some returnees told The Associated Press they didn’t have proper documentation in South Africa. And some said they had not been able to renew their residency papers for years, because of immigration bottlenecks they say were imposed on Nigerians by South African authorities.“I was in South Africa for 11 years, and I was treated badly. They did not give us (Nigerians) resident permits because we were Nigerians,” Eminaba Beatrice said.The evacuation by Nigeria follows Ghana ‘s repatriation of about 1,000 nationals from South Africa. Officials in South Africa said that most of the Ghanaians who returned home were undocumented.

First group of Nigerians returns home after anti-immigration protests in South Africa

A pregnant woman from Ghana and her young son who spent more than a week in a windowless detention room at a Washington airport have been ordered deported and are flying back to Africa, her lawyers said Friday.Annabella Gyasi, 38, arrived May 19 at Washington Dulles International Airport ahead of a medical appointment for her son, who was born with severely malformed hands, according to a petition filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia.Both were traveling on valid visas, but they were detained by immigration officers after Gyasi said they had faced persecution in Ghana and feared returning, the lawyers said.After days in detention and two hospitalizations for pregnancy complications, including vaginal bleeding and high blood pressure, Gyasi felt she had no choice but to agree to leave the U.S., they said.“While we’re relieved that Ms. Gyasi and her son will soon be free from this nightmare, no one should be subjected to the inhumane conditions they endured,” ACLU Virginia Executive Director Mary Bauer said in a statement.Gyasi had repeatedly told guards that she and her son were hungry but were not given additional food, according to her lawyers. The Department of Homeland Security denied that, saying everyone in custody “has access to appropriate care, including medical evaluation by a doctor, medication, and food.”A Friday order by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema said that “the welfare of the petitioners and the interests of justice are best served by allowing petitioners to return home immediately.”An earlier order from Brinkema quoted immigration officials as saying Gyasi’s tourist visas were not valid because she had told them that she came to the U.S. to seek asylum and didn’t plan to return home.&nbsp;Gyasi and her son were expected to leave for Ghana on Friday evening._Source: AP News

Ghanaian mother and child who arrived in US on valid visas to fly home after detainment, lawyers say

Mogadishu (HOL) — Somalia has temporarily suspended travel to Egypt through the OK-to-Board authorization system after Somali citizens reported being stranded and mistreated at Cairo airport, immigration officials said Sunday.The Immigration and Citizenship Agency said that starting May 24, 2026, all Somali citizens traveling to Egypt must obtain an official visa from the Egyptian Consulate before departure.The agency said it had monitored recent problems faced by Somali travelers using the OK-to-Board system and decided to suspend the arrangement temporarily.Officials stressed that the measure does not affect Somalia’s wider relationship with Egypt, describing travel and friendship ties between the two countries as important.The agency urged Somali citizens planning to travel to Egypt to contact the Egyptian Consulate and secure official visas before their flights.The decision follows reports that 35 Somali citizens were stranded at Cairo airport for two nights. Some travelers said they were treated poorly, had their passports confiscated and were prevented from leaving the airport or continuing their journeys.OK-to-Board is a pre-flight travel authorization used by some airlines and countries to confirm that passengers meet visa and entry requirements before departure. In some cases, travelers with valid documents can still be denied boarding if the authorization is not properly updated in the airline system.The suspension comes as Somali authorities seek to prevent further travel disruptions and ensure that citizens have formal entry clearance before arriving in Egypt.

Somalia suspends OK-to-Board travel to Egypt after airport complaints

The United States and Iran have reached an agreement to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz, offering relief to the global economy more than three months since fighting began.&nbsp;Full details of the deal were not immediately available. The signing will be Friday in Switzerland.&nbsp;U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed a deal had been reached and said he had authorized an end to the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz.&nbsp;“Congratulations to all!” he wrote on social media, without providing details. He added, “Ships of the World, start your engines. Let the oil flow!”&nbsp;The U.S. previously said it would ease its blockade of Iranian ports as the strait reopens, and would agree to relax sanctions to allow Iran to sell more of its oil and strengthen its battered economy.

U.S. and Iran agree to peace deal, Trump says

The biggest two movies in America right now, “Backrooms” and “Obsession,” come from twentysomething filmmakers who honed their craft on YouTube.Their films were made with relatively low budgets and were marketed online. Now that they’re filling theaters with teens and young adults who rarely show up at the movies, all of Hollywood is paying attention, with experts predicting that studios will copy this moviemaking model many times over.“Obsession,” directed by 26-year-old Curry Barker, opened in theaters May 15. Filmed for roughly $750,000, the darkly funny horror film has made almost $150 million to date, a jaw-dropping return on investment for Focus Features and Blumhouse Productions.Then came “Backrooms,” directed by 20-year-old Kane Parsons, who developed the project for years on his YouTube channel.Parsons had a bigger budget — about $10 million — and famous actors like Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve and Mark Duplass. But it was still astonishing to see “Backrooms” dominate the box office so thoroughly in its opening weekend.The psychological horror film took the No. 1 spot at the weekend box office, raking in about $80 million in North America and $120 million worldwide, with ticket sales fueled by Gen Z.The studio A24, which has been trying hard to boost young directors, said Parsons now ranks as the youngest filmmaker in Hollywood history to release a film that finished No. 1 at the weekend box office.“Obsession” was No. 2 for the weekend, pushing “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu,” which opened a week earlier, to No. 3.Michael Johnston, Curry Barker, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless and Andy Richter attend a screening of Focus Features' "Obsession" at the Hollywood Legion Theater on May 11, 2026. Frazer Harrison/Getty ImagesFor most movies, the opening weekend is the most lucrative, with ticket sales tapering off from there. But “Obsession” keeps growing: Focus Features said Sunday that “exclusive of Christmas, ‘Obsession’ is the first film since 1982 that went up in box office over its second and third weekends.”So what does this hot streak mean? Well, it means young people are actually willing to buy movie theater tickets if they know and relate to the YouTube-era talent.And it means Hollywood studios are going to chase the success of “Obsession” and “Backrooms” by scouring online video sites for the next great auteur.It might even mean that some studio bosses will place a few more bets on original concepts rather than predictable franchises and sequels.Duplass, who plays a scientist in “Backrooms,” said in a social media video that the two films were giving the movie business a “glimmer of hope.”“We’ve got an example of creators woodshedding things, putting them online, building an audience,” he said. “And now the people with the purse strings are going to notice … because they see what they can do at the box office, you know, in the form of these two films that are over-performing.”Producers and agents have been building a YouTube-to-Hollywood pipeline for a while now. And last winter’s robust ticket sales for YouTuber Mark Fischbach’s self-financed film “Iron Lung” demonstrated the potential for success.Still, as screenwriter Zack Stentz wrote on X, “This feels like a genuine cultural moment in moviegoing, watching Zoomers who honed their craft doing YouTube shorts breaking into features the way the MTV directors did in the ’80s and Sundance kids did in the ’90s.”The Hollywood Reporter’s Steven Zeitchik wrote that the YouTuber hits are “a teetering, if not the first hints of a collapse, of a legacy-driven studio system.”This moment, Zeitchik wrote, is about a lot more than discovering fresh talent. The Alphabet-owned YouTube platform makes filmmakers famous, streams their work, helps them strike brand partnerships and gives them a huge marketing megaphone.“This is a phenomenon generated, driven and controlled by creators and the biggest company in the world that amplifies them,” he wrote.Speaking at an industry conference on Saturday, Warner Bros. Motion Pictures co-chair Michael De Luca said filmmakers like Parsons, who “worked on ‘Backrooms’ for five years,” are “in a dialogue with their audience from the word ‘go.’ Their subscribers have direct input in each iteration of these things.” Warner Bros. Discovery is CNN’s parent company.And “by the time you get to the movie,” he said, “they’ve had a billion test screenings.”

YouTubers are setting box office records. It could change the future of moviemaking

SAFTA-nominated presenter and media personality Zanele Potelwa is officially returning as host of the upcoming 12th season of the popular reality series Tropika Island Of Treasure.This announcement comes at a pinnacle moment for the franchise, which was recently nominated in two categories at the 2026 South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs).&nbsp;The previous season, Tropika Island of Treasure: Zanzibar, scored a nod in the Best Competition Reality Show category while Zanele Potelwa herself was honoured with a nomination for Best TV Presenter, a testament to her infectious energy, professionalism, and the seamless way she navigates the high-stakes drama of the island.The 12th season promises fresh twists, high-stakes challenges, breathtaking locations and the trademark adventure that has made the show a fan favourite since it made its debut in 2008.“Being back as host for Tropika Island Of Treasure is a dream come true. I am beside myself that I get to come back and host another season. I can tell you, without a shadow of a doubt, that this is going to be the biggest season yet,” Zanele Potelwa says. “I don’t think anyone is ready for the surprises, the celebrity contestants, which island we might be going to and everything else we have done behind the scenes to make this season special. After being nominated for a SAFTA for the previous season, this announcement is a beautiful way to celebrate, and I cannot wait to be on that island.”“We are incredibly excited to have Zanele return as host for the 12th season of Tropika Island Of Treasure. She brings authenticity, relatability and a vibrant energy that truly connects with viewers,” says Sveti Kovatcheva, Brand Manager: Dairy Fruit Mix at Clover. “We are incredibly proud of her well-deserved SAFTA nomination for Best TV Presenter. It’s a proud moment for the entire Tropika family and reflects the passion, creativity, and excellence that goes into every season. Zanele truly embodies the smoooth, feel-good spirit of Tropika, and we can’t wait for audiences to see her shine again.”While Zanele’s return sets the stage for another blockbuster season, the mystery surrounding who will be joining her on the sand is about to be revealed. Tropika has confirmed that the star-studded cast of celebrity contestants for Season 12 will be officially announced later this week.Auditions Open SoonGot what it takes to win a smoooth shared R1 million grand prize and a R10,000 voucher from Pep? Enter to take part in the upcoming season of Tropika Island Of Treasure by uploading your audition tape to either TikTok, Facebook, X or Instagram, tagging @MyTropika and using the hashtag #Tropika. Auditions open on 6 March and close on 5 May 2026.With the cast reveal just days away, the 12th season of Tropika Island Of Treasure is shaping up to be another smoooth adventure. Expect bigger challenges, bold personalities and the kind of island drama that keeps viewers glued to their screens, with Zanele back at the centre of the action.

SAFTA-Nominated Zanele Potelwa Returns To Host The Highly Anticipated 12th Season Of Tropika Island Of Treasure

Buzzing music, entertainment, and lifestyle brand Revolve Plus has announced that distinguished Ghanaian presenter, TV show host, and voice-over artist Caroline Sampson has collaborated with them to co-produce and host ‘Clear Cut, ' a podcast coming to the channel soon.Caroline has 20+ years of experience in media and a deep understanding of how the industry works. Over the years, she has built a stellar reputation and relevant networks with stakeholders in the industry.&nbsp;Speaking on this strategic move, Mr George Mensah Britton, CEO and visionary leader of Revolve Plus, expressed excitement and remarked"Caroline Sampson is a multi-award-winning, familiar face in the industry with a wealth of experience, and she brings to the team a fresh perspective that aligns with the brand."&nbsp;Caroline Sampson co-owns and will co-produce and host the ‘Clear Cut’ Podcast, with its first episode airing soon on Revolve Plus. The show will have in-depth conversations about concerns and issues in entertainment and lifestyle around the world from the perspective of policy makers, event organisers, artists, and consumers.<iframe class="ql-video" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" src="https://youtube.com/shorts/1Z2oyjbDhZ4?si=vDxpJV-cGoxWbBjy"></iframe>On her part, Caroline Sampson expressed excitement about the new show. According to her, the show revolves around credibility and a fresh perspective on the pillars of entertainment, education, and engagement.&nbsp;"We are clear and about to cut it. For this show, if it must be done, it must be done well," Caroline saidThis new partnership marks a defining step for Caroline and Revolve Plus. Audiences should expect the best from future episodes of the 'Clear Cut' podcast.

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