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Queen Elizabeth II's reign over English and Welsh rugby is at an end, with the sport's royal seal of approval passing on to a new generation.
With the Queen now aged 90, Prince Harry and Prince William will replace their grandmother as patrons of the English and Welsh rugby unions respectively, it was announced Tuesday. Britain's long-serving monarch will step down as the patron of 25 UK organizations, including the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, the British Cycling Federation, the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Holocaust Memorial Trust. The Queen will pass the patronages on to other members of the royal family in the coming months. According to Buckingham Palace, she is patron of more than 600 organizations and will continue to represent hundreds of other charities and institutions. The decision follows the example set by her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, who resigned from a number of patronages when he turned 90 in 2011, Buckingham Palace said. The Queen…

Two of Ghana’s great highlife musicians, Ofori Amponsah and Kwabena Kwabena have finally entered the booth to record a song.  The two on Monday, December 19 were in the studios of Kaywa to work on the masterpiece expected to be released before 2016 ends.

The song titled “17”, according to Ofori Amponsah talks about how some ladies lure gentlemen to behave like 17 year old boy. Mr. All 4 Real talking about his collaboration with the “Asor” singer said, “it is wonderful to work with great artiste like Kwabena Kwabena. This should have happened years ago but I think this is the right time for us to work together that is why we are here. Today is a special day for me because I fell like I’m in Washington DC giving a speech”.

George Kwabena Adu aka Kwabena Kwabena detailing why he accepted to work with Ofori Amponsah on the yet-to-be-released “17” song reiterated that the collaboration is long overdue. “I’m honoured to be on same song with Ofori Amponsah. When he hit with his first …

Miss Ghana 2012 pageant Carranzar Naa Okailey Shooter, who also came third at Miss World 2013, tied the knot on Saturday in a private ceremony and you have already seen how splendid she looked at there traditional wedding ceremony. Now it is time to meet the lucky man!
She is now the wife of Paul Eddy Quartey, CEO of Accra-based private security firmEdern Security.

A month ago, she graduated from the University of Ghana as a dental surgeon. She’s also alumnus of Mfantsiman Girls Senior High School, and runs the Naa Okailey Shooter Foundation, which provides free medical care for rural communities.

President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday blasted Bill Clinton after the former president said Trump "doesn't know much" and mocked Hillary Clinton's campaign strategy. "Bill Clinton stated that I called him after the election. Wrong, he called me (with a very nice congratulations)," the president-elect tweeted Tuesday.
"He 'doesn't know much'...especially how to get people, even with an unlimited budget, out to vote in the vital swing states ( and more). They focused on wrong states," Trump said in a subsequent tweet. Bill Clinton stated that I called him after the election. Wrong, he called me (with a very nice congratulations). He "doesn't know much" ... — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 20, 2016
especially how to get people, even with an unlimited budget, out to vote in the vital swing states ( and more). They focused on wrong states — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 20, 2016 Bill Clinton told a …

President Buhari received visiting Ghanaian President-elect, Nana Akufo-Addo at the state house Abuja, today, December 20th. 
See more photos after the cut.

The Ministry of Finance has approved an increase in the allowances of national service personnel from GH¢350 to GH¢549.04.

The increment is to take effect January 1, 2017.

A letter signed by the Chief Director of the Ministry, Mr Patrick Nomo dated December 14, 2016 said, “Approval is hereby given for the National Service personnel allowance to be adjusted as follows: Current rate - GH¢350 Approved rate - GH¢549.04.”

The approved rate translates to 40 per cent of the graduate entry level on the 2017 Single Spine Salary Structure.


Below is a copy of the letter

Nina Simone, ELO and Sly Stone are among the artists who will receive lifetime honours from the Grammys and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.
Six artists have been selected to enter the Rock Hall, including folk star Joan Baez and grunge act Pearl Jam. Tupac Shakur will be only the fifth hip-hop artist recognised, after the likes of Run DMC and Public Enemy.
The Grammys will honour art-rock band Velvet Underground and funk legend Sly Stone with their special merit awards.

In a statement, the Recording Academy said the Velvet Underground, whose career was masterminded by Andy Warhol, were "ahead of their time, both visually and sonically".
"Despite a relatively brief lifespan and limited commercial success, the Velvet Underground are now recognised as one of the most influential rock bands of all time," it added.
Stone, who was the lead singer in Sly and the Family Stone, was praised by the Academy for playing "a critical role in the development of sou…

Michelle Obama in a candid interview with Oprah Winfrey opened up for the first time publicly about the 2016 presidential campaign, calling it "challenging" for her "as a citizen to watch and experience." 
The first lady said it was important "for the health of this nation" that she and her husband, President Barack Obama, support President-elect Donald Trump, even though she said some political leaders didn't support her husband's presidency. "So we're going to be there for the next president and do whatever we have to do to make sure that he is successful, because if he succeeds, we all succeed," Obama told Winfrey during her final one-on-one White House interview, which aired Monday at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

In the one-hour program, Obama reflected on her eight years as first lady, discussing topics including her surprise at being called an "angry black woman" during her husband's 2007 presidential campaign and Tr…

The cumbersome process of securing a Ghanaian passport is set to end with the launch of the Online Passport Service, Tuesday. 
The online passport application service which is expected to ensure delivery of passports within 15 working days for standard applications and five working days for express applications.  
Speaking at the event Foreign Affairs Minister, Hannah Tetteh, said the online application system would reduce the involvement of middlemen in the passport acquisition process.

Also, the new system will address the issue of typographical errors which slowed the process in the past, she added. 
The passport acquisition in Ghana is beset with a lot of problems as applicants go through middlemen who sometime swindle them of huge sums of money without delivering the passport.

There have also been complaints of workers of the Foreign Affairs Ministry who use the inconvenience in the application process to make money from applicants.

The outgoing Foreign Minister observed middle…

China has returned a U.S. underwater drone taken by a Chinese naval vessel in the disputed South China Sea last week after what China's Defence Ministry said were "friendly" talks between the two countries.
The United States acknowledged receipt of the unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) and criticized China for the seizure, saying it was "inconsistent with both international law and standards of professionalism for conduct between navies at sea."

China's capture of the drone triggered a diplomatic protest and speculation about whether it will strengthen U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's hand as he seeks a tougher line with Beijing.

A Chinese naval ship took the drone, which the Pentagon says uses unclassified, commercially available technology to collect oceanographic data, on Thursday about 50 nautical miles northwest of Subic Bay in the Philippines.

In a brief statement, China's Defence Ministry said the drone had been given back to the Un…

Econet Media, new owners of Labone-based Viasat 1 Television (owned by Modern Times Group) will retain all existing staff, the former has said.
Under the deal, Econet Media has also acquired all of MTG’s assets in Ghana as well as assets at its Modern African Productions operations in Ghana and Nigeria.

The new acquisition will see Viasat 1 rebranded into a 24-hour Sports Station to be known as Kwesé Free Sports. A takeover deal was officially sealed last week. (Read here)
Kwesé Free Sports is owned by Zimbabwean businessman Strive Masiyiwa. The channel already has footprints in 19 countries of which five; Kenya, Rwanda, Malawi, Uganda, have the full 24/7 channel.



Focussed on premium sports programming, channel managers say Kwesé offers impressive international sports content most of which is exclusive to the South African-based media outlet.
With television rights to major sporting leagues including the Free-to-Air for the English Premier League for Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding…

About 41,000 depositors of DKM Diamond Microfinance Company are to receive their outstanding claims from today as the second round of payments gets underway.
This follows the completion of manual validation of the claims by the contracted firm, Price Water House Coopers, PWC. The Official Liquidator thus last week released the new list of verified claims for onward payment.
Some outraged customers of microfinance company have threatened to go to court over the amounts of money given them during the first reimbursement as they have been given paltry sums not close to what they invested in the company.

“We are going back to the court to fight this matter, take DKM assets, confiscate them by court order and sell them for the rest of our money,” Leader of the Concerned Customers of DKM and Other Microfinance Companies, Maxwell Mahama told Joy News.
Following the Central Bank’s move in 2015 to stop the company and others from operating over concerns that there were violating the m…

Former President Bill Clinton on Monday commented on his wife’s Electoral College loss as electors like himself cast official votes for president and vice president Monday, but touted her popular vote achievement nationally.
“I’ve never cast a vote I was prouder of,” Clinton told reporters after voting for Hillary Clinton in Albany, New York on Monday as one of the state’s Democratic electors.


He then weighed in on her ultimate loss and said that in the end, she couldn’t prevail against the FBI and the Russians. 
“You know, I’ve watched her work for two years. I watched her battle through that bogus email deal, be vindicated at the end when Secretary Powell came out. She fought through that. She fought through everything. And she prevailed against it all but at the end we had the Russians and the FBI deal and she couldn’t prevail against them,” he said. “She did everything else and still won by 2.8 million votes.”
Speaking to donors Thursday night, the 2016 Democratic president…

Onaapo Singer Dee Aja yesterday December 18, performed at the  high-profile Glo Ovation Carols  event which came off at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The event, which has become a permanent fixture in the annual calendar of some of Nigeria  and Ghana’s most influential people also saw performances from Flavour and the Marvin crew Reekado Banks and Korede Bello.
The singer, whose song Onaapo is now a street anthem in Ghana performed the Gospel version (Jesus Onaapo) the Campaign song (John 3:16)  for National Democratic Congress(NDC) Party.

Among the several invited guests for the night were the out-going president of Ghana, H.E John Dramani Mahama.
See the pic after the cuts......

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are brushing off the rumors. A source close to the couple tells ET that nothing has changed between them, despite reports that the two are having marital troubles after a very difficult year that included Kim's Paris robbery and Kanye's recent hospitalization.

"Kim and Kanye have to work at their marriage, just like any couple. Of course there are some bumps in the road at times, but that's not unlike any other marriage. It takes work," the source says. "They are definitely still together and more madly in love than ever."
"Kim is slowly getting back to her normal routine. She finally feels ready to get back out in public, but she is doing it little by little," the source adds. "She does not having any work commitments on her plate until the new year. She went to Shelli Azoff's big holiday party last week as well. Shelli is like another mother to Kim, it was important for her to be there."
The …

There were many protesters Monday as electoral voters cast their votes Donald Trump won the Electoral College vote Monday — ensuring he will become America's 45th president. An effort by anti-Trump forces to persuade Republican electors to abandon the president-elect came to practically nothing and the process unfolded largely according to its traditions. 
Trump's polarizing victory Nov. 8 and the fact Democrat Hillary Clinton had won the national popular vote had stirred an intense lobbying effort, but to no avail.

Even one of Trump's fiercest Republican rivals, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, said it was time to get behind the president-elect.
"We want unity, we want love," Kasich said as Ohio's electors voted to back Trump at a statehouse ceremony.
Kasich had refused to endorse Trump saying he was unfit.
Donald Trump took to his twitter page to thank the voters.