DonkorsBlog.Com

A former FBI agent, Ali Soufan, claims that Osama bin Laden's son, Hamza - since designated a global terrorist and added to the US counter-terrorism blacklist, has vowed revenge on the west for killing his father and is set to become the next leader of al-Qaeda.
Soufan, who was the FBI's lead investigator of al-Qaeda after the 9/11 terror attacks, reportedly examined documents seized from Osama's Pakistan compound when he was killed by US Navy Seals in 2011.

 Soufan claims that Hamza's supposed leadership potential was recognised when he was a boy. When he was still a child, Hamza used to appear in propaganda videos holding a gun.
"He was that kid that exhibited leadership skills early on. He was a poster kid for the al Qaeda… and for members of al Qaeda, who were indoctrinated with these propaganda videos, he means a lot to them," the former FBI agent said. Hamza has recorded four audio messages in the last two years calling for attacks on the west…

The Trump administration accused the Syrian government Monday of carrying out mass killings of thousands of prisoners and burning the bodies in a large crematorium outside the capital. It also stepped up criticism of Iran and Russia for supporting the Syrian government.
The allegation came as President Donald Trump is weighing options in Syria, where the U.S. attacked a government air base last month in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack on civilians.
But Trump hasn't outlined a larger strategy for ending the Arab country's civil war or ushering Syrian President Bashar Assad out of power. These questions were sure to arise in his meeting at the White House with the United Arab Emirates' crown prince Monday, a day before Turkey's president arrives.
The State Department said it believed that about 50 detainees a day are being hanged at Saydnaya military prison, about 45 minutes north of Damascus. Many of the bodies, it said, are then burned in the crem…

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has left Ghana on Monday, May 15, 2017, to begin the second phase of his official working visits to the countries of the ECOWAS region.
Akufo-Addo’s first stop is Senegal and will proceed to Guinea May 17 before heading to Cape Verde from May 19 to 21.
“The visits will afford President Akufo-Addo the opportunity to introduce himself, as the new Ghanaian leader, formally to the governments and peoples of our neighbouring countries, explore and deepen our bilateral relations with them, and reiterate Ghana’s full commitment to the ECOWAS project,” a statement from the presidency said.
He will be accompanied by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, and officials of the Presidency and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
President Akufo-Addo will return to Ghana from the second phase of his tour on Sunday, 21st May, 2017.
Vice President, Alhaji Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, will act in his stead.

Multiple award-winning dancehall singer, Stonebwoy will lift the flag for Ghana at the BET Awards, as the only nominee from Ghana in the Best African Act category. Mr Eazi, who also traces the success of his music to Ghana is also shortlisted  in the category.
The other nominees from the continent include Starboy frontman Wizkid, Tekno, Davido (Nigeria), as well as AKA, Nasty C, and Babes Wodumo (South Africa).
Meanwhile, Beyoncé  leads all artists with seven nominations including one for the award show’s highest honor, video of the year, for “Sorry.”The 2017 edition of the awards is scheduled for the Microsoft Theatre on June 25.
The complete list of nominees for the 2017 BET Awards are:
Best Female R&B/Pop Artist
BEYONCÉ
KEHLANI
MARY J. BLIGE
RIHANNA
SOLANGE
Best Male R&B/Pop Artist
BRUNO MARS
CHRIS BROWN
THE WEEKND
TREY SONGZ
USHER
Best Group
2 CHAINZ & LIL WAYNE
A TRIBE CALLED QUEST
FAT JOE & REMY MA
MIGOS
RAE SREMMURD
Best Collaboration
BEYONCÉ FT. KENDRICK LAMAR – FREEDOM
CHANCE…

South Africans are paying tribute to a former actor on popular local TV series Generations who was killed during a mugging on Sunday night.
Mandla Hlatshwayo and his friend were shot after confronting a group of men who had robbed women of their mobile phones in a pub in Soweto.
Those who knew the 40-year-old have described him as a selfless man.
South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world with more than 50,000 cases reported every year. Many are using social media to send messages of condolences to the family of Mr Hlatshwayo, who was also a disc jockey for local radio station Jozi FM. 
The hashtag #RIPMandla has been trending since news of his death broke on Monday morning.
Jozi FM head Mpho Mhlongo, who confirmed the star's death, noted that Mr Hlatshwayo's father was also killed some years ago during a robbery. 
Mr Hlatshwayo's death has sparked a debate around how to tackle the country's rampant crime levels but it makes many realise there a…

A Ghanaian man resident in the United Kingdom (UK) has won a four-year legal battle to stay in Britain with his wife even though they had a “proxy wedding”.

Neither Albert Awuku, 43, or his bride – of Ghanaian descent but a German citizen who can live in the UK under EU free movement rules – needed to be present at their nuptials in Ghana in February 2013.  Instead, they are thought to have been represented by their families in accordance with the Ghanaian ‘customary law’ on marriage.
Mr Awuku’s father stood in for him during the marriage ceremony to secure a wedding certificate to be used in Britain in a bid to win residency rights for him (Awuku).
As there were no exit or entry stamps from Ghana or the UK on his passport to show he had attended the ceremony, his marriage was considered by the Home Office to have ‘taken place by proxy’.
Then-home secretary Theresa May refused his application for residency because she was not satisfied Mr Awuku’s ‘claimed marriage’ was registere…

Kevin Hart and his wife, Eniko Parrish, celebrated Mother's Day on Sunday with the announcement that they are expecting their first child together.
The 37-year-old comedian took to Instagram to share a sweet snapshot of himself and Parrish, writing: "Celebrating Mother's Day with my beautiful wife."
"We are laughing at the fact that this time next year we will be celebrating her first actual Mother's Day," he continued. "#Harts #Blessed."

Celebrating Mother's Day with my beautiful wife. We are laughing at the fact that this time next year we will be celebrating her 1st actual Mother's Day. #Harts #Blessed A post shared by Kevin Hart (@kevinhart4real) on May 14, 2017 at 3:05pm PDT
On Parrish's Instagram, she revealed the news that the cute couple are expecting a boy. The 32-year-old model posted a mirror selfie showing off her tiny baby bump, writing: "It's a boy."
Parrish also captioned the pic: "I'm expecti…

Gunfire has erupted in several cities in Ivory Coast, according to witnesses, as the military presses an operation aimed at ending a mutiny by soldiers demanding bonus payments.
Shots have been heard in the east of the commercial capital, Abidjan, and frequent gunfire reported by residents of Ivory Coast's second largest city, Bouake.
Al Jazeera's Ahmed Idris, reporting from Abidjan on Monday, said gunfire broke out around noon at a military camp in the port city of San Pedro. "There were shootings in the army camp there," he said.
"Now we are hearing that the mutineers are seizing official four by fours, and asking civilians to stay home. 
This is the third city where gunfire was heard today … it looks like things are spreading fast."
Heavy shooting was also heard in Daloa, a hub for the western cocoa-growing regions.
Many businesses and schools have closed operations in Abidjan for fear of worsening unrest, and APBEF, Ivory Coast's banking associa…

Thailand is threatening to sue Facebook after a video was shared on the platform showing the King of Thailand walking about in a yellow crop top.

In the footage which surfaced last week, King Maha Vajiralongkorn was seen with a woman dressed in a similar crop top. The king's midriff, chest and arms were exposed to reveal tattoos.
After the video made it to Facebook, the Thai government requested that it should be taken down and Facebook geo-blocked the footage, so it could not be seen by users in Thailand but Thai authorities claim that the video is still available on some pages accessible to users in Thailand. Thai officials have now given Facebook a deadline of 10 a.m.on Tuesday to remove pages containing the video of the King as well as pages containing the critical posts, or it will press charges.

Access to 178 pages containing the video has been restricted but the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) claims that there are still 131 pages avai…

President Emmanuel Macron has chosen centre-right mayor Edouard Philippe as France's new prime minister.
Mr Philippe, 46, is not from the president's new centrist party but from the centre-right Republicans.
The choice is seen as an attempt to draw in key figures from both the right and left of French politics.
The announcement forms part of a busy first day for the president - he is due to meet Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin.
The naming of a new prime minister, Mr Macron's first big appointment, came after hours of fevered speculation in France and a day after he was inaugurated as president.
Already tipped as favourite for the job, Edouard Philippe, mayor of the northern port city of Le Havre, has long been close to Alain Juppé, who was runner-up in the race for the Republican presidential nomination in November 2016.  Who is Edouard Philippe?
For years he has been seen as Alain Juppé's right-hand man and backed his unsuccessful 2016 bid to secure the centre-rig…

Movement was paralysed along Mbagathi Road, Kenya on Monday morning after pupils of Kenyatta Golf Course Academy, barricaded the busy road to protest the demolishing of their school. Details are still sketchy but reports indicate that the private school was demolished by unknown persons over the weekend following a land dispute.
The pupils placed their desks across the road and sat on them, blocking traffic in the morning rush hour. "We want our school, we want our school, we need to study in school" they chanted. I like my class and I like studying. They have now removed our class and there is no way we can study. All the students want to study," one pupil stated.  More photos below...

North Korea said on Monday it had successfully launched a new type of ballistic missile in its latest test which it said was aimed at building capacity to launch nuclear missiles.
The North fired a ballistic missile that landed in the sea near Russia on Sunday in a launch that came just days after South Korea's new President Moon Jae-in, who has called for closer engagement with Pyongyang, was inaugurated in Seoul.
Sunday's launch was of a "new ground-to-ground medium long-range strategic ballistic rocket" named the Hwasong-12, the official Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
Leader Kim Jong-un personally oversaw the test, it said, and "hugged officials in the field of rocket research, saying that they worked hard to achieve a great thing".
Kim accused the United States of "browbeating" countries that "have no nukes" and warned Washington not to misjudge the reality that its mainland is in the North's "sighting range …

It’s common knowledge that when the Duchess of Cambridge wears a piece of clothing publicly, it puts the label on the map and makes the item disappear from shelves.
The Kate Effect, they call it; based upon the assumption women across the world value Kate Middleton’s style choices far more their local fashion magazine.
So at what point does Princess Charlotte’s clothing choices – because everyone knows any good two-year-old knows her hoodie from her cardigan – carry the same weight as her famed mother’s?  Now, apparently. Or, more specifically, yesterday. And now the toddler’s net worth is about $1 billion more than her older brother’s.
Marie Claire UK report Broad Finance estimate Princess Charlotte has a net worth of about $5.2billion after just two short years on this crazy earth.
Meanwhile Prince George's net worth sits at only $4.2billion. (Pray for George.) However, little Charlotte's not worth quite as much as her very stylish mother, who is worth about AU$8.2 billi…

The One Africa Music Fest moved from US to the UK for the first time, and from social media reports, it seems it was amazing and Sarkodie lived up to the billing. 
The sold out concert was organised by Upfront & Personal Global Management Consultants at the SSE Arena, Wembley in London, UK.
Performances on the night included Artists include: Davido, Flavour, Psquare, Tekno, Alikiba, Cassper Nyovest, Olamide, Falz, Banky W, Phyno, Victoria Kimani, Tiwa Savage, MI, 9ice,Skales, Emma Nyra, Eugy, Atumpan and Sonoman.
@oneafrica_musicfest 🔥 ... Africa (Ghana) A post shared by TheHighest (@sarkodie1) on May 14, 2017 at 2:27am PDT
A post shared by TheHighest (@sarkodie1) on May 14, 2017 at 3:26am PDT
American recording artist and record producer Jidenna who had been billed to perform didn’t show up which led many asking what could have happened.
Well, Jidenna was present in London for the show and has explained what really caused him not to perform.
He applauded all the performers and …

A Tennessee man, Jared McLemore, 33, died after setting himself on fire on Facebook Live. Police said they arrived at Murphy's Bar in Midtown Memphis on Saturday night and discovered the man severely burned. The man reportedly doused himself in kerosene while recording live, lit himself with a lighter in his hand and then ran into the bar. 
McLemore allegedly erupted in flames in front of horrified patrons, including his ex-girlfriend who works at the establishment.

“This gentleman comes running into the room on fire screaming incomprehensibly,” one witness said.Witnesses said some initially thought it was a joke while others tried to help put him out the fire by throwing t-shirts and jackets on him -all to no avail.

Another man, who was reportedly trying to help, suffered burns when he tried to take McLemore’s lighter away. He was also taken to the hospital in non-critical condition, according to reports

McLemore was taken to the hospital where he later died.

McLemore’s ex-girl…

There was drama at the Manhyia Divisional Police headquarters last Friday when a suspected armed robber admitted to robbing his victim of GH¢15 and not GH¢300 as alleged by the police.
The suspect, Hamza Issah, 19, challenged the police in the presence of the media that apart from the GH¢15, he did not also rob his victim, Mr Baba Ali, an auto mechanic, of his motorbike as claimed.
According to Issah, when he went to Ali’s house, Ali told him he was a stranger and did not know his way around the area.
“So I had pity on him and only took GH¢15 and one of his phones. I took his flash drive but he said he had information on it so I handed it back to him. I did not take GH¢300 from him,” he insisted.
Police briefing
Issah made the disclosure during a media briefing on the robbery incident by the Manhyia Divisional Police Commander, Chief Superintendent Mr Kwaku Buah.
Mr Buah had told the media that the suspect was arrested after he had gone to rob the victim of his motorbike, mobile ph…

Drake is changing the prom chaperone game. The "Hotline Bling" rapper flew to Memphis, Tennessee, over the weekend to crash a very important party -- his cousin Jalaah Moore's senior prom! 
And Drake made sure his cousin and her date rolled up to prom in style -- shelling out for their custom matching outfits, a white Rolls Royce to get them there, and an after-party for Jalaah and 400 of her closest friends at the Hard Rock Café, according to TMZ.
Drake and Jalaah both shared photos of the night to social media.

Prom 2017 #FairleyHighSchool #901 #YoungLove @hyfr_jalaah 🙌🏽💙🌺 A post shared by champagnepapi (@champagnepapi) on May 13, 2017 at 10:06pm PDT

Best Day Everrrr😍😍😍👑🤞🏽 @champagnepapi A post shared by 💕Jalaah👑 (@hyfr_jalaah) on May 13, 2017 at 10:35pm PDT

💛😊👑 A post shared by 💕Jalaah👑 (@hyfr_jalaah) on May 14, 2017 at 1:39pm PDT Drake last night in Memphis going to prom with his cousin 💝 pic.twitter.com/F5g4LNSvLR — Drake (@DrakeBible_) May 14, 2017The 3…

Tow years after his Lollapalooza set was shut down by police in five minutes because he told audience members to rush the stage, the Houston-based rapper was arrested in Rogers, Arkansas, on similar charges.
TMZ reports Travis, who's reportedly been dating Kylie Jenner since she split from Tyga, was arrested as soon as he left the stage during his show on Saturday, May 13. He had apparently encouraged fans to "[bypass] security protocols" and approach the stage while he was performing. The crowd responded by following his directions -- and injuring multiple people, including a security guard and a police office in the process.
A source told TMZ the rapper didn't mean for anyone to be put in harm's way and explained that he saw room for more audience members in the general admission section by the front of the stage and told concert-goers sitting in seats at the back of the venue to move closer.

He was booked for inciting a riot, endangering welfare of a m…

Advertising and Communications firm, Dentsu Aegis Network Ghana, is set to launch a comprehensive research tool that will provide clients with unique, in-depth insight into consumer behaviour and their relationship with media.

The platform, known as the Consumer Connection System (CCS), is a consumer, lifestyle and product survey that is widely regarded as the most in-depth single source of media, marketing and consumer-targeting data globally.

CCS is Dentsu Aegis Network’s flagship integrated consumer insight, planning and buying suite, designed to feed communication strategy and enhance tactical planning.

Andrew Ackah, CEO of Dentsu Aegis Network Ghana posits that the research gives a true reflection on how consumers interact with the broad range of media channels presented to them on a daily basis in the country, This he said, gives Marketers, advertising agencies and media owners the opportunity to communicate more effectively with them.

According to him, CCS does not on…

Senior US lawmakers have called on President Donald Trump to turn over any recordings of conversations with fired FBI director James Comey.
Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer warned that destroying any tapes would break the law.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said the White House needed to "clear the air" about whether tapes existed.
The comments come after Mr Trump tweeted what appeared to be a thinly veiled threat to the former FBI chief.
He warned Mr Comey last week against talking to the media, saying he had "better hope there are no tapes" of their conversations.
The White House has neither confirmed nor denied the existence of any tapes.
Mr Schumer also warned that Senate Democrats might refuse to vote on a new FBI director until a special prosecutor is named to investigate alleged Russian meddling in the US election.
The FBI is investigating the allegations and possible ties between Moscow and the Trump campaign.
Mr Trump denies any such links and s…

Peter Sedufia’s widely-received period piece Keteke has secured nominations in Best Comedy and Costume Design at this year’s Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA).

Mainly starring esteemed actors Adjetey Anang and Lydia Forson, it is among a handful of Ghanaian projects up for awards this year –the others being On Monday Last Week, and Black Barbie. Actor Majid Michel is also up for the prize of Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his effort on Slow Country.

The premiere of Keteke back in March saw thousands in attendance at the Accra Mall and West Hill Mall.

Set in the 80s, Keteke tells the story of BOI (Adjetey Anang) and ATWEI (Lydia Forson) who are “bent on delivering their first baby in Akete but misses their first train. A wrong decision finds them in the middle of nowhere. Will they make it on time for the delivery, or, risk losing the baby and mother?”

Released under OldFilm, the movie (also starring Fred Amugi, Joseph Otsiman, Clement Suarez, Raymond Sarfo, and General Na…