They said several houses in the Masha at-Tayyar district in southern Hama were destroyed by a big explosion.

State media said 16 people died in the blast in a house used as a bomb factory by “armed terrorist groups”.
The violence comes despite a UN-brokered ceasefire – part of a peace plan proposed by the joint UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan.

Scud attack?
Following the blast in Hama, activists posted video on the internet showing a scene of devastation, with bodies being pulled from the rubble.

One report said 13 children and 15 women were among the dead.

They said the blast was caused by government shelling or even a Scud missile attack.

The opposition Syrian National Council has called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting “so that it can issue a resolution to protect civilians”.

It says nearly 100 people have been killed in Hama in recent days.

The level of devastation seen would have been difficult to achieve by conventional shelling, the BBC’s Jim Muir in Beirut says.

State television showed pictures of injured children in hospital and says that a group using the house to make bombs detonated them accidentally.

The reports cannot be independently verified owing to government restrictions on foreign media.

Meanwhile, a video has emerged which purportedly shows a man being buried alive by security forces, allegedly for sending material to TV stations.

Its authenticity could not be confirmed.

The unnamed man, who is said to be a media activist, is seen pleading for his life as earth is shovelled over his head. He then goes silent.

What appear to be members of the security forces are then heard cursing him for receiving money for sending material to Arabic satellite TV stations.

The video was leaked by sympathisers.

Continuing violence has been reported across Syria since a ceasefire was introduced earlier this month – including in towns where UN observers are present.

France now says the Security Council should consider the use of force in Syria if Mr Annan’s peace plan fails to stop the violence.

The plan calls on Damascus to withdraw troops and heavy weapons from cities.

“Totally unacceptable”
Mr Annan told the Security Council on Tuesday that the Syrian military had not withdrawn from population centres.

He condemned as “totally unacceptable and reprehensible”, reports that troops entered Hama after UN observers departed on Monday, and carried out summary executions as punishment for having spoken to them.

Two observers have now returned to Hama. They form part of a small advance team, ahead of a team of 300 that the UN would like to deploy.

A spokesman for Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said, via Twitter, that he had sent a message to Kofi Annan to “set the record straight on several aspects of the Annan plan”.

Mr Moualem is reported to have told him that there had been “more than 1,149 documented and verifiable violations from armed elements” since the ceasefire began.

The US permanent representative to the UN, Susan Rice, told reporters on Tuesday that all Security Council members wanted the observers to be deployed quickly.

Ms Rice said that it was hoped 100 observers would be in Syria within a month, but said Syria had made clear it would not admit UN staff from any country in the “Friends of Democratic Syria” group.

The UN says about 9,000 people have died since pro-democracy protests began in March 2011. In February, the Syrian government put the death toll at 3,838 – 2,493 civilians and 1,345 security forces personnel.

source:bbc

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Speaking to Joy News, Ms Lamptey said her decision to resign from the board was not necessitated by threats of legal action by groups such as the Centre for National Affairs (CNA) .

The Commissioner has come under criticism from lawyers who accuse her of breaching Article 222 of the constitution which prohibits a commissioner from holding any other public office.

She insisted however that she was not broken any law by occupying the two positions.

source: radioxyz

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Chief among the conditions is that the GH¢51.2 million fraudulently paid to Alfred Agbesi Woyome for his so-called ‘financial engineering’, when there is no proof of work done for the government, should be refunded within the next two months, possibly before the next celebration of June 4, sources close to the meeting held with Volta regional chiefs have told Daily Guide.

The Volta chiefs had met with Mr. Rawlings and his wife, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, at his Ridge office on Tuesday with the intention of brokering peace between the two leading figures of the ruling party, but the meeting was inconclusive, according to Michael Teye Nyaunu, MP for Lower Manya, who sat through the over three-hour meeting.

According to Mr. Rawlings, he did not see how he could mount an NDC platform within the tenets of the probity and accountability philosophy of the NDC if the money was not returned promptly.

This is the first time the former president is commenting on the controversial Woyome saga which was rocked the government.

Daily Guide gathered the details of the meeting a day after Mr. Rawlings met the retinue of the chiefs from the Volta Region operating under the name ‘Royals for peace and development’ at his office in Accra.

Mr. Rawlings came out of the closed door meeting which started around 3pm till about 7:15pm drenched in sweat.

Among the several issues that emerged after the meeting was the former President’s discontent about the numerous unfulfilled promises of the Mils administration and the level of tension in the country which appeared to be more than what Kofi Adams, spokesperson for Mr. Rawlings, and the chiefs, Togbe Adela Adelakoe ll of Wheta, told a section of the press.

He asked the chiefs why for the first time in history, a simple voter registration exercise had generated so much tension in the country.
Mr. Rawlings asked for the removal of certain individuals and groups of persons from key and influential positions in both the party and government, including Central Regional Minister Comfort Ama Benyiwa Doe, Party General Secretary Johnson Asiedu-Nketia and Ato Ahwoi, who is seen as the defacto Prime Minister.

Others are the ‘Reform Boys’ Goosie Tanoh, Kyeretwie Opoku, and Dr. Obed Asamoah and Kojo Boakye Djan, the former AFRC member who recently joined the NDC and is standing as Jaman South parliamentary candidate.

According to the NDC founder, it would be very difficult to share the same platform with Boakye Djan because of the insults he had heaped on him.

Mr. Rawlings was said to have complained bitterly about how Benyiwa Doe embarrassed his wife, Nana Konadu, after the NDC congress in Sunyani.

He was said to have recalled with nostalgia how the Central Regional Minister caused a group of thugs to deny Mrs. Rawlings the mere opportunity to use the Cape Coast Town Hall where she was scheduled to meet and address some FONKAR members as part of her ‘thank you tour’ of the region, even though she had dully paid for it.

In the case of Mr. Asiedu Nketia, whose diminutive physic has earned him the nickname ‘General Mosquito,’ Mr. Rawlings said he could not foresee himself campaigning with the man who had referred to him as a ‘barking dog’.

As part of the pre-conditions, the NDC founder wanted the removal of Ato Ahowi an influential member of the Mills administration and head of the ‘kitchen cabinet’, from the key positions in government whilst the likes of Gossie Tanoh, Kyeretwie Opoku and Obed Asamoah and a host of others who left the NDC to form National Reform Party (NRP) and the Democratic People’s Party (DPP), and recently rejoined should be made to go back since he could not be in the same ship with individuals who had denigrated him on various platforms.

The former President was said to have told the chiefs in plain language that he could not in any way share the same platform with the Mills appointees unless they were sacked from the NDC.

He asked the chiefs whether they had passed through the Castle and found for themselves where the problem of the frosty relationship was coming from.

Mrs. Rawllings on her part asked the chiefs whether their mission was because they wanted them to be part of the NDC campaign simply because the election was getting closer. She said the insults they had received from Mills boys like Okudzeto Ablakwa, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, Alhaji Bature and others were too unbearable.

source: daily guide

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One may ask what makes these startups die out after the first year? Is it because they come in unprepared, or maybe it’s the business climate, well what about government policy, the list goes on and on but one thing we can be sure of is that, there will always be a 4% who will emerge out as champions at the end of the day.
Like most startups, we started our company with so much joy, we had this idea of taking over the world, we would meet each night and talk about profits, expansion, how brand is going to be worldwide. Guess you get the picture. Oh the good old days. Well, we made so many assumptions and finally pulled capital together and got it registered. Six months down the lane we came face to face with reality, competition was stiff, we kept changing strategies, today we are putting so much money into publicity, tomorrow we are searching all over the world for content, losses kept piling up, this went on till we finally lost one of our board members, it was at this stage that I came across an article about how first time startups end up in gutters year in year out. This information changed my view of things and we began to change our course and by God’s grace business is doing well now.
Maybe you find yourself in a similar situation, maybe you can feel your company moving south. I am here to tell you today that if you don’t act now your business would be counted among 96%
Mind the following if you want your business to grow:
Before you start any business, it is nice to think about the profit, have the taking over the world dream and maybe practice your award speech but make sure that you ask yourself why you are going into the business in the first place. This question clears up stuff and save you from being swayed by the charm of “good deals” emanating from other options.

You must have a vision, well defined and made clear to every member or employee in the company, create guiding values and make sure that you do not compromise on them no matter what.

Have a plan. This may include things to do to get the man on the street to consume your product or service. Where you want to be in the next 6 months, a year, 5 years or even 10 years and how to survive competition and changing trends in your market

Make sure you get the right people on your team. You have to always remember that your most important asset is not the plant, or the brand, it is the people who work behind the scenes day in and day out. Get the best and keep them motivated to stay with you.

One problem we used to face back then was that we would talk for hours and make news plans but at the end of the day nothing gets done. If you don’t want to fold up, make sure the DECISIONS made are IMPLEMENTED. Talk is cheap, act always

Also check your business culture. There are some companies you join with so much fire in you but the culture there is such that it dries up all the fire and totally kills your zeal. It is easy to create a good business culture when the business is young. Make conscious effort to shape the mindset of employees, because you can have the best employees but the wrong culture may turn them into unproductive lazy idiots, if you will excuse my language

Before I sign out for today, I want you to know that business looks good from the outside but in the inside it takes a lot of patience, skill, experience, hardwork and most of all grace, yeah you heard me grace, to stay on top, don’t give up, work hard and you shall soon be smiling. Be part of the winning 4%.

You follow us on twitter @Ghbase or follow me personally @jblay77. Send me a mail profblay600@yahoo.com and let’s chat. Looking forward to hearing from you. Bless you.

Author: Joe Wellington Blay

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The cedi has lost more than 9% to the US dollar since the start of the year, and has continued to shrug off efforts — including two 100-basis-points hikes in the policy rate — by the Central Bank to stem the slide.

The TUC said it fears workers’ purchasing power will be eroded as the weak cedi causes the domestic prices of imported goods to rise. Headline consumer inflation picked up by 0.2 percentage points in March to 8.8%, driven by increases in the prices of clothing and footwear — which the Ghana Statistical Service said may be linked to cedi weakness.

“The FTT will not only help to stem speculative attacks on the cedi, but equally importantly generate revenues for national development,” TUC Secretary-General Kofi Asamoah said in a statement.

The Central Bank said this month that the activities of speculators who are trying to profit from the cedi’s wobbliness, including hedging against its depreciation, are exacerbating the situation with the currency.

Mr. Asamoah said the liberalised trade in foreign exchange — “like [it was] any other commodity” — fuels speculative activities, and asked for external payments to be tightly regulated.

High import demand and the cash-based nature of trade between local importers and Chinese producers have increased the demand for foreign exchange, putting pressure on the local unit. Meanwhile, weaknesses in advanced economies — particularly the crisis in the euro zone — have reduced capital flows into the economy, according to the Central Bank.

The bank has sold more than US$1billion this year to importers and banks to plug the foreign exchange supply-gap. But the TUC censured the bank’s actions, saying they do not address the fundamental causes of the problem.

“In the view of the TUC, depleting national reserves merely to shore-up the cedi amounts to treating symptoms rather than focusing on the illness.

The weakness of the national currency is structural and symptomatic of the failed economic policies that have been pursued over the last three decades under the auspices of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

“The policy of unbridled trade liberalisation — or more appropriately, import liberalisation — has compelled us as a nation to live virtually on imports.

We practically import everything, including tilapia and toothpicks.

“We expect the government and its agencies to review our trade policies to ensure that in the medium- to long-term, Ghana weans itself off imports.

We expect them to address the many constraints that hinder domestic production and value-addition, and which permanently necessitate over-dependence on imports.”

The TUC alleged that the legal limits on foreign exchange transfers out of the country are rarely enforced.

“There is evidence of people and companies transferring millions of dollars in sacks through our porous borders,” Mr. Asamoah said.

He called on the government to “break the tradition of fiscal recklessness” as elections approach this year, warning that a discerning voting public is becoming averse to fiscal mismanagement.

“Halting the free-fall of the cedi will require a fundamental shift in policy and attitudes, particularly among the monetary authorities.

source: myjoyonline
In the longer-term, we do not believe that the cedi can be saved by endlessly resorting to the injection of foreign currency by the Bank of Ghana — after all, we have only so much reserve.”

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“About five years ago I was suffering through an endless business dinner, when the guy next to me said he performed stand-up when not doing IT,” recalls Cody. Intrigued, he decided to take a course and start performing himself. Soon he noticed a happy crossover to his professional life, where he was employing humor more often, listening more intently to clients and becoming better at holding audiences’ attention during presentations.Cody wanted his employees to reap the business benefits of comedy too, so he launched a 90-minute comedy workshop for his new recruits and staffers to attend every two months. He says it infuses them with confidence, bonds them with coworkers, teaches the nuances of reading an audience and environment, and livens up their presentations. The new refreshed and fun culture is also helping him secure business. “It’s a point of differentiation,” he says. “When all things are equal, clients will pick the firm they want to work with.”

Are funny people more successful in business? Old-school HR people are quick to say that humor is dangerous in the office: It too easily offends or falls flat. However, researchers and companies alike are beginning to tout the individual and company-wide benefits of a well-placed punch line. Those looking for an edge may want to think more critically about their funny bones.

Research shows that successful “Humor has three primary impacts: cognitive, emotional and physiological,” says psychologist Steven Sultanoff, Ph.D., former president of the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor. He explains that workplace humor may offer some perspective on a situation, which helps people process it. After a company leader sent a memo saying they needed to “shrink” a difficult problem, Sultanoff recalls, one employee posted a tiny copy of the memo on a community bulletin board. Also, because we can only feel one emotion at a time, humor creates an emotional lift by displacing frustration with the joy of the joke and a physiological reduction of stress hormones.

Sultanoff says that people who are funny likely will be perceived as more enjoyable and as better employees because they are in fact more successful. “If someone is using humor then they are connecting with people and building relationships, which creates opportunities that other people may not have.”
humor boosts both personal productivity and group effectiveness. According to Michelle Gielan, an expert in positive psychology and cofounder of the Institute for Applied Positive Research, when something makes us smile or laugh, the feel-good chemical dopamine is dropped into our systems, which turns on all the learning centers in the brain and heightens creativity, productivity and engagement. In a meta-analysis of 225 academic studies, happy employees were found to have 31% higher productivity and 37% higher sales. Doctors who were primed to be positive came to the correct diagnosis 19% faster and more accurately, while business teams solved problems more quickly, were deemed better by bosses and got higher customer satisfaction ratings.

“Humor can serve to facilitate trust, ease tension and establish a sense of group cohesion,” says Anthony Pescosolido, a management and organizational behavior professor at the University of New Hampshire. In his research, he found that effective humor provides a sense of “psychological safety” that helps manage emotions and makes group members more willing to accept challenging goals. Using humor also increases attentiveness and persuasiveness. For a leader, it helps you relate by breaking down power structures and equalizing people in the organization.

Of course, all of this is true for humor that works. Sultanoff says it’s the “empathic humor,” which has a positive intent and arises out of your compassion for a person or situation, that serves people well. Conversely, “hostile humor” undermines productivity and wellbeing. It negatively targets an individual for a misdeed or character flaw. Someone may use it to show their superiority, as a form of passive aggressiveness or as punishment. It’s when you’re late to a meeting, and the boss says, “He’d be late to his own birth,” notes Sultanoff. It causes people to withdraw, feel more irritated and less motivated, and actively avoid others.Moreover, Sultanoff says potentially offensive humor—anything that may be construed as racist, sexist, ageist or hits upon another cultural sensitivity—could damage your reputation and professional relationships. “Even if someone isn’t offended by it themselves, they might be offended that it’s against the rules,” he says.

At Cody’s Peppercom, employees are quick to police attempts at humor that cross the line. Not long ago, a new male receptionist sent a company-wide email responding to their rained-out softball game. “I was looking forward to seeing the ladies in wet T-shirts,” he wrote. Immediately, both male and female coworkers told him that such comments were inappropriate and unwelcome, says Cody.

But even those skilled at “low-risk” humor should be wary of overkill. “Over-reliance on humor often leads to a sense that this individual is not a ‘serious’ worker, particularly if one tends to use self-deprecating humor,” says Pescosolido. The proverbial “class clown” may be considered a distraction and a barrier to group performance.

Despite the avenues for failure, some companies are betting on humor’s benefits. “Humor and play are in the corporate mission statements of Southwest Airlines, Google and Ben & Jerry’s,” Sultanoff says. “At most places, you won’t read it in the manual, but I think companies should be thinking about it.” He notes that only 15% of people are fired for incompetence—the other 85% are fired for not getting along with others. Used effectively, humor helps people get along, decreases turnover and increases productivity. And that’s no joke.
source:forbes

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Lore, the social network for higher education formerly known as CourseKit, just completed a $5 million investment round and rebranded itself as Lore. Why? Joseph Cohen, Lore’s co-founder and CEO, said “As a name, Lore gives us freedom to grow, and reflects our belief that learning is about connecting people. We aim to build a lasting brand that inspires a spirit of learning.”

As I wrote last November, Cohen dropped out of Wharton to start CourseKit because he was so passionate about his dislike of Blackboard and wanted to come up with something better. And after launching it with 30 beta sites in December, the company now has 600 schools using it in its courses. So he’s making some good progress.

Meanwhile, Peter Thiel, through his Founders Fund, put some of his money into Lore. Even though Thiel teaches Computer Science 183: Startup in Stanford’s Computer Science department, he is also paying to keep students from attending Stanford.

As I wrote in June 2011, Thiel paid 24 students $100,000 to turn down college and start a company. But this begs the question of why Thiel is teaching at Stanford if he believes so strongly that students would be better off skipping his course and all the other ones that Stanford teaches to start a company.

This brings us back to why Thiel invested in Lore. According to Thiel’s statement, “The Internet is reshaping how people learn, and Lore is one of the companies making that happen. My course at Stanford is using Lore and we can see dynamics changing already.”

In an interview with Cohen, I learned that Thiel has about 250 to 300 students in his class and Lore lets students submit their assignments, lets Thiel see what students are discussing, and helps him with grading.

As far as commenting on the irony of Thiel investing in a piece of software that helps him work in a university while he is paying students to drop out or not attend, Cohen told me that Thiel is “extremely busy right now and said that he’s not available for media interviews.”

Will Lore become the Facebook of learning? If that happens, Cohen and Thiel will both be happier. But if it means he has more money to pay students to drop out of Stanford, it remains to be seen how well Stanford will like employing a professor who siphons off its top students before they earn their degree.

source: forbes

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It has also served notice it will use all legal means to deal ruthlessly with individuals or groups who intend to disrupt the peace and security of the nation.

In his first official comment on the alleged ethnocentric statement by the Assin North MP, the Vice President, John Dramani Mahama called on the entire citizenry to condemn it.

Addressing members of the Tertiary Education Institutions Network of the NDC in the Ashanti Region, Mr. Mahama wondered how such explosive comments could be made by a Member of Parliament.

Mr Kennedy Agyapong was arrested last week for making inflammatory comments and declaring war on Accra-based radio station, Oman FM, owned by him. He was granted bail by the Accra Fast Track High Court in the sum of GH¢200,000 with one surety to be justified on Thursday.

According to the Vice Presidents, the ethnocentric comments made by the Assin North MP “should not be taken lightly …the whole nation must rise up and say what he said was absolutely unacceptable…It is the silence of those who should speak for the truth that makes evil triumph.”

In apparent reaction to President Kufuor’s description of Kennedy Agyapong’s arrest as “using a sledge hammer to kill a fly”, Mr. Mahama said government will even use a bulldozer to kill the ant whose intention is to foment trouble.

myjoyonline

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Boakye Agyarko’s remarks follow calls on Nana Akufo-Addo to condemn and distance himself from the infamous comments made by Assin-North MP.

But Mr. Agyarko tells Joy News it will be counterproductive for Nana Addo to respond since the party has already issued a statement on the matter.

“Let us remember that the party, as the largest institution, has issued a categorical statement on that. It is my candid opinion that this party is bigger than any individual inside this party and once that party has spoken, so clearly and categorically, that statement binds all of us. None of us from Nana Addo all down is in position to contradict that statement.”

He also refuted claims that Kennedy Agyapong’s comments were influenced by Nana Addo’s ‘all die be die’ pronouncement.

myjoyonline

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Ahkan and Bullet, who make up the duo, Ruff n Smooth, have maintained their musical shine since.

Fans and non fans alike of Ruff n Smooth could never only listen to the swagger song without any body movement; the song really went down the dancing vein of every music lover and still does. “(Singing) she get swagger, she be sweet like banana, she they come from Ghana, ah ah she is diva!” This reporter could not continue the story without singing the chorus from the global hit. ‘Sex Machine’ followed the ‘swagger’ song which was already receiving ‘presidential treatment’ by fans.

After their ‘swagger’ album, the duo, Ruff n Smooth has not released any new album for 3 years with the maiden album still sustaining their shine. The duo has flown on the wings of the album, performing across the world with a recent return from an European tour last month (March).

The swagger boys after injecting the Ghanaian and global fans with their maiden releases, is out with another mind blowing exceptional new trend of song, BMG. This reporter who had the privilege of having an analytical listening of the song can confirm the uniqueness in the song. ‘BE MY GIRL’ is the full meaning of the acronym BMG.

With Ahkan in his usual acoustic sound alike voice, the singing was delivered to its zenith, sounding same or even better than the little string of the electronic guitar released after 5 seconds pull. Bullet, who never lazy on his exceptional hooks and rap was at his best, giving a touch of excellence to perfect the song.

Ruff n Smooth needs no further description on how excellent they could sound in songs pointing back to their incredible ‘musical menus’ they have served the world so far. Before you hear the new single, BMG, which is one of the songs from the upcoming album, be the first to hear the song in your school, neighbourhood or family by following the duo @ruffnsmooth on Twitter and Ruff n Smooth on Facebook to stay updated with every proceeding of the ‘BMG boys’.

Author: Nana Kwesi Coomson www.233times.com

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