A quick catch up on today’s top stories…
1) Ukraine announces plan to boost army as Europeans set to rise against Russia oppression
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signed a decree on Tuesday to boost Ukraine’s armed forces by 100,000 troops over three years and raise soldiers’ pay, as European leaders lined up to back him in a standoff with Russia.
Zelenskiy urged lawmakers to stay calm and avoid panic, saying he ordered the increase “not because we will soon have a war… but so that soon and in the future there will be peace in Ukraine”.
2) Three women narrowly escape being lynched after reportedly duping MoMo agents
Three women including a lactating mother suspected to be dealing in fake currency at Obuasi have been arrested and assisted police with the investigation.
The suspects, who according to reports hail from Kumasi, were nearly lynched by angry residents after an attempt to dupe a mobile money vendor at Sanso, a community in the Obuasi municipality.
Speaking today, Tuesday, February 1, Obuasi District Police Commander DSP Martin Asenso explained that the three suspects were on Monday, January 31 arraigned before the Obuasi Circuit Court.
3) ECG increase charges from today, February 1
Barring any last minute changes, the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) will from Tuesday, February 1, 2022, slap new charges on electricity consumers.
According to a document in circulation among EGC staff, the company, will be charging a screaming GH¢1, 020.00 for a single phase meter, instead of the existing GH¢400.00.
The circular titled, “new service connection charges” said they are all VAT/NHIL inclusive, and mentioned that the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC) has approved the new charges.
4) Whoopi Goldberg tenders apology after she said Holocaust was not about race
American actress Whoopi Goldberg has issued an apology after facing a backlash for her comments on the Holocaust saying it “was not about race”.
Goldberg, who co-hosts ABC’s U.S. talk show The View said on Monday that the holocaust was about man’s inhumanity to man and involved “two white groups of people”.
The Oscar-winning actress later apologised saying, “On today’s show, I said the Holocaust ‘is not about race, but about man’s inhumanity to man’. I should have said it is about both.”
5) Women players in England’s top two leagues to receive maternity, injury cover
Players in the Women’s Super League and second-tier Championship will receive maternity and injury cover as part of a landmark agreement between the Football Association and Professional Footballers Association (PFA) announced on Tuesday.
The new agreement will come into effect from the 2022-23 season, a statement said.
