A quick catch up on today’s top stories…
1) Angry traders hike goods prices by 80%, call on Bawumia to arrest Cedi
The Traders Advocacy Group has directed its members to increase the prices of goods and services by 80 per cent in retaliation to the government’s reversal of the 30 per cent benchmark value discount at the ports.
The General Secretary of the group, Nana Poku, told journalists on Wednesday: “We are, by this press conference, creating an awareness of this new development to all our members and urging them to increase the prices of goods and services by 80 per cent, just as the government has done”, adding: “After all, what is good for the goose is good for the gander”.
2) Man mysteriously dies after getting drunk at a funeral in Tarkwa
56-year-old Ekow Fynn has died after getting drunk at a funeral at Akon, a suburb of Tarkwa. Speaking to the Unit Committee Chairman of Akon, Frank Boham said “I had a call that someone had died in his room at Akon, but when I got there, they had conveyed the body to morgue”.
He said the deceased was brought home by friends after getting drunk at the funeral on Sunday. His mother received him and made him sleep in his room. The mother visited the deceased and fed him on Monday morning. However, on Wednesday morning people saw flies hovering around the deceased’s windows and doors, so they forcefully opened the door and saw the lifeless body of Ekow Fynn.
3) Apple to host spring event next week, set to debut low-cost 5G iPhone
Apple Inc will host its annual spring product launch event on March 8, the iPhone maker said on Wednesday. The company is expected to launch a low-cost version of its popular iPhone with 5G, a new version of the iPad Air and a high-end Mac Mini.
“Peek performance. March 8th. See you there,” Apple’s senior vice president of marketing, Greg Joswiak, said in a tweet. The company did not share more details on the event.
4) WHO sets new music volume limits due to fears of growing hearing loss
Young people risk hearing loss from loud music in venues such as nightclubs and concerts, the World Health Organization (WHO) said as it issued a new global standard for safe listening.
Nearly 40% of teenagers and young adults aged 12–35 years in middle and high-income countries are exposed to potentially damaging sound levels in venues such as nightclubs, discotheques and bars, the WHO said in a statement, adding that it recommended a maximum average sound level of 100 decibels. The WHO also said that it recommended live monitoring of sound levels and designated “quiet zones” at venues.
5) Formula 1 Champion Max Verstappen to stay with Red Bull until 2028
The new F1 World Champion Max Verstappen has signed a massive five-year contract extension with Red Bull which will see him race with the team until the end of 2028.
The 24-year-old Dutchman now sits pretty on the longest F1 contract of any driver on the grid. His current deal was due to end at the end of the 2023 season, but having just won the 2021 title and being widely regarded as potentially one of the best drivers ever, it’s no wonder Red Bull is quite happy to keep hold of him. Reports suggest the new deal is worth somewhere between €40-50m a year, making it one of the most lucrative in Formula 1.
