Ghana Newspaper Headlines for Thursday, 9th of December, 2021.
Crypto On WhatsApp, Border Reopen, Travis Scott, more
1) Meta’s WhatsApp move to allow in-app crypto payments
Meta Platforms Inc’s (FB.O) cryptocurrency wallet, Novi, will allow users to send and receive money through the social media giant’s messaging app, WhatsApp.
The pilot program is open to a limited number of people in the United States, Novi head Stephane Kasriel said in a tweet. Using Novi does not change the privacy of WhatsApp personal messages and calls, he said.
2) ECOWAS move to reopen its land borders from January 1, 2022
ECOWAS Member States have proposed January 1, 2022, for the reopening of all land borders. ECOWAS Sectoral Ministers, in collaboration with the West African Health Organization (WAHO), took the decision at a virtual meeting coordinated from Abuja, Nigeria.
Among the factors informing the decision, the Ministries took into consideration the fact that their economies lost $50 billion in value or 6.7% of their cumulative Gross Domestic Product (GDP) between 2020 and 2021.
3) Man stabs girlfriend to death with 46 inch sword, calls police to report false robbery
A man stabbed his girlfriend to death with a sword and stuffed her in the closet of his apartment before calling police to falsely report a robbery. According to a New York police statement, the murder was revealed after the suspect, Peter Ikonomou’s mother arrived at the apartment because she hadn’t heard from him in a while.
Once cops arrived, the distraught mother told them that she feared for her son and the safety of his girlfriend. When cops got into the apartment on 85th Road, Ikonomou met them at the top of the stairs with a stick in his hand, police said. He told cops his girlfriend was “in the closet,” sources said. There, they found the body of Mindy Singer, 35, with a 46-inch sword still stuck in her backside. Detectives quickly arrested Ikonomou.
4) Travis Scott’s over-300 Astroworld festival lawsuits to be handed by one judge
The more than 300 lawsuits that have been filed so far in Houston, Texas following a massive crowd surge at the Astroworld festival that left 10 people dead have been consolidated and will be handled by one judge as the cases proceed through the court system, a judicial board has ruled.
The 10 people who died were among 50,000 who had attended the festival and were in the audience on Nov. 5 when Scott’s concert turned deadly as fans surged toward the stage during his set. Prosecutors of 2,000 concertgoers are asking for $10 billion in damages.
5) Bayern star Joshua Kimmich diagnosed with lung problem following COVID infection
Bayern Munich have confirmed unvaccinated star Joshua Kimmich will miss the remainder of 2021 after he was diagnosed with a lung problem following coronavirus infection. The midfielder tested positive at the end of last month and had his wages docked for missing games while in self-isolation.
Kimmich has ended his period of quarantine but is still unable to return to training as he battles with the side effects of the virus. In a statement released on Bayern’s official site, Kimmich said: ‘I’m happy my self-isolation caused by the coronavirus has ended. I’m doing very well, but I’m not yet able to train fully due to slight infiltrations in my lungs. I’ll therefore do some rehabilitative training and can’t wait to be fully back in action in January.’
