The revered king died in October 2016 aged 88.

A series of Buddhist rites began in the royal palace before the royal urn was moved onto a chariot to begin a large procession to the cremation site.

The late king will be cremated later on Thursday, in a royal pyre to be lit by his son, King Maha Vajiralongkorn.

The funeral officially started on Wednesday with a merit-making ceremony, a Buddhist rite, in the Grand Palace.

Many buildings in Bangkok’s old quarter are draped in yellow marigolds, and huge crowds are lining the streets for the funeral procession.

The chariot carrying the urn in the second part of the funeral procession has been used since the late 18th Century. Weighing just under 14 tonne, it is being pulled by more than 200 soldiers.

The elaborate ceremony is estimated to have drawn as many as 250,000 people from across Thailand.

Many of the mourners arrived at the capital days ago, and waited in the streets overnight for the procession, clutching portraits of the late king.

Thursday has been declared a public holiday, with many businesses shut all day or closing at midday.

Members of royal families and dignitaries from more than 40 countries will attend the cremation.

King Vajiralongkorn will light the funeral pyre at 22:00 local time (15:00 GMT) and his father’s ashes will be collected and transported back to the palace on Friday.

Two more days of ceremonies will follow.

The late king was seen as a stabilising figure in a country hit by cycles of political turmoil and multiple coups.

Since his death on 13 October 2016, Thailand has observed a year of official mourning, with many people wearing black.

Preparations for this week’s events took almost a year and have included setting up the large cremation complex near the palace.

The funeral site features sculptures of mythical creatures and auspicious animals such as lions and elephants.

According to Buddhist tradition, the funeral rituals are modelled after the universe and the cremation pyre represents a sacred mountain.

The funeral ceremonies come with strict guidelines for those attending. Thailand’s lese-majeste law, which forbids any insult to the monarchy, is among the harshest in the world.

Roads across Bangkok’s historic centre are shut for the day and while tourists are not expected to wear black like most Thais, they have been asked to dress and behave respectfully.

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Source: BBC

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Government flew the amount to Brazil after what was described as player agitation and a boycott of training session ahead of the final match against Portugal.

The agitation led to the personal intervention of President John Dramani Mahama in assuring the team the monies were going to be paid ahead of Ghana’s decisive Group G game against Portugal.

On Tuesday 24th June, Mr. Joseph Yammin on Citi FM’s EyeWitness News announced that government was airlifting $3M cash to Brazil for the payment of the appearance fees of the players. [Click here for full story]

Responding to questions on the announcement of the decision to fly $3M cash to Brazil on a special edition of Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana programme, Mr. Ankrah said, “that was very unfortunate.”

According to him the pressure from the players and Ghanaians on the delay in payment of the appearance fees caused Mr. Yammin to make the announcement.

“I don’t think that my deputy wanted to create chaos… All of us are humans and sometimes we crumble to pressure and the media is relentless and persistent. I think that out of that pressure he blurted it out.” he added.

The decision to airlift the money to the team gained global popularity among leading news brands in the world. The arrival of the amount was captured live on Brazilian television channel, Globo and there were even images of some of the Black Stars’ players holding their share of the appearance fees after collecting them.

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By: Mawuli Tsikata/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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The post Yammin’s announcement of $3M cash most unfortunate – Elvis Ankrah appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Ghana’s participation in the 2014 World Cup was rocked with scandals, some of which led to the sacking of two players, Sulley Muntari and Kevin Prince Boateng from the team camp.

Responding to a question by the host of Metro TV’s Good Evening Ghana, Paul Adom Otchere, on whether he regretted contributing to the inclusion of Boateng in the team for the tournament, Mr. Ankrah said; “with the benefit of hindsight, I think that we could have done without people like that. I am being very very frank.”

German-born Kevin-Prince Boateng, announced his retirement from international football in 2011, eighteen months after naturalizing for Ghana in order to represent the Black Stars at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

The player stated physical demands emanating from playing for both club and country at high levels as reason for his retirement. He was, however, recalled into the Black Stars in 2013 ahead of Ghana’s participation in the World Cup in 2014.

Mr. Ankrah also indicated that Boateng’s cultural orientation had a negative impact on the team.

Kevin Boateng was sacked from the team camp together with his team mate, Sulley Muntari for acts of misconduct.

According to the Ghana Football Association, Boateng used “vulgar verbal insults” at coach Kwesi Appiah during one of the team’s training sessions in Maceio which was the Black Stars’ team base in Brazil for the World Cup.

The GFA further stated that Boateng did not show remorse for his actions, resulting in his expulsion.

The Black Stars were eliminated in the first round of the competition after picking up a point and finishing bottom of  Group G which had the USA, Germany and Portugal as group opponents.

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By: Mawuli Tsikata/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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