The aggrieved Chairman of a union known as the Wisdom Taxi Union, Kwesi Arhin, lamented that life was considerably easier for drivers under the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government.

[contextly_sidebar id=”yx4yGgfzZSFFaCStr3dhZyUaVOJ0iBxP”]”During former President John Mahama’s era, one gallon of fuel was being sold at GHc 14, then candidate Nana Addo came to our station and promised to reduce the price when voted into office.”

“Since Nana Addo took office, he has done well, but the current increment in fuel prices is not helpful at all. We are pleading with Nana Addo that at last, he can bring the fuel price back to the GHc 14, as it was being sold for during Mahama’s era,” Mr. Arhin pleaded.

The angry taxi drivers also besieged TV3 to put their concerns across.

Commercial drivers nationwide have raised concerns about the fuel price increments, with drivers in the Volta Region recently complaining about the unannounced increment, which they said is killing their business as the increases do not always tally with transport fares.

Things may not get worse for the drivers as the Institute of Energy Security (IES) is predicting fairly stable fuel prices for the first pricing window in October 2017.

The IES notes indicators such as the stability of the cedi as well as a 6% drop in gasoline price.

Fuel prices hit all-year-high in September 2017, with petrol selling at an average price of GHc4.29 at the pumps, and diesel going for an average of GHc4.23 per litre.

The surge in fuel prices was blamed on, among other things, the multiple taxes and margins slapped on the products.

This has compelled some groups and policy think tanks including the IES and the Chamber of Petroleum Consumers, to call on the government to review the taxes to make the products cheaper on the Ghanaian market.

But the Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Hassan Tampuli, is adamant, insisting that the taxes are in the interest of consumers and cannot be removed.

Prior to the sharp surge in the price of fuel in September, data from the NPA showed that prices only increased marginally between February and March 2017, but dropped significantly between April and July.

The NPA suggested that, the recent price surge could be attributed to the recent hurricanes that ravaged the United States of America, which has led to the diversion of fuel products from Europe meant for south, west and central African countries.

–

By: Eugenia Tenkorang & Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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France has received approval from authorities in Baghdad for the decision, French media reports say.

Kurdish forces have been fighting militants from the Islamic State (IS) group. The conflict has displaced thousands of people.

The US has also reportedly begun supplying weapons to the Kurdish forces, known as the Peshmerga.

A statement from Mr Hollande’s office said the move was “in response to the urgent need expressed by the regional authorities in Kurdistan”.

“For several days, France has had the necessary measures in place to support the operational capabilities of the forces fighting IS,” the statement said.

“The catastrophic situation faced by the population of Iraqi Kurdistan means the international community must step up its mobilisation,” it went on.

Earlier the US announced it had sent 130 more military advisers to the Kurdish region.

The marines and special operations forces will assess the humanitarian situation and will not be engaged in combat, a US defence official said.

The US has been carrying out air strikes against IS fighters in northern Iraq.

The political leader of Iraq’s Kurds, Massoud Barzani, had on Sunday appealed for international military aid to help defeat the Islamist militants.

The United Nations has said that tens of thousands of civilians, including members of the Yazidi sect, are trapped on Mount Sinjar by IS fighters and need “life-saving assistance”.

The US, Britain and France have been delivering humanitarian aid to the Yazidis trapped in the north.

Thousands of members of the Yazidi community have been forced to flee

Kurdish fighters have said they need more up-to-date equipment to effectively face IS

Militants continue to bomb Iraqi cities – here the aftermath of an attack in Baghdad’s Karrada district

A small group of Mr Maliki’s supporters gathered in Baghdad to protest against his proposed replacement

Meanwhile, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki continued to express defiance of moves to replace him.

In his weekly televised address, Mr Maliki denounced the appointment of a political rival, Haider al-Abadi, to replace him as a “violation” of the Iraqi constitution.

He said he would not give up power until until Iraq’s federal court issued a ruling on an objection that he filed against the nomination.

However, with the US and Iran in rare agreement over removing the man who was once their favoured candidate, Mr Maliki’s words may ring hollow, the BBC’s Sebastian Usher reports.

With even his own Shia power base having turned against him, any long-term defiance by Mr Maliki only risks worsening Iraq’s desperate political crisis, our correspondent adds.

The snub to Mr Maliki came after months of political infighting, which experts say has contributed to Iraq’s inability to fight the IS threat.

On Tuesday, a suicide bomber attacked a checkpoint near the home of Mr Abadi in Baghdad, Reuters news agency reported, citing security sources and local media.

There were no details on casualties.

–

Source: BBC

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President Hollande of France, who hosted the summit, said regional powers had pledged to share intelligence and co-ordinate action against the group.

Last month it abducted 223 schoolgirls in north-eastern Nigeria, where it is based. Fresh attacks were reported in Nigeria and Cameroon overnight.

Thousands of people have been killed by Boko Haram in recent years.

The Paris summit brought together President Francois Hollande, Nigeria’s Goodluck Jonathan, and their counterparts from Benin, Cameroon, Niger and Chad.

Afterwards, Mr Hollande said participants had agreed on a “global and regional action plan”.

He said this involved “co-ordinating intelligence, sharing information… border surveillance, a military presence notably around Lake Chad and the capacity to intervene in case of danger”.

Cameroon’s President Paul Biya said: “We are here to declare war on Boko Haram”. Idriss Deby of Chad said it would be “total war”.

Earlier, Mr Hollande called Boko Haram a “major threat to West and Central Africa”, and said it had links with al-Qaeda’s North-African arm and “other terrorist organisations”.

BBC’s International Development Correspondent Mark Doyle says the group is an international threat, drawing fighters from not just Nigeria but also from neighbouring Niger, Cameroon and Chad.

Border disputes

In the latest violence, suspected Boko Haram militants attacked a camp run by a Chinese engineering company in the far north of Cameroon, near Nigeria’s north-eastern border.

Ten Chinese workers are believed to have been abducted. One Cameroonian soldier was killed, officials say.

In Nigeria itself, 11 people were reported killed in a separate attack on a village a few hours’ drive from the Cameroonian border.

A relative of one of the victims said a woman and a child were among the dead.

Representatives from the UK, US and EU also took part in the Paris meeting.

Before it began, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said regional powers needed to co-operate better when it came to cross-border intelligence.

Boko Haram has some of its bases in the Mandara mountain range that straddles the border. But the long frontier has been disputed in at least two places in recent years.

The abducted schoolgirls, who include Christians and Muslims, were seized on 14 April in the north-east Nigerian town of Chibok in Borno state.

Mr Jonathan was due on Friday to visit the town but the trip was cancelled for security reasons.

Boko Haram released a video earlier this week showing more than 100 of the girls and offering an exchange for prisoners.

President Jonathan has ruled out negotiations over their possible release, officials say.

Source: BBC

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Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan and other West African leaders will attend the talks in Paris.

On Friday Mr Jonathan was due to visit the north-eastern town of Chibok, where the girls were seized, but called it off for for security reasons.

He has ruled out negotiations over their possible release, reports say.

On Thursday, relatives of the girls called for their unconditional release by Boko Haram.

This came three days after Boko Haram released a video showing more than 100 of the girls and offering an exchange for prisoners.

‘Fresh strategies’

French President Francois Hollande is expected to open the summit later on Saturday.

The leaders of Nigeria’s neighbours – Benin, Cameroon, Niger and Chad – are scheduled to attend the talks, which will also include representatives from the UK, US and EU.

A statement said delegates at the meeting will “discuss fresh strategies for dealing with the security threat posed by Boko Haram and other terrorist groups in West and Central Africa”.

Mr Hollande on Friday discussed the issue in a phone call with US President Barack Obama.

The safe return of the 223 girls was now one of America’s main priorities, with US specialist teams and drones being involved in the rescue operation, the White House said.

France is also providing Nigeria with expert assistance to help release the girls.

US officials have criticised the speed of Nigeria’s response to the threat from Boko Haram.

Source: BBC

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Global outrage over the Boko Haram’s abduction of 200 schoolgirls last month has focused attention on the group, which has destabilised large swathes of northeast Nigeria and its neighbours.

“With Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, I have proposed to hold a meeting with the countries bordering Nigeria,” Hollande said during a visit to the Azeri capital of Baku.

“If the countries agree, it should take place next Saturday” in Paris, Hollande added.

His aides said that the leaders of Nigeria, Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger might attend. Britain, the European Union and the United States would likely be represented as well.

France, Britain, the United States and other countries have said they were sending experts to help Nigeria track down and free the schoolgirls.

Nigeria’s army has mobilised two divisions to hunt for the schoolgirls as Jonathan’s government has faced criticism for not responding more quickly to the abductions.

A French priest was released in December after being kidnapped the previous month in northern Cameroon, a region where Boko Haram is known to operate.

The group kidnapped a French family of seven on holiday in northern Cameroon in February 2013 and released them the following April.

Source: Reuters

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Clermont Foot 63, a second-division club in Clermont-Ferrand, announced on Wednesday that Costa will take over as manager at the end of the season, which comes later this month.

“It’s a historical day,” Costa said in a telephone interview from Portugal.

“And I think this is about more than Helena Costa as a football coach. I think it’s very good for all the women in sports, especially in football of course. It could have been someone else. And I hope this is only the first step. I opened a door today and more women will walk through on my back. That’s what I hope.”

Arsene Wenger: “It happens to all of us at home that we are managed by women so why not?”

But her new appointment is a major step in terms of competition and visibility.

She will be the first female manager in one of the top two divisions in Europe’s five major professional leagues (England, France, Germany, Italy and Spain). Even in the United States, where women’s soccer is firmly established, no woman has been head coach of a top-tier men’s professional soccer team.

Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, the French minister of women’s rights and of youth and sport, said on Twitter, “Bravo to Clermont Foot for understanding that giving women their place is the future of professional football”.

FIFA’s president, Sepp Blatter, wrote “Great news for women in football today” on his Twitter account.

Costa said: “I always dreamed of this. I coached boys and men for a long time in Portugal and I have had this as my target and my objective.”

Claude Michy, the president of Clermont Foot, said in a telephone interview that he was surprised by the degree of interest in Costa’s hiring.

“It’s surprising because in the world there are lots of women in important positions, heads of government or team managers in Formula One or chief surgeons,” he said. “But because it’s football — something global and still rather conservative — and a provincial French team hires a female coach, it creates a media earthquake.”

Congratulations and good luck to Helena Costa @ClermontFoot. Great news for women in football today. http://t.co/463MivEL9I

— Joseph S Blatter (@SeppBlatter) May 7, 2014

Although Regis Brouard, the current coach, will finish the season, Costa’s hiring came as a surprise bordering on shock to Clermont Foot’s players, including Emmanuel Imorou.

“Obviously, we all had incredible expressions,” Imorou told the French newspaper L’Equipe. “Afterward we discussed it among ourselves. Some laughed; others a bit less.”

He added: “Honestly, it was cool. There was no big skepticism. We made some jokes. We wondered how she was going to handle a group of men, if she was going to be able to impose her authority.”

Arsene Wenger, lighthearted as always, says: “It happens to all of us at home that we are managed by women so why not?”

Source: New York Times

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