WORLD NEWS
World Bank Approves $143m To Improve Education In Five African Countries Including Ghana
The World Bank Group has approved an amount of $143 million International Development Association (IDA) credits and grants to help improve quality of education in Africa, news release copied to ghanabusinessnews.com has announced.
According to the release, the fund will step up the quality and provision of applied research and higher education with a focus on the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in Ghana, Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Guinea and Senegal.
It indicated that Africa currently only produces few graduates in STEM compared to other fields, and the development of high-level skills is needed to increase productivity and promote the economic transformation of the continent.
The First Africa Higher Education Centers of Excellence for Development Impact (ACE-Impact) aims to improve the quality, quantity and development impact of postgraduate education in selected universities in the beneficiary countries through regional specialization and collaboration in the fields of STEM.
According to the Bank, the new project is increasing its total financing for the Africa Centers for Excellence (ACEs) to $456 million, including the previous phases – ACE 1 ($165 million) and ACE 2 ($148 million) – currently operational.
The release explained that, under the three projects, 45 universities in 19 countries are implementing 58 ACEs where a total number of 24,000 students are enrolled, including 10,500 at the Masters’ level and 2,400 at the PhD level. 34 programmes are certified to meet international quality standards.
Rachid Benmessaoud, Coordinating Director for Regional Integration in West Africa, was quoted as saying, “Under this regional programme, each country specializes in a set of disciplines and encourages student and faculty exchanges so that among the countries many more disciplines are covered. They also establish strong regional and international partnerships to raise the quality of higher education and research.”
The newly-approved First ACE-Impact project will support 16 centers of excellence (ACEs) and two “emerging centers”. While the ACEs aim to build regional capacity to deliver high quality postgraduate courses and conduct international caliber applied researches, the “emerging centers” will receive support to strengthen their programmes mostly at the undergraduate and master’s level in a priority field, the release added.
Ekua Bentil, Education Specialist and co-Task Team Leader of the project, expressed gratitude for its establishment.
“We are happy to help address the key challenges facing the higher education sector in Africa, so it can better contribute to regional development priorities. The ACE-Impact project responds well to the continent’s needs for scientific and technical skills to achieve its industrial development”, she said.
GENERAL NEWS
Ghanaian Business Mogul Allegedly M*rdered In South Africa
Intel from a reliable source stated that a 48 year old Ghanaian businessman, Newton Kwaku Boateng, who is based in South Africa has been allegedly poisoned to death by his South African wife in SA a week ago.
Mr. Newton who recently had scuffles with his wife had reported her to his family in Ghana, and even threatened divorce. Suspecting foul play, Boateng’s family have expressed their displeasure and despair at the death of their relative. They believe without doubt that indeed, their relative was poisoned by his wife.
Mr. Godwin Attipoe who spoke on behalf of Newton’s Family in Ghana said “We are so devastated. We are so angry. We are so heartbroken.”
He hinted that after the death of the beloved brother, a case of inquest was opened in Kempton Park, South African Police Service in Gauteng Province, South Africa, adding that “Kempton Park is a City which is based in Gauteng Province”.
Godwin Attipoe claimed they suspect corruption and cover up of the murder of Newton Kwaku Boateng by Kempton Park police station which he claimed is working closely with the wife of the deceased Alinah Mahlangu. Why? Their inquest for an autopsy be done on the victim is being denied by the police service in SA.
An emotional Godwin had to pause speaking as he started weeping, triggering cries among his other family members who were with him.
He further revealed that South African police say they are investigating and awaiting autopsy results after the body with foam in his mouth was found.
He however said “We are giving the South Africa police the authority and power of attorney to order an autopsy on Newton Boateng who died on March 2, 2023”.
He appealed to the Ghana Embassy in South Africa to assist the family to supervise the autopsy on the deceased, which his wife is resisting, adding that the wife of the deceased has not been authorized to represent the family on the issue.
More developing on the issue. Watch this space.
WORLD NEWS
South Korea Halloween stampede: Seoul crush killed at least 151 lives. (video)
South Korea Halloween stampede: Seoul crush killed at least 151 lives. (video)
South Korea Halloween stampede : At least 146 people have been killed after a stampede in the South Korean capital of Seoul on Saturday night.
During Halloween celebrations outside the Hamilton Hotel in the Itaewon neighborhood, the victims were crushed by a massive throng surging forward on a small street.
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Social media videos showed numerous casualties lying on the ground as emergency personnel and onlookers tried to revive them with CPR.
The 150 injured, many of whom are in serious condition in the hospital, and the death toll, according to Choi Seong-beom, chief of Seoul’s Yongsan fire department, could increase.
He said that the majority of the bodies had been transferred to hospitals, while the remainder had been taken to a nearby gym so that they could be recognized.
All of Seoul’s emergency services professionals, along with hundreds more, were deployed to the streets to treat the injured.
Although some local media reports claimed a huge number of people flocked to the area after learning an unnamed celebrity had been there, it is unclear what precipitated the crowd surge.
Oh Se-hoon, the mayor of Seoul, had been traveling in Europe but decided to come back home after hearing the news.
Following the stampede, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol presided over an emergency meeting.
In a statement, he urged officials to guarantee the injured received prompt medical attention and to examine the festival venues’ security.
The largest Halloween celebrations in years were held in Itaewon, according to local media, as a result of the recent relaxation of COVID-19 regulations.
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