Ghana

ACCRA, Aug 18 (Reuters) - West Africa's main regional bloc on Friday said it had agreed an undisclosed "D-Day" for a possible military intervention to restore democracy in Niger if diplomatic efforts fail, stressing that it would not hold endless dialogue with the defiant junta.

The comments came at the end of a two-day meeting of West African army chiefs in Ghana's capital Accra, where they have been hashing out the logistics and strategy for a possible use of force in Niger. ECOWAS has said such action would be a last resort.

ACCRA, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Ghana's parliament late Tuesday voted to amend the country's criminal offenses act to abolish the death penalty.

After a third reading of the proposed bill, House Speaker Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin declared the Criminal Offences Amendment Act 2022 duly passed.

"The death penalty is too final and irreversible, and parliament has made Ghana proud by abolishing the death penalty. It is good for the country," Francis Xavier Sosu, a member of parliament, told the media.

ACCRA, June 16 (Xinhua) -- A staff team of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that Ghana's economy had started showing signs of stability after the start of the IMF's three-year support program.

In a statement released late Thursday after a week-long working visit to the West African country, the IMF team said Ghana currently sees softening inflation, an increase in international reserves, and a less volatile exchange rate.

ACCRA, May 18 (NNN-GNA) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive board, yesterday approved a three-billion-U.S. dollar Extended Credit Facility for Ghana, to help the country address its current economic crisis.

In a statement, the IMF said, the decision would enable an immediate disbursement of about 600 million dollars to Ghana, adding that, the facility would support “a comprehensive reform programme” by the Ghanaian government, to tackle the deep economic crisis brought on by a combination of large external shocks and preexisting fiscal and debt weaknesses.

ACCRA, May 13 (Xinhua) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) lauded the decision by Ghana's official creditors to grant the West African country their financing assurances, said a press release late Friday.

"I welcome the statement from the Official Creditor Committee for Ghana on the importance of an IMF-supported economic program, together with its commitment to negotiate debt restructuring terms accordingly," said Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the IMF.

ACCRA, Mar 27 (NNN-GNA) – At least eight people have been killed, after a head-on collision between a mini-bus and an articulated truck in south Ghana, an official confirmed, yesterday.

Jennifer Naa Yarley Quaye, the commander of the Eastern Regional Division of the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), said that, the accident took place on the Kpong-Tema Highway, in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality of the Eastern Region, on Saturday.

ACCRA, March 27 (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris will on Monday announce a $139 million aid package for Ghana for next year as she begins a week-long trip to Africa, part of Washington's drive to counter growing Chinese and Russian influence on the continent.

China has invested heavily in Africa in the last two decades, particularly in infrastructure, mining, timber and fishing, while Russian private military contractor Wagner Group is providing security assistance in several countries.

ACCRA, March 6 (Xinhua) -- At least 22 people were killed and dozens of others injured in a head-on collision Monday between a passenger bus and a truck in Ghana, local authorities confirmed.

The bus was traveling from the Northern Region to Kumasi, Ghana's second city, when it ran into an articulated truck traveling in the opposite direction near Kintampo, a town in the Bono East Region in central Ghana.

Eyewitnesses said 21 people were killed on the spot and another passenger died in hospital later.

ACCRA, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Elizabeth Dzokpe is a retired nurse from Kpando in the Volta Region of Ghana. She regained her vision this week thanks to the Chinese medical team in Ghana.

"I could not see well in the right eye, and sometimes, after taking a few steps, it felt like I was about to fall. I came to the hospital and was diagnosed with cataract," she told Xinhua in a recent interview.

ACCRA, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat and Trademark Africa (TMA), signed a partnership agreement here Friday night to facilitate the development of trading infrastructure across Africa to boost trade.

A memorandum of understanding between the two parties was signed during the ongoing Africa Prosperity Dialogue in Accra, the capital of Ghana.

Wamkele Mene, secretary general of AfCFTA, said he expected the partnership to help improve the collective competitiveness of all countries under the continental free trade agreement.