The Chairman of the Appointments Committee, Bernard Ahiafor, has accused the Minority Caucus of deliberately disrupting proceedings during the ministerial vetting on Thursday, January 30, 2025. Appearing before the committee investigating the chaos today, Mr Ahiafor stated that the Minority’s conduct that night led to the destruction of public property and created a hostile environment. The incident prompted Speaker Alban Bagbin to suspend four MPs and establish an investigative committee, chaired by Ho West MP Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, to probe the matter. The suspensions were rescinded yesterday. “I perceived members on the Minority side to be putting up an attitude that is very disruptive. For me, I find it very difficult to go back on my words having agreed with you this is what we are going to do,”
Author Archives: The Esbec Team
Feb
Asha Patel BBC News, Nottingham Nottinghamshire Police Valdo Calocane, who was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, was given a hospital order in January 2024 after admitting manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility Triple killer Valdo Calocane was not forced to take his anti-psychotic medication because he did not like needles, a major review of his NHS care has revealed. The NHS England report identified numerous failings that show “the system got it wrong” with Calocane, who stabbed to death Barnaby Webber, Grace O’Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates in Nottingham in June 2023. It laid out how Calocane, who has paranoid schizophrenia, had no contact with mental health services or his GP for about nine months prior to the killings – and was discharged after failing to engage with them. Mr Webber’s
Feb
Veteran Springbok fullback Willie le Roux is on the verge of signing a new contract at the Bulls. Le Roux was believed to be headed for the exit door at Loftus at the end of the season but coach Jake White has given the clearest indication the player is likely to stay on for another year. Le Roux, 35, who is a two-time World Cup winner and has 98 Springbok caps, will give White options at No 10, where Johan Goosen, Boeta Chamberlain and Jaco van der Walt usually operate. “We didn’t want to resign him but the bottom line is he had an option to leave,” White said as the Bulls prepared for their United Rugby Championship visit to the Stormers at Cape Town Stadium on
Feb
See Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC. By BENJAMIN NETANYAHU FEBRUARY 5, 2025 09:09 US President Donald Trump greets Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he arrives at the North Portico of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 4, 2025. (photo credit: JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images) “Thank you, Mr. President. I’m honored that you invited me to be the first foreign leader to visit the White House in your second term. This is a testament to your friendship and support for the Jewish state and the Jewish people. I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: You are the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House. That’s why the people of Israel have such enormous respect
Feb
Two men in Thailand have been arrested for allegedly running an AI-assisted scam call centre that cost Thai-British beauty queen Charlotte Austin 4 million baht (US$118,000), raising fears about the growing threat of technologically sophisticated fraud in the region. Police identified the suspects as 31-year-old Ramil Pantawong, who was apprehended in the Wang Nam Yen district of Sa Kaeo on Sunday, and 28-year-old Thanawut Kanyaphanthe, who was detained in the Bang Lamung district of Chon Buri on Monday. They are accused of belonging to a 50-strong gang operating from a building in Poipet, a city in northern Cambodia near the Thai border. Police Lieutenant General Jiraphop Bhuridej, commissioner of the Central Investigation Bureau, said the group had targeted at least 163 people by impersonating Thai officers with the goal of
Feb
In a stunning proposal, President Donald Trump said Tuesday that the U.S. will “take over” the Gaza Strip, “level the site” and rebuild it, after earlier saying Palestinians living there should leave. “They instead can occupy all of a beautiful area with homes and safety, and they can live out their lives in peace and harmony” in other areas or countries, he said at a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it, too. We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site. Level the site and get rid of the destroyed buildings. Level it out,” he said. “Create an economic development that
Feb
Less than 15% of Israelis believe Trump’s plan is “immoral,” including 54% of Arab respondents and only 3% of Jewish israelis. By JERUSALEM POST STAFF FEBRUARY 3, 2025 19:16 US President Donald Trump speaks to journalists in the Oval Office on January 20, 2025. (photo credit: Jim WATSON / POOL / AFP) A majority of Israelis support US President Donald Trump’s proposal to relocate Gaza’s population to other countries, a Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) Israel Index survey revealed Monday. The survey, which was published ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s meeting with Trump in Washington, found that approximately eight out of ten Israelis support Trump’s suggestion that “Arabs from Gaza should relocate to another country,” while most Arab Israelis oppose the proposal. According to the findings, 43% of all
Feb
Major figures in artificial intelligence (AI) acknowledge the accomplishment of Chinese start-up DeepSeek , but caution against exaggerating the company’s success, as the tech industry weighs the implications of the firm’s advanced models developed at a fraction of the usual cost. Industry heavyweights from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to former Baidu and Google scientist Andrew Ng have praised the open-source approach of DeepSeek, following its release of two advanced AI models. Based in Hangzhou, capital of eastern Zhejiang province, DeepSeek stunned the global AI industry with its open-source reasoning model, R1. Released on January 20, the model showed capabilities comparable to closed-source models from ChatGPT creator OpenAI, but was said to be developed at significantly lower training costs. DeepSeek said its foundation large language model, V3, released a few weeks
Feb
Catch up on some of SCMP’s biggest China and economy stories of the day. If you would like to see more of our reporting, please consider subscribing . 1. Taiwanese actress Barbie ‘Big S’ Hsu dies from pneumonia Hsu gained popularity for her starring role in the 2001 TV drama Meteor Garden. Confirming Hsu’s sudden death on Monday, her family said in a statement that the actress was travelling in Japan when she caught the flu, which triggered pneumonia. 2. China warns that US tariffs will hit fentanyl cooperation efforts, damage trust China’s public security ministry has spoken out against the US decision to place a 10 per cent duty on all Chinese imports – along with larger tariffs for Canada and Mexico – warning that it will be detrimental
The Learjet 55 crashed after departing from Northeast Philadelphia Airport. January 31, 2025, 8:46 PM A small plane crashed in Philadelphia on Friday, officials said, with a fiery explosion observed upon impact. The incident occurred near the Roosevelt Mall in northeast Philadelphia. The Learjet 55 crashed around 6:30 p.m. after departing from Northeast Philadelphia Airport, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. There is no word yet on injuries or deaths. Speaking at a news conference shortly after 8:30 p.m., Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker said officials could not yet provide a number of fatalities. “So right now we’re just asking for prayers,” she told reporters. She said several homes and vehicles were impacted by the crash. People run after a small plane crash was reported in northeast Philadelphia, Jan. 31, 2025.
Tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada that are set to take effect could hike the price of a gallon of gasoline for some drivers by as much as 70 cents and send grocery bills climbing, experts told ABC News. The Trump administration this week reiterated plans to slap 25% tariffs on all products from Canada and Mexico on Feb. 1. Those countries make up two of the three largest U.S. trading partners, government data shows. Tariffs of this magnitude would likely increase prices paid by U.S. shoppers, since importers typically pass along a share of the cost of those higher taxes to consumers, experts said. The policy could raise prices for an array of products ranging from tomatoes to tequila to auto parts. “The scary thing is the list
Jan
Hangzhou -based Unitree forecasts a breakthrough in humanoid robot capabilities by 2026, when these automatons are enabled with more advanced perception, comprehension and task-execution capabilities. That is expected to turn up more clear-cut commercial uses for humanoid robots within three to five years. The Lunar New Year eve performance marked the world’s “first large-scale, fully AI-driven and fully automated cluster humanoid robot performance in history”, Unitree said in a statement. That milestone showing at the Spring Festival Gala reflects the progress being made by Unitree, which has accelerated its humanoid robot efforts over the past two years, as the field gets increasingly crowded with more foreign and domestic players amid recent advances in AI models. 01:01 Dancing robots take the stage at China’s Spring Festival Gala performance Dancing robots take
Jan
Hamas’s failure demonstrates how quickly years of diplomatic work can be jeopardized by chaos on the ground, which could derail future releases. By JPOST EDITORIAL JANUARY 31, 2025 06:01 Updated: JANUARY 31, 2025 06:07 Palestinian terrorist surround hostage Arbel Yehoud, held in Gaza since the deadly October 7 2023 attack, on the day they hand her to members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as part of a ceasefire and a hostages-prisoners swap deal between Hamas and Israel, in Khan Yunis. (photo credit: Ramadan Abed/Reuters) Our ceasefire and hostage exchange deal is hanging by the thinnest of threads, and no instance proved that more than Thursday’s hostage return. On yet another emotional and miraculous occasion, Israel saw the release of eight hostages: three Israelis and five Thai
Jan
Two US lawmakers, including the chair of a hawkish congressional committee, are raising concerns about the John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts’ decision to host the National Ballet of China, accusing the dance company of being a tool of China’s “political machinery”. They are urging the cultural institution to reconsider its ties with the Chinese ballet company. Representatives Chris Smith, a Republican from New Jersey, and John Moolenaar, a Michigan Republican who chairs the House select committee on China , sent a letter this week to Kennedy Centre chairman David Rubenstein and president Deborah Rutter regarding the NBC performances, which are scheduled from January 29 to February 2 in Washington as part of Chinese Lunar New Year celebrations. 01:59 Taking Lunar New Year to Brooklyn Nets Taking Lunar
A session of the Appointments Committee of Parliament descended into chaos late on Thursday as tensions between Minority and Majority members flared over the vetting of Kwabena Mintah Akandoh and Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa. The disagreement began when the Minority proposed postponing the vetting to Friday, citing concerns about the day’s proceedings. However, the Majority rejected the proposal, insisting the process should continue as planned. The dispute quickly escalated and some tables as well as microphones were destroyed amid a tussle between some MPs. Security personnel were called in to manage the growing tension in the conference room. The Minority remained firm, arguing that an agreement had been reached to vet only four nominees before adjourning. They insisted that no further candidates should be assessed beyond that. As both sides refused