Author: sirrichie_2i8r8t

The death toll from the sinking of a ferry last week in Gabon has risen to six, according to officials, as rescue teams continue to search for 31 people still missing. The privately owned Esther Miracle vessel was carrying 161 passengers from the capital, Libreville, to Port-Gentil, an oil port town further south, when it capsized in calm waters on March 9 close to the coastal village of Nyonie. The government said on Monday that three more bodies were discovered on Sunday, doubling the death toll to six. “We have not stopped the search operations, we have continued them since…

The United States has approved a contentious oil-and-gas drilling project in the northwestern state of Alaska, drawing condemnation from environmentalists who say the move flies in the face of President Joe Biden’s climate pledges. The US Department of the Interior announced on Monday that it had approved a scaled-back version of ConocoPhillips’s $7bn Willow project on Alaska’s petroleum-rich North Slope. ConocoPhillips had sought to build up to five drill sites, dozens of kilometres of roads, seven bridges and multiple pipelines. The Interior Department approved the project with three drill pads after saying last month that it was concerned about its greenhouse gas impacts,…

The pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has struck a $43bn deal for biotech company Seagen to add innovative targeted therapies to its portfolio of cancer treatments. Monday’s deal is Pfizer’s biggest in a string of acquisitions after a cash windfall from its COVID-19 vaccine and pill. The acquisition will add four approved cancer therapies with combined sales of nearly $2bn in 2022. Pfizer said Monday that it will pay $229 in cash for each share of Seagen. It then plans to let the biotech drug developer “continue innovating” except with more resources than it would have alone, Pfizer Chairman and CEO Albert…

Ukraine and Russia have reported inflicting heavy losses as the battle for Bakhmut rages on. Moscow has been trying to take the eastern Ukrainian city for months in a grinding war of attrition. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces had suffered more than 1,100 deaths in the past few days, with many more seriously injured. Russia said it had killed more than 220 Ukrainian service members over the past 24 hours. The BBC is unable to verify the numbers given by either side. Analysts say Bakhmut has little strategic value, but has become a focal point for Russian commanders…

AngloGold Ashanti Limited (AGA) has announced the payment of a final dividend of 257.60 South African cents for the financial year ended December 31, 2022. The amount is less 15 per cent of the gross of 322 South African cents. A statement released by the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) said the “dividend will be converted on Tuesday, March 14, 2023. All shareholders registered in the books of AGA at the close of business on Friday, March 17, 2023, will qualify for the final dividend.” The statement said the Register of shareholders will be closed from Monday, March 20, 2023, to…

The government is taking keen steps to raise per capita gross domestic products (GDP) from the current US$2,500 to US$4,500 by 2030, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has said. This, he said, would be aligned with the Ghana Beyond Aid Charter. Delivering the State of the Nation Address (SoNA) at Parliament on March 8, the President noted that the government recognises that sustained growth must be deliberate, especially in a global landscape marked by forces of technology, trade, and intense competition. He said this would require a combination of leadership, social cohesion, and deep investments in core capabilities of people, firms, and institutions…

Domestic start-ups raised US$212million worth of capital in 2022 – an all-time record, the Ghana Innovation Ecosystem Report 2022 has shown. According to the report, 71 percent of the total start-up funding came from venture capital firms, with financial technology firms (Fintechs) being the darling of the sector. They constituted 46 percent of the total investment due to the growth they offer venture funds. Again, 45 percent of the capital was raised at the early stage— pre-seed and seed start-ups, with at least 15 established start-ups expanding their operations to 11 countries on the continent, the report said. While Fintechs remain…

The global electric vehicle (EV) market is reeling from one of the most dramatic collapses in monthly sales to date, with Rystad Energy research showing that only 672,000 units were sold in January, almost half of December 2022 sales and a mere 3% year-on-year increase over January 2022. The EV market share among all passenger car sales also tumbled to 14% in January, well down on the 23% seen in December. EV sales have been on a relatively consistent upward trajectory in recent years – aside from periods impacted by Covid-19 pandemic-related supply chain issues – and a significant collapse…

Oil prices have fallen over $2 on Monday, and were down as much as $4 in early trading, as fears of a contagion spread following the sudden collapse of Silicon Valley bank on Friday. By 10:20 a.m. EST on Monday, Brent crude had fallen 2.31% to $80.87, with WTI down 2.62% at $74.67. The Dow was also plunged over 243 points early on Monday, clawing back some of those losses by 10:20 a.m., for a 70 point downswing. Oil prices likely would have fallen even more had not Chinese demand data not provided a counterweight. Fears of a pending financial crisis were…

A former Chairman of the Electoral Commission (EC), Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, has criticised the commission for its move to discard the guarantor system for the continuous voter registration exercise. In a statement made exclusively to the Daily Graphic, he said the contention of the EC that the guarantor system was not robust and, therefore, the Ghana Card should be the sole means of registration was untenable. According to Dr Afari-Gyan, as far as the National Identification Authority (NIA) allowed the guarantor regime in the registration for the Ghana Card, nothing prevented the EC from doing the same for the voter…