News
COVID-19 positive cases found in some Kuwait returnees—Dr Sarkodie
A number of the 230 Ghanaians who returned from Kuwait last weekend have tested positive for COVID-19, according to the Ghana Health Service (GHS).
The Director of Public Health of the service, Dr Badu Sarkodie who disclosed this at the COVID-19 press briefing in Accra yesterday, fell short of mentioning how many of them were infected but said the service was following up on the test.
“We are following up on the test. We have not finished with all the people they took samples from. There are indications that some of them are positive. We will follow up on these and when the reports are ready, we will share them”, he said.
This disclosure comes less than a week after the Director for Media and Communication for operation COVID-19 Safety, Osei Bonsu Dickson, in a news report upon their arrival said all of them had tested negative to the virus following a test before their departure to Ghana.
“They needed to be taken through serological test, and that took place in Kuwait and all of them tested negative”, he reportedly said, adding that they would be tested again when quarantined.
The deportees arrived on Saturday from the Gulf State, where they lived illegally until the Kuwait government, in consultation with their Ghanaian counterparts, agreed to deport them via a chartered flight.
Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah told journalists last week that government granted a special permit in their admission in line with immigration and health regulations to prevent a threat to the Ghanaian population.
The deportation came at a time when the country’s borders remained closed to human travel as part of international travel restrictions under Ghana’s COVID-19 Response Programme to avert the importation of the disease.
They were the first batch of Ghanaians resident abroad who had applied to be brought back home following international border restrictions to contain the pandemic.
Asked to confirm that some members of parliaments had tested positive for the virus following their mandatory testing, Dr Sarkodie said he did not have official information on the matter.
BY JONATHAN DONKOR
News
Ghana-Colombia strengthens ties through diplomatic engagement
In an important diplomatic engagement, the Colombian Ambassador to Ghana H.E. Daniel Garces Carabali paid a courtesy call on the Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, at his office in Accra to discuss some key areas of collaboration.
The meeting focused on pressing issues, including security, decongestion of Ghana’s prisons, prison reform programmes, training programmes, improving the welfare of prisoners and enhancing disaster management in the country.
The courtesy call underscores the growing bilateral ties between Ghana and Colombia, building on previous engagements, such as the visit of the Colombian Vice President to Ghana in 2023.
The meeting demonstrates the commitment of both nations to fostering cooperation and addressing shared challenges.
News
Ghana to host African Catholic Journalists from August 10
The Union Catholique Africaine de la Presse (UCAP), also known as the African Catholic Union of the Press, in collaboration with the Catholic Association of Media Practitioners-Ghana (CAMP-G), is set to host its prestigious Triennial Congress from August 10 to 17 August, 2025.
The programme would be held at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Legon, Accra, Ghana.
This landmark event, the most significant gathering of Catholic journalists in Africa, will bring together media professionals, researchers, and experts in digital technology from across the continent and beyond.
The theme for the Congress is: “Balancing Technological Progress and the Preservation of Human Values in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.”
Congress Highlights
The UCAP Congress 2025 will feature discussions and deliberations on critical issues arising from or related to integral human development, particularly within the framework of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Some of the key sub-themes to be addressed include:Corporate Social Responsibility in Managing the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Human Values, Deploying AI in Eco-friendly Business Start-ups in Africa: Opportunities and Challenges, Technology and the Reprogramming of Social Reality, Distortion of Reality in Social and Digital Media, Ecological Education and Action Against Unsustainable Exploitation of Natural Resources, and Media and the Promotion of the Recommendations of the Synod on Synodality in Africa.
Participants will include media professionals from both ecclesiastical and lay organisations, media researchers and academics, representatives from the Vatican, government agencies, NGOs, civil society, and the digital technology sector.
Objectives of the Congress
The primary goal of this Congress is to strengthen the capacities of media professionals and educate the public on the necessity of preserving human values amid rapid technological progress. Specific objectives include; Training 100 media practitioners in Artificial Intelligence and emerging technologies, with a focus on balancing innovation and human values.
This will include promoting ethics and bioethics in technical research and technological innovations through media.
Advocating for human values such as respect for life, human dignity, charity, solidarity, and human rights and assessing the impact of technological progress to better understand the challenges, risks, and opportunities presented by AI will be part of the objectives.
UCAP is a continental organisation dedicated to promoting communication within the Catholic Church and its partners in Africa. With a mission to foster spiritual growth, collaboration, and responsible journalism, UCAP works to spread the Gospel, uphold human values, and support developmental initiatives across Africa and beyond.
UCAP is an independent, autonomous, non-political, and non-profit organisation comprising African Catholic journalists, communicators, academics, researchers, and institutions in various media fields.
