News
Cyclone devastates Kolkata, leaves scores dead
The eastern Indian city of Kolkata has been devastated by a powerful cyclone which has killed at least 84 people across India and Bangladesh.
Amphan made landfall on Wednesday, lashing coastal areas with ferocious wind and rain. The storm is weakening as it moves north into Bhutan.
Thousands of trees were uprooted in the gales, electricity and telephone lines brought down and houses flattened.
Many of Kolkata’s roads are flooded and its 14 million people without power.
The storm is the first super cyclone to form in the Bay of Bengal since 1999. Though its winds had weakened by the time it struck, it was still classified as a very severe cyclone.
Coronavirus restrictions have been hindering emergency and relief efforts. COVID-19 and social-distancing measures made mass evacuations more difficult, with shelters unable to be used to full capacity.
Amphan began hitting the Sundarbans, a mangrove area around the India-Bangladesh border home to four million people on Wednesday afternoon, before carving north and north-eastwards towards Kolkata, a historic city that was the capital of the British Raj and widely known as Calcutta.
Parts of West Bengal and Orissa (also known as Odisha) states in India, and areas in south-west Bangladesh, bore the brunt, with winds gusting up to 185km/h (115mph).
At least 72 people have died in India’s West Bengal state, and 12 deaths have been confirmed in Bangladesh.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said the devastation in Kolkata, the state capital, was “a bigger disaster than COVID-19”.
“Area after area has been ruined,” Ms Banerjee was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India news agency. “I have experienced a war-like situation today.”
Three districts in West Bengal – South and North 24 Parganas and East Midnapore – were very badly hit.
In Bangladesh, there are reports of tens of thousands of homes damaged or destroyed and many villages submerged by storm surges in low-lying coastal areas like Khulna and Satkhira. The authorities evacuated nearly 2.5 million people ahead of the cyclone.
Initial assessments of the damage are being hampered by blocked roads and flooding in all these areas. -BBC
News
Enoch Boateng to host spirit-filled worship experience
All roads lead to the Word Arena Chapel International, as Enoch Boateng Ministries lead worshippers to the throne room tomorrow at Dansoman in Accra.
Dubbed ‘Let Judah Rise,’ it aims to uplift the spirit of attendees, ignite faith and create an atmosphere of deep worship.
In an interview with The Spectator Agoro, the UK-based artiste who doubles as a pastor said the first edition which was held in Oda in the Eastern Region was super and promises attendees that this year’s edition would be mind-blowing and full of miracles.
He stated that special guests ministering in songs include Joshua Ahenkorah, the soulful Efe Grace, and Benny Brooks.
Pastor Enoch Boateng has since extended invitation to everyone to come and experience God’s presence in a unique way.
By Linda Abrefi Wadie
News
Fusing politics with fashion
Ghanaians, especially die-hard sympathisers of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) trooped to the Black Stars Square to be part of history.
The occasion was the historical return of Mr John Dramani Mahama as president of Ghana and Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang as vice president.
President Mahama was coming to the office of the president for the second time while Prof. Opoku- Agyemang was sworn-in as the first female Vice President.
The party sympathisers marked the occasion in style, appearing in fashionable dresses designed with party paraphernalia.
To make the electoral feat remarkable, they appeared in special shirts, jerseys, cloths in party colours, not leaving out the vuvuzelas.
Boldly inscribed in these attires were symbols of the NDC and Ghana.
The event also brought to the fore the typical Ghanaian hospitality, entertaining a couple of guests that came to witness the event
By Victor A. Buxton
