Who am I to judge? Pope Francis refuses to...

 

The pope has said that he 'will not judge' gay priests.

Speaking to reporters on a flight back from his week-long visit to sexually permissive Brazil, Pope Francis said he ‘would not stand in judgment’ of gays in the Vatican and that they should not be discriminated against.

The pontiff's remarks about gays mark a more conciliatory approach than his predecessor. Benedict signed a document in 2005 saying that men with deep-rooted homosexual tendencies should not be priests.

Acclaimed hacker Barnaby Jack Dead!

Conspiracy theorists, gather ‘round. Renowned hacker Barnaby Jack has died at the age of 35 just days before he was scheduled to host a highly anticipated talk at this year’s Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas. A report from the local medical examiner’s office confirmed the death took place in San Francisco but didn’t provide any further details.

Saudi Arabia’s Mecca Slashes Allowed Pilgrim Numbers Due to MERS-CoV Virus Threat.

 

Saudi Arabia's Mecca, the country's holiest city being the home of Mohammed and site of pilgrimage and travel for millions of Muslims, has slashed the allowed number of pilgrims to enter its perimeters as a counter measure to the fatal MERS-CoV virus threat.

Government as well as health officials from Mecca announced the allowable number of pilgrims to enter the holy city will be reduced to half for those coming within Saudi Arabia, while the number of foreign Muslim pilgrims will be slashed to 20 per cent.
This, even as the World Health Organisation (WHO) continued to reiterate that the risk from the MERS-CoV virus threat is "very low."
WHO added that Saudi Arabia does not even need to screen the pilgrims wanting to execute their duties in the holy lands of Mecca as well as Medina.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu Backs Gay Rights in South Africa, Says He Will Not Worship a Homophobic God.

 
Gay rights got a powerful boost on Saturday with no less than Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu throwing his support at the launch of United Nations-backed Free and Equal campaign in South Africa.

It was not actually a first time for the 81-year-old powerful archbishop to campaign for gay rights, based on videos of his previous talks about the topic.

Election Petition: It’s allover finally

The two sides in the election petition hearing have brought to an end submission of their evidence in the trial paving way for their addresses, which has been slated for July 31, 2013.
The case has been running for the past 46 days since substantive hearing commenced.
The Petitioners - Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, his 2012 running mate Dr. Mahamudu and their party’s National Chairman Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey - filed to challenge the results of the 2012 presidential poll in the Supreme Court with reason that the election was fraught with too many anomalies which robbed their candidate of victory.

Dr. Otabil says he senses evil coming on Ghana.

The General Overseer of International Central Gospel Church (ICGC), Dr. Mensa Anamua Otabil says he can sense evil befalling Ghana within the next one month if Christians do not wake up and pray for the country. 

Fifi Kwetey defends new taxes; says you cannot eat your cake and have it

Minister of state in charge of Allied and Financial Institutions Fiifi Kwetey says Ghanaians cannot expect investments in critical sectors of the economy, without its attendant needs for more taxes and more borrowing. Simply put, Ghanaians cannot eat their cake and have it.

He was speaking on Newsfile Saturday, July 13, 2013 in a discussion in which the importance of the 2012 budget deficit was brought into sharp focus.

Chemicals for dead bodies found in Zambeef Products.

The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) has warned prospective importers of Zambeef Products produced in Zambia to immediately halt any processes to get the beef into Ghana.
The beef is said to contain high concentrations of aromatic aldehydes, a chemical used to embalm dead bodies, the FDA has observed.
A release signed by Chief Executive of the FDA, Dr Stephen K. Opuni said the chemical is “highly dangerous to human health and can cause organ cancer in humans”.

Rev. Al Sharpton reacted to the George Zimmerman not guilty verdict.

 

Rev. Al Sharpton reacted to the George Zimmerman not guilty verdict by calling it an “atrocity” and “a slap in the face to those that believe in justice in this country.”

“I think that this is an atrocity, I think that it is, it is probably one of the worst situations that I have seen,” Sharpton said. “What this jury has done is establish a precedent that when you are young and fit a certain profile, you could be committing no crime, just bringing some Skittles and iced tea home to your brother and be killed and someone can claim self-defense, having been exposed with all kinds of lies, all kinds of inconsistencies.”

MTTU Boss oders transfer of all officers in Sunyani over corruption allegations.

The Police Administration has directed the transfer of all officers of the Motor Traffic Transport Unit (MTTU) at Sunyani in the Bono Ahafo Region, over their alleged involvement in corrupt practices.  

 The officers were alleged to have extorted monies from commuters particularly, those who ply the Techiman-Buipe road. Director-General of the MTTU of the Police Service, ACP Angwubutoge Awuni announced this in Wa, the Upper West Regional capital, while addressing officers there. “I have just announced the transfer of every MTTU officer in Sunyani, from the Commander to the last Constable; I've transferred all of them and asked them that they should wait for a vehicle. 

Looming diplomatic feud between Ghana and China as both countries tighten visa controls

It appears a diplomatic feud is brewing as Ghana and China trade a tightening of entry requirements into both countries. No official explanation from the Chinese Embassy has been communicated but it appears to be linked to a month-long crackdown of Ghanaian authorities on Chinese illegal miners. In May this year, a 9-member delegation from China’s Guangxi province where majority of the illegal miners are believed to have hailed begged government not to arrest their compatriots engaging in small scale mining. This request was turned down after a meeting with Inusah Fussieni, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources and Chair of an Inter-ministerial task force on illegal mining. The taskforce has deported over 3,800 foreign nationals engaged in illegal mining.

Nigerian Court Denies Bail to Hezbollah Suspects.

 

Federal High Court in Abuja has refused bail for three Lebanese-Nigerian men accused of stockpiling weapons and plotting terrorist attacks for Hezbollah, and ordered that properties including a popular supermarket and an amusement park in the Nigerian capital remain sealed for investigation.

Judge Adeniyi Ademola Adetokunbo said Mustapha Fawaz, Abdullah Tahini and Talal Roda would remain locked up in "the interest of national security" but promised to begin the trial soon in the interest of protecting their rights. The men have been locked up for nearly two months and recently filed a $19 million unlawful detention suit against the government.