SEVERE FLOODING IN MUMBAI Heavy monsoon rains have caused severe flooding across Mumbai, submerging vehicles, inundating shops and disrupting transport in several parts of the city. Videos circulating on social media show floodwaters sweeping through commercial and residential areas, turning roads into rivers and leaving cars half-submerged while shops were overrun by floodwaters. The heavy rainfall, which exceeded 60 millimetres within a short period, caused widespread waterlogging, leaving commuters and residents stranded and bringing traffic to a standstill in several areas. Flooding was reported in Andheri, Sion, King’s Circle and parts of Navi Mumbai, where rail services were also disrupted. Authorities have advised residents to remain cautious as more rainfall is forecast. Mumbai experiences severe flooding during the monsoon season, with poor drainage, clogged waterways and rapid urbanisation often contributing to the impact of heavy rains. 4th July,2026

53, DIES WHILE PERFORMING TAWAF AT HOLY KAABA The Pilgrims Affairs Office of Ghana (PAOG) has confirmed the death of a Ghanaian prospective pilgrim, Musah Sidi, aged 53, who collapsed while performing the sacred ritual of Tawaf at the Grand Mosque in Mecca and passed away shortly afterwards. In a press release issued on Friday, May 22, 2026, the PAOG announced the sad news with the Islamic declaration: "Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un" – To Allah we belong and to Him we shall return. According to the Office, the deceased collapsed at the Haram during Tawaf, the ritualistic act of walking in a circular path around the Kaaba – a central rite of the Hajj pilgrimage. He died shortly after the incident. The bereaved family has been duly informed of his demise. The body is being prepared for Janaza prayers, which are scheduled to take place after Jummah prayers, following which interment will be conducted in accordance with Islamic traditio The PAOG noted that passing away while performing Tawaf is considered a profound blessing and a sign of a beautiful ending for a blessed Muslim. In Islamic tradition, a pilgrim who dies in a state of worship and in Ihram is promised immense spiritual honour in the hereafter," the statement read. The Office extended its deepest condolences to his immediate family, sympathisers, and loved ones, praying that Allah forgives his shortcomings and grants him Jannatul Firdaus – the highest level of paradise. The statement was signed by Mohammed Amin Lamptey, Director of Communications of the Pilgrims Affairs Office of Ghana. 24th May,2026

ATTEMPTING TO ASSASSINATE PRESIDENT TRUMP A gunman burst out of a hotel doorway and charged through a security checkpoint in just four seconds as President Donald Trump was attending a press gala, according to new footage released by prosecutors. The CCTV video appears to show a security agent opening fire in the direction of the sprinting gunman, who is carrying a long-barrelled weapon, though it is unclear if he discharges it. Cole Tomas Allen, 31, is charged with attempting to assassinate President Trump at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner. He has not yet entered a plea. The US justice department says the video also shows Allen "casing the area" at the hotel on the day before the dinner, when he allegedly checked in as a guest. He is seen walking down a Washington Hilton corridor on the eve of the gala and popping into the hotel's gym, according to prosecutors. The defendant is accused of carrying a semi-automatic handgun, a pump-action shotgun and three knives as he ran through a terrace level, one floor above the basement ballroom where the high-profile press gala was unfolding. Trump, Vice-President JD Vance, cabinet members and other White House officials were rushed from the venue after gunfire rang out. The new video, posted on X on Thursday by US Attorney for Washington DC Jeanine Pirro, appears to be a higher quality version of a clip shared by Trump on social media in the aftermath of Saturday's incident. The latest footage shows nearly a dozen security agents gathered around a security checkpoint at the hotel. A man wearing a long dark coat walks through the corridor and disappears into a doorway. A moment later the gunman, having shed his coat, re-emerges and sprints through a metal-detector with both hands on what appears to be a gun. His coat was concealing a 12-gauge shotgun, according to an affidavit filed by prosecutors. The footage appears to show an officer fire his handgun at the suspect. Prosecutors have said the agent was hit by gunfire, but the alleged assailant was not shot. A Secret Service spokesman told the BBC on Thursday: "The officer was struck in the ballistic vest, but was not seriously injured." Ballistics experts have been investigating whether the Secret Service officer was hit by a bullet fired by the suspect, or by other law enforcement at the scene. Pirro said in Thursday's post on X: "There is no evidence the shooting was the result of friendly fire." However, a memo filed by prosecutors on Wednesday, asking a judge to hold Allen in custody pending trial, makes no mention of any officer being shot. It says that as the suspect ran through the checkpoint, a Secret Service officer "observed the defendant fire the shotgun in the direction of the stairs leading down to the ballroom". Earlier statements in charging documents alleged that one officer was hit in the ballistic vest by a single shot fired by the suspect. Defence lawyers for Allen have questioned prosecutors' claims that their client opened fire. On Thursday the director of the US Secret Service told Fox News that the suspect had fired at a Secret Service agent at "point-blank range". "All the evidence that I've seen, the suspect shot our officer point-blank range with a shotgun," Sean Curran told the network. Our officer heroically returned fire while being shot point-blank range in the chest with a shotgun, he was able to get off five shots. It appears that the suspect hit his knee, while being engaged by the officer, on one of our magnetometer boxes and began to fall to the ground. "That's what appears to be, and at that moment is when officers and agents were able to subdue him and pile on top of him." Allen faces additional charges, including transportation of a firearm between states to commit a felony and discharging a firearm in a crime of violence - both of which have maximum sentences of 10 years. 1st May,2026

IRAN SAYS IT WILL RESPOND IF US RENEWS ATTACKS Iran says it will respond with “long and painful strikes” on US positions across the Gulf region if Washington renews attacks, and has restated its claim to the Strait of Hormuz, complicating the plans of the United States for a coalition to reopen the waterway. Two months into the US-Israel war on Iran, the strait remains closed, choking off 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas supplies. That has sent global energy prices surging and heightened concerns about the risks of an economic downturn. Pakistan-led efforts to resolve the conflict have hit an impasse. Despite a ceasefire in place since April 8, Iran continues to block the strait in response to a US naval blockade of its ports, preventing oil exports – Tehran’s economic lifeline. Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei defended the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. “This is because of the war and the defence of our right – that is, according to international law, it is legitimate, legal, and accepted,” he said on Thursday night, Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported. He accused the US of “exploiting a waterway” of which Iran is the coastal state. “In such circumstances, you cannot allow this waterway to be misused,” he said. Two months into the US-Israel war on Iran, the strait remains closed, choking off 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas supplies. That has sent global energy prices surging and heightened concerns about the risks of an economic downturn. Pakistan-led efforts to resolve the conflict have hit an impasse. Despite a ceasefire in place since April 8, Iran continues to block the strait in response to a US naval blockade of its ports, preventing oil exports – Tehran’s economic lifeline Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei defended the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. “This is because of the war and the defence of our right – that is, according to international law, it is legitimate, legal, and accepted,” he said on Thursday night, Iran’s official news agency IRNA reported. He accused the US of “exploiting a waterway” of which Iran is the coastal state. “In such circumstances, you cannot allow this waterway to be misused,” he said. 1st May,2026

BANTAMA PROCESS MARRED BY VIOLENCE Three people have been arrested after Violence disrupted the Bantama New Patriotic Party (NPP) Constituency Executive Elections in Kumasi on Saturday One of the election officers sustained injury to the foot and was rushed to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital. The arrested individuals have been identified as Shaibu Bamba, Constituency Organiser, and Abu, Adoato Polling Station Chairman while the third person is yet to be identified Mr Samuel Dattoh Kwaah, Director of Electoral Services at the EC, told the Ghana News Agency on Friday that the Commission had completed all necessary preparations, including logistics, election materials and personnel deployment. “The EC is ready for the election on Saturday and Sunday,” he said, adding: “All the preparations are underway.” Mr Kwaah said the number of voting centres had been increased from 276 constituencies to 385 to accommodate constituencies with large numbers of delegates. “We have 276 constituencies, but some of the constituencies are huge, so we have split those centres. Instead of 276 voting centres, we are going to have 385 voting centres,” he said. 11th July,2026

TOYOTA VOXY CRASHES ON WIAWSO-ASAWINSO HIGHWAY One person is dead while several others have sustained critical injuries following a fatal road accident involving a Toyota Voxy on the sefwi Wiawso - Asawinso Highway in the Western North Region. The accident occurred between 3:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. on Thursday on the stretch between communities 81 and 82. According to eyewitnesses, the commercial Toyota Voxy had picked up eight passengers from Asawinso and was travelling to Anyanfuri when the driver attempted to swerve potholes on the highway. "The driver tried to avoid a deep pothole but lost control of the vehicle. It veered off the road, somersaulted into the bush, crashed into a culvert and plunged into a nearby stream," an eyewitness recounted. A female passenger died instantly, while the driver and the seven other passengers sustained various degrees of injury. "The impact was very severe. We rushed to the scene to rescue the victims before they were transported to the Asafo Government Hospital for treatment," another eyewitness said. Residents and motorists blamed the poor condition of the Wiawso Asawinso Highway for the crash. The potholes on this stretch have become death traps. We are appealing to the authorities to rehabilitate the road before more lives are lost," a resident appealed. 11th July,2026

DEMOLITION OF KORLE BU'S ‘DEATH TRAP’ MATERNITY BLOCK President John Dramani Mahama has directed the demolition of the ageing Gordon-Guggisberg maternity block at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, labeling the structural integrity of the facility a dangerous "death trap" for both patients and healthcare workers Speaking on Thursday, July 9, 2026, at the commissioning of the Ghana Medical Trust Fund Cardiac Catheterisation Laboratory, the President revealed that the old building had deteriorated beyond repair. To prevent any disruption to maternal healthcare, the government has launched the procurement process to construct an ultra-modern replacement maternity block. This initiative forms part of a broader national strategy to elevate specialist healthcare delivery and provide safer medical facilities. The intervention is being driven by the Ghana Medical Trust Fund, popularly known as "Mahama Cares." According to the President, the fund’s mandate has been expanded after realizing that merely financing treatments was insufficient if the physical infrastructure did not exist to support patients. The trust fund will now actively finance the development of specialist facilities, medical equipment acquisition, and professional healthcare training. In tandem with these infrastructure upgrades, President Mahama announced that Cabinet has approved the recruitment and training of 500 critical care nurses. The initial phase of this training program is currently underway at Korle Bu and will soon expand to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital. Furthermore, to address the historic issue of poorly maintained infrastructure, the government has established the Ghana Medical Equipment Services Limited. Acting as a subsidiary of the Trust Fund, this entity will oversee the maintenance and replacement of specialized medical equipment across public hospitals. Reflecting on past retooling errors, Mahama concluded, 11th July,2026

MAHAMA DIRECTS ZOOMLION President John Dramani Mahama has directed the immediate opening and operationalization of six transfer stations that were built more than nine years ago to support the disposal of refuse collected during the national cleanup exercise He said this is to prevent the waste from returning into the drains after any rainfall. The directive follows an appeal from the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Ahmed Ibrahim, for designated dumping points to be made available for waste removed from drainage channels during the post-flood clean-up exercise on July 11 Speaking on day two of the national cleaning exercise, President Mahama said the move was necessary to address a recurring challenge where waste collected from drains is left by roadsides and later washed back into the drainage systems. Yesterday one of the directives I gave was that in the past we do these cleanups, we take all the garbage out of the gutters, but we don't follow up and come and collect the garbage that is by the roadside.And so when the rain falls it just washes all the dirt back in. And so today we're going to concentrate on scooping all that garbage we took out of the gutters into these big trucks that you see there so that they'll take them to the dump sites and go and dump them. But we know that if you look at the city and all the garbage we've taken out, we cannot do it in one day.So, we'll all help to do it today but tomorrow the army and the other agencies will continue until we're able to clear all the garbage that was taken out of the drains. We've had six transfer stations that were built more than nine years ago. Unfortunately, they were not put into operation. So, we've asked the contractor to open the transfer stations, that's Zoomlion, so that the Aboboyas and others can take the garbage to the transfer stations," he stated. 11th July,2026