http://www.voanews.com Voice of America is an international news and broadcast organization serving Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Russia, the Middle East and Balkan countries http://www.voanews.com/img/voa/rssLogo_VOA.gif http://www.voanews.com en-US 2012 - VOA 60 Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:16:17 -0400 Pangea CMS – VOA Former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has launched a commission to tackle drug trafficking in West Africa, which has increased significantly in the past decade.  The 10-member commission met for the first time in the capital of Ghana Thursday.  Kofi Annan launched the Commission on the Impact of Drug Trafficking on Governance, Security, and Development in West Africa on Thursday.  He said the region is increasingly becoming a transit point for drugs from the Americas and ... http://www.voanews.com/content/annan-starts-new-initiative-against-west-africa-drug-trafficking/1594692.html http://www.voanews.com/content/annan-starts-new-initiative-against-west-africa-drug-trafficking/1594692.html Thu, 31 Jan 2013 13:46:18 -0500 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Laura Burke) John Dramani Mahama was sworn in as Ghana's president Monday, following last month’s disputed presidential and parliamentary polls.  However, members of the main opposition party boycotted the ceremony, saying the vote was stolen. Mahama took the oath of office before regional heads of state, dignitaries and tens of thousands of citizens Monday, promising he would not let his country down. “There is a torch that is passed from one era of Ghanaians to the next.  It is fragile ... http://www.voanews.com/content/ghana-mahama-sworn-in-for-new-term/1578962.html http://www.voanews.com/content/ghana-mahama-sworn-in-for-new-term/1578962.html Mon, 07 Jan 2013 07:28:06 -0500 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Laura Burke) Ghana's main opposition party decided Tuesday to contest the presidential election in court, accusing the ruling party of fraud.  The electoral commission had declared John Dramani Mahama, the incumbent, the winner of last week's election. The New Patriotic Party says the tallies of votes from polling stations in last week’s presidential election are inconsistent with the declared results announced Sunday.  The opposition party says there was tampering at the centers where ... http://www.voanews.com/content/ghanas-main-opposition-party-to-discuss-election-challenge/1562492.html http://www.voanews.com/content/ghanas-main-opposition-party-to-discuss-election-challenge/1562492.html Tue, 11 Dec 2012 06:10:13 -0500 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Laura Burke) http://www.voanews.com/content/ghanas-main-opposition-party-to-discuss-election-challenge/1562492.html#relatedInfoContainer Ghana announced the results of its presidential election late Sunday.  According to the country's electoral commission, John Dramani Mahama has won reelection.  But his opponent has not conceded defeat. Security forces with tanks and heavy artillery guarded Ghana’s electoral commission ahead of the announcement. Electoral Chairman Kwadwo Afari-Gyan made the announcement at about 10 p.m. that John Dramani Mahama of the National Democratic Congress had won. “The results of the ... http://www.voanews.com/content/ghana-opposition-claims-election-fraud/1561587.html http://www.voanews.com/content/ghana-opposition-claims-election-fraud/1561587.html Sun, 09 Dec 2012 14:29:43 -0500 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Laura Burke) http://www.voanews.com/content/ghana-opposition-claims-election-fraud/1561587.html#relatedInfoContainer Ghanaians head to the polls to vote in presidential and parliamentary elections on Friday, and analysts say the top two presidential candidates are virtually tied.  Two major parties ended official campaigning with large rallies Wednesday in Accra. Ghana’s capital was packed with political supporters in trucks and floats Wednesday as campaigning wrapped up. Both major parties held massive final rallies in the nation's capital, with thousands singing, dancing and cheering dressed in ... http://www.voanews.com/content/ghana-votes-for-president-parliament/1559633.html http://www.voanews.com/content/ghana-votes-for-president-parliament/1559633.html Thu, 06 Dec 2012 09:37:36 -0500 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Laura Burke) http://www.voanews.com/content/ghana-votes-for-president-parliament/1559633.html#relatedInfoContainer With Ghana's presidential election set for December 7, the candidates faced off in their final debate this week. Corruption and how best to manage the country’s oil sector topped the agenda.  Ghana's four presidential hopefuls argued over the best way forward for this cocoa, gold and oil producing nation.  But analysts say the vote will come down to the two main candidates: current President John Mahama from the National Democratic Congress, and former foreign minister and ... http://www.voanews.com/content/corruption-oil-hot-issues-in-ghana-election/1551149.html http://www.voanews.com/content/corruption-oil-hot-issues-in-ghana-election/1551149.html Thu, 22 Nov 2012 11:26:21 -0500 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Laura Burke) http://www.voanews.com/content/corruption-oil-hot-issues-in-ghana-election/1551149.html#relatedInfoContainer Rescue workers rushed to the scene of a collapsed retail store in northern Accra Wednesday after the six-story building collapsed around 10:30 a.m. local time.  Police, army personnel, and independent contractors used sledge hammers, saws and cranes in the effort to reach dozens of people trapped in the rubble. Many people from the surrounding Achimota neighborhood helped with the effort, using their bare hands to dig through wood, cement and other debris.  Five hours after the ... http://www.voanews.com/content/ghana_shopping_mall_collapses/1541153.html http://www.voanews.com/content/ghana_shopping_mall_collapses/1541153.html Wed, 07 Nov 2012 10:10:33 -0500 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Laura Burke) http://www.voanews.com/content/ghana_shopping_mall_collapses/1541153.html#relatedInfoContainer Two years after oil began flowing in Ghana, ordinary Ghanaians are wondering where the oil money is going. The government says there has not been much oil revenue coming in thus far, and analysts say the money that is coming in is not reaching the poor. Like many Ghanaians, Julie Anum had expectations that oil production, which began in December of 2010, would bring about epic changes to life in Ghana. The 54-year-old housekeeper said Ghanaians like her thought oil money would bring about ... http://www.voanews.com/content/ghana-oil-wealth-not-reaching-poor/1510789.html http://www.voanews.com/content/ghana-oil-wealth-not-reaching-poor/1510789.html Wed, 19 Sep 2012 07:33:48 -0400 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Laura Burke) SILINGA, Ghana – Economist Jeffrey Sachs unveiled his new Millennium Village on Tuesday in Silinga, in Ghana's north.  The Millennium Villages Project started in 2005 based on the belief that poor villagers are stuck in a "poverty trap" and if given enough resources, they will become self-sufficient.  However, such plans do have their detractors.  Video: Millennium Villages Project Nabari village lies on a flat plain in northern Ghana, and even by African ... http://www.voanews.com/content/economist-jeffrey-sachs-ghana-project-aims-to-break-poverty-cycle/1498002.html http://www.voanews.com/content/economist-jeffrey-sachs-ghana-project-aims-to-break-poverty-cycle/1498002.html Wed, 29 Aug 2012 13:03:11 -0400 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Laura Burke) http://www.voanews.com/content/economist-jeffrey-sachs-ghana-project-aims-to-break-poverty-cycle/1498002.html#relatedInfoContainer ACCRA — Ghanaian President John Atta Mills died Tuesday at a military hospital in Accra shortly after taking ill. Following a peaceful transition of power on Tuesday, focus is shifting to how the death of Mills will impact the upcoming elections.   Newsstands in Accra ran out of papers with the headline "What a shock: Mills Dead" on Wednesday morning, but life went as normal in the bustling capital of Accra. Analysts say the smooth transition demonstrates the strength of ... http://www.voanews.com/content/ghanians_discuss_elections_without_john_mills/1446628.html http://www.voanews.com/content/ghanians_discuss_elections_without_john_mills/1446628.html Wed, 25 Jul 2012 12:25:43 -0400 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Laura Burke) ACCRA – Ghana has the fastest-growing economy in Africa and with that boom has come Westernization. The country's first American-style shopping mall in the capital, Accra is drawing big Sunday crowds and changing the way Ghanaians spend their free time. The scene could be from a shopping mall anywhere in the U.S. or Europe: Boys in skinny jeans and girls wearing hot pink lipstick eat pizza at the food court inside the mall. Little kids scamper on a blue blow-up moonwalk close-by. But ... http://www.voanews.com/content/american_style_mall_westernizes_shoppers_in_accra/1403580.html http://www.voanews.com/content/american_style_mall_westernizes_shoppers_in_accra/1403580.html Thu, 12 Jul 2012 08:10:25 -0400 Africa webdesk@voanews.com (Laura Burke) http://www.voanews.com/content/american_style_mall_westernizes_shoppers_in_accra/1403580.html#relatedInfoContainer