THE ORIGIN OF VALENTINES DAY

The origin of Valentines day has a really deep connection with romanticism and love. Is the day in which the lovers show their feelings to the person they love, sadly on these modern times it has become like most of the holidays, something materialistic and commercial.

The origin of Valentines day goes all the way back to the days of the Roman Empire, when Emperor Claudius II was the ruler. In an attempt to have more soldiers for his army, he tried to recruit every man possible, but when he saw that the men refused to leave their wives and family, he decided that all marriages should be forbidden.

But there was a priest who was loved in Rome by everyone, who thought it was unfair for young lovers not get married and share their life with the person they love. The name of the priest was Valentine, and he started to marry couples in secret. When Claudius II found out about the secret marriages, was furious and ordered that Valentine should be put in jail, where he spent the rest of his life. When he died his friends recovered his body and buried it on a churchyard in Rome.

One more version says that Valentine used to help everyone, even Christians, this was forbidden by the Emperor, who put him in jail. While he was prisoner, Valentine felt in love with one of the jailer's daughter, and every day he used to send her love notes signed : "From Your Valentine". Sadly one day the Emperor ordered that he should be beaten up with cubs to death, it is believed that he died on February 14th, and to honor him, Pope Gelasius set aside this date. But the King Henry VIII declared the day officially a holiday on 1537.

As time passed by Valentine became a Saint for all the lovers, and people around the world started to celebrate love during this day. Also some people believed that the first person of the opposite sex who one met the morning on February 14th, would be that person's Valentine.

We talked about why it is celebrated love in this day, but let me tell you now the origin of Valentine's day letters and poems: Supposedly the tradition of send poems on Valentine's day started thanks to a Frenchman, Charles Duke Of Orleans around 1415, who was made prisoner during the Battle Of Agincourt.

For various years he sent poems or as we know them now "Valentines" to his wife back in France. The first commercial Valentine card appeared in 1800, they started just with poems, but later some art was added to give it some more romanticism. And this is the origin of Valentines day, please

PROJECTS STORIES OF OUR HEROES

Names like Nelson Mandela , Martin Luther King, Kwame Nkrumah or Patrice Lumumba, all African Heroes, resonate in the children’s minds of peaceful western countries. Yet, it is the names of Laurent Nkunda, Joseph Kony, Foday Sankoh or Thomas Lubanga, all African warlords that resonate in the children’s minds of war-torn African countries. Why? The answer is quite simple: it is the reflection of their day-to-day reality. Where awareness has already been raised by the propagation of the heartbreaking stories about Africa, hope can and must be raised too through the dissemination of positive and heroic messages about Africa. The children of Africa who have lived in war-torn regions for decades have the right to know that Africa and success are not antithetical terms but a tangible reality that they all can aspire to and achieve.

You can help now African disseminate the stories of our Heroes. From one war-torn African country to
another, our team of heroic reporterscan spread the word about the positive change, so that the world finally sees Africa as it always should have been seen: a Heroic continent filled with African Heroes.

President Kabila awards each member of CHAN 2016 winning squad with a brand new Toyota Land Cruiser Prado

 President Joseph Kabila awarded each member of the CHAN 2016 winning squad with a brand new Toyota Land Cruiser Prado. Democratic Republic of Congo president Joseph Kabila presented the country's African Nations Championship (CHAN) winners with a fleet of high-end 4x4s on Tuesday. Kabila symbolically handed over keys to the top of the range cars to DR Congo captain Joel Kimwaki and coach Florent Ibenge at a ceremony in Kinshasa witnessed by an AFP journalist. Kimwaki led his team to a one-sided 3-0 defeat of Mali in Sunday's final in Kigali, Rwanda. The players and officials were decorated with "Sporting Merit" medals at a reception at the presidential palace. "May this trophy serve to forge peace and stability in our country," said Kabila at a time of fragile political stability. Despite its vast natural resources DR Congo is one of the least developed countries in the world with 77.2% of the population surviving on less than $1.90 (1.68 euros) a day, according to the latest figures from the World Bank. DR Congo became the first country to win the CHAN, which is reserved for players who play in national leagues, twice after success in the inaugural competition in 2009.

Your are here » Home » Gossip & Rumours President Kabila awards each member of CHAN 2016 winning squad with a brand new Toyota Land Cruiser Prado AFP Updated Tuesday, February 9th 2016 at 22:14 GMT +3 0 inShare President Joseph Kabila awarded each member of the CHAN 2016 winning squad with a brand new Toyota Land Cruiser Prado. Democratic Republic of Congo president Joseph Kabila presented the country's African Nations Championship (CHAN) winners with a fleet of high-end 4x4s on Tuesday. Kabila symbolically handed over keys to the top of the range cars to DR Congo captain Joel Kimwaki and coach Florent Ibenge at a ceremony in Kinshasa witnessed by an AFP journalist. Kimwaki led his team to a one-sided 3-0 defeat of Mali in Sunday's final in Kigali, Rwanda. The players and officials were decorated with "Sporting Merit" medals at a reception at the presidential palace. "May this trophy serve to forge peace and stability in our country," said Kabila at a time of fragile political stability. Despite its vast natural resources DR Congo is one of the least developed countries in the world with 77.2% of the population surviving on less than $1.90 (1.68 euros) a day, according to the latest figures from the World Bank. DR Congo became the first country to win the CHAN, which is reserved for players who play in national leagues, twice after success in the inaugural competition in 2009. TOPICS: DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO, AFRICAN NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIP
Read more at: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/sports/article/2000191133/president-kabila-awards-each-member-of-chan-2016-winning-squad-with-a-brand-new-toyota-land-cruiser-prado

Read more at: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/sports/article/2000191133/president-kabila-awards-each-member-of-chan-2016-winning-squad-with-a-brand-new-toyota-land-cruiser-prado

Read more at: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/sports/article/2000191133/president-kabila-awards-each-member-of-chan-2016-winning-squad-with-a-brand-new-toyota-land-cruiser-prado

LET'S STOP CHILD LABOUR NOW.

By : ELIZABETH BAAH ARKOFUL

Child labour is fast becoming a menace in sub-Saharan Africa of which Ghana is no exception. This practice has gained notoriety in the country more especially in the coastal communities, where fishing is the main occupation  and also in cocoa growing areas where the people are predominantly farmers. According to the UN, a child whose age is between 18 years should not be subjected to any hard form of labour.

The 1992 constitution of the republic of Ghana state emphatically  that, every child has the right to be protected from engaging in work that constitutes a threat to his or her health, education and development. Article 3 of  international labour organization(ILO) convention No 182 states that children do suffer or fall victim to child labour due  to poverty, parental illiteracy ,ignorance of some parents about the adverse consequences of child labour and also ineffective enforcement of legal provisions pertaining to the said situation. Besides, a child should not be subjected to fortune or other cruel inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In that same manner, children should be given special protection against exposure to physical and moral hazards and the like. This is because health experts especially, say tedious work can affect  a child mentally, physically, emotionally and social capabilities. Vulnerable children are those from poor homes have mostly fallen victims to child labour and abuse. In our part of the world, child labour continues to deprive thousands of children the golden opportunity of accessing  formal education, which is presumed to be the back bone of every successful nation.

For a nation such as Ghana to grow and be productive in all spheres of human endeavor, parents, especially   should play their role in raising responsible leaders for the next generation. Therefore, children should be given the necessary attention, care and above all quality education to help in the realization of their full potentials. Ghana needs productive citizens for her to grow. I hope the authorities would enforce the laws to make Ghana a better place for children.

Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Financing Fair launched in Accra

By Elizabeth Baah Arkoful  

A Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Financing Fair was launched in Accra yesterday on the theme: "SME Financing in Ghana-Enhancing Access and Reducing Costs".
The two-day fair, scheduled to take place from 16th to 17th March at the Accra International Conference Center, is aimed finding a lasting solution to the challenges confronting SMEs and also expose them to the innovative financing mechanisms in the country.
It is being organised by the Office of the Minister for Private Sector Development and Public-Private-Partnership (PPP), Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) and the Ghana Investment Promotion Center (GIPC).
At the media launch of the fair, Mr. Rashid Pelpuo, Minister of State in-charge of Private Sector Development and PPP, said a pre-event engagement with stakeholders to seek their support and commitments for the fair, was slated for February 2, at the Flagstaff House.
He said President John Mahama would open the fair, adding that, there would be for and exhibitions to create the platform to bring together all stakeholders in the financing value chain of SMEs.
Mr. Pelpuo mentioned that the SME Financing Fair sought to reduce the cost of information asymmetry and its attendant effects by bringing the banks, non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs), government agencies and multilateral agencies and SMEs together, in order to bridge the financial intermediation gap.
Mr. Pelpuo said the fair would present an opportunity not only for participants to examine how the cost of financing for SMEs could be reduced, but how SMEs could benefit from existing and future private and public support mechanisms in the country.
He said SMEs were a major pillar to the economy constituting over 90 per cent of businesses registered in the country.
According to him, MOTI estimated that SMEs comprised over 160,000 registered limited liability companies and over 350,000 registered sole enterprises and reiterated government's commitment to create the enabling environment for SMEs to grow.
Mr. Ibrahim Muntala, Deputy Minister for MOTI, said the fair would create the needed trust between SMEs and financial institutions and lead to greater access to capital to expand their businesses and help in job creation in the country.
He, therefore, urged all SMEs to participate in the fair to improve on the economic growth of the country.

Unlocking The Potentials of African Youth.

As I stood by the clock one afternoon, I asked myself, what I have done in the pasted time, how productive  I have being, but there was nothing to point to.

It is amazing how time passes without our notice. We live on a continent where youth are confused and ignorant about how precious time is to extracting the very last potentials in us. We all have potentials, a distinct one of course, but how effective and productive are these potentials contributing to the growth of our continent.  90% of our(your) time is spent on unproductive and useless things, places, etc. We are breaking the 80/20 principle. The remaining 10%, only God knows. Are we that weak?

If only we could be more productive with our time by exploiting our potentials, our continent will be a better place to live . Discover the real you, hit your code, preserve, be confident and work hard, because if you fail, 1000s fail.

African Youth Journal
Adu-Ansere daniel

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ONE OF THE GUANTANAMO BAY DETAINEES.

Guantanamo Bay detainee file on Mahmoud Omar Muhammad Bin Atef, US9YM-000202DP, passed to the Telegraph by Wikileaks

Name: Mahmoud Omar Muhammad Bin Atef

ISN: US9YM-000202DP

Time in Gitmo: 9 years, 3 months, 4 days

Released?: No

Nationality: Yemen

Date of birth: 01/01/1979

Place of birth: Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Release date:

Arrest date:

Arrest location:

Arrested by:

Captured by US date:

Arrived at Guantanamo: 01/21/2002

Memo date: 12/28/2007

DETAINEES SUMMARY: The Detainee is assessed to be a fighter in Usama Bin Laden?s (UBL) former 55th Arab Brigade and is an admitted member of the Taliban. Detainee participated in hostilities against US and Coalition forces and continues to CLASSIFIED(S) demonstrate his support of UBL and extremism.

The Detainee accepted recruitment and facilitation from a known al-Qaida member in Saudi Arabia, and acknowledged traveling to Afghanistan (AF) to participate in jihadist combat. He is assessed to have stayed at al-Qaida and Taliban guesthouses and admitted receiving militant training at the al-Qaida al-Faruq Training Camp.

The Detainees name was found on an al-Qaida affiliated document, and he has threatened to kill US citizens on multiple occasions including a specific threat to cut their throats upon his release.

Health: The Detainee is in overall good health.

Threat to US: HIGH

Intelligence value:MEDIUM

Detention risk: HIGH

Recommendation: Continued detention under DoD control

Source : Telegraph