SANATU ZAMBANG STUDIOS (Podcast)

                                               ISLAM AND HALLOWEEN   Malaysia's top Islamic council has issued a fatwa banning the celebration of Halloween as haram and contradicting with Islamic law. “The Halloween celebration is clearly against the values of Shari`ah. It cannot be celebrated by Muslims,” the council said in a blog-post cited by International Business Times on Thursday, October 30. Every year, on the evening of October 31st, millions of children across North America paint their faces, dress up in costumes, and go from door to door in order to collect treats. The adults often decorate their houses with ghostly figures, carve scary faces on pumpkins, and put candles in them to create 'Jack-O-Lanterns.' Unfortunately, amon...

WHO IS TO BLAME AND WHAT IS NEXT FOR BURKINA FASO Burkina Faso also known by its short-form name Burkina , is a LANDLOCK COUNTRY in WEST AFRICA around 274,200 square kilometres (105,900 sq mi) in size. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north; Niger to the east; Benin to the southeast; Togo and Ghana to the south; and Ivory Coast to the southwest. Its capital is Ouagadougou . As of 2014, its population is estimated at just over 17.3 million. [ 2 ] Formerly called the Republic of Upper Volta , the country was renamed "Burkina Faso" on 4 August 1984 by then-President Thomas Sankara , using a word from each of the country's two major native languages, Mòoré and Dioula . Figuratively , Burkina , from Mòoré, may be translated as "men of integrity", while Faso means "fatherland" in Dioula. "Burkina Faso" is understood as "Land of upright people" or "Land of honest people". Residents of Burkina Faso ...

Azumah Nelson Africa's greatest boxer Azumah Nelson (born 19 July 1958), a native of Ghana , is a former professional boxer. He is widely considered as the greatest African boxer ever. He is a three-time world champion in two weight classes. Nelson is the former two-time WBC super featherweight Champion, and the former WBC featherweight champion.Nelson had a stellar amateur career, competing at the 1978 Commonwealth Games where he won a gold medal in the Featherweight class, and compiling an Amateur Record of 50-2. Professional career Nelson's professional boxing debut, in 1979, did not generate much attention, except in Ghana, where he was known because of his family ties. Internationally, Nelson lacked the recognition for such an event to be given its due importance. With the years, however, all of that changed because he garnered world wide fame as a boxer.He beat Billy Kwame in Accra by a decision in eight to mark his professional debut. In his third ...

ECOWAS SALUTES NIGERIA, SENEGAL ON EBOLA SUCCESS The ECOWAS Commission has congratulated Nigeria and Senegal for their exemplary response to the Ebola outbreak, which has resulted in the World Health Organization (WHO) declaring the two ECOWAS Member States free of the disease. Senegal was the first to be given a clean bill of health on 17th October by the world health agency after reporting one solitary case in August 2014. Nigeria’s case is most remarkable with the WHO declaring the country Ebola-free on Monday 20th October 2014, for having successfully broken the chain of transmission after reporting eight deaths and some 20 confirmed cases of the disease that has claimed more than 4,500 lives from almost 9,000 cases reported worldwide, mainly in West Africa. In a message of solidarity, the President of the ECOWAS Commission H.E. Kadré Desire Ouédraogo commended the two ECOWAS Member States for their success, saying their initiatives and experiences will serve as...

                    UAE FIRST FEMALE PILOT LED A MISSION AGAINST ISIS IN SYRIA                           Major Mariam Al Mansouri The United Arab Emirate's first female pilot led a mission this week against ISIS in Syria , according to the UAE ambassador to the United States. Major Mariam Al Mansouri, 35, was the first woman to join the Emirati Air Force. The UAE this week joined the United States, Saudi Arabia , Jordan , Qatar and Bahrain in implementing airstrikes against ISIS.  Born in Abu Dhabi , Mansouri is one of eight children. She told Deraa Al Watan magazine recently that her family supported her career goals, but she had to overcome gender stereotypes along the way. It likely helped that she graduated from high school with a 93 percent grade average. She attended UAE University, the fir...

Veteran Ghanaian actor, Richard Kwame Agyeman, popularly known in the hit weekly drama series; Akan Drama as Odompo has passed on at the age of 60. He died early this month. The 60 year-old was said to have died after a short illness. The one week celebration was held on Saturday, October 18 th , 2014 at his residence in Accra. Odompo was a celebrated comedian and actor who made several appearances on the Obra drama series aired on Ghana Television (GTV). His last public appearance before his sudden demise was on the rejuvenated Obra series which featured Charles Ampofo, Waatse, Adjoa Smart and many others. May his soul rest in peace.

                                          SHOULD GHANA HOST AFCON?                                             ''YES'', ''NO'', ''IT MAY BE SO'' Ghana’s president John Mahama has said the west African country is yet to take a decision to host the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations. The Confederation of African football has written to a few countries to consider hosting the continental football showpiece in the event that hosts Morocco pull out over the deadly Ebola virus ravaging west Africa in particular. Ghana’s sports minister Mahama Ayariga has stated that the four-time African champions have the resources to host the competition with less...