Hot!
Ukraine: Putin’s cousin among inner circle hit by new UK sanctions
The UK has announced its newest wave of sanctions targeting Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, including his cousin.
The Foreign Office said Anna Tsivileva, Putin’s cousin and president of a major mining firm, has been sanctioned.
Vladimir Potanin, Russia’s second richest man and key supporter of Putin’s regime, was also sanctioned on Wednesday due to the war in Ukraine.
The UK government said the sanctions were intended to “weaken the Russian war machine”.
The pair will be subject to asset freezes and travel bans.
Ms Tsivileva, who runs prominent Russian coal mining company JSC Kolmar Group, significantly benefitted from her relationship with the president, the Foreign Office said.
Oligarch Mr Potanin, owner of major conglomerate Interros, continues to amass wealth supporting Putin’s regime, according to the UK.
He has acquired Russian bank Rosbank and shares in Tinkoff Bank in the period since the invasion of Ukraine.
A UK government spokesperson said: “As long as Putin continues his abhorrent assault on Ukraine, we will use sanctions to weaken the Russian war machine.
“Today’s sanctions show that nothing and no one is off the table, including Putin’s inner circle.”
The sanctions are the latest as part of a series imposed by the UK on Russian individuals and companies.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, in Madrid for a Nato summit, told the BBC that Russia must be held to account for its actions.
Source: BBC
The Member of Parliament for Ofoase Ayirebi, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has disbursed GHS134,000 to 22 students under the latest round of his Scholarship and Bursaries Programme.
According to a statement from his office, the 22 beneficiaries are enrolled in 16 tertiary institutions across the country.
They are studying various courses, including medicine, marketing, law, public health, midwifery, business administration, education, and secretaryship.
The MP’s office commended the beneficiaries, especially the five students currently studying medicine and physician assistantship, encouraging them to remain committed to their studies.
The statement indicated that the scholarship initiative, which began in 2017, aims to support brilliant but needy students from the Ofoase Ayirebi Constituency to further their education. So far, about 700 students have benefited from the program.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Four tricycle operators, popularly known as ‘Pragya’, have been prosecuted and fined GH¢600 each equivalent to 50 penalty units by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) Sanitation Court for obstructing public roads at the Agbogbloshie Market.
The offenders, who were arrested by Public Health Officers of the AMA during a routine enforcement exercise, pleaded guilty to the offence and were subsequently convicted by the court.
The four operators were among the 21 offenders recently arrested at the Agbogbloshie Market for various sanitation and public order violations, including selling on open drains, obstructing walkways, and trading at unauthorised locations.
Speaking after the court proceedings, the Head of Public Health at the AMA, Madam Florence Kuukyi, said the court was lenient with the offenders since it was their first appearance, hence the fine, and warned that subsequent offenders would face stiffer penalties, including imprisonment.
