GHANA: Two Kidnapped Canadian Women Rescued

Ashanti Regional Police Command in conjunction with the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) has temporarily closed down the Ahodwo apartments where the two female Canadians were lodging before the abduction.

According to the police and official of the Tourism Authority, the apartment is not registered nor been licensed as a commercial property to rent out rooms to the public.

The police further grounded it's reason for closing down the facility citing the hotel of breach of security for failing to provide duty post, security officer including installation of Close Circuit Television ( CCTV) cameras.

The Tourism Authority has pasted a notice of closure at the entrance of the facility, warning the general public not to patronise the hotel.

Officers of the Tourism Authority alleged that the apartment operated without meeting the legal requirement as provided under Legislative Instrument LI 2238 and 2239 for accommodation of food beverage and entertainment enterprises.

It is not clear when the facility would reopen but the Ashanti Regional Director of Ghana Tourism Authority, Theophilus Acheampong is said to have told media that the apartment is where the Canadian girls stayed.

The Hotel, he claimed has not registered with the Tourism Authority for license to operate as such and therefore it's operations is deemed illegal.

The Regional Tourism Officer said they will continue the exercise to other facilities within the region to ensure that they have security safety system installed for clients.

Two Canadian women have been rescued after they were kidnapped last week by gunmen in Ghana's second city, Kumasi, a government minister has said.

The two students, aged 19 and 20, were working as volunteers for a charity when they were seized.

Kidnappings in Ghana, regarded as one of West Africa's most stable states, are extremely rare.

However, there have been several recently, usually involving ransom demands.

Security forces carried out an operation in the early hours of Wednesday to rescue the women, Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah said in a statement.

The pair were volunteering for Youth Challenge International, which confirmed their names as Lauren Tilley and Bailey Chitty.

The Toronto-based organisation said both women are physically unhurt and have been in contact with their families

Canadian officials thanked the Ghana government for its cooperation in the resolution of this case.

In a statement, they said no further details will be released for privacy concerns and out of respect to these two Canadians who have been through harrowing experiences.

Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo has vowed to take tough action to end the spate of abductions in the country.

The chairman of Ghana's main opposition party, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), was briefly detained by police on Tuesday as a suspect in kidnappings.

Credible and actionable intelligence led to the arrest of Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, police said in a statement posted on Twitter, without specifying which kidnappings he was allegedly linked to.

Mr Ofosu-Ampofo has not commented on the allegations, but NDC general secretary Aseidu Nketia said his arrest was an attempt to intimidate us and frustrate our activities.

In April, an Indian man was seized in Kumasi by an armed gang demanding a ransom. He was later rescued by police.

An Estonian diplomat was also rescued by police after being kidnapped in April in the capital, Accra.

Police are still searching for three Ghanaian women kidnapped in December in the southern city of Takoradi.


Tourism Observer

GHANA: Lake Bosumtwi, Natural Lake Formed By An Impact Asteroid

Panorama of Crater Lake Lake Bosumtwi (also spelled Bosomtwe) situated within an ancient meteorite impact crater, is approximately 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) across and the only natural lake in Ashanti. There is a plentiful supply of fish in Lake Bosumtwi, which is located just southeast of Kumasi.

There are about 30 villages (human settlements) near Crater Lake Lake Bosumtwi, with a combined population of about 70,000 Ashanti people. Lake Bosumtwi is an economic and popular resort area with Ashanti people for fishing, swimming and boating.

Lake Bosumtwi, also spelled Bosomtwe, situated within an ancient meteorite impact crater, is approximately 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) across and the only natural lake in Ashanti and Ghana. It is situated about 30 km south-east of Kumasi the capital of Ashanti and is a popular recreational area. There are about 30 villages near crater lake Lake Bosumtwi, with a combined population of about 70,000 Ashanti people.

The Ashanti consider Bosumtwi a sacred lake. According to traditional belief, the souls of the dead come here to bid farewell to the god Asase Ya. Because of this, it is considered permissible to fish in the lake only from wooden planks. Among the fish species in the lake is the endemic cichlid Hemichromis frempongi, and the near-endemic cichlids Tilapia busumana and T. discolor

The Lake Bosumtwi impact crater is 10.5 km in diameter, slightly larger than the present lake, and is estimated to be 1.07 million years old.

Depth of crater is approximately 380 m, but, if counted together with the depth of lake sediments - 750 m.

The crater has been partly eroded, and is situated in dense rainforest, making it difficult to study and confirm its origin by meteorite impact. Shock features such as shatter cones are largely overgrown by vegetation or covered by the lake. However, drilling of the crater's central uplift beneath the lake floor has recently provided an abundance of shocked materials for scientific study. Tektites, believed to be from this impact, are found in the neighbouring country of Ivory Coast, and related microtektites have been found in deep sea sediments west of the African continent.

Before the asteroid hit, there was a lush rainforest filled with animals. The crater from the asteroid's impact filled with rainwater, so now there is a lake.

Periods of heavy rainfall filled the crater with water, causing the lake level to rise above the lowest points of the rim. Such periods are evidenced from fossils of fish found on hilltops. Water even flowed from the basin through an overflow channel.

However, there were also times when the water level was so low that the rainforest entered the basin rendering the lake only a small pond. Such a period, according to legend and now proved by paleoclimate records, lasted until about 300 years ago.

Lake Bosumtwi can be used to argue that the drought over sub-Saharan Africa and the Sahel during the late 1970s originated from that of natural variability forced by a multidecadal oscillation in the thermohaline circulation, which in turn modulates sea surface temperature in the north Atlantic. This evidence shows the drought occurred via natural origins instead of anthropogenic forcing. It has been shown that historical droughts in this region were four times drier than that of the late 1970s drought.

The legends say that in 1648 an Ashanti hunter named Akora Bompe from the city of Asaman was chasing an injured antelope through the rainforest. Suddenly, the animal disappeared in a small pond. It was as if this body of water wanted to save the animal's life. The hunter never got the antelope, though he settled close to the water and started catching fish. This place he named “Bosomtwe”, meaning “antelope god”. This story suggests that at that time the lake level was very low. The large dead trees standing offshore in the lake also evidence this, for they are over 300 years old.

The following centuries saw several wars about the lake as both the Ashanti and the Akim clashed, each claiming the area. The Ashanti prevailed.

Each village in the lake area has its own shrine or fetish grove. With the arrival of Christianity, some of people gave up former beliefs, though many continue to seek traditional help in bad times or against diseases.

The Abrodwum Stone is held to be the spiritual centre of the lake. Here, when there is such poor fishing it is considered a bad omen, the lake people sacrifice a cow. This act is celebrated in the presence of his majesty, the Ashanti king, the Asantehene himself. In the ceremony, the cow's innards are given to the stone and the rest is thrown into the lake. The crowd rushes into the water with cutlasses and axes to take their share of the meat. This is an event very much worth seeing. However, as such an omen depends on various factors, it is hardly predictable.

There is a traditional taboo against touching the water with iron and modern boats are not considered appropriate. The padua, a wooden plank requiring considerable skill to maneuver, is the legitimate method.

There are current environmental concerns, including overfishing and inadequate farming methods. The growing population increased demand for fish. Excessive fishing led to steadily decreasing catches, forcing increased reliance on agriculture. As more and more of the hills are converted into farmland, exposing the surface to the heavy rainfalls, soil erosion becomes an ever greater problem. In addition there is the changing lake level.

Many villages have been submerged several times forcing the people to move up the slopes or outside the basin. That is the origin of such double names as Pipie No.1 and Pipie No.2
The lake is a popular resort area with local people for swimming, fishing and boat trips.

The lakeside village of Amakom has a small hospital with a doctor residing on premise, called Lake Bosumtwi Methodist Clinic, providing emergency services by boat and 4x4 ambulance.

GHANA: 4 Days Marriage, Ghanaian Actress Rose Mensah Divorces Husband

Ghanaian actress Rose Mensah, popularly known as Kyeiwaa, has divorced her husband Daniel Osei, less than four days after the glamorous event.

The Kumasi-based Spare Parts dealer tied the knot with the famous Kumawood actress last weekend in Kumasi, the Ashanti regional capital.

Twenty-four hours after the wedding, it emerged that Mr. Osei was a married man with kids. Wife of Mr. Osei later revealed that her husband claimed that his marriage to Kyeiwaa was just a movie and nothing serious.

It has also emerged that Osei rented a crowd for Sunday's ceremony.

Kyeiwaa, however, has confirmed to Kasapa FM that she is done with Osei, whose attempt to cheat on two women, has failed dramatically.

A number of Kumawood actors on Thursday accompanied Kyeiwaa to Osei's residence to seek for divorce.