Croatia's economy hit the brakes during the summer months after stats showed growth dropping to around 2.3 percent compared to last year's third quarter. The slowdown came after spring numbers looked stronger at 3.6 percent, and economists weren't exactly shocked since monthly data already hinted things were cooling off.
Construction kept ripping with over 7 percent gains while tourist season basically flatlined, which tanked service exports by nearly 5 percent even though goods shipments climbed a bit. Household spending fell off harder than expected, while government cash and investment projects picked up some slack.
Raiffeisen Bank's chief economist figures the whole year should still land around 3.2 percent growth, putting Croatia...
Neujay grabbed the Male Vocalist award at the Central Music Awards, and the dude went full emotional thanking basically everyone who helped him get there. Jude Acquah dropped a whole gratitude post for fans who streamed his tracks, the team that kept him grinding, and family plus friends who stayed hyping him up through the journey.
He gave props to the awards platform for letting smaller artists get recognition, and he made it clear the trophy belongs to everyone who backed his rise. Fans are apparently stoked about where his career goes next after locking down this milestone.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa blasted the US for spreading garbage claims about white people getting killed in his country, and he called out Donald Trump for pushing fake genocide stories about Afrikaners. Trump skipped the G20 summit in Johannesburg and banned South Africa from the next meeting in Miami after repeating false allegations about land grabs and systematic murders that never happened.
Ramaphosa went on TV saying disinformation campaigns from local troublemakers and foreign actors are trashing the economy and wrecking relationships with major partners. He blamed specific groups for feeding lies to American officials, but he said South Africa still wants to keep talking with Washington as equal countries despite...
Catholic bishops went after Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu for his Parliament comments about Wesley Girls' High School, and they called his take needless plus unfortunate. Bishop Matthew Gyamfi from the Catholic Bishops' Conference said the government can't force religious rules on mission schools unless it takes them over completely, and he pointed out these institutions have traditions older than independence itself.
An agreement already exists where parents sign off if their kids want to fast during Ramadan or do religious stuff that might mess with academics or health. Gyamfi said bishops will respect whatever the courts decide, but mission schools operate under specific faith-based frameworks that shaped their whole identity...
Ghana's Interior Minister is sounding alarms about Muslim students getting forced to hide while praying at some mission schools, and he singled out Wesley Girls' High School for allegedly making kids spy on each other to stop Islamic worship. Mohammed-Mubarak Muntaka warned that blocking basic religious practices could blow up into major social problems if nobody fixes the situation.
The minister pointed out that other institutions like Achimota and Presbyterian Secondary already give Muslim students designated spots to pray during breaks without wrecking school routines. He said letting kids take five minutes for worship between classes shouldn't get treated like some crime, and schools need to balance respecting faith with keeping...
Ghana's exam results took a nosedive this year, and math got absolutely destroyed with the failure rate jumping from 6% to almost 27%. Social Studies became another disaster zone with failures climbing to over 27%, while Integrated Science and English also saw massive drops in student performance.
WAEC blamed part of the collapse on widespread cheating that forced them to cancel thousands of test scores. Over 6,000 kids lost their subject results for sneaking in materials, and another 653 got everything wiped because they brought phones into testing rooms. Investigators are still checking nearly 200 schools for suspected collusion schemes.
Thirty-five people caught heat for trashing exam credibility, and 19 of them were teachers who...
A Ghanaian lawmaker went off on Daddy Lumba's family after some relatives hopped on TV and started trashing the late highlife star's reputation. Collins Adomako-Mensah basically told them to knock it off because the musician belongs to the whole country after entertaining people for over four decades, and family drama needs to end before it wrecks his legacy.
The MP called out specific family members by name for disrespecting Lumba's memory during interviews, and he warned that fans worldwide are staying quiet for the moment, but that doesn't mean the family can keep causing chaos. He reminded them that Lumba is a national symbol and his impact goes way beyond immediate relatives.
WAEC busted 35 people for messing with exam integrity, and 19 of them were teachers who should've known better. The council already dragged 19 suspects through court, and they caught fines or jail time, while the rest are waiting to get prosecuted. Teacher names are getting sent to education bosses for extra punishment.
Over 6,000 students got their subject scores nuked for bringing cheat materials into testing rooms, and another 653 lost everything because they had phones during exams. Investigators are still checking out suspected cheating schemes at 185 schools, and they're trying to wrap things up before the year ends.
WAEC told everyone to ignore scammers claiming they can fix grades for cash, and they thanked supervisors plus...
Ghana's Foreign Affairs Minister is warning that the whole religious tolerance debate could trash the country's unity, and he pointed out that boarding schools have always been a melting pot for breaking down ethnic and religious walls. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa went off during a speech at PRESEC, saying people need to worry less about religious rules and more about corruption plus environmental damage.
The drama centers around a Supreme Court case about Wesley Girls' policies affecting Muslim students, and the moderator of the Presbyterian Church jumped in to say mission schools deserve respect for their founding values. He basically told everyone to calm down before the argument wrecks the peace Ghana is known for.
PRESEC handed out...
