Type of site | General news and information |
---|---|
Available in | English |
Owner | Roger Agambire Agana (80 percent) [1] Andrew Young Bawa (10 percent) [1] Niibi Sowah (10 percent) |
Founder(s) | Bright Owusu |
URL | modernghana |
Launched | August 3, 2005 [2] |
Current status | Online |
ModernGhana is a Ghanaian online media [3] portal that has been in operation since 2005. [1] The site covers news, politics, business, sports, entertainment and opinions. It is owned [4] by Modern Ghana Media Communication Ltd., a privately owned Ghanaian company. [5]
Modernghana.com was officially launched on August 3, 2005 [1] [6] in Amsterdam by Bright Owusu, a young Ghanaian [7] who saw the need to bring news closer to Ghanaians in the diaspora. It initially started as a news aggregator and later evolved to a producer of original content. [8] The news platform is also the first ever Ghanaian website that aggregated all Ghanaian local radio stations online. [9]
The site started innovations that became the standard for upcoming Ghanaian news websites. It has evolved over the years to include video content (ModernGhana TV) [10] that covers a wide range of topics including interviews with the news makers, public and private organizations, business enterprises, topical political issues, personalities in the entertainment and lifestyle industry and voice pops on both social and national issues of News values.
ModernGhana editor Emmanuel Ajarfor Abugri [11] was arrested together with Emmanuel Britwum, a reporter, by Ghana's National Security operatives on Thursday June 27, 2019 in what was described as a secret operation. The news outlet's offices were raided during the arrest and working equipment including laptops, mobile phones and a tablet were seized. They arrested were detained for days and interrogated on an opinion piece the website published that was authored by one Constance Kwabeng about the National Security Minister Albert Kan-Dapaah. [12]
The National Security Secretariat accused the arrested staff of ModernGhana of Cybercrime but Mr. Abugri on his release said he was physically assaulted and his privacy violated by the forceful seizure of some of his electronic gadgets. Passwords to his personal gadgets were forcefully taken from him by the National Security personnel and accessed without his consent. Ajarfor and his reporter were put before court but the State subsequently withdrew the charges proffered against them. [13]
Emmanuel Ajarfor later sued the National Security Coordinator, Joshua Kyeremeh; the Inspector General of Police, David Asante-Apeatu; and the Attorney General, Gloria Akuffo for violating his Human rights. [14] Ajarfor's lawyers sought him damages. To date, Ajarfor's two cellphones, tablet and laptop are still with the National Security. As at March 2021 the case was still in court.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Ghana face severe challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Sexual acts between males have been illegal as "unnatural carnal knowledge" in Ghana since the colonial era. The majority of Ghana's population hold anti-LGBT sentiments. Physical and violent homophobic attacks against LGBT people are common, and are often encouraged by the media and religious and political leaders. At times, government officials, such as police, engage in such acts of violence. Reports of young gay people being disowned by their families and communities and evicted from their homes are common. Families often seek conversion therapy from religious groups when same-sex orientation or non-conforming gender identity is disclosed; such "therapy" is reported to be commonly administered in abusive and inhumane settings.
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is a Ghanaian politician who has served as the president of Ghana since 2017. He previously served as Attorney General from 2001 to 2003 and as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2003 to 2007 under the Kufuor-led administration.
The Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) was the military Junta that seized power in Ghana from June 4, 1979, to September 24, 1979.
Ghana National College is a senior high school in Cape Coast, Ghana.
Lieutenant General Joshua Mahamadu Hamidu was a Ghanaian soldier, politician and diplomat. He has been the Chief of Defence Staff and also member of the Supreme Military Council government. Prior to heading the military and being in government, he was the Ghanaian High Commissioner to Zambia. He was appointed National Security Advisor to the Kufuor government in 2001. He was the chairman of the Narcotics Control Board of Ghana and on various boards of the Bank of Ghana. In 2005, he was Ghana's High Commissioner to Nigeria.
Accra Academy is a boys' high school located at Bubuashie near Kaneshie in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana. It admits both boarding and day students. Founded as a private school in 1931, it gained the status of a Government-Assisted School in 1950. It is the oldest existing high school to have been privately founded in the Gold Coast.
Hanny-Sherry Naa Sakley Ayittey was a Ghanaian biochemist, politician and women's activist. She was a Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development. She was the Minister for Health from February 2013 to June 2014. She was the Minister for Environment, Science and Technology from 2009 to 2012.
General elections were held in Ghana on Friday 7 December 2012 to elect a president and members of Parliament in 275 electoral constituencies. Owing to the breakdown of some biometric verification machines, some voters could not vote, and voting was extended to Saturday 8 December 2012. A run-off was scheduled for 28 December 2012 if no presidential candidate received an absolute majority of 50% plus one vote. Competing for presidency were incumbent president John Dramani Mahama of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), his main challenger Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and six other candidates.
Anas Aremeyaw Anas, better known as Anas, is a Ghanaian journalist born in the late 1970s. He utilizes his anonymity as a tool in his investigative journalism work. Anas is a politically non-aligned multimedia journalist who specializes in print media and documentaries. He focuses on issues of human rights and anti-corruption in Ghana and sub-Saharan Africa. In December 2015 Foreign Policy magazine named Anas one of 2015's leading global thinkers. In 2016 Anas had a "Best Journalist" award named after him by the Press Foundation in Ghana.
The use of new media in Ghana like elsewhere is growing. The Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) sector, which is based on a free market approach, has promoted new media use. Most popular aspects of new media to Ghanaians is the Internet, and its associated mobile and desktop applications for education, health, politics, business, publishing, governance and so on. Also popular is the use of mobile devices like smartphones and tablets and computers.
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo took office as Ghana's president on 7 January 2017 after winning the December 2016 presidential elections. A number of controversies have arisen under his administration.
Kwadwo Owusu Afriyie was a Ghanaian lawyer and politician. He held several political positions including serving as general secretary of the New Patriotic Party. He was serving as the chief executive officer of Forestry Commission of Ghana before his demise.
Nana Appiah Mensah popularly known as NAM1, is a Ghanaian business man known for the menzgold fraud. He is married to Rose Mensah, who was charged by the state as a coconspirator.
aftown is an Internet-based music download and streaming service. IAftown as a company consists of two main platforms: streaming and downloads. The aftown app is free and generates revenue through premium subscriptions and advertisement from free users.
GhanaWeb, founded as GhanaHomePage, is a Ghananian portal, content curation and syndication website covering news, politics, business, sports, entertainment, opinions and general information about Ghana. It was launched by GhanaWeb B.V., a privately-owned Dutch company in 1999. It also offers background information, classifieds, radio stations and a social network for Ghanaians and the Diaspora.
Kojo Tsikata was a Ghanaian military officer and politician, who served as the Head of National Security and Foreign Affairs of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC). He was listed as a retired army captain in the Ghana Army.
The Western Togoland Rebellion is an ongoing separatist revolt led by the Ewe nationalist organization Western Togoland Restoration Front (WTRF) against the government of Ghana. The group seeks the independence of former British Togoland.
Events in the year 2021 in Ghana.
LGBT+ Rights Ghana is a Ghanaian organization that advocates for LGBT rights in Ghana. The organization has engaged in some forms of activism including creating the Ghana Gay Blackmail List to combat the blackmail and extortion of gay men. In 2021, the organization opened its office in Accra which led to public outrage and opposition from anti-LGBT organizations in Ghana. LGBT+ Rights Ghana's Executive Director is Alex Kofi Donkor.
On 20 May 2021, 21 LGBT rights activists in Ghana were arrested at a hotel in Ho, Ho Municipal District, during an assembly where the activists were discussing human rights treatment of LGBT+ people in the country. The arrests sparked international condemnation and the rise of a movement under the banner #ReleaseThe21 calling for their release and an end to state violence against the Ghanaian LGBT+ community. In the most recent court hearing, on 11 June 2021, the activists were granted bail on their fourth application. The case was dropped on 5 August 2021 on the basis of lack of evidence on the charge of unlawful assembly.