Monday, 14 September 2026

Ghana’s news, on the hour · Est. 2026

Monday, 14 September 2026

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Ghanaian press · Organization

U.S. State Department

U.S. federal agency overseeing diplomacy, visas, and foreign policy matters referenced across multiple coverage areas.

2026-04-302026-09-14

In coverage

Verbatim sentences from the source article.

June 2026
1 JunJoy Online
The State Department plans to drastically slash the number of U.S. embassies and consulates in Africa that can process visas for foreigners seeking to come to the United States. …
US to drastically slash the number of embassies in Africa that can process visas
May 2026
23 MayJoy Online
Foreigners seeking to adjust their immigration status in the United States to secure green cards will have to do so from outside the country via ‌the State Department, the U.S. …
US tells foreigners seeking green cards: Return to your countries to apply
22 MayJoy Online
… In January, the State Department announced that it had revoked more than 100,000 visas since Trump returned to office.
US says temporary visa holders should leave to apply for Green Cards
14 MayJoy Online
… The bond requirement, introduced last year, was intended to reduce visa overstays, according to a notice published by the State Department. …
US drops $15,000 visa deposit for foreign fans with World Cup tickets
4 MayJoy Online
… The U.S. State Department, the Vatican press office, and an Italian government spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about the reports. …
Top US diplomat Rubio to meet with Pope Leo on Thursday, source says
April 2026
30 AprBusiness & Financial Times
… And external anchors — the IMF programme, the U.S. State Department Investment Climate Statement, the World Bank B-READY assessment — provide accountability mechanisms that domestic politics alone cannot supply. …
Making the $100 billion possible: A call to action on Ghana’s capital mobilisation imperative

Politics

Ghana Embassy audit uncovers conflict-of-interest renovation contract

The News

A forensic audit of Ghana's Embassy in the United States found that the embassy's IT officer, Fred Kwarteng, owned a company awarded nearly $296,000 to renovate the ambassador's residence, with two payments totalling $295,907.84 made in 2019 and 2020. The embassy's bank, Citibank, queried the transactions due to questionable invoices, inconsistencies in company details, and the conflict of interest, with auditors noting the matter contravened the Public Financial Management Act.

31 August 2026 · Joy Online →

Monday 31 August

Ghana Embassy audit uncovers conflict-of-interest renovation contract
A forensic audit of Ghana's Embassy in the United States found that the embassy's IT officer, Fred Kwarteng, owned a company awarded nearly $296,000 to renovate the ambassador's residence, with two payments totalling $295,907.84 made in 2019 and 2020. The embassy's bank, Citibank, queried the transactions due to questionable invoices, inconsistencies in company details, and the conflict of interest, with auditors noting the matter contravened the Public Financial Management Act.
31 August 2026 · Joy Online →

Tuesday 25 August

Trump administration to revoke visas of asylum seekers
The Trump administration plans to revoke non-immigrant visas of foreigners who entered on short-term visitor status but subsequently applied for asylum. According to Associated Press reports citing State Department documents, up to 200,000 B1 and B2 visas issued between 2016 and 2026 could be revoked, though the State Department has not confirmed the specific number.
25 August 2026 · Joy Online →

Sunday 23 August

US judge voids Trump visa suspension for 75 nations
A U.S. District Judge ruled that a Trump administration policy suspending immigrant visa issuance to applicants from 75 countries exceeded the Secretary of State's authority and violated federal immigration law. The suspended policy affected applicants from nations in Latin America, the Balkans, South Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the Caribbean, which the State Department said posed risks of becoming a public charge.
23 August 2026 · Joy Online →

Wednesday 19 August

Liberia to accept up to 1,200 US third-country deportees
Liberia has agreed to accept up to 1,200 third-country deportees from the United States over the next 12 months, with the first group of 20 expected to arrive on Thursday. The deportees are individuals the U.S. cannot legally send to their home countries after immigration judges determined they faced risk of torture or abuse there; they will be received as guests who can apply for Liberian asylum.
19 August 2026 · Joy Online →

Monday 17 August

Parliament considers removing dual citizenship restrictions for public office
Ghana's Parliament is considering constitutional changes to remove restrictions preventing dual citizens from holding certain high public offices, even as countries like Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom increasingly enforce rules requiring dual nationals to prioritize their citizenship according to each country's laws. The Council of State has advised against the proposed amendment, raising questions about whether those with legal obligations to other countries should occupy Ghana's highest offices.
17 August 2026 · Joy Online →

Thursday 6 August

US revokes Brazil ambassador's visa amid escalating tensions
The US has revoked the visa of Brazil's ambassador to Washington in a reciprocal action after Brazil denied visas to two US State Department officials last month, with Brazil's government claiming the officials sought to meddle in its elections. The cancellation marks the latest escalation in diplomatic tensions between the two countries, which have also involved US tariffs on Brazil and terrorist designations of Brazilian gangs.
6 August 2026 · Joy Online →

Thursday 30 July

Trump administration releases $600m frozen vaccine funds for Gavi
The Trump administration unfroze $600 million in congressionally appropriated funds for Gavi, a global alliance helping the world's poorest countries purchase vaccines, after Washington withheld the money over concerns raised by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The State Department said the decision followed Gavi's commitment to transition away from mercury-containing vaccines and expand access to mercury-free alternatives.
30 July 2026 · Joy Online →

Wednesday 22 July

Study: 77,000 fewer children received US HIV treatment
Around 77,000 fewer children worldwide received U.S.-supported HIV treatment in the year to October 2025 than in the previous fiscal year, according to a study that attributed the decline to Trump administration cuts and changes to foreign aid. The analysis found U.S.-supported pediatric HIV treatment fell by around 14% year-on-year, though the U.S. State Department disputed the methodology and said the decline reflects the program's success in preventing new infections.
22 July 2026 · Joy Online →
US and China plan AI talks for September
The United States and China will hold talks over artificial intelligence in September to address risks from each other's increasingly powerful frontier models, five sources told Reuters. The talks, an outcome of the Trump-Xi summit in May, are expected to take place before Chinese President Xi Jinping's planned September 24 visit to the U.S., and will likely be led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
22 July 2026 · Joy Online →

Wednesday 15 July

US blocks citizens in Congo from traveling home over Ebola
The Trump administration is blocking American citizens in the Democratic Republic of Congo from traveling to the U.S. on commercial flights, placing them on a "do-not-board" list until they spend at least 21 days in a third country, amid an Ebola outbreak that has reached 1,926 confirmed cases and 702 deaths.
15 July 2026 · The Ghanaian Times →
US blocks citizens in Congo from immediate commercial travel home
The Trump administration is blocking American citizens in the Democratic Republic of Congo from traveling to the U.S. on commercial flights, placing them on a "do-not-board" list until they have spent at least 21 days in a third country, citing a widening Ebola outbreak that has confirmed 1,926 cases and 702 deaths.
15 July 2026 · Joy Online →

Tuesday 7 July

African nations resist Trump aid with new health spending conditions
The Trump administration is offering hundreds of millions of dollars to African countries for healthcare and disease control, but the deals include conditions requiring recipient governments to increase their own health spending toward self-reliant systems. Kenya's landmark $2.5bn agreement, signed last December, faced court challenges from activists but received cabinet approval last month.
7 July 2026 · Joy Online →

Wednesday 1 July

Brands should communicate with empathy during crises
During national emergencies like the flooding in Accra, brands and institutions must prioritize empathetic communication over promotional messaging. Social media becomes a critical source of life-saving information and community support, and ill-timed marketing can create harmful dissonance with audiences experiencing grief and loss.
1 July 2026 · Business & Financial Times →

Monday 22 June

African lawmakers pledge to restrict LGBT rights after Ghana conference
Lawmakers from more than a dozen African countries pledged to push new bills restricting LGBT rights after an African Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family Values and Sovereignty in Accra on June 3–6, a week after Ghana's parliament passed one of the continent's toughest anti-LGBT measures criminalising LGBT promotion.
22 June 2026 · Joy Online →

Wednesday 17 June

Jamaica in talks to accept US-deported third-country migrants
Jamaica is negotiating with the United States to accept third-country migrants deported from the US, acting as a transit country to transfer up to 25 people every fortnight while hosting no more than 10 at a time, according to Deputy Prime Minister Horace Chang. The arrangement is a memorandum of understanding (not binding) and follows similar deals in the Caribbean region, with the US covering all costs.
17 June 2026 · Joy Online →

Monday 15 June

US deports Iranian pro-democracy activist to Central African Republic
The United States deported an Iranian pro-democracy activist to the Central African Republic, according to her lawyer, who described the transfer as "super dangerous" because the activist has no connection to the country. The Iranian American Legal Defence Fund had warned that three Iranian women fleeing persecution faced deportation risk.
15 June 2026 · Joy Online →

Saturday 13 June

Iran-linked group claims FBI drone breach, threatens World Cup
An Iran-linked hacker group called Handala claims to have had access for months to FBI first-person view drones used for counterterrorism monitoring, and threatened to target the World Cup. The SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors jihadist activity, said Handala published photos and footage claimed to be from the breach, though SITE disputed the authenticity of at least one video.
13 June 2026 · Joy Online →

Tuesday 9 June

US judge rules Trump's $100,000 H-1B visa fee unlawful
A federal judge in Boston struck down President Trump's $100,000 fee on new H-1B visas for highly skilled foreign workers, ruling that it constitutes an unlawful tax that Congress did not authorise, despite the administration's argument that it was a lawful penalty under federal immigration law.
9 June 2026 · Joy Online →

Monday 8 June

Central African Republic agrees to accept US-deported third-country migrants
The Central African Republic has agreed to take in migrants from other countries deported by the United States, according to sources, as part of the Trump administration's deals with African states to accelerate removals. Washington has previously sent such deportees to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Equatorial Guinea under agreements that rights groups say allow the U.S. to circumvent legal protections secured by deportees in U.S. immigration courts.
8 June 2026 · Joy Online →

Wednesday 3 June

South African politician applies for US refuge citing fears of persecution
A provincial council member for South Africa's Freedom Front Plus party is seeking refuge in the United States under a Trump-era programme for white South Africans. Though he claims to fear future racial persecution despite not having experienced tangible mistreatment, Trump's individual claims of abuses against the country's white minority have been disproven by the government.
3 June 2026 · Joy Online →

Monday 1 June

US to cut African visa-processing embassies from 50 to 20
The Trump administration plans to reduce U.S. embassies and consulates in Africa that process visas from nearly 50 to 20, expected in June, as part of efforts to limit immigration and clamp down on visa overstays.
1 June 2026 · Joy Online →

Saturday 23 May

US requires green card applicants to return home to apply
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that foreigners seeking to adjust their immigration status and secure green cards must do so from outside the country via the State Department. The policy change, which aid groups have criticised for potentially forcing trafficking survivors and abused children to return to dangerous countries, is part of the Trump administration's broader immigration restrictions.
23 May 2026 · Joy Online →

Friday 22 May

US says temporary visa holders must return home for Green Cards
The Trump administration has directed that foreign nationals on temporary visas should return to their home countries to apply for permanent residency, arguing the policy reinforces the legal immigration system by eliminating what it describes as "loopholes." US Citizenship and Immigration Services issued guidance stating that adjustment of status is a discretionary benefit, not an automatic right, and instructed officers to evaluate applications on a case-by-case basis considering factors including visa violations and fraud.
22 May 2026 · Joy Online →

Thursday 14 May

US waives $15,000 visa deposit for World Cup ticket holders
The Trump administration will exempt football fans from 50 countries, including five African nations that qualified for the tournament, from a $15,000 visa deposit requirement if they hold valid World Cup match tickets. The bond, introduced as a pilot programme to reduce visa overstays, was previously required for ordinary fans but had already been waived for players and coaches.
14 May 2026 · Joy Online →

Monday 4 May

US Secretary of State Rubio to meet Pope Leo Thursday
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to travel to Italy this week to meet with Pope Leo on Thursday, the first known in-person encounter between the pontiff and a U.S. cabinet official in nearly a year. The meeting comes as President Trump has publicly criticized the pope in recent weeks over his stances on immigration and the U.S.-Israeli-led conflict with Iran.
4 May 2026 · Joy Online →

Thursday 30 April

Ghana needs $5 billion annual investment to create 10 million jobs
Ghana requires between $200 billion and $400 billion in new capital formation over 20 years (roughly $5 billion annually) to generate 10 million formal jobs needed as approximately 500,000 young Ghanaians enter the labour market yearly. The authors argue Ghana's jobs crisis is fundamentally a governance problem, not a financing problem, as the capital to close the gap already exists.
30 April 2026 · Business & Financial Times →