US President Donald Trump has said he is finding it “more difficult, frankly, to deal with Ukraine” than Russia in attempts to broker peace between the two nations.

The US is “doing very well with Russia”, and “it may be easier dealing with” Moscow than Kyiv, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday.

Hours earlier, Trump had said he was “strongly considering” large-scale sanctions and tariffs on Russia until a ceasefire with Ukraine was reached.

Meanwhile, the US has temporarily suspended Ukraine’s access to some satellite imagery, space technology company Maxar told BBC Verify, after Trump had already paused military aid to the country.

It comes exactly one week after an extraordinary White House exchange in which Trump berated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for being “disrespectful” to the US.

That public dressing-down was followed this week by Trump pausing all US military aid and intelligence-sharing with Kyiv.

Russia then conducted a large-scale missile and drone attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure on Thursday night.

Trump’s threat of further sanctions on the already heavily sanctioned Russia was apparently in response to this attack. He said he was considering new tariffs because “Russia is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now”.

But within hours, Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin was acting as anyone else would.

“I think he’s hitting them [Ukraine] harder than he’s been hitting them,” Trump said. “And I think probably anyone in that position would be doing that right now.”

He added that he believes Putin wants to end the war, but he cannot say the same of Ukraine.

“I want to know they [Ukraine] want to settle, and I don’t know they want to settle,” Trump said when asked why he had cut off aid to Kyiv.

Trump’s direct diplomacy with Putin stunned Nato allies because the West has shunned contacts with Moscow since Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Despite Trump’s row with Zelensky, the tone from his foreign policy team in the last two days has sounded more conciliatory towards Ukraine, after its arm-wrenching in the form of cutting off military and intelligence support.

The Americans want Zelensky to sign a deal that would give them a major stake in Ukrainian minerals, and for him to agree to a quick truce with Moscow.

Zelensky has been pushing for firm security guarantees for Kyiv, to be agreed as part of the deal. Speaking on Friday, Trump said such a security guarantee could be discussed later and would be the “easy part”.

Meanwhile, space technology company Maxar told BBC Verify on Friday that the US had temporarily suspended Ukrainian access to some high quality imagery from US satellites.

Satellite imagery is an important tool during a war as it allows armies to gather intelligence on their rivals.

Maxar, a US-based company, has contracts to provide satellite imagery to various governments and companies.

One of those is the Global Enhanced GEOINT Deliver (GEGD) program, which gives users access to high quality imagery collected by the US government.

“The US government has decided to temporarily suspend Ukrainian accounts in GEGD,” Maxar told the BBC. “Each customer makes their own decisions on how they use and share that data.”

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, part of the US Department of Defense, confirmed the suspension was “in accordance with the administration’s directive on support to Ukraine”.

Next week, Trump’s senior officials will travel to Saudi Arabia to meet Zelensky’s team amid growing pressure for him to sign up to Trump’s demands.

Ukraine’s president has said he hopes the talks will be “meaningful”. On Friday, he said his country was “ready for peace as soon as possible” and had proposed “concrete steps” to achieve it.

“Every day, new Russian strikes and reality itself prove that it is Russia that must be forced to peace,” he added.

Zelensky has expressed regret in the days since his public clash with Trump and worked to mend relations with the US.

On Thursday, US special envoy Steve Witkoff said Trump had received a letter from Zelensky that included an “apology” and “sense of gratitude”.

“Hopefully, we get things back on track with the Ukrainians, and everything resumes,” Witkoff said.

UK officials have said around 20 countries are interested in joining a “coalition of the willing” to help Ukraine, as European leaders forge ahead with plans for much bigger military expenditure.

Fighting on the ground in Ukraine continued on Friday, with five people killed by Russian troops in the Donetsk region, according to local authorities.

Additional reporting by Jake Horton, BBC Verify

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The Amasaman Circuit Court has granted two farmers GH¢50,000.00 bail with two sureties each, in an alleged multiple land sale case.

Solomon Armah Tagoe, 74 and David Nii Lantei Lamptey, 62, are accused of defrauding a bar operator under the pretext of securing him a parcel of land.

Tagoe and Lamptey, both farmers pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to defraud and defrauding Augustine Tetteh, the bar operator.

The Court presided over by Ms Enid Marful-Sau ordered their sureties to produce their valid national identity cards to the Court’s Registry.

Tagoe and Lamptey would make their next appearance on April 2, 2025.

Tetteh is the Complainant and a bar operator, resident at Bubuashie whilst Tagoe and Lamptey were residents of Adeiso and Nsakina in the Eastern Region, respectively, Police Chief Inspector Salifu Nashiru told the Court.

Somewhere in 2014, Tagoe and Lamptey sold a piece of land at Dome Sarpeiman at GH¢7,000.00 to Tetteh and he started putting up store footings on the land, but someone claimed ownership of the same land with a land title.

Chief Inspector Nashiru said Tetteh, the Complainant, informed Tagoe and Lamptey, the accused persons, about the development. However, they later relocated him to a different plot of land and another person also came and claimed ownership of the said land, the Court was told.

He said a report was made to Adjen Kotoku Police, leading to the arrest of the accused persons.

After police investigations they were charged with the offence.

Source: GNA

James Agalga and John Ntim Fordjour have been selected to lead Parliamentary Select Committee on Defence and Interior as Chairman and Ranking Member, respectively.

Their appointments place them at the forefront of parliamentary oversight on the country’s security strategy, defence policy, and border security, prisons, immigration, fire service and narcotics control; ensuring robust scrutiny of government polices and actions in these critical sectors and agencies.

James Agalga, a legal practitioner, fourth term Member of Parliament for Builsa North Constituency in Upper East region and former Deputy Minister for the Interior, brings a wealth of experience in security policy and governance.

As Chairman of the committee, he is expected to lead deliberations on key defense and internal security issues, including law enforcement reforms, border security, and counterterrorism efforts.

His leadership will be instrumental in shaping policies that enhance the safety and stability of the country.

John Ntim Fordjour, a vocal fourth term Member of Parliament for Assin South Constituency in Central Region and former Deputy Minister for Education, assumes the role of Ranking Member.

Rev Ntim Fordjour brings on board a unique blend of skills set as Mineral Engineer with expertise in Security Sector Governance and education policy. He will be expected to lead the minority side of parliament in scrutinising defence and interior-related policies and holding the government to account on related matters.

His contributions will be crucial in ensuring that government security initiatives align with democratic principles and national interests.

With Agalga and Ntim Fordjour at the helm, and ably supported by Hon Peter Toobu (retired ACP of Ghana Police Service and second term Member of Parliament for Wa West) as Vice Chairman and Hon Kofi AMANKWAH-Manu (former Deputy Minister for Defence and second term MP for Atwima Kwanwoma), the Defence and Interior Committee is expected to take a proactive approach to addressing security concerns and policy gaps.

Their leadership will be vital in fostering bipartisan collaboration to enhance internal stability.

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Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin [L] and Afigya Kwabre North MP, Collins Adomako-Mensah

The Member of Parliament for Afigya Kwabre North, Collins Adomako-Mensah has lambasted the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin accusing him of engaging in selective justice.

His comment comes after the Speaker issued a one-week ultimatum to an unidentified Member of Parliament responsible for the controversial ‘daughter of a murderer’ comment made against the Klottey Korle MP, Zanetor Rawlings to retract the statement and apologize unreservedly to the lawmaker.

He has given the culprit lawmaker one week to voluntarily come forward or face severe consequences.

Speaking in Parliament on Tuesday, March 4, Mr. Bagbin described the comment as reckless and deeply disturbing, emphasizing that such remarks undermine the dignity and decorum of the House.

He announced the launch of a formal investigation to identify the MP behind the statement and warned that failure to comply with the ultimatum would result in decisive action.

But commenting on the Speaker’s directive during a panel discussion on Peace FM monitored by GhanaWeb, Collins Adomako-Mensah slammed the Speaker urging him not to be discriminatory in discharging punishments but rather be fair.

“The way I am so angry, I just have to control my temper. We have utmost respect for the Speaker, he is the embodiment of parliament. So when we come out, we want to protect the sanctity of the institution of parliament. What sort of hypocrisy is that? Speaker says he has given who one week to retract and apologize? On the same day, Murtala Mohammed called J.B Danquah as a CIA agent and a traitor. The MP who was called a bloody widow has children. The same Speaker Bagbin was the Speaker back then, we had women from the NDC side who rose up and defended this statement about their colleague female MP. But for this, he did not give anyone an ultimatum. Lydia Seyram Alhassan has no blood running through her, she does not have chiefs in her hometown, is that what we are saying? J.B Danquah has no family? A commemorative statement was made on the floor of Parliament for Abuakwa South and the response from the NDC led by Murtala said he is a traitor, a CIA agent. This one, he has not been asked to apologize.”

He continued: “The Speaker must not be discriminatory in his punishment. Who says I am happy with the daughter of a murder comment? I don’t support it. It is the same way I don’t support bloody widow. But you the Speaker when exacting punishment, you must punish everybody. You don’t tell me that somebody has described another person as daughter of a murderer and you’ve given the one who said that one week to retract and apologize, this one, you want to punish but he failed to act on the bloody widow comment. It was this same Speaker in office. People were bold to the extent that Members of Parliament came to the chamber with placard with the inscription ‘bloody widow’. Someone whose husband had died and had been elected as MP, the NDC MPs described her as bloody widow, that one the Speaker saw nothing wrong with it.

Adomako-Mensah added: “I am saying that this selective justice is wrong. When the Speaker does this he makes many people feel uncomfortable. The same way bloody widow was unnecessary, daughter of a murderer was also unnecessary. I don’t support any of them but the Speaker punishment must be fairly given.”

KA

Meanwhile, watch this Ghana Month special edition of People and Places as we hear the story of how the head of Kwame Nkrumah’s bronze statue was returned after 43 years, below:

Former Member of Parliament for Agona West Constituency in the Central Region, Cynthia Morrison, has vowed to contest the Agona West seat as many times as necessary, as long as the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) Parliamentary candidate, Christopher Arthur, remains in the race.

According to her, Christopher Arthur has disrespected and disgraced her in the constituency and as a result, she has committed to challenging him every time he attempts to contest the seat.

Speaking in an interview on Net 2 TV on March 3, 2025, she stated that nothing but divine intervention could stop her from opposing Christopher Arthur.

“When Chris started speaking against me, I didn’t take it seriously. I have no problem with him contesting me, but why would he go on the radio after the election and tarnish my image? He claimed that I dislike Kutin and Asiamah, which is not a big deal. Kutin is no longer alive, but why would you sit on TV and disgrace me?

“For you to sit on national television and claim that I take money from people to facilitate their travel, how can you do that? How can such a person be a Member of Parliament? He never will. If he contests ten times, I will contest ten times,” she said.

The former MP added, “Unless God tells me to step aside, I will never bow out. Anytime he contests, I will contest, and nobody can convince me otherwise. This is a disgrace!

“I have audio recordings of him saying that they give us money and I don’t distribute it to the people, so I am wicked.”

Cynthia Morrison, the then-incumbent MP for Agona West, lost the New Patriotic Party parliamentary primary held on Saturday, April 13, 2024.

She garnered 152 votes, while Christopher Arthur secured 240 votes to become the party’s parliamentary candidate.

Following her loss in the primary, she contested the seat as an independent candidate. Ultimately, Dangbey Ernestina Ofori of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) won the seat with 26,080 votes, representing 48.36% of the total votes cast.

AM/KA

Meanwhile, watch this Ghana Month special edition of People and Places as we hear the story of how the head of Kwame Nkrumah’s bronze statue was returned after 43 years, below:

You can also watch the latest episode of #Trending GH as Ghanaians call for economic solutions instead of KIA renaming

Illegal mining has destroyed water bodies and farm lands

Four Civil Society Organizations (CSOs)—A Rocha Ghana, Kasa Initiative Ghana, Nature and Development Foundation, and Concerned Citizens of Atewa Landscape—are calling on President John Dramani Mahama’s administration to dismiss the current leadership of the Minerals Commission.

Addressing a press conference at the International Press Center in Accra, the CSOs, which advocate for environmental protection, emphasized the urgent need to address the escalating issues of illegal mining, environmental degradation, and regulatory enforcement failures in Ghana.

According to the group, the Minerals Commission requires new, sustainability-oriented leadership.

They further stated that the Commission’s current leadership has failed to ensure responsible mining practices that safeguard social and environmental protections across the country.

“We call on the government to, as a matter of urgency, replace the Executive Director of the Minerals Commission with a visionary leader who will usher in a new era of responsible mining.

“This new leadership must prioritize transparency, accountability, and the enforcement of regulations that safeguard the social and environmental well-being of all citizens while protecting communities from the adverse effects of mineral exploration in Ghana,” the group stated.

The group also urged the government to provide the Forestry Commission with the necessary resources to confiscate excavators used in illegal mining activities in forest reserves.

“The debate over whether to burn or not to burn excavators used in illegal mining is complex, given the significant vested interests and influences at play. However, considering Ghana’s weak compliance regime and past experiences, the burning of excavators remains the most effective deterrent against the impunity of illegal miners destroying forests and rivers nationwide.

“To eliminate the need for burning excavators, as indicated by H.E. John Dramani Mahama, the government must equip the Forestry Commission with the necessary tools, resources, and financial support to effectively monitor, regulate, and combat illegal mining activities.

“This includes enabling the Commission to seize, remove, manage, and process confiscated equipment efficiently. Without such investment, efforts to curb illegal mining in forest reserves will remain ineffective and a drain on public resources.”