A surface-to-air missile struck a Malaysia Airlines plane carrying 298 people that went down Thursday in Ukraine near the Russian border, a U.S. official told ABC News. The official said U.S. intelligence and analysis of the situation determined that it was a single missile that struck the Boeing 777-200 aircraft while at cruising altitude. It is unclear whether the missile was fired from inside Ukrainian or Russian territory and who fired it, the official added. Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was traveling {....}

Ghana striker Richmond Boakye-Yiadom has signed a four-year contract with Atalanta after the Serie A club acquired 50% of his economic rights from Genoa, Africanfootball.com has exclusively reported. Italian champions Juventus equally co-own the player after refusing to sell their rights to Atalanta. The Bianconeri believe the 20-year-old has the potential to become one of the best strikers in the world. Boakye-Yiadom on Thursday agreed personal terms with Atalanta in the presence {.....}

Alan Kwadwo Kyerematen, an aspirant in the forthcoming NPP presidential contest, has reiterated that he will be the last person to divide the NPP. According to him, as a founding member of the NPP in 1992, he does not see why he should divide the party at the crucial moment of the party’s life. He said because of his love for the party in 2007, he did not allow the party to go for a second round when none of the 17 aspirants was not able to make the mark at the party’s presidential elections {....}

The wife of the 2012 flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party, Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo, is worried about the deteriorating health of her husband, Nana Akufo-Addo, who has recently filed his nomination once again to join in the campaign trail, trying for a third time to bring power to the NPP. A source in his house at Nima, who confirmed this stated, “Nana is scheduled for surgery in the UK later in November this year. Madam (Mrs. Akufo-Addo) is naturally concerned that Nana must be {.....}

UEFA has changed the rules on yellow cards making it harder for players to be suspended for the Champions League and Europa League finals. Real Madrid’s Xabi Alonso missed last season’s victorious showpiece in Lisbon after picking up a third caution of the campaign in the semi-final against Bayern Munich. The Spaniard joined an exclusive club of players who missed the final after picking up a booking in the last-four with Roy Keane and Paul Scholes suffering a similar fate in 1999  {.....}

Michael Owusu Addo, famously known by stage name Sarkodie, a Ghanaian hip pop and hip-life artist, has his popular album sold on the international market platform, amazon.com. Sarkodie is widely known for his fluent fast twi raps moved to the international scene since 2012. He won the BET Awards for best International Act, Africa, Independent Music Awards for best song, and also nominated for World Music Awards for World’s best album. Sarkology, is the title of his third studio album {....}

Government is expected to issue the country’s next Eurobond when it gets the green light from its transaction advisors. According to finance minister Seth Tekper the advice of the experts will determine the exact period for conducting road shows and floating the bond. Government has appointed Barclays Bank, Deutsche Bank and Standard Chartered Bank as lead transaction advisors for Ghana’s next Eurobond issue. Local firms Databank, EDC Stockbrokers a subsidiary of the Ecobank Group {....}

East African oil and gas discoveries are poised to fundamentally transform the economies of the region as the fuel resources usher in new investment in road, rail, power and industrial infrastructure, according to Standard Bank. Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Mozambique have emerged as one of the most prolific oil and gas exploration regions in the world over the last 10 years, says Mr Simon Ashby-Rudd, the London-based global head of oil and gas at Standard Bank, Africa’s biggest {....}

The Trade Union Congress, TUC has asked the country’s legislature not to sanction the Economic Partnership Agreement reached between ECOWAS and the European Union. The Trades Union Congress in a press statement condemned the agreements saying it is ‘’inimical’’ to economic growth and development of the country. The Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) on July 10, 2014 agreed to sign the partnership pact at the 45th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS {....}

Internet giant Google has reported a 22% jump in revenue during the second quarter period from March through June compared to a year earlier. Revenue rose to $16bn (£9.4bn) and profits were up 6% to $3.4bn, said the firm in its earnings report. Strong demand for Google’s advertising helped boost revenues above expectations. Google also announced chief business officer Nikesh Arora was leaving for SoftBank. Mr Arora, who has been with Google for 10 years, will be temporarily replaced {....}

This is the third time the biggest market centre in the Ashanti region has been reduced to ashes this year. Luv FM’s Erastus Asare reports that over 60 shops in the Dr. Mensah section of the market dedicated to selling used clothes have been razed down amidst wailing from helpless market women. The fire started around 8pm. The Dr. Mensah section of the market has suffered this loss twice after the market women rebuilt the place a year ago. Shop owners and onlookers have thrown caution to the wind {.....}

The Black Stars of Ghana are still counting the costs of a disastrous World Cup campaign after the latest FIFA ranking saw them slip to 38 in the world and drop out of Africa’s top four countries for the first time in almost six years. Ghana gained only one point in Brazil amid bickering over money and infighting in camp. The Ivory Coast also feel the pinch after being overtaken by Algeria as Africa’s top ranked team. Four-time world champions Germany are reaping the rewards of their triumph {.....}

Bayern Munich star Philipp Lahm has decided to retire from international football in the wake of Germany’s successful World Cup campaign. The 30-year-old played a key role in Germany’s world title this summer, making seven appearances to help his side to their first major trophy since Euro 1996 at the expense of Argentina. Lahm will not play a role in Germany’s hunt for more silverware, however, having told head coach Joachim Low that he’s no longer available for the national team {.....}

If one is asked to describe one unique thing about radio and TV presenter Afia Schwarzenegger, one is likely to say that she is one kind of a crazy woman. And she knows it! “Many Ghanaians who listen to me on radio and watch me on television and in movies see me as crazy and I’m cool with it”, she told Showbiz last Monday. “What they may not know is that really I’m a very quiet and private person.” Afia hosts the Drive Time show on Happy FM and Kɔkɔɔkɔ on UTV. “When I am not on air or {.....}

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) will no longer register new vehicles with no seatbelts for passengers. This takes effect from September 2014. According to Rudolph Beckley, Acting Chief Executive of the DVLA, the decision not to register commercial vehicles without seatbelts was in conformity with Section 119 of the Road Traffic Regulation Legislative Instrument (LI) 2180. He emphasized that the implementation of the LI on the use of seatbelts was to achieve a 50 percent {....}

Until the arrest of 34-year-old Edward Kwabena Botri, residents of Mataheko in Accra had for the past three years mistaken him for a military officer. Not only did he parade as a military officer in the area, but he also threatened and harassed the residents and on a number of occasions assaulted some of them. The suspect, who was usually seen in a military uniform, is said to have always brandished a gun which he fired in the night and sometimes during the day. On Thursday, July 10, 2014, he cut {.....}

Four persons, including a two-year-old baby girl and her mother, died on the spot yesterday when a Mercedes Benz tipper truck, with registration number ER 2752 X, collided head-on with a KIA Pride taxi in which they were travelling. The deceased, who were yet to be identified as of the time of going to press, also included two male adults who, together with the mother and daughter, were travelling on the Teshie Bush Road in Accra towards Teshie Camp Two. When the Daily Graphic arrived at the {.....}

On Thursday, a Malaysia Airlines flight crashed in Ukraine and Israel began a ground invasion into the Gaza strip. The Dow Jones index fell 161.39 points, or 0.94%, to 16,976.81, closing back below the symbolic threshold of 17,000. The S&P 500 plunged 23.45 points or 1.18%, to 1,958.12, and the Nasdaq index dropped 62.52 points or 1.41% to 4,363.45. ‘Eggshells’ Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 – a Boeing 777 with 298 people aboard – crashed on the Ukrainian border near Russia. That followed news earlier {....}

A collection of unusual items signed by South Africa’s anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela is to be auctioned later in Johannesburg. The lots include a chess set, of figures from either side of the apartheid battle, and salt and pepper shakers of Mr Mandela and FW de Klerk. The sale items is expected to raise around $450,000 (£260,000) for charity. Mr Mandela, who died in December aged 95, was revered around the world for fighting minority rule in South Africa. He spent 27 years in prison {.....}

Microsoft is to stop developing Android-powered smartphones beyond those already available, the BBC understands. Nokia X models will now become part of the Lumia range and run the Windows Phone operating system, although existing Android handsets will continue to be supported. The move comes as Microsoft announced 18,000 job cuts across its workforce. The tech firm acquired Nokia’s handset division earlier this year. Nokia unveiled its first family of Android phones at the {....}

Germany defeated Argentina in the final at the Maracana and the Arsenal midfielder has used his winnings from the tournament to help 23 sick kids as a "thank you" to Brazil Mesut Ozil has donated his World Cup winnings to pay for the surgery of 23 seriously ill children in Brazil. Ozil agreed to pay for 11 youngsters' treatment before the tournament began but has since pledged to support 12 more children in line with the number of players in the victorious German squad. The Arsenal midfielder {....}