Central Cologne evacuated after discovery of World War 2 bombs
Thousands of people were being evacuated from central Cologne in western Germany on Wednesday after the discovery of three wartime bombs, in what the city authority called the largest such measure since the end of World War 2.
An evacuation zone with a radius of 1km will be cleared from 8am 6am GMT), affecting about 20,500 residents as well as many workers and hotel guests in the city's historic old town and popular Deutz district, the authority said.
Three American bombs from World War 2, each with impact fuses, were discovered during construction work on Monday in Deutz, a bustling area on the bank of the River Rhine.
A team of bomb disposal experts plan to disarm the ordnance later on Wednesday.
Unexploded bombs are often found in Germany, which had many of its major cities bombed to ruins during the war, and such operations often go smoothly.
The evacuation area includes one hospital, two retirement homes and nine schools, as well as 58 hotels and many museums.
'Everyone involved hopes the defusing can be completed on Wednesday. This is only possible if those affected leave their homes or workplaces early and stay outside the evacuation area from the outset,' the city authority said, appealing to residents to follow instructions.
The measures caused major disruptions to transport in and out of the city of more than a million people, with Germany's national rail operator warning many trains would be diverted or possibly cancelled.
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Daily Maverick
17 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
‘One worker does the job of 62' – the hard truth lesson for Ghana on human capital reform
The worker-to-output gap can be narrowed. But only if we first build systems that close the skills-to-opportunity gap. Let's train for the jobs we want, make the skills that pay and move from potential to performance. Not long ago, I met an executive of a steel company based in Ghana. He'd just returned from a visit to a couple of factories in China. 'In one of these places, one worker,' he told me, shaking his head, 'does the work of 62 of my workers in a day.' The shock wasn't just in the numbers; it was also in the revelation that his Ghanaian plant had more modern equipment than he encountered on the tour. To add insult to injury, the situation, although less jarring in another factory, was similar; this time, the comparison was with about 40 workers. The difference wasn't tools or technology. It was about systems, skills and the structures that shape how people work. This is the crisis at the heart of Ghana's development challenge. We talk about jobs. We talk about youth. But we avoid the hard truth: we are underperforming not because we lack potential, but because we consistently underinvest in our people and the systems that enable their productivity. When skills, discipline and incentives are misaligned with economic needs, even the best technology gathers dust. Productivity is not just about effort; it's about structure, strategy and support. If Ghana is serious about transforming into a productive, resilient and job-creating nation, as President John Mahama laid out in his 2025 State of the Nation Address, then we must bet big on our people. Not in theory, in practice. We cannot build a 21st-century economy on a 20th-century workforce preparation. Human capital reform must become a national economic strategy, not a donor-driven project or policy footnote. Thankfully, there is no shortage of models to learn from. Over the past 60 years, countries such as Japan, South Korea, Singapore and, more recently, Rwanda and Mauritius have made deliberate choices to transform their populations into engines of economic productivity. Across the world, there is much to learn. Build education for jobs, not just exams When Japan rebuilt after World War 2, it didn't just focus on GDP; it focused on skills. It established Kosen schools, which were technical colleges that trained engineers, electricians, machinists and factory managers. Graduates didn't struggle to find work. They were already embedded in industry by the time they were done. South Korea, too, scaled technical training in tandem with industrial policy. When factories opened, skills followed. As new sectors emerged, curriculums changed. Singapore established its Institute of Technical Education (ITE) in collaboration with employers. It created SkillsFuture, a national programme that paid people to learn what the economy actually needed. The country's ascent from a resource-poor island to a global hub was driven mainly by Lee Kuan Yew's commitment to meritocratic education and strategic talent recruitment. Simultaneously, foreign professionals filled gaps in hi-tech industries. Programmes targeted both highly skilled immigrants and workers with portable skills. Singapore's quotas for foreign talent accelerated sectoral growth – a model Ghana could replicate in areas such as healthcare and engineering. Ghana has no shortage of educated people. However, there's a significant mismatch between what we teach and what employers actually need. Many school-leavers cannot find work, not because there are no jobs but because they aren't job-ready. It is estimated that more than one in six tertiary graduates and one in four secondary graduates in Ghana are out of work. Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) remains a second-class option – underfunded, underrespected and unaligned with growth sectors such as agritech, construction, renewable energy and logistics. Ghana's recent educational reforms underscore the critical need for the development of technical skills. Initiatives like the National Education Consultative Forum have set the stage for aligning education with the modern demands of the workforce. Partnerships like Huawei's ICT Academies are instrumental in providing students with practical skills and certifications that enhance their employability and career prospects. By fostering such collaborations, Ghana can emulate successes elsewhere, where industry-education partnerships have significantly reduced youth unemployment. Involving employers in curriculum design is not a luxury; it's the fix. Make business co-investors in skilling In high-performing economies, businesses don't just hire skilled workers; they help create them. In Singapore, companies receive subsidies to upskill their workforce through the SkillsFuture programme. In South Korea, large conglomerates – chaebols – train workers as part of a long-term industrial strategy. In Japan, business federations work with government to forecast labour needs and co-design vocational tracks. Ghana, by contrast, lacks a national compact. Most firms, especially SMEs, which make up a significant portion of work, have little incentive to do so, and large firms often prefer to import skilled labour with no structure in place to train or transfer skills to locals. Meanwhile, more than 70% of Ghana's workforce is in the informal sector, where access to quality training is nearly nonexistent. Ghana needs a 'Train and Hire' Compact: a nationwide initiative that rewards firms for investing in local talent through tax incentives, wage subsidies and visibility. Digital job-matching platforms and modular, mobile-based training for informal workers can help bridge the gap between education and the workforce. We must also stop ignoring the informal economy. Hairdressers, welders, tailors and informal tech workers power much of Ghana's growth. Partnering with trade associations and mobile operators to deliver modular, mobile-based training, paired with flexible certification, can professionalise and scale this workforce, increasing their output and productivity. Rwanda and Kenya are already piloting such initiatives with measurable success. The private sector won't lead alone. But if the state de-risks investments and shares costs, firms will step up. It's not CSR. It's smart economics. Use diplomacy to build human capital Ghana has embassies in Japan, Korea and Singapore. These missions must broker skills partnerships, not just trade talks. They should pursue technical placements in Japan's Kosen network, linkages with Korea's ETRI and Singapore's A*STAR, and access to SkillsFuture programmes. If we are sending envoys abroad, they must return with tools, not just talking points. The goal is to leverage and capitalise on international relationships. Beyond our borders also lies an untapped reservoir of talent: the Ghanaian diaspora. With about 1 million citizens abroad, half of whom reside in OECD countries, this community boasts a high concentration of tertiary-educated professionals, particularly in the health and technical sectors. In 2023, remittances reached US$4.6-billion, accounting for about 6% of Ghana's GDP. Their impact can go beyond money. Engaging this skilled diaspora through targeted initiatives could accelerate our human capital development and bridge critical gaps in our workforce. Professors abroad can deliver virtual or in-person training. Health professionals from Cuba to Switzerland can share practices. Tech professionals in Silicon Valley and Dublin can serve as formal mentors to start-ups. Launching a 'Digital Ambassadors' initiative, with tax incentives for diaspora-led masterclasses or mentoring, could yield major gains. Turning knowledge into national power Japan didn't become a tech leader by accident. It built the Japan Science and Technology Agency. Korea has ETRI. Singapore consistently invests 1%-2% of its GDP in research and innovation. Ghana? Less than 0.4%, most of it tied up in bureaucracy. If we want innovation, we need to fund it. We must fund applied research in agriculture, health and energy. Universities need partnerships with businesses. Innovation hubs should solve real problems – like farm productivity, water access, and small business logistics – not just launch apps. We must also expand rural broadband, train teachers in digital literacy and collaborate with global EdTech firms, among other initiatives. Talent exists. Access must catch up. Stanford's Eric Hanushek found that education quality, not quantity, explains most long-term growth. It is not how many years kids spend in school but what they learn. Heeding this would help us make smarter policy choices, not populist ones. Don't leave people behind It must also be said that most human capital strategies fail because they assume a level playing field. Access to education, internet and training in Ghana is deeply unequal by region, gender, income and (dis)ability. Girls in rural areas are more likely to drop out early. Persons with disability face systemic exclusion. Children of farmers are often several years behind their urban peers by the time they hit secondary school. The challenge isn't ignorance; it's inertia, a lack of systemic coordination and a culture of tokenism in decision-making spaces where those most affected are rarely ever at the table. And too many people stay quiet in policy rooms, worried about ruffling feathers or offending political loyalties. Education equity isn't charity. It's strategy. And it pays dividends. The bottom line Productivity isn't a miracle. It's the result of policy choices. Others have made them, and we have a plethora of outcomes to inform our own. The lesson is not that Ghana has to replicate mindlessly what some country did; it is that we cannot afford to ignore those who have had success, why they achieved it and what we can learn from that experience. That's the benefit of having others 'go ahead.' The steel executive's words still echo: 'One worker there does the work of 62 of my workers in a day.' That gap isn't solely about effort. It's about systems, skill-building efforts and priorities that overlook the engine of real growth — the people. Eric Hanushek's research confirms that what people learn, more than how long they learn, determines national growth. Ghana cannot afford to invest in education that doesn't translate into employable skills. It cannot fill classrooms at the expense of quality. It cannot fund training programmes without demanding results. And it cannot promise jobs while leaving human potential untapped. If we continue to sideline human capital, President Mahama's vision will remain just that — a vision. But it doesn't have to. The worker-to-output gap can be narrowed. But only if we first build systems that close the skills-to-opportunity gap. Let's train for the jobs we want, make the skills that pay and move from potential to performance. That means realising that the smartest investment we can make is not solely in concrete but in capacity, too. If we don't start now, we will continue to watch the world move on, while Ghana continues to ask why one foreign worker can do what 61 of ours cannot. We need to make different choices.
TimesLIVE
18 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
From besties to frenemies: Donald Trump and Elon Musk
The puzzling rise to presidential fame for Donald Trump has been met with just as much fervour as Elon Musk's ascension in US politics. What seemingly started off as a bromance between like-minded political allies soon turned into a sour feud that spilled out on social media. On the one hand, Musk claimed Trump would never have made his return to the White House without his help. On the other, Trump believes his former political partner is just throwing his toys out of the cot. But what has led to the rise and eventual fallout of America's biggest social players? From Mara-a-Lago playdates to exploding satellites, here's how the political BFFs became IRL enemies. 1990: THE POLITICAL BACHELOR Described by ex-New York mayor Ed Koch as 'a bachelor who lived for politics', Trump's ascension to the White House dates back to the 90s. One of the biggest interviews he gave, suggesting he has been aware of fans calling for him to enter the Oval Office, was with Playboy. Critics at the time also noted that his main focus was on the working class and the bills that affect businesses. 1999: YOU'VE GOT Enamoured by digital entrepreneurship, one of Musk's first ventures into the digital space was co-founding Zip2 with his brother. The business was a digitised version of the Yellow Pages and sold for more than $300m. The windfall would help Musk start X being a letter he would become obsessed with over the years. The site was built to be a digital payment system and would later lead to some of his strongest connections. With three other co-founders, the business would help establish Musk as a force to be reckoned with. During this time, Trump would announce on the Larry King Show that he would be taking politics seriously, announcing the formation of a 'presidential exploratory committee' that would become effective the day after the interview. Much like Musk at the time, his political opinion was liberal, saying he was 'getting much more liberal, on health care and other things. I really say, what's the purpose of a country if you're not going to have defence and health care?' 2000: WHEN PAY MET PAL would eventually merge with Confinity and become PayPal as it is known today. Now working with a new partner, Peter Thiel, the pair would sell PayPal two years later. Musk was on honeymoon when the deal was made and he was removed as CEO, according to The Times. 2002: AMERICAN DREAMS Musk, who has dual South African and Canadian citizenship, started his process of becoming an American citizen in 1996. While no reasons have been published as to why the American dream was calling him, Musk initially had a study visa when he studied at the University of Pennsylvania. This would help him become a naturalised American. This would also be the year Musk became famous for his involvement in SpaceX and its subsidiary satellite business, Starlink. Musk's odd business deals would also come to the fore at this time when he founded The Musk Foundation, which benefited OpenAI, a business he also owned. Several donors admitted to pumping much of their wealth into the foundation. 2004: TESLA AND THE CITY A year after it was founded, Musk's favourite adopted baby, Tesla, landed in his lap. By 2008, he managed to wrangle the CEO position. All thanks to a $6.5m investment. 2011: THE THIEL SINGER PayPal Mafia member Peter Thiel would come back into the spotlight when his future mentee JD Vance would write a sugary OpEd in the Catholic magazine The Lamp where he described meeting Thiel as 'the most siginificant moment of my life'. 2015: AI ACTUALLY Musk's meteoric rise saw with it the growing interest in AI. He would take a lead role at OpenAI with the sentiment that he could help develop 'friendly' AI. Meanwhile, Vance would embrace his first career pivot out of law and join Thiel's company, Mithril Capital. This would also put a spotlight on Vance as a writer when another column of his garnered fame for him and Thiel's business. This would also help him consider a run for office. 2016: LIFE AS WE BLOW IT Musk's growing fame and pursuits would soon see him cross paths with Facebook billionaire Mark Zuckerberg. But the two were not keen on braiding each other's hair, especially after Zuckerberg slighted Musk for his failed SpaceX maiden flight. The feud was ignited by Zuckerberg's Facebook post that claimed the SpaceX flight destroyed one of his satellites, while Musk chose Twitter as his weapon of choice to retort, 'Yeah, my fault for being an idiot. We did give them a free launch to make up for it and I think they had some insurance.' While mean girls like Regina George of Mean Girls relied on a private burn book, Musk continued to throw shade at any rival, including Trump. Musk said he was not confident of his role as an American president because 'he doesn't seem to have the sort of character that reflects well on the US'. Trump would not hit back but remained silent on the criticism. Instead, their bond would be cemented a month into Trump's first month in office that would see Musk join his advisory council. 2017: ALONG CAME CLIMATE CHANGE It wouldn't be long before Musk was back on the Twitter streets to vent his frustrations with Trump. In a tweet, Musk announced he was stepping down from the Oval Office after the US' exit from the Paris Climate Agreement. Musk was still liberal in his political beliefs, even posting support for the LGBTQ+ community, swatting off any homophobes from buying Teslas. Vance would echo the sentiments in his writing that spoke ill of Trump, even comparing him to Hitler. Zuckerberg and Musk would continue to bicker, particularly on the subject of AI. The back and forth would end with a Tweet from Musk stating the Facebook founder's 'understanding of the subject is limited'. 2018: WHAT'S FACEBOOK GOT TO DO WITH IT? Musk and Zuckerberg's relationship worsened. It would eventually push Musk off the platform and see him embrace Twitter as a premier space for communication. When speaking to WhatsApp founder Brian Acton, he would ask 'What's Facebook?' and suggest everyone leave the platform. At this time, Trump was taking a 'very restrained' approach to social media. 2021: A VANCE TO REMEMBER Vance would finally make it into the inner circle thanks to his PayPal Mafia bestie, Thiel. The latter would introduce him to Trump at Mar-a-Lago to repair their difficult relationship. Trump endorsed him a year later during his run as a senator for Ohio. 2022: HOW TO WIN A MUSK IN 10 DAYS Smooth-talking Musk, calling him the greatest genius on a par with Thomas Edison, Trump had his right-hand man back on his side. Six months later, Trump would call Musk 'another bull**** artist' in response to his promise to buy Twitter. Trump's feathers were ruffled by the fact that he was already on a mission to open his own social media business, Truth Social. The clip went viral on Twitter, Musk's preferred playground, so naturally he had a response: 'I don't hate the man, but it's time for Trump to hang up his hat & sail into the sunset.' The back and forth would continue with Trump claiming Musk would come crawling back, to which Musk responded: 'Lmaooo [laughing my *** off].' Much to Trump's surprise, Musk went through with the Twitter acquisition in October. Musk would extend an olive branch by running a poll to reinstate Trump on Twitter after the Twitter ban. The vote was for his return at 51.8%. Shortly after that, he would rename the platform X. 2023: SLEEPLESS IN THE US BORDER A considerable shift in Musk's politics would come up late in the year when he fully backed Trump's US border wall. 'We actually do need a wall and we need to require people to have some shred of evidence to claim asylum to enter, as everyone is doing that ...' Musk wrote. However, nothing was official about his backing of either the Democrats or the Republicans at the time. Elon Musk receives a golden key from Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House. Image: REUTERS/Nathan Howard/File Photo 2024: HOW TRUMP GOT HIS MUSK BACK After Trump's shooting incident during a rally, Musk backed him as his official candidate seconds later. There were claims that Musk footed $45m. A month later, the pair went live on X where Musk would shoot his shot at a government efficiency job. Trump would also start to embrace Twitter and AI as a means of communication. They would have their first public appearance in 2024 when Trump returned to the scene of the crime in Pennsylvania calling himself 'dark MAGA' and sporting a black Make America Great Again T-shirt. Other than going viral for his childish antics, Musk announced he would give away $1m to voters in swing states who signed a petition for free speech and the right to bear arms. NOVEMBER 2024: MAMMA MAR-A-LAGO The relationship would be cemented by the very same trip with Vance in Mara-a-Lago. They would spend the night with other Republican supporters to watch the live election results. Trump announced the appointment of Musk and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy as leaders of Doge (department of government efficiency). The pair would be spotted at a SpaceX launch. It was at this point that Musk called himself 'the first buddy', amid reports he was sitting in on several meetings with international dignitaries. Trump would also hire Thiel and PayPal Mafia member David Sacks, the latter focused on advising the president on AI and cryptocurrencies. DECEMBER 2025: MR & MR PRESIDENT Tensions would rise again when media outlets would start rumours of 'President Musk'. Trump would eventually denounce the rumours of Musk's ascension to the White House. The rumour would be quelled by news of Musk renting out a $2,000 cottage on the premises of Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence. While he did not take it to X this time around, Musk would leave Trump and other Republicans irate over time. Sources told Mediate that Trump was 100% annoyed with Musk's spat with MAGA members about H1B visas (a type of working visa in the US), which they simplified as 'two tigers cannot live on one mountain top'. JANUARY 2025: FAR FROM THE MAGA CROWD After a tour de force of surprise announcements, Trump left the globe in a tailspin. This would also include the unexpected exit of Vivek Ramaswamy from Doge to run for the Ohio governor seat in 2026. With Musk in the driver's seat, critics started to notice he could not deliver on the promises he made. This included 100,000 layoffs that would land the Trump administration in hot water for the job cuts. The Independent reported that things were only getting worse for Musk and Trump's supporters with a West Wing brawl between him and Treasury secretary Scott Bessent making headlines. MAY 2025: IT ENDS WITH DOGE Things would start to fall apart between the pair when it was announced during a cabinet meeting late in April that Musk would be leaving Doge. His last day in the position would be in May. The reasons Musk cited were that Doge would be able to run on its own and that he needed to spend less time in the capital city. Trump would continue business as usual until Musk criticised his 'Big Beautiful Bill'. JUNE 2025: MY BIG FAT BEAUTIFUL BILL Musk would find resolve in expressing his anger on X again as he continued to criticise the Big Beautiful Bill. 'I'm sorry, but I just can't stand it any more. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it,' he posted. Musk's qualms with the bill were that it could potentially ramp up US debt. However, during a White House briefing Trump expressed his disappointment with Musk's posts, saying 'he [Musk] had no problem with it' in earlier conversations about the bill. The pair would trade blows on their respective sites, Truth Social and X. Trump made disparaging comments about Tesla and Musk took parting shots in which he suggested the president wouldn't have won the election without him.
TimesLIVE
21 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Officials from Sudan, Chad, Somalia express dismay at Trump travel ban
The visa ban takes effect on June 9 at 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT). Visas issued before that date will not be revoked, the order said. In total, just under 162,000 immigrant visas and temporary work, study, and travel visas were issued in fiscal year 2023 to nationals of the affected countries in the now banned visa categories, according to the Migration Policy Institute. The ban is likely to face legal challenges. But Stephen Yale-Loehr, a retired professor of immigration law at Cornell Law School, said he expected those lawsuits to face an uphill climb, because the latest ban contains various exemptions and cited specific security concerns with each country. The ban includes exemptions, such as for dual nationals, permanent residents, immigrant visas for immediate family members of US citizens and athletes traveling for major sporting events like the World Cup. "Trump has learned from the mistakes of earlier travel bans," he said. Some foreign officials said they were prepared to work with the US to address Trump's security concerns. "Somalia values its longstanding relationship with the United States and stands ready to engage in dialogue to address the concerns raised," Dahir Hassan Abdi, the Somali ambassador to the United States, said in a statement.
