Valentine’s Day is a popular festive occasion, second only to Christmas. It is widely known as a celebration of love.

Ironically, the origin of Valentine’s Day is not entirely clear. For some, it is linked to birds that were seen flying in pairs in mid-February. 

Others associate it with an ancient fertility festival where people met and selected future partners. Some also believe it commemorates a priest who was killed because of his acts of kindness.

Dear Mirror Lawyer, do I need a lawyer to look over a contract to make it valid? Ama Owusu. 

Dear Ama, while it is prudent to have a lawyer look over a contract to ensure that your interests are well protected thereunder, a lawyer’s oversight over a contract is not what makes it valid. Generally, the following elements are determinants of whether a contract is valid and enforceable. 

Many years ago, when Mr John Ampao met his wife, Josephine, in Lagos, Nigeria, their dream was simple, like that of most immigrants — to work hard, earn a decent income and raise their family without struggle.

Life in Lagos was not easy, but it was promising. Mr Ampao, a trained visual artist, ran an art gallery where he created and sold paintings. Josephine, a food vendor, also supported the home while caring for their growing family.

Then one morning, everything started changing.

Kerosene is a widely used household fuel. It is a petroleum distillate and one of the most dangerous hydrocarbons. Besides their utility in cooking, especially among the poor, kerosene lamps (lanterns) are the primary source of lighting in our towns and villages.

The danger of kerosene in the household lies not in its inflammable property (which can easily be ignited and cause severe burns) but in its accidental ingestion by children. Other toxic effects of kerosene are attributable to its physical properties, including high volatility, low viscosity and low surface tension. 

Highly volatile compounds with low viscosity and low surface tension are more likely to be inhaled or aspirated into the respiratory system. Kerosene is poorly absorbed after ingestion (drinking), but absorption is rapid after inhalation or aspiration into the lungs.

Stacks of teddy bears, neatly wrapped gift boxes, and cartons of chocolates remain unsold in warehouses across Accra’s Central Business District, as Valentine’s Day vendors say the Accra Metropolitan Assembly’s (AMA) enforcement exercise is crippling their ability to cash in on the season of love.

The situation came to light during interactions between The Mirror and traders at Kingsway, Okaishie and around the COCOBOD area in Accra last Wednesday.

Vendors who had stocked up heavily in anticipation of February 14 fear they may not recover the capital invested in the seasonal trade.

The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana (EPCG), Rt Rev. Dr Lt Col Bliss Kofi Agbeko (retd), has cautioned young people against engaging in promiscuous acts during Valentine’s Day celebrations, stressing that the occasion was never intended to promote casual or irresponsible sexual activity.

According to him, the celebration traces its origins to the 14th-century Roman Empire, where it was associated with fertility rites known as Lupercalia. The rites involved sacrifices and purification rituals believed to enhance fertility in women.

Who needs the pressure to pack all your love (and flowers and chocolates) into one day in February? This is the perfect year to ditch Valentine’s Day and lean into a less pressure-filled holiday. It’s time to embrace Galentine’s Day.

On Valentine's Day, there's the temptation to believe that somewhere out there is "The One": a soulmate, a perfect match, the person you were meant to be with.

Across history, humans have always been drawn to the idea that love isn't random. In ancient Greece, Plato imagined that we were once whole beings with four arms, four legs and two faces, so radiant that Zeus split us in two; ever since, each half has roamed the earth searching for its missing other, a myth that gives the modern soulmate its poetic pedigree and the promise that somewhere, someone will finally make us feel complete.

It has been 14 years since Mark Essien launched his first startup, Hotels.ng. He is, by all accounts, an OG tech bro in Nigeria, having raised $1.2 million for the company at the time.

Hotels.ng has not just survived; it has thrived over the years, recording about 20,000 orders a month.

“Hotels.ng is doing great. I would consider it a stable, profitable business. It helped me understand the African travel space and build the required relationships,” Essien says.

This keen understanding of the African travel space is why his new startup, Tripdesk — an AI-driven travel management platform, has already generated $2.3 million in revenue just four months after launch.

Interestingly, about 30% of this revenue is profit.

The world is entering an era of "global water bankruptcy" with rivers, lakes, and aquifers depleting faster than nature can replenish them, a United Nations research institute said on Tuesday.

It argues that decades of overuse, pollution, environmental destruction, and climate pressure have pushed many water systems so beyond the point of recovery that a new classification was required.

"Water stress and water crisis are no longer sufficient descriptions of the world's new water realities," read a new report by the UN University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH).

These terms were "framed as alerts about a future that could still be avoided" when the world had already moved into a "new phase", it said.

Our brains age along with the rest of our bodies, and as they do, they produce fewer new brain cells. Now, researchers have found a key mechanism through which the typical age-related decline in neuron production might be slowed.

In later life, the neural stem cells (NSCs) that turn into fully fledged neurons become more dormant – almost as if they're going into retirement after a long lifetime of service. As that happens, cognitive decline creeps in.

A major reason why NSC activity fades with age is the wear and tear on telomeres, the protective caps on the ends of DNA. Telomeres fray a little more each time a cell divides, and over time, this impairs cells' ability to grow and divide, leading to increasing cell death.

People are more likely to act helpfully when they are surrounded by fewer and less attractive options, challenging assumptions that generosity flourishes in richer environments, according to new research published in Nature Communications.

A nursery worker, Nathan Bennett has been found guilty of sexually abusing children in a horrific case that was “every parent’s nightmare”.

He was caught on CCTV displaying predatory behaviour toward young children, including putting his hands down the trousers of a child, as he worked at the Partou King Street nursery in Bristol.

After his arrest following a six-month police investigation, a trial at Bristol Crown Court was told Bennett showed a “jealous attachment” with five children and would “take control of them”.

Yesterday, the most common word associated with marriage was love. Today, it is divorce. Global studies indicate that about 60 per cent of marriages break down, cutting across age, tribe, profession, academic qualification, length of marriage and even religious faith.

Marriage today has, therefore, become a risky investment—one that shows no respect for status or background.

It is also estimated that about 88 per cent of adults who divorce or lose a spouse remarry at least once and some many times. The late actress Elizabeth Taylor, for instance, married seven times. 

KHABY LAME, the most popular person on TikTok, has been making headlines recently.

The 25-year-old Senegalese-Italian sensation has signed a whopping US$975 million deal with Rich Sparkle Holdings, giving the company exclusive rights to his brand.

But what's more impressive is how he got here.

Lame's rise to fame began during the COVID-19 lockdown when he started making videos mocking overly complicated "life hacks". His authenticity and humour resonated with millions, earning him 160 million followers on TikTok and 360 million across platforms.

DEAR Mirror Lawyer, I rented a three-bedroom house at Madina, a suburb of Accra, for three years and paid all three years' rent in advance.

Two months to the end of the three years, the landlady wrote to me that at the expiration of the tenancy, her cousin would come and occupy the house so I should move out by 8 a.m. on the anniversary otherwise she would come and forcefully eject me from the premises.

Mirror lawyer, do I not have any rights to opt for a renewal of the tenancy?

Every honest hustle carries a story of perseverance, dignity and quiet ambition.

For Wisdom Amehame, a commercial driver in Accra, the taxi is more than a means of survival. It is a moving classroom, a library on wheels and a personal statement about the power of self-development.

When The Mirror caught up with him last Wednesday while he was working in Accra, his car a Nissan Picanto stood out. 

It is recommended that women between 30 and 65 undergo co-testing with Human papillomavirus (HPV) and Pap smear testing every five years or Pap testing alone every three years.

HPV testing for women in their 20s is controversial but recommended if the Pap smear is abnormal in this age group.

It is also recommended that girls from age nine and above are immunised against Human Papillomavirus before they become sexually active. This single intervention is eradicating cases of cervical cancer in some countries.

POLLUTION in any form raises apprehension due to its negative effects on general welfare. Climate change offers adequate proof that pollution can be devastating. Frantic efforts by the UN to mobilise global communities into acts that can combat environmental pollution is warning enough.

Yet, over here in Ghana, we engage in acts that aggravate environmental pollution. There is an urgent need for a national resolution to refine the attitude towards noise.

Across parts of Accra, nkate (groundnut) cake vendors continue to line busy streets, transport terminals and commercial centres selling the popular snack to commuters and passers-by.

Unlike many street trades affected by low patronage, vendors say nkate cake continues to enjoy steady demand.

However, they(vendors) insist the main challenge confronting the business is the very low profit margin, which makes it difficult to earn a decent living despite consistent sales.

A 53-year-old man, Adjei Owusu Afriyie, has been arrested by the police at Akyeremade in the Ashanti Region for allegedly peddling alcoholic drinks suspected to be laced with narcotic substances.

The Drug Law Enforcement Unit (DLEU) of the Ashanti Regional Police Command arrested the suspect at a drinking spot last Thursday during an intelligence-led operation by the command.