Afcon 2015: Appiah names Black Stars squad for qualifiers

Ghana coach Kwesi Appiah has named his squad for next month's 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying double-header against Uganda and Togo.

The Black Stars coach has selected 24 players for the two Group E matches in the qualifying campaign.

Jeffery Schlupp and David Accam, who both missed out of the 2014 World Cup have made Appiah's squad.

Ghana will play Uganda on September 5 in Kumasi and take on the Hawks the following weekend in Lome.

The 30th edition of AFCON will be played from 17 January through to 8 February 2015 in Morocco.

Winners and runner-up of each group plus the third-best team will join hosts Morocco for the final tournament.

Ghana squad:

Goalkeepers: Fatau Dauda (Chippa United, South Africa), Adams Stephen (Aduana Stars) and Razak Braimah (Mirandes FC, Spain)

Defenders: Daniel Opare (FC Porto, Portugal), Harrison Afful (Esperance FC, Tunisia), Awal Mohammed (Maritzburg, South Africa), Baba Rahman (FC Augsburg, Germany), Jeffery Schlupp (Leicester City, England), John Boye (Erciyesspor FC, Turkey) and Jonathan Mensah (Evian FC, France)

Midfielders: Emmanuel Agyeman Badu (Udinese, Italy), Rabiu Mohammed (Krasnodar, Russia), Yusif Chibsah (Sassuolo, Italy), Kwadwo Asamoah (Juventus, Italy), Mubarak Wakaso (Rubin Karzan, Russia), Atsu Christian (Everton, England), Asante Solomon (T.P. Mazembe FC, Congo DR.), Gyimah Edwin (Black Aces, South Africa), Afriyie Acquah (Parma FC, Italy) and Andre Ayew (Olympique Marseille, France)

Strikers: Asamoah Gyan (Al Ain, UAE), Jordan Ayew (Lorient, France), Abdul Majeed Waris (Spartak Moscow, Russia), David Accam.

Jackie Appiah and Martha Ankomah shows off in a new photos

Our Ghanaian Celebrities continue to share their daily activities in photos on social media—and these are some interesting photos from your favourite celebrities for you.

Jackie Appiah is looking great and Martha Ankomah is not looking bad either.

Victoria Beckham Takes Ice Bucket Challenge

Victoria Beckham Collapses Under Weight of Water in Ice Bucket Challenge, Gets Soaked by Kids

She got there in the end! Victoria Beckham finally worked up the guts to take a freezing cold soaking in her own ALS Ice Bucket Challenge -- and she was knocked to the ground under the force of the water!

Two days after husband David Beckham and son Brooklyn took the challenge, Victoria shared footage of her own dunking via Facebook on Thursday, August 21.

Kneeling on the ground in her workout gear, the fashion designer announced she was ready to take up Eva Longoria's challenge to help raise money and awareness for ALS research.

With her voice growing gradually more hysterical as David and sons Brooklyn, Romeo and Cruz approached with huge buckets of water, the former Spice Girl challenged Tom Ford, Katie Holmes and her youngest son Cruz to take up the challenge themselves.

Victoria prepares to get soaked by her sons and husband David!
Credit: Courtesy Victoria Beckham 

The boys in her family then had a blast, pouring huge amounts of freezing cold water on their mom's head, causing Victoria to fall onto her hands as she screamed out in shock.

Unless you have been living in a cave, you cannot have failed to have noticed a spate of videos of billionaire business moguls, sportsmen even former Presidents tipping buckets of freezing water over themselves. The action is aimed at raising money for research into ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a form of motor neurone disease) and in the UK to raise money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association and Macmillan Cancer Support.
 
But braving freezing water is not enough, a small donation is also expected and so far #icebucketchallenge has raised more than £13.8 million for charity. 

After an icy soaking the participant then nominates two or three further people to undertake the challenge within 24 hours. Those who forfeit the challenge must donate a larger sum of money to a good cause.
The success of the challenge as a fundraising venture is unquestionable, but how did the viral trend start?
On 15 July a golfer in Florida, Charles Kennedy, was nominated by a friend to do an Ice Bucket Challenge.
At the time, the challenge was not connected to a particular charity, but Mr Kennedy decided that the money raised by his ice bucket challenge should go to ALS because his cousin suffered from the disease.
He then nominated his cousin's wife to soak herself and urge others to take it on. It then reached the radar of another ALS sufferer, Pat Quinn from New York. 

The 31-year-old launched the campaign with the help of friend Pete Frates, a former Boston college basketball player who also suffers from the condition. 

Mr Frates is credited with helping the challenge truly go viral after he posted a video nominating friends and stars including US football player Tom Brady. And from there it simply spiralled ...

Robin Williams Cremated Privately, Ashes Scattered in San Francisco Bay

Beloved actor and comedian Robin Williams has been laid to rest.

According to his death certificate, the Mrs Doubtfire star has been cremated and his ashes scattered in San Francisco bay.

The certificate, first obtained by Radar Online, was issued in Marin County on Wednesday, August 20, and states Williams' cause of death as "pending investigation."
It also states the actor’s funeral took place at Monte's Chapel of the Hills, a funeral home in leafy San Anselmo, CA.

The Oscar winning star was found dead in his home on Monday August 11th having apparently taken his own life. His wife Susan Schneider said in a statement three days later, that her husband had been suffering from a deep depression and had recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease.

"Robin's sobriety was intact and he was brave as he struggled with his own battles of depression, anxiety, as well as early stages of Parkinson's Disease, which he was not yet ready to share publicly," she wrote.
The official cause of death is expected be ruled within the next few weeks, pending results of toxicology tests.

As Us Weekly reported previously, Williams will be honored and celebrated by Billy Crystal and Sara Bareilles at the 66th Emmy Awards on Monday, August 25.