TRAGEDY !! 60 burnt to death in Ghana’s buses collision

It was weeping and wailing on Friday morning as 60 people were reportedly burnt to death when two buses collided in Southern Ghana.

Ghana police confirmed that 60 people were killed in the tragedy, which occurred around 2.00am on Friday.

“The vehicles were travelling in separate directions when the collision occurred,” police commander Joseph Antwi Gyawu told AFP.

“At least 60 people have been confirmed dead and one of the buses caught fire with the other seriously mangled,” he added.

The buses were each carrying about 50 passengers at the time of the crash.

Emergency services were at the scene, including firefighters to put out the blazing vehicles.

Kwame Arhin, a doctor at the Kintampo Government Hospital, said 28 people were being treated for injuries.

“Seven out of the 28 passengers who were rushed here are in critical condition,” Arhin told AFP.

“We have referred four. Most of them had head injuries. I’ve seen a few being taken to the morgue,” he added.

 - PM NEWS

4 MORE YEARS KILLING OF INNOCENT CITIZENS !! Stray bullet kills teenager in Lagos

A teenager, Adijat Shakiru, has died as a result of a stray bullet in Adama community, Ikorodu area of Lagos State.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Sgt. Adeoye was attacked on Wednesday by some hoodlums while operatives of the Taskforce were on ‘Save our Soul mission to Mile-12 area.

The Taskforce Chairman, CSP Olayinka Egbeyemi, said those arrested claimed they were given cutlasses and broken bottles by their group leader at ‘Akani-modo’ to attack the operatives.

The police spokesman said the seven suspects arrested over the attack would, in addition to initial charges against them, be charged for murder.

Elkana said investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of the teenager revealed that one Sgt. Mudi Emmanuel, who was part of the surveillance patrol team on operation at that community, was responsible for the shooting.

According to him, the officer was found wanting for professional misconduct, stressing that the policeman was undergoing orderly room trial at the Command’s Provost Marshall Unit.

“His actions fell short of the rules of engagement for the use of firearms and professional standard for police officers. He will be charged to court for murder.

“The command is determined to continually uphold the rule of law and protect the fundamental rights of the people,” Elkana said.

- DAILY POST

Lionel Messi ruled out of Argentina action due to injury

Messi has been ruled out of Argentina's friendly against Morocco on Tuesday after suffering a groin injury in the 3-1 loss to Venezuela.

Friday was not the first time Messi has suffered from a groin problem, with the Argentine having missed time in 2016 and 2017 due to a similar injury. 

News of Messi's injury will be particularly worrying for Barcelona, with the 31-year-old in the middle of yet another brilliant campaign. 

The Barcelona forward played the full 90 minutes on Friday night, but the Argentine federation confirmed after the game he will leave the squad as they prepare for their clash with the African side next week.

Messi has netted 39 goals in 36 games in all competitions for the Blaugrana, who are still alive in their chase for a treble this season. 

Ernesto Valverde's side have a commanding lead atop La Liga, sitting 10 points ahead of Atletico Madrid and 12 points in front of third-place Real Madrid. 

Barca took down Real in the Copa del Rey semi-final and have advanced to the final of the cup competition, where they will face Valencia on May 25. 

And Barcelona have also advanced to the Champions League quarter-final, where a mouthwatering matchup with Manchester United awaits. 

With Messi potentially out, the scoring onus will fall even more on forward Luis Suarez, who has netted 21 goals in 38 games in all competitions this season.

The Blaugrana do have a week before their next match, a Liga encounter with Espanyol at Camp Nou

There will be another two games between that match and the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final, which takes place on April 10 at Old Trafford. 

Mass London protest to demand second referendum on Brexit

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to march through central London on Saturday to demand a final say on Brexit.

As the impasse over a way forward continues in Westminster, the original Brexit deadline of March 29 has now been pushed back to April 12.

Protesters want the government to put any solution to the deadlock to a second referendum.

Dubbed "Put It To The People", the march will set off at noon (12:00 GMT) and end with a rally near the Houses of Parliament at about 2pm (14:00 GMT).

It is organised by the People's Vote campaign, which includes more than a 100 grassroots groups advocating for a public vote on the Brexit deal with the European Union, and is supported by a number of pro-European organisations.

Pro-remain MPs from across the political spectrum have confirmed their attendance, while tens of coaches will descend on London from across the country.

'Catastrophic consequences'

The last People's Vote march in October was one of the largest in recent decades, attracting an estimated 700,000 people.

Among the high profile figures who announced their participation is the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.

"We're now days away from falling off a cliff edge with catastrophic consequences," Khan said. "It's time to take this out of the hands of politicians and put it back to the people."

"No matter how you voted in the referendum, we can all agree that the path we're being forced to follow is not in the national interest," he said.

About 17.4 million Britons - nearly 52 percent of voters - opted to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum, while just over 48 percent voted to remain in the block.

The vote redefined the country's politics, drawing new fault lines within Britain's two main political parties, Labour and the Conservatives, as well as it people.

Critics of a second referendum say it would be even more divisive than the first.

In a televised speech on Wednesday, Prime Minister Theresa May told the British public: "I am on your side". She reiterated her determination to deliver Brexit and blamed parliament for the deadlock.

Her words sparked a backlash among MPs, who have rejected the withdrawal agreement she negotiated with the EU twice since January.

Petition against Brexit

An online petition to cancel Brexit by revoking Article 50 went viral the following day. By Saturday morning, it had gathered nearly four million signatures.

With only days to go to the UK's scheduled departure date of March 29, EU leaders agreed this week on a dual-deadline mechanism to grant the UK some extra time.

The UK will leave on May 22 if the British parliament passes the deal. If it doesn't, it will have until April 12 to indicate a way forward, which could include asking for a longer extension and agreeing to hold European Parliament elections.

If the deal is voted down again, the government could hold a series of indicative votes to see where consensus lies in Parliament, and a second referendum could be among the options.

However, Parliament rejected an amendment calling for a second referendum during a series of votes in mid-March.

While the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn will not take part in the march, the party officially supports a second referendum. The party is mulling over endorsing a plan by two of its backbenchers that would see MPs vote for May's deal on the condition it is then put to a public vote.

Recent polls have suggested that if there were a second referendum, Britons could vote to remain in the EU.

A snap poll this week found nearly two thirds of respondents would prefer remaining in the EU over leaving with May's deal.

If the options were remaining or leaving without a deal, remain would still win but by a smaller margin of 43 percent. Almost half of respondents said they would support another public vote.

Meanwhile, a "March to Leave" walk organised by former UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage, considered one of the architects of Brexit, took off from Sunderland last weekend.

A few hundred people began the first leg of a two-week protest due to end in Parliament square on March 29, accusing politicians of "betraying the will of the people" over Brexit.

While Labour supports a "softer Brexit" including closer economic integration with the EU, the hard Brexit wing in May's own Conservative party has been voting down the deal over the so-called backstop - a protocol of the withdrawal agreement to avoid a hard border in the island of Ireland, which they believe would tie the UK to the EU's trade rules indefinitely.

Alongside Scotland, Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU in 2016.

"In 2016, Northern Ireland wasn't mentioned and it's now become what the government calls a major stumbling block," Doire Finn, the 24-year-old Northern Ireland coordinator of Our Future Our Choice, a youth campaign group supporting the People's Vote campaign, told Al Jazeera.

The border in the island of Ireland is set to become the only land crossing between the European Union and the United Kingdom after Brexit.

There are concerns that a no-deal Brexit would have serious consequences for peace in the region, as well as on the lives of residents like Finn who live in the border area. 

"Because I live so close to the border, I don't like my life or the people who have built lives on a border that is completely frictionless, to be called a stumbling block," Finn added.

"It's important that there are Northern Irish people [at the demonstration] to have their voices heard in a more representative way than they are currently in Parliament."

"Young people in particular are going to have to live with the consequences of Brexit for the longest."

- AL-JAZEERA

White police officer cleared over shooting of black teen

A white police officer has been cleared of homicide after shooting an unarmed black teenager.

Michael Rosfeld was charged after fatally shooting Antwon Rose II in the back last June.

Antwon had been riding in the back of an unlicensed taxi which was involved in a drive-by shooting. Mr Rosfeld pulled the car over, and shot the 17-year-old in the back, arm, and the side of the face as he ran away.

The shooting was captured on camera and led to weeks of unrest.

The panel of seven men and five women, including three black jurors, was shown the video of the fatal confrontation, which showed Antwon falling to the ground after being hit.

The jury took just four hours to deliberate on the fourth day of the trial before reaching their conclusion.

Antwon's family were stoic when the verdict was read out.

Mrs Rosfeld is reported to have cried before she and her husband were led out of the courtroom.

Several people burst out in song, chanting: "Antwon Rose was a freedom fighter, and he taught us how to fight."

Outside, dozens of protesters said: "Say his name: Antwon Rose the Second."

Antwon's family's attorney had pushed for a murder conviction, saying it had been "pretty obvious" that the teenager was not a threat to the police officer.

Patrick Thomassey, defending, told reporters after the verdict that Rosfeld "is a good man".

He said he hoped "everybody takes a deep breath and gets on with their lives".

Antwon's death, one of several high-profile killings of black teens and men by white officers, sparked angry protests in Pittsburgh last summer. One late-night march shut down a major highway.

In the trial, Mr Rosfeld told the jury he thought Antwon or another suspect had a gun, and said he fired to protect himself and the communuty.Mr Rosfeld had only worked for East Pittsburgh Police Department for a few weeks, and was officially sworn in just hours before the fatal shooting.

Prosecutors claimed the new recruit gave inconsistent statements about the shooting, including whether he thought Antwon was armed.

A defence expert said Mr Rosfeld was within his rights to use deadly force if he thought a suspect had just been involved in a shooting.

Mr Rosfeld told the jury he thought a gun had been pointed at him. Neither teen, either Antwon or the second person in the car, was holding a gun when Mr Rosfeld opened fire.

Mr Rosfeld said: "It happened very quickly. My intent was to end the threat that was made against me."

Antwon had been in the front of the cab, when Zaijuan Hester, who was in the back, rolled down a window and shot at two men, hitting one in the abdomen.

Mr Rosfeld then spotted the car a few minutes later and ordered them to pull over. Antwon and another passenger began running away, at which point, the officer fired three times in quick succession.

One witness, John Leach, told the jury he heard Mr Rosfeld crying and hyperventilating after the shooting, and heard him say: "Why did I shoot? Why did I fire?"

Mr Rosfeld is also reported to have told the jury: "I was upset and shocked. I could see the wound on his face. He was moaning, trying to breath."

Hester, 18, last week pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and firearms violations. He told a judge he was behind the shooting, not Antwon.

In a statement after the verdict, Antwon's family said they were "devastated" by the acquittal, but grateful for the support they had received from the community.

They are pursuing a civil lawsuit over the death,

SKY NEWS

I beat my wife to death to teach other women lesson to respect their husband – Suspect

A 30-year-old man, Umar Tambari has been arrested by the Niger State Police Command for allegedly beating his wife to death.

Tambari’s reason for beating his wife, Hawa is because she disrespects him and does not give him the honour due to a husband.

The incident which led to Hawa’s death occurred at Emiworo Village in Wushishi Local Government Area of the state when the couple had a disagreement over the wife’s refusal to fetch Tambari water to bath.

According to the suspect, when he went to fetch the water by himself, his late wife then accused him of taking her water which led him to lose his temper.

“My wife looks down on me each time I ask her to fetch water for my bath and when I fetched the water, she will accuse me of taking her water. On this day, I got angry and l beat the hell out of her.

“My wife does not accord me the respect I deserve as her husband and I have sent her to her early grave, in her next world, she will learn how to respect her husband.

“She has been disrespecting me to an extent that she does not give me food she bought with my money, it is unacceptable in my place,” Tambari declared.

When asked by reporters if he regretted his action, the suspect said, “I have no regret, she has gotten what she deserved and is a lesson to women out there disrespecting their husbands.”

The suspect was arrested by a team of Policemen attached to Wushishi Division on a tip-off while trying to escape.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Mohammad Abubakar, said on Friday that the suspect did not waste time in admitting to the crime.

He said Tambari hit his wife with a stick several times which made her to collapse but that she died while she was being taken to hospital.

The PPRO then said the suspect has been charged to court.

Armed bandits kill policeman, abduct six other officers

No fewer than six police officers have been kidnapped while one of them was killed instantly by gunmen in Samka village of Bagega district of Anna Local Government Area of Zamfara State.

Investigation carried out by DAILY POST reveals that the policemen were patrolling along Samka axis when they were ambushed by the notorious armed bandits.

It was gathered that the armed bandits have been operating in the area on daily basis which forced the state police command to deploy armed policemen on constant patrol within the axis.

It could be recalled that not more than two months ago, a village head of Kawaye , his two wives and more than thirty villagers were kidnapped by the armed bandits in the axis, demanding for some millions as ransom.

- DAILY POST