Sam Vokes’ 81st-minute strike gave Burnley a 1-0 win at St Mary’s Stadium and put them on level points with fourth-placed Chelsea, who host Manchester United on Sunday.

Swansea’s 1-0 defeat by Brighton at the Liberty Stadium, coupled with Bournemouth’s 92nd-minute winner at Newcastle, saw the Welsh side fall to 18th, with the Cherries leapfrogging them into 17th place.

Elsewhere, Rajiv van La Parra’s stunning first-half strike gave Huddersfield a 1-0 win against West Brom, condemning the Baggies to their third successive league defeat and they are without a win in nine games.

In Saturday’s early kick-off, Peter Crouch scored a late equaliser as Stoke came from behind twice to draw 2-2 with Leicester.

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Source: BBC Sport

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They have moved a step further to the Northern Regional Secretariat of the Legal Aid Board to initiate processes that could lead to seeking legal redress if the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), fails to rectify the problem within one week.

Their Spokesperson, Zakaria Hawa, in a Citi News interview accused WAEC of attempting to shortchange their children’s academic future.

She challenged WAEC to prove that their children indeed engaged in examination malpractices particularly during the Mathematics paper.

She said their wards are ever prepared to rewrite the Mathematics paper if WAEC can convince them beyond reasonable doubt.

According to Zakaria Hawa, they promptly responded to a query submitted to them by the Sagnarigu district directorate of education.

Below is the response letter.

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By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) had described as abysmal, the performance of the Akufo-Addo government in its first 6 months.

According to the NDC, the party had failed on many fronts, especially in the fight against corruption since it assumed office on January 7.

“ The true verdict of majority of Ghanaians is that Akufo Addo and Bawumia have failed woefully as managers of all affairs of state..Most definitely, President Akuffo Addo is turning out to become like Kweku Ananse because in our Ghanaian folklore, Kweku Ananse always begins as the most intelligent and shrewdest person but ends up hiding his embarrassment in his web. The embarrassment that is engulfing the Akufo Addo, Bawumia government is becoming too much,” Mr. Portuphy said.

Speaking on Citi FM’s News Analysis Programme, The Big Issue, Mr. Casley Hayford however said it will be unfair to criticise the NPP government for poor governance since it had been in power for just six months.

He further indicated that it will be too early to expect results, saying“it is too early for us to see the impact of what is being done. When we are looking at government, it is a little more difficult to take off. There is a certain amount of inertia required,” he said.

The Minority has on several occasions criticized the New Patriotic Party (NPP) administration for what they describe as incompetence and corruption.

These criticisms particularly heightened in the wake of the BOST scandal

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah

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The Commission says this to check reports of over-voting from certain polling stations.

“It has come to the attention of the Commission that several possible instances of over voting have allegedly occurred at a number of polling stations. As a result of this, the Electoral Commission has decided to review all results from the collation centres  and verify them against the physical pink sheets from polling station,” a statement from the EC said.

The EC further indicated that it will determine the appropriate actions to take if it is able to determine if any cases of over voting occurred in any polling station.

“…On verification of, and in line with, established administrative procedures the EC is able to determine if any over voting occurred in any polling station. Should any discrepancy occur the commission will meet to determine the appropriate actions.”

“To ensure the integrity of the results of this Election thus multiple verification process is required. We call for patience and calm from all voters as the EC ensures that the Election Results are in fact a true reflection of the will of the people,” the statement added.

The statement from the EC is below

PRESS RELEASE:

It has come to the attention of the Commission that several possible instances of over voting have occurred at a number of polling stations. As a result of this the Electoral Commission has decided to review all results from the collation centers and verify them against the physical pink sheets from the polling stations.

The verification process is now in several stages before results will be certified:

1. Receipt of manual faxes from the collation centers.
2. Comparison of faxed summary results with the Electronic Results Transfer data
3. Comparison of the constituency collation sheets
4. Final comparison with the polling station pink sheets.

On verification of, and in line with, established administrative procedures the EC is able to determine if any over voting occurred in any polling station. Should any discrepancy occur the commission will meet to determine the appropriate actions

To ensure the integrity of the results of this Election thus multiple verification process is required. We call fro patience and calm from all voters as the EC ensures that the Election Results are in fact a true reflection of the will of the people.

In the interim the EC will be releasing the constituency summary results subject to the above verification process.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah

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The Commission’s Chairperson, Madam Charlotte Osei, who announced this, says the Commission’s website and social media platforms, will also be used effectively in churning out vital information.

Her comment comes days after the EC  took down its website ahead of the polls, raising questions as to whether the recently launched site had been hacked.

[contextly_sidebar id=”ZrytGAf6N04o5THIuLQMzc0GWZErToTY”]But speaking in an interview with the BBC’s Akwasi Sarpong, the EC Chair clarified that, the Commission is devising measures to ensure that, Ghanaians do not encounter technical challenges in their bid to asses the website during the election.

“We are working on that. We are increasing the bandwith; and we need to look at the capacity again to take care of the kind of interest we are getting and also the kind of the data we will be getting.”

She further revealed that, the EC will also ensure a very robust communication process that will update Ghanaians on the latest developments as far as the elections are concerned.

“The plan is that, we are going to have a very robust communication process going on.There will be at least hourly updates to the media of what is going on, which results have come in. If there are any challenges, we will inform the public ahead of those challenges; but at least we will be having hourly briefings with the media.”

Election results to be announced in 42 hours

Asked how long it will take for the EC to release election results, Charlotte Osei said :“we are hoping within 42 hours….”

She was however quick to add that, it might go beyond the expected 42 hours to 72, if the results are very close.

“The only reason I can see us going beyond is because, our elections in Ghana tend to be very close. If it is so close , it will be more prudent to stop the counting process to inform everyone, do a total recount and be sure of what we are announcing ….”

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah

The post We’ll update media hourly on election day – Charlotte Osei appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Mentally disabled half brothers Henry McCollum, 50, and Leon Brown, 46, were convicted in 1984 of raping and killing an 11-year-old girl in North Carolina.

Recently analysed DNA evidence from the crime scene implicated another man, who is in prison for a similar crime.

A county judge ordered the immediate release of the brothers.

Tuesday’s court judgement followed an investigation by the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission, which tested DNA evidence found at the scene.

The commission found that none could be traced to Mr McCollum or Mr Brown.

Brown confessed as a teenager after hours of interrogation by police

“This case is a tragedy which has profoundly affected not only the lives of the people involved, but which profoundly affects our system of justice in North Carolina,” said lawyer for Mr Brown, Ann Kirby.

No physical evidence

The near-naked body of 11-year-old Sabrina Buie was found in 1983 near the town of Red Springs, North Carolina. She had been raped before being killed.

Mr McCollum and Mr Brown, who were 19 and 15 at the time, were picked up by police a few weeks later. There was no physical evidence connecting them to the crime.

Mr McCollum confessed after five hours of intense questioning, without a lawyer or family member present.

His younger brother also signed a confession written by the police.

The two later recanted their confessions in court, saying they were made under duress. But despite a weak case, the brothers were found guilty and given death sentences.

Mr Brown’s sentence was later reduced to life in prison and his charge reduced to rape, but Mr McCollum remained on death row for three decades.

In the years since their false confessions, Mr McCollum and Mr Brown maintained their innocence and made a number of appeals.

In 2010 the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission took up their case and uncovered evidence the men’s legal team had not been able to obtain.

Life lost

The evidence found no link between the brothers and the victim, but did implicate Roscoe Artis, 74, who lived close to where the victim’s body was found.

Although he was not a suspect in the original case, Artis was found guilty for the rape and murder of another girl in similar circumstances less than a month after Sabrina Buie’s killing.

After Tuesday’s release of Mr McCollum and Mr Brown, their legal team thanked those who had worked to correct wrongs that occurred under the previous prosecutions

“It’s terrifying that our justice system allowed two intellectually disabled children to go to prison for a crime they had nothing to do with, and then to suffer there for 30 years,” said lawyer Ken Rose.

“It’s impossible to put into words what these men have been through and how much they have lost.”

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Source: BBC

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