Elfreezer: April 2014

Wednesday 30 April 2014

Atletico Madrid trash Chelsea 3-1 to make it to UCL final

Diego Simeone's men booked a final clash with their local rivals Real Madrid with a tremendous win over Chelsea and are 90 minutes from one of Europe's great stories

The most incredible dream could yet come true for Atletico Madrid after Wednesday’s 3-1 victory over Chelsea secured one of the most improbable final appearances in Champions League history.
The Rojiblancos turned in a marvellous away-day performance, straight out of the same textbook they have been using during a magnificent campaign which puts them three wins away from an astonishing double triumph.
While many of the world’s biggest clubs – Chelsea included – have been able to splash the cash on some of the game’s greatest players, the Spanish underdogs have instead based their quest for both domestic and European glory on a small squad containing rejects and so-called has-beens, all moulded together by the genius coaching of Diego Simeone.

The former Blancos attacker took to Twitter to voice his views on the Champions League semi-final second-leg at the Allianz Arena as part of Heineken's 'Share The Sofa' campaign

Real Madrid put in an impressive defensive performance at the Allianz Arena as they thrashed titleholders Bayern Munich 4-0 (5-0 agg.) in the second leg of their semi-final tie of the Champions League to book their ticket for next month's showpiece in Lisbon.

Pep Guardiola's men started the match with attacking intentions, but two goals from Sergio Ramos quickly ended the Bavarians' ambitions before Cristiano Ronaldo poured even more salt on their wounds.

Former Madrid striker Fernando Morientes was left breathless at full-time after tweeting throughout the encounter as part of Heineken's 'Share The Sofa' evening.

GeoResonance claim to have locate Malaysia airlines flight 370 wreckage

The Malaysian government confirmed Tuesday that officials investigating the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 were looking into an Australian company's claim to have located aircraft wreckage on the sea floor in the northern Bay of Bengal -- thousands of miles from the search area scanned meticulously for weeks to the south.

Australian land and sea survey company GeoResonance said in a statement sent Tuesday to CBS News that it had discovered materials "believe to be the wreckage of a commercial airliner" about 100 miles south of Bangladesh in the Bay of Bengal using proprietary technology which scans vast areas for specific metals or minerals.

The company's technology is often used to help clients find mineral deposits for mining, but GeoResonance also has participated in the hunt for old warships or aircraft on the ocean floor.

"During the search for MH370, GeoResonance searched for chemical elements that make up a Boeing 777: aluminum, titanium, copper, steel alloys, jet fuel residue, and several other substances. The aim was to find a location where all those elements were present," said the company in the written statement.

President Goodluck Jonathan has directed that the weekly meeting of the Executive Council of the Federation, FEC, scheduled for Wednesday be shelved to enable Council members attend the three-day prayer for the late pilot, Yusuf Sabo Sambo, the younger brother of the Vice President, Namadi Sambo.

Sam Nwaobasi, the Special Assistant (Media) to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation announced the suspension of the meeting.
Sabo sambo died on April 27, in an accident on the Bill Clinton Drive, Airport road, Abuja.
He was born in 1956 and is survived by his wife, three daughters, and 10 brothers and sisters.
He had since been buried at the Apo cemetery, Abuja, according to Islamic rites.
As a pilot, he worked for Nigeria Airways and the Presidential fleet before retiring to start a private business.

Ronaldo and Suarez for European Golden Boot

Ronaldo draws level with Suarez in Golden Shoe race

The Uruguayan could not find the target as Liverpool lost 2-0 to Chelsea, while the Real Madrid star led his side to victory with two goals

Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo drew level with Liverpool star Luis Suarez at the top of the rankings for the European Golden Shoe thanks to his double in the 4-0 win over Osasuna.

Suarez was made to endure a frustrating weekend as Chelsea won 2-0 at Anfield thanks to a resolute Anfield performance, meaning the Portuguese could make up ground on the Uruguayan.

Three African Youngsters Who Failed to Live Up to Their Promise

Many believe that success without a successor is failure. Perhaps this is because everything that the successful man had built will certainly crash if not handled by a capable hand. It is little wonder that global football fans relish the prospect of seeing young players that will take over from their ageing legends. Even the media is not left behind in this pattern, there is a regular trend for exaggerating or excessively talking about a young player's ability to match the previous feats of great footballers.

Some even go as far as to give them names of those already-established players whose playing style the young player is said to exhibit.

Football is littered with the ‘next’ somebody, or the ‘new’ somebody else.

The reality, however, is that most of these hyped youngsters fail to live up to the early promise that sparked up the interest of the football fans.

In the last decade, many African youngsters have also come to the attention of the football world.

Many of these players, like some of their European counterparts, also failed to match the earlier expectation of their admirers. This article profiles three such players; Nigeria's Rabiu Ibrahim, Morocco’s Mouhcine Iajour and, the biggest of all, former Ghanaian youth prodigy Dominic Adiyiah.

Adiyiah | Unlikely to be returning to the World Cup this summer

Adiyiah first came to global attention when he finished as the top scorer and the Most Valuable Player at the 2009 Fifa Under-20 World Cup, ahead of top Brazilian prospects Alan Kardec and Giuliano.

He had earlier finished as the highest goal-scorer in the qualifying stage of the competition and was subsequently signed by Italian giants AC Milan. Adiyiah failed to score a competitive goal for Milan throughout his stay there. During his three years at the San Siro side, he was sent on loan to four different clubs and was finally bought by Arsenal Kyiv.

'I'd bet on Ancelotti to be next Spurs boss'- Clive Allen

Clive Allen believes the Italian will be the man to take charge at White Hart Lane this summer as Louis van Gaal looks set to move to Manchester United

Former Tottenham caretaker manager Clive Allen believes Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti will be the man to replace Tim Sherwood at White Hart Lane.

Sherwood, who signed an 18-month deal to replace Andre Villas-Boas midway through the season, is widely expected to leave his post at the end of the current campaign, with Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal and Southampton boss Mauricio Pochettino among the candidates linked with the role.

However, with Van Gaal looking likely to take over at Manchester United in the coming weeks, Allen - who played more than 100 games for Spurs before caretaker spells in charge in 2007 and 2008 - believes Ancelotti could make a shock switch from Santiago Bernabeu to north London in the summer.

"If I was a betting man I'd have my money on Carlo Ancelotti," he told talkSPORT when asked who could take over from Sherwood.

"There won't be just the one option, because if was Van Gaal was on their list, that's gone now, his move to Man United looks to be done and he's been very clever with his recent comments.

"I think they'd look at someone like Pochettino too."

Ancelotti has also been linked with a possible move to United this summer, though the Italian himself stressed on Monday he wants to remain with Madrid "for a long time" as he attempts to guide them past Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-finals.

Ronaldo breaks Messi’s Champions League goals record

Cristiano Ronaldo has broken Lionel Messi's goals record for a single Champions League season following his strike in Real Madrid's encounter with Bayern Munich.

The 29-year-old's goal in Tuesday's semi-final second-leg clash with the Bavarians at the Allianz Arena took his tally for the 2013-14 season to 15.

Ronaldo has now netted one more than Messi's previous record, with the Argentine registering 14 times in 11 games during the 2011-12 tournament.

NBA Bans Donald Sterling for Life

A visibly emotional Adam Silver announced Tuesday afternoon that LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling has been banned for life by the NBA.
The Commissioner said he’ll push the other 29 team owners to force Sterling to sell the Clippers. The process to find a new owner for the Clips, according to Silver, will begin immediately.
From the press release:

Commissioner Silver has also fined Mr. Sterling $2.5 million, the maximum amount allowed under the NBA Constitution. The fine money will be donated to organizations dedicated to anti-discrimination and tolerance efforts that will be jointly selected by the NBA and the Players Association.

As part of the lifetime ban, Mr. Sterling may not attend any NBA games or practices, be present at any Clippers office or facility, or participate in any business or player personnel decisions involving the team. He will also be barred from attending NBA Board of Governors meetings and participating in any other league activity.

Commissioner Silver also announced that he will urge the Board of Governors to exercise its authority to force a sale of the team.

The discipline issued today is based on the Commissioner’s conclusion that Mr. Sterling violated league rules through his expressions of offensive and hurtful views, the impact of which has been widely felt throughout the league.

Donald Sterling has, for decades, basically gotten away with bigotry and discriminatory business practices.
Adam Silver ensured that, at long last, Sterling’s shameful reign as the owner of the Clippers comes to an appropriately inglorious end.

'We are all monkeys' - Neymar starts anti-racism campaign

The Brazil star was disgusted with the abuse Dani Alves received during Barcelona's victory over Villarreal and has used social media to voice his outrage

Barcelona attacker Neymar has vowed to fight racist abuse after team-mate Dani Alves had a banana thrown at him during the 3-2 win over Villarreal on Sunday.

The Brazilian full-back dealt with the incident in good humour, picking up the banana and eating it, but his compatriot took to Instagram to voice his disgust at the abuse.

"We are all equal, we are all monkeys, say no to racism," he wrote on the social media site, accompanied with the hashtag #weareallmonkeys.

"It's a shame that there's such prejudice in 2014. It's time for people to raise their voices. My way of expressing my support is to do what Dani Alves did.

"If you think so too, take a picture of yourself eating a banana and we will use what they have against us to our advantage."

#‎BringBackOurGirls‬

#‎BringBackOurGirls‬ If It Was Your Daughter In The Bushes With Boko Haram…

…or if it was your father who had his leg blown off in Nyanya

Will you not head to Sambisa ‘guns blazing?’
Will you not advocate for the arming of willing youth, ready to fight and die in this battle, to seek out, rescue her and her friends, and eliminate Boko Haram?
Will you not tell your law makers to immediately approve the arming of Civilian-JTF, who know and are ready to enter Sambisa now; to find her?
Or will you sit behind a computer and type ‘#BringBackOurGirls?’
wait for the government that’s dancing at political rallies?
wait for the SSS who are yet to find a single sponsor of Boko Haram?
Will you protest for the army to act, who are yet to accost Boko Haram in Sambisa?
who lied to you that most of your girls had escaped?
who have not eliminated Boko Haram from Sambisa in 4 years?
who would not defend Giwa barracks, despite prior notice?
who arrested Ciaxon?

Heat Show Support for Clippers Players by Turning Warm-Ups Inside Out

On Sunday, Los Angeles Clippers players protested the racist comments allegedly made by Clippers owner Donald Sterling by dropping their shooting shirts to the court and turning their warm-ups inside out.

They aren't alone in this protest.

Before Monday's Game 4 against the Charlotte Bobcats, the Miami Heat showed their support for the Clippers players by turning their warm-ups inside out:

Nigeria not certain about number of abducted girls

There’s something quite peculiar and absurd about being a Nigerian. It’s a country of – so to speak – unspecified data and dimensions. Nigeria is not simply plagued by inexactitude; it cultivates numerical and other forms of fuzziness.

The other day, Ikhide Ikheloa, one of Nigeria’s most pugnacious gadflies, was waxing indignant on Facebook and Twitter. His grouse? Nigeria has been in the global news on account of the dreadful abduction, on 14 April, of teenage girls from their secondary school in Chibok, Borno State. Ikheloa was riled that nobody in Nigeria, least of all reporters, seemed to know the exact number of girls who were abducted by suspected Boko Haram terrorists.

The initial figures ranged from 100 to more than 200. Later, Asabe Kwambura, the principal of the Government Girls Secondary School, said 230 girls had been abducted. Some said 234. An official of the Borno State government said 129.

That manner of inexact information is painful to stomach. Yet, Nigerians have grown accustomed to it.

Well, here’s an interesting new twist in the (alleged!) Donald Sterling racist rant saga: Magic Johnson, the legendary former Laker who took the picture with Sterling’s ex-girlfriend that sparked the awful, racist comments Sterling made, is reportedly interested in purchasing the Clippers. Per Yahoo!:

Magic Johnson and his billionaire backers, the Guggenheim Partners, want a chance to purchase the Los Angeles Clippers, league sources told Yahoo Sports. “Magic’s absolutely interested,” one source closely connected to Johnson’s business interests told Yahoo Sports on Sunday night.

To bail themselves out of the NBA’s worst crisis of credibility since the Tim Donaghy officiating scandal, the easy part for the NBA will be enlisting the eagerness and financial muscle of Magic Johnson and Mark Walter of the Guggenheim Partners – owners of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

For commissioner Adam Silver, the chance to turn the Clippers over to Magic Johnson and his partners is the best possible of solutions. Exit Sterling, enter Magic. It would be the greatest trade in sports ownership history since, well, Magic for the McCourts, with the Dodgers.

[...] Make no mistake: Magic’s Dodgers group is angling for a Southern California sports empire. Magic Johnson and Guggenheim had been aggressive in pursuing a purchase of the Los Angeles Lakers – only to have the Buss family make clear to them the franchise isn’t for sale, sources told Yahoo Sports.

Jeff Van Gundy Says NBA Tried to Hurt His Career for Criticizing Referees

The NBA doesn’t like it when its media partners openly blast the refs for blown calls. In fact, the League occasionally calls the broadcasters’ bosses to remind them of this, according to Jeff Van Gundy. Per the Oregonian:

“I understand their job is hard. I understand officiating is hard, but guess what? So is guarding LaMarcus Aldridge. So is coaching. Of course it’s hard, that’s why those guys are making a lot of money. I’m not big on the idea that anytime you disagree on something, don’t say anything about it,” said Van Gundy, working now with ESPN as an NBA television analyst.

WHO warns on the use of chloroquine and artesunate for Malaria treatment.

The World Health Organisation had placed a global ban on the use of chloroquine and Artesunate in 2005. Nigerians have been advised against the use of Chloroquine and Artesunate for the treatment of malaria.

Nnenna Ezeigwe, National Coordinator, National Malaria Control Programme, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Friday in Abuja.
She, however, recommended that people should take only Artemisinin Combination Therapy, ACTs, when they test positive for malaria.

“If your test result is positive, take only Artemisinin Combination Therapy (ACTs). Do not treat malaria with chloroquine, artesunate or other monotherapies.

LOS ANGELES — Hall of Famer Magic Johnson, probably the most popular figure in this city's proud basketball history, said he won't attend another Los Angeles Clippers game as long as Donald Sterling remains the team's owner.
And one of Johnson's former Los Angeles Lakers "Showtime" teammates, Mychal Thompson, said he wouldn't be surprised to see thousands of empty seats Tuesday at Staples Center when the Clippers host the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series, which is tied 2-2.

National Assembly members to impeach Jonathan

The battle for political supremacy in the House of Representatives is set to be rekindled with the plan by 37 former members of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to present an impeachment motion against President Goodluck Jonathan.

The legislators, who are allegedly acting in concert with their governors who defected with them to All Progressives Congress, APC, are also following up their plans with a high profile sensitisation campaign against alleged misdeeds of the administration.

Sea water might replace fuel

A MAJOR breakthrough is imminent in the energy sector as there are indications that some United States (U.S.) Navy scientists have successfully developed a way to convert seawater into jet fuel, calling it a potentially-revolutionary advancement.

Meanwhile, SEPLAT Petroleum Development Company Plc on Monday heralded a new era for Nigerian exploration and production companies as its shares began trading on the Official Trading List of the Nigerian Stock exchange (NSE). The company’s shares closed at N604.80 at the end of its first day of trading.

In a related development, an indigenous firm, Seven Energy International Limited, has secured $255 million (about N40.8 billion) equity funding from global investors to further develop gas supply opportunities in Nigeria’s energy market.

Aero Contractor given 30 days to compensate passengers.

The Federal government of Nigeria through the office of the Consumers Protection Agency (CPC) on Monday gave the management of Aero contractors 30 days within which to compensate 39 passengers whose flight were cancelled and left to sleep over at the airport on November 8, 2013.

The passengers were booked to leave Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja to Lagos by 6pm on the said date but were left stranded overnight at the airport.
Speaking in Lagos yesterday, director general of CPC, Mrs Dupe Atoki, the affected 39 passengers are to be paid N1.579 million being the cost of reliefs that should have been provided during the period of delay as well as 25 per cent of passengers' ticket value for the cancellation of the flight without notice in line with the Passenger Bill Right (PBR).
Atoki said if the airline failed to pay the compensation within the stipulated period, its managing director would be prosecuted and risk three years jail term.

Report shows abducted girls seen around Gwoza

With some 187 girls still missing two weeks after they were abducted from a school in north-eastern Nigeria, the government is under growing pressure, reports BBC Nigeria correspondent Will Ross.

The agonising wait goes on. Almost two weeks after they were driven away from their boarding school in the town in the middle of the night, parents are desperate for news of their daughters.

A resident of the small town of Gwoza in the remote north-east said on 25 April she saw a convoy of 11 vehicles painted in military colours carrying many girls.

Microsoft Corp is rushing to fix a bug in its widely used Internet Explorer web browser after a computer security firm disclosed the flaw over the weekend, saying hackers have already exploited it in attacks on some U.S. companies.
PCs running Windows XP will not receive any updates fixing that bug when they are released, however, because Microsoft stopped supporting the 13-year-old operating system earlier this month. Security firms estimate that between 15 and 25 percent of the world's PCs still run Windows XP.
Microsoft disclosed on Saturday its plans to fix the bug in an advisory to its customers posted on its security website, which it said is present in Internet Explorer versions 6 to 11. Those versions dominate desktop browsing, accounting for 55 percent of the PC browser market, according to tech research firm NetMarketShare.

Polytechnic students to disrupt CONFAB 2014

Polytechnic students have threatened to disrupt ongoing national confab in Abuja next week Wednesday to protest months of closure of their schools.
Hundreds of them “will mobilize” to join lecturers from polytechnics and colleges of education, who have already planned in protest in Abuja next week.
“We are supporting our lecturers because they are fighting for our own rights and those of all polytechnics in the country,” said Abdulmajeed Oyeniyi, spokesman for National Association of Polytechnic Students.
Friday morning, bus loads of polytechnic students blocked traffic at Federal Secretariat junction in central Abuja to protest their months of stay at home.
They demanded the sack of education minister Nyesom Wike, insisting on placards that he was “weak” and “not competent.”
They also called on federal government to meet their demands and targets.
The protesters came from states across the country—Anambra, Adamawa, Kogi, Niger.
Heavy police presence met the protesters at federal secretariat to control their flow and movement, not to stop them.
Only hundreds were mobilized for the protest in Central Abuja, but future planned protests could see larger numbers as protesters continue to reach out to fellow polytechnic students on social media.
“We want to send information to people that are not here today. By next week Wednesday we are stopping the confab in Abuja again,” said Oyeniyi.

Suarez wins player of the year award

Suarez wins Player of the Year award

Luis Suarez has been named the Professional Footballers' Association
Players' Player of the Year for 2013-14.
It marks an amazing turnaround for the 27-year-old, who almost a year to the
day was caught on camera biting the arm of Chelsea defender Branislav
Ivanovic and banned for 10 matches by the Football Association.

Nigerian Military to embark on operation to free abducted girls.

The military has tracked down and surrounded the location, where over 200 schoolgirls who were abducted two weeks ago from Government Secondary School, Chibok, are being held captive, while exploring various options, including intense negotiations by locals and the Borno State Government to secure their release.

Disclosing this yesterday, security sources said the military has already identified the various camps in which the girls are being held, but is being cautious about executing a full onslaught against their captors, in order to avoid collateral damage.

Giving a status report on efforts to rescue the girls, he said: “The operation is being strategically carried in a very covert manner because the terrorists will not hesitate to use any of the girls as human shields or even kill them in the event of an attack.

LIONEL MESSI VILLARREAL BARCELONA LA LIGA 04272014

Lionel Messi sealed a brilliant Barcelona comeback as they came from 2-0 down to beat Villarreal 3-2 on Sunday and keep their title hopes alive.

The champions trailed 2-0 after the first hour thanks to goals from Cani and Trigueros, but two own goals from Gabriel Paulista and Mateo Musacchio put Gerardo Martino's men back in the contest.

And with just 12 minutes to play, Messi finished a fine team move involving Sergio Busquets and Cesc Fabregas to secure a priceless three points for the Blaugrana at the end of a deeply emotional week for the Catalan club.

Sergio Busquets struggled to hold back tears during the emotional minute's silence which preceded the match in honour of Tito Vilanova, who lost his battle with cancer this week. The Villarreal team donned shirts which paid homage to the late Barcelona boss.

Drug abuse in the music industry

There are concerns that the music industry has been over-run with drugs and alcohol amid a culture of ‘self-destruction’ among young male and female musicians and entertainers alike. Many have embraced the dark side of the music industry and ended up in more trouble than they courted.
Does the music industry overly glamorize and perpetuate the use and abuse of drugs and alcohol? An entertainer operates in an environment that gives positive reinforcement to damaging behaviours like none other, and hundreds of thousands -find themselves coping with the fallout from that. Celebrities may be at special risk but speaking with some stakeholders in the Nigerian entertainment industry, they revealed that they are addressing the menace.
The shocking stories are familiar – lives being cut short and dreams shattered by costant alcohol and drug abuse. Cocaine contributed to Whitney Houston’s death. She drowned in her bathtub in a Beverly Hills hotel. Michael Jackson died not far from the same location in 2009 after his doctor administered a lethal dose of the sedative Propofol. British singer Amy Winehouse was troubled by addiction and died of alcohol poisoning.

Every diehard NBA fan knows the Golden State Warriors’ “Splash Brothers” tandem of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, two sons of NBA vets who’ve combined to build a reputation as potentially the best shooting backcourt of all-time.

Only the true diehards know that Golden State’s NBA D-League affiliate in Santa Cruz features its own “Splash Brothers”: Stephen’s younger brother Seth and Klay’s older brother Mychel. For those who can’t get enough of the sweet shooting strokes that run in the two families, these NBA D-League Finals can serve as a second helping of dimes, swishes and three-balls from the other side of California.
There’s no better time to catch the #SCSplashBrothers than now, while they’re both hot. Curry and Thompson finished the regular season by combining to shoot 24-of-47 (51%) from 3-point range over the Warriors’ final three games, and they’re averaging a combined 40.0 points per game in the playoffs.
A regular on NBADLeague.com’s Prospect Watch all season -- earning Call-Ups to the Grizzlies and Cavs -- Seth dropped 44 on 15-for-20 shooting in his professional playoff debut two weeks ago. And they pushed the “Sea-Dubs” past the RGV Vipers in a winner-take-all semifinals Game 3 on Monday by pouring in 53 points.

Sunday 27 April 2014

Mourinho rejects Man. Utd offer.

Jose Mourinho, who was heavily linked with Manchester United after Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement, has categorically ruled himself out of the running to take the vacant managerial position at the club.

The Portuguese was considered one of the favourites to replace Sir Alex Ferguson last year, but David Moyes was chosen to take the position and Mourinho opted to return to former club Chelsea.

Moyes's tenure proved short and unsuccessful, with the Scot leaving on Tuesday less than 12 months into a six-year contract and Mourinho has made it clear there is no chance he will leave Stamford Bridge for another job.

Times magazine talks about Lagos, Nigeria

A burgeoning wealthy class is settling into one of Africa’s fastest-growing cities, attracting designers, world-class architects and a growing creative community that seeks to preserve its culture through art and fashion.

Courtesy of Janice Robinson

The Land Cruisers and Range Rovers began lining up on a steamy Sunday afternoon outside Tafawa Balewa Square long before sunset. The banking tycoon Otunba Subomi Balogun was hosting his 80th birthday party and nobody wanted to be late, and there was also the matter of inching past the press of beggars living in the square’s arcade. Once through a security line, women in gold headdresses and men in white robes disembarked. Balogun lives in a mansion modeled on the White House, furnished entirely in white and gold, and the invitation had asked guests to wear his favorite colors.
Guests sashayed through the tent doors into a scene of surreal opulence. At the far end of the tent, engulfed by servants, courtiers, national politicians and guards with wires in their ears, the celebrant perched beside his wife on a throne covered with white faux fur, his every move broadcast on flat-screens arrayed around the tent walls. From the throne, the founder of the First City Monument Bank (F.C.M.B.) could survey his 1,000 guests, acres of floral arrangements and goldfish ponds brought in for the occasion, and the legion of waiters ferrying Taittinger and Veuve Clicquot and steaming trays of traditional Nigerian stews and rice. Bands and dancers performed in succession, a professional actress emceed and business and blood royalty mingled with state governors and the archbishop of Lagos. Massive cakes, one a replica of Balogun’s columned white house, and one designed to match his white Rolls-Royce, were stationed in front of the head table.

The Dossier: How Mourinho can mastermind Anfield upset

Sunderland have a lot for which to answer. The Premier League had been set for the tightest, most unpredictable title battle in recent years until Gus Poyet's men thwarted both Manchester City and Chelsea in the space of days to leave Liverpool in control at the summit of the table.

Before then, the Blues' trip to Anfield had been billed as the ultimate title decider, swirling with sub-plots and excitement: the league's best defence against the deadliest attack in the division; the one-time apprentice against the master. But now Sunday's spectacle is threatening to become the latest sideshow in Jose Mourinho's catalogue of controversies.

The Portuguese, already facing an FA rap, is back in full-on sulk mode and threatening to play the reserves against Liverpool – partly to keep his players fresh for the Champions League, partly as a reaction to recent fixture scheduling.

Vince Carter drained a three-pointer to lift the Dallas Mavericks to a 109-108 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday in game three of their opening round NBA play-off series.
The 37-year-old Carter caught an inbound pass from Jose Calderon in the left side corner and faked Manu Ginobili of the Spurs. His off-balance shot at the buzzer sailed cleanly through the rim.
Moments earlier, Ginobili had given the Spurs a two-point lead with a running bank shot with 1.7 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
"Sometimes you need something like that," said Calderon. "I think we were fighting so hard for 48 minutes against a really good team. Coming up with that great shot at the end – it feels great."

The delegates at the Committee on Political Restructuring and Forms of Government have agreed on a proposal that will enable states that wish to merge to do so. The issue of merger is a situation whereby two or more states can come together as one.

The resolution of the committee on the issue reads:

That without prejudice to states constituting the federating units, States that wish to merge may do so in accordance with the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, provided that:

1. A majority of two-thirds of all members in each of the Houses of Assembly of each of the states, in which merger is proposed, support by resolutions, the merger and

The abduction of 234 school girls of Gov't Girls Secondary School, Chibok just a day after the Nyanya Bomb incident has come as a big blow to Nigeria security sector.
If what the Sunday Punch reported on 27th of April is true, we can assume their might be a breakthrough on security issues in the country.
The Nigerian newspaper, SUNDAY PUNCH reported "that Britain and the United States of America have joined the search for the 234 schoolgirls abducted from Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok, Borno, by the Boko Haram sect.

"The girls were kidnapped in their hostel on April 14 after members of the sect, pretending to be soldiers, lured the pupils away from their hostel before setting it ablaze.

"About 30 of the girls escaped from captivity while about a dozen, who fled into the bush when the sect attacked the school, have since returned to the school.

"The military had initially claimed that it had rescued all but 18 of the girls but the school principal, Asabe Kwabura, debunked the statement.

Parents who tried to rescue their children from the Sambisa Forest where the pupils are reportedly being kept by Boko Haram had to turn back when they learnt that the sect was heavily armed and that they might lose their lives in the process.

Van Gaal agrees to be next Manchester United manager

Louis Van Gaal has agreed a deal to become the next manager of Manchester United. The Dutchman has finalised the terms of a contract with a United delegation headed by the Glazer family in the last 24 hours.
Van Gaal is expected to sign a short-term contract of no more than three years and take over at Old Trafford when his stint with the Netherlands national team finishes after the World Cup.

A United delegation including executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward and one of the Glazer brothers have been negotiating the precise terms of the deal at Van Gaal’s villa in the Algarve.
Although United today publicly distanced themselves from rumours that Van Gaal has already put pen to paper, they have not denied that terms have been agreed between the two parties.

Barcelona former coach, Tito Villanova has died

Barcelona had confirmed the death of their former coach Tito Vilanova who died at the age of 45 after losing his battle with cancer.

Vilanova, whose post-playing career was plagued by cancer, passed away on Friday afternoon.

The ex-central midfielder was admitted to hospital on Thursday following a downturn in his health which required an operation on his stomach, with club president Josep Maria Bartomeu confirming the trainer was "fighting" for his life.

Vilanova's public health problems began during his final season as Pep Guardiola's assistant when he was diagnosed with cancer of the parotid gland.

Van Gaal on Manchester United list

Outbursts, tantrums and titles: Premier League beware - Van Gaal is coming

Louis Van Gaal is considered the next option for the managerial role at Man utd prior to David Moyes sacking by the board on Tuesday.
The Dutchman who is recently with the Dutch national team is no. 1 on most team list due to his rich experience in coaching. Teams that are rumored to go for the former Ajax amsterdam gaffer include Arsenal, Tottenham and Barcelona amongst others.
Van Gaal is to step down from the reins of Holland national team after the world cup. There are reports that he told his friends that he is keen to take over at Man Utd.
Manchester United are considering a long list of options which includes Carlo Ancelotti and Jurgen Klopps. As the case may be Ryan Giggs might be allowed to become a full-time coach. Ancelotti and Klopps have rejected any plans to move away from their present clubs.
Reports also indicates that Klopps was Man Utd no. 1 choice but he is just not ready to leave Borussia Dortmund yet.
Ryan Giggs may be lucky to take over fully if he show that he is up to the tasks if he records wins in the remaining fixtures.

Barcelona might lose Messi to Madrid- Sanchez

Messi contract situation shocking, fumes former Barcelona president Laporta

The Bernabeu legend believes the careless nature in which the Argentine is being looked after could lead to their fierce rivals tempting him to the capital

Real Madrid legend Hugo Sanchez believes Barcelona are vulnerable to bids for Lionel Messi and thinks a shock move to the Bernabeu is not beyond the realms of possibility.

Transfers between the arch-rivals are rare, with Javier Saviola the only player to have moved between the two clubs in the past 14 years when he left Barca for Madrid in 2007.

Sanchez, who starred up front for the Blancos between 1985 and 1992, suspects the Argentine is not pleased with his current deal, which runs until 2018 and contains a buy-out clause set at €200 million.

"Messi is not feeling valued highly enough by Barcelona with his contract and they must be careful," he told Bein Sport.

"If Barca are careless, I can see Real Madrid signing him."

Messi has been with the Blaugrana since 2000 and has lifted the Ballon d'Or four times at the age of just 26.

Laporta described Messi Contract situation 'shocking'

Barcelona might lose Messi to Real Madrid, warns Sanchez

Former barcelona president Joan Laporta sees barcelona position in resolving Lionel Messi's issues as shocking.
The Argentina international who is just age 26 have a deal with the blaugrana signed on february last year which is to keep him at the club until 2018.

There has been talk of an extension in recent weeks but current Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu revealed last Sunday that the club are just planning "a modification to his existing contract", which implies improved terms.

Safe ways to battle Cancer

When 14-year-old Nick Wilkins’ leukemia resisted chemotherapy, radiation and a bone marrow transplant, his doctors turned to the real pros: Nick’s own immune cells.
Using an experimental treatment, the doctors taught Nick’s immune system to attack his cancer in much the same way he’d fight off the common cold. Two months later, Nick went into complete remission.
Twenty-one other young people received the same treatment, and 18 of them had similar responses to Nick’s.
The University of Pennsylvania and other medical centers are testing the targeted approach in more patients, and doctors are cautiously optimistic it might work to treat other types of cancer.
"This is absolutely one of the more exciting advances I've seen in cancer therapy in the last 20 years," says Dr. David Porter, a hematologist and oncologist at Penn. "We've entered into a whole new realm of medicine."
In the last five years the Food and Drug Administration has approved more than 20 targeted cancer therapies for tumors with specific genetic markers, according to the American Association for Cancer Research.

Did you take your meds today? At the right time? All of them?
Following your doctor’s orders can be cumbersome, especially if you’re supposed to take more than one pill a day.
That’s why scientists are working to develop microchips that can be preloaded with medications and implanted in our bodies, programmed to administer drugs at a given time, interval and/or dose. A doctor would theoretically be able to adjust the dose, or stop the drug altogether, by remote control.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers Robert Langer and Michael Cima started working on this idea with John Santini in the 1990s. Langer and Cima are on the board of directors of MicroCHIPS, a company trying to make the idea a reality.
In a 2012 study, they implanted a chip under the skin below the waistlines of eight women with osteoporosis. Over four months the device delivered regular doses of an osteoporosis drug normally given by injection. The study showed this method was safe and effective.
Since then the device has improved considerably, says Robert Farra, MicroCHIPS president and chief operating officer. The current version is about the size of a Scrabble tile and can deliver more drugs than before.

India to get LTE with Qualcomm, LG and Airtel joint partnership

While many countries across the globe are enjoying the latest standard for wireless communication, the huge market that is India is struggling to keep up the pace with current technology. The lack of LTE enabled smartphones along with the high cost for deploying the next-generation networks has kept the country stuck on 3G.

Now, two of the biggest names in the tech industry – Qualcomm and LG have joined forces to bring the fourth generation mobile telecommunications technology experience to the consumers in the sub-continent.
India has very low cellular penetration rate and it also represents a major target for growth in the TD-LTE space. So, obviously companies like Qualcomm and LG, which are among the leaders in LTE support, want to make the most out of it before everyone else catch up.

‘Impossible Road’ for iOS and Android game review

Impossible Road is a very minimal arcade game with really tough gameplay, similar to games like Super Hexagon, Flappy Bird and Pivvot, that are easy to play but ridiculously hard to master. The game was released on iOS last year and received a positive response from gamers.

The developers have now released the game on Android so we thought we’ll finally take it for a spin and see how it plays.

Nokia's India plant may not be included in Nokia-Microsoft deal

It’s well known that Microsoft will be acquiring Nokia’s mobile business, however, recent tax issues in India are making it difficult for Nokia’s production plant in the region to be included in their deal with the Seattle-based tech giant.
So how does Nokia get around this? It’s simple: they’ll strike up a contract deal with Microsoft instead, according to a Nokia spokeswoman:

"It's highly unlikely that the plant will transfer, given that the (deal) closing with Microsoft is tomorrow…If the asset doesn't get transferred, we are entering into a service agreement with Microsoft."

Facebook acquires MOVES mobile fitness app.

The company behind the popular fitness tracking app Moves announced that it got officially acquired by Facebook. Financial details of the transaction have not been revealed.

Like Instagram and Whatsapp, Moves will continue to operate independently. The developers of the application will not share data with Facebook for the time being.

Moves is available for both Android and iOS. Launched in January 2013, the activity tracking app has raked in more than 4 million downloads to date.

Curled from blog.gsmarena.com

The new Android-powered Nokia XL

Another member of the Nokia X family decided to pay our office a visit. The Nokia XL is the largest Android-powered member of the recently announced X-family of phones. Think of it as a grown-up Nokia X, as it packs a 5″ IPS LCD display of the same WVGA resolution as its smaller brother.

The Nokia XL features the same build materials and design as its smaller brother, but it’s notably heavier as you could expect. It weighs the rather hard to bare 190 grams and gives an almost tank-like impression. It really takes away portability points, though.
It’s made of the same polycarbonate plastic as the Nokia X and X+ and its back cover is removable. It uncovers a 2,000mAh battery as well as the two SIM card slots and a microSD card slot for expanding the 4GB of internal storage.

Nokia XL live photos
Nokia has bumped up the RAM of the XL to 768MB, but has kept the Snapdragon S4 chipset with 1GHz dual-core Cortex-A5 in tact. The phone runs Nokia X Software Platform v1.0 on top of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and has taken a lot of inspiration from both the Asha Software platform and Windows Phone.
There’s a front-facing camera now and the primary snapper of the Nokia XL has a 5MP sensor coupled with an LED flash. Sadly, it still only records 480p videos at 30fps, like the Nokia X.

Naturally, the Nokia XL has joined our long list of phones to review, so stay tuned for its in-depth analysis in the near future.
Curled from blog.gsmarena.com

Facebook reports first quarter 2014 financial results

Facebook has reported the financial results for the first quarter of 2014. The company reported revenue of $2.5 billion, up by 72% over the same period last year. Revenue from advertising was $2.27 billion, up by 82% from the same period last year.

Facebook also reported the numbers for the active users using the service. Currently, Facebook is clocking in at 1.28 billion monthly active users, a 15% growth compared to last year, along with 1.01 billion monthly active users from mobile devices, a solid 34% increase over last year.
Facebook also announced that the company’s CFO David Ebersman will be stepping down later this year and will be succeeded by David Wehner, former CFO of Zynga.

Curled from blog.gsmarena.com

Galaxy S5 and HTC M8

Samsung Galaxy S5 over HTC One (M8)

IP67-certified water resistant body
Slightly bigger screen - 5.1" vs. 5"
16MP vs. 4MP still photos, 2160p vs. 1080p video capture
Faster processor of European and US versions- Krait 400 2.5GHz vs. Krait 400 2.3GHz
Fingerprint scanner
Heart rate sensor, barometer
microUSB 3.0 vs. microUSB 2.0
Bigger battery - 2,800mAh vs. 2,600mAh
Lighter - 145g vs. 160g, thinner - 8.1mm vs. 9.4mm

HTC One (M8) over Samsung Galaxy S5

Metal unibody
Dual rear cameras for image effects
Dual LED, dual-tone flash
Front stereo speakers with built-in amps
Camera sensor - 2µm pixels vs. 1.12µm pixels
5MP front-facing camera vs. 2MP front-facing camera
FM radio

Noticiable differences between Samsung Galaxy S5 and LG G2

Samsung Galaxy S5 over LG G2:

Snapdragon 801 over Snapdragon 800
16 MP 1/2.6" camera over 13 MP 1/3.06"
Faster, phase-detect autofocus
2160p video recording over 1080p
MicroSD card slot
IP67-certified for water and dust resistance
Fingerprint scanner
Heart-rate sensor
Thinner - 8.1 mm over 8.9 mm
Wireless charging (varies by market)

LG G2 over Samsung Galaxy S5

Bigger display: 5.2" over 5.1"
Smaller and lighter body
Optical image stabilization
FM Radio
Bigger battery - 3000mAh over 2800mAh
Much cheaper

Curled from gsmarena.com

Android gets more ad traffic but IOS gets more ad revenues

The latest data from Opera’s Mediaworks ad tracking platform shows that Android has for the first time surpassed iOS in number of mobile ad impressions.