BIGNEWS24HOURS: 12/24/13

Tuesday 24 December 2013

Carroll boost for West Ham

Andy Carroll

Sam Allardyce has revealed Andy Carroll is close to returning to training as West Ham’s injury crisis shows signs of easing.

The England striker has not featured for the London club since completing a big-money permanent move from Liverpool.

Carroll made a big impact during a loan spell at Upton Park last season, but suffered a double fracture of his right foot while he was closing in on a return from a heel problem and has therefore played no part this term.

Director of Defence Information, Maj.-Gen. Chris Olukolade

No fewer than 70 persons, including 15 soldiers, died in the military operations to track down the insurgents who carried out the last Friday’s pre-dawn attacks on Mohammed Kur Barracks in Bama, Borno State.

The remaining 55 comprised of 50 insurgents and five villagers.

The Director of Defence Information, Maj.-Gen. Chris Olukolade, who made this known in a statement on Monday, added that 20 vehicles belonging to the insurgents were also destroyed during the attack.

Olukolade said the vehicles were sighted during an air connoisseur exercise while they were about to escape to Cameroun.

He said that some of the insurgents were arrested while several others escaped with gunshot wounds.

Arsene Wenger

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger felt his side were denied a clear penalty in their 0-0 draw with Chelsea on Monday.

Wenger’s men struggled to break down a stubborn Chelsea side at the Emirates Stadium in a game that featured few clear-cut opportunities, as the hosts missed the chance to return to the top of the Premier League.

However, the home side were left aggrieved late in the first half as referee Mike Dean waved away their claims for a penalty after Willian appeared to bring down Theo Walcott.

And Wenger, who has now failed to defeat Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea in 10 attempts, was quick to state his view that Arsenal had been the victims of a poor decision.

Julius Agwu

Comedy brings laughter and eases tension. But can it really bring peace to a society in crisis? Julius Agwu wants to answer this question with his Crack Ya Ribs show holding in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, AKEEM LASISI writes

Celebrated comedian Julius Agwu is luring a bevy of other humour mongers and musicians to the stage in Port Harcourt, Rivers State tonight. But his annual show, Crack ya Ribs, aims at performing more than the traditional feat of casting jokes. He is exploiting it to campaign for peace in the oil-rich city that has, in recent times, been at the centre of political fever.

Being an Ikwere, Rivers State man, he is concerned that Port Harcourt, which had enjoyed peace for about seven years, after it escaped from the hook of militants, is in the news again. According to him, the peace that has reigned in the city was secured at a price. So, all hands must be on the deck to keep it and reduce tension.

Sesan and Moe Musa

Within two days top video directors, Sesan Ogunro and Moe Musa, lose their fathers in tragic circimstances, writes Jayne Augoye

At times, when tragedy occurs, it comes with some form of irony. Take for instance the tragic deaths that befell two Nigerian entertainment families, the Ogunros and Musas, this week – just a few days to Christmas.

Although the patriarchs of the affected families passed away a day apart, on December 21 and 22 respectively, the fact that the sons of the deceased Moe and Sesan are both popular music video directors, based in the UK, makes the coincidence uncanny.

Besides the fact that both video makers also shot the music videos of David O’s hit, Skelewu, independently, they are also vying for the Headies Award in the Best Video Category. While Sesan is gunning for the prize for his D’banj Oliver Twist video, Moe is counting on his Wizkid’s Azonto video.

Paul Pierce

Brooklyn Nets forward Paul Pierce was fined $15,000 by the NBA on Tuesday for “excessive and unnecessary contact” in Monday’s loss to the Indiana Pacers, canoe.ca has reported.

Pierce executed a professional-wrestling style clothesline of guard George Hill during Brooklyn’s 103-86 home loss. Pierce was 0-for-7 shooting and did not speak after the game.

Pierce was assessed a Flagrant Foul 2 and ejected in the third quarter.

Chief Adegboye Onigbinde

Former Super Eagles coach Adegboye Onigbinde said on Monday that Nigeria would be a force to reckon with in sports if available talents were to be properly managed.

Onigbinde made the remark in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos.

“I’m never satisfied with any level of achievement otherwise one could easily say ‘okay we have qualified for the World Cup; we won the Africa Cup of Nations. So, everything is perfect’, Onigbinde said.

“We used to say that the sky is the limit but modern technology has proven that the sky has no limit, so our ambition should not have any limit.”

He said that the nation could stand taller than its present ranking in football in spite of its achievements so far.

Onigbinde also urged administrators to do the needful by ensuring that the country’s sportsmen and women are nurtured to attain the status of other world-class athletes.

President Goodluck Jonathan and Vice-President Namadi Sambo.

The Presidency will next year spend N2.466bn on the foreign and local trips of President Goodluck Jonathan and Vice-President Namadi Sambo.

Jonathan alone will spend N2.4bn on travels and transport while Sambo will spend N67m.

These are contained in the details of the 2014 Appropriation Bill presented to the National Assembly last week by the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on behalf of the President.

A further breakdown of the sum shows that Jonathan will spend N1.159bn on international travels and transport
while he will spend N1.219bn on local travel, and transport.

On his part, Sambo will spend about N29m on local travels and transport and N39m on international travel, and transport.

These figures are apart from the N239.8m (N124m for foreign and N115m for local) that is budgeted for travels and transport for the State House itself.

In 2012, N684.74m was budgeted for Jonathan’s foreign travels while N1.289bn was earmarked for the same purpose in 2013.

Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourinho has branded Arsenal cry babies following an ill-tempered goalless draw at the Emirates Stadium on Monday.

Daily Mail reports that Arsene Wenger was upset that his side were denied a penalty after Willian appeared to trip Theo Walcott in the box, while Mikel Obi escaped a red card for catching Mikel Arteta’s ankle in a bruising clash.

Mourinho, who maintained his unbeaten record against the Gunners, blasted Arsenal.

“You know, they like to cry,” said the Chelsea boss. “That’s tradition. But I prefer to say, and I was telling it to the fourth official, that English people – Frank Lampard, for example – would never provoke a situation like that. Players from other countries, especially some countries, have that in their blood.

Roger Federer

Stephen Keshi

Harambee Stars of Kenya have requested for a friendly with Nigeria in London in March, officials have informed MTNFootball.com

Kenya Football Federation have written the Nigeria Football Federation for a friendly on March 5 in London.

It was specially leanrt that the KFF request may not see the light of day as the NFF are shopping to play a tougher opponent on that day as it is the only FIFA-free window before the World Cup in Brazil.

Kenya were forced to a 1-1 draw by hosts Nigeria in a 2014 World Cup qualifier earlier this year, before the Eagles beat them 1-0 in Nairobi in a reverse fixture.

Jonathan, Mark and Tambuwal

President Goodluck Jonathan, the President of the Senate, David Mark, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, on Tuesday felicitated with Nigerians, especially Christians, as they celebrate this year’s Christmas.

But they had a common message: Nigerians must rededicate their lives to the virtues and ideals of Jesus Christ.

In his message, Jonathan said he joined Christians and all other Nigerians today in giving thanks to God because his grace and benevolence had helped the nation to overcome the many challenges it had had since the last Christmas.

He said in the message which was signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, that the annual commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ was a most auspicious time for all to emulate the ideals the Messiah preached and exemplified during his earthly ministry.

The President said, “Let us all therefore resolve this Christmas to make the ideals of peace, harmony, tolerance, love and goodwill to all even more manifest in our interactions with others.

“It remains my sincere belief that no height of human accomplishment is beyond us as a nation, if we can overcome our differences, such as they are, and forge a binding national consensus to put the progress and well-being of the country above all other considerations.”

Football | Nigeria

Nigerian midfielder, John Obi Mikel has voiced his satisfaction with the point picked up by Chelsea in Monday’s 0-0 draw against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
The two big hitters in the Barclays English Premier League shared the spoils under atrocious conditions on Monday night and Mikel revealed that Jose Mourinho’s men were the happier of the two sides with the result.
Mikel, as the anchor midfielder, was pleased with the limited impact Mesut Ozil and the other Arsenal attacking midfielders had on the game, but admitted it had been a tough contest in the middle of the park.
"It was a difficult game and it is always difficult to play against Arsenal, they have good players who like to pass the ball around but we didn't want to lose the game,” he told the club’s official website, chelseafc.com.

Football | Ghana

Kevin-Prince Boateng's injury-prone career is worrying all stakeholders of his play, but Schalke say the latest one is not serious.
The Bundesliga outfit are confident that the Ghanaian will return to first team action before the league resumes from the winter break.
The 26-year-old sustained another calf injury while training with the Royal Blues before they met Nurenburg.

Football | Egypt

Al Ahly attacker Dominique Da Silva has refused an offer from Al Faisaly of the KSA and decided to wait for a better deal.
The KSA side Al Faisaly had sent a formal offer to Da Silva this week and Al Ahly head coach Mohamed Yousef accepted to release the player.
" We talked with Dominique about the offer but he refused and asked us to wait till we have a better one and we have to respect his decision" Al Ahly director said to supersport.com.
" We will wait for another offer and will let Da Silva go after the head coach gives us the green light "

Football | Nigeria

Wikki Tourists chief coach, Ahmed Abdul-Pele has declared total support for the team's newly-appointed technical adviser, Tunde Abdulrahman.
The former FC Taraba gaffer was recently handed the mantle to oversee the Bauchi-based side's campaign in the 2013/14 Nigeria National League season due to kickoff on January 25.
Abdul-Pele said he is damn prepared to support anybody who shares the side dream to return back to the elite league at the end of the coming season.
“I’m ready to work hand in hand with the technical adviser, Tunde Abdulrahman to achieve our aim of gaining promotion to the Premier League at the end of the season.
“Together we’ll fight hard to get back the side to the elite league where it rightly belonged.
“Abdulrahman is an experienced coach as his wealth of knowledge was handy to see FC Taraba gain promotion to the Premier League in the out gone Nigeria National League season,” Abdul-Pele said to supersport.com.

Galaxy Backbone Plc has partnered Microsoft Nigeria to create employment opportunities for young Nigerians through the Employable Skills Development Internship Programme.

The ESDIP programme is part of the Government Wide Messaging and Collaboration project based on the Microsoft platform, and is targeted at providing capability development programmes and training in the federal public sector for the already deployed GWMC platform, while also enhancing adoption and usage of the platform.

Galaxy Backbone is a government agency charged with the responsibility of providing a common Information and Communications Technology platform for Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

By this, Galaxy Backbone will enhance modernisation in government via the increased adoption of the already deployed government wide messaging platform, elevate the security stature of government data by ensuring that all sensitive government communications move from public mail infrastructure to the secured and award-winning 1-gov.net platform, a statement by Galaxy Backbone on Monday indicated.

This, it added, will also help to drive skill development and contribute to employability/job creation in the country.

Warri Refinery

The steering committee for sale of the nation’s four refineries chaired by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Deziani Alison-Madueke, needs to meet to provide the guidelines for the transaction before the process can begin, the Bureau of Public Enterprises has said.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Monday, the Head, Public Communications, BPE, Mr. Chigbo Anichebe, said the workers would also be consulted in the process leading to the sale of the refineries.

He said, “The privatisation process has not commenced. It will only commence after the steering committee chaired by the Minister of Petroleum Resources meets to provide the broad guidelines for the transaction.

“Labour and their unions are critical stakeholders in the privatisation process and their buy in will be sought before the commencement of the process.

“This is in line with what the Federal Government did in the power sector privatisation by actively engaging labour. All the concerns of the labour unions will be looked into and amicably resolved to ensure the success of the privatisation process.”

Coordinating Minister for the economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

An online news medium, SaharaReporters, has faulted the reaction of the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to a story it carried on import waivers.

The medium had claimed that the wife of the President, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, sought and received import waivers that she then turned over to Coscharis Motors, a private car dealer, to import 200 BMW cars in 2012.

It reported that Mrs. Jonathan secured the import waivers in the name of her pet project, African First Ladies Peace Mission and that whereas the Ministry of Finance outlined the reasons for giving out waivers to the Lagos State Government and others, it just stated that the waivers granted to the President’s wife NGO were for the importation of “units of assorted brands of BMW” cars.

However, the Special Adviser to the Minister of Finance, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, in a statement late on Monday, accused the medium of extracting and distorting information on the list of beneficiaries of the revised waivers policy, which the ministry voluntarily published as part of its drive for transparency and accountability.

Football | Barclays Premier League

Through financial turmoil, court battles and humbling setbacks in recent years, Liverpool has risen to the top this season and reached a noteworthy milestone in England.
Ahead of Arsenal on goal difference, the Reds lead the Premier League heading into the traditional Boxing Day games on Thursday.
"It is a nostalgic time and people always want to know where the team is at around Christmas Day," Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said Tuesday. "It is brilliant for supporters. I am not going to deny them a dream."
The last four Christmas Day leaders went on to lift the trophy in May. The last not to was Liverpool in the 2008-09 season under Rafa Benitez.
So much has changed since then.

Football | World Cup 2014

The most expensive of the 12 stadiums built or revamped for the 2014 World Cup has a leaking roof less than eight months after it was finished, the stadium's operators said on Tuesday.
Secopa, the local government agency that runs the Mane Garrincha National Stadium in Brasilia, will ask the company that rebuilt it to explain why parts of the roof let in rain during last weekend's women's match between Brazil and Chile.
Local media reported that almost the entire lower ring of the stands was soaked although Secopa played down the problem, saying the leaks were not serious and would not affect any of the matches being played there during next year's World Cup.

Football | Barclays Premier League

US international midfielder Clint Dempsey on Tuesday agreed to return to struggling Premier League club Fulham on a two-month deal.
The 30-year-old, who plays for the Seattle Sounders in the MLS, spent five and a half seasons at Craven Cottage in his first spell after signing in January 2007 from New England Revolution.
During his first stay, Dempsey scored 60 goals in 225 appearances.

Currency	Last	Day High	Day Low	% Change	Bid	Ask
EUR/USD	1.3674	1.3682	1.3668	-0.06%	1.3674	1.3678
GBP/USD	1.6352	1.6373	1.6345	-0.13%	1.6352	1.6358
USD/JPY	104.36	104.36	104.25	+0.03%	104.36	104.37
USD/CHF	0.89560	0.89640	0.89520	+0.03%	0.89560	0.89600
USD/CAD	1.0630	1.0634	1.0626	+0.01%	1.0630	1.0635
AUD/USD	0.89190	0.89240	0.89150	+0.03%	0.89190	0.89240

GLOBAL MARKETS-Equities up, aided by U.S. manufacturing data; dollar higher

* U.S. stocks at record highs, dollar gains ground
* 10-year U.S. Treasury yield nears 2-1/2 year peak
* U.S. manufacturing, housing data solidifying recovery momentum
* Nikkei hits 6-year closing high, Europe shares edge up
* Gold rebounds, but still on track for largest annual loss in 32 years
By Daniel Bases
NEW YORK, Dec 24 (Reuters) - U.S. shares edged higher into record territory on Tuesday, backed by stronger-than-expected manufacturing data that in turn spurred U.S. Treasury yields to 2-1/2 year highs on a belief the economy is on a sustained path of recovery.
In thin pre-Christmas holiday trading, the positive economic data contributed to gains for the U.S. dollar against its major trading partners such as the euro zone and Japan.
An errant trade sent copper prices to their highest level since April in New York COMEX trade, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. Prices were adjusted down after the discovery of the error, the source said..

Americas

Data as of 24 Dec 2013. All quotes delayed at least 15 minutes.

Symb	Index	Time	Last	Chg	Chg %
.DJI	Dow Jones Industrial Average	1:41pm EST	16,357.55	+62.94	+0.39%
.SPX	S&P 500	1:41pm EST	1,833.32	+5.33	+0.29%
.IXIC	Nasdaq Composite Index	2:16pm EST	4,155.42	+6.51	+0.16%
.TRXFLDUSP	Thomson Reuters Equity US Index	4:40pm EST	167.34	+0.52	+0.31%

» All Americas Indices

‘Like a boy’ singer — Ciara, who is presently

What’s happening?? My brothers in the village would say that there is something spiritual behind all the deaths.

A couple of days back, a Canadian rock artiste — Anjulie posted a sarcastic tweet, saying she was honored to be the inspiration for Beyonce’s Superpower video.

Remember several weeks ago when a s*x tape dropped and reports hit the net that petite singer — Chidinma Ekhile, a.k.a. Ms. Kedike, was the female character in the s*x tape.
The innocent looking singer received insults from all angles when she – Chidinma defended herself by claiming she is a virgin.

Veteran singer and producer — Sound Sultan, took time to share a photo of him and his cute family.
Sound Sultan has been one of the most successful and consistent singers in the Nigerian music industry.
The proud father of two kids isn’t planning to slow down as he keeps dropping new track upon tracks.

List Of 5 Richest Contemporary Entertainers In Nigeria

I thought we had gone past the era of list, apparently not.
A new list has emerged, compile by Ventures Africa.
It’s a list of the 5 richest contemporary Nigerian entertainers
See list below: -
*******TU FACE********
Born Innocent Idibia, the former member of the band, Plantashun Boyz, is among the richest artists in the industry. With two platinum records already behind him, Tuface (2Face) is speculated to be worth about 550 million naira ($3.47 million). He has had endorsement deals from companies such as Guinness, which earned him 20 million naira ($125,000) and Airtel, which earned him 22 million naira ($139,000). He was also rumoured to have collected 30 million naira ($189,000) from the producers of the Phat Girls movie. Tuface has invested heavily in real estate and stocks, and made bug money from it. He once said his goal was to recover all the wealth taken from Africa.Others are D’banj, P-Square, Don Jazzy and Banky W. See their worth after the cut…
*********D’BANJ*********

Fans of rap music have been anticipating and looking forward to the Wale and Kendrick Lamar that was set to hold this December.
However, i received reports that the concert will no longer hold.
Both US rappers who have had a very good 2013 were billed for ‘Rap, Rhythm and Rhymes‘ which was set to hold at the Eko Convention Center, Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos on December 27, 2013.

NigComSat-1

The Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited has aided the success of general election of the Nigerian Society of Engineers for the second time in two years.

NigComSat, in a statement on Monday, said the electronic voting system used was designed and produced locally by it.

The first of the e-voting process took place in Ilorin, Kwara State last year, while this latest feat took place at the International Conference Centre, Abuja during the NSE’s yearly general meeting/conference.

Mikel Obi

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has again singled out his midfielder Mikel Obi for praise. Barely two hours before the big match against Arsenal on Monday at the Emirates, Mourinho told Chelsea FC website that even though the Stamford Bridge had not done exceptionally well in their last few games, they have been able to retain some respect and points because of the work rate of the Nigerian national player.

Mourinho said, “We have a lot of possession but are not killing opponents, they are killing us and we are exposed. Mikel (Obi) gives us balance.”

This is the second time within two months that the Portuguese has specially mentioned the Nigerian preparing to lead the Super Eagles midfield at the Brazil 2014 World Cup. In November Mourinho attributed Frank Lampard’s quality attacking display largely to the presence of Mikel on the pitch.

“Frank is able to attack freely because we have John (Mikel Obi). His good covering enables Frank to effectively push forward,” the former Real Madrid coach said.

Philippe Troussier

Former Ivory Coast manager Philippe Troussier fears the Elephants will struggle to get past the group phase at next year’s World Cup in Brazil, but tips Nigeria to advance to the knock-out stage.

Ivory Coast are the top ranked side in Africa but the 58-year-old is unconvinced by their credentials after seeing them edge out Senegal 4-2 in the World Cup qualifying play-offs.

“I am worried about Ivory Coast’s participation next year, it will be difficult for them,” Troussier told BBC Sport.

“I watched the games and I felt they were fortunate to qualify.

“If the second leg had been played in Senegal rather than on neutral territory in Morocco I don’t think Ivory Coast would have made it.”

Vice-Chancellor, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Prof. Cyprain Onyeji

Vice-Chancellor of Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Prof. Cyprain Onyeji, and the Academic Staff Union of Universities have clashed over the appointment of deans of faculties in the institution and non payment of salary arrears.

The rivalry, our correspondent gathered on Monday, started shortly after the suspension of the nationwide strike of ASUU on December 17.

It was learnt that before the strike was called off, the ESUT vice-chancellor had directed that the suspended deanship elections into faculties where elections were due should be conducted on Monday, December 23.

510.24	Change -1.84	Open 0.00	High 511.78	Low 510.20	Times 12/23 22:00

510.24

Change

-1.84

Open

0.00

High

511.78

Low

510.20

Times

12/23 22:00

Data as of 1:27pm GMT (Delayed at least 20 minutes).

COMMODITY FUTURES

Energy: Oil, Natural Gas, Electricity

Metals: Base Metals, Precious Metals

Grains: Corn/Maize, Wheat, Barley, Rice

Oilseeds: Soybeans, Rapeseed, Palm Oil

Softs: Sugar, Coffee, Cocoa, Rubber, Citrus, Cotton

Livestock: Lean Hogs, Live Cattle

UPDATE 1-Imagination Tech slumps on smartphone slowdown

Broadcom Corp

BRCM.O

$29.03

+0.46+1.61%Data as of 12/23/2013

1D | 5D | 3M | 6M | 1Y | 2Y | 5Y | MAX

Broadcom Corp

BRCM.O

$29.03

+0.46+1.61%

12/23/2013

Imagination Technologies Group PLC

IMG.L

166.40p

+2.40+1.46%

12:35:27 BST

Intel Corp

INTC.O

$25.32

+0.26+1.06%

12/23/2013

By Paul Sandle
Dec 11 (Reuters) - Imagination Technologies said a slowdown at the top end of the smartphone market would hit the number of chips shipped with its graphics and video technology in the second half of the year, sending its shares down 15 percent.
Its lower guidance, combined with disappointing first-half results, pushed Imagination's shares down to 205 pence, their lowest in more than three years.
The British company said it expected its partners, which include Apple, to ship 580-630 million units, excluding the MIPS technology that Imagination bought last year, down from a previous forecast of about 650 million.

UPDATE 1-Sterling rises on strong UK mortgage data

By Shadi Bushra
Dec 24 (Reuters) - Sterling edged up on Tuesday as strong British mortgage data added to concerns that the housing market may be overheating, reinforcing expectations the Bank of England may raise rates sooner than previously expected.
The number of mortgages extended for home buying rose to 45,044 in November from 43,315 in October, their highest level since December 2009, the British Bankers' Association said.
The pound was up 0.2 percent against the euro at 83.59 pence as of 1217 GMT.
Against the dollar, sterling was up 0.1 percent at $1.6360 , rebounding from its morning losses that followed strong U.S. consumer spending data released on Monday.
British 10-year government bond yields were close to their highest level since mid-September, peaking at 2.994 percent.

A cashier counts out money at Macy's Herald Square on Thanksgiving Day in New York November 28, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Eric Thayer

(Reuters) - The dollar gained slightly on Tuesday as upbeat U.S. consumption data fostered hopes of a solid recovery in the world's largest economy and reinforced convictions that the Federal Reserve will continue to tighten monetary policy.
Consumer spending rose in November at the fastest pace since June, while a survey showed consumer sentiment hit a five-month high heading into the end of the year.
The data helped to push medium-term U.S. notes yields to three-month highs, as investors grew suspicious that the Fed could raise interest rates sooner than it signalled last week.
"The U.S. data was robust enough to keep the dollar supported to year end, and to convince investors that the Federal Reserve will continue to taper," said Michael Sneyd, FX strategist at BNP Paribas.
He was referring to the Federal Reserve's scaling back its monthly asset purchases in its quantitative easing programme.