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Showing posts from August, 2016

Trump spokeswoman claims Clinton has rare brain disease

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© Provided by The Hill Trump spokeswoman claims Clinton has rare brain disease A top spokesperson for Donald Trump claimed Thursday that Hillary Clinton has brain damage that impairs her ability to communicate. Speaking on MSNBC, Katrina Pierson alleged that Clinton has a disorder called "dysphasia," a condition brought on by brain trauma that erodes a person's ability to speak or comprehend language. "What's new are the other reports or observations of Hillary Clinton's behavior or mannerisms ... as well as her dysphasia, the fact that she's fallen, she has had a concussion, there are really interesting things out there," Pierson said. Trump has long claimed that Clinton lacks the physical stamina to be president and has stated repeatedly that she takes weekends off to catch up on her sleep. But Trump and his campaign have not directly engaged with conspiracy theories, circulated on ultra-right wing blogs and talk shows, that Clinton's health

Uber's Self-Driving Car Fleet Will Hit The Road This Summer

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Uber is almost undoubtedly the biggest name in ride-sharing in the 2010's and the company is looking to go even bigger. While the company currently relies on hiring drivers to bring passengers from point A to B, Bloomberg reports today that self-driving Uber cars will hit Pittsburgh as early as this summer. That beats competitor Lyft 's goal of getting automated vehicles on the road by 2017 by almost half a year. The choice of Pittsburgh can be traced back to Uber's close relationship with Carnegie Mellon. While Uber didn't quite partner up with the university, it did poach 40 Carnegie Mellon researchers to work on autonomous vehicles for the startup. The researchers hired away hail from CMU's robotics center-- many of which were software developers . Uber has retro-fitted Volvo XC90 sport-utility vehicles to support its driverless car software. Autonomous Ubers will be sent to Pittsburgh-residing Uber users at random, meaning you won't be able to specificall

Rio-Olympics: “Dream Team VI disgraced Me”- Siasia

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Head Coach of Dream Team VI, Samson Siasia, has admitted that the National team did not deserve to play in the finals of the ongoing Rio de Janeiro Olympic soccer games. “I am disappointed; Even though we had glaring chances, we couldn’t score; we failed to utilise them. The German team did better. It is a shame. “We did not have the right spirit for the game. Maybe most of them stayed up late and did not observe rest when they should. “When you reach this level of the competition, you do not need anybody to teleguide you on how to conduct yourself to scale through. They had the chances, am I going to get into the field of play to score for them? “We are going to review the match and think of a strategy to win the third place match. That is what it has boiled down to. It is better than nothing. “I am disappointed with the team; We did not play like people hungry to play in the finals at the famous Maracan Stadium,” Siasia said, a fact that his captain, John Mikel re-echoed , stressing

Rio-Olympics: Nigerians Must Learn How To Be Patriotic – Adamu

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Former Director-General of the defunct National Sports Commission, Amos Adamu, has urged Nigerians not to be disappointed with the Dream Team VI over their loss to Germany. The national U-23 team on Wednesday lost 0-2 to their German counterparts in the semi-finals of the football event of the ongoing Rio Olympics. “Nigerians should be proud of these boys, in the face of the hostility they encountered; they performed better than my expectations. “I never thought they would qualify from the group stage talk less of getting to the semi-finals, they gave their all as you can see in their matches. “They played against a more technically inclined Germany, the better side won. “In sports, you win some, you lose some; I’m so proud of them because irrespective of the drama surrounding their stay in Rio they kept together. “I believe we can get the bronze medal with God and luck on our side. “I have never seen a team so focused as this team, I salute the courage of the players, they were not

Usain Bolt dominates for 200-metre gold, Andre De Grasse gets silver

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Jamaican icon 3-peats again, De Grasse adds silver to 100 bronze The 200-metre final went as scripted, with Usain Bolt proving his dominance yet again Thursday and Canada's Andre De Grasse delivering another message to the sprint world. The Jamaican ran the 200 in 19.78 seconds to easily win his third straight Olympic title in the event, adding to gold from Beijing and London. It also brings his career gold medal tally to eight, including his 100 victory on Sunday. De Grasse, from Markham, Ont., comfortably took silver with a time of 20.02, a second Olympic medal to pair with his 100 bronze. France's Christophe Lemaitre was awarded bronze, edging Great Britain's Adam Gemili in a photo finish after both were given a time of 20.12 seconds. Afterwards, Bolt declared it his last individual race at the Olympics ahead of his retirement next year. He can add another medal in the 4x100 relay final on Friday. The Canadians also qualified. "I've proven to the world I'm

Nigeria to allocate $180 mln more in capital spending - Kemi Adeosun

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Aug 19 Nigeria's government is to allocate 60 billion naira ($180 million) more spending on capital projects as part of the 2016 budget and in addition to earlier releases, Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun said on Friday, as it tries to boost the economy. Africa's largest economy is in the middle of its worst financial crisis for decades as a slump in oil revenues hammers public finances and the naira. The central bank governor has said recession is likely. Government capital spending so far has exceeded 400 billion naira this year, Adeosun said, despite the record budget being held up for months by wrangling between President Muhammadu Buhari and parliament. (Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha, Camillus Eboh and Felix Onuah; Editing by Louise Ireland)

Rio-Olympics: Why We Struggled Against Germans – Mike

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BRASILIA, BRAZIL – JUNE 29: John Obi Mikel of Nigeria answers to the media during a press conference on the eve of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil round of 16 match between France and Nigeria at Estadio Nacional on June 29, 2014 in Brasilia, Brazil. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images) Nigeria U-23 skipper, Mikel Obi, has admitted that his team mates didn’t play well in Wednesday’s Olympics football semi final clash against Germany in Sao Paulo, Brazil. With the Nigerians missing the services of two key players in the shape of Oghenekaro Etebo and Azubuike Okechukwu, the Dream Team struggled against the Europeans, first conceding early in the first half, before Nils Petersen grabbed a second goal with one minute remaining. “I wanted to win the gold medal, but the fact is that we did not play well today (Wednesday). The Germans played well,” allnigeriasoccer.com quoted the Chelsea midfielder as saying at the press conference. “We are professionals, we can now claim third place and this

Donald Trump losing support from reliably Republican demographic groups

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Hillary Clinton is also doing worse among some key Democratic demos, but not enough to worry her Donald Trump is struggling to gain the support of women and minorities that he would need to win the U.S. presidential election this fall. But the real reason Trump is trailing Hillary Clinton by such a wide margin is key demographic groups that have traditionally voted for the Republicans are abandoning him. The last time the GOP won the White House, in 2004, George W. Bush won the votes of male, white and wealthier Americans by double-digit margins. But this year, the Republican nominee is down significantly among these demographics — even by the bars set by Mitt Romney in his failed 2012 bid for the presidency. New polls show Trump trailing badly in key swing states But while Hillary Clinton has held on to most of Barack Obama's coalition of voters from 2012, she hasn't built on it. Nevertheless, due to the significant losses that Trump has suffered among groups that should be

Man City’s Striker Iheanacho Signs Two-Year Extension Deal

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19th September 2015 – Barclays Premier League – Manchester City v West Ham United – Kelechi Iheanacho of Man City during the warm-up – Photo: Simon Stacpoole / Offside. Nigeria international Kelechi Iheanacho has signed a two-year contract extension with Manchester City that will keep him at the Etihad Stadium until 2021, the Premier League club said on Thursday. The 19-year-old striker made his Premier League debut last season, scoring 14 goals in 35 appearances for City in all competitions. “Kelechi is a natural goalscorer. I knew about him before, but I’ve been really impressed with him since I arrived,” City manager Pep Guardiola told the club’s website. ( bit.ly/2bgajNR ) “I like his personality, his attitude, his ability — we hope to help him reach the highest level and to realise his full potential.” Iheanacho came on as a second-half substitute in City’s 2-1 win over Sunderland in their Premier League opener at the weekend. Guardiola’s team travel to Stoke City for their secon

Liverpool: agree to sell Christian Benteke to Crystal Palace for £32m

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Liverpool has accepted to offload the Belgium international strike to Palace for £32m * Benteke had short term in Liverpool who could not pick a first team football in is current club put is career in doubt has he has not other option than to look somewhere else. the strike has travel to London to have a medical and finalise personal terms. Former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers signed the player from Aston Villa at the start of the 2015-16 season but the Belgian never won a regular starting place under him or his successor, German Juergen Klopp. Liverpool will be looking forward to have the deal seal this week.

Tactical Lapses Caused Nigeria’s Loss To Germany - Abiodun Obafemi

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Ex-Nigerian footballer, Abiodun Obafemi, has blamed the Nigerian coaching staff for the semifinal loss against Germany on Wednesday. The defender said a wrong tactical approach was used in the match which was played at the Corinthians Arena in Sao Paulo, Brazil. “Well, I think we played against a formidable and better team,” Obafemi told Goal. “The cohesion and the urgency was not there, until later in the second half. I was expecting the whole team, particularly the officials of the team to have studied the previous games of the German team. “I watched the Germans with the team they played in the quarterfinal and expected the coaching crew would have studied them well and planned a better tactical approach. “I believe we didn’t do our homework. I was expecting us to close-mark them but we allowed them to play freely and dictate the pace of the game. “We made it too easy for them. I expected we should have won the game. I’m not really happy with the outcome because the approach was n

Kerry to travel to Kenya, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia

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U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Kenya, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia next week for talks with senior government officials on regional issues, the State Department said on Thursday. State Department spokesman John Kirby said the visit to Kenya would focus on South Sudan’s peace process and Somalia’s political transition. In Nigeria, he would meet President Muhammadu Buhari to discuss cooperation on the fight against Boko Haram militants, the Nigerian economy and human rights issues, the spokesman said. In Saudi Arabia, Kerry would meet senior Saudi leaders as well as counterparts from Gulf Arab states to discuss the conflict in Yemen, Kirby said.

Kachikwu: FG to Unveil Four New Policies on Oil and Gas Sector

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Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu Nigeria suffers $2bn shortfall in cash calls yearly Amendment of NLNG Act will cost Nigeria $25bn, says Omotowa As Nigeria’s oil and gas sector awaits the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) to provide clarity on the terms of investments, the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has stated that the federal government would finalise four new additional policies in the sector by the end of October this year. Kachikwu has also hinted that the proposed talks on output cuts by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to ensure the rebound of oil prices would have limited influence on the prices as the cartel controls only 30 per cent of the global oil output. Speaking yesterday in Lagos at a conference organised by the National Association of Energy Correspondents (NAEC), Kachikwu stated that the country’s oil and gas sector was faced with myriads of problems that required urgent solutions,

Oil price hits $50, highest in eight weeks

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Oil price hits $50, highest in eight weeks Global oil benchmark, Brent crude, hit an eight-week high on Thursday as the world’s biggest producers prepared to discuss a possible freeze in production levels. Brent, against which half of the world’s oil is priced, rose by $0.84 to $50.69 per barrel as of 7:58pm Nigerian time. The benchmark has risen more than 20 per cent from a low in early August on news that the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and other key exporters may revive talks on freezing output levels when they meet in Algeria next month. The rally has also been driven by short covering, as speculators including hedge funds and other money managers have amassed record short positions. Many OPEC members, including Nigeria, have been hurt badly by a collapse in oil prices over the last two years. While some Gulf oil exporters have very low output costs, other producers such as Iran and Venezuela need oil prices above $100 to balance their budgets. “With the lack of

Assassins kill couple, abduct three children

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There was pandemonium in Okwelle community, in the Onuimo Local Government Area of Imo State after a couple were murdered by some suspected assassins. It was learnt that the assailants had stormed the couple’s house on Saturday evening wielding cutlasses and other weapons. They were said to have taken turns to rape the woman in the presence of her husband and their children, after which the couple were hacked to death. Our correspondent learnt the assailants subsequently fled with the deceased’s three children. The Imo State Police Command, which confirmed the incident, said the cause of the attack had yet to be ascertained, He added that some arrests had been made in connection with the killings. However, a resident of the community, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the husband had a serious disagreement with a woman lately. He said, “I got to know about the incident from a friend, who is a neighbour of the couple. I learnt the husband had a quarrel with a woman who followed

Avengers split over planned dialogue with FG

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Niger Delta Avengers The Niger Delta Avengers on Wednesday appeared divided over whether or not to engage in a dialogue with the Federal Government over the crisis in the geopolitical zone. While a self-acclaimed spokesperson for the Avengers, Mr. Ballantyne Agiri, said in a statement on Wednesday that the NDA was ready to enter into dialogue with the Federal Government for a possible ceasefire in the region, the Avengers in a counter-statement by Mudoch Agbinibo, denied the claim. Agiri had in a statement mailed to one of our correspondents in Jos, the Plateau State capital on Wednesday, said that it had constituted a contact and dialogue group to engage the Federal Government in meaningful dialogue as part of the initiatives to resolve the crisis. Agiri said that the group was determined to come out with results that would yield a lasting peace, equity, justice and harmony among all ethnic nationalities in Nigeria. While urging Nigerians and the international community to follow dev

Nigerian banks can’t fund mining projects – Ex-NMC MD

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The Federal Government’s plan to diversify the nation’s economy leveraging the solid minerals development cannot be funded by banks in the country, a former Managing Director of Nigerian Mining Corporation, Dr. Biodun Olorunfemi, has said. Olorunfemi, who is currently the Vice-President, Mineral Watch Global Investment Company Limited, said in an interview with our correspondent that only the stock exchange had the capacity to provide the funding required for the development of the mining sector. According to Olorunfemi, a former High Commissioner of Nigeria to Namibia, Nigeria is still far from being a mining nation as the best that can happen to the country now is to lay a solid foundation for mining development. He said, “The private sector drive must go pari-passu with government activities. There are agencies and there are players that must come into this playing field. The playing field, which defines the value chain, starts from exploration; mine planning, mine development, exp

Olympics: Nigeria’s medal hopes dim as Brume, Oduduru falter

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Nigeria’s quest for an Olympic medal continued on a woeful note in the early hours of Thursday after two of the country’s medal hopes, Ese Brume and Ejowvokoghene Oduduru, failed to soar at their separate events. Brume, a track and field athlete who specialises in the long jump and holds the African junior record in the event, fell a distant fifth behind 30-year-old Tianna Bartoletta of the United State in the finals of the women’s long jump. She could only muster a leap of 6.81m while Bartoletta won the event after jumping 7.17m. Meanwhile, Ejowvokoghene Oduduru could not gather the speed and pace which took him to the semifinals of the 200m track event behind Usain Bolt after clocking 20.59sec, a notable time difference from the 20.34sec he ran in round one. Gatlin out American sprinter Justin Gatlin failed to qualify for the men’s 200m at the Olympics on Thursday. Gatlin, who has served two doping bans, finished third in 20.13sec and missed out on one of the eight final berths for

Okagbare disappoints, wrestlers crash out

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Blessing Okagbare failed in her quest to win a medal in the women’s 200m event at the Rio 2016 Olympics on Wednesday as she crashed out in the semifinals of the event. Another Nigeria, Antwon Hicks, lost in the semifinal of the men’s 110m hurdles. Jamaica’s Omar McLead won gold in the event. Okagbare finished fifth in her heat with a time of 22.69secs behind Holland’s Dafne Schippers, who took the heat in 21.96secs. Women’s 100m champion Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson was second in 22.13secs while USA’s Deejah Stevens was third in 22.38secs and Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith finished fourth in 22.49secs. Okagbare will seek to help Nigeria win a medal in the women’s 4x100m relay race, where the country will compete in the Heat 2 along with USA, Trinidad and Tobago, Germany, France, Kazakhstan, Brazil, and Switzerland. The 4×100 relays begin on Thursday. The Nigerian women have a season best of 44.24m against the 42.61secs of the USA and 42.84secs of France. On the overall standings in the

The Reason APC wants PDP dead - Fayose

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Ekiti State Governor. Mr Ayodele Fayose, has said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) wants the‎ Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) dead because the APC does not want a virile opposition to challenge its obnoxious policies and inability to tackle the problems confronting the country. Speaking in Port Harcourt on Wednesday on the sideline of the national convention of the PDP, Fayose said such a development would not, however, be in the interest of the country and Nigerians at large. In a statement by the governor's Chief Press Secretary, Mr Idowu Adelusi, the governor was quoted as saying that a virile opposition was a vital ingredient for democracy and necessary to make democracy thrive. Fayose, who could not attend the convention owing to the blockade of the road leading to the Old Presidential Lodge of the Rivers State government house where he was accommodated, said the condoning off of the Sharks Stadium, Port Harcourt by the police on the orders of the Inspector General

Arda Turan and Lionel Messi lead Barcelona to Super Cup win

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Arda Turan and Lionel Messi lead Barcelona to Super Cup win The ESPN FC crew discuss the transfer rumour surrounding Barca goalkeeper Claudio Bravo replacing Joe Hart at Man City. Barcelona eased past Sevilla on Wednesday to win the Spanish Super Cup for the 12th time in the club's history. Arda Turan scored twice and Lionel Messi added a header as the Catalan side won 3-0, completing a 5-0 aggregate victory. Positives There were good performances from the club's summer signings, all of whom started the game at Camp Nou. Claudio Bravo also stood out despite all the noise surrounding his future, but Turan was the biggest positive. The 29-year-old's two goals should provide a boost to his confidence after a tricky start to life in Catalonia. Negatives A late hamstring injury for Javier Mascherano soured an otherwise comfortable evening for Barca. They were slow to get going, conceding several chances to Sevilla during the opening exchanges. Manager rating out of 10 8 -- Lui

PDP holds convention, extends Markafi ‘s CTC tenure

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PORT HARCOURT – Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has extended the tenure of Senator Ahmed Markafi led national committee of the party by one year. The party reconvened at the Rivers state secretariat of the party on Aba road in Port Harcourt Wednesday after armed to the teeth security operatives sealed off Sharks stadium, the initial venue of the convention. Police Blocked Acess Road to PDP Convention in PH 4 Before extending the life of the national Caretaker Committee, Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon Leo Ogor moved a motion to amend the agenda of the convention. Elections of national officers was finally removed from the day’s business. Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu moved the motion for extention of the tenure of the Senator Markafi led national Caretaker Committee. It is expected that within the life of the new CTC, all court cases would be resolved. The party also expounded the number of the national Caretaker Committee to 13. And the

Nigeria's Olympic dream terminated tonite

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Nigeria U23 team: www.soccernet.com.ng Nigeria’s U-23 team on Wednesday night failed to qualify for the finals of the men’s football event of the Rio Olympics as they lost 2-0 to Germany. A first-half strike from Lukas Klostermann and a late addition from Petersen was all the Germans needed to set up a final clash against hosts, Brazil. Brazil had earlier demolished Honduras in the other semi final contest. Nigeria, who were hoping to re-enact their Atlanta 1996 feat, when they emerged as the first African country to win Olympic gold in football, will now have to fight for Bronze in the losers’ final. It will be a big disappointment for Coach Samson Siasia who won silver in his last attempt at the Beijing Olympics and was hoping to go step higher in Rio

Olympian Simone Biles meets crush Zac Efron in Rio, turns into a giddy teenage fan

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Simone Biles is the superstar of the Olympics in Rio but for her, four gold medals and one bronze is nothing compared to meeting her crush, Zac Efron. “Just call me mrs. efron already.” So tweeted Simone Biles after she and the rest of the Final Five got to meet her crush, Zac Efron, on the “Today” show in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday. The winner of four Olympic gold medals and one bronze revealed last week that she’s nuts about Efron, to the point where she has a life-size cutout of him in her bedroom. And there he was, backstage, live, to visit with them, when the ladies thought they were simply going to do another interview. Instead of chatting, they went completely nuts. View image on Twitter Simone Biles   ✔ @Simone_Biles  just call me mrs.efron already @ ZacEfron 11:04 PM - 16 Aug 2016     31,435 31,435 Retweets     136,544 136,544 likes The show hid the actor in a room backstage at the International Interview Center for hours, and t

Riyad Mahrez rejects Arsenal and Chelsea to sign new deal at Leicester City

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Leicester City winger Riyad Mahrez has snubbed interest from Arsenal and Chelsea to sign a new deal until 2020 with the Foxes. The Algerian was crowned PFA player of the year last season after inspiring the Foxes to the Premier League title. Chelsea and Arsenal have both expressed interest in the 25-year-old and he admitted earlier this week that he’d leave the Foxes for ‘two or three clubs’. However, Leicester tweeted tonight to confirm that their star man had put pen to paper on a new deal that will see him stay at the KingPower stadium until 2020. View image on Twitter Leicester City   ✔ @LCFC He's signed!  # lcfc  magician  @ Mahrez22 commits future with new deal to 2020! Full story:  http:// leic.it/2bya2E1   7:19 PM - 17 Aug 2016     6,087 6,087 Retweets     4,242 4,242 likes Claudio Ranieri’s side lost on the opening day of their title defence against Hull City but face Arsenal on Saturday where both Mahrez and former Gunners