Man United's 'best striker' - Neville hails departing Rooney

Manchester United icon Gary Neville hailed Wayne Rooney as the finest striker he has ever seen at Old Trafford after the captain's return to Everton was confirmed.

Rooney's departure to Goodison Park on a two-year deal was confirmed on Sunday after the clubs agreed an undisclosed fee.
Though Rooney's powers have faded in recent seasons, he will leave Old Trafford as United's record scorer with 253 goals in 559 appearances, having won five Premier League titles and the Champions League among 12 major trophies.

Neville was in the United team as Rooney marked his debut with a phenomenal hat-trick against Fenerbahce in the Champions League in 2004.
And though he played with such club icons as Eric Cantona and Ruud van Nistelrooy, Neville places Rooney above the lot in the annals of United strikers.

"All the best @WayneRooney and congratulations on a great United career," Neville posted on Twitter. "The best Striker I played with and saw at the club." - Goal

Peace at risk in Nigeria's oil heartlands as locals' patience wears thin

The Nigerian government's efforts to secure peace in the oil heartlands of the Niger Delta are empty promises, community leaders say, threatening a return to violence that would derail any broader recovery in the crude-dependent economy.


With Africa's biggest economy mired in recession, delegations including Acting President Yemi Osinbajo have held talks since February with community leaders in the restive oil-producing states in Nigeria's southeast.
Oil exports are now set to exceed 2 million barrels per day (bpd) in August, the highest in 17 months, from as little as just over 1 million bpd at certain points last year. That is due to a steady decline in attacks on pipelines, providing a much-needed injection of cash into Nigerian government coffers.

But ex-militants and local chieftains say that since those "town hall" discussions, little has been done - the government has not followed up on issues raised, is stalling on key demands and has not even appointed a full-time negotiating team.
If the Niger Delta people continue to feel Abuja is ignoring their needs, leaders say they will resort to the only tactic that has ever yielded results: attacks on oil facilities.

"The people of the Niger Delta can hold this government or any government to ransom because we are the people feeding the nation," said Godspower Gbenekama, a chief in the Kingdom of Gbaramatu.
"This peace is a graveyard peace," he said. "Nobody can assure anybody that nothing will happen in the Delta."

A spokesman for the acting president rejected suggestions the government was not doing enough.

"The government has not reneged and will never renege on any agreement," he said, pointing to more spending on an amnesty programme for ex-militants and progress on a clean-up project.
He added it was just a matter of time for other agreements to come to fruition, such as the planned opening of a flagship university in October and of small-scale refineries with community ownership in the fourth quarter.
An inter-ministerial group met regularly with Osinbajo to discuss the Niger Delta and a "technical committee" liaised between the government and affected communities, he also said.

Some locals, however, are in no mood to wait. In a sign of their mounting frustration, groups such as the New Delta Avengers and the Niger Delta Marine Force have formed in recent months.
"Call for resuming attacks when the government is diligent in actualising the terms of the agreements and requests made will not help matters," said the acting president's spokesman.

"ALL ABOUT REVENUE"
That the Delta needs help is not in dispute.
Roads are pitted and scarred. Holes gape in the walls of school buildings and playing fields are flooded. Ramshackle stalls crowd the streets, standing in pools of muddy water and blocking traffic.
Every ten metres are signs offering hope of a different nature: Communion with God; Redemption Ministries; Hope Centre Parish; Success Education Centre; High Flyers House of Bliss Ministries.

But the communities of the Niger Delta also have more earthly demands.
Some want environmental clean-ups from oil spills that have devastated swathes of forest and waterways; others want roads and better power supply; others jobs and the regional university.
Many in the Delta are cynical about the government's stated desire to improve the region's lot.

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The peace talks are "lies and deceit," said Annkio Briggs, a leading activist in the southeastern oil city of Port Harcourt.
"This latest Osinbajo move ... is all about revenue. How do we get the Niger Delta calm enough that
we can continue to derive revenue to sustain our budgets?"

Others are also bitter that the government only appears to respond to violent action, while peaceful activism and protests have historically achieved little.
The government "is treading on a path that is disastrous... setting a precedent that they will only negotiate with the Delta when they start blowing stuff up," said Richard Akinaka, who represented the youth in Rivers state for a meeting with Osinbajo.

He dismissed the meeting with one word - "bogus".
The communities have also asked for ownership of oil blocks, and for all states in Nigeria to become fiscally independent - a move that would see oil revenues pooled in the southeast.
The problems of the Delta may not be easily solved: enmity runs deep between locals and the federal government, violence is often the answer and some of the demands may not be as attainable as community leaders hope.

"We don't have a very big agenda," said Gbenekama, the Gbaramatu kingdom chief. "The general agenda of the Niger Delta people is the political and fiscal restructuring of this nation." - Reuters

Australian reporter demolishes Trump after G20: 'biggest threat to the west'

A savage opinion of Donald Trump’s presidency that went viral was delivered by one of Australia’s most seasoned political journalists, who is well known to viewers of the national broadcaster for his frank opinions.

Chris Uhlmann, the political editor of the government-funded Australian Broadcasting Corporation, described Trump as “isolated and friendless” at the G20 leaders’ summit, and said his disastrous foreign policy had “pressed fast-forward on the decline of the United States”.
The analysis, delivered on the ABC’s political program Insiders, has been viewed thousands of times around the world, and astonished American political commentators. 

Speaking on Sunday from the G20 conference in Hamburg, Uhlmann said Trump had shown “no desire and no capacity to lead the world” and was himself “the biggest threat to the values of the west”.
“He was an uneasy, lonely, awkward figure at this gathering and you got the strong sense that some of the leaders are trying to find the best way to work around him,” Uhlmann said.

“Where was the G20 statement condemning North Korea which would have put pressure on China and Russia? Other leaders expected it, they were prepared to back it, but it never came.”
Uhlmann said Trump was obsessed with “burnishing his celebrity” and had “diminished” his own nation to the benefit of Russia and China.
“We learned that Donald Trump has pressed fast-forward on the decline of the United States as a global leader. He managed to isolate his nation, to confuse and alienate his allies and to diminish America.

“[He is] a man who barks out bile in 140 characters, who wastes his precious days as president at war with the west’s institutions like the judiciary, independent government agencies and the free press.”
Uhlmann has been the national political editor of ABC news since 2015, and won a Walkley award, Australia’s highest journalism honour, for broadcast interviewing in 2008.

While he may not be globally recognised, he caused controversy in Australia in 2016 when he blamed the South Australian state blackout on wind power and renewable energy, even though scientists disputed the claim.
Uhlmann refused to apologise despite attracting complaints, and likened himself to a heretic being burned at the stake.
In February that year he also published an essay that said the “intellectual virus” of Marxism was destroying the culture of western society. 

Uhlmann describes himself as a centrist and once ran for public office in the Australian Capital Territory’s state election on a ticket with the conservative Christian independent Paul Osborne.

He was reporting on the last days of the G20 summit in Hamburg, which has seen violent anti-capitalist protests on the streets and featured Ivanka Trump briefly taking her father’s seat at the conference of world leaders. - The Guardian 

G20 launches plan to fight poverty in Africa

G20 nations launched an unprecedented initiative Saturday at the group's summit in Germany to fight poverty in Africa, but critics called the plan half-hearted.

Under German Chancellor Angela Merkel's "Investment Compacts", an initial seven African countries would pledge reforms and receive technical support in order to attract new private investment.

More than half of Africans are under 25 years old and the population is set to double by mid-century, making economic growth and jobs essential for the young to stop them from leaving, Merkel has said.

Germany's partner nations are Ghana, Ivory Coast and Tunisia, while Ethiopia, Morocco, Rwanda and Senegal are also taking part. Far poorer nations such as Niger or Somalia are so far not on the list.

"We are ready to help interested African countries and call on other partners to join the initiative," said the G20 in their final communique.

The plan, as well as multinational initiatives on helping girls, rural youths and promoting renewable energy, would help "to address poverty and inequality as root causes of migration".

Some 100,000 people, most of them sub-Saharan Africans, have made the dangerous journey to Europe across the Mediterranean in rickety boats this year as the migration crisis shows no sign of abating.

Anti-poverty group ONE said that the investment compacts "promised much, but too many G20 partners missed the memo and failed to contribute.

"The flimsy foundations must now be firmed up, follow through and improved, especially for Africa's more fragile states."

The group's Jamie Drummond said that "this will be the African century and Chancellor Merkel wanted the G20 to get on the right side of history, but internal strife and division scattered the G20 away from this visionary path."

Oxfam judged that the plan "rests on the dangerously naive assumption that boosting private investment will automatically help the poorest in the continent.

"If left unchecked, the Compact might simply line the pockets of wealthy foreign investors."

Barack Obama poses for selfie with wide-eyed baby at Alaska airport

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An Alaska mother is cherishing cellphone photos she snapped of her wide-eyed 6-month-old baby in the arms of former President Barack Obama.

Jolene Jackinsky was at Anchorage International Airport on Monday looking for an airline when she ended up in a waiting area for private flights where a man she thought looked like <Mr Obama was sitting.

"As I got closer, I thought: Oh my God, it is Obama," she recalled Friday from Newhalen, a small Alaska village where she's vacationing.

Mr Obama then walked up to her and asked "Who is this pretty girl?"

They chatted about how fast children grow while Mr Obama carried baby Giselle. Ms Jackinsky took a few photos of a smiling former president carrying Giselle, who was wearing a straw hat with a white ribbon.

Mr Obama told them he was headed home from a vacation, she added.

Airport officials were not immediately available Friday evening after work hours to confirm that Obama had stopped there.

When Giselle's father approached, Mr Obama joked, "I'm taking your baby," Ms Jackinsky said.

Giselle was calm and content during the brief encounter, Ms Jackinsky said. "It was only five minutes but it was a moment that will last forever," she said.

She posted the photos on Facebook.

"I think it's unreal and pretty exciting that I get to have a picture with him and my baby," she said. "Not a lot of people get to meet him."

Woman who returned N1.8m mistakenly paid into her account, gets query from Kogi government, salary put on hold

Contrary to the expectations of many Nigerians that Mrs Husseina Mohammed, a civil servant in kogi state attached to the Teaching Service Commission will be compensated for her honesty in returning the sum of N1.8M mistakenly paid into her account amid the current hardship, the state government has issued her a query for allegedly misinforming the public about the excess salary mistakenly paid into her account.

The sanction is coming through the instruction given by the State Auditor General Alhaji Yusuf Okala who noted that Mrs Mohammed misinformed the public that she had returned the money to the state treasury even when she did not received any alert to confirm such transactions.

The Auditor General explained that the officer only returned N1.6M on 3rd July this year out of the N1.8M she claimed to have returned six weeks earlier, saying “the information has caused confussion in the system”.
He also directed that her salary be put on hold over the wrong information she gave the committee.

Earlier, the chairman Salary Reconciliation Committee, John Alayi explained that N1,813,186.98 was paid in excess to Mrs Mohammed because the statement from Teaching service commission mistakenly placed her on level sixteen while she was actually on grade level nine.

According to him, “the committee calculated the difference between grade level nine and grade level sixteen and paid the supposed arrears to the officers account but later discovered that one Hussein Mohammed also a staff of the Teaching Service Commission (TSC) was the one on grade level sixteen and not Mrs Husseina Mohammed.”
It was reported that , Mrs Mohammed said she received an alert for the excess salary and immediately filled a teller for the transfer to the state treasury on 22nd May, 2017.

Meanwhile, the family of Mrs Husseinna Mohammed have expressed disappointment on the latest development coming from the state government insisting that the allegation against her has brought disgrace to the family.

It was also gathered from a close family source that Mrs Husseina Mohammed has been barred from speaking to the press or risk further punishment from the Government.
It was also learnt from a family source that, the said money was paid to the state coffers but were surprised that weeks later the cashier who performed the transaction failed to confirm that a particular digit was missing in the account number which the money was paid in.

” We are surprise that they are coming up with this at this time that the couple honourably returned money mistakenly paid into their account. The husband has not been paid for more than 15 Months yet they didn’t bother to withhold the huge sum of money despite the current hardship.
” This family barely feed three square meal just because of the harsh economy and the non payment of salary in kogi state. From what I know, they have been surviving through the wive even though the husband is also working with the state government.”

“Are we supposed to blame them or blame the cashier?. The government should also blame their personnel for this defects instead of suffering an innocent soul when she made the state proud. It is unfortunate that they are getting this at this time instead of being honoured for their honesty. ”
“Going by what is happening, if something of such happens again, people will be scared to come out and return such money because they don’t want to be disgraced. The news is everywhere now that they have issued her a query and her salary be placed on hold. Let be sincere, if you are the one, will you be happy? Am really disappointed I must confess.” The family source stated.

It would be recalled that in June during an interview with journalist in Lokoja, Mrs Mohammed said that she returned N 1,813,186.98 to the state coffers credited to her account.
She earlier explained how the money entered into her account. “One morning,while shopping, my phone beeped, indicating a text message. Upon opening the folder containing the SMS, I saw that my salary account domiciled in Zenith Bank, Lokoja Branch had been credited with N1,813,186.98 The text message stated that it was my salary for the month of March, 2017.”

Shocked, Mrs Mohammed told reporters that she read the message over and over again. Aside reading the message repeatedly, she took her time to count the figures displayed in the message. After a while, she abandoned the materials she had come to buy and found her way home.

On getting home, she narrated her experience to her husband. After a brief interaction, they decided to refund the money, saying that it was the right thing to do. Her husband, an employee of the TSC in Lokoja, was one of those affected by the just concluded screening exercise in the state. He disclosed that for 15 months, he had not received any salary from government. - Daily Post

What Chibok schoolgirls told Trump during visit-White House

Joy Bishara and Lydia Pogu, two of the Chibok schoolgirls, who escaped from Boko Haram captivity in 2014, read a letter applauding U.S. President Donald Trump during a recent visit to the White House.

The White House released more photos of the girls on Saturday, saying during their visit, Joy and Lyida “read the President a letter about their experience”.
On the night of April 14, 2014, Boko Haram terrorists attacked the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Borno.

An excerpt of the letter is below:

“Mr. President, we urge you to keep America safe and strong.
“We know that some people are trying to discourage you.
“Do not be discouraged. You are right to keep American safe and strong.
“Not only for America. But for the world.
“If America is not safe and strong, where can people like us look for hope, when there is danger?
“Finally, we urge you to keep making America prosperous.”

Trump and his daughter, Ivanka, hosted the Chibok schoolgirls during their visit, the White House said.
The Boko Haram insurgents broke into the school  and kidnapped the girls, who were sitting for their final exams.
“But approximately 50 of the girls have escaped, including Joy Bishara and Lydia Pogu, who visited President Donald Trump, and his daughter, Ivanka Trump, at the White House last Tuesday.
“The girls are recent graduates of Canyonville Christian Academy in Oregon, and they were accompanied by the school President, Doug Wead.
“The President and Ivanka were both deeply moved by the girls’ visit,” the statement by the White House read.

The Chibok schoolgirls’ visit coincided with the U.S. State Department’s release of its annual Trafficking in Persons Report.
“In the wake of the report, the two Chibok schoolgirls’ visit to the White House was a reminder that the survivors of the scourge of human trafficking are heroes whose courage can inspire us all,” the White House said.

“Let us recommit ourselves to finding those still in the shadows of exploitation, and let us celebrate the heroes who continue to shine on the darkness of human trafficking.” - NAN

’90 per cent of students in Benin Republic university are Nigerians’

Dada Houdegbe, president of the Houdegbe North American University in the Republic of Benin, says 90 per cent of students in the university are Nigerians.

Houdegbe made this known when the university awarded degrees and conferred honorary awards to its graduating students as well as local and international personalities.
He said there was currently a growing interest of “many young Nigerians” in the courses being offered by the university due to its “affordability and good learning environment”.

He also said the university was meant to build bridges across political, economic, linguistic and cultural divides particularly in West Africa and Africa, in general.
“Three years ago, we graduated about 3,000 students from different areas of studies. Today, the Houdegbe North American University is graduating about 2,000 students, as well as the conferment of honorary doctorate degrees on deserving personalities,” he said.

“Let me say that about 90 per cent of students in our university are Nigerians, who are happy being our students.”
Houdegbe also commended former President Olusegun Obasanjo for his “belief in the institution’s ideals” as well as the “encouragement he had continued to give to the university”.
Samia Nkrumah, founder of the Kwame Nkrumah Pan-African Centre, said the time had come for West Africa and other African countries to embrace the policy of “education for all”.

Nkrumah, who is the daughter of former Ghanaian President, Kwame, further said the overall development and transformation of the region and the continent would “largely” depend on education.
“We must be more committed in encouraging and promoting educational exchanges between West African countries and other African countries,” she added.

“We must realise as Africans that we currently have a very fast-growing young population that should be given qualitative education.
“We need to ensure that we actually prepare our young population to be more productive.
“We, therefore, need to encourage our young men and women to freely acquire education in any university of their choice across West Africa and Africa in general.”

NAN further reports that Peng-Khuan Chong, an emeritus professor of political science, Plymouth State University, US, enjoined the students to learn to be “competent, confident and have compassion.”
According to him, “young men and women in the Republic of Benin, Nigeria and other African countries must be courageously strong, innocently hopeful, and most importantly, be forever hopeful.”

A Nigerian undergraduate at the university, who gave his name as Linus Richard, said he and many other Nigerian students were happy to have had the opportunity to study at the institution.
He also said the institution’s admission process was “devoid of the problems associated with writing a qualifying examination.”

“It is academic calendar hitch-free with affordable fees as well as a conducive study environment,” he added.
The university was established in 1992 in Cotonou, Republic of Benin, as a private tertiary institution, which offers both undergraduate and postgraduate courses. - Cable Nigeria 

'I could not stand in his way' - Mourinho sanctions Rooney's Man Utd departure

Jose Mourinho says he could not stand between Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney and a return to his boyhood club Everton.

Rooney's switch to Goodison Park on a two-year deal was confirmed on Sunday after United and Everton agreed an undisclosed fee.
The 31-year-old departs Old Trafford as United's record scorer with 253 goals in 559 appearances, having won five Premier League titles and the Champions League among 12 major trophies.

Rooney has struggled to recapture his best form in recent seasons, however, having moved into midfield under Louis van Gaal and finding first-team opportunities limited under Mourinho, who started his captain in just 15 Premier League games last season.
Regardless, the Portuguese offered a glowing response to Rooney's departure.

Mourinho said: "It is no secret that I have long been an admirer of Wayne; he has been a model professional throughout his time at the club and will remain in the history books for many years to come.
"It is never easy to see a great player playing less football than he would like and I could not stand in his way when he asked to go back to Everton. 
"His experience, focus and determination will be missed and I wish him well for the future."
United's executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward pointed to the place in the club's history books that will always be Rooney's.

"Wayne has been a fantastic servant to United since the moment he signed for us as a prodigiously talented, explosive teenager some 13 seasons ago," Woodward added.
"Who can forget his storybook debut hat trick against Fenerbahce, the spectacular overhead kick against City and the countless match-winning performances in his time here? But after much discussion, the club has decided to accept his request to rejoin his boyhood team.

"He goes having created some of the most magical moments in some of the most successful years in the club's history. Wayne leaves us as our greatest ever goalscorer and having won every major trophy in the game. His record will take decades for anyone to get close to matching and I am extremely grateful for the way he has led from the front since being appointed club captain three years ago.

"On behalf of the whole club and our hundreds of millions of fans around the world, we wish Wayne all the very best for the next phase of his incredible career." - Goal

Rooney thanks Manchester United as club salute 13 years of success

Former Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney has thanked the club and their "amazing fans" after sealing a return to Everton.

The forward secured a switch back to Goodison Park on Sunday, 13 years on from his transfer to United as an 18-year-old.
Manager Jose Mourinho and executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward spoke in glowing terms about Rooney's achievements at Old Trafford, which included winning 12 major trophies and breaking Bobby Charlton's record as the club's leading goalscorer.

And the 31-year-old sent his own personal farewell to his old team-mates, coaches and fans, writing on Instagram: "Just want to say a massive thank you to everybody at Manchester United.
"Thanks to the boards over the years, the managers and coaches I've played under, the staff I've worked with, the team mates I've played alongside, and finally the amazing fans that I've been lucky enough to have played for.
"Thanks for the memories!"

United themselves posted a video via their official Twitter account to celebrate Rooney's performances for the club.

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Footage of some of his most notable goals and trophy successes were included, along with comments from United great Ryan Giggs and former manager Alex Ferguson. -

Neymar hopes Brazilian pal Paulinho signs with Barcelona

 Neymar has voiced his support of Barcelona signing his friend and international team-mate Paulinho.

The 28-year-old Paulinho is currently starring for Guangzhou Evergrande in the Chinese Super League after a disappointing spell with Tottenham Hotspur.
However, that poor spell in England has not deterred the La Liga giants, who had a €20 million bid publicly rejected by the Chinese club, who insisted the will not sell.

While there has been plenty of debate about the merits of such a move by Barcelona, Neymar is on board with the efforts and says he hopes the club can secure the services of his international team-mate.

"I hope Paulinho signs for Barca,” Neymar told SPORT. “He is a friend and a great player, everyone would receive him with open arms.
“He's got great quality, everyone has seen what he can do when he plays for the national team."
Paulinho’s quality has been more apparent since his move to China, scoring 15 times in 58 league games for Guangzhou Evergrande.

He’s also netted four times in seven games for Brazil during the country’s 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign.

For his part, Paulinho remains confident a move can be worked out and admitted he is thinking about a possible transfer to Barcelona. - Goal

Wayne Rooney is officially back in an Everton shirt as return transfer from Manchester United is confirmed

Everton have confirmed the return of Wayne Rooney from Manchester United.

Rooney, 31, is back at his boyhood club 13 years after leaving for Old Trafford, where he won five Premier League titles and the Champions League.
The former England captain’s agent Paul Stretford negotiated his move back to Goodison Park with Blues chairman Bill Kenwright last week.
It will be an emotional return to Merseyside for Rooney - 13 years after moving down the M62 for £25.6million.

Rooney has signed a two-year deal with the Toffees, and will be looking to win his place back in the England team having secured his move.

“Wayne has shown me that ambition that we need and that winning mentality – he knows how to win titles and I’m really happy he’s decided to come home,” said Everton manager Ronald Koeman.
“He loves Everton and he was desperate to come back. He is still only 31 and I don’t have any doubts about his qualities. It’s fantastic he’s here.”

Rooney was given a warm reception by Everton fans when he left the Finch Farm training complex following his medical on Saturday.
United manager Jose Mourinho insists that Rooney has been a "model professional" throughout his time at Old Trafford.
Mourinho said: "It is no secret that I have long been an admirer of Wayne; he has been a model professional throughout his time at the club and will remain in the history books for many years to come.

"It is never easy to see a great player playing less football than he would like and I could not stand in his way when he asked to go back to Everton. His experience, focus and determination will be missed and I wish him well for the future."
United's executive vice chairman Ed Woodward added: "Wayne has been a fantastic servant to United since the moment he signed for us as a prodigiously talented, explosive teenager some 13 seasons ago.

"Wayne leaves us as our greatest ever goalscorer and having won every major trophy in the game.
"His record will take decades for anyone to get close to matching and I am extremely grateful for the way he has led from the front since being appointed club captain three years ago."
The deal has been confirmed after Romelu Lukaku's £75million move in the other direction was confirmed.

Rooney is understood to be prepared to take a significant cut on his £250,000-a-week basic salary at United in order to return to Everton.
He met with Toffees boss Ronald Koeman, who warned the player he will not tolerate any bad behaviour.

Koeman outlined his football vision including his tough disciplinary code for all of his players. - Mirror

Facebook is building a village that will include housing, a grocery store and a hotel (FB)

Billions of people spend a lot of time living their lives on Facebook's social network. Now Facebook wants to try its hand at creating a community in the real world. 

The internet giant wants to build housing, retail stores, a hotel and more at its corporate headquarters — in short, Facebook wants to build its own town.
Facebook unveiled plans on Thursday for the massive new construction project at its Menlo Park, California corporate campus, which is part of Facebook's plans to expand its home base. The 56-acre site, which Facebook bought in 2015 for about $400 million, is located directly across the street from Facebook's headquarters. It will offer 1.6 million square feet of housing, or 1,500 units.

In a blog post announcing the plans, Facebook described the future development as a "mixed-use village" that will provide residents, many of which will be Facebook employees, with housing, transportation services and other amenities. 
"We plan to build 125,000 square feet of new retail space, including a grocery store, pharmacy and additional community-facing retail," Facebook said. 

The new development will also include a hotel, according to the Silicon Valley Business Journal.
It will take roughly a decade to build, according to a person familiar with the plans. The initial phase of the project, which will include the housing and grocery store, will be wrapped up in the first half of 2021. The subsequent phases will be completed every two years, according to a blog post on Facebook's website.

While most of the housing will likely go to Facebook employees, Facebook is opening up the housing to the community at large. The housing will be a mix of market rate and affordable housing units, with 225 units, or 15%, priced below market rate. 
"Part of our vision is to create a neighborhood center that provides long-needed community services," Facebook wrote.

One benefit of having employees live so close to campus is a reduction in the amount of traffic in the area, according to the blog post. 

While Facebook has presented the plans to the City of Menlo Park, they have not yet been approved. The company expects the approval process to take about two years. - Business Insider