'Everton no retirement home'

Wayne Rooney does not consider Goodison Park a "retirement home" after completing his move back to Everton.

The England forward re-joined Everton on a two-year contract on Sunday following 13 trophy-laden years at Manchester United and trained with his new team-mates on Monday.
Rooney will turn 32 in October, but says he has no intention of slowing down and has returned to Everton to win silverware.

"I'm excited, it's a challenge which is the right time in my career. This isn't a retirement home," Rooney said.
"Obviously Ronald [Koeman] has ideas and the players we're bringing in, it's on us. It's one thing saying we want to win trophies but it's on us to do it."

Rooney added: "Once I knew Ronald was interested in bringing me back to Everton it was a no-brainer, it's where I wanted to play.
"It's an exciting time, we're moving forward, we're signing the right players, we hope it can be a very good year for us.
"For us all, you want to do better than the previous year. We want to keep pushing and try to bring trophies to the club."

Rooney was deployed in a number of different roles during his later years with United and England, even being utilised as a defensive midfielder during Louis van Gaal's spell at Old Trafford.

But when quizzed about where he expects to play under Koeman, Rooney said: "You'll have to wait and see.
"The big thing was coming back here to play, he'll assess training and we'll make our decisions on that."

On the same issue, Koeman acknowledged Rooney's adaptability but signalled his intention to use the 31-year-old in an attacking capacity.
"Everyone knows the qualities of Wayne. We're trying to get more productivity," the Dutchman said. "He can be 10 behind the striker, the 9, the 7.
"When we spoke it was about ambition, he was desperate to come back. He showed me he likes pressure, he's used to doing that. Some players need it to get the best out of themselves.

"You mention his age, 31, 32 in October, still young for football. The qualities and ambition showed me enough to come back to Everton." - Sky Sport

Rooney reflects on 'frustrating' end at Man Utd as he targets three points on Old Trafford return

New Everton signing Wayne Rooney has conceded that he found life difficult on the Manchester United bench last season, which led to his decision to leave.

Rooney has re-joined Everton after 13 years at Old Trafford that saw him become the club's all-time record goalscorer and win every major club honour.

But the 31-year-old started only 15 Premier League games last season and scored five times following Jose Mourinho's arrival.
Rooney found that situation tough to take, even though he tried to remain positive due to his role as United's captain, and feels he needs to play regularly to perform at his peak level.

"It was obviously frustrating," Rooney said of his lack of regular game-time at United.
"It was the first time really in my career where I didn't play. It is not me – I need to play football. 
"It was frustrating but I was the captain so you need to keep yourself positive around the place.


"It hadn't gone stale. I enjoyed my time there but I needed to play more games, I didn't play that often last season and I know I'm at my best when I'm playing consistently.
"It was tough but that's football. Some people will accept playing every few weeks.

"For me, I love playing and that's what I want to do. I spoke with Jose and it was the right time for me to go and play somewhere else." 
Rooney will not have to wait long for his return to United with Everton as the two teams are scheduled to meet at Old Trafford on September 17.

"I'm going there to try to get three points with Everton," he said. "I had a great time at Manchester United but football moves on, players move on and I have come back to Everton."
Rooney has also been left out of the last two England squads, casting doubt over his international future just one year away from the next World Cup in Russia.


The forward insists Everton are his focus, but hopes his form makes it hard for Gareth Southgate to continue leaving him out.
"To be honest I'm focused on Everton and doing well," he said. "If I get back playing, Gareth Southgate will have a decision to make. 

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"If the performances for Everton are good enough he won't be able to ignore me." - Goal

Pogba's £89m Man Utd move inspired Lukaku to make similar switch

Romelu Lukaku says he was inspired to join Manchester United after watching Paul Pogba complete a world-record transfer in 2016.

The Belgium international striker finalised his switch from Everton on Monday for a reported initial fee of £75 million.


Lukaku, who lives in Manchester, admits that he has long considered the prospect of what it would be like to play for United whenever he has passed Old Trafford.
And the 24-year-old says Pogba's £89.3m move from Juventus in 2016 "triggered something" in his mind and made him long to experience something similar.

"Paul is one of my best friends and my neighbour so we're together on a daily basis," he told MUTV. "Last year, when he signed for United, to have witnessed that, it really triggered something in my brain in that, if the chance would occur one day, I wouldn't say no.
"I would like to say that at the end of my career I played for a team that always challenged for trophies. I won't take this opportunity for granted.


"I live in Manchester and I've passed Old Trafford many times. One night, I said to my mum that I have a certain feeling I'll play here one day. Every time I played against them, I just felt like a child, with the atmosphere, the fans.
"The history, the players that play for the club, the way the club is always hungry to win trophies is something I was searching for. It's the perfect opportunity to make the big step.

"I want to thank my agent [Mino Raiola] and former club Everton for making sure the deal happened before pre-season. I can get to know the players and how they play. I worked under the manager but it's a fresh start with him. It's good for me to get to know the way of things at Manchester United."

Lukaku played briefly under United boss Jose Mourinho at Chelsea and he says the prospect of linking up with the Portuguese is the aspect of the transfer that he is most looking forward to.


"That's the most exciting part," he said. "Me and him have a really good relationship. I dreamed of playing under him since I was 10. To be part of his plans for challenging for trophies is exciting. He's a manager who will help us to win trophies.
"I'm a really calm person but on the pitch I become a warrior. I want to score as many goals as I can, become a better player and work harder than ever before. I want to improve constantly, I want to become better every single day."

Lukaku will also realise his dream of playing in the Champions League next season and he is confident that United can challenge to win the competition.


"Finally! I've been a pro for eight years and never had a taste," he said. "I always said I wanted to play in the Champions League group stage. I want to see how it is. 

"Obviously the World Cup and Euro 2016 was really nice but I always dreamed of the Champions League. We can challenge every year to win the Champions League. The club is in a building process and the manager is doing the right things to take the club back where it belongs." - Goal

Koeman expects Rooney to bring 'ambition' to Everton

Everton boss Ronald Koeman says Wayne 
Rooney's ambition to win trophies was one of the key factors behind his decision to sign him.

The former Manchester United captain completed a return to Goodison Park on Sunday, 13 years on from his move to Old Trafford as an 18-year-old.

Rooney insisted at his presentation that he was not moving "to a retirement home" and is determined to end Everton's 22-year wait to win a major trophy.

And Koeman believes his drive to add more success to a glittering career could be an important lesson to the rest of the squad.
"Everybody knows the qualities of Wayne," Koeman said. "He's really a striker and players with that quality can play out of position. He can be a 10 behind the striker, a free role from the left, a nine, a seven.

"The qualities of the player are the most important. We like to win trophies and that's a feeling that not all the players have at Everton. We have a lot of young players and that experience of winning titles is really important for Everton. It's one of the reasons we tried to bring him back.
"When we spoke, it was about the ambition. He showed me that he likes the pressure. He'll have pressure next season and he's used to that.

"Some players need pressure to get the best out of themselves. He's 32 in October and that's still young for football. The ambition he showed was enough to convince me.
"I'd prefer to have 10 players scoring 10-15 goals than one scoring 25. Wayne is the kind of player who can bring productivity to the team."

Everton have agreed a fee with United for striker Romelu Lukaku, reported to be £75million, and the Belgium international is expected to finalise his move in the coming days after passing a medical in Los Angeles.

Koeman bears no ill-will towards the 24-year-old and hopes he enjoys success at Old Trafford.
"We know it was one of the challenges for Lukaku," he said. "He took the right decision and let's hope everything will go well for him. I like him, but now it's about Everton."

Everton have been linked with a bid for Swansea City's Gylfi Sigurdsson, while the future of Ross Barkley remains unclear, but Koeman would not discuss any other transfer business.
"We're doing good business and we'll see in the next weeks what more we'll do. You know me, you can mention all the names, but I won't respond about that," he said.

"Everybody knows one really big reason to sign for Everton on year ago was about the project. The club is showing the ambition that everybody likes to have. It's exciting times for Everton Football Club."

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Asked about Barkley's future, he replied: "It's a nice question for the next press conference." - Goal

Alligator eats African-American pilot, Mark Ukaere after plane crashed [VIDEO]

A video footage has emerged showing an African-American pilot, Mark Ukaere, whose plane crashed in the Florida Everglades last week being eaten by alligator.

Mark, who was reported to have taken the aircraft without permission was the only one on the flight.

A video captured from a WPLG10 helicopter flying over the crash site shows wreckage from the plane crash and also the body of the crash victim lying next to a huge alligator.
The crew inside the helicopter witnessed the alligator eating the man’s body and it was aired live on TV, though the pilot’s body was blurred.
Ukaere was a licensed pilot who was taking lessons to obtain an advanced certification.

The pilot was last seen on Saturday night leaving Miami Executive Airport but when he did not come to church the next day, his roommates feared he might have been killed in a crash.
His body was found on Wednesday night, at about 9:30 p.m. in the gator-infested Everglades in Miami, Florida.

The single-engine Cessna 152 was found in an area seven miles west of Homestead. National Transportation Safety Board investigators arrived at the scene Thursday morning and are investigating the incident. - Daily post

South Africa returnee jailed for fraud

An Igbosere Magistrates Court, Lagos, last Friday, sentenced a South Africa returnee, Valentine Thomas, to one year imprisonment for defrauding an Uber taxi driver of N30,000.

Magistrate A. A. Adetunji, however, gave the convict an option of returning the N30,000 and spending only nine months in prison.
Thomas, 28, of no fixed address, was arraigned on November 30, 2016 on a one count charge of theft contrary to Section 313 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.

He pleaded not guilty to the charge but was convicted after seven months of trial.

Prosecuting police officer, Sergeant Friday Mameh, told the court that Thomas on November 28 last year at about 1:17 p.m. hired an Uber cab at Lekki to take him around Eti-Osa local government area of the state.
They agreed on a fee of N30,000 for a ride of between 1:17 p..m and midnight.
“Thomas told the driver, Adeboye Mayowa, that he was a South Africa returnee and was looking for a hotel to lodge.

“Along the way, he ordered the driver, to stop at a hotel at Oniru and ordered for food at the restaurant.
“He also invited two girls to join him, but failed to pay for the meals,” Mameh told the court. - The Nation

Etisalat pulls out of Nigeria, gives new brand few weeks to get another name

Telecoms group Etisalat has terminated a management agreement with its Nigerian arm.

According to Reuters, the company has given few weeks to operators of the brand to phase out Etisalat in Nigeria
Hatem Dowidar, chief executive of Etisalat International, said the company, with a 45 percent stake in the Nigerian business, is transferring its shares to a trustee after talks to renegotiate a $1.2 billion loan failed.

Dowidar said all UAE shareholders of Etisalat Nigeria, including state-owned investment fund Mubadala, had exited the company and left the board and management.
He said discussions were ongoing with Etisalat Nigeria to provide technical support, adding that it could continue to use the brand for another three weeks before phasing it out.

“There’s a new board and we are not part of that company. We have sent our termination letter for the management agreement,” he said.
Etisalat Nigeria took out the loan with 13 local lenders in 2013 to refinance an existing loan and fund expansion but struggled to repay four years later.

When asked if the company will return to the country anytime soon, Dowidar said “the train has left the station on that one. Being in that market as an investor … are we willing to risk more money compared to the reward for the long-term?”
“Etisalat is among the top two in markets such as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Egypt and Afghanistan,” he said.

“(Nigerian) lenders may try to continue to operate the company until they find a buyer (or) they may merge the company with the existing players in Nigeria.

“The brand agreement in either of these two scenarios won’t be a long-term thing, so we take out the brand; in the long term Etisalat won’t be in Nigeria.” - News Agency 

Bakayoko hoping to seal Chelsea medical this week

Chelsea’s deal for Tiemoue Bakayoko has been hitting a few stumbling blocks in recent times, but the Frenchman is looking to complete his medical at the club in the next week.

That is, according to the Telegraph’s Football News Correspondent, Matt Law, who has stated that the midfielder does not need to undergo any surgery for a minor knee injury.

It was initially reported today that Bakayoko’s deal to Chelsea was stalling based on the assumption that he would miss between eight and ten weeks after undergoing an operation on his knee. This led to claims that the Blues were having second thoughts about landing the Monaco man.

However, it looks as though there are no doubts in either party’s mind that the deal can go through, and Chelsea are still looking poised to secure Bakayoko’s signature this summer. - Read Sport

Deportivo expect to miss out on Arsenal forward Lucas Perez

Arsenal forward Lucas Perez remains a transfer target for Deportivo La Coruna but the LaLiga club's president says the chances of signing him are "remote".

The 28-year-old moved to the Emirates Stadium last year from Depor for a reported €20million but he has struggled to force his way into manager Arsene Wenger's plans.
Perez was left off Arsenal's squad for their pre-season tour of Australia and China, prompting speculation of a move away from the club, with the player said to be eager for regular first-team football to bolster his chances of making Spain's World Cup squad next year.

However, Depor president Tino Fernandez says he has been told by the Gunners that they are not interested in a sale.
"Lucas is at a great club who made a big financial effort for him, there's a high level there and also the desire of the club is not to look for an exit," he said on Monday.

"We've spoken to Arsenal, we were interested and we informed them of that, although it's true that that was days ago and other things have happened since then, like the fact that he will not be with the team for a few games."

He added that "the possibilities are remote" that Perez will return to the Riazor.

Things are so bad in Venezuela that people are rationing toothpaste

Five years ago, when Hugo Chávez was president and Venezuela was a much different place, Ana Margarita Rangel could still afford to go to the movies and the beach, or to buy the ingredients she needed to bake cakes.

Even three years ago, when the country’s economy was beginning a severe contraction, Rangel earned enough for an occasional treat such as soda or ice cream.
Now she spends everything she earns to fend off hunger. Her shoes are tattered and torn, but she cannot afford new ones. A tube of toothpaste costs half a week’s wages.

“I’ve always loved brushing my teeth before going to sleep. I mean, that’s the rule, right?” said Rangel, who lives in a hillside slum 25 miles west of Caracas, the capital, and works in a cosmetics factory down in the suburban city of Guarenas.
“Now I have to choose,” she said. “So I do it only in the mornings.”

Rangel earns minimum wage, as does 32 percent of Venezuela’s workforce, according to the most recent official numbers available, which were released in 2015. That used to mean something in the country with the world’s largest oil reserves and a socialist government, led by the late Chávez, that presented itself as a champion of Venezuelan workers.

But 700-percent annual inflation and chronic shortages of food and medicine have changed the meaning of Venezuela’s “minimum” in profoundly painful ways.
“I remember the times when, like they say around here, we were millionaires and we didn’t know it,” Rangel said.

Venezuela’s intensifying economic and political crisis has brought thousands of anti-government protesters into the streets over the past three months, and at least 75 people have died in the unrest. A large number of Venezuelans are spending everything they earn to avoid starving.
The minimum wage is enough to buy just one-quarter of the food needed by a family of five in one month, according to calculations by the Center of Documentation and Analysis for Workers, an independent advocacy group.

On July 1, President Nicolás Maduro raised the monthly minimum wage for the third time this year, to about 250,000 “strong bolivars” worth of cash and food stamps — a 20-percent increase.
With Venezuela’s currency rapidly losing value, the new minimum wage is enough for only about six pounds of milk powder or five cartons of eggs. At the country’s informal exchange rate, the raise brings the average worker’s income to roughly $33 per month. That is far below the minimum monthly wage in neighboring Colombia — about $250 — or even Haiti, where it is $135.

The government sets price caps on some basic food items, such as pasta, rice and flour. But those items can usually only be obtained by standing in lines for hours or by signing up to receive a subsidized monthly grocery box from the government with enough to feed a family of five for about a week.

Since 2014, the proportion of Venezuelan families in poverty has soared from 48 percent to 82 percent, according to a study published this year by the country’s leading universities. Fifty-two percent of families live in extreme poverty, according to the survey, and about 31 percent survive on two meals per day at most. Households that depend on breadwinners earning up to twice the minimum wage are in the latter group.

“With Chávez, we were doing much better,” said Romer Sarabia, 44, a security guard at a government health clinic in a town 35 miles south of Caracas. On payday, he said, he used to take his family out for soup. “And I would buy candy for the children.”

Every two weeks, Sarabia goes to an informal market near his home and buys about two pounds of sugar, a pound of milk powder and nine pounds of broken-grain rice that smells of bird food and is typically used as chicken feed. He seasons it with bones or scrap meat.

His three children and wife supplement that with whatever they are able to grow in the nearby fields — mostly plantains, yucca and mangoes — unless neighbors steal the crops.
“What’s going to happen with us if we continue like this for another year?” he said, looking at his wife, who nodded and smiled weakly.

Rangel, the cosmetics factory worker, considers herself lucky, because she pools her income with the earnings of her three sons. But even with four adults making minimum wage, the refrigerator is almost always empty.

The family has eliminated beef, chicken, salad and fruit from its diet. Instead, Rangel and her sons eat rice, beans, yucca, plantains, sardines and sometimes eggs. “We used to be able to have juice with our meals,” Rangel said. “I miss it so much.”

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“And chocolate! We can’t even afford to buy a little cup of coffee on our way to work,” she said.
In Rangel’s neighborhood, it is not uncommon to find people like Rainer Figueroa, a 30-year-old with sleepy eyes who has lost a significant amount of weight. Figueroa has shed 24 pounds in the past six months, he said, because his minimum wage is only enough for him to eat small portions of food twice a day. The rest of the groceries are for his wife and three children.

Figueroa said he stopped playing soccer this year. “I can’t afford to burn calories or wear out my sneakers,” he said.
Just three years ago, the family would go to a nearby shopping mall for fast-food meals to celebrate Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. There would be enough money to pay for bus rides to public parks on the weekends. “It didn’t use to be like this,” he said, with his 7-year-old son standing barefoot beside him.

Figueroa works at a diaper factory that has stopped producing diapers. With shortages of raw materials and imports falling, many Venezuelan plants are operating at half capacity or less, a situation many economists blame on government mismanagement of prices and currency rates.
Since taking office in 2013 after Chávez’s death, Maduro has decreed 16 increases to the minimum wage. But the purchasing power afforded by the raises in pay is wiped out almost as soon as the ink dries on Maduro’s orders.

In the past three years, the country’s economy has contracted by 24.5 percent, including 11 percent in 2016, according to the independent data firm Ecoanalítica.
“Wage raises make it all worse, because if you don’t take productivity into account, you’ll just generate more inflation,” said Asdrúbal Oliveros, director of Ecoanalítica. “This year, people’s purchasing power is headed to go down by 40 percent.”

Every weekday, Rangel wakes at 4 a.m. to take two buses from the slum to the factory. When she comes home around 2 p.m., she doesn’t do much. “I don’t spend my afternoons cooking any more, because I don’t have meat to season or vegetables to cut,” she said.

Gone are the days when her neighbors would get together for barbecues and dance parties.
She said she doesn’t even like meeting with her friends anymore. “We always end up talking about all those things we can’t get any more,” she said, her eyes welling up with tears.

She turns on the television instead. “I love watching the Kardashians, because you see how people that have everything live,” she said. “And for a moment you forget what your life is like.” - The Washington Post

Ex-EastEnders actress ‘tried to smuggle cocaine in a suitcase’

A former EastEnders actress tried to smuggle nearly three kilos of cocaine into the UK by hiding it in the bottom of a suitcase, a court heard.

Leanne Lakey, 39, is accused of plotting with Dean Shanahan, 47, to sneak the drugs past Customs officers at Gatwick airport on December 12 last year. The cocaine was allegedly hidden in the base of Shanahan’s case as Lakey travelled with him.
She starred as Belinda Slater in EastEnders between 2001 and 2003, while at the same time playing the role of Charlotte Day in another TV series, Family Affairs.

Her character was brought back to EastEnders last year but Lakey was dropped from the role in favour of another actress.
Lakey, from Chelmsford, trained at the Arts Educational School in Chiswick and has also appeared in The Bill, Holby City and Casualty.

She appeared at Croydon crown court alongside Shanahan to face the drug smuggling charge.
Wearing a baggy grey top and leggings, she pleaded not guilty to “evading a prohibition on importing class A drugs”.
Shanahan, from Kingsbury, denied the same charge.

Judge Adam Hiddleston freed them on bail until their trial, due to start on December 18.

He ordered them to live and sleep at their home addresses, and put Shanahan on a 10pm to 7am curfew.Lakey was said to work in a restaurant in Chelmsford and also spend time at her boyfriend’s home in Bedford. The judge said she could have some nights in Bedford in the lead-up to her trial. 
- Evening Standard

Neymar: I could join Manchester United... or Eibar!

Barcelona star Neymar has suggested that he could be tempted to leave Camp Nou in future to join Manchester United – or perhaps Eibar!

The Brazil international has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League side for much of the past 18 months, despite having signed a new five-year contract last October.
The forward's agent, Wagner Ribeiro, claimed last September that he had been tempted by offers from United and Paris Saint-Germain, who were reportedly ready to pay a transfer fee of up to €190million.

Speculation of renewed interest from United has refused to die down, even though manager Jose Mourinho stated in May that it would be "absurd" to try to sign the player.

Neymar has admitted that he cannot guarantee his long-term future but offered something of a tongue-in-cheek response when asked where he could potentially move.
"Who knows what will happen tomorrow?" he said after the Neymar Jr's Five event. "I'm very happy for now, very well adjusted. But anything can happen, who knows."

Asked if he could go to United, he replied: "Yes... or Eibar!"
The 25-year-old had earlier stated that he believes 2017-18 will be the most important campaign of his career.
"I hope it will be a season with a lot of success and a lot of happiness," he said.

"I'm getting ready for it. It's going to be one of the most important seasons of my life. It will be the most important season of my life.

"So I'm really happy and really excited, and I'm going to start training and get prepared." - Goal

Chelsea make Morata move

Chelsea have made a move to sign Alvaro Morata from Real Madrid, according to Sky in Italy.

The Blues are set to miss out on the signing of Romelu Lukaku to Manchester United and have now turned their attentions to securing a deal for the Spain international.

Sky Sports News HQ understands Morata is keen on a switch to the Premier League having previously attracted interest from United.
Real value Morata at close to £70m, although manager Zinedine Zidane wants the former Juventus forward to remain at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Morata's agent, Juanma Lopez, and his father, Alfonso Morata, met with Real officials last Monday to discuss the future of the 24-year-old.
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte is keen to strengthen his attacking options having told Diego Costa he is surplus to requirements at the club.

The 28-year-old, who scored 20 goals last season as Chelsea won the Premier League title, is yet to secure a move away from Stamford Bridge ahead of the start of pre-season training.

Sky Sports News HQ understands Atletico Madrid are interested in re-signing Costa and are expected to make an offer for him.
Atletico are currently under a transfer embargo and would be unable to register Costa as their player until January.

Chelsea reignite interest in Moussa Dembele

Chelsea are back to square one in their search for a new striker this summer after Manchester United successfully pipped the Blues to Romelu Lukaku.

Antonio Conte’s side are assessing a number of potential strikers at the moment, one of those being Celtic star Moussa Dembele according to Sky Sports reporter Kaveh Solhekol.

The France U21 international scored 32 goals for Celtic last season as they secured a historic unbeaten domestic treble, largely thanks to the goals of the former Fulham starlet.
Dembele is believed to be an option for Chelsea as they prepare themselves for Diego Costa’s expected departure from Stamford Bridge, but it seems as if they face competition from both Marseille and West Ham for his signature.

Brendan Rodgers will be determined not to lose his star striker this summer, but the allures of Champions League football and the riches of the Premier League may be too good to turn down.

Irish newspaper confuses Romelu Lukaku with Stomzy on back page!

The Irish Herald newspaper made a massive blunder by publishing a story about Romelu Lukaku’s impending transfer to Manchester United but rather than using a picture of the Belgian striker, they used an image of grime artist Stormzy wearing a Manchester United tracksuit instead!

The image of the newspaper has already gone viral, which will be highly embarrassing for the Irish outlet. - Read Sport

Biafra: Those calling for secession are doing the right thing – Ebonyi ex-Deputy governor, Prof. Ogbu

A former Deputy Governor of Ebonyi state, Prof.Chigozie Ogbu, has declared that the agitation for Biafra by youth groups in the South-eastern region was a genuine struggle.
He noted that the struggle was against injustice meted against Ndigbo in the Nigerian federation

Ogbu said this when he spoke to newsmen at his residence in Abakaliki, the state capital, where he insisted that since after the Nigeria Civil war, the constitution of the country was drafted to have oppressive tendencies against Ndigbo who are seen as a conquered territory.

The Igbo leader who is also the incumbent Vice President-General of Ohaneze Ndigbo stated that as a result of the frustration among young people arising from these injustices, agitation for independence became imperative, stating that the situation has left the country with two options of restructuring or be ready to face agitations which could degenerate into uncontrollable conflict in the country.

Ogbu expressed dismay that the objectives of the 1999 constitution, which was to provide a constitution for the purpose of promoting good governance and welfare of all persons in the country on principle of freedom, equality, justice and for consolidating the unity of the people, is at variance with the content of the constitution whose provisions are full of injustices and inequality that do not promote unity and good governance.

He further posited that no amount of good governance could cure the current agitation for self-determination resulting from marginalization.
He said, “What good governance can remedy the anomaly that Kano with a population of 9,401,288 has 44 local governments while Lagos with 9,11,605 has 20 local governments and Bayelsa has 8.In sharing local government allocations, Kano gets 44 parts, Lagos 20 and Bayelsa (the source of the revenue with terrible environmental degradation from oil) will get 8 parts?”
“Ndigbo cannot have a true sense of belonging in the federation until this anomaly is corrected.” - Daily Post

Restructuring: Divide the country into six – Muslim leader tells Buhari

An elder statesman and Muslim leader in Rivers State, Alhaji Abubakar Orlu, has advised the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government to divide the country into six.

He said the country was due for restructuring, stressing that Nigerians should not deceive themselves of being a united nation.

Alhaji Orlu said this yesterday, in Port Harcourt, the state capital, while speaking on the state of the nation.
He emphasized that without restructuring, regional agitations would not end.

The elder statesman chided the All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government for its lopsidedness in federal appointments, pointing out that the marginalization demonstrated by the government was the bane of the agitations across the country.

He stated, “Those, who are not supporting restructuring, are ignorant of what is happening in the country. They are enemies of the country. If they know what restructuring stands for, they will not opposed to it. I want you to know that, Nigeria of today, is not united and we should not deceive ourselves

“Is it not clear that in the South-South and South East, this Federal government has nothing to show? That is not what government is all about. Previous government spent time developing the North. The issue of being voted for or not, should not determine development of an area.
He further cautioned the federal government on the Biafra agitation, stressing that the struggle would not die in the minds of South East people.

He said the call for restructuring could only pacify them.
“What we need is to appeal to them (Biafra people) to accept restructuring for us to live together in peace as one Nigeria. I want to state that the Biafra struggle is in the minds and blood of South East people and, therefore, cannot die. So, Federal Government should appeal to them to accept restructuring.

“Without restructuring this country, Nigeria will find it difficult to live together in peace because there is no unity. Let us restructure this country before the 2019 general elections, so that we can live as one country.” - Daily Post

Two men docked for sexually assaulting boy

Two men on Monday appeared before an Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court for alleged sexual assault on their neighbour’s son.

The accused, Saheedu Yahaya, 20, a factory worker and Rabiu Muhamed, 46, a fashion designer lived at No. 3, Awoyinfa St., Agege, a suburb of Lagos.
The duo, who are facing a two-count charge of conspiracy and sexual assault, risk three years imprisonment if found guilty.

The Prosecutor, Insp. Clifford Ogu told the court that the offences were committed in June at the accused residence.

Ogu said that the accused lured the 10-year-old boy into their room on the pretext of sending him on an errand.
“They shut the door at him, fingered his anus and inserted their manhood.

“It was the cry of the boy that alerted one of the neighbours and she rushed to the accused window to see what was happening,’’ he told the court.
The prosecutor said the woman shouted for help and the two accused persons were apprehended by tenants and handed over to the Police.

The offences contravened Sections 410 and 261 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State.
Section 261 states that any offender, who is found guilty of a felony and is liable to a three-year imprisonment.

The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The Chief Magistrate, Mrs Taiwo Akanni, granted the accused bail for N200,000 each with two sureties in like sum.
Akanni adjourned the case till July 17, for mention.

Fraud: Alleged ‘Money Doubler’ gets N200,000 bail

An alleged “Money Doubler’’, Femi Oloyede, who defrauded a woman of N650,000 was on Monday in Lagos granted N200,000 bail with two sureties in like sum by an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court.

Oloyede, 48, who resides at Agege area, was arraigned before Mr T.O. Shomade on a two-count charge of stealing and obtaining under false pretences for the offence committed on June 12.
The Prosecutor, Insp. Raji Akeem, had told the court that the accused committed the offences on June 12 at First Bank Plc, Dopemu Agege.
He alleged that Oloyede conspired with others now at large, to fraudulently obtain N650,000 from the woman on the pretext of giving her double the amount, a representation he knew was false.

Akeem said that the complainant claimed that she was at a bus stop looking for a cab when the accused and his accomplices offered to give her a lift.
The prosecutor said that when the complainant entered the car, the accused introduced himself as a Money Doubler and told her to bring N650,000 to get double the amount.

He said that the complainant who had no idea that they were fraudsters, went to the bank to withdraw N650,000 which she gave to them.
Akeem said that Oloyede and his accomplices who had no intention of doubling the money for her converted the money to their personal use.
“When the complainant did not get any feedback from Oloyede, she became worried and decided to give him a call.
“Sofola said that the accused told her to come and meet him at the bank.

“The complainant said that when she got to the bank, they told her to withdraw additional money and that was when she discovered that they were fraudsters.
“Sofola immediately alerted the security guards at the bank about her ordeal and the accused was apprehended while his accomplices escaped,’’ Akeem said.

He said the offences contravened Section 287 and 314 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015 as revised.
The accused, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Section 314 prescribes a 15-year jail term for obtaining under false pretences, if found guilty.
The Magistrate, Mr T.O. Shomade granted the accused bail in the sum of N200,000 with two sureties in like sum.

The magistrate adjourned the case until July 20 for further hearing. - NAN

Court remands man for killing Chinese woman

An Ebute Meta Magistrates’ Court on Monday remanded a casual worker, Amos Ikechukwu, at the Ikoyi Prisons in Lagos for allegedly killing her Chinese employer.

On June 16, at about 8.45 p.m., Chinese woman Alice Xu was allegedly suffocated to death by Ikechukwu, her employee.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the incident took place Xu’s apartment at No.1, Toye Close, Akinola Crescent, Adeniyi Jones in Ikeja, north of Lagos.
Ikechukwu allegedly killed Xu after stealing N872, 000 and $2,000 from her apartment.

Chief Magistrate Oluyemisi Adelaja, ordered the remand of the accused, pending a legal advice from the Lagos State director of public prosecutions.
The accused, working with a firm known as Green World Company, is facing a two-count charge of murder and stealing.

The court did not take his plea.
The Prosecutor, Insp. Chinalu Uwadione, told court that the accused had beaten Xu to a state of stupor, bound her hands and legs before covering her face with a polythene bag, resulting to her death.

The prosecutor said that the accused had ransacked Xu’s apartment and stolen her valuables after killing her.
He said the accused claimed that Xu was in the habit of harassing him and had vowed to deal with her, which he eventually did on June 16.

Uwadione disclosed that Ikechukwu disguised as a mad man in a bid to evade security check at the entrance of the estate after killing Xu but was recognised and apprehended.

The prosecutor said the offences contravened Sections 223 and 287 (5) (a) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The case has been adjourned until Aug. 21.

Businessman to spend six months imprisonment for breach of trust

A Grade 1 Area Court in Karu, Abuja, on Monday sentenced a 35 year-old man, Friday Maigida, to six months imprisonment for failing to supply timber worth N330, 000 to his client.

Maigida was charged for criminal breach of trust, cheating and criminal misappropriation punishable under sections 312, 329 and 309 of the Penal code.
He pleaded guilty to the three charges and begged the court for mercy.
The Judge, Mr Hassan Ishaq, however, gave the convict an option of N16, 000 fine and to repay the N330, 000 to the complainant.

The prosecutor, Mr Adeyemi Adeyanju, had earlier informed the court that one Samuel Ogbatu of Kugbo Timber Shed Abuja reported the matter to Karu Police Station on July 8.
Adeyanju said that the complainant had entrusted the money to Maigida in April to supply timber within two weeks of receiving the N300, 000, but failed to do so.

The prosecutor added that, instead of meeting the agreement, the convict absconded and converted the money to his personal use

43 percent of girls are ‘married off before secondary school’

Maryam Uwais, special adviser to the president on social protection plan, says 43 percent of girls in the country are married off before they get into secondary school.

Uwais said this on Saturday while speaking at the maiden graduation ceremony of Noble Hall Leadership Academy for Girls in Abuja.
She explained that almost all the young girls drop out from school after marriage.
The president’s aide said in the north-west and north-east, only about 30 percent of the women are literate.

“In our country today, 43 percent of the girls are married off before they get into secondary school. Almost all of the girls drop out of school when they are married. In the north-west, north-east, as few as 30 percent of our women are literate,” she said.

“About 13 million Nigerian school children between the ages of six and 11 do nit have access to primary school education. The eight states that have the worst indicators on child marriage also have the lowest indices of low child education, highest malnutrition, highest number of street children, highest number of under-15 girls giving birth which places them at the highest risk of maternal child and infant mortality. Poverty is highest in north-east states.

“An extra year in your secondary school has an earning capacity of 15 to 25 percent. When girls start earning an income, they invest 80 to 90 percent in their home whereas the men put in 50 percent. So we must reflect on how many intelligent women do not have an opportunity to go to school.”

She advised the graduates to think out of the box as they to work towards achieving their dreams.
Uwais said it would be challenging taking care of their homes and following their dreams.
On her part, Aloma Mukhtar, a former chief justice of Nigeria (CJN), said politics is the only area where women are lagging behind.
She said though there are quite a number of women in parliament, the figure is small when compared to that of their male counterparts.
While calling on women to “stand up” and set out to achieve whatever goals they set for themselves, the former chief justice said, “nothing is impossible”.

“The only area where I can say we are doing badly is in the area of politics. Although, we have so many women in the legislative houses but the number is negligible compared to the male,” Mukhtar said.

“We had deputy governors which started during the military era when the then military president appointed Mrs Latifa Okunmi as the first (female) deputy governor. We have many deputy governors but we have only one from the north, Pallen Tallen
“But when you see that governorship is eluding the women, it will be a tall dream for women to produce a president. Today, throughout the world, women are making positive impacts in development and governance.

“Women can stand up, we can be what we want to be, we can follow our dreams and achieve whatever goal we set for ourselves. Nothing is impossible.” - Cable Nigeria

How Europe Saved Global Air Travel From the U.S. Laptop Ban

The world’s airline networks came close to widespread chaos this summer when the Department of Homeland Security threatened to impose a ban on laptops and tablets in the cabins of all U.S.-bound flights from overseas. That ban has, for the moment, been avoided by demanding that 280 airports providing flights to the U.S. 
comply with new standards for security screening.

Even so, the DHS action has exposed conflicting views between the U.S. and agencies in other parts of the world about how to keep international aviation operating normally as it faces a continuing threat from terrorists intent on finding any weaknesses in airport security.
European airlines and regulators were dismayed in May when, as The Daily Beast first disclosed, the DHS proposed to extend a ban on laptops and tablets first imposed in March on 10 airports in North Africa and the Middle East to all European airports serving the U.S.

As the first word of the ban reached the headquarters of the European Union in Brussels an extraordinarily firm opponent emerged in the person of Violeta Bulc, the European commissioner for transportation. Bulc immediately called Washington and raised with U.S. officials something that she knew airline pilots were particularly alarmed by: the risk of transferring a potential danger from the cabin to the cargo hold.

The frequency of incidents in cabins involving fires triggered by the lithium-ion batteries in laptops and tablets was already well documented by the FAA, but this risk didn’t appear to have been taken into account by the DHS when it pressed for a ban. Two cargo airplanes had been lost, with their crews, in fires originating in shipments of lithium-ion batteries and the European pilots’ unions pointed out that forcing airlines to stow thousands of electronic devices in the cargo holds of passenger flights made those flights less safe.

European objections to the ban were summed up by Jens Flottau, an editor of Aviation Week based in Europe, who wrote: “Dealing with security threats by reacting to specific incidents makes no sense. Denying the wholesale use of laptops in cabins is akin to forcing all travelers to go barefoot on flights following the shoe bomber incident in December 2011.”
As the Europeans pushed back on a ban a DHS spokesperson told the Daily Beast “there is no timeline and there is no deadline.” In fact, not only the officials in Brussels but the airlines and the authorities in charge of Europe’s airports were dismayed by what they considered was a hastily reflexive move by Homeland Security secretary John Kelly and his officials.

Nevertheless, the Europeans didn’t want to appear to be underestimating the terrorist threat. After all, Brussels itself had suffered one of the worst recent terror attacks at its airport and a railway station when 32 people were killed and more than 300 were injured. European officials insisted that the screening at major airports was as effective as it was in the U.S. and that if there were deficiencies they would work with the DHS to fix them and avoid the draconian step of a blanket laptop ban.
And so it was that the ban was avoided when, late in June, the DHS announced that “enhanced screening” would be introduced not only in Europe but at 280 airports in 105 countries around the world. “Security is my number one concern,” Secretary Kelly said, adding, “Our enemies are adaptive and we have to be adaptive too.”

The DHS’s original and suddenly imposed ban on laptops and tablets in the cabins of flights to the U.S. from North Africa and Middle East had forewarned the Europeans of the scale of the damage that can be caused to air travel by unexpected moves provoked by new security threats. As a result of that ban several airlines that were until recently regarded as game-changers suffered a precipitate loss of passengers.

The largest of these airlines, Emirates based in Dubai, had built a substantial and loyal following of business travelers – the biggest profit generators – flying between the Gulf states and 12 major cities including New York, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. The airline won awards for the quality of its service, particularly in the business and first-class cabins where access to personal computers and tablets was vital.

Many of those business passengers circumvented the ban by flying to Europe where they could then board flights to U.S. without having to put their devices in checked baggage.
Just a month after the ban went into force Emirates’ bookings for flights to the U.S. had fallen by a third. It cut flights to five of its U.S. destinations, removing 20 percent of the 50 airplanes used on those routes.

The ban was not the sole cause of Emirates’ pain. The crash in oil prices had already weakened demand for travel in the region and the problem was further exacerbated by tighter vetting of Gulf residents flying to the U.S. In May Emirates disclosed the full cost of the crisis: its profits had fallen by 82 percent in the past year.

For competitors of Emirates in Europe and America the collapse in their business induced a hard-to-conceal bout of schadenfreude. More than any other airline, Emirates had seriously disrupted the post-war business model that gave dominance of international markets to airlines based principally in North America and Europe.

Emirates[Office1]  became a global leader by turning Dubai — once a remote desert watering hole — into an international hub, exploiting the strategic logic of its position for connections between Asia, Africa and Europe, and by building a superior reputation for service. Two other Gulf airlines, Etihad, based in Abu Dhabi, and Qatar, based in Doha, rode the same wave and won the same kind of reputations for quality – Etihad, in particular, upped the standard of first class cabins to a level of opulence affordable only to the fattest of fat cats.

This week Etihad was the first of the three airlines to meet the DHS’s new standards for screening, allowing passengers to fly again with their laptops and tablets, and they were quickly followed by Emirates and Turkish Airlines flights from Istanbul.
It is not clear whether all 280 the airports on the DHS list, particularly the smaller ones, will be able to satisfy American officials that their security is fit for purpose in the time allowed for compliance: “There are fairly aggressive timelines involved, partially because we are dealing with a known and evolving threat” David Lapan, a DHS spokesman, said in a briefing to reporters.

Seventeen percent of flights from Europe to the U.S. leave from London’s Heathrow, with 3 million passengers a year heading for New York and 1.6 million for Los Angeles. Airlines at that airport have said that passengers will notice additional screening of hand luggage at the gates, but Heathrow is known to have some of the most advanced screening of both hand and checked luggage. The same is true for other major hubs like Charles de Gaulle in Paris, Schipol in Amsterdam and Frankfurt.

The “known and evolving threat” cited by the DHS is the ability of bombers to miniaturize an explosive charge so that it can be incorporated in the batteries of laptops and tablets.

For terrorists the explosive of choice is pentaerythritol tetranitate, or PETN. Miniaturized bombs using PETN are only effective if the bomber is in a window seat where the blast is strong enough to breach the fuselage skin and cause an explosive decompression in the cabin. The bomber also has to be able to deploy a non-metallic powder as a detonator.

And it now seems that even the smallest amount of PETN is now detectable by state-of-the-art screening. Airport security authorities are obviously not going to disclose what their defenses are against these bombers, but in 2014 a team of scientists at UC Berkeley led by Professor Xiang Zhang published a paper outlining a new device called a plasmon laser sensor that they said dramatically increased the sensitivity of screening of minute concentrations of explosives like PETN.

The most visible screening procedures involve hand-held explosive detectors that are in use at airports in at least 40 countries but they are not thought by experts to be effective against the laptop mini-bombs. Plasmon laser sensors and other new technologies are more likely to be deployed invisibly as devices are screened in the machines that are part of an airport’s main lines of defense.

However, some security experts are puzzled by the underlying assumption of the American pressure for enhanced screening, implying that the same level of threat does not exist on domestic flights in the U.S. Or, indeed, at airports serving foreign destinations. As any frequent flier in the U.S. can testify, the visible personal screening at airports by the TSA is highly variable, from the rigoroU.S. to the casual. In some airports laptops and tablets are separately screened, in others they remain in carry-on bags.

It is certainly true that the most proficient bomb makers remain in the Middle East: for example, Ibrahim al-Asiri, the master bomber of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsular, who now competes with others who have emerged in the laboratories of ISIS and are thought to be more lethal even with ISIS in retreat as they disperse to secret locations.
Yet can we be so sure that home-grown “sleeper” terrorists, surrounded as they are by easily-accessible technical resources, will not be equally ingenious in their efforts to find the unforeseen gap in our defenses? - The Daily Beast