NSE: Investors wealth dips by 0.08%

Investment losses occasioned by drop in the share price of listed equities on the floor of the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) last week resulted in the market recording significant decline as the twin market indicators closed flat.

Specifically, the Market Capitalization of listed equities depreciated by 0.08% to close on Friday at N13.714 trillion against N13.724 trillion it opened with while the NSE All-Share Index dropped to 41,532.31 from 41,564.19 basis points thus shedding 0.08 per cent.

Review of activities in the market showed that four of the indices appreciated during the week with the exception of the NSE Consumer Goods Index , NSE Lotus II and NSE Industrial Goods Index which loss 0.23 per cent, 1.39 per cent and 1.51 per cent. The NSE 30 index increased by 5.24 basis points to 1890.50, NSE banking index rose by 9.22 to 428.67 points , NSE Insurance also advanced by 0.38 points to 144.56 points, NSE Oil and Gas index grew by 2.14 points to 480.48 while the NSE ASeM index closed flat at 951.96 .

Meanwhile, turnover of 1.342 billion shares worth N16.086 billion in 22,481 deals were traded by investors in contrast to a total of 1.031 billion shares valued at N12.284 billion that exchanged hands in 22,056 deals the previous week.

The Financial Services Industry (measured by volume) led the activity chart with 868.867 million shares valued at N7.471 billion traded in 10,992 deals; thus contributing 64.76% and 46.45% to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. The Conglomerates Industry followed with a turnover of 186.353 million shares worth 1.403 billion in 2,041 deals.

The third place was occupied by Consumer Goods Industry with 84.541 million shares worth N4.235 billion in 3,439 deals.

Trading in The Top Three Equities Namely- Access bank Plc, Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc and Sterling Bank Plc (measured by volume) accounted for 524.031 million shares worth N3.900 billion in 3,012 deals, contributing 39.06% and 24.25% to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

Further review indicated that 28 equities appreciated in prices during the week lower than thirty-four (34) equities of the preceding week. Forty-four (44) equities depreciated in prices higher than forty-two (42) equities of the preceding week, while one hundred and twenty eight (128) equities remained unchanged higher than one hundred and twenty four (124) recorded in the preceding week.

Premier Breweries Plc led gainers table in percentage terms, growing by 31.65 per cent or N0.50 kobo to close at N2.08 kobo, Beta Glass Company (Nigeria) Plc followed with a gain of 10.17 per cent or N1.74 kobo to close at N18.85 kobo, Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc 6.64 per cent or N0.38 kobo to close at N6.10 kobo. Other companies that recorded price appreciation were 7-UP Bottling Company 5.69 per cent, United Bank for Africa 5.26 per cent, A.G. Leventis Nigeria Plc 5.0 per cent, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc 4.80 per cent, Portland Paints and Products Nigeria Plc 4.79 per cent, Red Star Express Plc 4.35 per cent and International Energy Insurance Company 4.0 per cent.

On the contrary, Vono Products Plc on the other hand topped losers chart, dropping by 16.00 per cent or N0.20 per cent to close at N1.05 kobo, Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc trailed with a loss of 13.33 per cent or N0.16 kobo to close at N1.04 kobo while Cadbury Nigeria Plc declined by 10.27 per cent or N6.85 kobo to close at N59.85 kobo. Other stocks that recorded price depreciation were May and Baker Nigeria Plc 10.13 per cent, Dangote Flour Mills Plc 6.67 per cent, okomu oil palm company 5.40 per cent, Converton Offshore Support GRP Plc 5.00 per cent, Northern Nigeria Flour Mills Plc 5.00 per cent, Conoil Plc 4.97 per cent and Royal Exchange Assurance Plc 4.92 per cent.

Also traded during the week were a total of 40,845 units of Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) valued at N1,147,958.30 executed in 21 deals compared with a total of 13,804 units valued at N541,755.15 million transacted last week in 21 deal. There were no transactions recorded in debts instrument this week. However, a total of 7,700 units of FGN bonds valued at N8, 663.51 million were transacted last week in 6 deals.

Source: Peoplesdaily

Dear EEB readers, It's September!

September  is the ninth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of four months with a length of 30 days. Stay blessed.

Happy New Month!

Anita Oyakhilome's photo removed from Church website

Above is a pic of the website early in 2014 but check the website now at www.christembassy.org, you can see the difference if compare to the one above...

Nigerian Pastors at war with Ebola

The 2014 Ebola outbreak is one of the largest Ebola outbreaks in history and the first in West Africa. Now could be spreading to western countries as a suspected case was reported in Sweden today...but in Nigeria servants of God have taken the fight on Ebola to another level as seen in the two photos herein. It is a spiritual thing whether good or bad Ebola must die and God's children shall live...Amen!

Putin's 'Dupes' - Jill Dougherty, Former Moscow Bureau Chief, CNN

Kremlinologists are back, and they're feuding as usual, this time over Vladimir Putin.

During the Cold War, those expert Russia watchers were the guys (almost all of them were men) who could name that mystery man in the ill-fitting suit and fedora, standing in the reviewing stands on Lenin's Mausoleum, watching the missiles in the May Day Parade.

But after the Soviet collapse in 1991 the need for that kind of expertise disappeared and Kremlinologists went back to their think tanks and universities. The Communist threat was gone. Russia became, well, boring.

Now, thanks to Vladimir Putin and the conflict in Ukraine, Russia watchers, once again, are a red-hot commodity, appearing as guests on American TV networks, trying to explain to confused anchors why Putin's doing what he's doing.

But the revival of Kremlinology also has resurrected old quarrels between experts who see the world through Russian eyes and those who think the Soviet Union never really ended.

"We're not a very collegial bunch," says Georgetown University's Angela Stent, author of The Limits of Partnership: U.S.-Russian Relations in the Twenty-First Century. Stent falls in the middle of the Kremlinologist spectrum: those who understand but don't condone.

"There are a lot of very sharp elbows there," she says, "and there's quite a lot of infighting and suspicion in this group." She laughs: "Maybe just reflective of the country and system we're studying!"

Some of the sharpest elbows belong to Stephen Cohen, professor at New York University and Princeton. Cohen is one of a tiny minority of American experts who defend Putin's actions in Ukraine and his views have brought down the wrath of other Russia watchers. Google Cohen and you'll find links like "The Pathetic Lives of Putin's American Dupes" and "Meet Vladimir Putin's American Apologist."

This week, at a U.S.-Russia conference in Washington, an exasperated Cohen told the audience he's had enough of his "character assassins." Lambasting what he called America's "new Cold Warriors," Cohen accused them of "Russophobia" and "demonizing" of Vladimir Putin. "They are trying to stigmatize us so that we're not welcome on mainstream television," he said, "and they have largely succeeded."

Cohen and I actually did appear together on a live broadcast from Kiev this spring by CNN's Anderson Cooper but after that, he claims, he was persona non grata in the U.S. media. As Cohen sees it, he's like a dissident in the old Soviet Union. "Silence today is no longer a patriotic option!" he says. "Moderation in a time of such crisis is no virtue!"

His enemies, Cohen charges, are not only trying to stifle him, they're "trying to stifle democratic debate in America about this historic crisis."

"They are trying to stigmatize us, or me, and other like me. We are the patriots of American national security! It is we who understand the dire consequences of this policy, this American policy... If nothing else, this policy is costing Washington its most essential partner in vital areas of national security, the president of Russia."

Cohen, says Angela Stent, has drawn attention because he "consistently argues the Kremlin case" and cites facts that the majority of western Russia watchers dispute. "I would say that there are experts, and I put myself in this group," she says, "that understand why Putin did this and what his goals are but I think most of those people would also not justify them. The difference is what Steve Cohen does is not only understand him, but he says Putin is right."

Meanwhile, Cohen has found a media outlet that welcomes his comments: Russia's English-language international network, RT. In an interview this week he blamed the U.S. for the confrontation with Russia, and Barack Obama for "pushing Putin away."

"I am convinced that the most essential partner for the American national security," he said, "in all of these areas from Iran to Syria, Afghanistan and beyond is the Kremlin, currently occupied by Putin. And the way the United States has treated Putin -- I would call it a betrayal of American national interest."

Article by:
Jill Dougherty
Former CNN correspondent in Moscow, bureau chief,

Breaking: Ebola outbreak in Stockholm, Sweden

A suspected case of the Ebola virus has been discovered in the Swedish capital Stockholm, a local official told AFP on Sunday. Aake Oertsqvist, a specialist in infection control responsible for the Stockholm area, was quoted as saying the risk of an Ebola outbreak in Sweden was "very low".

He adds that, “The virus is not airborne, but is spread among humans through direct or indirect contact via blood and other fluids.”

Treatment breakthrough? Why there is excitement over a new drug targeting heart failure..

Experimental drug could be a game-changer against a disease that affects millions of Americans abcn.ws/Z3lpMA 

Oldest human ever lived, Clocks 127 today

A Mexican woman has become the oldest human to have ever lived after reaching the grand old age of 127 - but she lost her birth certificate four decades ago, it was claimed today.

Leandra Becerra Lumbreras was said to have been born on August 31, 1887 - the year Queen Victoria celebrated her Golden Jubilee.

She was 27 when the Second World War broke out, already a pensioner at 66 when Queen Elizabeth II ascended the British throne and 82 when man first set foot on the moon.

And the birthday girl's secret to a long life is eating well, sleeping for days on end and never getting married, according to her family.

Miss Lumbreras reportedly fought in the 1910-1917 Mexican Revolution as a leader of the 'Adelitas' - women who went with their husbands to the battle front.

The former seamstress, from the western Mexican city of Zapopan, has already buried her five children and several of her 20 grandchildren - the last died in 2013 aged 90.

She also has 73 great-grandchildren and 55 great-great-grandchildren. Mexican authorities are now trying to provide a new birth certificate after she lost the original 40 years ago while moving house.

Grandaughter Miriam Alvear, 43, told Mexico's El Horizonte newspaper that although she is now deaf and suffering from cataracts, Ms Lumbreras still often entertains her family with stories from a time long confined to history books.

They include having to flee their homes and hide in caves to escape being forcibly recruited into the Mexican army.

According to her family, she has already told them what she wants for her birthday party today - beans with tortillas, even though she isn't allowed solid food on medical advice.

Miss Lumbreras is 12 years older than Japan's Misao Okawa, currently the oldest documented living person in the world, according to Guinness World Records.

HBD Miss Lumbreras!!!

2014/2015 Premier league table as at August 31

Photos: Obamas attend wedding of their longtime chef, Sam Kass

President Barack Obama on Saturday temporarily set aside the pressures of trying to calm the world's trouble spots and assumed the role of spectator for something more joyous: the wedding of the Obama family's longtime chef and friend, Sam Kass.

Kass is being married to MSNBC host Alex Wagner at a farm-to-table restaurant in Westchester County, north of New York City. Scroll down for more photos:

     Happy couple: Sam Kass, 34 (left), the White House assistant chef, is marrying MSNBC host Alex Wagner, 36 (right)

15 Chibok girls admitted into AUN Academy on scholarship - Atiku says

As tweeted above, the former vice president Atiku Abubakar wrote on his page that 15 of the Chibok girls who escaped from Boko Haram abductors have been been admitted into the American University of Nigeria Academy in Yola, Adamawa state on a scholarship. See another tweet below..

Oyakhilomes divorce splits Christ Embassy members

Members of the Christ Embassy are divided over a divorce suit filed against the Senior Pastor of the church, Chris Oyakhilome, by wife, Anita, in a London court.

Oyakhilome is the President of the Believers’ Love World Incorporated, the registered name of the Christian ministry, while his wife is the Vice President.

Some members of the church on a Facebook page, ‘Where is Rev. Anita Oyakhilome,’ which is believed to have been opened by Anita’s fans, expressed differing opinions on the matter.

Yesterday, one member wrote

"I am a Christ Embassy member. I hate one thing there: How can a pastor be working together with a lady hand in hand, attending meetings and lodging in a hotel for days. My girlfriend travels with our branch pastor annually for PPCF which holds in Lagos. Only God knows.” 

Another one wrote;

"Pastor Chris Oyakhilome must have been discovered compromising his marital bed business. It is what it is. God says judgement will start from His house. ‘Touch not my anointed’ is God’s instruction regarding all His children, not an individual nicking, scheming, threatening monies off people’s purses and telling them that salvation is tied to tithes and that seed sowing is only money donation to the church/pastor’s coffers. One down, more to roll. Christ be praised.” 

Another member of the page wrote

" I and my family left Christ Embassy for our own good after worshiping there for three years plus and seeing all the things going on under the disguise of church. And I can comfortably say that for over a year now, we have had so much peace in our Christian lives. I don’t care how you view my comment but truth must be told.” 

Joseph Osagiede, however, responded saying the Oyakhilomes were still together. He said,

“I have been in Christ Embassy for 12 years. All is totally well with thier marriage. All those wishing them to split and also those going about saying nasty things about the church, be careful.” Faith Ebunoluwa Adetayo also said, “I have been in Christ Embassy since 1990s and I can authoritatively say some things: I have seen the power of God work, demonstrated in healings and many other things. I have seen how that Pastor Chris is less concerned about mistakes we make. “He believes that these sins of the flesh will disappear, only if we listen to the word of God. Rather than condemning us, he speaks words of encouragement. And for your information, Pastor Anita is still very much in the ministry and she’s with her darling husband.”

Meanwhile, the Christ Embassy has kept mum on the divorce case.

A woman, who picked Punch’s call to the Nigerian office of the church on Saturday, said she had no information to give on the matter. When asked to confirm if the divorce suit was true or not, she simply said, “I have no information to give on the matter.”

When another call was made to the church thorough another number, the respondent, who identified herself as Pastor Christabel, said the church had no information about the case. “No, we have no information on the matter,” she said.

Read more Punch

There is a time for everything - Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

A Time for Everything, according to the book of Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

3 There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

2     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,

4     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

6     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

Three months now Russian head coach Capello, has not been paid salary

Russia head coach Fabio Capello and other support staff have not been paid for the last three months, according to Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko.

“They have not been paid for three months,” Mutko told the Russian news agency ITAR-TASS. “I knew about this after meeting Capello.”

“I am really upset about what is happening, but the payment are an internal matter with the Russian Football Union. They prioritise their money matters. If they are not going to pay him then no one else will,” Mutko said.

The Sports Minister said Russia got eight million dollars for participating at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil where they could not advance beyond the group stage.

“The national team’s budget is also not small, therefore how could they not pay the coaching staff?” Mutko said.

The former RFU head, who played a big part in bringing the 2018 World Cup to Russia, said he would assess the situation in the next couple of days, reports Reuters.

In January 2014, former England coach Capello extended his contract until the conclusion of the 2018 World Cup and according to local press, the Italian earns nine million euros($11.82 million) a year.

Health workers strike at major Ebola Clinic in Sierra Leone

Health workers have gone on strike at a major state-run Ebola treatment centre in Sierra Leone, hospital staff told Reuters on Saturday, a further blow to efforts to contain the deadly virus.

Faced with the worst Ebola outbreak in history, West African governments have struggled to find an effective response. More than 1,550 people have died from the hemorrhagic fever since it was first detected in the forests of Guinea in March.

Transmitted through the blood, sweat and vomit of the sick, Ebola has spread quickly among health care workers who often lack the equipment to protect themselves from the virus.

Ishmael Mehemoh, chief supervisor at the Kenema clinic in eastern Sierra Leone, said the facility has only one stretcher. He said the stretcher, which is broken, is used to carry both patients and corpses, raising the risk of infection.

In a further sign of strained resources, nurses and members of the burial team at Kenema said the government had stopped paying their wages of $50 a week.

There is only one other Ebola treatment centre in Sierra Leone in Kailahun, and the World Health Organization shut the laboratory there this week and withdrew staff after one of its health workers caught the virus there.

So far more than 120 health workers have died from the virus across the region. In Kenema alone, 26 staff members have already died from Ebola following the death of physician Dr. Sahr Rogers.

“It is with a deep sense of sadness that we have lost one of our finest physicians in the line of duty at a time like when we need a lot of them to help in out fight against Ebola,” said Sierra Leone’s new health minister Abubakarr Fofana on Saturday.

His predecessor Miatta Kargbo was sacked the previous day over her handling of the Ebola outbreak.

LIBERIA LIFTS QUARANTINE

In neighbouring Liberia, where infection rates are highest, crowds sang and danced in the streets of a seaside neighbourhood on Saturday as the government lifted quarantine measures.

In mid-August, residents of the impoverished seaside district of West Point in Monrovia were forcibly cut off from the rest of the capital after a crowd attacked an Ebola centre there, allowing the sick to flee.

The quarantine sparked protests and security forces responded with tear gas and bullets, killing a teenaged boy.

But at dawn on Saturday, the community woke up to find the soldiers and barricades gone.

“I tell God thank you. I tell everyone thank you,” said Koffa, a female resident of West Point. Others danced in the streets chanting slogans like “we are free” while others rolled about on the asphalt pavement in celebration.

President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a U.S.-educated Nobel Peace Prize winner, has sought to quell criticism of the government’s response by issuing orders threatening officials with dismissal for failing to report for work or for fleeing the country, and has ordered an investigation into the West Point shooting.

Liberia plans to build five new Ebola treatment centres each with capacity for 100 beds, government and health officials said on Saturday.

Two African doctors infected with Ebola were released from hospital in Monrovia on Saturday after being treated with the experimental drug ZMapp, said Rev. John Sumo of the Liberian health ministry.

A third doctor who was given the treatment died this week.

SPREAD TO SENEGAL

Highly contagious, Ebola has also spread to Nigeria and Senegal, which reported its first confirmed case on Friday, a Guinean student who was lost to authorities in his own country while under surveillance.

“His brother came from Sierra Leone where he was infected and has died. Shortly afterwards, this student left for Senegal,” said Dr. Rafi Diallo, spokesman for the Guinean health ministry.

The student’s sister and mother have died from Ebola, Guinean health ministry sources said.

A resident in the suburb of the Senegalese capital Dakar, where the student resided, said on Saturday that a team of health ministry officials wearing white protective suits and masks came to spray disinfectant at his home and a local grocer’s shop.

Many Dakar residents worry that the student could have spread the highly contagious virus in the three weeks since he was last reported in Guinea.

In Nigeria, where an infected traveller collapsed after arriving the Lagos airport, there have so far been 19 suspected, probable and confirmed cases and seven deaths.

“To avoid a situation like Nigeria, they need to be able to follow hundreds of contacts,” said epidemiologist Jorge Castilla-Echenique of the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Department in Dakar. “Whatever they do, there will probably be a second set of sick people as this guy has been here for some time.”

Senegal has closed its land border with Guinea and halted flights to Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, defying advice from the World Health Organization (WHO) that there is no need for travel restrictions.

A note from the WHO and the International Civil Aviation Organization sent to health ministries on Aug. 29 said: “Lives are being unnecessarily lost because health care workers cannot travel to the affected countries, and delivery of life saving equipment and supplies is being delayed.”

The World Food Programme said it needs to raise $70 million to feed 1.3 million people at risk from shortages in the Ebola-quarantined areas in West Africa, with the agency’s resources already stretched by several major humanitarian crises.

Democratic Republic of Congo declared an Ebola outbreak in its northern Equateur province last week that has killed at least 13 people. But the outbreak, which occurred near the Ebola River region where the virus was first detected in 1976, appears to be unrelated to the West Africa outbreak.

Nigeria 2024 bond Yield Eases On JP Morgan Index Inclusion

Yields on Nigeria’s 2024 bond shed 15 basis points to 11.89 percent on Friday, after JP Morgan added it to its Government Bond Index-Emerging Market (GBI-EM), attracting offshore funds, dealers said.

The 10-year benchmark bond opened for trade at 12.04 percent.

Last week JP Morgan said it added Nigeria’s 2024 bond to its emerging market government bond index, in addition to five other bonds already listed, pushing its yield down 22 bps.

Since then, some investors have taken profits, dealers said.

The addition also lifted overall trading volumes on Friday to around 11.5 billion naira ($70 million) on Friday, compared with an average of around 8 billion to 9 billion naira, dealers said.

JP Morgan valued Nigeria’s outstanding bond issues on its index at $13.75 billion.

Source: ChannelTv

Ebola: Health workers should ensure they have insurance policies - Health researcher says

A Principal Researcher with the Independent Insurance Researchers (IIR), Mr. Obinna Chilekezie, has advised health workers to take up health and life insurance policies.

Chilekezie gave the advice on Sunday in Lagos in a chat with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). where he said people have relegated the importance of insurance to their lives to the background:

“Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) is no respecter of persons. Health workers are at a greater risk of being infested by the virus. It had shown that no matter how many times you wash your hands or wear protective gears, you can still be infested with the virus. Even though medical professional Indemnity is one of the compulsory insurance policies, but many hospitals do not buy it. With this Ebola Virus, it is necessary for health workers to ensure that they have insurance policies. The world is a global village and nobody knows another sickness that will be introduced to Nigeria,’’ he said.

Three Woman Hid Stolen Rolexes In Their Vaginas

Three women are accused of stealing two Rolex watches from a pair of male tourists by hiding the time pieces in two of the suspects sex organs.

The alleged robberies took place Aug. 17 at the Encore Hotel in Las Vegas. Two of the suspects, Charmella Triggs and Bryanna Warren met one of the victims at a hotel bar.

After some conversation, the group returned to a hotel room that the man was sharing with his friend. The group was soon joined by another suspect, Trinity Kennard. The mans friend arrived a short time later, according to the Las Vegas Sun.

The victims and suspects then started to have sex, according to the police report. Sometime during the sex, the victims were persuaded to remove their Rolex watches, one valued at $12,000 and the other worth around $4,000.

A short time later,the victims realized their watches were missing.

One of the men chased the suspects down the hall, but backed off when Triggs activated a stun gun near the elevator.

According to the police report, surveillance video shows two of the women hiking up their dresses inside the elevator and inserting foreign objects into their vaginal areas.

Meanwhile, the victims notified security and the women were arrested by Las Vegas Police at the taxi pick-up area of the Encore.

While the women were detained at the hotel, officers recovered a stun gun and one of the watches. Kennard later produced a watch from her sex organ during a strip search at Clark County Detention Center, KPTV TV reports.

The three women were booked on counts of burglary,conspiracy to commit grand larceny and conspiracy to commit robbery, according to KMOV.com.

They are due in court Sept. 3.

Trinity Kennard seems surprised to be behind bars, according to a jailhouse interview she gave to KNTV.

I thought when stuff like this happens its just like a personal thing.I didn't think police would get involved and I could go to jail, she said.

This is actually the second vagina smuggling case reported in Las Vegas this year.

In January, Las Vegas masseuse Christina La-fave was accused of snatching a customers $35,000 Rolex at the Wynn Las Vegas and concealing it in her vagina.

Xabi Alonso’s real reasons for leaving Real Madrid to Bayer

It was a gentleman's goodbye. Xabi Alonso faced the Madrid media with both elegance and eloquence on Friday to bid farewell to the Spanish side and discuss his surprise move to Bayern Munich. But even though his words were generous, the real reasons behind his shock exit never emerged.

Alonso told the press pack at the Santiago Bernabeu that he was leaving for a new challenge, claiming he lacked motivation after a season which saw Madrid claim their holy grail: La Decima.

"New motivations are needed," Alonso explained. "Maybe those stopped after we won La Decima. I wasn't going to be at the level I wanted."

That seemed strange, not only because the midfielder missed the final in Lisbon through suspension and famously celebrated by jumping out of his seat and running the length of the pitch to embrace his team-mates, but also because he signed a new two-year contract extension only in January.

Alonso's return from injury last October saw Carlo Ancelotti's side improve drastically and discover the "balance" the coach had been calling for in the previous months in what had been a stuttering start to the season. "I was lucky to have [Andrea] Pirlo at Milan," the Italian said. "And I am very lucky to have Alonso here at Real Madrid."

And even when Madrid signed Toni Kroos from Bayern this summer, Alonso remained a key part of Ancelotti's plans. "It's not a tantrum. I had the confidence of the club and the coach. I would have played a lot of minutes," the midfielder said on Friday.

"Kroos is an excellent player," Alonso added. And he meant it, but the 32-year-old believed the German would only operate effectively playing centrally in a deep midfield role like his own and expected that - sooner or later - there would be a debate over which of the two should start in that position.

Knowing how these things work at Madrid, Xabi was concerned that sections of the media would put pressure on Ancelotti to pick Kroos instead. He was also fully aware that president Florentino Perez would want the German in the side following his signing this summer. As Alonso turns 33 in November, it was a battle he would have been unlikely to win.

The former Liverpool midfielder had been tempted by Bayern's initial interest last year, but opted to stay at Madrid after things went well with Ancelotti and the team began to look like real challengers for the biggest prizes.

But after claiming the Champions League, Alonso noticed a degree of relaxation in some members of the squad and when he spoke about needing more motivation, he was not only talking about himself.

With Bayern back in for him, the midfielder saw the opportunity to work under a coach who will ensure he is highly motivated and from whom he can learn valuable lessons for a future in the dugout. "It's a time in which I'm going to learn," Alonso said. "I have been lucky enough to work with great coaches, my father was also a coach and my position in central midfield requires tactical knowledge."

Having already worked with Rafa Benitez, Jose Mourinho, Ancelotti, Luis Aragones and Vicente del Bosque, Alonso will now link up with another of the game's greatest coaches in Guardiola and he hopes to absorb all he can from the former Barca boss.

"I have learned from all of my coaches and I am sure I will learn a lot with Guardiola," he said.

When he hangs up his boots, Alonso is keen to move into coaching and knows that, if he is to manage one of the big two in Spain, it is unlikely to be Barcelona because of his strong links to Madrid and his rivalry with the Catalan club in Clasico clashes in recent years.

Key, therefore, is staying on good terms with Perez, who is likely to remain in charge for some time to come at the Bernabeu. And it was Alonso himself who proposed the idea of a press conference to explain that his departure was "a personal decision", knowing his president would approve and especially after witnessing Florentino's fury as Angel Di Maria criticised the club publicly in a letter last week.

Xabi's departure was much less controversial than the Argentine's of course and, even though he is joining a direct European rival and linking up with a Barcelona legend, his elegant exit paves the way for a possible return to Real as coach in future, while the Munich move also gives him the opportunity to show he is just as good as Kroos and allows him to learn from perhaps the best coach around as he competes for major honours at the same time. Motivation aplenty.

Source: Goal.com

No Ebola Victim in Lagos Hotel – Health Authorities

                                    Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, Mr. Umaru Manko

Ebola cases were not detected among lodgers in a Lagos popular resort, Beni Hotels, authorities in Lagos and Abuja disclosed yesterday.

Nigerian Police from the Area A Command, Lion Building, Ikoyi, Lagos State, and operatives of the Nigerian Immigration Service, had on Friday raided a hotel and a guest house on Lagos Island, arresting 39 foreign nationals over the Ebola Virus Disease scare.

According to reports, that the foreigners identified as 35 from the Democratic Republic of Congo and four Senegalese, were co-habiting in Beni Hotel and another guest house, Travel House, both situated on Atere street on Lagos Island. They were arrested following a tip-off by some residents of the area over fears of the spread of Ebola virus disease.

Thankfully, no case of Ebola virus was detected among the foreigners. Dispelling the rumour of an Ebola virus scare in the hotel premises, Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Public Health, Dr. Yewande Adeshina, told reporters:

“I’m not aware of any Ebola case there as there was no patient brought to us after the event you described.”

All the hotels in the area have been placed under close surveillance and charged the residents to promptly report any suspicious persons or activities to the police. That immigration officials would determine if the suspects are legally residing in the country, the police said

BREAKING: China's legislature rules out open nominations for Hong Kong's leader. - AP

BEIJING (AP) — China's legislature has ruled out open nominations in elections for Hong Kong's leader.

The legislature's standing committee announced Sunday that all candidates must receive more than half of votes from a special nominating body before going before voters.

The decision promises to ignite tensions in the Asian financial hub, which returned from British to Chinese rule in 1997.

Democracy activists in Hong Kong have demanded that Chinese leaders let voters choose their chief executive from an open list of candidates. They have threatened to shut down the city's financial district with protests if Beijing doesn't honor democracy pledges they say China made during the 1997 handover.

Beijing has warned activists against disruptive protests and insisted it has the right to determine how Hong Kong's government is run.

Source: mercurynews

Boko Haram funded through CBN- Australian Hostage negotiator says

It appears Australian hostage negotiator Dennis Stephen isn't done making outrageous and some would say 'eye-opening' claims. Just a day after he claimed that former Borno state Gov, Alimodu Sheriff and an unnamed retired army chief are sponsors of Boko Haram, he's now claiming that the insurgent group  have been funded through the CBN. In an interview with TheCable, Stephen claimed a senior official of the CBN handles the financial transactions of the sect group.

Read what he said below...

"One of the biggest of suppliers of arms and military uniforms to the JAS (Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad, better known as Boko Haram) currently lives in Cairo, Egypt. He is the recipient of money sent by political sponsors from Nigeria. The funds go through the CBN’s financial system and appear to be a legal transaction. Meanwhile, the CBN official who handles the funding is an uncle to three of those arrested in connection with the Nyanya bombings. The three boys lived with him. They were arrested by the SSS (Department of State Security) after the bombings but they do not seem to have been interrogated about their uncle in CBN. Or if they have given up information about their uncle then the SSS has not moved against him." Stephen said 

"Also, a senior official of CBN, who recently left the bank, was very close to Sodiq Aminu Ogwuche, the mastermind of the Nyanya bombings who also schooled in Sudan. Boko haram commanders said Ogwuche’s wife used to visit this top official in his office at the headquarters of the bank in Abuja before the Nyanya bombings. They were very close,” Davis said. He said he is speaking out now because he feels the Federal government is doing little in the rescue of the missing Chibok girls "I have three daughters. I just cannot stand the thought of what those girls are passing through. I have spoken to an escapee who described how she was being raped for 40 days by militants. I can’t stand it. It is heart-breaking. Nigerian authorities must act decisively now,” he said

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5yr old girl sustains horrific injuries after being allegedly attacked in school

5 year old AvaLynn was nearly disfigured when she was allegedly attacked by another pupil at her Elementary school in Mississippi this week. The most bizarre thing about this story is that the school is maintaining that she was not attacked, rather she got the horrific injuries in an accident while playing on the playground. Makes no sense. This looks more like a vicious attack to me.

Her mother and other relatives have opened a Facebook page for the young girl to tell what happened to her and share photos of her injuries, while seeking for justice. Below is what they wrote on the Facebook page about the incident...

"On Tuesday, August 26, 2014, Lacey Harris was called go come pick up her daughter at Arlington Elementary School in Pascagoula, Mississippi, because AvaLynn had been injured in an accident. The sight Lacey found when she got to Ava's school was a parents' nightmare: her face swollen, cut, and bruised beyond recognition."

Lacey rushed Ava to the family pediatrician, who burst into tears upon seeing the Ava's battered visage. Fortunately, the doctor determined that it is unlikely that Ava would have any permanent physical damage. Mental and emotional damage is another story altogether.

AvaLynn informed Lacey that she was assaulted by another student: that she was kicked repeatedly in the face until she fell off of the slide on the school's playground. The school informed Lacey were no teachers present when the incident occurred, and because of that, no one could prove whether or not another student had harmed Ava.

After days of Lacey, friends, and family members reaching out to local news stations and to Facebook and other social media bodies, the school finally released a statement: AvaLynn was injured as the result of an accident, one that involved no other children. Although a police report was filed, Pascagoula Police Department states that they are not investigating the situation.

The school basically claims that Ava injured herself, as all the photos depicting her injuries will debunk. The local PD claims that there has been no criminal act, which the injury photos also disprove.

So now we've taken this to Facebook, asking everyone out there to please share this page, to please share AvaLynn's story. We need this to reach as many people as possible so that this little girl will not go without justice. Please share this with your friends, your relatives, and all your local news outlets. Please help us get the answers and the justice that our little angel deserves.

The Pascagoula School District issued the following statement about the incident:

"A student was injured while playing on the playground at Arlington Elementary School Tuesday afternoon. School officials responded to the situation. The parent was contacted and the student received medical treatment. No other children were involved in the incident. The Pascagoula School District remains committed to the safety of all its students."

The mother of the girl, Lacey Harris (pictured above with AvaLynn), wrote on Friday night:

“As much as my heart is broken for my daughter, I am also amazed by the outpouring of love and support from our family, friends, Oasis church family and our community. Thank you so much for your concern, kind words, prayers, thoughts, shares, and donation. We ask that you continue these kind gestures.”

How do you fall and receive such injuries? This school should be temporarily shut down pending investigation.