Entertainment

Entertainment

Samson Siasia's mother regains freedom

12 days after Mrs Ogere Siasia, the mother of Nigeria U23 coach Samson Siasia was abducted by unknown gunmen in Bayelsa State, the 72 year-old has been released. She regained her freedom around 10:30 pm last night after the sum of N600, 000 was paid. The amount her abductors initially requested for was N150 million, it was brought down to N50 million then N32 million before they agreed to take N600,000.

“I sincerely thank the Nigeria Police and the DSS (Department of State Services) for their efforts in ensuring that Mama was finally released by her captors.My elder brother Samson Siasia was very happy to receive the news of Mama’s release and I think this will help a great deal in Samson’s concentration to the task ahead.”
The coach’s sibling, Dennis Siasia disclosed to goal.com.

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Entertainment

Lagos State Seals Off Shoprite For Breaching Health And Safety Laws

The Lagos State Safety Commission has shut the Ikeja outlet of the multi-billion multi-national shopping outlet, Shoprite for allegedly breaching safety laws of the state. Officials of the commission reportdly stormed the mall and drove everyone out, placing a seal order at the entrance.

The officials made the move after making investigations after receiving series of complaints by members of the public about adulterated and expired products being sold in the outlet.

The seal order notice read:
 “Sealed, this premises has been sealed following the breach of safety law. This seal must not be broken. For further enquiries, contact the Commission.”

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Entertainment

Goal 50: Barcelona star announced as World's best soccer player

I did a story on this yesterday. I got a press release from Goal.com and I had to share.

Lionel Messi has cemented his status as the world’s best soccer player, according to Goal.com’s annual award which ranks the best 50 soccer players on the planet over the past 12 months.

The Goal 50 list, compiled by Goal.com’s team of more than 500 journalists around the globe, sees the Barcelona superstar beat off the challenge from last years’ winner, Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Barcelona and Argentina forward claims the title for the fourth time in recognition of an incredible campaign during which he led his club to a treble winning season, contributing 58 goals across all competitions and captained his country to the 2015 Copa América final.

Messi’s personal milestones in 2015 included; The most valuable player at the 2015 Copa América, UEFA best player in Europe, and a host of awards for his performances in the UEFA Champions League including – Goal of the Season and a place in the Squad of the Season. This prestigious award from Goal underlines Messi’s credentials ahead of the forthcoming FIFA Ballon d’Or.

The major European leagues are well represented where 48 of the listed players feature in the major European leagues, with only two other players representing the Rest of the World, Andrea Pirlo (MLS) and Carlos Tevez (Argentina’s Primera División) who makes the list for the very first time at number 8.

World Cup winner and Bayern Munich legend, Phillip Lahm makes the Goal-compiled list for the third successive year, along with no fewer than seven other teammates. There’s no place for England and Manchester United captain, Wayne Rooney who misses out for the third year running. Other notable absentees include Edinson Cavani, England’s most expensive player Raheem Sterling and Real Madrid forward, Karim Benzema.

Goal’s soccer experts have given a thorough examination of players in every territory, judging them on their level of consistency, their big-game performances, their legacy and the success of their team at both club and international levels over the past 12 months.

Goal.com is working with Facebook and Instagram to gain maximum exposure across both social platforms. Exclusive Goal 50 content will appear on Facebook using their native video player, where Goal’s correspondents will be live streaming.

The 2015 Goal 50 winner, Lionel Messi said; “Thank you for the Goal 50 award. I always say that the most important awards are collective ones, the ones where recognise as a team at the end of the season. I am also happy when I receive individual awards like this one, of course. I am very grateful for that”.

2015 Goal 50 List

Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Luis Suarez (Barcelona)
Neymar (Barcelona)
Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich)
Arturo Vidal (Bayern Munich)
Carlos Tevez (Boca Juniors)
Paul Pogba (Juventus)
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris Saint Germain)
Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona)
Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich)
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus)
Alexis Sanchez (Arsenal)
Andrea Pirlo (New York City)
David De Gea (Manchester United)
Antoine Griezman (Atletico Madrid)
Carlos Bacca (A.C. Milan)
James Rodriguez (Real Madrid)
Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich)
Gareth Bale (Real Madrid)
Yaya Touré (Manchester City)
Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona)
Marco Verratti (Paris Saint Germain)
Alvaro Morata (Juventus)
John Terry (Chelsea)
Claudio Bravo (Barcelona)
Gerard Pique (Barcelona)
David Silva (Manchester City)
Harry Kane (Tottenham)
Cesc Fabregas (Chelsea)
Diego Costa (Chelsea)
Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus)
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)
Mauro Icardi (Inter Milan)
Nicolás Otamendi (Manchester City)
Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich)
Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea)
David Alaba (Bayern Munich)
Javier Pastore (Paris Saint Germain)
Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus)
Gary Medel (Inter Milan)
Thiago Silva (Paris Saint Germain)
Luka Modrić (Real Madrid)
Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool)
Jérôme Boateng (Bayern Munich)
Memphis Depay (Manchester United)

Notes to Editors
The 2015 Goal 50 is a comprehensive list of the best players in the world who are active professional soccer players, compiled by Goal.com’s journalists.
Those who qualify for the list include FIFA-registered professional players of all nationalities in any professional league across the world – or registered players currently without a club, but who are actively looking to sign for a professional club.
The full Goal 50 graphics are available for free use with prior permission from Goal.com.
Goal.com is the world’s largest digital soccer media brand, publishing 37 editions in 18 languages reaching an audience in excess of 60 million fans around the the world every month, producing 1.2 billion page impressions.

For further information contact:
Sabrina Carrozza
PR for Goal.com
646-596-2853
[email protected]

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Entertainment

Etcetera Says The Minister Of Petroleum Should Resign Immediately.

It is beginning to unfold how risky and dangerous it is for Nigeria that Buhari doubles as president and the petroleum minister. As the president, he already has too much on his plate with too many issues pulling the country towards collapse.
From the north, Boko Haram is threatening to drag the whole country down a cliff, and if nothing is done pretty soon, we are going to have a situation in our hands with the Biafra movement. It is already a keg of gunpowder waiting to explode in our faces. The business of armed robbery has never been as lucrative as it is today. The economy is another area that calls for the president’s urgent attention. But what do we have?
A president who has more-or-less assumed the role of a jack of all trade while doing nothing in particular. The president should resign as the minister of petroleum immediately if we are ever going to have sanity in the petroleum industry. What we need is a petroleum minister who is saddled with no other responsibility outside his ministry. Take for instance the negotiations with the petroleum marketers; it could have been better handled with more urgency knowing that the people are seriously suffering as a result of the slow pace of negotiations.
I don’t understand how the president wants to be personally involved in negotiations with oil marketers and at the same time travel all over the world from one summit to another. He should understand that the masses don’t care that much about the bottlenecks in these negotiations; all we want is to be able to drive into a filling station and buy fuel at any time of the day or year.
Secondly, is APC still the opposition party? Because responding to every jibe from PDP doesn’t speak of a party who has come to terms with being a ruling party. What I see here is that the APC never thought in its wildest dreams that Goodluck Jonathan would lose in the last election and as a result, they weren’t prepared for the responsibility of ruling.
The PDP left us in a total mess and would love nothing more than seeing APC fail. APC should put aside their lyrical battle with PDP and fix the issues facing this country or be seen as another party that failed us. APC should understand that elections shouldn’t be a win at all cost affairs. The choice of late Abubakar Audu as the party’s governorship candidate for Kogi State beats me. A man who had already been twice governor of the state from January 1992 until November 1993 and from 29th May 1999 to May 2003? 
Was it that Audu performed so well in his previous spells as governor of the state that APC chose to bring him back? I keep wondering what the party’s “change” philosophy is all about. As we speak, Bayelsa State is having another former governor as APC candidate for the coming governorship election in the state. May God save us all from desperate political parties.
INEC should explain to us why politicians are allowed to contest for elective positions in two different states. We have seen politicians lose primaries in one state and move to another state and get elected. Isn’t it confusing that Solomon Olamilekan alias YAYI contested for Lagos West senatorial seat after previously registering to contest for Ogun West senatorial district? And now, Faleke, who was a chairman of Ojodu local government and was also a member of Lagos State House of Representatives may emerge as the governor of Kogi State. INEC, please explain to us how this is possible ooo!!!.
Finally, the Federal government must insist that an autopsy is conducted on Audu’s corpse. We have to quell this rumour of foul play making the rounds or prove that he died of natural cause. Those who will argue that he was a Muslim and was buried in accordance with Muslim laws should understand that this is not a matter for religious sentiments. Audu was contesting an election and the speculation surrounding his death can be exploited to throw the state into chaos. INEC and the Federal Government must insist that an autopsy be carried out on his corpse to clear the air.

H

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Entertainment

Lionel Messi named 2015 Goal 50 winner

Argentine forward, Lionel Messi has won the Goal 50 award for the fourth time. The Barcelona hitman who snatched the gong in 2009, 2011 and 2013 fought off competition from his Nemesis Cristiano Ronaldo who won it last year and teammates, Luis Suarez and Neymar who came third and fourth respectively.

“I always say that, for me, the most important awards are collective ones, the ones that recognise us as the best at the end of the season. But I am also happy when I receive individual awards like this one. I am very grateful. Thank you.” The 28 year-old told Goal.

The Goal 50 is an annual award that both recognises and ranks the world’s 50 best footballers of the past 12 months.

Chief editors and correspondents from Goal’s 37 editions around the world all cast their votes, with candidates judged on their level of consistency over the previous year of action, their big-game performances, footballing legacy and the success of their teams at both club and international level.

Top Ten Goal 50 2015 winners.

1) Lionel Messi
2) Cristiano Ronaldo
3) Luis Suarez
4) Neymar
5) Eden Hazard
6) Thomas Muller
7) Arturo Vidal
8) Carlos Tevez
9) Paul Pogba,
10) Kevin De Bruyne

Credit: Goal.com 

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Entertainment

Short Story: Wonderland. | By VictorMaria

Swirling between mirages and reality
Lost a glimpse of the truth
Seems like it happened outside my head or inside
Not sure which
Bones weak to the marrow
And I seem to enjoy every moment that passes
I feel soft from the inside 
Can’t clearly express this feeling
Seem to be losing it
I tend to have detailed reasoning on every wave of light I see
My mouth feels somehow – can’t explain that
My eyes wide open, sleepy but can’t sleep
Feeling a sudden urge for something sugary or fruity
I seem to hear my boom box beating louder than usual, even the flexible pumps I can feel and hear them breathing
Also seems like I can hear some impossible decibel of waves
Everywhere silent like a crypt….hold on
Who says a crypt is silent? At least some bad-arse ghosts could be chilling off-grave and making some noise. 
Anyway everywhere seems so silent….but all seems noisy…
The ticking of my wrist watch that seems inaudible deep in my wardrobe
Seems to be one of the factors of noise..
I think I can also hear my silent phone sounding like a gas leakage
I feel some ounce of courage…very unusual ‘dutch courage’
After a long battle with reality
My eyes take me to dreamland
In my dream I get confused with reality. Series of funny dreams pass across my skull like an EMP. After what I thought was 10 hours but just 3 hours of sleep. I hear the birds tweeting and a big bang on my door. The door swings open and I see my friend… I guess he too had a hell of a night. What scares me is not his swollen eyes nor his funny look but the glass of drink for two and a brand new bottle of vodka. This is the same drink responsible for all my little drama before my 3 hour night rest. Still can’t distinguish some of last night’s action from reality or dream.What else can I do than to accept my friend’s lovely gesture…..more vodka please
 ****************************************************************************************
VictorMaria is an aspiring author of fiction, fantasy and non-fiction. He also works as an artist with interests in landscape and nature drawings. He also has great passion for classical music, lego bricks, architecture, travel and wildlife. Visit his blog owlsandrobins.wordpress.com
[email protected]
Instagram Profile: @saintvictormaria
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Entertainment

Pep Guardiola set to take over at Manchester City?

Reports emanating from Spain claim Bayern Munich boss, Pep Guardiola has signed a contract with Manchester City. The Spaniard who is yet to renew a contract with the German outfit mentioned few weeks back that he is still undecided about his future at the club.
 “I have not yet decided what is best for this club and I want to do the best for this club. I have not made a decision yet.” He was quoted months back.

Spanish radio station Cadena COPE says Guardiola will move to the Premier League, Manchester City to be specific next season.

“Pep Guardiola will leave Bayern Munich at the end of this season and will train Manchester City next season.

“Guardiola has decided on a change of scenery. He considers his time in Germany will end on 30 June after three seasons and he will, therefore, fulfil one of his wishes: to coach in England.” The report read.

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Entertainment

48 luxury watches confiscated from FIFA officials to be donated to charity.

A total of 48 luxury watches confiscated from top FIFA officials after the Brazil World Cup will be donated to a charity in Brazil. Valued at $25,000 each, The Brazilian Soccer Federation revealed that a Parmigiani Fleurier SA watch was contained in each of the 65 gift bags distributed to representatives of each of the 32 competing nations and someone from each of member country of the regional governing body during the 2014 tournament.
This is one of the several plans outlined to rid the governing body of its culture of corruption. 
FIFA ethics committee have thus “decided that all watches returned to FIFA would now be donated to the international non-profit organization streetfootballworld, who will directly invest all resources generated through the sale of the watches into initiatives across Brazil that use football to drive social change,” the panel said in an e-mailed statement. “The investigatory chamber of the Ethics Committee considers the matter to be closed.”
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Entertainment

Real Madrid have more players on the FIFA FIFPro World XI shortlist. See full list.

Spanish outfit, Real Madrid have more nominees on the FIFA FIFpro World XI 55-man shortlist released today. 12 players of the Blancos were featured, 10 from Barcelona, Bayern Munich have 11, while English Premier League has just 10.
The FIFA FIFPro World XI is decided by the players, for the players and It involves votes from more than 20,000 professional footballers from 70 different countries. They select one goalkeeper, four defenders, three midfielders and three forwards.
FIFA will announce the final nominees for the FIFA Ballon d’Or Awards on Monday, 30 November 2015.
The 55–player shortlist
Goalkeepers (5): Gianluigi Buffon (Italy/Juventus), Iker Casillas (Spain/FC Porto), David De Gea (Spain/Manchester United), Keylor Navas (Costa Rica/Real Madrid) and Manuel Neuer (Germany/FC Bayern Munich).
Defenders (20): David Alaba (Austria/FC Bayern Munich), Jordi Alba (Spain/FC Barcelona), Jérôme Boateng (Germany/FC Bayern Munich), Daniel Carvajal (Spain/Real Madrid), Giorgio Chiellini (Italy/Juventus), Dani Alves (Brazil/FC Barcelona), David Luiz (Brazil/Paris Saint-Germain), Diego Godín (Uruguay/Atletico Madrid), Mats Hummels (Germany/Borussia Dortmund), Branislav Ivanović (Serbia/Chelsea), Vincent Kompany (Belgium/Manchester City), Philipp Lahm (Germany/FC Bayern Munich), Marcelo (Brazil/Real Madrid), Javier Mascherano (Argentina/FC Barcelona), Pepe (Portugal/Real Madrid), Gerard Piqué (Spain/FC Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Spain/Real Madrid), John Terry (England/Chelsea), Thiago Silva (Brazil/Paris Saint-Germain) and Raphaël Varane (France/Real Madrid).
Midfielders (15): Thiago Alcântara (Spain/FC Bayern Munich), Xabi Alonso (Spain/FC Bayern Munich), Sergio Busquets (Spain/FC Barcelona), Eden Hazard (Belgium/Chelsea), Andrés Iniesta (Spain/FC Barcelona), Toni Kroos (Germany/Real Madrid), Luka Modrić (Croatia/Real Madrid), Andrea Pirlo (Italy/New York City FC), Paul Pogba (France/Juventus), Ivan Rakitić (Croatia/FC Barcelona), James Rodríguez (Colombia/Real Madrid), David Silva (Spain/Manchester City),Yaya Touré (Côte d’Ivoire/Manchester City), Marco Verratti (Italy/Paris Saint-Germain) and Arturo Vidal (Chile/FC Bayern Munich).
Strikers (15): Sergio Agüero (Argentina/Manchester City), Gareth Bale (Wales/Real Madrid), Karim Benzema (France/Real Madrid), Douglas Costa (Brazil/FC Bayern Munich), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal/Real Madrid), Zlatan Ibrahimović (Sweden/Paris Saint-Germain), Robert Lewandowski (Poland/FC Bayern Munich), Lionel Messi (Argentina/FC Barcelona), Thomas Müller (Germany/FC Bayern Munich), Neymar (Brazil/FC Barcelona), Arjen Robben (Netherlands/FC Bayern Munich), Wayne Rooney (England/Manchester United), Alexis Sánchez (Chile/Arsenal), Luis Suárez (Uruguay/FC Barcelona) and Carlos Tevez (Argentina/Boca Juniors).
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Entertainment, Sports

Barcelona surpass Real Madrid as top all-time European scorers

Spanish giants, Barcelona have surpassed their fierce rivals on the goalscoring charts. The Catalan side who are having an impressive run this season netted in their 1,037th goal this season, just one goal more than Real Madrid who have recorded 1,036.

Top 20

Barcelona (1,037 goals)
Real Madrid (1,036)
Bayern Munich (856)
Juventus (746)
Anderlecht (640)
Benfica (639)
Liverpool (612)
Milan (612)
Ajax (606)
Inter Milan (606)
Manchester United (594)
Porto (542)
Valencia (529)
Red Star Belgrade (507)
PSV (503)
Celtic (500)
Atletico Madrid (488)
Sporting Lisbon (463)
Rangers (461)
Club Bruges (458)

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