See What Actress Chika Ike Has To Say On The On-Going ASUU Strike

Nollywood actress, Chika Ike took to her twitter page to share her opinion on the on-going ASUU strike affecting Nigerian universities which started on 1st July, 2013.

See tweets below

Read More

UN and French forces in 'large-scale' operation in Mali

French, Malian and UN forces have launched a "large-scale" operation in Mali, France's military says.

France sent troops to oust Islamist rebels from northern Mali earlier this year

Spokesman Col Gilles Jaron told the AFP news agency that several hundred French soldiers were involved in the mission in the north of the country.

It was aimed at preventing a resurgence of "terrorist movements", he added.

On Wednesday, a suicide bomb attack on a UN Stabilisation Mission in Mali (Minusma) base in Tessalit killed civilians and two Chadian peacekeepers.

The UN Security Council stressed that those responsible would be held accountable and reiterated its support for Minusma.

The Malian leader of a splinter group of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Sultan Ould Bady, said it had attacked the base because the Chadians were "working for France".

France sent troops to oust Islamist rebels from northern Mali in January.

The rebels were quickly pushed back from the main urban centres. Some retreated to hideouts in the mountains and desert, from where they launch occasional attacks.

'Stabilisation'

Col Jaron of the French military's general staff said the operation - called "Hydra" - was "the first time we have seen forces of significant size working together" in Mali.

Its goal was to "put pressure on any terrorist movement to avoid their resurgence", he added.

The colonel stressed that the mission was not linked to any recent attack.

"This is one those operations that are conducted regularly... to participate in the stabilisation of the country," he explained.

He did not say when the operation started or on which areas it was focused, nor provide exact numbers or details on the forces taking part.

A spokesman for the Malian army, Lt-Col Souleymane Maiga told the Reuters news agency: "It's an operation to sweep identified areas in the three northern regions [Timbuktu, Gao and Kidal]. It will last as long as is needed."

BBC Africa analyst Mamadou Moussa Ba says this is the first time French troops have publicly been involved in operations against Islamist militants in Mali for several months.

France has 3,200 soldiers in the country but plans to reduce the force to 1,000 by February, several months later than originally planned.

It handed over responsibility for security to Minusma in July. However, the UN force has less than half of its mandated strength of more than 12,000 military personnel and has appealed for reinforcements.

Read More

EuroBasket: GB fail to make the second round after defeat to Ukraine

Great Britain missed the chance to make the second round of EuroBasket for the first time as they slipped to an 87-68 defeat at the hands of Ukraine in their final game in Ljubljana.

Great Britian missed out of the second round of EuroBasket after losing to Ukraine

Sunday's win over Germany had given Joe Prunty's men hope of advancing from Group A, but they were behind for almost the entire contest against Ukraine, slipping to a comprehensive defeat.
GB did at least manage to keep things close in the first quarter and with Kieron Achara sinking a three-pointer at the end of the first 10 minutes they trailed just 21-18.
But a 27-13 second for Ukraine in effect killed the game off and Britain never looked like getting themselves back into the game from there.

Balanced attack

Andrew Lawrence and Devon van Oostrum each had 12 points for GB to lead all scorers, while Kyryl Natyazhko and Ihor Zaytsev paced a balanced Ukraine attack with 11 points apiece.
The result meant that while Ukraine went into the second round, either Belgium or Israel were certain to finish ahead of GB and clinch the third and final qualifying spot from the six-team group.
The campaign was nevertheless a reasonable one for Britain's young team, who claimed two victories - over Israel and Germany - from their three games.

SOURCE - SKYSPORT

Read More

Frank Lampard aims to mark his 100th England cap with win

Frank Lampard says he is more concerned about helping England beat Ukraine in Tuesday's World Cup qualifier than winning his 100th cap for his country. 

The Chelsea midfielder will become only the eighth Three Lions player to reach the milestone if he features in Kiev. 

England top Group H but will be leapfrogged by Ukraine if they lose. 

"The main thing is to get the result," said Lampard, 35. "I just hope to be involved. It wouldn't be enjoyable to get to 100 and not do it right." 

Lampard's goals for England

Frank Lampard has scored 29 times since being handed his England debut by Kevin Keegan against Belgium in 1999. His favourite goal? "It would be the header at Euro 2004 against France," he said. "It was my first major tournament goal. We lost the game but the fans were terrific."

Lampard made his England debut under Kevin Keegan and alongside Alan Shearer, Paul Ince and David Seaman in a 2-1 friendly win over Belgium at Sunderland's Stadium of Light in October 1999. 

Since then he has gone on to score 29 times for his country and has captained them five times. 

He will join a select band of centurions to have played 100 times for England if he features against Ukraine, a list that includes current international team-mates Steven Gerrard and Ashley Cole. 

England, who go into Tuesday's game with limited options in attack after Daniel Sturridge joined the list of players unavailable because of injury and suspension, might lead Group H but their place at next year's World Cup in Brazil is far from guaranteed. 

Roy Hodgson's side are level on points with Montenegro, although with a superior goal difference, but third-placed Ukraine are only a point behind the top two. 

"I never dreamt of getting anywhere near 100 caps to be honest," added Lampard. "I will be very proud, 100 is a long time [playing], but first and foremost we need three points. 

"I'd love to fly back from Ukraine with three points because that would put us in a strong position." 

Reflecting on his previous 99 caps, the former West Ham forward said: "I've enjoyed every minute of travelling and playing for my country. What an honour that is. 

 

"The carrot of Brazil, I would love to take part in that and everyone in the squad would." 

Ukraine have won their past four qualifiers - scoring 18 times - and while Hodgson's side comfortably overcame Moldova 4-0 at Wembley on Friday, Ukraine hammered San Marino 9-0. 

Lampard's late penalty rescued England a 1-1 draw when the teams met at Wembley in September 2012. 

"They had a bad start to the group but against us they played with a lot of talent, they have a lot of technical ability and pace on the wings," added Lampard. 

"I don't think we were at our best that night but to not lose when you're not at your best is a good thing," added Lampard. 

"We'll go there conscious they're a strong team but confident in our own abilities.

"We've got the team to get a result, no doubt." 

Read More

Coleman defends Bale move

Chris Coleman: Naming Bale on bench was 'mind games'

 

Wales boss Chris Coleman admitted that Gareth Bale was never going to feature in the World Cup qualifying defeat to Macedonia.

 

Coleman raised eyebrows when he named Bale on the bench despite the Real Madrid midfielder not having played any football since July.

The world-record signing watched from the dugout as his team-mates slipped to a 2-1 defeat, and Coleman revealed afterwards that the decision to name Bale as a substitute was an attempt at mind games.

Coleman insisted Bale was not fit enough to play any part, and that his presence was merely a ploy to unsettle opposition number Cedomir Janevski.

When asked if he considered bringing Bale on to try and salvage a draw in the late stages, a tetchy Coleman replied: "What part of he's not fit are you not listening to? Why bring him on if he's not fit?

"You think I would not have used him if he was fit? I don't mind what other people think. What I look at is the opposition. If I'm the opposition manager and Bale is on the bench, maybe it would affect his thinking.

"If he was fit he would have played. I spoke to him, he is not ready. Simple. I haven't conned the supporters to say he might play. If there was a chance he would have played, but there wasn't. We can't take the risk."

Coleman was angered further when questioned about losing his passport earlier this week, which delayed his arrival in Skopje until late on Thursday.

Asked if he was planning to apologise over the incident, Coleman said: "To who? What are you talking about? What you don't know is what we do day to day. All the work had been done. If we'd won you wouldn't make much out of it, but you will because we lost and that's up to you."

On the match, Coleman insisted his team were unfortunate to leave Skopje empty-handed after having the better of much of the encounter.

He said: "The pitch was not great and didn't help the way we play, but we stuck at it and were probably beaten by the pitch at the end of the day. They can feel very lucky to get three points.

"Sometimes when you lose and you deserve to lose then at least you can go back and think you could do better but for large periods of the game we were on top and taking the game to Macedonia and had a lot of opportunities."

Coleman was also disappointed with the performance of Swiss referee Sascha Kever, who he thought was too lenient in his treatment of the home side.

He continued: "Nowadays the rules are you can't pull shirts - I'm 60 yards away from both boxes and I can tell you there were a lot of shirts being pulled.

"The referee is closer than I am, why can't he see it? There were a few incidents we weren't happy with at all, one or two bad challenges that on another day are red cards.

"But we got on with it, we didn't come for one point, we came for three. We took the game to them and we came away with nothing. Unfortunately sometimes in football you don't always get what you deserve."

Read More

Nigeria Boko Haram gunmen 'tracked and killed'

 

Militant attacks have continued despite the military offensive

 

About 50 Islamist militants have been killed in north-eastern Nigeria after the military raided Boko Haram camps, army spokesman Sagir Musa has said.

Troops tracked gunmen who attacked two towns on Wednesday and Thursday, reportedly killing 20 people.

Boko Haram, which wants to create an Islamic state across Nigeria, has waged a deadly insurgency since 2009.

In May, Nigeria declared an emergency in three north-eastern states in order to battle the militants.

'Invaded from nowhere'

 

"Troops pursued the terrorists to their camps and destroyed them with air support," Lt-Col Musa said on Friday in Maiduguri - the state capital of Borno state where Boko Haram was founded.

The operation began on Wednesday after gunmen attacked Gajiram, about 75km (46 miles) north of Maiduguri, when it was crowded with traders for market day.

Boko Haram at a glance

 

Buildings were burnt and 15 people died in the market, said residents who fled to Maiduguri.

"Many traders and pupils in the school, including a few council workers at the secretariat complex, took to their heels for safety... We were shocked and terrified," a Gajiram resident told Nigeria's Guardian newspaper.

A further five people were killed by gunmen early on Thursday in Bulabilin Ngaura, a small town about 35km south-east of Maiduguri.

"They invaded the village from nowhere. They just opened fire… they killed only five people going to mosque for prayers," a Bulabilin Ngaura resident told Nigeria's Leadership paper.

Boko Haram has not commented on the camp raids or town attacks.

Last month, the army said it had killed Boko Haram's leader Abubakar Shekau but this has not been confirmed and the militants' attacks have continued.

Since the state of emergency was declared, the military has encouraged the formation of vigilante groups to help tackle the Islamists.

In recent weeks, these vigilantes have been the target of attacks.

Observers says it appears Boko Haram is taking revenge against such groups, adding weight to fears that the vigilante groups may trigger an escalation of the violence.

Read More

Australia election: Abbott poised for victory

The BBC's Jon Donnison: "If the polls are to be believed, then this is Tony Abbott's race to lose"

Exit polls in Australia suggest Tony Abbott's Liberal-National coalition is on course for a decisive election win, as voting ended in the eastern states.

One poll forecast that the opposition coalition would secure 97 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives.

The campaign has been dramatic, with Kevin Rudd replacing Julia Gillard as prime minister and Labor party leader just weeks from the polls.

The economy, asylum and the carbon tax have been key election issues.

Mr Rudd called the election after ousting Julia Gillard in a leadership challenge in June, amid dismal polling figures that showed Labor on course for a wipe-out.

Under Mr Rudd, Labor initially saw its figures improve significantly. But Mr Abbott, who enjoyed the strident support of Rupert Murdoch's newspapers, then broadened the gap again.

The Newspoll exit poll, released just over an hour before polling closed in the east of the country, gave the coalition 53% to Labor's 47% on a two-party basis (votes for the two main parties after both primary votes and preferences are distributed).

Another poll put the two-party figure at 52%-48% in the coalition's favour.

More than 14 million people were expected to vote in Saturday's election. Polling has now closed in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory.

Polls close later in Western Australia because of the time zone difference.

Read More